This is a summary of our trip:
· Traveled 20, 028 miles by ship in 60 days.
· Visited 18 islands: Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Rarotonga, New Zealand North and South Islands, Grand Terre Island (Moorea), Ile des Pins, Efate Island (Port Vila), Viti Levu (Suva), Tutuila (Pago Pago), Tabaeuran (Fanning Island), Hawaii, Oahu and Maui. We’ve also visited one continent—Australia. Tough to call: Tasmania is a separate island, but part of Australia….
· Visited 10 countries: French Polynesia, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, American Samoa, Kiribati and Hawaii, USA.
· Crossed the Equator and the International Dateline twice each.
· Experienced a February with 30 days—leap year + the dateline.
· Starting in LA, we crossed 7 time zones in each direction—one at a time—no jet lag!
· Spent 29 days at sea.
· Experienced 2 rescues at sea.
What did we do on our days at sea? We’ve had wonderful lecturers who taught us about a variety of things—the Polynesian migration, culture in the islands today, WWII in the Pacific, life in the coral reefs, cooking demonstrations, mathematics and music. We’ve used every excuse we could to have a party on deck: crossing the equator, serving caviar in the swimming pool, crew tug of war, sailaway parties as we left islands and dancing under the stars. We have been on a trivia team that is currently in last place—we have no Brits or Aussies, just Americans and Canadians. We have read a lot of books and enjoyed the company of many fine people. We’ve played 135 games of Spite and Malice, Rick has won 68 and Betsy has won 67, and the current scores Rick, 468 points and Betsy 442 points (low score wins)—although it could easily change in the next day and a half!
We’ve eaten far too much! Pictured here are the amazing breadsticks Seabourn makes (I have the recipe!). The ship makes 4200 a day! Together, we’ve eaten approximately 350! The chef has amazed us with fish—he has shopped in each port and we’ve eaten some wonderful local fish—Betsy couldn’t eat the Parrot Fish, though—they’re too pretty…. We’ve also eaten a lot of other stuff that we don’t get everyday at home. One of the restaurants is a tasting restaurant, so we’ve eaten a few things, such as octopus, that we have never tried before. We dread the scale and feel South Beach coming when we get home!
Of the 450 people on board, 122 of us have been here for the full 60 days—others got on and off in Auckland and Sydney. The 122 of us are called the Navigators and we have been treated to many special events, beautiful bouquets and little presents. The picture of us is at the final Navigator dinner. We were given Rick’s shirt and my sarong and told to wear them to the dinner, where we were presented with orchid leis and treated to a wonderful Hawaiian feast.
It’s time to return to normal life, although there’s also some sadness at leaving our “home at sea”. We’ve already signed up for our next adventure. Next winter, in 2 pieces in November and March, we will circumnavigate South America. We have been truly blessed to have this opportunity. Thank you for traveling with us.
