June 11

June 11 Andalsnes, Norway.  The weather outside appears lovely judging by the tv feed from the camera up front. I am sorry to miss my tour here where the spectacular Romsdal Alps meet the north end of the Romsdalfjord. In 2010 the Hurtigruten Ferry came into Romsdalfjord as far as Molde, but not all the way up to the end. At least I have a fine camera view on the tv even if I can't take photos myself. I'm also sorry that I'm missing activities on board, especially some of the movies that I haven't seen, although some of the other stuff sounds like fun also. Oh well ... better that I be fit for cruise number 4.

The "HazMat" guys are a trip. One dons protective gear and comes into the cabin while the other waIts in the hall. The "inside" guy has a disposable apron, shoe covers, rubber gloves and a mask plus a big spray bottle of disinfectant, a couple of wipes of some sort, and perhaps scariest of all, a big red trash bag marked BIOHAZARD.  All hard surfaces that you might have touched get cleaned, and any trash, including the pressed paper trays, paper plates, cups, napkins, etc. from room service go into the red bag. The outside guy runs errands like clean glassware, ice, etc. and hands stuff in. When he's done, the inside guy stands on the threshold to the room and strips his gear into the red bag before stepping back into the hall. They take this stuff seriously, as well they should. I'm sending some stuff to the laundry. It goes out in a "special" pink laundry bag, and I was warned that it will be washed in VERY HOT water. I said that if it doesn't survive, that's okay, and got only a solemn look in reply. It probably goes straight into an autoclave. 

Oh goodie. Today I get a ham sandwich instead of a boiled chicken sandwich for lunch. Still drinking flat Coke from the little toy cans for the electrolytes. Ah HA! Potato chips! Oh joy, oh rapture!

And more good news! According to Dr. Farouk Parker, I may get sprung from this durance vile tomorrow! He and his staff of duty nurses, especially Stephanie, have been great. Now, if I can just kick the cough...

To celebrate, I ordered a "Pizza American" for dinner. Major Mistake. P&O's version of pepperoni pizza is not for the faint of heart or any other organ. Fortunately, my friends of the "HazMat" team arrived a short time later for their evening visit and put the pizza and its aroma into a red BIOHAZARD bag which solved that problem!