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| Our new friends, Christina and Harold, enjoyed dinner in their Penthouse Suite, which is the size of a typical one-bedroom condo. |
Cruising is so far removed from most people’s reality that many are disappointed to return to everyday life by the time it ends. However, for us, as constant world travelers, it becomes a part of our daily lives.
We do all the same things when staying in a location; posting each day, searching for photo ops, relaxing, walking, and dining on great food. The bonus for us is fewer ports of call, many of which are too “touristy” for us, and more about the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world.
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| We have a US $375, AU $494 cabin credit that we’ve had to “use it or lose it” resulting in a bit of shopping. |
Many we’ve met are not a lot different than us, except they have a home to which they return now and then to regroup, repack and recharge for the next adventure. So, for example, last night, we met a lovely couple who are on the move for most of the year, often for six consecutive months in their caravan/motor home.
This common theme among many passengers creates considerable chatter and enthusiasm for where we’ve all visited in the past and anticipate for the future. Many are well into their 80’s which we hope will work for us as well. One never knows.
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| We never gamble although we could use the cabin credit. However, once one starts, it’s hard to stop. |
Yesterday and this morning, we spent more time with new friends Christina and Harold as shown in the above photo sharing travel stories and discussing possibilities of meeting on a cruise or on land sometime in the next year or so.
Yesterday, we disembarked the ship taking a shuttle to the small town of Nuoma on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Walking up and down the city’s streets for a few hours we took many photos we’ll share tomorrow.
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| I purchased a few casual items on sale as did Tom. |
Today, we’re docked in the island of Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. However, we may decide to stay onboard based on several reviews we read on Trip Advisor such as the following:
“Great if you like snorkelling”
If you are a swimmer or snorkeler this island would be fantastic. However, if not, then there is little or nothing at all to do at this location. We had to tender to the island from the ship, then walked in each direction for 1/2 hour or so only to be drenched in sweat. There were no open toilets available.”
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| Jewelry is a popular purchase among passenger. As a result, there’s now a Tiffany store (not shown here). |
Some has asked why we don’t snorkel and for us the answer is simple; we’re worried about my lousy spine if somehow I was startled or jerked in a certain way. Besides, Tom has no interest in snorkeling.
I was seriously injured in the pool in Bali last June taking five months to recover. We don’t want to have to end our journey due to an injury that could quickly have transpired over this past year along with the recent gastrointestinal illness from which I’m now recovering a little more each day.
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| This was my first cup of coffee in month; a sugar free vanilla decaf latte with lactose free whole cream. Amazing! |
How can we travel the world and not swim in the ocean, snorkel, scuba dive, zip line, climb mountains, bungee jump or jump out of airplanes? We can. We do. And yet, we’re supremely content meeting people, learning a wide array of cultures, seeing some of the gorgeous scenery on earth, and immersing ourselves in wildlife, vegetation, and nature.
Then, of course, there’s the infinite joy of sharing the most infinitesimal details of our day to day lives. Wow! That in itself is a huge privilege. Thank you to all of our readers for sharing this life with us!
Photo from one year ago today, March 5, 2016:
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| Trish and Neil had acquired these two pink cockatoos, a mating pair, from a elderly couple who’s health is failing. This pair was living in a chain-link cage on the grounds of the alpaca farms with lots of space and plenty of food. To get this photo, I placed the camera,between and touching the closely woven chain-link cage. For mo0re images, please click here. |