I am Paul Gauguin -And So Can You
Bora Bora · 32-Day Tahitian Treasure Cruise · LAX Departure
TrialsThree Days Late. Still Bound for Paradise.
Volcanic ash erased the opening chapter, but not the voyage. Tomorrow, I leave LAX and rejoin the story already in motion.
The Missed Beginning
Volcanic Ash Took the First Three Days
I missed three days of the 32-Day Tahitian Treasure Cruise because of volcanic ash.
The itinerary moved while I stayed behind.
So the voyage would not begin at the beginning. It would begin tomorrow, at LAX, with the ship already carrying the first chapters without me.
A delayed departure does not cancel the destination. It changes the entry point.
Bora Bora
The Reward Waiting Ahead
Bora Bora remains one of the most beautiful islands in the South Pacific.
In my personal ranking, it follows Hawaii's Kauai, Maui, Oahu, and the Big Island.
The voyage had lost days, but not its visual promise.
The Delay Equation
Lost Days + Remaining Distance = Desire Intensified
Christchurch, New Zealand
After the Earthquake
The missed segment included a city living through damage, anxiety, and aftershocks.
Milford Sound to Tasmania
The Calm Before the Storm
Crystal Serenity left Milford Sound before entering the rough Tasman Sea.
Geology by Disruption
The Morning After Christchurch
I learned geology the morning after the Christchurch earthquake.
I learned Australasian geography by cruising within the same hemisphere.
The map became physical: earthquakes, ash clouds, aftershocks, sea states, distances, and routes.
The ground moved, and geography became immediate.
Open StoryThe sky closed the route before the ocean could open it.
One of the roughest bodies of water I had encountered.
Open Hobart StoryThe Route
Australia to Seventeen Ports in Nine Countries
The map still stretched outward.
Australia. Seventeen ports. Nine countries.
The first three days were gone, but the scale of the journey remained intact.
The Tahitian Treasure Route