Off to Guam

Rabaul

All these years, I have been of the impression that Rabaul was on a separate island. It turns out, it is on a high NE peninsula of PNG.

Rather a snooze but then we knew that.  It is green and lush and the volcano seems to be tired. Almost no sense of a plume. The water is a dusky gray blue and we can see good sized fish in the area between the pier and land. The chef did say he was going out to purchase fresh fish today.

Ed is dragging today. Probably too much food last night and too late. So as usual we left the ship around 10:30 since we did not have a tour scheduled (we have done both of the tours before). We went through a metal shed where the temperature rose 10 degrees until you come out the other side into the really hot sun with high humidity and no breeze to mention. Many locals had set up their wares on the grasses nearby. The wares included tote bags made out of colorful threads of something. This and the necklaces of cowry and other beads were probably made locally. But there were no realistic bargains. You had to want something pretty badly to buy. I saw no one buying anything but lots of questions. There was a little boy dressed in native costume and so I gave him a dollar to take his photo. He’s probably around 7 and this technique is common all over the world. The income these kids get is important to their family’s economy.

You see a lot of people with Negroid features and blond hair. This is a genetic trait and not the function of interbreeding. They also have the most dark skinned people in the world but I’ve forgotten the name of the tribe.

A pleasant woman attached herself to us and chatted away. Among the stories were how hard it is there (which I’m sure is true but this ploy is used to squeeze donations out of foreigners too). Well it was successful because as we left Ed gave her $10. I would rather have purchased one of those overly priced shell necklaces than to give that much of a tip for her company. There is no rationale to that. $10 would be the tip for a tour guide for a day’s tour!

Spa

When we returned, I decided to use the spa bubbling hot tub. It is salt water and the jets are powerful so it is a good massage. The power of them is enough that I had to cling to the metal bars you sit on or I’d have been swept over the side.

The Captain was walking his almost 2 yr daughter around the ship and was in the spa area where she is a great hit with all around.

They did have trivia this am and I’ll bet there were a good many folks there to play but I hadn’t done the hot tub yet so…

At breakfast this am there was a couple next to us calling all their family. Clearly they have money as he was discussing legacy enrollments in some colleges for his grandson and how much it would cost for him to get the grandson ahead of the line so he wanted to be sure his money would be well spent and the kid would actually go. Next phone call (as you can tell, his voice was loud enough to be heard for a far distance) was to tell (not ask mind you) a granddaughter to make a date and destination for her wedding as he was paying for it and they weren’t getting any younger and might not be around forever. I’ll spare you the details of the other, numerous, and all similar, phone calls.

Lunch

We sat with a British couple who now live in Florida and are celebrating their 60^th wedding anniversary by visiting his brother in Australia and then meeting a grandson who lives in Hong Kong. The other family members are flying to Hong Kong where they will properly celebrate their anniversary.

As they were leaving, she said she couldn’t have another husband because it took her too long to train this one. She said when he comes out of his morning bath, you can’t tell he’s been in there: everything is neat including the mirror being wiped down. I told her Ed would need more than 60 yrs to even come close to that. The gentleman was very cute with muttonchops whiskers: when’s the last time you saw that?

Nap time

Ed slept about 1 ½ hrs this afternoon and I finally work him up as he will keep me awake all night if he sleeps in the pm.

Lounge Lizards

There are two basic kinds: those who lay around the swimming pool frying in the hot sun. the second group are a much smaller group of folks who you only see sitting on bar stools.

Tankards

There were several of these ships in the harbor here and then I recalled we had seen them last trip here. They look like oil tankers but since coconut oil is one of the major exports here, who knows.

Sad theft

One of the room stewards went on shore alone and along the way he was filched of his money (amount unknown). Our steward said they are advised to always go in groups and he went out with 2 others today. They bought the little kids ice cream and before they knew it, they had a whole crowd asking them for ice cream. No good deed shall go unpunished.

We are now off to Guam in the Mariana Islands and that is 1000 miles away. Some wonderful sea days ahead.