Cape Verde after the Transatlantic

After such an exciting voyage in S.A. & A., the crew seemed to fall into a quiet rhythm as the feel for this cruise was much slower than the first. The 7 sea days across the Atlantic were nicely broken up after 5 by the Cape Verde Islands. Cape Verde brought to mind images of lush green jungles and rainforest, we were excited to see what this place no one had been to (from the crew or passengers) would hold. Cape Verde is it's own country, of the West Coast of Africa. The official language is portuguese, but it had the stronger flavour of Africa running through it's dusty hills.

When we arrived we saw what looked like a large rock with plenty of sand and dirt. Not green at all. I got off the ship fairly early and as windy as it was, it was very hot. I neglected to wear a hat or sunscreen, so I decided to lay low and take in a meal with Rob & Mike and then just poked around the town a bit. While walking we had various people honk at us and look at us strangely. We got used to it and as we were about to head back to the ship we were honked at, shouted at, and almost run over. It turned out it was just Jonnie & Todd (musicians from the ship) in a van with a driver. We were invited to join them and spent the afternoon galavanting through the hills in a rickety van on an even more rickety road. We drove to a beach area on the other side of Cape Verde that looks back towards the Atlantic and strolled along until I coaxed the boys to go for a swim. I had only pants & one shirt and I knew I would be the only one not able to get away with coming back to the ship looking like a drowned rat. We had a funny moment when the driver continued to ask me which of the 4 boys was my husband. When he finally understood that I was not married, nor dating any of them he tried to ask for my hand in marriage. It was a lovely day in Cape Verde, about the loveliest I could think of to have in such a desolate place.

Bring me back to the Boatyard

It’s nice to be back to the familiar ports of the Caribbean. It’s nice to be in places you don’t have to rush out and see because you’ve been there before, it’s also nice to be in Dominica and Barbados, because they’re two of my favorite Caribbean ports. Dominica for the lush, tropical jungles, rainforest and Trafalgar Falls and the Sulphur Pools are lovely. (I didn’t even go into port this time). Barbados is one of my favorites for the beaches. The crew always heads to the Boatyard which is a fun spot to relax, have a few drinks and unwind. There is a giant iceberg to climb, water trampolines, and a rope swing off the dock. This time, I went jet-skiing in the gradually choppier and choppier waves, but I didn’t die so it must have been a good day. I was pleasantly surprised in the morning when I found out we were in port with the Windsurf, one of the WindStar ships. A quick crash course in company structure: Carnival Corporation owns Holland America Line (HAL), WindStar Cruises, Cunard Lines, Costa Cruises, Seabourn Yachts and Princess. A good friend of mine from my first contract on the Statendam works a 2nd officer on the Windsurf, so when I called to tell his best friend (who was just transferred from the Veendam to here) about Rogier being in port, Anton and Rogier appeared at my door. I haven’t worked in ships for very long, but being in such a close environment, it’s nice to run into friends along the way. We got a tour of the WindSurf which is a much smaller sailing ship, but very nice indeed. Also, being St. Patricks day it was a nice day to be on the beach celebrating in the way the Irish would be proud: by drinking. The St. Patrick’s day bash in the Ocean Bar was a hit with the guests and crew, but after such a long day, I retired early.

66 days and I didn't have to throw one guest overboard

Things to remember from the interesting cruise: Shrimp clogging the filter which postponed the sailaway at Puerto Chacabuco, Chile. 2 Earthquakes the same day in Chacabuco. Thought the ship was breaking down. At least one medical debark per port. Poisonous gases that killed 4 people and injured 17 in an explosion on the ship next to us, the captain, made us stay inside the ship or leave the port area. Steve’s broken knee, the 75 ft. rogue wave and its cousin, the man who I watched almost die has, to this day not woken from his coma. Found out later: Smitty died Wednesday, April 18th.
However, you spend 66 days with these people and suddenly lovely ones (and there were actually many) are hard to say goodbye to. We had quite a few guests that we became quite attached to. The cruise staff and I were invited to their Birthday parties and Anniversary parties and we had a lot of fun with them. The farewell (Love in Any Language) included MOST of the crew and the entire dining room staff dressed up in various costumes, the nautical department even dressed up as maps and joined in. It was the most packed I’ve ever seen the Queen’s Lounge. People were sitting in the aisles and on the floor, so we'd like to think they had a good time over the past 66 days.

When I almost came home…

Three days before coming back to Ft. Lauderdale to drop off this lot and pick up the next world wanderers for the 56 day cruise I was told I would be going home in Ft. Lauderdale, March 12th. I was called for a midnight meeting and it was said to me that the "certain people" wanted to send me home, he didn’t like the way I do my job and wanted me gone. This is a surprise to me, when I hear from the guests on a daily basis that they enjoy my demonstrations, get-togethers, greetings and so on. I was hoping his sobriety might help my case the next morning and I guess it did because I’m still here. We had a meeting about my job and I voiced the fact that I have had to wing everything I do because no one has worked with a Hostess and it’s been a job that they’ve only brought back for this cruise and the World Cruise on the Amsterdam. For me to know exactly what they want, they would have to show me and I would have to be trained by someone who knows what the job is and has seen it. As far as I can tell they were just making things up as we went along and adding commentary on what they didn’t like about me. Unfortunately for them, I had so many comment cards from the guests, it would be hard for them to let me go now without a proper explanation other than they don’t get my “Canadian” sense of humour, which is what I’ve chalked up their Dutch ways to. It seems funny that curmudgeonly Dutch men have an opinion when they’ve never seen any of the demos. Ah, the beauty of living on a small ship. It just gets smaller. However, I venture forth and still this is my favorite ship so far.

Devils' Island

Devils’ Island, French Guiana: 10:50am. Hottest temperatures we’ve experienced so far. As they say: it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. And humidity it was. Well, humid it was.

We wandered around the Island Paradise that is devils’ island and spent some time looking around the place that was a large penal colony for many years and I’m sure was hell for the people who lived it. For us, the monkeys in the trees and wild peacocks and other birds, beautiful tropical palms over looking the ocean made it feel like paradise. As beautiful as it was it was also a very small island, one you can walk the perimeter in under an hour, so I’m sure island fever would set in quickly.

Shakin’ it in Parintins

Two days later, we were in Parintins, home of the Boi Bumba. Parintins is a really nice, clean town on the Amazon. One of the friendlier ports I’ve been to. One thing I’ve noticed since traveling on cruiseships which doesn’t surprise me at all. People are not happy to see you. Many folks are happy to sell you everything from knickknacks and handy crafts to their used shoes off their feet, but they are not happy to see you traipsing through their town. I understand why; one of the reasons being the way the world views America right now. Not only does “Holland America Line” have it in the name, but much of our passenger population is that of either American or Canadian origin. Though our passengers are well traveled (which they are), they are not travelers. Many of them want to see the world, exotic ports and different cultures, but they do not realize that in order to do that they have to leave the ship and experience it. I’ll give you an example. Mary-Jean-Barbara-Sue-Betty-Smith* and her husband Bill-Joe-George-John-Bob-Smith* set off to enjoy their excursion to see the various jungle tribes of the amazon. They return and spend their time telling me the bathroom facilities were either: scarce, dirty, or not organized in a way (read: hole in the ground) they would be inclined to use. They are planning to complain to the shore excursions department and get their money back. Also, they should have been told in advance that it was going to rain and they would be getting their shoes dirty with the ½ mile walk from the air conditioned bus with washroom facilities (which, by the way is MUCH too far to walk), so they are very unhappy with their day. The lunch they were served in the middle of the jungle was fixed for them by the locals, and was too bland and not enough so they are happy to get back to HAL’s famous food. (As if they haven’t had enough, because by the looks of it, they’ve definitely been getting enough food in their lifetime).

Pardon my topic-jumping. Back to Parintins. This town was different, they received us with open arms, they wanted to show us their home with pride. Most of the passengers and crew went to the Boi Bumba show. Shuttles took us to an outdoor venue where we watched a cast of over 2000 singers, musicians and dancers put on a magnificent show. The colours within the intricate set design and costuming was amazing. The many exotic birds sacrificed for the costumes, I figure were worth it for the beauty of the hundreds of thousands of feathers adorning each dancer. It was a very hot day, and as free alcohol and the blistering heat soaked into the passengers throughout the day, the shuttle ride back to the ship was more like a pub crawl with various passengers singing, shouting and just plain slurring, “I’m DRUNK!” It was a definite first for myself and the rest of the entirely sober crew to see the passengers getting back to the ship at 1:30 pm in the afternoon in this condition. It may have been a first with Holland America perhaps. Well, perhaps not as I’m sure it happens every time in Parintins. It was a great time had by all, however - even the Captain went to the show.

*Names and ports have been changed to protect the identities of our ridiculous passengers. This does not apply to the many wonderful guests we do have.

Manaus

Our last overnight for the cruise and really, for the rest of the contract, was in Manaus. Manaus is the city in the heart of Amazonia and the largest city along the river. I was surprised at the infrastructure and at how modern(ish) the city was. It’s still the Amazon, however, and I was able to go on a tour with about 30 other crew members to see the alligators at night. Before the tour, we were taken "out" (well, out for the ship that is) for dinner at the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant onboard. The Pinnacle is our fine dining restaurant which serves the most delectable things. Our entire entertainment team: Cruise Director, Senior Asst. Cruise Director, Snr. Admin. Asst. Cruise Director, myself (the Hostess) and the four Asst. Cruise Directors stuffed ourselves with chocolate volcano cake among other things, and wine.

An hour later, with our bellies full, we took a paddlewheel boat to one of the tributaries where we met the guides for our river tour and took small, shallow boats to hunt for alligators. The guide stopped the boat near the grass and lilypads at the edge of the water, leaned over the side and wrestled around in the water for a few seconds. I was in the front seat and when he stood up and turned around there was an alligator in my face: a very small, sharp-toothed looking alligator. It was actually a Cayman and they are not big. Still, they are scary looking and I did not enjoy it being within biting distance.
The alligator tour ended at 10:00pm, so it allowed for plenty of time to go out on our last overnight. It was decided we’d go to a rock club that our Port Agent recommended. Somehow I ended up in a cab with the new cast and went to a bar about 2 blocks from our ship. Being it so near a port, you might guess what type of a place it was. Ok, I’ve given you enough time to guess. I will now tell those of you who have yet to figure it out. It was the type of place sailors go. The type of place men who have forgotten they are married and men who have been on board a ship for 11 months where the ratio of men to women is 9:1 might go to have some fun. So, I went back to the ship and had an early night.