Cartagena

CARTAGENA TOMORROW
Lunch
We sat with 2 other couples: one from Hawaii and one from Baltimore but both had lived in so Cal in their pasts. They were all interesting and we enjoyed the conversation.
Tab Hunter interview
Well this was much more interesting than either of us expected. He certainly looks phenomenal—not at all his age but when asked, he denied having any work done. He lives in Santa Barbara and raises horses. Many clips of his work were shown. He wasn’t a particularly good singer though he had a #1 hit Young Love, but he was an excellent ice skater. I was also surprised to find that he is not very tall.
Econ for Dummies
Ed enjoyed this talk today much more than the previous ones. He has a little melodrama occasionally that I find off putting but I listen and absorb some of it all since I know zip about all this stuff. Clearly many of the listeners are enthralled by him.
Yeah! We get an hour back tonite
It will replace the one we gave up before Aruba! And since we have an early call in Cartajena, that will be much appreciated.
Trivia
We joined some other folks and make a team called the “hopeful winners”. Nice group though the other women weren’t very participatory. However, there was one question that truly could determine the outcome: What events are in the Olympic Heptathlon? We got 3 of the 7. Each answer counted for one point. As usual we disagreed with some of the answers but even if the answer is wrong, it’s the final decision. I feel sorry for the poor folks who have to do these trivia games. In the end, two teams tied at 14 (that tells you how tough it all was); our team had 13.
Ultimate Ship’s Tour
You may recall that Nancy and I did this on the Golden Princess. There used to be a 3 ring binder down in the purser’s area for one to sign up for bridge tours; you weren’t told about it; you had to ask. So I looked for it and couldn’t find it. So the lady at the purser’s desk eventually got around to telling us about the Ultimate Ship’s Tour which will be held toward the end of this segment (which ends in LA). So Ed signed up for it. I’m glad because I know it’s something he will really enjoy. It’s bound to be a little different from the Golden Princess tour but no less interesting.
Uploading photos
I’ve been trying to upload a few photos and the internet connection has been timing out so I’ll keep trying over time.
Dinner
We had a full table and Lyle was telling us about a conversation with a Hungarian man who is a painter on the ship. He has 3 degrees and is working on a 4th; he can’t find work in his native land and makes more money doing this work anyway. He had some very interesting observations about the evolution of democracy and other forms of government. I think that’s one of the most exciting things about these voyages is finding out about the staff and other passengers.
Our waitress is married and her husband works at an adjacent table. They have 3 children. We are still finding out about others.
A character lesson for me.
Many years ago on a cruise there was a lady with a very shrill voice; you could hear it everywhere when you were near her. This basic irritation reached a head during an encounter in the laundry room when she was waiting for my washer to finish spinning and was going to take our my clothes. I was standing right there.
Zip forward many years. She was also on the last world cruise but now was alone. Her husband has been dead for a long while now; she lives in Dallas with her daughter nearby and travels extensively as she and her husband did when he was still alive. There are many of us on this cruise from the 2008 cruise and we visit and catch up on news. For example, one lady was crocheting baby clothes all through the last cruise and now she’s showing us photos of the baby they were made for. So the lady I’ll call Adele (not her real name of course) is in conversation with me frequently now. She a sweet lady with a modest voice. I’m glad it’s come to this as I always disliked the initial memories and we often have small talk now that is reassuring to me about what the future holds for us all and the fact that I hope folks will give me a second chance as well or equally as important, have poor memories.
Tonite’s show
I went to find Ed in the lounge and the lights are low. I couldn’t find him and he missed me as I went around. Folks who recognize me, man y of whom I really don’t know, were very helpful in guiding me to where I eventually found him. This generated a discussion with one of the ladies who has a peculiar retinal condition with something like a cellophane membrane. So I’ll look that up first chance I get. I hope people realize I’m not being rude; I simply can’t recognize folks though voices do help.
Magician Comedian
I’m always leery of these shows. I could care less about magic shows and one never knows about the comedian (in his own mind perhaps?) part. But the guy tonite, Martin Lewis was very funny and amazing in his tricks. What a talent it takes to do all of that simultaneously without losing track of where you are in the trick and the names of the audience participants. Ed loves magic and is agog trying to outsmart the magician and then in the end, capitulating and giving up trying to figure it all out. Well at least he isn’t as obsessive about figuring it all out. I’ll certainly here more ideas from him about how some tricks were done.