Scrapnana

I hope you have a wonderful cruise, Jacqui. I am looking forward to your reports.

Eurodam will be at pier 26 (starboard to) from 5:30am to 5pm. She will be doing an 11-day Panama Canal Sunfarer cruise. Nieuw Statendam will be at pier 19 (starboard to) from 4:45am to 5pm. She is headed on a 7-day Tropical Caribbean cruise. Also in port are Celebrity Infinity at pier 25 (6am-4pm) and Allure of the Seas at pier 18 (5:15am-4:30pm) The PTZtv webcam can be found at https://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/ Next up: Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam on October 30.

Last day in the Med - October 27 This was a very quiet day - nothing bad, nothing really exciting. I went to Sit and Stitch, then lunch, 1pm trivia, crafts, 4pm trivia. After trivia I made another pitcher of tea and sat by the Lido pool and read for a while. Sunset is very early (just after 5) so I took a walk around the deck, watched the sunset, and then walked the rest of four laps. All were present for dinner and then I went to hear Magali Dahan, a vocalist. The Captain told us that we would be joining the queue to transit the Suez Canal at around 10:30 tonight. We will drop anchor and wait for the morning start which he said could be anytime from 4am to 8am tomorrow morning and the transit will take 10 to 12 hours. 1pm trivia - Played alone with 9/18, winners had 17 1. What was the name of the boat in "Jaws"? 2. What is the first year since 1987 to have four different digits? 3. What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet? 4. The flag of the European Union has how many stars? 5. In Greek mythology, who is the father of Zeus? 1. Orca 2. 2013 3. Omega 4. 12 5. Kronos (or Cronos) 4pm trivia - still alone with 11/17, winners had 15.5 1. What is the rarest blood type? 2. What does "doritos" mean? 3. What is a group of jellyfish called? 4. What was the first Disney feature film? 5. What country is the largest producer of vanilla? 1. AB- 2. little golden things 3. smack, brood, or bloom 4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 5. Madagascar

Souda (Chania), Greece - October 26 We were supposed to arrive at 11 but we made good time crossing the Mediterranean and we were docked by 9:30. I wasn't sure when I would have lunch (often I wait to have lunch when I return to the ship) so I had a bagel for breakfast - make that half a bagel, it was so dry and tasteless I left the other half. From there my day got much better and I had a wonderful time. There was a shuttle service to Chania (the C is silent, han rhymes with "con", the i sounds like a long e, then "uh" has in "huh") from the port (Souda) that cost less than 4 Euros round trip. I was on the bus by 10:30 and it took a maybe 15 minutes to arrive. I was very surprised with Chania. I was expecting a little fishing village but it was a bustling city (population over 100,000). I did not have a map and I was worried I would get lost and not find my way back to the bus but within 30 minutes I knew my way around. My first order of business was to find an ATM to get Euros. I finally found one and after that there seemed to be one everywhere I looked (isn't that always the way?). Now that there was money in my purse, it was time to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed walking up and down the streets and alley ways and along the harbor. It was very picturesque and by the time I was done, I had walked over four miles. After looking at the menus at the numerous restaurants and cafes (I love the European way of displaying the menus outside), I finally decided I had to have a Greek meal in Greece. I decided on a cute little restaurant right on the harbor and had a gyro. French fries came the gyro, but I took them out and dipped them in the tzatziki sauce (try it, it's really good). Strangely enough, the choices were pork or chicken (at all the restaurants I saw) but at the Greek restaurants at home it is always lamb. It was delicious and under 11 Euros with a Coke. Once I had eaten it was time for some more exploring. I found some streets I had not visited and returned to some I had. There seemed to be at least two ice cream places on every block and when I stopped at one, they had a "cinnamon biscuit" flavor. I had to try it and it tasted like a cinnamon bun. Best ice cream I think I have ever had. It was time to decide what I was going to buy so I went back to some of the stores I had seen before and picked up souvenirs for friends and family and my magnet (which is now decorating the "freezer" in my cabin). The shuttle bus took me back to the ship just after 4 and I talked with my tablemates, Judy and Bob on the way "home". Judy and I tried to use the free wi-fi in the tiny terminal building but it was not working well and we both finally gave up. Once on board I sorted out my purchases and then went to sit by the Lido pool and knit for a while before getting ready for dinner. Sherry and Pete did not come to dinner, so it was just the three of us. There is no show tonight only a movie in the theater and one on the stage. I wasn't interested in either movie so I came back to my cabin to work on the blog until sail-away at 9:30 pm. There was another sail-away party by the Seaview pool. Maybe 100 people attended (including HAL people) and one couple danced to the music. The sail-away parties so far haven't been much more than a chance to sell more drinks. We actually gain an hour tonight to put us on Egyptian time. Sea day tomorrow.

Here is the list we have been given 10/12 formal - Black and Gold Ball 10/22 dressy - masquerade (the masks were only for the Crow's Nest party, not dinner) 10/31 Costume Party for Halloween (not labeled dressy or formal) 11/2 Classic Dressy night 11/7 Under the Sea Dinner - Dressy night 11/14 Second formal night Captain's Dinner in the Dining Room 11/21 A classic Dressy night 11/28 A classic dressy night 12/6 A classic dressy night 12/15 Mariner's Appreciation Dinner - final formal night

Sailing the Med - October 25 Just after 9:30 the repair man knocked on my door to look at the refrigerator. He played with it awhile and said he would be back later to check it again. My first chore of the day was to make another pitcher of tea so I went to the Lido and poured the hot water and brought some packets of sweetener back to my cabin to let the tea seep. Since it is herbal tea, I can leave the tea bags in for quite some time. The next chore was to talk with the travel agency rep about the hat and bag I missed getting while in solitary. Turns out the new couple were there so I got to meet them. Then I went to Sit and Stitch and met up with the two Judys and discussed their projects. I worked on the Linus blanket for this cruise (I am only doing one because you really needed to bring your own yarn although the organizer had a few skeins that had been donated). After lunch I headed to the Crow's Nest for 1pm trivia. My two teammates were there and we did fairly well. I wasn't really planning to go to Crafts today but I needed to upload the pictures from yesterday and it was nicer to sit in the Lido than in my cabin😱. It took me about 90 minutes to upload all the pictures and write the captions but that was better than the ten minutes per picture that I was getting last night. In crafts we made a little pouch to hold hand sanitizer and she gave us a bottle to put in it. At the table we were discussing that we were surprised we had not gotten a bottle in our cabins at the start of the cruise (HAL used to do this). Once I finished my pouch, it was back to the Crow's Nest for 4pm trivia. Once again I had no team and afterwards I walked around to check out the teams. It looked like the only people who did not have a six person team were those who were not playing, just enjoying happy hour. I am determined to figure out why I cannot get into my HAL account and look at my future cruises. I went to Guest Services and the man at the desk tried a number of times, both on my iPad and his computer and nothing worked. He said to come back when nobody was sitting around the phone by the desk and he would dial headquarters and let me talk with them. By then it was 5:00 and I had only walked two miles for the day so a few laps were in order. I walked five laps and got almost a mile and a half. I caught the end of a beautiful sunset as I was finishing lap 5. I have walked more laps of the Promenade deck in the first two weeks of the cruise (even minus the 6 days of solitary) than in all my other cruises combined! The hat and bag from the travel agency were on my bed when I returned from my walk. Dinner was tasty (I had the "Rustic Lasagna" which is always on the menu) and then went to the show which was another by the duo, Ole! Tomorrow we are in port in Souda, which is on the island of Crete. I will be taking the bus into Chania and my main focus is on finding an ATM and getting some Euros and then wandering around. We lose another hour tonight. 1pm trivia - We had 13 out of 18 and two winning teams had 17 1. In ancient Greece, throwing an apple at someone was a declaration of what? 2. What is the only country where the national flag is not a rectangle? 3. What building was the first to employ round-the-clock plumbers to tend their 1000 toilets? 4. What is a group of porcupines called? 5. What dinosaur's name means "fast thief"? 1. love 2. Nepal 3. Empire State Building 4. prickle 5. velociraptor 4pm trivia - I had 13 out of 17 (much better than a couple of days ago) and the winners had 16 1. What is the most common letter in the English language? 2. In what country did bagels originate? 3. What is the highest mountain in Africa? 4. What are the bones in the fingers called? 5. What is a group of cheetahs called? 1. E 2. Poland 3. Kilimanjaro 4. phalanges 5. coalition

She did the 1pm trivia today. She is good. I will let her know next time I see her.

The fifth day of the cruise we were each given a test in the morning and we had to report negative results (by way of photo) to our cabin steward. If you were positive, there was a number to call. There was another test at the third port (Agadir) required by the port authorities in order to go on land. It was implied that there would be further tests. After hearing from someone about the cost of the shrimp cocktail, I asked in the dining room and he told me that it was $8.50. It was on the menu for free on a formal night and a dressy night.

I have not done this from a ship but have been to the locations. It is a long day with a fairly long bus ride. The ground is uneven at the Valley of the Kings and most of the temples in the Luxor area.

Was she American/Canadian, Argentenian, or South African?

Tunis, Tunisia - October 24 I was up early because I had a tour that met at 8:15. On my previous excursion we ate very lunch late and I was starving so I made a point of getting something to eat for breakfast. I settled on a bagel and it did the trick. Our tour finally got started just after nine. There were five buses for "The Best of Tunisia" and we stayed together. We had a police escort which was explained to us as a way to get us through traffic faster (did not have to stop at lights, had the right-of-way at traffic circles, etc.). As we rode from the port at La Goulette into the city center, our guide Hoda stressed how women and men were equal in Tunisia - were paid the same, had equal educational opportunities, 50% of doctors were women, 40% of judges, etc. I wonder if she did this because of all the news lately about the inequality in some Muslim countries. The word Tunis means "the key" and 2 million of the 12 million in the country live here. We had a quick drive through the new city before heading to the medina (the old part), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we took a walking tour and visited the souk in the area. The medina is full of a maze-like warren of small walking streets (mostly, a number of motorbikes zoomed through as we were walking). As common in souks in this area, there were dozens of small jewelry stores (how do they all stay in business?) as well as rug shops, local crafts, clothing, shoes, some food, souvenirs, and many other things. We had about 15 minutes to shop and I bought a magnet. It was a dollar and the very first thing I have purchased! We were late leaving the medina for lunch because one of the buses (remember we had to travel together) had three people who had mobility issues and it took them a long time to get back to the bus. When we were all ready, we headed to lunch (which was very good) in a local restaurant on the road to Carthage. We visited two sites in Carthage (which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site). First, a short history lesson. Carthage was settled by the Phoenicians and was an important city-state in the first millenium BC and had control of a number of areas in the Mediterranean, including Malta, present day Algeria, and Sicily. Carthage and Rome fought three wars, called the Punic Wars. Likely, the only Carthagenian you might have heard of is Hannibal, who took elephants over the Alps and beat Rome in the Second Punic War. Carthage was defeated in the Third Punic War by Rome, Carthage was burned, the people enslaved, and it became part of the Roman Empire. OK, lesson over and back to today. Our first visit was to an archaeological site showing how the Romans had built their city over the previous one. The second visit was to the remains of the massive Roman baths. We walked past an area which was a Punic necropolis as well as some sarcophagi from human sacrifices (they would throw the person into a fire and put the ashes into the sarcophagus). The Roman Baths were the largest built in Africa and had one side for women and one for men. We had time to wander through the remains. The final visit was to the pretty town of Sidi Bou Siad. It is known for its white buildings with blue trim. We had about 45 minutes on our own. We returned to the ship late (all aboard was 5pm) but since it was a HAL tour they waited for us. There was a sail-away party by the Sea View Pool which was not much. There was music played by one of the entertainment people and some of the female staff were leading some line dancing. I stayed only to watch us leave the port. It seemed like the main reason for the party was to sell the drink of the day. After dinner, I went to see the singers and dancers perform "Encore" which had music from movies and musicals and was quite good. There is a sea day tomorrow and we lose an hour again.

Nieuw Amsterdam will be at pier 26 (starboard to) from 5:30am to 3pm. She is doing a 5-day Eastern Caribbean cruise. She is the only cruise ship in port. Next up: a double header on Saturday, 29 October with Eurodam and Nieuw Statendam.

A Quiet Sea Day - October 23 I went to Sit and Stitch but the Judys were not there. I sat and worked on a shawl until just after 11 when I returned to my cabin. Today was the first day that I filled my thermos with my tea to take to lunch. It worked well except for the fact that I had to crack the ice to get some tea. After lunch I went to 1pm trivia. The couple (Ozzie and Lucia) with whom I played yesterday were there so we teamed up again. Today's craft was to make a card with a handkerchief in it. I had decided yesterday that I was not going to battle the hordes to get a place. Instead, I decided to spend the afternoon in the sun. The Sea View Pool was closed (and drained) because they were putting in the new ladders which I had seen them doing to the Lido Pool (mid-ship) the other day. I wanted sun and the movable roof over the Lido Pool was only open a small bit so I sat on the back deck. It was entertaining watching the people installing the ladders. It looked like two were local (not HAL staff) and they were doing the work. There were two others who were HAL staff and they were not happy with the way the tiles had been set around the railing. Eventually the local guys had to take up the yellow tiles they had laid and change them with blue ones. After an hour in the sun, I switched to the Lido pool. There were too many people in the pool to swim laps (two people were attempting it, unsuccessfully), so I did some water aerobics for about 15 minutes. I really do not like the new ladders they have installed. The old ones were more like steps that were staggered, the new ones are just ladders with one rung above the next (harder on arthritic knees). Then time to change for 4pm trivia (have I mentioned how much I dislike the trivias so close together?). All the teams I could see had six people (the maximum) so I played with dismal results on my own. Another trip to guest services. I wanted to ask someone else about yesterday's questions but the same young lady was there, so I went with today's inquiry. I think I have mentioned that the fridge in my cabin freezes everything. If I take my iced tea pitcher out when I wake up, it will have defrosted sufficiently to actually pour some tea by lunch time. The young lady said she thought there were no more fridges (likely why I got the "freezer" when they forgot to put one in my cabin at the beginning) but she would send someone to look at it. It was a lovely day so I took four laps around the deck and got in another mile+. The sun was beautiful so when it was time for it to set (5:43 today) I went out to take some pictures. Worked on the blog before getting ready for dinner. I was able to get yesterday's pictures up fairly quickly when last night they would not upload at all. All five of us were back tonight (Sherry and Pete were not there last night). The entertainment was a pianist which I skipped since I have an early tour tomorrow. I did do a lap around the deck. The forecast for tomorrow is for 90 degrees and sun. The Captain said that was rather unusual for late in October (Tunis is a little farther north of the equator than Raleigh, NC and the average high for October is 80). I have an eight-hour tour. Why do those long tours sound better at home when I book them???😖 1pm trivia - we had 10/18, the winners had 13 1. In what city were the 1972 Summer Olympics held? 2. What was Sonny and Cher's first hit song? 3. Who directed the first Star Wars movie? 4. How many Grammys did Elvis win? 5. What does the medical term "intergluteal cleft" refer to? 6. What is the actual name of the pound/hashtag character? 1. Munich 2. I Got You, Babe 3. Spielberg 4. three 5. butt crack 6. octothorpe 4pm trivia - I had only 4/17, the winners said they had all correct 1. What is the best-selling item at Wal-Mart? 2. What does "kosher" mean in Hebrew? 3. What company was originally called "Cadabra"? 4. What is the only body part which is fully grown at birth? 5. What U.S state's constitution is the longest in the world? 1. bananas 2. proper 3. Amazon 4. eyes 5. Alabama

We were offered bottled water twice during the excursion.

Casablanca and Rabat - October 21 Turns out being free to roam is tiring. I went to bed last night at 10:15 and slept over eight hours. I woke up just after we docked. Turned out we did not need to do a Covid test in order to leave the ship. I had chosen the tour, "Ultimate Morocco - Casablanca and Rabat" which included lunch and was about ten hours long. We were a little late getting off the ship because the officials were checking our health records. Our guide, Mustafa, told us that Casablanca was the third largest port in Africa as we headed to our first stop which was the Hassan II Mosque. This mosque has the highest minaret in the world which has a laser beam that points towards Mecca at night. It can hold 25,000 people inside and another 80,000 outside. It has many beautiful mosaics. 5,000 women are allowed inside and have a special entrance to the second floor through the minaret. Casablanca was named Anfa before the Portuguese arrived. Anfa is still one of the areas of the city with some beautiful homes which we saw after a drive along the Corniche seeing some of the private beach clubs along the way (Morocco has a 3000 km coastline on the Atlantic Ocean). Our next stop was in the medina (old city). We walked through a number of old twisty roads lined with small shops, cafes, and homes. The last stop was at Mohammed V Square which has numerous government buildings surrounding it and thousands of pigeons. We then started the hour and a half drive to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Although I had a lot of sleep, the drive put me right to sleep and I dozed on and off the entire way. The Kasbah was our first stop. A kasbah was a fortified portion of a city. We walked through, seeing the pretty, white-washed homes and shops and numerous cats. By now it was about 2pm and it was time for lunch. We ate upstairs in an amazingly decorated restaurant. The food was served family style and delicious. I discovered I liked pomegranates - I don't think I have ever had one before. After lunch we visited the Royal Palace (the king does not actually live there but it is where he works) where we were told to leave (evidently something important was getting ready to happen). We also went to the see the mausoleum of Mohammed V (the grandfather of the current king, Mohammed VI) and the unfinished Hassan mosque and tower which is almost 1000 years old. Then it was time to make the drive back to Casablanca and once again I did some snoozing. We were back on the ship by 6:10 so I was able to make it to dinner (I thought I might eat in the Lido if we were later) and even had some time to edit my pictures - I took so many I drained one battery). Instead of going to see the evening entertainment, which was the latest "Death on the Nile" movie, I walked a mile around the deck as we were leaving the port. We now have two sea days before getting to Tunisia. Lots of pictures on my blog. They took an hour and five minutes to upload.😱 Address is in my signature.

Thanks for catching this, Roy.

Nieuw Statendam will be at pier 19 (port to) from 5:30am to 3pm. She is headed out on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise. The only other cruise ship in port is Celebrity Infinity at pier 25 (6am-4pm). Next up: Nieuw Amsterdam on Tuesday, 25 October.

Thanks to all of you who shared in my happiness of ending quarantine! Free at Last - October 20 - Agadir My day really began at midnight. We have a Sit and Stitch at my local yarn store every Wednesday night. During the height of the pandemic, this was held via Zoom. Now, you can still attend that way if you cannot attend in person. Since I was not the least bit sleepy at midnight, I decided to join and talk to my knitting friends. It was nice to see and chat with everyone and see what they were working on. I was able to get two hours sleep and then was up for two hours before falling asleep again. I had just awakened at about 7:15 when the phone rang. It was Mary Anne letting me know that she had just had her test and the tech was heading my way (He was working his way down from deck seven.) At 7:25 there was a knock on my door. He came in, took the swab and let me know that I should hear by 9:30. While he was taking the test he put his schedule down and although I could not read any of it, I could see that there were about 25 names on the list, so that rumor was confirmed. The Captain came over the speaker at 7:45 with the announcement that the port authority would not let anyone off without a confirmed negative Covid test. The stewards scrambled to get the tests passed out. To get off you had to show your passport as well as the actual test. Needless to say, this held up some of the excursions. The Captain came back about a half hour later to say people could start disembarking. At 9:00 I started pacing (did get in quite a few steps) waiting for the phone call. It came at 9:18 and it was exactly the news I wanted to hear. The nurse said I was free to leave my cabin but the port authorities would not let me (or any of the other captives) off because they did not think our quarantine time was long enough. She did not mention that I should wear a mask (as the CDC suggests) but I plan on wearing mine for at least five days. I asked if I could remove my pink dot from my door. She said I needed to leave it because it showed housekeeping they needed to do a deep cleaning of my cabin and then they would remove it. By 9:30 I had my book, knitting bag, and purse and left my cabin heading for fresh air - I went out and took off my mask and took a very deep breath. I had planned to walk the Promenade Deck for a couple of laps but there was a lifeboat training drill going on and most of the port side of the deck was blocked off so I headed back indoors to pick up my passport (everyone else got theirs a few days ago - I was told to get mine once I was free). I then headed to the Lido deck to sit out by the aft pool. I grabbed an orange juice and some Cheerios to enjoy in the open air. While I was working on my socks, Judy (Lee) found me and we sat and talked for some time. Just before noon I decided it was time for lunch. Although the food I had while incarcerated was good, I enjoyed looking at all the choices I had for lunch. I finally decided to get a large bowl of fresh fruit and a very good pretzel-like roll. While I was eating, Judy (Bob) came over and welcomed me back to the outside world. She sat and ate with me and we each got an ice cream for dessert. All aboard was at 12:30 and we were scheduled to leave at 1pm so I went back to the aft pool area and watched as we cast off lines and headed out of the port. It was very hazy and the man who was standing next to me said that the haze was actually sand blowing from the Sahara. Wanting to stay outside, I then went to sit by the mid-ship pool and work on my socks. At 3:45 I went to the Crow's Nest for trivia. I no longer have a team so I played by myself. Next time I go to trivia I will attempt to find a new team but for today I was OK by myself. After trivia I went to the Shore Excursion desk to see about my excursion for tomorrow. I wanted to know what I should do if the port authorities in Casablanca would not let me off. She said if that should happen, to talk to them tomorrow evening and I would have my money refunded. I walked through the shops (bought my Zaandam magnet - I have one from each of the HAL ships I have been on), looked at the photos, and tried to kill as much time as possible so I would not have to go back to my cabin. After 12 hours short of 7 full days in my cabin, I was totally sick of it. When I finally returned, I could smell the cleaning they had done (not a chemical odor but a definite cleaning product). I started working on the blog and I have had a lot to say for today! While I was choosing my outfit for dinner, the Captain came back over the speaker (piped into our cabins) with a couple of important announcements. The first was about the weather. There is a storm near Ireland which is influencing our weather. It became very overcast and started to get rough. He said there were swells that would likely increase overnight until we enter the area around the port in Casablanca. The second announcement was about the port authorities in Casablanca. Although not been told this, the Captain wanted to be ahead of it if they say that everyone again needs a negative test. To save time, he said that everyone would be given another test (how many of them do they have on this ship???) and if you are planning on getting off tomorrow, go ahead and do the test and bring it with you. (As I was typing this, my test was delivered.) He also mentioned that there were a few positive cases discovered during the testing. I feel for those people. Since it was exactly one week ago that I last ate in the Dining Room, I had to think about all that I needed to get ready (clothes, jewelry, shoes, purse, etc). It was nice to see my dinner companions again and everyone was very welcoming. The evening entertainment was another in the series of BBC Earth. Since I have to get up for an excursion, after a week of having no time frame, I thought I would make it an early night. Because it has been so long since the last trivia, I have added extra questions. I had 9 out of 18 and the two winning teams had 17. 1. What is the most used club in golf? 2. What is the least used letter in the English alphabet? 3. What are the two official languages of Vatican City? 4. How many dogs were on the Titanic? 5. What is the most common last name in the U.S.? 6. Which country consumes the most coffee per person? 7. Where is the strongest muscle in the human body located? 8. What action figure was introduced after Barbie and Ken? 9. Flying in which direction gives you the worst jet lag? 10. What three organs create the most body heat? 1. putter 2. Z 3. Latin, Italian 4. 12 5. Smith 6. Finland 7. jaw 8. GI Joe 9. east 10. brain, heart, liver

I am officially negative and free to leave my cabin. Heading outside for fresh air right now!

Here are the crafts we are making. Nancy has provided everyone with jewelry tools, sewing tools, and paper tools.

Day 6 of Solitary Confinement - Wednesday, October 19 - Arrecife The nurse woke me with her call at 8:30. After she asked how I was, she said "we will be coming to test you tomorrow". Wait! What is this tomorrow thing? I responded that I had been told the testing was today. "No," she said, "tomorrow." Well, thanks for waking me up and ruining my day in one fell swoop. I received an email from Mary Anne that she had just been told the same thing. Neither of us was very happy. I puttered around the cabin, muttering unprintable words about the medical centre, the nurse, whoever told us testing was today, and anybody else I could think of. At least, I got lots of steps in while I was fuming! I sent out a load of laundry so I wouldn't run out of clothes when they finally let me out. We did not arrive until 11:00 and I was able to see land as we docked. At least I have a view today. We will be here on the World Voyage and I planned to take an excursion then. I had been planning just to walk around town today so I didn't miss anything exciting (other than being able to breathe fresh air). Because we are in port, I had to order lunch from the regular in-room dining menu. I decided to try the pulled pork sub (ok) and my favorite chocolate cake. (I think I have eaten more chocolate during confinement than all the rest of this year put together!) I also tried the fruit and cheese plate which was good. I spent the afternoon watching the excursion and port presentations on the TV and crocheting the Linus blanket I am making. I finished half of it. Both the TV channels (the sad selection that they have) and the internet were working much better today than yesterday. I am learning more about the trials and tribulations of the new PM of the UK than I ever wanted to know. And now, back to food. I ordered my favorite French Onion Soup and the Buttermilk fried chicken for dinner. I did not order dessert because I did not eat the cake at lunch, so I already had it. Another day with movies I have never heard of and/or had no desire to watch. I spent the evening listening to music on my phone and starting a new pair of socks (the ones with the yarn that does not repeat). I also was able to watch some of the live presentation my local yarn shop (Center of the Yarniverse) does on Facebook every Wednesday. At 10:15 it was time to take another do-it-yourself Covid test. It was negative just like last night. If their test on Thursday is positive, I am going to throw a fit and demand a re-do!

I will be keeping my fingers crossed that it is a rapid test. I kind of think it would be because it would take more effort to have everything they need and the time to do a PCR. She told me it had to be on Thursday because that is technically Day 5 (considering Friday when tested was counted as Day 0).

Thanks for the pictures, sansterre. That fruit looked amazing. That picture should be in a coffee table book about Funchal!

Thanks for all the support! This morning when they called, the nurse said testing is tomorrow not today although at least two of us were told it was today. I am so disappointed. Hold those good thoughts. If there really are 25 of us, the testing is going to take forever. When I asked the nurse this morning, she said the process would be: test one person, go back to the medical center and process the test, call that person with the results then go to patient #2, etc. If only one person is doing this, it will take from morning to night.

Day 5 of Solitary Confinement – Tuesday, October 18, 2022 – Madeira We were docked when I woke up. I could see the roof of the terminal from my window. The town was on the port side so I never saw any of Madeira. I had decided against breakfast (they haven’t had the bread pudding on the menu since the day I had it) because there was nothing I really wanted. I am trying to get back into my usual routine (no breakfast) in hopes that I will be set free soon. As you read in my update post, I found out that I could be in here for another five days. Needless to say, that pretty much ruined the rest of my day. I called about a lunch menu and found out there isn’t one on port days. I had a Caesar salad and a caprese sandwich from the regular in-room dining menu. I ordered the chocolate chip cookies for dessert, thinking I would get two – I got four! I am keeping them for a rainy day (figuratively). There also were no news channels on while in port. I spent the afternoon finishing my blue socks and trying to find a repeat in the new batch of yarn I brought for socks. Most color changing yarn follows a pattern – yellow turns to green, green to blue, blue to purple and back to Yellow to green, etc. for example. I unwound half of each ball of yarn and could not find a repeat. In the process, I got the yarn all tangled up and spent about two hours getting it untangled. Hey, I didn’t have anything more exciting to do. I expect when I get ¾ of the way through the socks, I will finally find a repeat but I will not be ripping the socks apart. I will just have a pair of crazy stripe socks. The internet has been fading in and out all day. I am typing this on Word and then will cut and paste into my blog because I cannot get a connection. The service had been very good (for a ship) for the last few days. Dinner was good with the Portuguese custard tart for dessert. It was amazing! I finished the book I started on Saturday while eating dinner. The two movies today are “Duke” and “Family Squares”. Neither sounded interesting. I walked 4.86 miles but it is getting real old going back and forth. Before I went to bed, I took another of the do-it-yourself Covid tests and it came out negative! Tomorrow is my test from the Medical Centre and I am hoping they get the same result. They will show up sometime during the day and call me with the results. Not sure if this is one of the rapid tests or PCR. I am trying not to get too excited about the negative result since theirs is the one that counts. I’ll keep you posted.