April 14, 2013 Sea Day
This morning we attended a lecture by Char, the Future Cruise Consultant, who gave a bit of history on Holland America Line. She showed photos of some of the old ship’ s interiors and exteriors through the last 140 years of service. Also included in her presentation were a number of upcoming voyages for you to book with her.
Howard Walker lectured on The 21st Century World Order where he discussed Europe’s relative decline in global power and the reasons for it. He talked about the lack of military, changes in the global economy, and the strengths and weaknesses of the European Union.
We met with a friend by the name of Susan who had gone on two overland trips in Africa to see her photos. She visited Kruger National Park for three days and then took a three-day trip to Sossusvlei Dunes deep in the heart of the Namib Desert. Kruger National Park has five million acres of wildlife for the ultimate wildlife experience. Susan had wonderful photos of the lodge that they stayed at and tons of photos of the wildlife animals taken on several game drives. Sossusvlei Dunes is a 37,000 hectare wilderness reserve with luxurious accommodations. This was more about the flora and fauna found in the desert and the opportunity to experience stargazing at its best away from civilization.
The afternoon featured a cultural variety show by the Filipino crew. They performed many native dances and songs of the Philippines. The Filipino’s make up much of the front office staff and the beverage staff in all of the lounges and bars around the ship. The quality of the performances is not always the best but they make a tremendous effort to show us a bit of their culture.
We had dinner in the Canaletto Italian Restaurant with our friend, Cathy…whose favorite expression is, “baby, baby.” Following dinner we were entertained by a Spanish group who put on a show titled Kings of Pop, Queens of Soul. The group consists of a brother and sister who come from a father who is a well- known Spanish guitarist and her boyfriend and another young lady. They are quite young and performed musical hits from the past and present. Kent had befriended them when they arrived on the ship and has been engaging them in conversation…some in Spanish!