Day 71 - A good day in Salalah (Oman)

We seem to have drifted into a period of poor sleeping patterns, particularly for me, and we can’t really work out why, as nothing much has changed.  The alarm was set for 7:00am but we were awake well before that and heading up to deck 14 for a very light breakfast, as we knew that lunch was included on our private tour, arranged by Joanne.

This was our second visit to Salalah as it was a substitute port in 2011 and we enjoyed it then.  Jo had used the same contacts and tour company as before.

Many people had cancelled tours on this leg, fearing the local troubles would have extended to Oman.  Others seemed to have been put off by the resident port lecturer, who painted a gloomy picture, stating that as it was a Friday, the Islamic holy day, everything would be closed anyway; the taxi drivers would charge an exorbitant rate etc.

The Salalah port is a secure working port and as such, you are not allowed to walk around anyway, but our small coach was allowed access along with the Princess coaches.  We were met by an immaculately dressed Ahmed who spoke very good English.  (I could never live in an Arab state as I know only too well, that the pure white Arab gear would very soon be rather grubby…)

We set off in a westerly direction where it is very much as you’d expect – sandy, dry and rocky.  In this deeply religious country, there are by the roadside, designated areas for prayer and with a water supply.

We passed a holiday beach by a few miles, to look at a frankincense tree at close quarters, before turning around and heading back to Maneef Beach, where we went off to look at a blow hole.  The rock formations overhead were spectacular.   The beach area was not exactly as we’d expect in the west, but apparently is very popular.

We then continued past the town and out the other side and started climbing into the hills.  The coach seemed to struggle up the hills, but we made it.  There is almost a line, when it goes from dry desert, to lush greenery, on the way to Job’s tomb.  There was also a small place of worship (too small to be a mosque?) and we arrived at about midday, as did the local worshippers.  Car parking appeared to be totally random but once the prayers had finished, the ute that blocked us in was off anyway, so we weren’t delayed.

Down the steep hills again to a fresh water spring that was also a popular swimming place for the locals.  I had to smile as the concrete fences had been painted and sculpted to look like timber!  Very Disneyesque I thought…

On then into town for lunch at about 1:50, when the other private tour group of 20 were to join us.  A very nice lunch, with two curries, plus skewered chicken, very nice rice with vegetables and nuts, plus naan bread.  Delicious -  but I ate far too much…  We were joined by the coach operator/owner, the ever smiling Ali, who we’d also met in 2011.  He is so positive and enthusiastic about the country and genuinely wanted us all to feel welcome.  Somewhat bloated, we waddled out to the coach and a quick discussion of the time left and the options available, meant we didn’t travel the 40 kms out and back again to our planned call, so we went to the souk instead.  Sure, most places were closed, but there were enough open for most people to do a bit of gift shopping in the half hour available.

One more photo stop at the palace before a 4:15pm return to the ship.

My knees were a bit troublesome as the coach was designed and built by the Japanese for the Japanese, not for lanky Europeans…  We called at the atrium for a drink before heading for the cabin, where Paula was out like a light!

We missed sail away and after a shower, we were still too full for dinner, so we attended the Vista 7:45 show, with James Lamont, a juggler, escapologist and comedian.  This was the same performer who had Garry and Jo on stage in 2011 and the act was almost the same, but still enjoyable.  A 7½ out of 10.

We still were still less than hungry, but managed a light snack in the HC before an atrium coffee (tea for Paula) and crashing, a bit before 11pm.

Two more sea days ahead – and we weren’t chucked off the ship in Salalah as some predicted, so that is a major hurdle out of the way!

 

Days 69 & 70 - Two more sea days for relaxing and a touch of the Blues.

With yet two more sea days, it is fine for us, as we can relax, but probably even less exciting for you as readers, than normal!  (Not that the usual stuff in port is very exciting for you either, but who knows?)

After our success at the quiz the other afternoon, our morning team wasn’t able to repeat it, so after the usual mediocre showing, we headed for the atrium for coffee and a natter, first with Norm and Marion and then with Colin and Judy.

After catching up with the blog (this is written a day or two later, as you may well have realised by now), I managed to book flights to Sydney December, 10^th , returning the 14^th, as Dave and Marilyn had already booked, but they are going to see “The Lion King”.  It took a fair bit of time - and cost way more than many of the specials but this was a good way to use up some air points/dollars.

Afternoon quiz was not to be a repeat win, but with two overall wins in 70 days, we feel that we have done pretty well, as there are certainly some very successful teams.

With M & M, we headed up to the buffet for a cuppa and our case, a snack, as we skipped lunch.

At dinner, we were without Ros again and also Col and Jude who were dining at the Sterling Steak house.  Shame, as although it was an Asian menu, once again, the staff had arranged an additional prawn curry course for us!

As has become our new habit, a decent coffee with M & M again, before retiring fairly early and watching the movie I first thought was “Hitchcock”, but it turned out to be a movie about his obsession with Tippi Hendren.  The movie “Hitchcock” is scheduled to be shown in a couple of night’s time.

We called it a day at about 11:25, but then had to add another hour as we move back towards our normal time zones, so I now have no idea where we are, other than somewhere between UK and NZ time.

Thursday September 19^th

Just for a change, woke about 7am, but I went back to sleep again and we didn’t surface until nearer 9am, so our first call was the morning quiz at 9:45.  Now for the first time with our morning team, we should have won, with a clear 1 point margin, but didn’t because the four ladies in our team, who had final charge of the pencil, changed “Neptune” (from Alex and I) to Jupiter – and lost us a point.  Then when we (Alex and I) were adamant that it was indeed illegal, to wear bright pink hot pants in one Australian state, after midday on a Sunday, the ladies overruled us again…  A moral victory for two of us, but it didn’t translate into much sought after prizes.

As we hadn’t breakfasted, we made do with a parfait and an OJ, then later, a 1pm coffee, instead of lunch.  We returned to our cabin via deck 8, where the Ratcliffs and the Tullenors were playing their regular game of Canasta, a game neither of us are familiar with.  Maybe after watching for a while, we now have a rough idea of the basics, I’d have to say that there are several rules we didn’t really grasp. I’ll stick to playing “Snap” against kids with a bad stutter.

Just for a change, we went to the Vista lounge for a show put on by the orchestra, though it wasn’t really too obvious from the promotion, that the lead, “Bleeding Gums Smithies” (where on earth did he get that name from?) was in fact the resident lead guitarist, Kiwi Matt.  With a very polished performance on alto sax, electric guitar and even slide guitar, plus harmonica, this was a great show with good links, filling in relevant details. The singing was pretty good too. Although Muddy Waters was an influence on many British blues bands, most were probably unaware that it was jazz man Chris Barber who first brought Muddy Waters to the UK.  There you go, yet another plug for my favourite band!

A good dinner with once again a favourite entrée – eggplant parmigiana (I must learn how to spell that with confidence, as the spell checker in Outlook doesn’t like it at all…)

Time for another dinner celebration, with M & M celebrating 49 years of wedded bliss, so we enjoyed a glass of very nice bubbly and then they had to do the traditional sprawl on the table pose for photographs.  I don’t yet have a copy of the pics taken with the group and haven’t done a photo swap with the others for a while.

A coffee of course to round off the night, with a return for us to Salalah tomorrow.  So, as that is the last port before Mumbai, we may well be a bit quiet with the blogs, as we may be dumped on the quayside to make our own way to either Columbo  - or home, or, locked in the brig - along with a fair few others.

Had a one line email from brother Dave.  “Congratulations on your Trivia win.  Have informed press and TV so it may pay to lie low for a day or two.”

Thanks Dave.

Days 67 & 68 - At sea again - September 16/17th.

We knew we’d probably regret having a long nod yesterday afternoon – and we weren’t wrong!  At about 2am, we put on one of the music channels on the TV for 30 minutes, but Paula then needed her MP3 player for another couple of hours!

A fairly late breakfast and we were joined by Arnold and a still off-colour Ros before our morning trivia punishment.

Nothing of note to report as a lot of people seemed to be more than happy just relaxing for the day.  For us, rather than go out on deck where it is extremely warm, we prefer the cabin and open the sliding door to let in some fresh air, but with the net curtains closed, the cool air is retained.

We headed off to trivia as usual, this time run by Bernie, so we knew there would be one question relating to  Chile.  Our star was Garry who knew the name of a Chilean author, whereas my contribution was what the “Dukes of Hazzard” called their car!  WE WON…  Just in case you missed that, YES, WE WON – and without a tie breaker with 18/21.  I have to say that we were quite surprised as we thought others would have scored the same or better.

Proudly clutching our wallets (thank goodness it wasn’t lanyards…) we headed up to the buffet and other as cruisers will know, at 3:30, lunch has finished and afternoon tea is served.  Mal & Meg joined us, but my self-control weakened when Meg sat down with a fresh scone, jam and cream… In a break from tradition, I went for apricot jam rather than strawberry.

The Princess Top Chef and the ship’s Executive Chef were examining the food and I took the opportunity to mention that we thought the dinner rolls seemed a bit overcooked this time.  Top man walked over to the rolls, grabbed one,  squeezed it - AND PUT IT BACK!!!

Dinner I opted for just the soup and the main and we discussed our proposal for our passenger talent show contribution.

Our evening coffee group was expanded to include Col & Jude and Arnold and we had good chat with bar Supervisor Melldon, who has an amazing capacity for remembering names.

With more sea days ahead, this blog is not really going to get any better!

Tuesday

A decent sleep and no rush to get up again, so our first call of the day was the 9:15am quiz (rescheduled again because of the cookery) demonstration.  I really don’t know why we bothered as we only managed a miserable 6½… I blame Alex of course.  We went with them to breakfast, or early brunch.

Paula went off to the lecture by Thomas in the Lotus Spa, on detox.  According to him, just about everything we eat is tainted in some way anyway, so we’d be on some really strict detox regime lasting six months, every five years anyway.  I think we’ll pass on that…  Apart from the lemon in with the water to counteract the acid in the body, there is not much else we’d change, but we knew about that anyway.

I tried to get some stuff done on the internet, but once again, with everyone on board, not that easy, so I contented myself with a couple of emails.

We made do with a coffee and a couple of mini rolls in the atrium and skipped lunch as such.

A return to the cabin as it was about 41 degrees outside and a bit too warm to sit out, until we duly presented ourselves fir afternoon trivia.  Even without our esteemed leader, who sadly, is still unwell, we managed a fairly impressive 18/20, but still a point behind the winners.

On to Jammers for a planned Dawn Nomad’s 4:45pm pre dinner meeting and another of Edie’s “Getting to Know You” quizzes.

Yet another formal night (they seem to come around quite often when time flies!) but sadly, without Ros and Arnold. This was a commemorative cruiser menu where we go to keep it, so Head Waiter Robert and Alfred signed them for us.  Best item on the menu was the beautiful rack of (NZ?) lamb.

There was a new production show (as far as the Dawn Princess is concerned anyway), called Stardust.  It didn’t really live up to the standard of the other shows, as there was no real scenery or new costumes and it was all about the singing, rather than the dancing, though there was some dancing of course.  The music under Sarah the orchestra manager was fine but it is not a show we would bother about a second time.

Needless to say, the atrium coffee/hot chocolate was later than usual and by the time we’d finished chatting to M & M, the bar had closed and the cleaners were already at work.

So that is half way through this particular four day stretch of sea days, with loads more to come, so you’ll just have to be patient if the blog isn’t too inspiring, but feel free to add a comment below.

Day 66 - A warm day in Aqaba (Jordan)

At one stage in the night, I got out of bed as something was knocking or rattling in the breeze.  I couldn't see anything amiss, but later in the day, found out that it was one of the balcony chairs that was sitting unevenly and wobbling…

A leisurely breakfast and a chat to Ron and Angela who we know as dancers from previous cruises.  None of us are too happy with the dance set up this time and really miss Alana's input.  None of us has learned much and the dance practices haven't been well attended either.

We wandered out OK and took the (free) shuttle bus, which took us to the far side of the town centre.  We opted to follow the signs to the City centre and walked clockwise, noting that even though it was a Sunday and  a country with a strong Muslim presence, there were three or four booze shops open!

Initially, Paula's attempt to buy a sun dress failed – they wanted $28US, way too much.  The next shop just around the corner and she managed to get one for $10.

The town has several large resort hotels with good security and apparently the location of Aqabar, with its close proximity to Israel (just across the bay) and Petra (two hours by coach) and a country noted for being fairly neutral, makes it quite popular.  The recent troubles around them has severely dented their tourism trade and we heard from one source that our ship was the first cruise ship in since April.

The people were friendly and there was a strong local presence in the town judging by the shops and the clientele, with nut shops being very popular, and a small local fruit and veg market.  In the butcher's shop, the window was notable for goat carcasses hanging up, skinned, but complete with untouched heads and horns!

The pavements were very grubby and dirty with cigarette butts everywhere.  The cleanest place was the 1970's built Mosque.  We opted for McDonalds for an ice cream and a coke.  A very pleasant crew, who accepted USD and gave us the change in local currency, which we popped into the charity box.  Outside was a very well presented camel where the minder was taking people for a short ride for about $5US.

The shuttle bus back so soon after the coke meant I wasn't really ready for a coffee, but Paula had her mango juice.  Another cheap day!

Then we crashed!  Whether it was the intense heat or not, who knows, but apart from a visit to the HC for a quick snack about 3pm, we just crashed again!  It is understandable why so many countries close up from 1pm to 4pm.  It must be the heat.

The rest of the Dawn Nomads were a bit late for the 7pm sail-away so we ended up outside the deck 14 grill bar, where M & M and Paula had chicken burgers (and chips) but I went to the buffet and emerged with spicy prawns and rice.  M & M did the Wadi Rum tour today and enjoyed it before going into town, where Megan managed to get slightly lost.  She made it back to the ship OK where Mal was scanning every shuttle bus as the passengers hopped off, looking for the love of his life!

Afterwards, we moved out of the heat and down to our regular spot near the ice cream parlour and Mal used his corkscrew to open one of our €3.80 bottles of French Rose.  It wasn't really to my taste, but the others managed to polish it off.

Just Paula and I downstairs for a coffee and back to the cabin again about 10pm.  With the afternoon nod, I am not too sure that we'll sleep right through tonight. The evening entertainment wasn't really appealing so no real reason to stay out late and it was still very warm out on deck.

Now we have 4 days at sea, ahead of us, but no doubt tomorrow, half the ship will be recovering from their tours to Petra, but their day would have been shorter and no doubt less tiring than our 2011 visit, as I remember us getting back totally exhausted at about 8:30pm.

Day 65 - At sea and Alex changes his name

Yes, another day at sea and another hot one as we head slowly (very slowly) to Aqabar.  We are moving slowly as the original port after Suez was cancelled and there was no replacement.

We headed for the quiz before breakfast.  I’m sure that by now, you will have guessed that we are not the proud possessors of the star prize.

A stroll down for a leisurely coffee seemed a pleasant way to while away another hour before a determined effort to catch up with the blog and then a late call on the buffet, where I indulged in a very tasty ship made steak and kidney pie.  I say ship made, as the grill bar on deck 14 stocks Australian pies, but with pastry like cardboard, they do not really appeal.  A bit of excellent fresh pineapple and melon to round it off and tha was lunch!

We were just two or three points short of a trivia win – but that is fairly normal.

After getting ready early, we went to the early show – Phil “trust me” Cass again.  Most of the audience had seen the first show, but Teri and Alex hadn’t, so when Phil asked if anyone had a $50 note, Alex couldn’t wait to leap up - whilst we sniggered.  Most people know all too well that you rarely volunteer at a stage show – particularly with magicians, mentalists or entertainers who have a quick wit and a good line on put downs.

When asked his name, Alex thought he was being very smart by saying “Terry” (Teri!).  We knew better.

After being subjected to various indignities, including the famed electric chair, Alex (Terry) returned with his $50 note, almost intact and the lady whose watch was banged against the table, had it returned inside a tin can, showing 3:20 – the chosen time.  How it is all done, I really don’t know, but very enjoyable.  Probably one of our favourite acts on the cruise and certainly one that people will be talking about.  (We are still talking about Dominic’s tie!)

What Alex doesn’t realise is that over the next few days, 400 strangers will be greeting him and calling him Terry…   

We called at Jammers where one or two Dawn Nomads were having a pre-dinner drink, with one of the group supposedly a dead ringer for the ousted Australian leader, Kevin Rudd, whilst Ed did his Winston Churchill act.

Dinner was a bit slow tonight as most diners were in.  Remember, that everyone has an allocated table and has chosen either late or early dinner, but whilst some eat in every night, some are never seen, others are only in on sea days and others when the menu appeals or when they feel like it.

This means that the wait staff have a varying load and when everyone is in, particularly as our table of 10 has a few special requests, delays are common, so it was after 9:30pm before we were out and into the atrium for a coffee.

We didn’t do a late show – often the performer doesn’t really appeal – as tomorrow is a fairly early start for some, but not us.  We did Petra two years ago from Aqaba and tomorrow, it will be no more than a wander around town – in 40 degree heat, then another 4 days at sea before Salalah.  Maybe it will soon be time to do my next pieces on the eating!  

Day 64 - A safe transit through the Suez Canal - Phew!

Although I slept OK, waking with a dry throat at about 4:30am meant grabbing a Strepsil.

The Horizon Court was reasonably busy as it affords a good viewing spot and is considerably cooler than on deck, where temperatures soared to 42 degrees (C!), which is a bit uncomfortable and the flies appear from nowhere.

We didn’t win the morning trivia so we are at least consistent.  We don’t need to win lanyards anyway.

Although I spent time catching up with the blog, there was no point in trying to connect to the internet so I managed to stack up two days’ worth of insomnia cures for you, ready for loading.  (For some strange reason – probably poor posture, I keep typing fir instead of for, so apologies if in previous posts, it doesn’t make any sense…)

Paula went off for a hot stone massage then after a quick diversion to the buffet for a small portion of chicken curry (can’t resist it!), it was afternoon trivia time again.  A gallant attempt - but another winless day.

At 5pm. We duly presented ourselves to Thomas in the aerobics studio, for our body analysis.  The only measurable part was 4 electrodes, 2 on the right foot, 2 on the right hand, with a few lines of printout.  Not as much as I expected, whilst Thomas explained a wee bit about the results and what they meant, plus a bit about liver function, water etc.  Rather surprisingly, there was no test for blood pressure, heart rate, or indeed our posture or any muscular deficiencies or skeletal balance, lung function etc.

According to the figures produced, I am on 20.8% body fat and my target is to get it to 20%. Weight to drop 0.8kgs – but as the weight was what I gave him and was not from stepping on the scales, one has to doubt the accuracy of the testing regime. My metabolic rate is OK.  The pitch then came that he wanted us to sign up for 5 sessions with him at a cost of $400.  Not exactly unexpected (you soon learn that whilst cruising, there are all sorts of methods and ploys to try and get you to part with more money whilst on board) but as my objective was no more than some sort of measurable status of the body, I am happy enough carrying on as I am, returning to the stretch yoga class when we return, and hopefully, a return to the badminton court, albeit, at a social level, as I think that sadly, maybe our competitive days may now be over.

After a lightening quick shave and shower (me, not Paula), we went to the early (6:30pm) production show “Moments to Remember” and even though we have seen it at least three times, it is still enjoyable watching the dancers and listening to the orchestra, though we are not exactly keen fans of the two singers.

On then to a special dinner. One of the endearing qualities of the Princess line is their keenness to try and cater for the wishes of the passengers.  We had made a request a couple of nights ago for a curry and we expected a red and a green Thai chicken curry, but what we got was a delicious prawn curry!  I am not too sure whether we would call it straight Thai or Indian, (we think it might have been a Goa curry). The rice was topped with crispy fried onions but they should have known by now that sending a dish of curry of ten portions out to our table of ten, was probably a bit lean.  Next time we have asked for two curries - but a total of 20 portions!  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

We grabbed a quick coffee before heading for the Vista lounge and comedian George King.  H’mmm.  Not exactly a belly busting night and more of generally mildly amusing. I’ll be generous and give him a 6½ or maybe 7, but no more.  I am not sure whether or not we have seen him before, but certainly, his material wasn’t exactly brand new.

A pleasant chat afterwards to three of the cruise staff – Bernie, Alex and Tom.  They do seem to get on very well as an entertainment staff team, along with Marcus and Fernando.   The weak link currently is probably dyslexic DJ James, who may well be more suited to a younger crowd.  Nice enough guy, but with a good sprinkling of older passengers fairly well up on the 3R’s, he comes over as a product of a later generation with a much narrower education focus and the dyslexia doesn’t help at all, particularly at trivia.

Anyway, an 11:50pm retirement and advancing the clocks by one hour, as we gradually get back on to Australasian time, with another day at sea, before Aqaba. 

At least we got through the Suez Canal safely.    

 

Days 62 & 63 - At sea relaxing, plus the cut tie mystery. Sept 11th & 12th

This is now back to the relaxing part of the cruise, with just six ports before Sydney – and one of those we are not going ashore anyway!  So no alarm clocks and leisurely starts to the days.  With a 9:15 quiz, for Wednesday we had a slightly different team structure but even with the combined knowledge of Alex’s ex-service buddies, we only managed 12½ - definitely not enough to win.  Our partners fared no better.

Up to HC for a later breakfast – a bacon and sausage roll - before retiring to the cabin to try and catch up with the blog, before a pleasant atrium coffee.  Fir future cruisers, we have found that it pays to use the same coffee outlet if you are at all fussy about your coffee, as the staff are very obliging and are always keen to ensure you get satisfaction.  A casual observation, but I have rarely seen a coffee returned.

Paula opted for Bernie’s popular zumba class and I went to a casual meeting of classic car enthusiasts.  The crew will always do their best to make a venue available for any passenger requested group meetings, and publicise them in the Patter.

It wasn’t to be our winning day for the afternoon quiz either.

We opted out of formal night and relocated our table group to the pizzeria – which seemed a popular move as a fair few others obviously thought the same.  By the time we were half way through eating, we were just about the only ones left.  Moral.  Go a bit later on formal night.

Just for a change, we all piled into Ros and Arnold’s cabin for a chocolate, or cheese and biscuits and a glass of port!

Some of us left to go and see the comedy magician Phil Cass, in the Vista lounge at 10pm.   Billed as Phil “trust me” Cass, it wasn’t difficult to see why.  The star turn was grabbing Dominic from the audience and subjecting him not only to the electric chair, but Phil also took to his (one and only) tie, with a pair of scissors!  A decidedly subdued Dominic returned to his seat clutching two parts of his tie, contemplating how on earth they could be repaired.

A bit later, he was called back on stage and the tie miraculously was repaired.  A very good show.  A worthy 9/10 and we look forward to his next show!

No late night coffee this time…

Thursday

As yesterday, no rush, but the morning disruption was the all-important Pirate Drill at 9:45am.  An opportunity to catch up again with the blog.  (Will I ever manage it?)

We didn’t win morning trivia, but did enjoy a quick coffee before the early Dawn Nomad’s lunch, where the Princess Master Chef, Commendatore Alfredo Marzi, ably assisted by Amadeo Scarin, the ship’s executive chef and the Maitre D’ Guiseppe, served the Dawn Nomads with an exclusive, special pasta dish.  We sat with last night’s star, Dominic and he and his wife are still totally baffled as to what went on.

My main was an impressive turkey and beef sandwich, so bang goes an eating light whilst at sea day…

At about 3pm, we were supposed to be at Rock ‘n Roll Linda’s birthday drink back out at the rear, Ocean’s bar.  Unfortunately, this is one of just three smoking locations on the ship and it was steaming hot, the smoke was invasive even though none of the ‘guests’ were smoking, so we hopped it.  I had seen fitness trainer Thomas in the aerobic’s studio as I went back for my sun glasses, so asked him about the body analysis they did on board.  $39 for 1, $60 for 2, so Paula and I are booked in tomorrow at 5pm.  We are not taking bets on whether or not we’ll be changing diet, lifestyle or exercise regimes.

After a dining room dinner, we had our atrium coffees then spent a bit of time out on deck as the ship moved towards the entry to the Suez Canal.

A reasonable 11pm retire time, with tomorrow a day at sea, but most of it in transit through the canal.  This time, our port side cabin means we get the desert view, but we have seen both sides anyway, so nothing really new.  I think there will be a huge sigh of relief once we are safely through.

Day 61 - Valetta - a malteaser...

Paula had started watching the tennis final, but the match went on a fair bit so when we woke we had to find out the result as we had been asleep – though the snoring may have helped keep Paula awake a bit after she switched off the TV.

By the time we woke, we were safely tied up at the World Heritage site of Valetta, with a brass band playing down on the quay and the sun shining on the stone buildings visible right outside out balcony.  A great welcome.

We bumped into a Kiwi on deck, dressed in a white shirt and long trousers, which seemed strange for him.  He had decided to fly home as he felt that there was nothing much to see for the next 30 days, certainly nothing new, so he might as well be at home as he had plenty to do.  I sympathised as the thought had crossed my mind, but we have paid for 90 days of food and entertainment, not 60, so we may as well make the most of it.  Reading of storms in Wellington and Christchurch was just a reminder as to one of the reasons why we are away anyway.  After a quick breakfast, we ambled off as usual and stumbled on the agents for the HO-HO bus, that was parked just out of sight, further along the street.  There was a fair old queue and we had to wait for the next bus which just happened to be the blue route.  Just about all the HO-HO companies seem to have at least two routes and occasionally three.  In Malta, there are three routes from the red bus company and another two from the blue bus company.

Once aboard, we found ourselves on a fairly old (probably ex UK) double decker that was well past its prime and I have to say, quite grubby.   We were downstairs and the rear seats had windows alongside totally covered by external, opaque graphics, so that you couldn't see a thing. Very poor.  We were just along from the back and the seats faced inwards, which wasn't much better.

Anyway, off we chugged, with a distinct smell of hot engine pervading the cabin.  Ah well, for €10 each, you don't expect too much in the way of luxury.  Between the close stops of 4 (the craft village) and 5 (the aircraft museum), there was an almighty bang and shudder and the right rear wheels locked up, leaving a very impressive skidmark.

We piled off the stricken Daimler whilst the driver contacted head office.  Sadly, he didn't seem to be keen to address the passengers with any progress reports and some passengers wandered back up the road to the village, waiting to jump on the next bus through. Probably the best option in hindsight, as by the time it came through it was packed solid and had no room for those who waited.

A mechanic arrived in a little van and jammed a block of concrete behind the rear wheels of the bus, then reversed over it – crushing it, but managed to get the bus to the side of the road.  He then crawled underneath and spent some time doing whatever needed to be done, forward of the rear wheels.  He effected a temporary repair.  To a subdued cheer, those who were left (including the gobby old woman who claimed she wasn't getting back on it, and who wanted to know why the bus company didn't have a load of spare buses…) reboarded.  No sooner had we got on than the next bus came along and we all piled off again and onto it and onwards to Mdina, where most of us decided to stay on board.  We'd had enough and decided that we wouldn't do either of the other routes either.

Not having been to Malta before, we had no idea how dry it was and although the buildings are very interesting, there was a distinct lack of lush greenery and it was warm – about 35 degrees.  Maybe if we'd had a better run with bus number 1, we would have seen a bit more of the island as there is no doubt it is interesting.

We hopped off the bus back in Valetta at the bus station and walked into the main part of town.  A busy, traffic free street with the side streets on either side, falling away to the water.  By this time were ready for a drink and a bite and we found this small side street café.   Prices were good (Italian chicken baguette, chicken salad ciabatta at €3 each), but the Coca-Cola wasn't really very cold and the service was less than friendly.

We walked back to sea front and the ship via the impressive Victoria Gate, but didn't buy at the Duty Free shop and settled for a mango juice each in the atrium ($2 each).  Too hot for a coffee.

Just before sailaway, there was another local band playing on the quay and a few minutes after we let go of the lines, there was a cannon salute, fired from land which made it a bit special.  Fortunately, the captain had pre-warned us!  All these Vietnam vets on board would probably have dropped to the floor had they not been warned.

We seemed to have settled into a bit of a late night routine, with an atrium coffee or hot chocolate with M & M.  We are certainly missing Alan and Alana though, as the ship's public areas are dead quite early. We have hardly danced at all and with so many ports, there haven't been dancing classes either.  We even decided to veer through Jammer's night club for a change, to check out the action.  There were just four people enjoying a quiet drink and it was only about 11:10pm…  Yup.  We are definitely the late night crowd at the moment.

We now have a relaxing run of 4 sea days including the Suez canal.  The doom-mongers have been proved wrong again.  We are not returning via Africa or the Panama Canal…