NO WANDERING FOR A WHILE. BUT STILL HAPPY ! Part 2

Hi Again Folks.

I have to press on to get this caught up before they ease more social restrictions and we get busy again!!

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Where was I? Yes, boarding the CMV Vasco da Gama in Tilbury just on London's east end.

Lisbon, with it's beautiful and widespread ceramics,was the first of our 15 stops (including Sydney), in 13 countries. Typically, you only spend a few hours in each country;- just enough to get a faint taste. But we'd never get to all these places any other way,- too little time, energy or money. And the cruise lifestyle between all those stops is a treat verging on decadence, certainly not a hardship!


 
 Casablanca to Marrakesh was a bit much;- fascinating but too long on a bus and too lttle time there to properly explore the markets and totally different sights and sounds, but it was exciting to see another world, with snake charmers and smells of exotic spices.
I really liked Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, light and bright, with a myriad of colours. If I had a better resourced 'must return' list, Las Palmas would be on it ! We also enjoyed Mindelo, Cape Verde, more than we expected from our reading.

There was then a flurry of sea days crossing the Atlantic, with all the activitiy that entails, or inactivity if preferred; and a blur of Bridgetown, Barbados and Oranjestad, Aruba, before we got to the Panama Canal.
By this time we'd met quite a few new friends, several of whom I'm pleased to say we're keeping in contact with since the cruise. We
shared quizzes, dinners, dancing, shuffle boarding, table tennis, Alison's birthday, etc, etc. Not that we travelled in a pack; we each had various quizz friends, dancing friends,
card friends, table tennis friends, etc

As we approached the Panama Canal, we were welcomed by an extraordinary electrical storm ! We were a very large target in the middle of the ocean, so what else  could we do but sit up on deck and enjoy!
 

 The Panama was fascinating; we'd no prior idea of it's scope, locks and the elevation, with ships lifted up to traverse a huge lake full of  islands, before being lowered back down to the Pacific.

 Then there was Hallowe'en, which on any cruise ship can be relied upon to be fun and hilarity. Brings out the creative silly kids in all of us!!

Next stop, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where besides seeing and hearing a bit about Nicaragua, we got some alternative history about the Panama Canal, how much shorter and cheaper it might have been, and some of the politics and big money men involved.

We took quite a good tour in Acapulco, including the world-renowned divers. Then settled in for a weeks sea-time, including a crossing of the equator; fortunately, we had crossed previously and were counted trusty shellbacks already, not required to kiss the fish !! And Annie was constructively entertained throughout, learning to crochet, a long held ambition! Here's a photo of how she spent many hours by the pool. The piece is now a large and growing square. I'll show you a current picture toward the end of this. Aiden has put his hand up for it, please.


There were also lots of shenanigans such as treasure hunts and boat building contests to keep us all occupied, the fun and creativity motivated and augmented by bottles of wine as prizes !!                       

We sailed happily across the rest of the Pacific, stopping at Nuku Hiva, Papeete, Bora Bora, Rarotonga and Nuku Alofa, before finally reaching Auckland. As  a stark contrast to our tropical trip and to remind us time was passing, they were already thinking Christmas, -bigtime.  Mind, about that time the ship started to decorate for Christmas as well, in time for our docking in Sydney on Dec. 1.

After a long airport sit (but Anne got a lot of crochet done) we arrived home late on Sunday night, only to find our entry gate taped shut and barred as a crime scene, and the outline of a body chalked on our paving !! We missed our neighbours too, guys; thanks for the Welcome Home. !! It had been an amazing trip, but it felt so good to be home.

                                                                         

    

 We were overdue to catch up with some of the family, and to meet little Pos-Pos who has kind of adopted David and Katie and kids. Then, being pretty much as keen on Christmas as any kids, we hustled like mad to get decorations up (Anne had already organized and wrapped the pressies before we left!) and get ready for Christmas. As before, we had the neighbourhood 'orphans', ie those who were seeing family before or after the 25th, for Orphans' Christmas lunch; then most of the family for lunch on Boxing Day, followed by some beachhouse time, so altogether a great holiday season, filled with love and laughter!

 
 

January fairly flew by too! By this time we had heaps of bookings in our holiday listings, so we had guests coming and going pretty much back to back, with the attendant cleaning, laundering, etc. We still managed a fair bit of time at the beachhouse, with visits from friends and kids. We managed the neighbourhood garage sale we'd been talking about for a couple of years; and, with only a two hour window between Kottage guests, to go out and celebrate Australia Day with all the other boaters in the area! Special mention to Anne and Paul whose Australia Day tableau on their boat, featuring sheep and wool, with dog guarding over them was outstanding!



Lori and Vicky arrived from Canada in early Feb.,as the second stop on an around the world trip, expecting to leave us and take a multi stop cruise from Sydney to London. Well !! - the world sure changed that plan for them! Besides spending lots of time in the pool and some at the beachhouse, we all took a S.W. tour, through lots of wineries, caves, beaches, etc., as far south as Augusta.. On their previous visit we had done mainly local things so it was time to branch out. Who knows where we'll travel on their next visit ??!






They were here long enough to overlap with Maureen, who'd been hiking in New Zealand, part of the time with our friend Judy from Perth. Almost forgot to mention  Lori and Vicky's cruise, which they dubbed the Corona mystery cruise, which initially chopped and changed repeatedly, trying to dodge and substitute interesting stops for those like China which had just been hit by the virus. As the rest of the world caught it and no countries could allow them into port, there was finally no more mystery; the cruise line sent their Aussie and Kiwi guests home and headed off for 4+ weeks non-stop to London, where they were able to get a special flight home. Fortunately, they had no virus onboard and Lori and Vicky are sailors from way back, so they enjoyed themselves immensely anyway.  

Maureen's an old hand here; we've lost track of her
 number of visits. She feels like a 'homey', so we don't know what to show her/do with her that isn't repetitious. But it's always so great to have her here! She was here for Annie's birthday, -a bonus ! And she had a chance to catch up with some of the family; 'Auntie Moe' ranks high with the Aussie kids too.
Up at John Forrest on our way to Dot and Wayne's, we saw an amazing mob of kangaroos lounging around the back of the pub; one wandered into the pub and behind the bar. Thirsty or bartending ?? By the time she left, the virus crisis was just starting and we were a bit anxious, but she got home without incident. Our neice, Sophia, arrived home from the US at about the same time, so they had a great time, isolating together.

Well, since then we've all had some major lifestyle changes and some have had major losses. We're not alone certainly, in grieving the very recent loss to the virus of one dear friend, Gladys, mentioned in Part 1 of this blog. We're very close to her family; they're almost like our own family, and we share their sorrow, but treasure the fun memories that go way back to early primary school when Anne and Gladys went to school together,- God 'elp the teachers!.

In terms of lifestyle, Anne and I started isolating and minimizing contact well before it became mandatory (and yes, we bought toilet paper!). We had Chinese Kottage guests as the virus was breaking in China, and they were even more nervous than we were, knowing they had to go home to it. We've since heard from them, still isolating but well.
Since then, like the rest ofthe world, no travel and no hugs ! We've missed seeing the grands and the great-grands. The older kids understand and feel the isolation in their own right, but the little one, Violet was put out with us for a while, I think. For my birthday, we managed a no-contact, air-hugs visit just before the restrictions were in place,  and another recently as they've been slightly relaxed. But we haven't seen the older kids at all.
Other than that, our lives are different, but
 good. Our Holiday Lets are closed, which frees up a huge chunk of time and energy. We've been catching up on all sorts of things,-like this blog; and if you start a project now and it's all over the floor or table for days, who's going to come, so it doesn't matter. We all make a determined effort to socialize, within both safety and legal  requirements, so over the fence or from the boat(s), Easter Bonnet jetty parade, each on our own jetty, etc. And now with a slight relaxation of restrictions, a well-distanced picnic gathering in the park with crazy high-jinks to commemorate Wanda and John's anniversary. A lot of silliness, with our Teddy and neighbours' stuffed animals, not just to amuse ourselves but also others passing by.


  

 Th-th-th-that's all, folks !! What a year and what a marathon writing it all  !

I'll close this now and say Good Night and our Very Best to all of you. Stay fit, well and safe;and mainly, stay happy and loving !!

THE HAPPY WANDERERS at heart, if not in reality just now.
Annie and Kathie

p.s. Heavens, I almost forgot to show you!! Mind you, it's a toss-up which is growing faster, the crocheted knee rug, or Aiden.