Day 98 Nagasaki

Wednesday, overcast. The temperature is comfortable. For breakfast, we walked to McDonalds for a fat fix. Dr. Dieter always sets a good example for us, and ate healthy anyway. I checked out of the hotel. Dieter and I caught the 100 Yen tram. I wasn't paying enough attention, and we visited a neighborhood we hadn't planned to see. Fortunately, we made a quick recovery, and in the process rode by Dejima, the Dutch settlement from 1600s.

We caught the correct tram and went to the Peace Park to see the Peace Statue. Took pictures. We walked to the ground zero marker and the Peace Museum. Admission is still 200 Yen. No pictures are allowed inside. Like Hiroshima, it is a somber experience. You cannot tole the bell for peace here, because the bell rope has been removed. We walked to Nishizaka Hill, where in 1597, the shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi crucified 26 sainted Christians. There is a stone bas relief monument, and a very interesting church, with ceramic encrusted towers. Met George at the train station at noon for a continental breakfast-lunch. George shopped books, and I bought some special double-sided tape for the second mate for map updates. Our last stop was the supermarket, our final opportunity for treats before the Pacific crossing. I bought tooth paste, deodorant, 2 kinds of Japanese snacks, dark chocolate cookies, Ritz crackers, and 4 kinds of red wine. As I write this, I'm tasting something from Argentina called Malbec. While it has a screw top bottle, corks don't do any good for 2 buck chuck. My opinion. It is passable.

With help from the Fiedler web site, the tourist info ladies, and the local agent, we were able to communicate to the taxi driver where to take us. The tourist info ladies wrote out instructions in kanji characters. We were back on the ship by midafternoon. I had time to do some laundry before supper. In-port is a good time to do laundry, because the machines are very busy the first few days out of port. Met the new captain tonight in the stairwell. The previous captain leaves us tomorrow. Schedule changes are continuous. Now it is possible that we will stop in Vancouver, Canada. It is also possible that we will stop in New Orleans before we dock in Houston. Be sure to also look at George's BLOG. I have never seen it, but I have seen his phenominal photos.