Travel day

 January 15, 2026

We slept in a bit this morning.  There was no hurry.  We could get used to this island time! We ate a nice breakfast in the Restaurant and then walked around the promenade deck a few times before our first of three lectures. 

At 9:30 our resident Historian schooled us on the history of the 3 great civilizations of the Americas; Mayan, Aztec and Inca. It was a 50,000 foot view and his slides were very Hollywood and so I for one was not impressed, but others who had not been steeped in pre-Columbian history maybe were. 

Shirley and I then lolled about a bit before attending a sales spiel of River Cruises and we did not find anything that lit a fire.  One surprise was that the Indian Cruise on the Brahmaputra was sold out past 2028! The Egyptian cruise was said to be their most popular, but that was hard to believe considering all the ships they have on the Rhine. We will pass on future River Cruises.

Then it was time to eat again!  The World Cafe featured Chioppino as well as the usual good stuff. Then a few more laps around the track and a nap until the next lecture at 4:30.  

Shirley and the North Coast of Cuba near Alexander Von Humbolt National Park

This was a geopolitical explanation of power politics around the Caribbean given by an ex-foreign service professional.  It was quite interesting, especially about the bits of Chinese investment and use of soft power in the region. 

It was then time for the Explorer’s Society toast.  This was for all repeat Viking passengers to raise a glass and revel in how lucky we are! As usual we were sitting with another couple from Louisville and struck up a conversation.  We meet the nicest people.  

In an attempt to stagger dinner times, Viking scheduled a lecture at 6:30. We went because we really like the Naturalist and thought that it wouldn’t be a big line or rush after the lecture.  Well, the Lecture was fascinating and we learned a lot about the food the civilizations invented and grew.  And, how they grew them in the harsh swampy land, and the mountainsides, or even in a lake!  They were very clever!

The restaurant had a 15-minute wait and so we ate at the World café for Sushi and Salmon and soup and gelato!  The show was an Abba tribute at 9 but we have an early day tomorrow and so we decided to call it a night!  But Shirley cannot resist ABBA!!  The tribute show was very well done, she said.