John and Diane Hope to Finally Sail Away from Perth

[forwardho]

Hello, I have to laugh at the “get away seats”. We do that as well. The aisle second row down on the third tier! We also give the entertainer a chance but life is too short and the options are plenty to sit through a performance you don’t enjoy! 
BTW thank you for introducing me to Duolingo. I am on a thirty day streak and am really enjoying it. Gracias Jill

[alibabacruisers]

I hope all is well as we haven't had a report in a few days.

[alibabacruisers]

Still haven't heard any news.  Has anyone heard anything?

[sue1898]

They are consistently posting on their Facebook page.

[RBB]

27 minutes ago, sue1898 said:

They are consistently posting on their Facebook page.

    For those of us without Facebook, what have they posted?  Are they OK?  Did they leave the ship?

[sue1898]

They post daily and all is well!

[Sir PMP]

1 hour ago, alibabacruisers said:

Still haven't heard any news.  Has anyone heard anything?

Aren't  they on a safari trip?

[cccole]

So happy to hear that they are not the couple that had to leave the ship, info from another live from, for a family emergency.  I always love the positive, informative, and fun posts by Diane.  Cherie

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, cccole said:

So happy to hear that they are not the couple that had to leave the ship, info from another live from, for a family emergency.  I always love the positive, informative, and fun posts by Diane.  Cherie

They aren't. Is was another couple who happens to be blogging from the ship, but not on CC, or Facebook (to my knowledge). The blogger did blog about it and identified themselves. 

[alibabacruisers]

Does anyone know their FB handle? I thought I had them on my FB previously but I don't see it.

 

Have they said why no posts here or if they are not posting here anymore?

Edited March 10, 2023 by alibabacruisers

[Oahucruiser]

facebook.com/DianeandJohn St John   Spaces between John and St  and St and John      No period after St    His last post was from Maputo on March 8th.

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you for that Oahucruiser!

[tennisbeforewine]

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

At Sea en route to Takoradi, Ghana

 

As one of my husband’s favorite tee-shirts (from Monte Python and the Holy Grail) says, “I’m not dead yet.”  I sincerely apologize for my month-long disappearance, and I hope to make up for it during the balance of the cruise (all 50 days remaining).  Today is Day 78, so we’re well past the halfway point.  I do appreciate all the concern about us in "Comments" and I hope this explains it.  

 

For the last month, John and I have had a “perfect storm” of events coming at us.  First in order was a terrible cough that went around the ship.  I had it first and had a difficult time sleeping because the coughs would wake me up and then when they were done, we were both awake and my chest hurt.  Our friend Maja (Maya), the Guest Relations Manager, heard me coughing one day and asked if I had been to the Medical Center.  When I said I had and that they had give me four different things that didn’t seem to work, she moved me to a vacant cabin two doors away so that at least John could sleep.  Two days later we were both sleeping through the night . . . until John started up and he felt even worse than I had.  As our daughter says, “The ship seems like a petri dish of germs,” and I could only agree with her.

 

John continued this way for about a week and finally began to get better.  Then, of course, you’ve probably read elsewhere about our ship’s bout of norovirus, to the point that self-service is suspended and one cannot even get a cup of coffee without a crew member serving you.  Silverware bundles and salt and pepper may only be accessed by request, and yesterday when we asked for salt and pepper, the server (very apologetically) said that he was required to dispense it.  So there we were, telling this poor young man exactly how much of each we wanted on our salads.

 

While we haven’t had any of the symptoms that are going through the ship, both of us have had stomachs that were “not quite right,” but no other problems, for which we are thankful.  Most of our friends have or have had bouts and the Medical Center is overrun with patients, much like In-Room Dining is absolutely frantic with everyone being quarantined and eating in their rooms.

 

Our third, and overriding distraction has been the flooding at home.  Our house sitter, Alicia, has been an absolute gem.  When sand comes down from the hill into the garage, she is right next to the gardener shoveling it out.  She’s been up in the attic, finding the source of the small but annoying leak into the dining room - and then fixing it, especially after 3 years of professionals couldn’t figure it out.  I think we’ll adopt her!

 

While our house itself has not been flooded, our two acres are wetter than a kitchen sponge.  Our friend Rod checked rainfall totals and told us that there had been more rain in the last three weeks than during all of 2022.  Yes, we needed rain to end our drought, but there is (or should be) a limit.  We’ve been on What’s App with Alicia almost daily, with everything from which plumber to call to flush the water heater to how to get in touch with the neighbor whose sand is covering our driveway.  At one point, being the Miss Fix-It she is, she told us that water in the house was somewhat “blackish,” never good news.  She asked when the last time we had flushed out the water heater, and we asked, “What does that mean?” which tells you how good we are around the house.

 

Now that you know far more than you ever wanted to know about where I’ve been, I’ll use our remaining two sea days before Ghana to talk about what we’ve been doing, including our Michelin 3-star lunch in Cape Town.

 

I’ll be back tomorrow - I promise!

 

 

 

[superoma]

Nice to have you back but oh my on the issues at home and your health issues! I am following several world cruise blogs and was missing yours. I enjoy the different perspectives on the same cruise. Stay well!

[JOPA28]

What an ordeal!    Thank you for sharing your adventures with us, wishing you good health the rest of the way.

[alibabacruisers]

I am so sorry to hear about all those dramas!  I hope you both feel better soon!  Thank you so much for letting us know how you are doing.  I also appreciate the sharing of your adventures too!

[bennybear]

Hoping your luck changes! Thanks for taking us along! 

[oakridger]

I'm so glad to have you "back"!  It's so fortunate you have such a dedicated and trustworthy house sitter to ease some of the stress.

 

Stay well and enjoy the rest of the cruise!

 

~Nancy

[tennisbeforewine]

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!

 

[tennisbeforewine]

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.

 

[forwardho]

So glad that you are feeling better and continuing to post your adventures. I do so enjoy your upbeat writing style. Wishing you continuing health.

[tennisbeforewine]

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.

 

[tennisbeforewine]

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!

 

  

 

 

 

[tennisbeforewine]

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.

[tennisbeforewine]

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.