Sunday, November 8, 2009…My Equinox diary
On every cruise we have ever taken, especially when we go by ourselves, there always seems to be some serendipity…that special unexpected surprise that is ever so pleasant.
And so it was on the very first night of this cruise that Chet and I were having a drink at the bar before dinner when we struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to us. He was wearing a University of Michigan ball cap so we knew we have something in common (Michigan is our permanent home).
We soon learned that they were originally from Michigan, but now live in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. That they were into boating (as are we), etcetera…all the usual chitchat as we found more things in common.
Then he said, you know you might know someone…do you know a guy named Chet Janssens? And Chet said, “I am Chet Janssens.” And so it was that Chet reconnected with Tom Jantz and his wife Lynne, who both knew Chet when he was in high school! They played on the same basketball and baseball teams together and hung around with the same group of guys.
So last night we had dinner in the Tuscan Grill specialty restaurant with the Jantzes and caught up on our live over the past 40 years or so. The dinner was great but it was often times hard to appreciate the food when we had so much to catch up on.
Thus far today….
Today we were on the island of Majorca in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain. We traveling to a charming village in the mountains called Valldemosa located on the northeast coast. It was pretty quiet there, being Sunday morning, but Chet and I enjoyed a cappuccino in a local café before re-boarding the bus to travel to another part of the island.
There, in the village of Andratx, we went to the Santa Catarina winery where we we had a festive wine-tasting. That put everyone in a good mood…we bought a bottle of the Macia Baile 2006 red and a couple of bottles of good Spanish olive oil to bring home. I always think consumable souvenirs are the best!
We returned to the ship at 1:30 and it sailed at 2:15…so we had our first afternoon at leisure. I headed to the AquaSpa where Crystal gave me a great deep tissue massage which I followed up with the sauna and hot tub. My back is feeling so much better.
Tonight is the first formal night and we will be dining with the captain. More on that tomorrow.
Photos by Chet and Cynthia Janssens
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
