SHIP FACTS
By Bob Van Leer

  (AT SEA, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001) - We have left winter behind. Our cruise ship, Pacific Princess, is headed east along the southern coast of the western bulge of Africa, passing Liberia and Ivory Coast.

  Here we are only about 350 miles north of the Equator and the weather is warm and muggy on deck at night. The air conditioners on the ship are beginning to feel good.

  There are a number of diversions to take up the hours at sea. For those who wish to exercise there is something nearly hourly including walks, aerobics and body toning. The gym and two pools are open all day.

  There are talks during the day about the countries we are to visit and today there was a lecture on "Native Tribes of Africa" by Michael Modzelewski, travel writer for the Discovery Channel.

  A couple of times a week there are economics lectures including a couple on Estate Planning. The average age of the travelers is such that this is a pertinent subject. And, of course, there is bingo once or twice a day.

  For the evening meal we are assigned a table, in our case, with five others. For lunch seating is by arrival which is convenient for getting acquainted with other travelers. We sat with a couple yesterday and the man introduced himself and said he was from Grants Pass, Oregon. He was a bit taken aback when I said we were from Gold Beach.

  While the passengers are mostly from the U. S. with a smaller number from Canada, the origins of the crew are more widespread.

  The greatest single nation represented is the Philippines with 153 crewman. The United Kingdom has 49; Pakistan, 30; Mexico, 28; Italy, 25; Canada, 16; and Romania 14.
Represented in the single digits are: Australia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, United States and South Africa, for a total of 357 in the crew.

  Of the 569 passengers, 456 are from the U. S. and 69 from Canada. There are 11 from Mexico and 10 British. In the single digits are: Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, South Africa, Netherlands and Turkey.

  These are seasoned travelers. Some we have met make Betty and I seem like stay-at-homes. Two of out dinner companions, Don and Dana Keyes from Salem, OR, have been on 27 cruises. (Betty and I have been on 12.) Don said he met someone aboard who has been on 71 cruises. Our other dinner companions are a family, Dr. John and Karen Roper and sever-year-old son, Aaron, from Bellevue, WA. John climbs mountains for a hobby. This afternoon the news is filled with reports of another coup attempt, this time in the Republic of Congo. As of this writing the issue is in doubt. Coups are the curse of this region of the world. Just four days ago there was an attempted coup in Ivory Coast, just a few miles ahead of where we are now, and Congo is only a few hundred miles from here.

  All of the nations in this part of the world have experienced coups and counter coups, some bloodless and some not. There can't be much improvement in the lot of the common people until there are stable governments here, and this doesn't appear to be on the horizon.

  Tomorrow we will dock at Tema, Ghana, a former British colony, for the day.