…actually it was two, but more on that later. Six years ago I had just completed major surgery in Seattle and was staying in a hotel waiting to be certified “fit to fly” back to Sitka. (This was not my … Continue reading Taking the Great Circle on a single heading.
… and tasting tea. Colored earth may not seem that exciting but it fascinated me. Between a million and three million years ago volcanic activity drove minerals to the surface, specifically iron and aluminum. The two minerals repel each other … Continue reading Getting Excited about Colored Dirt.
Wedged between the Indian Ocean and some impossible looking peaks, Port Louis (pronounced Louie by the locals) is Mauritius’s capital city. The town has about 150,000 residents. The Caudan waterfront, on a peninsula, is where Zuiderdam’s shuttle dropped off passengers. … Continue reading Port Louis, Mauritius
Mauritius has miles of clean and shaded beaches. Ian, Zuiderdam’s Cruise Director, suggested several beaches and told us that some of the beachfront hotels may offer a day pass. I called around and did not find one that was willing … Continue reading Mauritius Beaches
Holland America listed 6 tours of Mauritius in its shorex brochure. Ian, the Cruise Director suggested at least two other activities. One advantage we had, being let off the ship in Mauritius is that, in one way of the other, … Continue reading Mauritius, Our Final Port of Call
On Tuesday afternoon the Zuiderdam’s Staff Captain made an announcement asking for anyone with a blood donor card. A+ or O- who was willing to donate blood to help a critically ill passenger to come to the front desk. That … Continue reading Well, At Least This Time We Made It Past Fremantle
Several cruise mates who had been on the 2020 world cruise expressed strong feelings on leaving Fremantle. Some expressed a sense of closure, some that they felt that they were continuing their interrupted journey. I examined my feelings and realized … Continue reading Remembering 2020
Several folks who had been on past HAL Grand Voyages, couldn’t make this one, but are planning one in the future, have asked me “How is it post covid?,” or “Is the Grand Voyage any Less Grand?” This is a … Continue reading Jammin’
In Fremantle, “Freo” the port for Perth, we started looking for stamps for our postcards and the perfect beach and ended up looking for the tooth fairy. Along the way we found a delightful small city, some nice beaches, and … Continue reading Looking for the Tooth Fairy
The simple reason we wanted to go to Perth is to see what the city looked like with people in it. We had been in Perth in 2018 and it had people but was largely under massive reconstruction. In 2020 … Continue reading Perth with People!
A Dutch Sea Captain (Not Captain Friso of Zuiderdam) named Willem de Vlamingh “discovered” an island about 12 miles off the West Coast of Australia in 1696. He said it was infested by giant rats so named the island Rott-Nest … Continue reading Not a Rats’ Nest
The first ship built in South Australia flew the Stars and Stripes. She was the US Schooner Independence, built by American sailors from the brig Union in 1803 on American River, which is not actually a river but a long … Continue reading An American River on Kangeroo Island
In 1844 Doc Christopher Penfolds and his wife Mary arrived in South Australia on the ship Taglioni with some vine cuttings from the South of France. They bought some land outside Adelaide and named it “The Grange.” Doc Penfolds prescribed … Continue reading Suzi and I have a generous taste from a $1,000 bottle of wine!
I first learned about Hobart from Pop. During the Second World War he was on a troop ship, the George Washington, sailing from San Francisco to Calcutta (as it was then known). They zigged and zagged for weeks. The first … Continue reading Tall Ships and Long Memories
David Walsh has gifted Hobart and the world with a strange and wonderful institution. MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, is dug into a sandstone headland that juts into Derwent River 12 kilometers from Hobart. You can reach … Continue reading MONA
Approaching and departing Port Arthur from the sea is breathtaking. We sailed in around Cape Pilar and out round Cape Raoul with rock formations called “The Organ Pipes” that reminded me of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Please enjoy … Continue reading Organ Pipes Sail By — Cape Raoul, Tasmania
Alaska’s former governor Wally Hickel really said that, pointing out that Walt Disney had it right, you need to enhance nature. Aside from the prison, there are formal gardens going down from the church, not as formal as they once … Continue reading “You Just Can’t Let Nature Run Wild” — Wally Hickel.
Port Arthur, Tasmania, I was going to call this post “The English Gulag” because Britain operated a string of penal colonies and labor camps throughout Australia to rid itself of criminals. Some of the “Convicts” were convicted of, essentially being … Continue reading Despair in a Beautiful Place
The sail out happened in afternoon daylight, giving us the views of the harbor we were denied on the sail in. Our last sail out was right at sunset, this one was a little earlier. Everyone held their breaths as … Continue reading Sydney Sailout 2023
We went by a certain corner near Circular Quay in Sydney several times. Suzi mentioned the interesting angles of the buildings, almost like architects were trying to outdo each other. It is what Dr. Arnie Flaten, my architecture prof at … Continue reading Remember me to Herald Square
We got to bed after midnight. We don’t even do that on New Year’s Eve, but we wanted to enjoy a little Sydney nightlife, which for us was mainly people watching. From Darling Harbor we waked to the light rail … Continue reading A Night on the Town
After four concentrated days in New Zealand, it’s nice go get three sea days to rest, sort out memories, do a little writing, download pictures, play some dominos and just plain chill out. Suzi and I are trying to get … Continue reading Check Multiple Sources
“…Locomotive 165 returning your call, Gisborne Air Traffic Control.” Locomotive 165 is a WA class steam locomotive built in the Dunedin railway workshop on New Zealand’s South Island in 1897, 6 years before the Wright Brothers first flight at kitty … Continue reading “This is Gisborne Air Traffic Control Calling Locomotive 165…”
We set the alarm for 6 AM. We had a tour booked to the thermal area around Lake Rotorua. Normally we don’t take ship tours but this one was a “freebee” for booking early (nothing on a cruise is really … Continue reading We Celebrate Our Certificates of Recovery by Exhausting Ourselves.