Just in case I can't use this one at some point:
bfaherty.spaces.live.com
Thanks!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Well go figure
We are in the port of Safaga Egypt at the moment and will go out later as I'm hoping for a camel ride at a minimum. If we're fortunate, we'll find a souk.
In the meantime, I had no problem at all getting onto the blog site this time. Perhaps they were doing repairs yesterday? It also occurred to me that I'm using up a lot of space with this blog. In any event, I'll post yesterday's blog and also create a new site just in cast. I'll hopefully put that new address into this site as well when it's established.
Cinco de Mayo
The sun was BRIGHT as it came through the drapes this morning. Still we didn’t get up until after 8 am. I got ready and left to do internet stuff in the Cabaret Lounge and Ed came in sometime during the demonstration.
Spectacular Culinary Demonstration
Commendatore did his usual phenomenal job of making the preparation of quiche, Tequila shrimp with rice, and other side dishes look deceptively easy. I do learn a lot of new tidbits about foods and equipment but I doubt I can retain it long enough to put any of it into practice.
Trivia
Since this was done by another passenger, the man who spoke on King Tut the other day, we were ambivalent about showing up. We decided we owed it to our team to show up. There were the core 4 of us. We thought this time, it might be different with a passenger doing the trivia but after about half the questions, it began to get deep. And when the answers were read, this became an opportunity to wax on and on about various thing Egyptian. By the time the answers come along, we all just want to know the answers and get on to lunch. In the afternoon, there were 5 of us. In each instance, our team scored one point below that of the winning team.
Cinco de Mayo Luncheon Buffet
Everything was delicious. I’m just sorry I couldn’t afford the calories to try every thing. We sat on the back of the ship outside where the weather was so pleasant. I just hope it lasts through our next ports! We were joined by the Aussie couple who teach the Bridge classes. We enjoy their company and spent time talking about the financial crisis all over the world and the housing “bubble” in the US.
Computer—audit
Ed joined two other folks to take this class which I audited. I used some videos on our computer to do the various tasks since it is done in Windows MovieMaker. I was actually able to remember more about how to do this than I expected.
At 2 pm Estelle Harris who played George’s mother on Seinfeld was speaking again. We aren’t that crazy about these kinds of programs but I was really put off by her use of foul language repeatedly (never matter that she was quoting others) even when JJ indicated he didn’t want that on tape. She is in her 80s and while I know she thinks it’s cute, it was very unattractive and off putting.
So Ed sat on the patio and watched the ocean float by. His neck is bothering him but he did say he forgot to take his arthritis medication this morning. I kept reading the interviews with President Ford.
Princess Grapevine
There were a few new wines today but the speaker drones on and on and we simply want the core information and to try out the wines and get out on time. At a little after 4 p, I left to meet our trivia team and Ed followed a little bit later. This is the last wine tasting of the cruise.
Two Stories, two histories: a profile of Egypt in contrast to it’s neighbor Israel
We were at the wine tasting when this was given so we watched it on the TV between 5 and 6. This was kind’ve a stretch in terms of the theme but I could see her point though I thought it was simplistic and really doesn’t comprehensively explain all the problems in the region from an anthropological perspective.
Dinner
We had made arrangements to meet Chuck at Sabatini’s for supper so we could visit. He was also on the 2008 cruise and lives in LA. We know many of the same public figures and he’s just a very nice fellow and a good conversationalist. Our discussions range widely including discussions of folks we know in common, some of the ship’s gossip, and talk about our waning years and how we plan to situate ourselves so we are intellectually stimulated but not a burden to our family. We opened up the restaurant and when we left at 10:30 pm, there were only 2 people left there and they had arrived much later compared to us. Besides the air conditioning had gotten to Chuck and he was pretty congested and needed to go out on deck to see if that helped his lungs.
Yippee! We get another hour back tonite. We always look forward to that.
In the meantime, I had no problem at all getting onto the blog site this time. Perhaps they were doing repairs yesterday? It also occurred to me that I'm using up a lot of space with this blog. In any event, I'll post yesterday's blog and also create a new site just in cast. I'll hopefully put that new address into this site as well when it's established.
Cinco de Mayo
The sun was BRIGHT as it came through the drapes this morning. Still we didn’t get up until after 8 am. I got ready and left to do internet stuff in the Cabaret Lounge and Ed came in sometime during the demonstration.
Spectacular Culinary Demonstration
Commendatore did his usual phenomenal job of making the preparation of quiche, Tequila shrimp with rice, and other side dishes look deceptively easy. I do learn a lot of new tidbits about foods and equipment but I doubt I can retain it long enough to put any of it into practice.
Trivia
Since this was done by another passenger, the man who spoke on King Tut the other day, we were ambivalent about showing up. We decided we owed it to our team to show up. There were the core 4 of us. We thought this time, it might be different with a passenger doing the trivia but after about half the questions, it began to get deep. And when the answers were read, this became an opportunity to wax on and on about various thing Egyptian. By the time the answers come along, we all just want to know the answers and get on to lunch. In the afternoon, there were 5 of us. In each instance, our team scored one point below that of the winning team.
Cinco de Mayo Luncheon Buffet
Everything was delicious. I’m just sorry I couldn’t afford the calories to try every thing. We sat on the back of the ship outside where the weather was so pleasant. I just hope it lasts through our next ports! We were joined by the Aussie couple who teach the Bridge classes. We enjoy their company and spent time talking about the financial crisis all over the world and the housing “bubble” in the US.
Computer—audit
Ed joined two other folks to take this class which I audited. I used some videos on our computer to do the various tasks since it is done in Windows MovieMaker. I was actually able to remember more about how to do this than I expected.
At 2 pm Estelle Harris who played George’s mother on Seinfeld was speaking again. We aren’t that crazy about these kinds of programs but I was really put off by her use of foul language repeatedly (never matter that she was quoting others) even when JJ indicated he didn’t want that on tape. She is in her 80s and while I know she thinks it’s cute, it was very unattractive and off putting.
So Ed sat on the patio and watched the ocean float by. His neck is bothering him but he did say he forgot to take his arthritis medication this morning. I kept reading the interviews with President Ford.
Princess Grapevine
There were a few new wines today but the speaker drones on and on and we simply want the core information and to try out the wines and get out on time. At a little after 4 p, I left to meet our trivia team and Ed followed a little bit later. This is the last wine tasting of the cruise.
Two Stories, two histories: a profile of Egypt in contrast to it’s neighbor Israel
We were at the wine tasting when this was given so we watched it on the TV between 5 and 6. This was kind’ve a stretch in terms of the theme but I could see her point though I thought it was simplistic and really doesn’t comprehensively explain all the problems in the region from an anthropological perspective.
Dinner
We had made arrangements to meet Chuck at Sabatini’s for supper so we could visit. He was also on the 2008 cruise and lives in LA. We know many of the same public figures and he’s just a very nice fellow and a good conversationalist. Our discussions range widely including discussions of folks we know in common, some of the ship’s gossip, and talk about our waning years and how we plan to situate ourselves so we are intellectually stimulated but not a burden to our family. We opened up the restaurant and when we left at 10:30 pm, there were only 2 people left there and they had arrived much later compared to us. Besides the air conditioning had gotten to Chuck and he was pretty congested and needed to go out on deck to see if that helped his lungs.
Yippee! We get another hour back tonite. We always look forward to that.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
ooops
For some reason I'm being blocked from this site and I'm not sure why so this may be the last blog fromthis site. I have an idea for another site so folks may need to share information.
Happy Birthday, Ed!
Yep, the old man has a 68th birthday today. He got up after 7 and went to the gym. What a great way to begin today! (Never mind about me and exercise, please). I made my usual trek to the library to do the computer related stuff.
Port Talk: Aqaba
This was really interesting since we had seen the bio on Queen Noor the other night and Aqaba was their favorite place to relax. I also did not realize that it is directly across from Eliat: one can practically throw a stone from one across the water to the other. The tours that are offered are snorkeling, swimming, SCUBA, of course. And one to the Wadi Rum: you go a long ways in a bus and then switch to 4x4s for a trek through the desert including visits to bedouin tents. (Some folks laughed that they probably leave their apartments in Aqaba each morning to go to the tents to receive visitors and then return to town in the evening.)
The one we’ve been excited about the whole cruise is to go to Petra. This is an old city cut into limestone mountains. It is a very long bus ride there and then you walk 3-5 miles to see the better things to see there. My concern is the heat but some folks say the weather is predicted to be high 70s to mid 80s. This sounds too good to be true but I hope it is the case as I don’t mind the walking but I absolutely dread the heat! And I’m glad we’re doing it while we’re “younger” because I don’t plan to do this again this way.
Trivia
We didn’t win this morning but we didn’t shame ourselves either. But this afternoon, we tied for first place with another team and the staff member didn’t have a tie breaker question so she just gave us all tokens. This was a good start to what followed—see later in this entry.
Lunch
They had a French buffet today so Ed and I went there and tried out odds and ends. I love the Brie cheese though Lord help me, I don’t need the calories. Ed went to do some stuff on the computer while I went to audit another computer class. But before the class started, I managed to take some monkey photos Ed had taken on Elephanta Island near Mombai and seat the monkeys around Ed on the couch as if they were actually in the cabin. I need to do a lot of clean up work for it to be a good job but I was so excited to be able to do that even crudely. Even Ed was impressed and the computer instructor who is about the same age as my oldest daughter, was smiling broadly.
In the Land of the Pharaohs: The Egyptian Quest for Immortality
This is the lady I’ve described before with the soporific voice but terrific content. This time her husband, who is a professional journalist, did a good part of the presentation and talked about Alexander the Great. He declared himself a Pharaoh of Egypt when he conquered it. He really was astonishing since he conquered all those lands before he died at the age of 32! He apparently had a serious drinking problem along the way though.
Egyptian travel slides 1968-1989
This was an impromptu slide show by a man who was born in Egypt, went to Berkeley, taught at the University of Cairo and has many other credentials. It was fun to hear his version of his native country and see it through relatively older slides.
Celebrating Ed’s 68th b’day
When we left the cabin this morning, there were three balloons of different colors with Happy Birthday attached to our “mail box”. So now everyone who knows your cabin, knows you’re celebration.
We took a bottle of Port I had purchased in Ensenada (yes, there ,and terrific!), dark chocolate, and dates so that we could celebrate with our trivia team and two spouses after we played trivia. We had such a good time just having fun and celebrating in this funny way. I had washed up all the little appertif glasses we get each time we go to a wine tasting, Ed had purchased the dark chocolate at two different ports, and the dates were from Muscat. We put everything on a tray, laid out the cocktail napkins from our room and just had fun toasting and visiting.
Supper
All present and we had Sunil, the junior waiter, served the remainder of the port to our table mates while we passed around more of the dark chocolate. Again more toasts and fun. But that wasn’t all: Princess always brings a special cake and birthday card to the table and the wait staff sings Happy Birthday so that was a nice touch as well.
Earlier in the day we had found the formal photographs from the other night including the two Carlos took of me with my Middle Eastern headdress on. I thought it was pretty dorky but they are kind’ve cute and we’ll see if they make the final cut when we decide on our final set of photos. We have been having the photogs save our favorites as we’ve gone along.
The ocean view today
Gorgeous. Lovely. Blue, nice seas, smooth ride. A few ships in the distance here and there. Not one mention of pirates. Yippee!
The Pacific Princess Crew Karaoke Pop Superstar Spectacular!
This was many crew members from various departments: Purser, Maitre’D, computer instructor, hair stylist, quartermaster, waiter, stewards, cook. All of them were fantastic entertainers. All but two were Filipinos and on all of our cruises, they are the majority of those who are in the crew shows. They entertain families from an early age. There was only one woman in the show. We were supposed to vote on a winner but the audience simply didn’t want to decide so we toasted all of them as winners. I tell you the talent and the potential is amazing. And I was glad to see that the Lounge was filled and the audience was wild in their support.
One of the photographers (I love them all and they are the age of my g’kids!) was there to take some fantastic photos of the performers. Really outstanding photos. We were teasing him (this one is from Brazil) that half of his photos are of the sole woman in the show. It turns out, they are an “item.” I had to laugh at my naivete. And Ed took two photos of Carlos and I together and Carlos had me nose to nose for one of them. He is so adorable. And JC, the other one, is also so much fun.
Thought for today
From a blog written by a cousin of Trudy who is travelling in SE Asia, now with a group of students from Evergreen University where he teaches:
In 1963 Thich Quang Duc got in his car, drove to Saigon, and lit himself on fire. How does one do that? Were his actions positive or negative?
There is a story in the bible: when the Jews escaped Egypt and wandered in the desert for 40 years, they came upon the land of Moab. The King of Moab feared them, and ordered is priest to go to the Jews’ camp and curse them. The priest went to their camp, but instead of cursing them, he blessed them.
My rabbi explains the important lesson here: at every moment, you have the choice – to curse or to bless. Every event is a blessing, even the painful ones, for they are often the most important lessons.
I heard a story about the Dalai Lama, the God-King of Tibet, who fled the Chinese to India in 1959, and has been a refugee ever since. Depending on your sources, one to four million Tibetans have died due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama, believed by the Tibetans to be the reincarnation of Chenrezi, the God of compassion, was asked about the Chinese government. And he said that this had been one of his most important lessons, for it is easy to feel compassion for those similar to you or for those that you love, but to feel compassion for the Chinese government has been a challenge for him.
Sometimes you feel anger, jealousy, pain, or frustration
All those feelings are inside of us
No one is doing anything to you, or making you feel a certain way
No one else is responsible for your feelings
Each one of us is responsible for our own thoughts and feelings
Things happen. You have no control over that. But you do have control over how you respond.
Maybe the only power we ever really have is how we respond.”
Reminds me of Viktor Frankle’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”, the second half.
Happy Birthday, Ed!
Yep, the old man has a 68th birthday today. He got up after 7 and went to the gym. What a great way to begin today! (Never mind about me and exercise, please). I made my usual trek to the library to do the computer related stuff.
Port Talk: Aqaba
This was really interesting since we had seen the bio on Queen Noor the other night and Aqaba was their favorite place to relax. I also did not realize that it is directly across from Eliat: one can practically throw a stone from one across the water to the other. The tours that are offered are snorkeling, swimming, SCUBA, of course. And one to the Wadi Rum: you go a long ways in a bus and then switch to 4x4s for a trek through the desert including visits to bedouin tents. (Some folks laughed that they probably leave their apartments in Aqaba each morning to go to the tents to receive visitors and then return to town in the evening.)
The one we’ve been excited about the whole cruise is to go to Petra. This is an old city cut into limestone mountains. It is a very long bus ride there and then you walk 3-5 miles to see the better things to see there. My concern is the heat but some folks say the weather is predicted to be high 70s to mid 80s. This sounds too good to be true but I hope it is the case as I don’t mind the walking but I absolutely dread the heat! And I’m glad we’re doing it while we’re “younger” because I don’t plan to do this again this way.
Trivia
We didn’t win this morning but we didn’t shame ourselves either. But this afternoon, we tied for first place with another team and the staff member didn’t have a tie breaker question so she just gave us all tokens. This was a good start to what followed—see later in this entry.
Lunch
They had a French buffet today so Ed and I went there and tried out odds and ends. I love the Brie cheese though Lord help me, I don’t need the calories. Ed went to do some stuff on the computer while I went to audit another computer class. But before the class started, I managed to take some monkey photos Ed had taken on Elephanta Island near Mombai and seat the monkeys around Ed on the couch as if they were actually in the cabin. I need to do a lot of clean up work for it to be a good job but I was so excited to be able to do that even crudely. Even Ed was impressed and the computer instructor who is about the same age as my oldest daughter, was smiling broadly.
In the Land of the Pharaohs: The Egyptian Quest for Immortality
This is the lady I’ve described before with the soporific voice but terrific content. This time her husband, who is a professional journalist, did a good part of the presentation and talked about Alexander the Great. He declared himself a Pharaoh of Egypt when he conquered it. He really was astonishing since he conquered all those lands before he died at the age of 32! He apparently had a serious drinking problem along the way though.
Egyptian travel slides 1968-1989
This was an impromptu slide show by a man who was born in Egypt, went to Berkeley, taught at the University of Cairo and has many other credentials. It was fun to hear his version of his native country and see it through relatively older slides.
Celebrating Ed’s 68th b’day
When we left the cabin this morning, there were three balloons of different colors with Happy Birthday attached to our “mail box”. So now everyone who knows your cabin, knows you’re celebration.
We took a bottle of Port I had purchased in Ensenada (yes, there ,and terrific!), dark chocolate, and dates so that we could celebrate with our trivia team and two spouses after we played trivia. We had such a good time just having fun and celebrating in this funny way. I had washed up all the little appertif glasses we get each time we go to a wine tasting, Ed had purchased the dark chocolate at two different ports, and the dates were from Muscat. We put everything on a tray, laid out the cocktail napkins from our room and just had fun toasting and visiting.
Supper
All present and we had Sunil, the junior waiter, served the remainder of the port to our table mates while we passed around more of the dark chocolate. Again more toasts and fun. But that wasn’t all: Princess always brings a special cake and birthday card to the table and the wait staff sings Happy Birthday so that was a nice touch as well.
Earlier in the day we had found the formal photographs from the other night including the two Carlos took of me with my Middle Eastern headdress on. I thought it was pretty dorky but they are kind’ve cute and we’ll see if they make the final cut when we decide on our final set of photos. We have been having the photogs save our favorites as we’ve gone along.
The ocean view today
Gorgeous. Lovely. Blue, nice seas, smooth ride. A few ships in the distance here and there. Not one mention of pirates. Yippee!
The Pacific Princess Crew Karaoke Pop Superstar Spectacular!
This was many crew members from various departments: Purser, Maitre’D, computer instructor, hair stylist, quartermaster, waiter, stewards, cook. All of them were fantastic entertainers. All but two were Filipinos and on all of our cruises, they are the majority of those who are in the crew shows. They entertain families from an early age. There was only one woman in the show. We were supposed to vote on a winner but the audience simply didn’t want to decide so we toasted all of them as winners. I tell you the talent and the potential is amazing. And I was glad to see that the Lounge was filled and the audience was wild in their support.
One of the photographers (I love them all and they are the age of my g’kids!) was there to take some fantastic photos of the performers. Really outstanding photos. We were teasing him (this one is from Brazil) that half of his photos are of the sole woman in the show. It turns out, they are an “item.” I had to laugh at my naivete. And Ed took two photos of Carlos and I together and Carlos had me nose to nose for one of them. He is so adorable. And JC, the other one, is also so much fun.
Thought for today
From a blog written by a cousin of Trudy who is travelling in SE Asia, now with a group of students from Evergreen University where he teaches:
In 1963 Thich Quang Duc got in his car, drove to Saigon, and lit himself on fire. How does one do that? Were his actions positive or negative?
There is a story in the bible: when the Jews escaped Egypt and wandered in the desert for 40 years, they came upon the land of Moab. The King of Moab feared them, and ordered is priest to go to the Jews’ camp and curse them. The priest went to their camp, but instead of cursing them, he blessed them.
My rabbi explains the important lesson here: at every moment, you have the choice – to curse or to bless. Every event is a blessing, even the painful ones, for they are often the most important lessons.
I heard a story about the Dalai Lama, the God-King of Tibet, who fled the Chinese to India in 1959, and has been a refugee ever since. Depending on your sources, one to four million Tibetans have died due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama, believed by the Tibetans to be the reincarnation of Chenrezi, the God of compassion, was asked about the Chinese government. And he said that this had been one of his most important lessons, for it is easy to feel compassion for those similar to you or for those that you love, but to feel compassion for the Chinese government has been a challenge for him.
Sometimes you feel anger, jealousy, pain, or frustration
All those feelings are inside of us
No one is doing anything to you, or making you feel a certain way
No one else is responsible for your feelings
Each one of us is responsible for our own thoughts and feelings
Things happen. You have no control over that. But you do have control over how you respond.
Maybe the only power we ever really have is how we respond.”
Reminds me of Viktor Frankle’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”, the second half.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Happy Birthday, Neal
In Gulf of Aden
Each of us woke up several times before and after dawn but we kept still and tried to get more sleep. Eventually Ed got up a little before 9 and I followed him. We wanted the morning show for the details about the Crew’s upcoming show which will be great fun. They did an advertising type video where they went to the work site or cabins of the participants to interview them. One poor fellow works at night and there was a “night worker” sign on his cabin door. He has the upper bunk and still had his cafeteria hat on. I was glad to see they have curtains around their bunks so they have some privacy. Of course all of this was arranged in advance but it is still cute and we are all interested in how they actually live in those rabbit warrens downstairs.
Computer audit: nobody showed up to take the class though there was another woman there to audit it along with me so I went to the lecture.
Port talk: Sharm El Sheik
This is a new place for us and the only way I know anything about it is because of the terrorist bombing there a while ago. Just think of the selling points: visit all the places where terrorists have set off bombs! This place appears to be mostly a snorkel and SCUBA site but they do have a few restaurants and it looks like, souks. The trip we’d like to take, to see Mt. Catherine, is too far away and too long to do on this brief port stop. Darn.
Trivia
We didn’t think we’d done well at all but we wound up in a tie breaker with another team. Since we both got the correct answer to the tie breaker question, the staff simply gave all 12 of us a ticket. In the afternoon, we came in second. Well, that is if you only count the 3 teams that tied as #1. Ha!
Lunch
Nothing scintillating at the luncheon table, at least nothing I can recall.
Repacking
Since we’re going to celebrate Ed’s 68th b’day tomorrow by treating our trivia team pals to port wine and dark chocolate, I needed to get out all those appertif glasses we’ve been getting at the wine tastings and wash them for tomorrow. Ed had wanted to pack at least one suitcase during these sea days anyway, so he packed the harder sided luggage and it weighed at 55 lbs. Since he can get up to 70 lbs on overseas, he still has some leeway for 15 more pounds.
Tutankhamun, Ancient Egypt’s boy king
This was a pleasant lecture by a professor of archeology from the University of New Orleans. Some of it we knew of course, and it was fun to see many of the photos of what Carter found when he first opened the tomb, but the lineages and names of those pharaohs eludes me. He debunked some of the stories the guides may tell you and added a little juicy historical gossip to the pot. He had the latest findings of the study of the body of the boy king to bring us up to date. The Egyptians are skittish about DNA testing I gather or there would be more ooohhs and aaaahhhs to report.
Dinner
JoAnn will be using one of the trekker sticks when they go to Luxor so we are still adjusting the height and such. Some days her ankle is better than others.
Tonite’s entertainment: Comedy Magician
We are all getting weary of this kind of entertainment so this guy has his job cut out for him. This was a guy we had seen before I think on the first leg of this cruise. They must have had a problem getting entertainers for this leg as they’ve been improvising in some creative ways. He was still enjoyable but so much of the show was predictable as the tricks are pretty standard.
Upcoming events
Riz, the librarian, was looking for a headpiece similar to the one I wore last evening so I lent her one of mine.
Ed’s 68th birthday
Is tomorrow and I can’t believe I’m married to such an OLD man. I’m sure there will be several fun things that we can arrange to make it a special event. I already have the tray with the chocolate and port ready for our post-trivia celebration tomorrow.
Convoys and such
First an update on the reaction to the banner on the side of the ship warning folks to stay 50 meters away from the ship. I haven’t actually been able to see the lettering since it is large and faces out from the ship. Folks are musing about whether or not the Somalis can read English. And why is it only on one side of the ship. I find all this hilarious.
We are travelling in a large convoy of ships. The coast of Somalia is 20 miles to our port side; Yemen is 60 miles to our port side when we first begin the transit into Bab El Mandeb Strait. The Captain came on to explain that the little boats (with oars ostensibly) we see around the ship (at some distance but still close enough to see the occupants) are merely fishing boats. Some folks are saying: Yeah, sure. Yesterday, we had helicopters around the ship for a while. Today we are followed by a warship which I can’t see because of my eyes but which folks tell me is out there. Many of us view this as a great adventure. I howl every time someone says: “now tell me, you know for sure these Somalis read English?” Others clearly are nervous including, I sometimes suspect, some of the staff.
In Memoriam
I have received news that my children’s father passed away last Friday after a long battle with two kinds of cancer. In those final weeks, the kids were able to see the good in their Dad through the eyes of his wife and her children. Nancy did yoeman’s work bringing his affairs into some semblance of order, and Lisa followed up by getting the proper papers signed and notarized. Pat, Sylvia and even Teddy, drove to Santa Fe to spend several days with Fred while he could still appreciate their presence and serve as a comfort to the family.
I am so proud of my children and their love and initiative in such trying times. Each made significant sacrifices to provide comfort, their talents, and support to their Dad and his family.
And may Alfredo Roberto Montoya finally rest in peace after all these years of suffering.
Each of us woke up several times before and after dawn but we kept still and tried to get more sleep. Eventually Ed got up a little before 9 and I followed him. We wanted the morning show for the details about the Crew’s upcoming show which will be great fun. They did an advertising type video where they went to the work site or cabins of the participants to interview them. One poor fellow works at night and there was a “night worker” sign on his cabin door. He has the upper bunk and still had his cafeteria hat on. I was glad to see they have curtains around their bunks so they have some privacy. Of course all of this was arranged in advance but it is still cute and we are all interested in how they actually live in those rabbit warrens downstairs.
Computer audit: nobody showed up to take the class though there was another woman there to audit it along with me so I went to the lecture.
Port talk: Sharm El Sheik
This is a new place for us and the only way I know anything about it is because of the terrorist bombing there a while ago. Just think of the selling points: visit all the places where terrorists have set off bombs! This place appears to be mostly a snorkel and SCUBA site but they do have a few restaurants and it looks like, souks. The trip we’d like to take, to see Mt. Catherine, is too far away and too long to do on this brief port stop. Darn.
Trivia
We didn’t think we’d done well at all but we wound up in a tie breaker with another team. Since we both got the correct answer to the tie breaker question, the staff simply gave all 12 of us a ticket. In the afternoon, we came in second. Well, that is if you only count the 3 teams that tied as #1. Ha!
Lunch
Nothing scintillating at the luncheon table, at least nothing I can recall.
Repacking
Since we’re going to celebrate Ed’s 68th b’day tomorrow by treating our trivia team pals to port wine and dark chocolate, I needed to get out all those appertif glasses we’ve been getting at the wine tastings and wash them for tomorrow. Ed had wanted to pack at least one suitcase during these sea days anyway, so he packed the harder sided luggage and it weighed at 55 lbs. Since he can get up to 70 lbs on overseas, he still has some leeway for 15 more pounds.
Tutankhamun, Ancient Egypt’s boy king
This was a pleasant lecture by a professor of archeology from the University of New Orleans. Some of it we knew of course, and it was fun to see many of the photos of what Carter found when he first opened the tomb, but the lineages and names of those pharaohs eludes me. He debunked some of the stories the guides may tell you and added a little juicy historical gossip to the pot. He had the latest findings of the study of the body of the boy king to bring us up to date. The Egyptians are skittish about DNA testing I gather or there would be more ooohhs and aaaahhhs to report.
Dinner
JoAnn will be using one of the trekker sticks when they go to Luxor so we are still adjusting the height and such. Some days her ankle is better than others.
Tonite’s entertainment: Comedy Magician
We are all getting weary of this kind of entertainment so this guy has his job cut out for him. This was a guy we had seen before I think on the first leg of this cruise. They must have had a problem getting entertainers for this leg as they’ve been improvising in some creative ways. He was still enjoyable but so much of the show was predictable as the tricks are pretty standard.
Upcoming events
Riz, the librarian, was looking for a headpiece similar to the one I wore last evening so I lent her one of mine.
Ed’s 68th birthday
Is tomorrow and I can’t believe I’m married to such an OLD man. I’m sure there will be several fun things that we can arrange to make it a special event. I already have the tray with the chocolate and port ready for our post-trivia celebration tomorrow.
Convoys and such
First an update on the reaction to the banner on the side of the ship warning folks to stay 50 meters away from the ship. I haven’t actually been able to see the lettering since it is large and faces out from the ship. Folks are musing about whether or not the Somalis can read English. And why is it only on one side of the ship. I find all this hilarious.
We are travelling in a large convoy of ships. The coast of Somalia is 20 miles to our port side; Yemen is 60 miles to our port side when we first begin the transit into Bab El Mandeb Strait. The Captain came on to explain that the little boats (with oars ostensibly) we see around the ship (at some distance but still close enough to see the occupants) are merely fishing boats. Some folks are saying: Yeah, sure. Yesterday, we had helicopters around the ship for a while. Today we are followed by a warship which I can’t see because of my eyes but which folks tell me is out there. Many of us view this as a great adventure. I howl every time someone says: “now tell me, you know for sure these Somalis read English?” Others clearly are nervous including, I sometimes suspect, some of the staff.
In Memoriam
I have received news that my children’s father passed away last Friday after a long battle with two kinds of cancer. In those final weeks, the kids were able to see the good in their Dad through the eyes of his wife and her children. Nancy did yoeman’s work bringing his affairs into some semblance of order, and Lisa followed up by getting the proper papers signed and notarized. Pat, Sylvia and even Teddy, drove to Santa Fe to spend several days with Fred while he could still appreciate their presence and serve as a comfort to the family.
I am so proud of my children and their love and initiative in such trying times. Each made significant sacrifices to provide comfort, their talents, and support to their Dad and his family.
And may Alfredo Roberto Montoya finally rest in peace after all these years of suffering.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Saturday
May 1 2010
I heard Ed scratching around and asked him to let me sleep. So I heard him snoring quietly later. I have no idea what time that was but it was well before dawn. I woke up and tried to sleep some more with no luck so now it was my turn to lay there and contemplate the ceiling so he could sleep. Eventually the jitters got to me and I started my shower routine. I heard the TV so I knew he was awake. I got ready and went to the library for the daily quizzes and then took the computer to the Cabaret Lounge where I did the internet stuff. Ed came in about ¾ of the way through the culinary show.
Spectacular Culinary Demonstration
Well I don’t know about the spectacular part, but the Commendatore made different sauces from scratch including mayonnaise. He made it all look so easy of course. But there were lots of “Princess cruises culinary secrets” along the way. He’s funny to watch anyway.
Trivia
We did OK but we didn’t win the prize in the morning. In the afternoon there was just the usual core four of us and WE WON! We’ve about decided that we win more often when there are just the four of us than when we have a full team. And of course we could kick ourselves for those questions where we’ve had the question before and still put down the wrong answer.
Lunch
We met with a couple who had some legal questions that Ed was interested in answering. There were dolphins cavorting in the distance through a part of lunch.
There were lots of things going on this afternoon but nothing that compelled either of us to attend. One was a woman who was George’s mother on Seinfeld and she was waxing about her experiences; we watched some of it on the TV later.
Otherwise I continued to read my large print novel about an Episcopal priest in a small town. The light during the afternoon is perfect and I lay on the couch and read which is the perfect combination for me to see well. Ed devoted well over an hour to his periodic religious ceremony: filling his prescription containers with pills and supplements. At one point, the entire bed was strewn with bottles of various kinds.
Supper
All present. JoAnn has a plastic walking air cast on her ankle which she turned a few days ago. It is swollen and hasn’t gotten better so she finally relented and went to see Nikolas who reminds her to keep it elevated each time he runs into her. She’s worried about how it will look with her formal attire tomorrow. I told her she ought to be milking it for the sympathy vote and wear it with pride.
Tom was saying that there is a huge banner off of the Promenade Deck now warning any other vessels to remain at least 50 meters away from the ship. The focused noise they will direct toward any boats that approach too close are covered in blue plastic and there are security folks around the ship at various places. We are travelling at about 18 knots which is about what the ship usually does more or less.
It was supposed to be in the 80s outside today but every time I went by a door that was open, the air was like from a very humid blast furnace. So I never went out.
Tonite’s entertainment
The casino lounge pianist was scheduled. This is the guy who also does the choir and who is very good. But Ed was “resting his eyes” (how is it that I can hear his “breathing” from across the room then?) and so we wound up eventually watching a biography of Queen Noor. This was very timely since we are going to Aqaba which is a part of Jordon. What an adventure her life has been.
I heard Ed scratching around and asked him to let me sleep. So I heard him snoring quietly later. I have no idea what time that was but it was well before dawn. I woke up and tried to sleep some more with no luck so now it was my turn to lay there and contemplate the ceiling so he could sleep. Eventually the jitters got to me and I started my shower routine. I heard the TV so I knew he was awake. I got ready and went to the library for the daily quizzes and then took the computer to the Cabaret Lounge where I did the internet stuff. Ed came in about ¾ of the way through the culinary show.
Spectacular Culinary Demonstration
Well I don’t know about the spectacular part, but the Commendatore made different sauces from scratch including mayonnaise. He made it all look so easy of course. But there were lots of “Princess cruises culinary secrets” along the way. He’s funny to watch anyway.
Trivia
We did OK but we didn’t win the prize in the morning. In the afternoon there was just the usual core four of us and WE WON! We’ve about decided that we win more often when there are just the four of us than when we have a full team. And of course we could kick ourselves for those questions where we’ve had the question before and still put down the wrong answer.
Lunch
We met with a couple who had some legal questions that Ed was interested in answering. There were dolphins cavorting in the distance through a part of lunch.
There were lots of things going on this afternoon but nothing that compelled either of us to attend. One was a woman who was George’s mother on Seinfeld and she was waxing about her experiences; we watched some of it on the TV later.
Otherwise I continued to read my large print novel about an Episcopal priest in a small town. The light during the afternoon is perfect and I lay on the couch and read which is the perfect combination for me to see well. Ed devoted well over an hour to his periodic religious ceremony: filling his prescription containers with pills and supplements. At one point, the entire bed was strewn with bottles of various kinds.
Supper
All present. JoAnn has a plastic walking air cast on her ankle which she turned a few days ago. It is swollen and hasn’t gotten better so she finally relented and went to see Nikolas who reminds her to keep it elevated each time he runs into her. She’s worried about how it will look with her formal attire tomorrow. I told her she ought to be milking it for the sympathy vote and wear it with pride.
Tom was saying that there is a huge banner off of the Promenade Deck now warning any other vessels to remain at least 50 meters away from the ship. The focused noise they will direct toward any boats that approach too close are covered in blue plastic and there are security folks around the ship at various places. We are travelling at about 18 knots which is about what the ship usually does more or less.
It was supposed to be in the 80s outside today but every time I went by a door that was open, the air was like from a very humid blast furnace. So I never went out.
Tonite’s entertainment
The casino lounge pianist was scheduled. This is the guy who also does the choir and who is very good. But Ed was “resting his eyes” (how is it that I can hear his “breathing” from across the room then?) and so we wound up eventually watching a biography of Queen Noor. This was very timely since we are going to Aqaba which is a part of Jordon. What an adventure her life has been.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Old Muscat Sultanate of Oman
Mina Qaboos (Mee-nah Kah-boos) Oman
I woke up and there was a lot of light coming through the drapes and I wasn’t sure what time it was. I wanted to sleep more but it wasn’t working. So I crept up and peeked through the crack in the drapes and it was the Moon! And it was reflected on the ocean and all I could think of was: “Arabian nights”. It’s pathetic to try to sleep and not be able to do so. I heard a pilot(?) boat in the distance and figured it was about 5 am. Eventually it was clear that we had some sunlight, so I again peeked through and I could see the moon through a mist so thick you couldn’t tell where the horizon was. But it was beyond the beginning of dawn. Ed woke up and I whispered asking if he was awake. When he answered, I flung the drapes open so I could read the clock: 5:50 am! So I slapped the curtains shut again and tried for a little more rest.
Next thing you know, there’s a tap on the door. Room service was 5 minutes early. God Bless those little guys because the order form indicates 6:30 – 7am as the earliest they can deliver. Right on time, the phone rang with our wake up call at 6:15 am. I had my cereal quickly and hopped in the shower. Predictably, Ed had MSNBC blaring (except now he, mercifully, puts it on mute during the commercials) with Keith Olberman.
The Captain came on the PA about 7:10 am to say that he was turning the ship around in the harbor since the pilot wasn’t ready to come on board, so who knows what I heard earlier. This trip between Dubai and Oman has been very slow and the sea has been very calm.
Today’s tour: mystical Muscat—Grand Mosque and Bait Al Zubair (Bait means house; Beit in Isreal)
We were a little delayed in berthing since the pilot wasn’t available until late to board the ship. Apparently, berthing fees here are pretty steep; this information comes from someone with a sailboat so I assume some degree of credibility for this tidbit. We berthed a little after 8 am and left promptly at 4:45 pm.
Our bus had only 39 folks on it and it probably held 50 and the airconditioning was marvelous. We were provided with as much water as we wished and it’s a good idea to drink at least a bottle for every few hours here.
Weather: well let’s get this part out of the way. I have a photograph demonstrating 43 degrees Celsius (I’ll save you the trouble: 110 degrees Fahrenheit) but another passenger said she has a photo showing 47 degrees (117⁰ F). So take your pick. It was hot but all of us agreed this was sooooo much better than Male, Maldives with it’s lower temperature but higher humidity! The sun is a broiler here as it was in Dubai. It takes no time to get your Vitamin D dose.
Our guide was a young man from some African country where French was his first language. He spoke of everything Omani in “we” phrases and sang the praises of how wonderful this country is with great fervor. It is hard not to appreciate the cleanliness, peace, lack of crime, etc. in many of these countries. But they are definitely not democracies and very unforgiving if you violate their dictates. We were again cautioned about keeping shoulders, arms, legs, and knees covered (both men and women) and in the mosques, which were closed anyway because today was Friday, women must cover their heads. No public showing of affection between same or different sexes, no smoking in public. I saw all of those violated, sometimes by the young folks who work on the ship and this bothered me for obvious reasons, and in some instances by folks whose skin color indicated they might be Arab. So figure it out for yourself.
Architecture
This is all low buildings of no more than perhaps four stories, all in distinctive Omani architecture. It is so white you need sunshades to look out the window. The whiteness of the buildings exceeds even those post cards of Grecian island villages.
Aromas
Again the wonderful spices everywhere but here they specialize in frankincense and myrrh. Many folks both one or both in either rock or oil form.
Grand Mosque
This was a photo stop only because it is Friday. Everything was behind walls or fences but Ed said they opened up a little area for a few folks to go in and get some photos. This was still outside the prayer area but inside the interior grounds. The outside is expansive and with many flowers, trees and lots of grass. They use grey water here for all their plants and desalination is the source of all the other water. It still amazes me to see lots of grass in patches and sprinklers running in mid day. The poor flowers are fried in this sun though they still manage to look pretty good overall and the gardeners must be wizards. As in all the mosques, there is a side entrance for the women.
Clothing
About 50/50 native and Western for the men. All the local women are in black dresses to the ground, many obviously too long for these short people. All local ladies wore black head coverings but the facial covers varied from none at all, to the peeking eyes only. The men wear the all white (and these are always squint-your-eyes white and to the floor; I believe they are called something like a “dashdish” in these parts) but the head coverings vary from the full Arab style to a flat round, brimless, embroidered skull cap. A small minority of the men wear ecru or khaki colored “dresses” instead of the more common white. The children ran the range from mini-adult to Western kid style.
Many stores had the native Omani woman’s clothing which is absolutely stunning and lavishly embroidered and beaded. It also looked heavy and hot. I suspect IF they wear this these days, that’s what’s under those black robes. Many of the “stores”, actually mostly stalls in souks, had every manner of dress including the Arab belly dance costume in various designs so who knows what they wear underneath. One shipmate remarked that the facial make up of the women is perfect and fully done up. I hadn’t noticed it that much but then I was looking at the older women.
Muttrah Souk
You can find almost anything in this covered, native souk replete with stalls and a warren of passageways and mysterious alleyways. The path is paved with patterns of light colored tiles. While it’s not airconditioned overall (many of the stalls are with clear plastic sheeting keeping the cold air inside for the comfort of the buyers) it is cooler than outside as the lighting is subdued except in the stalls themselves.
Omani daggers-really impressive and wicked looking- and silver jewelry, clothing of various types with what seemed an inordinate number of children’s shops, spice shops where the vendors were hawking saffron and frankincense but where one could see the promise of many other spices inside, doors where you wondered how they secured these thousands of impossibly heavy necklaces and other trinkets around the sides of the walls: you name it, you could probably find it here as long as it wasn’t veggies, fruits or meat (that’s another souk). Bargaining is expected and steep here though it’s always hard to tell if you’ve really gotten a good bargain. I content myself that it’s certainly a good bargain compared to what I’d pay in LA but then we still have to get it home too!
Bait al Zubair
This is a private museum featuring exhibits chronicaling Oman’s heritage. I was especially interested in the displays of clothing on manikins in this cool, clean, marble structure. Well the latter’s rather redundant: almost all the buildings that aren’t pre-oil are made of marble. The jewelry was mostly silver and vast examples were shown. The little containers with the long stick on a chain used to store and then apply kohl around the eyes (both men and women) were of special interest. And they were all of silver. The little gift shop here had a nice, modest array of picture books and a few pieces of clothing. No bargains here but good quality post cards in books of 32 for about $15 USD.
Sultan’s Palace
Well he has several and I’m sure this one rivals all the others for it’s size and uniqueness. They have closed off the driveway which is several blocks long, to the tall wrought iron fence with the disks, probably real gold, that symbolize the sultan. This palace is rather modern in design with lots of marble of course. We saw folks of all nationalities visiting here including many women in saris.
Muslim marriages
Almost totally arranged in these countries though many will now allow the child to reject a match. The men are allowed 4 wives but most only have one. There’s the matter of the dowry the man pays to the bride’s family starting at $35K USD and going higher. Then the first wife must approve the taking of a second wife and there must be an acceptable reason. Then he must treat each wife equally: you get something for one, all must receive one. Kind’ve a steep maintenance cost. Then if you have three for example, you sleep two nights each week with each wife and on the seventh night “you rest” as he said.
Forts
There are two, one on each side of the Sultan’s Palace. These are from the Portuguese 16th century occupation and are perfectly situated to “guard” the harbor. Muscat was a part of the spice trade and thus an important port for the colonizing nations and in this area, Portugal colonized many of these areas.
Lunch
We got back to the ship about 12:30 pm and went to lunch in the dining room where we visited with a lady we had met for lunch before. She’s so charming, kind, smart, and pleasant. She lives in Vancouver BC and does a lot of volunteer work for the Canadian Cancer Society. She had breast cancer around the same time I did and she had a complete reconstruction. She knew immediately that I had lymphedema. She’s travelling with another lady but I don’t know the relationship but she is so caring to this much older woman. Her husband isn’t with her on this trip but clearly it’s a very loving relationship not based on much she said but just on the way she talks about him and their life.
Cruise Terminal
The port area is enormous: think LA Harbor with all it’s cranes and containers piled 4 and 5 deep. If you want to get a taxi, you must take a shuttle to the gate. But within about a 2 block space from the ship is a ship’s terminal. It’s stark and inside is all marble (of course) and on the second story (as everything else appears to be empty) is a duty free shop. Your local 7-11 has more to offer but some folks were buying wine. I find that amusing actually. I suspect they will then sneak it onto the ship and drink it in their cabins because if they see you bring alcohol onto the ship, they take it to return it to you at the end of the cruise. Someone said that wine could pass. I wouldn’t know as it isn’t that important to Ed nor myself.
Reading
We kept the cabin drapes pulled a little and read most of the afternoon. I’m amazed to see Ed reading the novel of our fellow passenger. I think the last time I saw him read a book cover to cover was on a long flight from Norway many years ago when he read a Tom Clancy novel. This is a chick story. Oh well, even I admit the author is cute.
Fun in the dining room
Last night, five guys came to supper dressed as Sheiks. Their wives were dressed in a quasi-Arab way but you wouldn’t have known it except for looking hard. But the guys were a hit! You don’t see men doing this very often and then usually as a result of the prodding of their wives. Tonite one fellow came dressed Arab style and folks were taking photos of him all along the way. It was a hoot. So JoAnn and I both bought the little jangling head coverings with the coins on the tendrils and we’ve agreed to wear them to dinner on the next formal night. Then we can take them off after we’ve had our fun.
This was a free wheeling discussion and there was more give and take than usual. Rhia came in a black caftan with rhinestones all around the neck and cuffs with a little tassle on the end. She had her sunglasses on and with her platinum blond hair, it was a real Hollywood look. We talked about Yuma Arizona of all places, MRIs, CT scans, sonograms etc.
Our waiter, Max, told of going into the city via taxi with some other folks who work on the ship. They went to an area and “all we saw were Filipinos.” It was funny to hear him describe all of this (he’s Filipino) and tell us about all his countrymen who work in many of these countries, and I would add, send so much money back home that the Phillipine economy is lost without it.
Diane Cousins
Wales First Lady of Comedy and Song. This is a woman of my age or probably older, rather plump to be understating it, and with a really robust personality. She’s still a handsome woman but I’ll bet she was a beauty in her hey day. Her comedy is everyday and very funny when Americans can understand her through her accent which is certainly present but not so thick that you want to leave the room. She had a form skimming dress on that Ed felt was not a good one for her. I don’t disagree with that but I will say that she had a great foundation under it because despite her matronly figure, she looked poised and nothing under the dress jiggled. Anyway, I enjoyed her.
Five days at Sea
Yeah! I love sea days though it must be a challenge for the staff. Most folks do like sea days but many aren’t sure about a five day stretch even though that’s what it was between LA and Hawaii. The entertainment staff sure has their work cut out for them at such times but they seem to put out a good selection of things to do both active and passive.
Safaga is our next port and Ed and I still haven’t decided what we’ll do. We’ve seen the Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak twice before and while we’d love to see them again, it is a very long bus ride each way and it’s not a cheap tour for obvious reasons. So we may just explore Safaga. That’s not such a bad way to enjoy ourselves as we don’t mind doing exploring on our own sometimes.
I woke up and there was a lot of light coming through the drapes and I wasn’t sure what time it was. I wanted to sleep more but it wasn’t working. So I crept up and peeked through the crack in the drapes and it was the Moon! And it was reflected on the ocean and all I could think of was: “Arabian nights”. It’s pathetic to try to sleep and not be able to do so. I heard a pilot(?) boat in the distance and figured it was about 5 am. Eventually it was clear that we had some sunlight, so I again peeked through and I could see the moon through a mist so thick you couldn’t tell where the horizon was. But it was beyond the beginning of dawn. Ed woke up and I whispered asking if he was awake. When he answered, I flung the drapes open so I could read the clock: 5:50 am! So I slapped the curtains shut again and tried for a little more rest.
Next thing you know, there’s a tap on the door. Room service was 5 minutes early. God Bless those little guys because the order form indicates 6:30 – 7am as the earliest they can deliver. Right on time, the phone rang with our wake up call at 6:15 am. I had my cereal quickly and hopped in the shower. Predictably, Ed had MSNBC blaring (except now he, mercifully, puts it on mute during the commercials) with Keith Olberman.
The Captain came on the PA about 7:10 am to say that he was turning the ship around in the harbor since the pilot wasn’t ready to come on board, so who knows what I heard earlier. This trip between Dubai and Oman has been very slow and the sea has been very calm.
Today’s tour: mystical Muscat—Grand Mosque and Bait Al Zubair (Bait means house; Beit in Isreal)
We were a little delayed in berthing since the pilot wasn’t available until late to board the ship. Apparently, berthing fees here are pretty steep; this information comes from someone with a sailboat so I assume some degree of credibility for this tidbit. We berthed a little after 8 am and left promptly at 4:45 pm.
Our bus had only 39 folks on it and it probably held 50 and the airconditioning was marvelous. We were provided with as much water as we wished and it’s a good idea to drink at least a bottle for every few hours here.
Weather: well let’s get this part out of the way. I have a photograph demonstrating 43 degrees Celsius (I’ll save you the trouble: 110 degrees Fahrenheit) but another passenger said she has a photo showing 47 degrees (117⁰ F). So take your pick. It was hot but all of us agreed this was sooooo much better than Male, Maldives with it’s lower temperature but higher humidity! The sun is a broiler here as it was in Dubai. It takes no time to get your Vitamin D dose.
Our guide was a young man from some African country where French was his first language. He spoke of everything Omani in “we” phrases and sang the praises of how wonderful this country is with great fervor. It is hard not to appreciate the cleanliness, peace, lack of crime, etc. in many of these countries. But they are definitely not democracies and very unforgiving if you violate their dictates. We were again cautioned about keeping shoulders, arms, legs, and knees covered (both men and women) and in the mosques, which were closed anyway because today was Friday, women must cover their heads. No public showing of affection between same or different sexes, no smoking in public. I saw all of those violated, sometimes by the young folks who work on the ship and this bothered me for obvious reasons, and in some instances by folks whose skin color indicated they might be Arab. So figure it out for yourself.
Architecture
This is all low buildings of no more than perhaps four stories, all in distinctive Omani architecture. It is so white you need sunshades to look out the window. The whiteness of the buildings exceeds even those post cards of Grecian island villages.
Aromas
Again the wonderful spices everywhere but here they specialize in frankincense and myrrh. Many folks both one or both in either rock or oil form.
Grand Mosque
This was a photo stop only because it is Friday. Everything was behind walls or fences but Ed said they opened up a little area for a few folks to go in and get some photos. This was still outside the prayer area but inside the interior grounds. The outside is expansive and with many flowers, trees and lots of grass. They use grey water here for all their plants and desalination is the source of all the other water. It still amazes me to see lots of grass in patches and sprinklers running in mid day. The poor flowers are fried in this sun though they still manage to look pretty good overall and the gardeners must be wizards. As in all the mosques, there is a side entrance for the women.
Clothing
About 50/50 native and Western for the men. All the local women are in black dresses to the ground, many obviously too long for these short people. All local ladies wore black head coverings but the facial covers varied from none at all, to the peeking eyes only. The men wear the all white (and these are always squint-your-eyes white and to the floor; I believe they are called something like a “dashdish” in these parts) but the head coverings vary from the full Arab style to a flat round, brimless, embroidered skull cap. A small minority of the men wear ecru or khaki colored “dresses” instead of the more common white. The children ran the range from mini-adult to Western kid style.
Many stores had the native Omani woman’s clothing which is absolutely stunning and lavishly embroidered and beaded. It also looked heavy and hot. I suspect IF they wear this these days, that’s what’s under those black robes. Many of the “stores”, actually mostly stalls in souks, had every manner of dress including the Arab belly dance costume in various designs so who knows what they wear underneath. One shipmate remarked that the facial make up of the women is perfect and fully done up. I hadn’t noticed it that much but then I was looking at the older women.
Muttrah Souk
You can find almost anything in this covered, native souk replete with stalls and a warren of passageways and mysterious alleyways. The path is paved with patterns of light colored tiles. While it’s not airconditioned overall (many of the stalls are with clear plastic sheeting keeping the cold air inside for the comfort of the buyers) it is cooler than outside as the lighting is subdued except in the stalls themselves.
Omani daggers-really impressive and wicked looking- and silver jewelry, clothing of various types with what seemed an inordinate number of children’s shops, spice shops where the vendors were hawking saffron and frankincense but where one could see the promise of many other spices inside, doors where you wondered how they secured these thousands of impossibly heavy necklaces and other trinkets around the sides of the walls: you name it, you could probably find it here as long as it wasn’t veggies, fruits or meat (that’s another souk). Bargaining is expected and steep here though it’s always hard to tell if you’ve really gotten a good bargain. I content myself that it’s certainly a good bargain compared to what I’d pay in LA but then we still have to get it home too!
Bait al Zubair
This is a private museum featuring exhibits chronicaling Oman’s heritage. I was especially interested in the displays of clothing on manikins in this cool, clean, marble structure. Well the latter’s rather redundant: almost all the buildings that aren’t pre-oil are made of marble. The jewelry was mostly silver and vast examples were shown. The little containers with the long stick on a chain used to store and then apply kohl around the eyes (both men and women) were of special interest. And they were all of silver. The little gift shop here had a nice, modest array of picture books and a few pieces of clothing. No bargains here but good quality post cards in books of 32 for about $15 USD.
Sultan’s Palace
Well he has several and I’m sure this one rivals all the others for it’s size and uniqueness. They have closed off the driveway which is several blocks long, to the tall wrought iron fence with the disks, probably real gold, that symbolize the sultan. This palace is rather modern in design with lots of marble of course. We saw folks of all nationalities visiting here including many women in saris.
Muslim marriages
Almost totally arranged in these countries though many will now allow the child to reject a match. The men are allowed 4 wives but most only have one. There’s the matter of the dowry the man pays to the bride’s family starting at $35K USD and going higher. Then the first wife must approve the taking of a second wife and there must be an acceptable reason. Then he must treat each wife equally: you get something for one, all must receive one. Kind’ve a steep maintenance cost. Then if you have three for example, you sleep two nights each week with each wife and on the seventh night “you rest” as he said.
Forts
There are two, one on each side of the Sultan’s Palace. These are from the Portuguese 16th century occupation and are perfectly situated to “guard” the harbor. Muscat was a part of the spice trade and thus an important port for the colonizing nations and in this area, Portugal colonized many of these areas.
Lunch
We got back to the ship about 12:30 pm and went to lunch in the dining room where we visited with a lady we had met for lunch before. She’s so charming, kind, smart, and pleasant. She lives in Vancouver BC and does a lot of volunteer work for the Canadian Cancer Society. She had breast cancer around the same time I did and she had a complete reconstruction. She knew immediately that I had lymphedema. She’s travelling with another lady but I don’t know the relationship but she is so caring to this much older woman. Her husband isn’t with her on this trip but clearly it’s a very loving relationship not based on much she said but just on the way she talks about him and their life.
Cruise Terminal
The port area is enormous: think LA Harbor with all it’s cranes and containers piled 4 and 5 deep. If you want to get a taxi, you must take a shuttle to the gate. But within about a 2 block space from the ship is a ship’s terminal. It’s stark and inside is all marble (of course) and on the second story (as everything else appears to be empty) is a duty free shop. Your local 7-11 has more to offer but some folks were buying wine. I find that amusing actually. I suspect they will then sneak it onto the ship and drink it in their cabins because if they see you bring alcohol onto the ship, they take it to return it to you at the end of the cruise. Someone said that wine could pass. I wouldn’t know as it isn’t that important to Ed nor myself.
Reading
We kept the cabin drapes pulled a little and read most of the afternoon. I’m amazed to see Ed reading the novel of our fellow passenger. I think the last time I saw him read a book cover to cover was on a long flight from Norway many years ago when he read a Tom Clancy novel. This is a chick story. Oh well, even I admit the author is cute.
Fun in the dining room
Last night, five guys came to supper dressed as Sheiks. Their wives were dressed in a quasi-Arab way but you wouldn’t have known it except for looking hard. But the guys were a hit! You don’t see men doing this very often and then usually as a result of the prodding of their wives. Tonite one fellow came dressed Arab style and folks were taking photos of him all along the way. It was a hoot. So JoAnn and I both bought the little jangling head coverings with the coins on the tendrils and we’ve agreed to wear them to dinner on the next formal night. Then we can take them off after we’ve had our fun.
This was a free wheeling discussion and there was more give and take than usual. Rhia came in a black caftan with rhinestones all around the neck and cuffs with a little tassle on the end. She had her sunglasses on and with her platinum blond hair, it was a real Hollywood look. We talked about Yuma Arizona of all places, MRIs, CT scans, sonograms etc.
Our waiter, Max, told of going into the city via taxi with some other folks who work on the ship. They went to an area and “all we saw were Filipinos.” It was funny to hear him describe all of this (he’s Filipino) and tell us about all his countrymen who work in many of these countries, and I would add, send so much money back home that the Phillipine economy is lost without it.
Diane Cousins
Wales First Lady of Comedy and Song. This is a woman of my age or probably older, rather plump to be understating it, and with a really robust personality. She’s still a handsome woman but I’ll bet she was a beauty in her hey day. Her comedy is everyday and very funny when Americans can understand her through her accent which is certainly present but not so thick that you want to leave the room. She had a form skimming dress on that Ed felt was not a good one for her. I don’t disagree with that but I will say that she had a great foundation under it because despite her matronly figure, she looked poised and nothing under the dress jiggled. Anyway, I enjoyed her.
Five days at Sea
Yeah! I love sea days though it must be a challenge for the staff. Most folks do like sea days but many aren’t sure about a five day stretch even though that’s what it was between LA and Hawaii. The entertainment staff sure has their work cut out for them at such times but they seem to put out a good selection of things to do both active and passive.
Safaga is our next port and Ed and I still haven’t decided what we’ll do. We’ve seen the Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak twice before and while we’d love to see them again, it is a very long bus ride each way and it’s not a cheap tour for obvious reasons. So we may just explore Safaga. That’s not such a bad way to enjoy ourselves as we don’t mind doing exploring on our own sometimes.
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