Unfortunately, we had another emergency evacuation by helicopter on February 25th.  We were on north side of Australia, in the middle of nowhere.  The captain came on the intercom to let us know what was going on.  Everyone must leave the pool deck and the crew quickly prepares by removing all deck chairs, tables, etc.  They have quite a process in preparation and they do a great job.  Soon we heard the helicopter.  We watched from our balcony as they lifted the patient into their doors and off they went.  We said a prayer as they flew away.

Sadly, we’ve had other people disembark the ship at various ports for medical reasons.  We’ve also had some pass away.  As you can imagine, a ship with this many people for 111 days will have issues.  We even had 4 people kicked off the ship because of a fight.  Zero tolerance for such things is good.

Our medical department is keeping busy.  Many patients with respiratory issues, including myself.  I visited a doctor in the spa and bought some Chinese herbs for colds.  I also had my 4th visit to medical on March 14.  I received new meds and finally sleeping all night, thankfully.  I’m sorry to say, I’ve kept Bob awake from my coughing.  I have never coughed like I did last week (the kind of coughing that is uncontrollable, hurts your ribs and takes your breath away).  We walk outside to breath the nice, salt air and the new meds made me feel better in 2 days.  

Last week the crew had their anti piracy drills because we are moving into a high risk area.  I noticed when we were walking, they have the high pressure fire hoses out as a precaution.  We also noticed more crew on deck keeping watch on both sides, of course, including myself ;). The captain explained the drill and said ‘we’ll see what happens’.  Hmmm…

We love to walk outside and watch the ocean, the other ships, wildlife, sunsets and the moon shining.  When it’s windy and the waves have white caps, it’s not as easy to spot wildlife.  One day we were walking and the sea was calm and smooth.  I said, ok little dolphins, where are you?  No kidding, we saw a pod of dolphins close to the ship.  Bob started laughing and said do that again.  In all, we’ve seen a few whales, lots of dolphins and sea turtles and sting ray’s.  I just love the motion of the ocean, especially when there are big rollers.  Great for sleeping at night but also fun walking during the day or swimming (wave pool).  

(I did not take the photo above. Some passengers have shared their photos for others to use. I do not know the name of the passenge, but this one is fabulous).

We’ve met so many nice people on the ship.  Some will be life long friends, for sure.

Our trip has been so educational.  It is fantastic to visit so many different countries in a short period of time.  Some are very different and others ‘same same only different’. The life styles have been drastically different from living in poverty to royal palaces.  We’ve seen the way people live their everyday life.  We’ve experienced many climates, depending on how close we are to the equator or if we’re in north or south hemisphere.  Landscapes that are tropical, desert and mountainous.  We’ve seen places that are so clean and sadly others that are very polluted (both land and sea).  

….wherever we’ve been, the people have been kind and welcoming and we are thankful to have met them!