LOS ANGELES TO FIJI

LOS ANGELES - FIJI ISLANDS, SOUTH PACIFIC Posted FEBRUARY 13, 2008

Things continue to be great aboard the Queen Victoria. There have been some momentous changes since our last blog: we crossed the Equator (February 7), Don turned 65 (February 9), we crossed the International Dateline (February 10—which meant that February 11 never existed for us). That’s why we can post this blog on February 13th and you can view it on the 12th!

Since leaving Manzanillo, we continued our journey by sailing north off the western coast of Mexico. The weather turned considerably cooler as we approached Los Angeles. We even had reports that it had snowed in LA (in the mountains nearby anyway)!!! Although it was cold and blustery, we did manage to have a fun day at Universal Studios—even had our picture taken with Shrek. The winds had cleared all of the smog from the valley and the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains came out in glorious view above Burbank. We had just enough time to enjoy the Shreck show, the Studio Tour, Backdraft and the Sound Stage before doing our banking and shopping and re-boarding the ship. It was great to welcome our friends aboard—Christine Villard of Lyon, France, and Jane and Dennis Fennessey of New Jersey (soon to be Arizona)!

We then had a four-day sail to Hawaii where the seas were rougher and it was cooler than expected. In Honolulu we rented two cars and toured the island of Oahu with Christine, the Fennesseys and Gustafsons. Our first stop was Punchbowl Crater Cemetery of the South Pacific which was serene and afforded spectacular views overlooking Diamondhead and Honolulu. We proceeded out of the city to the North Shore to watch surfers tackle the legendary monster waves of winter. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the biggest deluge of rain we have ever seen in Hawaii, and the waves were amazingly flat. Then we heard that floods had swept through the day before in neighboring Kauai and Maui, so our timing was not good weather-wise. However, as we rounded the eastern part of the island, the weather cleared and we got to see the big waves and impressive surfers at Sandy Beach. Then on to Waikiki Beach for some Mai Tais, strolling, and shopping. The Fennesseys and Christine enjoyed their first visit to Hawaii and will undoubtedly be back again.

During the next four days of sailing through oftentimes cloudy, drizzly weather, Don was borderline- depressed waiting to feel the warmth of the sun (he’s obviously a spoiled Arizona boy), and missed seeing the beautiful South Pacific sunrises and sunsets we’ve experienced before. One day out from American Samoa, the weather broke and we were back to warmer, sunnier weather.

Our arrival into Pago Pago on Saturday, February 9, was a very special day—Don’s 65th Birthday!! He couldn’t have asked for a better locale in which to celebrate. Sailing into Pago Pago harbor is one of the most beautiful approaches in the world—volcanic mountains covered with dense forests of palm trees dropping down to the sea lined with crashing rocky cliffs or gorgeous sandy beaches. About thirty local dancers and musicians greeted us at the dock, promptly followed by a torrential downpour where we found shelter in a floral kiosk and conveniently bought some exotic flowers for our cabin. We then hailed a local bus (colorful to say the least) which took thirteen of us birthday celebrants along the spectacular coast to the eastern end of the island and then back to an idyllic beach and bar at Alega which Don and I had discovered three years ago. Needless to say, Don had one of his best birthday celebrations ever (and there have been some great and memorable ones through the years)! Hanging out at Tisa’s Barefoot Bar on a great sandy beach with fantastic snorkeling—what could be better than that? Tisa is a wonderful woman, great cook, and dabbles in politics (she’s running as an independent for Governor of American Samoa), and bartender “V” took great care of us. A lot of the ship’s crew showed up as well, so it was THE place to be on American Samoa on Don’s birthday!

We got back on the ship barely before the 4:30 deadline with just enough time for Marilyn to set up for a surprise cocktail party in Don’s honor. Don was lounging in his parea out on our balcony, savoring the last moments of island ambience before our departure, when twelve of his best ship-board friends descended upon him singing “Happy Birthday.” He was definitely surprised, and delighted in hearing the original “Don” poems presented by the party people. We all went down to a wonderful dinner in the Brittania where a beautiful and delicious birthday cake was devoured. Fortunately, it was a short elevator ride (no taxi required) back up to collapse in bed after an exhausting day of celebrating!

The celebration continued on the 10th as our Master of the Queen Victoria, Captain Paul Wright, invited our table of nine to the captain’s table for dinner. He only hosts passengers at his table on formal nights, so we were all dressed to the nines. He is truly a charming captain and entertained us royally with his sense of humor and interesting conversation. We were surprised to discover that when he’s off the ship, he spends time at home with his wife in Scottsdale, just a few miles from us! Don even got a second birthday cake.

Yesterday we spent the day in port at Lautoka, Fiji. We had visited the island of Yasawa three years ago which was the most pristine and beautiful beach we had ever experienced. Of course our expectations were high, only to be dashed by this port. Lautoka is the second largest city (30,000 people) on the largest island (Suva the capital is also located on this island). There were no beautiful beaches around so we took a very primitive boat over to a nearby recreation island for the day. Although part of the beach was a bit trashy and unpristine, we managed to carve out a good spot under some palm trees and enjoyed dipping in the warm ocean water and enjoying fish and beer on the beach with friends.