October 21, 2024

Farewell Gibraltar! Monkey Play!

View of THE ROCK as we pulled away tonight at sunset off AFT patio seating at dinner. Wine glasses shook alitlle as we thrust off the dock, but what a beautiful way to be living! Have to keep pinching myself!


Today, I stayed on board the ship all day and just recharged. I have had a head cold for last 2 days and needed solid sleep and hydration. I sweated a good 2 hours playing pickleball in the afternoon and gave over my cabin to maintenance to replace some parts in my toilet vacuum system. A Win Win for All! We have been moving at an aggressive pace ever since leaving Belfast - so I was glad I had been here in Gibraltar before, and didn't feel the need to explore anymore. Lots of residents went to the top of THE ROCK to see and play with the monkeys! I preferred to do a quick face time with these 2 Monkey's!

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HIGH SPEED TRAIN TRAVEL IN CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 12, 2026
We did all our travel for this trip in China via high speed railway. We started in Hong Kong and traveled to Guilin in just over 3 hours. Then our longest leg, of 7 hours for Guilin to Zhangjiajie . Next was Zhangjiajie to Chongqing at 3.5 hours and finally Chongqing to Xi'An was around 5.5 hours. Some of the train stations were massive like Chongqing below and Xi'An. Signage was pretty good, with some English, so we could navigate well.

LONGJI RICE TERRACES - 65 km from GUILIN, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 12, 2026
LONGJI RICE TERRACES were just a short drive from the Red Yao Village . We had originally planned to view the terraces from a cable car ride, but it was raining and too windy for that operation. The alternative was to take a shuttle bus about 1/2 way up the mountain and walk pathways along the terraces. I think we actually lucked out with this change, because the views were spectacular! The mist and rain added another element and since we were inside the terraces, we could really appreciate how they were painstakingly engineered!

New Baby Congratulations!

By Pat Patrick • September 12, 2026
The gang with our guide Jack , who we had for the 2 days of excursions from Guilin . Jack was very informative and a super nice guy. He was an expectant father while with us and told us how his family was preparing for the arrival of their new child. They have a 6 year old boy now who Jack says can destroy a room in the house in minutes. He was hoping for a daughter! His wife delivered their 2nd son, the week after we toured with Jack. Best of Luck and Congratulations!