03 August 2010; At Sea.

03 August 2010; At Sea.

This was our second day at sea and I was mind boggled by the weather. Smooth seas, with only a gentle breeze. Later on it went up to just wind force four which is still very good for this area. Reasonable to good visibility; all the reason to be very happy with the state of affairs as they are developing. The chance of fog is bothering me as all the coming sightseeing depends on it. So I am hoping for the best. I made my announcement today, laying out the plans for the coming days. After departure Longyearbyen we will go to Barentzburg, which is located in a small fjord to the south West of Longyearbyen. This side step is not in the brochure or in the HAL planning, but I have the time, so why not. It works out that I can do it between the two sittings and before the show starts, so no irate cruise director who sees his planning going up in smoke. Nor will it affect the bingo so I will live another day on that one. The next day we have the planned visit to Magdalena fjord, which looks a little bit like Glacier Bay although the landscape has different colors. Here I need good visibility and if it is foggy I might still be able to do the call in the afternoon. In between we will go north to find the North Pole ice. The Norwegian Ice charts are indicating that the ice is about 100 miles North of Spitsbergen and that I can reach easily within the current schedule. So I sent all the guests to bed with the request to say a little prayer.

As this is the mid cruise sea day it meant that we had the regular functions that go with the cruise. This time a Luncheon for the suite guests and those who do a back to back cruise, that means an Indonesian luncheon, in the form of a sort of mini Rijst tafel party. For those in the know; Rijst tafel is this elaborate Indonesian dish, with up to 30 side dishes, that is basically more of a social event that just dinner. Going through it all might take all evening with good conversation and the joys of eclectic table company. That does not work on a ship ofcourse, due to the time constraints. So what happens on board is that we condense the full Rijst tafel in an appetizer (Gado Gado), a soup (Soto Ajam) and a main course with two meats, nasi (rice), pisang goring, with a few condiments. For the later I do have to explain that the red stuff (sambal) is really hot as it is made from crushed red peppers. It gives everybody a flavor of what delights the Indonesian kitchen can deliver. The dining stewards dress in Batik shirts for this occasion. Batik patterns vary from island to island and some times also from region to region on the island. So instead of the regular-all the same- company uniform, every steward wears something with a totally different pattern.

Normally we have another Indonesian day in the Lido, although it is less pressing here as the port side of the Lido has a hot station where each day at least three “Far Eastern” dishes are available. A treat that goes down very well with our well traveled guests here on board. Although the daily bread pudding does attract a lot of attention as well.

So tomorrow we will be in Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen or Svalbard as the Norwegians call it. Spitsbergen is the Dutch name that is used by the Russians as well, who have a great influence in this area. I will be arriving off the dock around 7 am, although the linesmen will not be available until 07.45 as per local agent. However past experience has shown that that it makes sense to be early, as the port, being in full summer swing, is know to be congested and all sorts of things tend to happen then. Not the least little yachts that try to dock at the same time as we want to go alongside. So I will be early and hover off the dock until we see movement.

Again the weather looks good. Little wind, overcast with the chance of a little drizzle on arrival, followed by clearing skies and sun coming through in the afternoon. The latter will be good for a nice sail away.