My New Assignment

At our initial crew meeting (and knot tying lesson) last night, I was given my crew assignment for our upcoming trip to the Seychelles. Eight of us will be spending a week on a catamaran sailing among the 115 Seychelles Islands.

I am very excited because I was named the official boat “Archivist.” Hubby D was assigned the Boatswain. I am still trying to understand what that is (and what the other terms are -- stern, helm, salon, galley -- wait --  I know galley -- food!).

Our captain, SW described my assignment, Archivist was like Frank Hurley’s job on the voyage of the Endurance with Ernest Shackleton.

The Endurance locked in the ice.

Frank Hurley

During that historic journey, Hurley and Shackleton were forced to destroy over 400 glass photo plates. They were only able to preserve 150 of the very best plates to document the journey.

SW charged me with great responsibilities. In our ship orders he wrote, “Just as Frank Hurley was charged with photographing the voyage to preserve the honor of the men on board and to ensure that the National Geographic funding was received, Brenda your task is to serve as the chief Archivist for the voyage, and ensure that appropriate photographs and video will be recorded.

You will do so with appropriate discretion and decency, and you will do so with a meager ration allotment of only two group photos per day, any unused allocation from the day many not be considered a carryover to the successive day. Sunsets and sunrises are free to capture at your sole discretion.”

This sunset was on the Moorings web site. I hope we have one this pretty while we are there.

I spent some time today reading the story of the Endurance. It was amazing. If you enjoy a great sea adventure, it is worth the effort to read.

I am inspired and hope that I can live up to my responsibilities. The Seychelles are beautiful islands so I will have plenty of material to work with. However, I am a bit concerned about the limitations that have been set of only 2 group photos per day.

The captain did not put a limitation on selfies, so maybe I can work around the other limitation.  HUMMMM.

Our selfie from the last catamaran we were on in Greece.

We leave day after tomorrow. Unfortunately we won’t have wifi or internet where we are going. You will have to wait for us to return to find out how well I live up to my assignment.

Here is an overview of the Seychelles from our charter company, The Moorings.

Lying 1,000 miles off Africa’s east coast, between 240 and 600 miles north of the equator in the Indian Ocean, the 115 islands that comprise the Republic of Seychelles are among the most isolated in the world. Arab traders first sailed to the Seychelles around 800 A.D. Phoenician, Polynesian, Chinese, and European explorers followed, but it wasn’t until the 1700s that French colonists settled on the larger islands. Today, the population of the entire country numbers only 84,000, and it represents a rich commingling of French, British, Indian, Middle Eastern, and African culture. The French influence remains prominent; Creole is commonly spoken along with English.

While coral atolls make up most of the 72 low-lying Outer Islands, the majority of the Inner Islands, the largest of which consist of Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue, are geological wonders of twisted granite, mountainous and lush with tropical forests that support species of birds found nowhere else on Earth. Giant tortoises inhabit some of the Seychelles, nesting on the fine, white-sand beaches fronted with exquisitely beautiful coral reefs and azure seas that make a Seychelles sailing vacation unique and enriching.

During June, July and August whale sharks can be spotted in the Seychelles.  If only we could be so lucky, it would definitely check one of my life goal boxes to see a whale shark in the wild. We have two dives set up for the middle of the week. Keep your fingers crossed.

I have to run now. I have to charge all my batteries for my cameras and make sure I have my waterproof casing for the cameras set and ready. And, where did I put that selfie stick? I am so happy the captain did not ban my selfie stick.  I would hate to have a mutiny before we leave the dock.

It is going to be a lot of fun!

Cheers

Brenda

Becoming a Party Animal

Whew! What a day it was yesterday.

The American flag was proudly on display inside the compound.

I have to admit, I had a fun day.

First we had this absolutely unbelievable cook out at DT and KT house and then I attended a Ghagba as a special guest of a good friend from AWA.

It was nearly 3AM when I finally pulled the covers over my head. Then at 6AM hubbie D woke me up so I could fix his breakfast. Now I am busy planning a dinner party for 10 to be held in our flat this evening.

No rest for the wicked.

The Fourth of July is always fun no matter where we are but yesterday was exceptionally fun because we shared our celebration with a group of about 25 American Expats here in Bahrain. You really can not appreciate the freedom you have as an American until you have lived outside the United States.

Sometimes Americans take our freedoms for granted. Most people don't have a fraction of the freedom we enjoy in the States. I am incredibly thankful that I was born an American.

ES cooked the most wonderful brisket. We had steaks, ribs, chicken, wings, hamburgers and hotdogs - I might have missed some - there was soooooo much. It was overwhelming.

We all tried to help the cooks with quality control.

Even those sitting out by the pool were in on the action of sampling off the grill.

There was plenty of action inside as well.

Not to worry, we ate our vegetables, too.

We also celebrated a birthday and a new wedding! It was a great party.

The birthday girl (29 again?) complete with flaming candle.

The newly wed couple.

After the great food and fabulous company, I was off to a Ghabga (party held after Iftar and generally late at night) and fashion show hosted by the International Ladies Association.  The event was under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Thajba Bint Salman Alkhalifa Wife of His Excellency Sheikh Salman Bin Abdalla Alkhalifa.

When the invitation arrived I only saw the side written Arabic.  I thought I was in trouble until I happen to turn it over.  Whew!

This was a special Ghabga for ladies only. D shot this quick photo of me all dressed up in my new silk jellaliya and running out the door as the car waited in the drive. I barely made it. However in my defense, the driver was 15 minutes early.

All dressed up running out the door because the car is waiting for me.

The Ghabga started at 9:30 and the Shaikha did not arrive until almost 11:30. The fashion show was wonderful and around 1AM we finally had a bite to eat.

Our group looked lovely.

Our table sign was elegant.

We started the evening with wonderful tea.

The head table with this great lamp. I have got to find one of these to take home.

Lantern decor on the stage.

Fashion runway across from the head table.

Sweets in beautiful containers at the head table.

I thought this was a lantern, but on close review, it held sweets.

R from AWA was also there. 

Our hostess, LAW at our table.

The Shaikha was swarmed when she arrived

The Shaikha walking in - she is the one with the black wrap.

The Shaikha barely made it past our table before she was swarmed again.

As we were waiting for the Shaikha to settled in with her tea and sweets, the hotel started playing loud Arabic music and everyone at our table started swaying along.  It was cute.

If you are reading this blog in an email, you will need to go to my blog page to view this video.  http://brendahyde.blogspot.com

It was another experience to put in my memory book. The camaraderie with fellow Americans made me feel so very "at home." Later the special evening was also very wonderful and I loved all the beautiful dresses.

I would say that this July 4th will go down as one of the more unusual ones for my lifetime.

Cheers,

Brenda

Here is hubby D enjoying his 4th of July hot dog.  He is such the quintessential American.

LW Has Gained His Independence

Guess what?  LW rolled over.

Watch out - he is free!

Maybe not complete independence for LW but a big "roll" in that direction.

His mommy is in trouble now because he is becoming mobile. It will only be a short time before the tummy comes up and the knees start coordinating with his arms and he starts to explore the world.

Once a baby starts becoming mobile your world changes.

When LW's mom, BHB was a baby she would rock back and forth up on her knees. Hubbie D said she looked like she was getting ready to take off.

Of course, once she discovered how to move forward on all fours she did take off and she hasn't stopped moving ever since.

LW is the cutest little guy right now and I love these videos.

If you are reading this blog in an email, unfortunately you will have to go to my blog page to watch the video.  http://brendahyde.blogspot.com

Cheers,
Brenda

LW is wearing his "First Fourth of July" shirt. Mommy and baby are just the cutest couple!

A New Adventure in the Middle East

Once more, I have experienced something in my life I never dreamed I would experience.

Certainly, the Middle Eastern culture has offered me a myriad of experiences that have enriched and added to the spice in my life. I am loving all of it.

Saturday night was another new adventure. We attended an Iftar with over 20 of friends.

During Ramadan, two main meals are served: the Suhoor, which is served before dawn, and the Iftar, which is served after sunset.

Many Muslims spend most evenings with their family for their Iftar. Occasionally they go to homes of their friends. It is really a time to spend with family and friends showing how much you love and value them.

We know a lot of other expats without family here in Bahrain so we are having a great time inviting them to our home to share in the spirit of Ramadan.

At the end of the day, when the sun sets, the maghrib prayer starts, and the day's fast is broken with the Iftar meal. Many Muslims break their fast by eating dates before beginning the Iftar meal.

Here is my "spread" with samples of the types of foods that are eaten in the Middle East to break fast. These represent several countries because there are many different nationalities in Bahrain. Most are sweet.

I took advantage of the grocery store where they have a wonderful “date bar” with many varieties of dates.  We had 8 kinds of dates at our flat for our guests when they arrived.

Here are the dates we served:  Saudi Mabroom Dates, Saudi Safawi Dates, Saudi Ajwah Dates, Saudi Khudri Dates, Bahrain Fardh Dates, Saudi Sofry Dates, Jordan Majdoul Dates and Saudi Suquei Dates.

I put out a scorecard and asked everyone to rate his or her “favorite date.” On the scorecard I specified to not vote for their spouse. Of course, hubbie D is my favorite date.

The winning date was the Saudi Sofry date.

Living across the street from the Ritz-Carlton, every night during Ramadan we watch people coming to the Iftar tent for their evening meal.

Before sunset the cars start streaming into the parking lot. The lights come alive on the palms leading down the path to the tent and a steady stream of Arabs head in to break their fast.

Cars arriving at the Ritz Ramadan tent.

Last year I was intrigued and decided to plan an evening where I could experience a Ramadan Iftar with some of my friends.

This activity is such a strong part of the Arab culture that I felt we needed to experience an Iftar while we are living here.

It was not difficult to put together a nice group.  It seems that I am not the only person who would like to experience an Iftar.

Before we went to the Iftar tent at the Ritz, we all gathered at our flat just across the street. We enjoyed some of the traditional “break your fast” foods to go along with our cocktails.

The ladies wore the traditional jellabiya. This made for a lovely picture.

Although the guys went "western," they still looked good.

Here is our group just before sunset when we headed to the Ritz.

Yes, this is my new dress. 

We were quite the site strolling through the parking lot.

We chose to sit in the "non-smoking" area. The area filled with shisha pipes was located just to the right beyond our tables.

Coffee and mint tea waited for us when we arrived. They were delicious. 

The Italian chef made a point of brining some risotto to my table because it was not quite ready when I passed by him. It was fabulous. We have dined in the Italian restaurant at the Ritz and it is wonderful.

Salads were abundant. There was also a nice sushi assortment.

This lamb dish was similar to the mansaf we had in Jordan. It was good however the dish in Jordan was much better. Maybe the atmosphere in Jordan had something to do with that. It would be hard to beat the fun we had in Jordan. 

Deserts were a big hit.

Some of the deserts even had eatable gold flecks on them.

Hubbie D was thrilled with the gelato bar for dessert.

Of course I had to attempt a selfie inside the tent and outside.

DW and I tried but we could not capture the beautiful surroundings.

The street and walkways were all it up. 

After dinner, we strolled (stuffed and happy) back to our flat for cigars and wine. We had some wonderful conversation and finished the evening consuming DW’s Bailey’s Irish Crème. It was perfect.

Another box to check in our adventure log.  And, it was exceptionally fun to share it with some many lovely friends.

Cheers,
Brenda