South Padre Island, Again!

Eyes wide open, bedroom fully illuminated, hazy three-drink hangover…something’s wrong. A check of the time shows what it is. It’s 0730 and we had planned to leave for South Padre Island (SPI) at 0600. We had overslept and now bolted out of bed in an effort to drive to SPI to check into our condo before the rental agency closes for the evening. Jane’s amazing at dressing and loading the mini-van.

Lighting the tree!

Capt. Larry’s dragging (maybe that was 4 or 5 drinks last night). It’s 0800 and we are loaded up, on our way, and driving faster than we ever drive to make up the time. We call the rental agency and find that they are open until 1800. We will be cutting it closely. We are driving like we are possessed, but by 1700 it’s obvious we aren’t going to make it in time. Another call to arrange for after-hours check-in and we start to back off and relax. We’re covered. A list of some grocery items we will need to fix our own meals (we’re going to miss cruising!) is generated and we stop to at a grocery to get what we need.

Ooommmpa pa!

We get to the rental agency to pick up our condo keys only to find that they are still open and waiting for us (guilt sets in for the grocery shopping). Arriving at the condo we unpack the car and crash for the night.

Tuba caroling

The next morning we arise for our morning walk to reestablish ourselves with the island. We had spent two months here back in 2013, so it didn’t take long to recall the island’s highlights. We picked up copies of the island’s local advertisement newspapers and discovered that there was going to be a Christmas boat parade that evening. Most of the afternoon was spent watching the Army-Navy football game while waiting for dark and the lighted boat parade.

Santa arrives

Arriving at a popular local restaurant/bar, Louie’s Backyard, that was the endpoint for the parade, we grabbed a couple of drinks and settled in to see the boats. The boat floats were respectable, but we’ve seen more impressive displays on our little Tickfaw River.

With the parade finished, we headed back to the condo and turned in. The next morning we headed over to Donna, TX, to go to a really large flea/farmer’s market that is a highlight for most of the Winter Texans staying in the Rio Grande Valley.

That's some carrots!

We had attended this market during our last visit to SPI and had a great time. One can find just about anything at this market and we were able to use our time efficiently as the junk was pretty much in the same places. After Jane had managed to go through the displays at least twice, we decided to get some fabulous Texas barbecue for lunch. It was delicious and we got to hear a local band play in the dining area. After we finished eating, we headed to the fruit and vegetable stands to pick up some locally grown produce.

Jane and friend at birding center

This is Capt. Larry’s, being the wishful gardener that he is, favorite part of the market. The valley produce is always gigantic, fresh, and exceptionally tasty. We purchased some marvelous citrus (the Rio Ruby Red grapefruit is the best), and green onions with bulbs as big as ping pong balls and cauliflower the size of soccer balls.

Birding center resident

We contemplated a 15 lb. bag of carrots, but figured that was a bit too much. We left the market just as the wind was picking up and rain threatened.

The next couple of days were spent hanging around the condo and exploring local sights. We spent one afternoon at the South Padre Island Birding Center where we saw lots of coastal wildlife. It was a fun afternoon, and again, something we had done on our previous visit.

A reptilian resident

We watched a short video about the migratory and resident birds that inhabit SPI, and then took a leisurely walk through the center’s backshore habitat to see what species we could find. Today it was mostly shorebirds and reptiles. The following day we decided to head over to Mexico.

Another center inhabitant

Crossing the border at Progreso allows us to park the car for $2/day and walk across the Rio Grande River right into central business district of Progreso. The street vendors descended upon us like flies to cow dung, but prior experience helped us to fend them off. We picked up some prescription medications at one of the pharmacies, and Jane found a store that had a nice selection of gift merchandise that she purchased, knowing that she could pay less on the street, but certainly with much more hassle. We found a restaurant that we had lunch at on our prior visit, and it was just as delicious and entertaining.

Ready for the parade

After lunch we spent a little more time shopping before heading back, clearing customs, and heading back to SPI. On the way home we discussed coming back to have our teeth cleaned. Progreso has 136 dentists for a population of just over 5,000 residents, and they cater to U.S. citizens coming over for less expensive dental care than can be had in the states. We decided that that was something we should do.

A couple more days of hanging around the condo and we find ourselves at “Thirsty Thursdays,” a happy hour hosted by other “Winter Texans” at our condo. Then it’s off to the SPI Christmas Tree Lighting and Tuba Concert. The tuba concert was awesome with 82 tuba players playing Christmas carols. Capt. Larry, a former first-chair tuba player, was delighted.

Parading the dogs

At the very end of the parade, Santa came riding in on a fire truck dressed in a “Summer Santa” uniform replete with red shorts and flip flops (thongs for you Aussies!). SPI is so like a small town. Two nights after the tuba concert, we returned to SPI’s city hall to watch the Christmas parade. The parade featured the usual assortment of small town politicians, marching bands from neighboring communities, and various businesses.

Here comes Santa!

Always up for a parade, Jane positioned herself near the middle of the road to make certain that she would not be overlooked in receiving her share of the candies that the parade participants were throwing. It was a great parade and another outstanding SPI community event.

We spent the weekend doing our normal activities and watching football again, but early in the week we headed back to Mexico for our dental work.

Crossing the Rio Grande

Crossing the border we headed to a dental office that we had seen billboard ads for stateside, but upon entering the office we found a backlog of patients and posters announcing that checks and credit or debit cards were not accepted. Since we didn’t have a lot of cash, we went about 3 doors down to the next office that accepted credit cards. We signed in and were told that teeth cleanings were $25. Jane was called back first, Capt. Larry to follow. And we were both absolutely pleased with the service that we received.

Our restaurant view of the Red Panty Bar

The cleanings were probably the best we had ever received, and you can’t argue with the price. We had lunch at a different restaurant with a balcony that allowed us to eat and people watch on Progreso’s main thoroughfare. We did some last minute shopping and crossed back over and headed home.

We finished out our last week at SPI doing local stuff, with one more “Thirsty Thursday” and packing the van to head back to Louisiana. We will be spending some time in the Florida Keys in January, but are already considering returning as a Winter Texan next year, unless theKkeys persuade us otherwise.

Pinatas for Christmas

It was a great segment of our “Winter Escape” and we look forward to the next segment- a 12-day eastern Caribbean cruise to destinations we have not yet been to. Sounds like fun!

It's a Wrap! We Finish Our Australia Adventure

We spent the next two sea days viewing more of the Queensland Islands, working on the blog, and relaxing by the pool.

Sunrise onboard

Brisbane would be our last port of call before landing in Sydney for our journey back to the states.

As we were pulling into Brisbane we were able to reestablish our phone service and immediately started receiving texts from our friends from the last cruise.

Brisbane skyline

Keith and Sheila left us in Perth but wanted to meet up with us when we came to Brisbane, and they were arriving at the cruise terminal just as we had finished docking and our breakfast. We made our way to the gangway and were among the first passengers off the ship and found Keith and Sheila in the waiting lounge.

Reunited!

Everyone was excited to see everyone. We loaded into their car and headed for the Sunshine Coast near where they lived and quickly caught each other up with the latest news. We delivered greetings from previous dinner mates, Jackie and Sylvia, and told them the latest gossip about the ship.

War games!

Keith drove us past the Australia Zoo which was inspired by Steve Irwin, TV’s famous “Crocodile Hunter,” and a famous area attraction. We viewed the Glass House Mountains, named by Captain Cook and drove to the beachside community of Mooloolabra where we stopped for some beautiful beach pictures. Keith and Sheila wanted to take us to the Surf Club for coffee.

Beach on Sunshine Coast

We signed into the club and drank our coffee while enjoying scenic beach views, and then viewed the reception room where Keith and Sheila’s daughter had her wedding reception.Inside the club Capt. Larry found several young men doing war battle strategy with plastic battle figures. And these guys were SERIOUS! Their strategic discussion lasted the entire time we were there.

Beautiful beach

After we left the Surf Club we walked down to one of the beach’s more famous local landmarks- “The Loo With A View.” Aussies refer to their outdoor restrooms as loos and this particular facility is located right on the beach and provides great beach vistas. We left Mooloolabra and drove up the Sunshine Coast to Maroochydore- the community where Keith and Sheila live.

Aussie booty!

They drove us to their beautiful home for lunch. Situated on a quiet street and a beautiful canal with ocean access, their home is designed with a Mediterranean-style open air breeziness that begs the occupants to be outside.

The Surf Club

Relaxing on their patio, we had some drinks and talked about our families, government stupidity, past travels, and future travel plans. Sheila had put together a fantastic lunch of boiled shrimp and oysters on the half shell, avocado and fruit salad, and an asparagus-salmon quiche.

"Loo With A View"

As if we needed so much delicious food! We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch and great conversation, but we were no sooner finished than it was time to return to the ship. At the terminal we had our hugs, said our goodbyes and promises to keep in touch, and expressed hopes that we could travel together again in the future. It was the best shore excursion we could have possibly had.

Keith's "Outback"

One more sea day and we’re back in Sydney. It took us almost the entire day to repack and organize the things that we had collected on our 32-day voyage.

Our Aussie friends

We had to disembark earlier than we had hoped so that they could sanitize the ship again, but as luck would have it the company providing our scheduled ride to the airport requested an earlier pickup time. The longer wait at the airport was made about an hour longer when our plane was late arriving.

Headin' for Sydney

This would haunt us with our connecting flight in Dallas as international passengers with domestic connections must collect their bags, go through customs, recheck their bags, and pass back through airport security.

Our last dinner aboard

And naturally our bags were among the last to appear and our gate was at the other end of the DFW terminal. Slowed by a congested security check, we got to the gate 5 minutes after the flight left and were placed on a flight leaving 2 hours later. We spent the time with Jackie and Sylvia who were on the same flight. Capt. Larry began to wonder if our bags might have gone to New Orleans on the earlier flight, but figured in any event they would be at baggage services. Well, only one bag showed up and the receptionist at baggage services told us the other bag was still in Sydney, even though we collected it in Dallas! And they want outlandish baggage charges for this service?? We filled out a claim and were driven home by our son Joey. One load of laundry and 3 stiff drinks brought us to the luxury of our own bed with the alarm set for 0500. Tomorrow we drive 10 hours to South Padre Island, Texas, for the next leg of our winter escape.

Stay tuned…

Australia's Tropical Regions- Darwin and Carins

Sunrise over a calm sea

From Bali we headed back to Australia cruising easily through the Arafura Sea. A little excitement at sea occurred when one of the passengers had to be air lifted by helicopter (the second such occurrence on this voyage) to Port Hedland and the apparent nearest land medical facility.

Helicopter coming for our passenger

We have been struck by the age and physical disability demographics of the passengers of this cruise and have jokingly referred to a Royal Caribbean "BOGO Wheelchair Deal" that many
passengers snapped up! But the excitement of the evacuation was short lived, and two sea days later, during which we find the time to pass much more slowly, we moored in Darwin City. Named after the English naturalist Charles Darwin, this settlement was founded at the tip of a peninsula in the already isolated region of the Northern Territory.

Note the high and low water marks

People slowly migrated to Darwin over time and it became an important base for the Allies in WWII. A major bombing of Darwin on February 19, 1942 destroyed the city as did Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Its people’s resilience to rebuild the city after every setback has today turned it into a bustling metropolis and Australia’s fastest growing city. Its harbor and proximity to several national parks makes Darwin a gateway for many of Australia’s best outdoor activities.

Like so many other ports we elected to do Darwin on our own. As we disembarked, we were struck by the extreme low water level indicative of an ebb tide and later learned that Darwin's tidal range can be up to 25 feet, a range which invariably produces extremely strong tidal currents.

Swimming lagoon and park

A short 15-minute walk put us in the heart of Darwin’s business, government, and historic districts.

Christ Church Cathedral

We viewed the unique architecture of Christ Church Cathedral which was originally built in 1902 and destroyed by Cyclone Tracey. Incorporating part of the ruins of the original structure, the church was rebuilt in 1975 with a modern award-winning design. Next we saw the Old Town Hall which was built in 1883 and also destroyed by Cyclone Tracey and today serves as an outdoor theater.

Old Town Hall

Leaving the historic district we came to Darwin’s street mall festively decorated for Christmas.

Darwin's skyline

There were lots of souvenir shops so Jane unleashed her shopping prowess and hit them all, some twice. After we finished shopping we headed to the post office we had spotted on the map to mail some post cards back to the states.

Darwin's open air mall

But at $2.75 per card, only a handful was sent with the rest being mailed from within the states when we return. We returned to the mall and happened upon an aboriginal dance demonstration that we watched for a while.

Aboriginal dance demonstration

We walked back towards the waterfront and cruise terminal and happened upon an oyster bar. We dropped in to have a couple of pints and noticed that the bar had the coolest beer cooler we had ever seen.

"Need new plan for iStick"

Several kinds of bottled beer were stacked on a pyramidal stainless steel structure and crushed ice dropped from the ceiling onto the peak of the pyramid and falling to the bottles below.

Cooling off in Darwin mall

We decided that if we were going to build a house, we would build it around such a cooler! Returning to the ship, we were hot, sweaty, and tired and took a nap after refreshing ourselves.

Mother of all beer coolers!

Our ship left Darwin and headed east for our next Aussie stop- Cairns (pronounced CANS- yeah, we know!) and the Great Barrier Reef.

Once again we had two sea days from Darwin to Cairns and little to view until we came to the Queensland Islands that marked the perimeter of the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea.

Now THAT'S a fender!

 Australia’s maritime waters are peppered with over 8,000 islands ranging in size from Tasmania, the largest, down to small, uninhabitable knobs, and many of the larger islands are home to resort communities that are popular island escapes.

One of the Queensland Islands

Many of the most popular holiday islands are located in Australia’s tropical northern, and northeastern regions, the area that we were currently cruising. We attended a lecture on the Great Barrier Reef only to leave halfway through when the lecturer, a licensed ship’s pilot that guided ships through the reef, started talking more about piloting and ship navigation than the marine biology of the reef.

A reef among the islands

Back in our starboard balcony cabin we had excellent views of the northern Queensland Islands that came into view after the ship rounded the Cape York Peninsula and started a southeasterly course.

Big and little tenders, but really SLOW!

It was Thanksgiving in Australia, even though it was still only Wednesday back in America, and we celebrated that evening with a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and finished off with pumpkin pie.

The next morning we arrived in Cairns. Located in tropical northern Queensland, Cairns is a popular portal for holiday resort seekers. We had hoped to visit the Great Barrier Reef at this stop, but the only available reef shore excursion involved snorkeling or diving the reef only and no glass-bottom boats. Prudence guided us to a visit to the city instead. For us, getting into Cairns involved a 25-30 minute tender ride to Yorkey’s Knob, followed by a 25 minute bus ride to the city of Cairns.

Our ship at Yorkey's Knob

There were a large number of passengers disembarking to go to Cairns, and for some reason the tendering process became bogged down.

The lagoon at the park in Carins

We experienced a 2-hour wait just to board the tender. Our late arrival in Cairns and the ship’s early port departure limited the amount of time we had in the city. We were dropped off in Fogarty Park which is adjacent to tourist and beach set shopping and features a lagoon for swimmers that is connected to the ocean. In many respects the area reminded us of Key West.

Christmas in the park

As usual, we encountered an open air market with vendors selling a variety of handicrafts and snake oil. Jane took charge to maximize shopping efficiency in the limited time we had, but after a while Capt. Larry started to question her purchase of souvenirs to back up the souvenirs she had already purchased.

Back at the boating club

We walked around a few more blocks and realized that considering the transit time, our time ashore was just about expended, if we wanted to avoid the last minute rush back to the ship. We boarded a bus that took us back to Yorkey’s Knob. Our Aussie friends, Keith and Sheila, had told us not to miss having a drink at the Yorkey’s Knob Boating Club, so we stopped in before tendering back to the ship.

Enjoying brews at the yacht club

We had to sign the register and Jane put us down a visiting members of the Killian Yacht Club which had worked well for us before.

View of the marina

There’s always something special about afternoon drinks at a marina bar, and we enjoyed the drinks, live music, and watching the boats in the marina before heading back to the ship.

We spent the next two sea days viewing more of the Queensland Islands, working on the blog, and relaxing by the pool.

More Aussie islands

Brisbane would be our last port of call before landing in Sydney for our journey back to the states.