Geeks on Tour Blog

Back to Bali: Rotary, monkeys, and monsters

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sat, 02 May 2026 13:51:00 +0000

We were first in Bali from April 11 to 14, then after Komodo we were back to Bali from April 29 to May 2. We love staying so long in a port. It gives us opportunity to explore and do stuff! In case I haven't mentioned it before, we recently formed a Rotary Club on board. The officers, including Jim as secretary, made arrangements to visit a local Rotary club in Bali.

As soon as we were docked, our group got into a hired van and rode to the location for the Bali Seminyak Rotary group. This is a group of Expats mostly from the US and Canada and at least one from France. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting and getting to know them. Interesting how they made Bali their home, some for as much as 30 years. The president still keeps a full time job back in Denmark (I think) working remotely.

The venue was a meeting room at a high-end hotel. We had a delicious lunch and listened to presentations about their projects.

I especially liked the presentation about their project to create a Plastic Free Bali. They are funding recycling centers and teaching the locals about collecting plastics and using the recycling centers. They say they are documenting the education process so that it can be replicated. That got me all excited thinking that our Odyssey Rotary Club could have a project for spreading this system. Plastics is such a HUGE problem for the planet, it would be a very worthy project.

The group of us representing the Odyssey Rotary Club

All the atendees of the Bali Seminyak Rotary club, including a visiting Australian club and us from the Odyssey

A Day of Exploration

Our friends on board, Kathryn and Frank, arranged for a car and driver for a day in Bali and asked if we wanted to come along. Great! We had been too lazy and preoccupied with our computer work to make any arrangements to see Bali so we jumped at their offer.

There are elaborate sculptures in the middle of every roundabout on the roads in Bali.

Our first stop was the most memorable. The Ogoh-Ogoh Bali. Ogoh-Ogoh are sculptures made of lightweight materials, bamboo, cloth, paper and are crafted into giant monsters. These are carried in a parade on the eve of the 'Day of Silence.' At the end of the day, they are burned as a ritual cleansing - destroying the malevolent monsters. One man made it his mission to save some of the sculptures and display his collection in a museum for the public to see.

Kathryn and Frank in the Ogoh Ogoh museum

Photos really don't do it justice. Check out this video that Jim made:

Pura Taman Ayun temple in Bali Mengui.

UNESCO World Heritage Site: The temple was recognized by UNESCO in 2012 for its significance as a royal temple of the Mengwi kingdom, built in the 17th century.

Jim is standing by the Shri Devi Statue at the Pura Taman Ayun temple in Mengwi, Bali. She is the goddess of fertility and prosperity.

Monkeys and Bats

Alas Kedaton Monkey Forest in Bali, Indonesia is a 6.5-hectare protected forest and nature reserve that houses a sacred Hindu temple inhabited by approximately 1,800 long-tailed macaques.

There are also bats at this sanctuary - Flying Foxes to be exact. A staff person made Jim sit down and put bats into his hands in different ways for photo opps.

Just hanging around, exposing themselves.

The Famous Tanah Lot Temple

Our last stop was this sacred Hindu shrine built on a large offshore rock formation. It is one of Bali's most iconic coastal landmarks.

A well deserved drink at the end of a great day in Bali thanks to Frank and Kathryn arranging it.

Bali to Komodo

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 03:31:00 +0000

From Bali, we headed East thru Indonesia to East Timor, then turned back west to Komodo and finally, returned for a second visit to Bali.

Waingapu

Marker #23 is a place called Waingapu where they literally rolled out the red carpet for us, sent officials to shake hands with our captain, and performed right on the dock. This is one of those little ports, like Topolobampo in Mexico (Highlight #2 on our anniversary video) that rarely if ever, see a cruise ship. They love us!

We walked over and inspected the vendors in the evening, listened to a bit of music, but other than that we didn't get off the ship. Others, like Viv, went horseback riding on the beach.😮 Apparently, they're known for that here.

We get overwhelmed with all there is to do. Besides, we still have our 'normal' stuff, like Zoom calls. It's so nice that we can stay connected with our business and personal world in the US, while living anywhere but!

East Timor

Next port - East Timor or, Timor L'este. This was a 'tender' port, meaning we couldn't just walk off the ship onto a port. This ship is anchored and you need to get on a tender, a shuttle boat, to get to shore. We didn't bother. Too much other stuff to do just staying on board.

One Year VillaVersary

We were at Timor Leste on April 20, exactly one year since we boarded the Odyssey in Cartagena, Colombia and we wanted to commemorate it. We had lots of videos to make. Check out our YouTube show #320 and #321.

Komodo

From Timor Leste we headed to Komodo. The dock was supposed to be at LaJuan Bajo, but for some reason they revoked our reservation so the captain found an anchorage right in Komodo. It presented major obstacles for getting around. Most tours had been planned from Lajuan Bajo. Some of the tour boats were given permission to pick up passengers directly from the ship. This had never been done before. We LOVED it. We had an all-day in Komodo trip planned, hiking, snorkeling and touring Komodo with the dragons.

Komodo National Park was a stunning anchorage location

First up - hiking up a hill (a big hill!) to a viewpoint to see Komodo National park. Then we went to Pink Beach and walked around a bit and swam. Next up seeing the dragons at Komodo Village and lastly, snorkeling amongst some gorgeous corals.

The big boy Komodo Dragons were 7-8 feet. Think of a very fat alligator.

Our guides would take our phones to snap a photo. They had a good eye for perspective!

It was an interesting walk thru the village. This is our sweet Komodo Village Guide. The stick is for keeping the dragons at bay!

A photo from a shipmate. He let his guide take his phone and put it on the ground in front of the path of a dragon. The dragon obediently walked right over it. This is a frame from the video.

Coming home after a full day in Komodo islands. Our tour boat took us right to the ship - see that opening at the bottom about one third of the way back from the bow.

April 20, 2026 - Our One Year "VillaVersary"

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:07:00 +0000

It’s been exactly one year since we moved our lives onto the Villa Vie Odyssey. We have been living the dream and loving it. We've met so many new friends and we've visited some of the most beautiful and interesting places on the planet. We so enjoy the life of luxury where all our meals are prepared, our cabin is cleaned, our laundry is done - without us needing to lift a finger - and it's all included in one reasonable monthly fee. We don't have to plan any travels, no airplanes, no hotels, no packing and unpacking. We just wake up in our own beds and look out the window to see where we are today.

Just 2 examples of some of the epic places we've been

But as I’ve learned this year, while the scenery is great, the internal navigation takes practice. There’s no manual for turning a five-star "vacation" ship into a "forever" home. To keep the journey smooth, I’ve had to recalibrate my internal compass.

The FOMO Filter

The majority of the 350 residents on board participate in chat groups set up in WhatsApp. It's a great way for us all to stay connected, but it does get busy. The chats include a constant stream of "Spectacular!" and "Check out this photo!"

“That hike to the waterfall in Bora Bora was breathtaking.”
“We just finished a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto.”
“Don't miss the Tarsiers at the nature reserve!”

The FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is real. We didn't do the tea ceremony. We didn't see the tiny monkeys. Why? Because I have to sit at my computer. I have a blog to write, the Geeks On Tour website to manage, newsletters to ship, and videos to make. I'm not being forced to do any of that mind you, it's what I love. Geeks on Tour has been our business since 2004 and we still make a little bit of money at it, but we want to do it because it's who we are.

I’ve had to learn a new mental skill: reading those messages and saying, "I love hearing about all that," rather than "I'm missing out on that." I’ve traded the waterfall for the keyboard so that this lifestyle remains sustainable. Their photos are almost as good as being there—right?

The "Non-Stop Rally"

People think "Sea Days" (when we are in transit between ports) are quiet. They aren't! In fact, they are often busier than port days because that’s when the community comes alive. Meetings, classes, rehearsals, and meals! Lots of meals with lots of friends.

Back when we were full-time RVers, we loved attending RV Rallies—weeks full of seminars, parties, and reunions. But when the rally was over, everyone drove their bedrooms in different directions and went back to "normal" life. Living on the Odyssey is like a non-stop RV rally. Take a look at just one of our recent Sea Days:

Chris: Line dancing, Women with Wanderlust luncheon, and a Jeopardy skit rehearsal.
Jim: Skit rehearsals a poetry reading recording, and tech management (visuals/light/sound) for a full length play.
Both: Ship safety drills, presentation by the Chief Engineer about the ship, and dinner with friends.

Where is the time to pay bills or answer emails? The challenge is adjusting our mindset to realize that just because there is a party, doesn't mean we have to be at it.

The Buffet and the Bathrobe

The physical adjustments are the funniest. Having every meal prepared is easy to get used to; learning not to eat like it’s a holiday every day is the hard part!

Then there’s the "Public Life" shift. In a house or an RV, you can spend all day in a ratty t-shirt with messy hair. On the ship, the moment you leave your cabin, you are in public. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d put on earrings just to go get breakfast—yet, here we are!

The Art of Doing Nothing

One year in, I’ve realized that the most important thing I need to do is... nothing. In a lifestyle that offers 24/7 stimulation and global exploration, choosing to sit still is the most difficult mental adjustment of all.

We aren't on a year-long vacation; we are living our lives at sea. And sometimes, the best way to navigate that life is to go to your room and shut the door. I really like our cabin. As much as I love the real world, I also love my online world. Sitting at my computer, joining Zoom calls, writing, watching others' videos. That's as nourishing to me as hiking to a waterfall. I need both. We've set up our room to be very comfortable for one or both of us to be there. We can both be at our computers, or we can take a nap, or we can just stare out the window and watch the waves go by.

The New Equation: Play/Life Balance

We’ve all heard of Work/Life balance, but on the Odyssey, I’ve had to invent a new metric: Play/Life balance. When your backyard is a rotating gallery of the world’s wonders and your "living room" is a hub of constant social activity, "Play" becomes the default setting. It’s a wonderful "problem" to have, but it’s still a challenge. If I spent every day playing, the Geeks on Tour website would gather digital dust, the bills wouldn't get paid, and I’d eventually burn out from too much of a good thing.

Recalibrating for the long haul means realizing that:

"Life" is the quiet morning coffee, the focused work hours, and the zoom calls with stateside friends and colleagues.
"Play" is the Bali tubing, the line dancing, and the late-night dinners with friends.

Finding that balance is how we ensure this isn't just a one-year experiment, but a sustainable way to live for many years to come. I’m learning that it’s okay to say "no" to the play so that I can say "yes" to the life.

Bali

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 20:33:00 +0000

The Odyssey takes us to so many wonderful places, but there's something different about this one. The sheer volume and diversity of posts inside our community Whatsapp groups is astonishing. Lots of posts and photos of the coffee tasting place, others with flying foxes/ bats, others seeing Balinese dance performances. We did a few of these things when we were here in 2023 - see that Blog Post here.

When the Odyssey entered the harbor we were meet with 2 tugboats shooting off their water cabins in a salute, making us feel honored and welcomed.

Line Dancing in Bali

After docking and getting settled a local group of line dancers came in board and joined the 'Villa Vie Wave Damcers' for a performance. I'm in the Wave Dancers group and I had so much fun! Especially when we did the stand by me dance where we paired up with the Balinese ladies and get to high five at each turn.

See the video of the event here.

Scuba Diving in Bali

Then we went diving. We booked divers for us and our 2 dive buddies on board, Wayne and Donna, with Bali Scuba. This is who we went diving with when we were here 3 years ago with Alvin and Lisa. Back then our dive guides we're Sila and Yannick - to our delight, they're both still here. Yannick was already booked with another group, but Sila was available to lead our little group.

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Geeks on Tour monthly newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 01:12:00 +0000

Have you seen our Geeks on Tour newsletter? I haven't missed even one month Since 2007. And, all of them are listed and available to read on our website at https://geeksontour.com/recent-newsletters/.

Part travel journal and part tech tips, it's a fair amount of work to put these newsletters together, but I love that it gives me a motivation - a deadline - to get some writing done.

For the last few years, I've been starting with a photo, something that represents our life in the past month. It's usually travel related. I keep the images in a Google Photos album, so I can look at an overview - like a Year in review. For example, here is 2025:

I always feel stressed when I realize it's time to get the newsletter done, and I always feel accomplished when it's been sent out to our subscribers. During the time I need to get it done, I tend to be a recluse on board the ship. I say 'no' to a lot of invitations to participate in events. For example, there's almost always a theatrical production going on. I'm sure I would enjoy taking on a part in a play, but I just don't want to commit.

Sometimes I think it may be time to shut it down, be completely retired. But then I get a comment that makes me feel so good ...

Thank you for your email. I found your Show 319, about Google Drive, particularly interesting.
Thanks for all the interesting stuff you share.
Keep up the good work.
Mike S

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Business WhatsApp: wa.me/17547155948

Western Australia, Sailing races, Quokkas, and beer

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 23:20:00 +0000

Our last port in Australia was Fremantle. It is the port city just outside of Perth. We arrived mid afternoon on Saturday and had that afternoon and all day Sunday to explore, and it was beautiful weather.

After 6 days at sea, we were ready! I worked hard to finish our monthly newsletter for geeks on tour and got it published before we docked. So I was ready for a celebratory beer as soon as we got off, but first we needed to visit the local office supply to pick up a USB hub that Jim needed. Success!

Click here to read our April Newsletter

Heading into the city center, it was clear that we weren't the only ones celebrating, lots of people, music, and other acts were out and about and streets were block off for pedestrians only. It was delightful. And look! There's a 'BeerPourium" - doesn't that sound good. It was on the 3d floor and had balcony seating that gave us a great view of the festivities below.

Jim noticed a restaurant called Aussie Ribs. We enjoyed a delicious meat eaters meal.

On Sunday we played tourist, maritime museum, brewery, ferry to Rottnest Island to see the scenery and the Quokkas. Back home well after dark. Fantastic day. There were moments I thought I would just burst from happiness and gratitude for the life I get to lead.

Jim's Dad was captain on a charter boat taking tourists to watch the sailboats in the America's Cup race in Newport Road Island. This newpaper is from the day when Australia won it in 1983.

Rottnest Island - Party Island is more like it! What a beautiful, fun place.

This is a Quokka - a mini-me kangaroo. They're protected, and they're everywhere.

Marsupials

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 20:24:00 +0000

We visited 2 wildlife sanctuaries, one in Tasmania and one in Melbourne. We learned a lot about marsupials. Those are mammals who raise their young in a pouch on the outside of their bodies. I always thought that meant after the babies were born they suckled and kept comfy in this pouch, but no, they come out of the birth canal as a fertilized egg no bigger than a grain of rice, or maybe a kidney bean. The pouch is basically an external womb where they develop into a kangaroo or koala or wombat or echidna. The babies of all of these marsupials are called Joey's.

A kangaroo with a Joey in its pouch. It never showed its head, but I did see it wiggle.

All of these animals we saw in these sanctuaries. The one in Tasmania was called Bonorong and a fellow Odyssey resident arranged for a group of us (nearly 100) to get a special after-hours tour. That meant we had the place to ourselves after it closed to the public. First stop was visiting their "mob" of kangaroos. We were each given a bag of kangaroo food and told to go interact with them. They like to be scratched under the chin, but don't touch them anywhere else. What a great experience!

One of my favorite memories of our visit to Australia in 2017 was visiting a similar place in Brisbane and getting to pet kangaroos. I was so glad that Jo was able to have that experience while she was visiting us.

After the kangaroos, we split up into smaller groups and a guide introduced us to other animals around the grounds.

Tasmanian devil

Echidna

Emu

The wombat was shy and would not come out of it's burrow, but we did get to see it's poop in the shape of a cube😱 All of these animals are Marsupials.

There are no koalas in Tasmania so we had to go to another preserve when we got mainland Australia in Melbourne. It was much further than we thought from the ship and our schedule was a little tight. But we had a delightful driver, Karla, who is a good friend of Fran. Fran is another odysseans who is from Melbourne. We got to enjoy Karlas company for the 1.5 hour drive each way to Healsville sanctuary. It was another beautiful location with lots going on but we had no guide to show us around, so I'm sure we missed a lot. We did find the Koalas though!

And there were more kangaroos, but you couldn't get close to them here. We did see one with a Joey in it's pouch though. Her belly was quite distended, and at one point I saw it wiggle.

New Zealand, abbreviated

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:29:00 +0000

We were supposed to have 6 Ports in new Zealand, plus cruising the fjords in the South but as it turned out we only made it to 4 ports and skipped the fjords.

At least, we had a couple of memorable excursions. In our first stop of Tauranga, we did the railcarts.

Golf carts adapted to run on an abandoned railroad make for a fun excursion. Here, we stop to feed the ducks and geese.

Never seen geese like this! They have curly feathers and can't fly - Sebastopol geese.

Then we got the news about the ships bottom needing extra cleaning before we would be allowed in any more ports. Even after 3 days of divers scraping our hull, it still wasn't good enough. Although we were allowed in ports, we could only stay for 24 hours and we weren't allowed in the fjords at all.

Friends and Family

Villa Vie has a great program for those of us who own our cabins on board. It's called 'friends and family' where we can invite someone to join us for up to 2 weeks in board at very little cost. We were scheduled to pick up our first visitor in Wellington. Luckily we were able to collect her even with our port troubles and her missed flights. And we even had a few hours to spare where we got to see a little of the renowned museum Te Papa.

An impressive exhibit about the battle at Gallipoli during WW1

We did get Jo on board, but her luggage didn't make it. Somehow it ended up in Christchurch. That was the ships next stop, so Jim and Jo took a bus from the port to the airport to get it and that pretty much consumed that port since we only had 24 hours.

During the sea days, we had a wedding on board - the second one since we've been on the ship. This time it was Ric and Ellie who - just like the first wedding - met each other on board. So sweet!

Dunedin Train Ride

Next stop, Dunedin where we had previously booked a train ride. A lot of people had booked this same trying ride, so the ship kicked a few things to make sure that our 24 hours accommodate us. It was a great ride.

The Dunedin Train Station is one of the most photographed buildings in the Southern Hemisphere, so we had to do our part to keep that up!

A really cool part is that they had us get off the train and walk across a bridge. Then we could look back and photograph the train coming across the same bridge.

After Dunedin, we were off for 5 sea days back to Australia. People who really wanted to see new Zealand got off the ship and rented cars, then flew to Melbourne to meet back up with us.

Hang on, rough seas

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:35:00 +0000

Wow. This is an experience. Not necessarily a good one😜. We just spent an extra 3 days at sea off the coast of Tauranga in order to get our hull scraped. New Zealand has very strict biosecurity laws. Even though the odyssey had its hull cleaned in the Philippines, that wasn't good enough for them. I get it. As an island where any infestation could be catastrophic, they need to be extremely careful.

What a process. The ship has to go out beyond the 12 mile limit and a boat with divers followed us. They worked all the first day, then got delayed on the second day due to bumpy seas. They were able to work a third day and get it done. The ship then went back to dock around midnight where there were residents waiting to be picked up. Then we got underway to Wellington, skipping the Napier stop. We were supposed to be in Wellington Mar 2,3,4. Now we're scheduled to get there on the 4th.

The problem now is really rough seas. To give you an idea of the intensity, the local ferries between the North and South Islands have been canceled for several days. The roughest seas before this were when we came in to San Francisco. This is rougher. And longer. In San Francisco rough waters were over as soon as we turned in to the bay, just a few hours of a bumpy ride. Here it started yesterday afternoon, went all night and is only worse now. Forecasts don't have it lightening up until we reach Wellington tomorrow.

The boats stabilizers do a good job of keeping it level side to side but we are sure going up and down front to back and the boom when the ship crashes into the sea is deafening. We're sure getting bounced around. I joked to Jim that it's a good thing we just got a mattress topper or we may have gotten bruised during the night.

Our TV turned to the Bridge Camera channel

I asked Gemini if this happens often and it said the Cook Straits is known worldwide as a very treacherous waterway.

I might need a sleeping pill by tonight.

Multiple days at sea - time to study

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:21:00 +0000

Aaaahhhhh. I am so enjoying just hanging out in my room and working on my computer. I still go to meals, and I went to a couple of line dance classes. Someone said "where have you been?" It appears I'm being anti-social. Well, I kinda need that 😀. I do love all the opportunities we have here to be social, but I still have that need to be alone. Jim is pretty busy operating the tech for various theatrical endeavors on board, so I have the room all to myself.

I'm scheduled to give a speakers corner talk on Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Web 3 tomorrow night. I've been diving deep into all the material and learning so much. Not much I love to do more that learn and figure out how best to teach. The difficult but oh-so-important part is making it simple and short. I think that's what I'm good at so I want to prove it - if only to myself. I've been working on this talk for a couple of months now.

Gemini has been a fantastic helper. And I'm using Google drive tools: slides and docs for organizing and delivering my thoughts. I put all my resources in to NotebookLM and asked it to prepare slides, videos, info graphics etc. WOW but my finished product needs to be mine. I am using pieces from several AIs. The best was asking copilot to give me some humorous ways of saying things😀. It came up with this Pirate Glossary of Crypto Terms that I love. It also gave me some analogies that help me explain this complex topic:

“Bitcoin is the shiny sports car everyone points at.

Blockchain is the engine under the hood doing all the real work — and Web3 is the highway it’s about to drive on.”

and

A blockchain is basically a group project where everyone checks everyone else’s work. Painful, but no one can cheat.

As I tackled each part of explaning this technology I had many questions myself. In times past it would take me hours to research each question and find the appropriate resource that addressed my issue. Now, I just asked Gemini. It gives me explanations exactly on point to my questions and I can ask follow up questions. It does this in just seconds. I love having my own personal teacher. One example: years ago when I was first looking into Bitcoin and Ethereum, I registered the ethereum domain name chrisguld.eth. With Gemini's help I was able to find that and renew it, but boy did I have lots of questions. Here is a bit of our conversation:

Me:

So I've registered chrisguld.eth on the ethereum name service but what exactly is that? Is it a wallet? Do I have keys to it somewhere? Or is it something, a token, in my metamask wallet? Is it my ID on web 3? Or just a shorthand to my metamask wallet address? If it is my Identity on web3 is it subject to being hacked or spoofed? On web 2 my Identity is chrisguld@gmail.com and a big fear is that it can be hacked or spoofed.

Gemini:

It is completely understandable to feel a bit of "tech vertigo" when moving from the familiar world of Gmail to the decentralized world of Web3. Since you're already used to teaching others how to navigate new tools, think of chrisguld.eth as the Web3 version of a domain name (like GeeksOnTour.com) mixed with the convenience of a nickname.

Here is the breakdown of what exactly you own:

1. Is it a wallet?

No. It is not a wallet itself, and it doesn't "hold" your money. It is an address book entry on the blockchain.

The Shorthand: Its primary job is to point to your long, clunky MetaMask address (the one starting with 0x...).
The Analogy: If your MetaMask address is the GPS coordinates to your house, chrisguld.eth is your street address. It’s much easier to tell someone "Send it to chrisguld.eth" than to read off 42 random characters.

2. Is it a token in my MetaMask?

Yes. Technically, an ENS name is an NFT (Non-Fungible Token). If you look in your MetaMask under the "NFTs" or "Assets" tab, you should see it there. Because it's an NFT, you truly own it; it’s sitting in your wallet just like a digital collectible would.

3. Do I have keys to it?

You have the master key: your MetaMask Recovery Phrase. There isn't a separate password for chrisguld.eth. Whoever controls the wallet that owns the NFT controls the name. As long as your MetaMask is secure, your ENS name is secure.

4. Is it my Web3 Identity?

Yes, and this is the coolest part. In Web2, you use chrisguld@gmail.com to log in to sites. In Web3, you "Connect Wallet." Once connected, apps can see you own chrisguld.eth and will display that name and your chosen avatar instead of a random string of numbers. It becomes your "username" across the decentralized web.

Security: Hacking vs. Spoofing

You mentioned the fear of being hacked or spoofed, which is a very valid concern for anyone teaching tech.

Hacking: Unlike a Gmail account, there is no "Forgot Password" link or central server for a hacker to breach. To "hack" your ENS name, someone would need your MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase. As long as you keep that phrase offline (not in an email or a photo!), your identity is mathematically much more secure than a standard email.
Spoofing: People can try to mimic you by registering chris-guld.eth or chrisguld.com.eth, but they can never take chrisguld.eth from you as long as you keep the registration current. It is unique and verifiable.
The Risk: The biggest threat isn't a "hack," but a scam. If you accidentally connect your wallet to a malicious site and "sign" a transaction you don't understand, you could inadvertently give a scammer permission to transfer the NFT out of your wallet.

With all that, I'm starting to understand, but I still have questions. so I asked

Me:

If I do lose my keys, is there no one at metamask that can help me?

Gemini:

The short answer is: No, MetaMask cannot help you recover your keys. Because MetaMask is "self-custodial," they never have access to your Secret Recovery Phrase. They don't have a database of users and passwords like Google does. If they could reset your password, it would mean they have a "backdoor" to your wallet, which would make it less secure for everyone.

The "Safety Net" Rules

There are only a few specific scenarios where you can still save your "boat":

Scenario A: You know your password and still have the app. If you can still log into your MetaMask on your phone or computer, you can go into Settings > Security & Privacy and reveal your Secret Recovery Phrase there. You can then write it down (properly this time!).
Scenario B: You have the device, but forgot the password. There are some advanced "Vault Decryptor" tools provided by MetaMask that can sometimes extract the phrase from your browser's local files, but this only works if you haven't deleted the app or cleared your cache.
Scenario C: You lost the device and the phrase. In this case, the "boat" is unfortunately lost at sea. There is no one to call, no ID you can show, and no way to prove you are the owner of chrisguld.eth.

A Warning for the "Teacher" in You

Because scammers know that losing keys is a big fear, they often pretend to be "MetaMask Support" on Facebook, X, or Farcaster.

Golden Rule: If anyone—even someone claiming to be "MetaMask Lead Engineer"—asks for your 12-word recovery phrase to "synchronize" or "verify" your wallet, they are a pirate trying to steal your boat. Real support will never ask for it.

Valentine's day

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 21:37:00 +0000

Who better to spend valentine's dinner with than Ric and Ellie. They met on the ship, feel in love, and they're getting married in the ship in a few weeks! We've been diving together, shared many meals and are planning some future excursions together. If you want to be around happy people, you can't do any better than them!

I only think of these things at the last minute. It was as we're starting to get ready for dinner that it occurred to me that it would be nice for valentine's to make dinner special by sharing it with another couple. I thought of Ric and Ellie and sent him a Whatsapp message less than an hour before dinner time. I wasn't sure he would even see the message in time, let alone be available and respond, but he did.

They talked about how they were attracted to each other. It was inevitable, like 2 objects in space that are drawn together by a magnetic force, they just found themselves bumping in together. Ric says "Ellie was smart, beautiful inside and out, active, funny ... And tall!

We sat and talked for the full 2 hours of dinner time in the thistle dining room so we didn't have to get up to go to the buffet. It was a delight.

Back to Australia, Prescriptions and Line Dancing!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 22:50:00 +0000

Vanuatu was the last of the South Pacific Islands that we visited, then we stopped in Cairns and Townsville before heading to Sydney for a 3-day stop.

Cities in Australia feel like home. They speak English, the streets and shops and city infrastructure are well maintained. It all feels very safe. Each city we visit I say, "I could live here in a heartbeat." The only drawback is that it's expensive. Prices are right up there with the US.

Our main task in Cairns was to refill a prescription for Jim. We went to a pharmacy and were told that he needed a prescription from an Australian doctor and there is a walk-in clinic just down the street. Great. He met with the doctor and got a prescription for a year's supply! We went back to the pharmacy and this time they said, Oh, we don't make that particular drug in Australia. There is a similar one but we're out of stock on that and won't get any more until April. 😒 We went back to the doctor and he changed the prescription to the Australia drug and we set off to try the other pharmacies in town. Nope, Sorry, Don't have it. Same experience in Townsville. We finally got it filled in Sydney at the Balmain Community Pharmacy. It was walking distance from the ship and we were glad to have the excuse to explore - what a nice community Balmain is. Here's another place I said, "I could live here in a heartbeat."

In Townsville, we got off the ship and took an uber to a pharmacy (where we struck out again), then just walked around a bit. What a nice place.

The ship docked in Townsville, Australia

We did not go swimming!

The highlight of Townsville, at least for me was line dancing. Kathie, our line dancing instructor on board had arranged a meetup with the local line dancing group. Loved it! So cool to have a reason to get together with locals.

Tonga and Vanuatu

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 06:52:00 +0000

Tonga and Vanuatu were our last 2 stops in the South Pacific before getting back to Australia. We'd had enough of diving and wanted some land-based experiences. In Tonga we signed up for "Ancient Tonga." It was a demonstration and experience of native practices in Tonga. Like banging a big stick on a hollowed out log to call everyone in the village for a meeting:

We had a traditional Kava ceremony and they taught us that there were some differences between the Tongan traditions and the Fiji. The Kava itself tasted a bit more peppery, I didn't notice any effects. 😒

They also taught us a bit about the traditional making of tapa cloth. What a labor intensive process. They take this thin layer of tree wood and keep hammering on it to make it more paper thin. She says that the time flies by because the work is being done by several women and they use the time to chat. BUT, that hammering is LOUD. How do you talk over that?

We learned lots. My favorite thing is that Tonga is a Kingdom. Meaning they have a King! As a country they skipped the whole colonization thing that most all other islands went thru!

Next - Vanuatu

Anchored off of Port Vila this time. Last time we were docked at Luganville

We already visited Vanuatu on our way east in the islands. We did a couple of dives when we were there before, so this time we booked an inland tour. A turtle sanctuary, the Blue Lagoon, and the cascades of Eden. Here's Jim's video of this gorgeous day:

Excellent Online Event: DIY Trip Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 03:43:00 +0000

We are not alone

Several months ago we received an email asking us to participate in an online "DIY Trip Summit." We get a lot of similar emails asking us to collaborate and I just ignore them, but this one was different. It was clear they had done their homework, they knew our content and our business. Here is that initial conversation. In fact, it was so apparent that Michelle knew what she was doing that I figured I would learn a thing or two by collaborating with her and her company Intentional Travelers.

We Teach, We Learn

For years it's been on my list to come up with a "Lead Magnet." This is a digital product, report, guide, checklist, or tutorial that is offered for free in exchange for people signing up for your newsletter. First you need to have something valuable enough for people to want it. Then you need to set up the processes for them to click a link, get the product, and give their email to get signed up for the newsletter. I've never been focused enough to get it done before, but this is one of the things that Michelle was asking us to do for her "DIY Trip Summit."

So, we did it. I created a "Google Photos Guide to Sharing your Travels" and set up the procedures for people to sign up and for the guide to be delivered to them. I was pleased with the results.

Cover of the Guide that I created for the DIY Trip Summit

Member Note: If you’re a Geeks on Tour member, you don’t have to join a summit to see it! This guide is now live on our Learning Guides page.

For the summit itself, she asked that we create a 15-25 minute video about Smartphone Photography Tips for Travelers. Another project that I enjoyed creating and would not have done but for the motivation provided by the summit. It is also on our website for members only.

A Master Class in Organization

So, what was so great about the DIY Summit? The main thing was just how organized it was. Every detail had been thoroughly thought out. There were 30 different speakers, and we got to meet many of them thru a couple of private zoom calls. We also had a private WhatsApp group, and the organizers prepared tutorial videos and guides to help us all with our presentations and sales. We were impressed.

We were all asked to prepare a video for the summit. Yet, the summit itself was a live 3-day event. It was all organized by topic over 3 days. Such an interesting, and workable combination People could register for free and see all the presentations they were interested in - they had 48 hours to catch any given presentation. If they needed more time, they could pay for a "First Class Pass" which gave them a year to watch. The cost of the first class pass started pretty low if they purchased before the event began, then it went up during the event, and it went up again for a few days after the event when access was cut off completely. For 3 days there were the pre-prepared presentations plus one Zoom call where a panel would answer questions from the attendees. I watched a couple of other presentations and thought they were valuable and well done.

The organizers created graphics for us to use to promote the event.

The success of the event was obvious in that 6,000 people registered for it! It was also a success from our point of view, we normally get 5-10 new newsletter subscribers in a month. The month of the DIY Summit we've garnered 219 new subscribers! And, since we helped sell the "First Class Pass" as an affiliate, we'll be getting a few hundred dollars from that.

Win-Win-Win

The organizers won: They produced a first class event attended by thousands of people.
The participants won They walked away with a suitcase full of travel tips.
The presenters won We found a new audience, made some extra income, and built lasting professional bridges.

I am so glad I didn't hit delete on that first email. It’s a great reminder that sometimes, the best way to grow your own business is to help someone else grow theirs. I hope they do it again next year!

A work of art? No, a doorway in Rangiroa

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 06:40:00 +0000

Wayne summed up my feelings exactly when he said "We live in a postcard."

What do you think? It looks like a beautiful painting hung on the wall, but in reality it is just an open doorway in the dive shop. The dive shop is right on the beach in Rangiroa, facing the lagoon. I've seen a lot of beautiful ocean colors around the world but I dare any of them to be prettier than here. If you like closely, you can see our ship, our home, anchored in the lagoon. Here's another view:

Wayne and Donna are our main dive buddies. From Georgia and Florida, they both retired young and bought a cabin on the Villa Vie Odyssey just like we did.

On Jan 12, we all signed up to go diving in Rangiroa. This is an atoll in French Polynesia, the remnants of a giant volcano. Here's how Gemini describes it:

Imagine standing on a thin strip of land where, on one side, the wild, deep-blue waves of the Pacific Ocean crash against a rugged coral wall, and on the other, a calm, turquoise lagoon stretches so far that it actually has its own horizon.

That is Rangiroa. Located in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia, it is one of the largest atolls in the world—so vast that the entire island of Tahiti could fit inside its central lagoon.

The Anatomy of an Atoll

To understand Rangiroa, you have to look at its history as a "ghost" of a volcano. Millions of years ago, a volcanic island rose from the seafloor. As the volcano slowly went extinct and began to sink back into the ocean (a process called subsidence), a ring of coral continued to grow upward toward the sunlight, maintaining its position at the surface.

We signed up for 2 dives. One in the morning drifting/flying on the incoming tide thru the Tiputa pass and one in the afternoon with the outgoing tide hanging out on the coral reef at the corner of the pass and the ocean.
The first dive started out very relaxed. We were in wide open spaces with a gently sloping coral wall that went down to infinity. At one point we looked below us and saw nothing but sharks, at least one hundred of them!
Then we entered the pass and the current started ripping. Wheee! It was fun at first, then I saw our dive guide head toward the right edge out of the main stream. I kicked as hard as I could to follow her, but it didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. I kicked harder, I breathed harder, I just couldn't do either heard enough. Images of being swept to oblivion goes thru my head - and that panic sure didn't help my breathing! I kept looking at my air gauge thinking I must be sucking this tank dry.
I'm case you're wondering I did make it. 🤔
The afternoon dive was much calmer. But the boat ride out there was quite a roller coaster! I swear I saw 12 foot swells. Our little zodiac went up up up, then dooowwn these mini mountains of water. The surf hitting the shore could rival any championship surfing sites in Hawaii. But once we were in the water, it was back to the meditative experience I so enjoy about diving. We were disappointed that we did not see any of the famous bottle-nose dolphin that often play with divers here. Other boats had better luck.

Here's the video:

Papeete Tahiti

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 03:35:00 +0000

Due to weather and other considerations our itinerary changed to give us 3 more days in Papeete, Tahiti. The speakers corner I was supposed to give tonight had accordingly been postponed for a few days. So I am footloose and fancy free in Papeete. We didn't feel energetic enough to find an excursion, but we did get off the ship and just walk around.

Jim found a dive shop where we were able to get a replacement pressure gauge to replace the one on my scuba regulator that broke. The gauge has a scale for both PSI (used in N America) and BAR used everwhere else, like metric. I love it! Since I dive all over the world, I'll be conversant in both measurements.

I'm starting to use a travel app called PolarSteps and it always indicates what country we're in. Currently it tells us we are in France. This is French Polynesia, I expect it to be more Polynesian than French, and as a remote tourist destination I expect an abundance of English. Nope, not here. We are in France! They speak French here pretty exclusively. There are baskets of baguettes in every little store.

Our Google Fi cellular data service is hit or miss. That is very odd. Usually it works or it doesn't. Here it works on one block and not the next. Jim's is better than mine even though we're on the same plan with the same service. He has a Pixel 9 pro, mine is a Samsung S25 Ultra. 🤔

We sauntered over to the marketplace. I would like a little dress but they all seem to be big and long. Sure are pretty though. Jim saw a sign for beer upstairs, off we go. We're hot and thirsty. Then I'll look for a dress.

Oops it seems to be closing time. Dress shops pulling everything in and closing the doors. It's 3:30? 🤔

This place reminds me of an upstairs food court, I think in new York City.

We may not be taking many cultural tours or go to museums but I still feel like we learn a lot just by being here. I love travel.

Fakarava Diving

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 03:18:00 +0000

First dive was a reef. It had the best visibility of any dive site in recent memory. You could see so much. Like the beautiful giant mantas rays headed straight for you! And the sharks in the distance. The coral was not very colorful, it looked mostly dead. But then there were some healthy looking coral heads as well.

Manta on the First Dive

Second dive was in the pass. It was a drift dive with a strong current. We were told not to dallie on the surface but to head straight down as soon as we hit the water. Get to the bottom and stay together because the current was going to sweep us away. We all prepared to do a back roll into the water at the same time. So, I'm sitting on the gunnell and adjusting my BC, making sure everything is nice and snug, mask on my face, regulator in my mouth. 1-2-3, go! I hit the water on my back, turn over and start to kick ... WTF! I have NO fins on my feet 😱 I can't go anywhere. I yell up to someone on the boat - I forgot my fins! They quickly find them and hold them up. I am now a ways away from the boat, there's a current, remember. I am panicking. Kicking gets me nowhere. I use a breast stroke as strong as I can muster and get a little closer. It looks like he may throw me my fins, then thinks better of it and motions for me to come closer. I stroke with everything I've got and kick too. I'm sucking air and water. I get close enough to grab the fins being held out to me and I quickly put them on and turn around. I reach for my release valve to make sure that all the air is out of my BC and I can sink down to meet my buddies, but that's going to be way too slow. I turn head down and start kicking but my fins are just grabbling air at this point. Finally I'm under water, kicking and moving down. I see the dive master and my buddies waiting for me. Thank God the current was not so strong here to have taken them away. I'm gulping air as fast as I can. The dive master is motioning for me to come down. Well, yeah, that's what I'm doing! As fast as I can. Oops, don't forget to clear your ears Chris! Luckily I had no problem with that.

So, all is well and we all take off with the current. At some points, the dive master stops and grabs onto some dead coral to stop his progress. He indicates we should do the same. OK, I grab one likely looking branch and it comes away with my hand. After a couple tries I find a secure handhold. Then we're off again. I see him veer off to the right up ahead, but the current is taking me straight. I make it, but it's a struggle. Wheee, I am flying.

Thank goodness for the video. Looking at that reminds me what a beautiful exciting dive it was. So, I can remember that and not the panic.

2025 Full Year Capsule

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:16:00 +0000

Click to see the Archives of all our Geek Newsletters

Every month for our Geeks on Tour newsletter, I pick a photo from the prior month's shots. I think they tell the story of our year in a nutshell.

January: making the decision to buy a cabin on the Villa Vie Odyssey
February: dreaming about the travel we'll be doing
March: taking care of final preparations, selling house, establishing new domicile.
April: local newspaper highlights us on the front page! See article here.
May: We start our new life, boarding the ship on April 20 in Cartagena, Colombia
June: First month on board
July: Traveling up west coast of the U.S.
August: Alaska!
September: Japan!
October: Taiwan
November: Philippines
December: South Pacific

Click to see the interactive map

What a year! And we are loving it more every day and every port.

Exploring Bora Bora Above and Below

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:22:00 +0000

French Polynesia. If you're like me, those words evoke images of paradise, white sand beaches with gracefully curved palm trees, the proverbial deserted islands. Lush green jungle mountains Lazy days on the beach drinking from a coconut shell with a little umbrella. And, the epicenter of French Polynesia is Bora Bora. We signed up for a 4 wheel drive tour to drive around the island and up into the mountains. Stunning views!

The next day we relaxed on board, resting up to go diving! We went out on a boat operated by Bora Divers

Check out our South Pacific Photo album for more images.

American Samoa - Pago Pago, and Tisa's Barefoot Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 21:14:00 +0000

My Dad had fond memories of Pago Pago during his time in the Navy and he pronounce it Paygo Paygo. I learned now that it is properly pronounced Pahngo Pahngo. It sounds weird, but I am determined to adjust. We had to cross the International Date Line to get here. Instead of a missing day like we had when crossing east to west, this time we had 2 Mondays because we crossed west to east. When putting something on our calendar for Monday Dec 15, we had to put in the title whether it was the first Monday or the second Monday! Our shipmate friend, Randy Cassingham said, if we're going to get 2 of one day, why does it have to be a Monday! 🤣

We were greeted at the dock by enthusiastic dancers and even Miss American Samoa!

There is no doubt that this is a South Pacific tropical paradise of an island, but it also is the United States. I could live here! (But, I'd rather live where I do 😊) I spoke with one shipmate that got some testing done at the local hospital and the cost was covered by Medicare.

Since we had just produced our recent YouTube show, we felt we deserved some tourist time and were ready to play in this port. We previously signed up for a group event at a place called Tisa's Barefoot Bar. According to the website, Tisa's is World Famous!! Well, it has certainly earned a famous spot in my world memories. We spent the afternoon snorkeling on their beach, and the evening eating the most delicious food prepared in a traditional method.

What a gorgeous place! It was equally pretty underwater. We didn't need to go far at all to see a drop off and canyon with large schools of tropical fish.

The food was cooked in a traditional method. They build a fire, then pile it with rocks, add the food wrapped in aluminum foil and covered with banana leaves, then Taro leaves. It cooked all afternoon then, as soon as it came out of the fire/oven we ate. The tenderest ribs ever. And, you haven't lived till you've eaten a papaya that has been cooked this way! It's called an Umu feast.

Here's our shipmate, Viv, helping to build the oven.

A view during our bus ride to Tisa's

After a full day of snorkeling, sightseeing, food, friends, and pina coladas - we caught a taxi back home.

Samoa and Geeks on Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:32:00 +0000

We were docked in Apia, Samoa for 3 days but we didn't even get off the ship 😜 Port days where we have no tourist stuff planned are the only time we get to catch up on our work! Sea days have so many shipboard activities planned that it's hard to get anything else done. This is our life, and we are learning to adjust to the fact that we won't see everything, we have other stuff we want to do besides being tourists. We call it 'work' but we actually enjoy doing our Geeks on Tour stuff, so we make time for it.

To create a YouTube 'Studio" Jim uses magnets to hang a green screen from the ceiling. Then he sets up an extension to his desk so I can sit beside him and do my part. Other than the work to set it up and tear it down, this works great.

While we were in Apia, we did our Geeks on Tour YouTube show, Episode 313 of What Does this Button Do? Our topic was Google Photos 2025 Updates. We even did it live! As we've been sailing east, our time zone is not that much different from the US. I really like doing our show at 2pm - I've gotten hardwired to be ready at that hour - but if I upped it just a few hours to 11am, that made it 5pm on the east coast. Very doable. It was a great show, if I do say so myself. Not even one hiccup with our Internet connections. There are some jaw-dropping new features in Google Photos - my favorite is "Help me Edit" and I came up with some practical examples that do a great job of showing off the feature. If you don't want to watch the whole show, just click this link to take you straight to what I think is the very best part.

Clicking 'Play" on this video will take you straight to my favorite part. You can always scroll back to the beginning and watch the whole thing.

Diving in Fiji

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 22:53:00 +0000

We're in the south Pacific. Some of the best diving in the world. We've done a lot of diving around the world and when people ask me "Where was your favorite?" I respond - Fiji. We were there in 2006. Me, Jim and Mom spent 10 days there on the Nai'a liveaboard dive boat and it was spectacular and fun!

See our blog posts from 2006. I saved them in .pdf format to preserve the photos.
(Here are the original blog posts: We have to go back to Fiji and Part 1-Diving in Fiji and Part 2 - Diving in Fiji)

This time we joined a group for diving in the Namena Marine Reserve while the ship was anchored in Savusavu. It was a long boat ride to 2 very nice dives. One was called 'chimneys' because of the unusual formation of 2 coral heads sticking straight up and the other was Grand Central Station. I'll remember it more clearly as Grand Canyon for the dramatic walls. It was great, but it didn't live up to my memory. The comparison really isn't fair since, in 2006 we were on a liveaboard for 10 days, making at least 30 dives all over the Fiji area. Still, I figure I'm sure a spoiled diver when I go to a protected dive site in Fiji and come up saying ... "That was nice." 😜

Here's Jim's video:

Ziplining?! Really? At your age?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 01:54:00 +0000

Believe it or not, that's what we did one day in Fiji. We went Ziplining. And, not just one zipline. This operation had set up 16 lines. You hike up to the first platform, get hooked up to the line and goooooooo. Then you walk up some stairs, climb another path to another platform, get hooked up to the line and goooo. It was a gorgeous day, and the views were magnificent. We kept hiking up to the next platform for 6 lines I think it was, then the trail headed down with 10 platform stops and ziplines in between. See Zip-Fiji.com for more details.

There were some techniques to learn. For the first few lines, I would spin around till I was headed backwards to the landing platform. I finally asked why that was and they told me that my gloved hand need to hang on to the line behind my head rather than in front. Notice Jim in the photo above vs my photo. That would keep me flying straight. There was also a technique of just kind of falling off the platform or pushing off, and of course, there is the obligatory shouting of "Bula!" as you fly away! By the time we were on line 13 or 14, we pretty much got it down! It was SOO fun.

Bula! Jim is a happy boy!

It was extra fun because we were there with a group of friends from the ship.

Somewhere in the middle of the day of ziplining, we took a detour and visited a cave. It was magical. A tour of that cave alone would have been a memorable day.

Fiji Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:41:00 +0000

We've been in Fiji once before - 2006 on a liveaboard dive boat. More on diving later. This time we're here on the Villa Vie Odyssey, our floating home, and we bounced around the islands for 2 weeks, making 6 stops.

Suva

In Suva, we joined some Odyssean friends, Eve, Carolyn and Andrew, for happy hour at the Grand Pacific Hotel. It was a short taxi ride away from the ship. It was a beautiful evening.

We also visited the American Embassy to get a document notarized and found a lot of our fellow Odysseans already there trying to get new passports with more Visa pages. Yes, it's a thing! In this lifestyle we visit so many countries - 20 so far this year - that the pages in your passport get filled up! If you have no blank pages, your Passport is no good. Our passports were only a year old, but it could get full before another year passes, so we need to pay attention. The big problem is, in order to get a new passport you normally have to surrender your current one. We can't do that. So we are blazing new trails with the procedures of our Dept. of State. Based on what these trailblazers are learning, we will attempt to get new passports when we are in Sydney next February, and we will get the new 52 page booklets rather than our current 25 or so.

A Tropical Embassy!

Lautoka

We didn't make any particular plans in Lautoka. We stayed on the ship and did computer work. But we did take a walk from the ship along the waterfront and found a delightful hotel bar for a drink under the palm trees.

It's always such a delight to come back home.

Meanwhile, back at the ship, we had a "Speaker's Corner" about staying safe. Some information was about keeping your phone safe and who to contact if you get in trouble. Other information was about self-defense. Our friend, Donna, is trained in the street fighting martial art called Krav Maga, and Silja is a black-belt in Karate. You can see the video recording here: Speakers Corner: Self Awareness - a panel discussion. Regardless of the topic, you can always count on Donna's husband, Wayne, to inject some humor 🤣

Wayne is ready for his wife, Donna, to demonstrate self-defense techniques!

We also had dinner with new friends, Elma and Robert. When we learned that they lived in an RV for 14 years ... in Europe! ... We just had to talk more. So we planned to have dinner in the "Thistle" which is the sit down restaurant on board. We learned that those years were spent working, going from hospital to hospital teaching staff how to operate new radiology equipment. Robert is a radiology imaging specialist and Elma was certified in NeoNatal Intensive care. 14 years! Living in hospital parking lots. But that's not all. They are both of Dutch heritage, but lived in Venezuela, South Africa, and call Paris 'home.' I lost count of the number of languages they speak.

Oh! The People we Meet!

Diving World War II Wrecks

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Guld) — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 23:12:00 +0000

There was a lot of activity in these here parts during WWII. We dove some wrecks near Honiara in the Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal) and in Vanuatu - the largest US base outside of Pearl Harbor. I asked Gemini to tell me all about the major battles of the war and the significance of the particular dive sites we saw. Here's the results - it's well worth the read: Diving into History

Here's a map of where we dove:

Solomon Islands

Guadalcanal is the name of the island that saw heavy fighting during WWII. Our ship docked in Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon islands and we booked 1 day of diving, 2 dives, with Emperor Divers. It was a long, bumpy drive to the first dive, then even more to the second. We generally prefer reefs to wrecks, but with so much history here, it's cool to dive the wrecks.

The town of Honiara had lots of markets

Roadside stands further out in the country

the final stretch of the drive to the beach where we dove the Hirokawa Maru wreck.

Vanuatu

Vanuatu was not directly involved in any battles but it supplied much of the personnel and equipment to the rest of the South Pacific. The US military base in Vanuatu was second only to Pearl Harbor in size! The wreck we dove, the SS Coolidge, was an American ship with a very sad story. The sinking of the SS President Coolidge is one of the most dramatic "friendly fire" incidents of the war.
The captain had been told to wait outside the harbor for an escort but, due to security, he could not be told why - the the US Navy had heavily mined the channel to stop Japanese submarines from entering. The captain waited a while, but Fear of attack by the Japanese made him press forward before the escort arrived. The ship was blown up by 2 of the mines, but the captain boldly sailed the ship closer to shore and all the soldier/passengers and all the crew were able to reach safety on shore. There were just 2 deaths amongst the over 5,000 souls on board - the man in the engine room who took a direct hit and one soldier who went back to rescue others, then was caught himself.

It's an impressive dive because it is such a large ship.

Diving the SS Coolidge with Allan Power Dive Tours. They own this property right at the beach dive for the wreck. Nice operation.

If you think the Coolidge story is interesting, wait till you hear about our second dive on Vanuatu! It's called Million Dollar Point. At the end of WWII, the US Military had accumulated tons of of surplus equipment : jeeps, trucks, bulldozers, cranes, and supplies. They offered to sell it all to the French and British colonial authorities for pennies on the dollar.

The local powers, however, were stubborn. They figured they could wait for the Americans to leave and take everything for free. The US military—rather than leave the equipment behind or deal with the logistical nightmare of shipping it back—decided to simply dump it all into the sea over several days in 1945. They used bulldozers to shove it all down a pier and into the ocean, they drove the bulldozers off the pier by putting a brick on the gas pedal, then they blew up the pier! 80 years lalter, it makes for a fascinating dive site.

Geeks on Tour Blog

Back to Bali: Rotary, monkeys, and monsters

A Day of Exploration

Pura Taman Ayun temple in Bali Mengui.

Monkeys and Bats

The Famous Tanah Lot Temple

Bali to Komodo

Waingapu

East Timor

One Year VillaVersary

Komodo

April 20, 2026 - Our One Year "VillaVersary"

The FOMO Filter

The "Non-Stop Rally"

The Buffet and the Bathrobe

The Art of Doing Nothing

The New Equation: Play/Life Balance

Bali

Line Dancing in Bali

Scuba Diving in Bali

Geeks on Tour monthly newsletter

Western Australia, Sailing races, Quokkas, and beer

Marsupials

New Zealand, abbreviated

Friends and Family

Dunedin Train Ride

Hang on, rough seas

Multiple days at sea - time to study

Me:

Gemini:

1. Is it a wallet?

2. Is it a token in my MetaMask?

3. Do I have keys to it?

4. Is it my Web3 Identity?

Security: Hacking vs. Spoofing

Me:

Gemini:

The "Safety Net" Rules

A Warning for the "Teacher" in You

Valentine's day

Back to Australia, Prescriptions and Line Dancing!

Tonga and Vanuatu

Next - Vanuatu

Excellent Online Event: DIY Trip Summit

We are not alone

We Teach, We Learn

A Master Class in Organization

Win-Win-Win

A work of art? No, a doorway in Rangiroa

​The Anatomy of an Atoll

Papeete Tahiti

Fakarava Diving

2025 Full Year Capsule

Exploring Bora Bora Above and Below

American Samoa - Pago Pago, and Tisa's Barefoot Bar

Samoa and Geeks on Tour

Diving in Fiji

Ziplining?! Really? At your age?

Fiji Fun

Suva

Lautoka

Diving World War II Wrecks

Solomon Islands

Vanuatu

The Anatomy of an Atoll