Combination of two daily blogs

Combing two days

Yesterday, March 31 was a blur. I know we didn’t win at trivia. I know my throat was raspy: the Pacific Princess cough the MD tells everyone. Randy has been to MD twice in as many days and he seems to get worse each time. I have my pharmacy of meds which I am using religiously in the belief something will help. People all over the ship remarking on how tired they still are from Petra.

We had a destination talk on Hvar I think which is Croatian.

Here’s what I had started from yesterday:

Thunder and lightening

Wow! Big time around 6:30am  and then it was gone! Everything nice and clean now. I think they must have washed our port window at some point.

Hvar

This is a small Croatian island and sounds like it will be very green and with a rich history. We have already booked a tour there to see the highlights. It is not yet the season for bus, taxi and such are not very reliable.

Croatian names

Uros gave me a quick lesson in how to spell names in his native language. It turns out they first learn with the Cyrillic alphabet and later with the Latinate version so he put names down in both for me.  I’m going to miss him.

Mask making

Since we are close to venice they had a mask making again. I brought my original “creation” and added some bling to it. I’m amazed at how many men show up and have a great time doing it. And it is really popular: folks arrive long before the scheduled time and continue long after.

Trivia

A new lady asked to join us today. She has been in the group that wins a lot and not sure why she’s not there now. She’s pleasant enough. Who knows. There is some suspicion about “strategies” some teams use to “win” but I’ll not go into detail. For some it is ALL about winning.

Lunch

I went to the Panorama Buffet under the impression they had a Mexican theme today. Not sure what it was: some of it appeared to be Italian and the rest: who knows. Sat with a nice couple; the wife had been born in Germany and we discussed sauerkraut and such.

It is getting cold

All those warm clothes I thought I’d never use are now coming in handy. It is chilly, and often windy, outside. Our faces are still raw from yesterday and I have decided that the fine sand in the air in the middle eastern countries is not good for my lungs. So the cool, Mediterranean air is welcomed.

SO NOW TO DISCUSS RHODES

The anchors and such started around 6:30 am when it was still not dawn. I peeked out and went back to bed trying to sleep amidst the sniffles and occasional coughs. Ed was sleeping pretty well and I didn’t want to disturb him. We had no formal tour today so no time structure.

After breakfast we were out around 10:30 and walked out of the port and caught the hop on hop off bus. No immigration of any kind. Never even saw anything that looked like cops today.

We took the bus around the periphery of Rhodes ad then got off and started wandering around the modern central area. “modern” is all relative. Eventually we wandered into an upscale “outlet” (now there’s an oxymoron) and found there was a restaurant up top with a great view and free Wifi. Everyone was delightful and helped us though some lhad limited English. We had tea and then ordered a delicious Greek salad while our devices were being brought up to date and we could catch up on messages and such.

Pretty soon a bevy of ladies dressed very chic and looking like Olympia Dukakis arrived and were like a clutch of hens cackling. They were followed pretty quickly by hipsters. Service wasn’t lazy but not quick either. I was surprised at how loud people talked (americans are known for being the noisiest patrons) but there was hipster music ypu had to overcome too. Eventually we mosied on eventually wandering into the old walled city of Rhodes. What a delight. We had so much fun wandering here and there. People were very nice and cheerful. Ed kept trying to get me to buy certain outfits but the sales lady was on my side. I don’t want to force you, she said. I want you and your friends to come back and see us.

We found the London times, NY times and Financial times which Ed is devouring and then will pass on. Once before on this ship when it was much harder to get news, we got a Financial times and were reading it in the Lounge when a woman went by, looked at it longingly and said: Is that a newspaper? A REAL newspaper? It is a funny memory.

The cats of Rhodes

They feed the cats here, they are all outdoor cats, and they have places where they have a box for donations to feed them. They are everywhere.

Rhodes

It means roses. There is a valley here that is full of roses; thus the name.

The old city

Well built by the Romans and still very sturdy though some pock marks in the bricks when you get up close. Stores are tucked in everywhere. I loved the stone streets here. They are all small white pebbles, all turned in the same direction and very easy to walk on. And they placed them in designs which vary somewhat from place to place.

The economy is rough but it doesn’t show so much. In conversation, the merchants will discuss it. Lots of applique and embroidery styles here but I saw none that I would verify as being handmade though that is the tale that is told along with the details that grandma makes it by hand and nothing shrinks nor does color bleed when you wash it. I believe none of this blather (nicer word than what I’m thinking) but this is the style all over the world.

Prices outside of the old city were pretty reasonable by our standards, but inside: watch out. They can be as much as $10 USD more. And you must have euros and few places take a credit card so be ready. I liked the women very much. Most of the men, especially the older ones, were OK but overall I believed the women more.

We came back to the ship about 30 min before we had to be on board and caught Randy and Frances for supper. They did the tour we did last trip here and their guide must have been a great stand-up comedian. They shared some of the quips and observations. Randy is still ill and just looking at him brought my symptoms up to a worse level too. Is there something on the ship that is feeding into this? Ed did buy some Halls lozenges in town. They have a new flavor: cinnamon so he’s keen to try it.

Tonight’s entertainment

Is a harmonica player we had earlier in the cruise. He’s quite good and his resume is impressive but I am tired and this isn’t the most compelling thing I’d like to do. We have another small port tomorrow and I want to do it justice.