Around the World in 128 Days -Two Not So Good Nights and Something New

 Travel Day 26 - January 28, 2024 - 12,515 steps

The new should be obvious, a new look to the blog. The reason was, I was using an old Blogger template and it was taking so much time to change the font and font size. Not sure if this is the one, but will go with it for a while. Also changed my wording for the title of the daily posts since "Another Sea Day" doesn't mean much as far as what is in the post. Bored Bob.

The big smile on the server at the buffet section I frequent in the mornings belies the somewhat sleepless nights most everyone on board experienced last night.

The reason was the famous Tehuanos, winds that were 70 miles per hour creating 15 foot waves that had the ship rocking and rolling along with the occasional jarring bounce accompanied with ominous sounds. In the morning I asked Linda how she slept. Her answer, "I usually sleep on my side but the ship was moving so much I kept rolling over to my back or stomach. Finally I laid on my back with my arms spread out and hands flat on the bed. No more rocking one way or the other and I got back to sleep." Did I marry smart or not!

Below is an excerpt from an article Linda found on the internet that gives a brief explanation of what the Tehuanos is. I won't say anything if you skip reading it.

Tehuantepecers or Tehuanos are extreme winds produced in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, blowing south through Chivela Pass, the mountain gap across the isthmus, from the Gulf of Mexico into the Pacific Ocean. They are the result of the complex interaction between large-scale meteorological conditions and local orographic forcings around Chivela Pass, and occur mainly in winter months due to cold air damming in the wake of cold fronts that reach as far south as the Bay of Campeche. Even though the name refers mostly to the intense mountain gap outflow, Tehuantepecer episodes can also generate other localized extreme wind conditions across the region, such as downslope windstorms and hydraulic jumps, which are strong turbulent flows that have a direct effect on the Pacific side of the isthmus and the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

No photos of the waves since it all happened in the dark of the night, here is what the ocean looked like during the day today. What a difference it was.

I was try to take a photo of the serving bowl of muesli. I think I need to restrict my photographic endeavors to later in the day after a night of not much sleep.

Coffee with Kimberly (the cruise Director) featured the Chief Engineer and Chief Staff Engineer this morning. She is a great interviewer and when the session is over you know a great deal more about what it takes to make the Zuiderdam the ship it is. 

That's Ms. Linda in the front row on the right side.

This new exercise regime of greatly increasing the number of steps each day is working great. The only drawback is find that in order to keep my energy level up, more fuel, i.e. food, is needed to maintain that energy level.  Hard to eat as much as required but I'm doing my best. Bad Bob.

Swan towel tonight.

Swan from the other side. Notice how much the angle of the light in the first photo made for a better photo.

Tonight's sunset. Not nearly as awesome as last night, but definitely worth a photo.

The second not so good thing mentioned in the today's title. When you look up the entertainers YouTube videos, find he has posted only two and doesn't allow comments it doesn't take a genius to realize he may be, to be kind, less than scintillating.

When have to have an animation on the big screen behind you to get even a few people in the audience to clap as you sing maybe you need to rethink your material at the very least. At least the songs he "sang" were mostly familiar Neil Sedaka hits.

No encore, just a hurried departure after the last song. He apparently has two more shows coming up, one with Paul Anka songs and the other with Carole King songs. We'll likely go just to see how *** they are. The Flyrights he ain't.