Our fourth day at sea on the way to Mozambique was rather nice as far as the weather and seas go. It has been warming up now that we are closer to land, and the seas have calmed down significantly. We must be far away from the cyclone now. Captain Friso made good use of the extra day to swing further south and come to the coast without any problems.
This morning we heard the story of the lady that had part of the ceiling fall on her in the Ocean bar a few days ago. It occurred during the sit, knit, needlework and Project Linus session at 10am. We were told by a witness that the ship was moving much more than normal, when a panel dropped. The lady was just reaching for something on a table, when this panel came down on her neck and back. What a shock that must have been. She did receive injuries, but it could have been much worse. Hopefully she will be fine.
Our day was quiet with several walks, but no sitting in the sun. It had warmed up enough that sitting on deck 10 may have been dangerous. Our biggest job was beginning our series of meds for anti-malaria prevention. We will have to take daily pills until well after we return to the ship on March 15th. Besides using insect repellant, the meds are a good way to prevent transmission.
Everyone got an important message regarding Maputo, Mozambique today. It was in regards to what necessary documents are needed to get off of the ship, especially the overland folks. They will need their passports, Covid 19 vaccination proof, as well as their room key and government ID. Those on a daily excursion either through the ship or independent, need to leave the passport home. But they will have to have keycards, photo ID, passport photocopy, and Covid vaccination proof. Those going ashore without any plan will need to take the same things. Finally, those of us that chose to stay onboard can disregard all of the above. There are many of us that have taken this option.
Another safety reminder for all African ports of call arrived in our mail slots this afternoon. It began by reassuring us that HAL would not take us into any port that would present an unreasonable risk to safety and security. However, some places are more challenging requiring enhanced awareness by the guests. The mentioned places are Maputo (one of the reasons we are not getting off), Durban, East London, and Cape Town. So it is suggested to be careful with taxis, do not wear flashy jewelry, take care with handbags, cameras, and all valuables, and avoid any shortcuts. Travel in groups, stay in open places, avoid political rallies or demonstrations, and be careful with cash…do not show a large amount of it in public. We have seen many incidences that involved crew members going off the ship at night time in some of these ports. Not a great idea, even with a group. They are targeted by larger local groups.
Then Captain Friso mentioned during his noon talk that customs and immigrations may be tedious tomorrow. He estimated the time to process each guest will be 15 minutes. That could affect the tour groups heading off for safaris and over lands. Unless some independent guests are flying to safari camps and need to get to the airport, the others will not be affected as much since they are traveling by bus over the border. Sure can get complicated in this part of the world. Hope they have the process figured out tomorrow, and are prepared for Durban where we get off for 6 days.
We had a brief but colorful sunset as we walked the promenade deck around 6:30pm. While watching the sun go down, we happened to see some pods of dolphins in the distance. Barely breaking the surface, this is the first sign of wildlife we have seen for days. With the exception of some flying fish. Not one bird in sight so far.
Dinner found all present with stories of last night surprise party. Barb had a fine time dancing to the music and visiting cruise friends. Greg and Heo said the party continued past midnight. Some of the crew members had changed from their uniforms and joined in with the guests. We did see some video of many officers mixing with the crowd. And from what we heard, most everyone had changed from formal to really casual.
The sliced beef tenderloin was a good choice for an entrée, while the corvina fish was tasty. And we did take notice that our service was better with how we all got our starters and entrees in a timely manner. For a change, our table was not last to leave the room. Thank goodness there was no time change again this evening. That really does catch up with you.
Bill & Mary Ann
