Amazon Cruise 7

Wednesday, November 28  --  At sea (Atlantic)

And it's nice to see blue water again instead of reddish brown silty water even if the blue water means more rock and roll motion.

We had fun at dinner last night. The Canadian couple Linda and Dave  joined the Rosses and us. The conversation was varied to say the least. Several of us ordered the frog leg appetizer. I wound up with two legs, and Margaret only got one, so I shared. But I really did eat one. I've actually had frog legs before but don't remember where...probably on a cruise.

One lecture today was on yachts of the rich  and not-necessarily famous. There were photos of some gorgeous ships, some bigger than small cruise ships. The second lecture was on Magellan, Part 1. This ran from his childhood to his death in the Philippines. I hadn't known that he had sailed to the Philippines for Portugal before his westward expedition. So he was the first human to actually sail through all 360 degrees of longitude. No idea what Part 2 will cover.

Otherwise it was a quiet day. We did get our passports and health cards back today. I guess the Caribbean islands aren't as concerned about visas and yellow fever shots. The Brazilian visa is easier and cheaper online than it used to be, but is still a hassle. The yellow fever vaccination is a requirement for Devil's Island, and if you don't have it, you're not allowed on the cruise.

Another nice dinner this evening in the Pinnacle Grill with Stew and Sandy Ross. We are certainly lucky once more to have interesting table mates.

Back at the cabin, we each received a certificate (suitable for framing of course), purportedly from King Neptune, certifying that we have crossed the Equator 4 times during this voyage. I counted up that I've crossed it maybe 14 or 16 times now. If I'd kept all those certificates, I could probably paper a small wall with them.

Thursday, November 29  --  At sea

I didn't get up in time for the morning lecture and wasn't interested in the afternoon one. We went to a brunch in the main dining room that was okay. Then we spent much of the afternoon on our balcony watching the ocean roll by.  We're still in the tropics with good weather, so it's literally smooth sailing.

A couple of days ago it was another Gala Dinner night. The ship's photographer came by and, for a change, we let him take photos. We never expected that they would turn out well of both of us, but they did. I think it's been about a thousand years since I bought a ship's photo of myself.

Friday, November 30  --  Still at sea

I like days at sea because there's nothing that you feel any real pressure to do. As I said a few days ago: sleep late, eat some, maybe go to a lecture, crochet or knit, talk to people, sit on the balcony watching the ocean roll by, eat again, etc.

While crocheting in our usual place this morning, a number of people stopped by to see the finished shawl. It was fun showing it off. Then a couple of quilters joined us, and we had a nice chat about handcrafts in general.

By the way, the lecture on Magellan, Part 2 dealt with the aftermath of the voyage. It was interesting in several respects, but one I hadn't heard of was the day of the week  that the survivors arrived back in Spain almost 3 years later. On the ship, the man who had logged the whole trip had records that showed it was a Wednesday, while in Spain they swore it was Thursday. It was eventually referred to the Pope (Gregory the somethingth) and his stable of scientists. The final solution was to establish what we now know as the International Date Line.

Mid-afternoon we met up with Stew and Sandy in the Crow's Nest lounge. I showed them some travel photos we had talked about, and each of us women showed off our handiwork projects. Sandy does exquisite small mesh needlepoint. Meanwhile, as Happy Hour was approaching, I bought us a round of drinks...managing to forget that Happy Hour means 2 drinks each, or at least it means "second drink cheap and automatically ordered"! I have a ritual of having one Meyers rum and coke per cruise in honor of all the neat people I've met on past and present cruises. Well, I couldn't let that second one sit alone, so I had half of it too. I haven't been this blitzed since a Halley's Comet cruise in 1986...or was it 1985? Whew! And that time took a whole lot more drinks.

Saturday, December 1  --  Scarborough, Tobago

Well' so much for Tobago and on to Plan B again. As we approached Scarborough, the forces of Mother Nature conspired against us. The winds and currents prevented us from docking there. So the Captain made the decision to go to a little fishing village named Charlotteville (yes, Charlotteville without the "s") on the northeast coast of the island. There we anchored and launched the tenders around 10:00 a.m.

The tours were all canceled as the tour operators didn't want to relocate to the far end of the island. According to the Captain, there isn't much to do ashore except wander around the little village or go to the beach on the other side of the point. So, Tobago will have to continue its existence without my footprints. It is pretty to look at from our balcony, though.

All credit due to our Cruise Director, a woman named Stone, and her staff who super quickly rearranged the day's activity schedule and had a printed version of the changes along with a sheet of information about Charlotteville delivered to all cabins post haste. She got each of the guest lecturers on board to present an extra lecture. One was on Grenada which is our next stop, and the other was on a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. She also quickly lined up a local Tobago steel drum band to come aboard and play up on the Lido deck for an hour or so.

Of course Margaret went ashore in the morning and walked around the little village and up one of the roads headed up hill but which ran out of pavement halfway up. She even brought me a little rock as a souvenir of the place. Then after lunch we attended most of Stone's (she only uses the one name) new schedule. I especially appreciated the steel drum band.

Onward to Grenada. I like that island. Some friends and I used to send shipments of books there for the locals who liked to read. Our original contact has left there, so I have no way to find out how the books fared. I suspect that they got passed around the scattered villages until the ink wore off and the pages fell out.