Pictures and Stories - Rest and Play

March 31 - Apr 16 (Happy Birthday, Dad!), 2001

Last Sunday for supper the Ship had a Banyan. We all get to don out 'Pirate Rig', ie we get to dress up or dress down for an hour and have a little fun while having supper on the flight deck. It's nice because while you are at sea, you spend every waking moment or your day in uniform, so a little time to wear something different is fun. The boys decided to resemble a 60's hippy commune reunion, while I attempted to be Howdy Doody, or Woody from Toy Story, depending on which era you belong to. We all had a fun time. I'm not sure what Mark was trying to do with his bandana, but it looks like it needed a lot of starch!

Paul dancing a good 'ol Newfie Jig	Ever wonder how the Barber gets his hairs cut (I say 'hairs' because it makes the chief feel like he has more of them!)? Word to the wise... firefighters put out fires, they can't cut hair!


Whenever one of the ships from the fleet has finished her portion of the deployment, the remainder of the fleet gives her a big send-off in the form of a Sailpast. All the ships line up one behind the other and the departing ship sails by the fleet. All the ships decorate themselves with smart-alec remarks, hoses, and other decorative paraphernalia. This Sailpast was for the Danish ship, the Peter Tordenskiold. The sign is on our ship, and the foamy bow belongs to the Danes. The whole send-off lasts about an hour.



	After his somewhat unsuccessful attempt in the syrup industry (too much competition, I guess), Uncle Jemima decides a life in the Navy would be much simpler...


I didn't know whether I was supposed to put these in the Working directory... or in the resting directory... who knew you could do both at the same time!

*Porto, Portugal*

Mark writes: As any port lover worth his salt knows, Porto is the home to almost all the worlds best port. Well, all of them if you listen on the tours. Offley's, Taylor's, Calem, Sandeman, Graham's and many more. Jason had let it be known that he wanted to get away to somewhere else when the ship was in port for 5 days, and I asked where he was thinking of going. He said Porto, for the following reasons: 1) hours and hours of exhaustive pre-deployment research into the hottest spots in Portugal, 2) a burning desire to get away from cabin 6/8 and the "fish-heads" (a term of endearment for those other than air det on the Freddy), and 3) his tourist book fell on the floor and opened to page 68, titled "So you want to escape the "Fish-heads" and get free port at the same time." Well, one sniff of the word port, and I was in. Porto is Portugal's second largest city, approximately a 4 hour train ride north by "Conforto" (first class) or what seems like 9 hours by cattle car (otherwise known as coach). It is situated 3 km inland from the ocean, on either side of a gorge which happens to make both shores quite a handy place for shopping, dining, or sipping first class local port while enjoying a beautiful view. Fernanda, a local wine-shop hostess, helped inspire Jason to the conclusion that while Lisbon is like Toronto (all hustle and bustle in the big city), Porto is more like Ottawa or Victoria. Very quaint, a little smaller but still a city, and all the great sites are along the water, and all within walking distance. Porto is definitely worth the trip and a stay overnight.

Fatima

This was taken in Fatima at the Basilica. Fatima is a small town with huge religious roots, dating only back to the early 20th century. On the 13th of each month from May until September and on August 19, 1917 the Virgin Mary appeared to three children from the tiny farming community. The appearances occurred in several different locations, with various lessons taught. On October 13 of the same year, amidst an immense downpour of rain, a miracle was performed at the Cova da Iria, in Fatima so that all the people in the area would believe what the children were saying. About 70 000 people who came to witness it, claim the rain suddenly stopped "and the sun spun around on itself three times, casting out multi-coloured rays of light in all directions." The people said the sun then seemed to descend from the sky onto the people. The event lasted ten minutes. The gentleman who was giving us the tour of Fatima (a friend of our Ship's Padre) told us his grandmother was one of the 70 000.
Two of the children died an early death, only several years later, but the third is still alive today, Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart. It is an incredible and inspiring story.

*Sintra*
	Although a little disappointed at not being able to view the interior of the castle, we were pleasantly surprised by the gardens. There are numerous trails leading back and around the mountain. As we continued down we discovered that most of the mountain had been sculpted into natural gardens, with huge old trees and pools of water surrounded by wild flowers. Each turn taken and each path chosen would reveal small stone gazeboes or sculpted chairs in the side of boulders most of which overlooked one vista or another. The hill adjacent to the castle contains the ancient Moorish ruins of a once beautiful castle, also providing a panoramic view of the country side and the Palacio de Pena. The town of Sintra itself is nestled at the base of the mountain, and although there are many tourists in the town, it still manages to retain an atmosphere of quaint European village, lending itself to more of an old painting of times past than a thriving touristy town catering to the tastes of foreigners. There are quite a few places to dine in the small town, but I must say for good food at a good price you will be hard pressed to find a better restaurant than Torous, hidden between the church and (ironically enough) the tourist bureau. Be aware, however, that most places do not open for dinner until 7 at night!
Sintra is a very beautiful town, albeit a very touristy town... Unfortunately, Luke's camera isn't digital, and the batteries died after I got this photo, so this in the only one I can show you. Luke writes: Sintra is a small town approximately 20 miles west of the city of Lisboa. It is a well known town with a fairly healthy dose of tourists, still well worth the visit. The town is situated below a sizable mountain (800 meters) on top of which sits a beautiful La Palacio de Pena. Once you finish the long trek up the mountain you are greeted by a series of beautiful archways and a multitude of parapets in a variety of different colours. The trick to viewing all the monasteries, castles and museums is not to go on Mondays (it's their day off), needless to say we were unable to view the inside of the castle. The view from atop the castle is one of beauty and grandeur, valleys and other mountains spread out before you, with quaint villages nestled in and scattered around each.

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This Page last updated on June 27, 2001