Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Jan 31st
Bay of Island, New Zealand

Day one in New Zealand and my first time off the ship since signing on four days ago! I stepped off the ship into a gorgeous looking port, 90+ degree weather, a beautiful blue sky, and an imminent sunburn.
I left the ship with a few friends who were planning to find lunch off the ship somewhere, and seeing as I had no idea what to expect in the port, I decided to tag along. After a decent walk along the water, we came to the downtown area of the city and found a restaurant where we sat outside and ordered Fish and Chips and a local brew. And let me say, sitting outside eating lunch like that, after leaving the ice cube known as Chicago, was a much-appreciated change of scenery. We finished lunch, the group set off to walk around a bit more, and I eventually broke off with two friends to walk further down along the waterfront.
This point on there isn’t that much more exciting about the day ashore. The highlights of my day after lunch consisted of seeing the largest pine tree I’ve ever witnessed, a beach entitled “taiputuputu puhi beach” (or something like that), and being able to walk back to the ship with my shirt off looking at gorgeous beaches, clear water, and perfect scenery (just because I need to really drive the point home that New Zealand is way nicer than Chicago in Jan and I take pleasure in telling you all about it).
But, all my enjoyment did take its toll. Upon returning to my cabin, I found my arms and neck to be significantly burned. I was surprised because I don’t burn easily and wasn’t expecting any issues being outside for the few hours I spent in the city…then I remembered how people have told me there’s no ozone over this part of the world. Now I’m reminded of the ozone thing every time I put a shirt on. The first thing I plan on doing at my next port is buying sunscreen, this burning stuff isn’t going to happen any more during this cruise.
I had the rest of the night off though, of which was split between drinks with some Bulgarian engineer named Nikolai who is obsessed with rock music, and going to a back deck party to play happy birthday for Nikolai’s friend on my sax. Seriously, I must meet the strangest people around and there’s no logical explanation as to why they always have some sort of affinity toward me. I’m still trying to figure out whether this is a gift I should be proud or weary of, but I guess we’ll find out.
That’s about it for the 31st though - so long January and hello to the next three months of southern hemisphere excursions. Thanks for reading!