Rarotonga, The Port That Wasn't

Thursday, January 31
Day 27/At Sea

We were all set to go ashore this morning at Rarotonga. Camera batteries were charged, sunscreen and sunglasses ready for action. Watson had exchanged some of our money for New Zealand Dollars to spend on bus fare for a trip around the island.


We were anchored offshore. The wind blew. Rainstorms came and went. Whitecaps appeared on the water. Then the voice of Captain Mercer came over the public address system, saying that weather conditions were so bad that we could not safely be transported to and from the island in the ship's lifeboat/tenders. Therefore, we were going to skip Rarotonga and continue toward our next port, Auckland, New Zealand.

Our Cruise Director and his staff quickly shifted to Plan B. Activities were organized. A new Explorer ( our daily program) was printed. The Amsterdam is rocking and rolling as we make our way across this vast ocean, but we are happily on our way toward beautiful New Zealand, with so much to look forward to and no complaints.


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Back at Sea

Last night we said goodbye to Bora Bora,



and now The Amsterdam is on its way to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

How do we pass the time at sea? Sometimes it is hard to choose among the variety of activities offered every day. This morning we attended an exercise class together. Then Watson learned about photo editing in a class conducted by Tom,our resident "Techspert", in the Microsoft-sponsored computer lab



Next stop for Watson was the Explorations Cafe,




our library/coffeehouse/meeting place, where he picked up the daily Sudoku puzzle and got to work.

Later, we met up to hear a retired Anthropology professor talk about the peoples of the South Pacific region.

And then, it was time to eat again! We'll talk about the subject of Waistline Wars in a future post.
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Bora Bora

Another day, another beautiful island.



Our tour today took us all the way around Bora Bora, on a road built by U.S. servicemen during World War II.
We saw places for the very wealthy, such as these houses that were occupied by Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. And we saw modest homes for average families. Since there is no cemetery on the island, deceased loved ones are often buried in their own front yards. We saw several of these graves, mostly paved with white stone and protected by a canopy of wood or something grassy, probably palm leaves.

My favorite stop: an outdoor shop where pareus are made and sold.


A pareu is a big, tablecloth-like garment. It can be tied and twisted into a variety of dress styles. Our guide demonstrated.



The pareu fabrics are colored with sun-activated dyes.


Parts of the fabric are covered with cutout shapes. The areas under the shapes do not change color, and thus a design is created.



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Moorea

If you like spectacular scenery, this is the place to come.



Moorea is said to have been the inspiration for the mythical island of Bali Hai in James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific. The view changed with time of day and movement of the clouds. We couldn't stop looking.

In the afternoon we boarded a small (about 30 passenger) boat for a dolphin watching ecotour conducted by a marine biologist. We enjoyed the ride and the informative narration, but after a while we began to think that the only dolphins we would see we're the ones on the back of our biologist's t-shirt.



Just then a fin appeared beside our boat, then another and another, until we were surrounded by Spinner Dolphins. They came so close to our boat that we could hear the little chirping noises that they make.




The dolphins jumped, slapped their tails on the water, and did backflips. What a privilege to be able to see these wonderful creatures in their natural habitat.
We were impressed that the biologist and his helper were able to identify several of the dolphins by scars or bite marks on their fins, or just an unusual shape of fin.



This is our dolphin-spotter. Note the beautiful Polynesian tattoo on his shoulder.





Before returning to The Amsterdam, we looked at the goods at an open-air crafts market. I don't know what happened to my usual level of sales resistance, but I am now the owner of two pretty, one-size-fits-all dresses. Just the thing for eating at the buffet...I'll never outgrow them.





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Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

We toured this beautiful island last year, so this year we decided to explore on foot. The town of Papeete is just steps from where our ship is anchored, but since today is Sunday, almost everything is shut down.



All of the signs were in French or a sort of mixture that might be called Franglish.


Some people from town came to serenade us as we left the ship.




Tomorrow we will be at Moorea, and the following day, Rarotonga.


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Pitcairn

Welcome to Pitcairn Island, rugged and remote home to 56 descendants of the original crew of The Bounty.....as in Mutiny
On The Bounty.






The island is small, not much larger than Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. It is a long way from any other populated land mass. There was a plan for some of the residents to come aboard, talk with us, and offer some handcrafted items for sale.
Our Captain learned that more than 20 Pitcairn residents are ill with the flu, so that idea was scrapped. We dropped off some items that the islanders had requested, everything from toilet paper to chicken breasts to whiskey. Then we were on our way.






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Easter Island Visit

We're watching the sun rise over Easter Island, the first land we have seen in a few days. We are 2237 miles west of Chile, 1290 miles east of Pitcairn Island. In other words, pretty far off the beaten track. People come here from all over the world to see the mysterious Moai statues, huge ancient stone figures scattered about the island.




We are anchored offshore. The seas are very rough. Passengers will go to and from shore on lifeboats, which serve as tenders in ports where we are not able to dock. Since we were here last year, I decided to stay on board. Watson is going ashore. Hopefully he will bring back some Moai pictures to share with us.





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General San Martin, Peru

What a surprise and what a contrast to Lima, when we looked outside this morning and saw ---



--- a moonscape with 3 giant aliens looking as if they are awaiting orders from R2D2. Watson says that they are actually pieces of equipment for scooping up and lifting large objects, but I'm not so sure.

After breakfast we joined a tour and ventured out into the Peruvian desert. For five hours we explored incredible landscapes.








Far inland, we saw fossils, indicating that the desert had been under the sea at one time.





At one of our stops, we were introduced to a young woman who is building the beginnings of a a high-fashion empire in this unlikely location. Her website: www.sumaqkayparacas.com.

And now, heading out across the Pacific. Next stop, Easter Island. Goodbye, Peru!



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Liking Lima

Our first tour of Lima took us around the city. We admired the beautiful plazas and colorful buildings. We visited two impressive houses, Casa Solariega de Alieaga and Casa Luna. Both function as museums and also serve as living quarters for the families that own them.
Why are there no pictures of these outstanding places? Because I forgot my camera. Watson had his, but the battery needed to be recharged.
You can try Googling the two locations if you would like to see them. Casa Luna is especially interesting because it houses a collection of
more than two thousand Nativity scenes.

Day two of touring included a visit to the Indian Market and to a store called Dedalo, where all of the items on display have been made by local artists and artisans.




The artwork was often impressive,



Sometimes silly, but always interesting to see.



Now, we are under way toward General San Martin, port for the town of Pisco.





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Heading South

We slept through a late night Equator crossing. Didn't even feel a bump. We woke to find ourselves in
Manta, Ecuador


On a tour we saw artisans producing Panama hats, which should really be called Ecuador hats (ask Teddy Roosevelt how that happened). Also produced here are woven bags for coffee beans, using thread made from plant fibers. Buttons made from the outer layer of the locally grown Tagua nut were produced here until cheaper plastic versions came along.
Back at The Amsterdam, we watched as hundreds of pounds of tuna were offloaded from a huge fishing boat. We're thinking that tuna salad will be on every Manta menu for a while.

Coming next: two days at sea, followed by two days in Lima, Peru. I'm looking forward to telling you about Sea Day activities. Please keep your fingers crossed that our Internet connection will cooperate. Doing this blog is so much fun, but when I try to send it, I usually get knocked offline. Others are having the same problem. We can only hope that the Captain has a better wi-fi connection!















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Panama Canal

One of my best travel days ever!

We were up at 5 a.m. to watch our captain maneuver The Amsterdam into the first set of locks, with only 24" to spare on each side.



The entire transit lasted about ten hours. We rushed between various vantage points on the ship, wanting to see as much as possible from every angle.




Parts of the journey were narrated by Dan Ostler, our enthusiastic and well-informed lecturer. His website, www.ostler.com, is a great source of information about the history and workings of the Canal, complete with maps and photos.

Thank you, Panama, for a wonderful experience!


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Cartagena Collage

We were only here for a short time, but we liked what we saw-






A beautiful city.




Our tour went by in a blurrrrr

Welcome Aboard

On Friday, January 4, a five-hour flight fast-forwarded us from the frozen Northland to a warm but drizzly Fort Lauderdale. The next day we boarded Holland America's AMSTERDAM, and here we are, sailing past Cuba on our way to Cartagena, Colombia.








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