Bora Bora Bound!

We are now at sea for two days travelling to French Polynesia. We will spend two days in Bora Bora before our final cruise destination of Papeete, Tahiti.
After the cruise, we are spending three nights on Moorea before heading to Hawaii where will join Patti and Mo in Waikiki.  Really looking forward to seeing them!

Just wanted to post this picture of a very happy stray dog we met in Samoa yesterday. He is scratching his back but it looks like he is having a good laugh!
Made us miss our sweet girl Abbey  :(

Apia, Western Samoa

Today we toured Western Samoa, an independent country. Sharing a similar culture and history with American Samoa, this lovely island is stunningly beautiful and fascinating.  We travelled around the island passing through coastal villages and visiting beautiful waterfalls and tropical gardens. We learned that villages are comprised of several large extended families that share village property. The dead are buried in the front yard to stay close with the family. Both cannibalism and polygamy were practised here in the past.Only 10 percent of property on Samoa is privately owned. All the rest is shared village property or state owned.
One really unique aspect of this culture is the third gender. If a family had too many sons, they would raise one as a girl to assist with traditional female tasks. This tradition still continues in some families. These men then grow up to act and dress as women. They are known as Fa'afafine. Google it! Fascinating.

Pago Pago, American Samoa

Sorry for the delay in posting. Due to high seas, we were unable to dock in Lautoka, Fiji. Very disappointing as we had to spend an extra day at sea and it was rough! Both Bruce and I had sea sickness.  :(

But today sure made up for it! We were in Pago Pago in American Samoa. Finally, the idyllic South Pacific of our dreams!

This island is actually an American territory very connected to Hawaii. The Samoan people are so friendly and we spent the day on a Samoan village experience. In addition to seeing some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever viewed, we were exposed to the local music, traditions and food. So good! We tried local koko (tastes like hot chocolate), tuna cooked in coconut milk, roasted chicken, bread fruit and a spinach also stewed in coconut. In Samoa, all the cooking is done by the men!

Tomorrow, we are docking in Apia, Western Samoa, an independent island.

Fiji - Port of Suva

Fiji welcomed us with beautiful views of mountains, surf breaks and lagoons. Unfortunately, we were disappointed to find our port of Suva was very noisy and industrial - not the idyllic remote beaches of our dreams. Plus we were warned of excessive danger after dark in the city. We ventured forth and visited the city centre, a museum and some shops being careful to return to the ship before dark.
The next morning brought a much more favourable experience. We travelled up into the mountains to do a hike in the rain forest. It was even more tropical than the rain forests of Australia. This rain forest was the lush jungle of imagination with tropical vegetation so thick only three percent of the sun's light reaches the forest floor. We descended deep into a valley thick with tropical plants, walking across rickety bridges and muddy trails to view amazing waterfalls and hidden pools. Gorgeous!!!
Despite the warnings, we found the Fijian people to very friendly offering smiles and warm "Bulas!" everywhere we went. Tomorrow we dock at another Fijian port called Lautoka.

On our way to Fiji

We are at sea today on our way to Fiji. We will spend two days there at two different ports. It will be a quiet day spent reading and catching up on our correspondence.
Thinking of you all and hoping the horrible winter will be over soon!

New Caledonia

We arrived in New Caledonia today and finally experienced hot tropical weather. The colour of the water was an amazing turquoise that seemed almost unreal. We spent the afternoon at the beach and the lagoon aquarium.  It felt good to be on solid ground!

Cyclone Lusi

Yesterday was a very scary day at sea. We were sailing north west to New Caledonia while Category 3 Cyclone Lusi was progressing south east toward New Zealand.

Our captain adjusted our route to avoid the centre of the storm but we still felt the effects. The seas were very rough with five metre waves and the wind was fierce. Even with the stabilizers, the ship was really pitching. Trays were crashing in the diningroom and many people including me were sea sick. Bruce had to do the Mediterranean Summer cooking class on his own which was very challenging in a moving kitchen. Thank God the Gravol I took caused me to sleep through the worst of it. This morning we awoke to blue skies and calmer seas. We are now safe in New Caledonia.