Addendum

Opening shot: Camera pans across a desolate landscape, there is some sparse vegetation, assorted cacti, and some hazy mountains can be seen in the distance. The wind is blowing, evidenced by a single tumbleweed entering the shot from the left and then scurrying across the frame. The faint sounds of a lonely harmonica can be heard over the wind as the camera slowly zooms in a dusty cowpoke astride his horse singing, “I’m back in the saddle again….”

                             Well, that’s how we arrived back here in Texas after the Nirvana Cruise had finally (and unfortunately) come to a close.

 I guess that I should qualify that last remark.

                             I say unfortunately not because we knew that it was time to re-enter the real world, not because we are running from anything, and definitely not because we were getting tired of being on the ship.

                             Nope, it was not those things.

                             I say unfortunately because this voyage was enlightening on so many levels and those new experiences could have been far from over given the opportunity to explore further each port that we visited. In some ways you could say, “Been there, saw that, got the refrigerator magnet”, and move on. In reality, we just scratched the surface, maybe whetted the appetite for further discoveries for there was so much more to explore.

                             But all of that is for future consideration.

                             For now, let’s re-cap……..

          Here are some interesting numbers/statistics for you,

– 47 Ports

– 31 Countries

– 2 Equator Crossings

– Panama Canal and Suez Canal Transits

– 6 Continents

– 34,567 Nautical Miles

– 21 World Heritage Sites

– 1,382,680 gallons of fuel oil

– 1,110,000 eggs consumed

–  49,950 pounds of butter used

– 28,000 bottles of wine consumed.

 Paula had wine.

I did not.

And for most significant statistic of all…..

          Drum roll please………

          We only averaged a four (4#) pound weight gain!

          Yes, Paula gained zero and I gained eight!