Our day today was supposed to start with a visit to Esperanza station - the Argentine Antarctic research station. The ship was supposed to sail through the Antarctic sound (also known as iceberg alley) and then arrive. The captain suggested getting up very early to see it. We set a wake up call for 7:00 - for us early. At 7 the alarm rang. Glen got up, turned up the heat (it was still very cold, and I turned on the voyage channel. There was the captain announcing that because of wind (force 9 - strong gale) it was too dangerous to go into the Sound (running into an iceberg can really ruin your day - unless of course, you're James Cameron) so we were going to stop number 2 of the day - Admiralty Bay to the Polish station. Apparently we had to drop off a couple of scientists and also pick up a couple. They were also hoping to get a couple of researchers to come on board to talk to us. We took advantage of the change to open the curtains a bit and go back to sleep, since the estimated arrival at Admiralty Bay was 9:30.
About 9:10, we headed to breakfast. While sitting there, our waiter pointed out something in the water - it looked like either a basketball or a ballon - I have no idea what it was, and I suspect I will never know. Our waiter thought it might be left over from the ship that sank last season. As good a guess as any.
As we were getting ready for breakfast, and as we ate we noticed the sip making some very sharp turns. The room was tilting quite a bit actually. I assume this was all to avoid ice.
Towards the end of breakfast, the captain came on again, and announced that due to wind, he couldn't get in to the bay, so plan b was scrapped. I have no idea where we're going, and I don't think he does either.
After breakfast, we grabbed our coats and did a lap of the promenade deck. It was windy, but we made it around the entire deck. Pretty much all there is to see is water, birds and ice. Lots of ice. We ran into the Indian woman we'd had lunch with, and she was very disappointed at not seeing the sights. I too am a bit disappointed on the one hand, but on the other hand this was always the risk, and this portion of the cruise is really about the experience. After our walk we got our Kindles and my slightly flaky laptop (keyboard gets stuck sometimes) and came up to the nightclub up at the top of the ship, or the shopping card handle as Glen calls it - look at the Star on the princess site to see why) where I'm writing this.
I'll finish later today, but at the moment, it's nice. Granted, we're not looking at spectacular glaciers or anything, but there's some thing very cool about just sailing around the southern ocean watching icebergs go by. I never in a million years thought I'd be doing this. (And if anyone from Starlite is reading this tell Desiree we practiced our foxtort routine and drills in Antarctica.).
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Around 2:30 the captain announced that we were on our way to Admiralty Bay. Woo hoo. Gorgeous mountains. We apparently picked up a couple of Bulgarian scientists to take back to Buenos Aires, and dropped off a couple more. We wandered around outside for a while, taking great pictures, and then went in for the Rumba lesson. Turns out I got the time wrong, and we got there at the end. According to the instructor, Ben, he was teaching "Cuban International Rumba". It's apparently a basic similar to salsa but slower. I googled around but couldn't find it, so if anyone knows what it is, let me know (I did see a you tube video of Cuban Rumba, but that wasn't what he showed me.)
The Polish station
Another picture
The boat bringing the scientists out.
One last picture for you.
We then had coffee in the cafe along with Carol. We then joined her and Eric, as well as Gayle and Anne (another CC couple) for trivia and did terribly. Oh well.
We then went back up to get ready for the Chef's Table dinner.
We met the maitre'd and a head waiter at the patisserie. We started by donning chef's jackets for a tour of the kitchen, given by the head chef. We saw the food lines, and the various stations. There are several galleys on the ship. The kitchen was very clean and busy. Our arrival time, we were told was just after the dinner rush. We learned about how they provision food; right now they're ordering for a pickup in Barbados, several months from now. It can be a challenge to get the right kind of food - for example cream cheese in South America is different than in the US. It's a very complicated operation and they can't always get exactly everything. For example, my table mate wants lemon for her water, and there seems to not be a single one on the ship.
The chef. Our friend took this picture. His photos aren't working on my computer, so pictures of the fabulous food will have to wait until we get home, or they send us pics by email. I'll post a note when I get some.
We were served champagne and hor's de ourves in the kitchen. While, I generally don't tell you what our meals were each day, I will make an exception here. We had Bleu Crab Salad with Avocado and Mango, Tartar of Beef on toast, Roast Potatoes with Fois Gras (and Glen actually ate it), and a fontana cheese mini quiche.
After that, we exited the kitchen, drawing a lot of attention from the people in the dining room, removed the robes and sat down at our beautifully set table. The meal consisted of Risotto with seafood, a bloody mary sorbet (tomato juice flavored sorbet in vodka - surprisingly good), and Roast Veal Shank and Rack Au Jus, flamed and carved tableside, with veggies and potatoes (and a Yorkshire pudding from the regular menu for those of us who asked). The courses were paired with an appropriate white and red wine, explained by the sommillier (a young gentleman who looks like he's about 12).
The final courses were a baked Camembert with Pinenuts, a port reductions and marmalade (OMG - that was so good) and an Amaretto Parfait in a blue bowl made of sugar, with a sugar spring to decorate. Think slinky. There was also a plate of small almond cookies.
It was an amazing experience - one I'd hoped to do since I first read about it a couple of years ago. At the end of the meal we were presented with a signed copy of the cookbook (we have one from 5 years ago, but it's an older edition, so hopefully different, with a copy of the menu in it.
We didn't bring our camera, but Rich and Joan did. Unfortunately, my laptop can't read their pictures, so I'll add them when I get home in a new post or something.
We came back to our room after than, and I've been working on the blog since. It's warm in the room so I have the door open. The sea is moderate but the wind is hovering between gale and strong gale (force 8 and 9). The wind is howling, and I can hear the furniture crashing around - I hope it will all be there in the morning. If not, it's not my problem - I didn't put it all out there.
So, I was hoping to get out again tonight, but given the amount of wine we drank and the time we first got up this morning, that's not going to happen. So, off to bed, and given the wind, I'm hoping we'll see what we're supposed to tomorrow. Stay tuned.
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