Trouble at sea

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Still at sea; The trip is over

 We’ve run into a problem: The charter plane which was to take us from Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands to Brisbane, Australia on Saturday afternoon has broken down, and will not be repaired in time for our trip.  NG/Lindblad has only been able to find a replacement to leave at 3:45 AM on Saturday morning.  As a result, we must sail directly to Honiara without any of the stops along the way for snorkeling, to visit Samarai Island, Papua New Guinea, and to tour Guadalcanal, the site of important WW II battles.  Our trip effectively ended after our second day of visiting the Asmat on Sunday, and we will spend five full days aboard the ship.  They have created a lecture and demonstration schedule to try to keep us occupied, but there is a large number of distressed and upset people aboard, including us.

 Our schedule, then is to dock in Honiara late Friday, depart Honiara at 3:45 AM Saturday for Brisbane, a four-hour flight.  Arrive, sleep-deprived, in Brisbane Saturday morning and go to our hotel which, they assure us, will have availability to check in early morning.  On Sunday afternoon we fly Brisbane-Singapore, 7 hours 50 minutes, arriving at 8:30 PM Singapore time.  We then leave Singapore at 12:40 AM Monday morning for Newark, 17 hours 50 minutes, arriving in Newark the same day, Monday, at 5:30 AM, Newark time after crossing the International Date Line.  Our final flight is Newark-Rochester at 11:00 AM Monday.

 So, our trip is effectively over except for getting home.  Let’s hope all goes well with the connections, so that the only consequence will be extraordinary tiredness.  Thank you, all, for traveling with us, and unless something unexpected happens, this will be the last post to this blog.

 My sincere appreciation to all who sent notes and comments,

 Victor

Comments

  1. xctravelerDecember 14, 2022 at 3:43 PM

    So sad to have your trip cut short. You certainly have already had incredible experiences making the trip memorable. We do not envy you the next 4 days. Oy
    Paul & Carol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ralph P. LockeDecember 14, 2022 at 5:44 PM

    Ouch! Sorry to hear about this big change resulting from a single glitch. ("For the want of a nail....") I hope you do have some good additional lectures over the next few days, also discussions about what you all have experienced, either one on one or in groups. I myself am still trying to process some of the amazing things that Victor wrote up and shared via photos and videos (with singing and instruments!). Thanks again for letting us share a tiny bit in your explorations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rwa442December 14, 2022 at 5:50 PM

    Sorry to hear the troubles for the final trip visits. I know they would have been very interesting. Hopes for smooth sailing and get as must rest as possible on those flights home. It will be grueling.

    ReplyDelete

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