Last of the Sea Days

Sailing into Sydney at dawn: The Harbor Bridge and the Opera House beyond

ms Amsterdam
February 12-14, 2013

The three sea days between Picton and Sydney just flew by. Our luck held out: we had perfect weather and relatively calm seas save for one day that was a bit rocky. You can always tell when rough water is ahead; there are bowls of green apples and soda crackers at the front desk and little white bags discreetly hanging by every elevator. After five weeks we were quite experienced with the one-handed hair shampooing in the shower while hanging onto the safety bar with the other hand, walking the narrower halls along the stateroom decks rather than the wide open spaces of the shops/library/casino/etc deck so you can either bounce off the walls or hang on to the railings on either side of the halls and carrying a full glass or coffee cup at the Lido Buffet without spilling a drop. I'm not quite sure how we'll use these skills at home once we regain our land legs. After being on the ship for so long, when you are on dry land every once in a while you find yourself rocking with the non-existent waves on the non-existent sea.

The Tasman Sea can be quite stormy so we were more than happy to have such a smooth crossing entertained by  the occasional enormous pod of dolphins passing by.

Sea days are frequent and special on this long cruise. We've been educated by retired professors and other experts about earthquakes, volcanoes, maritime history of the Pacific, explorers, Polynesian migration, astronomy and geology. We've been entertained by singers, dancers, classical pianists and guitarists, comedians, folkloric troupes and even a magician and ventriloquist. A floating Ed Sullivan show. There is live music every afternoon and evening, from classical trios, to jazz quartets, dance bands and three different pianists at three different piano bars. And my new besties, the knitters. We met every sea day at 10 am in the Explorers Lounge for an hour to knit/crochet blankets for the Linus Project, catch up on what everyone had done in the various ports and just enjoy each other's company. I learned a lot from the experienced knitters, providing a good deal of comic relief in the process. I knitted a couple of blankets for charity, three patterned dish cloths to donate to a craft fair, five kitty snuggies for the no-kill shelter in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, plus two cowls for myself. They also pointed me toward some lovely yarn and quilt shops in New Zealand. We were truly an international group from the US, Canada, Bolivia, Brazil, Thailand, UK, NZ, Norway, Australia and more. I started to miss them the moment I left the Lounge the last sea day before Sydney.

We have had a fantastic adventure. Never in my life did I think I would cross the vast (boy, is it vast!) Pacific. And without getting seasick. I guess my grandfather and father were right; I did outgrow it!!! 40 days was a long time to be so far away from hearth and home. I was ready to go back to Kennesaw and catch up with life there but given the chance Jim would've stayed on the Amsterdam for the entire 115 days. Trust me, I will dearly miss the wonderful staff on the ship. Who will snap open my napkin at dinner and place it on my lap?

Our last night was a formal dress night for Valentine's Day. The ship was decked out from bow to stern with red hearts and streamers and flowers. We had another of the ship's officers at our table for dinner so the wine flowed. We all got a little misty-eyed when we said good bye to our table mates as well as the servers who had taken such good care of us. 81 of us disembarked in Sydney but 200 were joining the cruise so tonight two new people will take our seats at dinner.

Oh, remember Ginger? Well she and her sainted husband were on the airport bus with us this morning so I got to catch up on one last session of shipboard news: One couple had to fly home to Michigan to deal with broken water pipes that had gone all Katrina on their house but intended to catch up with the ship in Manilla, 26 people had not gotten their visas to visit China so had to spend a day in Auckland at the Chinese consulate acquiring the documents, Mary Ann's husband died shortly before the cruise started but had made her promise to take the trip anyway and so she did and has had her good days and bad days (and I have no more idea who Mary Ann is than you do!), there were several budding romances amongst the ship's staff, and Ginger and sainted husband were flying to SFO on their way home to Chico. It was only a 30 minute trip to the airport but Ginger talks a mile a minute. Jim was ready to tear his ears off but I think she's a total hoot! Plus she was wearing gold lame ballet flats for the trip home. I had to give her bonus style points for that.

This is the end of the saga. I'll put up some pictures after I get home. Thanks for sharing the past six weeks with me.

Stop the Turnip Truck, I Just Fell Off

Delta 16
Sydney to LAX
February 15, 2013

Note: I had planned to use some of the 12+ hours in the air to write a wrap up of our trip but then this happened:

We left the ship early this morning and were shuttled to the airport, arriving about 9 am. Checking in, immigration, security were a breeze. It took us 30 minutes or so to spend our 45 Australian Dollars and then we kicked back in the New Zealand Air Lounge until our flight was called about 11 am.

We boarded, I opened what I thought was a nifty slot for laptops, etc. so put my iPad in and then heard it slide down and hit bottom. Uh Oh. Yes, indeedy, I had opened the tray table compartment and now my iPad was MIA. The flight attendant tried to reach it but no luck; the pilot tried, same result sooooooo two British Airways mechanics arrived to remove the panel below the tray table and retrieve my toy.

I had been on the plane less than five minutes.

Note: Four hours into the flight. I had put away the iPad and wireless keyboard to have lunch and then had a nap and then watched a few TED episodes before deciding to return to the trip wrap-up.

I can't find the keyboard. I've searched the various cubbyholes and nada. I've looked through my "purse", a commodious travel bag, and my carry-on up in the overhead. Nada. My dear friend Cassie gave me a little flashlight a while back and it's always with me. I've used it to find my glasses under another airline seat (Maybe I should limit myself to travel by road or sea), loaned it to a TSA agent to find a drivers license lost on the X-ray machine conveyor belt and today to find the keyboard that had slipped between the chair and the wall to the floor behind my seat. This time it was reachable, no mechanics required.

Jeesh. I've been flying for nearly 60 years. I've got close to a half-million miles on Delta yet it seems I just fell off the turnip truck.

Jim says that next trip, no toys. I will sit with my hands in my lap and feet on the floor.

Picton, New Zealand

The Cloudy Bay Winery in Picton, New Zealand

Picton, NZ
The South Island
ms Amsterdam
February 11, 2013

Since the earthquakes in Christchurch on the south end of the South Island, some of
the cruise ships are starting to call in Picton which is on the north end of the South
Island. It's a tiny little community of 2,000 people and 2,000 boats (New Zealanders love
their water sports) but just over the coastal mountains is the Marlborough Valley, one of
the premier wine making regions in New Zealand.

For a long time, this valley was planted with apples, nuts, stone fruits, corn and probably
squash, too. They grow a lot of squash in NZ. It looks so much like the Napa Valley with
coastal mountains on one side and dryer hills on the other side but much, much bigger.
There are still lots of apple orchards and corn fields and of course sheep (the sheep
population is ten times the people population) but now tens of thousands of acres are
planted with grapes, specifically sauvignon blanc and pinot noir.

We opted for the Wine and Garden tour which, happily, was in the afternoon. I'd rather
taste wine at 2 pm than 10 am! We visited two vineyards, Cloudy Bay and Wither Hills
and had grand tasting experiences at both. Cloudy Bay is closer to the wetter coastal
hills while Wither Hills is named for the mountain range on the dryer side of the valley.

We did our tasting by candlelight in the barrel cellars at both wineries (reminded us
so much of the setting for our niece Erin's wedding at the Wente Winery in California)
starting with sparkling wine at each working our way through young to aged sauvignon
blancs then finishing with a pinot noir. Many of the people who were staying on the ship
for the entire cruise went back with several bottles from each winery.

Like the California wineries, each has a distinct architectural style and beautiful
grounds. They also serve light lunches which can be eaten as picnics on the grounds.
Although we didn't partake, we saw lots of people sprawled under the towering
eucalyptus trees at Cloudy Bay and the wisteria arbors at Wither Hills enjoying the day,
the place and the wine. There aren't near as many wineries as in Napa/Sonoma, but
there are quite a few throughout the valley, many offering "Accommodations" as well as
wine and food. Most on the tour voted for the Wither Bay offerings.

On the way back to the ship we stopped at Upton Gardens, a private garden planted
and maintained by a couple who had bought the property 25 years ago to renovate the
Victorian cottage located there. When the house was finished, Barbara Upton started
planting. The garden covers about an acre and a half with "rooms" defined by sharply
trimmed boxwoods and red cedar. There is a classic knot garden, a perennial garden,
an olive grove, vegetable garden and fruit orchard of apples and citrus and with pears
espaliered on a used brick wall. Completely untrained in landscape design, Barbara has
created a jewel of flowers, fruit and greenery. It was the perfect way to end our day in
the Picton region. Now to Sydney and home.

Leaving Wellington

Leaving Wellington on the way to Picton

I took this from our balcony last night about 11:30 as we left Wellington and headed to Picton, about 70 nautical miles away. I did NOT get up at 6 am for the colorful commentary as we headed into port; figured I'd catch it on the way out this evening at cocktail time.

Wellington: Hang on to Your Hat!

We're on top of Mt. Victoria with Wellington behind us. Our ship is just to the right of Jim's arm.

Wellington, NZ
ms Amsterdam
February 10, 2013

Once again we're at a pier in the commercial port area. NZ exports a lot of timber and
produce and whatever else is hiding in all those containers. HAL and the city have
provided a fleet of buses to shuttle people into the central city. Right across the pier is
the big, round sports stadium where they play professional rugby. No game today or
tonight. Would've been fun even if we would be clueless about the rules.

There are a lot of earthquakes in this part of the world. Wellington has on average
one a day. Of course most are so small you wouldn't know. But when they have a big
one, they are on a fault so as well as shaking, the earth literally rises a meter or more.
Evidently they are glass half full people because they say, "Oh, look. We now have
more land along the shore so let's go build something there." And they are certainly
optimistic because most of the houses are built on the sides of the hills around the
harbor. It's like San Francisco but with a lot more trees.

In fact, we rode a little red cable car from downtown up a steep cliff to the Botanical
Gardens. Since it's still summer here, the roses were spectacular. And since it's
Sunday, there were a number of locals in the gardens, too. They have a fabulous
Begonia House beautifully planted in drifts of color. The docent confided that the
begonias are nurtured elsewhere on the grounds and brought to the display when they
are at their peak.

We also stopped at Old St. Paul's, the original cathedral in Wellington, constructed
entirely of wood. It's used now just for weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. Inside
the docent pointed out a Marine flag and 48-star US flag hanging together. During WWII
over 70,000 Marines were in Wellington before going to battle. In fact, they lived in tents
on the grounds of the now-Botanical Gardens. They presented the flags that flew over
their temporary quarters to St. Paul's in gratitude for the hospitality extended by the
locals. The docent said it was very much a mutual admiration society.

Our driver took us all the way around the harbor to Mt. Victoria. Somehow he got that
bus up that narrow, winding road to the top and somehow most of us managed to climb
the 72 steps for a spectacular view of the entire city. Because it was Sunday, there were
all kinds of people walking, running or biking up that mountain. New Zealanders are
quite the outdoorsy group. There is a big half-marathon race around the bay next week
end (lots of posters and billboards about) so a lot of pre-race training going on.

We're in port until 11 tonight which is quite unusual and gives passengers and crew
alike time to spend ashore. This evening there is a big Food and Wine of New Zealand
party on the Lido (pool) Deck so we'll bypass our usual 8 pm in the dining room dinner.
As it happens, tomorrow in Picton, our only stop on the South Island, Jim and I are
going on a Wine and Garden tour which won't be until after lunch so we won't have to
set the alarm for an early departure. It will be fun to watch the ship leave port at night.
the ms Amsterdam may silently arrive at a port in the dawn's early light, but when this
ship leaves it does so with deep blasts of its horns that echo around the harbor (I need
my Chapman's to remind me of which toots mean what) and a band playing on the top
deck.

Picton is also our last port before we disembark in Sydney early on the 15th. So
many people have asked us if we wished we were staying aboard longer. It's been an
unbelievable adventure but we both think 40 days is enough for now. Of course if they
could bring a couple of crates of those strawberries on board I might reconsider...

Napier, New Zealand

The view from Cape Kidnappers in Napier, New Zealand

Napier, NZ
ms Amsterdam
February 9, 2013

"Jim, would you please go up to the bridge and tell the captain that I am not pleased
with the current location and to move the damned boat to the proper dock as promised."

Into each life some metaphorical rain must fall and today it's our turn. First of all we
had to leave Tauranga late because of the tides which meant bouncing along at 20+
knots instead of our usual regal 15 to 18. We still arrived about three hours later than
scheduled in Napier and thus lost our spot at the spiffy, close-to-town cruise dock.
We are in the commercial port surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of containers,
many of which are refrigerated so make a lot of noise as do the giant lift trucks that
are constantly in motion moving the containers from here to there and making a loud
beep-beep-beep whenever they are backing up. And it smells like diesel. And everyone
who just wanted to spend the day wandering through the streets admiring the Art Deco
architecture (the entire town was destroyed by an earthquake in the 30s and rebuilt in
the style of the day) has to take a 20 minute shuttle from pier to downtown. Because it is
a commercial pier, passengers and crew are not allowed to walk off but must be driven
through the gates. We had to do this in Lima, too, so when we return to the ship an
official will board the bus, count noses and make sure each person has a ship ID card
before opening the gate.

So before we leave on our excursion, postponed until the afternoon I will take just a little
time to whine, bitch and moan. I'm overdue.

Okay. All better now.

We can't remember why but we booked a shore excursion to Cape Kidnappers and the
gannet bird breeding colony. We had an adventure! In fact, we went on a Gannet Safari.
We drove all the way from one side of Hawkes Bay where the town of Napier is clear
around to the other side and Cape Kidnappers Station. This is a huge chunk of property
that has gone through several hands and is now owned by an American. He made a
lot of road improvements, planted timber (they grow a pine related to the Monterey
Pine that is harvested and exported mostly to Asia) and built a lodge and golf course.
Lemme tell ya, you REALLY have to want to play that course because it is a good 45
minutes from the station entry gate (a station is essentially a sheep or cattle ranch) on a
winding, hilly, narrow road to the road leading to the lodge and course.

We went past that, the end of the paved road, and went on an even narrower gravel
road the rest of the way. The sheep are all over the place; I really don't see how they
keep up with where they are. Some cattle, cows and calves are also grazing. This
ranch (think the size of the Ponderosa but looking more like the coastal hills of central
California) is also a protected area and when they say protected they mean from
predators. The owner had a fancy-pants fence built entirely around the place. It's about
four or five feet tall, made of metal with metal screening that is buried 20 inches into
the ground. This is to keep out rats, ferrets, stoates and cats so the rarer and nearly
extinct native birds can be relocated inside of the fence and flourish again. Especially
the kiwi. The kiwi is a chubby, flightless, defenseless bird that is nearly extinct. There is
a national movement to Save the Kiwi so the search is always on for a location without
predators. Happily they seem to be thriving at Cape Kidnappers.

After another 45 minutes or so we arrived atop the point at Cape Kidnappers and
the gannet breeding ground. You can hear and smell them before you see them but,
Bam!, there they were, hundreds of them. One breeding area is on top of the bluff
and the other way, way down on a promontory at sea level. They look like large gulls
with golden heads but are actually a type of booby bird. They nest on the ground with
the male and female taking turns sitting on the egg. We saw a lot of the chicks easily
differentiated by their fluffy down. Our guide told us that they weigh about 50 grams at
birth and will gain another couple of kilograms before they make the one migratory trip
in their lifetime before returning to their breeding ground. There was a lot of swooping
around and then lots of bird kisses when each bird returned to its nest and mate.

And the views. Spectacular! There are very steep, tall cliffs at this end of Hawkes Bay.
The water is a milky jade green color close to shore and then darkens to a Prussian
blue as it gets deeper father out. The water is a bit brisk (lots of mental translation
between C and F!), high 50s, low 60s. We reluctantly boarded our little safari buses to
go back down that winding road---one way in, same way out.

We thought we would be driven straight back to the ship, but when we got back to sea
level we made a "comfort stop" at the safari headquarters and were surprised with a
bountiful and delicious tea---cakes, cookies, muffins, tea or kiwi or orange juice, a big
variety of stone fruit and the. best. strawberries. ever. E.V.E.R. As each of us bit into
one our eyes widened in disbelief. Beyond lip-smacking good.

This area of New Zealand is quite temperate, gets 50 or 60 inches of rain and 300+
days of sun each year. It seems they can grow everything. We drove past apple, peach
and plum orchards, nut trees of all kinds, citrus, kiwi, vineyards and acres of vegetables.
There are little villages spotted around the bay. Napier appears to be a very popular
beach resort and has a flat pedestrian/bike-way that runs for miles and miles and miles
along the bay. Next time we're definitely going to rent bikes!

And once again, lovely, cordial people everywhere. No wonder New Zealand makes
potential immigrants jump through hoops otherwise half the world would relocate down
here. I'd do it for the strawberries alone!

Maori Excursion: Tauranga, New Zealand

Maori Performance: This song and dance is to scare off any enemies instead of fighting.

Tauranga, NZ
ms Amsterdam
February 8, 2013

"Glorious Bay of Plenty: Rich Land, Rich Culture" is the title of the shore excursion
we took today. We were to visit a Maori family, descendants of the migrants who first
arrived by ocean-going canoes (wakas) from central Polynesia more than 650 years
ago, spend time at a kiwi farm and finish at a "stunning coastal headland site of a
centuries-old Maori fortification." We chose this a couple of months ago evidently
thinking we should learn more about the Maoris. Well, fooled us. Our guide, Charlie,
went rogue.

Ahhhhhh, Auckland!

Approaching our berth with the skyline of downtown Auckland in the background. For $200 or so you can do a free fall jump from the Skytower (the pointy tower building).  I'll pass.

ms Amsterdam
February 5-7, 2013

Because of the rough weather around Rarotonga, we headed straight to New Zealand,
arriving in Auckland in gale force winds Tuesday evening about 6 pm. The temperature
was in the low 60s, mostly due to the ripping wind (it nearly knocked me off my pins as
I stood on deck taking pictures), which felt delicious after weeks in the tropics. I even
broke out my new windbreaker (thank you AAA) to wear on deck.

We docked right at the foot of Queens Street in downtown Auckland. The New Zealand
government is very strict about bringing anything alive or once alive ashore; no fruit,
meat, seeds, flowers, shells, animal products are allowed with stiff fines if you dare to
test the law. So we put on long pants, left the forbiddens behind and went ashore.

After so many days at sea and only island visits in between it was a pure delight to walk
down the gangway to a real pier and walk on a real sidewalk. We window-shopped
for a couple of miles up and down Queen Street until dusk, about 8:45 pm. Back in
the stateroom we ignored the sign on the verandah door, "To maintain a comfortable
stateroom temperature, please keep door closed at all times," and propped the door
wide open and enjoyed the cool, fresh air. I'm pretty sure we weren't the only ones to
ignore that directive tonight.

Tomorrow we're going on a Highlights of Auckland tour in the morning and then will
have the afternoon to explore some more. First on the agenda is to get some NZ
dollars. The ship ran out, the exchanges were closed by the time we got ashore this
evening and tomorrow is a bank holiday. We're pretty sure our Visa card will work in
an ATM machine if we can recall the password. Since I found a great yarn shop on our
evening walk that had a sign in the door "Open on the holiday from 10-6" I have plenty
of incentive to remember those four digits!

February 6

The first thing our guide said this morning was, "We love Americans; if it weren't for
your boys in WWII we wouldn't be speaking English today. We'll never forget." Well,
now, that's a first! Did you hear that, France? And this was not an isolated incident. I fell
in love with Auckland just steaming into port but even more so after exploring the city.
It's clean, no graffiti, very friendly people and you can almost understand what they're
saying! We spent some time yesterday looking for "Henny's" shoe store which turned
out to be "Hannah's."

Today was a big holiday commemorating the treaty between the Maoris and English in
the 1800s so it seemed that everyone was either at the beach or out sailing. They call
Auckland the City of Sails and for good reason. Boats, boats, boats everywhere. The
day was just perfect, dry and sunny and not too hot. We visited the Auckland Museum
in the early morning; it has loads of exhibits about the Maori history of NZ. We drove
around part of the harbor then back and forth across the bridge before it was time to get
some NZ dollars and go shopping! The banks might have been closed today, but not
the exchange offices. Between the holiday people and the passengers from the cruise
ships (the Europa and Voyager of the Seas were also in port), Auckland was a busy,
busy place. It's very walkable and the drivers do stop on the red so crossing the street
was not an issue. It's just so hard to remember to look right!

We ate green lipped mussels for dinner (they were HUGE! At least twice as large as
those we can buy in the states) at a waterside restaurant where the America's Cup
boats were docked as the sun was setting. What a perfect day.

February 7

Today we took the 12-minute ferry ride across the harbor to Devonport, which looks like
a Victorian Sausalito. It has a very charming business district with loads of shops, cafes,
pubs and galleries, but it's also home to locals who can commute to Auckland by that
same ferry. (Senior round trip was NZ$9.40 or about US$8)

One of our dinner table companions, another Susan (our waiter thinks we're sisters),
came with us. Poor Jim; he had two Susan's going two different directions and each
coming back with more packages for him to schlep. The wonderful yarn shop and
wonderful quilt shop were separated by an equally wonderful book shop. I was in a state
of bliss and quickly ran through the NZ$ I'd gotten the night before.

To show you how unbelievably nice the people are, I went into the ANZ bank to change
US to NZ and the teller said, "We have to charge you a $5 transaction fee, but the BNZ
does not. It's just a half-block up the street; go there instead." Can you imagine a teller
at the Bank of America telling you to go to the Chase branch instead? So we went up to
the BNZ, got our NZ dollars and a handful of pens! (Pens seem to be scarcer than hen's
teeth on the ship.) And then we gleefully went out to do our bit for the NZ economy. I'm
just one person but I do what I can.

81 people disembarked from the ship yesterday and I'm not sure how many new
passengers are on board now but we're having another passenger/crew emergency
drill at 4:15 this afternoon before we leave this wonderful spot around 5 pm and head to
Tauranga where we will spend tomorrow.

Suddenly we have just a week before we reach Sydney and we disembark to fly home.

Super Bowl Monday

Bora Bora

ms Amsterdam
February 4, 2013

The ship's staff is prepping for the big Super Bowl party. We're 500+ miles from
Auckland still, but ESPN is back so we will get the game live. (Alas, no Puppy Bowl)
However, since we crossed the International Dateline, it is going to be played at 1:30
pm on Monday, February 4th. We all spent a couple of days trying to figure out the
effect of the dateline but just gave up and went with it. I went to bed Friday night at
11:30 pm and woke up at 7:30 am on Sunday. Forty-five years ago I would have said, "Great
party."

"Snow" Day

ms Amsterdam
January 31, 2013

We were supposed to spend the day on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands however when
we arrived dawn-ish this morning the whole island was engulfed by rain. We knew
something was up because instead of anchoring and preparing to launch the tenders
the ship was hovering a couple of miles off shore in choppy seas and a wicked wind.
At about 7:30 the captain made the announcement that it was indeed too rough and windy
(35 knots) to launch the tenders and the weather was not going to improve, so we were
going to head on towards New Zealand and maybe an extra day in Auckland.

So it's a Snow Day!!! Bruce the Cruise Director is now scrambling to have a new day's
program printed and just announced that all the usual sea day activities would be held.
We're disappointed to miss Rarotonga; it has its own currency, Cook Dollars, that are
non-negotiable anywhere else in the world (it also uses NZ Dollars), has one road
around the island with two buses, one running clockwise the other counter-clockwise
and supposedly the best bargain shopping in Polynesia. As one of my ship-board
friends just told me, "I've been here three times and have yet to get ashore."

Oh, and it's Dutch Day. Happy 75th Birthday, Queen Beatrix.

French Polynesia: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora

Cook's Bay, Moorea

French Polynesia: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora
ms Amsterdam
January 27, 28, 29, 2013

French Polynesia---where you go when you can't take the stress and hectic lifestyle on
Molokai.

We stopped at three islands in three days: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora.

Tahiti

Tahiti is the "youngest" of the islands as well as the most-populated. At dawn we
slipped silently through the pass in the reef to our berth in Pape'ete. There was another
liner in port as well as a mega-yacht, both waiting for passengers to arrive. The pier is
in downtown Pape'ete, the capital of French Polynesia. This was the first time since we
left Peru that A) we saw other boats B) heard car horns and traffic sounds and C) the
engines were off and the Amsterdam wasn't moving.

And it was our first real blast of tropical heat and humidity! As we all left the ship to
explore the island, a convoy of container trucks and lift trucks were pulling up with fresh
stores. Yay! Fresh lettuce!!!

Most of the population of Tahiti lives in Pape'ete. It is not a pretty place; very scruffy
and not too clean. We did some shopping at the big open air market but since it was
Sunday, not all the vendors were there. The first floor is fruits, vegetables, meat (with
the clerk waving a palm frond over it to keep away the flies, etc) and flowers. I bought
a fabulous bouquet of tropical blooms for 500 XPF (about $6 US). You can bring things
from the island to the ship but nothing edible from the ship to the shore to protect the
local agriculture. Of course, virtually nothing growing in French Polynesia is native so
that horse is pretty much out of the barn, but, hey, when in Pape'ete...

One of our well-traveled dinner table-mates strongly suggested that we get out of
Pape'ete to see the beauty of the island so we took a four-hour tour of Tahiti's natural
wonders and were ever so glad that we did. Outside of the capital the island is still
scruffy, but with an annual rainfall of 200" in the interior mountains, there are numerous
rivers and waterfalls and wonderful tropical plants everywhere. We climbed a slippery
rock path (it had rained for ten days before we arrived, bringing the sun with us) to see
a trio of waterfalls 200 meters high. There's a blow hole on one side of the island at
a popular surfing beach that had a break very reminiscent of The Wedge in Newport
Beach. At a stop at the Vaipahi Gardens we had a chance to wander amongst hedges
of torch ginger, hibiscus and the wonderful pagoda plant.

Lt. Bligh came to Tahiti to bring breadfruit trees back to Jamaica to provide a cheap,
nutritious food for the slaves. He eventually succeeded in getting the plants to Jamaica
where the slaves refused to eat the breadfruit. Bernie, our guide, said it is cooked
like a potato--baked, mashed, fried and even as chips. We had a chance to taste it at
Vaipahi, cooked with tapioca, chilled and cut into squares like Jello. Dipped into a bowl
of sweetened coconut cream it is quite delicious. There is certainly an abundance of
breadfruit trees, as well as coconuts, mangos, papayas and bananas. Every house
seems to have at least one of each plus there are little fruit stands (like lemonade
stands) everywhere. Which begs the question, if everyone has the fruit growing in their
front yards, who's going to buy it from a stand?

And speaking of front yards, that's where you bury the dearly departed, or used to on
this island until a couple of cemeteries were built. You can see rather elaborate grave
sites that take up a lot of space between the house and the road. Bernie told us it
makes selling your house rather tricky; no one wants someone else's ancestors under
foot!

Moorea

It's a short 12 miles or so between Pape'ete and Moorea, a nine minute flight or a 30
minute ferry ride that our captain had to turn into a 12 hour journey for our dawn arrival
at Moorea the next day. As we left the dock and headed towards the pass through the
reef, the ship came to an idling stop. The runway for the airport on Tahiti is on reclaimed
land with a flight path directly over the harbor entrance. As the captain explained,
Pape'ete is one of the very few ports in the world where ships must get clearance from
the airport tower and he had just been informed that a "heavy" international flight was
just about to leave. The sunset over Moorea dead ahead of us was just spectacular, so
many of us were already on the forward decks snapping pictures like crazy and even
I with my year's old point and shoot got amazing pictures of the airliner silhouetted
against the setting sun.

As we approached Moorea at dawn we picked up the pilot who guided the ship through
reefs at the Tareu Pass into the stunning Opunohu Bay where we anchored for the day.
Moorea is breathtakingly beautiful. It looks just like a tropical island should look with
coconut palms swaying along the shore, shimmering turquoise water and mists clearing
up above revealing the instantly recognizable Mt. Mouaroa or Shark's Tooth, even
better known as Bali Hai from the movie version of South Pacific.

Tendering to shore here was a piece of cake. Because we were inside the reef, the
water was flat. There were four tenders running from two platforms off the ship. The

stairway that was so treacherous to navigate off Easter Island was just a stairway now
leading down to a dry, stationary platform and a simple step onto the waiting tender.
Easy peasy.

Moorea has a population of about 15,000, most living along the shoreline. The tenders
took us to a dock in one of the villages where the locals had set up a tent city to sell
pearls and T-shirts and wood carvings, etc. etc. The usual stray dogs and chickens
were everywhere. We took another island tour this time guided by Spiritu, a French
woman of a certain age. Jim was instantly in love. First we went up, up, up a narrow
winding road past a couple of agricultural schools and research agencies (lots of
pineapples grown on Moorea) to the Belvedere Lookout where we could see both
Opunohu Bay and Cook's Bay and the waves crashing on the protective reefs beyond.
The one plant native to the islands, white hibiscus which isn't really a hibiscus, grows
everywhere. It's like Polynesian Kudzu. There is also a native gardenia which I believe
is used in some medicine, but sometimes the words spoken by Spiritu were lost in
translation.

Coming down the mountain we stopped at the ruins of an ancient marae, a ceremonial
meeting place used in pre-European Polynesia as everything from a gathering place to
discuss community matters to a setting for sacrifices to the gods. Marae Titiroa is now
overgrown with huge trees, but the low stone walls are still in place. Spiritu explained
that even though the maraes and sacrifices were abandoned after the arrival of the
missionaries, the natives still believe the spirits are there and touching or removing
the rocks is strictly tapu, Tahitian for tabu. While some of our fellow travelers were
scampering over the walls for a a better picture, I gave the place a wide birth. Hey, you
never know and we have a lot of ocean ahead of us.

The road around the perimeter of the island is about 50 km so barely takes a couple
of hours to drive. Like Tahiti, Moorea is a young island and has only a couple of white
sand beaches. First the black sand beaches are formed as the volcanic rock breaks
down by surf and wind. As the volcanic islands slowly sink (Moorea is going down about
a millimeter a year), the lagoons take their place and the coral is ground into the white
sand.

There are hotels ranging from basic to fantastic dotted around the island, but it's all very
low-key. If I ever write a book and need a place to proof the galleys, I'm coming back to
Moorea. Spiritu gave Jim a big kiss on his cheek as we parted company, so I'm thinking
he'll be back, too.

As the ship slowly proceeded through the reef pass we could see a small outrigger,
empty and bobbing near the reef. And then we saw its occupant about 50 feet away
surfing the waves breaking on the reef. And that's living the life Moorea-style.

Bora Bora

Bora Bora is the oldest of the three islands we visited, with a small land mass (the
remnants of the extinct volcano that created the island) surrounded by a lagoon and
many small motus (islands). Once again we sailed at night this time about 160 miles
northwest of Pape'ete and once again, arrived at dawn.

Bora Bora is tiny; in fact the lagoon surrounding it is three times as large as the land
portion of the island. The waters in the lagoon are said to be the most beautiful in the
South Pacific. You'll get no argument from me. Because it is so old, there are white
sand beaches everywhere, especially on the motus. Bora Bora is where the very first
over-the-water-thatched-hut hotel was built. There are now many luxury resorts in that
style, most on the motus across the lagoon from the main island. There is the usual
road around the perimeter of the island, but it's faster and easier to get from point A to
point B by water. In fact, the airport is on a motu so arriving passengers are transferred
to a large water taxi that brings them to "town" where the hotel boats pick up their
guests.

It's hard to believe that such a lovely, quiet island was an important strategic WWII
Allied base. 5,000 American were stationed here and built the airport, island roads
and armed bunkers in the hills. The War didn't touch the island, but the infrastructure
remains (the bunkers are used as cyclone shelters) and after riding in the back of Le
Truck (a truck turned bus) around the island I can testify that not many repairs have
been made to the road in the intervening 70 years!

Fewer than 10,000 people live on Bora Bora. Unfortunately the sagging economy
has impacted the island a lot. Most of the luxury resorts are closed. We saw very few
tourists on any of the three islands. It's not hard to understand why. French Polynesia
is a long, long, long way from everywhere. They import about 80% of the goods and
services they need so prices on everything are high. And although it might look like a
Disneyland set, it's real and a bit worn down around the edges.

As we headed back to the ship we were chased by guys in slender one-man racing
canoes who paddled like mad to reach our speed and then surfed the tender's wake all
the way from shore to ship. And that's living the life, Bora Bora style!

Moorea was my favorite island of the three, and not just because I bought a pair of
Tahitian black pearl earrings there (score!), but unless I ever do have galleys to proof
I'm not sure that I would return. I think I'll just remember it instead.

And now we head towards Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and then across the
International Dateline to New Zealand. No one can quite figure out if we are going to
miss February 3rd entirely or what. We did learn that the Super Bowl will be played
about 1:30 am ship's time on Monday (Tuesday?) so the Captain has obtained
permission to tape the game and replay it at 8:30 am at a big Breakfast Tail Gate party.
Whatever. Whenever. Bulletins as they break.

Pape'ete, Tahiti Sunset

This is the sunset as we left Pape'ete, Tahiti. The waves are breaking on the reef.  Moorea, our next stop, is the island in the distance, just 12 miles from Pape'ete.

A longer post is coming, but for now here is a photo of a Tahitian sunset.

Pacific Sunset

I went out last night to take a sunset picture but it was too hazy along the horizon line. Then I looked to my right (north?) and saw beautiful pinky-peach clouds and the moon already up. We'll be in Papeete by morning. It's much warmer and more tropical now.

Pitcairn Island: Going, Going, Gone

Me with Pitcairn Island in the background. The long white building near the shoreline on the left is the long boat house

Pitcairn Island
ms Amsterdam
January 24, 2013

Well, pooh.

The Pitcairn islanders will not be coming aboard after all. It seems that over 20 of them
(35% of the island population) have the H2N3 flu virus, a gift from a cruise ship that
passed through two weeks ago. Canceling this was not a decision made lightly; not only
do the islanders enjoy visiting on board but they also receive medical, dental and beauty
(haircuts, etc in the spa) attention as well as some hard currency from the souvenirs
they sell to the passengers. So the captain consulted with the medical team and the
HAL corporate poobahs and the conclusion was that for the safety of the passengers
and crew no islander would be permitted to board the Amsterdam.

Well, pooh.

Instead we headed straight towards the island, arriving off Bounty Bay around 9 am or
so. Once again, it was not at all as I had expected. Pitcairn is mountainous with no real
harbor but it is also lush and green and quite beautiful and a welcome sight after days at
sea.

Archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th
century, but the islands (there are four in the group) were uninhabited when they were
discovered in 1767 by the crew of the British sloop, HMS Swallow. Pitcairn was named
for the fifteen-year-old midshipman, Robert Pitcairn, who was the first to sight it. In 1790
the mutineers of the HMS Bounty and their Tahitian companions settled on Pitcairn,
burning the Bounty, still visible underwater in Bounty Bay.

Today the island is inhabited by fewer than 60 people, from nine families, making it
the least populated jurisdiction in the world. It is not a sovereign nation; its residents
hold New Zealand passports. The United Nations classifies it as a Non-Self-Governing
Territory.

Although the people couldn't come aboard, they did come out in their long boat to pick
up supplies. Jim went to the daily "Good Morning, Amsterdam" production (it's a thirty-
minute Today-ish show that tells a bit about the day's agenda as well as interviewing
different members of the crew about their jobs, life, etc) and said that Bruce, the Cruise
Director and host, read aloud the "shopping" list of items the islanders had requested
the Amsterdam bring to them from the mainland. There was everything from toilet paper to chocolate milk and chicken wings to shoes, school supplies and 12-year-old scotch.
Because the islanders would miss out on earning money aboard the Amsterdam, the
captain refused payment for the goods ordered and gifted them as well with other stores
they might need or just plain enjoy.

After everything was transferred to the long boat, we circumnavigated the small island.
It has rich soil and water so the residents are able to grow a variety of fruits and
vegetables. There is a doctor in residence for half of the year. There is also a primary
school for the children. They are sent to New Zealand for high school and college.
One of the issues now is to convince the young people to come back to the island if
only to have able-bodied people to help with the physical labor of launching the long
boat (it lives in a boat house up a ramp from the water's edge) to load and then unload
supplies.

The houses are on the hillside above Bounty Bay. The residents use ATVs to get
around but the dirt roads regularly wash out from heavy rains. It's another strange and
beautiful dot in the South Pacific.

And with Pitcairn Island in the rear view mirror we headed towards Tahiti. But out of
sight was not necessarily out of mind. It seemed that everyone was wondering the same
thing, "Could I live on that little rock with 57 people and no way off?" And didn't that put
living in a 350 square foot stateroom with one other person for 40 days into perspective.

Easter Island, Part 2

Moai at Tongari Kim

Easter Island
ms Amsterdam
January 21, 2013

Easter Island (officially Rapa Nui) is a province of Chile. It is one of the most isolated
inhabited islands in the world. It lies 2237 miles west of Chile and 1290 miles east of
Pitcairn Island. It's five hours by air from Santiago or five days by sea from Peru. It was
discovered on Easter Sunday in 1722 by the Dutch.

And that is about all the "experts" can agree upon. Some say the island was settled by
Hawaiians in 300 to 400 AD, others say it was not inhabited until 700-800 AD with a
recent study claiming it wasn't until 1200 AD. Easter Islanders (population 3,000) say
they are Polynesian and arrived during the early period.

Today many of the 3,000 residents hold military or government jobs but tourism is
growing and there is a sporadic scientific research industry. Our guide's mother is head
of the research department on the island, so he was especially well-informed on both the
traditional stories and recent theories.

Rapu Nui is just 45 square miles, a triangular island spawned by ancient, now extinct
volcanoes. There are three "major" villages, the largest being Hanga Roa where we
landed. It's lush and tropical but not manicured like Hawaii. It rather looks like a scruffy,
Polynesian Mayberry. There is one main, paved two-lane road across the island, but
most "roads" are dirt, some smooth but most rocky with impressive pot holes. Horses
easily out number the cars. They are everywhere grazing in fields, pastures or front
yards. Lots of dogs, too. We saw cows and cattle as we drove across the island, as well
as small farms.

But the moai are the main draw. These are the enormous statues carved from soft
volcanic rock at the Rano Raraku quarry and then moved miles to the coastline. Their
backs are always to the sea so they can look upon the land and villages. Some 600 of
these statues have been resurrected, some as tall as 18 feet weighing several tons.

But how was it possible to carve hundreds of statues with no metal implements and
then move them several miles from the quarry to the coast with no modern equipment?
Theories abound. The natives say the moai "walked" to the sea. Period. Scientists are
continually trying to prove that they were transported by rocking them on their bases as
we would move a heavy piece of furniture or rolled on logs, thus the deforestation of the
island. There is no recorded history, so theories abound.

Some of the moai have been restored. All had eventually been knocked over by man
or nature. Those along the coast have been tipped upright onto their platforms, some
with their red rock top knots on their heads. One has even had its black and white eyes
restored. Many have been eroded over the years. Nicholas, our guide, told us that the
natives understand that nothing is forever and the moai were expected to eventually
disappear. Of course they also understand that "no moai, no tourists", so they aren't going
to protest the restoration work.

The Quarry on Easter Island

The quarry is quite something. It is the side of an extinct volcano. There are statues
everywhere; some standing, many fallen (always face down) and half buried and others
still partly carved and attached to the rock. There are walking trails along the face of the
quarry so visitors can get quite close to the moai (but no touching; very bad ju-ju). Some
are short-eared, some long-eared representing two tribes, for lack of a better word, from
long ago. Supposedly these two groups were the Hatfields and McCoys of Rapa Nui,
killing each other (And eating each other? Cannabalism is strongly suspected.) in feudal
wars. The faces are not all the same. It's believed (there is a theory for everything!) that
the faces were carved to look like the king at the time. It's also thought that the statues
lying face down, some broken apart, fell over when they were walking to the coast and
simply left where they fell.

The statues were carved with a stone harder than the volcanic rock. They were carved
lying on their backs, the statues not the carvers. The earth was excavated around the
statue as they carved until the figure was attached only by a "keel" of rock like a spine
on its back side. Then a deep hole was dug at the base, the figure was separated from
the mountain and tipped, upright into the hole. Tons of rock, tipped up by men holding
ropes. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Thus the broken moai scattered all
over the side of the quarry and down to the flat plain below. It's almost more interesting
that no one is quite sure how this was all done. You find yourself just standing and
staring at these things wondering how? why? and why here? and why did they stop,
leaving so many unfinished?

The shoreline of the island is mostly rocky. The color of the sea is just breathtaking
and the sky so very blue. There are numerous pebbly coves that reminded me of the
tide pools along the Pacific coast. As we walked up the side of the quarry, suddenly
you round a corner and there, way below in the distance is a line of moai at the water
line. Fifteen statues of varying sizes in a row at Tongari Ki facing towards the back
of the quarry mountain in the distance. Nicholas told us that in the 60s a tremendous
tsunami wave resulting from a tremendous earthquake (Note to self: Google this when
it doesn't cost 25 cents a minute to do so) hit that spot, knocking down all the statues
and scattering them across the plain. The water rushed up the side of the mountain and filled the crater of the volcano. The villages on the other side of the island were
unaffected by this calamity. I believe Nicholas said that the restoration of the statues
was funded by the Japanese. We drove around to the spot to see them up close and
take pictures. Lots of pictures. Thank heavens for digital cameras!

Our last stop was the beach of Anakena on the north east side of the island. It's a small
cove with a white, fine sandy beach that stretches a few hundred yards inland. It's the
swimming beach on the island and is quite popular and well-used by native and tourist
alike. There were several little food shacks selling empenadas (the Chilean influence),
grilled chicken, soft drinks, etc. It's also the equivalent of a national park, so we spotted
a couple of park rangers sporting hard hats as protection from coconuts falling from the
trees. (That was our only warning as we left our little bus to explore: Don't sit under a
coconut tree.) A row of seven figures at the top of the beach guards the cove.

Because of our delayed arrival, our tour began two hours late (although one gets the
feeling that the place runs on Island Time, whatever that might be at the moment) so we
didn't have time to explore the town. However, the islanders had set up souvenir tables
at every stop so shopping opportunities abounded. We have been warned that anything
made of wood, stone or food will be confiscated when we disembark in Sydney which
eliminates a lot of fun stuff. Jim got a T-shirt and I a couple of post cards. We haven't
been leaving many Yankee dollars behind. Maybe in Tahiti, our next stop. We'll have all
morning in Papeete, or as Jim calls it, Pah-pete.

Easter Island. Chalk up another once-in-a-lifetime experience. I keep looking through
the pictures taken that day to confirm that I was really there. And I have a list of books
to read and re-read about Easter Island when back in the US of A.

And now we head towards French Polynesia, setting our clocks back an hour every
night as we finally leave the Eastern Time Zone. Adios Rapa Nui and Bon Jour Tahiti.

All Ashore? (Easter Island, Part 1)

Easter Island
ms Amsterdam
January 21, 2013

I was just looking through the pictures I took on Easter Island and had one of those "Did
that really happen?" moments. Visiting Easter Island has long been at the top of my
travel list. It was why I took this trip. I'm verklempt (sp?) just sitting here thinking about it.

Ah, but unless one takes the five hour flight from Santiago, Chile (the terminal is very
tiny; makes the air terminal on Molokai look like LAX, but the runway goes on forever.
It was improved and extended to be used as an emergency landing strip for the space
shuttle and in fact the Concorde did make a trip to Easter Island. Who knew?) getting
onto Easter Island is not a slam-dunk given.

This blog will be about getting from Point A, the ms Amsterdam, to Point B, a tender,
and then to Point C, the "dock" on Easter Island. Talk about getting your money's worth!
I'm terrified of roller coasters and thrill rides so give them a wide berth but I was so
excited to visit this wind-swept rock that I gladly handed over my E Ticket for this ride.

Easter Island has no natural harbor or port. Everyone seems to have a story of arriving
on a cruise ship only to be unable to go ashore. On the windward, north side of the
island there is a cement block on the edge of the swimming beach that is a possible
landing spot but it is too small for the ship's tenders (aka the life boats) so the crew
has to install a temporary dock on pontoons to get people on the island. The winds and
seas are coming straight ashore at that point so the swells make this a bad choice. We
visited that beach (absolutely gorgeous white sands, coconut palms, turquoise water
that deepens to darkest blue), saw that cement block and thought, there but for the
grace of God.

We anchored about a mile off of the city (and only city on the island) of Hanga Roa on
the southwest corner of the triangular-shaped island. And then the dance began.

I'm going to attempt to send a picture along with this so you can have a visual to
accompany my words. You can see the stairway on the side of the ship that leads down
to the tenders.

You can see the steps leading down to the tender boarding area on the side of the ship. The damaged tender is being hauled back up.

The basic procedure for taking a tender from the ship to shore is you go down to deck
A which is "one floor" up from the water level, pass through the checkpoint where your
cruise card (all-purpose credit card sized that is your ID, credit card -- no cash used on
board anywhere, room key) is scanned to record that you have left the ship and then

walk the few steps to the doorway. Next you go through the doorway to a small platform
that is suspended off the side of the ship and over the water and then walk down a flight
of metal stairs (think fire escape on the outside of a building) to another platform that
is actually a temporary, floating dock. The tender is at this dock waiting for you to step
off and over a threshold into the tender. It has 100+ seats with not much room to move
once you're in your place.

That is the basic procedure and if the seas are calm, the planets are in line and all is
right in the world, it's a piece of cake. However, that is rarely the case at Easter Island
so the captain and crew get to strut their stuff and prove their seamanship.

The seas were running two to three meters with a 20 knot wind causing quite a chop.
The captain had the port anchor set and used the thrusters on the starboard side to
keep the ship as steady as possible. Every one on the staff from busboy to deckhands
to officers to the guys in the house band had a job to get the passengers off the ship
and onto the tenders. You have to just surrender yourself to the helping hands all the
way and let them put you on the little boat rather than do it yourself.

Your card is scanned and then you step out of the ship into the raging wind onto that
little platform about a meter square and gingerly walk down that flight of wet metal
steps with a death grip on both railings. (In my case, the man in front of me was also
juggling his camera, backpack and CANE!!!) Then one at a time you step onto the
floating dock which is going up and down that two to three meters and is sloshing with
sea water and then you do the surrender bit. There are deck hands and officers on
either side of you to grab your upper arms and get you onto the dock, pivot and a big
step to the edge where the tender is also going up and down that two to three meters.
There is a threshold that you must step over to reach the cabin floor which is also
awash with sea water. (I really, really wanted to go to Easter Island!) You stand on that
bobbing deck, held by at least two men and when the dock and tender are bobbing in
unison you're lifted and practically catapulted from the dock, over the threshold and into
the hands of another set of boatmen.

At this point you think, ah, made it! Then you realize that the little boat rocks a LOT
more than the big ship and grab ahold of anything that looks stationary and take little
mincing steps to your seat where you sit down with a thud and start to think, are my
affairs in order?

And this is repeated 80 times until the tender is deemed full and ready to go. The cabin
is enclosed but the doorway is "sealed" with a plastic door that zips all around. The ride
was only ten minutes or so but it was rough with lots of crashing through waves, water
splashing around inside and out. Then you round a point and head for the "harbor"

which is an itty bitty area barely protected by an itty bitty rock jetty so we got to do the
same dance getting off except this time the boat was bouncing and the landing area
was not. But the landing area was a small cement area with two very steep stairs and
no railings up to terra firma so once again you relied on the kindness of strangers to lift
you off the boat, onto the platform and then up the stairs.

It took approximately 2-1/2 hours to get the 210 people who had booked shore
excursions from ship to shore. Because the conditions were so arduous, only two
tenders were launched so there would be enough crew to take care of business. I
learned when we got back to the ship that afternoon (and THAT was really a rough
ride!) that the captain had ordered the tenders to cease taking passengers ashore after
our lot had been transferred. This meant a lot of people never made it onto the island.
Going back to the ship in the afternoon the tenders were loaded with just 37 passengers
in the aft section only so the driver could keep the nose up as much as possible but the
boat was still riding up and down the waves with one of the crew bailing in the back of
the bus!

And then we still had to get from tender to ship. Obviously we made it with just a few
bruises as souvenirs. The captain provided oceans of champagne at dinner both to
celebrate the safe return of those who went ashore and to apologize to those who
couldn't go. The wine should have gone to the crew.

Whadya mean no football?

ms Amsterdam
January 20, 2013
The lead story in today's shipboard newsletter/activity summary is by the
communications officer and attempts to explain why there will be no football on our TV
system today. Satellite position, blah, blah, between continents, blah, blah, satellite dish
location on ship, blah, blah, legal restrictions, blah, blah and blah. And then the chilling
last line, "Satellite reception is expected to return on or around February 3, 2013." (Love
that he included the year.) Yes, Super Bowl Sunday when they turn the main showroom
into a big tailgate party. Probably half the people on board couldn't care less about the
Super Bowl, but they do care very much about free cocktails!

Easter Island tomorrow, weather permitting. It's noon now and the seas and winds are
increasing slightly. 370 nautical miles to go by morning.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Touch

ms Amsterdam
July 19, 2013

We are now officially in the middle of nowhere.

Each day about 12:45 pm the captain gives a position and weather report. Yesterday
afternoon he confirmed what we had suspected: no satellite. Period. Can you hear me
now? Uh, no. Good heavens, we've even lost Fox News!

The captain explained that all communication is now by radio. We, along with 14,000
other ships at sea, are being monitored by an agency based in West Virginia of all
places. Should any vessel have an emergency, all other ships in that vicinity are alerted
and will provide assistance. It's sort of a sea-going AAA Roadside Emergency service.

So now we are traveling old school: no Internet, email, CNN or (gasp) ESPN. By
tomorrow we should be close enough to Easter Island to pick up the NFL playoff games
and the Australian Open tennis, and those poor souls who keep wandering around with
iPads or laptops looking for a (non-existent) wifi hot spot can finally get on line.

We do still receive an eight-letter page size New York Times each morning. It contains
summaries of the latest international and national news, stock market numbers, some
sports and a few editorial and opinion pieces and the daily crossword. I don't miss the
TV except for the network evening news but I really miss radio and the local news.
Not quite enough to spend 25 cents a minute to read the Marietta Daily Journal online
though.

It's noon as I type this. We're still sailing on a course of 249 degrees at nearly 19
knots so we can reach Easter Island early Monday morning. (Quick check to confirm
it is indeed Saturday today.) The seas are remarkably calm; the temperature a steady
72 degrees with an apparent wind of 19 knots. It's pretty near perfect in the middle of
nowhere with just enough puffy clouds for spectacular sunsets.

Today's quirky fact: Easter Island is Chilean and stays on Chilean time. So here, in the
middle of nowhere, nearly 1300 nautical miles from General San Martin, Peru, it is still
EST, so sunrise and sunset times get a bit later every day. I'm assuming that as soon
as we leave Easter Island we will be changing time every day until we catch up with the
rest of the world.

In between Easter Island and Tahiti we spend a few hours offshore of Pitcairn Island.
All the veteran travelers say this is so the 40 or 50 citizens of PI can come out in their long boat (note singular) with "stuff" to sell. The pool deck is closed to sunning and
swimming so the islanders can set up a market to sell "stuff." A lot of stuff. Each family
has their own table. I'm imagining the world's oddest flea market.There is no air service
to Pitcairn (it's only 1 x 2 miles) so supplies come by boat four times a year. About 20 or
so cruise ships will stop during the year so this occasion is a Big Deal for the islanders
and from what I hear great fun for everyone.

It's Formal Night #3 tonight so Jim is trying to choose which of his two ties he will wear.
He leads such a complicated life...

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

ms Amsterdam
January 18, 2013

It's 9:30 am EST (we haven't changed time zones yet) and we are sailing along at 18.4
knots, about a third of the way to Easter Island; 1300+ nautical miles to go. No wonder
people thought the world was flat. All you can see is a straight blue line of the ocean
on the horizon. The seas are quite calm. The ship moves a little bit but it's like flying in
a jet; unless you're looking out a window you really can't tell which way you're going or
even IF you're moving forward. That is my excuse for consistently heading the wrong
direction when I'm going from place to place onboard. I'd mark my trail but someone
would be right behind me vacuuming, washing or scrubbing. They must go through
vats of cleaning products. You can't go ten feet without someone squirting Purel in your
palms. Keeping everyone healthy is of primary concern. No one wants to be sleeping
with the roses!

We went to a special dinner at one of the smaller restaurants last night, a recreation of
Le Cirque in NYC. They use the same china and silverware and linens as well as the
same menu. Suddenly it's 1970 and you're scanning the room for Henry Kissinger or
Barbara Walters or Jackie O. The pre-cholesterol-awareness food was delicious -- do
you even remember the last time you saw Chateaubriand on a menu let alone ordered
it? When we returned to our cabin we found a little wooden box embossed with the Le
Cirque logo containing a selection of truffles "as a last Le Cirque indulgence" before
bedtime. Gilding the lily!

In case one should feel a bit peckish after lunch and before cocktails today's High Tea
between three and four this afternoon is a Cupcake Tea. There are some teenagers on
board, all boys, so I'm sure they'll be willing to throw on a collared shirt and some shoes
for a cupcake or two. There's home schooling and then there's home schooling!

They're tweaking the satellite again, so no internet for a while. Although, once again
the personnel in charge of booking future cruises ALways can get a signal. We have
TV reception in the stateroom and so far the most consistent station received is Fox
News! CNN International comes and goes. Ditto ESPN International. There are a few
closed circuit channels so you can watch lectures and programs in your stateroom and
a camera on the bridge that streams the view ahead of us. There is also an information
page that tells our position, course, speed, wind direction, sea depth, distance from
the last port and to the next port as well as total nautical miles traveled so far. It's the
shipboard version of the Weather Channel.

Musings While Waiting to Weigh Anchor

General San Martin, Peru aka The Most Desolate Place On Earth
ms Amsterdam
January 16, 2013

We left the port of Callao, Peru about 5 pm yesterday for a leisurely run down the coast to General San Martin. Jim said when he opened the drapes this morning he was convinced he was looking at the surface of Mars. All you can see is reddish-brown dirt. This port is known for the winds that spring up every afternoon and cover everything and one with a coating of said dirt. One could venture to a small island off shore that is home to all kinds of birds, to an ancient fortress or take the shuttle to a "charming fishing village" which is code for nothing to look at, tour or buy. Or one could go find someone in one lounge or another and just shoot the breeze before one went to the early movie and a late lunch.

And that's how I met Ginger, originally from Chico, CA. Ginger is a character. She has red hair and sports a pin that reads, "Ginger, World Traveler." She knows she's bigger than life and owns it. AND she knows ALL the shipboard gossip which is why Penny, the lady I met days ago who lives across the bay from my childhood home in Newport Beach, was sitting with her. What Ginger didn't know, Penny did. I didn't recognize any of the names in their stories but made a silent resolution to BEhave so I wouldn't make the Ginger Gazette. Then Ginger began the round up of who had to leave the ship in Columbia (stroke), and who had to have a leg set in Ecuador, etc, etc. There is a doctor on board as well as a dentist, but if the ship is in port and a passenger is really sick they arrange for medical attention ashore. So I mused that I guessed with the age bracket and length of the trip it stood to reason that someone would get sick enough to get off. And that's when Ginger told me that they use the big flower frig down below for a morgue when the need arises. "Yup, they put 'em on ice down with the roses and orchids." And people kept asking me before we left, "Won't you be bored?"

Callao, Peru

Callao, Peru
ms Amsterdam
January 14, 2013

There are no flat roofs in Lima. All the roads in Lima are flat. There are no gutters on the houses or along the curbs. No one owns an umbrella. It doesn't rain in Lima. The only recordable precipitation is from the humidity in the air. The Humboldt Current flows up the coast of South America from Antarctica which keeps the sea cold, the coast foggy and the land arid.

It's a 45 minute drive from the port city of Callao (k+eye-yow) to Lima. Having never been there before we opted for a morning tour of the highlights of Lima guided by the charming Rocio aka Rosie. And having never been there before I was quite surprised to find an immense (10 million people, a third of the country's population) city with a small central "old city" surrounded by miles and miles of mostly low-rise buildings. This area is prone to earthquakes so all of the original structures are long gone, rebuilt multiple times. This little fact gives one pause while standing in the former refectory of the Convent of San Francisco and looking way, way up to see the missing ceiling (fell down), fractured frescoes (fell down) and replacement chairs (originals crushed by falling ceiling and frescoes). Being a native Southern Californian I've been well-taught to seek out the safe spot when entering any building in an earthquake zone. Not so easy in a building made of unreinforced brick, covered with "plaster" made from the local dirt.

Lima is made up of 40-something separate districts each with its own city hall, mayor, etc. with a single mayor to oversee it all. Right now that mayor is a woman, the first to hold the job. Quite obviously there are no zoning laws because every neighborhood seems to be a jumble of single homes, tiny restaurants, shops, apartment buildings, doctor's offices, schools and on and on. There are traffic police at every major intersection but mostly for show. Cars, motorbikes and little buses (24 passengers) are zooming, ignoring lane lines, traffic lights and afore mentioned police.

Education through high school is mandatory in Peru. This law applies to residents of Lima more than those in the country where the families are large and the eldest children are expected to drop out and help support the family. Summer vacation is January through the end of February. In Lima there are private, parochial and public schools with good and bad of each. Parents will sacrifice much to afford school fees for the best. Only high school graduates can hope for a government job with well-paying careers saved for college grads. The median income is about $1200-1800 US per month. There are definitely upper, middle and lower classes. The middle income lot seem to spread over most of the city with lovely enclaves for the rich and horrifying hillside shanty towns for the poorest. There is now health insurance for all children but the public insurance for adults provides for little actual health care. Any who can have private insurance, too. All the public hospitals are painted a bright blue. Because of the humidity the skies are never blue but rather a hazy, bluish gray so many of the public and private buildings are painted bright colors.

The Miraflores district of Lima is perched on the cliff overlooking the Pacific. It reminded us of Corona del Mar or Santa Monica where you can look down on the beach from the roads running along the cliffs above. It's a lovely area with major hotels and shopping on the land and throngs of surfers in the chilly water. Four o'Clocks and bougainvillea cover the hillsides. All of the flora are similar to that found from Santa Barbara to San Diego--bougainvillea, jacaranda, eucalyptus and acacia trees, lots of geraniums. Because of the lack of rain Lima is not the greenest of cities but the parks and street medians that are planted are all hand watered and look beautiful.

There are 43 Starbucks in Lima plus lots of McDonald's, Burger Kings, Pizza Huts and KFCs. And casinos! Everywhere! We have some tablemates at dinner who have vowed to play $20 in a casino in every country and/or on every continent. Hey, a goal's a goal! Peruvians love Chinese food and call the cuisine and restaurants Chifu. There is also a strong Italian influence in Lima. People in the city often say ciao instead of good bye.

So, ciao, amigos!

On The Equator

On the Equator
January 11, 2013
ms Amsterdam

We've been aboard almost a week now and this is truly the first free time I've had to myself and that's only because I've sequestered myself in our stateroom to write before I forget where we've been!

We're docked in Manta, Ecuador. Although we are less than one degree below the equator, Manta is a bit of a fluke. It's Ecuador's deep water port (all the big tuna boats and processing plants are here) but it's not that hot and not that humid; it is actually almost arid. Go ten miles up or down the coast though and you are in the jungle.

We took a morning tour to see a little and learn a little. It's one of those countries that has the resources but hasn't really developed the market. Jaime, our native guide who spent his teenage years in New Jersey and California, explained that they grow excellent bananas, plantains, pineapples and cocoa beans but not enough to provide a steady supply to buyers who therefore purchase elsewhere. The city looks pretty low profile with just the occasional multi-story building. Truth be told, it looks dusty and trashy and you probably won't ever see it featured on "House Hunters International!"

It's a quirky place. Construction seems to begin with concrete pillars around the perimeter of the shop or house but the finished building is not the height of the columns. I would say that most of the completed and occupied structures have one or more feet of column extending above the roof line and then another couple of feet of rebar sprouting from top of the column. It's just the oddest thing. I don't know how rebar is cut, but if you had that tool I believe you could make some dollars here.

And in fact the currency is US dollars. A decade or so ago inflation was out of control so the then-president closed the banks (LOTS of corruption here in finance and politics) one Friday, pegged the Ecuadorian currency to the US dollar and on Monday it was so. No namby-pamby congress got in his way! Of course they have had the occasional junta to spice it up. After one governmental overthrow they actually had three different presidents in as many days. Downright Italian of them.

Although we've been gone almost a week, Manta is only our second port of call. First was Cartagena, Columbia and then only for five or six hours. Contrary to what we read beforehand, Cartagena was quite pleasant. It's a mixture of the old town of narrow streets and brightly-colored, balconied two and three story buildings behind the original city wall and the new town of skyscrapers and commerce and taxis and motorbikes.  (Factoid: the motorcycle or scooter driver has his license plate number on the back of his helmet, too.) We climbed up the ramps to the fortress of Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas 135 feet above sea level that once guarded against pirates and other intruders. In past centuries fleets stopped in the harbor to load up gold for convoy to Spain. Cartagena also became a center for the Inquisition and a major slave market. Where once it was isolated from Columbia's interior, now it's a bustling city revitalized by the opening of the nearby petroleum fields. There are a number of big, modern, luxury hotels along the beaches and lots of tourists wandering about. However, it's a bit off-putting that every window on every house, shop, business and dog house is protected by wrought iron bars and most of the buildings are behind wrought iron fences and gates with the occasional gun-toting guard out front in case you didn't take the hint. The pirates may be gone but the bad guys are still lurking about.

In between we transited that Panama Canal. To tell the truth, I missed most of it. First of all, the day-long passage began pre-dawn. I'm talking 4:45 am pre-dawn. In my misspent youth I would have just stayed up the night before but that was long ago and far away. This time I slept through the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side and was learning to water color as we went through the last locks on the Pacific side. In between I was desperately trying to post a blog alerting everyone to the webcam pictures streaming online. However, shipboard internet is both expensive and exasperating so I either posted it ten times or not at all. In between I did dash out on one of the decks to snap some pictures so at least I'd have photographic proof of the experience.

Fortunately the one place we've been before on this itinerary is the Panama Canal. Everyone else on board has been everywhere. OMG! These are intrepid cruisers. They spend months on ships every year; most have made multiple world cruises, never get seasick ("slight gale force" winds - the captain's exact words - and resultant seas between Cuba and Columbia) and all seem to know each other. And EVERYone knows Dolly. Dolly is not five feet tall, a very senior senior and more or less lives on this ship. Rumor has it that she has over 14,000 days at sea. Rumor also has it that the captain always takes her calls. Dolly has become my role model!

Our fellow cruisers are a mixed bag, probably 99% retired, from all over the world. Because they've cruised so much they have the drill down pat and seem to know every crew member, too. We're on board for 40 days disembarking in Sydney, but the entire trip is 115 days. (I met a lady yesterday who lives across the bay from my childhood home in Newport Beach. She hates to fly so she cruised from San Diego through the Canal to Fort Lauderdale to go on this trip. When this world cruise ends in Fort Lauderdale in April she will board another ship and go back through the Canal to San Diego. 145 days and no airplanes and no one bats an eye at this arrangement) It's one big extended family. The daily list of activities takes up an entire page, single spaced in 10 pt type. While I'm taking a water color class, Jim is at the movies (different one every afternoon with popcorn of course). They have a revolving stream of experts presenting programs (so far) on the Canal, Broadway musicals, stars of the Southern Hemisphere as well as cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, high tea plus dance, Tai Chi, yoga, pilates and Mah Jong, bridge and poker. There is also a group on board who gather every sea day at 10 am to knit and crochet blankets for the Linus Project. If you're bored on board it's your own damned fault.

And let me tell you, on a world cruise (even for those of us going on just part of the trip) every passenger is special. The waiters, busboys, bartenders and room stewards all know your name by Day Two, how you take your coffee, when you like your coffee, every dietary issue, do you want your laundered clothes folded or on hangars (I tell ya, I'd live on a ship for the laundry service alone!), green apples or red in your stateroom fruit bowl and on and on. And did I mention the gifts? Every other day or so when you head to your stateroom for the night (after dinner, music, show, etc) on the bed is the swag du jour! It's like you're six years old and can hardly wait to see what's in the gift bag from little Freddie's birthday party! So far we have received nifty totes, a zippered "Stay Healthy" bag of aspirin, bandaids, Purel, sunblock, etc., windbreaker jackets, lightweight backpacks, passport holders, stationery with our name and stateroom number and of course a chocolate on the pillow each night.

This is turning into an epic so I'll stop for now. Getting it to Blogspot is the next challenge. I'm composing this in our stateroom on the iPad document program. Now I will go to one of the wireless hot spots on the ship to email it to myself as a Word document. If all the planets are in a line I should be able to open that, copy and paste to the blog. If not I will forward the document to my dear son Jay who, bless his heart, will
do it for me.

We crossed the equator last night! It was dark so we couldn't see the line but we felt the bump.

And now it's off to Peru.

Wed, Jan 9 at 3 pm EST

Webcam alert:

go to pancam.com right now and you should see us going through the canal. White up top, dark blue almost black hull.

Panama Canal Transit Webcam

Panama Canal
Wednesday, January 9th

Sorry I didn't know about this earlier but there is a webcam live feed at http://www.pancanal.com. We're aboard the ms Amsterdam. Approx transit times are passing Gamboa at 11:45 am, arrive at Pedro Miguel Locks at 12:55 pm, arrive at Miraflores Locks at 2:15 pm, passing Balboa at 4:15 pm. All times are EST.