Chasing Memories...

Saturday, February 14. Valentines Day and our Granddaughter's Birthday!  Rain, muggy. 28 C.

We were on a four hour Shore Excursion this morning. 'The Defense of Darwin' was the name of it. The Darwin of today is not the Darwin of 22 years ago when we were here last. Today's Darwin is a sleek city with modern buildings, looking like any modern city. The weather has not  changed; hot, humid, rain and then dry. Any evidence of WW ll has long gone, of course. It was a well done tour, the problem was my expectation level, as is often the case with me.

Like many things in life, there are some things that you just cannot revisit and expect to get the same sense of excitement as you did the first time you experienced that feeling. And, there are some that you can do over and over and that feeling is still there; like a good roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding dinner. Well, today I was expecting to see Darwin in the same way as when we saw Darwin 22 years ago.  And, that was not to be the case! My bad.

Our clocks go back 1 1/2  hours tonight. I think the Captain could have done this a bit better, he moved us back 1/2 hour since we left Cairns, I think he could have done it in two one hour segments!

A Good Day, Nice to be Here.

Those Pilot Boats are a pleasant start to the day, the world over.

What happened to Quaintsy Darwin?

This tunnel was built by the Australians to house defence supplies as the Japanese bombed Darwin for over a year and the tunnels were bomb proof. They were built into the side of cliffs.

This is about the halfway point in the tunnel that was maybe 200 yards deep, very humid.

Tunnel Poster.

                                 

Just stuff.

The Terminal

Last of Four Sea Days...

Friday, February 13. Nice enough. 27 C. 

Land Ho tomorrow, can't come soon enough for me. Four sea days is enough for me right now. We were up at our usual 5:30 am but it  was pitch black outside, and that is no fun. Eventually it got light outside without a real Sunrise. 

We did a couple of good laps around the walking deck and then had a light breakfast in the Neptune Lounge, we then caught some fresh air on our deck while I had an after breakfast catch-up napette to help compensate for the two hours sleep I miss by getting up at Fellette's 5:00 am wake up time.

The length of time that it takes the ship to go from Cairns to Darwin is beginning to sink into my head. This is a long trip we are on to Circumnavigate Australia. Sure I/we knew that, but for four days to see nothing but some rocks and distant islands, it sinks in.

We went to a Valentine's Day luncheon in the Main Dining Room put on by our Travel Agent today. We had a nice table and good conversations on many matters. It was lovely, very polite and rather old fashioned style in a humongous two storied high elegante surroundings with hordes of male waiters who are very good at making us feel like we are all worthy of such elegant treatment.

Later the weather socked in and a thick pea soup fog descended upon us complete with the ships horn being sounded every few minutes. This added to feeling of an imminent collision, not with an iceberg but an errant ship lost in the fog. That soon disappeared and we were soon out in bright sunshine.

This season up here is known as 'The Wet'. We were up here quite some time ago on a Bus Tour over the top of Australia, and we got some very thorough information about life up here. Australians are a hardy lot; big country, small population, life can be tough, the land can be and is harsh in many ways. They have more prickly bushes, bugs, snakes, spiders crocodiles and things that can hurt you, eat you and frighten you to death than anywhere else in the world. So I suppose people that live up and along the top of Australia must be the hardiest of tough nation of people. I can only imagine that Darwin will be changed since we were last here. We will find out tomorrow.  Oh yes, sometime this afternoon we had torrents of rain. The upside is the temperature is down a few degrees, although still humid.

A first for me today, I went for a second walk this afternoon, alone. Just to keep myself and my joints working and probably as a guilt thing for having an over the top lunch!

A Good Day.

That was what we were looking at most of the day, when it wasn't foggy or raining. If you could see far enough, in the distance is Australia

Still Plugging Along...

Thursday, February 12. Clear. Hot 31 C.

Nothing but water, no matter where you look. These four days at sea are the longest stretch of sea days until after we are making the run for home after French Polynesia and have six days at sea heading for San Diego. Actually I like sea days but also a good mix of both. 

There is not much I can say about today, it is just another sunny day in Paradise. We were invited to a Cocktail Reception before dinner tonight. There the Captain and his wife were there and we chit chat with fellow passengers in the suites. We are known as 'The Suite People'. A bit of a Snobbish thing for sure, but we are here and we are going with the flow!

Regarding Snobbishness. I have not see that attitude in any of our fellow passengers, all we have met are down to earth ordinary people. And I like to include us into that mix.

Another good day, Fellette is becoming more herself every day. A good place to be I would say.

Happy to be here!

Coffee on the deck, watching the sunrise with the first coffee of the day. You can't beat it!

Taking a break from an early morning walk around the deck. Most people are not early risers so it is quite nice having the ship almost to ourselves.

 

Starting The Trip Around Australia...

Wednesday, February 11. Smooth sea. 30 C.

There was something special, for me at least, this morning. We left Cairns and headed north two days ago and late this morning we turned left, West, and started the voyage through the Torres Straits, with Australia on the port side and the Island of Papua New Guinea on the starboard side. Both were visible for a short time until eventually New Guinea faded from sight. Soon we passed a point when we were no longer sailing in the Pacific Ocean but had transitioned to the Indian Ocean. To me that was an important place to be on this Cruise. We are not yet 50% of the way through this trip, but the halfway point is rapidly approaching; five days. It seems unreal that we are that far along because a good portion of the trip has been taken up with dealing with Fellette's injury.

The ship goes to great lengths to ensure there is never a dull moment for those so inclined to participate in activities. We enjoy life in a more conservative way but are still glad to see it happen. 

I have not commented on our fellow passengers too much as I was still absorbing information. There is a mixed bag all in all. However, many on the younger side are staff or crew. They mix and mingle and become part of the overall population. There are also entertainers on board and their youth, vigor and beauty, sprinkled throughout  the ship add to the appearance of it being a Fun or Party Ship. Yes, there are a lot of Old Party People aboard but they are more than balanced with older people who just want to relax and witness the fun, not be participants in it.

What we have noticed is the high percentage of passengers with walking disabilities! I would say that 35 to 40% of the actual passengers have some serious leg issues, hence walk in a different way. Then we have the overweight issues that abound. We also have a few that are Morbidly Obese. Those are sad to see and this is certainly not the right place for them to be, in my opinion.

A Good Day at Sea.

Derby Day at Sea today, that means fancy hats and a competition for that. Many women eagerly dressed up in some very elaborate hats. It was too difficult for me to get a decent shot without having an alcoholic stimulant. Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the Mid-Day sun!

Many quiet spectators, watching the participants, we just popped up to reinforce our convictions on learning how to relax.

You get the idea I think.

On a cabin door. How true!

Where we are: Top of Australia. 18 is Darwin, we are at where Fellette is pointing. Two more Sea Days at 11 Knots per hour before Darwin.

Apparently for navigation purposes, that rock, marked with a signal light is where the Pacific Ocean stops on the left and the Indian Ocean starts. 140 degrees West Longitude. So we are in the Indian Ocean for at least 15 days, around Adelaide. The captain gave a long blast on the ship's horn as we sailed by.