21.02.2024 Oosterdam

After a wonderfully relaxing night in a very well-sprung bed, we went to the ninth floor for breakfast. We had a full day at sea ahead of us, as Puerto Montt was to be our first destination, in southern Chile. But first we had to get used to the fact that there was a lot of hustle and bustle around the eight breakfast distribution points. All the hungry passengers walked past the various stations and examined the offerings. And where there was something to suit your own taste, you stopped. People could take a lot of things themselves, but the waitress behind the counter was responsible for the hot portions of the food. Also at the salad bar and the ice cream dispenser.

At 10:00 a.m. we had our first tango lesson. A young couple, he Colombian and she Brazilian (Andrea and Victor), were supposed to accompany us on the trip for five hours of tango! In the first hour, the dance floor in the Rolling Stone Lounge was still suitable, but that would soon change. Victor was the typical South American macho man and spent more time on self-promotion than we were given for training. Little memories flashed back to us, after all, we had once attended a dance school about 10 years ago. So go ahead and practice! We then went to the fitness area at some point and worked on reducing calories there. But not that long, because we wanted to have our dinner on the Lido deck on time. Today the captain wanted to welcome us all to the main stage.

The theater was very full when the event began at 7:15 p.m. On the way there, many different members of the crew stood and greeted all visitors personally with a “Hello, how are you?” and of course there was a glass of sparkling wine (Prosecco?) for everyone. The captain, a relatively young Dutchman, welcomed us and introduced the most important members of his team. They actually just had to nod and disappear again until the final applause. The German chef we remembered most was the one we would meet repeatedly on the ship.

This welcome was followed by the only event we wanted to watch on the main stage, which was a guitar duo, The Incredible Guitars of Cecilia and Fernando. A married couple, he from Uruguay and she from Brazil, who are said to have won many prizes and presented their art here on stage. That was really, really great. When he then played “Arranjuez” (according to his own arrangement) on his 6-string guitar, it became very quiet in the hall! And the duo also showed us a four-hand performance of a difficult-to-play piece on a guitar! That was very impressive.

After the end of the event, all visitors joined the 24 learner drivers and stood in line while we were able to relax and walk to our cabin. It was almost 9 p.m., oh how late!