March 30, 2025

RECIFE, BRAZIL 

We were greeted in the Port by music & dancers and for the first time WELCOME COCKTAILS! Great way to start a morning of exploring! Walked the town with group of 8,  and kept running into other residents doing the same thing, comparing notes. It was very hot, so we searched out shady spots along the way. Remnants of Carnival decorations and stages were being dismantled but some party mask seem to be part of the yearly decor. We walked along the port, saw a variety of street entertainers, and while a lot of the area was run down, other building were bright and colorful. We strolled down to a festive area, home to a charming spot Cafe Bom Jesus and a busy square with lots of Carnival street art. Then we crossed over the river and saw the court building and the Praca Treze de Maio ( Park). I came back to the Ship in the early afternoon with about 1/2 the group, to escape heat, and get packed for our trip to the Amazon, the next day.

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Our group trys to have fun whereever we go !

Sassy Sarah, Scottie Watty, Me, Jimbo showing us Uranus and then what a big boy he is too!

ENTERING HONG KONG HARBOR

By Pat Patrick • September 1, 2026
On Saturday August 29, 2026 we achieved another historic milestone on this circumnavigation of the World , we cruised into Hong Kong Harbor. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. The land encompassed by Hong Kong is confusing. It includes part of the southern coast of mainland China, just below Shenzhen, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories . Looking at a map helps, but the rules changed so many times! I asked my buddy Chat several times, to tell me if what I was looking at was the Hong Kong that the British had owned for years. The answer was never straight forward!

HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM

By Pat Patrick • August 31, 2026
Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is one of those bucket list places I have had in my sights for years. It's the iconic picture in my mind's eye, whenever I think of Vietnam . We had made plans to go with 8 others on a brand new, swanky Red Dragon Junk boat for a harbor cruise and overnight stay, but sadly the weather did not cooperate the whole 4 days we were in port. No ships were permitted to sail, per the local government. Many of us were bummed! This is typhoon session and there was a lot of rain and high winds our first couple of days - we were hoping it would blow out the last day and we could at least do a day trip but no luck! 

HAI VAN PASS to HUE, VIETNAM

By Pat Patrick • August 30, 2026
To get to the final stop on our Vietnam FUN Tour in Hue, we had our driver take us on the scenic route called the Hai Van Pass. This 3 hour drive took us back through Da Nang and then into mountains and along coast for what is generally a very scenic route. Unfortunately for us, it was mainly covered in clouds and fog.