Tuesday, January 28 - At Sea

 We've noticed a bit more coughing around the ship the past few days.  Both CD Andrew and Captain Ahlbi have reminded us to wash our hands often.  No mention of any gastrointestinal issues - if that comes up, they usually take precautions like taking away self-serve at the buffet lines.  Let's hope we don't have to do that.

The lecturer Bill Lee and his wife Jeanne got off in Rio, so we have a new lecturer now, Eduardo Shaw, who is from Argentina and knows a lot about this part of the world.  He gave a talk this morning on The Gauchos.  It was very interesting and personal because his father worked on a ranch so he knew many gauchos.  They are amazing horsemen, live a very simple life, and are very welcoming to strangers.  He used paintings to illustrate their dress, their living accommodations, and the kind of land they thrive on.

Next up was Terry Bishop's talk on the Falklands and its history.  Being British he could tell us of the response to Argentina's invasion in 1982.  It's rather amazing that all of that was over islands where about 2,000 people live.  He thinks it may not yet be over as Argentina still claims that they "own" Islas Malvinas as they call it, and now that oil deposits have been found off the islands, they may be more aggressive in making that claim.  

This area right outside Coffee Connection has game tables set up and nice chairs and couches for people-watching.  Eventually, almost everyone comes through here, as demonstrated by the fact that I caught Roger headed our way that morning.

Trivia was a banner day.  Michael ran into Roger earlier today and learned that he has a head cold, so he's been trying to avoid people which is why he hasn't been at Trivia.  He expects to be there tomorrow.  So just the four of us got a record 15/15.  The excitement was mitigated somewhat by the fact that there were 3 or 4 other teams with the same score.  It was a very easy day.

Dinner again at Compass Rose for the two of us.