no internet so catching up

Time change

Well somehow I got it wrong. Woke up and got ready and headed down to cabaret Lounge for interview with some of the staff. The dancers were practicing some routines. I wasn’t the only one there but after many attempts to get onto the internet (no guarantee on a ship), it dawned on me something was wrong. I asked one of the crew members who told me the time and I was an hour earlier than my devices showed. Perhaps I turned the clocks the wrong way. However, the elevators still have the old time.

Have no problem with the time changes where we gain an hour. It gives me more leeway in the morning but some folks hate going east to west as they are awake at 2 am. Ed and I hate going west to east as you continually lose time. I guess it’s all about biology.

Breakfast

So I called Ed to tell him I’d meet him at Sabatini’s for breakfast, something I rarely do. On the way through the library, I met Sam and invited him to join us. We had a nice visit over breakfast.

Interview with staff

It is interesting to find out about the behind the scenes glitches that occur and which are seamless for those of us who are passengers. Such as the difficulty getting into port in Ceuta, Spanish Morocco, and the difficulties with Indian and Singapore clearing the ship.

Be careful what you say

Ramona and I have been chuckling about the “Santa Fe chili” which is made with chicken and white beans. Santa Fe Chili would be made with beef or pork and definitely not white beans. We thought no more o fit and it wasn’t a complaint.

Last night Ed and I got an apology from the chef with a plate of cookies. We had no idea what this was about. But we think it might have been the discussion about the Santa Fe chili so we discussed it with some of the culinary staff and explained that it wasn’t  complaint.  So we’ll be much more careful about what we say.

World Cruisers photo take two

This time they turned the ship around and I can’t imagine everyone who wanted to be in the photo was not in it. The photo manager again climbed high on the ship in a very precarious location and despite wind and a rocky ship in the seas, got several shots. Just wow.

Hidden Figures

This movie about the “computers” the brilliant black women who did the computations for the NASA launch of John Glenn was shown in the lounge. It is a movie worth seeing. Brought tears to my eyes.

Production show

Again they do a fantastic job with great singing and terrific dancing. Because the ship is pitching so much, they eliminated some of the lifts but I couldn’t tell where they were eliminated. They do such a good job.

70s music trivia

Randy and Frances invited us to join them. We were all complaining as it was all disco music. We were all in school or raising kids, not going to discos. Still we came in one point behind the winners. We were just amazed we did that well! I knew two of them because of my kids playing the music before they left for school each morning. Pretty much Frances knew all the rest.

We have been warned that we are going to have a lot of pitching and yawing of the ship. I was going down the hallway this evening and the ship pitched to one side. The room steward was cleaning a room and the door was open. I came close to flying right through that room and over the balcony.

Goodbye Portugal

Goodbye Lisa!

We did a nature tour this morning which was the most popular on the ship. Our guide was a very good English speaker with many American colloquialisms but he is Portuguese. We saw many gorgeous beaches and unbelievable rock formations with some crazy mountain climbers on top of these spires. But all is so gorgeous.

Portugal is noted for its streets with rock designs in them. We did a walk through the old town of Portomao and wandered through some of the shops enjoying the local crafts, many of which are only painted in blue, and the others are very colorful and redolent of bright Mexican colors.

We ran back to catch a a quick lunch and get Lisa off the ship to a waiting taxi to the airport one hour’s drive away. The only option we could identify with the ship’s help as well, was a chancey “find a taxi and be sure they speak English, establish the price in advance, and if they aren’t outside the port gate, take the shuttle into town and pick one up there.” That seemed to be everyone’s option. Then while we were on the first stop of our tour this am, I saw a sign outside a storefront that said: Airport transfers and so I grabbed Ed and we went in. the wonderful lady inside (she left me use the restroom too) called and made the arrangements for Lisa to be picked up at the port gate at 2:30 pm. Ed paid for it and we got the ticket info.

One is still not sure about such arrangements in a foreign country but at 2:30 a nice man with reasonable English, wearing a suit and a name tag, was waiting. After clearing the ship, passport control, and their local version of customs, she was off. And it cost half as much as the first option was quoted. It hope it went off as smoothly as it looked on our end. We’ll wait to hear from Lisa.

We so enjoyed her stay with us. As one of the other passengers said: “She is a good soul.” I was also glad there were some folks near her age on board as well. So many people knew about her visit: passengers and staff. It really felt like a neighborhood.

We picked up a few odds and ends in the port terminal (only one shop; and a duty free on our side of border passage). Ed got some local port wine and Lisa had also gotten him a good bottle with the help of the tour guide while we were wandering around the plaza. We did try the WiFi in the terminal but couldn’t get on. Clearly it has a limited number of portals and we got tired of trying.

Trivia: no luck but if we hadn’t made a mistake in writing an answer down, we could have tied with another team. And we were only four.

Dinner

Back at our usual table. We were laughing until we had tears in our eyes as we began to share jokes and Oscar came by with his contributions. His accent and emphasis make them even funnier.

There was a sax player for the entertainment but we are both tired. Also, there was a lecture about Admiral Horatio Nelson that we had missed and it was on the TV so we watched that. Ed is now catching up on the political news from America.

Atlantic

The ship is now well out into the Atlantic and the wind is whipping around. The captain did warn us that the seas may be rough. So far I think the stabilizers must be very new on this ship, and improved, as the bucking and rolling of the ship are not as bad as on our previous voyages. That is not to say you don’t have to hold onto the rails and feel your way around the furniture on occasion.

What an exciting day

First off we woke up at 3:30 am due to the howling wind and never really slept well after that.

The ship made at least two approaches to the port and had to turn back due to wind and high seas. We were all on tenderhooks and finally the Captain got us to the berth, albeit 2 hrs late. We didn’t care. We were just glad he tried as usually they give it one go and then go on to the next port.

There might have been a good reason to keep at it: we have to refuel here for the 6 days across the Atlantic after Portomao Portugal tomorrow. And Portomao does not have the capacity to refuel us.

The staff is amazing. They had already announced activities for the day assuming we could not get into the port.

We were all delighted that we were able to do our tours even if they started late. The captain was also able to get a longer time at the pier so we could have the full tours we looked forward to.

Our tour

Was to Chefchawah (sounds like chef showah) a mountain town 2 hrs into Morocco from Cueta, Spanish Morocco where we were tied up.

We had the fun of crossing the border: Spanish first and then the one into Morocco. We surrendered our passports with immigration forms for coming and going and we were off with our Jebala clad guide: Muhammad (of course). He spoke excellent English and had a strong voice.

Morocco

Wasn’t was I expected. It is very mountainous, lush and green in most places. We kept climbing higher and higher. We saw donkeys, horses, lots of goats, sheep, ducks, chickens and lots of shepherds. You see more Islamic dress here than in the more recent places we’ve been. There are several quarries visible from the bus, probably for granite, limestone blocks and probably others as well. Phosphorous is their major mineral export; tourism is the 5^th contributor to their economy.

We passed through Teotoun, one of the other tours, and this city is the so called “white city” for the white wash on the buildings and homes.

While there is some trash here and there, almost exclusively plastic bags, for the most part this is a very clean countryside. After another hour we reached our destination.

Chefchawah, the blue city.

Obviously the spelling isn’t accurate but the pronunciation is pretty close. This is a lovely old city with mostly blue wash on the old houses. It makes for a wonderful lovely change. It is an ocean blue.

We trudged up and down hills on old weathered cobblestone streets (more like alleyways they were so narrow), so worn down over the years that they were slick and would have really been a threat with rain. The whole town is like a giant maze of a souk. You can get most everything here.

Lunch

Authentic Moroccan food with local musicians in a 3 story building; we wound up on the second floor crowded into nooks much like you see in the movie Casablanca. We had a sort of pita bread, though more hearty, with olive oil and a kind of vinegar. We had water to drink. Next came a kind of bean soup with perhaps small angle hair noodles in it. Soon a salad came made with fresh tomatoes and enough on the plate for each person at our table to have about 2 tablespoons of this really tasty salad. Next came a big communal dish with meet, carrots, potatoes and other unknowns. It was quite tasty. Finally a cookie kind of dessert that I couldn’t describe. Then we were off to explore more nooks and crannies of this very picturesque hillside community. There is a creek and small waterfall and if you look up between the tall walls as you snake through the cobblestones, you can see high craggy mountains.

There were lots of cats around but not so many dogs and they looked pretty mangy.

You don’t dare get separated from your guide or you’ll never find your way out. We saw many folks in colorful clothing including the jebala (I probably spelling and pronouncing it incorrectly. It is worn by both men and women, covers the whole body with a slit in the side seam for accessing your pockets, and a monk like hood. We passed many cute older people. A smile goes a long way in connecting with people. Some small children were selling something that looked like pizza crust with paprika dust on it.

Odd hats

As we drove up  ato this city, we saw many people in the fields wearing these strange little straw hats that are peaked and have colorful yarn balls on them. That’s all I know about them but there were being sold in the souk and at least one woman on our bus bought one. What she’ll do with it is anyone’s guess.

This was such a wonderful excursion and I learned so much more. I did buy two jebalas: one iridescent blue and one purple (red hats in mind). The blue is gorgeous but a little too snug for me as they are meant to be very loose so Lisa has that souvenir. The purple one is definitely big enough. I wasn’t planning on buying anything as it takes too much time, I hate haggling, I’m not good at estimating sizes, I hate haggling (a must here), BUT this cute little man with perfect English gave me bothfor $15 USD. I was stunned. The prettier one was $5 and the purple (not so pretty) was $10. My great find of the trip. I still feel guilty. He was concerned about the currency as he has not seen the new USD with the colors and strips. Eventually he did accept them.

We arrived back at the ship with 30 min to spare. There was some discussion about the time as the time was different in Morocco. So I used my limited Spanish to accost a Spanish policeman at the ship and ask him the time. It was indeed 7 pm as I had said.

Quiet supper

Quick bite at the buffet and sitting in the sun on the back of the ship.

Pick up photos from last night, download today’s photos to iPad, and PC and then load all of these onto an SD chip for Lisa to take back with her tomorrow.

Tomorrow is another busy day. We have a half day tour and then we put Lisa in a taxi to go one hour to Faro for her flight back to Norway. It has been great fun having her with us these few days and I hope escorting the parents has been as much fun for her.

tomorrow Cueta Spanish Morocco

Boy am I sleeping soundly! And the ocean is barely with any waves. The temperature is getting a little warmer and Lisa is living in the sun and sauna.

Port talk

On Portamao in Portugal. Lisa leaves us there and shore excursions and the destination speaker helped us by getting information on how she can get from this little port to the town of Faro where she takes the plane by to Norway. Later I asked the photographer if anyone on the ship speaks and writes Portuguese. I found this person and she cheerfully wrote a note to the taxi driver so we can be sure they understand where she is going and the price we believe the ride should be. The town is a one hour drive from our port. I am constantly amazed at the resources and resourcefulness of the people on this ship.

Tug of war

Between various departments of the ship. It was hilarious with the principal singer acting as cheerleader. Passengers were draped over the running track on deck 10 and there was a large crowd around the pool to witness this hilarious event.

Trivia

There were 5 of us and near the end Lisa showed up so she helped validate one answer and totally give us the answer to another question. Well, amazingly, we won! So we now have princess pens to add to our booty. The irony is two fold: I had said about midway that I had a good feeling about today’s trivia. And when Lisa came, she was looking for a pen as hers had stopped working. Do you believe in such things? In any event, the coincidence is funny.

Lunch on back of ship in the sun (Lisa’s choice) and Craig and Ramona joined us. Just fun conversation.

Back to room to complete immigration forms for Morocco tomorrow. We have to fill out two each: one for entry, one for exit; and they retain our passport at the border!

Ed and Lisa went to wine tasting as she has not had the experience and I am a waste with red wines.

Casual photos

We did these with Lisa. They are doing things like shouting, accepting a rose and such. I wanted to get as many pictures with her as I could before she left.

Show tonight

Is Gaucho dancing. I think we’ve already lost Lisa to resting. But I don’t want to miss this show even though I’d love to get into my PJs and listen to my book. Tomorrow is a long day: 2 hrs each way into Morocco and so I want to be ready for it.

at sea

Quiet day at sea

Usual routine for port presentation (Ceuta Spanish Morocco) and later a talk on Vasco da Gama and Magellan. And trivia: no cigar.

I took out some things from earlier ports for Lisa to see and take what she wanted.

Casual portraits

We did our silliness with the photographer and can’t wait to see the results.

Mentalist

Was the entertainment. I try to figure out what behind the scenes tools he uses to do what he does. I can figure out only a very tiny part but I don’t for one minute believe he reads minds.

50s party

We all went to see the fun and drink some way too sweet wine we got in one of the ports. It is fun to see how the staff makes sure everyone is having a good time and dancing if they wish.

Tomorrow is a sea day! Yeah

Busy day in Trapani Sicily

The sail in, again, was with little islands here and there. The harbor is a nice cozy little place and we were docked with little fan fare. Our tour left quickly to

A highlight tour of the city. Lots of statues of Garibaldi who saved the city in olden days. A tour of the Papi Museum with so many gorgeous and interesting things to see. Statues, miniatures, gorgeous oil paintings, church areas, vestments, church utensils made out of coral, and so much more too much to detail.

City walk

We winded our way through these ancient streets with their magnificent buildings. Eventually we encountered yet one more: ABC (another bloody church) and it was being decorated for Holy Week. So many people there working hard on these altars that men carry through the streets. Flowers everywhere. And again magnificent architecture, paintings, sculptures, and so much more.

Eventually we were let loose and we picked up some post cards so Lisa could catch up with friends and family. Ed bought a bottle of marsala wine and some other knick knacks and asked for a recommendation for a restaurant which was given.

Lunch search

So the restaurant was at the end farthest from where we were near the fish market. With Lisa in the lead (as Ed’s sense of direction abandons him more frequently these days and of course I don’t know directions.

We find this restaurant. It is too hot inside and outside has no covering from the blistering sun. So we sat in the shade and froze. The menu is all in Italian and the servers knew very little English. We reminded them that we should be speaking Italian. Lisa and I had Insalata Caprese which I loved with just ripe tomatoes, great fresh basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar and their version of mozzarella which was fine with me but not so much fun for Lisa (So I ate hers too). Ed had the catch of the day which he loved.

And we are off

In search of cannoli for which this area is known. So we saunter along the seaside where we find quasi sun bathers out on these craggy rocks but with pure clear water all around. Eventually we were back in the middle of the old part of the city and searching for cannaloni which no one had.

ABC

There was a church of San Lorenzo I wanted to see. All of these old churches seem to be so well kept up and since it is Holy Week, there are special preparations going on. Eventually we found a place with cannoli and Ed and I each ordered one. Lisa ordered de caf coffee.

Well this is not LA Cannoli! It was about 4 inches round, friend, and stuffed with a very rich, creamy ricotta cheese. We should have shared just one among the three of us. Lisa’s “decaf” (clearly a translation error here) was about 2 TBSP of something grainy that would grow hair on your chest accompanied by a small square of chocolate. Ed finished it for her.

Rumors

We had heard they were going to have a procession carrying an altar through the street. BUT no one really knew where this would start nor at precisely what time. So with Lisa leading the way to the church we thought was doing it, we encountered the musicians gathering and joined the other plastered up on the walls alongside the very narrow street.

Small children were dressed up in these cloaks with a design on them, rocking back and forth to the dirge coming from far away. When this procession moved, it crawled. Women were hanging out of windows watching this procession from on high.

It was great fun. Men dressed in black business suits followed the banners and the priest and two acolytes came by with the priest saying prayers in Latin (or Italian: same difference) through a bull horn. The length of the procession wasn’t very long but it was very slow.

The altar approached beautifully decorated with Easter lilies and carried by at least 12 (strong?) men. We are told this will go on all week. We felt very lucky to have encountered it.

Back to ship

Winding our way through the maritime building and the souvenir shops but we did pick up a few things from a nice lady who looked very Italian.

Sail away

Viewed from our dinner table. Lots of islands all around. Pilot boat made a clean sweep to take the pilot away and quickly we were in open seas again.

Entertainment

Lisa and I were tired but Ed went down to the singer who is today’s Judy Garland. Since I don’t especially like Judy Garland, I didn’t go but he came back with a glowing assessment and he’s also going to the second show. I’m still staying here…smile.

The men we see on these voyages

A side observation, especially in the Arabic and Mediterranean areas. You see the women carrying baskets with foodstuffs or those little rolling carts but otherwise they are not present on the street. Occasionally one with a child.

But the men: well what DO they do?? All we can recall is drinking coffee and talking with great gestures. Now and then you see a cop (male) and so forth but really: where are the working men?

Sicily tomorrow

Long interesting day

Sailing into Malta is a treat in view of old walls and buildings.

The seas were a little rough until we got near the harbor. We had full day walking down old lanes among ancient buildings with bus rides in-between. The city is Vallarta near the ship. It was in the 50s and the wind could really be full at times. We saw many public buildings and found out about Maltas political structure. Malta is a nation state and it’s role in history has been crucial because of its position as the portal between Africa and Europe.

As I write this I am too tired to recount all the details. I regret that but we have another tour tomorrow in Trapani Sicily.

We went around many cathedrals and churches but didn’t go in. there simply isn’t enough time.

We had lunch at a cozy restaurant in an upper room. We had red and white wine, local dishes: a very hearty vegetable soup, a beef dish that is like meatloaf with peas inside, other veggies and a hearty bread whose crust could break your teeth if you weren’t careful.

Mdina was an adjacent city we visited. It is higher on the island. In many places we were treated to samples of their local liquor; my favorite is the prickly pear.

But the highlight was the Mostra Dome. This incredibly beautiful old church (which is lovingly restored to look almost brand new) is prepared for Holy Week events and so it was even more special. It was bombed inWWII and the bombs didn’t detonate: 3 of them that landed directly into the dome and the church. Now if that isn’t a miracle! There is more to story but for another time.

Ed and I came back at 4:30 but Lisa continued into the town for more sightseeing as we did not leave until 7:30. We returned to our usual table and had many laughs.

Entertainment

Another fantastic production show with the amazing dancers and the two singers.

Trivia

Lisa was keen to do this and we called Sam to join us. Willie and his mom also joined us. I didn’t know it was a musical trivia: theme songs from TV shows in the 70s. We only missed 2 out of 24; one many playing along got all 24 correct. That hardly seems fair.

A special treat

The seas were pretty rough as we left the harbor and the little pilot boat gamely kept trying to get close enough to the ship to get the pilot off our ship and onto the pilot boat. It was a real nail biter and we all cheered when the guy successfully jumped onto the pilot boat and it swung away. They tooted their horn and our ship did as well. It was such fun to watch and makes one especially appreciate the skill of these behind the scenes people who make such trips such a joy for us.