At Sea - En Route to Aqaba

April 8th.

We are now in the Gulf of Aden, the infamous stretch of water which is approximately 150 nautical meters across and lies between Yemen to the north and Somalia to the south. We will be transiting this area for the whole day, “making best speed” in the captain’s words.

Went to two lectures, one on Aqaba and the other on Petra, the “lost city” which we will visit on the 11th – both were extremely interesting and touched on the geography and history of Jordan.

Started another book, “Shutter Island”, which I believe has been made into a film. Excellent book with a neat twist at the end.

Had tea with the two classical musicians and two Australian women who embarked in Dubai and whom we had run into before. They are great fun. As I said in 2008….once the Aussies join us….

Ross and I switched to early seating – we’ve decided to table hop for a while – and sat with some more Aussies and had a delightful evening.

April 9th.

Early this morning, we transited the Bab el Mandeb, a very narrow (10 nm) stretch of water which connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea. Using the International Maritim Djibouti and then Eritrea. We are now in the Red Sea until we reach Aqaba.

Today’s lectures, one on Sharm el Sheikh, the other on Tutankhamun: his Tomb and its Treasures were very interesting. The woman who spoke on Tut is an art historian and restorer who has worked on some of the treasures and participated in organizing the worldwide exhibition, Treasures of Tutankhamun.

In the afternoon, the Entertainment Dept. presented their annual Musical Murder Mystery which I enjoy: “Murder on the High Seas”. I am pretty sure that, if I check my previous blog, it is exactly the dame as two years ago. But who remember? And it is very silly and very funny – full of typically British double entendres and innuendoes. Every so often there3 is a musical clue: 25 In all. Well, I got 18….and I think that was my score last time. With 50 points for guessing the murderer, I got 230 out of 300 points. The winner got 280!!!! I missed “Try to Remember” and “Sheikh of Araby”….arrgggh. Ross provided “Food, Glorious Food” before rolling his eyes and shuffling off.

We met up with our new Australian friends, Denise and Jennifer, for drinks and joined them at their table for dinner – along with 4 Brits. A good time was had by all. A lot of laughter.

April 10th

We continue our passage through the Red Sea passing the coastlines of Sudan and Egypt on the port side and Saudi Arabia to starboard. This morning, we passed 90 nm to the west of Mecca. From time to time we see our escorts and some freighters. It is amazing how few ships we se in the very narrow passage. The Red Sea is very deep in the middle, but the coasts are littered with islands and coral shelves.

We went to two more lectures this morning. First, Port Said, which was mainly about Cairo and the Pyramids: what to see and how to deal with taxis, shopkeepers, etc. Second lecture was on the story of the Red Sea: it’s history and ecology. Now I wish I had taken up SCUBA diving…this is THE place for it.

Classical concert at 2pm with Neil Georgeson and William Burrows whom we have befriended. All Brahms. A Rhapsody for piano alone; then a Concerto and a Hungarian dance for both instruments. All in minor keys – beautifully executed, but not my favorites!

Tea with Jennifer and Denise, our Aussie friends, and Neil and William., followed by a visit with Ruud, the chief purser where we finalized our plans for Cairo. Armed with all sorts of telephone numbers and back-up plans, we have bitten the bullet. We are going for it. The tour office is holding out excursion tickets until 4 pm in Sharm el Sheikh, just in case we miss the plane and have to return to the ship. That is our big back-up plan so we can see the Pyramids. Keep your fingers crossed!

Dinner in Todd English with the two lecturers, Richard Hayman and Christine Roussel and her daughter
Diane. Both lecturers are fascinating people and we had a great evening. And how did this come about you might ask. Well, we were sitting at our table for two, having just ordered......Ross spotted them coming in, jumped up and asked them to join us, necessitating moving to a larger table. Yes, that is what he does!!!!