Day 85,86, March 30/31 And day 87, Easter April, 1, 2018

It has been a very busy few day, some I didn’t list as they were sea days, with the things you’ve heard befor. Painting and making jewelry can get pretty intense, especially when the instructor really through’s you big challenges you weren’t expecting. Then add a couple good lectures and the test kitchen and befor you know it, it’s time to get ready for dinner!  Ed and I were discussing this, and we likened a world cruise to a semester in collage. Everything is planed out, you can’t go home,,,,,, etc. Which brings up one of the things that took up the afternoon and much discussion that evening and, we are all still discussing it. 

On Good Friday, Orlando Ashford, the CEO of Holland America had a presentation on what was going on for HAL in the future. And then people were allowed to ask questions, most of those were pretty lame. But the big news was the 2020 world cruise itinerary which looks interesting if it stays the way they have it right now, and  it is 128 days!  Sorry the map is not more readable, I had to take it from the TV. 

Yesterday we went in to Maputo, Mozambique 🇲🇿,  very interesting place, once again we see evidence of the Chinese take over. This is a very poor country, that has been abused by the Portuguese and the British, and now it is the Chinese, who are in the night buying the land, from unknowning farmers, and clear cutting the old forests, and sending the wood to China! They are building a big bridge in town to connect the town to the town across the river, and we found out that the Chinese were doing the construction, and rather than hiring the locals they have imported Chinese labor.  Now one could argue that the imported labor is more skilled, but how hard is to teach people, to mix cement?

 

The bridge, not finished yet, craft village, nice stuff, but we didn’t bring the right money. They would not take one roller bills, seems the bank has been taken over by the Chinese and they rip off the people on the exchange rate, of a one dollar bill! 

 

Our guide and me, ed in the natural history museum, they had the largest cole toon of elephant fetuses, I’ll spare you. 

 

The Queens pet lion. And more evidence of the Chinese taking over. 

 

The train station. They have a train to Cape Town once a week. 

Happy Easter! 🐣 

We have a full day today, first it was the Easter Sunday brunch, at 11: am, actually, the day started with sun rise service, we didn’t go. We did go to brunch, it was very nice. 

 

All decorated for Easter, and good company makes for a good time. 

 

 

Menu:

Tonight we have the  Mariner’s appreciation day cocktail party, and then a big Gala night dinner, and we already received our Easter candy this morning, when our room Stewart cleaned the room and made the bed. All very nice, but we wish we were with the kids and grand kids. 

So more tomorrow, another sea day. 

Quotes: “ TRAVEL is FATAL to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”  - Mark Twin

              “ TRAVEL is about the GEORGEOUS feeling of teetering in the unknown.”  - Anonymous