World Cruise Day 44/152 - Sea Day - A channeling we go

Cruise day: 44/152
Ports days: 15
Sea days: 29
Countries: 5
Continents: 2
Ports: 10

When we left Puerto Montt last night, we headed due south through the channel and continued all night. This shows our approximate path. We made that right turn around midday today.

The views were incredible all down the Darwin Channel.

Somewhere near Purto Aysen, we hung a right through a small channel and went back out into the Pacific. And just like that, everything disappeared.

 A very low overcast took over and we were stuck with a mid-50s, slightly misty, and gray afternoon.  The sailing was smooth overall but the view certainly paled when compared to this morning.  Weather is what it is.

This morning's activities were typical sea day items starting with bridge lessons.  This morning was actually a revelation.  Early on, we had been given an opening lead strategy without any explanation and told just to accept it.  Today, it was finally explained, and we all had an "a-ha" moment.  That was much more fun than our usual "duh" moments.  Our regular partners, Steve and Kathy, stayed with us for another hour and we played through a couple more hands with more good moments.

Trivia was typical for us, 12/15 and out of the running.  What is someone suffering from ailurophobia afraid of?  Cats.  What movie won the 2020 academy award for best picture?  Parasite.  How many anchors did the Titanic have?  Three.

Lunch featured fresh pasta.  I've been eating way too much so I had a salad with tuna.  Arlona had a small chili dog.

With the weather yucky, we headed for our room.  Arlona spotted a huge flock of birds out on the water.

They were keeping their distance from the ship, so photos from our balcony were tough.

One finally came a little closer.  Arlona was walking on deck #2 and texted that there was one toward the rear of the ship.  I was able to get a couple of slightly better photos - still nothing great.

Google Lens is suggesting that these are Southern Giant-Petrels. If there are any birders reading and can make the ID from these less-than-stellar photos, certainly chime in!

While Arlona was out walking, looking out through the haze, she spotted this ghost ship. :-)

It's always weird cruising through a low overcast or fog.  Kind of creepy.

Tonight's dinner was French specialties. Escargot, French onion soup, lamb chops, Coquilles St. Jacques, and more.  

The desserts were wonderful as well. Crepes Suzette, Creme Brulee, Crepes Napoleon, eclairs, macarons, and much more.

We sat for two hours at dinner, talking and laughing with Steve & Kathy as well as Hamed, our Cruise Consultant.  The fact that the Viking crew, especially officers, mixes with the guests and joins them for meals is a really special thing about Viking.

After dinner, we headed to the Torshavn Lounge for a mixology class.  We learned about and tasted a Black Russian, Sex on the Beach, and Grasshopper.

Learning about layering drinks was interesting, planning the order based on the density of each liquid and the method to pour to prevent mixing.

We are looking forward to seeing the glacier tomorrow.