our final blog...maybe

PORTUGAL!

Finally…here is our entry for Portugal! Thanks to all of you reading for your patience.
Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal and has about 2.5 million people. It faces the Atlantic Ocean, stretches along the Tagus River estuary and is Europe’s most westerly capitol. The city is built over a number of hills and it is here that Vasco da Gama and other great discoverers set out to explore the world. Although Lisbon has a 3,000 year history, most of the city’s buildings and monuments are from the 18th century. In 1755 Lisbon was devastated by one of the worst earthquakes ever recorded The earthquake caused a tidal wave and fires. This triple disaster is estimated to have killed over 15,000 people. Today in Lisbon you can see many of the cities buildings and homes decorated with small glazed ceramic tiles. These tiles were widely used to protect buildings from going up in flames again.
We had a fabulous day in Lisbon. We hired a taxi guide, traveled the city taking in the major sites and explored the windy streets and clustered hilltop neighborhoods. Lisbon is picturesque and her people charming. There are cathedrals, open squares, statues and fountains. Buildings have a sun washed pastel color with red tile roofs. Many of the streets are cobbled and narrow. There are trolleys to help people get up and down the hills.
After exploring Lisbon we did what the residents do…we traveled out of the city to the delightful town of Sintra. Sintra was once a coveted summer retreat for royals and the wealthy. Today it is a romantic get away for people from all over the world. We thoroughly enjoyed rambling around the town and exploring the park and palace of Pena…a multi colored fantasy palace built in the early 1800’s for the queen of Portugal.
Next we traveled to the seaside town of Cascais. Cascais sits on a pretty curved bay and is a town of both fisherman and the retiring rich with camera toting visitors thrown into the mix. Elegant hotels and open fish markets line the waterfront. This was the ideal location to get a great seafood lunch and we enjoyed a mouth watering unbelievably fresh shrimp the size of lobster and white fish lunch to die for. We will be back!
To finish off the day, we had a Cunard hosted dinner in the city’s bull ring arena. The hosted dinner was for world cruisers only of which there were about 800. The arena was transformed into an elegant dinning venue, crystal candelabra, floral centerpieces, red carpet, the whole nine yards. The music was live orchestra, the dancers flamenco. We were greeted by the CEO of Cunard and decked out horses and riders at the door. It was a sight to see and a magical evening to experience. For some of our travel friends, this was our last port together since many were departing the ship in Southampton and flying home. The night was spent celebrating our shared experiences.
Next stop…Southampton and the Queen Mary 2!
ATLANTIC CROSSING
The crossing was generally uneventful except for some pretty strong gale force winds and high seas

Italy and Spain

Italy and Spain
It is hard to believe but our world cruise is quickly ending. We have just departed from Barcelona, Spain on our way to our last port (Lisbon, Portugal) before our disembarkation in South Hampton, England. We depart from the Queen Victoria to the Queen Mary II for our final cruise across the Atlantic to New York and the end of our travel experience.
Our first stop in Italy was Naples. From there we joined a small craft charter to the Isle of Capri. There we walked and bussed around the Island for the day and enjoyed the storybook views of this wonderful little community. Our next stop was Rome where we bussed from the coast into Rome for a fast visit to several treasures of one of our favorite cities: The Spanish Steps, Piazza Navano, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s and Vatican City. We walked most of the way and the weather was terrific
Our next stop was Barcelona where we rented Ipods containing a guided tour of the city and a map directing us to much of old Barcelona, what a wonderful day.
We are sure we are going to get many questions about our likes and dislikes so Larry put together a list of the bests and worst of the world cruise:
Overall, most emotional impact: India
Best two experiences: Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef and a Rickshaw ride through old Delhi
Two most beautiful sites: Bangkok Palace and Taj Mahal
Two best sail-aways: New York City and Sydney (ask to see our video of these)
Two best parts of sea days on the ship: Art classes and Bridge tournaments
Two places we’ll never visit again: Malaysia and Acapulco
Two best on shore meals: Hong Kong lunch and Athens dinner
Most scary travel spots: Viet Nam and Egypt
Most amazing: Panama Canal and Hong Kong
Most unique: Elephant ride in India
Worst part of the experience: Too long to be away from family and friends
Biggest surprise: How well everyone seemed to enjoy our blog site. By the way, when we get home, we’re going to send one last blog with all our remaining pictures so check in after May 1st.

Athens, Greece

Piraeus for Athens, Greece
Today we made port in Piraeus, Greece…the cruise ship’s stop for entry to Athens. Piraeus is 6 miles southwest of Athens’ city center and is actually the third largest city in Greece.
Athens, named for the Greek goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom), is the largest city (about 4 million) in Greece with over a third of the country’s population. It is often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization with a tradition of democracy, philosophy drama and comedy. The birthplace of a Greek who’s who….Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the remains of the temples of the Acropolis, hundreds of ancient statues, and the host city of the first modern day Olympic Games (1896), there is no shortage of things to do and explore in Athens. This city is one of the oldest in the world with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years.
Having visited Athens on a prior trip, we decided to take a relaxed approach to enjoying the city and avoided the main tourist attractions already seen. We spent most of our day walking Athens’ oldest quarter, the Plaka and the adjacent Agora which was the center of ancient city life.. The Plaka is just below the Acropolis and was a delight to explore. It is a maze of narrow pedestrian thoroughfares with many neoclassical mansions along side humble houses. There are numerous shops, cafes and we were lucky to come across a hand turned barrel organ being played by a local citizen. As evening approached, the tavernas set tables covered in brightly colored linens out into the narrow lanes and café owners beckoned evening strollers to stop, relax and enjoy a fine meal. As dusk fell, it was a very pretty sight with the votive candles on all the tables and the wonderful smells of traditional Greek food in the air. We spent our evening with 10 other cruise friends at a local taverna known to one of our traveling companions. It was a great meal, enjoyed on a roof top garden room, alfresco. After several courses of traditional Greek food, wine and oozo (sp?), we walked through the ancient city back to the ship for a late sail away. Next stop, Naples!

EGYPT AND SUEZ CANAL

EGYPT AND THE SUEZ CANAL
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th century to the 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the new kingdom (the 18th through 20th dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile River, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The burial grounds consist of two valleys, East Valley, where the majority of the royal tombs are located, and the West Valley. The entire area has been a focus of concentrated archaeological and Egyptological exploration since the end of the 18th century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen (with its rumors of the curse of the Pharaohs), and is one of the most famous sites in the world.
Luxor
As the site of the ancient city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the world’s greatest open-air museum, the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnack and Luxor standing within the relatively modern city. Across the Nile River, lie monuments, temples and tombs, which include the Valley of the Kings.
We traveled by bus convoy ( over 70 busses from several tourist ships, etc.)for over 4 hours through the Egyptian countryside to stop at our first site, the Valley of the Kings. We went into the actual tombs of Ramses I,III and IV.What a marvel to see the hieroglyphics and colors that have lasted for well over 3000 years. Our next stops were to the Karnak and Luxor temples which were both amazing. We were very fortunate to have a guide that was also an Egyptologist. Our guide was able to tell us what stories the hieroglyphics were depicting and who had ordered them written. The ride through the interior of Egypt was itself an eye-opening experience. Once again, we witnessed Donkey led carts, bundled sugar cane and a lifestyle similar to that in India. The people appeared friendly and interested in the western tourist. Along the way were numerous military checkpoints and armed personnel watching our every move. Being so close to Iraq and Iran was a little nerve-racking for Larry.
Suez Canal
The Canal is a large artificial canal in Egypt, west of the Sinai Peninsula. It is 101 miles long and about 1000 feet wide at its narrowest point, and runs between Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez on the Red Sea. The Canal allows two-way water transportation, most importantly between Europe and Asia without having to travel the long way around via the southern tip of Africa. Before it’s opening in 1869, goods were sometimes off loaded from ships and carried over land between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The Canal has no locks because the terrain through which it passes is flat, and the minor difference in sea level at the ends is easily coped with through the length of the Canal. Our passage through the canal started in the very early morning, before 5:30 AM and continued through out the day. Our passage was completed at 4PM. While in the canal we witnessed armed guards standing on manmade sand plateaus with machine guns on either side of the passage. Security was very noticeable and abundant. On either side of the canal are huge fields of sand, little to no vegetation, and the occasional village dotting the flat fields of sand off in the distance. The weather has cooled and it was pleasant to be out on deck with our sweaters in 68 degree temps.
We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to our grandson, Ahmad, April 10th. Happy 2nd birthday Ahmad! Also, to Chrissy, Happy Birthday on the 21st! Next stop, Athens, Greece.

Our introduction to Arab Lands

Our first encounters with the Arab world…..
DUBAI-(UNITED ARAB EMERATES)

On the surface, Dubai has failed Larry’s cultural substance test: what you see is impressive but it’s only skin deep. The ruling Sheiks from the Maktoum Dynasty have worked hard to create a world class modern city and it appears they have achieved that goal. Having discovered oil in the mid-60’s, they are very proud to have the worlds tallest, only, biggest etc. facilities; and they keep building them. At present, 20% of the world’s cranes are reportedly being used in Dubai. Can you believe a ski slope with real (man made) snow in the middle of a desert? They have one. They have built several, large air conditioned and modern shopping malls with all the finest designer labels giving the image of conspicuous consumption by wealthy visitors. I now understand why Tiger Woods comes here every year for a golf Tournament. The resorts are big, beautiful, opulent, and exclusive. All the guides we listened to were proud and talked of little else than the money being spent here. Of course the growth is all related to oil money and the desire of the ruling Sheikes to spend it on infrastructure. Only 20% of the resident population are citizens and they are taken care of womb to tomb. The Sheikes are very cautious not to allow new citizens due to the benefits available. The balance of residents are expatriates living off of the fantastic development activities. However, it is estimated that oil supplies will be exhausted by 2010 and the hope is to create a resort and business community that will sustain itself after the oil revenues are gone. An interesting byline was our traveling partners, the Kredels, visit to the new (four month old and open) Raffles hotel, 16 floors of mostly empty rooms at $1100 a night.(hmmm???) Everything is very, very expensive here so only the rich and famous will be able to take advantage of the luxury. Will it be able to sustain itself?, at these costs it’s unclear.
For our part, we toured the city by guided double deck busses for over three hours in the heat. Dubai was our highest port temperature to date, topping off in the high 90’s. At the end of our tour, we enjoyed beverages at a local Starbucks located in one of the fabulous indoor malls while waiting for our shuttle bus back to the ship. Next stop, Salalah, Oman.

SALALAH, OMAN
The city of Salalah is known as the “perfume capitol of Arabia”. In ancient times, this area was the center of the incense trade, a treasured commodity in the ancient world. Camel caravans and ships brought frankincense, balsam, and myrrh thousands of miles from this southern Arabian port to serve the markets of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Frankincense and incense burners are still common products and frequently sold in the local markets.
Today, coconut trees, palms, tropical fruit trees and aromatic foliage surround Salalah. Agriculture is a mainstay. The land is fertile and fed by underground subterranean water reserve systems. Despite lying close to the Arabian Desert, Salalah enjoys a temperate climate through most of the year as a result of a monsoon season (June to early September). The city has beautiful white sand beaches and is a destination resort area for the peoples of the Persian Gulf region.
Although a modern place, Omani tradition rules everyday life. National dress is worn in the workplace and when out and about. Men wear white, floor length robes known as dishdash and a headdress with a scarf that can be wound around a pill box cap to form a turban. The women wear floor length black cloaks called the abaya, a head scarf, and face covering called a burqa. It was very easy to spot the tourists and those that were residents given this difference in attire. The government and city shops close at 1PM on Thursday and remain closed on Friday, which is the Muslim weekend.
While in Salalah, Larry remained on ship, still recovering from tummy troubles picked up in India. Ruthanne, along with four traveling companions, went ashore and toured this city of antiquity.
Just outside of the city lies the Al Balid archaeological site, the ruins of a fortified town that was an important port from 100BC-400AD. It was a beautiful spot on a hillside above a fresh water stream that fed into the Arabian Sea. Why the ancient port was abandoned remains a mystery.
Our tour visited three tombs; Nabi Imran, father of the Virgin Mary; the Islamic prophet, Mohammed Bin Ali, which offered a fine example of medieval Islamic architecture; and the prophet, Job whose tomb was located in the hills a little over an hours drive from the city. Job’s tomb continues to draw religious pilgrims from all over the world.
While traveling to Job’s tomb, we saw free range camels grazing in their natural habitat. It was a site to see. The terrain was very similar to the I-10 freeway from LaQuinta to Phoenix, desert with scrub shrubs, a few trees and outlined by dramatic desert mountains. The one exception was the plethora of free roaming camel in all sizes. The Omani people use camel for transportation, leather, milk and meat.
Our last stop was an open air, primitive fish and meat market. After opening the tour bus doors, our noses were assaulted with the smells raw fish and meat remains produce when subjected to desert heat. Needless to say, the ladies did not leave the bus, quickly closed the bus door after the men had stepped out, and waited for them to explore this site on their own! Upon their return, the men agreed we had used good judgment in remaining on the bus.
Next stop, Safaga, Egypt.

India

INDIA Five Nights, Six Days
India, probably the country that impacted the emotions more than any other. Larry has coined a term we have used to compare cities/places…”cultural substance” and India has a lot. Diverse religions, historical depth, absolute poverty and an agrarian lifestyle all describe India. Shanty town villages in the shadow of city skyscrapers. India is an experience like no other with many layers of history, culture, religion, lifestyles and peoples. There is an active caste system supported by Hindu practice, even though the government has passed laws against caste driven prejudice. The Moghuls, Arabs and British have all at different times through history, conquered and contributed to the tapestry that is India.
The Indian people are curious about Westerners, wanting to photograph us, and would ask for our picture, as we tried to capture them in them in their brightly colored saris going to and from in their daily life. Although there is a great deal of poverty and miserable living conditions, the poor seem resolved to endure it.
Traveling in the city, one sees segments of the population dressed and living in the Western standard…business suits, cell phones, laptops…and a glance across the street, one sees cows (sacred in India) walking unattended, young children shirtless and shoeless looking for opportunities to relieve tourists of their rupees. In the city and villages you can see monkeys, elephants, camels, dogs, goats, pigs, water buffalo and people all co-existing side by side.
Due to the diversity of the 1.1 billion people, there is no such thing as a “typical” Indian. India has 18 official languages, fortunately for us, one of them was English, although only 5% of the population speaks English. An estimated 850 languages are in daily use. People are everywhere. The country has a frenetic pace. It is exhausting and a constant challenge to mind and body.
Highlights
The ship took port first in Chennai, known until 1996 as Madras. This is where we disembarked and began our Indian adventure. The city was hot and congested. The city population is 7 million. It was Easter Sunday. We visited a Hindu Temple and the Basilica of San Thome, built atop the tomb of the apostle St. Thomas. In the mid afternoon, we boarded our flight for Delhi. The 2.5 hour flight was uneventful and we arrived at the hotel in Delhi eager for a good night’s sleep.
Delhi has a population of 14 million. It is the capitol of India and has a 5,000 year old history. The sights are endless. We visited the Red Fort, built 1638; Jama Masjid, largest Mosque in India; Raj Ghat, sight of Gandhi’s cremation and now a memorial park; Humayan’s tomb, the precursor to the Taj Mahal. Then we went on a rickshaw ride through Old Delhi. It was amazing. The streets of Old Delhi are too narrow for cars and transportation is by bicycle, motor scooter, rickshaw or on foot. The narrow streets are packed with people and shopkeepers selling all manner of goods. The smells, 1,000 year old dust, and sights are indescribable. Ask us to see our video when we get home.
After Delhi, we took a tour bus ride for 5 hours through the countryside to our next stop, Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. In the country side we saw fields of grain, women in colorful saris carrying huge bundles on top of their heads, camels pulling carts, turbaned goat herders guiding their flock with long sticks, and flat, dusty, dry land sprouting several tall chimneys that spewed the smoke of primitive brick factories. All along our route we saw small villages with open air markets, open sewers, water pumped by hand from the village well, and dogs and cows wandering unattended.
Agra is the most popular tourist destination in India. Agra was the capitol of Akbar the Great, ruler in the mid 1500’s. We visited the Agra fort, the tomb of Akbar and of course, the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Both the emperor and his wife are buried at the Taj Mahal. The Taj does not disappoint. We enjoyed every bit of time looking at the monument, although, we enjoyed it more from the outside then the inside.
Our next stop was Jaipur. Jaipur was a 4 hour bus ride from Agra. In Jaipur we stayed at Jai Mahal Palace, a hotel converted from the former residence of the Prime Minister. It was a beautiful and restful location separated from the hustle bustle noise and swarms of people that is India. In the evening we could hear the “call to prayer” from the local mosque. While in Jaipur, we visited the Amber Fort, built 1592. Our approach to the fort was by elephant. Our guide told us all important visitors to the fort had arrived by elephant. It was a fun experience and the elephants are beautifully painted, even the toenails! Jaipur is called the “pink city” due to the paint color of the historic buildings.
After Jaipur, we flew to Mumbai, formerly Bombay, and caught up with the ship for our sail away to Dubai. We had a quick sightseeing day in Mumbai, now the biggest city in India with a population of 18 million people. Mumbai is the home of Bollywood, the Indian equivalent of Hollywood. Bollywood produces over 800 movies a year, twice as many as Hollywood. We visited the open air laundry, and Gandhi’s residence and the birthplace of India’s independence movement.
We returned to the ship glad that we made the decision to explore India beyond what the ship tour desk offered. We were relieved to have completed our journey intact although four of the nine of us traveling together did experience a little “Delhi belly”. In the final analysis, we feel blessed and so lucky to live in America.

Singapore and Malaysia

THREE PORT CALLS IN THREE DAYS!

Today is Good Friday, March 21, 2008. We are a bit fatigued after three very active port days and are happy for a day at sea to relax and rest up. During the past three days, we visited Singapore, Port Kelang for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Penang, Malaysia. We are now cruising through the Andaman Sea and will be entering the Bay of Bengal this evening on our way to India. Once we reach our first port of call in India, we leave the ship for 6 days, 5 nights and explore India on an overland excursion.
Our last blog showed pictures only.. We had a little time at an internet café before getting on the ship. If you are curious about where the pictures were taken, here is a brief description...the picture of Larry with Dennis and Don are on Bondi Beach, Australia. The picture of the Sydney opera house was from our cabin balcony. Larry with chop sticks trying to eat a pea was in Hong Kong. The deity pictures are from the grand palace in Bangkok. All the snorkel pictures are from the great barrier reef tour. The strange looking men with Ruthanne are Aborigines in native costume. The sunset picture of Larry is from our balcony sailing away from Melbourne.
We have many more pictures to share and hope to get them off when we can. Now, here are our impressions of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Singapore
Singapore is an island, city and country-all in one; located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It is the smallest country in Southeast Asia. Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island itself. Singapore’s population is a mix of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and Eurasians with Chinese being dominant. It was once a British colony, becoming independent in 1965, and British influence is evident, cars drive on the opposite side of the street from the US, English is frequently spoken and the colonial architecture.
Today, Singapore has a population of 4 million and is the largest container port in the world. It is a very modern city with many high rise condos to house the population. 70-80% of the housing developments in Singapore are government subsidized. These are small but modern condos and are dotted all over the city. There are very few slum areas and the city is surprisingly clean and orderly for such a huge population in such a confined area.
While in Singapore, we visited the National Orchid Garden. The garden has over 1,000 different species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids. Orchid is the national flower of Singapore. We had a fabulous Chinese lunch after the garden walk and a bumboat ride on the waterfront. We had a drink at Raffles (famous for the Singapore sling) and shopped for bargains in Chinatown.
Kuala Lumpur
Our next stop was Port Kelang, for Kuala Lumpur. The day started with a long drive, 1 ½ hours to reach the city from the port. Kuala Lumpur is the capitol and largest (1.2 million) city in Malaysia. It is the only city in the world to have a million year old primary forest within the heart of the city. It is an equatorial climate (think hot and humid) and has plenty of rainfall. The locals say there are two kinds of weather, “rain and rainy“. Malaysia was once a British colony(those Brits were busy!) and just celebrated its 50th year of independence.
Kuala Lumpur holds the title to the world’s second tallest high rise, the twin Petronas Towers, which we visited. Most of our day was spent sightseeing as much as possible within a short timeframe due to the distance from the ship and our need to get back in time for the “all aboard”. We went to a pewter factory, very interesting, saw the Royal Palace, they rotate the Malaysian King every five years from the royal families, and the Independence Square which is surrounded by the legacies of the colonial era.
Penang
Penang is the most famous island in Malaysia. Priceless architecture centers mainly in George Town, the capital of the “Pearl of the Orient”. A noteworthy fact about Malaysia and Singapore is their law and justice system which relies heavily on caning as a disciplinary measure. Any where from 4 to 36 strokes can be meted out for crimes such as burglary, rape and certain traffic violations. Our guides repeatedly mentioned the effectiveness of the policy to control crime. Once again, we hired a guide to spend the day traversing Penang seeing sites such as the snake temple, the “Wat Chayamankalaram or the home of the 108 foot reclining Buddha, and touring George Town. Overall a good day due, mostly to our excellent guide, Marco. Next stop, five days in India including a visit to the Taj Mahal.

more pictures

Thailand

Thailand--Bangkok and Ko Samui
BANGKOK
The King and us! Wow, what a terrific place to visit. The contrast between Bangkok and Saigon is hard to believe: Bangkok is clean, business oriented and modern while Saigon is the exact opposite. Where motor scooters ruled the road in Vietnam, automobiles were very prevalent on the streets of Bangkok. We visited the Grand Palace which was established in 1782 and it houses not only the royal residence but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is the place where King Mongkut (King and I as well as Anna and the King) did his magic. Known as Rama IV, his impact is still present. The current King, Rama IX, is loved by the people and considered one of the best at the job. 80% of the people of Bangkok are Buddhist and you can see monks walking to and fro to visit more than 400 Temples throughout the city. We also took a boat ride down Chao Phraya, Bangkoks river lifeline. At one time, Bangkok was compared with Venice because of it’s network of canals but most have now been filled in to accommodate the growing metropolis. While on the river, we were given loaves of bread to feed the catfish, with each fish that takes your bread, you get a day of good luck; they were ravenous, good for us! Had a traditional Thailand lunch, overall, delicious but Larry had trouble with the hot, hot, hot soup.
KO SAMUI
A small, sleepy Island with shops aplenty. Not much to say about our two hour walk through the city. It was again very hot and humid, so we decided to go back to the ship for a movie and needed rest.
By the way, we haven’t heard much from the desert, is everything OK? Everyone healthy? Dale, Doug, Tom, how are you all doing? Miss you and all the guys! Dennis and Jane, did the inspection go well? All closed up? Tom and June, how are things at the beach? Has the new road been started? Jennifer, mama June, Jo Bell, Chrissy Gail, Shannon, Beth and Tina, thanks for the news of the family. Katie, let Mikayla know that grandpa is getting sugar free syrup on his pancakes here on the ship. Alec and Isobel, are you back in Belfast? Orin,Bill, Jack and Charles, have you been playing? Everyone healthy? Mike and Natalie, all well with you and the boys? Stephen and Debra, we’re sailing our way to South Hampton on schedule, hope you can make it. You can tell Larry is a bit stir crazy and misses home. Next stop, Singapore.

Saigon, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city (7 million people) in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong Delta. This city was once the main port of Cambodia, before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capitol of the French colony of Cochinchina. Saigon was also the capitol of the independent state of South Vietnam. In 1975, after the “civil” war, Saigon was seized by the new government and renamed Ho chi Minh City.
Interestingly,there is a saying in Vietnam…”Vietnam is a country not a war”. During our visit we had only four hours to explore and experience the renamed city. We saw a French Cathedral named Notre Dame de Saigon, built by the French and looked hugely out of place given its European design in an Asian city. We then went to the war museum with its anticipated one sided story bringing back sad memories and the reminder that war is an atrocity and all sides share in the tragedy. We walked the bustling, noisy, busy shop lined streets in weather too hot and too humid to be enjoyable. After a few hours of sightseeing on foot, we retreated to the American built Rex Hotel. We were told the Rex was the meeting sight of many journalists, government, business leaders and armed forces personnel during the war. We went to the roof top garden restaurant, relaxed with a beer and watched the activity on the street below.
Half way through our lunch we noticed a developing crowd and the police response on the street below. It appeared to be an expression of civil unrest, perhaps a protest of some sort. The police response was swift, forceful, and included military personnel supported by the police. The protesters were quickly outnumbered and after a few were pulled from the crowd, roughly handled by the military, arrested, thrown into a pick-up truck and driven away, the crowd dispersed. Within minutes, the city was back to business as usual…motor bikes whizzing along, shop keepers sweeping the sidewalks, if you had not been looking on five minutes before, you would not have known anything had happened. We remained at the rooftop garden restaurant until it was time for our bus to take us back to the ship. Next stop, Thailand.

Hong Kong and Vietnam

Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong(HK) primarily consists of HK Island and the Kowloon Peninsula which is part of mainland China. In addition, HK is surrounded by a number of smaller islands, over 200 of them in the South China Sea. HK, of course, was a British dependency from the 1800’s until July of 1997 when the Chinese took over control. The history of how Britain gained control in the first place is interesting and you will have to ask us about the story of the British inspired opium wars in 1841 and 1860 then the retaliation of China (over 100 years later)by threatening to turn off the water supply to HK which was the basis of Sino-British Joint declaration to turnover HK and the Kowloon Peninsula to China.
HK is frequently described as a city where east meets west. On one street corner, there may be traditional Chinese shops selling herbal medicine, Buddhist paraphernalia or bowls of shark fin soup; but around the corner you’d find a skyscraper, theaters showing the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a McDonalds. Frankly, we were stunned by the thriving, modern city with over 7 million people. Larry expected rickshaws, sanpans and bicycles but none of those could be seen, we might as well been in NYC or London. Hong Kong is a progressive, efficient, diverse city in a forest of skyscrapers.
Our day was spent with a wonderful guide (Marco Foehn) who met us at the pier and led us to the star ferry to enter HK. He showed us the highlights of the city, Tea at the Peninsula Hotel, a wonderful lunch at Hunan Garden (we highly recommend it for authentic, delicious Chinese), up to Victoria Peak to see the city from high above and a great three mile walk around Lugard street.
While walking the city, our guide pointed out the clusters of young Filipino, Malaysian, and Indonesian women sitting on overpass pedestrian walkways, under the overpasses, and in commercial plazas where the businesses were closed (we‘re talking thousands of women)
. These women were socializing with their homeland villagers on their one day off, Sunday. The young women are contracted as domestic workers for the Chinese Hong Kong households and gather to visit, eat, and share experiences on Sundays, their day off. Hong Kong households typically have domestic help live in and both husband and wife work outside the home.
Our evening was spent at the Rainbow restaurant on Lamma Island where we had a great seafood dinner and a wonderful harbour cruise.
Chan May Vietnam and Hue
Viet Nam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southwest. On the country’s east coast lies the South China Sea. With a population of over 85 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world. Chan May and their new harbor continues to contribute to the strong economic growth of Vietnam Centrally located between historic cities, the working port of Chan May is the gateway to Danang, Hoi An and Hue (pronounced “way”).
Our day was spent on a ships tour to Hue, the historic Imperial City, crowded with historic Shrines, Pagodas and Temples. We were struck by the agrarian life style, shanty homes, unique fishing vessels and most of all, the people. Extremely hard working, every one young and old appears to participate. We observed work in the fields as well as construction work and quarry work being done manually. No heavy equipment to ease the work. The traditional bamboo leaf cone shaped hats and bundles of purchased goods carried on long sticks resting on one’s weary shoulder were visible everywhere. It was also interesting to see extremely few traffic lights on the very crowded streets with hardly any autos. Just buses, trucks and motor scooters, hundreds of motor scooters transporting entire families (sometimes even two adults and young child, on one scooter!). In the city, we noticed cell phones in use. What a contrast of technology when within a few miles, you could see water buffalo
being tapped with sticks to encourage movement in the right direction and farmers using hoes to clear land for planting.
Sorry we missed Larry’s Mother’s 90th birthday celebration, we did attempt a phone call from Hong Kong but it apparently failed. Happy birthday to Desi as well. Next stop, Ho Chi Min City

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
The large Island of Borneo contains three countries: Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu(KK) resides in Malaysia on the NW coast of Borneo in the state of Sabah. The city KK is named after Mt. Kinabalu and has a population of about 500,000. The relatively modern capital city is lively with an ethnically diverse population and continues to grow with immigrants of Chinese and Filipinos.
Upon our arrival, we traveled by small boat to two small islands, one for snorkeling and lunch, the other for a two hour nature hike through a tropical rain forest. Not much wildlife to be seen but we did see lizards, hanging fruit bats, butterflies and a poisonous viper snake, bright neon green.
The rain forest was very humid (95% humidity), dense with vegetation (imagine indoor house plants on steroids), and our guide told us how certain plants were used by the native population. Rattan was abundant and is a creeping plant along the forest floor as well as curling around other trees. It has a spiky exterior similar to long slender thorns. The needle-like thorns are tied to fish nets and also used as darts blown at prey through hollow pipes. The smooth interior wood of rattan is what westerners are familiar with in furniture making.
Borneo has a past history of native head hunters. Even today, some fishing villages are still built on stilts. Local guides say the reason is two fold…one reason was to make it difficult for raiding headhunters to capture people in the night (homeowners lift the entry ladders into the house) and the second reason to allow flooding waters to flow underneath the home. Today the city of Kota Kinabalu has both a mix of modern western style stucco buildings and the stilted wood shacks clustered tightly together in coastal neighborhoods. It would seem for some of the population, the old ways are hard to abandon.
Next stop, Hong Kong!

oops

Brisbane and Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef)
During our stay in Brisbane, it rained cats and dogs- all day. We were met at the ship by a friend of the Kredels (Rob) who was the ex-husband of Jackie Christian from Pitcairn Island. Jackie was a descendant of Fletcher Christian who was the rebel leader of the mutineers on the HMS Bounty and took the Bounty to Pitcarin Is. as a hopeful safe haven. Rob was an excellent host, not only filling in our knowledge of Pitcarin Island, but taking us South to surfers paradise, a famous site in Brisbane. Rain prevented much exploration but we did get to a winery (Thumm) and had an excellent lunch. After a ride around the circumference of Brisbane, we returned to the ship.
Two days later, Port Douglas and the barrier reef…WOW! Our overall experience in Port Douglas was flawed a bit by the news the day before arriving that our contracted Catamaran was cancelled. Apparently there was a communications error since our contractor was prevented from taking Queen Victoria passengers out to the reef. With some astute scrambling by our traveling partner, Don Kredel, we were able to find an alternative and what a trip it was. The trip was especially good since the day before arrival, they had 25 inches of rainfall. We arrived to a sunny, clear and calm day-Feb 29.
We traveled out to the reef for 1 and 1/2 hours and made three snorkeling stops. We swam with sharks, turtles, and all kinds of tropical fish and giant clams the size of club chairs. But maybe most fascinating was the various shapes, sizes and colors of the coral itself. It truly was like swimming in natures own abundant aquarium. Clown fish, unicorn, angel and surgeon, big spotted trigger, harlequin fish-the list is endless. The coral (a living animal) were all colors of the rainbow and fluorescent, truly natures own Las Vegas strip.
The whole event was probably one of the top two experiences of our cruise to date. Ruthanne was, at first apprehensive (due to the reef sharks and stinging jelly fish) so we snorkeled together holding hands. But after about 20 minutes she became quite comfortable and wandered out on her own. Next stop, after 5 days of cruising, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Brisbane and Port Douglas (The Great Barrier Reef

Melbourne and Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef)

Melbourne and Sydney

Melbourne is a large, modern city. It was established in 1835 and was well planned with parks and tree lined boulevards. In 1851 a gold rush increased the population. Melbourne is also a very diverse city: 25% of the 3.7 million population is foreign born.
While in Melbourne, we first visited the Victoria Market. This market reminded us of the open markets in London and is not dissimilar to Seattle’s Pike Place Market. We wandered about, made a few purchases and enjoyed a freshly made lunch (they call it “take away” not fast food). Larry had an authentic Australian lamb baguette and Ruthanne a ham and cheese. We found a little cobbled alleyway set up with bistro tables between the market buildings. It was a warm day and the shady lane was a happy rest for tired feet. The market offered the usual fruits and vegetables, crafted goods, but also goodies from markets around the world. We sampled kangaroo jerky…an aboriginal treat.
It tasted like chicken…hee hee…not really. It tasted like beef.
Next we took a tourist bus, free transport provided for visitors, that traveled in a circular route all around the city. This gave us a great overview of the business district, sporting district (Melbournians are avid sports fans with several sporting arenas), historic areas, the Yarra river, and the garden park areas.
After our city tour, we jumped off the tour bus and enjoyed the quiet serenity of the beautiful Royal Botanical gardens. Like New Zealand, the gardens were set up Victorian style…tall stately trees, formally planted flower beds, and wooded winding pathways with ponds and water birds. What a wonderful retreat for such a busy city. As always, time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to catch a bus back to the city center and tram ride to the wharf where the ship was docked.


SIDNEY
Our kind of town! There is huge competition between the residents of Sydney and Melbourne about which is the most livable and beautiful city. Our vote is Sydney, hands down. The natural beauty of Sydney harbor is hard to beat. Ferry boat or city buses take you to bright blue sky and water, golden sand beaches where the wave action is hypnotic. Larry, Dennis Fennessey and Don Kredel went body surfing on Bondi Beach and ogled topless female sunbathers while Ruthanne read a book, keeping one eye on Larry to assure the waves spit him out at the end of a wave run. It was a great day at the beach.
Our second day in Sydney was spent wandering in the historic “Rocks” area (where the first settlement area of Sydney is located) and visiting Toronga Zoo.
The ferry ride back from the zoo was spectacular. Being Sunday, many pleasure boats, mostly sail boats, ferry traffic, the entrance to the harbor of a huge cruise ship thrown into the mix, made for an exciting return.
Our sail away out of Sydney harbor was historically a once in a lifetime event. The Queen Victoria and the QE2 both sailed passed each other in the harbor and completed a whistle salute to each other in the harbor at sunset. This will be the last time the QE2 and Queen Victoria will be in port together. The QE2 is being retired this year to Dubai and will be refitted as a floating hotel/resort. Thousands of people lined the hillsides, waterways, and decks along the harbor to witness the event. Literally hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes traveled through the harbor with the Queen Victoria as escort as we cruised out to sea. We thought the sail away from NYC was outstanding, but this was even better. Larry took some great video and we have some still shots to share at the next internet café.

New Zealand

New Zealand…Auckland, Napier, and Wellington
Our visits to each of the New Zealand port calls were short, but sweet. In Auckland we enjoyed the opportunity to be back in an English speaking country and be able to find our way about downtown. We had a wonderful berth just on the waterfront harbor side of the downtown corridor. Having been to Auckland before, we used our day and location for updating the blog with an internet café land line, shopping for sundries (soap, shampoo, phone cards) and Larry enjoyed a Burger King Whopper for lunch. Before we knew it, the day was spent and it was back on board for the sail away.
Overnight and into the early morning we cruised toward Napier arriving mid-day. The Queen Victoria was the biggest cruise ship to ever port in Napier and the local population came out in huge numbers to greet her. Napier is located at Hawke’s Bay and has a population of 57,000. Napier has become an important grape growing and wine producing region so we (predictably) spent the day touring the local wineries. The weather was pleasant, the people delightful, and the wines very drinkable.
Napier suffered a huge earthquake in 1931, destroying the city. When the local population rebuilt, they styled the buildings in an art deco theme that survives and is celebrated to this day. 250 lives were lost in the earthquake and the city memorialized the loss of life by planting one Norfolk Pine along the city coastline for each life lost. The pines stand tall and beautiful and outlined the beach as we sailed out of the harbor all too soon. Napier is a treasure to behold.
Wellington is the capitol of New Zealand and is located at the southern tip of the North Island. It has a compact city center and we spent the day in port exploring on foot. We took a cable car up the steep bank behind the business district and found ourselves at the entrance of a beautiful botanical garden park and historic cemetery. The walk through the park with 100+ year old botanical growth zigzagged down the hillside back into downtown. Once back downtown we walked to the waterfront where wharfs are lined with restaurants, pubs, parks, museums and boating activity. We saw a long queue winding around one area of the waterfront and Larry asked a person in line why everyone was lined up blocks long. The answer … it was a queue for a tug boat ride to see the Queen Victoria docked in a secure area in a container ship berth. She was too big to be in the usual cruise ship berth. We chuckled, and went to lunch pleased to know we weren’t missing something locally important that would require us to wait in that long line of people. It would have taken the balance of the day to get through that line!
We’ve been on our cruise 37 days or 35% of the tour around the world. We have yet to share some personal observations about the experience so far. Our accommodations are fine as we have adjusted to the cabin. The most important aspect for livability is to assure each day that we put things away and keep clutter to a minimum. The food is good and it takes strong self control to avoid eating too much and eating the right things. For example, the eggs Benedict in the morning are terrific and we have limited ourselves to once a week. Otherwise, we have raisin bran, oatmeal and the like. The entertainment is varied and never ending. The Cunard people have gone great lengths to keep a steady stream of interesting lectures, activities and experiences for the passengers to enjoy. Yesterday we heard a very interesting lecture by Rita Moreno who played the part of Anita in the movie West Side Story. She had some interesting history to share about the Latino experience in the early days of movies and theater. We continue our main go to activities of Bridge for Larry and watercolor painting for Ruthanne. We were guests at the Captain’s table for dinner and even renewed our wedding vows on Valentine’s Day. Overall the experience is a good one but, from time-to-time we get a little home sick and miss family, friends and the desert experience. We’ve taken many videos and pictures to share and will probably bore you with our stories.

Auckland, New Zealand

We just arrived in Auckland and immediately found an internet cafe to update our pictures. These shots include Aruba, Costa Rica, Panama Canal and another watercolor by Ruthanne. The zipline excursion was a blast. More later

finally, some more pictures

Fiji Islands

Lautoka, Fiji
Fiji is a collection of 300 Islands, two of which, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, comprise 80% of the total land mass. Most of Fiji’s resorts are situated in the Nadi area on Viti Levu. Lautoka, also located on Viti Levu, is Fiji’s second largest city with a population of 30,000. It owes it’s existence to a large sugar mill (said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere) and a deep water port. Fiji produces some of the worlds best sugar. About 90% of Fijians still live in villages in the countryside, and the power of the VANUA- one’s land and family ties- is still the most powerful cultural force. Extended family units known as Matagali comprise village communities who own land in common. The concept of individual ownership is foreign in a village where everything is shared. Each village has a chief who in turn owes allegiance to a higher chief. The essential nature of Fijian culture survives to this day.
We spent the day on a small Island hiking and snorkeling, reading and napping.
By the way, for those of you sending comments, (and we love getting your comments and messages!), if you can see them on the blog, so can we. Next stop, Auckland, New Zealand.

more on pago pago

More Pago Pago…
Having visited Pago Pago during our last cruise on the south Pacific, we knew of a special spot on the beach we were eager to see again. The name of this special place is called Tisa’s Barefoot Beach, a beautiful beach, palm trees dipping toward the water, clear, clean green blue ocean and gentle breezes in the humid tropical climate. Great snorkeling. The beach has an outdoor bar and restaurant where the meals are served native style, grilled sword fish or shrimp, rice, and fresh fruit, served in bowls of woven palm leaves. The pina coladas are made with fresh flaked coconut cracked and shredded to order. We have pictures! We celebrated Don Kredel’s, one of our traveling companions, 65th birthday at this magical location. It’s interesting that the San Diego Tuna Fleet ended up here in Pago Pago.

pago pago american Samoa

here we are in Pago Pago (Pango Pango) and we can't upload pictures...bummer...We went to the beach today and snorkeled with the fishies and had a few too many brews... Great time, great people, I'll send another blog when I'm a little more alert. Love, Larry and ruthanne

Crossing the Equator

February 7th: Pollywog to Shellback
The historical tradition of this transformation occurs when crossing the equator for the first time. It dates back to the 14th century from when it was discovered that the world was round. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers ventured further south and west without fear of sailing off the edge of the world. The excitement of sailing into the southern part of the world became a special event commemorated in a quasi religious/mythological ceremony including the dousing of pollywogs (first time crossers) with whatever liquid or muck was available on board. Then, they were tied by the ankles and submerged into the ocean. Obviously, the ceremony has been changed somewhat but the excitement remains. We are now official Shellbacks!
The cruise continues to be fun and our interests in painting, bridge, exercise and lectures continues. We’ve introduced the game of Mexican trains
to our travel partners and, yes Alec, it’s a hit just like in Belfast. We so enjoy reading your comments on our blog site and look forward to more of the same. At some point, we hope to catch up on transmitting pictures from our stops thus far. Love to all.

Hawaii and the Super Bowl

Honolulu, Hawaii and the Super Bowl
Our altogether too short of stay was great. Even though we had heavy rains, we enjoyed a car ride around Oahu stopping from time-to-time to enjoy the sites and take some pictures. It was an inaugural visit for our friends, the Fennessey’s and they were blown away by the Aloha and beauty of the Pacific Paradise. After the tour, we ended for a late lunch and Mai Tai at the Moana Surfrider on Waikiki beach. Then a long walk on the beach and enjoyed the surfers doing their thing. Overall, a good day.
On Sunday, we had a direct feed into the ship and enjoyed the Super Bowl, WOW! Larry lost a little money on this one, but it was worth it; best super bowl I’ve ever seen.
Realizing Honolulu was our last US port of call on our voyage, we made good use of our cell phone and enjoyed voice to voice catch up reports on the news from home. We will now be out of cell phone contact as our service does not afford global access. So keep those blogs coming! Yes, Sandra, we did get your blog…and thank you. We very much enjoy reading everyone’s news and comments. Dale, thanks for the Citrus weather report. Glad to hear no damage was down to our home in the wind. Next stop, Pago Pago, American Samoa!

sailing to Hawaii

Sailing toward Hawaii
We’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, making our way at about 20 knots to Oahu. Larry is almost back to normal and has returned to the bridge table once again. Ruthanne continues her art lessons and has produced some terrific pictures. The entertainment, food and accommodations continue to excel and we’re having the time of our life.

Manzaniilo, Mexico

Flash: Larry has contracted the Norovirus. Quarunteened to cabin until it passes. No problem, I needed the rest.

Manzanillo, Mexico

Manzanillo is new to cruise ships but has a old maritime history. Cortes first found the harbor in 1522 and chose the bay as a site for a shipyard. Today, Manzanillo is the largest commercial port on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Our ship arrived in this working port early morning Sunday, January 27 and found ourselves along side an industrial dock loaded with containers from around the world. We were the only cruise ship in port. For those of you who remember the movie starring Dudley Moore titled “10”, this is where the movie was filmed.
Manzanillo is old Mexico. There is little commercial tourist industry here. Many small shops catering to the local people and a few nice resorts up in the hills outside of the downtown area. The people are helpful, friendly and eager to please.
After a walk through town, and a few little purchases, we took a taxi out of town to one of the local beaches, Miramar Beach. We enjoyed a wonderful fresh seafood lunch, octopus, deep fried whole fish (looked like an oversized sun fish), shrimp in a chili sauce (too hot for Ruthanne to eat), sautéed fish filet with beer. It was served al fresco with a beautiful beach setting. On our taxi ride back to the ship, our driver showed us some of the local wildlife. We saw iguana in the trees the size of large full grown cats. They were very colorful, orange, yellow and black.

Viva Mexico

Viva Mexico
We arrive in Acapulco on Saturday, Jan 26. Short day in town, great weather. About 2 million people habitate the general area. We learned a bit about Mexico’s history from an on board lecture. Much was said about the Aztec civilization including the source of words we still use today: tortilla, avocado, chili and guacamole for example. The town, (Acapulco means broken bamboo) is built on a narrow strip of low land, scarcely half a mile wide, between the shoreline and the lofty mountains that encircle the bay. The city has had it’s star-spangled times, prompting “old blue eyes” Frank Sinatra to give the place a mention in his all time classic, come fly with me.
For our part, we watched the famous cliff divers, had lunch at Senor Frogs, did some shopping and took a van tour around the downtown area. The shop owners were quite a bit more aggressive than what we’ve found in other ports and few bargains were to be found.
The city still looks beautiful and romantic from a distance, but up close, she is showing her age and decline. Buildings are not well kept and many of the resorts and shop buildings are in need of repair. The city had a major boom in the 1940-50’s and again a brief boom in an area in the hills outside of town in the 1970’s which the city dwellers call the “new town”. With such wonderful natural beauty surrounding the bay and the hills overlooking the city, one would hope a revitalization would come quickly to spruce up ol’ Acapulco.

Whoope!

PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA
Puntarenas, which means Sand Point in Spanish, is the capital of the costal province and largest city on the costal shores of Costa Rica. About 100,000 people live in the city.
The Costa Rican nation offers public education through high school and provides socialized medical services. There is a 93% literacy rate and an average life span of 78. There is no Army or military force of any kind. With a total area of 20,000 square miles, it is the second smallest Central American nation (after El Salvador). The country is very conservation conscientious and protective of its natural tropical rain forests. Coffee, tourism and computer chip manufacture tops the economy.
Our visit was taken up by a new experience for Ruthanne and Larry, ZIP-LINING. You’re placed in a harness and attached to a cable, and then off you go high into the forest canopy, over rivers and gorges, quite a thrill. All in all we traveled through and over the tropical jungle of Costa Rica through 7 zip-lines and platforms. To reach the various platforms, we walked over cable strung suspension bridges that would swing and bounce with each step as we climbed above the jungle into the trees. After our hearts settled down and a good Costa Rican lunch, we were taken to see Sloth’s, Crocodiles and Iguanas, which are all prevalent. It was a fun and exhilarating day! We returned to our cabin happy to be out of the heat of the tropical climate…hot, hot, hot, and HUMID!

Panama Canal

Gustafson’s confront technical difficulties…..
Before our next summary of the Panama Canal, Larry wanted to explain a few technical problems. To begin with, apparently the picture size we had selected were too large for timely transmission at $0.50 a minute. Unfortunately, even the small pictures are having trouble transmitting from sea, therefore, until we sort it out, or arrive in a port like LA where we can utilize a land based internet café, a narrative log will have to suffice.

PANAMA CANAL

We enjoyed a terrific experience participating in the inaugural transit of the Panama Canal aboard the Queen Victoria. The Panama Canal is a lock-type canal, not dissimilar to the Ballard Locks in Seattle, WA. Approximately eighty kilometers long that unites the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The canal was built at one of the narrowest points of both the isthmus of Panama and the American continent. The canal opened its doors to trade in August of 1914 and since then, close to a million vessels have used the waterway.

The canals three sets of locks, each having two lanes, that serve as water lifts elevating ships 26 meters above sea level to Gatun Lake. Here they cross the continental divide to then be lowered back to sea on the opposite side of the isthmus. The vessels use their own propulsion for the greater part of their transit. Only when passing through the locks are ships powered by small locomotives using cables attached to the ships. These locomotives, affectionately called “Mules” ( from the Erie Canal) and work in pairs to minimize the risk of damaging the canal’s structure. Finally, with terrific vision, two dams were constructed to help supply the approximately two hundred million liters of fresh water for each lock. The water is ultimately flushed into the sea.

Finished in 1913, under the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt, the canal supports a high volume of commerce at a combined cost of $639 million and it took over thirty years to construct. Over thirty thousand lives were lost during construction as a result of accidents, malaria, yellow fever and bubonic plague.

The cost for the Queen Victoria to transit the canal was approximately $230,000. The smallest amount ever paid for a canal transit was in 1928 when a swimmer paid $0.36 in tolls to swim the canal. It took him ten days to complete the trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
While initially operated and constructed by the USA, on Dec. 31, 1999, Panama assumed total responsibility for the administration, operation, and maintenance of the canal.

Larry has some extensive video of our transit. Our canal crossing started at 6AM and we completed our transit by 7PM that same evening. The Panama Canal is located in a tropical rain forest, but we had wonderful good luck, a dry sunny day, although very hot and humid, greeted us on our day of transit.

One Happy Island

Jan 19th, Oranjestad, Aruba. We arrived in Aruba without much fanfare, early in the morning of 1/19. Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until it’s independence in 1986. It is an Island of contrasts; the Islands interior is dotted with cactus and wind swept divi-divi trees, while secluded coves and sandy beaches form its blue water coasts. The still Dutch-like Island has a population of about 100,000 people and lies about 35 miles north of Venezuela, Larry,s old homesake. Aruba is one of the three “ABC” islands of the Dutch West Indies and you can see a great deal of the local architecture reflecting this Dutch influence.
Upon arrival, we raced for the internet café, sent our message on the blog site then off to the shops for souvenirs and seeing the town of Oranjestad. Wonderful place and the locals are proud of their motto written on the local license plate, “ONE HAPPY ISLAND”. We returned to the ship, had lunch then off on a local bus to take us to Eagle beach forswimming and sunbathing. The sand at the beach looked and felt like sugar.

Ft Lauderdale

On Wednesday, Jan 16, we arrived in fort Lauderdale with “list” in hand to cover our shopping needs before being off USA soil. The list had items like, suction cup hooks to help with storage challenges, travel alarm, water color painting supplies, bathroom storage shelf, baggies for lunches away from ship, hangers, a precious commodity on ship, batteries, replacement for Larry’s broken watchband, cocktail hour beverages, and snorkel and goggles for the South Pacific. But before our shopping trip could begin, we had a must stop at Starbucks to begin our blogging session (see picture). Our departure from Ft Lauderdale was notable with fireboats and Queen Elizabeth 2 docked in the next berth, horns blaring from ships sending their welcome to the new Queen Victoria, and then people in the apartments and along the beach waving flags from world wide countries saying their goodbyes as we left for the open sea. A wonderful send off as we began the next leg of our journey and our two days at sea toward Aruba.
During our days at sea we have now settled into a routine…continental breakfast in our cabin as a wake up call, thirty minute walk on deck, morning activity of lecture, watercolor lessons, ball room dance lessons…so far the Cha- Cha, waltz and Rumba. The dance lessons are fast and furious with many participants. Larry complained after the third lesson of the Rumba, that he forgot the first lesson of the Cha-Cha. After dancing we meet our traveling companions for lunch and then begin the afternoon activities. Larry off to bridge, and Ruthanne with the watercolor lessons. RA’s first attempt at painting is included in the pictures below. We meet up again at four for a quick afternoon walk and then it is time to get polished and shined for dinner at 6. The food has been plentiful (as expected) and excellent.
After dinner we take in the evening entertainment which has included singing, dancing, comedy show and the like.
We love the blog messages back and hope you are all doing well.

First days at sea

To begin with, our ability to update our blog site will be constrained since the ship is experiencing difficulties connecting to the internet. Moreover, we are not able to use our computer in our cabin as we originally were told. This requires us to visit the ship’s computer center and wait our turn. Finally, Larry no longer has the necessary technical support supplied by Dennis Fennessey. This will naturally slow things down a bit as well.
Nevertheless, on Sunday the 13th, we boarded the Queen Victoria at pier 92 in Manhattan. The unloading of our heavy luggage and the boarding of the ship went much more smoothly than we could possibly have anticipated. Once on the ship, we found our cabin and began the process of unpacking and storing our clothing for the next three months and as we put things away, the cabin although tiny, appears big enough to meet all our needs. Storage is a challenge.
The ship is beautiful. If you remember how the Titanic looked in the Decaprio movie, the Queen Victoria looks the same: Beautiful woods and marble, tremendous stairways, Chandeliers and the like.
The best feature of our cabin is our balcony. We’re on the starboard side of the ship (right side going forward). Being able to stand on our private balcony and seeing the sights and sounds is terrific. We departed the pier at 7:30 pm and witnessed a fantastic historical event. For the first and only time, three of Cunard lines ships (Queen Elizabeth2, Queen Mary2 and the Queen Victoria) left their respective piers together and made their way down the Hudson River to the Statute of Liberty for an awesome fireworks and music display. Our pictures are a little fuzzy but the video we took is great and we’ll share this upon our return. It was also fun to watch the Queen Elizabeth2 follow us down the east coast for the first two days of the cruise.
We are having our dinners at the late seating and after our first dinner, we took a leisurely walk around the ship marveling at the facility. On our first day at sea, Don Kredel and Larry played in their first duplicate bridge tournament while Ruthanne did the laundry at the shipboard laundry mat. Next stop, Ft. Lauderdale. :-)

Oops, I left out the pictures!