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Around the World

December 2014 - May 2015
A 137-day adventure by Ali and Jeff Read more
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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    2
    Day 16

    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

    January 2, 2015 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Uh-oh! I think we've gone too far north! It's cool here today-we've gotten used to warmer temperatures, but we still don't have any reason to complain.
    We went yo a salsa and salsa event today. We made 7 different types pf salsa and 2 different kinds of margheriras-then we danced salsa!
    We are at sea the next 2 days before arriving in LA. Our first day at sea after LA will be Jeff's 60th birthday!    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 21

    At sea

    January 7, 2015, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We are having our long stretch of time at sea. It is 7 days that we have all been looking forward to since we booked this cruise. Once we left LA and celebrated Jeff's 60th birthday (you'll hear about that from him), we have settled into a nice, but busy routine. We are all committed to 2-3 hours of fitness each morning in hopes of still being able to wear our clothes throughout the trip.
    There are many interesting lectures each day. There is a travel/historian that speaks about each of our upcoming ports and we have recently been joined by a wine expert who lectures while we are drinking particular wines! There is an artist on board giving classes and next week several of us will be joining one of the chefs going to the market in Tahiti.
    We are all doing a lot of reading and Jeff will be fluent in Swahili by the time we get home.
    The Pacific Ocean is very peaceful and we are loving the tranqility. The 4 of us witnessed the elusive green flash at sunset yesterday in honor of Jeff's birthday.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 27

    At sea, January 12

    January 13, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    We are at the end of our 7 days at sea and we have enjoyed even more than we thought we would. You can be as busy as you want to or just relax, read and look at the water-and there is a lot of it! The ocean has been changeable-sometimes smooth and sometimes pitching and rolling. It will be interesting to walk on actual land tomorrow-we may be pitching and rolling ourselves!
    An observation-we are hundreds
    of miles from land, yet we see various species of birds flying around us-what are they thinking? Sometimes they land on a deck and look quite puzzled.
    We crossed the Equator yesterday so now we are officially shellbacks instead of polliwogs.
    We will get up early tomorrow to watch as we sail into Nuku Hivo, Marquesas Islands.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    1
    22
    Day 27

    Nuku Hiva, Marquesa Islands

    January 13, 2015 in French Polynesia ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Sitting at a little local restaurant in the Marquesas. Gorgeous day, beautifully maintained, ancient volcanic island.

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 31

    Rangiroa, French Polynesia

    January 17, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    This island is the opposite of the island we were at in the Matquesas. It too is an ancient volcano, but it has evolved into an atoll. It is a rim of land that is about 1/4 mile wide with a huge lagoon in the center which is about 10 miles in diameter. The photo on the left is Nuku Hivo and the right is Rangiroa. The center of Rangiroa is the sunken crater of the ancient volcano.Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    2
    Day 31

    Moorea, Society Islands

    January 17, 2015 in French Polynesia ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We sailed into Moorea this morning and it is evrerything that you would envision French Polynesia as. It is dramatically mountainous and the water is crystal clear. BTW, as we were sailing here, the captain's report was that the ocean was 3 miles deep. That's a little too much to comprehend while on vacation.
    Moorea is the island that "Bali Hai" refers to.
    We spent the day doing the best snorkeling
    we have ever done. The colors of the coral were fantastic and the fish are different than
    any we have seen before. We also learned that the sun is unforgiving here no matter how much sunscreen you have on.
    We sailed to Papeete, Tahiti this evening and will shop at the local market tomorrow.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    1
    Day 36

    At Sea in the South Pacific

    January 22, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    While at sea between Los Angeles and French Polynesia, I turned 60. The day before my birthday, Don and Trish surprised me in LA and we had lunch at a resort and visited some beautiful coastal sights. It turned out I was to have several other surprises on my birthday at sea.

    One was a very prominent green flash on the horizon at sunset. The green flash is when a brief beacon of green light is visible immediately after the sun sets. It is caused by the prismatic effect of the atmosphere and conditions must be right for it to occur, such as an unobstructed view (over water, for example) and a clear sky.

    The other very special surprise was a quilt Ali gave me with contributions from many of the most important people in my life. She started organizing you to make personalized squares over a year ago, assembled the quilt top and then she secretly worked with her quilting club friends to do the hand quilting while I was gone to a meeting for several days last summer.

    I became emotional when I initially removed the wrapping of this wonderful gift and got teared up again as I read all the personal squares. Thanks to all of you for taking the time and effort to make something so special.

    The accompanying photo shows the finished product with Tanzanian fabrics outlining all the heartwarming squares. I used it the first night because that is good luck, but it now graces the arm of our sofa since it is kind of hot down here in French Polynesia.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 36

    Somewhere in the South Pacific

    January 22, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Hey, what happened to Wednesday? We crossed the International dateline last night and Wednesday simply disappeared! We decided to call that our fasting and no drinking day - sounds pretty convenient.
    We will arrive in Tonga tomorrow morning for a day of kayaking and snorkeling.
    The South Pacific Ocean has been delightfully smooth and is a spectacular cerulean blue, so different from the water we saw on the way to French Polynesia.
    The first photo is of Bora Bora. It was a lovely island - we biked about 10 miles and got to experience the sounds and wonderful cooking smells on a Sunday morning. The second photo is Papeete, Tahiti where we visited the market and saw some quite unusual fruits, vegetables and fish.
    As you can see from the third photo, Nancy and I have embraced our potential French Polynesian roots and had dinner in flower headdresses!    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    1
    1
    Day 39

    Nuku'alofa, Tonga

    January 25, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    January 25, 2015.
    Tonga is an country I thought I would never see. An archipelago in the South Pacific, it is a monarchy that was never a colony of European powers. The traditional woven plant fiber wraps men and women wear around their waist were more common than we expected and Ali convinced me I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear the getup in Virginia so I resisted the urge to buy. Some of the wraps have been passed down for generations so the ragged ones are often the most treasured.

    There are some interesting South Pacific island customs that carry over from the Southeast Asian settlers several thousand years ago. One common custom is that if the first two children in a family are boys, the third born child is raised as a girl, regardless of the birth sex. We have encountered this a number of times on many of these islands and it is typical. The woman in the photo with the magenta dress is an example. She was in charge of the dockside local entertainment activities in Tonga.

    The men are often impressively large and proud of it. This may account, in part, for their highly successful rugby teams.

    While in Tonga we explored the main town of Nuku’alofa and went kayaking to an offshore island where we snorkeled and enjoyed meeting some local people.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    1
    Day 41

    Noumea, New Caledonia

    January 27, 2015, Coral Sea ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    January 26, 2015
    We spent the day on the island of New Caledonia. It is at once French and Melanesian. There are baguettes and bistros alongside Kanak people with their brightly colored clothing. We walked and snorkeled and had a pleasant day in what seemed to be the biggest city we've been in since LA.
    We are currently headed to Sydney through the Coral Sea and into the Tasmanian sea which are typically rough so it will be an interesting couple of days!    Read more

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