Pireas Greece tomorrow

In the Mediterranean Sea


Someone came on the PA system between 5 and 6 am to tell us that we were entering the Suez Canal. Well needless to say, there wasn’t much sleep after that. Eventually we both rolled out and Ed went to the gym. I got ready and went to the library for the internet stuff.
Holiday Store at Sea
This is (supposedly) our last chance to purchase goodies for $10 USD. The prices are certainly lower than other places I’ve seen them but then you have to figure out who would like them as gifts. So as usual, I just looked.
Spectacular Culinary Demonstration
Commendatore dazzled us again with his quick, and deceptively easy looking, preparation of Caesar salad served two ways, pork chops with veggies, and creama caramel in individual or group servings. Along the way we learned a lot of helpful hints. And we received two recipes not to be found in the cookbook: one for moussaka and one for a dessert that is loaded with Calories!
World Cruise Lover’s Luncheon
There were folks from the 2008 and 2009 world cruises who are on this cruise. There were probably 40 + people. It was a fun reunion. We sat with the two Chucks at a window seat with a wonderful view of the Suez as we sailed along. Commendatore prepared a wonderful luncheon. We looked at the menu and figured we’d get choices. As it turned out, we got a little of everything on the menu. And there were wines to join the foods.
I went to the computer area to see if I could audit a course. No one showed up for it and Tim had an agreement with another passenger for a private lesson if no one showed up for the class. I got a few answers to some challenges in Photoshop and then ran down to see what was left of the 1:30 pm program
Reflections: A Voyage of a lifetime 2010 World Cruise Highlights
Werner, the videographer on board, prepared a video of less than an hour of many highlights from this cruise. There are 4 DVDs of his videos and Ed had ordered them some time ago so we’ll have all of it. They do such a great job in the Video and Photo departments. Simply amazing talented folks.
Port Talk: Piraeus
Marty Green did his usual terrific job of presenting Athens in a quick tour. I’m still not sure what we’ll be doing there but we may take the Metro Subway into the Plaka area and just walk around. You can see lots of the sights we’ve already seen from that area and Ed hopes to buy another Greek fisherman’s cap.
Transiting the Canal
Originally, the plan was to stop at Port Said, Egypt on the northern exit of the Canal to refuel from a barge. The Captain came on around noon to let us know we wouldn’t be doing this as the seas are too high near Port Said for a safe transfer of fuel. While the transit of the canal was quiet and smooth as you would expect, as soon as we approached the mouth of the Canal near the Mediterranean, the seas became very choppy and the ship began it’s usual swaying when you are in choppy waters. After all this while, we can feel when the ship leaves a harbor or quiet waterway. It is almost winter like outside with wind, sprinkles, and gray skies.
On either side is this sugar fine sand. Periodically there are sentries who seem to be perpetually sleeping on duty, so what’s the point. Here and there, fishermen can be seen plying their trade. The unique pigeon domes are seen here and there. Egyptians grow birds in these beehive looking, tall structures for eating. Occasionally, there were fields with crops growing on the edges of the shore.
Did you know that the Statue of Liberty currently standing in NY Harbor was originally conceived to appear at the southern mouth of the Suez Canal? There was no money to pay for it and through a very circuitous route, it eventually wound up in America. Another bubble burst.
Frankie’s International White Elephant Auction Sale Extravaganza
This is where people put their regretted purchases up for auction for themselves or to donate to charity. It’s amazing what people have. Two dresses were actually the nicest. There were two bottles of wine. One person introduced a bag of the chocolates they put on our pillows each evening. Go figure. But sometimes the competition for the most mundane things is astonishing. One fellow paid $5 USD for a faux (of course) Rolex watch. When I left, it was up to $20! Ed came back with a pareo with Vanuatu, his favorite port on this trip, on it in large letters. He paid $5 for it. Now….I want to see HIM wear it. Ha.
Yikes! No water
There was an announcement at one point that the transfer to fresh water on board is taking longer than expected and that it will be an hour before the water is back on. First time ever on a ship where they provide water via desalination. And then I went to the restroom and forgot…
Afternoon movies
There were two documentaries about the Suez Canal and one about the Egyptian Pharoahs. Both well done and full of great photos and old videos. Ed missed them. He was either at the auction or slept through them.
Dinner
Everybody present. JoAnn’s foot is still a problem so she will be seeing a MD in Athens. She asked Nikolas if the MD will speak English. He said he’ll be an expert to address her needs.
Tonite’s Entertainment
This was a professional pickpocket who has done videos showing how pickpockets work and explains the techniques to you. But in all of this, he is madly picking pockets in the audience. It’s amazing how fast and subtle he is. We have seen some of the same tricks at the Magic Castle, where all the magicians are members. But he went much further. He had folks put things in a bag unknown to him (though he did know who had the bags) and then he would first guess what was in the bag with a great deal of accuracy. He’d then describe the item and what type of person the item would fit. Eventually he returned all the items to the people who had originally put them into the bag(s) with 100% accuracy. Ed was one of the “victims”. He put in his coffee card for the ship. Of course, he just blended into the audience with his shirt with the tiger emblazoned front and back, in gold, on a black shirt!
World Cruise Costume Party
Dancing and games where passengers wore costumes they had picked up in the various countries. I put a purple Red Hat T-shirt, pants I bought in Sharm El Sheik, my Egyptian headdress, and over the body, I wore the belly dance outfit I got in Dubai (or was it Oman?). We had dancing and then the costume contest. I made the first cut but in the end there were two ladies who won. One was all in black with only her eyes showing. I thought this one was a worthy first place winner. The other lady came into the contest well after it had started. She did have a good sense of humor (you’ll see why I say that in a minute) but I thought she took advantage by popping up after the first cut. She was about 5’ tall and about as wide. But she had a lot more guts than I did. I wore the t-shirt and pants UNDER the belly dance costume. She just wore the belly dance costume! She had a shawl on and covered her face with a lacy top with coins all over it so it was a cute and authentic looking costume.
All of this was followed by a Champagne Waterfall: greatly overrated imho. Even so, Ed and I went up to be silly with the rest, help the Maitre d’ pour the bottle, and have our photo taken. There were in excess of 600 wine glasses in that pyramid. We get free champagne with this event. I took a few sips, and then put the glass down with the comment: “life is too short to waste it on cheap champagne.” One of the perhaps not-so-good things to happen on this cruise is that I’ve tasted some really good champagne and I am now ruined forever. Now I know why I’ve never liked champagne before!
I’m not sure when we left but it was after the ship’s crew had departed. It takes a while for my body to cool down after dancing and such so we surely got to sleep well after midnight. We were laughing at ourselves because we have been in smooth seas for so long we’ve had to learn anew how to hang onto the side rails when walking around the ship, and anticipate the movements of the ship.