Day 82. Goodbye, Asia. And thank you.

Today we left Japan, Asia, the Indian Ocean... all behind.

Today, as we spent our last day on the most amazing country, with the most incredibly warm people... with my absolute best travel stories thus far on the voyage... there were a lot of realizations.

In the past 40 days, we have completely toured Asia. India. Thailand. Vietnam. Hong Kong. China. Japan.

I never ever thought this part would end... back in Spain, or South Africa, or Morocco, talking about Japan was like talking about what you wanted to do after college... way too far to even consider. And now it's here, and gone. Just as my experiences in countries like Spain, SA, Morocco have turned to memories, unbelievable that they were even part of the voyage... in just a few days, my experiences in Asia will float their way into my memories as I move on across our 3rd and final crossing... the Pacific Ocean.

Speaking of experiences in Japan... I had more fun than I ever thought I could. I don't know if I stopped enjoying myself, if even for 1 minute for the entire time. From my 2-day homestay family, which included 4 beautiful children: Tatsahiro (11), Matsahiro (9), Akihiro (6) and their girl Ayano (4), quite possibly the cutest human being I've ever come in contact with... to going to Hiroshima, the sight of the first atomic bomb used against humanity... to Tokyo... to Karaeoking until 5 in the morning... to sleeping in a Capsule Hotel... to having Passover Seder in the American Embassy with Japanese Jews... it was miraculous.

I will be composing my blog about Japan in a day or so, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

For now... I find myself deep in thought. After a ship-wide seder (complete with afikomen search) and playing Scrabble and catching up with friends, I went out to the fifth deck outside and just watched the water roll by. We're here on the Pacific, and there is nothing in front of us for a few thousand miles. I soon felt a bit of a pit in my stomach, half because Asia is behind us, and also because we are about to head way closer to home than I know. The Dateline is only a day in front of us, and our next port of call, Honolulu Hawaii flies the US flag.

When did this voyage go by? Did I miss something?


I can't tell you how happy and grateful we all are, and we're excited to continue our journey... now heading East towards the West.


Talk to you tomorrow. And miss you,

Greg