PANAMA CANAL- FLIGHT TO USA

20 January 2007 Saturday

PANAMA- BALBOA AND PC RAILROAD

19 January 2007 Friday

Hotel located in nice residential(former US military installation)

PANAMA- TRANSITING CANAL BY SMALL BOAT

18 January 2007 Thursday

Before leaving our hotel, I asked a young lady at the desk if I could have a paper clip. "No say" Asked the concierge- same response but puzzled look- drew a crude diagram- "Ahhh- Kleep" The big bus (large enough to handle all 56 at once didn't show up so we had to shuttle to the dock in a small lagoon that was protected by a shark net in the old US Navy days but now is just a small marina where our 1920 vintage wooden ship (alledged to be property of Al Capone in his rum- running days) was docked.

PANAMA- MIRAFLORES LOCK

Wednesday 17 January 2007

Usual morning routine and ask at the desk for postage..informed that Panama doesn't have mailboxs- most places that sell postcards don't have stamps and all business is done at the post office. Today we have a big bus for a full day journey- Don't get a seat to myself as there are no empty seats. Cross the Bridge of the Americas and head toward the Atlantic side of the canal- Stop at Madden dam a water reserve to run the locks when the dry season hits. (More on Mechanics of Canal Later) Then we enter a tropical forest reserve and stop at a rusty cannon that marks the trail throught the jungle that the conquistadors used to move Inca gold from Peru over to the Caribean side of the peninsula. Guide painted a vivid picture of 4 feet tall Spaniards in armor using donkeys to haul through the jungle infested with insects etc. Then over to watch the dredges at work and get a look at what what the new canal expansion will be like. Found that the reason the Pedro Miguel lock is in two parts is because of a ground fault. and then drove over to a resort hotel in the Gamboa reserve where we also get to see how the Chagres river was diverted to supply the Canal. Got to see a couple of ships pass and the train we'll be taking back from Colon in 2 days. A quick stopat the 'French Cemetery"- got its name from the fact that these people died usually of didease during the time the French were trying to build the cana. Estimated deaths were 50,000. One cross equals 100 bodies. l Next stop is the Miraflores ('look at the flowers') Lock which has a 4 story building with a large exhibit to explain the Canal and the Lock system and an observation deck right next to the canal on the top floor. All goes well as the first ship headed to the Pacific arrives at 4pm it is an Old Renaissance Cruise ship renamed the Regatta and even on the top floor (5th) can't see over the top of it. An amazing sight- followed by dinner in the Miraflores restaurant with good food and able to watch more ship traffic- runs like clockwork. Back at the hotel at seven so we can get an early start in am. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go through the canal on our private yatch- alledged to have belonged to Al Capone during his rum running days. Its an antique oak ship and we were told that we will be in the Miraflores lock at 0900 and the Pedro Miguel lock at 0930. All the locks have web cams on them but I don't know the web page. But if any of you want to see the ship I'm on- you've got the facts. We leave the hotel at 0700 and will bisembark in Colon to stay there overnight (baggage going by bus) and we'll return to PC by train the day after that. More Later.

PANAMA COMMISSION - FRENCH SQUARE

Tuesday 16 January 2007

Up at 0600, breakfast (no eggs) at 0700 and an Elderhostel meeting at 0800. Elderhostel follows the same formula everywhere- first an overview of the program and a Q and A session- "Can I wear sandals?" and the like. Then everyone introduces themselves and tells why they picked the trip (with 56 people this took awhile). Then split into 2 vans and visit the Canal Authority built by the US with solid concrete buildings, beautifully landscaped and maintained grounds, the various office building built on the same model- all in all a very impressive place Jimmy Carter. gave to the Panamanians. Gorgas Army Hospital is now a research hospital for Panama and obviously being utilized and well maintained. Got a hilltop view of Albrook AFB and Howard air base where I landed many years ago. The Air Force always names bases for dead or famous pilots- I wonder who Howard and Albrook were. Then down to the French quarter and the old town and Noriega's hangouts. One lady stepped in a hole in the sidewalk, cut her shin and had to get stitches which meant waiting in our van for an hour and finally going to lunch in a very nice seaside restaurant where we were able to see ships headed toward the canal. (Found out this morning that our hotel is right next to the Bridge of the Americas which is the entrance to the Panama Canal. Back downtown for a lightening tour of the canal history museum in the old French quarter and then back to the hotel for a 2 hour lecture on how Panama is doing, economically (there are dozens of new high rise- 20 stories or higher- condos for wealthy retirees of the world), educationally (90% literacy rate-except for the poor indians who live in Darien, the jungle district next to Colombia) and hopes for the future. Was pretty beat up after all that so had a rum drink before buffet dinner (Elderhostel usually provides all meals) Then it's write some postcards and an episode of LOST- The only English channel is CNN.

GRIT AND GLORY

 

GRIT AND GLORY- EXPLORING PANAMA CANAL

Monday 15 January 2007

This will be the first day of an Elderhostel tour entitled "Grit and Glory: Exploring the Panama Canal" Since it is a Monday, have to be up at 0600 to be on time for Morbidity-Mortality conference which the boss always attends. It's been pouring rain all night so it's not an easy wakeup. But make it there in time to get a cup of coffee and thankfully it is a short agenda so it's back to the surgeon's lounge for another cup of coffee, and get down to the parking garage and head home, in pouring rain. So finishing touches like lowering the thermostat and shut the suitcase and on the road to Cincy airport, in driving rain. Trip slowed by the weather, but still make it in a little over an hour- did have to slow down for those huge clouds of spray put up by 18 wheelers that you can't see through. Pleasant suprise at airport long-term parking- they did not raise the fee and with the new system they tell you what row to park in and a shuttle minivan pulls behind you and loads your luggage- good thing because it was driving rain. Airport about empty, driver said it's been real slow so ticket check in ok- half sleepy agent tries to send me to Panama City Florida which is odd because I handed him my passport with the ticket- his excuse, everyone uses a passport for ID these days. Security a snap and then up to B15 with coffee and a cinnabon on the way. Plane on time and off to Atlanta. Smooth flight and beautiful weather when we land- 80 degrees, sunny. Gate change for the flight on a 767 it's a nice sunny day so decide to take a picture of the plane and discover that the shuter button has disappeared and there is only a thin hole where the shutter pin should be. 30 minutes of hard work with a paper clip and I've got a functional camera. So now I begin to worry- is this an omen, or what- plane full- a lot look like tourists. Meal of chicken not bad and movie called "The Queen" about QEII and how she handled the Diana tragedy and then we land on time at 930 pm- of course it's dark and I'm impressed by all the lights and the size of the city- must have really blossomed since my last visit in 1953. Out of airport with my bags at 1030pm and arrive at Hotel at 1130- an Holiday Inn resort with a TGI Fridays on the ground floor. In bed by midnite but too wired to fall asleep easily (what about the camera glitch and for the first time in years I didn't bring a backup- will the paperclip trick work when I need it to ?- reading McCullough's "Path between the Oceans." So endeth the first day.

LAST DAY IN RIO - FLIGHT HOME

14 December 2006 Thursday

Last day of a month long journey so celebrated with another great breakfast including bacon and eggs. This is one day I was able to sleep in. After breakfast packed the suitcase for the last time (those painted ostrich eggs I picked up in Durban don't weigh very much, but they take up a lot of space. We have to vacate the room by noon although our flight isn't until 10 pm. Toyed with the idea of taking the Stern's shuttle to their workshop but dedided to hang out at the pool- too hot to be in the sun and didn't think an 8 hour fluight with a sunburn would be much fun so spent time with the group in some easy chairs overlooking the resort until dinner. Then the usual airport drill began with identifying your baggage to make sure it got on the same bus you did and the hour long ride to the airport. The rat race of checking in (baggage overweight- 25 dollars please) then the security drill and finally to the duty free shops.

Of course, you can't take liguids on the plane so didn't bother looking for that great rum I'd been sampling. A late gate change and uneventful boarding. I inflated my neck pillow, got out on my eye shades, popped an ambien and don't remember finishing dinner.

15 December 2006 Friday

Awoke 6 hours later feeling refreshed, but grubby. Had packed my toilet kit in the checked baggage to avoid the liguid-gel drill, but the airline had the dispoable tooth brush (along with eyeshades) so felt decent for arrival in Atlanta. Transfer to domestic terminal went fine and flight to Cincy short and sweet. Baggage arrived witht the airplane and Emil was ready for the pick up at the terminal. Cell phones are so convenient I don't know how we got along without them. At the airport there is a cell phone parking lot so I could call from the baggage claim area and just walk out the door.

So at 1030 we drive back to Dayton. Emil and Heidi have made the big decision to take the job as ER docs in Las Vegas (I haven't been there since 1960s so I'll have to visit). Emil has been recruited by the Dayton group, but since he spent most of his life in Huber Heights and did his undergrad at Wright State as a student-athlete followeed by med school and residency also in Dayton, he's ready to spread his wings. Heidi his classmate is in the same boat so off they go.

After noting the huge stack of mail, magazines, etc. on the kitchen table- take a shower and dress for the Department Christmas Party at the NCR Country Club. The boss is cordial with the usual "are you in our department- haven't seen you around" and the buffet luch excellent. Then there is the Chinese gift exchange which doesn't go exactly as the boss would like, so with his coaching it gets funnier. We finish up after 3pm and I'm ready to get home and tackle the mail, unpack, etc. Have time to reminisce about a month well spent and nothing has happened to dampen my ardor for travel. Holidays are coming up but decided not to decorate since I'll be spending Christmas in New Jersey. After that it's catch up time.

JOURNEY TO PETROPOLIS, BRAZIL

13 December 2006 Wednesday

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant overlooking the breakers coming in off the Atlantic. Then loaded up the car for the hour drive up to the mountains above Rio to visit the summer residence of the Emporer of Brazil- Don Pedro II. After the Portugese monarchy was kicked out of Europe by Napoleon (there he is again) they moved to Brazil. Don Pedro was the last of the rulers, having been installed in his youth and ruled into the 20th century. The drive was uphill on winding mountain roads which were well maintained. We stopped for gas on the way up and I learned that the car we were in was driven by natural gas. Brazil is way ahead of us in that you can buy non-polluting ethanol or natural gas or pay more for gasoline or diesel. Lots of clouds on the way up but weather cleared in Petropolis. First stop was the cathedral and burial site of Don Pedro. Then over to the Dumont house. Santos Dumont was an aviator about the same time as the Wright brothers and was the first to fly a heavier than air aircraft in Europe- he went aroung the Eiffel Tower. A model of his plane is in the town square- it looks like a box kite. The line of school kids going uop to visit the Dumont house was long and slow moving, so we opted for lunch instead- new restaurant and good food.

Went for a tour of the palace next and I was bummed out by the fact that no photos permitted. It was hot, stuffy, not airconditioned and you had to put on ill fitting slippers to protect the hardwood floors ( I really think it was to keep the floors polished). By the time I got through the dining room I was pretty well soaked in sweat and had to hear Rosemary tell me I was wearing the wrong type of Polo shirt for a tropical climate "the damned material doesn't breathe." Her husband Bill wasn't drenched, so she must be right. Did the carriage house after the palace and could take photos there. Then we agreed to head back to Rio as there wasn't a whole lot else in Petropolis (the city of Pedro). Uneventful trip back to Rio with me in the suicide seat, but not much opportunity for photos.

Another good steak dinner with the group and since I also discovered that at happy hour we got 2 drinks for the price of one, I naturally indulged in the rum lime combo and passed a pleasant evening.

ARRIVAL RIO DE JANIERO

12 December 2006- Tuesday

Yesterday was the last day on the ship and the weather was balmy as ever- Got to hear Jonathan's lecture on the Titanic (he'd been to Halifax Maritime museum also). They also showed the last segment- part 4- of the A&E production of the life of Napoleon. I now know more about him, but he is still an enigma. Was his real plan to unify Europe and establish the European Union 200 years before it happened? Was successful in using up all my internet minutes, so I counted it as a successful day. Did get suckered in to the entertainment after dinner because they advertised a variety show with the Broadway group and the male singer who was the screamer I walked out on at his first show. The Broadway group did one number and the remainder of the show was the screamer but I was hemmed in by the audience and couldn't eascape. Maybe it was just the sound system up to loud, but he was hard to take. Did meet the deadline of suitcase in the hall by midnite.

Sailed in the harbor of Rio at about 4:30 am and I was awake for it. Plenty of light so you can make out the landscape which is awesome in daylight and since I had seen it on my last trip I could pick out the landmarks. The bay is a large one and the Portugese discovered it in January and they thought it was the mouth of river so that's how the city got its name- river of January. It was light out by 0600 and the ship pulled in to a choice spot at the pier. From the amount of luggage stacked out there they will be taking on a couple of hundred new passengers as this is the start of the Antarctic cruise season. Notable at dockside was the Stern's gemstone shop. They've had a couple of representatives on board and wanted you to make a free visit to their workshop. On my last Marco Polo trip my tablemates one night were 2 young ladies- a brunette from Brazil who had a degree in anthropology (didn't pay well enough) and a blonde from Poland who were hawking gemstones. So the story is that Brazil is the largest gemstone producer in the world and the tourists are big buyers.

Now the main object is to get you off the ship as soon as possible and try to keep you occupied for a couple of hours til the hotel rooms are ready. So shortly after 0800 go into the terminal, identify your bags and have them portered out to the truck that takes them to the hotel, while we get a tour of Rio. The weather cooperated for a cable car visit to Sugar Loaf Mountain (so named because it's shaped like the mounds of sugar they produce). Since it was early in the morning there was no waiting and the view was great. Could see most of the beaches from there and identified the Sheraton, where we would be staying for 2 nights, and noticed it was in a little bay with a private beach. Sterns had a store on Sugar Loaf and I priced a parrot about 8 inches high that was made of gemstones- it was only 1200 US$. Some people had signed up for a tour of Cuernavaca, a mountain with a huge statue of Christ the Redeemer on it. Unfortunately it was fogged in.

After arrival at the very nice hotel,I scouted around for other tours and none of the ones I wanted operated on the days I'd be there. Rosemary called my room and said they found a car we could rent to visit Petropolis the next day so Jane from the safari vehicle and Rosemary and Bill from the dinner table signed up for the next day. Decided not to do the 'Rio by night' tour again. The last time I went, they took us to a nightclub with a Samba stage show and I could still hear the drum beats for a week afterwards- there is a large segment of black Africans in Brazil and their music is incorporated into the culture- the natives didn't want to work so they brought over slaves for the sugar cane fields.

Was happy to see they had CNN and BBC at the hotel. I don't think I'll ever watch Fox News again. That's all we got on the ship and the Brits, Aussies and Kiwis had a great time having us explain what Fox was all about. Dinner at the outdoor restaurant at the hotel with a nice steak and discovered a new drink, a potent rum in lime juice, so slept well.

ST HELENA TO RIO (DAY 5)

11 December 2006- Monday
5th and last full day at sea

Plans for the day include:
-sending final blog from ship and use up my internet minutes-
-Pack
-pick up passport from purser
-check excursion desk for tours available in Rio.
-Usual meals (lunch with safari buds) (Dinner with the group- I'll share my complimentary bottle of wine)
-Tip steward, waiter, busboy and maitre de
-Bags ready for pickup outside room at midnite in anticipation of vacating room at 0800 Tuesday 12 Dec.

Will keep blog entries about Rio and send it either from the Sheraton or from Mad River Road. Projected arrival in Dayton- Friday at noon "the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise" as they used to say in Alabama. Saw a Cincinnati Santa dog festival on the news this morning- looked really cold but I didn't see any snow.

ST HELENA TO RIO (DAY 4)

10 December 2006- Sunday
4th full day at sea.

Still overcast and few people up at 7:15 breakfast. Went up to the Charleston room to watch the sea roll by and stumbled on a rehearsal of the Polish couple who were preparing for thir afternoon classical concert this afternoon- he's a violonist and she plays the piano- and he's good. She speaks very halting English and he may not speak it at all.

Then back to the computer until noon and then up for lunch. The captain gave his noon report and said we were out of the low and the sun has come out so after lunch I spend an hour on deck then quick shower- sun hot and directly overhead- hope the sun block works. Then over to the concert and back to the room to dress for dinner (formal night) and that means free drinks on the captain. Found out I don't have to drink the cheap champagne they serve so I get 2 Manhattans- good thing because they closed the bar 15 minutes early so the captain can give his farewell speech. Dinner was lobster and baked Alaska.

Just before going to dinner they slipped tomorrow's schedule under the door and said that the internet for debarking passengers closes at noon. I dam sure don't want to loose any minutes so I'm working on the blog tonight to upload it in the morning. Then will use the remaining minutes for emails or surfing but I will use all my minutes- O course, all the other passengers have the same idea so it may be a zoo up there tomorrow That's where my wireless connection comes in handy- I don't have to use their computer. Don't know where I'll upload the blog during the tuesday, wednesday and Thursday we spend in Rio- if I don't find a place I'll upload it when I get home.

So tonight it's the last 2 episodes of Lost.

ST HELENA TO RIO (DAY3)

9 December 2006- Saturday
3rd full day at sea

We've run into a low pressure area of a weak frontal system so overcast all day- but day passed quickly. They're showing the French movie about Napoleon again so I watched it again. (it has subtitles- so Rosemary boycotted it). There was absolutely nothing interesting as a group activity today. I even decided to forego dinner in favor of watching the DaVinci Code on tv. They repeat some good movies, but this one has always been on at or after my bedtime and I'd fall asleep. Really wanted to see it and it's on at 6 pm- told Mario my cabin steward I'd turn down my own bed tonight, if he'd give me my chocalate. The movie was good particularly since it was shot on location at a lot of the places I've visited- it was not meant as theology so I don't see what people were upset about particularly since Dan Brown was not accurate with his facts. Not sleepy so another episode of Lost.

ST HELENA TO RIO (DAY2)

8 December 2006- Friday
2nd of 5 full days at sea.

Usual am routine, seas are calm, sky is overcast as it seems to be every morning but clears off in the afternoon. Successfully uploaded some blogs. Spent time making albums of my many pictures- and then captioning them. I may be glad for a few days at sea because it's turned into more time-consuming work than I expected- of course, I'm also cropping, enhancing, etc. HP has got a great program- may make me look like a professional. Of course, there's always the time spent eating- lunch I can do in less than half an hour, but since I eat in the dining room for dinner it's always 1 to 1 and a half hours and usually rush that to catch the first show. Other events on Friday was the magician, who at 11am was out on pool deck to be put into a straight jacket, put inside a box with holes in it which was then chained and padlocked before lowering it into the pool. Two minutes later they hauled it out and it was empty and the magician appeared on the 3rd deck above the pool- soaking wet. Don't know how he does any of this. Jean-pierre talked about Napolean's chefs- I was not interested, but did go to see the next episode of A&Es " Napoleon" and was a little late for dinner. Scarfed it down so I can make the first show of the Marco polo Company- these kids are good- always in synch. Unfortunately, a burly south african decided to keep time with al the somes by tapping on the table in front of me- the guy had absolutely no sense of rhythm. A hazard of travel. Put on the last DVD of Lost so I have 4 episodes to go almost hate to see it end now that I know the characters.

ST HELENA TO RIO (DAY1)

7 December 2006- Remember Pearl Harbor Day
1st of 5 full days at sea

This will be mercifuly short after all those long entries. The morning was usual breakfast at Raffles, and people watching. Mario, new steward had got my routine down so when I get back from a short stroll on deck, room is made up and I tackle making an album of my pictures of St Helena and captioning them. It's 11 before I realize it and head up to see an A&E movie about Napoleon- it's an hour and a half long and not very good, has more to do with his romances than with military campaigns. Lunch was my 2nd hamburger this trip- french fries soggy. Run into Phil and Linda who have choice seats on upper back deck but i's been an overcast morning. Have really gotten to hate Fox news channel- I keep the tv on while I'm editing and captioning and now I understand why the Brits and South Africans say it's the worst news and propagandizement they've ever seen. Afternoon more of the same and my calves are tightening up after that uphill trek from Napoleon's tomb. See, you hit 75 and the wheels fall off.

Duck for dinner, dry but flavorful. 7:30 in place for new entertainerMichael Chio- self described as Japanese, Chinese, Korean on is mother's side and Filipino, Malay and Comanche on father's side. How do you tell chinese and Japanese apart?- the ones with the cameras are Japanese. Anyway, he plays piano and electric keyboard and did his own arrangements of the classics with the Gnaddi orchestra ( the ship's band from Poland) as backup. Good show. Another episode of Lost which was depressing so ended evening with a dvd I brought along called "School Ties" which turned out to be a movie about anti-semitism and had Ben Affleck and his sidekick before they got the academy award. For the first time in 3 nights we did not have to turn our clocks back an hour (means I've had 2 consecutive nights of 9 hours sleep).

ST HELENA, SOUTH ATLANTIC

6 December 2006- Wednesday
A visit to St. Helena

What a great day! Started out slow as we have been at sea for 2 full days and we are not due to arrive at James Bay to anchor for visit to the Island in St Helena until noon. The program that they put in your room every evening said that the tour of the island would begin at 1 pm. Awake in anticipation at 6 am and eating breakfast at 7. A short stroll on deck under mostly cloudy sky and can see rain several miles away, but there are also patches of blue sky. Back to the cabin to re-read the tour book about the island to be sure I don't miss anything (I did, but it's always a reason to come back). About 10 am look at the tv channel that shows the ship's position and find we are 34 miles from St Helena, but the bridge camera doesn't show anything on the horizon (it's a low grade black and white image). I decide to go up on deck and lo and behold there's the island in front of us. I stayed in my great spot in front of the ship until we dropped anchor 2 hours later. ( I may regret that because I didn't put on my sun block and we are 15 degrees below the equator). As we came around the north side of the island noticed there was a ship at anchor in James Bay. No, it didn't have antennae- it was the Royal Mail Ship St Helena out of Londaon. It stops at St Helena once a month to resupply the island and take off the mail- then it goes up to Ascension Island to rotate the Saint workers and then it comes back to St Helena and then to CapeTown. Famished, so wolfed down lunch and was 15 minutes early for the excursion which left right after I got there- found Jane in the crowd so we did our mini-van tour together. Our driver, Jeffrey, was a Saint (that's what the natives call themselves) and was a dark skinned man with a delightful English accent. He says he's a jack-of-all-trades when he's rarely driving tourists. Lamented that there is a lot of work on the island but the population of 7 thousand is down by 2000 young people who have left the island for better jobs in England, South Africa, etc.

St Helena is the top of a mountain in the middle of the South Atlantic and only 3% is above water. It's surrounded by sheer 2-3000 feet cliffs and the only entrance into the interior is from the bay that leads down to Jamestown. There is no coral reef to protect the shore and it looks inhospitable- I guess that's why the British decided to exile Napoleon to this island. We have to land by ship's tenders because there is no port. We go 100 at a time and are ushered into minibus, then mini school bus, then minivan and finally into taxis to tour the island. Well, first impressions are deceiving- the only street leads uphill and we head into the interior on narrow but well paved roads- I'm next to driver and Jane's got the door so I can take pictures through the windshield. The interior of the island is lush green and has a pine forest that was planted to provide spars for sailing ships which stopped coming when the Suez Canal was opened in 1867. But when Napoleon arrived at his prison in 1815 the bay was full of East India (British company) ships. He spent 1 night in town, and 2 months at a house outside of town called the Briars while his residence at Longwood was being prepared. He was allowed to have his own staff of followers and died about 6 years later- probably of arsenic poisoning by either the British, one of his aides or on orders of the new king of France. His autopsy report says he died of a perforated stomach ulcer secondary to cancer. (They showed a great French movie last night that I never heard of before- Monsieur N. that gave another scenario)

First stop was Napolean's gravesite which is a 15 minute downhill walk to a picket iron fence surrounding a slab of concrete. Napoleon's body isn't here- The French were allowed to take him back to Paris in 1840 where his Tomb is in the chapel of Les Invalides, a hospital built for French veterans. The French bought and maintain his gravesite as well as Longwood House which was his prison. The 20 minute walk back up was invigorating to say the least. Next, a lightening tour of Longwood. Wish I had time to look at all the stuff, but we are trying to get back to town before the shops, post office, etc close at 4. Then Sandy Bay for the scenery, other scenic spots and then back to the top of Jacob's Ladder- a staircase of 699 steps from Jamestown up to a settlement called Half Tree Hollow. Some of the healthier tourists walk down- I take the minivan down a narrow, paved, well maintained mountain road which drops us at the post office at 4:15, but they are keeping the post office open for the tourists. Send 10 postcards which may be illegible as I was pressed for time. Photographed the interesting things on the way to the wharf and was the last one on a 5:30 pm tender. What did I miss? the new museum of the Island near the wharf.

Shower, dinner at 6:15, a lot of the conversation about the fact that 4 of us 7 are Trivia buffs. Peach flambe dessert. and then on the front deck where I started out this am and watched them haul in the anchor. It's really dark when they turn off the lights, blow the ship's horn 3 times, and leave the lights of St Helena behind under a star filled sky.
What a great day!

NAMIBIA TO ST HELENA (DAY2)

5 December 2006- Tuesday
Day 2 of 2 Full days at sea.

AM routine pretty well in place- I don't need the alarm clock anymore. Check the schedule for today and find 3 lectures scheduled- first is Sir Jon's lecture on "Napoleon-England's prisoner" heard it before and read the book. The Yacht guy Paul Cavell, was supposed to be "the clipper sailing ships and St Helena" but most about other items. Fianlly heard from Jean-Pierre again- "Napolean- the abyss" no slides, shich could have been helpful, but great lecture of Napoleon's time in St Helena. Now I'm really fired up, and was bouyed by the Captain's noon report. (He gets on the PA system at noon everyday when the sound the ship's horn and lets us know about the weather etc. and gives us a thought for the day). He said the weather report was good for a landing with a high pressure zone moving in.

It's 30 years since I last saw St Helena. That was from a EC 135N, a modified 707 loaded with electronics to track satelittes, missiles etc. We were on our way back from Mauritius Island by way of Capetown and Suriname. After we left Capetown I invited the rest of the electronics crew into the cockpit as we passed through 30,000 feet altitude to sing Happy Birthday to our pilot who was having his 30th birthday (nice touch -ay). I had bought a cake the night before and had him blow out the candles- except I forgot it was covered in confectioner's sugar not icing. When he blew out the candles he blew the powdered sugar all over the co-pilot who wound up looking like a snowman. Therefore, I was suprised when I suggested that we take a look at St Helena since it was on our way, and the pilot said ok. We dropped down to 5000 feet and flew around the island counterclockwise. We were coming up from the SE so we had to fly around the north end of the island to see Jamestown. as we came around the island we saw a ship at anchor that had a lot of antennae on it and discovered as we almost flew directly over it that it was a Russian trawler (the antennae gave it away as a spy ship). Anyway we hightailed it out of there and hoped we hadn't created an international incident. About 6 months later I was on another mission with the same outfit and we were overnighting on a small island (Ascension) 700 miles north of St Helena where the Americans had built an airbase in WWII. The workers on the base were mostly from St Helena and the bartender overheard our tale about overflying a Russian trawler. He chimed in that he was in Jamestown that day and that the Russian ship sounded all it's alarms when they saw us coming around the island and the Russians on the shore came running back to their boats. He said it was a panic to behold.

Skipped "Richocet" tonight as they are repeating a lot of their magic- still don't know how he does it. Found out they are on their honeymoon tour. I thought they were already married when I first saw them in Antarctica.

NAMIBIA TO ST HELENA (DAY1)

4 December 2006- Monday
Day 1 of 2 Full days at sea

Looking forward to a laid back day at sea and it turned out to be exactly that. Had some thoughts about 'destination' cruising- seems like it's a way to see some places very supericially and although I can say I've been to Namibia, the truth is I've seen only a part of the Namibian desert. The other things I miss is destination lectures that preview the places we'll see and clues as to what to look for. Would have liked to know more about a plant we saw called the Welwitschi mirabalis. (Dave Witschi was a resident classmate of mine who said the name is Swiss- will have to google welwitschi). The locals call it the "two leaf can't die plant" and they are located in the desert and look prehistoric. It really starts out as two leaves but they get split when whipped in the wind. pre-destination lectures also let you pick from the different tours available. I always sign up for the longest ones as I figure you'll see the most, but that's often not true. We did have a casualty of this landing- the guy who runs the internet room. He was a twenty something who rented a FWD quad bike to run the giant sand dunes- unfortunately, flipped the bike and fractured his leg and was hospitalized. So much for adventure sports in a 3rd world country.

They do try to keep the passengers busy during the sea days- but the only thing they announce over the PA system is the Bingo games. Sir Jon's lecture was "Captain Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty" he used a lot of pictures taken from a movie that looked like Russell Crowe playing Captin Bligh (another thing to look up). Then a guy who payed 50,000 dollars to participate in a round the world yacht race. and finally a self described US naturalized French citizen, former CEO of Americqn company in Belgium who has a passion for anything Napoleon. He lectured without slides and either because of his accent or dramatic speaking or both kept the audience awake with a nice talk about Napoleon's birth and rise to power and his military genius. Jean Pierre Miguel did a nice job.

Did get to layout on the upper deck for 1 hour in perfect weather- noticed the sun was straight up so even a half hour each side was too much. Equatorial sun is hot. It bought a comment from Rosemary at dinner. Entertainment tonight is Tufty Gordon so opt for another episode of Lost.

WALVIS BAY, NAMIBIA

3 December 2006- Sunday
The Great Namibian Desert

Up and breakfasted in plenty of time to be on deck for our entry into Walvis Bay. (The name comes from the usual English bastardization of a German word- Germany had South West Africa from the late 1800s until the first world war- for Bay of Whales. I say the usual, because if the Brits can't pronounce it they put their own words to it- like Infante de Castille becoming Elephant and Castle. The sky is deep gray and so is the sea so it's hard to see the horizon- there is a hefty breeze blowing and I'm wearing my jacket for the first time this trip. The ship has to spin around 360 degrees to dock and we debark to go to our several destinations. I've taken the 7 hour excursion to the great Namibian desert and find we are being loaded 6 at a time into convoys of FWD vehicles. We go thru a town which looks pretty clean and nicely laid out without anything moving in it and I realize it is a Sunday. Then we head up north with sand on all sides and come to a seaside resort which is now famous because Angela Jolie had her baby here with Brad Pitt in attendance. When we get to Swakopmund (Ger. for mouth of the Swakop river) we head east into the desert and stop at the Mountains of the Moon - one of the most desolate places I've been.

The "fog" has burned off and the sky is cloudless. Our driver who is a "pensioner" used to be a policeman and has skin like parchment. He explains that because of the Bengeulla current the West coast of South Africa is a desert from Cape Province SA almost to Angola (1500 KM long and 150 KM wide). The water temperature is 40 to 60 degrees. All the rainfall is inland and in the north is the Okovanga delta which gets plenty of rain and wildlife. Namibia makes its money from diamonds which have washed down from the mountains and are all over the beaches and under silt along the coast. If you find a diamond on the beach, it belongs to the govrnment and there are some beaches that are restricted. There are only 1.8 million people in a country the size of Germany making it one of the 3 lowest density populated countries in the world. And after the desert I can see why. Had finger-food lunch in an oasis and then drove down a road between a rairoad and a water pipeline (supplying one of the 2 uranium mines in Namibia) and 1000 feet high Sand Dunes. We stop and get out and are engulfed in superfine sand which gets into everything (so my camera gets folded in my T shirt). Some trekkers climb to the top in this wind and by the time we leave you can't find their footsteps. Last stop is at a lagoon that is just as windy, but some brave flamingos are still there to be photographed at a distance.
We go directly back to the ship- so no souvenirs. I ask the guide to buy some postcards, affix the preprinted labels I gave him and mail them for me- So I did spend $20 to stimulate the Namibian economy. Couldn't wait to get under a shower. Usual unexciting meal, I think I'm getting jaded with all the food- none of which I'd rate as gourmet. Get reminded by the maitre de to set clocks back one hour, and make it up to the Ambassador lounge for the new performer "Travis Clover" I don't wait for him to finish screaming out his first showtune before I'm out the door. Lost will definitely be better than this.

S.A. TO NAMIBIA

2 December 2006- Saturday
Full Day at Sea

Another day of sunshine as we sail up the coast on the west side of South Africa. Most of the passengers must be sleeping in as there is only a small group at the 0700 breakfast. Have decided to do something with the photos I've taken since I usually never get around to it once I get home. HP has got a nice program both for editing and organizing so I decide to give it a try. And that's how I spend the entire morning. I went back to some of the photos I still had on my duo memory stick and it happened to be the Surgical Science museum in Chicago. Not only did I crop, enhance and caption each photo, I organized it into an album. Wish I had brought along some blank CDs so I can back them up- because now that I've put in all the time I'm sure I'll find some way to dump all this work. Anyway, now I know how I'll be spending my five days at sea between St Helena and Rio.

The only activities to break up the morning was the mandatory lifeboat drill for the benefit of the new arrivals, but we all have to participate. Then again I heard that the ship has to do it every couple of weks, but I don't recall more than one drill on the 18 day Antarctic cruise. There was a time you had to leave the assembly lounge and go up to the lifeboat deck but I think we have too many physically challenged (see I can be p.c.) to do that with any degree of efficiency. The other was an enhancement lecture- but it was Sir Jonathan with his slides and music of the great ocean liners which I had seen before.

Tried my wireless connection to the internet and couldn't connect from the Charleston lounge which is one floor below the internet room, but no signal. Find a note in the internet room that says we are having some land connection problems (whatever that means). So no blog download again. I'll probably use all my minutes on the backlog I've accumulated. Tonight is the captain's dinner-(very popular occasion as there are free drinks for 30 minutes- they offer cheap champagne but I held out for a Manhattan) and I find we have a new captain since Capetown. He's also a Scandanavian and said he spent 17 years in the Carribean and would like more adventurous cruises. He was on a cruise that went from Denmark to Iceland the year before (but Marco Polo is not repeating that cruise) and said he'd wish they'd let him take the ship to Greenland. (He's the second person I've heard say the home office doesn't listen to their choices of itinerary). The bad news that he gave us was that the Island of St Helena does not have a barrier reef and he'll have to stop in open water since there is no dock. He said the currents are tricky and the seas unpredictable so we have a 50/50 chance of landings on St Helena (and that's one of the main reasons for signing on to this voyage). To his credit, he gave all the credit for leaving Capetown port in high winds to the tug boats that got us out of there. Everyone all nicely dressed for dinner and we did get steak for a change.
Made it up to the 7:30 show and it was the Marco Polo company doing more Broadway stuff which was actualy pretty good. Looking forward to another episode of Lost and find I'll be through the series before we hit Rio. Meant to ration them, but like a good novel I just have to see what happens in the next chapter.

CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (DAY3)

1 December 2006- Friday
Stellenbosch Winery Tour- Only tour offered today.

I was curious as to why they didn't offer more tours. The answer was that many of the new passengers had 3 days in Capetown already and done the tours. The others were South Africans and probably didn't need the tour. So all 16 of us are off with the usual well appointed our bus (Mercedes) and the same guide we had yesterday- She a blond Brit Afrikaner who talks a lot which is what she's paid to do. Road out of Capetown goes through the "Crossroads" just one of a few shanty towns around Capetown- these are known as the townships and it is not recommended for touring. The shacks go on for miles and they seem to have Maypoles all over them, til the guide tells us that the new constitution requires that all citizens have access to elctricity and water. The mayboles are for the electric lines. The guide goes on to explain that many of these people like to live here because they don't pay property taxes, etc. and that many are illegal immigrants, and a number of other apologetics. Reminded me of Citie Sole in Haiti. (I'm convinced if you don't want to spend the money and still want to see Africa just take a flight to Haiti) Citie Sole is Port au Prince's "township". Drive through nice country side and get to the vineyards with a nice description of SA wines by the guide. StellenBosch is SA's 2nd oldest town after the Cape. Lots of Dutch architecture and go throught a Museum of Houses from the 17-18th centurys. Then we go to a winery where we do tasting but don't get to the cellars because they are double booked (I do not see a refund in my future).

Irony of all ironies, On the way back from the wine country we pass Groot Schorr Hospital where Christian Bernard did the first heart transplant in the 80's. (The South Afrikans take a lot of pride in that, but neglect to say that he did all his transplant fellowhip in the USA) She said that there was a museum in that hospital dedicated to the event and that the operating theater used is now a muesum which contains the instruments, history ec. related to the event and includes some letters of criticism. Sounds like my cup of tea. In addition to that as we drive through the old part of town down near the port I see a sign pointing to a "medical museum" and look up the hill to see a Dutch style building with hospital written on it. I think I would have liked that better than the trip to Stellenbosch. Oh well, it's my fault for not researching it better and I can always claim it as a reason to come back. (As an aside, I did research and corresponded with the University in Johannesburg about their medical museum and they emailed back that they were in the process of moving to a new location. Story of my life- "day late, dollar short"). Back at 1:30 for a 2:30 sailaway.

Got a real show in seamanship when we left port. The weather has changed with s strong cold wind- people wearing jackets on deck and a "tablecloth" covers Table Mountain. I told you we were in a small harbor, so we had a tug boat front and rear- same as when we arrived. they hauled this 6 story building out of the harbour without any trouble- Good views of Capetown as we left. (If I could download photos I'd paste a couple right here)>

Dinner much more congenial and with Nestor our regular waiter we get done right at 7:30 so we can make the first show. There are brief performances by the Magician "Richocet", The Marco Polo Company did some Broadway shows and then Tufty Gordon- a musician, singer jokester did his act. Tuffy must be pushing 70 but he has a lot of enthusiasm. Decide to skip the block buster movie "Munich"- had seen it on the big screen and it would have been hard to take such intense drama at 10 at night. Tried to upload my blog, but there was no internet connection available. Maybe tomorrow.

CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (DAY2)

30 November 2006- Thursday
Capetown Highlights tour- 8:15 departure

Usual a.m. activity and ready to meet the bus for the tour- complimentary water bottle in hand. Only 27 to tour and no wheelchairs. First stop is Table Mountain. The weather is crystal clear and there's not a cloud in sight. We must be the first tour to arrive and there's no wait to take the cable car to the type. The car is circular and has a floor that rotates 360 degrees at the same time it is going up so everyone gets to see all the surrounding scenery which is spectacular. On exiting the building there is a large red sign- "When the hooter sounds, return to the building immediately as high winds are expected." There is a well laid out path with great views and a few memorials to people who died on the mountain. Seems clouds can come in and obscure evrything in an instant as well as cold winds. So if you get lost and aren't dressed appropriately you die of exposure. We do see a few clouds come in but it is a perfect time to be on the mountain. 45 minutes later, we're on the way down with the same panoramic rotating ride. Next we drive throught the city to Cape Castle (which is really a fort, originally built by the Dutch and extended by the British). There is a military museum well done but we only have 45 minutes- I complain to the guide who tells me this is an overview tour and I need to come back if I want to spend more time. There is also a collection of South African art etc. in another building- quick run through and then back on the bus- drive by some historic buildings (there's going to be my usual collection of bad photos taken through bus windows). and finally we do Malay town where a lot of the Immigrants bought in by the Dutch as slaves to work the fields etc. They live in one story stuccoed houses which are painted in bright colors. and are along the southern fringe of the city- that is on the up slope of Table Mountain. The unemployment rate in the country is high- much do to illegal immigrants from less stable african countrys- sound familiar? They have a huge convention center and they ae gearing up for the 19th International Diabetes Convention. Back in time for Lunch- of course. Then spend the afternoon wandering around the pier looking for bargains. there are none. Many of the crvings, masks etc. that I bought for 10-15 bucks are over a hundred here. Even my Zebra skin would sell for hundreds of dollars and they have a 18% VAT. So it's back to the ship with the realization that I've done very little walking around lately. Run into suitcases all over the ship and a lot of new faces. I understand that about 500 are leaving the ship (mostly Brits) and there are another 500 getting on (mostly south africans) that plus the 150 or so that got on in Mombasa and going to Rio makes it a full ship again. Had lunch with a couple from Cape Town and a school teacher from Pretoria who's going all the way to the Antarctic.

For dinner meet my new table mates. First couple is an astronomer who worked for NOA and his teacher wife. He's a vegetarian with Andy Rooney eyebrows- must be a runner as he is lean to emaciated but now I have someone to give my Brussel sprouts to. The other couple are retired Army dentist and she was a DOD school teacher in Germany when they met. With all the commotion on ship and a new waiter things moved slowly but we only got to the entrees when the DOD teacher blew up over a curry salad that was made with canned vegetables- a small scene followed where they chewed out the Maitre de and excused themselves from the table. I'm sure they'll be back- at least I hope so- want to see how this all plays out. Next to these Rosemary seems subdued. Bill and Rosemary control their calorie intake by splitting their entree- since I don't have anyone to split it with I just eat it all.

Entertainment tonight was limited to a movie- Mission Impossible #3. I decide to watch Lost. Get back to the room to find my new steward has turned down both sides of the bed and left a choclate on each pillow- I'm not going to tell him I'm alone and see how long I can get the extra choclate- they are minty and delicious.

CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

29 November 2006- Wednesday
Docked in Capetown, SA in the afternoon-

Another day of brilliant sunshine with the sun rising on the aft deck of the ship. Breeze is refreshingly cool, but the sun is hot. We passed Cape Agullus, the southern most part of the African continent ( I always thought it was the Cape of Good Hope). We then round the Cape of Good Hope and head north in the Benguella curent which carries cold water from the Antarctic north along the west coast of South Africa, that's why Capetowners don't spend a lot of time in the water but love to sunbathe- or, it could be the shark nets and rip tides as well as the Antarctic current. I also discovered that Capetown is a circular bay with the open end facing north- as does the city. Of course it's the backdrop of Table Mountain (so called because of its flat top and if it is cloud covered it's called Table mountain tablecloth). on the east of table mountain is a smaller circular peak called lion's head and on the west is another called Devil's Peak. The back part of Table Mountain runs all the way down to Cape Peninsula and forms a chain called the twelve apostles. The whole area is a National Park.We are supposed to dock at 3pm but have to wait at pilot point for 45 minutes until we get a pilot and then 2 tug boats push us into a smaller Marina- but what a marina! There is a huge complex of 5 star hotels, shopping malls, craft shops and the biggest collection of African handicrafts- it could be my back porch. We don't get cleared until after 4 pm so no touring today, but find a postoffice and get stamps for the 20 postcards I wrote since we left Durban plus another 20 I buy today. Back in time to shower and go to dinner to find our Kiwi friends are eating on shore and Rosemary the Sicilian married to the Lutheran minister (her real name is Amelia but she doesn't use it) has arranged for 2 other couples to join us tomorrow night when the new arrivals get their table assignments. This is our last meal with George- WWII vet with bad hearing who loves to tell war stories.

There's a jazz concert tonight but I'm not sophisticated enought to enjoy that type of music.Besides, I've got all those postcards to write. The shore excursion desk isn't functioning all that well. Found out that if I take the Peninsular tour which takes all day and the wine tour the next day, I'll never get to see Capetown- so I bag the Peninsular tour and tomorrow I should get to see Capetown.

(I've noticed a completely different atmosphere in the city than when I was here in the early 70's). There seemed to be a lot of tension back then. And the black and white restrooms and water fountains took me back to Alabama in the 50's. I remember finding a black man with a sack of groceries lying unconcious on a curb. I stopped my rented car and got out to find he was breathing but unconcious- white people drove by and looked at me like I was crazy. I drove down the street to my hotel and asked them to call an ambulance- they said they would call the police. I always thought there would be a revolution with a lot of bloodshed- particularly whites. Can't believe the peaceful change of government and the lack of retribution. Glad I was wrong.

DURBAN TO CAPETOWN (DAY 1)

28 November 2006- Tuesday
Day at Sea

Weather holding up nicely with brilliant sun and the days are getting longer the further south we go (it's their summer). We are in the Mozambique Current which carries warm water from the equator south along the east coast of Africa and gives Durban a semi tropical climate. Sir Jonathan gives his swan song- Napoleon- England's Prisoner. Usual dramatic music and nice slides. It all looks very familiar to me because his talk came from a book I brought along by the same title. Oh well, repetition is a great way to learn. After his lecture met the rest of the safari bunch from Kenya for lunch- Ron and Ann are leaving in Cape Town as they took a week long safari in Tanzania (Ngorogoro crater and Serengeti) before we met them in Nairobi. Email addresses exchanged.

There's all sorts of activities going on- like Bingo, Trivia, Bridge, ping pong,etc. but I elect to get smarter by going to a global warming lecture. Announcemnet made that the computer ate her slides and her husband, the linguist, is going to talk on the English language. Turned out not to be too bad. English may be on the way to the first world language, but may get a run for the money by Chinese and Spanish. Found out that there are really 6 spoken Chinese languages but they are unified as they all are written the same way.

Tonight is the farewell dinner for about 600 of the 700 passengers aboard as they get off in Capetown- so it's suit and tie again- alot have tuxedos and dinner jackets. Main dish is prime rib and the usual baked Alaska desert. Entertainment is the Joke Boy again-(I thought he had his final set a couple of nights ago- old stuff). Then the 4 guys and gals do a program of very lively rock and roll. Followed by a parade across the stage of the cooks, bottle washers, cabin attendants, crew, etc. I think they said there were over 350 crew members on board.

The seas have picked up again and it's occasionally rocky aboard. All day we could see the coastline of Africa on the starboard side. Now we have headed west to go around the Cape of Good Hope. This is where the Indian and the South Atlantic Oceans meet and can be stormy. Captain told us early in the cruise that he has a lot of responsibility so he was turning the responsibilty for the weather over to the passengers. When asked what the weather would be like going around the Cape, all he said was "well, it won't get any better." There seem to be rollers, but no white caps so I guess we're lucky. Also no burp bags on the railings.

Halfway through the Lost episodes and this will be the latest I've stayed awake on this cruise. 11pm.

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

27 November 2006- Monday
Durban SA

Awoke at 6am and checked the ship's position on the tv channel assigned just for that purpose and found we were about to enter the port of Durban, the busiest port in southern Africa. Was showered and up on deck as we entered the port with a whole section devoted to container ships. Docked at the passenger terminal to the beat of Zulu drums with a welcome committee of Zulu dancers on dockside. Took us awhile to get clearance to land. I tried for a couple of tours that had sold out and did want to tour Durban, but the only thing I came up with was a private game reserve. Went into the terminal to buy some postcards which I'll write on the way to Capetown. Lots of colorful stuff for sale- was going to try to find the post office, but advised against going into town alone. Ran into Ron and found out he and his wife were doing the game park that afternoon also- so right after lunch, boarded the buses for a one hour drive South of Durban. Durban itself looked like a prosperous city with nice modern buildings and lots of street traffic. Then found out that the unemployment rate was 60% and therefore crime rampant. Drove past Victoria St Market and next to it was the main railway station which carries 60,000 people per day and is surrounded by homeless squatters. Next came the wealthy apartment section of Brea and then a gigantic mall that looked like Disneyworld called the Pavilion.

Apparently, no one shops downtown- very American. Finally enter the land of a thousand hills- alledgedly formed by 2 scotsman who lost some coins and dug a bunch of valeys in search of them. The highways are excellent, the buses big, roomy, air conditioned so it looks like we've returned to civilization as we know it. Pass a number of chicken factories which are huge. Told they slaughter 250,000/day for consumption and export. The landscape is lush and green because this is springtime in SA and the rainy season (was in Swaziland in June when everything had turned brown.) Notice a large black cloud to the right of us but we turn off the highway to go left. The Tala game reserve is 3000 hectares and surrounded by an electric fence- the place was held up once so now they only take credit cards. We go to the lodge where they have large land rovers seating 3-4 across with 5-6 rows. The park personnel are dressed like Afrika Corps with billed hats, epaulets. I make the first one in an outside seat and we see buffalo within 5 minutes, then up to giraffe and there are a lot of antelope all around. There are no cats or crocs because the area is too small to support big predators. As we're watching a flock of ostriches, we get lightning and thunder and light rain which becomes a down pour- we do have a leaky canvas roof, but the ponchos we were promised if it rains do not materialize- and did I mention I was in an outside seat. But tough it out until we find the rhino- 2 separate sightings and then head for the lodge. Have Ron take a picture of me with a stuffed sable antelope-rare-and when I look at it later, I find I look like a harlequin since the right side of my body is soaked and the left is dry. Anyway, saw more game in an hour than we did in 4 hours of Tsavo West. Rainy ride back uneventful and make it to the dock at 5:30 pm- ship sails at 6pm.

Quick shower and dress for dinner. Nothing spectacular- the leg of lamb I picked was mostly fat, but everything else was good. Entertainment tonight was Steve Stevens a comedian, trumpet player, singer and plays an instrument that looks like a baby banjo but sounds like a ukelele. He pronounces all the words he sings so you can understand the lyrics, but he's English and some of the humor lost on Americans. Another episode of Lost - getting stranger and stranger- and asleep by 10.

NOSY BE TO DURBAN (DAY 3)

26 November 2006- Sunday
Third day at sea from Madagascar to Durban SA

Well it was bound to happen- stormy weather. Low hanging clouds sporadic rain and the seas are running rough. Started in the middle of night when the room starting rocking. I never mind that cause it makes for good sleeping. During the day they put burp bags on the railing in the halls and in the stair wells. (that would make an interesting picture). It also keeps the crowd down in the dining rooms. This ship rocks from front to back and I guess the stabilizers keep it from rolling from side to side, but the wind pushes us into a list of a few degrees so it makes walking about interesting.

Pretty much of a nothing day- as I remember it. I should write these every night, but with splanchnic pooling secondary to a full four course meal (sometimes I sneak in the cheese selection for a fifth course) I don't feel much like sitting at the laptop for an hour. (I'm still a slow typist) Anyway except for the 3 meals- 2 in Raffles and the dinner in the dining room, the only other event was my uploading another of couple of sessions onto the blog site. Seems to be going smoother, but I can never keep the internet connection below 20-25 minutes. To get away from the smokers I tried connecting from the Raffles restaurant which was empty when I started but a noisy crowd collected and the sessions take my full concentration. I'll decide whether it was worth the trouble at the end of the trip.

Did three episodes of Lost. It's a good program because it keeps you wondering what's going on and what can hapen next. Nice thing about the laptop is that it is wide screen. And the pictures are really clear. Being nearsighted I watch it without my glasses. Will have to try some of the movie dvds I brought along. The movies on tv run on 3 channels, but not interested in most and the ones I would like to watch are always on when there's something else happening- like lunch or dinner.

Tonight's entertainment "Joke Boy" Paul Adams last show as he gets off in Capetown. I think he's pretty fed up with this crowd- he used to wait until the audience caught on, now he just goes into the next set. ( I think it may be because of his British accent). He did his IKEA furniture set again- this makes the third time I've heard that. The other part of the program was Penny Mathisen- a singer who has a nice voice and can sing Broadway or opera. She's caught in the middle because when she trys to get an opera job and they see Broadway on her resume they think she can't sing, and when she tries to get a Broadway job and they see she's classically trained they think she can't act- so I guess that's why she works on a ship.

NOSY BE TO DURBAN (DAY 2)

25 November 2006- Saturday
Another Full Day at Sea

Always a challenge to see how a day goes when there really isn't anything to do. My routine is pretty standard- up at 6, catch the latest on Fox News, breakfast at seven (which I usually take in the Raffles buffet instead of the dining room so I don't have to make idle chatter with new tablemates), my steward usually has my room made up by 8. Today was brilliant sunshine so sat in a deck chair on the starboard side to watch the ship wake up. Along came a couple of cheaters on the way to breakfast who draped their towels over 2 select chairs, laid down their books and then went to breakfast essentially reserving these chairs- which is against the rules and the staff is supposed to remove such articles if they are there over 20 minutes. Well, the ship enforces this about as they well the use of wheel chairs in inaccessable locations. While I was toying with the idea of moving their stuff, a loquacious gentleman by the name of Walter stopped and began a conversation which went on for an hour. A most enthusiastic gentleman who seemed distressed to have me excuse myself. He was picking my brain on the history of Africa and even copied down authors I remembered (Ruark, Leakey) and personalities like Cecil Rhodes. Went inside and ran smack into room 645 which Dan the backpacker had raved about. It's one step from the deck, one step from the staircase to the promenade deck, and a corner location. Went down to the booking desk to see if I could book it for a Baltic cruise next summer and the room was booked on both voyages, so the word must be out. Found out the itinerary for next year is pretty much the same except they are cutting out East Africa (with all the troubles they've had I can see why). They always do Antarctica in Dec, Jan, Feb- cross to the Med in March and this year they are going into drydock near Rome for a 5 million dollar facelift. Then it's Baltic, Norway, Mediterranean before crossing to SA heading for Antarctica. Anyway, nothing looks appealing so I may not book another cruise. Besides, my new friend Walter reminded me that Oceania Lines has newer ships with a real library and four restaurants and no assigned seating.

Lecture on African languages just before lunch- seems there are hundreds but fall into 5 groups- North Africa are Arabic related, south of them are the Nilo-Saharan languages, then around Congo are the Niger-Congo languages which are labled A and B- the B- being the Bantu who migrated over to eastern africa and then headed south which goes along with the story I remember that when the Dutch set up Capetown there were no large indigenous population there. The last group are the Khoisan of which there are an estimated 300,000 speakers left. The Khoisan is different because it has 3 different "click" sounds associated with it "X"= a front tooth click, "C" is like tsk-tsk and "Q" is like a cork being pulled from a bottle or a glass being filled. The Zulu and th Xhosa speak with clicks. And for further useless information- South Africa is the country with the most "official " languages- eleven. They are English, Afrikaans (the lingua franca) Ndebele, north and south Sothi (Lesotho), Swati (swaziland), Tsonga, Tsooma, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.

Time for lunch and Hallelujah- the drill for not touching anything on the food line-( the plastic gloved Filipinos were the only ones allowed to load your plate during the virus epidemic) is over and we are back to normal routine. The duck in cherry sauce was very dry but tasty. And there is always ice cream for dessert. Discovered that Rocky Road is chocolate with peanuts in it. Up to the Internet to see my earthlink address loaded with junkmail. Got on my wright state site and realized everyone was off- checked my blog and no picture so I guess I didn't upload the one I thought I accomplished. But I at least got the logout code. (all the while a Greek business mans dictating legal letters emails to his fast typing wife). Tonight there is a special reception for repeat Marco Polo Cruisers and the bulletin asks for semiformal dress. but first there is an afternoon classical concert by a couple of the band players. Winds up they are Polish, she plays the piano and does the introductions in very hesitant English- he is a violinist and they did a credible job for an hour with one encore. Father Bartos slips in his time in the busy schedule to follow this with a Mass- Feast of Christ the King- marks the end of the ecllesiastical calendar, which means Advent- the 4 Sundays before the Christmas season starts next Sunday. Then it's off to dress for dinner at 6:15 (The Kiwis are having a great time listening to American stories) and Dill again missed dinner. Then it's up to the reception and I'm lucky to scam a glass of champagne as 60% of this cruise is with repeat sailers and the Ambassadore lounge is packed- of course the free drinks may have something to do with it. The Captain makes a speech about how grateful they are for the loyalty and grouses that the head office doesn't listen to his suggestions about interesting itineraries. He said he hopes they put in a new water distillation plant during dry dock.

The entertainer was the middle aged singer with the Frank Sinatra songs and now I'm glad I missed his performance the other night. Decide to watch a couple of more episodes of Lost but fell asleep.

NOSY BE TO DURBAN (DAY 2)

25 November 2006- Saturday
Another Full Day at Sea

Always a challenge to see how a day goes when there really isn't anything to do. My routine is pretty standard- up at 6, catch the latest on Fox News, breakfast at seven (which I usually take in the Raffles buffet instead of the dining room so I don't have to make idle chatter with new tablemates), my steward usually has my room made up by 8. Today was brilliant sunshine so sat in a deck chair on the starboard side to watch the ship wake up. Along came a couple of cheaters on the way to breakfast who draped their towels over 2 select chairs, laid down their books and then went to breakfast essentially reserving these chairs- which is against the rules and the staff is supposed to remove such articles if they are there over 20 minutes. Well, the ship enforces this about as they well the use of wheel chairs in inaccessable locations. While I was toying with the idea of moving their stuff, a loquacious gentleman by the name of Walter stopped and began a conversation which went on for an hour. A most enthusiastic gentleman who seemed distressed to have me excuse myself. He was picking my brain on the history of Africa and even copied down authors I remembered (Ruark, Leakey) and personalities like Cecil Rhodes. Went inside and ran smack into room 645 which Dan the backpacker had raved about. It's one step from the deck, one step from the staircase to the promenade deck, and a corner location. Went down to the booking desk to see if I could book it for a Baltic cruise next summer and the room was booked on both voyages, so the word must be out. Found out the itinerary for next year is pretty much the same except they are cutting out East Africa (with all the troubles they've had I can see why). They always do Antarctica in Dec, Jan, Feb- cross to the Med in March and this year they are going into drydock near Rome for a 5 million dollar facelift. Then it's Baltic, Norway, Mediterranean before crossing to SA heading for Antarctica. Anyway, nothing looks appealing so I may not book another cruise. Besides, my new friend Walter reminded me that Oceania Lines has newer ships with a real library and four restaurants and no assigned seating.

Lecture on African languages just before lunch- seems there are hundreds but fall into 5 groups- North Africa are Arabic related, south of them are the Nilo-Saharan languages, then around Congo are the Niger-Congo languages which are labled A and B- the B- being the Bantu who migrated over to eastern africa and then headed south which goes along with the story I remember that when the Dutch set up Capetown there were no large indigenous population there. The last group are the Khoisan of which there are an estimated 300,000 speakers left. The Khoisan is different because it has 3 different "click" sounds associated with it "X"= a front tooth click, "C" is like tsk-tsk and "Q" is like a cork being pulled from a bottle or a glass being filled. The Zulu and th Xhosa speak with clicks. And for further useless information- South Africa is the country with the most "official " languages- eleven. They are English, Afrikaans (the lingua franca) Ndebele, north and south Sothi (Lesotho), Swati (swaziland), Tsonga, Tsooma, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.

Time for lunch and Hallelujah- the drill for not touching anything on the food line-( the plastic gloved Filipinos were the only ones allowed to load your plate during the virus epidemic) is over and we are back to normal routine. The duck in cherry sauce was very dry but tasty. And there is always ice cream for dessert. Discovered that Rocky Road is chocolate with peanuts in it. Up to the Internet to see my earthlink address loaded with junkmail. Got on my wright state site and realized everyone was off- checked my blog and no picture so I guess I didn't upload the one I thought I accomplished. But I at least got the logout code. (all the while a Greek business mans dictating legal letters emails to his fast typing wife). Tonight there is a special reception for repeat Marco Polo Cruisers and the bulletin asks for semiformal dress. but first there is an afternoon classical concert by a couple of the band players. Winds up they are Polish, she plays the piano and does the introductions in very hesitant English- he is a violinist and they did a credible job for an hour with one encore. Father Bartos slips in his time in the busy schedule to follow this with a Mass- Feast of Christ the King- marks the end of the ecllesiastical calendar, which means Advent- the 4 Sundays before the Christmas season starts next Sunday. Then it's off to dress for dinner at 6:15 (The Kiwis are having a great time listening to American stories) and Dill again missed dinner. Then it's up to the reception and I'm lucky to scam a glass of champagne as 60% of this cruise is with repeat sailers and the Ambassadore lounge is packed- of course the free drinks may have something to do with it. The Captain makes a speech about how grateful they are for the loyalty and grouses that the head office doesn't listen to his suggestions about interesting itineraries. He said he hopes they put in a new water distillation plant during dry dock.

The entertainer was the middle aged singer with the Frank Sinatra songs and now I'm glad I missed his performance the other night. Decide to watch a couple of more episodes of Lost but fell asleep.

NOSY BE TO DURBAN (DAY 1)

24 November 2006- Friday
A Full Day at Sea

Obviously the ship feels responsible to keep the passengers entertained as they have a full schedule of activities. The only thing that interested me were the meals and lectures and the comedian tonight. Lecture 1 was late morning on Lord Nelson who won a sea battle off the coast of Spain called Trafalgar. This was during the Napoleonic wars and led the British to be able to dominate the seas of the world for a couple of hundred years. The lecturer was our cruise director, Johnathan Neal who I found out is a "sir", that is he has officially been knighted by Queen Elizabeth for raising some 28 million dollars for some British charity. His previous lecture on the history of cruise ships was good, but he trys to dramatize it by adding music- which I think is unnecessary because he has good slides.

Anyway, Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 the youngest of 9 children of the village parson and his mother died when he was 8. His uncle was in the Navy and at age 12 Nelson went to sea as a midshipman and was a captain by age 20. At age 26, .while serving in the west Indies he married a Fannie Nesbit. He lost he vision in his right eye from a shell explosion and thereafter his right pupil was permanently dilated.1797 he became rear admiral and was decorated Knight of Bath (K.B.) At the Battle of Tenerife in 1797 he was shot through the arm on the Thetis and had to have it amputated.. He then met Lady Hamilton who was married to the governor of Naples and they had a lifelong affair (apparemtly with the governor's knowledge) and had a daughter called Horatia and left them both penniless. He sailed to Cadiz, Spain in 1805 and defeated the combined French Spanish navy at the Battle of Trafalgar by a maneuver called crossing the line. Unfortunately he was shot by a sniper as he walked the quarter deak in his full regalia. The shot entered his left sholder and loadged in his spine making him pararplegic. He died 4 hours later, was pickled in a cask of whiskey in Gibraltar and returned to England for a state burial in Westminster Abbey. His ship Victory is preserved at the maritime museum at Greenwich. (Smithsonian has run a Nelson tour for the past few years- expensive).
Had lunch with my safari mates and they are all doing well. Ron wanted to look at his safari pictures on my laptop so we met in the card room after lunch. He and Ann had booked a safari to the Serengeti before meeting us in Nairobi. They are leaving the ship in Cape Town. I copied a few of his best animal shots to my computer. (I think he has the second largest colletion of animal butt shots after me) But as a result of our meeting we missed a lecture on the geology of the Oceans which I recently heard on my Iceland trip.

Early dinner the usual affair, except that I noticed Dill missing for the second night in a row. Dill is the morbidly obese, somewhat demanding lady who was at our table- parking her wheelchair in the hallway (she's really not very mobile except for her mouth). I made comment that I had hoped I hadn't offended her to which the minister's wife retorted- "No, she probably prefers to eat at the buffet- she can get more food that way." Quick meal so as to get up to the comedian's performance- the place was packed and the comedian, who was English, was both a good musician and a singer but he told all the same jokes I heard on a previous cruise.
Rest of the evening was a couple of more chapters of LOST and then the Da vinci Code came on a 10pm, but I only made it throught the introdution scenes. I must have been bitten by a Tsetse fly in Kenya.

NOSY BE, MADAGASCAR

THANKSGIVING DAY 2006

There's an American flag hanging over the dining room and they have red white and blue balloons hanging all over, so I guess it's a holiday. We are standing off Nosy Be (big island), Madagascar and I've elected to take the Lemur Island tour to see the black lemure sanctuary. This is done in a native boat with an outboard and benches. As we are waiting to disembark I see a lady being pushed through the door by a wheelchair. My first thought was to get into another group (you should always go with your first thought). But, I decided to see what happened. She made it down the stairway outside the ship and with the help of 4 crew men she got into the boat with her wheelchair. 40 minute ride an a wet landing and the show begins. Her husband tries to push the wheelchair through beach sand- impossible- so she walks up the beach. We are passed by the next group. There are embroidered tableclothes hanging all through this village and we look into a couple of classrooms- kids in uniform. Wheel chair works a little better on firmer ground and another group passes. Now the path turns uphill with irregular paving stones, rocks, etc. Wheelchair can't navigate and another group passes. Our native guide- a skinny young lady Robine is totally discombobulated (I don't think I've ever spelled that word before) and she's running back and forth trying to help the wheelchair out- and another group passes. At that point I went and asked the husband what part of this trip being rated wheelchair inaccessible did he not understand. I told him to park his wife as we are moving on with the guide. (we had already lost 3 to another group). So we entered the reserve and I heard the husband complain to another traveler "this trip is going to make an old man out of me." So we saw a 4 foot python draped around a boys neck who wanted a dollar a picture, a chameleon on a stick- $1, and a land crab- free. I didn't buy any photo ops and there weren't any lemurs either. Got a Sprite on the beach- included in this 48 dollar boat ride. Talked another 9 people into leaving early and took off for the boat- and guess who showed up coming down the beach- yep, the wheelchair couple. Well fortunately we were full- It was a wade out to the boat but when fully loaded we were grounded in the sand so I got off the front of the boat to reduce the weight and helped push us into deeper water- I suppose I was the most agile of the group which tells you what a geriatric group this was. Enjoyed the ride back- breeze partly dried sweat soaked shirt.

Decided to eat lunch before taking the tender to Nosy Be Town- ran into Ron and Ann after I wolfed down a burger (about the size of a silver dollar) Ron suggested we team up and take a 3 dollar taxi into town- I agreed to the plan and missed the next shuttle. Once we did get to the small pier were beseiged by hawkers, the most obnoxious being a pair of thieves with a black lemur on a rope- "Take a picture mister" followed me up hill rubbing this poor animals back on my arm and finally putting him on my shoulder hoping he would crap on my shirt. A finger poke in the sternum got them to take the lemur back. Ann and Ron were on the sunny side of the street and I waved them over to the shade and found out we were already in town and didn't need a cab. Turned out to be picturesque town with a boulevard divided by a wide tree lined park- of course, this being off the coast of Africa, it was littered and unkempt and the path lined with the ubiquitous embroidered tableclothes. The heat and humidity were really oppressive and the people were smart enough to siesta, so everything was closed except for a bar where they did sell postcards. Tried to write the cards inside but kept sweating profusely so moved outside and a breeze. Had to wait until 2:30 for the Post office to open so chatted with Ann while Ron went to scout out a cyber cafe (unsuccessfully). Two thirty and the shops start to open, not much to buy so head for PO and get stamps- $2 postage to USA. Glad I discovered the Blog.

Shower is getting to be the best part of this trip- got some nice sunset photos and down to dinner of turkey and the fixings followed by by pumpkin cheesecake. They have a female vocalist tonight- not my cup of tea- so will try TV til 10pm when "Master and Commander" will be on the big screen. Well, couldn't stay awake until 10 o'clock even though I knew I could sleep in since tomorow is a day at sea. (Must be all that salt air).

MAYOTTE, COMOROS ISLANDS

22 November 2006- Wednesday

Automatic wakeup at 6 am to find us standing off Mayotte. After docking we have to wait for the port authority to come on board and give us clearance to leave the ship. There is no organized tour today which means there's probably nothing to see in town. The bulletin says they did arrange a shuttle bus to go to town - $20 round trip ticket. I figure this is another hot place since we are near the equator so will take an early shuttle which is supposed to take half hour to get to town.

Should explain that Mayotte is not politically part of the Comoro isalnds. The rest of the islands voted for independance from France but Mayotte by 98% voted to stay as a French territory and they hope to be elevated to a 'department' which is like our state sometime soon. Well, it turned out to be a shuttle fiasco. 2 buses and two vans which took less than a hundred into town. The plan was to run a bus every 30 minutes but obviously if its a half hour trip each way that should be every hour. The crowd increased, milled around, finally somebody organizzed a quay (the Brits are the best at quaying up- left over from WWII where they had to quay-up for everything). It was super hot in the sun so we used the shipping container stacks for shade.Til they started moving them. Finally got on board a small bus and had a scenic ride to town. The women paint their faces with a yellow colored paste for their skin. The bus let us off at the market and I made a bee line for the post office (all markets have begun to look alike). Everything was uphill in this town and I did say it was hot. Asked in my best French for the post office and got directed to a winding uphill dirt path. Made it only to be 4th in line in a building with no circulation of air- then suddenly I was 6th- the natives have a way of slipping in I didn't get a chance to study how they did it, because the lady at the counter called me to the counter and I got 6 stamps- since this is French territory you had to have Euros which I luckily did. Now I had to find postcards to put my preprinted labels on- found a small stall picked out six and got distracted by a British couple who were in port on a 100 passenger ship- walked off and later realized I hadn't paid for the cards- they have probably sworn out a warrant for my arrest and I'm glad we're not stopping at any French territories. Wrote the cards in the village square and found a post box- they're canary yellow so you can't misss them..There were only a few people at the bus stop when I get back to the market- and they have quayed up nicely. Breeze in the 20 passenger van makes for a pleasant trip back to ship. Hit the shower. (Captain says we have a water shortage. We were taking on more water from Mayotte- note strong chlorine smell in shower) Then lunch where I learned I could have taken a cab for 3 euro instead of for $20 (I hate getting ripped off). Then a nap.

Afternoon spent fighting with my laptop. Took it up to the Charleston Room, a glassed in area that's used for after dinner dancing, etc. with a bar and a smoking area. It's close enough to the computer room to make a wireless connection. Just about the time I got my internet connection a couple of smokers marched in with their computer and lit up. ' Logged on, got to the blog page- a couple of copy-paste routines rejected, then I got the hang of it and sent the rest. Somehow 18 november may be lost in cyberspace because it's not on my notepad anymore. Final straw was that I could not log off because I couldn't get the "ocean mail" logo to show. Went over to computer room and found I was still logged in (eating up my expensive minutes)- until a lady showed up and gave me some clues. Tried to up load a photo from Amboseli; but, as my friend Dan the backpacker from Antarctica predicted, it took forever; so I may save the picture entries til I get home.
Early dinner and then up to see "Ricochet" the husband -wife magicians. They have to have 2 shows a night because of the number of passengers. I really barged in on the early show which is designed to entertain the late eaters until they eat at 8:15pm. I tried tthe late seating a couple of times last voyage, but going to bed with a full stomach wasn't a good idea.

Anyway, it was a good show, as usual. I think he blew a rope trick but decided I was not interested enough to sit through the late show. Another episode of Lost and sleep.

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

20 November 2006- Monday

Awoke at 5:30am feeling completely refreshed- but limited breakfast to English muffin and tea. During the night they had slipped my tour ticket under the door and told me the tour of Zanzibar was postponed til 1:30 so I had the morning to knock around. Signed up at the Net cafe, because from the look of the intinerary I don't think I'll have time to look one up in the ports. Ran into Ron and Ann where we kidded about the OSU-Michigan game. They're from Michigan. It's strange how a small a ship as this is you can go days without seeing some people. Worked on updating the blog. Lunch was at he pasta bar, then down to the tender at 1:30 to go see the highlights of Zanzibar. Wound up in an airconditioned minivan with Eddie Murphy as a guide. He was perfect with his African accent- so we saw the market, the slave market, the Anglican cathedral, first- and I'm tolerating the heat well- we're like 4 degrees south of the equator. Then back on the bus for a trip to the "house of wonders" because it was the first modern builing in Zanzibar- i.e. it had running water, electricity and an elevator. It's now the National museum and only 3 of us and the guide did the 80 stair climb to the second floor where I found some stuff on Dr Livingstone. The old fort was next to the building but nobody wanted to go in because he said there was nothing to see and it is now an open air theater. Nobody got off the bus for a walk through stone town and the guide called in and said he bringing back his exhausted clients. They did agree to go to new town to see the Livingstone House but most just wanted to ride around in the a/c. I had completely forgotten we were in a different country (Tanzania) and forgot to get postcards and stamps. Anyway, Zanzibar seems cleaner and more affluent than Mombasa but what they have in common is that the rich houses belong to the Indians.

The nice part of having the computer along is that I can see my pictures blown up- so spent a good bit of time doing that until time to get ready for dinner. Shower dress and show up at 6:15 only to find that my assigned table has all the seats full. The maitre de looks like he's going nuts because the first couple of day people keep chnaging their times and tables- he seats me a group of 5- a couple from NZ, an American Lutheran minister and his wife and another guy that I know nothing about because he never stopped talking to the minister's wife. After the full 5 courses I realized that my stomach has shrunk and I felt bloated. They had a male Broadway singer for the after dinner show so I decided to go back to the cabin and watch an episode of "Lost."

MOMBASSA, KENYA

19 November 2006- Sunday

Awoke not feeling well, but not really sick either- maybe a touch of nausea and the occasional gurgle. But since I had signed up for a tour of Mombasa I decided to start the day with a couple of Pepto-Bismol tablets before a breakfast of French toast, bacon and tea. Tour left at 0815 and I admit that they really have the drill down perfectly. With the addition of the 198 people who had started our tour in Nairobi along with the people who started their crusie in Venice we have over 700 on the ship. And I hope the ship's luck improves, because several of the stops were canceled- especially the one to Petra in Jordan- seems the Israelis warned the ship off because it was too close to their border. When these passengers got to Mombasa they had been on the ship for 8 straight days. Had a very nice air conditioned bus with curtains for a hot muggy day in Mombasa. We visited a Hindu temple where they were having Sunday service- they arrange in rows youngest in front, oldest in rear- sit on the floor American Indian fashion and have a right angled red sock on their right hand which contains prayer beads. Great illustrations of what happens if you go to hell in painted bas-reliefs in lobby. Then to the steel elephant tusks on the main drag in honor of George VI death and coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth was still a young lady in 1952 when she was visiting British East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika) and was called back to England when her father died. All the mentioned countries were still colonies and did not gain independance until 1963.

We then went to the market- colorful and dirty. Then to the rich section of town on the water front. Baobob trees along the way- These are stubby looking trees with short branches sticking out of the top. Swahili legend has it that the tree got so boastful that God uprooted the tree and stuck it into the ground so that its roots became the top. Anyway, when the Portugese were here they planted Baobobs over their graves and that's why there are so many of them. Drove by the presidential compound (no pictures) when Jomo Kenyatta was alive he prefered Mombasa to Nairobi and a residence is still kept here. Then on to the wood carving cooperative.

There are 42 tribes and languages in Kenya. The biggest tribe is the Kikuyu who are described as the Jews of Kenya since they are aggressive business men and politically astute, the second is the Masai along the southern border, the third is the Mkamba and the 4th the Lao near the Uganda border. The Mkamba are the wood carvers and there are 5000 of them in this cooperative- the cooperative supplies them with the wood and the carvers get 80% of the selling price. We got to see examples of some of the trees, mahogony, rosewood, ebony and the neem tree. ( I don't know how to spell neem, but it is a useful tree I've heard called the "toothbrush tree" because the natives use it for gum massage and there are other herbal remedies such as brewed leaves which are better than viagra.) While I'm walking around through the hovels they use as their wood working shop I begin to feel lightheaded and notice I'm sweating a lot more than most. Finally made it to the showroom which was loaded with carvings but badly lit and no air circulating so i went out to sit in the airconditioned bus but driver was busy shooting the breeze with his buddies even though the bus engine was running. After 15 minutes of being nice guy, I went over to ask him to open the bus- to the relief of several of us. By the time the shoppers arrived I was cooled down enough to try the next site visit- Fort Jesus. The Portugese had built the fort but it was used by the Arab sultans for a long while. The chapel was gone but they recently discovered where the Christian cemetery was and found a skeleton which is on exhibit at the site.

The next stop is a walk through "stone town" the oldest part of the city, but I'm not tolerating the heat very well, pretty much drenched in sweat, so back to the bus. by the time we make it back to the pier I'm pretty exhausted so instead of bargaining with the local sellers who frequent the pier, I head straight for the ship. It's almost 1pm so instead of a nap I hit the buffet to wolf down a salad and some crab cakes and then slept until 3:30pm. We have an RC priest on board so went to 4pm mass- there were probably 20 of us total and even though there's a lot of Brits on board I expected a better turnout til I remembered many of the passengers were on the safari tour. Life boat drill at 5pm, again many pasengers missing. Had tomato bisque and bread for dinner because by now I feel like I've been run over by a truck. Went to the variety show at 7:30 where I chatted with Jane until the show started. Two of the three acts I had seen before- "Richocet" a husband and wife team who is an illusionist and had a couple of new acts; Paul Adams, a British comedian who had a lot of the same jokes; and The Marco Polo Company- 4 guys and 4 gals who do sort of Broadway production numbers. They were all new kids but from the other cruises these kids can be interchangeable. Was asleep by 9pm. We had left Mombasa for Zanzibar about 8:30pm- a delay of about 2 1/2 hours because there was a water shortage in Mombasa and we had to wait to top off our tanks. I fell asleep considering my differential diagnosis as an atypical MI, dengue fever, impending gastroenteritis or just knocked out by the bad bus ride- in that order.

TSAVO TO MOMBASSA- ROAD FROM HELL

18 November 2006- Saturday

Baggage drill the same but a lot easier with just a duffle bag. Omelet breakfast and ate with a Scots couple. Then four hours of driving on red dirt roads along with the other 20 some vans. The driver's all had radios so they would call if the sighted something. Saw a lesser kudu, a pair of did-diks (the smallest antelope about the size of dachshund but with longer legs). Several hartebeest, a couple of giraffes, some warthogs and a pair of cheetahs at a great distance. As I said these vehicles do not leave the road. Well, all this took about 4 hours, which was prettty slim pickings for the time invested so returned to the Taita Hills lodge for lunch, picked up 22 more postcards and stamps, and then back to the registration area to meet our buses to Mombasa.

Not to be perjurative, but there started the Chinese fire drill. First they suggested an alphabetic list- then groups of 35 self-selected, then a rush for the buses. I was unlucky- I got bus number one in which the back seat was occupied by a sick guy and his wife- she told me they had the entire back seat to themselves so he could lie down which he frequently did. Linda from Joisie had befriended this couple and had asked me what I thought about the fact that he had been vomiting for 3 days. I suggested Pepto bismol tablets which Ron had lots of, but when I saw the guy in person with a distended abdomen that prevented him from sitting straight up and a sallow complexion I realized he had worse problems perhaps an intestinal obstruction. (to get ahead of the story he was never allowed on the ship but had to fly out of Mombasa. later heard he was on a trip in Spain got sick flew back to the states, had a CT of the abdomen then flew to Nairobi to pick up our tour). Bus number one had no air conditioning, and no shock absorbers to speak of and must have been wrecked at one time because when I looked out the front window from the next to last seat in the bus I was looking at the left side of the road not the highway. Was bumpy to begin with, but when we got to the "highway" to Mombasa we started running into ruts, then pot holes, then trenches where the bus would bottom out completely. Thank goodness they had seat belts. After that flight in the 747 and now this episode I'm going to call this my "turbulence tour." But the old saying holds true- there's nothing so bad it can't be worse. On the opposite side of the road were literally hundreds of 18 wheelers lined up at weight points headed for Tanzania. We were told that they some times had to wait there for days. One of the trucks was carrying a ships cargo container which had shifted weight and yanked the trailer over on it's side. Second one of those I've seen this trip.

I was never so glad to leave a bus. At the pier we had the usual boarding drill- some people did not have documentation of a yellow fever shot so they were pulled out of line to get one. You got your hands sprayed with a disinfectant before you got to the gangplank then escorted to your room. This being my 3rd time in this cabin, it was like coming home. Was glad to see my luggage had made it, but in spite of the old dry-cleaning bag trick, some of it was too wrinkled to wear. Actually went up to dinner after washing off some of the road dirt because we had arrived after 8 (our alledged 2 hour trip had expanded to 4) and I was starved as well as beat up. Found a new drill in the buffet line- as usual disinfect your hands, then a wait staff picks up your plate and puts whatever food you want on it and hands it to you at the end of the line. I asked the maitre de what was going on. He said a number of the passengers had come down with diarhhea after they had stopped to visit Luxor, Egypt and they didn't want it to spread. Those passengers had been quarentined in their cabins.

(The next day heard the news of a cruise ship pulling into Fla with 800 sick passengers). Ate with a Kiwi (New Zealander) who said they had taken a trip to Tsavo that day from the ship and said they saw herds of elephant, etc and even a leopard. We must have shooed them over from our side of the game park. All in all a less than perfect day but grateful for a hot shower and my queen-sized bed.