kittymamma
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 190
We will wait patiently and look forward to new installments.
Round The World In 28 Days
- Thread starter dolphingirl47
- Start date
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
You can say that again. This has now gone in the next round. I must have knocked out the charger cable of the old computer yesterday before I left home and it switched itself off before completing the file transfer so I had to start again. Hopefully this will have completed by tomorrow lunchtime.
Thanks.
This is actually longer ago. It is just over 2 years ago when I thought my hard disk had died and then it turned out to be just a faulty cable connecting the hard disk to the rest of the computer. Then earlier in the year I had massive issues with our internet.
I loved my laptop and was hoping I could avoid getting a new one for a little longer, but I rely on my computer quite a lot and could not risk it completely breaking down before I had a new one.
Corinna
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
- Messages
- 37,723
No worries! I'm sorry you're having computer issues, but I'm glad you got a new one! I know what a pain it is to migrate all your stuff over, I did that in March of 2016 and I'm not looking forward to getting a new computer any time soon!
I'll be back from my quick trip in the middle of August and will hopefully be better able to keep up with twice weekly updates after that!
I'll be back from my quick trip in the middle of August and will hopefully be better able to keep up with twice weekly updates after that!
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
You can say that again. I nearly lost the will to live. Fortunately MacBooks have a decent lifespan so hopefully it will be quite a few years before I have to do this again.
I love my new MacBook, but it is much smaller and I keep hitting the wrong keys when touch typing. I am sure I will get used to this quickly.
That sounds like perfect timing.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
Day 8
We were woken up by the thrusters as we were docking in our next port, Noumea. We got up and ready and headed up to the Windjammer for some breakfast. On the way across the pool deck, we got our first view of Noumea, which looked pretty. The Windjammer was surprisingly empty for a port day at that time. Graham had ham, scrambled eggs, bacon and a biscuit. I had baked beans, hash browns, marinated beef strips, sausage links and poached eggs. Once we had finished our food, we went down to Cafe Promenade for some coffee. We just had a couple of mouthfuls left when the announcement came that the ship had been cleared by the authorities and that we were free to go ashore. We finished our coffees and headed down to the gangway.
Noumea was one of the few ports where we were docked. As Explorer of the Seas is a relatively big ship, we were docked at the container port and there were shuttle buses to the cruise terminal, which was a couple of blocks away. The photographers were out by the gangway again and we stopped for some photos. Then we headed for the shuttle buses. There were a few waiting and the one we were directed to left shortly after we got on. Although we could see the cruise terminal from where we were docked, it took about 10 minutes to get there. Fortunately we had plenty of time as the ship had been cleared ahead of schedule.
We had an independent excursion booked that day. None of the excursions that Royal Caribbean offered in Noumea really grabbed me. So I did some research online and the tour I found had great reviews on TripAdvisor. I sent the details to Graham and he was up for this as well. So I went ahead and booked this. The meeting point was outside the cruise terminal. When we arrived there, it was not immediately obvious where we needed to go. I left Graham with our stuff and went to see if I could find the van of the tour operator. I did not have internet access, but fortunately I still had the PDF with the directions in the memory on my phone. It mentioned that the van would be parked opposite a supermarket. In quick order I saw the supermarket and the van. I signaled Graham to come over. Our host Fernando introduced himself. We were still waiting for a few more people. Once everybody had arrived, we walked the short distance to a French patisserie. Part from the main group that we were part of, there was also a smaller group that had booked a private excursion and their guide would meet us at the patisserie. The cakes looked very tempting and I regretted that we had a proper breakfast that morning as all the cakes were huge and I simply did not have room for one. Unfortunately they did not have any macarons. I would have found room for one of them.
We were the only people paying cash. I was not sure what our bank would make of a charge from New Caledonia so getting cash was just easier. Fernando took the payment from us and then once everybody who had ordered something was finished, we walked back to the cruise terminal. There he took card payments from everybody else. He then introduced us to our driver Jenny and our tour guide Lucien. Then we were on our way. Our first stop was the morning market where we had about 20 minutes to look around. Most of this was an open air market with clothes and jewellery that were firmly aimed at tourists, but there some buildings with interesting produce. I wish I could have taken some of the fresh fruit back to the ship. I was definitely tempted.
Our next stop was the Museum of New Caledonia. Fernando explained what we would find in the museum. He also showed us a map. We suddenly realized by the snorkeling was so great on Isle of Pines. Essentially the whole of New Caledonia is surrounded by a huge coral reef. We then had about an hour to explore the museum. We headed out to the courtyard first, where they had a traditional hut on display. There was nobody else there so Graham and I could really appreciate the intricate details.
After we spent a while outside, we had a look at the rest of the museum. We soon found out that the museum has been misnamed. Sure, New Caledonia was featured, but there were exhibits covering a lot of different Melanesian and Polynesian islands. There was a mix of photos, art, weapons, clothes, jewellery and all kinds of other artefacts. I found this highly interesting. Unfortunately the museum was quite dark and flash was not allowed so I was not able to get any photos.
Once everybody had met up again, we drove to a lookout from which we had great views over the bay and we saw our ship, we then drove to another lookout before driving past the main beaches. Along the way, Lucien pointed out various landmarks and told us about life in New Caledonia. After the drive along the coastal road, we were climbing again. We were heading for Ouen Toro Park. There are two canons up there from World War II, however the main draw are the fantastic views over the bay. Then it was time to leave Noumea behind for now. We were heading for the countryside.
Our first stop after leaving Noumea was the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which is also referred to as the Church of Miracles. The church was built by missionaries in 1874. It is a beautiful serene church. There are two elements that make this church special. The first is the reason why it is referred to as the Church of Miracles. There are dozens of small marble plaques along its walls. Each of them pays thanks to the Virgin Mary for some miracle. The more stunning feature are the stained glass windows. Some them are quite old and traditional and some are very modern, but the offer all effect just works. We had plenty of time there to just enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Lucien pointed out a few things in a quiet and respectful manner and this definitely added to the experience.
We were woken up by the thrusters as we were docking in our next port, Noumea. We got up and ready and headed up to the Windjammer for some breakfast. On the way across the pool deck, we got our first view of Noumea, which looked pretty. The Windjammer was surprisingly empty for a port day at that time. Graham had ham, scrambled eggs, bacon and a biscuit. I had baked beans, hash browns, marinated beef strips, sausage links and poached eggs. Once we had finished our food, we went down to Cafe Promenade for some coffee. We just had a couple of mouthfuls left when the announcement came that the ship had been cleared by the authorities and that we were free to go ashore. We finished our coffees and headed down to the gangway.
Noumea was one of the few ports where we were docked. As Explorer of the Seas is a relatively big ship, we were docked at the container port and there were shuttle buses to the cruise terminal, which was a couple of blocks away. The photographers were out by the gangway again and we stopped for some photos. Then we headed for the shuttle buses. There were a few waiting and the one we were directed to left shortly after we got on. Although we could see the cruise terminal from where we were docked, it took about 10 minutes to get there. Fortunately we had plenty of time as the ship had been cleared ahead of schedule.
We had an independent excursion booked that day. None of the excursions that Royal Caribbean offered in Noumea really grabbed me. So I did some research online and the tour I found had great reviews on TripAdvisor. I sent the details to Graham and he was up for this as well. So I went ahead and booked this. The meeting point was outside the cruise terminal. When we arrived there, it was not immediately obvious where we needed to go. I left Graham with our stuff and went to see if I could find the van of the tour operator. I did not have internet access, but fortunately I still had the PDF with the directions in the memory on my phone. It mentioned that the van would be parked opposite a supermarket. In quick order I saw the supermarket and the van. I signaled Graham to come over. Our host Fernando introduced himself. We were still waiting for a few more people. Once everybody had arrived, we walked the short distance to a French patisserie. Part from the main group that we were part of, there was also a smaller group that had booked a private excursion and their guide would meet us at the patisserie. The cakes looked very tempting and I regretted that we had a proper breakfast that morning as all the cakes were huge and I simply did not have room for one. Unfortunately they did not have any macarons. I would have found room for one of them.
We were the only people paying cash. I was not sure what our bank would make of a charge from New Caledonia so getting cash was just easier. Fernando took the payment from us and then once everybody who had ordered something was finished, we walked back to the cruise terminal. There he took card payments from everybody else. He then introduced us to our driver Jenny and our tour guide Lucien. Then we were on our way. Our first stop was the morning market where we had about 20 minutes to look around. Most of this was an open air market with clothes and jewellery that were firmly aimed at tourists, but there some buildings with interesting produce. I wish I could have taken some of the fresh fruit back to the ship. I was definitely tempted.
Our next stop was the Museum of New Caledonia. Fernando explained what we would find in the museum. He also showed us a map. We suddenly realized by the snorkeling was so great on Isle of Pines. Essentially the whole of New Caledonia is surrounded by a huge coral reef. We then had about an hour to explore the museum. We headed out to the courtyard first, where they had a traditional hut on display. There was nobody else there so Graham and I could really appreciate the intricate details.
After we spent a while outside, we had a look at the rest of the museum. We soon found out that the museum has been misnamed. Sure, New Caledonia was featured, but there were exhibits covering a lot of different Melanesian and Polynesian islands. There was a mix of photos, art, weapons, clothes, jewellery and all kinds of other artefacts. I found this highly interesting. Unfortunately the museum was quite dark and flash was not allowed so I was not able to get any photos.
Once everybody had met up again, we drove to a lookout from which we had great views over the bay and we saw our ship, we then drove to another lookout before driving past the main beaches. Along the way, Lucien pointed out various landmarks and told us about life in New Caledonia. After the drive along the coastal road, we were climbing again. We were heading for Ouen Toro Park. There are two canons up there from World War II, however the main draw are the fantastic views over the bay. Then it was time to leave Noumea behind for now. We were heading for the countryside.
Our first stop after leaving Noumea was the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which is also referred to as the Church of Miracles. The church was built by missionaries in 1874. It is a beautiful serene church. There are two elements that make this church special. The first is the reason why it is referred to as the Church of Miracles. There are dozens of small marble plaques along its walls. Each of them pays thanks to the Virgin Mary for some miracle. The more stunning feature are the stained glass windows. Some them are quite old and traditional and some are very modern, but the offer all effect just works. We had plenty of time there to just enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Lucien pointed out a few things in a quiet and respectful manner and this definitely added to the experience.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
Once we were back on the minibus, we headed to the countryside proper. We saw beautiful mountains and valleys and everything was so green. We stopped at a public spring where people can get water for free. The water comes down the mountain and is the clearest and smoothest water I have ever tasted. We gathered together for a group photo and then we got back into the minibus for the short drive to our lunch stop.
We were met by Fernando’s wife, his son and a number of members of his extended family in a beautiful park overlooking the sea. Picnic tables had been set up for us and as soon as everybody had sat down, lunch was served. This proved to be a challenge for me. I had alerted Fernando to the fact that I am allergic to bananas in the morning and he said that this would be no problem. However, it turned out that sweet potatoes, yams, bananas and taro were all cooked together. I don’t have an issue with cross-contamination as a rule, but eating this and just picking out the banana seemed like asking for trouble. Fortunately the chicken had been cooked separately and I was quite happy with this and the fresh baguette. It was very delicious. We had the choice between local beer or French red or white wine. Graham tried a couple of the local beers and I had some white wine. I was certainly not destined to go hungry that day. Once everybody had finished their hot food, more baguette came out and the best brie I had ever tasted. Then we had some fresh fruit. Again, I had to pass on the banana, but I had plenty of pineapple and melon. When we thought we were full to the bursting, out came some boxes from the patisserie that we had visited that morning and they contained the most divine cream puffs. I definitely did not feel like I had been short-changed.
While we were eating, Fernando and his family were singing worship songs. That was most certainly unexpected. I think this made some people pretty uncomfortable. Once we had finished our lunch, Fernando introduced us to a local nut from trees that grow at the park. They are called Ngali nuts and have a very thick double shell. He used a fairly big chunk of rock to open them. I tried one and really liked it. Taste-wise, it was kind of a cross between an almond and a peanut. Graham passed. Once everybody who wanted to try had a Ngali nut, Fernando asked us to get together for a group photo. Then we were each given a gift of a fridge magnet. Graham and I each got a different one and they are now on our fridge. Then it was time to say goodbye to Fernando’s family. Our driver had left before lunch as she had another job to do in the afternoon. So Fernando took half of the group in his van and his neighbour and Lucien took the rest of us.
On the way back to the port, we stopped at a couple more lookouts. At the first one we got out, but when we were offered that we could have a look around at the second one, we all passed. With hindsight, I wish I did have a look around. The lookout was part of the grounds of Our Lady of the Pacific, which consists of a statue and stations of the cross. As I looked back on our way down the hill, what I saw reminded me a little of Gaudi architecture and probably would have been a worth a quick look.
We arrived at the same time at the port in Noumea as the second half of the group. We said goodbye to Lucien and Fernando. I needed to post an update on our company Facebook page so we headed to the little coffee shop at the cruise terminal and had a coffee. Once I had done what I needed to do online, I had a look at the stalls that they have upstairs in the cruise terminal, but again, I did not find anything I wanted to buy. I went to get Graham and we headed outside to catch the shuttle back to our ship.
When we got back to the ship, we headed straight to the cabin. Graham had a nap and I read. When it was time for dinner, I tried to wake him up, but had no success. So I accepted defeat and had a very early night as well.
We were met by Fernando’s wife, his son and a number of members of his extended family in a beautiful park overlooking the sea. Picnic tables had been set up for us and as soon as everybody had sat down, lunch was served. This proved to be a challenge for me. I had alerted Fernando to the fact that I am allergic to bananas in the morning and he said that this would be no problem. However, it turned out that sweet potatoes, yams, bananas and taro were all cooked together. I don’t have an issue with cross-contamination as a rule, but eating this and just picking out the banana seemed like asking for trouble. Fortunately the chicken had been cooked separately and I was quite happy with this and the fresh baguette. It was very delicious. We had the choice between local beer or French red or white wine. Graham tried a couple of the local beers and I had some white wine. I was certainly not destined to go hungry that day. Once everybody had finished their hot food, more baguette came out and the best brie I had ever tasted. Then we had some fresh fruit. Again, I had to pass on the banana, but I had plenty of pineapple and melon. When we thought we were full to the bursting, out came some boxes from the patisserie that we had visited that morning and they contained the most divine cream puffs. I definitely did not feel like I had been short-changed.
While we were eating, Fernando and his family were singing worship songs. That was most certainly unexpected. I think this made some people pretty uncomfortable. Once we had finished our lunch, Fernando introduced us to a local nut from trees that grow at the park. They are called Ngali nuts and have a very thick double shell. He used a fairly big chunk of rock to open them. I tried one and really liked it. Taste-wise, it was kind of a cross between an almond and a peanut. Graham passed. Once everybody who wanted to try had a Ngali nut, Fernando asked us to get together for a group photo. Then we were each given a gift of a fridge magnet. Graham and I each got a different one and they are now on our fridge. Then it was time to say goodbye to Fernando’s family. Our driver had left before lunch as she had another job to do in the afternoon. So Fernando took half of the group in his van and his neighbour and Lucien took the rest of us.
On the way back to the port, we stopped at a couple more lookouts. At the first one we got out, but when we were offered that we could have a look around at the second one, we all passed. With hindsight, I wish I did have a look around. The lookout was part of the grounds of Our Lady of the Pacific, which consists of a statue and stations of the cross. As I looked back on our way down the hill, what I saw reminded me a little of Gaudi architecture and probably would have been a worth a quick look.
We arrived at the same time at the port in Noumea as the second half of the group. We said goodbye to Lucien and Fernando. I needed to post an update on our company Facebook page so we headed to the little coffee shop at the cruise terminal and had a coffee. Once I had done what I needed to do online, I had a look at the stalls that they have upstairs in the cruise terminal, but again, I did not find anything I wanted to buy. I went to get Graham and we headed outside to catch the shuttle back to our ship.
When we got back to the ship, we headed straight to the cabin. Graham had a nap and I read. When it was time for dinner, I tried to wake him up, but had no success. So I accepted defeat and had a very early night as well.
kittymamma
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 190
What beautiful scenery and the stain glass in the Church of Miracles was gorgeous. As always , your reports are so full of adventure and spectacular vistas. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.
Pinkocto
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2011
- Messages
- 9,446
The tour sounds like a winner! The museum probably would have been the highlight of the day for me, those carvings looked amazing!
Glad lunch worked out, it sounded delicious. Glad the pastries made an appearance and were worthy
Very nice hat to keep out the sun.
The island is beautiful. New Caledonia is someplace mom really wants to go to at some point. She worked with a lady who had family there and would vacation regularly.
Glad lunch worked out, it sounded delicious. Glad the pastries made an appearance and were worthy
Very nice hat to keep out the sun.
The island is beautiful. New Caledonia is someplace mom really wants to go to at some point. She worked with a lady who had family there and would vacation regularly.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
It definitely was.
I took a ton of photos of the stained glass windows, but this was the only one that came out well. Taking photos of glass is so difficult.
The picnic lunch was delicious and so unusual.
It was. I wish we had discovered tours like this on previous trips.
I was not too keen when were told that we would head to the museum, but I ended up really enjoying it.
It was.
If you make it there, I would suggest you give Grand Terre (the island Noumea is on) a miss and either head to the Loyalty Islands or Isle of Pines. Isle of Pines is referred to as "the closest island to Paradise" and I well believe it from what we managed to see. Unfortunately we did not get to see the Loyalty Islands on this trip, but the photos I have seen from there are absolutely stunning.
Corinna
bex7583
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2012
- Messages
- 1,381
did u take the underwater pics with the blue nikon? we have the same one but not had much opportunity to use its underwater function yetDay 7
The alarm clock went off bright and early at 6:00 in the morning, as we wanted to watch the sail in at our first port. We got up and ready and went up to deck 12. It looked a bit dreary when we first got there. It must have been raining off into the distance as we were treated to a lovely rainbow. Even with it being quite grey, the islands around us looked very beautiful.
Once the ship had anchored, we went to the cabin to get our snorkeling gear and everything else we needed. Then we went to the Cafe Promenade for some breakfast. We both had some coffee and a raspberry Danish and a vanilla Danish. Graham also had a slice Austrian Strietzel (sweet yeast bread with dried fruit) and I had a chocolate donut. We had timed this perfectly. No sooner had we finished, than an announcement was made that the ship had been cleared by the authorities and we were free to go ashore. So we headed down to the tender lobby on deck 2 midship.
Although this was our 4th cruise on Royal Caribbean, this was the first tender port that we had encountered. I was a little nervous about this especially as most of our ports on this cruise were tender ports. Well, there was no reason to be. Royal Caribbean has tendering down to an art form. As soon as we got down to deck 2, we were directed to one of the tender areas. Our SeaPass cards were swiped and we were on our way down to the tender. There was a tender waiting. We got on and did not have to wait long until we were our way.
The trip across to Isle of Pines took about 10 minutes. When we left the tender pier, there were photographers out. So we stopped for some photos. There was even a mermaid. Then we went off exploring. I had spotted a sign for a craft market and decided that this may be quite interesting. So we headed in that direction. It turned out to be a beautiful walk and we saw some beautiful birds and butterflies, but did not find the craft market. Still it was a lovely walk.
Our detour did take us to the beach. There were two options there. On the left was a nice beach facing the open water. On the right was a shaded beach with a lot of trees. This overlooked a sheltered cove with a rock in the middle. As we were not here to enjoy the beach, but to snorkel, I chose the second option. This turned out to be a great choice. We had got quite hot during our walk so when we first got into the water, it felt pretty cold. However, once we had got used to it, the water was lovely. Initially the water was a bit cloudy and I started to worry that this would be rather disappointing. However, as soon as we were a short distance away from the beach, the water became crystal-clear. Better still, near the rock there was something that was best described by bowls formed by coral. Those bowls were jam-packed with all kinds of colourful tropical fish. We saw a lot of old favourites like butterfly fish, surgeonfish, parrotfish and Moorish Idols as well as a bunch of fish that was new to us. I can finally say I found Nemo. I have never seen anything quite so beautiful. Snorkeling will never quite be the same again as I will compare everything to the stunning beauty and utter perfection of the snorkeling at Isle of Pines.
We had been snorkeling for just over 2.5 hours when we both got the first signs of a possible cramp so we decided that it was time to get out of the water. We swam to the beach, got out and gathered our stuff together. When we walked past the other beach, Graham commented that it would be a shame not to at least try this. I had no issue with this. Again, the water was lovely and warm. This beach was great for relaxing on the beach and swimming, but the water was quite cloudy so would not have been any good for snorkeling. We spent about 20 minutes or so floating and then we were done. We slowly made our way back towards the tender pier. Next to the second beach, a little market had sprung up and we had a look around there. There were a couple of things that caught my eye, but nothing that I could not live without. So we moved on. We did figure out where we had taken a wrong turn when we were looking for the craft market when we arrived on the island. So we had a quick look there. There were a couple of nice things, but again nothing that enticed me to get my wallet out. We then headed back to the tender pier. There was quite a line when we got there, but it moved quickly enough and we were on the second tender back to the ship.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
I was not overly hungry either and the rest did both of us the world of good.
Mine is pink, but I have the same model as Graham's blue one and yes, that was used for these photos.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
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Day 9
After the extremely early night, I was wide awake at around 5:00 AM. Graham was awake to and suggested that we could head up to the solarium. I grabbed my iPad and left while he went to the bathroom. I thought he would follow me and waited for him near the elevator lobby, but he never materialized. There were some comfortable seats in this area overlooking the Royal Promenade. I read for about 45 minutes and then I felt sleepy again. I went back to the cabin where I found Graham fast asleep. I went back to bed, too and slept until our alarm went off.
The port of call that day was Mystery Island, which is the southernmost island of Vanuatu. Mystery Island sounds grander than it really is. It is really a sandbar which is uninhabited. It has no running water, electricity, roads, shops, phones or internet, and half of it is a grass airstrip that runs from the beach on one side to the beach on the other. It is however quite charming and surrounded by beautiful turquoise water. Despite the fact that we had skipped dinner, we were not very hungry when we woke up. We just had some coffee and some fruit at Cafe Promenade and then we headed down to the tender lobby. Again we got directed to a tender as soon as we came down there and we were on our way shortly afterwards.
When we got to the island, we stopped for some photos from the ship’s photographers and then we headed for a photo opportunity of a different kind. They have a big soup pot there with resident “cannibals” who are happy to pose inside the soup pot with the tourists for a small fee. There are no professional photographers there, but the person who collects the money will take photos with your own camera or phone and we ended up with quite a few. Once we escaped the soup pot, it was time for some snorkeling. This is where we made a mistake. We went to opposite side of the island from the tender dock figuring that this would be our best bet. There was a beautiful beach there and the water was very clear, but there was not a great deal there. I saw coral, plenty of sea slugs, plenty of surgeon fish and not a great deal else. One thing I was glad that I did not see was the sea snake that apparently swam straight past my backside. I really do not do snakes.
After the fantastic snorkeling at Isle of Pines, this was disappointing. I heard afterwards that people snorkeled near the tender dock and there were masses of colourful fish there. Oh well. There were photographers from the ship roaming the beach and taking photos so we ended up with a couple. There are some very strong currents off the beach where we were snorkeling and this combined with a shallow coral reef is a recipe for disaster. I was heading back towards the beach as I had somehow got separated from Graham and I was done snorkeling. I got tangled up with the current and this swept me right on top of a shallow coral reef where I was then stranded. I think I can now understand how people can drown in shallow water. I could not really move or float and I have to say, I panicked more than just a little. There was a point when I wondered if I would get out of there in one piece. Suddenly Graham arrived and wanted to come to my aid. I did not want to risk him getting stuck on the coral as well so I told him to stay away, but to let me know where the closest deep water was. He called out directions and I managed to maneuver myself off the reef and into the deep water. Fortunately I was wearing my wetsuit, which had protected most of me, but I had some interesting cuts on my lower right leg. As I came out of the water, I turned some heads as there was a lot of blood. Fortunately it looked a lot worse than it actually was.
We got out of our wetsuits and packed up our stuff and had a look around the island. We came across one of the many massage huts near the beach. We still had Australian Dollars and French Polynesian Francs and did not have any wish to take them home. They were quite happy to take the French Polynesian Francs and we both had a massage. This was a very good massage. We then continued our tour of the island. We came accrues what must be the smallest airport in the world as well as some interesting trees.
I still had 15 Australian Dollars left. We had walked through a market in the morning and I decided to check this out. I left Graham on bench near the tender dock and headed over to the market. I did get a nice little cover up which actually works very nicely as a casual top teamed up with leggings, too. They wanted 20 Australian Dollars for this, but when I said that I had only 15 Australian Dollars left, they were happy to let me have it for this. I put it on straightaway as I was starting to burn quite badly and went back to Graham. As soon as I got back, we headed to the tender pier and did not have to wait long for a tender.
When we got back on the ship, we passed the medical centre and Graham wanted me to have my cuts checked out. I was not in the mood for this. Yes, it looked impressive, but It did not hurt very much. I told him that I just wanted to have a shower to get all the blood off and then we could decide if I needed medical attention. Sure enough, the saltwater mixed with blood made this look a lot worse than it actually was. With one exception, the cuts were very shallow and the only deeper one did not look too bad either. I had brought some alcohol-based hand sanitizer and I put some of this on. It stung quite a bit, but I felt happier afterwards. I agreed with Graham that if I started to feel unwell or if there was even the slightest sign of trouble, I would go to the health centre. Fortunately this was not required. I think if I had gone there that day, they would have done precisely the same that I did: clean and disinfect the wounds.
After the extremely early night, I was wide awake at around 5:00 AM. Graham was awake to and suggested that we could head up to the solarium. I grabbed my iPad and left while he went to the bathroom. I thought he would follow me and waited for him near the elevator lobby, but he never materialized. There were some comfortable seats in this area overlooking the Royal Promenade. I read for about 45 minutes and then I felt sleepy again. I went back to the cabin where I found Graham fast asleep. I went back to bed, too and slept until our alarm went off.
The port of call that day was Mystery Island, which is the southernmost island of Vanuatu. Mystery Island sounds grander than it really is. It is really a sandbar which is uninhabited. It has no running water, electricity, roads, shops, phones or internet, and half of it is a grass airstrip that runs from the beach on one side to the beach on the other. It is however quite charming and surrounded by beautiful turquoise water. Despite the fact that we had skipped dinner, we were not very hungry when we woke up. We just had some coffee and some fruit at Cafe Promenade and then we headed down to the tender lobby. Again we got directed to a tender as soon as we came down there and we were on our way shortly afterwards.
When we got to the island, we stopped for some photos from the ship’s photographers and then we headed for a photo opportunity of a different kind. They have a big soup pot there with resident “cannibals” who are happy to pose inside the soup pot with the tourists for a small fee. There are no professional photographers there, but the person who collects the money will take photos with your own camera or phone and we ended up with quite a few. Once we escaped the soup pot, it was time for some snorkeling. This is where we made a mistake. We went to opposite side of the island from the tender dock figuring that this would be our best bet. There was a beautiful beach there and the water was very clear, but there was not a great deal there. I saw coral, plenty of sea slugs, plenty of surgeon fish and not a great deal else. One thing I was glad that I did not see was the sea snake that apparently swam straight past my backside. I really do not do snakes.
After the fantastic snorkeling at Isle of Pines, this was disappointing. I heard afterwards that people snorkeled near the tender dock and there were masses of colourful fish there. Oh well. There were photographers from the ship roaming the beach and taking photos so we ended up with a couple. There are some very strong currents off the beach where we were snorkeling and this combined with a shallow coral reef is a recipe for disaster. I was heading back towards the beach as I had somehow got separated from Graham and I was done snorkeling. I got tangled up with the current and this swept me right on top of a shallow coral reef where I was then stranded. I think I can now understand how people can drown in shallow water. I could not really move or float and I have to say, I panicked more than just a little. There was a point when I wondered if I would get out of there in one piece. Suddenly Graham arrived and wanted to come to my aid. I did not want to risk him getting stuck on the coral as well so I told him to stay away, but to let me know where the closest deep water was. He called out directions and I managed to maneuver myself off the reef and into the deep water. Fortunately I was wearing my wetsuit, which had protected most of me, but I had some interesting cuts on my lower right leg. As I came out of the water, I turned some heads as there was a lot of blood. Fortunately it looked a lot worse than it actually was.
We got out of our wetsuits and packed up our stuff and had a look around the island. We came across one of the many massage huts near the beach. We still had Australian Dollars and French Polynesian Francs and did not have any wish to take them home. They were quite happy to take the French Polynesian Francs and we both had a massage. This was a very good massage. We then continued our tour of the island. We came accrues what must be the smallest airport in the world as well as some interesting trees.
I still had 15 Australian Dollars left. We had walked through a market in the morning and I decided to check this out. I left Graham on bench near the tender dock and headed over to the market. I did get a nice little cover up which actually works very nicely as a casual top teamed up with leggings, too. They wanted 20 Australian Dollars for this, but when I said that I had only 15 Australian Dollars left, they were happy to let me have it for this. I put it on straightaway as I was starting to burn quite badly and went back to Graham. As soon as I got back, we headed to the tender pier and did not have to wait long for a tender.
When we got back on the ship, we passed the medical centre and Graham wanted me to have my cuts checked out. I was not in the mood for this. Yes, it looked impressive, but It did not hurt very much. I told him that I just wanted to have a shower to get all the blood off and then we could decide if I needed medical attention. Sure enough, the saltwater mixed with blood made this look a lot worse than it actually was. With one exception, the cuts were very shallow and the only deeper one did not look too bad either. I had brought some alcohol-based hand sanitizer and I put some of this on. It stung quite a bit, but I felt happier afterwards. I agreed with Graham that if I started to feel unwell or if there was even the slightest sign of trouble, I would go to the health centre. Fortunately this was not required. I think if I had gone there that day, they would have done precisely the same that I did: clean and disinfect the wounds.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
Once I had cleaned up and got changed and Graham had done the same, we headed upstairs to get some food at the Windjammer. I was delighted when I found some beef goulash on the buffet and I had some of this with steak fries. Graham found the Build Your Own Taco station and put together is version of chilli cheese fries. He had some bread and butter pudding for dessert, which he enjoyed and against better judgement, I had some orange pound cake, which did not really taste of orange. At least the orange jelly tasted of orange.
I really had caught the sun good and proper. I could feel that I was radiating heat, but at the same time, I felt quite cold. I decided that I probably would benefit from slipping under the covers. So we headed back to the cabin. I started off reading, but fortunately I had the foresight to set the alarm on my phone as we both ended up falling asleep. I felt a lot more positive when I woke up.
The reason why it was a good job that I had set the alarm was that we had invited to a special ice show for Platinum Crown and Anchor members an above. I have always loved watching figure skating so I definitely did not want to miss this. When we got down to deck 3, the line had looped a couple of times in the space between the dining room and Studio B. People were getting a bit worried that not everybody would get in. I was not worried at all as they knew how many seats they have and how many invitations they sent out. So we stayed off to one side. The line went down very quickly once the doors opened and there was still space to spare. Even though we were amongst the last people in, we got great seats. I had brought my fleece blanket with sleeves just in case, but I did not need it. There were free drinks on offer again and we had a couple of cocktails each. The show was absolutely amazing. I had loved the ice show on Navigator, but the ice cast on Explorer was even better. The ice cast had choreographed the show for us and it really was some something special. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. This time the cruise director was present and Captain Rick made a cameo experience driving the Zamboni. The guy really has a lot of talents, but he probably should not give up the day job just yet.
After the show, we went back to the cabin so that I could get changed. I decided a long dress to cover up my mangled leg and a cardigan to cover up my burned arms was in order. Graham did not feel like getting changed. We made the rounds of the photographers and then we went to check if they could fit us in for dinner early, which was not problem.
Dinner was nice again. We both had Arancini, which were golden fried rice and portobello mushroom balls with garlic spinach and Romanesco sauce. I asked for the spinach to be left off for me, which was no issue. I was thrilled that they had chilled strawberry bisque with mint foam on the menu. Graham had the creamy roasted garlic soup with rye bread croutons. He liked it, but commented that he could not taste a great deal of garlic. For his main course, he went with garlic tiger shrimp with steamed rice, seasonal vegetables and herb butter. I started to wonder if he was suddenly concerned about vampires. I had slow roasted pork shoulder with provolone-potato bake, broccoli, carrots and black truffle sauce. This was absolutely delicious. The pork was very tender and everything was full of flavour. We both passed on dessert.
After dinner, we headed back to our cabin, where we found a new towel animal. We got ready for bed and then read for about an hour before settling down to sleep.
I really had caught the sun good and proper. I could feel that I was radiating heat, but at the same time, I felt quite cold. I decided that I probably would benefit from slipping under the covers. So we headed back to the cabin. I started off reading, but fortunately I had the foresight to set the alarm on my phone as we both ended up falling asleep. I felt a lot more positive when I woke up.
The reason why it was a good job that I had set the alarm was that we had invited to a special ice show for Platinum Crown and Anchor members an above. I have always loved watching figure skating so I definitely did not want to miss this. When we got down to deck 3, the line had looped a couple of times in the space between the dining room and Studio B. People were getting a bit worried that not everybody would get in. I was not worried at all as they knew how many seats they have and how many invitations they sent out. So we stayed off to one side. The line went down very quickly once the doors opened and there was still space to spare. Even though we were amongst the last people in, we got great seats. I had brought my fleece blanket with sleeves just in case, but I did not need it. There were free drinks on offer again and we had a couple of cocktails each. The show was absolutely amazing. I had loved the ice show on Navigator, but the ice cast on Explorer was even better. The ice cast had choreographed the show for us and it really was some something special. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. This time the cruise director was present and Captain Rick made a cameo experience driving the Zamboni. The guy really has a lot of talents, but he probably should not give up the day job just yet.
After the show, we went back to the cabin so that I could get changed. I decided a long dress to cover up my mangled leg and a cardigan to cover up my burned arms was in order. Graham did not feel like getting changed. We made the rounds of the photographers and then we went to check if they could fit us in for dinner early, which was not problem.
Dinner was nice again. We both had Arancini, which were golden fried rice and portobello mushroom balls with garlic spinach and Romanesco sauce. I asked for the spinach to be left off for me, which was no issue. I was thrilled that they had chilled strawberry bisque with mint foam on the menu. Graham had the creamy roasted garlic soup with rye bread croutons. He liked it, but commented that he could not taste a great deal of garlic. For his main course, he went with garlic tiger shrimp with steamed rice, seasonal vegetables and herb butter. I started to wonder if he was suddenly concerned about vampires. I had slow roasted pork shoulder with provolone-potato bake, broccoli, carrots and black truffle sauce. This was absolutely delicious. The pork was very tender and everything was full of flavour. We both passed on dessert.
After dinner, we headed back to our cabin, where we found a new towel animal. We got ready for bed and then read for about an hour before settling down to sleep.
rndmr2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,800
Great couple of updates! I am now caught up.
That looked like a nice tour of Noumea, beautiful island.
Those pics of you in the Cannibal Soup were cute and funny, what a fun memory!
Too bad the snorkeling wasn't that good, So sorry that you got thrown into the coral, glad it wasn't worse and you were able to get yourself free.
The ice show sounded nice, I really like to watch figure skating too.
That looked like a nice tour of Noumea, beautiful island.
Those pics of you in the Cannibal Soup were cute and funny, what a fun memory!
Too bad the snorkeling wasn't that good, So sorry that you got thrown into the coral, glad it wasn't worse and you were able to get yourself free.
The ice show sounded nice, I really like to watch figure skating too.
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