Hong Kong: Where East Meets West

As we sailed toward Hong Kong, we continued to keep busy with a variety of activities on the ship.  The first day out, we were invited to participate in a “galley lunch”, meaning we were seated in the galley and were able to watch as the stewards gathered their food to take out to those in the dining room.  Though it was tight quarters, we appreciated getting a better idea of how the kitchen operated.  We enjoyed seeing our favorite stewards walking past and smiling broadly at us as they continued on their way to collect appetizers or main courses. 

That evening we had opted to attend the Indonesian Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill.  We had enjoyed this when we were on the Grand Voyage in 2009 so we signed up as soon as we had the opportunity.  Once again, their Indonesian garb was exquisite, the decorations were bright and colorful, and the food (prepared by one of our “favorite” Indonesian stewards, Tina), was delicious, though quite spicy.  (Note to self: they called it dragon’s egg for a reason.  If they offer it to you again, politely say no thank you unless you once again want to feel like your entire mouth has burst into flames!) 

Unfortunately we discovered that the rumor we’d heard earlier in the week was true.  I asked one of the “in-the-know” ship staff about the lady who had been run over in Roseau, Dominica, our first port, and the staff member confirmed that the lady had had to have a series of surgeries and she died during one of the surgeries.  What a tragic end to something I’m sure she was looking forward to.  I also learned that she had not only been on our floor, but would have been our next door neighbor had we not switched staterooms. 

Shortly after we crossed the Equator on the 7^th, we had a visit from King Neptune and his court.  It was necessary to bring all polliwogs (those who had never crossed the Equator before) to trial to see if they were worthy of King Neptune’s forgiveness.  It was all in good fun as the “newbie” crew members took the punishment for the passengers, were brought before king Neptune, were required to “kiss the fish”, and were covered with messy goo before convicted or acquitted.  If it had been me, I would have wanted to be convicted because that meant that they had to dive into the ocean (or in this case, the Lido pool), meaning that they would immediately wash that slop off right away.  Those who were acquitted had to sit on the side of the pool and bake in the yucky stuff!  Some of the crew really put on quite a show as they acted out their parts, making it for a very fun morning. 

The lectures continue to be very informative, and the two scientist lecturers have been wonderful!  One is an astronomer who has quite a sense of humor.  He always throws in small clips of familiar movies.  The one of Wallace and Gromit brought back many wonderful memories of my fifth grade students.  They enjoyed that humorous duo as much as I did!  The lecture on 50 years of American Space Program reminded me of my week at Space Camp for Educators with Shirley, Stephanie, Kim, and Georgia back in the 1990s.  One day the naturalist talked about jellyfish, which reminded both Chuck and me about our visit to Akureyri, Iceland last summer where the waters around the ship absolutely teemed with jellyfish!  From what I heard this morning, I’m certainly glad that Lake Michigan isn’t home to some of these dangerous creatures!

As we approached Hong Kong, the seas went from the smooth surface of the doldrums to the roughest seas we’d had since leaving Punta Arenas, Chile.  While not nearly as rough, we had gotten so used to extremely calm water that it was a wake-up call to start rocking again!

We were scheduled for scenic cruising as we sailed into Hong Kong Harbor, but because the authorities requested that we board the pilot earlier than we’d anticipated, the beautiful views weren’t yet available.  It was still dark at 6:00 AM as we approached the harbor, and when the sun did rise, it decided to play hide-and-seek behind some dense clouds and fog.  So while we enjoyed the sail in, it wasn’t as spectacular as we’d hoped. 

Chuck, Al, and I were booked on a full-day excursion called Hong Kong’s Best, and we decided that we were also fortunate to have what we considered Hong Kong’s best tour guide!  Our guide Patrick had such a wonderful way with people and sense of humor that everyone on the bus agreed that we were indeed very lucky. 

Patrick kept up a running commentary the entire time, and we learned a lot, never having been in China before. 

Hong Kong’s official name is Hong Kong Special Administrative Region People’s Republic of China.  Wow!  I’m sure they’re glad they don’t have to write that down every time they identify their country!  Hong Kong and the surrounding areas of Kowloon and the New Territories have a very interesting history.  To make a long story short, as a result of the Opium Wars between China and Britain back in the1800s, Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, followed by Kowloon, and later the New Territories.  The New Territories were turned over to Britain in 1898 with a 99-year lease “attached”.  So in 1997 they, along with Hong Kong and Kowloon, were returned to China.  When this happened, China agreed to a second political system for the first 50 years.  So right now China is both a Communist government (those lands that had always been part of China) as well as a Democracy (those lands ceded back to China from Britain).   Chuck commented that when he taught AP US History that he had occasion to refer to the importance of Hong Kong and the Kowloon, never imagining that he would ever visit that part of the world.  They have become so much more real now that we have actually been there.

Patrick told us that because of the British influence, children started learning English as soon as they started school.  The teacher gave them “English” names according to the alphabet so when it came time for him to receive his English name, two other classes had Peter and Paul (and as he said, Mary wouldn’t work for him), so he was given the Irish name of Patrick. 

The population of Kong Kong is about 7 million, meaning that there are 6400 people per square kilometer.  (The US has about 31 people have about per km² and Canada has 2.6 people and 1 moose per km² according to Patrick.)   Because of the extremely dense population, an average family of four people live in an apartment of about 350 to 400 ft ².   He explained that if his wife goes out and buys a pair of shoes, she has to get rid of a pair of shoes to make room.  He said he might go home and find that they only shoes he has are the ones he’s wearing. 

Our first tour stop was at the lovely Bird Garden.  Since people don’t usually have room for pets like dogs or cats, they purchase birds instead.  The two most common songbirds are Oriental white eyes and parakeets.  Some people purchase fighting birds such as magpies.  Each morning the men take their birds on covered cages and walk them, just as I might take Molly for a walk.  The men bring the birds to the bird garden so the men can socialize with other men and the birds can socialize with other birds.  There are even places where the birds can be transferred into other cages for awhile to enjoy lovely surroundings, treats for eating, and a chance to “relax” in a spa-like atmosphere.  If I hadn’t seen it for my own eyes, it would have been very difficult to believe!  But there they were – the lovely little songbirds hopping into separate cages to enjoy some “spa-time”!  Also available in the garden are birds of all kinds for sale from the tiny little birds mentioned above to large exotic birds like toucans, as well as cages and a hearty supply of the birds’ favorite food – grasshoppers.

As we left the bird garden behind, we walked across the street to the flower (wholesale) market.  What a veritable feast for the eyes:  an entire city block devoted to the sale of any kind of flower and plant imaginable, from beautiful American Beauty roses to lovely orchids, Venus flytraps, air flowers, as well as plants such as bamboo, just to name a few.  It was hard to know where to look next with the wealth of beauty surrounding us! 

We really didn’t want to tear ourselves away from the two wonderful places we’d visited, literally across the street from each other, but we had so much to do that there was no choice.  Our next stop was the jade market.  This was where we could purchase “B Grade” and “C Grade” jade.  Patrick explained that we could tell the grade by the price.  “A Grade was the most expensive, costing hundreds of dollars.  “B Grade” might be $15 or more, and “C Grade” was probably well under $10.  Once again, we were expected to negotiate with the owners, something neither of us is comfortable doing.  I had a friend from the ship standing there saying, “Bid this amount…. Now offer this… If you don’t like the price, walk away.”  Sure enough, with her whispering in my ear, I managed to get a fairly decent price on a Christmas gift. 

Shortly after my first success at bargaining, we took a funicular ride to the top of Victoria Peak so we could enjoy a spectacular view of Hong Kong.  I’m sure it would have been quite spectacular had we not been experiencing clouds and a little rain.  No problem because we would also have a chance to enjoy the scenery from the restaurant at the top where we were scheduled to eat.  Once again we were hampered by the weather as the fog rolled in while we were eating.  We could now barely see the tram we’d taken to the top.  All was not lost though because we had a wonderful lunch in a nice restaurant and I was able to make a very quick trip to Hard Rock and pick up my Hong Kong shot glass. (Strange thing for someone who does virtually no drinking to collect, but they’re small, pack easily, and are about the least expensive thing at the Hard Rock!)

Continuing on our journey, we headed toward Repulse Bay, a very exclusive beach area with multi-million dollar homes.  As we drove, Patrick continued to explain about life in China.  Until about the 1970s, Chinese did not practice monogamy.  This was because marriages were arranged.  So the men had one wife who was selected for him, as well as concubines if he wanted them.  This was a tradition left over from the Ching dynasty.  The major industry in China is finance, followed by banking (HSBC – Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation being the biggest bank), and tourism.  The most popular sport is horse racing.  Patrick said when he dies he wants to come back as a racehorse because they have such a good life.  (However, he has a bad leg so he’s afraid that he was once a racehorse and came back in this life as a Holland America tour guide!) 

We had an hour to visit Stanley Market, a place where it was possible to buy souvenirs, once again by bargaining.  Patrick commented that every big city in the US has Chinatown, but the locals consider Stanley Market the Caucasian Market because that’s where the Caucasians shop! 

We drove to a small harbor where we boarded sampans for a ride through waters laden with fishing boats.  There were also several floating restaurants, including the world’s largest, Jumbo Restaurant.  We were fascinated to see all the different boats that would go out late at night into the South China Sea where they would lure fish to the surface and catch them in order to sell them to the markets.  The Chinese people want very fresh food so women often go to the market twice a day.  Patrick told us that he had invited himself and his family over to his parents for dinner this evening, and his mother was probably at the fish market purchasing fish that had been caught this morning.  He chuckled as he commented that Americans tend to go to the market about once a week.  What a difference in traditions!

One last stop took us to a jade factory where we watched the craftsmen polishing, cutting and setting jade into jewelry.  Needless to say, this was the “A Grade” jade, so I took a pass here. 

After our excellent excursion, we were looking forward to seeing the nightly laser show that’s visible over the harbor.  This is the longest consecutively-running laser show in the world – it plays over the water every night, rain or shine, starting  at exactly 8:00 and ending at 8:14.  We went up to the Sports Deck and enjoyed the beautiful display from there.  

As often happens when we’re in a port overnight, a folkloric show came on board to entertain us.  The one in Hong Kong was among the best I’ve ever seen!  We weren’t sure what to expect, but we were very impressed with the professionalism of the performers.  There were four different acts.  Two girls played instruments – the 12-stringed guitar and the 2-stringed violin – exquisite Chinese music with its harmonies that are so different from what we’re used to.   Then a talented group of teens performed the dragon dance.  We were in awe of their ability to weave in and out, leaping and diving as the dragon body wound its way around the stage in the dark!  They were amazing!  Two elegant young ladies performed a ribbon dance that was exquisite with its intricate movements of ribbons that had to stretch about 12 feet each!  The final act was a face-changer this man was a “master-champion” face changer, and he was excellent.  Dressed in a colorful costume, he wore a mask surrounded with lights and carried a cloth that he wove around his head.  Each time he did, another intricate face mask would appear.  It was absolutely incredible to view!  We were so impressed by the amazing talent this group displayed!

Our second day in Hong Kong was more relaxed.  We had originally booked an excursion that took us to the island of Lantau by skyrail.  However, there had been an accident on the skyrail earlier in the year so it was shut down until they could assess the cause and make sure it didn’t happen again.  Since hopefully we will be back in Hong Kong sometime soon, we decided to cancel the excursion this year.  So we set out in the morning to explore the area.  We walked first to the elegant Peninsula Hotel, the most exclusive in the Kowloon area.  It was beautiful and reminded me in some ways of the Drake in Chicago.  Then we continued our walk, passing through an enormous department store that brought back memories of Marshall Field’s (it will never be Macy’s to me!) in the Chicago Loop.  We strolled through the Centenary Gardens before returning to the ship for lunch.

Hong Kong was a fascinating experience!   There were so many things to do that were very different from what I’ve seen before that I found the entire time here to be a joy!  I now see why so many people on the ship have been raving about Hong Kong!  

Hong Kong was the first stop in one of the most port-intensive segments of the itinerary.  We are hoping to keep up with our blog postings, but if we get a little behind, please understand that our top priority is to enjoy the ports. We will get things up, but they may be farther between. 

BT 

Indonesia: The Dragons of Komodo Island and Daily Life on Lombok Island

I am happy to report that we are aware of no one who became lunch for any of the Komodo dragons!  That important detail out of the way, more on Komodo dragons later...

Our journey around this amazing culturally and physically diverse planet is exactly half over now.  Friday was Day 56 of our 112 day cruise and every single place we will visit will be exciting and new to us from now until we reach Athens in early April, just as everything was new from when our plane touched down in West Palm Beach on New Year’s Day (which seems so long ago now) until we arrived on the shores of Tahiti.

I had never focused attention on the importance of the area in which we are now sailing between northern Australia and Indonesia in terms of its impact on weather and climate, geology, and of course, culture. However our speakers now on board are helping those who are availing themselves of the opportunity to learn to understand the important role this area is contributing to our Earth.

Reluctantly, we are leaving Australia, a country which Barb and I have grown to love on our two trips there.  If it weren’t for the fact that the United States is home and always will be, I think we could both live in Australia and love it. Australia’s people are warm and friendly; the cities are modern and dynamic; the culture from “Waltzing Matilda” to the Aboriginal art and music of the haunting didgeridoo is fascinating; and the indigenous animals of Australia seem to be favorites of many Americans (though we prefer close encounters with kangaroos and koalas to those crocodiles we saw near Cairns!).

We have sailed over the Great Barrier Reef, one of UNESCO’s world preservation sites without being able to see the wonders below us.  We visited a reef and “snorkeled” (I use the term loosely) on our 2009 trip to Cairns so we have a small idea of these wonders of the ocean.  What I had not known was that these warm waters, which do help promote the life below the seas, also foster the development of cyclonic action in this part of the world.  The water is shallow in many areas and is incredibly warm so that makes cyclones more likely here.  For those of us in the Northern US, water temperatures of 86 degrees such as the captain reported on Saturday, seem unheard of.

As we traveled down South America and across the Pacific, we had primarily experts on culture and history.  Now we have two fascinating scientists on board.  One, a Canadian biology professor, Dr. George Sranko,  who has studied and lived in Australia has spoken on the ecology of the Great Barrier Reef as well as Australia’s animals. He also gave a full lecture on the fascinating (but definitely not cuddly) Komodo dragons which are found only on Komodo Island and very limited areas of nearby islands of Indonesia.  He spoke too, of the evolution of the human species which included a weaker branch of “hobbits”, much smaller than our typical humans and with smaller brains which has probably gone extinct.  However, he indicated that there is some evidence that there may yet be a few surviving in unexplored, undeveloped areas in parts of Indonesia to this day.  Fascinating.

The other professor, Dr. Greg Ojakangas, who graduated from Cal Tech, focuses on physical science especially astronomy and geology.  During the past year, Barb and I have seemed to be visiting areas of unusual volcanic action, first with Iceland last summer and now with the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and locations of volcanic events in Indonesia. From the mighty Krakatoa Volcano of the 1880s to other recent eruptions, great Pacific earthquakes that led to the tsunamis that devastated American Samoa in September 2009, less than 3 weeks before we visited there and the unsettling earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand and elsewhere in New Zealand, to volcanic eruptions on the planets of our solar system, he addressed the impact of these geologic actions on our planet and universe.  This is a fascinating, educational adventure which makes me think so frequently of the times I have subbed in Science at Lincoln-Way, showing DVDs that covered a number of the topics in this long, fascinating “field trip” we  are taking!  If only these students could have the opportunity to see these places.

After four days at sea, and navigating through the Great Barrier Reef as well as the waters between Australia and Indonesia, we reached Komodo Island and the Komodo National Park. One could sense the excitement of the Indonesian crew as they had a chance to see their home country after so many months at sea for so many of them.  Some had never visited Komodo Island as there are relatively few humans but about 1250 of the Komodo dragons on the island.  As we sailed into Strait of Lintah and Slawi Bay where we dropped anchor, this hilly but green island was shrouded in clouds.  I saw a cabin steward that I don’t know who said to me, “Welcome to my country!”  I responded that I was happy to be here but asked him to do something about the rain.  He told me, “It won’t rain,” (and it didn’t)!  We were told that since there had been a lot of rain recently, paths would be muddy and to wear appropriate shoes.

We met Al for our Komodo Island Trek shore excursion, took the easy tender ride to the island and met our walking tour at noon.  The rules and warnings of the park explained, our Indonesian guide and two park rangers set off with our group to see if we could spot any of the dragons.  The two rangers as well as the guide had long sticks with a forked tip in case they were needed to discourage the dragons from undue interest in their human visitors.

Komodo Island has a few trees, mostly palms, some of which protrude from hilltops like match sticks.  The dragons are indigenous to the island as well as small pockets of them in neighboring islands.  These monitor lizards can grow to 9 feet in length and up to 300 pounds and can live up to 50 or 60 years.  Their jaws are powerful and teeth are as sharp as razors.  There is a venom in their saliva that infects and disables prey.  As carnivores, they are not fussy, and while they prefer the delicious (to them) aroma of rotting carrion, a human would do in a pinch too, so we were told to stay on the paths and never to approach a Komodo Dragon.  Furthermore, they even eat Komodo Dragon eggs as well as young Komodo Dragons.  The young Dragons can climb trees to escape hungry adult predators of their own species.  Komodo Dragons can run at a speed of up to 12 miles an hour so the chance of outrunning a Komodo Dragon would be remote.  They usually sleep during the day and seldom bother humans if they are not provoked, but if the animal crouches and holds its head low and cocked, it is in an attack position so people need to walk, not run, in the other direction. 

No sooner had we started our walk, than we saw others watching something on the path.  It was a sleepy Komodo Dragon that kept one eye on us as we walked off the path and around it at a safe distance.  We had seen our first Komodo Dragon!  A few minutes later in a clearing, there were four Komodo Dragons all together as the tourists busily snapped photos.  Someone noticed some movement behind us and it was a young (our tour guide estimated five years old) Dragon that came down a tree.  Foliage and other trees made photos difficult but I could see its reptilian forked tongue shooting out of its mouth from time to time.  Then one of the adults saw the young Dragon as possible lunch and took interest in it.  Since we were between the adults and the juvenile, our guide ordered us to move slowly away.  Quickly the young Dragon climbed a tree to safety.  However, Barb noticed a couple from our group move toward the slowly moving adult to snap better pictures.  Apparently some felt a good picture was worth the life threatening action but the national park rangers moved the humans away and drove the animals back without incident.   We did hear that one Dragon began moving toward another group earlier in the day and it took some effort on the part of the rangers to stabilize the situation.  Comforting or not, the park is relatively safe.  The last human victim apparently was a tourist who went missing twenty years ago.

It appears that everyone that wanted had the opportunity to observe Komodo Dragons in their native habitat.  That included many of the Indonesian crew who were seeing Komodo Dragons for the first time themselves.  Only those with booked shore excursions were allowed off the ship, so a crew shore excursion was offered for them to see the Dragons.

After crocodiles of northern Queensland, Australia, we have now seen the Komodo Dragons of Indonesia.  The Komodo stop put us into Asia, our 5^th continent on our seven continent cruise and was the first of many Asian ports on our lengthy visit to Asia.

After sailing all night, we arrived at Lombok Island and the port of Lembar which also required a tender to shore.  When our alarm went off, Barb stated that she was extremely tired and that she just didn’t feel well, so she had to cancel her shore excursion.  So I did it without Barb and thus, the longer blog since she would have written a separate blog on our second port in Indonesia.  Instead, I am combining both Komodo and Lombok into one blog post.  The day was not beginning well since when our packed tender was filled and the ignition was turned on, the motor wouldn’t start!  I had visions of taking everyone off and bringing in a new tender which probably would have taken at least a half hour, but one of the enterprising  crew members got a  hammer, hit something, and off we went.

We had planned Sasak Native Village and Kuta Beach shore excursion which would portray the daily life of typical Indonesians.  In one of her lecturers, Travel Guide Barbara Haenni had commented that Indonesia had the fourth largest population in the world, behind China, India, and the United States.  I had wondered about Russia, assuming that even after the breakup of the old Soviet Union, Russia would still have more than Indonesia with its population of about 250 million.  Wrong!  I had to check Russia’s population which is only 138 million.  About 3.5 million people live on the small Lombok Island and it seemed like the entire population was where we were.

Lombok was much more everyday Indonesia than Komodo as we watched people going about their daily routines.  As we pulled away and began to see homes, farms, and businesses,  Immediately noticeable on the roads were many motorbikes, motor scooters, trucks, some horse drawn carts, but almost no private cars.  I was struck by the overwhelming poverty of the vast majority of the people.   Knowing our dining and cabin steward from this and other cruises on Holland America, our contact with Indonesians has been with these kinds of people who are consummate professionals in their jobs and who speak English exceptionally well.  Many of the people we saw were selling their wares along the road and wherever they knew tour buses would be found.  So much, frankly, represented items that I had no use for, much less need!  I didn’t need cheap watches, bracelets, pearls, or scarves.  Yet these people need to sell them to earn a little money for their families and one feels guilty not buying anything.  Once in awhile we have to give in a buy something we don’t need just to help support a few people economically.  A perfect example:  on Komodo Island big sellers are wooden Komodo Dragons of varying sizes and poses.  By the time I had tendered back to the ship, my bargained $8 Komodo Dragon’s tail had broken off! Oh well.  There are things more important than my small Komodo Dragon souvenir and the $8 the vendor earned probably was needed by the person who sold it.

Our first stop was in a village called Banyu Mulek where pottery is made.  We saw how it was done and then we boarded a traditional horse cart called a cimodo in groups of three or four for a short ride through the village.  I joined two other people who were taking this shore excursion as a solo – one a lady, Sondra, a retired lawyer from Miami, whom we met when we attended a Murder Mystery Dinner event a few nights ago, and the other a man I didn’t know.  Along the procession of carts, many children, women, and a few men waved at us as did some school children who happened to be out for their school recess.  At the end of the cimodo ride, we returned to a large barn where lots of pottery items were being sold.  Bargaining over price was intense with some making purchases and others unable to agree on a price.

Next we stopped at Sukarana where we saw several women showing off their skills in weaving brightly colored fabric.  Much of the fabric was being sold and once again, there was bargaining over price for these shawls, wraps, small tapestries and other woven products.  One of the highlights of the shore excursion was a stop at a traditional Indonesian village of Sade-Rambitan.  We walked through the village as once again, people urged us to purchase what they had to sell.  Houses were close together and people were out everywhere.  For some, clothing was minimal and for a few of the very youngest children, it was non-existent.  The floors of homes were clay, dung, and straw.  Roofs were thatched, similar to what one might see in a few places in England.  The village “was a nice place to visit, but ...”

Our guide commented that malaria has been virtually eradicated in Indonesia in part because of a concerted and successful effort on the part of government to rid the dreaded disease from Indonesia.  He also indicated that there is a major effort to improve educational standards and to raise literacy rates.  It seemed that the best dressed Indonesians were children at school as they all were required to wear the same style uniforms to reduce the class envy at school.  A very interesting fact he stated was that in Indonesia, a nation with a large Muslim population, the people are far more tolerant of religious differences than in some other Muslim countries.  Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and some Christians seem to coexist well.  I was impressed with the smiling, friendly faces of those we passed along the way.

For the first time ever, I visited a place where rice was grown.  I saw the rice paddies with many people working in the fields, some wearing the traditional conical hats, others spreading the rice out for drying, and some people, mostly women, carrying what seemed to be fairly heavy items on their heads.  I know from basic study and from conversations with our dining steward, Yohat, that Indonesians love their rice.  They don’t care for our type of food, so once we asked Yohat what he had for breakfast. “Rice” was his one word response.  So what about lunch?  “Rice.”  And dinner?  Again, “Rice”.  No wonder we saw so many people working in the fields of rice.  On employment, our guide told us that traditional forms of work are continued even though it would be more efficient to use machines.  Thus, horses and water buffalo are used rather than machines because if they were used, many people who so desperately need jobs would be replaced and poverty would be even higher.  (Our guide on this excursion, by the way¸ was a fifth year graduate student studying Sociology and who had excellent English vocabulary – as does the Indonesian crew on Holland America.)

Our final stop was at a Novotel resort for a sumptuous buffet lunch of Indonesian food.  Once again as in Cairns, the rains came during lunch when we were under cover.  It didn’t last long and some ventured to the beach near the hotel for a brief swim.  (At dinner, our dining steward, Yohat, told me that he and his cousin had set up the phone system for that hotel back in the mid 1990s.) After lunch, we made our way back through the interesting countryside to the ship, ending our brief introduction to Indonesia.

As the home country for so many Indonesian crew, many family and friends of crew came to Lombak Island from their homes to have a very brief reunion with those who are away for such extended times.  We could see the excitement in the faces of Indonesians who were seeing people who were so important to them.  Barb said she went up to the Lido (cafeteria) today and saw a number of family members with their Holland America family and friends.  She said it was fun to watch the dedicated Holland America crew glow with pride as they showed the ship to their families as well as introducing their families, especially their children, to their friends and guests.  We had told our two cabin stewards, Evan and DJ, to skip cleaning our room today so they could finish work early and have more time with those who came to see them.  They thanked us and said a few other passengers, including Al, had also put out “privacy please” notices for the purpose of allowing cabin stewards to skip cleaning their rooms for the morning.  Evan and DJ, as well as Herfan, one of our favorite previous dining stewards, and Yohat all had wonderful days on shore.  DJ told us he was so happy to be home in Indonesia for the first time in months that he wanted to cry when he stepped on Indonesian soil again.  Most of us can relate to that as well.

Our Indonesian experience over, we head to our next port, Hong Kong!

CT

Cairns, Australia: (Liquid) Sunshine of the Rainforest

After two days at sea we arrived on our second and last Australian port, Cairns.  Located in the northern part of the “Sunshine State” of Queensland, Cairns is the springboard to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Reserve.  Having done the GBR when we were here in 2009, we decided to do a land tour this time.

Naturally the main industry in Cairns is tourism, but there is also a lot of farming, with sugarcane and bananas being the largest crops.  This area of northern Queensland is considered the “wet tropics”, being one of the oldest continuously surviving rainforests on earth at 40 million years of evolution.  There is a vast amount of biodiversity here with many, many plants and animals that are found nowhere else on earth.

Not only did we visit the rainforest, but we visited it during rainy season.  As we took our tour, Crocs, Habitat, and Port Douglas, our guide explained that the frequent downpours at this time of year are a result of clouds to gathering a lot of moisture over the water, moving inland to the mountains and dumping rain as the clouds rose.  The mountains are so close to the coast that this can happen several times in one day, creating a cyclic effect where within a short period of time one can experience sunshine, clouds and sudden but short-lived downpours over and over during one day.  We certainly found that to be true, and fortunately the drenching rains seemed to time themselves to fit well in our schedules!

As we drove north out of Cairns toward Port Douglas, we were thrilled to see a mob of wallabies along the side of the road – apparently not a terribly common sight along the inhabited coastlines of Australia. 

Our first stop was at Hartley’s Crocodile World.  It was an incredible opportunity to see many different Australian animals.  We were greeted by a cockatoo, and stopped to visit the most active koalas we’ve ever seen (awake, eating, and actually doing a little bit of climbing around).  Koalas spend the vast majority of their time sleeping as digesting their meals of eucalyptus leaves takes so much energy.  A couple other interesting facts we learned about these adorable little balls of fur were that over time the size of their brains has shrunk due to lack of use, and amazingly, koalas are the only animals other than humans and primates that have fingerprints!  Scientists have found that koalas branched away from primates about 70 million years ago, and that fingerprints were an adaptation developed to help primates/koalas climb trees. 

The highlight of our stop here was to see the famous saltwater crocodile, the largest living reptile.  Saltwater crocs can grow to be longer than 20 feet, and they can exert a pressure of 3000 pounds per square inch when snapping their jaws together!  Indeed, when we heard those jaws snap, there was a loud popping sound kind of like a cork coming out of a wine bottle.  Crocodiles are silent but deadly.  They smash bones with one snap and eat anything they can grab – wallabies, kangaroos, and even water buffalo!  Larger crocodiles eat smaller crocs, which are actually a bigger threat to humans. (As recently as January 20 there was an article about a saltwater croc swallowing a 10-year-old Indonesian girl!)   They are at the top of the food chain – apex predators. 

Saltwater crocodiles lay up to 60 eggs.  The temperature of the egg determines the sex – the hotter ones become males.  The female guards the eggs for up to three months, but only about 1% survives as often the males eat the babies. 

When in the water, you often only see the snout and two eyes peering above the surface.  They are so still and quiet that they blend right in with their surroundings, making them extremely dangerous!  It was fascinating to watch them – and a little eerie to realize that they were watching us just as closely!  Fortunately we were in a very safe environment.  We watched a feeding and were amazed at how high these huge creatures will rise out of the water to grab food.  Apparently there is a hierarchy among the crocs, and the most dominant gets dibs first.  If he approaches, the others will back off until he’s finished. 

We boarded a small but well-protected boat for a tour around the lagoon.  The driver enticed the crocs with food; it was somewhat eerie because the lagoon water was very murky due to hard rains and we couldn’t see the crocs approaching.  Suddenly a croc would lunge out of the water, snapping for the tantalizing food that was just out of his reach.  It was incredible to see the power and stealth with which these giant reptiles moved!

After a delicious lunch (with a considerately downpour timed for when we were undercover), we headed a few miles up the road to another wildlife habitat, where we had the opportunity to see tropical rainforest birds as well as a wide variety of kangaroos and wallabies.  Having had the chance to hold a koala a few years ago, we opted to skip the koalas and headed right for the aviary.  We were amazed at the vibrant colors of some of the birds – the beautiful rainbow lorikeet, which apparently is quite common in Australia, as well as the stunning contrast between the brilliant red of the female eclectic parrot and the lovely green of the male.  We also saw a lone cassowary, a huge Australian bird (see Picasa album).  There are only three kinds of cassowaries in the world, and the Southern cassowary, indigenous to Australia is highly endangered.  Apparently the ecologists fear that, because the cassowary is so necessary for seed dispersion in the rainforest, if the cassowary dies out, the rainforest will suffer tremendously!  There are only about 1500 wild cassowaries left, so they are quite emphatic about its protection. 

One final stop was made for some free time in the nearby village of Port Douglas.  This time we weren’t quite as lucky with the timing of the rainstorm.  Just as we were about to leave the bus for about an hour and a half of free time, the skies opened up and we had a drenching rain.  We found various ways of finding protective cover.  I think we visited the world’s smallest Target store!  It was mostly clothing with a few little pharmacy items; believe it or not, what interested me most was what was sitting on the cashier’s counter – a red and white box that recalled many, many memories:  someone was getting a shipment of Scholastic books! 

As we arrived back in Cairns, the tour guide pointed up to the tops of a group of trees in the center of town.  Hanging from the trees like something out of a Dracula movie, were hundreds of flying foxes!  He told us that it was a colony of about 3000 bats.  These enormous creatures were sound asleep (thank goodness) and wouldn’t wake up until sunset, when scouts would return to the colony and let them know where to find food for the night.  (Unlike those of us on the cruise, apparently they have to be directed to their food each day!) 

That evening there was an Aussie Outback barbecue on the Lido. Chuck, Al, and I went up and grabbed a bite to eat before heading out into Cairns to visit the Night Markets – an excellent place to shop and spend the last of our Aussie dollars on various souvenirs before setting sail.

We have four days at sea, some of which are called “The Great Barrier Reef Experience”.  We’re not sure at this point what it entails…

The first day out of Cairns brought our second of three Cruise Critic luncheons.  As we visited with others at our table, the captain came on with his daily navigational announcement, followed by Cruise Director Bruce’s update on events of the afternoon.  When he announced a 3:00 tour of Australian floral arrangements led by florist Eddy, I noticed that the lady seated next to Chuck looked disappointed.  I felt the same way as I’d arranged to meet with someone at that exact time, and I told her so.  A few minutes later, she said to Chuck, “I’m Pat, and this is my husband Rich.”  I asked, “You aren’t by chance Pat Burrow?”  She said yes.  I told her who I was.  She was the person I was meeting at 3:00, so we quickly rearranged to meet at 2:00.  A few weeks ago I’d received an email from family friend Barb Ekiss.  Barb told me of another genealogist on board who knew a friend of Barb’s.  Barb gave me her name, and I contacted her so we could meet.  We were amazed that we just happened to sit at the same table.  To top it off, when Pat mentioned she was from San Jose, Al said he’d lived there.  What an amazing coincidence to learn that he, Pat, and her husband Rich had all worked for the same company in San Jose!

So now we are in the middle of four days at sea, continuing to keep very busy before we arrive at our next encounter with big reptiles – Komodo Island. 

BT 

Can't Say Enough about Sydney, Australia!

Anticipating our arrival in Sydney was genuinely bittersweet for us.  Sydney is a world class city with a harbor which is strikingly beautiful and we had so thoroughly enjoyed it in 2009, we couldn’t wait to come back this year too.  Just how much do we like Sydney?  Barb commented, and I concur, that she wouldn’t do a cruise in that part of the world if Sydney wasn’t included on the itinerary.  The pleasure of seeing Sydney again was muted to some extent as we realized that, sadly, our friend Pam would be leaving us after 50 short days and so would our new tablemates and friends, Bill and Candy.  Our table in the evening would go from six to three unless someone new was assigned to us.

Our time in Sydney was to be limited to a mere two days including a late arrival on Saturday and an early departure at 4 PM on Sunday.  The sail in to Sydney is totally stunning in its drama.  Any of you who have seen the New Year’s fireworks at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and have seen pictures of the magnificent Sydney Opera House have some inkling as to what we would see in person. Nearly everyone was up and on deck by 7 AM on Saturday to view the arrival of the Amsterdam in Sydney.  The bow was opened so people could have a personal view of our arrival.  Travel Guide Barbara Haenni gave the commentary and announced that as we rounded one turn, we would have a spectacular view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.  From our previous visit, we knew what to anticipate and cameras began to click to get images of these two Sydney icons in what must have been the first of literally thousands and maybe tens of thousands of pictures taken by crew as well as passengers during our visit. 

Unlike 2009, unfortunately we weren’t docked at the Circular Quay, located between the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.  It seems that that some other cruise line had the audacity to apply for the berth position in Circular Quay before Holland America’s World Cruise itinerary was set, so we had to dock at the nearby Darling Harbour instead.  Under ordinary circumstances, in most cities, this would have been an ideal location but not when compared with Circular Quay. 

As we had taken shore excursions in Sydney each of the three days on our last time there, we chose to plan our own time on this visit.  Saturday morning we arranged to meet an Aussie friend, Andrew Paull, whom we had met on our World War II venues trip in June 2010.  On that trip, we had met such interesting people with the common interest in World War II history, including two World War II vets as well as four young guys under the age of 20. It was our good fortune that Andrew travelled with us, so that when we knew we would be back in Sydney, we contacted him to see if it would be convenient to get together with him.  Our plan was to spend a few hours before he had to be at work by 3 PM Saturday afternoon.

As our impressive sail in was nearing the end we had to wait for a cargo ship to clear the Harbour Bridge before we could sail under it, causing a bit of a delay.  Our ship was tall enough that we had to sail directly below the center.  It was fun to watch how close to the underside of the bridge we were.  Once we were docked at Darling Harbour, Barb and I were ready to get off quickly so we could meet Andrew as soon as possible after our 9 AM proposed meeting time.  But we hadn’t counted on Australian customs officials taking an extraordinary amount of time to clear the ship.  They had brought on the dogs to check out the ship and we waited and waited before we were given permission to disembark.  Barb and I were literally the fourth and fifth people off the ship and because there was construction at the pier, we were going to need to walk quite a bit farther than anticipated to reach the meeting point Andrew had suggested.   But just as we were ready to leave the port terminal, there was Andrew to greet us!  For any of you from the World War II trip who know Andrew, it was great to see him again.  He was the same friendly person we all knew on our trip nearly two years ago!

As we walked, we reminisced about some of our common friends from the 2010 trip and he told us of some of his adventures after we parted and he continued his European exploration—everything from being unable to find a place to stay in Bruges, Belgium, and sick for a few days in London, to his difficulty in getting into the UK (ironic since his grandmother had been born there) because he had already been traveling a few weeks, he was unemployed at the time, and couldn’t produce papers proving where he was going after leaving the UK.  We walked along the busy shops and restaurants at Darling Harbour, visiting the small but beautiful Chinese Garden in Sydney, watching the set up of apparently a Greece in Australia celebration that was taking place this weekend, and even stopping briefly at the Hard Rock Café there so Barb could pick up her collectible souvenir there which proved she had visited that city and the café there.  After a stop for a lunch, Andrew took us on the monorail ride which whisks people quickly through the modern downtown Sydney.  After dropping us off at the ship, Andrew headed to work.  We appreciated his spending the time with us and giving us his perspective on his native Sydney.

Pam had gone with Bill and Candy by ferry to the Taronga Zoo from Circular Quay and we had agreed we would either meet her back at our stateroom at about 2:30 or over at Circular Quay at 3:30.  I had walked around the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens in 2009 and the three of us had planned to do the walk there on Saturday afternoon.  We also hoped to do a bit of shopping at the market in the historic Rocks area near Circular Quay.  But when Pam returned she admitted that she was too tired from her Zoo walk to set out again on another walk, and besides she still had some final packing to do before leaving for home on Sunday morning.  So Barb and I took the shuttle bus over to Circular Quay and decided to head for the Botanic Gardens instead of The Rocks since they were in opposite directions and we had both done substantial walking earlier.  Barb got a small taste of how genuinely gorgeous the gardens are.  The view of the nearly Opera House enhanced the beauty.  We couldn’t walk the extent to the gardens to see the flying foxes that have taken up residence there since both of us were somewhat weary after walking so much of this fantastic city.

That evening, Bill and Candy came up for a short visit and to say good-bye. It was difficult to say farewell to new friends but we hope to see each other again soon!  It reminded us of meeting Al and Carol on our 2008 Mediterranean cruise and Sally and Ange and Conrad and Carole on our UK/Norway cruise in 2010.  Interest in travel has created some great new cruise friends for us, and these are all people that we have already or will be sailing with again.  We had known none of these people before the respective cruise, but we knew we hit it off with them and they have remained excellent friends since.  We anticipate the same will be the case with Bill and Candy.  Establishing this friendship has been one of the highlights of our cruise so far.

Sunday morning we were up early, saying final goodbyes to Pam as she reluctantly boarded her shuttle bus to head for the Sydney airport and her grueling flight to Chicago via Los Angeles.  She left the ship about 8:15 AM on Sunday, flew a good 14 hours to LA and should have gotten home, if the flight was on time, at about 6:30 Sunday night, Chicago time.  That doesn’t sound like a fun flight¸ but she was thrilled with her 50 cruise and her visit to Antarctica as well as the elusive Falkland Islands and Easter Island.  Some friends of hers had expressed doubt as to whether she would like a cruise as long as 50 days, but she emphatically proved those concerns to be unfounded.!

After Pam left, we hopped the short shuttle ride to Circular Quay and boarded the ferry just as it was leaving for Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.  We had heard so much about it and since we spent Saturday morning with Andrew when Pam and Bill and Candy went, Barb and I wanted to see it.  It was a truly amazing zoo – one of the most impressive zoos, if not the most impressive zoo we have ever visited.  It’s hilly but one can take either the bus or cable car to the top entrance and work the way down the hill which is what we did.  When we arrived, we headed straight to the Australian animals section with a major purpose of seeing the rare indigenous duckbilled platypus which neither of us had ever seen.  As soon as we arrived at the dark indoor pool where it’s found, we saw it swimming around amidst the fish.  The wombat came outdoors and immediately scratched it butt up against the corner of the building.  The happy guy (assuming it was a guy since the previous action is more of a “guy thing”) found an uneaten ear of corn and happily munched on the delicious corn.  We could hear it smacking its lips on the sumptuous meal, so delicious that it had corn kernels all over its face!  The gorilla exhibit was outstanding with a human-like family of gorillas consisting of a male, a female caressing her baby in her arms and a very active adolescent gorilla.  When we arrived at the exhibit, there was one gorilla.  I snapped a picture.  Then two, and I snapped another, then a third came bounding out of the cave.  The young gorilla, smaller than the adults but definitely not a baby¸ walked upright on its hind legs everyplace it went.  They were fun to watch.  Likewise, the seal show was outstanding with seals responding perfectly to the prompts of their trainers.

After our enjoyable visit, we headed back to the ship for the all too quick departure from Sydney. We had a late lunch but were pleased to see our Australian friends, Ros and Gary, whom we had met on the Voyage of the Vikings.  They had just boarded in Sydney for the rest of the cruise so we enjoyed visiting with them.

 But at dinner, we missed our three tablemates, Pam as well as Candy and Bill.  Since    more got off in Sydney than got on, no one has yet been assigned to our table. 

Al had booked two tours, both of which Barb and I had taken in 2009 – the City Sights and Opera House which included visits to the well-known Bondi Beach and an inside tour of the famed Opera House.  His other tour was out to the Blue Mountains, a highly scenic area a couple hours drive beyond Sydney.  We had enjoyed both excursions when we did them in 2009 and were interested in hearing all about his experiences at dinner that evening. 

After two days at sea, we will revisit Cairns in Queensland in the more tropical northeast of Australia.  There is never enough time in Australia, a country that has quickly become one of our favorites in the world!

CT.t

American Samoa and at Sea in the South Pacific

When we last visited American Samoa in October of 2009, it was just three short weeks after a tsunami that devastated their small island.  Despite the destruction we saw all over their island, their indomitable spirit was evident:  the friendly citizens waved and greeted us with broad smiles as we toured their storm-ravaged towns.  We were anxious to see the progress that had been made since that time.

Because we were delayed in leaving Punta Arenas, our scheduled stop in Pago Pago was not only pushed from Saturday to Sunday, but it was also shortened by three hours. 

American Samoa is one of the US territories so we were thrilled to see the Stars and Stripes flying as we enjoyed our lovely sail in.  It is the only port on the entire cruise where the American dollar is the currency, and we welcomed the thought of not having to try and figure out the cost of items and “translate” it into dollars! 

Pago Pago (which is pronounced pongo pongo in the native Samoan language) has a population of about 4000 so when our ship of about 1800 people (guests and crew) arrives, it is quite an event for these people!  The ship towers over everything in the town.  Being a Sunday, where Sundays are still treated like Sundays, there was little activity beyond the harbor.  In fact, Pam’s shore excursion was cancelled because it involved a ceremony that couldn’t be performed on a Sunday.  About 90% of the people are active in churches, and the presence of churches all over the island is amazing!  Even the National Park, while open, does not have park rangers on duty.

Chuck and I opted not to do a tour since we’d been visited the island before. Pam selected a different tour after hers was canceled.  Al chose to head to McDonalds, where he could use the wi-fi. 

After a very brief go-around in a wi-fi spot near the ship, we returned the computer to our room and headed out to explore the town.  It was a very hot and steamy day.  In fact, when we sailed in, the moment we stepped out onto the verandah, our glasses and camera lenses immediately steamed up. 

Our first priority was to be able to find a mailbox where we could send our absentee ballots, which we were able to do within a few minutes of leaving the port.  Then we headed along the water in the direction of the national park.  I knew that I wouldn’t be walking all the way there – it was way too hot – but Chuck had considered doing it.  During our walk, we encountered many people, most of whom were from the ship.  There was one small grocery store (think a very, very small 7-11), and another small shop that were open, but that was about it.  I got as far as the famed Sadie Thompson House (where W. Somerset Maugham stayed and was inspired to write the short story Rain).  Then I headed back to get out of the heat and humidity.  As I returned, I heard some absolutely glorious singing coming from a church whose doors and windows were wide open.  I crossed the street and walked the short block to listen to the music, and a lady indicated that I was welcome to enter (despite my tourist garb).  I slipped into a pew at the back and noticed that there were several others from the ship enjoying the music, a few moments of peace, and an opportunity to get in from the heat.  After the hymn ended, the minister stood up and began his sermon in the Samoan language.  I understood exactly one word (“Amen”), but I sat quietly and enjoyed observing the people as they listened and fanned themselves in the heat of the day.  When the sermon ended, there was another opportunity to hear the exquisite music.  I finally left after a prayer (again understanding only the one word), having spent 45 minutes taking in the lovely setting and the peaceful atmosphere.  It was time well-spent, and I was very glad I stopped in. I would have loved to get a CD of the music, but regrettably they were sold out. 

As I browsed the handcraft booths that were set up near the ship, I heard an announcement coming from the ship saying that there was a “surprise” presentation scheduled for 11:00 AM (just ten minutes away) about life in American Samoa and about the National Park, given by one of the park rangers.  I rushed inside and managed to get there fairly quickly.  I met Al, who told me I’d only missed the first few minutes.  It was an enjoyable presentation and since I hadn’t done a shore excursion, I was glad to be reintroduced to the customs of Samoa in this way.  After the presentation, both Al and I went to get National Park stamps.  I have a National Park passport, but I forgot to bring it, so I’ll have to insert the stamp into the passport when I get home.  I got stamps for Pam and Chuck who were both still ashore.

Chuck walked much further than I had.  During his walk he came across a high school and was quite interested in exploring it.  He said that there was a large auditorium probably for all-school events and definitely for basketball since there were basketball nets and backboards (he wondered what teams they played on such a small island).  Along the side was a large longboat which said “Samoana Sharks” since the school was Samoana High School and the team mascot was “The Sharks”.  Above the walls that opened to the outside were paintings for various school aspects such as the National Honor Society, Music Club, English Department, etc. Since it was Sunday and no one was around, he took the liberty to walk through the open gate and notice that classrooms were laid out in a campus with buildings for each department: “Social Studies Building”, “Math Building”, “English Building”, and of course the dreaded “Administration Building.”  On one outdoor wall was painted, in neat calligraphy, the school goals and objectives (see picture included in Picasa album).  During his walk he also saw a pleasant beach near the port, the Governor’s Mansion on a small hill above the harbor, and too many buildings that still showed evidence of the tsunami damage.  He had taken pictures of the damage when it was current in 2009 and wished that there had been no sign of destruction when looking at the same areas on this cruise. While much had been rebuilt, some abandoned buildings still remained.

Our stay in Pago Pago was way too short.  We would have appreciated more time there, but we were glad that this port wasn’t eliminated.  As we sailed away, we had added a few passengers.  Each year Stein Kruse, the President and CEO of Holland America Line (and now also Seaborne Line,) joins the ship for a few days during the world cruise.  While onboard, there is emphasis on Mariner Appreciation.  (Mariner is the term used for those who have sailed with HAL before.)  That night we were invited to a cocktail party and dinner in the Pinnacle hosted by Stein Kruse, Captain Jonathan, and Hotel Manager Henk Mensink, as well as Sally Andrews (HAL) Vice President of Public Relations, Mariner Society Director Gerald Bernhoft .  Once again we were seated at a table with an officer, Bart Groeneveld, a young man from Holland who is the Culinary Operations Manager.  This time there were only four of us (Chuck, Pam, Al, and myself) in addition to the officer so it was much more intimate and easier to hear the conversation at the table. We all really enjoyed visiting with him, and he was a wealth of information about life on the ship in general and not just the culinary department. 

One interesting tidbit that Bart told us was that when the ship is at sea, they can make the decision as to when to set clocks ahead or back and which date will be either skipped or doubled as we cross the International Dateline.  Since we were scheduled to cross this landmark (maybe not the correct term for a line through the ocean) we were very interested in finding out which date would be chosen and why.  He explained that sometimes an entire date is skipped but sometimes they start the day on one date and finish the day on another date.  (This is to accommodate people who celebrate birthdays on either of the two days.  When we were on the Grand Voyage, we started the day on October 18 and ended it on October 19.)  This time they opted to skip Monday the 20^th because Tuesday was Mardi Gras.  We knew that they were doing big festivities for Mardi Gras, and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t want to change it to Lundi Gras!    

So, we went to bed on Sunday night the 19^th and woke up the next morning on Tuesday, the 21^st.  That day was designated Mariner Appreciation Day.  There were two big events in particular that honored mariners.  One was a presentation by Stein Kruse about the company itself.  We were especially interested in some of the new itineraries they’re considering as well as some of the policies.  For one, the question of smoking came up.  (This is always a hot topic – no pun intended – among cruisers.)  A new fleetwide policy went into effect for all cruises starting after January 15^th (we started January 6^th so we aren’t affected yet) that restricted smoking in staterooms.  He told us that in the future smoking will probably be completely eliminated because 93% of the customers do not smoke.  There was a rousing cheer at that comment.  While we appreciate the fact that some of our friends are smokers, and find it difficult to go without smoking for long periods of time, we also are far more aware of smoke on this ship as opposed to others.  We would be delighted if they made that change sooner rather than later.  Sorry, smokers!   Also during the presentation, the subject of the Costa disaster came up.  Once again the issue of safety on HAL ships was addressed.  They will never do anything that would jeopardize the safety of the passengers – they are always training in some way.  (The following day we were going down the midship stairs and came across several crew members who were decked out in firefighting equipment, complete with tanks and masks.  They were involved in a mock crew fire drill.  Holland America is to be commended for their high standard of safety for passengers!)  We found the presentation to be interesting and enlightening.

On the same evening Stein Kruse hosted a gala event on the Lido midships area.  We knew that the crew had been working for days to decorate this area of the Lido and on the morning of the 21^st, it was blocked off to all passengers while the final decorations were assembled and finishing touches put together.  At 4:30, Chuck, Al, Pam, and I all went upstairs to secure a place in line so we could get a seat.  The Lido area just isn’t big enough for all 1100 passengers to get seats, especially with a huge buffet spread around three sides and a French quarter building assembled right over the midship pool!  When the doors opened at 5:00, we each raced in to get a table, and we ended up getting three separate tables – far better than no table at all.  Chuck had secured a table for six, so Bill and Candy were able to join us.  We were not far from the stage where the Mardi Gras king and queen would preside over the Mardi Gras parade. 

It certainly was a festive event, and food and beverages abounded!  However, it was so crammed with people that we decided we’d sit and enjoy what we could until the regular dining room opened and we’d eat there.  Pam, Chuck, Bill, Candy, and I opted for dinner there while Al got a few things from the buffet and returned to his room. The volume of everything was so high that it was impossible to hear or think!  I found myself getting hoarse just trying to talk to Pam, who was seated next to me! 

After dinner, Chuck and I decided to return to the Lido and see what it was like at that point.  It was much less crowded and not nearly as noisy.  We were able to walk around and actually see what was going on, take pictures, and enjoy the festivities.  Another year, we decided, we will let the party begin without us and go up after it’s been going on for awhile so we can actually appreciate all the work that’s gone into the decorations and entertainment!  We both enjoyed a crepe, and Chuck found some other things of interest.  We got a kick out of watching the palm reader and the caricature artist.  The jazz band was still playing, and it was a very entertaining evening!

The party ended at 9:00, and for the next two hours, we could hear the crew pounding away as they disassembled all those decorations they had worked so hard to put together just a few short hours earlier!  Once again, they put forth amazing effort to keep us entertained!

During the next couple of days we were kept busy with all sorts of activities.  On the formal night before Sydney, we had invited Travel Guide Barbara Haenni to have dinner with us.  We had gotten to know her during our Voyage of the Vikings cruise last summer where she dined with us on four of the six formal nights.  This time she has been busy attending captains’ dinners, but she was free on the 23^rd, and we were delighted that she was able to join us.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her – she is such a wealth of knowledge and an absolute delight to talk to.  When we got back to our room, we were pleased to discover our third gift of the cruise – a Tiffany crystal votive bearing the Holland America logo. It was a lovely gift, one that we will be happy to display.

One of the passengers had asked Captain Jonathan if it would be possible to do scenic cruising near the Ball’s Pyramid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the waters just east of Australia.  Originally he announced that it would not be possible, but on the last sea day before arriving in Sydney, he informed us that having studied the charts, we would be able to divert slightly in order to visit this amazing site.  Ball’s Pyramid is the remains of a shield volcano that formed about 7 million years ago.  It rises 1844 feet high and breaks the surface of the Pacific Ocean to form a pyramidal shaped island.  This natural phenomenon is part of a chain of islands called the Lord Howe Rise and is part of the submerged microcontinent of Zealandia..  As we went out on the bow to take in the view, we were surprised to find a bird sitting atop the ship’s mast.  Upon further study, we realized that this bird had red feet and a blue beak.  We have yet to determine the kind of bird, but someone seemed to think it was a red-footed booby.  It was a wonderful way to end our days at sea approaching Australia. Once again Captain Jonathan had bent over backwards to come through for us!   What an amazing captain! 

Having now crossed the International Dateline and gained another hour (the night of Mardi Gras), we anticipate gaining one more hour (which will put us 17 hours ahead of Chicago)  before our arrival at Sydney, where, sadly, not only Pam, but Bill and Candy will disembark and head home.  We will miss Pam sharing our room with us and keeping us straight.  Pam has been a wonderful companion, and we’re so glad to have had the opportunity to travel with her and get to know her even better!   We will also miss our delightful conversations with Bill and Candy, and we wish all three of them safe travels home! 

We would also like to take the opportunity to wish a happy birthday to our cousin Jeff, who will be celebrating a milestone birthday on the 27^th!  Happy Birthday, Jeff!  Hope you have a fantastic day and many more to come! 

BT

Tahiti: A Jewel of the South Pacific

As we continue sailing westward across the vast Pacific, we are into our most relaxed days of the cruise with few ports and many sea days:  5 sea days and then Easter Island, 4 days and then Tahiti, 2 days and then American Samoa, and finally 4 days and Australia.  This gives us a chance to back up and make a few reflections on some other issues on shipboard.  This is our least port intensive portion of the entire cruise.

We have a table for six at dinner which means there are two seats for another couple.  In Buenos Aires, the first couple disembarked and a wonderful couple, Bill and Candy Mellon from Newnan, Georgia, near Atlanta joined us.  As large as Atlanta is, our cousins, Bonnie and Ross are the only people we know from there.  We’ve enjoyed getting to know Bill and Candy and are sorry that they will be disembarking in Sydney along with Pam. We found that we have a lot of common opinions and have had some great discussions.

Not having commented on our excellent cabin stewards since very early in the cruise, this is a good time to inject developments there.  We had requested Sayuto (Say) who had been one of our stewards on the 2009 South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand Grand Voyage that we had met again on the summer 2011 Voyage of the Vikings.  He had been assigned to the Amsterdam for the World Cruise and we had been told we would have him, but instead we were assigned a new crew consisting of Evan and DJ.  We see Say fairly often but instead he has assignments elsewhere on the ship.  We’ve thoroughly enjoyed both the excellent service and the personal conversations with Evan and DJ.  Evan is a bit more reserved and is always totally accommodating and friendly.  DJ is a bit of a jokester and makes his friendly remarks with a twinkle in his eye.  They have learned that Pam taught English and one morning as they finished cleaning our room as we returned from breakfast, DJ asked Pam when he should use the word “had” and when he should say the phrase “have had”.  A rather sophisticated distinction in English word usage, don’t you think, for someone whose native language is not English?  We find that not only Evan and DJ have excellent knowledge of infrequently used words in the English language, but so do our dining stewards and other members of the crew.

Pam had told Evan and DJ about her husband’s surgery and we’ve been impressed that they thought to inquire several times as to how he’s doing!

We have mentioned our dining steward, Yohat, who was an assistant steward on our 2009 voyage.  It has been a great deal of fun connecting with him again, this time as our outstanding dining steward.  The 2009 dining steward, Herfan, is on board too but we had assumed that since he was just married in December, he wouldn’t be here for this voyage. Had we known, we would have requested either Herfan or Yohat and let HAL make the decision for us.  A few days ago, we had lunch in the Main Dining Room and asked to be seated in Herfan’s section.  He told us his good news that his wife is expecting a baby in September.  We already sense his excitement in telling us that news.

Having reported that our itinerary had been revised as a result of the big storm in the far South Pacific Ocean, it meant that something had to be omitted if we were to reach Sydney on time.  After careful thought and consultation with Seattle (home office for HAL), it was determined that we would have to miss most of the Chilean fjords (a disappointment as we have visited the Alaskan, Norwegian, and New Zealand ones) and wanted to be able to compare. We would also have to skip our brief stop in the island country of New Caledonia.  Our other ports would be delayed by a day each and the sail by of the intriguing island of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, would be left out as well.  We think of our New Lenox friends, Jim and Kathryn Pitcairn, and hoped to tell them about our observations for the island that bears their name.  Most residents of Pitcairn Island are descendants of the mutineer of the “Bounty”, Fletcher Christian and we are told that virtually all residents have one of three last names.  Island population is exceedingly small and dropping.  It has no substantial economy and depends on cruise ships stopping and residents rowing their longboats to the ship, boarding, and selling their trinkets and handicrafts to ship guests.  This is not to be for us as the Amsterdam sailed by on Tuesday evening about 9:30 PM about 40 miles from Pitcairn Island.

The ship made an effort to make Valentine’s Day a special day for those who had their significant other on board, complete with an afternoon musical presentation, tea, Formal Night with Valentine decorations, and a Hearts and Lovers Ball.  On the next day, Al, Pam, Barb, and I decided to attend the French Dinner in the Pinnacle Restaurant.  The day was undoubtedly selected as we arrived the next day, February 16, in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.

French Polynesia is made up of several island groups including the Marquesas, the Society Islands (of which Tahiti is a part), and the Austral Islands.  It has a population of about 250,000 people of which most live on Tahiti with the capital and largest city, Papeete.  They have been under French governmental authority although now French Polynesians elect their own government.  Some within French Polynesia like having the association with France, which just recently completed the construction of a large $450 million (US) hospital in Papeete, while others would prefer the direction of independence from France.  Barb liked the fact that signs are in French and people speak the language so it gave her an opportunity to use her French skills.  She had a short conversation with our tour bus operator in French and she was pleased she understood what he told her.  Our next French speaking port won’t be until Corsica near the end of the cruise.

Surprisingly, Papeete was the first place that we had visited more than once since leaving O’Hare Airport 46 days earlier, on New Year’s Day!  We had really enjoyed our French Polynesian ports on our 2009 South Pacific cruise. We were looking forward not just to putting our feet on land for only the second time since February 5, but also walk off the ship in a port rather than tendering. We also liked the feeling the summer warmth that we had left behind once in Antarctica and Patagonia.  We’ve been away long enough now that we tend to forget that Chicago has to contend with several more weeks of winter despite the fact that it looks, from our vantage point, that it is a less severe winter than the last several.  We’re glad for that - at least.our family and friends back home aren’t experiencing too harsh a winter.

Like Barb and me, Al has been to Tahiti once before too, so he opted not to do a shore excursion.  However since it’s Pam’s first time to experience any of the legendary South Pacific islands, we decided to do a shore excursion with her.  Having done some of the sights of the interior of Tahiti by four wheel drive on our previous visit in October 2009, we decided to do a tour called Tahiti’s Natural Treasures, a bus tour mostly around the perimeter of the island Tahiti Nui. (Tahiti looks like two islands joined together with one larger island, Tahiti Nui, and a smaller one, Tahiti Iti). For once we gambled right and picked the side of the bus which gave us the view of the sea on our side!  Tahiti, like the other islands of the South Pacific, was formed by volcanic activity millennia ago so in addition to the seascapes, there are mountains on the islands as well.  (It reminds me of the lady on our 2009 South Pacific cruise who whined about having to stop at so many ports in the South Pacific.  I’m guessing there are quite a few who have never been fortunate enough to visit the South Pacific islands that would find visiting these islands less than painful!  The lady complained that the islands are just like Florida.  I had been so tempted to tell her that I guess I had missed the Florida mountains which give the South Pacific islands much of their allure, along with beautiful beaches, seascapes, and pleasant temperatures!)

As we boarded the bus, we inquired as to which side was best for viewing and the guide gave the stock reply that both sides were excellent.  So Pam sat on one side and we sat on the other but as it turned out, Barb and I had the shore on the entire tour around the island (and we found out later that one of the other buses had gone the reverse route).  Pam commented that she was pleased with the magnificent mountain scenery.  As we sat on the bus ready to depart, it suddenly occurred to me that I had neglected to bring my camera bag which I carry on my belt!  Fortunately I had my ship card which scans me on and off the ship, my other picture ID as well as my camcorder and digital camera.  Too late to go back for it, and I figured Pam and Barb would be taking plenty of pictures if my camera batteries died!

Our guide Jeff was one of the best we have had.  His parents were born in Tahiti and the Cook Islands.  They sent him to New Zealand to study English and he speaks it with a New Zealand accent.  His primary job is in guest relations at the Papeete Radisson Hotel, and he serves as tour guide when the opportunity is present.  Our first stop was at a black sand beach, for which Tahiti is noted, where we had excellent views of one of our favorite South Pacific islands, Moorea, as well as mountains and one of Tahiti’s premier spots for surfing.  Jeff commented that the seas were rather calm so there were few surfers in the waters when we were there.  From there we visited the Vaipahi Gardens with it beautiful trees, flowers, waterfall, and lily pads.  A short distance from there, we made a stop at the Paul Gauguin Museum Restaurant for short snack break and another fine view of island scenery. 

Following the break, we made a short turn toward the interior of the island, past tropical trees and foliage that brushed the bus.  At the stop there, we took a brief walk through the dense trees and along a rushing stream to the largest of three impressive waterfalls.  The two smaller falls were farther inland and would have required much more hiking than the tour time allotted.  But the falls we saw were dramatic with the water plunging several hundred feet to the stream below. With the breezes, the spray gave us a cool shower as we came closer. It was a picturesque sight and well worth the short walk.  The walk, while shorter and with no wildlife, reminded me of our walk to the waterfalls on a shore excursion on Tasmania in 2009.  Our final stop for the day took is to the Arahoho Blowhole, similar to ones we have seen in Hawaii and more recently in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine.

Barb and I concluded that while we had enjoyed our four wheel drive adventure to the interior of Tahiti in 2009, we had enjoyed this shore excursion even more and it gave is a greater appreciation of the beauty of Tahiti.  After returning to the ship, we had a quick lunch and then went back out immediately to check out the large Marché du Papeete (market) just a couple short blocks from the ship.  Prices in French Polynesia are notoriously high with something as simple as a refrigerator magnet costing about $12 US!  I considered a few items but came away with absolutely nothing, justifying my non-purchases by concluding that I had done some shopping there in 2009.  We had split up and wandered the market and some of the other shops in Papeete independently and went back to the ship when we chose.  Barb and Pam returned before the predicted rains hit.  I was starting to return when they came pouring down.  I figured I would wait under a pharmacy canopy until the tropical shower passed but realized that was not going to be any time soon, so when there was a slight letup, I raced closer and took refuge in the Tahiti Visitors’ Center (closer to the ship) and then made my mad dash from there back to the ship.  Fortunately it was a warm rain so no harm done.

Now it is on to American Samoa which we visited less than three weeks after their disastrous tsunami in September 2009.  It will be interesting to observe the changes since they were just in their initial cleanup mode when we visited last time.  In Pago Pago, the CEO of Holland America, Stein Kruse will board and will reside temporarily on our deck.  Our friends, Tony and Julie Kaculis whom we met on the 2009 cruise will enjoy knowing that Stein Kruse will be residing in “their” stateroom while he is on board.  It should be some fascinating days on board the Amsterdam!

CT