Day 82 - Monday March 20 Goa, India

Goa photos

position at 7:00am: N14 03.49 latitude E74 11.54 longitude
(about 90 miles S of Goa, India, where we are scheduled to dock around 11:00 am)
temperature: 81F, 95% humidity, cloudy
distance since FLL: 26,855 miles

It was again warm and humid on deck in the morning. The skies were cloudy without a real sunrise. A repeat of last night's sunset which started out so promising. We forgot to post about yesterday that all afternoon and early evening we saw many quite surprisingly small fishing boats out. We were far enough from land that it was not visible and these were very small boats to be out so far and apparently out for an overnight since it was at, near and after sunset. We also did not report that we saw some very large pale gray dolphins in the bay as we sailed out of Cochin. They appeared to be ignoring our wake which is not the normal dolphin behavior we had seen in the past. Of course, we had not seen a dolphin since New Zealand. They were small and dark colored, very different from these in size, color and temperament. It was interesting. Also, forgot to post about the disembarkation surprise. We had been notified repeatedly in writing about getting our landing card and filling out ashore to be sure and return it when we came back to the ship, etc. Well, we had a welcoming committee and we took our time going off the ship to get our cards, but we could not see that there was anyone handing them out, so we went on out and got on a bus. Debbie asked the couple to board after us if they had gotten landing or shore cards. They laughed and teased her about she better go get it. Then, when she got worried and started to leave the bus, they told her that an announcement had been made in the morning as we were arriving that the boarding cards would not be required. Debbie explained that we had been in Compass Rose and they never make announcements in there, apparently in the belief that if you are in there having a leisurely meal that you are not going ashore and don't need any information of that type. We had breakfast in LaVeranda this morning. Chocolate croissants today! Always a good start.

Debbie went to this morning's one 45 minute class, Fusion Fitness, a combination of Pilates and Yoga, not for beginners. She had a good workout and Jacquie joked about what she would do for the next 2 days without her core exercise fanatics onboard. Most of the 9 or so people who came for class are among the hundreds leaving the ship for the overnight to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Debbie got a strong endorsement to see the little Taj Mahal or option 2 of morning options. We still are undecided, but may do that one.

Clay heard this morning's Vords of Visdom and the Captain said that he expected to arrive in Goa about an hour late. At 11am, he came on again and said he expected to pick up the pilot about 11:45am and be docked after noon. He blamed the strong southerly current in this ocean for our slow speed. He said this should not affect the plans for the Special Event afternoon in Goa. Um, our tickets tell us to be at the bottom of the gangway and 12:05pm for a 12:15pm bus ride to the Taj Exotica hotel, so we imagine the schedule will be affected by the late arrival. We decided to go have a sandwich at the Pool Grill. Laurens, the Food & Beverage Mgr., came by and made fun of us for eating before arriving at the hotel's Indian buffet. But then he told us, no seriously, this is a good idea. He said that he had never been to the hotel but had been assured that the chicken curry would be bird flu-free so expected it would be good. Debbie went ahead and had dessert as well. Just in case. We saw the Pilot come aboard at 5 minutes of noon. It is 12:20pm now and we are just nearing the dock. Capt. Dag warned that Goa's port is not a cruise port, it is a coal shipment port and to expect everything to get a dusting. OK.

This morning we saw the weirdest marine life yet. It looked like some kind of needlefish. It would shoot out of the water a couple of inches and then skip along the surface for 6 to 20 feet or as many skips as it could get. Very strange. We only saw them sporadically and singly, so no idea why they would do this. It was also difficult to gauge what size the fish were, but bigger than flying fish.
As we entered the port area, we saw dolphins. Two different kinds, the small blackish ones and the large pale gray ones. We also saw fishing boats with groups of men manually hauling in nets while chanting or singing. It was amazing, we never saw that before either. Hopefully, Clay got some still photos because we do not think there is a way to post video to the journal. (We have looked for a way, but no luck.) The Captain was absolutely right about the port. It is 12:30pm and they are just pulling the ropes to the dock with tugboats. It is not the kind of dock where they can be tossed ashore, hopefully the pictures will show it. One of the white jumpsuited guys that handles docking saw a gray-jacketed butler-type on another deck and pointed to the piles ashore and yelled up to him, "spices, all spices." They both cracked up laughing as did any of the passengers who heard and saw them. It was a good bit of spontaneous comic relief. It is 12:40pm and they are getting the gangway set up on the port side where we are docked. So, we will go ahead and head down and get in line.
So, we went down to get in line. We followed blue ribbons through the Main Atrium around to the Constellation Theatre and we entered it. There were several hundred people seated in there and CNN was playing on 2 big screens. We were directed to about halfway down the leftmost section and told to fill in the seats. We did and it continued that way. Guess we are throwing out the timed departures on the tickets along with the schedule at this point. We sat for an hour in the theatre. Jamie announced that we were filling buses by the order in which we entered the theater and the staff tried very hard to make that happen, but were not 100% successful. Jamie stopped taking groups out at some point and announced that there was another problem, that the buses that had been loaded and had departed were not being allowed out of the port gates and we would stop loading buses until the problem was resolved and the first buses were released. After about 10 minutes he came back in and announced that he would start taking people out to buses soon but that we all needed to know that it was a 45-minute to 1 hour drive to the Taj Exotica Hotel where the Special Event was being held and we needed to decide if we wanted to go and be back in time to sail at 5pm. Well, that cleared some people out of the theater to make room for others. We were in the theater for an hour before Jamie shared the fact that it was an hour's drive to the hotel. It seems that if he thought it was not worth our while that announcement should have been some time ago, or that someone should have just stepped up and canceled the thing. We were on our way by about quarter to 2pm. We arrived at the hotel about 3:50pm. It took our bus an hour and 10 minutes to get there. At that rate, we should have just turned around and headed back for the all aboard at 4:30pm for 5pm sailing. We saw Capt. Dag right after we arrived and he told us that he timed his bus and his took 1 1/2 hours. He caught us as we were returning to the party after using the restrooms and just seeing the famous beaches of Goa. After he told us this, he grimaced and looked at his watch. Debbie told him, yeah we know, we used the restrooms and saw the beach, we are just on our way back to the bus! Capt. Dag laughed and said that he thought the World Cruise would maybe be better without these Special Events, that they just mostly served to aggravate the passengers. We agreed that it was aggravating. He said he did not know what to do now. He had to let everyone eat but if we did not sail on time we would be late to Mumbai. We had already decided when we saw the schedule to Agra that the only rational reason for it was that we would in fact be late arriving to Mumbai, so no surprises there for us. We checked out the shops in the hotel and they were way too upscale for our tastes and budget. Unless we find some time and place to shop in Agra, or on the way there or back, we will leave India with little in the way of physical remembrances. We went back down to the party to see if the long lines had yet abated. They were only about 20 people deep now, instead of 100, so we got in line. Also, by now it had been more than 4 hours since we ate lunch. We tried a little of several of the Goan specialties and we enjoyed everything. Some things were very hot, but most were just flavorful and tasty and some were just weird. Sorry can't be any more detailed. We did not get a menu or anything and there were way too many dishes to keep track of what was what.

After we ate, we got some more drinks. Clay had a beer before the shops, but Debbie could not get a Coke. They had bottled water, but not individually sized and she was not ready for a big bottle. They had Kingfisher Beer, fruit juices and Pepsi-Cola. Debbie allergic to citric acid and so she could only drink the water here. So, we got a big, ice cold bottle of water and walked around the event to see what there was to see. Debbie got her palm read. She disagreed with the palmist. He told her that she had a very good fortune. Then, he told her that she has big dreams, but they never come true. She plans things, but then never does them. Um, did he not get the memo, that we are all on a luxury cruise around the world! How's that for making dreams come true? Hello! Then he told her that she had great wealth but always spent it and could never hold on to it. Well, maybe he did get the memo, that we are all on a luxury cruise around the world! Anyway, Debbie only gave him partial credit for that one, so he reiterated part one about not seeing through plans and dreams. She scoffed again. He then told her that other people see her and are jealous. OK. Debbie got up and thanked him. A guy waiting there asked if all of us would get the coming into money fortune told. Debbie told him, no we are getting the you have great wealth and can't hold onto it fortune. He cracked up laughing and said, yeah that one would work on everyone in this crowd. He did not sit down. Later we saw a "Parrot Reader." We thought that was a funny error and was meant to be Tarot Reader, but no, there was a parrot in a tiny cage with a big apple. We waited in line, but after several minutes just gave it up while a woman argued about her fortune. Her husband told us if you gave the man some money he would hold out a stack of folded papers to the parrot and the parrot would pull one out and they would read your fortune from it. He told us hers was confused and contradictory and she was trying to straighten it out. Um, OK. We went down and watched some dancing and juggling and then made one last restroom stop and got back on the bus. We had a different bus each way. The return bus had great AC, we sweltered on the way out. After sweating out in the sun for an hour or so, we were very happy to board a cold bus and it stayed cold. Neither bus though appeared to have any shocks and they drove like maniacs on rough roads. Debbie got motionsick on the ride out and had to switch seats to be able to see out the front and put her seabands back on. She put the seabands on before boarding the bus back and got a seat where she could lean out in the aisle and see out the front. It was a rough hour plus ride each way. One the way to the hotel, a woman sitting near Debbie told her this was the same hotel from last year and she did not remember this port or the drive at all. The guide assured her this was always the only port and Capt. Dag said he knew that the hotel was an hour away from the port to start with, so he must have been he last year too. Other people who had been here last year that Debbie asked if this was the same hotel did not know and said they could not remember. The port and getting to the hotel all seem pretty remarkable and memorable to us, but then it is amazing what unpleasant memories people will block. Debbie was suspicious when after we got the letter with the name of the hotel, that no one she asked about the Taj Exotica could remember it from last year.

So, was this Special Event another disaster? Not quite. Yes, it did not go well. We were too late for lunch and too early for dinner. We watched CNN for an hour during lunch time and no one even offered snacks and beverages or the information that it would be another hour of drive time to get to a meal. That information should have been shared first thing in the morning when it was known that we would arrive late. Then people could at least have eaten something onboard or made a decision about what to do with their time here. Once we got there, the party itself was probably very well done, but most people were too overwhelmed by the rigors of getting here and fed and watered and too stultified by the heat and humidity to get up much fun spirit. We agree with Capt. Dag, better just to let these Special Events go by the wayside in the future. They do mostly serve to aggravate rather than reward. Most people would just as soon not suffer them, but everyone wants to get what they paid for and not just voluntarily forfeit it.

We had spotted a dog on the dock as we approached this morning. When we left the ship, we did not see it. As we were in line to reboard the ship, Debbie spotted the dog sitting in the shade of the gangway. She opened her purse and got out a pack of Nabs. She ripped it open. This dog knew the sound of food because her ears pricked up when she heard the cellophane crinkle. Debbie held 2 crackers down to her but she backed away. Debbie did not want to hold up the line and did not really desire to handfeed this stray, so she dropped the crackers on the ground in front of the dog. The dog sniffed them with a wagging tail but did not eat them right away. She licked up some of the crumbs that had broken in the fall. Someone yelled to Debbie, are those Goan crackers, she won't eat them. Debbie yelled to the dog, those are cheese and peanut butter Lance Nabs, they are good, I brought them halfway around the world, you better eat them. The dog turned to Debbie and wagged some more and then set to gobbling up the Nabs. The crowd cheered. After Clay got seated on the balcony he saw someone pour out water for the dog and then Jamie came out with something yummy (maybe meat) and took the dog and another lame dog that had arrived and fed them more. Several people brought out bread and cookies after that and threw stuff from the ship to them. Those dogs went to bed with full stomachs tonight. The first dog to greet us on arrival was the last one left on the dock after we left.

Debbie rushed off to make the last exercise class of the day, Stretch and Relax at 5:30pm. She arrived and was the only one there, so no class was held. Jacquie has a minimum of 3 requirement. Debbie used the room alone and stretched out the kinks of the brutal bus rides. She came back and we watched the sailaway together an hour later than scheduled. We stayed out on the balcony to watch the sunset and to watch for more dolphins on the way out. The sunset died in the haze yet again and we saw no more dolphins. By 7pm we realized that we did not want to go out to eat. So, we showered and ordered pizza and a salad and a hamburger. Debbie got us packed and ready to leave for our overnight trip to Agra in the morning. Room service warned us that they were very busy tonight and it would be a while. It was. We started eating after 8pm. Clay also ordered a slice of pecan pie. It arrived with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it, so he had to eat dessert first. We watched a DVD, Hotel Rwanda, during dinner.

Sadly, our time in India is half over and we are strangely dissatisfied with our time here. We know that cruising is not a good way to get a in-depth look at a country. But, we feel that we haven't really seen anything of India yet and fear that we will not in our optional tour starting tomorrow. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope for better days ahead than behind. We will not carry the laptop to Agra so it will be a couple of days after this post before we post again. We hope to have wondrous and amazing stories to tell then.

Goa photos