At Sea and passing through the Pirate Zone
29th August 2018
Finally, a day of rest.
The last few days have been quite intense and very interesting with long day visits in Egypt and Jordan to some very spectacular Ancient sights. Now we have he opportunity to put our feet up for a few days and enjoy this beautiful ship.
We noticed that the crew have been busy adorning the outside of the promenade deck with razor wire, probably because in a few days we will be passing through the pirate area. Not a mention has been made by the Captain in his daily address but if you go for a walk on the deck it is hard to miss.
Most of the excitement on board for the past several days has been a Norovirus outbreak, which has resulted in all self service food having to be served by staff and endless hand spraying with isopropanol at all restaurant entrances. The pool has been closed also and pumped out, but it will reopen today filled with sea water for the time being.
Everything should return to normal in the next day or so as they appear to have contained the outbreak before it became a major problem.
We went to a lecture on the Arab Revolt in 1917, and the role of the British and French in dividing the Middle East up into the current countries, after the Ottoman Empire had been driven out of the region.
30th August 2018
After a bit of a sleep in and a late breakfast we have dropped into relaxation mode.
In todays midday Captains address he addressed the issue of the razor wire around the ship. From midnight till around 7am tomorrow morning, we will be travelling through the area where pirates are active. We will be meeting up with another vessel at 4pm this afternoon to take on some surveillance equipment and who knows what else, before entering the zone. The captain assures us the everything is under control and there is no need for concern. Somewhere between 6am and 7am tomorrow we will be passing through the narrow entrance to the Red sea between Yemen and Djibouti, before entering the Gulf of Aden.
Finally, a day of rest.
The last few days have been quite intense and very interesting with long day visits in Egypt and Jordan to some very spectacular Ancient sights. Now we have he opportunity to put our feet up for a few days and enjoy this beautiful ship.
We noticed that the crew have been busy adorning the outside of the promenade deck with razor wire, probably because in a few days we will be passing through the pirate area. Not a mention has been made by the Captain in his daily address but if you go for a walk on the deck it is hard to miss.
Most of the excitement on board for the past several days has been a Norovirus outbreak, which has resulted in all self service food having to be served by staff and endless hand spraying with isopropanol at all restaurant entrances. The pool has been closed also and pumped out, but it will reopen today filled with sea water for the time being.
Everything should return to normal in the next day or so as they appear to have contained the outbreak before it became a major problem.
We went to a lecture on the Arab Revolt in 1917, and the role of the British and French in dividing the Middle East up into the current countries, after the Ottoman Empire had been driven out of the region.
30th August 2018
After a bit of a sleep in and a late breakfast we have dropped into relaxation mode.
In todays midday Captains address he addressed the issue of the razor wire around the ship. From midnight till around 7am tomorrow morning, we will be travelling through the area where pirates are active. We will be meeting up with another vessel at 4pm this afternoon to take on some surveillance equipment and who knows what else, before entering the zone. The captain assures us the everything is under control and there is no need for concern. Somewhere between 6am and 7am tomorrow we will be passing through the narrow entrance to the Red sea between Yemen and Djibouti, before entering the Gulf of Aden.
Lunch was a leisurely affair in the main restaurant for a change. The buffet restaurant is hard work lining up for the staff to serve everything as self service is not allowed at the moment.
After lunch we went to a lecture on Islam, and managed to stay awake through most of it. It was a bit dry, but quite informative.
At 4pm, the ship starts to slow down and we see a small vessel approaching from the stern, along the port side. We virtually came to a halt to allow him to come alongside to drop off the "surveillance" equipment that the Captain had advised us about earlier. By the look of some of the packaging, the "surveillance" equipment looks like it would be an effective deterrent to any potential approach by pirates.
Once Alongside, several cases of "surveillance" equipment were transferred on board
The whole operation only took 15 minutes and were soon back on our way. I assume we will transfer the equipment back once we are through the danger zone, some time tomorrow morning.
We have heard that the Norovirus outbreak is over and things are back to normal.
We dined in the main restaurant tonight and have not been invaded by pirates yet, so all is well. One of the waiters did volunteer that there are 3 soldiers on board who are well equipped to deal with any problem.
Time to go to bed and get a good nights sleep and hopefully get a nice view passing through the narrow passage to the Red Sea in the morning, although visibility has been quite limited due to the high humidity haze today.
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