December 08, 2008 – At Sea

As we’re nearing the Equator the mornings are getting much hotter and more humid. As we were making our morning deck walk we saw a lot of masked boobies flying around the ship and diving for fish. The ship scares up flying fish which scoot over the waves and occasionally a boobie would catch a fish in flight. The day went along quietly with bridge lessons and Pooch games. At around 3:00 we stopped off shore at Fortaleza to pick up Brazilian immigration officers who will clear the ship when we depart from Belem. The boat that brought the Brazilians to the ship also took 2 crew members to shore. It seems the two guys got in a fist fight the night before in the crew bar and there is a no tolerance policy about that. They get their final pay minus the airfare for the flight home and are out of a job. At 5:00 there was a caipirinha party on the pool deck with the drinks made by Terry Breen and served by ship’s officers, including the Captain. We had dinner with 2 couples we’ve known from the LCT board and were again late for the show so we retired to the Navigator lounge for after dinner drinks and conversation.