Day 76, 77, and 78 At Sea March 21, 22, 23, 2018 on our way to Victoria, Seychelles 🇸🇨

Reunion Island is our next port, we have been at sea for the last two days, today being our third day, and I have caught a cold.  Not fun, but not a surprise as Ed has had it for about a week, I was bound to get it in these close quarters. 

Our seas here on the Indean ocean, have been very calm, and we are doing about 17-18 kts and it doesn’t even feel like we are moving. Does that mean, I’m getting to be a sailor?  The captain said it rained hard last night, but we didn’t know it.  It is 84 F 75% humidity and we have traveled 22,473 miles, thus far. 

So what do Sea days consist of? Lots of activity’s Ed does thi chi at eight, I go to watercolor class, then we meet for a lecture about an upcoming port, then the test kitchen, lecture, with a visiting chef, lunch, and arts and crafts, then maybe a nap, it rest time read,,, or you might want to go to one of the afternoon lectures, then dress for dinner and happy hour. Then a show, then pour yourself in bed! 

Two days ago I did a class to learn how to wear a Sari, and then an Indean women I met on the cruise helped me wear mine. 

We had an special Indian Dinner, lots of the ladies and men dressed up for the occasion. These are our head waiters in all there regalia. 

  

This was the practic night, but Janusse did not like this top, and it was too hot, but this photo, shows off the Sari better. 

So tomorrow we will be in and we are taking an all day tour, 7 1/2 hours here is a preview of where we are going, and I will try to post the next day with our photos. 

Enjoy an excellent introduction to the Seychelles. Golden beaches stretch beneath spectacular granite peaks covered in dense tropical vegetation from which there are dazzling views over turquoise seas.

Your tour begins with a guided visit to Victoria, the world's smallest capital city. From the antique clock tower to the modern National Library Building and the bustling market, Victoria holds a very special charm.

You will then proceed to the Botanic Gardens to see the colony of giant land tortoises, fruit bats, the unique coco de mer palms, and other endemic flora and fauna.

Continue along the winding Sans Souci road to the historic Mission Lodge and the ruins of a school for the children of freed slaves. Moving on past the neat rows of tea bushes on the slopes, you'll stop at a hotel for a refreshing beverage.

Return to the coast for lunch -- the island's flavors will tempt your palate as you enjoy a variety of Creole dishes at a local restaurant. Time will be allocated for a swim before you commence your final scenic drive back to Victoria.

A stop at the Craft Village allows you to observe traditional artisans displaying their skills. Paintings, coconut crafts, model boats and local jewelry are made and sold in a traditional setting. La Marine makes and sells replicas of the old-style frigates and galleons that once plied the waters around Seychelles Islands. Each model is made by hand and great care is taken to scrupulously reproduce each vessel.

Notes:

Wear your swimsuit under your clothing; bring a towel, sunscreen and a hat.

Quotes “Take a CHANCE you get in life, because some things only happen ONCE.”  - Karen Gibbs

             “ Travel is REBELLION in its purest form.”  -Anonymous 

Day 75, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Colombo, Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

Big day today!  We didn’t see any of the tourist sites, but we did meet a very nice man, our escort, and a wonderful dentist, and he fixed Ed up, with a temporary crown, that we hope will hold until we get home, it should if he is a good boy, and doesn’t try to open nuts with his teeth, or hold on to hangers in his mouth/habit. He matched the teeth so well it’s hard to tell which is the crown, and which is the real tooth. Ed was so happy, and rightfully so. Seems this tooth had a route canal in the past, and it had calsafied, which made it prone to breaking. If all goes perfict, our dentist should be able to put permanent glue on it and that will be all it takes. They don’t do that now as you never know if there might be infection around the tooth, but it looked clean so we can hope. 

I took some pictures you won’t believe, so I will post them below. 

 

This was our escort Ritla.          Ed with the dentist Dr. Kasun

  

Dentist putting on new tooth, man that crafted the crown,, all done. Cost 20, 000 Rupee, which works out to abou $129.87! That is still hard for me to believe, ed was in the chair off and on from ten to one, and that was a crown, anesthesia, and X-ray!  I think we could come to Sri Lanka, and get dental work, and it would pay for the flight, almost!

So now on to the fun stuff, here are pictures of the dancers this morning at the pier. 

PS this was our pillow gift last nigh for Formal night.

Quote:  “Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.”  -Isabelle Eberhart

 

Day 73/74 At Sea March 18/19, 2018 On our way to Colombo, Sel Lanka

Well here we are again with the time, we set our clocks back a half hour last night, so as I write this it is 6:44 AM  on the 19th, and on the east coast it is 8:14 PM on the 18th, and we have 373 mile to go to Sri Lanka 🇱🇰, Sri Lanka,,,, that is a place I read about in books, not one I ever thought I might visit. 

And it is already 81 F, so once again the heat will be a factor in the day even at sea.  There seems to be a problem wit the AC in different areas on the ship, we all thought we would melt, yesterday up in the Lido doing our craft class, and then we had a cabin crawl, getting a chance to see 7 other cabins, including ours, but all that walking around the ship, really made us milt. So it was rush back to shower, and get ready for the evening, and they say sea days are relaxing!

We are still waiting to hear if the ship has been able to arrange something for Ed, luckily he is not in pain, the tooth, I think had a root canal in the distant past, but he doesn’t remember. 

So I will post some more pictures from Phuket and our time at the Island Safari. 

   

Ed feeding the baby elephant bananas and not fast enough, LOL I already gave this one all the bananas I had and he thinks he can find more. 

 

 

They did a cooking demonstration, these are eggplant and she is now putting in lemon grass and scallions. This wok is holding the dish we ate. 

It was good, but they put in too much hot pepper for me, Ed loved it. 

  

A little Singh’s beer to go along. 

 

On the way to lunch, not our buss but couldn’t resist taking a picture. 

How about this for an electrical grid? 

Back on the ship it was St Patrick’s day. Aby, from the Test Kitchen and I. 

Quotes:  “Once a year GO SOMEPLACE you’ve never been before.”-    -  Dalai Lama

“It is in all of us to defy expectations to go into the world and to be brave and to want, to need to hunger for ADVENTURE to embrace change and chance and to risk, so that we may breath and know what it is to be FREE.”  - Mae Chevrollo