In the middle of nowhere

We’re on day three of eight sea days in a row; between Perth/ Fremantle and Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately it has been calm and lovely on the water so far. So, there are no pictures — nothing to see but water. One woman here did have about a hundred pictures of water and they were nice but I’ll spare you looking at mine. Most of them anyway.

So, what does one do for eight sea days in a row you may be wondering. And I was wondering, too, before I came aboard. I was actually worried that I wouldn’t have enough to do. That is not the case, however, and most people here would agree that they are quite busy on sea days, no matter how many.

Yesterday, for example, we ate our usual leisurely breakfast and visited with both crew members and fellow passengers. We learned more about the lovely woman who just brings what she already knows we want when she sees us sit down. We were able to talk to our friends, who insist on sitting on the deck outside no matter how cold or windy, because the crew had absolutely blocked that possibility for the morning. We talked to the Indian chef who makes the omelets when it finally occurred to me that he might make us an Indian omelet and sure enough he was thrilled at the request. Tomorrow, we planned.

Then Dale and I both prepared for the Bible studies which we lead. Dale set his computer up with the state of the art equipment provided in the private dining room which his group uses and I arranged the chairs in the public dining room which our group uses. The crew is wonderfully accommodating in providing venues for whatever we want.

When the study had concluded and several of us had visited for a few minutes I stopped by the puzzle table on my way out. I didn’t intend to stay but a friend was there and I got drawn in and it’s such a nice place to meet people so there went an hour.

Lunch was a social event, as always. It is nice to get to visit for as long as you like with whoever you see without having had to make a plan or cook the meal. We often eat with Bob and Brenda and many times at a big table with others or just with someone different instead. (The night before we had visited until it felt like bed time, got up to leave, and noticed some new friends nearby so we sat down with them for another hour. It is continually hard to believe, for all of us, that after 3 months on this ship we are still meeting people who we are sure we have not laid eyes on before. We had just met this couple two days before, and, yes, they have been on the ship all three months although we had never seen each other before and interestingly they live in our development in Mesa, about three blocks from us!)

After lunch and a few minutes of reading my book (which I sometimes use as filler between laundry loads because one must be punctual in unloading the machines lest an unpleasant scene occurs in the laundry room), I headed downstairs to the atrium where the general noise is a nice background, someone will come around asking you what you’d like to drink, there are tables of the proper height on which to work, and people come and go and talk with you, and spent the afternoon working on a plan for our next Bible study segment.

Since we had a reservation at one of the specialty restaurants we dressed for dinner, used the ships equipment to print some documents, and then enjoyed a fancy and delicious Asian inspired meal. It always seems like bed time when these meals are over because they are long and large so we usually forgo the evening’s entertainment in favor of a good night’s sleep.

Today Dale was up and out before I got up and so he had his Indian omelet alone. He said it was great so I had one, too, when I got there and the chef smiled proudly as he handed it to me. I suspect that ours were the first ones he had been asked to make.

Being Sunday, there was church at 9:30 in the theatre. Our cruise director, Heather, provides the service on her own time and initiative. I doubt if there are similar services on the other Viking ships. There are usually about 150 to 200 people in attendance from a wide range of backgrounds and it is quite different from any church we have ever attended but it is a welcome opportunity to worship God together and often to pray together for people we all care about; fellow passengers who are injured or sick and the crew and passengers on our sister ship in their recent emergency.

I popped in to the puzzle again this morning but didn’t stay long. Sometimes the group there is so intent on puzzling that there is no conversation possible and, that being the case, I read instead.

Lunch was planned and in The Restaurant — my first time there for lunch. Actually there are several places and events which I haven’t experienced here on the ship and I keep telling myself that I should do them all since I’ve already paid for them. We ate with new friends with whom we have interests in common and enjoyed their company and learning about their experiences. One of the great things about this cruise is meeting so many people whose lives have been so very different from ours!

Later in the afternoon we joined some friends for a delightful seventieth birthday party. It began with some funny videos of the honoree and then an amazing hour during which he both played a Beethoven sonata and taught us about it as only a true music scholar could. It was better than my music appreciation course in college!

Dinner followed in one of the private dining rooms where we were all given wise sayings, mostly from the Buddha, and lawyer jokes, since our friend is a barrister, to read aloud. Then he treated us to a quiz based on our shared experiences on board and we laughed until we cried. This being together 24/7 really does create a bond, it was remarked, very like living in a college dorm. The conversation included many stories handed down by family members of our European friends about WWII and was a reminder to us Americans of how different is our perception of that war. I think the conversation could have gone on all night but finally someone remarked that the crew needed to be done for the evening so we adjourned — the birthday having been memorably celebrated.

Sea days, you see, are full and fun and above all great opportunities to cement friendships.