AMAZING EXPERIENCES

Boat Trips

When we set out to explore various parts of the world, I had no idea we would spend so much time on boats. We ended up doing overnight boat trips in 4 of the 12 countries we visited. It turns out that I love being on a boat. There's something comforting about being out in the middle of the water and the only thing you can do is enjoy the scenery, talk to shipmates, read a book and relax (and of course go scuba diving, kayaking, snorkeling and swimming). It's contained. It's peaceful.

I think there's something about being on a boat that causes people to bond. I'm not sure what it is, but it's easier to establish a rapport and you tend to share meaningful conversation and deep feelings. It's quite special. We met a lot of great people on boats during this trip and have already met up with some of them again in other parts of the world.

We went on our first boat ride in January in New Zealand. We did a two-day cruise on Doubtful Sound, which is actually a fiord (not a sound). It is located in the southwest part of the South Island and was discovered by none-other-than Captain Cook who named it Doubtful Harbour because it had so many channels and the navigation was so tricky that he doubted he would make it back out. Luckily that wasn't a problem for us and we spent a great couple of days bonding with Noah and Tegan, drinking lots of wine, kayaking and swimming in the frigid water and getting up at 3am to catch the sunrise.

Our next boat ride came soon thereafter in February in Australia. We spent a few days on a dive boat in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. The boat was fantastic and our room was larger than any of our rooms in Sydney. We immediately met lots of great people and added to the joy by doing lots of diving and snorkeling.

We boarded another boat in April in Vietnam so we could see Ha Long Bay, which is located in the northeast part of the country. The bay is amazing because it is covered with outcroppings of limestone karsts. There is a great legend that says that when the Vietnamese were fighting the Chinese, the gods sent dragons to help the Vietnamese in battle. The dragons began spitting jewels into the water which linked together to form islands and keep the Chinese from entering the bay. What remains are the limestone islands and the country of Vietnam. It was a joy to see this amazing seascape, despite the heavy fog that was hanging over the bay. We ate some amazing meals and met some fun people.

Our final boat trip came in July in Turkey. We spent four days cruising on the Mediterranean along the southern coast of Turkey. The boat was not very nice but we met some great friends on this trip. We spent most of our days reading and talking and eating and swimming. Sarah and I made up a very fun game involving floaties and paddles. Add in a little vibration dancing and you've got the makings of a great experience.

Back to Amazing Experiences Index