Not Even Not Traveling 63: Alaska, Entry 10

 

Final observations and lessons from life aboard a cruise ship:

The Return

On the Friday we turned toward home, we woke to discover we had lost an hour overnight. The time changed forward from 2:00 a.m. to 3:01 a.m. or something like that although it actually happened whenever we hit the arbitrary time zone line. The hour stayed lost all the way to Vancouver.

Working Out

Although we walked more on the Koningsdam than I’d expected, I still needed my low impact exercise. The leg movements designed to keep me able-bodied require a gym with an elliptical, stationary bike, rowing machine, and a treadmill. Our cruise ship had everything. Moreover, it had a sub-culture of fitness I wasn’t expecting to find on a cruise. 

For instance, the Koningsdam had a yoga studio. Everyone in it seemed to be a yoga professional, so I thought I’d better hold off. They wouldn't want to teach me the basics when they're all super advanced. Admittedly, I could have probably have gone in, failed to keep up with them, and still been welcomed to some extent. But why do it? I had plenty of fitness center equipment. 

There were more passengers enrolled in the fitness classes like yoga or spinning (interval training with stationary bikes ) than I ever saw in the sauna or hot tub. 

My main goals were to spend enough fitness time to help my body and to avoid any further injury. It was way easier to do than I expected.

Missing Out 

We could have chosen to take knitting lessons or other art lessons during the voyage. We could have gone for the dancing, too. (I used to love dancing.) There’s only time for so much at once, though. Choosing one activity pushes out another. I’m glad I kept up my writing, exercising, and playing games with friends. If I had to point to what I longed to do but missed, though, it would be dancing. And probably the art. I’m impressed they were possible choices. 

Trivia Games 

On Friday, we finally won a trivia game. We had lost a bunch of games by two or three points. This time, we won by two, maybe because it's a general trivia round, not a subject-matter round about pop music or about cruise ships in history or about Alaska history. However, I was busy writing (this, among other things) in the library when it started. I had to rush and still missed the first half of the game. Maybe the team won because I didn't mislead them. I got to answer the last third of the questions but, for those, I got a couple of my votes right, so yay.

 

Vancouver Library

We went to the library partly because we like books but mostly because a well-supplied library seemed such a startling and welcome sight. The downtown library is huge. The books come in many languages. The reading spaces are beautiful.