June 7, 2024
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain
Borrowed this map image from a fellow ship blogger - she is actually on a different island, Tenerife, but liked visual. Was glad I was assigned to one group that came to Gran Canaries as I have been to Tenerife before.
Today started with me visiting ship in dry dock and getting access to my luggage to swap out some of my warmer clothing for more beach friendly items. The VVR staff were great and was also able to drop off drugs that need refrigeration with the ship's medical staff. They had all our stored luggage in the coral lounge and even our boxes that were shipped via container back in March were in the room, if you needed items from there. Ship looks better and better every time i see it - lots of video and post show daily progress.
I met up with another passenger at the ship, Delia from Oregon, who is in my same group of 8 going to Las Palmas and we shared an uber to Airport and met up with rest of group. Flight left at 3:30pm and we got to Hotel Neptuno by 10pm. They provided us with a lite dinner and now I am settling in for a week hopefully filled with sunshine and relaxation.
Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.
Love the unexpected, along the road, sights we get to see and discover. Along the way from Hobbiton to Rotorua we came across these three unique large buildings. I believe the town was Tirau and lots of cars and buses were stopping to observe the buildings, use the public restrooms, (which are housed in one of them) and grab some snacks, gas and / or souvenirs.
There is just so much creativity, detail and beauty I couldn't limit my Hobbiton post to just one blog. I easily took 400 photos over the course of the 2.5 hour tour!