Last update from the ship. We disembark tomorrow, the only good thing is they are letting me leave my cases on board so I am going home and back again without Luggage. Now that is fantastic.

The internet is blocked a lot in Japan so we have not been able to get on line.

We had a "scary adventure" in Hokadate, Japan. Ron (Lindas husband) is always tacking pictures and this wild Japanese man saw him taking a picture of his store and starting yelling in Japanese. Then he grabbed a big rusty saw and started towards Ron with this menacing weapon. We were all in a little bit of shock. He pushed Ron with the flat blade of the saw and we just walked on by as fast as we could. An adventure we wont soon forget. We figured he had not talked to the local chamber of commerce about making tourists feel welcome. We have no idea why he was so upset.
Made me think of Oliva's wild monkey story from her Asian trip. He looked like a wild monkey!!!

The local market in Hakodate was unbelievable, full of every type of fish and crab that you can imagine. You can take a cable car or taxi to the top of a mountain and the view is truly beautiful. Our taxi driver stopped at a restored public hall and we toured this very Victorian mansion. The locals can pay $10 and dress up in ballgowns and have their picture taken inside. These tiny Japanese girls all dressed up giggling as their pictures were taken was the highlight of our day. The Asian women are so natural and beautiful. This was something that I first noticed in Vietnam there is something so delicate about them I am always mesmerized by their beauty and grace.

Today we were in Sendai and we got a taxi and went to see Temples in a truly beautiful park. We simply did not have enough time. WE made it back without about 2 minutes to spare before the ship shuttle left and it is a good 40 minutes back to the ship so we did not want to miss the shuttle. WE were caught in a huge traffic jam - one of the dangers of taking a taxi with limited time. Once again we lucked out and all was well. The taxi driver wore white gloves and hat and a little uniform, he looked so cute. I thought of our taxi drivers - not spotless cars and white uniforms in the USA. The taxis have automatic doors you are not supposed to touch the doors. All very different.

The stores carried the highest quality of goods all top brand designers. Beautiful city very clean.

So my "last supper" tonight but I will be returning soon. No matter how much I cruise I am always excited when I arrive and always sad to leave.

I want to have time to get Ken or Ron to figure out how to post pictures here. I am so technically and time challenged. I would love to post the little ladies in the garden in Siberia, we have a picture of the "saw wild man" in Hakodate and the Japanese girls in Sendai. These are really special shots. Maybe I will get this figured out.

WEll I will be back in the office on Monday. We land at 10.00 am and will probably be in around noon.

MINTERS - there are changes to schedule for the Mariner in Mexico. My office mailed late Friday and the ship is now not docking until 10.00 am on the 19th for disembarkation so all the people with flights around noon wont make it. This includes me and I am sure almost every other LCT -MINTER. I am not sure of all the details yet but from my office email I think that Silversea is having to do the same thing so it must be something to do with security again or government criteria.

Radisson said they were going to rebook all the people with air/sea arrangements. If the airline has had any schedule change since you bought your tickets then you can change for no penalty. Even a minute means a free change. I am not sure if RSSC will do anything for those who bought their own air for any fees from the airlines for a change. If this is a government mandate they may not I just dont know yet. I just wanted you all to know as soon as possible and thought this might be the fastest way to get the word out.

My office will be contacting everyone of course once we have more details.

This is a wonderful place to pass news very quickly when the majority of passengers are LCT people.