Scrapnana

A Five-Star Day - November 29 Why was it a five-star day? Yesterday was my 500-day mark, which means I am now a Five-Star Mariner in HAL's loyalty program. I received a card on my door to come get my new key card. There isn't a lot more perks being 5* than 4*. You get "up to $30" credit toward an internet package, a free day pass to the Thermal Suite at the spa, and (the best in my opinion) two free dinners in Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto, or Tamarind. The weather has finally turned warm again with a high around 80 degrees. Instead of crafts, I went for a swim. The water was warmer than bath water, so it was not refreshing. There were also too many people in the pool for me to do laps. After 4pm trivia, I sat out on one of the deck chairs on the Promenade deck and crocheted for a little and then walked my laps around the deck. Everyone present for dinner and we discussed the situation in Luanda, Angola. We received a very detailed letter about being careful ashore. I am not going anywhere by myself and may not even get off the ship. Finally nice enough for an evening stroll around the deck. Luanda tomorrow. 1pm trivia (very hard) - we had 6 out of 18 and two teams had 9 1. Zythology is the study of what? 2. For what crime was Paul McCartney deported from Germany? 3. How many time zones in Cuba? 4. What is the most mentioned beverage during prime-time TV in the US and Canada? 5. What was the name of the ice cream released by Baskin-Robbins in 1969 to commemorate the moon walk? 1. the study of beer 2. arson 3. one 4. coffee 5. Lunar Cheesecake 4pm trivia - We had 9 out of 17 and the winning team had 10 1. How many states does Mexico have? 2. What is a group of polar bears called? 3. Chorizo sausage originated in which country? 4. What is the second longest river in the world? 5. What is alektorophobia the fear of? 1. 32 2. sleuth 3. Spain 4. Amazon 5. chickens

More decorations went up today. Some new pictures on my blog.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - November 28 Christmas decorations are popping up all over the ship and it is looking very festive. Nothing new or different today with my usual schedule. The weather remains cool and cloudy. When I made my afternoon walk, I needed my raincoat (the warmest thing I brought) but the wind was not as chilly as a couple of days ago. Tonight was a "Dressy" night with a special menu. The show tonight was the singer, Selim Kagee, again. Another sea day tomorrow (which will likely be much like today). 1pm trivia - we had 14 out of 18 and the winning team had 16 1. Where were the 2002 Winter Olympics held? 2. Which Beatle crossed the road first on the Abbey Road album? 3. The original Rapunzel did not have a happy ending. What was Rapunzel turned into? 4. What major company filed for bankruptcy in 2001? 5. When was the last year that the summer and winter Olympics were held in the same year? 1. Salt Lake City 2. John 3. frog 4. Enron 5. 1992 4pm trivia - We had 11 out of 17 and two teams tied with 14 1. In which U.S. state is it illegal for a chicken to cross the road? 2. What is a slang word for a British pound? 3. If you are born on October 1, what is your star sign? 4. Who is the villain in Disney's The Little Mermaid? 5. What is the name of the sloth in Ice Age? 1. Georgia 2. quid 3. Libra 4. Ursula 5. Sid Thanks to those who reminded me I forgot to give the answer to one of the questions on yesterday's trivia. It has been fixed on the blog.

A Day at the Mall in Walvis Bay, Namibia- November 27 Namibia is another country that requires us to have a face-to-face meeting with the immigration officers. Unlike in South Africa, the immigration people came on board to process us. When I was here in 2018, I took a tour that went to Swakopmund, Dune 7, and the lagoon with the flamingoes. There was nothing else I wanted to see. My friend Judy (Lee) had not been off the ship for some time since her husband has been sick then she became sick. She needed to get on dry (and since the desert is all around us, very dry) land. There really is nothing much but houses (you can read my description in the April 7 entry of my 2018 blog) in town, so we took the shuttle to the Dunes Mall which was fairly new in 2018. It was the place to be. Lots and lots of people, some grocery shopping, some Christmas shopping, everywhere. We ended up each buying some clothing (like I didn't bring enough). The other stop of the shuttle was at the waterfront. There are a few restaurants (although none looked open) and a souvenir shop and a few stalls of local crafts. We looked around for a bit and then got on the shuttle. We thought it was going directly back to the ship but it was actually going to the mall, so we rode back to the mall and then finally back to the ship. It was then about 2:30 and we were both hungry, so we ended up at the taco bar for lunch. The ship still had its air conditioning on although it was cloudy and only 61 degrees outside and I couldn't warm up. Eventually, I decided to get a hot chocolate which finally warmed me up and I could take my coat off. I'm sure in a few days as we head north to the equator I will be wishing for cooler weather. I played 7:00 trivia alone - there were very few people there. None of my tablemates came to dinner so I ate with Bob and Judy. The show tonight was the Black Melody Cultural Group that performed Namibian songs and dances. From my pictures, it looks like the same group we saw in 2018 but it had a different name and performed different songs. We gain an hour tonight and then two sea days. 7pm trivia - I had 12 out of 17 and the winning team had 15. 1. What is the only country beginning with "Y"? 2. What is a group of caterpillars called? 3. The island country of Fiji is in which ocean? 4. Rosanna and Africa were songs by which American rock band? 5. What is the mountain in Lord of the Rings that the One Ring must be thrown in? 6. Which two teams have won the most Super Bowls? 1. Yemen 2. army 3. Pacific 4. Mount Doom 5. Patriots and Steelers (believe it or not, I got that one right!)

Susie, Thanks for the information about the machine. That would make sense. Not too much yarn on this cruise but I plan to make up for it on the world!

The walls are metal but you need heavy duty magnets, regular ones just slide down the wall.

We were told that we might have to prove that we had the yellow fever shot or a doctor's note saying it was contraindicated, but nobody ever asked. I don't know if you would call them all professional lecturers but we have had four (possibly one more I have forgotten) on so far. Everyone complained because we had no lectures for the seven days we crossed from Port Everglades.

Nieuw Amsterdam will be at pier 26 (starboard to) from 5:30am to 4:00 PM. She will be leaving on a 7-day Western Caribbean sailing. Also in port are Celebrity Beyond at pier 25 (6:00am-3:30pm), Celebrity Reflection at pier 29 (4:30am-3:30pm), and Odyssey of the Seas at pier 18 (5:15am-5:00pm). The PTZtv webcam can be found at https://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/. Next up: A rare mid-week double header with Eurodam and Rotterdam in port on Wednesday, 30 November.

A "Not Very Good" News Day - November 25 Jeremy usually makes announcements at 9:30 each sea day. Today Erica made the announcements and she quickly explained why. Jeremy has tested positive for Covid, so he will be confined for most of the next week. The second news came from the Captain in his noon update. Because of high winds, it would be dangerous to tender tomorrow so the port of Luderitz, Namibia has been canceled. There are some unhappy people onboard. We had our second Cruise Critic Meet and Greet this morning. It was a good turnout for a second one. Not much else new or different other than those things. All of us were present for dinner and we heard about the safari Sherry and Pete went on and the trip to Aquila Game Reserve that Judy and Bob did. I heard some negative reviews of the comedian and since I usually don't care much for them anyway, I skipped the show. 1pm trivia - We had 11 out of 18 and the winning team had 16. 1. Which country has more lakes than all other countries combined? 2. Which African country has the highest population? 3. What African country did Winston Churchill call "The Pearl of Africa"? 4. Which country invented gin? 5. What is the capital of Scotland? 1. Canada 2. Nigeria 3. Uganda 4. Netherlands 5. Edinburgh

It was pointed out to me today at trivia, that I forgot to post yesterday's trivia. Here it is. 7pm trivia - We had 14 out of 18 and the winning team had 15. It had a movie theme. 1. Who was the first Disney Princess to have a tattoo? 2. How many Oscars has Meryl Streep won? 3. In what 1959 Marilyn Monroe movie was the last line, "Well, nobody's perfect"? 4. In Speed, why was Annie's driver's license taken away? 5. What was the name of the Los Angeles hotel featured in Pretty Woman? 1. Pocahontas 2. 3 3. Some Like It Hot 4. speeding 5. Beverly Wiltshire

Nieuw Statendam will be at pier 26 (starboard to) from 5:30am to 4pm. She is leaving on a 7-day Tropical Caribbean cruise. Also in port are Celebrity Apex at pier 25 (6:00am-3:30pm), Harmony of the Seas at pier 18 (5:00am-4:30pm), and Sky Princess at pier 2 (4:30am-4:00pm). The PTZtv webcam can be found at https://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/. Next up: Nieuw Amsterdam on Sunday, 27 November

A HO-HO Day in Cape Town - November 24 My original plan had been to walk to the CBD and look around, but Jeremy said in his port talk that you should take a taxi if you were going there. After my recent incident, I decided to do the Hop on-Hop off bus instead. There was a desk in the cruise terminal to buy the ticket and it was an inexpensive 275 Rand (about $16). The closest pick-up point was across the street just pass the Radisson Red where we will be staying in March. As I normally do, I made one complete loop around. We drove through the CBD, through Bo-Kaap and up to the cable car that goes up Table Mountain. The view was spectacular so I didn't feel the need to go up on the cable car. We continued on to the other side of the mountain and through the communities of Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, Seal Point and were then back to the Victoria Wharf area. Since it was getting close to noon, I was hungry and decided that I would find something in the V&A Food Market. I settled on a "rolla" that had beef, mozarella cheese, tomatoes, avocado, creme fraiche, and rocket salad. It was delicious. Lunch was slightly more expensive than yesterday - about $8.25. I then boarded the bus again and rode to the CBD where I got off. Once again, the downtown area was very disappointing. I was thinking it would be like Sydney or Auckland but except for the historic buildings, it was disappointing. I hopped on the next HOHO bus and did the loop again back to Victoria Wharf. I spent some time looking around but again did not buy anything. When I got back to the terminal, we had to go through the immigration process and once we had done that, we had to get on the ship and could not get back off. Although sail-away was not scheduled until 11pm, everyone had to be back on board by 8:30. Two of my trivia team came for the 7pm game and we were joined by another man whose team did not show. Then on to dinner to find out that nobody else at my table was there. Judy and Bob invited me to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. HAL had tried to decorate a little for the event. There was no show tonight. Sea day tomorrow.

It is posted in the Where and When when the organ will play. It takes about 15 minutes for the three tunes to play. No Christmas decorations. The TVs are still the old crummy ones.

Watching the video and having your card swiped is so much better than when you had to return to your cabin and then report to the muster station. Doesn’t take but a couple of minutes.

A Marvelously Mundane Day II - The Sequel - November 22 Another quiet day with my usual activities. The one thing I did different was to hear the pipe organ play. The pipe organ is in the center of the Atrium from deck 3 up to deck 5. It does not play every day and every time it has so far I had been playing trivia. I made sure I was on deck 4 (so I could look up and down) before 1 o'clock. It played three songs and until today, I did not know that some of the figures move. That was my one out-of-the-ordinary activity for the day. At dinner we talked about what we were doing over the next few ports. We agreed that we would not be at the table tomorrow because a local group is going to present a show at 7pm (only the one show) and we wanted to attend. The singers and dancers performed "It Takes Two" and after the show I had a walk around the deck and called it a night. This evening we passed Cape Agulhas - the southernmost point in Africa and the farthest south we will go on this cruise. Cape Town tomorrow. 4pm trivia - 3 other "orphans" (their teammates were on safari, also) and I played together. We had 12 out of 18 and the winning team had 17. 1. What country consumes the most coffee per year? 2. Black-eyed peas are not actually peas. What are they? 3. How many furlongs in a mile? 4. What is a group of moths called? 5. When was the first Nobel Prize awarded? 1. U.S. 2. legumes or beans 3. 8 4. eclipse 5. 1901

A Marvelously Mundane Day - November 21 After yesterday's excitement, an ordinary, humdrum day was just what I needed. I went to Sit and Stitch, lunch, worked on my socks while I waited for Crafts (no 1 pm trivia today), made earrings, went to 4pm trivia, walked four laps around the deck, went to 7 pm trivia, had dinner, went to the show, and did one more lap around the deck. We were very late leaving Durban (all aboard was 10:30 and we didn't leave until almost 2am) because the bunkering process was very slow. During his noon update, the Captain also explained the helicopter I saw above the ship yesterday. Instead of jumping on to the ship from a boat as is normal, in Durban the pilot is lowered from a helicopter (and picked up the same way). The scuttlebutt onboard is that at least two other people had incidences in Durban and one was threatened with a knife. As gossip goes, I am not sure what is true and what might have been embellished, misunderstood, or just plain made up. I did go to Guest Services to report what happened to me for future reference (the 2023 GWV docks here in March). Tonight was a dressy night with a special menu. It appears those who do not want to do dressy, don't eat in the dining room. People at the show were wearing a variety of different styles. The entertainer tonight was an electric violinist, Caitlin Deville, who played African songs and was good. This was her first time performing on a cruise ship. 4pm trivia - Lightning Trivia - I had 20 out of 30 and the winning team had 24. 1. What does VHS stand for? 2. What is a group of rattlesnakes called? 3. Which artist said, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents"? 4. Which came first - chess or checkers? 5. The Dead Sea is between which two countries? 1. Video Host System 2. rumba 3. Bob Ross 4. checkers 5. Jordan and Israel 7pm trivia - I had 8 out of 18 and the winning team had 12 1. What is the most popular cat name in the U.S., Canada, and Australia? 2. Who is considered the Queen of Pop? 3. What was Blackbeard's real name (first and last)? 4. How many tusks does a warthog have? 5. Which Caribbean island has the rarest species of rattlesnake? 1. Kitty (not real original) 2. Madonna 3. Edward Teach 4. 4 5. Aruba

Thanks for everyone’s concern and kind words. The more I think about it the more I believe that it was more like a prank than a serious robbery. I heard today that a man walking alone was threatened with a knife. No idea if this is true or an exaggerated story but I did decide to let Guest Services know. Durban is not a port HAL goes to regularly but I know that the GWV will be there in March. At least passengers should be told walking alone is not a good idea. The area around the port is not very nice although my incident happened in the middle of the CBD outside of a shopping mall.

Thanks! There were too many things that could have gone badly that didn't, I am grateful.

We just had a Medallion Ceremony on Zaandam two days ago. All of the Mariners who were on the 2020 GWV were invited and those who had made 100, 300, 500, or 700 actual days were given their medallions. Mariners lunch followed. We were told there will be two other ceremonies before the end of the Grand Africa. Keep in mind there is not a ceremony for becoming four or five stars because the stars are based on days plus spending not just days like the medallions.

Disturbing Event in Durban - November 20 Because of the wind last night, we were late arriving but only by about 15 minutes (not the hour that we were warned it might be). Once cleared by the authorities, everyone (crew, too) had to get off the ship and have a face-to-face inspection with the immigration officers. We were told that the HAL ship tours would be the first (Groups A&B) and then those with independent plans (Group C which I was in). Since there was no telling when that might be, I had lunch at the taco bar. Around 12:45, we were called. Although there was a line, I was through it in about 10 minutes and then to the shuttle which was only taking us a couple of blocks to the uShaka Marine World. My plans were to walk to the center of town to The Workshop, a former railroad workshop that now housed shops. It sounded good in the write-up. It was just under a two mile walk. Luckily, it was a much cooler day than yesterday with highs only in the low 70s. Only a few blocks from the ship, I found a store with odds and ends for sale and one of them was yarn. I had to have a look and found some acrylic yarn to make another Linus blanket for $7.35 (125 Rand). I then continued on, stopping at a gas station convenience center for a Coke Zero on the way. I finally got to The Workshop and was very disappointed. I was thinking it would be something like The Watershed in Cape Town but it was a plain old mall with every other shop selling phones, phone plans, or phone equipment. Leaving the mall, I walked through the park beside it and when I was heading back, the disturbing event occurred - I was robbed. In all my travels, I have never had anything stolen before. Four young men came up behind me, one grabbed my arm, and two took my earrings off. Then they walked away. Looking back at it, I consider myself very lucky. First of all, I wasn't hurt - I only have a couple of bruises on my arm (and I bruise easily anyway). Secondly, they unhooked the earrings rather than ripping them out (which I have heard about). They are going to be very surprised when they try to do something with the earrings because they were cheap ones from Wal-Mart. Finally, they made no attempt to take my purse and everything important was in it - a small amount of money, my iPhone, camera, credit card, debit card, driver's license, and passport. As I walked, I became more paranoid about my cards and passport, so when I came to a spot where nobody could see me, I stuck them under my clothes. I would have taken a taxi back but I could not find one. I shied away when anyone was on the same side of the street and walked in the street rather than on the sidewalk part of the way. I made it back to the ship with no other problems. Judy and Bob had told me last night that they were not coming to dinner so I knew I was eating in the Lido. Since I was really tired, I was glad I was eating there. There were not many people playing trivia - over 200 left yesterday or today on safari and all aboard was not until 10:30, so some were still out. I walked one lap around the deck and then called it a night and watched "Rocketman" on the TV. 7pm trivia - I had 12 out of 19 and the winning team had 16 1. What toy consists of boric acid and silicone? 2. In ancient Chinese mythology, what fruit represents longevity and immortality? 3. Which continent produces the most cocoa? 4. What is the smallest mammal by weight? 5. What are the four Cs of diamonds? 1. Silly Putty 2. peach 3. Africa 4. pygmy shrew 5. color, cut, carat, and clarity

Eurodam will be at pier 19 (Starboard to) from 4:30am to 4 pm. She is leaving on a 10-day Panama Canal Sunfarer cruise. Nieuw Amsterdam will be at pier 21 (starboard to) from 6:15 to 3pm. She is doing a 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise. Rotterdam will be at pier 26 (port to) from 5:30 am to 4 pm. She is going on a 10-day Southern Caribbean Seafarer cruise. Also in port are Celebrity Beyond at pier 25 (6am-3:30pm), Celebrity Reflection at pier 29 (4:45am-3:30pm), and Harmony of the Seas at pier 18 (5:15am-4:30pm). The PTZtv webcam can be found at https://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/. Next up: Nieuw Statendam on Saturday, 26 November.

Hot! Hot! Hot! - November 19 We had been told a few days ago that the predicted high for today in Maputo was going to be in the triple digits but this morning, Jeremy announced it was only going to be in the high 90s. Either way, I was glad I was not getting off the ship. I was here in 2018 and did a comprehensive tour of the city, seeing probably everything of any importance from the iron house (way too hot to live in) to the elephant fetuses in the museum (supposedly the only collection of its kind in the world). At the time I thought that I would not feel comfortable walking around on my own. Add to that, the visa cost $75 making it a no-brainer to stay on the ship. If I should hear anything really exciting that someone did, I can always do it when I return at the beginning of March. Judy (Lee), her husband, Rich, and I wound yarn this morning and then I ate in the Lido. I went out on the back deck to take pictures and could not stay more than a few minutes it was so hot. I then tried the Promenade deck and nobody was sitting out or walking like normal. Sat and read in the library for a while because it was cooler than my other favorite spots. Eventually, I went back to the Crow's Nest and found Judy and Rich up there as we prepared to sail away. I worked on my socks and then played Lightning Trivia (alone) at 4pm. I tried to walk the Promenade deck as I normally do around 5 pm but it was still too hot. After 7pm trivia, it was off to dinner (Sherry and Pete left for a safari today) and then to the show - the second by Michael Abrahamson, the mentalist, who once again astounded me with what he could do. There was no after show walk on the Promenade deck because it was blocked off. The Captain had announced earlier that we would have strong winds (right now they are 51 mph) and high swells tonight and not to go out on the open decks. This might cause us to get into Durban late tomorrow. 4pm Lightning Trivia - I had 16.5 out of 30 and the winning team had 25 1. In how many films did Sean Connery play James Bond? 2. According to Greek mythology, who was the first woman on Earth? 3. What is the longest Shakespeare play? 4. What is the collective noun for panthers? 5. Which continent do geologists predict will be the next to split in two? 1. 7 2. Pandora 3. Hamlet 4. claw 5. Africa 7pm trivia - I had 7 out of 18 and the winning team had 14 1. What does "Mai Tai" mean in Tahitian? 2. What was Elvis Presley's first movie? 3. Horology is the study and measurement of what? 4. What is the most popular tourist destination in Mexico? 5. Zymurgy is the branch of chemistry that studies what process? 1. very best 2. Love Me Tender 3. time 4. Cancun 5. brewing fermentation

A Gold Medal Day - November 18 Yesterday I received an invitation that said, "Please come and join your fellow Amsterdam Grand World Voyage 2020 guests for the Mariners Recognition Ceremony where you will be awarded the Gold medallion...Followed by a Special Mariners Lunch." For those unfamiliar with Holland America, their loyalty program is called the Mariners Society. There are two different classifications - the stars (1* up to 5*) which is based on the number of days at sea plus one extra day for each $300 spent onboard plus suite bonuses, and the Medallions which are based on actual days onboard. The stars give you different perks (if you are really interested, here is the link Mariner Society | Holland America ) Turns out there were about 200 of us onboard from the 2020 GWV (many using up those future cruise credits we received when it was canceled). Many of them were receiving medallions. They are bronze for 100 days, silver for 300 days, gold for 500 days, and platinum for 700 days. In my case, I think they jumped the gun a bit. This afternoon I figured that I wouldn't have 500 days until sometime during the 2023 GWV but it doesn't really matter getting it now or then since there are no extra perks for having the medallions. After the ceremony, which took over an hour since each person's name is called and then presented with the medallion and a picture taken with the captain and the hotel manager, we went to the dining room for lunch. We had already had drinks (mimosas, champagne, or bloody Marys during the ceremony) and there was more wine or champagne with lunch. I sat with Judy (Lee) and her husband, Rich, Janet (who I met on the 2019 Grand South America), and two men (one of whom Judy knew). It was a nice lunch and we talked so long I missed 1pm trivia. Continuing my laziness from yesterday, I spent about an hour and a half in one of the deck chairs although I did get a little knitting done today. I finally got up to go to Music Trivia at 4. I played alone and made a dismal 9 out of 24 (one team had them all). Next stop was the library where I needed to print out some information for our next two stops (I am not doing an excursion in either). In penance for spending so much time sitting and eating too much, I did five laps around the deck before returning to my cabin to work on this and get ready for dinner. On my way to dinner, I picked up my passport, which some will need tomorrow since a couple hundred people are leaving the ship for safaris, and the rest of us will need the next day when we arrive in South Africa. After dinner I went to the show which was "Shades of Africa" for their second performance, which was also very good. One lap around the deck and when I got back to my cabin I found they were showing "Bohemian Rhapsody" which I had never seen. After just going to the Freddie Mercury Museum, I had to watch it. I forgot to mention yesterday that we have had an itinerary change. In September, Dakar, Senegal was dropped. It has now been put back in the itinerary and Banjul, Gambia has been dropped. The Captain said that due to the tides we could not get into Banjul but Senegal has eased their Covid restrictions so we can go there. I have been to both, so it did not make much difference to me. Maputo tomorrow.

Nieuw Statendam will be at pier 26 (port to) from 5:30 am to 4 pm. She is heading out on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise. Volendam will be at pier 19 (starboard to) from 4am to 4 pm. She will be doing a 28-day Amazon Explorer cruise. Also in port are Celebrity Apex at pier 25 (6am-3:30pm), Celebrity Infinity at pier 29 (4:30am-4pm), Enchanted Princess at pier 2 (5:15am-4pm), Sky Princess at pier 21 (6:15am-4pm), and Odyssey of the Seas at pier 18 (5am-5pm). The PTZtv webcam can be found at https://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/. Next up: Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Rotterdam on Sunday, 20 November.

One Really Lazy Day – November 17 I don’t think I accomplished one thing of any importance the entire day. I didn’t even finish one row of knitting. I had Sunday Brunch with Judy, Bob, and Sandy. I know, it isn’t really Sunday but because we have a number of Sundays in port, they had a brunch today. I played 1pm trivia and then couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. I didn’t really have any desire to do anything, so I headed back to my cabin to think about the afternoon. I walked outside for a bit and realized the perfect thing would be to sit in one of the deck chairs on Deck 3. I usually cannot sit more than 3 minutes without having to do something, but I enjoyed just looking out at the ocean and sat for over an hour. I had taken my knitting with me but I didn’t even get it out of the bag. Eventually, it was time to head to the Crow’s Nest for 4pm trivia. It was one of (if not the) worst trivias (even including the ones when I didn’t have a team) that I have attended. It was supposed to be a Lightning Trivia. In lightning trivia, the question is supposed to be read twice, then 30 seconds to write down the answer, and then the answer is given. One problem today was that we could not understand a lot of what she said (strong accent and mispronunciation of words) and some of the questions did not make sense. Most of the questions were about Africa with a couple of questions about the US (like what state the most turkeys come from), and even to guess how old she is. A few times she didn’t even give 30 seconds for you to write down an answer. Some people got up and left. I will not be putting up any questions from this trivia. I made my four lap walk and then got ready for 7 pm trivia. There was only three of us for dinner. I went to the show which was Saxophonist Akos Laki, who was very good. Tonight’s show was supposed to be the singers and dancers but Covid has hit them, so they won’t be performing for at least a few days. My usual lap around the deck after the show. Another sea day tomorrow. 1pm trivia – We had 8 out of 17 and the winners had 14. 1. What is the national animal of Greenland? 2. What was Colombia forced to import for the first time in 2000? 3. Where is Karl Marx buried? 4. What phase of the moon brings a neap tide? 5. What two cities do the street names on the original Monopoly come from? 1. polar bear 2. coffee 3. London 4. half moon 5. Atlantic City and Jersey City 7pm trivia - I had 8 out of 18, the winners had 16. 1. What explosive is created when you mix sulphur, charcoal, and saltpeter? 2. A vicennial is a period of how many years? 3. "Play, Laugh, Grow" is the slogan for which company? 4. What is the largest fish in the ocean? 5. What is a baby koala called? 1. gunpowder 2. 20 3. Fisher-Price 4. whale shark 5. joey