Today happened to be a special one for one of us and also Holland America Line. For one of us, it was a birthday (Bill), and the other was a 145th birthday for HAL. Worth mentioning, it was also the 112th birthday of the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. Happy to say, those birthdays are far older than one of us.
Stories about yesterday’s port in Senegal have been surfacing as the day progressed. There has not been anyone that we know that had a great time there, except the few that took the animal reserve tour out of town. There were two couples that actually thanked us for alerting them to the situation at the other end of the shuttle stop. These folks had some pretty scary tales about what happened to some of their friends and also the crew members. It seems that one lady got robbed of her money, with hands in pockets and purses. And another woman was literally grabbed by her throat, and gave up her stuff, while another was threatened with a small knife. And this all happened in the square where many people were present.
Our breakfast and lunch dining room waiter told a story of his own. He had taken the shuttle with a group of 9 friends. But as soon as they got off of the bus, they were all surrounded by the local “criminals” that distracted them, then went right for their pockets. They are smart enough not to keep their things in loose pockets, but not all the time. Our waiter had a $5 bill in one, and when the robber took it, he grabbed his hand and forced him to let go of it. He also warned the guy that if he was in Indonesia doing this, he would kill him. With that, the guy ran off. One of our waiter’s friends was not so lucky, as he lost his cell phone and $350 in cash.
It just happened that two of our security guards were on the same bus as our waiter. They went directly back to the ship, probably reported it, and shortly afterwards, the shuttles cancelled the stop at the square, and simply gave the guests a quick ride around the city, returning to the ship. Problem solved, we guess. We still ask, why were we here in this port?
Anyway, we now have one day at sea to catch up on the usual things to do, as well as relax. Barbara H gave a talk on our next port of Praia, Ilha de Santiago, Cape Verde. We have been there once, but seem to have trouble recalling what we did there. Even though it has only been four years, this port had been on the itinerary. But another two day stop was added in Mindelo, on another island as a substitute for missing The Gambia and Senegal. Trying to recall the layout, we seemed to mixing the ports up. Oh well, time will tell tomorrow.
This trip has had a lot of “firsts”, mostly regarding little messages to inform us of the quirks that have occurred along the way. We received a letter about another recent problem: eggs. A day ago there was a recall on 200 million eggs due to potential Salmonella contamination. Who would think this could reach us, since it originated in the United States, we believe. A mixed message was given saying that they destroyed all of the affected eggs, but they were happy to report that none of these eggs had been served during the cruise. Now, there are some dishes on the menu that still contain eggs, but they are not part of the recall. Wonder how many passengers will order any of these dishes? Not us. Continuing on, the message in this letter said a new fresh supply of eggs will return in Ft. Lauderdale (when this cruise ends). And the ship goes into dry-dock.
It seems that a new speaker has joined the Amsterdam by the name of Andrew Schofield. His lecture was on Dr. David Livingstone. Cape Verde as a trading center was the subject for Dr. Valerie Mock in the afternoon.
Lunch was in the dining room with Barb, and it lasted for almost two hours. Sure will miss these moments once everyone has gone home in a matter of days now.
The weather had turned rather cool this afternoon, especially when walking the promenade deck. There were three people lounging in the teak chairs. But they were covered up with hats, jackets, and blankets. One side was totally empty because it was almost raining with the spray blowing off of the swells. Captain Mercer had said we would feel the movement of the ship due to the deep swells, and the fact that we were going only 9 knots. The distance from Dakar to Praia was not great, so we required a slower speed to get there.
Warming up in the atrium was a good idea, while listening to the music. Before we knew it, a crowd of our closest buddies arrived, and we ended up missing a cocktail party, hosted by our travel agency. Oh well, time spent with friends is always a good thing.
Dinnertime was fun, but one of us had hoped the birthday would go without the recognition. After all, we had not ordered a special cake for the occasion. Unknown to us, someone else had done the job…..Barbie, of course. After dinner, we noticed a bunch of waiters milling around or table. They brought a carrot cake and gathered tossing the special Indonesian birthday song. No escaping it, it was a proper birthday party. The slices of cake even came with ice cream for everyone. Fun time for all.
There was a chocolate surprise for the 145th HAL birthday tonight at 9pm. The surprise was for us, who were still in the dining room after 9:30pm. Three waiters appeared with trays of chocolate candies, created for this occasion. Thought we were filled to the brim, but there is always room for a little good chocolate. It was a nice surprise not to miss the goodies.
Showtime featured a group of five fellows who sang with their three-part vocal harmonies. It promised to give all that infectious energy to get the folks on their feet with the very first beat. And it certainly did.
Looking forward to our visit at Cape Verde.
Bill & Mary Ann
