South Pacific Cruise

Lori and I returned to Port Moresby on Wednesday after our cruise to New Caledonia and Fiji. This vacation came about in a strange way. A few years ago my dad told me about a music documentary called "Searching For Sugarman". I don't want to give too much away, but the movie is fantastic and we became huge fans of an artist named Rodriguez. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. Anyway, we decided to go see Rodriguez in Sydney and Lori searched for cruises leaving from Sydney around the same time and she found one on the Voyager of the Seas.

The concert was really good and it was in a beautiful old theatre called The State Theatre. The acoustics were excellent and we had great seats.

The next day we did some shopping (something we do every time we leave Port Moresby) and went out for a really nice dinner. Finally, we boarded the ship for our 11-night voyage. They tie up the cruise ships in an ideal location right between the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

This was the largest ship we've ever cruised on with 4000 passengers and 1200 crew.

There is a lot to do on-board. I tried boogie boarding on the flow rider. It went well, but there was no way I was going to try stand-up surfing.

Lots of space around the pool.

This class of ship has a Royal Promenade inside. Kind of like walking through a shopping mall, only on a ship.

Even though the ship is massive, we found it crowded. We prefer smaller ships with a better ratio of crew to passengers. We did enjoy our shore excursions though. At our first stop in Fiji we took a trip out to a private island.

At the second stop in Fiji, we went on a river cruise that ended with us swimming in the pool of a waterfall. Pretty cool.

We didn't get a chance to explore New Caledonia very much due the weather. In fact, our snorkeling trip was cancelled because it was raining too hard. The seas were a lot rougher than we were expecting as well. I think we both expected it to be similar to a Caribbean cruise, but the ship was rocking and rolling and the air was cool some days. It's easy to forget that the Caribbean Sea is sheltered and we were in open ocean during this trip. All in all though, it was a pretty good trip and nice way to visit some other Pacific Islands.

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FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

Papua New Guinea is hosting the FIFA Under 20 Women's World Cup for the next 3 weeks. This is the same tournament that was in Canada in 2014. Team Canada flew into Port Moresby last Wednesday and Melissa and Al organized a small welcoming committee to greet them at the airport.

Security was a lot tighter than we expected. We thought we could just wait in the arrivals area to greet the team, but that was not happening, no matter how hard Melissa tried.

We weren't the only ones at the airport to greet them though, groups of local school children were designated to each country to welcome the teams and cheer them on.

The newspapers were there to cover the arrivals - Lori and I made the local paper with Sienna.

Canada's first game was on Sunday against Spain. Another Canadian couple, who work with Melissa at Exxon, invited us over for brunch before the game and we had a great time. Darlene is an amazing host and cook. We had a waffle bar, fresh fruit salad and smoked salmon and eggs to name a few.

Of course we had to have coconuts filled with rum as well.

Eventually we made it to the game and we sat right behind the Canadian bench to cheer them on.

The Canadians played well, but the Spanish team was just too fast. Spain won 5-0. I think the Canadian girls were struggling with the heat and humidity as well. Quite a few of them were suffering from leg cramps. Even thought they lost, we had a lot of fun cheering them on. TSN is showing the games back in Canada and I've been told that we made it on screen a couple of times.

Canada also plays Japan and Nigeria in the preliminary round, but Lori and I won't be able to go to those games. We fly to Sydney on Thursday to meet our cruise ship. We are going on an 11-night cruise to Fiji and New Caledonia. I'll update you when we get back.

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Sunsets

Like most tropical locations, we get some pretty great sunsets here. On Friday night we were invited out with Melissa and Al for a sunset cruise and I managed to get a couple of good pictures.

Then on Sunday night we invited some of Lori's colleagues over to our place for a couple of sundowners. Most of the year we can't see the sunset from our balcony, but as we approach the summer solstice (remember we are in the southern hemisphere) we can see it.

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The TSN Turning Point

We've been back in PNG for 2 weeks now and our transition has gone very smoothly. There are a few reasons for that, one of which is a much improved grocery store. A few months ago I wrote about a new grocery store opening in Port Moresby which had a definite effect on the existing store. They have improved their layout and selection. I've been able to get good tomatoes everyday and I've even found spinach and asparagus.

Another big reason is that 4 new restaurants in the Harbourside area have opened, so our dining options have improved greatly. The weather is slowly getting back to normal as well. After drought like conditions for over a year due to the El Nino, we are getting showers late in the afternoon on most days. The amount of rain should increase from now until February when the true rainy season will be in place.

The main reason for our improved life however, is our improved social life, thanks in most part to our friends Melissa and Allan. They are from Fort Frances Ontario originally, but like us, they have lived in Halifax and Calgary, among other places. Melissa works for an oil company and Allan is in early retirement, also like me except he takes care of their daughter Sienna. They are great people and we became friends instantly. Recently Melissa and Allan bought a gorgeous boat and Melissa refers to getting the boat as the TSN Turning Point in their time in PNG. Everything is now split between the time before the boat and the time after the boat. We got to enjoy their inaugural cruise this weekend when we went to a small island just outside of Port Moresby harbour called Fisherman's Island and  spent the day out there on Saturday.

Melissa put on a good spread

and of course we had a few tasty beverages.

Sienna is a cutie who has taken to life in PNG without hesitation.

There is a small shanty town on the island where some fisherman and their families live.

All of a sudden we saw several of them sprinting along the beach with their nets trying to get ahead of a school of fish swimming along the shore. They did manage to haul in a large catch which they promptly loaded into a cooler on a small boat and headed into Port Moresby to sell them.

Everyone in the village was so happy, especially the kids who were dancing and cheering on the beach.

It was the first time that we felt freedom in Port Moresby because we didn't have to rely on a driver to shuttle us around or worry about our security. It truly is the TSN Turning Point. Thanks again to Melissa and Al and Sienna for a great day.

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Back to Reality

Our time in Canada has come to a close. We leave tomorrow afternoon for our long journey to Papua New Guinea. We had a fantastic time while we were home. This was the first time in 4 years that we were in Canada during the fall and it was beautiful. Lori and I went on a couple of great hikes on the East Coast Trail. This was near Pouch Cove.

And this was by Cape Spear.

 It was blueberry season so we were able to pick some while we were hiking.

We also went for a couple of walks in the city. This is along the Waterford River in St. John's.

The main reason we were back at this time of year was to attend a wedding. Lori's cousin got married and it was a beautiful ceremony at the bride's parents house.

I'm not sure when I'll post again, but I do know that I'll be wearing shorts when I do. Talk to you soon.

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Downtown St. John's

Lori has been in St. John's for about a week and a half now and it's been a lot of fun. Like a typical trip home, she had appointments and errands to take care of and of course we've been running through the list of foods we have to have when we come back - Jiggs Dinner, Fish n' Chips, Bologna and Toutons.

This past weekend we took a small vacation within our vacation and stayed in a hotel downtown so we could enjoy our time out and not worry about getting home. The hotel had a beautiful view of Signal Hill and the narrows.

On Thursday night we went out for dinner at Raymonds and it was fantastic. It has become one of our must do's when we come home now. Then on Friday night we went to the Mile One Centre to see Jerry Seinfeld perform.

The show was really, really good. Mario Joyner was the warm-up act and he was very funny as well. It was a great weekend.

It's amazing how fast time passes while we are here. We only have 10 days before we leave for Port Moresby, so we are trying to get everything in before our flight.

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Halifax/National Parks

When we altered the dates for Lori's trip back to Canada, I knew I was going to have a lot of time to fill before she got here so I planned a trip to Halifax. I hadn't been back since we left in 2003, so a trip was long overdue. Not all of my buddies still live in Halifax, but we were able to find a weekend we could all be there.

Instead of flying up, I decided to drive and make a few stops along the way. First, I spent 2 nights in Gros Morne national park. It is such a beautiful spot. I stayed in a little town called Woody Point and the hotel was called The Bonne Bay Inn. If anyone is going to visit the area, I highly recommend the hotel.

I went on a pretty tough hike while I was there. It's about 16km with a lot of elevation changes, so I knew it was going to be difficult, but because it had rained heavily prior to my hike, it was very difficult. I was beat by the end of it. I was in ankle deep mud at times and some of the stairs were washed out completely.

I also had to ford a river twice. I knew that before I went, but the water was a lot higher and moving a lot faster than I expected.

It was worth it though, because the views were incredible.

I left Gros Morne on Thursday and drove to Port-aux-Basques to catch the overnight ferry to Nova Scotia. I was going to drive the Cabot Trail on Friday morning, but it was so rainy and foggy, I skipped that and went right to Halifax.

I had a great time in Halifax. Catching up with my old friends, telling old stories and basically laughing the entire time.

We went out for dinner late Friday night, but that didn't stop us from going for a donair on pizza corner at the end of the night.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I woke up with heartburn and donair sauce on my phone, it didn't seem like a good idea.

On Saturday we went to visit my buddy Pete, who is a firefighter for Halifax Regional Municipality and was on duty. He gave us a tour of the station.

It was so nice to see all those guys again. We made plans for another weekend next year. Maybe in Boston this time.

After the weekend, I drove back to Cape Breton so I could catch the ferry to Newfoundland, but this time I was able to drive the Cabot Trail and the Cape Breton Highlands national park and it was spectacular.

Once I got back in Newfoundland, I made one more stop in yet another national park for a hike. I stopped in Terra Nova national park before I made my way home.

Anyway, I know that's a lot of pictures to look at, but it was an eventful week. I'm back in St. John's now and it's only 2 more weeks before Lori get here.

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