Bouncing around again

At sea, Friday March 5 2010
While Ed went to the gym, I went to see….
Culinary demonstration
This was all about rices and risottos and such. It was actually very interesting. I hope I can remember all the little hints he gives out. As usual, someone one a gift of some kind. I used to believe these were at random but I no longer think so – I won’t bore you with all the evidence to the contrary.
Trivia
We didn’t win morning or afternoon but we did OK and came in close to winning (but no cigar as they say). Evelyn encouraged us to go to Nautical Quiz at 9:15 after the show so we did. Another couple sat down; we’ve “worked” with the obnoxious husband before. His wife is a very uptight, wall flower type, but she does make valuable contributions. We were eventually joined by Evelyn (who got the time wrong) and in the final few questions, by Susan. We won with no one even close to us. I figured we didn’t have a snowball’s chance but indeed you do know more than you think. There were two questions NO ONE got: what was the name of the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe in 2001? It’s Ellen McCarthy or something like that (Barbara and John knew it but they weren’t there). And I can’t recall the second one. So Sonja gave us TWO pieces of green paper to redeem for gifts later since we had done so well! Whoopie!
Designing for the Academy Awards
This was Arnold Schwartzman who designs the posters, programs, menus and various other items around the Academy Awards. It was actually very interesting and he showed us several years of his work and described how the ideas emerged. His wife helps him with computer work and I gather her contributions are invaluable. But contrary to what I expected, he was very engaging and very captivating.
Wii Resort
This was offered at 3pm and I was surprised Ed didn’t go as he professes to love that stuff though he’s only tried it at Amy’s so we went to hear…
The 2012 Sensation
Did you know the world is ending in 2012? That’s when the Mayan calendar ends and several other ominous signs. So the astronomer proceeded to knock down all of these assertions. But just in case…
Classical Pianist
This was a rather retiring young man with almost no flash to him. And this was totally unrelated to the fact that his luggage never caught up with him and they told the airlines to send it back to the UK since he’s leaving us in Auckland. So JJ lent him some clothing and he was dressed informally but with a tie. He played many classical pieces you’ve all heard before. There was nothing very exciting about his playing. I did however, really enjoy the theme song from the movie “The Piano”. Barbara said that he had a very posh British accent and she wasn’t too sure when she first heard him speak. So he wasn’t spectacular but it wasn’t unpleasant.
BAY OF ISLES, New Zealand, March 6 2010.
Indeed I have no idea what the name of the town is but the Bay certainly lives up to it’s name with over 100 islands here. The ship anchored way out in the bay and we tendered in. Sailing into this area was another gorgeous experience though the hills here have taller pine like trees around on the hills. The land side is more modern than most of what we’ve been in lately. The homes are often of wood and nicely painted.
Our tour left at 9:15 am and we first met a cute little Beagle as we went to the tender. We were instructed by the Kiwi cops to put our bags low for the dog. Ed got busted again so he endured a hand search of his backpack. The odor of the banana from several years ago must still be there. I wanted a photo of him but the little guy was very serious about his job and too busy to pose.
We met our part Maori (pronounced Mah-ree) guide Kena. He spared us the responsibility of learning his complete name. It was sunny when we left the ship but quickly became overcast which I don’t really mind on some of these tours as the sun can be brutal where the air is clean. We got a little rain along the way but not enough that we wilted. Speaking of the weather, this clean air is a new experience for so many of us. You hear coughing and hacking as we breathe deep and our bodies try to rid us of all the accumulated junk from the floating respiratory ward which is our temporary home.
I wouldn’t call our bus a “motor coach” exactly. It did have air conditioning although it was pretty weak it did help a little. When we got off the bus it could be quite chilly though and sometimes the wind emphasized the coolness.
Do you know these people?
The first excitement was that there is a couple who act as if they are the queen and king (he says little) of whatever kingdom they are from. They informed the lady already seated in the front row that they had reserved seats. I won’t recount the whole scene but this couple is hardly a favorite. The wife in particular calls out to the entertainers and overall just seems very haughty and imperious. Eventually, the guide suggested the original lady, who has some problem with her foot (the couple seem pretty able bodied and the best guess—since they didn’t share any reason for their specialness—might be carsickness but that could have been handled just as easily in the second row) sit in the seat next to him which she did.
I think folks like this couple get by with unbelievable hubris; we see it a lot. I’ve not seen the ship staff confront such arrogance. I guess they will do anything to achieve that “excellent” evaluation. Other folks with obvious limitations seem to adapt as indicated without this demand for specialness. Ed and I make it a point to try and protect such folks so they have a fighting chance with the thundering herds as we get on and off difficult areas.
Along our drive, we saw some cemeteries. I can’t recall if I’ve told you my thinking as we’ve gone through these cannibal areas—well former cannibal areas. When I didn’t see many cemeteries, I thought to myself: Well I guess they didn’t need many cemeteries when they simply ate each other.
Also, the fences here often look very wooly. It is lichen that grows on the slats. And the flowers, as you would expect as you get into colder zones, are gorgeous in color and very plentiful. However, they aren’t very large for the same reason.
Te Taimate Mission
The missionaries have had a tremendous impact on this area (and perhaps all of New Zealand). Since the theology of the Christians meshed comfortably with the native beliefs—one god for example—there was rapid immersion. Cannibalism played a role at various times, often due to misunderstandings on both sides. The missionaries taught the Maori many skills for which they are now known: farming, husbandry, gardening, growing crops.
This complex is like an English village in a glorious, rich, lush green setting. The church is wooden and would fit in New England but appears Anglican inside. The cemetery around it is fun to walk through with it’s variety of grave stones and names. At one point, all of this was a complex which included a school, blacksmith shop, carpentry, etc. The church was being prepared for a wedding and they had decorated the pews with cute little pink roses with white ribbons.
Maere
This is a local meeting house and the clans are attached to these areas. There are carvings of their ancestors at these sites. We were given detailed instructions from our guide about how to behave in the meeting house. No photos, no hats, no shoes. We were first invited in by a local woman in the native language. Go quietly inside to the far wall and wait. Then we had a moment of silence to remember the past. Next we were guided to sit on seats along the sides. There was so overflow and so a few folks were directed to a bench in front of the rest of us. The elders of this maere were on the opposite side. Two women had gone to this bench and they were asked to sit in the back with the rest of us as this was not according to the “protocol” (we heard this word A LOT) of that maere. Fortunately, the women were on their good behavior and there wasn’t a scene.
Well I’m at a loss as to how to describe this experience but it went on for probably 45 minutes where we sat quietly and listened to the local leader “welcome” us, while holding a very impressive carved stick, a sign of his leadership position. This was in Maori. Our guide was appropriately deferential. After a long drawn out speech with lots of pointing and changes in inflection…Not quite Elmer Gantry but perhaps their version. The men and women got up and sang us a song and then prayed. This was repeated another time.
Finally it was our turn. A man had been chosen by the guide to thank our “hosts” and be very effusive in his thanks for the welcome. Then we had to sing a song (We all knew “You are my sunshine.”). Well we still weren’t done. Now our guide had to be the supplicant in his native language and then translated for us. Then we had to sing again, this time Amazing Grace.
All of this was followed (we couldn’t escape yet) by a receiving line that required approaching our hosts in a certain fashion where we pressed (not rubbed) noses and greeted each other. All of them spoke English and were very friendly. There were about 8 or 10 of them we greeted in this fashion.
Next we were invited to come to the community center for juice (not sure what kind it was), cookies (obviously commercial source) and tea. Well I never found the hot water for the latter so I had a coffee cup with cold water—I thought at one point that I had found the hot water but alas no. We were allowed to take photos outside and in this building which had some gorgeous carvings on the wall.
Since we had been properly greeted, we were able to cut across the grass to return to our bus; initially, we had to go through the gate and wait to be invited to come in. One has the impression that “protocol” is VERY important and one must not offend.
Waitangi Treaty Grounds
I loved the little church but this area was my favorite. First we toured a house with a few exhibits including some that showed how the house had been built. Then we went to the local Maere here which is the only one that looks like the originals which were totally carved. They really are gorgeous and in between are woven panels in various local designs. You must take your shoes off any time you go into any Maere and we were good. Next we went a long way to the warrior boats which were quite impressive. They are usually made out of one single Kauri tree, but there was one that seemed to never end and it was made out of three Kauri trees. It must have weight a ton. It is taken out only on a special occasions like every 10 years or so.
From there, the path took us to the visitor’s center and souvenir shop after passing the café. There were lots of interesting things but I can’t see very well, there were a lot of people, and time was short. Then we were off to the bus. We debated on whether to take the shuttle into town for “shopping” but decided against it. We got the tender with over a hundred other shipmates and came back to the ship. I had hoped to see my little beagle friend, but alas, s/he was gone. Since we had only had cookies and water since breakfast, we went to the Panorama Buffet for some late lunch.
Downloading photos
I download photos at the end of each day we are out and reformat the disk. We hear lots of stories of folks not downloading and losing or having their disk stolen. Besides we take so many photos, over 500 on an average day between the two of us, that we need the space for the next day. As an example, Ed just took about a 100 photos of the sunset. I keep telling him that he needs to sort through all those photos and throw some away because otherwise I have to do it and I feel punished. Alas, Ed has never downloaded photos (I’m not sure he knows how) and he hasn’t made an attempt, not even feeble and helpless, to sort out photos. He could at least do it on the camera before I download!
Dinner
There were six of us and lemoncello was being sold for supper along with the souvenir glass. Actually, at $4.95 it’s a good deal compared to the $6.95 or more they usually charge. This generated many hilarious stories about previous drinking experiences among this now well over 65 yr old group. These are not stories they would want their children to hear.
Since Barbara and John had toured New Zealand for several weeks a few years ago, they went back to some places to see how they’d changed. One of them was a ferry across the bay to a town named Russell which was the capital of New Zealand at one time. Nancy apparently (this was new to us) had never agreed to get on a tender before. However, today she did. They didn’t have a regular tour and had discussed going into town on the shuttle. However, it was raining and so they came right back to the ship (now this I cannot imagine) and took a nap.
We are losing all our tablemates in Sydney so we’ll have a whole new table after Sydney. I”ll miss them as we’ve had a lot of fun and each personality has been fun. As an example, we had our usual discussion about the questions in trivia and I was curious about the various layers of the atmosphere. Bob went to the library and found the information in an almanac a COPIED the whole page for me! Since the original was in very small print and he also has visual “challenges”, this was no small feat. And we were all stunned as this is not the atmospheric layers WE learned in school. I’m sure there are a lot more such examples.
Ed’s photo entry
Ed was not happy with the way the entry printed out so he finally recropped it (after I led him to the original and coached him on where the things were in the program). So now it’s up and he’s happy. The contest closes 2 days before Sydney and the judging is done by the ship’s officers the next day.
Oh dear
I turned on the TV intending to turn it to some news while I write this. BUT way too late, Ed saw it and now he’s enmeshed in a movie with Sandra Bullock. I see where this is going. He’ll be oblivious to anything other than that TV until the movie is done. So if I’m lucky, I can grab the remote at that point and encourage his to put his clothes away and other tasks that need to be done before we go on our tour in Auckland tomorrow morning.
Tonite’s entertainment
It is the guitarist again. He’s OK but nothing I have to see. Ed was ambivalent and since he’s now glued to the TV, that took care of that.
Captain’s announcement
We’ve been warned that the seas will be rough. We hope folks will take heed as we are all used to grabbing onto side rails quickly at this point.
The sunset tonite was especially glorious. One of the perks of such a trip are those fantastic sunrises and equally stupendous sunsets. It’s impossible to capture them all but each one evolves into thousands of different visions.
So I’ll go up and upload this now so I’m caught up tomorrow.