Already I am refraining from sending too many clothes to the laundry. Several items (including a swimsuit, a rash guard and all underwear) will be tossed instead of packed, and for most other things I'd rather launder them at home. I knew that the temperatures north of La Paz, Mexico tomorrow would be considerably chillier and had kept out a couple of items I had worn in Europe, but I hadn't anticipated that even La Paz would only be in the high 60s. It may be time to pack away the shorts altogether and bring out a couple more long sleeved t-shirts.
Are all of you who are shoveling snow tonight feeling sorry for us yet? I didn't think so.
On a happier note, we are thrilled to be seeing our first signs of non-aviary wildlife. Yesterday and today it's been dolphins, sometimes in larger pods and other times just a few. The water is so clear that we can see them racing underwater and then breaking the surface in graceful arcs. I haven't yet seen any whales on their winter migration but I'm sure we will. We were in the area just a week later in January 2015 and we had all sorts of sightings. I can't wait.
We enjoyed breakfast in the Club Restaurant this morning and then parted ways. I went to the morning's craft session where we made lighthouse notecards and then, discovering the Promenade Deck was just too chilly, I sat up on protected Deck 9 near the hot tub in which G was soaking. We opted to skip a formal lunch, but, as he was in still in his swimsuit sitting next to me on a lounger, I brought him French fries. A cheeseburger without the bun. A slice of Virginia ham. A bowl of ice cream. I managed to eat a slice of pizza myself and bid him farewell to attend Christian Heim's lecture on the Secret to Happiness. One element of happiness is doing things for others and I figured I had that aced that for the day. ;-)
Sunrise viewed from the Panorama Terrace
I tried the Promenade Deck one more time, but simply couldn't stay out there wearing shorts, so I plugged in ear buds and went up to Deck 10 and walked while I listened to an audiobook, which is so much better for me anyway. Still, it was breezy up there and even that started feeling a tad chilly. Well, we enjoyed the warmth while it lasted (and won't have to wait too long to enjoy it again. Hawaii here we come!).
Tonight was our final Italian menu night of the season, and I enjoyed the last of a bottle of merlot and headwaiter Antonio's penne arrabiata. First though I had one of my favorite salads- mixed greens, sundried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese topped with balsamic vinaigrette. If I had been hungry enough, I would have had a second for dessert, but I wasn't and so instead enjoyed orange sorbet. I will miss Italian nights on the Pacific Princess perhaps more than any other menu.
Headwaiter (and friend) Antonio from Portugal preparing penne arrabiata
We managed to finish dinner in time for a spectacular sunset viewed from the Promenade Deck. There were several of us out there, all simultaneously remarking on the beautiful sunset and complaining bitterly about the cold. We tolerated the cold as long as we could to view the after-sunset that kept getting better and better, and then went into the Cabaret Lounge to get good seats for tonight's production show, What the World Needs Now. The interesting thing about the World Cruise compared to the several others we did previously on the Pacific Princess is that our fellow passengers are getting to the Cabaret Lounge 30 to 45 minutes before every show, armed with books and iPads and Kindles. Our days of wandering in five minutes before a show starts and snagging great seats are over. That was one of the things we most liked about the Pacific Princess, that there was never a need to arrive for a show as early as on the larger ships. I think this change is just something that's inherent to the World Cruise.
We move clocks back another hour tonight and will be on MST for our stop in La Paz. The current map of the ship's location on TV now shows cities we are well familiar with in the southern US. In view of all the traveling we've done this season, we are very nearly home.
Life is good. :-)