A Silver Shadow Over The World - December 2023 to May 2024

[CASHIPman]

Feel better Mysty!!! We leave tomorrow. It was lovely to meet you and Mystyr!!

[mysty]

3 hours ago, CASHIPman said:

Feel better Mysty!!! We leave tomorrow. It was lovely to meet you and Mystyr!!

 

It was a treat to meet you and @MuseCruiser !  Lovely gents you are! 🥰

[highplanesdrifters]

11 hours ago, mysty said:

Tomorrow is Lautoka, Fiji.

I suspect the last thing you are thinking about is a Gin and Tonic.  But should the occasion arise, treat yourself to a bottle of Blue Turtle Gin.  Be well M.

[Port Power]

11 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

I suspect the last thing you are thinking about is a Gin and Tonic.  But should the occasion arise, treat yourself to a bottle of Blue Turtle Gin.  Be well M.

I just finished my bottle two nights ago.  I passed the actual bottle on to a friend and neighbour who makes home brew gin: and very good too!  I really enjoyed the distinct difference of Blue Turtle Gin.  I might be doing an 7-night expedition cruise in Fiji in July.  You know where I’ll be heading….

Edited February 4 by Port Power

[highplanesdrifters]

5 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I just finished my bottle two nights ago.  I passed the actual bottle on to a friend and neighbour who makes home brew gin: and very good too!  I really enjoyed the distinct difference of Blue Turtle Gin.  I might be doing an 7-night expedition cruise in Fiji in July.  You know where I’ll be heading….

 

Glad you enjoyed. It really is different, perhaps the Kava.  Some might say bringing a bottle of Gin onboard is Coals to Newcastle! One of my fondest memories of that trip was sitting out on our balcony sipping a Blue Turtle and Tonic watching the stars. After more than a few, our butler popped his head out and asked if we wanted some dinner. And that he had brought more lemons, limes and Tonic.  We were pampered.

[mysty]

3 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

I suspect the last thing you are thinking about is a Gin and Tonic.  But should the occasion arise, treat yourself to a bottle of Blue Turtle Gin.  Be well M.

 

Thank you @highplanesdrifters !   And thanks for the reminder about Blue Turtle Gin! 😁

[mysty]

Today we are in Lautoka, Fiji.  We will overnight here.  I dared to accompany Myster for the Sabeto Village Cultural Experience excursion.  We really enjoyed it.  First the sail in to Lautoka.....

 

Then the welcoming ceremony.....

 

 

 

The chief's house.....

 

The church....(Methodist)

Edited February 5 by mysty

[MuseCruiser]

View from Shangrila Yanuca Island where Silversea is housing guests for the night. 

 

[mysty]

Part of the welcoming ceremony filmed by Myster....

 

 

 

[mysty]

Today was our second day in Lautoka, Fiji.  We did an excursion called Viseisei Village & Garden of the Sleeping Giant.  First stop was Vuda Look Out.....

 

 

 

 

Next stop was the Viseisei Village tour.  The Chief's house.....

 

Then we went to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant.  The Sleeping Giant is part of the mountain range that towers over the garden.  There are 30 to 40 varieties of Asian Orchids and Cattleya.  It was once the private collection of the late actor Raymond Burr.

Lipstick Palm...

 

 

 

 

We sailed away from Lautoka shortly before 1:00 pm.  We are now en route to Bay of Islands.  Tomorrow is a sea day.

[lincslady]

Lovely stuff,  Mysty, and I am delighted  to see you are now able to join in the activities you have been looking forward to for so long.  Keep up the good work.

 

Lola

[JoGay]

The unannounced entertainment for the afternoon was watching members of the crew being certified in the water of the pool.  They had to jump in and float, get in and out of a lifeboat and tip it upright.  It was fascinating to watch them.  The seas are rough so the water in the pool was sloshing a lot.

[mysty]

Today is a sea day.  Seas are choppy.  There may be 12 foot swells later today.  Here are more photos from yesterday's visit to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant....

 

 

 

 

 

Bula is a very common greeting for hello or welcome in Fijian.  Bula literally translates to "life".  When Fijians use it as a greeting they are wishing you "good health".  Tomorrow is another sea day.

[jpalbny]

Bula to you and myster. My phone cannot handle "bula" though so if I wish you "beluga," please be understanding and know that it has nothing to do with whales.

 

Enjoy your sea days and we'll catch you at the next stop!

[drron29]

Fiji was our favourite place to go in the 70s until mid 90s. the Fijians are really friendly. unfortunately their politics have made it not as nice and far more expensive.

The Garden of the Sleeping Giants was one of my favourite places and I visited many times. The most memorable visit was a week after their first coup. We went on 3 occasions within 2 weeks of a coup and they only had 4.

On this occasion I as usual booked a tour. At the hour it was to leave the hotel the doorman came over to me and said drron your taxi is here. I was the only one booked. The taxi driver was Indian and the coup was aimed at reducing the Indians influence. We went through 3 roadblocks all manned by Fijian soldiers. All over 6 foot tall and carrying sub machine guns.

I asked the driver if he was scared. "No sir your white face is my ticket to get through." Naturally he waited for me to go back to the hotel.

[mysty]

14 minutes ago, drron29 said:

Fiji was our favourite place to go in the 70s until mid 90s. the Fijians are really friendly. unfortunately their politics have made it not as nice and far more expensive.

The Garden of the Sleeping Giants was one of my favourite places and I visited many times. The most memorable visit was a week after their first coup. We went on 3 occasions within 2 weeks of a coup and they only had 4.

On this occasion I as usual booked a tour. At the hour it was to leave the hotel the doorman came over to me and said drron your taxi is here. I was the only one booked. The taxi driver was Indian and the coup was aimed at reducing the Indians influence. We went through 3 roadblocks all manned by Fijian soldiers. All over 6 foot tall and carrying sub machine guns.

I asked the driver if he was scared. "No sir your white face is my ticket to get through." Naturally he waited for me to go back to the hotel.

 

What an adventure!  You do seem to walk on the wild side @drron29 ! 😁

[drron29]

@mysty many people believe I have a knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However i believe it is the right place at the right time. For example in Fiji because of the coup I have had long talks with 2 of their Prime Ministers. Colonel Rambuka as he was then after the first coup who was staying in the room above us at the Sheraton Denarau.

Also at the Sheraton I met PM Qarase after the 2000 coup. He was having discussions with the Australian and NZ High Commissioners there. They were at dinner which was a buffet. The PM's bodyguard was trying to serve himself at the buffet with one hand as the other hand was clutching his Uzi under his coat. He held his plate and I served him what he wanted. So after the discussions PM Qarase came over to thank me for what I had done. He introduced himself as Laisenia Qarase though some people just call me crazy. He did say I was a much more interesting fellow to talk to than the others.

[mysty]

One of the gifts for this cruise will be a branded silver frame with a group picture of the World Cruise guests.  We are asked to proceed to the Pool Deck at 10:50 am this morning for the group photo.  It will be interesting to see how many folks show up. 😁

Edited February 7 by mysty

[mysty]

Quite a few of the World Cruise passengers showed up.  Many of whom I hadn't seen before.  Rough seas may have limited public appearances however.   A row of chairs was set up on deck 8 facing aft for those not able to stand.  A row or two of folks stood behind the chairs.  Other folks stood along decks 9 and 10 facing aft.  The photographer was on either deck 9 or 10.  Memory is fuzzy. 😅

[Host Jazzbeau]

At our age, it might be good if the photo is fuzzy too!  [And I resemble that remark!]  😅

[mysty]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

At our age, it might be good if the photo is fuzzy too!  [And I resemble that remark!]  😅

 

I share that thought!  😅  It was very windy on deck this morning.   My hair was blowing around in a fury!  I think the hairdo might be called a witch in the woods look. 😅

[highplanesdrifters]

12 hours ago, mysty said:

witch in the woods look.

You're ahead of the curve.  I hear it's all the rage.

[mysty]

4 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

You're ahead of the curve.  I hear it's all the rage.

 

I really can't take credit for that!  Mother Nature was the stylist! 😅

 

We'll currently sailing into Bay of Islands.  We'll be doing the Hole in the Rock cruise.

[highplanesdrifters]

1 hour ago, mysty said:

 

I really can't take credit for that!  Mother Nature was the stylist! 😅

 

We'll currently sailing into Bay of Islands.  We'll be doing the Hole in the Rock cruise.

NZ?  Time is flying by.  It seems like you just left. 

[mysty]

6 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

NZ?  Time is flying by.  It seems like you just left. 

 

It does feel like the sand is rushing through the hourglass.  😔