February 3, 2023

This Morning we landed in Tauranga NZ. At first sight Tauranga is very much a commercial port.Large amount of raw logs on shore ready for shipment. Large cranes unloading sea containers. We went on shore around 9AM . When we sailed in this morning we were greeted by a rather large mountain at the entrance to the harbour. This Mountain had a trail system all around it. Our goal for the day was hike around this mountain.As I said around 9 we departed the ship and walked along the beach towards the trail. On our hike along the trail we witnessed the waves crushing in the rocky shores, there we also witnessed a seal frolicking in the waves and having his morning breakfast. At one point on the trail I run up to a bushy area to have a whizz. Not sooner as I was back on the hiking trail, a women came out of the bushes with a grin on her face. Not sure what that meant. We continued on our hike along the trail until we arrived back at the start of our loop around the mountain.This time we were at the opposite side of the peninsula at a beautiful sand beach with large waves rolling in. There were a few dozen surfers trying to master the large waves.Continuing on our hike we ended up on a street with bars, restaurants and surf shops. After getting a few souvenirs we returned back to the ship. Before we sat down for Happy Hour we went on to deck 11 and threw some hoops and kicked the soccer ball around for a while.We felt good about the day being active and the same time doing some site seeing.

” You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown. You travel for the unknown, that reveals you within yourself.”By – Ella Maillart.

Cheers

February 2, 2023

Good Morning, today’s stop is Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand. We were docked right downtown. Beside our ship, foot ferries were taking of continuously to take people to outlying areas and islands. We set off on foot this morning exploring the City. This is a City with a very impressive waterfront which consists of numerous cafes and restaurants. Our first stop on our way was at the large tower which is well known as a Bungie Jump site. When we arrived at the tower it was still closed for an other hour. We were not prepared to wait for an hour and decided to continue on. At a small barber shop I managed to get a quick haircut. We carried on to a shopping street. After strolling the street for a couple of hours we found a nice little cafe were we had our first flat white as the kiwi’s call this coffee. After coffee time we picked up a few groceries items for our crew and walked back towards the waterfront. On our morning walk we could still see the aftermath of this weekend’s devestating flood what left dozens homeless . Several stores were still closed because of this flood. 9 inches of rain had fallen in a short period of time. After lunch Carol set out to look for a few souvenirs, and myself I tried to find a physiotherapist to have a look at my hip. Good news from her, her diagnosis was not the hip joint but a IT band injury. Later that day I received an exercise program to follow in my email. I considered it a good day, as we both managed over 15,000 steps today. Auckland is definitely a City we would’ve like to spend more time in. To end the night we went on to listen to the rock and roll band play on the ship.

” We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” By – Hilarie Belloc

Cheers

January 31, 2023

Good Morning, I got up early this morning and watched the sunrise while the ship was being anchored on the pier in the City of Nuku’alofa in Tonga.Nuku’alofa is the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga consists of over 170 island.We are docked on the island of Tougatapu. Population of Tonga is 106,000, approximate 25,000 live in the capital of Nuku’alofa. The language spoken is Tongan and some English. Tonga is a fairly religious country. Sunday’s all businesses are closed and the church bells are ringing all over the entire island. Generally the people look happy. This morning we set out on a bustour over part of the island. This bus had the old fashioned AC (sliding windows). Our first stop was a tree with hundreds of very large bats hanging from the top of the tree. The bats are called fruit bats, because they predominantly live from eating fruit.Our next stop was at the so called Blowholes. Waves push water into holes into the rock and that is making it spout up high into the air. This phenomenon en is going on all along the rocky coastline. Our next stop was at the 3 headed coconut  tree. This is a coconut tree with 3 branches on it. I personally think it’s something of a prank from the local neighborhood. The last stop was at an open air tent where they served us lunch. The lunch  was a combination of locally grown fruits and juices. During lunch we were entertained by a group of local singers and dancers. After lunch the bus headed back to the pier. We were glad to get out the bus, because it was smoking hot outside. On our way back to the ship we checked out the market stalls along the pier, selling handmade crafts etc.After return to the ship it was pool time followed by a cold beverage at happy hour on the back deck. Around 5:30 we set sail for our next port. Before our next port we have first 2 seadays.On a side note, we did see little of leftover damage from last year’s devestating volcanic eruption and tsunami.

” Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs.”

Cheers

January 29, 2023

Good day, we are in the middle of 4 sea days in a row before we get to Tonga. It is quite warm outside this afternoon, perfect time to get to my ” little office in the Ocean Bar ” to do a little writing. Last night we had an event called the Derby, all lady’s were encouraged to where their fanciest hat. Also last night was another so called Bar Hop. It entailed traveling between 4 different bars on the ship and in each bar we had to do an activity. It was well attended and lots of fun.

In all of the seadays we had since Panama, we have seen only 2 other ships so far. It looks like we are the only ones traveling the ocean in this part of the world. There is a geologist on board, he is doing lectures on rock formations and how they were created. He mentioned that the ocean is around 1400 ft deep where we are cruising at the the moment. When we get closer to Tonga there are areas where the depth goes up to around 27,000 ft. A lot of that has to do with volcanic activity and previous earth quakes in that area. It’s hard to imagine, that if I dropped my cellphone overboard, it goes for a 5 mile ride to the bottom of the ocean. I wonder how long that will take before it hit bottom. Yesterday we went from January 27 to January 29 and skipped January 28. This happened as we crossed the international date line. It is just to bad if it happened to be your birthday, no party for you. But looking on the bright side, you’re not getting any older either. Tomorrow morning we are arriving in Tonga, looking forward to that. Adios!

“My favorite thing to do is to go where I’ve never been.”

By – Diane Arbus

Cheers 

January 23, 24, 2023

Hallo Readers, we arrived this morning in Uturoa on the island of Raiatea, the second largest Island in French Polynesia. Tahiti is the largest island.We are having a overnight stop in this City. We are anchored right in town here with all the stores in walking distance.This morning we boarded a bus to take us to a pearl farm. It was very interesting to learn how these famous black pearls are produced. I am not going in details about it, but it is worth while
googling it and reading up on it. After taking in the lecture about producing the Pearls we boarded the bus and continued our tour. Next stop was a ancient sacred meeting place and also a burial place. This place is named Taputa puatea . This site is a Unesco Heritage Site. We were offered fresh cut fruit and a whole coconut as a refreshment. A native fellow with a machete was making the openings in the coconuts for us. It was remarkable that he still had all 10 fingers after opening all the coconuts. We stopped at a viewpoint, but it was to cloudy to see very much. After this brief stop we carried on back to the ship. In the afternoon we did some local shopping including some goodies for our favorite crew members. Goodies like chocolate bars, chips, canned sardines and Tuna. They were much appreciated. Because we were anchored for the night, we had another lovely dinner on the back deck under the stars. Closing off with some of my now favorite tequila 1800 Blanco on the rocks. For all of you who haven’t tried this one, it is very smooth. No salt or lime needed, just sip it.

Cheers

Day 2

This morning we got up early, with breakfast on the back deck under the morning sun.Carol had another tour planned for this morning. We walked off the ship and boarded a boat to take us to the sister island called Taha’a. We visited a Vanilla farm. Here they are producing the vannila powder and paste. The owner of the farm did a presentation about growing the vanilla beans. There was an opportunity to purchase some of the vannila. The next stop on our boat tour was a stop at another pearl farm, with a wonderfull small sandy beach. Here we were offered fruits and drinks. Here in French Polynesia there is pretty well fruit growing everywhere, it’s like having a grocery store in your backyard. Our next stop was a small island where there was an opportunity to snorkel and swim. There were several stingrays swimming around our boat launch. They were likely looking to interact with us human beings. After spending an hour on this beautiful island, it was time to had back to town. On our way back the wind had picked up considerably and because of the combination of wind and waves we got doused with sea water. There was another Sail Away party on the back deck at departure. It was a remarkable to watch the captain steer this vessel through the small channel in the corel reef. I guess he had help from a local pilot on board. The rest of the night we spend doing a few music trivia challenges.

” There is more than the seeing of sights. It is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”By – Miriam Beard.

Cheers

January 22, 2023

After a short cruise overnight, we arrived this morning on the Island of Moorea. The population of Moorea is approximate 17,000. Moorea is about as close to paradise as you can get. An abundance of beautiful sand beaches and lush green mountains. For today we had booked a scenic boat ride to swim with stingrays and black tip sharks. we went out on our boat ride and anchored somewhere in the middle of the lagoon in about 4-5ft very clear water. Soon as we got out the boat into the water, the stingrays showed up, they loved to be touched on their backs and they loved rubbing their wings against your upper legs. While this was going on there were several 3-4 ft long black tip sharks swimming around us, they were curious what was going on. After spending half hour in the water, we got back onto the boat and continued on to a small island with sandy beaches for a barbecued lunch. We were given a few hours here for our lunch and some more snorkeling to observe the marine life. Luckily there was a shelter tent set up on the island, just before we were about to leave we got hit with one of those intense 15 min tropical rain showers. After the shower ended, we boarded the boat for our ride back to town. There was a sail away party planned on the back of the ship for 5 PM. These sail away parties usually only last for an hour. We finished the day with dinner under the stars on the back deck. This Island offers much the same as Bora Bora for considerable less money, including the over the water hotel accomodation. So after a great day, we’re off to the next island for tomorrow.

” Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember,and remember more than I have seen.” By – Benjamin Disraeli

Cheers

January 20, 2023

Hallo all, this morning we sailed into Papeete  on the island of Tahiti in  French Polynesia. Tahiti is the largest island pop.200,000 the capital Papeete has a pop. of approximate 27,000 . The beaches here consist mainly out of black lava sand. Away from the coast the island consist of lush green mountainous terrain. This morning we explored the city on foot, visiting some stores and a local market. We had to brush up on our limited amount of our french vocabulary skills. A group of Chinese people were snaking through the streets with large drums setting off fire crackers celebrating Chinese New Year. About 10% of the population is from Chinese descents who were original brought over in the 1800 hundreds to work in the cotton fields. Local Tahitians were not interested in that work. Their comment was, why would you grow something you can’t eat. In the afternoon we had a tour planned visiting an  ancient cemetery, an old medicinal garden on the water owned by an older Chinese lady. The last stop was at a rain garden with an underground cave and several waterfalls and wetland ponds filled with colourful Koi fish. After this last stop we returned back to town. One very noticeable observation was, that a lot of families spend their time along the waterfront in the shade from the trees or in the water. We had our dinner on the back of the boat under the stars on a very warm evening. We closed of the day with a colourful performance by a group of local Polynesian singers and dancers in the ships theatre.

” Travel is not a sprint. A journey is not a marathon. Chill out and enjoy the moment. “By – Duaransel

Cheers

January 18. 2023

This Morning we landed in Nuka Hiva the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.By some this is considered one of the remotest places on the planet.Population of 3500 over 150 sq miles.Some of you might know this place from Herman Melville’s book Typee.There has been rumors of cannibalism around this part of the world in the past, but I let you research that for yourself.This is a tender port which means that the ship anchores off shore and we go on shore with the lifeboats.The town we landed in is named Taipivai.Being on land after 8 days at sea felt very nice. We headed off on foot to explore the town. We followed the road along the bay and took in the scenery of the bay and the mountain view on the opposite site of the road. The majority of beaches consists of black lava sand with the odd patch of white sand. After having checked things out on our walk through town, we climbed a small hill which had a 40ft high stature of Tiki Tahiva. it was a female protected by a male warrior.Some referred to it as the God of fertility. The top of the hill gave us a nice view of the Bay. After strolling down the hill, we took in the local market, where locals were selling island grown fruit and vegetables. There were also several tables with hand made wooden sculptures and jewellery for sale. After spending an hour or so at the market, we returned to the ship.Tonights event on the ship was glamping around the pool under the stars. Make shift campfires with camping chairs were set up around the pool. They had the band playing music, and they even had a canoe in the pool. The food tonight was, cedar plank salmon, beer can chicken, spare ribs and hotdogs and baked potato. For evening snack they even had smoares. Well Done!!That brought us to the end of an eventful day.Cocktail: Lemon Drop2 pcs Lemon wedge1.5 oz vodca.5 oz triple sec1.5 oz SourShake & Strain ingredients. ice and lemon wedges in half sugar rimmed martini glass an add Lemon Wheel.Enjoy!!”” The Traveler sees what he sees, The tourist sees what he has come to see.”By- G.K. ChestertonCheers      Sent via BlackBerry Hub+ Inbox for AndroidThis Morning we landed in Nuka Hiva the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.By some this is considered one of the remotest places on the planet.Population of 3500 over 150 sq miles.Some of you might know this place from Herman Melville’s book Typee.There has been rumors of cannibalism around this part of the world in the past, but I let you research that for yourself.This is a tender port which means that the ship anchores off shore and we go on shore with the lifeboats.The town we landed in is named Taipivai.Being on land after 8 days at sea felt very nice. We headed off on foot to explore the town. We followed the road along the bay and took in the scenery of the bay and the mountain view on the opposite site of the road. The majority of beaches consists of black lava sand with the odd patch of white sand. After having checked things out on our walk through town, we climbed a small hill which had a 40ft high stature of Tiki Tahiva. it was a female protected by a male warrior.Some referred to it as the God of fertility. The top of the hill gave us a nice view of the Bay. After strolling down the hill, we took in the local market, where locals were selling island grown fruit and vegetables. There were also several tables with hand made wooden sculptures and jewellery for sale. After spending an hour or so at the market, we returned to the ship.Tonights event on the ship was glamping around the pool under the stars. Make shift campfires with camping chairs were set up around the pool. They had the band playing music, and they even had a canoe in the pool. The food tonight was, cedar plank salmon, beer can chicken, spare ribs and hotdogs and baked potato. For evening snack they even had smoares. Well Done!!That brought us to the end of an eventful day.

Cocktail: Lemon Drop2 pcs Lemon wedge1.5 oz vodca.5 oz triple sec1.5 oz SourShake & Strain ingredients. ice and lemon wedges in half sugar rimmed martini glass an add Lemon Wheel.Enjoy!!

“” The Traveler sees what he sees, The tourist sees what he has come to see.”By- G.K. Chesterton

Cheers     

January 16,17, 2023

Hallo all, I have to catch up on a couple of seadays.

First of all Carol participated in a mixology class. This entails making fancy cocktails. She really enjoyed this class. Over the next few days I will post some of her favorites. Another activity she participated in was the towel folding class. This class teaches how to fold towels in a variety of different animals. when I got to the room there was an elephant sitting on the bed. So we literally had an elephant in the room that day. My personal activities besides visits to the gym and take in the odd Happy Hour were, participate in an on board rotary meeting. It was very interesting sharing information with rotary club members from all over North America. Later that night I participated in the soccer challenge. The challenge was shooting on target with your opposite leg. This was fun till we had to cut this event short due to darkness. 

Cocktail: Coral Drop

2 pcs Lemon Wedge

1.5 oz Mandarin Vodka

.5 oz Chambord

1.5 oz Sour

Shake and strain with lemon wedges and ice.

Strain in sugar rimmed Martine glass and add Lemon Wheel. Enjoy!!

“Let’s find some beautiful place to get lost”

Cheers

January 15, 2023

Seaday #……..
Good Afternoon,Sitting in the Ocean Bar writing another story about another day at sea. Usually it’s myself and another older gentleman who roars in here on his electric scooter and then goes on to quietly reads
his book in the corner by the window. Besides us two there is no one in here till around 4:00 PM.Our bar server Kae usually serves us a glass of ice water. I am officially going to name this spot writers corner. (see pic below)Today I ate way to much lunch. Last week I restarted something from my previous cruise, having fried fish for lunch most days. Generally they have a different fish on the menu every day. Today
I over did it a bit, having too many fish accompanied with chickpeas in Curry sauce. Yesterday afternoon we crossed the Equator for the first time this voyage and we are now officially cruising in the South Pacific. Apparently there is an old tradition to kiss the fish when crossing the equator,  it is said it brings smooth sailing ahead. I didn’t kiss the fish, but instead ate the fish. The sailing has been remarkably smooth since we left Panama. You never know what seas you might encounter by crossing such a large body of water. For the remaining of the afternoon we might take in a few games of trivia. Generally we don’t do very well at them, there are a lot of passengers on board who excel at those type of games. Tonight we took in a show by the ship’s dancers in the theater. After listening to the band in the Rolling Stones Lounge for a few songs, we called’r the night.

.” Traveling’s not something you’re good at.  Its something you do. Like breathing “By – Gayle Foreman

Cheers