Wanderung 26

Bob:

Having an "At Sea" day was a blessing as we were trying to catch up on our email, exercise, journal writing, letter writing, and all the other miscellaneous details of mundane existence. Before breakfast, we went out onto the deck to get some beautiful pictures of the sunrise.

After breakfast we walked 4 miles on deck. Walking on deck is almost always pleasant for us as we can feel the wind and watch the waves. While cruising along a coast as we were at that time, we can also check out what's happening on the shoreline. And last but not least, we can look for marine wildlife of any kind, although spotting something as ephemeral as a whale's spout is quite a challenge.

We were pleased to find that morning that Monika also qualified for free Internet time on the ship's computers. Given how expensive the ship's Internet was, that free time was worth over $ 150 in value and gave us plenty of time to keep up with our email during the month. So we signed in and tried to answer folks who had responded to our last mailing. The service was slow and balky, however, and eventually we quit in order to attend the port lecture on Auckland.

The lecturer was once again full of helpful hints, and we were reassured to find that we would be docking right next to the Hilton in the middle of downtown Auckland, as it really doesn't get any more convenient than that! I was busy writing down all the pertinent information: I certainly wanted to see the Maritime Museum there because I had missed it last time, and I was intrigued about sailing an America's Cup racer until I found out it would cost $160 NZ. If we had had any of the "Sailing Wagners" along with us, they could have shepherded us along and we would have had a blast, but with just the two of us it didn't seem worth it. Instead, we considered either ferry rides out to the islands in the harbor or maybe visiting a beach after the Maritime Museum.

After a quick snack I gave my suggestions for activities to the cruise director's staff: a photo board where passengers could post their best photographs each day, sing-alongs of popular songs with easy-to-sing refrains or choruses, and photography classes tailored to the difficulties of taking pictures on a cruise ship. Much to my surprise, the latter two ideas were adopted by the photography and entertainment staff.

Monika had continued on to the Pop Choir practice, and I joined her as soon as I had submitted all my ideas. I was late but still able to participate in the practice for all but the very first song. Once again, we were having to do this entirely by ear, and I was deeply disturbed by not having any sheet music, particularly as we were singing harmonies and I had to try to keep on either the melody line or the harmony line, depending on the song. Watching exactly how those lines differ on the sheet music helps resolve in my head what I have to do, and otherwise I felt myself floundering, which is a very uncomfortable state for me. Still, it was fun.

In the afternoon we started trying to catch up on letters, post cards, and journal writing. Monika took some time off for Zumba exercise, and I should have kept writing but just fell asleep for an hour instead. Sigh. Then it was time to go back out on the deck for some beautiful sunset pictures.

Afterwards it was time for another pleasant dinner with the folks, after which we listened to another performance of the male singer in the Vista Lounge followed by some singing by our choir director in the Crooner's Bar. That was fun but we still didn't make it much past 9:00 p.m. before retiring to our cabin to read, write, and finish up the day.