Blogs from Atlantic, Oceans and Seas - page 29

Geo: 13.8941, -60.9686This morning we docked in Castries the main town on the island country of St Lucia. We disembarked about 8-30am and walked in to the centre of the town along the waterfront. It was another warm, humid day with a threat of rain but the few small showers which fell dissipated quickly. The main square is named after Derek Walcott, a Nobel Prize winning poet who was born here. Within the square is his bust and another of the first black man to win a Nobel Prize both born in this small island, The second was for Economics. The other main feature of the square is the massive 400 year old tree which dominates one corner. We went into the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a large imposing church which takes up one whole ... read more

Geo: 17.0817, -61.8077After six days at sea the sight of land was welcome. I hadseen the first signs on Tuesday afternoon as I walked my laps around the deckas two birds, I think they were boobies, circled the ship. We went to breakfastat 7-30am and could see through the window the coast of Antigua as we met thepilot and then were taken in to dock. We went on deck to watch. The captainseemed to enjoy the crowd watching as he manoeuvred the ship faultlessly intothe wharf. We waited on board for a while to allow the crush of departees todisseminate but there was still a crowd when we got to the gangplank. It was asunny warm day and there were plenty of people to welcome passengers. Archwaysof balloons greeted us as the many taxi drivers, vying ... read more

Geo: -19.932, -172.485Notice that we had two Wednesdays. One was in Vava'u and the other in Alofi. It's the International Date Line again. We got back the day we gave away on the 20th. Now we are back on the same days as the U.S. That will not change for the duration of our voyage. This is a space, not a day.... read more

Geo: -21.136, -175.216Today's disembark procedure is simplified by the presence of a pier in Nuku'alofa, sparing us of the ordeal of the tender operation. A fifteen minute breakfast gets us off the ship and onto the pier by 8:45am, earlier than expected. The money conversion trailer is outside and quickly changes $100 USD into $206 TOP, roughly two Tongan for one U.S. and we meet up with our group. Two vans provided by Toni's Guest House will be our transportation around the island. No boats today. On Tongatapu's northern shore lies Nuku'alofa, the country's capital and major port. Sprawling along the sea and backed by a lagoon, the town features white-frame, picket-fenced houses. Its small size makes it easy to explore on foot. Most of the activity centers along the waterfront thoroughfare, with the Royal Palace ... read more

Geo: -12.1575, -169.239Awake at 7:30 this morning, I figure I'll try again to get out the blogs on the Internet and find it's working great. I load all information to the TravelPod website and send out a batch of entries. Mom gets up and we finally head for breakfast after 9am. There's a lecture this morning at 10am on "The 10 Best Cruises for your Bucket List". We listen to that one from Lucy followed by another presentation by Melvyn Foster titled "Heroines of the Seven Seas". Both were interesting. It's noon and we both head to the library to hang out for awhile. Mom reads her book and checks out my blog pictures, giving them the nod of approval. I went on the free web sites offered by Holland America, the New York Times and, ... read more