The Spirit of the World ( On and Off)
Around South America (3)
(Continuation of story)
The Royal Olympia, Ms Explorer, was the perfect ship to embark for my first long cruise.. It was small enough to enter exotic ports that other ships could not. The itinerary was designed for explorers not pleasure seekers. The golden age of cruising was actually coming to the end. Bigger and bigger boats were being built that had climbing walls and non-stop entertainment, leaving the destinations behind.
I learned quickly that this ship had it’s own following. Many passengers were repeat customers and had taken the South American cruise the year before. Luckily, they were seated at my dinner table so I thrived on their enthusiasm and knowledge.
The passengers fell into several categories. Many were older travellers who no longer had the physical abilities to travel as they did when they were younger.
One woman at my table had been in every country in the world. She was modestly unassuming, but oh so knowledgeable. She gave me such sage advice because I just adjusting to my serious medical conditions. For example, she strongly suggested that I not go to Machu Picchu because of my heart condition and said that the doctor aboard the ship would not okay the trip for me. I ended up settling for other sights in Peru and resigned myself to the fact that I too now had some travel restrictions and accepted them as she had hers.
Then there was Joe. He served in the US Navy during WWII. He truly loved ships and he loved this unusual one. He knew ever detail of her construction and her capabilities. He loved to share his knowledge. Some belittled him. I admired him. He taught me all there was to know about sailing and booking cruises.
There were a few on board that came to be entertained. They knew nothing about the ports we were visiting and didn’t care to learn. Often they didn’t even know where we were . They weren’t drunk, they were just ignorant, but wealthy. I guess that is all that mattered to them!
There were other passengers aboard this ship of fools who I will refer to later because there are some great stories. By the way, I say ships of fools, lovingly ,as we were all characters in our own right.
This image was take high above the beaches of Lima, Peru where several of us had stopped for a cold drink.
Around South America (3)
(Continuation of story)
The Royal Olympia, Ms Explorer, was the perfect ship to embark for my first long cruise.. It was small enough to enter exotic ports that other ships could not. The itinerary was designed for explorers not pleasure seekers. The golden age of cruising was actually coming to the end. Bigger and bigger boats were being built that had climbing walls and non-stop entertainment, leaving the destinations behind.
I learned quickly that this ship had it’s own following. Many passengers were repeat customers and had taken the South American cruise the year before. Luckily, they were seated at my dinner table so I thrived on their enthusiasm and knowledge.
The passengers fell into several categories. Many were older travellers who no longer had the physical abilities to travel as they did when they were younger.
One woman at my table had been in every country in the world. She was modestly unassuming, but oh so knowledgeable. She gave me such sage advice because I just adjusting to my serious medical conditions. For example, she strongly suggested that I not go to Machu Picchu because of my heart condition and said that the doctor aboard the ship would not okay the trip for me. I ended up settling for other sights in Peru and resigned myself to the fact that I too now had some travel restrictions and accepted them as she had hers.
Then there was Joe. He served in the US Navy during WWII. He truly loved ships and he loved this unusual one. He knew ever detail of her construction and her capabilities. He loved to share his knowledge. Some belittled him. I admired him. He taught me all there was to know about sailing and booking cruises.
There were a few on board that came to be entertained. They knew nothing about the ports we were visiting and didn’t care to learn. Often they didn’t even know where we were . They weren’t drunk, they were just ignorant, but wealthy. I guess that is all that mattered to them!
There were other passengers aboard this ship of fools who I will refer to later because there are some great stories. By the way, I say ships of fools, lovingly ,as we were all characters in our own right.
This image was take high above the beaches of Lima, Peru where several of us had stopped for a cold drink.