Day 62 & 63 - At Sea A Rolling We Will Go

Hi Everyone!

I hope this finds you well & beginning to get festive with family & friends & all the people who are important in your life! Things are going well at sea, well, relatively! I am still struggling to ditch this sinus cold & yesterday had me find a migraine! Joy! Anyhow, it's gone now & I am pleased to say today is much better than the past few days have been.

A relatively lazy day, I slept in, watched a bit of telly - Michael Buble was on Glenn Beck. Darn, he's so sexxy! :o) Even Jaco enjoys his music! I managed to edit a few photos & made a couple of pre-Christmas phone calls. It is sometimes difficult to get a line out on Christmas Day, as everyone on the ship is trying to call home too!

The ship is much smaller than the other ships I've been on, so you feel the motion much more. I quite enjoy the rocking feeling. Especially at night... You feel just like a baby, all tucked in under the covers & gently being swayed to sleep. For those of you turning green at the thought of it, relax! It's not that bad! You know, I find it interesting that when people first started flying, they used a lot of 'sick bags'. Nowadays, it's quite rare to find people who need them. People's belief systems have expanded to include flying as a 'safe' method of travel. I think it's the same for ships, not boats. But, they do say, EVERYONE gets seasick. It's just a matter of when & some people take a little longer. What can you do? (Well, plenty, but I'll leave it at that!)

Last night was formal night again. Jaco had to do the wave & I managed to sneak down just to catch the tail end of it. I was fighting with my hair, as I don't have my hair dryer 'approved' yet, so I can't use it. You have to have all your electrical appliances tested in order to reduce the risk of a fire onboard. Anyhow, my ponytail is getting a lot of use these days! :o) After the Captain's speech, we visited with the Captain & his wife. Quite an interesting story. They didn't actually meet onboard! Who would've thought?!? They met in Italy 30+ years ago when she was holidaying there. He pursued her, she thought the distance would never work. Looks like it has! They have children in Okotoks & although she visits Italy, they make their home in Saskatoon, SK!

We decided to go out for dinner again & we went with Tracey, the Senior Nurse & Bernardt, First Purser Food & Beverage. We enjoyed plenty of laughs & wonderful conversation. It was a great night!

Tomorrow is yet another sea day & then finally we will see land. Although we won't be stopping! It's only scenic cruising & then a few (4) days later we will finally be stopping in Easter Island. I am very, very, VERY excited to visit & see the massive statues that lie there.

I've attached a photo of Augustine & the Christmas tree he found for Jaco & I. He is such a sweetie! (Jaco, too!) :o) He found the tree & asked us if we would like a little tree for our cabin. I said of course! Augustine disappeared & later returned with decorations & everything! He carefully decorated the tree & since the base of the tree was broken, he stuffed it into a glass. He even went so far as to decorate the glass with wrapping paper to ensure it was 'complete'. What a Superstar! Thanks Augustine!

The rest of the photos are from my diving buddy, Greg Parker, the Pharmacist from California. I am really excited that he shared his photos with me! I didn't get any underwater ones, so this is fantastic! Enjoy them!

Much love & hugs to you!
Merry Christmas!
xxxx
Maria & Jaco

Augustine & the wonderful Christmas Tree he decorated. He wasn't finished at this point! He added tinsel & more decorations & of course, the 'skirt' for the base! Bless his heart!

These B&W fishies were super cute & tiny! The must've been about an inch or maybe 1.5"... Little!

Yours truly before I descended to the depths below!

Apres-dive! Success!

Even fish go to school! :o)

Look closely at the centre of the photo... Lemon Shark. 9-10'. It swam RIGHT past me! SCARY!!! BIG TEETH!!!

I love the little yellow fishies!

Note the purple coral & the colourful shades of the clams!

Check out the anenome in the mid-left of the photo. It's orange, if that helps! Whoop! They suck themselves in so fast!

More colourful clams!

Don't ask me of the names - some of them are a 6-banded something or other.

Pretty, pretty!

Stingray! Straight ahead!

Stingray & fishies... and some guy.

Wonderfully warm water & beautiful fish, stingray & sunshine. Perfection!

Friendly fish!