Friday – At Sea
We’re at sea, heading towards The Azores. It’s a five-day crossing from Barbados, which should be packed full of watercolour workshops, but isn’t.
On the plus side, it’s given me lots of time to concentrate on other outstanding jobs, but that doesn’t stop the frustration of not being able to run the painting sessions.
The sea has been choppy for the last two days, and the sick-bag fairy has been out lining the corridors with her wares. I’ve only been out on deck a couple of times, to blow away the cobwebs, so to speak; it’s so windy out there, though, that its in danger of blowing away more than cobwebs… and I don’t want to lose another pair of sunglasses.
The Marco Polo must be the cleanest vessel in the Atlantic Ocean at the moment, and that’s a testament to the loyal, and hard-working staff who have rolled up sleeves, donned face masks and wielded buckets of disinfectant, all for the safety of the passengers. It’s a shame some of those passengers don’t seem to appreciate the hard work that goes on behind the scenes for their benefit, but there you go… some people can’t see beyond the end of their nose.
Some people are just plain stubborn….
On the evening, after leaving Barbados, the funnel was chugging out a few hot ashes. This happens occasionally, on all ships; for whatever reason, the funnel belches out ash, and if the wind is in the wrong direction, then it can fall upon the back deck, where people sit. When it does happen, it’s not usually for very long, and for the comfort and safety of guests, the area is closed off. This happened on Wednesday evening. The area was closed off and tables and chairs moved out of the way. Everyone dutifully moved…. except one passenger; a man who should remain nameless, but who has made his opinions and grievances known to everyone who he has come into contact with over the course of the cruise, and who seems to have made it his mission to annoy as many people as he can. He resolutely stood, right at the back, on open deck, under the path of the glowing ashes.
When asked to move by the Cruise Director, he stood his ground, declaring that it was his right to stand where he liked, and was the CD suggesting that the vessel was unsafe? He still refused to move when Franky asked the man politely if he was going to have to go get the Captain, who would order him out of the area, at which point, the man’s long-suffering wife came onto the scene and dragged him off, telling him not to be so stupid, and apologising profusely for her husband’s appalling behaviour. Honestly…. some people.
Today, the news is good; we’re all in good shape, and now keeping fingers crossed that art and craft activities will resume soon.
