WriterOnDeck

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] Days at Sea: A Little of This, A Little of That Day 19, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023; At Sea, Pacific Ocean Three sea days in a row seems a real treat – especially when the clock jumps forward two hours over that span. Sleep in a bit, paint a little, read some and plan for future cruises. But first, I did something I rarely do – canceled a tour at the last minute. On Sunday, we docked in General San Martín, Peru. There was nothing at the port, but a shuttle bus took passengers to Paracas, about 20 minutes away. My independent tour went to a vineyard, a pisco distillery and an area filled with sand dunes, where some “sandboarded” down them. After two full days of touring in Lima, it just all sounded like more than I wanted to do. Instead I spent the morning taking advantage of the fast internet service on the mostly deserted ship. About once a month I like to engage my VPN for internet security and check all my financial accounts – downloading activity into Quicken. I don’t exactly balance my accounts, but I look for anything suspicious. And try to assign each of those Holland America shore excursion charges to the correct cruise and port. It makes it much easier to manage my money later. As we left General San Martín, we had a faint glimpse of the Paracas Candelabra, a prehistoric geoglyph. It is cut two feet into the soil and is 595 feet tall. Unfortunately, by dusk I couldn’t get a great photograph. Someday maybe I will come back and fly over the Nazca Lines. My recent Peruvian Dinner created by guest chefs in the Pinnacle Grill was a bit disappointing. Four courses – and the first two were great, along with their wines. But we then waited 45 minutes for the main course, which was Udon noodles with four small cubes of beef. The sauce was good – but it didn’t merit the cost of more than $100 with the added service charge. I got a notice yesterday that the second guest chef dinner is canceled as the guest chef was unable to join the ship. I may cancel the rest of my special dinners in the Pinnacle. On the world cruise earlier this year, my sisters and I treated ourselves to the special seven-course dinners. But with the price increase, I think I will find another way to splurge. After stepping on the scale a few days ago, I’ve told the excellent bar staff in the Crow’s Nest to quit serving me the spicy bar mix, and I switched to gin and diet tonic from sea breeze. I need to make sure my new coats still fit when we get to Antarctica. It might be too late…. The chefs aren’t making that any easier. During recent lunches, they have presented special desserts more than once. I’m limiting myself to unlimited photographs. I’m not a huge fan of dessert wines, but couldn’t resist an invitation to the Port and Chocolate Tasting this afternoon. Yes, it was the chocolate that drew me in. I learned more about port, too. The number of stowaways around the ship have multiplied. Other stowaways have joined the forward deck – leaving behind their calling cards for the crew to clean up. Yesterday we all had to check in at our muster stations (required every 30 days, I believe) and watch a safety video in our cabins. This was a new video, about sailing in polar regions. It instructs us on wearing our Thermal Protective Aid (TPA). Quite the fashion statement – I hope I never have to model it! Temperatures have fallen, as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. Blankets have joined the pool towels. On to Chile as we continue toward Antarctica. I’ll have to bring out a new flag for my doorway.

Just going back over your excellent descriptions as I start to think about my Majestic Japan cruise in a year. When I was last in Kushiro (late 2018), we docked just 2-3 blocks from the MOO and EGG. It sounds like the ship docks somewhere else now if you need a shuttle. Can you confirm? We could easily walk to the fish market, which is what I've always done in Kushiro. Thanks for clarifying!

On the 2018 Grand Asia, the swells at the dock in Apia grew so strong that they broke some of the ship's lines within 30 minutes of docking. Officers quickly herded all the passengers on the pier back on board and we pulled away, to sit a short but safe distance from the dock for a few hours, as the call went out throughout the island to guides and drivers to return their passengers back to the ship. Last fall I finally made it ashore in Apia and had a wonderful visit to Robert Louis Stevenson's villa there. I enjoy following your journey!

Thanks, Ellen! I know a few others who are doing the same. I would have booked the P2P had I night already had this cruise booked. With it and the end of the 2023 world, plus the fact that I stayed on board and did Iceland, Greenland, etc., this summer, I felt it would be a super repeat. I hope to sail together again, too!

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] Crowds Celebrate October in Lima’s Historic Squares and Streets Day 15, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023; Lima, Peru My day started on a low point, or perhaps I should say a high point – on the weight scale in the fitness center. I’ve gained a few pounds in the past month while on board the Zaandam. So apparently those half-price drinks during happy hour aren’t half the calories. Perhaps it is the spicy bar mix the waiters serve with the drinks. It’s time to stop living like I’m on vacation and start living like this is my everyday life – which it is. Today’s tour took us to Lima’s historical center, which boasts not only some firsts for the city and country, but also for the continent of South America. After a while, I was reminded of the father in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” who proclaimed that everything originated in Greece. But it does seem that many things in colonial South America originated in Peru. This City of Kings lives up to its moniker. Imposing colonial buildings with their distinctive deep yellow coloring circle large public squares. Enclosed balconies reach out over wide sidewalks and paseos. Many buildings carry the distinctive black and white symbol that declares them to be UNSECO world heritage sites. Mixed among these are more modern buildings, which were built after the originals fell – either due to earthquakes or to damage from car bombs during the Shining Path insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s. Though it was Saturday morning, our small bus crawled in the heavy city traffic. Even new roads have cracks and potholes, due in part to the constant tremors in this earthquake-prone country on the Pacific Ring of Fire. It took us 90 minutes to drive the 8 miles to the historic center. From there, we left the bus to walk a couple of miles, stopping for photographs and more history from our tour guide Edwin Rojas, the founder of Haku Tours. The many dogs sleeping in the squares ignored the crowds. A number of pet dogs were dressed in t-shirts, a practice that became popular during the pandemic, our guide said. October is a special month for Peruvian Catholics, who commemorate the Lord of Miracles, a painted image from the 17th century that survived repeated earthquakes. Pilgrims travel to Lima to honor the image in one of the largest religious processions in the world and one of the oldest traditions in Peru. People were celebrating everywhere, and as we left the San Francisco Monastery, a wedding spilled into the streets, along with a marching band. At the Monastery, we traveled down through a layer of the catacombs, filled with bones from more than 50,000 bodies, Edwin said. Giant purple and white banners draped from the stately buildings surrounding the Main Square, opposite the cathedral. We passed by the hotel where a bartender invented the Pisco Sour, Peru’s national cocktail, when he ran out of whiskey for whiskey sours. Bullfighters liked the liquor’s 43-percent alcohol content and thus expanded its popularity. Or so at least one story goes – there are many discrepancies in its history. The large crowd in front of the Immigration office was there for a different reason. Thousands of asylum seekers have traveled to Peru from Venezuela – after Peruvians sought asylum in Venezuela during the Shining Path insurgency a few decades ago. At one point I ducked into a souvenir shop, on the hunt for a small nativity scene. Since I’ve sold almost everything I own, I decided that I could collect tiny nativities, as long as I carefully curated them. I found one I liked, but the proprietor couldn’t get her credit card machine to work and I had no Peruvian sol. My time was running out so I had to leave it behind. Fortunately, back at the ship I had time to shop the “pier boutique,” as one of my sisters named the small stalls that locals sometimes set up on cruise piers. The Peruvian woolens were beautiful, but wouldn’t fit into my lifestyle. I was delighted, though, to find a small nativity – not quite as small as I would like, but it will represent South America well. This was my first of several independent tours organized by my friend Tim Bowman. I cruised with Tim and his wife Angela a year ago to Australia. Tim is a master of organization, and when first one tour organizer and then another had to cancel this cruise, he took over their duties — in addition to writing his own blog. While I’ve organized a few private tours, it’s more than I like to tackle so I really appreciate his work. I normally enjoy exploring ports on my own when I can, but as I’m traveling alone this time and visiting new-to-me ports during the first part of this cruise, it’s nice to be with a group of a dozen or so like-minded travelers. Late this evening it seems a few stowaways were making themselves at home in the Lido Pool.

When you are on a laptop (windows or Apple), you just go to navigator.hollandamerica.com and sign on to the internet with your package. There's not an app for a laptop to my knowledge.

Depends on location. But I must say that we watched my Chiefs beat Philadelphia in the 2023 Superbowl from Tasmania, Australia! And the Chiefs beat San Francisco in the 2020 Superbowl from Antarctica! I'm hoping for a three-peat on the 2024 world!

Generally they are passenger-driven, so if you are interested, I suggest you post on your roll call and suggest a time and place to meet. There is a group that meets in the morning on sea days in the Crow's Nest on this cruise. On the grand world, a passenger organizes Project Linus and dozens of people meet in the Ocean Bar to knit and crochet, with yarn supplied in part by HAL. The blankets are all donated to Project Linus.

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] From Food to Dance, Peru Paints a Colorful Picture Day 14, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Friday, Oct. 20, 2023; Lima, Peru How much can one person eat in a day? I put that question to the test today on another foodie tour. We had a great traditional Peruvian lunch, and less than an hour later stopped for a “snack” that could have been my main meal on any other day. Needless to say, I didn’t go to dinner tonight. However, I did go to the performance in the World Stage by a group of local musicians and dancers that may have been the best entertainment I have seen on a Holland America ship. Entitled “Un Peru Para Todas,” or One Peru for All, the show featured a “festival of music and folk dances, leading us to an imaginary journey through the three natural regions of Peru – the coast, the mountains and the jungle.” It was high energy, modern, fun and traditional all at once. Fortunately, there were two performances tonight, so I hope that everyone on this cruise experienced the magical evening. Callao is the port for Lima, and given the traffic in the city of 12 million, going anywhere seems to take 45 minutes. This morning we left promptly at 8. And may I digress to say that everyone has been punctual on all my tours. When your ticket says to be in the World Theater by 7:50 a.m., you can bet that at 7:50 the group will be leaving. So I’ve learned to be 10 minutes early. It’s also refreshing that at every stop and break, everyone is already back on the bus at the assigned time. Bravo! Our relatively small group of 20 stopped first at the large Minka Market, buried within a huge outdoor shopping mall. I saw signs for H&M, Sketchers, even Starbucks, but we moved quickly to the enclosed market, starting with produce, featuring a heavy dose of various chiles. I’ll just let the photos tell the story. It was similar to my previous market experience in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with the exception of the potato aisle. Peru considers itself a potato capital, and there are thousands of varieties. It seems potatoes in various preparations are part of every meal here. We then worked our way through meat and seafood. Peru is blessed with abundant and varied seafood due to the cold Humbolt current that comes up from Antarctica. But I will pass on the guinea pigs, which are popular in the mountains. Our next stop was the restaurant Señorio de Sulco in the tony Miraflores district of Lima, with a view of the Pacific Ocean. The skies were cloudy, as they almost always are here our guide Maria told us. However, she said it never rains. The coastal region is narrow and the clouds from the cool water are trapped by the nearby Andes. Even though we are near the equator, the temperature only reached the low 70s. The restaurant’s executive chef prepared samples of our traditional courses — ceviche (or cebiche as they call it), causa rellena (potato and shredded chicken with avocado) and lomo saltado (a wonderful stir-fried beef with rice and – of course – french-fried potatoes). Dessert was a donut-like fried sweet potato with a honey sauce. And of course we had Pisco Sours, the national drink of Peru, which came with quite a wallop! Now, when all most of us wanted was a nap, we toured the city on the way to an older section of town with many Italian restaurants, or resto-bars as they are called here. We stopped at Queirolo Tavern for a typical afternoon snack — a ham sandwich and generous plates of cheese, ham, sausage and olives for sharing. I couldn’t pass on a Peruvian beer, but it certainly put me over the top for a nap in the bus on the way back to the ship. I was glad I attended the early show tonight — by the late show I was already in bed. Tomorrow brings another early tour – this time a more general tour of the city.

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] A Step Back in Time to Peru’s Chan Chan Temples Day 12, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Wednesday, Oct.18, 2023, Trujillo, Peru We’ve all heard of the Incans and the Mayans, but there were many, many other civilizations spread across North, Central and South America for centuries. (And to think that we were taught that Columbus discovered this world that already had millions of inhabitants. For a deep dive, read the award-winning non-fiction book “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus” by Charles C. Mann.) Today we docked in Salaverry, the port for the nearby Trujillo (the second largest city in Peru). We explored the history and remains of pre-Incan societies living in what is now Peru. Our main focus was Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimú kingdom. The Chimú lived in this part of northern Peru from the mid ninth century until they were conquered by the Incans in 1470. One of the ten temples in the city is open for tours. The thick adobe temple walls now are only about half of the original 30-foot height, due to erosion from centuries of rain. We wandered through the ceremonial sector, to the vast set of rooms used for collecting taxes and storing the payments, which were made in crops, livestock, fish, metals and jewels. A large reservoir collected water from the Andes (and proved to be the downfall for the Chimú, when the Incans realized dams could deprive the city of fresh water). All that remains here today are the walls and carvings. Horizontal lines represent the waves from the nearby Pacific Ocean. More distinct waves carry fish, and sea birds line the coast. The moon was their first god. I was thankful that I wore sneakers for the mile-long loose gravel walk through the ruins and that there was a steady breeze. And I was surprised that this close to the equator the temperature only rose into the mid 70s. Clouds made it seem a bit cooler, but I expect that had I not used sunblock I would have been suffering later. In a nearby museum, we saw many relics from this and the previous Moche era. The large floor map illustrated just how big Chan Chan was with its 10 palaces. A few miles away is Huanchaco, a popular beach town best known for its reed boats. Local fishermen can make them in just a couple of hours, once the reeds are dry. Their paddle is split bamboo, and they ride the reed like a horse through the surf to deeper water. When they return, they surf back to the shore, with their catch in the hold in the back. Today I almost tried to do the impossible – be in two different places at the same time. I had booked myself on two tours, one with Holland America and another with an independent group. I discovered my double booking when the organizer of the independent tour mentioned a couple of days ago that I still needed to pay him. Fortunately, he found someone to fill my private tour spot, as it was too late to cancel my ship excursion. My mistake was in failing to put the private tour on my planning spreadsheet, so a week ago I booked a ship excursion of the same sites. To be honest, I’m surprised I haven’t done this more often. It has been a crazy year as I am spending time on sea days researching, planning and booking tours for as many as eight future cruises at a time. Later this afternoon on the ship, I worked with my sisters back home to book a grizzly-bear tour for our Alaska cruise next June. This popular private tour just opened for booking and we needed to jump on it. The roll calls on the Cruise Critic website are a great tool for meeting others on your specific cruise and planning independent tours. For longer cruises, usually someone volunteers to create a group spreadsheet listing the participants on each private tour. You can bet that I spent some time while we were at sea yesterday scouring the spreadsheet for this cruise to make sure I haven’t missed another booking.

Just FYI, it is typically early seating that fills up quickly, not late.

Remember the Zuiderdam is on the Grant Africa now and will be doing the Grand World starting in January. On the Grand World earlier this year her new library got quite a workout.

One of my favorite things about the Japanese ports on my earlier Grand Asia cruises was the sendoff from each of the smaller Japanese ports. They really go all out for the cruise ships!

Note that the tour times and meeting places also are on your stateroom TV

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] Delicious Ecuadorian Epicurean Tour with a Side of Security Days 9-10, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Sunday and Monday, Oct.15-16, 2023, Guayaquil, Ecuador “Is it safe to walk around town on your own?” This is a question we all ask at some time or another on a long cruise. We are visiting unfamiliar places and don’t know what to expect. Some of the most popular tourist cities (Barcelona, I’m looking at you, among others) are beset by pickpockets. The standard precautions are usually enough – don’t wear jewelry or flash cash, make it a “frontpack” instead of a backpack, only take ashore what currency and cards you really need, and always be aware of what’s going on around you. During the summer the U.S. State Department reissued its travel advisory for Ecuador, suggesting Americans reconsider travel to several provinces, including that of Manta, and most of Guayaquil due to increased crime. In addition, it advised “do not travel to” the southern part of Guayaquil, where the port is located. Of course, this resulted in some chatter on our cruise social media sites about whether we would still visit these two Ecuadorian ports. But we didn’t hear anything more, and I forgot about it. At least, until a few days ago when the captain announced that while we would arrive at the Guayaquil port as scheduled at 4 p.m. on Sunday, no one could go ashore until the next day. Sunday was national election day in Ecuador, and in addition to the general crime situation, there were concerns that unrest could develop after the election. But Sunday night the losing candidate graciously conceded, and as far as I know things remained calm. I’m not sure what passengers would have done Sunday evening anyway. The industrial port is a good 30-minute drive from town, and I doubt there were many activities on a Sunday night. On board many passengers enjoyed the special Octoberfest celebration in the Lido and around the pool. I enjoyed a nice dinner in the Canaletto specialty restaurant with other clients of our travel agency. This morning I joined a Holland America “foodie” tour, meaning it was offered in partnership with Food & Wine Magazine. These tours usually have fewer participants and are more expensive, but I enjoy them and have booked several on this cruise. We first visited the Sauces IX market, which was large, clean and relatively cool under its cover. A few of our group purchased some of the colorful fruit. As many local people may not have refrigeration, and certainly not the large units found in most American homes, they shop frequently in small amounts. We moved from the produce to grocery staples such as cinnamon and rice, through household goods to fish, poultry and finally flowers. I’ve been to similar markets from Fiji to Japan, but what set this one apart had nothing to do with the merchandise or the vendors. It was the “paparazzi” that we soon realized was following us as we wandered the aisles. Not only did a cameraman tape us almost every moment that we shopped, but a half dozen other people with digital cameras and smartphones were constantly taking our pictures. One in our group agreed to an interview. It turns out that the Zaandam is the first cruise ship to visit Guayaquil this season, and our tour will make the local news. I had a small taste of what it is like for a celebrity to try to act normal while cameras are all around. We also were shadowed by our police escorts. Two officers dressed head-to-toe in black rode a motorcycle alongside our bus and walked with us through the market. Other passengers reported similar escorts, and those who took the free shuttle to a square in the city said there were police everywhere. I felt totally safe the whole day, but I don’t know if that was because of the security around us or not. After the market we went to the beautiful Wyndham Hotel in the city center, where executive chef Rafael Hernández led us through making ceviche. The delicious shrimp appetizer served as our starter, leading to a delicious lunch and dessert. Before dinner I joined the singles and solos reception, where about 25 passengers mingled. It’s a nice change to get to know fellow travelers and perhaps even make plans for dinner or exploring future ports.

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] Ecuador: South American Home of Tuna, Hats and Buttons Day 8, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Saturday, Oct.14, 2023, Manta, Ecuador I would not have known that we crossed the equator this morning had a fellow cruiser not risen early to get a picture of the latitude on her smartphone app. Apparently the cruise director mentioned it, but if you are not in the World Stage theater for the beginning of the nightly show, you miss these announcements. Toward the end of this cruise, we will bounce back and forth over the equator as we enter the Amazon River, and surely there will a King Neptune party initiating pollywogs (those crew members who have not yet crossed) amid much silliness. It’s a great excuse for a party. I have no idea how many times I have sailed across the equator, but the most memorable was earlier this year as we sailed past the fictional Null Island — 0 degrees latitude, 0 degrees longitude. The intersection of the equator and the prime meridian. If the name hadn’t given it away, Ecuador sits on the equator. But I hadn’t known that today’s port, Manta, is the tuna capital of the world, I did after dinner tonight. My entrée was fresh yellow fin tuna, the spoils of a friendly visit by our chefs to the tuna boat moored next to us on the pier. It was the best dinner so far on this cruise. I joined a ship’s excursion today to see the “best of Manta,” although we quickly left the city for the surrounding country, traveling from the dry coastal area to the wetter jungle. On the way, we passed by the shoreline drydock where shipbuilders repair traditional wooden boats made of mahogany. We first stopped to see the processing of tagua nuts into buttons, jewelry and decorative items. These are the fruits of the tagua palm tree that also are known as vegetable ivory. Before plastic became common, buttons were made from tagua nuts. Now the practice is once again gaining popularity as natural and organic products are in demand. On my last cruise I bought some tagua earrings but didn’t realize what they were until I saw them today. Next on our itinerary was Montecristi, the home of the Panama hat. Yes, they are made in Ecuador, not Panama. During the construction of the Panama Canal, the lightweight straw hats with wide brims were popular among the workers. When President Theodore Roosevelt was photographed wearing one while visiting the canal, the misnomer took hold. Outside Montecristi we passed a giant statue of a woman making a hat, resting her breasts on a wood block over the work in progress. It really is the stance that women and men use while weaving the straw, just not quite as suggestive as the statue. Now that I have seen the process, I can see the difference between an inexpensive straw hat and the tightly woven fine hats that can sell for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. As tempting as it was in the moment to buy one, none fit my smaller than average head. Which is a good thing, because I have plenty of cheap straw hats that flatten for traveling. Our last stop was at a small lodge in the jungle. We learned about the plantain, a relative of the banana that is popular in Ecuador, and learned to mash it to make a plantain ball. Fortunately, the snack we were served was prepared by the lodge staff. Upon our return to the ship, I noticed the “Welcome Home” banner has returned. It is posted for the grand voyages – I guess because we are on the ship long enough that it becomes our home. I noticed last spring that it disappeared as soon as the world voyage ended. Tonight in the World Stage was the second and final performance of Lincoln Center Presents. This quintet consists of a pianist, violinist, cellist, horn player (saxophone, clarinet, oboe) and guitar player. I enjoyed their selection of seasonal pieces, including two by Vivaldi, Cole Porter’s “Summertime” and a half-dozen others. For a number of years Holland America had a partnership with Lincoln Stage, which provided classical musicians who played nightly in the Explorer’s Lounge. Many have lamented the recent end of that run, but in its place the cruise line has a traveling group of musicians who play a couple of times on many cruises. Unfortunately, these may be their only performances during this 73-day cruise. But we do have a pair of classical musicians who entertain most nights in the smaller Explorer’s Lounge.

Yes

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] Transiting the Path Between the Seas Never Grows Old Days 6-7, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Thursday and Friday, Oct.12-13, 2023, Panama Canal Transit and Sea Day Holland American ships have been transiting the Panama Canal since 1916, with its first passenger ship crossing a few years later. My first transit was nine months ago. What took me so long? A few years ago I listened to an unabridged recording of David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas,” the popular history of the canal. I loved my first experience, and now it was time for a repeat journey. In January on the Zuiderdam, we followed Holland America’s Volendam into the Gatún locks, and then traveled side-by-side through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks. In Panama City the two ships split up, the Volendam heading south for her Grand South America journey and the Zuiderdam west toward the South Pacific and her world journey circumnavigation. There was a festive atmosphere of hooting and hollering and blowing of the ships’ horns as we sailed together. This time the Zaandam traveled alone – and I don’t just mean without a Holland America sister ship. We never passed another ship through the locks, and only passed a couple during the hours we cruised through Gatún Lake. The canal authority has limited the number of ships allowed to pass each day due to low rainfall levels, leaving less water to operate the locks. [As an aside, this situation leaves me with very mixed feelings about my current cruising lifestyle. It’s not exactly environmentally friendly, and knowing that our transit required approximately 50 million gallons of water gives me pause. I hate to be part of the reason that some children won’t get their Christmas wishes granted because of this slowdown in the global supply chain. I wish I had an easy solution….] I moved between the Crow’s Nest and my balcony as we passed through the locks. Cruise and travel director Jeremy gave a running commentary of our progress. The traditional Panama buns appeared around the ship, but I passed them by (and forgot to take a photograph). They are suspiciously like Sydney buns, and Hong Kong buns, and buns that appear whenever ships approach famous ports. As we neared the end of the canal, we could see the skyscrapers of Panama City on the horizon. Once we arrived in the Pacific Ocean, the sea conditions lived up to its peaceful name. Fingers crossed that this great weather continues. Technically Thursday was a sea day, as we never stopped in port as we transited the canal. Several of our regular sea day activities continued, such as watercolor class, and we had another class on Friday, as it, too, is a sea day as we sail toward Ecuador. On this grand cruise, we have special lecturers as well as special classes. In addition to watercolor, there is bridge instruction and creative writing. Our water color instructor, Lucia Machado, is new for me. So far it seems to be a more casual approach than in the past. She has three identical 45-minute sessions on sea days, and so far we have mainly just experimented with our colors. Finally, today we painted something other than a worksheet – a donut! The class accommodates beginners, but even though I have painted before (and learned in a cruise ship class), I like instruction from different teachers, as they use different approaches and teaching styles. But I also get frustrated that I am not working on my own sketchbook paintings, because as usual I am falling behind. On the world cruise I used the first month to finish the sketchbook from an earlier cruise. This time I left my half-finished Northern European cruise sketchbook behind. And yet I’m still trying to finish the sketches of Canadian ports from late September. I don’t know why some people complain they are bored on cruise ships. I always have too much to do, even if it is a lot of “doing nothing.” I’ve been that way my whole life and doubt I will change now. Friday’s sea day ended with our first formal, or gala, night. The highlight was the Zaandam Ball in the World Stage theater. This venue on the R-class ships can transform into a dance floor, unlike on the larger and newer ships. It was nice to see so many passengers on this grand cruise dress up. Earlier in the day, the Crow’s Nest dance floor was put to its original use, although with recorded, not live, music. Tomorrow will bring a new country for me – Ecuador. I guess I will need to find time to go to the cultural and history lectures for these new ports.

[All the photos are on my blog site, https://www.writerondeck.com/.] This Tropical Paradise Comes with Heat, Humidity and Color Day 5, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Wednesday, Oct.11, 2023, Puerto Limón, Costa Rica When most people think of Costa Rica, they think of the beautiful Pacific Ocean coast and mountainous area bordering it. Puerto Limón is on the eastern coast – the Caribbean side. This is the only part of Costa Rica I have visited, and while it’s not the most popular, it shows a different side of the Central American country. And it is convenient when heading for the Panama Canal. On a January port call in Puerto Limón, I visited a sloth sanctuary and a banana plantation. This time I stayed closer to the pier – two blocks from it, to be exact. The day started out hot and humid and just got worse. I layered on the sun block, donned my hat and headed out. The terminal building was full of vendors selling everything from coffee beans to straw fans. Dancers performed on the pier despite the heat. I guess they are used to it. As soon as I crossed the street and entered the city park, a helpful local rushed up to point out a male sloth tucked into one of the tall trees. I already knew these animals were difficult to spot. But when the sloth stretched and turned a bit, I saw his face. It only took a few minutes of sitting on a convenient park bench to sketch the sloth’s outline. I certainly didn’t worry about him rushing away before I finished. Sloths are known for their incredibly slow movements. Having achieved today’s goal of sketching (low bar, I know), I took another 30 minutes to walk around the park with its colorful painted benches, statues and stately trees. I’ve started a new practice on this voyage – posting a small flag outside my cabin for each country we visit. I ordered a set of 200 6×8-inch flags from Amazon, not realizing they would arrive unidentified. So I spent several hours before the cruise identifying each one and sorted out those for the countries I’ll visit between now and May 2024. The walls of the Zaandam are magnetic (unlike the Zuiderdam’s walls), so I can hang the flags by my cabin door. I’m sure people walking by wonder, as many do not know the Costa Rican flag. After a few ports they probably will get the idea. And I can identify my cabin from far down the hall. As much as I love my Vista Suite stateroom, I am disappointed to find that the ship’s WIFI signal there is weak. It was better on the last cruise in an inside cabin down the hall. It all depends on where the routers are located in relation to your location on the ship, and all those metal walls don’t help things. It takes about 10 minutes to reconnect when I return to the cabin, and then I seldom get the photos on Facebook or Threads. I can, and do, go to one of the public areas on the ship for internet-intensive work, but it’s a shame I can’t do that on the spacious desk in my room. Early this evening I escaped to a back corner of the Crow’s Nest to join a book club – via Zoom. Needless to say, the initial trial in my stateroom was a bust. But with a strong signal and by wearing AirPods I could quietly participate, at least until a extremely loud trivia session started near the end of our zoom call. By the way, we read Wendell Berry’s novel “Hannah Coulter,” about a woman who lived her whole life in very rural Kentucky during the last two-thirds of the 20th century. It’s hard to imagine a life more different than my nomadic life, yet I found her observations intriguing. “You think you will never forget any of this, you will remember it always just the way it was. But you can’t remember it the way it was… When you remember the past, you are not remembering it as it was. You are remembering it as it is.” So even from the coast of Costa Rica, I had a special evening with friends I have known for more than 50 years, who are a dear part of my past. They bless me by being part of my present, too.

Perhaps lanyards printed with names streaming across the cord, or a title and date of the cruise. Some will like using them for their key cards. Guest Services can punch a hole if the card doesn't already have one.

🙂 I figured word would get around. I guess it's a toss-up -- get blamed for spoiling it or get blamed for knowing and not sharing. And I wrote about it in my blog earlier today anyway. But don't worry -- I didn't share everything he told our group.

Especially since they use the Zuiderdam for the world and other grand and special voyages. I was on it for 199 days earlier this year and never found the food to be bland. In fact, the ship and crew were great! Now I'm on the Zaandam for 86 days and it's in super shape as well. Obviously I like being on a dam ship.

It might be of interest to report the age breakdown of the almost 1,000 passengers currently on the 73-day South America & Antarctica grand voyage. Of course these longer and more expensive cruises draw a generally older crowd. On this cruise one person is between 8 and 12, 15 are 22-35, 21 are 36-50, 30 are 51-65, 382 are 66-74 and 367 are 75 or older. Another 48 are listed with “unknown” ages, which is interesting as the staff has our passports.

Yes, that is true. My sisters and I shared the multi on my account on the world cruise earlier this year. It worked well, especially as we needed to do banking, etc., on occasion and needed a two-factor ID. So with two you could get the secret code on your phone that you needed to input on your laptop. the only thing to watch is that the second person doesn't forget that he/she is logged in as you and, for example, send a Navigator text or add daily events to your calendar. At first I couldn't figure out why I was getting reminders for lectures, etc., that I hadn't signed up for.

At a reception our travel agency had yesterday, Hotel Manager Florin Dragomir reported out on the Montreal meeting from May attended by the hotel managers and cruise directors for the 3 grand cruises to day (world, africa, south america) and 20 people from HQ. (Sounds about like a typical corporate meeting... but I digress.) In addition to hinting at the pillow gifts, he said there are more dressy/gala nights (perhaps with decorations), three guest chefs who will have cooking demonstrations and offer special dinners in the Pinnacle Grill, two shows nightly by local entertainers on overnight stops, and probably a few other items I've forgotten. We have nightly chocolate (as we did on the world), and had a block party the first sea day. I assume we will have more of those, at least one after Buenos Aires (we had 4 or 5 on the world). I'm guessing we'll have some surprise parties -- like the glamping party by the Lido we had on the world.