Early

Dearest Rachel –

For all the times I’ve thus far on this journey ‘complained’ (if that’s really the right word; to be honest, I find it more useful than the alternative) that I keep waking up hours earlier than I really need to, as if I hadn’t adjusted to the current time zone. But with today’s excursion meeting at 8:15, I found doing something I haven’t since I started on this trip: I felt the need to set an alarm.

Even more amazing, I needed it – I actually woke up to it.

To be sure, it was for two hours prior to the scheduled meeting time. After all, I reasoned, I would need time to wash up and eat up and dress… up? I mean, we’re walking through a forest and a cave; what do I need to be wearing? The ship’s app is notoriously unreliable; more often than not, clicking on the activity in ‘my calendar’ causes a note to pop up, instructing me to contact Guest Services if I want to change my itinerary (which I don’t, of course). Sometimes I get lucky, and the blurb about the event actually comes up, but it’s surprisingly vague about the details of what to wear or bring – apart from an explicit note that cameras are forbidden in the Kiriti Caves.

That’s a bit of a problem. Not just because I’d like a few pictures (and some video footage) to bring back with me, but because that poses some logistical issues on the tour’s side as well. Camera phones are ubiquitous these days; do they intend to confiscate them when we go in, and return them to us once we emerge? I’m genuinely curious about that, especially since I still intend to bring both my phones with me, and see how the chips fall.

The trip is considered to be a strenuous one, just like the one in Hilo, except it’s only five hours long (as opposed to seven) because we need to be back at the ship before it pulls out at 3:30. That’s right, it’s early to rise, early back home today; I’m can only guess that they need that much extra time to steam out of here and get to Sydney promptly.

Still, those two hours are going to disappear in a hurry, honey, so I’ve got to cut this short, and go. Keep an eye on me, and wish me luck; I’m going to need it.