31 January – At Sea

Still very warm and sticky but looking forward to arriving in Salvador on Sunday. Frequency of stops the increases to around one every other day.

Received a note about a Cunard event for “World Travellers” to be held in Buenos Aires. Had to fill in any dietary requirements and return to the reception desk but they would not tell us what the event was – rumour has it that it’s a Tango Show.

Trivia team back to full strength and continued our improved performance, with a score of 15 – just two points behind the winners. Discipline improved by restricting number of answer forms, so just the approved version is marked.

Visited the laundrette with little hope of finding a machine but surprisingly, there was one that had finished its cycle but was standing idle but with a full load of washing. The notice on the wall says that a cycle takes 45 minutes but some people simply abandon their washing, or given the age of the passengers, totally forget about and the location of the laundrette. The usual etiquette is to empty the washing into one of the baskets provided and use the machine. That is what we did and Lynne returned, 40 minutes later, to place the washed clothes in the dryer.

Unfortunately, she was met by an irate Spanish women, who started to berate her for removing her washing when she said that the cycle had not completed.

A heated discussion, in Spanish followed, with the “Señora” storming out.

Lynne left the washing in the dryer and returned to the cabin. We went to collect it about half an hour later, with me tagging along as “security”. Fortunately, there was only an English lady there and I returned with some of the washing while Lynne gave the rest a bit more time in the dryer.

No sooner had I left when the mad woman appeared again and got stuck into round two of shouting and chuntering.

Someone once told me that the most dangerous place on a ship (or boat) was the galley – due to the fire risk. On a cruise ship, it’s the laundrette.

Certainly provides a source of entertainment and looking forward to our next visit.