Barbara J. Hamby

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Ship Ahoy--Part Two

Monday Al rode the tender to shore on Catalina and took the glass-bottom boat tour we had reserved. I was assured the price of my ticket for the tour would be refunded. In addition, there will be no charge for the medical services I received. Paranoia around the Norwalk virus (now known as Norovirus) prompts great generosity on the part of the cruise lines. Free laundry service was offered to us also, if required.

I made certain that Al took the camera to Catalina, but we both forgot to install the batteries first, so--no pictures. He shared his enjoyment of the fish swimming below the boat’s transparent floor when he returned. Al also reported that the highlight of the boat ride, for him, was a seagull mascot that rode along. The skipper reported that the gull took every trip with him and no other birds were allowed. It wasn’t clear whether other critters were shooed away by the boat captain or his seagull first mate.

I napped off and on during the day Monday, watched a movie on TV, and began writing this account of our trip. In late afternoon, Al had dinner. Toward evening I ordered “chicken pot” from Room Service. It was not at all what I expected. A bowl of broth with slivered vegetables and rice accompanied a plate with a large boiled chicken breast and lovely steamed vegetables--bright green, yellow and orange. I couldn’t eat it all, but enjoyed what I could. I had ordered Jello also, but couldn’t eat that until just before bedtime, after numerous card games. During the night, the ship’s clocks were set ahead an hour on the trip from Catalina Island toward Puerto Vallarta, our next destination.

Today, Tuesday, is our first at sea all day. It is cooler than we expected. Reading in a deck chair was chilly without a blanket or beach towel cover. I’M WAITING FOR THE SUN! Any time now will be okay.

I’m reading the first novel of a New Yorker magazine writer and former reporter, Kurt Andersen. I just started, but I’m probably going to be too critical to enjoy it thoroughly. It put me to sleep for a short nap earlier this afternoon. Tonight’s show,Curtain Up,sounds promising. I think we’ll take a chance on it.

Curtain Up was a good presentation, constant singing and dancing of Broadway hits in elegant costumes, but it tried too hard to span the generations to be a totally joyful experience for us. We enjoyed the George M. Cohan songs and some of the later ones, including a couple from Evita, sung by a redhead whose voice was a bit harsh for our taste. In order to keep the lively pace of the program going, the dancers changed costumes in dark corners of the stage in a series of clever, semi-visible moves. The net petticoats displayed during dances were nostalgic for me. I had one very much like those more than forty years ago.

On Wednesday morning, Al was up early, but I slept through breakfast and got up just in time for lunch. I chose carefully from the predominantly Mexican menu, but had a small reaction to something I ate. After lunch, I read in a deck chair and listened to the sound of the ship slicing through the sea. Wearing shorts and bundled in a beach towel, I was barely warm enough. I missed seeing the whales we passed because I was too slow focusing on the spots pointed out by other passengers. Of course, I had neither binoculars or a camera with me.

Later, on my way back to the cabin, I stopped to watch a line dance lesson in progress in one of the lounges. They were playing Elvira, which I like, but it always replays in my head for hours after I hear it. A couple I’d met at breakfast on Tuesday, stopped by and visited for a few minutes. We talked about taking pictures and she mentioned the difficulty of catching motion with digital cameras. Since our digital camera is very new and unfamiliar to us, when we talked about it later, Al and I decided to take both it and the older style camera I brought when we’re out and about.

In mid-afternoon I had a nap while Al played free cell on this laptop. We decided to skip the piano program this evening, as well as the Liar’s Club program offered and play cards instead.

We just returned from dinner. I was able to find very light food and managed not to eat too much of it. Some of the dangerous dishes such as vegetable curry, and Creole rice, were very tempting, however. Al had tracked down the ice cream counter in the afternoon and brought me a strawberry sundae. The ice cream soothed my stomach. Ice cream was a choice for dessert at dinner also, which I indulged.

We didn’t get around to playing cards Wednesday night, but attempted to view our digital pictures on the computer. We discovered that some software that came with the camera should have been downloaded to the computer to make that possible. We were able to look at them on the camera, however.

Overnight, Dawn Princess maintained a South Easterly track paralleling Baja California on our journey towards Puerto Vallarta.

We arose early Thursday morning and boarded a tender at around 8:30 a.m. to go into Puerto Vallarta in the State of Jalisco. A bus took us through the downtown area and through the smaller town of Ixtapa, to a tequila factory where we watched a demonstration of converting agave plants into high-quality tequila that sells for between $100. and $150. a bottle in our country.

At approximately 10:00 a.m. we were sampling six or eight varieties of tequila, including plain, aged, almond flavor, strawberry flavor, etc. Our guide assured us it was 5:00 p.m. somewhere.

The guide talked us through the process of “manufacturing” tequila. The long spiky leaves on the agave plant are removed in a matter of seconds by a skilled laborer with a special, sharp-bladed tool; the plant is then chopped up and cooked in two processes. After that the liquid is distilled in another two processes. Part is bottled immediately and some is aged for six to nine months before bottling. Almost all the flavored tequilas were too sweet for our tastes, but the almond was my preference. On the grounds of the tequila factory were horses, goats, ostriches, geese, parrots, and guinea hens. There were also many lovely blooming flowers and plants--reds, yellows, and one tree with blossoms that resemble orchids. We took a few pictures of them.

On the way back to Puerto Vallarta, we had a ten-minute photo stop in Ixtapa where Al snapped a couple of pictures. Back in the downtown area, the bus passengers separated, some to shop, some to tour a cathedral. We chose to look around the town.

While we were walking the crowded streets, we got thirsty and walked into No Name Bar. A perky barmaid, who looked Mexican, but spoke with no accent, took a shine to us and took pictures of us with our camera. I noticed another barmaid was wearing a Super Bowl Sunday tee shirt. My diet coke was served in the can with a glass of ice cubes on the side. I stuck a straw in the can, ignored the ice, and drank it warm. Al’s beer was chilled.

Back on the ship, we had a late lunch, and I had a long nap. Al took in a comedy show in the early evening, which he enjoyed so much, he found me and invited me to see the second performance with him. The act defies description, but was very funny and obviously required great concentration and memory. The performer, Dan Bennett, juggled various objects while carrying on a constant and convoluted monologue, with jokes thrown in here and there. His verbal and physical dexterity, as well as his vocabulary, are incredible. I didn’t doubt his statement that he had taught math at a university.