There's something comfortable about familiarity. Re-boarding the Norwegian Jewel at San Pedro, the port for Los Angeles, we felt a whole lot more relaxed and less rushed. Boarding was straight forward and we knew exactly where to go once on board. First stop (that's right, you guessed it) was the Tsar's Restaurant for a leisurely lunch. We took our time savouring the food in what we think is the nicest of the ship's eating places. Over coffee we studied the wine menu and chose an eclectic range of wines to try in our Viva Vino wine package which comes at a bargain price to use during the next 15 days. With the essentials taken care of, we found our cabins, unpacked, kicked off our shoes and melted into complete holiday mode.
It has been lovely having time at sea, relaxing and not having to go anywhere in particular. Now that we are heading south a lot of the focus of onboard activities and food is Mexican/ Latin American. I have done Salsa aerobics and Salsa dance classes and eaten salsa and ..., well, you get the idea.
The ship has a great gym, but now that we are in a warmer climate it has been nice to exercise using the walking tracks outdoors. I have also enjoyed doing the stretch exercise class provided each morning which really relaxes the muscles and mind for the day ahead.
Today, our third day aboard, we are about to arrive at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico from where I hope to post this. The weather is very warm and although there was some tropical storm around earlier in the week we seem to have avoided it and have had calm seas and smooth sailing all the way. The moon is almost full and looks magical shining on the water and the ship's wake. Last night as the sun sank below the ocean I saw the green flash as dazzling as ever I saw in the West Indies. Maybe we are crazy, but the anticipation of watching, waiting, hoping and then the excitement of actually seeing it happen is still there and as thrilling as we felt each evening witnessing the sunset from our balcony in Dominica for five years.