Tuesday, December 13, 2011

I'm Baaack

No photo's yet so I am just letting you know that I am home safe and sound and to tell you that we had a fabulous holiday.
It is such a priviledge to be able to vistit these islands in the South Pacific and to see first hand how the people live and to learn about their culture.
It is so different to what we are used to and I am honoured that they were so happy to share everything with us.
Our tour guides were exceptional and showed us all that there was to see nothing was left out--just a lovely experience which I know that both of us will treasure forever.
I was dissappointed to hear fellow female passengers describing their on shore tours as disgusting and how they were horrified at the living conditions.
When I tried to tell one lady (and I use the term loosely) that this was their culture and that they were happy in how they probably wouldn't be able to cope in our situations she just snorted at me and said "well maybe they should learn".
I can't understand why you would spend all that money on a cruise to these beautiful places and want to change everything.
We went to one island that only had about 220 people living on it and there was only one TV on the whole island so everyone would gather around to watch it when it was on which was not very often.
You could walk across this island in about 20 minutes-which Stephen and I thought we would do but--we took the wrong turn and ended three quarters of the way up this steep hill.
It was heart attach material and I refused to go any further.
The next problem was getting back down--aaaggghhh sheer agony.
When we got back to the shore we sat on a log at the edge of the sand and also went for a paddle-which was perfect.
Let me tell you that this all happened befor 9am--the humidity was awful and I was perspiring like a tap--but it all added to the experience.
The cruising was wonderful and I wasn't sick once--I sat on our balcony and watched the world go by--life was good--and it still is--if I could just stop everything from swaying from side to side
that is.
I'll be back soon with some photo's--promise.

8 comments:

Jen xo said...

sounds like you had a wonderful time Doreen. The worlds in a big enough mess now because of all the forced culture changes ! what aboring worls if we were all the same :)

Shane Pollard said...

Glad you two made the most of it Doreen!!
I'm sure it was wonderful and like you I really enjoy learning from others - I'm glad we're all different!
Shane x

Robin Mac said...

Welcome home, so glad you had a wonderful time. Like you, I sometimes wonder why people pay money to go on tours and then close their minds to other cultures! Can relate to the humidity, it is dreadful here at present. Cheers

Heather said...

Your holiday/cruise sounds fascinating. Some people are so ignorant - I don't know why they bother to travel if they can't appreciate the way other cultures live. Looking forward to seeing your photos.

Janet said...

Yea! You're back! I missed you....it sounds like you enjoyed the cruise. If all the world was the same think how boring it would be! I love learning about other cultures and ways of living. We could probably learn a few things from those island people! I'm sure they live fairly stress free and enjoy life every day.

Sandy said...

Glad you had fun. I don't know why people can't accept that there are different cultures either. Ours certainly isn't perfect.

Downunderdale said...

sounds wonderful but only a paddle..... When we were in Indian we met a lady who complained like that - her agent knew she liked flowers and should have booked a hotel with more gardens when there were beggars and they should have been moved from her hotel......
good to have you back

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Missed you, and very glad you had a great time. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures. Too bad that there always seems to be a dissenter in every crowd - she definitely missed out on a great experience.