Melbourne & Hobart (Tasmania), Australia

On the sea day following our departure from Sydney, we had the rockiest waters either of us had ever experienced, with gale-force winds and waves of 12 to 18 feet. I guess if I didn’t get seasick then, I don’t ever have to worry about it again! It was quite an adventure negotiating around the ship, grabbing for rails as the ship rocked, rolled, and pitched! We were amazed that the numerous people in walkers and wheelchairs managed to maneuver themselves through the corridors! We wondered if the rough waters were caused by the fact that we were swinging around the tip of Australia and moving from the Tasman Sea into the far southeastern corner of the Indian Ocean (and meaning we’ve now been in every ocean).

We saw little of the city of Melbourne itself, since we were doing yet another animal wildlife excursion. Our two tour guides Tim & Sarah were back at work after a holiday: the Melbourne Cup (as prestigious as the Kentucky Derby) had been held the day before. They informed us that the Melbourne Cup has been nicknamed “the ten minutes that stop a nation”. Both had been to barbies the day before, but they assured us that they’d never had shrimp on the barbie. Must be an American thing… They also claimed that they’d never been to an Outback Restaurant or had Bloomin’ Onion, though Sarah joked that if she ever got to the US she’d be interested in going to the Outback to see what kind of food Australians eat!

Our first stop took us to the Serendip Sanctuary in hopes of seeing yet more kangaroos, this time in the wild. We caught glimpses of emus, which we learned we’d been pronouncing wrong all our lives; according to Tim, it’s “e-mew, not e-moo”. (We had a “test” at the end of the tour.) For some reason, every single emu we saw was positioned on the other side of the bus or far in the distance. We got off the bus and walked to a billabong, a lake that’s been formed from a dried up river, where there were hundreds of wild birds nesting. I had been excited to see one ibis wandering around the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, and suddenly I was seeing more than I could possibly count nesting in low trees near the billabong. We caught glimpses of babies (not sure what they call a baby ibis) covered with fluff, and we also saw magpie geese – very large birds, that might make our geese look like younger cousins.

Back on the bus, Tim showed us an emu egg (abandoned & unhatchable), and we were surprised at the size and toughness of the shell. He had been in communication with some park naturalists, and they were going to try an experiment. They had sighted a mob of about 50 kangaroos, and had hoped to chase them through our group. We were positioned in small groups near a stand of trees, and the park naturalists were going to spook the kangaroos, and theoretically the kangaroos would take off and run (hop) through the stand of trees to get away. The kangaroos outsmarted the rangers though, because we saw them take off – way at the end of the stand of trees along the rim of the preserve. Oh, well, you can never predict wild animals.

We stopped for morning tea, and were entertained by the cagy little willy wagtails a short distance away. These little black & white birds were plopped on the ground chirping at us. The ranger explained that they were trying to lure us away from their nest. Chuck moved forward a little, hoping to sight the nest in the tree above them, while still maintaining a respectful distance. The ranger said, “Sir, would you step back please? You’re too close to their nest.” The nest was in the tree nearest us and was laden with three fledgling birds. Those wagtails had really pulled one over on us!

As we left the park, we saw a small mob of kangaroos lounging near the entrance – almost as if they were waving us good-bye and smiling at us, thinking, “Another gang of tourists outsmarted!”

After a brief stop for a magnificent vista that displayed Melbourne sprawled at the horizon (much like we might get a glimpse of Chicago from our far south-west suburbs), we traveled on to the You Yang Ranges National Park, where we hoped to glimpse some koalas in the wild. The rangers had been scouting out koalas in trees, and they were pleased to report that we’d most likely be able to see two koalas – unless they’d migrated to a new location while awaiting our arrival. We weren’t disappointed. We thought of our friends Al & Carol, wishing they could see Merle the Koala – a huge reddish koala sitting high up in a gum tree. At first he looked like an enormous teddy bear, but I didn’t dare let our guides hear me say it, as we’ve been informed over and over that koalas are not bears. (In fact, the name koala in one of the Aboriginal languages means “no drink” since they get their water from the eucalyptus leaves.) Merle sat majestically in his high perch looking down at all of us as we looked up at him, snapping pictures and peering through binoculars, till our guides told us it was time to continue on our way so we could meet Smoky the Koala. Smoky was a gray koala, and in her case, they had actually been able to identify her daughter and her grandson. So Grandma Smoky was an older koala, probably about eight years old. Again, Smoky sat watching us sleepily as we studied her. A real treat came when she decided her branch wasn’t that comfortable (I guess) and she climbed down to a lower branch. It’s the most I’ve seen a koala move – they’re such sleepy little animals with such a low metabolism!

We learned the way to tell the difference between male and female koalas – that’s assuming we can actually see their chests! Koalas have white fur on their chests. Female koalas’ fur is all white, while male koalas have a brown spot in the fur. We enjoyed seeing these elusive animals in their natural habitats.

Hobart, Tasmania, our last port in Australia was a wonderful surprise! Tasmania is at about 42° S, which is comparable to Chicago at about 42° N. Our shore excursion was a full-day trip that took us out into the lush, green countryside of the island. Had we not been riding on the left, listening to our Aussie guide, and viewing possibly more sheep than we saw in Wales or Scotland, we might have thought we were driving through upstate New York, with the orchards, vineyards, and rolling green hills. We had read that Tasmania was the most mountainous island in the world, and while we can’t imagine it being more mountainous than places like Bora Bora or Moorea, we wondered if it was considered the most mountainous island that wasn’t volcanic! Our drive to Field Mountain National Park was absolutely lovely, and enhanced by the (unpredicted) sunshine that was ever-present. Being mid-spring, flowers were in bloom, including vivid irises and carpets of brilliant orange and yellow flowers that reminded me of daisies and spread like weeds along the roadside if planted in someone’s garden.

As we arrived at the park, our guide pointed out a vast expanse of lawn and wondered if we could guess how it got mowed. None of us came to the correct conclusion that it was a marsupial lawn that was kept short, not by human gardeners, but by all the marsupials, who are nocturnal animals and come down to graze on the grass each evening. He told us that if we came at night we’d see kangaroos, wallabies, tiny pademelons (little wallabies about the size of a large raccoon), wombats, and possums feeding there. We took a short walk through a lush green rainforest that brought us to the Russell Falls. On our way, we saw umbrella palms (short palm trees that look much like umbrellas), moss-covered trees at every step of the way, the tallest flowering plants in the world (that weren’t quite as tall as redwoods, but came pretty close) and even a little glow-worm cave, though it wasn’t dark enough to see the glow-worms. Both of us saw pademelons. I watched one feeding on some grass, while Chuck was able to witness a family of three – mother & joey, plus what he assumed was the father, who came over to nuzzle the mother. We had been told to watch for platypuses in the stream, but since the platypus is also nocturnal and extremely shy and difficult to spot, nobody on our tour saw one. Russell Falls was a beautiful, three-tiered waterfall, all in succession, unlike what we grew up with visiting at Letchworth State Park in NY. While much smaller, it was a magnificent waterfall!

We made a brief stop in the picturesque little village of Richmond with its sandstone buildings (reminding me of the Cotswolds), which boasted the oldest bridge and oldest Catholic church in Australia. There were quaint little B&Bs sprawled across the town, as well as interesting little shops that we wished we’d had more time to visit. However, we needed to be on our way quickly in order to arrive at the Meadowbank Estates Winery for our lunch appointment. This included a wine tasting; something Chuck and I are such experts at, as most of you know! We tried sips of three different kinds of wine, but our culture when it comes to wine is sadly lacking and we couldn’t tell the difference between the three wines! However, we enjoyed the scenery during lunch. The vineyard sprawled down a hill toward a lake, and the mountains across the valley provided a breathtaking vista.

Our final stop was the Bonorong Wildlife Center where we were treated one last time to the indigenous animals of Australia. We’ve certainly made animal excursions a priority, but Australian animals are so different from those at home that we took every opportunity to experience them. That’s reflected in the frequency of animal pictures we’ve included in our albums. Each experience we had was slightly different, making each very worthwhile. At Bonorong we were able to feed the kangaroos, and we watched them lazing in the sun or hopping around, or just being inquisitive about their human guests. They certainly seem to have a lot of personality! We saw one mother with such a huge joey hanging out of her pouch that we were told she’d probably kick him out of the house pretty soon. (All we could see was legs and tail hanging out.) Chuck witnessed a joey that had been “out” crawl back into his mother’s pouch. We both enjoyed watching the little Tasmanian devils feeding and racing around their pens. There were usually two or three to an enclosure, and if one got too near another, they would go on a merry chase! Somehow I had pictured them as much larger, but they were probably more the size of a Westie. Another treat was seeing a mother koala carrying her baby on her back.

We were very sad to leave Australia, but have three days at sea to “rest up” before arriving in New Zealand. On Saturday night, we were invited to a Captain’s Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. Everyone has one of the chief officers at their table, and we were told by others on our deck who had already attended the event that there were only about four people to a table. However, when we were escorted to our seats, we found ourselves at a table for fourteen and assigned seats at the table, scrambling people up so they were sitting with others. Chuck found himself just two seats down from the captain, while I was two seats up from the cruise hostess. We really had to be on our best behavior! The Pinnacle manager Kim had told us a few weeks ago that she only puts friendly and interesting people at the captain’s table – so I guess we must appear friendly and interesting!  In conversation with guests sitting near me, I indicated that I was a career teacher and began subbing immediately after retiring. One man commented, “Then you’ll be interested in finding out that our tour guide in Hobart also did substitute teaching. He told us he earns $300 a day as a sub.” My only comment was, “WOW!!!” (However, I do have to substantiate that fact by saying that $300 Australian is probably only about $285 American.)

Sunday evening was “Dinner with the Gnomes”, and our dining stewards were all decked out as gnomes. The poor guys really have to put up with some unusual costumes during this cruise, but they take it in stride and do it with good humor while keeping the guests laughing and having a good time.

One of our table mates told us that in all her travels, she thinks the most beautiful country she’s ever seen is New Zealand. We look forward to our week there. It will be extremely busy, with shore excursions five of the seven days in port (three of those will be very long days with 8+ hour excursions and a shore event on Veterans Day evening), and visiting our friends Brian and Margaret during the other two days, we’re not sure when we’ll be able to post blogs during our time in NZ.

Barb

Sydney

Word can’t come close to fairly describing our stay so far in Australia! I had heard that Australia was a great country to visit but there is no way to do justice to it with mere words.

As I sit at the computer to start this blog, I am looking out the window at the magnificent world-famous Sydney Opera House. What a spectacular view we have for three days in Sydney. Our primary focus is on the Opera House, but we also see the shops and wharf as well as ferries plying between this part of Sydney and other areas. Since it is November, the sun is shining and the temperatures are warm with the spring trees and flowers in bloom. In Barb’s last blog, she mentioned the purple jacaranda trees which we see in profusion here. Like some of our flowering trees in the spring, best time for jacaranda is late October and early November.

Let me back up and not get ahead of the story. On Halloween morning, nearly the whole ship was up at about 5:45 to view the beautiful sail-in to Sydney Harbor. The bow was opened to guests as were all the decks and commentary was broadcast so we could have everything pointed out to us. As soon as the first glimpse of the bridge and then the top of the Opera came into view, everyone was snapping the first of thousands of pictures people must have taken. Even those crew members and other employees that could break away from duties were out since for some, it was their first visit to Sydney too. After 20 consecutive weeks of Alaska (Seattle to Seattle), they have enjoyed the change – and the warmer temperatures. Our assistant dining steward drew the “duty” of serving coffee and pastries at the front of the ship. As we drew nearer and nearer, the Opera House and bridge became larger, first both directly in front of us and then our large ship slipped into the Circular Quay between the Opera and bridge. This time both sides of the ship have a view. We look directly at the Opera while the starboard side has the bridge and parklands to watch. Some of us decided that we would move the ship around so sometime today, we should switch great views!

Halloween morning, we decided to do a half day city tour so we could comprehend what Sydney had to offer – and it is a lot! We started out driving through “The Rocks”. Our tour description said “Australia’s most historic enclaves sits in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge and exhibits the heritage of two centuries in its narrow, twisting streets.” The old homes are well maintained, many of which look like the row houses we see all over Britain. Many had flowering jacaranda and other delicate trees lining the street. From there, we moved into the part of the city with a mixture of stately Victorian era buildings (government buildings, museums, shops, and pubs) with a mixture of modern high rise structures and sculptures.

This brought us back to the Sydney Opera House for an inside tour. When looking at the winning architectural design, some see ocean waves, others see sails, and still others, shells. We obtained our tickets and met our guide who gave us earphones so she could talk to us and everyone could hear! After viewing a very brief video on the history of the building of the Opera, we first saw a smaller performance center which could operate as a theater in the round if so desired but because of movable seats, it could serve other functions as well. Then we were treated an inside view of the main theater of the opera, and while our guide explained the theater to us, we watched the workmen setting the stage for that evening’s performance of The Mikado. If there was any opera (in this case, an operetta) that I would have enjoyed, it was The Mikado. It brought back long ago memories of when I was a senior in high school and our school musical was The Mikado. I can’t think of The Mikado without thinking of my good friend from high school, Merlin Lawson, who played the role of the Mikado way back then…. We did speak to several people who attended (it costs big bucks to attend) and they said it was outstanding and unforgettable.

Following our tour of Opera House, we were on the road again for more touring of Sydney including some of the expensive homes along the waterfront and a stop at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. After our cool Chicago summer, it has been great enjoying the warm temperatures of an Australian spring. Some days we have been exceeding temperatures in places like Phoenix and Tampa, much less Chicago and Buffalo! By the way, we were told that Sydney has approximately the same latitude as Los Angeles and Atlanta do in the Northern Hemisphere.

Upon our return from our half day tour, Barb and I went off on our separate ways. Both of us had tasks we wanted to accomplish that didn’t involve each other. I did a bit of shopping in their weekend market, again conveniently located a short distance from our ship. And I accomplished my primary objective of getting a haircut! After dinner, Barb and I took a fairly short walk to admire the city at dusk and to see the lights on the Opera House and our ship.

On Sunday, we were off on a half day excursion to the Koala Park near Sydney. Barb is an animal lover and looks for every opportunity to find excursions that include wildlife. I enjoy them too and especially like the Australian type which naturally they feature here. The sleepy koalas actually opened their eyes to stare at their guests as we watched them back. We likewise enjoyed watching the kangaroos doing what kangaroos do! Here we saw several who had their joeys in their pouches. Usually it was just a foot sticking out but one obliged us by poking its head out so we could see it the way we had pictured kangaroos. Not being very knowledgeable about kangaroos, we had a misconception that some of you may also have. We wrongly assumed that the pouch was horizontal to the body and that the joey rode around sitting with its little head out. Instead the pouch is a hole and it’s more vertical than horizontal. The teat is down in the pouch so the joey needs to go well into the pouch to be fed. Barb took a picture of a kangaroo and me eye to eye which I think looks a bit goofy but she has proclaimed that it’s “cute” so I think she is going to insist that it be included in the pictures. She wants to take a kangaroo home as a pet but is concerned that immigration officials wouldn’t like illegal kangaroos crossing the border. I reminded her that while the kangaroo would probably have no problem with Molly (her dog for those who don’t know), but Molly might be put off by her new companion in the house. So I think she has reluctantly given up the idea of the pet kangaroo! By the way, did you know that kangaroos are physically unable to move backwards, as are emus? That’s why the kangaroo and emu are a part of Australia’s coat of arms and their national slogan is “Advance Australia”.

After seeing the other animals we traveled though some of the 2000 Summer Olympic venues. Sydney is impressive in that it still utilizes much of its Olympic complex. That’s not a surprise in a sports-crazed country which with a population of about 22 million battles the US, China, and Russia for dominance in numbers of medals. If it were done on a per capita basis, Australia would be dominant.

We returned via the Parramatta River on a public ferry and enjoyed seeing the sailboats and expensive waterfront property all along the route. Once again, Barb and I split up after returning. Barb went shopping at The Rocks markets and I set off to check the Royal Botanical Gardens which is a short walk away. As I entered the gardens, I couldn’t believe the beauty at every turn: lush green trees and shrubs, flowers and flowering trees (including the ever-present jacarandas). As I went into one area, I heard loud screeching and birds flying around. I looked up and found, not birds, but flying foxes (bats!) all over, some flying but many just hanging upside down from the trees. There was a sign saying that the flying foxes had destroyed a number of trees in the gardens but they seemed to remain confined to one small area. As I left that area, they weren’t to be seen again. I came toward some water and found that it was a cove with a wonderful view of the back of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. I followed the path with the ever-present view of the rear of Opera House to the now familiar location of our ship. We were drawn back to the ship for an evening entertainment from another group of Aborigines playing the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo. This group featured some rather young boys who danced (very effectively too) with the adults which also included a number of women. Another great day!

On our third and sadly, last, day in Sydney we awoke to cloudy skies which looked like a definite for rain. While disappointed, we had not had a single day when we were on land where it was predominately cloudy, much less rainy. We had scheduled a full day on a tour to the Blue Mountains, Australia’s equivalent of the Grand Canyon. We got off to a slightly late start and drove though some now familiar areas of Sydney. This itinerary included a stop at the 2000 Sydney Olympic site where we were able to get out and see the Olympic Stadium and walk among some poles which listed all of the volunteers that helped make the Sydney games so successful. In addition we saw other sites including the basketball, aquatic, and several other venues. It was most impressive to see how Sydney is utilizing so many of the structures that were a part of their Olympic games. Just last year for example, we passed several of the sites of the Athens 2004 games and they had fallen into disrepair.

Before lunch we had a quick vista stop to see the canyon from above with the major focus on what they call the “Three Sisters” which are three tall rocks soaring above the landscape. We visited two lovely towns with lively downtowns near the Blue Mountains and had our lunch in the town of Leura before heading for our major stop at “Scenic World” Here we took a cable car down the canyon. Our guide suggested we try to be on the left side as picture-taking would be better there. At the bottom we walked through a rainforest (but fortunately not the kind we did in Fiji!). A walkway had been constructed with frequent descriptions of what we were viewing which allowed us to understand some of the flora of the rainforest. As we were in the heavily tree covered rainforest we began to encounter some showers. The morning clouds had earlier given way to better weather but now showers were moving in. Our walk was nearly over and we waited for the railway to carry us back to the top. This was billed as the world’s steepest perpendicular railway. It was a short ride, but we were in a cage-like structure and purposely tilted back in our seats for safety reasons.

Our guide on this excursion was excellent and gave us commentaries about the history of Australia as well as some of the flowers and trees we saw along the way. He described several of Australia’s animal species and what their interesting mating practices are. We were amazed at his knowledge of Australian lore and he even quoted extensively from memory some lengthy poetry. Since we were departing Sydney late in the afternoon, we were scheduled for the mandatory lifeboat drills since several hundred had disembarked in Sydney and others had joined for the last half of the cruise. It is somewhat of a nuisance but we understand the necessity of the drill. Several vocal people in the front of the bus tried to persuade the driver and guide to get us back late so we could miss the 4:45 drill. Since we had gotten the late start and were scheduled to return at 4:30, being late for the drill was a possibility. Some of us told the complainers that we would be contacted for a makeup drill at the ship’s convenience the next day but these folks insisted we wouldn’t have to do it if we missed the drill. We barely returned in time to try to get to the drill, but six of us in a row set off the security alarm as we returned and had to be wanded. The system was apparently so sensitive that my glasses, watch, and belt buckle were enough to set it off and of course Barb, with all her surgical hardware, set it off too. We raced to our station for the drill and made it just in time to be counted present. We talked to a few others later who had missed the drill and were annoyed that they were going to have to do a makeup because a small handful were purposely trying to cause a delay.

As our Sydney blog suggests, our days were packed but memorable. The city is world class. Like with Brisbane, we could almost forget that we were not in a major American city. We did learn that one reason why Australia seems so similar to the US was that the Aussies felt a bit let down by the British in the 1950s when Australia felt the threat of Communism in Southeast Asia and it was the US, rather than the British, that tended to be more supportive of the Australian concerns.

Barb and I have tended to do two ports each, but since there was much to say about Cairns and Brisbane; she broke them into two shorter blogs. Since Sydney was such a major destination with three days, I have done that one in one lengthy blog. She will do our last two Australian ports in Melbourne and Hobart, Tasmania. We will be sad to leave Australia but will look forward to exploring New Zealand!

Chuck

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