New, from Cochin

Here we are in Cochin, and I have decided to take a vacation!

For those of you who know me, I am usually involved from early morning to late at night with any number of classes, plus playing bridge, and trying to fit in time for laundry, socializing, eating, etc. Every sea day morning I have to be up early enough to get to Yoga at 8 a.m. and our table never leaves the dining room before 23:00 h, and then, sometimes I will still attend some late night gathering (tonight will be a jazz session, preceded by some Indian folkloric show), and at 16:45 I will be leaving for a motorboat ride/sightseeing tour that lasts a few hours. The vacation I mentioned in the first sentence, was because I intended to do some ironing, and then go up to the pool, today. However, it is already 10:45 and I refuse to do anything else, until I have finally finished this blog.

The really big news today, is that Philippe and Gayle plan to join Marlyse and me for the last 12 day segment from Rome to London, and then return with us to Zürich for a few days, so we can all be together for Marlyse’s birthday!

I am hoping to have a new bridge partner starting when we leave Mumbai in a few days. All this segment has been a jumbled mess, as far as my bridge is concerned, and I have usually ended up at the bottom of the ratings. Most of the intermediate players have bolted from the duplicate scene to the social bridge room, which means that the competition is fierce in duplicate, so it is not surprising that I don’t do well. However, when I played the one time with the partner I hope to have during the next segment, we actually came in second. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Two of the ladies at our dining table will be leaving the ship in Mumbai, and so we plan to have a farewell cocktail hour in my stateroom before going to dinner in formal attire, and I have ordered a chocolate cake to be served for our dessert. We are somewhat apprehensive about who will be the replacements, as we have really enjoyed our small group until now.

It was quite interesting during the time we were cruising the Indian Ocean, where there is always a threat from pirates. Some of the precautions, were that a powerful hose was stretched the length of the promenade deck, just in case it would be needed to discourage anyone from boarding in an unorthodox way. There were lots of security people on patrol, also. Fortunately, there was no incident, although it meant that the ship altered its course, and we missed out on visiting the Maldives, and the Sechelles. That, in turn, meant that we had 7 straight day at sea, which accounts for my being glad to be on vacation, today. Otherwise, I am “scheduled” all day long!

Coming back for the third World Cruise, this year, has many advantages, not the least of which is knowing so many passengers from previous years. It is so much more friendly when one is up on deck to be able to join various people for a conversation, and actually meet new people in the same way. I think I have already reported that I have again signed up for another cruise for next year!

I have discouraged people from contacting me on Facebook, mainly because it takes too much time to download, etc.(I only have limited access time for the computer) and it is much easier just to use my email address. That is the same reason that I request not sending me long (mb) cartoons, etc. It is different at home, where I have unlimited use on the internet.

I can’t think of anything else, special, to report, and I do want to go up to the pool, so I may wait to try to send some pictures, because that always seems to cause me problems (and time!)

Hope all is well with all my readers, and do remember that you can contact me on my regular email address. Cheerio!