PROLOGUE
Many years ago, I promised Carolina, my daughter that if she quit smoking for one year she and a companion could go on an all expense paid trip anywhere she wanted. At that time, she elected Australia as her destination. I figured at the time, the odds of her making it through a year of not smoking were one in two and did not think much about it. Then the year came up and she announced she completed it, but she was postponing the trip until the future.
Many years have passed and she is still a non-smoker. Meanwhile, she also became a wife and a mother. Then the request came: “We, and that included my wife and I, her husband, her baby (six month old when the trip rolls about) and she, will be going to Australia and New Zealand on a cruise.” I pointed out that the trip promised was for two and that my wife and I will be happy to take care of the baby while she goes on this cruise. I expounded on the difficulties of traveling with a baby. There was no convincing her. Finally, my wife and I said we would not go and she pulled the trick. “We did not have to go, but the baby was going with them and what kind of grandparents will allow a baby to travel without enough people to take care of him.” We caved in and so the planning of the trip begun in earnest.
To begin, we could not use any of the ship’s excursions, so we had to arrange private tours with local operators in 9 cities. This took numerous e-mails and research, but it was finally accomplished. We also had to negotiate with the ship, which at first refused to give us passage and then wanted to charge full fare for the baby. We arrived at a compromise eventually. The trip requires 5 flight segments in three different airlines. We had again to arrange to get the appropriate seating and hope that we get “the bassinet” they have for babies in each of the trans-Pacific segments. I should point out that those portions are 10 hours or more flights. The total amount of time to get to Auckland, New Zealand, our port of embarkation, from our homes is 19 flying hours and 30 hours total trip hours door to door.
The insanity of this entire enterprise is obvious to any casual observer. But facts are nothing that could persuade my daughter. The fact that Nicholas J Skelly, aka the baby, is 6 months old has an advantage, he can not move around on his own. However, he can and does move his mouth in screaming bouts that make our dogs look like monks in a silent retreat. The baby also weighs more than the ability of either my wife or I to handle without having to wear back braces for days after lifting him up for a few minutes.
I believe my daughter is doing this to be able to (a) punish us for some factor of her life that she blamed us for (b) to tell her son, when he is old and asks for a trip, that he has already been half way around the world.
With this in mind, I named the trip In Search of Craziness. I am sure that this is one of those trips that will make it to one of the books of psychiatric research. “Why are people driven to do crazy things?” could be the title.
Our planned trip will take us to Auckland, where we will spend a day of sightseeing, before boarding Oceania’s Regatta. This will be our second time in the Regatta, the prior time was in our trip to Russia (In Search of a New Normal). Our ship will leave Auckland and stop in Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin in New Zeland. This will be followed by three days at sea heading to Australia. Eventually we get to Australia, with stops at Hobart, Geelong, Melbourne and finally Sydney.
All the plans have been made and the passports are ready (even the baby’s). Let’s go forward In Search of Craziness!
Carolina’s Notes
I know that it is completely nuts that we are going to Australia and New Zealand with a baby. But wouldn’t it be nuts to leave him at home. I just wouldn’t trust him alone in the house; he would throw too many parties in our absence and probably get arrested. This is where a rational human being would come to the logical conclusion of just not taking the trip at this time. I am not a logical human being. So many people put off doing things because it’s not a “good time” and then end up doing nothing. I am not one of those people and if that makes me crazy, so be it. I have a new baby so I feel crazy either way – whether I am home or in Australia so might as well go down under!
HIGH ANXIETY
I question sometimes the usefulness of lots of information. The internet has created a wealth of information that allows any one to find out about anything, any time.
Over the week-end prior to my departure, I developed a health complication. I went to my Webdoctor app and found several causes for my condition, including cancer, which I immediately I assumed I had. I reached my doctor on a Saturday, which after I explained my symptoms and my diagnosis, recommended some antibiotics. Promptly going to the pharmacy, I got them and read the disclosures of adverse effects, with further research of those effects on the internet. One of them was tendon deterioration. Having suffered from tendonitis, from over doing the use of my legs, I immediately went on guard. Several hours later, whether imagined or real, I had the side effects and could feel my tendons hurt. A condition that was not very painful, but annoying.
Come Monday, 48 hours before lift off, I was in the offices of my doctor, an X ray technician and a specialist, to determine what was wrong with me in the first place and whether I could fly. (All of these visits from 8:00 AM to noon.) The verdict came and the diagnosis of my general doctor held, together with the prescriptions. I was allowed to fly. However, my concern over tendon issues made my doctor prescribe another drug that also affected my tendons, but not as much. I went to the pharmacy and proceeded to read the adverse effects and frankly, did not see the difference between one or the other. But now, I had over $300 worth of antibiotics in my possession. That felt safe for some reason. To this day, I still hear my tendons complain, but not that loud. I wonder if I did not read or research those effects if I would even be worried about these side effects.
Wednesday morning at 4:00 AM, we left our house to commence this trip. We had a very tight connection in Atlanta - 30 minutes between flights. Of course, when we got to Atlanta, our gate was in one terminal and our next flight left from another terminal. We rushed through the crowds, pushing the less able aside, boarded a train, and made it to the gate just as they were boarding the plane. Wondering how people that do not move as fast as we do could make this connection, we sat on our seats. All through this, I worried that our bags may not make this connection. I imagined union rules that allowed baggage handlers to touch only 3 bags between breaks and our bags stuck on one of those breaks. I prayed for our flight to be late; but no, the flight left early. As I wondered about the fate of our bags, I discovered that Delta had an app where you could "stalk" (their words, not mine) your luggage. I bought WiFi for the flight loaded the app and found that our bags were scanned into the West Palm Beach flight, but not the Atlanta flight. In fact, there was no more information than the scanning when we gave the bags and when it went to the first flight. In my mind that meant, the bags were never loaded into the second flight. Again having this information increased my level of stress by a significant amount. I went further into the internet and found other flights after ours to see if they could load the bags in the next flight. Meanwhile, I kept refreshing the app to see if anything happened to the bags, but nothing changed. I just sat and worried.
Reaching LAX, we went to baggage claim with not much hope. The first batch of bags came in with yellow stickers, which our bags had, indicating priority luggage. Our bags were not in this group. At this point, I wanted to report them missing, though there were another 100 persons or so that did not have their bags yet. Twenty minutes later, our bags appeared on the belt. Once again, all of this information, does it help or hurt? If I could not stalk my bag, I would have been more relaxed. In this case, the information was not even complete, but because it was on a screen, very believable.
Today as I write this, I am waiting for Carolina, Jimi and Nicholas to get to Los Angeles. On my screen there is a flight tracker that tells me where they are precisely right now, the altitude of the plane, their speed and even how much money people paid for this trip. It does not tell me if the baby is crying as he flies across the country, but soon it probably will. I also checked three times the status of our flight tonight, since apparently the Tuesday flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems.
I remember a time when you traveled with little information as to what was going on and trusted that everything was going to work.
In this search for craziness, you do not have to go far to find it. I find my obsessive use of information to be sheer madness. I should stick to the method I used when I was working - get enough information to be informed, not too much to get overwhelmed or get tempted to do further analysis.
Information - the madness of our time!
Carolina's Notes
What you really want to do is know how the baby was......so I gave him a B+ and Jimi gave him an A-. For a 6 month old baby, he did very well. The only major fussiness is when we were waiting on the plane before takeoff. I thought for a brief moment of leaving Jimi with him and sitting in coach. But alas screaming baby actually beats sitting in coach for long distance flights but not by much. Jimi set his stop watch right when we left Arlington so that when we arrive to our hotel in Auckland, we will know exactly how long this journey took. So far it's been 9 hours. These are my predictions for my fellow travelers breakdown into madness: Mom 20 hours, Dad 22 hours, Jimi 28 hours, Nicholas 18 hours. As for me, I think I have already reached the madness.
ESCAPE FROM LA (EN ROUTE TO AUCKLAND)
After reuniting with the Washingtonians that came in about midday, we proceeded to the hotel for some rest. We promptly left our hotel about 5 PM and were in the airport by 5:15 PM for check in - 3 hours ahead of the flight. All went smooth, except that the airport (LAX) looked like something from a very primitive country. It was hard to believe you were in the US. I have been to a lot of airports in the world, and most of them are superior to the US major airports, but LAX is a dump. The club, where we needed to wait for close to 3 hours, was not any better. There were hardly any seats left and the place was spartan at best. This pre-conditioned me to lower even further my expectations.
Finally, the boarding started and we were all pleasantly surprised that the plane was a new 777. Carolina and Jimi even got like a private seating area with curtains, which made it like a room. The service was exceptional as were the meals, the movies and everything else. Little did I know that Jimi over heard something from the pilot that thankfully he did not share until we were on the ground, but I will let Carolina tell you about that. Then the best surprise came: out of the 13 hours of flying time, the baby slept 10 hours and the remaining 3 he spent quietly playing on his bassinet. Incredibly, I did not hear the baby for the entire flight. We were doubly blessed that there was hardly any turbulence. In fact, this flight did not seem long at all and turned out to be one of my best.
We landed and exited to a very modern facility in Sydney. We spent a total of 6 hours on the ground there, just waiting around. Once again, the baby was in his best behavior. Go figure! I ended up having 3 breakfasts, since Carolina told me there was no meal on our next flight, which turned out to be not true. But if the truth is to be told with the confusing time changes, I eat every time food is near. I have no idea when is lunch, dinner or breakfast, but I keep eating. You never know when there may not be meals around. I feel like an overstuffed turkey. The time change is also playing havoc with my meds. I do not know if I am taking too much or too little and I stuff them down every once in a while with no idea of what is going on.
There is an 18 hour time difference between Juno Beach and Auckland. On top of that, we lost a day. We left LA on Thursday, we arrived Auckland on a Saturday late afternoon. I know we did not fly for two days, so where is my Friday? No one has been able to explain this to my satisfaction. By the way, I do not gain this day on the return, we return and arrive the same day. So I am a day older without the benefiting from the experience of that day. So much for one day at a time!
I understand about 5% of what people tell me here, so I am in a state of total confusion. The immigration officer told Aidilu and I a tale of something I believe had to do with New Zealand, but I kept smiling and saying yes. When I asked Aidilu what he said, she told me she also had no clue. As a result, I had Carolina deal with the airline folks. This is turning to be Ireland all over again.
At this point, we have checked in 10 items. We were quite a sight at the airport, logging around three carts full of luggage, a stroller and numerous backpacks and sundry small bags. No wonder Air New Zealand asked for evidence that we had passage out of the country. The flight to Auckland was uneventful. The baby behaved once again and slept most of the trip.
The van that came to pick us up had a trailer hooked up to it to handle the luggage. When he got to the hotel, the hotel asked if we were here for a while or moving!
Carolina's Notes
40 hours, 42 minutes, and 5 seconds. That is how long it took us to get here in real time, not including any time changes. I feel like with that much time and effort, we should have arrived in outer space. Jimi started the stop watch when we left Arlington and stopped it right when we got to our hotel in Auckland. The baby definitely got an A for the whole experience. I am exhausted but like a diligent and efficient Felipe in blood if no longer name, I must write the blog before I retire for the evening.
Things to note:
-When did LAX turn into a hell hole? It's like Guadalajara airport minus the chickens but that wouldn't have surprised me.
-Pilots should learn not to talk about the condition of the aircraft (if it is poor) in front of passengers. The same plane we took last night was cancelled the night before due to mechanical issues. The pilot was explaining to the flight attendant that the plane "should" make it but it would be a dicey take off and landing, and then it would go in for a full service overhaul. Jimi could have chosen to withhold this overheard conversation with me but he didn't.
-If you are going to have a baby, move to Australia. Our few hours at the Sydney airport and on an Australian airline have made me realize how much more accommodating Australians are. There are changing tables everywhere, family restrooms, they even have microwaves in them to heat up milk, and bathtubs for babies. I was waiting for some lovely, happy Australian woman to pop up out of nowhere and offer to change him courtesy of the country of Australia.
Speaking of baby-I think Nicholas gained 5 pounds on our trip because I lost track of time and just keep feeding him. Then when he would cry, I would feed him some more. An hour ago, he refused his favorite food-sweet potatoes. He may weigh 50 pounds by the time we get back.
The other good news is that after that travel experience, no one has thrown luggage at anyone or hurled profanities at each other. We are all still happy to see each other again tomorrow morning. I think!
BRINGING UP BABY (AUCKLAND)
We arrived at the Hilton and were pleasantly surprised by the hotel and the location. We were too exhausted to enjoy the location, but were promptly using our beds and all of us, including the baby, felt into a deep sleep early in the evening.
The morning greeted us in good spirits - something we would miss later in the day. We had a great breakfast at the hotel, checked out and left our substantial luggage on the care of the hotel. Our guide came right on time and spoke to us on the Maori language for a period of a few minutes, while we looked to her in disbelief. We found out later that this was the customary greeting of the Maori. She explained that her father was Irish, but that her mother was a Maori and she kept most of the Maori cultural way of life. In addition, her husband was also Irish.
Auckland is a city of about 1.5 million people, in a country of less than 5 million people spread over two islands. Somehow, I thought New Zealand was a bigger country and that Auckland was an important capital port. The city is situated in 5 dead volcanoes and is spread over a vast territory as a result. Apparently, there is not much in the city to tour, so our tour consisted of visiting the top of the various volcanoes to watch the port below. There were some incredible sites of beach and terrain. One of the high points was a rain forest. Our guide explained in detail a thousand and one ferns and plants as we went from location to location. Somehow, I often end up in these nature tours, without even trying.
It happens that New Zealand is a very new country. Therefore, there is not much of historic sites. It is also an agricultural based economy, so not too much industry or big cities around. The city was mostly made of middle income homes - did not see any mansions or any slums. Our guide told us that there were no slums. She also told us that most Maori, which are about 15% of the population, can trace back their ancestor to the canoe that they came in.
New Zealand was uninhabited until the King of Polynesia, fearing from over population on their territory, sent out canoes to all corners of the universe. One of these canoes landed in New Zealand and the colonization began with settlers coming in canoes (1250 to 1300 AD). The name was given by a Dutch captain who anchored close to shore (around 1642) but never ventured inside due to watching the natives performing the Haka and being afraid that they will be killed if they trespassed. The Haka is a war dance meant to frighten your enemy. He named it after a town in Holland call Zeeland. The name stuck even a few years later, when Captain Cook claimed the islands for the English Crown. Captain Cook was a busy fellow on all these Pacific territories. In 1840, the natives signed a treaty making New Zealand a colony of the United Kingdom. In 1907, it became a Dominion and in 1947 part of the Commonwealth. In theory, the Queen of England is the head of State, which fulfills its duty through a Governor.
Throughout the tour, the baby was outstanding and looked at all the sites.
We finally got to our ship and said our good byes to the guide, collected our luggage and checked in with the cruise. This took the least amount of time that I have ever experienced. I found out the trick is to check in late rather than early to avoid lines or waiting for the luggage. In fact, our luggage was in our room by the time we got there. The troubles will soon begin.
We were called to a safety drill very soon after our settling in our room. That is when baby Nicholas decided to have a fit. To the alarm of our fellow elderly passengers, the entire drill instructions were with background baby cries. He had his own little life vest, which looked incredible. However, he never tried it on since he was very disturbed by the whole thing. The crying continued in the room. He also was not having a good time with his stomach. His mother was also not very calm. We all went to bed worrying. This is the part that you regret the trip and start questioning your sanity.
Carolina's Notes
The past two nights the baby woke up at 4:00 AM. I was worried because (a) waking up at that time sucks and (b) of waking up fellow passengers. I am no longer worried about (b). In my many years of travel, I have been awoken up at hotels and cruises countless amounts of times by drunk people. They scream in the middle of the night, they go emotionally from zero to a hundred in two seconds flat for no apparent reason; they pee and vomit on themselves, and they do not care about the feelings of any one around them. For some odd reason, this thought gives me comfort.
Yesterday, we spent the day in Auckland, which was not what I expected. I expected a huge bustling city, but apparently, New Zealand just isn't a crazy large place. The Auckland city center also apparently does not have much to offer because we pretty much drove to various points around the city to look at the city. They do have a space needle (Seattle's is better.) It is like a weird mix of cultures. The Maori tribal parts kind of remind me of Alaskan culture and their language seems very similar to native Hawaiians (probably because they have the same origins). It is a very first world city though and feels very safe and clean. We also got to stop by the wonderful landmark of K-Mart so that I could pick up baby food. Nicholas is in for a treat because they have very different flavors (What in the world is Kumara?). We may end up bringing back a Kiwi baby.
ACCIDENTAL TOURIST (TAURANGA)
The morning brought a better light to things. Nicholas was in a good mood and feeling well. The parents were rested and a lot calmer and I ... Having nightmares most of the night, I finally woke up at 5:00 AM and headed to the gym. Luckily I managed to get one of the machines, but was careful as to the speed lest I rupture a tendon due to the meds I am taking. As a result, after 45 minutes, I only burned 245 calories, less than the croissant that I ate for breakfast minutes laters, followed by cereal, french toast and a fruit plate.
The five of us were promptly at the dock at 9:45 AM, but did not find our guide until about 10:30 AM. The e-mail described the vehicle as an spacious wagon for 7 passengers. It turned out to be a slightly bigger version of the Ford Escape. As the most flexible of the passengers, I ended up in the third row, which consisted of a hard surface with no leg space. I shared this space with all of our backpacks and baby supplies. Our guide informed us that the points of interest were not in Tauranga, but in Rotorua, some 50 miles from the port.
Tauranga is a beach town with some nice houses by the beach and a lot of surfers and vacationers. We drove through the city in our way to Rotorua and got there about an hour later. At that point, I wanted to visit a chiropractor and not see anything. Our first stop was the geysers and the Maori show, which we could not see because it was sold out. So we went to see the geysers. I have never seen a geyser before - they spew hot water and smell rather bad. I guess it was impressive. My highlight was sitting on hot rocks beneath the geysers that soothed my back.
After the geysers, we went to the city center to get something to eat, which proved more difficult than anticipated. The few restaurants open (all cafeteria style) were basically serving breakfast until 2:30 PM and had some old sandwiches. We finally decided on one, I decided to eat left overs from the others since I knew they would not eat what they purchased. I was right, but I could not even eat the left overs.
Our next stop was the Sheep Show. I expected a big field with thousands of sheep being led by dogs. Instead, we went to an auditorium where there were sheep on different stations. Upon entering, I thought the sheep were animated figures a la Disney, but Aidilu pointed out they were real. They were strange sheep moving back and forth like autistic children. Eventually, the show started which consisted of moving these sheep around and explaining the wool on each of them, followed by various forms of torture on these sheep by man and dog. One of them got completed sheered in 15 seconds by the host of the show. The dogs jumped on the backs of the sheep, who were indifferent, except for the one getting the haircut, to everything.
Once that was done, we headed back to the ship. We did see a lot of country side on the way to and from Rotorua. Nicholas was alert in all of the sites. I wondered what he thought of all of these strange places. He was the truly accidental tourist.
We returned safely and tired to the ship after spending most of the time in this tiny vehicle, another insane thing to do!
Carolina's Notes
I was told by everyone that I was going Down Under in the summer so I should bring plenty of sunscreen and warm clothes. I would like a 1% refund for every degree under 70. It gets to 70 maybe for an hour in the afternoon but is pretty much in the 60s. I had to buy a fleece yesterday; this should have been purchased for me by the New Zealand government for their false advertisement of summer.
Yesterday I saw a geyser for the first time, which is quite neat. I had never seen one in person so that is nice to cross off the list. Then we went to lunch, which as my Dad explained was not the greatest. The people of New Zealand like to eat meat pies, which tastes as unappetizing as it sounds. However, they do make very good coffee so I can allot them points for that. I am also in search of a golden kiwi, which is native to New Zealand and supposedly sweeter than a normal kiwi. Oh and we saw a kiwi bird in sanctuary yesterday; they are very strange birds that should probably be dead if Darwin were still around because they cant fly, they are nocturnal but can't see well at night, and have no useful skills. But the locals protect them and they have a couple hundred left-they are odd looking birds. Google it.
The sheep show was pretty awesome. In America, they are so few places where you can touch and play with farm animals anymore; they are always in gated pens. I probably could have mounted and rode a sheep at this crazy place. At the end of the presentation given by an insane and possibly on meth sheep shearer, they let us take pictures and interact with all the animals.
THE SEA LIFE (AT SEA AND NAPIER)
Tuesday was our first day at sea. We spent the day doing nothing, but somehow did not have any time to do anything! Actually, we attended a lecture on New Zealand, which some how had to do with Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. An Ambassador to a variety of countries on behalf of New Zealand gave the lectures. Learnt some things about New Zealand, like the French government sent terrorists to bomb a ship here.
Otherwise, our past time was eating. We ate and ate throughout the day. By the end of the day, I felt like iI was about to blow up. The food in the ship is extraordinarily good in all of their venues. I also slept a lot. For some reason, though I have a good night sleep, I feel sleepy all of the time. It may be the food consumption or may be the rocking of the sea.
On Wednesday, we arrived to Napier at 8:00 AM. There is not much to see in Napier, so the tours were to the wine country, which we did not join. Instead, we went to the town and walked around the quaint streets. Napier was rebuilt in the early 1930's following a massive earthquake, followed by fires. By the end of decade, Napier was the newest city on the globe. The buildings reflect the tastes of the time, specially art deco. It sort of looks like Miami Beach, but smaller. In fact, Napier is a sister city to Miami Beach. The art deco is unique as it incorporates some Maori motifs.
After our walk, we tried to find a lunch place. Aidilu gave up after a few minutes and so we returned to the ship. Jimi, Carolina and little Nicholas, decided to stay on. However, after eating a bad pie, they too decided to get back to the ship and eat there. Definitely, fine or even acceptable cuisine, at least for lunch, is not for the Kiwi.
Speaking of Kiwi, Carolina wrote about this strange bird previously. What she did not say is that the New Zealanders are called Kiwi in relation to the bird, not the fruit. I did not know that.
The baby continues to do well. I believe his only complaint is that he can not walk or crawl. He keeps trying and gets frustrated when he can not move. I predict that he will crawl before this trip is over. He also told me that he is not thrilled about the Kiwi flavors they are feeding him.
Carolina's Notes
Day at Sea=eating.
In Napier, New Zealand, I am glad to report that the fellowship is alive and well (as well as the topic of resentments which is not unique to Americans!), which was a great treat. After a lukewarm meat pie, we decided to come back to the ship for another lunch. Then we played Mexican train and I beat everyone. I think that just about covers everything of great importance.
ANALYZE THIS (WELLINGTON)
As it is now customary, our guide was late 15 minutes and once again, we called in panic to see where he was. By guide, I am using the word loosely. We drove around all of the high places of Wellington to admire the coast line from above. In addition, our guide gave us a complete account of where he spent his childhood and even some of the family history dating back to his great grandmother.
To be fair, this is the prettiest city we have been so far. It has a sprawling harbor and a dramatic hilly terrain. The houses are nicer than most places we have been in this country. The government buildings are beautiful, mainly Victorian architecture and some art deco.The city boasts many gardens, including a rose garden which we walked through. We also walked downtown, which was a nice area with many shops and cafes. We also visited the old cathedral made totally of wood and an amazing building.
Wellington was the first settlement organized by the London based New Zealand Company in the 1840's. It is the second largest city at this time, but it alternates the second place with Christchurch from time to time. The city has a population of about 300,000. But the big thing here is director Peter Jackson, from Lord of the Rings fame. It seems he owns quite a bit of the property here and is like a semi-god for the Wellingtonians. Related to him is the Weta Workshop were they do the figures and most of the miniatures for movies including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, District 9 and many others. This was quite a place and worth the visit. We quite enjoyed the visit to this workshop which is bustling with creativity. We also were able to take some very neat photos.
Lunch, also as usual, was a problem. We went to this place which was highly recommended and it was bad. I have now determined that the New Zealanders have only one meal that they eat multiple times during the day - breakfast. Carolina left her food untouched, while Aidilu ate half of hers. I did not bother to order.
The baby was the best behaved person of the party. The adults bickered and complained throughout the day. Our guide told us that there is a murder every 10 days in the country and usually family related. I totally got that. On the other hand, this is a group which consists of people that need their food at certain times and were not getting it. The baby on the other hand ate on schedule. The entire day could have been a study for a mental health specialist!
We all have our peculiarities. Accepting them in us and others and understanding that they are what makes us is part of the sharing of life. What may be crazy to one person may be perfectly normal for another. In fact, we are never in a position to judge for we can never walk completely in another's shoes.
Carolina's Notes
New Zealand is not Switzerland. It is not efficiency. For the third day in a row, our tour guide was late. Fifty percent of the tour was learning about the guides family and fifty percent about the city. The ratio I prefer is 2% guide and 98% city (in case you are ever my guide). And the most shocking/hilarious portion of the tour was when we made a detour to a marina to check on the guides boat. I am not sure if my restraint of tongue after this was due to my amazing spiritual condition or just my utter disbelief.
Wellington was the nicest city we have been to in New Zealand. My father already explained the city and it's sites. I will echo his sentiments and I also thought the WETA cave, an alcove of the special effects studio was super cool. King Baby aka Nicholas logged in another day of award winning behavior. Although I would like to attribute this to our excellent parenting skills, he is just a great baby (and thus deserves his title of King Baby). His second tooth also broke through today. By the time we make it home, he'll be saying "G'day Mate" and wrestling crocodiles.
EARTHQUAKE (AKAROA/CHRISTCHURCH)
We arrived at Akaroa early in the morning and anchored a few miles from the dock. Originally, the port of call was Christchurch, but due to the two earthquakes affecting this city, the port was not available - it needs $200 million worth of repairs (The highest insurance claim in the Pacific.). Akaroa is on a beautiful, sheltered harbor and overlooked by the craggy volcanic hills. It is a resort village of about 600 people that swells during the holidays to 7,000.
Our disembarkation procedure for Akaroa was through the use of tenders. With the temperature in the 50's cruising on the tenders with open doors was interesting. Aidilu and the baby decided to stay on board today. They did not want to face the tenders, the cold and the potential for rainfall. So while they played, ate and rested in the ship, Carolina, Jimi and I ventured into the cold. I was told that this was summer and it was going to be very hot. It was not. The fact that they had as one of the excursions on the ship a trip to see penguins, should have given me a clue.
Our guide was waiting for us as we got off from the tender and escorted us to a well appointed mini van with speakers and comfortable seating. By far, the best guide we had so far, he knew what to show us, what to tell us and when to speak. We passed the town of Akaroa, all two streets of it and Little River (one block long) and headed to Lyttleton. On the way there, we stopped at an overlook, high up in the mountain, to admire the bay and the surroundings. We arrived at Lyttleton, passing through beautiful country side, one hour or so later. Lyttleton was affected by the earthquakes, but they have done a remarkable job in one year of cleaning up. Our guide pointed out to the different empty lots where buildings and houses used to be. The town was quite quaint and on its way to recovery.
Along the highways, there were containers used to block the rocks from the mountains to reach the highways or the houses surrounding the mountains. The containers were used for almost everything else - as stores, post offices, banks, bathrooms. I got some ideas to build a house totally of containers.
We arrived at Christchurch and there the destruction was more evident, with half of the city cordoned off and multiple buildings either torn up, in the process of being leveled or in various stages of disrepair. Even with all this destruction, you could tell the city was very beautiful and still maintained some of its charm. It was sad to see so many historical sites and buildings damaged by the earthquakes.
Eventually, we made it to "Container City". This is a section a few blocks off from the city center that have been cleared and now was occupied by a series of containers housing all kinds of stores, restaurants and coffee shops. There was live entertainment in the streets and a sort of carnival atmosphere. We had German bratwursts for lunch from a street vendor, followed by coffee at one of the coffee shops, where we also enjoyed the use of free WiFi. This entire street is a monument to the perseverance of the citizens of Christchurch, which through creativity and ingenuity had turned this adverse situation into something beautiful and enjoyable. We had a great time there.
Eventually, our guide took us away from the area and we walked through a botanical garden and some of the streets of Christchurch before heading back to Akaroa. On the way back, we made stops in Little River and Akaroa.
Back in the ship, baby and grandma were having a great time. Fortunately, they did not decide to go with one of the ship tours that went swimming with the dolphins. Given the age group of our ship mates, I expected to see body bags for those taking that excursion. The temperature of the water had to be in the 30's.
Some say insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. The question then becomes are the people of Christchurch insane for trying to rebuild in an area that is bound to have more earthquakes? Or is it perseverance? Sometimes, the lines between courage and craziness are very thin.
Carolina's Notes
I like the South Island of New Zealand much more than the North! It's still cold but something is different that I can not explain. I really enjoyed my time in Christchurch but it happened yesterday so I can't remember much. It's no wonder I need to repeatedly hear things for them to sink in; I can't even remember yesterday. I do remember that it was good and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
WILLY WONKAS CHOCOLATE FACTORY (DUNEDIN)
We were off to the mountains as soon as we left the ship with our tour guide. All of the tour guides must have learned to take tourists to high places to admire the views. This one was no exception. After the awe inspiring sites, which were truly amazing, we headed down to the town to see the steepest street in the world (Baldwin Street), the train station with its Edwardian building and beautiful interiors and then to the country side and the beaches in our way to Lanarch Castle.
The castle and gardens were spectacular. The property is well preserved and they let you touch the stuff and wander around the entire building and gardens. The history of this house, it is not a castle by medieval standards, is very messy. The first owner had three wives that died at 38 years of age. One of them had an affair with a son and the owner and the son ended up committing suicide. There are confirmed sightings of ghosts in the house. The present owner had turned it into an attraction, with some tragedies also reported in this family. She also has an adjacent building that houses a hotel where guests are allowed to eat in the castle's main dining room and undoubtedly commune with the spirits. It is interesting that so much tragedy befell to the owners of this magnificent property.
We had a good lunch at a seaside cafe. At that point, Aidilu and I took the baby to the ship. The baby was dressed today in All Black uniform. All Black is the New Zealand rugby team.
Carolina and Jimi continued to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. I am sure she will tell you of her experience there.
Carolina and I usually get a very bad headache when we have chocolate in even medium quantities. Yet, we will eat the chocolate and then get the headache. Insanity runs deep. Today, Carolina left for the factory with a headache already. I could claim that I am saner for not going, but the fact is that I could not go since Aidilu could not carry three bags, a stroller and a baby up the ship's ramp.
Carolina's Notes
My head is pounding but I would do it all over again. I will unsurprisingly focus my notes exclusively on the chocolate factory, where I ensured that I got my moneys worth. The Cadbury Chocolate Factory in New Zealand is the only Cadbury Factory that uses fresh whole cow’s milk from New Zealand, instead of milk powder. We started the tour with a bag of chocolates and a video about the history on Cadbury. It is always good to start a tour with a bag of chocolate. The other tour participants consisted of families with children. Once the tour started, the guide would ask questions and award those who answered correctly with a chocolate. Those poor kids didn't have a chance. I have no shame! I was very good in school just because I love recognition; if you add chocolate prizes-there is no stopping me. I was answering questions left and right and amassing all of the chocolate prizes. It was glorious. We also tested fresh, warm liquid chocolate, which was divine. Everyone got 1 sample but I managed to get 4! We went into a chocolate silo and saw a ton of chocolate dropping. It was a delicious experience. I don't do moderation well but after buying $50 worth of additional chocolate at the shop, I finally stopped eating it. I shall now restart my day and eat some protein and vegetables....and maybe have a non chocolate desert at dinner.
On a side note, Jimi wants me to mention that the University in Dunedin has a nude co-ed rugby team; which seems hilarious, fascinating, and painful. In New Zealand there are black swans instead of white ones. And another thing I'll mention is that they love their botanical gardens in New Zealand and at this point if I have to see another rose garden, I'll shoot myself so I am glad we are now moving on to Australia where hopefully they don't garden. Bring on the outback! I need some dry, dead land to gain back my inspiration.
KING KONG (CRUISING THE FJORDS OF MILFORD SOUND)
This was a day of touring by ship. We entered two systems of fjords which were spectacular to look at. If you have seen the movie King Kong, the scenery of the mountains when they arrive at the island is exactly what we were seeing. Described by early European visitors as "utterly useless except for mountaineers", the unforgiving land of high ridges, steep bluffs and deep glacial waterways was home to none but the hardiest. Some of these locations were used also to film Lord of the Rings.
At breakfast, we had a great show courtesy of about 50 dolphins swimming next to the shores. There were rumors of whales, but I did not see one. The weather was also nicer than previously and we could enjoy the sights from our balcony. The previous night, Aidilu and I were invited by the Executive Chef to a dinner on the patio and we almost froze by the time the 5 course meal ended. It was hard to enjoy his cooking, which was done in front of us, while shivering. We were lucky and did not catch pneumonia.
Carolina and Jimi have some kind of a cold and were not feeling too well. The baby meanwhile spent most of the day with us and enjoyed some of the sightseeing.
Late in the afternoon, we left the fjords and the south island of New Zealand and headed to the Tasmanian Sea for a two day crossing to Tasmania.
Carolina's Notes
Swimming dolphins, unlimited ice cream, and an 80 minute massage. Life is good.
CONTAGION (AT SEA, EN ROUTE TO HOBART)
We spent the last two days at sea. Carolina and Jimi and now the baby got a cold that has all three in various stages of discomfort. I am happy to report that the baby is handling it much better than his parents. For example, he still plays, smiles and is in a good mood. Not so, with the adults, who blame me for giving them the disease. I must admit I did catch a cold early on the trip, but it has been gone for quite a few days. At any rate, all of them are recovering and should be OK to disembark in Hobart. There is a slight chance that they are quarantined by the Australian authorities, which we are meeting tomorrow morning.
The days at sea were uneventful. I saw about 100 dolphins swimming along the ship very early in the morning. We have played various games, watch movies and attended enrichment lessons. Jimi and Carolina also have attended various cooking demonstrations as well.
Our captain gave us a lecture today on modern piracy. He was involved in a pirate attack on a sister ship in 2008. Nothing dramatic, he simply out ran the pirates. He insisted that the ships are very safe and even in dangerous waters it was next to impossible to take over this type of ship.
We are sailing the Tasman sea, which is a large body of water between Australia and New Zealand - 1,250 miles across. This passage is normally very rocky, but we have been lucky to have excellent weather. It feels we are sailing on a lake.
Carolina's Notes
We have been sick for the past two days, but are holding up OK nonetheless. My Dad got us sick and then we got the baby sick; so, as usual, it's my Dad's fault. This is his assumed role in life and he has accepted it quite serenely. When the weather is bad or a plane is delayed, feel free to blame him. Since he has told you about most of our activities at sea, I will tell you about his idea. Nicholas watches 30 minutes of Baby Einstein every day to give us all a break and I must admit, the film is pretty terrible. So my Dad is going to make his own version... I implore you to write him and ask him to share what would be on his Baby Felipe video.
CROCODILE DUNDEE (HOBART, TASMANIA)
After going through a security check similar to the one we went through in Israel, we were finally let out of the ship. Carolina and Jimi were held back as the health and immigration authorities studied the baby food that they were going to disembark on Australian soil, possibly contaminating the environment and creating havoc among the kangaroos. As a result, I went ahead to meet our guide. He was the only private guide waiting outside the port and had a sign with our names. He was dressed in full safari clothing, hat and everything. He spoke and looked like a bold Crocodile Dundee.
Once our group got reunited, we boarded an SUV and once again I was confined to a very limited space in the third row. As a result, I could not hear one thing he said for most of the trip, except when we were outside. This was relatively unimportant, since I did not understand most of what he said anyway.
We drove through the city where he pointed out various things. Hobart is a beautiful city with many historic buildings, nice shopping and restaurant areas. It is Australia's most southern city, positioned at the bottom of Mount Wellington. We quickly headed to the mountains passing through fields and the now familiar coastal scenery. We reached Mount Field National Park one hour later. The Park is a combination of mountain paths and very wooded area. Incredibly large trees, 500 years and more old, surrounded us as we walked the park, baby in tow. We did another walk to a waterfall and on our way, we met some animals which looked like a small kangaroo. The waterfall was impressive not so much for the amount of water coming down but for its looks.
We then worked our way to a river bend and a lunch bench. Our guide took out a table cloth and presented an incredible lunch of home cooked meals, including a cake baked by his 92 year old mother-in-law. We had the best lunch to date.
After lunch, we went to Bonorong Wildlife Park. This is an incredible park, where you feed the kangaroos, go next to the emus, pet koalas and see Tasmanian devils. Our guide was very defensive of the Tasmanian devil letting us know that Warner Brothers had vilified this nice scavenger that has poor eye sight, is not very fast and does not kill anything. At the park at one time, the baby was surrounded by emus and kangaroos. Luckily, the kangaroos did not put him in their pouches.
From the park, we dropped Jimi and Carolina in the shopping area and the remainder of us went back to the ship. Though we tried, the guide and I could not make the stroller fold, so I had to climb to the ship and through security with an open stroller, a car seat, two backpacks and another bag, while Aidilu handled the baby. We looked liked we kidnapped the baby and stole all his things at the same time. How I managed to get every thing to the room is a small miracle.
We departed very happy with our visit to Hobart. Is surrounding a 7 month baby with wild animals something sane people will do? I asked myself that question as one of the kangaroos held my hand as he fed from a package I had.
Carolina's Notes
A dingo did not eat my baby and Australia is totally awesome. I have spoken with many people who have gone to both New Zealand and Australia and most people prefer New Zealand. I much more prefer the amazingness of Australia. Besides the insane immigration to get in, everything was fabulous. It is summer, as advertised, in Australia. I could finally wear the clothes I packed and enjoy the warmth.
Hobart is a beautiful city and there is more to do than drive around and look at views from above. The highlights for me were the animals! We saw a wallaby in the wild, which looks like a cross between a small kangaroo/large rat/ large rabbit.
The wildlife park just had tons of kangaroos meandering around and we were given kangaroo food to feed them. It was amazing and would never be allowed in the States for multiple reasons; basic human safety and sanitary/health concerns. And imagine a 7 month old baby in a stroller with kangaroos hopping all around him, it was a sight to see! He only got petrified once, when I led a kangaroo with food to right in front of his stroller (see picture in gallery of screaming baby with horrible mom feeding kangaroo right in front of him).
After the kangaroo, we were able to pet a koala, who was elderly and asleep (most these Australian animals are nocturnal). Animals we got to see up close but not touch are the tasmanian devil, emu, and wallaby. We had a wonderful time and if you never hear from us again, it will be because the United States government has permanently quarantined us because we all have 42 strains of kangaroo flu and koala disease.
ON THE BEACH (GEELONG)
We anchored in the harbor of Geelong and proceeded to shore on tenders. Aidilu and the baby stayed behind for the second time during the trip. The planned trip was very long and the tender made it difficult to transport the baby.
Our guide was waiting for us shore side and quickly took us through Geelong, which is a nice port city with a nice harbor view. Geelong is about 50 miles from Melbourne and is a semi-industrial city. It was founded before Melbourne, but lost its status as main port of Victoria, due to its shallow harbor unable to accommodate big ships.
We left the city and proceeded to the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road, which is sort of the Pacific Highway of Australia, goes through many beach towns, landmarks and culminate at the home of the 12 Apostles. From the winding highways there are great vistas of the ocean and many beach alcoves. Our first stop was a lighthouse located on top of a cliff. This is an operating lighthouse and looks out into the ocean at a considerable height. We had coffee at a coffee house next to the lighthouse and walked around the other houses located near the lighthouse. I concluded that this will be a nice place to get lost from everything. I am always on the lookout for places to get lost. Do not know why that is.
Then we continued on the highway and made another stop at the next beach town, which housed a number of wild (if you can call sleeping animals hanging from trees completely asleep, wild) koalas. It then started to rain, and in full gear, I ventured into the rain to hunt for koalas. I found two, high above in some trees. These things look like furry bats that did not learn to hang upside down.
We left the koalas and headed for another beach town, where we had lunch. The lunch was in a nice cafe overlooking a very long and nice beach. Carolina, Jimi and I all had the same lunch - kangaroo burgers. They actually taste like lamb. I could not believe that Carolina was eating the same animal that a day before she was hugging and touching. So there you have it. Our guide pointed out that Australians must be the only country that eats the two animals on their coat of arms.
Kangaroo meat makes you sleepy so we got back into the car, after an ice cream break, and felt asleep, while our driver continued to drive to more winding roads along the Great Ocean Road. We woke up shortly before reaching the 12 Apostles. This site, which is a very high tourist traffic site, has some of the best scenery I have seen in my life. The 12 Apostles consist of limestone formations in the ocean near beautiful beaches, surrounded by a high wall of limestone rocks. There are actually 8 Apostles, but they are called 12 Apostles. Presumably, there were 12 at one time, but they have eroded with time. Our guide was not sure if that was the case, or just some one decided to call it that. Perhaps, these were built by aliens and took 4 of them into space. Or more likely, they were built by the Bureau of Tourism to have tourists from all over the world come and see them. Regardless, it was a great sight to see. The beaches along the highway with the clear blue waters was so inviting that I had to contain myself from jumping in the water.
I imagined several places where they would have filmed the movie On the Beach, but probably it was nowhere near here. Our guide did not know anything about this movie, which is an apocalyptic movie about a world ending due to nuclear disaster and Australia being one of the last places in the world that the radioactive cloud reaches. It does reach it eventually. I have seen both versions of the movie several times. I like apocalyptic movies, again I do not know why.
After a very long ride through the country side, we returned to the harbor. We walked alongside the harbor side street looking to steal WiFi and eventually found it in a piece of lawn a few feet away from a restaurant. If we sat at the right angle and pointed out our devices in a northeasterly direction, we could get on line. After a few minutes though, the service deteriorated and we came back to the ship to find grandmother and child rested and in good spirits.
I should mention that during the day we experienced rain, cold weather and hot weather.
I have been told that sanity is centered in the mind. Over the last 20 years, I have made an effort to be introspective. You would think that by now, I would have found out the why's of everything that goes on with me. But the fact is that the more that I discover about myself, the more I also know that there are parts of me that I do not understand. I am comfortable with that. Perhaps, my most sane finding (or the only one) is that I do not have the capacity to comprehend everything that goes on in me or outside me.
Carolina's Notes
Today reinforced my fondness for Australia. It was breathtaking. The Great Ocean Road, 12 apostles, and Gorge were jaw dropping and spectacular. At lunch, I ate a kangaroo burger because I figured I would never be afforded the opportunity again. It was good but not worth the guilt I felt all day after having spent so much bonding time with the lovely animal in Hobart. I vow right here and now never to eat my friend the kangaroo again.
We will have the same tour guide we have today for tomorrow so I expressed my desire to NOT see any botanical gardens so after a little brainstorming, I have decided that we will see the Melbourne slums instead. I think that is suitable substitute but my mom does not think its appropriate with the baby.
Anyways great day and great country.
BEING THERE (MELBOURNE)
We were back with our guide as soon as we got out of the ship and proceeded to go through the port with an overcast sky and a cool breeze. We ended up at the Victoria Market, which is like a giant flea market where you can get fish, meats, clothes, toys and every conceivable item. I believe that all major European cities have one like that. We used to go to the one in Amsterdam when we lived in the Netherlands. For some reason, Carolina wanted to go there, though there was not much for us to buy unless we were staying on. We did see different ways of buying kangaroo meat - tails, steaks, ground meat and Jimi's favorite - jerky.
By the time we left the market, the weather was great. The sun was out and it was warm. It got hot by the time we got back to the ship. The weather here changes very quickly and fluctuates a lot - from 60F to 85F within 7 hours.
Following this visit, we continued to the "slums" of Melbourne, which also for some reason was requested to be visited by Carolina. Not much to see there, but a bunch of highrises with nice streets and very close to the highest priced real estate in the city. From the slums, we went to the pricey real estate, which again was not as opulent as one may think. Apparently, these are not people of extremes. The driver also pointed out as we drove out of the slums two brothels, one with a sign "Ladies for Gentlemen, entrance in the rear". Our guide told us that prostitution is not legal, but is not criminalized either. I am not sure what that means.
We then had coffee in the Little Italy section of town in an old established place. It was like a dream for the baked goods fan. There were cakes of every type and form, including my favorite - profiterole cake, a mountain of profiteroles covered in chocolate. Little Italy has been around for many years and, at one time, there was even a mafia presence. The leader was called the Dark Prince. This section of the city is next to the Spanish section which consisted of 4 stores loosely related to Spanish food items.
Having satisfied most of Carolina's request, we then started to visit the more standard tourist attractions. First there was a beautiful garden where classical music played while you were inside. The music was the request of one of the sons of the Queen. Then, we visited the cottage of Captain Cook, which was taken apart in England and brought piece by piece to this park.
Lunch was at a restaurant at the end of a pier. The food was good, but the service was very slow.
Then we went to the center of town, which was indeed beautiful. There we split. Aidilu and I went to the National Art Gallery to an Australian impressionist showing and the rest went with the guide to visit the center and related buildings.
The time went fast and all, except the baby, were disappointed that we needed to leave for the ship. This is a city where you could spend easily a week to cover and experience all it has to offer.
When you are surrounded with so much, it is hard for me to make choices. It is even harder to "be there" though I am getting much better at it. There was a time that I always thought I was in the wrong place. Today, I enjoyed where I was and did not think too much about what I was missing.
In summary, Melbourne is on my list of beautiful cities of the world.
Carolina's Notes
I really love Melbourne. After spending just a few hours here, I instantly thought I would live here. I had this experience when I first visited Washington DC. There are many cities I love but I wouldn't live in most. There is a great mix of old and new of urban and seaside of cultures and food. There is a cultural fabric or attitude underlying the city that I enjoy.
My Dad explained our points of interest but when we split up; Jimi and I went to a fabulous little chocolate shop tucked away in a small arcade in the midst of wonderfully intricate series of streets and side streets with hops and cafes. I had a vanilla iced chocolate drink that was divine. We then wound through the streets to a famous street commissioned by the city of graffiti, by famous worldwide graffiti artists. Very cool.
Other interesting things not mentioned; at Captain Cooks home there was"period" clothing we could try on that was very attractive on us. Even the baby wore a white British wig. Pictures to follow. We almost missed this fabulous photo opportunity because it was in the middle of a garden (I had temporarily banned gardens on tours after being inundated with them). But as we were passing by the gardens with Cook’s house waiting inside, I reversed my ban and I am glad I did. Over the last few years I have learned to become much more flexible and I'm really happy that I have because it makes life easier to live when you don't have to hold onto ideas so tightly. As a byproduct of flexibility, you also get to experience wonderful things that you may never have had a chance before.
AUSTRALIA (SYDNEY)
After a day at sea, where we did nothing but eat, we finally got to Sydney, Australia's largest city with 25% of the population of the country living in this one city. The ship entered the harbor at daybreak and we got to see the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge from it, affording us a privileged view.
The harbor was so congested that we had to delay the anchoring process as we were not able to dock until the night on a proper dock. This necessitated that all the passengers get to Sydney by boats, which was a pain, especially carrying baby things, including a stroller. Somehow, we managed to make it shoreside without dropping the baby or any of the supplies in the water. Our guide was waiting for us as we disembarked, though he went to three terminals before he found us. Our tour felt more like a house hunting trip than a tour. Our guide took us to various neighborhoods and indicated the prices of houses on each of them. If you want to buy a house in Sydney, talk to me, now I am fully educated on real estate pricing in this city. By the way, the prices are outrageous for what you get.
Having gone ashore in the Darling pier, we drove by Potts Point, Woolloomoolog, the botanic gardens and then the Rocks. The most interesting sites during this drive and walks were the botanical gardens due to the views of the cliffs and the harbor. We also liked the Rocks, which is an old neighborhood which is called as it is, due to the fact that is anchored in limestone rock. This is a very quaint neighborhoods with shops and restaurants.
Then, we drove around the coast passing Rose Bay Vacluse, Watsons Bay and eventually to Bondi Beach. Each of the stops had a story to it and, of course, real estate facts. Bondi Beach is supposedly the most famous beach in the world. It is striking, but I have seen better beaches in other places. We did have a nice lunch there, before proceeding to the CBD (Central Business District) which reminded us of Buenos Aires. We were discontented rapidly in the CBD and asked to be taken back to the Rocks, were we walked until we went back to the pier to catch the boat back to the ship.
The consensus of the group was that they like Melbourne better. However, some of it had to do with the guide and the fact that the baby was not feeling well. His cold continues, though he has no fever. Nevertheless, we all worried constantly, particularly since we were to fly the next day; so much for living a day at a time. In addition, by now we are indifferent to beautiful sights from high places, scenic beaches or quaint little areas. We have seen a lot in a few days and everything begins to look the same. I would recommend to see Sydney and Melbourne over a few days to any one visiting. There is much to see and do, but these cities need time.
The trip is getting to the end and we are all suffering from the end of the trip blues. These involve conflicting feelings of wanting to be back home and at the same time not wanting the trip to end. These blues challenge your sanity. I hope one day they invent a tele-transporter a la Star Trek, sort of faxing humans. This way, you could finish a journey and have the ability to return home immediately without going through these blues.
Carolina's Notes
Sydney is another grand city that is quite beautiful. I think I need 2 weeks minimum to visit it properly. It's a huge city with 4.5 million people; a bit to large for me to ever live here but I would definitely come back for a proper visit. I must say that Australia is full of beautiful people-the men and the women. I can not properly write now because I am at the airport and the baby is rolling around the floor eating paper.
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (EN ROUTE TO HOME)
It all seemed so simple in paper. Get out of the ship, board a bus, go to the airport and proceed to three flights over 24 hours (with 20 hours of flying time) to get home. The reality of the trip back was more than we bargained for. We were crossing international date lines, so there were two nights and two days all in the course of those 24 hours.
We disembarked as planned but our pre-arranged transportation to the airport did not show up as planned. I called the agency and they assured me he was somewhere close. AT 9:30 AM, half an hour later than agreed, we made contact. Not that it affected us, since we had a five hour wait time at the airport. However, it is the principle that mattered and the related stress since at 9:00 AM we were kicked out of the ship.
We arrived at the airport and the airline counter will not be opened until one hour later, so we waited in a corner - the four adults, the baby and 12 pieces of various sizes luggage and packages. The baby began to act cranky, probably upset because the driver was late. This made the adults to act crazy.
Finally, we checked in and we went to the club to wait for a few hours before the flight was called. The baby continued to complaint, perhaps because the food in the club was not up to the quality that his parents expected. Eventually, we made it to the plane with the baby a little more subdue.
We had the same exact seats as coming in, so Carolina, Jimi and the baby went to their cocoon and Aidilu and I to the seats in the general area. The flight was delayed by 30 minutes due to their waiting for a delayed domestic flight with connecting passengers. I had only 2 hours of connecting time in LA, so I started to worry. No soon the airplane took off that the turbulence started. The captain explained that it should stop in 10 minutes, but the end of the 10 minutes never came. I have been in many flights over the years, but this was in the top 5 worst flights. Aidilu that is never afraid of flying was white as a ghost. There were cries all over the plane and one woman kept screaming "O My God" and not in a good way. She finally was attended by one of the flight attendants that sat with her and did something, which I could not quite figure out, for her to be quiet. I was tempted to scream as well to see if they calmed me down. This went on for hours, the worse of it lasting about 2 hours, but continuously severe turbulence for 10 of the 13 flight time hours. As a result, no one got to sleep, even when we passed from day to night. Carolina reported that the baby did scream (I never heard him) for the first 4 flight hours, but slept and rocked soundly in his bassinet for 7 hours, including the worst of the flight.
By the time, the plane was calmed and I decided to sleep, the crew turned on the lights and said it was time for breakfast. At that time I also learned that due to the weather, we did not gain any time in flight, so we were 30 minutes late. That gave me 90 minutes to clear immigration, go through customs, walk through 4 terminals, check in with another airline, go through security and into my next plane.
As I was going through immigration, the passport control officer asked me to step aside and wait in a corner as my name was flagged in the computer. I spoke with a supervisor and told him that I had a tight connection, but he said it was a matter of national security. I sat with another large black gentleman and a uniformed airline person. We shared something in common, other than being detained, Felipe was some part of our names. The officer came and asked more questions and told me he had to speak to Washington for me to be released. I envisioned myself in Guantanamo for years while they sorted this out. I wondered if I had adequate clothes for the weather in Cuba.
After 30 minutes, I was released. Carolina and Jimi had put our luggage in carts and were waiting for us in the custom hall. We took the carts and started running from terminal 5 to terminal 1. This is LAX, where a million people congregate in the outside, so it took both velocity and aggressiveness to clear through the 4 terminals and arrive at terminal 1. We made it to the airport counter, where the agent told us we made it in time, 30 minutes before the flight. However, we had too many pieces of luggage and had to pay $125 or take something as a carry on. I thought about the craziness of charging people for a piece of luggage that they will gladly check in for free at the gate. It is almost like rewarding inefficiency. However, I was too tired to argue, so I paid the lady and left for security. We made it to the gate, where we quickly entered the aircraft and sat down for another turbulent flight, but nothing compared to the crossing.
As I went home, I pondered my new status as a person of interest of Homeland Security and the paperwork that now I must do to get me off the list and not be confused with the bad Felipe, whoever he may be. The officers were kind and gave me information as to how to go about doing that. I felt sorry for all the innocent Felipes of the world. Carolina after all was right not to have kept my last name as a middle name or other name. (Not really!).
I also wondered if the whole world has gone insane. The officers told me that clearly I was not the person HS was looking for, but yet they could not do anything about it until some one in Washington gave the clearance. Airlines that charge you for a bag that you check in making it convenient for them, but do not charge you for the same bag if you take it to the door of the plane, making it inconvenient for them. People traveling across the world with an infant. The list goes on!
EPILOGUE
When I returned I looked up in the dictionary the definition of insanity. I found three:
• The condition of being insane; a derrangement of the mind.
• Such unsoundness of mind as fees one from legal responsibility.
• Extreme foolishness, senseless.
I found these to be very interesting, since these definitions leave the reader to interpret what is unsound or foolish. Therefore, there is substantial subjectivity as to what one person will call crazy and another will call something different. As with most things in life, there is no real clarity as to what is and what is not something, it depends on a point of view.
As I looked at this trip, now that is over, I change my mind constantly as to whether taking the trip was “unsound” or “senseless” or was in fact something courageous that we should be proud of. I decided is probably both.
The big surprise for me was that all my worries about the baby were totally unfounded. He was the most behaved of the group – did not gain a lot of weight, was quiet at dinner, was always on time, did not complain, and was always had a smile to offer. The one thing that I did not worry about, did not even think about before the trip, was the one thing that ended up worrying me – the baby getting sick. In fact, if I would have thought about that probably the trip would not have happened. He only had a cold, but that brought upon what if ...
The gifts of the trip were many. I got to see a part of the world that probably I would not have gone if Carolina did not insist. I also enjoyed the company of my family and the interactions of the baby with all of us. We got to see beautiful things, meet new people and eat well. We made it back alive and well, which after the flight crossing the Pacific, is not a small feat.
I have not mentioned my late son Nicholas during this blog until now. He was in my mind many times during this trip. This was his kind of trip – nature, indiginous people, geysers, animals. He would have done different kinds of excursions than us and I would have been always worried aboutt him making it back to the ship on time. I hope that somehow he was with us.
I always question if I did right in teaching my children and living my own life taking risks. Both my kids were diving and skiing before they were even 10 years old. Both, if not encouraged, were not limited by me as to what they wanted to do. One part of me wanted to protect them and yes worried as they went about doing these things. One part of me wanted them to experience what life has to offer without over protectiveness. I have never been sure of which part was right, but tended to go with the later, even now, after I lost Nicholas in one of his adventures.
Is this attitude craziness? I guess it depends on your opinion.
Carolina’s Notes
Well, we survived the trip down under. The baby was not eaten by a dingo, stolen by a kangaroo, sacrificed during the Haka, or heaved from the plane. Our trip home was a little harder than our trip there even though it was shorter because it was during the day time, Nicholas had a cold, and my father was almost sent to Guantanamo Bay when we arrived in Customs in LA. Nevertheless we made it home safely but Nicholas could not be convinced it was night time so it was a long night. We also made it home with plenty of Cadbury chocolate and kangaroo jerky if anyone is interested in coming over for a snack. For anyone who wants to quit smoking (the thing that prompted this adventure), just move to Australia for a month because cigarettes are $16 a pack! I definitely want to return to Australia one day when I have forgotten how long the flight is and Nicholas will be able to remember it. It was wonderful being with my family for 3 weeks, that was the best part. I am sure my Dad will say we could have spent time all together for a lot cheaper but there is something priceless about having a photo of your 7 month old baby next to a kangaroo and an emu. Until next time...I am not sure what could top the insanity of traveling to the South Pacific with an infant.....maybe we should all go skydiving in Dubai next.
