On Sunday in Niue THE thing to do is go to church. The island has lots of Sunday rules. The tourist brochure says: “Sundays are a day of worship and rest here in Niue. You can go swimming and sightseeing … Continue reading Niue on Sunday
I never thought I could feel sympathy for a bivalve mollusk. But consider this. To make a cultured pearl they capture larvae on a black column of bushy plastic, put a plastic net over the column to protect it from … Continue reading Pearl Jam
“Rarotonga is my nemesis,” Captain Mercer said when he came down to the tender platform to see how things were going. According to one of my cruise mates she could not book an independent diving tour in Rarotonga, the main … Continue reading “Half the fun is getting there.” — Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Bora Bora was a major U.S. logistics base during the Second World War. The military chose the site because there was only one entrance to the lagoon. It could be easily defended. The island is surrounded by motus, or flat … Continue reading The Footsteps of Michener — Bora Bora
On both Moorea and Bora Bora we took excursions to look at sharks and stingrays. In fact we got to swim with both sharks and sting rays as well as snorkel the coral reefs. The Moorea expedition was mostly a … Continue reading Shark Shark
When we went to bed in Tahiti we expected to wake up anchored in Cook’s Bay, Moorea. Instead we woke up to a PA announcement telling us that plans had changed and we were not quite anchored in Opunohu Bay. … Continue reading Surprise, Surprise, Surprise – Moorea.
“Why do cruise ships come in this season? It’s too hot! If I didn’t have to work I would be in France or New Zealand now.” That’s what the proprietor of the camera shop asked me. I think if there … Continue reading Urban Polynesia – Pape’ete
One of the preoccupations of people onboard is developing an internet strategy that works for them. (OK, you’re wondering about the title and the pictures on a post about cruising and Internet. Read on.) Internet on the ship is slow … Continue reading “Our Lady” and the Internet.
One of the things we did in Rangiroa was to take a glass bottomed boat ride out into the lagoon to look at fish. One of the boatmen saw that Suzi and I had waterproof cameras and took Suzi’s camera … Continue reading Octopuses Garden – No Octopus
Rangiroa is not a place where I would make a long term real estate investment. Suzi and got up at 6 this (Sunday) morning and turned on the TV to look at the bow channel. We wanted to be on … Continue reading Rangiroa — Shooting the Tiputa Pass.
We had a sea day yesterday. I am posting this while waiting for our tender to be called. Our cabin is very comfortable but it does has its pros and cons. Pro, it is 10 paces from our door to … Continue reading Busted — Another Sea Day.
Pae Pae Piki Vehine is an archaeological site on the waterfront that had become an open air cultural center. It includes tiki’s made by local sculptors and artists from Easter Island. A tiki is on the flag of the Marquesas … Continue reading Tikis on Nuka Hiva
The Notre Dame Cathedral is a remarkably cool building in which to shelter in the heat of the day, and if you go there you are rewarded with magnificent wooden sculptures including the stations of the cross, pulpits, alters, and … Continue reading Ukulele Playing Saint — In Nuka Hiva
The search for earthly paradise is one of the recurring themes of the lectures on Amsterdam. The Polynesian cultural center representatives and the Astronomy professor have given lectures and held discussions on this topic. They have reviewed literature, paintings, film … Continue reading Looking for Bali Hi — in the Marquesas
One of the entertainers leaving the ship in Panama told us he was happy to get off because we were about to have 8 days at sea before reaching the Marquesas Islands. He performed a parody of the Beatles “Let … Continue reading Day at Sea (X8) or Sailing Through the Doldrums.
“TRAVEL becomes a strategy for accumulating PHOTOGRAPHS.” – Anonymous We get a different saying on a card every evening along with our chocolate on MS Amsterdam. This is one of them. And this blog page is a reflection of that … Continue reading Panama etc.
During the construction of the Panama Canal more than a century ago scientists were concerned about how the canal would affect the environment. What would be the impact of damming the Chagres River? Would building a Canal straight across the … Continue reading Frank Gehry in Panama
Panamax is the name for the largest ship that could pass through the old locks of the Panama Canal, just under 1000 feet. That limited the size of the SS United States (“The Big U”) the largest superliner built in … Continue reading NeoPanamax
Three years ago I wrote about getting up at 5:15 so we wouldn’t miss a minute of transiting the Panama Canal. I got to the forward Crow’s Nest lounge a little early. This year we set the alarm for 6:15 … Continue reading The Second Time Around… The Panama Canal.
Central America is a land bridge where different species from North and South America meet, and sometimes cross paths. It is also on a major avian flyway. The Tortguero Canal is a fresh water canal that runs parallel and within … Continue reading Sloths, Crocs and Herons
If there’s the possibility to ride a train I will take it. Puerto Limon is connected to San Jose by a narrow gauge railway. It no longer carries passengers, except for a few miles through the outskirts of Limon and … Continue reading Banana Train
“The TRAVELER sees what he sees. The TOURIST sees what he has come to see.” — GK Chesterton Every night on the ship, on the bed, we get a card with a quote about travel along with two pieces of … Continue reading Brutalist or Welcoming? The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
The first thing I saw getting off the ship in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica was a sign that said “Costa Rica, Since 1048, No Army.” I saw that repeated on T shirts and other souvenirs, I half expected to see … Continue reading Ethnically Rich, Biologically Diverse, Economically Poor. Puerto Limon.
David Foster Wallace wrote an essay for Harpers “A Supposedly Fun Thing That I Will Never Do Again.” It was about cruising in the Caribbean. I read it right after we took our 68 day South America, Antarctica cruise and … Continue reading No Taxes Forever, On Order of the King