richwmn

Today in history (sorry it is late): 1974 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 715th HR, off of L.A. Dodger Al Downing, breaking Babe Ruth's record in Atlanta

April 8 - Málaga, Spain Since it is a short distance between Tangier, Morocco and Málaga, Spain we had no problem arriving on time this morning. Due to the two hour change in time everyone was dragging a bit and it was still dark until after breakfast. The ship was cleared on time and people started leaving around 8:00am. I will be going ashore around 10:30am, which has been normal for the group I have been with. We will take the shuttle into town and walk around the area for a bit. One of the party likes to get a local beer in each port, but has been unable to in the last three due to Ramadan. It should be easier today. It is again sunny and mild and should be a nice day to walk around. Menus to follow later

April 7 – Tangier, Morocco It is evening on Zuiderdam after a very busy day. We arrived in Tangier on time and were cleared quickly. My group planned on leaving the ship around 10:30am to see what was going on. We managed to get on a shuttle quickly which took us up to a park. We got off the bus there and after looking around the park for a bit we determined that as long as we headed downhill be would get back to the ship. We headed thru the market which was a maze of small, pedestrian walkways. All kinds of shops selling just about anything. It was nice because the vendors were not pushy and a simple no generally was enough. There were a lot of very beautiful items for sale, and seemingly at good prices. During our walk we ran into two of the HAL excursion groups. We got back to the ship and had lunch in the Lido. Since a large number of guests were ashore, the Lido was pretty empty and it went well. I had some things to do which lasted until trivia at 4:00pm. That session went well and afterwards we went to sail away. The Dance Band played from 4:30pm until 5:15pm or so, but the ship hadn’t pulled away yet. We went into the Lido for dinner and realized that we had pulled away and were headed for Cadiz. The trivia session at 6:30pm was next and was again fun. Next was a little with the Dance Band in the Ocean Bar. Since the Promenade Deck was closed due to rough weather, we went to a balcony to see if the Rock of Gibraltar would be visible. It was overcast and too dark so we missed it today. Then it was time for trivia again which was snips of dialog or soundtrack of movies which we were to identify. We did very well on this one. We didn’t have a show on the World Stage tonight, but we do lose two hours sleep tonight.

Today in history: 1724 Johann Sebastian Bach's "St John Passion" premieres in Leipzig greetings from Tangier, Morroco

Traditional radio still works just fine and is still available

April 6 – Casablanca, Morroco As noted earlier, it was a very nice day to walk around. During the morning I got a couple of things taken care of. I left the ship with some friends at 1:35pm and after walking to the terminal got on the shuttle in time for it to close the doors and head into town. The shuttle left us off at United Nations Square. This is a convenient location and is very scenic. Right near the drop off point is a market which has quite a selection of goods for sale. Since it is supposed to be a landmark, we took off for Rick’s Cafe. I was using Google Maps to get us there, but it was a bit confusing and we ended up walking thru some areas that were not the best. We got to Rick’s and it has limited hours which didn’t include when we were there. We had decided to get a taxi back to the ship from there and when a driver that looked ok asked us, we said yes. That seemed to upset the other taxi drivers that were there waiting for fares. He promised to take us back to the ship for 10 euros, which is what we ended up paying him. I did hear from others that taxi drivers tried to charge more than the agreed amount. We are not leaving Casablanca for a few more hours but I am in for the night.

Apr 6 – Casablanca, Morocco The place of legends. Despite leaving Agadir so late we arrived right on time. We were cleared to visit a little before 8:00am this morning. We will be here until 9:00pm, so a nice long day. The weather started out a bit overcast but looks to have improved. The temperature is 70F/21C with 60% humidity. It should be a nice day to walk around in just a bit.

Today in history: 1889 George Eastman begins selling his Kodak flexible rolled film for the first time

Apr 5 – at sea, Destination Casablanca Morocco After an interesting day in Agadir yesterday and an overnight where we had to stay on the ship, we got underway promptly at 7:00am. Three hours later we are well on our way to our next destination. Last evening was low key. Dinner in Lido went without incident and it was nice to see lettuce at the salad bar again. One way or another it appears that the ship has been able to replenish some supplies. Zuiderdam’s dancers performed on the Main Stage last night. The 6:30pm trivia was replaced by ‘Scribble the Scramble’. I skipped that, as did my team, as we don’t seem to do well at it and don’t really enjoy it. This morning at sail away the weather was misty and it appears that it is still that way. Someone mentioned that the forecast for today called for rain. It is good that it is a sea day, I would be disappointed if it rained tomorrow.

Today in history: 1847 Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park, opens in Birkenhead, England, designed by Joseph Paxton We didn't leave Agadir until 7:00am today, but we still have plenty of time to make our port at Casablanca, Morocco tomorrow

I just realized I never posted yesterday's menus. Here they are:

April 4 – Agadir, Morocco Another beautiful day for walking, although we didn’t walk as far as yesterday. We are again at an industrial port and got a free shuttle to a touristy area. The bus ride wasn’t too long and was thru an interesting area. The drop off point was a very nice beach, not unlike many other beaches in the world. It has a very large beach, then a large walking area, followed by shops, restaurants, and hotels. Behind the buildings is a large parking lot, which is where we were dropped off. It is interesting that this area contained a KFC, a Pizza Hut, and a McDonalds. We grabbed a drink at one of the restaurants, then walked a bit more and returned to the ship.

Oops, can't tell the day of the week without the elevator mats. What Month is it anyway????

May 4 – Agadir, Morocco Location at 7:00am Due to a late departure last night we are just arriving in Agadir at 9:00am. We are docked and I can see the buses and vans for the ship’s excursions lined up from my verandah. Looks to be another nice days for us to walk around. Today’s menus have not been posted yet, so I’ll do that when I return. Plans are to meet with friends at 10:15am and take the shuttle to wherever, then walk around a bit. We are still scheduled to depart at 5:00pm, so the day is a little shorter than it might have been. edit at 9:44am - Captain just announced that we would depart 1 hour later than previously planned.

Today in history: 1789 1st US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington's presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ending 1791) Greetings from Agadir!

April 3 – Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canarias We left the ship around 10:30 and walked around a bit. The first image is a screenshot of our walking path, the others are around the Central City area. It has been another beautiful day!

I didn't notice the comment as I don't regularly eat in the MDR. However, we missed getting 8 containers of supplies 4 days ago so that might be the reason.

I am currently scheduled for Dec 22nd to Mexico for Christmas, followed by Grand Australia, and staying on Volendam to Fort Lauderdale. But anything can happen.

April 3 – Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canarias Position at 6:00am Position at dock Another great day on Zuiderdam. Again, the weather is perfect for a walk around the port. We arrived on time and were cleared to exit the ship at 8:00am. This is another port that we will have to shuttle around 30 minutes to get to the actual city center. Yesterday we had a nice day. Although the Sail Away party was scheduled for 4:30pm we did not actually leave until over an hour later. We had trivia at 4:00pm and 8:00pm and Scattergories at 6:30. We did fine at the early session. The late session involved playing a song from musicals and we had to identify the song and musical. We had two team member who are interested in musicals and did very well, but still came up one answer short. Since we didn’t have trivia at 6:30pm I went to the show on the Main Stage. Last night’s show was a comic – Paul Adams. I really enjoyed the show. His routine was up to date, including things that happened to him on his way to the ship. He did have the normal comments on HAL and his audience, but all was taken very well. His act went quickly and was over before I realized he had been on stage for 45 minutes. We are off shortly to see what this port has to offer!

Today in history: 1973 1st mobile phone call is made in downtown Manhattan, NYC by Motorola employee Martin Cooper to the Bell Labs headquarters in New Jersey

May 12

We got some, I don't know how much.

April 2 – Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias

Today in history: 1513 Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida

April 2 – Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias Today is a bright, sunny day for our first day in the Canarias. It is close to 10:00am and we docked on time and cleared the ship so that we are able to go ashore. Sail Away for today is 4:30pm for a short run to another island in the group. As I mentioned yesterday the ship had a theme of ‘April Fools Day’ throughout the ship. Many of the activities were named differently such as ‘ParTEA’ afternoon tea is served with themed food. The 1:00pm Trivia session was questions that were submitted by Guests. They seemed a bit more difficult and again we came in second by one answer. At 4:00pm the rescheduled ‘Block Party’ occurred with free flowing wine (red, white, and sparkling). The Captain, Hotel Manager, and other Officers toured the Guest Decks and served some of the refreshments. Soft drinks were available for those who didn’t choose to drink the wine. Our version of the block party lasted an hour or so. We didn’t have a 4:00pm trivia due to the ‘Block Party’, but we did have a 6:30pm session. It was a very fun session and we did well, but again didn’t win. After the trivia session we went to the Main Dining Room for our meal. The menu was presented as if we had to choose between three set menus, but upon asking we found we could mix and match. Shrimp Cocktail was again offered as a starter and it was very good. My main was Wiener Schnitzel and it was prepared properly and very tasty. I ended with a Chocolate Sundae. After dinner the Dance Band played for a bit in the Ocean Bar. This ended a little after 9:00pm, and the costume party had already started. Lots of people having a great time, quite a few in costumes. I guess I left around 10:30, maybe a bit later, and the party was still going strong. A little bit later I will go ashore and experience Tenerife for the first time. The next couple of ports are new to me and promise to be very nice.