We left NZ and spent two days at sea, both of which had great tropical weather and sunshine. Our trivia prowess hasn't improved, but we succeeded in scoring a bottle of 'Champagne' as a door prize at one of them. WE chilled it down and enjoyed it on a sunny balcony before heading to a second dinner with Dan and Harriet from Cleveland and Ian and AManda from Ontario on formal night. We haven't had many days to enjoy the balcony, so it was nice to lounge around looking out at the endless ocean. Peggy got a bit of sunburn in 15 minutes on deck reminding us how intense the rays can be.
Peggy awoke on Tuesday to an awesome moon setting at 6AM as it dropped into the sea. She thought at first glance it was the sun, given it's size, but it was a pale butter yellow which she, unfortunately didnt get a picture of as I had the camera squirrelled away in my back pack. I did a tour of the exterior promenade deck (1 1/4 Miles) Moving around the corridors of the ship gets slowed to a snails pace with strollers, wheelchairs, and cane bearing seniors struggling against the gentle swaying of the ship.
After morning trivia I attended a lecture on Ocean liners. The speaker John Maxtone-Grahame is an accomplished author and historian of ocean liners and the evolution of the cruise industry and an excellent speaker. Moving around the corridors of the ship gets slowed to a snails pace with strollers, wheelchairs, and cane bearing seniors struggling against the gentle swaying of the ship.
Yesterday we visited Suva on the southern shores of FIJI. We awoke to overcast, drizzly skies that turned to heavy showers as we disembarked the ship and waded to the tour buses. Fiji buses have 'natural' airconditioning and hold around 60-70 passengers. Our loaded bus quickly became a humid sauna in the 23C temperatures for the 1 hour (Fiji time) ride to a village. After a bit of shopping for postcards and walking about the grounds, we were herded into an amphitheatre for a cultural performance by local Fijians, culminating with a fire-walking demonstration by tribesmen of a specific Fijian Island that are renowned for this feat. It was an enjoyable performance in spite of the drizzle (which the fire walkers no doubt were glad for as they picked their way across the heated river rocks).We learned that each province/ island has some specialty, and the province we were in specialized in canibalism as late as te 1950's.
As we left te port of Suva, the police concert band performed on the dock which was one of the most stirring sendoffs we have had at any port of call! Victoria and Vancouver could learn from these folks, who only see a cruise ship once every 4-6 months.
We are now en rout to Apia, Samoa, and will report later on the after effects of the Tsunami nad the progress the Island has made towards recovery.
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