Cairns, Australia

On the northeast of the state of Queensland, is the city of Cairns (pronounced more like cans.) The small city sits against the background of mountains easily visited by train from the city to Kuranda and is also a main debarkation point for visits to the Great Barrier Reef. People on the ship took either the train and/or skyrail to Kuranda, or rode a catamaran to the Great Barrier Reef or wandered around the town.

At first we thought that we would take the train to Kuranda, however, one thing lead to another and we missed the train. Of course, neither one of us was intent on taking the trip or we would have gotten to the station on time.

We did exactly what we needed to do. We walked two short blocks from the ship to the center of town, phone cards in hand, found a pay phone in front of a currency exchange and began calling. We talked to all of our children and some other family members as well. We also were able to take care of some business over the telephone too. After we relinquished the phone booth, we walked to a mall, looked around for some clothes, bought none, and walked back to the ship for lunch. Food is so much easier for me on the ship in many places we visit we didn’t even look for something that I could eat.

After lunch we set off again. This time we headed to the post office, a quick walk since we had identified it earlier in the day. The day had been hot and humid and although there were threatening clouds in the morning, we had no showers.

We saw many aborigines around this city, unlike the other Australian cities we have visited. All of the Australians we encountered in the 9 cities we visited over two years were friendly, fun loving, laughing people who couldn’t do enough the make our visit pleasant. We felt welcomed and at home and sadly said good-bye as we sailed away.

Sydney

Darling Harbor, Sydney, Australia

We woke up about 4:30 AM when the pilot boat arrived just beneath our window, bringing the pilot onboard for the passage to our berth at Darling Harbor. Last year the QE2 was docked the first day at another spot and the second day at Circular Quay. Circular Quay is by far the best spot to be and Darling Harbor is the second best. Since we focused last year on the area around Circular Quay and riding on the Hop On Hop Off bus, this year we walked the Darling Harbor area.

When we first left the ship, we did not find the usual people from the tourism bureau! We just walked off into a small secure area and were on our own to figure out where we were. We had a good map but when you have no starting point on the map, it quickly becomes useless. Fortunately there was someone we knew from the ship being met by Australian friends. They were not from Sydney and had just had a tough time getting oriented so they could at least point us in the right direction. We were actually close to the pedestrian area of Darling Harbor and had no trouble beginning our hike.

And hike we did – from 9 am to 4 pm. Down one side and up the other from the aquarium to the Maritime Museum, stopping in the mall along the way. We bought a phone card and had our usual trouble with a new phone card. In New Zealand we dialed an 800 number and made our call with ease from a pay phone. In Australia, we bought a different brand and could not make it work in spite of reading and re-reading the instructions for 45 minutes. Back at the store where we purchased the card, the sales person checked the steps we followed and finally checked the card on her own cell phone. It worked. Then she asked us if we put in 40 cents. No, we hadn’t since no one told us to. So she went with us to the pay phone. The call really required 50 cents, so if she hadn’t been kind enough to go with us, the saga undoubtedly would have continued. At least she was pleasant and we only had to deal with English. Of course, after all of that we could only speak to answering machines.

It was lunch time so we hiked to Chinatown, visiting Paddy’s Market before eating. Paddy’s is an enormous flea market – two or three times larger than the largest one I have ever seen. We just walked through part of it and went across the street to Chinatown. We walked up and down trying to decide which place would be best for lunch. Jerry decided that we should choose the one with the most Asian customers and that worked perfectly. They brought us way too much food and of course we devoured all of it.

Leaving Chinatown just in time for the free show at the Outback Museum, I felt very pleased with my planning. Until we walked past where the Outback Museum was on the map and found instead a large construction site. Checking with visitor information we were told that the museum had been demolished. We tried to phone our one child who might still be awake at that hour, but no luck once again.

Next stop was the Maritime Museum, an interesting collection of marine artifacts, passenger memorabilia and full size vessels in the harbor. The Museum itself was well air-conditioned, which at that point in the afternoon we really appreciated. Our feet were very tired at that point, so we crossed the pedestrian bridge and returned to the ship where we enjoyed a swim in the pool and a little rest. We didn’t feel like dinner in the dining room because of our huge lunch, so we just ate a little at the Panorama Buffet.

For the Sailaway, at about 10 PM, we joined most of the other passengers on the open decks. From our spot at the railing on Deck 11 (the top), the lighted buildings, including the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, provided a breathtaking farewell from the most beautiful harbor in the world. Probably our last farewell to Sydney and a fine remembrance of a great city.

PS
We didn’t know about it, but after talking to other passengers about their day on shore, I highly recommend buying a day pass that enables travel on buses, trains, ferries and more for the entire day for US$17 a person.

International Dateline

Yesterday we crossed the International Dateline. Yesterday for us was February 9, today is Wednesday, February 11 and February 10 never happened. I just posted Rarotonga from my laptop, which is still on Eastern Standard Time. I like to change the time for the post so that it is an accurate reflection of the local time I really publish it. The post didn’t appear, but there was a message that said it would be published in the future at 6:47 p.m. EST. I just edited the time back to EST so it would appear now!

Too much thinking about the International Dateline can lead to confusion.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

I have been to paradise - at least for a tourist on a beach. Rarotonga is a place of great natural beauty, a laid back pace, and people who have both external and internal beauty.

It was a ride to get there though! Not only was it a tender port, but also the Captain said that because of the depth of the ocean the ship’s anchor could not be used. Instead the ship’s engines would be used all day to keep her in position. There is also a very strong current around Rarotonga. So the ship was moving, the tender was moving and the swells were moving both the ship and the tender. What a job it was for the crew! But they did their work well. As we were riding in the tender to the dock, the ride was getting so wild, the person driving the tender slowed it way down. I have never been in such a wild ride, ever so briefly.

At the dock, there was a local bus waiting to transport us to the Muri Beach Hotel, where we could enjoy the beach and the amenities of the Hotel. The Hotel is on a lagoon that looks like a Hollywood version of a South Pacific beach. The colors of the water in the lagoon are a couple of shades of incredible turquoise blue. The crystal clear water is no deeper than waist high, so it is possible to walk from one side to the other. At one end of the lagoon there is an island that people kayak to. In one small area of the lagoon the waves break over the reef encircling the island. The sand is fine and white on a broad beach. We swam in the lagoon, watching fish swim around the chunks of coral and then lay on the lounges until we were hot again. I think I saw Dory and Nemo in the coral.

Of course I got hungry and Jerry didn’t, so I went to the bar on a lanai near the pool for lunch while he stayed on the beach. I saw people eating fries, but there were both French Fries and Island Fries on the menu and I didn’t know the difference. The bar tender said that the Island Fries were taro root and other local root vegetables, so that is what I ordered. I also saw someone eating fresh coconut, removing chunks of white meat from a shell, so I ordered a coconut. I watched the bar tender whack off the top of the shell and put a straw in it and bring it to me. The coconut was chilled and nothing is more refreshing than fresh chilled coconut water. I liked all of the different Island Fries except for one, which might have been the taro. After drinking the coconut milk, I asked the waiter to open the coconut for me, which he did. Then even though I ate way too much coconut, it didn’t even make a dent in what was there. I cut up lots of coconut, wrapped the pieces in a napkin and shared it with Jerry and our friends on the beach.

At 2:30 we walked out for the return ride on the local bus, which by the way was a homemade wooden box on a chassis. The seats were benches around the perimeter of the box. The driver sat on a bus driver’s seat resting on the floor of the box in front of a well for the pedals. On the ride to the hotel, the gears ground – a lot. So we walked out of the hotel to the bus only to find it broken down. Oh, oh! Last tender was scheduled to leave shore at 4:30.

No problem! There was a van there and they accepted our tickets and drove us back to town. We could have stayed on the bus and ridden a bit further to the tender dock, but we jumped off at the shopping center and walked around. We looked at Paca’s Pearls, the store we heard about from Paca in Papeete, thinking about buying black pearls. We decided against that purchase and walked to the grocery store for quinine water for Jerry. It was a little far to walk to get to the tender dock, but we kept putting one foot in front of the other and there we were. Of course, there were stalls with people selling black pearls, pareos, and other tourist treasures, so after one last browse we got on the tender and rode back to the ship.

There hasn’t been much development on the island -yet. It looks like the people live simple and happy lives. Their tradition is to bury the dead at home in above ground crypts. Someone told us, front yard for the people they like and back yard for the others.

What a fabulous place for a honeymoon! Or a wedding anniversary celebration. Or any other reason you can think of to visit one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen.

Papeete Tahiti

Sunset coloring clouds over Moorea


We woke up to the sound of the ship arriving at the dock just outside of our cabin window. Because the water is so deep there is no need for tugs and the ship pulled in under its own power. After our usual breakfasts on the back deck outside the Panorama Buffet, we heard the Captain announce that immigration officials had cleared the ship and passengers could go ashore. We walked down the gangway, onto the dock, and to the main street. It was 8 a.m. and 84 humid degrees. We walked a couple of blocks away from the docks because I was a woman on a mission. Last year, when we were in Papeete, we went to the big market right in downtown, and I saw a large, long, elaborate shell necklace that I really liked. But, I said to myself in 2008 that I would never wear it at home and it cost too much anyway. This year, we walked past the stalls with fabric, produce, fish, meat and flea market merchandise. I thought I knew exactly where the stall was with the necklace that I wanted. And I did. At first, I was disoriented because we entered on the other side of the building from the previous year, but then I became oriented and there it was just as I remembered. My necklace, a year later, and at a very reasonable price. I don’t know why in my memory it was too expensive. Perhaps I did the currency conversion incorrectly; perhaps I had very few Tahitian francs, but in 2009 I had the necklace after a year of thinking about it.

As we wandered through the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), we met a government official who showed us a balcony on the third floor where we had a wonderful view of the city. From there we walked for a couple of hours, looking at the people and shops. We ended up climbing to the fourth floor of a building to a lovely shop where they sold black pearls. I declined Jerry’s offer of a black pearl necklace. How many necklaces do I need? The couple we were walking with decided to take a taxi to a beach and we decided to return to the ship for lunch. (We had a good lunch, but our friends didn’t get to the beach after the cab driver said it would cost US$100 for the ride.)

After lunch we hurried back to the shopping area to buy postcards in one of the shops and then to the Post Office to write and mail them. The sailaway provided a lot of excitement for us all. When we reached Deck 10 and the best view of the port from the open deck, we saw thick, black smoke billowing from a four-story building that was occupied by a car dealer. The emergency vehicles had trouble getting through the rush hour traffic, but finally were able to reach the fire and steam water onto the building. We watched as the fire gained the upper hand and flames poured out of blown out windows and the roof. Eventually the water was aimed at each ascending floor, extinguishing the fire from the bottom to the top of the building. It was the largest fire most of us had ever seen.

As we sailed away, the Captain took us very close to the shore for a long look at Tahiti. We stayed up on deck for about half an hour because he said we would also be able to sail very close to Moorea, which we visited last year. The sun was setting and there were both clouds and mist over Moorea, but it still looked beautiful.


Two days by sea and we will be in Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands

Pitcairn Island

What a remarkable day we had! We traveled across hundreds of miles of ocean without seeing anything but an albatross, sea birds, and flying fish. And then, in the morning, I walked to the other side of the ship and there in front of us was a very small island (about 18 square miles), bright green and brown in the sunlight. How beautiful it must have looked to the men of the Bounty when it appeared on the horizon before them. Very few ships even today make a visit here.

Tahitian Princess is too large to be able to get close enough to the rugged shoreline to dock at Pitcairn Island. The Island is not large enough to have over 600 people from a cruise ship tramping around it without damage to the infrastructure. So like other ships like ours, we had been scheduled to embark residents of Pitcairn who would give us presentations about the history and life today on Pitcairn and bring their arts, crafts, and artifacts onboard so we could purchase mementos of our visit. But, because of the number of cases of the GI bug onboard, the Mayor of Pitcairn told the Captain that he could not risk introducing illness to their small and isolated community by having contact between us. Given the remote location I am sure it was a wise decision, but we were all disappointed not to have the opportunity to meet the people from Pitcairn and learn about their island first hand.

I was especially disappointed because a Pitcairn reader of my blog, Dave, and I had exchanged emails. He knew the Tahitian Princess was scheduled to check in there and told me that we would be able to meet.

Although no one would come on board, arrangements were made for a few Pitcairn residents to come to the TP’s pontoon and load supplies onto one of their longboats. We were standing at the railing on Deck 5 just above the boat from the Island watching supplies being transferred. Cases of eggs, milk, sacks of potatoes, and other foods were taken off the TP and loaded onto the small boat. I watched wondering if one of the men could be Dave. Then, when the work was done, one man looked up and called my name. I was so excited to think that I was meeting in person someone I am acquainted with at such remote location. Dave called out to me that he had given the Captain a gift for me, and many people on the ship began talking about us. Who is Sharon? Who is Dave? What is the gift? How do they know each other?

JJ, the Cruise Director, and Frankie, the Assistant Cruise Director, talked about the mystery on the daily TV show. Our friends onboard kept pointing out to people who I am and telling them a bit of the story. Michael, the Bridge Instructor, told the class the story. In addition to the gift for me, there was a gift for the Captain for bringing our ship closer to shore than any ship our size and a video about the Pitcairn. The video was shown over the television and is going to be repeated.

So, Dave, a public thank you for your thoughtful gift to me, two lovely King of the Night flowers (one night blooms) and a bottle of Tautama Gold Pure Honey, produced and bottled on Pitcairn Island.

Easter Island

Easter Island is a tender port, that is, we do not dock there, but anchor off shore and use the ship’s tenders to get ashore. Should the time ever come that we abandon ship (not likely), the tenders will be our lifeboats. When used as tenders, most of the boats hold 120 people and as lifeboats, 150. I read new notices on the tenders this time. At the bottom of the instructions about tying up together and rationing water, it says something like this: “Remember no one is a survivor until rescued. Maintain all survival strategies even after rescue craft are in the area.”

This morning, Captain Ravera had to make an important decision. There were large swells that impacted passengers’ ability to get on and off the tenders. Happily for the passengers, the Captain decided that the swells were manageable so we were able to go ashore. What that meant for the crew on the tenders was much more work.

To disembark, we go to Deck 3, forward, through the security checkpoint and walk down narrow metal stairs on the outside of the ship to a floating pontoon. The tender is tied up to the pontoon and the engines and rudder of the tender keep it pressed against the pontoon. With large swells, both the ship and the pontoon are rising and falling with the water, swinging today about 4 feet above and four feet below the pontoon. As each passenger is ready to board, crew members hold onto the passenger’s upper arms and time the rising and falling so that the passenger lifts a foot off the pontoon and onto the tender when both are level. Hundreds of times. The crew is really cautious and take on their authoritative “I am in charge here” voices telling us to remain seated and exit only one row at a time. The return was more difficult for us. We watched as one person nearly fell backward onto the tender, but was caught by the crew. Many passengers have mobility issues so the crew really works hard to get us all safely on and off the ship. I have great confidence in their ability, and it is easy to just let them have complete control of moving between the two craft.

Since Jerry and I were on Easter Island last year, we decided to spend our time walking around the town of Hanga Roa, about a mile from the dock used by the tenders. Last year was very dry, a fact I remember because my Cole Hahn walking shoes were permanently stained by all of the red dust of Easter Island. This year, it had rained the day before we arrived and there was red mud everywhere. Most of the roads were paved, so we didn’t spend too much time in the puddles and the mud.

We passed some pretty houses with nice gardens, a tenting campground, the Hotel Hanga Roa reconstruction project, some Moai, a swimming lagoon, and surfers riding waves back to shore. Small children and families were swimming in the lagoon behind a volcanic rock seawall. We turned right to head up the main shopping area, passed the post office and fire station, and purchased a small souvenir Moai. We wandered in and out of several art galleries and shops, none of which were air conditioned, so it was cooler outside in the breeze than inside. At the top of the street, at a pretty little church we turned left and checked out the local grocery store. We are so spoiled with the abundance and quality of food and produce that we take for granted. Our last stop before turning around was the Artisans Center, which was filled with many local arts and crafts.

We headed back over the same route, spending about 3 hours walking by the time we were back at the dock and the tender to return to the ship.

We finally had another formal night and I wore my cobalt blue dress and Jerry wore his tuxedo.