Day 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. […]
Read moreDay 45 This is our first American port since leaving Ft. Lauderdale. The capital is Pago Pago, which is pronounced “Pango Pango” – I know not why! The people of American Samoa are US Citizens through and through and very proud of it, but they are pure Polynesian, looking the same and speaking the same […]
Read moreDay 43-44 A couple of quiet days at sea, reading and resting. Smooth sailing – a far cry from the seas of a week ago.
Read moreDay 42 As we pulled in to the harbor and docked at dawn, the sun hit the hillside highlighting the vivid colors of the water, the whites and pastels of the homes, and the lush vegetation – reminding me of the reason that Gauguin and other impressionists chose this locale for much of their work. […]
Read more