Crossing The Equator

It’s been pouring rain since last evening with no end in sight – a very nice change – much cooler! I’ll take this opportunity to update you on our last port before sharing our festive crossing of the Equator..

 

The stories of Ujung Pandang continued this morning. Several folks who took the walking route we INTENDED to take but decided otherwise, were robbed. They lost jewelry, wallets, purses, & backpacks. We are frequently warned prior to arriving in some of these less privileged ports to remove all accessories. Some folks just don’t understand. We always remove our wedding rings & watches, locking them in our stateroom safe. I usually where a cheap $15 watch, just to be sure we don’t lose track of time. Had we been robbed yesterday, the most we would have lost is about $40, a couple cameras, sunscreen, and a bottle of water. The only items that would have been both a security concern and hassle to replace – driver’s licenses. Again, very fortunate we turned back when we did.

 

We were to celebrate the second crossing of the Equator this morning at 10am with a large party on deck #8, complete with the comical ritual of the Captain sacrificing a few members of the ship’s staff to King Neptune in return for safe passage & smooth waters. We attended the event last year, took several photos (posted elsewhere) and generally had a good time. We intended to go this morning as well, and we secured a table around 8:30 right in the middle of the expected activities. Since it was pouring rain, the sliding roof opening to an observation walkway on deck #9 couldn’t be opened to handle overflow crowds, so everyone migrated to deck #8. You already know where I’m going with this. It didn’t matter if you had chairs, tables, or how long one had waited/guarded your viewing area, good manners, protocol, and general manners were thrown overboard by dozens of passengers. Tell me…just how polite is it to stand directly in front of people comfortably seated trying to enjoy a show? Apparently, to many rude, discourteous people, it’s perfectly acceptable. After 15 minutes, we gave up our ‘front row’ table – we couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and at that point, couldn’t have cared less. We’re now in our stateroom – I at my laptop, Cheryl reading, with the rain downpour continuing. Lunch in 1 hour…after all, it’s been 3 hours since breakfast!

That said, here's what we were able to capture amidst the crowds.