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| The itinerary for the 2nd leg of the Incan Empires cruise. (The first leg had mostly different ports.) |
Here is what I submitted:
Presentations by Ginny Stibolt for the 2nd leg of the Incan Empires Cruise: 03/09/17 - 03/24/17
Destination presentationsThe lectures are presented on sea days as part of the on-board enrichment. My presentations were at 11:30am, while the other lecturer, a geologist, normally gave his presentations at 2pm. I did the first 6 presentations, with the sixth topic being more in tune with what I usually cover, why native plants are important. The last sea day had too many conflicts, so I did not give the seventh presentation.
1) Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Details on coffee history, types of coffee, how it's grown and processed.
2) Oceans: The Real Lungs of the World We can thank the oceans' plants for the oxygen in our atmosphere
3) Rainforests: the most Diverse Ecosystems in the World There is so much going on under the calm-looking canopies of the rain forests
4) Farming Methods of the Maya, Aztec, & IncaGrowing food on a mass scale was as impressive a feat as building their cities and monuments.
5) Traveling PlantsPlants have various methods of self disbursal, but humans have changed the patterns.
General presentations
6)Public Gardens Take a Walk on the Wild SideTraditional public gardens are well-trimmed and orderly, but newer public gardens have emphasized native plants.
7) Gardens around the World: Why do people “Need” to Garden.A tour of gardens large and small, especially those in unusual places.
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| A ship's tech is focusing my introductory slide. |
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| Coffee is grown in all the countries visited on this cruise, so I started there. |
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| I learned a lot, like what the heck is civet coffee is and why is the most expensive coffee in the world. Eww! |
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| Rainforests are important ecosystems in central and South American countries. Several of the shore excursions were to rain forests. |
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| The people who came to all my lectures received a good review of botany with some extra information that was surprising about each topic. The gal who created the ship's trivia sessions in the evenings, attended all my lectures and said that my presentations were a rich source of facts. Also, because she used my presentations for material, that brought in the trivia buffs who might not have otherwise been attracted to my material. |
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| I learned a lot about the Maya, Aztec, and Inca cultures. |
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| Their crops are still important to today's food. |
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| Plants have their own dispersal methods, but humans have taken plants for a wild ride around the globe. In this presentation, I answered the question, "How did the American sunflower become Russia's national flower?" |
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| We hadn't been on the Maasdam before, but we like that it's the 2nd smallest ship in the HAL fleet. That way when we reach a port, we are not arriving with 4,000 of our shipmates, but only 1100 or so, although this cruise was not full, so maybe only 900 passengers were keeping us company. |
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| We love to see what unusual produce is offered in local markets. | Hot peppers of all types and shapes. |
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| Scraping the thorns and prickles from the nopales of the prickly pear. | We've been to many markets, but had not seen meat in a wheelbarrow before. |
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| The view from the second level. |
Lots, of salad crops were ready to be harvested when we got home. I hope you are able to enjoy adventures, whether they are at home or away.
Green Gardening Matters,
Ginny Stibolt
The author
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