(sunrise is before 0600 in case you are wondering) – go to the blog post if you want to enjoy these.
Having two relaxing days in a row is not unusual for my average cruise. It certainly is for this trip. This leg, like the previous one, is port heavy. Not, so far, with ports that I am interested spending the entire docked time, but with places that are interesting to visit once.
The jig-saw puzzle fiends have worked their way through the entire collection of 500 piece puzzles including some traditional poster type puzzles (Cats, sea creatures, bees, and birds) and are now tackling a 2000 piece one that is taking up practically the whole table. Not helped of course by someone who jammed the edges together without matching colors….
The guest lecturer on board for this segment is much better than the last and is actually talking about local landscape, culture, religion, and craft traditions. I told her afterwards that she does need to be a bit more pointed with some of the passengers. Don’t tell them they will “feel more comfortable” if they are dressed more conservatively. Just tell them that it is needed. When you have those in their 60s and up heading off ship into a conservative Muslim location dressed in skin tight bicycle shorts, tank tops with flesh bulging out and flip-flops (thongs for the Aussies) on their feet – it is obvious that they are not uncomfortable at all. Rude? Inconsiderate? Disrespectful of the hosting country?
Perhaps I am more sensitive having served in the mid-East and not wishing to offend any more than a woman in a uniform carrying a weapon would offend. OTOH – we were always covered.
Anyway ….back to the lecture – one of the sights that I won’t be seeing tomorrow is the 99 Dome Mosque –
We ended our evening in the main dining room after receiving an invitation to dinner with an officer. This time it was Felipe who is the destination manager. It was interesting chatting with him – his background prior to joining the cruise industry was as a sergeant in the Brazilian military. The other person at the table turned out to be more than a bit on the conservative side. I am working on being, if not more careful about my insults, at least a bit less rude.
and progress is being made on my Relatively Small Ship of Life. Over half way…
