After a day at sea where we learned all the rules for stepping foot on land in this part of the world and welcome talks, we are ready to make out first “ports”. I put ports in quotation marks because we did not have a wharf or pier to step out onto but rather we did wet landings in the zodiacs. So glad for waterproof pants and boots!
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| Our first glimpse seemed big until we traveled further |
Our next leg of this adventure takes us to Iguazu, Argentina to visit the Iguazu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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| Iconic London Bridge |
For the last few years, Jeff and I have gone to Washington DC to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter. We started the annual trip since we had time and she only had a couple of days then her time off changed, and she had the whole week. Thus, this year off we all went to merry old England.
Bora Bora
This is the last fun port for Jeff and I since when we get to the next one we will leave the ship. We have been to Bora Bora before and enjoyed snorkeling when we were here 3 1/2 years ago. One of the people we met on this ship knows of a guy with a snorkeling excursion, so we and 12 others book it which means he and another guy are bringing boats for us. So, the "friend" is Patrick and yes, he knows these people as do several other people when we get off the tenders in Bora Bora (all ships have to anchor offshore here). We get off the tender and Charlie the husband of the lady who booked the excursion is welcomed by Patrick and at least 2 other people. I think they come here more often than she let on!
It is Sunday July 13, 2025, and we are in Apia, Samoa. Then 24 hours later, it is Sunday July 13, 2025, and we are in Pago Pago, American Samoa. No there is not a typo there and yes you read it correctly. While sailing from Samoa to American Samoa we crossed the international dateline, so we had the same calendar date 2 days in a row. It proved to be a challenge for some of the ship's computers. Reservations for the specialty restaurants had to be done manually and at one-point American Samoa dropped off our itinerary. Unfortunately, both countries are very religious so many things were closed at both stops since it was Sunday to both islands - no shopping and we had to be conscientious of the times as we passed churches.
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| I got my revenge from Jeff putting me in danger on these trips! |
Mystery Island, Vanuatu
Vanuatu is an island nation that was under both British and French control (together believe it or not) until the 1970s. Now it is a popular tourism spot for Australians. Originally, we had 2 ports in the country, but the other island is still rebuilding after a one two punch of earthquake and cyclone both in December. We did visit Mystery Island so named during WWII. The US built an airstrip on the island in such a way that the Japanese could not figure out where the planes were going and coming from. Now this is a little island as in you can walk around the whole thing in 30 minutes so it is kind of amazing that A there is an airstrip here and B that it could be so well hidden! Also no one lives on this island. The locals believe it is inhabited by spirits so it is taboo to live here. All the recreation we will be offered is brought over from the main island.
