Sydney! 

After a couple of days of relative rough seas coming from Noumea across the southern Pacific we arrived in Sydney harbor to much calmer waters.

We were last in Sydney about nine months ago on our Australia/New Zealand adventure. Sydney is one of those cities that calls you back and when you know you are going to return, you get excited just thinking about it.

Sydney is one of the truly great cities of the world. A vibrant center, exciting architecture, good transportation, water, water everywhere – a city that uses its water as no other, perhaps not even Venice – and, either beaches or mountains within a few minutes’ drive from the city center. Sydney is a city of around five million people. People of all ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, political orientation, and whatever other way one might want to characterize them.

Sydney is almost 200 years old in terms of its initial settlement, but is has a young, vibrant feel and just walking around one sees some of that vibrancy in the shops, the people, and the almost unbelievable variety of food choices – continental, Chinese, Malay, Korean, south African, eastern Mediterranean, south American, native Australian, seafood, vegetables, meats (some of which would never make it in the good ole US of A…). Couple those things with an almost impenetrable local argot (although English is believed to be spoken as well…) and you can imagine yourself in the true Land of Oz.

OK, enough rhapsodizing about what has rapidly become one of Bonnie and my favorite cities (and countries). On to some details of our Sydney adventure.

Yesterday when we landed and cleared customs, we went for a walk downtown in the Circular Quai area to re-familiarize ourselves with the area.

Last year we had stayed in Sydney for several weeks between two cruises and we had an apartment overlooking the Sydney harbor – Sydney Harbor Bridge to the left and the Sydney Opera House to the right as we looked from our apartment balconies. We did a little credit card therapy to replenish some toiletries and replace one of Bonnie’s lost dress tee shirts (that’s another whole story that I will spare you at this time…). We came back to the ship early in the afternoon to get ready for our night at the opera. Forget about the Marx Brothers, this was truly a night to remember.

We knew that one of the perks of being World Cruisers on this ship was that there would be several special events for World Cruisers only – a night at the Sydney opera was one of the perks. We were told that we should meet at the appointed time on the tender deck. Strange, we thought, since the regular gangway was located several decks above the tender deck. We figured it was just to get everyone assembled for the parade out to the busses and the drive to the opera house. Wrong! On the tender deck, we were shepherded onto one of the local harbor cruise boats and were treated to a harbor sightseeing cruise as our introduction to the night and as our transportation across the harbor from the ship’s dockage to the opera house.

We arrived at the opera house and were led to the rear patio overlooking the harbor, the bridge, and a massive tent that had been set up for dinner. As we entered the patio, there were three aborigines in costume and paint with native instruments welcoming us. We had cocktails on that patio and awaited dinner. Once we were ushered into the tent, we were greeted by another aborigine and members of several tribes. We were “smoked” in as honored guests. The smoking ceremony consisted of several young women carrying logs upon which were piled smoldering eucalyptus leaves. The aroma of the smoldering leaves permeated the entire room and was actually quite nice – certainly better than some pipe and cigar smoke I have been exposed to. They then proceeded to give us a show with both interpretive dances and a lesson in what the various paint lines, dots, symbols and other body markings meant. In all, a rather unique welcome to a rather unique country/continent.

Our welcoming committee

New friends...

The smoking ceremony

After dinner, we were shown into the Joan Sutherland Pavilion of the Opera House and treated to a performance of Tosca. What a treat!! Neither Bonnie nor I are opera buffs – as were many in the audience – but just to be able to sit in that great hall and to hear an opera under in those magnificent acoustics was something not that many get to do. We finally made it back to the ship by about 11:15 and literally fell into bed.

The next morning we decided to take it easy and visit the city’s renowned botanical gardens, have a nice lunch, and enjoy our last day in Sydney. After getting back to Circular Quay, we walked over to the Botanical Garden and proceeded to check out Government House and Mrs. Maquarrie’s Rock. Government House was nothing special, except that it was a large imposing structure that was at one time the residence of the Governor prior to Australia’s independence. The Botanic Garden, on the other hand, is simply magnificent. It covers several hundred acres of prime land right in the heart of the city and teems with activity at all times. We must have seen several hundred walkers, joggers, game-players, and countless tourists taking pictures – including yours truly…

The Botanic Garden and the City

No need to tell you where this is...

That is a rock overhang carved out by wave action

I can't get enough of this vista...looking out over the harbor from Mrs. McQuarrie's Chair.

Ed on his throne...no, not that one , you evil-minded person...This is called Mrs. Maquarrie's Chair since she was the wife of one of the first Governors and liked to sit on the point at the end of the Botanic Garden and look out over the harbor.

For lunch we returned to one of our favorite little hole-in-the-wall restaurants: Memak Malay. Since we will be traveling to Malaysia and Indonesia, we considered this a necessary training venue. We then returned to the ship after calculating we had walked over 7 ½ miles that day! Tomorrow is a sea day that begins our next leg – 13 days around Australia and up to Bali, Indonesia. Here is a preview:

Stay tuned…

We are at sea today on our way to Sydney – arrival on Thursday morning. Since there is a lull in the shore side activity, I thought I might catch you all up on some of the shipboard activities.

First, however, I hope the new graphic helps to pinpoint us on the map. I have added the cruise itinerary map as a permanent fixture on the top of the page. OK, now on to the meat of this post...

Our daily routine is pretty simple – up around 8:00 and off to breakfast. Then usually an enrichment lecture at about 10:00, followed by either another lecture or a bridge lesson. The enrichment speakers are high-level individuals with some impressive credentials. The topics range from world affairs to the history and prognosis for the South Pacific. 

Then there is lunch followed by either bridge for a couple of hours (getting a few points as well), perhaps a cooking class/demo, or just reading and enjoying the sea. Of course there is Team Trivia every sea day afternoon – and we have done reasonably well. By about 5:00 one of us usually wants to nap for an hour or so before getting ready for dinner (I won’t give up her secret and tell you which one of us it is…).

Dinner is usually preceded by a cocktail in the bar or a cocktail party. After dinner there is usually a live show in the theater. A nightcap and beddy-bye. All in all, a nasty job, but someone’s got to do it.

Actually, one of the most delightful things about an all-inclusive cruise is that you don’t have to whip out your room key-card every time you want a coke or coffee or an adult beverage. Makes it nice when you are talking with someone at the bar or one of the public areas and want to stand for a round of drinks (soft or otherwise).

The service is outstanding. Every time you turn around there is someone asking if you want a drink, or holding your chair, or offering to carry your plate, or hold the door, etc. Knowing that gratuities are part of the cruise price doesn't seem to matter to the staff and crew.

A word about the entertainment. There is a resident company of six singer/dancers – three men and three women. They are not just “singers,” but are all classically trained and we have been treated to concerts ranging from operatic arias to the Beatles. One pair (one man and one woman) are actually an Italian tenor and an Italian soprano, both of whom have operatic backgrounds. Absolutely enchanting. The other four are not slouches either. In addition we have had classical pianists, a classical flutist, and several “pop” singers.

Because the ship is small (350 passengers at capacity – currently about 250), the theatre is much more intimate and the entertainers, as well as the senior staff, are very visible around the ship. We have also been able to have dinner with the ship’s Hotel Director, the Destination Cruise Consultant (the one who knows the ins and outs of all the ports), the Captain, the Cruise Director, Senior engineer, Chief Housekeeper, and other senior staff and crew. In addition, we have met some lovely people – common interests and backgrounds – and often find ourselves having dinner with several of them on the spur of the moment.

The food and wine are outstanding. Lots of dinner choices and, as I mentioned in an earlier post, several restaurant choices. We were not expecting such variety and quality in either, but again with small ships, there is more opportunity for the Chef to be creative within a budget. We have been able to bring some local delicacies on board at several port stops and have local foods for lunch or dinner.

In fact, we like this ship and cruise line so much that we are already beginning to talk about next year! There are a few minor inconveniences in the layout of the suite, but these are so minor compared to the overall quality of all the services and amenities on board that they do not detract from the overall experience.

More coming on our exciting time upcoming in Sydney... Stay tuned.

Today was Tonga. But first, let me tell you about an event we were invited to attend last night. As World Cruise passengers we have received several “special treats” for only those travelling the entire 115 days. We also know there will be more to come and we will be telling you about those as well.

We had received an invitation to dinner with the Captain and senior staff. We realized it was not for us alone, but were curious as to how many would be at the table. The invitation only indicated a date, time, and dress code.

When we went to Reception at the appointed time, we found about 25 additional people there. The Captain welcomed us and led us downstairs to the Crew Bar and Crew Mess! For passengers to east anywhere but in the public dining rooms is a rare treat. Yes, the décor is not quite what is in the public areas, but it was very nice and comfortable. This cruise line treats its staff and crew quite well we have found.

Anyhow, we had cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Crew Bar and then made our way into the Crew Mess .The tables were set with the good china, silver, and crystal from the upstairs restaurant and we were treated to a four-course dinner cooked by the Executive Chef and the crew chefs. The menu consisted of an antipasto selection followed by a fresh pasta course (after all, this is an Italian-owned line). The main course was an international buffet featuring dishes from all of the major ethnicities in the crew: Filipino; Indonesia; Indian; Mediterranean. Dessert was Bananas Foster prepared table-side.

During dinner, several of the singers in the on-board entertainment cast serenaded us with a selection of operatic arias, popular songs, and old standards.

We finally rolled into bed sometime close to midnight. Truly a memorable evening.

OK, back to Tonga. The Kingdom of Tonga lies in the middle of the south Pacific (thousands of miles from anywhere) and is now a Constitutional Monarchy (as of 2006). Tonga is the only independent Pacific nation never to have been colonized by any of the world’s colonial powers. Prior to 2006 it was an absolute Monarchy. The King is now somewhat of a figurehead similar to Queen Elizabeth.

Tonga calls itself “The True South Pacific” and consists of 176 islands scattered in 27,000 square miles of ocean. There are only 275 square miles of land surface, of which 100 square miles is located in the island of Tongatapu, the main island and home of our port stop, Nuku’alofa. There is a total population of just under 100,000 Tongans, of which about 60,000 live on Tongatapu with about 30,000 in Nuku’alofa, the Capital. Nuku’alofa means “abode of love” in the Tongan language.

We were welcomed on the dock as we pulled in by the Police Band and a group of dancers from the Tongan Cultural Center. 

Tongan welcoming committee.

We boarded our tour buses and headed to the “Blow Holes.” An aside here about the buses. It appears that every bus in Nuku’alofa was commandeered for our excursions – and that amounted to about six buses. Our bus was the school bus used to ferry students to the local high school.

The blow holes are a natural phenomenon along the coast. The wave action on the shore creates pressure on the lava tube holes in the rock shoreline and, whoosh, up comes a powerful stream of water vapor that is really spectacular against the deep, deep blue and turquoise water in the background.

Here are some pix:

 

What you may not appreciate is the absolute clarity of the water. You can look straight down through 20-30 feet of water and it looks like about 6 inches of depth...

At the blow hole scenic overlook, we were serenaded by the most adorable group of kids. They played ukuleles and sang several songs as taught phonetically by the adults. You could tell because one of the songs was “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” followed by “Frere Jacques.” When we went up to them to say thank you and to ask how old they were, etc., they just looked blankly back and smiled.

Back on the bus. Next stop was Oholei Beach Resort and the Hina Cave. The use of the term “beach resort” is what might be called editorial license…While the beach was gorgeous, the “resort” part was just a little lacking. It turns out that this is a place that happens to be located adjacent to a natural cave and the owner has promoted it as a place to come for “events” such as weddings, parties, etc. After descending a rather steep staircase cut into natural rock, we found ourselves on a lovely beach and were led into a thatch-roofed structure that was laid out for a party. 

We went for a beach walk- time for another aside here: having lived in Naples for over 36 years and having counted on the fingers of one hand the number of times we have beach-walked in Naples, we had to laugh at ourselves when we realized that we had traveled almost halfway around the world to do a beach-walk!

Back in the Resort we found a buffet of local Tongan delicacies laid out that just about blew us away: Taro root (tastes like library paste); sweet potatoes; green salad (never touch salad when traveling, unless you have nothing to do for the next several hours…); potato salad (another ‘do not touch’ because of the condiment content); seaweed with shaved coconut (coconut-flavored grass); ceviche (raw fish “cooked” in lime juice and peppers – very good); boiled taro leaves in coconut cream (a little like creamed spinach – very little); clams in coconut cream (delicious); sea bass in coconut cream (the best dish of the day, in my opinion); roast suckling pig (nothing more need be said – outstanding); Tongan pudding (a sort of sticky bread pudding).

All of the hot items were cooked on the beach in a pit covered with hot stones, banana leaves, a tarpaulin, and sand.

Before the unveiling

Taking off the covers

Voila! Lunch!

Pig on a stick!

After lunch we went into Hina Cave adjacent to the party center and were treated to a show of local dances, including the use of fire in the dancing, and cultural information.

After the dance performance, we made the trek back up the stone staircase to the bus. OF course the bus had a mechanical problem. After about twenty minutes of fiddling, fumes from the exhaust, and worry about getting back to the ship on time, we finally got started and made it back to the dock about 20 minutes before the ship was scheduled to leave.

We now have a couple of days at sea again and our final stop before Sydney: Noumea, New Caledonia. Since both Noumea and Sydney are the only two places we have been to before, there probably will not be much more to blog about until we get to Sydney.

Stay tuned…

We had a special treat today. We had a personal tour of the control room and engine room. But first I have to go back about a week. 

Last week we were invited to dinner with some of the cruise staff and officers. One of our dinner companions was the Chief Engineer, a nice young Italian officer. During dinner I mentioned that since 9-11 not many opportunities arose for tours of other than the kitchen and occasionally the ship’s bridge. I also mentioned that we would really like to see the engine room on this ship, but we also knew that was probably unlikely. Well, our new best friend, Giovanni Santafemia, the Chief Engineer, assured us that he could probably make that happen. Fast forward to today and at 10:30 this morning we were met by Lucian, the Romanian Second Engineer, and whisked below decks to the control room and the engine rooms.

Bonnie and her new best friend, Lucian

The first thing that struck us – after getting used to the noise and heat – was that one could find not a scrap of paper, dirty rag, or anything that remotely looked like trash or debris in any of the hallways, passageways, or rooms through which we toured. The expression “you could eat off the floors” came to mind…

We first had a tour of the control room and Lucian explained that the ship keeps three different water supplies: guest water; technical water; and, laundry water. 

The control room - not exactly Star Wars, but a long way from Capt. Ahab...

The main control panel - see that little red button: it makes the ship go...

Guest water is what comes out of the faucets, showers, toilets, and any place a guest might have need for water. Technical water is what is used as coolant, for refrigeration and air conditioning, and any place the ship might need water. Finally, laundry water is, well, for the ship’s laundry…

There are two eight-cylinder, turbo-diesel engines and four diesel generators, along with four diesel-powered air conditioning plants. Each vertical portion of the ship can be sealed off if there is a problem. They seal the section off vertically so that there is never one entire deck that is out of commission. This method also affects the fewest passengers and crew operations at any time. 

Looking down at one of the diesel engines from the catwalk - unbelievably loud, even with earplugs. 

On the motor level - heat noise, close quarters - what a way to cruise...

Generators and coolers for the ship's air conditioning systems. 

Fortunately, we have not had any issues thus far that might cause a part of the ship to be sealed, but almost every port day there is a crew drill to simulate some type of emergency or other. They take this stuff very seriously.

Day after the day after tomorrow we land in Tonga. We also lose a day when we cross the international date line.

Stay tuned...

Bora Bora today. I cannot find adequate words to describe the beauty of this place. It is no wonder that people spend obscene amounts of money to come here for weddings and getaways. After Tahiti and the other French Polynesian islands we visited, Bora Bora is a more laid-back place to really veg out.

Bora Bora

We entered the protected lagoon at the only place large enough to allow for a ship to pass and anchored in the harbor off Viatape (vee-a-TAH-pay). From the water, as one approaches the island or sailing around the island, it is easy to see why, as I mentioned in my last blog post, the locals say that Bora Bora grows hotels. There seems to be a thatched-roof enclave just about everywhere you look – including more than a few that have been abandoned or just simply closed.

Exquisite Bora Bora

We went for a shark and ray snorkel/dive in a small boat. After we left the dock, we went just beyond the reef to a spot that was about 20-25 feet of water (clear as a bottle of gin…). We were able to get in the water and swim with a bunch of small fish and some rather impressive black-tip, lemon and reef sharks. Surprisingly, even though our boat captain/guide salted the water with chunks of raw tuna to attract the beasts, they showed little interest in us – just the tuna and a few of the other fish. Perhaps it’s because they knew that when these particular types of boats came out, they would get tuna and didn’t need to munch on anything else that might be in the water.

Some of the friendly sharks off Bora Bora. See them smiling?

After about a half-hour of mixing it up with them, we moved closer to land and about 3-5 feet of water. Here we met some rays that were so soft and friendly, one tended to forget that they can give a fierce bite when they think of fingers as food. I actually got to kiss one of them – a rather interesting local custom for pale-skinned tourists…

Kiss the fish!!

Kiss the ugly human!!

Tomorrow we begin three days at sea again, so I will probably have little to say until we get to Tonga.

Today we are in Papeete, Tahiti. Papeete is the administrative capital of French Polynesia and is a city of over 100,000 – and it shows in the traffic and housing. We were fortunate to have spent the morning exploring the interior of the larger of the two land masses that make up Tahiti. Papeete is nothing to shout about. But the interior of Tahiti, and once away from the city, is gorgeous!

Tahiti Nui is what most people consider as “Tahiti,” but it is connected by a land bridge to Tahiti Iti. About two-thirds of the population of French Polynesia lives on these two extinct volcanos. Nui is over five million years old while Iti is only about 800,000 years old. Tahiti has both white sand and black sand beaches. The white sand beaches are on the south side of the island and the black sand beaches are on the north. This is due to the water runoff going from south to north (southern hemisphere). The northbound water carries all of the volcanic debris and, thus, black sand. It is just as smooth and soft as white sand, but startling in that it looks nasty...but what in Tahiti could be nasty???

This map is too busy for my taste, but it shows an excellent representation of Nui and Iti. 

Papeete means “water basket” in Polynesian and comes from the time when that area of Nui was mostly swamp at the mouth of several rivers. Our journey today took us through the downtown area of Papeete and then northeast to the Papanoo (Pa-pa-NOO-oo)Valley and the rim of the Papanoo crater. 

We also had an opportunity to stop at the “Blowhole” and watch the crashing waves cause a waterspout to form on a volcano lava tube that had eroded at sea level. Quite spectacular!

Here are a few pix of our explorations:

Waterfall in the rain. It rained all day while we were there, but that did not detract from the natural beauty of the island.

We had to ford a dam and a river to get to the volcano rim, but as you can see, it was a little dicey, so we backtracked and found our way to the little iron suspension bridge to the upper right in the picture.

I was not going to walk across that!!

A wild hibiscus. Slightly different from those we have in Florida. At night, the flower turns orange and if it falls off the limb, it turns red. If it stays on the limb, it turns back to yellow as the sun rises.

Looks like I'm getting a waterfall shampoo, but, I was about a quarter-mile in front of this one. We saw dozens of these  falls.

At the rim of the volcano. The crater - what's left of  it - is about 6 km  (about 3.5 miles) across.

The blowhole. There is another, larger one on the opposite side of the road, but we got drenched when it spouted and I didn't want to ruin another camera.

Tomorrow on to Bora Bora. Stay tuned…

Incredible! That is the only word I can use to describe Moorea.

Incredibly beautiful Moorea

Moorea is a “sister” island to Tahiti. We are moored here for most of the day and this evening we sail for Tahiti, about an hour away.

Moorea - we are moored in Cook's Bay. The island is sinking about 10" a year and in about 10,000 years will look like Rangiroa...

This morning, shortly after mooring in Cook’s Bay, Moorea, we took a 4X4 excursion to several places renowned in Moorea: Tropical Garden, Magic Mountain, and Belvedere Point Lookout.

Our 4X4 -holds eight (assuming normal size people...) with plenty of grab bars. These are needed due to the very rough mountain trails.

The Tropical Garden was located at an elevation of about 1200 feet and is dedicated to the growing of vanilla. Vanilla is Moorea’s third largest cash crop, after pineapples and tourism. The locals have a saying: Moorea grows vanilla, Raiatea grows watermelons, and Bora Bora grows hotels…

Vanilla is the world’s second-most expensive spice after saffron. The vanilla orchid is a hermaphrodite and self-pollinates. After pollination, it takes about none months for the vanilla bean to form and the flower to drop off. Once harvested, vanilla beans will last for a very long time – especially if kept moist in a bottle of Mount Gay Rum.

Vanilla orchid. Notice the little "stems" under the orchid. Each one will become a vanilla bean after the orchid blooms and fall off.

Vanilla beans. These are immature beans. They take about nine months to mature for harvesting. Each one was propagated from a single orchid.

mv Paul Gauguin view from the Tropical Garden overlooking Opohonu Bay. 

Magic Mountain was truly magic. The lookout is about 1500 feet above sea level and the views of Opohonu Bay are spectacular.

B & E on Magic Mountain overlooking Opohonu Bay

Belvedere Lookout is over 2700 feet above sea level and affords views of both Cook’s Bay and Opohonu Bay.

Belvedere Lookout. Cook's Bay is to the right and you can just about make out our ship. Opohonu Bay is just to the right edge of the picture.

More to follow on Papeete…stay tuned.