Day 65 Hong Kong has been one of the major targets of this trip for us. From a distance, in the news, in movies and on television, it has seemed a place of excitement and mystery and we have been very anxious to experience the city. Hong Kong consists of Hong Kong Island, plus […]
Read moreDay 61-62-63-64 As we sail north through Indonesia toward Hong Kong we cross the Equator, which always calls for a ceremony on board ship to “initiate” first time crossers. Seafaring tradition holds that people who have not crossed the Equator are considered pollywogs and must be initiated by King Neptune – god of the sea! […]
Read moreDay 60 I don’t know about all of you, but I need to confess my ignorance of the country of Indonesia up to this point. I have always thought of it, if I thought of it at all, as some vague place in the far eastern Pacific…. Well I was right on its approximate […]
Read moreDay 59 Komodo Island is the home of the Komodo Dragon which lives on this island and a couple other small nearby islands. This island is an Indonesian National Park and is the home of some 1200 Komodo Dragons, which run free on the island. These are the largest of the monitor lizards and this […]
Read moreDay 55,56,57,58 Leaving Cairns, we spent the next few days sailing through the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately it was overcast for most of the trip so we had grey skies and steel blue water instead of the aquamarine blue to which we had been accustomed. We passed the northern tip of Australia between Australia and […]
Read moreDay 54 The first thing to learn about Cairns is how to pronounce it. It is pronounced “cans” as in beer “cans”. Nothing will identify you as a tourist quicker than saying “carnes” or “cairns” – it is “cans”. The second thing to learn is that the main claim to fame here is the Great […]
Read moreDay 52-53 We were ready for a couple of days rest after two active days in Sydney. Leisure time spent at sea, smooth sailing to Cairns. With the news of problems on other cruises, I feel like we are dodging bullets. The rumor here is that due to the turmoil in Greece and Egypt, we […]
Read moreDay 51 Our second day in Sidney included a tour to The Blue Mountains, a range of mountains about 90 minutes to the west of Sydney. This beautiful range of sub-alpine (about 3,500 feet above sea level) mountains is an obvious destination for weekend trips from the city. The area is full of small tourist […]
Read moreDay 50 Our arrival into Sydney Harbour Sydney is maybe one of the most the favorite places we have ever had the good fortune to visit. We were here for the first time a year and a half ago for 4 days before a cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a city of […]
Read moreDay 46-49 Ok, so here’s the deal. Sunday night, after leaving Samoa, we crossed the international dateline, and lost Monday. Most of you who know me, know that I am a fairly logical guy – ex systems analyst, computer programmer, amateur deal maker, etc. But I must confess to extreme confusion on this dateline deal. […]
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