Friday January 13, 2023
Today the seas were a bit more favorable and the ship appeared a lot more crowded. There was still some movement, but by tomorrow when we are in Lisbon and then into the Mediterranean, we hope things to be back to plain sailing.
A jam packed day today with 5 lectures and other activities, that made it impossible to cover everything we wanted.
Jonathan Clough, a Royal Astronomer, gave a very interesting overview of the planets in our solar system and their moons and what we were to see in the evening sky tonight if clear enough to see the sky.
Next came an interview with Fatima Bhutto, born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1982, raised in Syria but from the prominent Bhutto – Pakistan political family. Her father Mir (as she referred to him) the politician – Murtaza Bhutto who raised her as a single father as he divorced her mother – Fauzia Fasihudin when she was 3 and living in exile in Afghanistan was assassinated in Karachi in 1996 at the age of 42. Her Aunt (father’s sister) Benazir Bhutto, was the Prime Minister and she feels was involved in her father’s murder. Her Aunt Benazir was assassinated in 2007 and her grandfather (Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) was also assassinated. She spoke of her various publications, the first set of poems at the age of 15! A very erudite elegant woman, with a fascinating story to tell. She lectures all over the world and lives with her step-mother in Karachi.
We rushed over to hear the talk on Faberge eggs and the house of Faberge as the “visiting jeweler” has a dozen eggs (from Theo) on the ship. A constant temptation to add to our collection! However it was over so we attended Dr. Chris Martin – Medical Law and Ethics lecture as he is a British Biochemist, Medical doctor and Lawyer who lived and worked many years in Australia. The hall was packed without a seat to be had for his talk on how DNA has been used to solve many crimes. A fascinating and engaging speaker on a highly technical, but interesting subject.
We skipped part of the next talk to go and have a pub lunch, but were back for Andrew Cooper the wild life television producer with discussion about the efforts to save vanishing species like the Iberian Lynx. Finally Vivienne Rowan discussed the fact that Lisbon was four centuries older than Rome and the importance of Lisbon, as a port given it’s location, and the influence of Portuguese adventurers Ike Magellan of discovery of the world.
At dinner we found lots of different people sitting around us that arrived whenever they wanted. This seemed strange as we had an assigned time – 6PM and an assigned table for the 4 month cruise. It appears that the upper floor is being used for “open dining”. We discovered that this is an experiment to allow all passengers that so desire to dine as if at a restaurant. They should call and make a reservation and then they are seated at whatever table is available. Not something we want to do as it is nice to have the same staff that get to know you and know which is your table.
The entertainment was an excellent duo – The MacDonald Brothers – A versatile Scottish Duo that reached 4th place in the XFactor show, one of Simon Cowell’s reality shows, and have gone on to sing and play with many famous people and locations (including the O2 arena in London). They played Simon Garfunkel, Everly Brothers, Elton John music as well as Celtic and played the fiddle, piano, guitar, accordion etc while singing and getting the crowd well energized. Another terrific day. Tomorrow we arrive in Lisbon at 8AM.
Roger & Anne Travels 