I heard that over Halloween weekend, the male population of Las Vegas, Nevada dressed primarily as pirates. Not sure what the significance of that was, but, for the folks on this ship, we’re hoping that all the pirates are still located in casinos and not in the Gulf of Aden.
Today, we practiced a “Compulsory Piracy Drill” for preparedness in the "unlikely event of an attack," as per the cruise director. We've been through this region several times and today's drill was, for us, a first. We exited our cabins and sat on the floor, because as we were told, the Captain would be making all sorts of evasive turning motions to create a wake behind the ship, causing the ship to list before going full throttle, away from pursuing pirates. Being on the floor by choice is better than being on the floor by accident. We all complied and are now prepared should pirates approach. We have seen these blokes before, several hundred feet from the ship. They are not the swashbuckling dudes that roam the Vegas strip. Rather, they are skinny, scruffy looking guys who are very dangerous and heavily armed. Fingers crossed..no encounters!
We're at sea today, en route to Haifa,
Israel. We'll undergo a required face-to-face inspection by Israeli
immigration before being issued a landing card, tomorrow. We must keep this
card with us at all times while on land, along with our passports.
It's our understanding that only the landing card will be stamped,
because no arab country will permit our entry if our passport has an
Israeli stamp. Unfortunately, we need to return the landing card,
and therefore, will have no documented record of ever being in Israel.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal last night. The menu has a dizzying array of “wanna haves.” I
did my best to be very selective and never touched the yummy looking
breadbasket to save my appetite for surf and turf; both the lobster
and the filet were outstanding. Harry enjoyed a fine looking cut of
prime rib. We caved and shared a fantastic sundae with scoops of
chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, carmel popcorn,
nuts and whipped cream. Delicious and rich. I am proud to report
that we did not finish dessert.
This morning's lecture was an overview
of Israel. It is a huge subject to compact into a 45 minute program,
however, the speaker did a fine job
and whet our desire to see as much of this country as we can in three
days. It will be an exciting whirlwind.
Formal night this evening. We've been
invited to join the Hotel Director, Franck, at his dinner table. These are
coveted invitations and we were thrilled to have made the short list. It will be a delightful evening with this lovely man. We spoke
shortly after sail away. He said hello after recognizing me from
previous cruises when I taught art on board. It's so nice to
be remembered!
In a cafe outside of Xanthi, Greece,
this couple graciously allowed me to take their photos:
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| Kusadasi, Turkey broom |
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| Loaded on to the ship yesterday! Who will eat all these carrots? |
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