Day 54 At Sea

Today was hot, hot , hot…. We are getting ready to cross the Equator again around 7:00 this evening so the sun is very strong. Since they put off the King Neptune ceremony for crossing the Equator when we originally crossed from the northern hemisphere to the southern we had one today…. It is always a bit of fun seeing the “polliwogs” sacrificed to King Neptune for safe passage. It is a bit messy and puts the pool out of commission for a day but it is enjoyed by all. A bit of sad news today, the Captain announced that our call to Palau on Wednesday was going to be cancelled. He came to the table at dinner and explained the situation in detail which was helpful. Disappointing! I hope the guests all enjoy wandering around Manila on Friday night, should be fun….. The Filipino crew will be having a great time....

Day 53 Madang, Papua New Guinea

What an absolutely amazing day!!!!  If Papua New Guinea isn’t just the friendliest place I have been to, I don’t know any others off the top of my head that beat it.  The people waved, smiled and made us feel so welcome all day….  wonderful place.  I must admit that the eating of betel nuts to stain their teeth red was pretty interesting…  Ed, Becky and I got off the ship and headed to the market which much to our dismay was closed because it’s Sunday here.  We hooked up with a local, Paul, who was walking us around showing us the town and when it became apparent that we needed to expand our area of exploration he hooked us up with a vehicle and a couple of guys operating it.  We went up the north coast checking out some villages and local markets.  It was so interesting….  The thing that made it here wasn’t the scenery, which is beautiful, but the people….  What an excellent stop, well done…..