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Published: January 30th 2008
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The anticipation is mounting. Preparation is at a frenzied pace. The Shipping company came and picked up six bags weighing 259 pounds, 11 pounds under the total allowable, we must be getting good at this. Bills are on auto-pay, prescriptions are taken care of, our taxes are done, both homes have house sitters. Thanks, Patti & Butch; Susie & Jim. Have we forgotten anything? Who knows? Who cares? Monday, the 9th of January, the limo will arrive to take us to the Regent Beverly Wilshire for the "Bon Voyage Party". Tuesday, we will be transported to the Radisson Seven Seas Voyager at San Pedro World Cruise Terminal. The ship sets sail at 5PM for the South Pacific. WOW! We're off on an adventure of a lifetime.
On a sad note, Chuck's Auntie Ona passed away on December 31st in Phoenix, just shy of her 93rd birthday. She and her husband Eric were always an inspiration to us, to retire early and to travel extensively. We dedicate this voyage to their memory.
While crossing the Pacific, we renewed old friendships, made new ones and settled into a comfortable routine. The weather became warmer and the days became longer as we
crossed the equator, for it is summer in the southern hemisphere.
Onboard, Chuck is a gamer. He plays bocce ball, baggo, darts, shuffleboard, croquet, golf croquet, shuffle golf, & ping pong--whatever activity he can participate in to win tokens for future prizes. They even give him tokens to sing Karaoke. He has also taken on a few tournaments in the casino. No wins yet though. Linda attends all the lectures including topics from science to health to politics so far. She also takes advantage of a variety of exercise classes taught by a professional fitness trainer. We come together for the noon game and teatime trivia for tokens; bingo ($538 won so far); all meals and all entertainment events, and of course our afternoon walks on deck 12.
After 6½ days at sea, we arrived at our first port in the Marquesas Islands. We agree with Paul Gauguin, James Michener, and Captain Cook, who referred to the South Pacific as "Paradise on Earth". Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas is a beautiful remote island where Herman Melville lived in the 1800's while writing the book "Taipei". More recently, the TV show "Survivor" was filmed there. Two days later we
visited four Society Islands in four days--Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, and Bora Bora. Moorea and Bora Bora are special to us because we honeymooned there 26 years ago. We took advantage of as many tours as possible, but the best were (1) A classic sailing trip on a 44 foot sailboat, the Agaleion (Admirals Cup Winner in 1973), where Philippe, the Captain, allowed Chuck to try his hand at the wheel for half the trip all the way back including the docking. What a thrill! (2) An off-road drive in a 4x4 safari vehicle followed by an outrigger canoe trip that glided along on the only navigable river in Polynesia, viewing tropical vegetation including bamboo forests, mango trees, ginger, and hibiscus. Very beautiful! (3) An outing to swim with the elegant stingrays and harmless?? Black tip lemon sharks, getting so close that Linda actually kissed and hugged a stingray. How daring! (4) and lastly a beach barbeque on Motu Tapu (a private deserted island off Bora Bora) where you had champagne and caviar in the surf before lunch. Then Chuck got to dance with the Tahitian girls, just like on our honeymoon. What a life!
Next stop was Auckland, a
city we have visited twice before since 2000. Known as the “City of Sails”, it has 70,000 boats, one for every four households. So we thought it would be appropriate to see it by boat. We chose a tour onboard the “Lady Gay”, built in 1935, and described as one of New Zealand’s priceless maritime antiquities. We cruised to a volcanic island called Rangitoto. We saw all types of boats on the way, including an Americas Cup racing boat with her spinnaker up and full of wind. Our “kiwi” Captain Kevin was very informative and his first mate Clara from Madrid, Spain kept us well nourished with eight different courses of Hors d’oeuvres.
Our last stop in New Zealand was to an area we’d never been, the Bay of Islands located in the northernmost part of New Zealand. In the morning we drove through the beautiful countryside on our way to the glow worm caves. When you descend into the caves and it is totally dark, you look up to the ceiling and you see thousands of glow worms that look like a starlit night. In the afternoon there was a special event in our honor by the Maori
native people. The best part was when one Maori tribe approached in a war canoe and another Maori tribe was on shore waiting. The war dance that followed was amazing. The energy level of both tribes to show which was superior wore us out just watching. After the ceremony they greeted each other by pressing noses, which is their tradition.
We are now crossing the infamous Tasman Sea on our way to Sydney. So far, the weather has cooperated and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that there will not be a repeat of last year’s World Cruisers “perfect storm”. Tonight, we have our formal farewell dinner for those getting off in Sydney, but for the rest of us “World Cruisers”, we will continue on with so much more to see.
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