An Easy Day at Sea...

Not much to report, so I will ramble on a bit.

Did you know that when Britain was 'The Power' in the world, Egypt was in 'The Near East', because it was near to London.

When America took the role of 'The Power', it then became 'The Middle East', because it was further away, from Washington. So sayeth our lecturer today, it must be true because he was an advisor to the Government of Canada! Right.

New Subject:

We are again in interesting waters, [see the picture of the map on board].


The ship is heading west, [left] along the Yemen coast with the Somalia coast as far away as possible because there are some real nasties there. Above Somalia is a little country called Djibouti, [not named on the map]. There is a US navy contingent there that helps to keep the waters safe in these waters where ruffians that used to be known as pirates still to this day harass small independent small ships. The 'Pirate Watch' is on again until we clear the choke point and get into Egyptian waters. In Egypt the only pirates we will run into are on the land and running stalls or offering camel rides. [The pictures show the search light and noise deterrents located on deck again.]



New Subject:

I often crack a smile when we look into a shop or store either on board or onshore. There, without fail, we will find some woman who is eyeing, holding or trying on some wonderful piece of jewellery or clothing. I think to myself, my gosh, how many necklaces, rings, earrings, shawls or other fancy-dress pieces of clothing can one person have? All in an attempt to defy age and, I suppose look attractive for their spouse or other. 

However, rarely do we see young, slim, virile women looking or buying such articles. Hell, they just look absolutely smashing in pair of jeans and a five dollar top! The spouses of these women rarely deny these purchases, I suppose they too live in hope of some magic transformation with the latest bobble or dress. Have you ever noticed how smart a woman looks in a simple black skirt and a white blouse? A real head-turner. Or how sharp most men look in a black tux and white shirt? Simplicity is the answer.

New Subject:

Moe's camera has had the bun, kaput! Too bad it did not happen a week or two ago when we were in Hong Kong or Singapore. She went ashore in Oman and reported it as malfunctioning. Every attempt to get it going was unsuccessful. So, we bought our way out of the situation. Moe now has a brand new Fuji pocket camera. The selection was not great, they only had two left in the photo shop. Moe is now practising madly to get used to it. The previous one she had for four years and  was very good with it. A new camera three days before Egypt is not the best of circumstances for sure, however once she gets used to it I believe she will find it easier to operate and may result in better shots. Keep your fingers crossed for her. [The photo shows us practising in front of of what is left of our dressing mirror.]


New Subject:

Time zones are marching on, fast. We go back another hour tonight and then again tomorrow night. Then we will be only 10 hours ahead of Vancouver and two ahead of London. Later tonight we will turn north into the Red Sea. Then we work our way in a northerly direction until we hit Sochi, Russia, in the Black Sea. [There are many stops in between]. At that point we will be approximately on the 43rd parallel, north. Not too far from Vancouver at 49 degrees. And guess what that means? Our sunny days will be a distant memory. Springtime in Europe is not bathing suit weather methinks.

Lastly, niece Barbara will, in a matter of days, be winging her way to Turkey to join us in Istanbul March 30 after a few days of touring Turkey. Hopefully she can stay awake after a somewhat convoluted journey.