November 21, 2024

DOMINIQUE, once a British colony, is stunning !

We docked in Rousea at the primo berth, easy walk off pier into town, where their were tons of vendors in tents along the port and a nice size grocery store and many other shops. We were the only ship in town today. My cousin Cathy & I strolled the streets this morning shopping, check out selections of hair you can buy in the grocery store ! So many choices! At 1 pm we met up with 30+ others from the ship for a whale watching adventure.

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We motored out for about an hour along the west coast to northern end of island to find the pod of sperm whales. There are about 20 whales per our guides and they are females and calves. Once the calves are 10 meters in size they leave group and swim to colder waters. The males also come back here to mate this time of year.  The female whales stay here all year round. Only place in world where the whales don't migrate and it is because the waters here are very deep and therefore they can get plentiful food sources. Sperm whales are largest toothed mammals in world. They feed off a lot of squid in these deep waters. We got to see several before having to turn around and head back to port. Was a good way to spend a hot afternoon and see island from the water. 

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When we got back to the Ship, we had dinner and then local entertainment came on board and did traditional music and dance for us.

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SHIP SHENANIGANS - CLUE PARTY

By Pat Patrick • September 16, 2026
It's never a dull Sea Day on the Odyssey! We have such creative residents, that are always coming up with new ideas to entertain ourselves and have a good time. This plot was the calculating of Eddie and Michelle - a Game of Clue! The rules were simple - find the party venue at 8:30 pm, come dressed as a character, weapon or room from the game and solve the mystery of who stole the Ship's bell.

TERRACOTTA ARMY - XI'AN, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 16, 2026
In March of 1974, some local farmers outside Xi'An, China are digging a well and accidentally hit one of the great archaeological sites in the World! They were paid one day's wages for the find, roughly 4 USD! The Terracotta Army was dubbed the 8th Wonder of the World by France's President in 1980 when he came to visit and wanted to meet the farmers, the oldest was then, 89 years old.

XI'AN, CHINA - WALLED CITY

By Pat Patrick • September 15, 2026
Xi'An, China has been on my must do list , for awhile. The story of the Terracotta Army has fascinated me, since I first heard it. What I didn't know too much about, was the actual City of Xi'An and the walled inner City that remains today. It was built from 1370 to 1378 during the Ming dynasty on top of the older Tang dynasty foundations. There are 9 miles of City walls, they are 39' high, 45' to 50' wide at the top and 55' to 60' at the base. There are four main gate towers and the only draw bridge restored is at the South Gate. There are 98 ramparts, watchtowers, battlements and a wide surrounding moat. It one of the oldest and best preserved fortifications in China .