World cruising has to mean two equator crossings, so two
visits from Neptune! The second one will be tomorrow near Bitung, so there’ll
be partying and shenanigans all over again tomorrow. Wonder if we get another one of those most
prestigious Equator crossing certificates, or maybe that’s for first timers
only ;)
It’s warm now and became sunny later on, but the rain was
heavy and relentless since we woke up today to mid-afternoon. The slightly cooler feeling that rain has brought
us has meant we could walk around the deck feeling quite comfortable (and
occasionally drenched when the route under the lifeboats was interrupted). So
we did 9 laps this morning and another 3 this evening.
So a lovely sociable day was had by both of us today, sitting
for longer at breakfast and lunch, meeting new people, along with some we had
met before, chatting to Easa outside of art, and then again in art producing a
beautiful portrait of “man with dreadlocks”.
Tomorrow we are at sea again, one more day before Bitung on
the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The
immigration officials are on board checking passports and issuing group visas
so hopefully we will be allowed out!
The Captain tells us we have covered 18835 miles already. I
honestly can’t imagine that. I look at
the map, and can see it, but I can’t really believe it.
His nautical nugget today explained the term “waster”
– the word used to describe the person who was consigned to work in the waste
of the ship, i.e. someone who is less able.
“Wasters” became the butt of the jokes made by the more able. They were often put to work in the galley. However
the Captain assured us that anyone working in the galley could wreak havoc if
they wanted and could easily get their own back on anyone giving them any abuse
via the food!
Just one request for now. Let our memory stay clear and sharp so that all of this
stays in our mind forever and we can tap back into it any time. Bye for now xx
