Well, here we are, once again, preparing to leave on another special adventure to the South Pacific. Anticipating cooler autumn temperatures here in northern California, we like to escape to the warmer climates for a few weeks. This year has been exceptionally nice, but it will not last long.
Our 53 day itinerary will begin with a flight to Seattle tomorrow, bright and early, with a pick-up at 5am to the San Francisco airport. If all goes according to schedule, we should be arriving to Holland America's Amsterdam by 1pm or so. Looks like we may be lucky and have a couple of sunny days while in Seattle and Vancouver the following day.
From there, we head south to Catalina and San Diego…..both really fun ports for us. Then we'll have 5 lazy days at sea on our way to Hawaii, specifically Honolulu, Lahaina, Maui, Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hilo and Kona. Can taste those shaved ice cream treats already…….
Crossing both the Equator and the International dateline, we will visit the primitive island of Fanning in Kiribat. That's if the tides are right, since we seem to land there only about 50% of the time.
Next will come two stops in Samoa….Pago Pago and Apia, followed by four stops in Fiji. The last stop there being Dravuni Island with the whitest, finest sand you'll ever see and feel between your toes.
Nuku alofa, Tonga is next, and if we are lucky, we may see the king and queen out and about in their fancy chauffeur-driven car. Vava u, Tonga is close by, and we sure hope the tenderboats will be made more accessible than on our last visit. It was quite a sight to watch the folks sit on the pier, then be slid in the side of the boat. Graceful, it was not.
Wandering over the dateline again, we will stop in Alofi, Niue, belonging to New Zealand. Rarotonga in the Cook Islands should be interesting. On our last visit, one of the tenderboats was washed over the sharp coralbeds, ripping a good-sized hole in the bottom and sides. Can you imagine the officers and crew coming out to help with the stranded guests? Our buddy, Barb, was on that boat and said it was the best "three hour tour" she ever had. Believe this – if it is ever-so-slightly dangerous to tender to shore, this port will be cancelled.
Then we're off to beautiful French Polynesia…….Bora Bora, Raiatea, Papeete, and Moorea. A little bit of heaven on earth, in our humble opinion. And great pizza too.
Our final stops will be in the Marquesas……Rangiroa, Fakarava, and Nuku Hiva. All are as remote as you can imagine. And they have sharks, as we remember when we witnessed a reef shark circling a picnic table in the water at a shoreline resort in Fakarava. The oblivious diners never knew that while they were munching their burgers, the sharks were considering munching on them. Harmless, they say? You never know……….
We'll have six days at sea, then will end our journey in San Diego, with a short flight back home on November 17th. Just in time to get ready for the Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie!
So, journey with us, and we promise to keep you all entertained.
Bill & Mary Ann
