Although awake before the alarm, up in the Horizon Court it appeared quieter than usual. We managed our usual fill before picking up the backpack and heading for the theatre for an 8:15am meet time. Our coach, though of modern design, was a bit tired and a bit noisy towards the rear, and that meant that although not full, we couldn’t really hear the tour guide very easily, especially as the microphone kept dropping out. That was OK by me…
Fortunately, a half day tour with two 1 hour stops made for a balanced sort of day.
Our first trip to south America and Manta seemed quite a poor area. Plenty of graffiti around and also far more than the usual amount of litter.
Stop one was at Montecristi and a Panama hat demonstration, from the plant stage, stripping and boiling the fibre, to weaving the finished article. The ladies making the main body of the hats did so, leaning forwards over the former. It didn’t look too comfortable. I can’t really go into the intricacies of what makes a genuine Panama hat, (other than made in Ecuador) but the ones we saw there being made, ranged up to about $200 locally - if sold in Hawaii for example, they could well fetch $2,000!
Whilst the demo was going on, other traders were trying to sell leather belts which seemed exceptionally good value.
We walked around the corner to the market square and even though this is a strongly Catholic community; and it was a Sunday; and also the square was right in front of the large church, the market was in full swing.
Locals were doing a roaring trade in genuine Panama hats to tourists. I managed a genuine hat (complete with balsa wood box), for $25. The cheapest were just $20 but according to some, these were only expected to be worn once, which seems a bit extravagant. The genuine article can be rolled flat and pulled back into shape and lets in neither sun nor rain. Paula bought a scarf or two and three small carved items made from ivory nuts, for $5 the 3. At least we did our bit for the local economy. Although there were many similar stalls, the locals were all very pleasant, polite and friendly and not at all pushy.
On then to higher ground, just a few minutes out of town and just opposite a brand new, large, flash looking 24 hole golf course, to our second stop. Even though this was out of town, there was no respite from the rubbish at the roadside. Goodness knows where it all came from.
Through the narrowest of gates (for a coach) to an ivory nut establishment. We knew nothing about these nuts before today, so it was quite educational. The nuts grow in what looks like a massive pine cone and when dried, this is then quite brittle and the nuts easily removed. They are laid outside for three months or so to dry then fed into a machine that removes the outer shell – which is of course not wasted.
The nuts are then either polished and carved or are sliced on a circular saw. If sliced, the centre is then cut out to be used as buttons. The outer remains are not thrown away, so much of the nut jewellery has a hole in it. Now you know why!
Many such ivory buttons are exported and the largest market is China. Work is going on to try and work out how to use the nuts for covering piano keys, as a substitute for real ivory which it is no longer possible to use.
Although initially edible, (I believe they are related to Soy) and containing milk, like coconuts, once dried, they are incredibly hard. Some of the items on offer made from the nuts, included various forms of jewellery and knick-knacks to beautiful chess sets, ranging in size from travelling ones at about $15, to full size sets at $75 – which seemed very reasonable. There were also packs of buttons for sale and one or two ladies certainly bought them.
We returned via the waterfront where there was a fair bit of boat renovation going on, most boats now being made out of mahogany and balsa then skinned with fibreglass. The harbour also had a lot of tuna fishing boats moored, alongside our quay. We thought that the nearest one named Julie L was appropriate for Paula’s daughter.
We were back on board just before 1pm and for the first time on this cruise, we headed for the pizzeria. A filling calzone (with double pepperoni added…) went down very well - and I even had to help out Paula with her pizza.
A leisurely afternoon and a return to deck 5 for a coffee later.
All aboard was set for 6:30pm and we were somewhat staggered to find we were on the move at 6:32! Normally, we leave about 30 minutes after, so as everyone was on board early, the captain made the sensible decision to get moving. Going slower uses up less fuel so an extra half hour to reach our next port has a financial benefit (to Princess, not us).
Dinner was fine, though I had to send my medium rare meat back, as it was almost mooing. The replacement was perfect.
To the Vista lounge for ‘Sean O’Shea’, billed as a vocal impressionist. The pre-show screen had quite a few funny ex-YouTube clips and other funny stills, so this really set the scene that it wasn’t going to be straight vocal impressions show. We weren’t wrong. This was a great show and Sean not only has a fine voice, but really seemed to enjoy performing too.
Doing the inevitable drunken Dean Martin (does every impressionist do this?) and Neil Diamond of course. He jumped off the stage during ‘Sweet Caroline’ and encouraged the audience to do the usual arm waving. Spying a couple sitting dead centre, two rows back, sitting on their hands, he couldn’t arouse any favourable response whatever, so gave the two fingers in the eyes ‘looking at you sunshine’ gesture – and still nothing. So from his back pocket, he whipped out a yellow card. Simple gag, but effective.
Two minutes later, after prancing about a bit more, still no response from the miserable duo, red card…
He did a very good Kermit the frog impression too.
His finale after a costume change and black wig, sunglasses etc., was an Elvis set which really was good – not just the vocals. A few jokes relating to the fact that Elvis was no longer with us and during the song, once again, down amongst the audience, he started kissing the hands of the ladies. He’d done about 4 when from backstage, one of the stagehands rushed out wearing a full medical face mask and from a large container, handed out antiseptic wipes to the same ladies. Another simple but very effective gag, much appreciated by 98% of the audience.
One of the best, fun shows we have seen and I’m giving him a 9/10.
(We found out later that at the earlier show, during the Tom Jones impression, the audience had thrown a large pair of bloomers on stage. Quite why it wasn’t done on our show we don’t know. Maybe the ‘sit on the hands brigade’ from first sitting had complained?)
Pity I seem to have developed a bit of toothache, so hopefully, a small sip of port at bedtime will anaesthetise it.
Two days at sea to look forward to now - and a birthday…
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