Around the World. Week 22 Wrap Up

One hour back, two hours forward. In case you ever wonder why I post at weird hours or nap almost every day, it’s because time is truly a figment of someone’s imagination on this ship. Some days, I think they just roll the dice to decide what to set the clock at onboard.

Schedule

• Day 148 / June 3: Banjul, The Gambia

• Day 149 / June 4: At Sea

• Day 150 / June 5: Cape Verde

• Day 151 / June 6: At Sea

• Day 152 / June 7: At Sea

• Day 153 / June 8: Funchal, Portugal

• Day 154 / June 9: At Sea

  
  

Day 148 / June 3: Banjul, The Gambia

Arriving in Banjul, canoe-like boats lined the shore. Nearby, a very large dilapidated ferry boat looked run aground. Another rough-looking ferry boat was moored next to the cruise ship. As we docked, I debated which of these would be used for the River Excursion up The Gambia River. Turns out, it was the canoes that were used. I, however, was headed out on another excursion - Ida’s Cooking Experience.

After clearing security to disembark the ship and walking down the gangway, we were welcomed by a few musicians and a guard, dressed in all black, holding a very large machine gun, standing next to a black van with metal cages covering the windows. Did I mention this is also the stop where our Pirate Protection Team disembarked??!

Our van was waiting for us, so we loaded up and headed out of the city. On our way, we passed by goats and bulls walking the city streets. Lots of trash piles and old tires tossed to the sides of the roads. Given that we were headed on a food excursion, I was getting a bit concerned for my digestive system about what I signed up for.

The main road itself seemed to be well maintained, but I found it interesting that the slower traffic was expected to move onto the dirt shoulder of the road to allow the faster vehicles to pass when there was oncoming traffic the limited passing on the left. Also, our driver missed the turn and drove back along the shoulder of the oncoming traffic.

As I am typing this, I hate that it’s sounding so negative because the day really ended up being very enjoyable, but I don’t want to sugar coat the conditions of this country as the differences between the wealthy and poor were more evident than any of our other stops, including the place that had the 77-story sky scraper next to the slums.

We bounced a bit along a dirt road for a few blocks before arriving at our destination. With a bit of a held breath, I was anxious to see what was behind the gate as it opened. Oasis. It was an oasis in comparison to all the other properties we saw on the drive.

Green trees and plants covered the property. Among the trunks, different seating areas, including a large gazebo, were scattered around. To the right was an outdoor kitchen area, complete with large grilling area. Towards the back of the property was an indoor sitting area or guest house that included an indoor kitchen. The main house occupied the space closest to the road, but we didn’t go in that area.

We were guided towards the back guesthouse and shown racks of clothing. They expected us all to wear traditional African clothing, including head wraps for the women. After choosing our new outfits, the women headed to the guest house to change. Once everyone was ready, we took a group photo so we had evidence (or blackmail, depending on how you saw it).

For the meal prep, they split us into two different groups. My group was responsible for cutting the vegetables and making the couscous. My job, specifically, was to repeatedly smash some of the vegetables into a paste using a giant mortar and pestle. I found this process very therapeutic, which may raise some questions...

Once the initial works were completed, they explained we didn’t have enough time to help with the entire meal and they’ve already gone ahead with the salads and meats. Instead they redivided us into two groups - men and women. The women headed to the large gazebo to learn about the different customs and crafts typically done by the women of their community. This experience was so lovely! The lady who provided the information was super sweet and had her baby with her. I won’t give away all the secrets, but one thing to share is she learned how to sew from her mother-in-law, who also happens to be Ida, but instead used that skill to create beaded jewelry. Again, if we had time, we would have been able to try our hand at the craft. Instead she did some show-and-tell with different spices and shea butters.

When lunch was ready, we headed over to fill our plates. The meal consisted of salad, couscous with vegetables, and chicken followed by different fruits for dessert. All of it tasted fantastic!

Overall, the time at Ida’s was so marvelous that it seemed to be a whole other world compared to the places we past on the way there. For our drive back to the ship, we went a different way to see more of the city, but to me it exposed even more of the imbalance between the wealth distribution.

Once back on the ship, I felt the need to get change and get cleaned up. A major contributing factor of this was because we walked through seemingly newly paved dock, resulting in black residue on the carpets, but also next to our ship, they were loading some sort of substance the created clouds of brownish-gray dust that coated everything in the area.

Since I had such a big late lunch, I managed to talk my way into Polo Grill to just have dessert (Triple Brownie) and wine. This is one major benefit of a half-populated ship, which I know will go away once we get to Southampton and fill back up to capacity.

For a second show, Dimitris Dekavallas entertained us with his guitar skills. I definitely knew more songs from this set than the first, but both shows were fantastic!

Time change - 1 hour back

Day 149 / June 4: At Sea

I’ve mentioned this event in prior segments, but just to recap, once a cruise, the Officers challenge the Passengers in silly games, such as Connect Four, Baggo (aka Cornhole), Ring Toss, and others. Those who participate win Big O points and the overall winner gets bragging rights! I’m not sure who won this round though as I had left before the end.

Another activity that I described a long time ago is the Lync Center. They offer various classes on different topics, but typically, they are very introductory type lessons, such as how to use your iPhone. Today, I was curious as the title for the class was “How to use Instagram Reels”, with the description talking about how to create videos to post. As I’ve been using iMovie for all of my Recap Videos, I wanted to go see if there was a better way to do those. He ended up introducing us to an App called Edits, which has similar functionality to iMovie, but is available to all phone users, not just Apple. I have started playing around with this program a bit more, but default to iMovie for the last few ports just due to efficiency. For anyone on the ship or coming on the ship, I highly recommend these classes as I do always walk away, having learned something new.

The evening included a birthday cocktail party in the Owner’s Suite. It was my first time in one of these rooms and I was in awe as I entered through their private lobby area. On top of the large round table was buckets of Champaign chilling surrounded by perfectly lined glassware. Between the table and the large bay windows facing the backside of the ship was the Panache String Quartet. Yes, the birthday girl had her own private concert in the suite. To the right, a built in bar was well stocked with all kinds of beverages that were being served by the butlers, while other waitstaff wandered with small appetizers. I didn’t make it much past that area while I was there chatting away, but beyond those areas was a sitting space and to the left of the lobby, I think was the bedroom and closet that seemed to be as large as my own cabin. All in all, it was such a wonderful party.

For the evening show, Dimitris Dekavallas & Christine Allado combined forces to create a new show for this segment. They created an interesting dynamic of Spanish Guitar paired with Opera singing, but it worked very well together!

Day 150 / June 5: Cape Verde

LAND! And not only land, but land that was safe to just wander around without being constantly approached to buy something. From the port, there was really two options to walk - right or left. To start, I went right, which took me towards town. I didn’t end up walking all the way to where there were shops, but had been curious about these triangle shaped huts that jetted out into the harbor. They had multi-color glass for the windows that looked fun.

Instead of continuing to the city, I turned to head back the other direction in search of the beach. From the ship, the water did not look very blue, but once I got there, it was almost tropical! Only odd part was these concrete block things that seemed to have been dumped at some point from the nearby port.

Surprisingly, I haven’t had to mention my injured knee yet this update, but after about an hour of walking, it was time to call it a day and head back to the ship. Also, because I had been out fairly early, many of the shops and restaurants were not opened yet, so I figured I’d come back out after lunch to explore further.

Well, after lunch, I was reading by the pool for a bit and during a break, took a look in the mirror. The sun deceived me! Given the cooler weather and the clouds, I thought I wasn’t really at risk of getting any more tan, but I was very wrong. Not only was I a few shades darker, but also a bit pink, so into my cabin I went to stay for the rest of the afternoon. Out of the sun’s path.

The original plan for the evening was to attend another birthday cocktail party, followed by the Oceania club party, followed by dinner in Toscana. However, when I arrived at the birthday party, I learned that they planned to hang out most of the evening with appetizers and pizza. Change of plans! No Oceania club party and called to cancel my Toscana reservation so I could hang out on the back deck with the birthday girl and other friends. No, this party did not include the Panache quartet, but they do have butler services, so all the food and drinks were constantly replenished.

I did make it to the evening show. We had a change of guest entertainers today, so the new guy was Chris Bannister, who performed a John Denver cover show. Turns out, I may only know one John Denver song, which he played first. However, I still enjoyed the rest of the show.

Time change - 1 hour forward

Day 151 / June 6: At Sea

During my walk the prior day, I started listening to a new Audio Book that was recommended by one of the Production Cast. It’s called November 9 by Colleen Hoover, who also wrote It Ends With Us. This one followed a couple who only met on November 9th for 5 years, describing each time from one of their perspectives. It had tons of twists and turns to keep my attention. Anyway, I finished the book this morning.

Given that I spent the morning in my room listening to the story, I decided I needed to be a bit more social for the afternoon, so I headed to Bingo! Granted, this isn’t the most social activity as I sit at my own table and sulk as I don’t win a dang thing, but at least I was out of my cabin for an hour or so.

Speaking of my cabin, I went back to it after Bingo to color the gray out of my hair. Yes, the dark brown is natural, but I’m not so naturally without grays and haven’t been since I was 18 years old. Instead, I choose to touch up the roots every 6 weeks to maintain the monotone color. Who knows when I’ll decide to finally give up, but today was not that day.

On to the evening entertainment - Remember David the Piano Man that I tend to go see every night in Martini’s?? Well, he had his very own show on the Big Stage tonight in Vista Lounge. It was so much fun to see him shine and not just because of the bright lights! His enthusiasm brought smiles to everyone’s faces as he continued to alternate between playing the piano, singing, and surprise! playing the clarinet! Also, he played two of his original songs, which is always a nice addition to the program.

After dinner, the pool deck was opened for a second night of dancing! This time, they moved the Blue Horizons party outdoors. The cruise director mentioned this might be the last night we could do this as it’s about to get much colder at night as we head further North. Either way, I loved being outside with the music and the lights and the dancing!

Once again, I remembered a bit too late that I’m still supposed to be taking it easy with a knee injury, so instead of heading inside to continue the party, I headed to my cabin to relax with a pack of ice. However, I had started another book earlier in the day (after I finished one this morning)  and ended up staying up to finish this book as well! Tonight’s choice is called The Pantomime Murders. It’s the second in the series to one I finished last week called The Picture House Murders by Fiona Veitch Smith. I’ve already downloaded the third in the series, so let’s see how long it takes before I finish that one too..

Time Change - 1 hour forward

Day 152 / June 7: At Sea

There’s nothing quite like a 4-hour Brunch on a Sunday morning. Because we were alerted to the Brunch date from the Behind-the-Scenes tour, I cleared my calendar in anticipation, fully planning on taking full advantage of the artistry that the chefs create. I started a breakfast course with my normal Eggs Benedict, but this time, went with spinach instead of smoked salmon, paired with a delicious smoothie and coffee. Next up, the charcuterie course of cheeses and the TOSCANA BREAD (yes, they had it for brunch!) and the longest breadstick I’ve ever seen! Third course, desserts - I tasted a few, but my favorite was this chocolate eclair, so good that after another hour or so of socializing, I went back for another! They had so much food that it becomes a bit absurd, but then again, it creates a fun atmosphere for us all to enjoy the company!

You guessed it, after that marathon meal, a nap was needed, but then, so was all the adulting stuff that I don’t always talk about - financial updates, US taxes, onboard account reviews, etc. Yeah, we still have to do all that stuff even though we are on a 6-month vacation. Luckily, the US tax process seems to be going a bit smoother than the Canadian tax process, so fingers crossed I’ll check that box without any major challenges.

For dinner (yes, we still ate dinner), I headed to the Grand Dining Room for a meal with one of the dancers, the wardrobe manager, and the other LeAnne. We had a lovely time as the conversation flowed from life on ship, life before ship, and life after ship. It’s fun to have smaller group meals in order to really get to know these ladies.

For the evening entertainer, Chris Bannister took to the stage again for a second time. His show covered songwriters instead of only John Denver, but yet again, I only knew one or two of the songs. However, he puts on a great show with just him and his guitar.

Day 153 / June 8: Funchal, Portugal

The excursion for the day was a Chef-Led Food Experience in Funchal. The chef leading the tour was the Culinary Chef, Karlis and he was supported by a local guide that we met on the bus. The agenda included a Wine tasting, free time at a local market, and lunch at a local restaurant.

Many of you may already know this, but I didn’t, so I’ll explain what I can recall. There is a specific type of wine known to this region called Madeira wine. It tends to be sweet, like Port or Sherry, because it’s fortified wine. Again, not knowing what that really meant, apparently it’s because this type of wine will last for years and years under rough conditions. Such as when the explorers or colonists were traveling back and forth to Portugal way back when. They could keep this stuff on the ship and it would still be good years later. We tried both the driest and the sweetest. I’m not a fan of either. They both tasted like watered down honey to me, but to each their own, I guess.

We continued the tour by walking a bit through the city as the guide explained different landmarks and history. I didn’t listen too well, but mostly because I was near the end of the pack and couldn’t hear it anyway.

Arriving at a central market, the guide explained the layout of the market and told us we had about 30-minutes on our own. Chef Karlis also took a group to better describe local fruits and vegetables, but as I found myself at the back again, not being able to hear, I broke off and went shopping on my own. Getting my magnets, some local chocolate, and a small sampler of more Madeira wine, I called it a successful stop.

Loading back on the bus, the guide described the culture and climate of the island as we ascended to the restaurant. There are three different environments on the island, allowing for all different types of plant life and agriculture. With the steep cliffs, you could easily see where the regions started and transitioned to the next.

At the restaurant, we didn’t actually get to help prepare any of the food, but as we basically had the place to ourselves, they let us stand and observe the various stages of their process. My favorite part of the meal was the garlic bread! Not only because it was warm and crunchy, but also because they use sweet potatoes as part of the dough, so it had a unique flavor. Another fun aspect to lunch is that they hung skewers of beef from these iron stands that jetted up from the tables. Before they brought out the meat, I was very confused as to why they chose to have those as part of the decor, but then it all made sense. Other items for the meal were fried polenta, French fries, salad, and finished with a passionfruit pudding.

Once we were all stuffed and on the bus, the tour continued down a different route where the guide showed us the more touristy areas of the city in case we wanted to come back. He specifically said that New Year’s Eve is the best time to visit because they light up the island like a volcano and that it’s the largest fireworks display in the world! I’ve added it to my bucket list…

For the rest of the afternoon, I lounged at the pool and eventually called it an evening to curl up with a book. This one is called A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. It’s close to my typical genre of more historic British lady detectives, but centered around magical powers instead of a murder mystery. This one was also recommended someone onboard, but I think I’ll go back to my other series for the next read.

Day 154 / June 9: At Sea

I know each time I say this is my favorite onboard activity, but after participating eight (8) times now and not winning a dang thing, my feelings are starting to change. Yes, today was Country Fair day! It’s when all the different departments set up games for the passengers to play. We get raffle tickets for participation and even more for winning. Given the ship is half full, plus the weather was not so great, the turnout was a bit minimal compared to the other times. Good thing is, it increased my odds of winning. Not only due to less people, but also because I got to play the games many times to load up on entry tickets. With my stack in hand, I thought surely today is my day! Ticket after ticket. Prize after Prize. My number was not called. I did not win. Not a thing. Sigh… It’s not even that I want more stuff. It’s just becoming absurd that I’m very unlucky in the Country Fair.

Where I am lucky though is with all the people that I’ve met on this ship, so the rest of the day was spent socializing, including crashing a Florida-Resident get together. They were having wine and design in the Artist Loft, so now I can officially say that I created art on this ship!

The time there was cut a bit short as I was requested to head to the Talent Show to help film and take photos of the show. Both passengers and crew were invited to showcase their skills, so we had acts ranging from singing, to dancing, to harmonica playing, even some magic! All in all, it was such a fantastic display by all who participated!

Tonight’s evening show was a new face to the ship, Isabel Commandeur, who impressed us all with her vocal abilities, singing songs from Opera to Tina Turner to Queen. It never gets old when we see people who can make such amazing sounds with just their voices. If I tried it, you would think a flock of seagulls were being murdered…

On that note, I think it’s time to start Week 23… Four more to go.

#2026aroundtheworldcruise