Sea Day

Good morning everyone. Happy Monday to you all! (It’s already Tuesday here). Today we took a morning to sleep in a little. I got up and headed off to breakfast alone in the Pinnacle Grill around 8:00am and left Megan to sleep in further this morning. Then I headed to Project Linus for some crochet time. Ginny finished up her blankets so I helped her to start a granny square for her next blanket. Then I headed to meet up with sleeping beauty in the Neptune lounge where she was working on her schoolwork while she was waiting for our AMAZING stewards Eko and Rosi to make up our room. When they were finished we headed home so she could get ready for tutoring and I decided since I missed yesterday, and slept in today, I was going to the gym and squeeze in a workout. Amazing how far fewer people there are there during lunchtime than first thing in the morning, LOL!! No, I don’t intend to changed my routine, just an observation. So that makes 20 workouts that I got in this month. Each of them averaging 60 minutes each. Not too shabby for this former couch potato. It’s been hard to get an accurate weight on the scale do to the rocking and rolling. But my clothes fit better and I feel great, so I’m going with that as a success for now. Next, was back to the cabin to tackle my blog from yesterday and watch Megan wrap up her tutoring session with Bonita. I relaxed the rest of the afternoon and worked on my blanket. I also went by the photo studio and requested a zip drive with all our photos they have taken of us since we got on the ship. We purchased the unlimited photo package so we will receive a print of photo they took along with a digital copy. But there are so many wonderful photos I would love to share with you that I requested one for the conclusion of this month. It should be ready for pick up by tomorrow. Dinner was lovely as usual. Since it was Tuesday we enjoyed the company of our friend Ginny, as it has become our Tuesday ritual. I brought a bottle of champagne that I had from the cabin and she was nice enough to share it with me. Oh yes, the crisp for tonight was peach. Megan and I spent the rest of the evening cuddling in, watching a movie and relaxing. Tomorrow is another Sea Day and we are looking forward to being rocked and rolled to sleep. I have no photos from today so I will add this quote. Every evening while we are at dinner our stewards come in for a second time. They turn down our beds, leave a chocolate if you desire (we took a pass), leave an occasional towel critter, leave us the daily schedule for tomorrow, and a card with a quote of the day and a nice word from the Captain and the crew.

Tonights quote is as follows:

“I would rather own little and see the world than own the world and see little of it.” – Alexander Sattler

Hugs and Blessing to you all!

Nukualofa, Tonga

Good morning from Tonga. It’s game day. I get to watch the Forty Niners play in a Championship game from thousand of miles away. Even though it is Monday her and not Sunday, and the game is on at 9:00am my time. I woke up and put on my forty niners sweatshirt I brought and I was ready to cheer on my team. Megan and I grabbed a quick breakfast in the Lido. She went off to join Gail and Marty. She went off the ship in Tonga to explore around and I went to the “sports bar” on the ship to watch the game. I asked twice to have them change the channel to the game for me to no avail, so I headed up to my cabin where I could watch it there. By halftime I was over watching the game and the world was waiting for me outside the ship so I went to meet up with Megan. Sadly, the Niners did lose and we had one heck of a season. We have been very lucky with the cell reception world wide through T mobile and it helped to find where she was. I am happy to report that we found Dr. Pepper. 16 cans of it to be exact and we bought every single one of them. I paid way too much for them. but they are imported from Texas, aren’t past their expiration date, and it made Megan happy. A little piece of home was worth it. It was extremely hot and humid in Tonga today so we didn’t spend too much time walking around. We picked up some souvenirs for those back at home. Megan got her keychain and I got my magnet. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading poolside, relaxing, swimming and getting some sun. A little too much for me as I was working parts of my body that were whiter then others and think I am going to pay for that later. We went to the Main dining room for dinner. The lamb tonight was fantastic. They have happily brought the crumbles back to the dessert menu. A simple description is a pie like filling made from whatever fruit they have chosen for the day and a buttery crumble topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. They were a hit with us on the 2020 World cruise and I happy to see them back. Megan and I split a banana one the other evening and tonight it was strawberry. After dinner we headed home and my sunburn started to bother me so I snuggled in for the evening with a movie and Megan went off to play cards. She likes Sea Day’s as they give her a break form her schooling which I think is very important. We don’t have traditional “weekends” on board. Our lives currently revolve around port days and sea days. We are enjoying the relaxation time we get now and we know later in this adventure our itinerary gets quite busy and we will have several ports. That means a lot of time off the ship and keeping to a structured time schedule. Please enjoy the photos below. I must give credit to my friends who took some of them and shared them to our facebook group. Thank you to Gail, Sandy and Diane.

Sea Day

Last night we rolled our clocks ahead 24 hours and waved good bye to January 28th. We will get those 24 hours back slowly, an hour at a time, over the next three months until we arrive back in Florida on May 12th. It was another normal Sea Day routine for us ladies. I went to the gym and then came home to wake up Megan. We went to the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast and Megan brought and did a bunch of Algebra homework. It is a quiet and easy space for her to spread out her book and work after we finish eating. I headed to Project Linus and spent some time chatting with Ginny and crocheting away. Megan and I met back up at the cabin around 12;30pm. She has tutoring with Bonita and I actually spent some time paying some bills. Have computer will travel. Had a difficult time accessing some of my websites, but I got done what needed to be done. I also had a great opportunity to catch up with some loved ones back in CA today as well. Great to hear voices and find out what all has been going on. Megan went off to play Catan and I went out of my patio to crochet, listen to the waves, breath some fresh air and listen to Iz. It was a completely indulgent and relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Usually I like to be out and around other passengers being social. But this afternoon I wanted the time to reflect, relax and shut down. Megan and I went off to take a few photos after she came back from Catan. She needed some shots taken for her yearbook so we got those taken care of. On the way back we stopped to chat with our friends at the shops. Then it was time to head home to get ready for dinner. This evening we went to the Pinnacle Grill for another fantastic dry aged steak and opted to dine just the two of us this time. But as fate and the stars would have it, Gail and Marty sat down at the table right next to us. It was such a coincidence. The Pinnacle Grill was also hosting a Presidents Club members dinner in the side dinning room this evening. The captain was hosting some to the members at an appreciation dinner and they definitely pulled out all the stops. It was fun to watch the event taking place. After dinner we headed home. Megan went off to take another dip in the pool and I got into my jammies. Tomorrow we will wake up in Tonga. And I am looking forward to watching the forty niners play in the championship game. We have no official excursions planned and Megan and I will go into town in the afternoon on our quest. Sweet dreams to you all.

Our dear friend Tina from the Pinnacle Grill delivering a cake to the Neptune Lounge, just because in the middle of the day. (I resisted). Megan and I all dressed up for our date night. This is the infamous hanging bacon appetizer. It is a sweet, smoky, gooey delicious, yumminess.

Sea Day

January 28^th, 2023 Day 25 of 128

 Sea Day

Last night we set our clocks back another hour so I unfortunately woke up at 4:00am.  I laid in bed for about an hour before I got up and got ready to go the gym.  The gym doesn’t open till 6:00am so I walked the decks on level 9 waiting for it to open.  I was not the only one up that early either.  After the gym I came home to wake up Megan.  And because I am always so hungry after my workouts I want to go eat too. I have been coffee free now for about 2 weeks. I reward myself with a cup of tea after my workout now instead of coffee. We headed to the Pinnacle grill for breakfast and Megan brought another one of her mangos to eat.  We allowed the waiter to take it to the kitchen and they cut and prepared it for her.  Super sweet of them to do that!!  She has one left and we are waiting for it to ripen.  After breakfast I went to Project Linus and Megan went to play Mahjong.  Megan came and got me around 11:30 as she was hungry for lunch today.  There was a taco station and we both had build your own tacos for lunch.  Next, we headed back to the cabin and I caught up on my blog from yesterday and Megan had Bonita come for tutoring.  I watched a recorded EXC (excursion department) presentation of the upcoming ports of Auckland and Tauranga from the TV in our cabin. Most of the excursion talks take place at 10:00am and I have a conflict with my schedule due to Project Linus so I am glad they are recording them now so we can watch them later. We had to be at the shops by 1:45pm to model in the Effy jewelry store’s fashion show.  We were given several beautiful pieces to wear and walk the “catwalk” as they talked about the pieces we were each wearing while announcing some fun facts, or hobbies we had told them about ourselves.  It was a little nerve-racking walking in front of the other guests, but we definitely had fun with it and had a really good time.  Afterwards, we all just stayed behind and received a nice thank you gift and shared a glass of champagne with the Effy store manager and talked about our lives.  A very special and intimate time with other passengers and crew.  The opportunity to bond with people on the world cruise is one of the things that allures me and others to come back again and again.  It really becomes a family because we spend over a third of a year together.  We have come to realize how precious time is and this trip away is truly a priceless gift we have given to ourselves.  O.K., sorry the champagne makes me sentimental.  After the fashion show we headed home to work on writing some postcards that we hope to send once we come into the next port of Tonga.  We opted not to go to the main dining room for dinner tonight. Instead we went to Lido Buffet where we had the Chinese New Year Celebration the other evening. They had a stir fry station and I created (they cooked) a low calorie, low sodium, vegetarian stir fry for me and it was delicious and guilt free. Megan enjoyed some traditional Chinese food dishes and we shared some tempura. After dinner we headed to the Neptune Lounge for about an hour of Rummikub (Yes, that is the correct spelling. I had previously spelled it incorrectly and notice that on the box yesterday). After I beat Megan, two games to one, we headed home. I relaxed and got into my jammies and Megan went to the swimming pool for an hour. The pool doesn’t close until 9:00pm so she took advantage of being the only person in the pool and got in a few good cannonballs!! Another fantastic day. I am exhausted since I was up so early. Tonight is the weirdest night of the cruise for us. I shall go sleep on Friday January 27th and when I wake up it will be Sunday January 29th. Farewell to January 28th, for I shall never know you for I left you on the other side of the international date line. LOL!! Hugs and Love to you ALL!!

Megan is wearing a three piece set in the shape of a Dragon encrusted with white diamonds; I am wearing a four piece set of blue and white diamonds; We had a lot of fun!

Sea Day

Good morning from the middle of the ocean.  We are nearing the international dateline; we are south of the equator and the weather is hot and humid.  I was up this morning and in the gym for my morning workout.  Then it was back home to wake up Megan and to start our day.  We had breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill.  Then it was off to project Linus.  I completed and turned in blanket number three for the trip, whoo hoo!!  I also started my next blanket.  After two blankets using up left over yard from other people’s blankets, my blankets of many colors, I opted to go with a mono chrome blanket for this one.  After Project Linus we came back to the cabin. Megan worked on schoolwork and I watch a recorded presentation on the upcoming port of Tonga.  We are excited to watch the forty niners play in the championship game this weekend and it is the same day we come into Tonga.  We opted for no excursion and we will venture out after the game.  There are a lot of shops within walking distance and we shall continue our quest for Dr. Pepper. Tonight was Derby night and a Dressy night as well.  So we opted for our green dresses to match the color of the green grass and we were off to the races.  We enjoyed another delicious meal in the main dining and then it was off to the Lido deck for the evening festivities.  Six crew members were given horse names; Hoof Hearted, Alimony Pony, Pony Soprano, Luck-Fur, Chewbacca, and Talk Derby To Me.   We were all allowed to wander around their “paddocks” and choose our favorite horse to win the race.  Megan choose Hoof Hearted and I “bet” on Chewbacca.  You were given a sticker to correspond with the horse you chose.  A dice was rolled and each horse got to move that many spaces around the track.  There were 24 spots to advance.  The catch was once they got to the end you had to roll the exact number to cross the finish line.  I am happy to say my horse won.  My prize was a voucher for a complimentary cocktail!  All in all a super fun event, a lot of passengers laughing and having a great time and a wonderful interaction between crew and guests.  After the derby I headed home to turn in for the night and Megan went off to play games with Marty and Gail.  

Tonight we set our clocks back another hour putting us in the same time zone as Hawaii.  Tomorrow is another sea day and a fashion show that Megan and I have both been asked to be models in….but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Goodnight and sweet dreams everyone. 

Another beautiful sunrise, my completed blanket, one of the beautiful flower arrangements made for the Derby, Empty shot glasses that were filled with whiskey laced chocolate shakes (they went down easy and there was 6 people at our table drinking them), and our penguin friend that was awaiting us when we got home tonight.

Sea Day.

It was an active day on board the MS Zuiderdam today.  One thing after the other sometimes.  Started my morning with a workout, I was there around 7:00am and the number of people there was small this morning.  Every elliptical was available when I walked in, SCORE!!  Then I went up on deck ten and walk around and did my cool down in the fresh air.  Then Megan and I “made” breakfast.  We had a beautiful avocado we had purchased back in Nuku Hiva that we were waiting to get ripe and today was the day.  We took it into the Neptune Lounge and proceeded to make avocado toast.  It was so much avocado that between the two of us we couldn’t eat it all.  It was creamy and so delicious.  After that we had a quick game of rummy cube.  Then I grabbed a quick shower before we had to be at the Project Linus group at 10:00am.  Whew…I was already exhausted and it’s not even noon yet.  I crocheted till 11:20 and Megan went off to play Mahjong.  She won…again.  She picked that game right up.  I am quite impressed.  At 11:30 am I met Megan in the main dining room for Sea Day brunch.  They usually only serve brunch on Sunday’s, but they are trying something new out.  Another opportunity to eat tiny food and feel like a giant.  Then I went off to get a massage.  Megan had tutoring and attended a lecture on Tectonic plates.  Yea for the science lesson!! By three o’clock I was ready for a nap, but there was a cocktail party tonight hosted by our FANTASTIC travel company Cruise Specialists.  A wonderful opportunity to mingle with our three cruise hosts who are onboard to assist us in any way they can.  It is such a peace of mind knowing they are not only in Seattle if we need them, but they are also right here on the ship for us as well.  (No, I am not paid for beaming endorsement).  We went straight from the cocktail party to our seating in the main dining room.  After dinner Megan and I squeezed in two more game of rummy cube (Megan 2; Mom 1) before it was time to check in with loved ones back at home.  I stayed in for the night with a movie and my computer to blog to you all.  Megan went off to play cards with Gail and Marty.  I get up earlier than Megan, so it’s no surprise I go to bed before she does.  All in all a busy day, very fulfilling and super fulfilling for my soul.  Love and Hugs from across the miles.  

Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia

We are still in Raiatea this morning.  This was our second overnight of the world cruise and an opportunity to do two different excursions in the same port.  We were up dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast at the lido and met our group at the Mainstage by 8:15am.  Today we ventured right around the corner from the ship and hopped directly onto a boat for our adventures for the day.  Four day, four boats, four days of snorkeling and lots of time in the water for Megan and I.  We aren’t quite sure how we let that happen.  Best we can decide is we hopped all over the calendar when we were booking excursions and never realized we put these four all in a row.  We took the boat across the lagoon to the island of Tahaa.  Also known as the Vanilla Island due its’s large vanilla productions.  The inhabitants of Tahaa rely largely on Raiatea for secondary schooling for their children, hospitals, ad for employment.  So much like Moorea and Papeete share a symbiotic relationship, so does Tahaa and Raitea.  There is also a ferry that goes back and forth several times a day.  Elementary and Junior high students are in school till 11:00am every day, think minimum day every day.  High school students catch the 7am ferry to Raitea and usually don’t get home till around 6:00pm every evening.  Our first stop was Pearl farm.  This one was not out in the middle of the water though.  They spent some time teaching the people on our excursion how the farm pearls, and we had that education yesterday, so we walked around, took photos, and played with the dogs.  Don’t worry we had all our shots before we left home. After the educational portion of the morning, we went inside the shop and were free to make any desired purchases.  Having already made two pearl purchases this trip I did not choose to buy anymore. Next, we drove to a high peak in the mountains for a vista view of a beautiful harbor.  We were each given a personal bowl of fresh mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut and banana.  We were then taught and performed a Tahitian dance.  As we were getting ready to leave I was taking pictures of the hibiscus they used to decorate the table and the gentleman handed it to me and told me I could take it.  I enjoyed wearing it for the rest of the day.  Our last stop was at a Vanilla Plantation.  We learned all about the vanilla bean industry here in French Polynesia and how they must pollinate each flower by hand.  Vanilla originally came from Mexico and there is a bee there that pollinates the vanilla there.  That bee was introduced here, but it did not thrive so the farmers do it all by hand.  We did purchase some vanilla infused sugar and I am looking forward to trying it in my tea.  Then it was back to the pier and onto the boat.  As we made our way back to Raitea we anchored for about thirty minutes giving everyone a chance to snorkel and coincidentally swim with black tipped reef sharks and sting rays (again for us, but not for others).  We had quite a wet ride back to the ship on the boat as the trade winds had kicked up and frequently a wave would splash across the boat and got wet some guests who had preferred to stay dry.  All in all another wonderful day in this tropical paradise.  I know I used that analogy before but it really is.  This whole part of the trip has been very reminiscent of my time in Hawaii and I really felt like I was “home”.  Megan and I spent the rest of the afternoon reading, showering, resting and working on our project Linus blankets.  We went to dinner at the main dining room and were met there by our friend Ginny who we hadn’t seen in four days.  Again I will reiterate how sometimes the ship feels so big and sometimes it feels so small.  Being all port days and out of normal routines we hadn’t seen Ginny nor Gail and Marty since our last sea day.  And since Tuesday’s have become “Dinner with Ginny” day it was nice to see her and catch up on all her adventures over the last few days.  We were back in our cabin right after dinner.  I am writing my blog for you all and we are ready to crash after our adventures of the last few days.  Sending you love and hugs as we venture back out to sea.  We waved goodbye to the islands, and we will be back again another time.  Just as we will be back home to all of you before you know it.  

Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Good Morning from Raiatea in the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Can you believe we have been on the ship for three weeks today? 21 days we have been sailing around the world, covered many miles, and experience several different countries already. And we have so much left still to come. It was nice to return to someplace we have been before and know we are going to do something different while we are here on the island. I started my morning in the gym and watched the ship pull into the pier. This is an overnight stop so we don’t have to be back on the ship until 3:30pm tomorrow. I hope some of the shops and restaurants stay open late for the crew. Most of them don’t get off shift till after 10:00pm and that is when they get the opportunity to go out and just enjoy life. After the gym Megan and I made it to the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast. We hadn’t been there in a few days and it was nice to see everyone and show them our photos of what we have been up to the last couple of days. We didn’t have to meet our excursion group until 10:30 so after breakfast we opted to get ready and then venture off the ship on our quest for Dr. Pepper. We went to three separate grocery stores and had no luck. Megan did find some cookies and a glue stick that she needed so all was not lost. We got back on the ship to meet our excursion group and then got back off the ship. Today we took a 25 minute bus ride to the Anapa Pearl Farm. French Polynesia is home to 500 pearl farms and pearls are the second largest industry in the islands. Tourism is the first. This particular farm has leased 2 acres of “land” and they set up a structure out on the ocean where they headquarter the pearl production. We were taken through and actually saw the entire process from start to finish of how they grow the cultured pearls. The gentleman we saw fertilizes 300 oysters each and every day. It takes two years form the time they are implanted until they can be harvested as pearls. After we learned about the pearls we were able to put on snorkel gear (third day in a row) and actually go out and snorkel among the rows of growing oysters. The water there was eerily deep and after a short time we venture to the other side of the Pearl shack where there is a coral reef filled with beautiful fish, corals and many other sea creatures. It was beautiful to see all the wildlife swimming along with us. After we finished our snorkeling we went back into the shack and Megan and I each purchased a necklace from the Anapa Pearl Farm. Nothing like buying a pearl from the source. Right where it was implanted, grew and was harvested. It makes the necklace even more special to me. Before we headed back to the ship we inquired to the Pearl Farm owner, Sunny, if she knew where we could find a Dr. Pepper. She referred us to a store right by the pier that specializes in “things from America”. We found Kirkland brand products from Costco, kinda funny, but no Dr. Pepper. So our quest continues. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting, doing homework, crocheting and eventually getting ready for our 5:00pm dinner seating. This evening in the Main Stage they showed a romantic movie called Love Affair. Lots of big name actors and actress in it. It was a love story about falling in love on a cruise ship and ironically (or not so ironically) Raiatea is the scene of part of the movie and I would guess it was filmed here or in Tahiti. I will have to look into that. All in all a good day. We are both tired from our three days of activities. And tomorrow holds one more in store for us before we have a run of sea days once again. Sending you love and Hugs from across the seas from our little tropical paradise. Enjoy the photos from today.

Moorea, French Polynesia

Good morning from overcast Moorea, French Polynesia. Last night (technically 4:30am this morning) everyone had to be back on board so we could make the 28 mile trip from Papeete to Moorea. Yesterday we saw it in the distance, this morning we woke up to it in front of us larger than life. I woke up earlier then I wanted to so I went ahead and got a workout in before heading back to the cabin and waking up Megan for the day’s adventure. I don’t usually workout on port days. but I have a goal to meet so I made it happen. We grabbed a quick breakfast at the Lido and headed to Main stage to meet up with our excursion group. Today is another tender port so we waiting for our group to be called and we got to “cut” the line of people waiting for the tenders so our excursion could get out on time. Much like yesterday we were off the tender and instantly onto our tour boat for the day. Our group of 40 and a second boa, also about 40, pretty much did our adventure together all day. We had a scenic and educational tour of the harbor, lagoon and mountain range of Moorea. We next went around the waters of the abandoned Intercontinental Hotel. Beautiful bungalows all boarded up and abandoned as the property awaits a new owner. There are a few bungalows being utilized by employees who are currently still running a turtle rescue center for green turtles and the dolphin cove where the dolphins still live. Next we arrived a particular busy and popular spot in the lagoon. There we got off the boat and swam with sting rays, which I was expecting per the excursion description. What I wasn’t expecting was the black tipped sharks that are also prevalent in this area. Now they don’t like people and didn’t bother anyone, but I couldn’t get the thought out of head that I voluntarily got into the water with my 14 year old daughter into shark infested water. It was quite and experience and I have no regrets doing it. We got back on the boat after about an hour in the water and made our way to semi private island where parts of it can be rented out for large groups such as ours. We had an hour to relax, snorkel, and do whatever we wanted to do. A rainstorm came crashing though about 30 minutes after we arrived, it lasted about 10 minutes and then it was gone. Next we had a ceviche demonstration and then it was the for lunch. After lunch we had more free time, got hula lessons (for the men and the women), had a Parea tying lesson, and enjoyed some wonderful live Tahitian music. It was a relaxing and full day. On our way back on the boat we inquired where we could acquire some Dr. Pepper and we were directed to the store to the left, right outside of the pier entrance. Sadly the store was either already closed for the day or closed because it was Sunday. We haven’t had any luck finding Megan any Dr. Pepper yet, but the quest continues! We walked back through the local market and I picked up a magnet and Megan found and bought a bracelet she liked. We got back on the ship and went straight to our room so we could shower off the salt water from the day and so I could watch the second half of the 49er game. What a game. I’m so glad they won!! We decided to go to the Lido for dinner dinner as it is Chinese New Year, Happy Year of the Rabbit, and we know they do it up big. Holland America did not disappoint. Ramen station, stir fry stations, the most amazing sushi display I have ever seen on a ship, a whole roasted pig, whole roasted duck, all the traditional dishes. It was amazing to see, experience and taste. Glad I went to the gym this morning!! After dinner we went to the Mainstage for a comedy show called The Biddy’s. They were three cheeky ladies from Ireland that must’ve just gotten on today. I have a feeling we will be seeing them again. After the show we were back to the room to get ourselves ready for tomorrow. Weather forecast is for rain and thunderstorms for the next two days. So we will plan accordingly. Onward we travel this evening. We are on our way to Raiatea, French Polynesia. See you all tomorrow from our next island paradise.

Papeete, Tahiti

Today we woke up to find ourselves in Papeete, Tahiti. Right where we were supposed to be, LOL!! WE grabbed quick breakfast at the Lido before heading out on our morning excursion. We stepped off the ship, received a beautiful lei greeting, went right around the corner and right back onto our Catamaran. The shortest distance I ever traveled for an excursion. Upon boarding we were offered fresh fruit and juice and then we were on our way. We could see the island of Moorea in the distance all day. We actually move there tomorrow as that is our next port of call. Everyday there are ferry’s every four hours that transports people back and forth from Moorea and Papeete for work and for the children to go to school. We had a lovely ride up the coast of Papeete and dropped anchor at a beautifully clear snorkeling spot. We saw trumpetfish, angelfish, parrotfish, sergeant major fish, a humu humu, and lots of sea cucumber. After we got back on the catamaran we saw a ray swimming by. Megan took great delight in jumping off the front of the Catamaran over and over and she had a blast. After snorkeling they served us rum punch and more fresh fruit before heading back to pier. We hopped off the excursion and onto the ship, took quick showers to wash off the salt water and then got right back off the ship for some retail therapy. We were here in 2020 and there was a beautiful open air market we got to visit, but sadly it was closed when we got there. We walked around a bit and there were a lot of closed shops as today is Saturday. We did manage to find a frozen yogurt shop and got a treat. We also wandered into a shop and I bought a pair of black Tahitian pearl earrings. Megan pick up a pair of flip flops, because she forgot hers. We also found a market that sold post cards, stamps, and will even mail them for you as well. So we spent some time there so Megan could fill out and send postcards to her friends back at home. She loves to do that and it is difficult when we spend our days on excursions to find everything to make that happen sometimes. Upon retuning to the ship, Megan unfortunately had discovered she had quite a nasty sunburn. She’s using lots of lotion and has lots of clothing to cover up tomorrow and an umbrella for shade. I went to the dining room and had dinner solo and Megan stayed in ordered room service. We met in the Main Stage at 6:30pm for the 7:00pm performance called the Spirit of Tahiti. The ship brought on local musicians and performers, about 35 of them, and they entertained us with traditional Tahitian dances. It was a nice ending to our day and our visit to Papeete. And I will say Nana (which is Tahitian for goodbye) from this Nana and Megan too. Sweet dreams all.