March 16, 2019 - Sea Day - Saturday, Day 69
We are actually resting a bit today after our busy day in Makassar yesterday. Our first lecture was at 10:00. This was the port talk for Dili, Timor-Leste. We were provided with much useful information to help us get around.
This was followed at 11:00 by a talk titled Magnificent Marine Mammals. The marine biologist spoke about whales, dolphins and dugongs. The latter are similar to manatees. The topic was appropriate because there is a possibility that we will observe one of these creatures in the remaining days of our journey. We learned about differences in feeding and swimming characteristics as well as how each species communicates. We sat like sponges trying to soak up this wealth of knowledge. Now we just have to see some.
The Indonesian Lunch followed at noon. Since we will be leaving Southeast Asia after stopping at Dili tomorrow, we are having an Indonesian celebration today and a Filipino celebration tomorrow. Somehow St. Patrick will wiggle in there. I wore my batik to lunch. I am still amazed at how the Indonesian crew admires my shirt. Today one of them explained that the pattern is on a par with what royalty wear. They are surprised to learn that I bought it 3 years ago on Java at a very reasonable price. I had no idea what a good buy I had made. Our meal featured a selection of 4 Indonesian recipes on one plate. That is one very large plate.
We had a lecture on the history of Dili at 1:30. Then we adjourned to our cabin to work on pictures and the blog. Next we prepared for Gala night.
I wore the barong, a Filipino formal shirt worn without a jacket, that I purchased in Puerto Princesa to dinner. Our wine attendant and assistant waiter are both Filipino. They expressed gratitude that I was honoring their custom, and complimented me on the quality. Several other Filipinos approached me after dinner to do likewise. I was pleased that they noticed, and that they approved. They seemed surprised that a passenger would make the effort to respect their tradition. I must say that I did not see another barong all night.
After a delightful dinner we attended the encore performance of The Ambassadors of Soul. They were even better than last time.
We spent a short time planning our attack on Dili before retiring.
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