tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426061483841435362024-03-19T02:40:08.599-07:00Travels with my CameraBev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-9808249898191930092012-11-11T16:03:00.002-08:002012-11-11T17:33:34.107-08:00November 5 2012<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">For the fourth time on this trip I have crossed the International Dateline and Sunday November 4 was nonexistent. Even though we were late leaving LAX, we arrived into Sydney a little ahead of time (you can always count on Qantas to step on the gas) and I used the SmartGate at immigration and sailed through without queues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Being the good little Aussie that I am (and paranoid about having a starring role on Border Security), I always declare anything I have that might warrant the Customs and Quarantine guys a second look – normally food or wooden objects, etc. Which is exactly what I did this morning, and was so relieved I did as there was a big sign just before Customs and Quarantine inspections that Border Security was being filmed there today. (For those who are unfamiliar with this show, it focuses on passengers being questioned by officials because they are trying to bring illegal goods and substances into the country without declaring them, or are trying to enter the country illegally. We have very strict rules on entering Australia as we are free of rabies, foot and mouth, etc. and our government will fine and prosecute offenders.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Half an hour after stepping out of the airport I was going through my front door – and checking out the fridge. After a shower, some wine and pate I now have to contemplate unpacking, washing and facing work tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">With a future cruise deposit for a 22 to 35 night cruise made a few days ago, I also have to consider what looks best – a Collectors cruise in either the Med or out of Sydney next year or the 34 night Australian Circumnavigation. I have grown to love sea days so enjoy the longer cruises but I guess I should check in with work first! I’ve still got Rajasthan and the Galapagos on my bucket list though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-4258163230377964162012-11-11T16:00:00.000-08:002012-11-11T17:33:15.297-08:00November 3 2012<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">It was still dark when I got up at 6.30am, readying myself to front up to San Diego officials for immigration checks. Decks 1 and 4 were called at 6.50 am and by 7.05 am I was back in my cabin, and ready to have my last waffles with blueberry sauce up in the Lido for quite some time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I’ve heard lots of bad reports about San Diego red tape but at 9am they were calling for the first lot of passengers to leave the ship – and by 10 am I was sitting on a coach for HAL’s City Highlights tour and airport transfer, with my luggage safely bestowed underneath. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The coach wasn’t filled to capacity but it included Jenny, Carol, Norm and John from my trivia team plus my Canadian dinner companions from last night. As transfer tours go, this is about the best I’ve been on in that we actually had stops where we got out of the coach, first at Coronado to take photos back across to the city skyline, at La Jolla to see the sea caves and marine life along the shore and then a lunch stop at Old Town. We also drove through the Gaslight District and Balboa Park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">At Old Town our trivia team had lunch together in a Mexican restaurant, the others licking the salt off their Margaritas while I had a soda (while I’ll still be waiting at LAX for my flight tonight they will have arrived home!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I think what made this tour better than most was to spend the final few hours before departure with friends I have made on this cruise so that it didn't feel final when I walked down the gangway for the last time. And I’ll be catching up with Jenny and Norm when they come to Sydney next year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As I was the only person flying out of San Diego’s commuter terminal, I was dropped off at the airport first. I had read up on the facilities at San Diego’s International Airport but obviously had missed the part about the commuter terminal where I had to spend the next 6 hours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Free wifi is on offer and although there were power points in most seat blocks to recharge your iPad, phone, laptop etc. the majority did not work. With vacant seats available for passengers, it is always amusing to see some seated on the floor immediately outside restrooms because that is where the only working power source is – for the cleaners!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Over the last few days I had watched news coverage of Superstorm Sandy and one thing that stood out for me was how much we rely on the ability to recharge our gadgets now to stay in touch with people. A lot of people have given up landlines and rely on mobile phones, which are great as long as you have a charged battery, and this was difficult for a lot of those affected by the storm. All three airports I have spent time <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in (as in many hours!) on this trip – Sydney, LAX and San Diego – offer free wifi but not enough charging facilities and it has been interesting to see passengers breathing down the necks of others, waiting for them to unplug and move on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">My little commuter flight to LAX also carried the three Aussies from Maske but they sat at the back of the plane so I didn’t speak to them. The seatbelt off sign had barely come on <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In LAX I had 2 hours to fill in before the long haul home. The A380 to Sydney left just before my flight so after my 747 took off we were hit with quite a bit of turbulence as we were in the jet stream of either it or one of the other 3 Qantas flights departing at around the same time for Australia. Whichever one it was, it caused quite a few bumpy minutes. I’m a seasoned traveller but I was a little unnerved as it wasn’t like turbulence I’ve experienced in the past so I was glad when the Captain explained the cause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-33916835541132896732012-11-07T01:25:00.002-08:002012-11-11T17:32:56.958-08:00November 2 2012 At sea<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Our last day at sea and the weather is reflecting the mood on board – or at least mine – dismal. The final Good Morning Westerdam featured Jason, Ron (the Hotel Director) and Captain PJ and as always it was informative and entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Following on straight afterwards were travel trivia, team trivia and then the talk regarding departure procedures tomorrow morning. All non US citizens will be going through Immigration on board, starting at 7am. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">A few months ago I came across a tip in a travel journal: as it is such a letdown to arrive home after a holiday and have to face unpacking, it was advised to have a bottle of bubbly chilled in the fridge with a few little treats like cheese and crackers, pate, etc. I thought this was great advice as I hate unpacking after my return, but as I was feeling down about having to pack today I also thought I might put it into practice here and now, especially as I still had some wine in my cabin’s fridge. So, with some brie and crackers to accompany the wine I packed up all my belongings in preparation for tomorrow’s departure. I must admit that it made the packing slightly more bearable!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">At dinner tonight I shared a table with 5 others – two Canadians and 3 Germans. Although the German ladies spoke English, they conversed in German and excluded the Canadians and myself throughout dinner, with one odd exception. Towards the end of the meal when the dessert menu was presented, one of the dishes had a German name and one woman asked the Canadian lady to pronounce it, obviously hoping she would make a hash of it. The Canadian woman could speak Dutch so had no problem with the pronunciation which caught the Germans by surprise so they resumed talking amongst themselves and ignored us. As I said, odd! Fortunately for me, the Canadian couple were amiable dinner companions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">After dinner I saw the last guest talent show and then went onto the Farewell Variety Show with Mike Robinson, a comedian, and Dale Kristien, a singer, both of whom had performed earlier this week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I haven’t seen all the evening entertainment on board as some didn’t appeal to me. Often I would sit up the back in case I wanted to leave early but except for one occasion I found myself enjoying the shows and staying until the end. Quite a few others obviously have had the same thoughts as me and at some shows, especially Darren Williams’ performances, the people who were standing at the back of the theatre ended up finding seats after the first few songs until in the end there was only standing room in the theatre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">My luggage is now out in the corridor which is lined with suitcases of all colours and sizes, and the cabin is looking a little bare. I’ve really enjoyed this cruise so am feeling sad about leaving the ship. At leave I have put an open deposit down for another longish cruise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-67319138812712304372012-11-02T16:56:00.000-07:002012-11-11T17:31:32.666-08:00November 1 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Winners and Losers<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The winners of the 30 day cumulative team trivia were announced today and as we all expected, the team which has taken the lead from the very beginning won with the highest score Jason has seen before. Jason said that despite very close scrutiny there was never any evidence that they, or indeed any other team, did anything untoward. Obviously the rest of the teams have been suffering from trivia envy for having such unflattering thoughts about a team which has just been plain smarter than the rest of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For their win they each received a jacket with their team name embroidered on it. The two teams which tied for second received a Pinnacle lunch and the team who sat next to my team for the entire competition, were very excited to hear they came last. That hadn’t been their aim but they were awarded a certificate for a free lunch in the Lido with unlimited tea and coffee (which if you’re familiar with HAL, you will know that the Lido is complimentary anyway!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Trish had a bottle of champagne so brought it along for our trivia team today. All I can say is, no wonder we don’t win! (We ended up 8<sup>th</sup> out of 27 teams.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tonight was our last formal dinner which was followed by the Officers’ Black and White Ball. Unfortunately I have developed a sore throat so since I go back to work the day after I arrive back in Australia, I opted for room service and an early night. I must say that I find the room service Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce to be one of my favourite desserts.And in case you think otherwise, yes, I can still fit into my formal clothes so that wasn’t the reason I didn’t attend.</span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-61960174273705556332012-11-02T16:53:00.000-07:002012-11-11T17:27:51.875-08:00October 31 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Trick or … dessert!<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It’s been harder to get out of bed in the mornings since Papeete – we’ve lost 3 hours over the last few days and as we put our clocks forward at night, that means less sleep unless you sleep in. Sunrise is later so I no longer have the sun to wake me naturally either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning I attended a reception where 205 fellow passengers and I were recognised for earning our Copper Medallions. Apparently this is a HAL record and after the reception as we all headed off to lunch the ship listed to one side under the weight of all our hardware. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today is also Halloween, which we don’t really get into back home in Australia so it was interesting to see the involvement around the ship. A few passengers were dressed in costume nearly all day. I have to admit I didn’t realise they were in costume until I saw them again later in the evening with all the other partygoers – I just thought they had a funny idea of cruise attire!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The dining room was decorated in black and orange with cobwebs and spooky ornaments, and this theme was carried on through the atrium and Queens Lounge. One of the arts and craft classes had been pumpkin carving so these were displayed for judging.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Stryker, of Piano Bar fame, hosted a party in the Queens Lounge which was very crowded when it first started but once the main event approached, people went in search of their cameras for photo taking. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">And the main event for Halloween …. a dessert gala at 9.30pm set out around the three storeys of the atrium and neighbouring bars. You would think after 4 weeks at sea the thought of more dessert would make us groan with boredom but apparently not!</span></span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-3791975366232383992012-10-31T17:45:00.001-07:002012-11-11T17:26:42.000-08:00October 30 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><strong>Serious Dosh</strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning’s guest with Jason for Good Morning Westerdam was Noel O’Driscoll, the Staff Captain. He gave some interesting insights into the workings of the Bridge. The Westerdam is often the first of the HAL fleet to introduce new things and it is now the first ship to trial an automated man overboard warning. Currently the only way to know if someone has gone overboard is if there is a witness/bystander or search of the ship doesn’t find someone. Sensors have been placed so that any movement over the railings can be monitored and adjustments have had to be made so that birds don’t set off the alarms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Only two trivia sessions today – travel trivia this morning and the last day of the 30 day cumulative trivia. Needless to say, we did not come first in either but we’ve had a lot of fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’ve been using my netbook throughout the cruise to access the internet and post this blog and finally today I got my iPad talking to the internet service. Apparently the brightness has to be turned up to maximum so that the battery has the power to pick up the signal (or something along those lines). At home I always have the brightness turned down as it chews up battery life, hence not being able to access the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This evening Jennie, Carole, Norm and John from my trivia team and I had a leisurely dinner in the Canaletto restaurant – obviously with Italian cuisine. It’s always very pleasant to have good company and swap travel tales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Back in Papeete I mentioned we were docked between some mega yachts and here are some photos of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most passengers were very taken, and fascinated, with the super sleek ‘Pacific’ which was right beside us, with its two heliports and own helicopter. We found out it is 2 years old, has 17 suites, is worth about $300 million and is privately owned by a very ‘under the radar’ Russian gentleman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The ‘Pacific’ can be chartered for about $34,000 per week which sounded a lot until I worked out that if I shared the cost with others, filling up those suites, it would actually be quite reasonable. I’m sure though, that there would be very strict criteria as to who they chartered to and as I don’t have a Black Amex I guess I wouldn’t qualify.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is probably more in my price range – but not as appealing!</span></span><br />
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-71269535352265868332012-10-31T17:20:00.001-07:002012-11-11T17:21:42.896-08:00October 29, 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Fish of the Day<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A good cabin steward is worth his weight in gold and Agus, who looks after my cabin, tapped on my door at 7.13 this morning with all my clothes, washed, pressed and hung on hangars. He had to listen to my tale of woe last evening and he came through for me! It’s amazing how a whole wardrobe of clean clothes makes the day look brighter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We crossed the Equator today as we head back north so King Neptune had to preside over the ceremony to judge the Pollywogs (those who haven’t crossed the Equator before) to ensure our continued safe passage. With political correctness nowadays, only crew are subjected to the trial, sentence and punishment. It was a lot of fun, especially watching the crew that we have come to know after nearly 4 weeks at sea, submit to kissing the fish (a Dolphin fish or Mahi Mahi), get dragged along tables for treatment by ‘medical staff’ which included being covered in pasta and soft meringue, and finally go into the pool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For obvious reasons the after pool was closed for the remainder of the day for cleaning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A huge seafood buffet was on offer around the mid Lido pool with Alaskan crab legs and barbecued lobster. As someone who unfortunately is allergic to shellfish this area was off limits to me except for taking a few photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This afternoon I attended another public forum, this time on Astronomy and Star Gazing. The talk was mainly about celestial navigation, so although informative, wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I did learn a few interesting little tidbits which might prove helpful in star gazing in general.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As I didn’t have a big lunch today, I was a little peckish so dropped by Chocolate Seduction, the Westerdam’s chocolate bar, for a treat and came away with a small selection of enjoy back in my cabin. Why haven’t I been coming here more regularly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">This evening’s entertainment was an encore of our recent Australian acts – Maske and Darren Williams. I think this is the first cruise I have been on where the Aussie entertainers and crew outnumber the Aussie passengers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-52043633837577947552012-10-30T23:03:00.000-07:002012-11-11T17:20:06.558-08:00October 28, 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Dire Straits<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today’s activities were pretty trivial – or rather trivia: travel trivia, the normal 30 day cumulative trivia and showstorm trivia. And I’m sorry to report that my teams didn’t fare well in any of them. The travel trivia, which I normally excel at, was based on knowledge from this cruise, requiring answers to questions such as which atoll was the County of Roxborough wrecked on, etc. I knew the name of the wreck but not the very forgettable atoll where it landed up, and the other questions were just as obscure (if you hadn’t been attending the port lectures or listening to Jason’s commentary). The showstorm trivia was a pictorial/aural based trivia on sports stars, musicals and movie stars and we didn’t do too badly, but didn’t win. We are still holding position in the cumulative trivia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We had a farewell Cruise Critic lunch today which the Westerdam Front Desk and dining staff did a wonderful job of supporting – individual invitations delivered a few days ago, A3 vellum menus, mimosas, etc. Most of my trivia team sat together so that might be why we didn’t do so well after imbibing several mimosas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It was nearly a case of ‘eenie meenie minee mo’ this afternoon. I had the difficult decision to attend the cupcake afternoon tea or participate in the ‘On Deck for the Cure’ 5km walk which raises money for breast cancer research through participants making a donation of at least $15 and receiving a t-shirt and pink wristband. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I chose the walk and finally got my joggers and exercise gear out of hibernation. 5km is 9 laps of the Promenade Deck and I am happy to say that I completed the 9 laps easily, even jogging the last 2 as a fellow passenger had to finish quickly in time for a pedicure appointment and I kept pace with her. I’m now feeling guilty that I haven’t been doing at least this every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Afterwards pink lemonade and fresh fruit was served, although I think they could have at least saved a few of the cupcakes, but maybe they were focussing on healthier alternatives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">After working up a sweat my gym clothes were no longer my last set of clean clothes so I rang to confirm what time my laundry would be returned this evening. Horror of horrors, there has been a mix-up and my laundry bag has been sitting unwashed in the bowels of the ship for the last 2 days – and with the usual turnaround, I probably won’t have it back now until the day after tomorrow. Although I have handwashed some items, they usually don’t dry completely overnight but I quickly scrambled and am hoping that at least one top will be dry by morning.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-52329774766234493482012-10-29T22:52:00.001-07:002012-11-11T17:17:58.132-08:00October 27, 2012 Nuka Hiva<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Nuka where?<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now that we are heading back to San Diego, we had to put our clocks forward 30 minutes last night before our arrival into Nuka Hiva. It was an unusual amount but tomorrow night and over the next couple of few days we will lose an hour each day until we are back on Pacific time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Something else which has happened with travelling back in an north-easterly direction is that my cabin now gets the morning sun instead of the sunsets I was getting on the way down. I much prefer to see sunrise and go out onto the balcony in the morning rather than having the hotter afternoon sun come onto the balcony and into the cabin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today Sandy, a Cruise Critic member, arranged a private tour of Nuka Hiva, part of the Marquesas Islands, for 24 of us. After tendering ashore together as a group we met Jocelyn, our local guide, and boarded a mini bus. HAL offered a similar, although shorter and most costly, tour but as there is a scarcity of public transport on the island, their tour group was divided between a number of 4WDs and went in convey around the island’s top spots, only receiving the commentary when they were all together at a site. We, on the other hand, were able to listen to Jocelyn as we travelled from one spot to the next. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For those passengers who couldn’t do a tour, they really missed out on seeing a very lush and scenic island. As mentioned, HAL’s tour was limited to just over 100 passengers and with our tour of 24, which meant that a lot of passengers were mainly restricted to staying in the small port unless they went to a nearby resort for a swim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For the most part I enjoyed our tour, even though I was sitting near the rear of the bus, over the wheel, concertinaed in without much leg-room. This wasn’t what detracted from the tour (any bus has to be more comfortable than my African overland trip last year). What upset a few others and myself were a couple of our fellow passengers who were very rude, especially to our guide, and for the most part it was totally unwarranted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Nevertheless, Nuka Hiva was an interesting island with horses and goats tethered along the roadsides and very high scenic vantage points. We even stopped to overlook the beach where ‘Survivor Marquesas’ was filmed. Apparently it looked very isolated when the survivors arrived by sea – little did they know that they were only about 2 miles away from stores selling wine, soft drinks and food!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Just as we arrived back in the port, the heavens opened up and it rained. Most people queued to go back to the ship by tender so there was a long wait, with many passengers having to stand in the rain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I had 18750 CPF to spend (about US$18.75) as it wouldn’t be worth taking home so I visited the local craft stalls. By the time I walked from stall to stall and then up to the supermarket I was well and truly resembling a half drowned rat. I did, though, make a couple of purchases so that I have come away with 7 CPF (7 cents) left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once I got back on the ship, it was after 4.30 pm so I raced up to the Lido to grab a slice of pizza as a late lunch then hit the shower. My dilemma was that I put just about all my clothes in for laundry service this morning so left myself only two days’ worth of clean clothes to last until my laundry comes back tomorrow evening. With today’s clothes wet, I had to change into my outfit for tomorrow, hand washing today’s clothes and hoping they dry by tomorrow morning.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-26064154633123835102012-10-29T22:37:00.002-07:002012-11-11T17:14:47.566-08:00October 26, 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><strong>Wrecked</strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After six busy days in port, it’s a welcome relief to have a sea day, although there will be more in store soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning all around the indoor Lido pool area towel animals were sunning themselves. I’m still not quite sure why unless they were to advertise a towel folding seminar this afternoon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We made a slight detour to an atoll where a ship, The County of Roxborough, had been wrecked back in 1906. The hull has remained well preserved all these years, even after a fire several decades ago. Most of the crew survived although there was some loss of life among the crew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Just prior to the start of the 30 day team trivia challenge, Jason reminded everyone that no cheating using smartphones etc. was allowed. Coincidentally, one team is no longer getting those very high scores anymore and other teams are now starting to close the gap. Unfortunately for my team, we are not closing the gap but are holding onto our position in the top quarter (just) of the field. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Some things on the daily program I haven’t got around to doing, either through lack of inclination or clashing with something else. This afternoon, for only the second time I made it to afternoon tea which really is a pleasant way to meet new people over cake, scones and tea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tonight’s entertainment was another Aussie, Darren Williams, who gave a ‘Poperatic’ show – everything from opera to pop – and he was excellent. There really have been some great performances on this cruise and Jason mentioned in a Good Morning Westerdam session that on longer cruises they try to get top of the line acts, as compared with shorter cruises where the budget and audience are different. This probably explains why this is the best entertainment I've seen on any cruise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-83954060331606859782012-10-26T19:23:00.003-07:002012-11-11T17:13:03.534-08:00October 25 2013 Papeete, Tahiti<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Can’t get enough of this water<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today was my last opportunity for snorkelling on this cruise so I booked a lagoon excursion through the ship. Today’s adventure offered something a little different. On the way out to our first snorkelling stop, we came across spinner dolphins near the harbour entrance so we circled around and watched them for a while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our first stop for snorkelling was over two wrecks – a crashed Cessna and an old boat. Some dived down to them but I’ve found in this very salty water I’m too buoyant and I would need a weight belt to go down the 15-20 feet necessary to see the wrecks close up. There were also coral reefs nearby with lots of fish and bright blue clams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our final stop was relatively shallow, although it was over my head when I jumped in. There was a swim to deeper water to where the coral gardens were and I found more varieties of fish I hadn’t come across earlier in the week. At least I bought a fish identifier yesterday so for the most part I now know what I’m looking at: several different varieties of triggerfish, butterflyfish and wrasse; convict surgeonfish (I’d like to know who gave them that name), scissor-tail sergeants, lemonpeel angelfish, forceps fish, flutemouths, golden jacks and parrot fish – and some I haven’t been able to identify. Combined with what I have seen at the other snorkelling sites, I’ve seen quite a range of tropical fish this week and have enjoyed following a particular fish to watch and photograph it but the photography proved more difficult than I had thought with fish darting one way while the current pulls me in the opposite direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Again, I was so thankful I had my own fins as they made swimming in the current effortless. Apart from the first trip in Raiatea, none of the other companies provided fins and these just made the snorkelling so much easier. In all locations I haven’t noticed much difference between air and water temperature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should mention that all my underwater photos were taken while I was floating on the surface looking down, so as long as someone can stay afloat they will have great viewing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We left Papeete mid-afternoon for the Marquesas which we will reach the day after tomorrow. If it wasn’t for the daily Explorer, the on-board daily program, I would have no idea what day it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This evening’s entertainment was Maske, an Australian electric string trio who played cross-over music, i.e. classical, pop, country and western etc. I went to the second show and they had a good turnout who enjoyed their performance.<o:p></o:p></span> </div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-60132730098000254222012-10-26T19:14:00.000-07:002012-11-11T17:11:03.841-08:00October 24 2012, Papeete, Tahiti<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>French flavours<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I woke up to clear skies and calmer seas so Captain PJ and the pilot had no trouble in bringing the Westerdam into the pier in Papeete, where we are now docked between two mega yachts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Originally we were to sail out of Papeete this afternoon at 3pm so I hadn’t planned on any excursions here except a self-guided walking tour of the town. With the change in itinerary we now depart at 3pm tomorrow so to make the most of my time in port I booked excursions for both days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today’s excursion was a 4WD along the coast before turning inland to view several waterfalls along the lush valley. After my experience in Bora Bora, when my group was asked if anyone wanted to sit up front with the driver I jumped at the chance – padded seat, seatbelts and air-conditioning. Plus, I could look out the front windscreen and see where we were going instead of clinging to the rear tyre to keep from sliding off the seat! We were in a convey of 3 4WDs and our driver had only joined the company two weeks ago so was being very cautious on the potholed roads with his precious cargo of tourists. He also wanted to practice his English so we chatted most of the trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With Tahiti’s lush interior, I found that practically all of the vegetation is not native to the island but are introduced species which have taken over from the original plant life. Likewise, years ago a species of bird was introduced to eradicate pests but unfortunately the pests came out at night when the birds weren’t active so the birds attacked native birds’ eggs for food, so virtually all of the native birdlife on Tahiti has been eradicated instead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">While the tour showed us another aspect of Tahiti away from the town, I don’t think it offered a lot in the way of scenery apart from a few waterfalls which weren’t particularly remarkable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When we were dropped off back at the port, I had a stroll around the town. I was interested to see how much French influence there was but apart from the language, a few small clothing stores and a patisserie, there wasn’t a lot. I had a laugh though in the local markets where you could buy prepared baguettes for lunch – fish and chip baguettes and barbeque chicken and chip baguettes –with gravy! Although some locals were buying them, I’m sure there would be thousands of horrified epicureans back in France</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The roads around the port were the busiest we have encountered since leaving Honolulu but I found the drivers were very courteous, stopping as soon as pedestrians approached the crossings. The only time I found this not to be the case was a young driver on a mobile phone who zoomed straight through as I was crossing, even though cars in other lanes had stopped for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All my excursions on this cruise I have deliberately booked for the morning, figuring that there was more chance of heavier tropical rain in the afternoon. This might be flawed reasoning on my part but it has worked out well for me. In Mo’orea I avoided the heavy afternoon rain which deterred snorkelers from going in the water and I met fellow passengers who did the 4WD tour this afternoon –and got drenched. We only had a light sprinkle for a few minutes in the valley this morning (which didn’t affect me as I was in the enclosed cab) but apparently it poured this afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This evening local musicians and dancers came on board and performed in the Vista Lounge. The group, called Hitireva, proved a hit with the passengers and the theatre was packed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-87714620820674367352012-10-25T09:58:00.000-07:002012-11-11T17:07:16.891-08:00October 23 2012 Mo’orea, French Polynesia<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Bali Hai<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Another breakfast enjoyed on my balcony – I’m ensuring that I make the most of the balcony as I paid so much for it! And what a beautiful location - Mo'orea was used for the setting of Bali Hai in 'South Pacific'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning I had booked a shore excursion through Holland America - Motu Beach Picnic and Ray Feeding. After tendering ashore (we moored in Cook Bay although James Cook never stopped there – he anchored in the neighbouring bay) we transferred to one of two flat bottomed boats. The morning was overcast and stayed that way as we made our first stop in part of the lagoon where there were a number of sting rays and black tipped reef sharks. The sting rays had to compete for the food as circling birds would swoop done and take it out of our guide’s hand before the rays moved in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We then went on and stopped at a motu where tables and chairs had been set up on the shore. Like Tahaa, there were coral beds between two neighbouring motus. Masks and snorkels were provided if wanted but once again I had my own gear and, again, the fins have proved to be worthy every cent as I was able to effortlessly view the tropical fish for long periods. Before lunch while it was still overcast I saw a lot of fish, but after lunch when the sun came out, more varieties of fish seemed to emerge from the coral. This location offered the most variety of tropical fish I have seen in French Polynesia – and even a greater variety than I have seen anywhere before in my travels. I’m going to have to buy a book on identifying them, even though it will be after the fact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Lunch was a simpler barbeque than with Patrick – chicken, fish, sausages and salad – but when you’ve been in the water so much, anything is welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There really wasn’t much at the tender area, so I headed back to the ship for a shower. When I came out it was raining in earnest and I was so glad that I did a morning excursion. It was nice, though, listening and watching the rain for a change as we really haven’t seen much so far on this cruise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We had just 3 hours to cruise to Papeete but the weather turned worse and after two attempts to enter near Papeete, Captain PJ and the local pilot decided not to try a third time because of strong winds, rough seas and the narrow channel entrance. Instead we will stay offshore tonight and the Westerdam will try again early tomorrow morning when it is light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On another note, today I received my copper medallion, recognising my 100 sea days I have cruised with HAL, along with an invitation to a pre brunch reception and then the usual Mariners Society brunch.</span><br />
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-62250408680029002472012-10-25T03:19:00.002-07:002012-11-11T17:04:34.427-08:00October 22 2012 Bora Bora, French Polynesia<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Another day in Paradise<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As there was no early morning sail-in today, I started the day with breakfast on my balcony. How neat is that! My neighbours don’t seem to use their balconies much so I was able to enjoy the early morning in solitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today I had another excursion booked through Patrick, a 4WD tour of the island. Eight of us joined Frank, our driver, as we set off around Bora Bora. All was good until we hit the offroads – narrow, steep, rocky, rutted roads with roller coaster elements at times. I soon found out that I was sharing the back of the jeep with some screamers – and I was one of them. I sat at the back of one of the side benches so that I could take photos but it was also in this position that you tended to get squashed as the jeep went uphill and everyone slid into you. Going downhill, I had to cling onto the back tyre so that I didn’t slide downwards. All up, an adventurous, fun ride but definitely not recommended for someone with back problems or suffering from motion sickness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our tour stopped at two vantage points, first to look at WWII cannons put in to protect the island from the Japanese, and the second with a great view of the lagoons, where we had a snack of fresh mangos and finger bananas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Like yesterday, we circumnavigated the island, this time by land, stopping for a quick photo stop at Bloody Marys on the way back to the port.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Once back at the Vaitape, I had a look around the small town but black pearls, shell jewellery and paroes didn’t really interest me (been there, done that) so I took a few photos and then stopped in the supermarket and bought a few supplies. You’d think that with such a great supply of food on the ship you wouldn’t need anything else but sometimes it’s nice to have something savoury (i.e. Pringles) to snack on in your cabin while you’re watching a movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I went out onto the bow to watch the sailaway from Bora Bora, a beautiful sight.</span><br />
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-92063069473533323782012-10-25T02:24:00.000-07:002012-11-11T17:02:01.673-08:00October 21 2012 Bora Bora, French Polynesia<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Swimming with the fishes<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I was up on deck early this morning for our entry into Bora Bora’s lagoon where we are now ‘anchored’ in the middle of what was once the crater of the volcano. Similar to some of the islands we have visited on this cruise, only the outer rim of the volcano survives, and in the case of Bora Bora the surrounding volcanic peaks are very lush and picturesque. In the town of Vaitape roosters could be heard crowing and as it is Sunday the sound of singing in the churches carried across the water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today I joined a privately organised tour which Sherrie arranged through Patrick (Maohi Nui) who has the reputation of offering the best excursion in Bora Bora, and his outing certainly lived up to this. Our group was divided between three motorised ‘outriggers’, 12 people in each, and then we were off across the lagoon to our first stop, snorkelling with black tipped reef sharks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We then moved on to a shallower part of the lagoon where we were able to stand in chest-deep water as sting rays came in to be fed by Patrick. The sting rays feel like wet velvet as they move past you or stop for you to skim your hand along their back. These adult rays are used to being handled – and kissed by Patrick – so we just shuffled around as they swam around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our final snorkelling stop was near a coral reef. Once again, having my own fins was a great advantage because I could stay in longer and the slight current didn’t bother me as it did some others. I kept close to the reef where there was a greater variety of fish including lots of parrot fish, trigger fish, saddled butterfly fish and even a Moorish idol (which moved too quickly into the coral for me to take a photo of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All this sea air and activity helped us work up an appetite for lunch which was held on Patrick’s private motu. A pig had been pit roasted, along with a chicken dish, and there was also barbequed lobster and yellowfish tuna steaks, poi, plantain, etc., all served on banana leaf plates, and accompanied by French champagne, (or Mimosas for most of the women), beer and soft drink. If that wasn’t enough, picnic tables and chairs with shade umbrellas had been set up in the water with fabulous views over the lagoon to the Bora Bora peaks across the way.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">By the end of the excursion we had circumnavigated the main part of Bora Bora, had been well fed and had seen lots of marine life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After a shower to get all that salt out of my hair and a nap to recover from all that fresh air and activity, I went in search of dinner and discovered that tonight there was a Polynesian barbeque on the outside Lido deck (I should read the daily program more closely). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">All up, a big thumb’s up for the day!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">NB. All above photos were taken with the Canon Powershot D20, an underwater compact camera which I'm quite pleased with.</span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-3715951789182117682012-10-22T00:35:00.002-07:002012-11-11T16:57:49.991-08:00October 20 2012 Raiatea, French Polynesia<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Follow My Drift<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning, not long after sunrise, we arrived at the island of Raiatea on the first day of six in French Polynesia and I was up on the outside viewing deck in front of the gym to get a bird’s eye view as we sailed past motus (small islands) and waterfront homes on the way to the pier where we were to dock. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today I had booked through Holland America to do their Coral Garden Drift snorkelling excursion and what a wonderful choice that turned out to be. The trip was limited to two boats of 12 people each, plus our guide and driver. We had a 30 minute boat ride out to Tahaa, skimming across the most inviting turquoise waters, past over the water bungalow hotels, yachts and reefs. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The coral drift is done between the two motus above</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Once at the motu we waded ashore and walked along the coral sand to the beginning of the drift between two motus which had lots of coral between them. Our guide Maryanne went in first and swam out about 5 metres and then we followed her at 3 metre intervals. The current was fairly fast so all we had to do was put our heads down to view the coral and tropical fish only an arm’s distance below us and keep track of the fins of the person in front of us to guide us through the coral. Once at the other end where the smaller motu finished, we got out and walked back to repeat this great experience. The second time the current was going much faster so I found I had to use my fins more to ensure I kept following the correct route to avoid landing up on coral – which would have been extremely painful! My snorkelling gear ended up being a great investment because those provided by the operators weren’t always the best fitting for the other participants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Back on board our boat we had a fresh platter of tropical fruits – papaya, finger bananas, coconut and grapefruit – to refresh ourselves on the way back to the dock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This was a great outing and I would highly recommend it to confident swimmers and snorkelers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After showering to get the salt out of my hair, I had lunch in the Lido before going back ashore to have a look around the town. It’s Saturday and most stores closed at lunchtime so only half of the sleepy town was open. I found that the most interesting stores were the local supermarkets where I went expecting to see some French delicacies but was surprised to see Australian wines, Tim Tams and Bega cheese alongside their more expensive French counterparts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Although the town was very much an island settlement it had touches of Gallic charm with its wrought iron lamp posts reminiscent of those found in Paris, and of course, the French gendarmes walking along the streets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Just before sunset we set sail (not figuratively) for Bora Bora. I’ve never cruised out of one port before where you can see the next port in the distance – it is that close. (Where we snorkelled today would probably have been half way between Raiatea and Bora Bora.)</span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-76076120906249383512012-10-20T22:54:00.000-07:002012-10-20T22:54:18.533-07:00October 19 2012 At sea
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">The
Good Morning Westerdam talk today was with Captain PJ (von Maurik) so quite a
crowd turned up. I’m really enjoying these informal talks as they can be very
informative. One subject that was discussed was the medical evacuation from
Christmas Island. We knew that a plane had to be sent from Hawaii but I didn’t
know that the US Coast Guard was called in and that they organised for a
Hercules to fly in to take the patient to Honolulu. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">My
trivia team thought we were going so well today until we got to some sticky
questions towards the end. One question we did get correct though (and not many
others did) was which two kings had Eleanor of Aquitaine married. I’m very
interested in genealogy and have recently traced back one line to the
Plantagenets and Eleanor so we aced this question. Fortunately for us, our
rival team didn’t do so well either (not that I’m keeping score).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">One
activity which we have on this cruise which I haven’t seen before is the
‘Public Forum’. Those passengers who have a special interest or hobby they
would like to share in a seminar are invited to register their interest. One
such forum took place today by an author/writer who gave a Q&A workshop on
writing your memoire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Apparently
Marilyn gave an initial talk yesterday and it generated so much interest that
she was asked to give another talk today. Even though I missed yesterday’s
talk, I still found today’s talk useful, so much so that I came back to my
cabin and worked on my journal (apart from the online blog I keep a personal
journal with watercolour sketches).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">As
I got carried away with my work, I decided to order a light room service dinner
tonight. I’ve also been getting my gear ready for tomorrow when we finally
reach land again, Raiatea, Tahiti, where I am booked to go on a drift
snorkelling trip over coral gardens. The snorkelling gear I bought in Hawaii
will finally get a work out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-39485925425637786032012-10-20T22:51:00.000-07:002012-11-11T16:50:46.165-08:00October 18 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Parallel Universe (or Cruise)<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’m thoroughly enjoying this cruise with the beautiful tropical weather we are having during our sea days, just going with the flow and relaxing. Talking to some other passengers, though, I sometimes wonder if we are on the same cruise or if there is a parallel universe in force at the moment. There are a few passengers still unhappy with the unexpected change in itinerary or don’t think the service is up to standard, etc. and state that they won’t cruise on HAL again and so on. I’ve even heard one passenger imply that the change in ports was to save Carnival fuel costs. For myself though, I have received nothing but great service and I have no complaints about my cabin, or indeed the crew or the rest of the ship. In fact, the Westerdam is now my favourite HAL ship. My first cruise with HAL was on the old Westerdam so I have come full circle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">You know when there aren’t many Aussies on a cruise – no daily Australian news is printed – but I have discovered that I can go to the Front Desk each day and they will print a copy for me. At present on TV we are only receiving Fox News which is completely taken up with US politics. I had not realised before how heavily slanted their news is so with my little printout it is great to hear of news from the outside world. The internet is too slow and too expensive to sit and read the news online. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I did hear though at the morning coffee talk with Ron, the Hotel Director, that as each HAL ship goes into drydock they are now being rewired so that internet and phone access is available from anywhere on the ship, including all cabins. Bandwidth is also being upgraded. Unfortunately the Westerdam missed out on this at the last drydock so will have to wait 14 months until the next drydock to have this upgrade.<br /><br />I also heard (could be Chinese whispers) that a fix was applied in San Diego before the cruise left but didn't work out - and is thus worse than would normally be experienced.</span><br />
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<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tonight, by popular demand, The Unexpected Boys performed again, this time singing a selection of Broadway songs. And like the first time, they received a standing ovation. Unfortunately they will be leaving the ship in Bora Bora. There go the dreams of many female passengers!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Next stop was Karaoke in the Queen’s Lounge. Participants ranged from very good, entertaining, good and those who looked as though they did it for a dare over a drink. Whatever the reason, I spent an enjoyable hour watching their performances. Some have signed up for the Westerdam Superstar competition which will be held later in the cruise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-15265355723801274092012-10-18T14:33:00.000-07:002012-11-11T16:48:30.193-08:00October 17 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Groundhog Day<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We’ve crossed back over the International Dateline so we are reliving yesterday by having two consecutive Wednesdays, but today the Westerdam is actually cruising. During the night we also crossed the Equator so we are now in the Southern Hemisphere. The Captain let us know that the passenger who was evacuated yesterday is now safely in a Honolulu hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We’ve been informed that we will now be arriving in each of our Tahitian ports a day earlier with an extra overnight stop in Papeete – pity it couldn’t have been Bora Bora or Moorea instead! This has meant that those who have arranged the private tours we’re on have had to scramble and contact the tour contacts In Tahiti to try and reschedule the tours, which I’ve had confirmation that they were able to do. What a headache for Sherrie who has organised 4 tours in Bora Bora!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our trivia team is ‘storming’ up the rankings, well, jumping from 11<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> position to 6<sup>th</sup> out of nearly 30 teams.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Later this afternoon I attended a Healthy Vices talk where Ruby, the Party Planner, discussed the benefits of red wine and dark chocolate – and naturally there were samples of both. As an unashamed chocaholic I enjoyed this presentation. As an aside, the Westerdam is the only Holland American ship which has a Chocolate Seduction bar where all drinks and treats are, naturally, made from chocolate. Surprisingly, I have not patronised this area yet but I intend to hit it in the next day or so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">This cruise I have splurged and booked a balcony and it has been on evenings like today where it has been worth every cent. With the large door and window space a lot of natural light comes flooding into the cabin but on sea days it is wonderful to sit on the balcony, enjoy the sea breeze and watch the sun set. Magic!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-73428208781348641192012-10-18T14:29:00.001-07:002012-11-11T16:46:30.702-08:00October 17, 2012 Christmas Island, Kiribati<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Expect the unexpected<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We arrived just off Christmas Island and watched a motorized outrigger bring several people out to the ship. Not what I was expecting to transport a critically ill person to shore! I was wrong though – two crew members with their luggage transferred to the outrigger and left for the shore – and we all waited to see what would happen next.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After an hour and a half I gave up and headed up to breakfast. We soon learnt that the plane for the medical evacuation from Papeete never turned up and other arrangements had to be made. Just after lunch we were informed that a plane would now come from Hawaii to take the passenger there instead but as medical facilities on Christmas Island were pretty basic, it was decided to keep the patient on the Westerdam until the plane arrived, which wasn’t until this evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So, we have spent the whole day sitting off Christmas Island. They did look into seeing if they could get passengers ashore during the day and while it would be possible by tender, there is nowhere for the tenders to dock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With this unexpected delay, our itinerary has now had to be amended. We will no longer be visiting Raratonga where I had booked a private snorkelling excursion and we have yet to see how it will affect our visit to the French Polynesian ports – the dates could shift a day or two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most passengers have been understanding of the circumstances of this delay but there are a few who are vocal about their displeasure. As Jason has said though, preservation of life takes precedence over everything else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On a lighter note, my trivia team tied for first today, and even better, beat our arch rivals! We are slowly moving up the ratings! We had done badly at the beginning of the competition because the questions were very American-centric but they are more general now and the playing field has levelled out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-65550720848714671472012-10-15T23:16:00.001-07:002012-11-11T16:42:17.804-08:00October 16, 2012 Fanning Island, Kiribati<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Avoiding Mondayitis<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For those who don’t like Mondays, there are probably dozens of ways to avoid Mondayitis. Two that come to my mind at present are to be on a cruise ship, thus avoiding work, and also to skip Monday altogether. Yesterday was Sunday and today is Tuesday as we have crossed the International Dateline. To make up for it we will be having two Wednesdays this week as we pass over the Dateline again. One of those days we will be crossing the Equator but I'm not sure if it will be the first Wedneday or the second Wednesday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today we visited Fanning Island, half way between Hawaii and Australia, and part of the Republic of Kiribati, the only country spanning 4 hemispheres. Fanning Island is in the shape of a footprint with only the outline of sand and palm trees habitable and the interior a huge lagoon accessible by a channel with an extremely fast flowing current. I went ashore on the third tender and at the wooden dock the ship’s crew were still screwing down plywood sheets over the wonky planking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Access to the island is by sea – there is no airstrip – nor is there electricity or plumbing on the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The islanders had set up tables selling shell jewellery and lethal looking knives made out of timber and bone and I’m sure Australian Customs would have a field day if I tried to take one home! What interested me more were the islanders themselves, always ready with a smile and hello and groups singing and dancing in the hope of earning a tip. One such group from the local church were singing on the dock to welcome us – and they were still singing when I left a couple of hours later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There only appeared to be one sandy road around the island and except for a brief tropical shower, the weather stayed fine, though very humid, during the morning while I was ashore. The island could be the poster image for a tropical island with its bright sky, turquoise water, sandy beaches and palm trees but surprisingly no postcards are offered for sale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It really is a third world culture – but what’s not to like about a country whose official currency is the Australian dollar! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We had been warned not to swim in the darker blue water in the lagoon but I heard later this afternoon that two passengers had to be rescued from the channel. I can’t imagine what they were thinking to even go near that area to swim as you could see how strong the rip was as we went in by tender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’ve heard that Holland America is going to start to visit Christmas Island, where the capital of Kiribati is, instead of Fanning from next year so I don’t know what will happen to the island then. Apart from three or four visits a year by cruise ships, their only other income is selling seaweed to Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit though, despite the heat and humidity, as the islanders were charming and the island a natural beauty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Captain has come on with an announcement that due to a medical emergency we will be making an unscheduled stop at Christmas Island at daybreak tomorrow so a passenger can be medically evacuated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There are actually two Christmas Islands and they both have the Australian dollar as their official currency – so this one shouldn’t be confused with the other one in the Indian Ocean which processes unauthorised boat arrivals into Australia, rather than welcoming cruise ships! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-24975566738223128772012-10-15T23:05:00.001-07:002012-11-11T16:38:53.245-08:00October 14, 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Mad Dogs and ….<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After going to a guided meditation session first thing this morning with the on board life stylist, Jai, I went to the Good Morning Westerdam interview. On sea days Jason, our Cruise Director, interviews different people, either crew or guest performers, and today he had The Unexpected Boys in the hot seat. All of them made for a very funny and informative discussion – and a number of women lined up for photos with them afterwards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I then spent some time relaxing on one of the padded teak steamer chairs on the Promenade Deck, listening to my iPod and spotting a whale and numerous pods of dolphins as we cruised south-westerly. On the shady side of the ship there was a very pleasant breeze and it was wonderful to be out there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And the title for today - Mad Dogs and … well, not Englishmen – refers to what I saw when I walked out onto the Observation Deck at midday on my way to the other end of the ship. I was surprised to see all the deck chairs out in the open were occupied with people frying themselves in the sun. Sleeping under the midday sun so close to the Equator is not a good option – or so we have had drummed into us at home. Some were already visibly red so I would think they would have an uncomfortable night ahead of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve found that if I come up to the Explorations Café late in the evening to gain internet access, it's not busy and I can easily find a free desk to work at. So at present I am sitting here, listening to David on guitar in the background as he performs in the neighbouring Crow’s Nest. Not a bad way to do spend some time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-34759168684167886492012-10-15T23:00:00.005-07:002012-11-11T16:36:38.261-08:00October 13, 2012 At sea<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>All at sea<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Internet access is pretty temperamental at the moment as we appear to be in a satellite dead zone with no satellite TV reception and the internet connection drops out fairly regularly and it is impossible for me to upload photos at present so I’ll have to upload photos for the entries when reception improves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sea days are filled with exploration talks, team trivia, shows, relaxing on deck, catching up on reading – and eating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today’s agenda for me included attending a talk on Fanning Island which we will visit on Tuesday, the 30 day team trivia competition (the rest of my team don’t approve of my suggestions for hobbling the leading team) and the evening show which was ‘The Unexpected Boys’. This group was very popular, performing a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute. The female audience seemed to take a lot more pleasure in watching the boys in action than the male audience!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-90127009826700636862012-10-15T22:59:00.000-07:002012-11-11T16:35:39.223-08:00October 12, 2012 Hilo, Hawaii<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>The Big Island<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning we docked in Hilo and I joined a private tour organised by Jan, a Cruise Critic member. Jan arranged for Ricky to take 24 of us around Hilo and Volcano National Park for most of the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We drove along Banyan Drive and past the Liliuokalani Gardens in Hilo before going to Richardsons Ocean Beach to take photos of the black sand. Our next stop was Rainbow Falls and although the waterfall wasn’t strong the rainbow was still present. Apparently Hilo has a very high rainfall but we were lucky today with sunshine the entire day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We spent some time within Volcano National Park, visiting the Jaggar Museum and the Halemaumau crater, the 1982 lava flow and walking through the Thurston Lava Tube which was nice and cool, and also very dark. Mauna Loa was to our right as we viewed the steaming crater. Mauna Loa is apparently 100 times the size of Mt Rainier and when it blows, is expected to go like Mt St Helens – in which case I hope the locals are far, far away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The visit to the national park was punctuated with stops at a macadamia nut factory and the Akatsuka Orchid Garden.which, naturally, cultivates orchids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The overall impression of this part of the island is a quaint town of Hilo, lava flows and vegetation gone wild. I would have liked to have stopped along the way to take more photos but as it was, the tour went for an hour longer than expected but it was very comprehensive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I was dropped off at Walmart at the end of the tour so bought my fins and some soft drinks then joined the free shuttle back to the ship. I think there were only 1 or 2 other passengers apart from myself on the coach, the rest were the ship's crew who had hit the shops as soon as they had free time.</span></div>
Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242606148384143536.post-23377531259725112932012-10-13T23:29:00.000-07:002012-11-11T16:31:45.578-08:00October 11, 2012 Honolulu, Oahu<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><strong>Shangri La<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’ve been to Honolulu before and done all the usual things – Waikiki, Polynesian Culture Centre, Pearl Harbour, etc – so I did a little research and found that Doris Duke’s Hawaiian residence is now open to the public via the Honolulu Museum of Art so some months ago I reserved a place on the 9am morning tour. The tours only take 12 people at a time and you go by minibus from the Museum out to Shangri La, a beachfront property on the other side of Diamond Head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I had asked several people for directions on how to get to the Museum yesterday and was told I would have to take a taxi as it was much too far to walk. So, I did a little research with GeoDirections and Google Maps and found that it would take 21 minutes by public transport or 28 minutes walking. At a total of only 2.25 kms or 1.4 miles, that equates to only 4 ½ laps around the Promenade Deck and less than I jog at home so I opted to walk. I set out at 8am, and even then the sun had a bite so I kept to the shady side of the roads. It was a leisurely stroll with stops for photos and traffic lights and I still did it in just under 28 minutes. I passed the Iolani Palace and King Kamehameha’s statue and the Mission Houses Museum, among other buildings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I arrived with plenty of time at the Museum so had time to view the video on Doris Duke and the creation of Shangri La. It just whetted my appetite to visit the home – a very intimate home with only 2 bedrooms in the main house and 2 bedrooms in the guesthouse (none of which are open to the public yet). A 15 minute drive took my group to Shangri La, past the security gate and down the curving drive to the entrance itself. Once inside the house we were each given a souvenir fan as there is no air-conditioning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The house is designed around an open courtyard and the residence displays Doris Duke’s Islamic collection which covers not only works of art but also architectural features which she acquired over the years on her travels, mainly from the Middle East and India. I doubt that even with money nowadays, the house could be reproduced because of laws barring the removal of such items from the countries they originated from. But I must say that Doris certainly had an eye for art and design and I loved Shangri La. While we could not take photos inside the house, we were allowed to once we were outside in the gardens which were also beautiful. How the other 0.000001% lived!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It’s made me want to visit her other residences on the mainland which are open to the public but I believe Shangri La is the most unique of her homes. If you’ve done all the usual touristy things in Honolulu, then a visit to Shangri La makes a great alternative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I opted to catch The Bus back to Downtown and the pier because of the hot midday sun but if it had not been so humid I would have got back quicker if I had walked as I had a wait for The Bus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Late this afternoon we left Honolulu for the Big Island, Hawaii, which we will reach tomorrow morning.</span></span></div>
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Bev Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04950373030525977734noreply@blogger.com0