Somewhat "live" from PP World cruise (long)

[mare s.]

On another thread about the Pacific Princess arriving late to Auckland on the world cruise, I had transmitted some info from a friend who is on the cruise. There was a response asking for more of the same. I asked my friend, who has been emailing me privately if he'd mind if I posted some of his comments. He just emailed me and told me to go ahead and post whatever I thought might be of interest. So here is some of what he's sent me...

 

"THE TRIP SO FAR: Fort Lauderdale to Auckland

 

Right now we are at 27 45’ South, 159 59’ West some 955 miles northeast of Auckland that we will reach in another 3 days skipping Wednesday forever as we cross the International Date Line going west. This suggests that if one could travel east to west at Mach 2 one would get younger day by day; the wish of most on board who seek such results at the onboard spa. While still in Fort Lauderdale we took a tour into the Everglades that we flew over but didn’t appreciate on the flight path into the airport. Taking an airboat, a flat bottomed skiff with engines and airplane propellers, pushing us along channels hewed through the saw grass that told us why we could only see the channels from the air. The saw grass grows densely 10 feet out of the water that moves slowly toward the south. The engineers we once worshipped tried to drain the Everglades and did build islands in it but now the ethic is to restore it. Alligators, some of them following our boat in the expectation of being fed, were abundantly present. We also saw several hawks, some vultures and a number of varieties of birds especially including the one that hopped from lily pad to lily pad to achieve the favored fish hunting position.

On the second day at sea we arrived at the Grand Cayman Islands and we four took the shore tour to Stingray City where we descended into the windowed pontoons to see the free diving crew bring rays closer to see their wonderfully water shaped wings and more ominous stinger on on the tail. The rays didn’t object to handling but we noted that the humans kept well clear of the stinger perhaps 8 inches from the end of the tail. Some of us took the opportunity to touch the rays finding that the back was rough and irregular and the belly silken smooth.

Several days later we tendered into the tiny San Blas Islands seeing the kind of short people that evolve on islands. Not much over 4 feet tall the women and girls displayed a variety of handicrafts. Bright colored fabric items, shells, carved wood and even a crude painting of the cruise ship were displayed. The girls wore many colored bands around their lower legs and some had tattoos of unknown meaning.

Back aboard we slowly moved to our place to go through the Panama Canal. This transit was certainly a tribute to the engineers who managed with utmost simplicity, a way for ocean going ships to cross the Isthmus of Panama. The lush and hilly land went by slowly as we took over a half hour to get through one lock and some hours to cruise across Gatun Lake. We passed under the lovely Japanese looking bridge with the 64 cables reaching out in two rows to the places of attachment on the traffic surface. The Pan American Highway bridge wasn’t so pretty but had a lot of traffic.

Now in the Pacific Ocean that was indeed pacific we dieseled south toward Manta Ecuador learning that the country name means equator in Spanish. There the men used a variety of transportation modes on a long, hard journey to and from the Galapagos Islands and the women went to the high altitudes of Cuzco and Machu Picchu. The Galapagos would mean more to an evolutionary biologist but the uniqueness of the animals was apparent to even we laymen. Marine iguanas were there in their thousands along with scores of sea lions who seem to know exactly how to seek the most comfortable position. The male iguana had nodding contests over territory and females. They eat algae, the sea lions eat fish, the cormorants and blue-footed boobies who enter the water like platoons of darts do too but specialize in type of fish. Blue-footed boobies do indeed have sky blue feet. The sea turtles also eat algae and the American oyster-eater catches and eats anything shelled and the orange and red Sally-light-foot crabs in their thousands know it and clear the way for this bird while ignoring iguanas and sea lions. A Galapagos Hawk flew in and an American oyster-eater guarding it’s nest sounded the alarm and made a feeble effort to chase the hawk. There was part of a whale skeleton from the whale that had been killed by killer whales in the area. Also there were the remains of billions or trillions of sea urchin spines, a sea lion baby born premature or disabled and the remains of an sea lion who died of old age after getting to his place to die and not eating or doing much of anything until he did. The Flightless cormorants holding out the vestigial wings to dry were as unique to the islands as they seemed unlikely. The specialized finches eating seeds that their beaks have evolved to eat would lead any thoughtful person to the notion of evolutionary change but it would take a lot longer than the 6 weeks Darwin took. Wet landings in a Zodiac and teetering along on the broken basalt took more concentration and agility than possessed by many but our group didn’t suffer any casualties.

While we were in Darwin’s thrall the women were having a different experience all together. They handled the altitude although fatigued the first night and marveled at the rockwork of the place the Spanish didn’t discover to destroy. Getting there through the Andes the men never saw was worth the trip and one wishes that Spanish missionaries hadn’t been so thorough in destroying the “heathen” artifacts. The train ride over gorges and along vertiginous cliffs was breathtaking but the idea of the place dominates ones thoughts and encourages speculation about its onetime meaning and use.

Easter Island was full of examples of the wasteful use of resources that brought about the collapse of their civilization. On shore over an hour late we went into a little bus and observed the people while waiting to fill it up. Some were definitely Spanish looking but perhaps a third or more had the darker look of admixture with Polynesians. Most of the cars were Japanese or Korean and the busses and vans included those plus Mercedes. The little town of Hanga Roa, was constructed of cement block plastered with a corrugated metal or fiber roof. Some newer places had the four hipped roofs of the tropics. I noted Oleander, Castor Bean and Eucalyptus in the way of flora and we saw more than one hawk along the way as well as a few cattle and many horses. They said that there are about 4,500 people (90% Roman Catholic) and 5,000 horses on the island; the horses are small like island evolution towards smallness has been in play. Almost all grassland with a few patches of forest and some cropland with corn. The first stop was Ranu Raraku where the moai were quarried. The biggest were being prepared and never finished. Next was Ahu Tongarik where the Japanese re-erected 15 of the moai after they had been knocked down and scattered by the 1960 tsunami from a big earthquake in Chile. The 3rd stop was Rapa Nui where fresh water comes out by the sea through lava tubes. The last stop was atThe Tahai Complex of moai near the ship. Then we came back to the ship, washed up and went up to the hamburger place for a light meal before coming back to the cabin for showers and resting. The red dust of the oxidized basalt may have permanently stained the washcloth.

We watched our approach to Pitcairn’s Island on the ships camera that shoots straight ahead. Because it is tall it loomed up from several hours away looking like the crown of my father’s last Stetson. By the time I was on deck 10 for my morning walk the 30’ aluminum longboat full of islanders came alongside then went around the stern to the protected side to come aboard. We went to see the people selling their handicrafts. The women bought carvings by a descendant of Fletcher Christian. From the variety of heights, weights and looks there is no apparent inbreeding. Later we watched our progress dieseling around the island from the forward lounge and then heard the question and answer session with Tim Young and the current mayor Mike Warren. They do a lot of out marrying, there is an elementary teacher furnished and then the children take correspondence courses for high school. When they were loading their boat to leave they took in a large amount of pop, beer, potatoes and all manner of provisions passed by hand and thrown to guys on their boat. Finally came the boxes with their handicrafts then the people; about 40 or nearly all of the population of 40 to 45 although they alluded to another 20 people staying there. At any rate it was a big percentage of the people on the island. It is steep sided and seems to comprise half of a crater with erosion turning the older lava and ash red. As we had lunch the island receded.

Another two days at sea brought us to Tahiti. We watched our progress into the harbor at Tahiti and could see the morning rush hour crawling into city center. It is a metropolitan looking place but lush, tropical and vertical in the way only volcanic formations can be; like Oahu in a prettier setting. The top of the mountain is over 7,300 hundred feet but there is no bare rock. Aboard the bus we stopped first at a place where one could get nice views of the harbor and Moorea island. Most of the houses are low one story construction with corrugated metal or fiber roofs many with the Japanese style of roof. Many have solar hot water heaters on then. The island is 70% Protestant and 30% Roman Catholic and the guide says they are very religious. The Tahitians lived inland not on the beach even though hurricanes come only every 20 years or so. Big waves and the threat of tsunamis keep them out of harms way inland. The 2nd stop was at Venus point where the missionaries landed and where the transit of Venus was observed. We had a astronomical event this morning at 0230 but those that were up said it was cloudy. We next stopped for a blow hole where some passengers got wet. The Gaugin museum has no original paintings but a lot of biographical information. Our lunch was interesting as it afforded a chance to try breadfruit and taro root; both pretty tasteless, some excellent cerviche fish salad, spinach around chicken and some fish. There was a salad table, a hot table of more conventional food, a sort of antipasto table, a dessert table and the Polynesian table. There was a garden stop and another to view what the missionaries left of the Polynesian religious site. Back at the ship three of us went to the Polynesian dancer show and said they danced very well.

It was only two days to Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The tender debarkation was slowed by tricky swells. In the event we weren’t delayed much. On shore we got in a no legroom bus with barely working A/C to go with Pa’s (this shortened version of an impossibly long Polynesian name is pronounced PA) to several stops with narration along the way to his house where we looked it over and had some marvelous fruit off his trees while he explained the herbal remedies in his family for 68 generations that cured Dengue fever overnight, conquered tumors in a few hours, took only minutes to deal with arthritis and on through several Nobel prize winning cures all of which had strict time limits. Deadly nightshade (belladonna) when drunk killed Dengue and any other fever and Noni juice dealt with tumors, skin rashes and mosquitoes along with many other conditions as well. Kava juice with coconut juice deals with prostate cancer. The island the lush tropical jungle that gives one the feeling that if you fell asleep for a bit outside the “mile a minute” vine that grows 2 feet a day would smother you before you woke. His house had high open beamed ceilings with Fisher and Paykel appliances except for the small Electrolux refrigerator. With his blond hair in sort of dreadlocks he looked the part and showed us how his picture was used in many island adverts. He gave each of us a $1 Cook Island coin It seemed like all the islands we have seen with the plastered cement block houses with corrugated metal roofs and lots of trash. There were over 30 denominations with more than that number of churches and they wear white on Sunday when the religious population goes to them. There was small trawler broken on the breakwater from the hurricane 3 ½ weeks ago. The usual rate is one per 20 years but they had 5 in 2005. Back on the ship there was a Superbowl Party. When New England drove 80 yards to go ahead 14 to 10 with under 3 minutes to go it looked like the game was decided but then New York Giants reciprocated to win 17 to 14.

Yesterday an e-mail from Guam confirmed that we will be picked up and escorted to the War Dog Cemetery where the dogs who were faithful unto death lie without their handlers.

Today the wind has increased and it is rougher now. The Captain just announced that we were altering course to avoid the tropical cyclone that is driving the weather.

There will be no tomorrow but there will be a Thursday "

[mare s.]

here's the latest from my friend...

"The seas calmed down markedly nearing Auckland where we had time to go up the Sky Tower as I wanted to spot the volcanoes in the area including the one that errupted 800 years ago. It was a fine view and the attendant was most helpful. I stood on the glass panels okay as you are up so high it doesn't trigger the acrophobia but just being on that outer ring did. We also had a fine meal at a fish restaurant I had looked up on the internet. Wish we had had a longer stay.

 

Now out in the Tasman Sea (that we could see from the Sky Tower) it was raining through most of the day and I expect it to get rougher than it already has. But so far it is much much better than near cyclone Jean.

 

We are signed up for a tour in Shanghai that includes a ride on their new 300 mph Magnetic Levitation train. We will be going to the Kamikase base inland from Kagoshima Japan with our usual guide who is flying down from Hokkaido for the day and I have arranged to get into the Guam Naval Base and see the War Dog Cemetery. In Hong Kong we will go to Macao as none of us has been there. I have started work on a travelogue of the next third or so of the trip and will send that to you when it is done - at least done in the slapdash fashion I am accepting as done on the cruise. "

[grandmato4]

Thanks so much for posting. It is marvelous reading about their adventure !

[slgjhg]

Thank you for posting. I hope you will continue doing so.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for posting this. :D

If you post more could you make the print a little bigger and space some paragraphs, thanks.

[wubbat]

mare s.,

 

Thank you so much for posting this. So I do not fill up this thread, know I do appreciate your efforts and will continue to read what you post.......Best, Harry