1-27 Chilean Fjords (2nd day)

1-27 At sea Chilean Fjords

Another early morning to see the beautiful fjords – but unfortunately it was raining, dreary, and very overcast. So, while we had great seats in the Crow's Nest, there was not much to see – at least to start off. It was not long before we came to the Amalia Glacier which comes down right to the water. The captain spent a lot of time here allowing all passengers to get a great view and lots of pictures.

We had moved on by 8 a.m., so once again, we decided to try breakfast in the main dining room – surely we would meet someone new (and nice!) today. We had a great table again with views of the glacier, and we were seated with a nice couple we had met on a previous tour. And then, we couldn't believe who joined our table – no other than Elaine and Lavar – the snooty couple from our dinner table of 8!!!! I thought Doug might just get up and walk out!! Thank goodness for the other couple and a nice breakfast.

I had a cooking class (hands-on) with Mark Bittman this morning. We were in small groups each making part of the meal. Between the 12 of us, we made Pear “Crostini” with Spiced Pecans and Blue Cheese, Shaved Fennel and Apple Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette, Caramelized Leeks with Gently Cooked Scallops, and dessert was Mango Crisp. It was fun, but it was my least favorite meal so far. When he said, “gently cooked scallops,” that was an understatement. The only way they “cooked” was by pouring hot olive oil over them once they were thinly sliced on the serving plate! I was surprised that they were good (but not great.) The best part of the meal was the pear and the dessert.

At 1 p.m., Doug and I went to the secular humanist meeting to try it out again. It was OK – the discussion was about evil – there were some pretty opinionated people “sharing” their thoughts as well as some interesting discussions from more reasonable people.

After that Doug did all the uploading/downloading of e-mails, etc. while I went to my creative writing group. Learned about writing dialogue today – very interesting and helpful.

The captain announced around lunch time that our charted course was going to change. We were supposed to go back out to the open sea again this afternoon, but because of 18 – 20 foot waves, he decided to continue on in the inside passages. So, we enjoyed the pretty scenery as well as not bouncing around! We even saw an old shipwrecked boat half in,half out of the water near a rocky area. I met a lady who said she had seen seals, small whales, and lots of birds during the same time I was searching out the front of the ship for wildlife. She said you had to be closer to the water to see them. So, from now on, that is where I'll be. I was bummed out that I had missed it, but maybe there will be more to see later on.

Dinner with “the group” again tonight. I had such a good meal – they called it lobster pot pie. There were huge hunks of lobster in a wonderful sauce under a light, flaky pastry. Wish I knew how to make that dish! Since I was behind on my Blog, I spent my after dinner time typing – and looking out our window at the scenery. The further south we go, the longer the daylight. It is now just about 10 p.m. and it is just starting to get too dark to see much.

Our night will end with watching Obama's State of the Union – if CNN picks it up here.