Happy New Year!
It’s been a pretty quiet week, and that is perfectly fine.
The new year started a lovely tour to Magdalena Island for the Penguins Natural Monument. Located within the Strait of Magellan, this little island is home to a lighthouse, a substantial colony of Magellanic penguins and a few other bird species. Due to conservation practices, visitors are permitted to stay on the island for only an hour, must stay within a roped path and observe other (common sense) rules such as do not feed or touch the birds. What a full hour! Penguins everywhere, and strangely, the gulls were just as fascinating. Proud parents of both species were protecting their chicks, and in one case, a mama gull was loudly squawking at all passersby to leave her eggs alone. Not sure why she chose to lay her eggs inches off the footpath, but who knows? We had some unbelievably sunny weather (which always helps!) and on the sail back saw whales, sea lions and leaping dolphins. As I was on the tour I was remembering how this was THE tour that everyone wanted to do the previous two seasons I sailed this itinerary. I had never been able to go as it was always full. How blessed I was to have the opportunity to go this time. Please enjoy a gallery of some of my visit.
As for the Gallery Bar, this is one of my favorite public spaces on the ship. When the ship is rocking and rolling, I like to head to a location low and midship to work. If I am working on personal projects, anywhere with easy background music is great. If I am using my work laptop, I need to be near an outlet as the battery power is about 30 seconds without power(!). There are not a lot of spaces that meet these criteria as cruise ships are generally not designed for people working remotely, but rather for folks on vacation.
Sometimes I go to one of the conference rooms if it looks like Catholic mass, bridge players, mahjong players or a private event is not occupying the room shortly. There are tables that are more ergonomically friendly here. But usually I head to the Gallery Bar. For those familiar with the Holland America Line Vista class ships (Noordam, Westerdam, Oosterdan & Zuiderdam - for the 4 points on the compass), the Gallery Bar has replaced the old Northern Lights disco. Because it is tucked away with no windows, people don’t tend to find it or they prefer a lounge with a view. The music is softer, the chairs comfy. The outlets are for European plugs, which this girl has. I reckon not many guests do, so no one is fighting me for a chair near an outlet.
This week I spent some time in both a conference room and the Gallery Bar. And you overhear things. The conference room was going to be used later that day for Friends of Bill W., which is the onboard meeting for members of Alcoholics Anonymous. A young woman came into the room, asked the three gentlemen playing cards if they knew what that meant, and the men explained. She had thought it was possibly a private group organized by someone named Bill W - this is not an uncommon perception, especially since the conference rooms are used for private events.
About 30 minutes before Friends of Bill W. was to meet, out of respect for members’ privacy, I relocated to the Gallery Bar. Working there, I could hear the alcohol-infused conversations of guests. I thought of several friends recently celebrating sobriety milestones on social media, and I thought of the meeting taking place a deck above me. And I thought, Bravo. Not easy.
Travel
Apart from heading out to Magdalena island, I had another hilarious, unprepared-for-the-rain shopping foray in Puerto Montt. But I netted myself a new fountain pen and some vintage tops.
Also, super progress on writing the Seabourn presentations. I have been going round and round on what I want my 6th presentation to be and I finally locked it in. Research and writing going swimmingly.
Before the holiday break, there was talk at work about the possibility of my representing the university on a trip to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This week it was confirmed that I would not be going. Part relieved (I have a lot on my plate already), part disappointed (a great opportunity to stretch myself).
Wellness Round Up
Nutrition: New Year's Ever dinner we celebrated in the Pinnacle Grill with a lovely dinner before heading up to the big party Lido poolside, where the penguin sculptures seemed festive.
Otherwise meals have been a mix of the usual venues. Some were either shared or only half eaten - a win for watching portions.
Breakfasts. Tried the turkey bacon. Ugh, Cardboard. Turkey sausage, however, is a winner.
Lunches and Dinners. Funny story. In ordering room service you can ask for a plate of steamed vegetables, which is great for increasing your veggie intake. You will most likely get carrots, beans and broccoli. This is great, but can get repetitive. We had the (we thought) brilliant idea of looking at what vegetable were being served with the mains and to ask for a plate of that vegetable on its own (no main). We ordered a side of roasted leeks and the gentlemen taking our order said "No problem." Dinner seemed to take longer than usual and when it arrived, we received a bowl of raw leeks. We laughed as something got lost along the way. I popped up to the Lido and grabbed us some roasted veggies and couscous. Last night, I tried ordering a main (chicken kiev) with extra of its veggie (asparagus) and it worked out beautifully. Now we (and you!) know.
Hydration: Gold star this week. No less than 72 oz/day; 104 oz three of the days.
Sleep: 7-8 hours nightly. I still wake up once a night due to body heat overheating, but from what I hear this could be, this is pretty mild. I’ll take it.
Stress: For me - all good.
When it is a tender port, I like to help out Shore Excursions with their dispatch. Tendering just adds that little extra layer of confusion for people, so being an extra body to help walk guests where they need to go not only helps me get some extra steps in, it helps reduce people’s stress. I overhear the guests’ grumbles, their ideas on how to make the process run smoother, their weather worries, their family squabbles. If I can help, I do. But largely I just try to put a happy, calm energy out there. I used to take these things personally and absorb the energy, but I’ve surprised myself on how it is now water on a duck’s back. One of the women on the Shore Excursions team is really good at this, and I think I have absorbed this from her. She heads on her well-deserved vacation soon; I will miss her.
Movement: Proud of myself on this front as well. Steps have ranged from 4,700 - 18,700.
I have made it to stretch class twice and, drum roll, please: I actually used the stationary bike and the treadmill. These may be no-brainers for some, but for me, I have always been super self conscious about the gym and using gym equipment (especially onboard). Tiny steps.
And the tiny habits still hold: squats and stair usage are still going strong.
~ ~ ~ ~
Today marks the end of the 22-day holiday cruise. We have two more 22-day cruises to do; my reflections on this itinerary are still percolating, more later.
In the meantime, it was fun to have folks onboard that we were not expecting, including the family of my friend and former colleague Rob. Rob and I had worked several contracts together as Entertainment Director and Cruise Director, respectively. Somehow, it always feels like an extension of your own family onboard when that happens.
Also, we have sailed with Chaz and Gary a few times - Chaz is from my home county, Marin, and, as a fellow performer, we have friends and several common references. Gary is a doctor and this cruise we figured out that he and Dirk sailed on the old Rotterdam together years ago. Small world. We met up a few times over the cruise, including some drinks in, you guessed it, the Gallery Bar.
Will find out over the next few days if we know someone on this next voyage. That's it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
Post updated August 17, 2024
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