Super Bowl Party!

We left Punta Arenas at 5:00pm on February 5th following a 24-hour delay because of the Pacific storm. We sailed the Straights of Magellan for approximately 8 hours on our way northwest toward the open sea. The satellite reception that evening for the Super Bowl was excellent! The crew set up 3 giant screens in the main entertainment theater, and decorated with pennants, banners & balloons (see photo). They served hot & cold appetizers throughout the entire game and really went out of their way to ensure everyone had a good time – hat’s off to them! The festivities started at 8:30 with kick-off at 9:00 – we didn’t return to our cabin until 1:00am – the latest we’ve been up in years!! What a great time! As an aside, I had a $5 bet on the Giants (big time wager)! As we emerged from the Straights of Magellan and as the Captain warned us, there was quite an angry ocean waiting for us. The ship had been prepared for a rough journey but unfortunately, I left a few things unattended in our room. We were awakened at 4:00am by the sound of crashing wine glasses I’d left sitting on the counter after the game. The ship was rocking violently and it was difficult just getting out of bed to clean the mess. Hmmm…was it because of high seas or the wine??!! The Captain is a 40-year mariner and we had (and have) utmost confidence in his judgment – he warned all of us it would be rough for the first 32 hours after leaving Chile but that we would be safe as long as we followed appropriate safety measures – like not walking anywhere!! Seriously, incredible sea conditions and we continue to roll 32 hours later, but he expects us to emerge on the top side of this storm Wednesday morning - another 24 hours from now. All of the pools & hot tubs are drained – the entertainment show was canceled last evening – we’re all doing the best we can to stay safe & humor each other. Our schedule has been adjusted to accommodate the bad weather and unfortunately, we will miss two ports. Instead, we are now sailing directly to Easter Island and should arrive first thing Saturday morning, February 11th. According to the map & travel log shown on the stateroom TV’s, Easter Island is another 2,432 miles west of our current position. Conditions have definitely improved since yesterday but the dining rooms have been sparsely populated and it’s obvious many folks are just hunkered down in their cabins. As strange as this may sound, Cheryl and I actually enjoy conditions like this as long as it doesn’t compromise safety – it’s nice to be reminded we’re on a ship and NOT a hotel! So, we sail on for another 4 days and leave the cold weather and stormy seas behind us. Almost time to pack the winter clothing and get out the bathing suits again!