Today was our second day crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Brazil.
I woke around 7 am this morning, and after taking a shower, I took my Kindle and went to the pool on deck 9 at the back of the ship. I sat on a reclining chair next to the pool before getting myself a coffee. I sat by the pool reading my Kindle until around 8 am when the pool opened. I went for a swim, got myself another coffee, and sat by the pool, reading my Kindle until around 9:30 am.
At 10 am, I joined Gail, and we both went to the spa for what was supposed to be a seminar on using algae to soothe muscles and aid pain. It ended up being a 5-minute sales pitch for us to buy the algae and to pay for some treatments that they offered. I was also told that because my leg had open wounds on it, they could not offer me any treatment anyway. It had been a complete waste of time, and I left feeling very disappointed that they hadn't even given us much information about the treatments.
At lunchtime, I sat alone at a table right by the door to the restaurant entrance. It was a horrible place to sit, and I didn't sit there again. For lunch, I had a tomato stuffed with tuna for my starter, followed by spaghetti with clams. For my main meal, I had terrible lamb chops, and I didn't eat them all because of the fat and gristle on them. As I looked at the bones, gristle, and fat on the plate, I thought of Rosa as a vegan, and I was glad she hadn't seen the meal I had left on my plate. The dessert was probably the best part of the meal. It was a white chocolate cheesecake.
After dinner, I went back to my cabin for a siesta. After my siesta, I decided I would go to the gym and use the cycle machine. Rosa had told me the best time to go was early afternoon as it was quieter then. I knew the gym was near the Spa on deck 10, so I went to look for it. As I approached the spa, I saw a muscle-bound man turn through a doorway. I assumed he must be going to the gym, so I followed him through the door. The door led through to a quiet private bar and then out to the deck of the ship. I went onto the deck and then spent around an hour walking around the ship, looking for the gym. I went up and down different sets of stairs looking for it but never found it.
After I walked past a netball court, I walked down a flight of stairs and found a jacuzzi near a flume ride. I gave up looking for the gym and sat in the jacuzzi to read my Kindle instead. A man from Germany soon joined me, and we sat talking for a while until I left to go back to the pool at the back of the ship on deck 9. I got myself a pint and sat reading my Kindle until around 3 pm, when I went back to my cabin for a shower.
At 3:45 pm, I went to the Palatino Grand bar for a quiz. It was based on Hangman and was hilarious. As the compere drew the dashes for the word or words, before they even gave a clue, someone would run across the stage to sit in the chair you had to be in to answer and give the answer. There were five or six games, and in all but one of the games, the answer was given by the first person to the chair before a clue was ever given.
At 4:30 pm, part two of the trivia game that had begun yesterday started. I again joined Mal, Keith, and Regina, but once again, Mal´s competitive drive, lack of knowledge, and the fact that he ignored everybody else when writing answers spoiled the quiz for me.
After the quiz, I took my Kindle through to the piano bar and got myself a pint. I sat reading and listening to music until 7 pm, when I walked to the restaurant for dinner. Ann, Mal, Rosa, Keith, Regina, and I were joined by Darrel tonight, who had joined the ship in Tenerife. Mals' eyes jumped out of his head, and he obviously fancied Darrel. We all sat chatting over dinner and introduced ourselves to our new dinner companion. For my dinner, I had tomato soup, grilled beef with chips for my main meal and a banana and caramel cake for my dessert.
When I left the restaurant I got a pint before joining Gail, Dwight and Tess for the ´Sapori d´Italia´show in the theatre. The show was terrible; it was supposed to show off Italian art, but there seemed to be no link between the different acts. The dancers pranced around in different costumes, which didn't seem to have any link to the art they were showing off and distracted me from the outstanding singer.
After the show, I went to the Moliere lounge for a drink and to listen to the band. Ann and Rosa joined me, and we chatted until the show finished. During the show, I told Rosa about my attempt to find the gym this morning. I don't think she believed I had been, but she explained where I had gone wrong. When I had followed the muscular man, I should have gone in the opposite direction. I guess he must have been leaving the gym, not going to it.
After the show, Rosa went back to her cabin, and Ann and I went through to the disco and chatted while we watched the people dancing until around 2 am.
Photos from day 7 of my holiday and day 2 crossing the Atlantic.