WE ARE CRUISING AGAIN

PAT AND ALICE ARE CRUISING AGAIN 

AUSTRALIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA ON MAASDAM

JANUARY 1, 2019 TO MARCH 29, 2019

JANUARY 6, 2019 TO FEBRUARY 15, 2019

FEBRUARY 15, 2019 TO MARCH 29, 2019

We are excited to be setting out on this wonderful trip on New Years Day. We will board a Cathay Pacific flight to Perth, Australia via Hong Kong. That first leg will be 16 hours. After a 2 hour layover in Hong Kong airport our second flight will last 8 hours. We will arrive in Perth at 5:00 AM on Thursday after crossing the dateline. The ship will dock in Fremantle, so we will transfer to a hotel in Fremantle for our 3 day stay before departure on the 6th. We enjoyed Fremantle last year, and we are looking forward to experiencing some of the things we missed then. We may take the train to Perth and back for a day trip.

Our bags are packed except for the last minute things, but our preparations were not without some anxious moments. 

In early November my  podiatrist ordered another pair of orthotics for me. This process started in May. The first three pairs all had problems. Well, this pair did not arrive until December 19th. On the 28th we agreed that these are finally OK. I am good to go.

While I was coping with this, Alice went to the dentist for a routine exam and cleaning of her teeth. She mentioned that her bridge felt loose when she chewed. X-rays showed that the tooth at the "loose" end had a cavity. The bridge was removed and repair of the tooth was attempted, but there would not be enough tooth left to anchor the bridge. It had to be extracted. The bridge was modified to cover the other tooth because Alice would get an implant to replace the removed tooth when we get home. This was on December 20th. Alice was scheduled to return on the 29th for removal of the sutures. OK.

Her jaw was sore for a few days as it recovered from the trauma. The tooth had a root canal done several years ago, and the tooth had bonded to the jaw bone. It took significant effort to remove it. The bone was modified in preparation for the later implant. As healing progressed the other tooth became sensitive to hot and cold. The dentist fit us in at 5:30 on Thursday the 26th. It was confirmed that a root canal was necessary. 

The endodontist was available so I waited while the procedure was performed. He drilled through the bridge and succeeded in lining up perfectly with the canal on the first attempt. Great. Then while using a file on the canal after the root had been removed the file broke off in the tooth. It was a long piece but did not protrude enough to allow for removal.The segment was too large to be left in the tooth. After multiple consultations, it was decided to use an ultrasound device to work the piece out. After working for some time, this process succeeded. The canal was sealed and the bridge was closed. Alice was good to go home.

The pain was gone as one would expect with a rootless tooth. Antibiotics to prevent infection are the order of the day. Alice was examined on Saturday and given the go ahead for travel. Did you hear our sighs of relief.

I will post again from Fremantle to update you on our adventure. Happy New Year to you all.

Tuesday - April 17, 2018

Tuesday – April 17, 2018

Dakar is one of Senegal’s largest cities with a population of just under 3 million. As we boarded the bus for our Dakar Highlights tour, we could not help but notice the layer of dust on everything. The winds carry Sahara Sand everywhere. Cars left parked for any length of time have comments written in the sand dust on the windows. The vendors setting up the market on the pier were wiping the dust off of their wares. We would see more of them later.

After passing the train station and the Presidential Palace, we stopped to visit the cathedral. In a country that is 95% Muslim it was surprising to find this Catholic edifice. It was an interesting experience.

Our next stop was the Great Mosque. We could not enter this beautiful structure, but we did walk around its exterior. Also on the grounds were the boys’ and girls’ schools where the children learn the tenets of their religion from the age of 3. They are well grounded in religious precepts before they enter the public school system. Our guide emphasized that there is no conflict among religions here. All are allowed to practice their own faith,

After passing the large grounds of the University of Dakar, we made our way to the Sand Painting Gallery. Here we were given a demonstration of this Senegalese art before viewing the gallery. We had an opportunity to purchase works of varying size and quality at commensurate prices. This is not an art form that appeals to us. We took a pass.

Would you believe that our next stop was at a market. This handicraft village is touted as a souvenir market. I did buy a “leather” belt here. I say it is a “leather” belt because in looking at the cutoff piece on the bus I found that it is a sandwich of 2 thin pieces of leather with a rubbery plastic in the middle. It was sort of sized for me, but that turned out to be too long. I did watch the man make the adjustments, so I will be able to fix it back at home.  We did not find anything else to purchase here. We were thinking that the market on the pier would meet our needs.

Now we were on our way to the African Renaissance Monument. This is a 160 tall statue of iron and bronze. It was fabricated by North Korea. It is tuning in its massiveness and artistry. The plaza on which it is built complements it well. From this vantage point we could climb the 180 steps to get up close and personal. NOT!

On a high point near the monument is the lighthouse of Marnelles. It still operates today. Midway between the statue and the lighthouse is a beautiful mosque, The Deity Mosque. We did not stop there, but we did get some nice pictures of it from the monument plaza.

Now, back at the pier, we walked the markets. The few things that we found of interest were highly over-priced when compared to our other experiences. The one piece of fabric that we considered buying was offered at $95. The custom has been to counter at a third of the asking price and negotiate from there. The vendor took the fabric out of my hands when he heard my offer and threw it on the pile. No Deal! Oh well.

Dakar has left us with the impression that it is another very large and crowded city. Unemployment is 40%. That is why so many men are street vendors. They sell whatever they can, including their own property. Their hard life is not made any easier by the dirty environment. This relates to not just the air quality, but also the filth in the streets. Dakar has been a good, but sad, experience.

Monday - April 16, 2018

Monday - April 16, 2018

Today we are visiting Banjul, The Gambia. This narrow country is only about 30 miles wide and 250 miles long. It is located on both shores of The Gambia River and is surrounded by Senegal. This is another country that achieved Independence only recently. It is very poor with a life expectancy for men of 60 years.

As we entered the harbor we passed two anchored ships. They bore a sign indicating that they were a power station. Wires exited the sterns and rose to high-tension towers on shore. We were unable to get an explanation of why they existed, but our guide did tell us that there are sub stations outside the city.

When the ship was cleared by immigration our tour was called at 9:30. This was only 15 minutes later than scheduled. We were stickered for bus number 16. In the parking lot we found buses for every tour except ours. Bus 16 was not in the port. Frantic communications disclosed that it had been delayed, but was on its way. After standing around waiting for an hour, it arrived and we boarded. As we headed toward our first stop the guide apologized because the microphone was not working. Someone would meet us at our first stop to fix this. Soon we eft the paved road and traveled down a dirt road to a Bakau, nearby town. We stopped here for a local craft market. We found some beautiful fabrics and a cute little coiled bowl with a top. We were very happy. We did visit the other booths with their carvings and jewelry. These were very nice, but we managed to avoid purchasing anything else.

Back at the bus we learned that we would now split into two groups on smaller vehicles for the trek to the crocodile pond. This was necessary because the street was very narrow. As we moved along we passed many little shops with women or men running sewing machines. We learned later that this is where the ladies brought their fabric to have garments made. It would take 2 to 3 days to get the finished product. We do not know how much this cost, but our guess is that the prices were very reasonable. We base this on how low the incomes are.

When we arrived at the crocodile site, we first visited an ethnographic museum. Here we viewed exhibits of clothing, tools and instruments. This was all very interesting, and we wished we had more time to view it thoroughly. As it was we were the last to leave the museum and had to hurry to catch up to the group.

They had moved down a trail into the woods. Along the way we passed a fenced clearing with a garden on the other side. We could identify cabbage and corn, but the other crops were new to us. Some women were coming through a gate carrying large baskets of vegetables on their heads. The path was not even or level. They did not waiver in carrying their burdens.

Now we were at the pond. There were crocodiles all around, and they were not fenced in. Some local men were keeping an eye on them, but we walked within 3 feet of them without disturbing them in any way. They did move so we knew they were alive, but they were not interested in us. One man held one of the larger crocs by the tail while passengers had their pictures taken with him. The crocodile’s jaws were wide open. As we moved toward the pond to view the babies, Alice and I stopped to apply insect repellent. These woods were heavy with bugs including mosquitoes. Malaria is not your friend. We stopped at the pond, and sure enough there were two small crocs slowly moving along the shore. Now it was back to the small buses.

Andres joined us on our big bus to tell us that the microphone could not be fixed. He would stay with us fro the rest f the tour to narrate for us. His voice did carry better, and he would move to the rear of the bus to repeat his comments. We all got to hear everything.

Now we drove to Serre-Kunda, the most populous town in The Gambia. Here we got caught in a traffic jam for 20 minutes. Finally we got clear and drove to Arch 22, which celebrates The Gambia’s independence. We stopped at a nearby restaurant to take pictures of the Arch and to have refreshment. The local beer was pretty good. Alice had a coke. The Arch, while nice, cannot compete with the monuments to independence that other countries have offered. This is a reflection of the economic state.

On the move again we were soon back in Banjul. We stopped at the main market, and Andres said he would lead anybody interested on a tour of the market. At the end of the tour he would take us to the ship’s shuttle. The bus would return directly to the port. Alice and I got off the bus. One other lady joined us. The tour was great. He explained various fruits and vegetables to us, and did a thorough job of letting us see the full gamut of crafts. Then he led us to the shuttle.

I talked to Andres on the shuttle. He had been on his phone quite a bit as we returned to the ship. He was the operations manager. He was struggling to keep everything going, but he was doing very well in our estimation. We were happy to have had him as our guide. Our tour was not short-changed in any way. In our minds the tour through the last market more than made up for our delayed start.

Wednesday - April 11, 2018 to Sunday - April 15, 2018

Wednesday, April 11 to Sunday April 15, 2015

These five sea days will have us cruising 2,500 miles from Luanda, Angola to Banjul, Gambia. As I write this it is Sunday and we are experiencing the same calm seas that have accompanied us up the whole western coast of Africa.

On April 12^th at 11:20 PM we crossed the intersection of the Equator and the Prime Meridian. This is Latitude 00:00:00 and Longitude 00:00:00. This is truly a neat experience for us. The Crow’s Nest was full of passengers when we arrived. There was no way we would be able to see the GPS display for the junction. We adjourned to our cabin and watched this on the ship’s bridge channel. It was a fleeting moment as we were traveling 10 miles per hour at the time. My screen shot shows 00:00:01 and 00:00:01. Close enough.

On another night we were awakened at 3:55 AM by the ship’s alarm. The officer of the deck announced that smoke detectors and fire suppression systems had been activated in the incinerator room. We did not need to do anything at this time. Crew response teams had been dispatched to the area. 15 minutes later the captain announced that the fire had been put out, and he encouraged us to return to sleep. We did.

On Friday and Saturday Alice did an admirable job of packing 2 of our suitcases with items we have collected and clothes we no longer need. That is100 pounds down. We still have 2 suitcases and 2 carry-ons to go. And we have 2 weeks to do it. We have decided to ship three bags home via FedEx. This will save a lot of grief at the airports and allow for a greater weight than the airline does. It also assures that the bags we take will fit in the trunk of the taxi at O’Hare. They tend to use Prius cabs with inadequate trunks.