World Cruise - Day 52 - Mar 4 - At Sea

No sunrise photo this morning due to a combination of a few things: 1) sunrise is earlier as we get further north and based on where we are within a time zone (5:56a sunrise this morning); 2) my camera is fogging up due to the high humidity of the area, since we’re close to the equator; 3) getting my beauty sleep (I slept in until 6:30a).

Pete, we have heard some trivia questions repeated during the voyage or slightly varied.  I guess there are only so many trivia questions out there.  One of the couples playing on the first segment was outstanding at trivia and then we learned that they were the longest cruisers (with something like 2,000 days cruising) of anyone onboard and they always go to trivia.  So they’ve heard most of the questions before.  That said, it does take a special skill to recall the answer from a trivia game a year or two (or three) ago.  I have to write them down for the blog or I would forget most of them by the time I got to my cabin.

We could see land off in the distance off the starboard side of the ship from our balcony this morning.  So we are probably somewhere between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

Here is a pic of the navigational map up on the pool deck showing our course for this portion of this segment:

…and here is our current relative position indicated by the white ship at the end of the line extending out from Australia (our actual route since Cairns):

That second photo isn’t as clear, since I took it from the TV down by the Purser’s desk which shows our current route and position.  So we are still about 10 degrees south of the equator.  It’s really hot today and very humid.  Off to Zumba.

Wai is almost unbeatable in ping pong now that he and James now have their new paddles.  I lost to him 21-17 in the final.  Dan and I were discussing strategy and we’re not sure how we can beat him.  Dan and I played Wai and James in doubles and lost two games to one.  They were close games and we’re pretty evenly matched in doubles, although I think I was a liability to Dan—in doubles you focus more on keeping the ball in play rather than trying for the put away shot.  I missed several shots that I should have simply kept in play.  But we still had lots of fun playing.

Just back from trivia.  I’m pumped—I got an answer to a question that no one else in the room was able to answer and I was 100% sure of the answer:  What is the name of a programming language that is also the name of a snake?  Python.  Brandon will be thinking, “That’s easy, everyone knows that.”  Yes, if you’re a computer science major.  But keep in mind the demographics in the room.  I’m one of the youngest onboard and most passengers have been retired for awhile and Python came out pretty recently.  There was a guy at another table that used to be a programmer, but he had never heard of Python.  So the ultimate in trivia is to get an answer that no other team in the room was able to answer, since it puts you +1 against the rest of the field.  But…we still lost, oh well, 11 out of 20, winners had 14.  Other interesting questions:  What US First Lady had a home she called Valkill?  Eleanor Roosevelt.  What tree bark once used medicinally is now more known as a seasoning?  Cinnamon.  What is the upper age limit for enlisting in the US Army—26, 35 or 42?  42 (we put 35).  What European nation has, on average, the tallest people in the world?  Netherlands (we put Norway).  What US State has Ancient Great Serpent Mount?  Ohio (we put Arizona).  Sacramento Monarchs are part of what professional sports league?  WNBA (we put NHL).  What animal attacked Napolean Bonaparte on his wedding night in bed?  Dog (we put a cat).  Which country is furthest north—Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania?  Estonia.  The chicken is the official bird of which New England state?  Rhode Island.  Which age range is more likely to sleepwalk—under 12, 18-30 or 40+?  Under 12.  What Vancouver Island city has a chocolate topped layered dessert square?  Nanaimo (we put Victoria).  What organ has the sagacious gland?  Skin (we put tongue).  What one name author wrote Push, the story of Precious?  Sapphire (we had no idea).  Which presidential campaign used the slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid”?  Bill Clinton.

Sunday Brunch was held again today.  We didn’t have it last week due to Sydney, it’s only on Sunday sea days.  Quite a spread again and great incentive to work hard at Zumba in the morning.

We won at afternoon trivia.  Actually, we tied with one other team at 17 out of 20, then we both had the same answer on the tiebreaker, so we all got carabineers.  Here was the tiebreaker question:  How long is it estimated that it takes plastic to decompose?  Both teams put 1,000 years.  The answer is 50,000 years, so not even close, but both were the same, so we got the prize.  It’s been awhile since we’ve won.  The prizes are things like magnet clips, lanyards, LED lights, stuff like that.  Maybe cost $1/each?  Yet highly prized in trivia.  Questions we missed:  What country is home to the headquarters for Bang and Olafson?  Denmark (we said Sweden).  What Peanuts character did Marcie call sir?  Peppermint Pattie (we said Charlie Brown).  What did Amerigo Vespuci give his crew to prevent scurvy—was it lemons, pickles or peppers?  Pickles (we said lemons).  Other tough questions we got:  Mozambique is on which coast of Africa—north, south, east or west?  East.  What is the ailment conjunctivitis more commonly known as?  Pink eye.  What skill do you possess if you can bend a spoon without touching it?  Telekinesis.  Whose dresses netted over three million dollars in a 1997 auction?  Princess Diana.  What is the antonym of antonym?  Synonym.  At what sporting event do you find an Octagon Girl?  Ultimate Fighting Championship.  What number does MDXIV represent?  1514.  Sempra fidelis means what?  Always faithful.

Tonight’s show was Latin and Spanish guitarist Vincenzo Martinelli:

Tomorrow is sea day #3 of 5 on our way to Guam.