What happened to Friday?

If you think about it (and most of us don't), time is an obscure concept.  It is only relevant in the moment.  In the past and future, it can only be used as a reference.  As such, time becomes even more elusive to comprehend when it doesn't exist.  So, as I sit here in the Rendezvous Grand Hotel in Auckland (which, in the present moment, is an excellent hotel) I wonder what happened to Friday, January 25, 2013.  For me, it never existed.  It is a lost day, never to be retrieved. 

Thursday started off normal enough ... a pleasant day in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico ... with plans to board a plane to Los Angeles.  From there, it would be on to Fiji, then Auckland.  The Alaska Airlines flight was on time, smooth, and comfortable from PVR to LAX.  Then after a five hour layover at LAX, at 10:30PM Thursday, Air Pacific flight 811 lumbered down the runway at LAX, not an empty seat on board.  Ten hours later, the aging antiquated 747 touched down in Nadi.  Crossing the International Dateline, Friday was gone .... it never happened.  And we were on our way.

As bad as some of the US airlines are these days, Air Pacific is worse.  From inedible food (lunch was a pasty white flavorless hot dog on a dried out bun, no ketchup, no mustard, no relish), to an "entertainment" system that didn't work (fortunately, the iPad is loaded with books and movies), to pieces of the interior of the plane held together with brown glue and tape, this was no Singapore Airlines.  However, it did take off and land on time (which, according to various websites is a crap shoot for Air Pacific).  And now we are in Auckland.  If you're wondering why we would take Air Pacific and not a more reputable airline, ask American Airlines.  We used miles for this trip (nearly 200,000 total) and this is the airline American put us on. 

But here we are, on Monday morning (those of you in north America won't see Monday morning until tomorrow), and within a few hours, we'll be boarding the Celebrity Solstice for a 37 day journey.

The two days here have given us a chance to explore Auckland, a vastly different city than when I was last here nearly 30 years ago.  It is very clean, very contemporary, a great city for walking with distinct neighborhoods from the homey Parnell district to the cheeky waterfront.  Our hotel is one block from SkyCity.  It is from SkyCty that the city's most notable landmark, the Sky Tower sprouts.   At 328 meters (1076 feet), it is the tallest structure in New Zealand.  In addition to being the hub of communications for this country, it is also a place where you can (legally) bungee jump off the side.   We didn't, nor did we see anyone else.

Auckland is also a city that is famous for boating.   More people have boats here per capita than any other large metropolitan city in the world.  Thus, the nickname, city of sails.  The boats have priority here.  And in the middle of town near the harbor, there is a "drawbridge" sidewalk that connected two islands.  When a sailboat passes, pedestrians are stopped, the bridge opens, and the boat passes.  It can take 15 minutes for the process, and yesterday, we saw restaurant workers (presumably being made late for work by the bridge closing)   who sprinted over the bridge as soon as it reopened apparently heading to one of the many eateries on the island.

It is also a seismically active region.  The locals here talk of the White Island volcano which, in the last week, has experienced a significant increase in geothermal activity.   On a scale of one to four, where four indicates an eruption is imminent, the warning level has just been raised to three.  Tomorrow, we are scheduled to sail right past the island.  Last night, we talked with locals who say if the island blows, they're outta here.While it is a great city to visit, there would be the challenges in living here.  Yes, English is the language spoken, but it takes a lot of concentration to understand the type of English you hear here.  Prices are high compared to the U.S. and Mexico ... an average dinner here with a bottle of wine will set you back over $100.  And gas is about $7.00US a gallon.  And they drive on the wrong side of the road!

So, I guess it is time to leave and explore other parts of New Zealand.   And speaking of time, that day I lost last week, Friday, I will never experience.  However, when we return to the U.S. and Mexico, I will live Monday, March 4 twice.  I hope it's a good day.