Noticeably cooler outside but still bright and sunny.
Headed for Trivia but two of our team did not turn up – something dodgy with last night’s dinner option of scallops.
Turned out to be our best performance yet and with 15 points, we were just one behind the winners. We would have been in the playoff, if we had a full team, as one of the absentees was a doctor, who was fully aware of of the medical name for the “cheekbone” – we got it wrong.
Everything around the ship seemed to be quite crowded. It was difficult to find a seat for lunch – some seats taken by people but others reserved by the placement of books, drinks and various old bags.
There is a burger bar on the open deck, adjacent to the buffet and we finished up there, squeezing into the two seats that were not covered with towels – there was a German copy of the Daily Bugle on the table, so I suspect the nationality of the owners.
Stood in the queue, behind various versions of Mr and Mrs Wimpy, who were competing on how many calories you can get on a burger bun.
Finally ordered a hotdog, which was very good but probably too much.
There was a matinee magic show at 2:45. The magician was supposed to have performed last night but had hurt his back.
Some people had seen him before and praised his “making people disappear” trick. Lynne said that we should take a seat at the front, in case he needed a volunteer. I thought that was particularly hurtful but perhaps she has got used to eating my food.
Still feeling a bit grumpy and guilty about my over indulgence, I went to the gym at about 4pm. One of the four bikes was out of order and the others were taken by people who looked like they were getting stuck into a stage of the Tour de France.
More cursing on the way back to the cabin.
Sat with a chatty group of experienced cruisers at dinner – one couple had completed 800 days with Cunard and had booked another World cruise for 2026.
There were four ladies and two men on the table and I was sitting next to the other man. He was a few years older than me and much deafer. He grew up in Scotland but moved south during his career. He said that he ran a construction company and asked what I did. I told him that I had once worked for BT and the rest of the evening descended into a litany of complaints about how bad BT was and how he could never get lines for his development sites. His wife had also worked for the same firm and she got involved as well. I finally worked out that all of this took place 30 to 40 years ago. I told him that he should have called me and I would have fixed it. Of course, that would have been difficult, as he didn’t have a telephone. Keeping my head down in future.
I was informed that the Captain had not told us the full story about our slow departure from Buenos Aires. The ship tracking apps showed that we had tried to get into Montevideo, to recover the missing container of supplies. We were unsuccessful, as there was no berth. Presumably, it is following us on a lorry, or perhaps, crossing the Andes, to meet us in Chile.
