A Day Room

Our 25 day cruise across the Pacific from Papeete to Bali is done and dusted. We had to disembark at 9am this morning but our flight home isn't leaving until 9:30pm tonight.

We learnt, after one of our earlier cruises, that spending twelve hours in an airport is not a pleasant way to finish off a spectacular journey. This time we were smarter and organised a day room at a resort near the airport in Bali. The Holiday Inn Resort Baruna was surprisingly good, the room was well appointed and the grounds which had a large pool were spacious and well tended. 

Decor

Beach at front of property

Artwork in our room

View from our room

We relaxed, caught up on email, had a late lunch and showered so we were fresh for the flight home. The van transfer from the hotel only took a few minutes. 

Our 3pm lunch in the resort's Asian restaurant has fortified for us for the journey ahead.

The local drop

A Missed Port

Unfortunately the sea was too rough for us to visit Cooktown today but the bonus is that we will have more time in Darwin tomorrow.

Meanwhile here are a few snaps from our sail out of Cairns on a balmy evening yesterday. Many Americans sailing with us were impressed by the quality of the infrastructure and the cleanliness of the Cairns area. Our chests swelled with Aussie pride.

The Pilot's boat joins us

The Pilot's boat

Goodbye to the pilot

Lush and Lovely

Our first stop this morning was at the sensational, spectacular Botanical Gardens in Cairns. Wish we could have had more time there.

These images tell the story of our visit.

Finger Licking Good

This little chap at a village we visited yesterday in Alotau PNG enjoyed the chocolates given to him by one of our fellow passengers from the Mariner.

Sunday Brunch

Reporting in from Sunday Brunch on Regent Seven Seas Mariner.. while cruising the Coral Sea.

What a spread!

The Breakfast Club - we breakfasted with these folk most days 

Ryan, one of our servers

Crepes to order