January 18, 2020



At Sea



I worked on my Linus blanket trim before going to bed last night.  I was doing the crab stitch (for the crocheters out there) and when I was finished about three-quarters around, I decided I didn’t like the look so I ripped it out and decided to do a plain single crochet to finish the edge.  I did that during our Sit and Stitch this morning and was much happier with it.  We had a young lady (Alina) join us.  She is a guest of one of the young officers and will be with us until early February.  She is from Belem, Brazil and has just learned to crochet and is working on a Linus blanket.



After finishing my blanket, I went down to the Explorer’s Lounge to turn it in and get some yarn for the next one.  There were at least 25 people there making blankets.



All six of us were present for trivia.  We seemed to have had our peak at the start of the cruise and have been doing fair to middling since.  Today was no exception.  We had 7 out of 15 and three teams tied for the win with 10.

1.Where would you find a “crossbuck”?

2.What is “pub” short for?

3.Culrophobia is the fear of what?

4.How deep is a fathom in feet?

5.On what island is King Arthur buried?

6.Who is the Roman god of fire?

7.How old is the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio – 98 years, 72 years, 104 years?



After trivia I returned to my cabin to sort the yarn for the Linus blanket.  I had decided to get small balls of yarn and do one of the “stash buster” patterns I have done before.  I also used a random stripe generator to determine how many rows of each color to use and where to put them.  I also used my ball winder (doesn’t everyone travel with one???) to make “cakes” out of some of the yarn that was in skeins.



I arrived a little later to lunch than usual (1:15 instead of 1:00) and found few places to sit in the section used for arts & crafts.  Luckily, Kathy and Mike were finishing their lunch and let me have their table.



We made a birthday card in arts & crafts.  After Rio we will have a number of jewelry projects.



I changed for dinner before going to trivia because my travel agency was having a cocktail party.  In the past they had two – on for early sitting and one for main – but they combined them and held it in the Mainstage this year. 

Trivia was one of the strangest I have played.  Usually there are a number of questions where at least one person in the team is fairly confident they know the answer.  Today there was only one question we were confident on.  Sherita was at the cocktail party and Marilyn had to leave early for Mass (Margaret never plays in the afternoon) so we invited Ruth, Cathy, and Bruce to join us.  We ended up with 10 out of 17 and were please we got that many right but the winners had 14.

1.In 1865, which city had the first pay toilets?

2.What unit was designed to be 1/40millionith of the Earth’s circumference?

3.Which European republic is encircled with a 900-mile ring road?

4.What does “pdf” stand for?

5.Where is the highest point in China?

6.In 1933, what activity that involves dancing was banned in the U.S.?

7.Valentina Tereshkova became famous for doing what?



The cocktail party was winding down when I got there at about 5:15 (it ran from 4:30-5:30).  I did get a chance to talk with Stephanie and Linc with whom I ate for half the 2018 world cruise.



After the party I still had over two hours before dinner so I worked some on the blog and started my next Linus blanket.

The usual four were present for dinner.  Billy (our dining room steward) keeps us laughing throughout the meal.



I skipped the show because I needed to finish the blog, go through e-mail (tons and tons of junk), and then go to bed early because I need to be off the ship by 8:30 a.m.  I have a ten-hour tour tomorrow so don’t be surprised if my post for tomorrow is delayed.









Morning trivia



1.railroad

2.Public House

3.clowns

4.6 feet

5.Avalon

6.Vulcan

7.98 years



Afternoon trivia



1.London

2.meter

3.Iceland

4.portable document format

5.Mt. Everest (evidently part of Mount Everest’s peak is above Chinese land even though the base is not)

6.marathon dancing

7.first woman in space

my seventh Linus blanket (I brought six with me that I made at home)

the card we made

Smooth sailing until next time!

Not sure why this did not post yesterday.  Sorry!

January 17, 2020



At Sea



As usual, my morning began with knitting in the Crow’s Nest.  Bonnie, who was on the 2018 GWV, joined us for the first time this cruise.  We discussed our Buenos Aires field trip to Av.Raul Scalabrini Ortiz next week.



All were present for morning trivia but that did not help our score.  We only had 7 out of 15 and the winners had 12.


1.What is the world’s third largest market for beer?

2.Who was Norm’s wife on Cheers?

3.Who invented Arabic numerals?

4.The alcoholic beverage “poteen” comes from which country?

5.What color was Green Lantern’s weakness?

6.From what movie did Duran Duran get their name?



I almost finished my Project Linus blanket before lunch but will have it finished for tomorrow. I will work on it after I finish today’s blog entry.



There was a good Indian menu in the Lido which I enjoyed for lunch.



In arts & crafts we decorated a notebook for keeping papers from the cruise.  Sherita and I sat afterwards and she worked on uploading pictures and I worked on checking opening hours for the yarn shops in Buenos Aires.  Luckily, we are there on Friday because they close early on Saturdays and are not open at all on Sunday.



We did not do much better with afternoon trivia, only having 14 out of 21. Winners had 19.


1.What was the first war that graduates of West Point fought in?

2.What was the biggest city in the US when the first census was taken in 1790?

3.What sport uses plugs and leaders?

4.What newsperson married Maury Povich?

5.Which African country was the setting for the books “Out of Africa” and “The Green Hills of Africa”?

6.What TV show lost Jim Carrey when he became involved in movies? (today happens to be his birthday)

7.Which president made George H. W. Bush CIA director?

8.What is the most frequently chosen dog name that begins with the letter “L”?

9.(worth 2 points) What was the name of Sherlock Holmes landlady?



I have taken to walking back to my cabin after trivia on the outside deck (much more interesting than a corridor of doors).  Today I stood and watched the ocean for about 15 minutes since once again there was not enough time to swim before it got dark.  It was beautiful out on deck without too much wind and the temperature had cooled down since it was near sunset. 



Tonight was our third Gala Night and the theme was “Gold, Glitz, and Gleam” which the “When & Where” (the daily program) described as “a great night to shine for wealth, grandeur, and prosperity.”  The dining room was decorated with gold accents.  We had a special menu and I had the surf and turf as usual.  Before that, though, I had another cold soup which is now my favorite so far.  It was a chilled strawberry bisque and was as good as a milkshake.  There was some talk on Cruise Critic today that the cold soups had mostly disappeared on the non-grand voyages.  The general agreement was that HAL needs to keep the cold soups on all cruises.



After dinner I went to see the pianist, Tim Abel.  He played a little of everything – rock, ragtime, classical, and boogie-woogie.  I think I have seen him before.



When I returned to my cabin there was another pillow gift.  It was an external power bank that can charge three devices at the same time.



One more day at sea before Rio.







Morning trivia

1.Brazil

2.Vera

3.Indians

4.Ireland

5.yellow

6.Barbarella (thanks, Betsy, or I would not have known the answer)



Afternoon trivia

1.War of 1812

2.Philadelphia

3.fishing

4.Connie Chung

5.Kenya

6.In Living Color

7.Ford

8.Lady

9.Mrs. Hudson

the decorated dining room

that's our dining room steward, Billy, with me - he waits on both of my tables

something is wrong with the clock

when this went up the other day, a man asked where did the queue for the zipline start

our pillow gift

my decorated folder from arts & crafts

Smooth sailing until next time!

January 16, 2020



Recife, Brazil



My original plan was to leave the ship by 10:00 to go to Casa da Cultura.  This is a city where we were discouraged from walking around except in large groups but there was a free shuttle to the former prison which now houses craft items in the former cells.  I was here last year on the South American cruise.



I woke up at about 8:50 and about twenty minutes later Sherita called and said her plans had changed and did I want to go around 9:30. I said yes (I always lay out everything I need for the next day so I am ready to go quickly. This was a habit I started when I was still working.) and quickly got ready and met her down by the gangway on Deck A.



In Recife you must take a shuttle to the terminal and then walk through the terminal to catch your transportation for the city.  There is now a money exchange in the terminal so it is not as empty as last year.  Once again there was a band playing and a lady dancing in the terminal to welcome us.



The city did not look much different from last year nor did the Casa da Cultura.  I was hoping to find a dress similar to the one I bought last year (which I now use for a pool cover-up) but there was nothing different.  I did buy two little things that came to just under US$9.



We were back on the ship by 12:30. I changed into my bathing suit and went to the Lido for lunch.



When I got to the pool, Sherita was already in and we talked for about 20 minutes and when she left the pool, I swam my laps.  After 75 minutes in the pool I sat in the sun for half an hour.   I was glad I swam when I did because there were about ten people in the pool when I left.



I had decided to eat early with my other table because there was a game of Scattegories this evening at 8:30 (in the middle of Main Sitting) so after the pool I got ready for dinner before Trivia.



Only Diana, Sherita, and I were present on our team.  We had 11 out of 17 and the winning team had all 17.


1.What company’s logo is a bird named Larry?

2.What type of whale is the heaviest to every exist?

3.What do these words have in common – peep, noon, kayak, dad, and racecar?

4.What is the only country in South America whose name begins and ends with the same letter?

5.Which fictional character keeps a marmalade sandwich under his hat in case of an emergency?

6.Which letter comes next in this sequence – O T T F F S S?

7.Order these flights from longest to shortest – New York City to Hong Kong. Barcelona to Copenhagen, London to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.



Sherita and I went to dinner from trivia.  After dinner Billy, our server, said we would lose another hour tonight.  I thought we had not changed time zones in Brazil last year so I was confused. Turns out someone made a mistake – we do not have a time change.  Hamish repeatedly reminded us that there was no change both before and after the show.   The show tonight was the Amsterdam Entertainers in “That’s Life” with songs from swing and jazz.



Scattegories was in the Crow’s Nest and we had four teams competing.  I played with a group of people I did not know.  We came in last.



When I returned to my cabin there was a note reminding us not to change our clocks.



At sea tomorrow on our way to Rio.



Trivia

1.Twitter

2.blue whale

3.they are palindromes

4.Argentina

5.Paddington Bear

6.E (the letters represent one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight)

7. longest is NYC to Hong Kong, then London to Dubai, then Barcelona to Copenhagen, and the shortest is Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

                                 Welcome to Recife!

         the old prison - as you might guess there was wi-fi

            Below are some views of Recife from the pool deck

Smooth sailing until next time!

January 15, 2020



At Sea



All five of us were at knitting and I was finally able to get a picture of the three Judys.  We discussed what was available in Buenos Aires (yarn wise).



Only five of us for trivia (Diana was not there).  We had 11 out of 15 but the winners had 12.


1.The U.S. flag has more (50) stars than any other.  Which country comes in second with 27 stars?

2.Who holds the record for the most NASCAR wins?

3.Which character in Monty Python and the Holy Grail continually insists, “It’s just a flesh wound.”

4.The English word “guitar” is borrowed from which language?

5.How much was the most money ever paid for a cow at auction – $67,000, $1.3 million, or $950,000?

6.Which animal undertakes the world’s longest migration each year?

Worked on my Project Linus blanket which I should finish by Saturday.

In Arts & Crafts we made a decorative cover for post-it notes.

I sat in the sun and had my afternoon ice cream for about 30 minutes.  Then I went to the Excursions office to ask a question about a tour in Valparaiso.  There were two excursions which were similar but very different in price.  The lady explained the difference and I booked it.  Right across from the office, Glenn-Michael (the lead EXC guide) was answering questions.  I wanted to know if he was going to have an Aussie sing-a-long on Australia Day as he did in 2018.  He said a decision has not yet been made.

Five of us were present for afternoon trivia and we asked a man sitting by himself to join us.  Again, I did not get his name.  We had 12 out of 16 and the winners had 14.

1.What Frenchman approved a stagecoach tunnel between France and England in 1802?

2.What river is mentioned in John Denver’s “Country Roads”?

3.Where would you be if you had a case of the Mercedes Bends?  (Yes, that is spelled correctly.)

4.What was the first TV western in color?

5.Who played the “I” in the “King and I”?  For another point, who played Anna in the remake?

6.What is always the total of four vertical faces of a die?

Because we have been traveling east but with no time change, today’s sunset was 30 minutes earlier than yesterday.  Therefore, I did not have time to swim before dark after trivia.  Instead I did some research on yarn stores in Punta del Este and Montevideo.

Instead of going to the Piano Bar, I went to dinner at 7:45 and there were already quite a few people in the dining room.  We had a special menu prepared by the HAL Culinary Council.

The entertainment was an opera singer.  I did not go.

Recife, Brazil tomorrow and I am going to get off the ship!

Morning trivia

1.Brazil

2.Richard Petty

3.the Black Knight

4.Spanish

5.$1.3 million

6.arctic tern (bird was accepted)

Afternoon trivia

1.Napoleon

2.Shenandoah

3.Hotel California

4.Bonanza

5.Deborah Kerr – remake, Jodie Foster

6.14

 the three Judys - on the 2018 GWV they chose the nicknames (from left to right) Judy Margaret, Judy Lee, and Judy Bob

 the post it note cover (above) and inside (below)

the special menu

we even had special plates

Smooth sailing until next time!

January 14, 2020



At Sea



Two Judys, Sherita, and I were at knitting.  Sherita and I left at about 11:20 for trivia.  Trivia was really hard.  The winning team had 9 out of 15 – we only had 6.


1.How many pounds of candy is sold in the U.S. each Halloween – 300 million, 90 million, or 600 million pounds?

2.What is the chemical element “azote” now known as ?

3.Who was the first explorer to reach the North Pole?

4.What is Nike’s signature symbol called?

5.What is the fear of bees known as?

6.What boxer holds the record for the most career knock-outs?



As has become my habit, I worked on the Project Linus blanket in my cabin before heading to the Lido for lunch at 1 pm.



We had a simple craft today.  We attached a piece of Velcro to an eyeglass cleaner cloth. 



I read for awhile before changing in to swim clothes and heading to the Crow’s Nest for afternoon trivia.  We had a sixth join us (Margaret does not play in the afternoon) but I did not get her name.  We had 9 out of 15 and the winners had 14.


1.What is the capital of Pakistan?

2.What letter can be found on a violin?

3.What kind of wood is traditionally used to make a didgeridoo?

4.In what novel did Hannibal Lecter make his first appearance?

5.Which country produces the most pasta in the world?

6.What is the mathematical sequence of numbers where each number is the sum of the two previous ones?

7.What is the only South American country that has English as its official language?



I went straight to the Sea View Pool after trivia.  The pools were open but the water was sloshing around and I am not a strong enough swimmer to do laps in that.  Instead I did a modified lap that likely took more energy than regular ones.  I swam for a half hour.



Listened to Diane in the Piano Bar before dinner.  People are getting to the dining room earlier and earlier.  I left the Piano Bar at 7:50.  It is about a two-minute walk to my table.  Most of the tables I passed on the way had already had food served!  It was Brazilian night and some of the dishes were Brazilian favorites.  We were each given a feather boa upon arrival in the dining room.  They were molting badly and there was a trail of feathers from the dining room to the Mainstage.



The show was “multi-instrumentalist” Mark Donoghue.  Tonight he played only the violin, piano, and harmonica because two of his suitcases did not get to Belem yesterday.  I am fairly certain I have seen him before on a ship.  He was very good.



When I returned to my cabin there was a note that our stop at Benoa, Bali had been extended to an overnight call.  This will allow the Indonesian crew more time to visit with families and friends.



Another day at sea tomorrow.



Morning trivia

1.600 million

2.nitrogen

3.Perry

4.swoosh

5.melissophobia (from the Greek) - apiphobia is from the Latin and is also correct although it was not counted for trivia – of course, that was our answer

6.Archie Moore (who??????)



Afternoon trivia

1.Islamabad

2. F

3.eucalyptus

4.The Red Dragon

5.USA

6.Fibonacci

7.Guyana

Mark Donoghue

Brazilian boa

eyeglass cleaner cloth

Smooth sailing until next time!

January 13, 2020



Belem, Brazil



It’s Summer!  Shortly after midnight we crossed the Equator and left winter behind.  When we next cross into the Northern Hemisphere we will be moving into spring although we will not stay long before heading back into autumn.



Before going to bed last night, I did some research about the port.  Although I had been here last year, we actually tendered into Belem not Icoaraci.  The tenders were going to take 20 minutes or so to get into the port and then at least 45 minutes for the shuttle to get into the drop-off point in Belem – Docas Station.  I took an excursion last year that took us to most of the important places in Belem.  I had planned to go to the large market, Ver-o-Peso, although our guide last year mentioned it was someplace where you had to take care and probably should not go alone.  Sherita had walked over there last year and said it was not that great.  I decided it was too much effort for the result and would stay on the ship.  You can give me a big, fat “F” on my tourism skills so far!



I worked on my Project Linus blanket for some time and then went down to sit by the pool and read until lunch service opened.  I had not yet tried the taco bar this cruise so today was the perfect day to do so.



There were very few people left on the ship and the Lido was practically empty as I walked through to get to the Sea View pool.  I swam and did water aerobics for 75 minutes.  It drizzled for a short time while I was swimming and when I got out it was fairly cloudy so I went back to my cabin to get ready for trivia and dinner.



Only Sherita and I were present for trivia so we joined with Janet’s team.  We had 10 out of 15 and the winners had 11.

1.What empire was once ruled by Montezuma II?

2.In what martial arts do the athletes salt the ring?

3.What was the very first Beatles single?

4.What is the primary food source for mosquitoes that do not lay eggs?

5.Which element has the atomic number 4?

6.What oceans border Siberia?



I ate with my other table tonight because they were going to have “Game Night” during Main Sitting.  I had another really good cold soup.  I hope they continue throughout the cruise.  Tonight’s had grapes, cucumber, and celery.



I went with my “other” tablemates Sherita, Lenny, and Bonita to the show.  It was the singers and dancers “Salsamania”.  I must admit I almost fell asleep a couple of times.



After the show I went to the Crow’s Nest for Game Night at 8:30.  About 25 people showed up and we played two games.  In the first game two people tried to come up with the same answer to a question.  We played five rounds and no points were scored.  The second game was called “Dynamic Duos”.  They showed pictures of two people and the players had to name the movie they were in together.  The “Starboard” side team trounced the “Port” team.  The games were over before 9 pm.  I think they could have made it 45 minutes long and played one more game.

If you would like to see my post from Belem in 2019, here is a link. https://2019halgv.blogspot.com/2019/03/march-25-2019-belem-brazil-too-much.html




At sea again tomorrow.





Trivia

1.Aztec

2.sumo wrestling

3.Love Me Do (team did not believe me)

4.nectar

5.beryllium

6.Pacific, Arctic

We had to use the local river boats instead of our tenders

fire department

Iocari and a shuttle bus

Iocari is a fishing village

local boat

Rumor on deck was that a dead body floated by the ship.  Might be true since the rescue boat came out.  I saw something floating but could not identify it.

Smooth sailing until next time!

January 12, 2020



At Sea



Four of us at knitting this morning (missing one Judy).  Sherita and I stayed until about 11:30 and then left for trivia.  Margaret has rejoined our team.  We did not do very well with only 8 out of 15.  The winners had 11.


1.In Greek literature Chronos is the personification of what?

2.Which famous composer has two skulls in his tomb?

3.What author wrote his last novel in crayon?

4.What is the only human organ that can float in water?

5.What is the study of grass called?

6.How many official different flavors of jelly beans are there? (answer is between 40 and 60)



After trivia I worked on my Project Linus blanket for about 30 minutes and then headed to the Lido for lunch. 



In Arts & Crafts we had two projects.  First, we made a sea turtle fabric basket (the sewing was done, all we had to do was fold it and add the decorative buttons.  Then we made sea turtle earrings.  The two projects took a little over an hour and I had time for a cookie and to read a chapter in my book before heading to the Crow’s Nest to get a spot for trivia.



We had the Bridge instructor join us for trivia since his team had grown to seven (no more than six per team).  We had 13 out of 15 and the winning team had 14.


1.What is the softest mineral on the Mohs Scale?

2.What do sufferers of epistaxis suffer from?

3.In what country’s original language was it referred to as Aeteoroa?

4.What is the culinary term for a starter made of butter and flour?

5.What is the capital of Ethiopia?

6.Who wrote Madame Butterfly?

7.Which country consumes the most chocolate per capita?


By the time trivia was over and we finished talking it was too late for me to swim before sunset so I worked on my Project Linus blanket some more.



I went to hear Diane in the Piano Bar for a bit before dinner.  For some reason the dinner chimes ring at 7:45 and the dining room opens.  I have been arriving right before 8:00 (the official start of Main Dining) and have been the last one, so tonight I arrived at 7:50.  Our usual four were there.



John Bressler was the entertainment in The Mainstage tonight.  I had seen his show a few nights ago and enjoyed it so I went to see his second show.  He is a piano player and singer with a raspy voice.



Belem, Brazil tomorrow.



Morning trivia

1.time

2.Haydn

3.James Joyce

4.lungs

5.agrostology

6.50



Afternoon trivia

1.talc (my team did not believe me)

2.nose bleeds

3.New Zealand

4.roux

5.Addis Ababa

6.Puccini

7.Switzerland (22.3 pounds per year)

We received a note from King Neptune today

My window has a bit of a leak when it hard.  We had a real downpour this morning.

The fabric basket

The turtle earrings – I may remove the beads at the bottom because they are a little too long on me.  

John Bressler





Smooth sailing until next time!