Will Gibson's South Pacific Journal

Note: I’m posting this now, October 8 because I haven’t had Wi-Fi since departing San Diego. ALL of my posts will be similarly delayed.

The Volendam docked in San Diego at 7:00 am on Monday, October 2, and a little over 400 passengers disembarked before 9:30. Later in the day, over 900 passengers boarded, so for the balance of the cruise we have a total of 1,230 aboard (86% of ship’s capacity). Life aboard certainly feels more celebratory than when we were at only 51% capacity from Vancouver to San Diego.

Colleen Rigoli, mother to my nephew Richard’s wonderful new wife Desiree, picked me up at the pier shortly after 9:00 am. We sped off to Coronado Island, and spent most of the day at the grand, historic Hotel Del Coronado. And, what a splendid day it was: crisp, clear, sunny and warm (low 70’s). When a SoCal gal like Colleen is ecstatic about the weather, you know you’ve landed on a good day!! We certainly made the most of it.

We spent time viewing memorabilia located in the hotel’s museum (see the amusing monkey story attached), then rented audio guides that wove us in and out of the hotel frequently, giving us all the more time to savor the golden day while learning about the hotel’s gilded history.

When the hotel opened in 1888, it was the 2^nd largest wooden structure in America. For decades, it served as an exclusive West Coast getaway for industrialists and their families such as the Carnegies and Vanderbilts who usually traveled on their own rail cars and regularly booked entire floors for their retinue. Today, the hotel is owned by Hilton. It has been totally remodeled inside (with the exception of the public rooms) and greatly enlarged with the addition of several nearby lodges.

The flow of the original building is magical. I felt “one with the breeze” when moving from the interior garden quadrangle to the first-floor lanai and into and through the lobby, ultimately passing down a grand hallway, past the ballroom tower and down a staircase to an open-air arcade of stone vaults that form the foundation of the building’s southern face. The views from this point are total sensory overload.

First, you look out onto an expansive grassy belvedere offering views of the Pacific and Point Loma in the distance.

A few steps down from this perch brings you to a wide boardwalk and a paved plaza used for parties and special events. Beyond that, a magnificent expanse of beach – easily 100 yards wide!!

We learned on our tour that Fourth of July parties have always been a VERY BIG DEAL at “The Del.” Which makes perfect sense because they certainly have what may be the finest viewing stand in the world for fireworks on their beach.

After a leisurely late lunch at The Del’s Seaside Bar and a dash through Walgreens, Colleen whisked me back to the pier just in time for my “all aboard” at 4:30. Once again, the sail away was awe inspiring in its scale. This time, not a wide bay with a colossus spanning it, but an incredibly wide and arcing channel out to sea with Point Loma a sun shielding backdrop on our starboard side.

Eventually, we passed the light house out on the point. I waved goodbye to the Americas, and we headed west out into the Pacific.

At Sea: October 3 -7

I’ve been on ships at sea with no land in sight many times. But this is my first “crossing” of any type.

Luckily, the Pacific has been pacific. And seemingly endless. We glide across it at a rate of 14 to 18 nautical miles per hour. The lull is constant. Seductive and Hypnotic. Looking out my window as I type this, it looks as if some ocean diorama is being pulled across the panes, on an endless infinite loop, and I’m quite happy with that. I have a feeling I may be unhappy to lose this blue diorama in 6 weeks. Its either that or I’ll be itching to get off the ship. So stay tuned.

From the lecture series onboard, I’ve learned that the Hawaiian Islands are the world’s MOST REMOTE island chain: 2,200 miles from San Diego and 3,200 from Japan.  So folks, its just me, 1,229 of my closest friends, 571 even better friends to prepare our lifeboats if need be and LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER!!  Oh yeah, and one wide winged Albatross that has been circling our bow now for 3 days.  

The guests onboard come from 21 different countries, the majority being Swiss, Dutch, Canadian, American and Australian.  The crew comes from 31 different countries, the majority coming from Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and England.  

You might think that sea days could get boring.  I guess they could, but only for chronic malcontents, as there are an average of 45 events offered each day between the hours of 8:00am and 10:00pm.  And that doesn’t include the live music sets offered in the bars, play time in the casino, gym time, nap time,  shoot the sh*t time, meals, or any “promotional” events for those in the mood to get taken.  It’s overwhelming splendiferous.   I’m happily busy every waking minute.  An average day for me has been:  2 lectures, 1 Lincoln Center at Sea concert, 1 chamber music recital , a film, 2 ½ hours in the gym,  plus catching a random set at the Ocean Bar.  

All this activity has a unique enabler: we are picking up an hour every two days. We’ve turned our clocks back an hour twice since we left San Diego, and will do so again tonight prior to our arrival in Hilo tomorrow morning when I post this. We cross the International Date Line at some point next week.

Mahalo for reading.

Aloha.