September 21, 2025

We timed our visit to JIUFEN to arrive for sunset, to avoid the heat and crowds! We pulled up just as sky was unfolding!

JIUFEN, TAIWAN is a former gold mining town south of KEELUNG along the coast. It's famous for its narrow lantern lined streets, traditional tea houses and scenic mountain and ocean views. It was inspiration for the 2001 animated film Spirited Away.  It was a perfect date night  to wander, shop and have a nice dinner, over looking the hills down to the ocean. We were blessed with a nice  breeze and cooler air swirling up from ocean. Luckily the crowds were disappearing as we got there, because the streets are really narrow and lined with shops on both sides. Friends had been here days before and complained how packed the streets during daytime.This is known as the number one day trip for visitors in Taipei.

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There were a lot of food shops but also some interesting crafts and specialty shops. I found a very unique purse in one of the first few shops, excited to show it in an upcoming blog. We also tried about 10 different seafood jerky's and bought a bag of fish jerky!

Dinner - you guessed it - more dumplings! At this nice tea house perched on the side of the hill looking out over valley to ocean.

Everytown has got to have a Shrine or Temple - this one was nestled in at the top, of the hill. The shops all close down around 8 pm and then 2 trucks start at the bottom of the narrow street and drive up the steep hill, with lots of honks and waving to get out of the path and they stop in front of he shops, to pick up first their trash and then recyclables. Good time to head back to the ship!

THE ART OF COCONUT CREAM - AMERICAN SAMOA

By Patricia Patrick • December 18, 2025
Making coconut cream is such a big part of the Samoan culture I feel compelled to share the 4 step process we were so nicely shown. Every Samoan young and old takes part in this tradition, it is an intrigue part of their everyday lives.

PAGO PAGO, TUTUILA ISLAND, AMERICAN SAMOA

By Patricia Patrick • December 17, 2025
The tour today was focused on the National Park but we also got a lot of insight into American Samoa's history and current day life. Our guide was Nini and she is a college student studying accounting and finance and works as a part-time guide.

NATIONAL PARK OF AMERICA SAMOA, TUTUILA ISLAND

By Patricia Patrick • December 17, 2025
Today we took the National Park of American Samoa Tour. It's a unique park - the only one south of the equator and where the U.S. Government doesn't own the land. Efforts to establish the Park go back to mid 1980 over concern about the decline of fruit bats and wanting to protect the tropical rainforests. On October 31, 1988 Congress established the NP of American Samoa. In 1993, a complex arrangement for a 50 year land lease years with seven villages and the Samoa government was signed. We got lucky with our tour - we were expecting an open air bus, but because we were a small group, we got a plush air conditioned van!