A Day in the Life of a Silversea Passenger: The Sea Day Edition

People sometimes ask what I do all day when the ship doesn’t stop anywhere.

Apparently, I learn about West African cooking, spend time with some very peculiar pumpkins, and have afternoon tea with Champagne.

And those were just three activities.

Aboard Silver Muse, sailing down the coast of Africa, I’ve found that a sea day can fill up quite nicely without ever putting a foot on land.

First, a little culinary education through S.A.L.T., Silversea’s Sea and Land Taste program. The subject was West African cuisine, which felt particularly fitting with the region just beyond our windows.

There is something satisfying about learning about a place through its food while traveling along its coast. Ingredients and cooking traditions become part of the journey.

The finished dish was rice with peanut soup and beef skewers. By the time I photographed it, the rice had absorbed much of the soup. A scattering of chopped peanuts finished the bowl.

Naturally, I took several photographs. Food has learned to wait for me.

Then there were the pumpkins.

An entire gathering of them, in shapes and colors that deserved attention even before anyone started carving. Dusky pink, pale green, deep orange. Some squat, some enormous, some looking as though they had already developed opinions.

The carving brought out their personalities.

Radish eyes. Pointed teeth. Curled horns. One had a spectacularly unruly vegetable hairdo. Another appeared to be having a difficult morning.

With the ocean in the background, it was a wonderfully odd little scene. Halloween preparations somewhere off the African coast. Travel does produce combinations you wouldn’t think to arrange yourself.

By afternoon, it was time for tea.

A three-tiered stand arrived with sandwiches, little cakes and scones, accompanied by cream and jam. Sunlight came through the window, the sea stretched to the horizon, and a glass of Champagne stood beside it all.

I felt no need to question the Champagne’s role in afternoon tea.

This is one of the pleasures of a sea day: having time to sit over something lovely. No guide waiting in the lobby. No bus about to leave. No calculation about whether there’s time for one more stop.

Just a scone and a very good view.

I enjoy getting off the ship and exploring. But I also enjoy these days between destinations, when I can follow my curiosity, join something simply because it looks fun, and let the afternoon take its time.

So, what do I do on a sea day?

Quite a bit, it turns out. And somehow, I still have to get ready for dinner.

Would you have joined me for the cooking, the pumpkins, the Champagne tea… or all three?

Traveling Glamma™