Captain the Cruising Kitty

Captain: Hey mom--what's spiritual?
Mom: It's hard to describe. It's something that makes you feel good inside. Why do you ask?
Captain: You told me you were staying overnight at a Temple and were doing two spiritual days. I was worried you were going to turn into a ghost! So I googled and this is what I found:

Hindus regard spirituality as the deeply personal and practical journey of realizing once true divine nature and experiencing ultimate union with the supreme reality.
For Buddhists spirituality is the practical, experiential cultivation of wisdom, compassion, and mindfulness to understand the true nature of reality ultimately aimed at ending suffering.

That made it seem like it had nothing to do with ghosts so I could relax while you were gone!

Mom: I went with friends to two different massive temple complexes in central Java. We visited Prambanan first, a Hindu temple. Then we stayed overnight at the base of Borobudar, a Buddhist complex and we climbed to the top in the dark so we could see the sunrise. These temples are very, very old. They were built in the 8th and 9th century. The detail is exquisite.
One cannot help but feel that ultimate union and mindfulness surrounded by something so awe inspiring.

Enjoy the pics, but know that they don't do justice!

Captain: Hey Mom! Where are you off to today?
Mom: I thought I'd have breakfast with an orangutan.
Captain: Like a REAL orangutan?!
Just make sure they don't eat you for breakfast!
Mom: I don't think I'd taste very good to them since they eat mostly fruit.
Captain: You've been doing so much cool stuff here in Bali, mom! Temples and more temples,
Massages and more massages (roughly $9 USD for amazing massages!), shopping and more shopping (sarongs or dresses for 4 for 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah which is less than $6 USD!) Elephants and Orangutans and Luwaks, oh my!
Mom: Odyssey has us in Bali twice, for a total of eight amazing days! Life simply doesn't get better than this!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you around the world and to all my Aunties near and far! 🩷🌷💐🍾🥂

Captain: Mom. MOM! You didn't, did you?
Mom: Didn't what, honey?
Captain: You didn't play with DRAGONS, for Pete's sake, did you????
Mom: Now why would you think that, sweetheart?
Captain: Because you love on every critter you see! You think I don't know that?
Mom: But I love you most.
Captain: Yeah yeah yeah. But Komodo dragons are DANGEROUS, Mom. Like huge-up to 300 lbs!
They are apex predators! They could make a snack out of you! They are so mean that they even eat their own babies! Just their saliva is so toxic that it can kill. PLEASE tell me you didn't kiss one!
Mom: Of course not. Reptiles remind me of a former...well, never mind. No more kissing anything with forked tongues for me!
Captain: Well that's a good thing! But you didn't come home and I was worried the dragons ate you!
Mom: I told you I had a boat chartered for an overnight snorkel trip with shipmates. I had a great time!
Captain: Oops. I forgot. All that matters is that you're home safe aboard Odyssey!

For some reason, I'm still not able to write comments with each pic...
The dragon skin in the sunlight was amazing. The contrast of the fragile butterflies and the fierce dragons was ❤️. I love Indonesia, but the trash breaks my heart. Even the dragons lived in beach trash. Sweet deer were abundant, and probably dragon food. The village was heartwarming and the children happy. The boat charter was amazing! So many turtles when we snorkeled!

Captain: Mom... You're late AGAIN. You promised everyone Australia pictures last week .
Mom: I think it's time you hire an agent. My phone keyboard is all messed up.
Captain: well, FIX IT!
Mom: It's the superpower I wished I had! In the meantime, you'll just have to settle for my other superpowers. Namely, I love living in the moment and I don't sweat the small stuff.
Captain: I guess I should do that, too. I just get impatient sometimes.
Mom: We all do, sweetheart. It's how you come out the other side that matters.
Enjoy our Australia pics!

PostScript: it's not letting my mom add commentary to photos!
Sorry!

A very Happy Easter to all of you near and far! 🐣🐰

We sail away from Australia 🦘🇦🇺 in the morning. You know what that means! I get to go back to my real cabin instead of my kitty quarantine cabin! That's going to make my mom really happy!

We can't leave without saying a big thank you to everyone who worked to make the reality of cats being allowed aboard in Australia 🇦🇺 and New Zealand 🇳🇿 possible: The Australian DAFF officials and their Kiwi counterpart, the many biosecurity officers and veterinarians who came to inspect each day in each port, the VVR team, the Odyssey Bridge Crew and Hotel Department, and our great door guards.
THANK YOU!

We'll be sailing to Indonesia next and my mom will send Australia pics when we're underway.
May you each feel the renewal that is Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Tasmania! ☘️
Since our voyage finally began in Belfast after waiting (patiently?🤣) for four months, I figure I'm part Irishmese! I can't let the day go by without sending you all an Irish blessing!

Captain: Hey, Mom! What's a Kiwi?
Mom: It can be a delicious fruit. But it's also a bird that lives in New Zealand, but it's a bird that doesn't fly! And it's also what we call people who are from New Zealand.
Captain: How am I supposed to learn English if the same word is so many different things?
Mom: All that's important is that you keep asking questions and stay curious!
Captain: Mom!!! No!!! Even I know what they say about cats and curiosity!!!
Mom: There's so much to know and experience in this big beautiful world we are voyaging. Always stay curious, Captain. I'll keep you safe! ♥️

Pics finally loaded, but it's not letting me add comments on each. 🤷‍♀️