16 Feb 2015 @SEA
Yesterday we were off together, so as soon as we got off the
ship we were off on our walk along the Tampa waterway. The night before had
been very chilly and windy so I thought we were in for a cold day in Tampa but
we were lucky, another beautiful sunny day. People were on their Sunday morning
run, cycle and walks when we got to the waterfront. There were a lot of
families and kids around so assume there was a sporting event somewhere nearby,
did hear loud announcements passing the sport stadium on my way. Then it was
time for a big hot chocolate with cream!!! Just had toooo. Every week I can’t
wait to download my magazines, huis nuus, anything from home!! Only ass…. Like
Malema make the news on CNN and BBC so that we hear all about and the
embarrassing load shedding story!! Must admit not looking forward to all these
negative things at home but what can we do just carry on, is nie vir gaan le of
net kom vat nie!! Last night with supper we shared a table with a whole lot of
other crew and had a great time listening to all their stories about shopping
and battling to get a taxi to get back to the ship in time, stress levels were
high because if crew are not back on time it does not take much and off you
go!! End of your work contract. Was just nice listening to all the things they
get up to and interesting things that have happened to them on their travels
around the world .This morning i was back to the gym but one of those lazy, not
so good days, and then I started watching a movie while exercising and had me shed
a tear or two, so when my time was up I had to go on, just to see what happened
in the end, 40 min later!! It was time for the weights department. After
breakfast I popped in at the excursion talk again and then walked through the
shops on deck 6.Realised again what a privilege it is to get to go back to all these
places week after week. There is just so much to see and do. So until tomorrow,
bye.
17 Feb 2015: Roatan
Sailed into this port this morning on a beautiful day, no
wind just sunshine and one hour earlier as planned, so the captain must have
had a heavy hand/foot during the night while we were all sleeping!!Yesterday I
watched a program on TV about the Epic and how everything works on these huge
cruise liners and what an interesting hour, amazing and all the drama behind
the scenes. The steering of these huge ships is a small lever and not the big
huge wheels we see in the movies..If passengers are late to return to the ship
on time, how long they wait and when the captain decides he is leaving without
them, what it costs the company if he is late, and not on time, the fuel cost
involved to push to go faster, the list goes on and on. If the sea is rough how
they let fins out to stabilise the ship or let water into tanks on the ship
which also helps stabilise the ship for passenger comfort and for entertainers
that have show’s with balancing acts. As some of the entertainers say some
things are difficult enough on land, so on a moving ship that is rolling all
the time it is even more difficult. The food that they have to prepare for 4000
guests 3 x day and all the washing that is done 24/7, amazing. The machines
they use are huge; the machine that irons the sheets even folds them too and
spits them out on the other side! A whole new world that we don’t get exsposed
to. These people think big and go big!!!Hubby says the entertainment on the
bigger ships is very good and top standard. Well now I have been waiting for
the drill to end so that we can get off and just get our feet on land,hubby has
to be back again for a lecture at 5 and we leave the harbour at 6,just before
sunset.We went on our walk again and had to laugh at hubby when we stopped to
sit in the shade for a while, we heard this women from across the road singing
and making these funny noises when he said, nee, hier moet ons wegkom voor sy
die geete op ons sit!!! Must say it did sound eerie and did not understand a
word she said. Then further down the road we saw a coconut falling out of a
tree, thought, wow this is luck only to discover a guy right at the top of this
palm tree with a panga chopping coconuts. The tree must have been at least 8/10
m high, no back up, just him and his panga, tried to take a photograph of him
but you really have to look to see him, and before we knew he was down on the
ground. So will post the photo and you see if you can spot him right at the
top, if it was not for the falling coconuts we would not have noticed him.
Yesterday afternoon late I discovered we have another roommate, a little black
fly!! But did not have the heart to kill him and he is still in our room. On
the ship you don’t see any other living creatures and hubby told me once you
are actually glad to see them, know I believe him. So it is hubby, the fly and
me!!! The 3 amigos! Bye until next time.
18 Feb 2015: Belize City Belize
Vanoggend was dit weer tyd om met die tender bote aan wal te
gaan maar vanoggend was die see lelik omgekrap toe ons moes ry en was vir hoog
trap tot op die tender boot.Dit het glad nie van bo op dek 11 gelyk soos n
rowwe storie nie maar onder by die water was dit so.Het eintlik n video geneem
om later te wys hoe dit was.Nie dat dit vir skipkatte afsit nie ons is al
wiegende gelaai en toe is dit tyd vir full throttle en daar gaan ons,land
toe.Vanoggend eers rustig deur al die winkels gestap wat vir my lekker was,
sonder dat ek aangejaag word!!!Darem iets gesien wat ek volgende week eers vir
Liefie wil wys voor ek koop.Probeer met elke kontrak iet vir ons huis te koop
wat ons kan gebruik soek nie kaggel kakkies nie!!Raak mos wyser met die
ouderdom, soek nie nog goeters nie,genoeg van dit.Voor my vanoggend was n
couple in n fight betrokke of moet ek se hulle het woorde gehad al wat ek kon
doen is my vergaap,en dit oor sy toegelaat het dat ander mense voor haar indruk
en syt niks gese nie.Toe sy se maar dit maak nie saak nie want hulle op die
volgende tenderboot ooooo dit was nie goed genoeg nie /.,./.,!Lyk my hy het
darem teen die tyd toe ons aan wal gaan,afgeblaas.Toe is ek weer swembad toe en
daar het ek weer geswem en gele tot dit weer tyd was vir terugkeer skip toe.Met
n man gesels wat vir my vertel het dat Belize eintlik so baie het om te bied en
ongelooflike mooi plekke het en dat die
hawe gedeelte dit nie gestand doen nie.Was eintlik vir my goed om dit te hoor
en besef daar is baie meer.Hy t vertel van die eiland net wes van ons, Turneffe
Atoll en dan nog n eiland waar die Blue Hole gelee is ,wens so ons kon daar
uitkom maar soos ek vroeer gese het, alle toere maar duur,ook vreeslik baie
scuba duik plekke .Ambergris Caye,Blue Hole Natural Monument op Light house
reef,Half Moon Caye,Caye Borkel,Clovers Reef,Sapodilla Cayes.Lyk my a true
Belizean lunch is rys, boontjies en hoender. Oulike se goed wat die ouens op
die tenders bote vir ons se is goed
soos:You better BELIZE IT! Hope you had an unbelizable day in BELIZE!! En dit
kry jy natuurlik ook op t-shirts gedruk. Dink mens kan maar die blue hole
google want dit lyk ongelooflik mooi op al die advertensie borde. Wragtig kan
julle glo vat vir my n lekker brosjure oor Belize en toe ek nou rustig wil sit
en lees kom ek agter Spaans!!Hier en daar vang ek n woord maar dit help nie
veel nie!! See was baie beter met terugkeer
skip toe vamiddag , wys jou ook net verander van een oomblik na die ander
ek het gedink ons is dalk in vir n donderstorm laat middag maar gelukkig toe
nie.Toe ek eers weer terug is op die
skip toe is ek nou vir jou dors en honger.Nou ja tot more mooi bly
19 Feb 2015: Costa Maya
Hubby could not get off today so I was on my own. Took the
public transport to the fisherman’s village as the locals call it. The
transport to the beach area is a bakkie towing a trailer with a palm tree roof
and a whole lot of benches on the trailer, island style!! To get back you have
to take a cab, yellow taxi or walk. Well I had a lovely morning walking around
to the same area hubby had taken me 2 weeks ago. Cool outside with a strong
wind blowing so not a beach day, not that the weather put any passengers off
walking about. Two other ships were also in port for the day so very busy in
Costa Maya today ,you are looking at about 6000 people, one of the other ships
might even have more people aboard than us, so could even be more. Think this
port has lots of potential and could really be a very nice place to visit in
the future. If you looking for a real chilled lazy holiday right on the beach
this is the place. Very very relaxed, here you will rest, but if you are
looking for luxury I don’t think this is the place, is rustic, feet in the sand.
Decided to walk back to the terminal area where we are docked and really
enjoyed it. On my way back to the ship I could see the current pushing the ship
away from the berth and when we got on the gangway it was actually moving so we
had to be careful stepping on, quite a weird feeling so don’t have to tell you
what is waiting for us when we leave this afternoon. I am in our room at the
moment but there is a big commotion going on outside with a women screaming and
using language I can’t use, am sure there might be alcohol involved in the
problem!! Have just heard that one of our ropes that tie us to the berth
snapped this morning, so that should give you an idea of how strong the current
is, they even have the engines running to keep us in place. This makes you realise
how strong water and a current can be. Always say you get people that think
they are so great and Mr somebody, and know everything bring
them to this big ocean and it will cut them down to size in a flash. So
tomorrow we are back in Cozumel hope we have better luck with the weather.
Until next time, bye.
20 Feb 2015 Cozumel:
Wel die weer nou nie te wonderlik nie maar dit reen darem
nie,wolke lyk swaar en al weer n wind wat waai.Vanoggend toe ons weer aanwal
gaan is n hele paar mense weer gestop met vrugte in hulle sakke, so die 2 honde
wat almal deursoek, het lekker treats gekry.Ek verkyk my aan hulle, snuffel
snuffel en sodra hulle daardie reuk van vrugte kry gaan sit hulle langs jou sak
en dan is dit, het jou!! Fotos vanoggend geneem om te wys.Toe is ek die strate
in en vandag besluit om in di e woonbuurte te gaan rondloop wat vir my baie
lekker was ,het n paar fotos geneem en het tot op n coral creeper afgekom wat
in volle blom is, vreeslik mooi .Mis my tuin en kan nie wag om dit oor te maak
soos ek dit wil he nie,met plante wat vir my spesiaal is,iets om na uit te
sien, nog by idees en baie planne! Ook by privaat huise ingeloer met die mooiste tuine.Het natuurlik my kanse
gebruik en ook in mooi winkels
rondgesnuffel.Alweer fotos geneem van ou geroesde wrought iron hekke
vasgemessel in die mooiste mure, lyk my
hulle praat met my! Teen 14h00 was ek al
flou gestap want 5 ure later, toe besluit
ek, lekker nie meer lekker nie, ek gaan nou in starbucks bietjie gaan sit en
chill soos die kinders se.Vanoggend nie myself gesmeer met die suntan lotion
soos altyd nie en kon dit voel,hy het my beet gekry.Misgis jouself altyd op n
bewolke, winderige dag.Hoor vamiddag dat die ander skip ,die Epic nie by n paar
van sy ports kon aangaan nie agv die wind wat seker vir hulle arme passasiers
sleg was,maar nou ja veiligheid voor plesier.Onthou ons kon met ons roete na
Quebec Kanada ook nie aangaan in Sydney
nie agv stormweer.Hoop dat New York oor 2 weke beter lyk wat die sneeu betref
want ek vlieg van daaraf huis toe, vandag weer op TV gewys hoe alles gevries
is.
21 Feb 2015: @SEA
Today is a sea day so no stopping at any port and we are
rocking and rolling quite a bit.Did my gym routine but went very very slowly!!!!
Getting lazy. A young lady nearly had a bad fall on the running machine think
she just lost her consentration for a second and with all the ships movement
she lost her balance but luckly for her she corrected herself before going
down.So it is possible to fall off the running machine! With our walks on the
outside decks everything was wet so the
seaspray had made its mark.While hubby went to the gym late afternoon I went up
for a cup of tea and then went to the crew talent show which I enjoyed.There
are some people in different departments who are very talented.Must say I feel so sorry
for these poor people that have 9 month contracts and have small children at
home,don’t know how they do it but I suppose if you don’t have any other option
you just get stuck in and do it. At supper we sat down with an inviromental
officer and was very intresting to hear all his stories, has been with the
company for 40years!!! So he has seen a lot of coming and going and how the
ships have changed since his early days.They were having trouble dumping wasted
food into the ocean because of the bad weather and time was running out because
they may only do it so many km from land.He said everytime they open up to dumb,
the sea comes shooting back up!! Well hope he got it done later during the
night,but if not he said they do have a backup,plan.At 03h00 in the morning the pilot
was going to get onto the ship to get us into port,and so many things go on
while we are sleeping.So tomorrow it is Tampa and 1 to go then it is time for
me to go home,hubby cant wait and counting the days,has been a long contract
for him and as they say no place like home !Until next time ,bye
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