May 19, 2025

ACALPULCO, MEXICO - My Birthday 5/10/2025

I awoke early on my 64th Birthday, since my brother Michael had no sense of what time zone I am in, compared to him, on the East Coast! Then at breakfast my buddy and Beatles Fan, Bob Meyer, sang me When I Am 64 and promptly fed me on the iconic line - "will you still feed me, when I'm 64! ( I love how he opened his mouth out of habit, like you do when you start feeding toddlers, and want them to open wide and take a bite!) The day only got better from here!

I wanted a low key Birthday with just some of my close friends on the Ship. So I booked a tour for 8 of us ( L to R: Bosco, Memo, Sherrie, Sarah, Bob, Bonnie & Steve) to see some of the highlights of Acapulco and see the iconic cliff divers and finish with some local drinks and food. Mother's Day was celebrated the same day in Mexico (Saturday in lieu of Sunday) and so many places were booked out for weeks prior. Our guides picked us up at the port and drove us through a variety of neighborhoods so we could see first hand the working class neighborhoods in town and their schools, marketplaces and places of business.

Then we head to the southern end of Acapulco Bay, a wealthier section of town, up in the hills overlooking the harbor. The Five star resort Hotel Las Brisas is here, where every villa has an individual pool from their bedroom to their outside patio. Below is the Chapel of Peace  which opened in 1970, to memorialize 2 brothers who died in a plane crash. It has wonderful seaside views and the massive white crucifix is visible from almost anywhere in the city. Also glimpsed the unusual Arango House up in the hills.

Next we were back to the area just north of the Port,and the home of the famed dead defying LA QUEBRADA HIGH CLIFF DIVERS.

Below is video of tour put together by our guide Rudy.

The Tour finished with a stop at the Diego Rivera mural made from Venetian mosaic tile, at the home of Dolores Olmedo, philanthropist and art collector.

We had a late lunch of margaritas, enchiladas and fajitas at the central square, across from the Port. The same group all joined me later for dinner on the Ship - it was a FUN day!!

PORT DEARAU, FIJI - Naidiri Village

By Patricia Patrick • December 4, 2025
Today we went to see the coastal Naidiri Village that has recently won the Top Prize in global restoration, for their ocean reef project. The reef restoration was borne out of necessity to solve their dwindling food/ main protein source for the village, of fish. It was started by 2 of the villages rugby players and today is run by the local teenagers (mostly boys) in the village. It was great seeing how empowered and proud they were of their amazing efforts.

LAUTOKA, FIJI

By Patricia Patrick • December 1, 2025
The port agent offered several trips to areas around Lautoka . We chose the trip to Serenity Island Resort which included van and boat transfers and lunch. It was a really nice day enjoying the sun, reef, pool, turtles and amenities!

RIVER TUBING DOWN THE NAVUA, SUVA, FIJI

By Patricia Patrick • December 1, 2025
I organized a group tour for a fun day experience. We had a great day despite the rain that decided to join in. We started with a 45 minute van ride out through the city, into the countryside. Then we got in long boats and went up river to a waterfall, some swam or cheered on the guides to cliff dive. Then back in the boats to visit Sabata Village where 50 family members live as a community existing totally off the land, along the river. Next was a quick boat ride to our BBQ lunch spot. After lunch we got to tube down the river, through light rapids, for just about an hour. We ganged our tubes together with the guide - we had a chain of 14 in my group and the guides totally blew us away singing hymns for a good chunk of the journey. It was truly moving in that place with the rain drizzling and all of us linked together. Loved it!