We got a long weekend in paradise – Mauritius. I must first thank my friend and former colleague Jenny Mao for my Mauritius experience. She is Mauritian – what are the odds of knowing someone from the smallest country we visit? Jenny and her wonderful family, mother and aunties as well as cousin Georgy, set us up in Mauritius. We first found the family restaurant, Charley Snack, as if we had been there before. We were treated to a lovely meal of noodles (I love noodles in every language) and chicken and some of that wonderful pineapple. I have not cared for pineapple for decades, but found these little mini-pineapples to be tasty as heck. Auntie would not accept payment from us – we were received as if we were family. Then Uncle heard where we were headed and sent not one but two guides to make sure we got to our destination.
After we shopped and looked around the waterfront for a while, modeled after the waterfront in Capetown (!), we called Georgy. He picked us up, 3 women he had never met, and treated us like queens (no irony intended). He drove us up the coast, stopping at a wonderful beach at sunset for our first (of many) photo op. All the while he was telling us about Mauritius, answering questions, and generally being a fine tour guide. We then arrived at the HOUSE Jenny so generously provided for us. Georgy lived next door so he was pretty much stuck with us. Then as we were getting settled Jenny CALLED from Seattle to check in on us. I’m telling you.
The house had lots of room and the refrigerator was stocked, let me just say. We had our own rooms (myself, Beth, and Merna – UNC!!) and a nice back patio to sit on. That’s when I met a kitty, which I always love. We then joined Georgy for a few drinks and then DINNER which Jenny’s mother provided – so good! Mauritian Chinese, with rice, shrimp, fish, this and that. Georgy then outdid himself with a chocolate lava dessert and ice cream. His house is beautiful, done so nicely with lovely antiques. Sheilagh – granite countertops and stainless appliances with cherry cabinets – how about that! He just charmed all of us, so nice and funny.
He directed us for our full day in Pereybere. The beach was about a 5 minute walk, and other towns along the coast were available by bus. First, imagine our surprise when the HOUSEKEEPER arrived and made us breakfast. Oh my. Then she did my laundry! That’s an unaccustomed luxury, but as Georgy told me so dryly, “That’s what housekeepers DO.” So off we went to the beach. I can’t remember the last time I swam in the ocean, and certainly I have never been in water this warm (it was warm in Puerto Rico but I didn’t swim, just waded.) It was great and something I would like to do more. We sat in the sun and in the shade; I felt a burn coming and wisely, I thought, got under a tree.
Turns out by the time I felt the burn on my legs, the damage was done to my tummy and chest – DUH. Oh well, no biggie. I may also have gotten some reflection off that beautiful white sand! So we sat, Merna bought some pretty seashells, and one of the many dogs around everywhere came over to us, dug a little cozy, and napped. I petted the dog. Georgy had said, “Don’t pet the dogs.” I told Georgy I petted the dog. He just cut his eyes at me. I laughed on the inside. We were leisurely that day; I walked up to the store. Thank goodness for Cadbury – there’s new stuff in every country! The world of chocolate. So got some snacks to take back to the ship, plus some of the tea Jenny introduced us to. Back at the house, we saw that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, our Arch, was on TV leading a service in Mauritius. He is treated like a rock star everywhere he goes. And he’s ours. People don’t believe when we tell them he is voyaging with us for almost 4 months.
Time out – I’ve got to tell this story. This may be the funniest line in the history of the world. Well, with that setup you are bound to be disappointed. Anyway, we were in the dinner line, and something something, and Merna I think commented to the Archbishop that he was very humble. He replied, “Yes, I’m very proud of my humility.” Well, I shot him a look and saw great merriment in his eyes. I thought I would laugh my head off. He is really quite funny, and as I’ve said several times already, very joyous. His wife is very sweet as well.
OK, so we watch Arch on TV, napped, etc. Then Georgy came home and we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant with some typical Mauritian food. I had seafood in mustard sauce, and sampled some of Merna’s octopus, followed by crème brulee. Similarities again, see? Everywhere we go we are roundly admonished to avoid dairy products, but who would want to? Actually, a pretty good trick is for us all to take 2 Pepto before every meal. All the briefings are famous for working in the Pepto spiel – the last one had Pepto spelled out in yoga positions, Village People-style.
Georgy then sacrificed his Saturday to haul us around, shopping and back to the big beach, Grand Baie (sp? translates to Grand Bay I think) where we found some nice treasures of coral and shell. Merna was on a mission to get as much dodo bird stuff as she could. Mauritius was the last home of the dodo before it went extinct, or more to the point, until the Dutch ate them all. Georgy then treated us to a lovely lunch in a pretty little café, complete with more ice cream and sorbet. All three of us were working on him to get him the visit the US, particularly Seattle. He was just fabulous. I said to him, “Hmmm, I wonder when Jenny is visiting Mauritius next.” She may have a new nanny tagging along, just so I can visit with Georgy again.
Georgy set it up with his handyman/driver to take us back to the ship, wait while we dropped our stuff, then drive us back around to the waterfront shopping area. I expressed my appreciation at him really going out of his way for us, then stopped myself and said to Georgy, “I suppose that’s what chauffeurs DO.” He was glad I finally got it. All in all we had a wonderful and relaxing visit, thanks to Jenny and her family and Georgy.
Unfortunately there were a variety of student issues at this port, some of which made the local paper. Paradise is what you make it, I suppose. But I enjoyed Mauritius; I’m bringing home some honey, tea, vanilla, and pepper to help remember my time. They wouldn’t let me bring the kitty, or any of the frogs, or the dog on the beach, or one of the pretty lizards, so I had to make due.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Safari, Kruger National Park South Africa
We flew from Capetown through Johannesburg to Mpumalanga Airport near Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest game reserve. This airport was a hoot – one gate, and in a complete thatched-roof bush-hut style. We boarded off the tarmac, a long-forgotten experience (we also did that in Capetown).
We stayed at Pestana Kruger Lodge, which you can check out on the internet. I was lucky to have a cottage to myself, as I was both the Trip Leader (!) and the spare female as rooms were assigned. It too had a thatched roof, and hence I had the company of lizards, and maybe other things too. I think Sheilagh may not have appreciated that as much as I did. It had quite the spa bath and a patio which faced a stream. Luxurious!
The lodge was nice, with dining room, gathering space, pool areas, and bar. It faced onto the Crocodile River, aptly named as we could see crocodile from the deck. Not huge ones, but still. The lodge pretty much backed up to the park which is circled by electrified fence. A two minute drive took us into the park.
The first afternoon into evening we hopped into an open jeep which seated 10 folks. We went for our first game drive, and it was spectacular. In Kruger, they talk about the Big 5, characterized by their threat to man (how typical….) – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and water buffalo. The first night we saw everything but the lion, even the very elusive leopard (really our only sighting). We also saw giraffe, which I would add to my own Big 5, along with zebra, very pretty; the water buffalo are not that exciting. The rhinos were fun, though – we discovered the difference between white and black rhinos is not their color, which is almost identical, but subtle differences in horns and mouth shape, resulting in different diets (or vice-versa). Blacks are more dangerous but more rare. We saw exclusively whites, I believe. One was pondering a charge at the vehicle but thought better of it.
The point really is that you do see wildlife out and about, literally around every corner. At first we were thrilled by the impala; the driver began passing those as if they were commonplace, which in fact they were. They also signaled the absence of cats, and of course seeing the cats was a priority for me as well as for the group. The joke was that the color pattern on the impala’s rump indicated “M” for McDonald’s – they are the fast food of the African bush.
I don’t know if I can even list everything we saw – duiker, dwarf mongoose (I’m trying to scan my pictures to remind me; I did take a number of film pics as well as digital), blackbacked jackal, vervet monkey, warthogs pretty often; some groups saw baboons and we did not. Tons of birds, hornbills, guineafowl everywhere, some owls which walked along the road at night; some larger birds I photographed, most of the smaller ones I could not capture (let alone see sometimes…). The kudu were very pretty, and we may have seen a nyala which looks very similar.
The morning wake-up call came at 4:30 am and we were driving by 5:30. The first morning was a thrill as we came upon a lion! He was sitting by the side of the road, then took a stroll around the vehicle. I caught a lot of him on film. Many of the animals use the roads to traverse the park. The cats like the warmth of the pavement, I think. They don’t see vehicles as a threat. He wasn’t much of a threat either. Female lions do all the work. Returning from the second morning drive we saw a huge group of elephant. They migrated toward to road, then crossed, 30 or more, with babies. They get the right of way.
Our morning drives lasted 6 hours or more, yet seemed like a minute. We then returned for lunch and free time (nap time) until, for the next 2 days, we had night drives starting about 5 pm. The guides load up their huge guns, just in case, and off we go with park guides in much larger vehicles. That was too bad, in that it was harder to see and much louder. I will love it when they switch to electric vehicles. The first night was pretty tame, a nice moonrise, some owls, some hares, lots of glowing eyes in the distance (mostly impala). The rule of safari is the instant you put away your cameras, something cool will appear. As we exited the park, right outside the main gate (before the fence) was hyena. Really cool looking and I was able to wrestle my camera out for a shot before she took off. We then returned by about 8:30 for dinner and a program by a Zulu group, then I was exhausted and went to bed, hoping the students didn’t get in too much trouble (no one ever called me, so…)
The second night drive started with reports of lion and cheetah! The driver asked if we just want to poke around and see what we see, or try to haul and chase down reports of the cats. We went for it! At one point, he spotted some female lions (lionesses). How very exciting when they flushed a zebra from the bush and began chasing it! We thought perhaps the two chasers had a third lion ready to ambush, but luckily for the zebra, that was not the case and she got away. It happened so quickly. Sometimes my eyes are my best camera; I’d rather absorb the experience than be totally caught up in trying to get pictures. I can always tell you about it.
Later in the drive, we saw bunches of animals making tracks (ha) with a sense of purpose. These included impala, some wildebeest, zebra, and so on – prey. Well, I figured animals heading south means something is looking for them up north, so I trained my binocs way up bush about 100 yards in, while everyone else was ooohing and aaahing at the others. Sure enough, I spotted him, a big male sauntering after these agitated creatures. I sounded off and the guide was able to locate him, and we in fact followed him quite a ways. Unfortunately, as night fell, my pictures became quite atrocious owing to movement, lack of light, etc. So again, I’ll just tell you. At one point he just went 10 yards off the road and lay down in the bush. Again, he really wasn’t much threat to those animals, and not to us I don’t think. He was posing, in fact. Beautiful, I just cannot describe. He then sauntered off and we went in search of some females that were reported. They don’t travel together but they are often in proximity.
We drove north a few more kilometers and decided to turn back. The cheetahs did not materialize, as any sighting this far south was unusual anyway. On the way back we turned a corner onto a small pack of females and cubs walking down the road. How fun! They, however, were much more eager to get into the cover of the bush, particularly since they had the cubs with them. Let’s hope my film camera captured some of that, though it was only a quick view. On the way back, the sharp-eyed guide spotted a snake by the road – an adder which had apparently been stepped on my something big. It was dead but not mushed, so was almost like seeing a live one. Very pretty also.
I scanned my book to make sure I’ve mentioned most of what I’ve seen. There was a river in which there were 6-7 hippos in the water, mostly submerged. They are the biggest threat to humans in Africa. I also saw vultures, a brown snake eagle, a Marabon stork, some heron and egrets, and yet more birds that I couldn’t identify. Were I to do this again, I would move a bit to the north where perhaps there is a larger concentration of the cats (you know me!) – up toward the Serengeti for cheetah, perhaps, in addition to lions and leopards. They mentioned a guide was taken out by leopard a couple of years ago as they got out of the jeep, happened in a flash. Wow. I checked out tiger safaris in India. They are generally 7 days or more, which I did not have. One thing about the SAS trips is that they are often tailored to fit our schedule better than typical tours and such. That’s an advantage. I’ll add details as I recall them, and cover other aspects of my South Africa visit in another installment.
We stayed at Pestana Kruger Lodge, which you can check out on the internet. I was lucky to have a cottage to myself, as I was both the Trip Leader (!) and the spare female as rooms were assigned. It too had a thatched roof, and hence I had the company of lizards, and maybe other things too. I think Sheilagh may not have appreciated that as much as I did. It had quite the spa bath and a patio which faced a stream. Luxurious!
The lodge was nice, with dining room, gathering space, pool areas, and bar. It faced onto the Crocodile River, aptly named as we could see crocodile from the deck. Not huge ones, but still. The lodge pretty much backed up to the park which is circled by electrified fence. A two minute drive took us into the park.
The first afternoon into evening we hopped into an open jeep which seated 10 folks. We went for our first game drive, and it was spectacular. In Kruger, they talk about the Big 5, characterized by their threat to man (how typical….) – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and water buffalo. The first night we saw everything but the lion, even the very elusive leopard (really our only sighting). We also saw giraffe, which I would add to my own Big 5, along with zebra, very pretty; the water buffalo are not that exciting. The rhinos were fun, though – we discovered the difference between white and black rhinos is not their color, which is almost identical, but subtle differences in horns and mouth shape, resulting in different diets (or vice-versa). Blacks are more dangerous but more rare. We saw exclusively whites, I believe. One was pondering a charge at the vehicle but thought better of it.
The point really is that you do see wildlife out and about, literally around every corner. At first we were thrilled by the impala; the driver began passing those as if they were commonplace, which in fact they were. They also signaled the absence of cats, and of course seeing the cats was a priority for me as well as for the group. The joke was that the color pattern on the impala’s rump indicated “M” for McDonald’s – they are the fast food of the African bush.
I don’t know if I can even list everything we saw – duiker, dwarf mongoose (I’m trying to scan my pictures to remind me; I did take a number of film pics as well as digital), blackbacked jackal, vervet monkey, warthogs pretty often; some groups saw baboons and we did not. Tons of birds, hornbills, guineafowl everywhere, some owls which walked along the road at night; some larger birds I photographed, most of the smaller ones I could not capture (let alone see sometimes…). The kudu were very pretty, and we may have seen a nyala which looks very similar.
The morning wake-up call came at 4:30 am and we were driving by 5:30. The first morning was a thrill as we came upon a lion! He was sitting by the side of the road, then took a stroll around the vehicle. I caught a lot of him on film. Many of the animals use the roads to traverse the park. The cats like the warmth of the pavement, I think. They don’t see vehicles as a threat. He wasn’t much of a threat either. Female lions do all the work. Returning from the second morning drive we saw a huge group of elephant. They migrated toward to road, then crossed, 30 or more, with babies. They get the right of way.
Our morning drives lasted 6 hours or more, yet seemed like a minute. We then returned for lunch and free time (nap time) until, for the next 2 days, we had night drives starting about 5 pm. The guides load up their huge guns, just in case, and off we go with park guides in much larger vehicles. That was too bad, in that it was harder to see and much louder. I will love it when they switch to electric vehicles. The first night was pretty tame, a nice moonrise, some owls, some hares, lots of glowing eyes in the distance (mostly impala). The rule of safari is the instant you put away your cameras, something cool will appear. As we exited the park, right outside the main gate (before the fence) was hyena. Really cool looking and I was able to wrestle my camera out for a shot before she took off. We then returned by about 8:30 for dinner and a program by a Zulu group, then I was exhausted and went to bed, hoping the students didn’t get in too much trouble (no one ever called me, so…)
The second night drive started with reports of lion and cheetah! The driver asked if we just want to poke around and see what we see, or try to haul and chase down reports of the cats. We went for it! At one point, he spotted some female lions (lionesses). How very exciting when they flushed a zebra from the bush and began chasing it! We thought perhaps the two chasers had a third lion ready to ambush, but luckily for the zebra, that was not the case and she got away. It happened so quickly. Sometimes my eyes are my best camera; I’d rather absorb the experience than be totally caught up in trying to get pictures. I can always tell you about it.
Later in the drive, we saw bunches of animals making tracks (ha) with a sense of purpose. These included impala, some wildebeest, zebra, and so on – prey. Well, I figured animals heading south means something is looking for them up north, so I trained my binocs way up bush about 100 yards in, while everyone else was ooohing and aaahing at the others. Sure enough, I spotted him, a big male sauntering after these agitated creatures. I sounded off and the guide was able to locate him, and we in fact followed him quite a ways. Unfortunately, as night fell, my pictures became quite atrocious owing to movement, lack of light, etc. So again, I’ll just tell you. At one point he just went 10 yards off the road and lay down in the bush. Again, he really wasn’t much threat to those animals, and not to us I don’t think. He was posing, in fact. Beautiful, I just cannot describe. He then sauntered off and we went in search of some females that were reported. They don’t travel together but they are often in proximity.
We drove north a few more kilometers and decided to turn back. The cheetahs did not materialize, as any sighting this far south was unusual anyway. On the way back we turned a corner onto a small pack of females and cubs walking down the road. How fun! They, however, were much more eager to get into the cover of the bush, particularly since they had the cubs with them. Let’s hope my film camera captured some of that, though it was only a quick view. On the way back, the sharp-eyed guide spotted a snake by the road – an adder which had apparently been stepped on my something big. It was dead but not mushed, so was almost like seeing a live one. Very pretty also.
I scanned my book to make sure I’ve mentioned most of what I’ve seen. There was a river in which there were 6-7 hippos in the water, mostly submerged. They are the biggest threat to humans in Africa. I also saw vultures, a brown snake eagle, a Marabon stork, some heron and egrets, and yet more birds that I couldn’t identify. Were I to do this again, I would move a bit to the north where perhaps there is a larger concentration of the cats (you know me!) – up toward the Serengeti for cheetah, perhaps, in addition to lions and leopards. They mentioned a guide was taken out by leopard a couple of years ago as they got out of the jeep, happened in a flash. Wow. I checked out tiger safaris in India. They are generally 7 days or more, which I did not have. One thing about the SAS trips is that they are often tailored to fit our schedule better than typical tours and such. That’s an advantage. I’ll add details as I recall them, and cover other aspects of my South Africa visit in another installment.
Capetown South Africa
Our group was very taken with Capetown. It is a beautiful city in a beautiful setting. There is a great waterfront area with tons of shops and restaurants. When I first got off the ship, I mentioned to the port police officer that I was in search of ice cream. He arranged for someone to escort me over to the mall and show me no fewer than 5 places where I could get ice cream and gelato. It was a good visit.
We spent quite a while there, 7 days, to accommodate the safaris. I toured the city the first day, getting a little local history about the Dutch settlement and British encroachment, the Afrikaans language, apartheid and its demise, agriculture and natural resources, and the absolutely horrendous toll AIDS is taking on this country. AIDS was a big topic of conversation in the week leading up to our visit, as well as some days after. One of the significant problems has been a president who is an official AIDS denier. This means that he listens to “experts” who blame AIDS on poverty, not HIV infection. This leads to prohibitions of vital drugs, elimination of education and prevention programs, and millions more suffering and dying. What is wrong with people?
The townships were another eye-opener. While I did not tour a township (official tours were strongly recommended, not independent visits), we passed through District Six on the highway, a famous site of unrest. We also passed some of what I believe they referred to as “informal housing.” Oh my God! These did not even qualify as shacks, with some cardboard, some boards, some blue tarp, some plastic, some who-knows-what built to shelter – well, nothing, I suppose, or not much at least. A pole in the midst of a bunch of these runs one electrical line, much like an extension cord, to each. It looked like people got their water from a common source, and I have no idea about sewage or sanitation. It could not have been pretty. “Informal housing” – now there’s some language for you. I was stupefied.
So Capetown was really at least 2 different cities, with haves and have-nots, and not even the biggest income gaps of countries we visited. I was able to put some resources into the local economy by visiting an outdoor African market in the city, GreenMarket Square, as well as the Pan-African market. I’m trying to get a cat or cat motif thing in most countries. I will have a little exhibit of what I accumulate when I return. (Don’t expect that much…I’m thrifty, especially compared with some of these students. I overheard one mentioning that her ATM card should work since she had $27,000 in her account.) I saw Arch’s first church in the city, and I also visited the aquarium, located near the waterfront mall. Got a couple of pictures of local kitties too. My favorite.
Lots of good restaurants. Our food at safari was good and probably very traditional, though it was buffet so I have no idea what it was. I made up for that in a couple of restaurants, by having warthog and ostrich. If there had been more days I would have tried more exotic things. I wish I had been able to get up to the University of Capetown. I’ve visited campuses everywhere I go for as long as I can remember, and U of C is not only a good school, but is the most heavily English-speaking (and hence a possible future employment opportunity) since most others are at least bilingual with Afrikaans, if not multilingual with other African languages.
I could go back there – there’s more to do. I was not able to swim with the penguins, which is available at a public beach a few miles outside town. Other folks cage-dived to see great white sharks. I did not get to go atop Table Mountain, which is a local landmark, as the weather did not cooperate. There are winelands to tour (Sheilagh will appreciate that) and enough British influence to lend that small degree of welcome familiarity.
All in all Capetown felt familiar to us, with enough difference to be interesting. Let me just tell you, I’m struck less with the differences that I’m encountering than with the similarities. There’s a lot of English in the world, and people probably live more differently within a country, across lines of income and poverty, than they do between countries. If I can find chocolate in any country, I’m happy, and so far it has been EVERY country. Let’s see if we can keep that record alive.
We spent quite a while there, 7 days, to accommodate the safaris. I toured the city the first day, getting a little local history about the Dutch settlement and British encroachment, the Afrikaans language, apartheid and its demise, agriculture and natural resources, and the absolutely horrendous toll AIDS is taking on this country. AIDS was a big topic of conversation in the week leading up to our visit, as well as some days after. One of the significant problems has been a president who is an official AIDS denier. This means that he listens to “experts” who blame AIDS on poverty, not HIV infection. This leads to prohibitions of vital drugs, elimination of education and prevention programs, and millions more suffering and dying. What is wrong with people?
The townships were another eye-opener. While I did not tour a township (official tours were strongly recommended, not independent visits), we passed through District Six on the highway, a famous site of unrest. We also passed some of what I believe they referred to as “informal housing.” Oh my God! These did not even qualify as shacks, with some cardboard, some boards, some blue tarp, some plastic, some who-knows-what built to shelter – well, nothing, I suppose, or not much at least. A pole in the midst of a bunch of these runs one electrical line, much like an extension cord, to each. It looked like people got their water from a common source, and I have no idea about sewage or sanitation. It could not have been pretty. “Informal housing” – now there’s some language for you. I was stupefied.
So Capetown was really at least 2 different cities, with haves and have-nots, and not even the biggest income gaps of countries we visited. I was able to put some resources into the local economy by visiting an outdoor African market in the city, GreenMarket Square, as well as the Pan-African market. I’m trying to get a cat or cat motif thing in most countries. I will have a little exhibit of what I accumulate when I return. (Don’t expect that much…I’m thrifty, especially compared with some of these students. I overheard one mentioning that her ATM card should work since she had $27,000 in her account.) I saw Arch’s first church in the city, and I also visited the aquarium, located near the waterfront mall. Got a couple of pictures of local kitties too. My favorite.
Lots of good restaurants. Our food at safari was good and probably very traditional, though it was buffet so I have no idea what it was. I made up for that in a couple of restaurants, by having warthog and ostrich. If there had been more days I would have tried more exotic things. I wish I had been able to get up to the University of Capetown. I’ve visited campuses everywhere I go for as long as I can remember, and U of C is not only a good school, but is the most heavily English-speaking (and hence a possible future employment opportunity) since most others are at least bilingual with Afrikaans, if not multilingual with other African languages.
I could go back there – there’s more to do. I was not able to swim with the penguins, which is available at a public beach a few miles outside town. Other folks cage-dived to see great white sharks. I did not get to go atop Table Mountain, which is a local landmark, as the weather did not cooperate. There are winelands to tour (Sheilagh will appreciate that) and enough British influence to lend that small degree of welcome familiarity.
All in all Capetown felt familiar to us, with enough difference to be interesting. Let me just tell you, I’m struck less with the differences that I’m encountering than with the similarities. There’s a lot of English in the world, and people probably live more differently within a country, across lines of income and poverty, than they do between countries. If I can find chocolate in any country, I’m happy, and so far it has been EVERY country. Let’s see if we can keep that record alive.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Voyage Notes
Important – a quick note for folks with a Western Washington University connection. I met a student from WWU named Molly. We spoke and I told her that I had worked there. She said her uncle worked there and maybe I knew him – her uncle is Kurt Willis. !!!!! I about fell over. So, someone MUST e-mail or call Kurt and tell him I am voyaging with his niece Molly, and let me know when you’ve contacted him so I can let her know as well.
Another note is that one of the faculty was a student at UT in Austin at the time I worked there (do I feel old or WHAT), and lived in Jester Center the year before I was there. The chances of us having interacted there are virtually less than zero, but somehow I have an image in my head of what he looked like as a 20 year old. As Dan Quayle would say, “it’s a terrible thing to lose one’s mind….”
Lots can happen in between ports. Our responsibilities routinely give us 12-14 hour days, and I am not complaining – it’s a steady stream of things to do, usually not rushed/frantic/emergency (though that can happen as well).
First I will tell you that the rumor is true – I shaved my head. Now, not down to the skin. Good grief! There are limits! But I did go down to a 4-1/2 on the clippers, what I actually wanted to do last summer before teaching interfered. There are pictures, don’t worry. The reason for this was Neptune Day. What’s that, you may ask? Well, it is a seafaring celebration in which pollywogs become shellbacks as they cross the equator by ship for the first time. Part of that can be head-shaving. There was some auctioning/raffling going on around that, so I told my “sea” (floor of students) that I would do it if they sold enough tickets so I would not embarrass myself twice. Well, they did! Plus I was the only woman in the auction/raffle process, so some female faculty and staff stepped up as well to buy tickets in solidarity. Go Girls! I actually love it, and folks have been very kind about it. Hair does grow fast, though.
Some folks got Mohawks and made a donation to Locks of Love, which as some of you may know gives cut hair to make human hair wigs for cancer patients. One of our “Lifelong Learners” (the older adults who also voyage with us) got a Mohawk. It’s a bit humorous on a 65+ year old gray haired woman! Plus our 7 month old got his first haircut into a Mohawk as well. He’s the most popular passenger, and the Archbishop’s favorite. Others have kept Mohawks as well. We definitely look a sight, with a bunch of Mohawks, men with shaved heads, and at least 37 females who did it as well.
We were able to tour the bridge, where they “drive the ship.” Very interesting – I found out that we currently have 1006 on board, with 818 passengers and 195 crew, more or less. The ship in 600 feet long, 83 feet wide, and with 45,000 horsepower (take that, Mustang!), can go 29 knots, easily able to outrun pirates (!! not kidding!!) and one of the fastest ships of its kind. The crew is multinational with a British captain, Greek captain, and folks from Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Germany, and lots of the lower-ranking crew from the Philippines and Caribbean.
Having the Archbishop on board is perhaps the one thing that truly impresses some of our students. Arch is unfailingly kind and polite, as well as hilarious! He does a little happy dance all the time. One of the things our medical staff does is a song to drive home certain important health and safety points, and before South Africa Arch was one of the Soul Train dancers backing up the singers. I thought I was going to fall off my chair laughing. We have spoken on several occasions – he complimented me on my attire for the Captain’s dinner, signed a copy of his book for me, and in fact when he returned to ship the other night, he was wearing this hat with some sort of ribbon or flower (I swear it was his wife’s), about which I commented that it was very becoming. He immediately launched into the Arch dance. He also has been doing Eucharist services and took a group to his home church in one of the townships. He will also do an Easter sunrise service. I’ll try to make that one, just to say I did. His talks on the end of apartheid were truly moving. His wife Leah has joined him for the remainder of the voyage, and I’m sure there will be more Arch news in the weeks ahead – he is such a powerful presence.
So you’re all crying and moaning about your clock change? Well, I had one too last night – our TENTH, I believe. At some points they were daily (I think three in a row was the record) or every other day. We will continue that until we hit the dateline, then we get it all back in one day – no fair! So we’ve had some challenges in that realm. If can hit the Lifecycle after a clock change, I feel like I’ve done my duty.
The Captain invites faculty and staff to a Captain’s dinner, at which we dine with the officers and have an outstanding meal (beef tenderloin at mine.) I learned that crew and officers go 3 months on/3 off or 6 on/6 off, and many officers particularly live in countries other than those of their origin (Thailand, Hong Kong, etc.), some with (younger) wives from those areas (!). Don’t worry, I did not launch into any feminist critique, at least at dinner. All in all, it’s quite the event, one that I was able to share with a woman on faculty and her partner. Yipee.
Said faculty has also asked me to guest lecture in her Psych of Women class. Ummmm, OK! Maybe it was that I scratched out an outline of class in 12 seconds, complete with references……..
I have mentioned my “sea” which is what we call floors of students, complete with names. Mine is the Arabian Sea (74 students), another is Bering, Red, Baltic, etc. Another bit of high hilarity was when the Lifelong Learners named their own sea. The Lifelong Learners are mature adults (usually 60’s/70’s plus) who sail with us for a different and more intellectually engaging cruise experience. Some have done it several times. Actually, our oldest LL is 92 and a real pistol, and another woman is 85. Anyway, here’s the name they came up with: THE DEAD SEA. I about cried I laughed so hard. Maybe you had to be there. Merna said their second choice was CAN’T SEE….perhaps a third choice could be VITAMIN C.
Thanks for your comments, even though I don’t get onto to the blog often enough or for long enough to respond. Thanks, Aunt Gloria! And of course PunkRawkMama is CONsuelo, what was I thinking. Now naturally I must ask, which Christopher, and apologies in advance if I have in fact…..lost my mind. In fact, just identify yourself in the comment, though I believe Sheilagh could be exempt from that requirement. For real, though, do let me know if there’s anything you would like to know. As we look forward to a weekend in Mauritius, I’m hoping to recap an amazing experience in South Africa with a couple of blog entries SOON. See you on the beach!
Another note is that one of the faculty was a student at UT in Austin at the time I worked there (do I feel old or WHAT), and lived in Jester Center the year before I was there. The chances of us having interacted there are virtually less than zero, but somehow I have an image in my head of what he looked like as a 20 year old. As Dan Quayle would say, “it’s a terrible thing to lose one’s mind….”
Lots can happen in between ports. Our responsibilities routinely give us 12-14 hour days, and I am not complaining – it’s a steady stream of things to do, usually not rushed/frantic/emergency (though that can happen as well).
First I will tell you that the rumor is true – I shaved my head. Now, not down to the skin. Good grief! There are limits! But I did go down to a 4-1/2 on the clippers, what I actually wanted to do last summer before teaching interfered. There are pictures, don’t worry. The reason for this was Neptune Day. What’s that, you may ask? Well, it is a seafaring celebration in which pollywogs become shellbacks as they cross the equator by ship for the first time. Part of that can be head-shaving. There was some auctioning/raffling going on around that, so I told my “sea” (floor of students) that I would do it if they sold enough tickets so I would not embarrass myself twice. Well, they did! Plus I was the only woman in the auction/raffle process, so some female faculty and staff stepped up as well to buy tickets in solidarity. Go Girls! I actually love it, and folks have been very kind about it. Hair does grow fast, though.
Some folks got Mohawks and made a donation to Locks of Love, which as some of you may know gives cut hair to make human hair wigs for cancer patients. One of our “Lifelong Learners” (the older adults who also voyage with us) got a Mohawk. It’s a bit humorous on a 65+ year old gray haired woman! Plus our 7 month old got his first haircut into a Mohawk as well. He’s the most popular passenger, and the Archbishop’s favorite. Others have kept Mohawks as well. We definitely look a sight, with a bunch of Mohawks, men with shaved heads, and at least 37 females who did it as well.
We were able to tour the bridge, where they “drive the ship.” Very interesting – I found out that we currently have 1006 on board, with 818 passengers and 195 crew, more or less. The ship in 600 feet long, 83 feet wide, and with 45,000 horsepower (take that, Mustang!), can go 29 knots, easily able to outrun pirates (!! not kidding!!) and one of the fastest ships of its kind. The crew is multinational with a British captain, Greek captain, and folks from Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Germany, and lots of the lower-ranking crew from the Philippines and Caribbean.
Having the Archbishop on board is perhaps the one thing that truly impresses some of our students. Arch is unfailingly kind and polite, as well as hilarious! He does a little happy dance all the time. One of the things our medical staff does is a song to drive home certain important health and safety points, and before South Africa Arch was one of the Soul Train dancers backing up the singers. I thought I was going to fall off my chair laughing. We have spoken on several occasions – he complimented me on my attire for the Captain’s dinner, signed a copy of his book for me, and in fact when he returned to ship the other night, he was wearing this hat with some sort of ribbon or flower (I swear it was his wife’s), about which I commented that it was very becoming. He immediately launched into the Arch dance. He also has been doing Eucharist services and took a group to his home church in one of the townships. He will also do an Easter sunrise service. I’ll try to make that one, just to say I did. His talks on the end of apartheid were truly moving. His wife Leah has joined him for the remainder of the voyage, and I’m sure there will be more Arch news in the weeks ahead – he is such a powerful presence.
So you’re all crying and moaning about your clock change? Well, I had one too last night – our TENTH, I believe. At some points they were daily (I think three in a row was the record) or every other day. We will continue that until we hit the dateline, then we get it all back in one day – no fair! So we’ve had some challenges in that realm. If can hit the Lifecycle after a clock change, I feel like I’ve done my duty.
The Captain invites faculty and staff to a Captain’s dinner, at which we dine with the officers and have an outstanding meal (beef tenderloin at mine.) I learned that crew and officers go 3 months on/3 off or 6 on/6 off, and many officers particularly live in countries other than those of their origin (Thailand, Hong Kong, etc.), some with (younger) wives from those areas (!). Don’t worry, I did not launch into any feminist critique, at least at dinner. All in all, it’s quite the event, one that I was able to share with a woman on faculty and her partner. Yipee.
Said faculty has also asked me to guest lecture in her Psych of Women class. Ummmm, OK! Maybe it was that I scratched out an outline of class in 12 seconds, complete with references……..
I have mentioned my “sea” which is what we call floors of students, complete with names. Mine is the Arabian Sea (74 students), another is Bering, Red, Baltic, etc. Another bit of high hilarity was when the Lifelong Learners named their own sea. The Lifelong Learners are mature adults (usually 60’s/70’s plus) who sail with us for a different and more intellectually engaging cruise experience. Some have done it several times. Actually, our oldest LL is 92 and a real pistol, and another woman is 85. Anyway, here’s the name they came up with: THE DEAD SEA. I about cried I laughed so hard. Maybe you had to be there. Merna said their second choice was CAN’T SEE….perhaps a third choice could be VITAMIN C.
Thanks for your comments, even though I don’t get onto to the blog often enough or for long enough to respond. Thanks, Aunt Gloria! And of course PunkRawkMama is CONsuelo, what was I thinking. Now naturally I must ask, which Christopher, and apologies in advance if I have in fact…..lost my mind. In fact, just identify yourself in the comment, though I believe Sheilagh could be exempt from that requirement. For real, though, do let me know if there’s anything you would like to know. As we look forward to a weekend in Mauritius, I’m hoping to recap an amazing experience in South Africa with a couple of blog entries SOON. See you on the beach!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Salvador Part II
Salvador Part II
So before Salvador becomes a distant memory (it’s already physically pretty distant), I will fill in some more details. As for the city, we did dine out one evening during Carnaval, at a street-side café, literally on the street. Another precaution was to join what our on-ship Doctor (Matt, from Seattle, incidentally) calls “The Cult of the Black Tongue.” In other words, take Pepto-Bismol before each meal in an iffy area. Seemed to work for me. We had quite a good dinner of shrimp moqueca (sp? again) which was shrimp and veggies cooked in a clay pot and served over rice. Another dish was a crab salad, which looked a little raw to some folks but I said what the heck. There’s a local favorite of ground manioc (tapioca, I believe) mixed with fish, mashed vegetables, etc. into a sort of a paste, which was OK but I wouldn’t want to have it every day. That tapioca base made its way into something I’ll mention in a minute.
While we dined, of course we had a floor show of traditional neighborhood Carnaval. Salvador is home to some of the largest and most extravagant street Carnaval, which involves literally hundreds of thousands of people, thousands dancing on the streets for miles and others lining said streets and buildings, with these giant trucks of sound (imagine a semi-trailer made entirely of speakers with a stage on top). This was not my thing, but on the neighborhood level it’s more of what you may imagine. It was as if groups spontaneously came together to play music and walk up and down the streets or around the square. Some groups were obviously planned; may people wore identical striped shirts over white pants, differing only in the color of the stripes to differentiate the groups. Pretty colors! And these neighborhood groups also had the giant papier-mâché puppet heads they wore to make themselves look 10 feet tall.
On the way back to the ship we took in the main square, and walked around it as part of the festivities. Watch out for standing “water” at Carnaval. Another bit of high hilarity was the amount of atrocious drag there was, everywhere. Part of the “let loose” aspect is men dressing up as women, complete with facial hair, hairy legs, etc. But they really camp it up, even though it’s not at all associated with a gay component. So we walked around, bought popcorn, watched the assorted sights for hours, and made our way back to the ship safely. It didn’t hurt that a member of our party was about 6-4 and 230. He was also the photographer, as I did not bring my camera, so I will snag some photos from him.
One final day I went to the Market (alone! gasp! although several other cruise ships docked that day and there were throngs of people….). It was interesting, and I spent a few reals (money unit) but didn’t really go nuts. Stopped for another local favorite (I’ll try to get or remember the names of these things) which was that samemanioc flour, shaped into ovals and deep-fried in palm oil, a real heart-attack on a plate. They cut it open and fill with some of that paste I mentioned early, marinated veggies, shrimp, lots of hot sauce (I like!) and so forth. It was very good too. I love (local) food. I enjoyed experiencing the market.
Unfortunately, our collective visit was marred by large-scale ATM/credit card fraud, originating in that same market. I’m so glad I didn’t use any cards. Some people lost thousands of dollars (which they typically get back, since it’s pretty easy to prove they couldn’t have made withdrawals in Salvador when they were at sea) and the hassle has been great as people had had to cancel and replace cards – not easy in any circumstance, particularly moving around as we are.
One a happier note, I was able to go to Praia de Forte, a resort area which is also home to a turtle conservation project. So we experienced a nice area and lunch, plus I got to see the turtle facility. They had some tanks with giant turtles of various kinds (loggerhead, leatherback, Olive’s and Kemp Ridleys, etc.) for research purposes, and lots of babies they are hatching as well as some other interesting things from the ocean. They also partitioned off part of the beach to fence the nests, help the eggs hatch and the chicks get back to the ocean. Brazil is a real hot spot for marine turtles, and they are doing good work to increase the numbers.
We left at night, seeing the nicer part of Salvador, which few of us experienced and even fewer knew existed! It was cute also as we left, the captain sounded the ear-splitting horn, even louder on the 7th deck where we routinely gather for departures and arrivals. So another cruise ship saw fit to reply. So we had horns going back and forth for a good minute. As we got into the bay, a tiny fishing boat joined the horn symphony, but it literally sounded like a pipsqueak after these deep rumbling ship horns.
Many people had experiences beyond the city of Salvador, and those experiences in different areas, cities, and islands, were very positive. Folks mentioned going back to those places, less so to Salvador, but all in all the visit was good and we avoided many potential problems. I must end more positively than that, and to do so I will say that I would return for holiday to Praia de Forte, Boipepa Island (which sounded idyllic), and even the Amazon. We all say the last port was our favorite – it will be interesting to see which one stands out at the end.
So before Salvador becomes a distant memory (it’s already physically pretty distant), I will fill in some more details. As for the city, we did dine out one evening during Carnaval, at a street-side café, literally on the street. Another precaution was to join what our on-ship Doctor (Matt, from Seattle, incidentally) calls “The Cult of the Black Tongue.” In other words, take Pepto-Bismol before each meal in an iffy area. Seemed to work for me. We had quite a good dinner of shrimp moqueca (sp? again) which was shrimp and veggies cooked in a clay pot and served over rice. Another dish was a crab salad, which looked a little raw to some folks but I said what the heck. There’s a local favorite of ground manioc (tapioca, I believe) mixed with fish, mashed vegetables, etc. into a sort of a paste, which was OK but I wouldn’t want to have it every day. That tapioca base made its way into something I’ll mention in a minute.
While we dined, of course we had a floor show of traditional neighborhood Carnaval. Salvador is home to some of the largest and most extravagant street Carnaval, which involves literally hundreds of thousands of people, thousands dancing on the streets for miles and others lining said streets and buildings, with these giant trucks of sound (imagine a semi-trailer made entirely of speakers with a stage on top). This was not my thing, but on the neighborhood level it’s more of what you may imagine. It was as if groups spontaneously came together to play music and walk up and down the streets or around the square. Some groups were obviously planned; may people wore identical striped shirts over white pants, differing only in the color of the stripes to differentiate the groups. Pretty colors! And these neighborhood groups also had the giant papier-mâché puppet heads they wore to make themselves look 10 feet tall.
On the way back to the ship we took in the main square, and walked around it as part of the festivities. Watch out for standing “water” at Carnaval. Another bit of high hilarity was the amount of atrocious drag there was, everywhere. Part of the “let loose” aspect is men dressing up as women, complete with facial hair, hairy legs, etc. But they really camp it up, even though it’s not at all associated with a gay component. So we walked around, bought popcorn, watched the assorted sights for hours, and made our way back to the ship safely. It didn’t hurt that a member of our party was about 6-4 and 230. He was also the photographer, as I did not bring my camera, so I will snag some photos from him.
One final day I went to the Market (alone! gasp! although several other cruise ships docked that day and there were throngs of people….). It was interesting, and I spent a few reals (money unit) but didn’t really go nuts. Stopped for another local favorite (I’ll try to get or remember the names of these things) which was that samemanioc flour, shaped into ovals and deep-fried in palm oil, a real heart-attack on a plate. They cut it open and fill with some of that paste I mentioned early, marinated veggies, shrimp, lots of hot sauce (I like!) and so forth. It was very good too. I love (local) food. I enjoyed experiencing the market.
Unfortunately, our collective visit was marred by large-scale ATM/credit card fraud, originating in that same market. I’m so glad I didn’t use any cards. Some people lost thousands of dollars (which they typically get back, since it’s pretty easy to prove they couldn’t have made withdrawals in Salvador when they were at sea) and the hassle has been great as people had had to cancel and replace cards – not easy in any circumstance, particularly moving around as we are.
One a happier note, I was able to go to Praia de Forte, a resort area which is also home to a turtle conservation project. So we experienced a nice area and lunch, plus I got to see the turtle facility. They had some tanks with giant turtles of various kinds (loggerhead, leatherback, Olive’s and Kemp Ridleys, etc.) for research purposes, and lots of babies they are hatching as well as some other interesting things from the ocean. They also partitioned off part of the beach to fence the nests, help the eggs hatch and the chicks get back to the ocean. Brazil is a real hot spot for marine turtles, and they are doing good work to increase the numbers.
We left at night, seeing the nicer part of Salvador, which few of us experienced and even fewer knew existed! It was cute also as we left, the captain sounded the ear-splitting horn, even louder on the 7th deck where we routinely gather for departures and arrivals. So another cruise ship saw fit to reply. So we had horns going back and forth for a good minute. As we got into the bay, a tiny fishing boat joined the horn symphony, but it literally sounded like a pipsqueak after these deep rumbling ship horns.
Many people had experiences beyond the city of Salvador, and those experiences in different areas, cities, and islands, were very positive. Folks mentioned going back to those places, less so to Salvador, but all in all the visit was good and we avoided many potential problems. I must end more positively than that, and to do so I will say that I would return for holiday to Praia de Forte, Boipepa Island (which sounded idyllic), and even the Amazon. We all say the last port was our favorite – it will be interesting to see which one stands out at the end.
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