March 5

Today is a “free day.”  We decided to invite a friend, Sally, to join us on an excursion to a shopping street. She’s a solo traveler and usually doesn’t get off the ship so it seemed to make sense. Karla grabbed us a “Grab”….read uber…and we footed the one dollar charge for the ride. One of the swarming taxi drivers would have done it for $20. We arrived at Armenia Street and Sally and Karla were able to buy some things and get pictures of and with street art. Lots of street art here.

Once we were finished, Sally and I arranged a trishaw to get a tour that ended at the ship. The driver had a routine that really wasn’t all that interesting to us. He wanted to stop at lots of street art for pictures. Sally didn’t want pictures. This bothered our “peddler” as he wanted to rest 8-10 minutes at each stop. We encouraged him to just go to the ship and that worked. Back at the terminal, where there are clothing and craft stalls, Sally found sandals she was looking for. A successful excursion.

While Sally and I were touring, Karla and her friend, Sandy, went for massages. Interesting that some spas offered a tan removal service, as white skin is highly valued– cosmetics are geared to whiteness as are billboards and other advertising.

x

It’s time for a few cruise/ passenger updates:

   -We were just notified of a couple itinerary updates. That happens for all sorts of reasons. In one case, a shore excursion company wasn’t delivering as Viking expects. The larger one was to skip Zanzibar. They evidently are not allowing people from Mombasa to enter because of a fear of cholera. That means an extra day in Mombasa and at sea. That’s fine, although we don’t know what to expect from cholera in Mombasa. We took the opportunity to book an overnight at Tsavo East National Park (game park) and will stay in the Park (hotel) and then do game drives both days that we are there.

   -We heard that several people were asked to leave the ship. (Viking doesn’t reveal details so we’re operating on rumor.) In one case we heard of a fight in the laundromat. People get a sort of “laundromat rage” in trying to balance the use of 4 washers and dryers. We see some aggressive behavior, but it has fallen short of fights. Apparently, there are cameras in the laundry rooms.

    A second example was a woman who we’ve seen pushing her husband around in a wheelchair. She evidently expects our tour guides (local citizens) to lift/carry her husband up the bus stairs to a seat. She reportedly melted down when a guide wouldn’t do it. We’re told that they were asked to leave. Parenthetically, we were sitting behind a male passenger who had serious mobility problems. I tried to help him up, but he was heavy. A Viking crew member eventually carried him down the the 3 steps. He was successful and I avoided any liability problems. Most passengers understand their limitations and make it easy on the rest of us.

   -There are periodic health problems with our fellow travelers. Decisions have to be made about visiting local hospitals and then about whether to get required or advisable surgery. We had a friend on a previous cruise who broke a hip at the pyramids. She got “repaired” at an Egyptian hospital and returned to the trip in a week. Most passengers are concerned about getting an operation  in a foreign hospital and consider leaving the cruise. We know one couple who left when the wife needed knee arthrosopic surgery and opted to return to the US for the surgery. In lots of cases the “foreigners” are perfectly competent and the conditions can be equal to or better than their home country. But, we all have preconceptions.

   We are on the cruise to experience different countries and cultures. There are always changes and Viking does its best. There are lots of travelers who are looking to be cared for and expect and appreciate certainty. Changes can be bothersome to some, but it’s part of the package.