South Pacific and Peru -- April 2015 -- Days 15, 16, 17 and 18

Day 15, April 17, 2015 … We’re cruising the South Pacific, heading northeast to Lima, Peru. There’s a strong headwind today, so it’s windy when outside; but the temperature is very comfortable. There was a mandatory lifeboat drill, after which I attended a cooking demonstration. The Italian and French chefs each prepared two dishes, bantering all the while.  It was interesting and informative … so now I suppose Bob is going to expect me to make Crepes Suzette and Crispy duck breast with orange sauce!!

Beer tasting, anyone?

Lunch, malts, a lecture on the adventures and discoveries of Captain Cook, beer tasting (by Bob), happy hour,  and enjoying the company of an extremely interesting gentleman born in France now living in California filled the afternoon. Bob and I had a romantic evening with dinner at the Red Ginger … shrimp spring rolls, duck and watermelon salad, seafood stir fry, sea bass, desserts, wine, tea and excellent service. A decadent culinary delight. And when else would we then chill out lying in bed drinking wine while watching two Hobbit movies!!! 

Day 16, April 18, 2015 … It is very windy out there today, with swells in the ocean up to eight feet. The temperature is cool, and the cloudy sky looks like it wants to rain.  Sometime during the night the ship crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, so we are again between that and the equator. We met Skip and Cheryl to do some photo shoots, but then we nixed it because of the weather and played Trivia Pursuit until lunch (we’re not any better at the game than we are at the ship’s afternoon trivia!!)

The afternoon was very relaxing with lunch, malts, the last lecture on Captain Cook’s adventures (can you see a pattern here???), a little time to read and happy hour. The other four went to a Moroccan cooking class, which they thoroughly enjoyed; then we all met for yet another scrumptious dinner at the Grand Dining Room.  And once again we enjoyed the entertainment of Ms. Carter and her violin. It has been another day of many laughs!!

Day 17, April 19, 2015 … 69F, Cloudy and 54 mile-per-hour winds out there this morning … yikes! But by the afternoon, though still cloudy, the wind died down considerably. The ship is all a buzz today as we near the end of our cruise … instructions on handling our luggage, times and places to disembark, pick up our passports (they’ve had them for safekeeping the entire trip) … plus talk of “where are you going” with others on board.  Some are spending a day or two in Lima, others off to Machu Pichu, and still others will remain aboard going through the Panama Canal and docking at several ports in Central America and along the US Eastern seaboard, disembarking in New York in early May! 

This morning we attended our last lecture, this time on the history of Lima and places to see.  Unfortunately our itinerary has no time for exploring Lima. After that I attended a demonstration on scarf tying … picked up many cute ideas!  After lunch we chilled out in our stateroom.  Bob’s fighting a little cold; and we learned that Skip has the flu, so we didn’t see them at all today.

The afternoon tea was a Gala event … four different ice sculptures; an eagle, swan and large castle made of chocolate; many different decadent sandwiches and desserts; chefs in their white aprons and tall hats greeting everyone; and, of course, the wonderful wait staff in their white jackets and gloves serving tea! Happy hour and another delicious dinner in the Grand Dining Room with Steve and Barb rounded out our day.  These are days of doing what you want, when you want, if you want and being waited on hand and foot … I’m going to miss it, but I’m also getting excited about the next leg of our adventure!

The Gala Afternoon Tea 

Aboard the Oceania Marina

Day 18, April 20, 2015 … Laundry!  The sun is out and it is quite pleasant. But we did receive very disappointing news … Skip and Cheryl have decided they need to fly home tomorrow, meaning they will miss out on our Amazon riverboat cruise.  It has been so wonderful traveling with them, and the next leg of our adventure will be very empty without them! 

Bob’s still not up to par, so while he naps, I’m packing all our things. One really nice thing about cruising is you unpack and simply live in your stateroom the entire time … unlike tours where you live out of the suitcase because you’re sleeping in a new place every night!   

Our last dinner on the ship … our last array of incredible appetizers and salads, our last lobster and jumbo shrimp entre, our last decadent dessert selection, our last good byes to great friends!  It’s been amazing … and now, with some trepidation, we go forward to yet another adventure.  I have no idea when there will be Internet service available again … but thanks for joining our meanding through the South Pacific ... and stay tuned as we continue our journey meandering through the Amazon River and Machu Pichu!