Hello from Cairns!

Daron at the public pool in Cairns

We have been in Caines for three days now.  Caines is in the state of Queensland and is located in the northeast corner of Australia.  It is the jumping off point for visiting the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforest, and also the Outback (not the steakhouse J).  Right now is their shoulder season, between their two main seasons, “the Wet” and the “the Dry.”  The Wet will start in December.  It is very tropical here – humid and warm –everything is very lush and green.  Our first day here was a rough one, as I realized that I had left our camera on the plane when we arrived the evening before.  Ugh!  I called the airlines and they gave me a number for the desk at the local airport, which nobody answered until after noon.  It turned out that they had our camera (phew!), all we had to do was get back to the airport to pick it up (no small feat when you don’t have a car!).  Daron took our hotel’s shuttle to the airport and shared a taxi ride with someone else back to town.  I was SO relieved when he returned with the camera, until we discovered that he had left his wallet on the taxi that brought him back!  YIKES!!  His wallet had his Colorado license, his credit card, his ATM card, and plenty of Aussie money.  Such a huge loss!  Luckily there is only one taxi company in town – the ladies at the front desk gave them a call for us, and a short while later Daron called them himself.  They located the driver (he had a female driver, which was unusual, but made her easier to locate), and she found his wallet wedged between the front seat and the center console.  She dropped off his wallet completely intact, money and all, at the hotel.  She said she had several other passengers in the front seat with her after Daron had been in the car, and it was lucky that the wallet was still there.  I’ll say!  Someone above is looking out for us!  A lot of things worked out in our favor, for which I am very thankful.  Lots of good lessons for us!  After we got the wallet back we immediately walked to town and had a beer to calm our frazzled nerves! 

View from Port Douglas, near Cairns

Cairns has a huge, beautiful saltwater pool right in the center of town for anyone to swim in for free.  We took advantage of it every day (except for the camera/wallet day).  We are learning that everything in Australia is about double the price of things in the States.  One good thing they do here is include GST, or tax, in the price.  If a hamburger is $12, that’s exactly what you pay.  Our “cheap” hotel room was $75 and that’s what we paid.  No additional taxes of any kind, ever.  Also, everything is rounded to the nearest nickel.  There are no pennies here; they got rid of them about 15 years ago.  If a price is listed at $9.96, your receipt will have a line item for “rounding” of one cent, and the price will be $9.95.  You would think that would keep down the number of coins in your pocket, but with the $1 and $2 coin, you always have a pile of them.  Their smallest paper note is a $5 bill.  Being a finance person I found all this very interesting! 

Because the prices are so high and the exchange rate sucks, we are rethinking how long we will stay in Australia.  The original plan was to buy a car and travel for two months, camping along the way (we brought our camping gear with us).  We found a good deal on a rental car here in Cairns for three weeks and took it – starting today we have a vehicle.  It’s a little beater of a car, but at least if we get a scratch on it, no one will be the wiser!  Plus, I doubt anyone will want to break into it – they’ll probably feel sorry for us for having such a beat up old vehicle!  We will start our camping/road trip around this area tomorrow.  We plan to visit the rainforest, the beaches, and whatever else we discover as we move along.  There is a lot to see in this area and we’re looking forward to being free and exploring.  

Leaving Sydney, headed to Cairns

We are currently on a flight to Cairns, having left Sydney earlier today.  We had a great time exploring Sydney which, by the way, is a huge city!  21 million people live in Australia and 4 million of them live in Sydney.  It is the oldest city in Australia, and was the site of the first British penal colony on the continent, named after Secretary Lord Sydney.  Sydney is a beautiful cosmopolitan city – lots of interesting restaurants, cafes, and shops all over the place.  We stayed in the Kings Cross area, which used to be their red light district but is now, well, their red light district.  It’s a mix of trendy bars, shops, and sleazy “nightclubs.”  Prostitution is definitely legal here in Sydney, although I’m not sure about the rest of the country.  We picked up a brochure on the nightlife in Sydney and half of it had tasteful (yet descriptive) ads for “escorts.”  Interesting.  

Daron at Bondi Beach



One bummer so far is the exchange rate – when we were planning this trip the US dollar was strong, and now it’s weak – the exchange is pretty much dollar for dollar, which would be fine except the prices for things here are expensive!  A small cup of coffee is about $3.50-$4.50, with no refills.  No one does refills on anything here – no bottomless soda or coffee.  The largest size at Starbucks (venti?) doesn’t even exist here – a Starbucks small size in the US is their large, and they have these really small cups for the small size.  A beer is about $5 on average; a good burger about $12. A Big Mac (just the sandwich) is $4.75 (we’ve been using McDonalds as a barometer for the exchange rate!).  No cheap eats here, that’s for sure!  There was an article in the paper here telling Australians that they could now afford to go to the States since the Aussie dollar is so strong now.  Good for them, bad for us.  

It rained for three of our four days in Sydney.  We walked all over town in the rain, and tried to see as much as we could despite the weather.  We ran into other “boat people” (as we like to call our ex-fellow passengers!) and swapped Sydney stories with them.  One couple was flying back to the States via Hawaii, and we joked with them that at least things would be cheap in Hawaii!  Funny that we used to think Hawaii was expensive – now it seems affordable!  We saw wild cockatoos all over the city.  We were the only dorks making over them and taking pictures.  I guess they are considered a nuisance here and the Aussies are considering killing a bunch of them that are damaging a government building.  Crazy.  One evening at dusk we saw a pile of grey-headed flying foxes (fruit bats) heading out for the evening.  They are huge!  Sydney has a “camp” of 22,000 that live in the Botanic Gardens.  They were very cool to see.  



One of the swimming pools at the beach



Another day we did a coastal walk along cliffs that dropped down to various beaches, with well-known Bondi (pronounced bond-eye) Beach being one of them.  The beaches are everywhere and are so clean!  That was a good day, except for the rain (story of our lives!).  We got soaked being so exposed on the cliffs, although eventually the sun came out long enough for us to dry off.  All of the beaches  have swimming pools built into the rocks along the beach so people can swim or do laps in a calm pool  right next to the ocean (the pools have seawater in them).  Some had a fee to use them while others were free. 

On our one nice day we took the ferry to Manly Beach – every Aussie we met told us to do this.  They were right, it was well worth it!  The ride is about 30 minutes to the beach, and goes right by the famous Opera House.  The beach is beautiful, with lots of cute shops and great restaurants.  We enjoyed a leisurely day at Manly and were able to rest our weary feet after walking all over Sydney the three days before.  The sun was setting during the ferry ride back, which was spectacular to see from an open ferry deck with the famous Sydney Bridge and Opera House in the background.  That was a highlight for us!

Sunset from the Manly Beach ferry



On to the trials and tribulations of traveling!  After hauling our five bags off the boat and into our miniature hotel room in Kings Cross, we decided we needed to get lighter.  The plan was always to take fancy clothes to wear on the ship (for the dress up nights) and then donate them to charity when we got off the boat.  We needed to get rid of more than our dressy clothes, so both Daron and I cut what we brought by about 20% (one entire bag).  We hauled that bag this morning to a church charity, which will hopefully make use of the items.  Our plane ticket to Cairns only allowed us one checked bag (20 kilograms or less) and one carry on (10 kilograms or less) each.  I sure wish I’d brushed up on the metric system before we left!  It’s $30 for each additional checked bag.  After some creative packing (my specialty!) we got our checked bags on the flight, no problem.  Surprisingly, getting through security at the airport was a breeze – we didn’t have to remove our shoes or our jackets; we didn’t even have to show them our tickets or our ID!  They did catch a tiny pair of fold-up scissors I forgot I had in my carry-on suitcase (part of my blister first aid kit), which was immediately confiscated.  I doubt anyone could have been seriously harmed by them (you’d have to figure out how to unfold them first, a brain teaser all by itself!), and hopefully it lightened my bag by a kilogram or two! J  We were almost late to our gate – there was a gate change because of an incoming storm and we were still hanging out at the old gate, totally oblivious.  They said they made many announcements, but Daron and I can’t always understand the Aussie accent, even though they are speaking English (hopefully we’ll get better over time!).  Anyhow, we made it and now we’re en-route to Cairns, with a “cheap” hotel reservation waiting for us, where we’ll hopefully either buy or rent a car and start our way down the coast. Wish us luck! 

Goodbye to the Cruise Ship - Hello to Australia!

Today we were kicked off the boat – the honeymoon is over, as they say!  We have walked the proverbial gangplank and are now landbound!  Okay, enough with the metaphors already!  I can’t believe a month has already gone by.  Now the real trip begins!   Daron and I were on deck when we sailed into Sydney Harbor, right at sunrise, which was amazing!  It was beautiful and quiet – such a special time to be there, before the city woke up.   We hung out on the boat until we had to leave, and didn’t have any trouble getting through customs, even though we had been warned that they were tough (they want to make sure no foreign species are inadvertently brought here).  We showed them everything we declared (chocolates from the boat, kava from Fiji, a wooden magnet from Samoa) and they let us through with all of it.  We caught a taxi to our hotel where we left our luggage until our room was ready, then headed to the main part of town to check out the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Sydney Opera House, etc.  While walking we saw lorikeets in the trees (so colorful and look sort of like small parrots), as well as wild cockatoos!   It was a beautiful day to walk around, at least up until about 2pm when a huge storm blew through.  Thunder so loud it sounded like explosions, along with lightning and sheets of rain!  We must have brought it with us from New Zealand, darn it.  Eventually we made our way back to our hotel to check in, only to find our room was smaller than the room on the ship, if that’s possible.  No exaggeration!  Our goal now is to explore Sydney for the four days we’re booked at the tiny room hotel, then on to Cairns in the north to buy a car so we can drive down the Gold Coast of Australia, taking about two months to see it all.

Final thoughts regarding the trip so far and our time on the ship…it was a very enjoyable way to start off our trip.  Being on the boat was so easy – we didn’t have to think about where we were going to stay each night or what we were going to eat.  The employees were fabulous!  We enjoyed getting to know many of them during our month at sea – a couple of favorites were Max from Ukraine who served warm cookies and milk in the afternoon (yum!), and Monica from Romania who worked the coffee bar in the morning.  All of the employees work seven days a week, with a half a day off each week.  They seem fine with it (at least that's what they told us), since there’s not much to do while they’re on the ship. We used to think about working on a cruise ship, many years ago, so it was nice to get the “scoop” about how it really is.  All of their stories were interesting to hear.  We enjoyed meeting many of our fellow passengers, who were from all over the world. It was such an international mix of people, from the crew to the passengers - everyone was friendly and got along great!  It was inspiring to see and be a part of. 

A few things I learned while on the ship:  1) Just because there's plenty of healthy food available, doesn't mean I'm going to eat it when there's other unhealthy yet tasty options available (never pass up pasta!), 2) warm peanut butter cookies are just as yummy as chocolate chip ones, 3) I can actually run on a treadmill without holding on while the ship is rocking at sea, and 4) a month is the longest amout of time I want to be on a ship (Daron, AKA Mr. Cruise, and I are actually in agreement on this one!).  The two of us are still getting along great and feel just as committed to making this trip work as we were when we first got on the boat. We’re looking forward to exploring Australia and seeing how things go now that we’re on our own. 

Much more to come! 

Dunedin, New Zealand

Dunedin is a Kiwi city with a Scottish heart.  It was originally settled by Scottish pioneers and is known as the Edinburgh of the South.  It is the fourth largest city in New Zealand with about 112,000 residents.  We started our day in Dunedin at the Octagon, the center of town.  Daron and I walked to the botanic gardens, which were beautiful.  While we were there, it started to rain, then pour (uh-oh, having flashbacks of Windy Wellington!).  We walked back to town in the pouring rain, both of us too impatient to wait for the next bus.  We were so wet and cold by the time we got back to the city center that all we did was ask around for the nearest fireplace, where we planted ourselves until it was time to leave.  The fireplace was heavenly, as was the beer and food at the tavern.  I think we are here just a little bit too early in the season for touring New Zealand.  The good thing is we are planning on coming back to this country during their summer (Dec – Jan), so we’ll get another chance to check it all out, hopefully in the sunshine!

Christchurch, New Zealand

On to the South Island of New Zealand to the town of Christchurch, which is New Zealand’s third largest city (it has about 300,000 residents).  Christchurch was a Church of England settlement, whose founders intended for it to have the best features of English society.  They must have succeeded, because Christchurch is known as the most English city outside of England.   Its nickname is “the Garden City.”  Cathedral Square is the focal point of the town, with an impressive and beautiful gothic cathedral on one end.  The town also has this fabulous river, the Avon River, which meanders through town and also the botanical gardens.  The river has grassy banks on both sides and people were hanging out in the grass along the river all throughout town.  It was so picturesque!   We saw lots of baby ducks in the river, since it is spring here (which is still hard to wrap my mind around).  The botanical gardens were gorgeous (again, probably because it was spring!), made even more so with the river running through it.  We had nice sunny weather the day we were here, which is probably why we enjoyed the city so much.  That plus the beer tasting we did!  :)

On September 4^th of this year, there was a 7.1 earthquake 25 miles west of Christchurch.  It happened at 4:35 in the morning.  Only one person died (from a heart attack), and two people were injured from falling debris.  Other than that, no one was seriously hurt.  The quake caused $2 million in damages.  Daron and I did see quite a bit of construction (probably re-construction) as we wandered around town.  Nothing too major though.  If I hadn’t been told about the earthquake, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that the town had been through such a major one. 

At the port of Lyttelton where we docked there was a time ball station on the hill.  Time ball stations used to be very important for ships, as having the exact time allowed them to check their chronometers and determine longitude.  Nowadays with GPS they aren’t used anymore.  The timeball would be dropped at exactly 1pm each day. This is where the saying “keep your eye on the ball” originated.  How's that for an interesting piece of trivia! 

Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington is on the southeastern tip of the North Island and is the capital of New Zealand.  It is the second largest city in New Zealand, and is the world’s most southerly capital city.  Its nickname is Windy Wellington and boy, did they get that one right!  As soon as we stepped off the boat we felt the wind along with the rain – brrr!  We spent most of the day in a fabulous free museum called Te Papa – it has everything you ever wanted to know about New Zealand.  And to top it off, it has a colossal squid on display, which was pretty darn amazing to see.  After the museum we wandered into town and checked out the Cuba Mall area, which was a fun, hip area with lots of restaurants and cafes.  Their coffee bars had a couple of menu items we’d never seen before and so had to try:  a flat white and a long black.  Both were very good.  Walking back to the boat the rain was coming down in sheets, horizontally, and the wind was so strong at times I thought it would blow both of us back down the street!  It was good for one day – at the end of it I was ready to move on to someplace warmer!

Auckland, New Zealand

Now we are in New Zealand!  New Zealand is made up of two islands, south and north, and has a population of around 4 million people (who are affectionately known as Kiwis).  Interestingly, New Zealand is similar in size (but not shape) to Colorado.  It has over 500 wineries and 30% of the world’s dairy products are from New Zealand. 

Today we docked in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, located on the North Island.  It has about 1.3 million residents.  Auckland is known as the City of Sails because it has more boats per capita than any other city in the world.  It is also known as one of the cleanest and most peaceful.  We really enjoyed our day in Auckland – and can definitely vouch for its cleanliness!  We wandered around the main downtown streets, as well as Auckland University.  We rode the Link Bus around its regular loop to get a feel for the area.  It reminded me of San Francisco, whereas it reminded Daron of Seattle.  It felt very youthful and modern, and some parts even looked like they were decorated by Ikea!  There were lots of hip restaurants and great shops all over the city – kebabs seemed to be especially popular; we saw shops selling them everywhere!   Everyone we met was friendly too. We really enjoyed our day in Auckland. 

Bula from Fiji!

Bula!  Today we were in the town of Suva on the island of Fiji.  Fiji consists of over 300 islands ranging in size from 7,000 square miles to tiny coral atolls that barely break the surface of the sea.  Two islands, Vita Leva and Vanua Leva, make up 85 percent of the land mass.  Suva is on Viti Leva.  Mel Gibson’s island “Magu” is in Fiji, which he purchased in 2004 for $17.2 million.  Part of the movie Blue Lagoon was filmed on one of Fiji’s islands, as well as the movie Castaway.  Cannibalism was practiced here for thousands of years, up until the mid to late 19^th century.  It was considered the ultimate revenge upon one’s enemies.  Thank goodness that practice died out!

“Bula” is the greeting said in Fiji by pretty much everybody, and the louder and more boisterous you say it, the better!  We had a lot of fun practicing our “BULA!” on everybody we met. 

Today we signed up for an independent tour (not sponsored by the cruise line) that would take us down a river on a traditional Fiji raft.  The tour folks drove us about an hour outside of town where we hiked 20 minutes up a trail to the river.  The rafts were basically 8-10 pieces of bamboo strung together with vines with another row of bamboo on top of that.   All of that is fine and dandy but there are only two rafts and we’re twelve people.  The rafts definitely don’t look like they hold that many people!  Five people got on the first raft and somehow it made it okay downriver.  That leaves seven people to get on our raft and as soon as we get on, we immediately flip over!  Everyone is in the water (brackish water too – yuck)!  One lady in our group volunteered herself to go in the regular boat with our cameras and gear (smart woman!).  Somehow the six of us that were left got back on the raft – it’s precarious though;  we were all constantly trying to balance ourselves on the bamboo to keep it from flipping again.  About 100 yards down the river we were doing okay when Daron said, “I think it will balance better if I just move an inch.”  Before any of us can protest, Daron moved and we flipped AGAIN!  Back into the water for all of us!  The other gal and I scramble back on and so does Daron.  Three of the guys just stay in the water and float downstream while hanging onto the raft.  Even with only three of us on the raft, it constantly feels like it’s going to flip.  It’s a balancing act the entire time.  Finally a couple of locals come paddling by on their own six pieces of bamboo strung together (I can hardly call it a raft) and offer to take two of the guys with them, so they don’t have to swim the entire time.  The last remaining swimmer from our raft is able to get back on and we keep the balancing act going.  Our guide barely speaks English and our two groups are really spread out – the other group being way ahead since they didn’t flip over and have to reposition themselves like we did.  The locals who came by gave our guide a better paddle, so then Daron volunteered to help paddle us with the stick of bamboo our guide was using before.  We are traveling on the river FOREVER and have no idea how far we have to go because we are having trouble communicating with our guide.  To top off the whole experience, it starts to rain.  By this time we were all thinking “we paid money for this?” (thankfully not much, which reminds me of another saying:  “you get what you pay for” J).  It was quite the ordeal!  Even though it sounds like a recipe for disaster, it turned out to be a good time.  Our entire group stayed very upbeat and had fun with the experience.  Of course we told lots of jokes about cannibals and wondering where they were taking us!   With all the time we had on the river we told jokes about all kinds of things! 

We found out at the boat landing that this was the first time they had done this tour, so we were their human guinea pigs (thankfully guinea pigs weren’t on the lunch menu that day! J).  I was inspired by the main person who put it all together.  He had graduated with a business degree from the local college (which is subsidized by the government, so all Fijians can attend) and was being entrepreneurial.  This was the first time tourists had ever been on that river.  He really wanted to introduce tourists to his culture and also to introduce the locals to tourists. He was a good guy and I liked that he was trying – even though the tour may need some modifications for next time!

We Lost a Day!

Early this morning we crossed the International Date Line.  When we went to bed last night it was Saturday, October 9^th, and when we woke up today it was Monday, October 11^th.  Very strange.  The bummer of it all is that we missed out on a very cool date:  10/10/10!!  Someone will have to let us know if it was a good day or a bad day. What’s even stranger is that if a person was traveling the other direction across the International Date Line they would repeat the same day twice.  There might be a boatload of people out there who enjoyed 10/10/10 two days in a row, those lucky peeps!  Since we’re not traveling back across the International Date Line, I think the only way we’ll get our day back is one time zone at a time while we’re traveling westward across the globe.     


I'm not sure what sort of picture makes sense to put with a posting on the International Date Line, so I've decided to include a photo of our 12 year wedding anniversary dessert extravaganza on 10/4/10.  :)

Western Samoa

Today we visited Western Samoa, which consists of two main islands and several smaller ones.  Its total mass is 1,137 square miles, slightly smaller than Rhode Island.  The population is about 220,000 and the main language is Samoan, with many also speaking English. The currency used here is the Samoan tala.  In 1962 Western Samoa was granted independence and became the first independent Polynesian nation, having been administered by New Zealand before that.  Robert Louis Stevenson (he wrote Treasure Island) is their most famous inhabitant; his house is open for tours and he is buried here.  Also, the movie “Return to Paradise” was filmed here.  It’s a very traditional culture, where property, wealth, and success are thought of in communal terms rather than individual.  I mentioned this in the post on American Samoa, but it bears repeating since it colors so much of life here:  Samoans took to Christianity after the missionaries arrived in 1830, and are now a devoutly religious people.   Samoans are known for their politeness and generous hospitality (after spending the day here I can say without a doubt this is true!).  We were told that women should not wear short shorts (our knees should be covered) and men should always wear a shirt.  In comparison to American Samoa, Western Samoa is much more undeveloped.  It felt like we went back in time while on this island, whereas American Samoa felt more, well, American.

We were on the island the day before White Sunday, a very special day that happens once a year where the children of Samoa are indulged and celebrated.  We had been told that everything would close up around noon so they could prepare for the next day’s celebration.  In their culture, children are treated as relatively insignificant.  White Sunday is their day and it is a big deal (the children dress in all white clothes).  With that in mind, we didn’t have any plans for the day and weren’t really sure what was available to do.   We wandered off the boat and walked to the visitor center in the town, where we ran into two other couples from the boat who were looking for more people with which to share a taxi, to tour a couple of spots on the island.  We joined them and Daron used his shrewd negotiating skills to secure us a taxi at a good price.  Little did we know we were in for our most adventurous day yet! 

Our first stop was Papaseea Sliding Rocks.  If you saw the last season of Survivor, you will have seen this spot as a prize in a reward challenge.  You descend about 300 steps into a river gorge where there’s a 20 foot waterfall going down algae-covered rocks.  You walk to the top of the waterfall where you sit down and basically scoot on your bottom where the algae is (the point of no return) and then you pretty much fly down the rock into the pool at the bottom!  The guys did it about three times each and one of the other wives went down once (she was in tears at the top – it’s pretty intimidating when you’re sitting up there thinking about going down).   I finally got up the courage to do it and let me tell you, it was a thrill!  I screamed all the way down, only stopping when my mouth was full of water at the bottom.  Mother Nature’s very own Waterworld! 

Our next stop was Sua Trench.  This is a large hole in the ground (it looked like a sinkhole to me) with water in the bottom where you can descend via a long steep ladder and swim.  It was very beautiful and picturesque.  The descent into the pool was a little scary for me – no guardrails or other safety structures were there to keep a person from slipping and tumbling into the pool (we’re definitely not in the U.S. anymore, with insurance companies and handicap access! J).  I scooted on my butt down the concrete stairs (too afraid to stand up and maybe slip; I would freefall about 100 feet into the pool).  On the ladder I used my usual strategy:  just stared at my feet until I was at the bottom.  The pool had crystal clear water that very strangely moved from one end to the other – the current would pull you in one direction, then switch and pull you in the opposite direction, like someone was tilting it from side to side.  It felt like a fairy grotto – very magical. 

Our last adventurous stop was Piula Cave Pool.  This is a cool (cold for me, refreshing for Daron!) freshwater pool that goes about 100 feet into a low cave – at the back of the cave is a 9 foot underwater tunnel that will take a person into another pool on the other side, if they have the courage to commit to the underwater swim.  That one was a little too death-defying for me, but Daron pulled it off no problem.  I was nervous when he went under at the end of the cave and never came back up!  It was a relief to see him later, after he had emerged in the other pool and walked back around.  The first guy in our party to do it said he scared three kids that were in the other pool when he suddenly emerged from nowhere!   

Other highlights from the day were snorkeling at a beautiful beach, viewing a couple of spectacular waterfalls, and touring the countryside, where we saw the devastation from last year’s tsunami.   Their country is very lush and beautiful.  The islanders live a more rustic lifestyle than what we saw on the other islands.  Their dwellings are very traditional; many were constructed from natural materials rather than modern materials (concrete, etc).  The people were so friendly and approachable – people waved and smiled at us everywhere we went.  I would definitely go back, and would highly recommend it for a vacation (as long as you’re okay with rustic accommodations!).  Daron and I both agreed that this was our best day yet.  

American Samoa and our 52nd National Park!

Today was a big day for us!  On this day we visited our 52nd national park of the 58 national parks in the USA (we still have 6 in Alaska to see).  American Samoa is a United States territory and it has one of the newest national parks, established in 1993.  It is different than other national parks in that the land is not federally owned – the park land is leased from native villages and the Samoan government.   

Our only goal for today was to get to that national park and check it out.  The second we stepped off the boat in Pago Pago there was a park ranger with maps and info – he was a welcome sight for us!  We grilled him for a while on what there was to see and how to get there, etc.  We knew we wanted to hike to the top of Mt. Alava (1,610 feet) but had to figure out how to get to the trailhead.  The first (and only) taxi driver we approached wanted to charge us $40 for a 10 minute drive to the trailhead!  Yikes.  We opted to take the “city” bus, which we learned are actually private buses run by each driver with no real set route.  For $3 each we found one that would drop us off at the trailhead.  Success!  We took our requisite photos at the park sign and started our hike.  It was three miles to the top of Mt. Alava where the views were spectacular.  We decided to hike the additional two miles to a village on the other side of the island where we hoped we could get a ride back before our ship left that afternoon.  As we descended, the trail got steeper and steeper.  There were steps pounded into the mountain at the steep parts with a knotted rope hanging down so you could “repel” down.  I got a little nervous at the repelling part (cliffs and heights are not my specialty), but really none of it was too bad (I just stare at my feet and don’t think about how far I could possibly fall).  Just when we’ve conquered all the steep parts and the trail gets halfway normal, it starts to pour rain!  We were soaked!  It wasn’t entirely unexpected; the tallest mountain on the island is called Rainmaker Mountain for good reason.  We were so darn hot and sweaty from hiking that the rain felt good.  Just to top off the experience, when we’re almost to the village we encounter three angry dogs in the middle of the trail!  Luckily their owner wasn’t too far behind and was able to calm them down.  Phew.  Once we reached the village we wandered around a bit and did a short nature trail that was also part of the national park.  Eventually we caught a bus that was headed back to Pago Pago. 

Little did we know how exciting the bus ride back would be (it was no Greyhound, that’s for sure)!  We were the only tourists on the bus; in the back were three local guys.  As we’re sitting there one of the locals goes up to the front of the bus, opens the glove box, and pulls out a large knife that he took to the back of the bus where his friends were.  Yikes.  I’m trying to remember the history they told us on the ship – was it this island that used to be cannibalistic?  The next thing I know there is a large Samoan guy handing us two freshly opened coconuts with straws.   We are on the Coconut Bus!  A few other tourists got on the bus and they were handed coconuts too.  The locals were SO friendly and fun – the ride back to town was full of laughter and questions from both sides, all of us getting to know each other.

As we get closer to town the bus driver comes across a group who needs a ride to the local cannery (Pago Pago is the home of a tuna cannery; you can tell if it’s a good tuna day or a bad tuna day by the smell in the air – similar to Greeley, CO).  He decides to dump all of us off at a nearby store so he can go back and pick them up and take them to work.  I guess you can do this when you own your own bus!  As we all got off the bus we joked about how happy we were to be stranded – we must have been high on coconut milk!  In no time at all another bus came along and we were on our way.  

Before ending this post I’d like to share some facts about Samoa:  the Samoan island chain lies in the center of the South Pacific, about 2,300 miles southwest of Honolulu.  Since 1899 it has been divided into Western Samoa and Eastern (or American) Samoa.  American Samoa consists of six islands with a total land mass of 77 square miles.  The population is about 60,000 and only 9,000 live in the capital city of Pago Pago (which is pronounced Pango Pango for some strange reason); the rest live along the western and southern coasts.  We learned that the tsunami of last year destroyed many coastal homes and as a result they are rebuilding further inland where their ancestors used to live. Despite Western influences (traditional elliptical and open-sided homes are now constructed with western materials, walls, and windows; American TV is broadcasted by satellite to remote villages), the Samoan way of life is still retained.  The larger family lives together in a group and family members stay together, even after death.  We saw graves of loved ones in the front yards of houses all across the island.  They are strongly religious, having taken to Christianity immediately when the missionaries arrived in 1830.  A village minister is on the same level as a high chief. 

The inhabitants of American Samoa are U.S. nationals but not citizens, which means they cannot vote for U.S. president.  There are twice as many American Samoans living abroad as there are living in their native homeland.  Only a full-fledged Samoan can own land here.  The territorial government is the largest employer, while fishing is the major industry.  Everyone we encountered spoke English and the currency used was the U.S. dollar, which made it easy for us to get around.  We enjoyed our time in American Samoa and would definitely go back if ever given the chance.       

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Yesterday we were docked in the capital of Tahiti, which is the big city of Papeete (pronounced pah-pee-yet-tay).  I don’t have much to say about it because it’s basically a big city and feels like one.  It has a McDonalds and an internet café, in addition to tons of people and pollution.  We hopped on a city bus and toured part of the island, which was fun.  That and the nutella crepe we had in town were the highlights of the day.  If you’re ever get to the island of Tahiti, skip Papeete and stay in a more remote part of the island.

Today we were in Bora Bora, which is also part of French Polynesia.  An interesting fact:  French Polynesia has the second highest cost of living in the world (Japan is number one).  It’s definitely not the place for a budget vacation (reportedly Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban paid $15k per night to stay in an over the water bungalow here.  Room service is delivered via canoe).  While on the island we were finally able to rent bicycles – yay!  We rented a couple of cruisers and rode the entire island (22 miles).  The road is relatively flat (only one hill) and there’s not much traffic.  It was so much fun and a great way to see the island.  It seems that everyone in Bora Bora has at least one dog, and more likely two or three.  Some were tied up, while lots of others were loose.   They definitely weren’t treated like we treat our pets – many looked half-starved and a little wild.  In fact, they all looked like some sort of wild dog breed, almost like a dingo.  Thankfully no dogs chased us while we were riding our bikes – most of them were laying in the shade probably thinking we were crazy for exerting ourselves in the sun! 

While riding around we came across a large resort on a beautiful beach that was all boarded up and fenced off.  We thought about trying to sneak in there and then decided it might not be a smart thing to do in a foreign country where we don’t know what kind of laws they have (plus there might be wild dogs down there)!  We found out later that the resort was Club Med, which went out of business due to the economy.  Looks like even Bora Bora has been hit by hard times.

Halfway around the island we stopped at a popular beach to swim and snorkel.  It was about as perfect as a beach can get, with crystal clear water and powder white sand.  We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the beach, and then made our way on our bicycles back to where the ship was docked.  As one of the ship’s employees said when we saw her sunbathing on the beach (she’s from Italy), “we are in paradise!”  I heartily agree. 

Moorea, French Polynesia

Today was one of those days where nothing went as planned, but it all seemed to work out anyways (thankfully!).   Approaching the island of Moorea took my breath away, the peaks of the island are beautiful in a jagged, rough way.  Our plan for today was to rent bikes and ride them around the island (37 miles). After disembarking we made our way to the nearest village and located a bike rental place. As we were about to seal the deal, the guy tells us he’s closing in a half hour (it’s Sunday and most businesses close early).   I’m not exactly sure why he didn’t start off with that information - it sure would have saved us a lot of time!  We had been warned about “island time” and chalked it up to that.  By the time we got to the next bike rental place, all the bikes had been rented.  Oh no!  On to Plan B. 

Plan B was to head to the nearest beach to swim and snorkel, which is what we did.  The beach was beautiful, but a tad on the windy side.  Moorea is a small island and has only 14,000 inhabitants, most of which live on the other side of the island from where we are.  It is part of French Polynesia, which is made up of some 130 islands, of which Tahiti is the best known.  The Bali Hai parts of the movie South Pacific were filmed here on Moorea and it’s no wonder; everything we’ve seen so far is drop dead gorgeous.  We hung out on the beach and had a couple of beers, which helped to ease my disappointment at not renting bikes (I could definitely use the exercise after all the eating on the boat!).  After the beer, I promptly fell asleep on the beach (this life of living on a cruise ship is totally wearing me out!  J).  In the meantime, the clouds came in and the wind got worse – it started to rain and then pour.  At this point I was actually thankful that we weren’t able to rent bikes; we probably would have been halfway around the island when this storm hit.  What a miserable ride that would have been – high winds and pouring rain – ugh.

After it let up a bit, we walked from the beach to the boat dock.  Lots of locals offered to give us a ride back to the ship – such truly nice people.  We politely declined because:  1) we needed the exercise, and 2) we wanted to see as much of the island as we could while we were there, rain or no rain.  It was a nice walk and even though it was raining, it was warm.

Before entering the ship they always have employees passing out cool washcloths to use before boarding.  I passed on the washcloth, feeling cool and wet enough, when Daron told me I’d better get one because I was covered in sand and dust.  Um, okay, what?  I touched my cheek – yep, he was right, it was totally gritty!  How embarrassing!  I’d been chit-chatting with a bunch of people we met on the boat and I must have looked like I’ve been rolling around in a sand dune all day.  Erg.  I’m guessing that when I fell asleep on the beach and the wind picked up, it must have blown a bunch of sand on me, which promptly stuck because I had a layer of sunscreen glue on me.  Daron said he didn’t tell me about it because he didn’t think I’d be able to get it off (it was stuck pretty good) –I’m  not sure what to think about that excuse!    Besides me becoming human sandpaper, it was a good day. J

The Equator

Today we crossed the equator.   The equator is an imaginary line on the earth’s surface, equidistant from the north pole and south pole.  Its latitude is 0. The length of the earth’s equator is 24,901.5 miles.  It divides the earth into a northern hemisphere and a southern hemisphere.    So today we officially move from the northern hemisphere, where it is autumn, into the southern hemisphere, where it is spring.  According to the ship’s info, sunrise was at 5:59 am, and sunset was at 5:59 pm, exactly 12 hours apart, as I imagine it is every day at the equator.   I believe the days (daylight) should be getting longer in the southern hemisphere since the seasons are opposite, at least until the summer solstice, which I assume is in December down here.

 On the ship’s schedule for today, there was a “Crossing the Equator Ceremony” where a prize would be given to the first eagle eye passenger who spotted the row of equatorial marker buoys in the sea.  I’m embarrassed to admit that my first thought was to make sure we brought our binoculars so we could have an advantage in spotting those buoys.  Geez.  That would be quite the job, putting buoys all across the ocean exactly on the equator!  I’ve either been at sea too long, or I’m having a blonde moment! 

Seafaring tradition maintains that all sailors who cross the equator during a nautical voyage must undergo rites of passage and elaborate rituals initiating them into The Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep. These rituals date back to the Middle Ages, although current ceremonies are most likely derived from Viking traditions (no details were given as to what those rituals entail).  Those who have never crossed the line are derisively referred to as “slimy pollywogs.”  Upon completion of the initiation ceremony, the polliwogs are then known as “trusty shellbacks.”  Sounds like I’m not the only one who’s been at sea too long!