Pago Pago, Saturday February 4th

 Today we are in American Samoa, another tropical paradise. We will be spending the day in the town of PagoPago.

Pago Pago floats in the South Pacific Ocean on the island of Tutuila, the largest island in American Samoa. It is part of the greater Samoan archipelago, half way between Hawaii and New Zealand, and around 4200 miles southwest of San Francisco. The village in this city is centered on the Pago Harbour.

 It is HOT here. Actually is is only 32 degrees C but the humidity makes it seem much hotter, especially for those of us who are not accustomed to these conditions. But even the locals were using their fans.

I was getting ready and suddenly I spied a seiner on our port side.  The name was  Cape Breton. You can only imagine my surprise. I was able to get a pretty good picture of her.

We were due to dock at nine so there was time to have a leisurely breakfast. Then we gathered our things and prepared to disembark. 

First stop was to hide a duck. Saturday is duck day.

Then we went out on the seventh deck and arrived just in time for a wonderful welcome. A lady in local dress welcomed us. She said that the Island was only the second ship to visit in almost 3 years. They had been shut down because of Covid and Measles . They were very glad to see us.

In honour of our arrival a group of young people performed a native dance and song for us. It was a wonderful welcome. I filmed our welcome and I will try to share that with you.

When they were finished singing we left the ship and walked toward the market. The roads leading to the market were rough and uneven and so you had to choose your steps carefully. Because it was so hot and humid we were careful not to overexert. 

It was rather large with both fruits and vegetables for the locals and crafts and clothing for the tourists.

In one stall they were selling entire stocks of bananas. This must be for a very big family. They also had breadfruit for sale here.

In one of the stalls I found what will make a suitable Xmas tree decoration. It is about 2 and a half inches across. Again it is made of a type of balsa wood so it is light and beautifully detailed.

We returned to the ship around noon. We were happy to get bach to the cool ship. Both Ken and I are finding that this walking in the heat is not as easy as it once was. We were tired and ready for a nap after we returned.

The rest of the day was almost routine, dinner, a show, a drink at Good Spirits with friend and then off to bed. 

No one has found the duck yet.

At Sea, Day 16, Friday , February 3,2023

 You now know the day I am reporting about. 

I woke early and worked on the blog. Then Ken and I went to breakfast in the dining room. Next I got ready and went to the destination lecture. Today Deb was talking about our stops in New Zealand.

We have not been there before so we have an excursion. It is a trip on a catamaran to visit the Bay of Islands. It looks like an absolutely gorgeous place and if the weather and my camera co-operates you should see several wonderful pictures. Of course we get to see and perhaps tour a lighthouse during this excursion. The theatre was full , she draws a great crowd.

We have become friends with a couple from Kansas and we made plans to meet them for lunch each week. The plan was Saturday but since we are in Pago Pago on Saturday the lunch date was changed to Friday for this week. Their names are Julia and Ken Yano

In the afternoon I had a rest and got ready for the Captains Circle party and Ken went to the astrology lecture.

I still have this cold but it has now become the monster I was expecting. I hope it continues to be mild and is not just waiting to bowl me over.

It was sunny in the morning but it became gray later in the day. They have forecast rain for today but I can see blue sky right now. We will try to go to shore in between showers. We do not have an excursion but I need to shop for a Xmas ornament.

We headed to the party as soon as we were finished dinner. There was quite a line up to get into Explorers. There has to be 4 parties this year because the venue is smaller and the numbers are larger.

The captain was at the party and the room had lovely flowers and a live band entertained us while we enjoyed a rum punch.

The captain was very chatty and he told us that the status of the passenger who was air lifted is still unknown but he will give us an update when he has any news.

As usual 3 bottles of champagne were drawn for. We did not win again.:-(

I am always anxious to hear the numbers for the cruises and here they are for this World Cruise.

( Keep in mind that some passengers are not doing the entire cruise but only part of it. Leo and Pauline disembark in Sydney)

First time cruisers.......343

Gold cruisers .............263

Ruby cruisers............110

Platinum cruisers......463

Elite cruisers..............772

Now the most interesting numbers...The days at sea with Princess

MOST TRAVELED PASSENGERS

!st place ................. 266 cruises with 2502 days at sea

2nd place................101 cruises with 2054 days at sea

3rd place ................188 cruises with 1907 days at sea

Us.............................. 53 cruises with 537 days at sea. 

We heard that there is a couple on this ship for whom this is their 7th, yes seventh world cruise.

That brought our day to an end. I decided it was best to rest and continue to try to beat this cold. After today there are a couple of sea days so that should give me time to get rid of this. So far no coughing and not really stuffy just a sore throat basically.

Day 16 , A Sea Day

 This is Friday February 3rd I think.  Yesterday was the second but this site says that yesterday's blog was published on February 3rd. You think I am confused now we cross the date line Saturday or Sunday ( I think)

Yesterday morning I woke early as is my habit, and I began to work on the blog like I am doing now. BUT yesterday I thought I got up at six ships time but there had been a time change and it was actually five. But my time change last night and it is 6:23 right now.

Because yesterday was a sea day I do not have a lot to report. When we first started cruising we kept very busy on sea days but now that is not the case. The reason is partly because we have seen and done most activities many times and also because being older we are more appreciative of time to just sit and watch the waves and the clouds.

After breakfast I went to the destination lecture. Deb was telling us about Papo Papo which is our port tomorrow. This name is pronounced many different ways but I now know the proper way is long pong of the ping pong game. It is PONG Go, PONG Go. On other cruises we have gone to Apia which is another island in this archipelago. It is another tropical paradise like Moorea.

Then I went up to deck 1 to check on the duck. It had been found. I hope the person who found it reports it.

While there I took another couple of pictures of the conservatory. It is such a lovely place to just relax.

In the afternoon Ken went to an enrichment lecture on stars etc. There is a science professor on board and he will be doing a series of talks as well as night views of the sky when the weather permits. They will turn off the lights at the back of the ship to reduce light pollution.

This was a formal night so we did our usual gusseying up. Unfortunately we did not get someone to take our photo as we did last time. We tried doing pictures ourselves in our cabin. They are not good because of the lighting. I will try to edit them later today.

The show last night was a comedian and he was quite good. He did a lot of jokes about being old or as Ken says older. He catered to his audience. His name is Simon Cotter.

I almost lost my voice during the evening. This throat is not behaving, so after the show I returned to the cabin for an early night. I did a test and it is not Covid. This morning things are about the same but I suspect this is going to turn into one of those nasty colds that I seem to get when I go cruising. I hope not. So I am drinking juice and lots of fluids and popping vitamin pills and napping a lot.

Tonight is the Captain's Circle party.

Moorea

 This is February 1st and we will be spending the day in Moorea. There is a lovely sunrise and this island looks like the tropical paradise we all imagine. Lush greens and turquoise waters. There are several reefs which cause the waves to break and add to the beauty of it all.

This is our first tender port so we are not in a hurry. We had a leisurely breakfast, gathered our things and headed to get a tender ticket. We had to wait about 5 minutes and then we were on our way. The tender ride was quite smooth and it lasted less than 10 minutes.

This island is part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia and is only 11 miles northwest of Tahiti.

Tourism is very important so they greet us with smiles and songs. When you disembark the tender you are in the heart of a small market that features local crafts with an emphasis on black pearls. The selection is amazing .

We strolled a little and I was on the hunt for a decoration for my Around the World tree. I found what I think is a very nice one. It is a basket decorated with black pearls ( not real ones) and made of woven grasses and marked with the word Moorea. The cost was a thousand franks or 10 US dollars. I thought that was a bit high but is seems to be the going rate for Xmas tree ornament type crafts.

It is about 3 inches by 2 inches.

The temperature was around eighty and there was a lovely breeze. We walked a little and I saw a date palm as well as many coconut palms. Of course we heard chickens.

Before long it was time to catch the tender and head back to the ship. I was able to get a couple of great pictures of the ship as we returned.

The rest of the day was what has become routine. Lunch, nap, dinner etc. But this is a duck day... a day to hide a duck.

While looking for a good place to hide the duck I spent some time in the conservatory. This is usually one of my favorite places on the ship. This is where the covered pool is but on a sunny tropical day it is entirely too hot.

We completed the day with a visit to Good Spirits. I have what I think is the beginning of a cold and sore throat. I decided to have a drink of brandy to soothe it. I will be drinking lots and popping vitamin pills today to try and stave it off. 

Tomorrow is a sea day and it is a formal night.

Papeete, French Polynesia

 Tahiti

I was wrong about arrival. We were docked and tied up by seven and soon on our way to breakfast.

I woke at around 6:30 we were able to watch the ship sail into port. As is usual it was a very nice sunrise. 

The captain backed into position. Imagine he can back in something of this size and I can't back our little patriot into our garage.

Many beautiful homes dotted the opposite hillside and yachts filled the harhour.

 There is a huge private yacht across from us. You have to wonder who owns it and where it is from and what they do on board?????

By the time we were done breakfast a local welcoming committee had arrived. They were passing out tropical flower buds ... not coconut as I thought..

The beautiful arrival point had lovely flowers and magnificent palms . It certainly did not look like January.

We made our way to the local market. Having been here before we knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. The air was warm and humid. There were a couple of light showers while we were off of the ship. It was about a 10 minute walk and after a couple of mis steps we found the market. The last time we were here I bought a magnificent flower arrangement and that was my goal again. 

This arrangement sold for 20.00 US. The best bargain at the market.

The market is an amazing place with lots of vendors. I have never ever seen so many pearls . The designs are exquisite .  As it is with other tourist places you have to wonder how anyone makes a living because there are so many selling the same things. Prices are quite high.

I did find a suitable decoration for our World Cruise Xmas tree. It is a beautifully etched and painted shell of Mother of Pearl.

We returned to the ship and had lunch and a short nap. Then I went to the SPA and had a shampoo and blow dry. It is not as good as Dee would have done but it needed doing so I had no choice. If ever I win the lottery I will bring Dee with me when I cruise.

Scallops were on the menu for dinner so Ken was in his glory. After dinner I spoke to the head waiter and asked about being moved to a different table for the next segment. The table we are at now is right under an air conditioning vent and I am always cold. He said he would see me the day before Sydney and see what he could do about another table assignment.

We had planned to wait to head to the theatre but when we saw the crowds headed in that direction we decided that we had better get a seat while we could. That was the right decision. The theatre was packed and the show was second to none. The energy and beauty of youth is amazing to see especially for those of us who are no longer young.

After the show we came back to our cabin and sat on the balcony to enjoy the star lit night and the beauty of the setting. That big yacht, the Luna Sea  , was intriguing enough that I googled it . Mr Google knows everything. That ship was built in 2017 at a cost of 110 million and it takes 5 to 10 million to run it and pay the staff of 20. If you decide to check out the dozens of photos of it both inside and out look for the yacht Luna Sea. There are other Luna Seas.

With that we called it a night and our day in Paradise came to an end. Tomorrow we will be in Moorea, our first tender port.