March 1, 2024

Cruising in the Arafura Sea today. Between Australia and New Guinea.

Last night we had our, I think, seventh time zone change.  It was only 30 minutes, what?  Well, yes, there are 30-minute time zones.  The only other time we experienced this was when we were on a cruise with our friends, Jim and Sheila.  It happened when we hit St John in Canada. 

Okay, more from Cooktown.  As I said      I went on a river cruise that day.  Before we left the dock, the Captain gave us a safety demonstration on life jackets and what to do if the boat were to sink.  One guest asked about going into the water with crocodiles.  He said that as long as she could swim faster than one other guest, there was nothing to worry about.  Comforting!

He also told us about an annual beach cleanup day where literally every town resident picks up trash on this beautiful beach across the river.  Since he has the largest boat for carrying people, he spends the entire day ferrying people to and from the beach.  He also transfers trash back to town.  Last year, they picked up 1 ½ metric tons of mostly plastic.  The government then scans any bar codes it can find to find the origin of the plastic trash.  They map this information to find out who the largest violators are and contact their government asking them to please educate their people or modify their use of plastics.  Cool!

For those faithful followers of my blog, you know that it’s been pretty quiet around the pool.  Just as I was thinking all the stupid question people must have gotten off and it would need CPR to restart, it happened.

And now another Episode of POOL CHRONICLES.

A couple sat down at the table next to mine.  The patio restaurant is open from 12:30 to 3:30, they just remove the cloth panels you see in the photo. It’s now 12:25 and a waiter walks by.  She asks him “Is the restaurant closing for lunch”?  What a great business plan, close all restaurants at mealtime!

And then, there’s Joe.  Or as I say toupee Joe.  Joe, a solo traveler, is a real big shot, he will tell you he is.  He retired from the FAA after 42 years of service.  He can’t get “global entry” because he was once caught smuggling 100 Yeti cups, like the one I have, into the US from China.  Okay, stop me when you get it.  Everyone on the ship knows way more about Joe than any of us want to know.  He is always chatting up the bartenders (are some of you thinking you know Joe too?).  I walked up to the bar and asked for another drink and both bartenders were there.  While one was mixing my Margarita, the other one asked if my gift had made its way into my suite yet.  I smiled and said yes it did, thank you.  Joe asked what we were talking about, and the bartender just said we were discussing a business deal.  Of course, Joe said what kind of deal, to which I told him that they take very good care of me because they like me and I treat them very well, rubbing my fingers together.  Joe’s no dummy and acknowledged what I was talking about right away.  So, he pulls out his money clip (why is he carrying money around the ship, there is no place to spend it).  He peals off two crisp ONE dollar bills, slaps them on the counter and says thanks guys and walks away!  The bartenders both looked at me and one mouthed thanks for trying and grinned.  Now what was the business deal you ask?  I told you a few days ago that the ship had run out of Buffalo Trace Bourbon.  Well, they lied, and a one-liter bottle showed up in our suite.   

Last night I learned that they lie a lot, and when I went for sushi, the bartender disappeared into the back room for a few moments.  When he returned, he too had an unopened a one-liter bottle of Buffalo Trace and explained that he hid it where no one would find it and he will keep it just for me. 

Just some more perks of small ship sailing. 

Tomorrow, we dock in Darwin, I’m worried that Darwin’s “Survival of the fittest” theory might just suck up some of our fellow passengers.