Fine soft sand and turquoise water

This was a fabulous beach! The sand was fine and soft, the water was a bright turquoise color. There was a reef blocking the surf so the snorkeling was easy. Despite being ringed in hotels it was not crowded. The clientele appeared to be all Japanese as it is an easy flight from Japan. Later as I walked down the beach a wedding party came out of a chapel for pictures. It is a popular wedding spot.

Snorkeling in Guam

Here are some fish pictures. The first is of some clear fish that were just below the surface. There were some very large clear fish at the bottom but I couldn't get a picture of them as they swam off whenever I pointed my camera at them. Pic. 2 is of a group of fish. Pic. 3 is of a very defensive fish. This one kept swimming right at my camera and when I turned to swim away he attacked my leg. Wasn't the biting kind but he was determined that I should go.

Walk on the beach

After my snorkeled I took a relaxing walk on the beach where I saw these beautiful flowers (pic. 1). I then retired to my rented chair and umbrella to relax. Pic. 2 is the view from my rented chair. They also had lockers for rent so I didn't need to worry about my gear while I walked.

On my way back to the shuttle bus I stopped at a few stores and got my souvenir t-shirt. Unfortunately we only had about about 5 hours in port. I could have easily used a few more. I missed the folkloric show as it was 2 hours before sailing time and I did not want to give up 2 hours in port.

For those following on the Royal Princess the Princess tour participants were very disappointed and highly recommend you not take a tour. Apparently the tours were a drive on a bus with no narration. There is a K-Mart and post office so that is what many people did who took the free bus into town. The free bus didn't stop at either but you could catch a taxi or bus from the drop off for the free bus.

Semi rough day at sea

Today we had rough water again. Deck 5 was closed.

I attended a Show and Tell for items bought in port. It was interesting to see the treasures people have bought along the way. I brought along my volcano head, alpaca sweater and some of the port commemorative jewelry that I have picked up.

We also had a Guam port tips talk. Guam is a popular vacation spot for the Japanese because it is only 3 hours away by plane and it is considered part of the USA due to being a US territory. I'm going to catch the free bus into town and then head to a hotel for a beach day.

Anyone following a Queen Victoria World Cruise Blog?

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a Queen Victoria World Cruise blog? Earlier we were in port with them on a few stops but for Rabaul they were a day ahead of us. I'm anticipating that may be the case for upcoming ports and would love to read the posts on places we will be before we get there. If anyone is following one or more Q.V. blogs could you post the links here? I'm not sure of the Queen Mary World Cruise route but if it looks to be hitting the same ports that we will hit and is in front of us I would like those links also. Thanks!

Sleepy day at sea

The beauty of seeing the world on a cruise ship is that after a hot tiring day in port you retire to a luxury air conditioned cruise ship to rest, relax and eat well until the next port. Today the weather was warm and comfortable. We have moved out of the hot oppressive weather that we were having so I spent some time reading on deck 5. We returned to sailing in a sea with swells but the bouncing hasn't been too bad. The ship's personnel were cleaning the ash from the lifeboats on deck 5 and I imagine other areas that I did not see. I took a nap this afternoon and had dinner in my room while catching up on e-mail.

Volcanic Rabaul

I've had the most wonderful and amazing day visiting Rabaul! Who ever thinks they are going to get up close and personal with a very active volcano?

We pulled in to port to the majestic scene of spewing volcanos (pic. 1). I could smell the ash in the hallway as I left my room. Usually I eat on the back deck but today the ash was bothering my lungs so I ate inside. My tour left early and I brought along my dust mask just in case I needed it.

Our first stop was at a scenic overlook. It was going to be a hazy day as the sky was filled with ash. The next was the Volcanological Institute. We didn't spend much time there so I snapped pics of the placards to read later. There are 30 people who work at the institute, 5 or 6 are scientist. They have 3 evacuation plans for small, medium and major eruptions.

On the way up to and back down from the institute we saw many entrances to Japanese tunnels that were dug during WWII. There are 100's of kilometers of these tunnels. Pic. 3 is one of the entrances to the tunnels.

Black ash everywhere!

From the institute we recrossed town, with residents waving and smiling to us as we went through. Naturally we all waved back and had a good time observing each other. All the on-foot people from the ship were being accompanied by groups of children as they walked through the town.

As we got closer to the volcano, we drove out across fields of pure ash, surrounded by hills covered in ash. Pic. 1 shows our caravan. The local land owners were counting the passengers to be paid for the use of their land. There were also pick-up trucks of men who were tasked with making the deep ravines cut into the ash, by water running off from the mountains, passable for the vans. Everyone was friendly and waving at the vehicles throughout the entire day.

As we got closer, we left the vehicles and set off on foot across a plain of ash and through a small ravine (pic. 2 shows where we embarked on foot). There were sticks marking the path for us to walk. Soon we were standing across a bay from the volcano (pic. 3). From this point you could hear the rumbling very clearly. Periodically large plumes of smoke would come up. The guide indicated that you could see the flames shooting out of the top at night. That must be quite a sight!

Bubbling sea

As we got closer to the volcano there was a small area of the water that was bubbling (pic. 1). Apparently there are no swimming beaches anywhere around the island because the water is too hot.

We were told that the water we were seeing was boiling (pic. 2) but it was hard to tell if that was the case or if it was steam or air coming up through the water. No one stuck their hand in to find out or got close enough to fall in since the ash was pretty wet in that area.

The entire area looked like black sand beaches but were in fact volcanic ash (pic. 3).

It was amazing to be standing there with a spewing growling volcano so close by. It was constantly spewing the ash and making noise. Every now and then a larger plum of ash would shoot up and it would get a little louder so one would turn and look to see if there was anything to be concerned about.

Trying to stabalize the volcanic ash

After departing the active volcano site we headed to a village of about 2700 people. On the way we passed trees that had been planted to try and help stabilize the land (pic. 1). They struggle to live but then get covered in ash and die back.

The village was made up of widely placed homes that were up on stilts, probably to avoid the ash slides when the heavy rains came and washed down the ash covered hills. Pic. 2 shows a village home.