Day 57 - Downunder 2016 - Tue - 11/22/16 - Katoomba - Day 5

Today's word was cleanup. It was time to do all the things we hadn't done in our prior four days. Since the aboriginal dance program didn't start until 10am, we had a leisurely morning including yet another visit to the Three Sisters and several gift shops. There were only seven of us attending the Waradah Cultural Center performance, but it was still cool to see it again after seeing it on a HAL shore excursion a little over a month earlier.

We hopped on the Explorer Bus (the drivers are now recognizing us by sight) and rode it over to Leura to enjoy some tea at the Bygone Beauties Tea Shop and Museum. The museum is home to over 5,000 teapots. After a tea break we rode the Explorer Bus back around to Katoomba where we checked out the Blue Mountains Cultural Center. It had a powerful AV display of the local culture and history along with a nice gallery of drawings, paintings, and etchings by local artists. The library was also a part of the complex and had good free WIFI.  

My wife was in search of a book for a friend back home, so we hopped back in the Explorer Bus and rode back to Leura (a 1/2 hour ride). We got off at stop 21, found the book, and rejoined the same bus at stop 26 at the other end of town a few minutes later. The driver was sure surprised to see us so soon! We rode back to Katoomba and found dinner at the wood fired pizza place next to the railway station. The Kangaroo pizza was excellent. We then walked the two miles back to our motel with a stop at the Aldi grocery store to purchase some breakfast provisions.

And all too soon, our 5 days in Katoomba came to an end. We plan to catch the Wednesday morning 8:15am train for the Sydney Central Station where we'll transfer to an airport train.

Observations and Recommendations 

I heartily recommend coming to Katoomba and spending 5 days. There's much to do and a car really isn't needed. The Explorer Bus with the Lyre Package gives one a days entrance to Scenic World (a very nice tourist type stop with imbedded culture as a part) and unlimited rides on their very cool rides. There's also a ticket to the Waradah Aboriginal performance. The bus connects well with many bush walks, and we took most of them.

The Echo Point Motel is a good value accommodation that's clean and comfortable but it's not the Hilton. What it has going for it is location: It's minutes from 3 Sisters and there is an Explorer bus stop right in front of it. The internet is free.  

That's all for this segment of our journey. I hope you have enjoyed following along. Our next stop for a few days is Melbourne.

Day 56 - Downunder 2016 - Mon - 11/21/16 - Katoomba - Day 4

Today's plan was to walk to the Scenic World Tramway and visit this incredibly popular tourist attraction and then visit some other locations we hadn't seen yet. So off we headed on a quasi-bush walk from Echo Point. It was weird to be there with very few other tourists. The walk along the cliff was very pretty and the gondola ride was spectacular with great views of Katoomba Falls and the Jamison Valley. We also met Susie, one of the Maasdam's singers who was up here for the day as a tourist. At Scenic World we transferred to the world's steepest railroad for a ride down into the valley and rainforest. The seats are adjustable to increase the thrill factor, and we positioned them for the maximum thrill. At a 52° drop angle, it was a steep and thrilling ride. At the bottom there is a boardwalk throughout the rainforest. We walked virtually all of it before riding the inclined railway back up. After a quick refreshment break, we rode the gondola back across the Falls and then walked back over the falls and took the cable car down and back up before catching the Explorer Bus to the Everglades Gardens. 

At the Gardens, the ticket agent was a serious motorcyclist so we had some good conversation about motorcycles and riding. He's rode a KLR650 all over the US and Canada. The 13 acre gardens were built in the 1930's by a rich Belgian Industrialist and were pretty amazing. The Gardens are now owned by a Trust and kept up by volunteers. It was a little thrilling to encounter signs 'Watchout for Copperhead snakes. Move slowly.' We got back on the Explorer and rode it around to the Bear Gallery and toured it. We walked to the Shuttle Stop Take Out and enjoyed Aussie Burgers and chips for dinner. On the walk back to our motel we stopped at the chocolate Factory which was a bit underwhelming.  

We finished our day watching the X Factor results show, an Australian talent competition, and I also took pictures of all of the ship's daily programs so I wouldn't need to pack the heavy paper home.

Tomorrow will be a cleanup day where we'll visit the venues we've not seen yet. 

Day 55 - Downunder 2016 - Sun - 11/20/16 - Katoomba - Day 3

Today's word was bushwalk as well. We fixed our own continental breakfast before heading out to catch our Explorer Bus. A few blocks from our hotel is Echo Point with magnificent views of the Three Sisters. But all the tourists could see today was thick fog. That had to be a disappointment for all those on tour busses where their 15 minute visit was obscured. We ride our bus to the Leura Cascades stop that we ended our walk at yesterday.  

The fog was pretty much gone at Leura Cascades by the time we got there and we started our bush walk with the goal of walking to Gordon Falls, the Pool of Siloam, and Lyre Bird Dell. The trail today was in much poorer condition and had lots more stairs and steps, but the views were not disappointing! We even encountered a pair of lyrebirds, more cockatoos, lots of butterflies, a small lizard and one foot long lizard plus Aboriginal cave dwellings. In a he first part of the walk there were a number of other people, but in the latter part, there were few to none.  

Along the way we had a very pleasant encounter with some young German tourists who were up here for the day.

At stop 20, we reboarded the Explorer Bus and rode it around to stop 1 where we bought a unique gift item for one of our children and then walked to the Gingerbread Cafe before reboarding the Explorer Bus back to our motel just as the thunderstorm was starting. It was about two hours earlier than yesterday.

Tomorrow we are going to Scenic World to ride the aerial tram, the cable car, and world's steepest inclined railway, plus a rainforest exploration. It should be fun.

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 54 - Downunder 2016 - Sat - 11/19/16 - Katoomba - Day 2

Today's word was bushwalk. We donned our walking clothing and backpacks and headed out after 9am from our motel and walked down the hill to Echo Point. We visited the Visitor Center and gathered some more intelligence about our proposed bushwalk along the edge of the hillside.

While the views from Echo Point of the 3 Sisters are terrific, there were even more as we walked towards the Leura Cascades (essentially a creek that cascades down over some spectacular rock formations with lots of white cockatoos sailing around) which was some 4 miles away. We were able to walk out to the first of the Three Sisters (down a series of narrow and steep stairs), Honeymoon Point, and many other scenic viewpoints. At Leura Cascades we caught the Explorer Bus to Leura where we found an inexpensive takeaway restaurant to eat lunch and use WIFI.  

We then walked back to the Railway and Toy museum and viewed an impressive collection of antique toys, trains, dolls, and much more! There was a wedding in the 12 acre garden and in that garden was an outdoor model train set in a model of the Matterhorn plus a whole building displaying more model trains! Across the street in a park ($2AUD entry fee) was a giant statute of Olive Oil, Popeye's girlfriend.

When we got on the Explorer Bus to take us back to Katoomba, onboard there were two fellows from Hawaii who were on our cruise on the Maasdam. They had come up for the day. It was fun to see them and chat a bit.

We shopped in Katoomba for some Christmas presents, and viewed some of the street art paintings on the sides of buildings and noted some places we wanted to return to. Walked back to our motel with a stop at the takeaway store/restaurant for another inexpensive meal. Just as we reached our motel the thunder and lightning began in earnest and we were able to enjoy it from the picture window in our room and rest up our feet from what turned out to be a total of some 7 plus miles of walking.

We have more bushwalking plans for tomorrow, but that tale will have to wait.

Day 53 - Downunder 2016 - Fri - 11/18/16 - Sydney Disembarkation

Our cruise was finally over today. We woke up at Sydney's Circular Quay to the sounds of the mooring line motors and propellers. We did our absolute final packing and went up to the Lido for a final breakfast.

For the uninitiated, HAL uses a color coded luggage tag system to spread out the passenger disembarkation. We, for example, were Yellow 1 with a time of 9-9:30am. We were surprised when we were called at a little after 8am. We said our goodbyes to our wonderful cabin attendants, Yudha and Ewa and made our way off the ship. No passport inspection was need as we did that on board before Geraldton. However, Angela was selected for a full inspection of her luggage and backpack which went fine. We picked up our wooden items which we had to surrender onboard for inspection by the Aussies and walked down the familiar pier at Circular Quay to the nearby train station. The Maasdam was glistening in the Sydney sunshine and with the Opera House in the background. It's always been a little melancholy for me when we disembark a ship knowing it's heading on to new adventures without us. But we hacs a different set of our own adventures ahead of us.

We purchased a couple of $20AUD Opal Cards at a newspaper shop to use the train system to get to Katoomba. It was $8.20 to travel to Katoomba. One 'taps on and off' which makes for a very efficient system. We took the train to Central Station where we changed trains to the one for Katoomba and the Blue Mountains. Since we were early for the hourly departure, we got lovely seats on the upper level. We've found the Australian trains to be clean and neat, and this one was no exception. Two hours later we arrived in Katoomba and purchased our Explorer Bus ticket which is valid for up to 7 days and has some nice extra tourist type activities associated with it.  

We found it could be used to reach our motel, the Echo Point Motel, and we checked in, left our luggage behind, and headed down to Echo Point for some lunch before reboarding the hop on hop off bus to ride it around on its full circuit to get a feel for the area. We got off the bus at the first stop and wandered around Katoomba with its quaint little shops and one impressive vintage hotel, the Carrington. We decided to walk back to the motel (about 2 miles downhill). Along the way we found an Aldi grocery for some breakfast supplies and a nice Chinese restaurant (Canton Palace) plus we found a little cafe (Shuttle Stop Corner Cafe).

In our review of what we might do while up here, it's working out that we'll do a number of bush walks Which will allow us to absorb a lot of views of the beautiful scenery of the Blue Mountains.  Since we like to walk, that really appeals to us.

Day 52 - Downunder 2016 - Thu - 11/17/16 - At Sea to Sydney

Today was our final day at sea. It's hard to believe we've been on the ship for 52 days so far and we'll conclude with 53 total days. Today was our last devotional time with Rev. Barry and his wife, Julia, who played the electric piano. I read the gospel passage from Mark 15:33-37. There was the wonderful Filipino crew show at 10:30 followed by a mass crew choir singing 'We are the World'. Then for the first time in many cruises we took time to substantially complete all our packing.  

We hadn't seen our friends, Ann and John for a few days, and after Angela returned a book to them we learned that John had been quite sick. On this cruise I haven't observed a lot of coughing, but it's been there nevertheless.  

We've really liked sailing on the Maasdam. For us, it's a near perfect size ship. It was an easy two story stair climb from our room to the Rotterdam dining room for dinner. The 11th floor Lido has not been overcrowded and the Lido Market approach to service really works well. There were sufficient activities to keep us engaged on sea days without feeling too much that we were missing something by not participating in all of them. In general the ship appears to be well maintained with the possible exception of a lingering sewage smell outside our cabin which we discussed with our stateroom attendant, Yudha. During the trans-Pacific and early part of the circumnavigation, substantial sections of the hallway and stair carpeting have been replaced.

Things that concern us a bit are:

 The librarian's position is being eliminated. We understand this to be a fleet wide change.

The shipboard internet continues to be slow and expensive. We ended up purchasing an Australian SIM card ($30AUD for a month with 3 gigs of data) and also use a Glocalme SIM CARD simulator $10AUD for 1 gig of data useable within 30 days (a real bargain).

There is pressure to reduce or eliminate the lectures and/or interdenominational devotional and worship times. We feel these are quite important on the longer cruises with sea days.

We hear rumors the Maasdam has been sold. Between the Captain and other crew, nobody has confirmed this. This ship has itineraries scheduled through 2018.

There was a bit of repeat on entertainment and movies because of this being a Collector Cruise. This should be able to be easily fixed, but I have doubts it will be.

 

This afternoon the BBC Earth game show was debuted on this ship. The questions asked seemed to be the same as we experienced on our Koningsdam cruise earlier this year, so that will need to be addressed due to the high number of HAL repeat cruisers. Dr. Wright gave his final astronomy presentation to a standing ovation that was well deserved.

 

After dinner tonight in the Rotterdam Dining Room, the bar servers and kitchen staff sang a farewell song in Indonesian. Patrick McMahon presented yet his third show this cruise. It was clearly his best of three shows (all of which were high energy). He also brought Kara, the HAL Cats vocalist, on stage to do an amazing cover of the Neil Diamond/Barbara Streisand song, 'You Don't Send Me Flowers Anymore'. His show was so good that we came back for the last half (the best part) of it after watching the night's movie, Disney Films' Oceans which was good.

About 11:50pm we put out our packed suitcases, and started a very short night before disembarkation.  

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 51 - Downunder 2016 - Wed - 11/16/16 - Melbourne

It was really good to dock in Melbourne once again after being away for a couple of years. We walked off the ship a bit after 8am and walked the long cruise terminal which also serves as the terminal for the Spirit of Tasmania which makes a daily run to Devenport, east of Burnie. We had a short wait for our Exchange daughter, E (I want to protect her privacy), that lived with us for a year in 1995. It was great to see her again and catch up in person. She had taken the day off of work to chauffeur us around for the day.  

It turned out that she had planned a trip to take us to the Peninsula Hot Springs. So off we drove south of the city to the luxurious hot springs where we thoroughly enjoyed soaking in the various hot pools and continuing to reminisce. After a couple hours of this, it was time to head back to the ship with a stop at the Chapter 16 bakery for a quick lunch, and a stop at her son's school to pick him up. Then we made it back to the ship about 3:45pm for our 4:30pm onboard time.

We watched the sailaway from the Crow's Nest out the narrow channel until taking a break for dinner before resuming our watch of the sailaway. This we did because the CD announced that there would be no cast show and Annie Gong (whom we had seen twice before on this cruise) would be performing this night. As we cleared the bay, there was a very strong current between the. At and the open ocean. We reduced speed significantly, allowed the pilot to depart, made a sharp port turn, and re-accelerated to cruising speed for our journey to Sydney.

We watched a great movie about the 2002 Melbourne Cup. It was very inspiring.

While the destination is important, don't forget to savor the journey.

Day 50 - Downunder 2016 - Tue - 11/15/16 - Burnie, Tasmania

For the third time, we made it back to Tasmania. It's one of our favorite places in the world, and it all started when we hosted a young lady from Yolla, Tasmania for a year on a foreign exchange program. That led to our coming down for her law school graduation and then again in 2014 for her sister's wedding which we followed with a cruise to New Zealand on the MS Oosterdam. These relationships have been the most enriching long term international relationships we've ever experienced (it extended to her family and even her in laws!).

We took the first port-provided shuttle to the Maker's Workshop (a super cool hands on museum) and walked the boardwalk into town where we met our hosts and friends for the day: Lana and Lindsey, parents of E who we hosted. They treated us to a short trip up to Table Cape and its lighthouse before we headed for tea in Ulverstone, the home of Lindsey's mom where we enjoyed tea and conversation. E's sister and her cute one year old daughter then joined us. We then went to a local fish and chip place where we enjoyed some local fish and chips. But all too soon they needed to drive us back to the Maker's Workshop shuttle bus pickup point. Since this is an industrial and active port, the only way a passenger can go from or return to the ship is by the free shuttle. We caught a 3pm shuttle and all too soon were back on board before the 3:30pm all aboard time. At 3:35 around 4 busloads of shore excursions rolled up to the ship.

We went up to the Crow's Nest and joined a team for the 4pm trivia contest. This was a hard game and we came in 2nd with a score of 10 out of 17. The winning team only had a score of 11! One of the official answers in the trivia game was wrong (What was Ford's first mass produced car? The game's answer was the Model A when in fact it was the Model T with 17,000,000 produced. While there was a model A before the T, it's production numbers were a paltry 2,000) - so we lost. Later the correct answer was acknowledged.

I finished the gruesome read of Lucretia's Batavia Diary before grabbing a quick dinner in the Lido before the main show, Tim Motley, who was a sort of comic, magician and mind reader. He was pretty engaging. Afterwards we watched the latest Ben Hur movie.

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 49 - Downunder 2016 - Mon - 11/14/16 - At Sea

The word of the day was 'late' which meant that we forgot to advance our clock by 1/2 hour to the Sydney/Melbourne time. So we ended up skipping breakfast in order to make the second to the last devotional time. Afterwards we had a small breakfast before attending the Mariner's award ceremony and luncheon.  

The Seattle Seahawks were on Sunday night football, so we watched it Monday starting at 12:30pm up in the Crow's Nest. It was an exciting game to watch. Afterwards I resumed reading 'Lucretia's Batavia Diary' which is a fictional diary of a prominent female passenger based upon the ill-fated final voyage of the Batavia. While reading, I noted a strange structure off the starboard side of the ship, so I went back to the room for my zoom lense camera. It was an oil derrick!

We had a final Gala night and enjoyed a jumbo shrimp cocktail along with steak and lobster. Annie Gong and her magic accordion returned with a new show after entertaining us when sailing out of Hawaii. Our evening ended by watching the movie 'Legend of Tarzan'.

Tomorrow is Tasmania.

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 48 - Downunder 2016 - Sun - 11/13/16 - At Sea - Was to be Kangaroo Island

Around 7:45am this morning, the Captain's unmistakable voice came over the PA system with the announcement that due to the high winds we would not be tendering at Kangaroo Island. It would be the second island stop on this cruise that we missed with the first being Mystery Island on the trans-Pacific segment. Instead the ship was put into slow mode and we sailed ever so slowly up the St. Vincent Gulf back towards Adelaide.

At 12:15 he gave a further update with continuing winds and word that we would be executing a 180° turn and we would sail back towards Kangaroo Island. Even with the winds we are experiencing, we are sailing in the lee of (protected side) of the island.

With the change in plans, the daily schedule was revised. Kelly, our location guide, gave a picture filled and enthusiastic presentation on Australian wildlife. Then Phil Creaser gave one of the most interesting talks we've been in. It seems he lost his voice and did the entire talk in mime and slides. It was brilliant and well liked by all.

I ended up playing trivia with Dennis and Dayle and another couple and we won it which led to free drinks from Jeremy, the Cruise Director.

In the afternoon Dr. Wright presented on the topic of the 12 Great Controversies in Astronomy. We followed that by reading and watching the waves and scenery from the Crow's Nest. There was certainly motion in the ocean! The interdenominational Sunday service at 5pm was very well attended, and afterwards our dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room was nice with another couple from Texas.  

The evening's entertainment was a singer, Patrick McMahon, who performed earlier in the cruise. Once again it became necessary to be in the Showroom at Sea 45 minutes early to get a good seat. He was energetic and performed a wide range of Neil Diamond, John Denver, and the like. The theatre was packed at the 8pm show and well attended at the 10pm show. In between we watched 'London has Fallen' a spy - terrorist film. Lots of blood and guts!

The ship was definitely moving around after we passed through the channel separating the mainland and Kangaroo Island. We'll see how sleeping goes tonight! As we walked back to the room, we walked by the information screen and noted a wind speed of 47mph! The outside decks were also closed 'due to inclement weather'.

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 47 - Downunder 2016 - Sat - 11/12/16 - Adelaide

While it's Veterans Day in the US as I write this, we're already about to finish the next day. Today found us in Adelaide where we docked at 8am. A bit later we were cleared to leave the ship so we headed on out. A short walk out of the terminal and across the parking lot found us at the train station where we purchased a day pass for cruise ship passengers for $10AUD each and boarded the 9am train.

It was a 40 minute ride into the heart of the city and today was their annual Christmas parade so we found a viewing spot on the corner on King William Road and North Terrace Street. It was a festive event called the Christmas Pageant with 350,000 of our new closest friends. We met some shipmates (J & J from San Diego) there and they invited us to join them in a walking tour at 2:30pm which we agreed to do.

After the parade we walked around downtown and found the HUGE pedestrian mall on Rundle Street. It  opened in 1976 and was the first of its type and is the largest. We found some lunch in one of the many foodcourts before walking to our meeting point to validate its location. We then walked to the Central Market which the busiest market we've seen in the world. We then walked back to our he meeting point and joined our tour guide, Bob, and our shipmates. For the next 2.5 hours we wandered the downtown area learned by all sorts of Adelaide's history.

Afterwards we found St. Xavier's Cathedral before using the free tram to get us back to the Railway Station where we caught the 5:42pm train back to the Outer Harbor where we were moored. On the train ride to the port a German Couple on the ship clued us in on a cool free navigational app called Here We Go. I downloaded it and will report back later as to how I like it.

We ate a very quick dinner in the Lido (noting that a storm was moving in) and then watched the movie, The Secret Life of Pets. I'm glad I didn't spend money in that one in a theatre. At least as much as I saw! ( ;-) )

The Tanunda Town Band came on the ship and played a rousing concert of German oompah music interspersed with some modern tunes. Jeremy, our Cruise Director, also announced that the ship would not be leaving until 3am as there is projected to be a lull in the storm. Our next port is Kangaroo Island which is a very short sail away and the exit from the Outer Harbor in Adelaide is very narrow.

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 46 - Downunder 2016 - Fri - 11/11/16 - At Sea to Adelaide 2

Th centerpiece for today was the Veteran's Day remembrance ceremony which started at 10:45. All who wanted them were provided a poppy. Rev. Barry Sutton opened it with prayer, CD Jeremy shared a few words about the significance of the day, a cadet rang the ceremonial bell announcing 2 minutes of silence, the ship's horn gave a long blast at 11:11am, Hotel Director Mike Mahan shared a reading on the significance and meaning for the empty meal setting in the center of the stage, and a man named Barry read the Flander's Field poem, and finally all veterans present were acknowledged. It was a pretty moving ceremony.

Dr. Wright gave a wonderful lecture on the 12 most frequently asked astronomy questions, and Phil Creaser did a light-hearted overview of paleontology. I spent much of the rest of day reading much of the excellent but gruesome book 'Batavia' about the shipwreck of the Batavia and the aftermath. It makes the Mutiny on the Bounty seem like a Sunday picnic.

We're definitely not in the tropics any longer. It's in the 50's f and very windy while walking the deck. All night and day we also had about 10 foot rolling swells which certainly produced significant ship movement. 

The ship had its premiere of BBC's Frozen Planet and it was good to experience once again (we've seen it previously on other ships). Essentially it's a movie about Arctic and Antarctica with live orchestral accompaniment. The evening's movie was 'Suffragette' which we had seen previously so we didn't watch it.

As our two month trip comes to a conclusion, I took a look thus evening at the 2017 projected route and it's similar to this year and worth considering. However, the Maasdam's trans-Pacific route for 2017 begins in San Diego instead of Seattle. The Noordam is also doing a trans-Pacific route similar to the Maasdam's 2016 route, but I don't know if that route can be connected with the Maasdam's 2017 circumnavigation. 

While the destination is important, don't forget to savor the journey.

Day 45 - Downunder 2016 - Thu - 11/10/16 - At Sea to Adelaide 1

The word for today is 'tired'. With the clocks being advanced by one hour combined with staying up to watch Hillary's concession speech, it was a really short night for sleeping. So we stumbled out of bed and listened to more TV coverage of the election results which seemed to focus on why Hillary lost. The devotional time was really interesting with Rev. Barry doing an interview with Dr. Alan Wright, the astronomer who is lecturing onboard. Afterwards we did a mile walk around the ship in the cold and windy weather before attending Dr. Wright's astronomy lecture on 'Where are we?' concerning celestial navigation. Following his lecture we sat in on his Astro Chat for about 30 minutes before eating a light lunch.

Our afternoon included Philip Creaser's lecture on the geological makeup of Australia and watching the 2016 version of Ghostbusters. There was another Gala night for dinner followed by the cast's last performance of 'Classique'. Since the clocks were once again being set ahead by an hour tonight, an early bedtime seemed to be wise instead of attending the champaign party in the Crow's Nest.

Day 44 - Downunder 2016 - Wed - 11/09/16 - Albany

The question of the day today will be: Where were you when you heard the news that Donald Trump was elected 45th President of the United States? For us the news came today while we were walking around Albany, Australia. It's a charming and welcoming city which has a long and rich history associated with seafaring and whaling. We enjoyed a slow and pleasant sail in after our normal breakfast. There's a narrow channel leading one into King George Sound and past the Vancouver peninsula, and a cargo ship taking on a load of some mineral ore. As we approached the dock, the captain had the ship do the cruise ship dance, rotating the Maasdam 180° clockwise and gently bringing her alongside the pier where a fleet of tour and shuttle busses were waiting to take on their precious human cargo. At 10:02 we received our Cruise Director's announcement that we were cleared to leave the ship via the gang plank on Deck 3.

We disembarked the ship immediately to a brisk chill and found our way to the free shuttle which quickly whisked us into town. We were the only ones who elected to stay on the shuttle until the second stop near the museum and the Brig Amity replica. We got to the museum at 10:50am and learned that because of our ship being in town it would open at 11am and not the advertised 1pm time. We chose to tour the ship first (it was really interesting) with an audio guide to describe the various aspects of the ship and its cargo. All of this cost only $5AUD each. Then we toured the museum (another $5AUD) with a powerful exhibit on forced consent adoptions and an exhibit displaying aboriginal artifacts that are normally on display in the British museum in London.

Next door was the Gaol (jail), and we toured it as well for another $5AUD. From there we walked up the main street (York) admiring the Art Deco and touring St. Paul's Anglican where the helpful docent rang the bells for us. This church also has some nice stained glass which I am always on the lookout for.

We enjoyed a very nice döner lunch at a Turkish owned restaurant. It was probably one of the best sandwich of its kind we have eaten throughout the world. We also enjoyed some pleasant conversation with the owner and his wife about Trump's election. While they are concerned about him as president, I tried to convey that he was elected because the American people wanted a change.

We continued our walk around town and then back to the ship where we reboarded around 4:30pm and went to the Crow's Nest to watch the sailaway which started around 5:45pm. Once we slipped away from the dock, the Maasdam headed back out to sea around the ore carrier and through the narrow dredged channel. As the sun set off our starboard side and darkness crept in, we suddenly had a pod of dolphins cavort in front of the ship.  

After a quick minute steak and mahi mahi we enjoyed an Irish magician, Patrick McCullaugh and then watched an Australian movie, Goddess, which was a funny but perceptive 'chick flick'. We finished the evening watching the election coverage and needing to move our clocks forward one hour as we are now heading back west towards Adelaide as our next stop.

If you have been reading my blog this far (thanks for the thousands of page views!), you might be interested in how it's created. Each night as we wait for the main show (showing up 45 minutes early is important if one wants a seat on the comfortable benches), I would compose the text on my iPhone 6 using the app Evernote using my left pointy finger as I didn't bring my Bluetooth keyboard. If needed, I finish writing it later (sometimes the next day when we were at sea). Then when we reach a port location with internet access, I copy the title and text into an email and send it to my blog address where it automatically posts.

Some may ask, why no pictures? My answer is simple, it takes up bandwidth ($$) and time. Plus I try to paint word pictures in my writing style and provide helpful observations. But never fear, when we finish the cruise and get back home, I'll upload many, many pictures to a website and provide the link. I am on Facebook and do put a number of pictures there (ease of upload and seamless picture compression) during the day while we are touring for my friends to see. If you want access to those, friend me on Facebook.

Remember, while the destination is important, savor the journey.

Day 43 - Downunder 2016 - Tue - 11/08/16 - Fremantle - Day 2

After getting back to the ship late last night and an even later Lido dinner, our 7:30am alarm blared all too soon on this second morning in Fremantle. Since it was Tuesday morning here it was supposed to be Monday night back in Seattle where our Seahawks were to be playing against the Buffalo Bills. But nothing showed on our stateroom TV. So we ate breakfast in the Lido, and we got internet connected with my Verizon iPhone with an Australian Amayasim SIM card. 

By the way, if there is sufficient interest, I could do an entire post on how to obtain relatively inexpensive internet while cruising or traveling internationally. Post a comment or send me an email if that might be of interest. I never purchase internet time from the ship. End of commercial; back to our regular programming.

I learned the game was about to start, so we finished breakfast and headed up to the Crow's Nest to watch it in the big screen TV. We got a crew member to turn on the TV and we watched the game to its conclusion. While watching it I noted that the Emerald Princess had arrived that morning and was moored in front of us. I posted a picture of it on Facebook and soon received a reply from our exchange daughter in Melbourne that her in-laws were on the ship which had sailed in from Southampton, England via a last port of Bali where we had been 4 days earlier. It's a very small world out there!

Watching the game was interrupted a few times by lifeboat drill announcements for the Perth embarking passengers and the captain's sailaway announcement, part of which included words to the effect that we would be traveling quickly and to expect 'some motion in the ocean'. We actually got underway just before 12 and as the Seahawks game successfully concluded. We moved sideways from our berth and started forward motion past our 3,000+ passenger capacity cousin (both Holland America and Princess are owned by Carnival Corporation). 

While leaving the harbor area we passed a strange looking vessel that sort of looked like it might have been an ocean going cattle truck. I learned later from another passenger that it was a sheep and goat transport ship to the Middle East. There was also an automobile transport ship for new cars arriving as well.

We adjourned to the Lido for lunch; and as we were finishing, a humpback whale was spotted on the starboard side and I got a pretty good tail photo. We walked a mile on the deck in increasing swells in the ocean which caused the ship to move in a porpoise like motion up and down stem to stern. The wind was also blowing quite hard which combined with the ship's motion made for difficult and chilly walking. So we quit walking and took a seat in the Showroom At Sea for Kelly's 3pm port talk. I used that time to begin my read of Peter Fitzsimmons book, Batavia, which is a historical account of the ship and its eventual demise near Geraldton. Mr. Fitzsimmons is a very good Australian author one of whose books I've previously read. 

Kelly's talk was interesting and afterwards we spent more time reading until time for dinner. At dinner in the Rotterdam dining room, we really experienced the 'motion in the ocean'. For a long time I have thought that the axis for ship motion in swelling seas was the center of the ship. On this trip, I've really come to realize that the least motion appears to be in the stern area.

Because of the 'motion in the ocean', the cast show was postponed and we had a comedienne from Melbourne who was pretty funny and not at all vulgar. Another similar act is scheduled for tomorrow. Given the main stage is in the front of the ship, there's a lot of motion there!  

We finished our evening watching the Australian movie, 'South Solitary', which was about an isolated lighthouse keeper in the late 1920's. it was a strange and unsettling movie with an incomplete feel to the ending.

Day 42 - Downunder 2016 - Mon - 11/07/16 - Fremantle

As I write this on Tuesday morning sitting in the Crow's Nest watching the Seattle Seahawks - Buffalo Bills Monday night football game, Seattle just scored to tie the game in the early going.

After docking in Fremantle around 8am, we met up with Dan & Barbara and Ann and John in the 6th floor atrium. Dan had organized a Tours By Locals shore excursion and I thought it was going to be a walking tour of Fremantle. But I was wrong and it turned out to be a full excursion in a nice VW van with eventual goal of visiting the Pinnacles which were some 200 plus kilometers or 120 miles away! Sergio, our driver and guide, met us promptly at 9am and we headed out with a scenic tour of Fremantle and Perth.  

Eventually we ended up in the Swan Valley which is noted for its vineyards. We stopped at the Sandalford Wines vineyard and tasting room where we sampled a wide variety of their wines and settled on a sweet wine similar to the Muscato we have been enjoying on the Maasdam. Sandalford is a major venue for outdoor concerts the like of Santana or Harry Connick, Jr. or Michael Buble. From there we drove up the road to the Whistler's Chocolates Company where there was more sampling. I even bought some licorice. Just a bit further down the road, we stopped at Morish Nuts, and unfortunately the Mondo Nougat candy store was closed. Sergio told us we could see some kangaroos in the wild for free. We found them at the Pinaroo Valley Memorial Park which is a picturesque cemetery. There were several mother-joey pairs and they were cute to see once again in the wild. From there we headed towards Cervantes. We passed through 3 national parks and Ed saw our first Kangaroo and Emu roadkills.

We arrived in Cervantes at 3:30 at the Cervantes Bar and Grill where we enjoyed a terrific lunch. Cervantes was named after a shipwrecked American whaling ship from the mid 1800's. However, there is a cool sculpture outside of town that features Pancho, Don Xiote, and a replica of the ship. These items are all mounted on a tall pole as a weathervane. After lunch we backtracked about 6 miles to the Pinnacles which are located in the Nambung National Park.  

The Pinnacles are a group of limestone rock formations that are each roughly 10 feet tall or shorter. The sheer number of them is very impressive. Afterwards we then drove back the 200 plus kilometers and arrived back at the ship at 8:30pm. Sergio drove us by his house near the port and our long but wonderful day was over. The Maasdam was brilliantly lit up and we were able to clear security and board the ship with our bottle of wine with no corkage charge.

We dropped our traveling gear off and went to the theatre to watch the movie, Tracks, about a gal who walked across Australia in the 1970's. we then ended the day with an 11pm pork satay very late dinner in the Lido.

Remember that while the destination is important, savor the journey.

Day 41 - Downunder 2016 - Sun - 11/06/16 - Geraldton

Talk about an undersell. All the information we received about Geraldton indicated there wasn't much here. Our Captain made arrangements to dock on this sunny Sunday so we would not need to tender. Because of the swells in the bay, he had to employ some hydraulic tensioning machinery and setting that took up some time. We were able to depart the ship around 8:20am and make our way down the long and steep port provided gangway. Since we were docked in an industrial port, we had to take a shuttle bus to outside the port. Unfortunately the entry ramp jammed on our bus and we were delayed a few minutes while it was manually forced into the stowed position. The bus couldn't be driven with the ramp extended.

From the shuttle stop we walked up to the HMS Sydney memorial via the very Art Deco downtown and McDonald's and took the free guided tour of the memorial. It was excellent. We walked back to the downtown area via the cathedral and enjoyed touring it along with the recently opened museum about the Architect/Priest who designed and built the cathedral. He was an Anglican Englishman who converted to Catholicism and became a priest. From there we walked the downtown area where I found a book on the Batavia in a used book store. We found a nice sandwich shop and caught up on email and the like plus I was able to restore my Google account by logging on with my Kindle Fire tablet and having a confirmation code sent via SMS to my phone. I also downloaded to the Kindle 'Batavia' by Peter Fitzsimmons which is a novel about the famous sinking in 1627.  

After lunch we walked up to the Western Australia Museum so we could see the display about the Batavia shipwreck. I also found Nemo there in an aquarium exhibit. We then walked back along the really nice beach area to the shuttle pickup point.

I should add that Geraldton rolled out the red carpet for us with lots of volunteer tourist information guides. They were so friendly and helpful plus the TI office was open on Sunday.

We were able to make the 4pm interdenominational Sunday service before watching the sailaway. The sea lane into the harbor is also narrow and twisty like some other ports we have visited. It did get quite windy out on deck 13 above the Crow's Nest. In order to make our evening a bit more simple, we ate dinner in the Lido and it was quite good.

The evening's entertainment was the English comedienne and Celtic singer in a variety show.  

Day 40 - Downunder 2016 - Sat - 11/05/16 - At Sea - Indian Ocean 3

At the captain's toast he always uses the expression, 'May you have fair winds and following seas'. Today was anything but that. The temperature has dropped 20° fahrenheit, and we had a rolling oncoming sea of around 12 feet that caused the ship to pitch or porpoise all day long as we walked the deck. It's quite something to walk uphill on one side of the ship and walk downhill on the other side. Fortunately the stabilizers were working and we didn't have much rolling action. Over three different walks we got our 10,500 steps or nearly 5 miles walking in.

Alan's morning lecture on Pluto was one of the best he's given, and Philip gave the last of his lectures on possible World Heritage Sites. We had dinner in the Rotterdam dining room with Larry and Pat from Arkansas along with Peter and Gloria from the Sunshine Coast, just south of Brisbane. Peter and I really hit it off talking cars and motorcycles.  

The evening's entertainment was a Celtic singer, Kaitlyn Carr from Scotland. She had the cutest brogue accent and sang and played several types of flutes. She's also the wife of the British comedienne. She was so good we bought her CD and came back for her 10pm concert.

Tomorrow is our first port back in Australia at Geraldton. It was converted from being a tender port to a docking port due to the projected sea swells in the harbor.

While the destination is important, don't forget to savor the journey.

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Day 39 - Downunder 2016 - Fri - 11/04/16 - At Sea - Indian Ocean 2

Today was passport return day and interview with Australian immigration officials. This we did after our breakfast and morning devotional time. From there we did the first mile of walking the deck. Alan gave a very interesting talk on radio telescopes and seeing things that can't be seen optically. A quick lunch followed and we walked another mile before doing a photographic scavenger hunt competition that we ended up winning. This little contest was just another way to get excercise as we scampered all over the ship in search of items to photograph.

Philip Creaser's afternoon lecture was about cultural world heritage sites and it was also interesting. We then finished up our 10,500 step goal after which I backed up the photos on my phone camera. Gala night returned and lobster was one of the main entrees (5 of 6 at our table got that item). Then main stage entertainment was a redo of the musical Droom by the cast performers.

We adjourned to our room with a DVD movie 'Casino Royale'.

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Day 38 - Downunder 2016 - Thu - 11/03/16 - At Sea - Indian Ocean 1

It's always good to be back at sea for a few days and it was especially true now so that we could escape the repressive heat. Since game 7 of the World Series was on starting at 7am on Thursday even though it was being played Wednesday evening in Cleveland, we began watching it in the room while dressing and preparing our 6th laundry sack (this is probably the best benefit of being a 4 Star Mariner with HAL), and we took an hour break from the game for breakfast and the morning devotions with Rev. Barry. He has a great joke to start every devotional time! Then we went up to the Crow's Nest to watch on the large screen TV the remainder of what turned out to be an excellent ball game with the Cubs winning 8-7.

Lunch was a quickie in the Lido and we joined Kelly's 1pm port talk in progress before watching Philip Creaser's presentation on Australian World Heritage Sites. There was time to do a mile walking the deck before we took in a presentation on Thomas Kinkade and his art. Afterwards, I took the time to back up my cameras' pictures to a thumb drive. I still need to do the same for our phones' pictures.

We took dinner in the Rotterdam dining room with a couple from Wisconsin and a couple from Colorado. The evening's main stage entertainment was a dance couple, Sriani & Craig. While they are multiple competition dance champions, we found them a bit boring to watch. The ship's movies are now starting to repeat, so we skipped the 9pm movie and plan to do the same tomorrow. It turned out to be a good time to retire early. And like has been true most of the cruise, our laundry was returned in the same day!

While the destination is important, remember to savor the journey.

Day 37 - Downunder 2016 - Wed - 11/02/16 - Bali

After a pleasant overnight sleep we awakened around 7am and went to the Lido for breakfast. It was a bit crowded this morning as most guests were looking forward to the Bali stop.

After breakfast, we went up to the Crow's Nest to watch the sail in. As we approached the harbor, the channel became much narrower and the ship was really close to the reefs. But the channel was clearly marked with twists and turns. And there was a wreck on the starboard side and another ahead of us as we reached the point where the captain pivoted the ship 90° counterclockwise before backing into our berth.

A musical troupe and dancers entertained us while the ship was cleared for disembarkation. Once the announcement was made we made our way out of the terminal area where we met our guide, Agung, and our driver Yoyo. I should add that Dennis and Dayle from Vancouver, BC organized the tour using Tours By Locals which we have also used in other parts of the world.  

We headed off through the crazy traffic (and I do mean crazy, more on that later) and found a money changer so we would have local currency for spending throughout the day. We then found a Batik studio (Goak Batik) where we learned how Batik is done. Plus the gals got to do their own Batik, and we found some Batik clothing.

It was then time to head for the Monkey Forest and enjoy the Grey Macaques. These little critters are very aggressive about any loose items or food items. The first macaque we saw had stolen someone's selfie stick and was totally fascinated with it. Inside the forest I watched a man almost lose his Bermuda shorts as he had food in his pockets! The macaque was not at all interested in the food it could see, but it was totally enthralled with the lump in the fellow's right front pocket. Besides the macaques there was all sorts of statuary. Keep in mind that Hinduism is the predominant religion on this island.

A stop at the Bali Pulina Plantation to sample coffees came next (of course using the crazy traffic). Besides showin us coffee plants, we observed a wide variety of herbs and spices being grown along with the hand method that they processed the coffee beans. Speaking of the coffee beans, the way they get the outer plant material off the seeds is to feed them to a cat like critter who eats the beans and expels the hard shelled beans as excrement. Those beans are then cleaned and crushed to get the softer coffee bean which is hand roasted. The end product is called affectionately catpuchino! We were served a sampling of the coffees and I have to admit as a total non coffee drinker or lover, I really enjoyed most of the samples. My favorite was the lemon tea!

We then drove to a local restaurant (Warung Babi Guling) where we're enjoyed a pork lunch and a local beer, both of which were quite good. The beer was especially good because of the high heat and humidity. On the way back to the port, we stopped at a Hindu temple and dressed in a respectful ceremonial robes to enter the grounds.  

Speaking of the traffic, it was the craziest I've ever experienced! There are thousands of scooters and motorcycles carrying every manner of person or persons and cargo. There are scooters and motorcycles on our left, passing on our right (keep in mind they drive on the left here), lanes are only a suggestion, helmets and safety riding gear are non existent, right turns or cross traffic can suddenly materialize in one's lane. It's quite a dance! But I observed very few dented vehicles!

Back at the port we shopped a bit more before reboarding the ship. We had received an email that our ballot submission wasn't done correctly, so we resubmitted them. Also my Google account was locked because I tried to access it in Indonesia using my Australian Sim card. So I'm not sure I'll be able to update my blog. I find Google's two factor authorization to be a real bummer when traveling internationally. It happened last year in Singapore as well. It plain just doesn't work!

Remember to savor the journey even though the destination is important!

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Day 36 - Downunder 2016 - Tue - 11/01/16 - Komodo Island

Once again we woke up in paradise at the entry to Slawi Bay, Komodo Island. We ate our customary breakfast and went up to deck 11 to watch the sail in. The craggy mountain islands were extremely stunning as we sailed to our anchorage point. We met up with our group in the Ocean Bar to obtain our tender tickets. For this port one needs to have an authorized guide and confirmation letter which our organizer, Janet, took care of. After a safety briefing by a park ranger, our guides led us down a narrow pathway into the scrub forest. We weren't 100 yards out of the village when the group encountered our first Komodo dragon which crossed the path between groups and found a resting place in the shade. This led to a picture taking frenzy and I have to honestly say I was totally impressed by the size of the Komodo! As we came around the bend in the trail, I was within 18" of the tail of the Dragon. We continued our stroll through the forest and saw some large birds and deer (the latter are primo dragon food). As we came to a watering hole there were 4 large Komodo dragons and they were mighty impressive. They were both docile and moving around with their prey seeking forked tunges being fully extended as they examined this motley group of tourists. As we continued our stroll back to the dock, we saw a few more deer.  

Back at the dock, we gathered our snorkeling gear that we had left behind and headed over to the longer dock where our snorkeling launch was tied up. 11 of us boarded the smaller launch while the remaining 26 went on the larger launch. As we sailed to the snorkeling beach, we were served water or soft drinks and watermelon. The launches anchored off the beach and we donned our snorkeling gear. I let myself off the boat and was first impressed by the warmth of the water and then by the beauty of the coral. There was also a mild current which I used to slowly glide me over the coral and hundreds of fish of many colors. I'd then swim against the current and repeat the glide. I was able to snap many pictures and was in the water about 1 1/2 hours. It was clearly the best snorkeling we did this cruise. But we didn't find Nemo! I snorkeled my way back to our launch and was the last onboard. We were served a TERRIFIC Indonesian meal of noodles, rice, chicken, fish, super delicious pineapple, and more watermelon.  

Back at the launch dock we made our way to the tender dock which required us to walk the gauntlet of child and adult vendors hawking wooden Komodo dragons, shell angel fish, pearl necklaces and the like. I had spotted a t-shirt design and color I liked and we negotiated a good price for a pair of them. That, of course, brought other vendors over when money was displayed. But we survived and made our way to our tender dock and boarded one of the last tenders to take us back to the ship.

Onboard we showered and I went up to deck 11 to watch the sail away. All the tenders were re-stowed but I noticed the port side tender dock which retracts back into the side of the ship. Eventually the Captain came on the PA system and announced that we would be delayed until the door could be closed. This turned out to be about an hour and a half.  

On the sail out, a pod of dolphins frolicked in the ship's wake and it was fun to watch. They were some of the first large sea mammals we've seen and definitely put on a show. We were also blessed with a terrific sunset behind the hills of Komodo Island as well as glimpses of some of the many thousands of islands that make up Indonesia.

We had a simple dinner in the Lido before attending the evening's entertainment which was a juggler from Adelaide, Mr. Spin. He was entertaining.

During Jeremy's (CD) introduction of the evening's talent he mentioned that he saw the many signs that were being posted on stateroom doors saying, "No cabin service required. Enjoy your day in Bali." Since 50% of the crew is Indonesian, Jeremy indicated there would be over 750 guests on board and showed his appreciation of the passenger gesture. We had previously posted the sign on our door and also gave our stateroom attendents a tip to be able to help them on their day in Bali.  

After the show we walked laps on deck 6 so We could reach our 5 mile goal. While doing this walk we noted we seemed to be sailing faster than normal. When I checked my GPS I found we were sailing at around 24 miles per hour which is fast for this ship.

It was a terrific day at Komodo Island and this should be a bucket list stopping point for any serious traveler.

While the destination is important, savor the journey.

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Day 35 - Downunder 2016 - Mon - 10/31/16 - At Sea to Komodo Island

Overnight the seas remained quite calm and the temperatures remained quite warm. After breakfast and devotions, we walked the deck for a couple miles with 5 for the day being our goal. We saw lots of flying fish and my wife even saw a small turtle. It was fun to play our game of standing on the forward starboard railing and watch for a flying fish. Once one is spotted I resume walking to do another lap. 4 laps equals a mile. Rather than attend the morning lecture on asteroids hitting the earth, we adjourned to the Crow's Nest to watch Game 5 of the World Series. It was good to see the Cubs win 3-2.

After a really quick Lido lunch, it was time to go to the 2pm Paleontology lecture which was about small extinct and non-extinct mammals as found at Riversleigh. It was then time to resume walking the deck to get my 5 miles in and look for more flying fish. The flying fish were a bit more elusive in the afternoon. Approaching 5pm, we came closer to the south shore of Timor island and I picked up a 2g cell phone signal. I was able to pay our VISA bill and check Facebook and email before the signal got too faint. After a quick Lido salad for dinner, we went to the 6pm Elliott Finkel concert piano show. Once again he was excellent, and ended his concert with a medley from Rogers and Hammerstein.  

My wife wore a really cute Halloween dress for the 8:30pm Halloween party in the Crow's Nest. I wore her black t-shirt that reads 'My Halloween Costume' and a lighted skull necklace. At around 10:30pm, the Crow's Nest was closed 'so that they could clean up' but it was really closed so there could be a crew party.

While the destination is important, don't forget to savor the journey.

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Day 34 - Downunder 2016 - Sun - 10/30/16 - Darwin

This morning we awakened early at 6am to get a jump on some internet tasks that we needed to get done in preparation for the end of our cruise. Up in the Lido I fired up our portable SIM card (Glocalme) and we submitted our presidential election ballots, checked Facebook and email, uploaded my blog, activated my Amaya Australian SIM card, and reserved a motel room for our stay in Katoomba.  

The ship finally docked at around 8am which was an hour later than scheduled. Fortunately, clearance to leave the ship came quickly.

While doing these tasks we saw the local hop on hop off bus stop in front of the terminal. So we quickly did some Google research and saw it would fit our needs for today. It's a bit irksome (mildly stated) that HAL would sell a $14AUD RT ticket into town and not mention that for $33AUD one could purchase an all day hop on hop off bus trip that goes throughout the city including 3 museums and it departs from and returns to the cruise terminal.

So around 9:30 we left the ship to stand in the heated shade of a parked container trailer. It was over 90f with high humidity! The HOHO bus arrived and we were on our way. Despite the heat, while the bus was moving, the airflow was refreshing. Soon we arrived at the Darwin Experience Museum which is devoted to primarily remembering the events of the Second World War but it also has some Vietnam War exhibits. We spent a few hours touring the exhibit and grounds before hopping back on the HOHO bus which took us to the Royal Flying Doctors museum where we were treated to several movies and lots of exhibits documenting the contribution of this organization and its planes as it strives to provide healthcare in some of the most remote places on the planet. It's a really good museum. We then caught the HOHO bus back to the ship's terminal where we did some last minute shopping and conversation with our shipboard neighbors. All of this was done in air conditioned comfort.

We grabbed some quick sandwiches from the Lido and took them to the Showroom where Elliott Finkel put on an informal classical piano concert which was excellent. Afterwards we attended the interdenominational Sunday service at 4pm where the pastor's message was on Forgiveness. It was one of the best attended services we've been in on the ship.

At dinner we learned that we have sailed on 2 other recent cruises with one of the couples (Prinsendam Black Sea in 2014 and the Koningsdam Christening in 2016.). The cast put on the production show 'Dance' and we wrapped up the evening watching the movie 'Central Intelligence' about an accountant.  

While walking back to our room on the outside deck, it was still extremely warm, and at dinner the seas were totally flat with a gorgeous sunset.

Tomorrow is a sea day and our clocks go back another 1/2 hour tonight to get us on Indonesian time.  

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Tim Bowman

Burien, WA

Tim Bowman

Tim Bowman

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere

Tim Bowman

Sent from the Road Somewhere