Shipboard

Except for one adventure on a freighter in the South Pacific's Marquesas and Tuomotos and another traveling by Alaskan ferries up and down the Inside Passage, I had never really traveled far by ship before this trip. I was not at all sure I'd even like it. It turned out that the MV Discovery, a small British ship carrying a maximum of 650 passengers, was a near-perfect fit. I would still be very leery about trying the large cruise ships. The staff on the Discovery was great; there was no major glitz or casino level activity; the small performance entourage gave a variety of shows; the ship's lecturers were exceptional; the food was plentiful (and served in several venues; I couldn't even find some of them for a couple days!). The small library was jam-packed--a real plus.

Our group of 25 or 30 people had our own lecturers, guides, "mother hen," and tours ashore, but could also participate in all the ship amenities.

Pilots came aboard and tugs assisted with harbor entrances and docking. Sometimes we anchored in the harbor and took tenders ashore. A couple of times the pilot boats couldn't make it alongside or were behind schedule, so the pilot was dropped from a helicopter. Suited up scuba divers were at the ready to do sea rescue in case the pilot drop missed.

The ship had itself girded for a portion of voyage in the Indian Ocean to ward off Somali pirates with barbed wire coils, blocked stairs from lower decks, logs hanging from rails to repel boarders, and fire hoses at the ready. Once we had sailed into safer seas, where the coalition forces were close in patrols, the ship's crew revved up to party mode and drew the passengers in.

Sometimes at sea there were great views, particulary of skies. Visitors approached too, sometimes to trade, sometimes just to gawk. One surprise visitor was a Bruce's green pigeon perched on a forward railing.