March 22

At Sea

We are now more than halfway across the Atlantic and in four days will make our first landfall at the Portuguese island of Madeira. The weather overall has been mixed. The first two days were drop dead gorgeous—clear skies with temperatures in the 80s. It would not have been good for sailing, however, as winds never made it above five or six knots. Day 3 was a solid 10 for sailing with winds at 12-15 knots the entire day with hardly a cloud in sight. It clouded up that evening ushering in fresh breezes, which on Day 4 and 5 built up to more than 30 knots on the nose along with 20-25 foot seas and temperatures peaking in the mid 60s. Not what I would call ideal sailing conditions and a reason to be thankful that we are on a I,000 foot cruise ship, not a 40 foot sailboat. How do sailors cope with such conditions for days at a time?

Now it is pretty again with winds at 10-12 knots and temperatures back in the mid 70s.There are no sailboats to be seen out here, however—or any other vessels for that matter. Since we set sail from Ft Lauderdale almost a week ago, we have seen only two ships, both container ships. If you were on a sailboat and got into real trouble, you would not have a lot of help. I am trying to recall if I ever had a real urge to do an Atlantic crossing in a sailboat, and I think the answer is no. In any event it is surely no right now.

I also am beginning to understand how cruises can become addictive and why every person we have talked to so far has been on multiple previous cruises. Every day is the same, and yet every day is different. The schedule is more or less the same with set meal times and various activities that are more or less the same. But the sea is forever changing, and you can pick which of the 60 or 70 daily activities you want to do or do none of them. And there are alternative, casual dining venues providing opportunities for breaks from the elegant, formal main dining room.

We spend an hour or so each day exercising (walking on the main Promenade deck around the ship or using the tread mills and bikes in the fitness center.) Embry has gone to the spa and taken Palates and yoga classes, and we both have attended several lectures on various topics, mainly history. Embry has already finished a couple of books. I am 50 pages into my first. At one point I thought it might be interesting to have a contest allowing readers to vote for which number would be higher when we disembark from the ship in Spain– the pages that I have read in books or the pounds I have gained. (A very high percentage of our fellow passengers would fall into the category of obese, which I suppose is due in part to their age , that the are mainly Americans, and the number of previous cruises they have taken. Do the arithmetic:10 previous cruises at 15 pounds a cruise. Starts to add up.)

Fellow passengers also are generally retired folks like us, and everyone we have met so far is friendly. No one talks politics, and I could well imagine we may be the only two Democrats on the boat. Of the 1,700 passengers, only a handful are people of color. There are a bunch of affinity group activities that happen daily including the LGBT gathering, Friends of Bill W., “Fellow Veterans,” and “Singles and Alones.”

There is also much to do if you are so inclined: duplicate bridge, dancing with stars, photo lectures, cooking lessons, scavenger hunts, blackjack tournaments, trivia challenges, golf putting contests, ping pong tournaments,

bingo, gambling, wine tasting, model boat building, paper airplane contests and much more.

Or you can just sit on the deck and watch the waves to by, which is mainly what I do. And write blogs.

And eat.

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March 19

At Sea

For those who have read the typical day of a cruise ship passenger, do not get the idea that everyone is typical or that we are necessarily following the typical schedule. (Yes, we are getting at least an hour of vigorous exercise a day and are going light on breakfasts and lunches.) But it is hard not to miss the observation that there is a bit of self indulgence, perhaps even decadence, on this leg of our adventure. Does this sound like Joe and Embry?

Well, first of all we had no idea what this leg would be like. Our goal was simply to get across the Atlantic without flying. Our travel agent, D’Lane, figured this part out. The ship was being moved; and because of the low demand for transit cruises, the price was low. We figured the ship would be mostly empty with few amenities. Anything but. Way to go, D’Lane!

But to fully appreciate the dynamics involved in the Big Trip you need to know two things and only two things about us: Embry is a Presbyterian and I am an Episcopalian. (Yes, we both are active members of All Souls EPISCOPAL Church in

DC, but Embry was brought up Presbyterian and insists on identifying herself as such.)

First a word on Presbyterians. Presbyterians are earnest, hard working and serious. Because they are hard working and serious, they make money and they save money. The fundamental principle, however, which governs behavior by Presbyterians is inconspicuous consumption, which is to say that they do not ever want to do anything that would let on that they have money or are anything other than the God fearing, simple-living people that they are. This fact is important for a number of reasons, the most important being that Embry is financing this trip.

Episcopalians on the other hand are polar opposites. Because of our obsession with self indulgence and pursuing the good life, we spend what little money we have on ourselves and have little left over for savings or anything else. The driving principle behind our behavior, however, is to create the illusion that we are successful and wealthy, and for the most part we succeed in this—in some cases thanks in part to an industrialist grandfather or rich uncle , who being a good Episcopalian did not give his fortune away to worthwhile charities as would surely have been the case were he a Presbyterian . The whole idea of understated elegance was invented by Episcopalians because we have good taste but can’t afford to buy anything. An Episcopalian friend of mine once commented that anything requiring hard work was not worth doing. That pretty much sums it up. This fact is important for a number of reasons, the most important being that without an Episcopalian involved, Embry would be staying exclusively in third class hotels and taking buses across Africa. That would not be a good thing. And were not a Presbyterian involved, this Episcopalian would be glued in front of the TV watching the NCAA basketball tournament and complaining about the weather and the Republicans in Congress. This also would not be a good thing—at least compared to this alternative.

And because we have been married for 50 years (come December 28), we have both have had a positive influence on each other. Embry is enjoying this Holland America cruise as much as, if not more, than I am. And I am working hard every day to prepare myself mentally for the container ship Pacific crossing on the penultimate leg. Without each other this trip would never have happened.

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March 18

At Sea

Since most days are the same on cruise ships, here is the schedule for a typical passenger on a typical day on the Zuiderdam:

• Up at 8:oo am, check out the weather, get dressed (smart casual) and take the elevator down seven floors (decks) for breakfast.
• 9:00am. Breakfast. Open seating. Made to order: eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets of all types. As much as you want, all you can eat.
• 10:00 am. Back to the room. With a breakfast like that, it is time for a short nap.
• 10:30 am. Dress for the pool. Out on the deck for spectacular views of the sparkling ocean under cloudless skies and bikini viewing of the 1% of the women who are under 60.
• 10:45 am. Morning break with coffee and fresh pastries, served by smiling Pilipino young men in uniforms.
• 11:00 am. First major exercise of the day: massage and aroma therapy in the spa. Briefly observe mostly empty fitness room as you enter .
• 11:50 am. Return to room to dress for lunch. Smart casual.
• 12:00 pm. lunch. Open seating. Appetizers, salad, choice of a half dozen entrée’s , numerous deserts—a feast that would serve as the main meal of the day anywhere except on a cruise ship.
• 1:00 pm. Back to the room for a short nap to recover from lunch.
• 2:00 pm. Dress for the pool. Second major exercise of the day: sitting in the hot tub .
• 2:30 pm. Afternoon ice cream break.
• 3:00 pm. Educational seminar (one of 65 activities and affinity group options offered for the day) Topic: “Good Nutrition and Healthy Living.” (Tomorrow: “Acupuncture for Aging” followed by “Wrinkle Remedies.”)
• 4:00 pm. English high tea. More pastries, little sandwiches, chocolates.
• 5:00 pm. Third major exercise: sauna.
• 6:00 pm. Back to the state room to dress for dinner. Formal attire.
• 6:30 pm. Cocktails and heavy horsd’oeuvers before dinner at one of the ship’s dozen bars and lounges.
• 7:30 pm. Dinner. Assigned seating. Same waiter and same table every night. Biggest meal of the day with appetizer, salad, choice of a dozen entrees and countless deserts. Exceptional food. Vintage wine. Excellent service.
• 9:00 pm. Evening entertainment in the theater—magic show, juggler, Broadway tunes.
• 10:15 pm. Piano bar and lounge for sing alongs and Karaoke. After dinner drinks and late night snacks.
• 11:00 pm. Bed time.

Another great day on the High Seas! Only nine hours until breakfast!

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March 17

At Sea

We made it to the Ft Lauderdale Hilton on the Inter Coastal Waterway in time for a delicious Asian dinner on the waterfront and to the ship—the Holland America Zuiderdam—by noon the next day where we experienced surprisingly little hassle boarding.

Now I must state from the outset what may be suspected by all who know me: as a sailor I have been known to have a low opinion of cruise ships and cruise ship passengers. I have seen these behemoths countless times in Road Town in the BVIs when heading out on my annual charter sailing cruises. Why would anyone want to be on a big, ugly ship like this when they could be sailing? What would they do all day? How could they escape boredom? It somehow seemed inauthentic in contrast to the experience of being on a sailing yacht which involves skill, a sense of adventure and a much closer relationship to the waves and the wind and the spiritual experience of being on a very small object in a vast open sea.

After years of resisting, we did eventually give in a few years ago and have taken two cruises—the first on a small ship, the Corinthian II, a 65 passenger vessel that took us and Embry’s brother and sister–in-law on a UNC-sponsored, “Journeys of Paul” cruise in the Mediterranean and the second, a three day Disney Cruise with our son Andrew’s family, from Miami to the Bahamas and back. The Disney ship accommodated 2,500 passengers and over 1,ooo crew. Both experiences were enjoying—good food, excellent service and a mix of all types of people relaxing, trying to have fun and mostly succeeding.

So we pretty much knew what these cruises were like, and the experience aboard the Zuiderdam is so far pretty much what we expected.

The Zuiderdam is a “mid size” cruise ship accommodating 1,900 passengers and 800 crew. (Most of the “full size” ships now take around 5,000 passengers.) As I write this I am sitting on the top deck eleven stories high. I am looking out on a sparkling blue sea with winds of around five knots (not so great if we were on a sailboat). A library and internet café are behind me and the deck chairs are pretty much all taken , with people soaking up warm sunshine in 80 degree weather. We enjoyed a great prime rib dinner last night and a delicious breakfast this morning where we were seated with three other couples , all retired and a little younger than us and from all over the US. They all are very experienced cruisers with dozens of cruises under their belt. One guy, a retired commercial pilot, was on his 31^st. From talking to these folks I gather that these cruises can be addictive.

There is one big problem, however, and this one is really serious: food. It is too good and there is too much of it—everywhere you look, and it is all free for the taking–as much of it as you want. Embry tells me that the she read a report that the average passenger gains a pound a day on these cruises ;and I can see how—stuffing yourself three times a day with snacks in between and bars and lounges around every nook and corner offering your favorite beverage.

We are going to be on this ship for 15 days. We still have almost 3,000 more miles to go. Fifteen pounds heavier by the first of April? Disaster.

As one who is known for loving good food and lacking any sense of self discipline , I am in serious trouble. My strategy for now is to exercise as much as I can (two mile walk around the “promenade” deck, six laps, before breakfast and an hour in the fitness center in the afternoons) and to try, really try, to eat in moderation.

Pray for me.

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March 15

Amtrak approaching the Georgia /Florida border

When Jessica arrived at our house at 5:oo pm yesterday to take us to the train, for the first time I felt a sense of panic. “Oh my God! This is it! We are really doing it. All the planning and preparation . What have we forgotten? What is in store for us? Four months and 25,000 miles on trains and ships. Are we out of our minds?”

Embry was ecstatic, beaming from ear to ear. This had been her idea from the beginning, an adventure she had been thinking about for years except her initial thinking (fantasy) involved hopping on “tramp steamers,” and using only third class hotels and public transportation. When I signed on a couple of years ago, the plans were upgraded accordingly , so now the trip includes a healthy dose of first class accommodations while still providing for a container ship Pacific crossing and plenty of opportunities for adventure and stories.

After a one hour delay, the Silver Meteor barreled into Union Station, and we boarded at 8:30 in a chilling drizzle. “Out of Dodge, baby,” I muttered. Enough of the Inside-the-Beltway blues. Time for a much needed break.

The first big question was just how bad the Amtrak experience would be. We were already an hour behind schedule, and the train looked pretty beat up and worn out.

I remember the last –and only–time we took an overnight train to Savannah about ten years ago, when the woman next to us choked on the first bite of a cheeseburger, then screeched, “What is this?” The cellophane wrapping was still on the cheese, and she had just swallowed a large chunk of it.

We checked our two big bags (a source of apprehension for me as to how we will handle these 50 pound monsters) and made our way to one of the sleeper cars where we were greeted by William, a graying, middle age steward with long hair, a slight Hispanic accent and a friendly smile. He got us situated in our tiny but compact cabin and advised us that he had made reservations in the first class dining room for us and that the meal was free. Remembering the cheeseburger incident—and because we had already eaten in Union Station—we opted for a beer and a glass of wine in the lounge and turned in for the night. Not a bad start.

The next morning we were awakened by Christmas carols. Now this is mid March , mind you. How tacky. The carols were not that bad, a choir of men and boys sounding much like the Cathedral choir. But not now, not in spring. Well, it was Sunday. Maybe this was the closest thing Amtrak had to church music. I tried turning off all the speakers to no avail. Christmas carols playing for the entire 12 remaining hours would be enough to send me to the looney bid before we even got started. Naturally we complained to William, pleading with him to stop the carols, for God’s sake. He gave us a puzzled look, which confirmed that the shabby service of Amtrak was alive and well. On the way to the dining the insidious music continued. As we waited to be seated, I noticed people we were staring at me with the same disgusted look that I must have had. We were all sick of this music, and the conductors were doing nothing about it. Outrageous.

Then Embry turned to me and whispered, “Check your iphone.”

I pulled it out of my pocket.

The sound got louder and the iphone screen read, “The Choir of Saint John’s College: Christmas Favorites.”

I frantically squeezed the off button and closed it down . The passengers in the dining car returned to eating their breakfast.

***

The rest of the trip went well. Since the train costs more than flying, it is somewhat amazing that anyone takes trains anymore, but the Silver Meteor was full; and the service was generally good, the food (lunch and breakfast) edible—well, at least the breakfast. There were a number of families and several father and son couples, who I imagine were coming down for spring training baseball or maybe Disney World.

And there are many good reasons to take the train rather than fly. You marvel at the sunrise over the marshes surrounding Savannah, the Spanish moss hanging from Live Oaks, the estuaries meandering through the swamps, the modest homes along side the tracks with people in overalls (white and black) sitting out on front porches, rocking in mid day shade. You don’t see this kind of stuff at 38,000 feet. Maybe we will eventually tire of seeing the world in slow motion, but for now anyway, it is a good way to start.

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March 13

Washington, DC

So how do you go about planning  a trip around the world without using  airplanes?

We began about a year ago. Without using planes you have three basic options–the Southern Route, which would take you through the Southern Hemisphere and to many exotic and developing countries but also would involve a lot of water and time at sea. Then there is the Silk Road which takes you through such delightful and interesting spots as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Not such a great idea right now. So we decided to opt for the Northern Route which takes you through central Asia.

Once you have a basic route then the next questions are how you get across both oceans and across central Asia, and do you focus more on China or Japan.

We lucked out by being able to book on a  cruise ship leaving the Caribbean for summer cruises in the Med. The central Asia crossing really has only one option–the Trans Siberian Railroad. The Pacific is the most challenging.

Our first choice was to spend several weeks in Japan and depart from there, but ultimately we ended up choosing China because there is essentially no way to get from Japan to the US by ship. (There are occasional speciality cruises but none that fit our schedule, and cargo ships are not allowed to take on passengers in Japan.) Similarly there are few if any cruise ships from China to the US, but there area a  bunch of container ships. After a good bit of work we decided to go with the Maris Line mainly because they were the only shipping company which would even agree to a date of departure. Since we locked in several months ago, we have already been assigned to five different container ships; and as of this moment there is no assurance when the most recent one–the Hanjin Ottawa–will actually depart. “Don’t worry,”emailed Maya, my new friend at Maris, “We have a lot of ships leaving Shanghai (mostly to Seattle) and we’ll get you out.”  Container ships carry thousands of tons of cargo and a handful of paying passengers, who could be described as  very small containers with arms, legs and a mouth. Guess who wins that one.

So once you have three three big pieces settled (crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship in transit from the Caribbean to the Med, crossing central Asia on the Trans Siberian Railroad, and crossing the Pacific on a container ship),you are ready to fill in the blanks. We used two very good travel agencies for this, one specializing in Europe and the other in Asia; and given the number of times we have had to make changes, I am sure they lost money on us, but they have stuck with us. We highly recommend D’Lane Maselunas (Europe, Atlantic crossing and Siberia) and Asia Trans Pacific (first Japan and when that fizzled, China).

Getting visas for China, Russia and Belarus (transit only) is another story, but that will have to wait. We got our Russian visas yesterday and are promised the Belarus transit visa tomorrow. In the nick of time, as they say.

There are a bunch of moving parts in this adventure and lots of opportunities for “minor adjustments,” so stay tuned…

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March 11

Washington, DC

On Saturday, March 14, 2015, Embry and I depart on our around-the-world tour without using airplanes. The no airplanes idea was hers, but I am going along with it enthusiastically. It should be an adventure. During the next four months I will be posting regular blog entries as well as photos and  hope you will follow along as we make our way:

First to Ft Lauderdale via Amtrak (March 14)

Then to Valencia, Spain, via a “repositioning, oneway transit cruise” aboard a Holland American cruise ship being moved from the Caribbean to the Med (March 16-29). In Spain we are doing a house exchange  for two weeks. (March 30-April 14)

Then to Moscow by rail via Madrid, Paris, Brittany, Berlin, and Warsaw. (April 14-May 6)

Then to Beijing on the Trans Siberian Railroad, with numerous stops along the way including Lake Bakal and Mongolia. (May 7-May 25)

Then a month in China (May 26-June 23)

And finally back to the US via a Maris Line container ship from Shanghai to Seattle (17 days). The departure date  is a little iffy, so it is not exactly certain when we will set foot on American soil–probably mid July– and because of the uncertainty, we have not yet lined up the trip across the US to DC.

We should have access to the internet most of the way except the two ocean crossings so there may be a blackout during those periods. Otherwise my goal is to post daily. I will announce on Facebook when I have a new post and  hope you will follow us. First post should be on the 16th.

We are still working on obtaining our Russian and Belarus visas but should have them in hand next week. Wish us luck!

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