Jo at 0420

Fireworks

Didn’t know Portillo was coming!

Coffee before gym just after 6am!

View from the Balcony

Our position @ 1626 today

Seascape

One of todays red

‘Healthy bowl with chicken’

Rough sea getting rougher

The Flyrites

Flowers in the Grand Lobby

Map of Ship

After dinner, we went to see a duo called the amethyst duo. They were playing music by the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, they weren’t great so we left after four tunes. Just as we were going to bed at about 9:30, the loud banging in our state room started again. We telephoned the pursars office who informed us that the noise was coming from the ships funnel!

Rainbow- sun must be shining somewhere!

Bridge Lesson from behind

Free sparkling white wine

Ready for dinner

Dinner

Waiting for food!

Amethyst duo

Our current position approaching North America

Early evening we went dancing to the Amethyst Duo who were much better tonight and after dinner we went to see the magnificent Flyrights this time in the Queens Room

Afternoon tea in the artisan food hall

Jo has finished her book!

Flyrights

Mercedes Sosa

Mafalda

Mafalda Bio

Couldn’t make it till bedtime!

You know who 0530

The process through immigration took about an hour and a half and we were soon back on the ship though it seemed to take a long time for Nick to provide his fingerprints. Maybe they have been worn away by too much guitaring!

Manhattan 0545

Surprisingly at dinner we had a new companion, must have been something we said! The new lady is Sally from Boston and slowly we realised that we had met her before on our world cruise back in 2014. We haven’t mentioned this and she does not seem to recognise us. Will mention this next time - should be interesting!

In the daylight

The Ship Aft (back end )

Refuelling Barge

Brooklyn Bridge

Jo on the promenade deck

Air Bridge

Disembarking Buildings

Weather drawing in

Cards

New bridge teachers arrived and as we thought they are teaching Standard American. Not a disaster but ACOL (British and Australian) would suit us better. Also as far as teachers go they are nothing like as good, so we will see how we go!

Jo and cards

Jo and cards

End of day

Night Sky

In the evening we availed ourselves of our complementary alternative dining option ~ a visit to Aranya the Indian restaurant on board. Jo had beef dish and Nick one based on Cauliflower. Nick’s was delicious Jo was less enthusiastic.

Dinner Time

Jo has finished this book

Now reading this one

On the way to lecture

Lunch in the Pavilion (note the calm sea)

Our position today

Today we ventured out briefly into Miami. Apparently it was quiet today but nevertheless seemed busy enough. Having got used to low temperatures 24 C came as a shock. We went into Miami from the port on the shuttle bus and then rode around on the overhead driverless train which gave us a view downtown Miami. Skyscrapers with some interesting buildings squashed in between. From there we walked along the waterfront back to shuttle, feeling the lack of sunscreen and sunglasses and a bit like the man with the crutches and heavy weight on his head,we retreated to the ship in time for lunch at the Pavilion Wellness Cafe.

Jo’s breakfast

Flowers in the Grand Lobby

Interesting Tree

Man suffering

Church from train

View from driverless train

Train arriving

Jo resting

Later in afternoon we went dancing to another duo called South East 9. Unusually people were not sure what dance they should be doing so there was a mix of things going on like, cha cha, quick step and samba all to the same music. We need to practice foxtrot and tango somewhere!

sailing past Cuba

25 C \240too hot to walk outside. Jo went to a lecture on the construction of the Panama Canal which we will be crossing in a few days. Construction began in 1855 and finished in 1914. Initially the French started but abandoned the project to the Americans having spent a billion francs. The canal is nicknamed The Big Ditch.

Seth Gopin is an art historian who spoke entertainingly about the way travel has influenced art and architecture in the UK and the states. Architecture that we in the UK call Neo Classical, in the USA they call federal!

Reservoirs feeding the locks

Site of Canal

Sunset

Where are we are today

\240Joe’s most recently completed book

Next one

The cruise terminal is built on a floating pontoon at Purrto Quetzal

Purrto Quetzal

Guatemala

I hope we are not climbing up this

Or this!

Chanteuse

In the evening we went to see Chanteuse a female vocal duo based in New York. Described as dynamic and versatile they sang songs from a number of broadway musicals including Mama Mia and others. A good evening’s entertainment.

Cruise ship - Norwegian Joy?

There were 3 other ships in Cartagena today so it was very busy as well as hot 31C. Traffic and pedestrians are not brilliantly separated and the many motorcycles and scooters seem to take breathtaking risks (overtaking between two moving coaches being one example!).

San Felipe Fortress

Jo + a general who is said to have prevented an English invasion though an alternative explanation is that it was mosquitoes

Not wanting to be bitten by mosquitoes (zika, dengue and malaria we fortunately had kept on long trousers and used copious insect repellent!

Entrance to cathedral

Because Cartagena was a Spanish colony the architecture is of Andalusian style and you could be walking through mainland Spain

Typical Colombian Street in Old town

Garden?

Wall with coral incorporated

Plaza Simon de Bolivar hosts his statue and is adjacent to the Palace of the Inquisition,

Simon de Bolivar

During the 200 years of the Spanish Inquisition 550 were burned at the stake in the Plaza. Today there was a brief but impressive display of break dancing.

Palace of the Inquisition

Earlier in the tour we were offered the opportunity to photograph, ladies in national dress 1$, and similarly dressed donkeys 1$!

By a window- for translation

Today was a short tour as we were leaving at 1 pm to arrive at the entrance to the Panama Canal at the correct time. We reached the port at 1130 and passed through the Port Oasis Eco Park on route back to the ship. Here ther wet paroquets, flamingoes and mackaws. Earlier we had seen a couple of menacing birds sitting high on a roof, possibly Andean condors.

flamingos

In the evening went to a quite extraordinary performance from a cellist called Elanka Cello.

Elanka Cello

The cello was electric as was the dramatic performance which used dance, lighting, and dramatic gestures with the bow often between musical phrases. She played Bach prelude in D and music from Queen and the Eagles. Absolutely unique, worth looking at on the internet!

Paroquet

Very noisy bird

Back on the ship belatedly watched the port presentation on Cartagena and Jo continued her Spanish studies after a brief sleep and a spell of sunbathing.

Waiting for food

Approaching first lock gate

Reservoirs used to feed locks

The Atlantic Bridge at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal

Another view

Once safely inside the first chamber the sliding lock gates were shut behind us and water allowed to flow in and lift the 113000 ton (not including passengers) ship to the level of the second chamber. This was associated with considerable vibration evident in a nearby jacuzzi.

Sliding lock gate(retracted)

Once through the third chamber of the Gatun Lock we entered a wide open channel the Gatun Lake once the largest man made lake in the world. After that we entered the Culebra Cut artificial valley which cuts through the continental divide. Next stop was down through the three chambers of the Cocoli Locks, under the Bridge of the Americas, past Panama City on the left and out into the Gulf of Panama - the Pacific Ocean. A transit time of 11 hours, the alternative route via Cape Horn is 20000 miles. The cost of a large ship transiting the canal is about £350,000 (for 3000 passengers is a bit more than £ 100 each). 52 million gallons of water are required for a ship to transit the canal, though with the recent modernisation much of this recycled.

Lock gates opened by electric winches takes 5 minutes.

Today’s position

During the afternoon Jo went to see a production of Macbeth but retreated because it looked like it was becoming too violent.

Bridge of the Americas joins North and South America marks Pacific entrance to Panama Canal

Panama City Central Business District

To round off the day we went to see a magician/mind reader. As a precaution we sat at the back which was just well as people were invited on to the stage to have their minds read! We think we were sitting behind Rebecca Addlington.

Panama Canal

Lunch at Pavilion Wellness Cafe

Showing off her weights - \240note blue sea

Sparkly shoes

More like grandfather every day - the bottles are just water!

Mars

After dinner we went to the show an Welsh country singer who we had seen on a previous trip.

Nick went for more bridge punishment and Jo to see a presentation on San Francisco where we will be stopping in a few days. After that there was a talk from Rebecca Adlington about her journey to Olympic Gold.

How to touch the end of the pool on the turn

Olympic Medals

Jo and Rebecca

Jo in pink trousers

We then learned how research aimed at Mars exploration has resulted in the development of an all over space type suit which could be used by health care workers and members of the population during future pandemics. Unfortunately no financial backing for the project is currently available, The suit costs around $200 is reusable and can be sterilised with UV.

Entrance to Puerto Quetzal

Today’s outing was the Pacaya Volcano Trek. We needed to be ready on shore at 0745 to board the tour bus. Up shortly after 5 we arrived in the Artesan Food Hall just after 6 and it was scarily busy. Everyone was clearly thinking the same as us! We made it to the bus on time and set off on a 90 minute journey to the Pacaya National Park. The \2402 hour walk was 1.9 miles all up hill to a plateau at about 2,300 metres (7.500 feet) where we could view the Pacaya volcano. A few people elected to make the journey by horseback called taxis or Ubers by their handlers.

This is an active volcano last eruption 2010 when all but 2 trees in flow of the lava were destroyed. Looking away from Pacaya we could see 3 other volcanoes one of which was steaming visibly.

Pacayo

Jo and Pacayo

3 volcanoes

Downhill was easier as the path was effectively scree made of fine lava. We got a bit dusty but completed the descent without incident. Back on the bus we arrived back at the ship ready for 3.30 sail away.

Steaming Volcano

Jo has finished this year’s Booker Prize winner

Orbital

Our current position heading for Caba San Lucas (5) at southern tip of Baha California

Jo exercising - not really its John Grisham

Not my Prosecco!

During the evening we went to show singing and dancing by the Royal Court Theatre Company. We had seen this before but only remembered parts of it.

Approaching Cabo San Lucas (number5)

Jo’s recent book

This is the volcano we climbed 2 days ago (in 2010!) George Kourounis looking on.

Spanish Lesson much better if adequately hydrated!

‘Smart Attire’ for dinner (reversible dress - reversed)

Cabo San Lucas southern tip of Baja California Peninsula

The main features of the economy here are sports fishing, tourism, commercial fishing and agriculture.

View from the port side

View from the starboard side

Once safely off the tender we boarded the coach and went to a glass factory where we saw a glass blower create a multi coloured glass turtle.

Oven

Scissors cutting molten glass

End product. Looked a lot better than this but was quickly whisked away as it was still over 400F

Glass covered floor

Showroom

Next we were taken to Hotel Mona Lisa which has a multi level patio overlooking the bay of Cabo San Lucas.

Nick and wooden lady

View from Mona Lisa

Queen Anne

Next we were driven mostly asleep to The Mission of San Jose del Cabo Anuiti. A church adjacent to a large plaza. The plaza was largely inaccessible due to ongoing preparations for a 100 day celebration of the new government.

Mission of San Jose del Cabo Anuiti

Plaza

Inside

And Some of them say we’ve got wegovy!

Back in the bus, onto the tender and we were back on the ship by 1.30 pm.

During the afternoon Jo watched the movie Barbie and made it almost to the end as the ship turned through 180 degrees and we sailed away from Cabo towards San Francisco and by all accounts much less clement weather conditions.

To finish the day we went to see Tom Franek who we had met in lift earlier. He is a pianist who performs stunts with the piano including facing away from the piano, standing on his head and others that would be difficult to describe.

Tom Franek

Half way along the Baja California Peninsula

This morning Jo went to watch England Ireland 6 nations rugby and then a lecture by Chase Untermeyer on the history of Anglo American relations from the early republic until today.

Donald and Theresa May

Next followed a question and answer session with Rebecca Adlington and in the afternoon whilst Nick was practicing his harp Jo went to see a film called Afraid. This is about a family who in order to protect themselves allow AI into the home. This causes such difficulties for the family that Jo had to leave early. We gather the film ends with the device being unplugged and banished from the family home. After that Jo went to Spanish and Nick tried to make sense of his bridge notes.

Passing Los Angles

So the voyage continues, this morning Nick went to Bridge and Jo to a lecture on Jacqueline Kennedy, which the consensus is was a bit of a disappointment.

The Lecture

Lecturer Nicola Cutgold

Nick went to the last bridge class with the current instructors, curious to see what the next instructors are like.

Ready for Sir Samuels

At lunchtime Sally, who’s name is actually Sarah, and who we had met 11 years ago on a world cruise, took us for lunch at Sir Samuel’s. Named after Samuel Cunard this is on of the alternative dining facilities on the ship, this one specialising in steak. The steaks were 10 oz (far too big in our view), so we ordered a half portion eat. Sally who is 88 could only manage half hers so Nick ended up finishing Sally’s. After that we had to lie down for the afternoon and were just about recovered by teatime.

After Sir Samuels

Close up

In the evening we watched the film Black Hawk Down, Jo’s cousin got an Oscar for the sound. Unfortunately we could not see his name on the credits.

Customary trip to the gym next followed by an hour’s wait for breakfast before we headed out through customs for our San Francisco excursion - The Beauty of Muir Woods.

Muir Woods is one of the USA national parks consisting of California Redwood Trees. There are 2 species the coast redwoods (sequoia semper virans) which grow to 379 feet and the giant \240sequoia (sequoia dendron giganteum)which can grow to 311 feet.

California Redwoods

Hillside Trail

Hollow Redwood

Trail between the Redwoods

Jo

By the early 1900s most of the redwoods had been cut down as lumber but those in Muir Woods had been protected by their owners William and Elizabeth Kent. The park consists of well marked trails and numbered bridges allowing easy navigation around the park. Entry requires pre-booking.

On the way back we stopped to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge and then the bus dropped us of short of the ship so we could visit the shops and walk back to pier 27 and the ship.

Golden Gate Bridge

We also saw a fleet of self drive cars possibly out practising.

One of 5 self driving cars

San Francisco

After a longish wait we boarded our coach at 9.15 for a trip to Sausalito and Alcatraz. On route to Sausalito we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge Visitor Centre for photo opportunities.

Us at the bridge visitor bridge

Sausalito is a city on the north side of the bay in Marin County. Cost of living here is 88% higher than the national average and in the Hill the most expensive area average house price is$3.2 million. Julie Christie, Otis Redding, Amy Tan, Marilyn Monroe, Robin Williams, George Lucas (Star Wars fame) have lived here. We had an hour there whilst it rained sporadically and walked along the water front. Nice but not a couple of million nice!

Sausalito

Kermit the frog

San Francisco from Sausalito

On the way back towards San Francisco we visited China Town and the Presidio an area once an army camp but now redeveloped and the home of the Star Wars production.

Next stop was the Alcatraz ferry but on the way there we learned that the driverless vehicles are called Waymos and are driverless taxis summoned on the internet just like Uber. As you enter the vehicle it greets you by name. San Francisco is apparently the birthplace of Uber so Waymos could be the next iteration.

Waymo

By the time we arrived at the Alcatraz ferry terminal it was raining heavily. We had to stand in the rain for half an hour before getting on the ferry for a bumpy but nausea free trip over to the island. We then climbed to the top of the island to the cell block where we had an audio tour narrated by former guards and inmates. In spite of the guide we managed to get lost in the prison, and we weren’t the only ones! Eventually we got back on track and found the dining room where there had been a riot over the too frequent serving of Spaghetti. There was absolutely no other humour about the place. The conditions were terrible, a cell was 9 feet by 5 (7 feet high) each with a toilet, no facilities for washing, a table a chair and a bed.

A typical cell, prison rules on the bed

Rows of cells piled high

‘Broadway’

Visiting Area

Apart from the cell block there was lots of other things to see but by now it was raining heavily and of course we had to get back to the Queen Anne by 4.30 or risk flying to Hawaii! In retrospect spending the whole day at Alcatraz would have been better without the trip to Sausalito.

We had a brisk walk back to the ship by which time we were thoroughly soaked through and very cold. Reminiscent of a day in Whitby last year! Local entrepreneurs took advantage of the situation to try and sell ponchos ironic as Jo had a brand new poncho back in the ship. Shame we didn’t bring it with us! We did manage to get a hot drink and steak sandwich before warming up and drying out in our state room. When we looked at local weather forecasts there were multiple serious weather warnings on google for San Francisco.

In the evening went to see \240a comedian from New York who joked about Canadians who have no national cuisine, in the UK they have Indian! He also had a go at doctors principally about the way in which they investigate prostatic disease!

On the way back from the theatre and \240during the performance it became clear that the sea was getting rough again with marked rolling of the ship and loud thudding noises coming from the bow. Fortunately during the night these loud noises were not transmitted directly into our shower room as before!

Sailing due West from San Francisco

This morning, Nick went to the gym and Jo stayed in bed, after breakfast Jo went to a port presentation on Hawaii and Nick went to meet the new bridge instructor. \240Lots of the class were no longer beginners as they had been playing since Southampton at least. Apparently to move into the intermediate class you need to have been playing for two years and so it was suggested that I thought class be created between one and 1.30 in the afternoons. \240We both then attended a lecture history of Hawaii how it was discovered by Captain Cook and how he was eventually killed there. A final talk was given by a clinical psychologist who was going to give a series of six lectures on psychopathy. The first lecture concerned 20 year-old man who had wanted to be a soldier since childhood and committed a murder involving three adults in order to test himself!!

Public Speaking

The next talk was from Sylvia Acevedo who rose from lowly origins to work as a rocket scientist, in a leadership role in the Whitehouse, and as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. She described the \240pivotal experiences and individuals which enabled her to fulfill her potential in spite of her less than promising start in life and how her work with the Girl Scouts had helped others to do the same.

Sylvia Acevedo

Chase Untermeyer talked about the American Constitution and how the role of the American President combines the roles of the British Monarch and Prime Minister. Congress (house of representatives + senate) and the Judiciary provide the checks and balances to prevent too much power residing in any one of these three elements of government. Presidents have found working with congress frustrating and tend to use executive orders which are then tested by the Judiciary to determine whether they are constitutional or not.

American Presidency

The final talk was from Omnia Holland who described the case of a 16 year old boy who coercively controlled his mother relegating her to the kitchen and the smallest bedroom in the house. He based his \240lifestyle on a cinematic character who by day was a stock broker and at night a serial killer. Eventually he killed his mother because of a rising and overwhelming need to kill. As he was under 18 a diagnosis of psychopathy could not be made. So far he has served 18 years in prison and is due for parole in 8 years!!

Hollywood Psychopath

Psychopath Doctor?

On the way to dinner

Ready for the gym (0550)

This morning we went to a couple of lectures. The first explained the New York origins of many ideas, including Mormonism, adventism, abolitionism and temperance and missionaries of various denominations had taken these ideas with them to Hawaii. The idea that missionaries profited financially is apparently entirely false although their descendants did rather better. The second talk from the professor of public speaking was about Queen Elizabeth 2 nd highlighting her longevity, multiple roles and her communication skills which were evident from an early age.

One and a half days from Hawaii

Since it was early we had an early breakfast in the Artesan food hall, did a few laps of the boat deck before stopping in on Britannia Club for coffee and toast.

Second Breakfast!

The other great sporting event was Andrew running in the 75 mile LAW 75 and we were able to track his progress on line (currently in the lead with 7 miles to go but having aquired a 15 minutr penalty for missing a checkpoint). During the morning the crew were being exercised in an emergency drill so there were no guest services until 11.15 when we attended a lecture by Chase Untermeyer entitled ‘is democracy in danger?’ He thinks not, even at the moment. By the end of the lecture it became clear that Andrew had won his race.

Nearly there! No8 is Andrew

Finished! First (by about 5 miles)in spite of 15 minutes time penalty

After a healthy lunch (Mediterranean Bowl) we went for a lie down before wine tasting at 2.45.

Jo not enjoying her wine

At the wine tasting we had a rose a white and 2 reds. We both liked the rose. Obviously a party wine!!

Sunrise and Diamond Head

Made it eventually!

Diamond Head Crater is a volcanic crater formed 300,000 years ago. The highest point Diamond Head, was used by the army during the first and second world wars as a ‘fire control point’ to protect against enemy ships. Guns outside the crater were controlled from here by telephone once the ship to shore distance had been determined by the control point using triangulation.

The crater is entered via a tunnel to a visitor centre. From there it is a 1 km walk to the summit with great views over Honolulu and the Pacific.

The Crater

The Crater and Honolulu

Lighthouse

Honolulu

99 steps to fire control point at Diamond Head Crater

Red Crested Cardinal

Very frequent bird

At Diamond Head

In the evening we went to to see Halau Lilia Makanau a Family Legacy of Hula. Professionally trained dancers from 6 years old expressed the Hawaiian culture through music stories and dance. The performances were earlier than usual so the children could get home in time for bed and school the next day! After a slightly fraught day an uplifting and calming experience!

Diamond Head from balcony

Anyway, we made it to breakfast by 6:20am and were on shore by 0830 in preparation for today’s tour the West Oahu Highlands Ridge Hike. This was a walk through a restricted area of the island owned by the Gill Foundation who are trying to restore the native Koa tree and in the process suppress the non native Swamp Mahogany and the European cypress trees.

New Koa Trees

Swamp Mahogany

European Cypress and Jo

The Koa tree was the first tree to take root on the lava soil of Oahu. (Oahu is one of seven volcanic islands which make up the chain of islands known as Hawaii and is also where Honolulu \240the capital of Hawaii is situated. The walk lasted about 90 minutes and was largely flat after an initial uphill section. There were some very spectacular views with a lot of information from a very informative American guide.

Coastal view

Oahu highest peak Mount Ka’ala 4026 feet

Pigs introduced by the Americans now roam the island as do chickens. In anticipation of a burgeoning problem of feral pigs the locals train dogs to catch them so they can be eaten.

Hungry thirsty dog friendly but trained to catch pigs!

We were back at the ship shortly after 1 o’clock.

In the afternoon we rested exertional forays out into the heat do seem to take it out of us!

The Show

Patrick Roberts

In the evening we went to see a violinist from Melbourne called Patrick Roberts. He played a mixture of classical, rock and pop tunes accompanied by backing tracks, audio visual scenes projected onto a screen (including Sting and Tommy Emmanuel)and the Royal Court Theatre orchestra. Quite Spectacular!

Good Psychopath?

After a short break we attended another clinical psychologist lecture. PET scans showed a lack of activity in the amygdala (empathy) and pre frontal cortex (remorse)in the brains of psychopaths when exposed to distressing images and when compared to non psychopaths.

Psychopath brain on left

We then heard another case history of a man who seems to have murdered a nanny at random in order to punish his probation officer who had not done enough to help him some his release from prison.

In the afternoon we practiced cha cha, rhumba, jive and samba as well as trying to expand our bridge knowledge using the no fear bridge app.

Nick did a bit of harp practice and Jo went to a talk on the history of Impressionism

History of Impressionism

Art by Sheree Valentine-Daines current day impressionist

A featured artist was Sheree Valentine Daines who has done many commissions for the Queen and is Cunard official artist.

In the evening we went to see a husband and wife acrobatic, juggling and comedy act Cameo Rascale. Very entertaining if not a little scary at times.

Cameo Rascale opening set illegal photo by Jo

Moon outside our window 0500

Next stop is Apia in Samoa but before that we will cross the international date line tomorrow when we will lose a day.

The port presentation today was about Samoa a chain of Polynesian islands otherwise known as ‘the land of the sacred chicken’. The chain is divided into western independent islands and those of the eastern American territories.

Polynesian Islands

Hand points at Apia on Upola

Independent Western Samoa and American Samoa

We are going to Apia on the independent island of Upola. We have been warned that the culture is very laid back and that tipping causes anxiety and should not be done. Also eating in the street is considered offensive as is sitting down with legs extended. The best beaches are on the south of the island extending the length of most tours to 6 or more hours, fortunately we have a short highlights tour of just 4.5 hours.

Steve Liebman Australian Broadcaster

The next talk was from a retired Australian broadcaster who talked about his career and also expressed his concern over the current lack of public trust in the mainstream media, the bias inherent in many outlets and Wild West nature of social media. Broadcast errors are often not corrected and then too late after damage has occurred. The answers lie with us consumers he suggests \240- more to come.

Today’s third talk was about sea monsters which occur in the folklore of many cultures,

Old Ship

In addition to the mythological there have been documented stories of ships claiming to have been attacked by sea monsters, usually giant sea serpents or Kraken like creatures. Giant Squid are the most commonly postulated culprit though none have ever been found even in the deepest parts of the ocean and certainly non big enough to sink a modern cruise ship! You just wonder whether some of these stories might just have been created to cover up less than optimal seamanship resulting in loss or damage to ships.

Rock and Roll

The Last talk was about rock and roll in the early 60’s. With a little commentary we were treated to video recordings of 60s artists including Neal sidarka, Roy Orbison, Ricky Nelson, the Ronettes, the Supremes and a few more.

In the afternoon we did a couple of laps of the boat deck (very hot and humid now), tried to learn about transfers in bridge and then had a lie down!

The Port Presentation today

After Somoa the next stop is Tonga. Tongs is another group of islands the one we are visiting is called Tongatapu where the capital NUKU’ ALOFA is.

Toga south of Somoa

Archipelago of Tonga showing island of Tongatapu

Tongatupu Island

This is the only South Pacific Island with a Monarch currently a king. It is small about half the size of Oahu and for some reason obesity is a big problem. They have the dubious distinction of being the second fattest nation in the world. Queen Anne is too big to dock ther so a tender will be required to carry us ashore. There are many points of interest which we will be visiting on our tour.

Captain Inge Thorhauge

There followed a question and answer session with the captain who is from the Faroe islands and has been a Cunard captain for 15 years. She emphasised that safety is her first priority and when questioned said she had had no concerns about the ship during the stormy crossing of the North Atlantic.

Hollywood Psychopaths

After lunch we had another psychopathy talk about a 15 year old boy who had killed his mother because of a row about low exam grades. We also heard about an eminent professor of neuroscience and president of a US medical school who accidentally discovered that he had the brain scan of a psychopath. Research into his family history revealed 7 of his ancestors had been convicted of murder. His cousin, a female, was a renowned serial killer. The next talk will explore the factors which influence whether or not individuals with psychopathic brain types become criminal.

At dinner tonight all the ladies were presented with red roses (Jo kissed the head waiter!).

Roses for the ladies

Got to keep it alive

Nicks turn

Jo + Rose

In the evening we went to see a singer Liam Burrows, a crooner in the style of Frank Sinatra. Ok but following in some big footsteps!

British Rock and Roll Invasion

Unfortunately the presenter had an upsetting habit of showing pictures of the surviving stars as they are now! Best to keep away from cameras!!

The next talk was from the Australian broadcaster Steve Liebman who bemoaned the current state of the journalistic media and the low esteem in which it and journalism are held by the public.

Steve Liebmann

Media outlets are now largely owned by large profit driven corporations with persuit of facts sacrificed for speed, sensationalism, and ratings. The solution - support reputable journalism and avoid the rest!

After lunch we played some scrabble and some bridge.

In the evening we were treated to another performance from Cameo Rascale with a high octane mix of dance, juggling and acrobatics. Plenty of other stuff going on around the ship but for us time for bed!

Graham the Port Presenter

The presentation was so popular that Nick had to stand throughout having given his seat to an elderly lady who had arrived on a mobility scooter.

New Zealand showing Auckland

He was lucky to have a pillar to lean on.

Pacific Ring of Fire (New Zealand bottom left)

We have a tour on Saturday the first of 2 days in Aukland but have time to ourselves on Saturday afternoon and Sunday when we hope to meet up with Frances and Tony.

Map showing where we will dock

After lunch Nick went to a lecture about the Sun. The Sun, as a result of Nuclear Fusion exudes gamma rays and sends them in our direction. Fortunately these are deflected by the Earths magnetic field offering us some protection. Unfortunately the magnetic field is weakening so there could be problems in the future. Nick fell asleep at this point so not sure when exactly! Apparently it’s probably ok to continue booking cruises though.

Jeff Newman, mentalist magician and trickster performed incomprehensible tricks, unsettling just before bed!

View from balcony

The first stop was at the newly built Cathedral the old one having been destroyed by an earthquake in 2009. Unfortunately there was a funeral taking place and we had to return later.

Guide

We stopped for photo opportunities at the courthouse where there are said to be hardly any criminal cases (no crime apparently) just land disputes.

Driver

Courthouse

Parliament Building

We stopped by the tomb of one of Samoa’s kings,

Tomb

And then onto the busy market where Samoans buy most things.

Red Avocado

Saro

Bananas

Market Place

Market Place

From the market place we went to the Robert Louis Stevenson museum in the house where he had spent the last 4 years of his life before dying of a brain haemorrhage. He was a heavy smoker and had been subject to repeated pulmonary haemorrhages raising the possibility that he had hereditary haemorrhaging telangiectasia. There was a relative who suffered a similar fate.

Bedroom

Bedroom

After a tour of the house we were shown the preparation of some locall food made from coconut and saro. This was preceded by a welcoming Cabo ceremony whereby guests drink a coconut based drink from a coconut shell. There followed a demonstration of traditional Samoan singing and dancing complete with audience participation.

Drummer/Dancer

Afterwards we returned to the cathedral and could now go inside to view the spectacular interior albeit with one or two other tourists!

Cathedral

View to the rear

Towards the Altar

Stained Glass

Atrium

After a short drive were back in the air conditionedh ship in time for lunch and a rest!

In the evening we went to see the pianist Joel Barowman. From Tasmania he performed an Abba mix along with his own take on many classics including versions of ‘happy birthday’ by Beethoven, Mozart, Liszt, and Chopin. He too could play the piano lying across the piano seat facing the ceiling but he did cross his hands! He finished with the Scot Joplin piece the Entertainer.

Tai Chi

Next was a Port Presentation on Tauranga where we will be in a few days time. Sounds like an idilic place to live (but we will just have to make do with Ripon for now).

Mount Manganui

Another great place nearby

Jo went to a lecture on Andy Warhol and how he made his fame out of bananas, cans of Campbells soup and pictures of Elvis. Unfortunately he was shot by a lady who turned out to be a paranoid schizophrenic and also the leader and sole member of an organisation called SCUM (an organisation dedicated to ridding the world of all men. He was resuscitated but was apparently never the same again became reclusive and his work darker. H died prematurely due to complications of his injuries.

Andy Warhol

Soup

‘Darker subject matter’

There followed another talk on psychopathy this time exploring the differences between it and sociopathy.

Psychopaths are born have high ego and are neurologically incapable of remorse and empathy. Sociopaths are neurologically normal but have a disturbed upbringing, they have high ego but require the affirmation of others to maintain this. Whilst they are neurologically capable of empathy and remorse ego, entitlement and anger are stronger drivers of emotion.

In the evening we went to see the Powerhouse Diva an Australian lady called Lisa Crouch. She also did an Abba medley and a couple of Queen songs along with a few other things. A powerful voice certainly!

Lisa Crouch

Tonga

There was traditional dancing on the quay though in order to see it from the ship we had to go up to deck 11.

Tongan Traditional Dancers

Our tour today was from 1pm so after watching the dancing we spent the morning in the cabin.

At 1 pm we joined our bus with Tongan tour guide Lotti. A ten mile drive took us to the point where Captain Cook had landed in 1777. There is only one main road in Tongatapu with just 2 lanes, one in each direction. ‘So traffic happens’.

Every other building seemed to be a church a mixture of catholic but mostly seventh day Adventist. Primary schools are free and operated by the government and secondary schools are fee paying and run by the churches.

First we were shown how food is cooked in underground ovens and given the opportunity to eat the food after 90 minutes of cooking

Underground Oven

Then we were shown how Tongans make tapu from stripped tree bark hammering it into flat strips and sticking the strips together into large sheets used to make clothes and to be sold.

Stripping Bark

There followed a demonstration of basket and hat weaving using coconut leaves.

Basket

Tourists in local garments

After that we saw a demonstration of solo dancing from a local university student by which time the food was ready.

Solo dancing

Almost simultaneously it was time to get back on the bus. We managed a bit of sweet potato but avoided the meat.

Farewell

On the way back we noted a large number of apparently stray dogs and indeed Tonga is known to have a problem.

Dog !? Friendly

Back at the ship we had a Quick Look around the market where there were magnificent wood carvings. Unfortunately we have been advised that these are unacceptable to both New Zealand and Australia.

On the way back to the ship we noted that the Chinese state had paid for the warf where Queen Anne is moored.

Everybody in Tonga seemed to be happy and extremely friendly in particular the children seemed excited to see us and waved enthusiastically as we drove by. There is unfortunately a severe problem with obesity, diabetes and reduced life expectancy (down to mid 60s). Obesity was absent from the island until the 1960s when the diet was basically fish and local grown fruit and vegetables. Since then Lamb flaps have been imported from New Zealand and Australia along with tinned fatty meats. Speared fish is no exported and is too expensive for local consumption. Polynesians are also thought to be carriers of the thrifty gene.

In the evening we saw something very different.

The Sandman

The Sandman, Marcus Winter from New Zealand created pictures using sand on a light box with a live feed to a cinema size screen. He also did conventional art with paint and paper live and to music.

Pat Cash

\240The show tonight was let’s dance from the Royal Court Theatre singers and dancers, but as we’ve seen this twice already, we decided to retire to bed

Nick Jo and Sally

Maori welcome?

Maori (bad tempered one has guitar)

The performance was quite intimidating with wooden spears thrust in our direction and lots of angry staring, protruding eyeballs and chanting. It was explained that all this was in fact a welcoming ceremony but you wouldn’t have known! The guitar was introduced as one of the ways in which Māori had been able to understand western culture during and after colonisation.

Sky Tower Aukland

The rest of the museum was magnificent. Far more than we could see in the hour or so we had. A war time section listed all the overseas conflicts that New Zealand had served in. There were natural history sections and one on volcanoes. There was a room that simulated an earthquake in Aukland harbour with shaking floor and wobbling plant pots and a tsunami smashing against the window to reveal a fire outside the window,

Simulated broken window and fire

Next we were driven to Bastion point wher there are great views over the bay and a memorial to a past prime minister. The land here had been once owned by the Maori people later the government but then returned to all the New Zealand people. They were once him placements here to protect against a fear invasion from Russia in the 1840s now it is the site of memorial Gardens and a mausoleum housing the body of a former prime minister Michael Joseph Savage much revered by both communities.

View from Bastion Point

View back to Aukland

Memorial Gardens

Information board

The show tonight was a performance from Haka the legend, Auckland’s Premier Māori performance group. This performance was more entertaining and educational and certainly not at all intimidating like the one we had seen earlier in the day at the museum.

Joanne Steve and us

After that we met Tony and Frances who were also here! We took the ferry to Devenport across the bay and walked along to the Navel Museum. Here we had ice cream and then walked along the Main Street back to the ferry port. Back in Aukland we went and had a look at the hotel were Frances and Tony had stayed during the pandemic in 2020. After the purchase of some souvenirs we made it back to the ship with an hour to spare before it left for Tauranga.

Tony Frances and us

Devenport Street View

View of city from Devonport

Flowers in Devonport

In the evening, the show was from a comedian Darren Sanders. Joe went to see this whilst Nick spent some time writing the blog.

Another illegal photo!

Jo with kiwi in Aukland

Sheep

Optimal shearing position?

Non barking dog and ducks

Jersey cow milking demonstration

Members of the audience were invited to milk at Jersey cow. Children from the audience were invited to come onto the stage of sensibly to take part in a drinking competition, but it turned out that they were to feed a number of newborn lambs.

Merinho

From the Agro dome we were driven to a cable car which took us uphill to a restaurant with magnificent views over lake lake Rotorua.

Cable Car

Lake Rotorua

Wood carving

Weaving

Māori meeting house

Whalebone

Bones

Geyser

After a very good lunch we were driven to a place called Te Piau. This is a centre for the preservation of Māori culture funded not by government but by receipts from tourists.

We were shown Maori crafts including weaving, carving of bone and stone, and of wood.

After that we were taken to see some breeding kiwis. These birds are unfortunately endangered now and this was part of a breeding programme with a view to their eventual release into the wild. They are nocturnal and so kept in the dark. No photos allowed though some tried! We did see an adult and recently hatched chick.

Within walked of a slight incline to see the boiling mud and wait for a geyser to erupt which you did eventually, but it was not quite like the old faithful at Yellowstone.

The show tonight was a lady called Amber Jade who sang and played the clarinet and saxophone. She played music from ABBA the Beatles and from the big band era.

Car ferry

Te Maiki means highest spot

Flagstaff Hill

Swordfish

Yellow Finned Tuna

Marlin

Oldest Swordfish Club bar one in California

Market

Helicopter

Russell for a brief period of about 11 months had been the first capital of New Zealand before the capital moved initially to Auckland and then to Wellington. to the highest spot locally called Mika.

We were driven around Russell and shown places we might like to visit, including the ferry port from which we had to make our own way back to the ship via a shuttle bus.

We were then driven to the highest spot locally called Te Maiki. As well as having commanding views over the bays this is the site of a ceremonial flagpole which has been cut down on a number of occasions by protesting Māori tribes people.

We went back down into Russell and visited the second oldest sword fishing club in the world. Here we had a free cup of tea before visiting local gardens. The gardens occupied the site of a previous Catholic mission where the Bishop had run a cannery and printing press. At the time the Maori were keen to have access access to the written word in order to preserve their culture. Many leather bound volumes were provided for the Māori from this site.

From from here we safely found our way onto the ferry and the shuttle bus and via the ships tender to the ship. Although we did arrive back from two hours later than we had planned we still have time for a cocktail with Sally before evening meal.

In the Afternoon we attended a lecture by Philip Schubert on volcanoes. Unfortunately he had watched the presentations by George Kourounis and was having to rewrite his lecture programme!

The show in the evening was by a male vocal trio called the Vallies who sang music be Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons. Very good at what they did but too much falsetto not to \240Nicks taste.

Foundation Work

Dancing with Strangers

She also talked about her time on dancing with the stars (sounds a bit like strictly come dancing) and survivors (which sounds a bit like I’m a celebrity get me out of here).

During the evening, we had another chance to see the Vallies but decided to finish up our packing in preparation for leaving the ship tomorrow.

Nearly there!

We still had leave our room by 9 am and then waited for about 3 hours before leaving the ship.

Harbour Bridge from ship

Welcome for Queen Anne as she enters Sydney Harbour fo the first time

During this time there we saw queues the likes of which we had never seen before on the ship. At least 1300 of us were leaving the ship and lots of others going on tours. When the time came we were swiftly off the ship and after a bit more queuing through the dreaded Australian Border Control and Biosecurity without difficulty.

We quickly got a taxi to the hotel left our luggage and got another to Bob Chambers House.

Raddison Blu bedroom

Bob and Jo

Bob is an old friend from Jo’s planning school days and he now runs a Planning Consultancy in Sydney.

Nick and Bob

Nick Jo and Bob

After a coffee Bob kindly took us on a tour of the Sydney beauty spots of which there are many around this huge and beautiful city.

Harbour bridge from other side

Opera House

Central Business District (there are 5 of these based on the main railway stations

Bridge + CBD

Noisy Birds

Cliffs somewhere on tour

Model of Sydney Penguin at Shelley Beach

Bondicot

Sea horsesFrie

Friendly Fish ? Grubber

After the tour Bob dropped us off at the hotel and too tired to eat we watched the news for a while and retired for the night.

Breakfast room

It was hot! About 30 degrees.

We dropped a letter off at the workplace of Sebastian de Brennan someone who Jo had met on a train years ago.

Saint Martins Place

We then made our way to the Art Gallery where there is a vast collection of pictures both modern, traditional european and aboriginal. It is also air conditioned!

Ibis

From there we walked past the very impressive library and onto Mrs Macquaries point.

Library

We then took a route through the Royal Botanical Gardens around Farm Cove past the Opera House and into Sydney Cove for a last look at Queen Anne. We were soon back at the hotel into another taxi and at the airport 3 hours before check in.

Warship from Mrs Macquaries Point

Queen Anne across Sydney Cove

From Sydney Cove we walked back to the hotel collected our bags and took a taxi to the airport where we arrived at about 130 very early as we were due to takeoff at 9:45. We flew from Sydney to Dubai and enjoyed premium economy. We appreciated the extra legroom. I managed to get about four hours sleep during the 14 hour flight. We arrived in Dubai at 5 o’clock and found our way to the next plane which was leaving at around 7 am. After a further seven hours we arrived in Newcastle unfortunately minus one of our bags which was successfully delivered to our home. The next day we made it back to Ripon on Sunday at about 1 o’clock. I managed to stay awake till about nine in the hope of combating the jet lag. We will see how that goes over the next few days!