Heading Home - Day 60

Hello all from JEFF thoughts on the final week

As I write this it’s just 24 hours from when we rejoin reality and this wonderful journey will come to an end
We will have logged 15,000 miles at sea and over 15,000 miles in the air
We have visited 10 countries many of them more than once and over 32 cities
We bought books, hats, antiques and by any measure a small herd of horses
We made new friends and discovered places on our planet we never knew existed and peoples who lead very different lives from our own
We confirmed our own thoughts that wherever good people reside there are stories to be exchanged and outlooks to be discussed
We still live with some pretty sick folks who feel that just because my religion is different from yours that somehow I am less than you and others who have issues with the person I love but fortunately they are in the minority
We have met and talked with a man not much older than my nephew, mid 20s, who works 12 hours a day six days a week lives on the staircase landing in the house where he cleans and cooks and he is the first to say how lucky he is. He is well paid by Indian standards and the family he works for treats him well and encourages his self education so that his children will do even better then himself
We have walked city streets so safe and so clean western democracies can only look on with envy, but then we remember the key word democracy, while there are definite advantages for the tourist, we recognize the loss of freedoms in these military or royal kingdoms
We know that we had to visit certain countries in a specific sequence otherwise we would not have been permitted to enjoy the clean and safe tourist environments they offer. We wish they used some of their vast resources to educate their peoples in understanding and welcoming other religions or political view points, but we still marvel at their treasures and the impact they have on our world both past and present
We enjoy watching their faces when they ask where we are from and we answer Las Vegas, they all know Las Vegas, from Thailand and India to Dubai and the Mediterranean countries everyone recognizes Las Vegas
We recall: the two days of caution and concern as we crossed through Somali waters, with our hired gun boat circling us for over 40 hours protecting the crazy tourists who dared brave these waters, Keeping the drapes in our cabins closed tightly after dark and the loss of our nightly ritual of a stroll around the outside decks in hopes of working off a bit of the calories we infused that evening, The fire hoses stretched out in all directions ready to battle and repel any pirates that managed to slip through our outer perimeters
The relief once we crossed an imaginary line in the sea that for reasons we still don’t understand the pirates don’t cross, very decent of them and the staffs hilarious attempts to make light of the situation including dressing as pirates for a dinner dance
The voyage has been packed with the unexpected from the serious and cerebral to the comic and slapstick
Ron and I have both rediscovered that we truly enjoy each other’s company. We still manage to snap at one another as we have over the past 32 years but we look forward to a quiet dinner together even when we have been shoe horned into little bus seats for 3 hours to reach some ridiculous museum that I am certain paid a bribe to the ships tour guides for our presence in their souvenir shop
We find something to argue about something to laugh about and always several comments about fellow passengers or tourists we spotted on board or ashore who seem to have lost all reason all sanity and engage in activities I am certain their parents would not approve
We love to guess what colour socks men will wear with open sandals, yes that’s right SOCKS with sandals or the always charming black knee socks with walking shorts, perhaps in the 1940’s but please NO LONGER
Or the women, and I am sure some of the men also but I missed them, who use a cane like a bayonet making sure we all notice there infirmity, that is until food or drinks are placed before us when they rocket to the table in record time to heap the items on a plate and then only rediscovering their infirmity to assure a chair and table
We love watching the couples who are eating in one of the two specialty restaurants (with the exception of 2 nights where WE have had all our dinners) as they wonder what to do. Do they order like in the dining room do they tip after the meal? Ron is always happy to explain in his quiet manner when they look his way from a nearby table to just relax and enjoy it’s no different than the main dining room except different menus better service and a more varied wine list
I have seen more than just a few couples come up to him after dinner and thank him for his advice
We are not into ships entertainment for the most part. We have not attended a single night-time performance, it’s just not our thing. We did enjoy going to and watching the karaoke performances especially when we knew one of the participants. We have become addicted to both Dominos and Rummykub. Ronnie kills me in Dominos but I am supreme in Rummykube
Reading, one of my true pleasures, is always the best on a cruise, finding a quiet corner sometimes on deck, many times in the ships library, a great room at the top of the ship with windows facing several directions, this pastime has been made even better since we both now use Kindles, we bought them several trips ago and on this voyage they really proved their worth. As I write this, I have completed 37 books and I am working on a great autobiography of the former editor in chief of the Sunday Times of London Also known as MR TINA BROWN
Anyone who travels should invest in a Kindle
Well it’s time to say goodbye to this wonderful voyage. We take with us great memories of people and places. We also know this, Almost 2 months at sea and more than two months away from home is just FINE with us We are ready to do it again. Its hard to believe it’s over
We think the Cruise Line should offer a decompression program of some sort
I am not sure we recall how to make a bed do laundry buy groceries or cook a meal
We have missed the family Mom and Stacy seeing them whenever we wanted
I am not sure the pool man or the gardener will even recall what we look like
We wonder if our neighbor has moved into her house after almost two years of renovations
We have tried to keep up with the local news via the net but we both have missed some TV and even though we read the New York Times daily on our Kindles I know Ron has missed a newspaper in his hands every morning
I am looking forward to opening the boxes of treasures, which Stacy has patiently stacked in the house, Thank SIS, I know that each horse or book will recall a place and characters we encounter on our two month journey.
Thank you all for putting up with what Ron calls my melancholy missives and come see us soon.
There are so many other stories and events to share not to mention several thousand photos and untold hours of video.

DUBOWE OUT