Woke up with this beautiful sunrise for my birthday (in this side of the world, not yet in Europe or U.S.A.)

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WE arrived in New Zealand exactly 5 years ago where I celebrated my 70th BD. We took a trip for 4 days in both islands and enjoyed it. This year we just kept the memory of our “Wrinkled Ram” which became Jost’s nickname (jokingly).

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The port is being heavily worked on, the dredges where out but the beautiful old building and its gate was shining in the sun. The love for New Zealand is clearly described on this plaque. I was surprised at the relaxing lawn next to offices and the beanbags to relax during lunch time.

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Jost went on a winery tour. He came back very pleased, he learned new information about New Zealand winery. Below is the description on the Website.

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Few wineries in New Zealand can claim such a proud winemaking history as Soljans Estate Winery.

Bartul Soljan planted the first Soljan vineyard in New Zealand in 1932 leaving a legacy that has been carried on by his son Frank and then grandson and current owner, Tony Soljan. Today, Soljans represents three generations of winemaking with over 70 years experience.

In 2002 Tony put his own stamp on the family wine making heritage by realizing a lifelong dream to build his own winery. The state of the art winery complex located in Kumeu, West Auckland is the realization of that dream.

Situated at the gateway to Kumeu Classic Wine Country, the new winery offers a complete winery experience. The vineyard surrounding the winery is planted with Pinotage, Merlot and Pinot Gris but like most Auckland wineries, Soljans winery draws the majority of its grapes from New Zealand’s major wine growing regions.

Silver Whisper docked near the fish market where Chef David took us for a tour. The amazing system of auctioning the fish in the morning, which we missed, but visited the rooms and the electronic systems.

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A few items where different that what we usually find in Florida.

First the most expensive shrimps (Prawns) I have ever seen : the Bananas Prawns.: Banana prawns are a rising favorite for Australians due to their light, sweet flavor. They present well as they retain their shape when cooked.

then a great sign : DO NOT BAG THE OCEAN.

A beautiful display of John Dory fish: The alternative name of St. Peter’s Fish comes from an ancient legend. It is said that St. Peter picked this fish up from the Sea of Galilee, but instead of keeping it he returned it to the water. The black mark on the side of the John Dory is said to be St. Peter’s thumbprint.

And then a interesting red fish and eels. AND DO FISH HAVE LIPS?

Of course not forgetting the Geo Duck : What the heck is a geoduck? Despite the name, a geoduck is not a duck, nor is it a geode. In fact, it’s pronounced like gooey-duck. Clearly, nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to the geoduck. … The word geoduck comes from the Lushootseed word gʷídəq, meaning “dig deep.”

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Time to return to the ship, get pampered at the Spa and be ready for the dinner that the chef prepared specially for my birthday, accepting to reproduce my menu based on my recipes. Our table of 16 gathered “old” friends from previous cruises. It was arranged beautifully. The food, the service was impeccable and Jost got some of the wine that we brought on board. That night we served an Italian elegant wine, Barolo; a favorite of the captain that joined us later for a tasting and the Birthday song and cake

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The middle picture was created by Polly, art the table. I love her caricature

Somewhere I have a picture of the menu and of the wine…..will have to download later

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last picture is with our favorite server I Wayan at breakfast time

And after this beautiful dinner, THE surprise decoration in the bedroom.

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what a WONDERFUL, special BIRTHDAY. Happy to be with Jost and many friends on a beautiful ship, on a beautiful island, but I missed my family. Can’t have it all.

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In the cabin, presents display on our bed. Next is a splash in the shower to be able to go to the swimming pool dinner : hot rocks.

Will not start the diet today !

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Just sharing pictures of our meals, entertainments, presents from Silver Sea

On January 26, our dear new friends Colette and Herve Ganem invited us to the special restaurant : La Dame. Enjoyable meal, meeting new friends from different origins.

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At the same restaurant, on a different occasion our “visiting” chef prepared different dishes that we could taste while drinking some interesting wines.

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TONGA 

Its 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited, are divided into three main groups – Vava’u, Ha’apai, and Tongatapu – and cover an 800-kilometre (500-mile)-long north-south line. The largest island, Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nukuʻalofa is located

On our last visit 4 years ago we stopped at the capital Nuku’alofa.  Where we learned about the Kingdom of Tonga.

Their currency : Tongan paʻanga. The paʻanga is the currency of Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (Pangikē Pule Fakafonua ʻo Tonga) in Nukuʻalofa. The paʻanga is not convertible and is pegged to a basket of currencies comprising the Australian, New Zealand, United States dollars and the Japanese yen.

Their King: in 2014 we visited the capital and there was still the talk about the King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga made international headlines in 1976 when he entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s heaviest monarch weighing in at 209 kg (32 st).His son Tupou assumed the throne in 2006 on the death of his father but died in 2012. His brother Tupou VI has been formally crowned King of Tonga and is the reigning king till now.

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This time we visited another island : Neiafu, ava’u group

Jost stayed on the ship, still suffering from his nagging cough. I took a long walk to the Mt Talau National park with the hoped to see the Flying foxes (bats). They of course take off only at night.  Saw some hanging on the tres but the forest was so dense I couldn’t get any picture. The walk was refreshing and peaceful.  I was the only one on the tracks.  I chased the Tongan Whistler which I heard all the time. They are elusive and blend in the leaves. Impossible to take pictures unless you have a tripod and stay there a LONG time.  But their songs were so pleasant. So much more to see but so little time.  A great time for a  morning meditation, on “terre ferme” and beautiful fresh smells.

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The view of the bay, walking down the hill was such a pleasure and I stopped or a minute to admire the bell in front of the church before returning to the ship

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January 22 – A nice formal night, meeting friends and officers.

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Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands, a nation of 15 islands in the central South Pacific. Volcanic peaks, ridges and rainforest dominate its interior.

On 30 May 1965, five sounding rockets were launched from Rarotonga for studying a solar eclipse. 

The New Zealand dollar is one of the world’s 10 most-traded currencies and is the currency used in the Cook Islands. Cook Islands

As we started our way to go snorkeling, I jumped in my bus seat, had forgotten we were driving on the left !

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Rarotonga has a surrounding barrier reef, protecting the island beaches on most days from the rougher breaking water. This results in calmer water near the shoreline and many stretches of lagoon offering ideal conditions for snorkelling. Snorkelling in Rarotonga is easy and safe,

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 provided you hit the right spots! – and in my opinion we did not hit the right spot ! It is rare that I go snorkeling and able to count the fish or other sea life under me. 

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Our glass bottom boat gave us an opportunity to see, in the hands of our captain a beautiful “closed” Blue lip Clam. We were also entertained with local song and instruments.

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After snorkeling we did go to an interesting beach where we were served beautiful ripe fruits. I couldn’t stop eating my favorite : passion fruit.

On this island where weddings are performed, couples plant a palm tree after the ceremony.

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On the way back to the ship, we observed an interesting way to care for your graves. Never far from home, the graves on Rarotonga in the Cook Islandsare lovingly cared for and an important part of the landscape.

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My children Waldo, Natacha and her husband Ralph, their son Michael, Jost and I flew from Brussels to Prague and rented a car to visit my Aunt Hana (92) and my cousins in Libereč . The usual visit with joy, food an drinks.

Libereč a very old city, was once home to a thriving textile industry and hence nicknamed the “Manchester of Bohemia“.
in the 1930s, Liberec became the unofficial capital of Germans in Czechoslovakia. In 1938
it became the capital of the Sudetengau region. Most of the city’s Jewish and Czech population fled to the rest of Czechoslovakia or were expelled .

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After World War II the town again became a part of Czechoslovakia and nearly all of the city’s German population was expelled

Anči had a real fun translating amidst this polyglot family : Czceh, German, French, English. Weater was typically cold for this Christmas time of the year.

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Time to bring out the famous BECHROCKA after many other tastings.

Becherovka (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbɛxɛˌrofka] is a herbal bitters, often drunk as a digestive aid, that is produced in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic by the Jan Becher company. ^[ It is made from a secret recipe based on more than twenty types of herbs and spices and contains no chemical ingredients.
Its alcohol content is 38% ABV (76 proof)

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“Today I got to experience pretty much all the elements that have turned the exotic island of Bora Bora into one of the most sought-after destinations on the planet for the world’s rich and famous.
On land, if you want amazing landscapes and mountains, then the striking tropical scenery of Bora Bora is difficult to beat.” Extractf from Jon Fleming’s blog

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For me,  this time around, I didn’t tour the island. I just kept the beautiful memories from the trip with my daughter in Bora Bora a year and a half ago, and from my great scuba dive trip  off the island.

So, and since Jost had to stay on the ship dealing with his bronchitis, I joined a small group and we went snorkeling in very shallow waters in the lagoon. , The snorkeling theme was Rays and Pointe noire (Lagoon black tip shark (Pointe Noire in French Polynesia), this shark  is Timid and skittish, the blacktip reef shark is difficult to approach and seldom poses a danger to humans unless roused by food.

Not to be confused with ocean Blacktip shark

The blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)is often referred to as the oceanic blacktip to avoid confusion with the smaller blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus).  Oceanic blacktip sharks are dark brown-bronze in colour with a lighter underbelly and a distinctive light band on the flanks. The body of the blacktip shark is stout, with a distinctive, high dorsal fin and pointed snout.

A  day in Bora Bora was nothing compared to vacationing on the island, but it was so much fun to return to “paradise”.

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A  day in Bora Bora was nothing compared to vacationing on the island, but it was so much fun to return to “paradise”. On the way back to the silver Whisper ship, our young captain gave us a “water” tour , of all the fancy hotels with their bungalow in the water,

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On the way bck to the ship, I played the figurehead, and I inhaled the memories and the beauty and secrets of Bora Bora

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NANA Bora Bora

The islands were first settled by migrating Polynesians as early as 500BC. They were later discovered by European explorers during the 16th century and eventually colonized by France. Now officially known as French Polynesia, Tahiti is an autonomous overseas country of the French Republic.

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In 1946, the whole of French Polynesia, including Tahiti, became an overseas territory, and citizens of the island were given French citizenship, this was changed to an overseas country in 2004.

 Today it is roughly round, and it was roughly round when it first formed as a volcanic shield between 1.4 million and 870,000 years ago. Yet something else besides volcanic activity has shaped Tahiti: rain. Heavy tropical rains have carved deep valleys, some with nearly vertical walls up to 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) tall. 

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In August 1768, Captain James Cook, naturalist Joseph Banks, and a shipload of sailors set sail from England to Tahiti to observe the Transit of Venus. Camped out on Point Venus, they witnessed the event on June 3, 1769.Though the Transit of Venus was the stated objective of the British expedition, Banks was likely more interested in Tahiti’s plants. Specimens he collected from Tahiti, New Zealand, South America, Australia, and Java accounted for roughly 1,300 new species, and his famed collected is now stored at the Natural History Museum in London.

By 1619, German astronomer Johannes Kepler had figured out the relative distances of all the planets from the Sun. … In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley proposed a method for calculating our distance from the Sun—the astronomical unit—using the transit of Venus. More fascinating information on :

https://www.space.com/15973-venus-transit-pictures-2012-gallery.html

A few  more facts  about Tahiti

• A typical Las Vegas hotel has more rooms than on all 118 islands of French Polynesia.
• The English word ‘tattoo’ comes from the Tahitian word ‘tatau’.
• More than half of the population of Tahiti is under the age of 20 years old.

And now about the fun we had in Papeete. We had our second World Cruise event, first in San Francisco and now in Papeete

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The 240 World Cruise passengers enjoyed being greeted by beautiful Tahitiens. Hearing and watching the dancers while eating our lunch with fish, shrimps and breadfruit.

Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family 

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Breadfruit is most commonly used as a vegetable, and is a staple food in many tropical countries.

Watching the Amman commending the lift of heavy stones, the performances of the singers, dancers such a cultural and colorful event.

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Returning to the ship and being welcomed by our Buttlers in different uniforms, just closed this special event with a great touch.

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Open the following sites and you will be able to enjoy the videos of the beautiful Polynesian dancers that entertained us, there are 3 videos.

MO-0-RE-A    Is the way to pronounce the name of this beautiful island.

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I was here a year and a half ago with my daughter. Staying on the island is a different experience than visiting for a few hours.

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 Our travel agent, Virtuoso, has representative on board for the whole World Cruise, organizes special visits to different destination, Moorea was one of them. The comfortable bus took us,  for a white knuckle ride,  to the Belvedere.  

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On the way downhill, we stop to see a MARAE : The marae open air sanctuaries embodies spirituality and magnificence of an island.

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During the ride,  the excellent guide entertained us with history about the island, and the live of Captain Cook on this island. 

After watching beautiful churches and getting a complete lecture on Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research (see the site : http://msi.ucsb.edu/moorea-coral-reef-long-term-ecological-research,

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We had a wonderful French/Polynesian lunch

and watch a Polynesian outrigger canoe is known in French Polynesia under its maohi name : “va’a”.

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And a splendid picture of the beautiful water as we proceed to Papeete, Tahiti