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| A view of Honolulu from the ship. |
During the remainder of the cruise, which ends on May 15th, we’ll be posting the balance of our photos from this 24-night cruise. How quickly the time has flown as we near the end of this glorious sailing in returning to North America from the South Pacific.
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| Kona-Kailua, Hawaii swimming area. |
After almost two years in the South Pacific (we arrived on June 11, 2015), we’re sad to say goodbye but feel confident we had a thorough sample of what this part of the world has to offer.
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| When we walked along the shore in Kona after we visited the town. |
When we look in detail at our travel map on the right side of the page under the photo of us in Petra, Jordan, you’ll see the words “Map our Travels.” Below that, click on “Travel Map” on the line reading, “View Full-Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint.”
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| Passengers o the beach in Vanuatu. |
Upon opening the link, a full-size map will show everywhere we’ve traveled since the onset of our travels beginning in 2012. We’re amazed when we review this map, which Tom keeps up-to-date as we move from location to location.
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| View of Kona-Kailua from the ship. |
In reviewing the map, it’s evident we still have many worlds left to explore, including China, India, South America (soon), and Antarctica (in eight months). In a week from today, we’ll begin the cruise to Alaska, which we’ll be adding to the map upon the completion of our foray into this exciting part of the world.
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| View of our ship, Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, from Lahaina, Maui. |
There’s no doubt the timing was right to head out of the South Pacific to journey to these many other parts of the world. The continent of Australia is so huge one could conceivably spend a lifetime exploring its outback, cities, and rural areas in between.
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| The mountain view from Lahaina on a cloudy day. |
Many islands piqued our interest in the South Pacific, but we were ready to move on after lengthy stays on several islands. Although, tropical island living will always remain of great interest for its pleasing lifestyle in our way of living in the world.
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| Ships in the harbor in Honolulu. |
At this point, we don’t anticipate returning to the South Pacific, but one never knows. Tom’s favorite place to date, Penguin, Australia, may someday result in our return for an extended visit. I loved it as well, but areas rich and abundant in wildlife will always remain at the top of my “favorites” list.
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| Inside the courtyard at a shopping center in Lahaina. |
In a mere nine months, my passion will once again be fulfilled. From there, we’ll seek to book the areas as mentioned above/countries we’ve yet to explore. No, it’s not a marathon to see the world.
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| The shopping area in Kona during a port of call stop a few days ago. |
Instead, it’s a leisurely walk, predicted by good health and well-being. To this point, there’s never been a lack of interest or lack of desire to continue on regardless of stumbles along the way. Life is good, actually great, and the passion continues. Continue along with us!
Photo from one year ago today, May 10, 2016:
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| This photo was taken from the second-floor veranda of high tide in Bali. For more details, please click here. |