We left Acapulco at 10:00pm last night and have 572 nautical miles to travel to our next destination, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. During the night, we woke up to flashing lightning, with storms just off the shore in the distance. These lightning storms go on for an hour or more. Tis the season – the rainy season – in Central America. The rainy season begins in June and, depending on the country, will last until September in Guatemala and December in Panama. But as you might expect in the tropics, it rarely rains all day, but when it does, it pours. Guatemala will see rain an average of 17 days each month of the rainy season.
The morning produces a beautiful sunrise. Today will be another catch-up day, especially for Steve. We had a great day on the North Shore of Oahu on June 7th, and he is determined to get this post filed. We shall see.
Peter Croyle continues his series of lectures on Central America, focusing on Guatemala and Costa Rica. He remarks that originally he was going to discuss Nicaragua but the country’s current political violence eliminated a stop there, so he skips it.
Not much else happens during the day, but there is an Around The World dinner at 6:45 tonight. We arrive at the Polo Grill and are honored to find that we are among the eight guests that will be dining with Captain Brajcic. This is our second opportunity and we are very flattered to have been chosen. The rest of our tablemates are delightful as well. A picture of all of us with the captain begins this post.
The captain is an interesting man. He is from Croatia, and he followed his father in the business. His father was one of Oceania’s first captains. Captain Brajcic is going to be married on September 6that age 42. His plan is to retire from the sea to go into real estate development. His fiancée owns some property and he wants to develop an apartment complex.
At the dinner table, Captain Brajcic is quite jovial and outgoing. This is quite different from the times when he is addressing a larger audience. Every day at noon, the captain comes on the public address system and gives the weather and sea conditions, our location and the miles to the next port. You can tell when you hear him that he cannot wait to be done with this chore. He is pure seaman, and the public events in which he is required to participate is not his favorite part of the job. But at this dinner, he is very animated and fun to be with.
The dinner theme is Mexican, and the food is outstanding. Trio of ceviches: scallops with guacamole, lemon and lime fish, and salsa tuna, then pulled pork taco with pico de gallo, main course mole tenderloin with sweet potato and for dessert, tres leches cake with caramel sauce.
This won’t be the very last ATW event, but this will be the last dinner. As usual, Oceania Cruises is really going all out for those of us that have been with them for 171 days. We have had a great evening on board our home away from home, MS Insignia.
