Reflections on our Experiences

It was a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to travel to so many parts of the world to see and experience first hand how people of other countries live. Having spent my entire life in the US my knowledge of many of these countries was accumulated from newspaper and television coverage over many years. In addition, my definition of "normal" was built on what I encountered growing up in the US. What I learned is what might be normal for me is not normal for most of the world. Admittedly, having the refuge of a cruise ship to retreat to each night, for most of our travels, probably does not provide the most accurate picture of any country. With that disclaimer here are some reflections and observations.

First, is became abundantly clear that we in the US are so fortunate to have the intrinsic assets that we take for granted and to a certain extent assume all countries provide their citizens. Specifically, what I am referring to are the following: Infrastructure including roads, water, sewer, communications, electricity and hospitals. Rule of law so that everybody is treated evenly and fairly and has access to protection they can trust. Protection of property rights and ownership. A society that encourages ambition and innovation and rewards those who are successful. Public education that prepares people to work productively in the 21st century.



Having seen people who live in homes without electricity or running water is not uncommon. Watching people work at a menial job 10 hours a day just to survive for another day without hope for a future that is any different, is a way of life for many. Seeing countries trying to build a 21st century economy with roads that are undersized, and choked with all type of vehicles from bicycles, motor scooters, cars, trucks and in some cases animals, is their only way forward.

One of the common things I found was that many of these economies are dominated by millions of small family run and staffed businesses. These businesses serve as their store front and home. Most of these businesses focus on one type of commodity such as pipes or cement or bricks etc. Their scope of influence is restricted to within a few miles as their business is replicated by another family a few miles down the road. They get their food either by growing it or from small one room stores that sell basic necessities or open air markets. There are no refrigerated food cases to keep perishable items from spoiling. Most grocery shopping seems to be done on a daily basis both because there is no way to keep the food fresh and because they can't afford to purchase much more than a day or two in advance.

I was surprised to find, what I consider to be American music, in so many places even where they did not speak English. What an impact we have on the world. Religion is a very strong element in the Asian countries as well as superstitions. It is hard to distinguish where religion stops and superstition starts.
There was a very wide divergence in the work ethic I was able observe. In the island countries, especially the Marquises Islands, the work ethic is not very evident. In Cambodia, Viet Nam, Thailand and China there was a strong work ethic that was very evident. It appears that the people I came in contact with in the cities had ambition to get ahead and improve their individual situation. The people I came in contact with in the rural areas seemed to work hard but their objective was to have something to eat at the end of the day as opposed to looking to change or improve their situation in the long run.
With the above comments in mind it is clear that in all of the countries we visited I observed that the people were generally happy. Each society seemed to be comfortable with their situation and the people were able to find happiness no matter what their economic or social situation was. This is a lesson that I took away from the experience. People can find happiness in any situation, it does not require all of the trappings that we as Americans think we need to be happy. Clearly, our quality of life is far superior to many if not all of the places we visited. The opportunities available to us, in the US, to determine what we want to do with our lives is one of the largest differences between our society and many others. So many we came in contact with have no knowledge of what the world has to offer. Many are born into situations that dictate what they will do for the rest of their lives.
I would recommend to any young unmotivated person that they spend time in Viet Nam or Cambodia or Thailand and they will come back to the US and understand what opportunity really means.
I am proud to be an American but more so I feel so fortunate to have been born an American. It is simply that I was born in the United States to parents that provided the basic education available to all that allowed me to find success in my chosen field. This opportunity is not available to so many through out the world.

Our Ship the Aranui 3

More Marquesas Islands Pictures

Marquesas Island Pictures

Day 103 to Back Home

We are back home having landed in Los Angles on May 10. Sorry it has taken some time to get to this post but once back in the US there was so much to catch up on and take care of that I am just now back on line.
The last two weeks of our trip was spent aboard the Aranui 3, part container ship and part cruise ship, sailing among the Marquesas Islands. During this time we had very limited access to the internet and when we were able to get on line it was painfully slow. What blogs we were able to do were made more difficult since we had to use computers set up in the post offices of some of the islands. These computers had French keyboards which rearrange the letters from what we are used to, making typing even that much more difficult. Enough of the excuses.
Since the experiences we had on all of the islands were similar I will recount the itinerary and then give an overview of island life and our experiences.
We boarded the ship in Papeete, Tahiti and sailed toward the Marquesas Islands. Before arriving in the Marquesas we stopped on the atoll of Fakarava which is a lovely spot with nice beaches and a beautiful lagoon. This island is part of the Tuamotu chain. The entire atoll is only about 200 yards wide.
After a sea day we landed in the Marquesas on the island of Nuka Hiva. This is one of the larger islands in the chain. From there we sailed to Ua Poa. Then we were off to Hiva Oa another one of the larger islands. This is a beautiful tropical most noted because this is where the famous painter Paul Gauguin took up residence and painted many pictures. He is burried on the island and his grave is a tourist site. Next to him in the cemetary is the grave of the famous Belgian song writer and poet who asked to be buried here. Next was Fatu Hiva which is a very representative island in this chain. It is made up mostly of the rim and cauldera of an extinct volcano, which is now covered with lush vegetation. The next day we sailed to Hiva Oa for the second time visiting the opposite side of the island this time. Tahuata was the next island which has a lovely Catholic church. The next island was Ua Huka which has a botanical garden and some large Tikis (stone carvings statues). The next day was split between Nuka Hiva for the second time and Ua Pou. On leaving the Marquesas Islands on our way back toward Tahiti we stopped at another island in the Tuamotu chain, Rangiroa. This is an atoll much like Fakarava which was our first stop. Then another day at sea before arriving back in Papeete where we left the ship t catch our flight home to Los Angles.
Overall Impressions of the Marquesas Islands.
All of the islands we visited were remnants of volcanic eruptions. This created very dramatic landscapes featuring sharp ridges and stunning sea coast that for the most part are studded with rocks and hostile shores making the harbors the only safe way of landing ashore. The vegetation is dotted with coconut palm trees, a few other trees and a lot of underbrush. From a distance these islands appear to be paradise but as you get closer you see just how rugged they are. There is almost no indigenous wild life except for a few birds. The animals that you see are either domesticated were once domesticated. These include chickens (in large numbers), goats, pigs, a few dogs and some horses. This was disappointing if you were looking to observe tropical animal life.
The people are French citizens and are supported significantly by the French government. They have little to offer by way of exports. The only thing we saw loaded on to our boat was copra (dried coconut) which is used to get coconut oil. There is no wealth on the islands and no poverty. Everybody lives within a very low income society. There is no ambition and maybe no reason to have any, for what is there to hope for? We did see quite a few little children and babies. They get more money from the government for each child. Health care is free and to give birth the mother and the entire immediate family are flown to Tahiti for the last two months of the pregnancy at the governments expense.
The people are very friendly and are eager to show how proud they are of their heritage. On most of the islands we stopped on the natives would dance of put on some type of performance just for us. Every stop had some place where they were selling their handicrafts. These consisted mostly of jewelery which used shells and native beads, wood carvings, art printed on a paper made from pounding the inner bark of one of the trees, and bone carvings. They would not bargain much on price at all and were quite ambivalent whether or not they made a sale.
Their local foods were quite different from what we are accustomed to. Due to some warnings from doctors as well as a warning posted by the cruise line who suggested to avoid gastric problems we should take a Maalox before each meal, we were careful of what we ate. There is little refrigeration which made us leery of the uncooked items. The cruise line also told us that the fish caught around the islands was not good to eat unless it was a large fish. So we avoided the raw fish, the purple banana pudding with coconut milk and the salads with mayonnaise. We would eat the cooked pork, chicken and fish and any fruit we could peel ourselves. Just out of general concern we avoided the cooked goat.
Next some comments on the ship (Aranui 3) and observations about our travels in general.

Days 98 - 102 Wandering around the islands

Chris - Well Paul threw the blog entry over this morning for a hike, but I thought since I saw a post office that I would at least let you know that we are well and having a great time. I am typing on a French keyboard and have little time so bare with me. We have had no internet connection for the last 5 days as we have been busy on shore and the towns have been VERY small...like 50 people on the whole island or in the vicinity if where we dock. When we get back to the States we will have to update you on each island. For a very board overview I would say that many of the islands have more conviences than you would think. They all have some sort of cars and trucks and we never see an old one. They are usually new or newer and are nice pick ups or small or medium SUVs. We were told that it was bacause France heqvily subsudizes these islands and pays like 37 percent the cost of the cars. They pay for very little and live off their handicrafts, exported products like coconuts and fruit and the cost of living is like nothing. Usually an older son would go to Tahiti or somewhere to work for a few years and send the money home and after a few years he will return to help manage their resources at home having financed his family until his son goes off for a few years. France pays for almost everything. In the last two days we have seen the most quaint islands with very little population and really only a little market and post office for a town. Those islands have been green and lush with a beautiful variety of flowers. Yesterday we were on an island that had about 2,000 wild horses and we spent some time swimming in the warm ocean. We have seen many tiki statues and learned all about the native cultures. We are in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva now and it is actually the commercial center for the islands and thus has a computer. Tomorrow a day at sea and on Thursday we are at the largest atoll to swim. If I knew I was going to write I would have had the notes of what islands we have visited recently but we will have to do that lazter when we can share the fabulous sights with you.

In general the sunsets have been magnificent and the bays where we pull into incrediably beautiful. The only other tourist we have seen are three couples who have been sailing around the world on personal sailboats that would be anchored at a bay where we would be visiting and we would see them walking in the village. Now a little about life on board the container ship. It is fasinating to watch them load and unload supplies. They do not have a lot of containers on board but usually anything from crates to cars to cattle that they are bring to the islands. They unload onto platform boats that we have onboard and then take them into shore. Many times we are way too big to dock and all operations are done on a variety of boats that we carry with us. We have a deep sea fishing boat, two whaleboats that seat about 60 passengers that they ferry us to shore in, a number of smaller whaleboats that they take us sometimes but usually cargo and about 3 huge flatbed boats that they use to ferry cargo, just to name a few. Our routine is to spend the day ashorer doing all the activities they have designed for us and then return to the ship in late afternoon. Paul usually does the daily uphill hikes that range from 10 miles to 3 kilometers. I went once on a 6 kilometer one that was not the hardest but it was really steep for me. I settle for swimming everyday with Nancy in the pool onboard and sometimes in the ocean. After dinner we usually play cards all evening but lqst night was special as it was Polynesan night. They had dinner out by the pool that they had decorated and then they had a kind of talent night for passengers and the crew with lots of Polynesan dancing. They have their own small band made up of crew members that played until 1 am. It was a very entertaining night and it was no surprise that the crew was WAYYYY more talented than the passengers. Well sorry to have rambled on with different topics but we can not write often and I did want to share some of the sights and activites we have done. More when we get stateside and we can show you some of our pictures. We are great and really enjoying the Barretts. Happy Birthday Stephan on Thursday if we can not communicate with you on Thursday!!!!!