Checking for best prices for future bookings…Do we use a travel agent?…What’s the deal with Australian egg yolks?…

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While on the ship, several Australian mentioned the light color of the ship’s egg yolks. Back on land, Aussie eggs come from free-range chickens and when not fed grains the yolks are dark and dense. Lovely.

After the fun cruise from which we just departed, we look forward to future cruises around Australia with a new found enthusiasm. Tom, the cruise person in the family, makes an effort to frequently check for new postings and price changes.

Nitrate free bacon purchased at Woolie’s in the deli section. This is some of the finest bacon we’dd had in a long time. This morning we made bacon and scrambled eggs with cheese. None of the cheeses here are dyed with orange or yellow dyes. Thus, cheddar cheese is all white, and shredded cheeses for Mexican food is also white. We like that.

The cruises we’ve already booked of which there are four at this time may have price reductions that we can take advantage of between the time of booking and up to 90 days before sailing when the final payment is due.

Variety of meats offered at a meat market in the mall.

If there’s a price drop, all we have to do is notify our booking rep at Vacationstogo.com that there’s been a price drop and we’ll be given the benefit of the reduced prices. Our entire cruise documents package is reissued at the new price.

The tricky part of this is that it’s our responsibility to check for price changes. No cruise agency is going to check for price reductions every day for thousands of upcoming cruises. As the consumer, that’s our task.

The lamb chops were considerably more at the meat market than at the Woolworth’s store, AUD $38.99, USD $30.22 vs. AUD $23.99, USD $18.59 per kilo (2.2 pounds). Yesterday, we purchased an ample dinner-sized portion for me with six chops for AUD $7.19, USD $5.57. To be able to enjoy lamb for this price per meal will keep me coming back for more. Tom doesn’t care for lamb.

Most travelers have one cruise booked at any given time, making this checking fairly quick and easy. This can be done daily. Price changes can be posted and an hour later they’re back up again. It’s important to notify the booking agent quickly, making a copy of the price change and sending it by email.

After Tom caught a reduction last night, this morning our new confirmation came through saving us over US $500, AUD $645.29. This was certainly worth taking a few minutes to check once a day. If the price returns to a higher rate, we’re locked in at the lowest price on the most recent cruise documents.

A well-stocked Asian grocery store in the mall.

For those who cruise, this is definitely worth the undertaking. Since we began cruising we’ve literally saved several thousand dollars taking advantage of these changes. 

Of course, we’ve been on 11 cruises in the past 32 months, more than most cruisers for this period. But, even if one cruise once in three years, it’s certainly worth checking prices for reductions after paying the initial deposit. Also, it’s important to have a price guaranty in writing from your chosen cruise travel agent.

Bakery in the mall near “Woolie’s” the name Australians use for their popular Woolworth’s grocery store. We won’t be buying anything from this case but it’s fun to look at.

Using a travel agent for cruising is the only travel agent/agency that we use. Many have suggested names of friends or agents they recommend we use in an attempt to make our travels easier. 

We appreciate the thoughtful suggestions but based on the nature of our travels and having complete control over every step of the way, we wouldn’t be able to use an agent, picking out vacation homes, flights, and venues for us. 

This is the indoor Farmer’s Market where we were able to buy fresh daily organic vegetables at very reasonable prices. Woolie’s is in the background, making it easy to stop for produce after buying protein and essentials.

We look at 100’s of possible vacation homes in each possible future location, a task no agent would have time or inclination to consider tackling. Also, we like the freedom of negotiating the best possible prices, terms and conditions, and of course, schedules. Leaving this in the hands of another could potentially be a fiasco.

Our goal remains the same…” wafting through our worldwide travels with ease, joy, and simplicity,” as stated as our motto at the top of our changing-daily-homepage. 

We are not a “travel log.” We are a “daily life log” of two crazy retirees who wanted to step outside the box to spread their wings to live a different kind of life in our later years, a life of change, adventure, and wonder. 

The locally grown produce was abundant in quality and selection.

On top of it all, we love the freedom we have to live each day exactly as we choose whether exploring an area, out on an adventure or simply lounging at home doing exactly what many retirees do each day; a trip to the store, a walk in the neighborhood, preparing a special meal, and maintaining a comfortable home environment.  We love it all.

And, we love all of our readers for sharing it with us. Today, we’ll venture out for a drive to check out the area and hopefully report back with good photos tomorrow.

Thanks to friend and reader Staci for her coffee-making suggestions including “cowboy coffee” and checking thrift stores for a “coffee perc.” Thanks to our many other readers who sent emails with other suggestions.

Have a wonderful day. Back at you soon with more new photos.

                                                Photo from one year ago today, June 17, 2014:

The view from our veranda in Campanario, Madeira on a clear day. For details from that date, please click here.

What we’re missing so far in Australia…Guess we need to accept and adapt…

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The seafood is offered by the kilo (2.2) pounds in AUD. As a result, these prices are not bad. For example AUD $20 is USD $15.51.

Every country has its nuances and its lifestyle commensurate with centuries of history and tradition. We try as much as we can to adapt to these differences that we find wherever we may travel.

As our long term readers know we’ve sacrificed many aspects of our lives in order to have the joy of traveling the world, few of which we ever find difficult to change after a few weeks have passed.

These sacrifices may include many items of which we become glaringly aware the first few weeks in a new location. Here in Australia, a few items stand out that may take some getting used to such as a lack of international news on TV (we’re news junkies). 

At first glance, these also look pricey when in reality, they are lower priced than we paid in many countries, especially in Hawaii. All the fish is wild-caught.

We like to stay abreast of international news, which keeps us in touch with the outside world as well as keeping us aware of where we shouldn’t travel due to intense political unrest.

On a lesser scale, Australians don’t drink much coffee. We can’t find an electric or appropriate stove top coffee pot. Arriving here last Thursday, we’ve scoured several stores, (no less than five) to discover that Australians don’t brew coffee as we know it, in a pot with or without a filter.

They do use a few pricey apparatus such as the French press machine which we did find at a pricey kitchen store for US $54.31, AUD $70, which based on its small size would be cumbersome when we each may drink three cups in the morning. Pressing for this amount of coffee would not be worth using the small press.

Some of the fish products are pre battered.  If we use a batter, we’ll make it using coconut or almond flour both of which I’d been able to purchase at the Woolworth’s grocery store.
We both like our coffee hot and this style of coffee making leaves it greatly cooled by the time it’s served. We used such a press in Morocco but found it made the coffee too strong and subsequently cold.  Neither of us wanted to spend that amount of money on a device we didn’t like using. Even K-mart didn’t have many possibilities. They didn’t have a coffee machine section nor could the rep suggest where we’d find such a thing.

We could send for a coffee maker from Amazon.com but, by the time we receive it after paying high shipping costs, we’ll be used to living without it and nearly be ready to move along. At the grocery store, there was a small coffee section with bags of beans, none of which works for us. We’ve decided not to drink coffee in Australia and may encounter the same scenario in other locations in the South Pacific.

As I scurried about K-mart, looking for an electric coffee machine, Tom reminded me to stop asking for an electric coffee pot. He assumed such questions and ancillary comments would make me appear as the “ugly American.” I stopped asking now that I understand that primarily, Australians drink tea. When we saw many Aussies drinking coffee on the ship, we assumed this was a popular morning beverage.

Next time, we shop for groceries, I’ll be purchasing some of this fresh fish from this local fish market located in the mall.

Since I like tea, giving up coffee won’t be too difficult for me. Although most mornings I like to drink coffee, I usually have tea at 4 pm each day, not unlike the British way. Maybe it’s harder for Tom, who doesn’t like tea as an alternative. For some reason, I can’t seem to get the coffee out of my head. Perhaps it due to the fact that we have one bag of delicious Kauai coffee with us and no way to brew it.

On the ship to Australia, I never had coffee when it was made too strong for my liking. Tom drank it using half decaf, half regular, adding real sugar and fake cream (no real cream was available). 

At least now he won’t be consuming six teaspoons of granulated sugar each day, hardly befitting our way of eating a low carb, starch-free, grain-free, and sugar-free diet. The lack of coffee for me is only psychological since I haven’t had a cup since we were in Hawaii, 24 days ago. “They,” say it takes three weeks to “break a habit.”

Speaking of “cruise food.” Tom has already lost all the weight he gained on the ship. In reality, he didn’t go overboard (no pun intended) eating starchy, sugary, carb-laden foods. He never had an ice cream cone and had few desserts. Instead, he ordered margaritas and Mai Tai’s which were included in his drink package. 

An indoor farmer’s market in the mall.

I didn’t gain an ounce and as a matter of fact lost a few pounds although I had a substantially large breakfast each morning along with a cup of homemade hollandaise sauce served with each dinner to keep my fat consumption at high levels which is a requirement of my diet, referred to as LCHF (low carb, high fat with moderate protein).

Cooking again has been good. Last night, we made organic burgers (no grass-fed ground beef available so far) with avocados, homemade ketchup, sautéed mushrooms, onions, organic sliced tomatoes topped with fine cheeses, and some of the best “streaky” bacon we’ve had in a long time. 

We haven’t seen bacon referred to as “streaky” bacon since living in Kenya, almost two years ago. Streaky or not, the deli is the only area in the grocery store the bacon can be purchased. There is none of the expected pre-packaged bacon. The streaky deli bacon is smoky flavored and delicious.

Yesterday’s grocery shopping trip worked out well. With only a tiny space in the freezer, we can’t purchase meat other than that which we’ll consume in a few days, another challenge and change from what we’ve done in the past.

Although I don’t eat fruit, this red dragon fruit certainly looks appealing.  Here again, prices are per kilo (2.2 pounds). 


Today returned to the Telstra phone store. The SIM card we purchased wouldn’t work on either of our hot spots devices. Much to my delight and surprised when they couldn’t get our devices to work, they gave us a loaner to use while here in Trinity Beach. 

The rep didn’t require me to pay a deposit or sign a form for the “loaner.” How unusual is that? He stated that he had no fear that I’d return it before we eventually leave.  Where in the world does this happen? We’re both in awe of the trust the rep exercised in letting us walk out the door with the pricey device.

That’s the nature of the Australian people; kind, friendly, and trusting. So, if we have a few inconveniences, they are more than balanced out by all the pluses of living in this wonderful country.

To sum up a few of the new sacrifices we’ve discovered for life in Australia:
1.  No morning coffee  (there are a few coffee shops but not something we’d spend money on each day).
2.  No purchasing protein beyond what we’ll use in a few days.
3.  No international news unless we watch news online.  With the poor wifi signal, this isn’t a good option.
4.  No screens on doors and windows.
5.  No grass-fed beef other than a few steaks offered at US $34.87, AUD $44.95 per kilo (2.2 pounds).  Mostly I’ll focus on the huge selection of wild-caught fish and free range chickens, having beef only occasionally.

This glorious life we live requires changing our needs and wants almost every few months, finding “workarounds” that suit us in the interim. Oh, one more workaround for Tom that he’s experienced many times in these past 32 months…he’s now driving on the opposite side of the road and shifting using his left hand (he’s right-handed).  

Now, my big challenge is walking up to the correct side of the car to open the passenger door and get in. In three months, I should be able to get this under control.

                                              Photo from one year ago today, June 16, 2014:

The fog rolled in while Tom stood on our veranda in Madeira, Portugal. It was quite a sight to see. For details from that date, please click here.

Reinventing ourselves in a new locale…Tolerance and patience for this new way of life…

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The rainy view of what is aptly named, Double Island, as seen from our veranda. 

It’s been raining every day since we arrived. We’ve heard this is unusual for this time of year. For now, we don’t mind. Let’s get the rain out of the way while we become acquainted with life in our little corner of the world.

This surf and dive shop were having what they referred to as a “Killa Surf Sale.” I giggled when Tom didn’t get it right away. It’s Australian lingo for a “killer of a sale.” 

It’s 2:00 pm and Tom is sitting outside under cover of the veranda roof, safe from the rain, listening to his favorite radio show. The wifi signal is better outdoors that inside the house.

As a matter of fact, today, we purchased a SIM card for one of our mobile hot spots at the local phone store.  We stopped by the phone store several days ago, but they required a passport in order to purchase the card which we failed to bring along. We had forgotten in our muddled state of mind that one must show a passport in order to purchase a new SIM card.

Peering out to the mall from inside the Telstar phone and tablet store where we purchased a SIM card for our hot spot device which we don’t yet have working. I’ll work on it later today and if it doesn’t get going, we’ll head back to the store tomorrow, bringing the hot spot and my laptop.

Once we have the hot spot working, which hasn’t transpired as yet, we can drive anywhere with navigation working on our phones. To explain that further, we have no cell service on our phones. Since the cost of calling the US is too high via the use of a cell phone with a SIM card, we’ll continue to use Skype and our Skype phone number for calls to family and friends.

This morning the service was fast and friendly at the Telstar store in the Smithfield Mall.

For local calls here in Australia, we’ll use our Skype phone number which is only US $1.25, AUD $1.61, per hour or by the minute proportionately.  As for the navigation working while we’re in the car, it goes like this:

1.  Turn on the hot spot until a signal is indicated.
2.  Connect the phone to the hot spot until the signal is indicated.
3.  Use MAPS on phone to set the desired trip location. Navigate as usual as one would with an active data account on the phone.

In our old lives, we rarely shopped at K-Mart but here is Australia, it made sense when we needed a few household items. We spent US $23.14, AUD $30 for four iced cube trays with lids, two jumbo iced tea pitchers, two pans for the oven and one microwave cover. Tomorrow, we’ll tell you what we couldn’t find anywhere!

This makes life considerably easier for us. In some countries we cannot purchase SIM cards, including in the US when we were in Hawaii. This is odd to us. Eventually, required cell contracts will disappear, allowing users to have access to local signals using online downloads and/or SIM cards. 

A cosmetic store in the mall carrying many popular US brands. Shops are similar to many in the US but aren’t necessarily familiar chain stores. Australia has many of its owns brands and providers.

In some ways, we’re impressed with how readily available technology is in Australia compared to other countries we visited. No, they don’t have high speed services where we’re located and the service is slow to say the least.  But, we’re in a mountainous ocean village which typically have poor signals this close to the ocean and with this type of terrain.

In some ways, service is tricky when Andy explained how when the Internet goes down at the shopping mall, business literally stops and the shops may close. Isn’t this the case in most countries anyway? We’re all subject to modern technology.

This appears to be a parasite type plant growing on a palm tree in the yard.

Its easy for us to recall how in Kenya, both the Internet and the power would go out almost daily. That experience made us more tolerant when these unforeseeable situations occur. With our own working hot spot we hope we’ll have better control of mapping our future exploration, even if we have to drive a distance to acquire a decent signal.

Tom’s water shoes were on the veranda. When he move them, what appeared to be a lizard took off out of sight, leaving behind this live tail that wiggled around for about 10 minutes.  Can’t imagine what this was.

Resting over these past four days, we’re finally headed to the grocery store to try to shop again today. We can’t wait to take photos of the abundance at the mall where the Woolworth’s market is located and also the mall as we walk through there once again to the Telstar store.

Candle holders? Not quite sure…

With a trip to K-Mart for a few pans and ice cube trays, we discovered a missing element of life in Australia that requires an adjustment we’re surprised to be making.

Tomorrow, we’ll share the important part of our daily lives that we’ll be missing in Australia that requires a huge sacrifice.

                                               Photo from one year ago today, June 15, 2014:

We were on our way to Funchal to renew the rental car, a task that won’t be required here in Australia where we were able to rent it for the full three months. For details and more photos from that trip, please click here.

Interior photos of our new home…Working around limitations…Taking time to physically adjust…

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The only workspace in the kitchen is near the sink. But, as long as I have room for the cutting board as shown, I can cook any meals.

Settling into a new home isn’t always as easy as it may appear. Both of us are a little out of sorts as we struggle to sleep through the night awakening several times during the night. Even our mealtimes are off. Tom seems to be hungry for a meal midday and then only picking at a little food at dinner, while I find myself needing to eat dinner two hours earlier than our usual 6:30 to 7 pm.

The kitchen, although spacious, has little storage space and a small refrigerator.

I suppose we can attribute this to a massive time zone difference. Let’s face it, we’re off by 20 hours (later) after spending eight months in Hawaii and sailing across the Pacific. Certainly, a part of this sluggish transition is a result of gradual time changes while on the cruise including the 24-hour jump over the International Dateline and then falling back four hours as we continued on. 

This dining table and chairs is where we dine.

The human body doesn’t automatically adjust according to the ship’s schedule posted in the program for the next day. It adjusts in its own time. To tell the truth, we don’t feel like doing much of anything.

Below this carved mirror, we keep all of our miscellaneous stuff on the sideboard.

A few days ago, we drove to the shopping center, only completing about 20% of our grocery list, getting enough to last for several days instead of the usual huge haul we do within a day or two of arrival in a new location. 

As much as we’d love to leave these doors open now, we’ll have to wait until it’s clear and sunny. At present, the mosquitos are in full force after the rains.

After aimlessly wandering around the store for 15 minutes trying to find the items on my list, I turned to Tom and said, “Let’s go. I can’t do this right now. My brain isn’t working well enough to search for the items on the list.”

He smiled from ear to ear, thrilled that I’d had enough. He, too, was feeling the same way. After 32 months of travel, I believe we’re suffering from an extreme case of jetlag. How peculiar. We thought we were exempt from this malady, that a positive attitude along with a passion to quickly fall into a routine, would avoid this fate.

This cozy seating area works well for us with two side tables and a coffee table. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough electrical outlets to enable us to use the table lamp when our adapter takes up all of the outlet space.

In the realm of things, it’s a mere inconvenience. We have all the time in the world. I suppose in reality we feel a certain commitment to getting out to take photos of our amazing surroundings. After all, we have readers worldwide looking forward to photos of our adventures in Australia. 

This morning we experienced a short period of the bright sun making it necessary to close the curtains for a few hours.

As we adjust, we’ll certainly be getting out frequently to scour the area and beyond for its wealth of treasures. Our brains are anxious to get out. Our bodies are lagging behind.

The master bedroom has ample room to store our luggage and clothing.

Our first order of business is to get back to the grocery store and shop.  s of tomorrow, we’ll run out of food. As for bottled water, we’ve decided to use what we have on hand purchased several days ago and to switch to tap water. 

The small wardrobe for storing our clothing.  To the right is one of two screen windows in the house.  The other is in the end of the dining room.

Nothing we’ve read online from reviews and qualified sites states that the water in Trinity Beach is toxic in any matter to visitors. Australia is very civilized except of course in the center, the Outback, where bottled water is a must. 

I took over the top two shelves and Tom has the bottom three.
We’re following all the guidelines available to readjustment to substantial time changes: getting up at former familiar times; opening windows and drapes to bring in the early morning light and toning down the light at night; attempting to eat at familiar times of the day and to move about as much as possible.
There are no closets available. As a result, we use this “wardrobe” for storing all of our clothing. It works.

I only experienced this once in my life after returning to the US from a three-week stay in Thailand about 30 years ago. Arriving there was fine requiring only one good night’s sleep to resolve. Returning back to the US took another three weeks to fully adjust to the 13 hour time difference.

The black lacquered bathroom sink requires frequent wiping to keep it clean. The two drawers are the only bathroom storage spots. We’ve made it work for us.

For today, we’ll stay put, finish our remaining food leaving us no alternative but to head back to the shopping mall tomorrow for groceries and a shortlist of household supplies. 

The toilet is located in a separate space.

This task, once completed, will surely be instrumental in getting us back into our routine of cooking and eating our meals on a regular basis and working our way back into the busy life filled with the joys of world travel.

Have a fabulous weekend, whether it’s Saturday or Sunday, wherever you may be.

                                               Photo from one year ago, today, June 14, 2014:

The views from the house in Campanario, Madeira were always exquisite. For details from that date, please click here.

Settling in to our new home…Rainy days continue…

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The private swimming pool for our exclusive use.

After days of preparation to leave Hawaii, constant activities on the ship over 17 days and nights, 22 hour time changes and now getting settled into our new home in Trinity Beach, Australia, we’re particularly pleased to have slowed down the pace a little.

The side yard off the kitchen. 

Today, we’ll complete washing and drying the seven loads of laundry we created after unpacking. With all the germs on the ship and many passengers very sick, we’ve decided to wash just about everything we own. 

Beautiful fern inside yard.

We’ve yet to go and do the major grocery shopping instead of picking up enough bottled water and food to get us through the next several days. By Monday (it’s Saturday today), we’ll return to the nearby Smithfield Shopping Center, one of the most comprehensive malls we’ve seen in years.

This lime is growing in a pot on the veranda, almost ripe for the picking.

Before arriving in Australia we speculated that it may be hard to find certain ingredients and products we frequently use. Ha! There is as much abundance here in Trinity Beach, a cozy resort town, that we’ve seen in major cities throughout the world. We’re impressed and in awe, to say the least. 

Familiar Hibiscus found in most tropical climates.

The Aussies have it all figured out. In their relatively low population (23.6 million) continent compared to many other parts of the world, these resourceful people have adopted a modern-day lifestyle that can hardly be matched.

As for our new home, it has it all; working, albeit slow wifi, cable TV, modern kitchen appliances (no dishwasher), lovely décor, and a view that takes our breath away. Sure, some things are missing, one, in particular, that makes life particularly challenging for me…no screens on the windows.

Yellow Daffodils.

And, yes, at the moment, I have no less than a dozen mozzie bites, red, inflamed, and swollen. But, as of today I’m back to wearing repellent around the clock and have learned my lesson about not doing so, once and for all.  Tom, as always, is exempt from bites for whatever reason.

The gazebo by the pool.

The shower and bathroom are superior. There are powerful ceiling fans in each room and we have plenty of closet space. Oddly, there are no empty cupboards for storing food so where we’ll put grocery baffles me at the moment. Otherwise, the cupboards are filled with nice pots, pans, cooking utensils, and dishes.

Fence required to enclose the pool area.

The refrigerator and freezer are tiny making grocery shopping necessary two to three times per week. There are one miniature ice cube tray and we Americans like our ice. Soon, we’ll purchase a few more ice cube trays forfeiting much-needed freezer space. 

More Hibiscus.

There’s no coffee pot although there’s a teapot. In Hawaii, we had to purchase a teapot. Here, we’ll purchase a coffee pot, the cheapest we can find to use and leave behind in 85 days. 

Our exclusive use hot tub. 

The lovely owners, Sylvie and Andy rousted up a few good beach chairs for us and when the skies clear, we may venture down the steep steps to the pool or simply lounge on our veranda for the most amazing views we could imagine.

The comfortable bed, covers, and powerful ceiling fan have allowed us to sleep well these past two nights for which we’re very grateful. At the moment, Tom is sitting at the outdoor table and chairs enjoying his favorite US radio show, Garage Logic, and the views while I stay indoors away from the mosquitos. Once the cloudy skies are replaced by less humid sun, I’ll certainly be able to spend plenty of time outdoors as well.

Long vines hanging from the trees.  We’ve begun watching for wildlife which is abundant in the area.

Now, back to the piles of laundry. By next week, we’ll start venturing out to check out the beach and this beautiful area we’ve joyfully landed in here in Australia.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, June 13, 2014:

What a view, one year ago today, from our veranda in Madeira, Portugal.  Surely, we’ll have equally amazing views here in Trinity Beach over these next many months. For more photos, please click here.

Wrapping up Sydney…Final cruise tally…Shocking numbers…New Sydney photos…

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The early morning lights of Luna Park, Sydney.

Spending only a half a day in Sydney, viewing the amazing port, as seen from the ship, and driving through the city to the airport gave us a perception that it is truly an amazing city. 

We’ll be returning and staying overnight on several occasions as we board more cruises to tour this amazing continent. Australians spend a lifetime scouring this vast continent never feeling they’ve even scratched the surface. 

Image showing Australia and the British Isles sizes compared
Australia compared to the size of the US is nearly as big.  Our perception may have been it’s a large island. From this map, it’s evident that not the case, and its vastness and wilderness are unique in many ways as we’ll illustrate over the next many months.

As the world’s sixth-largest country after Canada, Russia, China. USA and Brazil, its size exceeded our perceptions of years past. For us, as visitors for so little time, we’d decided cruising around the country would give us a better opportunity to explore its many major states and cities. 

At some point, down the road during gaps in our schedule, we may decide to rent a “caravan” (an RV) to further explore the mysterious barren Outback which intrigues both of us.

Even the glow of the ship against the backdrop of the beautiful harbor was appealing.

For now, we’ve moved into our Trinity Beach home for the next three months and as soon as it stops raining, we’ll begin taking endless photos of the exquisite beauty surrounding us. The property is exactly as shown in the photos and the owners, Sylvie and Andy, living quietly above us, are even more charming than expected.  It couldn’t be more desirable. Photos to come tomorrow.

Getting here was challenging. We were exhausted and hungry after a long 12 hour travel day. But we always recall the 36 hour travel day to Africa to remind ourselves how short, these less trying days can be, comparatively.

Buildings line up along the shore.

On the way from the airport to Trinity Beach, we stopped at a Woolworth’s grocery store to buy bottled water, cream, roasted chickens, and salad for dinner. We hadn’t had a bite all day and needed quick sustenance. The store was much more well-stocked than we’d expected and today we’ll return to do the first big shopping. 

Renting the car was somewhat of a fiasco when our prepaid reservation was missing which finally they found after considerable time and effort. They rented us our usual smallish vehicle, some Mazda model into which our luggage manages to fit.

There’s no doubt that Sydney is one of the most beautiful port cities in the world.

By the end of today, we’ll be totally unpacked and situated, with piles of laundry to wash and dry. With our own washer and dryer right outside the front door, it will be a breeze.

We’ve always heard about the Harbour Bridge but had no idea how impressive it would be in person.

With the rush over the past few days, we had little opportunity to elaborate on our final cruise expenses. Here they are in detail including the cruise fare.
USD               AUD
Cruise fare including taxes, fees, and gratuities:           6,011.63       7,754.39
Final bill from 17 nights incl. wifi, cocktails, spec. din.:  1,577.19        2,034.41
Additional out of pocket cash gratuities:                         200.00          257.97
Tours, not included in the bill:                                         75.00           96.74
Grand Total:                                                            $7,863.80   $10,143.50
Average Cost per day (for two):                                $   462.58   $     596.68

Our usual average cost per day when living in rentals, paying for rental cars, groceries, tours, dining out, and miscellaneous is approximately US $200, AUD $257.97. By cruising, as opposed to flying, which may have been as much as US $3000, AUD $3871.12 we really didn’t pay much more at approximately an extra US $86, AUD $110.97 per day than our usual living costs.

Another view of the famous Sydney Opera House.

For the extra difference, the extraordinary experience made it well worth the expenditure. We’re pleasantly shocked by these numbers.

We’ll be back tomorrow with photos of our new home as we wait for the rain and cloudy skies to clear. You won’t be disappointed. Nor are we!

                                                 Photo from one year ago on June 12, 2014:

We drove to the village of Boa Morte to check out the scenery. For details, please click here.

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

We never thought we’d have views comparable to those in Madeira but we’re beginning to think that the views here in Trinity Beach may compare. For details, please click here.

Arrived in Sydney…The Opera House…The Harbour Bridge and more…

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View of the Sydney Opera House from the ship at 6:30 am this morning. It’s hard to believe we’re here on our fifth continent!

We arrived in Sydney early this morning. After was seemed like an endless wait to exit the ship, we finally got off, went through customs and immigration and all is well.

We’re now at the beautiful airport in Sydney waiting for our flight on Qantas Airlines, known as one of the best airlines in the world. Check-in was slick and professional and we managed to have the only US $70 in excess baggage fees.

View of the harbor. Lovely!

Now we have only 30 minutes of free wifi time offered by the airline with no apparent option to purchase more.  As a result, before we board, I am attempting to load a very fast post and a few photos. More amazing photos of Sydney will be available tomorrow once we’re situated.

Waking up this morning to only stepping outside to see the famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge took our breath away. It was hard to believe that we’ve just entered our fifth continent.

We only have two more continents to experience to have stepped foot on all seven; Antarctica and South America, both of which we plan to visit when we’re done in the South Pacific. 

The Harbour Bridge.  Wow!

This, by no means, will be the end of our world journey. In many ways, it will become a new beginning, of returning to countries we’ve yet to visit fine-tuning our choices to those we long to see.

For today, I must wind down to ensure we can get a few photos loaded. No time for the photo from one year ago, but will do today and tomorrow’s when we post in the morning from Trinity Beach, Australia.

Happy days ahead. Stay with us!

Meeting a guest with an amazing story…Last full day on the ship…Emergency evacuation photos…

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Emergency evacuation helicopter approaching the ship to pick up the ailing passenger.

At the moment I’m sitting on the starboard side of the ship. A helicopter is due to arrive within a few minutes to drop a basket down to pick up an ill passenger that needs to get to Sydney quicker than this ship will by 4:30 am this coming morning. It’s sad to think that someone is so ill that they have to be evacuated off the ship under these circumstances. We can only hope for their recovery and health.

Helicopter preparing to pick up a passenger.

After 17 days at sea and loads of fun, we’re ready to move along to our next location, a flight from Sydney to Cairns and then a short drive to our new home in Trinity Beach Australia.

Approaching ship…

Actually, we anxious to get the upcoming travel day behind us as we expect a rather lengthy line at customs and immigration in Sydney from what we’ve been told by Australians can be slow and cumbersome. 

Passenger wrapped in the exterior covering over the basket with the paramedic holding the passenger.

Luckily, our scheduled flight isn’t until 1:30 pm. We expect to be “herded’ off the ship by 9:00 am, based on reports we’ve heard. We don’t like this part but we’re grateful we headed off to more adventures in our lives making the transit all the more tolerable.

Tonight, we took our two favorite passengers, Reene and Jeff to dinner at the Chop’s specialty restaurant to celebrate their 51st anniversary and Jeff’s birthday all of which occurred yesterday. It will be fun to spend our last night with this delightful couple with whom we’ve spent considerable time.

This morning we met another wonderful couple. Anne and Glenn Watkins. In a future post over the next several weeks, I may be posting a story about Anne’s adventure from the 1960s of traveling the world in a 30-foot sailboat, if time allows. It’s an amazing story we’re excited to post soon with details of her journey. 

We had so much to share, that it was necessary to postpone the story to a future date when we have more time to prepare the story. Now at 1:00 pm, we need to retire to our cabin to pack our bags to leave them outside the door for tonight’s planned luggage pickup, leaving only our carry on baggage with us overnight. 

We’ll have to be careful in packing anything over three ounces that will be appropriate for tomorrow’s flight. An hour ago since writing the above comment regarding immigration, the captain announced that immigration will in fact be boarding the ship at 6 am tomorrow morning which will speed up the process of getting into Australia.  We’re thrilled with this news.

With little time today, we’re off now to pack. Tomorrow, we’ll be back with our final bill on board the ship including all of our expenses, the cruise fare, and miscellaneous additional gratuities.

Back at you soon from Australia!

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

The view from our veranda in Madeira never failed to inspire us.For more photos and details, please click here.

Only two days until Sydney…Tomorrow’s a packing day…Figuring out time differences…

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This didn’t look fun to us but we commend the performers for their skill and bravery.

Please bear with us with our comments about dates may not match based on your location. At the moment we’ll be 15 hours later from we’ll be living near Cairn’s, Australia and for example, Minnesota with a 17 hour time difference for Los Angeles and Nevada.

We took these photos from the seventh deck where our cabin is located.

No doubt this is tricky. However, in each case, we’ll figure it out. Once we arrive, we’ll email our family members with suggested times for calls. If it takes us staying up late or getting up early for calls, we’re happy to do so.

Now, as the time of the cruise winds down we’re actually looking forward to the next step in our journey and getting the tough parts behind us; going through customs and immigration both requiring lengthy lines. Our documents are in order and we have no purchases to declare, neither of which will greatly reduce our waiting time.

The aerial acrobats were practicing for tonight’s entertainment.

At this point in most cruises, we never feel sad that the cruise is ending and the “holiday” is over. As always, we’re anticipating the next leg with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure.

My stomach lurched when she jumped off the ledge.
Have we loved this cruise? Overall, we have. The passengers we’ve met have made this a memorable cruise enabling us to meet many lovely people with whom we’ll hopefully stay connected for years to come. While we were seated today for the past three hours in the Schooner Bar attempting to prepare today’s post, we’ve been distracted by many interesting people who’ve stopped by to visit. 
They were practicing today when yesterday’s rough seas made it impossible.

After posting from this very same spot day after day, we’ve become “fixtures” that have elicited a certain degree of curiosity, inspiring a number of passengers who, we’d yet to meet to stop by asking what we possibly can be doing sitting in this exact spot day after day, feverishly typing away.

Today, we’ve become so wrapped up in an interesting conversation with a couple from India, we couldn’t pull ourselves away long enough to get back to the post.  We apologize for the delay. Then again, our readers certainly understand how easy it is to get distracted when among interesting people.

Passengers were gathered at the railing on many decks.

Now, with an upcoming seminar, I’ll have to pick up the pace and wrap up here s a bit early for today. Tom has already left for the cabin to drop off his computer while I wrap it up here with a plan to meet me at 2:00 pm. Most likely wherever you may be our time zones won’t coincide. 

At this point, four performers were hanging above the Centrum.

We’ll continue to try to figure out the time difference as we go along, being more specific as we pin down our exact location in the next few days. It appears there are several times zones in Australia.

Have a great Monday or Tuesday depending on where you are on the map in this massive world of ours.

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

The terraced gardens in the mountains and hills of Madeira was always a sight to behold. For details of that post, please click here.

Part 2, Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia…Excellent Island Tour…

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The waterfall in the park in Tahiti, a popular tourist attraction.

We didn’t get off the ship yesterday. Busy visiting with other passengers we were late getting finished with the post. By the time the photos finally uploaded due to a poor connection while in port, it was too late to go ashore and get back in time for the 4:30 pm sailing.

The embankment is protected by wire mesh and chains to keep the rocks from falling onto the roadway. The only other places we’ve seen this was in Madeira, Portugal, and Maui.

Again today with many passengers stopping to chat with us here in the Schooner Bar, we’ll be late posting. We apologize for today’s late post.

We passed through a few tunnels during the tour of the island of Tahiti.

When passengers tour with taxis on their own, the ship won’t wait to depart if there is an unforeseen delay, such as a flat tire, running out of gas, etc. Also, in reading online at TripAdvisor and other sites, there was a degree of unreliability expressed over taxi service in Bora Bora. 

On the last road to the waterfall area, numerous dogs were on the road, many asleep in the way of passing cars.

In an effort to maintain our low-stress travel philosophy, we stayed behind. That’s not to say staying behind wasn’t wonderful. It was. We hung out at the pool with our new friends from the US, Pat, and Charles from Missouri, and thoroughly enjoyed the time together.

Notice the plants inside the painted old tires.  We noticed these in several spots along the highway in Tahiti. It was raining while I shot this photo through the windshield.

After seeing Bora Bora and those adorable bungalows over the water, we’ve decided someday to return and perhaps stay for a month. We’ve found there are other less expensive options for those appealing bungalows which we’d love to experience.

Gnarly Banyan tree.

Taking tons of photos of Bora Bora from the ship, we were satisfied with our decision. Many passengers, particularly more seasoned travelers such as us, don’t get off at every port. We get off the ship when it calls to us which is more times than not.  So far, we’ve only missed one port of call.

A woman selling fruit at the waterfall park.

As the ship continues out to sea until arriving in Fiji on Saturday, June 6th, we’re extraordinarily content with plenty to do to keep us busy. Between hanging out with other passengers, attending seminars, movies, and a variety of entertainment venues, lounging by the pool, working out (for me), dining twice a day, we don’t have a moment of time to become bored or even read a book.

Bamboo growing along the pebble path.

On some days, we actually have to rush to dress for dinner. Tonight is another formal night, which is always tricky for us when many men dress in tuxedos and women in ball gowns. But, somehow we dig through our clothes to find clothes that don’t seem too casual or out of place.

During our walk through the park, we stopped to admire the scenery.

After all, we have no room or interest in such fanfare as we did when we went on our first few cruises with the proper attire on hand. Now down to so few pieces of luggage, we barely have room for a single more dressy item. Luckily, I’d purchased the few items in Princeville which aren’t dressy, although “casual dressy,” if there is such a thing.

Giant rocks in the creek.

Tom has one long sleeve white dress shirt with black pants which we hope will fit him tonight. He’s actually not eaten much on this cruise, keeping the gluten and sugar consumption under control, mostly due to his dislike of some of the options.

Boulders in the creek.

The accommodations for my meals have continued to my satisfaction at both meals surprising me at times as to the good flavor and consideration that has been exercised to comply with my restrictive diet. 

A path in the park-like area of the waterfall.

The kindly pastry chef had offered to be creative and make some type of custard type desserts for me using eggs and cream. I graciously declined his offer. He wouldn’t have used my preferred chemical-free liquid sweetener (purchased online) which deterred my interest. 

A footbridge over the brook.

We’re being mindful of constantly washing our hands and using sanitizer. So far, we’ve heard no mention of Norovirus or respiratory illness onboard which is often prevalent on cruises. 

Beautiful greenery in the park area.

Yesterday morning at breakfast we were seated at a table next to a woman mentioning she was coming down with a cough and sore throat. Again, as graciously as possible, profusely apologizing and asking her not to be offended, we arose.

Musician playing at the waterfall area.

Sure, it was awkward to have to do so. But, getting sick would be very frustrating and we have no desire to take such a risk. We still have nine more days on this cruise and having the opportunity to continue to enjoy ourselves each day as we have thus far, is truly a gift.

The babbling brook.

As we’re sitting in the Schooner Bar at the moment in our quiet comfortable corner, it’s already almost 3:00 pm. The days fly by leaving us with a bucket load of great memories and friends from all over Australia, several of whom have invited us to come to stay at their homes, genuinely making such an offer that astounds us.

Another view of the babbling brook at the site of the waterfall.

Of course, we’d never actually stay in their homes, as much as we appreciate the offers. We’ve always preferred to find our own accommodations without imposing upon others. 

Our friend Jeff sipping on a fresh coconut. Benjamin, our driver is in the background in the red and white shirt.

Today, we share more photos of our tour in Tahiti, and tomorrow, well, there are great shots of Bora Bora. We worried we’d run out of stories and photos on such a long cruise although, at this point, we doubt this will transpire with much more awaiting us.

Have a terrific Tuesday. We’ll be back!

                                            Photo from one year ago today, June 2, 2014:

On this date one year ago, the locals from the Catholic church visited the homes in Campanario to sing and share the Day of Ascension. Entering our house, they continued with their lovely music while we praised them for a job well done, offering a donation at the end.  For more details from that day, please click here.