LIVE from the 2018 HAL Grand World Voyage!

[kazu]

Wonderful pics Kathi!

 

Sun really does make a difference ;)

 

Wow :eek: on having to buy another 1,000 minutes already.

 

Sorry to hear that but we sure do appreciate the posts and your blog :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your reports and blog and pictures.

[Miata]

Curious if they would have accepted Tom Hanks for the fourth question of the evening trivia.

[Straitlover]

No snakes in Polynesia???? I know where I'm moving after I retire - LOL!

 

Loving your posts. Living vicariously through this because I know I'll never be able to do it unless sister wins the lotto!

[Wayfairers]

Scrapnana: Loving the world cruise blog. We’ve done several long cruises (no worlds yet) and have visited many of the ports you are visiting and I love seeing how they have changed. When we were in Nuka Hiva in 2008 there were no tour guides so everyone just walked to the church and stopped in the restaurant when it started raining - I believe there was only one then.

 

We were on the 2016 Passage to the Far East with the ladies doing your crafts....Nancy and Mary. Please tell them hello from Tina and Rick Hahn. Happy to see them in your crafting pictures a few days ago. Should they not remember us, tell them we were the younger couple.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Wehwalt]

Back to toss another challenge flag on the trivia. The correct answer on "Who said 'Houston, we have a problem'" is "Nobody". That's a misquotation. Jim Lovell said "Houston, we've had a problem."The answer "Tom Hanks" above may actually be the closest to being right, as he said it in the movie ...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston,_we_have_a_problem

Edited January 25, 2018 by Wehwalt

[Scrapnana]

Back to toss another challenge flag on the trivia. The correct answer on "Who said 'Houston, we have a problem'" is "Nobody". That's a misquotation. Jim Lovell said "Houston, we've had a problem."The answer "Tom Hanks" above may actually be the closest to being right, as he said it in the movie ...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston,_we_have_a_problem

 

Since there are no prizes for the winners now, there are not the disagreements over wording, answers, etc. as there once was.

 

To answer Miata - Someone asked if Tom Hanks was acceptable but Amanda (asst. CD) said no.

[Scrapnana]

Vaitape, Bora Bora – January 24, 2018

 

My travel agency offers some tours that are similar to Holland America’s but are often a few dollars less expensive and/or are in smaller groups. Today I took my first one – it was a 2 ½ hour “Island Discovery”. Although it was only about a dollar cheaper than HAL’s, we had a number of empty seats on the truck so we were not crowded.

 

We met in the Ocean Bar at 8:30 and it was arranged that we would all ride in the same tender. When we arrived ashore there were two vehicles awaiting our group. These vehicles are often called “Le Truck”. They have the cab of a truck but the back has been replaced with seats (that look like the molded plastic ones from school desks but with cushions added).

 

We followed the coastline around the island and saw some of the most beautiful areas. We stopped at a place where they make pareos and were shown how they tie-dyed them and then used linoleum stencils (cut from old flooring) to sun bleach designs like fish, shells, turtles, etc. into them. I bought myself a pareo and a blue flowered top. They also had some fresh, local fruits available for sampling.

 

As we passed one of the areas close to the shore we pulled over and the holes in the sand were pointed out. These are the homes of the tupa crabs. The inside of the truck had been decorated with hibiscus and we were told to take them down and throw them out the window. Immediately the crabs came out of the holes and grabbed the hibiscus and pulled them back in to feast on them. We saw a few crabs get into a squabble over possession of the flowers.

 

After all the crabs had returned underground with their goodies we drove to a beautiful white sand beach. It is a public beach called Matira Point. We had a few minutes to walk on the sand and wade in the water if we wanted. Two of our travel agency hosts are geocachers (if that is the correct term) and they were very excited they found one of the capsules (right word?) at Matira Point.

 

As we wound our way around the island we had our last stop at the famous “Bloody Mary’s”. I had lunch there on my previous visit to Bora Bora. Today we had a voucher for a free drink and I chose the vanilla rum punch which was delicious.

 

I looked around the craft tables before returning to the ship.

 

Ate lunch at the Dive-In again and then alternated swimming and sunning for about two hours. It was really hot in the sun so I was in the pool for 75 minutes.

 

All six of us were present for 5pm trivia though that didn’t really help us very much as we only had 9 correct and the winning team had 16 out of 17.

1)What is the largest fresh water lake in the world?

2)What color is absinthe?

3) What flavor is Cointreau?

4)Where is the Sea of Tranquility?

5)On what date was the Euro introduced? (full date – really????)

 

Listened to Jamm before dinner (he was doing requests tonight). For dinner I had a shrimp cocktail, chilled pineapple with coconut rum and Adobo pork ribs. Liz had requested key lime pie for dessert a few nights ago and tonight we had it. Delicious!

 

Went to the show with Cyndi and Ed. It was an illusionist, Nathan Coe Marsh. No idea how he did any of his tricks.

 

When the show was over I went out on my deck to watch the sail-away from Bora Bora. It was a beautiful starry night.

 

Tomorrow is a sea day.

 

Trivia…

1)Lake Superior

2)green

3)orange

4)the moon

5)January 1, 1999 (one lady actually knew this!)

[Krazy Kruizers]

That is so interesting about the crabs eating Hibiscus flowers -- I never knew that.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Kathi,

Loved reading both reports.

When we were there we stayed at Sofitel Hotel but not over the water.

We had a bungalow

On the beach which was nice. We were there 4 years ago and the prices sure have gone up!

We rented a scooter and did the 38 mile loop. No snakes but tons of crabs just walking around. We ate dinner once at a restaurant outside and had to last feet up since they roam

every where!

Loved all your pictures. Question?

Moorea or Bora Bora as a place to go back to. Have a great Sea day too!

Denise:)

[Scrapnana]

That is so interesting about the crabs eating Hibiscus flowers -- I never knew that.

 

I took a short video clip of the crabs which I hope I can post on my blog tonight.

 

Wi-Fi has been a problem for me today. I could log on but then when I tried to do anything, I would get bumped off. This is the third time today I have tried (I guess "Third time's the charm" must be right!).

[Scrapnana]

Question?

Moorea or Bora Bora as a place to go back to. Have a great Sea day too!

Denise:)

It would be a toss up for me. I saw similar amenities on both islands and they each had beautiful beaches.

[Vict0riann]

Hi, Kathi! I'm back from our 3-week cruise and you are still on the high seas! Your World Cruise sounds wonderful and we're both very envious. I'll definitely be following along. :)

[bennybear]

Interesting re the hibiscus, in Costa Rica they fed them to the sloths.

 

Enjoying your adventures! Hoping to see this area soon myself.

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – January 25, 2018

 

After all those port days and not getting my required 8 hours of sleep each night, I decided to sleep until I was ready to get up. I did not go to Sit and Stitch or the “Learn to Weave an Island Treasure” workshop.

 

I was up and out for 11:45 trivia which was likely the hardest one I have ever done with a team. We had 6 correct (and that was with 6 team members!) but the two teams that tied only had 9 out of 15! I have added extra questions so you can get a better idea how tough they were (and no, I did not leave the easy ones out – I just didn’t have the chance to write all the questions)!

1)What is the atomic number for silver?

2)Started in 1960, what is the most widely syndicated cartoon panel?

3)A bolt of canvas is typically how many yards long?

4)In what sport would you find a “buzzberry flop”?

5)In what country did chess originate?

6)How many Ringling Brothers founded the circus?

7)Which country is north of Austria and south of Poland?

8)Which Milton Bradley game soared in popularity when Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor played it on TV in 1966?

9)What paper has the record for the highest daily circulation in the US?

10)What is the name of Dennis the Menace’s dog?

 

After a salad and fruit for lunch I sat with Cyndi as we waited for arts and crafts. Today we made tulip earrings. I sat in the sun for about a half hour before returning to my cabin to work on the blog before 5 o’clock trivia.

 

Afternoon trivia was much easier than the morning one and we had 13 out of 17. Three groups tied with 16.

1)What do the Olympic rings represent?

2)What was the currency in the Netherlands before the Euro?

3)A cloud of dust and gas in space is called what?

4)In banking, what does “ATM” stand for?

5)Who said, “The victor will never be asked if he told the truth”?

 

I then went swimming but was only in the pool for 30 minutes because there were too many people in the pool to swim laps.

 

Jamm played the “A-Z of Broadway Musicals” before dinner. I had a fruit salad, French onion soup, Cornish Game Hen (a little on the dry side), and pineapple sorbet for dessert. Since it was Robert Burns day I was a bit disappointed that there was no haggis on the menu. Yes, I actually like haggis!

 

The show tonight was called “The Knights”. They are three singers that do the hits from British entertainers that have been knighted. They were excellent.

 

Tomorrow we are supposed to go to Rarotonga but we have already been warned it might not happen.

 

Morning trivia…

1)47

2)Family Circle

3)39

4)high jump

5)India

6)5

7)Czech Republic

8)Twister

9)Wall Street Journal

10)Ruff

 

Afternoon trivia…

1)the continents

2)Guilder

3)nebula

4)Automated Teller Machine

5)Hitler

[Krazy Kruizers]

Another great report.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just finished looking at the pictures on your blog.

That is so cute how quickly the crabs take the hibiscus flowers into their holes.

[kazu]

Good luck with visiting Rarotonga today.

 

At least they have prepared you that you might not get there.

 

Hoping the winds are fair and seas smooth to permit your visit to the island, Kathi.

[Happily@Sea]

Kathi,

 

Another trivia 'correction'. It is the Fosbury flop. The first guy to go over the bar head-first instead of feet-first. I don't know of anyone who does it feet-first any more. [i figured it was a just pronunciation gaff]

 

I'll be glad when you get to areas I haven't been yet, so I can see them through your eyes.

 

Carole

[Happily@Sea]

On your last picture, no mats except bathmats [in bathroom] on my NA cruise. I will check out Rotterdam on Sunday.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Happily@Sea

[DeeniEncinitas]

Rarotonga, I sure hope you can go! I will cross my fingers.

Nice earrings Kathi!

Looking forward to more adventures!

Denise:)

[erewhon]

Thanks for your updates, great photos.

[erewhon]

We missed Rarotonga on our recent Maasdam cruise because of large swells.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your reports, trivia questions, and photos.

[bennybear]

Seems Rarotonga is often missed. Stay safe!