Port Stanley

          Saturday, 31 Dec 2011 – Today was our day to go see penguins! Since the Princess ship couldn’t dock on the Falkland Islands, had to board the ship’s tenders to go ashore. Ours loaded about 9:00 A.M. We sat on the upper deck in the open air, which was exciting to Sally; however, Jesse made sure he kept one arm around the railing and the other around Sally the whole time; just to make sure neither of us went overboard. Once ashore, we and one other couple boarded a 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruiser.

          The Falkland Islands is a UK territory, and thus our driver (Tarra) drove on the left side of the road – when there was a road. For the first hour of driving, it was mostly a gravel road; for the second hour, it was what might be called a cow path – except that we had never seen such a rugged terrain. There were lots of ruts, holes, drop-offs, and several metal planks over small ditches that she had to maneuver the tires over. Jesse rode in the front seat, and the other three passengers rode in the back. At first, the scenery was somewhat mountainous with piles of rocks everywhere, but then it changed to flatter, rather desolate-looking, dry country similar to parts of the U.S. West. The land we traveled is private land, which the landowners charge 17 pounds ($15 US) to travel across; that is one of the main incomes, now that raising sheep is not very profitable these days.

          After 2 hours in the 4 x 4, we reached the penguins. There were 3 varieties of penguins at the site. The first thing we noticed was that the largest penguins stood more or less motionless, side by side, while the younger ones were busy padding around, investigating their surroundings. Some of the smaller ones came right up to us. Since people were told not to touch them, we did not, but it certainly seemed very possible. When we were close to a large group of them, it was noisy and very smelly. (There were sheep roaming around in the same area, and they all seemed to get along fine.) We walked down to the white sandy beach there, and watched penguins pad down to the water, wade out a little ways, and then jump in; then they swam back in, looking like they were riding surfboards. The time went quickly there. We ate box lunches, and then repeated the two hours of driving back to the port town of Stanley (population 3,000). One the other passengers remarked that there were more people aboard the Princess Star than were living in Stanley!

          Since we were so late returning to the ship, we arrived a little late for the formal New Year’s Eve dinner, but luckily, so did everyone else at our table. Roz ordered a bottle of wine to share with the rest of the table and we all enjoyed lobster for dinner. Jesse enjoyed a second serving of lobster and two desserts to start the New Year. After dinner, we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet; then returned to our cabin to rest up for the midnight New Year’s Eve celebration.

          HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

At Sea

Friday, 30 Dec 2011 – We started the day with breakfast, a dance class on the Tango, and a Spanish lesson.  The temperature is getting gradually cooler as we head down towards the Falkland Islands.  Earlier this evening, the captain announced that there have been various weather predictions for tomorrow, so we are still waiting for a realistic weather report.  He said the weather can change very abruptly, with all 4 seasons sometimes occurring within one 24-hour period, so we were warned to be prepared!   It’s a little scary to listen to all of the stories about the ship’s tenders sometimes being tossed around in the ocean during the 20-minute ride to the Port Stanley shore.

Before dinner, we attended the Princess Captain’s Circle Cocktail Party, where we were served free drinks.  After dinner, we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet.  Tomorrow will be a long day, starting with our excursion to visit the penguins at Port Stanley, and ending with the ship’s New Year’s Eve celebration.  We hope to “party” to midnight and beyond, but that might not be possible for these two old folks.

At Sea

Thursday, 29 Dec 2011 – Today was another very, very relaxing day at Sea.  We ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, ironed a few shirts, attended a 30-minute “Spanish Language at Sea Lesson,” and danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet; otherwise, we relaxed, napped, and watched TV.

Tomorrow will be another day at sea, but hopefully, we’ll be a little more ambitious.

Buenos Aires

Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011 – Today was the second day in a row of rising fairly early to go on an excursion.  Our bus headed first to the La Boca district, the birth place of the Tango.  We passed colorful houses, a soccer stadium, and Plaza de Mayo surrounded by the presidential residence where Eva Peron addressed the Argentine people.  Our bus had to leave that area in a hurry because of some political event taking place shortly, and police on horses were clearing the streets.  According to news that our tour guide read on the internet, their president had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the official announcement was to be made the following afternoon. 

We walked through part of the La Recoleta Cemetery.  If you visualize a normal cemetery, you would be very much mistaken.  This one is like a few city blocks of impressive monuments, often with statues.  Although it might cost $1,000,000 to be buried there, if your descendants don’t continue to pay maintenance fees, your coffin will be scooped up and moved elsewhere!  Eva Peron’s burial site is also there.  We didn’t remember ever knowing much about her, but our guide made her life story sound interesting.  Apparently, even yet, Argentineans are divided over whether they hate or love her memory.  She was responsible for women getting to vote, and for the 8-hour working day, among other things.  

Besides walking in the cemetery, we also stopped for a short time to shop and grab a bite to eat – but we forgot to ask for someone to take our photo today.

As we’re sailing south along the east coast of South America, we’re noticing a gradual change of climate.  Recife, Brazil was definitely tropical.  In Rio de Janeiro (also Brazil), it was still very hot.  Yesterday we were in Montevideo (Uruguay), where the temperature, palm trees, and cool ocean breeze reminded us of Los Angeles, though the guide said that it gets very hot further inland.  Today in Buenos Aires, the sun was hot, but it was in the upper 70’s.  December 21 was their first day of summer; the guide said it will be much hotter next month (like July at home).

Now we will have two days of leisure (at sea) before our next excursion, and the weather will be chilly at our next stop.

For some reason, dancing for tonight was not scheduled to begin until 9:15 P.M; so we decided to stay in and enjoy the night watching movies on TV.

Montevideo

           Tuesday, 27 Dec 2011 – We were up bright and early – well, early anyway – and on our tour bus by 8:45 A.M. The bus drove by the Rambia (a beach), along the riverfront of Montevideo as we headed to Punta de Este, known as the South American Riviera. “Este” in this case means “peninsula,” we were told by the guide; and Punta de Este is surrounded on most sides by water. The jet set lives in this area in houses worth more than $1,000,000. (We decided not to invest in any property here at this time!) There is a riverfront and also an oceanfront, and we saw where the brownish water was mixing in with the bluer ocean. Near the end of our tour, we walked in some of the old city. On the edge of that area was a tall building of 20 stories or so, with air conditioners in all of its windows; while taking photos, we felt the drops of condensation blowing down on us as we stood in the windy street below. (Better than birds up there!)

            One exciting thing happened while the bus was traveling from the beach area back into the city. Most people on the bus were snoozing when a very loud BANG caused everyone to wake up fast! We were sitting a little more than halfway back in the bus, and thought that the bus had blown a tire. Instead, there was shattered glass in one of the windows near the front of the bus. Soon, some of the tiny pieces of glass began falling out of the window. When we examined it later, Jesse thought the small hole in the window looked like a gunshot. It’s possible that the bullet was lodged in the overhead storage compartment; however, Jesse decided not to search for it for fear of alarming the other passengers. On the other hand, the hole might have been from a rock thrown by a tire, but no one found a rock, either. (It might have been under a seat.)

       Tonight we decided to forego dancing and the hot tub, in favor of trying to get to bed earlier. Of course, Jesse could keep going for a few more hours because he dozed much of the morning and afternoon on the bus. But tomorrow we visit Buenos Aires, the birth place of the Tango, and we both want to be awake for that!

At Sea

Monday, 26 Dec 2011 – Today was a very, very relaxing day.  We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet; otherwise, we relaxed, napped, and watched TV.

Tomorrow will be a long day in Montevideo, Uruguay, so we’ll be calling it an early night.

Christmas

Sunday, 25 Dec 2011 – We forgot to wish everyone a Merry Christmas last night.  We hope everyone at home has been having a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

After returning to our cabin from dinner last evening, Sally slept from about 8:00 to 11:00 PM!  Jesse had been working on the Blog and watching movies on TV, and after Sally woke up for a while & tweaked the Blog a little, he sent it out.  And then about 12:30 P.M., it was back to sleep for both of us!  We had considered attending midnight Mass with the priest that boarded the ship at Rio, but we couldn’t manage to do that. 

However, we did attend Mass at 9:00 this morning.  The priest (on the worship aid identified as “Rev. James N. Watzke, Ph.D./Clinical and Consulting Psychologist”) said he was associated with Notre Dame, but has been working as a clinical psychologist in Chicago for the past 40 years.  The content of his homily was interesting (to Sally – it sounded a lot like psychology: the idea of rebirth & innocence), and during the Mass we sang five Christmas carols (with all verses), so it really felt like Christmas!

After Mass, we went for a late breakfast (10:00), where we sat with a couple whom we recognized as often being with our small tour group.  They were surprised to hear that we actually climbed the 220 steps up to Christ the Redeemer yesterday.  Many of the “older” people found the elevator or escalator.  Also, we were shown their iPad (the second time on this cruise that this has happened), and we now see the advantages in becoming more modern!  We enjoyed a light lunch, 3-1/2 hours later, where we conversed with a French-speaking couple from Montreal.  Jesse told them au revoir as they were leaving and they complemented him on his excellent pronunciation.  (Jesse took one semester of French at St. Benedict’s or it would be more accurate to say that French took him!)

Today the TV channel that gives ship data proclaims this as Day #1 of the cruise (not #17 that we have actually been aboard).  Also, the seas were called “rough” most of the day instead of the usual “moderate.”  The wind was strong, and it was raining in a fine mist (all day until about 6:00 P.M.), which is the first time on this trip, so that the temperature was 10 degrees or more cooler than it was yesterday.  We were surprised to see the buffet breakfast area packed with people so late in the morning, but we were told that there was a lot of partying going on at midnight last night; more Latinos are now on board, and apparently they celebrate most on Christmas Eve.

We participated in a ballroom dance lesson on the Merengue at 4:30 P.M.    After dinner (the fourth formal one), we attended the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party, with free champagne; and danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet and then to the Grooveline.  We decided to skip our swimming exercise tonight, but finished our evening sitting in the hot tub.  Although today didn’t feel much like Christmas and we missed seeing any of our family, we still had a great time.

 

Rio de Janiero

Saturday, 24 Dec 2011 – Today was a very long day, starting when we boarded our tour bus about 7:30 A.M. after a light breakfast.  Our first stop was Sugarloaf, one of Rio de Janeiro’s famous landmarks that offers stunning views of the area.  We rode two separate cable cars to reach the top of Sugarloaf, and the same for the return.  From the top, the view of the city, surrounding harbor, and mountains, was breathtaking.  We were given a lot of leisure time on Sugarloaf, mostly to stall time until noon, when our tour guide had scheduled our tram ride for Christ the Redeemer statue.

By noon, the temperature had risen to the 90s which, along with the humidity, was very uncomfortable on Christmas Eve.  At 12:40 P.M. we finally started our tram ride up to the statue.  Although the slow-moving tram through the heavily forested area (which included trees with large, strange-looking fruit) was open-air, it did not create enough of a breeze to counteract the heat.  The tram ride took about 30 minutes; then we climbed about 220 steps on foot to the top of Corcovado Mountain to visit the 125-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer, who literally embraces the city below with His outstretched arms.   After enjoying the view for about 30 minutes, our tour group stood in line for another 45 minutes or so before boarding the tram back down the mountain.

Afterwards, we rode in our tour bus along Copacabana Beach, which Jesse had always referred to incorrectly as “Coca Banana Beach,” and made a short photo stop.  We ended the tour with a visit to the Selaron Staircase, where a local artist had adorned a neighborhood street staircase with thousands of ceramic tiles.

Today marked the end of the first cruise, and three couples from our little group were taken on to the airport immediately after our tour so that they could fly back home.  As we re-boarded the ship at about 4:45 P.M., many new arrivals to the ship were also boarding for the second cruise.

After dinner at a newly assigned table beside a window (as our group had requested), we returned to our cabin, exhausted, and called it an early night.

At Sea

Friday, 23 Dec 2011 – We enjoyed another relaxing day at sea.  After breakfast, we returned to the cabin, where Sally napped and Jesse watched a movie on TV.  After lunch, we returned to the cabin, where Jesse napped and Sally worked on our photo files.  Sadly, we missed the second ballroom dance review.

After dinner, we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet; and then swam in the covered swimming pool, finishing our evening sitting again in the hot tub by the pool.

We’ll be going to bed early tonight to prepare for tomorrow’s very long day in Rio de Janeiro!

At Sea

Thursday, 22 Dec 2011 – We awakened early again this morning, mostly recovered from yesterday’s ordeal.  After breakfast, Jesse (the shopper in the family!) went down to the second onboard outlet sale, while Sally stayed in the cabin and read.  In the afternoon we went to our daily dance lesson, which was a review of the steps learned so far.  After dinner (the third formal one), we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet; and then swam in the covered swimming pool, finishing our evening sitting again in the hot tub by the pool.

We are approaching the end of the cruise to Rio de Janeiro, but of course we are staying on board for the second cruise to Santiago, Chile.  Before we boarded, we didn’t realize they are considered two separate cruises.  Only one more at sea day left before our day in Rio.  Therefore, today we received our new Cruise Card (room key/charge card) which was an upgrade to a Platinum Card.  The main advantage to this new category for us is free Internet minutes.

We noticed today that our clocks were only 2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.  However, we also received notice today that we should set our clocks forward one hour tonight, thus increasing the difference again.  (We must have gone slightly east again, or maybe the time zone line was not straight in this location?)

Recife, Brazil

Wednesday, 21 Dec 2011 – Thanks for the e-mail responses that we received so far.  It’s nice to know that some of our family and friends are following our blog.

This was definitely NOT a relaxing day.  This was one of those days when anything that could go wrong, did go wrong!

We sat our alarm for 6:15 AM and requested a wake-up call for the same, as a backup; however, we both woke early, and by 6:15, we were leaving our cabin for breakfast.

We boarded the shuttle buses at 8:15 AM for a short ride to the terminal, where our tour buses were to be waiting; however, one of the shuttle personnel requested that some of our group board a second shuttle, which did not make our tour guide, Dee, very happy.  There were two shuttle drop-off locations.  To make a long story short, the second shuttle dropped eleven of us at wrong location, and it was 10:30 AM by the time we were able to rejoin our group and start our tour.

In spite of our late start, we still managed to see most of the sites planned for the tour.  We started with a drive along Boa Viagern Beach, where we could see some of the reef offshore.  Brazil has the second largest reef in the world following that of Australia.  Then our minibus went on to the main area of Recife where we visited the Francisco Brennard Cultural Park, built 500 years ago, and visited the Golden Chapel.  We stopped at the Casa de Cultura, an ancient jail; and the Marco Zero, which was the site on which the city of Recife was founded.  Then we strolled on the Born Jesus Street, where the first Jewish quarter and first Synagogue of the Americas were established.  Upon completion of the tour, while boarding the shuttle, one of our group fell through one of the street grates and scraped his leg, though his injury seemed to be minor.

It had been a very hot, very humid day, and we tried to keep in the shade as much as possible.  This was probably the closest we have ever been to the equator.

After boarding the ship, we stopped for a short snack and rested a little while before dinner.  After dinner, we returned to the cabin to call it an early night – FINALLY!

At Sea

Tuesday, 20 Dec 2011 – We enjoyed another relaxing day at sea.  We shared breakfast with an interesting couple from Norway, who have also lived in South Africa.  Both are physicians who retired from both the military and private practice.  They commented that physicians in Norway are on standard wages and aren’t “rich” like American doctors.

At 11:15 AM, we attended the group dance lesson on the Samba.  The basic Samba was easy to learn, but two 20-30 year old Brazilian couples demonstrated several complicated routines that Jesse and Sally will NEVER master.

After lunch, we enjoyed doing two loads of laundry.  Two of the ships maintenance crew walked into the laundry room, just as Jesse was snapping pictures of Sally and gave us very suspicious glances.  Oh well, let them wonder…

After dinner, we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet.  Since we start our shore excursion at 7:30 AM tomorrow, we decided to skip the swimming for tonight.

At Sea

Monday, 19 Dec 2011 – We hope that some of our family and friends are following our blog.  Very few have replied to us, which makes us wonder if we are sending it into a vacuum.  (For those who didn’t already have our email address, it’s in our Christmas letter that we sent out before our cruise.)  Anyway, we would love to hear from you, too!

Yes, we know that ‘tis less than a week before Christmas and all through the ship (not quite) are Christmas decorations.  The weather is not “Christmassy;” on our deck the air is very warm and humid, even in the early morning.  We brought too many items to keep us warm when we see the penguins, and not enough cool shirts & shorts.  Some of our fellow passengers run around mainly in their bathing suits – but we don’t!  One would think that ocean breezes on a ship would be cool, but not at this latitude.

At about 11:00 A.M. our ship crossed the equator.  A “Crossing the Line” ceremony is always performed on board ships when crossing the equator the first time during a voyage.  Usually all members of a ship’s company who have not previously crossed the “Line” are initiated at the ceremony.  One person dressed as King Neptune, some other characters, and numerous nymphs all parade around the ship; court is held; and awards are bestowed on distinguished veterans.  This morning, people who knew what to expect already had the best places for viewing the ceremony.  However, Jesse took some photos by extending his long arm above the heads of others while Sally sat in the back in the shade.  A woman sitting next to Sally said that U.S. Navy ships have always held a ceremony when crossing the equator, which seems surprising; she said that, invariably, someone would be crossing the Line for the first time on a specific ship, and so the ceremony would be repeated for their benefit.

Later we attended the group dance lesson again, this time working on the Waltz.  We learned a different Waltz step somewhat similar to the crossover; we had seen others do the step but didn’t know how to do it until now.  After dinner, we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet.  After that (at 8:45 P.M.), we swam in the covered swimming pool, which sloshed a great deal back and forth, making it feel a little like swimming in the ocean.  It was raining outdoors at the time, which might have created the extra “sloshing.”  We were the only ones in that pool at that time, and very few people even walked around it on their way to the buffet restaurant.  We finished out the evening sitting in the hot tub by the pool.

At Sea

Sunday, 18 Dec 2011 – We lost electrical power to our cabin at 12:35 am.  Sally was already asleep, but Jesse had to find his way to bed in the dark.  We heard that power was offline in a large portion of the ship for about an hour.   At any rate, last night we turned our clocks back another hour and thus perhaps “got another extra hour of sleep.”  We both woke up around 7:30 am.  After breakfast, we shopped for 20 minutes at the 3-hour onboard outlet sale.  Although we were given two large, plastic Princess shopping bags to use for any purchases, we didn’t buy anything; when Sally would see something that might be worth closer examination, someone else’s hands suddenly snatched it and crammed it into her shopping bag. Twenty minutes of that was enough!

Later, again we went to a large group dance lesson – the second for Tango.

Yesterday the temperature started increasing noticeably as our ship was sailing down the coast of Africa (along West Sahara).   By this morning, our ship was sailing away from Africa, heading southwest across the Atlantic toward Brazil.  Prior to lunch, we swam in one of the ship’s two pools and then sat in a hot tub.  After lunch, we did a load of laundry.  And after that, Sally read and Jesse watched movies on TV.

After dinner, we danced first with the Buenos Aires Quartet in one lounge, and then with the Grooveline in the same lounge as on previous nights.  Besides several Cha-Cha’s and a few Swing’s, we were happy that a Tango was played so that we were able to practice what we had learned (sort of!).  So far, we haven’t danced the Foxtrot since we left home.

At Sea

Saturday, 17 Dec 2011 – We moved our clock and watches one hour back last night, so Jesse got an extra hour of sleep; however, Sally still woke up at 4:00 am.  After breakfast, we attended a ballroom dance class on the Tango.  Since we already knew the basics of the Tango, we didn’t learn anything new today, but the instructor promised to teach another couple of moves during her next class.  Afterwards, we relaxed, ate lunch, and then relaxed again.

We attended the Princess Captain’s Circle Members’ cocktail party at 5:15 pm, where we enjoyed complementary cocktails and hors d’oerves.  After dinner, we danced again with the Grooveline.

At Sea

 Friday, 16 Dec 2011 – This morning, we shared breakfast with fellow Cruise Critics, Becky and Larry, from Council Bluffs, IA.   They gave us a few tips on possibly reducing airline flight costs.  They also stayed in Tuscany (Italy) for a week before the cruise. 

During lunch, the ship’s captain announced that he had turned the ship back to search for a missing crew member.  Recordings from the ship’s security cameras showed the young man jumping from the rear of the ship.  Maritime law required the ship to return to the location of the incident and search for the crew member.  The Captain informed us that we would not be allowed to return to our voyage until we were released by the local Maritime Rescue Coordination Center.  Incidentally, the story is being told that the young man was involved in a love triangle – and apparently lost – which was enough to trigger his jump.

At 1:30 pm, we attended a Cruise Critic’s “Meet & Greet” with an optional gift exchange.  Although we did not participate in the exchange, it was fun watching the others “fight over” the gifts.  The most sought after (& fought over) gifts were those provided by a couple from Israel.

Tonight, we enjoyed our second formal dinner and, afterwards, more dancing with the Grooveline.

At 10:00 pm, the ship’s captain announced that they had completed their search for the missing crew member and had failed to find any sign of the ship’s “casualty.”  He also stated that the ship had been released by the local maritime rescue authorities, and that we would be resuming our voyage to Recife, Brazil.  The captain also asked that we keep the missing crew member in our thoughts and prayers.   Sally and I would have been very surprised if they had found the young man alive, or his body.

 

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            Thursday, 15 Dec 2011 – We crossed into another time zone last night, so we got an extra hour of sleep.   We shared breakfast with a fellow Cruise Critic, Marilyn, from upper New York State (but recently moved to Cape Cod, Mass.).   She demonstrated her I-pad to us, which we found very informative; however, at least for now, we plan to stick with out laptop for travel.   Marilyn also gave us information on river cruise lines that we might be interested in investigating.   After breakfast, we attended a lecture on “Restless Oceans,” by marine geologist, Randy Ashley.   Sally found it very interesting, but Jesse slept through the entire lecture.   After dinner, we enjoyed more dancing with the Grooveline.

A Day at Sea & Gibraltar

Wednesday, 14 Dec 2011 – Today our ship docked at the Rock of Gibraltar, a British Territory.  The “Rock” is less than 3 square miles in area but because Europe is only eight miles from Africa at this point, military powers have fought over it.  We rode the cable car to the top with Jesse holding onto Sally for dear life, and then we toured the Great Siege Tunnel.  The tunnel, built by the British during a Spanish siege in the late 18th century, was enlarged during World War II.  Wild apes are allowed to run free in the area.  When Jesse was sitting on a stone bench resting, one decided to rest right beside him.  Jesse hardly dared to move until after the ape jumped off the bench.

After dinner, we danced first to a DJ and then to the Grooveline.  There were only four or five couples dancing this time, but there were more Cha Chas, Rumbas, and Waltzes.

Gibraltar was our last stop in Europe before heading out into the Atlantic.  Then we have six “at sea” days before reaching Brazil on 21 December.

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Tuesday, 13 Dec 2011 – This was an “at sea” day, and it was great to just eat, relax, eat, relax, eat, and relax! After dinner, we did go dancing for the first time at one of the ship’s nightclubs. There was a 4-person band called Grooveline that consisted of the main vocalist, a guitarist, a keyboard player, and a drummer. When we arrived, they were playing songs from the ‘50’s, then the ‘60’s, and then got stuck mostly in the ‘70’s. It was mostly swing except for two Cha-Chas and a Rumba. Several other couples on the floor actually did ballroom dancing (i.e. they didn’t just wiggle back & forth), which we didn’t see on our last year’s cruise. After about 20 minutes there, the band took a 15-minute break so we returned to our cabin. When Jesse happened to walk by there a half hour later, the band was playing but no one was dancing.

Last night (Monday), another couple came to our dinner table for the first time, Bill and Joan. It turned out that we already had met them on a small-group excursion, and then had discovered that they were in the cabin next to us. Both Bill and Joan are native to the US, but have lived in Australia for many years and have dual citizenship. It was great having them join our table!

Tunisia

Monday, 12 Dec 2011 – For the second day in a row, Sally woke up at 4:30 A.M.  By evening, she’s “wiped out,” and after writing up a draft for the blog, she hits the sack.  One night, when Jesse was going to bed very late, Sally thought it was time to get up; at least she managed to go back to sleep again for a few hours.  There’s a lot to be said about crossing the ocean the old-fashioned way so that there is no jet lag!

At 6:00 A.M. today we had a wake-up call again and after breakfast, met with our small group of 12 going ashore to Tunisia.  For this cruise we are doing excursions for the European ports of Corfu and Tunisia, plus all South American ports, with a woman (Dee) who organizes tours instead of automatically signing up for Princess tours as we always have in the past.  We found out about Dee’s tours on CruiseCritic.com, and they are less expensive than the Princess cruises.  Although we don’t get the learned lectures at the various sites, we travel in a mini-bus (as on Corfu) or 9-passenger van (as today in Tunisia) instead of being in a large busload of people. 

           So… we went first to ancient Carthage, where we saw the ruins that look similar to those in Rome.  (Carthage was founded in 814 B.C.)  That’s where Gen. Patton said [in the movie] that he had fought in the ancient battle at Carthage in a previous life.  Second, we went to Sidi Bou Said (see’-dee boo sah-eed’), which is an Arab-Moorish village with narrow, cobblestone lanes lined with whitewashed buildings with blue shutters and trim.  The narrow lanes were also heavily lined with merchants selling tourist items, but we resisted buying anything.  Third, we went to a large American cemetery for servicemen who died in northern Africa in World War II.  After that, 8 of us elected to return to the ship, while the other 4 stayed to shop in Medina before going back.  People have told us that portions of the Star Wars movies were filmed in Tunisia, but much further south.  Now THAT would be a place to see!

We were glad to arrive back at the ship by mid-afternoon today where we could relax – and of course, eat a late lunch at the buffet.  It’s very hard to eat only nutritious salad, etc., when your husband sits down with tiramisu and apple dumpling, followed by a big ice cream cone! 

Quite a few other passengers besides us are looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow instead of having to get up early for sightseeing.  We enjoyed Michelle Murlin’s performance last evening but were surprised to see that the big auditorium was half-empty.  It appears that this ship is full of a lot of tired people!

Corfu & Valletta

Sunday, 11 Dec 2011 –We, especially Sally, have been slow to recover from jet-lag.  During the past two days our ship has crossed and then re-crossed time zones by sailing east from Venice to Dubrovnik and then west again to Corfu.  Today we are back on “Venice time,” which is seven hours ahead of Quad-City time (CST).  Having excursions several days in a row is also tiring, with the result that, up to today, these two old folks have headed back to the cabin after dinner each night instead of seeking entertainment.  Sally is looking forward to a day “at sea” but we still have tomorrow’s visit to Tunisia before that happens.  Some people do skip excursions, staying on the ship instead; however, even though we had visited Malta and Tunisia previously, we signed up to see them again.

Today, we visited Valletta, Malta.  Malta is an island in the Mediterranean with a long history, with very old fortifications in the harbor that make an impressive view as a ship arrives to dock there.  Our guided tour included a bus ride through the three gates, and a walking tour inside the Inquisitor’s Palace and dungeons, among other sights.  We also had a tasty, traditional lunch at a nice restaurant, complete with wine.

After dinner, we enjoyed our first Princess Showtime presentation during this cruise, which featured Broadway vocalist, Michelle Murlin.  Her credits include “Cats,” Les Miserables,” and “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”  Although Jesse slept during most of the show, he claimed to have been “listening in his sleep.”

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Saturday, 10 Dec 2011 – We were awakened from sleep at 6:00 A.M., the earliest since leaving home, to prepare for our day trip to Corfu, Greece. On top of that, being totally unprepared for the chilly, windy, rainy weather when we stepped off the ship, we dashed back to our cabin (a long way!) to fetch rain gear. When we returned to the place where we had left the group, they were gone! At first, we believed we had been left, but eventually we figured out that they had left on a shuttle to a further point where they could board another bus, and they had waited there for us. The weird thing was that Jesse had not slept well all the previous night (very unusual for him) because he had nightmares about being left behind!

Corfu is a Greek island on the Ionian Sea at the northwestern edge of Greece, just south of Albania. It has a long history as a “highway” between the Greece and the West. Olive trees are everywhere, and the rocky coastline is breathtaking. Our minibus driver wound around the hairpin turns, obeying frequent stoplights that signaled one-way traffic on the narrow roads. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant that was perched high on a cliff; the view was of the surf far below and some nearby tiny islands (basically huge rocks). We also visited the Achilleion palace/museum, originally designed as a villa in 1890 for the Empress of Austria. It was cloudy but not raining for most of our 7-hour tour.

             We ended the day with a “formal” dinner with our new friends.

Embarkation & Dubrovnik

Friday, 09 Dec 2011 – We awoke for the first morning on the cruise ship but slept late.  At 10:15 we found the meeting place for a group of cruisers that had “met” on line (more or less).  There, we met a couple from Council Bluffs, Iowa.  After that, we ate a late breakfast at the buffet dining area.

In the afternoon was our excursion to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  This is an ancient city that has survived wars of long ago, the Black Plague, a terrible earthquake, and the revolution in 1991 (when the Serbs shelled the monasteries, etc.).  The setting on the rocky coast is beautiful and the sights were interesting, but we returned to the ship before the end of the excursion because we were still tired from jet lag and insufficient sleep.

We had a small snack after returning to the ship, and ate dinner at 6:00 PM.  (The other two guests are still no shows.)

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Thur., 08 Dec 2011 – We awoke again in our Venice hotel room, and ate a delicious breakfast again downstairs. After finishing at about 10:15, we investigated checkout time – and found that it was supposed to be 10:00 A.M. Although it was almost 11:00 by the time we reached the front desk, there was a line of people of waiting to check out, so it worked out O.K.

We stored our luggage at the hotel while we went out to “kill some time.”

If we had found a store open that sold Gelato, we would have bought some. However, it was a holiday (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and some small businesses were closed. We did buy some “Prugna Liquore” at a small grocery store to take with us on the cruise.

By then, several others were also heading to the “People Mover,” the metro that takes people to the dock, so we had company along much of the way to the ship. However, first we had to maneuver our heavy suitcases up and down the stairs of the bridge over the canal; and then, after arriving at the dock, we had to pull our respective loads again to the cruise ship loading area. We were very glad to leave our luggage at the drop-off station for loading on the ship at 1:00!

We had expected a very long check-in line at the Star Princess cruise ship; however, by 1:30, we were in our cabin. Our cabin steward, Harold from the Philippines, introduced himself to us; and we soon went to the buffet dining area to begin our overeating.

At dinner we met the others who will be sharing our table for evening meals: a couple (Janice & Dave) from Atlanta; a woman (Roz); and Roz’ friend (Janet) from high school days. Dave has worked in software but is now retired; Janice retired from 40 years of teaching high school social studies; and they have taken about 20 cruises, all on Princess. Roz is retired military, originally from Montana, but has lived a lot of places. Janet now lives in northern Washington State.  The other two guests scheduled for our table did not arrive.

Soon after sitting down for dinner, the ship departed from Venice.  In the evening, we chose to rest instead attending social events.

A Full Day in Venice

Wednesday, 07 Dec 2011 – We awoke in our Venice hotel room by 3:30 A.M. this morning!  Is that jet-lag or not?  After a couple of hours, we decided to get up and when it was starting to get light, we noticed that we could now see our cruise ship in the distance from our hotel window.

Later, we went downstairs for breakfast.  It was probably the earliest we have ever eaten breakfast at a hotel.  Breakfast was very good and we stuffed ourselves generously; they might have had to significantly replenish the buffet after we left!  Noticing that there were some guests besides us speaking together in English, we spoke with them before leaving the breakfast area.  It turned out that they will also be taking this cruise, as we suspected.  Luckily, they were also interested in sharing a gondola ride with us.  The standard cost for a 20-minute gondola ride is 80 Euros for a maximum of 8 passengers.  Therefore, we would have paid 80 Euros for just the two of us.  But the 6 of us decided to take the 50-minute ride for 120 Euros, which still cost us only 40 Euros (our share).  Jesse’s coworkers had given him a cash retirement gift to be used specifically for his gondola ride, so he was able to maximize the gift.  It was more fun, too, with six of us in the gondola, and the gondolier had a good English vocabulary.  At the end of the ride, we were pretty cold, so we returned to the room to warm up and relax. 

Later, we went out again and found our way (never an easy task for us!) to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square).  Even though we had been there just 2 years ago, we felt that we should see it again this time.  After taking a few pictures, we headed back to our hotel.  It was about 5:00 P.M. when we got back, and by then we were very cold and Sally’s nose and cheeks were bright red.  After warming up again, we went to a restaurant around the corner for dinner.  Jesse ordered seafood soup, fettuccini alfredo, and iced tea; Sally ordered noodles with salmon & sauce, and cappuccino; and we shared tiramisu for dessert.  It was only 6:00 P.M. when we returned to our room.  It still amazes us that at 6:00 P.M., it is only 11:00 A.M. in Bettendorf – but it seems like midnight to us!

Arrival in Venice

Tuesday, 06 Dec 2011 – After actually leaving home late on 02 Dec. & spending a few days in Battle Creek, MI, we have arrived in Venice, Italy!

             The first leg of our trip from Detroit to Toronto was delayed more than 2.5 hours, mostly the result of a cargo door problem.  Also, the temp had dropped while our plane was loading, which then meant standing in line with other planes to be de-iced.  Even though we were impatient to get going, watching the de-icing was interesting.  Although we had to go through customs in Toronto, collect our bags, and then recheck them, miraculously both we and our luggage made it to Venice on schedule!

            At the Venice airport we collected our bags and soon boarded a public bus to the Piazzale Roma.  Here the sun was shining brightly, after seeing rain & small hail at the other airports.  At midday it was 47 degrees here, though it might have dropped almost 10 degrees by this evening.  It is not much more than a block in distance from the bus stop to Hotel Olimpia, where we’re staying.  However, we were operating on no sleep.  Therefore, Sally used the last ounce of her strength to pull her heavy suitcase & attached smaller bag up the steps of a canal bridge.

             Luckily our room at Hotel Olimpia was ready for us, even though it was only 12:30 PM.  We are on the fifth (top) floor, with sloping wood ceiling, like an attic.  It’s a tiny room with attached tiny bathroom (with shower & bidet).  Our window gives a view of rooftops; in the far distance we can see the harbor and a docked cruise ship.  Our cruise ship will be docked at the same location in a day or two.  Within 15 minutes after reaching our room, Sally was in bed, asleep, and Jesse was not far behind.  At 4:30 PM we woke up, and soon went walking in the neighborhood.  We found a small pizza shop nearby and bought two large slices of pepperoni pizza.  Although we had planned to purchase Gelato for dessert, due to the coolness of the weather we decided to postpone that pleasure until tomorrow!