The Falkland Islands

I remember hearing about the conflict whilst living in Scotland when I was a very young girl.  Four years old I suppose I would have been.   It was during the Thatcher administration, and must have been quite a big deal as I do distinctly remember hearing and seeing news broadcasts regarding the invasion and subsequent war.

The thing that struck me, was the single minded, destructive and counterproductive mentality that can arise from what seems like a very overblown reaction over a seemingly insignificant group of islands.

Argentina seems to hate Britain and the feeling is returned (in some cases in multiples).  In Ushuaia there are NO Union Jacks displayed and it would be the height of rudeness to do so.  It goes for any Argentinian paraphernalia in the Falklands. 

From an outsiders perspective, I view the whole thing in similar terms to other wars and conflicts.  I see the whole thing as having a bully and an underdog, neither of whom are right or wrong, and all that tension resulting very much in utterly futile conflict where the only outcome is a strengthening of hatred and intolerance, a strengthening of misguided national pride – all at the expense of lives.  Both civilian and military. 

The talk on the ship was that things are getting tense again after the leaking of some official documents regarding the 72 day conflict back in 1982.

There are no winners only losers where wars are concerned.  And the Falkland Islands was a depressing, confusing, and tragic example of this.

Argentina is the closest neighbor to these isolated islands.  When I say Isolated I MEAN ISOLATED!

There is no ATM on the island.  The currency is equal to the pound sterling but is printed for the Falkland Islands and traded here alone (to cater to a population of a few thousand people and very few tourists). The bank is closed on Sunday, and there is a sign at Michelle’s Fish ‘n’ Chip shop that reads:

If you don’t park your push bikes away from the entrance, and put them someplace where customers and staff won’t trip over them, I’ll be forced to call your mother. – Michelle.”

Not even joking.

She knows everyone’s mother, and brother and sister and cousin and friend and neighbor – because Stanley is the main settlement and a very small town of less than 3000 people and there’s not a lot of ease of movement on and off this little group of islands.

You don’t ask about, or discuss the war.  And if you do, please know that it was all Argentina’s fault.

Enough of that political speak.

So.  The weather was pretty awful.  The locals apologized as you would anticipate good British folk to do.  Not that they have any power over the weather, but the ones we spoke to were genuinely sorry about the fact that the weather was so awful for us visitors, as it isn’t usually like this at the end of December.

The Tender was long (about half an hour from boat to shore and the same trip back again) and they filled them up for efficiencies sake.  I’m always fascinated, and often saddened by the behavior of different people in somewhat stressful and uncomfortable situations. 

In order to fit enough people into the boats we had to sit four to a bench.  Not unreasonable if you saw the size of the benches.  Well, one woman flatly refused.  I’ll not mention her nationality.  Terribly rude, and honestly, what makes her think she is so much better than every other person on the tiny little boat that she doesn’t have to scooch over or share. 

After loudly stating how rude I found her behavior to my embarrassed mother in law, I did actually realize that I could have easily taken Stephanie up on my lap making room for at least one more person on our bench, so I guess people in glass houses ought not throw stones and all that.

The houses, the food, the feel, even the smell of our experiences were eerily British.  There is a small supermarket/chemist/clothing store (basically their version of a mega mall) and I would have sworn I was in an M&S or Waitrose somewhere anywhere in England, like Brighton or Yorkshire or anywhere just of the I-5.  But I was not.  I was on a small and sparsely populated set of stones in the Southern Atlantic off the coast of Argentina, where you daren’t speak their closes neighbors name!

The experience was surreal and short lived.

The people are warm and hearty, but the small dealings I had with them also exposed those I spoke with to be intolerant and zealously nationalistic, patriotic, and suspicious of anyone who is not a local. 

We had very good battered fish, and mediocre chips, and boring frozen (not even mushy) peas.

It did make me desire more knowledge on the finer points of the conflict, and also to look forward to getting more intimate with the culture, language and history of the continent that has played host to myself and my family and friends for the past month. 

There is so much I loved about the Western side of South America, and my obsession with the musical Evita as a child, and my personal experience with Argentinian natives has made me feel a right royal pillick for not learning more of the language and researching more about the amazing ports and countries I have been so blessed to visit.

I understand that the Argentine people are generally not fans of the British Empire.  That was not one of the more successful stories of the glory days of that particular empire, and the passion, unity and fighting spirit of the Argentinian people are undeniable ingredients in the recipe that got the English out for the most part in the early to mid 20^th century.

On a much more family oriented note:

Daniel flat-out refused to get off the boat so spent the day playing with the United Nations conference that is Kids Club on an international cruise.

Adam came ashore and quickly went home for a nap with Steve while Stephanie and Mother in Law and myself hiked along the waterfront to the museum.

Stephanie was so well behaved.  She’s been complaining about wanting to go home every waking hour and today she was a sweetheart and heard me and understood when I explained that she will miss the boat and her friends and experiences here when she is home soon, and so she’d be better off to enjoy the moment and stop being such a whiny little brat.  She really seemed to get it.  Let’s see how long it lasts.

So, I’ll fill in the gaps between Ecuador and the Falklands soon.

Hope everyone had a very safe and special NYE in New Zealand and Australia, we are planning a fun one at sea tomorrow.

XXOO

 

Dee

 

 

 

 

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We landed in Manta Ecuador a little bit later than expected.

 

It was warm, but not hot, and so remarkably dusty.

 

I am sure it does not rain there often.

 

We hadn’t done much (if any) research on the area, so we basically got off the boat and threw ourselves in a cab. 

 

The driver spoke exactly zero English, which is about as much Spanish as we all speak.  So there was a lot of pointing and charades playing, which didn’t actually pay off.

 

We wanted to head up to Quito, but it would have been an 8 hour drive on terrifying sheer cliffed roads. 

 

Sooo… we went to Monti Christi to buy panama hats instead.

 

There was a shuttle that ran from the boat to a mall, and then on to a private make-shift Indian market set up just for us.  The market was strange and awful.  But I managed to buy my Kiwi Nephew A-man a cute little llama wool jumper!  Absolutely gorgeous.  I’ll try and upload a picture, but I don’t fancy my chances of success.

 

We boarded the boat and drove past KFC and numerous other American fast food chains.  And we landed in a strip mall where there was a line easily over 100 people long waiting for the bank to open.  The whole thing had quite strange feel to it. 

 

The currency they use is American Dollars, so that was easy!  We got out some cash and away we went to buy stocking stuffers from the toy store.  Then we jumped in a cab and headed off to Monti Christi.   We went to the top of a hill where there was a museum and a mausoleum and a bunch of kiosks selling Panama hats. 

 

Then we filed back into the cab, and I had to grab some sun screen and wanted to grab some motion sickness pills as well, so I managed to ask the cabbie to get us to a Pharmacia.  After that, I thought we would go to the Indian market.

 

That’s when the fun began.

 

There’s quite a lot of crime and an unbelievable pick-pocketing epidemic in Manta.  So the market was set up in what appeared to be a fenced in high security canning factory or something like that.  There were tall fences with barbed wire, and security guards at a large metal fence.  The location was obviously secret, and therefore when we attempted to get there in the cab HE HAD NO IDEA where it was.

 

So when I asked to go shopping he first brought us to another big mall, and we said no no no. Not made in china, made in Ecuador, so he took us to the local markets. It. Was. Terrifying!

 

After what felt like an eternity of being pushed around by busy locals in the crowded streets, we managed to flag down a cab, and they wouldn’t take us.  So we flagged down another cab and he did take us.  Again he spoke no English, so we said: Boat!  Boat!  Hoonk hooooonk BIG SHIP!  Take us please please please.  He laughed and took us.  And he got a very very big tip.

 

I carried on back to the mall again and then onto the real Indian market they set up for us cruisers.

 

In summary, Ecuador is dusty, dirty, and a bit scary.  But junk is cheap.

 

I wouldn’t make a special trip. But I am glad we went. One day we would LOVE to visit the Galapagos Islands, as many passengers did.

 

 

Costa Rica means “Rich Coast” in Spanish.  The reason Costa Rica was so named, was that when the Spanish armada, or whoever it was, landed in Costa Rica, they saw the natives adorned head to toe in gold.  Therefore, they moved in, and took over the fairly peaceful people.  Apparently, the invasion consisted of a lot of running away, and not much actual invading.  At any rate, there was not any gold to be found, as the gold was traded over many generations with the Columbian natives,  Inca, Mayan etc. for other goods and services that were plentiful in Costa Rica.

 

Or something to that effect.

 

We decided to take a coffee plantation tour.  The best I can say about it is basically: meh.

 

Two hours in a bus, luckily with a colourful tour guide who filled us in on the history and contemporary information on the area, and then we went to a coffee plantation and had the stock standard chicken stew, beans and rice lunch that you get on these South American boat organized tours. 

 

What we all agreed upon unanimously is this:

 

We are NOT the kind of people who enjoy boat arranged tours.

 

At any rate.  The countryside was beautiful, we got to feel a mild earthquake, we learned a lot about Costa Rica – for example!  Did you know that the number one export from Costa Rica is Micro Chips.  Seriously.  Not even kidding.  Used to be heavy on coffee and bananas and things, but now it is high tech components and also medical gear apparently.

 

Anyway.

 

A rich, and diverse eco system, with countless flora and fauna species (especially a lot of bugs and most of all ants in case you were interested).

 

Grumpy Hobbit Hubby snapped dozens of photos, and some of them were pretty darned good, so I’ll try and get some up for you.

 

 

Next addition:

 

Ecuador.

 

I wouldn’t make a special trip if I were you.  We did get panama hats though.  Which are of course, made in Ecuador.  Not Panama.  But you knew that right?

 

Check in again soon!

XXOO

Dee

We spent a very brief day in San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.  Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America.  There is an estimated population of around 5.8 million.  According to the people we came across in Costa Rica, Nicaraguans often cross the border as illegal immigrants to do cash work as things are so difficult and wages so low in Nicaragua.

We were about an hour or so late getting into Nicaragua as we stopped to check up on a dingy that was floating many miles off shore.  We turned around to check on them as a couple of years ago, this same ship, and this same captain left a distressed fishing vessel in a similar area, and only one of the four passengers survived, and a PR nightmare ensued for the Star Princess and the Captain.  I for one am very pleased that they turned around and checked in on the fishermen, who made it clear that they were happy, and had just caught a very large marlin.

So we finally got into port about and hour or more late, and then we had to tender in on the Cruise Ships tender boats.   We held back to let the people with tours go ahead of us, and got off the boat a couple of hours after the first tender left, but we were still in a large queue as we were all at the mercy of a single point to dock and unload, so having heaps of boats in the water to move people, really didn’t turn out to be much help.

Here is a pic of us arriving on land after the tender out.

Once we got on shore, I found an ATM and got a few hundred Cardoba (about 23.5 Cardoba to one USD) so we could buy a few things.  We got some ice creams, and they were exceptionally cheap, then we got some cold drinks in a beachfront bar for ourselves and the kids, and they were also very cheap.

There was a lethargic looking monkey tied up and sitting on one of those taxi bikes that bring tourists around.  The children of course noticed the monkey, and said: “ What a cute monkey!”  And I interrupted and said; “Probably not a happy monkey.  He’s may be cute but he’s a poor monkey should be in the jungle and not tied to a leash.”  The American woman who was pedaling pictures with the monkey yelled at me and said: “He’s actually a rich monkey!”  To which I responded, “Maybe he makes his owner rich.”  And that pissed her off even more.  Apparently the monkey was a rescue monkey.  That’s all well and good, but there are animals being exploited for tourist dollars all over the world, and I for one will not raise my children to be a part of this tragedy.

They are very kid friendly where we were.  There was a jungle gym play set and a lovely hammock for the kids to play on at the bar we stopped at.

We also bought a haul of local bootie to bring home and distribute to friends an family when we get back.

It was a relaxing and comfortable (though short) trip.  The highlights being the kid friendly bar and the huge statue of Jesus that greeted us and shone bright white one moment and ominous grey the next, depending on the light and the cloud cover.  I thought that was very cool.

So that was Nicaragua.

I’m interested to know more about this country.

 

Guatemala.  I am quite a fan of this little Central American nation.

This lush tropical country shares borders with Mexico to the North, Belize to the North East, Honduras to the East and El Salvador to the South.  The currency is the quetzal, the food is Central American (plenty of rice and beans and cheese to be had!) and the people are diverse and interesting.  Over a dozen indigenous tribes, and a thriving Mayan population call Guatemala their homeland.  There are many different dialects, and in some of the more remote areas, the native tongue is the only language most people speak, even Spanish wouldn’t get you very far in these parts.

This is only the second time I have been to Guatemala, and the first time was on another cruise through the Panama Canal a few years ago, where we dropped anchor in the same port, and took the same trip into Antigua.  So I don’t have a vast knowledge of the country, but what I have seen I have liked, and I want to experience MORE!  Maybe one day.

So the Happy Hobbits decided not to take a tour this time, seeing as we fancied ourselves rather dab hands at the whole thing things being our second visit and all.  We met up with an Australian woman named C and her DARLING daughter X (who watched Adam up in Kids Club for us so we can have a break from time to time) and her four-year-old C and her two lovely and cheerful parents.  Off the boat we got bright and early, and into the waiting jaws of some independent tour bus sharks… That’s a whole other story, and I won’t bore you with it today, but come round for dinner some time and I’ll tell you all about it in person!

About an hour and a half later we arrived in Antigua.

I love this city.

It is a World Heritage Site (like the whole freakin place, not just one or two buildings) and has narrow cobbled streets, eerily similar walled courtyard buildings, all of which envelope lush and magical gardens and nooks and hidey holes where you can have a cup of fresh brewed Guatemalan coffee, or barter with the locals for some touristic treasures in one of the shops or markets.  The local Indian tribes people come down to pedal their wares to us gringos, and do a rip roaring trade for the brief moments the cruise ships’ cargo are on shore to spend up in American dollars for the hour or two they are there.

One of my favourite places on earth is the old monastery (Santo Domingo), which they have converted into a five star resort and hotel.  The place is off the hook.  It is hundreds of years old, has a heart and a soul and a history that would turn your blue eyes brown, and there is even an old mausoleum where you can see real bones!  REAL BONES!  Countless earthquakes have hit the city, and the reality of this is apparent in the many tumbled down buildings, but it is a charming and beautiful city.  If it weren’t so far from our NZ home, I would vacation here as often as possible.  The place is off the hook and I love it.

The children were for the most part well behaved, and we all sat down to a big lunch in the walls of Santo Domingo Monastery.

The ride home was not so cut and dry, as an Argentinian couple who we quite literally crammed into the bus for the trip into town, decided they would rather take a less crowded bus back to the port, and hence we were sent on a wild goose chase through the narrow streets of Antiqua.  Meh.  It was fun.  And the busses all have names and are brightly coloured and we got to see lots of locals going about their business as we raced around with our driver shouting Spanish obscenities through his cell regarding the wayward Argentinians and his desire to collect the $35USD he was entitled to.

Well.

That was Guatemala.

We may not be there any more Dr. Ropata.  But a couple of days ago we certainly were in Guatemala.  And it was ace.

Goodnight all.

Next installment = Nicaragua

Guatemala.  I am quite a fan of this little Central American nation. 

 

This lush tropical country shares borders with Mexico to the North, Belize to the North East, Honduras to the East and El Salvador to the South.  The currency is the quetzal, the food is Central American (plenty of rice and beans and cheese to be had!) and the people are diverse and interesting.  Over a dozen indigenous tribes, and a thriving Mayan population call Guatemala their homeland.  There are many different dialects, and in some of the more remote areas, the native tongue is the only language most people speak, even Spanish wouldn’t get you very far in these parts.

 

This is only the second time I have been to Guatemala, and the first time was on another cruise through the Panama Canal a few years ago, where we dropped anchor in the same port, and took the same trip into Antigua.  So I don’t have a vast knowledge of the country, but what I have seen I have liked, and I want to experience MORE!  Maybe one day.

 

So the Happy Hobbits decided not to take a tour this time, seeing as we fancied ourselves rather dab hands at the whole thing things being our second visit and all.  We met up with an Australian woman named C and her DARLING daughter X (who watched Adam up in Kids Club for us so we can have a break from time to time) and her four-year-old C and her two lovely and cheerful parents.  Off the boat we got bright and early, and into the waiting jaws of some independent tour bus sharks… That’s a whole other story, and I won’t bore you with it today, but come round for dinner some time and I’ll tell you all about it in person! 

 

About an hour and a half later we arrived in Antigua.

 

I love this city.

 

It is a World Heritage Site (like the whole freakin place, not just one or two buildings) and has narrow cobbled streets, eerily similar walled courtyard buildings, all of which envelope lush and magical gardens and nooks and hidey holes where you can have a cup of fresh brewed Guatemalan coffee, or barter with the locals for some touristic treasures in one of the shops or markets.  The local Indian tribes people come down to pedal their wares to us gringos, and do a rip roaring trade for the brief moments the cruise ships’ cargo are on shore to spend up in American dollars for the hour or two they are there.

 

One of my favourite places on earth is the old monastery (Santo Domingo), which they have converted into a five star resort and hotel.  The place is off the hook.  It is hundreds of years old, has a heart and a soul and a history that would turn your blue eyes brown, and there is even an old mausoleum where you can see real bones!  REAL BONES!  Countless earthquakes have hit the city, and the reality of this is apparent in the many tumbled down buildings, but it is a charming and beautiful city.  If it weren’t so far from our NZ home, I would vacation here as often as possible.  The place is off the hook and I love it.

 

The children were for the most part well behaved, and we all sat down to a big lunch in the walls of Santo Domingo Monastery. 

 

The ride home was not so cut and dry, as an Argentinian couple who we quite literally crammed into the bus for the trip into town, decided they would rather take a less crowded bus back to the port, and hence we were sent on a wild goose chase through the narrow streets of Antiqua.  Meh.  It was fun.  And the busses all have names and are brightly coloured and we got to see lots of locals going about their business as we raced around with our driver shouting Spanish obscenities through his cell regarding the wayward Argentinians and his desire to collect the $35USD he was entitled to.

 

Well.

 

That was Guatemala.

 

We may not be there any more Dr. Ropata.  But a couple of days ago we certainly were in Guatemala.  And it was ace.

 

Goodnight all. 

 

Next installment = Nicaragua

 

For the past few weeks I have been in email contact with a very amazing young man whom I will refer to as CC.  He’s dedicated his life to the studies of economic, environmental and social sustainability, and has been the mastermind behind countless initiatives in his quest to help our rather battle wearied planet.  My new friend WW (the man with the plan and the passion rolling out the Global Poverty Project in New Zealand) introduced us.

CC flew all the way from Mexico City to come and meet us, with less than two weeks notice!  He arranged an amazing day on a launch and a breathtaking breakfast with a view of all of Cabo.

My friend S was absolutely accurate when, after our wonderful day with CC (which included visits from various marine life including sea lions, pelicans and even some whales) he described him as “a rare and perfect gentleman”.

Aside from being a fantastic, generous and gracious host, CC has also given me the honor of being able to join him in his ongoing mission to spread knowledge, tolerance and understanding in areas of sustainability.

When I get home, I will be recruiting helpers and gathering intelligence from all of my Kiwi friends and family to help CC with his pilot project which is set up to give local schools the tools and resources they need to reduce their carbon footprint.  These schools arrange with local and national government to see if they can meet their challenge, and exceed the efforts of their adult counterparts, and should the children be successful, they are rewarded with resources and awards.  THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!  Perfectly aligned with our plans to encourage sustainability in New Zealand through the eco bach and our involvement with Electric Vehicle communities.  Watch this space.

CC is the son of an esteemed politician, and as far as I can tell, has grown up with many opportunities.  So why would a charming, good looking young man dedicated his entire life to the service of humanity and the planet?  CC has compiled and published countless books and articles, and even managed to convince his father of the irrefutable importance of thinking and acting sustainably.  He also brought his absolutely gorgeous 17 year old cousin to help show us around, and he was gracious and so good with children.  I am not sure if hanging around with a bunch of potentially boring Hobbit Hippies from New Zealand would be the way I would choose to spend my Saturday, but spend it with us he did, and we were all charmed and grateful beyond words.

Cabo is a haunt for the rich and famous.  The contrast between it and say, Antiqua (our next stop after Cabo) is pretty remarkable, but even in Antiqua, the gap between the rich and poor, the haves and have nots, the developed and the developing worlds is vast.  And in any of the ports we have been to, the locals have been pushed out of certain areas because people who can afford to pay unthinkably high prices for local real estate (which compared to the prices in New York or London, seem cheap to the well heeled).

At any rate.

Cabo was AMAZING.

We ate seafood that would make your head swim, your palette dance and your stomach slip into a pleasure-induced coma.  We were given gifts of local tequila and an amazing hard cover book on ancient Mexico (which has become a point of fascination for my 7 year old son D).  We saw the sights and met some locals and there was scarcely a gringo in view all day!

The most magical point of the day was of course the wildlife.  Seeing the whales was, to me, an authentic spiritual experience.  I took this as an indisputable sign from Mother Nature that meeting CC and planning to be a part of the many exciting and rewarding projects that have come into view is indeed the right path.  Thank you WW and thank you CC and thank you Mother Nature.

Tomorrow we talk about Guatemala.  Still one of my favourite places!

XXOO

Dee

Where do I begin?

We’re settled in on the ship and feeling very blessed and watching ourselves get fatter by the day.

In my defense, I have been to the gym at least once…

I’ll do this entry in two installments.  One regarding our shipboard experience, and then another to tell you about the AMAZEBALLS with a side of AWESOMESAUCE day we had in Cabo St Lucas. 

The Happy Hobbits have been cruising every year sine our first cruise through Egypt and the Greek Isles for my 30^th Birthday in 2008.  We were very surprised to find that we loved the experience, with the only down side being our demographic was not strongly represented on cruises, especially the longer ones that we tend to choose as they have the most interesting itineraries. 

To mitigate the risk of getting bored and lonely, as you never know who you will run into on the ship, we have started bringing friends and family with us to share the load of child wrangling and to enjoy the experience and share it with people we care about.  This works pretty good as far as we are concerned!  Last cruise we went through Alaska, then several Asian countries and had the whole family (kids, my parents, Grumpy’s Mom – who is also quite grumpy, but absolutely lovely as well if you were wondering – and also Grumpy Hubby’s sister and her husband).  This worked out better than we could have ever hoped, as my sister in law and her husband are the same age as my parents, and the four of them really enjoyed spending time together and have become very good friends after sharing such a great experience together.  It was also a nice chance to really get to know them better as they live in Hastings, so with our combined busy schedules, we don’t see them as often in NZ as we would like.

This time we’ve got our dear friends who currently live in Queensland, and their daughter (my God-Daughter) and our son (his God-Daughter) are almost exactly the same age.  When they are not eye gouging or squealing at each other (as two year olds are prone to do) they have a wonderful time together!  It has been a particularly nice surprise to see how well my daughter S (who is six) and O (who is 2) get along.  They are two little blonde princesses who love to hang out, and it is very heart warming to witness.

We have absolutely decided that this is the last cruise we will ever do with Princess with a child/children who are under the age of 3.  My understanding was that there is kids club from 2 years of age onwards.  My understanding was wrong.  And it is not a case of paying extra for childcare, they simply will not supervise any child under the age of three.  Pisses me off. 

We’ve found a couple of nice teenage girls who take turns watching the kids for $5.00 an hour though, and we’ve been taking turns hanging out with the kids and giving each other a break, so not a complete disaster I suppose.

We’ve made a few friends among the staff and crew.  The DJ is a truly decent bloke, and he’s been cruising forever, so it is nice to be getting to know him.

As usual, I am morally torn about the whole cruise industry.  Historically, the ships dumped unimaginable amounts of rubbish straight into the oceans, when there were limited or even no regulations on this sort of behaviour.  The staff and crew (particularly those from the developing world) work horrendous hours, and in many cases leave a young family behind and sail off on 9 month contracts, to enable their children to attend private schools and have the opportunities they hope for them as parents.  It is heart breaking.  Whenever I talk to people about it (which is daily, you know me and my chatty nature) it pulls at my heart strings.  Yesterday, I had one of the cleaners; Iggy from the Philippines, tell me that he may work hard and miss his family, but life just isn’t fair, and he feels like lots of people have it much worse than him.  Nice guy is Iggy. 

 

(This is our ship the Star Princess in Cabo.)

 

(Daniel and Daddy leaving San Fran)

Also, the sheer volumes of food, fuel and resources consumed on a cruise liner would make your head swim.  And all of this, for the rest and relaxation “needs” of the wealthiest percentile of the planet, who in many cases, already have a skewed and revolting take on their own importance and their entitlements while taking up space on this planet. 

HOWEVER.

It is fun, it is relaxing, we unpack ONCE and get taken leisurely to amazing destinations around the globe.  And oh my WORD do they FEED YOU! 

At any rate, we feel very lucky to be here.  The weather is getting hotter as we near the equator, and we are all enjoying ourselves a great deal. 

Tune in later for a peek into some of the fun we had in Cabo!

XXOO

Not a toddler was behaving – Can I blame it on a full moon?

Nope.  

Guess they are just blowing off steam.

SoooOOOooooo!

Tonight is our last night as land lubbers for a while!  We head over to the peer early tomorrow afternoon!  WE ARE SOO EXCITED!

Caught up with the rest of the weary travelers as they are staying across the road in the Raddison.  Much better hotel IMHO as they have free wi-fi.  Although, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf does have epically cool fireplaces to sit around in the outdoor bar area.  

Today was fantastic, aside from not seeing our dear friend Sneep one last time, but it’s not such a big deal as we’ll hopefully see him when we are back through California in Jan.  He’s a dear friend, and although he started out as mine, he’s as much (if not more) Grumpy Hobbit Hubbies mate too now.  

The kids (aside from Mr. Two-Year-Old) were much better today than yesterday.  The Exploratorium is AMAZING and the kids and Steve had equal amounts of fun and were there until just before closing, and only left begrudgingly due to hunger and a desire to not get stuck in rush hour here in San Fran.

Here is a shot of the kids playing upstairs.  Seriously, if anyone is ever in San Francisco with their kids you MUST go to the exploratorium.  It is a geeky parents dream come true!  Seemed like a lot at the door when we were asked to pay $88.00USD for the whole family, but trust us, it was a full day of fun and well worth it!  Apparently it will be re-locating so it must close for a couple of years soon, so get in quick!  We’ll be checking it out as soon as it re-opens for sure!  Might even be worth a special visit to the city by the bay to do so.

I was going to write you all about one of the many times I was in San Fran and had the time to talk to some homeless people, and how harrowing and remarkable the stories were.  All of the stories involved drug and alcohol dependency issues.  All of the stories involved rock bottoms and last chances.  Too many of the stories involved returned servicemen.  There are some amazing, colourful, interesting, (and in a few cases mind bogglingly talented) human beings living on the streets here in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and they all have a story.  And one day I will relay some of the many I have been privy to.  Not today though.  The contrast between those stories and the pampered life I lead, and the adventure we are about to embark upon is a bit too great right now, and so I’ll save it for another time.

We have had plenty of good news, like the port is just up the road, our rental return drop off point is less than a ten minute walk to the peer, the front desk is printing our documents for us and all in all… things are going eerily smoothly!  

Bestie’s girlfriend printed EVERYTHING and has a beautifully laid out travel folder with copies of copies and print outs of everything you can imagine.  She’s kinda putting me to shame with her travel mojo actually.  SO EXCITED TO BE HANGING OUT WITH HER!  We are going to have a great time, and we’ll get to know our God Daughter O so well over the next month together.  I can already tell she’s a tough little cookie and we’re going to get along just great.

Well, better get going.  I’ll leave you with two last pics as this may be the only time I have the bandwidth to post for a bit.  One is of darling eldest son D at the Rainforest Cafe in Fisherman’s Wharf and the other is of middle child (and currently only daughter) SJ at the fine arts palace down in Golden Gate park.

Hope you are all well!  I’ll talk to you tomorrow I hope!

 

 

Had a very productive day.

Everyone got shoes.

May not sound like a big deal to many, but considering the mood the children were in and the short fuse I am currently sporting, it is nigh on a miracle we managed to get even that done.

Hobbit Husband had a test drive in the Tesla S which he’s already on the Antipodean wait list for and we’re just waiting on delivery in October/November 2013.  He was sufficiently impressed, as was our dear friend Sneep who joined him for the test drive and will hopefully be meeting us tomorrow at the Exploratorium: http://www.exploratorium.edu (It is like a mega geeky science place near or in Golden Gate Park that we’ve meant to go to for years and have never quite gotten around to…) Right up the Hobbit alley actually.

We did not make it to Monterey Bay Aquarium.  But we will be back here and take them through another time.  There’s heaps we did not do and heaps of people we meant to see and did not, but we have also had a lovely and relaxed visit with our charming cousins in Livermore and our dear friend Sneep.

Time for some culturally insensitive observations.

On average, Americans seem to be pushy.  At least three people attempted to push into queue as I was going to pay for something or other (probably kids clothes at Macy’s if I recall). I asked a cashier when I finally reached her if it was just because it is the holiday season, and she was quite certain that it was not.  Everyone just thinks they are the most important apparently.  It’s the way things are here.  Converse to their pushy and rude behaviour, however, they did not seem to mind at all when I stood up for myself after getting pushed in on several times.  So I guess there is  a system here, and I suppose it works.  Well, works for the locals who understand it.

Tipping does my head in as well.

We had a lovely dinner at a family restaurant we have been going to with our cousins for years now, and because there were 8 of us, they put the tip on the bill, which meant I was not inclined to pay the more than double tip I had planned to pay as the waitress was very patient with us and brought the kids pizza dough (which my mom would have loved more than the kids I am sure) and was very pleasant indeed.  Upon seeing that they already added the 18%, I was not about to add any more, despite planning to leave more like a 30% tip… Grrrr.

Driving is another area which boggles the mind a bit here.  People don’t let other people move into traffic, and that also seems to be normal.  There were numerous occasions we waved people in today as letting them do so was neither here nor there and was not affecting our route or plans as we were all waiting at lights or turns etc.  Most of the time people seemed unreasonably grateful for the gesture, and another time or two, people actually looked genuinely pissed off at us for letting them in.  Hobbit Husband has a different take on things, and thought people were confused by the gesture and then looked at him as though he were crazy to let them in.  At any rate, it is a strange place.  I don’t think I could live here.

So tomorrow we are united with my Bestie S, his gorgeous life partner A and their beautiful, intelligent and independent daughter O.  We will also be meeting up with my mother in law.  We are all staying close to the port where the boat will be departing, and we will take turns driving passengers and luggage down and then return the car to a relatively nearby Enterprise location.

The real fun starts once the boat takes off, and our first stop in Cabo we are being greeted by an amazing man named Chris who is a sustainability junkie (economic as well as environmental) even moreso than the Happy Hobbits and he is enthusiastic and interesting and I am sure we will be welcoming him in as an honorary Hobbit forever and ever after spending the day with him over the weekend.  He’s going to show us around Cabo and we’re going to talk about our individual and combined plans to save the world!  I’ll fill you all in when I am sure he is fine with me doing so.

Right… that’s what happened today, and that is what is happening the first stop after we get on the boat.

Hope wherever you are when you take the time to labour through this latest grueling post you are well.

XXOO

Dee