Day Three at Sea

Last evening’s sunset was wonderful- golden and red and beautiful! We went for our first time to dinner at the Italian restaurant Sette Mari (means Seven Seas in Italian) located on Deck 11. We had not tried it before because some of it is a buffet, and we just would prefer being served. In this case, the appetizers were delivered to the table, the salad course was a buffet, the first and second plates were ordered from the menu and delivered to the table, and the dessert course was a buffet. But there were no long lines and the restaurant was quiet. The food was very, very good. We’ll do this again, I would expect.

Another glorious day at sea- the Red Sea to be exact.

 We are exiting the Red Sea and sailing into the Gulf of Aden. The captain just did his noon report where he informed us of all the important nautical statistics- longitude, latitude, speed, wind velocity and wave size. Doesn’t mean too much to me. As I look at the map I can tell exactly where we are.

What did mean something and provoked a chuckle from both of us was his caution that when we turn the corner headed by Yemen toward Oman the seas and wind will increase, so if we are "inclined to be susceptible to the sea" we should take “proper precautions.” Thank goodness we are normally not bothered by sea motion….hope I didn’t just jinx us with that comment.

Jade

The Red Sea divides Africa and Asia and stretches from the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba in the north to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea in the south at the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden.

Wilbert

Translated from the Arabic “Bab el Mandep” means “Gate of Grief.” Have no idea why. Today because we knew we’d be passing close to the coast of Yemen and far away- so to speak- from the coast of Somalia- we have watched the rotating maps on the TV to check our progress. Faintly in the distance we can see Yemen.

The Red Sea is important in the three major world religions- Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the Bible in the book of Exodus the Red Sea is mentioned as the important escape route when the Israelites led by Moses escaped Pharaoh’s army as Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea. Therefore it is also an important part of God’s story for those with Judeo-Christian roots. Historically, the Red Sea has also been known as the Sea of Mecca, especially by pilgrims traveling to Mecca, located close to Saudi Arabian coastline about halfway down the Red Sea.

The Red Sea is supposed to be alive with all sorts of sea life, including 44 species of sharks and 1,240 miles of coral reefs but it has been disappointing to us to see no signs of sea or bird life as we have sailed along. The lecturer said that between Salalah and Muscat on that day at sea we should see lots of sea life. Hope that is true- we'll sure we watching.

There are two lecturers on the ship. The Enrichment Lecturer, Tiiu Lukk, describes the history, art, customs and other interesting facts. She is not so interesting in person so we often watch her on the TV. The other lecturer is a former NASA Engineer who has been talking about the US SPace Program. Jim has found his lectures interesting.

Last evening we were to move the clock forward another hour. Now we are on the same time as Dubai and are 9 hours ahead of the east coast and 10 hours ahead of Central Time. They are so careful to set the clocks to the correct time on the ship. Our wonderful Cabin Stewards, Wilbert and Jade, set the clock ahead for us last night. This morning on the TV the Ship’s Time was an hour behind. I called Reception to be sure we were right, and the young man was surprised that the system had not been adjusted. In about 10 minutes it was correct.

Coast of Yemen

We had room service breakfast and are having a wonderful, peaceful day reading and chatting about all sorts of things.