Communicating with other travelers…Avoidance of feeling overwhelmed…More of Tom’s great photos!

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It seems we awaken every morning at 5 am.  Tom gets up and I read in bed until I fall back asleep, usually until 7 am.  Up so early he has an opportunity to capture these amazing sunrises.

Tom is an avid follower of cruisecritic.com which is a site dedicated to travelers who plan to book or have booked cruises. There are message boards that enable devotees of this site to make comments, write reviews, and make and ask for suggestions from others.

I’ve never taken the time to investigate the site considering I spend plenty of time online each day posting, taking and editing photos, and conducting research, especially when our data is metered as it has been here in Australia.

Sunrise and sunset over the sea have always intrigued us.

Tom, on the other hand, learns a lot about cruises, itineraries, cruise ship’s specific cabin numbers to book from the diligent participants of this comprehensive, although uncomplicated site which is a huge asset for cruise passengers.

Often, the passengers discuss various ports of call and the best tour companies to use for a good experience outside of those offered by the cruise line which we’ve implemented on numerous occasions. Users often request to create a small group to participate on a tour at a particular port of call.  This has been our preferred method of visiting various ports of call. 

The sky in this area can change in minutes from clear to cloudy.

By participating in these small groups we have a perfect opportunity to meet new people. Some of our most fun experiences have been on full-day tours with three or four other couples/singles, many of whom we’ve stayed in touch with from time to time.

On occasion, Tom begins a dialogue with other members of cruisecritic.com who have may have considerable information to share with us as we may have with them. Or, at other times, online conversation ensues with idle travel chit chat back and forth which in itself is quite enjoyable for Tom.

All of these photos are unedited, as is the case for 90% of our photos.  We have little time to edit over 10,000 photos a year.

Most recently, we communicated via Skype with a lovely couple Tom encountered on cruisecritic.com who are our ages planning to travel the world for the next two years. 

With their many questions as to health insurance, wifi service, cell service, booking vacation rentals, filing US taxes, obtaining visas, and on and on, it was fun to share our research that hopefully may save them a little time. 

It was during this hour-long conversation that we realized how much preliminary work was involved in preparation for traveling the world. Perhaps for us, it may have required more time and effort with our intent to continue indefinitely. But, even planning to travel for a few years is comparable to planning more than a dozen ongoing trips, one after another.

These exquisite rays of light through the cloud is breathtaking.

Imagine how much time we all spent on planning one trip, let alone multiple trips over an extended period.  Linking everything together is a daunting task in itself. How do we end one trip and connect it to the next?  Wow! This can be overwhelming.

Luckily, for us, over this extended period, it’s considerably less complicated when we already have most of the next two years booked, only requiring we fill in a few gaps and adding one or two to the end at any given time.

The sun is hiding behind these clouds.

I don’t envy our new friends and the task ahead of them when I recall sitting at my laptop 12 hours a day researching the most infinite details of the process.  Although I don’t recall feeling “overwhelmed.” I had plenty of time to accomplish our goals of having the first two years of our travels booked long before we left the US.

A nerdy planner like me exercises a continual goal of avoiding ever feeling overwhelmed. I always say, “I don’t do overwhelmed,” attempting to avoid a possible scenario at all costs. When I was a 20 something single mom of two kids I experienced feeling overwhelmed. Those days are long behind me.

Eventually, later in the morning, the clouds wafted away and it was a sunny day.

As an example of the avoidance of feeling overwhelmed, today we have tasks to accomplish when we head out soon to include:

1.  Inquiry at phone store about using a hot spot for future travel in Australia:  We have our passports (required to purchase a SIM card), hot spot, and a photo on my phone of the passwords, all set to go.
2.  Inquiry at the post office for the cost to send a package to Vanua Levu, Fiji based on weight projections I made yesterday for all we’ll need during our stay:  photo of address on my phone to which we’ll be sending the package.
3.  Begin purchasing the list of grocery items now (due to low inventories at a grocery store) providing that shipping costs to Fiji are reasonable. List of items is on the grocery app on my phone.
4.  Grocery shopping: app on my phone with lists for a grocery store, meat market and produce stand and items to be shipped.

Sure, preparing for all of the above takes a few minutes of time. But, it is this commitment to advance planning that has made our travels all the more enjoyable and meaningful. 

We spotted this pair of kookaburras in the yard.

We have no doubt that other travelers may not be interested in spending the amount of time we spend in covering all of our bases for our next step along the way. And, in fact, other travelers may not encounter any issues without this degree of planning and may have a seamless experience on a single trip or two.

But, planning well into the future for years of travel is a task I wouldn’t want to tackle again starting from the beginning. Doing it piecemeal as we do now, is painless and actually quite fun for us. 

These large birds are very friendly and bold, known to snitch food from plates of outdoor diners who’ve been cooking on the barbie.

Avoiding stress, confusion, and uncertainly always become our primary goal, whether it’s a trip to the market or to trip to Southeast Asia. It’s never perfect no matter how much we plan with unexpected scenarios getting in the way at times. But, we’ve found that by having those areas we can control, under control, we’re able to create a less stressful and more pleasing experience.

Happy day!

                                            Photo from one year ago today, August 11, 2014:

The Seine River dinner cruise was an amazing experience we’ll always remember especially when we got this shot of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. For more photos, please click here.

Preparing for the next location…The remote island of Vanua Levu…

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On the return drive from Clifton Beach, we stopped at our favorite spot where we always find horses, kangaroos, and wallabies.

Yesterday, we communicated back and forth with Mario, the property manager of the house on Vanua Levu the second largest island in the Fiji archipelago, which we’ll move into in less than one month. 

Vanua Levu is considered by some worldwide island enthusiasts to be one of the most desirable islands on which to live in the world. There are considerable historical facts we’ll share once we arrive.

For now, we’re thinking in terms of getting ourselves there and situated including what we’ll need to live comfortably with the realization we’ll be living on an island with a population of only 130,000 and in the town of Savusavu with a population under 5000.

A little black and white bird.

Although tourists have flooded this island over the last decade, it still consists of small towns with minimal amenities as compared to those available in Australia. We’re anticipating that the shopping will be comparable to that which we experienced in Diani Beach, Kenya with grocery stores containing a minimal selection of products.

Most tourists do little grocery shopping. If they have a kitchenette with a microwave and refrigerator, they may purchase such items as yogurt, sweet rolls, celery, milk, cookies, lunchmeats, bread, chips, and other snacks and beverages, none of which we purchase.

Of course, the stores in more remote locations keep products on hand that appeals to the masses. For us, it’s impossible to walk into a quick shop and purchase anything that works for our way of eating.

Is this some type of pontoon used to capture crocs?

However, if all an island has available is protein sources in the way of beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs and cheese, and green leafy vegetables, they are all we really need. There is nowhere in the world that we’d live that doesn’t have these items.

Anything beyond those basic items centers around our preferences for a few special items which include homemade baked goods (in moderation) utilizing the following list of low carb, grain-free, and sugar-free products, organic if available:

  • Coconut flour
  • Almond flour
  • Coconut flour
  • Unsweetened shredded coconut
  • Pure lemon and vanilla extracts
  • Flaxseed meal
  • Himalayan salt (we keep a supply in our luggage)
Clifton Beach proved to be a good spot to revisit.

After sending Mario this list yesterday, he replied that although coconut oil and vanilla is readily available, the remaining items may not be. After discussing this yesterday, we decided to purchase the remaining items while we’re still here and ship them to Savusavu.

This appears to be a wallaby, not a kangaroo.

With the high excess baggage fees for Fiji Air, it’s not possible to include them with our luggage, certainly not enough to last us for a total of four months on both islands in Fiji.

You may ask, “Why do we choose to live in such remote locations?” The answer for us is clear, “We love living in remote locations, close to the sea without the hustle and bustle of city life and yet have the option to travel to the city to enjoy the culture, all the while living a life as if we were locals.

Seven percent of the residents in Savusavu are ex-pats obviously choosing this location due to the fact that they love its beauty, climate, and availability of services and products that fits their needs. If they love it, most likely we will as well.

This wallaby family was curious as we walked along the bordering trail.

With our list ready on the grocery app on my phone, we’ll begin to purchase these items over the next several weeks of grocery shopping, accumulating our inventory as we go based on the availability of the items at the local grocery stores.

Tomorrow, we’ll stop at the post office to check on the cost of shipping the package based on our estimation of the weight of the items. We saved a cardboard box from a shipment of supplies we received from the US last week (containing jeans for Tom, tee shirts, shoes, and contact lenses for me) and we also have a roll of shipping tape. 

During our past visits, they ran off. This time, they watched us for a while and then ran off.

Mario explained that we’ll send the package to his post office box and once we arrive, we’ll be required to meet with the customs officer to go through the box to determine if we have any banned products.

In checking online for what can and can’t be imported to Fiji, we don’t expect any issues. Ideally, we’ll arrange for the package to arrive a few days after we do, allowing us time to set up the appointment with the customs officer. 

We recall the necessity of this same process on the island of Madeira, Portugal when our package arrived requiring a trip to Funchal to meet with and go through the items with a customs officer showing him our receipts for the items in the box, all of which were accepted without issue.

Even the horse by the fence made eye contact with us. Animals are not unlike people in that they revel in interaction.

Soon we’re off for the fitness center with a plan to return shortly afterward so Tom can watch the first preseason Minnesota Vikings football game using our HDMI cable to watch it from his laptop to the HD TV.

Although not a football fan, I’ll do some baking this afternoon which will give me an opportunity to begin to calculate the amounts of the above products we’ll need to purchase to send to Vanua Levu. 

Have an excellent day! We plan to.

                                           Photo from one year ago today, August 10, 2014:

Although it was a rainy evening we had a fabulous time on a gourmet dinner cruise on the Seine served with multiple bottles of wine, some of which Tom enjoyed and easy adaptation to my way of eating allowing me to have most of the offered items. It was a perfect night. Please click here for more photos, a video, and details.

The advantages of early bookings…Upcoming US football season…Is Tom going to watch the Vikings games?

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This view could be a tropical island anywhere in the world.

Since booking our last three cruises over these past few months, Tom has noticed those cruise fares have increased substantially: one for US $1100, AUD $1484; the second for US $900, AUD $1213; the third for US $800, AUD $1078, for a grand total of US $2800, AUD $3774. 

Throughout our travels, we’ve often been asked why we book future travels so far in advance. This is the main reason. If booking a venue at a great price, we’ve never been contacted requesting we pay a new higher price.  In other words, when booking travels the lowest price at which we can “lock-in” the price, will hold until the booking occurs.

Deadman’s Gully is an ideal habitat for crocs.

However, booking airline tickets, car rentals, or vacation homes at a higher price will seldom allow us the benefit of a price reduction which may eventually be posted online. With penalties for canceling and re-booking these types of travel accommodations, we have to face the reality that price changes will occur from time to time. 

We could hear the birds hovering over this area which also is considered a natural habitat for birds.

In booking cruises, it’s different. On several occasions, it’s been to our benefit to request a price reduction on a previously booked cruise as long as it’s before the 90-day-before-sailing window or when the final payment is due. The cruise lines and booking agencies allow one to take advantage of fare reductions. It’s up to the customer to continually check for fare reductions. The agency or cruise line will not do this for the customer.

With seven upcoming cruises booked, Tom has gotten into the habit of checking daily for price reductions. This has served us well over these past 11 cruises and hopefully will continue to benefit us going forward. Ironically, he also notices fare increases as noted above, confirming that early bookings make sense.  

The beach in this area was desolate.

The only disadvantage of booking early for any travel-related event is the usual requirement to pay well in advance, as often as two years before the event occurs. 

Often, when booking certain hotels using the links on our site we get booking perks. Each hotel night we book accumulates points toward future hotel bookings. To date, we’ve received three free nights with more pending, keeping in mind that we seldom stay in hotels for more than one night, except for a year ago when we spent two weeks each in Paris and London.

A safe walkway into the rainforest in Clifton Beach.

Once we’re situated in Fiji next month we’ll begin to work on filling the holes in our schedule when doing so requires the expenditure of more upfront cash and a better wifi connection which we’ve been assured is the case. In the past few years, Fiji has updated their wifi country-wide with a supposed good signal for all residents.

With little heavy rain in these past few weeks, this area contained little water as compared to when we visited a few months ago.

On to another timely topic…Tom’s planning to watch the Minnesota Vikings football games, beginning with the first preseason game when it’s broadcast Sunday night at 8 pm central time. 

He won’t be able to watch the game here until Monday based on the time zone in Australia. If he waits to watch it, he can avoid the commercials but bears the risk of seeing the results online. He can actually watch it live on Monday morning at 11:00 am which most likely he’ll do. Tom is one of those that really don’t like to hear the results before watching the game. 

We’d hoped to see a kangaroo pop out of these woods but no such luck.

While we’re still in Australia he can plug in the HDMI cord into the HD TV to watch the games.  n Fiji, without a TV, he’ll have to watch the games on his laptop as will be the case for all shows we chose to watch while living in Fiji. 

These grill areas are available to any who’d like to use them at no cost. It’s pleasing to see how those who’ve used them, have left them in spotless condition. One wouldn’t find this to be the case in every country.

As many viewers chose, adapting to watching movies and other media on tablets and other small screens is easy. During most of our travels, we haven’t had access to an HD TV (or any TV for that matter) and have easily adapted to watching the small screen.

As for another matter, this morning, when I prepared to shower grabbing a towel off the stack of fresh towels on the floor in the bathroom (we’d filled the intended towel drawer with toilet paper and other toiletries leaving no room for the stack of towels) there sat the largest spider I’d seen since we were in Africa. 

Clifton Beach is a beautiful sandy beach with few visitors.

Sure, I could have gone to grab the camera for a photo, but I feared that it would get away before we got back.  Although I didn’t scream, squeal, or otherwise, I did ask Tom to put on his shoes and help dispose of them.  From reading online it could easily have been the relatively harmless large Huntsman Spider is known to eat household insects. 

The mailman stopped his bike to chat with us!

However, we couldn’t be certain as to the type with literally hundreds of species in Queensland. Tom grabbed the towel with the spider still on it outdoors to the wild area in the yard, shaking the towel to release it. 

We both been surprised by how few insects we’ve spotted indoors in Australia. The biggest annoyance has been  the flies that somehow find their way indoors even though the doors and windows without screens are always kept closed. 

We weren’t sure why these boulders had been placed at this spot on the beach.

This morning, we were awakened once again at 4:51 am from the screaming birds, the Curlews, living in the bush in the yard. It’s like no noise we’ve ever heard in the past.  One would think their legs are being torn off when in fact they’re happily living their lives, most active at night.

Life is unique wherever we may be. Adapting to the differences has become easy and familiar to us. Once we arrive in Fiji, we’ll experience an entirely new range of differences to which we’ll hopefully adapt in no time at all.  We’ll keep our readers apprised of these differences.

Happy weekend to all!

                                               Photo from one year ago today, August 9, 2014:

We didn’t post any other photos than the above on this date one year ago. We were out the door early to head to the Louvre. With such a busy day, we didn’t post until the next day. See the post here.

Deadman’s Gully…Aptly named?…A visit to check it out…

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In checking out the photo below of the woman who encountered the crocs it appears to have been in this area we visited at Deadman’s Gully.

A month from today we’ll be waking up in a hotel in Sydney to catch a very early flight to Fiji. It’s hard to believe how quickly the time in Trinity Beach has passed. Last night, Tom mentioned how 90 days is the perfect amount of time to spend living in any one area and I wholeheartedly agree.

We could easily envision a croc coming up and over this hill from the ocean to Deadman’s Gully.

As time winds down, we begin to think of places we’d like to visit or perhaps revisit during our last month in the Cairns area. With a few spots in mind, yesterday we decided to return to Clifton Beach, an area we’d only driven by on a rainy day shortly after we arrived two months ago.

There are several signs noting Deadman’s Gully.

As always, before heading out we began reviewing online information about Deadman’s Gully. Curious as to the origin of its name, we stumbled across this story in the Cairns Post and on the news a year ago:

“Cairns teacher almost snapped by 3m crocodile at Deadman’s Gully near Cairns

A woman who came within 1 cm of a crocodile’s jaws after the reptile lunged at her and her dog at a Northern Beaches creek has called for the immediate removal of the dangerous creature.

Clifton Beach resident Belinda Marsh, 50, was walking her German shepherd Nharla at Deadman’s Gully on Sunday night.  Two saltwater crocodiles have been spotted several times by locals in the waterway in recent weeks, the last sighting reported on Thursday.”

We followed this path in the Deadman’s Gully.

For the remainder of this news story, please click here.

Well, of course, reading this story made us all the more interested in checking out Deadman’s Gully hoping to take photos of where these two crocs were sighted and to investigate the type of habitat that appeals to them. We didn’t expect that we’d see any crocs, nor did we want to be in a position of having to run from them. 

The area adjoining Deadman’s Gully.

But, I did mention to Tom that maybe “safari luck” would kick in and we’d see a croc in the wild enabling us to take a photo from the safety of the car. No such luck.

Adding to our peace of mind, before we headed out the door, we noticed one additional story online:

“Elusive 3m croc caught at Deadman’s Gully in Cairns

By Sharnie Kim

Updated
“Government contractors have captured a crocodile that is believed to have lunged at a Cairns resident and her pet dog. The three-meter reptile, at Deadman’s Gully on the city’s northern beaches, has eluded capture since about November last year when residents reported several sightings. Its mate was captured that month. Aboriginal contractors harpooned the larger crocodile late on Tuesday night and authorities are finding it a new home. Meanwhile, the state Environment Department said it was investigating after a one-meter crocodile was found dead at Deep Creek on Cairns’ northern beaches earlier this week.”
There was barely a cloud in the sky.
The fact that these particular crocs had been captured didn’t necessarily mean that no other crocs would be in this area. With a plan to proceed with caution as do many bikers and joggers who fancy this particular area, clearly marked with numerous warning signs, we ventured out with enthusiasm.
Again, another relatively unoccupied beach on a perfectly sunny day around noon.
Once in a while, we miss an opportunity to capture a video. Such was the case as we exited the car when we parked in one of the few available parking spots in the area. A noisy flock of birds stopped us in our tracks as we were shocked by the loud sounds coming from the trees overhead. Unfortunately, by the time the camera loaded the sounds stopped, most likely due to our arrival.
Pretty view at Clifton Beach where Deadman’s Gully is located.
We were reminded of the sounds of the Howler Monkeys when we visited a rainforest in Belize, many moons ago. Bringing up this memory we both giggled over how I’ve combated so many fears over these past three years.
The Clifton Beach neighborhood and esplanade is lined with lovely homes.
Now, I’ll wander through a rainforest without hesitation as long as I’m lathered up with repellent. In Belize, I was a wreck, trying to be brave and failing poorly. It seems so long ago, that any insect sent me reeling which now I flick away with only a tinge of annoyance.
Some type of fungus growing on the side of this tree.
When an insect is large and/or interesting I’ll often manage a quick jump to grab the camera as is evidenced in our stream of photos of insects, snakes, and other creatures. Although, I must admit we both remain hesitant when spotting venomous centipedes, spiders, and snakes.
Unusual tree trunk at Clifton Beach
As for crocs, fear is a good thing. One must stay on alert. Fear in itself should be used as a trigger for extreme caution. Those crazy folks who put their heads into the mouths of crocs make no sense at all.
The vegetation is dense along the beach in certain areas along Deadman’s Gully.
There’s no doubt that as we neared the gully and river that our eyes carefully scanned the area as we listened for sounds of movement in the dense and often tall vegetation.
It was these murky waters that appeared to be a possible haven for crocs.
With no obvious croc in the area, we took our photos while fascinated with the scenery before us.  We walked the paved path and perused the narrow unpaved pathways over rocks, tree roots, and fallen vegetation often keeping one eye on the ground with the other on our surroundings.
There are narrow walkways to the ocean as shown in the openings in the railing.
We hope you’ll enjoy our photos over the next few days as we continue to share the sights in the area of Deadman’s Gully. By the way, we never found how the name of this area originated but, it’s easy to imagine.
With many German tourists visiting Australia the German word “actung” is often listed on warning signs at the beach. There also appears to be a warning in Chinese and/or Japanese.
                                                              Photo from one year ago today, August 8, 2014:
The famous Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. It was hard to believe we were actually there seeing first hand that which we’d only seen in movies and photos. Still soaked from standing in the gardens for 90 minutes in the pelting rain without an umbrella, we hardly noticed our clothes as we wandered through the amazing property. For more photos and details, please click here.

Poolside health benefits…Does sunlight really improve health?…One year ago today…Versailles…

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Tom was reading while soaking up the sun.

One of the major attracting points of a certain number of the properties we chose to rent throughout the world is the availability of a swimming pool. We don’t select a pool as a filter when searching for properties to rent, although, we certainly pay attention when a pool is available. 

When we booked this lovely property in Trinity Beach, we were thrilled there was a pool. We imagined lounging by the pool for a requisite one-hour maximum almost every sunny day after we uploaded the day’s post. 

This is the second of the uneven stone steps leading down to the pool.

Should you decide to undertake to acquire your Vitamin D3 from the sun, please read this article and begin very slowly to avoid burning if you have no base tan. For some fair-skinned individuals as little as a few minutes on each side is all that is possible in the beginning to avoid burning. Also, please check with your doctor if you currently have skin cancer or any other medical condition that may be impacted by time in direct sunlight.

Here’s the link to an excellent article with accompanying research on the benefits of getting Vitamin D from the sun. When we can acquire nutrients from natural resources we’re inspired and we’ll undertake considerable research in order to formulate an opinion as to the validity of the research.

Here’s a link about the benefits of Vitamin D3 from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. In reading this and other reports we easily realized we may not receive any Vitamin D from foods, especially when neither of us eats any processed foods fortified with Vitamin D.

The steep wooden steps from the yard down to the pool.

Also, there’s a calculator on this site, developed by scientists (as is all of this article), to help you determine what is best for you based on your location, skin type, and times of the day.

Once we become convinced that a natural resource may have a benefit for us, we may adopt its use. So is the case of Vitamin D3. When we had to reduce our luggage weight load, that included disposing of several bottles of Vitamin D3 supplements. Without this supplement, we were convinced we needed to acquire the vital nutrient directly from the sun.

Also, we carried several tubes of sunscreens with us which neither of us liked using. We ditched those as well with a plan to stay out of the sun beyond a maximum of one hour per day. With enough of a tan base to protect us from sunburn and covered with clothing when we visit various outdoor sites on sunny days, we have little concern. 

There’s an outdoor kitchen under the gazebo.  However, after 4:00 pm, the no-see-ums arrive on the biting frenzy making “cooking on the Barbie” not as appealing as one might think.

After extensive research, we became convinced that short regular stints in the sun with 60% of our skin exposed for 20 minutes on each side without the use of sunscreen would benefit us both greatly in many ways. 

Over these past three years living in warm climates, we’ve worked our way up to 30 minutes without our skin turning pink. However, the proximity to the equator has a bearing on how long we stay in the sun in each new location. 

When we first arrived in Australia, we tried 10 minutes on each side and now we’ve worked our way up to a maximum of 20 minutes on each side, most often staying out only for a total of 40 minutes due to the heat of the sun. We’ve never been sunburned over these past three years even with Tom’s light Irish skin. 

The pool has a waterfall which isn’t in use at this time.

Anyway, once we arrived in Trinity Beach and moved into this desirable vacation property we discovered that getting down to the pool required a trek down a steep staircase with a splinter inducing single-sided wood handrail. Plus, at that time, there were no chaise lounges by the pool.

With as kind and helpful as our hosts have been, we didn’t want to ask for chaise lounges by the pool.  Apparently, they read our mention of this in a prior post ending up purchasing two fabulous cushioned chaise lounges several weeks ago for which we’re very grateful.

Fruit growing on this tree situated in the pool area.

In the interim, before the chaises, we managed to use the chairs on our veranda, using the cushions on the ground to lay on our stomachs and sitting in the chairs facing the sun at noon. This worked but was relatively uncomfortable.

The next challenge, once the chaise lounges were situated by the pool, was getting used to safely maneuvering the steps down to the pool area and then two smaller sets of uneven stone steps.

This interesting tree by the pool has a look comparable to a bottle cleaner.

Tom, of course, can walk on a bed of nails without tripping. I, on the other hand, can easily stumble on uneven surfaces from the instability of my spinal condition. Tom is dependable and sturdy support when I’m walking in such conditions, never faltering in adding a strong arm and hand to guide the way.

After all, we did make it down the treacherous Queen’s Bath in Kauai (read our Part 1 here and Part 2 here) without falling when we’d read that many younger hikers were injured in the process. By far, it was the most dangerous trek we’ve made in our travels.

View to the house above.

Once down by the pool and situated in the chaise lounges laying atop the comfortable cushions, we set the timer on my phone to ensure we don’t overstay in the sun. 

To entertain ourselves we both read the books on our phones as the time quickly passes. Before we know it, we’re flipping over, and then, we’re done. To say that these short stints are therapeutic in other ways is minimizing the powerful effect of the sun on health, mood, and energy levels. 

Jittery camera (no doubt) when attempting to get close enough to take this photo. Later, when we were ready to leave the pool area, hoping it would be gone, we realized it was dead. Hahaha. We laughed.

We all know how beneficial a little sunshine and getting outdoors is for all of us, let alone gleaning the Vitamin D3 benefits we grasp as often as we can. We find ourselves feeling grateful to Mother Nature for this beneficial effect which she has perfectly provided for us.

Have a sunny weekend!

                                                Photo from one year ago today, August 7, 2014:

Without umbrellas and only lightly hooded jackets we stood outside in the pouring rain for the tour of the 90 minutes tour of the Gardens of Versailles. We had to keep the camera inside my jacket to avoid it getting wetter than it did. We were soaked all the way to our underwear but somehow didn’t care, neither of us ever complaining. For more details and amazing photos of Versailles, please click here.

Controversial thoughts to share…A new delicious recipe…Living life on our terms…Tom’s sunrise photos…

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An amazing sunrise over Trinity Beach, Australia.

Yesterday, we decided to grocery shop one day early when I needed a few ingredients to make a new favorite side dish (see recipe below) for dinner. I know. We make a new item that becomes a favorite and we make it over and over again.

When we tire of the item, we stop making it for a while to bring it up again in the future, perhaps months or a year later. Why not? Some may say, “Spread it out over time, savoring it each time.”

We do savor it each time until we don’t. Besides, we’re living life on our terms and if we want to eat the same side dish night after night, we can. That’s one of the aspects of our lives, we absolutely love. The only rules we follow are:

a.  Laws in our current location
b.  Filing and paying US taxes

Self-imposed rules:
a.  Follow our personal moral code: kindness, consideration, honesty, and integrity
b.  Health as a priority:  good food, good sleep, exercise, Vitamin D from sunlight, and a positive attitude
c.  Harmony in our relationship with one another, those we love, and all others
d.  Spirituality based on our personal beliefs, not imposed upon others
e.  Tolerance of each other and the lives and choices of others
f.   Making a difference in the lives of others less fortunate, not writing about it, bragging/talking about it. 

Of course, there are the obvious self-imposed rules of paying bills, keeping our environment clean and tidy, cooking meals, doing laundry. Those are a “given.”

In reviewing these “rules” in our lives, we see no rule that says we can’t eat the same salad, the same side dish or the same snack day after day, meal after meal. We like it that way.

I’m always impressed by how well he captures sunrises and sunsets.

So much of our old lives were dictated by expectations; some self-imposed, others imposed by others, and many imposed upon us by society either globally or locally. 

If we didn’t follow suit on some of these expectations, there were often some type of consequences; some imposed upon ourselves via guilt and bad feelings and others imposed upon us by rejection or the obvious disappointment of others, spoken or unspoken.

Example: What if we stayed inside on Halloween with the lights out? What if we didn’t buy the Christmas wreath from the neighbor’s son? What if we didn’t attend a friend’s daughter’s gift opening the morning after the wedding? What if we didn’t attend a family gathering at a campground that included a two-hour drive each way? What if we didn’t help a friend move?

It changes so quickly.

Does not doing these things make us selfish people? In our old lives, we thought so. Now, as we look back at all of these types of situations we realize we may have and could have chosen to respond differently, living life on our terms while still providing a modicum of love and caring to those around us. 

In essence, we did too much, at times as a result of love and desire to please and at other times due to a sense of responsibility. At other times, we didn’t do enough. Isn’t that really how it is? Aren’t we all similar in this manner and yet, we seldom, if ever, discuss it and most certainly, never write it down?

The magic is almost gone.

The simplicity of our lives now is difficult to describe. In step and in sync with one another, life is infinitely easy.  Guilt is not within our realm of feelings. The day to day responsibilities we bear are easy to fulfill with nary a moment or feeling of pressure or discomfort. 

Our biggest challenge is the upcoming two travel days beginning on September 7th, ending on the 8th when we land on the island of Vanua Levu, Fiji. Sure, there are ups and downs, annoyances, flight changes, waiting in lines, and an occasional feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t have these apprehensions.

And then, the sun appears.  Our world is truly magical.

Overall, living life on our terms wherever we may be is for us, the ultimate choice for happiness in these remaining years of our lives. Some have criticized us for making these choices. How could we leave those we love behind? We didn’t choose this life to leave those we love behind. We chose this life to move ourselves forward.

Here’s the above-mentioned recipe:

Jess’ Low Carb Mushroom Casserole  
15.6 carb grams for the entire recipe  
Easy prep 
12 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion  
1/2 stick grass-fed butter  
1/3 cup heavy cream  (not half and half)
1 large free-range egg  
2 large free-range egg yolks  
1 cup grated Swiss or, if not available grated mozzarella
Salt, pepper, garlic salt

Preheat oven to 375F, 190C. Line a medium-sized baking pan with parchment paper or coat generously with butter.

Saute the mushrooms and onion in the butter. Add the seasonings and cook for about 4 minutes., stirring occasionally.  In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Cool the mushrooms and onions for about 20 minutes and then combine all the ingredients.  Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake 30 minutes (sometimes longer). 

Once cooled, we cut this recipe into 6 squares each having one square with dinner each of three evenings. We add a protein, veggie, and salad for a fabulous easy low carb, grain-free, starch-free meal. Last night, I had lamb chops while Tom had pork chops. With this dish as a side and another side of steamed green beans with a small number of julienne carrots, large romaine lettuce, and diced celery salad, we had a wonderful meal. 

Later in the evening, for a sweet snack we each had homemade low carb coconut macaroons. (I used the remaining eggs whites from the above recipe to use in the making of the macaroons).

                                             Photo from one year ago today, August 6, 2014:

No photos were posted on this date one year ago in Paris when we had to catch an early train to Versailles. However, we had a very busy day on the 7th which included a fabulous museum visit we’ll share tomorrow and dinner at the highly popular gourmet restaurant, Les Ombres. For more details, please click here.

Who are the other travelers out there like us?…Easy to imagine…Final Port Douglas photos…Lots more new photos coming!

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Boats docked at the marina in Port Douglas.
Urgent Note:  This morning our site was down for a short period. If this occurs again, please note that we are aware of it as soon as we fire up our computers in the morning. If for any reason we can’t get it back up again due to a glitch or if blogger.com is down, we will immediately begin working with our web developer to either get it back up again or create an identical site on another server using our exact same website address: www.worldwidewaftage.com  Please keep checking back daily. At this point, we aren’t aware of any possible issues that could cause this to occur in the future. Today’s occurrence may have been an isolated case. Thank you for your patience.

This morning while I was getting ready for the day, Tom hauled his laptop into the bathroom to read something to me. He read aloud a post he’d received from CruiseCritic this morning from a retired couple who’d sold everything they owned and are traveling the world for two years.

Train tracks ran along the edge of the marina.

We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces when he came to the part that we’ll be on the same cruise with this couple from January 5 to January 19th from Sydney to Auckland. How fun will that be?

Tom has yet to have a single cocktail or beer since we arrived in Trinity Beach almost two months ago. If we do go out to dinner, he can’t drink since I am no longer his designated driver when the driver sits on the opposite side of the car that I’m used to, drives on the opposite side of the road that I’m used to and shifts with their left hand.  I’m not that coordinated! 

To sit face to face with others living the same life as ours and discussing all the pluses and minuses should be enriching and enjoyable. As soon as we’re done uploading today, we’ll write to them and make a plan to stay in touch so we can connect while on the cruise.

With their two year-end time and our indefinite end time, there’s a difference for the long haul. But, having sold everything they own, house, cars, and stuff should create some interesting conversation. We’re curious as to what they’ll decide to do at the end of the two years. We’ll let you know what we find out.

Purple flowers in the park.

We have no doubt that there are many retirees traveling indefinitely like us throughout the world but we’ve yet to encounter such a couple face to face on our past 11 cruises. 

There are plenty of pubs and bars along the esplanade in Port Douglas and at other beaches.

We’ve looked online and found many travelers without a home base with minimal stuff at varying stages and ages and have enjoyed reading their posts, lurking in the background such as the case with many of our worldwide readers.

Is this a cherry blossom tree?  (This photo was taken through the windshield).

In each case, we find similarities that are refreshing and interesting from another’s perspective. Also, there are many differences which mostly include a plan to settle down somewhere in the future.

We continue to spot these African Tulips in one tropical/humid climate after another, originally spotting them in Kenya two years ago.

Of course, there are literally millions of ex-pats all over the world who have left their home country to live in another country, adopting an entirely new way of life. 

Many juice bars and coffee shops lined the streets often filled with tourists.

Many ex-pats buy homes and condos, rent houses or apartments, buy cars and furnishings  Some even acquire work permits in order to get full or part-time jobs to supplement their income. A certain number of ex-pats go as far as to forfeit their home country citizenship to become citizens of their new country.

It wasn’t too difficult to find a parking spot.

It’s highly unlikely that we’d ever settle down in another country (or anywhere for that matter) than the US. In essence, at this point, we can’t imagine that we’ll ever settle down anywhere until we’re on our last leg. 

This boulevard was a clothing shoppers haven with numerous boutiques and shops.

Even if an injury, surgery, or illness stops us for a period of time, our plan will be to take time to recover in a vacation home near medical care and once back on our feet, pick up where we left off.

Once beyond the shopping and dining areas, the streets were lined with vacation properties.

Maybe “talk is cheap” or we don’t have a clue what we’ll be doing in several years. That could well be true. Four years ago, we’d never have imagined we’d be living in Trinity Beach, Australia, heading to the market and fitness center today and in a month from now heading to Fiji for four months where we’ll live on two separate islands.

Who takes a photo of sand?  I couldn’t resist when the sand at the Four Mile Beach was the finest and softest sand we’d ever seen. It was almost as fine as powder.

In a few months, on Halloween, it will be three years since we left Minnesota on October 31, 2012. In January, it will be three years since we left the US. Our family expected we’d give up after a year or two.  And here we are, now planning well into 2017 and soon into 2018 and beyond

It all boils down to only a few aspects for us:

1.  Are we happy? Yes!
2.  Can we afford to continue? Yes!
3.  Are we healthy enough to continue? Yes!

If and when any of the above changes to a “no” we’d have to make a dramatic change in our lives. As for questions #1 and #2, those two are entirely within our control. Number 3 is the challenge and the unknown. 

Yep, there is a Target “Country” in Port Douglas. Target originated in Minnesota, USA, our former home state.

For us, happiness is a choice we make by spending each and every day being grateful and in awe of our lives, in each other, and in the world around us. Keeping our relationship young, vibrant, and harmonious is a huge element of our happiness especially when we’re together constantly, attempting to never take one another for granted.

Then again, no relationship can ever be taken for granted when we heard this morning that Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog are breaking up after 40 years!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, August 5, 2014:

We took this photo of the Seine River from a bridge as we continued on our daily hikes through Paris. For more photos, please click here.

Finding supplies we’ll need in Fiji…In part, today’s story is for the girls only…A treasure of a find in a church by the sea…

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St. Mary’s by the Sea in Port Douglas is near the pier and is located on the ocean with fabulous views.

As we begin thinking about leaving for Fiji in slightly over a month, I’ve started to evaluate our inventory of toiletries and supplies. Looking online for stores on the remote island of Vanua Levu makes me realize that we’d better have the items we’ll use with us when entering the remote island. 

Most of the shops in Fiji sell typical tourist clothing and trinkets, none of which we’ll need or want. Vanua Levu is not the main island that most tourists visit for holidays/vacations in Fiji. It is the second largest in the chain of Fijian islands and considered to be the most beautiful and unspoiled. More on that once we arrive.

This church was originally built in 1880, destroyed by a cyclone, and rebuilt in 1911.

With our desire for the “most beautiful and unspoiled” we always pay the price of having everything we’ll need with us that we can carry with the exception of food and in that case as well, much will be lacking. 

Will we be able to find organic free-range eggs, grass-fed butter, grass-fed meat, coconut oil, coconut flour, almond flour, ground golden flaxseed, and flavorings we use to make a few low carb muffins and treats? 

The numerous stained glass windows have an ocean theme.

With the high cost of flying with overweight luggage, there’s no sense in attempting to bring the dry goods into the country, especially with certain restrictions on importing foodstuffs. It’s not worth the expense or potential trouble when we enter the country.

As for clothing, with a recent shipment from the US on its way to us as we speak containing one pair of everyday shoes and five tee shirts (for me) and jeans (for Tom), we’ll be tossing the worn items when the new items arrive, essentially avoiding any additional weight over our already additional weight.

What a pretty spot for a small wedding with the view of the sea out the window at the alter.

With a shopping list of toiletries we’ll need on an app on my phone, yesterday we headed to the Smithfield Mall so I could go to the largest pharmacy in the area, not where we’d purchased my few prescriptions but, another pharmacy compared to CVS in the US. Well, not quite.

Many women out there will relate to my list, especially those who like pretty fingernails and toes, who wear some makeup, and have a nighttime cleansing and moisturizing routine. As you can see from my photos over these past years, that’s me. 

Seashell stained glass.

Some women who fuss considerably less than I do, have suggested I get rid of it all; cut my hair, stop wearing and using cosmetics, wear glasses instead of contacts, and go bare bones. That’s not me. From the time I was a little girl, I loved “girlie” things. Why I’d change that now escapes me. 

Would I stop shaving my legs and other parts as well, to avoid the inconvenience of finding the appropriate blades to fit my shaver? This is me, traveling the world, not becoming a different person. I still and always will enjoy the fun of getting dressed and ready for an evening on a cruise or, in fact getting ready for each day.

I’m not one of those women that take hours to get ready even for more dressy occasions. From the time I step into the shower each morning, I’m out the door of the bathroom, dressed and ready to go in less than 30 minutes, all prepped for the day, ready to go out the door if necessary.

Sailboat stained glass.

Once a week, I do my nails with enough products in my possession to last for the next few years. Once a month, I do my own pedicure, removing the old polish and starting again, although, if the polish wears off sooner, I’ll do a quick retouch. These items easily fit into two small zipper sandwich bags only taking a small space in our luggage along with the other toiletries items.

None of this takes me more than 15 minutes all of which I enjoy doing.  I certainly have the time.  Also, it’s good to be able to stretch enough to do one’s own toes as we age. I’m always stretching to ensure I can continue to do my own toes. As seniors, it’s important to stay limber enough to go about normal daily activities which include bending and stretching.

That consists of my litany of “girlie” prep, all of which I thoroughly enjoy as a part of who I am, none of which I intend to change if I have any say in the matter. 

Clamshell stained glass.

Yesterday, Tom waited for me on a bench reading his book while I wandered through the long indoor mall on my way to the Smithfield Pharmacy, optimistic I’d find everything on the list as follows:

  1. Hairbrush – found
  2. Hydrogen peroxide for teeth cleaning – not available (will find elsewhere)
  3. Eye makeup removed pads – not available (found alternative, via a separate bottle of remover and cotton pads)
  4. Polish remover pads – not available (found alternative, via a bottle of remover and cotton pads)
  5. Night face cream – brand not available (found alternative)
  6. Retractable brow pencil – not available (found alternative requiring a pencil sharper which I already have on hand)
  7. Portable, replaceable, sonic toothbrushes – not available (found alternative)
  8. Whitening toothpaste – our favorite brand not available (found alternative)
  9. Emery boards for pedicures – not available (found alternative)
  10. Organic, low chemical, deodorant/antiperspirant – not available (didn’t find an alternative)

Product availability is different in each country we visit. It is imperative that we adapt to those differences by accepting that we can’t always find our favorite and familiar items. 

Historical photos posted in the entryway.

Sure, four of the items on this list are for me, the remainder is toiletries used by both of us. If we couldn’t find them here in modern Australia, we certainly won’t find them in Fiji. Thus, before we leave here, I also need to find the above listed and not found items which should be fairly easy at other stores:

  1. Hydrogen peroxide (most likely available at other pharmacies)
  2. Organic deodorant/antiperspirant (most likely available at health/vitamin shop)

With my heavy bag on hand after spending slightly over AUD $100, USD $73, I headed back out to the mall looking for my next item, some type of nightshirt for me to wear to bed. Recently, my one remaining pair of cotton pajamas has felt too hot at night and after washing frequently has begun to fall apart. Lately, I’ve been wearing one of Tom’s tee shirts instead. 

Tom’s tee shirt is too big for me, resulting in my continually untwisting it during the night. With many warmer climates facing us in the future, a comfy cotton women’s nightshirt would be ideal. Entering a store in the mall that had a women’s lingerie department, in no time at all, I found a small rack of nightshirts.

Another stained glass window looking out to the beach park and pier in Port Douglas.

My dilemma was the size. I didn’t recognize the size numbers, different than in the US and other countries we visited where on occasion I may have purchased a few items. With the help of a friendly salesperson, she found my size in the backroom. I purchased two at their sale price of AUD $18, USD $13.10.  What a bargain! 

After changing into one of the comfy, baggy but not too baggy nightshirt last night after dinner, I was thrilled with the fit and the comfort of the fabric which ultimately attributed to a better night’s sleep with no middle-of-the-night untangling required.

St. Mary’s by the Sea in Port Douglas was originally a Catholic church, is now multi-denominational performing services for a variety of religions.

Content with my purchases, I found Tom as expected awaiting my return while sitting on the bench outside Woolworth’s reading his book. After a quick trip into the market for a few items to last until Thursday’s upcoming shopping trip, we were on our way home.

Today, we’ll be working on financials, updating the spreadsheets with the recent purchases and if the sun stays out, we’ll head down the steep steps to the new comfy chaise lounges by the pool for a 40-minute dose (20 minutes each side) of Vitamin D. 

Later in the day, we’ll be off to the fitness center, which will complete a day not unlike a day in the life of any retired person, anywhere in the world, living life on their own terms, with lipstick and polished toes or not.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, August 4, 2014:

We walked a few miles to the French Army Museum in Paris, Musee de l’Armee de Invalides.  For more photos, please click here.

Living within our means…More new Port Douglas photos…

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A small pier for boaters at the marina in the Port Douglas harbor.

As we near the end of sharing our photos of Port Douglas, we begin to think about where we’ll visit next.  Quickly, time is marching on as we approach our final month in Trinity Beach when our departure date is September 7th (son Greg’s birthday) and arriving in Sydney. We’ll stay overnight in Sydney, departing the next day on September 8th, (daughter Tammy’s birthday) for Fiji.

We spotted this kilometer distance meter at a scenic overlook which illustrates distances to various cities throughout the world.

If we didn’t see another tourist attraction we can leave here happily knowing we experienced quite a bit and knowing we’ll be touring the entire perimeter of the continent of Australia via six upcoming cruises over the next less than two years. 

Buoys in the water off the beach in Port Douglas.

With seemingly endless ports of call on those six cruises, we’d like to leave a few of the highlights for the cruises, especially when we usually meet people with whom we’ll most likely enjoy touring the various points of interest.

Another Banyan Tree along the beach.

Another factor we must consider at this time is the fact that we’ve had to lay out enormous sums for upcoming vacation homes, cruises, and medical care resulting in the necessity of “tightening our belts.” We’re like the rest of the middle-class world, we must monitor our spending to ensure we don’t get in a tight spot.

A view of the Four Mile Beach from a steep road we drove above the town.

Since we live entirely off of our monthly income, laying out thousands of dollars in any given month makes us very mindful the next month or so. We use credit cards for all of our payments and expenses, attempting to pay them off entirely each month. 

At first glance, we assumed the red color in this tree was flowers when in fact it was the leaves changing colors.

In the past few days, we paid off all of the credit card balances except one. Next month we’ll pay off that balance. We feel more secure when we have no balances on credit cards which occurs a few days after the first of each month with a few exceptions. Then we start charging again for all of our living expenses and future travels, racking up big balances again.

View from an overlook.

Most people don’t pay a portion of their rent or mortgage payment as much as two years in advance as we do. Often vacation rental deposits are as much as 50% of the full 90 day rental with the balance paid in full before arrival. 

Most recently, we’ve had to pay in full in advance for the river cruise on the Viking Mekong at a rate of US $6598, AUD $9440 which doesn’t sail until July 8, 2016, and huge sums for future bookings. Last month, we also paid out over US $2800, AUD $3694 for a variety of upcoming airline tickets.

Low tide changing the entire scene at the beach.

We chose to pay in full for this particular cruise since it offered a 2 for 1 sale if paid in advance which was irresistible. Neither of us could imagine laying out twice that amount for a cruise when soon we’ll start saving for the pricey future adventures we’re planning to book down the road after we leave the South Pacific.

Most piers are packed with tourists and locals enjoying the views.  We were surprised that no one was walking along with us.

When we start investigating some of the tourist attractions in this area, including train rides, gondola rides, and boat tours, we see how easily we could eat up another $1000 on only a few attractions.

The pier in Port Douglas has a stairway for boaters or an area for fishing.  We were the only visitors on the pier.

It’s the nature of the beast. We recently saw a lovely story on TV about a younger Australian couple that had been traveling for a few years, occasionally stopping to work to make money in order to continue on. Also, at times, they stayed in campsites sleeping in tents, stayed in hostels, sharing a bath, or staying for free in other people’s homes. They’re young and this works for them.

Low tide created an eerie view.

We don’t want to take odd jobs along the way, sleep in tents, or share a bath in a hostel although, we commend those who do. It’s just not for us. Instead, we prefer living comfortably, living life on our terms. Choosing to do so has a price tag attached to it which we’ve chosen to bear. 

This private catamaran was anchored in the sand at low tide.

That price tag includes us making some sacrifices and often this comes in the way of the “entertainment” category in our spreadsheet which we always include in the budget, which often is used for unexpected expenses.

In Australia, we’ve used that designated entertainment budget for all of our medical exams, dental appointments, and the prescriptions we purchased to last for an additional six months. It quickly added up.

A boat anchored in the bay.

Thus, for the remainder of our 35 days in Trinity Beach, we’re reliant upon continuing to find sites to see that don’t include fees and expenses. This isn’t too hard to do in this beautiful area as we continue our search.

We realized when we began this journey that our priority to see as much of the world as we can, for as long as our health holds out, had sacrifices associated with it, not only in what we left behind but in the quality of life we live each day. Doing so requires that we live within our means. For us, doing so is a small sacrifice in the realm of things.

So, we won’t go on a train ride or take a sunset cruise on a charter boat.  We don’t mind at all.  Each day of our lives is a treasure whether it’s last night’s moonlight, today’s Kookaburra sitting on the fence, or the simple beauty of a flower blooming. Or, for Tom, it’s beating me at Gin two games in a row!

Who’s complaining? Not us!

                                             Photo from one year ago today, August 3, 2014:

A smaller Statue of Liberty stands proud in Paris. We couldn’t believe that we were seeing the familiar sites we’d only seen in print. For more details and Paris photos, please click here.

First earthquake in Queensland in almost 100 years…5.7 magnitude…Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas photos…One year ago Paris photos…

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Most of the beaches in Queensland are sandy.

Queensland is a large state. A 5.7 earthquake rattled the eastern coast of Australia near Frazer island, only after another quake of 5.3 magnitude hit the same area a few days earlier.

There’s no doubt that walking and biking enthusiasts would want to tackle the entire distance of the Four Mile Beach, the beginning shown here.  No thanks.

Geoscience Australia stated the earthquake stuck 119km northeast of Rainbow Beach at a depth of 10km at around 1:38 pm (AEST). This was apparently the strongest earthquake to hit Queensland since 1918 and is reported to be 10 to 20 times stronger than Thursday quake.

The sand at the beach is as fine and soft as silk.

We’re not very close to this area. It’s a three-hour flight from Cairns to the island which includes a ferry ride, too far for us to feel the quake. But, the news is abuzz with constant reporting on this unusual event.

As we entered Four Mile Beach.

We can’t help but pay attention to these natural events as we travel the world. Recently, we’ve paid special attention to the eruption of Mount Raung in Bali, which closed the airports off and on for weeks as it continued to erupt. This could easily affect us in our two future trips to Bali.

The views at the Four Mile Beach are breathtaking, as are most beaches we’ve seen throughout the world.

How ironic is it, that we’ll have been living on two islands with erupting volcanoes, far apart from one another 16 months apart?  Visiting Mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii was an extraordinary experience, especially when our family was with us witnessing this once in a lifetime experience together. Well, maybe seeing lava won’t be a once in a lifetime experience for us after all with Bail in near future plans.

Now that we’re not worried at all as compared to how worried we were a year ago when the lava could have overtaken the area in which we booked the two houses for our family visit last Christmas in Pahoa on the Big Island. That was quite a worrisome event. 

We took this photo the night we visited Mount Kilauea, which we visited with family in late December 2014. For more of our volcano photos, please click here.

Where would we have put 14 of us last minute in Hawaii over Christmas? Thank goodness it all worked out when the lava took a turn the last several weeks and our location was off the high-risk list.

This morning the news is reporting about last year’s horrific crash of MH370 Malaysia Airlines and finding a part of the plane on Reunion Island. Neither of us had heard of Reunion Island until we lived in South Africa. 

Tom lounging on the veranda at African Reunion House, where we lived for several weeks while in South Africa, thanks to our hosts, Louise and Dani.  For more details on this house, please click here.

At that time, we stayed in the above fabulous house managed by Louise and Dani, Reunion House, aptly named after the owner’s home base on Reunion Island. We pray that the balance of the wreckage is found to bring a little peace to those who lost loved ones in the awful crash.

On the return drive, we stopped to take photos of the end of the Four Mile Beach.

Oh, the world is filled with disasters and bad news. Sometimes I wish we’d stop watching the news which even in Australia keeps up updated on what’s going on in the US and all over the world. At the moment, on the Sunday morning news, we continue to hear about the tragic killing of Cecil, the lion which continues to dominate the news. 

It is a small world. The more we travel, the more connection we feel to many parts of the world when only three years ago we were preparing to explore as we prepared to venture into the unknown.

In no time at all, as we drove back from Port Douglas we were able to see Double Island once again.

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to walk the garbage and recycling down the very steep road to the bin rather than wait until we’d go out again, which is many times per week. Once we arrived at the road and placed the trash in the appropriate bins, we decided to take a walk on the road.

A few ambitious fishermen.

Looking to the left, we saw a huge steep hill, and then, looking to the right, we spotted another huge steep hill.  We opted for the right. Forty-five minutes later after walking up and down the hills in the hot sun, we were ready to tackle the huge hill back up to the house.

Although we walk a lot, mostly out and about at various points of interest, we don’t walk with athleticism in mind. (Tom doesn’t like going for walks although occasionally, he’ll humor me as in yesterday’s vigorous walk). By the time we reached our challenging driveway, we were ready to tackle it, and up and up we went. Surprisingly, we weren’t puffing as much as in the past. 

We stopped to take photos from a high point on the return drive from Port Douglas.

Perhaps, our walks and my working out again has contributed to our improved stamina. Perhaps, peace of mind over our good health reports has enhanced Tom’s enthusiasm to walk a little more often. We shall see how that rolls out.

Tom with the Four Mile Beach behind him. Gee, look how slim he is after eating homemade meals this past almost two months.
Me with the Four Mile Beach in the background.

Today, we’re staying put, making a Sunday dinner of bacon-wrapped hard-boiled egg stuffed meatloaf, a crust free mushroom quiche, green beans, and salad on the side. As soon as I’ve uploaded today’s post I’ll be making my way to the kitchen to begin preparing the food.

Have a great Saturday and Sunday, wherever you may be.

                                               Photo from one year ago today, August 2, 2014:
We arrived in Paris on August 1st and posted a few posts with the same date. Here is the first video we took in Paris at 10 pm the night we arrived. What a sight! What an experience! It was hard to believe we were in Paris. Click here for more Paris photos. 
My pockets were jammed with my stuff when carrying a wallet, phone, or camera in Paris is subject to pickpockets. We were at the City of Architecture in Paris as we walked for hours on August 2nd. Click here for more photos.


Tom on the steps of the City of Architecture and Heritage as we continued on our 5 miles, 8km walk that day.