I left the ship to do some shopping at the market in Raiatea. Unfortunately, the rain came down all day, ruining a lovely day of Chinese New Year celebrations.
After viewing the lava fields, we enjoyed a stop at the Bodegas Rubicon, where we tasted some of the local wine and cheese. The vineyards here are very different looking-vines are planted inside semicircular lava stone walls in rows. The wine is refreshing and we brought back a few bottles to enjoy on the ship. I’ve included some pictures of the winery, which was very beautiful.
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of Holland America. To celebrate, all the ships in the fleet had a gala dinner. Our ship also celebrated with a huge party on the Lifo deck, which featured hundreds of tulips, a fabulous band, a huge cake. In addition the President of Holland America flew in to speak to us and to spend a few days on the ship.
This was the tour I was most anticipating. I remember being introduced to JRR Tolkien’s books in high school by Anne Ryan snd Rosemary Gladden. They have been my favorite books forever, so thank you ladies! This certainly fulfilled all my expectations and even exceeded them. I’m sure I’ll be posting many, many pictures ! I’ll start with some of the Hobbit houses-
Rain can't dampen how cool it must be being there!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the rain, the market looks cool. -Jackie
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