March 8 - Portland, Australia

We arrived around 11:00 this morning and our tour wasn't until 3:00 this afternoon so we had a lazy morning.  This isn't a highly utilized cruise ship port.  Our guide said we were the 4th ship this year, they had none last year and six the year before.  The pier is really basic.  It's just a long jetty that we tied up to and the only thing touching was right near the gangway door.  Then there was a long walk to the buses or a shuttle that made a couple of stops in town also.  Today was Sunday in the middle of their Labor Day holiday, and instead of it being busy as would be the case at home, it was very quiet with many shops closed.  We took a drive to a pretty lighthouse with nice countryside along the way and many windmills which we've seen in many towns on our Australian adventure.

Michael used the toilet and told me about the sign on the inside door so I had to take a photo.

After the lighthouse we rode on the Portland Tram for an hour.  It's a pleasant slow meandering in a restored tram and coach.  Didn't get a picture of the actual tram, but there was a replica in their little museum.

Back on the ship in time for dinner with Michael and Diana at Chartreuse.  We made it to the show which was Danny Elliott and his many musical instruments again.  We liked this show better because we could hear him much clearer since the band was quieter this time.  Michael left a comment card about the band being too loud last time and AndyHeath, the cruise director, left us a voice message that they would try to improve the situation and please give it another try.  I'd say they did a good job.  At the end of his last show, Danny wished us well on our future travels on our "Magical Mystery Tour."  That about sums it up!