Some days you wake up and you think you are in "bizarro-land", like when strange things take place out of the ordinary. Today was one of those. To begin, we crossed the International Dateline and Saturday disappeared. How did we know it was Sunday? Well, of course, the elevator carpet said it was Sunday…duh.
Then during breakfast, Kimberly our cruise director came on with a special warning that we all needed to wear masks onshore today. What??? They would be handed out at the gangway as well as at the front desk. Now either the locals are all sick, or they think we are contaminated. No one was happy about that. And even though this was not printed in the newsletter, the local authorities were willing to stamp people's passports if they chose to do it. There was a line at the front desk. We have been advised never to do that, because some countries consider the passports violated and will not accept them. Even worn edges on the pages can cancel the document. And these days, many countries no longer stamp them as they are electronic. We wanted to say – don't do it, but it is none of our business.
After breakfast, we always go to deck three to walk. This morning we could hear a brass band playing on the dock, but when we started to go out the double doors, we were stopped by security guys. Someone had just fallen on the soaking wet deck and were being rolled to the medical center on a gurney. These teak decks are very slippery when wet, especially the handicap ramps. As he was wheeled away, the band played on…..and they were good.
We did notice that none of the locals on the pier were wearing masks. And why not? Later back in our room, Captain Paul came on the speakers to say a mistake had been made, and masks were no longer required, but optional. Now the crazy thing about our visit was that today was a Sunday, and not much was opened. In addition to that, there were no shore excursions. Glad to hear we did not have to wear masks because it was ridiculously hot and muggy out. And raining, even more than yesterday.
We hung around the ship until after 10am. We still need to go to the library to get better internet, so that takes time. Now is when the fun started, or not. When we got out of the elevator on deck A, the lobby was jammed full of people waiting to go ashore. We all wondered what was up with that? There was a problem with the stability of the gangway, due to excessive turbulence while alongside. The security people were trying to fix it, so people could re-board the ship. Now if there was a place to possibly get Covid, this would be it. We could not even get close enough to an elevator to leave the lobby.
Standing in the line, we could not help but notice a single elderly lady in front of us with a backpack filled with a snorkel mask, fins and beach towel. Where in heaven's name would she consider snorkeling here? Someone had written a name of a beach, which she claimed was a 5 minute walk from the port gate. She asked the security girl on the ship if she knew where it was. She had no clue and suggested she ask a taxi driver. As far as we know, the only safe place to swim or snorkel is over an hour or more ride to a resort out of town. Another foreign couple were also packing snorkel gear and were racing towards downtown looking for a beach. Hello…..there are no beaches here and the waters are muddy from the river that flows into this bay. And that's not mentioning the garbage that floats in this harbor. Who knows…maybe they knew something we did not.
Passing the Sheraton's Aggie Grey's Hotel, confirmed the fact that they are still closed for renovations. Too bad as that was the best place for a good lunch on past visits here. Services were in full swing at two churches nearby. But we know that being dressed correctly is important on a Sunday. Once mass was over, we would feel OK seeing the interiors of the churches. We continued walking on the seawall which with the driving rain and surf, it kept us rather damp. Umbrellas did help. It did let up around noon.
With most everything closed, the streets were deserted, except for some persistent taxi drivers offering cheap rides to anywhere. Even the Info center was closed for the day. Passing the central clocktower, government building, and a main bank, we strolled to the very closed fish market. We recall the days when everyone did their food shopping on Saturday, so Sunday was a day to rest and a day for church. It has remained that way in this part of the world. Back to the main street, we found the only place opened for business was McDonalds, and a nice one at that. It was full of mostly cruise ship guests doing internet or using the restrooms.
Way up the street, we found a local veggie/produce market opened with a few local customers shopping. Everyone we passed said "hi" to us. Further down the next street, we found the main arts and crafts market totally vacant….eerily so. We spotted one guard watching over the complex. Guess there will be no lunch out today. We went back to the ship, but not before stopping at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The morning mass had ended long ago, and we did get to see the beautiful interior without interrupting anyone.
Walking past the series of vendors under a long tent, we decided to check out some trinkets. A portable Western Union trailer had been brought into the port area to sell local currency, as we were led to believe the vendors would not accept US dollars. We have always used US dollars here, so this was a test. Finding a pair of coconut earrings, we paid $4 in US cash with no problem. And there were signs in all of the shops and even McDonalds that they took all credit cards. Not sure where the folks got that information. Maybe it was the same source that said we needed to wear masks?
Working on photos, we decided to try room service once again for lunch. This would be the third try since the beginning of September. The last two deliveries were incorrect, but we did not say anything. Today, we ordered one quesadilla and two large Cobb salads. The salads were fine, but the quesadilla was a bowl of Chicken noodle soup. What? We stopped the delivery waiter outside in the hallway, and said we got the wrong order. He showed us the slip which said soup, not quesadilla. We're not crazy, we never ordered soup and the waiter taking the order repeated quesadilla. Go figure. The waiter's answer was to call room service again, and order what we needed. So we did, and were put on hold. They never answered our call. So one of us ran up to the Dive-In Grill and got two burgers to go. And it did not take 40 minutes like our room service order, it took less than 10 minutes. Guess we will need to tell someone that cares that the service here has not be the best.
Captain Paul said that by using the side thrusters all day to stabilize the ship, they damaged three of the ships lines. We never remember having such problems docking here, but the river did look like it was over its banks. The Volendam left the harbor before 5pm, and we sailed across the top of the north island, and southwest between another island. We watched for another sunset from deck six forward, but were disappointed as it was not that great. We did happen to meet some nice folks that have sailed on some world cruises the same time we did. Also nice to hear that some of our little hints have been read and helped out with setting up their room.
Time for dinner, we ordered soup, salad, and one turkey dinner and a chicken meatball entree with rigatoni. Both were quite tasty. With two simple desserts we were on our way home. The entertainment this evening was Shades of Buble, with a trio of singers. We heard through the grapevine that there has been problems with the sound equipment personnel onboard. Hate to admit it, we seldom attend the shows.
Good news was that the clocks went back one more hour this evening. Fine with us.
Bill & Mary Ann
