DAY 22---AT SEA ENROUTE TO POLYNESIA

                                     

Our position at noon today (Saturday).  It is cloudy and 80 degrees but still getting a nice ride.  We will have another day at sea tomorrow before arriving at Fakarava on Monday.

YESTERDAY EVENING, (FRIDAY)

                                        

One of our friends, Mary Pat Silberman, was celebrating her birthday tonight.  The staff did a good job decorating her table.  We were not invited but that's ok.

I loved this chicken & goose liver parfait  with fig-cranberry jam.  So I had two orders of it.

         We both enjoyed the miso glazed salmon as our entrees.  No desserts for me.

        After dinner we retired to the suite as they were showing a movie, "A Streetcar Named Desire", tonight in the theater so we headed back to our suite after dinner.  We are having to move our clocks back another hour tonight, 3rd night in a row, so as to be on Polynesia time in two days.  The crew loves it as they get an extra night's sleep.    

        When I got back to the suite I found the internet working great so stayed up and added all the remaining Easter Island photos with captions, below.  Still in bed by 10:30.

EASTER ISLAND PHOTOS TAKEN WEDNESDAY

OK, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO CLICK ON THESE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY THEM MORE, JUST FORGET IT AND GO TO NEXT POST.  THESE ARE UNIQUE PHOTOS AND A ONCE IN A LIFT TIME EXPERIENCE.  DOUBT MOST OF YOU WILL NEVER VISIT EASTER ISLAND.  TAKE SOME TIME TO EXPERIENCE WHAT WE DID!  WE LOVED THIS EXPERIENCE!!

The United States paid to have these moai dug up and placed back on the platform at the national park.  Our guide said Chile did not fund any of the reclamation and restoration of the moai in the park.  I got the feeling that the Easter Island inhabitants did not care for Chile as Chile is not giving them any funds.

                                                                        Beach area

                                                      Very nice looking melons and fruits.

      We will be visiting this area at our next stop.  It is where all the moai were carved then moved.

Fifteen moai on the platform.  There was a big earthquake in Chile which caused a huge tsunami here and washed all the moai off the platforms and back quite a ways.  The Japanese paid to put them back.

This is showing a topknot.  Thinking is it was the long hair of moai as they never cut their hair.

                                             These are topknots never used.  They are huge.

                                                                    A foreign invader!

Next stop was where all the moai were carved from the volcanic ash then moved all around the island.

                  Many moai have not been restored and lie as they were left centuries ago.

             Erosion over the many years have covered many of them or at least partial covering.

                                    Most all moai are just from waist up with no legs.

Big mystery is how they were transported from here, where they were carved, all over the island as they weighed tons.

Here you can see where and how they were carved.  Last part was to finish cutting them and moving them.

                                              Moai all over the side of the extinct volcano.

                                                  Last stop was back near the port.

     Ramp the ancient people used to get their fishing boats down to the water centuries ago.

                                                                  This moai had eyes.

                                                 Maybe our Christmas card photo for 2023.

       Big line for the tender back to the ship.  We all go on the next tender so not a bad wait.

                                                                   Boarding the tender.

TODAY, (SATURDAY)

        Alarm went off at 7am as usual, headed down to Coffee Connection to get our coffees, then room service arrived at 8am.  The internet is still great this morning so I got some financial things done  online.  I could check on house temperatures this morning since wifi was back:  inside temp is 68 and garage temp is 53.  So that tells me all is well.

        Rebecca is going back down to doctor to get some more cough medicine.  She still has coughing fit in the middle of the night.  Going to take some time.  We will be doing treadmills this morning.  Luckily, not many using the treadmills so far so we have not had to wait to use them.

Lunch in La Veranda today.  I got these Buffalo chicken wings and fries at the pool grill however.

        This afternoon Rebecca is watching the streaming of her soaps from Paramont Plus.  After not getting the newspaper for past few day, we did get our Dallas Morning News again this morning.  I will read it then watch the taping of the lectures that were in the theater yesterday.  At lunch Alin, restaurant manager, stopped by to tell us tomorrow's NFL playoff games will be shown on big screen in the theater.  First game, Eagles vs 49ers, will start at 11am our time.

        At 6pm we have been invited to the theater for a Seven Seas Society "top-tier" cocktail party.  I assume it will be for Titaniums, Diamonds, and Commodores.

        I have organized a "pre-safari" dinner in Compass Rose for the 8 of us who will be going on a safari in South Africa that I organized through a travel agent in Cape Town.  The Phinda Rock Lodge I selected only has 6 suites and I have filled all six with our friends.  One suite will have Jane and Melissa in it.  They are flying down from Dallas to join us.  The other 5 suites have our cruise friends in them.  More about that as later at the safari is not until May 2nd.

                                                    Tonight's Compass Rose menu

        The show tonight is featuring the leader of the ship's orchestra, Alex Concharov.  Apparently he plays about 10 different instruments.