Melbourne-Similar but Different!

Yesterday we were in Melbourne and once again the weather gods were smiling on us. It was another pretty much cloudless day with highs in the low 60's.  With seasons being opposite it's springtime down under so instead of leaves falling the trees are blossoming and flowers are blooming. In spite of all that springtime talk we're also headed further south so we're getting cooler temperatures.
One of the maps that I picked up at the visitors center proclaimed Melbourne as "the worlds most livable city".  I'm not sure if this honor was bestowed upon the city by the local chamber of commerce or by on independent outside agency but after spending the day there I don't have a valid argument against it.
When most people think of Australia they probably think of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and forget about Perth because it's so far removed from the other three. I'm going to forget Perth as well since I've never been there and I'm going to forget Brisbane as well for this blog since it was probably 15 years ago that we were there. So I'm going to do a little bit of a Sydney and Melbourne comparison.
First things first, the correct pronunciation is Mel-bun. The "r" is silent and they use a whole bunch more letters in spelling it than they really need. Not a bad thing but different than Melbourne, Fl which is pronounced as it's spelled.
In my post on Sydney I used the following descriptive terms; "extremely friendly, laid back, cosmopolitan, vibrant, hip, diverse, modern, and very easy to navigate".  I would use those same terms to describe Melbourne but here's the tricky part, same words but with different meanings. It's hard to explain but if you've been to New York and Chicago you might understand. They're both really cool cities but with a different feel to them.
Even though they both have harbors and ports Sydney is more of a "seaside" city with the harbor and Opera House as the focal point. On the other hand Melbourne's city center is a few miles inland from the port and the focal point is along the Yarra River which runs through the city. There are numerous bridges that connect north and south Melbourne, none more famous than the Queens Bridge.
If you've been following along on this blog (thanks!) you know we're walkers and, like Sydney, Melbourne is a great walking town. There are shops, restaurants and gardens along both sides of the river. Also located along here is their Olympic Park which is home to the Rod Laver Tennis Arena which is where the Australian Open is played.
Something Melbourne has that we haven't seen in Sydney are "Laneways". These are basically the alleys between the buildings in downtown. They have been transformed into hundreds of small restaurants, pubs and shops. Very cool!  We stopped for a little break at one that was a Mexican restaurant. The nachos were not bad!  The place across from it had kangaroo on the menu. We've had it before and it isn't bad either, a little "gamey" tasting.
One term I forgot that could be used with both Sydney and Melbourne would be extremely clean!  It's obvious that the residents of these similar but different cities take great pride in making them great for both residents and visitors who are welcomed with open arms.
The first time we ever visited Sydney I said within the first hour or so, "I could live here".  Nothing this visit changed my opinion on Sydney. As far as Melbourne goes......I could easily live there as well!

Getting the cabin festive for Halloween!

Along the Riverfront in Downtown

Killer Doughnuts-You may not be able to make out the sign but the name is "American Doughnut"  I guess it's one of our exports.  Note the school kids lining up for a taste of America

Taken a few days before the election!

I wonder if there motto is "Survival of the Fittest"

Downtown Melbourne from the river-Chamber of Commerce type weather

Taken from the main pedestrian & auto bridge in the City Center

Sensational Sydney!

We were up early yesterday so we could enjoy our arrival into Sydney and we weren't disappointed!  Pulling into Sydney Harbor past the Opera House and under the Sydney Harbor Bridge was pretty darn cool!
We had been to Sydney twice previously and loved  it. I was curious to see if it was as good as we both remembered.  Well times have changed and sadly Sydney has suffered through a few terrorist attacks but it's as sensational as we remembered it!
It's hard to capture the vibe of Sydney accurately but a few descriptive terms that come to mind are extremely friendly, laid back, cosmopolitan, vibrant, hip, diverse, modern, and very easy to navigate.  In my mind it's truly one of the great cities of the world. Not bad for a place that first earned it's place in history as a dumping ground for convicts mainly but not exclusively from Britain.
We educated ourselves a little bit on this part of Australian history at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum.  Hyde Park Barracks were kind of like Australia's version of Ellis Island but for those convicted of crimes and sent down under. While there were some "hard core" criminals in the mix, sadly a lot of those sent to Australia were convicted of relatively minor offenses and some (both male and female) were as young as 11-12. In some cases there were happy endings with the convicted being "reformed" and becoming productive members of society. It was interesting to learn that over the past 50 years or so the Aussie's have embraced their convict past. These days it's a badge of honor if your family heritage traces back to someone who spent time in one of the prisons.  I looked on a display in the museum and there was no evidence of any Tucker's having been residents. I'm not sure if that means there were no British roots in my past, no criminals in my family tree or if they just took my kin folk out and hung them.  Most likely it's a combination of two of the three, you can decide which ones.
One other part of Australia's past that must be mentioned is the history of the Aborigines people. Those early European explorers who claimed to have discovered Australia, ha!  They were met at the shore by a civilization whose history can be traced back over 50,000 years!  The mistreatment of this group by "outsiders" was very similar to that of native Americans and very sad. Thankfully there seems to have been significant strides made towards reconciliation and protecting what is left of the Aboriginal culture but it's impossible to completely undo what was done.
Now on to a brighter subject and that's Sydney and Australia today!
Sydney is a huge city with great beaches such as Bondi and Manly as well as neighborhoods and attractions that could keep you busy for months.
With just one day we focused on the city center near the two most iconic landmarks, the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.   As usual we were on foot and on our own.
First up was a walk from Darling Harbor, which is in the entertainment district, over to the Harbor Bridge which we walked across and back.  Think of this Bridge as Sydney's equivalent of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a little over a mile in length and offers great views of the harbor, city and the #1 attraction, the Opera House.
We then looped around Circular Quay which is the transportation hub where you can catch ferries, buses or trains to other destinations such as the beaches and outer neighborhoods. The Opera House is adjacent to Circular Quay and serves as both a great backdrop or focal point for pictures. We don't take a bunch of pictures partly because I've seen too many folks "miss the moment" by trying to "capture the moment". However, by the time the day was over I had taken about 60 pictures and the Bridge, Opera House or both were in all but about fifteen!
We didn't go in the Opera House. I'm sure it's quite nice inside but there is a fairly steep fee to get in plus once you've seen one fancy Opera House you've seen them all.
Most of our time was spent in the Royal Botanical Gardens which would be Sydney's equivalent to New York's Central Park but probably with a significantly less chance of  getting mugged. Although it was a Tuesday around mid-day the park was full of young and old alike enjoying a near cloudless day.
We sailed in as the sun was rising and sailed out as the sun was setting. It was an amazing day in an amazing city. We're already looking forward to our next visit to this sensational city!




Sydney Opera House

Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge

We walked across it for free-for a few hundred bucks you can climb it and go over the top

From the Royal Botanical Gardens

The skywriter wrote "Aussie"-After a few minutes the wind blew it around a bit and it looked more like "Russia"

Easo, New Caledonia

From the ship pulling in to the harbor

Very nice snorkeling area

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From the steps to the small chapel at the top of the hill

Really nice beach-the ship was docked just offshore

Rocking and Rolling into Sydney!

Weather wise we've been  lucky this trip. Sure there has been the occasional shower and sometimes it's been a little hotter than we'd want it but all in all it's been outstanding.....until today!
We're on our last sea day before Sydney and it's been a little bumpy today. Thanks to a steady 30+ mph wind we've had white caps and 3-4 foot swells all day....and that's just in the pool!
Thankfully neither of us are prone to seasickness so we've made it through the day pretty much unscathed. I've heard that you shouldn't judge the day by the weather. I'm sure there are a few folks on the ship today that would disagree with that statement.
Tomorrow morning around sunrise we're scheduled to pull into Sydney Harbor. We'll pass under the Sydney Harbor Bridge with the Opera House on our side of the ship.
The weather report right now is for partly cloudy skies with a high of 77. If that weather holds I would image we'll have walked a big chunk of this really amazing city. We've been here twice but it's been a long time, looking forward to getting reacquainted!  If the weather doesn't hold, I won't judge the day by it.

New Caledonia-What we heard and what we saw

Prior to this trip if you would have asked me to find New Caledonia on a map I wouldn't have had a clue where to start. Now I know it lies between Fiji and Australia and from what we've seen over the last two days it's pretty darn magnificent.
Yesterday we were in Easo which is a sparsely populated island about 120 miles from the main island Grand Terre. Easo had a small village and market but the main attraction was the sandy beaches and protected coral reef bays.
When we got off the dock one of the first things I saw was a large snake sunning himself in a tree. I DON'T DO SNAKES!  I was glad that with Beth's assurances that she'd protect me I mustered up the courage to not run back on board the ship.  It was a great day of relaxing. Falling asleep under a shade tree in Easo, New Caledonia while Jimmy Buffett  and Jack Johnson were singing softly to me in the headphones makes for a good time!
Today we are in Noumea which is the capital of New Caledonia (a good trivia question) and is located on Grand Terre Island. Today was a typical Tucker day. We took off and before heading back on board we had managed to walk around 10-12 miles!  It was an awesome walk mostly along the coast past numerous marinas, parks and beaches. The views would have been great even if many of the beaches hadn't been topless!
We had heard there was a pretty significant "culture clash" between the people here, however we saw no evidence of this as we made our way around. What we did see were families, young people, older people of different ethnic backgrounds enjoying a sunny day in a beautiful coastal town!  Sure there are some cultures clashing out there as well as some folks that are just flat out mean but what we saw today is pretty typical, just folks who want to enjoy life and living.
Two sea days coming up and then Sydney!
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!




Small Boat Harbor-There was a very nice market right next door



Great Windsurfing Beach-That's not me or Beth!

Survivor Vanuatu!

Although we haven't watched it in a few years Beth and I used to enjoy the TV show survivor. Today we are in Vanuatu which is where they filmed at least one series. Obviously we were in a little more "civilized" section of the country.
We were actually in Port Vila which is the capital city and is located on the main island of Efate which is a fairly well developed and bustling city. We hired a cab for a couple of hours and our friendly driver Max knew all about survivor and told us where it was filmed.
Getting off the ship in most ports around the world is an adventure with tour operators and cab drivers hustling for business. Vanuatu was no exception and actually took us by a little bit of a surprise.  Stepping off the ship we had to pass through the local craft market. Again no big deal except they had stolen the layout from IKEA so once you're in you have to wander down row after row to make your way out.  Upon finally exiting the market there was a healthy gauntlet of vendors and hawkers to navigate.
We made our way to a water taxi which took us to the city center. We roamed a bit before hiring Max to drive us around. He was a very friendly older guy who shared with us that he had five children. He also told us about a major cyclone that hit the island last year. Although there was minimal loss of life there was a lot of damage. Max said his house was destroyed and that he is currently living in a tent while earning money to rebuild. In spite of the hardship he said that he was grateful that he and all his family survived and are well.   He said that most residents were happy and kind people which is certainly what we encountered.
He took us to the "Blue Lagoon" which was a beautiful salt water swimming hole complete with several rope tree swings. It had been a very long time, probably since high school back in Mulberry but I couldn't resist trying one. Beth filmed the whole ordeal and I am proud to say in spite of being a few pounds heavier I can still do pretty darn good on a tree swing. I made it out over the water and executed a perfect drop at the right time. All appendages seem to still be attached and in working order!
The drive out and back were through beautiful pasture land with cattle and horses as well as along the rocky coast.
We enjoyed our day and even though we didn't get voted off the island it's getting near leaving time....other adventures await....New Caledonia the next two days!!

Beth and the Blue Lagoon

Doing my best Tarzan impersonation- I hadn't done a rope swing in a very long time.  I survived and may not push my luck again

Me and Max-Nice Guy!

Harbor Front

The Ying and Yang of Fiji!

Bula (hello) from Fiji!
We have spent the last two days enjoying Fiji.
I guess it's fair to say that we've experienced the Ying and Yang of this island nation.
First we visited Suva which I'll say is the "Ying" and then Dravuni Island which will be the "Yang".
Suva is the capital of Fiji and the second largest city in the country. It's a modern/cosmopolitan city with quite a bit of British heritage evident throughout. The residents of Suva were really nice folks. As we walked around we must have been greeted with a big "Bula" and smile several hundred times. It was a genuine friendly greeting, not the "we're going to pretend to be nice so we can rip you off" greeting you get in some places.
We roamed around the seaside, botanical gardens and visited a nice little museum that gave a good overview of the history of the of Fiji.
One of the most interesting displays was one on canabalisim which thankfully to the best of everyone's knowledge hasn't been an issue for a while. According to the information it did seem as if quite a few of the early missionaries ended up on the dinner plates of the local chiefs and warriors back in the day. I guess the early folks  on the islands were praying for food and low and behold it was delivered right to their door. These days in the city center of Suva you can just pop into McDonalds for a Big Mac and free wifi and leave the missionaries alone.
We also got a kick out of watching a demonstration of an Ava Ceremony. I'm not really sure what the liquid was but I know it was made with water and extract from some root. It was served at ceremonies in the old days by the village elders to welcome visitors and guests. Who knows maybe it was also served to unsuspecting missionaries who later ended up being the main course.
In the ceremony you sit on the floor and drink this liquid from a communal cup. Whatever it is they're serving is supposed to have some "numbing or hallucinogenic" effect. Kinda brought back memories of our college apartment, "The Club 138" in Gainesville.
Dravuni Island which we are now pulling away from was quite the opposite. It's a village of around 200 people on an island that looks to be around a mile long and a half a mile wide.
It was an amazing little village with a primary school with about 20 adorable students, spectacular white sand beaches all the way around the island and colorful coral reefs just offshore. No roads, no cars and no traffic jams!
They receive supplies by a small ship that makes a delivery once a week. It happened to be making the delivery the day we were there which was interesting to see. The men of the village took 5-6 small boats out to unload the supplies which included everything from fuel, flour, vegetables, paper goods and much more.  It was kind of like Amazon Prime of the South Pacific.
Both places were very unique, totally different and fun to visit.
If I had to pick one of the two give me Dravuni Island. I guess in this case that makes me a "Yang" kind of guy.
One other thing, congratulations to Sweet Baby James who has mastered the art of rolling over!

Dravuni School-The Pride of the Village

Two Nuts and a Ship

From the top of the muddy trail on Dravuni Island

Welcome!

Fiji Museum in Suva-Interesting Exhibit on Cannibalism

A little afternoon cricket match in the park

Old Guy on the Beach

Confusion and Karma!

It's Friday night about 10:00 and just like last week at this time I am sitting on our balcony. Tonight I am enjoying a beautiful Southern Hemisphere full moon and I can see the Southern Cross. Today we were in American Samoa which had one of the most picturesque harbors I have ever seen. There are actually two Samoas, American Samoa which is a US territory and Western Samoa which is an independent nation. We learned from our tour guide Mike that as a US territory they do not have voting privileges for the presidential election which may not be a bad thing with the upcoming election. They do have a non voting congressional representative who is allowed to serve on various committees. Young men and women may also join the US military which per capita they do in a higher rate than anywhere in the 50 states. Their two biggest exports are tuna and NFL football players. We docked in Pago Pago which is home to the worlds largest tuna cannery. Troy Polomeau and Junior Seau are both from Samoa and years ago there was a quarterback named Jack or Jake Thompson who had the very cool nickname the Throwing Samoan.
As I said earlier it is Friday night, however when we wake up it will be Sunday morning. Sometime over night we will cross the international date line. Just like that poof Saturday is gone. I'm a little confused about what that means about my beloved Gators playing their Saturday afternoon game!  Also for all my Adventist friends this offers the perfect excuse for skipping church!
We had a great visit at the American Samoa National Park which for you trivia buffs is the only US National Park in the Southern Hemisphere. While we were at the park we saw some machine gun installations from World War 2. Someone asked if there had been any battles in that area during the war and our tour guide shared a story of some really bad karma. According to him the Japanese navy fired one missile at a US military fuel depot. The missile missed the depot and struck a house and killed the only Japanese citizen living in Samoa at that time......really bad karma!
Still having trouble with pictures. Will try to post some as I get better at it! Whatever day and time zone you are in... make it a great day!

Pictures from American Samoa! Beautiful Island

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The idiots who think they are travelers!

Lava flowing into the ocean!  The big island getting bigger!

We've been gone from Hilo for about 45 hours. We have around 90 hours to go before reaching Pago Pago which is probably when it will be posted. Smooth waters and running right around 17 knots per hour.
I know some folks can't imagine being on a ship for this long for fear of boredom, facebook withdrawals or some other society induced disorder. I personally find it to be incredibly relaxing and stimulating at the same time. Yesterday (Monday) there was a stretch class (more on this later)  a five mile walk around the ship (15 laps), a lecture on the solar system, a lecture on the South Pacific explorers, a blackjack tournament for women that Beth played in (she lost) and a little food interspersed throughout. Today was much more of a relaxing day; stretch class,  another five mile walk, a men's blackjack tournament (I lost) and of course a little more food interspersed throughout. Do as much or as little as you want and food is always at your disposal, what's not to like?  If i want to know what stupid thing Donald said today or how many more e-mails Hillary ordered erased MSNBC and Fox News are readily available although I'm trying my best to avoid them. Who is loving it on the ship are the Aussies and Canadians who are quite amused by it all while most of us Americans are just shaking our head and praying that we wake up from this freak show.
About two hours after leaving Hilo we got a real treat. We passed right by an area where lava was flowing from the volcano into the sea. The ship's captain who has been in Alaska all summer running close to the glaciers got us within 1000 yards all the while keeping a safe distance from the poisonous fumes and the rocky shore line. He made sure to point out that we were in over 900 feet of water just in case anyone was thinking he might turn the ship into a submarine like the guy in Italy did a few years ago. It was an awesome sight watching the big island get bigger!
Now about that stretching class.  Flexibility has never been one of my strengths. Touching my toes from a standing position could only be accomplished if my arms were about two feet longer but that's gonna change!  There is a stretch class offered everyday that I've been attending. Ok, so it's only four days so far, there is progress but also still a long way to go. I'll keep you posted. Beth has gone with me a couple of times but the first morning she sent me off with a kiss and a reminder to try not to be "gassy"!  So far so good, I haven't cleared out the gym!
One last thing for this post. We may have to change our name from "The Traveling Idiots" to "The Idiots Who Think They're Travelers", the folks on this ship are good!  One person we met has been traveling for seven straight months, another one that's been "home" twice for two weeks each time over the past year, a couple with two young kids that are perpetually traveling, etc. We're looking more and more like rookies and homebodies compared to this gang!
Pictures soon!

Wrapping up Hawaii & Early Cruise Observations

It's Friday night about 10:00 PM as I am writing this post. I'm setting outside on our balcony looking at what seems to be thousands of stars while off to my left I can see the Haleakala Crater, the highest point on Maui. The ship has been moving for a little over an hour and tomorrow morning we arrive at our last port in Hawaii, Hilo which is on the big island. We'll be leaving Hilo tomorrow (Saturday) at 6:00 and don't touch land again until we reach Pago Pago, American Somoa which is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On our way there we cross both the equator and the international date line. We will get there on Friday, October 14 at 8:00 AM local time, what day and time it will be where you are I haven't a clue.
A few observations on the cruise so far:
These folks are "travelers" not "tourists".  Everyone we've met has had fascinating tales of their past travels.  When we tell them our story of selling pretty much everything we own and being intentionally homeless they love it and can relate.....we have a boatload of Traveling Idiots!  There are folks like us out there!
Another observation; while we may not be the youngest passengers on the ship Beth put it in simple terms. If we have to abandon ship (hope we don't) and they load the lifeboats youngest to oldest we'll be in the first boat. If they load the lifeboats oldest to youngest we're pretty much goners!
Third observation from the cruise so far; we haven't gone very far!  Got on Wednesday afternoon in Honolulu and didn't leave there until close to mid-night Thursday. Maui is a short distance from Honolulu and while slightly longer Maui to Hilo on the big island isn't far either. Of course all that will change once we leave Hilo.
My last observation is from the beaches of Anna Maria Island back in Florida as well as the Hawaiian beaches. You can make a bunch of bikini's out of almost no material these days!  Not complaining, just an observation!
I hope everyone is safe from the hurricane and is conducting themselves better than the two folks running for leader of the free world!
I'll post again as soon as possible.

Our ship sitting off Lahaina, Maui

Hula Pie at Leilani's, a long standing tradition when we visit Maui 

Maui from our balcony on the ship