The Grand Adventure of Howard and Dianne. Viking World Cruise December 23, 2023 to May 9, 2024

Our bags were picked up on December 7. Off we go

One week from today we start our journey

And off we go

Bob and Liz took us to the airport yesterday. We left Truckee at 8. Drove to Reno, checked our bags, went through security and were standing in line for coffee at 9:02. Who knew! \240Easy day. Everything was on time but it took us all day to get to Ft Lauderdale. Arrived at midnight Florida time \240

Breakfast this morning on a beach front restaurant. Little windy but the temp is around 70. Locals have jackets on. Boarding the ship tomorrow around 11. So excited

Merry Christmas Eve

Today we sailed past Cuba on our way to Cozumel. Beautiful day but the water was a bit choppy. The ship is decorated for Christmas but it doesn’t seem like Christmas

It was a big bridge day. I took the intermediate lesson and then there was a duplicate game at 1:45. I played with Linda from Florida. It was really fun. There is going to be bridge every day that the ship is sailing. There were about 30 players today

The ship is fabulous and we have met some very nice people. Don’t worry there is plenty of food and wine. So far so good

Merry Christmas

I think I kind of messed up and forgot to share the post from Dec 24. So the post from the 24th and 25th will be together. I can’t figure out the map either

Yesterday was a day at sea. I took the bridge lesson and then played in the duplicate game. Didn’t finish as well as the day before but not last. Photo of the scores from the day before. We had a nice dinner with some friends of \240Rick and Gail Steven’s who are on the journey with us. Howard went to a lecture about exploration and of course he did his usual workout routine

Today is another sea day and of course bridge for me and exercise for Howard

Beautiful sunset last night

We were in Cartagena today. Interesting city with San Felipe de Barajas fortress being the focal point of the history of the city. We went on the city tour and stopped \240briefly at the fortress. Could have spent the whole time at that site. There were lots of street vendors selling their stuff and very annoying. Then we went to a public market. Again vendors selling stuff. We were picked up right at the ship but we were dropped off about a mile from the ship and had to walk through a tourist trap to get back. Plus it was 95 outside. Sort of disappointing

The bus driver was the hit of the day wearing his Dodger hat. Howard wanted to make sure I included that picture.

Today was fabulous. We took the domed train from Colon, Panama (Atlantic Side) to Panama City(Pacific Side) along the route that they build the Panama Canal. So much history and so much information. In Panama City we traced the history of the French trying to build the Canal to when the Americans came in under President Roosevelt to finally accomplishment the Canal. After seeing the landscape I don’t know how they actually got it built. Panama City is very beautiful and clean and actually amazing

The Canal was turned over to Panama in 1999. The Us ran it up until then. The Canal generates 14,000,000.00 per day in fees for ships crossing. They cross in six hour segments from Atlantic to Pacific. About 30 vessels cross each day. If you don’t have a reservation you might wait up to two weeks before you have a time to cross. The Viking ship we are on will pay $500,000 or more to cross tomorrow

In 2016 they built three more locks \240to accommodate the size of the new ships. The cargo ships hold up to 1700 containers on them. Because of the drought in Panama they can only cross with 1000 containers. So they off load 700 containers and send them to the other side on railway. The railway does 7 trips a day at 100 containers each time and can only transport 700 containers a day. It cost 40 per container to transport them. Are you getting now why \240the cost of everything is so high.

The ships going through the Canal take on a captain from Panama who is experienced in navigating the locks. The only person that talks is the captain from Panama. They have these (tractors) that take them through. Hard to explain but I will show you pictures tomorrow. Each tractor cost a million or two dollars and it takes about eight to get a big ship through. They call them donkeys. It is truly amazing.

We went to the locks \240a

We went through the Panama Canal today. It started at 7:30 this morning. We went through the first locks at about 8:30. It took almost two hours \240it was really fascinating. We had two more locks to go through. The whole day took 9 hours to complete before we were sailing the Pacific. We are heading to Costa Rica on Monday

Notice the jungle and the \240hills in the background. That is what the crews had to deal with. An engineer had an idea to build a dam on a river and flood the terrain instead of trying to hack their way through the dense jungle. So you go through the first locks and then travel through this man made lake and through two more sets of locks to the Pacific Ocean. Because they are in a drought and the lake level is down the ships can only be a certain weight. That is why they are unloading some containers off huge cargo ships. A real scientific marvel

It has rained every afternoon for the two days we have been here. \240A real down pour. Hopefully that is helping.

Happy NewYear

Today was a sea day. Howard did his workout. Always faithful to his routine. \240I went to the bridge lesson and then played in the duplicate game this afternoon. We did pretty good today. There are lots of really good players

Beautiful day and calm seas.

Today we were in Costa Rica. We went on the “City Tour” Actually it was very nice. Our guide was great and told us a lot about the history. He was born and raised here. The people have a very good standard of living. They are educated and have great medical care and they have social security when they retire. He told us that this has just happened since around 1948 or so. His grandparents could not read or write. \240His parents had 16 brothers and sisters. His dad went to school and his mom only finished elementary school. He had four brothers and sisters. His wife is American and she is a school teacher and he went to the university and they have two children. So interesting

We went to a typical neighborhood and were entertained by the local children. Lots of families around because of the holidays. Warm and friendly and happy people. Not like other South American countries where the people are fleeing

We \240pulled out of port at about 4:30. I was just getting ready for bed and it seemed like we were stopping. Somehow we are back in port for a medical emergency. They took someone ashore. Yikes. Our guide said they had very good medical care

Hope we make all our stops in Cabo, LA and Santa Barbara. We are moving again. Yeah

A little excitement to start the year off

We were rocking and rolling this morning. \240I don’t think the picture will show it but the sea was pretty rough. It was a little problematic with my balance but neither one of us felt sick.

Sea day today so it was bridge for me. The lessons are great. Lots of little tips and lots to share. Love the duplicate games. There are some really good players.

Work out day for Howard. \240Started my knitting project and we are both reading a book. Yep H is reading. Kind of a lazy day.

Another sea day. We are traveling up the coast of Mexico. Almost to Acapulco. Then \240we cross over to Cabo. Much calmer sea today. I did two laps around the deck today which is about half a mile. By the time I go to the bridge lesson and then to play bridge a little later and and then to eat I must walk at least a mile. Our room is toward the bow and everything else is toward the stern of the ship

Picture of Howard at the fitness center. One of the sunset as we sat down to dinner. This is an example of our daily bulletin we get of the activities each day.

Everything is wonderful \240- \240food, service, people

Anothe beautiful sea day sailing up the coast of Mexico. We are headed to Cabo on Saturday. Walked around the deck again this morning and then off to the bridge lesson. I happened to walk by the Yoga class this morning. What a great turn out. The picture is of the pool deck. The roof was open and it was beautiful warm morning

Bridge is so fun. I have a partner that I have been playing with for the past week. She is sort of a beginner but very sharp. We are just playing very simple bridge but we are hanging with the big boys. Just thought I would show you our score from yesterday

Tomorrow is our last day of four at sea. It will be nice to get off the ship in Cabo. Mote later

Today we were in Cabo. Beautiful day. The ship was parked off shore and we were tendered into the Marina on the little orange boats. They probably hold about 100 people. TJ and Donna came down from Los Barrlles. When they drove down to there house in Mexico they brought down two pieces of luggage filled with stuff for us. That was so great because we didn’t have to carry it with us. They also brought a golf club so H could rehabilitate his shoulder after his surgery and work on his swing while on the ship. So hold on for the results in the spring

We went out to lunch at an amazing restaurant in the town. A real locals place recommended by friends. Mostly seafood and so good. We didn’t see any whales but the people that went whale watching had a ball

We are off to LA on Tuesday. There are a lot of people that were just on the boat from Ft Lauderdale to La and are getting off and a whole new group of people are getting on. We didn’t know you could do that. But that is the only leg that you could do.

Yesterday we had a tour behind the scenes of the ship. We went down to the gallies where they stage for room service, storage the pallets of water and soft drinks and wine and who knows what. We saw the laundry area and the room service area and got lots of info on how the staff is trained, how items are ordered like wine and toilet paper and how things go wrong and the daily tasks of taking care of 900 passengers. You think you have issues in your business. OMG

One factoid. If the boat were to sink in the Antarctic you have about three minutes to live if you have to go into the water. So reassuring.

We are at sea again for two days before we get to LA. Having fun

We left Cabo late yesterday afternoon. The rough seas \240happened almost at once. It \240was so rough all night and even the night stands were banged against the wall. \240We did not get sick but we did use one of the patches behind our ear. We did manage to get some sleep. It is really interesting to watch me try and navigate the rocking and rolling ship with my balance. But I am still standing. This afternoon everything calmed down \240 It will be an interesting trip over to Hawaii and then down to New Zealand and Australia

The ship seemed unusually quiet all day today. There is a whole group getting off in LA and a whole group getting on. So glad we are staying put.

It is a two day trip from Cabo to La. We arrive tomorrow in LA

We had our final bridge game today with all the people who are getting off in LA. We all hope we get some bridge players boarding tomorrow.

Everything is perfect. More later

We arrived in Los Angeles this morning. We had to wait until all the passengers that had excursion get off the ship before we could go ashore. Then we had to go through customs. Howard grew up in La and I lived there for awhile so we didn’t go on any excursions. We went into Long Beach and saw a movie-Boys in the Boat. Then we went to lunch before going back to the ship

I took some pictures of the pallets of food and other stuff being loaded onto the ship. It took all day and the pallets just kept coming

I also took some pictures of the creatures that load and off load the containers from the merchant ships. Howard said they were the inspiration for the creatures on the second Star Wars movie. There are hundreds of them. You feel like they are going to come to life

Today we were in Santa Barbara. Bob and Liz are staying with Mike and Molly and they came and picked us up when we got off the ship. We went to the grocery store and bought some pretzels and potato chips. Miss those horrible snack foods \240Then we went to the bookstore and got another book and some newspapers.

But best of all we went to the The Honor Bar in Montecito for lunch and then to McConnels for ice cream. It was a beautiful day but cool.

Now we are off to Hawaii

This is the start of our third day at sea. It is a five day trip from Santa Barbara to Hawaii. We left Santa Barbara around 5 on January 10 and sailed right into some rough seas. It lasted pretty much all night. I don’t think anyone on board got much sleep. We actually got up and put a patch on to avoid any sickness. We didn’t feel sick but just in case. All good so far. Yesterday was pretty calm but this morning it is pretty rough again. I took a picture of where our ship is on the on board ship tracker. We are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. No land in site. You try not to think about it

I am back to playing bridge. Lesson at 11 and then we play in a duplicate game at 1:45. My partner didn’t play on Thursday so I played with the instructor. That was a bit intimidating but we came in third. Lots of new players got on in LA and they are really good players. Learning a lot

Howard is finishing his third book and still doing all his exercises. Shoulder is just fine. Starting to swing a club up on the sports deck

I took a picture of the Explorers Lounge. We go there and have a glass of wine before dinner. Very relaxing. Meeting lots of interesting people \240 Food is great. More later

It was an interesting journey across the Pacific to Hawaii. We arrived safe and sound last night. We had a couple of pretty rough days at sea. It was very challenging for me getting around the ship with my balance. But today we got off the ship and went to Pearl Harbor. We have never been before and it was wonderful. Our timing was perfect and we walked right up to the line to go out to the USS Arizona Memorial. Got right on the boat and off we went. Very moving. You only spend about half an hour at the Memorial

We then went back and watched the movie about the attack. We spent about four hours at the Memorial Park walking around and looking at all the memorabilia. The submarine is the USS Bowfin. The destroyer out by the USS Arizona is the USS Missouri

Tonight we went to dinner at the “Original Roy’s”. It was about a half hour drive from the ship but it was fabulous. It is very original. Probably has not changed since it opened in 1988. We went with Rick and Gail Steven’s long time friends who are on the ship with us

Now about my bridge. My partner and I were doing great until we got to LA. Most of our bridge group got off in LA and a whole new group of people got on. The bridge players are very good and we have had a tough go. Not getting any master points but at least we are not last. Always coming in third so no points. Smaller group also. Taking the lessons. Michael, the teacher, teaches right out of Audrey Grant. Just like Aline which is fabulous. We are working on doubles and now going onto cue bidding. I hope I can remember everything we are learning. In Hawaii one more day and then we go to Bora Bora and Tahiti

This morning we took the shuttle into Waikiki Beach. We wandered into the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It has been there since 1928. It is the beautiful pink hotel on the beach. It use to be such a prominent structure but is now surrounded by high rise \240hotels and apartments. We ran into a couple from the ship and we had a wonderful brunch sitting right on the beach. We walked throughout the grounds and the hotel. It is so beautiful

We had to be back on board by one and the ship set sail at two. We have five days at sea before we reach Bora Bora. I sure hope it is a calmer trip this go around.

More bridge coming up and I am working on my knitting project. Howard is into his work out routine and he is actually reading the books that he brought. Everything on the ship is great. The food is really good the staff is excellent and we have met some very nice people. We are having a very fun and relaxing time. Looking forward to new experiences coming up

The second day at sea. \240The water was very calm for the first day and then last night the turbulence started. Today was the worst yet. While we were eating in The Restaurant the wine cooler just fell right over in the dining room with the wine bottles and water and ice. The waiters were having a time serving everyone.

Everyday there are two or three leacturrs that you can go to. Lots of history about Pearl Harbor and now they are into the history and exploration of the Pacific Ocean. A really interesting one on Mutanity on the Bounty. There was one on the history of the Hawaiian shirt. So lots of people went out and bought matching Hawaiian shirts. Not us

We did better at bridge yesterday. Back in the running. This is for all my bridge buddies. Talking to the instructor after class and he expects the people in the beginner class to be playing in the duplicate games in a few days. Says he doesn’t believe in cheat sheets. You take the class and should just know it. Really!! \240

Off to bed. The rocking of the ship puts you to sleep and you sleep like a baby.

We cross the Equator today. The ship had a big celebration. Apparently you are a polliwog until you go through the ceremony. You have to jump in the pool \240and drink a shot of aquavit and then you are a Shellback. Whatever that means. About 100 people jumped in the pool. Some with there cloths on. Not us!!! \240We even got a certificate that we crossed the Equator.

It was a beautiful day and the waves subsided a bit. Beautiful blue sky and beautiful blue water. The temp was about 82 and the captain said the water is about 72.

When we were having lunch they were having the daily trivia competition. Today was famous quotes from movies. Honestly, we only knew two movies out of 15. We weren’t playing but just listening. I never was any good at trivia and I never knew one answere on Jeopardy

But—- We got first place in bridge today. Amazing. One day last the next day first. That is bridge for you.

Had a fun dinner with a couple from bridge. He - Tom wants Howard to play golf when we are in Singapore. We will see how that turns out.

Fun day at sea

I am writing about two days. Yesterday was another sea day but it wasn’t so bad after all. Bridge was great two good days in a row. Then we had a fabulous dinner at \240the Chef’s Table with another couple we have met. Then we went to a performance in the Theater. The gal was a singer who has performed on Broadway and she was fantastic.

Today I went to the knitting class. The reason I went was because I heard there is a fabulous yarn shop in Auckland and there are a few gals that are going and I want to join them. Tacky I know. Then bridge again. Not so good today. Tonight they had a big Surf.and Turf dinner that was served around the pool with entertainment. Beautiful warm evening and they had the roof open so there was a nice Breeze. Sat with some interesting people from Minnesota

Tomorrow we are on land. Good to have a change. Lots of talk about our schedule late in April and our supposed travels through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. We gave not heard a word about any alternative plans. Stay tuned

First I am going to talk about the 23rd. We arrived at Bora Bora around 11 in the morning. I was supposed to go on the glass bottom boat to see the fish but the boat broke down. So they were substituting a short version on a small boat and it didn’t look very appealing so I stay on the ship yesterday and actually it was perfect. I am working on a knitting project and I needed to get through a difficult stage where I had to count and really pay attention to the pattern. Mission accomplished

Howard went on the 4 wheel adventure. I tried to go with him but they said it was full but I guess they had room. It was sort of a confusing day.

Bora Bora is a beautiful island. It is only 20 mikes around the island on a paved road. The US military built the road during the 2nd world war. They also built a hospital. There were 7000 military men stationed here but there was never any fighting. Today 10,000 people live on the island

Today which is Jan 24 we are in Moorea. This island is a little bigger and has 30,000 people. We are anchored in a beautiful lagoon. We had a two hour board ride around the island and then we were going to walk around a little part if the town ( if you could call it that)

Started out on the boat ride and when we were the furthest away from our starting point it started to rain. The boat had a cover but nothing on the sides. And I mean rain it did - sideways. We were drenched from head to toe. It was very warm and humid 85 degrees but like they say when you are dry you are warm but when you are wet you are cold. You couldn’t even see the land or the beautiful mountains let alone take a picture. And it was a little choppy. We kind of just sat still for about 15 minutes in the pouring rain before we started back. That took about half an hour and then we had to tender back to the ship. Needless to say we didn’t walk around.

Now here is a visual for you. We all looked like we had been in a wet tee shirt contest. All of us 65 year olds \240and up up up. 😳.

We took a hot shower and had a yummy burger on the ship. It is really beautiful and peaceful and relaxing. I wonder how the snorkeling parties did. The water is very clear and where we were not to deep. You could see the bottom. Sandy but with coral patches. Couldn’t really get a picture.

Jan 25 in Tahiti (Papeete). The day started out great. We were going on a walking tour of Papeete at 8:30 in the morning. I thought it might be cooler early in the morning. Wrong. The temperature was about 82 and the humidity about the same. First we went to the market where you could buy trinkets. They always take you there. The most interesting part was the food court. The fish looked so good and the fresh tuna was superb. Then we traveled on our way to the court house

I have to mention that it rained the night before and the sidewalks were very wet. The sidewalks are like Mexico. One section is old concrete and the next section the shop owners have put down tile - very slippery to say the least. I am walking on egg shells. Then we come to the church

The most interesting thing was a marker in front of the church that had the the initials KP on it. That was the center from which you would give someone a direction to \240find your house. From the KP marker you go east to the water, turn right, go to the red house and three palm trees on the right there is a red gate and that is my house. T

I have no idea what day it is or what time it is. We cross the international date line sometime today and we keep setting our clocks back. So I think it is Tuesday Jan 30 at 8 in the morning. But does it really matter

We are on our forth day at sea out of five and it is a stormy blustery day. Rain and rough seas. We don’t have any sea sickness or anything which is marvelous. Howard is exercising as usual, going to lectures and reading. Now on his seventh book. I am going to bridge and working on my knitting. I really haven’t read very much. Meeting interesting people at dinner

For my bridge friends - The last time we were at sea we did five days on doubles. Everything you want to know about doubles just ask. If I can remember. We spent the last two days on bidding slam (Roman key card 1430). I have a great print out to explain. Now we are spending three days on two over one. Again a great print out. Thinking about Aline every minute

I thought I would send \240some pictures of the ship from time to time to show you what it is like. These are pictures of the sports deck Deck 9

New Zealand is stunning. We are in The Bay of Islands (Waitangi). So similar to the Bay Area around Sausalito and Tiburon. I feel like your journey has just started. The highlight so far was the Panama Canal. \240I would say I was a little disappointed in French Polynesia (Bora Bora, and Tahiti). It is mainly about snorkeling. \240I would not have it on my bucket list

But New Zealand would definitely be on my bucket list. We went on the boat ride around the Bay of Islands stopping in the town of Russell. Walked around this peaceful lovely small town. Had a coffee sitting by the water. Nice place for a wedding or any special occasion. \240Back by the harbor we walked up to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Golf Course. The people are so friendly. At least they seem glad we are here. We have now left the Bay and are sailing to Auckland.

We have been in Auckland for the past two days. The ship is docked right at the center of town at the old Ferry Building. Very busy harbor. We are right next to the ferry terminal which makes it so convenient to go to all the out lying towns. On Friday we took the Highlights of Auckland Tour. We made several stops for photos but not much to see. We did stop at the Auckland Museum for over an hour. Beautiful old building and the inside was very impressive. Three floors and we hit all three but you could spend days looking at everything. When we got back to the dock we wandered over to the Ferry Building and had fish and chips at Shucker’s. So yummy. For dinner we walked to a restaurant called Botswana Butchery and had fresh snapper for dinner. Again delicious

The last picture from yesterday is actually an active volcano. In 2019 there was a tour group on the island when it erupted. Not a good outcome. The island is not inhabited and I don’t think they take tours there anymore. We love New Zealand but it is very prone to earthquakes. They have them almost every day. You don’t feel them but every 30 years or so they have a big one. Don’t know that I would be comfortable living here.

But it is very beautiful and the people are fantastic. Today we were in Napier. Wine tasting was event for the day but we went on an historical tour of the city. Very art deco. We went on this historic refurbished train that is now motorized. The person who owns it grew up in the town and after his career he rebuilt the cars and gives tours. He and his wife are very involved in the history of Napier and restoring old buildings and running the historical society. It reminded me a lot of Truckee in a way.

The weather is perfect 75 on average. Had lunch in the town and looked in some of the shops. Fun day

We left New Zealand last night after a day spent in Wellington. Wellington is the capital of NZ by the way. We went on the city tour and had a visit to the museum. Not as much fun because the ship was docked in kind of an inconvenience spot and not easy to get into the city. Not many pictures today.

Kind of a slow day on the sea today. We are diverting from our schedule to go to The Milford Sound and the Doubtful Sound because of \240

We are on day three of a four days sailing across the Tasman Sea. Heading to Melbourne. It was pretty turbulent today with swells up to 12 feet. We were playing bridge this afternoon and we play on deck one. At one point the swells were above the window. Kind of scary. It is OK when you are sitting down but you should see me trying to walk around. Howard has to walk me down to bridge or I would never make it. There aren’t many people out and about. But we don’t have any sickness which is great. We still can eat. Priorities you know

Now about bridge. I am still going to the intermediate lesson which is laughable because it seems very advanced but I have started going to the beginner lessons also which seem intermediate now. The beginners I sat with yesterday and today have no idea what the instructor is talking about. And most of the intermediate people have no idea what he is talking about in their lessons.

Some really good instruction on cue bidding and two over one. The problem is that you don’t us it to often so I hope I remember. \240My partner is not going to the lessons so that is also hard because I couldn’t use it if I wanted to. We just play really simple bridge and our results are great. Second yesterday and first today. Still hanging with the big boys.

We watched the Superbowl on Monday morning at 10:30 Australian time. They had the game on the big screen on the pool deck with lots of beer and lots of goodies. The only problem was that it was 95 degrees. We got some great front row seats but had to go to our cabin for the second half. They had the game piped into our rooms also. I guess there was another problem. They bought the feed from ESPN so they didn’t show any commercials. I know that is the best part. Instead we just saw ESPN promos

Yesterday, feb 14 was Valentine’s Day for us. Our on shore excursion was a stop at Phillip Island just off the coast of Melbourne. In fact there is a bridge a little south of Melbourne that connects to the island. We took the tender into the town a little after 11 only to find out that their was no electricity on the whole island because of a very violent storm the night before. Melbourne had \240some of it but didn’t seem that bad. When we got back to the ship we found four people and played bridge for a couple of hours.

We were planning on having lunch and a

Today we were in Eden Australia. It was a cloudy day but the temp was around 70. Just perfect. Beautiful bay. It is best known for its history as a whaling town.

We went on the local area excursion which included the Whale Museum. The Orca whale named Old Tom is an historical figure. He used to lure whales into the bay and help the whalers with their catch. His bones are in the museum. This was in and around 1923. You can google Old Tom the whale from Eden and get the whole story

No whaling today but they have lots of oyster flields. We drove to a few other towns outside of Eden. All by the water. It is a resort area now for people from Melbourne and Sydney. Reminded me of Tahoe with Truckee, Kings Beach, Tahoe City. Lots of second homes.

The bus kept stopping at different points for photo shoots so at one point I just sat on the bus and talked to the driver. That was much more interesting.

On our way to Sydney

I typed \240whole segment yesterday and somehow it didn’t go through so I will start over.

We arrived in Sydney in the morning and our ship us docked right next to the Opera House. So magnificent. The Sydney harbor bridge is right behind us.

Today was our last day in Sydney. What a great city. We spent 4 hours at the Opera House. It is an incredible vibrant place. Thousands of people enjoying the site. Lots of restaurants and outside spaces to enjoy a beverage. Tours go off every 15 minutes. We booked a tour through the Opera House because Viking had cancelled their tour.

I have so many facts about the Opera House I don’t know where to start. A short version

Commissioned in 1956 for and estimated cost of 7 million. Finished 17 years later jn 1973 for a cost of 103 million. The tiles on the roof were hand made in Denmark. They are not white but off white and a beige color. They were put in place sometime in the 1960’s and 95% of the original tiles are still in place. Every five years they tap each tile to determine if the tile is loose and needs to be replaced. There are thousands of tile. It is absolutely beautiful.

There are five or six performance venues under the beautiful roof. We went into 3. There is the opera theater which seat 2500 people. We went into the smaller theater which seats 1500 people and used for the ballet. One theater was called the studio and can seat from 150 to 600 people. Each theater has an orchestra space and a restaurant and bar area. And a place to gather during intermission or before the performance. Most of the time there are several performances going on at the same time. It is so ingenious and all done before computers.

During the night the ship moved \240to a different terminal so we were not in the heart if the city today. We took an Uber to the Opera House. That was a first. Never had the need before

We left Sydney tonight a six and sailed under the bridge and right past the Opera House. Lots of pictures

We left Brisbane last night and heading to Whitsunday Island.

I am having some connection problems with the Journo and it won’t sync. Stayed tuned

We are in Cairns Australia today. Our excursion was supposed to be an all day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. \240It is just pouring down rain. We decided not to go. We are docked right in the middle of town so we can go exploring if the rain lets up.

Yesterday we were in Whitsunday Islands. There are about 70 islands and mostly uninhabited. It is a destination resort area and a special place for weddings. There are resorts on some of the islands and the licenses are controlled by the government.

Hamilton Island is the most luxurious. Very expensive resorts and very private. Rumor is that Taylor and Travis are going to be there. They have an airstrip and there were two big planes on the ground.

Very beautiful and speciall place. I took some pictures but is was a cloudy and a little rainy when we were on the boat so the pictures were not very good

I am not going to post any pictures today to see if this will sync.

We left Australia yesterday from the northern most island - Thursday Island. It was raining pretty hard and we were the first excursion out so I stayed onboard but Howard went. The island is only a little over a mile long and it was an hour presentation by the local high school kids. \240There are only 1000 people on this island and Howard came away with a real sense of community, tradition and family values. He said the people were incredibly polite and very welcoming

They stressed a bunch of time not to go in the water anywhere. Sharks, alligators and jelly fish. He talked to a teenager who grew up there and he said he has never gone in the water. It was very hot and humid. Scary

Viking finally told us what is happening with regards to our journey. We are not going through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. To dangerous. We are going to go around Africa. We are going to miss India, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and the whole Mediterranean. So disappointed but out of our control. We have decided to stay on til the end even though we are not really excited about the new stops. I will send the photos of our new places.

We do make several stops in Africa and there will be some safaris to go on but not like out fabulous ones we have been on before. We do stop in Cape Town but just for a day. They have not released the excursion yet so not sure what we will be doing

We could come home from Singapore but they are just going to give you a credit for another cruise. Most of the people we know are staying on board. No golf til May so we will stay put.

On our way to Bali after a few days at sea

Look what Howard found this morning in the World Cafe

Today we were on Rinca island (Komodo National Park) \240we came to see the Komodo Dragons. It was 97 degrees and the humidity was about the same. Howard went on the first excursion at 10 and he was back by 12 and was totally soaked to the skin. I stayed on board and had a massage. It was heavenly. I am having some issue with my back and need to have the knots worked out. It was really good so we shall see.

The islands are \240absolutely beautiful. The water is so blue and the islands are so green. Indonesia is so interesting. Just islands. Some inhabited with around. 600 people and some uninhabited. Small fishing boats ( at least I think they are fishing boats) everywhere. Miles and miles of islands

We were having a fabulous dinner with Gail and Brad. Soft shell crab, Dover sole, prime rib and fried rice when Howard said. I ate something with peanuts in it. OMG. They even have his allergy thing on their phone app which is how they take your order for dinner. So there was peanut oil in the fried rice. Nothing on the menu to say anything about the peanut oil. So Howard had an epi pin and he just left to give himself a shot.

He is fine. We were just talking about eating off ship for this stretch of the trip because peanut is used on everything. Thinking we should just eat on the ship. Wow. First night. Who knew. Needless to say I was not to happy.

The dragons were OK.

Arrived in Bali today around noon. We went on a tour of the city which included a market place and a museum and a temple. What they didn’t tell us was that it was a holiday and lots of business were closed. There was a big parade right in front of the museum and temple where we were. Thousands and thousands of people everywhere. Plus it was very hot. I am not sure everyone was happy. Very good people watching though.

The parade was mainly about theses big puppets. I think they were to scare away evil spirts. \240Everything got lost a bit in translation. Bali in 80% Hindu and the festival was to honor the Gods. The part of the city we were in was pretty third world.

We are here for two more days so we will have a chance tomorrow to venture out again.

Another day in Bali. We went to the Uluwatu temple today and the Garuda Eisnu Kencana. We were in the tourist area today and surprised at how many Caucasian people we saw that were obviously living there and not tourists. Not sure if they were Americans but maybe Australians or Europeans. Could be university students. We did drive by a large university campus.

Drove by the Four Seasons and Bali Hilton. That is where you want to be. Unbelievable traffic. Mostly scooters. Nobody walks anywhere.

The Utuwatu Temple has a big monkey problem. They tell you not to wear your hat or glasses or even loop earrings. The monkeys will just take them. Even your cell phone. Of course the guy \240sitting next to us on the bus put his glasses on and a monkey came up from behind him and just took his glasses. The monkey started playing with them and if course ruined them.

I didn’t really go to the temple because of the stairs. Howard counted them and there were 77 steep steps with no hand rail to go up. Steep because they want your head bowed as you go up to the temple Gods

How do you like his skirt he had to year to go to the temple. And notice the swastikas on the fence behind him. \240The seastika is an ancient Hindu symbol of good luck and spirituality.

The pictures of he statues were from Garuda. Just big statues and again lots of stairs. And very HOT

We left Java last night and we are headed to Vietnam. Indonesia was very interesting. In my opinion it was a bit third world. The Viking tours do not take you to the Five Star places where you might be more comfortable but they take you right into the local culture and immerse into into the daily life of the peopl. Not a comfortable situation for most of us. It is very crowded and very dirty. But the people are so incredibly kind and respectful and happy.

Their religion and culture believe in a peaceful existence with no hostility or anger. \240With all the traffic and people there are no horns honking and no road rage. Just a peaceful coexistence. Amazing. A few lessons to be learned

We went to the rainbow villlage in Java and to a temple and a market. The rainbow village was really a very compact and low income housing area where the people have painted their homes in very colorful patterns and designs. They have made it a tourist attraction and it produces income for them.

On the ship last night they had an Indonesia buffet. Actually it was very good. Howard took a few pictures but it is hard to see. The crew really does an incredible job.

We went to the port talk today and they explain all the excursion coming up in Vietnam. We have several things we are doing but we had signed up for the Mekong Delta excursion. Come to find out it is a pretty difficult one. Not labeled as such. The excursion director said that I really shouldn’t try and do it. There is not a dock to get on the boats. You have to walk down to the water and kind of crawl onto the bow of the boats. No hand rails and really no body to help and very uneven ground. \240So now we are trying to figure out what to do on the third day. I will let you kno

We arrived in Vietnam yesterday about 2 in the afternoon. The ship is docked about an hour and a half from the center of the city - Saigon (Ho Chi Min City). We had an excursion and left right away at 2:30 on the bus ride.

We had heard about the traffic but it exceeded any version of what we expected. There are 12,000,000 people in Saigon and 10,000,000 scooters. You don’t really want a car because there is absolutely no place to park. We went to the old Post Office where we took a petal cab ride around the city for about an hour.

Day two and three in Vietnam. Howard went on the Cu Chi tunnels used to fight during the war. It has many layers and passageways with meeting rooms and kitchens. It was a very demanding excursion so I didn’t go. That day they also stopped at the war remembrance museum in Saigon. He said that was very sobering. Especially the Agent Orange section. Hard to see. He was gone from seven in the morning until six at night. You just can’t imagine the traffic and how hard it is to move around the city

Yesterday we were in Koh Samui, Thailand. It us the second largest island after Phuket. We are going to Phuket but not until next week.

We went to the Samui Elephant reserve where they have rescued elephants and have given them a safe and natural place to live. \240We got to feed the elephants. And we had a very nice lunch. It was great and the elephants were very fun but it was kind of like a zoo. They were free to roam around but the area was not very large.

We stopped at a water fall. It seemed like a

Arriving into the port of Singapore. Fascinating how many container ships are waiting to unload. Hundreds. Have been told that Singapore has no natural resources and imports everything including fish and beef. It is a very small country and very expensive. Very clean, very organized and very strict policies. You are not allowed to chew gum. Seriously 😳 Everyone must have a job, against the law to sleep on the streets and housing and even buying a car is all controlled by the government.

Under all the tall buildings there is like another city. All the utilities are underground - not like Bali- remember that picture. Then there is an underground transport system and then the shopping. Huge supermarkets and all the fancy stores (Prada, Gucci etc). Seems like they are competing with Dubai. Several times the guides have mentioned Dubai.

Most of the financial district and shopping malls are all connected underground. Easy for people to shop so they don’t have to go outside. It is very hot

Howard played golf in the morning. Beautiful course but they are going to close it soon to build more buildings. All about money. Then we went on a Feng Shui excursion. That was very interesting. Lots to say in my next design review meeting.

Monday we were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was 97 degrees and about 97 percent humidity. We went on

For some reason my phone has been weird so I haven’t written for a few days. I will catch up. Last Wednesday we were in Georgetown Penang , Malaysia. \240It was very hot and humidf. The people are very kind and friendly. There are three religions that all

On March 23 and 24th we were in Colombo, Sri Lanka. We really had a good time. We went on a Tuk Tuk excursion. They are the little cars in the pictures. We went on about a three hour ride all over the city. Stopping at Temples and parks and markets. The traffic was still crazy and it was very hot. Temperature about 92 but feels like 100. The city is very clean compared to most countries and the utilities are underground. No homeless people because everyone has to work. Very nice.

We went on a dinner cruise one night. There were about 40 people from the ship that went. One of the hotels. (Cinnamon) is on a lake and they have a pontoon boat set up as a floating restaurant. They had a three piece band - bongos, guitar key board - and they played all American songs - Eagles, Beatles and you name it. \240And the food was delicious.

We were in Cochin, India on March 27. We were only there for about 7 hours. About 150 people got off the ship for a 6 or 7 day journey to the Taj Mahal. The temperature outside was about 100. We decided to stay on the ship. To many long flights and a demanding schedule. We are very glad we are on the ship.

There is a cyclone off the coast of Madagascar. And that is where we are headed. All those people have to fly in and meet us on April 1st. Specifically we are headed to Port Louis Mauritius that is an island off the coast of Madagascar???

Howard went on a drive around in Cochin and he said I made the correct decision not to go. We are glad to be leaving South East Asia. It was very interesting and I will never complain about anything again.

We are sailing the Indian Ocean headed to the island of Mauritius. An island off the coast of Madagascar. We have passed our 100 day mark and now we are counting down the days. The time us flying by.

I am still playing a lot of bridge. When we are at sea we have a lesson from 10 to 12 and then we play from 1:45 to 4:00. Howard is such a good sport and fills his time reading (21 books so far) and he has really enjoyed the lectures.

My regular bridge partner went to the Taj Mahal so I have been playing with George. He is from Brisbane and a real character. Still hanging at the top but every one is getting really good so it is very hard

A couple of pictures of the sky. It is simply amazing every day. See you all soon. May 9th

Today we were on the island of Mauritius. It is a small island off the Coast of Madagascar. It was poring down rain in the morning when we left for our excursion. It did stop raining but there was a low hanging cloud cover and lots of fog. It is a beautiful island very lush. The guide did the best he could to show us around but we couldn’t go into the national park or go see the multi colored sand dunes (very rare) because the roads were washed out. The island is very mountainous (hilly) because of all the volcanic activity in the past

Driving around was actually terrifying. Two lane roads (barely) and very windy. The driver was driving in the middle of the road and the guide was standing up as a lookout for oncoming cars. Honking his horn the whole way and going pretty fast. Almost had a couple of head ons \240and then there were the dogs roaming all over. I couldn’t look. But we made it and are now sailing to Richards Bay, South Africa. The sea is terribly rough today

We had lunch at a beautiful golf course on the ocean. \240Then we went to a sugar plantation. \240They actually make the rum right there and we toured the factory and had a taste of lots of different rums. The facility was very nice and that was really fun.

We also stopped by a Hindu temple site. I understand it is a very sacred place and people come from all over to visit. You have to take your shoes off walking around Hindu religious sites so Howard went to get the pictures

We are at sea for three days and are heading to Richards Bay, South Africa.

Good morning. We have been sailing towards Africa. Richard’s Bay to be exact. There were several three and five days excursions and lots on one day game drives. Everyone was very excited. We were not on the 3 or 5 days excursion because they were going to the same place we went almost two years ago with Mike and Molly and Bob And Liz

About two in the morning we hit some pretty rough seas. It actually woke us up. Lots on things banging around. As we got near the port this morning it was decided because of the violent seas and some dangerous currents we were not going into the port. So everything had been canceled.

By the way it is \240pouring down rain and still pretty rough seas. I can’t imagine what it might be like going around the Cape if the seas are bad. We are going to play some bridge this afternoon so I am a Happy Camper

Last night they had a family style Italian Dinner. It was very fun. To my left is my bridge partner Kathryn and her friend. They are from Florida. Next to Lois is Beverly - the knitting lady and her husband Michael our bridge instructor. We are not going hungry

I have an update. We couldn’t get into the port at Richards Bay so we headed towards Durban. The weather was very stormy. The captain and the crew secured a docking space in Durban so that the people with 3 and 5 day exclusion could get off and continue on. I played bridge and then about 4 o’clock we headed up to the Explorers Lounge to watch the ship come into port

They bring a pilot on board for every port to take the ship in. We were watching as the ship was about to head in and the current or wind just blew it off course and the ship was then steered away from the entrance. I guess it was to dangerous so we didn’t dock again. At least they tried. We are now headed to Port Elizabeth arriving tomorrow but the weather does not seem to be changing. Rain, fog and rough seas. Lovely

On Monday we arrived in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. It took awhile to get into the port because of the rough seas. But we did manage to dock an hour and a half lake. Off we went on safari to the Pumba Pri

We are in Cape Town. Arrived yesterday morning and it was a little bit rainy. The fog was pretty heavy over table mountain but Howard was pretty determined to hike up to the top. Go figure. He left about 7 in the morning and by 11:30 he wasn’t back. Needless to say I was a little worried. But he was almost back to the ship. He called

He got a little disoriented at the top and couldn’t see because of the thick cloud cover and it was raining pretty hard. He eventually ran into Charolette ( he called her his guardian angel) and she happened to be on a run. Yep up Table Mt. and she showed him the way to the team building.

After a shower we went to the port area for lunch. I did a little shopping and bought an African basket. Yeah. Had to be back at the ship at five for sailing at 6.

Guess what. We are still here. The weather is beautiful today but the winds are very strong. Can’t get out of the port. I think the QE2 and another carnival cruise line are waiting to get into port. \240I bet we miss our next two stops in Namibia. What can you do? \240They can’t just let us off the ship because you have to have a face to face immigration when you arrive and also before you leave. Everyone on the ship including the crew. I feel sorry for the staff having to listen to all the complaints. With the schedule changes because of the Red Sea issues and now the weather issues it isn’t easy.

Just along for the ride

Cape Town has really grown since we were here in 2016. Very busy and fun

Because of the rough seas in Cape Town we had to stay in port for an extra day. So we missed our first stop in Namibia. We did make it to the second stop, Walvis Bay, yesterday afternoon at 3:00. \240We couldn’t go on any of our original excursions so they organized a trip to the Valley of the Moon. Out in the desert.

I am fighting a cold and it was a little cold and foggy so I didn’t go but Howard went. They drove out to a desert area with the sand dunes. That is the attraction in Namibia. They had local people who sang and feature a native dance. They had drinks and a full bar and a cheese and cracker plate. This was all on the fly. Organized at the last minute. Now this is a very small town and very minimalistic. So this was a big deal to have a ship come into port and organize this for 300 or 400 people. I think they used every vehicle in town to get everybody out there.

Everyone seemed to have a good time. Howard left about 4 and got back around 8 that evening. One of the gals that lives next door didn’t go either and we went to the Explores Lounge and had a glass of wine or two.

We left the port around 11 last night and are sailing up the east coast of Africa on the southern Atlantic Ocean. Very calm and lots of seals along side of the ship. Only about 60 degrees outside. \240Very foggy.

We are at sea for seven days so lots of bridge for me. Howard is reading up a storm.

Sailing. Sailing. Sailing. Beautiful day 80 degrees and fairly smooth. This is the third day of seven and we are just reading, going to lectures and I am playing bridge. And of course eating.

Today we crossed the equator at zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude. We are sailing up the east coast of Africa on our way to Senegal.

There use to be a bouy \240in the ocean at that exact spot. They (NASA or whoever) has not had any communication from it for 45 days. So it is not there but we looked for it. The ship stopped and they sent out a tender so we could take a picture. It is a big deal.

They had a great dinner around the pool with entertainment. Very fun.

We enjoyed the island of Tenerife today. One of the seven or eight island that make up the Canary Island archipelago. \240We went on an excursion in the afternoon that took us to the north of the island to Puerto de la Cruz a top resort area. We stopped at the botanical gardens and then onto the sea side village.

Our guide was a beautiful Spanish gal that was born and raised on the island. She said she was hungry and was going to her favorite place to have some lunch. Anyone wanting to come along was welcome. I was all over that. \240We walked along the small town by the sea with lots of shops and restaurants. The weather was about 75 and a beautiful day. We sat outside along the boardwalk and she ordered Tapas and beer for us and we watched all the people enjoying this beautiful spots. A definite for those who have a bucket list.

The island is volcanic and is very rugged. Everything is built on hillsides and the roads are narrow and steep. It is clean and colorful and beautiful. Over the weekend they had a protest in town over all the tourist coming to the island. \240We asked our guide and she said the papers got it all wrong. They like the tourists. It is a big percent of their economy. What they were protesting refered to the developers who want to build high rise buildings and large resorts. Sound familiar. The island is so charming and authentic and I can see their frustration

I included a picture of a ship parked next to us. It is German and hold 6600 passengers. A friends was talking to one of their chefs and during lunch he alone grills 1500 burgers. There are six chefs. How awful would that be. He also said the lines are very long. Our maximum number of passengers is 930. Right now we have about 650. Lots of people got off with the itinerary change. The other ship beside us was a Windstar and that held about 150 people. It looked very nice.

We were supposed to arrive in Agadir, Morocco late yesterday afternoon. The sea was so turbulent that we couldn’t get into the port. The captain just kept circling and sometime during the night we were able to dock.

Everything went on as scheduled today. We went an excursion called Postcards if Adair which turned out to be very fun. The city is much nicer than expected. In 1960 they had a very devastating earthquake. The city has been completely rebuilt so it is fairly new. \240

The weather had cooled off considerably and was only about 65 today.

Some pictures of around town and an old fort on top of the hill. Had to take a team up

This morning we arrived in Tangier. Yesterday we were in Casablanca. It was a cold and rainy day. \240Howard braved the weather and went to El Jaduda Pirtugese Fortress Town built in the 1500’s.

This morning we woke up in Cádiz Spain to this setting. Fabulous

We had a great two days in Lisbon

St Malo was beautiful.