What We Did Last Night:
Not much else going on today so I thought I would give you some info about the port the Captain just cancelled and we cruised past last night. I did the research prior to leaving on this cruise.
Historical/Background Info:
The Falkland Islands are a British colony and about its only claim to fame was the Falkland’s War, 33 years ago in April. Argentina has always disputed who actually owns the islands. Of course Argentina says they are part of Argentina, so they invaded the islands to take them back from the British. The war lasted a couple of months and resulted in the deaths of 200 or so British soldiers and over 600 Argentine soldiers. Of course the British prevailed. The islands were heavily mined and some still remain today so not a good place to take a hike off the beaten paths.
There are 5000 inhabitants in Stanley with just a few other fishing and farming villages. Over a half million sheep are raised here for wool and meat. There is no place for cruise ships to dock here so it is another tender operation. Regent does this South America cruise every year and rarely do they find the weather acceptable for tendering people ashore. In 2012 the winds were 40 knots and our anchor was being dragged across the ocean floor so the Captain ordered the anchor lifted and off we went. Total waste of time as is the usual case. This year we have the propulsion problem. We really did not care if we stopped here or not. There are many passengers who are NOT happy with the way this cruise segment is going.
What We Did Today:
Usual room service breakfast at 8:30 followed my time online. At 11:00 we went to fitness center to workout. Another piece of equipment, a stationary bike, is not working. No inop sign on so I plus 4 other people got on it and found out hard way. No excuse for that! I sent "nasty gram" to reception desk about it. We will be docked in Buenos Aires for 3 days so rep for the manufacturer could fly down and check the broken treadmill and bike out, have the necessary parts flown down day two, and fix them on day 3. I am betting nothing will happen or change. Ok, enough bitching!
Theme for lunch up on pool deck was Spanish BBQ. They have buffet outside but too cold to eat out there so I take food inside to La Veranda. Problem is the food out there is hard to keep hot. I gave Mirjana, head sommelier, a bottle of our "good" champagne to have chilled and available in the Horizon Lounge this evening. We have invited Lauren, one of the dancers whom we have know for a couple of years, and Micah, the female lead singer who is from Ft Worth, to join us for cocktails and dinner tonight. I think they will enjoy the champagne!
It is now 2:30 pm and I think the ocean is a bit smoother now then it was earlier this morning. The wind is 25 knots and temperature up to 57F. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be warm enough again to sit out on our balcony. During the Captain's noon PA he said we may have some rain showers tomorrow. He also said there have been no new cases of the gastro-intestinal bug during last 24 hours. So we are hoping it has been eradicated and things can get back to normal. Kind of a pain that there are no salt and pepper shakers on the tables.
At 6:00 this evening there is another "James Bond Special Cocktail Event". We went last time so probably not going to this one. Lauren and Micah have to work this event so they will meet us afterwards in the Horizon Lounge. The show tonight at 9:30 will feature a new entertainer who just came aboard in Ushuaia. Rachael Russel is a soprano from the United Kingdom.
We enjoy spending most of our sea days just relaxing in our suite while watching FOX News on tv. Sure am glad we get free laundry service as all the self-service laundry rooms have been closed ever since the GI bug hit. I bet a lot of people are not happy about that. My mother's 88th birthday is tomorrow so will give her a call.
No comments:
Post a Comment