In the Gulf of Aden

May 2 2010


I woke up before dawn as did Ed but we both worked on going back to sleep. Eventually I heard him getting ready for the gym and after he left, I think I was asleep because I remember some vivid dreams. Eventually I got out and got rolling after 8 am. On the ship’s morning show, JJ showed where someone had ripped out certain pages from one of the travel books. Further, they had highlighted many sections. This was a brand new book on a port in Egypt we won’t be visiting this trip so I presume it was from last year’s cruise. These particular books must be checked out for a day at a time. I wonder if that is why. I had told you before about those pages out of the book on Einstein.
Library
Same fellow, same chair, snoozing away for the whole time I was in the library. From there I went to the computer class area to audit a class but the instructor wasn’t there and while another lady came to take the class, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen since none of the computers had been set up. So I left after a few minutes and went to the lecture. At 11 when I came back, that lady and the instructor were working on a class and so the next class also went and I could audit that.
Port talk: Safaga
Unless you go to Luxor, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings, which is a 11.5 hour tour which we’ve done twice before, there’s not much to do but stay on the ship. If you snorkel or skin dive, you can go to a beach nearby. And the Holiday Inn for $15 USD will let you use their beach and pool. But the speaker did mention one place that might have camel rides, so I may check into that. It is such a weird experience.
Sunday Brunch
Each sea day that falls on a Sunday means that they outdo themselves on a lavish buffet with everything imaginable. I found a great tomato and feta cheese salad and lots of veggies, plus some shrimp cocktail so I was happy.
Then we went back to the cabin to read. Ed took the computer to do some research. At 2 pm I headed up to audit a class again but there weren’t any students so I came back to read some more. I have three books going now. The latest is interviews with Gerald Ford which could not be published until after his death. Then there’s the Madeline Albright book, which is interesting but not compelling reading, and a novel that was on the NY Times bestseller list. The latter two are large print. The first I must read only in the daytime as it’s print is too small otherwise.
Quest for cloves and ivory: the story of Oman and Tanzania
The content is interesting but she has such a soporific speaking style. I looked down the row of folks next to me during her lecture and everyone was asleep. Honest. And her husband (I presume) gets up to introduce her each time. This is a little too much. For the most part, our guest speakers simply get up there and give a brief introduction about themselves and move on. And she could tell the story in half the time.
Trivia
My team didn’t win this morning and we certainly weren’t any threat this afternoon. Some very tough questions this afternoon. The team with the Brits on it won; there were a large number of British oriented questions. That’s fair as most of them are more USA oriented in focus.
Hor d’oevres: we had ordered “tuxedo strawberries” as a part of our Elite package on formal nights. The white chocolate one looked like a tuxedo front very cute and of course they were delicious.
Formal night
We got gussied up. I wore one of the glittery headpieces with coins around the edge as it matched my red dress and JoAnn and I had agreed to wear them tonite. It turns out another lady wore a silver one. Ed and I went to have our photos taken before I donned the head piece and then of course the photographer wanted a few shots after I had it on. Oh Lordy. I can hardly wait to see those!
Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party
There are only 12 people on board who are not members because this is their first cruise so you can imagine. The drinks are not the reason you go to these events. You drop your invitation into a bucket and later, the Captain draws three of them for a bottle of (cheap) champagne.
Dinner
Rhia and Dave had won a bottle of champagne at the party, the second time they’ve won, so we shared it at supper for dessert. Tom came in a tuxedo with an Arab kifeah (think Arafat’s top) and JoAnn wore her head covering with the bangles of coins which we had agreed in advance to do. JoAnn is in a cast now for some peculiar problem that hasn’t actually gotten a label yet but the MD put her in a soft walking cast. She decorated it by swathing it in a silver shawl. It is a riot! And while she was mumbling about having to wear that cast, she wore it last night and said she felt so much better today. She even offered to give Nikolas a kiss in thanks but he said it would interfere with their professional relationship. Ha. We are such a small community on the ship that this is funny to us.
Dancers and show
Tonite was “Words and Music”, and as always, the kids did it up right. I have been taking the binoculars and they help me a lot in being able to see them. Especially, I like being able to check out the costumes. My contacts were bothering me so I wore my spectacles and it’s a little more challenging to see things this way but better than going without anything!
The headpiece with the matching glitter dress were a great hit. I was told I had to wear the headpiece for Egyptian nite which will come after Safaga. I’ll see about wearing that with my Arabian belly dance costume. Of course I’ll probably be wearing a totally black outfit underneath it all as I don’t have a body suit with me.
When we got back to the room, I had Ed unzip the back of the dress. The dress fits comfortably but not tight when it’s zipped up, so I was troubled when I couldn’t get it over my hips. Of course, you automatically think of how loose I’ve been with my eating lately and then a mild panic when I consider what I’d do if I can’t get out of the dress. Then I discovered he hadn’t unzipped it all the way. Thank you, Lord.
Local color
We saw a huge oil tanker parallel to us today and at dinner they said it was shooting off it’s water cannons as an exercise I guess since it was only us in the vicinity that anyone knew. Some folks are obviously anxious about the coming transit but most of us are pretty blasé about it. One more piece of excitement to anticipate.