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!

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
By Patricia Patrick December 11, 2025
LEVUKA was our last port in FIJI and it is a town that seems frozen in time back to its whaling history of 1900's. Beach Street is the main drag with boardwalks connecting wooden one & two story structures, that even have the old horse tie post out front,(nowadays - park your car) but still, the place feels very old and stuck. The merchandise in the shops is very basic and limited. We all had Fiji dollars to use up - they are changing their printed money in January - so we can't keep to use next time around. So most of us hit the liquor and grocery stores, but even there, it was challenging to find items. Christmas merchandise is pretty non existence. Candy is from Easter and Halloween!
By Patricia Patrick December 8, 2025
Today was a real treat. We had a whole gorgeous island in Fiji all to ourselves. Leleuvia Island is a tiny coral cay known for its impossibly clear water, white sand beaches and quiet. It is home to fewer than 50 staff and no permanent population - just a sand fringed eco resort surrounded by reef and lagoon. We were suppose to be heading to Wallis & Futuna, but their dock was damaged in a storm and we need a last minute substitution and this island and our next port in Fiji were just added to the itinerary. Also we were in a nasty storm at sea last evening ( luckily only the 2nd I can remember in the 1.5 years to date) and through the night, with large swells, that had our boat rocking. So to wake to sunshine and calm seas was a blessing. Below are some of the fantastic drone shots our fellow passenger is kind enough to share.
By Patricia Patrick December 7, 2025
Any day sailing is a good day, even when the weather doesn't cooperate! Today, a small group of us got a private catamaran experience. We caught wind for part of the trip but also had two small rain squalls too. We still had a lovely adventure, good food and conversation and a nice hour snorkeling at a sand cay off of Sail Rock (shown below) , a landmark and the opening scene for SURVIVOR Australia Seasons 2 thru 5, over the last few years.