tennisbeforewine

For those of you who have been following my posts, I apologize. I’ve had a lot of computer memory problems and basically the folks I’ve spoken to have advised me to take care of it at my Apple store at home, hence this post being posted from John’s phone. We’re booked for next year, so although I have to “sign off” for 2023, I plan to be back in 2024. Thanks for following and for understanding. Diane

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 A Coruna and Luigo, Spain For people who ask us, “Haven’t you already been everywhere?", the answer is NO. We’ve never been to the Galicia area of Spain in the northwest corner. They speak a dialect which is very similar to Portuguese, since they’re right next door, and many of their cultural and physical traits come from the Irish and Scots who came here hundreds of year ago. Blue eyes are common and the music here, rather than the expected classical guitar, is often bagpipes. While we’re not fans of HAL tours (too expensive, too many people, and too much shopping), we saw that one of today’s tours was to the Roman and Medieval city of Lugo. While we are both history buffs, the real reason we signed on was that John’s grandmother was a Lugo, living in San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach by way of Mexico and Spain. It was a chance to see her ancestral city and was well worth the visit. After an hour and a quarter bus ride, we arrived in Lugo, where we had our first sight of the Roman wall. There are bits and pieces of Roman walls all over Europe, but Lugo is the only city in Europe with a complete, city-surrounding stone wall built primarily out of granite. It’s 1.3 miles in circumference and many of the citizens use the top of the wall (about 20 feet across) for their daily exercise. In fact, one woman managed to “lap” us while we were listening to our guide give us more information. We walked atop about a quarter of the wall and descended in front of the city’s cathedral. After a quick photo stop, we continued through the narrow old streets, looking at arched and covered walkways and some really interesting sculptures. We learned that Lugo is a stop on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage which thousands of people take each year. We spent some time in the municipal museum which used to be a convent and I felt like I was taken back several hundred years (but without the habit and wimple). We saw the dining room with its raised platform from which the Mother Superior read scripture while the nuns ate, the kitchen, which was huge but not one I’d like to use, and the cloister, which allowed for some exercise in weather that was too hot or too cold - or if they were simply cloistered nuns, restricted to the indoors. Lunch followed at a veeeerrrry long table in a cute little restaurant and all four courses were good. The salad of lettuce and tomato with excellent dressing was followed by a delicious course that was like a calzone. The main course was a large platter of grilled baby back ribs, sausage, and small pork steaks, accompanied by fries. All of this was washed down with a choice of red or white wine, with empty bottles being replaced as needed. Finally there was a small piece of cake and a slice of ice cream to finish it off. We turned down the after-lunch coffee and the group headed back to the bus. All in all, the trip was very rewarding, and it was nice for John to see the origins of his hispanic ancestors. * * * * * While sitting and waiting for our tour to be called this morning, the captain came on and told us that because of terrible weather across the Bay of Biscay, we will no longer be calling at our next port, Brest, France, but instead will stay in A Coruna until 11:00 tonight and then go directly to Portland, England, stay there for two nights, and then to LeHavre France. We’re always disappointed to miss a French port, but we certainly can understand that weather is more important than our wishes on a cruise. We’ll just take full advantage of any French port we can still visit.

April 11, 2023 At sea en route to A Coruna, Spain It’s an interesting area in which we’re sailing. We keep transitioning between Greenwich (England) time and continental time, so one night we move our timepieces back an hour as we did into Lisbon, and then we move them ahead one hour, as we did last night headed back into Spain. At least it’s not like our time change between Tangier, Morocco and Malaga, Spain, when we had to turn our clocks ahead TWO hours in one night. We made several jokes about it at dinner, talking about what the “real” time was. For example, when we ordered dessert at 9:00, we spoke of it being 11:00 and it was really past our bedtimes. After A Coruna, Spain and Brest, France, we’ll change the clocks back an hour for Portland, England and then forward an hour for Le Havre, France. Oh well, we’re pretty used to it by now. Yesterday was a wonderful day in Lisbon, a port that we’ve loved every time we’ve been there. The first time we docked there it was early in the morning and when I looked out the window I saw the Golden Gate Bridge on one side and Christ the Redeemer on the other. I wasn’t quite sure where we were. It turns out that Lisbon’s bridge was designed by the same architect who was responsible for the famous San Francisco landmark, and they even paint it the same color. The massive statue of Jesus was, of course, patterned after the famous Rio de Janeiro statue. Travel can be strange. While most people either took tours or just wandered around this very walkable city , of many hills, our group of ten pickle ball players reserved two Ubers and headed out to one of the three pickle ball clubs win the city. It turns out that Mike and Cheri, who live in Cuenca, Ecuador, have a friend from that city who recently moved to Lisbon and he reserved a couple of courts for us at the club. As a non-player, I wandered around the extensive grounds until I found the word “Spa.” My feet had been begging for a pedicure for a couple of weeks, so I spoke to the Maria who worked there as a massage therapist, and made an appointment for 1:30. Maria spoke not a word of English, and I really speak no Portuguese, so my broken Spanish had to bridge the gap. Since schedule time is really only a suggestion here, my nail lady showed up at about 1:50, but Maria had begun and gave my feet and legs a great massage. As I finished up, I saw our pickle ballers come past and settle at the outdoor cafe, where I joined them. After about an hour of quizzing Ron about his move to Lisbon, we ubered back to the ship. It really is fun doing something so unusual in another country. When we got to the ship, we realized we hadn’t purchased and sent a postcard yet, so that was our first task. One nice thing we found in many foreign cities is that a small souvenir or cigarette shop will have postcards, stamps, and an outgoing mail slot. It does make it really easy in such an all-in-one spot. My next goal was to find a bakery and buy a couple of famous Portuguese Pastel de Natas, a wonderful little dessert consisting of a puff pastry shell filled with absolutely delectable custard. We were told three times that “I’m sorry, but we’re sold out” until finally the last bakery had three left (at the princely sum of $1.20 each). There was a young lady looking longingly behind me, so I only bought two and left the last one for her. A nice surprise at dinner was when Ginni brought out the six-pack she had found early in the day. They really are delicious. I think Lisbon is one of those places that I could visit for a few weeks. The people are incredibly friendly and helpful, the history, beginning with the Phoenicians in 1200 BC, is fascinating, and the food is wonderful. What more do you need?

Friday, April 7, 2023 Casablanca and Marrakesh, Morocco What an amazing day we had yesterday. We’ve been to Casablanca before, enjoying lunch at Rick’s Cafe with our artist in residence Ben a few years ago, and then just wandering the city. It doesn’t, of course, look anything like the city in the famed movie, because the Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman masterpiece was filmed on a back lot in Hollywood. Both times we were here we spoke of going to Marrakesh (locally spelled Marrakech), but this time we decided we’d do it. The drawbacks were the four-hour drive each way with a 12-hour day, but it really was a destination we’d looked forward to. Since we had one free shore excursion with our cruise reservation, we chose that one and off we went. Our guide was Abdou, a Moroccan with a big voice and a great sense of humor. He knew so much about his country, his home city of Casablanca, and about our destination. We settled in for the long drive in a comfortable bus which was fortunately only about 2/3 full and nicely air-conditioned. After a midway stop for the necessities of bathroom stops and junk food purchases, we arrived in Marrakesh at 11:00 and fought incredibly busy traffic, with our big bus trying to wend its way through narrow streets. Our first visit was to the House of El Glaoui, the Pasha, or second in command of the city and surrounding areas during the middle of the Twentieth Century. It was a beautifully designed home, built around a sunny courtyard full of orange trees. When I asked Abdou why so many of the rooms around the courtyard were so small, he told us that those were the rooms of the concubines. Oh my! We continued our walk through the city to the Palais Bahia, the home of the ruler of the area. The house seemed to go on forever, and if I had a dollar for every tile we saw, I’d be cruising forever. It seems that this ruler had three wives and numerous concubines, but had only fathered daughters - so sad. However, he then married a fourth wife named Bahia, and she bore his only son, hence the name of the palace. He not only named his palace after her, but streets and squares in the area are also named Bahia. Next (finally - at 2:00) it was time for lunch, and it was a memorable one. Our destination was Dar Essalam Moroccan Restaurant, and we were apparently in the “group tour” room, a large space with tables for eight. Our table mates, Rich, Ginni, Greg, Heo, Cathy, and Bob chose an ornately decorated table for the eight of us, happy to see not only two large bottles of water but two bottles of Merlot. By the end of the meal there was some water left, but not a drop of wine. While we ate we were entertained by Arabic music and belly dancers. One came to our table, grabbed John’s hand, and the next thing we knew the two of them were dancing, one really well and one giving it the old college try. Our first course was Middle Eastern bread with a choice of five spreads/dips: tomato, carrot, pumpkin, lentil and eggplant. They don’t sound very good, but they disappeared quickly. Next came the main course, roast chicken with olives and cous cous. The bird just about fell off the bone and the table was quiet because everyone was enthusiastically digging in. Finally it was time for our final course, and while a western dessert would have been cake or something chocolate, we had a large platter of thinly sliced oranges with a sprinkling of cinnamon accompanied by almond cookies. Then it was time to walk off lunch by heading through the souk. There were so many things to buy, however we were just doing a “walk-by” so no one got to shop yet. We ended up in the huge main square which contained henna artists and snake charmers. It was surrounded by shops and restaurants, but because it was Ramadan, only tourists were eating. Since I’m terrified of snakes, I didn’t get any closer to those charmers than about 50 feet, but I could see waving cobras with their hoods extended - about all I wanted to see, or even more. Many people, including our friend Heo, got close enough for snake photos, but no thank you. After an hour to wander the souk and the square we met and, after seeing the oldest mosque in Marrakesh (12th Century), we continued on to the bus to rest our feet, enjoy the air conditioning, and nap. Four hours later we were back at the ship after a 12-1/2 hour day, but since we were still full from lunch, it was straight to the room to read and thence to bed. What an amazing day, full of sights, smells, and tastes of the Middle East. It was exhausting, but well worth it.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 Agadir, Morocco While we are still in West Africa, here in Morocco everything is different. It’s very dry, with square-topped buildings and mosques everywhere. We arrived in Agadir a bit late because of high seas and gale-force winds that rocked the ship all night, but our tour began right on time. Our guide, Ibraham, had a big smile for all 14 of us, and off we went to explore this city at the foot of the Atlas mountains and not too far from the Sahara by private tour. Our first stop was at the highest point of Agadir, the Kasbah, one of the few buildings to survive the 1960 earthquake. Always having heard that name in songs and jokes, it was amazing that it was simply a very large fort with a fantastic view over the sea, the city, and the barren landscape beyond. We found hawkers and camel rides (I didn’t know that camels came with handlebars!), and we just wandered around, appreciating the beautiful views. From there it was off to the Argan store. For those of you (like me) that don’t know anything about Argan, it’s an oil that comes from trees only found in southern Morocco and southwest Algeria. In Morocco, , it’s used much like we use olive oil: to drizzle on pasta or as a dip for bread. In the video we were shown, however, we were told that Argan oil would fix all our ills, including bad skin, cardiac problems, and high blood pressure. Our guide (salesman) was dressed in a medical white coat, apparently to give credence to the claims. We watched and listened politely, spent our 15 minute “shopping” time looking at the products, and then returned to our van without a single purchase from our group. It was . . . interesting, I guess. Then the fun began. We drove to the souk in the middle of town. Many travelers have been to local markets, but I’ll bet you’ve never been to one like this. It covers 80,000 square meters and houses approximately 9500 shops. We could have bought anything! We walked and walked and walked, looking at carpets, clothes, leather goods, wooden carvings, and on and on. For me, the best parts were the fruit and vegetable stalls. As a strawberry lover, the sight of a 12-inch plate covered by a pyramid of bright red strawberries made me salivate, especially when I found out that the approximately two pounds of fruit cost the equivalent of $1.50 US. Oh my! Still a bit hesitant about produce, I (regrettably) passed it by. One of the most beautiful displays were the huge tables covered by mountains of spices in shades of red, brown, green, yellow - and so on. Peter, one of our friends, likes to cook, so he invested in a kilogram of curry powder. I’d love to be a guest for that dinner. After an hour we were sorry to leave the souk, but we were due for our last stop, the Mohammed V mosque. It was obviously far more modern in its architecture than most mosques, and we saw as we wandered the plaza in front that a Ramadan service had just concluded. What interested me the most was that those exiting from the beautiful front doors were all men, in all varieties of clothing, from jeans and tee shirts to traditional thobes, or ankle-length garments with long sleeves, similar to kaftans. We wondered where the women were, and eventually saw them exiting a small, unmarked door in the back of the mosque. As a thoroughly modern American women, that did somewhat annoy me, but it is the custom. It was time to return to the ship, with the winds so strong that the pickle ball players couldn’t even play paddle tennis, their go-to sport in the wind. When we were approaching sail-away, the captain came on and explained that the winds were so high and the seas so rough that the local authorities had recommended that we not even try to sail but instead stay inside the harbor overnight and sail closer to 7:00 the next morning. While the captain had planned for a slow sail to Casablanca and overnight there, instead we spent the night in Agadir, with an all-aboard time of 10:00. Today, Wednesday, has been a quiet day on board but one which has seen the donning of sweaters and jackets. Yes, we’re farther north and the weather is cooling. I finally had to retrieve my “winter” suitcase from under the bed and my wool sweater is quite welcome today.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands Today was our second visit to one of the Canary Islands, in this case Lanzarote, the fourth largest of the archipelago. It’s a volcanic island, with a string of volcanoes from one side of the island to the other. Most are either dormant or extinct, but one is rated as “active,” although it hasn’t erupted sine the 1600’s. The landscape is quite barren, and volcanic rock is used everywhere for such things as walkways and garden decoration. The beauty of Lanzarote is the contrast between the land and the vibrant blue sea. The color of the water is reflected in the blue trim of the white buildings, bringing to mind the white and blue of Santorini. Today was a lot easier, as we only walked four miles (instead of seven), including strolls through the narrow streets and along the boardwalk bordering the sea. Our destination was the Arrecife Grand Hotel & Spa, the tallest building in town. Our reading told us that after the hotel company built this 17-story hotel, the mayor said, “No more!” and thenceforth the city had a much more limited building code. We went to the hotel because we knew that it had the best view in town, overlooking the city, the sea and the crescent-shaped beach below. Although we went for the view, we stayed for the cute little coffee shop atop the hotel, and since it was 11:30 by then, we decided it was time for some nourishment. A cappuccino for me, a local beer for John and a shared “club sandwich”, and we called it lunch. What was listed as the above mentioned club sandwich was actually a grilled curried chicken sandwich, but it was delicious. As often happens, we struck up a conversation with the four people at the next table, two couples from Ireland. Two of them were vacationing in Lanzarote and the other two were passengers on the Mein Schiff (my boat), a German cruise ship that we occasionally see in ports around the world. They were very congenial, and after we all took photos of each other, we headed back to the ship. If Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a 10+, Lanzarote was about a 7, but very enjoyable none the less. It was great to call at a second port we’ve never been to, and I’d go back to either one of them any time.

Sunday, April 2, 2023 - Palm Sunday Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands If you come to the Canary Islands, don’t spend any time looking for those cute little yellow birds. The “canary” in the name is from the Latin for dog, or canaria, because the early explorers found large dogs on the islands. Now you can add that to your font of trivia information. As soon as we disembarked the ship and began walking the half mile or so to the middle of town, I loved this island. It’s Spanish in feeling (and language) and after the heat of West Africa, the 70 degree temperatures were welcome. The city itself is clean, well laid out, and the residents are quite welcoming, even if our Spanish leaves something to be desired - especially when it keeps getting mixed up with my Duolingo French. At about 9:30, we wandered the almost empty downtown area for about an hour, knowing that because it was Sunday and especially Palm Sunday, most places would be closed. Because we had read that the nearby town of La Laguna was a former capital and a World Heritage Site, we hopped a taxi (about $15.00) and headed there, where we found a beautiful small city in the foothills with many of the buildings dating from the 16th Century. Residents were observing Palm Sunday with the cathedral filled to capacity and the nearby Iglesia de la Conception just finishing mass and handing out palms, which are decorating our cabin now. We continued to explore, coming across a father and daughter with two adorable white shih tzus. I asked if I could take a photo of them, but the dad insisted that I hold them for the photo, so I did. The photo is on John’s FB blog (DianeandJohn St John) and it’s one I’ll treasure. Having exhausted our little legs, we decided to act like locals and paid $1.45 each to take the bus back to the big city. It turned out that the bus station was quite some ways from downtown, so we continued our hike and found a great little sidewalk cafe with great tapas. We ordered more than we could finish, but did our best - so good, in fact, that we skipped dinner entirely. By the time we returned, the crowds had exploded, with music and dancing and wine and beer bars everywhere. Little white tents housed sales of all kinds of things, but fortunately for our wallets, I’m not much of a shopper, so as soon as we found a postcard and stamp, we were done for the day - and a good thing it was, too, as we had covered about 7 miles already. The whole day was a ten, and we’d suggest that if you ever find yourself in Santa Cruz de Tenerife that you head to La Laguna by taxi, tram, or bus and just wander. The restaurants in Santa Cruz are more plentiful, but skip the pizza offerings and enjoy the tapas. You’ll have a day worth remembering.

Saturday, April 1, 2023 - April Fool! At Sea en route to the Canary Islands April 1 is always a lot of fun, and that even goes for specialty dinners on board. A few weeks ago, we found out about “The Jellicle Dinner” on April 1, and Tina, the Pinnacle Manager, told us that the courses would be a surprise. That reeled us in, so we signed up. We found out that our friends Martha and Bob were going, so we decided that “The more the merrier” and then added a few more to our group. If you’ve seen the play “Cats,” you may remember the Jellicle Cat, and you’ll have an idea of the inspiration for the name. When we arrived, after wine was poured, we were handed the menu The courses sounded very strange but we knew that it would be fun. Course #1 was “Croquembouche,” a French wedding cake made of a pyramid of tiny cream puffs stuffed with cream and then drizzled with caramel. How could this be a starter? The cream puffs were there, but they were filled with a bacon and cheese mousse (yum!) and drizzled with something that looked like caramel but wasn’t. I’m still not sure what it was. Course two was simply called “Water.” While my scale tells me that I should have that as part of my dinner, it turned out to be quite wonderful. We were presented with a bowl containing two jumbo prawns, and then servers, using metal water containers, poured in a spicy tomato-based Thai soup. A few table mates thought it was too spicy, but we loved it. Next was “Porridge,” which turned out to be green quinoa prepared like risotto and topped with a couple of escargot. As I looked around, most of the bowls were pretty quickly emptied. It was followed by the palate cleanser, described on the menu as “Sunny Side Up Egg.” That one was quite a surprise, because it really did look like the description. However, it was coconut gelato topped with a dollop of mango sorbet. The main course was called “A Walk Through the Garden,” and really looked like the name. There was a petite filet mignon atop a bed of pureed mushrooms (the dirt) and surrounded by tiny vegetables that were formed into garden shapes. The whole effect was magical. When I saw that dessert was “Sushi,” I had to pause. While I like almost all types of fish, I do like it cooked. This, however, didn’t need any cooking. We were presented with three slices of “Sushi” which were actually a lemon mousse wrapped in white cake that seemed to be angel food. It was accompanied by some “wasabi” (pistachio mousse) and ginger (dried strips of strawberry.) All in all, it was a wonderful meal, a great deal of fun, and accompanied by two wines, white and red. The best surprise was when when Jacques announced that the $69 price had been changed to $49.00. That got the biggest round of applause of the evening. It just goes to show that surprises often have very good results.

Saturday, April 1, 2023 At Sea en route to Tenerife, Canary Islands We’ve left Africa, but it hasn’t left us. Yesterday I commented to John that I was surprised at the amount of fog there was all around the ship. He replied that if I had listened more carefully to the captain’s midday message, I would have heard him say that what I was seeing wasn’t fog but airborne sand which high winds carry from the Sahara Desert. I’ve never experienced this before, and sure enough, when I dragged a finger across one of the tables on our deck, it came away covered with almost microscopic bits of sand on it. I really hate the idea that we’re no doubt breathing that in every time we go out onto the balcony. Today is better, still with some sand in the air, but at least I can see the horizon. As you’ve probably read, we’ve been under a “Code Red” recently due to the gastrointestinal problems which caused a great deal of physical distress for many, many passengers. Because of that situation and the resultant quarantines, the In-Room Dining department was absolutely swamped, and we saw crew members pushing food trolleys while walking as fast as humanly possible to deliver meals. Two of our friends who were quarantined told us that it took two hours one evening for a delivery of chicken noodle soup. We really felt for those servers, because they were doing everything they possibly could. Because of the situation, passengers could not serve themselves anywhere on the ship, from the Lido to the coffee service, to the Neptune Lounge. There was often quite a line in front of the coffee section of the Lido in the morning, but everyone seemed pretty patient, since where did we have to go? After all, we’re on a cruise, not hurrying off to work. The good news is that the restrictions were lifted last evening, so this morning I was able to choose my own teabag, dispense my own hot water, and actually take a lemon wedge - using the tongs, of course. Last evening, since we were skipping dessert, we decided to head to the Rolling Stone Lounge with several pickle ball friends. I think they like hanging out with old people like us so that they feel younger. The set we arrived for was “Disco Night” and the dance floor was full. We probably danced to at least half of the songs, and it was pretty difficult to find a place on the dance floor The RSL is one of two dance venues on the ship, but “The Dance Band” in The Ocean Bar plays mostly slow jazz and music that my parents would have danced to in the 1940’s. It looks like the few folks who dance there have had dance lessons and the music plays well for formal ballroom dancing. Unfortunately that’s not us. We used to have The Station Band in the Crow’s Nest, but someone at HAL decided that we really didn’t need them any more, and many of us are very sorry about that decision. The dance option for most of us, then, is the Rolling Stone Lounge where the rock and roll music is loud and great for dancing. Surprisingly, many of the dancers are in our age group (70’s) and just want to dance the way we did in high school and college. It was a great evening, only marred by having to set our clocks ahead one hour. We were on London time, but today we’re on European time which I think will stay until we return to England for one port call in mid-April and then will revert to European time until we head home across the Atlantic in May. Since this is one of our last sea days for awhile, I guess I’d better go and enjoy it.

Thursday, March 30, 2023 Dakar, Senegal - Or Is It? Well, this is zero for two. Several years ago we were scheduled to call at some west African ports, but it was at the beginning of the Ebola outbreak and HAL cancelled all of them including Dakar. Now, when we were 20 minutes short of meeting our neighbors Sue and John to take the ferry to Goree Island, the captain came on with an announcement. When that happens in the morning, it’s never good news. He said that local authorities reported on “recent political developments in Dakar which have prompted a degree of unrest in the city. These protests will likely impact areas near the port and could include our shore excursions. “ So . . . our port day has become an in-port “sea day.” Actually, we were pretty disappointed by this change in schedule. Our goal today was to visit Goree Island, which had a large role in the Atlantic slave trade, begun by the Portuguese in 1536 and ended by the French 312 years later. It’s a small, car-free island which welcomes visitors and bears witness to the atrocities of slavery. The House of Slaves, formerly a prison, is now a museum. The entire island is a World Heritage Site, and in addition to the painful reminders of its history, there is a small beach lined with cafes and shops. We had hoped to spend the morning there, but ’twas not to be. Because this is a resupply spot, we’ll actually stay in port all day for that purpose, However, I was talking with George, the Food and Beverage Manager earlier this morning, and he was NOT a happy camper. Yesterday he was told that eight 40-foot containers with food stores would be at the ship at 8:00 AM. I’m writing this at 10:30, and they have yet to appear. They don’t know whether the problem is political unrest (which could include strikes) or something else, but the bottom line is that there are a lot of supplies which may or may not appear. Henk, our Hotel Director, has referred to a phrase coined “t.i.A,” which means “this is Africa.” Africa has shown us a great deal of her beauty, but also potential challenges. Another reason we’re docking is to medically evacuate some passengers. Dakar has two advantages in this regard. They have a large, well-regarded hospital, and they have a large international airport. Some passengers will be going to the hospital for testing and others will be flying back home for medical treatment. It’s unfortunate, but if you must disembark in West Africa, this is a good place to do it. Now the ship’s officers are scrambling to reschedule the day, since this will be a port which is actually a sea day. I imagine that the regular sea day activities will be reinstated and that I’ll be playing trivia this afternoon. John (no surprise) has already headed up to the sports court because “the regulars” are meeting for pickle ball. They like playing in port because there’s usually no wind, so they don’t have to resort to paddle tennis. I guess, since I skipped the gym this morning to be ready for our tour, that I’ll be headed there in a little while. * * * * * Now, having done my two miles, it’s time for a second shower this morning. Then I’ll be ready for whatever comes today.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 Banjul, The Gambia Why, you may ask, is it “The” Gambia instead of just Gambia? It’s because when it was “discovered” by the Portuguese, they found its location valuable because it was sitting on The Gambia River, an excellent port into the Atlantic Ocean. Since the river was The Gambia, that name transferred to the country. Gambia was Portuguese for many years, but then was taken over and made a protectorate of England. It was at one time part of Senegal, but it became a separate country and gained its independence from England in 1965. For you trivia fans, The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa and is almost completely surrounded by Senegal. Because the cost of visas for The Gambia was $155.00, we were going to just stay on board, something we’ve never, ever done before. However, yesterday the immigration folks in the country told the officials on the ship that everyone, whether staying on or getting off, would be required to buy the visa. Boy, did that news cause a lot of tempers to flare. However it became clear that this was simply a quid pro quo in exchange for the high cost for Gambians to buy visas for the United States. Since we had to pay anyway, we searched around until we found a private tour for $80, as opposed to the $150 for the ship’s tour. We jumped right on. The tour was great. We had a van for the eleven of us, only two of whom we already knew, and a great guide named Yusef, or Joseph in English. Since Banjul is actually an island, divided by The Gambia River from the mainland, we had to cross a bridge to leave it. We drove past mangroves where small oysters live and learned that the oyster shells, when pounded to a powder, provided a cement-like substance used in home building. Our first stop was in Serrekunda, the largest city in the country and home of a vast market in which to buy almost anything from live chickens and vegetables to herbs and wigs. It truly was a fascinating place. During our walk through the market, we learned that the two main exports are peanuts and cashews, some of which we saw in the market. Yousef told us that The Gambia is 90% Muslim, since the very first colonizers from Arabia came as missionaries to convert the population. He said that he is very devout in his beliefs, avoiding alcohol, smoking, and pork. He prays five times a day, and we heard the muezzin singing the call to worship twice during our tour. We continued to stop and see (but not enter) the city’s largest mosque, and then to another market. A trip to the National Museum gave us a great deal of background information on the country, and then we drove to a highlight of today’s tour: The Katchically Crocodile Pool. According to legend, a spirit appeared at this location and told people that if they prayed to her, she would answer their prayers. There was a crocodile nearby in a small pond, and today there are about one hundred of them in a very large pond. When we walked alongside the pond, we saw what we thought were stuffed crocodiles lying on the grass next to the pond, one large one with his jaw wide open. However, when our guide put his foot on “Charlie,” he closed his mouth and started to move across the grass. Then the others began moving, and after jumping almost out of our skins, we realized that they were live crocs, just napping on the grass and enjoying the sun. Members of our group had the opportunity to have their photo taken “petting” the creatures, but, coward that I am, I decided just to watch. As we continued walking past the pond, we saw several more floating just below the surface. It was truly amazing - but creepy! After a last stop at the Albert Market (named after Prince Albert), we headed back to the ship and the welcome air conditioning. It was a great day and we hope that tomorrow in Dakar is just as good.

Sunday, March 26, 2023 Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire It was so disappointing: Here we were in the worlds number one producer of cocoa, and I didn’t see a single chocolate bar! Our excursion today, however, took us about 15 minutes away to an extensive local market, here in the largest city in the country. Usually this market would have been closed on Sundays, but because of the cruise ship and the numbers of passengers who would then become customers, it was opened. There were wooden carvings, baskets, clothing, paintings, and so many other handicrafts to be seen. I’m not much of a shopper, but I even bought a beautiful folded fan, constructed with a leather handle and covered by bright African fabric. Ginni mentioned last night at dinner that she had purchased eleven (!) of them. The vivid colors here amaze me and I even thought about buying a colorful muumuu style dress, but I couldn’t figure out where I’d wear it once I returned home. We had planned on a tour of Abidjan with friends, but a few days before arriving an unwelcome email from the tour operator told us that all their tours of the city had been cancelled, partially because of problems with access to the harbor and partially because it was a Sunday and virtually everything was closed. We would have liked to have seen more of downtown, but our choice was staying on the ship or taking the shuttle to the market, so it was an easy call. Visiting these countries along the west coast of Africa is certainly educational and creates in us a sense of gratitude for what we have, purely by an accident of birth. We learned that Cote d’Ivoire ranks 209 out of 223 countries in life expectancy, at 60.1. One of the main causes of this is the high infant mortality rate, with one of every 16 babies here dying before age 1, the 14th highest rate in the world. And even with those dire statistics, the people are friendly, industrious, and happy to chat with visitors such as us, as we struggle along in our Duoliingo French, the official language of the country. Again it was hot and sweltering, with temperatures in the high 80’s and at one point the humidity was in the 90’s. Where we live, on the Central Coast of California, we just don’t have humidity and often have trouble acclimating to it. Of course John, being the maniac that he is, simply returned to the pickle ball court after our return for two hours of sport and camaraderie. He returned about 4:00, and his sweaty shirt still hasn’t dried. We now have two sea days, and he’s looking for even longer court times in the heat and humidity. Go figure!

Saturday, March 25 Takoradi, Ghana When I was in junior high school in 1957, the first African country I knew anything about was Ghana, since no African country had ever achieved independence as Ghana did from Great Britain. Since then, Ghana has become an exemplary democracy and a fairly safe place to visit. We called at Takoradi, one of two ports in Ghana, and took the opportunity to take a shuttle from the ship to the downtown area. En route, a young man told us a lot about the country and the port, including the fact that Ghana is rich in natural resources, including magnesium, gold, oil and cocoa, which are shipped to various countries, including China, Switzerland, India, South Africa, and the UAE. In fact, Ghana (after The Ivory Coast) is the world’s second largest producer of cocoa. Those chocolate bars are very tempting. Although an extensive outdoor market was set up just outside the ship, we chose the option of going into the city to see more of what it was like. The people we saw were invariably friendly and anxious to chat with us about where we were from. There was a range of clothing, from traditional dress to modern pants and shirts. It’s always fascinating to me to see women carrying unbelievable products on their heads, everything from baskets of fruit to firewood. I just wonder at the balancing act required. We wandered around town for awhile, enjoying a stroll through a large supermarket across the street from the shuttle stop where we found all kinds of western items, the most amusing being canned meat called “Zwan” - Spam, anyone? After retuning to the ship, we wandered the pier-side market and found a couple of postcards for our granddaughter. It was a one-stop market, where we could choose our postcards, buy stamps for them, borrow a pen to write, and then put them in the big yellow “Post Office” box. Hopefully they’ll get home before we do! The most interesting postcard adventure ever was the one from Pitcairn Island. We mailed it to Jessica in February and, because the mail boat only goes there every six months, she received it with the Christmas cards. Tomorrow is Abidjan in Ivory Coast (Cote d’ivoire) where we’ve been told that, since it’s Sunday, 99% of everything will be closed. That will make for an interesting port call since many of the shore excursions won’t be able to include all the places promised. We’re just going to wander a bit and see what we can. We’re looking forward to visiting yet another place we’ve never been.

Friday, March 24, 2023 At Sea en route to Takoradi, Ghana After South Africa, we were on to Luderitz and Walvis Bay, Namibia. Each time we’ve been to Namibia we’ve enjoyed it, especially when we visited Swakopmund, a primarily German-speaking town about an hour inland. Once when I was asking a salesperson about something that was interesting, we conversed in perfectly unaccented English. Then she turned to her colleague and the two of them chatted up a storm in German, the language passed down from the large number of Germans who settled here. We weren’t back to tip-top shape for those two ports, so we just went ashore and wandered around. I read somewhere that 80% of Namibia is sand, and we certainly saw a lot of it in those towns. In fact, if you look up “Namibia sand dunes - photos,” you’ll see pictures of some of the worlds tallest sand dunes. A really popular activity here is riding dune buggies down those sand dunes, but if you don’t like heights, I wouldn’t recommend it. Another popular sport is sand surfing, where people surf down the dunes on modified surfboards. For us, all we did was climb up one steep dune (not an easy task) and slide down on pieces of cardboard. Great fun! When I saw that we were calling at Luanda, Angola, I was a bit hesitant. Tucked into my memory were television pictures of their civil war and a great deal of violence. We found out that Angola declared its independence in 1975, but that the three parties couldn’t agree, continuing a 30-year war. Now, however, we enjoyed visiting, even though we knew that the crime rates were pretty high, so we were happy to be in a group for our private tour. There were nine of us in a van with Desmond, our guide, and we saw some beautiful parts of the city and countryside. During the civil war, many people moved to Luanda, the capital, so it’s a very busy and crowded city. Since it was originally a Portuguese colony, that’s the official language, although there are dozens of tribal languages too. We drove about an hour to see some beautiful rock formations overlooking the sea and then stopped at the mausoleum where the “father of Angola,” Dr. Augustin Neto, is buried. We then continued to the fort which the Portuguese built to overlook and protect the city and then to a beautiful colonial mansion which may or may not have been designed by Eiffel. Since the day was registering about 95 degrees and humidity was in the 80’s, we were so glad to get back to the Zuiderdam’s A/C, although we really loved our tour and learned a great deal about the city and the country. We had two sources of excitement today. First, at about 10:00 this morning the ship came to a complete stop at 0 degrees - zero latitude and zero longitude. Apparently there’s buoy marking the exact spot, and when the ship came to a halt (with a lot of vibration), the bow of the ship was in the northern hemisphere and the stern was in the south. The port side was in the western hemisphere and the starboard side was in the eastern. Our cabin, at the very back of the ship on the starboard side, was in the eastern and southern hemispheres. Soooo very cool! Our other memorable activity was the King Neptune and the pollywogs ceremony. If you’ve never enjoyed one of these, it’s great fun. Our sports director played King Neptune and Ian, our Cruise Director, was the judge. The ship’s five top officers were seated at one end of the pool, ready to pass judgement on a number of new crew members. Thumbs up meant that they didn’t have to go into the pool, but it also meant that they got placed on long tables and covered with “fish guts” which were actually colored and flavored meringue. The lucky ones had “thumbs down” and went straight into the pool. The poor “decorated” pollywogs couldn’t wait to get permission to join their friends in the pool. The high point was when pollywogs had to “kiss the fish,” the biggest and ugliest fish I’ve seen in a long time. The entire crowd chants, “Kiss the Fish” over and over until each poor victim complies. Today is the third of our three sea days (yay!) and tomorrow we’ll be in Takoradi, Ghana, another country we’ve never visited. We’re looking forward to learning more about a new part of the world and, since the $85 visa is mandatory for everyone, we decided we’d better do some sightseeing and take advantage.

Thursday, March 23, 2023 At Sea en route to Takoradi, Ghana Before I begin, I need to make a correction from yesterday. While it was widely assumed that the GI problems going around the ship were Norovirus, the doctors on board have, after a great deal of testing, decided that it is NOT the dreaded illness of the seas, but a more common variety gastro-intestinal ailment. Many of our friends have been attacked by it, but fortunately we were not. After seven days crossing the Indian Ocean, we arrived in Mauritius, an island we’ve visited previously and to which we feel connected because it’s the native island of the mother of our exchange “daughter’,” Francoise . Afterwards we headed to Reunion, a lovely French island which was the birthplace of both Roland Garros (after whom the French Open tennis stadium is named) and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the author of The Little Prince. Both were the victims of air war, Roland Garros while flying in WW I and Saint-Exupery in WW II. Then it was on to Maputo, Mozambique, but en route we missed two ports: Madagascar because of Hurricane Freddy and East London, South Africa because of seas being too rough. Then it was onto South African ports, including Durban, where we had lunch with our friend Jacques at the U-Shaka mall and sat right next to the shark tank. I guess it’s better to see it through the glass than swim with them. In Port Elizabeth we enjoyed a shuttle to a really lovely mall, where we were able to complete our limited toiletries (do you know how hard it is to find sensitive toothpaste in Africa?) and even found some snacks to go with our end-of-segment stewards’ tips. Even though we book early enough that gratuities are included, we still like to add to them once a month. Besides, Tomo and Sinar in the dining room are top-notch, and Ronnie and Golly (that’s how it’s pronounced, anyway) are some of the best room stewards we’ve ever had. If they thought we might have to use a bath towel more than once, they’d probably faint. For us, Cape Town is always a favorite port. Our shuttle traveled about 15 minutes to the V & A Waterfront, but we walked it in about 10 minutes. While most people think V & A stands for Victoria and Albert, actually it was named to commemorate a visit to Cape Town by Victoria and her son Alfred, hence the name. If you can’t find something you want or need at the V & A, it probably doesn’t exist in South Africa. There are restaurants (from fish and chips to Michelin starred), curio shops, drugstores, sculpture galleries, and on and on. We’ve decided that next time we have Cape Town as a port, we’re going to do a mini-overland and spend five or six days. The highlight of our two port days, however, was lunch at La Colombe, the only restaurant in Africa with three Michelin stars. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. Our friends Dave and Vanessa, Cape Town residents who are now in Oxford on a medical fellowship, told us, “If you’re in Cape Town, you HAVE to eat at La Colombe. So we did. We booked for six of us six weeks early and had two choices of time to dine: 1:00 or 1:30. We chose the first and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. Amazingly, the cost for a seven-course lunch was just about $79.00 (not including wine or a 13.5% service charge). I checked a few Paris 3-star restaurants and couldn’t find a set lunch for less than $200 - and they couldn’t have been any better than this one. The location is amazing too. After a half-hour drive up into the hills behind Table Mountain, we found ourselves in what felt like a tree house. First we sat down at a beautifully set round table with a bird nest in the center. This is the amuse bouche called “The Dove’s Nest” since Colombe means The Dove. the six ceramic eggs in the nest were handed to us with a short paper straw, and we enjoyed a really tasty aperitif. Next, we were served a sort of pate with sweet potato sourdough rolls, and continued on to their signature dish: Tuna La Colombe. We were handed what we thought was just a can of tuna, but when the top was pulled off (just like a can of tuna), smoke rose and inside was a combination of really fresh tuna, spices and guacamole. It was a treat for the taste buds. We moved onto a course called “smoked tomato, aubergine (zucchini) and pine nut, but it turned out to be mostly a smoked tomato exterior with pulverized, spiced zucchini and pine nuts inside. Again, as it was served, smoke rose from the plate. Our favorite course was the fish course, one large ravioli stuffed with langoustine, spices and black forest ham. The sauce was wonderful and I could have eaten two or three more - if I hadn’t known that more courses were coming. Next it was the main course, two small pieces of grass fed beef that could be cut with a fork, alongside a piece of brisket that just fell apart. Rich and Ginni, our Texas friends, said they thought it was as good or better than any Texas brisket they’d ever had - and for a Texan, that’s saying something. Finally it was time for the sweet courses (yes, courses). First there were three lovely spoonsful of sorbet in mandarin, pistachio and manjari (I don’t know either), and after those had disappeared, a large wooden box was brought around, opened for each of us, and provided a choice of some of the most delectable mini-eclairs ever. The flavors ranged from lemon meringue to chocolate/hazelnut, to fruit flavors - amazing. After lunch we waddled out to our waiting taxi and enjoyed our return drive down the mountain to the ship. Needless to say, our dining room table that evening was empty. In fact, neither of us ate anything until lunch the next day, and we weren’t even very hungry then. What a meal! It was worth every penny and the photos John posted on FB did a fairly good job of showing what it was like. Would be go back? In a heartbeat!