30 March Sea Day Number Five, Isotopes and What They Teach Us

A very rocky night last night. Karla saw a wave hit out forth deck window. I slept through it all. As mentioned so glad we can tolerate the motion with no side effects other than an unsteady walk and extra care in the shower.

Because of the 1000 lecture, we started off with breakfast in the World Café, followed by a Zoom church session. The lecture, delivered by a PhD Nuclear Physicist, was accurately aimed at its intended audience. Dr. Revel’s explanation of the periodic chart made much more sense than anything I ever saw or heard in high school, my last contact with chemistry. She has led research teams that use the ratio of various element isotopes to analyze the stress in forest trees, changes in the composition of the atmosphere, and the variation in ocean chemistry over time and in different places and depths. Like others who have lectured she has a boundless enthusiasm for the subject, a smooth delivery and interesting graphics.

After it was gym time. One other person in a very warm gym. We think the ship is making the changes to provide more A/C and less heat. It can’t happen fast enough.

The men won by one at Trivia. What was the name of the train in the 1973 hit by the O’Jays. While playing the Restaurant Manager invited Karla and me to a surprise event tonight in the Restaurant.

We ate with a couple from Minnesota/Florida in Mamsen’s the Norwegian sandwich shop, soup, salad and a small sandwich. We faced a very, very small crisis at lunch—No more ice cream cones are available on board until Barbados. (We found out later, there was no room for all the containers waiting in Montevideo and one was left behind. I’m sure my waffle cones are packed in there somewhere). We will survive, but the hardship is nearly unbearable.

Short naps were necessary in the afternoon. Had no idea what Kaghan Halil, the restaurant manager, had in store for us. We managed to be right on time. Kaghan (pronounced cayenne) spotted us and reintroduced us to the head chef. I’m sure we were wearing puzzled looks. No one was in the dining room, and we followed the chef while bidding Kaghan goodbye to area that was unfamiliar because no passengers were allowed.

Our surprise was a complete tour of the kitchen which we had wanted, but understood they weren’t done usually due to COVID. Amazing what the small spaces store in the way of fresh food, frozen fish and meats, sodas, bottled water, dishes, canned goods, etc. We learned how the frozen foods are thawed in small increments depending on the estimated need for the day or the next couple of days in special temperature-controlled units. Beef, poultry, pork and fish all have different workstations. Finally saw the connection to the three restaurants in a maze of doors. Restaurant staff have their own eating area. They were looking forward to a large feast after the restaurants closed around 10. Coordination of all the cooking and finalizing orders from the main restaurant and room service was amazing. The extra touches with a sauce, a sprig of parsley or dill, or caviar made every meal attractive.

Main Street With Storage Refrigerators

Beef Processing Area. They Ground Their Own Hamburger

Produce Storage

Beef Storage

Two Gelato Machines, just in case

Dirty Dishes in on the right, clean out on the

left

Understanding the tour was over, we thanked the chef and got ready to depart when he directed us to a table for two set up for dinner, for US. It was right in front of all the craziness of getting the meals ready to go to the from kitchen to dining room. The sauce man was my focus. He makes a lobster sauce that is light and perfect for any fish dish. Another sauce of lemon and olive oil was prepared for the lettuce that would go underneath the tuna, one of the nights’ specials. A ton of orders for the tuna and French fries. How they came up with enough fries for everyone was magic.

The Sauce Expert

Steak Tartar

Crab Leg Appetizer

Cote-dus-Rhone

Veal Tenderloin with Red Cabbage, Potatoes, and Morel Sauce

Dessert

Rick and I chose veal medallions with a morel sauce. I asked for extra sauce at the first taste. Potatoes formed in compact layers tasted like scalloped potatoes do, a good side for the veal. Caesar salad and steak tartare were our starters. The beverage manager waited until others left, a small space to say the least and offered us a bottle of Cote d Rhone or any other preference. He had me at Cote d Rhone. What a lovely busy noisy enchanting meal. The restaurant manager came by to see how we were doing. I couldn’t resist a hug. We know he’s the one who instigated the tour and the table in the kitchen. So, how to finish the meal?? We had a banana chocolate dessert with swirls of thick dark chocolate on the side (Valhrona, of course). No more wine. Food gone. We thanked everyone and were escorted out another secret door to the small Italian restaurant Manfredi’s. We looked at each other and wondered how to thank everyone involved. We welcome suggestions.

A sing a long was scheduled for 2000, so we joined that, singing everything from U2 to the Beatles. The lounge duo, James and Dani, continued after the sing a long. They’ve also become the new leaders in Trivia. After the sing a long, the floor show and a small class of port, we headed to our room. Oh, what a night.