No More Pollywogs!

Yesterday (Thursday 19 Aug) we crossed the equator so the ship held a traditional crossing the line ceremony complete with King Neptune, mermaids and jailers. As Bryce and I have never crossed the equator by sea we were pollywogs, and had to join other pollywogs in King Neptune's jail! We were taken from the jail (a sectioned off area on Riviera deck by the pool) in groups of four to kiss the head of a fish, and then sit down in front of the court (the rest of the passengers etc). The judge of the court would read out the charges (we were accused of having too much fun) and then the court would pass judgement (guilty, of course). The mermaids then slimed us with spaghetti, custard coloured with food dyes and occasionally raw eggs. Fortunately, one of the ladies in choir warned me to wear my swimmers instead of clothes, but some people didn't have a clue what they were in for. After the ceremony, we were put into the poolside shower and hosed off with hot water.

The worst part was the bloody fish! Marcus, our ship's DJ, was in charge of getting everyone to kiss the fish. We've gotten to know Marcus really well, given the several nights we've spent in the nightclub dancing, oh, and singing karaoke. I thought I was being clever by doing the sideways air kiss, and just pressed my cheek very lightly to the side of the fish. Marcus then got me when I was sitting in the chair and rubbed the thing all over me! Guess you could say he got his revenge for having to play all the "old" tunes in the nightclub for us. By this stage, a lot of other pollywogs had been through the ceremony so the fish was looking the worst for wear, with it's tail section falling apart and exposing yuk all over the place! Bryce copped it worse, though, as Marcus shoved the broken end of the fish INTO HIS MOUTH! It took him several beers afterwards to get rid of the taste, and naturally we had to get back to the cabin to shower off the gunge. Our steward had to get rid of the towels as they stank of fish and started to smell out the bathroom!

Having subjected ourselves to this time honoured tradition, we are now no longer pollywogs, and have joined that special group of sea farers known as shellbacks!

Erika & Bryce