OVER THE NOT SO BOUNDING MAIN

Well, we set sail Wednesday night and have been on the sea more than two days now. We are passing by Cuba and will arrive at Cartagena, Colombia, our first port, on Monday morning. We have occupied ourselves by obtaining the Mobility Pass (even though we have no idea what that is) required by Chile for all who come to Chilean ports. We are told that the Pass is necessary even if we do not get off the ship. After weeks of struggle to fill out the application (in Spanish), we obtained the help of Silversea’s representative, Erica Cruz. Erica labored diligently for another ten days and reported that she believed we would be approved. But we weren’t. Thank God for electronic communication: yesterday we at last got a download saying , “verificación de identidad mediante documentos de respaldo ha sido ACEPTADA.” Our Spanish is shaky, but we certainly like the last word of this notice. So we won’t be tossed overboard. Bureaucracy is certainly international.

This blog may be the most boring ever, as we are reporting our activities pictured here -- looking in the mirror of our suite, eating lunch on the pool deck, and being introduced to a new practice in the library: all returned books must be quarantined.

Bill is reading a novel (A Fine Madness) about Christopher Marlowe, the Elizabethan playwright, who had a secret life as a spy. Hope is fascinated by The Impossible Art - Adventures in Opera. This afternoon we play (serious) Trivia, and we are looking forward to this evening's cello concert, We feel very safe and very happy and very blessed.

Hope and Bill