Cruising…Lost in the minutia while out to sea…Late posting tomorrow due to morning tour in Moorea…

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View of the sea before the seas became rough.

Today’s our fifth day at sea. It’s been easy to get lost in a pleasant routine of building relationships, eating reasonably good food, watching seminars, movies, and presentations, and lounging poolside for short stints.

The past few nights we’ve added the 9 pm live shows to our routine and have thoroughly enjoyed each of them.  By 11 pm, we’re ready to retire to our cabin for a hopefully good night’s sleep to begin again the next day.

We’re never bored or antsy. We spend little time in the cabin other than to sleep, shower, and change clothes for the evening. Since neither of us is able to nap, we never stop to lay down or snooze as some cruisers do.

Rough seas have precipitated the closing of the swimming pool.  Walking about the ship has been tricky the past 24 hours as the rough seas have increased.  Of course, neither of us suffers from any seasickness.

Overall, the majority of the passengers are over 50 and Australian, as I mentioned earlier, some of the most lively and animated people we’ve met anywhere. We’ve also spent time with equally fun Americans, we’ve met of the 200 onboard.

The overall Australian theme aboard the ship has been an excellent intro for us into Australian life and lingo.  Tom, who’s had a blast at the men’s club, the “Shed” will attend again today after missing yesterday when we attended a movie with our new friends, Pat and Charles.

After finally watching the highly acclaimed, “The Imitation Game,” we highly recommend seeing this superb movie, which particularly appealed to both of us, me for the technological aspects and Tom for its World War II era. 

The casino, which we continue to ignore preferring not to lose any money.

By the time the movie was over, we wandered about the ship, eventually heading back to our cabin to dress for the party we were invited to for all Crown and Anchor members, a priority points club comparable to “frequent flyers.” Oddly, the party was held in the theatre, not necessarily a good venue for a party. 

A smaller ship such as this, Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas, with a capacity of 2076 passengers is in the category we prefer. With fewer people, it’s actually easier to make and maintains friendships when it possible to find each other again, as opposed to the much larger ships where it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.

Again last night, we had dinner at a 10 seat-sharing table sitting next to older travelers with much more experience than us. Hearing their stories encourages us to consider locations we may have dismissed in the past. How brave many of them are who are well into their 80’s and 90’s, giving us hope that we may be able to carry on for years to come.

View from an upper-level balcony overlooking the Centrum, the center area of the ship.

After dinner, we watched a fabulous comedian at the theatre. It was interesting to hear so much of the humor geared toward the Australians and how quickly we are picking up their humor. 

Although I prefer not to stereotype people, in general, the Australians are one fine bunch of people. Their sense of humor leaves us roaring with laughter and easily getting in on the fun with our own quips.

Tomorrow, we’re going on a fabulous tour on the island of Moorea with a marine biologist. After reading many reviews on TripAdvisor for suggested activities on this small island, this seemed most appropriate for us.  Many comments we read suggested we chose tours offered by the ship for safety reasons. Although we prefer small tours arranged on our own or with others, in this case, we feel this was a better decision.

Returning to our cabin, this pin was awaiting us.  We are now officially Platinum members with a long way to go on Royal Caribbean to reach a tier with many benefits.

As a result, we won’t be posting until after we return from the tour. Please be aware that tomorrow’s post won’t be available online until later in the day than usual. Good signal providing, we’ll be back with exciting photos and stories of our tour.

Also, if you do not see a post on a specific day, it is due to the fact that the ship’s Internet is down which we’ve been warned could but may not, transpire at some point between now and June 11th when we arrive in Sydney.

These mechanical devices are used for the aerial acrobats.

Thanks to all of our readers for following along with us on cruises. We realize our photos are not as exciting while out to sea as at other times, but as we come to several great ports of call over the next several days, we hope to amp up the adventure.

Happy Friday!

                                             Photo from one year ago today, May 29, 2014:

Ironically, one year ago today we posted information on this cruise we are on at the present while we were living in Madeira, Portugal. For details from that post, please click here.

“Sexiest Man Aboard Ship Contest”…Tom and the “Shed”…

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The ceiling fixture in the main lounge area, the Centrum.

Cruising is ideal for us.  We love the routine we naturally slide into within a few days, hanging out with new friends, meeting more people at meals each morning, evening, and when wandering about the ship.

Yesterday afternoon Tom attended the daily “Shed,” an Australian tradition whereby men get together and shoot the breeze. He had a great time and most likely will return again each day. How unusual for us to be apart for a few hours. I easily filled the two-hour time slot working out and taking photos.

In three days, we’ll reach our first port of call, Moorea, Society Islands, where we’ll get off the ship to check out the island. It’s especially enjoyable for us when we have an opportunity to visit new locations to see if it’s a place we’d return to someday for an extended stay.

Tom refused to partake in the “Sexiest Man Aboard Ship Contest” that transpired yesterday afternoon. We both got a kick out of watching the contest poolside.

If not, it’s still interesting to see other parts of the world, the local customs, the way of life, and the dedication many islanders must exercise to fulfill the expectations of tourists constantly flooding their area.

We’re very sensitive to that fact and we make every effort to be kind, patient, and appreciative when services are provided to us. Many island nations have lived off the cruise business and tourism to sustain a quality of life that may be impossible without it.

Part of the competition was pushups. This passenger did the most number of pushups, 66, and eventually won the competition with his excellent dancing skills.

Most of the islands we’ll visit between Saturday, May 30th and June 11th have small populations, high poverty levels, and struggle to make it through life. It is through the naivety of us travelers that a simple beautiful life can be had living on a tropical island. 

But, for the masses living on these islands, life is hard, fraught with poverty, illness, and strife often without running water, electricity, and modern comforts and conveniences.

This poor guy couldn’t do one pushup.  This made Tom especially happy he hadn’t participated.

We have no delusions in our pleasant way of life of following the sun, that the people that serve us in any manner share in what appears to them to be an affluent life. For us, it’s hardly affluent when we’ve made many adjustments and sacrifices in order to live this life we’ve chosen. 

We’ve often said this and continue to remind ourselves…we are humbled by this life we live. Humbled by the beauty of the people, the environment, the way of life, and how simply one can live and find happiness at every turn.

This guy did a “moon shot” while the dancing part of the competition took place. 

Sure, it’s easy for us to say this as we lounge on a cruise ship writing to our readers today using modern technology, eating good food, and having all the “creature comforts” one could want.

From one laugh fest to another, one great philosophical conversation to another, to one enriching expose of our lives to theirs, we strive to maintain a degree of gratitude and humility.

One of the buffet tables in Romeo and Juliet, the main dining room.

However enthusiastically we share our story that often leaves mouths agape as to how we could possibly manage to let go of all of our worldly goods, the people we love, and a place to call “home” we don’t forget for a moment that is could change on a dime.

As each day comes, we find ourselves being grateful for one more opportunity to become engaged in our surroundings whether its people, scenery, or wildlife, and when, on occasion, it’s all of these.

The dining room as it was being set for breakfast.

At the moment we’re sitting outdoors near the pool in a dining area with tables and chairs drinking cold beverages on a hot, humid day and a somewhat overcast day at sea. We don’t have a complaint in the world.  The seas are relatively calm so far and that too could change on a dime. If it does we’ll be ready to take on the challenge with aplomb.

Please bear with our less than perfect photos aboard the ship. There are only so many photo ops on the ship.  However, in a few days, we’ll have more exciting photos to share of the many islands we’ll visit on the journey to Australia.

G’Day!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, May 27, 2014:

At night the island of Madeira became a cacophony of lights and magic as we enjoyed this view from our veranda. In the entire two and a half months, we never tired of either the daytime ocean views or the lights. For details, please click here.

Noisy night…Company’s coming…House or condo…Which do we prefer?…

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I’m excited to see many more flowers blooming as spring nears.

At 4:30 am, the next-door neighbors, renting for only four nights, moved out. They must have had 20 pieces of luggage taking one out to their car at a time with doors slamming and heavy footsteps.

The front steps, about eight, are in the process of being renovated. I imagine the renters were being careful going down them, taking only a few items at a time, although they seemed sturdy to us. 

Not enough time today to identify this flower. Does anyone know what this is? Notice the black tips.

We easily recall the steps that collapsed under our feet (at the time nothing indicated there was an issue with those steps) on our anniversary two years ago, injuring me in such a way that it took many months to fully recuperate.

We both were awake when the renters were moving out and for long afterward. Worried I’d be an exhausted mess if I didn’t go back to sleep after trying for an hour, I took a Tylenol PM which I do on occasion, read a book on my phone, and 15 minutes later I fell back to sleep. Tom dozed off shortly before me.

Hopefully soon, the cloudy days will end and blue skies will return.
Still a little groggy from the Tylenol and grateful that the PM part (Diphenhydramine, an over the counter allergy med) had helped reduce my recent sneezing from the high pollen count, I didn’t get out of bed until 8:00 am.  In no time I was awake and alert ready to tackle the day.

With Julie arriving tonight, today we’ll do our weekly comprehensive cleaning as opposed to the dusting and sweeping we usually do every three or four days. This condo, although lovely and well-appointed is relatively easy to clean. When a property is in good repair, it always seems easier to clean, doesn’t it?

As far as condos go, we definitely prefer to rent a house over a condo, mainly due to the likelihood of it being quiet as opposed to the sound of doors banging, toilets flushing and people coming and going.

Swimmers on the beach below the steep cliffs.

In most locations in Hawaii, if one doesn’t want to spend over $10,000 a month, a condo is the only option especially in upscale areas such as Princeville. The only stand-alone houses we rented in Hawaii was on the Big Island when our family came for Christmas, the two houses coincidentally next door to one another, one considerably more expensive than the other.

In other countries, we’ve been fortunate to find affordable private houses. The only places we’ve lived in a condo have been in Belize which was a condo in a resort; in Dubai, UAE on the 38th floor of a 95 story building and in Vancouver while we awaiting our cruise to Hawaii, all of which had full kitchens.

The waves and the rocks below the cliffs.

We’ve had a number of short and long-term hotel stays, most only one night except for Paris and London, which we spent two weeks each without a kitchen, dining out for all meals.

Generally, stand-alone vacation houses cost more than condos, depending on the location. In Madeira, (see our archives from May 15, 2014, to July 31, 2014) for that stunning house overlooking the sea which was only $1350 a month. 

There are many varieties of beautiful grass that easily grows with the rain and humidity in the Hawaiian Islands.

The fact that we often stay for two to three months (our four months here in Kauai is the rare exception) most property owners see fit to provide us with somewhat of a discount, which makes sense. Plus with our substantial worldwide readership, the owners may benefit from our mention of their properties with links, such as here in Princeville, Kauai.

Unquestionably, we’ll be able to provide a great review for this condo. The fact that remodeling is in progress for the unit below us and the resulting noise, won’t have a bearing on our review. Condo living has these issues, of which most renters are aware before signing the agreement.

Going forward to the next two-plus years to the South Pacific (with only one 75 day gap which we’ll soon fill), every property we’re renting is a either private house or a stand-alone house in a resort, as is the case in Fiji for 89 days.

There’s rarely a day when the mountains aren’t shrouded in “vog,” clouds of humidity.

In Trinity Beach, Australia, our next vacation rental beginning on June 11th, the property we’ve rented is a ground floor lower level of the owner’s main house. The reason we chose this type of property is the high cost of rentals in Australia in general, comparable to the costs here in Princeville. 

The owners with whom we’ve communicated often, seem very kind and friendly. We anticipate that we’ll all spend many good times together. After all, Australians are known for being “overly friendly” not unlike the people of Kauai and South Africa, the most friendly environments we’ve visited in the past 29 months of travel. 

I suppose the fact that other languages are spoken in many of the countries in which we’ve lived has had a huge bearing on our perception of friendliness. Developing friendships with whom one can’t converse with, is tricky.

More amazing view of the sea near our condo.

Now, we’re off the pool and fitness center at the Makai Club where I’ll work out while Tom takes the car to fill it with gas for mine and Julie’s upcoming sightseeing outings, beginning after she’s rested.

Off we go to get a few things done. We’ll be back tomorrow with more. Soon, we’ll have many more new photos to share. As always, all photos we’ve posted today are new, except the one-year-ago as posted below.

Have a happy day!

                                           Photo from one year ago today, March 12, 2014:

A view of the Medina from the rooftop of our vacation rental which was a private home, although attached to neighboring houses. There are no stand-alone holiday houses in the Medina and few in Morocco in general. For more details, please click here.

Lump sums due this week…The Kauai Path…more tomorrow…A year ago, a cart and a cart pusher in Marrakech…

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Although we haven’t had a sunny day in almost a week, we’d saved these photos to share as a reminder that soon the sun will shine again.

We knew the month of March would require a few good-sized lump sum payments for vacation rentals and cruises. These big payments are a part of our life and try as we may, we still cringe a little when they come due.

Kealia Beach as we walked along the Kauai Path on a sunny day. When the weather clears we’ll return another day to walk the opposite end of the path we’ve yet to explore.

Then again, we don’t have utility bills, cable bills, yard service, and household repairs and maintenance. Instead, we prepay rent for two to three months, in full, well in advance of occupying the premises. 

The jetty at the beach in Kapaa.

When most travelers pay for a vacation rental or hotel, most likely they are paying for one or two weeks. For us, the month’s long rentals often require amounts due close to $10,000. For cruises, there’s often a balance owing after a deposit of $5000 or $6000.

This week, we’ll pay the second payment for the Trinity Beach, Australia house of $3115, paying the balance one month before our move-in date of June 11, 2015. The cruise we’re taking from Honolulu to Sydney on May 24th has a balance owing this week of $5110. 

A map of the Kauai Path on display when we began the long walk to the right from the center.

Therefore, this week we’ll shell out $8225. The upside of this is that our rent will be paid up through September 8, 2015. In May, we’ll pay for the next rental in Fiji and so on. Although we’re always paid well in advance we continue to have future rental balances payable in advance. 

Keeping careful documentation is a vital portion of our travels. At any given time, we can reference our Excel workbook for up-to-the-minute records of all of our current and future expenses, travel dates, reservations, itinerary, and so on, copies of which we store in two separate clouds, an external hard drive, and two laptops.  That’s backup for you!

We’ve yet had to leave a beach unable to find a parking spot, even on the most perfect days.

Of course, I cringe a little when these sums are due and sigh with relief when the payments are processed, putting it all behind me. How do we pay for these? The balance of the rental is usually paid via PayPal which charges fees for processing. 

In some cases, the owner will pay the PayPal fees and in other cases, after we’ve negotiated a good rental rate, we may agree to pay the fees. If an owner is providing us with a good discount for our extended stay, you bet we’ll agree to pay the fees.

The shore wasn’t sandy at varying points on the Kauai path yet a few sunbathers’s found a more private spot.

As for the cruises, as we continue to work with Vacationstogo.com for the best fares, they automatically charge our credit card on file on the date the balance of the full fare is due usually 75 to 90 days before sailing depending on the cruise line. Once paid, we receive a paid in full receipt by email. 

The cruise lines have varying schedules as to when and how much one may recovery if they cancel after the payment is made. The policies are clearly defined in the cruise documents with a rare exception for an alternate option in case of emergency. 

At certain points, the shore was filled with lava rock.

It’s always sad to read about passengers with a need to cancel a cruise when illness strikes and their frustration when they can’t get a refund. Sadly, it’s the nature of the beast. 

Speaking of cruising, last night we watched the new TV show, “Escape.” This first two-hour episode in the series was the sinking of the Costa Concordia in January 2012. We both watched in silence, our mouths agape over the horrifying events of this tragic situation and loss of life.

Had a pair of lovers recently made this heart?

When the show was over, Tom asked me if it had an effect on me regarding our five upcoming booked cruises. The biggest effect on us both was from the loss of lives and their family member’s grief and sorrow and, the trauma suffered by the survivors. We’d originally heard about this a year before we took our first cruise.

Of course, we’ll think about it next time we go on a muster drill and pay even more attention than in the past and again from time to time when we hear unusual noises aboard a ship. Human error. Its rampant and at times the cause of tragic events. 

A determined fisherman stood on the rocks hoping for the “catch of the day.”

As much as we’d all like to have a guaranty of safety in our lives and a guaranty of good health, these simply aren’t available. But, we can choose not to worry over those situations over which we have no control and which, most likely, will never occur.

As for any angst over lump-sum payments, once they are done, I always let it go. We’ve budgeted for these expenses, we’ve made them affordable and they are a part of the amazing life we’ve chosen to live.

We’d just missed a photo of a whale’s full body breach. Darn it!

Happy Monday to those who still work. Find peace in knowing that someday, you’ll have the time to live your dreams, whether it’s reading a good book on the veranda, planting flowers in the garden, or stretching yourself to do that which you never imagined you’d do.

As for retirees…why do you care that it’s Monday? We don’t.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, March 2, 2015:

Once our driver delivered us from the airport in Marrakech to the Medina we were met by Adile, one of the four staff members of our “riad” located in the heart of the souks and, the cart handler who wheeled our luggage to the property. It was quite a walk through the Medina and the souk. We were exhausted from the long flight and layovers but, the excitement energized us as we took in the unbelievable sights before our eyes. For more details and photos, please click here.

“Down Under,” here we come!…New booking photos!…Keeping records of our travels…Quite the task…

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The living room is always a crucial area for us for relaxing and enjoying the view. There’s no shortage of either in this wonderful location.

This week, we’ve managed to book two properties for well into the future:

  • June 11, 2015 – September 8, 2015 – Trinity Beach, Australia – which we’ll share here today with photos
  • September 8, 2015 – December 6, 2015 – Savusavu, Vanua Levu, Fiji- which we shared yesterday with photos
Another angle of the main living area.

We’re excited as we enter these two firmed up locations to our ever-growing itinerary which, by the way, we’ll be posting in its entirety once we firm up a place in New Zealand.

Once we settle the details of a new booking there are many steps to enter it into our Excel spreadsheet with many tabs. One worksheet in our spreadsheet is the “Itinerary and Costs” tab whereby we enter information into columns; the dates, location, rental amount, car rental, transportation, entertainment, dining out, groceries, tips, and fees. and miscellaneous.

Although the ocean views are at a distance, we’re looking forward to amazing sunsets. With a pool on the 3-acre property, we’ll be content this far from the ocean. Rental cars are affordable in this area and we can easily drive to a nearby beach to walk along the shore.

Another worksheet in the spreadsheet is “Deposits and Balances” which include: dates, location, total rent, hotel or cruise rate, the deposit paid, date paid, balance due, date(s) balance due (at times, payable in one or more installments).

For cruises, there is an additional worksheet with details of the cruise including dates, name of the ship, total cost including tips and taxes (usually paid at the time of booking the cruise), cabin number and class, balance due, date due, credits, and extras.

We can hardly wait to lounge by this pool in the backyard.

Once these numbers are entered, we make a folder with all documents relative to a particular property, hotel, or cruise and save it on our cloud and external hard drive. Without a doubt, there are numerous steps to logging future travels but we’ve found that this works well.

Of course, I do all of this data entry and oddly, enjoy doing it. Each time I make changes to the workbook, I send a copy to Tom to “save over” his last copy for easy reference for him.  This prevents me from having to look up info anytime he has questions. Each of us references this form frequently, especially these past few weeks as we figure out new dates and locations

Well equipped kitchen with all we’ll need.

When a new reader pops into our site, their immediate perception maybe, “Cool. These old-timers are having an easy life.” Little do they realize until reading further that the planning, recording, and preparation for our travels is a complex undertaking requiring painstaking effort and diligence. 

For us, it’s simply a part of the experience and we make every effort to enjoy it along with everything else

The bedroom with queen bed and doors to patio.

Now, let’s get into Trinity Beach, Australia new booking. I must admit, this was one of the most difficult countries/continents in which we’ve searched thus far.  Prices were high, especially with ocean views. It was impossible to find something affordable located directly on the beach that was nice enough for our liking.

We aren’t willing to live in a dumpy little house, even for a view. In the end, we compromised in a few ways; one, the ocean view is at a distance but a beach is nearby; two, we’re renting a full windowed/glass door home with private access on the ground level “situated on 3-acres of a tropical rain forest with 180˚ views of the Coral Sea and Cairns beautiful northern beaches.”

This hot tub will be used frequently.

How could we resist?  Certainly, it’s more private than a condo or apartment and with full access to the grounds and pool, we’ll be totally at ease. The owners although younger than us, live in a separate property on the grounds and are still working and gone most of the day. They are well-traveled, outgoing, warm, and friendly.  Most likely, we’ll all become friends! 

Roomy shower compared to many smaller showers we’d had in the past.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to have this wrapped up. Now, between this property and Fiji following, we are currently booked out until December 6, 2015. Over the next few months, we’ll continue booking out another six months in order to have bookings through June 2016, almost two years.  Then, we can relax (so to speak) for a year, living in the moment.

The rain forest setting should bring us some visitors!

I must admit, it’s hard to believe that we’ll be in Paris in 32 days. How did this come up so quickly? For now, we continue to stay in tune with our remaining time and surroundings here on the beautiful island of Madeira, Portugal.

Have a warm and sunny weekend!
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Photo from one year ago today, June 29, 2013:

This was the veranda where we hung laundry in Boveglo, Italy. This was the second country in which there was no clothes dryer available to us, the first being the United Arab Emirates where we stayed in Dubai for 13 nights the prior month. Now here in Madeira, we use such a drying rack which frequently tips over in the strong winds. For details from that date, please click here.

In the process of wrapping up rentals in Australia and the South Pacific…Photos coming soon…

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The blooming season for flowers is fading at this time of the season.

Although, it may seem as if we’ve been searching for a home in Australia for only a short period, over the past month we actually spent many days wrapped up in intense research. There are literally tens of thousands of listings throughout Australia on numerous vacation rental websites.

The owners are sending us their photos this weekend when they are off work and we’ll post them as soon as they arrive.

A hibiscus.

With the poor real estate market worldwide, many frustrated homeowners have turned their homes that didn’t sell into vacation homes listing them with one or more of the many vacation rental sites.  

With our cruise ship at sea for 18 days sailing from Oahu, Hawaii to Sydney, Australia in less than a year, arriving on June 11, 2015, we’ve been determined to find an affordable home with an ocean view on what appears to be a very expensive Australia.

Most homes on the island have a view or a partial view of the ocean.

Not having a home booked a year out can be cause for concern when one has no home at all. By no means, do we panic. Knowing that we have a place to live in a year definitely provides a degree of peace of mind.

I realized I’ve mentioned this in the past, but some of our readers have inquired as to why we book properties so far in advance. Why not “wing it?” For us, the answer is clear: Would you wait to book a long term holiday/vacation at the last minute expecting to get what you want, where you want, during the season you want, and for a price you want? Probably not. That’s our reason. Plain and simple. 

Is this a papaya tree?

As we peruse properties booked on owner’s calendars, often kept up to date on the various websites, it’s easy to see how quickly the properties are snapped up. Waiting until a few months prior to the time we’d need it, results in slim pickings and overpriced “leftovers.” Even in this poor economy, people are still traveling.

Over the past few days, we’ve begun the process of firming up rental agreements, paying deposits, and logging all the information on our spreadsheets, backing everything up on the cloud, the hard drive, and both computers, one means of backing up after another.

A scene from our veranda at sunset.

By the end of this week, we’ll be booked out all the way to March 4, 2016, which sounds like a long way out but it’s in only 21 months, about the same amount of time since we left Minnesota. 

Some vacation rentals require payment in for the entire rental period, others require half and a few are content with a small token amount deposit. Since at this time, we’re booking for almost a year beginning in June 2015, the outlay is more than we would have liked at this time. 

Another view from the cliffs.

Of course, once we arrive at each location, it’s satisfying to be paid up but then, we begin paying deposits on future homes so it’s all a wash. The odd part is paying one’s rent a year in advance is required as we travel.

After these past several days, we have two definite rentals, one of which we’ll share over the weekend with photos and the other which we’ll share in a few days, once the deposit has been received. We’re awaiting the app the manager uses in which we can pay the deposit using a credit card

It’s not easy to identify some of the unfamiliar vegetation when we can’t ask to find anyone to ask that speaks English.

It is imperative to pay deposits and balances using a credit card.  If one of the rentals proves to be a scam, at least with a credit card, there are some means of recourse. Some property manager/owners require wire transfers of which we’d done a few at the beginning of booking our travels but no longer do under any circumstances.  

We were lucky not to experience any issues as a result of doing this but, we’ve learned a valuable lesson. If a property owner has no means of by which we can use a credit card, we’ll pay using PayPal. 

PayPal is simple. With one’s own account linked to credit cards, PayPal’s secure site, we simply send the payment to the manager’s email address. Once they receive it they open their own PayPal account (easy), entering their bank account number and the routing number of their bank. 

Surely, these must be grapes. 

Once completed, the funds go directly into their bank account, available to them in approximately three to four days. Once we send the payment through PayPal, the funds are immediately charged to our credit card on file with PayPal.

There are fees associated with PayPal. If the manager/owner has discounted the rent for us due to our long term rentals, we pay the fees. The house we booked in Trinity Beach, Australia is signed, sealed, and delivered and had PayPal fees of US $98 which we gladly paid.

A garden flourishing in the temperate weather and occasional rain.

Although we’d ideally like to share our negotiated rental amount on each property, we only do this if we paid “full price” which is listed anyway, online at the link we post for the rental. 

More times than not, we receive a good discount due to two factors: one, the length of our stay; two, the fact that we’ll be promoting their property over and over again through our posts. With our readership fast approaching 200,000 worldwide, this can provide them with future rentals.

A tiny house tucked away in the vegetation.

If we were to post our discounted price, this may have bearing on the manager/owner future, shorter-term rentals. If a prospective renter chooses to book it the property they may be expecting to pay the same amount that we negotiated based on these two unique factors.

In any case, once we leave a property, we always post our total costs for our entire period while living in the rental including; rent, the rental car or taxi fares, groceries, dining out, entertainment, tips, fees, and taxes. If you’re curious about any specific costs, please email me directly.

I was so excited to see this cute kitten on our stone wall that I failed to hold the camera steady when taking what could have been adorable.  Shucks!

Please check back for photos and details of our future rentals over the next week or so, as we continue to wrap up details. We’re very excited about finding these wonderful properties and equally excited to share them here with all of our readers!

Last night when Tom came to bed his head hit the pillow and he said, “Safari luck!”  I agreed, falling to sleep with a smile on my face.
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Photo from one year ago today, June 26, 2013:

We took a road trip from our home in Boveglio to the village of Bagni de Lucca driving across this narrow bridge to the town’s center. For details of the story with more photos, please click here.

The US vs Portugal, Soccer World Cup…The town was hopping..Today’s our Madeira halfway point….A year ago…history of a village…

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Shortly after 11:00 pm, I took this photo of the TV during the World Cup game between Portugal and the US.

Yesterday, while on my walk up the torturous steep hill I could sense the enthusiasm over the upcoming night’s soccer/football game, Portugal verses the US.

One of many flags of Portugal on display in our neighborhood.

With the Portugal flags displayed and waving from homes in the area, the excitement was palpable. From time to time, cars zoomed along the steep road, honking their horns.

The strong winds over the weekend made it hard to see some of the flags.

It was ironic that we are in Portugal when this World Cup game was being played against the US. Tom stayed up to watch the game on TV, broadcast in Portuguese from Brazil, which didn’t start until 11:00 pm. 

While on my walk I was close enough to see this flag hanging out the window of this house in Campanario.

Shortly after 1:00 am, he came to bed explaining to me in my somewhat of a sleepy stupor that the two teams tied at the end.  In a way I was glad.  At least with a tie as opposed to a loss for Portugal, as US citizens, we won’t be fodder for ridicule when the locals detect our clearly American accents, at times oddly mistaken for British.  (I guess it’s the “English” we speak).

As we stood on the veranda, we spotted this flag at quite a distance. It was so windy I had a difficult time holding the camera steady for the shot.  Thus, the blurry image.

The day was spent in a determined effort to find a place to live in the northern part of Australia a year from now with little luck.  Prices are twice as high as we’ve seen in other countries/continents, getting so little for the money.

We’ve seldom seen children in the neighborhood until yesterday during a birthday party a few doors down. There were several children playing in this blow-up structure but I made an effort to keep them out of the photo.

It’s been the toughest search we’ve experienced in all of our travels. We inquired to no less than a dozen properties to no avail. The prime cooler season of June through September provides little, if any, room for negotiation. 

More Christmas holly growing in the neighborhood.

In the next few weeks, we’ll either decide to bite the bullet and pay more than we’ve budgeted or, go to a different less popular location than that of Cairns, Darwin, and all the surrounding beach towns.

At this point, we’re trying for ocean views. That may be the next criteria we are forced to forgo. Perhaps, “walking distance to the beach” will be an alternative. Neither of us can see the charm of living on the interior of Australia in a condo overlooking nothing of particular interest.  

The season for roses is rapidly fading away.  Only a few remain much to my disappointment.

We’re not looking for a “place to crash.” We need a view, something to watch nature surrounding us. 

Later today, after a much-needed trip to the supermarket in Ribeira Brava, a few household and financial tasks, we’ll be back at it…on the search once again.  Sure, if we lightened our requirements, settled for less, accepted a less appealing property, this wouldn’t be such a daunting task. 

I posted this solitary photo on my Facebook page a few days ago receiving a number of “likes.”  So perfect and beautiful.

We never fail to remember why we’re doing this. It’s not for a “place to live.” It’s for a “place to love.” We’re especially reminded of that particular “feeling” as we spend this special time overlooking the sea in Madeira.

The view, the persona of this enchanting village, the bells ringing, the goats baaing, the rooster crowing, the flowers and greenery, the farms, the musical food trucks, the complexity of the terrain and of course, the people…we love it all. We need this sense of wonder and awe in order to fulfill our dreams of traveling the world. 

Another rose, whose beauty is fading with time. Isn’t that how it goes?  We all wither in time. But, who we really are, our hearts, our souls remain with us long after the petals have fallen. 

The search continues on until we accomplish our goal. It may not have a view of the majestic sea. However, whatever we ultimately choose must make us happy and excited. That, dear readers, we know for sure. 

And we promise whatever it may be, we’ll share it here with you the next morning when we grab our coffee, position ourselves on this comfy sofa with the view of the ocean a mere glance to the floor to ceiling glass walls. Get it? We do. We will.
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Photo from one year ago today, June 23, 2013:

Getting used to the steep winding roads in Boveglio, Italy was challenging. Plus, we had problems with the internet signal at our house resulting in difficulty in posting, often with editing impossible. The story we wrote that day may be of interest to history buffs. Please click here for details.

Cruise to Australia details…Itinerary, cost, details, deck plan and how we chose a cabin…

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No matter how busy we may become in planning for the future we never fail to stop and notice the beauty surrounding us at the time, whether its a simple flower on our veranda or an expansive view.

Following is the information about the cruise we’ve booked in Sydney, Australia on May 24, 2015. Once we arrive in Sydney, we’ll stay for a few days to see the beautiful city and then take off for the first of several vacation homes in which we’ll live in various parts of the continent.

One of our top priorities will be to go on a wildlife photography safari which we’ll arrange to occur between vacation homes to avoid added costs. Australia has a wealth of wildlife and scenery we can hardly wait to see. 

When we leave Australia we’ll then move on to New Zealand where we’ll also live for a yet to be determined period of time taking advantage of what treasures this island will also have in store for us.

Once again we booked our cruise with Vacations to Go although we’re now working with a new rep when Joaquin our former rep is no longer employed. With a little work, we’ve found a new rep and so far we’re pleased with her assistance. Anna Urban can be reached by email at aurban@vacationstogo.com

Here’s the cruise to Australia that not only provides us with transportation to Australia but also interesting ports of call along the way. Scroll further down the page for the cruise itinerary.

Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas

One of Royal Caribbean’s Vision-class ships, the Legend of the Seas is well-equipped with many of the line’s signature features. The multilevel Centrum, an open atrium with gliding glass elevators, palm trees, panoramic windows, and gleaming brass, is the center of all the action and an ideal spot to gather for a pre-dinner cocktail and listen to live music. Other popular hot spots include the convivial Schooner Bar, the sophisticated Champagne Bar, and the Viking Lounge, which is an observation point by day and a pulsating dance club at night. There’s also a glitzy casino, a show lounge, and Solarium with a glass-enclosed pool area and retractable roof. Go for a seaside jog on the top deck, spend a few hours being pampered, or work out with a view at the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center. Kids will love the 18-hole miniature golf course and Adventure Ocean youth facilities located on the top deck. The Windjammer Café is a casual alternative to the formal, two-level Romeo & Juliet Dining Room. Staterooms amenities include a private bath, vanity area, and sofa, as well as a mini-bar, hairdryer, TV, and phone. Legend of the Seas
 Ship Statistics 
Year Built 1995
Last Refurbished 2013
Tonnage 70,000 tons
Registry Bahamas
Length 867 feet
Beam 105 feet
Passenger Capacity 2,076
Crew Size 720
Total Inside Cabins 327
Total Outside Cabins 575
Cabins & Suites w/ verandas 231
Suites 87
Maximum Occupancy per room 7
Age Restrictions One person must be 21 or older
Dinner Seatings 2
Seating Assignments 
in Main Dining Room		 Assigned
Dining Hours 6:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.
Dining Room Dress Code Dining
Tipping Recommended? Yes
Tipping Guidelines Royal Caribbean will automatically add a $12.00 USD gratuity ($14.25 USD for Suite guests) to each guest’s onboard SeaPass® account on a daily basis. 15% tip included on beverage orders.
Onboard Currency US Dollar
Services & Amenities
Bars/Lounges 8
Beauty Salon/Barber Shop Yes
Casino Yes
Note: The casino does not operate when sailing within the Hawaiian Islands.
Chapel Yes
Disco/Dancing Yes
Elevators 3
Hot Tub 4
Cell Phone Service Yes
Internet Center Yes
Wireless Internet Access Yes
Note: Available in certain areas
Laundry/Dry Cleaning Yes
Library Yes
Movie Theatre No
Outdoor Movie Screen Yes
Onboard Weddings Yes
Self Serve Laundromats No
Shops Yes
Showroom Yes
Spa Yes
Video Arcade Yes
Fitness & Sports Facilities
Basketball Court No
Fitness Center Yes
Golf Driving Net No
Golf Simulator No
Ice Skating Rink No
Jogging Track Yes
Mini-Golf Course Yes
Rock Climbing Wall Yes
Swimming Pool 2
Note: 1 Heated
Tennis Court No
Water Slide No
Water Sports Platform No
Cabin Features & Amenities
24-Hour Room Service Yes
Hair Dryer Yes
Safe Yes
Telephone Yes
Television Yes
Kids Facilities
Babysitting Yes
Children’s Playroom Yes
Kiddie Pool Yes
Supervised Youth Program Yes
Teen Center Yes
Special Needs & Requests
Adjoining Cabins
(private connecting doors)		 Yes
Kosher Meals Yes
Single Occupancy Cabins No
Wheelchair-Accessible Cabins 17
Single Share Program No

The D2 Balcony Cabin we chose was an upgrade from the prices listed below. Plus, there was a sale in progress until May 31, 2014, much to our delight that resulted in a savings of US $1700, EU $1250.4. Had this discount not been offered, we would not have chosen this cruise. It was only Tom’s daily diligence in checking possible cruises that presented this opportunity. Below are the charges, after the discount:

Charges
Cruise (includes port charges) US $5,308.00, EU $3898.49
Government Taxes US $294.64, EU $216.73
Prepaid Gratuities US $408.00, EU $300.11
Total Sale US $6,010.64, EU $4421.22
Total Payments: Deposit Paid 5/27/2014, US$ 900.00, EU $662.01 Balance Due March 5, 2015, US $5,110.64, EU $3759.29

 Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas
 18 nights departing May 24, 2015  
Cheapest Inside $1,762
Cheapest Oceanview $2,182

Cheapest Balcony $2,460
Cheapest Suite $3,165

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE   DEPART
Sun May 24 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 11:00pm
Mon May 25 At Sea
Tue May 26 At Sea
Wed May 27 At Sea
Thu May 28 At Sea
Fri May 29 At Sea
Sat May 30 Moorea, Society Islands 8:00am 5:00pm
Sun May 31 Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands 8:00am 9:00pm
Mon Jun 1 Bora Bora, Society Islands 8:00am 5:00pm
Tue Jun 2 At Sea
Wed Jun 3 At Sea
Thu Jun 4 At Sea
Fri Jun 5 Cross International Dateline
Sat Jun 6 Suva, Fiji 9:00am 5:00pm
Sun Jun 7 At Sea
Mon Jun 8 Ile des Pins, New Caledonia 7:00am 5:00pm
Tue Jun 9 At Sea
Wed Jun 10 At Sea
Thu Jun 11 Sydney, Australia 6:00am

Cabin Choice:

We chose the cabin based on several factors based on past experience:
1.  Avoid bars, restaurants, or discos above or below the chosen cabin.
2.  Avoid a cabin with the pool directly above due to the noise from the crew cleaning and moving deck chairs during the night.
3.  Avoid being too close to the bow or the stern of the ship. The center of the ship has more stability.
4.  Consider elevators, recreation areas and stairwells for possible noise.

The above listed prices for various cabins (before discounts) are based on the lowest prices, many of which may fall into the risks of our comments above.  We chose a D2 cabin as described below.  Each ship provides a deck plan from which to choose for example, as shown below, keeping in mind that each ship is unique:

Legend of the Seas Deck 7

Please scroll to the right for full view of the deck plan.
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Category D1

Category D2

Category D3

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed, and a private bathroom. (190 sq. ft., balcony 37 sq. ft.)
Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom

Category PV

Floor to ceiling window. Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, sitting area with sofa, vanity area and a private bathroom. (220 sq. ft.)
Superior Interior Stateroom

Category J

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, vanity area and a private bathroom. (142 sq. ft.)
Large Interior Stateroom

Category L

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, vanity area and a private bathroom. (142 sq. ft.)
Interior Stateroom

Category N

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, vanity area, and a private bathroom. (132 sq. ft.)
Legend:
Stateroom with sofa bed.
Stateroom has third Pullman bed available.
Stateroom has third and fourth Pullman bed available.
Connecting staterooms.
Indicates accessible staterooms.
Stateroom with sofa bed and third Pullman bed available.
Stateroom has four additional Pullman beds available.
Deck 7 (starts 4-29-15)

This is enough info for one day. We’ll be back tomorrow with more on Madeira for which will include photos of an interesting weather phenomenon that kept us outdoors most of the day on Wednesday, excited and in awe.

Happy day! 
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Photo from one year ago today, May 29, 2013:

Umer, our taxi driver, and tour guide took this photo of us before we entered the White Mosque. It was so hot! Tomorrow, we’ll be caught up on all the missing dates from the days we didn’t post while we were in Dubai. Watch for a great photo tomorrow! For the story and more photos from this date a year ago, please click here.