Kristiansand

After we reboarded from Bergen I spotted a chair massage station that had been set up by the pool, and signed up for 15 minutes. The masseuse zeroed right in on some longstanding tight spots ("a classic computer back," she said) and was so effective that I booked a full hour the next day.

That day our port was Kristiansand, and while Kristiana went ashore to explore, I headed up to the spa. I encountered GK in the locker room and we had a brief conversation, during which I explained a particularly painful stretch my trainer has me do, and GK asked me if my trainer were German.

The massage was extremely tenderizing, and not long after I met up with Kristiana in Kristiansand I was ready to reboard the ship, since my feet, where the masseuse had devoted 10 or so minutes, did not seem to be up to being walked upon for more than a few minutes. Which was too bad, because Kristiansand, which is the main day-ferry port from Denmark, is a very pretty resort town in which to amble away an afternoon. Kristiana's ambling had to siffice for both of us.

It was a busy night on board ship for entertainment: first a short three-act play by Sue Scott and Tim Russell, PHC's two main voice talents, about a man trying to overcome his voice-impressions addiction; then the passenger talent show hosted by GK, a mixed bag though mostly pretty good. A little while later PHC's sound effects man Fred Newman gave a talk which was partly about sound and its effects on personality and culture, and partly joke-telling. We didn't get to sleep until late.