> We were advised by those who should know (ships paper) that Wednesday March 15 would be a non event and to accomplish this we should just turn our clocks up an extra 24 hours. This we did and thus,we went to sleep March 14 and woke up March 16. All of this has something to do with crossing the International dateline but, I confess it is all above my pay grade.
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> Our stop on Kauai was too short but a quick drive to Hannalei included a lunch stop at Bubbas amid sporadic rain drops. A stop at Walmart provided an opportunity for shopping for a contribution to the Fanning Island gifts from the ships crew and passengers. Fanning Island is our next stop which is supposed to be exceedingly poor. More about that after our visit.
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> Our days at sea are occupied with reading, pool and/or jacuzzi, preview presentations of coming attractions and, guess what, eating and sleeping. The weather has been coolish, cloudy and somewhat lacking in smooth mobility but we are surviving under the watchful eyes of a dedicated crew.
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> All is well and as long as we don't lose too many more days to the dateline good fairy, we will prevail.
Ken, Don and Linda enjoyed a stop at Fanning Island while I stayed aboard and basked in the warm sun. Fanning Island is (according to Ken) an atoll created from a deceased volcano overcome by coral and reduced to floral. That's my version of the creation of Fanning Island truth or fiction.
After a preview presentation of the Island's amenities it seemed pretty evident that all were in agreement that the local facilities would not meet my sometimes crises requirements. Ken even went so far as to suggest that there was no palm tree large enough to hide me in the event of a sudden bathroom urge.
Reports from all who went ashore were positive though the lifestyle sounded very simplistic. The primary bathroom facility was the lagoon and ship's guests were advised not to swim there. Natives were friendly and from all accounts, appreciative of the 3 or 4 stops of visiting ships each year. Guests from the ship made a Walmart stop for items to leave for the school children and the ship's arrival provided a school holiday for the kids.
Our next adventure of sorts was an emergency medical evacuation at Christmas Island. Of course, Ken and Don stayed up to watch the evacuation process. They were somewhat surprised to see the lady loaded onto an outrigger canoe and transported to shore sometime after midnight with only a flashlight as a navigational light. Needless to say, we all gave appropriate hail Mary's that it was not us.
Christmas Island apparently could accommodate air transport and Fanning Island could not. We were not apprised of the nature of the emergency but suffice to say, it seems reasonable to assume that it was a crises situation and one that everyone prefers not to encounter.
Saturday we celebrated our crossing of the equator with appropriate events officiated by King Neptune. There you have it. Life aboard ship in the South Pacific.
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