The crossing from Sydney to Vancouver.....Part 1

An ocean crossing in an honour for seafarers like me. Not everyone gets to experience this and I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to.  Our ship was due to reposition from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver, Canada over 30 days.  We were going to go to exotic ports of call none of us have seen before, we would cross the international date line, the equator and we would change time six times.  We were scheduled for two long cruises covering 9698 nautical miles. It was a wonderful, exciting and tiring experience.

Our first ports of call were Mare and Suva, both which we have called previously.  Mare has one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen (right up there with Half Moon Cay Bahamas); turquoise seas and white sands.  Suva as I mentioned before is a busy city and we spent the day at the market.

The highlight of my crossing and a dream that came true was our visit to Tahiti of French Polynesia. I worked late nights on sea days just so I could go out as much as possible in Pape'ete, Moorea and Bora Bora.  It was all worth it and I had to pinch myself it was all so surreal.  

Pape'ete was our first port of call. Out of the three islands it was the most city like.  The immigration protocols for French Polynesia are a bit strict so we spent a good couple of hours sorting that out with authorities before we could go out. I took a stroll on the open deck and it was beautiful and green and lush. When I see greenery my pupils dilate! I couldn't contain my excitement, I was so excited that I put makeup only on one eye hahahahaha.  

We booked an island tour that showcased the highlights of Pape'ete.  It was hotter then the sun and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour that took us to a botanical garden, water falls, gorgeous vistas, a Polynesian museum and a Polynesian home.  If you've read my previous posts then you know that I am quite spiritual. I was with one of my spiritual sisters and at one point we looked at one another and said almost at the same time 'Do you feel the ground vibrating?' it wasn't an earthquake. Certain places just have this energy that permeates through the earth or the people or just gives you that vibe. I can tell you that the strongest vibes I have felt were in Pape'ete, Machu Picchu and the Big Island in Hawai'i.

The home visit fascinated me as the owner took us through her garden and went over all the plants and flowers and how Tahitians use them in  their lives whether it's for medicine or beauty products.  Over the years with my own experiences I have learned to step away from western medicine and seek natural methods mostly through eastern medicine. However, I am fascinated by any naturopathic or natural and alternative methods. This was right up my alley, I learned more about this through out guide on the next island.

We wrapped up the evening by taking a stroll through the night market near the ship. Tahiti is known for black pearls but I didn't find any that called my name. There was a parking lot full of food trucks with local eats. We opted for some ahi tuna which was absolutely divine. 

The ground was vibrating

These tats though...

The view from the Tahitian home

Ahi Tuna like no other

The following day we tendered at Moorea. Tendering is when we take a small boat from the ship to the shore.  I tried to make the most of our time on the island and wanted to see as much as possible so I did my research online and booked a tour for the eight of us with Moorea VIP Tours . We were met by Yvette who welcomed us at the pier. She was personable, fun, kind, informative and she put up with our crazy arses. The eight of us loaded into her van and had the whole tour to ourselves which was such a unique experience as we could do things at our pace an we could ask all the questions that we wanted to. The tour was the whole day and we really got to see a good portion of the lush island.

Moorea is greener or more lush then the other islands.  There are no high rises nor highways and you are surrounded by vegetation.  We visited a black sand beach, plantations, the country side, temples and incredible vistas.  It was about 45C and we were sweating like phat kids chasing ice cream trucks but the raw beauty of the island made up for it.  Yvette gave us even more information how Tahitians use plants for medicine and beauty.  What I loved is when Yvette picked some Ylang Ylang from a nearby tree. She crushed it an gave it to us to smell and asked us if we recognized the scent and it we did; Chanel No. 5.  Ylang Ylang is the main ingredient in the classic perfume.  The scent followed us throughout the day.   Yvette chilled some Ylang Ylang infused cloths for us that we could use to cool down, it was such a nice and refreshing touch.

In the crazy heat we also stopped off at a roadside place for some ice cream and some local fruit tasting.  Maybe it was the heat or just a welcome change from the every day but the mango, avocado and ice cream tasted exquisite. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a juice store to do some tasting and of course we purchased some for ourselves for later. I also bought pineapple wine which actually sounds a lot better then it tasted but ya know, I can't let wine go to waste haha.

It was a full, magical and beautiful day.

The view outside of my cabin port hole

That's the biggest the roads get

Black sand beach

Ylang Ylang infused cloths

Ice Cream Break

now THIS is what serenity looks like....

Have you ever seen photos of those bungalow/huts in crystal clear turquoise waters in Bora Bora? 

For as long as I can remember this has been a dream of mine. Bora Bora always seemed so unattainable, luxurious and expensive. I have always imagined frolicking around one of these huts but didn't think it was possible.  

I called several hotels and tried to reserve a hut for us and I was facing all sorts of ridiculous prices and policies. It wasn't looking good. I kind of just settled for the fact that we were going to the Intercontinental Hotel on a day pass and we would drool over the bungalows from a distance.

The tender boat operation wasn't going so smooth so we were delated getting off the ship a good hour. Once we did get off the ship we couldn't find a taxi. Somehow in my broken French I fenagled one and then ten of us piled into the taxi practically sitting on top of one another.

Crammed and super excited in the taxi

We arrived at the hotel all giddy with excitement. Luckily they didn't give out our reserved day passes away. I decided to try my luck with the bungalow again. By some great forces of the universe they had one left! Not only did I get the one most distant from the shore but I scored half off!  We nearly ran to the bungalow and couldn't believe our eyes. It was everything we ever thought it would be. Gorgeous bungalow with a wooden interior, all necessary amenities, a coffee table with a glass floor, a patio and a platform straight into the ocean complete with a slide and stairs.  The water was so clear you could see to the coral and all the ocean life.  We couldn't contain our excitement. We ran around the bungalow taking in all the sites and taking photos from all angles.

My dream had come true! It happened, something that was so unattainable, so luxurious and expensive happened! I just could not believe it.

We were all in awe and in appreciate of what luck we had.  

Just LOOK at these photos!

Somewhere amongst these ports we went through the international date line.  Aside from the fact that we had to change time 6 times, we also had to relive April 7th. Yes you read that right, we re-lived April 7th.  On april 7th at 2am the clocks went back 23 hours. Let me tell you what a hot mess payroll was. Our computers and phones were already on Pacific time so to say that we were confused is an understatement.

When we crossed the equator we had an equator ceremony.  What I wasn't aware of was that people like me who have not crossed the equator by sea are called Pollywogs. And do you know what happens to Pollywogs? They have to go on trial with King Neptune. My ship bestie and I walked right into that trap as we admitted that we have never crossed the equator by sea.

We were summoned along with  the Deck and Engine officers and brought to the open deck like prisoners.  We were put on trial for our crimes and were made to kiss the massive, ugly and stinking fish.  Next the 'pirates' threw eggs, pasta and pasta sauce at us. Let me tell you; it smelled like vomit. It all happened so fast that I had no time to run although I did try. The officers got their heads shaved.  The experience was fun but I did actually start gagging in front of everyone. It smelled bad!  We then walked threw crew areas and hugged all the clean people in their whites.  I am now no longer a pollywog and now a trusty shellback!

Before the massacre

Kiss the fish

Listening to King Neptune' verdict

So it begins

I tried to run

It didn't work

On the lookout for more...

Run!!!!

To be continued.....

Australians VS Canadians

So I have just returned from a 6 month contract on a ship that was home ported in beautiful Sydney, Australia.  It was my first experience down under and I absolutely loved it.  I have always thought that Canadians and Australians have a lot in common and I was not proven wrong. Aussies are basically relaxed Canadians with accents.  After 5.5 months spent with Aussies I am completely convinced that Aussies are our spirit animal...well, you know what I mean.

Some of the things that our two beautiful nations have in common:

Well traveled and worldly
We love to travel, we go places and we know a bit about world history and geography.  We love to learn about other cultures and we often study abroad and/or travel for the sake of traveling (and I don't mean the resort all inclusive travel).  We go and get lost in the world and we find ourselves while we are at it.  We make strangers our friends and we talk to anyone and everyone.  We go on adventures and we take the path less travelled. We are not afraid of exploring and we don't listen to what the media has to say about other nations, we go and experience it for ourselves.  We travel with open minds and let our travels educate us about people, languages, cultures and society.  Is it really then such a surprise there's so many Canucks in Oz and so many Aussies in Canada?

We love doughnuts
It's no secret that Canucks love their Tim Horton's Doughnuts! In fact after 6 months away from Canada the first place that I went to was Tim Horton's which was right across the street from the Vancouver port. I bragged to all my friends about them and then of course had to bring a massive supply of it back on the ship to feed said friends.

Aussies love their doughnuts too! Normally we don't sell them on the ship but during the time that we are Down Under we have all sorts of varieties, colors, sprinkled, non sprinkled and glazed and whatnot all available for our guests and they sell like hotcakes!

We love coffee
We love our coffee! Now mind you us Canadians prefer our basic Timmies's Double Double (or most Canadians do as I get called out on being too 'Americanized' as I opt for a Starbuck's latte or espresso).  Now Aussies take coffee to another level! We actually have to bring in special barista trainers when we cross to Australia to make sure that our own Baristas are on par with Aussie expectations.  Now don't ask me what a flat white or a long black is cause Aussies come with their own coffee lingo. I had the Barista explain it all to me and it went in one ear out the other and I just opted for ordering my regular brew in American terms. But one thing I did learn, Aussies are early risers and if I don't get to the coffee shop by 8.45am, forget about getting a cup of coffee.  The line will by down the 'street' and the next time I can even think about approaching is after lunch.

Big Arse Countries, Small Population & Clean Cities
We are massive in size, Canada just under 10 million square kilometers and Australia just a bit over 7.5 square kilometers. But our populations? Not so big.  Canada with just 35 million peeps (3.92 peeps per square kilometer) and Australia with just 24.5 million peeps (also 3.92 peeps per square kilometer) making us some of the least densely populated developed countries in the world (228th and 236th respectively out of 246 countries).  But our cities are spick and span clean and tidy.  You won't find litter in the street and it's rare to find illegal graffiti anywhere. Citizens do their part in keeping their cities clean and if you dare as much as litter, you will either get a hefty fine from the Popo or another citizen will break you off a piece of their mind and shame you into  cleaning up after yourself.

Chilled out and relaxed
We are chilled out peeps, we take it easy, we say 'No worries' a hell of a lot.  We don't complain unless it's really needed and then we are even sorry for it.  I had one colleague from the Guest Services desk tell me that he loves working in Australia because seldom there are ever any line ups at their desk.  Once he got yelled at by a guest but the lady came back and apologized after!

We love pubs. It was the most packed place on the ship. We love our pubs, pints and a good rock band.  Normally I don't spend too much time in guest areas but this season I did and the pub was one of my favourite places.  Aussies like to strike up conversations with us but in a non invasive way. They would ask my name, ask what I do and then invite me for a game of shuffle board and we carried on like old mates.  I wasn't asked regarding my life on the ship, my salary or my family or personal life.

Now I think Aussies take relaxed to another level; Extreme Relaxed.  The thong (not of the the g- string variety but of the flip flop variety) is basically the only shoe of choice.  What puzzles me if how these thongs are not always utilized. People walk around barefoot all the time! Not only on the ship but also in downtown Sydney! This I am still trying to understand.  One of my colleagues spotted a guest running on the treadmill barefoot (huge safety hazard) and advised the gentleman that shoes are required. Said gentleman apologized, got off the treadmill, put his thongs on and kept running.  Ummmm....not exactly what we had in mind.  Nevertheless we had to change our signs at the gym from 'Closed Footwear Required' to something more along the lines of 'Backless shoes are not permitted'.  Come to think of it, I have two Canuck friends that backpacked in Australia for an extensive amount of time and neither one of them really wants to wear shoes anymore.  Hmmmm....

Fitness and Health oriented
We are both nations that are concerned with well being. It was dang near impossible to go to the gym in the morning as it was packed! I don't know about you but I rarely work out when I am on vacation but Aussies certainly do.

With that being said, also both of our nations highly enjoy adult beverages.  In other words, we like to drink.  So we are health conscious but we like to keep things in balance by drinking everything we can get our hands on.   Canadians party hard but Aussies party even harder!  All in all, we are social people and we like to have fun. But the amount of times I got called by security in the middle of the night....dear sweet baby Jesus.

These are some of the similarities I have found between our two great nations.

And well of course there are some things that I had no idea about (and some I had trouble making sense of):

Tim Tams and Vegemite 

Tim Tams are amazeballs! I love them and I don't know how I have gone so far in my life without them. I can totally see what the hype is all about.  I had packets stashed all over our offices and refused to do certain work unless a Tim Tam was produced.

But Vegemite? I just don't get it. I tried it cause i'll try anything once but meh.  I was not feeling it. They say it's an acquired taste and I believe it. To me it was kind of salty and kind of bleh. Probably won't be eating it again.

Trivia and Cards
Oh my Buddha......y'all love your Trivia and card games. Every time I went past the coffee shop the trivia was PACKED.  Defo it was the most popular activity on the ship. People were sitting everywhere they could including the stairs.  I have never seen this.  The card room that is usually empty on the American runs, was packed each and every day.  I kind of like that the Aussies get into this old school type of fun and they bring the whole fam into it.

Music
I had a conversation with my DJ friend about how we miss Latin Music (that you would hear a lot of on American ships) and defo you don't hear a lot of it Down Under. Now Aussies love their 80s and 90s and really I can't blame them.  They love their Guns n' Roses, Bon Jovi and AC/DC (which they pronouce Acadaca). They certainly love their rock n' rolll.

Shoes (or lack thereof)

Still don’t get it…..why no shoes?

The language

I am still getting used to it.  The only time I could watch Aussie comedians onboard was with an Aussie ‘translator’. I had a couple of friends come cruise with me and we would go together. I remember leaning over to my friend and saying "Ummmm Deb, what's a Bogan?".  There was a time a guest was asking me for a 'Bee' and after several failed attempts at clarifying what he was asking for I just had to admit that I didn't understand him. He then made a drinking motion and it became clear to me he was asking for a beer.   Another time we were in Mare, New Caledonia and I wasn't clever enough to pre pay for our transportation. I was with some Aussie friends and a random Aussie said 'I don't think we are going to get anywhere unless one of these guys let us hop on a Ute'.  Ute? What the bloody hell is a Ute? I turned to the road and looked for some hairy Yak like animal. Do you know what a Ute is? A utility vehicle! We call that a pick up truck.

Now that's just the tip of the ice berg. Thong, Ute, Bogan....for the love of.....what the hell is a chippie? Sparkie?  Maccas? And here I thought we were speaking the same language.

Nevertheless, I cherish my experience in Australia and can not wait to get back.  There's just something so amazing and breathtaking about this country and it's people. People are warm and open and welcoming and they make you feel like you were at home.  There's something so deeply spiritual about the place and its people.  When guests ask me how it's possible that the crew are so happy and do their jobs so well, I always tell them it's because of the Aussie guests and how amazing they are as a nation and as individuals.

When we left Sydney for the crossing to Vancouver,  I was genuinely sad.  My closest friends and I headed to the open deck to watch our last sail away from the most scenic and gorgeous port in the world. We stood on the open deck, took our last photos and watched the sun set over Sydney.   We backed out of the port with the bridge at our stern, passed the Sydney Opera House and the botanical gardens. As the wind blew through our hair we said our Goodbyes to Australia with tears in our eyes. After eleven years at sea, it was the first time that a place had such an impact on me that leaving it would cause such emotion.  

Australia, I will be back. See you soon!

Let me take you on a visual journey of my Australian experience....

My house docked in her homeport of Sydney (and yes all ships are female)

The view out of my port hole every 10 days. Epic!

Get a hold of these amazing sunsets...

You can't go to Australia and not hang out with some kangaroos. Now after spending some time with these adorable creatures I just couldn't bring myself to actually eating them (although I vowed that I would).

I have to tell you that sailing the Pacific is not easy.  The waters are rough all the time. The worst days were the first day sailing out of Sydney and the last sea day sailing back into Sydney.  Now normally I don't get sea sick but I do get headaches and sleepy with ship movement. Each cruise there were days that rendered my useless as an employee.  Right before we had the crossing we had weather so bad that the swells were 8m high and water was splashing as high as Deck 8.   I actually did get seasick that one time and I could not get over it. Wheeled chairs were flying all over our offices and we sustained damage all over the ship. We had to close off all the open decks due to the high winds and waves.  The next day we sailed late into Sydney and departed late as well.  I wouldn't want to relive that experience but we got to see Sydney at night and it was absolutely stunning and worth all the pain of treacherous waters.

Our reward for horrible seas and seasickness:  Sydney at night

Christmas was rather interesting in Sydney.  Over the years I have gotten used to having Christmas without snow but I have always been able to find Christmas decorations regardless whether it was Florida, St. Maarten or Mexico.  I was really surprised that aside from one massive Christmas tree in the middle of some square and a crate Santa, Sydney really did not look like it was ready for the holidays. Aside from that I had a really tough time finding Christmas decorations. I found some at a redonculously expensive store (cause most things are redonk expensive in Sydney). Eventually I just got Christmas deco at a Japanese $2.80 store (not a dollar store but at $2.80 store). 

We did have a blast making our annual Christmas card. I make a point of being the first one to have it each year and to send it fleet wide. This time we wanted to make it really original and Aussie so we conned our two ship besties into dressing up and we shot our Christmas card with they Sydney Opera House in the background.

Pano shot obsessed! But with all this marvelousness around me, how can I resist?

This day at the Botanical Gardens I remember particularly cause I got charred! They tell you to watch out for the sun in Australia. Did I listen? No. So what happened? I got charred! Between the botanical gardens and the sail away I was burnt enough to fry an egg on me. I was beaming red and had to all my Doc friend for emergency Aloe.  Australian Sun 1: Nat 0

Can't get enough of the Sydney Opera House and Manly,  love it! Pam and I were wondering if there are some Aussie families that want to perhaps adopt some crew members for a couple of months a year so we get to live there.

We had a few cruises that went to Tasmania and we called at Port Arthur and Hobart.  Hobart has the most amazing art gallery in the world; The Mona. I am not really the art gallery type but this place was just unreal.  I would love to go back there a million more times. They place blew my mind!

We had an very awesome and unique opportunity to do an overnight in Hobart.  We don't really have opportunities to go out at night so an overnight is always welcome.   We went pub hopping and night time exploring and let me tell you, Hobart was never the same haha. We all ended up at a night club and I think the locals are still recovering from the tornado that we brought in.

Port Arthur

Hobart

Our last day call at Sydney I spent with friends at Bondi Beach and sightseeing nearby.  We had a beautiful and emotional final sail away.