Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in dedens' LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Thursday, April 27th, 2006
8:15 pm	Coming Full Circle Ready to Jump Ship…… Day 103 of the World Cruise - 29,478 nautical miles from Ft. Lauderdale (outbound) It has finally begun to sink in - we are on our way home. The attitude around the ship is noticeably different - passengers and crew are a bit melancholy and many of us are already transported in mind back to our homes on land. The majority of passengers are getting off in Ft. Lauderdale leaving only 114 to continue on to New York. No new passengers are boarding in Ft. Lauderdale so the crew to passenger ratio will be fantastic for that part of the journey… however, there is no way the service could be any better than what we have had throughout the entire cruise. Holland America certainly knows how to please their customers and the number of repeat passengers is a testimony to that. Yesterday we met one lady who has been on 156 cruises - yikes. Our Atlantic crossing started out so smoothly, but has become a more typical crossing. The seas are rough with 7.5 - 12 foot waves and we are rocking and rolling. On Saturday the Captain altered our course in preparation for an emergency stop in Bermuda. One of the wait staff crew was experiencing severe pain from appendicitis and needed medical care that the ship’s staff could not provide. They sped up as much as possible and encountered a few storms on the new course. Yesterday (Monday) the Captain announced that the young man was improving and upon consultation with the Doctor, the staff in Seattle, etc. it was decided that the treatment could wait until Ft. Lauderdale. Our course was altered, of course, once again and we are back on the original course, of course. Of course, they are preparing us for the possibility that we may dock later than scheduled and consequently those of us scheduled out on early flights, may have to be rescheduled. We are prepared for that and whatever happens will be fine - we’ve waited this long for those hugs and kisses - we can wait a bit longer. This morning while watching CNN the weather shot was from KETV in Omaha and showed Farnam Street running right up our hill - talk about making a person homesick! We have two bags packed and will begin on the others this afternoon. It is so much easier to pack going home as we don’t have to decide what to take and what not to take - all this “stuff” has to go home! I think we have worn, used, consumed, etc all that we hauled with us. Barney ran out of Jack Daniels yesterday but still has ½ bottle of wine left. We were short of toothpaste and deodorant and had to re-supply a couple of weeks ago. Other than that - we are good to go. Holland America has given us at least 26 gifts each, including two large soft side roller suitcases to haul the extras home. We have been given toy giraffes, wooden elephants, tile plaques, tote bags, scarves, hats, gloves, jackets, wine stoppers, binoculars, coffee cups, mini-wallets, desk memo binders, luggage tags, sun shades, luggage straps, and coasters to mention a few - and of course chocolates on the pillow every night of the cruise. We have given the darling gals in the salon our chocolates as well as many of the other items that we don’t need. They are so gracious and have been just like daughters to us. We really bonded with all the wonderful staff and it will be hard to say goodbye. Nopi, our cabin steward is so wonderful. He is so anxious to please and so good at what he does. We have enjoyed all of our wonderful conversations with him. He is counting the days as his contract is up once he reaches New York and he will fly home to Indonesia to be with his wife and two children. It is so hard on all these wonderful young men and women as they leave their families for such a long period of time. About 60% of the crew are Indonesian with the other 40% being from the Philippines. We felt like grandparents when Rayjon, our dinner busboy became a father for the first time. We held his hand, cried with him, and celebrated when he finally learned that all went well and he and Monica were the proud parents of baby Rayjon. We have anxiously been awaiting pictures of the baby and when they came through yesterday we uploaded them to our laptop. Rayjon proudly showed off his son to everyone by carrying the laptop around with him as if it were the new little baby - what a joy to watch! We have gotten so close to so many of the young men and women and have enjoyed making CD’s for their use and they are so excited as they can then share this experience with their families. Thursday, April 27, 2006 - We have come full circle - Omaha, Nebraska We have been home for a week now and still have one bag to unpack. We left in what seemed like a hurry a few short months ago and the house needed a bit of work to get it back in shape. It was clean, thanks to arrangements made by a good friend, but we had some decorating done while we were away and needed to rearrange some furniture, pictures, etc. Of course we spent a lot of time visiting with friends and family about our wonderful world cruise. We traveled 30,350 nautical miles in 105 days. The beautiful Prinsendam stopped at 35 ports of call, and served more than 189,000 meals. We enjoyed 63 guest entertainers, 18 very knowledgeable lecturers, 2 guest chefs, 3 different production casts, and 27 local folkloric welcome or farewell shows. The ship provided tai chi, bridge and dance instruction, arts & crafts and water color projects, nearly any religious activity desired, nearly every conceivable board game or deck sport, and a very attentive smiling crew of 450 wonderful young men and women The cruise staff provided something for everyone to do nearly around the clock, but, of course, we could do nothing but sleep in a deck chair, lounge in the sun by one of the pools, or read in one of the restful lounge areas while an ever-present attendant brought any drink or snack desired. The last few days before making port in Ft. Lauderdale we cruised over much calmer seas than we experienced in the mid-Atlantic. This gave us a chance to pack our 9 bags without stumbling over each other while careening around the stateroom. We sailed into Port Everglades at 9:00 a.m., just an hour behind schedule, but late enough to wreak havoc on airline reservations for most of the passengers. Of course we could not make our 11:00 flight so we were re-booked on a 4:10 flight through Memphis. We shipped 7 of our bags via International Pier Services and made a very smooth transit through customs, took the limo provided by Holland America to the airport and collapsed into our seats on the plane. All this happened so fast that it did not really register that this wonderful cruise was over. Had we really been gone for 15 weeks? It seems like we just left Omaha a few days ago and, at the same time it seems like months or even years ago that we were in Rio, Antarctica, Capetown, or Mombai. We spent the entire flight home marveling again at all we had seen and done in the past 3 ½ months. Chris met our plane in Omaha and we had a wonderful homecoming with him. It was very good to walk into our familiar and comfortable home. We could hardly contain ourselves waiting for hugs and kisses from the rest of the family and the reunion was everything we anticipated. In answer to some of your questions: What was your favorite place? It is hard to say as each place touched us in a different manner. We were probably most enthralled with Malta as we hadn’t planned on being there and it was a total surprise. The Antarctic experience was in itself wonderful and we would like to go back on a smaller ship so we could experience shore excursions. The safaris were incredible and we still can’t believe our up close and personal encounters with nature. Cape Town will definitely be on our “must spend more time” list. Do you have any favorite moments? We both would have to say the experience of the total eclipse was the most moving moment. We may become eclipse followers and are already are checking on the dates and locations of future eclipses. A close second to the eclipse would be seeing all the penguins. We truly experienced our own “March of the Penguins”. How was the food? Well, I think the 15-18 extra pounds (each) that the scale shows are the best answer to that question. In 105 days, no menu was ever repeated and the quality of the food was always excellent. We experienced many new tastes and really enjoyed all the foods from the International-themed dinners. Desserts were incredible and the specialty food buffets were a treat for the eye and appetite. The service rivaled that of any 5 star restaurant. We chose to eat most of our dinner meals in the dining room but breakfast, lunch, and dinner were also served buffet style in the Lido. Of course, you could order anything from room service at any time. Yes, we were spoiled! Did you feel “cooped up”? Not at all. Our suite with verandah was roomy enough to have a space for everything (as long as everything was in its space). We decorated it with items from home and things we bought so it had a personality all its own. The verandah was perfect as it gave us the opportunity to view the outside world from the privacy of our room. We loved just sitting in the deck chairs and watching the world float by. The fresh air was great and we already miss the slapping of the waves as we fall asleep. Did you take the right clothes? Yes, we wore all we took and are glad that we took what we did. We are especially glad for all the little “odd” things that we took this time - museum wax to stick up pictures etc., clippies to hold the curtains tight, a map to track our trip, star charts, an extension cord to plug in all the adaptors, and a bungee cord to hold everything together. Were you bored? Absolutely not. There was so much to do that the biggest problem was choosing what to do. We loved the time we spent with friends, but we had plenty of opportunities to be by ourselves. The library on board was fantastic and we took full advantage of it. What was the hardest part of being away? We missed our family and friends and found that being out of touch was quite difficult for them as well as for us. Would we do a cruise for that long again? “ Show us the ship!”. Our love of traveling is even greater now, and we can’t wait to see parts of the world that we haven’t seen, and revisit some of our favorite places. We have no plans as of now, but we must admit to having perused all the travel catalogs and offers that have managed to stack up while we were away. For now we will enjoy our family and friends that we missed so much and will enjoy sharing memories of our Circle of the Sun Cruise with all of them…memories of experiences we will savor for the remainder of our lives. Thanks for your interest in our journal. We have loved all your comments and emails and would love to hear from all of you again as our life returns to normal. We aren’t sure if we will add more photos to this site or if we will use Kodak gallery to share many more photos of all the wonderful places we visited. Feel free to email us and let us know if you would like to be included in the Gallery invitation if that is the way we decide to share photos. We know that many people throughout the world have been following our journal and to you we say, Arrivederci, Adeus, Adiós, Andio, Hoscakal, Selamat Jalan, Paalam, Ma’a Sal Ma, Namaste, Kwa heri, Veloma, Paalam, Ate logo, Au revoir, Auf Wiedersehen, and of course, Aloha………… Our home away from home Our adopted daughters Formal Dining room Lido Buffet Allan and the Ice Cream Bar Explorer's Lounge The Library Monica in the workout room The spa Rough Atlantic Ocean Arriving Ft. Lauderdale All packed up and ready to go (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 13th, 2006
11:11 am	OLE! OLE! OLE! April 10th - We spent April 9th at sea cruising along the east coast of Spain on our journey from Barcelona to Cadiz. We crossed the Prime Meridan at about 11:30 am. I had gone to a lecture on Cadiz and planned to watch for the landmark, but had misjudged our heading and we reached it sooner than I planned. We were at about 20 minutes west longitude when I returned to the cabin…late, longitude-wise, and the lecture was even a disappointment. Oh, well…couldn’t ask the Captain to circle the ship, could we? We also passed through the Strait of Gibraltar at about 2:00 a.m. on the 10th. Patty was up and saw lights on the port (African) side, but did not wake me for the event. We had breakfast in our cabin again on Monday, the 10th so we could catch an early tour. We were eating breakfast as the ship entered the harbor at Cadiz. It was still very dark so we identified the harbor only by its surrounding lights. Our tour met at 7:45 for a 1-½ hour drive inland to Seville. Our guide gave us a very brief introduction to Cadiz as we drove from the harbor. We didn’t pass the landmarks, but we learned some of the long history of Cadiz, including its title of the oldest continually inhabited city in the western world. It was one of Europe’s most important naval outposts and the primary landing site for much of the wealth brought from the new world from the time of Columbus until Spain lost most of its colonies in the 17th century. Cadiz still boasts of many opulent buildings constructed during those centuries of domination in the Americas. The history here is long and interesting, beginning about 3,000 BC when Iberians settled the region. During the next 5,000 years nearly every great western civilization had its turn dominating the region and each of these has left its mark on the architecture, language, art, music…the entire culture of Spain. Our bus ride took us through the beautiful agricultural lands of Southern Spain known as Adalucia. Unlike the farms we saw in Turkey, Greece, Sicily, Italy, and Corsica, these farms were huge! Many wheat fields reminded me of those in America’s wheat belt. There were hundreds of acres in each flat field stretching for a mile or so away from the highway. The wheat was completely headed and was still a beautiful green color and grew thick and lush on perfectly flat ground. Our guide told us that they would harvest the wheat in late April and early May. We also saw fields of other cereal grains, sugar beets, sun flowers (just planted), and fallow ground that was being prepared for cotton production. Add to this large groves of olive trees and bitter oranges and many extensive vineyards devoted to the production of the special grapes used to make the sherry for which Andalucia is famous. There were few farmsteads because the landowners usually lived in towns or cities and their farm hands commuted from local villages. Our guide pointed out a few exceptions to this practice when he identified farms which raised the special breed of bulls used in the bull rings of the region, most notably those of Seville. We watched carefully for Ferdinand, the Bull, but did not see him or any of his friends. This is also the breeding area for the Andalucian horses but, again, we drove through the area when they were all inside. (for breakfast?) Our ride into Seville took us past dozens of very unique and ornate buildings erected for an exposition Seville hosted in 1929 to celebrate its past with the Americas. Nearly every Central and South American country, and many of Spain’s European neighbors had constructed elaborate buildings on a central street in honor of the exposition. Most of them were later used as consular offices or occupied by government departments or private businesses, and consequently were still in “like new” condition. Each was a very impressive tribute to the exposition and to its native country. We then stopped at the Casa de Pilatos, (House of Pilate). The original owner, the Marquis of Tarifa, was so impressed by Pontius Pilate’s palace during a visit to Jerusalem, that he built his home as a replica. The home was built between 1490 and 1521. The current owner, the Duschese of Medinacelli, is very active in the conservation of many of the ancient treasures of Seville and has opened the home to the public as an example of the importance of conserving these historic sites. The home combines Arabian and Gothic influences in a style called the Mudejar. It contains dozens of original sculptures that the builder brought from Rome and Greece. It also contains beautiful frescos dating from 1603. The home is very large, built with a central courtyard complete with a statue of Janus within the large fountain, and very restful gardens outside each of its four wings. Every wall is literally covered with glazed decorative tiles and ancient mosaics and the ceilings are composed of complicated sculpted and gilded panels. Our hour flew by and we wished for a full day to study every wall, floor, and ceiling of this interesting house. Our walk back to the bus took us through narrow twisting streets with ceramic tiles depicting the Stations of the Cross on the corners of many of the buildings. It is a tradition to begin a pilgrimage on Good Friday from the home of Pontius Pilate, passing these stations on the way to church. Our next stop was at the Cathedral of Seville, the largest Cathedral in the world and the third largest Christian church, after St. Peters, In Rome and St. Pauls, in London. It is a mammoth structure filled with beautiful sculpture pieces and classical paintings. The massive gold altar has hundreds of statues on its face. A separate altar containing 2 tons of silver is used once each year on Holy Thursday. The massive organ contains 1800 pipes, ranging in size from a few centimeters to 7 meters. The current 300 foot high bell tower was originally erected as a minaret for a mosque built in 1184. When the moors were driven out of Spain in the 15th century the mosque was demolished, but the minaret was so impressive that it was salvaged and converted to a bell tower. It took 125 years to complete the cathedral, which contains at least part of the remains of Christopher Columbus in a coffin carried on the shoulders of statues representing some of his expeditionary forces. His son and one of his brothers are also entombed here. The cathedral and all of Seville was very crowded because we were there during Holy Week. The local inhabitants turn out in massive crowds to participate in processionals featuring religious floats, many of which feature the altars and crucifixes from local churches. Some of the marchers dress in white robes with tall pointed hats which include an attached cloth to cover their face except for their eyes. We saw several of them and some band members walking to the assembly point for their parade. It was all very festive. With sore necks and tired camera shutter fingers we left the church for a walk through the historic Jewish quarter of Seville, the original home of many famous Spaniards, including the Barber of Seville and Don Juan. We looked into some of the houses in the quarter and passed the Tower of Gold, a 13th century fortification on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. (Big River in Arabic) Then back on the bus for the short drive to the Hotel Macarena for a very nice Spanish lunch complete with all the local wine (a light sherry) we could drink. We also had some free time to browse in the hotel shops before boarding the bus for a drive through the grounds of another very extravagant exposition. This one was held in 1992 and commemorated the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first expedition to the New World. Participating countries built structures ranging from office buildings to arenas, most of which are used today in a wonderful park-like region across the river from Old Seville. We drove out of Seville with a sense of marvel at all we had seen. Even without a bull fight we found Seville to be all that we expected to find in Spain and look forward to another visit when we have more time to more fully absorb the history of the region and the beauty and tradition of Seville. Our ride back to the ship was quiet. Wine at lunch seems to do that to tourists. We enjoyed another very nice drive through the farms of Andalucia while our friends napped. A traffic problem near Cadiz delayed us for ½ hour and we were so late reaching the ship that the Captain was forced to delay his sailing time while he waited for us. We re-boarded, made a dash to our cabin to drop our travel bag and went to the Lido Deck for a casual dinner while we watched Cadiz, Spain, the Mediterranean, Europe, Africa and the Old World, fade behind us. On to Madeira and the Atlantic on our way home. Pilate's House Garden at Pilate's House Seville Cathedral Seville Cathedral Andalucian Fields APRIL 12 - After a relaxing day sailing southwest from Cadiz we arrived at the beautiful island of Madeira on the 12th. It was still very dark as we approached the harbor and a brilliant full moon was just setting over the city. It backlit the city and reflected in the harbor. We credit the Captain for continuing to provide these unforgettable scenes. The harbor is at Funchal, the capital of Madiera, situated on the southern coast near its eastern end. We had what will be our last breakfast from room service and met our early tour for a trip entitled “Unforgettable Scenery of West Madeira”. It took only a few minutes to drive through Funchal to our first stop, the small fishing village of Camera de Lobos. This quiet little village is squeezed between the beach and the volcanic mountains and every possible plot of useable land contains either a building or a small garden plot. We left the bus for a Kodak moment at the little terrace frequented by Winston Churchill while he vacationed here during the 1950’s. We then drove to Cabo Girao, the second highest sea cliff in the world where we had Kodak moment number two. Although not as long, the cliff was similar to those on the north shore of Molokai, which I suspect might be the highest in the category. We continued westward on Madeira’s very fine road system, through several tunnels, across several bridge spans, and around several high hills to the small town of Rideira Brava. This little village sets at the water’s edge and we walked through it’s quaint parish church and greeted a few shopkeepers just as they opened for the day. Then back on the bus for a breathtaking ride up a canyon toward the interior of the island. The mountains on each side were very steep and rugged. They were covered with very narrow terraces on the lower slopes and with lush forests higher up. The climbing road curved continuously and the view around each bend was simply marvelous. At the top of the canyon we stopped at Encuemeada Pass where we had a view of the seacoast at both the north and the south edges of the island. Each was about 5 miles from our vantage point. Then we had an equally picturesque ride down to the north coast. That coast was very different from the south coast. The North Atlantic boiled into this coast with a vengeance. There was very little useable land along this coast and the road was literally carved out of the face of the cliffs. We went through 8 or 10 tunnels and part of the old road was so narrow that it allowed traffic in only one direction. On some stretches those on the seaward side of the bus looked straight down several hundred feet and those on the landward side felt like the bus would scrape the cliff at every curve. But our driver took us safely to another little village, Porto Moniz, where we had a very nice leisurely Portuguese lunch at Restaurante Cachalote. Again we had a few minutes to wander around the village taking pictures before “all aboard” and our drive back over the mountain. This time we took a different route which took us to a mountain-top plateau (Paul de Serra) with an entirely different ecosystem from that found on our earlier crossing. There was much less rain on this plateau and it was used to pasture cattle. It was also crisscrossed with hiking trails and there were many people walking the trails. We stopped in Funchal so passengers could shop for Madeira wine and walk back to the ship. Patty and I went back on the bus so Patty could attend a 3:30 “Gifts of Love” celebration on the ship. During most of the cruise many passengers have been knitting blankets, scarves, hats, etc. for an orphanage in Funchal. Several children from the orphanage came aboard to receive the clothes and many toys and other contributions and to thank the passengers and crew for the contribution. It was a very heartwarming exchange of love. We had a few minutes to relax and then it was dinner time. We set our clocks back another hour before bedtime in an effort to regain the 5 hours we need to match Ft. Lauderdale in only one week. We’ve traveled 27,059 nautical miles from Ft. Lauderdale to Funchal and have 3,291 left before we return on April 20th. It seems like there have as many wonderful experiences as there have been miles. Moonset over Funchal Boatyard in Madeira Northern Coast of Madeira Encumeda Pass Funchal Marina Gifts of Love Exchange of Love (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 9th, 2006
1:46 pm	Three more ports in three more days! April 6th - We slept till the alarm went off at 6:20 and we were already tied up at the pier in Civitavecchia, the sea port for Rome. We had breakfast in our cabin and left for a tour at 8:15. Since we had been to Rome in 2001 we looked for a tour which took us to new sites and we were pleased with the day’s events. Civitavecchia is 50 miles from Rome and it takes an “Italian” hour (anywhere from 60 minutes to several days!) to make the drive. We spent the time watching the countryside from the bus window. We drove through gently rolling hills covered in deep green pastures, vineyards, orchards and small farms. We crossed the Tiber River a few times and bypassed most of the traffic moving toward Rome - miles and miles of slow moving cars and trucks. Our first stop was at the Catacombs of St. Domitilla, which were located just outside the city on the Appian Way. We had a very interesting tour of the catacombs led by a young man from Germany with perfect English. In addition to the narrow, winding tunnels the underground complex includes a fairly large Catholic chapel with a nice altar and seats for about 150. Our guide gave us a little general background information in the chapel and then led us on an hour walk through the catacombs. The tunnels and small “shelves” lining the tunnels were carved from very soft volcanic rock and extend downward over 4 levels from the present ground level. There are thousands of yards of intersecting tunnels in this particular catacomb and there are dozens of additional catacombs, all in approximately the same area of Rome. Photography is not allowed out of respect for the dead, but we were able to photograph a few pieces of broken tomb markers which have been displayed on the walls of the reception/museum area. We then drove for about an hour to Monte Giove, the country estate of Count Moncaada di Paterno. The estate is about 25 miles from Rome and the route took us through several villages and beautiful farms and orchards. Monte Giove is an ancient manor house standing on a hill and was visible to us for several miles before we approached it on a lane through olive and citrus trees with sheep and pigs running ahead of us. It is built on the site of an ancient city known as Corioli, and was once a convent. There is a very deep grotto beneath the hill, originally built by monks living at the convent, using materials from the ancient city. The count met us at the door of the manor house and described the history of the estate, the structure of the house and some of the history of his family. One of his grandmothers was an American, descended from the family of Robert E. Lee, and the Count recalled his memory of the World War II battle which destroyed the manor house on May 29, 1944. We saw a map of the farm as it was in 1600 AD and toured the chapel and several rooms of the house. The count then treated us to samples of both red and white wines made at the estate from his vineyards. We also made the trip deep within the grotto to see the stores of wines from recent years. We then went to a restaurant on the grounds where we were treated to a very good Italian lunch of bread with olive oil, spaghetti, salad, chicken, and all the white and red wine we could drink. It was the same vintage we had sampled in the manor house and very light and smooth. Next stop - Castel Gandolfo, the summer home of the Popes, which was very near Monte Giove on the route back to Rome. Patty had visited this site during her 1966 trip to Europe and remembered that Pope had blessed the crowd from the balcony of the summer home. The grounds at Castel Gandolfo are really quaint and beautiful. The Papal Home faces a street lined with shops and small hotels and a small church. Adjacent to the site is the very placid Lake Gandolfo, and our only disappointment was that it was cloudy and our pictures did not reflect the beauty of the lake and surroundings. The crowd was small and we had ample time to wander through the shops and have a gelato with our friends at a little sidewalk café in the shade of the Pope’s summer home. Then the short walk to our waiting bus and the 1-½ hour ride back to the ship at Civitavecchia. By now the wine at lunch and the relaxing atmosphere at Castel Gandolfo put many of our shipmates to sleep and the ride was very quiet. We took in the beauty and serenity of the Italian countryside again on the return trip and arrived at the ship in time for dinner…a long day filled with very unique experiences outside the realm of those usually associated with a visit to Rome. Manor house at Monte Giove Monte Giove Estate Lake Gandolfo Castel Gandolfo Wine shop in Castel Gandolfo April 7th - We were up at 6:00 when the Captain gently nudged the Prinsendam into its berth at Capucins Norte along Boulevard Sampier, 200 yards from Cours Napoleon, in Ajaccio, Corsida, France. Are you impressed? The little city of Ajaccio has a population of only 65,000 (in the non-tourist season) and it easily meets the standard of beauty set by the dozens of wonderful ports we have visited in the past 3 months. The island is mountainous with the city squeezed between the hills and a pretty, narrow beach. It is a very popular summer destination for sun worshipers from throughout Europe. The buildings, like those of Greece, Malta, Sicily, and Italy are constructed of the beautiful golden limestone and marble so popular throughout the Mediterranean. The dock area was filled to the brim with the makeshift tents and booths of venders selling their wares to participants and fans in town for the Formula One race scheduled for this weekend. The town was buzzing with excitement and everywhere we went we encountered media crews staking out the exact spot that they considered “perfect” to cover the race. It was fun to watch all our friends in the ship’s crew oohing and ahhing as they looked at the cars with envy. We had opted for a shorter tour as we are about “toured out”. Any tour in Ajaccio has a heavy emphasis on Napoleon Bonaparte because this is his birthplace. We saw the house in which he was born in 1769 and toured the church in which he was baptized in 1771. In addition to the fount used for his baptism, the church contains a plaque with his words, written from St. Helena, requesting that he be buried in the family tomb in Ajaccio if the French government didn’t allow his interment in Paris. Of course he was buried in Paris. Three or four of the public squares in the city were dominated by statues of Napoleon. One even had him depicted in a Roman toga with a garland around his head. We saw a bit of the luscious countryside on our way to the Sanguinary Islands (so-called as they are blood red at sunset). The island also contains the ruins of several watchtowers built by the Genoese during their rule in the 15th century. The majority of the tour was spent walking around the historic center of the city. Since the ship was nearby we spent a bit more time wandering around the city and taking in the incredible French market selling fresh breads, meats, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Enterprising French women were selling their freshly woven palm fronds in anticipation of Good Friday. Shopping was very expensive here and we were told that everything here is priced higher than Paris. We did nothing to help the economy of Corsica but we leave with a wonderful appreciation of the beauty and history of this resort town. Sanguinary Islands Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon's Baptismal Fount French Market French Market French Market April 8th - Well, here we go again…Barcelona, beautiful city of broad avenues and squeaky clean streets. Huge crowds of happy people, street mimes, young people on holiday and mild, sunny weather. Patty had been here 40 years ago, but it was part of a whirlwind tour of Europe and she did not remember Barcelona at all. Consequently Barcelona was a pleasant surprise for both of us. It was foggy when we sailed into the harbor and the fog was lifting when we tied up at the pier. We went to breakfast and had a free morning to catch up on some housekeeping in our stateroom. We had an early lunch and took a 1:00 pm tour titled “Gaudi’s Barcelona”. The bus gave us a driving tour of part of the city and also gave us a wonderful taste of the work of Antonio Gaudi, (1852-1926) the renowned modernist architect who left Barcelona with an impressive collection of his designs. Our walk from the Prinsendam to the bus took us through a beautiful new terminal facility which was virtually deserted. We learned that it had been built for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, as had many other public facilities and, although the tourism industry has grown since the games, many of these new structures are not yet fully utilized. We drove from the pier through the old fishing village which borders the harbor and past a very tall monument to Christopher Columbus. Then along the Passig de Gracia, the best known boulevard in Barcelona. We walked along the Boulevard for a close-up look at several different examples of impressive architectural styles from 1900-1906. Several were magnificent large homes adjoining each other, and one was our first taste of a Gaudi-designed home. We marveled at the combination of stone, iron and ceramics he used in every imaginable shape and form (except straight lines) to create an image unlike any other imaginable. Gaudi used St. George the Dragon Slayer as his inspiration for many of his works. We saw two houses designed by Gaudi, the Ametiller and Mila homes. Our next stop was Guell Park, which had been intended to be a neighborhood of homes designed by Gaudi, However, the project stalled after the construction of 2 or 3 houses and was later turned into a park. Gaudi designed many of the public features of the park and the home he designed for himself is within the park. Our guide explained that Gaudi never actually occupied the home, but lived in a small room in the wonderful Sagrada Familia (Holy family) Church on which he worked for 45 years of his life. After leaving the park we went to that church and spent a few hours walking through the structure and the museum included within the church. Our guide explained the details of this very complicated structure which has been under construction since 1882, and which looks like it may take another 100 years to complete. It is impossible to explain the many curves and slopes of the church, the massive tree-like pillars, the spires which seem to reach the stratosphere, the dozens of religious figures inserted in all the unusual nooks on the facades, and all of this is such an architectural complexity that it make you tired just to look at it! With tired feet and eyes we rode the bus back through this wonderfully fascinating city to our home on the Prinsendam and had just enough time to get to the dining room for dinner. We skipped dessert (doesn’t happen often!) so we could get to the Queen’s Lounge in time for a really great show performed by a dance troupe from Barcelona. We were treated to dances native to several areas of Spain. The troupe of 3 ladies and 2 men were obviously highly trained in ballet and danced to many lively classical music scores. The show was the perfect culmination to a day filled with all things Spanish. We retired to our cabin looking forward to a relaxing sea day tomorrow after 6 intense days in 6 exciting ports, each one a marvelous experience and each one with its own unique charm. Barcelona's Arch de Triumph Gaudi's Ametiller House Guell Park Patty and Barney at Sagrada Familia Christopher Columbus Monument (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 6th, 2006
1:16 pm	Three ports in three days Sunday, April 2nd, 2006 Ahhhhhhhhh a sea day again! A chance to do the laundry, clean the cabin, sweep the verandah, wash the ship……… oh, that is what we have to look forward to in just a few weeks. Actually we needed a sea day to catch our breath and regroup for the most rigorous (port-wise) part of our trip. It was a very relaxing day as we had lunch in the Pinnacle Grill, a lovely alternative dining experience on the ship. That afternoon was the “Gifts of Love” auction. What a hoot! Passengers and crew could donate anything they no longer needed (or that fit) to the charity and then an auction was held. Fifteen hundred dollars was raised for an orphanage in Funchal, Maderia, Portugal. It was fun and worthwhile at the same time. The money will be donated along with the over 250 hand knitted or crocheted items that passengers have been making all throughout the trip. There is some talent on this ship and there must have been a lot of free time. One lady has not left the ship yet and you see her every day in the lounge knitting or crocheting. This is her eighth world cruise and I guess she has seen everything she wants to see. She has been overheard to have said that cruising is a great alternative to a retirement home - and a lot cheaper. We may have to look into it. Dinner that evening was formal and although we have “sworn” off them, we dressed up and participated anyway since we wanted to attend the production show after dinner and you must be “dressed appropriately” for the show lounge after six on a formal night. It does appear that a lot of people, including us, are stretching the definition of formal. The production show was a tribute to dance and well worth the effort to dress up. April 3, 2006 We awakened on April 3rd as we were sailing into the harbor at Valletta on the island of Malta. We are running out of superlatives to describe the beauty of all the exotic places we have visited. (we have used 36,542 words so far in this document and that is greater than the miles sailed - 33 “beautifuls“) There are just not enough words to describe the magnificent view of Valletta from the harbor as the sun rose behind us and bathed the walls and buildings of the city in a golden glow. The blocks used to build these structure are all a locally quarried, honey colored limestone and the city seems to radiate its own soft light in the morning sun. We had no preconceived thought for what to expect in Malta and were very pleased with the entire Malta experience - the sights, the people, the beauty, the weather, the history, the food, and the relaxed atmosphere. Even the crowded streets seemed relaxed and friendly! Malta has a very long and varied history beginning with archeological evidence of settlers as early as 7,000 BC. It has been ruled by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, North Africans, Normans, Germans, Spaniards, Hapsburgs, Knights of St. John, Turks, French (Napoleon), The King of Naples, the British, and finally Malta became independent in 1964. (Whew) The influence of all these civilizations on the architecture and culture of Malta has caused it to be labeled an open history book and an open air museum. St. Paul was shipwrecked here in 60 AD and in a short time had converted most of the citizens to Christianity. Today a very high percentage of the population is Catholic and the island boasts of many very impressive churches and cathedrals. We toured two of these and strongly believe both rival the major cathedrals of Europe in their highly decorated interiors. We took a tour of Mdina, also called the Old City. Most of it was originally built during the Roman Empire years and it was destroyed by an earthquake in the late 17th century. It was rebuilt in a more medieval style with narrow winding streets, some so narrow that even small cars could barely squeeze through them. Most of the homes had very austere exterior walls. Each home, however, had a rather elaborate entry door, most with very interesting door knockers and other embellishments. The homes lined the streets with no alleys between them and most were 4 or 5 stories high. A few had small shops or cafes on the street level. We did not enter any of the homes but were told that most were owned by members of the elite class and had very elaborate interiors that opened on gardens within the center of each block, hidden from any view from the street. We entered St. Paul’s Church and found that it too, had one of the most highly decorated interiors we had seen anywhere in the world. Even the floor was completely covered with highly decorated marble slabs, each covering the tomb of a Knight of the Order of St. John. Among the art works in the church was a marvelous painting titled “The Shipwreck of St. Paul“. Next we drove back to Valletta through small fields of wheat, oats, onions, tomatoes, and many other garden crops and some commercial flower gardens. Malta provides produce for many European ports on the Mediterranean Sea. On reaching Valletta again, we left our bus and entered the old walled portion of the city on foot through the gate in the massive wall. The area was very crowded with pedestrians. The main street, called Republic Street in honor of the 1964 establishment of the Republic of Malta, was closed to vehicles and was literally filled wall to wall with people on holiday. In spite of the density of the crowd everyone was upbeat and happy and the mood was festive. We peeked into many shops and restaurants on our 5 or 6 block stroll to St. John’s Co-Cathedral. The church is a massive building which was the designated church for the Knights of St. John, where they prayed prior to battles in their defense of Malta . The building was designed in 1573 and looks austere and medieval on the exterior. However the interior literally took our breath away. Every square inch of plaster is intricately carved with filigree or statuary, or covered with artwork. Here, again the floor is covered with finely detailed marble slabs covering the tombs of Knights of the Order of St. John. The ceiling was painted in a style similar to that of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The work was done by Calabrian Preti. However two of the most impressive paintings were done by Carvaggio. One of these is of St. Jerome, and the other, called his masterpiece, is “The Beheading of St. John“. After visiting the church we left the tour group and walked more in the old city. We stopped at noon at a sidewalk café and had pizza and drinks at a shaded table while we watched the people stroll by. Several passengers and crew members stopped to visit while we whiled away an hour. We walked through several shops (not closed for siesta) on our way back to the walled gate. We walked down 120 steps to the steep walkway which took us further down the bank to the pier. A new terminal is being built and they wanted to take advantage of the cruise ships so we had to walk out of our way through the terminal in order to pass through security - not a bad idea as we needed to rest and consequently lightened our load of Euros, and made the suitcases bulge a bit more. Back on the ship we relaxed a bit and then went to the promenade deck to watch a small group of Crusade re-enactors give a demonstration on the dock, complete with powder musket discharges. After dinner we read, wrote, and downloaded pictures into our laptop. Another really great day in a country which turned out to be the biggest surprise port of the entire trip. April 4, 2006 Day 89 of the cruise and we are back on our original itinerary. Today’s port was Catania in Sicily. Since this port was only 60 miles from our last one, we spend most of the night at sea just waiting for our pilot to board at 7 am and direct us into another great harbor. We could see Mt. Etna in the distance behind the city as we sailed in. Once again, the weather is perfect with clear skies and just a little breeze. Temps have been getting into the 70’s which makes it just perfect for sightseeing, etc. We were scheduled for a 4 hour tour which took us to Mt. Etna. We had been warned to be careful if we ventured out on our own as traffic here is typical of traffic in all of Italy - oh, were they right and were we glad that we had left the driving to “greyhound”. The traffic was intense and polite doesn’t seem to be a word used in Italian. Vespas and little cars darted around the bus and in between other vehicles. Everyone “queued” for their place in traffic with one hand on the horn and the other on the cell phone. We kept an eye out for mafia and to be truthful, many fit the profile. Oops those are fellow-passengers. Most of the traffic was coming in to Catania as the “in” thing is to live in the suburbs surrounding Catania. Housing is at a shortage and maybe that explains the crowded conditions throughout the island. Our guide told us that 100 homes had been destroyed by the latest eruption of Mt. Etna two years ago and 100 homes have been built right back on the same locations. Good idea? As we traveled through the surrounding areas it was clear to see why one would choose to live outside the city. The flowers and trees were in full bloom and the houses were painted bright cheery colors. Flower and produce sellers lined the streets. School children were all around as it is holiday time in Italy. As we neared Mt. Etna the landscape changed and you could see evidence of many earlier eruptions. In fact, there are about 250 active vents and craters on the slopes of the mountain. We could see steam rising from one of these vents at the top of one of the 4 peaks clustered together at the top. Or tour took us to several dormant craters just below the snow line of the mountain. The elevation was not posted but we estimate we were at about the 9,000 foot level of the 10,800 foot volcano. This is nearly the same elevation as Haleakala in Maui. In fact Mt. Etna and Haleakala are very similar in size and shape, both being classified as shield volcanos. The flows from Mt. Etna contained both the pahoehoe and aa varieties of lava as does Haleakala and both have several pastel colors of cinder cones. Made us homesick for Maui. We had time to walk around a small crater and then had some time for fighting the hordes of people in line for the only bathroom in the area…and .50 euro, to boot! There were several bus loads of high school students so shops were very crowded and many of them were anxious to practice their English on us. We boarded our bus and drove back through Catania and on to our ship. A late lunch and a lazy afternoon which included time for a nap. The dining room is at the aft end of the ship and we had a wonderful, clear view of Mt. Etna receding behind Catania as we sailed out of the harbor and turned northward on our journey toward Naples. As we prepare this journal entry we are sailing along the coast of Sicily and are mesmerized by the lights along this long coastline. Around 9pm we will board another pilot to guide us through the heavy traffic in the narrow Strait of Messina. At midnight we will pass Stromboli with its active volcano and the Captain has told us that we might be able to witness the current volcano flow from the starboard side of the ship. We probably won’t see it because it’s way past our bedtime. We need a good night’s sleep tonight as tomorrow we have an eight hour trip planned along the Amalfi Coast. April 5th --- Good news! We woke up at 12:15 am and could tell by the ship’s motion that we had slowed considerably. We went out on our verandah and saw, in the distance, the red glow of lava spouting at the summit of Mt. Stromboli. It was so far from the ship that our camera would not focus on it so we missed the “Kodak” part of the experience, but it was a real treat to see this famous volcano in action. While we watched this flame-like mini eruption a small stream of red lava flowed a short distance down the mountain and then disappeared. During this time the red lava erupting was fairly constant but a few minutes later it burst into a higher eruption which collapsed on itself. Of course it would reappear soon but we had an early day planned tomorrow so we did not wait for the next act. All this took place many miles from our vantage point on the verandah and the image was very small, but somehow it gave us a connection to the roots of our civilization. We rose early and watched the city of Naples emerge from the early morning mist as we had breakfast in the stateroom. This allowed us to be ready for an 8:15 tour. We saw the ruins at Pompeii in 2001 so we elected to spend today traveling down the Amalfi Coast. This is a long, winding road and driving in Italy is difficult on straight roads so this drive is not recommended for foreign drivers. We let the bus driver watch the road and we enjoyed the scenery. The trip left the pier for a short drive through part of Naples while our guide explained some of the local sights…an 11th century Norman castle, the Presidential Palace, a monastery on a promontory above the city and a view of the various sections of modern Naples. With Mt. Vesuvius in view we drove past Herculaneum and Pompeii to the beginning of the coast drive to Amalfi. The entire coast consists of high steep cliffs extending down to the seacoast. The highway is cut into the side of the cliffs and winds in and out of the steep valleys situated about every mile. At every possible building site the citizens have constructed homes which seem to be hanging on to the cliff by the magic. They have even managed to carve out very narrow terraces where they plant citrus and olive groves and small gardens. There were thousands of these homes and dozens of castles and cathedrals which have stood since Norman times. These wonderful structures came into camera range around every one of the hundreds of curves in the road. After about an hour we stopped in Sorrento, one of our favorite stops on our 2001 cruise. We had 1 ½ hours to wander around this quaint town and we really felt at home since we had been there before. We strolled through the grounds of the Albergo Vittoria Hotel to the patio overlooking the little pier for Sorrento and took pictures at the location we had shared with good friends in 2001. We also shopped a little on the narrow streets near the central square and recognized many of the shops. After a delicious gelato we climbed aboard our bus to continue the trip further down the coast. We stopped for a photo shoot at the cliff-side village of Positano and reached the far end of the drive at Amalfi, another village with the same quaint charm of Sorrento and Positano. We had nearly 2 hours in Amalfi and fell in love with another of the beautiful places in the world! We added it to our very long list of places in which we want to spend more time someday. Then back on the bus for the return trip to Naples and our home on the Prinsendam. It was nearly 5:00 when we reached the ship and we caught our breath in time for dinner as we waved “Arriverderci” to Naples and set our sails (well, not really) for Rome. Rome is the departure sight for many of our new “Prinsendam” friends. We will miss sharing the next 14 days with them but are sure that our paths will cross somewhere in the world of travel. Valetta Cityscape St. John the Baptist Co-Cathedral Sidewalk cafe in Valetta Mt. Etna from Prisendam Cinder cones on Mt. Etna Lava destruction from 2004 Steam vents from Mt. Etna Street scene in Sorrento Amalfi Coast Positano Amalfi Coast St. Andrew's in Amalfi (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
8:53 am	RUINS, RUINS AND MORE RUINS Early on the morning of March 30th we sailed into the port at Kusadasi, Turkey. This port was added to our itinerary when the two stops in Libya were cancelled by the Libyan government. The explanation given to us was that Libya would allow visitors for longer time periods but would not allow one day visits and our stops were for one day each. The major tourist attraction near Kusadasi is the ruin at Ephesus but we toured there on a shore excursion from a ship in 2001. As an alternative we chose to take a 7 hour tour which visited 3 ancient sites and included lunch in a local restaurant. After leaving the ship we had a 1 hour drive to Priene, the ruins of a Greek city which was unusual in that it was a relatively “pure” Greek ruin because it had not been rebuilt by the Romans after they took control of the area in the first century AD. Priene was a major commercial center and shipping port in the fourth century BC. It was one of the earliest ancient cities designed with an regular pattern of intersecting streets and a simple central water system. Alexander the Great lived here with his step mother and later had her home converted to a temple in her honor. He also financed the construction of a large temple dedicated to Athena. Priene is located on the side of a large hill overlooking the broad valley of the River Meander. During Priene’s early history the valley was under the sea and Priene was a sea port. The river gradually silted in the valley between two bordering ranges of hills until today the seashore is many miles down the valley. The Meander River originally wandered back and forth throughout the valley and the word meander became descriptive of any river exhibiting such a pattern of wandering. The river now has two dams in the mountains above the valley and is reduced to the level of a large stream. Water from these dams is used to generate electricity and to irrigate many acres of cotton and wheat in the valley. Our second stop was at Miletus, an ancient city founded by settlers from Crete. It was also an important trading center and was, like Priene, originally located on the sea coast. however, unlike Priene, this city was “romanized” when Rome took control of the area during the first century AD. The Greeks had built a fifteen thousand seat theater at Miletus and the Romans rebuilt it in their style without changing the basic design. It is in very good condition and it is an impressive structure. The theater is surrounded by ruins of homes, government buildings, bathhouses, an agora, and many of the other structures common in ancient ruins. These ruins are very near the current channel of the Meander, and are surrounded by the cotton and wheat fields of the valley. Our third stop was at Didyma, the location of the ruins of a massive temple dedicated to Apollo. This temple has been reconstructed from the original pieces in such a way that the structure looks very natural. However the walls have been rebuilt to only about 20% of their original height. In spite of this, the structure is still very imposing. The original temple was a twin structure to the Temple of Diana (also called Artemis) at Ephesus, which is one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. It is a bit humbling to stand in the center of such a massive Temple. From here we went to a local restaurant where we had a nice lunch at tables with a view of the Temple of Apollo. A great way to celebrate a day filled with 3 very different styles of ancient Greek and roman ruins. These sites, along with Ephesus, Aphrodeius, and other area ruins are good evidence that this part of Asia Minor played a very important role in the foundations of civilization. We returned to Kusadasi in time for a few hours of shopping in the very nice shopping district adjacent to the pier. We had shopped here in 2001 and some merchants remembered us. Just as we were approaching the pier (packages in hand) we were offered the balance of minutes on another passenger’s phone card. We jumped at the chance for a quick call home and were so delighted, once more, to hear the voices of our loved ones. It is amazing what that can do for us. With a lilt in our step, we were back at the ship in time to relax a bit before dinner. Temple of Athena at Priene Barney and Patty at Miletus Barney at Temple of Apollo March 31st started out with a bang……… or should we say a fire alarm. At 12:03am we were awakened by the fire alarm. Our first thought was that it was an “April Fool’s joke” but then we realized it was a day early. We checked on the verandah and didn’t see or smell a thing and the ship was still moving so we opted for hanging around and waiting to see what was happening. Sure enough, the Captain came on the loud speaker and announced that there had been a fire in one of the dryers in the laundry room and that the alarms automatically were sounded. He assured us that the ship was in no danger at any time and that the fire was out and everything was okay. We were glad that we hadn’t donned life jackets and headed to the muster stations but it was a while before we fell back asleep as your mind contemplates the “what might have beens”. We awoke at dawn in the Sea of Crete on our way into the harbor at Iraklion in Crete, a major Mediterranean Island which is part of Greece. There is something magic about harbors. Maybe it is the excitement of imagining what exotic land was touched by each ship before it arrived at this harbor…maybe it’s the same wonderment about where they will go next. Maybe it’s the anticipation of what we will find at each new port. The harbor at Iraklion met the standard of all the harbors we have seen in the last 85 days. It was a grand entrance to a tidy little city bordered by low mountains and at the edge of the warm blue water. We grabbed a quick breakfast and met our bus for a tour of the ancient Palace of Knossos. We had seen many ancient ruins in the past several days, but the Knossos Palace was the oldest and most important of them all. The ruins uncovered on this site late in the 19th century proved that the Minoans were based in Crete and that Knossos was one of the world’s greatest cities between 1700 BC and 1450 BC. The oldest foundations of the palace are believed to be 4,000 years old. Unfortunately some of Knossos’ ruins were reconstructed according to guesses about their original condition and some new frescos were painted to replace missing originals. Some of this incorrect reconstruction has been corrected but the full scope of the corrections will take many years. Nevertheless the Palace is a marvel and a great illustration of the brilliance and technological innovation of the Minoan civilization. Our tour then took us to the Peza Valley. This valley is bounded by low mountains on each side and is full to the edge of these mountains and even part way up the slopes with olive and citrus groves and vineyards. We stopped at a local farmers’ cooperative where we learned about the local olive and grape industries and sampled the local wine. The shop at the cooperative offered several varieties of wine and olive oil, and a locally manufactured soap made with olive oil. Of course our group did their part in making 2006 a good year for the farmers of the Peza Valley. Next stop - the little village of Archanes, where we took a short walk through the narrow, winding streets, enjoying the gardens and the quaint homes and shops. At the end of our walk was the local taverna where we enjoyed a wonderful (and gluttonous) Greek meal. We were served large dishes of at least 6 different delicious appetizers and were satiated before the service of a main course of Greek baked chicken, Greek salad, and potatoes. Of course this was followed by several desserts and the whole meal was accompanied by an unlimited supply of the local wine - both red and white and, at the very end we were each given a small glass of the local “fire water”, the only thing I have ever ingested which made chills run up my spine! Many in our group slept on the way back to the ship and probably slept through our Sail Away as we left beautiful Iraklion and made our way toward the mainland of Greece. Knossos Palace Crete countryside Lunch at Archanes April Fool's Day - Another day - another port. We woke up in the harbor at Piraeus, Greece, the seaport for Athens. We had to wait in the harbor for all local ferries to clear the area before we proceeded to our berth at the pier. After breakfast we went to the Queen’s Lounge to wait for the cruise tour staff to call our tour for departure. All tours were late leaving the ship because of the ship’s delay in the harbor, but we finally boarded our bus and drove through Piraeus and on into Athens. The cities are adjacent and continuous so we could not tell where one became another. We drove past 3 new arenas built for the recent Olympic Games. Our first stop was at the old Olympic arena built for the first modern Olympics in 1896. We had seen it in 2001 when we visited Athens from the Royal Princess. The arena is an impressive site in its majesty and simplicity and the view of the Acropolis from the gate of the Olympic arena is beautiful. We could just imagine Doug, are marathon runner son, sprinting around the track. We then drove to the Presidential Palace where we watched the really interesting changing of the guard in front of the palace gate. Two guards, known as Evzones, were replaced with fresh soldiers who marched with their leader from several blocks away. They wore traditional Greek costumes and performed a rather unusual march with a great amount of hard stomping with heavy shoes decorated with a large tassel on the toe. The tassels greatly emphasized the stomping. We re-boarded the bus for a short drive through the area of government buildings and an upscale residential area on our way to the Acropolis. We had an 15 minute uphill walk from the bus to the gate of Acropolis grounds. The area was very crowded with many weekend visitors out on a beautiful Spring day. During our 2001 visit all government employees were on strike for better retirement benefits so the Acropolis grounds were closed. We remember the frustrations of looking through the fence at the Parthenon and adjacent buildings and being unable to walk among the ruins. That disappointment made this visit even more impressive. The close up visit to the massive Temple of Athena, the Patron God of Athens, and the smaller Temple of Poseidon , with its Porch of the Caryatids was a truly marvelous sight. The entrance gate we used and the Temple of Athena were both undergoing extensive repair and were covered with many scaffolds and a few cranes. Although these reconstruction aids detracted from the clear view of the ruins they were a minor inconvenience when we considered the age and importance of the entire complex. We left the Acropolis about 12:30. Our drive back to the ship took us past Constitution Square, The National Gardens, The Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Gate, the Plaka, and a number of other government buildings and Olympic sites. We reached the ship in time for a late lunch and an afternoon in the cabin catching up on some correspondence and catching a short nap. After dinner we were entertained in the Queen’s Lounge by a female singer who did songs of the 60’s - a real hit for most of the passengers for obvious reasons! The mystery of the early morning wake-up call by the band was solved when we learned that last Sunday, Europe went on Daylight Saving’s time so that accounted for the mix-up. Tonight everyone on the ship is trying to figure out the correct time “here and there” as we set our clocks “back” one hour tonight when we leave Greece and if recollection serves us correctly, the US starts daylight saving’s time “Spring Ahead” on the 1st Sunday of April. I guess we will figure it out sooner or later……… hopefully we won’t awaken anyone with an early morning call should we be lucky enough to get another cell phone connection in Europe. Piraeus Harbor Changing of the Evzones Patty and Barney at Olympic Stadium Parthenon at the Acropolis (Comment on this)
Friday, March 31st, 2006
11:19 am	East Meets West and Moon Meets Sun Tuesday, March 28th is our 82nd day of the journey and we have traveled 23,630 nautical miles since we left Ft. Lauderdale. At sunrise we sailed into the harbor at Antalya, Turkey. The sail-in was beautiful with snow capped mountains in the background and the city nestled on a narrow plain between the mountains and the white beach at the edge of a turquoise sea. It was soon obvious to us that the nickname for the area is “The Turquoise Coast”. Antalya is a very popular vacation destination for tourists from the colder regions of Europe and from Russia. Many of the signs around the area are printed in both Arabic and German. The area enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine each year so it is a paradise for sunbathing and water sports. Snow skiing is also popular in the nearby mountains and it is possible to ski in the morning and swim at the beach in the afternoon. The history of the region is rich in tradition and culture. Refugees from Troy fled from the eastern end of present day Turkey to establish Attaleia, now called Antalya, about 150 BC. But even earlier, in 1500 BC, the Hittites settled in the region and left a rich legacy in the ruins of four of their greatest cities. We were fortunate to be able to visit 3 of them, all of which were absorbed by the great empires of the ancient world, Hittite, Persian, Alexandrian, Pergamon, Roman, Byzantine, Mongol, Ottoman, and finally Turkey. Most of the ruins were from the Roman era. It is obvious that this connecting land between Asia and Europe is properly called the land where east meets west. The land along the coastline is a rich agricultural area. We drove through beautiful fields of small grains and garden produce and saw recently harvested fields of cotton. In addition there were numerous groves of citrus, olive, nut and other fruit trees as well as date palms. The first of our visits to an ancient city was to Aspendos. The city was built on a small plateau, which became the city center with the palace, basilica, government buildings and the market place (agora). The remainder of the city was scattered around the plateau and included a very well preserved theater with seating for about 15,000 spectators and is still used today for performances. It had a stage for productions rather than the nearby arena so popular in most early Roman cities. We spent some time exploring the theater and were very impressed at the similarity between modern theaters and this 2,000 year old structure designed by Zeno and dedicated to Marcus Aurelius, the emperor at the time of construction. To provide water for the structures on the plateau the Romans constructed an aqueduct connecting the plateau to a water source in the nearby mountains. Many of the supports for the aqueduct were still standing and our roadway passed under a small section of the water duct. As we marvel at the engineering accomplishments of the Roman Empire we wonder what today’s world would be like if the Empire had survived for many more centuries, or even until today? Our second visit was to the ruins of Side, another city with a similar history to that of Aspendos. The major difference was that a rather extensive tourist city has been built on the grounds of these ruins. Narrow, winding streets are lined with shops, cafes, and little “pensions” or guest houses. Nearly everyone spoke English (and several other languages) and all were very friendly in their efforts to relieve us of a few dollars. We spent most of our time viewing the ruins of a very large temple dedicated Apollo. A few pillars were still standing but it was easy to understand the plan of the original structure and many of the original pillars and roof supports were on the ground and we admired the stonework of the marble, all of which came from local quarries. A few hundred yards further we passed through a gate to see an expanse of ruins which contained the government buildings and the agora of the ancient city. Some of the building walls still stood several stories high. Then back to the bus for a short ride to a beautiful 5 star hotel for a very delicious Turkish buffet, and some free time to wander around the grounds and along the seashore of one of Turkey’s posh new resorts. Number three on the list of ancient cities in this district of Pamphylia was Perge. This city shared a similar early history to that of Aspendos and Side. The ruins included a well preserved athletic and gladiator arena which was believed to be 1,800 years old with a capacity of 15,000 spectators. We could almost hear the crowd cheering for their favorite gladiator. The massive gates were Greek in origin, with inscriptions in both Greek and Latin. Most of the ruins were originally Greek, but had been Romanized during the time of Roman occupation after 133 BC. The city included a 350 yard-long central street lined with pillars, some of which were inscribed with very nice sculptures. An open water channel flowed down the center of the street with gentle falls every 10 yards or so. Side streets ran from this central avenue, each with the ruins of many buildings, a marketplace, a basilica, baths, government buildings and fountains. The city even had a sewer system which drained the central water feature and ran to the nearby river. By now we had sore feet and carpel fingers from clicking camera shutters and were happy to turn our bus toward the harbor with a brief stop at a jewelry manufacturer/showroom. We had learned that jewelry exports were a major part of Turkey’s economy (600 tons/year) and they wanted to show us some of their fine work. It was impressive and several of our group left some American dollars at the showroom. Back to the ship too late for the Turkish cultural dance show, but just in time for dinner. Whew! What a day. Long, but very interesting and educational. Our guide for the day was concerned that Atayla and Turkey were not popular destinations for American tourists, in fact he was somewhat critical of the geography taught in American schools - he may have a point. By the end of our tour we were converts to the wonders of Turkey and we are quite sure we will check to see if elderhostel offers any programs here - there is certainly so much more to learn. Again, the best day yet… During the night our Captain repositioned the Prinsendam from the harbor in Antalya to a point in the Mediterranean just north of a line between Cypress and Crete. We awoke ready for one of the most exciting highlights of the entire cruise - a total solar eclipse! The excitement level on the ship was very high all morning. We heard several speakers over the past week address the phenomenon of an eclipse as well as several astronomy subjects. We had one last lecture on safe viewing of a solar eclipse just prior to lunch. After a quick lunch we settled on our verandah to watch this awesome event. The skies were clear and the Captain had our vessel in perfect position for the best possible view. We were at 34 degrees, 45.7 minutes north and 28 degrees, 40.0 minutes east and could see 3 or 4 other ships and yachts within a few miles of our position. The ship gradually floated around so we could not see the sun from our verandah so we moved aft to a small deck behind the gym and still very close to our cabin. We were there at 12.31 pm. When the moon first made a tiny dent at about the 5:00 position in the sun. That dent gradually increased over the next 1 ¼ hours until, at 1:48 the last of the sun was completely covered by the moon. It suddenly became relatively dark…slightly lighter than a very clear night with a full moon…and everyone was unnaturally quiet. We had watched for the line of the shadow as it approached but to no avail. We knew it moved extremely fast (over 1,000 miles/hour) on the surface of the Earth, but still hoped we might see it. A lecturer had told us that a complete solar eclipse was one of the most awe-inspiring events he had ever experienced and we have to agree with him. When we saw how perfectly the moon fit the image of the sun, and how perfectly it had to move to get into that perfect position it made us marvel at the wonderful clocklike precision of the forces which propel the universe. All this we take for granted until we experience an event of this magnitude. We saw prominences radiating from the sun which were manifestations of its gravitational field. Although we looked for sun spots prior to totality we saw none but we had been prepared for their absence by our lecturer and were not surprised. We could see Venus very brightly below and to the right of the sun/moon combination. Our astronomer told us from the bridge (on the public address system) that he could see Mercury with his high power scope, but we could not find it. We did see a very pronounced line of twilight on the horizon completely around the ship. This was the band of sunlight falling just outside the zone of totality. This totality of the eclipse lasted 3 minutes and 52 seconds and then the twilight immediately passed as the sun peeked out from behind the moon. This very small portion of the sun made the day seem as bright as it had been before the entire process began. The Captain then set his course for Kusadasi, Turkey, our next port, and this new course allowed us to watch the receding eclipse from our verandah. We watched the sun gradually re-appear. We should mention that Holland America had given each passenger (and the entire crew) special filters to allow us to view the direct sun without causing damage to our eyes. We used these filters until totality, when we were assured that it was completely safe to look directly at the covered sun. The sun was completely uncovered at 3:08 and we went up to the Lido deck for hot chocolate and tea. Everyone throughout the ship was literally raving about the experience and will probably continue to do so for weeks to come. The event was the sole topic of conversation throughout dinner and the entire evening. The sunset over the Greek Isles in the Aegean Sea was one of the most spectacular sunsets ever - a grand finale for the “circle of the sun”. Once again, I uploaded the photos in the wrong day order and I don't know how to change them... sorry! Patty and Barney watching eclipse Ring of twilight Total Eclipse Sunset after eclipse Theater at Aspendos Temple of Apollo in Side Woman making pita Ruins at Perge (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
11:05 am	Wonders of the World WONDERS OF THE WORLD March 26, 2006 On successive days we were treated to a modern engineering wonder- the Suez Canal, and a visit to the site of one of the wonders of the ancient world - the great lighthouse on the Island of Pharos in Alexandria. First, the canal: On March 25th at 6:00 a.m. we sailed from the Gulf of Suez into the Suez Canal. The southern opening into the canal lies between the cities of Suez on the east and Port Tewfiq on the west. Although we think of the canal as a relatively modern feature we learned that early Egyptians carved a narrow canal from the Nile valley sometime in the 13th century BC. The route of this canal is lost somewhere under the sand in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. In the 6th century BC, Pharaoh Necho oversaw the construction of a canal from the Nile Valley to the Bitter lakes, and on south to the Gulf of Suez. This made a water route from the Mediterranean Sea, up the Nile river, across the canal, through the Bitter Lake, and south through another leg of the canal to the Gulf of Suez. Historical records indicate that this canal was used intermittently for several centuries, and finally abandoned in the 8th century AD. There was a lot of talk, but no action regarding another canal in later centuries, and no serious effort was expended until 1854, when the Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, convinced his friend, the Egyptian Viceroy, Mohammed Said to give his blessing to the construction of a new canal. After years of political and construction problems the canal was opened in November of 1869. A cursory knowledge of World Geography makes the value of the canal obvious. The 25,000 or so ships which transit the canal each year have saved countless thousands of sea miles and thousands of sea days using this maritime shortcut. The canal is a little over 100 miles in length with a minimum depth of nearly 200 feet. There are no locks and ships with less than a 53 foot draft and up to 150,000 tons (loaded) are able to make the transit. The canal consists of 3 sections of man-made channel dug in the sand of the Sinai Peninsula. These connect with 4 lakes each with a deep channel dredged through them to permit the passage of ships. Approximately 1/3 of the distance from the south end of the canal, side channels have been dredged in one of these lakes, Great Bitter Lake, to allow ships to wait for oncoming ships to pass. There is also a side channel on the canal about 1/3 of the way from the north end dredged for the same purpose. Ships travel in small convoys under the control of special canal pilots who board each ship prior to entrance to the canal. All traffic is one-way, with each convoy alternating at the discretion of a controller who coordinates traffic throughout the canal. Our convoy of 6 ships made the transit in about 9 hours. Since the canal was dredged though the sand ships move fairly slow to avoid a wake which would erode the banks of the canal. Passenger ships are given traffic priority over cargo ships so we were not required to wait for oncoming traffic at either of the “side tracks”. We passed many ships waiting at both passing locations and, although we slowed considerably in the lake we were never required to stop. Somewhere, someone did a great job of coordinating all this ship traffic. We spent nearly all our time on deck or on our verandah watching the sights as we made our leisurely transit. The port view (our view) was toward Egypt proper and the land was irrigated by canals from the Nile River. Any land without irrigation was completely barren desert. We passed small fields of wheat, rice, and other small grains as well as small plots of pastureland. We also saw groves of date palms and olive, banana, citrus and other fruit trees. All the farms were very small and most of the labor was done by hand or with animals although we saw an occasional small tractor. An interesting feature on some farms was the presence of pigeon cotes. These were small structures (6 to 10 feet tall) on the roofs of the flat topped houses. Each cote was constructed of stucco and shaped like a round silo with a domed roof and covered with holes around the perimeter of the structure for the entry and exit of the birds. Until very recently the land east of the canal has not been irrigated so we saw nothing to starboard except desert. At 6 or 8 locations we passed ferry landings which allowed the passage of local commuters to cross the canal. A highway crossed under the canal through a tunnel near its southern end and one automobile bridge crossed over the water near the northern end although we saw no traffic on the bridge. We learned that the toll to cross the bridge was prohibitive compared to the very reasonable price required to cross by ferry. There was a small military facility every few thousand yards and temporary floating bridges were tied up along the bank every 6 or 8 miles. Even though Egypt controlled the land on both sides of the canal it was obvious that the Egyptian government was suspicious of their neighbors to the east. We cleared the canal through Lake Manzala at Port Said about 4:00 p.m. and sailed into the Mediterranean Sea, turned to port, and set our course toward Alexandria, the wonderful city on the Nile delta named for Alexander the Great. BLAAATT! We were awakened at 5:45 a.m. by the Alexandria marching band. Our ship was not even in port yet, but we were greeted just the same. Alexandria is the 2nd largest city in Egypt and it is very impressive. They are in the process of building a new and modern terminal and it will certainly change the appearance of this port. As the sun was rising you could see the reflection on the many old and interesting buildings. The port area was under heavy security as was everyplace we went in Egypt. We enjoyed breakfast on our verandah as we watched the 17 tour buses load and depart for the overland tours to Cairo. We especially liked the enthusiasm of those participating in the crew tour. Over 70 were able to go and you could sure contrast their energy and enthusiasm with many of the other passengers who were exhibiting the “been there, done that” attitude. Since we had visited Cairo, the pyramids and the sphinx we opted for a tour of Alexandria. We were immediately struck by the cleanliness of the city and the friendliness of the Egyptians. Of course, it was a Sunday and Alexandria was less busy than on a typical workday. Our first stop was to Ft. Quaitbey, a 15th century 3 story fort built on the location of the great lighthouse from the 3rd century BC. Construction of the lighthouse was ordered by Ptolemy and was 400 ft tall. It was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was topped by a statue of the sea god Poseidon holding a torch in his upraised arm and wearing a spiked halo and a flowing gown. Sound familiar? The remains of the lighthouse are hidden under the sea but recent archeologists are trying to catalog the remains for posterity. The view from the top of the fort was magnificent as encompassed the entire harbor area. It was literally packed with colorful fishing vessels. The harbor is surrounded by beaches and walkways and was similar to those of Rio, without the heat and the “bodies“. Little did we realize that our next stop was going to be the “Roman ruins”. In 1964 construction was to begin in downtown Alexandria on an large building project. The workers stumbled upon antiquities which stopped all progress and led to the unearthing of an ancient Roman amphitheatre with 12 marble terraces. Excavation continues and indications are that the ancient complex could cover a vast area under current downtown Alexandria. There is some belief that this excavation may uncover the tomb of Alexander the Great. We wandered through the ancient ruins and enjoyed watching and listening to school children (yes, they have school on Sundays in Egypt) as they visited the sight. Many wanted to practice their English so we had a great time. The highlight of the tour was the visit to Bibliotheca Alexandria, a new library, museum, conference center, and planetarium built on the site of the original 3rd century BC library of Alexander the Great. This library housed most of the important and irreplaceable written records of that time and unfortunately they burned with the rest of the port. The building is extremely modern and a wonderful contrast to the history that it portrays. We regret that we didn’t have enough time to explore every aspect of the complex. We will be back to complete that task as well as see what “new” ruins have been unearthed. Our ship was quiet when we returned as most of the passengers were still on their tour of Cairo. The dining room wasn’t even half-filled but we relaxed and enjoyed our dinner while watching the sun set over Alexandria. We have a day on the Mediterranean Sea on Monday and we anchor in Antayla, Turkey on Tuesday. Patty and Barney at Fort Quaitbey Boats in the harbor Roman Amphitheater Street scene in Alexandria Bibliotecha Alexandria Mosque in Alexandria Suez Caravan Who's watching whom Home and orchard on west bank of Suez Canal (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
11:52 am	March 21, 2006 Tuesday Day 75 of the World Cruise - we are setting a new cruise record for us as our previous cruise was 72 days……….. We felt at that time that we could cruise longer, and sure enough! There is always so much to do whether we are in port or experiencing a sea day. The cruise staff is fantastic about having many varied activities to fill the days, but it seems we can keep ourselves busy most of the time. Mumbai was another cruise segment final port and we disembarked 48 passengers and 43 new ones boarded. We still do not have a “sold out” cruise and it is our understanding that World Cruise 2007 already has more passengers currently signed up than we have in total for 2006. WOW! Holland America must be smiling! Mumbai was also the location for exploration speaker departure and addition. We always hate to part with the current speakers but are excited about those newly boarded. We have a husband/wife team of astronomers to help us understand and fully appreciate the upcoming full eclipse. They are brilliant, but still present their material in a way that keeps everyone interested. We also enjoy a professor of geology from San Diego State University. In a recent lecture he had us all glued to our seats as he talked about the tsunami in Indonesia 14 months ago. His insight and photos brought it to life and since the majority of our ship’s crew is Indonesian we all identified with it more personally now than before. Recently the Indonesian crew performed their crew show. It didn’t start until 10:30 and I don’t know who is more disappointed that we missed it - the wonderful young men that we have grown to love, or those of us who fell asleep waiting for 10:30 to arrive. They can’t schedule the show for another time as they are so busy with their jobs and responsibilities that finding an earlier show time is next to impossible. We also missed the Philippino crew show as we couldn’t stay awake for that one either. They are videotaped so that we can view them in our rooms, but that just isn’t the same. The dining staff recently presented another grand buffet. The food, displays, and ice sculptures were incredible and it was easy to gain weight just walking through with camera in hand. To top it all off, the Rosario strings were playing their wonderful music. The beautiful display was set up after breakfast and removed in the early afternoon. It is amazing how they turn the dining room into a new experience every night and sometimes several times in a day. Not only is the menu different each evening, they fold the napkins a different way for every sitting. Most evenings the dining room is adorned with fabrics, centerpieces, flowers and flags that follow the theme for the day. Monday we were in Salalah, Oman. We had been here before and the tours that were offered were pretty much a duplication of our previous visit. The port lecturer had mentioned that visiters could take a taxi to the Crowne Plaza Hotel about 25 miles from the pier and snorkel. Since our visit to Sharm el Sheikh has been cancelled and our tour there was a snorkeling adventure, we decided to strike out on our own and try snorkeling in Oman. The pier is 16 miles for the city and located in the biggest sandbox you have ever seen. Views port and starboard were of container ships and containers Waiting to be loaded on ships. Security was high, although not obtrusive. At the last minute a friend decided to forgo her scheduled tour in favor of snorkeling so off we went to in search of a cab. Now, this is a first for us although it is a common practice to so many of the passengers. Communicating in a language unfamiliar to us, negotiating a fare in money unfamiliar to us and not having the slightest idea where we were going was a real experience. Our cab driver got the needed information from a “runner” and we hopped in for our adventure. The cab was air-conditioned and our driver was trying to point out landmarks as we passed. He knew about 6 words of English and we knew no Arabic. He would slow down so we could take pictures from the cab but about all there was to photograph were date and coconut palms, (Salalah is the date palm capitol of the world), sand, and more sand. We drove through Salalah which is a modern city since it has all been built since the 60’s. The city was built with oil money and the Omanis used the money wisely. It is extremely clean and well-kept which was a delight after what we saw in India. We saw very few people out and about and speculated that they all went to India for a few days. Our cab driver insisted on waiting for us at the hotel and communicated that message to us via the hotel concierge. We couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t want to get other fares during that time. As we pulled up to the hotel we were happy to see a fellow passenger waiting for a ride back to the ship. He had been evacuated from the ship in Cochin for medical reasons, but was feeling better and rejoining the ship. We gave him a friendly welcome. The hotel was incredibly beautiful and immaculate. We were told we could use all the services after the payment of a small fee. Once negotiated we headed for snorkeling in the Arabian Sea. The water temperature was just perfect - absolutely no shock at all as you wandered into the gentle surf. However, the snorkeling was not good as the waters were just too murky with suspended sand to get a clear view of anything. We didn’t let that dampen our spirits as we sat under umbrellas and watched the dolphins frolicking in the waters. We walked the beach, played in the surf and talked to other hotel guests. We loved talking to and watching about 20 young men from the Royal British Navy who were enjoying themselves on a one day break from nearby maneuvers. After we had soaked up as much sun as possible with 30 and 45 sunscreen creams we hopped our cab for the ride back to the pier. Communication was once again a challenge and when we mentioned that he must have been waiting for us nearby, since he got to the hotel so quickly, he understood “quick” and really took off assuming that we wanted to get back quickly. We tried to tell him that wasn’t what we meant and he ended up calling his “runner” and handing the phone to Barney. Once that was ironed out and he understood that we didn’t want an additional tour, or visit to the souq (shopping stalls) or anything else, we were merrily on our way. We got back to the pier and told him thanks and started back for the shuttle bus. He grabbed Jan by the arm and said “money” - guess that is one word that everyone knows and understands. It seems that the fee we negotiated was one-way, not round trip. No wonder he wanted to stay there and wait. He made enough off us and didn’t need any other fares. We didn’t mind at all and have something to laugh about. Wednesday, March 22nd Seems as though it is harder to get a journal entry ready to upload when we have sea days. Maybe that is because we don’t have anything specific to include in the message….. So here are a few “tidbits” for those interested in the ship’s gossip (oops, information) The gentleman involved in the disturbance about a seat on the plane back from Amboseli has been asked to leave the ship - he came to informal dinner where a jacket is required and was carrying his jacket. When asked to put it on, he refused and spit at the maitre de. Can you believe it? There is some sort of medical condition going on that has the ship’s doctor quarantining passengers. Not sure what it is since it hasn’t effected anyone we know. We’re all hoping that the new passengers that just boarded didn’t bring any “new” diseases with them. Wet finally have our immune systems in synch with current maladies and don’t need new germs. There are a few passengers sporting casts and bruises from their Taj Mahal overland. One of the buses was involved in an accident with another bus as the holy cows decided to cross the highway. No one was wearing seat belts but luckily most of the injuries were minor. All avoided hospitalization and Holland America took great care of all those inconvenienced. Everyone was able to complete the entire tour and were back on ship in time. Another mishap in the laundry room to report - a lady on a scooter (we have lots of those on board) spun around too quickly and ran right into another passenger. No apologies offered on either side and everyone seems to have their own version of the details. Boy are we glad that we signed up for the full cruise laundry service and don’t have the stress of doing our laundry in the self service facility. It is rumored that more men are doing the laundry than women - what a deal! There is the continuous “battle” of people in the exercise room turning up the tv volume, then turning it down, then up, down, etc... a no win situation at best. Two passengers who were scheduled to be on until Ft. Lauderdale left in Cochin because they were sick and tired of the way people were acting. Now, there must be more to this information than meets the eye……. But that’s all I know now. Although these incidents stay in our minds and are being talked about throughout the ship it probably isn’t any different behavior than one would find in any group of people this size put together for this long. For the most part, the mood is upbeat and we love making new friends. The dining room is nearly empty on formal nights any more. Everyone seems to have “had it” with dressing up. We are enjoying eating at the Lido on these evenings and it allows us a chance to dine with many of the other passengers we want to spend more time with. Today we ate breakfast in the dining room as we felt entitled to eggs benedict after our two mile morning walk. We also met friends in the dining room for lunch and found that to be a great experience. It is quieter and much more relaxed. The dining theme this evening is Indian/Egyptian so we might try to wrap nine yards of silk that we bought and try to create a sari. The ship went all out for St. Patrick’s Day. There was a “sail away” party on the aft lido deck with wine and cheese. Hot cheese fondue was served along with a variety of other cheeses and fruits. The wine was flowing freely and the Irish and non-Irish celebrated in style. The Prinsedam band was playing and it was great fun as we sailed out of Mumbai. Frequently sail away time coincides with our early dinner seating so we often miss the sail away or view it from the dining room. This was one occasion that everyone seemed to attend and enjoy. We didn’t see anyone drinking green beer but we did see a few people who turned green from drinking. The Captain has made some changes in our schedule and itinerary. It seems as though Libya a is not allowing any US citizens to enter on a short term basis. Consequently our two ports of call in Libya have been cancelled. We are disappointed but glad that the Captain and Holland America have our best interests at heart. Security on deck is still high and we suspect will remain so at least until we leave the Suez canal. For those of you keeping track of our schedule it is now as follows: 3/28 Antalya Turkey 3/29 At Sea (Total Solar Eclipse) 3/30 Kusadasi, Turkey 3/31 Iraklio, Crete, Greece 4/1 Piraeus, (Athens) Greece 4/2 At Sea 4/3 Valletta, Malta 4/4 Catania, Sicily, Italy 4/5 Naples, Italy 4/6 Civitavecchia, (Rome) Italy Along those same lines some of you are keeping track of our different shore excursions and we have a change in the one from Alexandria, Egypt. We had planned to take the long journey to Cairo so we could visit the Antiquities Museum there. The tour also included a visit to the pyramids. Since we have been to the pyramids and since we would only have 1 ½ hours in the museum we decided to stay in Alexandria and enjoy all the wonderful history and sites there. We are experiencing another repeat day of perfect weather and sea conditions. Even the Captain and veteran travelers are marveling at the smooth seas. The ship just seems to float effortlessly along. Many times we have forgotten that we are even on a ship. We are hoping to put a few of these days in the “bank” for the trip across the Atlantic. Thursday, March 23rd Another beautiful day at sea and since we gained another hour last evening we were up and walking the decks at 6 am. We had lots of company so it seems like everyone is finally catching up on those lost hours. It is 9:20 am as we write this entry and it is 1:20 am in Omaha so we are making up for lost time. We had no success in creating a sari last evening so once again it was off to the Lido. They serve most of the entries from the La Fontaine Dining Room at the Lido so we aren’t missing out on the great food. We do miss our wonderful waiters, Henro and Ray for their attention, but the service is certainly great in the Lido as well. Today our schedule is filled with port and shore excursion talks regarding all the new changes. We are especially excited about the addition of Piraeus (Athens) in Greece. On our 2001 world cruise Athens public employees were on a one day strike (of course, the day we were in Athens) so we were not able to visit the Acropolis and many other sites that we wanted to see. Keep your fingers crossed that there won’t be similar strikes this year. St. Patrick's Celebration Salalah, Oman Clock Tower The Beach Patty and Barney at the Crowne Plaza Resort, Salalah, Oman Grand Buffet Where we are going... Where we have been... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, March 18th, 2006
12:18 am	Incredible !india March 17, 2006 Day 70, Mumbai, India…Looks like we are eating “crow” even if it is curried crow. Our grumbling about another visit to Mumbai was all for naught. What a wonderful surprise! I would guess that the fact that our previous visit was tinted with the reminders of “Dehli belly” and exhaustion after the Taj Mahal trip in 2001 had a direct bearing on our expectations. This visit has been so relaxing and enjoyable. We arrived Wednesday the 16th as the sun was rising. The harbor where we were docked came to life in front of us as we watched the fishing boats heading out for a day’s catch. We checked our Sprint phone to see if we had a signal and we were in luck. It is amazing what talking to Chris, Doug, Heidi, Dylan and Christina can do for homesickness. Christina was amazed that we were watching the sun come up on Wednesday while she was eating dinner on Tuesday. Fully invigorated from the phone calls, we ate breakfast on the verandah in an effort to be on time for an early tour. The passenger population on the ship is now lower because 1/3 of the ship’s passengers left at Cochin for a two day trip to the Taj Mahal. We joined many of the remaining passengers who chose to see Mumbai on a guided tour. We had a quick bus ride (no traffic because of a holiday - more details to follow) to the Gateway to India where we transferred to a small ferry boat for a one hour ride to Elephanta Island to see the caves. The Gateway to India is a very large and impressive stone structure built to commemorate the 1911 visit of King George V and Queen Mary. It took 10 years to build and was completed in 1921. It serves as a very impressive waterfront monument and is immediately across the street from the Taj Mahal Hotel. The boat ride to Elephanta Island was relaxing and interesting. We passed many Indian Navy ships, fishing boats, other ferries and huge container ships and barges. There was a haze in the air and the temperature was in the low 80’s (a big relief as we know how hot India can be). After docking at the island during low tide we rode a small passenger carrier-train from the dock area to the base of the caves. The train was packed with locals (remember the holiday!) as well as tourists. The peddlers were in abundance and it was difficult to remember that a shake of the head back and forth meant “yes” and up and down meant “no”. We had been told that saying “no” was rude, but sometimes it is the only way, followed by a smile. The fishing boats were all lined up in water so shallow that the fishermen were standing next to them waiting for the tide to come in. Once we reached the base of the 100+ steps to the caves we were told that a ride to the top on a chair carried by four men was included in our price. One rode, one walked. Any guesses? What an experience! The steps were uneven and slippery and lined with shopping stalls on both sides. What went up must come down so the traffic was significant. Once again monkeys were everywhere. These were the mangiest ones we have seen. They didn’t seem to be bothered by the crowds and the little children squealed with delight at their antics. Elephanta Cave was carved between the 5th and 8th centuries by early Hindu artisans. The early Portuguese damaged it severely but much of the art work is still intact enough to appreciate the magnitude of the endeavor. The cave is filled with grottos, each with a large carving dedicated to Shiva, goddess of good and evil. These carvings are very detailed and are cut into the basic stone of the hill. We walked down rather than risk the tipping of a sedan chairs on such a steep slope. The whole experience was one of being engulfed in color, almost literally…. The holiday called “Festival of Colors” was in celebration of the end of spring and beginning of summer ( I know you must be wondering what calendar is used here, but remember that they set the clocks ½ hour ahead of the standard time zones in the world). The major activity of the holiday was to fill balloons with colored water and throw them at everyone. The revelers also imbibe in a very potent local drink. This holiday meant that most businesses were not open and that there was much less traffic on the streets. It also treated us to a wonderful display of people of all ages sporting brightly colored skin and clothes, in some cases from head to toe. Our guide said that the dyes used in the past washed off but some now used were not water soluble. We didn’t see any of our fellow passengers that had been part of the celebration, but many of the ship’s crew on tour joined in the fun and loved every minute of it - until they tried to clean up for “duty”. We think the trip to Elephanta Island was made even better by the holiday atmosphere and local participation. Our boat ride back to Mumbai was again relaxing as we chose to sit on the top level with an unobstructed view of the harbor. One of the vendors had boarded our ferry boat and tried to get us to buy his trinkets, but we resisted his highly practiced salesmanship. He was most interesting and once again, we found ourselves involved in a wonderful conversation. He shared many facts about his home, family, community, culture and country. He explained that Elephanta island has no regular electricity but a generator provided electricity from 7:00 to 11:00 each evening. In the rainy season they are “prisoners” of their island as the seas are so rough and the water so high that they can’t leave the island. Half-way back we met another ferry and the young man transferred to it for a ride home because he wanted to celebrate the holiday with his family. As the Taj Mahal hotel and the Gateway to India came into view, the haze evaported and we had a wonderful photo opportunity of Marvelous Mumbai. The new mantra for India is “Incredible !ndia” and we are believers. We spent the afternoon walking around the cruise terminal and checking out the wonderful Indian textiles. We helped the economy of India while damaging the economy of the Dedens, but is was for a good cause! We spent the rest of the afternoon on the verandah of our stateroom enjoying the view of the harbor. No show was schedule for the evening because many passengers were ashore. We invited friends to our stateroom to watch a computer slideshow of our African safaris and later fell asleep listening to the sounds of the busy harbor. Thursday…another busy day with another early tour but we had time for another early call home to hear the friendly voices of Doug’s family. Even, Mary the bird was heard from half way around the world! We called Chris before retiring for the evening as that fits his schedule better. Our tour Thursday was called “Marvels of Mumbai” and it was aptly titled. Our guide was superior and the entire tour was so interesting. Traffic was much heavier even though most of tour took place prior to the 10:30 a.m. traffic rush hour. Over 3 million people ride the trains in and out of downtown Mumbai each day. We watched commuter trains with people literally hanging out of the open doorways. The trains are so crowded that people don’t even have room to carry their lunches so there is a very unique service which uses special lunch boxes and picks up food from commuters homes and brings it, by train, to the central train station, Victoria terminus, where it is then hand delivered to each commuter at his place of work. The lunch boxes are picked up after lunchtime for re-use and the whole procedure works in reverse. We are going to have to “google” this when we get home as it sounds fascinating. Several million meals are delivered by this service each day and the service has a 99% accuracy rate at getting the right meal to the right person on time. They have been written up in Forbes magazine and are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Our tour included a stop at the Dhobi Ghats, the world-famous laundry in Mumbai. From the sidewalk along the street we looked over a low wall at thousands of open concrete tubs with shallow water in them. Men were scrubbing clothes, flailing garments on the sides of the tubs, hand wringing the water from washed garments and hanging them on clotheslines hanging above the complex of open tubs and low sheds. Only men are allowed to do the laundry and the businesses are handed down from generation to generation. Each worker has one concrete tub that is filled with water. They change the water only once a day but we were told that they get the clothes white because of the soap and bleach that they use. Most of the garments hanging on the lines looked remarkably white compared to the water we saw in the tubs. The clothes are literally beaten on the walls of the concrete tubs - sounds like lots of broken buttons to us. Our guide explained that some private homes now have washing facilities, but that the majority of the Mumbai business community use the laundry service of the Dhobi Ghats. In the rainy season the service is only offered on dry days since everything has to dry outside. We watched bicyclists delivering the bundles of finished clothes…….. This is the ultimate in pick up and deliver...well maybe with the exception of the lunch delivery service. Our bus tour gave us a wonderful chance to watch the traffic in this city of 17 million people. There are 52,000 fiat taxis in Mumbai, every one of which looks identical and they all seemed to want to be in the same space at the same time. There were very few lane markings on the streets and taxis, bicycles, buses, hand carts and motorbikes all intermingled within inches of each other with remarkable grace and ease. Of course this is accomplished only if every driver is continually pounding on his horn while he completely ignores the cacophony around him! We spent a short amount of time visiting the home where Ghandi lived during his residency in Mumbai. The house is being renovated so we didn’t get to see the library but what we did see was very interesting. Our next stop was at the Prince of Wales Museum, with a very interesting and unique display of miniature art as well as many early Hindu sculptures. The museum also had a rather complete collection of early Indian brass, jewelry, and weapons and even a gallery of European art. Next we visited Taj Mahal hotel. What a first class luxurious hotel! It is rated as the best 5 star hotel in India and, in our minds our short visit confirmed the rating. The original hotel was completed in 1904. A modern, but very compatible high rise wing was added in the 1990’s. The hotel was bustling with business people in all styles of dress, all of whom seemed to be late for an important meeting. Many of those on the tour decided to stay for high tea, but we went back to the ship for lunch and a bit of a breather before nightfall. We skipped dinner in the dining room and opted for the Indian barbeque held on the Lido deck. All of the ship’s staff was decked out in colorful attire and they had transformed the pool area into a lovely dining area under the stars. The ship’s personnel go out of their way to immerse all of us in the culture of each country we visit. We wonder where they store all the fabrics and supplies used for decorations and costumes for the staff. It boggles our minds as we are running out of room to store our fabrics, etc. Since it was the last full night in port, we were treated to an Indian folklore show at 10:00pm. The singer/dancers were so enthusiastic and everyone had a wonderful smile throughout the entire program. The costumes were elaborate and colorful. The music was vibrant and cheerful and a good time was had by all. Friday…Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Our last day in India and we can truly say that we will miss this place. We had little planned for the day but were unexpectedly asked to join a friend who had an invitation to be driven to a shop to look for fabrics. What a treat! A beautiful Indian woman lined up an air-conditioned car with driver to take us to her shop. She spoke perfect English and acted as our personal guide on the short ride to the shop. Dorothy and Patty tried hard to find fabric to buy but we were unsuccessful. We decided to stay in the shopping area and shop on our own. Just crossing the street was an experience in itself. No one could quite understand that we just wanted fabric by the yard so we ended up with tablecloths that hopefully we can do something with. Barney got the three of us a cab after establishing a price and we hopped in. Barney’s head hit the top of the roof as we darted in and out of traffic. It gave new meaning to “reach out and touch someone”. How they manage to stay alive is amazing. Once back at the port’s gate the cab driver wanted more money but Barney told him that was all we had and we got out of the cab and walked through the gate. So much for American/Indian relations. We are in for the rest of the afternoon and will join fellow passengers in a sail-away party at 5 pm. Dinner tonight is formal followed by a green and white ball in honor of St. Patrick’s Day but we shall skip the dinner and ball and eat on the aft Lido deck and watch the Indian shoreline fade in the distance as we say farewell to Incredible !ndia. Patty and Barney arrive Mumbai Sunrise over Mumbai Fishing boats at low tide Taj Mahal Hotel and Gateway to Indian Street scene Dhobi Ghats Patty and Barney at Taj Mahal Hotel (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 14th, 2006
4:59 am	Sorry no Sari MARCH 13, 2006 Cochin, India was the first repeat port of call from our World cruise in 2001. We had seen the local attractions, so we stayed close to the pier after tying up at the dock about 8:00 a.m. on the 13th. A group of four elephants were waiting for us on the pier as we docked. They had colorful decorations on their heads and several costumed young men riding on them under brightly colored umbrellas. They stayed on the dock most of the morning and were available for pictures and rides when passengers were cleared to leave the ship. It took a full hour to get cleared by the customs authorities. A local dance troupe came on board and presented a 9:00am show in the Queen’s Lounge. It consisted of several numbers by a small group of dancers and several exhibitions of martial arts by four warriors. Of course it was vintage Indian and very interesting to watch. All dance movements were very slow and deliberate and the gold colored costumes were highly jeweled. We went for a short walk on the pier and were literally chased back to the comfort of the gangway area by a mob of very persistent street vendors who were strongly convinced that we needed postcards, fans, trinkets and taxi rides. The mob was so thick that we had trouble maintaining physical contact with each other. There were a few souvenir booths near the ship attended by local citizens who were just as serious about a sale as the mob members, but much more polite in their salesmanship. The only mob mentality here was that of frenzied and overheated passengers trying to get the best deal on a scarf or brass trinket. After lunch on the ship we returned to the pier. Most of the ship’s passengers had left on tours of Cochin, so we could shop in peace and shade. Patty looked for a sari, but there were none available. Hence the title of this journal entry: “Sorry, no sari“. We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing on our verandah, watching the boats motor around the Cochin harbor, one of the busiest in all of India. The city is built on a series of islands and the waterways make a very efficient harbor. In addition to busses and taxis, which move throughout the city on a system of bridges and causeways, water taxis are an important means of transportation. There were literally dozens of water taxis and other small boats passing our verandah the entire afternoon and all gave us a friendly wave. Each boat was different in size and shape and most were very colorful. At 4:00 we went down to the promenade deck for “refreshments” and watched a dance show on the deck presented by a group of Indian dancers and drummers. It was a fun farewell party a we had a good time with our friends on the Prinsendam. Then to dinner where we watched Cochin fade away behind us as the sun set over the Arabian Sea. We watched for the elusive sunset green flash but did not see it this night, although we had seen it twice on this journey, the most recent the previous evening when it was very prominent. We sailed north toward Mumbai and relaxed and watched the stars from the verandah. We were watching the lights of a ship on the horizon when it suddenly launched a very bright flare above it. This was quickly followed by three bright orange projectiles which traveled several miles from that ship off to our right. Patty called the front desk to ask about the flares and they took down the information and said they would contact the bridge (although they assured us they had 24 hour watch and nothing would go unnoticed). They called back later to say that it was an Indian naval vessel on a training mission and the captain had been in touch with them. So much for minding our own business! As we type this journal entry we are sailing on the calmest seas of our journey to date. The surface is mirror-like and the clouds are reflected in the waters. The calmness is only broken by the flying fish and the Prinsendam wake. Sail on…. Calm Arabian Sea Indian Dancers Asian Elephants Party boat Fishing nets at sunset in Cochin (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 12th, 2006
2:23 pm	Victoria, Seychelles March 12, 2006 Day 66. Nearly 19,000 nautical miles from Ft. Lauderdale and still afloat! This is the third day at sea since leaving the Seychelles Islands. We spent March 9th there, sailing into the harbor at Victoria, the capital, at 6:00 a.m. The Seychelles are a group of about 115 islands nearly 1,000 miles from the coast of east Africa. Only three of the islands are of significant size and they are situated near the center of the group. These three are composed of granite and are outcroppings of a huge underwater plateau which is part of the tectonic plate which included India and Madagascar when it separated from Africa 65 million years ago. Most of the remaining Seychelles islands are atolls and are not inhabited. Victoria is located on the island of Mahe, and is the only significant port in the Seychelles, as well as being one of the smallest capitals in the world. The island reminded us of the islands in Tahiti. Although Tahiti is volcanic in origin, both groups of islands consist of steep, high, rocky mountains surrounded by relatively narrow inhabited areas on their seacoasts. French is the prominent language in both countries and fishing and tourism are important to the economy of each. The Seychelles have a long and interesting recorded history, beginning with a sighting by Vasco da Gama in 1502. 17 century Portuguese explorers visited the islands and for many years the islands were the base for bands of ocean pirates. In 1742 the islands were settled by the French and they occupied the islands until they were ceded to the British in 1842 under the Treaty of Paris. The country became independent following a bloodless coup in 1974 and is currently governed by a “multiparty democracy with a parliamentary system“. Both French and British influences are obvious in the building styles and the languages spoken by the citizens. It seems a bit confusing to see drivers speaking French from the right hand drivers seat following the left lane of the road. We had breakfast in our cabin and left the ship for a short “get acquainted” tour of the north end of the island. We drove through the streets of the very small town of Victoria, past the State House (their capital building), the Law Courts, National Museum, several churches and a mosque, the National Library, and the home of the President. Our first stop was at the Botanical Garden where we saw plants unique to the Seychelles. The most interesting to us was the Coco de Mere, a very large coconut with a double nut within the husk. We also saw many beautiful flowers and several of the very large land tortoises indigenous to the Seychelles. Very large fruit bats were roosting high in a tree and our guide clanged a trash can lid to startle them into flight so we could watch them fly around the garden. Their wingspan and the surface area of their wings were both surprising large. The NON-air-conditioned school bus then took us along a winding road which followed the coast. We traveled between broad white beaches with gentle waves on one side and steep green hillsides on the other. Many very plush homes were built into the hillside with very steep paved driveways leading up from the highway. The water was a beautiful aqua color and we could see a reef a few hundred yards offshore. Although we did not have an opportunity to snorkel our guide assured us that the reef was teeming with colorful ocean life and snorkeling and diving were favorite activities for both tourists and residents. We stopped at the Beau Vallon Hotel for refreshments and a brief walk through the gift shops. The return drive to the harbor took us past an overlook where we had a bird’s eye view of Victoria. From here we could see how very small the city is and we also had a great view of the very pretty nearby islands. Then back to the ship for lunch and a lazy afternoon before sailing away during the early evening. Although the Seychelles are very hot and humid, lying only a few degrees south of the equator, they are a very popular tourist destination for citizens of Europe and the middle east. We set our clocks ahead another hour the evening of March 8th and crossed the equator the evening of March 10th at 8:30 p.m. at approximately 61 degrees east longitude. We had another time adjustment the evening of March 10th; this time our adjustment was only ½ hour and brought us even with the time in India. The total of all these time adjustments now have us in a time zone 11 ½ hours ahead of U.S. Central Standard Time. This should be our furthest zone east and we look forward to regaining this time as we travel westward for the remainder of the journey. We’ve reached the point in our journey where we really feel like we are part of a small community of very good friends. We know so many fellow passengers that every journey about the ship is filled with mini-visits in the hallways and public areas. Of course this is also the point in the trip where some small percentage of passengers exhibit a bit of an unpleasant personality change. We no longer get an automatic smile and greeting from everyone. I guess that is what is known as “cabin fever”, but we don’t feel it nor do those with whom we spend most of our time. I recently read a book by Jon Turk, an adventure/explorer author who said “Travelers are always changed. The person who arrives is always a little different from the one who departs.” We’re confidant that the experiences of our journey, including the shipboard confinement, will make us more tolerant and understanding of those we’ve met on other continents as well as those with whom we are traveling. Giant Tortoises Coco de Mere Fishing boat Seychelles beach Yawning tortoise (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 9th, 2006
12:02 pm	Out of Africa March 8, 2006 We are experiencing the second of two relaxing days at sea with a light breeze and calm seas as we cruise eastward across the Indian Ocean toward the little islands known as the Seychelles. We knew we had adjusted to this way of life when we started to refer to the ship as “home” while we were on safari. After experiencing such a marvelous safari at Phinda we wondered if we had made a mistake scheduling a second safari at Amboseli. Those concerns were certainly unnecessary! Amboseli was a totally different type of experience. We set our alarm for 5:15 am Sunday so we would be packed and ready to start our adventure. We were limited to one small bag as we were going on a charter flight. That wasn’t a problem since it was just an overnight stay and being “experts” now, we knew just what to take and what to leave at home. The drive through the city of Mombassa early Sunday was a distinct contrast to Saturday’s tour. I guess everyone worldwide sleeps in on Sundays! The security at the Mombassa airport was as thorough as any we have been through, except maybe that of India in 2001. The two small 19 seat planes were only taking our safari group so I have no idea what the security inspectors expected to find in our luggage. Some felt it might have been a “show of force” just for our sake. The flight to Amboseli was just short of one hour and we had a great view of the plains of Kenya from the air. We looked down on vast areas of open space with a few dried up rivers and an occasional road leading off to the horizon. As we came closer to the interior of Kenya we began to see small circles which were the home corrals of the Maasai people. Their cattle trails radiated from these corrals indicating the paths taken as the men moved their herds of cattle to find grass in the arid plains. We had been hearing so much about the serious drought in Kenya and we certainly could see evidence of that during most of the flight. Mt. Kilimanjaro was visible from the plane, but we didn’t get a clear view because of the clouds. Our plane flew at an altitude of 10,500 feet and the broad slopes of the mountain disappeared into the clouds at about the level of our flight. Kilimanjaro is a classic shield volcano and both the left and right slopes as we viewed them extended for dozens of miles from what would be the center of the mountain. We did not see the famous “snows of Kilimanjaro” as written by Hemingway, but did have a good view of the cap of snow and ice the next morning from our lodge. This ice-capped mountain is spectacular but is unique in Africa as it contains 80 percent of the ice on the entire continent. The landing strip at Amboseli is an oiled surface and outlined in white rocks to designate its location. Awaiting us at the airport (one building with two outhouses and one windsock) were 9-passenger vans with pop-up roofs. Our tour was divided into groups of six and off we went with our guide/driver on the first game drive of our safari. The other two couples who made up our group were delightful and we couldn’t have asked for any better companions to share our safari experience. In fact, the entire group of 32 was very congenial. I have to admit to being disappointed by the type of vehichle we were in as opposed to the Land Rover, but in the end, it turned out it was the perfect vehicle for this safari. It was especially nice to have a covered top, even though the day was cloud-covered and cooler than normal. The seats were comfortable and there was adequate room to stand and look out in all directions. Amboseli prohibits off-road driving so all game viewing was from the road. We were amazed by the amount of standing water on the trails and out in the plains. Our guide explained that Amboseli had the good fortune to be watered by streams originating in the glaciers of Kilimanjaro and therefore did not suffer as greatly as other game parks by the major drought of recent months. The park had also had a few heavy rains during the last week. In some places we drove through running water - the area was an oasis in the plains of Kenya at the foot of one of the most impressive mountains in the world! Most of the terrain was flat and was dotted here and there with an occasional Acacia tree but there were a few isolated areas of sparse thickets of shrubs and short palms. Many of these small trees had been pushed over by elephants in their search for food. It looked like a Nebraska tornado had gone through the area. One of the first and most memorable views was of a long line of Maasai warriors walking with their cows on the distant hills. Our guide, Michael, explained that the Maasai were not allowed to have their cows in the game reserve, but because of the drought many had disregarded the order and brought their cows in a search for water and grass. We were soon stopped my the park reserve guard and our guide was asked if we had seen any Maasi in the area. He told them in Swahili where they were and the guards left to go after them. The guide was also anxious to have them leave as the animals associated warriors on foot with poachers and became spooked, making it more difficult for us to see them. Since we never left the vans the animals did not associate us with danger. So much for the politics of the park. We continued on the very rough and muddy roads stopping often for close-up views of many animals. We were within yards of a spotted hyena with a hugely swollen belly, the remains of her latest meal beside her. We had driven only about a mile when we saw our first Amboseli lions. Two were resting along a line of bushes about 50 yards from the trail. They gave us a somewhat pompous look and then ignored us. We saw a family of elephants slowing lumbering to a newly created waterhole. Herds of cape buffalo were sunken in a marsh area up to their knees as they ate the lush marsh grass. It was such an incredible sight to see their enormous horns just above the marsh level. Around one of the bends in the road we came across a pack of Thomson gazelles standing perfectly still and all glancing in the same direction. We pulled over and all grabbed binoculars to see what they might be reacting to. In the distance we spotted a cheetah but we weren’t lucky enough to “shoot” him with cameras….. Still the elusive cheetah! Next was an up close and personal encounter with zebra. Males, females and babies were casually grazing in the grass. The female’s stripes were a lot more intricate and her tail looked like it had been braided. The babies stripes were brown and the skin a beige color. What a sight! The waterholes were great attractions for a number of species of birds. Ann, one of our safari companions has great knowledge of birds and we all seemed to share that birding enthusiasm. We viewed African pelicans, sacred and glossie ibis, Egyptian geese, gray heron, blacksmith plovers, cattle egrets, fish eagles, tawny eagles, tick birds aka ox peckers, guinea fowl, woodpeckers, brown jacana lily trotters, and the most glorious of all the African Crested Crane. Absolutely the most majestic specimen that we can recall and certainly more enjoyable here than in the Henry Doorly zoo. We also saw the Kori Bustard that was so huge we swore it was an ostrich. All this plus hippos, both in and out of the water, Grant’s gazelle, wart hogs, bat-eared foxes, dozens of wildebeest, yellow baboon, and colobus monkeys all before we reached the lodge for check-in and lunch. The dining area of the Ol Tukai Lodge was home to dozens of weaver birds - the intense yellow male is certainly more colorful than the gray female. After lunch we attended a talk by two young Massai warriors who told us about their culture. They talked in detail about their diet, dress, family dynamics, social status, and even the world-wide controversial topic of their circumcision practices. We then had some time to get settled into our wonderful rooms and enjoy a short rest. The rooms were in small cottages of three living units each surrounding the lodge. The beds were surrounded with mosquito netting and each unit had a small porch from where we could see African game animals grazing in the plains. We counted 22 elephants from our chairs on the porch. Most were a few hundred yards away. There were also large herds of buffalo, wildebeest, and gazelle grazing with the elephants. At 3:30 we met at our vans for the evening game drive. We saw nearly all the morning species of animals again from different trails. We had adequate time to watch their habits and antics from the comfortable vans. The temperature was mild and a slight breeze made the experience very enjoyable. At 6:30 we returned to the lodge for sundowners around the pool, followed by a wonderful buffet dinner. We returned to our room at 9:30, completely exhausted but thrilled with the first day of our “savannah” safari. Time for a quick shower to wash away the needed mosquito repellant (a malaria area) before crashing into the king-sized bed draped in mosquito netting, only to find that the roof was leaking and ½ of the bed was drenched. Since it was still pouring and there were no phones in the rooms and we were instructed not to leave our rooms in the dark, we rearranged the bed as far as possible from the leak but still protected by the netting and decided to “rough it”. Neither of us slept much as we were sure the next area to leak would be directly over our heads. We all had a good laugh the next morning and the lodge treated us to a bottle of wine to take back to the ship. Monday morning our alarm sounded at 5:15 and we were at the lodge for coffee and tea at 5:45. The clouds were not as thick this morning so we had a full view of Kilimanjaro…and it was magnificent, but not clear enough for a good photo! The sun peeked over the horizon on our left as we left the lodge for our morning game drive and Kilimanjaro dominated a full ¼ of the horizon before us. It had rained heavily during the night and all the animals seemed to greet the day with a hearty appetite. We had a great time watching a family of bat-eared foxes returning from their night of hunting. The kits were a bit skittish of our presence but the parents paid us little attention. We went from there to a location where two vans were watching a pride of lions resting in an open area surrounded by standing rain water. We stopped to enjoy the sight and were soon joined by a virtual traffic jam of vans. The lions decided that it was time to move so the group of 8 rose and stretched and were led by a mature male directly toward us. They walked in single file to the trail containing our caravan and the male walked between two vans while the rest of the pride, 3 adult females and 4 cubs, walked to the end of the line of vans and crossed the trail to rejoin the male. They disappeared into a small tangle of brush and we went on our way. We saw the usual groups of elephants, buffalo, etc. (yawn) but did see two new sights. A group of 6 or 8 pelicans were feeding in a lake about 30 yards from the road and it was wonderful to see them swim in a row about 3 feet apart and all tip their beaks under water at the same time for about 5 seconds and then all tip back up in unison. It looked like a ballet…down, 2,3, up, 2,3, down, 2,3.… We also came upon a small pride of lions who had killed a cape buffalo the previous night and were finishing their meal. Most were sleeping but 2 were still at breakfast. A group of 10 or 12 hyenas were waiting patiently about 20 yards away for their turn at the buffet. We watched the bravest hyena approach the lions and learn that his table was not ready! No one got hurt, but there was no question about social status at this buffet! We had a great morning game drive and then returned to the lodge for 9:30 breakfast…another elaborate buffet, followed by a leisurely talk by the safari directors who talked about the animals of the Kenyan plains and fielded questions from our group. We had some free time before lunch and we spent most of our time visiting with one of the Maasai warriors who had addressed our group the previous day. He had left his village to attend school in Mombassa and had returned to help educate the children of the village. He, like all the Maasai, was very personable and we had a very enjoyable visit. Then another great buffet lunch (didn’t we just finish breakfast?) where a monkey decided to jump up onto Patty’s plate and grab her roll. We were all stunned and wished we had the cameras ready for this great photo op! No harm done and the great Maasai warriors outfitted with slingshots in hand chased away the dangerous beast. We said goodbye to Mt. Kilimanjaro with a vow to return and grabbed our bag for the return trip to Mombassa by the same L140 twin prop plane, followed by the bus trip from the Mombassa airport to the harbor and back on board the Prinsendam. Tired again, and very happy for a long hot shower and our own dry bed, but the exhilaration of Amboseli will be with us forever! Five Maasai Warriors Monkey outside our room African Elephant Egyptian Goose African Crested Crane Thomson's Gazelle Lions Hippo Zebra Pair of Weaver Birds Spotted Hyena (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 4th, 2006
11:17 am	March 4, 2006 Mombasa, Kenya We were up when the Prinsendam sailed into the harbor at Mombasa, Kenya at 6:00 am on March 4th. We went to breakfast and then met for our 9:00 am tour of the city. Mombasa is a city of one million people on an island of nine square miles. It has very few high rise buildings, no beaches and no modern resorts but is rich in color and history. It is connected to mainland Kenya by one bridge, one causeway, and an extremely crowded ferry. We watched in amazement as 1000’s of people swarmed off the ferry followed by dozens of cars and trucks. There are a few office buildings taller than 5 stories, but we saw no residential buildings exceeding that height. Everyone of the one million people seemed to live in shacks or on the second or third floor of the shops which lined the narrow winding streets. Whenever we hear the word “Mombasa” in the future we will associate it with masses of people gathered in a very confined area. People of every size, most of the women in very colorful garments, and all either busy going somewhere or engaged in conversation with one of the dozens of others within hearing distance. Handcarts carried water jugs, lumber, baskets, fruit, dirt, rock, concrete blocks and nearly everything imaginable. There were also small automobiles, minivans, trucks and buses as well as bicycles, bicycles, and more bicycles. This is the primary port for all of Kenya and the interior African nations bordering Kenya. The harbor was bustling with activity as the goods from most of East Africa were loaded for export while products from the rest of the world were unloaded from ships arriving from all points of the compass. Our tour took us to Old Town, an area which served as an Arab port as early as the 11th century. Portuguese explorers and traders came to Mombasa around the year 1500. The area was controlled alternately by Arabs, Portuguese, and Swahili for several centuries, finally coming under British rule in 1898. It was part of Zanzibar until 1963 when it was ceded to the new independent state of Kenya. All these centuries of conflict by many parties gave Mombasa the name “Island of War” in Kiswahili. That history also makes the city a glorious mixture of Arabian, Omani, Portuguese, Dutch, British, and many different African cultures, including Shirazi and Swahili. People of African descent make up 97% of Kenya’s population. They are divided into about 40 groups. Our tour guide pointed out architectural examples of these influences and also explained that the Swahili language contained many words identical to those used in English, Portuguese, German, French, and other languages. We stopped at Fort Jesus, a Portuguese structure built at the end of the 16th century, much of which remains in remarkable condition today. It was very interesting, but we were even more fascinated by the markets and shops of the Old City. We spent an hour wandering through the colorful winding streets and stopped in several shops looking for something to remind us of the very special uniqueness of Mombasa. The country of Kenya is 2/3 Christian although the city of Mombasa is 90% Muslim. It seemed that there was a Mosque on every corner. The ride back to the ship took us past two sets of gigantic crossed metal elephant tusks built to honor Princess Elizabeth during her visit to Mombasa in 1952, just prior to her coronation as Queen. We had a welcome lunch on the ship and spent the afternoon preparing for our safari to Amboseli Game Park tomorrow. We look forward to a few days on land, but have enjoyed immensely the sea time we have spent with our little community of neighbors, many of whom have become good friends in the two months since we sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale. However, like any community, there are problems. The laundry room fights have begun to break out and the latest incident occurred last evening when someone removed someone else’s items from a dryer that had turned off. We experienced the same situation on the Princess World Cruise in 2001, but then we had 8 washer/dryers for 1200 people. This ship has more washer/dryers and fewer people but I guess that doesn’t matter. Barney and I have avoided the hassle by taking advantage of the ships all inclusive laundry package - best money we have ever spent. A few weeks ago in Puerto Madryn two women got in an argument over a seat on the bus and one swung her Holland American tote bag at the other and then that “lady” decked the other one. (both puns are Patty’s) Rumor has it that a couple was “asked to leave the ship” a few ports back but we don’t have any details. Can you imagine? The average age on the ship is 75 and we hope that they aren’t including the Captain’s 7 yr old in the group as imagine what she can do to the average age! The dynamics on the ship are typical of those in a small community. As we get into warmer climates tempers are becoming shorter and patience is wearing thin….and we are just a little over half-way home. Thank goodness the Jack Daniels is holding out. For those who wondered if I gave up desserts for Lent, not a chance. I gave up my new found love of breadsticks and decided to refrain from gossiping as I am in a habit of doing. Well… I wasn’t even out of the wonderful ecumenical Ash Wednesday service before I had started in……….. I think I am okay though, sharing information certainly can’t be the same as gossiping. Right? Crowded Ferry Handcart Ft. Jesus Living above the shops Iguana (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, March 3rd, 2006
10:51 am	Madagascar, Comoros, and Zanzibar March 2, 2006 Day 56 and we have traveled 16,300 nautical miles since our departure from Florida. We’re currently cruising northwestward across the Mozambique channel from the northern tip of Madagascar to Zanzibar, a small island off the coast of Tanzania, and part of that African country. But first, an update on the past two days. On February 28th we were awakened by the sound of the hoists lowering the tenders outside our stateroom verandah. We had dropped anchor in the little harbor outside Hellville on the island of Nosy Be, which is part of Madagascar. After breakfast we boarded a tender and rode to the little dock where we joined many of our fellow passengers in wandering around the little village. At the recommendation of the tour office on the ship we wore long sleeves and pants and hats and covered exposed areas of skin with insect repellant to ward off mosquitoes. Nosy Be (rhymes with “mossy bay“) is a pretty, green island with palm trees and low buildings covered with corrugated iron roofs. We were met at the dock by dozens of local citizens who wanted to sell us trinkets…small wooden boats, swatches of cloth, table cloths, vanilla beans, and other items. Many young boys had very colorful chameleons on small branches and begged us to take a picture with the chameleon on our shoulder and pay them a “sitting fee”. One even had a young lemur for his prop. The villagers are obviously very poor. The streets and walks are in disrepair and the buildings are a bit dilapidated. There are a number of run down remains of buildings which indicate that the island once enjoyed better times. Some homes were elegant mansions, but now sit empty with palm trees growing up through crumbled roofs. Madagascar was once a French colony and the French influence remains. Everyone spoke French and we had a bit of trouble communicating. We walked around for a few hours, took many pictures and purchased a few small embroidered pieces. We were back on the ship for lunch and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon and sailed out of Nosy Be at 5:30 and set a westerly course toward the island nation of Comoros. We woke up March 1st anchored off shore of another beautiful island; this time the island of Ile de Mayotte, in the Comoros group. This group of islands has been a French colony since 1843 and, although Comoros voted in 1974 for independence from France, Ile de Mayotte chose to retain its attachment to France. Comoros still claims Ile de Mayotte as part of its little nation, so there are some rather tricky local sovereignty issues. At any rate this is also an island with a very French flavor. The language and attitude of the citizens and the preponderance of little Renault cars are the most obvious examples. Here again we had a leisurely breakfast on the ship and took a tender trip to shore. The mosquito alarm was still on here so we took the same precautions as we had at Nosy Be. We walked around the little village of Mamoudzou and enjoyed exploring their native market and some of the more touristy shops. We had been told that the US dollar would be widely accepted here but obviously someone forgot to tell this to the vendors who refused to even consider a transaction involving dollars. Local women in colorful African wraps sold their fruits and vegetable in the local market while talking on a cell phone…… Can this be? This village seemed to have a little higher standard of living than Nosy Be. We were back on the ship for lunch and another quiet afternoon before we sailed out of yet another pretty anchorage. Next stop Zanzibar. After another day at sea March 2nd we woke up March 3rd slowly cruising into the harbor at Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania. Zanzibar has a long history as a territory of Persia, the Arabs, Portugal, Oman, and connections to several African nations, including Kenya. In 1890 Zanzibar was established as a British protectorate and remained so until 1964 when it merged with Tanganyika to become Tanzania. The British influence is obvious in everyday life, such as the presence of right hand traffic lanes and the common use of the English language. Zanzibar is the legendary spice island and drums up images of slave markets and clipper ships sailing the Indian Ocean with holds full of cloves, pepper, lemon grass, and all the other spices sold in ports throughout the world. We anchored off the primary city, Stone Town, and rode our tender to the dock. The tide was out so we had a bit of trouble getting off the tender, but the tender crew searched the dock area and found a location suitable for our ageing group. The step to the dock was long and we climbed a fairly long steep and slippery ramp from the dock to the street, but to be in the mysterious, winding streets of old Zanzibar was worth the climb and the heat and humidity. We boarded a small bus and drove through much of the town and stopped at the house occupied by David Livingstone while planning his African expeditions. The streets were crowded as it was Friday and this 95% Muslim community was being “called to prayer”. We continued on through one of the residential areas on our way to a government funded spice farm nearby. We had a great sense experience in the plots of ginger, cumin, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, lemon grass, vanilla, and ylang ylang. They had an experimental plot of corn, but from the looks of it no one, including the cows will be dining on corn on the cob. We had a good time taking pictures of the children and talking with many of the local people who were quite friendly. We caught a 1:00 pm tender back to the ship and, after a refreshing cold shower we enjoyed lunch on the Lido Deck with Howard and Terri Walker, the retired U.S. Ambassador who has been one of our lecturers for the past few weeks. We sail for Mombassa in Kenya at 5:00 pm feeling that we have visited one of the truly mysterious, legendary and fascinating places in the world. Nosy Be Floating vegetable market Nosy Be old structure Ile de Mayotte Dhow Ile de Mayotte Local Market Zanzibar Dr. Livingstone, I presume Zanzibar, the Spice Island (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 1st, 2006
4:45 am	Phinda Photos Phinally Anton, Sheldon and Land Rover Gang Zebra Hippos White Rhino with oxpeckers Cape Buffalo Time for sundowners! Lion Giraffe Elephant after a roll in the mudhole Zulu performance (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
7:22 am	Long time no journaling..... February 25 - 28, 2006 On the 48th day of the cruise, Feb. 22, we rose at 5:00 a.m., had breakfast in the cabin and joined 30 other passengers for the 6:00 departure on a 3 day-2 night safari at the Phinda Game Reserve in the northeast corner of South Africa, near the border with Mozambique and Swaziland. The Prinsedam had docked in the wee morning hours at Port Elizabeth, South Africa. We took a motor coach to the airport and boarded a commercial flight to Durban. From there we transferred to another coach for the drive to the game reserve. This drive took us through the nicer part of Durban and then through some of the large tracts of shacks occupied by local people who have traveled to the larger cities of Africa in search of work over the past dozen years. Many of these people are refugees from surrounding African countries who have been displaced by rebellions and civil strife. The living conditions we saw from the bus appear worse than any we saw in any other part of the world, but our guide assured us that these conditions were far better than those from which the refugees had fled. We drove past sugar cane and pineapple fields and with the red dirt we thought we could be in Maui. We arrived at the gate to the reserve at 2:30 and transferred into Land Rovers for the final 3 mile drive to Mountain Lodge, our home for the next 3 days. Phinda is an 8,500 acre reserve situated in an area of small hills and valleys, part of which is composed of red soil of volcanic origin and part of which is nearer the Indian Ocean and is very sandy. Most of the land is covered with thorny scrub acacia bushes and medium sized acacia trees (with their long thorns) and fever trees. There were very few large trees. These sparse forests and thickets were interlaced with areas of grass meadows, some with short grazing grasses and some with taller grass which the grazing animals seemed to avoid, possibly because it is a great hiding place for predators. The area had been experiencing drought conditions but had some rain during the 3 or 4 days preceding our visit so small watering holes and dips in the road had standing water. The entire reserve is crisscrossed with vehicle trails which are used by the many Land Rovers which carry guests throughout the reserve. Mountain Lodge is one of several guest lodges, all of which cooperate with each other in providing the best possible safari experience for big game hunters (with cameras, of course). We checked in at the lodge and were escorted to our chalet; a very nice individual cabin which was very spacious and located out of the view of the lodge or any other cabins. There were impala, nyala, monkeys, and wart hogs throughout the grounds of the lodge, and we had seen many of them as well as Burchell’s zebra (the specific species in southern Africa) and wildebeest on the drive from the gate, so we were sure that we would see hundreds of African animals here at Phinda. Several trees in the lodge gardens had been pushed over by elephants in recent weeks, and our guide had caught a puff adder near the lodge the day before our arrival. We unpacked and relaxed a bit and then went to high tea at the lodge prior to climbing aboard our Land Rover for a 4:00 drive in the bush. Our ranger, Sheldon, was a young man with a very impressive background. He had a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but had such a love for the outdoors that he chose to be a ranger. His extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna of Africa was simply phenomenal. He drove the vehicle and a tracker/spotter, Anton, sat on a jump seat mounted in front of the bumper on the left side of the land Rover. Anton was a Zulu native of the area and had the vision of an eagle and was a master at tracking animals from marks in the dirt or sand and by observations of bent grass or twigs. He saw animals with his naked eye which we could not see with binoculars. Both Sheldon and Anton were in tune with all the subtle sounds and signals of nature and it was just amazing how they identified birds and animals that were nowhere to be seen. Our Land Rover was a 4 wheel drive, long wheel based vehicle with 3 comfortable padded bench seats behind the driver. Each bench seat was elevated above the one before it so everyone had a great view of all the action without the need to stand. In fact we were cautioned not to stand because the animals were sometimes startled by people standing on the vehicle and could either bolt or charge, neither of which would add to the enjoyment of our visit! We drove around on and off the myriad of trails, finding animals around virtually every bend of the road. The area is not fenced so the animals are free to roam as they wish. With the skill of Sheldon and Anton we were able to get right up to the animals in their natural habitat. We saw so many varieties of animal that it was difficult to remember all of them: Giraffe, 3 or 4 types of antelope, white rhino, lions, hippos, Nile Crocodile, zebra, many varieties of birds and even the fascinating little dung beetle. The lions were two males resting in a thicket and they did not seem to be concerned by our presence. Sheldon maneuvered our vehicle to a position about 15 meters from them and they looked us over and continued licking their paws and preening. The most impressive bird was the Rufous-crowned (purple) Roller, which has many vivid colors and really seems to enjoy posing on the top of an acacia bush for our enjoyment. At sundown we stopped by a small lagoon and listened to the chirping frogs. One variety (whose name escapes me) had a truly marvelous song which sounded much like a child blowing bubbles with a straw in a milkshake (chocolate, if it’s Patty). Anton and Sheldon set up a portable table and brought two “ bush boxes” from the rear of the Land Rover and we had snacks and drinks by the lagoon (sundowners) as we watched the sun set behind the acacia trees. Shelton mentioned that he was concerned about the number of the animals within the reserve which were currently moving north, a behavior which was atypical for this time of year. He remembered that the elephants had all moved away from the sea before the recent tsunami in Indonesia and he explained the popular theory that animals can sense an impending storm or natural disaster and wondered if something of this sort was brewing. (The next morning Sheldon informed us that their had been a 7.2 earthquake in Mozambique that evening.) It became dark very abruptly and we packed up and went on a night drive. Anton had a very high powered search light and he continually scanned ahead and on both sides for nocturnal animals. We saw many more animals as we drove back to the lodge. We reached the lodge at 8:30, had a glass of sherry and went to the BOMA (British Officer Mess Area) outdoor dining area adjacent to the lodge. This area is enclosed by a high wooden fence, lighted with torches and included a bar, several tables formally set for dinner and a wonderful buffet, preceded by drinks and ostrich kabobs. (Delicious!) The dinner was very good and we were hungry after an afternoon and evening hunting big game in the bush! After dinner a rifle-wielding security guard with a flash light escorted us to our cabin. We were warned not to leave our cabin during the night and told to phone the lodge if we had an emergency and they would send a guard to escort us from the cabin. We were hot and tired and appreciated a cooling rain shower and a comfortable bed after a wonderful day in Africa. Our alarm rang the next morning at 5:20. We were up and dressed when a guard knocked on our door at 5:30 with a wake up message. We walked up to the lodge as it was already light and had juice and coffee and climbed aboard our Land Rover for the early morning game drive. As we left the lodge we drove through small herds of impala, nyala, zebra, wildebeest and kudu. They were all grazing and, although we were within a few dozen yards of them they paid us no attention. We soon came upon a small pond with 4 hippos loafing in the water and a Nile Crocodile sleeping on the bank. We watched them for about 30 minutes and then drove on to a mission to find a cheetah. Over the next hill we came upon 2 giraffe. Both of them stood proudly for pictures and seemed happy to stay as long as we wanted to view them. Soon thereafter Anton spotted cheetah tracks. By their direction he suspected the cheetah was returning from a night of hunting and was headed for a nearby field of tall grass where he would rest during the day. When we came up to the field he spotted the cheetah’s head above the grass. After much intense scrutiny we were able to spot the very small head Anton was describing. We drove along the edge of the grass to get closer and were then able to see the very top edge of the reclining cheetah and, when he flicked his tail, we could see the its black tip above the grass but he was not visible enough to provide a clear photo. Our next sighting was of two white rhinos. We followed them for about a mile through the sparse trees and underbrush. We had very clear views of them and Sheldon explained their grazing habits, life cycle and other details of this fascinating animal. We also found a herd of about 15 cape buffalo in the same area, and watched them for nearly an hour before returning to the lodge for a late breakfast. After breakfast Sheldon offered to take those interested on a nature walk. We jumped at the chance and joined 3 of our “safari-mates”. Sheldon opted to drive us away from the lodge where we departed the Land Rover and listened intently to his instructions about what to do in case we were “surprised” by an animal. A little unnerved but too excited to miss out, we began a two hour walk through the bush in the heat of the day. Sheldon picked this area because he had seen a python the previous day which had swallowed a young impala. The python’s midsection was grossly swollen where the impala was situated and the python was very lethargic as it digested the impala. When we reached the site the python had moved and Sheldon’s attempt to track it was unsuccessful. However we had a good walk with Sheldon identifying many birds, insects, plants and signs of many animals. We returned to the lodge at lunch time but were very hot and tired and covered with tics so we opted to go to our cabin to shower and rest instead of going to lunch. We cooled off in the air conditioned room and slept and read until time for the high tea followed by the evening game drive. It was still very hot and muggy, but as the Land Rover moved out it created enough breeze to cool us a bit. Sheldon and Anton were aware of recent sightings of elephant in the northern portion of the reserve so we spent an hour driving to that location. Sheldon referred to this portion of the safari as a “Ferrari Safari” since we were moving on out at a quick speed. Anton came through again by reading the signs and leading us to a small herd of elephants at the very northern border of the reserve. The herd consisted of a matriarch cow and a few other cows, 3 or 4 young elephants and one very small baby. Some of them walked across the trail about 15 yards in front of our vehicle. The matriarch turned toward us for a good look but did not threaten us in spite of the fact that she had the little baby beside her. We followed 4 of them to a small water hole and watched them roll in the water, spread mud on themselves and generally play much like children do in a kiddy pool. We were within 15 or 20 yards and spent about 15 minutes watching them before they walked off and began to push trees over to reach the leaves they wanted to eat. We watched this activity for another ½ hour before we left in search of more animals. Sheldon then drove us to a very large area of alternating marsh and low sandy ground. We drove around in this area until sundown. We saw several large herds of wildebeest and zebra and two black rhino. These were our first black rhino and it was interesting to see the differences between these and the white rhino we had seen earlier in the day. After dark we wandered around in the marsh looking for a way to dry ground. Sheldon used the Land Rover to the maximum of its all terrain capacity and on a few occasions we were a bit concerned about getting stuck in muddy conditions about 10 miles from our dinner and comfortable lodgings. But Sheldon drove as Anton’s search light found a path out of the marsh. On the night drive back toward the lodge Anton spotted many animals, but we had seen so many in the past two days that we didn’t even slow down unless they were in the path or if we saw something new and different. Sheldon told us he wanted to drive us by a community of rare beetles which glow much like glow worms or fireflies. As we approached the canyon containing Sheldon’s mysterious beetles we were surprised to drive into the entire staff from the lodge who had set up a bush dinner for us in a very secluded canyon a few miles from the lodge. They had formal settings on long tables, a full bar and a wonderful buffet, all lighted with lanterns and candles. We had a great evening, wonderful beef, chicken, mahi mahi, all the trimmings and the wine flowed throughout the evening. We loaded up in the Land Rovers and returned to the lodge. Our guard escorted us to the cabin and we fell into bed exhausted after our second day of a wonderful safari experience. Friday morning we made another early start with coffee and tea at 5:50 and departure on the Land Rovers at 6:00. This was a scheduled 90 minute game drive. Sheldon heard from some trackers the previous evening that a female lion and 4 cubs had moved from a high hill down into the valley the previous evening. We set out to find them knowing that we had little time. It was a beautiful morning and all the usual animals were out in force. In particular, 2 giraffe and a pair of white rhinos posed for us in a panorama which could have been taken from a movie. We enjoyed these views briefly and continued on in our search for the lions. Anton soon found their tracks and we left the trail to follow the tracks into a deep ravine. When we reached the point where we could not continue further we back-tracked with a plan to find where they left the ravine on the opposite side. Before we reached the original trail, Anton spotted the mother lion resting in a thicket. Again he had accomplished an extraordinary visual feat by spotting the lion in cover so thick none of us could see her even after Anton pointed out her location. Sheldon drove us into the thicket until the front of the Land Rover was within about 30 yards of the lion and the cameras began clicking and whirring. She had 4 cubs with her and seemed very calm. Sheldon and Anton speculated that she had a successful hunt the previous night and she and her cubs were sleeping off a big dinner. After 15 or 20 minutes we gave up our viewing spot to another Land Rover load of lion-seekers and turned back toward the lodge. On the way Sheldon released a puff adder he had captured near the lodge 2 days earlier. He had it in a pillow case and allowed us to examine it closely while he handled it. He unfolded the snakes fangs with a small twig and we watched drops of its very poisonous venom drip from the fangs. Sheldon released the snake back into the bushes several miles from the lodge. We then drove back to the lodge where breakfast was waiting for us. After a hearty breakfast we packed our bags and were taken back to the gate of the reserve in the Land Rovers. Our bus was waiting for us and, after emotional farewells to Anton and Sheldon, both of whom we had gotten to know very well we climbed aboard and collapsed in the air-conditioned comfort. On the bus ride back to the ship we stopped at Zululand, a cultural exhibit at which we learned a bit about the daily life in a Zulu village. We were also entertained by the natives with a mock wedding and a very energetic dance exhibit. The stop included a very good lunch of Zulu foods, primarily chicken dishes and very good beef. We drove on to a shop which featured Zulu weaving, and on to the ship, arriving at 4:30. After a very welcome shower we went to dinner and watched the shoreline of Richard’s Bay fade behind us in the sunset. We had finished our first safari and it was even better than our very high expectations…and it was the best day yet. We can't get pictures to upload....... so sorry but we will add them later. Goodness gracious we have met the half-way mark already and some are saying it is downhill from here. What pessimists! I measured the ½ way mark by checking to make sure that we still at least ½ of all the supplies we brought with us left. Looks like we will be in good shape product-wise. Cape Town was the end of another of the cruise’s segments. Ten people left the ship and 70 joined us. We’ve lost nine hours since leaving home and found many pounds. The clothes still fit, they just aren’t as comfortable. Barney is wondering if I am going to give us desserts for Lent that starts tomorrow. I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me. There is a big Mardi Gras celebration planned for this evening as we leave Madagascar. We have enjoyed these last few sea days as they have allowed us to recover from the first safari and prepare for the next one. The sea has been absolutely calm and the weather hot and steamy. We have filled these days with lectures and visiting with friends. Everyone seems to be more chatty as we get to known more of them. We had a belated birthday party for our tablemate, Bill last evening. He and Dorothy treated us to drinks and appetizers in the Crow’s Nest. Dinner was followed by a round of Happy Birthday (in English and I think, Indonesian) and orange cake, Bill’s favorite. I hope when we are 92 that we are enjoying life as much as he is. We all made plans to join Bill and Dorothy for a cruise on his 100th. Cheers! Not much has been mentioned about safety in the Indian Ocean, but the Captain appears to be taking precautions as we have noticed a presence of security guards on the stern day and night. The ship’s staff also gave us fair warning about spending any time on Madagascar, Isle de Mayotte, and the Seychelles). It seems as though they have had an outbreak of a day biting mosquito which can transmit a viral infection Chikungunya. They provided us with Deet and we will take our chances. Of course, since this is a malaria area we are already taking the recommended medication. For those of you who picked up on the fact that Isle de Mayotte was not on the original ports of call, it has been substituted for Moroni, Comoros since the harbor there is too shallow for us to even get close enough to tender. Isle de Mayotte is also in the Comoros and we are looking forward to another new adventure. A special journal entry for: Dylan, Christina and all our great nieces and nephews and children of friends and relatives. Grandpa Barney and I are in Nosy Be, Madagascar today. How many of you have seen the movie Madagascar? Christina, Bennett and Ander, I know your answer since I saw it with you and just loved it. Barney and I looked all around for all the animals in the movie and all we saw were a lemur and a few chameleons. They were moving so quickly that we didn’t get any pictures. We were disappointed as none of them were singing the wonderful songs from the movie. Owen, Frances and Tinca, I think I have heard you singing these songs. The people we met speak only French so we didn’t do very well in communicating with them. They were all trying to sell us fruit and vegetables and lots of wood carvings. The tide was out when our tender arrived at the port. Our ship is so big that it can’t go into shallow water so they lower the boats on the side of our ship and we all take turns going to and from the island in the little boats. We saw a lot of people walking around in the shallow water. I think they were probably looking for crabs. Many of the island people travel in dhows. I am not going to tell you what they are but I bet everyone of you can find out. It will be a fun project. You might also want to have someone help you find Madagascar on the map. I will give you a hint - it is in the Indian Ocean. I hope you all are enjoying following our travels. I bet you all liked the pictures of the animals that we saw on the safari. We go on another safari March 5th so you will have to check the journal again and see if we were lucky enough to see a leopard this time. We miss all of you. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
12:40 pm	Cape Town Here is the info that should have gone with the previous entry pictures. Sorry for the confusion. P&B Ah, Cape Town! Day 44 of a journey which seems to get more interesting and exciting at each port! Last night we sailed the final leg of our journey across the south Atlantic Ocean to the very southern tip of Africa. It was a night of rolling and pitching for the ship. This part of the ocean is the confluence of several ocean currents and is very windy which makes conditions perfect for the creation of high waves and long ocean swells. We slept a bit fitfully, but woke to the beautiful sight of Cape Town outside our verandah, It was almost as if the Captain had heard our request to tie the ship with the skyline of Cape Town outside our door and Table Mountain, Lions Head and Signal Hill as the background vista for the next three days. About 100 yards from our pier was the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Centre, a shopping mall to rival any we have seen worldwide! And…the entire waterfront area was a web of narrow walkways with hundreds of shops, cafes, museums and other tourist attractions. We basked in all this as we had breakfast onboard and then left the ship to explore this beautiful city. We found a taxi and shared the fare with two fellow passengers for the 20 minute ride to the cable car station at Table Mountain. It was a quick 4 minute ride to the top and the floor of the round, 60 passenger cable car rotated 360 degrees so everyone had an equal chance to absorb the view. We spent a few hours strolling the pathways on the relatively flat top of the mountain. There were dozens of viewing points from all sides of the “table”. The day was clear and sunny and we had a wonderful view of the city below us to the west and north, and the mountains and coast line to the south and west. We returned to the ship by taxi, had a quick lunch on board and spent the afternoon wandering through the pier-side shops and spent some time at an internet cafe. We hurried back to the ship in time for 5:00 mass on board before dinner and more strolling on shore during a very pleasant evening. It was a welcome change to have a full day on shore after several days at sea. There were many passengers and crew members who had not been off the ship since Ushuaia 15 days ago. On Sunday, Feb. 19th we left the ship at 9:00 for an all day tour of the area surrounding Cape Town. The city had experienced hard rains (unusual for this time of year) in the night and the city was without electricity. Our guide was without her morning coffee and there were no operable phones or stoplights. Thankfully it was Sunday, and the traffic was light. We drove along the coast south and east. The Cape Town suburbs had impressive homes and business areas. Our guide referred to them as “up market” areas. When we left the city we drove along beautiful beaches and more small towns filled with quaint sea side homes. The ocean here is still strongly influenced by the cold South Atlantic, so the only people in the water were surfers in wet suits. The road wound through beach fronts and along the side of steep cliffs. At one point the roadway was cut into the side of the cliff in what was essentially a tunnel with no outer wall. It was so narrow that bus and truck traffic was restricted to one direction. We entered the Good Hope Nature Reserve about 11:00. This is a vast area of protected indigenous animals and plants. The ecosystem is called fynbos, an Afrikaans word meaning “fine bush”. It contains low shrubs and reed grasses, including many varieties of protea and erica, with bright yellow and white flowers. Animals included baboons, eland, bushbok, and ostrich. We stopped at Cape Point, the sight of an unused lighthouse on a high hill above the Cape of Good Hope. The electricity outage stretched to here and the small incline railcars were not operating, but we had a great view of the foggy coast. We then drove down to the Cape and had a good photo op. Then back on the bus and off to a 1:00 lunch at a very nice local restaurant at Boulder Beach. We ate local favorites; white fish and calamari, and tried the local beer; Castle Lager. Then a short walk to a wonderful colony of Black Footed Penguins. We strolled on a network of elevated walkways above several hundred pairs of nesting birds, and had a great view of their eggs and chicks of many sizes. They nest in shallow indentations in the sand and sometimes dig small caves in the side of the sand dunes surrounding their colony. This was the 8th species of penguins we have seen on this journey. Our next stop was Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, a very large garden on the eastern slope of Table Mountain containing 4,500 species of indigenous plants. The garden is divided into areas with central walkways, each of which contains plants with common characteristics. We saw many unique and interesting plants. The SAAAD (South African Association of Antique Dealers) was having their yearly show at the gardens so we spent part of our free time antiquing. Seeing the prices marked in rand was a shock to our system as one U.S. dollar is worth about 6 rand. We continued our drive around Table Mountain, returning to Cape Town from the north, past the University of Cape Town and the famous Groote Shuur Hospital, where Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant. The tour ended just in time for early seating dinner. The dining room was nearly empty as many of the passengers were eating at one of the many of the restaurants in the harbor area. The local folklore show wasn’t scheduled until 10pm (past our normal bedtime) so we downloaded pictures and stayed busy trying to stay awake. We are glad we did as the show, called “Women United”, was worth the loss of sleep. A group of about 8 South African women sang, danced and played percussion instruments. I don’t know whether we have ever seen such genuine love for one’s culture as we did in their performance. They said that they had been asked to perform throughout the world - if they come to your part of the country, don’t miss them! We tried to get a good night’s sleep that night, but sleep was frequently interrupted with passengers bouncing off walls and making much noise after their hours of celebrating on shore. The gang plank is down the entire time we are in port so their were many “comings and goings”. The “Explorer” ship from Semester at Sea was docked next to ours and it was fun to see all the college age kids in the area. What a great way to see the world and learn something at the same time. We understand that they take passengers of all ages and that seniors don’t have to take the classes for credit so I think we will look in to it in more depth at a later time. We also have fallen in love with Cape Town and think it would be an alternative to Maui at some time. Monday was spent totally relaxing and uploading photo albums for all our ports. We sent out an email from Kodak/Ofoto so that all of you can look at a few more pictures from each port of call. Again, a lot of those emails bounced and we suspect it has something to do with the fact that it is a mass mailing and you might have programs that screen for those. If any of you want to see the photo albums and didn’t get the original email, just email us and we will email you the link individually. We love hearing all the comments made directly to the live journal site or sent to us via email. I do want to clear up the misconception that I am the one doing the journaling. As most of you all know, everything that Barney and I do is a joint venture and you frequently get a journal done by both of us. The wonderful technical details are courtesy of Barney and all the important info (such as they load more condoms onto the Semester at Sea ship, than they do food)…. who’s counting? are my contribution. Today is a quiet day at sea as everyone on board, including the staff members, seem to be recuperating from three days in port. We are packing for the first of our safaris as we leave at 6am tomorrow. We are recharging the batteries (literally and figuratively) and looking forward to a totally new experience. Until then……… (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 20th, 2006
7:40 am	Haven't had time to even figure out what day it is but we have taken plenty of pictures so will upload them while we have a good connection. Details to follow. Table Mountain from Prinsendam Cable car to Table Mountain Ostrich on Cape of Good Hope Cape of Good Hope P and B with Penguins Blackfooted penguin Kirstenbosch botanical garden Same Folklore Women Unite Table Moutain with tablecloth Folklore show (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 18th, 2006
7:51 am	Cape Town Just a quick note to let you all know that we have found an internet cafe. It is great as we have been able to go back and edit some previous entries. We have also added some photos and photo titles. You might want to go back to some old entries if you are really bored........... More later.... Cape Town is absolutely gorgeous....... tomorrow we go to the Cape of Good Hope. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 16th, 2006
1:33 pm	Tristan da Cunha February 15, 2006 12,428 nautical miles from Ft. Lauderdale. Day 41 of the cruise…When you’re at sea it’s obviously hard to keep track of time. As you can see we’re confused about which day of the voyage this is. I think the record has been corrected and hope to keep on track hereafter. On Valentine’s Day we woke up offshore of the little volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha. Our time in Antarctica was blessed with mostly good viewing weather, but the since leaving South Georgia we sailed through several days of clouds, fog, strong winds and heavy seas. Valentine‘s Day, however, dawned clear and sunny. The sky was a beautiful blue and the ocean an even darker shade of blue. From our verandah we looked out at the tiny settlement of Edinburgh, which nestles on a small plateau where the slopes of the volcano meet the ocean. For several days the cruise staff has told us how wonderful this settlement is, but how rarely a landing by cruise ship passengers can be made. The only dock is very small and can accommodate our tenders only if the seas are calm and there is virtually no wind…and this combination of conditions seldom happens on Tristan da Cunha. Well---the Captain came on the speaker and told us that all these conditions were perfect but…the tide was out so there was not enough water at the dock to float our tenders. Of course we were very disappointed. But in the next breath the captain reported that the ship had made arrangements with a party on shore to shuttle us, 10 at a time, to the dock in his zodiac. He cautioned us strongly that we should not make the trip if we could not jump into and out of the zodiac and that we should be prepared to get wet and that we would need to sign a very detailed indemnity form for the zodiac operator. Well…we had heard so much about this remote spot in the South Atlantic that we were not going to miss a chance to set foot ashore. We talked to a passenger who has been on dozens of cruises and had been to Tristan da Cunha 9 times and had never been able to make a landing so it would be a big mistake to pass up this chance. The zodiac trip was very easy and the settlement of Edinburgh was a very quaint and pretty village. The residents were very happy to see us and obviously were a bit starved for a visit from just about anyone. A man told us that they have from 1 to 3 cruise ships stop each year but they seldom land their passengers. A supply ship from Cape Town makes deliveries on a 6 week schedule during the summer and less frequently during the rest of the year. That is their chance to leave the island if they want to travel. There are about 300 residents in Edinburgh, which is the only location on the entire island accessible for habitation. The houses are small and brightly colored. The residents take very good care of all buildings. Most are constructed of lava rock or concrete blocks which must imported from Cape Town. Many homes have very pretty gardens as the weather along the coast is tempered by the ocean temperature even though the rest of the island has very severe weather. The gardens were all surrounded by low rock walls to protect them from the wind. That part of the plateau adjoining the village was short grass with grazing cows and sheep. Each family also tended a plot of potatoes on part of this rocky plateau. The settlement has been here since 1810, most of that time as a British territory. The volcano erupted in 1961 and all residents were evacuated to England. Most of them had lived in this, the most remote location on earth, for their entire lives and had great difficulty adapting to life in England. Some even committed suicide because of the extreme cultural shock. In the late 1960’s the residents were permitted to return to Tristan da Cunha and all expressed their happiness in living here and have no desire to live anywhere else. They are proud that they have virtually no crime, and they are not worried about all the problems the rest of the world deals with. No doors are locked, no one goes cold or hungry, they have good schools and health care and everyone is happy. We feel very fortunate to have had a chance to visit this little part of the world and wonder if we might all be better off with fewer luxuries. Would we have more appreciation for those around us and be more satisfied with a simpler life? We boarded the zodiac and returned to our ship after a few hours on shore. While we were busy touring the island, some of the town’s residents came on board to get a taste of ship life. The school children swam in the ship’s pool and ate until they could eat no more. The adults purchased things from the ship’s store and had their hair done, etc. The ship donated boxes of books to keep the islanders entertained on those long stretches of days between supply ships. Share the love - share a book. for a short time that day we enjoyed the simplicity of this remote island and our visitors enjoyed the luxury of the ship. By mid-afternoon all passengers were happily back on board and the islanders were happy at home. The Captain took advantage of the great weather and we all enjoyed a leisurely sail around this remote island. The weather Gods are surely with us. The cruise staff entertained us with a very nice Valentine show, followed by a formal dinner and a wonderful presentation by a world class flutist. Barney got the award for “most creative” as he used the red and gold ribbon from the Valentine candy box as his bow tie. Today we had another relaxing day at sea with all the wonderful lecturers and activities. The day was so packed with things to do that we got up before seven in order to get in our walk and “gym” time. It was a good decision as we joined our tablemates in the Pinnacle Grill for an outstanding dinner. The Grill is an alternative to the regular dining room. It is beautifully appointed and intimate. We found it much easier to carry on a conversation without the normal din of the dining room. Dinner was topped off with baked Alaska or chocolate volcano. Choices, choices, choices…and we were just suggesting that we should be satisfied with the simple things of life! At 4:50 am on February 16th we crossed the Prime Meridian at 35 degrees 53.347 minutes south latitude. Barney was the only passenger on the upper deck with his GPS to mark the occasion. He also got a good look at the Southern Cross and several other constellations unique to the high southern latitudes. I kept the bed warm. Tristan da Cunha Barney and Patty A typical sight Barney in the Pinnacle Grill (1 Comment |Comment on this)