Emma Scattergood's Blog

Wet Weather Musings

It’s a wet Sunday morning – La Nina has made an early entrance this summer to the east coast of Australia, perfect weather to sit and get off a blog. A blog that will give some insight into life after the trip is over and the book published, a blog to thank all who have already purchased the end resul...

Who would have thought that 20 days after arriving home from our ‘Global Adventure‘, a pandemic would be called and, 18 months later, we would still be grounded!

Carpe Diem

Without a doubt, these past 18 months have taught me to seize the day.

Book that journey. Take that trip. Go out for that coffee. 

Write that Book!

Which I did  

Based on our 24 country, 57,000 km adventure –  ‘Itchy Feet & Bucket Lists‘ provides th...

A highlight of this adventure was always going to be sailing into Sydney Harbour and viewing our country through the eyes of foreigners and I am happy to report that reality didn’t let us down.

Breakfast on our Balcony

We awaken around 515am Wednesday 19th February just as we pass through Sydney Heads – perfect timing. It’s dark but the shadowy heads are just visible although looking smaller than expected, no doubt because our cabin is located on the equivalent of the eighth floor of a...

No doubt inspired by my numerous visits to this country as a child, I have long considered New Zealand, Australia’s poorer, less sophisticated neighbour. Well, I got that wrong, didn’t I? We have just spent the past three days exploring the upper regions of New Zealand’s North Island and it certainly did surprise.

After four days of eating interrupted by sailing, guest speakers, bridge, shuffleboard and pounding the deck we awaken Friday morning to the welcome sensation of a motionless...

Its taken five days to traverse the 2365 nautical miles between Honolulu and Papeete, Tahiti. And as we tipped over the equator, back into the Southern Hemisphere, the days became muggier and the howling winds rather than abating appeared to howl louder.

With day after day of nothing but endless blue ocean visible from our cabin’s balcony, the vastness and emptiness of the Pacific Ocean are made well clear. A point highlighted when I find myself excitingly yelling to Darryl on day four – “...

I write this from our cabin which is currently groaning and shuddering due to the buffering it is receiving from those infamous Pacific Ocean trade winds. The further behind we leave Honolulu, our last port of call, the warmer the days but the greater the whistling winds. Tomorrow we enter the “Doldrums”, a region near the equator where the northern and southern trade winds converge and, apparently, where complete stillness (can) prevail!

So, Honolulu Hawaii. A place I had been looking...

There are approximately 1950 passengers and 800 crew onboard our ship. Before we can disembark San Francisco, each and every one of us must personally meet face to face with an American customs officer. It takes hours and there is certainly some moaning and groaning, but due to a fortunate early timeslot allocation, by 1030 am we have taken our first steps onto American soil and head straight for a convenient Big Bus.

It’s been an early start – we were up around 5 am to watch as we sailed...

The clocks went back again last night, we are now 19 hours behind Australia. This means that when we awoke this morning – January 26th, 2020, the time at home was 2 am January 27th. So what happened to Australia Day? It appears that we missed it. As I have said before, this travel through time can really mess with one’s head.

It will be a week tomorrow since we left Puerto Quetzal Guatemala. A week made memorable by rough conditions, champagne tasting, a quick stop in Mexico and a highly...

As the sun once again rises in the east, we continue our ever-westward journey. The Pacific Ocean – so familiar and comforting after the Atlantic offers us whales and dolphins while controversial countries slip by on our starboard side. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and today Guatemala.

Guatemala, home of the enigmatic Mayans – indigenous Indians who created magnificent cities and ceremonial centres like Tikal as early as 1500BC but who, by the time the Spanish arrived in the early...

Funnily enough, this entire journey started with a desire to experience the Panama Canal. After traversing the Suez Canal back in 2017, the seed was planted and comparing the two transits was something we had to do – we just hadn’t expected to do it quite so soon!

Like last time, the closer we approach the canals entrance the more the anticipation grows. Conversations start with “Have you done it before?” and our daily Horizon newsletter offers suggestions on the best viewing points and a...