FIRST BLOG OF 2024 

New Year’s Eve:   New Year’s Eve was exciting but not necessarily in the way we had wished.  Coming back from dinner Betty took a tumble, hitting her head on the elevator door.  She fell hard on her left elbow and left knee.  Two of the younger passengers picked her up and eventually I got her into bed. 

New Year’s Day:    We docked at the island of Sir Bani Yas where I had a tour booked for a wildlife sanctuary.  However, Betty was not in shape to be left alone so I have no animal pictures to show you.  As the day progressed her pain and swelling increased.  In the evening she saw the doctor.  Several x-rays showed that there were no broken bones.  She was given pain killers and allowed to borrow a wheelchair.  As you can see from the background in the first photo we were the last couple to eat in the Main Dining Room that evening. 

The next picture shows one of her bruises.  Modesty, however, prevents the showing of any of the others. 

Jan. 3:   We had a car and driver booked for a tour of Dubai.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take the wheelchair off the boat.   There was a walk of some distance from the gangplank to immigration, and another walk from there to the parking lot where we were scheduled to meet our driver.  After struggling for a bit some worker in a hard hat went over to two Arab men in full white costume.  After a discussion a wheelchair suddenly appeared.  After our tour Betty was having difficulty walking back. A security guard approached her and told her to sit on a bench while he disappeared and then reappeared with a chair and a husky pusher.  I can’t see this having happened in Canada. 

Dubai:   Dubai is a beautiful city of 3.5 million people with stunning architecture.  However, what impressed me the most was (1) all the thoroughfares were completely lined with flowers, and (2) in 4.5 hours I was unable to find a single piece of litter. 

The pictures below show:  Cayan Tower (the world’s tallest twisting tower); The Museum of the Future; Buri Khalifa (at 163 floors the world’s tallest building); One of the city's 200+ mosques; The inside of a shopping center; Burj Al Arab (a beach hotel); and The Pointe, an Hotel at the end of the Palms.  The Palms is an artificial peninsula shaped like a palm tree.  It is where the truly wealthy have their condos. 

Jan. 3 turned out to be a very pleasant day which was topped off with a great meal at Jacques, the on-board French restaurant.

We are now leaving the Persian Gulf giving Betty 3 days to recover before our next port.