December 27, 2025

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL ! Hope you all had lots of Family time and got to spend time doing the traditions you love! 

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I had lots of fun with my ship family! Above is Christmas morning PJ Breakfast party! Here's some other favorites! We had a whole Month of Fun with Elfie! Love how creative people were with their turns. We keep him contained to 5th floor public areas.

Who doesn't love a good Holiday Craft ?!?  This year I made some shell art, courteous of great clam shells in Las Pas, Mexico and an excellent partner in crime, who helped me smuggle them off an excursion ( THANKS Doc!). I also collected toilet paper rolls for weeks and made these cool snow flakes to make my room a winter wonderland! Was going to paint them, but liked better au natural!

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Christmas Eve at 11 pm we did an open Liturgy, complete with hymns and blessed host to share with 52 Residents in the Observatory - it's really nice to be part of such a supportive,  generous community. I did a reading

Another night, 30 of us surprised a good friend with a night of recognition for all his time, efforts and talent in organizing excursions for us! Ben, a retired Harvard lawyer whose career was notable as an AIDS activist and then later as an outspoken drag queen, is one of my favorites on board. Of course, he grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia! We each printed a photo of ourself with Ben, on an outing and wrote him a note about why we appreciate him so much. His 99 year old mom was there and it was so touching and deserved!

My memory with Ben - he is always cracking me up with his zingers and quick whit!

2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SAILING THE WORLD

By Pat Patrick • October 1, 2026
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!

APOPO, SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 29, 2026
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.

Ta Prohm Temple ( AKA Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 28, 2026
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.