Auckland

We have spent today exploring Auckland, New Zealand. It is Auckland Day, a holiday similar to our July 4. The city was in celebration mode and we were able to see dragon boat races and sailboat races while we joined in the festivities. There is a good reason Auckland is called the city of sails. I have never seen so many sailboats in one place. We visited the Maritime Museum, took a sailboat ride around the bay, visited the Sky Tower and the art museum. The weather was perfect at 79 degrees with a cool breeze blowing on off of the bay. After a walk through a lovely park we ate Mexican at a local restaurant. It was quite different from our La Hacienda back home but tasty in a New Zealand lamb, coriander, pineapple and red slaw taco kind of way. Last night Viking invited local Maori dancers on board for a show. One impressive dance they did was the Haka, a famous war dance known for fierce facial expressions. The rugby team here does this dance before every game. New Zealand is absolutely beautiful and we are thrilled to have 6 more ports in this wonderful country.Read more