Day 3…Celebrity Xploration…Our first night of seasickness ever, after 34 cruises…

A partial photo of a Galapagos Giant Tortoise.At about 7:50 last night, our boat took off for today’s tour of Isabela Island, the largest island in The Galapagos archipelago. The crew mentioned there would be rough seas, and our fantastic hotel manager, Agustin, passed around seasick pills at dinner, which we declined, never thinking we’d need them.

A sea lion on the beach.

Before our departure, Agustin and several other staff members mentioned the importance of us staying on the main deck, which we’re on, until heading to bed. This didn’t worry us since we’ve never been sick on our 34 past cruises since we began our journey 11 years ago.

The rough terrain the group tackled.

Well, last night, we were in for a big surprise. We didn’t start feeling it until we went to bed, and boom! It hit us both like a ton of bricks! Oh, my gosh, we were seasick for the first time in our lives! Even Tom, who’s tough and resilient, ended up puking his guts out. I held my mouth shut tight and managed to make it through without doing the same. At 1:30 am, when we’d reached our destination and the anchor was lowered, we could both get some sleep.

An iguana in the shadows.

Tom felt much better after his “event,” but I struggled until we finally anchored, and when I awoke this morning, I was still queasy; I had a hard time getting showered and dressed in the still-rocking catamaran. I couldn’t join Tom and our shipmates for breakfast, but now, close to lunchtime, I am ready to eat something and hope eating helps settle my stomach.

Tom maneuvered around for a better shot.

I felt much better after a wonderful lunch of fresh-caught grouper right from the Galapagos waters, roasted chicken, spinach, and salads. After lunch, we took a short nap before Tom headed out again for another tour with the group at 3:00 pm, returning to the ship by 6:00 pm. One of the outstanding naturalists, Orlando, added me to his WhatsApp account and is sending me photos and videos from snorkeling and land sightings. Soon, I will share some of those photos. Otherwise, today’s photos were all taken by Tom. He is doing such a great job!

Gosh, I’m thrilled with Tom’s photo-taking skills using his phone. This is a Great Blue Heron spotted at Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz Island.

We could post photos for weeks, but I’m sure most of our readers don’t mind when it’s been a photo drought from us for many months, except for those in August on the Norway and Greenland cruises. We are so excited going forward to be able to share photos of our upcoming extra months spent in Ecuador, a land of many wonders.

The unique scenery.

In doing online research, I encountered the following from this website about interesting facts about The Galapagos Islands. In future posts, we will share more. See below:

“Fascinating Facts about the Galápagos Islands

The remote archipelago has captivated visitors since Charles Darwin stepped ashore in 1835, but how much do you know about the Galápagos?

Six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador lies the Galápagos Archipelago: a world unto itself, forged of lava and isolated for thousands of years. The islands are known for their famously fearless wildlife and as a source of inspiration for Darwin’s theory of evolution. And that’s just part of the story.

More interesting scenery.

Born of fire: The Galápagos Archipelago is one of the most volcanically active areas in the world. Situated atop a hotspot in the western Pacific, the islands were created over millennia of volcanic activity, as magma repeatedly broke through the sea floor and formed layer upon layer of rock, eventually becoming islands. Today, there are 13 active volcanoes in the archipelago, with intermittent eruptions occurring as recently as 2018.

More stunning scenery.

Discovery by accident: The first-recorded visitor to the Galápagos was Tomás de Berlanga, a Spanish noble and the bishop of Panama, whose ship was blown off course in 1535 while sailing from Panama to Peru. Berlanga was less than impressed with the stark, desert-like archipelago, describing it in a letter to the king of Spain as “dross, worthless, because it has not the power of raising a little grass, but only some thistles.”

This iguana greeted us at the pier when we first arrived in The Galapagos Islands a few days ago.

Human habitation: Though Spanish sailors, buccaneers, and whalers soon followed in Berlanga’s wake, the islands’ inhospitable terrain discouraged permanent habitation. The Galápagos was annexed by Ecuador from Spain in 1832, which led to a trickle of settlements and penal colonies. It wasn’t until the 1960s that an increasing number of Ecuadorians began migrating to the islands, drawn by opportunities in fishing and tourism. Today, more than 25,000 people live among the four inhabited islands of Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela, and Floreana.

A yellow iguana is hidden in the bushes.

Evolution revolution: Although Charles Darwin only spent five weeks in the Galápagos in 1835, his time in the archipelago left a lasting impression. Here, the English naturalist famously observed that the islands’ finches (later named in his honor) had beaks that varied from island to island, depending on local conditions and food sources. Darwin would later draw on this research as evidence for his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he presented in On the Origin of the Species.

Each of the many islands in The Galapagos has a unique cactus endemic to its location.

Ecuador’s first national park: An astonishing 97 percent of the Galápagos landmass is designated a national park. Established in 1959, Galápagos National Park protects more than 3,000 square miles of islands and islets, while the Galápagos Marine Reserve protects an additional 50,000 square miles of ocean around the islands.

Or boat, Celebrity Xploration, a small, 16-passenger, 12-crew catamaran.

Nat Geo connection: In 2015, National Geographic’s Pristine Seas team carried out an expedition to the Galápagos to survey its extraordinary marine environments and make a case for greater protection of its waters. Inspired in part by the team’s findings, the government of Ecuador announced in 2016 the creation of a vast new marine sanctuary around Darwin and Wolf—two of the archipelago’s northernmost islands.

A tucked away yellow iguana.

Gentle giants: The islands’ giant tortoises—after which the archipelago is named—can survive up to one year without food or water. Tragically, this unique adaptation led to their demise over the centuries, as thousands of tortoises were captured and stored onboard ships to provide fresh meat for sailors. More than 100,000 tortoises are estimated to have been lost, leading to the extinction of several species and pushing others to the brink.

Currently, there are four species of iguanas in the archipelago: the Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), found on Isabela, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, and Fernandina Islands as well as other islets around them; the Pale Land Iguana (Conolophus pallidus), restricted to Santa Fe Island; the Yellow Land Iguana.

Conservation in action: For decades, researchers have been working to stabilize local tortoise populations at the captive breeding program in Santa Cruz, run by the Galápagos National Park Service and supported by the Lindblad Expeditions–National Geographic Fund. Visitors can observe these iconic creatures up close and explore a facility where tortoise hatchlings are reared before being repatriated to the islands.

Brilliant boobies: The three species of boobies inhabiting the Galápagos can be distinguished by color. Red-footed boobies are the smallest of the trio; blue-footed boobies flaunt their strikingly-hued feet to attract mates; and the Nazca booby, the largest of the three, can be identified by its brilliant white plumage and black-tipped feathers.

One flamingo species is resident in the Galapagos Islands, the Greater Flamingo. Flamingos are large, unmistakable birds with extremely long legs, necks, and unique kinked bills. In adults, the plumage is pink.

Penguins of the tropics: Waddling about the islands—primarily on Isla Fernandina and Isla Isabela—is the only species of penguin found north of the Equator. Though penguins are more commonly associated with the Southern Hemisphere’s chilly realms, the Galápagos penguin thrives in its tropical Ecuadorian habitat thanks to the calm, nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current, which flows north from Antarctica.

Stars in your eyes: Unobscured by light pollution, the night skies over the Galápagos are some of the most dazzling on the planet. With its unique position straddling the Equator, the archipelago offers a rare opportunity to view the constellations of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres simultaneously.

This is an abandoned flamingo egg, most likely unable to hatch. These small rocks were set here by a naturalist to protect the egg.

Swimming lizards: While they may not be the prettiest of the archipelago’s species (Charles Darwin famously described them as “hideous-looking”), they are among the most intriguing. Marine iguanas—found exclusively in the Galápagos—are the world’s only seagoing lizards. Their laterally flattened tails propel them through the water, while their long, sharp claws help them cling to rocks. Contrary to their fierce, spiky-headed appearance, marine iguanas are herbivores, feeding primarily on algae and seaweed.

Snail mail: Floreana Island’s Post Office Bay dates back to the 18th century when homesick whalers improvised a method of communicating with their families—via a simple wooden barrel. Inside the barrel, they left letters for other seamen on homeward-bound ships to deliver by hand. The tradition continues to this day, with thousands of letters passing through the hands of visitors to Post Office Bay.”

Ah, a perfect nap in the sun.

That’s the news for today, dear readers. Thank you for writing to us and providing love and support over our changes to accommodate my walking issues. You all mean the world to us both.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, October 16, 2013:

In the Maasai Mara we visited a Maasai Village. This is Chief Richard, who showed us around. It was fascinating, and we appreciated his extra time with us. For more photos, please click here.

Did you see our new booking in yesterday’s post?…Few more new cruise photos…

It was interesting to see the glaciers in Greenland.

If you didn’t have a chance to view our upcoming booking beginning on October 24, 2023, through January 8, 2024, please click the link here: https://www.vrbo.com/3502330?adultsCount=2&unitId=4075476

We’re excited about this booking. Once we arrive, we’ll take photos and share the cost and the details of what we’re anticipating is a lovely oceanfront property. We aren’t sure yet about where we’re going after our time in Ecuador and may not decide until we arrive in the country.

Bartenders on the ships worked hard to keep up with the passenger’s drink requests.

At this point, we are basing our plans on how I am feeling. I had only one short episode of Afib in the past two weeks, hoping to figure out what causes it. So far, it appears to be caused by a lack of sleep and stressful situations. The Afib started the day I got Covid-19 in April 2022. From what I am reading, it can be a symptom of long-haul Covid.

Drugs used to prevent Afib, which I’ve tried, cause extreme tiredness and other awful side effects. With our lifestyle and our striving for joy and fulfillment in our world travels, there is no way I’m willing to feel sedated day and night. Quality of life is a choice I had to make about taking drugs and feeling disabled from side effects to which I am susceptible.

Fortunately, the long-haul COVID-19 headache and facial pain have been nonexistent since we arrived in Minnesota. No words can express how thankful I am for this. If I can eliminate the Afib, I will feel confident about traveling to more remote locations. This, by no means, is going to prevent us from continuing with our travels. I refuse to let this slow me down.

On both cruises, there was live entertainment, day and night.

Also, I have peace of mind when we’re in South Africa with Doc Theo to look after me and the excellent heart health care available there. We’ll be back in South Africa in nine months, which we’re looking forward to for this and many other reasons our regular readers know.

Of course, doctors feel they must prescribe drugs, but I am more committed to figuring out more natural means of caring for my health. These kinds of choices may not be appropriate for everyone. Please check with your medical professionals for your own situation and subsequent care.

Thank goodness, Tom is so healthy, and yet he is still coughing from his recent bout of the flu, contracted on the second cruise. Whenever he gets a cough, it seems to linger for a while.

In Greenland, an unusual iceberg was floating by the ship.

As we age, we realize, more than ever, how important good health is to make the best of our retirement years. I recall my mother, a heart and diabetes patient, spending most of her later years going to doctors and constantly taking new drugs and new treatments. The highlight of her week was her upcoming doctor’s appointment. I never could see this fate in my later years.

Today, we’re out and about on a few errands. For dinner tonight, I am having a “girls only” dinner with my granddaughter Maisie before she goes off to school in Wisconsin. Most likely, I won’t see her again while we’re here. We’re busy trying to book get-togethers with family members and friends, trying to coordinate it working out for everyone’s schedule.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 13, 2013:

Hesborn, at the holiday home in Diani Beach, Kenya, offered to open a coconut that had just fallen from a tree. They seem to fall throughout the day. We have to be careful when we walk under the coconut trees; they cover the entire yard, leaving only a few safe spots for sunning without the risk of being clobbered on the head. For more photos, please click here.

Part 6…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Trondheim, Norway…

View of Trondheim from the ship. Lovely scenery. The city has a population of over 182,000.

Note; Under the weather that day, we didn’t get off the ship, and thus, there are few photos, none of which are ours.

Not our photo. Pretty street on a quiet morning.
Not our photo. The waterway in Trondheim is lined with colorful buildings.

Here’s the post we wrote on the day we arrived in Trondheim, Norway:

Day 14…Norway Cruise…Trondheim, Norway..Final port of call…Another great evening of conversation and entertainment…

Part 5…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Tromso, Norway…

Yes, reindeer are real animals found in Norway.
Statue in Tromso.
It was a Sunday, and the streets were quiet.
This little train-like vehicle is a tourist attraction…
This was a government building.
A pretty church at the end of the road, Tromso Cathedral.
A view of the street from the top of the hill.
A pharmacy in the town of Tromso with a population of 72,000.
The Tromso Bridge.

Here’s the post we wrote on the day we arrived in Tromso, Norway:

Day 9…Norway Cruise…Tromso, Norway…Why is Norway called, “The Land of the Midnight Sun?”…The Troll Fjords…

Part 5…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Svolvear, Norway…

The scenery couldn’t have been more beautiful.

Here’s the post we wrote on the day we arrived in Svolvaer, Norway: https://worldwidewaftage.com/day-8-norway-cruise-svolaer-norway/

Another fishing village in Norway.
We couldn’t believe how close we came to the sides of the narrow waterways.
It was delightful to see many waterfalls along the way.
Me in the evening before heading to dinner. With so few clothes, I keep wearing the same things repeatedly.
Bless his heart! Tom held my little bag and glass of wine while I took his photo.

Here’s the link for the post we wrote on the day we spent in Svolvaer, Norway.

Day 8…Norway Cruise…Svolaer, Norway…

Part 4…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Stavanger, Norway…

Down a quiet street in Stavanger…
A histoirc museum in Stavanger.
The port of Stavanger.
Boardwalk in Stavanger.
The historic Stavanger Church.
Reindeer pelts and boots for sale on the street.
The outdoor marketplace.
A live goose checking out the wares for sale in the shops.
The local Burger King.
The colorful buildings lined up along the boardwalk.
A tower in Stavanger.
Our ship, Azamara Journey, was docked at the end of the road.

Here’s the link for the post we wrote on the day we spent in Stavanger.

Day 3…Norway Cruise…Stavanger, Norway…

Part 3…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Olden, Norway…

As you can see, there isn’t much of a population in Ollden, Norway, with only 479 residents.

Following are the photos of our visit to Olden, Norway. Captions are added when possible.

To visit Olden, Norway, we had to go on a tender (lifeboat) since the port didn’t have suitable docking space for large ships. We took this photo of our ship and the tender once we arrived on land.
There wasn’t a lot to see in Olden, a sleepy fishing village.
Boat houses along the water in Olden.
Our ship, the Azamara Journey, while waiting in the bay for passengers to see the village.

Here’s the post we published after visiting Olden, Norway, without photos due to the poor WiFi signal on the ship.

Day 5…Norway Cruise…Olden, Norway…Cruise demographics…Dancing while “rocking and rolling”…

Part 2…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Haugesund, Norway…

A British-looking old-fashioned phone booth filled with books.

Here is the text from our day in Haugesund, Norway.

Stuffed animals in a shop window.
The interior of the church.
The beautiful pipe organ in the church.
More views of the interior of the church.
Colorful house along the boulevard.
A ram statue on the street.
Various pubs and restaurants lined the boulevard.
It’s an adorable shop with frilly Norwegian clothing.
There was our ship, soon to be back out to sea once again.

Part 1…Unpublished photos from the Azamara cruise to Alesund, Norway…

A blurry photo of a statue with a seagull on its head.

For expediency and ease, we’ve decided to post some of the photos from our Norway cruise each day rather than go back and add them, one by one, to each post. At the end of each day’s regular post, we’ll include the link to the newest posting of the photos, or you will find them, one by one, after each new day’s post of our experiences in Nevada during this nine-day stay. Captions will be added when possible.

Here is the post with the text from our day in Alesund:

Waterway in the town…
When we spotted this St. Bernard, we knew it was a segue to a conversation with a local.
St. Barnar,d we met as we chatted with a local.
Historic building.
Many towns we visited in Norway were known as fishing villages.
With low tide, more of these old steps were revealed.
Another historic building.
Colorful buildings along waterways are always a delight to see in Norway.
The old and the new in this modernized town.
Not unlike many cities throughout the world, graffiti is popular.

More will follow tomorrow.

Cruises have ended….We’re in Boston to see my cousin tonight…

Moonlight on our last night on the Greenland cruise. Thanks, Tom, for the good photo!

At the moment, we are sitting on the sofa in our Embassy Suites Logan Airport hotel. I just made a cup of decaf coffee to enjoy while listening to the Garage Logic podcast on Tom’s laptop with TV news in the background, showing the ravages of  Hurricane Idalia. We’re sad for the people of Florida but glad we got out of there when we did over one month ago, on July 28.

So much has transpired since we left Florida, having had the opportunity to visit Norway and Greenland, two locations we never imagined we’d see when our journey began almost 11 years ago. It is 11:30 am, and we managed to get into our room early due to our Hilton Honors membership and Expedia VIP status.

We each received a certificate like this at the end of the Greenland cruise.

Thank goodness we didn’t have to wait to get the room until the official check-in time of 2:00 pm and had no choice but to wait in the lobby. This is much easier. We’re a little raggedy after a tiring morning disembarking the ship. Our luggage numbers were 22, meaning we couldn’t exit until around 9:30.

We had our last meal on the ship, breakfast at 7:30, grabbed our carry-on luggage from our cabin, and headed to the Sky Lounge on Deck 11 to wait until our number was called. At that point, we had no idea what time we’d be outside to grab a taxi or Uber to Alamo Car Rental at the Logan Airport to pick up the car we rented in order to make our way to Cousin Phyllis today for our 5:00 pm dinner reservation in Stoughton, a 55-minute drive from here.

As we were sailing away from Halifax, Nova Scotia., we spotted this Holland America ship.

Thus, we’ll leave here in about four hours to begin the long trek in rush-hour traffic to meet Phyllis at the restaurant in time for our much-anticipated get-together after almost nine years since we last saw her at the end of another cruise to Boston. It will be wonderful to see her again.

Once outside the cruise terminal, we had a little trouble getting an Uber, but finally, one appeared, and we were on our way to Alamo. I waited with the bags in the rental car parking garage until Tom returned with the papers, and we were assigned a car. Within about 45 minutes, we were on our way to the nearby hotel. Again, check-in went smoothly when I pressed for a room now rather than at 2:00 pm check-in.

Immigrant statue at the port in Halifax.

After getting settled, I decided it was time to prepare a post when we could not do so yesterday. I had blamed it on the ship’s WiFi, but this morning, I got an email from our hosting company, Hostinger, taking full responsibility for the problem. Now that we’re back up and running, we should be able to post going forward until we leave the US in October, about six weeks from now.

Feeling exhausted after the last few days, I don’t feel motivated to write a newsy, informative post about where we sailed in the past few days since our previous post. Mainly, we sailed in the North Sea toward the US with little incidents other than massive fog and the necessity of the captain sounding the fog horn a few times each hour.

A dessert at the last dinner aboard the ship.

The seas were otherwise smooth and uneventful, which made the final few days pleasant. We had lots of fun with countless passengers we met.

I stopped doing the post when I desperately needed a nap. After laying on the bed under the covers, I fell asleep for about 20 minutes and felt refreshed. In less than two hours, we’ll drive to Stoughton. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be at the airport at 5:00 am for our Delta flight to Las Vegas, pick up the rental car, and head to our hotel in Henderson.

Tom’s pork loin dinner last night on Celebrity Summit to Greenland. The food was ok but not great.

From there, we’ll prepare our next post. and in a few days, start adding the photos we couldn’t add while on the first ship to Norway.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, August 30, 2013:

Everything I own, except six pairs of shoes in a smaller bag, is to be sucked into the Space bags. For more photos. please click here.