Day 61–at Sea

a day at sea after yesterday’s bypass of Alofi, Nuie.. a salvaged sunrise at 616am this early morning that turned into a windy 18kts overcast day with the sun peeking out every now and then thruout the morning..75°.. the clocks moved forward 1 hour overnight–now we are on Hawaii-Polynesia time 5 hours behind the East Coast.. spending the morning out on the Lido Deck-aft as per my usual when out at sea.. breezy but nice

Miss Ruth on the Lido Deck with us

Day 60- at Sea –Day 2 Crossing the International Dateline Nov 29 AGAIN

looks like today will be a good old fashion Brooklyn style ‘do-over’ as we crossed back over the International Dateline in the overnite from west to east so we will be REPEATING Friday Nov 29.. giving us 2 Black Fridays–yikes does it get any more better-er than that..

 at 8am Captain made the announcement.. due to unsafe tendering conditions at the port dock with large rollers breaking onshore he decided to cancel Alofi, Nuie for today as we get ready to set sail away toward our next port of call- Raritonga with arrival on Sunday.. been there done this at tender ports before.. had a bad feeling earlier this morning before Sunrise with flat seas and large rollers as we made our approach to the island.. one must adapt

Day 59– Neiafu, Tonga –Day 1

arrival 730am Neiafu, Tonga at our anchorage in this beautiful and picturesque bay of small islands.. a very small tender port that will make us decide on a plan for the day.. a quiet place.. FYI.. this is Friday Nov 29 for us– still a day ahead and 6 hours behind East Coast time.. the FIRST of 2 Friday Nov 29th’s because of the International Dateline crossing tomorrow morning

10am– it was off the ship and on to the tender for the ride into the town dock.. a short stay –only until 230pm so decided to just hang around and walk thru the small town grabbing a local beer for a sit-down refreshment at the ‘Dancing Rooster’ pub.. good beaches too far away.. walked to St Joseph’s Church.. quaint.. as we walked down the steps we spotted a local’s pet ‘oink oink’ right in the next yard near the church.. he was sitting in a mudhole.. looked at us and rolled around in it to cool off.. he put on a show.. still laughing about it..some funny stuff.. a pretty 81°blue sky day..

small PILOT boat

taken from the tender enroute to shore

mailing the POSTCARD

Day 58–Nuku’olofa, Tonga

Happy Thanxgiving to all my US friends– I know I know it’s only Wednesday Nov 27 where you are.. not here in the South Pacific across the International Dateline– today is Nov 28 Thanxgiving Thursday .. a 513am Sunrise as we make our approach to today’s port of call–Nuka’alofa, Tonga.. looks like we have planned a walk about the city which is right nearby the cruise ship dock..

 10am—off the ship and a short walk into Nuku’alofa the capital city of Tonga.. a nice small city with a village flavor… reefs surround the islan..a walk past the Royal Palace and the government buildings just at the end of the cruise dock.. into the different shops and fresh market before a stop at Friends Pub and Cafe’.. bought a couple of local items then back on the ship.. had lunch then a quick stop off the ship to pick up a last minute item– a Tonga T-shirt.. and why not .. a fun day .. the local people are happy ..pleasant and very cordial– best of what we’ve seen on any island on this cruise… just a fun loving people

Day 57–at Sea

our day 2 at sea still sailing Eastbound toward Tonga.. a 513am sunrise with many clouds proved to be a nice surprise for those of us with a lil’ bit of patience.. add to it in the western sky a Rainbow .. a nice early morning.. wasn’t thrilled with the Dinner menu in the Dining Room for tonite so we all decided to do the Canaletto instead.. great meal..