Day 114 – Sail the South Atlantic Ocean

Today begins the first of six sea days as we sail the South Atlantic Ocean. My main goals for these days are to watch many of the excellent lectures, enjoy the special culinary events, and bring the blog up to date. I am so far behind with the blog, so this will likely occupy much of my time.

Writing a blog while on a World Cruise can be a daunting job, but it’s one I still enjoy, even though it sometimes does feel like work. It’s often difficult to live in the moment and enjoy everything the ship and ports have to offer yet take the time to process photos and write about these same things. It’s a balancing act, and my sense of balance has never been the greatest! But, I’m still trying!

Tim and I started the morning with a lecture by Viking Resident Historian Dr. Caroline Malloy entitled "The Clotilda: Unexpected Discoveries.” I was somewhat familiar with the Clotilda, the last transatlantic slave ship that was recently found at the bottom of the Mobile River, but I knew nothing about the descendants of the captives. It was a fascinating story.

The Clotilda: Unexpected Discoveries

We followed that talk with another lecture by Russell Lee and learned all about “The Perplexing Puzzle of Navigation at Sea.” Russell explained why ships in the 1700s could not tell where they were going and how the problem was finally solved. I think I am still perplexed, however.

The Perplexing Puzzle of Navigation at Sea 

Lunch was another special event, a Fresh Pasta Station. Since pasta is one of my favorite foods, I really enjoyed the chefs’ creations. In addition to the pasta, Executive Pastry Chef Tushar presented a beautiful array of assorted flavors of panna cotta desserts. The mango was my favorite.

Fresh Pasta Station

Panna Cotta Desserts

Tim and I attended a galley tour this afternoon, where Executive Chef Alastair gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the ship’s many kitchens. He described the inner working of ordering food and preparing meals on a ship and explained his role in all of this. He admitted that one of his least favorite jobs is tasting all the food.

Executive Chef Alastair and the Galley Tour

We finished the day with the third of four lectures by Robin Binckes on “The Struggle for Freedom.” Tonight, he explained the events that led to the armed struggle to end Apartheid, including Angola’s involvement. The topic is a disturbing one, but Robin’s talks have helped me put into perspective some of what I saw in South Africa.

The Struggle for Freedom