Allthegobro

Barcelona is our sixth port stop in six days and there seems to be a general questioning among the older set aboard as to why are we doing this so fast? Need to catch our breath. It has been quite hot and humid but not the ‘crisis’ portrayed in the media. Then, again we are by the water which cools things down a bit. It could be a different story inland and in the north. Speaking of the ‘older set’, many are still getting out and about in the sunshine, others though are happy to remain on board. The average age onboard has it seems dropped to just below 70! Some younger people appear to have got onboard in Dubai, and there are the four who have sadly dropped off the perch, perhaps affecting the averaging. Feeling a little older.

Barcelona is too big to do everything in one day. So it is off to see a couple of the main sites and viewing points. Our guide takes us through into the Old City’s Gothic quarter and a viewing of the Cathedral of Barcelona. The Cathedral is in the Gothic style and is quite dark inside, some 600 years old.

We have a walk up and down some of the old narrow streets dating back to medieval and Roman times.

Back on the bus for the drive to La Sagrada Familia. This is something of a spectacle designed by Spain’s famous architect Antoni Gaudi. It has been under construction since 1882 or thereabouts. Gaudi died in 1926 and others have been faithfully forging ahead since then.

Pre COVID the objective was to have it completed by 2026 for the centenary of his death. But, like many other things COVID has been the gremlin in the time line and it seems that it will not be completed till 2032, 150 years after it was started. Meanwhile cranes and scaffolding abound.

Rejoining the bus we continue on a scenic drive around town on the way to Montjuic Mt for a look over the city from on high. We pass by the city’s bull ring, the ornate Plaza de Toros Monumental de Barcelona. Bull fighting was banned in the Catalan region of Spain in 2011, although overturned a few years later there hasn’t been a bull fight here since. The building now serves as an entertainment stadium.

The view from the top of Montjuic is panoramic, capturing the entire city. Quite a special outlook.

Although we are in port here till quite late at night it is back to the ship for a late lunch snack and then put the feet up for a bit of R & R.

All this activity has caused the Blog to slip behind our actual schedule by a few days. In Blog time we now have a day at sea before arriving at Malaga further down the coast towards Gibraltar. In actual time we are out in the Atlantic about to head, later this evening, across the Bay of Biscay. So, Allthego has a bit of work to get up to date.

We have now made our way out of Italian waters to Marseille, the second largest city in France and can be thought of as a gateway to the Provence region of Mediterranean France. Provence is one of the foodbowls of France and also one of the poorer regions economically. But it is a picture perfect region of rolling hills, fields and small towns. Great ‘peasant’ food and hospitality. Allthego and Homealone have spent time in this part of France before, including having had a great trip along the Canal du Midi, generally to the north of Marseille, with our friends the Watts back in 2017.

Most of the excursions off the ship took people out of Marseille to the countryside and Avignon. So we decided to do the city. It was a pretty busy place, 10,000 extra people being dropped into the touristy areas due to three cruise ships arriving. Us with 1800 aboard and two others of 4000 each.

Our tour took us to some of the city’s highlights. The most prominent was the Notre-Dame de la Garde church perched on a high hill overlooking the town. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a chapel was built on the hill, called La Garde (the guard) in the early 1200s. Hence the name ‘Our Lady of the Guard’. It has a nautical theme as well.

The hill was also a prominent defensive position against the Germans in WW11. Getting to the top was a bit of drama with all the traffic in the narrow streets.

The southern waterfront area was very photogenic. Great big old houses fronting the Mediterranean and the offshore islands.

Off the coast is a group of small islands. One hosting the Chateau D’If. It was here that Louis XIV imprisoned his twin brother Phillippe, ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’.

We had some free time around the old port area, including lunch. There were numerous options to choose from. The city is a cultural melting pot, a heavy North African influence pervades. We settle for lunch in a food hall, turned out to be Italian choices!

Marseille has been the fifth port in this section of travel. Nine ports in ten days, so we are half way through and it has been a bit hectic. It has also been quite hot and humid. A few of our fellow passengers are a bit worse for wear, there have been some falls which dampens the experience for those affected.

We are in Marseille on Wednesday 12 July. Our guide mentioned that there was to be a general strike the next day (Thursday), protesting about the increase in the pension age from 62 to 64, in Australia it has just gone to 67! Just happens that Friday 14 is Bastille Day, so a 4 day break. Very French timing!

Our next stop is Barcelona.

Elba Island lies off the Tuscan coast of Italy and is regarded as part of Tuscany. We arrived into the port town of Portoferraio at around 7 am. Impressive lighthouse on the hill coming into the bay, where we anchored.

Apart from Komodo Island this is the first port we have had requiring water shuttles to get to the pier. The sea was quite calm and there were no dramas, just stepping from the ship across into the tender shuttle. Plenty of helpers getting in the way for us mobile individuals! Slobro had to time his step carefully.

We were doing time ashore from about 10.30 am (we let the rush get away before us) by ourselves with a wander around the town and lunch. Had to be back to the ship on the last tender at 4pm.

The little train was parked right where we came ashore, so we got on board this and headed off on a 20 minute panoramic trip around the town.

This was along the water front, checking out the old fort and then up and down some back streets. Interesting. It did give us the lie of the land and pointers as to where we would go for lunch. Some most impressive sail and motor boats in the crowded Marina.

Slobro was keen for a pizza. So we walked up and down the waterfront before settling on ‘Il Garibaldino dal 1895’. Now, Garibaldi was an Italian revolutionary leader who was instrumental in the mid 1800s in unifying the Italian states. A ‘Garibaldino’ was one of his followers or soldiers.

So this little restaurant is suggesting in its name that it is a revolutionary sort of spot and it’s been open since 1895! Believable. The pizza was salami and fungi. Very good.

After lunch we had some more time along the waterfront checking out the sail and motor boats in the crowded marina. A lot of money floating around!

Headed back to the ship on one of the last shuttles for the sail away from Italian waters. Headed for Marseille.

We made it overnight to Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, from Salerno.

Rome is about an hour and half’s bus drive down the freeway from the port. So it is a big chunk of the day taken up in travel, cuts in to sight seeing time. Allthego and Homealone have been to Rome before for short stays but have never made it to the Vatican to have at look at St Peters Basilica or the other sights.

So we decided to face the drive and see what we could see. These building are just so unique and irreplaceable, they need to be seen if one is able. The drive in went fairly well but we encountered some traffic snarls along the way, not unexpected.

The excursion was divided into four parts. The first was through the Vatican Gardens, then into the Museum Galleries, followed by the Sistine Chapel and then St Peters Basilica.

The guide managed to get through this in about four hours. Photos could be taken everywhere without flash, except in the Sistine Chapel. Silence was expected in the Chapel, but there was constant hum requiring periodic PA announcements to keep quiet! Quite remarkable experience.

After this we had some free time looking around St Peter’s Square trying to avoid the souvenir shops and street hawkers that abound. After a nice lunch in a side street we headed back to the bus for the trip back to the port. Managed to get two postcards in the mail!

Back on the ship we had a light dinner and then enjoyed the sounds of ‘John & Paul’, a rather good Beatles tribute group from Liverpool.

Our next stop around the northern Mediterranean coast was Salerno. This is a gateway port for us to make a trip north to Sorrento and Pompei. Sorrento sits on cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples, away in the distance Mt Vesuvius lurks on the horizon. Some great views of the coastline from the bus.

We have a couple of hours looking around a small touristy area of central Sorrento. Very busy being well into the summer season.

After trawling through a narrow street packed with everything a tourist would want, including postcards, we retired to a cafe for a Margarita pizza and a glass of rose.

Naples and the surrounding towns are famous for their Margarita pizzas. We were not disappointed. Slobro was very keen to put his feet up and enjoy people watching in the piazza.

It was soon time to move on to Pompei. Part of the deal it seems on these excursions is the need to drop into some ‘factories’ to check out local time honoured customs and production techniques. So we spent some time in shop that was full of wooden pieces, small tables, platters, music boxes, jewel cases and chess sets. These were made with ‘inlaid’ pieces of wood, quite intricate designs. Allthego was tempted by a very nice chess board. Thought twice about it and realised that at 400 Euros he would need to play an awful lot of chess to amortise the outlay! It would also probably end up in a garage sale down the track so it was passed up.

Slobro said that all the blog readers would know about Pompei and there was no need to go on and on about it in any detail. So my only observation is that Mt Vesuvius would have towered over old Pompei and the surrounding countryside.

Today the mountain has two peaks, but it is thought that when it exploded in 79AD it was one much higher conical type peak. The top was just blown off leaving it as it is today. The people must have got one hell of a fright before they suffocated and were swamped by the mud flows, ash and other debris . It last erupted in 1944. Today, the mountain is considered active and pressure is apparently very slowly building up. Maybe it will blow off again sometime in the near future. I wouldn’t want to be one of the 700,000 people who today live around it’s base!

We had an hour and a half with our guide looking at the excavations, quite amazing what has been uncovered here.

A bucket list experience ticked off our list! Back to the ship and the overnight sail north to Civitavecchia, Rome’s port.

We have had a short but entertaining stop in Messina, on Sicily. The Madonna is a great landmark on the way into the port, sits alongside ships of the Italian navy.

The Straits of Messina seperate the island of Sicily from mainland Italy. There is not a big gap to span and a bridge has long been planned between the island and the mainland. Plans have been drawn and abandoned over the years, the area is quite prone to seismic events which appear to have put authorities off the proposal. Recent studies also show that Sicily and Italy are actually slowly ‘drifting’ apart on seperate tectonic plates which make bridge construction problematic. So, they just have to keep using the ferries.

We had a short exploration around town, visiting the 12th century Cathedral and the more recent astronomical clock tower with all its characters doing their thing on the quarter hour. The church is quite spectacular, a great vault with all the European Catholic traditions. We were captured in the moment of a wedding in the Cathedral, the full thing, quite special experience. Homealone took a short video of the proceedings.

Messina was greatly damaged by a major earthquake in 1908 and much of the town has been rebuilt on the ruins. Statues and fountains are liberally scattered around the town.

Neptune looking out over the Straits to Italy is quite impressive. Neptune apparently ‘ripped’ Sicily away from the clutches of the heel of Italy and is quite revered.

One of our objectives here in Messina was to have a meal in local restaurant, away from those pesky tourists! Allthego had researched a place called ‘Casa & Putia’ (House & Home), a family affair.

Rather nice too, Homealone a bit disappointed with her choice but the white wine from the slopes of Mt Etna made up for it.
We were a hop step and a jump from the ship and made it back on board with 15 minutes to spare. Timing is everything! We are now on our way to Salerno.

Our transit of the Canal was set to start at 4 am, after being at anchor all night. Our convoy was assembled, 38 ships lined up waiting for the last vessel to come out of the canal from the north. It is one way and we are number three in the convoy. We have big car carrier in front and behind is huge container vessel.

Slobro was a bit sluggish getting out of bed which meant that we just missed the entrance into the Canal, despite it being 45 minutes later than planned. We saw the sun come up, over the Sinai Peninsular, as we passed the Canal sign.

It took some nine hours to travel up the Canal to Port Said at the Mediterranean Sea, averaging about 8 knots. Quite spectacular journey, much activity along the Canal particularly on the western side where significant infrastructure is underway for much of the entire length of the Canal.

A mural marks the spot where the Evergreen ship got stuck, blocking the Canal for weeks, a few years back.

Vehicle and rail tunnels have recently opened, as well as an irrigation tunnel taking water from the Nile River under the Canal to the west. A big industrial hub is being constructed on the Sinai side, supporting it is a new city under construction. Only, 220,000 units in hubs along the Canal aiming to have 340,000 in place by I think the end of 2025.

The buildings just go for kilometres along the Canal front. They seem to know how to get things done over here. Maybe, our politicians should have a study tour. Can’t see such a development on the upper reaches of the Brisbane River to address our housing issues getting the go ahead!

One could go on and on about what we saw along the Canal, Slobro said not to! Photos do a better job!

As we ventured out into the Mediterranean (above photo is looking back down the Canal) one might wonder what the builders of the Canal in the 1850/60s would think of it today. The Canal hastened the transformation of shipping from sail to steam, cutting weeks off the journey from Europe to Asia.

We are now out in the Mediterranean not far from Messina on Sicily, our next stop. Last evening we enjoyed a Neil Diamond tribute performer, some ladies got excited and stormed the mosh pit, Homealone resisted the urge. A memorable end to the Canal transit!

Slobro is eager to put up his map of the journey so far, quite proud of it he is. Such careful annotations!

Well the ship seems to have got its mojo back and we can get along at the right pace. Arrived at the Aqaba pier at the appointed time of 7am, we had a quick breakfast before lining up at 8am for our excursion to Wadi Rum. Many others were heading off to Petra for the day. We had been there some years ago on a trip to Israel and Jordan, in April from memory. Much cooler then, it going to push into the high 30s this time.

Wadi Rum is a desert reserve surrounded by dry mountains and gorges. In the past, home to nomadic Bedouin. Now these peoples are very adept at dealing with tourists. Either expensive camel rides or Bedouin trinkets and crafts displayed in genuine Bedouin tents while you sit around sipping on a local tea or coffee. All very crafty too with various currencies and conversion rates to seal the deal.

Hope that helps for your next trivia quiz!

But our 4WD tour through the desert area was quite entertaining and the scenery was great. Wadi Rum, ‘Valley of the Moon’ ,was where the Peter O’Toole movie Lawerence of Arabia was filmed. The Englishmen, T E Lawrence actually did have camps in Wadi Rum when he lead the Arab revolt against the ruling Turks in 1917.

There were about 30 Toyota (or similar) 4WD utes conveying us on this adventure. 6 of us squeezed onto the ute tray. The utes were in various states of repair, obviously having done this track before. Not sure that this trip would be possible in good old Aus with our rules and regulations. We whipped along at a moderate pace on the well compacted desert sands, no slipping or sliding.

Dotted through the desert park were a range of glamping tent facilities, quite sophisticated places with solar power and oasis like appearances. We stopped off at one for a short break.

Time went quickly and we were back at the ship for a late lunch. After a short siesta we took the shuttle back into town for a walk around the waterfront area and to have a look at the old fort . Admirable objective but execution poor. One of the things that gets under Allthego’s skin is being harassed by taxi drivers, who speak little or very accented English and want to take you and show you things you don’t want to see for a price that is incomprehensible at the time. We got our dose of these guys, all very polite and helpful of course, just not what Allthego needed.

So we took off ourselves from the drop off point and it seems in hindsight went in the opposite direction to which we should. Wandered around for an hour or so aimlessly, getting frustrated. Ultimately, we hailed a taxi and got in. Turns out the guy can’t speak English, shows us a picture of a cruise ship and wants to take us to the pier. Much saying ‘no no’, just want to ‘go to the water’! Finally, we stop the cab and get out. Ripped off then in change from $US to Jordanian Dinah. Allthego puts it down to more experience. Anyway, by accident we are actually back where we started!
So the wandering resumes, Homealone adamant that we are not wandering too far. The objective to buy a postcard and stamp. Stopped for a freshly squeezed OJ and minted lemon, both very good. Finally, got the postcard and also a stamp but couldn’t find anywhere to post it!

After all this exertion Allthego convinced Homealone that the Double Tree Hilton roof top bar would be a good place to watch the sun set over Aqaba (a recommendation from on board). And it was. We finished there around 7 pm and caught the shuttle back to the ship, after posting the card off in the hotels mail box! Very convenient.

Sailed off about 10 pm to position the ship the next day for the transit of the Suez Canal.

Dubai was the end of Stage 1 of the cruise. Stage 2 takes us to Dover in England.

Leaving Dubai and sailing southwest around the coastline of the Arabian peninsular past Oman and Yemen has been a slow plod for the Coral Princess. Still suffering from some engine issues, almost rectified according to the Captain’s announcements, and facing a southwesterly wind and rough swell we have lost time on this leg. The sea calmed down as we entered the Gulf of Aden and made our approach to the narrow ‘choke’ to enter the Red Sea. Slobro has been waking each morning and asking Homealone, ‘are we there yet’.

The waters around the coastlines of Yemen and Somalia are known for modern day piracy.

We have had an entertaining chat from the ship’s Head of Security about modern day piracy in general and the way it is being combated. There hasn’t been a significant attack in these waters for over ten years due in large measure to the patrolling of the waters by US and British naval vessels and actions taken by ships themselves. He was quite confident in the ability of our ship to ward off any pirates making an attempt. Basically our ‘freeboard’ (the railing and open deck area around the ship on Deck 7) of over 10 metres makes it difficult for any attempt at boarding. There is a range of other things to provide deterrence, including lookouts, water hoses and a sonic boom thingo that emits sound at levels humans cannot tolerate.

One of our fellow passengers asked whether the ship would rescue pirates! The Head of Security offered a strange look and said he wasn’t in favour of rescuing pirates. Much applause.

We are now well into the Red Sea making for Aqaba, it is nearly a month since we left Brisbane. Apart from a day in Singapore, half day in Colombo and two days in Dubai we have been ambling along the sea lanes in mostly smooth conditions for 24 days.

Allthego and Homealone are looking forward to getting ashore, even Slobro is a bit edgy for landfall. For many on board though it seems days at sea are what it is all about. Someone said that it is about the journey and not just the destination, or something like that. Allthego thinks it would be great to have a destination appear soon! Well whatever pleases you, but it does show that it takes time to cruise from Australia to the edge of Europe. Sitting in the lounges in these calmer seas away from windows, one senses no movement of the ship. You wouldn’t know it is ploughing along at 15 knots pushing water out of the way. Time could be standing still, even though we have turned the clock back an hour seven times to date.

Allthego has dozed off reading a book. Supposed to be relaxing but one could get exhausted from eating! Some great food on board and the nightly entertainment excellent. The entertainers know their target market well: 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Homealone is enjoying her craft and periodic trips to the laundry. It is amazing what you learn in the laundry about what is going on aboard!

‘Getting there’ has turned out to be not possible for another two guests (in addition to the earlier one in Singapore) who have sadly passed away, one it appears from over exertion on the dance floor. In the other case the wife off boarded the poor chap in Dubai and has continued the cruise, her son having joined her aboard. Practical arrangement. There has been an unconfirmed 4th death. Homealone needs to ask more questions in the craft group, or perhaps the laundry.

A consequence of the slow going is that we have lost a day and will be getting to Aqaba a day late. To catch up we are to forgo the following stop at Mykonos and make for Messina in Sicily as a substitute (albeit shorter) stop. We are not overly disappointed in this having been to Mykonos before.

Slobro has again just asked whether we are nearly there. YES is the answer. Tomorrow morning!

The next day in Dubai we were able to get off quickly, not having to do the immigration processes. We were booked on a Red Bus trip, taking us generally down to the old historic area along Dubai Creek.

Slobro was eager to get onto the top deck to get a good view. Now although the Red Bus has air conditioning it struggled, it was 100 degrees F and humid to boot. Our first stop was to join a Dhow cruise up and back down the Creek for an hour.

This experience highlighted the old problem with Red Buses. We got off the bus and had to wait half an hour for the cruise to start. Shade was at a premium. Then after the cruise we had to wait another half hour for the next Red Bus to come along. So we did an hour there. But the cruise was pleasant catching all the life along the river bank. Dhows being loaded and unloaded, people rushing around and going back and forth across the Creek in small ferries.

Back in 2007 we had spent a few days here in Dubai and the old historical district and sites were somewhat familiar to us. We had stayed in a nearby hotel. Allthego had done some research on eating establishments, looking for a place offering a traditional menu and ambience. The Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant came up with good reviews. The trick was to find it, we had the address and lo and behold the Red Bus went right past it. But we had missed the stop and had to walk back from the next stop. Again luck was on our side as we walked right past a post office and Allthego was able to get his post cards away, including one from Colombo!

We were not disappointed with the food at Al Khayma. A really good beetroot salad, some chicken shawarma samosas and lamb machboos.

The lamb dish is a cultural favourite in this region. Also done with chicken. The lamb is slow cooked in water and a great swag of various herbs and spices. The broth is then used to cook the rice and absorb the fluid and spices. Served with the lamb.

A bit more complex than that but that’s the guts of it, there seems to be various recipes and methods. Tastes wonderful. A big fresh orange juice and a minted lemon tea to drink. Would go back again for sure, a memorable lunch.

Jumped on the Red Bus and headed back to the ship for dinner! Dubai is an interesting place, a cultural melting pot in a traditional society. All the ‘bigness’ and razzmatazz makes it all seem a very plastic and artificial place. Nice to visit but wouldn’t want to live here. The ship sailed away later that night at around 10 pm. City all lit up against a dark sky.

We arrived into Dubai earlier than planned having made up some time due to the aborted stop for Muscat.

Now one of the things you learn after doing a few cruises is that it takes longer to get off the ship than what is planned. Always a delay of some sort. No different here. Another thing you learn is that there is no way you can see everything. You have to pick and choose. Allthego and Homealone are teaching Slobro to see something that is iconic, have a new experience, engage with the locals or just sit and observe the world go round. But get on with it because the time goes quick!

On this our first day in Dubai, Homealone is staying onboard as she is reluctant to catch the lift up the tallest building in the world. Allthego goes off to do this half day trip on his lonesome, Slobro is just a no go!
Burj Khalifa is 830 metres up. The observation deck is on level 124, 452 metres up.

The lift to the deck is silent and takes about 40 seconds, as you rise the lift interior lights up with views of the urban landscape and skies. Quite spectacular, as are the views. At this time of the year the skies are quite heavy with dust and haze. Our guide tells us it’s not smog. Long distance views are compromised but the views down and over the city show the enormous amount of property development taking place.

Burj (Tower) Khalifa is set amidst the sprawling Dubai Mall. Most things in Dubai are big. Dubai Mall is the largest shopping mall in the world, 1300 plus outlets, Olympic size ice rink, huge aquarium, 3 story waterfall. It covers 4 floors with 12 million square feet. Simply enormous.

All sorts of people wandering around, traditional Emirati and Muslim outfits to ripped jeans and bare midriffs. Quite a contrast. It is a reflection of Dubai’s libertarian turning of the cheek to breaches of Muslim practice, except when it comes to the mosques.

On the way back to the ship we pass by the current Ruler’s Palace, security ever present but not too obvious. The famous Jumeirah Mosque is also passed. The guide passes on an interesting fact about mosques. On the minarets and domes there are gold spikes sticking up.

The ones on the Jumeirah mosque have a circle shape on top. This means the mosque is a Sunni mosque, common in Saudi Arabia and these parts. If there is a sickle shape on top it is a Shia mosque, common on the other side of the Persian Gulf in Iraq and Iran, although there are Sunnis there as well. So that might help readers in a trivia quiz! I won’t dwell on the difference between these two, Wikipedia will help the curious.

Back at the ship Allthego found that Homealone and Slobro had enjoyed the day doing the washing.

Unfortunately, our late departure from Colombo and continuing engine issues have slowed our passage northwest across the Arabian Sea. We are currently in the Gulf of Oman making for the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. A stop had been planned for Muscat in Oman, but this has been abandoned. We will be arriving in Dubai tomorrow, 25 June for an overnight stop, a little earlier than planned. So we will have had another four days at sea.

Allthego is getting a little edgy and needs to set foot on dry land. Homealone continues with craft activities. Good progress is being made on the Physi tartan, we might be able to get a photo up soon.

The weather has remained reasonably good, although it has been mostly cloudy since leaving Colombo and the wind has picked up. Seas have been running at around 2 metres, a little rocking. Have now calmed as we are high in the Gulf. Remaining very warm but the humidity has eased as we have moved north.
Slobro has been taking the ship board life style in his stride and is wanting to share some information. Princess Cruises has a loyalty program, ‘ benefits’ accrue based on number of cruises or days cruised. Categories are Gold, Ruby, Platinum and Elite. The key ones here are Platinum (50 days) and Elite (150 days). You attain Gold after one cruise. Allthego and Homealone are Platinum. Now this cruise we are on is the first Princess world cruise from Australia since COVID, there are we believe about 1800 people aboard. The vast majority are 71 plus! It is Slobro’s first cruise ever. He is astounded that there are some 780 Elite and 420 Platinum members aboard, two thirds of all aboard. There are only 200 or so first time cruisers. Some of these Elite characters are on their third and fourth world cruises they inform us. There is one couple who will have been on the ship continuously for two years when it goes into dry dock for a refurbishment later in the year. They are transferring to another ship.

One of the benefits of being a Platinum and Elite member is we have our own little snack bar to partake of, except 1200 people can get into it! Elite people get a free laundry service, problem is there are so many that the laundry is taking 3 to 4 days to come back!

There is also a Captains Circle Party to hear a chat from the Captain. It was at this party that we were told who is on board with the most cruise days all up. The top three. Slobro can’t recall the numbers exactly but here they are in round numbers. First, 1800 sea days and 174 cruises all up. Second, 1700 sea days and 142 cruises all up. Third, 1400 sea days and 121 cruises. Something like 5-6 years cruising, apparently more or less constantly! Slobro, 17 days and counting!

So this ship is full of people who have travelled far and often, at least on ships. Slobro is going to opine on the merits of cruising in an upcoming blog, after a little more experience aboard.

One of the highlights of this leg was the win by Queensland in the second State of Origin fixture. All aboard look forward to a clean sweep at he next outing, at least the Queenslanders! The outstanding Courier Mail newspaper sums it up well.

Food and entertainment continue to be mostly excellent. One of our waiters put together a quick sketch of Homealone looking inquisitively at her plate. Certainly got the eyes!

We have had a stand up comedian who thinks he is funny. Laughs at his own jokes! Enough said.

Had an excellent hot dog today, 3 bean nacho sauce and cheddar cheese atop. Thought I was in Houston!

So we now find ourselves about to step ashore in Dubai. It is the end of Stage 1 of the cruise.

We have left Colombo and are now heading north west into the Arabian Sea.

As was predicted we arrived late into port at Colombo, around 1 pm. This screwed up our day, our tour to the tea plantation and factory had fortunately been able to be rescheduled from the morning to the afternoon. We set off around 2.00pm in our air conditioned coach, having finally got ashore.

Now this tour involved a return journey of 5 hours or so and the ship was leaving at 7.30pm. So a tight squeeze to say the least! We would miss seeing any of the town, another time perhaps.

But the main game in this port had been to get out and see life in the countryside. Which is what we did! There is a philosophy that suggests one shouldn’t get agitated about things one can’t control. Go with the flow! So a slow ship didn’t worry Slobro and neither did the bus breaking down on the way to the tea factory! Fortunately, a risk management assessment had been performed and the tour company had an empty bus following us! So we piled into that one and set off again down the Highway, a further twenty minutes had ticked by.

Turning off the dual carriage highway it was back to a narrow two lane roadway all the way to the tea factory. It seems that in the countryside the population lives largely either side of these roads. There are motor bikes, little two seater cars and small trucks everywhere. Small traditional shops among small workshops, retail stores, vehicle repair shops. An endless stream of probably subsistence level economic activity.
At one point we have a police escort, it clears oncoming traffic to allow us to speed along through the endless village. Our driver honks his horn almost continuously as he overtakes all and sundry on the narrow road.

We finally make it to the tea factory for a short refreshment break before a tour through the operation. Slobro really got into this and was engrossed in the processes.

The factory was quite heavily mechanised, but some processes remain very manual. A bare footed female workforce seemed to operate everything, even the bagging of final product. Interesting set up, we had about an hour on site.

It was then back aboard the bus for the return journey along the same route. No breakdown, but the driver wasn’t mucking around. We made it back at 7.20 pm!

The ship though seemed delayed and we didn’t leave port until nearly 11pm. The Colombo tulip flashing from red to green and blue in the night sky as we sailed away.

Leaving Singapore our ship headed up through the Straits of Malacca, between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsular. The Straits are one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. Freight is moved from Asia down around Singapore, up the Straits, across the Indian Ocean and through the Suez Canal to Europe. Ships then come back the other way.

All this shipping has in the past been a great hunting ground for modern day pirates. Particularly, against smaller cargo vessels. Piracy has been thwarted in recent years because of greater surveillance by various authorities and is a rarity today.

Nonetheless, the waters around the top of Aceh and out into the Andaman Sea still have some of these friendly folk plying their trade. For this reason the ship quickens pace to speed up the crossing on the way to Colombo. The crew do a piracy drill one morning and all the passengers are alerted to what happens in the event of action. Basically, get away from external areas, stay inside and sit down. Also, be prepared for the ship making unexpected manoeuvrings. One suspects a lot of this has to do with insurance, duty of care etc.

The weather has turned a bit and is clouding up, some showers as we motor along trying to leave them behind. The seas have developed a slight swell with white caps from time to time.

Onboard activities continue. Slobro continues to lead our team in progressive trivia. We have slipped a little in the rankings down in the middle of the pack, 35 out of around 82. Recovery will be hard from here.

We have also had a great show with a harmonica player, did a version of ‘What a Wonderful World’ followed by a long ABBA medley. All backed by the band, very energetic.

The ship has had some diesel generator issues, slowing our progress and we are going to be a few hours late into Colombo. Unfortunately, disrupting our plans ashore for the day. Slobro is resigned to this but trusting that the issues will be fixed and not affect things beyond Colombo.
We have now turned up the west coast of Sri Lanka and will pass Galle on the way to Colombo.

We arrived into the cruise terminal around 7.30am after slowly moving through the bay as the sun came up over the top of a bank of cloud. Ships everywhere waiting to unload or take on cargoes, quite a maze!

We had decided to do our own thing here in Singapore. Just wander around for the day and take in some of the local vibe. Allthego had been here twenty years or so ago on a business trip, but otherwise we have only passed through on the way in a plane going somewhere else.

After getting ashore at about 10.30 am it was into the subway for a ride up to Orchard Rd, shopping heart of the city. At least the up market end. Very busy place among the modern buildings and traffic. Some great street art along the footpaths and building forecourts.

Managed to find the local Spotlight outlet. Not necessary to do any shopping for supples as half a suitcase of wools etc had been brought along by the crafter. Still an exciting experience for Slobro both here, and with the Jelly Babies.

The weather was hot and humid and one became thirsty quite quickly. We grabbed some coke and sat down in a hawker centre, Indonesian. Quickly moved on by an austere official, eaters only area. Not unlike our Aussie food courts!

A little further along it was a surprise to glance up a side street and see some of the old shophouses leading up to Emerald Hill. Very colourful, mostly bars and the like now.

Lunch called and we jumped onto the subway for Chinatown, a couple of stops away. Found an interesting little establishment in a backstreet mall. Enjoyed some chicken stir fry, cucumber and spring onion wraps. Also a fried pork and vegetables with rice. Washed down with some Tiger Lager.

After lunch it was back onto the subway for Raffles and a wander around the old colonial area. Finally, lobbed into the entrance to the Long Bar only to find a lengthy queue. It was around 3.40 and we needed to back on board by 5.30. Got to our seats eventually and enjoyed a Singapore Sling and the free peanuts. Scattered our share of shells on the floor in accordance with tradition.

Raffles has recently undergone renovation and the Bar has been relocated from somewhere else. Allthego remembers it being a larger space and far more rustic.

Time caught up with us and it was back to the subway and the ship. Slobro had been a bit anxious about the time. The three of us were a little weary after 12 km of walking around.