The Macs’ Big Adventure

March 11, 2023

Our day in Sri Lanka was a sensory mix of sights, smells, sounds and taste. We booked a Tuk Tuk Safari through the streets of Colombo. There were eventually five tuk tuks in our safari. This was not one of the ship’s shore excursions and there was a bit of a kerfluffle before all of us got together.

The ship was docked in an industrial port because there was a pier there that was long enough to accommodate us. Shuttle buses were provided to get us to the gates since walking was not allowed and, in any event, gates were some distance away. There turned out to be more than one gate at the complex and that caused problems for a whole lot of people.

We got off the ship early so that we would have plenty of time to be there before our guide arrived. The shuttles were taking everyone to Gate 8. That was the first mistake. The bus dropped us off in a very unprepossessing neighborhood. There were an abundance of tuk tuks there with drivers asking if we want a tour, but not our tour guide. There were some interesting things to photograph, though.

We had been waiting for awhile when another passenger ran over and told the bunch of us who were waiting there that tours were being met at Gate 1 and that the bus waiting would take us there. So, we hopped on board that bus and off we went. It seemed like our driver wasn’t really sure where Gate 1 was and, after asking directions a couple of times, he found it.

Once we were outside the gate, we found even more tuk tuks and drivers but not our guide. We asked someone if this was where we met Tuk Tuk Safaris Sri Lanka and were told “yes” and directed further down the road. Still very confused, we asked some else for help and found a driver who said he would call our guide for us. I, fortunately, had his number but, unfortunately, no service or wifi. After a three-way conversation between the driver, Prenaab (our guide), and me, it was finally decided that the driver would take us to meet our group. We paid the gentlemen with the phone $5.00 for his help and headed off. Riding in a tuk tuk is quite an experience and the adventure was just beginning. Ten dollars later we met up with part of our group and Prenaab. Our driver for the day was Hosni and he was a delight! His English was not the best, but was a darn sight better than my ability to speak his language. Interestingly, the other two couples we met, at that time, were family traveling together. One couple was from Eugene, Oregon (small world) and his brother and wife from France. Later on, we’d be joined by folks from Washington state so we were a Pacific Northwest group.

Tuk tuks are individually decorated to reflect the personality of the driver. Ours was quite subdued while another was really tricked out. There is also a photo below of the inside of a random tuk tuk.

And then we were off to drive through the teeming streets of Colombo in our tiny little tuk tuk as we darted in and out of traffic dodging other tuk tuks, cars, motor bike and pedestrians. The sounds were such a part of the experience. Everyone was honking horns, the tuk tuks were sputtering, and other vehicles whooshed by. Our driver reassured us, before we started out, by telling us he was a good driver and that he’d been doing this for 14 years. He spoke the truth. We never felt horribly unsafe but it was certainly a different experience than we have ever had!

Our first stop was a Hindu temple, Sri Ponnambalam Vanesar Kovil, which is dedicated to the Lord Shiva. This time, we had to remove our shoes even before we entered the grounds. I found this to be one of the holiest places I have ever been. So many people there were worshipping and offering prayers. The scent of incense was all around. In the main temple, men were prostrating themselves on the floor, women were whispering into the ear of a chanting holy man and children were running around being children. As I just stood and absorbed everything, Brian ventured further in and took some of the pictures of murals and artwork. There were flowers and trees throughout the ground that helped create this island of serenity inside a big, bustling city.

Before we left this magical place, our guide and drivers handed out fresh coconut water to refresh ourselves. It was so fresh, it was still in the coconut!

Now it was time for more adventure. Our little tuk tuk safari wove through the busy streets to reach the local markets. These were very narrow roads with small shops squished together on each side. It was mainly a drive through visit, but, we did stop at a spice merchant who let us smell and touch each spice as he explained them to us. Again, I wish I could share the exquisite scents.

There was one very thin gentleman who was pulling a loaded cart through the streets. The sweat was rolling off of him. It truly put into perspective how hard most people in our world have to work to make some sort of living. We are very privileged people. This is the cart below.

Leaving the market, we headed to our next destination and did a little more sightseeing.

It was time for another Buddhist temple, this time Sri Lankan style. Handy baskets were provided for shoes. I haven’t been barefoot this often in many years!

Such vivid colors at this temple. A real feast for the eyes!

There were elephants throughout the complex, both in sculpture and mounted.

Our guide led us to one of the most sacred parts of the temple, a banyan tree. The Buddha sat for seven days under a banyan tree and received enlightenment. People would touch the tree, offer prayers and pour water on it.

It seemed like every corner we turned, there was more beauty in so many forms.

Lunch was next and this was a surprise. My paperwork for the trip didn’t indicate that we’d get lunch provided, so that was quite a treat. We were taken to a local Sri Lankan restaurant for traditional food. The restaurant was quite small and patrons walked up to the counter and chose what they wanted from the buffet. Out guide led us through, one by one, so we could let him know how much spice we wanted. If someone wanted no spice, they were served fried rice and chicken. I decided to be brave and chose mild spice. Evidently, it was Sri Lankan mild and not American mild! So tasty, and yet so hot. Brian ordered even spicier. The person a our four person table who had fried rice said there was a kick to that, too. The food was delicious and the flavors complex, but wow!

That is plant leaves that the food is served on. Our guide told us that the plate of food above costs him $3.00.

One more stop and our trip would be complete. We went to a tea grower’s factory store, learned about Sri Lankan teas and had the opportunity to purchase what we wanted. Some is coming home with us.

We returned to the ship tired but happy. We truly enjoyed our day in Sri Lanka. That night there was a folkloric show in the ship’s theatre presented by a local dance academy. The perfect ending to a very interesting day.

March 8, 2023

I don’t know what I expected from our visit to Phuket (poo-ket), but it certainly wasn’t the bustling city we found! I have seen the pictures of the stunning beaches on the island, however, we only saw those from a distance.

We had joined a private tour of the island with a small group. We hadn’t met any of the people with us before. With our guide, Cat, we got into our 10 person van and headed out. It was very hard to see out of the windows because they were so low, and I wasn’t able to get as many pictures of the city as I would have liked. The ones I did get were taken with hope and a prayer that I would get something interesting.

The wiring around the city was pretty sketchy looking. It was generally a rat’s nest of cables, sometimes decorated with twining flowering vines. Here’s a photo of one of the safer situations.

Our first stop of the tour was a Thai Buddhist temple. It was very different than the temples we saw in Malaysia. As before, there were large grounds with a collection of buildings and beautiful plantings.

There were cats everywhere! They were obviously very well fed and healthy and contented.

After again removing our shoes, we explored a couple of the buildings. The first one was a shrine in which people were leaving flower offerings and praying. There was a fortune teller throwing sticks that each had a number on them. When you got your number, there was a corresponding fortune for it. No one in our group participated, but it was very interesting to watch.

We collected our shoes and headed across the courtyard to a three story temple. Once again barefoot, we spent time exploring, climbing stairs, and enjoying the beautiful view. The interior of this temple was so different than the ones in Malaysia.

In the distance, we could see the Giant Buddha. That’s where we were headed next.

The Giant Buddha is still under construction as money allows. To enter the grounds, you must follow a very specific dress code. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. All attire was to be respectful. We saw tourists turned away because they didn’t have the correct clothing. Yes, the Giant Buddha is giant.

You could climb the stairs is reach the Buddha where you would find monks chanting and more statues. I opted to remain below (thanks to the blister I was developing on my big toe due to all the barefoot climbing I’d been doing), however Brian forged ahead. This is him in the photo below in the middle of the picture.

He found some interesting sights when he reached the top.

We left the Giant Buddha and headed out for some sightseeing with a focus on the gorgeous beaches.

Now came the shopping portion of our tour. Our first stop was a cashew nut factory. Cashews are a very profitable crop for the Thai. It is an incredibly labor intensive harvesting process since each nut needs to be shelled by hand. Each fruit of the cashew tree has one nut hanging from the bottom. Each nut is a different size so mechanical shelling is not an option. The fruit pictured below has a nut on the bottom.

Inside the shop, there was a woman demonstrating the shelling process. Lots of samples were handed and and we took the opportunity to restock our room snacks. The cashews were very tasty! We also quenched our thirst with local beverages.

We headed off to what was called the “world’s biggest gem store” and it may well have been. The visitor center had its very own aquarium which was, certainly, nothing I’d ever encountered before.

We were loaded onto, for want of a better word, a “ride”. It was like a Disneyland ride through a history of jewel mining and jewelry design. We weren’t allowed to take pictures. There were animatronic dioramas for each era illustrating the growing sophistication of the mining process complete with laser lights, glittering jewels and video. The obligatory sales pitch was included reminding riders that the best way to show your sweetheart your love was to buy the perfect piece of jewelry. Once off the ride, we were funneled through the workshop to whet our appetites even further.

Next came the high pressure sales. As we walked into the gallery, each couple was assigned a salesperson who would not leave your side no matter how many times you said that you weren’t going to buy, but just wanted to look at the pretty jewelry. Brian and I ended up sitting in the waiting area with most of the rest of our group. One couple wanted to buy a loose gemstone. At this point, I have to admit, I was over this tour. The jewelry store left a really bad taste in my mouth, my blister hurt, and I was ready to head back to the ship. This was a bad decision. By doing this, I robbed Brian and I of the chance to explore more and I have huge regrets over that.

On this tour, I learned that I didn’t like being forced to stop at the tourist trap shopping areas (although I don’t regret the cashews!). Brian and I prefer to wander and look at our own speed and go wherever we want to go and try to get a sense of the places we visit. Touristic shopping areas have their own place, but I don’t like feeling trapped in them.

Lessons were learned and, hopefully, the same mistake won’t be made on the second half of our voyage!

March 7, 2023

Our scheduled stop in Langkawi was cancelled due to strikes which had closed all the roads from the port. So, instead of exploring mangroves, we headed off to the bustling city of George Town, Penang.

George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and maintains a lot of its original character. The ship put together a slate of excursions in a very short amount of time. The tour we booked took us to the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas (Kek Lok Si) and to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. We saw a lot of Buddhas!

Our drive to our first stop took us through George Town and out to the mountains. Our guide, Harold, was excellent and extremely proud of his city. He is of Indian heritage and was a Christian. He was especially proud of the fact that when the city was founded, one street was designated as the place all the houses of worship were to be built. The idea was that this would facilitate all the cultures mingling and not be so separated. There were Buddhist temples next to mosques, which were next to churches.

Our tour bus was very plush with valances over the windows which, while interesting, we’re not conducive to picture taking.

I was able to capture a few pictures of the city streets during the drive.

The Temple of 10,000 Buddhas is stunning. We had been told we’d have to climb a lot of stairs to get up to the second level and we certainly did! The very warm and humid temperature added to the challenge. As the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, it is an extremely big complex full of buildings, statues, gardens and gift shops to raise money for the ongoing maintenance.

One the way up be passed a pool filled with turtles and tortoises.

I turned around and looked down off the road and saw this.

A few more images from our trip up.

Can you see the elephant below?

We learned a lot about Malaysian specific Buddhist temples. Every country has its own traditions, but there were similarities that run across other countries, as we would later find. To enter the temples we had to remove our shoes and hats. The entryway into the temples are holy and have raised sills that shouldn’t be stepped on.

I took so many pictures on this level of the temple. There was beauty everywhere you looked.

Below is a picture of one of the carved decorations on the building. The light color is from the outside and the dark one is the inside view.

When we finished at the second level, we rode a funicular up to the third. Here there was a Goddess of Mercy statue, a lovely pond with a gazebo in the center, and many whimsical statues.

I also had my first, and hopefully last, experience with a squat toilet. I was not a fan. Seventy years of using a western toilet made learning this new skill difficult!

At least it was very clean!

After the funicular ride back down to the second level, we walked back down the hill and caught a few more sights along the way.

We were very hot and sweaty when we reached the bottom and we were happy to find cold snacks for sale. These cost us $3.00 total.

I don’t know if we saw all 10,000 Buddhas here, but we saw a whole lot of them and they were all different.

We hopped (or dragged ourselves) onto the the bus and headed to see the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This is is fourth largest reclining Buddha in the world. The courtyard was very pretty with fierce statues and dragons covered in colored glass that sparkled in the sunlight.

Once again removing our shoes, we went into explore.

There was a lucky Buddha in the temple. You made a donation, rubbed the Buddha’s stomach in an inwardly direction three times, and them put you hand immediately into your pocket to store the good luck. Brian and I figured “it couldn’t hurt” and went with the flow.

After our time here, we could go across the street to see yet another temple. This one was built by a woman, so she had the Buddha designed to look female. This was my favorite Buddha of all. So serene and peaceful!

We enjoyed our time in Penang very much. We returned to the ship hot and sweaty, ready for a relaxing evening.

March 5, 2023

We docked in Singapore a little later than expected which delayed people’s planned activities a bit. However, what delayed them even long was the Singapore immigration process. The day before we got to Singapore, we received notification from the ship that Singapore requires an online health certification to be completed no more than 3 days before we docked. I was able to easily complete Brian’s and my certifications and got them uploaded and accepted.

We had booked an excursion through the ship which would take us to Little India, Chinatown, and to a Chinese tea demonstration and tasting. A Chinese set lunch was included along with a Singapore Sling at one of the nicer hotels. Originally, we were supposed to go to Raffles Hotel where the drink originated but out ticket said we would be going somewhere else for operational reasons. Anyway, we met at our assigned time in the Princess Theatre and waited and waited to be led off the ship. Finally our number was called and we thought we were making progress. Then we hit Singaporean immigration. We stood on the gangway for awhile (which was a very long gangway) until there was room inside the building for more people to enter. Brian and I were the last two in our group. We were greeted by a long zigzag lines (like at airport security or a Disneyland ride) that was slowly moving forward. After roughly half an hour, we reached immigration where our passports were processed and we were fingerprinted and we where sent on our way. Later on, this process was taking a lot longer. We headed downstairs and went through customs. Since we had nothing to declare, we just had to go through a security scan. We found our tour guide and proceeded to wait until our other tour companions arrived. All in all, our tour left an hour and a half late.

Throughout the day, the weather reminded up we were in the tropics. It was overcast with occasional downpours. The overcast helped keep the temperature down so it was only slightly sweltering instead of extremely sweltering! I was able to take some pictures from the very nice bus through raindrop covered windows.

Our first stop was Yixing Xuan Teahouse where the founder’s daughter, who know works with her father after years in finance, explained how tea was processed and brewed. I didn’t realize that all tea (other than herbal and flowery and fruity teas) come from a single plant. The type of tea depends upon which leaves are picked from the plant. Our time here was truncated due to our late start but we had time to sip four types of tea. Included I. The tasting was the best jasmine green teas I’ve ever had. During the tea appreciation class, we learned that white tea is extremely high in antioxidants and other cancer preventatives and extremely low in caffeine. It is an incredibly lightly flavored tea.

We were hustled back onto the bus, which was blocking the road and causing a lot of drivers to lay on their horns with enthusiasm. We went off to Chinatown for lunch and while we would have time to shop then, we would spend more time here later.

Singapore is a fascinating city to observe. It is multicultural (Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Eurasian) with a lovely mix of old and new. Almost everyone speaks English and there is generally English signage along with another language.

Komodo Island is one of the over 17,500 islands that make up the country of Indonesia and is the home of Komodo National Park, a World Heritage site. No one can visit the park without being part of an organized group. We were part of one of the ship’s shore excursions. There were about 20 in our group.

I awoke as we were slowly approaching the island. The view from our balcony was stunning.

The ship would be at anchor for the day and we’d, again, be using the ship’s tenders to go ashore.

When we got to the island, we got the first indication that we weren’t in a first world country anymore. When we tied up to the dock, we had to negotiate tall steps carved out of the cement in order to reach the pier. The steps were not in pristine condition and there was no railing. Crew members were there to provide a steady arm to help people up the steps. This was a little more rustic than some folks in our group had anticipated, but it really wasn’t a problem if you were in average shape. There was a long pier we had to walk to reach the beach and the park. Boats in all sorts of conditions lined the pier and numerous one floated out in the ocean.

We met our guide, Fan, on the beach and were given a short safety briefing. Accompanied by two helpers with long, forked sticks to keep the Komodo dragons away, we headed out into the forest. I’m always in awe at the beauty and diversity of nature. We hiked through forest and up the hill into meadows and back down to the forest. We saw insects, flowers, birds and dragons.

This tree had a branch twisted around the trunk. It reminded me of a giant stick insect hugging the tree.

We hadn’t walked too far one the trail when we reached a watering hole the park had built for the dragons. All the Komodo dragons in the park are wild and are the apex predators of the area. They are not fed by the park, so they hunt for prey like deer, water buffalo and each other. They are cannibals. There was some activity at the waterhole.

This was just the right amount of activity for me. The group that was two tours behind us “enjoyed” seeing a young Komodo dragon eat a baby deer whole. I guess the sounds accompanying were something people would never forgot. Another group saw dragons mating.

As we continued on, we saw a couple of dragon hidden in the long grass.

The day was hot and humid and the walk was a couple of miles or so. There were certainly people who were struggling and had overestimated their level of fitness. We ended the hike near the ocean that, of course, had a lovely view.

There was a large local vendor marketplace we were funneled through. The vendors were more aggressive than we’ve seen before. They were selling the usual t-shirts and trinkets along with carved Komodo dragons. We didn’t buy anything. I knew I didn’t want a giant reptile on my chest. Before heading back to a tender, we stopped to have our picture taken to prove we were here.

We look just a little warm!

It’s another sea day today and tomorrow and then we’ll be in Singapore. That stop will be incredibly different than Komodo Island.

It’s rarely a good thing when the ship’s Captain addresses the whole ship over the speakers, but that is what happened last night. We are no longer going to Darwin, Australia because the weather was getting too bad. The Port Authorities in Darwin suggested the ship not dock so, in the interest of safety, we’re on to Indonesia.

There have been many more sea days than scheduled on this portion of our trip, due to storms. We won’t get to Komodo Island for three days now and the ship’s crew is working hard to keep everyone occupied. Sea days blend one into the other and passengers can get grumpy.

Living this long on a cruise ship is like living in a small city. There are about 2,000 passengers aboard along with the crew necessary to support the operations of the ship. That is a lot of people! The crew members have been wonderful without exception, doing everything possible to make our trip great. I can’t say the same for the passengers.

Like any city, there are the grumps, the complainers, the entitled, and the just plain miserable. These people we do our best to avoid. Luckily, they are in the minority.

Everyone seems to have developed their own routines and places to be. As Brian and I wander around the ship following our own routine, we greet the same people daily. We are not sun worshippers, so we don’t know the folks who spend their days by the ship’s outdoor pool. Even with all the people on board, we never have to look too hard for a seat in the buffet or by the indoor pool. The elevator usually appears right after we push the call button. We rarely have to wait.

Of course, with all these people, there are emergencies and instances of bad behavior. Evidently, a couple of men got into a fight that turned physical in one of the laundry rooms. Laundry is serious business around here! They were put off at the next port. More seriously, we have had two mid-ocean medical evacuations by helicopter in the last month, which is very usual. The helicopter hovers over the ship and the patient is lifted up on a gurney. All the outside decks are closed for everyone’s safety. This is another time the Captain speaks to everyone.

As I write this, I’m sitting in Crooners Bar—our morning go-to place. Not for an adult beverage, but for the quiet.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we have been known to have a drink or two here before dinner.

Brian has been fighting a cold, so I think the enforced rest will help him get better. I have choir rehearsal later this morning and then we’re going to try to arrange a rousing games of Five Crowns this afternoon with some friends. The weather is worsening outside now, so remaining indoors is a good bet!

Cairns (pronounced “cans”) is a city of about 130,000 on the Coral Sea. It was also a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Since we had chosen Airlie Beach for our reef excursion, today we booked the Rainforest Station Experience.

Rainforest Station is a privately owned park in the Kuranda Mountains in the middle of the rain forest. We would get to enjoy a number of experiences here throughout the day.

We got on a bus with about 40 of our new friends for the drive through the town and up into the forest. Carmel was our tour guide and, as a native of Cairns, she was a wealth of information. There are a lot of sugar cane fields here. In fact, Carmel’s father and mother came to Cairns in the 1930s to work the cane fields.

Random road sign.

The drive through the mountains was lovely and soon we reached our destination, Rainforest Station.

Our first scheduled activity was lunch and, since it was about noon, we appreciated it. We had an Aussie style BBQ buffet with all sorts of meats, tropical fruits, and accompaniments. When we finished eating, we were free to head over to the wildlife park.

This private zoo has many native Australian animals on exhibit. We saw kangaroos, wallabies, koala bears, dingos, Tasmanian Devils, a cassowary, crocodiles and reptiles. The kangaroos and wallabies were free wandering. Actually, the kangaroos did less wandering and more sleeping or relaxing. Here are some pictures.

We headed off, then, to listen to some didgeridoo playing and watch a spear throwing demonstration. I have to admit, I do love listening to a didgeridoo. The people leading these demonstrations where members of Aboriginal tribes,

Our next activity required audience participation. We got to learn to throw boomerangs. Our group was evidently very good at it. Brian and I both took part and one of us was much better than the other.

Me:

Brian:

Aboriginal dances were the next program we enjoyed. Accompanied by the didgeridoo and rhythm instruments, three men demonstrated a few dances.

Finally, we had a Duck Boat ride through the rain forest. We were in a 1942 original duck boat much like this one. It had been shipped over from the US during World War II and remained behind.

The rain forest is beautiful with such a variety of plants and animals. It had become very overcast, so the butterflies and other animals would not be out. The colors of the forest were amazing. So many shades of green!

A termite mound.

We even did a little water traveling.

We had a little extra time when we were finished at Rainforest Station, so Carmel decided she would like to take us a little north of Cairns to the beach. We drove out to a place called Pearl Cove which is a very nice local area. There were lots of restaurants and shops along with a lovely beach. Notice the white flotation boundaries around the swimming area. That netting keeps the jellyfish out.

On our return back to the ship, we passed a couple of fields of wallabies. When a new housing area was developed, some wallabies were trapped inside the fences and they have flourished. Not everyone is happy about this because wallabies love vegetable gardens!

We made it back to the ship right on time at 5:00. We relaxed with some adult beverages, had pizza and French fries for dinner and called it a night. It was dark when we left Cairns and all the lights where gorgeous, especially those on the boats.

We’re now on the second of three sea days before we get to Darwin. As of today, it is going to be very rainy there and very warm at the same time. We have no plans except, possibly, to run a few errands and do some exploring as weather permits.

Airlie Beach is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. I imagine it is an extremely beautiful place if you aren’t there in the middle of a huge storm. Almost all of the shore excursions offered here were cancelled. Ours, however, was still on. We were taking a high speed catamaran on a 2 hour ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. The boat had about 150 passengers and, not long after we headed out, people started getting seasick. The barf bags were being well used over the course of the next two hours. I had taken Bonine before we headed out just in case and, boy, am I glad I did! Neither Brian nor I were sick, but it wasn’t a pleasant ride out.

When we got to the reef the water was still a bit choppy, but not too bad. Lots of sea birds (along with their accompanying smells) and the pontoons that were being used to access the reef were in the distance.

Once on the pontoon, Brian had to put on a stinger suit this time to snorkel. That would protect him from jellyfish stings.

While Brian snorkeled, I returned to our catamaran where there were comfortable seats (not covered in bird droppings) and air conditioning. I enjoyed reading a new book, so I was quite content. Before Brian came back to report on his snorkeling, the catamaran crew put out a lovely lunch buffet which I decided not to partake of since we had to sail back over the same ocean we came out on. Not everyone made the same choice, and it came back to haunt them later.

Brian returned very happy to have snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef even though the water was murky and choppy. This was our small window of opportunity to have this experience and you grab the opportunity when you can.

I thought I’d share my view of the reef.

During our ride back to our ship, I decided to stay in the lower level of the catamaran where the ride should be, in theory, smoother and the air conditioning worked. It had been very hot on the ride over. Brian returned upstairs to sit in the fresh air.

I sat next to some college age kids traveling with family. They had met on the cruise and became fast friends. The two hours passed quickly as I enjoyed their company. They were playing Harry Potter Uno and I watched and laughed with them. Again, lots of other folks were not having such a good time. I can’t say enough about how hard the young crew on board worked taking care of all the sick tourists. They were so kind to everyone and it could not have been the best work day they had ever had.

Everyone seemed to be quite happy to be back on the cruise ship. There were lots of disappointed people that the Barrier Reef experience hadn’t been what they’d hoped it would be. I know it wasn’t how we had imagined it. However, we were there and the Great Barrier Reef was something we never thought we would experience. And experience it we did!

Moreton Island is the third largest sand island in the world. Today we were at anchor in the Coral Sea and the ship’s tenders (large lifeboats) would shuttle passengers to shore at the Tangalooma Island Resort. All the excursions the ship offered took place at the resort. Brian had booked a snorkeling adventure for the morning which he enjoyed quite a lot.

The resort had sunk some ships a number of years ago hoping to build a reef. Brian said there was coral growing of the metal hulks with lots of fish swimming around. He had to wear a thick wetsuit to protect him from the sharp edges of the metal.

He also enjoyed watching the many birds on the beach.

I stayed on board in the morning doing some chores (and writing my last blog post). There seemed to be lots of issues with the tendering over process. Shuttles were having mechanical problems and, since it was a 20 minute ride to the resort, folks were delayed getting over.

Brian was back around 1:00 and told me there wasn’t much to do or see over there, and since sun and laying out on the beach is something I don’t do anymore because I’ve had melanoma, I decided just to remain on the ship.

We spent the rest of the day doing what we normally do…a whole lot of relaxing.

The night before we got to Sydney, we said goodbye to two of our dear dinner companions. Bill and Heather were getting off in Sydney and spending five weeks in Australia. Heather, though she now lives in Pennsylvania, is originally from Tasmania. Their children are joining them for a portion of the trip and they will visit family and friends in Tasmania. Heather had asked Brian to play his guitar and sing some songs for them before they left, so, after dinner, a small group of friends met in the chapel and Brian did just that.

I was up bright and early when we sailed into Sydney the next morning. Our passenger choir had to be on deck 14 at 5:45 so we could sing while we sailed past the Sydney Opera hHouse. Evidently, this is one of the most beautiful sail ins on the cruise and, since I couldn’t see it, Brian took pictures for me.

I’m at a loss for words to describe Sydney. It is really the most amazing place! A young, vibrant city, Sydney has a lively, welcoming feel. This is a place I could easily spend much more time in. There is so much to see and experience. The mix of old and new architecture, all the public art and the lovely green spaces were a treat for the senses. Our shore excursion for the day was a Hop On, Hop Off bus tour. We spent about an hour and a half riding around this beautiful city. I took way too many photos. These are some of my favorites.

Sydney was celebrating a many weeks long Pride Festival and the city was decked out in honor of that. The Pride rainbow was everywhere.

We even saw some local wildlife. Only one of these creature is real. Hint…it’s not the giraffe.

After we hopped off the bus back where we got on, we decided a cold beer was in order. We stopped in at the Fortune of War pub, which is the oldest pub in Sydney. The Australian beer was good and the locals were very friendly.

After cooling down, we wandered around the area near the cruise port poking our nose in shops and having lunch. There were way too many options of things to do, so we decided we’d just have to come back for a longer stay. It would take weeks to experience everything Sydney has to offer. Brian decided to hike over to the Opera House and I walked back to the ship. It was a beautiful Saturday with lots of young families out and about.

We left Sydney in the evening during a rainstorm. The passengers on the other side of the ship got to watch an amazing fireworks show over the Opera House which, I understand, occurs every Saturday night in the summer. We didn’t even know it happened until yesterday.

Our call in Sydney marked the beginning of the next segment of the world cruise. This portion of the trip ends in Dubai. Over the next month, we turn our clocks back an hour 9 times. This should be interesting!

Yesterday was a sea day, so my choir began rehearsing new music for our next concert which will be the night before we get to Dubai. After dinner, we went to trivia with our friends and dinner companions Mike and Karin and Steve and Carmen. It was music trivia and the topic was Cher. The host plays 20 second snippets of a song and we have to guess the title. We discovered that we suck at Cher trivia. We got a total of 7 out of 20, but since the winner only had 9, we did ok!

Today we’re at anchor off Moreton Island which is a private resort. Brian took a snorkeling shore excursion and I stayed on board to do laundry and write this blog. Passengers are being tendered to shore on a water shuttle and it is going very slowly, so I’m not certain if I’ll go on shore or not. It’s very nice and quiet where I’m sitting right now and there is a lot to be said for that!