Day 57. February 29, 2016. 3rd SEA DAY. EN ROUTE to Male, Maldives on the Indian Ocean Passage

Well today was all about our Shipbuilding Sea Trails.  It all came down this day.  Six men to a team only rule was you could not destroy anything from the ship to make your vessel.  You also had to have it carry 6-16 cans of Coke and not sink.  Pictures tell the story

The sailors and there ship.  THE BIG "O" team

Judy reading the poem about the men and there ship

Going into the water......

Yes it took all 16 cans with no problem.  Very sea worthy

The judges were John and Stevie B entertainer from last night

Yes the BIG "O " came in first place....see video on FB 

Day 56 February 28, 2016. En route to Male, Maldives on the Indian Ocean Passage

We another hour ahead last night so that makes us 10 hours ahead of the East Coast of North America.  We are crossing the equator again this morning at 11:00 am.  I think we will cross it 2 more times. So here are some pictures from our golfing on board for Big "O" points.

You had to hit in up the ramp around the water holes and hit the cup.

A lot of fun.

Bob is involved with building a boat with 5 other guys.  It needs to float a six pack without tipping over for a couple of minutes.  They float it in the pool.  So tomorrow will up date the pictures.  The wives are saying a poem and dressing in sorongs. Should be a hoot.  We are really enjoying the Sea days.  Gets me all caught up on things.  I sent my tennis shoes into the laundry after Africa and they came back nice and clean.  

I overheard someone say that if we don't have another case reported of the G.I., waiting 72 hours after then they have nipped it.  Fingers are crossed.

There was a death on board back in Dar Es Salaam Africa and Betsy his wife left the ship.  At this time she doesn't know if she will return to the ship.  We met them on our 1st safari in Cape Town.  Tricia the World hostess went with her and was by her side all the way.  This is a update.

Dear Friends:

Today, those of us on the Oceania Insignia who know Betsy Horner met with Tricia, our World Hostess, for an update about her experiences in helping Betsy get home  If you were at the meeting, you can skip this email. If you were not, you may be interested in Betsy's journey.

After Don died on Saturday, February 20, just one week ago, Tricia went with Betsy to a hotel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to stay with her until Betsy had completed all the necessary forms and final plans that had to be made for her to fly to Florida. The autopsy indicated that Don had a heart attack. He had told many of us that when his time came to go, he hoped it would happen on a cruise ship or his tractor at home, so Don got his wish.

The staff at the hotel and the funeral director were very compassionate. Don was cremated on Tuesday. Betsy and Tricia went to see the body at the hospital on Monday, and Don looked very peaceful. Plans for when Betsy could leave depended on coordination between the Embassy in Dar es Salaam and the times of the flights. Things went back and forth between the Oceania staff scheduling the flight and the Embassy with the Embassy needing details of the flight times before these plans could be finalized (read lots of Red Tape). 

Betsy flew out of the airport in Dar es Salaam at 2 p.m. on Thursday, and Tricia flew out at 3 p.m. so Tricia was able to go with her to the gate where she asked that the crew give Betsy special consideration, including making her drink enough water and eat. When Betsy finally boarded the plane, Tricia could watch and wave through a glass wall. In addition to her carry-on luggage, Betsy was carrying an urn with Don's ashes so it was a very emotional journey.

Betsy's flights, on the same airline but different airplanes, took her from Dar es Salaam to Abu Dhabi to New York City to Miami. Unfortunately, she missed her connection from NYC to Miami. However, she arrived in Miami today and was met by her son, Adam, so she is safely home. 

Tricia told us that Betsy is very grateful for all the notes she has received. While we do not know Betsy's email address, Adam will be accessing Don's email address at don@hornerfamily.com. (I would guess that Betsy's email address is betsy@hornerfamily.com. If anyone can confirm, please email me.) You can contact Betsy at Don's email address. Betsy also is on Facebook and has been keeping her Facebook friends updated. Betsy and Don have a very warm and loving family who will take wonderful care of Betsy. She likes to talk about Don and her family. The family is Lutheran, and Tricia said there was a beautiful Lutheran church across the street from the hotel in Dar es Salaam where they went to pray.

Betsy may consider coming back on the cruise at a later date, depending on how she feels. Anything you can do to stay in touch with her would be wonderful. The group discussed several things that we can do aboard the ship in honor of Don.

Love and best regards,

Sara Geigel

So you just never know when your last days are near.  I only shared this with you to let you know what kind of red tape is involved.  So everyone ENJOY YOUR LIFE NOW....

I dream of Africa as a peaceful Africa 

Thanks for coming along with us

Day 55 February 27, 2016 Sea Day Pirate watching on the Indian Ocean Passage

A couple of days ago the Captain announced that 2 % of the ship was having G.I. stomach problems.  We couldn't believe it was happening already.  So as of today we have noticed these things that are missing.  All dinning tables have no candle, salt and pepper, bread and butter. In the Cabin we get no ice unless we call for some.  Elevators have plastic over the buttons that you press.  The laundry room is closed.  Anything that you can share germs with others is taken away.  Crew are washing down walls, tables, everything.  Hope they nip this in the butt fast.  As for us we are fine and we keep washing our hand a lot.

Some of the flowers from yesterday's port in the Seychelles

Cannon Ball flower

seen these in the South Pacific

Ok another Sea day tomorrow.  We are in the process of building a ship with things from around the ship.  It must hold 6 cans of coke and float.  Pictures to follow tomorrow.   Chow for now

Day 54 February 26, 2016 ~ Docked in Mah`e Seychelles on the Indian Ocean Passage

New port again for us. This was a beach day for us.  We first started out to see the town. Then after about an hour of seeing the town  market, church, circus was in town, with the tallest man ever.  Then we jumped on a local bus and saw the other side of the island where the beaches were.  We got off the bus at the Hilton, walked thru to see there site.  Beautiful it was indeed but no beach so we left there at 11:30 walked down the road (2 miles) and went to where we found this amazing little place of heaven with these huge granite boulders in the water.  We stayed there for an hour then decided to walk some more and find a great swimming beach.  The water was 86 degrees it felt like bath water for sure.  It really wasn't refreshing but it felt so good.  We had some lunch with a couple of cold beers.  At 3:00 we decided to jump on the bus back to town.  Wow what a great day here.

Feeding the Doves just as we got off the ship

At the market, those little banana's are so sweet

Lots of fresh fish here

So good the water from the coconut

walk around town

This little guy was playing hide and seek with Leslee

On the grounds of the church

Star Fruit

The beach was so lovely warm but nice

These girls were fun and friendly

Walking along the beach

At the Hilton look at the sweat on Bob's shirt

Always time for a local beer

Local net fisherman

Dug out canoe

Relaxing in the shade

Cutie pies...notice Bob in the background on the bench

What  awesome day we had....Now 3 Sea Days before Maldives

Thanks for coming along with us....

Day 53 February 25, 2016. 2nd SEA DAY Enroute to Mahe, Seychelles

As we leave Africa we can reflect on the textures of our experiences. The animals and the safari's were 2 different adventures.  The first one in Cape Town being a reserve where they are feed and kept and sold. The second one in Kenya was in one of the largest parks, and they are completely on there own. They do not rely on people do anything for them.  They are very wild. The markets are a lot of the same crafts and they seem to get better quality as we leave Africa.  We arrived on this continent the January 29 and we left Feb 23.  We traveled almost a month and into  15 different ports of call, from east to west.  The people are so interesting and always friendly with big big smiles.  Then there was all the children,  for me that was Africa.  They wanted to see the photo of themselves, then laugh and giggle at them. African food was very good , exotic, wonderfully spiced and tasty. We saw a lot of poverty, different townships, but they still were happy and always smiling.  We are so grateful that both Bob and I had the opportunity to experience this. As everywhere in the world, life goes on. 

Some pictures of the entertainment that we have had in the last 3 days.

These guys were from Britain and were very good. " Lance & Knight" they sang Movie and Broadway themes

This guy you can tell by the picture he is a little crazy 

He was certainly a entertainer 

  He did 2 shows for us.

Cutie pie from Aussie

Day 52 Febuary 24, 2016 SEA DAY Part 2 of yesterday

Instead of telling you boring things about our day together.  Thought I would share some more pictures of our Safari yesterday.  After about an hour of trying to find the animals we went to a lodge to have lunch.   We were given cold washcloths and yes we needed them badly.  Our faces were pretty dusty not to mention our hands

                                     Food and cold Beer what else could you asked for

Don't ask what kind because I cant remember what our guide told us....

Baboons see the little one in the mud.  As we leave Africa there is so much to say about it.  I will have to really think tonight and do a rap up on it..

Thanks for coming along with us

Bob & Leslee