DFR Travels

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.

Up And Over...

Tuesday, February 10. Smooth sailing. 31 C.

Best to be inside or on the shade on deck today. We are not used to this heat under any circumstances. Fortunately the glitch we encountered yesterday has been overcome and I can now do my little blog thing without too much of an issue.

I think it is going to be rather boring for the next four days folks. We ourselves are settling in and catching our breath after a couple of exhausting days ashore. The ship is amazingly quiet today and people are unashamedly admitting they need a break.

This is what went wrong yesterday. This is where I sat for over an hour yesterday, waiting for the train to take us on a trip down through some beautiful but rugged mountains. The engines were modern diesel but the carriages, 12 of them, were restored carriages from about 1901. Very comfortable and super clean and well maintained. Surprisingly we got a refund from Holland America this morning. The delay at the very beginning meant the rest of the day was very hurried and took the joy out of the rest of the day. [We did sleep very well though!] Many people were envious but stated that they could not get up after sitting down like that.

All that we have seen today is the occasional island or Light Stands on croppy bits of rock. Today at noon we only had 45 feet of water under the keel. That is nothing at all. We are working our way up and through the Great Barrier Reef that is off the upper East Coast of Australia. It is massif, roughly the size of Italy. Yup, really big.

Captain Cook made his way through it which was an outstanding piece of navigation. That was in 1770, the ship did run aground and they spent weeks repairing the ship but continued on their voyage. Cook was quite the man.

[The ship's clocks go back 30 minutes tonight. That make us 6 1/2 hours behind West Coast time, but still a day ahead.]

A Good Relaxing Day.

This will be the bulk of our view from the deck for another three days until we hit Darwin. Too hot to sit out there except at 5:45 in the morning. It is then quite exhilarating!

The Longest Day...

Monday, February 9. Touch of a sprinkle. 30 C.

Out and at'em at 8:15. Back at 3:15. Too long for this dude I will tell you. At the end of the day we found out why. There is a big ship in port today that has some ugly several thousand passengers on it and beyond the Cairns Tourism Capabilities who were taxed beyond their capacity. Buses, Tourist Trains and Cable Cars. We were on all three.

We started late, had another one hour wait while the Tourist Train was bunged up, and a couple of hundred of us Zandamians cooled our heels at a train station without seating at 30 C .

We had some very interesting conversations with new people that made it easier to take. Today, that seemed to turn into the mission, not sightseeing. The surroundings were neat, clean and tidy and all of the fellow passengers are very well travelled and experienced people. We really enjoyed the whole of the day and the scenery was spectacular. I find the Aussies so easy going that it was almost a pleasure to be with them in what we may consider stressful circumstances but it wasn't, because they made it seem fun!

Too many Pictures today and then I encountered a technical glitch in getting them from my iPhone to my Computer when doing my blog unfortunately, that sort of annoyed me at the end of what would have otherwise been a beautiful day in paradise.