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July 2007
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Monday
Coiba Island
This morning’s destination is Coiba Island. One of the biggest islands in the pacific side of the American Continent. It became a National Park in 1991. Since 1919 it has been a presidio where the prisoners work in agricultural labors.
Coiba Island has many beaches and little neighbor islands known for outstanding diving and snorkeling, pristine waters, abundant marine life and over 15 species of corals to make this area the best for quality diving in Panama.
This is how Mondays should be. Wake up at 6:30, eat breakfast and have someone cute pour you vast amounts of café con leche, wake up the teenager and crawl into a zodiac and transport to a tiny private island in the midst of an arpeggio with not another soul around except the small amount of ship mates and crew.
We didn’t get full sun, but enough to illuminate the fish, the golden sand, the turquoise water, the palm trees that were just growing from the coconuts washed ashore.
We jumped into the bathtub warm water and floated with snorkels and masks, all the way around the little island ( I took a picture) and viewed all sorts of colorful fish, which I’m sure weren’t terribly unusual, but I didn’t know enough not to be impressed. I liked the fettuccini fish, the school of yellow on top, blue on the bottom fish. Golden fish, yellow and blue puffer fish. Marvelous. The whole family snorkeled together. We then sat on the beach for a minute or two, then Andrew took off in a single kayak and I followed as soon as a kayak became available and we kayaked to the opposite shore, which is another little island, although we couldn’t see around it like we could ours. We kayaked to three different beaches. All deserted and all ours.
Thomas kayaked over to join us and we explored one of the beaches together. Again, how fantastic to just be with Andrew and Thomas on a deserted beach in the tropics. I was quite happy. We all were shipped back to the boat and ate lunch, then I kayaked back to the island again with Mom. I snorkeled all by myself and then kayaked around the island all by myself. Then I snorkeled with the kids and Andrew. Then I sat on the gold sand and let the warm turquoise water wash over me and get soft sand on my brown legs just like the models do in Vogue magazine. Although I looked nothing like the brown 19 year olds who were hanging out on the prefect white sand as well. But I looked okay for myself.
Michael and I built sandcastles in the surf for a while, just for fun. I stayed in the water for so long my fingers wrinkled. Which is marvelous, I was just like a kid. And isn’t that the point of a vacation?
Mom loved the hermit crabs on the little island. The island was covered with little hermit crabs. There were so many that they clicked together making sounds like rain falling on palm fronds. They didn’t crawl up on your feet so much; in fact they tickled your toes then retreated. We thought they were very funny and took pictures. Especially for Uncle Dan.
When jellyfish sting you they make a pattern on your skin, almost in the shape of three or four tentacles down the arm or chest or side. If you’re like me and just washed your arm through a bunch of random jellyfish cells that are free floating but still effective, you just get a red rash. We poured meat tenderizer and vinegar on the sting and washed it in the ocean and pretty soon it didn’t hurt so much, but the next day the stings had faded and we couldn’t feel them anymore. But there’s a price for viewing beautiful fish.
So far I am enchanted. Now granted, I was pre-disposed to like the country because Andrew did, but I love it even more after spending time on the pristine beaches and blue water.
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Andrew and I put mom and the boys back on the ship, and we walked around Juneau at about 4:00 when many of the cruise crowds were returning to their ships. Locals stood on the sidewalks in front of the filled bars and yelled to each other and called between side walk groups and cars cruised by with people hanging out the windows yelling greetings to their friends. It was, after all, the Fourth of July. The sidewalk was clear and we could walk in and out of stores unmolested. The retail culture here must be frantic, a season of only four months, make it pay, work all days (everything was open for the Fourth, with only the local stores, like copy centers, hair cut, general merchandise were closed) and work hard because once winter comes, all activities are over.
We spent time with the boys off shore, but they weren’t exactly doing their favorite activities, but that’s almost impossible when you’re combining the grandparent and the child. But there were activities on the ship; the boys just chose not to participate. And since that was their choice, I didn’t get too wound up about it. Thomas slept.
In Ketchikan we docked practically into the downtown again and sent Thomas off on a fishing trip. He came back with three salmon so we’ll need to have a salmon bake and invite his fishing buddies.
Ketchikan was, like the neighbors, adorable. We liked Creek Street because it’s built on piers overlooking the river, that in the right season, is chocked with salmon. We took Mom on a longer walk to the Heritage center because, yes, there were totems to be seen. Michael now has a lot to say about long carved poles, especially when his mother became very excited over the almost rotting, just barely preserved carved poles. But he was a good sport.
We did most of our shopping in Ketchikan. We bought a sprit box for $80 that reflects the style of carving I most admire, it’s of the raven stealing the sun. We couldn’t afford a mask or a wall hanging. Simple masks were being sold (or tagged) starting at $400 and up. Totems were priced at $4,500 and up. The carving was native to be sure, but for the artistry displayed, I couldn’t, deep in my black little marketing heart, justify the price. The native mask we bought in Costa Rica, painted over by a local artist was much better and cost less. And was available only in a rather remote place. So what we saw did not satisfy us.
I did buy a pewter bracelet, the artist who designed it attended the Emily Carr School of art, so I had to have it. It depicts the raven, my personal favorite because he’s very Miss Behaved.
We did not kayak, it was too cold and I knew I’d spend the entire (and expensive) expedition, complaining about how cold I was. (If I complain about a breeze through the Russian River valley, this would not work for me) So in the interest of marital harmony, I passed on the water adventures.
You know what? The best gift store was in the Vancouver airport it had all the Haida art work, the boxes the masks the wall hangings, even a selection of the bracelets that I bought in Ketchikan (and for a few dollars less, there’s that shipping cost again), and a book on Emily Carr’s artwork depicting the totems in the area
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Date: Jul. 13, 2007
Tags: Haiku
Haiku First Thing in the Morning
History of the Opal mines
in great detail please
Not before the coffee
E-mail Haiku from a good friend
cold rain here
It has rained for 7 days straight
it is hot here at the beach
Haiku for the Demise of the Cork
wine with screw tops
reduce the ceremony of the cork
the shiraz is fine
Haiku – Port Douglas
Rain pours down
a fire hose splashing into the street
we huddle in a bar
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Our cruise out to the Reef took about an hour, I thought the reef was closer to shore because I’m accustomed to Hawaii where you wade out in the surf to your knees and put your face in the water, and voila, fish, reef and lava. So this was a revelation, but that’s why we travel.
Mom paid extra for a bell jar kind of extension. The staff brings people down to a platform just under the water, Mom wore a bell jar that resembled an old fashion dive helmet, but allowed her to keep her hair dry and wear her glasses. There was one staff person per tourists on this project so I could leave her to the professionals and go back out snorkeling on the reef. The staff fed the fish right in front of the guests, brought sea creatures (like that nice tour guide when we took that kayak tour way back when in Hawaii). And the like. Mom had a great time and bought the video of herself having a great time, so she could prove it.
It’s always good to take those pictures and buy those videos to prove to others that you are, indeed, having a wonderful time.
The Reef is huge, vast and looks like the pictures. We were snorkeling in the Coral Sea; I mention that because I swallowed so much of it. The tour is anchored at the Agincourt Reed. The tour is set up so there are a number of things people can do, and some apparently just liked to eat lunch and nap on the air-conditioned boat. The restrooms were located on the boat, and the staff gathered up everything with them – food scraps and the like so there is little trace of man – it’s an excellent attempt at any rate.
You are asked not to pee in the water. Unlike Costa Rica where that was the only place a person could pee, was in the ocean. Younger country, younger ocean.
When the staff on a large tour boat says, “there may still be box jelly fish this far out, you may want to rent these Lycra suits” and you say “really?” “and they nod seriously and say “really” and then you notice that the staff members who need to get into the water for whatever reason, are also wearing lycra suits – albeit nicer than the rentals- you say, okay we’re renting the suits. And Michael says it was the best five dollars we ever spent because he was comfortable knowing that at least on this trip he wouldn’t be lacerated with jellyfish stingers. Not only that, I didn’t worry about extra sun block and excessive sun exposure. I also think that this is a way of covering your tourists so that anything on their skin or in their swimsuits (like detergent, sun block, perfumes, lotions) are kept to a minimum, and the way to GET the tourist to wear such an unattractive item is to frighten them with the jelly fish story. No matter. There is only one photo, I look terrible. Michael looks like a blue Popsicle because on him, a completely blue stretch suit is quite slimming.
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Monday, our first full day on our Alaskan cruise, we were awakened at 6:00 by announcements over the loudspeaker that we were in College Fjord and it’s lovely so everyone go outside in the cold and look at it damn it. I put it off as long as possible then dragged my sorry body (groggy from too many days with no exercise save carrying heavy luggage, who brought all those books anyway?) up to the window, because we have a window, and looked outside at the glaciers. They were big and interesting and I could see them from my window and didn’t feel in the least compelled to dress or otherwise move from the bed and stand outside in the cold to see more ice. I knew it was cold because of the ice chips floating in the gray colored sea.
Andrew and I worked out at the crowded gym – Oh that felt so much better! I’m not good at just sitting around on bus tours.
The hair dryers on the ship look like vacuum hoses and carry 18 watts of pure styling power so we’ve given up on hair.
I dressed up and dressed up the boys on Monday night for the first formal night and captain’s cocktail party. Now when I think of cocktail party, I think standing up and wandering around and if you’re very fortunate, and it’s my party and I’m in a good mood, I will generously place tables around the perimeter of the room so people can briefly set down their wine glasses and write another check to Untied Way. Here, however. We took a photo with the captain who was being a good sport (mom says he’s the nicest captain she’s sailed with, and she should know) and then we all, yes, sat down again. A few canapés were offered, drinks were ordered and we were introduced to the crew and welcomed aboard, that kind of thing.
The boys looked wonderful in their jackets and slacks. Mom even cried when she saw how grown up Michael looked. Thomas looked elegant except for the toothpick in his mouth, which is his new chewing toy if he can’t find gum.
The food on the cruise is good, not gourmet which is what we can find anywhere and which we had two dinners of in Portland. What I like best is seafood on a virtually unlimited basis for breakfast and lunch and there is always seafood on the menu at dinner. The dinners are controlled rather than a huge massive free for all, which actually suits us just fine. Portions are tiny so we can order the appetizer (I’ve ordered mussels and four big shrimp, salmon) Soup (French onion, salmon) salad (salmon) and the entrée (salmon), then dessert (not salmon, please, I crave a little variety). But it’s about seven to eight forkfuls of salad, a tiny cup of soup and a small bit of entrée, so we’re not about to stuff ourselves and that’s good. Now for breakfast and lunch we can eat ourselves into a coma if we so choose and at the full breakfast on Tues I ate French toast, a plateful of smoked salmon and just to balance the deal, bran cereal.
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Friday December 24 Christmas Eve
Tour of the Blue Mountains
Oh must we? Yes, apparently we must
We loaded up into a mini-van of sorts, me clutching a latte just in case the breakfast part of the trip was a long time coming.
Michael commented that the last time we were on such a bus it was to tour Monte Verde – Green Mountain, and now we’re back and going to the BLUE mountains. He just wanted to point that out.
We were joined by just another couple, from Huntington Beach. Her name was Ronnie and she was planning to walk the bridge, something we passed on. And they were traveling to Cairns on Boxing Day just like us. I thought I may see them, but we didn’t. They were nice and didn’t hold up the tour – always my fear, but on these smaller tours, which is all we took, we represent the critical mass at five people.
Drove and drove up to the Blue Mountains. Our first stop was to have breakfast with the kangaroos. Now we know the family reputation when it comes to viewing “guaranteed wildlife”
No moose in Denali
No quetzal in Costa Rica
No whales on the bay
No buffalo at Custer
So when we were driven into this little park to “see the kangaroos” well, sure we are. But because this tour left so early (on purpose, to beat the other tour busses) we actually alighted the bus and here was a gang (they call family groups of Kangaroos gangs) just hanging out on the lawn. We were able to walk right up close to the kangaroos and say hello. I am so thrilled. Breakfast with the flies, horrible, but also with the roos and the cockatoos.
Our breakfast consisted of wonderful fresh bread covered with Nutella, plus fresh mango and other fruits, but I ate mostly the Nutella and the mango. Also drank tea, thank goodness for the pre-emptive coffee.
The boys and mom tried the vegemite, wonderful expressions of distaste and disgust; almost as colorful as the time Thomas accidentally drank coffee!
Andrew and Thomas then fed the bold sulfur crested cockatoos. The birds ate out of their hands. So it really was a wildlife experience out in the “wild” of a national park.
We drove then through little towns up to the ridges of the Blue Mountains. The famous Three Sisters are easily viewed off a large overlook, with a gift store etc. I loved the overlook and imagining the early settlers looking out at this endless rough terrain. We did see the blue mist, from the eucalyptus oil over the trees.
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