The days on shipboard find a rhythm. The sail is smooth but with some movement,
but the ship creaks a little, and every once in a while, it gives a hitch and
throb. Everything is too new to break,
we remind ourselves, and what can go wrong a maiden voyage? The cabin is comfortable but with a teeny
tiny shower. We are not sleeping well
yet.
We awaken in good time, have breakfast and then the daily
lectures—three in a row. How much do you
want to know about the lectures? Usually
one is about a port, one is somewhat historic and at the moment one is usually
about show business.
Lectures take us to one o’clock and lunch. Afternoons are reading, some activity—today
they have shopping (half off!) and a wine-tasting. Yesterday I took two computer workshops. Then it is time to dress for dinner. Last night and tonight are formal. Port days are “elegant casual.” I wonder if “elegant” means no blue jeans and
tee shirts, because I can’t really tell the difference between “elegant casual”
and “semi-formal.” I should have taken a
committee shopping before I came.
READING: I am
currently reading Stacey Schiff’s biography of Cleopatra—very restful although
well-written and a new book by a British author called We Are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka. There will be a discussion
of this last. It is described as
“gorgeously funny” on the front which I do not find accurate, but it is absorbing and relevant for me. Well, not the fashion, divorce and child-care
issues, but the plot about the old woman who does not want to go to a nursing
home rings a bell. The writer’s voice is
sure, and the characters are well-drawn.
It is time for ship pictures which
I will not upload until I find a cheap spot.
No ship pictures yet. But about the wine-tasting.
I have three categories of wine:
not worth the calories, OK and surprisingly good. This does not help the wine salesman to
figure out what I might like. When they
offered a wine-tasting, it seemed like a good idea to at least learn enough to
have some words. Cunard offered five wines—a
champagne, two whites, two reds and an ice wine—relatively sweet. Prices $48-$98—these are dining room
shipboard prices, but I don’t know that I will be ordering any of them soon. We looked briefly at color and then ignored
it. We sniffed. We tasted a little, sniffed more, swirled the
glass for the reds and then were asked to describe it. Obviously I was a “listener.” I now know that I like a wine that is not oaky
or as acidic as chardonnay, something grassy, flowery, and fruity with notes of
lemon and melon. I may not really know what I like, but I take reasonably good
notes.
CURACAO morning. The island of colorful buildings because an
early governor had migraines and though the bright white house made it worse. The map was very confusing and the Emma Bridge
was turned to allow a ship through so we walked just one side the town and
browsed a few shops. I keep thinking of
one islander’s description that, “Nothing is made here; we just import it and
sell it back to you.” Lots of familiar
brands.
Back to the ship for an early
lunch and to prepare for afternoon snorkeling.
I do hope the water is calm.
The water proved to be calm, but
while they had said one should be a competent swimmer, they said nothing about
being a competent paddler. The kayaks
had inadequate back support, and John and I found the paddle to be longer than
comfortable. Fortunately there was a
guide on a Skidoo who snapped a line onto our kayak and gave us a tow. The
water was lovely, the fish, if not plentiful, were present and colorful. John saw the big blue ones eat some of the
little yellow ones. All in all a good
enough afternoon.
LIMON, COSTA RICA, and the Veragua
Rain Forest: Costa Rica, approximately
the size of West Virginia, has 4.6 million people and 2 million foreigners,
some of them expat Americans who find the clean water, good medical services
and relatively low costs to be a good trade-off. The population is quite mixed including
native groups, Hispanics, Chinese who came with the railroad and former
Jamaicans, the last two because they were relatively sturdy when faced with
local diseases such as yellow fever. Transportation
is the largest part of the economy in Limon.
Bananas and pineapples are major crops.
Costa Rica is the leading exporter of pineapples world-wide. Limon has the wet season and the wetter
season with 225 inches of rain in an average year and double that in 2010. We climbed (in a bus) 2,000 feet today to the
Veragua Rain Forest where we walked 300 some steps to a water fall finding
sloths, turtles and a few birds on the way.
We also visited displays of snakes—a really impressive python—poison frogs
which we were assured would not kill us unless we swallowed them, lizards and
butterflies.
All in all a worthwhile day,
Next, on to the Panama Canal.
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