It would have been most pleasant if it was not for the noisy major deck work taking place off and on all day. For most of the morning, the deck was roped off while one crew did some heavy-duty grinding on the metal railings, some of which were rusted through. Then mid-ship, the air-conditioning exhaust panel had been taken off to be painted. From the looks of it, this giant duct has not been painted for at least 100 years. This was also roped off. So the people had to walk like yo-yo's, flipping back between the two closures. We gave up after a couple of miles. Later in the day, some painting was being completed, but at least the deck was opened. It feels like this ship is being spruced up for the next cruise, although we know this work continues all the time. Anyway, by the time everyone gets off in Florida, it should be looking good.
As we approach Europe and the Med, the next currency will be the Euro. We are not sure what the money is in Morocco, but we do know that Euro will work in all the other ports. It is available at the front desk, although it may be cheaper to get it in the upcoming ports.
Talks today included one on Nafplion, Greece, another new port for us. There is still the speaker from India, who delivered a speech about understanding India. Mel Foster also spoke about emperors, empires, and the Barbary pirates. We know his lectures are always entertaining. It is possible he and his wife will be guests at our table tomorrow evening, we have been told.
There was another good movie in the Wajang….Patriots Day. Hope it's on TV tomorrow. We always try to watch a movie after dinner. Most times it is a good alternate to going to the show.
Early this evening, we met friends Joe, Connie, and their daughter Michelle in the Crow's Nest for cocktails. We met back in 2007 while on the world cruise, and have shared many other cruises with them since them. We got to know Michelle quite well, as we all turned up on a pre-cruise trip in Turkey in 2008. We still talk about the great time we had touring Ankara, and the countryside on the way to Cappadocia. We ended up in Istanbul, seeing the major sights there before joining the ship. Since there were only nine of us traveling in a van, we had the best almost private tour you could get. Sure glad we saw it when we did, because that part of the world is not particularly safe anymore. And that is why the port of Istanbul was cancelled this year.
For an hour, we compared notes on the tours we have all done on this cruise. They went to the Taj Mahal and the Pink City of Jaipur. They also did the Angkor Wat tour in Cambodia, which we have not done yet. They confirmed our thoughts about the heat and humidity, which can be overwhelming for some. We told them all about our China excursion, which seems like months ago now.
The ship arrived at the stopping point before going into the Suez Canal tomorrow. Captain Jonathon mentioned that he has to register the ship tonight for tomorrow's transit. A pilot would be picked up sometime around 3pm, and we would have to be cleared by an inspection team to verify that the ship is fit to transit the canal. At some point, two small rowboats would be taken up alongside the lower promenade deck for local crew to tend to ropes. As long as we pass inspection, we will be given a slot in the convoy. Usually military ships go first, then cruise ships, followed by the cargo ships, tankers and freighters. A pilot will board for the beginning, then two more will be picked up along the way. The pilot will keep the ships between ¾ and one mile distance apart. The distance of the canal is 98 miles, and the usual time to transit is about 10 to 15 hours. We will be entering in the darkness of morning, about 5am or so, and expect to exit between 4 to 6pm. As usual, we are looking forward to this transit. Some find it uninteresting, but there is so much to see if you pay attention to the activity of the locals, especially on the Nile side. And to top that off, they will be serving "Suez" rolls in the early morning. Nothing better than those treats.
Dinner was good with hot tortellini soup, and roasted chicken with bacon-flavored stuffing. The pasta dish was also good with slices of chicken breast….moist and tender. Ice cream and frozen yogurt ended the meal just fine.
Sometime after 10pm, the anchor was pulled, and we moved closer to the entrance, about a seven mile trip. The captain announced earlier that we shall be number one in the convoy.
Bill & Mary Ann
