March 31, 2024 Happy Easter, Le Port, Reunion Island, 35 days left of 138

 Happy Birthday Christy! I do believe it is the anniversary of her 30th birthday a couple of times.

Happy Easter! Our Lord has risen! What a beautiful start to our Easter morning.

The Easter bunny visited our room last night. Viking is treating us pretty good. They are doing a good job of assisting us to celebrate this holiday. They planned a Easter Buffet in the World Cafe at noon today. They also tried to offer televised Easter services, but they were not available when I looked.

My health update is improving. My cough is breaking up, and I felt good enough to join our excursion today wearing a mask. I still saw people reacting to my occasional coughs, even though I was taking every precaution. There were multiple people coughing on the bus, but I was the only one masked up.

Today we are in Le Port, Reunion, and we are going to see a Turtle observatory and the old town of Saint-Leu.

See the lone fisherman out on the breakwater as we enter the port?

We are on the dry side of the island, they get 300 ml rainfall per year. On the other side of the island it is the rainy side and they get 7,000 ml rainfall per year. That is a big difference. On this side you can see the protected lagoon. This area is great for swimming due the the shallow depth, and safer since sharks are less likely to come in to shallow water. On the other side of the island the depth goes straight down right off the beach.

Welcome to the Turtle observatory. We were told they have 60 different turtle varieties here. Most of the videos and written information was in French, so we were lost for most of the information, but what an interesting place to explore. They do research here for the protection of sea turtles and their habitats in Reunion Island and the Indian Ocean. They have a rehabilitation center that takes in injured or sick turtles, releasing them back into the sea once they have been healed.

Above is the biggest turtle they had, and to the right was the smallest we saw.

Mike had one picture of a turtle with only one front flipper. We were able to view from above, below, and way above. It was a beautiful spot.

They also tried to make art of trash found on the beaches and water. Trust me no one wants to look at trash anywhere. Take pride in where you live and the earth we occupy. Everyone must do their part.

We left the first stop, with the next stop to be Saint-Leu. We learned that the Catholic's named most of the towns along the coast, hence the towns are named after Saints. Further up the mountain is where the African slaves escaped to, and the names reflect their background. The slaves were brought here to help with the coffee that was being grown here.

This was a memorial to the slaves who lead a rebellion. They all lost their lives, but it lead to the end of slavery. The first time a slave ran away, when caught they had tendons cut behind their knees, if they ran away a second time they either had an ear cut off or they were killed. It seems the same story everywhere we have been.

Below was my last picture from the Turtle rescue. Again I have some technical problems with placing my pictures.

This is me standing along the canal. It really shows what a beautiful day we had, but it was warm. 

These two buildings were built as coffee warehouses. The Hotel to the left was the Town Hall at one time.

My favorite part was being able to go into a Catholic Church on Easter. We missed the morning service, but it was a peaceful simple house of God. I was able to sit and pray for a short time.

Our guide found a place for us all to sit in the shade enjoying the ocean breeze, while he explained about the town, and his island. We were a small group today.

Below was some art work in a round about. You will see the French flag flown. Our guide says they have their own flag, but it is not officially recognized. There are people elected to serve on the French parliament. They fly out every Wednesday to attend and vote, and return to the island weekly. Wow that takes commitment.

This beach is known for its left hand waves. They host a large surfing contest yearly in September.

Below shows you how everyone is out enjoying the Easter Holiday. The beaches and parking lots were full.

Funny story from our adventure in the old town of Saint-Leu. On of the passengers went into a bakery to purchase a piece of cake. She found out her French wasn't as good as she thought as she came out with the whole cake. She was enjoying a good laugh.

On our drive back I caught some of the Ravines we passed. They have them all named, and you can see at some time lots of water has passed down to the ocean.

When we arrived back to the ship, a delicious buffet for Easter had been prepared.

We lose another hour tonight, so we are getting closer to the time at home. I think tonight we figured out there will be a 10 hour difference between us and the West Coast. We were able to see a little of our granddaughter Harper. She is getting so cute, pictures of her with her Easter basket full of new books. You just have to love that smile.

We wish you all the peace and blessings of this Easter Day.

 

March 30, 2024 Port Louis, Mauritius, 36 days left of 138

 Good Morning Port Louis, Mauritius. I experienced a great night sleep with my cold medicine stopping my cough completely.  I was hoping I would be good enough to go on the excursion, but after breakfast I was achy and feeling tired. Not a good day to go out. Mike is feeling good, so we divide and conquer. 

I rested in the room and around the ship. Out side of our room I am wearing a mask. I decided I needed to treat myself.

The pool bar does a nice Cappuccino, I needed the heart this morning, and the Praline Finger is just because I don't feel well. LOL

Mike left on a 7 hour excursion by busacross the island to Deux Cocos, Island of 2 coconuts. They were met by small 16 passenger boats to take them across to the island. They had beach time on the island, with a brunch. These 3 provided music for their entertainment. Mike enjoyed it and said they did a great job. He also enjoyed the BBQ lunch provided. The weather had been iffy today, but the rain held off while they were enjoying their beach day.

The band was playing local music called Sega, usually sang in Creole, the Mauritian mother tongue.

The island got its name because of the 2 coconut plantations that used to be here. The Villa was built by the Governor. He desired a venue for his private parties, which could not be hosted in his official residence. When his flag was raised, only the Governor and his invited guests were allowed on the island. They would party all weekend.

Now it is a private exclusive destination owned by a hotel.

They boarded boats that took them out to a snorkel spot. Mike says it was the best snorkeling of the entire cruise. Fish were plentiful and coral reefs to enjoy. He brought me home a shell.

On the bus ride back to the ship he was able to catch a picture. This is a 7 story bank. It is a very unusual style building.

We ate outside of the world cafe so I could feel a little better about being around people. It was nice to see Mike and Susan back from their 6 days in India. They enjoyed the visit, but once is enough.

It was nice to have some of our old team back, and introduced them to the new members. It is a good thing we enjoy playing trivia as tonight again it was tough. We got 8 right, but the top team only got 11 so not to bad.

We have another port visit to look forward to tomorrow. Wish me improved health!

March 29, 2024 Sea Day 37 days left of 138

 Well today I spent most of the day in our cabin or on the balcony. I feel fine, but just don't want to share my cough and cold with anyone. It sounds like Mike might be headed down the same road tonight. This has been a good day to lay low as it is a cloudy day, the predicted rain and thunder did not happen. The seas are a slow roll from the swells.

Mike played Baggo again, and 4 days in a row his team won. He is making a habit of this. Everyone does seem to have a good time. The last two days it has been guest against guests.

We have heard from our Dort's daughter Nancy that Dort is supposed to be released from the hospital. This is the good news, she will be going to Rehab due to weakness from fighting the infection. Dort is a fighter, so we know she will work hard to get back to her apartment. We wish her the best, and will continue praying for her health and healing.

We are well into Holy week which will end this Sunday which is Easter.

Mike returned from tonight's Trivia which was "Name that tune". Two teams that are missing members due to the India overland tour combined and once again they were the winners. Twice in one week. That is a new record. Good job everyone.

Tomorrow the India overland tour will be returning to the ship. We are looking forward to welcoming them all back, but we will have special welcomes for Mike and Susan, and Judy and Jim. We have missed seeing them on the ship. It will be welcome to have Mike and Susan back at Trivia.

March 28, 2024 Sea Day 100th day since cruise started.

 How do you celebrate 100 days on a cruise around the world. Start with our 100th Sunrise.

 Mike started the day walking 5 miles or 10,000 steps. I will work on 100 flights of stairs, but anyone who knows me will know that my Fitbit over  counts floors, lol so mine might not be such a feat. One of the passengers posted a picture saying 100 days of gelato. We all celebrate in our own way. 

Unfortunately I have come down with a mild cold. It is a miracle as there have been multiple people coughing on the ship, but up until now Mike and I have stayed healthy. I am sure this will pass as well. I just hope it doesn't keep me from going ashore when we again reach land. As always I am washing my hands, and will protect others from catching what ever it is I have caught.

Since we are going around Africa because of the issues in the Red Sea, I expected to see multiple ships crossing with us. We saw one container ship yesterday, and none since, or before. We can see such great distance it is hard to imagine no other ships around us.

Both or our Trivia games we ended up middle of the pack. We really need our old team back to help us out. We have picked up some new players, but we all have busy schedules, so it is hard to get a full team in attendance.

We end the evening with my sunset picture from just before dinner. 100 Sunsets to enjoy.

March 27, 2024 Sea Day, 39 days of 138 days to go

 What a nice surprise. Last night we looked at the weather prediction and it was for a stormy day today. Instead we woke up to a brilliant sunshiny day. The sun was reflecting off the water and filled our cabin with blinding light.

Mike joined up with the blue baggo team, and for the second day in a row the blue team got it done. They were given the favorite prize at the end, Mimosas for all.

Today the captain reported 3,000 meters deep which is 9,800 feet. We have now traveled 1,111 nautical miles from Cochin, India and have 1,040 nautical miles to go to reach our next port of call. With an average speed of 16 knots we are making good time. We have 90 degrees today, and when up on the sun deck it felt all of that. While we were laying out, we began to feel sprinkles. Mike could see a dark cloud headed our way, so we went to the pool, and when the sun returned we completed our time out.

This morning we received word that our dear friend Dort is in the hospital. We are praying for her recovery, and returning to her apartment in Odd Fellows. Don and Lynda have been visiting her and Don has been reading our blog to her, so I will include pictures to show you how sweet it is.

Tonight at dinner we enjoyed a view of a beautiful rainbow.

Trivia we were back to our usual score of 12 out of 20 points. There is always tomorrow. We look forward to our next win sometime in the future.

It is another hour back on our clocks tonight. We will enjoy the extra hour of sleep.

March 26, 2024 Sea Day 2nd crossing of the Equator, 40 days to go of 138 days

 At our noon announcement the Captain let us know that we will cross the equator around 2:30 pm. We have traveled 725 nautical miles since leaving Cochin, India, and we have 1,425 nautical miles to go until we reach our next port of Port Louis, Mauritius.

Today is is cloudy with scattered showers. It is a much cooler 78 degrees with a high of 81 predicted.

Because of the weather there is no sunning or time in the pool today. The evening did end with an interesting sky with some blue peeking out and the clouds were dramatic. No chance of a glimpse of the moon tonight.

Our big achievement today was we put together a team of Trivia buffs and we took the big prize. It is pretty sad after almost 100 days we just now need two hands to show our trivia wins. You take them where you can get them.

We did not make it to the show tonight, but instead we sat an talked in the lounge. It was a good evening.

Until tomorrow keep trucking.

March 25, 2024 Sea Day, 41 Days left of 138

 We woke up today to flat Indian Ocean waters. We hare enjoyed the calm seas.

Today Mike joined the Baggo blue team. It is passengers vs staff, and in cumulative score the staff are crushing the passengers, but today the blue team won the day. As you can see from pictures below they start out as regular corn hole, but then they start moving up the stairs until they are at the top steps. A good time was had by all. It helps pass the time.

Temperature today is a blistering 86 degrees as we are nearing the equator. I was in the pool doing my water aerobics before joining Mike on the sun deck.

This should be a banner day. We should pass 10,000 views of this blog.  Thanks everyone who are following my attempt to document this very special adventure. It has been fun to document the journey, and will be even more fun to relive it when we get home.