Deck 6

I close my eyes
the rushing wind
the force of the sea
Force the aroma of the sea into my being.

Stand still
stand silent
with eyes closed
and arms spread out to engulf the sea.

Inhale – deeply
the wind rushes in
and drives a path
the sea's aroma spreads deep within my soul.

The aroma melds with the fluids of my being
it energises me and lifts me up to realms unknown
to realms seldom seen
to realms of our dreams.

The dreams fill me with longing
a longing for a primeval time
a longing for peace before birth
a longing for silence - the silence of the womb.

I am immersed in water
it is splashing around me
it surrounds me with its healing touch.
I give myself up to the healing powers of water.

As I drift in the water it drifts in me
its healing fingers creep into all the crevices of my being.
it is quiet
It becomes even quieter
as it drifts into very centre of my being.

It's long cool fingers cool the frenetic thoughts in my mind.
I become quiet, quieter still as it treads through my mind.
Each step stills another synapses
until my entire brain is calmed.

I open my eyes.
Deck 6 is still there
the sea is still there
the wind is still there
but I am changed
there is peace in my heart
there is peace in my soul
I am revived.

"I must go down to the seas again..."

"I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life"

John Masefield – I have always loved your poem

I have always been attracted to water – any water – the sea – a fountain – a waterfall. I find peace when I can hear water. One of my favourite animals is a dolphin. I would love to swim with the dolphins. I was once told by a mystical man – many years my junior that we had swum with dolphins many centuries ago.

As we go through life we experience periods of peace and periods of turmoil. Sometimes the peace is so still and lasts so long that we may find ourselves wanting some excitement. Sometimes the turmoil is so intense and life changing that it seems to swallow our entire being. At times like this I long for the sound, smell and sight of water. I think this was what called to me on Deck 6 – the total absence of the foibles of humanity together with the peace that water brings to me.

Life is whirling around me – I get the feeling that I am not in control – a puppeteer is manipulating me – teasing me with tempting morsels which get snatched away as soon as my eyes pick up their allure. As the morsel is snatched away a huge obstacle is placed in front of me but the puppeteer amuses himself by making it impossible for me to overcome it – it swells in size as I approach it, threatening to envelop me completely.

I cry: "Bring the soothing sounds of water to help diminish these obstacles from my path. Let me play with dolphins and forget the problems that threaten to destroy my equanimity."

South Africa's scab

Why does a scab itch? I was once told that it was a sign of healing. But what do we do? We worry the scab until we have removed it. Sometimes we will cause the underlying sore to get a bit bigger or deeper. Our body then tries to heal itself again by causing white blood cells to help form a new scab. Once again the itching starts and we scratch and scratch until the scab is removed.

A few nights ago I half watched a programme on TV where the presenter was visiting Robin Island. A "custodian" was interviewed and all the perceived wrongs of the imprisonment were laid bare for all to see and experience again. The scab was successfully removed and the underlying currents were once again stirred up to see if the healing process could overcome this new attack.

Within the same week a poverty stricken neighbourhood was the subject for the investigative reporter. Those interviewed were bemoaning the injustices that still hovered around them and the blame was visited on the apartheid era. Many of those interviewed were not even born in 1994. Another of South Africa's scabs was successfully removed.

The students and mineworkers are rioting and demanding and the reason is still the injustice of apartheid. Again most have only lived in the post apartheid era. Which scab has now been removed?

Whites are being accused and threatened purely because of the colour of their skin. We are all lumped together as being evil because some of us were guilty in the pre apartheid era. Bang goes another scab.

One only has to watch the news to learn which other scabs have been irritated or removed.

Please South Africans – stop worrying the scab. Let the wounds of the past heal. Historians say we need to study History to learn from the mistakes of the past but we never do. The same mistakes get repeated disguised in many ways. If we continue to worry those scabs of the past we may get a nasty jolt when those scabs refuse to heal and become noxious.  

Sinfonia Experience – Day 8 – 1st March.

We apparently docked at about midnight so our last sleep was mostly in Durban harbour.

When we woke up a final account was on our door. I knew I was in credit. From about 6am I stood in line to collect my remaining $20. As we waited for the queue to progress we chatted to others in the queue.  The MSC card is not like a credit card. You can spend and spend and spend. If you don't keep a check on your expenses your final account can be horrific. One poor lady apparently found an account for $2000. I thought of my card like a credit card and I have a horror of handing it over and being told it is maxed out so I always keep a tight check on balances. This is how I ended up with a credit!

After a final visit to the restaurant and one last goodbye we disembarked. Saying goodbye to friends made on board was a bit hard but we are in Facebook and phone contact.

So what are my final thoughts?

It was probably the best experience of my life and I would love to repeat it. And this coming from someone who was viewing the cruise with the greatest trepidation! The only other time I was on board anything I did not make it out of the harbour before feeding the fishes. I was scared of spending 7 days on my bed in my cabin but I wanted to see my granddaughter before she went to Italy and I wanted to enjoy special time with my family.

I enjoyed having no contact with anything in South Africa or the world. The world could have ended and we wouldn't be any the wiser. My cell phone was off, I did not watch the news channel on the TV in our cabin, I did not use the ships internet (It was too costly!) so no Facebook or e-mails. I did not see a newspaper. I saw no newspaper headlines. The ugly underbelly of the world was only evident when we went ashore and that was so localised. I was in a secure little bubble that the ugliness of world could not touch or invade – an ideal place for someone like me who has tremendous ostrich tendencies.

I am sad that the trip has ended but I am richer for it. I want to thank my granddaughter Cristen for making this a possibility – without you I would not have experienced the peace that the trip gave me. I want to run away to sea and I can see what an attraction this life has for you even though you work your butt off. The ship forms a microcosm that caters to the individual. If you wanted to relax all day and all night you could. If you wanted to be endlessly entertained, you could. If you wanted to be buffeted by crowds all day long you could. If you wanted to be alone with your thoughts there were many places where this could happen.

Stephen your dream team is so well named. Lovely people headed by a man who holds a special place in my heart even though we don't connect often. The catering staff – I never saw a sour face. You were all lovely. The people I met over breakfast and lunch – thank you for a glimpse into your world.

 
The world would be a better place if we could expand this microcosm to fill the world.

Sinfonia Experience – Day 7 – 28th February.

"And now the end is near and so I …" faced the curtains of the theatre waving backwards and forwards as the ship ploughed through the rough seas.

Last day … Last night …

So very sad that all good things have to end. We have the programme for today:

• Stephen gives a disembarkation talk. This man cannot be serious. Everything turns into a one man comedy show – even this saddest day of the trip. My hopes were dashed when he said that nothing will happen until all guests have vacated the ship by getting their cards scanned. Damn! When I approached him about stowing away he informed me that no-one ever checks the funnels! Well done Stephen! Hope to touch base with you again sometime!
• Dance class – made very special when William selected me to serenade!
• Idols – Stephen was Simon Bowel and was funny as always. The 4 contestants were all good but the two guys! Fantastic! One did "You raise me up" and the other did "Piano man". I can't remember what the first lady sang - she did sing it well. The second lady did "I will always love you." She did very well until the nerves kicked in.
• Afternoon dance lesson: Bachata – It was interesting but has elements from many other Latin dances.
• I stayed at the pool – mom, Leanne and Wayne were there. We formed a team with about 5 others for a novelty Quest. A guy and a girl were selected to be the team representative. Stephen was in charge so one knew there was fun in store. It was a crazy treasure hunt type of game. It started slowly – having to find a shoelace was one of the first tasks then it began to get a bit crazy – 2 non-matching socks, a ladies bra brought to Stephen by the male contender, teeth (a comb and a zip were accepted) then a set of false teeth. The final was we had to dress the guy in a bra and make him up for a beauty contest. (See pics on Facebook!)

Supper was sad as we had to say goodbye to all the staff who had made our meals pleasant. Thank you Ari and Christian and the maitre de.

I took mom shopping after supper so that she could spend her last few dollars. I bought some tokens to remember the trip as well.

The show was Fantasticats. As we waited I watched Cristen with the kiddies and all her co-workers. It is obvious that she loves what she does. As we waited the curtains were having their own private little dance to the unplayed tune of the ocean.

 
That night I sadly climbed into bed to enjoy the last night of being rocked to sleep like a baby. No sleeping aids for 5 nights.

Sinfonia Experience – Day 6 – 27th February.

I am eating too much! Our day travels from one meal to the next with alarming rapidity!

Day 6! The end is too close. Back in the cabin we have luggage strips, everyone whispers disembarkation as if it were a dirty word. I am not a happy chappy. I am eying the ship from a new perspective. Where can I stow away? At the moment Cristen's cabin seems the best solution but I will keep looking.

I did some walking, some dancing (Latin mix – it was fun), some working and some chilling on my back in my air conditioned cabin with my eyes closed – not sleeping I hasten to add (if you believe that…)

Dinner tonight featured a walk past of all the dining staff. Once again we were told we couldn't order dessert because it was a surprise. Then the lights dimmed and the waiters and assistants walked into the restaurant bearing plates of baked Alaska topped by a candle. The music for the march past (in typical Italian style) featured various marches from operas staring with the March of the Toreadors from Carmen and ending with the Triumphal March from Aida.

Most of the nights Cristen reserves the first two rows of the left side of the theatre for the children. They attend most of the shows. They generally walk in to the theatre in single file with their hands on the shoulders of the child in front – looking for all the world like a giant centipede. Tonight they provided some of the entertainment. They were led on to the stage and did a little dance to Gangnam style. It was too cute. Some were very serious, some were having a ball and one poor little girl was staring at the audience in frozen horror, being buffeted backwards and forwards by the line of participating children.

The main show was the magician. Some interesting tricks and a new slant on some of the good old favourites.

The bad weather continued - even my sheltered haven deck 6 did not afford me too much pleasure. The wake from the ship thundering into the ocean's waves.

 Back in the cabin disembarkation took a front seat as the programme tomorrow suggested we attend Stephen's disembarkation talk in the morning.

Sinfonia Experience – Day 5 – 26th February.

Today I had a private dance lesson! All the other guests had gone ashore. I learnt couple steps which didn't happen much during the on-board lessons. They were much more geared to line dancing or solo styles.

We had docked in Fort Dauphin in the early hours of the morning.  There was not much to see if you had not booked an excursion so we had decided to go ashore at 1 o'clock. The market place was about 300m away but walking in the unprotected harbour areas was forbidden. There was a shuttle service to the market place – a misnomer if ever there was one. It was a small enclosed area with about 12 stalls. The shuttle dropped you at the gate and the gate was manned by two security guards from Madagascar. As you approached the gates the beggars tried to besiege you but they were warded off by the guards. One other guard wandered around the stalls. As you walked you were jostled and approached with hands extended. It was too depressing. Worse than anything I had ever seen in South Africa. I couldn't wait to get back on board. 

Leanne, Wayne, Carma and Kai were going to go to the beach after they saw us safely onto the shuttle. We got back and about 10 minutes later Leanne and family arrived back. They complained that to get to the beach you had to walk through a barrage of human's all begging. They turned tail and caught the next shuttle back.

I had a lovely relaxing afternoon culminating in watching the ship leave the harbour. The sideway movement of the ship was almost imperceptible. It seemed to glide away from the dock. As we were leaving I could see lightning in the distance. At the harbour mouth the open sea was up to its usual tricks, bucking and rolling!

That night the show featured a guy on a unicycle and another balancing act.

After the show I went up to deck 11 to see what was happening. As I got out the lift I heard strange lapping sounds. As I opened the door to deck 11 a stream of water cascaded towards me (okay it was a small stream!) and as the ship rolled the stream rolled away. It was pouring with rain and once again we were in fairly high seas which still managed to rock me into dream land!

Sinfonia Experience – Day 4 – 25th February.

Anchored off shore at Anakoa. Leanne and family went ashore. I chose not to go. I wasn't going to swim or do any excursions so it would be a pointless exercise. 

Leanne said they were always surrounded by beggars pleading of things. There was minimal shelter at the beach and it wasn't a good idea to leave anything unattended.

Leanne will take mom to the casino again tomorrow. I was banned from the casino and from Bingo as I seem to bring bad luck! This was not an issue. I find both activities boring!

I worked for 1 hour and spent a lot of time on my favourite deck. Fishermen had brought their boats close to the ship and started begging when they saw me. One wanted my hat. It became unpleasant so I left. It was very hot and mom did not want to stir much out of our air conditioned cabin. I read a bit on the pool deck but found my eyes closing so we went down to the cabin to have a rest.

The suggested attire was green, red or white as it was Italian evening. Dinner was very festive – there was a march past – we had to wave our serviettes and then a conga line was formed. Great fun! We were not allowed to order dessert as it was a surprise. I think it was Tiramisu.

The show was an evening of Italian love songs – very good. I saw an aerial act with ribbons – the first time ever in real time! I have seen it on TV but never live. There was a balancing act which was pretty difficult as the ship was trying to be a bucking bronco.

 
I drifted off to sleep – no tabs. Great stuff!

Sinfonia Experience – Day 3 – 24th February.

Today we were at sea. The wind was high and the sea was choppy. It was difficult to walk in a straight line. When I woke up I went for an "early" morning brisk walk around deck 12. It was hard to tell the time, the weather conditions etc in the cabin as it was an inside cabin. We could watch the on-board camera if I could find the darn channel. The book of words told me channel 32 but I later discovered it was 23.

We had set watches forward an hour before going to bed. So there was a bit of a time adjustment regarding breakfast. It was quickly dawning on me that we went from one meal to the next with alarming rapidity. At breakfast we sat with two new people and chatted about home and the cruise. Leanne took mom to the casino for the morning so I was free to do as I wished.

I went to the library to work for my allotted hour but my battery died after about ½ hour. I went to deck 6. It was very windy – there were warnings all over the ship. Deck 6 was close to sea level, fairly sheltered from sun and wind and quiet. The sea was very choppy and I ended up wind swept. The sea and the wind convinced my hair to become curly again and there was very little that I could do to tame the mess.

I missed dancing this morning as the weather was so bad it had chased all activities indoors. I had missed the announcement so by the time I found them the lesson was nearly over but I managed to catch the afternoon lesson.

Leanne and Wayne came to lunch with us and we met two people with fascinating life stories. I was a bit dubious of the full veracity of their tale but boy, did it give me some substance for my writing!

Tonight it was "Meet the Captain" so dress was posh. As we were going down to dinner we shared a lift with the captain so we had our own private "Meet the Captain" session. The line to meet the captain and have a photo with him was extremely long. As I detest photos at the best of times I did not join the line.

The show that night was brilliant. There was a contortionist – Claudia Vera. I was astounded by what she could do with her body. Lurking in the back of my mind was the thought "back trouble in your forties my girl!"

There was a duo who did a balancing act. The "larger", taller guy did the supporting and the shorter one did the balancing in the "air". There were some tricks that I had not seen before. Very creative.

That night was "Officers and Gentlemen" night – a chance for the ladies to dance with the officers and the male members of the dream team on the pool deck. I had a long flimsy skirt on. I went up to the wind swept pool deck and quickly realised that there was no way my skirt would co-operate while I danced. I went down to the cabin to change, looked at the bed, looked at my clothing selection and decided bed won the toss hands over.

I decided to try a night with no sleeping aid. Once again the rocking ship tumbled me quickly into dream land.

Sinfonia Experience – Day 2 – 23rd February.

This morning we dropped anchor off shore near Portuguese Island. The seas were extremely rough. In order to get ashore you had to board a Zodiac (a large rubber dingy seating an impossible number of people). Yesterday we had lifeboat drill on deck 6. So I went to deck 6 to view the embarkation. Wow those guys work hard, lifting and plonking people of all weights, ages and sizes into a bouncing boat! Inside the boat they were assisted by two more guys as the dingy rocked and rolled on the sea. I realised mom would not be able to handle that day and decided to stay on board with her. 

Lunch the previous day had been a buffet where we were truly buffeted around by the hordes (2000 odd people – some decidedly odd!). We got to the breakfast buffet as they were closing to go ashore. I plaintively asked "What about us?" We were told we could go to the restaurant. What bliss! The buffet lines were non existent and we discovered that we could order from the menu!

After breakfast I had a brisk walk around the ship, worked for 1 hour and then went to the pool deck for a dance lesson. We learnt the Salsa – basic steps in line dance style. As a lot of people were ashore there were only a few of us there. Soon afterwards it was lunch. Now we knew. We went down and were taken to a table with other people and struck up a conversation with them – something I could never do at home – I would always wait until I was asked something – now I initiated the conversation.

I had done some research before coming on board and saw that they catered for gluten problems. I ventured to ask the waiter. He said just wait and called the maitre de on duty. He went through the menu for (not with) me and told me what I could have. I was presented with a lovely hot big gluten free roll. At the end of the meal they asked what dessert We would like. Mom said Ice cream and I said "For me as well." "No!" said the waiter. "Let me check." He came back with ice cream for mom and a jelly for me! He told me "No ice cream. Jelly!" so jelly I had.

Mom went up to sleep and I went down to what was to become my favourite hidey hole. Deck 6. There were no chairs but the view was magnificent and when the Zodiacs returned I could view the comedy again. It was not so eventful now. The guests were a bit more comfortable and the weather had started to co-operate. I also had a brisk walk around the walking/running circuit on deck 12. Once around is about ½ km.

That night I asked for a gluten free roll but did not ask for help with the menu. The food is fabulous. So far I have had curry three times out of five meals.

Stephen's one man show was excellent.

The ship rocked me to sleep for the best night's sleep in I don't know how long. I had taken a sleeping tablet but I wondered if I really needed it.

Sinfonia Experience – Day 1 – 22nd February.

The day started quite badly, so much to do and no time left. I was fully packed but couldn't leave dirty dishes etc. My friend Dudley has a caddy and we had arranged for him to pick me up and then we would all (6 of us) meet at my mother's house, my daughter Leanne would leave her car there and we would depart. Dudley came 15 minutes early (I was not ready) and then Leanne (my daughter) started phoning to see where we were. Frazzled, I locked up and boarded Dudley's shuttle for the ocean deep. After making a detour back to my home to pick up my forgotten sun hat we were on our way. Stove was off, alarm was on and car was locked. Peace reigned at last.

Dudley was dropping us and then travelling to the airport to pick up his Pretoria based relatives who were also boarding the Sinfonia - hence Dudley's Shuttle Service!

The last time I had sailed was many moons ago on a flat bottomed boat. The winds were extremely high and the bay was choppy. I did not make it out of the harbour before I was hanging overboard feeding the fishes. I was nervous … but my granddaughter works on board and had organised the cruise for her family (great gran (my mom), gran (me), her mom (my daughter Leanne), her dad (Wayne), sister (Carma) and Carma's boyfriend (Kai)) so I couldn't disappoint her. We boarded the back way so missed out on some of the photos. (Cristen had told them that mom was 90 yrs old so we had a speedy access to the ship. Our cabins weren't ready yet but fortunately they were next to each other so we waited in Leanne's while our cabin was got ready. As soon as we could leave belongings in the cabin we pranced upstairs while the case fairies did their work and sorted out everybody's luggage. We were lucky that Cristen was off duty until 1 o'clock so she could get us accustomed to places on deck. We settled on deck 11 (the pool deck and the most popular place to be) and waited for the ship to leave the harbour. It was choppy in the bay so I my nerve function started to work overtime! As we progressed to the harbour mouth nerves started tingling throughout my body. We passed the harbour mouth bouncing around quite a bit. I had filled my tummy with lunch on board about an hour before so I really started worrying. Everyone said "Don't think about it!" but it's hard not too. We were out of the harbour. Nothing – except I couldn't walk or stand the ship was always going a different way to where I wanted to go! Durban beachfront started disappearing and I realised that if I could survive that part of the trip I could survive anything and I sat down to receive as much pleasure input as I could and boy did I go into overload!

Between boarding and night time it was very evident that we were skirting cyclone Guito. Who needs a drink to weave all over the place!

I discovered that I felt a bit nauseous if I sat with my back to the front of the ship so from then on I faced the way we were going whenever in tricky weather conditions (and there were quite a few.)

That first day I could not participate in the dancing on deck because I couldn't walk let alone dance!

After the party we weaved our way to our cabins to get ready for dinner. Wow what a dinner and our waiters were great. After dinner we went to the show which was a dance extravaganza. Brilliant! Then off to our cabin to find the programme for tomorrow waiting for us. I settled mom and then went to play a fun game with Stephen Cloete as our host. Great fun! I ended up in a group of 6 women. Most were great. The game had no correct answers. You scored a point if the majority gave the same answer. The entertainment crew (the Dream Team) were hysterical with the answer they gave!

What a way to start our first day at sea. I wove up to my cabin (deck 9) took my asthma tab and popped my sleeping aid. Slightly woke up with the juddering of the ship as we hit a particularly bouncy bit of sea. But went straight back to sleep again.