We made our way up into San Pedro Bay to the Long Beach Cruise Center, which is adjacent to the permanent berthing of the Queen Mary, now a major tourist destination for events and tours. We tied up next to the great old ship at 7:00 am, enjoyed our last breakfast on the ship while […]
Read moreNuku Hiva is our last stop in Polynesia, and indeed our last port of call on this cruise. It is located in the far northeast area of French Polynesia, in the Marquesas Islands. This is the fifth French Polynesian island we have visited in six days, each of them so far has been quite different […]
Read moreThis is again, a completely different type of island. Rangiroa, which lies about 150 miles northeast of Tahiti and Moorea, is a circular chain of flat coral atolls, with no volcanic mountains at all. It is a part of French Polynesia, so the language and culture is that unique blend of Polynesian and French and […]
Read moreI can tell when I have been too long in Polynesia – whether it is Hawaii or Tahiti – because I find I start pronouncing their words correctly. For example, yesterday I called this island mo – ray – ah. Today I pronounced it correctly, sounding out ALL the vowels, mo – oh – ray […]
Read morePapeete, among the places in French Polynesia, is the biggest, busiest, and most “city” like. Buses, taxis, motorcycles, cars shops, and lots of people, but somehow it still maintains its beauty and “island” feeling. It is always a good place to stock up on toiletries and miscellaneous stuff you have run out of, provided of […]
Read moreThis is the first of four French Polynesian Islands we will visit in the next five days. Those of you who have followed our travels are aware that Bora Bora is my favorite island in the whole world. It is a most unusual piece of geology – with a mountain in the middle, surrounded almost […]
Read moreHappy Anniversary to us! Forty eight years ago today, in La Marque, Texas, at the First Presbyterian Church, Sally and I were married. Our reception was at the local Elks Club, and we headed to my new job with IBM in San Jose. It seems like just yesterday. Most of my posts are edited by […]
Read moreThis is probably the last of our ports with any significant tie to WWII. Known simply as Santo during the war (and today), this was a major island for gathering troops and materiel on the way to and from battle, for R & R, and for repair of ships and planes. It was more of […]
Read moreLast night, just as the sun was setting, we passed this volcanic island, Kolombangara, which is the island near which John F. Kennedy’s PT boat was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer, running at high speed, lights out, down “The Slot” (New Georgia Sound) which ran between the parallel chains of the Solomon Islands. […]
Read moreRabaul, Papua New Guinea, sits on the eastern most island of Papua New Guinea, and was a major Japanese facility during the war. The Japanese, based here, planned on using Rabaul as a springboard to take all of New Guinea and eventually invade Australia, just to the south. They, the Japanese, were in the process […]
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