NOTE:
We added a few more pictures from yesterday’s visit to the Elephant Park.
We also included pictures of Lido Deck Stewards Alvin and Michael serving drinks at the Valentine’s Party , dancers Curtis and Beverly and passenger George who turned 93 in just a few days who wowed everyone with his singing.
Just to recap yesterday. We had a wonderful day on the tour as we mentioned. It was nice to not only visit the Elephant Park but have an opportunity to view so many of the Elephants along with a few other animals and to increase our knowledge about not only the Elephant Park but about Port Elizabeth and South Africa.
In terms of Africa, this is a reminder that life for many people around the world is quite different than it is for so many of us. We need to keep in mind that while life in South Africa is actually far better than most other places in Africa that many of the people live in what we would define as poverty. The good news is that for the people in South Africa there is hope for a better life. The challenge that the country has is that because there is hope that many people cross the boarders into this country, which adds to the complexity and challenges since they come with essentially nothing. We have some similar challenges in our own homeland but our advantage is that we have a much stronger infrastructure already in place. Tomorrow we visit Durban, which will be the last port in South Africa we will visit. After that, we will visit some other areas that have significantly more challenges than South Africa and where the way of life is something that many people cannot fully comprehend.
We enjoyed a wonderful evening with friends Bob and Glo last evening. This was the first time that the four of us dined together at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant after having enjoyed two other fabulous meals together at Silk Road. Bob and Glo is a wonderful couple and we have greatly enjoyed the time that we have spent with them during the course of this voyage.
As usual, we all enjoyed an outstanding meal at Prego. Service, Cuisine and the overall Ambience are always top notch. We each had one of the specials for the evening for our entrée, which was a Kingklip Fish, which the chefs had purchased earlier in the day from South Africa. It was truly wonderful.
We met for dinner at 7:30 PM, which was a good time to dine for the four of us as we normally dine in the Main Seating and Bob and Glo normally dine during the late seating in the Main Dining Room. We just about closed the restaurant down, as we didn’t leave until around 10:15 PM.
We are sailing to our next port of call at Durban, South Africa.
This morning Keith woke early and began the day at the Fitness Center. He was the first one to arrive and worked out on the stationary bicycle. A few minutes after arriving fellow passenger Brian arrived having come back to the ship from a Safari and John also worked out. Before the workout was through, some other passengers were into their workouts as well. He is getting a fairly good workout on the stationary bicycle. After his workout, Keith went by the Lido Café to bring some coffee back to the room. He spoke with Lido Deck Stewards Ross, Raymond, and Earl. On days at sea, those guys start to set up the breakfast area at 5:30 AM and at days at port it is 5:00 AM. They are always running around with a lot of energy with the focus on each passenger. We can’t say enough about them
Anne Marie worked out for an hour at the Fitness Center on the Treadmill as she has done each day. Afterwards she stopped by the Lido Café to also bring coffee back to the room.
Keith also did some laundry, as it is a good time to get this done with the majority of passengers still asleep.
We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room while we watched the Daily Morning Show hosted by Cruse Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston.
Today and tomorrow is registration for the Crystal Serenity 2010 World Cruise Games, which includes games for both the crew and the guests. When each guest registers, they receive a shirt. There are all sorts of games and here is a list of them; Backgammon, Basketball Free Throw, Chess, Cribbage, Darts, Duplicate Bride, Free Cell, Gin Rummy, Gold Putting, Lap Swimming, Photo Competition, Scrabble, Shuffleboard, Social Bridge, Solitaire, Sodoku, Table Tennis, and Walking Relay.
Playing in these games provides time to get to know other passengers and crew.
We have two former Olympians on board for this event. There is Janet Evans who at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea won the gold in the 400m and 800m freestyles and the 400m individual medley and in the 400m individual freestyle. In the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona she returned home with a gold in the 800m freestyle and silver in the 400m freestyle. She has won 45 national titles of her career.
Then there is Dr. Sammy Lee who is the first American of Asian descent to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States. He stands just 5 feet tall and was a diver. He could not compete in the 1940 and 1944 Olympics as they were both canceled due to the war. At the age of 28 he competed in the 1948 Olympics and won a gold medal in the International Olympic Men’s platform and a bronze medal in the 3-meter springboard. In the 1952 games, he won his second gold medal in the International Olympic Men’s platform. At 32 he was the oldest person to win a gold medal in diving and the first ale diver to win back-to-back diving gold medals. Today, he is 90 years (young) old.
This morning Dr. Jay Wollf presented “Cecil Rhodes Brilliant, charismatic and lucky. Rhodes tried to create a British Central African corridor from Cape Town to Cairo paved with his diamonds, and gold. However, his transcontinental railroad was never built and his dream of an imperial Federation of the Anglo-Saxon race came to nothing.
Following this presentation we attend the Valentine’s Day Mixer, which was being held today since we are in port tomorrow. Complimentary beverages were provided and the Galaxy Orchestra played live music for this event.
Afterwards, we attended lunch at the Lido Café where we each made our own salad entrees.
In the afternoon we attended a talk given by Barbara Rinella. She acts out the part of the books she presents and she is superb. Today the name of her talk was titled “Meet Andrew Jackson, the amazing American Lion. As part of her talk she brought to life Jon Meacham’s Pulitzer winning biography, American Lion, Andrew Jackson in the White House. She highlighted the challenges and hardships that created this tough and fierce backwoodsman who truly earned the nickname, “Old Hickory and who rose to become the first common man to achieve the Presidency. We first heard Barbara present in 2007 and then in 2008. In 2008 we rode in a 4x4 with Barbara and her husband and New Zealand, which gave us a great opportunity to get to know both of them. Just yesterday we sat next to them in a larger 4x4 when we went to the Elephant Park. She presents three or more books when she comes on board the ship. She only comes on once a year and during one leg of each World Cruise and has done so for many consecutive years. Once again, she was outstanding and we look forward to all of her talks this leg.
Later in the afternoon Anne Marie took a nice walk on the Promenade Deck and then relaxed by the pool. Keith spoke with some fellow passengers and also read and wrote.
This evening we will have dinner in the Main Dining Room. We will provide more details in tomorrows post.
Later in the evening we will attend headline entertainer Kenny Smiles who is both a comedian and a voice entertainer and also known as “The Mad Welshman”. Keith has gotten to know Kenny quite well as we have now been on several sailing with him.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….
“Without friends, no one would want to live, even if he had all other goods.”
Keith and Anne Marie
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