Feb 1 – At Sea Persian Gulf-Straits of Hormuz-Gulf of Oman. Heading back out to the Indian Ocean area called the Arabian Sea. Next stop Mormugao (Goa), India. Pretty typical day at sea today. The string duo from the Explorer's Lounge will do one show this evening. I hear them in the lounge so I probably won't go. Lots of new faces on the ship. I think 150 got off in Dubai and 280 got on so there are 130 more people on the ship. That makes it just about full. Things were more crowded this morning at breakfast and dinner in the dining room was pretty full. Seems like many of the people who got on are Dutch and, unlike most of the Dutch already on board, they don't seem to speak much English. I don't mind that but it makes it hard to get to know them. We just nod and smile at each other.
I finished up Dubai and titled all my photos so I'm even. When we get to India we will be in three ports in three days and they're all new ports for us. I'll be way behind by the time we have another sea day. Should be interesting.
The entertainers this evening are Adagio. They usually perform in the Explorer's Lounge every evening so I've heard them up close and personal. We decided to skip the show.
Feb 2 – At Sea Aribian Sea of the Indian Ocean. The time difference between the ship and the USA meant that the Super Bowl would be live at 4am. Rather than make us stay up, they recorded it and are repaying it at Noon today or almost midnight in Texas. I say almost because the time zone in India is 30 minutes off from most of the rest of the world. Right now it's 22:57 CST in Texas and the time here is 10:27 Mumbai time. Not sure why they did that.
Just finished watching the Super Bowl. All I was hoping for was a good game because I'm not a fan or either team. That being said, I wouldn't have been disappointed if New England lost because of their shady past, Spygate, Deflategate and who knows what other gates they didn't get caught doing. I rarely agree with Chris Collingsworth about much but his comment that the call on the goal line was "inexplicable" is hard to disagree with. Lynch and Wilson, both proven runners, have one yard to go and two plays to do it and Pete calls a short yardage, over the middle pass. Yikes!! A dive play by Lynch or play action bootleg by Wilson, if you want to get tricky, fine; but when it doesn't work out be ready to take the heat. Oh well, like I said, I had no dog in the fight.
Our entertainer this evening was Gary Arbuthnot, a flautist from Northern Ireland. We've seen him before and always like his show so we went and were thoroughly entertained again.
Feb 3 – At Sea Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean.
I have mentioned my daily routine for meals many times so I thought you might like to see my typical breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast hardly ever varies unless I'm feeling exceptionally hungry. In that case, I add one egg Stanley (Eggs Benedict made with crab instead of ham), to the ham, onion and cheese omelet, apricots and prunes I have every day. I don't even have to speak to the omelet guy, when he sees me coming he just starts my omelet. Lunch is a sushi appetizer and rice bowl usually split half and half on top and varies depending on what they are stir-frying that day. Dinner is the meal that varies the most. I try to order things I've never eaten, things I rarely find in the USA or things that can be found in the USA but are not really good. An example of the latter would be lamb. On the ship I really like the lamb, chops, shank, whatever. For some reason in the USA the lamb does not have the same flavor. Maybe it's psychological, but either way it's true for me.
Today the Portuguese/Brazilian documentary film crew visited our Interdenominational Devotional. The title of the documentary is The Meaning of Life. Whether that's a working title or the release title, I'm not sure. They filmed the entire meeting and I'm sure that 99.5 or 100% of the various scenes will wind up on the cutting room floor, or more accurately the 'bit bucket' would be more appropriate for the digital era. The director, Miguel Gonçalves Mendes, also made 'José & Pilar' a documentary about the life of the only Portuguese Nobel-laureate, José Saramago and his wife, Pilar del Rio. It was the first documentary ever nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category. They've been aboard since Rotterdam and will be getting off in Cochin, India, the first port established in India by a European power. The Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama was the first European to successfully navigate from Europe to India. Appropriate because the subject of the documentary is also Portuguese.
Actually it's a bit of a sad story. The man who is the subject of the documentary is a Brazilian who has a genetic liver disease that came to Brazil with the Portuguese. So far it is both untreatable and terminal. He is in his 20's and realizes he has not much time left. His search for 'The Meaning of Life' is the source of the film's title. They will travel around the world emphasizing areas where the Portuguese have had a major influence. Starting in Brazil they worked their way to the USA and then to Portugal. They boarded the Rotterdam because it was going to Lisbon and on to India where they will get off. While on the ship they are interviewing people and taping events that could hold the key to discovering the meaning of life. Filming should be done next year and should debut sometime in 2017. I hope I remember to look for it.
Our entertainer this evening was Tomono Kawamura a concert pianist. We've seen her before and she is always excellent. I have never seen her fail to get a standing ovation and tonight was no exception. Outstanding!
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