Day 62 - Northeast on the East China Sea

This will probably be the last entry I will be able to upload for the next 3-4 days.  We are on our way to Japan and, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Japan blocks the satellite frequencies that the ship needs for Internet connections.

We are resting today to recover from all the activities of the last 3 days and prepare for touring Japan.  We will be in Hiroshima and Osaka during the next few days, before moving on to Seoul, South Korea.

I did a load of laundry this morning, then went to a short lecture on pearls.  They had a contest to see who could identify the fake pearls out of 3 necklaces on display.  Of all the entries they picked one out of the box for a prize.  I picked the correct fake pearls but did not win the raffle.

As usual on a sea day, there were 2 lectures on the activity list.  We went to Dr. Elovitz's  lecture this afternoon called "The Thirst for Water (not Oil) & Looming Flashpoints."  North America consumes more water per person than any other area of the world.  In the U.S., we consume an average of 570 liters (150 gallons) per person per day, while the average consumption per person for the entire world is only 100 liters.  I  wonder what it would take to reduce our consumption down to that level.

Sandra Bowern gave a lecture on "The Historical Culture of Japan" this morning.  We woke up late and didn't make it on time so we watched the replay of it on TV this afternoon.  She illustrated her talk through Japanese art, touching on samurai, kabuki theater, sumo wrestlers, geisha, courtesans, poetry, and the art itself.  I wish I wasn't so tired, I would have appreciated her talk more if I wasn't dosing.  Ray's eyes were closing too.  When I finish this I think I am going to join him in an afternoon nap.

We have plans to meet 2 other couples for dinner tonight.  These are people we met in Auckland at the beginning of the cruse who are also getting off in Beijing.  We have seen them sporadically through these 2 months, but this will be the first time we've spent planned time together.  It should be fun.