I woke up as we docked in Ishigaki, Japan after a restless night. There were some large swells which gave me dreams of surfing. Ishigaki seems to be to Japan what the Keys are to the USA. Warmer, with amazingly blue water.
I joined Jolanda for a wonderful bowl of muesli with fresh berries for breakfast I'm not being sarcastic. HAL's muesli is so good. A chef on another ship gave me their recipe (cut down to just a few portions) and I've never made it. No wonder it is so tasty. Heavy cream is a main ingredient. But it is so delicious.
On my way into the dining room, I ran into one of my favorite guys - Tony, who brings the pastry tray to the tables. Well, he used to be one of my favorites. "You must have been so beautiful when you were young" is quite a burn. I needed the muesli to comfort me!
While we ate, we watched as passengers went through immigration on the deck above us. Passengers with shore excursions went first, then by deck, starting with one and ending with ten. It took 2 1/2 hours to clear immigration. Then, all passengers had to go through customs when they got off the ship. That makes for a short day on shore, since there is a shuttle bus to town and the last one leaves at 3:40 pm.
I've decided to relax on board instead. I'm getting a pedicure at 3. We'll be in Naha tomorrow for an overnight stay. I'm looking forward to a leisurely day there, shopping and sightseeing. And, hoping to enjoy some great Japanese seafood on shore.
Just before sailing away at about 4:50 p.m., Tokyo time, the Captain gave his daily speech from the bridge. The Safety Officer, who I met during the bridge tour, will be in charge of sail away. I'm sure he's very competent and I really enjoyed meeting him. My only concerns are that he appeared to be 12 (dear heavens, I'm old) and when I asked how fast the ship can go from 0 to top speed, he seemed pretty excited about how fast the ships "pick up" speed was.
The Captain also announced that as soon as we left the dock we'd be getting into gale force winds again and seas of 10-12 feet. Piddly, compared to some of the seas we've seen.
Photos!
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| About 6 a.m. Dark in Ishigaki |
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| The weather today in Ishigaki is in the high 60's, breezy and overcast with a 50% chance of showers |
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| Muesli and fresh berries |
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| What a view as we docked |
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| The port is on a tiny island, connected to the island of Ishigaki by the blue bridge |
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| The crew were busy painting and working on deck 3. They left a couple of doors open, so I took photos |
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| I know some guys who would love this organized tool closet |
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| Buses waiting for shore excursions and the free trip to town |
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| These older Japanese ladies were welcoming passengers with a dance. They seemed to be having a grand time. Townsend, Australia greeted the world cruise in 2020 with two groups of seniors -men and women in separate groups. They acted as free tour guides and gave us a VERY warm welcome to their town. And seemed to have a great time doing it |
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| Tourist fun, close to the ship. Water toys, pulled by a jet ski. Everyone was wearing wetsuits. Too chilly for me to swim today |
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| Water toys |
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| These cement pieces, used as a breakwater look like giant jacks |
A great lunch from the Dive In. The guys there always greet me warmly because I sent positive feedback to their managers - well deserved! I picked up some shrimp chips and a dessert, which I plan to replicate at home. Broken merengue, whipped cream and pie filling layers, then repeat.
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| This is the seawall near the mouth of the harbor. What's the difference between a seawall and breakwater? |
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| This is Jodi who takes excellent care of me in the MDR each evening at dinner |
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| Ah, is there anything better than a pedicure with a view on a rainy port day? With a massage chair? I am so grateful to be so spoiled. While I was there, a woman was getting her hair colored. I'm guessing she was in her 80's perhaps. Her husband was with her at the beginning to confer on style, color, etc. She didn't seem impaired in any way. He just seemed to have a lot of opinions on how she should look. TBH, the discussion made me grateful to be traveling alone. |
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