Home again

The Great Dane - Leaving Sydney 5th July (Bottom photo)
In Auckland ready to depart (top photo) We had an afternoon thunderstorm in Auckland and that was as about as cold as it got on the whole trip.

Hi Folks, We've been back from our looooong cruise about a week and a half now and after dealing with a sick cat and some credit card fraud we are just about back on track to normality, whatever that may be.

We've seen some wonderful places and some very dirty, unhealthy places. It's a pity but the latter seems to become more embedded on the mind. Home is the best place to live after taking a peek at how the rest of the world lives. The weather has stayed kind to us all the way around the world with the tragedies like sunamies, earth quakes and floods, either happening after leaving an area or sometime before we were in the vacinity. We have met some great people, had lots of laughs and been entertained by some excellent performers.

What is the chore I hate most since being home apart from keeping the place generally clean? It is changing the bed. The first day home I wandered around in a daze wondering what to do - no cards, no trivial persuites, no gym, no lectures, no deck to wander around on, nothing. Well that didn't last long did it. A load of washing, set the table for lunch, feed the cat, water the garden and so it goes. You know how it is.

I would love to have spent more time in many of the ports we visited and some I have not desire to return. I'm pleased to have been a first time visitor to the Pyrimids but wouldn't want to see Ciaro again. There were fresh water (if you could call it that) canals with rubbish piled up against the bridges across the canal which included dead carcases of water buffalo and other animals. Along the canal a short way there was children swimming in the water. Because of being misinformed by the cruise line representative we spoke to about Visas, we didn't get to go ashore in India and by all accounts it would rival Cairo for it's lack of hygiene.

Although the Mediterannean was physically a bit draining - a new port every day almost - I would be more than happy to see it all again. The whole cruise all seems to blend, one port with another and I am about to start sorting my photographs on the computer when I'm sure all the places will be refreshed in my memory. I'll just add a couple on the blog as I go along. Nice to be back.