Day 563: April 16, 2026 – Waingapu, Sumba, Indonesia
Last year’s birthday on the Odyssey was an all-out extravaganza, a polka party with the entire ship participating. This year, I swung to the other end of the spectrum and had an intimate pizza party with just a handful friends. I couldn’t fit 10 people into my itty-bitty cabin, so my generous friend Clarkey offered use of his balcony villa for the event.


My birthday cake had birdies on it. (Thanks Ruthanne!) I ran their picture through my Merlin Bird ID app, and it identified them as Graylag Geese. π Wonder if I can add them to my bird life list?

We were in the small Indonesian port of Waingapu, which tracks with my long-standing tradition of celebrating my birthday somewhere I’ve never been before.

The birthday serenading started at exactly midnight the night before. Yes, I know it was way past my bedtime!



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