Dubai tomorrow afternoon

Lazy bones

Ok I’m going to be tacky like some people are: if my answer had been taken, we could’ve won. We all laughed about it. The question was something about what bird made Lundy Island famous? I have no idea where Lundy Island is but as I thought it through I said puffins and it was the answer. I’ve forgotten what bird we put down.

The dancers calling trivia are so cute and fun. The girls are British and the one today has the American “a” down pat. So she pronounces words using “proper English” and then says the word as we would. She’s gotten quite good.

Book listening

I finished the book on White Trash by Nancy Isenberg which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve found I can’t discuss it with just anyone as it causes some uneasiness and heavy push back from some folks. The author has generously documented her assertions including focusing you on certain pages and passages in her citations to help you see the source of the remark.

Next book: I had downloaded the Jews of Kerala (Cochin) before we left and forgot about it. I had planned to listen to it before we reached Cochin. So I’m now ambivalent about that part but fascinated by what the book is enlightening. I thought there was only one group of Jews involved: it turns out there are two: the White Jews and the black Jews. The former came from Spain during the Inquisition (thus they are Sephardic) and many migrated to Israel when it became a state. The result is that there are now only 6 left and there are 6 synagogues but the one we visited is the best and most well known. They did not allow marriage outside of their group and the result is only 3 individuals of “breeding age”. One is a woman who is in her 30s. the elders tried to force her to marry one of the only two available males, both her cousins. She refused. Her job now is to take money as people enter the synagogue we visited. I’m sorry I didn’t notice her more.

The Black Jews came here in the 13^th century and are said to be descendants of Solomon and are black. They have married with local Indians and have a thriving community across the river from Jew town.

So I’m only a little ways into it but very interesting.

Trivia

Well we didn’t pose a threat to anyone and because of time constraints, we didn’t go in the afternoon.

Pacific Princess Harmony Choir

These are all passengers and the staff member who pulls them together for this concert is a real professional. They have had maybe 10+ rehearsals and they gave us a terrific. 45 min. choral experience. Really impressive.

Columbus

Speaker discussed Chris’ voyages (four it turns out) and the difficulties he had. It’s a miracle he made it for any one of them. All the time he thought he was close to Japan or the Spice Islands.

Formal portraits

It was formal night and we did our part in the photo department. Not sure I like the top I had today. We’ll see how I feel after I see the photos.

Dinner

It’s amazing how much fun the 6 of us have. One is a stanch Republican but we chide him gently and he is a good sport. His girlfriend is definitely not and so it is even funnier.

Tonight’s show

Again, I can’t tell how great a job they do with these productions and the athleticism of those dancers is astonishing. All are around the age of my grandchildren and so cute. We area losing one of the men and gaining two in dubai so we will then be back up to the proper number of 3 males and 3 females. The two vocalists have great voices and collaborate beautifully on their pieces.

Yeah! One more hour

Yep, we roll our clocks back yet one more hour tonight so we will be 11 hrs earlier than LA at that point. I love getting extra sleep.

Weather and such

We have been travelling at a minimum of 17 knots which is a pretty good clip for this ship. We often get a strong wind and it makes it hard to open the doors but being outside with that wind is wonderful as the temp has been in the 70s. the ocean has been pretty calm.

Rumor Mill

You know we got extra time in Dubai. Our stop after that will be Aqaba Jordan so we can go to Petra. Then we begin our transit to and through the Suez Canal. Our route after Dubai takes us through areas where pirates are known to be. We’ve been through here several times before and it’s just a another part of the ocean to me.

But the rumor mill is full of conspiracy theories about the delay. My preferred and I’ll be accurate version is:

Ships going through the Suez (like most other canals around the world) get a specific date and time to begin their transit and I’d bet that determined our timing. End of National Inquirer version for today. After we are finished with our transit I’ll tell you what the ninnies are speculating. Sounds like Faux news to me.