Komodo Island and Dragons

Move over King Kong, the Blob, Godzilla and other great creatures from the movies.  This is the real thing – the Komodo Dragon!  OK, so it’s not really a dragon; it’s the world’s largest lizard that has a near fatal bite.  As of two weeks ago, three guides have been bitten by these creatures; we asked how they were doing and our guide replied, “They’re still alive.”  Oh boy.

It has been a busy few days here aboard the Seabourn Quest.  We have had lumpy seas since leaving Cairns but I am proud to report that I have not gotten sick or even queasy.  We have had a change in the weather as well.  It has rained quite a few times and in the process, cooled the temperature down.  We are heading to Indonesia, so the heat and humidity will be increasing.

Last night we had a dinner party for the bridge players in Restaurant 2.  The staff made sure the entire restaurant was decorated appropriately with bridge cards.  They made a special cake just for us.  What a beautiful job they did and it tasted as good as it looked.  Michael gave a little speech and a good time was had by all.  The players have really enjoyed his lessons and the method he uses to teach.  We had a rough start with players wanting the directors from last cruise, but we have finally won them over with our sparkling personalities and exceptional abilities (you can throw up now).

The cruise so far hasn’t been so exciting as far as the places we have visited.  We have been to most of them before so the initial discovery has worn off.  Today, the new adventures begin!  Let’s hope that the old knees hold out.

You can only go to Komodo Island with the appropriate paperwork and a stamp from the government allowing you to go.  You must have arranged in advance to have a guide.  This is a national park, which was established in 1986, and is a UNESCO world heritage site.  The park is composed of four islands, and there are approximately 5,000 of the dragons.  There are 2,852 on Komodo Island alone.  So what is so interesting about these creatures? 

We arrived by tender and our first task was to figure out how to exit the tender.  Due to high tides, the dock was so high that it almost reached the crossbars that went across it.  The crew wrapped protection around these crossbars to if/when we bumped our delicate little cabazas on it we would survive.  We went to shore and saw our first dragon in the first five minutes we were on the island!  Who knows if it happened naturally or they coaxed it to come to greet us.  There were many men around with nine foot long poles to protect us.  By the water, there was a slight breeze, so it wasn’t too hot YET.  We saw deer sunning on the beach.

Riding on the Tender

Timo Deer sunning on the beach

Our first sighting

Off into the jungle we went, on a narrow and muddy path that was very slippery in places.   It was partly sunny and I was glad for the shade among the trees.  We sprayed ourselves with bug repellent and the further from the water we walked and the deeper into the jungle we went, the breeze died down; there was not a breath of air, it was very hot and humid.  I could see that everyone had sweat covered clothes, except for the guides.  I was ready to melt.  We kept watching the lemon grass for movement as they dragons don’t always walk on the path.  The lemon grass is about three feet high and is very dense.  We saw unusual fruit pods.  There was a spotter in front of the group and one behind.  At one point, the guide quickly told us to hurry up and gather together off the path.  We were told not to wave anything around as the dragons were sensitive to sudden movement.  There was a big dragon walking right behind us!  In this video­­­ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ah4n8M3YxA you can see how close it came.  It did not seem too interested in us.  Maybe because it ate a whole water buffalo or a timo deer for lunch.

Speaking of food, they will consume 80% of their body weight at a meal.  These guys would not make it on a Seabourn cruise as they can go one month between meals.  They eat dead meat.  They bite the prey and wait for it to die.  So why is a bite so lethal?  The way I understood the guide, is that the dead meat they eat contains a lot of bacteria; the dragons have 60 kinds of bacteria in their saliva which can cause fatal infections if they bite you.  Plus, they are cannibals.  If one of their buddies die, they eat him too.  Since females have no maternal instinct, they will eat the young ones, too.  When the young hatch from eggs that have been buried underground after an eight month gestation period, they run for the trees, find one they like and live there for three years before coming back down to earth.  And you thought you had a bad mom?!

They looked to be a bit lazy.  They need the time to digest whatever was eaten, so they just lay about.  They can smell up to 5 km away (2.5 miles).  These are solitary animals and hunt by themselves, and they can run about 12 mph.  Lesson:  make sure you can outrun anyone you are with when walking in the jungle.  They live for 50-60 years and die of old age or fighting.  There are four males for every female.  Ladies, how do you like those odds?

We made it out of the jungle in one piece, soaking wet, without a drop of rain.  As we made our way over to the "restaurant," it started to sprinkle.  Lunch was served:  they gave us a Styrofoam container with rice and some other stuff, but who knows what cooties lay in something that may have been sitting out in the heat for who knows how long.  We passed on lunch and thanked them for a wonderful tour (and for arriving safely back to the beach). 

We had to walk the gauntlet of souvenir vendors selling T-shirts and pearl necklaces.  They were somewhat aggressive and all we wanted to do was get back to the ship for some nice a/c.  I know they need to make a living, but…..  We could see children in canoes bobbing around the ship waiting for people to throw things in the water for them to fetch.  People threw soda cans into the water for the kids and the CD came on the intercom and said NO NO NO. These kids swam like fish, diving down to retrieve their treasure.

While waiting for the tender, we were given ice soaked washcloths to wipe away the sweat and cool us off.  Nice touch Seabourn and it is much appreciated.  We finally boarded the tender.  This time, the dock was even higher and one had to be a contortionist to get in the boat.  It’s a good thing I can now bend as there would have been no way for me to get back to the ship except strapped to the top of the tender.  We were wondering if we would have to take our muddy shoes off when we arrived back at the ship.  Well, they thought of everything:  upon exiting the tender, each person lifted up a foot so a crew member could wash the mud off our shoes.  Nice….

We headed back to our suite, changed into bathing suits, hung up our sweat soaked clothes to dry, washed the rest of the mud off our shoes, and then went to the grill for some lunch.  By this time, the weather had changed; it had cooled off and started to rain.  We had a nice soak in the hottub, then showered.  And I bet you can’t guess what Michael did next.  Yep, play Bridge.  I was left to play with pictures and write the blog. 

Tomorrow we arrive in Bali for a 1 ½ day stay.  I may actually get to see it this time.

Life at Sea after 7 Weeks

It is hard to believe we have been sailing for over 7 weeks now.  We have seen good water and bad; have had fun parties and entertainment and lots of work.  So what have been up to since we left Cairns?  I thought I would fill you in on some of our everyday activities.

Laundry:  this is the first time on any ship we have been able to get our laundry done in a timely manner.  On the 5^th floor, there are two machines on the port side and two on the starboard side, and it can be hard to obtain an empty one.  Of course, it helps to have a mate who gets up at o’dark 30 to put the clothes in at a time when most people should be tucked away sawing z’s.  I sort the clothes into whites, lights and colors.  I think Michael is finally getting the hang of how to do laundry.  There is no cost to use the machines and soap powder is provided in little pre-measured packets.  I’m sure at some time there had been sudsy overflow with the do-it-yourself detergent.  These packets are rather handy. 

I take the stuff I don’t want to put in the dryer and hang them up on hangers, which then gets hung in the bathtub; the rest of the stuff, meaning Michael’s stuff, goes in the dryer, which takes around an hour. It looks like a Laundromat with clothes hanging on the towel rack, over the shower door and on the string that goes across the tub.  Stuff usually dries within one or two days.  I make several trips back and forth to take out stuff as it dries.  We try to do laundry once a week.

After bridge, we usually go to the pool deck or the Observation Deck (depending on weather) and sit around visiting, relaxing and having a cocktail (not for me though; I am into smoothies).  This is the only place we can get potato chips and honey mustard Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels.  At around 6pm, we change clothes for dinner (if we MUST) and go wherever the next event is.  No one shows up for dinner before 7:30pm even if the restaurant is open at 7pm.  I really dislike eating so late.  Sometimes we go to the shows, but they start at 9:45pm or 10pm and that’s sometimes just too late for us.  Don’t forget – we are working folk.

Two nights ago, there was a special BBQ for the World Cruisers.  It was on spa deck 10 and it was such a lovely night.  There was hardly a breeze, the humidity was tolerable.  Twinkle lights were overhead lending a festive touch to the evening.  The food ranged from lobster tails to hot dogs.  The best part of the evening was a most glorious sunset.  I had my iPhone handy in order to take pictures.  I learned my lesson in Cairns – always be prepared.  Our Captain was there and I was warmly greeted by him. 

Me and the Captain

The weather has turned.  We have had lots of rain, high humidity, nasty black clouds, and building seas.  We are on the edge of cyclone Rusty and are getting these effects from the outer ring of it (we are 600 miles from it).  An outdoor epicurean appetizer party had been cancelled due to the inclement weather.

My biggest news is this:  I made it to the Grand Salon for my iPad class.   Woo hoo!  The big time.  The main event.  OK, so I am relegated to the 5pm slot, but so what.   I had about 40 people show up for the beginner class.  I was hooked up to a microphone and had three, read it three, big screens showing my iPad as I demonstrated how to use it.  In addition, the lecture was taped for showing on the en-suite entertainment channel to boot.  I have two more classes scheduled. 

So that’s about it from down under.  Eat, sleep, play bridge, iPad classes, cocktails and eat some more.  That’s life on the high seas.

Cairns, Australia

This city is the unofficial capital of Queensland’s tropical north and the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.  The name is pronounced “Cans.”  We have been here before and for the second time, no Great Barrier Reef tour for us.  This would have been a good time to go as we are spending the night here because our stop at Thursday Island was cancelled due to anchoring logistics.  The tours are very expensive, and we tried to book a private tour at the last minute, but it just didn’t work out.  The National Geographic channel will have to do. 

Regarding Thursday Island, no one on the ship is unhappy about skipping this stop.  It is the administrative and commercial center of the Torres Strait Islands and that is about all it has going for it.  You cannot swim at the beautiful beaches here because of crocs and stingers.  It is bloody hot and humid.

Most people don’t think of Australia as being tropical.  If you look at a map, the northern part of the country is pretty close to the equator and to Indonesia.  We are here at the peak of summer and this resort town is HOT AND HUMID.  The last time we were here, we took the scenic railway and skyway cable car up to mountains to the pretty little town of Kuranda.  We didn’t want to repeat this trip, and we couldn’t go to the Great Barrier Reef so we were left with exploring this city.

We were up early and we both put on our sweaty clothes from the other day (why dirty another outfit when you KNOW how the day is going to go).  Fortunately, they didn’t stink; it was clean sweat.  We were at the cruise ship terminal and a huge Royal Caribbean ship got the primo parking spot so we had to walk quite a distance to get to the terminal to get out and on to the street.  Using Michael’s trusty green umbrella, which by now is getting pretty beat up and broken from the wind turning it inside out, I had some shade, but let me tell you, that heat and humidity is a killer.  We went to town which wasn’t all that far, walking along the covered sidewalks; but one mile or a million miles, it is frigging hot.  We stopped at something equivalent to our dollar stores (here it was $2), mostly so I could cool off.  Even Mr. I Don’t Sweat was sweating.  We purchased a room deodorizer (we have a strange odor in the cabin that no one can figure out), and Michael bought a T-shirt and a hat.  I decided I was going to the air conditioned mall so I could get my nails done.  I single-mindedly walked on, my goal was to get to the mall and get out of the h & h (heat and humidity).  I trudged on, crossing on the blinking red don’t walk sign remembering to look to the right instead of the left for cars.  I could see the entrance to the mall and it spurred me on.  If I don’t think about how miserable I was I could make it. 

Ah, it was a blessing to be in a/c again.  I found the nail shop and inquired about the price.  I pay $35 for a backfill at home; here it was $50.  The ship charges $100!  So it was a no-brainer to get them done here.  Michael and Morry said they would look around and wait for me.  Now I am no dummy.  Go look around and then when I am done, you will be done and want to leave.  I told them I would see them later.  After getting my nails done (BTW, you don’t tip – it is not expected, but I did anyway), I wandered around looking for some bargains.  There are no bargains in Australia.  The prices are very high on just about everything; you can figure on paying almost double what we pay in the US.  Since I had the time, and some Australian money left, I figured this might be my last time to get some home cooking – that’s right, I did it again.  McDonald’s Big Mac meal (the small size though).  On the ship, there is no plain food.  Everything is fancy and looks pretty.  I have been ordering appetizer portions, no sauces, and still it is too much.  It just galls me to waste food, but I am tired of people giving me shit about not eating, so it’s just easier now to just order food and stir it around on the plate so as not to make people uncomfortable when I don’t want to eat.  Michael brought a surprise back for me:  my own jar of peanut butter!!!  I can now make my own P&J sandwiches!!!!  Such a small victory for me.

I finally had to leave the comfort of the mall and head back to the ship.  Oh, what a long walk back.  I made it to the ship, got to my room, striped my clothes off and put on a bathing suit.  I headed out the door, passing Michael in the hallway and not stopping, I had one single goal in mind:  get to that pool and jump in as fast as possible, which I did do.  And I even got my hair wet.  That means I was really, really, really hot.

We spent the afternoon at the pool, then showered and attended a Purim party.  This is a fun Jewish holiday where you dress up and have permission to get drunk.  We sang the story of how Mordicai bested Hamen to Beatles tunes.  It was fun.  Then we ate hamentasen, which is a three-pointed turnover type pastry filled with either poppyseed or fruit filling.  The chefs did an excellent job!

Rabbi Morry and Michael at Purim celebration

Poppyseed Hamentasen

After a quick dinner on the aft-deck, we decided it had cooled off enough that we could stroll along the waterfront esplanade.  Do I put on sweaty clothes or clean clothes?  Hummm… I opted for clean clothes.  What a dummy.  After 15 minutes, it was useless; the h & h were just as bad and I got clean clothes just as sweaty as the sweaty clothes.  I must say though, that the city did a very nice job redeveloping the waterfront with restaurants, shops, night clubs and marinas.  At the end of the promenade was the lagoon, a large man-made swimming pool complete with a sandy beach.  The sea water is filtered and safe from the stingers and other bad marine creatures.  The one time I decided not to bring my camera or phone with me, I really wanted it.  This lagoon was something to see.  Here is it around 9pm and kids were frolicking in the water and a lifeguard was still on duty. 

Walking on the main street, Michael said he knew of a yogurt place we could go to.  We walked along the promenade on the other side of the hotels.  I don’t know what kind of trees we saw, but they formed a tree tunnel and the trunks were completely and solidly lit with red, green, blue, and orange lights.  It was a beautiful sight and I am still kicking myself for not bringing a camera.  That will never happen again!!!

We never did find the yogurt store. Michael sorta got lost and we wound up taking the long way back to the ship.  Needless to say, this hot, dripping wet lady was fuming and not in a good mood.  I did utter a few choice words, and made my way back to the ship and another shower.  I think I set a record for taking showers:  two complete showers including hair, in three hours.  Michael brought some yogurt back to the room from the patio grill as a peace offering, which was not well received by yours truly.  I was still hot, in more ways than one.

Townsville, Australia

Our overnight cruise from Hamilton Island to Townsville was so smooth, that when I woke up this morning I wasn’t sure if we were moving (I guess that was a reward for surviving the Tasman Sea).  I got confirmation that we had stopped moving when my “alarm clock” went off (you know, the bow thrusters).  But just to reinforce that it was time to wake up and get out of bed, the dock the ship tied to was not a real dock; they were building a cruise terminal and dock right next to the ship and the pile drivers were singing with a regular rhythm.  Bonk-pause, bonk-pause, bonk-pause.  I tried to ignore the thumping, but the huge machinery won out. 

I wasn't all that interested in getting to shore because we had been here before and well, there wasn't that much to do that we hadn't already done.  It was sunny, hot and humid and the desire to stay in A/C comfort was quite compelling.   I do not want to be seen as a wuss (I guess wimp is OK), so I donned my coolest clothes and off we went with no idea in mind of what we were going to do or see.  Because of the construction, there was a ferry to bring us to shore; it had great A/C (am I obsessing on air conditioning?  Yep). 

I brought along Michael’s green umbrella to use as my portable shade.  This poor umbrella has seen better days as it is suffering from sun rot rather than rain.  I am sooo glad I had it as it was really too hot to meander around aimlessly, which my darling hubby loves to do.  We walked along The Strand, the beautiful gardens along the waterfront.  We didn't get too far because I had had enough.  So we walked back to the main tourist area where the aquarium and cultural center are located, turned right onto the shopping street, met up with a few shipmates, and decided to go back to the ship because there really was nothing much to see, I didn't care to buy anything and lots of places were closed at this hour. 

We wiled away the afternoon by the pool, which had been relieved of its algae water and replaced with nice clean water.  The water was walk-in temperature, but still refreshing.  We both got to catch up on our reading between dips in the pool.

After showering and dressing for the evening, we attended an early show with a comedienne/magician.  His comedy was ok, the magic was ok.  OK, I don’t particularly care for magicians (no offense Dan H).  I can’t stand it when they drag a trick out for 10 minutes.  Do the trick and move on.

We hosted a dinner table and met some interesting folks.  So far tonight, the seas have been calm.  I like it like that and hope it continues.

Hamilton Island, Australia

This is what you can do with a billion dollars.  Own your own private island with an airport, zoo, bowling alley, golf course, water sports, fine dining and world class resort.  Some Australian founded and then sold Rosemont Winery, the largest winery in Australia.

This is a beautiful tropical island with a first class marina.  We anchored off shore and took a 20 minute tender ride to reach the marina.  It was sunny, hot and steamy, and we were lucky because it had rained for three straight days prior to our arrival.  After hearing from the local excursion person, we decided to take the free shuttle bus, with wonderful A/C, that drove around the island, a sort of mini-excursion with the driver providing colorful commentary.  Six thousand people live here, 1,200 work here, some commute from the mainland, and the rest are tourists or vacationers. 

This is an incredibly beautiful place with condos and vacation homes.  The view of the Whitsunday Islands and the Mainland was breathtaking.  Everywhere we looked, there was lush tropical foliage neatly maintained.  Worker cottages were discretely tucked away in the bush.  The resort and swimming beach was on the other side of the island so when we reached it, we decided to get off the shuttle and see the rest of the island later. 

Unlike Tahiti and the Intercontinental Hotel, this was free!  Free to use the pools, free to access the beach.  What a great bargain.  So Hanita and I headed to the ladies room to change into bathing suits, while the guys made for the men’s room.  I must say it is very difficult to change clothes and pull up a bathing suit when one is sticky with sweat.  We decided to go to the pool because that was the closest water and I for one, needed to cool off.  These tropical climates are murder for me.

A little while later, it was time to go to the beach.  This part of Australia has lovely beaches, warm water and stingers!  Stingers are poisonous jelly fish.  They are in season now and it is recommended to swim in water where there is a net enclosure and to wear a full length stinger suit.  It defeats the purpose of going in the water.  We saw several people in the water and thought it was safe to go in.  The water was like a bathtub; it was almost too warm.  We wadded out and wadded some more and the water finally got up to my knees (this beach had a sandy bottom).  It wasn’t even deep enough to get yourself wet.  Father Sean wadded out and we asked him to bless the water and keep the stingers away.  We went back to the pool to get really wet and cool off.

About this time, everyone started to get hungry.  Michael went over to the bar to check things out and found the average price for an alcoholic drink was $18!  We thought resort prices; so we decided to go back to the little town by the marina where we saw a fish and chips restaurant.  Back to the bathroom to change into clothes.  This time, it was even harder to put on clothes as I could not get dry.  The bathroom obviously was not air conditioned. 

We picked up a shuttle bus, which was mercifully cool, and found out we were on the local.  We stopped at every corner, every worker’s huts, every business.  Hungry and hot people get grouchy.  We finally made it to the little town, dropped off our wet towels and headed to the fish and chips restaurant only to find that there was no A/C, it was dirty, they were out of cooked food and the prices were astronomical.  It would cost $29 for one person.  Add a drink, double that for two and the price for a crummy lunch would come to $75!!  They have special, affordable prices for the locals; the tourists get soaked and support the community.  By this time, we were all hot, crabby and hungry so we decided we could get a good hamburger for the price of a tender ride back to the ship.  And that is what we did.

We would have loved to jump into the pool, but the pool was closed.  It was gross looking.  The ship pumps in sea water, filters and treats it.  In this case, they had pumped in water that contained algae and while it was safe, it was disgusting to even think about going in.  The ship was not able to get rid of the algae water until we were out to sea. 

We had showers in order to (1) get clean, but more importantly to (2) cool off.  Michael went to play bridge and I worked on the blog.  Later in the evening, we dined under the stars for a magical end to a very nice day.

The Tasman Sea

This is one body of water I HATE.  It is nasty and has a bad temper, and this afternoon, it was no exception.  The coast of Australia was off to our port and the seas and swells were building all afternoon. 

We had finished playing bridge (I played and even scored some master points!!! Yippee) and prepping for the next day.  Michael arranged a bridge game with Hanita, Lillian and Adrian.  I went back to the suite to rest up.  I came back up to the card room around 6:30pm and they were still playing.  Bridge players have no concept of time!  I sat in Seabourn Square waiting for them to finish, and boy I was not feeling very hungry.  I know that the last thing you do when you are feeling queasy during rough seas is to lie down; you should get fresh air.  I begged off dinner and headed back to my suite and I just about didn’t make it.  I felt like throwing up, but I didn't.

I am a seasoned veteran when it comes to rough seas.  How many trips up and down the Washington coast in the Water Walker did we make?   Michael says I am becoming a wimp.  I guess that is better than becoming a wuss.  I got on the bed and curled up and just lay there.  There was nothing else I could do.  The housekeeping supervisor came into my room to make it up for the evening and offered two pills that the crew takes in rough seas.  I took them and by golly, they worked!  My stomach felt so much better.  I do not understand how anyone could eat in those conditions.  You can’t walk straight, the ship is constantly moving every which way. 

I got ready for bed, took a sleeping pill and waited for blissful sleep.  Nope.  The seas decided to punish us just a while longer.  I felt like I was on a roller coaster.  Up and down, side to side.  I felt airborne for a time.  I can’t sleep when conditions are perfect, so I guess I couldn’t expect to sleep under these conditions.  Thwack, bang went the water on the hull.  By 4:30am the seas started to calm down. 

But one who goes on the high seas must expect this from the sea gods from time to time.  Thank goodness my psyche has a short memory.  The following day, the seas returned to a wonderful calm and all was right on the Seabourn Quest. 

Sydney -- Day 2

The day was glorious, not too hot, not too cold, just right.  Baby bear was quite happy with this weather report.  Since we were not leaving Sydney until 6pm, we had the day to sleep in and still have time to play. 

Michael headed out at about 8am and didn't return until 11am.  What was he up to?  For a guy with knees that hurt, he took a walk up to Chinatown and back to the ship, about 4 miles round trip.  He later found out that there is a free city bus that makes the loop.  He did find a wonderful indoor market and came back with a new bathing suit.  He said I just had to see this place.  Botanical gardens, zoo, market???  I bet you can guess where I wanted to go.  Bingo!  The City Market.  We walked to the bus stop and only had to wait a few minutes before it showed up.  It was a nice, comfortable ride and dropped us across the street from the market.  Good things come to those that wait!!!!  He he he.

Remember we wanted some Chinese food for dinner last night?  Well, we had Chinese food for lunch today and sat outdoors.  There were a lot of Chinese eating at the restaurant so we figured that was a good place to eat.  I liked Michael’s dish better than mine; he got the crispy noodles and mine were swimming in sauce.  At least he shared with me. 

Now we were fortified for the trip through the market.  I seem to remember being here before, but never having enough time to really go through it.  This place was H U G E!

They sold everything from clothes, T-shirts, party dresses to electronics, hair doodads, and souvenirs.  I found two cotton shirts for a good price, nice quality.  We must have spent three hours walking up and down the aisles.  Sooooo much stuff {sigh}, great resistance.  Whatever we buy, something has to go (damn weight limitations on aircraft) and we are too cheap to pay $100 for an overweight suitcase. 

We returned to the ship for the sail away party.  Sydney Harbor is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen.  The evening was perfect for sightseeing and snapping pictures.  The ship’s horn blasted and we were away from the dock…… about 15 feet when the captain announced we had to go back because of a medical emergency.  Not another one!?!  What is going on here?  An ambulance pulled up alongside the ship (which was not tied to the dock), and after an hour or so, it drove off with one person (since then, we understand the person is doing well, but there is some confusion as to who and how they got back on board – rumor city is well and alive).  We finally left Sydney and the people waving from shore.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbor Bridge

The Rocks

Amusement Park

Sunset over Sydney Harbor

Sydney -- Day 1

Ga’ day mates!  Greetings from the land down under.  We are back in this beautiful city with an incredible harbor.

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and is the most populous city in Australia (4.6 million Sydneysiders in the metropolitan area).  It is located on the south east coast on the Tasman Sea.  The site of the first British colony was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove as a penal colony; this area is now called The Rock, which has many trendy cafes, clubs, and boutiques.  The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbor. From our suite on the ship, we can see the famous Sydney Opera House.  The downtown area is just a short walk from the ship’s berth in Circular Quay.  This is a huge harbor, with many bays, both large and small, many with lovely houses built on the hillsides. 

Yesterday was our final day at sea in Segment 1 of this world cruise (41 days).  Several of our bridge players are leaving us.  Right after the championship game (where we awarded double master points) we had a cocktail party to end the segment and say good-bye to those leaving, and award prizes and certificates to the winners.  First and third place went to a couple who are serious and well-played life masters, so the rest of the group really didn’t have a chance to win anything.  However, the folks enjoyed playing and attending the lessons, and Michael received several complements and acknowledgments that removed the initial trepidation that they felt when we showed up instead of the bridge directors from last year. 

As a welcome to Sydney, the crew went all out and decorated the ship to represent the outback.  Aussie food, Aussie music, Aussie kangaroo and koala bear.  My stomach was feeling a little queasy, so I opted out of the Aussie dinner.  We retired to our suite and had room service.  I ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Europeans do not understand a P&J; they do not like peanut butter.  I specifically told room service how to make it:  lots of peanut butter on one slice of bread, lots of jelly on the other piece of bread and slap it together and LEAVE THE CRUST ON.  I received a triple decker with the crust cut off.  I must go to the kitchen and show them how to do it.  We tried to watch the move, Lincoln, but I don’t know why the critics said it was so good; it was slow and rather boring so we turned it off, never to finish it.

 

Getting back to today in Sydney.  For all you knitting guild members – I FINALLY MADE IT TO JANE SLICER-SMITHS STUDIO!  It only took two years to get there.  She is a fabulous knitwear designer and I have taken two classes from her.  The last class was taken last Halloween, when I asked Jane if she was going to be in Sydney when we were.  She said yes, and we started making plans for me to meet with her.  After several emails and directions, Michael and I took the Northshore train to Roseville, which is about 15 miles north of the city.  Jane met me, and we drove back to her house.  She showed me the new designs, and they were wonderful.  I pre-ordered the pattern and yarn to make a coat – in cherry red – oh how I love red.  I tried on a sample and she marked up the pattern and gave me instructions on how to read it.  OMG, it is a good thing I am an accomplished knitter because this one will take some time and effort to make.  Pages of charts – it was overwhelming.  I might get this coat finished sometime before I see the pearly gates. 

It was warm and humid, and there were some heavy rain showers today.  We returned to the ship with my treasure, had lunch, and headed back out to The Rocks, the area that was the original settlement of Sydney.  There was a street fair with some of the most interesting and well-crafted handmade items I have even seen.  No junk here.  We came back empty handed but that was OK, I already got my souvenir.  After walking on uneven cobblestone streets and climbing up and down LOTS of stairs today, my knees were killing me.  Even Michael’s knees hurt.  I gave up and went back to the ship; he went looking for the duty free store to find his souvenir – a new watch.  Sadly, he came back empty-handed.   

Brisbane, Australia

Today we shopped til we dropped.  After visiting primitive ports and with so many sea days behind us, it was maintenance and resupply day in the big city.  

We have previously been to Brisbane (see Asian-Pacific Ocean Cruise blog) and today was our chance to see the downtown area (translated: shopping with real stores).  You can see the results of our efforts in the pictures below.   I got a pedicure, Michael got a haircut, and we collected sundries, office supplies and flip flops.  The most important buy was a VGA cable for my iPad so I can conduct my classes in any venue on the ship (or elsewhere for that matter). 

To get to the cruise ship terminal in Brisbane, we transited up the Brisbane River for 14 miles in the wee hours of the morning.  Upon arrival at the terminal, my alarm clock went off on time (that is the bow thrusters came alive at “O dark 30”).  My beauty sleep was over and that was a good thing because we had to get dressed so we could clear immigration before going ashore (all the ship’s passengers had to do it).  The cruise director had announced we could clear immigration and head out to the city without having to go back to the ship.  Therefore, we were able to get ourselves ready for the shopping day with tote bags galore, have breakfast, walk for about ¼ mile to get to the immigration agents.  We handed our passports and immigration forms to the agent, who processes us and then informed us there was a problem.  What?  What did we do?  He said not to worry, we had two visas – one as a passenger and one as a crew member – and they needed to combine them.  Phew….

A group of singers greeted us as we made our way out to the bus.  I stopped by the information table and inquired where an office supply store was.  I nice gentleman, one of the singers, offered us a ride into town.  Michael said no, I said yes, but Michael won and we rode the shuttle bus into town. 

We walked to the huge Myer Mall on Queen Street.  This was a huge, four story complex.  I saw where the nail shop and barber were located on the directory.  Now I have a sixth sense when it comes to malls, I just know which way to go.  But this place had a weird layout and we made several circuits and passed the same stores several times until we figured this cockamamie floor plan out. 

After my pedicure and Michael’s haircut, it was time to do the serious shopping.  There was a Target store!  I remembered that Target here was different from our Target at home, and yes indeed, it was a clothing store.  Where is Wal-Mart when you need one?  Somehow, we got our shopping done. 

Now it was time for lunch, and the food court was really attractive with some interesting foods and different places to eat.  So what do you think I had?  That’s right, Mickey D’s – McDonald’s Big Mac!  A taste of home.  Michael, the food snob, won’t eat McDonald’s.  He had – ta da – KFC! 

We returned to the ship and Michael went to the pool, and I stayed in and talked to my sister, Janet.  She got the backstory!!!  I then decided it was time to touch up my hair and conscripted Michael to do the back.  I was a little worried as I have not colored my own hair by myself in, oh let’s say, NEVER.  I was a little worried, but after washing my hair, it came out looking really good.  I do not trust Michael with a paint brush, but I did trust him with my hair.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day at dinner with Lillian McCormick, Adrian Sokoloff, and Robert and Sandra Clifton.  Service tonight in the dining room was soooo slooooow and we didn’t get done until after 10pm, so it was too late to see the show.  We lose an hour tonight, so it is time to go to bed and get some rest so we can go to work tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day

New Caledonia

Lifou

We stopped here and went looking for McHale’s Navy, but alas we were 70 years late.  The island of Lifou is the largest atoll in the world and is part of the Loyalty Islands.  It is a province of New Caledonia.  This island and its three neighboring islands are the most traditional islands of this archipelago, with many people still living the old way, in thatched huts.  Apparently, the old ways also included not bathing; these people literally stunk.  The population of this province is 98% Kanak (the indigenous people of Melanesian origin).  They speak French here. 

After anchoring, we went ashore to have a beach day.  There were no excursions scheduled as there is nothing to do here or any place to go except to the beach and snorkeling (plus they have no tour operators here).  We had an absolutely beautiful day for the beach, blue skies with a few cotton ball clouds scattered about.  It was warm, but the humidity was low for this part of the world.  The water was clear and aqua in color.  

  

 Michael and I both passed up an opportunity to sightsee as Hanita, Jan and Fred went on a two-hour tour.  We wanted to beach.  After finding a shaded place to put our stuff, we took turns going in the water as there were locals nearby and didn’t want to leave our stuff unattended.  The beach was sandy, but littered with coral pieces.  I was first up to go in the water and found the bottom full of coral and rocks.  It was also very shallow.  There was no good way to get into deeper water going barefooted, so I went back to get my shoes.  I am still kicking myself for not packing my water sox.   So in I go, wearing my sandals and got out to deeper water.  It was warm and pleasant  just to float about.  Michael went next and didn’t get very far; he came back for my shoes!

There was a pavilion up the hill where a ceremony was taking place.  It is the first time Seabourn has stopped here and the captain presented a plaque to the village leaders, and they in turn presented a plaque to him in honor of this visit.  Michael went up the hill to see the ceremony; I couldn’t go because HE WAS WEARING MY SHOES, and there was no way to go up the hill without them.  There was a lot of noise, dancing and banging from the locals putting on a show.  I could hear it.  Michael comes back and tells me how great the show was, the dancing and chanting, the presentations, yada yada.  I am sorry I missed it – plus he didn’t have the camera with him to take pictures. 

Some folks went snorkeling at a different location and said it was the best so far on this trip.  At our location, a man went snorkeling and said he was bitten twice.  Apparently, these fish are aggressive, territorial or were just plain hungry for human flesh (BTW, the natives used to be cannibals).  I saw ONE fish, about two inches long, white with black stripes. 

I found another location on the beach that didn’t have as much coral on the bottom of the ocean, so we moved our location.  This was much better and we didn’t have to wear my shoes.

Noumea – or Never on Monday

You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I never in a million years thought of New Caledonia as anything but a tropical island that Ernest Borgnine and McHale’s Navy inhabited on our TV set way back in the 1960s.  This is a beautiful place!

New Caledonia is the third largest archipelago in the Pacific and is comprised of the Mainland, the Isle of Pines, the Loyalty Islands and the Belep archipelago.  This South Pacific gem has the second longest reef in the world (the Great Barrier Reef is first) and has the largest lagoon in the world.  It is protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site.  New Caledonia is a unique blend of Kanak, French, Polynesian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese cultures. 

The history is very interesting.  In 1853, France took possession of these islands.  At the same time, the discovery of substantial mineral deposits of copper, nickel, and cobalt contributed to the growth of New Caledonia’s economy.  From 1864 to 1894, convicts were sent here from France, and voluntary immigration from India, Vietnam, and Indonesia provided labor for mining.  During WWII, New Caledonia played a strategic part in the Pacific conflict; over one million US service personnel were stationed here.  Today, nickel is still mined and contributes to the economy.

New Caledonia is its own country, but is part of France.  Noumea is the capital and lies on the southern tip of the Mainland.  The climate is semi-tropical.  A majority of its citizens live in the capital.

Noumea is a peninsula, with convoluted shorelines, bays, and islands close to shore.  We were ready to explore the area on a hop-on-hop-off train with Hanita and Morry, so off we go to the visitor center to get tickets only to find out that it is closed on Mondays for rest; as a matter of fact, every sight worth visiting such as the aquarium and maritime museum were also closed on Mondays!  We stopped at Lifou on a Sunday because stores are closed in Noumea.  Somehow, things backfired.  The stores were open, but not the attractions.   

Now for Plan B.  There was a one-hour bus tour (it had A/C), and it only cost $10 per person.  Very reasonable, so off we went.  We drove through the very traffic-congested city center, then up into the hills to the Point de vue de la F.O.L. viewpoint.  This city is a whole lot bigger and more cosmopolitan than I expected.  We had a spectacular view of the entire peninsula, including all the islands and bays.  There was a really nice breeze keeping the temperature pleasant.  Every direction we looked, there was stunning ocean views with color changes in the water from light aqua to deep sapphire.  Pleasure boats were plying the waters, visiting the many islands or just sailing around.  For those without a boat, there was a water taxi out to Duck Island where one can swim along an underwater path. 

We saw some unusual looking pine trees that I have seen in Hawaii that were used as Christmas trees.  If we turned the other direction, we could see the mountains that run along the center of the Mainland.  We then drove along the sea promenade and saw many resorts and upscale hotels, restaurants, and shops.  The tour brought us back to city center, where we got off and on foot, went shopping.

Shopping here is quite expensive for electronics.  There was a video/music/electronics store and Michael went in looking for a VGA adapter for my iPad.  He found it, but it cost double what we pay at home and decided not to buy it here.  The city was very clean and there was a lot of road work being done.  Just like any other big city.  The women wore loose fitting dresses in bright colors and bold patterns.  I found a tie-dyed pale green and pink dress for my souvenir, which I plan on wearing to dinner tonight (we have to host again).  I’ve gone native!

We all had had enough of shopping and it was starting to get warm, so we walked back to the ship.  It was easy to find because anywhere you went in city center, you could see the ship docked at the foot of town, right across the street from the Casino/Supermarket.  That’s right – a combination I have never seen before. 

We were back on board by 11:30am.  Since our suite was being cleaned, we went up to deck 10 to the observation lounge and saw the plaque exchanging ceremony with city leaders and the captain.  This was not very exciting like on Lifou.  No dancing, chanting or drum banging, just short little speeches.  The captain did get an air kiss from Miss New Caledonia – it’s good to be the Captain!