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GOODBYE SYDNEY

From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

         DAY  USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

2020
June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82
July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572
Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130
Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82
Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85
Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118
Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465
2021
Jan     14       4142      15512       1151         189     712
Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398
Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194
April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37
May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59 
June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95
 July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411
Aug     4         656    10120        1118        532      423 
Sept   22      2228      9326          839       279     124
Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59
Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23
Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28
2022
Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140
Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175
Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 
Apr     1          439      4056         290          52       12
May    5          225      2404         151            ?        64
June    2         216      1413         130           10        31
July    6          316      1627         335           35       12 
Aug    4          311       2138         258          70         ?
Sep    1           272       1732         174            ?         ?
Oct     6          281       1305         119            9         ?
Nov    3          167         980           16            ?         ?
        25            88         985           71             3        ?  
Dec    3          149       1029         131            3         ?
          8          194       1320         104             6       86
        15           147       1295         124             4         ?
        22          289       1637         165             9         ? 
        28          296       1768         337            2         ?
2023
Jan    4          346       1534         207             ?         ?
         5           220       1611          183             ?         ? 
       12            270       1470         128             ?         ?
       19            225       1775         480             ?         ?
        26           351       1361           92             1         7
Feb    1           221       1261         126              ?         ?
          8          329        999          50             2         ?
        15           211         999         132             1         ?
        22           177       1016         312              1         ? 
Mar   1            119         618           81              1         ? 
          8            116        605          34             0         0
Summary:
  • The USA led the world in new deaths yesterday with 116, 19% of all new deaths with 4% the global population.  #2 Germany with 99 and #3 Japan 69.  Keep in mind, though, that these are countries which tend to accurately report reasonable numbers.  Surely India, African nations and other locations are just not bothering to report.
  • We also led in new cases with 13,123, #2 South Korea with 12,798 and #3 Russia 12,230.
  • An interesting statistic is the number of currently active cases.
    • #1    Japan  11,519,301
    • #2    USA  1,323,580
    • #3    Poland  986,569
  • Active cases/million population are led by small islands.
      • #1      Martinique  611,101
      • #2      Faeroe Islands  547,133
      • #3      St. Bart  500,050
      • #19    Japan  91,725
      • #30    Poland  26,141
      • #48    USA  3,953
      •           Hawaii  1,669
    • I was curious as to how 15 Craigside compared to the above.  
      • At one time during the past month we had somewhere between 10 and 28 active cases.
      • Approximately 200 people are residents of this building.
      • Thus, our active cases/million ranged from 50,000 to 140,000.
      • Not as bad as those islands, and in the range of Japan today.
      • The Diamond Princess could have had around 200,000 active cases/million at its peak.
      • Thus, even though we were in a dangerously high contamination environment the month prior to our departure for Sydney, we were able to avoid being infected.  The Seabourn Odyssey will hopefully not reach anything close to the Diamond Princess outbreak, which was only slightly worse than 15 Craigside.  No one, except for one person who I know well, wears a mask on the Odyssey.  You'll later learn that, after a few adventures, we finally boarded our 53-day cruise from Sydney to Honolulu.  
 

From Global Journeys:

 Ship
Odyssey
 Passengers
458 
 Crew
335 
 CDC Score
100 
 Launched
2009 
 Refurbished
2019 
 Cruise Code
P3A53A

That CDC score of 100 must mean that there is no problem with COVID-19,  Saw that no rooms are currently available.  You can keep track of where the Odyssey is by clicking on this.  It just returned to Sydney from New Zealand.  Further:

  • Supposedly is an ultra luxury liner, 229 suites, 650 feet long and 84 feet wide.
  • Can hold from 450-540 passengers
  • Was last refurbished in 2022.
  • Owned by Carnival, which also runs:
    • Princess.
    • Holland America.
    • P&O.
    • Costa.
    • AIDA.
    • Cunard
  • After arrival in Honolulu on April 30:
    • Leaves for Vancouver on a 11-day trip, then to Juneau, followed by a 15-day Alaskan tour.
    • Stays in that region until October 13, when it takes an 8-day cruise to Los Angeles.
    • Then a 33-day journey to Auckland.
    • Followed by 15-days to Sydney.
    • After a period in Oceania, the Odyssey on 21 February 2024 leaves Sydney for Hong Kong on a 36-day cruise, spending another 21 days to Kobe-Osaka, then 22-day cruise to Vancouver.

Like the day before, yesterday was a rollercoaster experience. 

  • I thought, 10-minute walk...should be a breeze to catch a cab from the hotel to the Overseas Passenger Terminal.  
  • I checked on my computer, and saw that the ship had docked there.  
  • The guard to the terminal would not allow the taxi to enter the facility.    
  • So we were just about to leave the car to somehow bring our luggage on a really long walk.  
  • After another  series of arguments, we finally learned that vehicles were not admitted because there was no cruise ship docked there.  
  • If the taxi had left, we would also have found that out, and we did not have a phone to call another cab.  
  • Well, anyway, another guard indicated that there was a cruise ship on the other side of the harbor, at least five miles away, and maybe more, for we had to cross two bridges.
  • Turns out that the Seabourn Odyssey was earlier at the first terminal, but had moved.  
  • We got to near the right port, White Bay Cruise Terminal, and the driver somehow found himself going the wrong way and was soundly scolded by a guard,.
  • Well, finally, we made it to the right place, and the staffing was fabulous.  Took our bags, and were told to check-in.  Hordes of people to help.
  • However, the covid test we had taken the day before became a problem because the person looking at all the documentation did not understand that, while we were in Australia being tested by Zoom, the person watching us was in California, where it was one day earlier.  With this misinformation, we were just over 48 hours, when 2 days was the maximum time allowable.  After a while, sense began to prevail, and we were finally approved.
  • Got on board, walked to our room, got settled, then went to lunch.
You don't want to eat this kind of food at anytime, but on a cruise, anything goes.  Then the next travail.  All our luggage was delivered, except for one.  So on to the recovery room after all kinds of checks.  Turned out that their X-ray machine detected a small scissors.  All of three inches long.  Can you believe that cruise ships do not allow scissors into checked-in baggage?  Never saw that before.  And my suitcase had a larger pair of them. Why?

So then, after a few drinks, the Odyssey departed Sydney.  Here under the Harbour Bridge.

When you board a ship, a supreme challenge is to link your phone and computer.  The Odyssey was especially complicated because we needed to know our Seabourn password, and I couldn't remember mine.  However, Diego was an angel and got us going.
Then dinner:  angel hair bolognese, Caesar salad, and rack of lamb, with a splendid red and an okay white.
After a hectic day I walked 7005 steps.
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