My first voyage, Princendam, Circle of the Sun, 2006

[susiesails]

Video I Devils Island: January 11, 2006

The French founded a penal colony here in 1852 mainly for political prisoners. It was founded by Emperor Napoleon III and would become one of the most famous prisons in history. In addition to the island housing the prisoners, the prison facilities were located on the island of Kourou. Over time, Iles Du Salut, (the Salvation Islands), these 3 islands collectively became known as Devils Island. The residents ranged from political prisoners to the most hardened of thieves and murderers. A great many of the more than 80,000 prisoners sent to the harsh conditions at disease- infested Devil’s Island were never seen again. Other than by boat, the only way out was through the impenetrable jungle, accordingly, very few prisoners ever escaped. The horror of the penal settlement became notorious in 1895 with the publicity surrounding the plight of French army captain Alfred Dreyfus who was sent there on Jan 5, 1895 until 1899 for espionage. (His real crime was being Jewish.)

Those who were sentenced to 7 or more years and still managed to survive were required to remain in French Guyana for the rest of their lives but few had to face the prospect of life in exile. Only about 30,000 prisoners ever got a chance to try life in exile as all the others died of malaria, malnourisment and other diseases. Only about 2,000 prisoners could be housed here at a time. Ruins of the old barracks, chapel lighthouse and prison hospital remain on the island. Care is being taken to preserve these crumbling buildings.

There are actually 3 islands here; Ile Du Diable, (devil’s island), Ile Royale, and Ile Ste-Joseph. and all the waters around there are full of sharks. That is why they didn’t have to worry about prisoners leaving the notorious French penal colony. The islands were only 650 feet apart, but the wave action is incredibly strong. The waves actually crashed on the shore while we were there throwing salt spray high over our heads into the air.

When we first got near the islands, the sea looked absolutely calm from my verandah on the 10th floor of the ship; I could hardly see the barest ripple on the surface of the sea. Not long after landing with the tenders in just a little bit of time the sea had picked up again and I watched a small dingy rock up and down on its was back to the island I was on from the neighboring island. Yikes, the sea sure is unpredictable! The small brown dingy was almost lost from view over and over as it went on its way and hit the bottom of the swells.

I checked my writings and I didn’t put much about our visit to the island in the original writings. Now more of the video.

There seems to be a lot of mist in the air as I can’t see the islands as well I did other places we went ashore at. The wind is blowing hard as my voice barely audible. The coast is full of rocks that are watched over by the many palm trees here. As I said before the wave action is tremendous here. We had been having 7 to 14 foot waves in the last day after leaving Barbados, so it is good to be able to go ashore although I am still rocking as if I am on the ship when I try to walk.

My voice became just awed as I was panning the camera over the jungle on the island. Having grown up with TV, I remember watching “Rama of the Jungle” when I was small, and the many dangers posed upon entering one. I was awed that I would actually be in a place that had a jungle. Hahhahha

There were many pleasure boats anchored in the mini harbor here, ah, now where have they been and where are they going? My imagination wants to take off again as I look at them. Silly me!

We saw a small mammal, which I can not spell the name of and can’t find on the web. It was fun watching the brown furry mom and 3 babies carry around a coconut and eat from it from time to time. They did not seem afraid of us as we walked around their island but they kept their distance.

There were many stairs, rock paths and rock walls built by the prisoners of the past. It is very hot and humid as we walked around. The air was very oppressive and we were not able to do much walking. We quickly found the gift shop and went in to see the offerings. We didn’t speak French so we couldn’t communicate with the proprietress. Not much was left when we got ashore. We bought 4 postcards and I wrote them out and sent them off. It seems after getting put in the post box, they were sent to France to go out in the mail to be delivered to America. Yikes, a long trip for sure.

The foliage and flowers of the island were just amazing. I said, “the jungle just fascinates me, the never ending jungle”. They used to string a rope from one island to another one to feed the prisoners. I guess from reports they didn’t even have guards on devils Island as who was going to try to escape from there anyways, what were they going to do, swim the shark infested waters?

The tender ride was exciting as I had never taken a tender ride before. It was a bumpy ride back to ship with the huge waves that had formed while we were on the island. Mom and I only stayed about an hour and then went back as mom was huffing from the heat as she was walking. I had left my camera running as we were walking and the conversation with my mom was kind of interesting. I asked her how she would like living there in the long skirts of long ago and mom’s reply was “no!” I said I would have probably walked around naked under the long dresses. I still can’t imagine how the women of long ago put up with the fashion of the day with hot long skirts! Susiesails

[susiesails]

One of the places I play my mandolin is at Cotter Jam in Cotter, Arkansas. Follow the link, I am in the 5th row, the 5th picture. I am just a beginner and most of these folks are experts including my girlfriend Jeanne, in the picture next to me. Man, can she ever play that guitar. Have fun, I do. Susiesails

 

http://barnwoodstyle.netfirms.com/jammers/nfpicturepro/thumbnails.php?album=10

[Old As Dirt Mom]

One of the places I play my mandolin is at Cotter Jam in Cotter, Arkansas. Follow the link, I am in the 5th row, the 5th picture. I am just a beginner and most of these folks are experts including my girlfriend Jeanne, in the picture next to me. Man, can she ever play that guitar. Have fun, I do. Susiesails

 

http://barnwoodstyle.netfirms.com/jammers/nfpicturepro/thumbnails.php?album=10

 

Susie:

 

Is that you with the dark curly hair and the big smile? Nice photo:)

[susiesails]

Thanks for going and seeing what I love to do so much. I hope you checked on the others photo's. They are a colorful bunch. I dearly love going there when that place is rocking, and I do mean rocking! They allow a few electric instruments so with the guitars going and the bases plus all the other instruments, well is all I can say is it is great fun. When everyone is there, well the music is just not to be believed.

I love the dobroughs, and fiddles, the harmonicas, the guitars, mandolins, train whisles, and bases. They all contribute to make whatever music is being lead by someone to be just supurb. Whether it is bluegrass, blues, gospel, country, polkas, marches or whatever any one has to play. Everyone just joins in and plays. The singing is some times not so supurb in a few cases, but is enjoyed none the less.

I feel lucky to be able to be part of it as I am such a beginner. I am having some trouble playing lately so I am very sad about that. Thanks, susiesails

[susiesails]

Sailing the Amazon and Santarem, Brazil Jan 12, 2006

>I have to hurry up and write about the Amazon as tomorrow we cross the equator again and King Neptune will be visiting us here on the ship to offer us safe passage thru his kingdom. We have already crossed the equator twice as we were sailing in the past 3 days but as we were just sailing up the Amazon they didn’t count it. So tomorrow I will become a shellback instead of just a Pollywog. It is also formal night again and I will be a vision in gold.

>The Amazon is such an incredible river. It is 13 times bigger than the Mississippi. That just blows my mind. The river is 15 miles from bank to bank. You can’t see from one side to another, as there are many islands in the middle. There is a big fight between the Nile and the Amazon as to what is the longest river. They have discovered new springs so Brazil has claimed the longest river title at 4,280 miles but Guinness doesn’t agree. I had 2 glasses of wine for dinner so who cares!

The Amazon is home to over 15,000 species of Amazon creatures, thousands of birds and fish and hundreds of mammals have not yet been classified. Some of the known animal species found in the forest include jaguars, tapirs, peccaries, spider monkeys, river dolphins, boa constrictors and anacondas, giant river otters, two toed sloth, pygmy marmosets. Forest birds include toucans, parrots, macaws, hummingbirds, and gaviao (birds of prey). Insect life includes over 1800 species of butterflies and more than 200 species of mosquito. Fish such as piranha, tucunare, piraruca, anuana, piraiba and poraque (electric eel) abound in such an amazing diversity of species that biologists are unable to identify much of the catch found in Belem’s markets.

Sailing thru the Amazon river for 1 1/2 days was amazing to see the dense jungle go right to the water was just mind blowing. It must have been raining or I was up on lido deck when they were washing the decks. To se the heights of the different trees over the small villages and the hills that started appearing. Mom was still sleeping as I was standing on the verandah taking pictures.

There were plenty of small boats going by as we sailed on to Santarem. There were plenty of areas that had been cleared in the past and were now farms.

>We had to sail for a day and a half up river on our ocean liner to get to Santarem, which was our next port of call. This is a city of 300,000 people deep in the rain forest. The jungle is just as amazing. Some trees are over 200 feet tall. We saw mango trees, brazil nut trees, mahogany, rubber, ebony oh just so many kinds.

>Mom and I took a boat ride down the Tapajos River, which is a completely different color than the Amazon. The Amazon is full of sediment and muddy brown. The Tapajos is a clear greenish color. They run side by side where they meet (they call it marrying) and do not mix together as the Tapajos is a different acidity and water temperature so the waters do not mix. We had a lovely ride and I got out to swim. Some people on shore saw the track of an anaconda thru the sand but no snake. That was fine with me. The water was so cool and inviting to swim in. I really enjoyed it. No sign of any piranhas.

The method of sleeping on a small boat is to hang a hammock. I willingly got in one to demonstrate for our fellow cruisers but didn’t get a photo of myself. It was very comfortable for the short time I was in it. I don’t know what it would have been like to sleep for a long time. I think I would have been bent over if I had been in it for too long.

>The Amazon sends it waters 200 miles into the Atlantic Ocean the river is so big. They told me how much water flows per second out of the river but I forgot. Something like a million and a half gallons or something like that per second. This is one big river, let me tell you. It actually puts 46,000 gallons per second in to the Atlantic ocean at its mouth.

>It is so fun to see the river people paddle onto the river to wave at the ship. Their boats are smaller than my bathtub and yet they travel this river like it is nothing. I always wave back; it seems to give them such joy. They seem to be such happy people, even without cars, TV or washing machines. That is why they have so many babies, what else is there to do?

>They build their houses on stilts and on the poorer houses; they have thatched roofs. I did see a couple of metal roofs. Instead of cars, they have boats, as there are very few roads. They use the stilts so their houses won’t flood in the rainy season. There are only two seasons here and I will give you a hint, it is not snow or construction like in Chicago. No, it is the rainy season and dry season. Right now the river is 20 feet above what the river is in October, which is the driest month. By June the river will be up 45 feet. The people have to move their cattle, Brahma cows, on boats to higher ground. Sometimes the people move with them and sometimes they don’t if they have no other place to go. There are hundreds of tributary’s that come out of the Amazon; some of them looked as big as the Mississippi.

The sunset that we experienced while traveling on our smaller boat on our tour was just tremendous. It is all gold and silver. As we were sailing straight west the track of the sun on the water was wonderful. We had a full moon come up as we still had blue skies. The bird calls were just great; I have missed the bird calls on the ship.

We fished but no one on our boat caught anything. The boat captain cooked the fish the other boats caught and cooked them for their passengers. They reported the fish to be delicious when we all gathered on the Princendam. We did not get a chance to go into the town of Santarem when we were finished with our boat tour. This disappointed mom somewhat as she had been to Manus (sp) in the past and loved it.

I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see any of the pink dolphins. Some of our tablemates were on the same tour, different boat. They did nothing but complain about the trip for a long time at supper that night. They got to see 10 or 12 pink dolphins. I wanted to slap them for their complaining; didn’t they know they were the only boat to see pink dolphins?

We were served fresh fruit onboard our tour boat and wow, the pineapple was the best I had tasted in such a long time. It reminded me of Hawaiian pineapples but smaller. Our captain spent a great deal of time cracking fresh Brazilian nuts for us and we were all amazed at the difference between a fresh nut and the taste from my memory.

>The landmass that is the Country of Brazil is as big as the continental united states. All this is just mind blowing to me. It covers almost half of South America. We were told that human civilization here goes back to 10,000 years BC.

>Santarem has had 4 huge exports in its history. The first was the gold that the Portuguese took. Then it was rubber for American cars. After that it was hardwoods, like mahogany and ebony. The latest export is soybeans. The climate and land is perfect for growing soybeans. I hope you can see why I am so fascinated by this region. I can tell we have entered the ocean again as the ship has started rocking with the big swells again. The boat rocks side to side and up and down at the same time, a very interesting feeling. No signs of seasickness yet. Oh man, we are really rocking now!

>I have finally figured out why I am on this ship. I felt all year there was a purpose for me to be on this trip and I found it today. After all the shore excursions yesterday, there were so many people complaining, it didn’t matter if they took the river trip, or the city tour. I feel I am here to spread my joy thru the ship. I believe you make your own happiness. There are so many people who need to learn that here. One couple was complaining about the boat trip yet they were the only boat that saw the pink dolphins. They said they saw about 12 of them. I would have loved to see pink dolphins. I hope someone will research this and post a picture for the rest of you. I would like to see them too.

>I see mom changing on this trip. I don’t want to give away her secrets, but she is working on a self-betterment program. This is something she has come up with herself. I am not telling her to do these things it is her idea. She told me today that I make the trip exciting for her, which was the line I needed to let her know what is happening at home. I told her, “well you have some more exciting things happening in your life,” her face lit up and she asked, “I do?” I said, “Yes mom, you are buying a new car!” I guess problems with the transmission will necessitate this.

>We had a funny thing happen today. We have coffee delivered to the room, 2 pots and 2 fruit plates each morning from room service. (Free) When the man came with the tray, we told him about the pineapple we had on the boat the pervious day and how it was the best, sweetest pineapple we had ever eaten.

>We asked him to try the pineapple each day and to bring us some if it was sweet. A bit later there was a knock on the door and it was our guy bringing us the fruit. He told us it was kind of sweet and a bit not. We thanked him and then I took the tray out to the verandah and we had our coffee out there today, as it was very pleasant outside. She took a piece of pineapple in her mouth and tasted it and wrinkled up her face from the tart taste. I said, “It is not sweet?” She shook her head and puckered her mouth up. I told her to throw it over the side, as I knew the fish would eat it and she did. We sat down to listen to the splash from the river 10 floors below and both of us were surprised to hear a splat instead of a splash. Both our eyes got big at the same time as we looked at each other and we slowly got up and poked our heads over the side of the railing. The pineapple had landed on the pilot’s boat instead of the river. We laughed and laughed. It was a special moment. We are having a great time.

>I have turned in our shore excursions back to the company for Turkey. We will not be going ashore. We don’t want the bird flu!

>Maine Lobster tomorrow for supper. Yippee!!!!!!!! We have another time change tomorrow, ahead again one hour. I have heard that by the time we make India we will have had 10 time changes. Susiesails

[wynkys]

Susie,

You continue to amaze and delight with your narrative and your attitude towards everything should be a lesson for us all.

Thank you again for letting us continue to enjoy your recollections.

 

Wayne

[doverite]

I so enjoy reading all of your episodes. Keep it coming.:)

[susiesails]

Video I Natal, Brazil, Jan 17, 2006

We came up to the port of Natal with its beautiful white sand beaches. The city has 750,000 inhabitants. The water was a pale washed out greenish blue with many reefs visible thru the water. The city with its tall skyscrapers was fascinating as we had just left the Amazon the day before. We were unable to enter the port as the wind currents prevented us from entering the canal. We would have been dashed on the side of the canal as the wind was 30 knots and only 3 1/2 knots water current. Our ship would have been the largest ship to enter this port to date but we couldn’t get in. Darn.

The main export of Natal is tungsten. It also handles all of the costal shipping from this huge area. America built a military base on the outskirts of Natal during WWII. This base provided support of allied troops fighting in the north of Africa. (And we are going there, I just can’t believe it.) In the last century, Natal benefited from the growth of the industries of salt and petroleum.

 

Video I Recife, Brazil Jan 18, 2006

This is the biggest city we have seen since leaving America. The sky scrapers in the city were extensive. We saw row boats we were passing on the open ocean, which is just amazing. A row boat on the ocean, I couldn’t get over that. They have more guts than I do, that is for sure. We came into port at 6:10 am. We would leave at midnight for Rio de Janeiro. It has a huge natural harbor that they have been able to protect over the years. The harbor has made it possible for this large city to be populated with so many people. It is called the Venice of South America because they have so many canals that run thru the city.

It takes 25 minutes to get into town on the shuttle bus from the port where we docked. The exchange rate was $1 for 2.25 Reais. The ports usually had some tents erected to welcome us. Our berth was huge. I could hardly get a photo of the whole space.

We left the ship to go on a tour to a church built in 1530. As we were riding thru the towns to get there, I remember seeing a very young fellow in his teens sans shirt sitting in front of a home with friends and the 6 pack that was his tummy was tremendous. I remember wondering at the time how he had developed that 6 pack. I was to find out in our next port of call. (I had to wait and you do too.)

The artifacts in the church were full of gold and wood carvings. I had never before stood in a church that old, no wait, I had been in some pretty old churches in Ireland so that is probably not correct. It was a simple wooden church; I could see extensive remodeling in some areas inside. They had a beautiful garden behind the church that looked over the city. I could see many spires from the garden so I knew there were many more churches in the near vicinity.

We had one unhappy time before we left the church as we were told that we would leave at such and such a time. Everyone was finished seeing the church and came back to the bus to leave to go to the next place. When everyone was counted there was one person missing. We figured out who it was and found him sitting on a bench some distance from the bus. Someone walked over to him and spoke with him and he came back and declared the following, “he said we have 20 more minutes before we were told we had to be back and he was not leaving that bench until that time”. Oh man, you should have heard the grumblings of the fellow passengers sitting on that hot bus! When the 20 minutes was up he came back to the bus and got on, but he did not endear himself to many of the passengers by that behavior.

Next we went to Fort Orange founded by the Dutch. The white sand beaches were so lovely, with the lush green backgrounds of jungle. There were many umbrellas set up at the beach to protect people from the hot sun. There were also many boats a person could rent to get to the island across the river.

When I go to old places like Fort Orange, I always try to imagine what it was like with the soldiers in their uniforms marching and what life was like back then. Mom is happy as I found her some ice cream to enjoy as she sat in the shade with other passengers to escape the heat while I trekked thru the fort.

We walked over to a sea park and watched the manatees drink water from spouts that gave them fresh water as they swam in their huge tank. These manatees have been collected over the years from the reefs, where they had been trapped during low tide. They seem to be well cared for by veterinaries. The largest manatee was 45 years young. They have an amazing life spam. It was nice to see them again, the last time and only time I had seen them I was in the Orlando area with my youngest brother Peter.

I even got to see a cashew tree with its tiny clusters of cashews. Yum! They had intricately carved door panels on the doors in the sea world. There were no screens on any of the windows. Everywhere we looked we could see such flowers blooming.

Recife exports great quantities of sugar, cotton and coffee. It hosted an allied air base during WWI. It boasts 3 universities, several research centers and museums, and an elaborate government palace.

I have failed to mention one thing that I saw yet couldn't quite take in and that is all the poor people and poor living conditions I saw here in this port. I know I come from america and have always enjoyed a good standard of living. I have heard about poor people all my life and about starving people too. I have such a tender heart, it was difficult for me to see all this. I wonder if I have fully taken it in even at this late date.

When we went back to the ship and I spoke about this at the dinner table, I was told about the difference between a traveler and a tourist. A traveler sees living conditions and does nothing to change them, just observes and takes everything in and a tourist goes right in and wants to change things to what he or she thinks is right for these people. Of course that may or may not be right for the people they are trying to change. I pondered long and hard about the poverty I was seeing. I still ponder it.

I realized as we have many poor in my county here in the Ozarks, here in Missouri, many of these people get only $600 a month to live on and some do not have running water in their homes, I was able to realize that $600 a month was a fortune to these people. I was still having trouble with the fortune we had paid for this trip just for us to come and observe this poverty. Well, even at this late date I still ponder this.

Well my friends, this ends video I. Yikes, I have been writing for more than 6 hours today but I got 4 posts done. Susiesails

[susiesails]

Dining in the very exclusive Pinnacle Restaurant January 20, 2006

 

Our dinner table decided to go to the Pinnacle tonight for supper. We had 3 dinners coupons included with our package so it was use them or lose them. So as a group of 8 we made reservations and showed up dressed to kill on another formal night. I was a vision in gold, in a three-piece outfit from my friend Susan. Mom wore a pink Sari embroidered with tiny flowers from Susan again. We got many complements on our outfits. The men all had on their tuxes and looked good enough to eat.

Now this is a very exclusive restaurant, with 4 waiters serving us. The personal chef came out to check with us personally to see if our meal was satisfactory. What a wonderful meal we had too. We were not sure what to expect but we had heard they didn't embarrass you if you made a blunder with the silver ware.

The dining room is decorated to the hilt but with a subtle flair. We had heard about their silver beef, that it was fork tender and to die for. That was all I knew when we entered.

Here is the menu they served tonight. It changes daily.

 

Starters

FRAGRANT THAI CHICKEN SOUP, Milk and Lemon Grass

ULTIMATE NORTHWEST CLAM CHOWDER, Double Smoked Bacon, Clams, Tender Red Potatoes

VINE RIPE BEEFSTEAK TOMATO SALAD, balsamic vinaigrette and extra virgin herb oil

SEASONAL GREENS, Northwest Pear, pecan crusted Oregon blue cheese, cider pear vinaigrette

DUNGENESS CRAB CAKES, Spiral shaved cucumber, and sweet chile sauce

SEARED DUCK BREAST, pickled Walla Walla onion, blackberry relish

SMOKED PLEASURE OF THE SEA, black cod, salmon, scallops, wasabi cream

 

SIDE DISHES

SCALLOPED POTATOES

OVERSIZED BAKED WASHINGTON POTATOES, (the biggest I have ever seen)

LEMON WHEAT BERRY BASMATIC RICE

CREAMED SPINICH, SAYTEED BUTTON MUSHROOMS

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH BEARNISE SAUCE

 

ENTREES

FROM THE GRILL

THE PINNACLE GRILL FEATURES HAND SELECTED STERLING SILVER BEEF, UNSURPASSED IN TENDERNESS AND TASTE, ITS FLAVOR IS ENHANCED BY OUR SPECIAL SEASONED RUBS AND THE JUICES ARE SEALED IN BY OUR 1600-DEGREE GRILL.

 

FILET MIGNON

PETITE CUT (7 0Z) OR PINNICALE CUT (10 0Z)

BONE IN RIB EYE STEAK 18 TO 20 OUNCES

PORTERHOUSE STEAK (20 to 25 ounces)

BOTH SERVED WITH OUR HAND CRAFTED SAUCES OF SUN DRIED TOMATOES STEAK SAUCE, CLASIC BERNAISE,

OR Horseradish MUSTARD SAUCE

LAMB RACK CHOPS, APPLE SPICE CHURNEY AND DRIZZLED MINT SAUCE

KING SLAMON, TROLL CAUGHT IN ALASKAN WATERS, QUICK SEARED ON OUR GRILL, SERVED WITH YOUR CHOICE OF LEMON GARLIC HERB SPLASH OR SESAME SOY KALBI

SIGNATURE DISHES

CHICKEN MARSALA WITH Washington Cherries, Parmesan herb risotto cake, baby mache lettuce, toasted hazelnuts

CHEDAR PLANKED HALIBUT WITH ALASKAN KING CRAB, crab hollandaise

CEDAR PLANKED SCAMPI, ROASTED GARLIC AND CILANTRO BUTTER

Grande wild mushroom ravioli, PESTO CREAM SAUCE

 

CHEF JODY'S SPECIALS FOR TODAY

 

STARTERS

PATE DE FOIE GRAS DE CANARD, Duck liver pate

 

ENTREES

NEWFOUNDLAND LOBSTER, with sautéed vegetables and potato puree

POULET AU VIN, Sonoma valley chicken simmered in merlot with a vegetable garnish

 

DESSERT

CHOCOLATE TURRINE with ginger and lemon cream

 

Sweet Endings

NOT SO CLASSIC BAKED ALASKA, Ben and Jerry's Garcia ice cream flamed at the table with Bing cherries jubilee

WARM GRAND MARNIER CHOCOLATE VOLCANO CAKE, The ultimate chocolate experience

LEMON BERRY ANGEL SHORTCAKE, wild berry compote

Pinnacle CREÃME BRULEE, flavors of chocolate, coffee and vanilla bean

ICE CREAMS AND SORBETS, please ask your server for today's selection

FRESH FRUIT PLATE

ASSORTMENT OF CHEESES

 

Mom had the clam soup, which she groaned over it was so good; I had the crab cakes, very nice indeed for starters.

Then we both had the grilled asparagus, which I thought was over done.

I really wanted the beef, but ended up getting the lobster, as did mom. We were looking for the really big lobsters that hang over the plate that mom talks about from another ship but no, 2 small lobster tails were served and they were very good but we were disappointed in the size. We also had the pureed potatoes, great mashed potatoes. I would like to know how to make them like that, they were different but I can't tell you how.

We ended our evening with the sweet endings. Mom enjoyed the baked Alaska with cherries jubilee and I had the chocolate volcano dessert. I physically drew back when they opened up the small tureen and looked inside not knowing what to expect. Hmmm, just a baked chocolate thing with a sauce bowl of whipped cream with a few candied orange strips for garnish. I carefully stuck my spoon into the center, not knowing when the volcano thing would happen. Nothing happened. So I spooned my whipped cream into the hole I had made and put some of each in my mouth and then the volcano thing happened. It seemed to grow in my mouth, warm chocolate ultra creamy and the cold whipped cream. It grew to fill my mouth and what a pleasant experience. How do they do that I wonder.

When we got to our room, we both immediately bent over the bed clutching our bellies groaning, it was a great experience, but we ate too much food. I even got the recipe for the Chocolate Vulcano desert!!!!

All in all, a wonderful experience.

 

Just a current day note, I have been a lot writing this week, about 12 hours so far. I am now 5 entries up. I will make one post everyday. I am finding writing helps me reduce my stress, which keeps me from having brain boo boos, so I am writing a lot.

I leave for Columbia on Sunday to have a spinal tap done on monday. If everything goes right I should be home monday night. If not I will stay till tuesday and then come home. I will get the final diagnosis in the last week of June.

My moods are currently fluctuating moment to moment. I cry a lot. If I can keep from getting stressed, I don't have as many brain boo boos. A brain boo boo is when I are reading the recipe for the salad dressing when the meat is burning at my elbow and I am not even aware of it. This is not the person I was on the ship. I handled so many different things well and easily on the ship. I will get a handle on my life again... I will get a handle on my life again...I will...I will! Susiesails

[Betsy's Mom]

Such enjoyment reading your posts! You will , you will, you will!!

B.

[susiesails]

I am first posing what I wrote on the ship and then in the next days I will post the expanded version.

 

Rio de Janeiro

How can I begin to share with you Rio de Janeiro? Everything is just a jumble in my mind so I am going to close my eyes and free associate for a while, and just share what comes into my mind... I am hearing crickets and cicadas? oh yes, I forgot, we are in port. A nice sound from home… It is 4:44 am and I went to bed at 8 pm or so bone weary. Rio de Janeiro, I am so fascinated by this place.

Awakening suddenly yesterday, I asked myself, “why?????” Oh, the ship engines have stopped. I have learned to listen for the absence of the engines to wake myself. That is what woke me yesterday at 5 something in the morning. I looked out our verandah windows, still dark. Oh my gosh, we are almost to Rio! I grabbed my camera and went outside; I could see large irregularly shaped hills, pointing skyward. What causes this type of formation; different from anything I have ever seen. They look like giant sweet potatoes stuck in the earth…

I took a couple of photos and headed to lido deck. Gee, only one person here before me. Oh man I think I am finally going to see and photo a real sunrise, it has been so frustrating not being able to capture a sunrise at sea but this is so good… Hmmm, only 4:45 am this morning and it is starting to heat up already.

Yesterday as I was watching Rio emerge from afar, what a glorious site it was. I could see islands and sea birds, golden miniature hotels on the beach seen from afar as the sun starts to illume them…

Where is the statue of Christ the Redeemer, we are still to far away to see, darn… I think, “Oh lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the world thy hands have made”….

The city of the Samba… I can’t believe how big this city is, evidence of houses even spilling up the mountains, a new thing to look at every time your eyes go to another place…

Oh my gosh, what did it take to build that bridge? I have never seen one so big…. Where are they going to lay that cable across the port?

There is Sugar Loaf Mountain; I can’t see the cable car atop yet…

Everywhere you look there are people….so many people

Girl, pull down those shorts, your cheeks are showing….

Hahahha, when I go in the shops with another couple from the ship, the shop people speak English to them and Portuguese to me, It's those island genes. hahahha….

Down town looks like the Magnificent mile in Chicago, just with different faces….

An artesian is eating his plate lunch on the rocking chair he is creating on the street… It was fascinating to watch him craft this chair, a wood and cane rocking chair. I so enjoyed standing drinking a soda to replace fluids and watch him weave the cane as the busy traffic goes by.

Oh man, look at those pastries, do I dare eat them????

Head wet with sweat from the high humidity…

So this is Ipanema beach, there is not as much sand as I thought it would have, look at those waves crash, good for body boarding…

Look at the tiny clothes in the shops; don’t they have any fat people in this country???????

Jackfruit, they have jackfruit here? I want some.

What a glorious sunrise….

Up above the crow’s nest, there were so many passengers videoing the entrance of the port as we enter the city and as we change direction yet again to follow the angles of the port and more city is reveled it is so exciting…

"I can’t help It, I have to scream with excitement", and as I did everyone turned to look at me, "Susie, say something, they think you are injured! ”I am soooo excited……" and so many smiles responded to my statement, they understood what I was feeling and expressing.

“Look at all the smiles,” a comment I made to another friend. One man stops and responds to my words, "I am smiling because I am thinking about what I am going to eat on shore”… Brazilian b b Q, you pick the meat you want, they will cook it for you. Oh, I can’t wait…

Lights everywhere, a skyline lit up, just like any American city. Look, that building reflects so many other buildings from the city in its modern glass face…

Where is all the traffic, it is 8 15 in the morning, oh yeah, Saturday.

Rio, home of Carnival, just like our Mardi Gras. What, they start carnival at 9 pm and it goes on till 7 or 8 am? Where do you sleep?????? The answer is you don’t… The boxes to watch Carnival cost 3000 dollars each to watch the show, there are bleachers set up everywhere to watch the show 100,000 seats for a town that has 8 million people in the town proper not to mention the 4 million people that live in the suburbs!!!!!! Carnival is one month away. Darn……We won't see it What do you mean, they only go down one street, not the whole city?

So many huge breasts in this city, spilling out of dresses and tops……

Everywhere there are huge smiles on the people and white teeth.

We were warned about the pickpockets of this city that can distract you and then steal something from you in our port lectures. “Grace, watch me while I pay for this, this youth is getting too close to me and looking like he is going to fake a seizure”, “oh look at the two guards watch him too…….” “Yes, I will be careful with my camera, thank you” I replied to the shop person who eyed it casually hanging from my shoulder……

The anniversary of john’s death is 4 days away. We will celebrate his life in the Pinnacle……

I didn’t check the computer for email today, oh well too darn tired. Went to bed at 8 pm.

My hair loves this weather; curling away we have left winter far behind…

Oh no, here come the men to wash the decks as I sit here and type, it is done every day, time to move…

Don’t worry mom that bite is not from a malaria mosquito…

Oh going up to the Statue of Christ the easy way, on the tram…Some people walk up 2000 feet with little kids, they don’t have the fee to pay for the tram….

What? A man, running up to the top, covered in sweat, he must run marathons…

Aaaaaag, look out! We are going to hit that motorcycle in our lane, oh man, I screamed and I was videotaping…

Lost my stomach when we took off in the helicopter and flew straight down the hill, no which is a mountain. Oh good, here we go up again…

So many people everywhere…I am no longer used to large city populations but there sure are a lot of people in Rio.

I‘m still so tired after my two trips into town yesterday… Where is mom??????

I met the guy again I had asked how the toilets work; he asked me how I could stay so happy and told me he thought I was the happiest person on the ship… I want to start a program, “the art of positive thinking, what is happiness?” Social director will add it to the schedule after Antarctica…

That man was dying when he came aboard in Fort Lauderdale in a wheelchair; now look at him as he jauntily goes on his way swinging his cane. His doctor said, "I don’t know what you did, but keep doing it." (He went cruising.)

Wow, those drinks were strong today; the national alcohol made from sugar cane was in it. The lecturer promised if you drink one you start to hear Samba when it isn’t there, and if you two you start dancing…mom you had two of them, you are cut off. I know, she said, I won’t be able to walk!!!!! I had 2 too, "you did, and that is not like you…” Well I guess what the lecturer said was right because I went and complemented the 6 piece band then asked them if they knew Tennessee waltz. They didn’t so I taught it to them and ended up singing to 140 people plus with the band accompanying me. Go ahead and give me another one of them, then see what I do, hahahahhahha……

Oh my gosh, my body hurts so much, I can hardly walk tonight, "mom, come back and get me, I can’t walk that fast"… I guess I shouldn’t have run to get a good seat on the bus…. We leave my beautiful city tomorrow.......Montidevio in 2 days......I wonder if someone is reading this to hubby stick?????

That's it for now, night all. Susiesails

[Old As Dirt Mom]

That's it for now, night all. Susiesails

 

Good night, Susie. I'm as exhausted as you must have been just from reading about your visit to Rio. There is something very vibrant and electric about that city. Kind of overwhelming. I was there oh, twenty four years ago, I guess. I still have my photos and look at them once in a while. I'm sure it's even bigger and more sprawling now than it was then.

[wynkys]

What a great evocative post!

Keep it going Susie and I pray that your results are positive.

 

Wayne

[susiesails]

There is something very vibrant and electric about that city. Kind of overwhelming.

My gosh, you hit it right on the head.

electric and vibrant

That completely sums it up. I think it was the most exciting city we visitied. I think I left a part of my heart in that city. I had been worried that we wouldn't have enough to do as I had scheduled only one shore excursion. The ship provided the second, but we left there absolutely exhausted in a good way. Thanks for the well wishes all. susiesails

[susiesails]

Video II Rio de Janeiro January 21 thru January 23, 2006

In my opinion, Rio de Janeiro is the most beautiful of all the ports we entered. It was absolutely amazing sailing in at daybreak and watching Rio come into view. It was dawn as we came upon the first land fall (4:48 by the time on the camera). I can see the gray sea and the lighter sky, also gray. I can see a land mass as I look at this first scene in the video. I can see a sailboat with a huge bright yellow sail which is a nice contrast to the black mass of the land and the dark water. The sun is just raising and the sky is all yellow gold above the water. There are different small islands and pink clouds in the now so blue sky. I can see the smoke from the smoke stacks as I stand at the back of lido and take photos of the sunrise. I speak about there being some kind of conspiracy to keep me from getting the sunrises on film. There is simply no way to capture a whole sunrise at sea. The sky is way to big to capture it on a single shot of a camera.

I got a great shot or I should say shots of my feet as I am waking the teak deck. Once again I have not turned off the camera and am taking video of my walk thru the ship to get to the bow of the ship to record our entry to Rio. I did that a lot, left the camera running by mistake. Hahhahha Since this was my first time taking any video ever, I think I did a pretty good job anyway.

I can see another cruise ship coming into Rio at the same time. Originally we were due to come into the port at noon, but the captain had received a communication days before this saying they were going to close the port this morning so we headed out of Recife at double speed, (I jest here), to make it in before they closed the port to lay a cable or something. We were really rocking as we made all due haste to get here more than 6 hours ahead of schedule. The crew made every effort to have us where we needed to be on time or ahead of schedule and we were not late today.

As we got closer the long beaches started to appear, white gold in color from this distance. I could see the heavy green of wild jungle above them. The wind is considerable as we stand on the bow of the ship watching our very exciting entry into this grand city. The hotels on the beaches obviously are the place to be, they are all golden in this light as the sun starts to rise above this intriguing city. I can see Sugar Loaf Mountain standing its watch there are like giant humps of granite above the city. They look like giant sweet potatoes stuck in the earth at crazy angles that someone carelessly left. With the wind blowing it is difficult to hear my dialogue. I can hear people sneezing and coughing as we stand and admire the view. Wow, there are really a lot of people here watching the entry.

I can see the cable car on top of Sugar Loaf and I can hear the excitement in my voice as I look at the stature of Christ the Redeemer. I can see a huge bridge, which seemed to go forever from one side of the port to the other. The skyscrapers were huge. Everywhere are huge mountains and green foliage, and a golden city. I can’t believe the size of the mountains. As we got into the port, I could see why and where they put 7 million people in this city. The homes seem to spill everywhere up the crests of the city, making it 11 million including the suburbs.

We passed the naval yard coming in and this is just a huge city. I thought I saw a big city in Recife, but it was nothing like this. We once again had a beautiful day for our entry into the city. Incredible!

How exciting it was to be seeing the statue of Christ and I was so excited about our land and air adventure that we had booked for our only shore excursion. Everyone is smiling so big while watching our entry into port and when I said that for the video someone stopped me and said with a grin, “I am thinking about what kind of food we are going to eat.” Oh yes, what would the food be like, I wanted to see it all, taste it all and do it all on my trip. That was my plan for the whole trip. I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to do a cruise again so I wanted to see it all, taste it all and experience it all. I did pretty well with my goal when I look back at the whole trip. Many people had been getting really tired of fancy food already and were looking forward to eating food onshore.

We could see the captain and first mate on the neck of the bridge bringing in our ship to our berth. The snowy uniforms were so beautiful against the blue backdrop of the sea.

The next scene is in downtown Rio. It was petty hot already and when I asked mom if she wanted to go into downtown with me and a few other guests she said she would stay on board and wait for our shore excursion later in the day. We took the Sterns shuttle bus into town and skipped the showroom. I can see tall skyscrapers and beautiful people walking the mosaic sidewalk or running, there seem to be many joggers in this city.

We were at Ipanema beach! Isn’t there a song about a woman who goes walking here? Wow! I can see large umbrellas set up for shade as people line the beach already to soak up the rays.

The sky is incredibly blue and there were only a few clouds. We had been told the city often clouds up and yet we had been given this so beautiful day to see this fabulous city. I can see that it is 95 degrees and it is only 10 am. Yikes!

Ok I will post part II tomorrow and part III on monday before my test. If I can post on tuesday I will. I am determined we are not going to have an complications with this test. I am keeping a positive attitude! It's nice to have a cheering section here for me. I will post on monday evening if I am allowed to raise my head to do it. susesails

[Old As Dirt Mom]

It's nice to have a cheering section here for me. I will post on monday evening if I am allowed to raise my head to do it. susesails

 

Hey, Susie, yes you do have a cheering section here for you. Hope the spinal tap is over quickly and easily, and you'll feel well enough on Monday to post. God bless you! Keep on singing:)

[susiesails]

The next scene is that of a small stature of Christ the Redeemer. We are standing in line to go up the mountain with many other people. I got mom some ice cream to cool down with and boy did we ever get taken. We paid the about R9 for our 2 ice creams or about 4.50 American. I checked with another booth and I could see from the shock on the guy’s face that we paid much too much for our ice cream. Oh well, we enjoyed our ice creams anyway.

When I originally wrote about Rio I could only put in my few memories as I tried to free associate to write about our visit. The city was too large and colorful to really write about it that way.

The statue is 2000 feet in the air and each hand of the statue weighed 2 1/2 tons. I just couldn’t imagine it. What was it going to be like up there over this crystal city? We took the cog wheel train up the mountain and it seemed to go forever. It was nice to see the jungle as we went up and up. I could see many people walking up the road. Wow, I don’t think I could have walked up but they are used to the heat here. I was thrilled to see jack fruit growing on the way up. I love jack fruit. I vowed to get myself some if I could. You love it or hate it. There is no in-between with this fruit. Another name for it is durian or sour sop. I do love it so much. My girlfriend from Vietnam taught me to like it when we used to go shopping in Chicago for all the food she needed for her 4 star restaurant.

In the jungle surrounding the statue we could see white patches in the heavy green foliage of the rainforest. They were some kind of tree covered in white petals blooming their little hearts out, so many I couldn’t count them. I never did find out what kind of tree it was.

The 125 foot statue is just amazing after you get up to the top. I could hear so many different languages on top of the mountain. The city was spread out below us, just sprawling everywhere. I can’t imagine how long it took to complete it. I could hear helicopters fly over us and I was anticipating my first helicopter ride with excitement and in trepidation as I hate heights. The harbor spread out below us was absolutely immense. When we first came into port you couldn’t see all the twists and turns of it so it is much bigger than you think.

The next scene in the video is from our jeep seemingly going at break neck speed down the mountain. A motorcycle crossed over into our lane to pass a slow moving car to get to the top. I screamed! We arrived at our second destination which was the landing pad for the helicopters to take us down off the mountain. They had music and women and men in costume dancing to live music. Samba! There is just something about that beat that grabs you and wants you to move with the music. I couldn’t believe what looked like 6 to 8 inch heels the scantily clad woman was wearing and dancing in. She had on a colorfully feathered headdress that cascaded almost to her bare waist. The beaded thongs these gals were wearing really looked well on them but wouldn’t have done much for mom or I. Hahhhaha. When I got closer I could see they were wearing nylon body suits along with the thongs and bikini tops. How did they stand the body suits in this high humidity? They got us all involved dancing with them and the Ula-Ula drinks they served us helped the dancing along. Everyone looks like they were having a good time that is for sure.

The next scene is from the helicopter in the air. I had a window seat and one woman was more afraid of heights than I was so she took the middle seat. Her husband took the front seat with the pilot and mom took the other side of the back seat. I wanted to throw up when we took that first plunge off the landing pad but didn’t. We flew down and headed over for the stature of Christ the redeemer and flew around it and then headed down again. The sound of the bladed turning above us was pretty loud. It made it difficult to talk during the trip. How fascinating it was to look down at all the foliage of the rain forest and see the white trees blooming.

Then the city appeared below us. It is simply amazing it is so huge. I would have loved to have more time to fully explore the city but that would have to be done at a different time as we had only 2 days here. The soccer stadium is just huge also. But this is the city of futball (soccer), it is an absolute passion with these people, much like football or baseball is in our country.

As we flew sideways and I do mean sideways, I held on so I didn’t fall out. I knew I wouldn’t fall out but it sure felt like I could. I know I screamed a few more times before we got off. I got some nice shots of the statue before we descended more over the city. It was fascinating to see the so far away beaches with the tiny umbrellas and the even tinier people under them. From this distance the islands looked like whales that came to breech the water and were just hanging there waiting for what? We went past Corcovado with its cable car building on the tip top of it, what was it like to go there I wondered. I didn’t get a change to find out. There were plenty of pleasure craft moored in different harbors and the airport that seemed like it wouldn’t be long enough to handle a huge jet without it going back into the water at the end of the runway.

We flew over our ship and warehouse after warehouse to handle the cargo going to other places out of this port. Our ship, the Princendam looked so regal there in port, it sure is a beautiful vessel. It was taking on fuel as we flew over it. Then it was time to land and they took the copter down right near the ship so we walked back. What an exciting ride we had, it was wonderful.

The ship gave us a free shore excursion here, as one of the perks of booking early. We went to a beautiful villa and had a tour of the city on our way there and back. The botanical gardens were just lovely with their tall palms standing over it. I think she said they were royal palms planted so long ago by some ruler. The city was pretty clean, not a lot of trash in the streets. When we got to the villa, they had a samba team there to dance for us. Ah, now I know how that young fellow in Recife developed that six pack on his tummy. He danced samba! It was amazing to watch these slim young fellows dance on their hands. I think my husband would have loved watching them. They had symbols and danced and sang along to encourage the different members of the team. They were all shoeless and shirtless, such a pleasant sight!

The next scene opens with me taking a video of the kitchen and all the food being prepared for us. It was amazing the array of appetizers and other food I was seeing. I could see waiters polishing every dish and glass, there in the kitchens of the Villa Risa. Oh how I remembered my days of working for my uncle in the country club he was head chef at. All the dishes clinking and busyness of each worker as they went about their own business of getting the food out to hungry people reminded me of my time spent in his kitchens. I really don’t remember what we were served but I remember the beauty of the villa and it’s well kept grounds. It was like a private oasis in the middle of this very busy, loud city. I know the desert had a sauce with black seeds in it which are from the passion fruit and it was just delicious. The meal was very good and we enjoyed the 7 member band that played American music.

The owner of Villa Risa had collected many beautiful paintings and other art treasures in his world travels so the place was decorated just beautifully. They had a bar set up for us and many people were taking advantage of the free drinks. I got drinks for mom and I and boy they went down very nicely. Mom had 2 and so did I. I told mom she was cut off and I told her I had 2 also and she said, “Susan, that is not like you.” I told her I was cut off too as this was very potent alcohol. I sure wish I had bought some of this alcohol; the stuff is made of sugar cane and goes down powerfully. I was having a bit of trouble walking after just 2 drinks. But I enjoyed those drinks to no end. I had never had anything like it before. I said in the video that I had had 2 drinks and I was knocked on my butt from them.

Hahaha, I just got a shot of mom sitting at a table in the library enjoying her drink. I can tell she has had more than one as her cheeks are now beet red. They always turn red when she drinks. She can never be a closet drinker; her cheeks would give her away!

The banquet hall we entered for our meal was breathtaking, all tall white columns and huge glass windows so we could see the beautiful grounds. We had 140 people there so lots of people must have booked early. The fresh flowers on the table and the place settings were just gorgeous.

Hahahha, I once again left the video running by mistake and I can hear myself telling mom to eat some bread and butter as she is slurring her words a bit. Those drinks were pretty strong and we are not really drinkers, although we were having wine with each dinner as part of the cruise package. I told her not to drink any wine with this meal as she wouldn’t be able to walk.

Gee, what a pain I must have been back then talking about the 52 pounds I had lost on the south beach diet. I can hear conversations about what is allowed and what helps delay the absorption of the different foods you eat. Geesh.

As I said the band was playing American music and I walked up to them as I wanted them to play some of their music. I was able to communicate with 2 of them and ended up teaching them the Tennessee waltz and getting up and singing for the whole crowd. Boy you should have seen the video and regular cameras being pulled out to capture me singing. I told you I had too much to drink. The band didn’t know the song so I sang it over and over and the band just picked it up. Wow, I sure wish I had that talent.

It must have been pretty hot and humid that day and it was pretty warm in that room. I remember people leaving as soon as they finished eating. The air conditioning in the room just was not handling all the warm bodies in that room.

We had a nice guided tour of the city on our way back to the ship. I loved going by the topless beaches, got you attention did I? Well, the men were topless and the ladies while clad, the suits were pretty skimpy. The white sands looked so inviting, with the different colors of blue as the water got deeper. They had a hill where you can go hang gliding to land on the beach. Oh man, I would have loved to do that. Mom went hang gliding over the ocean in Jamaica in the 80's when she took her own mother there on vacation. I would have liked to see that!

I would have liked to get to the Carmen Miranda museum to see her costumes as I remembered her from the old movies on TV when I was a kid. I didn’t make time to go so well maybe one day. I also did not get a chance to try the Brazilian Bar B Q. I really wanted to try that from all the descriptions I had heard. Oh well, maybe next time I am in Chicago at the new Brizallian resturant but I bet it won’t be the same.

I mentioned we had fine weather when we were there. It was beautiful the whole time we were there. However the next day, Rio had torrential rains and 12 people were killed by the flooding. Phew, that was close! Night all, Susiesails

[susiesails]

We had a folkloric show after we got back to the ship that was pretty funny. The leader of the show kept insisting he was Japanese which got plenty of laughs. He got one of our fellow passengers up to dance with him and set her in the pose of the stature of the Christ and proceeded to clap 2 wooden spoons around her body. When he started moving up her stomach towards her breasts she stopped him by shaking her head. It was all pretty funny and the crowd loved it. He gave her the spoons and showed her how to clap them on his body and when she clapped on his stomach he indicated she was to move farther down his body. When she clapped on his knees he said, “No, no” and the crowd really laughed. It was suggestive in the best sense of the word and went over big with my fellow passengers. She danced samba with him and did very well.

Then the dance troop proceeded to do the same kind of dance we had seen them do at the Villa Risa and I was just amazed at their gymnastic abilities. Later a different dance troop came out and they had the costumes of the Carnival on. The huge wide hoop skirts were just breathtaking. Some of these costumes they were wearing cost thousands of dollars to make and I can believe it. They were very elaborate and strikingly beautiful. They had huge headdresses made of feathers and twirled around quite a bit to the music. Next to come out of the wings was another group of dancers that were wearing the nylon body suits and beaded thongs and bikini tops we had seen earlier. What a colorful bunch this was we were watching. The embroidery on these costumes was incredible. I have no idea how long it must have taken to create these costumes but it must have taken considerable time to make them. We were told some of these dresses weight hundreds of pounds too. I don’t know how they got all these people to come and perform for us but the next troop came out in slim dresses that hugged their slender figures and then flared way out below the knees. I wondered how they actually walked in those tight dresses. The headdresses these gals were wearing were even more elaborate than those that had come out earlier, some of them going 3 feet above their heads and up to 6 feet wide. The men who danced earlier looked tiny next to these grand costumes. The stage was awash with corals, shimmery greens, whites, gold’s, blues and purples. What a colorful event carnival must be. The scantily clad women had been gathering passengers to dance with them on the dance floor and I could see George our table mate up there dancing. He looked like he was having a fabulous time up there. They started a huge conga line and there were many passengers up there dancing.

Bruce our cruise director come on after the show and told us it takes as much a 10 months to make one costume and they weight between 100 and 300 pounds each costing thousands of dollars. We had just a fortune in dresses on our stage. I wondered how they were stored when they were not in use.

It was one of the better shows we watched on our trip. Mom and I didn’t do many of the shows as she is usually too tired after shore excursions and I was busy capturing our trip on the computer. Susiesails

[susiesails]

I had my test done yesterday and am now back at home. I did not get the dreaded headache and am only suffering a bit after being in bed for so long. I am not used to staying in bed!

Now I just have to wait 2 weeks for the results. Susiesails

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I had my test done yesterday and am now back at home. I did not get the dreaded headache and am only suffering a bit after being in bed for so long. I am not used to staying in bed!

Now I just have to wait 2 weeks for the results. Susiesails

 

Glad the spinal tap went well. I hope the next two weeks go by quickly for you, and that the results are good. You'll need to keep busy to make the time go faster, like coming here a lot to post many more recollections of your world cruise, Susie (hint, hint;) ).

[susiesails]

January 24, 2006

I spent the last 30 hours or so in bed so you may not get much out of me this morning. My old illness surfaced a day and a half ago, when that happens I just have to sleep until it goes away. Usually it takes 48 hours so I plan on spending the afternoon in bed also but there are some things I want to experience this morning. I may be able to hold it off till afternoon and maybe not. I am fine, I want to reassure everyone, I just have to take care of my body so it will be there for me. I am not used to all this excitement. I live a pretty quiet life in southern Missouri or I do when I am not playing music. I limit what I do so things like this doesn't happen to me too often.

Mom handled my absence wonderfully. She has been such a couch potato in the last year so it has taken her a while to be comfortable in her new surroundings with so many people around. I sent her to the Java bar yesterday morning while I had to sleep and the look of fear on her face was very apparent. I told she I wanted her to go and talk to someone there, anyone. She went and stayed 1 ½ hours talking with a woman who has been there every morning. From what mom told me, they really got into a deep conversation about their lives. Go mom, you rock girl!

I made a very sincere effort to go to supper with mom. I got dressed, did my hair twice; I was looking pretty frazzled after being in bed for 21 hours. It was informal night so it was church clothes or better for the dress code. The men have to wear suit coats on informal night. One man was sent away for not having on a Jacket on informal night a while back.

Anyway, today we had received a typed letter from the head steward saying that for health reasons they had to clean the room, so could we please vacate the room, or something like that. They do not put the staff in compromising situations here. So I got dressed and we went down to the ocean bar to meet with friends. That is the designated smoking area, (no comments please) and we have a nice bunch that meets there regularly. I was able to stay up for only 1 hour and was about to fall over so I went into the La Fontaine Dining Room and asked that my food be sent up to my room.

The room service staff knocks so quietly whenever they knock on your door sometimes you don't hear them. So I knew I had to stay awake to get my food. I watched TV for a while. I had gone out on the verandah earlier to watch the very smooth ocean, not one wave breaking into a white cap as it went on its way to who knows where. Anyway, I had closed the sliding glass door behind me and I was so weak I couldn't open it again. I sat down for a bit and thought about how I was going to get back in the room. I thought of sticking my head over the side and yelling help and all the excitement that would cause as I asked someone to send someone to room 31 to open the sliding glass door. I gathered my strength and finally was able to inch the door open myself with a lot of effort.

Oh, by the way, one of the pieces of pineapple mom threw over the side onto the pilot's boat a while back is finally gone, some bird must have picked it up. The other one is nicely dehydrated now. Hahahaha

Many people are asking me for photos. I have taken over 150 now and want to post them. I have to wait until I can get a mini zip drive at a computer store. I had heard it took one person 15 minutes to send a photo to someone. At 25 cents a minute for Internet time, I am not willing to spend the money. The mini zip drive will allow me to send them in a flash once I get it. So patience, my dears, have some patience, I am working on it.

Last night was Dutch Night in the dining room. The food is Dutch and the menu was written in Dutch with English underneath. Everyone got little caps to wear, like in the paintings of the Dutch kids. I was not there but mom told me about it. She came back from dinner 3 sheets to the wind, from having a black Russian before dinner, then her free glass of wine and mine too. Hahhahahha. She can't hide when she has been drinking because she gets red spots in her cheeks. She is so much fun to be with. She is learning new things and really blossoming.

One of my friends wants to hear about the people on the ship. I will attempt to share with you. First of all, it was explained to me that the longer the cruise, the older the population on the ship. There is one couple honey mooning on this world cruise but I don't see them much. It is raining, gray and windy today, our first really rainy day. But I digress! I think the oldest person I have met so far is 92 and still in great health and fun to be with. There are many people in there 80's and 70's, many of them widows. Needless to say, many of them are very rich and all of them have cruised many times before.

Other than some of the staff, I am the only one cruising for the first time. Not everyone is pleasant or fun to be with. There are many people who are so jaded; they no longer see the wonder of this beautiful world. I feel sorry for them, as even though they have money, they are no longer happy.

As the dinner seating is at 2 different times, there are two different crowds of people, the early birds and the late birds. I have not connected with many of the late diners but do at some of the functions here.

Lets see, how do I tell you about all the different people? Ok, there are 510 people here for the States, the second largest population is from Canada, and we have people from Australia, Germany, China, well, I can't remember all of them. I think we have people from 17 countries on board.

I have learned to put on my invisible raincoat when I see a complainer coming, so I am not as bothered by their negative attitudes but it is still very taxing for me as I can feel other people's emotional pain. We will be at sea for something like 14 days when we leave the tip of South America to cruise the Antarctic and head towards Africa, so that is when I am planning to lead a discussion group about having a positive attitude and a discussion about happiness. There are quite a few people interesting in my positive attitude and they ask me how I can stay so happy all the time. I think it pisses other people off too from comments they have made. One of them just lost her husband 7 months ago and is having a hard time, so I shrug this stuff off.

I will start with the people that sit with us at supper as I know them the best. Doug and Fellette are from Van Couver, Canada. They live on a farm but have been in the printing business for 30 years. They started up this company themselves and receive a pension from the business. They employ 40 people at present. They have been cruising for years and will be able to keep up this life style because of the success of their business.

Doug raises cows, chickens and pigs also in his spare time. They have been raising their own meat for 30 years. You should have heard him criticize the beef in the Pinnacle Restaurant. He thought it had way too much fat on it. Ummmm, I would like to taste his beef if that was fatty beef! He does carpentry work at home and still goes into the business every day. His kids keep him away by asking for different benches to be built or things like that. Fellette is happy to stay home and goes if they have a big job in the bindery. She is still the best binder they have. She spends her time on the ship doing bible study, crafts, reading and meeting different people they already know from other cruises. We really like all of our tablemates.

Next we have George and Ruth. George has worked in the semi conductor business for a long time and started a company with some coworkers and designed computer chips or something like that. After he started a manufacturing plant in Japan, Eaton Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, bought out his company. He owns a boat; I think it is a sailboat. He says he doesn't like to go out in seas over 7 feet. He has silver white hair, kind of long in the back and trimmed while beard and looks very distinguished. Ruth is a wonderful woman, very sweet. I so enjoy talking to her. She just had a pacemaker put in October so she has been sitting at the computer for a few years, as she couldn't do much else. She is an expert at the mackintosh computer. She showed me how to take a photo and then add myself to it. She also has curly hair and was a hairdresser for many years. She won't even cut her husbands hair now. (It costs $12 for a trim for the guys, 25 dollars for a man's haircut, 70 dollars for a woman's haircut, and $150 for a hair cut and dye job for a woman here on the ship in the spa. yikes!)

When we first started cruising we had one other person at our table, Jimmy. He is from Japan and knows over 100 languages. English is not one of them. He was terribly bored at our table, so he switched to a table where he could be understood and understand what was happening at the table. I later found him at a table for 2 by himself. He plays piano, no, not just plunking but classical. He has permission to use any piano on the ship whenever he wants. He is cruising without his wife, as she is a flautist and has concerts she gives in Japan. I can just hear them together, he playing the piano and her playing the flute, both of their music different and yet complimenting each other's work. He was a civil engineer and has traveled the world with his job, which is why he has so many languages. He was the head engineer for his firm, and has designed and built many bridges and even whole dams. Obviously he is a very intelligent man and very friendly too. He retired at 70 but wanted to retire at 80. He is always smiling whenever I see him. I felt really sad we couldn't communicate with him and he had to leave.

Last we have Paul and Alice. They are from Boston area and he worked in the telephone company there for 38 years. He keeps in constant touch with his financial advisor as he watches the stocks go up and down. They are really very nice people; he guards her in a cute way. She is a cancer survivor. Alice and I have discovered that since we have both had life altering illnesses, we have a common bond. Life is sweeter to us, and we appreciate it more than most. They have one daughter that they gave a house to when she married, with no strings attached. So the daughter lives in the house she grew up in. They also have a son who was a fireman but has switched to being a policeman. They both enjoy the grandchildren. She lost a grandchild too, a set of twins. She says it is something you never get over. I however believe that the pain lessens in time to dull ache, or it has for me. I don't like to dwell on my losses, or I would be drowning in my sorrow from things that have happened thru the years.

I was going to end this but realize I have my mom to let you all know about. She is a very sweet woman. She has been a couch potato watching TV this last year, as she has been very well taken care of. She is changing that here on the ship. She told me she doesn't know who she is now as she has been married most of her life. (My stepfather died 1 year go tomorrow.) She is changing so much here on the ship. She is getting out and talking to people and smiling much more. She is finding people to be so interesting. She has been an introvert all her life, not like me, I am an extrovert. My girlfriend once made a comment that I have a need to be the center of attention. I knew she didn't understand my extrovert personality so I let it go. So mom is changing her introvert behavior. I told her to have fun and experiment with different people. She still gets confused once in a while, hey, she is 77, she is allowed. She can make her way around the ship pretty good now and still asks me where the different rooms are at times so she will not get lost. I have an unending amount of patience so this doesn't bother me. Mom has very strong likes and dislikes about people at times. Heaven forbid you get on her wrong side. Her personality is that of very pleasant woman now. This was not always the case. We are getting along very well; she has only yelled at me once and I have told her to stop whining once. That is the extent of any challenges we have had living together. She is a very appreciative woman and has thanked me many times for showing her a good day. She says I make the trip exciting for her.

Yesterday when she came in the room from the Java bar, as she was telling me about the conversation she had, I was watching her face become so animated with happiness. I thought what a different woman she has become since I came back into her life. At that time she was silent, with not one muscle moving in her face. I had her doctor cut her medicine in half and she could at least feel things again and smile once in a while. She is such a different woman now. She loves this trip. It is so different from other cruses she has taken with my stepfather. She spent much of the time alone in her cabin as he played bridge and had her deliver things at certain time, like an ice cream cone at 2 pm every afternoon. I am not criticizing, but showing how mom is now different. She told me she is not interested in marrying again as she doesn't want to be under another person's thumb again. She is enjoying her independence. With her brother, my uncle Ronny living with her, it is the perfect set up for her. She doesn't want to have to go live with any of her children, so she tells me. So she is and will continue to live in independence. I expect her life to grow to include other things when she gets home, as she is so different now. I read everything I write to her and give her full editing power but she doesn't choose to exercise that option, not even with this one. Bye for now, time for breakfast, I didn't eat much yesterday. Susiesails

 

June 19, 2006

I am sorry I have been gone for the last week. I had to spend 3 days in bed from straining my back on the way home from the spinal tap. Then I have been dealing with my father's death again. I really didn't expect to be grieving again so this was a big surprise for me. When I realized it was Father's day yesterday, I understood more about my fluctuating emotions of this last week. Writing should be easier now I have gotten this post out of the way. susiesails

[susiesails]

Dining with My father January 25, 2006

We had made reservations the first day on the ship for the Pinnacle for tonight, as we wanted to eat there to celebrate my father’s first birthday in heaven. We asked our friends Chris and Dan to join us.

Both mom and I knew this day was coming and we had bother been dreading it. What would it be like, what would we be like, neither of us knew. We expected to cry in grief and had asked for a table with some privacy.

I had spent much time in the previous weeks on the ship trying to think of something appropriate to say to celebrate his life. I always came up blank. I did not understand it, but accepted it. I am not usually at a loss for words, as you can probably tell.

I took my dad into the Pinnacle on my shoulder and we had a fine meal and good conversation. We toasted my dad at one point and left the celebrating to that. I still did not understand what was going on except that I felt a sense of peace when I thought of John.

When I spoke to mom about it later, she told me she felt the same sense of peace. When we got back to the room and I opened up the computer to write and check emails, I finally had the answer. John had come home.

My dad had donated his body to science and we sent his body to the medical center in Gainesville, Florida after he died. The email from my uncle told us that his ashes had been returned to my mom and were now in her home in Madison, WI. I guess that is why I had such a sense of peace. Susiesails

[susiesails]

Montevideo, Uruguay January 26, 2006

We are slowly working our way down South America. I am sitting in the ocean bar typing away. I have to write about this city today as we hit Buenos Aires, Argentina tomorrow. It is supposed to comparable with Rio de Janeiro so I am excited.

My friend Carlos is from there and I have heard so many stories about his city and his country. We are already seeing the mate and mate cups appear in Montevideo today, I felt so excited, can you tell most things excite me? Mate is the national drink of Argentina, as coffee is the national drink of America. I am half hoping that Carlos will be waiting for me when I get off the ship as last time I talked to him was in June when I told him of this trip. He told me he expected to stay in the states another 2 years, yet when I called him in December his number was disconnected. I told mom today if he is waiting for me, I would cry and if he is not I will also cry. Hey, either way it will be ok.

As I sat down to write this, we are heading southwest on The Rio de Plata or the River of Silver. There is no silver in this river but that was what it was named by its discoverers long ago. The river is deep blue and the sun is starting to set giving me a beautiful golden horizon to look at. It is so gorgeous to watch, another gift from my wonderful God.

The city was just a delight. The population is 33% Italian so everywhere are huge statues and amazing art, as I picture Europe is going to be. The old city has the typical narrow side streets and the broad avenues with many lanes of traffic that just seem to smoothly merge as they turn.

Mom and I took the highlights of the city tour on a bus and the guide we had was a wonderful speaker, very knowledgeable about the history of his city. He is a history teacher in a private Italian school and makes 4 times what a teacher in a public school makes. A public school teacher makes 230 Dollars a month so do the math. I asked about the price of cars, the cheapest car is $10,000. I asked what kind of car the public school teacher would buy and he told me a toy car in a toy store. He said he has never owned a car, his family uses public transportation. We are truly so lucky in the United States, and I do not think many people appreciate it.

This city does not seem to have the poverty that I have seen in so many of the other cities so far. There are no lines of wash hanging to dry or very few and little trash. This city was much cleaner overall than other cities also. They provide public housing for the poor here and free health care for the poor. However, the taxes are incredible. 53% of wages goes to taxes.

A few of the differences in this city from other city's we have visited are first the dogs. There were dogs on leashes everywhere, from police dogs to pets. Many of them are much skinnier than our dogs back home but when I commented on all the dogs, he told us "we love our dogs here".

Another difference is that they have very few black people here (7%) and they are still severely segregated from the rest of the population. I was watching one of our fellow cruisers attempt to call a waiter in one of the outside café’s and this waiter was not pleased to do anything for our gentleman. It was very apparent in the waiter’s stiff manner and facial expressions. I just laughed and said to myself, “Deal with it, his money is as good as yours”.

One other thing that the country is not proud of admitting is that in the early 1900's, they exterminated all the Indians. The last family that was left was sold to France to be put in a zoo until they died off. They killed off 80,000 Indians and some of them escaped to Brazil to live out their lives in exile. Spanish is the official language of this country and it was nice to finally use my Spanish it has taken me so long to learn. I was delighted when they actually understood me and I was able to get my point across repeatedly. I have my friend Carlos to thank for my continued use of his language as he wanted me to speak only English but I persisted in using the Spanish at times when he was living with us.

Our tour was just delightful and only 3 hours long. Mom slept thru some of it so I knew she was tired. (She has the cold that is being passed around the ship, just a dry cough but deep and severe at times.) When we got back to the ship, we went up to the room and I left the backpack and the camera and headed out again.

I caught the free shuttle to the leather shop at Independence Plaza and caught up with some of my friends, Don and Alice, and many others. Don is a retired navy ship captain, so he is teaching me many things about ships and sailing.

Don has been talking about a bakery he found last time he was in this city. It sounded wonderful, so I immediately told them I knew where the bakery was (I had asked for directions before I got there). They also had asked directions and we all headed out to walk 4 blocks, anything different would taste so good after all the ship food we have been having. The bakery we arrived at was not the one he had been talking about so we asked for another one. It turned out to be smaller than the first, so we headed back. After gorging ourselves on empanadas, wonderful meat pies in a very flaky crust, and many other wonderful treats, we again headed out to find my computer store. I got some blank CDs to download the photos onto and a memory stick to transfer my photos to the web. Therefore, when I get some done I will post the link to the sunfish web site for all to view. (Thanks Wendy!) Patience, my friends, please have patience as I crop and title them.

Uruguay was formed when Brazil and Argentina were having boundary disputes. As they could or would not give in to each other, this country was established. Whenever Brazil and Argentina cannot decide where something will be held, it ends up in Uruguay. Argentina is 16 times bigger than Uruguay and Brazil is 40 times bigger so diplomacy is their best weapon. This river port was desired by both Argentina and Brazil, as it is the gateway to the west. It is formed by three rivers that come together and is huge.

We caught the shuttle back to the ship and did some shopping at the little shops near the ship. It was within walking distance and it was so nice to be able to walk around and not have to worry about when the bus would be leaving and so forth. I enjoyed this little bit of freedom today.

When I got back to the room, both mom and I were tired so we both took naps. We slept long and hard. We missed our dinner in the formal dining room, hurried up to the lido restaurant, and just caught the tail end of the serving time. Good thing too as other than hard-boiled eggs in our fridge and snacks served at 11 pm we would have been out of luck, other than room service.

Another wonderful thing happened today. When we got back to our rooms, our usual gift was waiting for us. The ship gives us presents 3-4 times a week as well as chocolates every night in the turn down service of the beds. Tonight it was down jackets monogrammed with Holland America World Cruise 2006. The sizes left for us were small and medium. Mom looked concerned when I told her, and said, "We need a medium and a large". I tried on the small and it fit!!!!!!! Mom fits in the medium. I was stunned, as I usually would be wearing a large.

Well my friends, we have a time change again tonight, we are going back tonight, so I am eager to catch that extra hour of sleep instead of sitting up typing. Tomorrow, Buenos Aires. Night all, Susiesails

 

June 21, 2006

I will be leaving for a few days to go play at Falls Village, a timeshare with some friends in Branson, MO. We plan on going to Silver Dollar City and other fun things. I will also be hitting the scrapbook store so I can start the scrapbooks for mom and I. So look for another post of my video of Montevideo on Saturday. Bye susie

[Old As Dirt Mom]

June 21, 2006

I will be leaving for a few days to go play at Falls Village, a timeshare with some friends in Branson, MO. We plan on going to Silver Dollar City and other fun things. I will also be hitting the scrapbook store so I can start the scrapbooks for mom and I. So look for another post of my video of Montevideo on Saturday. Bye susie

 

Have fun, Susie! Thanks for all your updates:)

[susiesails]

I have sad news to share. It has now been confirmed I have Multiple Sclorosis. I am entering University Hospital in Columbia, MO on Sunday morning to receive high doses of Cortisone IV for 3 days. I will also be receiving lots of teaching while I am there.

I have set it up for my girlfriend to go with me as Stick is once again going to stay home and let me go by myself. I tell you it is almost impossible for me to get him to go and do anything with me! He hates hospitals! Oh well, my gf will take good care of me. I doubt I will have many visitors as I will be more than 200 miles from my home.

I will be starting on Rebif when I am there, an interferon therapy. I think the cortisone is to stop the side effects from the drug and to get a hold on this disease.

I plan on taking my mandolin and going and playing for the kids stuck in the hospital too. I better go work up my old kid songs so I don't embarrass myself.

Well that seems to be all the news that is fit to print right now. Susiesails