Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa In my last post I said we would update the blog in the New Year after French Polynesia, but I had the itinerary mixed up in my head, so we've actually got more to share before we reach French Polynesia. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Suva, Fiji Suva is the capital of Fiji and sits on a point.  We were docked right in the heart of the city, and we spent the first day walking all the way around the point.  There was a path along most of the wat

Darwin Australia You may know that I’ve always had strong reservations about visiting Australia.  It seems unnecessary to visit a place where everything that isn’t you wants to kill you.  However, we survived two full days in Darwin, and we did not encounter anything poisonous or deadly.  At least, not in the wild. The cruise terminal is next to a lovely waterfront area with swimming, shops, and restaurants. We took an elevator up to the town area above.  We did visit Croco

Ternate, Indonesia Country number 45 was a brief one day stop in Indonesia, but we’ll be returning in a week or so.  Ternate was a new addition to our itinerary that was added when Saipan was removed.  It is a small volcanic island (still active) that is known for its clove production.  Indonesia is predominantly Islamic, so in respect for local customs we wore pants despite the heat. The biggest surprise was just how friendly the local community was.  Several people waved, s

Subic Bay, Philippines After outrunning the typhoon, we docked in Subic Bay and while we missed the worst of the storm the weather isn’t...

Hualien, Taiwan We’ve arrived in country number 43, Taiwan (or China? depending on who you talk to).  After checking in with Immigration...

and Jeju-do, South Korea Kochi, Japan We arrived in Kochi around noon, and it was ridiculously hot.  We are loving our time in Japan, but...