Come Along with Bill & Mary Ann Going Full Circle on the 2015 World Cruise -114 days+

[WCB]

Report # 51 Sailing Towards Albany, Australia February 18, 2015 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 68 degrees

 

We are happy to report that today’s weather was an improvement over yesterday’s. Despite the cool breeze on the promenade deck around 10am, the overcast skies began to break up around noontime. It did remain partly cloudy, but some sun did get through to warm us up. It was perfect reading weather at the aft pool for a few hours.

 

There were some interesting things going on today around the ship. The Aboriginal theme continued with the cultural dance depicting the ladies picking berries, while the men hunted. Then a culinary adventure with our show chef David, demonstrated how to create an Aussie meat pie. Pamela and Stuart told us all about these meat pies, which are obviously a big Aussie treat. Stephen Kent shared some short films consisting of music of the trance dance to country tunes. Didgeridoo lessons continued, while guest speaker, Mr. McCormack spoke about cattle and the Aussie stockmen.

 

We spent some considerable time later this afternoon exploring why our new computer has decided to send some photos a different size. Even the internet guru, Lex, was not sure why. Also, we have had some problems with sending emails with photos to some family and friends with a certain internet carrier. Seems that the size has been limited for them. Eventually, we will figure this new- fangled computer out.

 

While trying to play with photo sizes, we did manage to watch a movie, Approaching Midnight. We have been keeping track of all the movies shown daily, and have begun to figure out their rerun schedule. It has taken about three weeks, then some of the same movies recycle. There are four movies daily, with the fourth one being the one that was shown in the Wajang Theater the previous day. For the most part, they are newer. Have we mentioned that every room has a DVD player? We have a book that we can chose from hundreds of flicks, although, most are old……really old.

 

Before the afternoon was over, we took a walk for an hour, and spotted a wayward bird that must have joined the ship while we were in Adelaide. Not a sea bird, we think it looked like a mudlark. It was hiding in the ship’s gutter, scared, and shivering. Just about then, one of the crew members came and moved it somewhere else, probably out of sight from the passengers. Since we will be docking in Albany tomorrow, this bird may have a chance to survive. Anyway, after dinner this evening, we did our usual walk outside, and ran into a scantily-clad woman, who was frantic about this bird on the deck. She wanted one of us to pick this bird up and throw it overboard. Knowing that this is a shore bird, we urged her to leave it alone so it could fly off tomorrow. On another cruise years back, we saw some do-gooders throw several stranded birds over the railing, only to have them plummet into the waves and drown. We tried to tell this lady tonight that she would certainly kill this bird by releasing it. Hope she listened, but something told us that she was going to get her husband to do it, since she was afraid to do it herself. Think you’ve seen it all? Come on a cruise ship……..weird things happen almost daily……

 

Dinner was very good tonight. One of us had the lamb entrée, while the other ordered the beef brisket with creamy mashed potatoes. The accompanying gravies were excellent. So far, we have had few disappointing meals.

 

Looking forward to a fun day in Albany tomorrow, even though there is a 20% chance of rain. We’ll just take the umbrellas.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[TiogaCruiser]

With digeridoo lessons being offered, does anyone on the world cruise buy one to bring home? :)

[WCB]

Report # 52 Albany, Australia February 19, 2015 Thursday Partly cloudy & 71 degrees

 

Today’s port of call was Albany, Australia, the oldest continuous settlement in Western Australia. Located in the Princess Royal Harbour, Albany was noted for having the only deep water port in this part of the country. That is, until Fremantle Port was constructed in 1897.

 

The beginning of this settlement began with the landing of the Brig Amity back in 1826, arriving from Sydney with their crew and convict passengers. Major Edmund Lockyer had orders from England to form a settlement at King George Sound. A full size replica of this sailing ship was built in 1972, and it sits near the old jail with men’s and women’s cells, warden’s quarters, a cottage, and the Great Hall. Today, all of these are museums with a $5. entry fee.

 

Beside the coaling industry, it was the whales that put this place on the map. Whale World was the last operating whaling station in all of Australia. It closed in 1978, but has been turned into a museum. Many years ago we took a tour that included seeing Whale World, and found lots of history there. Although it is a self-touring venue, we did find it interesting how the whales were harvested and processed here. It has been many years since we toured this museum, but we do remember the bloody effects, and brutal history.

 

Another good reason that brings many tourists from other parts of Australia is the weather. It is much cooler here, when most of the country is hot and hotter. We figure this was our fourth visit here, and also the fourth time it was cool, foggy, or raining. Normal days here are cool and wet, with up to 37 inches of annual rain. Looking at the landscape, however, we were told by locals that there has been no rain for four months here. There were few green lawns anywhere, except for the ones that are watered.

 

Other places to see in this area are the Princess Royal Fortress, where the British built this defensive fort in 1893. The guns mounted here have never been used in an offensive way. It has only been used as a deterrent.

 

There are a few wineries in the area, as well as Albany’s wind farm consisting of 12 wind turbines. These can be seen from the town itself. Out in the same direction is the Valley of the Giants, or the old red tinglewood trees that measure up to 17 yards around the base. They grow nowhere else in the world we understand. Martha and Bob went there today on a shore excursion. They got some good exercise on the Tree Top Walk, as they later reported.

 

We got off of the ship somewhere around 10am. Since nothing in town was opened really early, we took our time and had a nice breakfast as usual in the dining room. The Captain had mentioned in his talk that there was a 20% chance of rain today. Just in case, we did pack one umbrella, but it never did happen. The complimentary shuttle was waiting at the gate, so we decided to take it up York Street and the top of the hill. The bus loaded up quickly, but once at the bus stop, most everyone sat there waiting to go to another stop. We had been handed a nice map of the central business district with the bus stops labeled. There was only one stop for us, at the top of the hill. From there, the bus headed back to the ship. Once people got the idea, they slowly disembarked and proceeded to some waiting volunteers who gave further directions. The locals are so, so friendly, willing to help everyone.

 

Our destination was the local Kmart, located in a very nice mini mall At Albany Shopping Plaza. It was a short walk uphill. We wanted to spruce up our little window garden, and found just the right garden ornaments to do it. We noticed that half of the customers in this mall were from the Amsterdam. Hopefully, all of us were contributing to their economy today. There was also a Coles supermarket in this plaza, along with a Target and a McDonalds.

 

Halfway down York Street, we stopped at the grounds of the library, where a craft market had been set up. The last time we stopped here, one of us spotted a pair of earrings to match an existing pendant we bought in Fremantle several years before that. At the time, it had started raining, so we left the park and decided to come back after shopping at the mall. Much to our surprise, the locals had gone home, and every single souvenir was gone with them. Today we realized these were the same vendors for the most part. And lucky for us, we found the same line of space glass jewelry, and a matching pair of earrings for the pendant. We purchase them right away, since they were one of a kind.

 

From there, we walked the rest of the town, ducking in and out of shops and checking café menus. Barb had mentioned the George Hotel for lunch, but we think it was closed due to remodeling. Since it was still too early for lunch, we strolled across the train tracks to the Anzac Peace Park, a memorial facing the harbor. A bit further up the road, we found the Brig Amity ship, and the museums of the old jail. Touring only the outsides, we still got a feel of what they looked like from seeing the photos displayed for all to read and see. Lots of history here. What is also nice are the numerous restrooms everywhere in town. Every one of them we used, were spotless and well-maintained. Obviously, the locals are very proud of their city. Three different times during the day, we were approached by friendly people, asking where we were from, and where were we going next. We sure did not get the impression that they get a lot of passenger ships visiting here.

 

By now, we had built up an appetite for pizza. There was a cute, small café we passed that looked like a good possibility. The name was Ivy’s on York, and they served Italian. Going there was easy, since it was a half block from the railroad. Expecting to find it crowded, we were happy that it was not filled yet. So we took a table outside, and ordered our food at the counter inside. Very casual. Sometimes you can have a good feeling about a place, and today it worked. We were surprised with one of the best margherita pizzas we have eaten so far. The Tiger beers only made it better. People watching from the porch was fun too, as many of our buddies walked by as we sat there, greeting them as they strolled by. Later when we were back on the ship, some friends said they waved to us from the shuttle, but we did not see them. The only one we spotted was Barbara H, who gave a talk about Albany recently. She also waved as she rode by. We will have to tell her about the good pizza here, since she is also a lover of the pies.

 

Walking back along the seaside road, we made our way back to the ship by 4pm. The sailaway was scheduled to begin at 4:30pm, and we did want to go to it. Technically, it was in the Lido pool area, but most all of us went to the aft deck. The bar staff were serving some food, but by the time we got there, all of the food was long gone. Oh well, we will save ourselves for dinner. We stayed at the sailaway until the ship left the harbor and the surrounding bay and islands. Once we were clear of the small islets, the Captain cranked up the speed. The scenery was so nice, we ended up staying back there, talking with new friends, until 6:45pm.

 

We make a habit of going through the Lido to check out the entrees almost every day. It did not help us tonight, because the Lido had been transformed with decorations for Chinese New Year. What’s with that? On past cruises, Chinese New Year would have been a formal affair, and the dining room would have been highly decorated, and we would have had a Chinese-related menu. There were no lanterns or Chinese cuisine at all in the La Fontaine dining room. How sad. There goes another tradition down the drain.

 

Despite the change in the theme, we still enjoyed our dinners tonight. Fish and chips was popular, as was the strip loin of beef. Desserts of an apple/apricot cobbler, and a warm chocolate pudding cake helped make us happy. Really, it doesn’t take too much to make us all happy.

 

And we made it a point not to miss the entertainment tonight……The Aussie Boys, a singing group of the nicest guys that have come back here again and again. And as expected, their show was awesome.

 

Looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow. Hope the weather warms up a little bit.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Folk Singer]

Bill and Mary Ann,

 

Thank you for the update.

[WCB]

Report # 53 Sailing Towards Fremantle, Australia February 20, 2015 Friday Partly cloudy & 68 degrees

 

Once the Amsterdam rounded the south western corner of Australia, we were in the Indian Ocean and away from the deep swells that have been plaguing us for the last few days. We believe the sign that we are in a different ocean with warmer currents is seeing some rather large flying fish later this afternoon. Up until today, we have seen none for several weeks. Not only have the seas gotten better, but so has the weather. We actually have sun today with mostly blue skies. It was a bit cool on the promenade deck this morning, but you won’t hear any complaints from us.

 

Sometimes our walk turns into visiting instead of exercise. Today was one of those times, because our host Tom came out to sit for a while. He had a few copies of our travel agency’s new quarterly newsletter with future cruise ads to entice us to book ahead. One such offer was booking on the new Koningsdam, which begins sailing in February 2016, one year from now. The first ship in the Pinnacle class, this vessel will hold 2650 passengers and will do cruises in the Mediterranean. Also, it was announced that another sister ship to the Koningsdam will be built by November 2018. That probably means that two more of the older HAL ships will be sold. This coming fall, the Statendam and the Ryndam will be going to another cruise line, but will stay within the Carnival family.

 

Well, what’s cooking today? For one, mint pistachio crusted lamb chops over white beans and wild mushroom cassoulet was prepared for the audience in the Wajang Theater by show chef David. This ties in with the Aussie theme, still ongoing with the ship’s activities. Didgeridoo classes are still held in the Crow’s Nest. We must ask if the instruments the passengers are playing are their own. Perish the thought of playing a shared didgeridoo with several other guests. A little Fremantle history was in order with a talk by Mr. McCormack regarding a whaling ship and breaking prisoners out of jail. Mr. Sranko spoke about spineless creatures, or the ones without bones, with big brains and arms that can think for themselves. Sure sounds like octopus to us. We’ll have to go and check this one out…anything to do with animals is up our alley. Can you imagine a test octopus that figures out how to open a child proof prescription bottle in 50 minutes, eventually learning to do it in 5 minutes? Fascinating….. And how many hearts does an octopus have? How about three. Never knew that.

 

We did get in some quality pool time at the aft deck. The weather was near perfect with mostly sunny skies and a pleasant breeze blowing. At the moment, we are sailing close enough to land to see beaches and hills for hours on the starboard side. Surprisingly, there were few birds flying near the ship, which probably means that there is no food for them.

 

Lunch was late, around 3pm, in the Lido. The sandwich maker does a great job in creating ciabatta rolls or Kaiser rolls for us. Sometimes, he has just taken out a fresh pizza, and offers us a slice. We have to admit, the pizza is much better served in here, compared to the pizza they served in the outdoor grill. Also a good place to find nice desserts is at tea in the dining room at 3pm. Today they were serving cute cupcakes, decorated beautifully. The bakers on the ship are sure talented with their decorating skills. Of course, they are responsible for the extra pounds we are gaining, and trying hard to keep it off.

 

It surprises us how many room doors have their “do not disturb” signs in their doors between 4 and 5pm. Could it be that many folks are having naps? Lots of our friends will do that on sea days, and are not shy about mentioning it. Takes some midday resting to burn the candle at both ends. We’re not there yet. When we get a bit tired, we go for a walk. The fresh sea air gives us much more energy than sleeping. There is a group consisting of mostly the same folks that do the same thing we do on sea days. By the end of the trip, we will probably know each other by name. We have met some of the neatest folks that way, keeping in touch online.

 

Sunset was shortly after 7pm, and we went to deck 9 to film it. Not spectacular, the sun slipped behind a cluster of clouds that were low on the horizon. We still got some color, although it was brief. So far, the best sunset was leaving Adelaide after 8pm. We did not have our camera with us at the dinner table. Too bad.

 

Speaking of dinner, there were only four of us. Martha and Bob were invited elsewhere, and Barb was birthday partying again. At the end of our meal, Presti paid a visit and told us the number of family members that will coming on the ship during our stops in the three Indonesian ports. As they are expecting many children, they have pre-ordered dozens of 5 gallon buckets of ice cream. Should be fun seeing all of these kids for a change. It should condition us for the upcoming two week Disney cruise in May.

 

There was a short show at 7:30pm in the showlounge featuring Hayden Smith, the singer/musician. Later on, Alana Conway, the Australian leading lady, sang her eclectic range of music to the heavenly bliss of her harp. No, we did not write that, but someone very talented must be responsible for the accolades. Granted, she does have a silky smooth voice.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Fremantle/Perth for two days. Looking forward to it.

 

Waiting for us in our room was a surprise…….two gifts. They were small luggage scales from Tumi, and a most useful item.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Dr.Dobro]

>>>> It surprises us how many room doors have their “do not disturb” signs in their doors between 4 and 5pm. Could it be that many folks are having naps? <<<<

 

Not necessarily (ahem).

[WCB]

Report # 54 Fremantle, Australia February 21, 2015 Saturday Partly sunny &82 degrees

 

Well, here we are, docked in Fremantle, the gateway to Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Fremantle, or Freo, as it is called locally, was the destination for convicts in the 1850’s, like many other Aussie cities. The Fremantle Prison, built in 1850, still stands today. It was Western Australia’s main maximum security prison as recently as 1991, when it closed. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site today.

 

Modern Fremantle is home to museums, art galleries, neat shops, and a lively place at night. That is probably due to the large number of schools in this area, that attract many young folk. The capital, Perth, is located about 13 miles away. Because of its Mediterranean climate, it has been named as one of the world’s top ten places to live.

 

We have been to this area many times, and have always taken tours out of Fremantle. There are lots of things to do and see in and around Perth. We have visited Caversham Wildlife Park, home to all the Australian animals. We learned from a ranger at the park, that you should only approach a wombat from the side, if it is being held by a ranger for tourists to pet. Otherwise you could lose a finger or two.

 

The countryside wineries are a fun place to visit. Houghton’s Winery and Sandalford’s Caversham Estate were among the nicest wineries we have toured. On a hobby level, we have made wine from our home-grown grapes. That is, until the birds, raccoons, squirrels, and deer have demolished the vines. So we appreciated seeing the process done on a huge scale at these excellent facilities.

 

Today, we decided to stay close to the ship and explore town. A shuttle was being provided from the cruise terminal to the center of downtown. Since it was only a 15 minute ride, we walked instead. In order to cross the railway tracks, you have to go over a pedestrian bridge. We made our way to the center, passing stores and churches along the way. The central business district is small and compact, but full of cafes and markets. Most all of the facades of the buildings have been saved from the 1800’s. Many of them are Victorian, but there are also old buildings that have Moorish designs.

 

We made our way to the Freo Markets, originally built in 1897, and remodeled in 1975. It now holds 150 stalls selling everything imaginable. There are food stands selling crepes, nuts, coffees, cheeses and candy. One part of the market has produce of all kinds. And then there is the fashion section full of clothing, shoes, jewelry, antiques, and ceramics. Everything Australian is sold in the way of souvenirs. We did pick up a package of a dozen little koalas, that we use as ornaments on our Christmas tree.

 

Checking out possible cafes for lunch, we discovered the one that we liked, SoHo, was closed, as in gone. Wandering down the main street, we ran into our friends Leslie and Handler, who were also searching for a wood-fired pizza place. They were also trying to locate a restaurant that was not there. Looking through the tourist information books and maps, we did come across a possibility, but decided to come back later, when the places were less crowded. Being that today was Saturday, every place was mobbed. And to make worse, there had been a swim race in the bay, so that drew a bigger crowd.

 

We made our way to the nearby Esplanade Park, where there was a tourist wheel, like a ferris wheel. We don’t remember seeing this the last time we were here. It is 40 meters high with 24 gondolas that hold 6 people in each car. Going very slowly, it is designed for site seeing, and not as a ride. The price to ride it was $20. a couple. Truthfully, we think we got the same view from deck nine on our ship.

 

Working our way further, we got to Bathers Beach, a small strip of sand and surf. The water looked really cold to us. Even the little kids did not stay in the water for long. The weather was perfect today, but there was a chill in the breeze. Getting wet would not be good for long.

 

We walked around the Fishing Boat Harbor, lined with many cafes and restaurants. Challenger Harbor housed the smaller yachts and boats. After strolling the downtown area, it was nice to enjoy the peace and quiet out here among the boats. At the waterfront, we chatted with a young fellow who was selling trinkets of bracelets and necklaces. Asking us where we were from, we told him San Francisco. He laughed and said he had lived there for four years, and he knew exactly the part of town where we had grown up. He had worked as a bike messenger, so he had to learn the city in a hurry. It was like he read our minds, because he recommended a café that had the best pizza in town. Strangely enough, that was our next stop. Before we left, we did pick up a nice necklace he had made.

 

OK, time for lunch. We back-tracked to find a place called Portorosa, named after a port city in Sicily. They promised handmade pizza cooked in the all-important wood-fired oven. So we ordered the margherita version with two Peroni beers. Perfect. Both were delicious. If we have the time tomorrow, we may be back.

 

On the way back towards the pier, we stopped for ice cream. Remembering what Pamela had said, we tried the salted peanut and caramel vanilla ice cream. Sounds different, but it was really good. The combination of sweet mixed with a touch of salt could be addictive. As we walked back, we made one more stop in Coles Supermarket in the Wool’s Store building. Stuart and Pamela had mentioned that we could buy ice cream similar to hokey pokey in either Woolworth’s or Coles. We did locate it, and found that we could purchase a container about ½ quart for about $4.90. We paid that much for one scoop. So we purchased two thin plastic containers (really made for sandwiches) with lids for our little freezer. Tomorrow we will buy the ice cream, eat some, then put the rest in the freezer section of our small room refrigerator. That way we will know if it works. It does keep ice frozen, so it should work fine.

 

As they often do, we had a deck BBQ at 5:30pm. Of course, it had an Aussie theme, but we did not find kangaroo or emu being served. They were offering special drinks, West Winds Gin Sour, served in a souvenir glass for $6.95. It was not too crowded at 6pm when we went to deck nine to take pictures.

 

But we did get a better view of the fishing fleet coming back into the harbor and going up the Swan River. Some of them were party boats also. One very sleek yacht had a wedding party onboard, as we could see the bride and groom making a toast on the outside deck. How cool was that? However, in another small fishing boat, we saw a first. Two guys were “mooning” our ship as they passed by. Thought we were seeing things. Almost wished we didn’t. Like we said previously, this is a college town, and it was obvious that these guys were letting off some steam after a day of drinking probably.

 

It was party time tonight at our table, since it was Maureen’s birthday. We kidded her that she was 39 again. We don’t know her exact age…..proper ladies never tell. But we can tell you that she has the energy of three 25 year olds. On most cruises, she has been the arts and crafts teacher, but this time, she is a true guest, and is enjoying every minute of it. Dessert time brought a large New York cheesecake, big enough for 12 of us. Several wait staff came over and sang the Indonesian birthday song, We all joined in to make her day special.

 

No entertainment tonight, but there was a movie shown in the Queens Lounge. It was The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One. Hope it comes back either in the Wajang or on TV, because we really want to see it. Over a 2 hour flick, we knew we would never be able to stay up past midnight. Darn…..

 

The ship will be overnighting here, and leaving tomorrow around 4pm. Plan another day of exploring Fremantle.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[erewhon]

Thanks for continuing your daily reports.

[WCB]

Report # 55 Fremantle, Australia Day Two February 22, 2015 Sunday Partly sunny & 81 degrees

 

Day two in Fremantle brought with it mostly sunny skies with a nice breeze. Could not have asked for better conditions for a day of strolling once again.

 

We got a later start, because we figured it was a good time to finish reports and do emailing. Since we never take our computer off of the ship and take chances with “free internet”, the time is much better spent here with a safe connection. It’s one less thing to worry about……who needs to be hacked or compromised?

 

All aboard today was 3pm, so we would have to watch our time closely. Heaven forbid, we miss the ship like our friend did in Melbourne. We connected with her this afternoon, and she told her story of how she got stuck in a traffic jam that led to her missing the ship. Horrified, she was shocked to see the Amsterdam pull out of the harbor that day, as she sat in a car with her cousins, stuck in gridlock traffic. She had no credit card with her, not even her passport. That had been left with the port agent, which was good because without it, she could not have flown to Adelaide. The only problem was that the agent had gone home, and she had to find his house to recover her passport. Darn lucky for her, she was with relatives who could pay for her flight, which she will reimburse, of course. That taught us that you should never leave the ship without a back-up credit card just in case. Usually, we don’t bring one, preferring to use cash. The funny thing is that she was more worried about her name being announced as they searched for her before sailaway. And yes, they did call for her many times that afternoon. At least she was safe and very happy to be back home now on the ship. A lesson learned by all of us.

 

Today we decided to walk to the Victoria Quay, very close to where the ship was docked. There are some refurbished sheds along the waterfront that have been turned into other venues. The B shed is now a ferry terminal where you can catch a ride on an old sailing ship, the Leeuwin. Captain Cook Cruises do day tours to Swan Valley and also have dinner cruises at night. The Rottnest Express is a high speed boat that takes folks out to Rottnest Island to fish and dive, or spend time on the beaches.

 

The busiest shed was E, where there was a craft and souvenir market, a small size replica of Paddy’s market in Sydney. All of the sheds seem to have cafes and coffee shops that face the harbor. The pathway from the sheds led to the Maritime Museum and the Welcome Walls. Those are a series of walls of metal with the names of the immigrants that arrived here over the years. Engraved with their name are the ships on which they traveled here and the year. Some dated back to the early 1900’s to as recent as 1966. Many of these settler came from foreign countries looking for a better life.

 

Near this museum was the HMAS Ovens, a Cold War era submarine. When the museu is opened, we think there may be a chance to tour this submarine. Today, it looked closed.

 

We ended up at Bathers Beach once again, but at the opposite end from yesterday. This was fortunate, because there were some very informative placks on the beach, describing the history of this area. Directly above this small beach is the Fremantle Signal Station. The site was perfect to set up navigation lights and a signaling station, which overlooked the mouth of the river and the sound. Right behind this point is The Round House, built in 1831, which was used as a jail. It is the oldest public building in Western Australia.

 

What we found more interesting was the information provided on the whaling activity in this bay back in the early 1800’s. Whales were harpooned out at sea, then towed to this beach, where they were hauled to shore. Facilities were set up to harvest the blubber, cut it into small pieces, then boil it to render the oil. Many products were created from this oil such as lubricant for machinery, paint, varnishes, soap, and even medicines. And we thought the oil was only used for lanterns. Located directly under the limestone point where the Signal Station is located, is a tunnel that leads from the beach to the city streets. That made it convenient to haul the whale products to town. Can just imagine the images of this process compared to what we see today. Sunbathers, swimmers, people dining along the shoreline is probably a better thing.

 

Today, much of Fremantle’s economy is related to shipping. Motor vehicles are imported from here, as we saw from the carrier that left yesterday full of new cars. The exports include manufactured goods an food products. The destination for this cargo is China. They must also export sheep, because we saw a huge ship that carries them to other destinations. It looked like a prison ship actually, with decks of bars like paddocks. We saw this same vessel the last time we were here a couple of years ago. But then, it had been unloaded and still had the smell from the animals.

 

Time was ticking away, so we slowly made our way back to town. Since it was close to 1pm, the cafes were full of diners. Looking for pizza again, we were going to go back to Portorosa, but we found the restaurant next door looked just as nice. The name was Sandrino Café on Market Street. They had a balcony upstairs, so we opted to sit up there. It was perfect, with a table for two at the railing in the breeze. We had Peroni beers with a margherita pizza within 15 minutes of ordering. And yes, the pizza was every bit as good as yesterday’s. And for those who may prefer fish and chips, we were told by friends that Kailis Fish Market Café had the best crispy tempura on their fish. And it wasn’t greasy.

 

Walking across the street, we stopped for a cup of ice cream again. Then we had one more stop to make at Cole’s Supermarket, where we picked up a half quart of Sara Lee’s caramel peanut brittle ice cream. Walking back quickly, we stashed the ice cream in the new plastic containers and hope it keeps frozen for a few days. Yes, the ship does serve ice cream in the Lido, but it is not the quality we can buy in the store. And they will never have this tasty flavor.

 

We got back to the ship before the required mandatory passenger safety drill at 3pm. It did not happen until 3:15pm, and it went well, since we were all there at our station # 6. We are very glad that the drill was held today, and not when we are in Bali, where the heat might make the drill seem like twice as long. Shortly after the drill was over, the Captain mentioned that we were going to hit 9 foot seas and 35 mph winds as we head north. This may compromise our planned stop in Geraldton tomorrow. He mentioned that if conditions are bad, he will not be able to tender us ashore. We give it a 50/50 chance. It is a short stop at that with the arrival at 8am, and all onboard at 2pm.

 

The sailaway was held in the Lido Pool area, with a sale attached to it. It was an Australian Sunday Market with tables of the world cruise souvenirs, South Sea pearls, scenic pictures, logo apparel, fresh flowers, and hand-crafted vases. We heard from friends that due to the high winds, they had to close the retractable roof. When they did that, the band had to stop playing. Apparently, with the ceiling closed, the music becomes way too loud for the folks to handle. First time we ever heard of that. The regulars went to the aft deck to watch the sail out of the harbor. We noticed that all of the chairs, tables, and lounges had been cleared off of the decks, and stashed safely underneath the overhang. They must be expecting some pretty bad winds and swells tonight.

 

Dinner went fast tonight, because there were only four of us. With two full days in port, many folks were missing this evening. Good time to catch the movie, The Judge, on TV tonight.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 56 Geraldton, Australia - Now Sailing Towards Benoa, Indonesia February 23, 2015 Monday Partly cloudy & 96 degrees

 

Well, just as we figured…….the 50/50% chance of not stopping in the port of Geraldton became 100% sure we were not going very early this morning. Captain Mercer announced around 7:30am that due to high winds, we would not be able to even get close to Geraldton, let alone tender into the port. He added that there was a channel to negotiate, and the Amsterdam would barely fit the opening without the winds. He would not take any chances with the passengers, the crew, or the ship’s safety. So much for one of the new ports on this grand world’s itinerary. It would have been a very short stop there anyway, arriving at 8am and leaving by 2pm. Factoring in the tender boat ride, we probably would have lost an hour of that time. Would there be another Australian substitute port? We think not.

 

There were not a lot of customers in the dining room for breakfast. Anticipating early tour times, these folks probably went to the Lido to eat. Or, the smart ones slept in late. One good thing is that the deep swells we were experiencing last night were pretty much gone. There were whitecaps, but the winds had died down somewhat. As we headed primarily north, it seemed that the temperature climbed gradually to the high 80’s. It was nowhere near the predicted 96 degrees, which we are glad. We are also feeling the start of the humidity once again. As we get closer to the Equator, we know to expect hot and sticky.

 

Our next stop will be in Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, February 26th. The Captain dropped a hint that with the cancellation of Geraldton, perhaps we may be able to dock at 9am instead of 4pm in Bali. He promised to let us know later in the day, after it was confirmed our slip would be available. Want to make a bet shore excursions will have more tours to book for Thursday? That way, they can make up for the lost revenue from the cancelled tours in Geraldton. There were only a few tours offered there, but one of them, a city tour, was sold out weeks ago. We think that the town is so small, that they only had a few buses available. One thing for sure, the crew members that are from Bali will be delighted to see their families and friends for longer than they thought. Nice for them.

 

The last two weeks have flown by so quickly, we did not realize that we were due for our 2 week delivery of President Club goodies. We asked for a new flower arrangement, which arrived this morning. It is beautiful, full of orange and yellow daisies, carnations, roses, protea, and Transvaal daisies. Two tall spikes of Asian lilies have a total of 16 blooms that have not opened up yet. Usually these flowers are extremely fragrant. But we noticed that these do not smell when they open up. Must be hothouse grown. Last night at dinner, we had a chance to visit with Ruud, our single gentleman tablemate from Holland. He told us that even though the ship’s flowers come from Holland, many of these blooms are not from there. They can be grown in Kenya, and sold to Holland, who in turn, sells them worldwide. Very interesting. Something like long stem roses that are grown in Ecuador, and exported everywhere. When we visited Manta, we did see the florists loaded down with a taxi full of roses. In the local market, they were incredibly inexpensive. Eddy and Callista are given an expense account to buy these bargains along the way. We believe the same happens with the local produce as well. Some of the nicest fruit has shown up the following day after some of our visits.

 

Along with the flower arrangement, we received a case of Coke Zero. This sure has worked out well, especially with the refrigerator in our room to keep it cold. By the way, the ice cream has fared well. We picked up two waffle cones from the ice cream girl, who looked at us strangely. That is, until we explained we had ice cream in our room. Wish we thought of this sooner while in New Zealand and Australia, where they have the best and different flavors of ice cream. It’s the perfect treat after lunch……something we never do at home..

 

Today’s itinerary had to be re-scheduled. So all of the sea day activities were back on the new daily newsletter. At 8am, the 87th Academy Awards Broadcast was televised in the Queens Lounge as well as in our rooms. Eventually, we will see these winners (good or not) when they hit the TV on the ships. The other change in the daily routine was a lecture given by Stephen Sloan regarding violence and the international arena.

 

One of us had a haircut scheduled at 5:30pm. Hope I recognize him when he comes back………..Haircuts can be like a box of chocolates…….you never know what you are going to get. It is now 6pm, and the hair appointment went well. A young Irish gal, Danielle, was the barber, and she was here last year. She did a good job.

 

Taking a walk on deck nine, we waited for the sunset at about 7pm. There has been a haze on the horizon ever since leaving Fremantle. Think the Captain has called it sea haze caused by the sun. The sunset was underwhelming. Perhaps when we get closer to Indonesia, the skies will be more interesting. It takes some clouds to create the vibrant colors when the sun goes down. Also being closer to the Equator helps.

 

There were five of us at dinner tonight, because Bob and Martha had their last dinner date that they couldn’t turn down. Dining near us, we welcomed them back to our table at dessert time when their table of six broke up. We all teased them about deserting us again (last night they ate at Le Cirque in the Pinnacle Grill. Good thing they are good sports, since we all know each other well, and still remain friends for several years now. By the way, we were offered champagne, beer, or a soft drink with our meal this evening. Compliments of the Captain, it was an apology for missing the port of Geraldton today. Unless we get charged for the early arrival to Bali, we should get a refund on the port charges. We highly doubt that it will amount to much.

 

The entertainer last night was an accordion player by the name of Annie Gong, originally from China. She is popular in Australia, China, and the US. We have to agree that her music is unique, and quite different from the usual musicians we have heard on past cruises. The audience received her well. Tonight, the show was a ventriloquist by the name of Dan Horn. He has been on this ship many times, and he was very funny with the “dummies”. He has been on TV on The Late Show with David Letterman.

 

Two more days at sea, and we will be in Bali. Many crew members have been popping out on deck three to try their computers or phones calling home, we think. Many of the waiters and room stewards have been away from home for up to 10 months, while some of them recently got on when we did. You can sure tell they are getting excited about seeing their families.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[PathfinderEss]

Really enjoying your daily updates.

[regnig]

I too am getting my cruising fix by reading your daily posts. Many thanks for taking time out of your cruise to post them.

[Folk Singer]

thank you for the updates. Happy Cruising.

[erewhon]

Thanks for your daily reports.

[WCB]

Report # 57 Sailing Towards Benoa, Bali, Indonesia February 24, 2015 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 82 degrees

 

We have begun the two day sailing north to the country of Indonesia. We can feel it in the air….that is, the humidity climbing as is the temperature. If it wasn’t for the strong breeze blowing across the decks today, it would have been rather uncomfortable.

 

After many hours of watching for sea life since leaving Albany, we finally spotted some dolphins this morning. The first clue is to look for the birds. If you see more than a few birds hovering over the water, you can be pretty sure that something is pushing small fish up from down under. Usually, that means dolphins. We must have gotten near a huge pod of them. No chance to get a camera to take some photos though. By the time you came back with it, they would be long gone.

 

Have we mentioned that this is the year of the “leaks”? On deck one, we have had at least one or two buckets in the hallway collecting dripping water. They have been here since January. That is strange, we think. If you go up to the promenade deck, there has been a major leak in two spots, dripping water from the ceiling like a shower. So far, we have seen no attempts at fixing it. Again, strange. Finally, in the entrance to the dining room on deck four, there has been another ceiling drip for two months. At times, there is one bucket, but there have been as many as three. Hope this gets fixed when the ship goes into dry dock in May.

 

This morning, Barbara H and Irene, the shore ex manager, gave a talk on the upcoming tours available in Bali to Myanmar. We inquired about possible tours added for the first day in Bali, but we were told that nothing was available to us. Perhaps there is another ship in port that day. George Sranko spoke all about jellyfish, while Stephen Sloan continued his series on political violence.

 

We spent most of the morning making reservations in the Pinnacle Grill to use our complimentary dinners……booking about 9 of the 12. With the special nights they close the restaurant, we figured there may not be many left to book. Since we like to dine at 8pm, there were lots of openings. We also have the option of using our freebies for lunch, except we would have to go for lunch early at 12 or 12:30pm. We also invited some staff members to join us on two of those evenings.

 

Sunbathing was in order at the aft pool. The conditions were perfect because of the breeze and some clouds. A couple of days ago, we had asked one of the bar fellows what happened to the piped in music back there? He said some folks had complained, but he would try it again and see if it was OK. Well, that lasted for a day, then someone did not like it, and now the music is gone again. We are just asking for low backround tunes, nothing in your face. But, it didn’t fly, so guess we are left with silence.

 

Lunch was cheese and crackers in our room while working on photos and doing research on Indonesia and the upcoming ports of Bali, Semarang, and Jakarta. Although we have been to Bali and Semarang many times, we have not seen Jakarta. Barbara H. gave her talks on all three, so we caught up with them on TV. We did find out that there will be shuttle buses in both Semarang and Jakarta, although the ride in Jakarta may be one hour to a shopping mall one way. Must be a whole lot of traffic there.

 

Tonight was formal, the first one in 10 days. It is nice to see most everyone dressed up for the evening, but with the days warming up, wearing suits, tuxes, or long dresses is not always welcomed. Good thing it only lasts for a few hours. It does not help when the outside doors on the promenade deck are left open to let the thresholds dry, since they have been recently varnished. Trouble is, that sucks all the air-conditioning out the doors. Our deck is usually the coolest, but not today.

 

We were all present at dinner, and everyone agrees that the menu is lacking the special touches that made it formal. We have not seen caviar on the menu since January. Escargot seem to be the only formal appetizer. They did have surf and turf, but most of us ordered the molasses grilled lamb chops. Very good.

 

The entertainment this evening was That’s Life, featuring the Amsterdam singers and dancers. They did a little of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and swinging jazz tunes. Songs we grew up with, we’re happy to admit. No one at our table went to the ventriloquist show last night, but most of us have seen his show before. It was totally funny. We watched the beginning of the movie, St. Vincent, since we saw the last half this afternoon. Sure was good.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[MMDown Under]

WCB - Like everyone else, I'm enjoying your cruise reports.

 

The molasses grilled lamb chops sounded so delicious, I had to make lamb cutlets for dinner.

[SilvertoGold]

Great posts!

 

I was wondering how you managed to get 12 Pinnacle dinners/lunches. Are some of these President's Club perks?

 

Love hearing about your days, both on and off the ship!

[jig]

Hi. We love to read your logs every year. We are friends of Greg and Heo. We just left Jakarta after 5 days there and 42 days on the volendam. Traffic is not as bad as I had heard it could be. The mall must either be grand Indonesia or plaza Indonesia. They are across the street from each other. Like anywhere else in the world. Better would be to visit the Batavia section. The area is the center of old Indonesia. Kinda crumbling but original. Taxis are everywhere but take blue bird. They will always turn on the meter. Must have local money. Have fun.

[JamesEM]

Can anyone tell me where I can access Bill and Mary Ann's photos.

[WCB]

Report # 58 Sailing Towards Benoa, Bali, Indonesia February 25, 2015 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees

 

First of all, happy birthday to our son, Ken. Hope it was a super nice day!

 

Well, today was sort of a lay low day. The heat and humidity have soared to as sticky as it is going to get, unless we have a following breeze, which makes it doubly bad. So far, the breeze has been the only savior as we get closer to Indonesia. The sea water has also warmed now that we are sailing in the Indian Ocean. Today we began seeing a larger number of very small flying fish as we walked the promenade deck. We were disappointed that the bigger dolphins were not present. There has been a passenger who makes it a habit of standing for what seems like hours on the promenade deck to get some wildlife photos. He does attract a number of fellow guests who seem drawn by his very large camera lens.

 

A few talks went on in the Queens Lounge beginning with Barbara H. who spoke all about Singapore, one of our most favorite cities in the world. She was followed by a gemstone and jewelry specialist for a presentation on jade. Finally, a lecture was given by Stephen Sloan about an attempted Indonesian coup in 1965.

 

And if the folks are not going to the shops onboard, they bring the sale to the Lido Pool deck. This happened from 9am to 1pm. They offered a collection of Indonesian souvenirs, only available today. That way they can sell the local crafts before we have a chance to buy in Bali, Semarang, and Jakarta. We do know that there are some really great bargains in all of those upcoming ports. Things you would never think you would come home with. We have gotten much better at passing some of these things by. During her talk on Indonesia, Barbara H. touched on the subject of bargaining while in this part of the world. Reminding us of the rather meager income of most of the locals, we should keep that in mind while purchasing items that are already well below prices in other parts of the world. We have said that many times over that sometimes part of the price is really a donation. A few extra dollars can go a long way here.

 

Another pitch for selling on the ship involved promoting a credit card. This is not a new angle, but one that gives you many perks towards cruising with Holland America Lines. It is a VISA card, and gives you free cruises or cruise discounts. Never heard of anyone getting a freebie. Or free airfare or air discounts. You can get onboard credits towards spa services, shore excursions, etc. Pinnacle Grill dinners and wine tastings can be added as perks also. And if we act soon, we could be able to book a future cruise with the new card. They will be giving double points for a deposit and cruise fare payment. We passed.

 

It was pretty darn hot at the aft pool, so we went there later around 1pm. Not too many people were laying in the sun. Using a new sunscreen we purchased in Australia, we found it is much more thick in consistency, and probably lasts much longer. The only problem is that it is hard to remove after we leave the pool. It takes soap and scrubbing to remove it all. It probably has a lot of old fashioned zinc oxide in it, and is a more efficient sun blocker. The Aussies take their sunscreen quite seriously. We went to the ship’s shop to buy some Australian Gold (made in Florida by the way), and they have run out of the regular lotion # 30. All they have left is the bronzer, which is OK, but it stains white t-shirts. Someone was asleep at the wheel when they placed that order.

 

To cool off for the afternoon, we watched a movie, Whiplash, at 4pm. It was all about the music world, specifically a drummer, who was a student being pushed by a ruthless teacher/conductor. We have been getting a heads up, and thumbs up or down, with the movies being shown in the Wajang. Joe and Roxanne are good judges of the movies, so when an entertaining one comes up, they tell us. Or they tell us to watch it, and let them know what we thought. They like to cool off by going to the Wajang occasionally. They also have lots of popcorn.

 

We had company for dinner this evening….Leslie and Handler and Tom M, our host. Barb was at a going home dinner for some Dutch friends. For a different type of entrée, we had chicken nuggets with large French fries. Actually, the nuggets were not really like fast food nuggets, but more like chicken tenders. Cooked crispy and served very hot, five of our tablemates watched us with envy, because they did not order it. Next time…..if they do it again, which sometimes, they do not.

 

The show this evening started with Annie Gong at 7:30pm, followed by Doug Starks, Mr. Entertainer. He gave a performance that included comedy and singing….impersonations, we understand. He may be good, but with an early start to Bali tomorrow, we headed straight for an early end of the day. By the way, we booked a tour that was created sometime this morning for our first full day in Bali. It will go to two temple sites, and a monkey forest. That should be interesting. We have been forewarned to watch everything we have on that is loose and could be taken easily by the little critters. Sunglasses are one of their favorite treasures. The tour is 6 hours long, with a snack and drink stop along the way. This will be our first organized shore excursion so far this trip. Since we still have a sizeable shipboard credit (use it or lose it) we need to start spending it now. We think it wiser to use it on tours, than drink it away in the bars. Come to think of it, now that we have achieved the President’s Club level, it is as close as we can come to having an all- inclusive-style of cruising. The only perk we do not get is the airfare. And that is not always included with all of the high end cruise lines.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 59 Benoa, Bali, Indonesia February 26, 2015 Thursday Chance of rain & 86 degrees

 

Well, they got the weather forecast wrong again, much to our delight. It never did rain down here on the coast, but the temperature must have been a lot higher than 86 degrees. Felt more like 106 degrees with the humidity right up there with it. How the locals ever get used to these conditions, is beyond us. Thank goodness for air-conditioned buses and hotels.

 

The Amsterdam arrived to the port of Benoa around 8am or so. We made it up to deck nine to watch the docking and sail into the harbor. What we missed were the numerous traditional boats that used to follow us as we neared the shoreline. We call them spider boats, although we are sure there is a traditional name to them. We did see a few fishing boats, and also half a dozen fellows fishing neck high in the water of the bay. It was low tide, and they must have walked out on the sand bar. Don’t know what they were catching.

 

Since we booked an early tour, we needed to be in the Queens Lounge by 8:20am for an 8:30am departure. We did not have enough time to go to the dining room for breakfast, but we did pick up a few pastries in the lounge. But perhaps we need to give a little info on Bali first before we leave on our tour.

 

Bali has to be an exotic paradise, unlike other tropical places in the world. It is one of the islands of the largest archipelago in the world…..Indonesia. It stretches from the southern tip of the Malay peninsula to Australia, part of Borneo and the western tip of New Guinea. We are talking a total of 735,164 square miles. It is also surprising to know that there are 17,508 islands with 245,452,739 people of many cultures. Hindu, Muslim, and the animist tribes of Papua New Guinea make up their main religions.

 

Bali is also located in the “ring of fire”, the earthquake and volcano region the surrounds the north and south Pacific Ocean. Living in San Francisco and the Bay Area, we are very familiar to earthquakes, as we are in the same ring of fire. We both have experienced some pretty strong ones ever since we were little kids and as recently as the 1989 quake that caused so much death and destruction in SF and the east bay.

 

The resort beaches can be beautiful, but the real treasures of Bali need to be seen up high in the mountains. The most revered temple is Besakih Temple, located 1000 feet up the cliffs of Mount Agung. We visited this temple three years ago, and got drowned getting up there. A sudden rain storm came out of nowhere, and the runoff was so deep, that it filled up our shoes. Umbrellas were useless. It was worth it though the climb up there took some time. Funny thing happened near the top level of the temple. Some locals tried to extort money from the tourists, saying they needed to pay to get to the top. Our guide had warned us to ignore them, because the fee had already been paid by him. Getting a couple of good photos, we got out of there, since there was more of the hasslers than there were tourists.

 

Rice terracing on the mountain slopes reveals the most ingenious way of utilize farming grounds. It is really a scene of tranquility unmatched anywhere in the world, in our opinion. You’ll appreciate the local dish of nasi goring even more when you see how the men, women, and even children plant the rice shoots in muddy water up to their knees. Another favorite dish is rendang, beef cooked slowly with roasted coconut and lemongrass. On the ship, they serve a most delicious soup made with chicken bits, lemongrass, glass noodles, and coconut milk. It does not taste like coconut at all, but a tangy chicken soup. One of us has two bowls when they serve it at dinnertime. Another very peculiar specialty is called civet coffee. The beans for this drink are gathered after they have passed through the stomachs of civet cats, good grief. We have never been that brave to try it however. Can’t get past that “poop” factor.

 

Other things grown on Bali are coffee beans, palm plantations, rice and more rice, vegetables and tropical fruit. One of those is the durian, which has a nasty smell about it. The crew members have been forbidden to bring it onboard. And for good reason……it stinks like something worse than garbage. It’s the “poop: factor again, we’re afraid.

 

Anyway, on with our tour. We booked this at the last minute yesterday. The stops were not on any other tour, so we decided to take a chance on it to see something new. The port of Benoa is good to avoid the tender boats to shore, but it is not great for walking outside the gates. There really is nothing close by at all to see and walk around. What there are is a whole lot of taxis and vans willing to bargain for rides to anywhere you wish to go. We heard that to get a van for a full day of touring runs around $80 to $100 US dollars. While we are on the subject of money, the local currency is rupiah. It takes 12,900 rupiah to equal $1.00 US. That means is takes 1, 290,000 rupiah to equal $100. US. Now that would make you a millionaire, right? Most places take the US dollars as well as Australian dollars as we found out later this morning. So we joined the folks in the show lounge for this tour where we were told to sit and relax until they called us up to get “stickered”. Shortly after 8:30pm, Leslie, the shore ex manager, announced we were ready to go. He added that it was not necessary to trample people to get out to the buses. Look what we have been missing since January by not taking tours.

 

We got on bus #20, even though there were only two other buses. This would be our only complaint of the tour…….the buses are made for small, short people, like those that live in Bali. If you are tall, like us, there is no place to put your legs. One of us resorted to sitting sideways and blocking the aisle. We’ve got to remember to go for those seats at the back of the bus, where you can stretch out the legs. There are usually extra seats back there too. Oh well, we are out of practice. What was lacking in the bus comfort, we made up for it with an excellent guide. He was a young fellow by the name of Widia, or Wayan, or something else, depending on what he was doing during the day. He said he was number nine kid in the family, explaining that when his parents were young, there was no TV or radio to entertain the folks in the evening. So nature took its course, and therefore, many large families were created. He added that the more children in the family, the more chance for them to find work and support the parents as they got older. Not a bad idea, but we doubt that would fly in our part of the world. Wayan explained the naming of babies in the family. Probably not in the correct order, he said the names would be Ketut, Made, Komang, Putu, and Wayan. Once that many boys are born, the names start over again, except they would be Ketut One, Made Two, etc. Bali has a patriarchal society. Women are respected, expected to work in the home or outside the home, but they have little say in family matters. Again, that would not fly at home in America. He apologized to the ladies in his bus, but that is the way of life in this country. Men rule. Period.

 

To get to the Royal Temple, we had to drive through the city of Denpasar, a short distance from Benoa. The traffic was almost at a stand-still, even at this early hour of the day. Our guide filled in every second that we were on the bus with tons of information. That is one aspect of doing an organized tour that we miss. With some exceptions, the guides are usually quite good, well educated, and speak English fluently.

 

Wayan said that every house has a temple on their property, and an offering box that resembled a fancy mailbox to us. Daily, the families put offerings of flowers or even food, like rice or coconut buts in the mini-temple boxes. Incense sticks are added underneath the offerings sometimes. What can be grown in Bali? Try everything, but kiwis. Much of the produce, however, is imported such as bananas and coconuts these days.

 

He touched on the subject of death and cremation. Since there is literally no room for cemeteries, the deceased are buried for a short period, then the bones are dug up, and they have a funeral which is always cremation. A special celebration is held then. He said it was the Hindu way.

 

We arrived at the Pura Taman Ayun Temple about an hour after we had left the ship. Built in 1634, this temple was accessible from the outside. Which was fine, because the inside courtyard was also open-air, and we could see it completely. The huge doors of this center temple were closed today, and only open for special celebrations. We calculated that it cost a bit over $1.00 to enter this complex. There was a new pavilion, covered by a thatched roof, where there was a chicken fighting scene in the center. Cock fighting is huge here in Bali, and although it is illegal to gamble, it is widely done.

 

To be continued………

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[gymswim]

We are exploring Bali during the Amsterdam World Cruise too! We booked our car and driver from the USA and so glad we did! Ketut is excellent! His new Airconditioned van is extremely comfortable and his explanations of places he took us to were thorough. He is outgoing and very kind. He is in his early 30s. Ketut can be reached via email at ketutwira886@gmail.com or text him at +62 81 239 80443

[WCB]

Report # 59 Bali, Indonesia Part Two February 26, 2015 Thursday

 

On with the tour. The next stop was at the Alas Kedaton Monkey Forest buried in groves of towering nutmeg trees. Prior to this stop, our guide (as well as Barbara H.) strongly warned all of us that these very clever and devious macaques can be little robbers. They can also smell food, if we had it in our bags. It is not unusual that they could jump on your shoulder to steal food. Not only food, but anything that you have on yourself that is not fastened down. A favorite item they like to steal are glasses, in particular, sunglasses. With that tidbit of info, we took the plastic container of peanuts and snack food out of our bag. Hope they can’t smell it was there.

 

Once in the parking lot of this park, the long tailed monkeys were already milling around the buses. Young ladies from this compound came over to the buses to escort a small number of guests. These gals carried a long stick to keep the more aggressive males away from us. As we began our walk, we took notice that the macaques had been fed chunks of coconuts throughout the park. At least, they should not bother us begging for food. The larger of the monkeys were males, and knew what that stick was for, as they backed off immediately when we approached them. Altogether, our guide said there were about 1000 macaques in this park. They can live to be 15 years old, and the females can have at least one baby a year. Some have twins or even triplets. The females were much smaller than the males, and seemed extremely protective of their babies. Especially the newborns, which were only weeks old. Their color when born is almost black, fading to a soft brown as they get older.

 

Our pretty guide told us that they will eat anything, except meat. The males are territorial and will fight to defend their space and families. After spotting some of them eating the coconuts, we noticed they have long sharp teeth. Would not want to tangle with any of them. We must have taken around 200 photos of them as they stared back at us like real people. Careful not to make direct eye contact, we got some neat shots of the males and the mamas with their tiny babies. Most of them were completely occupied searching for lice or fleas on each other. Left us feeling itchy as we left the last gateway. Many of the macaques sat on the cement wall, staring at us as we left. Suddenly, without warning, one lady lost her glasses to a happy monkey, who scampered right up a tall nutmeg tree. There was no chance to get those glasses back. Just hope they were not prescription glasses. Can’t say we were not warned……..

 

As we left the monkey reserve, we came across a fruit bat display. Local handlers were giving the tourists a chance to pose with a large bat, wearing the traditional Balinese golden crowns on their heads. Way up close and personal, the handler gave the bat to the seated lady to hold up by the wing tips. That totally gave us the willies just seeing her touch the creepy bats. Taking photos from a distance of three or four feet was as close as we chose to get to them. When you see these fruit bats hanging in the trees, they sure do not look as big as they really are. As for holding one of them, we said no thanks.

 

As we were escorted out of the park, we passed a series of individual shops that happened to belong to each lady guide. Our nice girl had refused a tip for her assistance, but urged us to buy something from her. As a token of our visit here today, we found four carved wooden macaques that hung arm to foot from each other. They would be a perfect addition to our window garden collection in our room. She was even happy to take Australian dollars for them, since we had some left for our skipped port in Geraldton.

 

Back on the bus, we had a short ride to the next stop at the Tanah Lot Temple, located on the shoreline of the coast. The main temple was built centuries ago on this rock outcropping in the water. It is probably one of the most photographed temple in all of Bali. Gosh, this area sure looked familiar to us, as we think we have been here way back in the 1990’s. In order to reach this part of the coastline, you need to walk through streets of shops all the way down to the cliffs. Our driver had permission to park somewhere closer, but not all the way to the end. It was this walk that triggered the memory. Not a problem, since it was not raining. We walked the cliffside to the left to see the main temple, climbed down the series of steps, and got to the beachside. Since the tide was up, we could not access the little outcropping, but we are not sure we would have been invited to do so. Much better to take pictures than it is to walk on it. We did pick up a package of 30 postcards for $2. And two plumeria flower hairclips for $3. Then we kept walking to see the smaller temple of Batu Bolong, where the high waves were crashing up the outcropping. Very dramatic scenery for sure.

 

Then it was time to go, with 2 minutes left to get to the bus.

 

To be continued………..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[regnig]

Ewww, monkeys are one thing but bats?!? :eek:

[WCB]

Report # 59 Bali, Indonesia Part Three February 26, 2015 Thursday

 

Our final stop was at the Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort, situated very close to the Tanah Lot Temple. The tour description had mentioned a stop for snacks and a drink. So that was all we expected. Well, what a surprise to find their casual restaurant set up with sandwiches and desserts, as well as tea, coffee, and ice cold water. The trays of sandwiches were tuna, egg, and cucumber and lettuce on fresh French bread. They offered us fried banana fritters and raisin scones with berry jam and cream. In addition to all of that, we had little shot glasses full of a creamy chocolate pudding layered with whipped cream, topped with a chocolate slice of candy. And they called this a snack? Wow. The view from the restaurant was spectacular as it faced the ocean and the Tanah Lot Temple. Directly below the hotel complex, was an 18 hole golf course. To the left of the restaurant was the swimming pool and the main dining room.

 

After eating our snacks, we took a walk to check out the views and the rest of the hotel grounds. We were taking photos, posing in front of the hotel, when someone in a golf cart drove up to us. Expecting that someone to ask us to stay off of the lawn, we discovered the driver was the executive chef at the hotel. He stopped to greet us instead. His name was Bradley. He said he had previously worked for HAL and had been the assistant chef on the Amsterdam, Statendam, Ryndam, and the Rotterdam. He had worked under Chef Bernie, who we have known for many world cruises. He informed us that with a $10. fee we were welcomed to use the hotel’s pool and dine in their restaurant tomorrow. And that usage fee would be good towards food or beverages. That is a win/win offer. He added that we could get there by taking a Bluebird taxi (metered) from the terminal. Afterwards, he would send us home in a car from the hotel for $20. Pretty good deal to spend a day in luxury. We did consider doing it, but when we ran into terrible traffic going back to the ship, we thought better of it. We would not take a chance on getting back to the ship late.

 

Getting back around 4pm, we went directly to our room to cool off and begin downloading hundreds of photos. We grabbed a little bit to eat at the Lido, while watching some of the families that had come onboard during the day. The young ones were busy eating their ice creams while touring the ship with their moms and dads. Since we had been gone for most of the day, we think we missed the hundreds of visitors that were supposed to be here today.

 

Around 6:30pm, we went up on deck eight to watch the sunset by 6:41pm. It was promising to be a nice one, but not too spectacular yet. There has to be a certain amount of clouds to make it good. It still was beautiful, as sunsets go, but it did get even better the next evening. Bob, Martha’s husband, joined us, as he usually does this time of the late afternoon. Good time to share stories of the day.

 

The stories continued at dinner as we all shared our adventures of the day. We all agreed that the heat and humidity drains our energy, and we would welcome a good night’s sleep. After dinner we took our deck walk, and discovered that there were sea snakes swimming around the lighted water near the ship. That’s weird considering that we saw many guys standing in this water this morning while fishing. Aren’t most sea snakes poisonous? Don’t think you’ll find us swimming in these waters.

 

Not sure what we will do in Bali tomorrow, since we have no tours planned.

 

Bill & Mary Ann