Columbian Emeralds

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Today was another early-to-rise Day in the Lido. My mother announced, “I just want a waffle…” and I thought, “Wow, she’s learned to use the singular to get just one!” She continued, “…but…” You knew there had to be a but. “No fruit today! And some oatmeal… with bananas…” Hmm, I won’t say anything. When I returned with the oatmeal and banana and I had remembered to also get the brown sugar and Sharon was working on the waffle, I hear, “I need milk… and coffee! I need milk for my oatmeal and coffee for my breakfast!” Sigh! Sharon arrives with the waffle (with syrup) and she gets greeted with, “I want a donut!” Say what… where did that come from? I find time to squeeze in some cold cuts, cheese and a couple almond rolls. We’re seated in the center section at the forward section of the Lido by the mid-ship elevators. A “Caution Wet” sign warns of a slippery floor, and we notice water dripping from the ceiling. We wondered if these we a continuation of the leaks we’d seen on the Zuiderdam in the fall; although, so far we hadn’t noticed any up in the Exploration Lounge. It did however seem to us that they’d replaced the carpet up there. As I sat down my chair nearly gave way, but I was able to catch myself. I set it aside and let one of the crew know of the problem. A steward took it away and a replacement came immediately.

We met in the Vista Lounge for tours to be dispatched. We were the fourth early tour of the day but our bus was all the way to the end… busses 6 and 7. The aviary was about a 45 minutes from the ship… no traffic on Sunday morning. There is another aviary close to the ship. The aviary that we are visiting is the largest aviary in South America, and it has only been opened since the beginning of February 2016. Located on an island, the largest one in Colombia, it is isolated in a very rural area. There was heightened security on the bridge we drove to cross over to the island, and our bus and the one we were travelling with needed to pull to the side while our documentation and passenger manifests were checked by the authorities. We had two tour guides, a bus driver and a tour group official travelling with us, as did the other bus. We arrived at the aviary and they gave us each a bottle of water to take with us on today’s nature walk through the aviary grounds, and they sprayed us with a Deet-based mosquito repellant. We’d already put on what we’d gotten at the aloe farm; but, we didn’t mind the extra protection. Many took the opportunity to take a restroom break once through the entrance. There was a large canopied open-sided archway structure that you might expect to see at the entrance of the Tiki-House in the Magic Kingdom, only the perched macaws here and the ones flying about the rafters were real. Beyond that, and in front of the restrooms were some trees with limbs, and some man-made perches in an area you could approach from all sides and view the many macaws perched and observing the sparse crowds this morning. Around the corner a peacock was spreading its tail and putting on quite a show as we listened to the cacophony of this pseudo-jungle enclave. These birds are maintained and supported in the open and they have no barriers keeping them here; but, that is not true of all of the birds in the aviary. We walked through a cave into the first enclosed area, and had viewing slots behind a waterfall to see the pool below as we stepped into a jungle environment where many smaller birds of the jungle were maintained. There were many colorful birds that could be spotted among the lush green foliage. The guide had told us in the bus that this was Colombia’s dry season, and the country is currently experiencing a drought. Last year’s El Nino effect here was the worst in a century, and the daytime temperatures this time of year were 45 degrees Celsius (that’s 113 degrees Fahrenheit) so I guess we felt lucky today despite the oppressive humidity. But the outside brownness was not apparent in this refuge for the many exotic birds. Our guide said that there are just two seasons in Colombia, the Hot Season; and, the Hotter Season… he laughed and said no… The Dry Season and the Wet Season… and the Wet Season is just two months: November and April.

There were a variety of environments that had been created for the many birds, from desert with cactus to Amazon waterside bayous with mangrove trees. There was a large population of flamingos feeding in the brackish water maintained for their needs. We saw a large eagle with its massive nest of sticks above our fenced in walkway perched in a tree in its private enclosed environment. The whole walking tour through the aviary took about two hours. At the halfway spot there was a rest area, where refreshments were available for purchase, and there was also a single restroom facility (one for the señors and one for the señoras).

Perhaps the highlight of this tour was the chance to see the Condor. It and its mate whom we did not see shared an enclosure with a number King Hawks. Both of these birds are vultures. The Condor of course is quite a bit larger in its black with some white markings. We got a chance to see it spread its wings and with a couple flaps hop from the rock he’d been resting on to a more prominent perch above the cave where he nested. The walk through the aviary is over a combination of dirt trails and wooden walkways. It begins with a slight switchback raised incline that leads to that first cave; but, for the most part the walking is level. There were a couple families on our tour with small children and they seem to do fine. And my 85-year old mother made the walk; but, you definitely need to carry water. And this would be no place for scooters, wheelchairs or walkers. The humidity is almost overwhelming and I can’t imagine what it would be like with temperatures in the 100’s. I’m sure that they would do a very brisk business at that half-way stations selling their $2 mango slushies.

One humorous moment came when one of the youngest people on this Holland America tour asked the tour guide a question. We were in a habitat prepared for some storks. A young family of four was in our group. The oldest boy, who was about six or seven wanted to know if these were the storks that bring the babies. The bemused guide looked to the parents for help, and asked “What do you want me to say?”

The suburbs were more alive and bustling on our return. We’d need to rush to make Team Trivia. Sharon headed straight to the Dive-In to order two plain burgers for her and my mom and a Back-Flip Chicken for me with everything. She also got two orders of fries. I took my mom to the cabin where we changed our soaked shirts, I needed a new hat as well, and we went up to the Dive-In. Before the elevator I remembered all of the things that I’d forgotten: The pens for Sudoku and Trivia, my phone and stylus, my mother’s glasses… We got to the Dive-In as Sharon was asking a couple at the neighboring table to save the table she was at for her while she went and got the order as her pager was beeping. The fellow gave her such the “stink-eye” like “Ma’am we haven’t been introduced, how presumptuous of you to speak so directly to me in front of my wife…” or at least, the way he was dressed gave one the impression that he would have said something like that. Sharon was recovering from the rebuff and I arrived and helped my mother to the table.

We had to rush through lunch to get to Trivia. I got my Mother some ice cream then rushed up to the Crow’s Nest. Sharon took her back to the cabin after she finished her ice cream and Sharon finished her burger. Even though we did rush, Sharon’s rushing without working choppers isn’t so swift when it comes to eating. She’s afraid the dentist she saw for the soft liners may be right and she may need another pair made to get a better bite, something she’d said happens 10% to 20% of the time.

Trivia started a bit late, and Simon said he had to rush through the game to get to where he needed to be in thirty minutes. “How many U.S. presidents have been assassinated?” Well, 8 have died in office; four of them by gunshot wounds from assassins… Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy. Simon was trying to stump us with Las Vegas questions! Imagine that! “What city has the most wedding chapels per capita?” I’m wondering if that “per capita” part that he added is correct or if he perhaps should have left off those last two words. Anyway, we knew what he was getting at. “What Las Vegas casino has a 54 foot erupting volcano in front of it?” As Sharon would say, “That would be the Mirage!” And we’d just gotten done watching “The Sound of Music” with Sharon’s mom, so we knew how many Von Trapp children there were. And Sharon came up with the answer to a sports question that should make her brother Paul proud: “In 1911 how many points would you get for scoring a touchdown?” We were guessing it probably wasn’t six! Sharon suggested five! We however did not know what Tom Cruise’s surname was! It turns out that his name is Tom Cruise Mapother IV. We also faltered on, “What Middle Eastern city’s name means ‘God’s Gift’”? We should have come up with Baghdad. “What is it in popcorn that makes the popcorn go pop?” Our scribe Margo suggested air. Sharon thought it was air. I was supporting moisture. And our fourth player (from the last two days) also thought it was air; but, she said, why don’t we go with his answer because he’s usually right. I don’t know what gave her that idea, but in this case I was… and we got the point! Nobody came up with the 7 point bonus question, and shame on me because it’s a repeat question: “Name the Seven Deadly Sins.” Now I simply have to remember “WASP LEG”… Those sins would be: W-rath, A-varice, S-loth, P-ride, L-ust, E-nvy and G-luttony. And hope that whoever grades your answer sheet knows that avarice and greed are the same thing! We came in second again.

We decided to let my mother rest and recover some from today’s tour, and we hit the casino. Sharon had another date with Fisherman Bob and I joined that lonely dealer at Fun-21. I can’t fathom why people were piled in to play with 6-to-5 payouts for blackjack! I soon have a couple people playing with me at the table, and I’m winning some and losing some, but staying fairly close to even. Sharon stops by and says that she won a $100 from Bob, and was retiring to the cabin. I play on for quite some time, never quite getting back to even. I see that it’s after 3:00 PM and we all have a date for 4:00 PM Bingo (and it’s my turn to buy the cards). Around 3:30 I win 3 hands in a row including a small blackjack and I see that I’m $7 ahead. I tip the dealer $1 and cash in my chips. I won!

We get a good center table for Bingo and I wait for the line to thin before buying the cards. I return and just give my mother her card and Sharon her card and there is no cherry-picking the cards, the way Sharon likes to do. The first game is a small postage stamp without the FREE SPACE. My mom would have gotten to stand, but someone called Bingo before she could give the Royal Wave. We’re using the Royal Wave again today because the ship is rolling a bit through the seas. For the small-X using the FREE SPACE it was Sharon who got to give the Royal Wave, as she only needed G-53 (the lucky number she won with on the Zuiderdam crossing the Atlantic); but alas, someone else did her one better and shouted out Bingo. The final game was another that I don’t recall ever playing on Holland America: The G-O game. You might think that getting two vertical Bingos might take a long time; but, the caller is calling only G’s and O’s. Needless to say someone called Bingo pretty darn quickly. And we weren’t even in the running when it came to the jackpot blackout Bingo!

After the game we escorted my mom back to the cabin; and, then we went off to find the Future Cruise consultant and book our Fall New England cruise at a time to see the colors change (hopefully). Sharon’s coordinated with her siblings and we’re hopeful Dennis and Erin will be able to join us for the cruise. We used our credit from the Nieuw Amsterdam for the three missed ports on the second 12-day leg of our cruise. Combined, it saved us about $500 credit for a cruise booked within 12 months. Well, now we’ve done that.

Mother wanted to sit at a table with just the three of us tonight. I encouraged her to the the phyllo with cheese; but, she didn’t care for it. I had the Thai shrimp soup which is no one of my favorites on Holland America. Mother and I also both had the featured salad with blue cheese, and she actually ate most of hers. Sharon had apple vichyssoise and she finished all of hers as well. I had the Thai Fish Soup and it was quite nice as well. It was a saffron infused blend of various seafood in a tasty coconut milk based broth. Mother tried the chicken scaloppini while Sharon went with the prime rib off the grown-ups menu (No “Special Meals” tonight). Mother had the fruit plate while Sharon and I both had the chocolate cake. And how could I resist tonight’s cordial of banana liquor with white crème de cacao and amaretto? It was quite good; except, from the waiter to the bar steward two cordials showed up and two charges were made to my card. They wanted me to keep the charge on my card and then get another cordial the next evening with no charge then (as if I know that I will want one the next evening when this is the first I’ve had on this cruise). She promised that the charge would be removed from my card… we’ll see.

There was no show this evening and mother wanted to go back to her cabin. I dropped her off there, and Sharon and I went to the Casino where she had a date with Fisherman Bob. My Fun-21 table was waiting for me so I sat down at my favorite first base spot. In a bit a couple of people sat down, and the would play through forty dollars or one hundred dollars, and on the first cruise in a long time I haven’t noticed any particularly objectionable or obnoxious players. Maybe they’re the ones at the blackjack table with the 6:5 odds which always seems to have three or four players. Things were going quite normally and I reached the point where I would press; and, things went terribly wrong. I lost a string of hands and had to pull back to my minimum bet. I hate when this happens. And thing remained poor for all players for some time, and there was quite a bit of turnover at the table. I finally started winning my share of the hands; so, I bought some more chips. I won my first larger bet. I pulled back and lost and then pressed again. And then I had another run of bad cards. I had a large bet, doubled down against a weak dealer up-card, and wound up losing with 19. I really hate when that happens. I soon found myself at my next stop-loss limit, and again it was a good thing that I’d pulled back to my minimum bet, where again it was quite some time before I started winning my share of the hands. I took a deep breath, bought some more chips, and knew that things had better turn around soon. Sharon stopped by and said that Fisherman Bob had obliged with two $100-plus payouts. She hadn’t gotten any jackpots or any big bonus-games, she’d gotten some good results from the spin! She asked how I was doing and I acknowledged, not so good at the moment. She was headed to the Queen’s Lounge where the piano bar player had a special show. I told her I probably wouldn’t be able to join her, and she left. I got 20 on the first hand where I started pressing again; but, the dealer made 21 as they sometimes do. I made a slightly larger bet on the next hand and wound up with 17 against dealer’s face card. Things weren’t looking good until the dealer turned over a four, and then busted with an eight. I took a chance to catch my breath with a $5 bet, and I lost. I put out a large bet and got an eleven against dealer’s 8. I had enough chips to cover the double down; but, if I lost I’d need to buy more chips to remain at the table, if I chose to do that. I got an 8 for 19, which wasn’t bad; but, I’d lost a couple big hands already with that hand. A face card would have been nice as I would have been paid instantly with “21”. In Fun-21 the player wins all “21’s”. There was one more player at the table, and she was nervous for me how her play would affect the outcome for me. She clearly intended to split her two nines; but, she offered to play the hand however I wanted her to. I thanked her for the offer, and told her all I wanted her to do was to play the hand the way that she wants to. During my string of larger bets, the pit boss was standing just behind me, and I’m sure he thought he was out of my view; but, my peripheral vision is pretty good. She got two face cards, giving her a pair of 19’s the same as me. Well, this is either going to be very good for the dealer or very bad. Now I had to hope that the dealer would get “18” by flipping a face card. But the dealer turned over another 8 and would get another chance to beat us. The dealer turned over a deuce, and wound up with the “18” I’d hoped that he’d get. And we all won… and the tide of the table had turned. I worked my earlier losses into a slight profit and soon found myself up $75. I decided that was enough excitement for one day and I pushed my chips towards the dealer to cash in. The pit boss stepped forward, asking somewhat puzzled “Are you… done… for this evening?” I nodded. “There are some sea days ahead, (don’t worry) I’ll be back.”

I headed to the Queen’s lounge, which was packed and piano bar player keeping them all entertained as members of the staff and cast stopped by to sing. Sharon said even the Librarian sang a song and was very good. I couldn’t spot Sharon in any of the rear booths or sitting on any chairs around the piano. I decided to call it a night. It turns out Sharon was buried in one of the end booths.

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