IWO JIMA, Wednesday, February 27th

We arrived around 12:00 noon and proceeded to circle the island. Iwo Jima means sulpher island because of the odor of sulpher fumes. Theisland is only 5 miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide and was not only vital to the Japanese to defend their homeland, but it was also of strategic importance to the American forces who needed an airfield at this haf-way point for crippled American soldiers returning to Saipan, Tinian & Guam. It was also a launching platform for American long-range fighters to protect the bombers. If it wasn't for the marines that fought on Iwo, countless more lives would have been lost in the Pacific. The capture of Iwo Jima is recorded as the "Bloodiest Pacific Battle of WWII." 26,000 men were lost here, 8,000 Americans and 18,000 Japanese. A 4 minute ride at 60 mph going from one end of the island to the other took the marines 37 days. Sometimes it took an entire day to gain only 1 yard of ground.

As we neared Mt. Suribachi, the ship held a memorial service complete with WWII veterans that were in the area at the time, children of men that fought on Iwo Jima, prayers from the priest and poems were read. The captain tossed a wreath overboard and the band played The Halls of Montezuma.

It was all very emotional.

GUAM, Monday, February 25th

We are now in Guam, back in the U.S.A.. It is somewhat disappointing as far as tropical islands go. It's very commercial with every fashion designer having stores here. Quite a contrast from Rabaul or Truk. Their are many parks here and all named after the soldiers of WWII. The beaches are lovely and the water very warm. Fortunately, the island never tipped over when everyone got off the ship as one Congressman said may happen.  I don't think he's in Congress any longer!

We ran into the captain in town and had lunch together. He has invited us on the bridge to see the ship leave port. That should be very exciting. We will be sailing to Iwo Jima at 5:00 this evening and arrive there the day after tomorrow then on to Japan.

They are having a ship building competition and the 6 of us have built a catamaran out of pop cans covered with shrink wrap and made a tin foil sail. Gary's dying to put a motor on it and at one point we mounted a hand fan to power it, but later found out it's not allowed. The judging is tomorrow and we're testing it in the pool tonight at midnight. Even if we don't win, it was a lot of fun...we laughed like heck. The captain is one of the judges and, coming from Chicago, we of course tried to pay him off.  Unfortunately, he wouldn't go for it. Wish us luck!

CHUUK (TRUK), Saturday, February 23rd

Truk lagoon is another of Micronesia's incredible undersea phenomena. It is almost 40 miles in diameter and reaches depths of 300 feet. Aside from the sheer beauty of the undersea coral reef beneath the clear water, the bottom of Truk lagoon is the final tomb for more than 100 ships, planes and submarines fromm WWII. They create the greatest underwater museum in the world. The wrecks have been transformed into breathtakingly beautiful coral gardens and artificial reefs, home to hundreds of exotic marine animals & fish. It's a mecca to the world's sport divers, underwater photographers and marine scinetists. To diving enthusiasts, Truk offers one of the finest diving experiences. It's a rare opportunity to find so many shipwrecks so close together and so completely intact. Unfortunately, we were unable to rent scuba equipment as there were only two dive shops and the people that were already staying on the island took it all. However, we did manage to rent a small motor boat that would hold the 6 of us. We bought snorkeling equipment at a local market and went out to one of the islands a couple of miles off Truk and snorkeled. In the boat, the fellow taking us cut off the tops of several coconuts and we drank the milk. It was cool and refreshing and tasted great.

Although we wern't able to wreck dive, the coral was gorgeous and we did see some ships partially out of the water. Afterwards, we got a car and drove the island. The native women were just beautiful. They have no television on the entire island and are completely divorced from the outside world. The Air Force was still here until 2 years ago when they all left. I guess we no longer needed a presence in this part of the world. When I exercise in the morning I have a beautiful view of the ocean and am usually listening to my i-pod. Years ago I loaded into it the "Victory at Sea" CD. Being on Truk, near Guadalcanal, and now en route to Guam, it's truly a sureal experience. I understand today is the anniversary of the flag raising on Iwo Jima...we will be there in a few days.

AT SEA, Friday, February 22nd

We are now sailing through Micronesia which is comprised of hundreds of small islands in the Pacific. The Philippines lie NW, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Melanesia W & SW and Polynesia to the E. Today all of Micronesia (with the exceptions of Guam and Wake Island, Which are U.S. Territories, and the Northern Mariana Islands, which is a U.S. Commonwealth) are independent states (Federated States of Micronesia). We are heading north in the South Pacific towards Chuuk (Truk).

RABUL, PAPUA, NEW GUINEA

Rabul is another lush tropical island full of dense jungle & rain forests. It was also the most powerful Japanese base in the Southwest Pacific during WWII. At it's peak, it included 5 airfields, a submarine & seaplane base and a huge naval anchorage with support facilities. At it's peak the garrison numbered 200,000 personnel. It was from this harbor that the famed "Tokyo Express" raced to re-supply Guadalcanal and other Japanese bases in the Solomon Islands.

Admiral Halsey announced he would turn it to rubble. In order to escape, the Japanese moved underground honeycombing the hills around Rabaul with hundreds of kilometers of tunnels including hospitals & barracks.

In 1994 one of several volcanoes surrounding the island erupted burying much of Rabul under 6 feet of ash. They are still active. The Melanesian people are dark skinned with fuzzy short hair and are very friendly. They were so isolated from Western influence that the first wheel ever seen was the propeller of an aircraft. They chew beetle nuts (ala Bloody Mary)which turn their teeth, gums and lips bright red and rots their teeth. It was really something to see. I was as foreign to them as they were to me. I brought candy from the ship and gave it to the kids. Every one of them said thank you and smiled. They were really sweet.


This was the first time we were close to an active volcano...it was awesome! I must have taken 100 pictures of it spewing ash. The top of the ship & the pool were covered with it - us too. We got a van with our friends and drove the island going through the tunnels and stopping at the various local markets and, of course, photographing the volcano. Extremely interesting island.

AT SEA, Tuesday, February19th

We have now gone from the Coral Sea and are close to the Solomon Islands and are in the Solomon Sea. This area saw a tremendous amount of action during WWII. We are very close to Bougainville and Guadalcanal. We met a fellow on the ship that fought on Guadalcanal. Our next stopis Rabaul, New Guinea, then on to Chuuk and Guam. Still exercising daily and my legs are getting stronger, however my brain is getting smaller and my stomach getting larger.

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA February17th

Spent the day with our "mates," Joyce & David and Stella & Lionel. Stella & Lionel are from theGold Coast in Queensland, Australia. We have been here before and just walked around the town. Cairns dates back to 1876 and originally served as a port for shipping gold & tin mined inland. It is located near the largest living organism in the world, The Great Barrier Reef and is also the gateway to one of the worlds ancient rainforests with the largest concentration of ancient flowering plants in the world. Out of 19 families recognized as primitive, 13 are found here. It's vegetation is just as impressive as the Amazon. The last time we were here we took the Kuranda railway to the Aboriginal town of Kuranda. The train connects the coast & the tablelands and offers one of the most dramatic train rides in the world. We took the skyrail back soaring over the rainforest - some of the time we were in the clouds.
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We had a great lunch in town then stopped at the Yacht Club. Gary tried to play the Didgeridoo (a 5' long hollow wooden tube) and almost broke a blood vessel. People on the street were hysterical. The temperature was around 90 with 85-90% humidity. Really unbearable

AT SEA, Friday, February 15th

Went from the Tasman Sea to the Coral Sea. We are just passing the Whit Sundays, a group of about 170 islands. We will be in Cairns tomorrow and are sailing along the Great Barrier Reef. Still exercising our little hearts out. Gary is loosing weight and looks great and I hope I'm maintaining. Can still fit into my clothes. We both feel fine although all around us have been or are now sick. Never got the Norovirus or that cough that always goes around ships. Having a great time...what an amazing trip!

SYDNEY, February 13th

We docked early in the morning and had to go through an immigration inspection before leaving the ship. Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales and is Australia's commercial and media capital. It is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It's a young city and very cosmopolitan... also very expensive. Our friends met us at the ship at 9:30. We had coffee in a nearby cafe at the rocks, which is the old section of Sydney. Next door was the restaurant where Gary and I ate dinner the last 2 times we were here. Interesting restaurant, you walk through a bar into a courtyard with umbrella tables at various levels. At the top sits a small house. As you enter it on the right is a refrigerated case filled with raw chicken, pork and beef. Another case in front has french fries and baked potatoes. In the center of the room is a salad bar. First you choose your entree (the chicken, beef or pork). The fellow puts it on your plate and directs you to a large outdoor grill where you cook your own food. After it's cooked, you go back and select the potato and take salad. We loved it! The name is "Phillip's Foote."

Anyway, after coffee we walked and walked and walked. Our ship docked directly across from the opera house. Not only was the view spectacular but the location was the best. We went to the opera house and to the Sydney Museum. They had made a reservation for lunch at Cafe Sydney about 6 weeks ago and we went there around 1:30. The restaurant was on the top floor of the old Customs building. It was very contemporary and just beautiful. We ate on the terrace overlooking the harbour. Afterwards we walked some more and then on to their hotel. We said our good-byes around 6:00 as they had tickets to see Carmen at the opera house at 7:30. To bad we couldn't join them but we had to be back on board by 9:30.

We ran into a group of bikers (Harley Davidson) from the U.S. as we passed a cafe near the boat. They rode 3,000 miles across Australia. One on the fellows was a designer for Harley and actually designed Gary's bike. We had a great day...it was wonderful seeing our friends and lovely of them to fly in to see us.

AT SEA, Tuesday, February 12th

Met Terence Stamp today. He's the handsome, white haired blue eyed actor that was the villan, General ZOD, in Superman II. He also played in Billy Bud and Limey. He was interviewed in the lounge and held a question and answer session. Gary and I had a short chat with him at breakfast. He seems very nice and unaffected.

AT SEA, Sunday, Frebuary 10, 2008

Another day at sea, we have two more before we reach Sydney. I just e-mailed Michael & Judy, our friends from Brisbane, and asked them to meet us at the boat at 9:30. The sea is a bit rough but not bad, certainly not nearly what it was before. We spent our time in Auckland in the hospital with Joyce and her husband, David. He had a specialist look at his eye. The doctor said it wasn't an emergency, but he should have it looked at in Sydney or some other port along the way. We all went back to the ship a lot happier than when we left.

AUCKLAND

In Auckland there are more boats per capita than any other city in the world, which is why it's known as the "City of Sails." It is also one of the cleanest and most peaceful and is New Zealand's main city. We won't dock until 6:00 this evening. The husband of my friend from high school, is having an eye problem. He will have to find a hospital as soon as we dock to have a doctor take a look. As we will only be there from around 7:00 PM to midnight, we are not certain a doctor will be located in time. They have packed a suitcase and may have to stay and catch up with the boat in Sydney. We are going with them, but will come back to the ship. You never know when up jumps the devil!

AT SEA, Friday, February 8, 2008

We crossed the International Dateline and went from Wednesday the 6th to Friday the 8th. We are now about 15 hours ahead of Chicago. Weather is still rough and they closed the gym. It's pretty cool and very windy. We won't reach Auckland until 5:00 PM due to our diverting in order to miss the cyclone. Also, we had to cut our speed way down, sometimes only doing 4 knots as there are 15-20 ft. waves. People have found fish on their balcony. Can you imagine that! They have cancelled all tours in Auckland.

AT SEA, Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Today is another sea day. The weather has been pretty rough due to the cyclone. It is about 200 miles behind us, however we are still feeling its effects. Many people are sick and unable to leave their cabin. I took 2 Bonine in the morning and feel just fine. By the way there is no tomorrow as we will cross the International Dateline.

AT SEA, 2/5/08

We have about 4 sea days before we reach Auckland. Today the ocean is a little rough and the pool is spilling onto the deck. The capatain just announced that there is a tropical cyclone on our route and we had to change course to the NW. The winds have become very strong and the sea is building. The motion is not terrible, but he expects it to last for at least 24 more hours. It is now 11:45 AM and they just placed a net over the pool and emptied the water. We were heading straight towards the cyclone. It hit American Samoa, Nuie Island and New Zealand where it did a lot of damage. We are seeing the effects with more than 50 knot winds and very high seas. The boat is pitching quite a bit but not causing any significant problems. The ocean is really upside down, but am not sick...yet. Took Bonine and am feeling OK. Lots of passengers ill.

I will have an update on Pitcairn shortly...much more to the story that we didn't know about until we left.

RAROTONGA, 2/3/08

What a surprise this island turned out to be! Rarotonga is the caital of the Cook Islands which lie in the center of the Polnesian triangle. It is the main island with a population of approximately 10,000 people. It is very mountainous and covered in jungle with luxurious ferns, trees and flowers. It is surrounded by a protective coral reef. Gary and I took a local shuttle to the most beautiful hotel, the Muri Beach Club. We were able to use their facilities and spent the entire day swimming. Their white sand beach was surrounded by the most breathtaking turquoise lagoon. Coconut palms were everywhere. This was truly the most gorgeous island of all. Sucba diving here is supposed to be some of the best in the world. Gary was going to dive, but the lagoon was so magnificent we didn't want to leave.

We ran into some friends from Australia, also on the ship, and we sat in the middle of the lagoon and talked ( too shallow to swim). Afterwards we had lunch in the hotel. The pool was enormous and completely deserted, We went for a swim before returning to the ship. Our friends rented a car so we went back with them. Rarotonga is truly a tropical paradise. Another day we will never forget.