I woke up to find that my roommate never made it to her bed last night. Her friend had called around 2:30 am looking for her and waking me up. I was not really worried. Actually, I was thrilled that she might go missing for a while; I had been losing the silent thermostat war. Then while getting ready, there was another call to the room. She had not shown up for a field trip she signed up for, and the trip coordinator was looking for her. At this point, I turn the thermostat up and get slightly concerned. I check with the Purser’s Office to make sure she made it back to the ship. She checked in around 2:30 am. I decided she must be in the Drunk Tank, a room where students get locked up if they return to the ship obviously intoxicated.
Over breakfast, I met a girl who freshly released from the Drunk
Tank. She blew a 0.23 when coming aboard
the night/morning before. Being thrown
in the observation room is accompanied by a $100 fine, a required Life
Decisions course, and dock time (amount of time detained on the ship when in
port). This girl was given dock time
until 8:10 pm. We were to leave Portugal
at 8.
Emily and I prepare for another romantic day together. We plan to go to that one statue with all the
people, something else we saw on a postcard with a Portuguese name we can’t
ever seem to remember. We look on a map of
the Belem neighborhood and pick a tram stop that looks promising. We catch another “free” tram and take in the
sights. While waiting for the tram to
move, I look around and see a couple of friendly-looking men coming around the
tram. They are nicely dressed and smile
at the passengers. They are checking
tickets. I frantically push the button
on the door, hoping it is not too late. The
door opens and I jump out, hoping Emily will follow. She is confused, but jumps out after me.
We find ourselves in front of some big cathedral with no
admission fee, so we go in. The room is
huge and cavernous, like all cathedrals.
As we walk around, we stumble across Vasco da Gama’s tomb. We exit, and right across the street we see
the statue with the people. We cross the
street and find ourselves in a large garden with hedges intricately shaped into
designs like shields. We reach that one
statue, homage to the Age of Discovery.
We take plenty of photos, refuse to pay the entrance fee, and walk
farther down the coast to the Tower of Belem.
It is like a miniature castle used as a defense point.
We go back to the ship for lunch. A waiter tells us we probably will not leave
until the next morning (departure is set for this evening). We do not know yet what decision has been
made about Morocco – will we go or won’t we – and what the alternatives are. There are rumors that we may go to another
port in Spain or to the Canary Islands or to Italy. The delay in Lisbon makes us suspect we will
skip Morocco after all.
After lunch, we rush off in the eternal search for
wi-fi. This proves very difficult. We search for a café in the Bairro Alto
neighborhood recommended in Emily’s travel book. After many failed inquiries, we find a path
of sorts hidden off the side of a green patch.
We follow it to the roof of a building, go down some steps, and end up in
the very café. Not only did it have
wi-fi, but it also overlooked the whole city.
We could see our ship, and glanced up often while working until the last
minute. We arrived on the ship just in
time to not get penalized.
In the evening, the entire shipboard community is called for
a mandatory meeting. SAS has made a
decision about Morocco. At the meeting,
we find out that there have been more riots and protests at US embassies across
the Muslim world, including in Rabat and Casablanca, our port of call. We will not risk going to Morocco, but
instead will stay an extra two days in Spain and visit the Canary Islands. In addition and contrary to previous
announcements, travel to Gibraltar will be allowed. I could not be more ecstatic! Gibraltar was the one thing I had been set
on, and I was deflated when we were forbidden to go to the British
territory. Furthermore, because so many
students had complained that they weren’t getting their passports stamped,
Executive Dean John arranged for our passports to be stamped when we crossed
into Gibraltar. I was still upset about
Morocco, though not as upset as all the students who ordered the camel
rides. Morocco would have been our first
difficult port, and Dean John knew that.
He warned us that the Canary Islands are not to be Spring Break, but
with the stories I’ve heard so far, I am as afraid as he is.
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