Monday - February 26, 2018

Monday, February 26, 2018
We arrived in Bali on schedule at 8AM. After watching the welcome dance and music performed by a local group, we went to the theater to be called for our 9:15 tour. Today we are taking a ship's tour to the Water Palace and an original Balinese town. We left early since everyone arrived ahead of schedule.

Our guide spoke very good English, and taught us a lot about the history of Bali. She explained the religions and the economics while glossing over the politics. We were well prepared for our arrival at the palace. After the obligatory toilet stop after our 2 hour drive, we were treated to a snack of local sweets and fruits.

Now Dayu led us to the paths across the water and up to the various pavilions on the high hillside. The flowers were beautiful and the landscaped hills were very comforting. If only the paths up the hills had been the same. At the foot of the steps leading to the top Alice and I decided it would be best if she stayed below and traced the grade level paths.

I set out for the top. The stairway was straight with a landing eery 20 steps. A welcome respite. I forgot to start counting at the bottom, but I did count over 100 stairs anyhow. At the top the views were amazing. The gardens below blended into the trees. Beyond that was the ocean. The sky was clear and the sun had everything sparkling. 

A path with several more sets of stairs led me higher and across the hilltop to a royal pavilion. The views and the breeze made it clear why royalty chose this location for their retreat from the permanent palace located 45 minute away. After a short rest I began my descent. That went well, but I sure did wish the stair height was a little lower and a lot more uniform.      

I met Alice at the bottom and we boarded the bus. Our next stop was a delicious lunch at an oceanside resort. The breeze was very cooling as we ate on an outdoor deck. After lunch e had time to survey the amenities and use the toilet, which was air conditioned. It must have been 20 degrees cooler in there. You could hear the women gasp of dwellings and shop as they entered the ladies' room. Two Infinity Pools flanked the restaurant. A short pier provided an excellent viewing platform beside the restaurant.

A one hour ride took us to the Balinese village. This community of 4,000 was a compact area of dwellings and shops. We saw weaving, carving, painting and other arts. We also viewed the common temple, kitchen and gathering areas. The whole village was built on a hillside so every 50 feet or o we navigated a fairly steep ramp of stones to carry on. This made for some tricky footing, but we managed it unscathed.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday - February 23 2018 to February 25, 2018

Friday to Sunday - February 23 to 25, 2018
We are enjoying sea days on our way to Bali, Indonesia. The light schedule enables us to participate in crafts and lectures as we desire. Amsterdam has experienced some rolling as we sail ahead of some long but moderate swells. The seasick bags are out, but we are doing well without them. We have settled into a routine of eating breakfast in the dining room at a table for 2. We share a table of 6 at lunch, and have dinner at our table for 2 around 5:30 each evening. This gives us time to refresh after dinner and still get to the theater around 45 minutes early for the evening's entertainment. We must admit that we have been pleasantly entertained. Only one act has been a dud so far. Not Bad.

Saturday night we joined a star gazing group on the top deck. Alan Wright, the onboard astronomer, led the talk. The sky was partly cloudy. Fortunately the cloudy parts did not interfere with constellation locating. Alan has a license to use  very powerful green laser pointer. You would swear it reaches all the way to the stars. This was a totally enjoyable experience.

I am progressing well with my butterfly needlepoint. I have not gone public with it yet, but I am enjoying doing it in the cabin. 

Monday morning we will arrive in Bali.

Thursday - February 22, 2018

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Today is dedicated to walking through Fremantle. After breakfast we headed toward the Maritime Museum. There is a foot and bicycle path parallel to the railroad tracks. This leads to the waterfront and the museum. The museum structure is contemporary and very nice. It has a boardwalk all around the exterior. There are some exhibits outside. We spent an hour before we entered. We did the usual Finn thing. We read every plaque and description. The most intriguing for us was a World War I submarine that had been salvaged and set on land along with some old cranes that serviced it. It is over one hundred years old, but very well kept. It cannot be entered, but viewing it and reading its story is very

moving.

In front of the museum are many stainless steel walls engraved with the names of the early settlers of Fremantle. Many hundreds of people are commemorated here. It is a powerful monument to the immigrants who founded this great city.

Our next stop was The Round House. This is a convict built fort atop a hill overlooking the shore. It guarded the entry to the city from the sea. High Street runs from this point through the center of the city. We would return to this later.

We left The Round House and walked along the cliff above the Bathers Beach. This is a white sand beach that was being used by only three bathers this morning. The setting is awesome.

Steps led down from the cliff to the beach. A short walk across the sand took us to a boardwalk. We were able to follow this for quite a distance along the waterfront to the Fishermen’s Harbor. All along the way we passed bars and restaurants with lovely sea views. The harbor is home to the local tuna fleet as well as many beautiful sailboats and yachts. Midway around the harbor we found Little Creatures craft brewery and restaurant. It was just 11:00 and they were preparing for lunch. We forged on.

Across the street was The Esplanade. This large park was also home to a large Ferris wheel. It seems that every city now has a Ferris wheel. This one is moderate in height, and not currently working.

We headed back toward city center. Shortly we were at the entrance to the Shipwreck Museum. The star feature here is portion of the wreckage of the vessel Batavia. In the 1970’s some Australian naval divers discovered and raised this wreckage. What was salvaged is a portion of the aft starboard of the ship. After treating the timbers to prevent their rotting, a steel frame was constructed to hold the timbers in their original places. This is nicely done. It makes an impressive exhibit. It reminded us of our visit to the Wassa exhibit in Stockholm. We were glad we did not miss this.

Now we were on High street headed toward the town square. Notre Dame University of Australia occupied a square block here. Students were out at the shops and restaurants along High Street. We admired the old architecture along the street. The shops were small, but they offered all sorts of goods. Our mission was to spend our last 65 Australian dollars here. We were targeting an Opal shop and a sewing store.

As we stopped to look at our street map a passing lady offered her assistance. She was able to direct us to the opal shop. We followed her directions, but could not find the shop. Nearby was a tourist information center. They told us we had stopped just a block short of the opal shop. They also showed us how to get to the sewing center.

The owners of the opal shop were very helpful in explaining the types of opal settings. They showed us many beautiful pendants. Surprise! They were all more than $65. We had agreed to keep the credit cards in our pockets. We loved what we saw and enjoyed the hospitality of the owners, but we left empty handed.

A short distance away we spied a Singer sign hanging above the sidewalk The sewing center was very small, but had a nice selection of fabrics died in Indonesia. The woman who owned the shop was helpful in getting us started, It took us a while, but we finally selected three styles. This consumed $55. Postcards and ice cream took the rest.

We walked back to Amsterdam to change for sail away. We went to happy hour in the Crow’s Nest to watch as we sailed out of the harbor. Upon leaving our birth we first passed a Dutch built three-masted private yacht. Our captain told us that it cost $250,000,000. This almost equaled the cost of our 1,200 passenger cruise ship when it was built in 2000.

Next we passed the largest sheep transport vessel in the world. It was being loaded with sheep destined for the Middle East. Now we cruised past the Maritime Museum before gaining speed and passing through the harbor mouth. Three long blasts of the ship’s horn bid a fond farewell to Fremantle. This may have been our last visit here. We really enjoyed it.

Wednesday - February 21, 2018

Wednesday, February 21,2018

We arrived in Fremantle on schedule. We remembered this port from our circumnavigation of Australia in 2015. The cruise terminal is old, run down and outdated. We waited as the gangway to the terminal was put in place with a crane and a crew of 8 men. Finally we went down the escalator to street level. Knowledgeable and friendly volunteers manned the information desk. We quickly secured a city map and a schedule for the free central business district buses. We exited, and started our walk to the train station.

Fremantle is the port for Pert. Perth is a 30 minute train ride away. Many passengers were headed for the train station to go to Perth. We were headed there to board the free CAT bus. We had toured to Perth the last time. Now we wanted to do Fremantle.

The ship will not depart until 5PM tomorrow. So today we are using the free Red CAT and free Blue CAT buses to ride around downtown and the waterfront. This will help us get our bearings and be more efficient tomorrow. The rides were effective. Not much has changed in three years. We will be very comfortable walking around tomorrow.

Back at the cruise terminal we walked over the Free Wi-Fi  banner and took a seat to try to connect. Ha! We could not connect with any of our devices. An attendant told us that the problem was too many users. A quick look around showed about 25 users. We waited for some to sign off and leave, but we still could not get on Maybe later.

Tuesday - February 20, 2018

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Today we arrived at Albany, Western Australia. A free shuttle took us on a short ride to the Town Square. It was cloudy and very windy, but not rainy. We had donned our fleece jackets, so we were quite comfortable. Many local crafters had set up booths on the green. The principal offerings were jewelry, gemstones and photography. All of the products were high quality and reasonably priced. The priceless aspect was the great conversations with the crafters. They freely explained their techniques and showed off their tools. They were as happy to converse, as they were to sell their wares.

On one side of the square was the library. Many people were seated around the front of the building trying to connect to the free Internet. This was a lost cause. We moved on.

The main street was very nice. The shops were nicely stocked. Again the people were eager to explain what a great place this was to live. We made our way to the shopping center. It featured a Coles (groceries and things), K Mart (yes the same as ours only bigger) and a large discount pharmacy. The latter was of interest to us because we learned in our last visit that a pain relief medication, Voltaran, was available over the counter here. At home it requires a prescription, and costs 3 times what it costs here. We got a large tube. It was even on sale, making it an even better buy. Who needs jewelry anyway?

After several hours of visiting and walking we headed back toward the ship. The sun had come out. We shed our fleece as we left the main drag and headed toward the boat harbor. Several tuna boat and sailboats were docked here. The sea plays a big role in the economy. Back at the cruise terminal we were treated to a jolly farewell.

As we sailed away the captain explained that the large siloes across the road from our dock were for wheat. This is loaded onto grain carriers for shipment to China. Piled high just beyond the granary was silica sand. It is shipped to Japan where it is used in making glass for automobile windshields. Finally there were high piles of wood chips. These are also shipped to Japan for making paper.

We left Albany behind and set course for Fremantle. This is just a short hop away. We will arrive at 4PM tomorrow.

Sunday and Monday - February 18th and 19th

Sunday, February 18, 2018 and Monday February 19, 2018

These are sea days. One would think that means days at leisure, but not for us. We can choose to be as busy as we want. We do choose to be busy. There are lectures scheduled at 10, 11 and 2. We managed to get to all of them. Alice adds classes in the Digital Workshop in an attempt to resolve the mysteries of Windows 10. I have started one of my needlepoint kits. These activities fill the voids between lunch and the lectures. Before we know it we are changing for Happy Hour in the Crow’s Nest and dinner.

We have secured a table for 2 for dinner every night. There is another table for 2 next to us, but those people dine and dash without much conversation. Our highlight is the friendliness of our dining steward and his assistant and our wine steward. They are excellent and top off our days.

Entertainment follows at 8:00. We would say it has been spotty so far, but not poor. It is just not our style. There is programs are varied enough that we will not be disappointed.

Saturday February 17, 2018 - Adelaide and Surrounds

Saturday, February 17, 2018

We went ashore after breakfast. As we left the ship Alice remembered that we had considered an excursion to Hahndorff, a German suburb of Aelaide. We had not booked it. As we inquired at the information desk about the train ticket into the city, we noticed a Hahndorff brochure. The gentleman explained that a one day pass for the train was valid for all forms of public transport. When we arrived in the city someone at the transit office could tell us how and where to get the bus to Hahndorff.

45 minutes in the central station we found the transit office. A very kind lady told us the best bus to take would be the 864. We could catch it at a stop just 4 blocks away. It would run every half hour and take 50 minutes to get to Hahndorff. 30 minutes later we were on the bus.

The ride to Hahndorff took us through hill country. It was beautiful. The main drag in town was many blocks long. It was loaded with shops and restaurants. We enjoyed them all before returning to the city.

As we passed a hair salon in downtown, Alice decided to get her hair cut. It looks great. The stylist was great.

Now dinner is over and I am in the terminal trying to upload as many days of this blog as possible. A poor but free wifi link has finally let me get current. I am sorry there are no photos uploaded yet. They will come with a better connection. Soon, I hope.