Next cruise

One month to my cruise with Saga Ruby, The Black Sea . I am really looking forward to it,I have not enjoyed being in England Jan,Feb this year. Roll on April 21.

Last one

Hello again, thanks for your messages boys.We are on our way home now.Went to Morroco yesterday and
on a tour of Casablanca. I enjoyed it very much,would not mind a holiday there.Saw the palace and a
huge Mosque,can't remember it's name.It was very ornate and covered a lot of ground.We were not
allowed to go into it but somebody told us that it was possible around 2pm.We were resting up after an
excellent lunch on deck.I shall really miss these huge barbequed prawns for my starter. Of course it was
Sunday so Beef, with a capital B.I did not have any jelly, I had not read your note then Steve. I am not
going to tell Maureen though. Saturday we moored at Ceuta, Spanish although on the coast of Morocco. It has been pointed out to me
that while Spain makes a 'song and dance' about getting Gibraltar back under their wing, they are deaf
when it comes to pleas from Morocco to get Ceuta back.Hmn. Both Gib and Ceuta are physically
contiguous with said countries but so what !Goose and Gander comes to mind. However we wandered
around and took a few photos but all the shops were shut so we could not look around which is perhaps
fortunate after our sojourn in Malta.So, we shall soon be back to the Bay of Biscay, I wonder if it will be rough.It was fine coming out so we shall see. We had a rough night last night so I am told, I think half the ship was awake.Room service would be busy.I slept until 7am,felt the rolling,took a pill and went back to sleep.It's a good life.Today I have to finish putting the flowers on a tee-shirt.Another project at 'Crafts'.I think all is the same for the 19th, don't know what time I shall be home Chris, it depends on the traffic. Will give you a wave Steve as I pass your 'workplace' GTG now for breakfast, love to all.Mum.XXXXXXXX

Jordan

I am not sure whereI am up to with all the messing about re. the net. BUT my phone has 'given up the ghost' so I can not phone or text,zxcvbn.Chris sweetie will you please put my heating to 20d before you go to school on the 19th. We should dock in the morning and it depends on the traffic after that.Aqaba--Jordan. Well away from pirate alley so all the water cannons?? have gone from the decks at night and 'our' ghurkas can sleep easy. We still see them when we go down the gang way or when they give us a hand getting into the tenders.I enjoyed the tour of Aqaba, we went to a cinema to see 'The Jordan Experience' which had me hanging onto my seat.I assume we were 'in' an aircraft of the Jordanian Airforce as we were joined at one time by three more in formation in front of us which then peeled off and left us to it.We went over Petra and over Wadi Rum where Lawrence led the attack on Aqaba with the Bedouin from.It was brilliant,if I could buy the DVD I would do.Have just realised that I phoned you Chris and Steve from aft deck when I was relishing my G&T so if I have told you that already,never mind.Safaga,Egypt there is no shuttle bus, there is a tour for snorkelling and some of the crew have gone to scuba dive.Fabrice, the Food and Beverages manager will tell me all about it.We are great friends with Fabrice and Rossen the Maitre d' ever since we put in our order for 'jelly with no fruit please' at lunch in the Lido.Last year we used to get it but this year 'they' put loads of fruit cocktail in it. Both Mau and I like plain jelly with ice cream. We started asking the servers,no joy, the waiters, no joy.I told Mau that we should go to the top so I buttonholed the Maitre d'. I knew him slightly last year.I believe that he thought it a strange request but I don't mind people giving me funny looks. No joy but Ross said he had told the chef,so ,up a level to the Food and Beverages manager who is french and a total sweetie.The French are not really into 'jelly' with or without fruit but I knew he would pass the message on.Still no joy BUT our Executive Chef Gavin wears a chefs hat one foot tall and I rekoned an ego to go with it so I 'grabbed' him when he appeared surveying one of his kingdoms.The next day at luncheon the head waiter brought both of us a plate of plain jelly.Mau started to eat hers but it was colourless and I tasted a small ammount---tasteless.!I swear it was Gavins revenge on us Mau was still eating till I told her to pack it in.Explain to the head waiter that we wanted plain fruit flavoured jelly and next day it was strawberry jelly but the funny thing is that it is kept under the counter of all the rest of the cakes and puddings, never on top.Gavin gets his final revenge because all this happened at the begining of the cruise and we have got fed up with jelly but we daren't stop eating it. I rekon it is a battle of wills and he checks every day to see if we have eaten some.Nobody else can because they can't see it.Ah me, at least I shall have strong nails. I think Fabrice and Rossen call us the 'Jelly Girls' and they always stop for a laugh with us when they see us around.As for me ,I am glad that Gavin does not know which is my meal at dinner,I hope.Off to lunch now,and jelly.XXXXX

A little bit more

Hello again, thought I would add a few words as we have got the Internet back on, strange how it has come on as soon as we got to the Med.
We have heard that a Fred Olsen ship has been ‘pirated’ off Somalia, have you heard anything? Gossip goes that the Ghurkhas 'saw them off 'and after having seen ours I can well believe it.
We came through the Suez Canal yesterday, the day before we were in Port Suez and from there we went on a full day tour to Cairo. It took us 90 mins to clear the port but one can understand all the security after that bomb went off a few weeks ago. We had a policeman on board our coach with a big gun and a security car full of police and guns with us. Of course tourism is very very important to Egypt. On our journey our guide told us that by Egyptian law traffic must give way to tourist coaches which incidentally were large and comfortable with excellent cooling system. We went to the Cairo Museum to see the golden mask, throne etc. of King Tutankhamen which were wonderful. I, of course bought three books so you will be able to have a good look Julie.
By the way thank you both for your messages. I can hardly believe the cost of your car repair Steve---clever boy. I am thinking which is my favourite place Jules, have not come up with an answer yet, more on that later.
Have I told you all about Jordan? I shall have to print out my blogs, then I know what I have said.
Cairo, with messing about with security and the terrible traffic we only had time for King Tut. After lunch we went to the Pyramids and the Sphinx, brill but disappointing, they were not in deep desert as I imagined, buildings were quite close and made the scene unreal to most of us. Got to go for lunch now so hasta la vista.

Back on the net !!!!

Port Victoria, on the island of Mahe in the Seychelles. I have tried to get onto my blog to read the comments and can't---again. It is the same as yesterday; Alan says it is a problem with Google so I will just have to keep trying. Anyway, the news since my last blog, Tanga, another stop in Tanzania was O.K. We did not have any tours as it was a spur of the moment halt thought up by Saga head office in place of the missed tours. The Captain has told us that we will also miss La Digue in the Seychelles because we have to be on time getting to the Gulf of Aden to join a convoy going through the Transit Channel .Captain Rentell who left at Mombassa said it was because of pirate activity????No matter we have plenty of guards on board and patrols on watch .I had decided to go on Safari to Tsavo game reserve from Mombassa, it was a two day one night excursion and involved a lot of travel in a type of off road 4by4.It was quite comfortable on the roads but bounced like mad on the paths in the game reserve. The lodge that we stayed at was very nice ,large bedrooms for a family really though they were used as singles. I had two large four poster beds with mosquito nets, very swish. The dining room was self service but really well laid out, two free wines or beers with dinner and no rush to leave after the meal. It was very pleasant to sit and chat, but I don't think many people stayed up late. The roof of the 4by4 lifted up on the game drives so one could stand up to take photos and also to get 'cool' air in as the windows had to be closed and we were not allowed to get out. It was wearying to say the least. I felt a wee bit stiff the next day. We saw lots of gazelles, a great herd of buffalo, a bit of two lions doing their thing in the afternoons, i.e. lying under trees. Only the body of the first one was visible and the head of the next one with two ears sticking up. Still you can't expect lions to get up and do a parade for the tourists. We saw a giraffe, well half one, half a neck and a head sticking up behind bushes. Plenty of elephants with a baby and another bunch on the second day walking along, swinging trunks. All of a sudden we came across a beautiful huge giraffe at the side of the road, just as if it was waiting for us. It stood there looking at us, we all, 5 in the car, jumped up so quickly to photo it it's a wonder we didn't frighten it. Beautiful creature, they have always fascinated me and now I think what a pity they are in zoos and just stand around all day. On the second day we went to a hippo area and saw about nine in a pond, just the heads poking up and the humpy backs. We went to a park type area, more water, very pretty place, more hippos and a crocodile. There could have been more crocs but they are masters of disguise, no wonder people get eaten. There was a lovely lunch in a different lodge in beautiful surroundings and after that, 'home James' which was boring to say the least. Bumping up and down for the first two hours until we got out of the park and then two and a half hours on the roads. The first thing I did was have a cold drink of iced water in my cabin then get rid of my damp clothes and stand in the shower. I thoroughly enjoyed it, would not have missed it but enough is enough. Yes Chris I am the first to admit that I am a wuss, I like my cold water when it is in the 90 degrees, tepid water is just is not the same and air blown into the 4by4 is still hot, hot air and not cooling. A fan in the bedroom is O.K. but it still only whizzes the same air round and round. It was ok in Aden and Singers but I was much younger then. It was wonderful to talk to you two boys today; I do miss you, especially when I cannot get in touch, stupid, stupid phone. So from a prize wuss, byeeeeeee. I am having trouble posting this, try again!!!!

Tanzania

Zanzibar, Tanzania.12 and13 Feb. We went on a tour today round the city. We had to go by tender to the shore as we were anchored offshore. It was 90deg in the shade and the Captain said it would be over 100deg in full sun, it really felt like it. It was uncomfortably hot walking around but thankfully there was some shade up the narrow streets. It is a predominantly Muslim country so 'cover arms and cover knees ' i.e. wear long sleeves and trousers, hot hot. It was very interesting, very narrow streets, some dirty, but we decided not to go into the fish or the meat market which pong terrifically. I got some vanilla pods and some saffron in threads so it should be O.K. It was strange to be in an Arab countryagain. Shades of Aden. I was fascinated by the Arab Dows Chris, they were belting along and the sails were at various angles some nearly horizontal sketched some, I think they are lovely, can't we have one? I can imagine your horrified face Chris !!!We went into a shop selling carvings bracelets, necklaces, clothing, it was great and they had air conditioning glory be. There are some beautiful doors in the little streets, very ornate; I would like to have sketched some of them. We went into a place where the slaves used to be held, terrible, dark, low ceilings stone benches, ugh. We also went to the Cathedral which has been built where the centre of the slave market was.There is a marked circle where the whipping post was. Apparently 'they' used to whip the slaves and the ones who held out longest without screaming fetched the most money. The screamers sold cheaply .What an awful way to find out the strongest. Could not send this, so I will add to it:

Sunday, we are in Dar Es Salam, still Tanzania. We have come here because the cyclone messed up our itinerary and Saga had to find new places for us to go. I enjoyed the tour here more because the coach was air conditioned and we went to a craft market out of town so it was a nice drive to see different types of living accommodation bought --very cheaply ,a Tinga Tinga painting peculiar to this area . A stylised Massai type family. It is very similar here to Zanzibar which is not surprising as it is only a short sail up the coast. Tomorrow, we shall be in Tanga, also in Tanzania so I guess it will be the same. Byeeeeee XXXXX

Mayotte

Thanks to Carol and Mike for the blog,-- when they return that is. Chris, thank you re Aloe Vera and keeping an eye on the house. I do hope that you enjoy your trip at half term. I can not put photos on my blog, I asked Alan last year. Pity about the Kart, but as you say, ' Weebers' have to find things out by themselves. Steve, I thought it said 'new series' in Jan maybe it said in the new year, Ncis I mean. Please keep checking for me. My tour in Mayotte was informative if uncomfortable. It was in the afternoon and I have never felt heat like it. I know it was 86f in the morning so it must have been pushing 100f in the sun early afternoon. The bus did not have air conditioning so there was little relief from the humidity. We walked down a twisting hilly path to see a place where Ylang Ylang is distilled for use in the perfume industry. I got some soap but the walk back up the hill was nearly too much for me. Was I glad to get back on the bus. People have been saying that it was the hottest they have ever known and these are people who have done the World Tour. Later on we went to a beach which was really nice. There were some French people bathing and sitting in the shade. Mayotte is a French Territory so I guess that is why they go there. Julie, M.Guerlain has his own plantation of Ylang Ylang, I wonder if there is any in our favourite perfumes. By the way Jules, did you see my question re. the embroidery that I am doing? We have a sea day today so it is crafts and art. In crafts we are making a necklace by threading tiny beads, I had just got the correct length when the big bead at the end came off. Chaos, beads all over the floor, every single one came off. Maureen helped me to pick them up and I started again, flipping beads. Well its bed time now, XXXXXXXXXXXX