January 3, 2018
Today is the final Sea Day (number 11) for our cruise. Passengers picked up their passports which were surrendered on the day we boarded the ship. The ship looks after the immigration and customs process for the different countries at the entry and exit ports.
This morning’s temperature was 18°C, the sun was shining and there is a 27 km per hour wind. We walked for an hour before breakfast on Deck 3. Steps 7919
Gabreila Roldan’s lecture, this morning, was called “Argentina Not Just Gauchos and a Massive Debt”. The name Argentina is derived from the Spanish word for silver. In the 19th century, Argentina fought wars against Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia. We watched it in the evening when it was rebroadcast on the ship’s TV station. Instead of going to the lecture, we joined Jan & Doug and Violet & Jerry in the MIX bar to play the Five Crowns card game. We checked the Antarctica maps in the Crow’s Nest Lounge, on Deck 9, and found that one map finally had the route of the ship marked for the time in Antarctica. The wind and waves got stronger during the morning.
We attended the Mariner Society Luncheon in the dining room hosted by the captain, Christopher Norman and the Hotel Director, Francois Birarda. It was for the passengers who have sailed one to five cruises with Holland America. Our table of ten, had Australians and Americans on their second Holland America cruise, we were the only ones on their fourth voyage.
After lunch, we attended Bonnie’s final port talk about Buenos Aires and the excursions that the ship offers to see the city and the country around it.
Following Bonnie’s talk was Dr. Margaret Bradshaw’s presentation called “Field Living and Travelling in Extremes: A Personal Story”. She spoke about her 40 years as a geologist studying the rocks of Antarctica and some of her expeditions there.
The highest temperature we saw today was 22°C
The dress code for the dining room this evening is Gala Attire. It was probably the last dinner of our group of 8; since Joyce & Shin and Violet & Jerry are scheduled to take an eight-hour excursion to Colonia Del Sacramento, which Is the oldest city in Uruguay and since 1995 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and returns after 5:30 p.m. It takes 2.5 hours to get from Montevideo to Colonia Del Sacramento.
Violet & Jerry observed dozens of dolphins which surrounded the ship shortly after 3 pm and seemed to make a game of keeping pace with the ship at a speed of 20 Knots (or about 35 km per hour.) They kept pace for about 10 minutes. There was a special menu for this evening. We chose Pineapple Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and Thai Chicken & Rice Soup to start. We each chose Filet Mignon and Lobster Ravioli with roasted potato wedges and asparagus as the main dish. Dessert choices were Coconut & Lime Soufflé and Linzer Torte.
The entertainment this evening is a combination show featuring Luke Burrage, the juggler and Francisco Yglesia, the harpist. Luke Burrage was first and performed different juggling than his first show and showed a video, to which he played the piano and sang, showing him juggling all over the world. Francisco Yglesia, played, with the Zaandam orchestra, his amplified harp. It has a different sound than a non-amplified harp not one that we liked.
Each evening when we return to our stateroom the bed sheets have been turned down and an animal or bird has been created from towels by our room Steward.
Steps 11,846
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