Around the World Again

Luanda, Angola – April 10, 2018

Once again my morning did not go as planned. My tour did not leave until 1 pm so originally I was going to walk to the vendors which were supposed to be a ship length away. It was announced this morning that they were actually a mile away. A two-mile walk did not appeal before an excursion. It was also announced that there would be a shuttle but it was for physically handicapped. (I later found out anyone could ride it). So, I made a quick change of plans.

First of all, I went out on my deck to get a few pictures. There were people down on deck 3 putting down tape that read “145”. Joe, the photographer from Brazil, was out there directing them and I asked him why they were doing it. He said they were going to take a photo but did not elaborate why. I left to go to the pool. I haven’t been swimming in ages and my feet were starting to swell so time in the pool was needed.

After I had been swimming for about 10 minutes it was announced that all crew taking part in the video to go to the front deck. Since I had seen them setting up I needed to see what they were going to do. Out of the pool and back down to my deck. People from all the different departments were streaming out onto the deck. The event manager, Mark, was in a lemur costume and someone else was in another costume. They were taught a short dance which they practiced a few times and it was videoed. They then stood on the tape saying “145” with colored squares of paper (I didn’t quite understand the significance of the paper).

After it was over I went back to swimming. I had an early lunch sitting by the pool before getting ready for my excursion.

Angola was once a colony of Portugal and Portuguese is still the main language and the influence can be seen in various places. They became independent in 1975 but then there was a long and costly civil war. Most people live in poverty, the water is bad (we were warned to not even wash our hands in it), and electricity is intermittent (many of the buildings have a/c units but they don’t work our guide told us). Despite this, Luanda is the most expensive city in the world and it is reported that a gallon of ice cream costs about US$30. We were also warned not to wander around alone but to go in groups.

I chose “The Changing Faces of Luanda” which was three hours long. The tourist policy was to have a police escort so we had a police car and a motorcycle policeman leading our convoy and an ambulance bringing up the rear. The police would stop traffic for us when we had to cross the street.

We started out with a drive to the Iron Palace which supposedly was designed by Gustave Eiffel. The next stop was at the church Igreja Nossa Senhora dos Remedios finished in the early 1700s. From there we stopped at the National Museum of Anthropology. Our next stop was at the Fortress of San Miguel built in 1576. It was once used to hold slaves that were going to be sent to Brazil. Today it houses the Museum of the Armed Forces. It also houses a series of ceramic tiles that show the early history of Angola as well as some statues of famous people from the early years of the colony. The last stop was at the Mausoleum of the first president of the country, Antonio Agostinho Neto. The building was a gift from the Russians.

On the ride back to the ship we passed many new buildings, including the National Assembly building which has only been open a few months. It, like many other new buildings, was built by the Chinese. We have seen a number of developing nations that have had major projects that were financed by the Chinese.

A cold Coke was in order when I returned while waiting for afternoon trivia. Before trivia I asked Amanda what the video was for. She said HAL was having a contest for all of the ships in honor of the anniversary. There is a cash prize involved. We had 12 correct but three teams tied with 13.

1)The 1914 Eagle was the first example of what from the Rolls Royce factory?

2)Alexander Parks “parkesin” is the first example of man-made what?

3)What is the only non-European country to win the World Cup in the 1980s?

4)What element is in sea water and its name comes from the Greek for violet?

5)Ezra Warner patented what 45 years after the invention of canned foods.

For dinner I had carpaccio of beef tenderloin, a Caesar salad, a shrimp and scallop sambuca (only two shrimp and two scallops in the dish), and a butterscotch sundae for dessert.

The show was a jazz singer which I skipped.

Wishing my daughter a very happy birthday.

Five sea days ahead.

From my deck...