At Sea around Cuba and Haiti

Yesterday, the Captain announced that around 6 this morning we’d be off the coast of Cuba and then a bit later off Haiti.  Always up for an adventure, Barbara set her alarm for 5:30 AM. I wouldn’t say we bounded out of bed, but we were on the observation deck (10) before dawn peering across about 5 miles of Caribbean Sea to the lights twinkling on the Cuban coast. It was kind of surreal. My photo attempt was a miserable failure, but the memory burns brightly. We walked around to other side of ship to watch the dawn color the sky pinks and blues and occasional golds as it climbed over the horizon. THEN, we headed down to breakfast - an excellent meal, but the Omelets line was too long, may be later in the cruise. 

Wide awake, we settled in the Explorer’s Club to chat, debated having a coffee (I miss Sir Samuel’s) then just visited. Barbara left for her Kitchen Tour and I stayed to knit on her shawl. I so want to finish this as she has several times mentioned that she did not bring her black sweater and this shawl would be perfect, plus it’s her birthday gift! I listened to my latest Dirk Pitt novel and knitted, so wrapped up in each that I jumped when Barbara tapped me on my shoulder!

Her Kitchen Tour was fun; she came back loved with interesting bits of trivia and fats about the ship and the ways food is processed here. I am always astounded at the simultaneous flexibility and rigidity of cruise ship kitchens, which must mass produce excellent meals wile pandering to individual tastes and health issues. 

We opted for a sandwich in our room and a brief power nap before heading down to the Beer Sampling. Our “teacher” was Fritz, the Crow’s Nest bartender from Explorer’s Club. charming, funny and knowledgeable. (Note: Fritz is from The Philippines, not Venus; the lighting in the bar was funky!) He ran the 30 of us in attendance through a tasting of 4 beers available on board. Having never attended a beer sampling before, I expected a shot or two of each to taste, nope; each of us had a half pint to sample. The first was awful: some kind of Amstel that left a bitter taste on the back of my tongue. The second was Lagunita, a much mellower one that was my favorite. the third was Blue Moon, which was my second favorite. The final was Funky Buddha, an IPA that tasted like carnations smell! YUCK!! Fritz gave be a bottle of Lagunita to take back to the cabin as a prize! I learned that Sam Adams Utopia is the strongest beer made in America at 27% alcohol and some Scottish beer that cost 200 British pounds is the world’s strongest at 65%!!!! 

After the sampling ended, Barbara was chatting with her neighbor on her other side. I happened to mention that she lived in Texas. The man’s wife asked where and the fun began - turns out they ALL live in the same development but different neighborhoods!! Rodrigo and Anna shared contact information with B and promised they will keep in touch when they return. I hope we see them again on this cruise as they were delightful, plus it makes me feel good knowing Barbara has another contact in her new home town. Rodrigo is a contractor with nearly 30 years’ experience in the San Antonio area. 

Back in our cabin, to stow my beer prize, we realized we were passing Haiti. (We have the ship’s navigation chart on the tv.) Out to our balcony we went and snapped a few shots of that nation’s coast, less than 2 miles away!

After dinner, we planned on attending with BB King’s Allstars or the Music Trivia, but kind of nodded off. Then we tried to watch the movie VICE about Dick Cheney but were completely turned off by the tone, so switched to Helen Mirren’s delightfully entertaining The Hundred Foot Journey, I now want to read the novel by Morais. After which, we read and slept.

Another good day and tomorrow we tour Aruba.

Random thought for this day: I wonder how many shades, tints, hues of blue exist. The ocean must contain them all.