It's Getting very close to our next cruise

Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale a whole 72 days.


We depart Brisbane on Jan 4. for our long flight to Miami.
Sounds very scary, but we are determined to enjoy every second.
This is the itiniery.

Date	Day	Port	Dress Code	Arrive	Depart
Jan 06	Fri	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	Elegant Casual		6:00 pm
Jan 07	Sat	Cruise the Florida Straits, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 08	Sun	Cruise the Caribbean Sea, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 09	Mon	Willemstad, Curaçao	Elegant Casual	11:00 am	11:00 pm
Jan 10	Tue	Oranjestad, Aruba	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Jan 11	Wed	Cartagena, Colombia	Elegant Casual	3:00 pm
Jan 12	Thu	Cartagena, Colombia	Elegant Casual		1:00 pm
Jan 13	Fri	Transit the Panama Canal, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 14	Sat	Cruise the Gulf of Panama, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 15	Sun	Manta, Ecuador	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	7:00 pm
Jan 16	Mon	Guayaquil, Ecuador	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 17	Tue	Cruise the Coast of Peru, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 18	Wed	Salaverry, Peru	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	4:00 pm
Jan 19	Thu	Lima (Callao), Peru	Elegant Casual	9:00 am
Jan 20	Fri	Lima (Callao), Peru	Elegant Casual
Jan 21	Sat	Lima (Callao), Peru	Elegant Casual		6:00 pm
Jan 22	Sun	Pisco, Peru	Formal Optional	7:00 am	4:00 pm
Jan 23	Mon	Matarani (Arequipa), Peru	Elegant Casual	2:00 pm	10:00 pm
Jan 24	Tue	Cruise the Coast of Peru, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 25	Wed	Antofagasta, Chile	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Jan 26	Thu	Cruise the Coast of Chile, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 27	Fri	Valparaíso, Chile	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Jan 28	Sat	Cruise the Coast of Chile, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Jan 29	Sun	Puerto Montt, Chile	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Jan 30	Mon	Puerto Chacabuco, Chile	Elegant Casual	11:00 am	9:00 pm
Jan 31	Tue	Laguna San Rafael, Chile	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	8:00 pm
Feb 01	Wed	Cruise Estero Elefantes, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 02	Thu	Cruise the Estero Amalia and the Estero Peel, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 03	Fri	Punta Arenas, Chile	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	8:00 pm
Feb 04	Sat	Cruise Cape Horn, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 05	Sun	Ushuaia, Argentina	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	8:00 pm
Feb 06	Mon	Cruise the Tierra Del Fuego, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 07	Tue	Port Stanley, Falkland Islands	Elegant Casual	7:00 am	4:00 pm
Feb 08	Wed	Cruise the Atlantic Ocean, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 09	Thu	Puerto Madryn, Argentina	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	4:00 pm
Feb 10	Fri	Cruise the Coast of Argentina, International Waters	Formal Optional
Feb 11	Sat	Montevideo, Uruguay	Elegant Casual	10:00 am	10:00 pm
Feb 12	Sun	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Elegant Casual	9:00 am
Feb 13	Mon	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Elegant Casual
Feb 14	Tue	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Elegant Casual		6:00 pm
Feb 15	Wed	Montevideo, Uruguay	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	8:00 pm
Feb 16	Thu	Punta Del Este, Uruguay	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Feb 17	Fri	Rio Grande, Brazil	Elegant Casual	10:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 18	Sat	Cruise the Coast of Brazil, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 19	Sun	Porto Belo, Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Feb 20	Mon	Santos, Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	8:00 pm
Feb 21	Tue	Ilha Grande, Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 22	Wed	Paraty, Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 23	Thu	Búzios, Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	6:00 pm
Feb 24	Fri	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am
Feb 25	Sat	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Elegant Casual		5:00 pm
Feb 26	Sun	Cruise the Coast of Brazil, International Waters	Formal Optional
Feb 27	Mon	Salvador de Bahia, Brazil	Elegant Casual	1:00 pm	10:00 pm
Feb 28	Tue	Cruise the Coast of Brazil, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Feb 29	Wed	Fortaleza, Brazil	Elegant Casual	7:00 pm
Mar 01	Thu	Fortaleza, Brazil	Elegant Casual		3:00 pm
Mar 02	Fri	Cruise the Coast of Brazil, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Mar 03	Sat	Macapa (Amazon River), Brazil, Brazil	Elegant Casual
Mar 04	Sun	Alter do Chão (Amazon River), Brazil	Elegant Casual	3:00 pm	7:00 pm
Mar 05	Mon	Boca Da Valeria (Amazon River), Brazil	Elegant Casual	7:00 am	2:00 pm
Mar 06	Tue	Manaus (Amazon River), Brazil	Elegant Casual	8:00 am
Mar 07	Wed	Manaus (Amazon River), Brazil	Elegant Casual		6:00 pm
Mar 08	Thu	Parintins (Amazon River), Brazil	Elegant Casual	Noon	6:00 pm
Mar 09	Fri	Santarém (Amazon River), Brazil	Elegant Casual	7:00 am	1:00 pm
Mar 10	Sat	Cruise the Coast of South America, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Mar 11	Sun	Devil's Island, French Guiana	Elegant Casual	1:00 pm	6:00 pm
Mar 12	Mon	Cruise the Atlantic Ocean, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Mar 13	Tue	Bridgetown, Barbados	Elegant Casual	9:00 am	6:00 pm
Mar 14	Wed	Castries, St. Lucia	Elegant Casual	8:00 am	4:00 pm
Mar 15	Thu	Gustavia, St. Barts	Formal Optional	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Mar 16	Fri	Cruise the Atlantic Ocean, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Mar 17	Sat	Cruise the Atlantic Ocean, International Waters	Elegant Casual
Mar 18	Sun	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	Elegant Casual	7:00 am

It's a very intense cruise as you can see.
Hopefully we can get good internet coverage and we can post lots of items and details of excursions and of course the happenings on the ship.

A very sad day for the family and friends of missing hiker Eric Robinson

I could not put in words what Rachel and Marilyn said in their latest email to everyone.


So much thought and passion of sad news to their dear family and friends.

Photo taken Christmas Day 2009 

Dearest Family and Friends,

 

We have had another long day, leaving Park City at 5am and just returning from the mountains at 8pm. We were met at 7am by a fit and serious looking volunteer group and the medivac helicopter, pilot, nurse and paramedic, who had been deployed for landing and extraction of the searchers. By 10am, three teams were on the mountain in varied locations to bush bash, whistle and sweep search. The Duchanne Search and Rescue were then flown up to a tent that had been spotted by fixed wing aircraft the day before, the tent was not Eric's.

The teams workedhard all day to no avail. The generosity and kindness of the people we have met is incredible and continues to overwhelm. So another unsuccessful day. No further sight or clue. The tracker came in and provided an extensive report but no further clues. Yes, it all felt and continues to feel hopeless.

The sheriff and his team have been very supportive this week and even took mum out to lunch today with his wife. At the end of the day the sheriff discussed with the chopper team and perfectly mum was bought up to the mountain where Julia and I were waiting for a pick up or extraction (if you are talking helicopter speak!). Whilst the chopper returned the guys down the mountain Julia, Mum and I conducted our own farewell ceremony.

 

Our conclusion and that of the sheriff's is that the mountains have decided to keep him, maybe not for ever but certainly for the time being. Together we built a cairn on the edge of the meadow, overlooking a stream, inside we enclosed a photo, we scratched his name onto the rock and we picked some wild flowers and decorated the cairn. We spoke our words of love and thanks for Eric, our words of sorrow that we coud not find him and our words of appreciation that Eric will remain in a wild, beautiful and mountainous place. It was a sad yet beautiful moment which we have many records of to share when we return.

 

I appreciate that this conclusion today may be difficult for many and yes there is a miniscule chance that Eric is alive but the sheriff, mum and I feel this is clutching at straws. I could go through all the details and arguments and rationalisations each way but Mum and the Sheriff have concluded together that everything possible has been done. Their feeling is that Eric has come up against something he was not able to overcome, an electrical storm that was in the area the nights of the 2,3 and 4th, the raging Yellowstone river that has raging torrents after unprecedented rains, a cliff edge in the night, or perhaps a significant illness or incident whilst camped under cover away from the storm. For now we don't know, maybe we will some day soon, maybe we won't. For now the sheriff will continue to send volunteers up to search, our friends here in Utah will search when they have days off but mum and I are coming home to be with our family and be closer to those we love.

 

Thank you for all your support, assistance and kindness. This difficult trip would have been even worse without you all supporting us in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Love for now

Rachel and Marilyn

Our thoughts are with the Koolstra and Eric's families, a lovely man doing what he loves so much.

Let's hope there is a some chance of discovery as to what happened out there in such rugged terrain and climate.

 

Has anyone seen Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson is the husband of our son Jeremy's mother in law and is lost in a National Park in Utah USA.

HAVE YOU SEEN MISSING HIKER ERIC ROBINSON?

Commenced the Highline Trail at noon July 28^th from Chepeta

Was expected to arrive at Mirror Lake noon August 7^th.

Eric is 64 years old, grey balding hair, blue eyes and 5ft 7

He is carrying a large red back back, wears a blue hiking top as above and often wears a blue/purple bandana on his head. His rain jacket is bright orange, yellow and grey and he is a friendly, talkative hiker who has a memorable Australian/ Scottish accent.

He was last seen August 2^nd at Bluebell Pass heading towards Five Point Lake and Tungsten Pass. 

  

My dad would have been 100 today

Unfortunately he's been gone for almost 24 years, but if he was alive he'd be getting a letter from the Queen as he would be a centurion.

Not to be, but we still think of him. He was a good man.

Well our holiday is well over now and life has almost returned to normal, we had an email from Suzanne and Jeff our good friends from Orlando we met on Insignia along with a couple of photos they took.

This one was taken at Magdalene Bay, as you can see it was pretty cold there but what a scenic gem. It was such a nice day and the memory will stay with us forever.

Won't comment on this one, caught in the act..

This one looks a lot better.

This is an important post.

My son Jeremy from Melbourne sent us some very bad news!

His wife Rachel's stepfather Eric Robinson is an experienced tramper (hiker) who set off on a trek through the High Uitnas Wilderness North Dutchesne a National Park in Utah USA.on July 30 has now been lost for 6 days.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=16773429 ( link to newspaper report.)

Any bloggers out there who may have seen Eric on the trail please make contact with the Sheriff at Slat Lake City or the newspaper above or TV station.

Some good news has just come through Eric was talking to a boy Scout on Aug 2 and they are now searching the area where the discussion took place.

Keep positive everyone and let's hope we get a successful conclusion to Eric's whereabouts.

At home for a week

We've now been home for a week and fully recovered from our seafaring holiday.

All is well the unit is still great, such a fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean from our 21st floor balcony.

Chris Croxson would be proud of our sighting of a whale at the weekend, a baby humpback continually breaching and whacking it's tail and fin in the water. Went on for about 10 minutes before a sightseeing boat scared it off.

We've also had a whale beaching on one of our beaches this week See link http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/08/08/339385_gold-coast-news.html. They managed to get it back into deeper water but at this stage it hasn't found it's mother so it maybe a lost cause.

We've managed to catch up on family one way or another Skyped our Melbourne family last weekend and saw Joshua play his last game of rugby league and had Dylan last Monday for the day.

We think we may continue our blog from time to time and would like the followers of ours to consider creating one as well.

Below are a few pics. of our stopover in Singapore and most of our stay at the MArina Bay Sands Hotel. What an experience.

Until next time.

And that's it

"And now the end is near " oops sorry, its here!

We are home. Arrived home safely after 10 pm last night following a beautiful flight from Singapore.

Luckily just in time to catch the last Gold Coast train at 8.03pm. We had been sweating on catching that train and we would have been in deep s...t if we'd missed it.

Fortunately our bags came off first and we were rushed through customs in time to catch it.

Sally had parked our car at Helensvale station and we were able to get home without any problems.

What a holiday, we can truthfully say we have not had one hassle or problem the whole trip

Our cruises were great we sailed over 8000 miles ate enough food to feed nation and only just nudged the scales.

Gloria has only put on a pound or less and Tony maybe 1 1/2 Kg's.

We hope this blog has not been a bore for any friends who have followed it.

Now we'll be able to read it ourselves and be reminded of where we've been and how nice it was.

Bye now, hope Bill and Sylvi are okay they've been to see and actually stayed in their van in Geiranger and saw all the majestic Fjords and travelled across the great scenery getting there.


From the Seafaring Duo.

Singapore and Home

Now at Changi airport and in the lounge waiting for our flight home.

Its been a lovely 3 nights in Singapore highlighted by our stay at Marina Bay Sands.

The hotel is magnificent and so much to see and do. The staff there are amazing and so friendly.

We did the HOHO and was a little disappointed, it didn't seem to take us where we should have been, but no problem we saw some amazing change in the City.

We had lunch in China town and enjoyed the hustle and bustle there. Yesterday we went to Orchard Rd. and spent some time looking at multitudes of people and not much shopping.

Went on to Clarke Quay which was like a ghost Town, obviously it is a night place and then found the crappiest restaurant where the staff demanded we order by such and such, beer closes at such and such and we close at. Yuk.

We had Chilli crab and enjoyed it but on the walk home found some fantastic places we could have eaten cheaply instead of paying through the nose.

We will return sometime soon and learn from the experience.

Its been a fabulous holiday and we should be home in our own bed tonight.