One Day from Barbados

At sea there really isn't that much to relate but I'll try and hope you are not bored with the days activities.

We are getting near the Carribean area so it becomes more likely we will run into rain at some time soon. Let's hope it does not show up tomorrow as we are going on a tour billed as "The Best of Barbados".

But back to today. This morning we had our second life boat drill which is mandated by international maritime law to be held every 30 days. Since this cruise barely exceeds this it was a requirement. Earlier in the morning our toilet stopped flushing. We discovered the whole ship was experiencing the same problem. Toilets on ships are designed for low water useage and do not use water to wash away debris, but rather debris is sucked out by a vacuum system. They lost suction somehow but were able to restore normal functions within two hours or so. Thought you would like to know, Heather.

This afternoon I went to the Culinary Arts Center which is the ship's fancy name for a demonstration kitchen. The Chef in charge of the Lido Restaurant prepared two dishes common to his home in Czechoslovakia. One was a very tasty soup made with sauerkraut, grated potatoes and smoked sausage. The other was pan-fried thinly sliced pork tenderloin covered with a thickish coating made with grated potato, egg and a little flour, Did not get a taste of it, but it looked good.

Immediately afterward, in the auditorium, the Captain talked for an hour about the history of Holland America and how the cruise industry developed after the airlines replaced the passenger ships. He also mentioned the loss of the Prinsendam in the Aleutian area. An oil line feeding the ship's boiler burst and started a fire in the engine room they could not extinguish and had to abandon the ship. There were 200 or 300 passengers - all which were older folks. They were picked up by helicopters and a passing oil tanker. Holland America called each passenger after they got home to see how the evacuation was handled. The only complaint they received was from one passenger who complained there was no orange juice on her lifeboat. I recorded this lecture with my video camera and hope it turned out OK.

I uploaded a few of my bird pictures but ran into trouble. Not sure if it is the internet connection or Picasa that is at fault.