An early night tonight due to an early morning tomorrow. But this morning we had the opportunity to sleep in some. We were both up around 8am, however. We went to Horizon Court for breakfast and sat with a nice young man from California. I had two eggs over easy, toast, hash browns, pineapple, and bread&butter pudding. (And skim milk.) Had to get food for energy for our hike!
Our guide took us along the coast on a very uneven, rocky, undulating trail. It was scenic. And despite my camera telling me the batteries were dead, I managed to squeeze out all of the shots I wanted for the day. (I swapped places for the batteries and that seemed to help.) I had done so well the night before getting my purse ready for the hike, then deciding to switch to my fanny pack. And remembered everything EXCEPT extra batteries, knowing full well it was running low! Stupid me.
The start of the hike. Scenic & coastal!
The trail was rough-going. We were given a water bottle & granola bar. We ate the granola bar at the turn-around point. Poor mom wasn’t sure she was going to make it, but she did. She’s a trooper. We had a lady in our group who was wearing flip flops, though the rest of us were in gym shoes. She didn’t have any troubles, she said. Good on her.
The only supports for the hike were cactus & acacia – we avoided those at all costs!
Mom and I on the return part of the hike, grateful we’d survived thus far.
We got a bit behind the pack toward the end!
We returned to our starting point, then went a little further on to a secluded beach. We removed our shoes & socks and walked the length of the beach, relishing the warm sand and water on our tired feet. We reached the bar where we were promised a refreshing beverage. The only beverage that would refresh me was ice water, and they obliged. Mom was sad to discover the beverage wasn’t alcoholic (unless you wanted to pay the difference) so she settled on diet Coke. We chatted with a couple from Montreal (the flip-flop lady and her husband.) They were also surprised by the intensity of the walk, and they are seasoned Princess Cruisers.
At port, the ship gets an anchor repaint. (It had been quite rusty when we left the ship for our hike, but was pristine white afterward.)
Originally we had pondered going shopping after the hike, but we decided on lunch then spa/swimming. It was nearing 3 when we returned, so we decided on a lighter lunch from the International Cafe. I had a small prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich and some Greek salad. Mom had roasted veggies and a shrimp salad. She liked my Greek salad so much, she sent me up to get more. Then the magical Milk and Cookie lady showed up and gave us milk and a cookie. I had peanut butter, mom had oatmeal raisin. Both very tasty. I also decided on a fruit tart, too.
We started in the spa on our ceramic sofas, then I also went into the sauna and the eucalyptus steam room. Next, swimming and sunning. Later I went to check the time and saw that Judi and Elsa were in one of the jacuzzis. They had a nice time on their tour. We arranged to have supper at the Da Vinci at 7pm.
A little after 6, we returned to our stateroom to change for supper. Then decided to head down early for more shopping. They were having a 2-fer $20 t-shirt sale on shirts for our different destinations. We both wound up buying 2 shirts. Then mom and I were curious to know how our bills were going… So they printed them off at the main desk. And we discovered a discrepancy. A phone charge (for $69.30!!) from a direct call made the day we arrived. But at 7am!!! I spent more time in line and then talked with Karla from Peru about the discrepancy and I hope she can get that refunded!
We got into the dining room a few minutes later than originally intended. The theme for the night was Italian. I had eggplant Parmesan for appetizer, chilled peach soup as my soup/salad, and veal scallopine for the main. All was very tasty. I finished with the chocolate mousse on cake (the Love Boat special) which was also yummy.
Although we were late for the start, we made our way to the Explorer’s club to hear the Polonia Quartet perform some classical pieces, including opera tunes. It turns out that Mike, the man in charge of the quartet and the lead violin, is the orchestra leader for an opera in Poland. His wife, Anna, plays the other violin. I had thought there were 3 violins and a cello, but the other was a viola. Terrific music. Blue Danube, Carmen, the Can Can, etc.
The ship at night.
Mom & Elsa headed for their rooms while Judi and I explored (looking for the promised leis, which we never found. Maybe she was successful at getting lei’ed after I went back to my stateroom). Now I’m here finishing up while mom sleeps. Sleep sounds good, I think I’ll give it a try, too.
On our very first cruise, we had an expensive phone call charged to the room before we had even boarded the ship, but it was no problem to have it erased. All our bills since then have been depressingly accurate; I’d love it if they forgot to charge us for something once in a while. 😉