On our way to Santiago Chile

Hello everyone. Now, I know what you are thinking, “It has been a long time since you have posted anything!!!!” This is true and I sincerely apologize. Everyday I say to myself, today I’ll write my blog. Unfortunately I get caught up in something else and do not make it to the computer.
Everything is going pretty well on the ship now. We have about 2 more months left on the ship and it is going by pretty quickly. As for the next contract the three of us who are going to extend for the next contract have already received the contracts, signed them and have sent them to Stiletto, the company who does all the shows for Holland America Line. We received an email the other day from them saying they got them and now we are locked into being on the ship till January 6th, 2010. I will be coming home on April 27th till May 5th for a short vacation while the ship is in dry dock in Victoria, B.C Canada. From there we will do Alaska for 4 months and then venture onto the Grand Voyage which will incorporate Hawaii, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand and many other South Pacific ports. Then we go to South America again and then travel the Panama Canal on our way to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, where we depart the ship and head home.
It should be a very nice trip and will be exciting to see all these new ports around on the other side of the world.
As for the ship now, we are good. We are currently heading around the Cape Horn part of South America on our way to Santiago, Chile. We made our 3rd and final trip to Antarctica on the last cruise. It is sad not to be able to get back down there but we are lucky to have been there at all. I am currently making a short movie incorporating videos and pictures from all 3 trips to the continent and will have it when I get home to show everyone. If you want a copy please let me know and I will make you one. The last couple ports have been fun. On our way to Rio as usual we stop off in the Falkland Islands. This is a territory of the U.K. so things are in English and easy to understand. As we were waiting for a tender (life boat) ride back to the ship a Royal Airforce jet flew right over the water and then headed straight up into the air. It was pretty awesome to see this and a surprise. When we arrived in Rio we had an overnight there. Kristen and I ate at the Pinnacle Grill onboard which is the fancy restaurant onboard. The next day we went to this really awesome restaurant named Porcoa…Portuguese for Fat Pig. It opened at 12 noon and it was 11am. Being that we had an hour to kill we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain. The mountain overlooks Rio and has breathtaking views for miles around. To get up to the top you have to ride a hanging trolley. The other main attraction of this sort is Christ the Redeemer which sits on top of a mountain named Corcovado. This can be seen in the movie “Romeo and Juliet.” Unfortunately we have not made it to Christ the Redeemer yet. Sugarloaf was nice but was very cloudy so the views were hidden. We decided to go back down the mountain. On to Porcao we went. We had heard about this restaurant from the rest of the crew and it was worth it…Expensive but if you want that famous Brazilian meat this is the place to come. Once seated you are invited to the salad bar which has everything from salad to sushi. At your table they bring out all these plates or onion rings, rice, French fries,etc, etc, etc, but you can’t waste your time on that sort of stuff. You are there for the meat and in a few seconds there is enough of it. The floor consists of approximately 40-50 waiters (our approximation) carrying spears with meat on them. Every type of preparation and style they offer. They come up and ask if you would like sirloin, sausage, salmon, filet, or filet with garlic, with cheese, or how about ostrich. Every waiter has something different and you either say yes or no. They have these cards on the table, one side red, and the other green. Green means stop at the table and red means please no more. : ) Lets just say we had a ton of meat that day and it tastes better then anything we would find anywhere else. I recommend you to try to find a Brazilian steak house near your home. They have them in the states and if you have been to one you know exactly what I’m talking about. Okay enough about the food.
As for me I have been into reading lately…a lot. Since boarding the ship on November 23rd, I have finished 12 books and no they are not all picture books. HAHAHA Some of the ones I recommend are: “The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb, “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas” by John Boyne, “Father Knows Less or Can I Cook My Sister” by Wendell Jamieson, “Outliers – The Story of Success” by Malcom Gladwell. I also read “1984” by George Orwell and about to start “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I have no idea what has gotten into me lately but it’s kind of fun to read these, especially since I have found the classics section of the library. One crazy idea I came up with last night was while I was reading Outliers. The author talks about why people of Asian descent are very good at math. This made me realize when I have kids I want to be able to help them out…we all know I am not a mathematician by any means and have decided to purchase some math text books and re-study them on my next contract. This sounds nerdy but as I always say, “If there is something you want, go get it, that easy.” In this term I need to brush up on Math…a lot….
On the other hand Kristen and I have bee practicing the game of Darts. I know, I know…weird. In the officers bar (OB) which is in the crew area, the game is very popular. There is a dart board and every night you have to get there early to play. Everybody is getting pretty hooked and now when I get home I can challenge my brother Chris to a game and this time win. Besides that it’s rehearsing for the shows and going to the gym everyday. Not much new there.
I hope everything is well back home. The countdown to being home has started and I cannot wait to be home for the few days to see everyone and catch up. I hope everyone is well. Please write if you get a chance because I love hearing about home and everything that is going on. As usual if you have any questions about anything let me know. Take care and see you all very soon.

Danny