From Greenwich Meridian to International Date Line.

They call Montana "Big Sky Country" and it's easy to see why. From our window we can see the Bitterroot mountains to the west, their angular, snow covered peaks rising to just short of 10,000 feet. To the east is the more rolling Sapphire range and between is the Bitterroot river and the main highway which stretches from Missoula all the way down to Salt Lake City. Houses and farms line the valley but as there is so much space, nothing appears crowded. It's a haven for wildlife. Ducks, geese, osprey abound and we've also seen various birds of prey ranging from small kestrels to bald eagles. On the ground, bison roam, we've spotted a fox and last evening a herd of deer wandered through the backyard. Over the next few days we will be getting out and about and intend seeing a bit more of the State...although bear in mind that it's the 4th largest and equal in size to France. Having said that, the population is only 1 million and the average salary is onl...

Once docked back in Los Angeles it was time to move on to Montana to visit Claire's sister and family in Missoula. The only thing to worry about was getting to Burbank airport in time for our 12 noon flight. We were scheduled to disembark at 7.30am and I reckoned that allowing an hour for customs/immigration, an hour on the road and half an hour for unexpected delays, if we got to the airport by 10am, we would be doing well. We got there at 8.50am! So there was a bit of hanging around before the first leg of the journey from LA to Seattle...that went on time and we even got to see the Space Needle from the air. Two hours later we were boarding the second flight, going on to Missoula, where we would be met by Denise and Steve. As we boarded the pilot gave the weather for en route and was met by a round of resigned applause when he advised that snow was forecast for Missoula. We arrived safely and on time and thankfully there were only a few light snow flurries by the time we go...

As promised, a few notes written during our long sail back to Los Angeles from Bora Bora. Back in the northern hemisphere  We have left the International Date Line far behind, but we crossed the equator back into the northern hemisphere at 11.45am local time on Easter Sunday morning. The sea is relatively calm but there are some threatening looking clouds around. The captain said that is Giovanni sweating. Green Flash The atmosphere out at sea is incredibly clear and the night sky and stars are beautiful. The southern cross is visible from these latitudes. The sunsets have been wonderful too and the other evening we made a point of looking for the famous "green flash" at sundown. Just as the sun dipped under the horizon it appeared, making what what was visible of the sun look like a giant emerald ring. Quite a phenomenon and one I had never seen before. Captain's Cocktail Party Unbeknown to us until a few days ago, our trivia partners, Mike and Zennie are the most travel...

Our final stop in French Polynesia was Bora Bora, the paradise resort of the rich and famous. And why shouldn't we join the jet set for just one day? As in Moorea we wanted to do some more snorkelling so in very much a repeat of yesterday we were tendered ashore and joined the group sailing out to the reef to swim with sharks and stingrays and a coral garden. The black tip reef sharks were very much in evidence once again and there were even more stingrays. The coral wasn't as good as Moorea but there was still an abundance of fish. Perhaps our highlight was coming across a shoal of 30-40 bright yellow angel fish and having them swim all around as we just floated on the surface. Star Princess was staying much later in Bora Bora so when we got back from snorkelling we found a local operator who was offering round Island tours for $25. (We know Princess make a killing on tours....they were offering exactly the same round island tour for $75). As in Samoa, the tour bus had se...

It was only a short sail of a few hours to Tahiti's closest neighbouring island, Moorea. Going up on deck, we were met with the imposing sight of Mt. Rotui, an imposing, almost vertical volcanic plug which rises over 2,500 feet, as an impressive natural skyscraper as you could imagine and like something out of a movie set. The summit was often shrouded in cloud, indeed scattered showers were forecast for the day and Captain Tuvo announced that it was because First Officer Giovanni was in charge of the weather today, instead of him, and if it did rain, Giovanni would be walking the plank. One of the main reasons we had come to the South Pacific was to see some of the sae life and so we grabbed our masks and snorkels and headed out on an excursion billed as "swimming with sharks and stingrays". On the way out to the reef we stopped for a few minutes to watch a pod of spinner dolphins which had swum far inshore in order to feed. Shortly afterwards we were able to jump off th...

Our port stop in Tahiti started well when we got back to our room to find that our excursion had been cancelled with less than 12 hours notice. We were given a choice of three alternative trips at half price, and seeing that we had not come all this way and not see any of the country, opted to take  the straightforward Island tour. I had actually visited Tahiti and it's capital Papetee (pronounced Papa eh tay) before when I was ten although I don't remember it at all.  We climbed aboard the comfortable, air conditioned, bus (such a treat after Samoa!), and headed up the hill where we could take panoramic pictures of the capital and of the island of Moorea in the distance. A little further on we reached Venus Point, the place where many of the early explorers chose to land and from where in the 18th century, Captain Cook observed a transit of Venus across the sun which for the first time, accurately measured the earth's distance from it. There was also a memorial to the Muti...

Our most westerly point had been reached at about 173W and overnight we sailed a few miles eastwards from Samoa to the neighbouring island of American Samoa. Due to political preferences whereby Samoa wants to be aligned with its closest economic partner, New Zealand and American Samoa remains an American territory aligned with the western USA, the Islands are on different sides of the International Date Line and thus we have crossed back. Having missed Wednesday this week, we were now in American Samoa and the date was Saturday April 13...again. The main town is Pago Pago but it's correct pronunciation is Pango Pango. (You can't say that this blog isn't educational). Our tour didn't leave until late morning so this gave us time to take the short walk into the downtown area. Downtown is rather misleading, it was just a small area with a few more shops, churches and markets. It also happens that in a few days time, April 17 is the National Flag Day and a day of celeb...

After four days at sea we have just had two port days and so I'm only now having a chance to catch up. As I alluded to in an earlier post, the crossing the equator ceremony finally took place, albeit 24 hours late. Much gunge was poured and many eggs were cracked over heads and as a result, all Pollywogs are now Shellbacks. It was also the only time I've ever seen a captain, deputy captain, chief engineer and head of the hotel department all end up in the swimming pool fully clothed. Well done to all and a massive plus for guest relations. We reached Apia, the capital of Samoa on Saturday April 13...it's sometimes known as Western Samoa but this is very un-PC in these modern times. There was a welcoming committee waiting on the pier consisting of girls and guys dancing, drummers drumming, men performing the Hakka and even Miss Samoa herself with a solo hula.  We hadn't really known how to spend our time in Samoa and so left a decision on sightseeing to the last moment, ...

Despite the fact that the ship's GPS is showing a position of 168 degrees west, the international geographical authorities deem that the international date line actually passes through this line of longitude rather than at 180W, thus at midnight, we jumped from Tuesday April 9 to Thursday April 11. Technically the date line has been reached and instead of being 12 hours behind Greenwich, we are now 12 hours ahead. Around a dozen people aboard have missed their birthday. Talk about time travelling. On the other hand, at 12.45pm today we will be crossing the equator. However and somewhat surprisingly, their has been no announcement of King Neptune making his customary appearance. Maybe he couldn't afford the fare, although we've now just heard he'll be arriving tomorrow instead. All a bit late if you ask me. (The attached picture shows our position about 10 minutes before crossing into the Southern Hemisphere at just 0 degrees, 3 minutes north). Wildlife sightings o...

After four port days I now have time to do some catching up! We have now left the Hawaiian Islands and are heading southwest towards Samoa. Our position is 17N, 158W , so edging ever nearer both the equator and the international date line, and we have travelled some 2,900 nautical miles since leaving Los Angeles. After the bustle of Honolulu we stopped at Kauai, sometimes referred to as the garden island. It's easy to see why. Before leaving home my research had strongly suggested that the best way to see Kauai is by helicopter, so that is what we did. We treated ourselves to an hour's flight and every minute was a joy. But it almost didn't happen. As we were about to board the helicopter it suddenly became unserviceable and so we had to switch both machine and pilot. The six seater Eco Star with Beth at the controls took off and started by flying over the harbour and Star Princess. We continued over the centre of the island and Waimera canyon, second only in length a...

Overnight the ship made the short hop from Hilo to Honolulu, the largest city of Ohau and capital of the State of Hawaii. It's a big, bustling, high rise city and a complete contrast to our previous port of call and also with Pearl Harbour just along the coast, a bit of a pilgrimage for many Americans. With no excursions booked, but with a definite plan in mind we watched the sunrise as the ship sailed in and after breakfast caught a shuttle to the downtown area. Once there we bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus and journeyed out to Diamond Head, an extinct volcano which dominates the eastern end of the city suburbs. It would have taken a couple of hours to hike to the lookout point at the top of the crater rim so we decided not to do the walk and make better use of our time. We stayed aboard the bus, just sightseeing, for ether remainder of the loop before getting off where we had started and finding a spot of lunch. Once refreshed we headed across the wide boulevard wh...

Nearing Hawaii the temperature rose pleasantly and this resulted in two things, firstly an increase in the variety and loudness of Hawaiian shirts on display and secondly, less space around the pool as well fed guests dozing in the sunshine resemble a herd of contented elephant seals. We rose early to watch the sail in to Hilo, the largest town on the Big Island. The captain announced that "we've finally made it, we had to stop and ask a couple of fishing boats for directions along the way, but here we are, welcome to Hilo." Due to its position, Hilo is the wettest place in all of the United States but today the sky was virtually cloudless as we climbed aboard our minivan for an excursion into the Volcanoes National Park. Our destination was Kilauea, the most active volcano on the planet. Unfortunately (depending on your point of view), the volcano had stopped after continuously erupting for 35 years, just a few months ago. However, the area around the crater rim was ...

Since departing from London and the Meridian we have travelled approximately 6,500  miles (5,000 from London to Los Angeles and 1,500 since leaving port) and have reached a longitude of 140W. This places us just over half way between Los Angeles and the Hawaiian Islands.  Life onboard is settling into more of a routine during these sea days. We've met many nice people (including a female Lutheran Minister who loves playing poker and drinking cocktails in equal measure) and named one or two of our fellow travellers (Swiss Tony from the Fast Show for one). We've also teamed up with Mike and Zena from Victoria, Canada as our trivia companions...(so far we have played four times and been runners up four times). There are 1,600 Americans on board, 400 Brits, 300 Canadians and a smattering of other assorted nationalities. The number of children can be counted on one hand and 90% of the passengers are well above retirement age. Yesterday being April 1 a number of guests were taken in...