patriciawatt

April 17 – after my lovely tour of Manila and delicious lunch at a beautiful hotel, we returned to the ship.  We got back in time for Happy Hour, so some of us decided to stop and have a drink and then from there we went up to the Terrace Grill.  After a hard day of touring, no one wanted to change for dinner and Terrace is more casual than the Grand Dining room.  All was well until I got back to my room after dinner and….. well just let’s say I spent a lot of time in my bathroom for the rest of the night and most of the next day.

I thought it was something called Hallohallo that I drank at the hotel in Manila.  It is like a milk shaky sort of drink with beans and stuff I didn’t recognize.  The waitress told me how good it was and made one for me.  I didn’t even think about the crushed ice or milk since I was in a very good hotel and lunch had been wonderful.  I went down to see the doc and he said it was not the Hallohallo and put me in quarantine!

Apparently there is another outbreak of Gastroenteritis on board.  This is the second time.  If you recall in an earlier blog, someone brought it on in Cape Town, but I was fine that time.  In any case, you are not allowed to leave your room.  I have heard that some people have their cabin key taken away.  I guess the Doc trusted me!  I like him.  He’s from Ecuador and very nice.

Also I think they put your face on a “sick” poster, because all the crew seems to know I have been ill.  I lived on chicken consumé, steamed rice and green tea or dry toast and green tea, and when it arrived it was on a plastic wrapped tray, with plastic utensils & a red plastic Hazardous Waste bag in which to put all refuse after you eat.

I am so lucky!  The next day was an extra day in Manila, because the cruise line cancelled Boracay Island because of the political problems there.  Presidernt Duterte is closing the island as of April 26.  Travel & Leisure declared it “the world’s best island”  and they are not really prepared for the millions of tourists who flock there.  The infrastructure is not equipped to handle the crowds and amongst other problems, ie soldiers in the streets, raw sewage is dumped into the ocean.

I was on a snorkelling tour there and may have ended up with gastroenteritis anyway.  So I was lucky to have a day to recover.  I am hoping I will be all better, and they will let me out for my tour in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo the following day.

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