Dutch Hutch?

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Today is another relaxing day at sea. The main dining room had a “Caribbean Brunch,” so we had a chance to sleep in. But, we didn’t sleep in - we always wake up, even when we don’t want to. Even when they don’t have a brunch, you could sleep in if you wanted to, and either skip breakfast or go to the buffet. I think there is something about the  idea of “brunch” that makes it seem like a special treat.

I don’t have a standard dish that I always order. I like to try different things. On a cruise it’s a risk-free environment for trying something new. You don’t have to pay for it, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it - you can just order something else.

This is HAL’s version of corned beef hash, with a Caribbean twist. I would not get it again. The corned beef was awful.

Port Profiles was the first offering we attended. It covered the next few ports - Macapá, Santarem, and Boca Da Valeria. It was well done (without any discussion of where to go shopping - yay!). This cruise is more or less a one-off, so the presentation was not a regurgitation of the same presentation that is given every week for the entire season. In other words, it requires some tweaking, or perhaps more work.

We had been wondering about Macapá and Boca da Valeria because there were no excursions offered for either place. It turns out that Macapá will be a “service call” only. In other words, no one gets off the ship. We anchor in the harbor and Brazilian officials come aboard to inspect everyone’s passports. (Our passports were collected after Scarborough to expedite this process.)

I will talk about Boca da Valeria in a future post.

Lerio presented The Greatest Show on Earth (The Cultural Significance of Brazilian Carnaval). According to AI:

Carnival is the English spelling of the word, while "carnaval" is the spelling used in areas where Dutch, French, Spanish, and Portuguese are spoken. 

Since we forgot to pictures pretty much all day, I am adding some photos we took later on. The first one is an installation by the aft pool. I did not see a plaque identifying it.

In the aft elevator lobby we admired this beautiful antique (?) piece of unknown purpose or origin. Is it a hutch? No plaque. Gorgeous.

M. C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist. Several of the aft stairwell landings displayed “phototypes” of Escher woodcuts. I had to look the term up to learn that “phototype” refers to a printing process. I think the Escher images were quite disappointing. They looked slightly blurry and appeared to be covered in a rough, clear coating which made them look like cheap copies. I am not going to include all of the Escher prints because you have probably seen them. This one is called “Fishes” and is dated 1941. The method of mounting and displaying these large phototypes has not protected them from damage, and they all have obvious nicks and/or damage around the edges. There is perhaps some discoloration also.

On our floor, the aft elevator lobby reflects the Dutch origins of Holland America Lines, with four antique Delft plates. Two of them are shown here:

Here is an objet d’art in one of the large public spaces near the coffee shop (and exact copy of the text on the plaque, which was very difficult to read/photograph):

‘Fragment of a head of a Queen, probably Tiye’
after an original in yellow jasper,
original dating before years 8-12 A.D.
replica in eco-deco
by: Lebigre & Roger
Italy, 1998

The painting below is part of a set of three called “Gipsy Musicians.” They are spread out over three landings in the aft stairwell. They are oil pantings on canvas by Igor Fomin (b. 1963) and painted in Russia in 1998. I am not in love with these paintings, but they fit the carnival theme of this cruise, so here is one of them:

It is customary for a ship to be given a commemorative plaque the first time it calls in a port. The lowest level of the stairwell contains a number of these plaques. They are fun to read.

We had dinner at Canaletto, the Italian specialty restaurant on Holland America. I think Sabatini’s on Princess is better - food and service.

Tonight’s towel looks like . . . a lobster tail? I think the animal should have its head and limbs to count as a proper towel animal.

Today’s fabric is All Things Dutch, by dczdezigns for Spoonflower.