January 16, 2019 - Dili, Timor East - Wednesday, Day 11

January 16, 2019 - Dili, Timor East - Wednesday, Day 11

We awoke to a hazy day at anchor in the harbor of Dili. The first tender had already gone ashore, The captain announced that work was progressing in improving the stairs at the dock. The engineer had informed him that the condition was even worse than the pictures that had been sent to us revealed. There was no sign of the officials. They would make us wait until their 9:00 starting time. He would let us know when the ship had been cleared and the tender operation could start.

We went to the dining room for breakfast. Our regular breakfast servers took our order and provided juice and coffee. Soon our waiter returned to let me know that he had not found any Sambal in the dining room, but would look upstairs in the dining room. There was none to be found up there either. I had to eat my frittata without Sambal. The waiter assured me that he would capture a bottle for me for tomorrow. The whole episode was rather funny to all of us. I am such a trouble maker.

After breakfast Alice and I had a meeting with the personal trainer in the fitness center. She was going to perform body composition tests for each of us. After interviewing us to learn our dietary and exercise habits, she spent some time talking about good eating habits, foods to be encouraged and foods to be avoided or minimized. This was all information that we had received Mary at Amita Weight Loss Solutions when I started their program last year. She weighed us and hooked us up to a machine that computed our Body Mass Index, Basic Metabolism, and percentage of fat, muscle and skeleton. This was similar to, but not as comprehensive as what Amita did for us. Surprisingly, to me, the results were pretty close to what the more sophisticated process at Amita revealed. Clara finished with some further discussion of foods and gave us a strength exercise program to help strengthen us and develop muscle. This was an interesting hour. We will meet with her on another sea day to be coached in the proper execution of the exercises she has suggested.

Alice spent the rest of the day organizing her photos. I did some blog updating, and went online to make sure there were no surprises in our bank account. We were both successful in our endeavors.

At dinner we were joined by a couple from Denver who had dined next to us last week. They had gone ashore and explored the island by taxi. They visited all of the sights they set out to. They commented that this is really a very poor country with primitive infrastructure. They are struggling to develop  their tourism industry. They definitely need improved litter control. This couple was satisfied with their experience and encouraged us to go ashore next time. They did say that they overheard many other passengers complaining about their experiences.

In further discussion with these folks we all concluded that the different reactions separated the travelers from the tourists. Travelers seek out the experience and recognize that it may differ from what they are accustomed to. The tourist wants everything to be just like home. How sad. If you can’t roll with the punches, you miss the joy.

The entertainment was a Chinese lady who played the accordion. Except that it was not just an accordion. It was a midi controller that allowed her to play multiple instruments. She did this very effectively. It was an enjoyable experience. 

We returned to our stateroom and set our clocks back another hour. Before going to bed I went out and walked 3 miles. It was cooler now that the sun had set, and there was a 25 knot breeze on the starboard side. I had no competition for deck space and the solitude was a fine way to end the day.

This was an unusual day for us. We have never stayed onboard in port before. I don’t know then we might have another opportunity like this, but we will not rule it out.