Saturday – March 7, 2026 – at sea to Townsville day 3
I believe I have talked in previous posts about my search for a way to crack open macadamia nuts I was given on an excursion in Cabo San Lucas. Well, as we were entering our cabin around noon today there was a mechanic in the hall. I asked him if he had any pliers I could borrow and explained that I would like to try and crack macadamia nuts. He had channel lock pliers but had no clue what macadamia nuts were. So, I got a couple nuts and brought them for him to see. He tried cracking a nut and was successful – the shell pieces and the “meat” flew all over the hallway. We picked up the pieces, he tried the “meat” and liked the taste. I gave him another nut, and he was successful with that. I asked him if I could use the pliers to crack the other nuts. He gave them to me and asked that I give them to Yogi when I had finished. Today’s featured photo shows what a cracked macadamia nut looks like.
At breakfast today we talked about fruits. I think we started that conversation because all fruit on the ship has been cut (no whole fruits) since we arrived at New Zealand. This was done to prevent passengers and crew from taking whole fruit ashore and perhaps receiving a $400 fine for doing so. Richard and Shiv told us about a fruit in Malaysia that tastes great but smells like an outhouse. The name of the fruit is durian. I included an image of the fruit in the gallery. If you click on the link you’ll find that the odor is so strong that the fruit is banned in many locations such as hotels and airplanes. We asked Gustavo if he was familiar with durian – he was not – but he told us of a fruit in Brazil that is very flavorful without a bad smell – cherimoya. I have also included an image of this fruit in the gallery. Guess there are more fruits in the world than I have found at Hy-Vee or Fareway at home!
At breakfast we noticed a new label on Gustavo’s pitchers. He marks them so other waiters do not take and use them. You’ll see a photo of the label for today in the gallery.
Today’s World Cruise game involved using two plastic cups placed over your hands to pick up blue discs and deposit the discs in a third cup. There were “heats” with a member of each of the 4 teams. Whichever team won the heat got a point and at the end of the heats the team with the most points won for the day. Air finished 3rd.
Following lunch I cracked the macadamia nuts – took about half an hour and lots of pressure on the channel locks. I put the nuts and pliers in an empty sack when cracking them so the shell and meat would not fly around the room.
As I was cracking the nuts I noticed birds flying around the side of the ship and diving for the water. There must have been a school of fish swimming near the ship, but I didn’t see it. I did include a video of the birds in today’s gallery.
Don’t know why but this evening was Australian night in the restaurant – lots of Australian food entrees. There is a picture of Kelsey next to the display at the entrance to the restaurant.
This evening’s entertainment was provided by the Magnifica crew. People for different areas of service volunteered to sing, dance or perform physical feats. It was fun to see these people in a non-work environment. Most of them were pretty good at what they attempted. You’ll see photos of those who performed both in their “day” job and as performers.
You can view today’s gallery here.
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