November 28, 2017

    Today was another Sea Day - #3. We are in the Pacific Ocean going to Manta, Ecuador. We are cruising along the western coast of Columbia. This morning there was a light rain and it was windy, but a warm 78 F. The captain noted in his daily announcement that the ocean surface temperature is almost as warm as the air temperature.  We took over 120 pictures, yesterday, that we sorted and posted some to yesterday’s blog.
   We joined Breta, Kevin, Theresa and Peter, who are from Ireland for a leisurely dining room breakfast. Larry was invited to join some casual bridge players, who share the same meeting place as a group of 20 contact bridge players with their own cards, table covers and score cards.
   The first presentation of the day was given by Dr. David Roberts about the American effort to build the Panama Canal which was finally opened in 1914. We missed the last few minutes to go to a loyalty club Wine Tasting, where we sat with, an American, South African and a Brazilian couple. We sampled two white wines – Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay and two red wines – Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. There was 15 minutes to walk a few circuits before the second presentation about the Volcanoes of Ecuador by Doug Field.  The mountains along the western coasts of the Americas are called the Cordillera.  They are formed by the tectonic plates crashing together and in places creating volcanoes.  There are 44 volcanoes in the tiny country of Ecuador.
   We finally had time to have lunch in the Oceanview Café around 1:15 pm.  There was a Mexican theme for today. We walked some more circuits on Deck 11 and climbed the 16 stairs up to the rear part this Deck 12 and at the front of the ship the 24 stairs to the bow area of Deck 12.  There is no midsection of deck 12.  One circuit of the two decks is about 720 steps that can be walked in about six minutes. The staircases from Deck 3 to Deck 10 have 130 stairs and another 16 to get to Deck 11.  The sky was overcast with a hint of blue sky, but the wind was so strong that it pushed us when we were walking to the back of the ship and we were leaning into the wind when we walked to the front of the ship. Steps 8572. 
    There was Afternoon Tea in the Oceanview Café at 3:30 to 4:30 with a nice variety of five bitesize sandwiches, scones (accompanied by whipped cream and strawberry or blackberry jam) and an assortment of desserts and cookies.  There were about two dozen scattered around the 450-seat restaurant.  We walked another few circuits and chatted with Jan and Doug then went to the stateroom to read.
   For dinner, we had the table by the window looking out the back of the ship.  It was the usual group, Betty & Warren, Jan & Doug and Lynn & Phil.  The appetizers were crab cake, cream of broccoli soup and a pear and lettuce salad.  The entrées were Roasted Pork Loin and Cajun Spiced Drum Fish. We picked from the “favourites” section of the dessert menu – New York cheesecake and Crème Brulé.  Benjamin speeded the service so that we were finished by 6:50 in time to get seats for the 7 p.m. show.
  Celebrity Theatre show was singer, Jesse Hamilton, who sang tunes from different genres. When we returned to our stateroom there was a letter and a Peruvian Customs Form.  We were asked to complete the form and return it the day before we arrive in Lima, Peru, as part of the procedures for clearing the passengers to enter Peru.  It was just a one page form.
   There were no photos today.
  About 9 p.m. the ship cruised from the Columbian coast to along the coast of the Republic of Ecuador.  The country’s name comes from its location on the equator. 

Final steps for the day 12,796

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