A short update is in order.
We are now in the Red Sea with Egypt to our west and Saudi Arabia to our
east. We have passed near Mecca, holy
city for Muslims and will reach Safaga, Egypt tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.
But the news is that on Monday morning, several friends
sighted two small boats moving toward our ship’s stern. Supposedly one contained three people and the
other, five people. One person showed us
pictures they took and it clearly shows people with automatic weapons on
board. Other friends saw the activity
but had no camera at the time, but they did see on the ship’s route map that
the ship swerved and picked up speed.
Still another captured some of the activity on video. All of them, separately, seemed to see
weapons. Our friends with pictures
indicated that the ship asked to see the pictures.
Most of us were completely unaware of the incident as it occurred
between about 8:30 and 9:30 AM. I was in
the interior of the ship at the time and saw nothing. Barb was in the stateroom, having been
quarantined for a day due to a respiratory problem and a brief 101°
temperature. She had visited the doctor
who gave her medication and told her to stay in the stateroom for 24 hours and
if the temp dropped and she felt better, she could leave the room once she was
checked by the ship doctor. By Sunday
evening, she felt the temp had dropped and she felt better, so late Monday
afternoon, she was allowed out of confinement and went to dinner on Monday
evening. A lot of people who experience
respiratory problems have shown symptoms and there is speculation that the smog
and pollution in India may be the cause.
At any rate, Barb saw nothing of the excitement either.
Today, at his 12:45 PM daily announcement, the Captain said
he had been asked about the unidentified boats near the ship and he wanted to
assure us that they had been “fishing boats.”
That seems to conflict with what several people report they saw with
their own eyes and in some cases, pictures they took. Needless to say, this is sparking a great
deal of interest and discussion on the ship.
Regardless of what really happened, most of us were unaware of what
happened at the time and we continue en route to Safaga where we will take the
3½ to 4 hour bus ride to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. It will be our first visit to Egypt and some
of the antiquities. More on that when we
return to the ship.
CT
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