Darwin is one of the two towns in the Australian Northern Territory. I didn’t expect it to be very interesting, but it turned out too be a lot of fun. What was not fun was Covid, which I got. I thought I had a cold, but I took the Covid test as a precaution. ‘Turns out, it was the real deal. The medical staff quarantined me for three days. We originally requested a Lanai room, which I thought I preferred to a balcony. (I know — a jarring seeming non sequitur. Stay with me.) We were offered the upgrade free. Danita really wanted it. I went along. Now I know there can be significant advantages to having a balcony. I would have gone nuts in a Lanai room. Passengers getting Covid is nothing new to Holland America. They extended us several comforts. And since my quarantine was mostly on sea days, I didn’t miss much. But really, somebody who wasn’t wearing masks would have more richly deserved those precious comforts. Our Creative Writing Workshop sent me wishes for a speedy recovery. That was nice.

The Japanese bombed Darwin. They dropped more bombs here than they did at Pearl Harbor. One of the things that made Darwin an important target was the presence of the sole under water communication line. It connected Singapore to Australia, then on to New Zeeland. If they had succeeded in destroying that line, Australia would be basically out of the war for lack of communication. Darwin was well along in recovering from WW II when they were hit by cyclone Tracy in 1975. Even people who are too young to remember 1975 are well aware of what happened. Just about the only thing left standing after that cyclone were these walls from city hall. Just about everything else was totally destroyed.

One of the more unusual things I noticed in Darwin is brand new very large SUVs with snorkels. You can see the black snorkel on the side of this SUV, just above the side view mirror. The snorkel trucks I saw were all brand new looking with no evidence of mud or other off-road use. I concluded this is Darwin’s answer to a gun rack in the rear window with an “Insured by Smith and Wesson” sticker on the bumper.

One of the kitschy attractions is Crocodile World. They have some big ones. If you wish, they will put you in a plexiglass cylinder and lower you into the croc tank. They take your pic with an under water camera. They guarantee a dramatic pic. They certainly should. It cost $185 to get the pic. After you pay the hefty admission. My joke is, “They charge $185 to get you in. I wonder what they charge to get you out?

Tomorrow is a sea day. It’s a high speed run to Broome. Timing at Broome is critical because the ship cannot enter or leave the harbor during low tide. This could be quite interesting.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.