From Polliwog to Shellback

Welcome to the southern hemisphere!

Our ship is now south of the equator, but it took some doing to get all the people aboard to be officially in the southern hemisphere.  You see, anyone who has not crossed the equator is called a polliwog.  There is a ceremony to complete the transformation to "shellbacks."  First everyone must gather around the pool, either on the deck around the pool or at the railing above that area.  Then the Cruise Director calls forth the Vikings in very bad verse.  They appear in helmets (with horns of course) followed by the Norse King of the Sea. 

Some of the crew had never crossed the equator, so they were summoned to pay for their sins, such as using akavit to scrub the floors instead of soap.  The surrounding mass called out "Guilty" and then the punishment began.  "Kiss the fish" the cries rang out.  And so each in turn kissed a very real and very dead fish and jumped into the pool, clothes and all.  Having now been transformed from polliwogs into shellbacks, they were rewarded with a glass of akavit, the potent Norwegian liqueur.   They were followed by a long line of passengers who, in turn, kissed the fish, jumped into the pool and received their reward.  Fortunately the passengers had been warned about the dunking, so most were wearing bathing suits. 

I am now a shellback!

Not so the Captain and Chief Engineer.  They had been tolerantly watching the ceremony until the last passenger had been transformed.  Then Heather, the Cruise Director asked the crowd if they thought we should be sure we were being led by true shellbacks.  The Captain was found guilty of taking 7 days to get to this point when we could have flown the distance in a mere 6 hours.  To shouts of "Guilty" and "Kiss the Fish" he followed instructions, and kissed the fish.  Stopping only to remove shoes and the shoulder boards which showed his rank, he too jumped into the pool.  I do not think he drank the akavit.  As the detectives do in the books, he refused it because "he was on duty."

Heather on the right.  This was at the beginning.  I am watching (far left.)

Even Heather did not escape although I am sure she has crossed the equator many times, she too kissed the fish and jumped in the pool in her tailored dress.

Lazy Days

Days at sea are the perfect time to relax.  There are lectures and enrichment talks scheduled, but you attend only if the subject interests you.  We have had only 2 mandatory events since we left Miami, one on the very first day and one on the day we left Los Angeles.  Can you guess what there were?  Yes, that's right.  These were the safety drills, letting us hear the emergency siren and practicing what to do if we hear it.  DO NOT return to your cabin.  Go directly to your gathering point.  If you are in your cabin, bring a jacket and necessary medicines.  I am not sure what good a jacket would do when the average high temperature is in the 80's and the low may get down to 72 degrees.  Once everyone has checked in by having the room key card scanned, the Cruise Director reads a sccript and the crew demonstrates how to put on life jackets, which are NOT kept in the rooms, but at the assembly stations.  Each life boat also has enough life jackets for everyone, and if that is not enough, there are also life jackets in the additional rafts.  All together, there are enough boats, rafts and life jackets for at least twice as many people as the ship holds.

If you are fitness conscious, the outside walkway on deck 2 is a quarter mile walking or running deck, counterclockwise, please.  The exercise room has treadmills, exercise balls, weights, floor mats and other equipment.  I have not explored this room!  For further relaxation, or torture, the spa has a co-educational steam room, single sex saunas (in case you prefer to sweat in the nude,) a hot tub, a wave pool where you can swim against the current and get nowhere, a hot tub kept at 100 degrees and a snow room.  Yes, that's right -- a snow room where the snow piles up so you can sit on it or just cool off after getting hot in the steam room.  For a true Nordic experience, you leave the steam room and head to a specific shower stall where you dump a bucket of cold water over your head, another thing I have not tried and probably will not try!

Several varieties of massage are offered, an I may try that a bit later in the trip.  Those who have tried it say it is great.  Also in that area are the beauty salon where you can have your health analyzed so you know what to eat and how to exercise, etc.  Facials, manicures and pedicures are offered.  I have had my hair cut once, and she cut it so short that I may not need another one any time on the cruise.  Darrell's haircut turned out better.  I refused to bring along the clippers and cut his hair myself!

I have mentioned reading and puzzling.  Many people brought along Kindles or something similar and there a a lot of places to sit and read indoors or out.  If you did not bring books or a reader, the ship provides an extensive library scattered in bookcases all over the ship..There does not seem to be much organization to the books, so you just look around and find an interesting title.  Darrell is currently engrossed in a book about World War II in the pacific, Eagle Against the Sun.  I picked up a book of Cat Stories.

Have you always wanted to learn bridge or mahjong or how to write and publish a journal or memoir or learn new dance steps?  There are classes.  Is trivia your thing?  Team Trivia contest take place every day.  The big screen by the pool broadcasts live sports, mainly soccer.  The theater shows movies, complete with popcorn.  For the more intellectual, each day has a different theme of TED talks shown in the theater.  Movies, TED talks and documentaries are available on demand, 24 hours a day in every cabin.

The Sports Deck has shuffleboard, mini-golf and a few other things I have not tried. Did I mention the swimming pool (82 degrees) with a retractable roof?  How about live music in the Atrium.  You can enjoy a very good guitar player, a pianist or a classical trio of flute, violin and cello.

How about shopping?  Perhaps a little bobble from the Jewelery?  or, more practically, a nice memento of the cruise?  Both are available.

I get tired just talking about all the ways to relax.  I think I will go take a nap.

Here Food, There Food, Everywhere Food, Food

There are a variety of activities on board.  Different people take advantage of different activities.  However, there is favorite of everyone  -- eating.  There is no shortage of places to eat.

For breakfast, we could choose Mamsens or the World Cafe.

Mamsens

Mamsens has waffles with fresh fruit and geitost (Norwegian sweet goat cheese,) three kinds of herring, oatmeal and a selection of pastries.

The the World Cafe is our usual choice.  Smoothies, cheese, salmon and fruit of all sorts are in the cold section.  The hot section has potatoes, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon. sausage oatmeal, congee and pork dumplings.






You can also get omelets and eggs cooked to order.  Darrell likes an egg white omelet or fried eggs.  My usual is scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms, French bread or a raisin roll and Brie cheese.  No ice cream at breakfast, but cappuccino or latte from the coffee machine and orange juice.

Lunch is at the World Cafe for us most of the time, but sometimes we want an even less formal setting, so we go to the Pool Cafe.  They serve fish, hot dogs and various burgers.  Darrell likes the Viking Burger with cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce and tomato.  I prefer the Pancho Villa with guacamole, blue cheese and a Mexican sauce.  Both are available without the bun.  Add onion rings instead of french fries and you have a good meal.  There is also a small salad bar.

The Restaurant

If we want a leisurely lunch, our choice could be The Restaurant.  We do not go there very often, since we like being able to choose the size portion we want and to be able to try different things.  In The Restaurant, you are limited to the choices on the menu for the day. However, certain items such as salmon, chef's salad, chicken breast are always available.  The portions are usually large and the service is gracious (slow.)







High tea is served every afternoon at 4:00 in the Wintergarden, just off the pool.  There are 15 or so teas to choose from, scores with strawberry jam and clotted cream and a three-tiered tray with tiny sandwiches (crusts removed, of course) and bite sized sweets.

Dinner is also buffet in the World Cafe.  At this time, the two sides of it serve slightly different items.  The hot food is the same on both sides.  However, on the starboard (right) side, the salad bar has crab legs, shrimp, a seafood salad of shrimp, mussels, scallops and squid and, my favorite - sushi!  Mark Anthony is busy making the sushi and artistically arranging it on platters which are quickly empty.  I can make a full meal of sushi, but I usually eat that first then go back for vegetables and sometimes a slice of meat.

The Dessert Station

Darrell's favorite is at the end of the line - The Dessert Bar.  There are always 3 or 4 kinds of huge cookies, tiny servings of pie, cakes, tartlets and glasses of parfait.  If you want fruit, you can have a skewer of fruit dipped in a chocolate fountain.  The ship makes all the ice creams and gelatto fresh each day.  Some are even sugar free.  That does not help much if you ask for more than one scoop.

Manfredi's

The Restaurant is also available, but we seldom eat there.  We prefer one of the two specialty restaurants for which you must make reservation.  Manfredi"s is an Italian restaurant with an extensive menu, all a la carte.  When we eat there we usually have an appetizer, a main course a side vegetable like creamed spinach or asparagus and a dessert.  I always forget to ask for a half portion, so it is way too much food.



Our favorite specialty restaurant is The Chef's Table.  They have a fixed 5 course menu that changes every three days. The first 2 courses are served with specially selected wine to complement the food.  The middle course is a granache to cleanse the pallet before the main course.  Five courses seems like a lot, but the portions are small.  There is enough to satisfy without being stuffed.  We eat there on the average once every three nights.
We usually eat here about every 3 nights. 





Our reservation is usually for 2, but if we meet other people we know, Fahme, the maitre'd, can change it to a table for 4 or 6.  Since we eat at 6:00, the restaurant is no too crowded.





Should we get hungry between meals, there is always the bar which has appatizers and the refrigeration in our room which has Toblerone and cashews as well as soft drinks and booze.

I think I gained 3 pounds just talking about this!!

At Sea - Part 1

Welcome to the Viking Sun.  If you enlarge this picture, you may be able to see a circle around our window, deck 6 of 8 decks with cabins, port side, toward the front of the ship.

Today is the third of seven sea days in a row.  Viking does not want us to get bored, so they plan lots to do, or you can just do nothing, or you can do as little or as much as you want. One of Darrell's favorite thing is reading.

This is our cabin.  Darrell is in the "sitting room" with his back to the television.  You can see the curtain which can be closed to separate the bedroom, which also has a television.  Live coverage is limited to a few news stations, and even then, there are times when we cannot get any live coverage.  However, the television screen also provides us with weather, ship tracking, dining menus, music,
TV series (only 2 old ones,) lots of movie and documentary choices, TED Talks and repeats of all the lectures given on the ship.

Two of my favorite places are shown below.

This coffee machine makes espresso, latte
and cappuccino, regular or decaf.

There is always a jigsaw puzzle going.

Next post I will show you more of the ship.

Goodbye USA

On January 5 we left American soil, never to return for 4 months.  Once we left Los Angeles, our home was Norwegian "soil" since the ship is registered in Norway and flies the Norwegian flag.

Los Angeles was just as advertised.  Our bus tour was a drive thru of "famous" buildings and places where various famous people lived, starred and died and famous buildings which were featured in famous movies or TV series.  The morning was foggy, but it cleared up as we got farther from the shore.  It was never totally clear, so I asked our guide about it.  Was it from the fires, or fog or smog.  She denied that it was smog, but acknowledged that this was a typical day.  To me, it was hazy with limited distance visibility, but as a guide and LA resident, she must think that this is the what it is everywhere.

This was a last chance, using US dollars, for all the continuing passengers to stock up on anything they forgot, so a lot of people took advantage of the free shuttle bus to Long Beach where there are outlet stores.  The rest took a cab or Uber to go to the nearest Target.

We had visitors from the Viking LA office, travel agents, press, and the Viking Chairman, Torstein Haugen and his entourage on board both days we were in port.  We had a chance to say hello to him and have a nice conversation with Karina Haugen and her husband and to pet Finse, their dog. We had not met her husband before, but he was very nice and wanted to know all about the ship and any suggestions we had.

The Chairman gave a speech up on Deck 7 where everyone was huddled around the pool and decks and the WinterGarden for the food and drinks and Bon Voyage ceremony.  We were supposed to sail by 6:00, but were delayed to wait for passengers on delayed flights from the east coast.  As soon as it was fully dark there was a spectacular display of fireworks as a send off.

Now we have 7 straight days at sea.  I will try to get some pictures around the ship so you can see where we spend our time.

A Tale of Two Cities

Cabo San Lucas is a popular tourist area for the  rich and even for the not-so-rich.  The spectacular rock formations were right outside our window this morning.

Our boat, and the other two large cruise ships in town today transferred passengers to town in tenders, also known as lifeboats.  These are not the open boats of days past, but sturdy enclosed boats with seating for 200 people plus a sun deck for hearty souls.

Tourists flock to the area for sun, trinkets, parasailing, snorkeling, whale watching and sailing in an area teaming with hotels and souvenir shops of every variety.  New hotels are under construction everywhere.  English is spoken and US dollars are welcome.  Even though today was a national holiday (New Year's Day) the shops were open and inviting customers to spend, spend, spend.

We walked a short distance to our bus which whisked us through the city and out into the countryside.  Well, it would have whisked us, except there was a problem with the muffler, so we stopped and waited 45 minutes for a new bus to pick us up.

This is a desert with 10 inches of rain  per year.  It is so dry that all new hotels are required to have desalination equipment to provide water for all their uses.  We drove north along the sea of Magellan to the sleepy town of San Jose del Cabo with its picturesque church on the village square.  As we approached town, new construction blossomed up.  At this rate, it will soon be solid hotels and condos for the entire 35 minute drive.  However, today, a Sunday as well as a holiday, the town square was almost empty except for tour groups.  The square is being renovated.  Soon it will be covered with paving blocks dotted with flowers and trees.

 Restaurants and souvenir shops were open, but no one insisted that you come in and buy.  Browsing was OK, or even just sitting in the shade in the benches provided.  It was only 35 minutes away from Cabo San Lucas, but a world away in style.

The Altar of the Catholic Church

Outside the Church

City Hall (notice the lack of tourists)

Mexico is very Catholic.  I saw a manger scene in the church, outside of the church and in front of the city hall.

To balance it off, they also had a tall green, lighted Christmas tree in the city square!

Cloth and Jade and Many Miles

Darrell & I took separate tours again today.  My tour promised an indigenous village and textile factory."  The "many miles" comes in for both our tours, since the places we were going were about 2 hours long on small buses with poor suspension on rough roads.  Guatamala is a poor country, at least for most people.  My tour stopped at a country club for lunch.  The setting was breathtaking with views of volcanoes on both sides.  Many of the people who played there or stayed there flew in on their own jets or helicopters.  The "village" we visited had about 50,000 inhabitants in crowded looking buildings, all in bad repair.  When we could look into an open door at a little store, there was a narrow space, then floor to ceiling bars with a small window to pass out goods, all of which were displayed on a wall behind the bars.  The town inhabitants were mainly from one indigenous tribe.  The village laundry was a series of stone tubs on the town square.  The textile factory was a showroom where one woman showed how they wove beautiful cloth on a sort of loom.  They weave in such a way that the design is the same on both sides.  It could take more than 2 months to weave a piece of cloth.  There were 2 stories of booths where women were selling their goods.  Each stall was stacked floor to ceiling with goods.  There is no way that one woman could have made everything in her shop.,  I bought a couple of scarves, probably machine made, just because the 8-year-old girl was so cute and enthusiastic.  Her mother was couching her on the correct English words.

On our travel into the interior of the country we saw several volcanoes.  Some of them were spouting smoke or black clouds.  Very impressive!

 Darrell's bus by-passed the town of Antigua on the way to a jade showroom, where they got the real lowdown on jade, what it is, how it is worked, and more about it.  Guatemala is also famous for coffee.  According to them, the type of bean, which is the same type grown in Kauai, only grows at high altitudes and only in the shade of tall trees.  Most of the city was destroyed in an earthquake a couple hundred years ago, so all the buildings are architectural gems. surrounded by beautiful gardens.  Most of the church was also destroyed, but they saved the facade and built a new church onto it.




The central square, actually about 4 square blocks, was like a botanical garden with many beautiful plants and crowds of people escaping the heat of Guatemala City and vacationing in the cooler mountain areas.  There were the usual vendors selling local handicrafts.