April 12, 2008
Our ship is able to desalinate the sea water, but it takes a moderate amount of energy, work, etc, so when the ship is able they will take on water at the ports that have “safe” water. As you can expect, most of the Asia ports were not acceptable, so the water had to be made as we cruised along. They can only desalinate while we are moving, so when we are in a port for a day or two, we have to store up the water ahead of time, necessitating several days between ports.
As I wrote the last time, we ended up in Malta early. I’m not sure if it was planned, but we took on water the first night we were there. They usually sequester that water until it has been tested, then release it to the general ship’s water supply. The evening we left Malta I thought the water in our room was a little strange tasting, but it seemed better when it was hot or extremely cold. I knew they wouldn’t give us anything unhealthy. By the next day, many of the passengers were truly upset. One woman thought she was being poisoned, others were complaining because they couldn’t get any lather when they shampooed their hair, and I must admit, the taste was even stronger than the night before.
Then like magic, the water supply has returned to normal. There is no taste and the uproar has subsided. I felt sorry for the environmental officer because he was one of those poor souls on the tender bouncing around as he embarked in Split. I would have needed more than a day or two to recover from that.
Our speakers have been wonderful this segment. They are history professors. One from Oxford/Vancouver and the other from U of WA. They have been able to take us from one empire to another and make some sense of the European history. The prof from U of WA even explained the natural history of the European Union, how it truly started right after WWII and had evolved slowly. He was able to explain it as an American, but kept warning us that much of what they are doing is totally an experiment – not anything that we can compare with our own experience. Many times the newscasters try to relate their structure to the US Congress, etc., but he showed how that isn’t correct.
Gibraltar tomorrow. I am escorting a tour which sounds short and low key. Carter is staying on the ship for most of the time.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Gibraltar
Carter and I went our separate ways today as I had an escort job and he went out on his own. I went in a 22 person bus (They can’t use anything bigger because of the limited road space here.), and Carter took off walking. I didn’t realize how small this country is – only 2.5 square miles – and it is considered one of the most densely populated places in the world. They are continually reclaiming land and building out. They have exhausted most of the building into the hillside and are now up against rock.
We did the usual visiting the viewpoint where you can see Spain, the Straits of Gibraltar and Africa, then up to the top where there are miles of underground roads, a huge limestone cave, then down to see the monkeys. We were told over and over not to mess with the monkeys because, after all, they are wild animals. Of course, one passenger got bit – and it was on my tour! These monkeys are treated like gold because there is a legend that if the monkeys leave, the British will have to leave, so Winston Churchill passed some ordinance that protects the monkeys. Even one of the human hospitals has a special ward just for the monkeys. They are all give rabies shots and given physicals yearly. So for once, there was no worry about obtaining the rabies shots for the passenger.
Carter decided to go to the Botanical Gardens, walking about 5-6 miles at a rapid pace. He went thru the center of town which is a stone-bordered city, mainly pedestrian streets, shopping and historical sites. He even took the tram up to the top – which would have done me in. I found that when we were driving up one lane roads to the top of the Rock, I had to look the other direction. It was just plain too scary. If you took at the photos, you can tell that Carter spent quite a long time in the Gardens. He had a hay day.
The ship left this port by 3pm, which is very early by ship’s standards. Unfortunately, several people missed the ship and will have to join us in Lisbon tomorrow. This ship waits for only those who are on their sponsored tours. Woe to those who go on their own and are late.
Labels: Personal
posted by Hills @ 1:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home