09 February 2015

Update no.686

Update from the Heartland
No.686
30.1.15 – 8.2.15
To all,

It is time for another travelogue.  I did not have access to the Internet during this period (or rather I chose not to pay the exorbitant access fees), thus the typical content is absent from this week’s Update, and you may wish to forego the remainder of this edition.  Update no.687, the following week, should return to normal.

On Friday, Jeanne and I flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL), with four other friends (Cindy, Dee, Carol and Jerry) to enjoy a weeklong cruise in the Eastern Caribbean – a nice respite from winter on the Great Plains.  This time, we decided to make our hotel and travel arrangements as part of a complete package with the cruise line, which turned out to be a very good decision in hindsight.  The two-leg flight through Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) was actually ahead of schedule on both legs, although full up on both segments – a product of the times in which we live.  A coordinator was waiting for us at baggage claim.  They picked us up at the airport, took us to the hotel by charter bus, and made certain we were well informed regarding each step of the process.  We stayed at the Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.  The food was great and the bed divine.  We would highly recommend the Westin, if you ever need a hotel in the area.

On Saturday, as part of the process on embarkation day, they picked our baggage up from our rooms at 09:00, and we never had to touch them again until they arrived in our stateroom that afternoon.  The same charter bus company took us for the 30-minute transit from the hotel to the docks at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida – a rather busy port facility from all appearances – tankers, container ships and by my count a half dozen cruise ships.  I must admit, it was rather disconcerting to be meandering through a massive tank farm with labels on the large storage tanks like Jet-A, Diesel and Unleaded Gasoline.   Various cruise lines maintain permanent facilities at the port. Two of the largest cruise ships in the world were in port – Royal Caribbean International’s MS Oasis of the Sea and MS Liberty of the Sea, 225 KT, 6,000-passenger, very big ships.  We arrived at the Holland America terminal at 11:30 [R] EST.  The check in process was much shorter than expected, and was very well organized and executed, as we completed the security, passport and health screening as well as final assignment details in short order.  By noon, we embarked aboard Holland America MS Westerdam – a mid-sized ship, well maintained, I must say.  The ship’s captain was Arjen van der Loo.  Our trusty ship:
MS Westerdam
[Westerdam.jpg]
We deposited our carry-on bags in our assigned stateroom {my trusty laptop, as I must keep up with my writing (this modest journal and Book IV of the To So Few series)}.  We selected a Verandah Deck 6 stateroom, since we enjoy the open air and exceptional views.  Our little group enjoyed a nice lunch buffet at the Lido Deck Restaurant, and discussed our observations and latest adjustments to our plans.  Jeanne and I took a nice leisurely walk-about to familiarize us with the ships facilities – quite nice for a modest sized ship, I should say.  We participated in the mandatory emergency drill at 15:45.  They took roll call by stateroom number, completed the briefing for donning our lifejackets and signals to be used in an emergency.  Various members of the crew from the captain on down clearly stated that failure to participate in the emergency drill would necessitate one’s removal from the ship. The bevy of cruise ships set sail (so to speak) beginning at 16:00 [R] EST.  We were the fourth ship to depart the port.  I must say, as a proud alumnus of Little Boys Boat and Barge School, watching these massive ships maneuver in comparatively tight spaces with their bow and stern lateral thrusters is rather awe-inspiring.  We were clear of the channel and into the open ocean shortly after 17:00, heading east initially and then south.  We opted for the first sitting for evening meal and were assigned to a table one short of the stern most on the second deck of the main dining room; thus, we had a magnificent view of sunset beyond the retreating skyline of the Florida gold coast.  As I was not particularly hungry, I had a delightful Bahamian seafood soup and simple penne pasta dish with a small bowl of butter pecan ice cream to close the meal out.  The ladies decided to try a little gambling in the casino and play evening bingo.  It had been along day for me with no refreshing nap; so, I was rendered unconscious in short order and slept like a baby, being gently rocked by the passing swells.  Here, I will add a trivial observation: the elevators have an inset floor mat with the day of the week in large white letters on a medium blue background, to remind us older, retired folk what day it is – very nice touch.

Sunday, at sea (Super Bowl Sunday) – During the night, we passed through the Bahamas out into the Atlantic Ocean and headed southeast.  With Jeanne sleeping well, I took my laptop out onto the balcony to carry on my usual morning routine – writing.  According to the television position tracker, we were doing 16.5 knots.  With the prevailing trade winds in this region, we had 36 knots of relative wind on the forward port quarter.  Another cruise ship appeared to be station keeping with us at about five miles off our aft port quarter, although as time passed she was gradually overtaking us.  Dawn at sea with spotty fair weather cumulus clouds made for a spectacular sunrise.  While the ladies enjoyed shopping, gambling and bingo, the highlight for my day was the afternoon wine tasting.  Ship’s officer Lieutenant Engel conducted the event and brought humor, engagement and an interesting perspective to the hour session.  The chosen wines: Caliterra Chardonnay (Chile), Dreaming Tree Chardonnay (California), Cuarto Domino Malbec (Argentina), and Decero Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentina).  The wines had unique character and were quite tasty; however, the entertainment of the hour presentation was. Those wines were worth recommending and passing along to those of you who might actually appreciate or use the information.  Of course, the big event for most of the Americans aboard was the Super Bowl game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks . . . oh yeah, and the entertainment of Katy Perry and those imaginative commercials.  The game started while our group sat down to evening meal.  They had several associated events in various lounges and clubs on the ship.  They also broadcast the game on the ship’s closed circuit television system.  We caught the last few minutes of the first half to the end of the game – a wild exhibition, I must say.  It all came down to a lousy play call at the end for the Seahawks; I imagine they thought the unexpected would do the trick, but the more risky pass when they had a rhino of a running back proved a bridge too far.

Monday, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Overseas Territories – Dawn came several hours prior to our approach and docking at the cruise ship pier at the southern tip of Grand Turk.  It was mostly cloudy and the persistent 20-knot trade winds cooled the otherwise warm temperature.  Jeanne and I went ashore, or rather I accompanied Jeanne, for some leisurely shopping within the cruise lines compound. 
Jeanne lovin’ it in Grand Turk
[Jeanne Grand Turk 150202.jpg]
Jeanne & Cap in Grand Turk
[Jeanne & Cap Grand Turk 150202.jpg]
A little known factoid – at least to your humble servant – I learned that Grand Turk was part of the Eastern Test Range for NASA’s Mercury space program and one of the ascent tracking stations in their network.  John Glenn’s Friendship 7 orbital spaceflight splashed down near Grand Turk after three of the planned seven orbits, and he first touched ground after the flight on this island.  The sky turned overcast and a light rain dampened an otherwise nice day.  The gangway came up at 14:30.  We went to the Deck 10 Exploration Café to enjoy a nice cuppa tea with a blueberry scone while we observed the ship’s departure from Grand Turk.  It never ceases to amaze me the precision, unaided, ship handling these vessels are capable of performing in rather confined spaces. 

Tuesday, San Juan, Puerto Rico – We shifted to time zone Q [Atlantic Standard Time (AST)] at 02:00.  I awoke early, as is my routine, and took the laptop outside to write on the balcony well before morning nautical twilight.  Listening to the waves always has a relaxing and refreshing effect on me.  It was a beautiful dawn at sea with scattered fair-weather cumulus clouds and nice warm temperature even with the relative wind.  As the sun rose well above the horizon and several hours out of San Juan, a magnificent male tern flew close-aboard past our stateroom balcony.  We watched each other for several seconds before he moved forward to more productive pursuits.  The birds flew just off the water among the swells and the ship’s wake.  More birds began to show up.  I guess the ship’s passage stirs up the fish and makes for good hunting.  Their graceful agility and speed made for fascinating entertainment.  Several times, one bird or another found an appropriate target, rose sharply, rolled over and dove straight away into the water.  I could not see evidence of their success, but I think it safe to assume they were not performing their flying prowess and aerobatics for grins or my entertainment.  Regrettably, I was taking a nap as our ship entered San Juan harbor and docked at the Old Town piers, so I missed the view of Castillo San Felipe del Morro that dominated the eastern side of the harbor entrance.  This was my first time to San Juan harbor – a near perfect natural harbor – no wonder the Spanish worked so hard to hold onto the port and the island.  Jeanne and I decided to take a walkabout to absorb the history of San Juan.  The entire area used to be within a strong protective wall, some of which still stands today.  We took a roundabout course through the narrow city streets to Castillo San Cristobal – the eastern most fortress that protected the city and the eastern land approaches. 
Castillo San Cristobal
[Cristobal 150203 A.jpg]
The Spanish recognized the importance and features of the harbor; they began building fortifications to protect the harbor in 1521.  Of particular note in the image immediately above are the two distinctly contemporary concrete additions to the fort in 1942 – lookout stations for German U-boats.  From the left lookout station looking east:
View East
[Cristobal 150203 B.jpg]
From the left lookout station looking west:
View West
[Cristobal 150203 C.jpg]
Castillo San Felipe del Morro, protecting the harbor entrance, is shown at the distant shoreline.  The fort complex is a world heritage site, and is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service.  They run a small trolley-tram between the two forts, several miles apart as well as into the old town area.  The forts took 250 years to complete, essentially as they are now, and withstood repeated attacks by the English and Dutch.  It was not until 1898 that the city fell in the Spanish-American War and has been U.S. Territory ever since – the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.  We even managed to get in some shopping for Jeanne.  I added the following image from Castillo San Cristobal to show the space of Old Town San Juan, our ship at dock, and the harbor behind the ship.
San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico
[Westerdam Puerto Rico 150203.jpg]
The ship set sail at 20:00 [Q], so I got to watch another ship handling demonstration and this time Castillo San Felipe all lit up (well the city-side wall as the ocean-side wall was kept dark for the still functioning lighthouse).  I just love history.

Wednesday, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles – We backed into one of two, bilateral, cruise ship piers and moored next to the Celebrity X Line MS Resolution that had docked immediately before us.  The island is divided essentially in half with the Dutch on the southern half and the French on the other half.  I was told the island has several clothing optional beaches, although we did not avail ourselves of such accommodation.  Carol, Jerry and I signed up for the America’s Cup Regatta excursion, which sounded quite exciting, although I was somewhat skeptical, I must admit.  As I learned, six, former, 12-meter, racing boats had been acquired by Colin Percy for reportedly US$2M each, with the centerpiece being Dennis Connor’s 1987 winning boat Stars & Stripes.  I was pleasantly surprised that these boats were the real deal, and to say the least, they were impressive, even being 28-year-old sailing technology.  Twenty-six Westerdam passengers signed up for the first of two scheduled sessions (they apparently added a third to satisfy demand).  We were divided into two teams.  Carol, Jerry and I were assigned to the Stars & Stripes boat, while the other team took the True North boat – a Canadian challenger in the 1987 race. 
The Racing Boats
[sailing 150203.jpg]
In the Racing Boats image above, Stars & Stripes is on the left and True North is on the right.  The sailors will notice several significant features of this image.  I will point to the wakes of the two boats and the shape of the two jibs.  Captain Morgan from Jamaica led our boat with two professional crewmembers – Elaina from Paris, and Allie from Santa Barbara.  We were each assigned various positions.  I was the timekeeper – a very important duty.  We had a mixture of males and females, young and old, and frankly I was amazed they could handle the winch grinders for the mainsail and jib sail, but they did with very little training.  We raced the other boat on a three-buoy, three-circuit course.  We tacked and jibed . . . oh sure, we were not the pinnacle of perfection a real crew demonstrates, but we got ‘er done.  Captain Morgan and his ladies educated us, taught us and entertained us during an hour plus on the water.  At the end of our session, we entered the harbor, furled the jib and luft the main sail into the wind, as a power launch came along side to exchange our group with the next excursion group.  While I am reasonably familiar with the mechanics of sailing, it was fascinating to see the America’s Cup technology of the day up close and personal in action.  All three of us felt it was the high point of this cruise; to which I say, here-here!  We departed Philipsburg at 15:00 and headed northwest, running with the wind and swells on this leg – next stop, our last port of call before disembarkation.

Thursday, at sea – An exceptional Caribbean dawn at sea, I must say – a mere, smattering of small, wispy clouds disturbed the otherwise flawless sky as the purple, orange and pink bands gave way to the brilliant blue of sunrise.  We are running with the wind, and there is nary a white cap in sight beyond our bow wave and wake.  Ah, the simple things in life can offer such pleasure.  This was a sunbathing day for Jeanne and a writing day for me, as my sun days are long gone . . . without SPF infinity sun block, since my pinkish-white skin has been displaying the price of unprotected, sun damage from my youthful ignorance, or perhaps it was just complacency or arrogance, depending upon one’s perspective.  This moment of the day is precisely why we paid a little extra for a balcony stateroom.  When the sun reached our balcony deck, I had to retreat to the darkened interior of our stateroom.  Such is life for a pinky.  We had our last formal supper – filet & lobster, good eatin’.  No one can say we were not fed well aboard the Westerdam. We also celebrated Carol & Jerry’s 32nd wedding anniversary – congratulations to them.
Jeanne & Cap
[Jeanne & Cap 150205.jpg]
Friday, Half Moon Cay [I am told it is pronounced ‘key’], Bahamas – I awoke at a pre-dawn hour, quietly gathered up my laptop and went to the balcony for my morning writing session.  The skies were overcast.  The near full moon above illuminated light and dark spots in the cloud cover.  Just as I began to dig into my story, a rainsquall enveloped the ship.  This was supposed to be a sunny beach day for the ladies.  As fate would have it, the sky remained overcast all morning and did not break up until it was time to weigh anchor (14:00 [R] EST) – well, actually, they decided not to drop anchor and simple maintain position with the ship’s bow & stern thrusters.  I took a good nap – the best one of the cruise.  The ladies played Farkle, and then took the shuttle launch to the sandy spit of an island.  The crew performed a lifeboat drill by lowering, releasing, and then recovering one of 16 powered lifeboats.  In the afternoon, after departure, I went to the last wine tasting presentation by Lieutenant Engel.  He featured a light, sparkling Zonin Moscato (Italy); a late harvest, Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc (Chile); Warre’s Otimo 10 Porto (Portugal); and, Sandeman Ruby Porto (Portugal), along with chocolate covered strawberry, and squares of three other chocolates.  Afterward, he surprised us with Creekbend Sherry from Indiana.  Again, very well done and worth the effort.  Thank you, Engel.  After a delightful last supper with our friends, the night’s task was packing our check baggage.  The TSA pre-screening process, in conjunction with the ship and airline baggage handling procedures, required us to place temporary tags on our bags and leave the bags outside our stateroom hatch by midnight, which we did in short order.  The passageway was filled with most everyone’s check baggage.  The next time we see our bags should be on the carousel at the airport in Wichita.  If this works, it will make the debarkation process as easy as the embarkation process was for us.

Saturday, disembarkation – The process of leaving was just as smooth as the embarkation process a week earlier.  Cindy, Jeanne and I were in the first group to debark.  The only time we were not walking was standing in front of the Customs & Border Patrol agent and when we took our seats on the bus to the airport.  We arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Broward County, Florida, at 08:30 for our ticketed flight scheduled for 18:53 departure – not a bad layover – doncha think.  We tried to get an earlier flight – there were four of them before ours.  No joy!  So, we waited.  I finished one book, finished several segments of Chapter 12 for To So Few – The Trial (Book IV), and got well into the latest book from W.E.B Griffin (one of my favorite authors), before we arrived at home sweet home at 00:30.  A glass of water and a quick shower to wash off the grit of travel . . . I was unconscious by 01:00, and so ended our little adventure.

And, to think, they used to pay me to cruise the ocean main . . . oh my, how times have changed.  Our accommodations back in the day were rather austere by comparison to these modern cruise ships, but hey, some things remain as they have been for centuries.  Such is life at sea.

Thank you so very much to Aspen Shae, Jacy Lynn, Tracy and Shalee Lynn for holding down the house, and tending the dogs and cat.

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,

Cap                        :-)

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