January 15, 2022. 72°F/22°C

#myvikingstory

A Volcano near Tonga today caused tsunami warnings to be issued along the Pacific Coast of North and South America early in the morning, but they were quickly rescinded with – in the words of Captain Olaf in his noon report – “not even a splash” on our ship. It’s been a perfectly calm sea day as we proceed south approximately 26 miles (41 km) off the coast of the Baja Peninsula.

After waking from our meat comas, induced by last night’s tomahawk steak event, neither of us felt like breakfast this morning beyond juice and coffee.

By noon, though, I was drawn into “Bagel Day” in the World Café.

In addition to the option to “make your own” from a wide selection of bagels, cream and hard cheeses, cold meats, and vegetables there were also curated bagel sandwiches. The always helpful Sahal convinced me to try his favourite, the “ultimate” with a fried egg, cheese, guacamole, tomato, red onion, lettuce, and bacon. I know what you’re thinking, but despite the way it looks in this photo they’re SMALL bagels !!

Taking advantage of the glorious sunshine and calm waters, I spent the afternoon on the pool deck reading my latest Louise Penny Chief Inspector Gamache novel, while waiting for the Donna Leon Commissario Brunetti novel that I have on hold at the library (you may sense a theme here). If we were home in Ontario right now, in the freezing cold and semi-lockdown, I’d have spent the afternoon the same way, but I doubt that I’d have enjoyed it as much, or been drinking chardonnay of the same quality….and nobody would be bringing me sweet, perfectly ripe, chocolate-covered strawberries! (To be completely fair, Ted might occasionally bring me a Lowney’s Cherry Blossom.)

We rarely eat dinner in the World Café, but since Chef Thomas joined us in LA he’s been creating all kinds of special menus. Tonight’s theme was Hawaiian, so we stayed casual and tried it.

Hawaii may have been removed from our itinerary, but the food came on board! Suckling pig, taro cakes (with green tomato coulis, zucchini noodles, Swiss chard and Ali’i mushrooms), sautéed bok choy, luau tacos, and huli huli chicken were just the items we tried! There was so much more.

The entire hollowed out pineapple was filled with FRESH pina colada made with the freshly crushed pineapple, coconut water and rum; the hollowed out cap contained pineapple creme brûlée. Of course, there were also lots of other desserts, including pineapple upside-down cake and an incredibly delicious coconut blancmange.

Matt & Lainie returned to the Star Theater tonight for their final show, “Legends of Guitar!” featuring Matt’s guitar skills and Lainie’s vocals and dance moves. Tonight featured everything from Jimmy Hendrix and George Benson to Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and ended with Prince’s Purple Rain, but my favourite number of the evening was their rendition of Henry Mancini’s Two for the Road. I think the lyrics will explain why:

If you’re feeling fancy free
Come wander through the world with me
And any place we chance to be
Will be a rendez-vous
Two for the road
We’ll travel down the years
Collecting precious memories
Selecting souvenirs
And living life the way we please
In summertime the sun will shine
In winter we’ll drink summer wine
And everyday that you are mine
Will be a lovely day
As long as love still wears a smile
I know that we’ll be two for the road
And that’s a long, long while
As long as love still wears a smile
I know that we’ll be two for the road
And that’s a long, long while