Gustave Eiffel had a major hand in the iconic landmarks in two world cities. He designed the support structure for the Statue of Liberty. He also designed a number of pre-fab iron buildings in Arica Chile including a church, customs … Continue reading Gustave Eiffel in Manila?
The Captain’s announcement was not encouraging. “The temperature tomorrow in Manila will be, wait for it, 95 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s 35 degrees Celsius.” With 88% humidity it was just plain hot. Suzi does not function well in high heat and … Continue reading Defensive Driver — Manila
I wonder how my grandfather, who was a steward on White Star Line at the turn of the 20th century, would have reacted to relations between crew and passengers on this cruise. While he clearly liked some of the persons … Continue reading Three More Days, Two More Days, One more Day TODAY!!
The narrative for this page of pictures is on the earlier post, click here. That’s the only way you will understand the title of this post. In the event you don’t click above, the Puerto Princesa Underground River is a … Continue reading Sharon Stone and the Virgin Mary – The Puerto Princesa Underground River.
Suzi and I were getting ready to assemble for our tour on the island of Palawan when we heard drumming coming from outside. Casting long shadows is the early morning light a group of majorettes and baton twirlers were doing … Continue reading Palawan Puts on a Big Welcome.
Bali was a McClear field trip rather than a vacation trip. During our two days we visited three temples, rice terraces, a coffee plantation, drove all around the island in a taxi, listen traditional music, seen traditional dance, been harassed … Continue reading Tying up loose ends in Bali
I’ve played Gamelan music on the radio often enough but had never heard it live until this week. I suppose it’s because I’ve chosen to live in mostly rural communities. The Gamelan is not one instrument but an ensemble from … Continue reading Gamelan,
I wished I could have seen more of Ulu Watu, the Cliff Temple on our second day in Bali. But I couldn’t because monkeys have opposable thumbs. Before getting out of the cab the driver told me to take off … Continue reading Bad Monkey – Ulu Watu
On our way back from Pura Luhur Batukau and the rice terraces we stopped at Pura Taman Ayun. This was an unexpected stop recommended by our guide, Putra. Suzi and I both said we would rather skip lunch and see … Continue reading Pura Tamam Ayun:
After visiting Pura Luhur Batukau we drove along a winding road through the Jatiouwith Ricce Fields and got a chance to get out and walk a little. As I mentioned in the last post, they, and the whole rice growing … Continue reading Jatiouwith Rice Fields
“I want to go to Pura Luhur Batukau.” The “destination guide,” Barbara, on the Amsterdam had never heard of it but looked it up and said “Wow, Lonely Planet gave it a star as a top tourist attraction.” “Yep, that’s … Continue reading But Tourists Never Go There — Pura Luhur Batukau
We got back to Fremantle from Perth but still had two mysteries to solve. The first was easy. The night before someone gave us directions and told us to go to Cappuccino Strip and turn right. We wanted to know … Continue reading Yellow Stripes and a Cappuccino Strip.
The main thing we wanted to see in Perth was the Swan Tower and its bells from St. Martin in the Fields (see earlier post.) and by the time we got to the tower I thought post would be titled … Continue reading Perth Post
One of the great joys of living in Sitka is “change bell ringing” from the tower of St. Michael’s Cathedral. Change Ringing is not playing a tune, but the repeat of a mathematical sequence of different bells. The sequence is … Continue reading You Owe Me Five Farthings. (Say the bells of…)
Fremantle, Australia was the last port Pop sailed into before reaching Calcutta and the CBI Theater in World War II. In one of his letters he described an “armada” of allied shipping gathered in this staging area, although, to me, … Continue reading Frebo
Albany itself sits on a spectacular shoreline where waves (which I can certainly feel now as we sail along the south coast of Australia) from the Southern Ocean, generated by Antarctic storms, crash against a granite shoreline creating gaps and … Continue reading Albany and Torndirrup National Park,
Albany, Western Australia has monuments dedicated to two slaughters. You get a hint at the first slaughter when you sail into Princess Royal Harbor through the Ataturk Entrance. It was named after the Turkish General who pushed back of members … Continue reading A Town Reflecting on Slaughter.
Being on a cruise ship is somewhat like living on an island in Alaska. Sometimes you run out of stuff and can’t replace it easily. During much of our kids’ growing up it was difficult to get fresh milk that … Continue reading Why Cruise Ship Life is a Lot Like Living in Southeast Alaska.
Adelaide boasts that its Fringe Festival is the second largest in the world (Edinburgh is first.) But more importantly it’s “The Biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.” Which is code for “Bigger than Sydney’s” and we landed in the middle of … Continue reading Fringe Flash – Adelaide
In Albania the standard greeting is “Mire Dita, Si Jeni?” “Good Day, How are you?” As an American I always answered in the optimistic, “Doing great!” or “I’m well.” Once someone caught me up and asked “Why are you always … Continue reading Doin’ OK in Adelaide
Sometimes things go wrong on a ship. It is a big mechanical conglomeration of parts that is beat around by high winds and seas that rise 30 feet. Parts of it pop out of the water and slam down again … Continue reading It Must Be Raindrops
Each Community Station is unique but somehow we are all the same. This was to be our one shot at seeing Australian Wildlife in the wild. Instead we found a community radio station. Kangaroo Island is an island nearly 100 … Continue reading Community Radio and Kangaroos.
I am writing this Thursday afternoon. Wednesday we were hove to off the island of Tasmania, nose into the wind, blowing up to 90 knots, surrounded by green water, 9 meter (29 foot) seas and making no process. We made … Continue reading Public Art and Pocket Parks — Hobart
To my dad Hobart was a kind of heaven. He had been on a troop ship, the Washington, for a long time out of San Francisco. The Japanese had reported sinking her but she zig zagged safely through the North … Continue reading Fulfilling Pop’s Dream – Cruising into Hobart.