Brisbane

Our two days at sea have been busy ones! Since writing, we’ve had a talent show on board, which included the debut of the HAL Chorale. I enjoyed singing in it, especially since I had sung the music with our Chancel Choir at home! Another of the acts brought back many, many memories as the lady did a clogging solo! Afterward I went up to speak with her. I miss those days of clogging and wish I was still able to do it!

On Thursday morning, we sailed fifteen miles upriver to arrive at the port of Brisbane. Brisbane is currently the third-largest city in Australia, but it is soon likely to surpass Melbourne in population, making it #2. For the first time since leaving L.A., we saw an immense city, complete with skyscrapers.

Our tour in Brisbane took us to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary. There was quite a population of these adorable, sleepy little animals. It seemed like everywhere we looked, there were koalas: there were areas for the mums & babies, the cubby house, the “kindy” (kindergarten), the boys, the bachelor pad, the beautiful brides, and even a retirement home for those koala senior citizens who’d achieved the ripe old age of about ten! Naturally I had to take the opportunity to hold a koala. Sprite sat there looking too sleepy to smile at the camera, but he was cute anyway. The koalas were nestled in trees, and situated themselves so they could sleep without being concerned about falling. It was fascinating to watch them snuggled in among the branches, sometimes leaning against each other, sometimes by themselves, but virtually always sound asleep!

As we proceeded on to Chuck’s personal favorite, the kangaroo sanctuary, several small lizards darted across the path, stopping long enough for us to snap quick pictures. In the kangaroo sanctuary, we were able to stroll among them. They certainly seemed to take visitors in their stride, allowing people to feed, pet and pose with them. They lay in the grass or hopped around, or just sat and looked cute. It’s amazing how long and powerful their back legs are and how short their front legs are, giving them a comical gait when they go down on all fours. One of our friends said her tour guide had told them that when European explorers first visited Australia and were talking with Aborigines, a strange animal hopped by. They asked the Aborigines what the animals were, and the aborigines replied, “I don’t know,” in their language. In Aborigine, “I don’t know” is translated “kangaroo”. I’m not sure how accurate this information is, but it sure makes an interesting story!

We also had a chance to see dingoes, wombats, emus, and kookaburras (I don’t know if they were sitting in an old gum tree, but they sure weren’t laughing). The Tasmanian devil and echidnas were all hiding so we couldn’t get a glimpse of them. We took time to watch a sheep dog demonstration that brought to mind our visit to a sheep dog farm in Wales. This one was more contrived because the dog didn’t have to gather the sheep from high on the mountain, but the owner had a young dog that was just beginning to learn the skill, and you could tell that the dog wanted to be the center of attention. He really cried when another dog was given the task of herding the sheep, and was excited when he got the chance to put the sheep into the pen. What amazingly intelligent animals they are!

So much time was spent at the koala sanctuary that we had little time to see the sights of Brisbane. However, what we saw reminded us of the U.S. It was probably the most similar to an American city of any we’ve seen in our travels outside the U.S. or Canada! The only difference we really saw was that many houses were raised to keep air circulating and to prevent flooding. We also enjoyed seeing the lovely jacaranda trees with their brilliant purple flowers, as well as the flame trees – no leaves, just red flowers. Both of these trees only bloom in the spring, so we were fortunate to see their brilliant colors.

The sail-away from Brisbane was fascinating! The ship backed away from the dock, and then made a 180° turn-around in the river. At one point it was perpendicular to the banks, and we were amazed that it was able to clear! We’d been told that they’d widened and deepened the river to accommodate cruise ships, and witnessing the huge ship pivoting in such a small area was proof positive.

As we head further south, we expect the temperatures to start dropping. So far we’ve been very fortunate to experience wonderfully warm weather in our travels. Once again we find ourselves playing with our clocks! We will set our clocks an hour ahead at 2:00 PM on the sea day (Oct 30) as we sail toward Sydney because while Brisbane opted out of Daylight Savings Time, Sydney observes it. Not only did we think that we were through changing our clocks until we reached New Zealand, but we were surprised to do this in the middle of the day! The cruise director explained that since we’re at sea, we can set them during the day so we don’t have to lose an hour of sleep at night. While we don’t need to know what time it is at home, we like to imagine what’s happening, so we’re once again doing the math, and we’ll be sixteen hours ahead… at least until Sunday when everyone at home changes their clocks back to Standard Time, and we’ll be seventeen hours ahead! As I write this, it’s 7:00 AM Friday, meaning it’s 4:00 PM Thursday at home. Time to start thinking about choir rehearsal this evening… And I can only imagine how much my colleagues would enjoy setting clocks ahead at 2:00 PM on Friday afternoon (especially this Friday afternoon)! Oh, how I don’t miss those Halloween parties!

Barb

Cairns, Australia & the Great Barrier Reef

G’day, mates! After nearly a month of travel, we’ve finally arrived at our first port of call in Australia. We were treated to a magnificent sail-in through the Great Barrier Reef. Although we couldn’t actually see the reef itself, the beautiful shades of blue waters and skies were broken only by the first substantial piece of land we’d seen for days – the eastern coast of Australia!

Nearly equal to the gorgeous scenery was the festive spread put on by the ship’s crew. We had camped out that afternoon on the Lido Deck midship in order to enjoy the view as well as reserving a table for the Aussie Outback Barbeque that was to be held the evening we arrived in Cairns. The decorations warned of kangaroo, wombat, koala, and Tasmanian devil crossings and pointed us in the direction of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Ayers Rock and Perth. The spread of food was incredible – and I can now officially say I’ve had “shrimp on the barbie” as skewered shrimp was included on the menu (as well as suckling pig, barbecued chicken, steak, sausage, baked potatoes, and an assortment of vegetables and salads). We enjoyed listening to the Australian Bush Band that was serenading us throughout the meal, and the views of Cairns and the mountains beyond were breath-taking!

As soon as we finished, we joined friends we’d met on the cruise for a walk around Cairns. Our destination was the Night Market. Despite being 7:00 on a Sunday evening, things were open and the town was hopping! We all enjoyed wandering around the Night Market, which had an excellent selection of Australian products. We knew we wouldn’t have time the following day to shop, so we did as much as we could as quickly as we could. We finally headed back to the ship so we could get a seat for our evening entertainment – an authentic Aboriginal band, complete with the low wailing sound of the didgeridoo. What a wonderful welcome to the Land Down Under!

They say things happen in threes, and Monday proved that statement to be true! I was sound asleep that morning when Chuck said, “Check your watch. Does it say 7:20?” Yes, it did! However, the clock I’d brought from home read 6:20! How in the world did the clock read 6:20 when everything else we had said 7:20? It had been correct Sunday night. We leapt out of bed and scrambled to get ready so we’d be on time for our shore excursion, completely baffled by the mysterious case of the lost hour! Suddenly it dawned on me: I had brought an electronic clock that reflects on the ceiling so it would be easy to see. The clock is programmed to reset itself when the time changes from standard to daylight & vice versa. I’d had it for several years, so it was programmed for the old change, which was the last Sunday of October. Although we’d crossed the International Date Line, I hadn’t reset the date because we never use that clock for the date. So it had reset itself at 2:00 AM on Monday morning, thinking it was the last Sunday in October!

Fortunately it didn’t set us back, and we managed to be ready in plenty of time for a boat ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. We were glad to find some people we’d gotten to know quite well on the same shore excursion, and on the transfer to the reef, the four of us signed up for a snorkel tour – designed especially for beginners, so there were only the four of us in the group. After about an hour and twenty minutes, we arrived at the Marine World pontoon boat where we would spend our day exploring the reef. After finding a place to leave our things, I took my glasses off, and the sunglasses (magnetic ones that came with the prescription glasses) popped off the glasses frame and fell through the slats into the water! If I’d aimed, I couldn’t have gotten them to slip through that half-inch space! Fortunately I’d worn my old glasses, having just purchased new ones a few weeks before the trip.

Shortly after our arrival, our guide Amanda began assembling us and getting us into our life vests and snorkel gear. We eased down onto benches where we donned our face masks and learned how to breathe through the snorkels. After getting fins on, she got us in the water and maneuvered us onto a flotation ring and showed us around the reef. We were on the surface, so the colors appeared somewhat blue due to the refraction of the water. Amanda was an excellent tour guide, showing us all the different types of coral and explaining about the many fish we saw. My personal favorite was Wally, the hump-headed Maori wrasse (I had to ask for the spelling, which they gave me, then said that in America he’d be called a Napoleon fish). He was a huge fish that swam around greeting all the snorkelers. (We have a photo of Wally posing with Chuck & me.) We really enjoyed a bird’s eye (or snorkeler’s eye) view of the reef! As we returned to the pontoon boat and struggled to get back onto the benches from the water, Chuck’s foot slipped and fell into the bench, hurting his ribs. Fortunately Amanda was right there and helped him get his balance and get back onto the bench. Even more fortunately, his life vest took the brunt of the hit. He wasn’t hurt badly, but decided that he shouldn’t go back in and do any more snorkeling, especially since it would be unsupervised by a pro. I went back in for a few more minutes but because it was so crowded and I couldn’t do much more than float (thanks to the life vest), I finally decided to get out also.

After lunch, we watched a fish feeding. Wally made another appearance, eagerly awaiting his lunch, as did several other smaller fish, that would dart quickly along the water’s surface, chasing down the tidbits they were thrown. Then we took a semi-submersible boat cruise along the reef to get even more views. We’d done something similar in Kona a few years ago, but this was much closer and easier to see, so we really enjoyed it. I went back in snorkeling one more time before we left, and enjoyed one final look at the amazing undersea world.

Before we left I reminded the crew that I’d dropped my sunglasses. They had told me earlier that I should ask later about the “sunnies”, so at that point, the scuba diving finished for the day, the scuba guide asked me where I’d dropped them, and a few minutes later he surfaced with them in hand (making it the third of three incidents that turned out okay). I was thrilled as I had been sure that my “sunnies” would become my unintended contribution to one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

As we sailed back to the ship, Chuck commented to our tour guide Amanda that the weather we’d had was probably pretty typical weather for this area. She disagreed, saying that a week ago they’d had 30-knot winds and the people couldn’t do much or see much. Someone else told us that their tour guide had commented that this had been the best day for viewing the reef they’d had so far this year! So we were extremely fortunate to have experienced such excellent viewing conditions for a spectacular trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

Several times during the day I thought of my Science-loving colleagues and wished they could experience the day I had. I’m sure Kim, Shirley, Stephanie, and Megan would have absolutely LOVED the opportunity to visit the reef, especially Megan, who’s worked with people at the Shedd Aquarium. I hope all of you get here someday! It’s worth the trip!

Before we took the trip, many people wondered what we would do with ourselves while at sea. Rest assured; we have NOT been bored! We’ve had two sea days between Cairns and Brisbane. During that entire time, we’ve been traveling in the Great Barrier Reef, which will give you an idea of the massive size of the reef. They say it’s the only living thing that’s visible from outer space! We had an opportunity for some scenic cruising on the reef yesterday. Since leaving Cairns, we’ve also had the opportunity for a backstage tour. Chuck was unable to attend, but I went. I’ve done them before, but this one was much more extensive. We not only got a Q&A session with the cast, but we were able to take pictures with a couple of the girls in their costumes, and we got a sound and light show from the technicians that showed the capabilities of the staging. We went up on stage and experienced walking on the moving stage (hard to imagine how the dancers manage to keep their footing as they dance in heels on a moving stage and rocking ship!) Because of my place in line, I got a private tour of the backstage area from the lead male singer in the cast, and I also took a picture (in today’s album) of a cast member from Buffalo. We found out that she’s actually from East Amherst, graduated from one of the Williamsville schools, and even knows an Eden classmate of mine who taught in Williamsville! Small world!

Last night’s entertainment was not only the best we’ve had on this ship, but I’d be hard put to find a better act on any of our cruises. The group, called The Unexpected Boys, wove Four Seasons’ songs into a story line, and they were absolutely sensational! They sounded just like the Four Seasons, and their choreography was incredible! We were told that they’d be putting on another performance, and we’re thrilled to be able to see them again.

I will be doing a second, shorter (hopefully) blog when we get to Brisbane, but we’re trying to post every three or four days so I’m putting up the blog on Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef rather than waiting a few more days.

Barb

Fiji & Vanuatu

As we continue across the South Pacific heading almost due west, our last two ports before reaching Cairns, Australia were in Fiji and Vanuatu. On Tuesday, October 20, we sailed into the port of Suva, Fiji to a rousing welcome from a Fijian marching band which greeted us on the dock. Fortunately, we were on the dock side of the ship, so joined many out on our verandahs and outer decks to watch the warm welcome. Suva has a population of about 250,000 and is the largest city in all the Pacific islands. It’s a bustling port with a large commercial dock near a busy shopping and market center (more on that later).

We chose to do a rainforest walk as our shore excursion. Barb was a bit reluctant to do it because the description said we had to descend about 30 steps without any rail. With two knee replacements since 2007, she wanted to take no risks, so asked Kevin, the shore excursions manager, if she ought to do this one. Since the description implied that the walk started from a lodge, and Kevin found that we walked a loop and would return to where we started, she knew if she thought the trail was something she didn’t want to attempt, she could bring a book and wait at the lodge for the group to return. The information gave this tour a rating of 2 on a scale of three (with 1 being very easy and a 3 being quite rigorous). Having done 2-rated excursions many times in the past with absolutely no problem, we anticipated that the walk would be acceptable. When we reached Fiji’s Forest Park, we unloaded the bus and set off on our walk. We expected there would be a short walk to this nice lodge, but found out too late that we were off on our hike. As we started, I decided to make a “pit stop” when we were told it would be our last opportunity until the hike was over. That should have been our clue that there was no nearby lodge. Barb said she would go on with the group since she walked slower than I. As I returned to the trail, I was just ahead of the last part of the hikers, including one of the guides and Kevin (shore excursions manager) who had never done this tour and wanted to see first hand what it was like.

As we continued to walk, people were stopping to take pictures of the magnificent rainforest scenery, but soon the trail went from a neat trail of stones to a dirt trail, and began to go down, and down and down many uneven steps, some very high and others quite low. Steps were often rocks and there were frequently damp, slippery leaves, with tree roots sticking out. One had to watch his/her step very carefully. We passed pretty waterfalls, crossed wooden bridges, with some railings made of tree branches. None of these branches could help a person who needed them for support if they started to slip. I was thinking over and over again that I couldn’t imagine how Barb had successfully gotten past certain very high steps and obstacles, but she was nowhere to be seen ahead. That, I thought, was a very good sign, but I wondered how she was managing to get there. I had images in my mind of her sprained ankle on the Inca ruins in Peru and I thought of our friend Hugh Mosher, who broke his ankle climbing down a difficult area while in Oregon a couple years ago. His wife, Susan, had to climb back to the roadside and flag down help to have Hugh evacuated.

While the scenery was beautiful, and especially at the start of the hike, I took a lot of pictures, I stopped enjoying it as the trail continued on and on and on. By now, I was just hoping Barb would make it. I saw one woman, lose her footing on a wet stone used to cross a creek, and slip and fall in the drink. She was unhurt, but another lady was struggling to get across. Still no sign of Barb. I couldn’t imagine how she was staying so far ahead of me. Finally, I came to an area where I looked down and saw a pond with a few people swimming and the rest along the side. I could see Barb standing there (a very good sign). But I couldn’t imagine how she had made it. When I got down there, she said she was tired but was OK only because one of the local rangers had seen her struggling and he stayed with her the entire way even to the point of telling her where to put her feet and giving her a supporting hand in difficult places. She said she absolutely never would have made it without his constant attentiveness to her. The trail back to the bus involved a climb but was not as difficult as coming down. He stayed with her part of the way going back as well, but I saw the lady who had had so much trouble crossing the creek literally clinging to a tree on the way up, her arms wrapped around the tree, and crying. The guides and Kevin helped her up to the top. We later found out that that lady had heart problems in addition to knee problems. At the end of the walk, Barb tried to tip the park ranger, but he absolutely refused to accept it, saying it was just part of his job.

It was fortunate that Kevin could see firsthand that what the company had described for Holland America was not the actual situation. Holland America does not visit Fiji frequently enough for them to have tested out all the shore excursions and this may have been a new one. Kevin commented the next morning that he had spoken to the company in strong terms and they had already revised the description for this tour! We didn’t blame Holland America because since they visit some of these places so infrequently, they probably didn’t have the feedback that would be present for Europe and Alaska. Needless to say, when we all got back safely to the ship, we were thankful there had been no serious injuries!

Briefly stated, after having lunch, I went out to see the shops and markets, but as many of you have experienced in other countries, merchants would stand outside and try to coax you to come in to buy things you didn’t want or need. I might have browsed but merely looking at a shopkeeper would encourage him to want to bring you in to see what he was selling. As we prepared to sail from Fiji, another band, a concert band, serenaded us for an hour and half before departure. Barb went down to the dock and took pictures, including one of the ship captain who was also playing tourist by taking pictures of the band. As the ship pulled away, they continued to play and people waved at us from the dock.

Activities on shipboard continue, particularly on the at sea days. For example, the other night, there was a pirate theme at dinner with servers dressed as pirates and some elaborate pirate decorations throughout the dining room. On sea days we have been listening to lectures about Australia and the Great Barrier Reef which we will visit on Monday.

A couple of days ago, we made our visit to the country of Vanuatu. OK. I wonder if I have been living in a different world because admittedly before this trip, I don’t recall knowing about Vanuatu. We learned that it is the former New Hebrides, which was its name until 1980. Some of you may know that New Hebrides played a major role the defense of the Pacific during World War II. Until 1980, it had had a most unusual government as it was run jointly by the British and French and it had what was called a condominium government under which, like a condominium association, both Britain and France had its own rules that they expected people to follow. Naturally, they had different rules. The best example was that the French wanted drivers to drive on the right and the British wanted them to drive on the left! One can only imagine the confusion.

Here Barb and I each chose different shore excursions. She selected a two-hour tour which focused on the capital and port town of Port Vila. On the other hand, I took an all day, eight-hour tour that circled the island. After her difficult tour in Fiji, she thought it best to have a shorter, easier, excursion in Vanuatu. She commented that their guide had profusely thanked people for visiting the country because without people booking the cruise, the ship would not have come and tourism helps their poor economy. They saw local sites including government buildings, religious sites, and saw a demonstration with one person splitting a coconut with his bare hand.

I did the full circle tour of 140 kilometers around the island and enjoyed every minute of it. Vanuatu has a population of about 300,000 people (maybe like the population of Buffalo) and are, like Fiji, Melanesians and not Polynesians. Melanesians are dark skinned and resemble Africans, unlike Polynesians who look more like native Hawaiians. If I had to describe Vanuatu in a few words I would say it has amazing beauty and immense poverty.

We started our in our eight-person vans with our guide explaining that much of the island beyond Port Vila lacks electricity although many now have solar panels and wind farms are being established on the island to generate power. (A couple of pictures are included that show the homes in one village. Some homes, as you see, are made of corrugated metal and many have no windows. They have a wooden flap which they can open for light during the day.) There is an effort to pave the road around the island and we saw much evidence of the construction of that road. We were there on a bright, sunny day but temperatures were pleasant. The blue sky and sunshine enhanced the sparkling blue waters on the beaches that any of us would enjoy. Vegetation was green and lush with a blanket of green so dense that the treetops seemed almost carpeted with green vines and leaves (the largest of which were the elephant leaves which we had also seen elsewhere). We stopped at what I think was a banyan tree and walked among the roots and gazed up at the snarled branches of the huge tree.

One place we boarded eight person dugout canoes and were paddled a short distance of the Epule River by some of the villagers and were greeted by the chief who chanted a welcome to us his native language. On disembarking the canoes, we were divided by gender as is still the custom there and without warning and with some loud screams and chants, “warriors” jumped out of the dense foliage and nearly scared our wits out of us. The men and boys did some ceremonial dances and posed for pictures with their mostly North American guests.

As we departed and continued our drive around the island, we noted the tropical fruit and palm trees. In some areas, cattle grazed under the coconut palm plantations. Chickens wandered around as they do on many of the islands (similar to Kauai). I never saw so many huge Brahma bulls as I did in Vanuatu. The cattle (cows, bulls, and horses) looked very healthy and strong. Traffic is light as most people walk. About the only services that we expect are in Port Vila so villages pretty much just have homes and maybe a church or two and nothing else. Many of the men carry machetes as they walk and we would see groups of people walking or congregated along the dusty roads. As elsewhere in the islands, people waved friendly greetings at us. Unfortunately, I was unable to take good enough pictures as the speed of the van didn’t allow me to compose pictures adequately. I was grateful for the opportunity to have a complete, visual education about a country about which I knew virtually nothing, but I now have a real sense of appreciation for these people and left with a warm feeling for them.

So now it is on to our next destination, Cairns, Australia on Friday night. By the way, as I finish this, it is 2:15 PM on Friday. In Chicago, it is 10:15 PM on Thursday. We receive a daily newspaper and initially I thought we had missed a day and that the paper was old. But it is published at midnight New York time and it is for the previous day. So on October 23 we are reading the current news of October 22 in North America.

Chuck

Cook Islands & American Samoa

After spending five magnificent days in ports in French Polynesia, we found ourselves back in English-speaking territory once again on Thursday. Rarotonga in Cook Islands was a delightful little island with a very relaxed atmosphere. With no scheduled shore excursions, we, along with six other people, managed to hire a local to drive us around and give us an overview of the island. Owned by New Zealand, they drive on the opposite side of the road, so we had to remind ourselves to check both ways twice when crossing the street. Rarotonga is a small island – about 23 miles in circumference, and we were amazed at the number of schools we saw. Just about all of them had children playing outside in the warm weather, and it was fun to see what they were up to! Equal to the number of schools was the number of churches. With such a small population, it’s hard to imagine how they can support so many schools and churches!

The driver made photo stops at our request so we could take pictures of the beautiful beaches and mountains, and when we had completed our circle, he willingly dropped us off in the middle of town so we could do some shopping.

Friday was a day at sea, and we had made reservations for an Indonesian Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. When we saw the menu we hoped we hadn’t made a big mistake because everything sounded so unusual, and I tend to be an extremely fussy eater! However, we had a marvelous time! The Indonesian waiters had gone all out to work with the chef to make it a very memorable evening, and the food was delicious! One of my favorites was a vegetable salad with peanut sauce. Chuck particularly enjoyed a potato patty that went with the main course of rice (served with seven side dishes). At the end of the evening we were each given a gift of an angklung, a special Indonesian instrument, which had been made by a family member of the Pinnacle manager.

We were delighted to find that we would still be able to stop in Pago Pago (pronounced Pongo Pongo), American Samoa, despite the devastation they experienced in an earthquake and subsequent tsunami on September 29th. Our tour guide was a high school senior, and she really helped us understand what Samoan life is like! We were surprised to find the very apparent evidence of a strong religion (everything is done with God first in mind), and the most prevalent religion here was Mormon. She was proud to indicate how very patriotic the American Samoans are and told us to watch for all the yellow ribbons that were on display in support of the troops in Iraq.

We made several stops on our tour. One of the most interesting (sadly) was at a church near the coastline. Just opposite the church we could see buildings that had been flattened by the tsunami, and everywhere we went throughout the island, we saw signs of support for those who had lost their lives, as well as disaster relief centers and the presence of the American Red Cross. Our guide told us that there had been thirty-two deaths, and one was her cousin, who had just become a mother in August. We also stopped at the famous flower pot rocks (tiny islets aptly named) and sliding rocks (where we saw crabs scuttling over the rocks). Our final stop was to witness a traditional Samoan welcome ceremony. As much as we enjoyed watching the ceremony, we were also quite entertained by a little Samoan boy near us who was making his best effort to mimic the men’s complicated dance moves!

The Samoans are a very poor people; our guide told us her father makes about $150 a week (and they use the American Dollar for currency, so that really puts it into perspective)! Yet we were always greeted with wide smiles and waves – they certainly were outgoing and friendly! They were so pleased that we were here, and we in turn were thrilled that we didn’t have to miss this port.

Saturday we once again set our clocks back (second time this week), but Sunday morning at 7:45 AM we crossed the International Date Line so we jumped ahead a day, eliminating almost all of the 18th of October. That makes seventeen hours ahead of Chicago!

I understand congratulations are in order for our cousins Dennis and Paula Paben, who welcomed Samantha Hope a few days ago! I’m sure Cheryl & Wayne are very proud grandparents! We also want to wish the very best to our friend Dale Sandoval! We’ll be thinking of you, Dale, and wish you a very speedy recovery! Jen, thanks for thinking of us in the tsunami & earthquake areas. Our itinerary has obviously not been affected, but as you will see in the pictures we've posted, we've witnessed a lot of damage as a result of these disasters.

Barb

Although this is Barb’s turn for a blog, I also wanted to add my wishes for Dale’s speedy recovery from his surgery this week. I always enjoy subbing for Dale’s classes at Lincoln-Way East and when he had asked if I would be home so he could request me as a sub, I had to say it wouldn’t be until early December before I was home.

Also, after our tour this morning, I went out after lunch and walked along the harbor. Not too far from the ship, signs of the September 29 tsunami became all too evident. I spoke to one Samoan who pointed out where the big wave hit. He said the wave came in at a height of about 20 feet and gave an example by showing me on a building approximately where it hit. In one respect in this area, they were fortunate because the mountain comes down very close to the harbor, so major damage was confined to low-lying structures and those built up the hill were spared. But many cars and buses were smashed, windows of homes and stores blown in and shattered, sidewalks broken. Men were working with backhoes and heavy equipment to clean the mess. And this was not the area of the island of Tutuila where the damage was worst. Yet despite this, I can’t tell you the number of Samoans that greeted me with a warm “hello” as I passed them on the street, and one or two even with a “have a nice day” amidst the natural disaster evident all around us. I cannot tell you how impressed with the Samoan people I was.

Chuck

Bora Bora & Raiatea, French Polynesia

On Tuesday, we bade a very fond and reluctant “adieu” to French Polynesia. Probably not to your surprise, we found French Polynesia most similar to Hawaii, but with a quieter lifestyle, no Walmarts and supermarkets, and with the French language. We had spent a week visiting five of the beautiful islands, from Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands to Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, and Raiatea, all in the Society Islands. After departing Tahiti and Moorea which were quite close to each other, we arrived in Bora Bora with its coral reef and striking coastline. We anchored in the caldera of a long extinct volcano. Since we were there for two days and had the good fortune to have the better “view” from our side of the ship, we enjoyed looking at the mountain which dropped to the water.

The first morning we took another off the beaten path tour in a four wheel drive vehicle. We have found that, while bumpy, we see things other don’t have the opportunity to see and much of the scenery is breathtaking. We have done four of these types of excursions in the last couple years and this was the roughest driving by far! We drove over huge rocks and through some muddy ruts but the confident driver assured us that he had done this for years and was the company’s mechanic in case of any difficulty. He guided us successfully on three trips off the main road and we would not have missed the views. The first took us to the site of a World War II bunker and some guns to protect the harbor.

Those who know World War II history may know that Bora Bora was used as a strategic site in the Pacific defense because the reef and lagoon made it easier to protect and guns could be located on top of the mountains to oversee the area. It didn’t have battles fought there but was significant in the Pacific theater of the war. Our guide told us that before the war, there was a population on the island of about 900 people (today about 9,000) and that the approximately 5,000 American servicemen did much more than the French had done to advance Bora Bora. Admittedly it was in the US self interest, but Bora Bora became the first island in French Polynesia to receive electricity when the Americans came. While the mystical Bali Hai from the musical, South Pacific, was a mountain in Moorea, the setting of the musical was Bora Bora itself.

After a return to the main road, we were given a demonstration at a pearl farm which showed how pearls were cultivated from the oysters. We then took another off the road adventure for a spectacular, nearly 270º view of the lagoon and its blue, blue waters. A number of exclusive hotels have been built bungalows as the rooms which extended over the water.

On our second day, we took a tamer bus ride along the coast where we saw a bit more of how the working people lived. There was surprisingly little overlap between our two shore excursions but the beauty was so great, if there had been overlap, we wouldn’t have minded. Again, the coastal views were picturesque and the photo stops were literally post card quality. On this excursion, we had a chance to stop at a place that made the pareos (called sarongs in other areas) and we could see how they were made. We made a stop at the most famous restaurant on Bora Bora, Bloody Mary’s, which is named for the character in South Pacific. We both bought tee shirts to commemorate our visits, but I paid about $37 for mine. I can’t believe I spent that kind of money for just a tee shirt. I made the tourist mistake of not thinking about the dollar value of an item that cost 3,400 French Polynesian francs!

Our final Polynesian destination was the lesser known island of Raiatea. It’s not that far from Bora Bora and in fact has the best hospital on the two islands. We were told that when a woman from Bora Bora is 8 months pregnant, she is sent to that hospital to deliver her baby. High school students from Bora Bora go to Raiatea for school, spending their week in dorms and returning home to Bora Bora on the weekends. Here we again did a four wheel drive off the road tour. We saw some tropical fruit plantations, including papaya, lime, coconut, and grapefruit. The roads were lined with flowers and flowering trees of all colors and hues. A stop at a vanilla plantation showed us how the vanilla beans are harvested, dried, and separated by quality. Women who wanted to buy some inexpensive vanilla to take home were disappointed with the very high price (far higher than people have paid in Mexico). Our final stop was at a Maori religious site. Raiatea is considered to be the “sacred island” for their religion. Raiatea was the first destination where we experienced cloudy skies, and after we returned from our excursion, some rainy weather.

Today has been mostly cloudy with some rain and definitely rocky seas! Tomorrow we visit Cook Islands and Saturday our destination will be American Samoa. Having taught the circumstances of how the US acquired Samoa in the late 19th century, I will be interested in seeing how geography played a role for the US in Samoa. Since their currency is US dollars, there's no chance of $37 tee shirts!

Chuck

Tahiti & Moorea, Society Islands of French Polynesia

Words can’t begin to describe the incredible beauty of the islands of Tahiti and Moorea! We arrived in Tahiti Friday morning, and went ashore to visit the colorful marketplace. The first floor was mostly fresh foods, and the second floor had a wide assortment of items to be purchased, from shell jewelry to beautiful pareos (sarongs). It was great fun browsing through the shops.

In the afternoon we took our first shore excursion – Tahiti by 4-Wheel Drive. I really lucked out when the tour guide asked if I’d like to sit up front because the back was just about full! I felt like I was getting a private tour! He was very interesting to talk to. He was a gemologist who had grown up in Bordeaux, France, and had come to Tahiti to work with black pearls. I got to use a little of my French, and enjoyed talking with him. The tour itself was really interesting! He took us way back into the mountains and little-traveled roads. As we drove, we frequently passed friendly Polynesians, who never failed to greet us with a smile and a wave. The waterfalls were spectacular, and the plant life was so colorful! We even saw our second drum tree, reminding us of our trip to the Amazon Rain Forest in Peru last year. After a brief stop for those who wanted a swim, we continued on to a reservoir, where the eels came to the surface to check us out. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing seldom-visited parts of Tahiti.

Early Saturday morning, we set sail for Moorea, a small island within sight of Tahiti, and we arrived there by about 8:00. The mountains recalled scenes from South Pacific, with their mysterious cloud-capped peaks. We’d been told that Bora Bora was Michener’s Bali Ha’i, but according to our tour guide, one of the mountain peaks was the one that was used in the 1958 film.

Today’s shore excursion was really a break from our typical excursions! We did a motu beach picnic and stingray feeding. As we pulled away, we were greeted by a humpback whale breaching just beyond the coral reef. Our guide explained that humpbacks seldom breach when they’re feeding, and these whales feed in Antarctica. He said that the humpbacks of the Northern Hemisphere and those of the Southern Hemisphere never intermingle – we thought maybe it was because of the opposite seasons. As we continued to the motu (islet) where we would swim and have our picnic, we were treated with absolutely spectacular hues of water – deep blues, aquas, sea greens, to name a few. We saw some black-tipped sharks swimming near some snorkelers, and we also got glimpses of dolphins near a resort. The most memorable experience was being able to “pet” the stingrays. I never would have guessed that they would be so soft! Our guide coaxed several of them over, and they took turns letting us pet them. When it was my turn, I got an added bonus. I was busy “petting” Jeannie, when suddenly the guide said, “I guess Maggie wants to get in on this too. You’re getting two for one!” They kind of climb up you and make these little slurping noises, and they have absolutely HUGE eyes! I also had my first taste of raw fish! It was a local dish made of fresh tuna, mixed with coconut milk, sea salt, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Like the cuy I’d tried in Peru, I can say I tried it, but that was about it! No thanks! Two of the Amsterdam cast members were on the tour today, so we got a chance to visit with them and find out about them. One was a dancer from Seattle, and the other was the lead female singer, whose home is near London. There are ten members in the cast, but we have yet to meet the dancer that claims Buffalo as her home. Having just met two girls today made tonight’s performance by the cast more interesting.

Our last few nights before arriving in French Polynesia afforded me a chance to do some great stargazing! The second of the two nights I went out, the Milky Way was absolutely breathtaking! The astronomer kept having to tell people who weren’t in the know, “That’s not a cloud, that’s the Milky Way!” I’ve never seen the stars so thick! But trying to identify constellations has been a challenge – they’re all backwards down here! For example, Cygnus seems to be flying in the wrong direction, and Lyra is opening the wrong way! Gone are the ever-present circumpolar stars of the Northern Hemisphere! It does make things particularly interesting!

For the past several days we’ve been treated to a different cable news station! We lost the CNN signal just a few days out of L.A., and we were without television news for several days. We were thrilled when the cruise director told us at the last HAL Chorale rehearsal that they’d contracted with the Internet Provider to get Fox News until they were able to pick up the CNN signal again near Cairns, Australia. Most of the people we’ve talked to seem very happy with the change! In fact, when the announcement was made, a cheer went up among the Chorale members!

A big thanks goes out to my DAR officers, especially Martha Hoffman, for taking over for me at the last DAR meeting. Thanks also to Angie Brannigan, who gave me a heads-up as to what we might enjoy seeing while here – you’re right, Angie, it was absolutely beautiful! We’re also wondering if either Cheryl or Dennis Paben has any big news for us???

Barb

Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

During our nearly full week at sea, we have had leisurely breakfasts in the LaFontaine dining room, meeting quite a few new. After chatting with couples once, I am recognizing faces but can’t remember names or which couple is from San Francisco, San Diego, or Vancouver. I have tried to walk laps around the deck but sometimes have to split it up into two different times during the day in order to get a minimum of three miles completed. The lectures have been quite fascinating and we have attended most. There are three lecturers on board, each with their own specialties. All of them are fascinating and are able to tailor their talks to lay people. There is a historian whose specialty is in the history and culture of the Pacific rim who presented fascinating lectures on the border conflicts between the US and Canada as well as how the Pacific islands were discovered and settled. Most of it was information that I didn’t know or about which I only had superficial knowledge. The naturalist gave extensive information on the fauna and flora of the area and how the various species thrived (or in some cases didn’t thrive) in the area. The Meteorologist (who our cousins, Chris and Geoff, and Aunt Dorothy will be interested to know received his PhD from University of Wisconsin) gave excellent lectures on the skies of the Southern Hemisphere as well as an extensive look at the planet, Mars, and other planets in the Solar System. On Tuesday night, Barb joined him on the top deck for a view of the skies in darkness. She was quite pleased to point out Sagittarius to him because he hadn’t spotted it!

One day, I had to miss the first part of one of the lectures because on another part of the ship, they were explaining the navigational system of the ship. Not that we had any concern, but after days with absolutely no sign of life or scenery off the ship except water to the horizon in all directions, we were pleased to know that the navigators seemed to know where they were headed! Before we reach each port, the port lecturer tells us what to expect in each location including what to find on shore, what to buy and not to buy, the kind of transportation we might expect, and much much more. I have been impressed how she talks completely without notes about places like Nuka Hiva, which probably most readers of this blog, will, like us, have little knowledge about.

As Barb said in her last blog, she joined the chorale which will be doing numbers from “100 Years of Broadway” which our church choir has done. The chorale director is also the ship’s cruise director and is an outstanding musician in his own right. He gives chorale members a heads up on a number of issues that have not yet been shared with the whole ship.

After nearly a full week at sea, we finally reached LAND! Today we are in Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. It has a small population and there are few services and no tours available. We boarded a tender and went into the small village of Taiohae. Nuku Hiva is one of ten of the Marquesas Islands and we stopped here primarily because we had been at sea for the last six days and it is still two days until we reach Tahiti, obviously a much better known island in French Polynesia. We had been told there was practically nothing to do in Nuku Hiva and it would take 1 to 1 ½ hours maximum to see the village. I found it quite interesting and spent about 3 hours wandering and exploring. After the food, craft and tee shirt market, we walked along the shore. The harbor with its mountains and view of the ship was great. And this is considered the LEAST interesting of the islands of French Polynesia! If that’s the case, I can only imagine the beauty ahead.

We came upon an elementary school in session and noted the book bags hanging on hooks outside as well as the windows decorated for Halloween. I walked up to a small church and viewed the inside and then continued along to Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1975, and beautiful wood carvings inside. Likewise I passed a college which seemed to have a larger number of students than I might have expected. Several were outside playing basketball and there were a couple of guys showing some girls how to throw the javelin. Weather was warm in the morning but after a warm shower that didn’t affected anyone significantly, it became hot and humid. Barb’s thermometer showed 89 degrees with 57% humidity.

After returning to the ship, we learned of a major earthquake on Vanuatu which we visit on October 22, between Fiji and Cairns, Australia. The 7.8 quake led to another tsunami warning in the South Pacific and included Australia and New Zealand. A few days ago, we had heard that we probably would be able to be able to visit American Samoa on October 17 as planned, but have heard no official word.

Chuck

At Sea

It seems incredible that we’re in our fourth of six straight days at sea! We’ll have more interesting things to write about once we get to the ports, but we wanted to update you on what’s happening. So many people have asked us, “How will you stand being at sea so much?” Rest assured that we have not been bored in the least!

I’ve been working on recovering from a sinus infection, which I first noticed in Long Beach (L.A.) and thought at the time that it was allergies. By Friday I decided I’d better visit the shipboard doctor and get it taken care of before it went into bronchitis. This was my first (and hopefully last) experience with visiting the medical center. They were very efficient, and I’ve been on medication now for three days. Friday I hibernated and only came out for meals and the evening entertainment. Hopefully the worst is over – still have the sinus headache and congestion, but I’m feeling much better and have felt like doing things the past two days. I’m just glad it hit when it did: I’ve had several sea days to recover, and I can do as much or as little as I want!

We’ve both enjoyed attending some of the lectures they’ve provided. The astronomer is extremely interesting, and we’re looking forward to more of his lectures. We’re also going to have a wonderful chance to see the Leonid meteor shower (in mid-November) from the middle of the ocean – with none of the normal distraction of Chicago lights on the horizon! We’ve also enjoyed the historian, who’s given us insight on the explorers of the Pacific Ocean, among other things. Neither of us had heard the fascinating story of the Pig & Potato War, which played a role in helping determine the border between Canada and the United States! This morning we went to the interdenominational church service and had communion, though no mention of World Communion Sunday. This afternoon I’m planning to go and participate in the HAL (Holland America Line) Chorale, a choral group they’re organizing.

It’s truly amazing to experience the enormity of the Pacific Ocean. We haven’t seen a single sign of life outside our ship since setting sail from Long Beach on Wednesday, with the exception of sighting a whale soon after sailing. We’ve watched the ocean pass by and haven’t seen so much as a bird or a ship! The only thing that helps us know what direction we’re going is that we’re on the port side of the ship, which gets the morning sun – meaning we’re headed south. As of noon on our fourth day at sea, the captain announced that we were at 9°N, so we still haven’t even crossed the Equator! As this is written, we are due west of Panama. Even though the Pacific is supposed to be “peaceful”, we’ve done our share of rolling and pitching, but amazingly, I haven’t had any symptoms of seasickness, thank goodness! The ms Amsterdam is like a little floating city – so many things to do that we’ve found the time passing by very quickly!

We’ll be in Nuku Hiva, Marquesas in three days, just as a stopover, probably for supplies and fueling is my guess. There’s little to do there, but we’ve heard it’s a beautiful little island. Then we’ll have another day at sea before we get to Papeete, Tahiti. All of this is in the Hawaiian time zone, so at this point we’re four hours behind Chicago. We’re still trying to figure out how it all works with the International Date Line as well as daylight saving time in the Northern Hemisphere and standard time in the Southern Hemisphere!

The crew of the Amsterdam had a benefit show that helped raise funds for the Filipino and Indonesian crew members whose families suffered damage from the natural disasters that hit in those areas. It brings it much closer to home when we know some of the people affected.

Barb

L.A. & At Sea

Our introduction to our Grand Voyage was completed with our last port in North America at Long Beach, CA. We were docked right next to the Queen Mary which is now a hotel and tourist attraction. Our last opportunity to shop at American prices was there, so we, along with many others, took the free shuttle from the dock into Long Beach. The port lecturer reminded that we ought to have beach shoes, so we congregated with other from our ship in the shoe department at Walmart. There was little choice at the end of the season, but I checked three other nearby stores and finally found something acceptable at one, so we considered our mission accomplished.

By the time we returned to the ship, the Los Angeles arrivals, numbering about 550, were boarding and giving the ship its nearly full compliment of guests. At dinner we met our new dinner companions, couples from Texas and Florida. The latter had originally lived in Rye, New York, in the southeastern part of the state. They had heard of Hamburg and she had graduated from Syracuse University! That made 1/3 of our table Orangemen!

We set sail across the Pacific a little after 5 PM on September 30 and will be at sea for six consecutive days before reaching the sparsely populated island Marquesas Islands on October 7. Some friends have commented that they feared boredom with so many days at sea. Just as an indication of our first day, October 1, here is a sampling of activities. We had breakfast served in the dining room. I had the time to walk the outside deck 8 times which is slightly more than 2 miles before attending a lecture from the shore excursions department at 10. We remained for the interesting Meteorological professor who began a series of lectures on astronomy. Today he described the appearance of the sky in the Southern Hemisphere. We had to leave early to attend a reception at noon to meet the captain for those who are in our stateroom category. At two, we went to the movie The Proposal, which neither of us had seen. After an afternoon break of about an hour and a half, we went to dinner followed by the evening entertainment which varies each day. Yesterday’s was done by the ship’s cast, a group of young entertainers who put on a show of music and dance which cruisers always enjoy.

We followed with interest the selection of the host city for the 2016 Olympics this morning. Unlike a lot of Chicagoans, we both were hoping that Chicago could beat out Rio for the games. We knew that Rio was the favorite and that South America had never hosted them so it was a fairly long shot. However, it came as a surprise to have Chicago eliminated first. We haven’t heard much analysis, but we are guessing that local opposition to hosting the games was heard in addition to awareness of Chicago’s reputation for political corruption and the national publicity on the killings of school students. Chicago is a magnificent city with so much to offer, but in addition to the sentimentality for selection of a South American city for the first time, these were difficult issues to overcome.

We've heard about the devastation in American Samoa caused by the earthquake and tsunami. We're scheduled to go there on the 17th. Needless to say, the ship has been in contact with the authorities there and will not stop unless it's safe to do so. We'll keep you posted!

Chuck