At Sea
November 26, 2022
Another day of rough weather and the ship was doing some major rolling.
It was a bit too cool to sit out on our balcony and watch the crashing white caps. The crow’s nest provided that opportunity. We went up for free drinks at noon and learned that it was happy hour in every bar on the ship. There were a lot of happy people after they waited for the real drinkers to fill each hand. The professionals realized that it was one drink at a time so they moved from bar to bar. There are about 6 bars on this ship. Enough for real happiness to take place.
Some folks ended their cruise in Cape Town and some are just beginning. It’s funny how the new comers stick out. We certainly haven’t met all of the passengers on this cruise but it’s easy to identify those just joining us.
Jeremy couldn’t do his usual port talk at 11 am on stage because of his quarantine status. He taped a 15 minute talk from his room and it was broadcast on tv. It’s nice to know the currency, exchange rate, shuttle bus locations and a little about the town. The port we missed, Luderitz, was part of German West Africa. Wallis Bay is similar. The town was built to resemble the “homeland”.
We have a 3rd party tour for tomorrow and I already received a message on WhatsApp from our guide. Sounds fun.
Namibia has decided to join the other African countries in the port silliness. They have gone a step further than South Africa did. South Africa only cared about your identity when you left the country. Passengers were allowed to spend two days in the city and then had to prove their identity to customs when they were leaving. Huh? Namibia wants to know who you are when you arrive and when you leave. Of course a government form is the answer. Ridiculous. All of the information they ask for is on your passport. They scan the passport when you present it. The form will end up in the “burn this” pile. I doubt if any country will beat Botswana and the cookie sheets for stupid ideas but every country seems to want to compete.
Erika continued to take over for Jeremy. Jeremy speaks way too fast. He will come on stage and ask the audience a question such as “how was your visit today?”. Great question but he does not wait for a response. He immediately begins talking. A confident public speaker realizes that silence has a place. A speaker with no confidence feels they have to fill every minute with speech. Many times it is ummm, aahhhh, ya know,…..Jeremy just continues talking non stop. Erika is very clear and confident. Pausing when necessary. She will make a great tour director, at least in the public speaking portion.
The evening entertainment was South African vocalist Selim Kagee. He did covers of mainly love songs. Voice quality is nice but dynamic range was limited and lacking in most numbers. He was backed up by the Ocean Bar quartet and they play ok. Terri kept flashing me a 3. I gave him a 6.…