It was a bit rocky at sea last, so I decided to use a patch behind my ear just in case—but by morning things had settled down to a calm sway. My plan for the day is to relax and catch up on eating, sleeping, and blogging.
I do not recognize many of the crew; Holland America rotates them among their 12 other ships after each two-year contract is up. I do learn that Anthony, my former wine steward, is now on the Noordam, and I chat briefly with Ian, the tour guide, who has been on the Eurodam for several years now.
Mariner’s Lunch
Passengers who have sailed with Holland America previously are invited to a “Mariner’s Brunch” at 11:30 am in the Main Dining Room, with free drinks and wine, and the presentation of another blue-and-white tile to add to my collection. Lunch is a warm salmon and arugula salad, broccoli and cheddar quiche, and a white-and-dark chocolate tart. I am currently a 2-star Mariner but this cruise will put me in the three-star category (the equivalent of 75 day and spending point). It takes 200 points to reach the top four-star category—so it may be a while before I make that one.
In the early evening I call Will in Tucson on my cell phone. It gets better service here at sea than it does at home. For some reason, the phone works only when we are at sea, not while in port (even though the internet works all the time). I actually make it to the daily LBGT mixer at 7 pm, but since I am the only person there I don’t think I’ll stay long. I have seen a good number of fellow gay passengers around the ship, so maybe they have been at the earlier mixers.
Tonight’s second formal dinner consists of duck pate brioche, roasted shallot and butternut squash soup with sliced beet garnish, and Osso Buco over mushroom risotto, and strawberry ice cream for dessert.
Sunday 7 August: Invergordan and the Scottish Highlands
I’ll continue on for a while with the start of my Scottish adventures.
I have room service breakfast as we sail up the Cromety Firth to dock at the village of Invergordan. Today is the only day of real rain and, of course, it’s an all-day outing down the lochs and over the hills and munros (Scottish for anything over 3,000 feet). We drive down the western side of Loch Ness, looking in vain for Nessie (and her boyfriend) hiding in the misty waters. We pass the ruins of Urquhart Castle before turning inland and westward across the glens to Ailan Donan Castle, one of those quintessential medieval castles (that has been rebuilt and remodeled many time over the centuries). I’m told that the castle has appeared in a number of films but I don’t recognize it at all. After a tour of the castle, we each receive a catered box lunch, with typically Scottish fare: smoked salmon, shortbread cookies, local caramel, fruit and juices. The rain stops briefly enough to enjoy lunch at a picnic table overlooking the castle.
Before returning to Invergordon, the bus takes us over the bridge to the Island of Skye, the largest island off the Scottish coast. We then head back on a different route that follows the railroad from its end point at Kyle of Lochais through the glens and alongside four small firths. There is purple and pink heather everywhere, softening the rocky crags of the hills. We make a brief stop in the Victorian spa town of Strathpeffer before returning to the Eurodam in time for our 5 pm sail away.
The captain is predicting a rough day for tomorrow as we anchor in the Firth of Forth and tender in to South Queensferry. Here’s hoping he is just as wrong about tomorrow as he was about the weather for Oslo.
__03.jpg)