27 Oct 2007

Well,what the calendar says is that I haven’t been on top of my blogging over the past week. On the 18th, when I last wrote, we were just getting into our second port, Cagliai, in Sardinia. That was the first place I got off the ship. 

I walked up the hill from the port to a cafe, where I had a real Italian Cappuccino, none of those Starbuck’s things, and a lot cheaper too at about a buck. No wi-fi though, and with the shops closing at 1:30 for siesta, I was obliged to head back to the ship without checking email. 

Athens was really Piraus, and I stayed on board because of scheduling the inductions took a little longer than I’d have liked, and besides, we’re headed back here in a couple weeks, when I can do the Parthenon and various other things, like buy olives. 

Then we went to Palermo. The weather didn’t cooperate, though and we were unable to make port there because of the wind and waves, but with the next day coming up in Naples, the captain decided to run there and rope the queen there overnight. So we arrived at about 10 pm local. After the gig was done for the night I joined a motley crew of crewpersons for a night on the town, within 4 blocks of the ship anyway. Naples has a reputation as a place where ship’s company tends to get mugged so we thought it prudent. 

One beer, bread and cappicola, all very good, but very expensive. Everyone’s share came to 21 Euros--32 dollars or so. Still, it was my first external adventure and that made it more or less worth it. Team building and all that. 

The next day in Naples was given over to an induction and IPM, the bane of every crew member’s life. On a seemingly random day, you are called upon to perform in-port manning, to make up the skeleton crew which hangs out on the ship while everyone else is going to fun places like Pompeii. I thought that I should make at least an effort at it before I figure out the devious ways to get around IPM, so no Pompeii for me, although I did get a nice shot of Vesuvio from the ship as we eased our was onward.

Another day at sea separated us from our next port, Gibralter. Nice shots of the rock as we landed from the Boat Deck. The rock is famous for monkeys who attack anyone they suspect of possessing food, so I decided that I’d just take a walk through town and have a look at how the folks live. I found an ATM machine that obliged me a few British pounds. (Remember that the folks here consider themselves British. They remind you if you forget.) I met a dreadlocked flute player from Philly by way of Atlanta who played a nice pentatonic lick as I walked by on his Yamaha 381. I looked in vain for an internet place where I could park my Powerbook and download what must be a ton of email by now. 

Walked through a supermarket of HEB proportions called Morrison’s on the waterfront, just to do it. 

Then it’s been two sea days here as we close in on Southampton. I’ll be getting a new cabinmate there, as young James returns to Illinois, so with Adrian Cross to Sheffield. Stevie is going too, as Vlady will finally arrive tomorrow so he can take his leave. All of the crew is turning over, churning madly until the World Cruise, which some love and some hate. Something about a new time zone every day that makes the folks around here clam up and roll their eyes.