Across the Equator

A second sea day offers an opportunity to record it all - or at least, that was my intention when we woke this morning and took a photograph as we put out our laundry!

Can there be anyone sailing on Regent who doesn't appreciate the included laundry service? Especially travelling in hot and sticky climates, it's wonderful to send it out each morning.

First, we had a quick check of the daily Passages to see what' was on offer today and what we didn't want to miss.

With three speakers on board and the usual sea day games as well, we had no reason to be bored.

Plus, there was the Mensa puzzles to ponder over.

As we headed off in search of some breakfast, we noticed how quiet the ship was today. I think everyone was feeling the effects of an hour's time change last night.

Our favourite breakfast spot was available but as we went to sit down, we noticed the odd spot of rain. Hmm…better take a table inside.

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I found my favourite Birchermuesli and Zans, a young man from the Philippines brought me a small bowl of blueberries. He responded to my thanks with a huge smile.

Meanwhile, the sun had come out. We could have sat in our favourite place after all - except that, five minutes later, it poured with rain. Tropical weather!

After breakfast I went to take a look at the chart, hoping that Giacomo might have added a note about the ships location following the sextant demonstration yesterday. I saw that the rainstorm had meant some extra work for another crew member, who was trying to move some of those puddles from the deck.

No note from Giacomo, but it was clear where we were around now, because we had crossed the equator early this morning. I think we must have been somewhere in that triangle formed by the equator and the adjacent meridian.

I stopped and chatted with Artemio, the man with a large squeegee in his hand and we shared the wish that those rainclouds wouldn't open again and spoil all the hard work he'd done.

Our wishes were granted, for shortly afterwards, we returned to the deck for the ceremony to mark the crossing of the equator. Those people who have not crossed the line by sea previously - known as pollywogs - are invited to take part in the ceremony, advised to wear swimsuits and to gather on deck where the fun will take place. Those of us who have participated in these events previously - we are shellbacks - gathered around to watch.

The main feature of this ceremony - a large fish - was there already, chilling in a large tub of ice. The Pollywogs will be invited to kiss the fish as part of their initiation.

There was still quite a stiff breeze but the sun shone as everything got started. A long blast of the ship's horn announced the arrival of King Neptune and his Queen, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the Cruise Director.

They paraded around the deck accompanied by a host of mermaids and pirates.

Once they had made their proclamations, the first Pollywog was summoned. He was a young officer cadet and I guess he was looking forward to getting this over and done with! He knelt at Neptune's feet, kissed the Queen's feet, then the fish and finally, sat in the chair and awaited his fate.

Several staff members followed him, each one following the same routine and being doused with ice water to complete the process.

Once the staff were all declared Shellbacks, cruise guests were asked to step up to take their turn. We had our cameras at the ready as two friends awaited their soaking. Funny how delighted the Captain looks to be at the sound of their squeals, isn't it!?

One by one the queue of guests was taken care of, by which time my camera battery was exhausted and I needed to run upstairs and replace it. Before I did, however, I stayed to watch as Captain, General Manager, Spa Manager and various other staff members found themselves in the pool, by fair means or foul. Hopefully they'd emptied their pockets beforehand!

The ceremony over and peace returned, the bunting was swiftly taken down by a team who'd clearly done this before. We had lunch on our minds by now and were hoping for a little tasty smackerel from the pool grill.

A small piece of Mahi Mahi from the grill with a bit of salad hit the spot.

As we sat quietly enjoying our lunch, we felt a breeze whip up and noticed the pool water was becoming quite lively. Then we heard a bit of a commotion from the other side of the pool.

What was going on? Suddenly, the empty sun loungers were being blown about, things began to fall into the pool and we heard a squeal from someone over there.

From nowhere - it seemed - a strong wind had got up and was blowing hard along that side of the ship.

Staff ran to catch the loungers, which were being upturned and blown about like they had no weight at all.

And though my salad leaves remained on the plate and were not disturbed at all, we did get the occasional splash!

Feeling slightly damp around the edges we sought refuge in a rather quieter spot, our own verandah at the stern of the ship and sheltered from all sudden squalls!

I'll share what happened during the rest of the day in my next post! See you there.