Sea Days and Bits and Bobs

We've had quite a few sea days and enjoyed them all. The time is just flying by! The enrichment lecturers have been wonderful and the evening entertainment has been too.

Larry and his new friend George have spent their afternoons playing paddle tennis and competitive backgammon while Karin, Jayne and I enjoy chatting at the pool. Here we are in 'our spot' at the pool. Karin's husband Joe took the photo.

Although we've been spending a lot of time with these two couples, we've met other lovely people. One is a British couple who spend about 6 weeks each fall/winter in Sarasota! Another British couple is good friends with friends of ours in LWR. Small world!

We've stopped playing Trivia as there's just not enough time to do everything! Larry's now taking golf lessons and I've been playing mahjong on sea days. One night we had dinner with Hubert who's head of Hotel Operations (which covers just about everything on the ship except the spa) and we learned a lot about how the ship runs. We've also taken advantage of the spa services and health club classes, taken a tour of the galley kitchen and had breakfast with the Captain on the bridge. One night they turned the ship's lights off and an astronomy buff pointed out the stars and constellations.

Here are the guys on one of the black tie optional evenings:


Larry, Joe and George

There have been many gorgeous sunsets. This is a photo of one that Joe took while we were crossing the Indian Ocean.

Today is the second time they've had the 'Gala Buffet.' Not only is the food delicious, but they're works of art!

Two of the people we've been spending time with, Karin and Joe, left the ship for a few days to take a private safari adventure. They've sent back some amazing photos (posted below). Some were taken at Addo Elephant Park in Port Elizabeth where we'll be going tomorrow. We can't wait!

We're again cruising the Indian Ocean today and it's a bit rough but the water color is pretty.

Tomorrow we're in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

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Hobart / Mon & Tue Feb 12 & 13

We're docked in Hobart for a day and a half. Hobart is the capitol and largest city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. It's also the second oldest capitol in Australia. Yesterday we went on a private tour with Karin and Joe - a couple from Georgia that we've gotten to know. We took a hike in beautiful Mt. Field National Park, went to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and saw a number of other scenic and historical sites. To get to Mount Field National Park we drove along the Derwent River. The National Park was quite scenic. We took a long walk and saw some beautiful waterfalls, huge trees and the random wallaby (small kangaroo). Russell Falls After Mount Field we had lunch at a cute local restaurant located on the river. Our waitress had an interesting story to tell us about a Zombie Run she'd taken recently in Auckland. Crazy! After lunch we spent a bit of time looking for a platypus. Our tour guide found one in the river n...

Busselton / Tue Feb 19

We tendered in Busselton, Australia today. Busselton is best known for the the Busselton Jetty which was built in 1865. It's more than a mile long and is the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. At the end of the jetty is an underwater observatory. You can get to it by walking the length of the jetty or by taking the Jetty Train which looks like a Victorian locomotive but is powered by solar panels. We spent the day in Busselton with two other couples. We sat on the beach for a couple of hours then walked into town to explore. We met Walter who was quite the character. After that we had a snack at a local restaurant then took the train to the end of the jetty and toured the underwater observatory before walking back to the tender. Fun day!

Travel Clinic

It's Thanksgiving week and we've traveled from sunny, warm Florida to cold and snowy New England to spend the holiday with family. On Monday we flew to Connecticut & then drove to our condo in Vermont where we arrived after dark. It snowed all day Tuesday - very pretty but very cold. On Tuesday we had an appointment at the Travel Clinic at Dartmouth Medical Center. The purpose of the visit was to find out what shots and medications we'd need for our upcoming trip. We anticipated a relatively short visit but two hours later we left with our heads spinning from everything they told us about how to stay safe and not get sick. We were give a large folder full of information with promises of even more that would be mailed to us in the near future. We also expected to get some shots during the visit. Larry had 2 and I ended up with 4! You can see them all lined up in the photo below. They included Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Tdap ( a combination vaccine that protects ag...

Opals and Romeos

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