Part 1…Booking cruises and competitive pricing… How do we book our cruises for the best pricing?…

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The fact that I was standing on a steep hill is evidenced in this lopsided photo of this steeple in the hills in Sao Vincente. Certainly, I could have straightened the camera to adjust, but I was distracted by the views.

Currently, we have four cruises booked with more we hope to book over the next several months. Yesterday, we posted our upcoming itinerary from July 31, 2014, through April 11, 2016.  f you’d like to see it, please click here.

The vineyards, the sparse trees, and the mountains in the background create a pretty scene.

Finding the best possible prices for cruises is tricky and time-consuming. Since we began our travels outside the US 18 months ago, we’ve been on 10 cruises, all of them booked through Vacations to Go where we received the best pricing.

The rich soil in the hills is ideal for gardens and farms in this scene from Sao Vincente.

Now, as time marches on, we’re finding competitive pricing at other sites for the cruises we’re yet to book.  Booking cruises is not as easy a task as one might think.

The well-utilized hills illustrate the creativity of the people of Madeira in using their surroundings.

There are several factors that determine the starting prices of the cruises:

  1. Rating of the ship: Rated from one to five stars
  2. Cruise itinerary: Certain itineraries are always more expensive than others
  3. Length of the cruise: Longer doesn’t necessarily equate to a lower price
  4. The popularity of the cruise: Supply and demand
  5. Time of the year: Often the best time of year to cruise is often between Christmas and New Year’s due to lack of demand and in the first two weeks of January when the public is experiencing holiday withdrawal. Or, if one prefers a cruise can be booked during hurricane season in the Caribbean for a better price.
  6. Taxes, fees, including gratuities (which is seldom shown in the advertised price but often is required to be paid to paid at final payment), special promotions, discounts for past customers, coupons, or discounts for special categories such as AARP and others.
More beautiful farming in Sao Vincent.

The following personal preferences determine the final costs for a cruise:

  1. Cabin selection: Inside cabin (no windows), Oceanview (from a small to large window depending on the ship), Balcony (includes a varying in size balcony accessed through sliding doors from inside the cabin), and Suite
  2. Category selection: In each of the above cabin selections, there are Categories with varying pricing which may double the price or more, as in the case of Suites, which can be from a Mini-Suite (extra amenities, slightly larger) all the way to a “Grand or Royal” Suites (apartment/penthouse type suites). Some cabins may have an obstructed or partially obstructed view or be above or below a noisy venue which may or may not have a bearing on the price.
  3. Location of the cabin on the ship: The deck number, proximity to areas customer favors, easy access to stairs or elevators, etc.
  4. Side of the ship on which the cabin is located for best viewing when sailing past points of interest.
  5. Packages and excursions preferred: Beverages package (multiple categories as much as USD $59, EU $43.40 per person/per day!), specialty dining (not all meals are included on cruises. There are often multiple restaurants each with a “fixed price” that can be booked. Excursions at varying ports of call from private tours to bus tours.
  6. Internet: Internet fees are outrageous on cruises, usually at US $.75, EU $.55, per minute to prepaid packages bringing the cost down as much as 50%. 
  7. Spa and salon services, personal trainers, specialty training in various categories, personal purchases, photos (often taken without your permission and later offered to you at high prices), casino, art auctions, etc.
  8. Beverages not included in either a pre-purchased beverage package or if no beverage package is purchased, the cost of drinks not included with meals (coffee or tea) or provided at complimentary coffee/tea stations located in the pool and casual dining areas; bottled water, soda, specialty coffees, and alcoholic beverages.  These can add to as much as a 25% increase in the overall cost of the cruise plus an added 15% gratuity on both beverage packages and individual beverage purchases.
  9. On many cruises, there are special activities and events that may impose additional costs if the customer chooses to partake such as bingo and other games with cash prices, dance lessons,  etc.
  10. Travel insurance: This may be as much as US $50 per person/per day of the cruise. (We never purchase travel insurance on specific cruises. We each have an annual travel insurance policy that provides this type of coverage at a considerably lower price).
As we approached the ocean in Sao Vincente.  The road was too narrow to stop.  I took this photo while the car was moving.

All of the above come into play when we decide to book a cruise. We have no delusions as to these costs and luckily did our research before booking our first cruise. Having an experienced cruise agent is also a factor which incurs no obvious additional cost.

This was the first swimming pool we’ve seen on the island of Madeira. With the cool climate, a pool, unless heated, wouldn’t be enjoyable. This may be a small hotel or B & B.

Tomorrow, we’ll describe the cabins we typically choose and why, the amenities we prefer, the extras we willingly include and, the cost of a few of our upcoming cruises as listed in yesterday’s itinerary.

Please check back.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, July 5, 2013:

Driving through Collodi, Italy, the village where the author of Pinocchio lived, we spotted the Villa Garzoni, a restored mansion which we believe is now a hotel. For details from that date, please click here.

Happy 4th of July to those in the US!…New itinerary for 620 days, posted here today!…

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Yesterday, we entered the longest tunnel we’ve been through in our travels, the “Tunel da Encumeada” as we drove to Sao Vincente. Click here for a short video we found on YouTube, taken at 2x speed through this tunnel. It took us almost four minutes to drive through it.

We both wish all of our family and friends in the US a happy and safe 4th of July. It’s great it fell on a Friday, so all of you still working have a nice long weekend. Enjoy the festivities and fireworks!

Here it is, folks, our itinerary from July 31, 2014, to April 11, 2016, all of which is booked and set for our arrival, except for a few flights and a few one-night hotel stays:

Flight
Madeira, Portugal to Paris, France		 0 7/31/2014
Paris
Hotel 		 15 7/31/2014-8/16/2014
Tunnel
(Chunnel) Paris to London		 0 8/16/2014
London
Hotel 		 15 8/16/2014
-8/31/2014
London to Boston – Cruise 14 8/31/2014
– 9/14/2014
Hotel Boston 3 9/14/2014
– 9/17/2014
Flight Boston
to Vancouver		 0 9/17/2014
Hotel
Vancouver 		 6 9/17/2013
– 9/23/2014
Vancouver to Honolulu – Cruise 12 9/23/2014
– 10/5/2014
Honolulu/Waikiki
Rental 		 11 10/5/2014
– 10/16/2014
Maui Rental 57 10/16/2014
– 12/1/2014
1st house
Pahoe Hawaii Rental 		 46 12/1/2014 – 1/14/2015
2nd house
Pahoe Rental  (family visiting)		 0 12/20/2014  – 1/3/2015
Kauai Hawaii
Rental		 120 1/15/2015 – 5/14/2015
Honolulu/Waikiki
Hotel		 9 5/15/2015 – 5/24/2015
Honolulu to
Sydney – Cruise		 18 5/24/2015  – 6/11/2015
Trinity
Beach, Australia		 89 6/11/2015 – 9/8/2015
Fiji Rental
-Savusavu Island		 89 9/8/2015 – 12/6/2015
Fiji Rental
#2 – Fiji Main Island		 29 12/6/2015 – 1/4/2016
Sydney Hotel 1 1/4/2016 – 1/5/2016
Sydney to
Aukland – Cruise 		 14 1/5/2016 – 1/19/2016
New Plymouth,
New Zealand Alpaca Farm		 83 1/19/2016 – 4/11/2016
Total Days
Booked into Future		 620 7/31/2014 – 4/11/2016

Please note: Not all flights are posted here since we’ve yet to book them this far in advance. Flights cannot be booked more than 330 days in advance. In most cases, we don’t book flights any sooner than 90 days prior to travel. Also, in the next few days, we’ll be adding a few cruises, not shown here.

These sparse trees lined this hill.

The time and effort we put into booking the last 10 months of this itinerary was more work than we’d ever expected. It wasn’t easy planning this leg of our ongoing journey with higher prices than we’ve ever seen and many properties booked well in advance.

The low lying clouds impeded the clarity of our photos, which often occurs.

We’re satisfied with the end result and look forward to every step of the way (except for “flying days” which are always tiring and stressful). Beyond April 11, 2016? We don’t have a clue where we’ll go next other than the few above mentioned yet-to-be-booked cruises. A year ago, we didn’t know we’d be going to Australia. The decisions all come in time as a natural evolution. 

The hillsides everywhere on the island are filled with beautiful gardens.

We often look at the world map wondering where we’ll go after the final booking. We’ve yet to visit South America, the Orient, Antarctica, the countries in the former Soviet Union. At some point, we’ll cruise to Alaska and tour the US and Canada, most likely not for years to come. 

In reality, we’re not trying to visit every part of the world. We’re traveling to places we find most interesting.  We’ve yet to even count how many countries we’ve visited thus far. With over 200 countries in the world, we still have a long way to go. But, this isn’t a contest, a race, or an attempt to break some arbitrary record.

Stopping at an overlook, we spotted this unusual tree.

This is just us, two senior citizens, in-love, enjoying time together in different environments, trying to live life to the fullest for as long as we can. We feel no pressure to do anything differently than we’re doing. If we screw up, it’s on us.
 
Yes, we miss our loved ones and yes, we’ll see them from time to time. But, staying in touch is easy these days, making them seem less far away. We hope and pray that they understand and accept the “why” to our lives.  

We noticed a tour bus when we spotted this group of tourists crossing this footbridge. Most likely they are touring from a cruise ship that had arrived in Funchal, a popular port of call.

We know being away may seem selfish to them. But, we hope we taught our children to live their dreams to the fullest and that also included us.  We hope this message is also conveyed to our grandchildren. Make a dream…make it happen.

This morning, I awoke at 5:45 deciding to get up. It’s now 8:15 am and Tom’s still sleeping, a rarity for him. As soon as I bathed and dressed for the day, I came downstairs, turned on the hot water for my tea, immediately I opened the heavy glass door to the veranda, and stepped outside. 

The tourists were heading down to this park.

The sun had yet to come up and the reflection of the billowy clouds always present, cast a colorful image on the sea. As I stood there in awe of the beauty it dawned on me that in 27 days we’ll leave this island and in time it will become a distant memory.

Unusual vine-covered narrow trees.

Yesterday, as we drove to the village of Sao Vincente taking photos, some of which are shown here today, with more shown tomorrow, we spoke of leaving this island and about how grateful we are that we’ve documented every step of our travels in words and photos. 

We were disappointed that there was a cloud cover when we arrived in Sao Vincente. It had been sunny when we left Campanario.  Rapidly changing weather is typical for this island. 

When and if the time comes, that we can no longer travel, we’ll always be able to look online to recall a date, a place, or an event; to laugh, to cry, and to know that through sheer determination and a bit of “safari luck” we somehow managed to live this dream. 

Photo from one year ago today, July 4, 2013:

This is the only photo we posted a year ago today when it was a rainy day keeping us indoors in Boveglio Italy. This photo was taken in May 2013 (one month earlier) when we visited Petra, Jordan which we hadn’t posted at the time of posting Petra photos. But, we posted it last July 4, 2013, when we had no new photos available to post. For details of the story from one year ago today, please click here.

Human error…It’s rampant…Self included…

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Although views on the hills seem redundant, each one has its own unique appeal.

It’s hard to believe that today is July 1st. How the time flies. Today, is the day to pay the balance on our upcoming cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii in the amount of  US $3216.02, EU $2349.44, that sails in 84 days.  Our earlier cruise from London to Boston sails in 61 days is already paid in full.

Vacations to Go has a credit card number on file which they’ll bill today. Later in the day, I’ll look up the credit card online to verify that it’s been paid. One must never assume such payments are always handled properly.

We’re not quite sure why cactus grow freely on the island of Madeira with its temperate climate. Our perception has always been that cactus grow in hot dry climates. 

At times, we find errors when verifying financial matters online. We’ve become diligent in verifying every transaction in which we partake. Human error is rampant.

I see it in myself.  I make mistakes regularly.  With all of our checking and rechecking, errors are made. When I look back at prior posts when “fact-checking” a date or comment, invariably I find a typo, a wrong date, or an editing error. Many of our errors are caused by me after having also been checked by Tom each day. We continue to find errors.

Even a cloudy day has a certain amount of appeal.

Once again, I rationalize my online errors for this blog due to the fact that we post every day. Doing so is comparable to writing an essay for a class, correcting and editing it before turning it in for a grade. It takes a lot more time than we can easily spend each day.

Of course, when I hit the “publish” button every day around noon, I make the assumption after rereading each word, that it’s error-free. Once Tom reads it online after publication, he finds anywhere from zero to six or seven errors that I missed when proofing it. I go back to the editing page making the corrections immediately.

There are some areas where flowers continue to bloom. Although, we’ve noticed a decline in the number of summertime blooms.

Later, when I reread a particular post by chance, I find errors, often several that we both missed. The biggest problem we detect is spacing errors. When we’ve had a poor connection, I’ve had no control over editing these issues. When we do have a good connection, I may go back to correct them as I did today on the “one year ago” post for July 1, 2013, as shown below.

To go back in and correct almost 700 posts would take more time than I’m willing to spend. Don’t get me wrong, in a perfect world there wouldn’t be errors. But, I must admit I’ve become less obsessed with attempting perfection since we began traveling so long ago. It’s not worth the stress.

Views of the sea are ever-changing.

In my old life, like many other Type A personalities, I strived for perfection, never really achieving it, never feeling quite satisfied that I’d done all that I could possibly do.

In time, I learned that “Life’s true perfection” is actually based on one’s contentment and happiness, not in trying to make life perfect in the accomplishment of one’s tasks, whether it’s a dinner party, a family get together or a work-related project.

Today, we’ve included a few new photos from our outing last Thursday. 

In part, striving for perfection revolves around trying to “please others.” The reality is, that no matter how hard we try we’ll never please everyone, nor will we ever totally please ourselves.

When I think back to the fancy dinner parties we held over the years, the days of work and preparation, I now realize that all our guests really wanted was to spend time with us. Sure, the food and the ambiance were nice. 

The rose blooming season is almost over.  Yet, I continue to find a few new blooms when I walk in the neighborhood.

But, knowing how hard we worked “to please everyone” was lost in translation often making our guests feel guilty for enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Now, almost two years later, I can hardly think of having a dinner party for four, let alone for eight or twelve at a fancy table setting with days of preparation in making scrumptious food and creating a breathtaking ambiance. 

Rock formations often illustrate areas where water flows from the mountain tops.

Our kids are in for a big pleasant surprise when they come to Hawaii for Christmas when they realize that I won’t be spending the day in the kitchen trying to appease everyone’s particular tastes. 

Those days are long gone. Easy meals will be prepared with the same love as in the long-ago past with more time left for the things that really matter, such as being together.

These low lying clouds appear every few days.

As I write here today, later than usual when I went back to sleep after an unwelcome 6:00 am wake up, finally awakening at almost 9:00 am. I feel no sense of urgency or stress as my fingers happily fly across the keyboard, albeit requiring that I push the letter “i” extra hard which therein lies many of my errors of late.

I write “itinerary” as “ntnerary” later laughing at the irony of an error that I didn’t willfully incite. I do correct those errors when we catch them not as a result of perfection but as a sense of responsibility to our readers for them to be able to decipher our message of the day.

With the necessity of spending time wrapping up future bookings, hopefully, our time will be freed up over the upcoming months of August and September when we’ll be “on the move” in Paris, London, Vancouver, and sailing on two cruises. 

The terrains is not as green as it had been with little rain this past month.

Surely, during that period, we won’t be spending hours online other than posting daily and dealing with zillions of photos during a month at sea (WiFi is pricey aboard ship) or sitting in a hotel room when we’d rather be out exploring our surroundings.

Perfect or not, we joyfully continue to share our photos from our remaining time in Madeira, Portugal, writing each day sharing our thoughts and photos. Hopefully, many of our readers enjoy our lighthearted ramblings, or not. We can’t please everyone nor do we expect that it’s possible. 

Corn is growing in many areas on the island both for personal use and as a farming crop.

By the way, we’re close to wrapping up a booking in New Zealand. We’ll be back soon with details.

Happy day!
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Photo from one year ago today, July 1, 2013:

We were so far from civilization that we spent considerable time exploring the area of Boveglio, coming to knowing it well. This was the cemetery at the church across from our 300-year-old stone house. For details, please click here.

Projecting into the future…Not a worthwhile undertaking…A year ago, my first jittery video…

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This is the second odd sparse tree that we’ve seen around the island. 
The fact that we’re leaving here in a month has been running through my head since I wrote it in yesterday’s post, over and over again.
When we see these blue bags on the banana trees we know this is a banana farm. They don’t use pesticides instead using these blue bags to keep the insects off the bananas.  The first time we saw the blue bags was the day we arrived in Belize, many moons ago.
The preparations for leaving, the packing, dropping off the rental car, the possible overweight luggage and the other annoyances of departure keep flooding my brain. 
The steep stairways with railings are placed throughout the island to allow pedestrians to get “up” to the next street.
I tell myself to stop thinking about this. Let me revel in our remaining time in Madeira with the same peace and ease we’ve both enjoyed during the past month and a half since we arrived.
It’s interesting to see plants and trees we’ve never seen in other countries.
As hard as I try, the thoughts continue to waft around my head. Projecting into the future is not always a good thing. Planning for the future is. That, we have covered.
The low lying clouds always create an attractive scene.

Whenever I feel a bit of angst, I immediately start thinking of what I can do to relieve the uncomfortable sensation. Today, I keep asking myself, “What is this really about?” As I write this now (“they” say writing is therapeutic) I realize it has something to do with the packing, more than anything else. My overweight luggage.  That’s it.

Lately, it’s been cloudy several days a week which we don’t mind when the scenery remains beautiful in any weather.

The solution is clear. This week, in an effort to avoid procrastinating, I hereby promise myself to go upstairs and start making a new pile to be donated to a charity in Madeira. I still have items that remain, unused, unnecessary. Why do I hesitate to let them go? 

Lovely.
When we picked up our box of “stuff” at customs in Funchal weeks ago, it contained replacement clothing items for me; two pairs of jeans (one to be cut into capri length, another to be cut into shorts), three long skirts (can be worn to dinner in the somewhat dressy dining rooms on the two upcoming cruises), three plain tee shirts and one pair of comfy white leather Keds to replace the worn-out pair I now wear every day.
The decorations in the streets were in preparation for an upcoming annual “beach party.”

Not only do I have to cut off the extra material on the jeans to lighten the load but, I also have to dispose of items to compensate for the added weight of the new items. Also, I must rid myself of the items that are responsible for the fact that my luggage was still overweight.

When we saw these decorations we thought it was for an upcoming wedding. With the language barrier, it wasn’t as simple as asking.

This morning, while dressing I looked in the closet of my “dressing room” (an extra bedroom in the house) seeing many items that need to go. The sooner I do this, the more chance I’ll have of ridding myself of these annoying thoughts.

Only one neighborhood was decorated.  We assumed it was a private celebration.
Generally, I’m not a procrastinator. If there’s a task to be done, I do it. I rationalize that these past weeks have been very busy booking vacation homes into the future which has basically taken most of the day when we aren’t writing here or out exploring. 
Brilliant color as still some flowers continue to bloom.

We’ve yet to find a vacation home in New Zealand and must continue the search. We’ll be there in a mere 18 months. The problem appears as a result of high prices and to our surprise, the number of property managers that don’t reply to inquiries, something we’ve never experienced in the past.

These two tasks on hand, both of which are daunting to me, must be accomplished soon to free my thoughts which will ultimately add to my ability to enjoy our remaining time on this lovely island.

An appealing entrance to a house in our neighborhood.

OK.  The world has seen my commitment, in writing, of the intent to accomplish these two tasks within a week.  With a plan in mind, I find myself on the road to “mental freedom” looking forward to reporting back that these tasks are accomplished, the sooner the better.

Now I have to hang today’s load of laundry outdoors, do some chopping and dicing for dinner, and hopefully, run upstairs and make the first pile of items for which I’m willing to say “goodbye.”After that, both of us will be back online searching for a home in New Zealand. 
Stay tuned…
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Photo from one year ago today, June 30, 2013:
This video was from the church bells ringing from the church bell tower across the way from us while we lived in Boveglio, Italy. (Having no video taking experience to speak of, it was jittery). It rang the longest on Saturday evenings at 6:00 pm in preparation for Saturday mass. For details from that day, 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.

New 89 day booking in Fiji with photos!…Who knew it was do-able?…More bookings and itinerary updates coming…

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View overlooking the resort to the sea. Due to the necessity of resizing the photos on the resort’s site, these photos are a bit blurry. To see details, please click here for the Homeaway listing.

With strict 90-day visa requirements in Australia, we had to make a plan to spend more time outside o Australia. Rather than fly in and out of the continent to have a chance to start another 90 day period, we decided that living in another country in South Pacific for yet another 89 days makes the most sense. This way we can return to Australia to begin another 90-day visa. 

The veranda at our private villa, an actual separate house.

We’ll be able to purchase a one year visa online, still requiring us to stay only 90 days at a time, that will allow us to go in and out of Australia with greater ease over a period of one year. 

Another veranda view.

Long ago, we both expressed an interest in Fiji as we considered living in Australia for varying periods of time. We love island living which in most cases, provides us with close proximity to the sea and of course, the kind of views we can’t seem to resist.

When we originally looked for vacation rentals in Fiji awhile back, we were quickly frustrated by the rates and gave up. With the new booking in Australia, we had a new determination to find something wonderful at an affordable price. Once again “safari luck” kicked in and just like that, we found a fabulous resort that worked out an excellent price for us for half as much as we’d expected to pay.

The beach at the resort.

The information we’re sharing today isn’t sequential for our booking dates. Prior to living in Fiji, we’ll be living in Australia for 89 days which information we’ve yet to share here. This weekend, the owners of the Australian rental will send us their photos of their lovely property in Trinity Beach, Australia, which we’ll post the next day.

While in Belize, our first vacation rental outside of the US, we lived at the gorgeous Laru Beya resort in Placencia, loving every moment with our condo unit directly on the ocean on ground level. From the attentive staff, included cleaning and laundry twice weekly, to the infinity pool, restaurant, and bar, it was ideal. Most of all, we made wonderful friends with whom we’ve stayed in touch.

We’ll be living on the island of Vanua Levu in the village of Savusavu which is situated above the main island of Fiji, away from the bulk of the tourist hubbub on the main island of Fiji.

Beginning on September 8, 2015 (day of daughter Tammy’s birthday, day after son Greg’s) until December 6, 2015, we’ll live on an island paradise for a full 89 days, another resort on the remote island of Vanua Levu in the town of Savusavu as shown in this above map. 

Prior to booking this property, we researched transportation to the somewhat remote island.  We’ll fly from Cairns, Australia, (the closest airport to the rental in Trinity Beach, Australia) for a total of 10 hours to arrive in Vanua Levu. It’s a long flight with multiple layovers but considerably less time than many of our previous flights.

A portion of the living area.
We won’t need a car while on the island with a reliable driver (raved about in the reviews) that can easily take us anywhere we’d like to go at a reasonable rate. With the high cost for rental cars on the remote island for such an extended period, we’ll be content to request the driver for dining out, shopping, and exploring the island. 

This is an excellent scenario for us, a quiet location directly on the ocean away from the tourist hubbub and yet relatively accessible to fulfill our needs for shopping, dining out, and entertainment. This island appears to be comparable to one’s vision of “hiding away on a deserted island.”  

View from the living room.

We anticipate that staying at this resort will be comparable to those vacations in our old lives, those that we never wanted to end. With 89 days on this island, we’ll satisfy that longing, ready to head back to Australia for a short stint and then on to New Zealand. Although we haven’t pinned down the locations yet, we’re working on New Zealand now, hoping to wrap it up in the next several days.

As with any new booking, there’s a bit of trepidation as to whether the property will prove to be as it’s described on the website. Our first booking outside of the US in Belize resulted in our staying only a week when there was seldom running water and there were holes in the window screens. 

Master bedroom.

Within days of arrival, I had no less than 100 inflamed bites from the no-see-ums (sandflies), getting more and more bites each day. The lack of running water, more than the bites, motivated us to get out of there as quickly as possible. We anticipated that I’d be bitten wherever we went. 

Although, we lost the money we’d paid when the owner refused to give us a refund, once we moved to Laru Beya Resort we were in heaven. The sandflies were easily manageable by using repellent when outside at night. Luckily, we’ve been pleased with the diligent and thoughtful representation by all of the subsequent managers/landlords for the properties we rented from that point on. We didn’t necessarily love every country in which we lived but the properties were as stated in each location.
Another bedroom.
Without the necessity of making budgetary adjustments for this reasonably priced property, we’re both pleased and relieved to have this portion of our travels settled and awaiting our arrival in only one year, two months, and twelve days. When we think of it this way, it’s really not that far away. (We use an online app to calculate “dates between dates” which we need to calculate. Click here to see the free app.
Undoubtedly, there’s a risk in renting properties we’ve never seen in person. But, we’ve found that if the property is clean with a great view, with working WiFi and utilities, a comfortable bed, sofa, and dining space, and has a reasonably functional kitchen, we can get through it, bugs and all.
Steps from the lobby of the resort down to the pool.

Goodness, in South Africa, we had insects the size of one’s hand, a spitting cobra on the veranda, and scary-looking creatures flying and crawling into the house. Somehow, we managed rather well.

In many ways, adapting to a new environment every few months has made us more tolerant than either of us had ever expected.  We’ve adopted an attitude that if we can’t readily change a difficult situation, that no whining is allowed. Taking whining and complaining out of the equation greatly adds to one’s ability to adapt and to ultimately have a good experience.
                                                               ______________________Photo from one year ago, June 28, 2013:
 Many homes in the small villages in Tuscany are share a common wall (s) as was the case
in the 300 year old vacation home we rented in Boveglio, Italy for 75 days.  It was part of the grouping as shown above in this photo. For details from that day, please click here.

Further exploration on the island of Madeira!…Photos!…

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It was surprising how much cactus there is on Miradouro referred to as a promontory.

Yesterday, while Judite was cleaning the house, we decided to get out of her way. We’ve never liked hanging around when the cleaning person is there when it feels that we’re in the way. Needing to purchase more meat from the little market with the expert butcher, we decided to tour the more remote areas of the island we’d yet to see, finishing up our day at the market.

When we first saw this jutting promontory, we knew we had to make our way to the top.

We left cash for Judite’s services, US $27.23, EU $20 for four hours of housecleaning, explaining with hand signals that she locks the door when she was done. Off we went on our way, not to return until she’d be long gone.

When we saw this sign, we knew we for in for a treat.

As time marches on, Tom’s become a less jerky stick shift driver on these steep hills and I’ve acclimated to the remaining jerkiness, no longer feeling queasy. As a result, driving on these steep, winding roads with frequent hairpin turns and cliffs with no guardrail has become easy, rarely feeling fearful or anxious.

Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy.  We hope to return on a clear day.

It’s funny how it was only a year ago in Italy when I cringed every time we drove anywhere. I think back to my pointless angst over the four hour road in Belize, flying in the little plane to and from the Maasai Mara while going on safari and the steep roads in Italy. I chuckle to myself over how much I’ve changed!

Miradouro is a promontory, a piece of high elevation land that juts out into the sea.

Finding one’s way around the island, as I’ve mentioned is challenging when  searching for a specific address.  Driving for pleasure with no destination in mind is easy. If we can see the ocean, we’re never too far from the main motorway that surrounds the island.

We walked out to the end of the promontory.

Each time we take such a drive, we choose a new road to follow. Tom’s great sense of direction and our combined good sense of remembering where we’ve already traveled, enables us to make new discoveries each time we’re exploring.

This is the end of the point of Miradouro. There was no guard rail and the terrain was uneven and rocky. We stayed as far away as we could from the edges but did move in closer a few times for photos.

Whether it’s scenery, goats, chickens, birds or dogs, our eyes are always peeled for the next photo worthy scene. It’s ironic how our desire to post interesting (we hope) and appealing photos here each day, has made both of us more in tune with checking out our surroundings with an intense eagle eye.

This was the view from the right side of Miradouro. We laughed when we realized after all the time we’d been driving, that below us was the village in Riberira Brava where we go to dinner and  shop at the supermarket. 

With both of us constantly on the visual prowl for fodder, we revel in each other’s discoveries, stopping when possible to take photos. At times, stopping is impossible, although Tom always offers to either back up or return on the same road. Often, I’ve taken advantage of his offers, never wanting to miss what we perceive as interesting and noteworthy.

The view from the left side of Miradouro.

Of course, each person’s perspective of what is interesting is different. As we walked a popular tourist spot we stumbled upon yesterday, I mentioned to Tom how ironic it is that he expresses considerable interest in vegetation, which he ignored in our old lives. 

I didn’t intend to include this cactus paddle in this photo.

Over these past 20 months since leaving Minnesota, the acuity with which we observe our surroundings has changed dramatically. In a large part, we credit writing here each day. Its a huge motivator. If we were traveling with the same intent as most tourists, we’d take our zillions of photos and leave it at that, hoping one day to bore our family and friends with our thousands of photos.

The above flowers were growing on this tree.

Instead, we can bore our family, friends, and readers from all over the world, one day at a time, or for some, we can brighten their day in a small way as we share the treasures of this magical world in which all of us live, in photos and stories.

These unusual flowers hung from the above short tree.

Once again, dear readers, we say thank you for sharing this journey with us, for your willingness in reading our frequent mindless drivel of the mundane aspects of daily life and for making us feel that you are always at our side.

At the moment, the excitement escalates for as we continue with bookings in the South Pacific, aka Oceania, all the way to May 16, 2016. Photos coming out this weekend.

Be well. Be happy. 
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Photo from one year ago today, June 27, 2013:

This was the road that we walked in our neighborhood in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy in order to go to the popular local bar, Bar Ferrari. Not quite as steep as the hills in Madeira but it certainly was good exercise as our the streets in Madeira, steep, steep, steep. For details of that day, 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.

Opining today…Agree or disagree…Ugly characters in photos…A year ago, a moonlit night in Tuscany…

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This worm was several inches long. It’s a larger version of those we’ve found in our produce when washing it. We found this worm on the bottom of the outdoor garbage bin after trash pickup on Tuesday.  Most likely it was a result of the lettuce and cabbage we dispose of daily, when we make a salad. Most likely, it lingered there on the bottom of the bin thriving on our scraps growing to this size. We didn’t kill it, instead, letting it loose in the tall grass, far from the garden.  Look closely for its antennae. 

Yesterday, while washing lettuce using bottled water poured into a glass pie plate, one leaf at a time, I chuckled when I encountered one bug or worm after another, a few of which were relatively gross-looking as shown in these photos.
Why did I laugh?  It was done so tongue in cheek. We all want bug-free produce without pesticides and yet we cringe over the bugs in our lettuce. 

While in the US, I purchased mostly organic produce. But, I rarely, if ever ran across a bug. Why is that? Simply put, organic farmers use pesticides. If you’ll read this article from the reputable, Scientific American, you’ll see what I mean.

This is a smaller version of the above worm we found at the bottom of the trash bin.  It is exactly as I found it yesterday after removing some of the exterior leaves of the head of lettuce. Notice its antennae also, which is the same or similar worm at a younger stage than as in the above photo. This is “real” organic. 

The number of times I’d purchased organic lettuce from Lakewinds, a Minnesota chain, or Whole Foods, makes me realize how I, like so many was deluding myself in believing we weren’t consuming pesticides of some sort in our nightly salads and plates of vegetables. (80% of the world’s pesticides are used in the US).

Now, as we travel the world wherein many locals no pesticides of any kind are used, bugs galore! They’re everywhere. Isn’t this the way it’s supposed to be?

Are we eating some of these bugs? Most likely the tiny ones that I may miss when cleaning the lettuce or cabbage. I never miss a big worm as shown here. 

This is the glass plate I used yesterday, filled with bottled water to rinse the lettuce leaves as I frequently changed the water.  This worm, another variety, was also on an inside leaf of the lettuce as were many of the smaller, less visible insects in this photo.  It certainly makes sense to carefully wash the produce, unless one likes to eat insects and dirt. 

Then again, there is lots of talk (yikes, in the unreliable media) about our future diet consisting in part of consuming insects as a source of protein. Here is an article from National Geographic on this topic.

So, the question I ask of all of us, vehemently against pesticides of any kind…are we willing to handle the insects that come with “real” organic produce as we’ve experienced as we’ve traveled the world? For us, the answer is yes.

Although I make a disgusted look on my face when I rinse away the grosser looking worms and such, a look I can hardly displace with a smile, I know that eating this way is best for us when all is said and done.

Should we ever live back in the US, we’ll have no option to consume some form of pesticides when even the local farmers are using certain products to some degree. 

For several years, in our old lives, we purchased a weekly vegetable box of “organic” vegetables called a CSA (community supported agriculture) from local farmers, oddly cousins of Tom, neatly placed in a reusable cardboard box to be returned each week to be refilled. 

At the time, I felt warm and fuzzy buying our produce this way, tenderly handling each item with love and care.  Now as I look back, I rarely found a bug and if so, it just flew into the box as I transported it home. 

Since we left the US, we’ve found tons of bugs in our produce in every country in which we purchased from local farms. Although, in some countries, few insects were found in the mass-produced bagged or loose veggies from the grocery stores. 

But, here in Madeira, whether from the grocery store or the produce truck guy, there are tons of bugs. This makes me smile, not while I’m cleaning it of course, but while we’re eating it.

I don’t mean to burst the bubble of those of you in the US and other countries where organic isn’t truly pesticide-free, trying to do your best to buy organic. Doing so, your still way ahead of the game as stated in the above article. 

Our lettuce, ready to break up into bite-sized pieces, after it’s been carefully cleaned. 

How does one, up the ante and get the “real deal”?  Search for local farmers, asking what they use for pesticides, researching the products they use to ensure it is acceptable to you. Purchase their produce and see for yourself. Bugs or no bugs? No bugs? Pesticides are used. 

I’ve yet to find one head of lettuce or cabbage without a definitive sign of insects; holes from their eating the produce or, the insects themselves, small or large. It’s clearly evident.

Forty percent of the US population cares about buying some, if not all, of their produce from organic farms. This matters a lot of us. 

Sure, at the grocery store, here in Madeira we can buy imported bagged lettuce and cabbage. No bugs in those bags, I assure you. We don’t buy those bags or any bagged vegetables for that matter. But, at our local supermarket, Continente, a Portuguese chain, the loose produce has zillions of bugs.

As I shop, I search for tomatoes without holes which is no guarantee that there won’t be a worm hiding inside chomping away at my pre-guacamole. Speaking of which, I haven’t found insects in avocados, due to their tough skin. The little buggers don’t want to work that hard when just a garden row away, lettuce, cabbage, and other loose-leaf and penetrable produce await their invasion.

Cabbage we’ll be using today. The huge outside leaves have been removed and yet insects remain at the easier to reach the stem. Seldom, do we find insects deep into the leaves, due to the density of a head of cabbage.  In any case, a good washing is necessary before we slice the leaves into coleslaw sized bits. Lately, for variety, we’ve been making salads with half cabbage and lettuce, adding diced carrots, making our own dressing. 

So there it is, my disappointment, hopefully not too negative, opining on the reality of true organic produce.  Sadly, the food industry and the media have been deluding us for way too long for the safety of our food. The responsibility lies within each of us to research to discover our own stance and stick with it to the best of our ability. 

When I see my dear Facebook friends sharing articles about GMO (that’s for another day) and pesticide-free farming, I simply ask this question: Look at today’s photos of insects on our lettuce and ask yourself if you’d be willing to deal with these types of insects every day. If you are, you can take your stance, grow your own produce, or find a local farmer who won’t use any pesticides. 

Otherwise, I choose not to complain and love those bugs even those as shown above with those ugly antennae.

Note: Exciting news tomorrow. Stay tuned!
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Photo from one year ago today, June 25, 2013:

Moon over the hills of Tuscany a year ago today. For details from that date including a great photo of Tom, 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.