Pirate Drill Day

Ever see a sunrise off the coast of Saudi Arabia? Yep, you have.

Today was the day I’d heard about. From passenger accounts I’d read about on the Internet, I thought it was happening because of the Suez Canal. But as I know from first-hand experience, it isn’t the Suez Canal transit requiring ships to hold anti-piracy drills. It’s the dangerous waters sailed after the Suez Canal (for those heading southbound) or before the Suez Canal (for those heading northbound.) The waters off the Horn of Africa between the countries of Somalia and Yemen. And the waters off the coast of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Strait of Hormuz.

We weren’t given a lot of information ahead of time about what to expect. We received a notice in our cabin a couple days ago letting us know about the upcoming drill. That the drill was mandatory, and part of the drill would require us returning to our cabins. Then yesterday the Captain told us we’d have a drill coming today, and to look in the Patter for more information. Well, the Patter didn’t tell us much but the time of the drill.

While I don’t feel comfortable sharing all the details of the drill right now, once we are out and away from the waters of concern, I’ll add the details right here. (Click here to read about that day.) I will tell you it was a lengthy multi-step process for both crew and passengers. I will also say, with having a disabled husband, I’ve never been so glad to have a cabin on deck 8 near the stairway.

Something else to be oh-so-happy about? I didn’t throw our load of laundry in the wash before the drill. Have you ever had one of those laundry days when you have absolutely no clean clothes left so you wear your swimsuit since you’re going to the pool anyway? We were there today. Like I’ve said before, we travel light. We share one suitcase and one backpack between the two of us, no matter how long of a trip we have. The suitcase on this 27 day cruise weighed in at the airport check in counter at 37.5 pounds. Yes, the two of us share in the under 38 pound luggage. With so few clothes we can’t wait for the 72 hour free laundry turnaround so we have to do our own. This morning we were down to nothing clean. Nothing. We almost put the wash in before the drill (meaning swimsuit time) but changed our minds. Based on what I had read on the Internet about pirate drills, it should have been okay either way. I was under the impression pirate drills only required passengers to stay in their cabin or right outside their door. As you’ll find out next week after I post the details, you’ll find out why I’m glad I wasn’t wearing my swimsuit during the pirate drill time.

We did get laundry done after the drill and I spent time at the pool for more swimming and more sun. We don’t do Christmas presents but I’ve decided I’m giving myself a present this year. A tan created on a cruise in the Middle East. Who gets a Christmas present like that?

Time changes tonight with us moving an hour forward. This is our second hour forward so far of this cruise, with six (6!) more time changes to go – all moving clocks forward - before we get to Singapore. Yikes. I don’t know how long we can keep up our 6 AM breakfast time with so many hours lost.

Tomorrow we have another sea day. I’ve got some cabin pictures to show you so hopefully the Internet holds out. See you then.

Aqaba, Jordan

Ever see a sunrise over Jordan?

You have my permission to say you have.

I heard a beautiful call to prayer at sunrise this morning. I think it came from here.

Did you know Jordan is bordered by some scary territory? You have Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel and the occupied West Bank to the west.

We can see Israel from the ship.

I was excited to get out and explore Aqaba today. E let me know first thing this morning he was feeling better and ready to go. Based on the amount of coughing and snoring he did last night I had my doubts, but whatever. We were up early as usual (as evidenced by the sunrise photos) and talked about how to dress for the day. He headed off to the spa to take his shower and I spent some time on the Promenade deck watching all the passengers heading to their buses.

There were A LOT of buses today.

We met up back at the cabin at 7:30, the time the shuttles were scheduled to run into the city. I had cell service in the cabin so I looked up our options today. Aqaba has a red city tour bus with scheduled start times. We had some time before the first route began so E took a little lie down and I tried to figure out how much money in which currency to exchange into Jordan Dinars. We had some Euros left (1 EUR = .82 JOD) as well as plenty of US dollars (1 USD = .71 JOD). When I had that decision made, it was my shower time.

When I came out, E was sound asleep. Snoring. Covers pulled up all the way to his chin. Of course, it was necessary for me to wake him up and ask, What the hell? Actually, that’s what I wanted to say but being the good wife I am I instead asked, Are you feeling okay? The breakfast then shower combo + the night’s coughing left him feeling not so great. Ugh.

So I did not dress proper for the day and instead put on a pair of pull on capris, looked in the mirror, grabbed a pair of scissors I had and made a cut in them above the knee.

See, we had both bought a pair of men’s swim trunks for $1 each on a Walmart after-season clearance rack. E wears his as shorts and I figured I’d use mine as swim shorts to cover up my bum in the pool. At $1 I didn’t waste time trying them on at the time. But as I now realize, men’s swim trunks don’t necessarily fit a woman’s body. While I wore them in the pool the other day, they were quite uncomfortable around the hips. Since the weather has warmed up and should continue to be warm for our next few weeks I needed to figure something out. Hence, the chopping of the pull-on capris.

I used a pair of child’s scissors from when my daughter was in first grade (she’s 31 now) and a sewing kit picked up in a hotel probably 20 years ago.  I folded a hem and did a quick whip stitch and presto! A pair of swim bottoms fit for a woman.

Yep, I’m living the glamorous cruise life.

The rest of my day was spent in the pool while I consumed a couple adult beverages. And E slept through all but a half hour of it.

I love private yacht day.

Tomorrow is our anti-piracy drill. By looking at the High Risk Areas and the areas we are sailing, I understand why.

I've circled our high risk areas in black.

Tomorrow is also the first of six straight sea days. I’m not sure what the Internet will look like for those days, but if I have access you know I’ll be right back here with something to say.