ABC Islands visit Part II

                           Visiting the ABC Islands

Part II

Sunday, December 22, 2024- At Sea off Cuba’s Coast

        We were up early  at 6 A.M. It was cloudy, humid and 64 degrees out. We hit the gym on deck 12. There were already a crowd of walkers, runners and cyclers using the machines. The first two days of a cruise are always like this. People are determined to work off all of the calories they had ingested the day before. After that, the place empties out.  Using the reclining cycle, I watched the sun rise over the Atlantic. The seas were a light chop, with rollers at 3-5 feet. The great ship was steaming south and east towards Aruba at a heady 19 knots.

      After the gym, we visited the deck 14 cafeteria that we affectionately called the “slop chute.” The eggs Florentine and fresh lox were quite good. The coffee was superb. We idled there for a time watching the ebb and flow of passengers. Some folks were packing in the carbs. 

      Nine thirty found us  on deck four. An hour presentation of “Art in the last thirty thousand years” was wonderful. The presenter was well versed in just about every field of artistic endeavor. The decks were filling up with passengers looking for things to do. We retreated to our cabin and read for a few hours on our balcony.

      Late that afternoon, we got to watch the Bills squeak one out over the Patriots 24-21. The boys looked a little shakey playing a much weaker team. We enjoyed cocktails on the balcony, watching the sun set over Cuba, just 18 miles off shore. We had been fortunate enough to visit there some years ago. The land is beautiful, the people friendly. But the infrastructure is falling down around their ears.

     Dinner again found us at the Deck 4 “OPUS” restaurant. A glass of Pinot Noir, Escargot and a midling broiled salmon, followed by apple pie were a decent repast. Out on deck, the winds were picking up and the seas roughening, as we sailed by the southeast tip of Cuba, headed some 1,100 miles for Aruba. We retired early to read and end the day.

Monday, December 23, 2024- At Sea – off the Dominican Republic

         We arose later this morning at 7 A.M. It was 80 degrees, windy, cloudy and humid out. We hit the deck 12 gym for an hour workout, enjoying the vista out over the Atlantic. A pretty dedicated crowd of exercisers were going at it, full tilt.

         After the gym, we stopped by the “slop chute” on deck 14 for breakfast. Idling over great coffee, eggs Florentine and lox, we enjoyed the comings and goings of passengers. Some were solitary, some were noisy families, all engaged in waking up to face the day.

         The Deck 15 sky lounge was a refuge to read for an hour or so. By 10 A.M, a crowd had gathered for a “Trivia Contest.” We did okay on general knowledge questions, but registered in the “stupid” category for popular television programs. We haven’t watched prime time t.v. in over thirty years and knew nothing about most of the shows mentioned. A heavy rain squall spattered the windows around us as the great ship steamed on.

        We repaired to our cabin to read. I was reading Nelson De Mille’s “Mayday.” We skipped lunch and settled for cheeses and crackers with late afternoon drinks on the balcony. The seas were choppy and the skies grey and cloudy. It was a comfortable routine that we were settling into.

         Dinner again found us at the “Opus.” A glass of Pinot Noir led into a wonderful butternut squash soup. It was followed by a delicious Branzino fish over fennel and spinach. A light tiramisu finished off the meal. We resolved to keep hitting the gym as much as possible. A brief visit topside reveled a very humid, warm and windy temps. We retired to read and end the day. The Buffalo News had been kind enough to run my “Christmas Article” in their “My View Column” today.