As Another At Sea Day beginning as most days with our early morning breakfast in the Winjammer. What about Owen and Ray when Sue and I dash off to classes? They exercise or save our deck chairs, sometimes attending an upcoming destination talk with us. More books are getting read by those two than by us! Usually we meet back for lunch in the Winjammer or sometimes just soup and
sandwiches from the Park Cafe not far from our deck chairs. Ray and Owen get lunch there lots of days. They have the best cookies, particularly the coconut ones. Sue and I pick up those to have during afternoon class. Another treat during the afternoons is the soft serve ice cream available on the pool deck. That's an all time cruise favorite of ours. Had to keep that tradition going.
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Steven Dutch, University of Wisconsin at Green Bay
Points:
Moving a lot of sand was easy compared to moving political obstacles.
Suez 188 km in length from Red Sea to Mediterranean Sea. Egypt on one side Sinai Peninsula on other.
Transiting Suez, one way traffic, down center because bottom slopes from either side. Red Sea organisms are invading Mediterranean. Principal winner of Suez Canal construction: Brittain. Ferdinand deLesseps instrumental in planning.
Fatal Misconseption:
Sea level is not level.
Long believed Red Sea was at least 10m higher than Mediterranean so locks needed
Error due to inaccurate surveys. Napoleon's surveyors wrong.
1846 Surveys proved this was indeed myth.
The Sweet Water Canal
Off to slow start
DeLesseps. Better promoter than planner or executive or engineer
Spent several years building a mini-canal for demonstration
Egyptians supplied courvee labor then cut off.
Voisin (1821- ) real hero of operation. Engineer.
British Opposition:
Preferred a railroad to the Red Sea
Nov 29, 1869 big day opening
British ship first in Canal Hms Newport
Sailing ships could not use, only 60 feet wide.
Britain prospered mightily because of Suez Canal - could because of steel mills and ship building
The Suez-Panama. Connection
Said it woul be easier-wrong
22,000 died before project abandoned in 1893
French actually excavated about 1/3 of canal
Built railroad across Panama
The Nicaragua Alternative
Redigging Suez new dig 17 X original dig
Transiting the Canal
Average ship toll: $250,000 (100,000 tons)
Small: $27,000 (5000 tons)
Ships travel in convoys. We will. Transit takes about 16 hours. Longest canal with no locks.
New Suez Canal 35km bypass canal. Can dredge larger volumes today. Humans move 3X as much material as erosion. Canal diggings dwarf for example Big Dig (Boston) 12,000 cu m. Canals remain biggest movers of earth.
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Enrichment Lecture with Jeffrey Davidson of Raleigh, North Carolina, Breathing Space
Preserving Family History
Notes-misplaced-hope I find them.
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At Dinner tonight the head waiter returned to ask us if the Ladies from Brazil could join our table. He told us they wanted to sit with us. We agreed and soon the six ladies arrived with their smiling faces. They became our permanent table mates.
We all did everything possible to communicate with our unique sign language and facial expressions. Amazing how we got to know them well during the cruise. As the days progressed, Ray gathered some phrases from a Brazillian bartender and Sue had help from our Portugese friends from Canada. Our ladies were thrilled. They found some English phrases to speak with us, but all efforts were very basic.
Left to right: Vanilde, friend. Sisters: Dalvina, Dalva, Flora, Dora, Villa, Owen, Nancy, Sue, Ray
Tonight was the continuing Dancing with the Stripes competition, a takeoff from Dancing with the Stars. We watched but uncomfortably and without a good view because all the good seats in the Centrum were taken.
Our headliner showtime featured Suzanne Godfrey, a flutist, an unusual evening of good music presented in a way I have never seen a flutist perform. She even did a bit of striptease, just a bit not very bare. Unusual and although I love flute music since it's my instrument, many do not. (Particularly, Owen. Perhaps I ruined him with my playing.) Surprised they selected flute music to feature.
Planned to stay up late for a big Pool Party Concert with the Beatles Connection advertised as the biggest event of the cruise with music, dancing and a pool buffet. Alas-cancelled-high winds, bad weather.
We listened awhile to music in the Centrum, always a band playing there in the evenings then headed to bed. Could feel the motion of the ship. Has been very calm until now.
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