Missing Friend!

We got back to the ship shortly before it was time to leave. As we showered and changed clothes, we heard an announcement over the ship’s loudspeakers.

Long story short: They were trying to find our friend, Michael!

Michael is a gregarious Australian guy who sits with us at dinner. We met him several years ago on a different ship.

This time around, however, it quickly became apparent to us that Michael’s cognition is on the decline.

He asks the same questions several times each meal (Where will we be tomorrow? Is there a show tonight?) and hardly ever takes the diabetes medicine that he needs.

Larry’s dad had dementia and lived with us for three years, so we’ve had experience.

Larry changes the time on Michael’s phone and watch whenever we enter new time zones, and helps him order food at dinner. I gave him an asthma inhaler when he needed one.

We’ve been trying to keep an eye on Michael, but at this stage he really needs a travel companion. We can only do so much.

I gave Michael’s phone numbers to the English liasson and the security team. Stephanie was able to message him on WhatsApp, and could see that the messages were reaching his phone, but not being read.

As we worried about our friend, we heard more stories of people being mugged here in South Africa.

We did not sleep well last night!

This morning, however, we were informed that Michael has been found and will return to the ship in Cape Town.

Beyond that, we don’t know what caused him to miss the ship or how he passed his time last night.

It’s a relief, but many questions remain!

p.s. As for the photo, it’s from tonight’s show which was the ship’s version of “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.”Read more