orangenemo
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Enjoy real holiday without worrying about Facebook and blogging. ;)
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Thursday, January 16 - Day 13
Callao for Lima, Peru
If you want to rile up the natives on a world cruise, the best way to do it is to make the internet unavailable. Better yet, let passengers log in but not let them be able to access any websites, thereby chewing up minutes to no purpose. Boy do they get cranky! After I wrote yesterday’s blog, I tried to post, and the only result was that I lost the last paragraph, which apparently has gone into the ether somewhere. Then John tried to post on Facebook with much the same result. As we wandered around the ship, it was clear: the natives were restless.
There were only 5 of us at dinner last evening, so when Henk, the Hotel Manager, came by, we invited him to sit down and join us. When asked about the internet, he replied that everyone, up to and including the CEO was aware of the problem and they were not only working on getting it fixed (remember, this is the new and improved internet) but they would be doing something to make it up to people. I guess that means extra minutes, since those minutes have just been going down the tubes with futile efforts to communicate. It’s amazing how attached we get to our electronics!
As we were heading for our table last evening, I was grabbed and raised off the ground in a bear hug by my favorite bear, George Geary. George is a guest chef until Tahiti, and we just love him to death. We first met him in 2008 and have seen him several times since, the last being at our house for dinner in August with his partner Neil and their friend Jonathan. If you want to laugh so hard you almost can’t eat, invite George to dinner. The most incredible thing was when he emailed me later that week to ask for the salmon recipe. It turns out that he doesn’t like seafood (I didn’t know that), but he loved the marinated salmon. I’ve never had a chef ask ME for a recipe before. He was sitting at Jeff’s table last night, but we get him tonight. After dinner the three of us met in the Crow’s Nest to catch up on all the news (read: gossip) and were there until almost midnight. Several of my friends and I are signed up for his first class on January 20 and won’t even consider missing his Wajang Theatre presentations.
This morning we walked over to the Peruvian Market near the ship to get some free (and working) internet, but there were too many people already on, so we used the ship’s shuttle to go to the Inca Market near the gate. Free working internet - what a treat! I finally got to post yesterday’s blog, but afterwards I realized that the last paragraph had disappeared. Oh well, it wasn’t that interesting anyway. On the way back, we watched boxes and crates of foodstuffs being loaded onto the ship. John pointed at one group and said, “That’s Bonipak from Santa Maria.” It certainly was, and the more interesting part of that is that the owner of Bonipak is our neighbor Mitch. I can’t wait to get home (well, really I can) to tell him that we partook of his products.
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By 11:45 everyone was back on board, including the Machu Picchu people and the new entertainers. The weather was beautiful and the back deck was jammed for the sailaway party. They always serve hot hors d’oeuvres, and lately they’ve had bacon-wrapped scallops - delicious. Today there was even a raffle for Peruvian prizes, including buckets of Peruvian beer and woven purses. I didn’t win (I never do), but it was great fun and everyone seemed to have a good time.
By 12:45 the crowd had dissipated and it was time for lunch. John and I and George sat near the midships Lido pool, our conversation constantly being interrupted by people wanting to greet George. Tomorrow’s his first demo and I’m sure it will be great.
We’ve now sailed and are already out beyond landfall. It’s been a busy two days and very tiring - but extremely interesting. I think a nap is in order.
You DID WN us team trivia the grand final on previous world cruise. LOL Heo
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Sunday, January 12 - Day 9
At Sea en route to Callao (for Lima), Peru
We didn’t sail last night until 11:00, but because we weren’t too interested in the “mind-reader” at the show, we went to the Piano Bar to listen to Debby Bacon. She is incredibly talented, singing like an angel and playing the piano, flute, clarinet, and two types of saxophones - whew, it makes me tired (and jealous) just writing that!
Afterwards, we headed up to Deck 8 for the 10:30 sailaway party, but it was empty except for a couple of deck hands re-arranging the furniture. We decided the announced party must have been around the Lido pool, but we struck out there, too. I guess the party wasn’t held after all. The alternative was to return to our cabin, where we watched the sailaway from our balcony. It was dark and starry and just wonderful to watch us pull away from the dock, back up, and then pass the breakwater and head out into the open ocean. We’ve done it so many times, but we never get tired of the magical feeling of it.
Last night everyone at our table was at dinner, for the first time in about three nights. Between Pinnacle dinners and sharing meals with friends at other tables, sometimes it’s hard to get all nine of us together. Our table is a good combination of people and personalities. I’ll be mentioning them over the next four months, so I’d better tell you about them.
First is Barbie, our very favorite. We’ve been sharing tables with her since 2007 and just really enjoy spending time with her. Barbie, who lives just outside of Washington, D.C., was trained in the sciences at university, and then later in life worked for the IRS, heading the group that developed on-line filing. After retiring from the IRS, she worked as a contract employee for a company that did business with the IRS, and since 2000, she’s traveled on the world cruise every year. In 2010, Barbie was inducted into the President’s Club, for which travelers need 1400 days at sea. Her favorite activity is dancing, and she is just graceful and wonderful at it.
You probably know Bill and Mary Ann from Mary Ann’s blog, which was the first one we ever read during their 2007 world cruise. They live about four hours from us in Northern California and we’ve also known them since 2007. Bill is the king of Hawaiian shirts (on non-formal nights) and Mary Ann has a wonderful collection of jewelry that she’s bought along the way. Last night at dinner she wore a necklace, earrings and bracelet made from the tagua nuts we saw yesterday - they look so much like ivory, but can be dyed in various colors.
Coincidentally, we have another Bill and Mary Ann at our table, first-time world cruisers. They’ve got enough days on shorter cruises to put them in the 5-star category, though. They live on Long Island and both have great senses of humor. Even though we had never met them before, we really enjoy their company at dinner. I guess when I mention a “Bill and/or Mary Ann,” I’ll have to be more specific.
The last couple at our table is Margaret and Keith. When Barbie told us they’d be sitting with us, I asked who they were and she assured me that I DID know them. They were one of the couples on board on previous cruises that I knew by sight but not by name. Interestingly enough, Margaret and I had taken cooking classes together for a few years, so I really did know her, although I’m awful with names, so I couldn’t place her. Keith was described by someone else as “that very quiet man,” but I guess that person had never sat next to him at dinner. Keith is very funny and a good conversationalist. They live in the Midwest and really enjoy being out of the weather for the first four months of this year.
So there you have the nine of us. We’re a very sociable bunch, however, so there are often others invited to join us. Tonight is a formal night (Black and Silver night), so we’ll have an officer (or at least free wine), and tomorrow night we have Frank, the on-board comedian coming to join us for dinner. You’ll be reading a lot about our table mates through the end of April, so you’d better pay attention - there may be a quiz!
P. S. Pastor Florence will be on for the entire world cruise.
Quiz? hh
Why don't you post one or two questions from daily trivia and post answers on your next blog? You know how much I loved ship's trivia even though you two are the ones who come up with answers..Heo
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We were at the Apple Store at Ala Moana Mall this AM trying to get Eleanor's IPad working correctly. A continuing struggle. I am pasting a link here to my photos of birds taken in Hawaii over the past 4 years. The link is now also on my World Blog.
In answer to a previous question I generally use Nikon SLRs with an 80-400 lens for my bird photos. Many of the others are with a small canon point and shoot and my cell phone.
I didn't think it is your camera that makes good photos, it is you. :)
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I am keeping a "blog" of our trip. It is intended to chronicle our trip for my future reference as we travel a bit and I lose track of the timing of where we have been. It is also a convenient way for me to organize my photos and keep friends up to date on where we are and what we are doing. It is certainly not intended to be an in depth critique of Seabourn. So with that said, feel free to check in from time to time as we proceed on our way to Venice aboard "Our Home Away from Home" on the Seabourn Sojourn: http://cliffphotos.com/SeabournSojourn2014WorldCruise.html
What an amazing photos you have taken in your blog!!!
Wonder what brand and model of camera you have used!
Thank you and we will check out your journey from time to time.
I know how time consuming blogging can be on a cruise ship with slow internet.
We have done couple of world cruise with HAL ms Amsterdam which I have run a blog.
We have also done few other cruises includes Seabourn Odyssey one and half years ago. We just loved it.
Enjoy
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Thanks you. Quality of your photos is great.
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Hi, have a wonderful journey for those on board, we will follow the message board. Any passenger is running a blog of the world cruise with photos? G&H from Sydney
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Hi D&J, I LOVED it(your posting on 7th). I would love to copy it to some of my friends who would ask me the same question regarding World Cruise, "Aren't you going to be bored for 4 months? :D Heo. Hugs
Formal Nights for Men
in Seabourn Cruise Line
Posted
I have sailed from Bali to Sydney on Odyssey once and noticed that just about every man was wearing tux on formal night in the restaurant. I am going to be on Sojourn for longer cruise next time and will be wearing tux on every formal night as I always do on any cruise liners (no matter how long the cruise was). You can always go to patio grill or buffet as an other option if you do not want to pack and wear them.