(Today’s Chronicle can be found here.)
We’d planned to head to sleep immediately after last night’s dinner at La Dame, but it did not quite work out that way. Our daughter forgot one of the fundamental rules of wearing jewellry, taking her necklace off in the bathroom and promptly dropping the pendant down the sink.
I call up to reception, and they promptly dispatch a maintenance worker – Harris – who kindly disassembles the sink’s trap and extracts the pendant. Thank you, Harris!
The sea state dies down as promised by Jamie, and we’re able to get a better rest overnight – but still not enough to make breakfast in the morning. Instead I head up to La Terrazza and build a plate filled with corn flakes, pastries and berries and bring that back for the kids. After my wife woke up, we head up to Panorama for coffee, tea and pastries. It’s a nice, relaxing morning.
We eventually return to the children, and we go through their usual routine of homework and “walkies” as we’re calling them now.
While up on deck we spotted the spectacled petrel:
The expedition staff tells us that we will see much more bird life as we approach the Tristan group.
Meanwhile, I’m dashing up and down to deal with laundry – it’s been much easier this leg, but still requires some careful timing. I do manage to run two loads in rapid succession, however, which brings us back to Laundry Zero.
12:30 pm, which means it’s time for our destination lunch with the expedition staff to discuss the South Pacific. We’ve already booked our next expedition voyage from Papeete to Valparaiso in October on the Cloud, but figure we’ll ask about best practices in terms of excursions and so on.
Unsurprisingly, snorkelling is top favourite for that part of the world. We should also be prepared for some of the landings to be challenging – particularly Pitcairn and Rapa Nui.
It’s also nice to chat with some of the other guests. We share some details on our favourite places to visit, as well as our pre- and post- plans for the South Pacific trip – Moorea and the Atacama, respectively. We also learn about the Travelers’ Century Club, which you can join once you’ve visited 100 countries and territories. We might actually be close once we’ve finished the coming year’s travels.
Off to golf putting, where our son once more designs a fiendishly difficult course. (Which I sadly forget to photograph – but it involved bridges, curves, and false loops.) Today’s event is done as a team event, with no limit on the number of shots one can take to sink a ball. Our team won, but it’s surprisingly close!
Midway, my wife and daughter went off for a knot tying workshop:
It went well but apparently stirred up some long-buried knot-related trauma for some of the couples on the ship, particularly those who had gone sailing together. Be forewarned!
We then have the chance to join chief engineer Antonello for a private tour of the engine control room. No photos allowed, unfortunately! Though the kids are fascinated to hear what the engineering team is looking for in the outside cameras in terms of differences in the wake, or changes to the exhaust that would indicate problems with the engines. Black smoke indicates poor combustion of fuel, whereas white smoke would signify a significant problem with the engine.
We also have a chance to flip through the engineering log, which includes all maintenance calls – including the one made last night to fish a certain necklace out of a certain sink!
Off to expedition trivia, which is quite challenging – though they do offer a “phone a friend” option in which you can call upon an expedition guide for assistance. We ask Jess for assistance, who knows that Sir Ernest Shackleton’s middle name was Henry.
We are not closest when it comes to estimating the wingspan of the wandering albatross, or in drawing a map of the Falkland islands but still come third overall.
Off to Sam’s lecture on the volcanic origins of Tristan da Cunha:
Then it’s time to get dressed for dinner and head to briefings and recaps:
Jamie reiterates that our odds of making landfall on Tristan da Cunha seem slim, but they will do their utmost to make it happen if possible. This is further complicated by the wind coming from the north – one potential option may include moving the Wind to the south of the island and operating from there.
Kevin then provides a recap of the wildlife spotted that day:
This included the Tristan albatross, the southern albatross, and the spectacled petrel.
Then off to the Venetian Society cocktail party:
Several people are fortunate enough to reach the 100 days necessary for free laundry. The couple with the most days has roughly 860 days. We definitely get the sense that this is a cruise favoured by more seasoned Silverseas travellers – further evidenced by the limited use of the laundry room. No complaints here, though!
The captain comes down to hand over certificates and congratulate the Venetian members. He jokes that while many new crew initially prefer classic cruises, they often settle on expedition cruises – once they’ve spent all their money in classic itinerary ports. Not a problem on expedition cruises, as there’s nowhere to spend money even if you wanted to!
Off to dinner at the Restaurant where we are joined by expedition guides Matt and Jess. Jess is quite pleased to have won a week of premium internet for coming up with the new name for the combined mess for officers and crew – the Silver Spoon.
(Condolences to Igor who – as some might recall from last leg – also put in numerous thoughtful suggestions for the name of the new mess.)
Neither Matt nor Jess has landed on Tristan before, so couldn’t weigh in on our prospects of landing in two times – but they would very much like to if possible.
Another fantastic meal comes and goes, and it’s soon time to call an end to our third sea day enroute to Tristan da Cunha.