South America Cruise 2019

Nadia, Peter Jen, Trish, Jo & Christine (Murray missing in action)

Most of you will have been aware of our recent 31 day trip to South America, of which 15 days was on a cruise. The photo of most of the Aussie contingent is at Sydney Airport en route to South America. Nadia is in front taking the selfie. After Peter's nasty ordeal of chemo and radiation for his throat cancer, he and Jenny were keen to travel and forget the past several months. We flew to Santiago (Chile) where Maraka and Peter joined us for the flight to Rio de Janeiro. The travel adventures before and after our cruise will be in a separate blog.

Cruise Itinerary

First day on the ship - Murray and I with Peter and Jenny

On Thursday 21 February 2019, 9 of us Aussies boarded our cruise ship, MS ZAANDAM in Buenos Aires and settled back to enjoy 15 nights on board. Our Stateroom 7043 was very comfortable and from our balcony, we could enjoy the scenery as we sailed. The ship only holds around 1400 passengers (880 crew), being one of the smaller cruise ships that we have travelled on in recent years. The decor was tasteful, and there were lots of comfortable areas to enjoy shipboard life. For the first time ever, we boarded the ship the day before we sailed. On the second day, the 4 of us voted it the best cruise ever, and we hadn't even left the port! 

Of course, the first thing Jen and I did was head to the gym to try out the equipment. It didn't quite meet our strict standards, so we left the machines for Murray and Peter to use each morning before we all met for breakfast. After their workout, the guys enjoyed their made-to-order omelets, and were on first name terms  with the omelet maker early in the cruise! 

Me with my American colleagues: Dick, Jan, Rainie,
 Ann,  Steve and Kathy

Whilst there were 9 of us Aussies who booked in one group, there were also 10 of my American friends - I worked with 6 of them during my 2 year posting in America in 2002 - 2003. Three brought spouses and one brought her sister along. Whilst we have regularly caught up with 4 of them, it has been great to catch up with all them again, as it has been 16 years since I saw many of them in Maryland, USA. Most days on board, we had 2 teams of 6 to join in Trivia games in the Crows Nest, and then often continued on with a game of rummicub, followed by High Tea in the dining room at 3pm. Tough life!

Trish, Jan and Jenny playing rummicub

High tea - Nadia, Jenny, Trish, Rainie, Jan, Kathy

The Americans enjoyed working on this 3,000 piece puzzle - rough seas disturbed it once,
but they had it finished it by the last day!

At Montevideo, Uruguay, we walked around the city with Jenny and Peter, watched some locals fishing and commented on the diverse balcony designs as we passed.

Next port stop was Puerto Madryn in Argentina. As we walked down the long jetty we saw numerous Magellanic penguins in the water - boy are they fast swimmers! We also saw (and heard) some noisy sea lions basking on concrete steps at the jetty. The sun came out and it was glorious walking along the beachfront amongst the market stalls. Meanwhile, once aboard, the seas became rougher, and sadly we had to cancel our planned stop in the Falkland Islands, which would have included a tour of a penguin colony that Jen and I were looking forward to visiting.

At Punta Arenas, Chile, we took a photo (yes it was cold) at the famous statue dedicated to the explorer Magellan. At the markets Murray saw a belt that was very close to his St Kilda football club colours, so he quickly bought it and then we were on our way to check out the township. We were befriended by a local dog as we walked to check out the Pioneer cemetery. It waited with us to cross the road and walked with us and saw us safely reach the cemetery, and then it left. As we wandered the streets, we were amazed at the number of department stores, school uniform stores, sport and stationery stores that we passed. There were lots of camping stores too, but that wasn’t so surprising given the number of trekking tours done in this region of Patagonia. 

As we passed a small roadside fruit & vegetable stand, we noticed strange bundles included in the display. When we asked the man what food they were, he said something unintelligible. He noticed our confusion, and once he ascertained we spoke English, he put his Spanish word into google translate and it turns out that what we saw were bundles of dried seaweed that are very popular in Chilean cooking.

The cruise took us through Glacier Alley - from 6am, coffee and pastries were served in the Crows Nest on Deck 9 where a live commentary on the glaciers and surrounds was provided. 

Peter and Murray had prime window seats on Deck 8 (food hall), so we spent the next few hours there nibbling and sipping tea or coffee. Sea spray on the windows wasn’t so good for photos, so every now and then Jen and I braved the chill and went out on the open deck to get our photos of the glaciers and waterfalls as we glided past. 

This photo of Murray was taken by Jen - looking towards the quaint seaside town of Ushuaia, Argentina. So pretty...

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse - Lighthouse at the End of The World - seen on our catamaran tour

Ushuaia - all ships to Antarctic leave from here

By midday we had docked in the pretty port of Ushuaia, the world’s most southernmost city and the capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province. What a pretty place - even the buildings were quaint with unusual architecture. The population surged after 1970 when the government provided a tax free haven for businesses, and the port now has around 80,000 residents. It is the departure point for all expeditions and tours to the Antarctic, which is 600 miles/1000 km to the south. The temperatures average 1 C in winter to 9 C in summer, with winter overnight temperatures not usually going lower than -1 C. The highest summer daytime temperature only reaches 15 C, so not a place I could live! From Ushuaia port we took a 2.5 hour catamaran tour and saw numerous cormorants, some petrels and albatrosses, as well as a lot of basking sea lions. A humpback whale named Itsa put on an aerobatic display right beside us - much to our delight. Click on the video below that I took with the whale literally just below my feet…I was scared that it might nudge the boat and my iPhone would go overboard, so I gripped the phone more tightly!

Video of whale entertaining us

No rest for the wicked, the next morning we were back in the Crow’s Nest to witness rounding Cape Horn. As we did so, the Captain sounded the ships horn. It was 7.58am. Simply amazing just to be there experiencing it all. From a distance we could see the aluminium sculpture (poem about it in photo on the left), created as a memorial for those sailors who lost their lives rounding Cape Horn.

Although we had seen glaciers in Glacier Alley a few days earlier, we were in store for yet another Glacier - this time the Brunjo Glacier in the Patagonian Ice Fields. It was 2km wide (1 mile +) and chunks regularly fall off and litter the water below. Beautiful. We were eating dinner as we approached it, and although Jen and I left our first course and braved the chill to go down one floor and out on the deck to get an uninterrupted view of it, I like this photo taken through the seawater sprayed window from my dining seat position. 

 Brunjo Glacier

Jen at dinner with Brunjo Glacier view

Dining Room table and our Indonesian waiters/sommelier - same table every night

Our balcony cabin and various towel animals created by cabin staff

Sunset from our balcony

The final destination on this cruise was San Antonio: our cruise ship port for visitors to Santiago de Chile, the capital of Chile. Then the next part of our holiday started…time for Santiago, Machu Picchu & Cuzco.

Hong Kong & Macau 2018

Hong Kong located in the South China Sea was founded in 221 BC (makes the mind boggle) and has a population of over 7 million people.

View coming into land

By the time we reached Hong Kong, the last stop on our 2018 travels, we had already been away from home and living out of suitcases for 9 weeks. We had been averaging about 6km a day walking and sightseeing for the previous 3 weeks and thanks to the World Cup Soccer on each night, we were burning the candle at both ends. We thought the 11.5 hr flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong would be the nail in the coffin for us, but amazingly, we revived like kids on Christmas morning as our plane came in to land and we saw the city of Hong Kong laid out below us. We arrived late in the afternoon, so by the time we arrived at our hotel about two hours later, we had time to check in, dump our suitcases, walk across the road for a Chinese meal amongst the locals, then head back to our room, shower and crash. Two friends who are regulars to Hong Kong recommended the Wharney Quang Dong Hotel in Lockhart Rd Wanchai to us, and we weren’t disappointed. We were surrounded by bars, cafes and restaurant, but best of all,  the local subway station Wan Chai was 1/2 block up our street. Perfect. 

My friend Meg (one of the regular visitors to Hong Kong) had given us several neatly typed pages of places to see: one page for each place, accompanied by clear directions for using public transport - subway, buses or ferries. She even provided us with Octopus cards, similar to the QLD Gocard and NSW Opal card, which made travel so easy. Another friend Eliza had also offered suggestions of places to visit, and we made the most of all suggestions. 

Clean trains

We were so impressed with the transport system on so many levels: the trains, ferries and buses were so, efficient, clean, punctual and frequent. Allowing no food or drink in the trains or on the platforms helped with keeping the trains clean. We rarely waited more than 2 minutes for a train to arrive, and according to their visitor travel information advertising, they had a 99.9%  on time rating.  We can vouch for the accuracy of that statement. The octopus cards eliminated the need to produce coins for each journey or to line up to get tickets. Transport was very cheap - I think it worked out to be 35 cents in Australian currency to get where we stayed in Wanchai (on the island) over to Kowloon (the mainland). Although Meg’s notes listed the exits to take when disembarking the trains (there were often anything from 4-8 exits at a stop), the signage was excellent, naming what main buildings or tourist sites were at each exit). Having signs in English as well as Chinese certainly made life a lot easier. If we stopped at any location to peruse a map, a friendly and helpful local would stop and ask if we needed help. Not a day went by that we didn’t comment on how fabulous the transport system was, how helpful people were, or just how much we were enjoying the experience of being there. 

The first thing we did was jump on the Big Bus (hop on hop off bus). We got a 48 hour pass that included 4 return ferry tickets over to the mainland, a night bus tour, unlimited day bus rides plus the Tram up to The Peak. When we got off the bus at the Peak departure terminal, there were Big Bus staff waiting to usher us straight onto the tram - bypassing regular tourists who had to line up and wait. I would recommend anyone visiting Hong Kong as a tourist to check out the Big Bus. 

The Peak Tram climbs up the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island and provides spectacular views over the city and Victoria Harbour. Today it is one of the most visited and photographed sites in Hong Kong, attracting around 7 million visitors a year. The Tram began operation in 1888 and was the first cable funicular in Asia - according to their website (thepeak.com.hk).

View over Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong - best I could do with the overcast sky

Laser light show - pretty

Street Markets Day/Night

We couldn’t visit Hong Kong without checking out several markets - we dropped in on  the Ladies Market, the Stanley Street markets and the Temple Street night markets. We picked up a few items - very few - and I expect the markets aren’t as wonderful as they once were in their heyday. If you were in the market for a handbag or sporting gear, you had no shortage of places to buy from.  Fun for some...

Bette with me in Sai Kung

Sai Kung is a fishing village on the mainland about 20 km east of Kowloon. It took us two trains and a 20 minute local bus to get there, but it was worth it to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Did you know that Hong Kong has twice as many high rises as New York? As we got off the bus we asked a European looking lady if she spoke English. Turns out she came from Adelaide. Her name was Bette, and she is a school teacher who has been teaching here for over 10 years, but she is soon to return to Adelaide. She showed us the seafood restaurants on the waterfront where fresh fish and shellfish were on display for all to see - as you order something off the menu the staff go to the fish tanks and retrieve what they need to cook for you. After an interesting seafood lunch, we took a sampan ride out around the islands. For $AUD50, we were taken on a one hour ride – just the two of us with the driver. He had a laminated colour map showing us the route we could follow as we were going along and the different sites that we could see on the shore as we cruised past.

Murray figured that as we had been to Sai Kung to the east of Kowloon, we needed to get back on the train and make our way to the end of the line to the west of Kowloon, a city called Tuen Mun. My trusty power bank for my iPhone had died after repeated good service, and so our visit to Tuen Mun (last stop on the purple line) seemed a good a place as any to buy a new one. I had done my research so I knew prices and power supply needs, and so it was a matter of visiting the various electronic stores and seeing what matched my requirements. What a find Tuen Mun turned out to be - one of the subway exits went directly into not one, but two huge shopping malls. We fortified ourselves with lunch at a Japanese restaurant, and then at the 4th electronic shop, we bought an improved version of my defunct power bank. 

Nan Lian Gardens

Chi Lin Nunnery

Another way to escape the hubbub of the city was to visit the Nan Lian Gardens set out in 3.5 hectares on the mainland in the area of Diamond Hill. It is a Chinese Classical Garden - a peaceful area nestled among the skyscrapers. Across the road, accessed by a walkway above the highway, is the Chi Lin Nunnery, a large Buddhist temple built for Buddhist nuns. It is home to a stunning gold statue of Buddha, but cameras were not allowed. The building was ‘constructed entirely with cypress wood, without the use of any nails, and is currently the world’s largest hand-made wooden building’ (Wikipedia). 

Nan Lian Gardens - tranquil gardens but note high rises at rear

Macau

On our last full day we decided to jump on the ferry and visit Macau. Once again we were impressed with the efficient transport system with the fast ferry only taking one hour to get us to Macau. You needed a passport to get there, and security was no different to the airports. Leaving Hong Kong the passport control had a special line for seniors over 65 years of age so we got through fairly quickly, but sadly it wasn't the same for returning, so there were long lines to contend with. 

St Paul's 

We were told by a friend who we had had dinner with the night before, to take one of the free buses from the ferry terminal to one of the casinos, and then get a taxi to the ruins of St Paul’s Church - a UNESCO World Heritage Site of a 17th century Portuguese church, and one of Macau’s best known landmarks (Wikipedia). However, a local tourist operator had a different idea...




The local tourist operator came up to us as we disembarked, and brandishing a map of Macau, he bombarded us with hard to understand English. Before we knew it we were in a private car seeing the sights of Macau. At the end of our agreed 3 hours, the driver requested us to pay HK$700 per person - we insisted we were quoted HK$70 per person. We were locked in the car, and I was starting to panic. Fortunately we had our map where the tourist chap had written the quote on. We paid HK$140 plus a tip and boarded the ferry leaving the tour operator with his hands in the air. What a scam they are running there...not for the faint hearted! 

One of the many casinos in Macau

Sadly we didn’t make it to Lantau Island to catch the cable car and see one of the largest seated Buddha’s. We had already been to the Peak and seen the view over the harbour on a relatively clear day, and we had seen the impressive gold buddha at the Nan Lian Gardens, so we didn’t need to be disappointed with a diminished view thanks to low lying cloud, not to mention the several hour queue to line up for the cable car!

At the end of the trip Murray showed symptoms of the man flu, so his private nurse dosed him up and saw him through the 9.5 hour Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Sydney. He was very relieved to arrive in Ballina, put his suitcase in the corner of the room, have a shower and fall into bed. And so endeth this entry...

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovinia, 2018

Our private driver from Medjugorje to Sarajevo (Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina) was outstanding. His English was easy to understand, and his knowledge of the areas we passed through on our 3 + hour drive was very extensive. Although he now lives in Medjugorje, he is from Sarajevo, and was fortunate to access the Tunnel of Hope that allowed Bosnian civilians to flee to a safe zone and get his family to the safe zone during the siege (1992-1995). It was the 'longest siege of a capital city the the history of modern warfare' (Wikipedia).  He was able to tell us personal stories of life in Sarajevo at that time. Unbelievable how oppressive their lives were during the siege by Serbian Forces. Part of the highway passed through Mostar and although we didn't stop, we saw the lay out as we zoomed past. 

Our room on 11th floor - Great view and huge spa bath

We had 4 nights in Sarajevo, and the day we arrived coincided with a cold, wet weather front. Consequently my photos are not that good due to the lack of sunshine! Our driver told us that our hotel was in a great location, right at the start of the pedestrian only zone leading into the Old Town. He was right, talk about location, location, location! It was fabulous. We walked into Old Town every day, and had dinner there every night. The area is a maze of alleys and bazaars - very interesting to see the old Moor and Turkish influences. 

View from our floor

Various Bosnian Foods that we taste tested

Stables converted to bazaar 

They have successfully converted what used to be the stables of an old Inn built in 1543 during the Ottoman Empire into market/bazaar stalls. It was fun walking through here and checking out the merchandise. Good to get out of the drizzling rain as well. I could have gone crazy as it was all very tempting, but I limited myself to 2 items. Such restraint! 

The tram system here is reportedly the oldest is Europe. There was a tram stop opposite our hotel, so we bought a ticket and took the 35 min trip out to Ilidza which is the closest stop to the Tunnel of Hope.

The Tunnel of Hope was built under a civilian house in mid-1993 during the Siege of Sarajevo. It was designed to allow war supplies, food and humanitarian aid into the city, and for a fee of around $120 USD paid to the Bosnian Army, civilians could use it to escape the Serbian stronghold. It took about 2 hours for a group of civilians to traverse the 800 meter long (1.6 metres high and 1 metre wide) tunnel. There was even a special trolley chair for disabled people to be pushed through the tunnel. 

Tunnel of Hope

Location of tunnel under runway

As we travelled along we could see all the bullet and shrapnel damaged buildings. The war lasted from 1992-1996, so many buildings have been repaired and others are still in the process. However many leave their bullet holes and shrapnel or bomb scars as a reminder of what they suffered.

The stories that I have heard from people who actually lived here (our driver and a visionary from Medjugorje for instance) who lived here under siege during the Bosnian War are unimaginable to me. It made me so grateful for the freedom that I enjoyed in my childhood. 

Bullet scarred buildings

In many places where a bomb fell and killed civilians, the shell scars have been filled in with red resin and the result is known as the Sarajevo Rose. This one pictured is a few metres along the promenade from our hotel. 

Sarajevo Rose - opposite the resin placed in damage by mortar - a memorial plaque names those killed at site

On our last day we came across this Turkish Military parade 

Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina, 2018

Medjugorje was a tiny hamlet between some hills in Bosnia Herzegovina, south-west of Mostar. See red marker on map. There were several small villages scattered in the area, and each wanted a Catholic Church to be in their village. It was decided to build one church in the middle of them for them all to share - and so the St James Church was built centrally and villagers had the same distance to walk to Mass. Since the Apparitions began in 1981, the number of pilgrims arriving has seen the need for hotels, restaurants and needless to say, like Fatima and Lourdes, flourishing gift and souvenir shops. Medjugorje in the summer months is a very busy area. It is no longer a tiny hamlet between the hills...

St James Church

The original small St James Church was built on faulty ground, and began sinking. The second church that was erected was so large that neighbouring villagers wondered why such a huge church was built for only a few small villages. My photos will show that not only is that large church that seats 750 people too small, even an additional outdoor seating area for 9,000 people is inadequate when an influx of around 12,000 people attend Masses over the weekend of 25 June every year. Medjugorje has around 1 million visitors each year - pilgrims wishing to share in the mystery of the Virgin Mary apparitions that began to 6 young children in June 1981 and continue to this day. If you wish to read more about them, check out this link. 
http://www.medjugorje.hr/en/medjugorje-phenomenon/apparitions/.


Due to the phenomenon of conversions, confessions and ongoing Apparitions in Medjugorje, a few weeks ago Pope Francis confirmed his plan to send Archbishop Henryk Hoser (retired Archbishop of Warsaw, Poland) to assist in caring for the Medjugorje parish. He is due to arrive any day. If you are interested in the background, you can click on this link. https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/05/31/for-second-time-pope-sends-special-envoy-to-medjugorje/

I cannot recall how I first heard about the Apparitions at Medjugorje, but it was several years ago, and I have followed the happenings with interest since then. I knew that I wanted to go there one day, and I finally made it. Murray and I had 4 nights in Medjugorje, staying at a Hotel directly across the road from St James Church. We couldn't help but feel part of the pilgrims euphoria as they celebrated the 37th anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions. I had booked us on an American Pilgrimage Tour, and as it turned out, it was the best way to get the most out of our visit. Interestingly, while we were still in Dubrovnik, Murray was watching the soccer with a chap and mentioned that we were visiting Medjugorje. The guy asked Murray how many days we were planning to stay for,  and Murray replied for 4 nights. He told Murray that was way too long, and that 2 days was enough to see it all. Well, we had 3 full days there and I wish we had a few more. I daresay that if you came here without a tour guide that your time here would not have been as interesting, involved or enjoyable as ours was. 

Our tour guide Slavenka lives in Mostar (28 km/17 miles from Medjugorje), and has been doing this job for 30 years. She was trained by Fr Slavko Barbaric who was very particular about the tour guides at Medjugorje. They had to be devout Catholics and have a thorough knowledge of the history of the area as well as of the Apparitions and Our Lady's messages. Whilst she never went to school with any of the visionaries who Our Lady appears to, she knows them and their families personally; they text her regularly, and she is included in many of their special personal events such as weddings. So we felt as though we had an insiders link to the place.  She showed us numerous photos of her with the various visionaries and it was amazing having her to give us the inside information including many personal anecdotes. She certainly made our pilgrimage more meaningful and enriching. 

A pilgrimage is a very personal journey. Each individual's journey is different, depending on many factors including personal life experiences. I have read books and documents with testimonies by non-Catholic skeptics who have visited Medjugorje and turned their lives around, some even converting to Catholicism. Many Catholics who thought they had the faith, came away realising how naive they were. Our guide told us that it is often said that no one accidentally visits Medjugorje - they have been 'called' by Our Lady. 

Our climb and Rosary on Apparition Hill - Visionary Ivan Dragićevic led the Rosary

As well as attending religious activities, pilgrims have the choice to participate in saying the Rosary on Apparition Hill (so named as it was where Our Lady first appeared to the children in June 1981, and today, still appears to some of them at the base of the hill) and to say the Stations of the Cross as you zigzag up the 518 metres (1700 ft) of the steep, rocky Mt Krizevac or Cross Mountain. If interested, you can read more about these activities in the Medjugorje link I provided in the first paragraph. I would never have done the walk up Apparition Hill or Cross Mountain if we hadn’t been on the pilgrimage. As a group we supported each other and our guide gave us great directions to make the climbs manageable. It sure was euphoric to reach the top of the Mountain and see the Cross so close and know that we had made it. The photos don't do justice to illustrate the rocky terrain - the rocks on Apparition Hill were sharper and seemingly almost at right angles following earthquake activity centuries ago, but the Mountain was obviously steeper and slippery as well as being very rocky. Some pilgrims even do the climb in bare feet to increase their personal sacrifice. It was hard enough wearing joggers!

What amazed me most was the air of total engagement with the whole theme of Our Lady and her continuing presence in Medjugorje. To see people queueing for a Mass that doesn’t start for another 30 minutes, and having standing room not only inside the church, but even in the extensive outside area. Here is a before and after photo showing the outdoor Mass area created to deal with the influx of pilgrims. Behind the rows of benches are hundreds more rows of benches under the trees further back. I couldn't get it all in my photos. The aerial photo below was taken from another site that may be of interest to some. http://mysticpost.com

Taken On 25th June - can you see us in the outdoor Mass? The altar is under the white awning. What a crowd!

Numbers of pilgrims increase substantially during the annual anniversary of the first Apparition. There was a beautiful procession with Our Lady's statue that preceded the main Mass of the weekend, and she was led to the altar by 250 priests. I took a video of the priests entering the altar just so that I could count them later, but thankfully one of my fellow pilgrims had already done the count. There were so many priests that they could not all fit on the huge outside altar, but sat in rows at the base of the altar. They are all needed for communion. I have never seen anything like it. 

Priests filing onto the altar - the overflow proceeded to seats below the altar

Murray with visionary Ivan Dragićevic - he bumped into him in a book store!

Three of the visionaries saying a prayer at the end of Mass - including Ivan who Murray had met, captured on the big screen next to the altar

I'll leave you with the beautiful altar for Our Lady in St James Church. Once again, my photo does not do justice to the beauty of this dedication.