Summary of World Voyage

 

“… any attempt at narrative can give value to an experience which might otherwise evaporate away.”             - V.S. Naipaul      

The above quote sums up what the process of writing this blog, which is now sadly coming to an end, has accomplished for me.     I thoroughly enjoyed putting this all together and the disciplined effort that I put into has proved it’s worth.  Since returning home more than a week ago many people have approached me to tell me of the enjoyment of reading about my observations and sometimes my opinions, as I traveled around this wondrous world.  Their reactions both surprised and pleased me.  To be honest, my main reason for doing this blog was so that I wouldn’t be tempted to bore friends and family with my many tales as I showed them numerous photos.  However, a few of my good friends are now asking for this slide show.  I’ve even been asked by the Religious Ed Director at my church  if I  would give a presentation for the kids.  Now that should be fun but doing the same thing for adults quite frankly makes me anxious.  Writing down my thoughts while they were fresh in my mind will keep these unbelievably wonderful memories alive for me on so many levels.

Coming back to New Hampshire in springtime is just a perfect ending for my travels.  While I was swimming in the South Pacific back in February, my friend Tom emailed me these two pictures of my home in Nelson.

 

As you can see, it was an extremely snowy winter in NH.  I knew that a caretaker was watching over the house but I was still concerned about what would greet me on my return.  All was well, only one dead mouse seen.

The following are some pictures that I took in the last week of being on the ms Amsterdam.

  My dinner companions on our last “Formal Night”

Pretty good table,huh??

  The Maître de and me.  A little over the top, huh.

  My last Yoga ship practice as we made our Atlantic crossing.

  Deck chairs at the bow of the ship

 The library’s reading room

  Sitting area with a stunning large painting of Tall Ships.

  The Library

  Golden Plaque of the World

  Asian Art

  Bear Sculpture at the pool.

Yes, the ship was very sophisticated and glamorous but it’s the crew and staff that made this voyage so pleasant for me.

  Jenna, the Physical Trainer at the spa who I will miss terribly.  We plan on staying in touch and I sincerely hope that we do.

  Robert, our Tai Chi Instructor

Robert and his wife were from Australia.  His class was one of my daily routines that helped me to hold onto my serenity.

  My “Ice Cream Man” and his two supervisors.   I have mentioned the Lido’s restaurant staff often in this blog.  All of them (but I did have my favorites) and my cabin stewards touched my heart and soul deeply.  They were genuinely kind, patient and generous with there services and their affections for us “their guests”.  It’s been a little bit of an adjustment to have to take care of myself now that I’m on land.

  The crew putting on a Farewell presentation for us.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.  It was very moving but some of us understood that this was a wise marketing ploy on the part of Holland America.

I formed many friendships onboard the ship and I’ve posted some of their pictures previously.  I tried not to interact with people that I found offensive  (loud, obnoxious, arrogant and self-absorbed) and at times they did seem to be the majority. 

 

  Pam and Bill, a couple from Florida who have invited me to come and visit.

  My Tai Chi class.  This picture was taken after our last class.

And then like everything else in life, it had to come to an end.

  The Port of Fort Lauderdale

  Old Glory.  It surprised me how much seeing “The Stars and Stripes” blowing in the wind on American soil met to me.

  If you enlarge this picture and you look closely on the left you will see the ms Amsterdam, my home for 4 months.  This picture was taken from my SW flight as we flew over the port area which is amazingly close to the airport.  I did develop a fondness for the ship, a huge hunk of metal and style.

So now I’m back home and the daffodils in my front yard are in bloom, a sight for sore eyes.

And the snow is all gone….

I know that as the days, months and years go by I will look back on this trip as “the trip of a lifetime”.   There were some challenging and stressful moments but the end result is that I am now among a group of extremely fortunate people who can call themselves “World Travelers”.  My goal now is to keep interested and excited about other countries and their cultures.  I have certainly been stimulated and energized by all that I have seen and experienced.  I am going to strive to keep myself fit in body and spirit for there just may be another adventure waiting around the bend for me, even if it’s just hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire which I plan on doing very soon.

I will now end my ramblings with another quote that a like minded passenger shared with me.

“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.”
~ Samuel Johnson