Six Days At Sea

They are wineing, dining and entertaining us like crazy but it is still 6 days in a ship with no port. It is part of any world cruise. The oceans are massive so to get anywhere you have to cross them. We missed the 6 days across the Pacific by boarding in Singapore. Now we are almost home to Ft Lauderdale after 6 days at sea. 

The mood on the ship started changing when we left continental Europe, headed for the Azores. After our last port which everyone agreed was a wonderful surprise, the mood really changed. Everyone was packing and generally ready to be home. Our first event was a Mariners Lunch to thank us for being there, champagne was served. The next day was a formal night with a gala in the theater before dinner, free alcohol. Wine was served at dinner also. Missing from the formal night was escargot. Lobster was there and a few of us did not order it. We have had it a lot. We asked if we could special order escargot and were told we would get it the following night. Then it was on the menu the next night. 

There is a Johnnie Walker rep on the ship giving talks and tastings. We went to one, nasty stuff. But if you like scotch, they were pouring pretty much as much as you wanted. We were shown a short film about how they made a special issue for the Queen's Jubilee. They made 60 bottles at $150,000 each! They still have some if anyone is interested. We chatted with the rep telling him we would be in Scotland in July. He is going to set us up for a special tour of one of their many distilleries, one that is not open to the public. Should be nice. Johnnie Walker sponsored the masked ball that night. They had 24 cases of scotch to pour at the event. It was at 9:30. We had had time changes for 4 nights in a row. By 9:30 everyone was tired, we were sleeping already. They ended up pouring only 2 bottles! Now the ship has 23 cases of free Johnnie Walker that they cannot sell. 

And all we could see outside were waves and clouds with some rain mixed in. 

They had crew talent shows, one with the Indonesians, the other with the Filipinos. They had a lot of fun doing them. Another afternoon was the passenger talent show. There were some good singers but the highlight was a Jewish lady from Brooklyn. She stood up there for 20 minutes talking about her relationship with her husband and had us all laughing like crazy. She was better than the comedians who had done shows onboard. 

And all we could see was waves and clouds, it was time to get home. 

They did a farewell reception with a speech by the Capt. The entire voyage went 31,000 miles and used 8.5 tons of fuel. The ship's hostess rattled off all the things that had been done for charity, raising over $12k. The port guide gave a synopsis of the entire cruise in about 5 minutes with pictures to go along with it. She did a great job and brought back a lot of memories. Then they ran a video of the crew doing silly things like falling into the pool, hiding in closets in one of the suites and a chef taking a rubber chicken out of a pot. It was very funny. A long cruise like this you get to know the people, passengers and crew. We become one big dysfunctional family. With all the memories, maybe I am not ready to get off the ship after all. 

Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal Day Two

We took our time leaving the ship. Nothing is usually open before 9 or 10 so why hurry. There were a few stores right on the pier but we had browsed thru them last night so walked directly to the Main Street. Our first stop was the super market. It is so interesting to see what different products they have in other countries. We decided what we would buy later as we did not want to carry it all day. 

Heading into town we found a Chinese Store. They carried everything. We were hoping they would have bubble wrap for packing but they did not. We continued on to the market. It started raining and poured for less than 5 minutes. That had happened yesterday also, rain for a couple of minutes then beautiful sunshine. There were a few tourist shops at the market as well as a lot of fruit and vegetables. I bought a pineapple as our guide had told us they were the best in the world here. I have my doubts but the pineapple on the ship has not been ripe so I figured it was worth a try. They will cut it for me in the kitchen. Now I had a pineapple to carry as well as a couple of small bags and I was way too hot in a light jacket under my rain jacket so we headed back to the ship. I bought a few items in the grocery store to take back as well. Mel waited for me on the main street. He said 3 different people asked him how to get to the ship from there. It was right behind him, hard to miss. That was just weird. 

We kept to the main street this time, headed to the old fort. There was a military museum inside. We went in for €1 each. There was a small room with some guns and uniforms. I thought that was it. We continued on into the fort and there was room after room of old military stuff inside. It was actually quite large. Mel was more interested than I was. It was mostly about the wars Portugal had in Angola, Mozambique and Guina in the 60's and 70's, something we know little about. From there we tried to go into a convent but it was closed. There was a square in front of it with a church on the other side. The church was covered with scaffolding. They were putting up lights for an upcoming festival. Inside the church was quite ornate. The front of the sanctuary was all covered in gold. The walls had beautiful tiles. We continued down the street in search of a restaurant. We stopped in a few stores along the way. We were still looking for bubble wrap. One store had a lot of housewares. On a shelf with some bags was a plastic bag full of bubble wrap. It looked like it had been stuffing in one of the bags. I used it to ask if they sold bubble wrap. When I had asked in the Chinese store I was directed to the bras. The check out lady said I could have it, even offered me a bag. That was nice, free bubble wrap!

We found a nice outdoor cafe. Mel had grilled octopus I had a ham and cheese sandwich on the same bread we had eaten yesterday. This sandwich was better, the cheese was melted and I put some of Mel's lettuce and tomato on it, yum. We went into another church which was also very ornate, no pictures allowed. We continued back toward the ship stopping at a few stores on the way. We made one last stop at the grocery store to buy green wine. Our guide had told us we should try it so we bought 2 bottles. It was on sale for €1.40!!! Hope it is drinkable. We are going to host a wine tasting in our cabin for our tablemates. If we take it to the table they will charge us $18 corkage fee. 

Back at the pier we used wifi for a bit. I called Piper to wish her a happy 4th birthday. I think she was happy to hear from me. It will be great to see her again. We were back onboard by 3 but will go off again to use the wifi and post this. Our last port was really nice. Very glad we were able to stay overnight to see both the island and the town. 

Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal

If our coming into port today was anything like our upcoming Atlantic crossing, we are in for a ride! It was pretty rough. A Primcess ship came in right behind us. They were not scheduled to stop here but did because of bad weather on the way to England. That weather is why we are in Ponta Delgada overnight rather than going to Horta on another island. Hope the weather passes quickly. 

We had no idea what to expect here. I knew from joining a tour that we would see crater lakes and hot springs. What I didn't know was how beautiful and green this island is. We met at 8 am for our tour. There were 14 of us divided into 2 vans. We immediately headed out of town. The farms were all surrounded by volcanic rock walls, so they were all black. Many are totally covered by greenery. In another month that greenery will be hydrangeas in full bloom. There are hydrangea bushes everywhere. It must be beautiful. We headed up an old volcano to an overlook to see the crater lake. It was beautiful with thick green foliage all around it. On the way down we were to stop at a hot springs but it wasn't open yet so we continued on to a small town. This one is on the north coast, Ponta Delgada is on the south coast. The island is about 10 miles wide, 50 miles long. In the town we went to a liquor factory. They gave us samples of what they make which is everything from pineapple, blackberry and cherry liquor to milk and rice pudding liquor! Most of it was delicious. It was not great doing a tasting at 9:30 in the morning though. I just wanted to take a nap the rest of the day. 

We went back to the hot springs. We had to walk about 10 minutes to reach them. There were beautiful ferns everywhere, very much like in New Zeland. They had pools set up at the springs. They had had a heavy rain the night before so the water was very muddy. Our guide told us the mud is good for your skin. I wouldn't have wanted to go in. There was also a beautiful waterfall there. After the hot springs we headed along the north coast to another lookout. They have many in the island as it is very mountainous. This time we could see the rocky coast as well as rolling hills with cows and horses. We were told it looks like Ireland. We have never been so could not verify that. 

Further along the north coast was a tea plantation. We had a short tour of how they process the tea. It was interesting. We have been to many tea plantations but don't think we have gotten that much information before. We continued on to yet another lookout over the thermal area. There is a town actually built in the crater of a volcano. There was steam rising in many places that we could see from the top of the hill. We also passed by a beautiful golf course. It was very hilly. We went down into the town to a bakery behind someone's house. There they made a bread that was similar to an English muffin but sweeter. We sat and ate sandwiches. I also had passion fruit soda, it was very sweet but good. We then went to where the steam was coming out of the earth. It was very much like Yellowstone including the smell. They had a pipe with hot water coming out of it that women actually use for cooking. Just up the street were 2 more pipes with cold water, one was sparkling water. It was interesting to try natural sparkling water. It was full of minerals, so didn't taste very good, but it was bubbly. 

We went to another crater lake that we had seen from the last outlook. One side of the lake had boiling water coming up, yet there were ducks swimming nearby. The heat must be concentrated in that one spot. Next to the lake is another thermal area where they cook food. There were dirt mounds which means there is a pot inside. It takes about 7 hours to make a vegetable and meat stew. A nearby restaurant specializes in that dish called cozido. Unfortunately we were unable to try some. There were many different water birds there as well as many cats. 

We went to yet another lookout to see a volcanic cone off the shore that had collapsed creating a lagoon. There is nice snorkling and diving there and every year there is a cliff diving contest. It was really beautiful. There was a pretty chapel at that stop also, which had 101 stairs to reach it. Mel went up as did a few others in our group. I declined. From there we went to our last stop, an overlook into the highest priced neighborhood on the island. There were a few large homes, not mansions by any means. One had been a convent converted into a home. We took the freeway back to the city. The roads are very good here. I thought we would go directly back to the ship but our guide and driver drove us thru town and pointed out some spots of interest. That was really nice, now we know where to go tomorrow. 

Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz is a city of towers and balconies. It is on a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean and a good viewpoint of ships heading into the Mediterannan. In the old part of town are narrow streets with old buildings. Each one has lacy wrought iron balconies, many with plants and flowers. It was really pretty. We were cleared to get off the ship at 8 am but after our experience yesterday we decided to wait until almost 9 to get off. Even at that hour most places were closed and the streets were empty. There was a tourist information booth in the cruise terminal giving out maps of the city. They pointed out the 4 walking tours, each with it's own color line. They actually had lines painted on the sidewalk, it almost felt like a scavenger hunt trying to follow them. 

We set off following the purple line. We ran into 2 other couples attempting to follow the same route. We kept running into each other off and on all day. The first attraction was City Hall. It is a big, very ornate building. We then went to the cathedral. It was closed until noon so we would have to go back. Next was an old Women's hospital that had a painting by Goya in the chapel. Unfortunately it was also closed. Around the corner was the highest tower in the city. There used to be over 160 towers, there are about 120 remaining. We climbed to the top and had a very good view of the city. One floor down from the top they had a camera oscura. They use a mirror to reflect an image of the city on a dish shaped screen. The guide pointed out a lot of churches in the city as well as the fort, gardens, etc. We could see people walking in the streets, it was interesting. We continued following the purple line to another church then next door to another. Above 5 arches in the sanctuary were old paintings of the life of Jesus. Three of them were painted by El Greco. The line took us in circles going past historical buildings. We finally got to the end then headed back to the cathedral. 

Now the streets were getting crowded and all the cafes were open. We visited the cathedral then chose a cafe with wifi. It will be nice to get home and have unlimited internet. Paying by the minute on the ship is a pain. We had the same lunch that we had had both the other days in Spain, fried calamari for Mel, tortilla Espanola for me. It was the best yet but also the most expensive. We walked back past the Women's hospital to see if it was open, it was not. We then started to follow the longest street in Cadiz to the water. There was a nice botanical garden there. We walked on the walk by the ocean rather than thru the garden. 

We came around one of the points on the peninsula and decided to follow the blue line. That took us back into the middle of the city and past more churches. There must have been a church every 2 or 3 blocks, many of them very large with old, ornate decorations inside. We heard parts of 3 different services as it was Sunday. We found the end of the blue line then continued to a large square where we had started the day, in front of the City Hall. We then went back to the ship. There was wifi in the terminal so we left our things in our cabin and went back out. There were a lot of people trying but the Internet was not very good. I was unable to get emails or download any pictues but Facebook came right up, pictures and all. They must have a powerful server. We were back onboard by 5 pm to get ready for dinner. We had again walked over 8 miles. It will be nice to have 2 sea days to rest before our last two ports in the Azores. 

Malaga, Spain

The big attraction of this port is the Alhambra in Granada. It is about two hours away. We were there a long time ago so decided to stay in Malaga and see the sights there, we had never been. We were cleared to get off the ship at 8 but the first shuttle into town wasn't scheduled to leave until 9 so we waited until 8:45 to disembark. We were the first ones on the shuttle but it ended up leaving at 8:55 so we were glad we had gone out a bit early. It dropped us at the end of the LONG pier, right at the edge of town. 

Our first stop was the Alcazaba, a Muslim fortress from the about the 11th century. It was barely 9 am and most of the stores were closed along the way. Luckily the Alcazaba opened at 9. We went in and were about the only people there other than security guards. The walk wound around going up higher on the hill. There were beautiful gardens and fountains along the way. Closer to the top there were a few exhibits of pottery and such which had been found at the sight. The view of the harbor was very good, we took a lot of pictures of the ship! Almost at the top I asked a guard how to get to the castle which was even further up the hill. We had to go back the way we came or take an elevator from the top, which we did. 

Once back at street level we headed toward the castle. We found some stairs but no signs anywhere. A ways up I finally asked if we were headed in the correct direction to get to the entrance to the castle. It was a very long and steep walk. There were a few stairs but it was mostly just uphill. It took us about 40 minutes to reach the top, it was a strenuous climb. We went inside to see what was there, not much. There was what looked like an old chapel turned into a museum with a few displays. You were allowed access to walk along the walls of the castle, which was nice, but after the climb I didn't feel like doing a lot more stairs. We went up part way just for the view. We were really high up. There was a small cafe on the castle grounds so we stopped for a cafe con leche. It was very good. 

We decided to take the bus back down the hill and into town. It arrived shortly after we did to the stop but the driver did not have change for a €20 so we ended up walking after all. It was really steep going down, hard on the knees. We got our exercise again today. We had walked over 8 miles yesterday, almost 8 today. Once down where we had started we headed toward the cathedral. We could see it clearly from the castle. Stores were now open and there were more people on the street. We found the cathedral and paid to go in. It was a WOW! It had a very high ceiling with a number of alcoves all around the sides of the sanctuary. Each alcove had old paintings or statues, very elaborate and beautifully done. We were there about 30 minutes looking at it all. 

Next we headed to the Picasso museum. When Picasso was alive he always said he wanted his art to be exhibited in Malaga after he died, the place of his birth. His daughter donated most of the pieces in the museum. There were many from when he was young which were very detailed and lifelike. He did not change to the style he is known for until his later years. There were a lot of people there as on the street. Once done with the museum we headed in the direction of the main shopping street. We stopped at a cafe for lunch, again out on the sidewalk and with the same food. Mel's calamari wasn't as good as it had been yesterday. My torta Espanola was better! The waiter was quite a character. His job was to stand outside and get people to come into the restaurant. He especially talked up the young women. He said he had been a bar tender on the Disney Wonder for a year. He had loved the experience. 

We found the walking street, it was packed. Most of the stores were higher end. It seemed like everyone was just walking, not doing very much shopping. At the end of the street I asked a police officer the way to El Corte Ingles. He said it was down a busy street, about a kilometer away, so we headed off. It was a nice walk but we were already tired from our climb. Once at the store we visited every level just to see what they had. A sales woman approached me and said "English?" I told her yes, but I speak Spanish, in Spanish. She was very relieved, it was cute. I tried on a couple of tops then we went down to the grocery store again. I do enjoy looking at the different food and am always on the lookout for candy made in the country we are in to bring home to Siera. Now that she's older she doesn't eat as much candy as before but now she has a little sister. Bad grandma for bringing home junk food. 

We headed back to the ship. We ran into a couple from the ship and chatted for a bit then went to the shuttle. We were back at the Cruise Terminal at 4. There were some nice shops there so we shopped a bit. The Duty Free had very cute bottles of Sangria. I bought it more for the bottles than the sangria but tried it once we were onboard. It is very good. I may have to buy a larger bottle in our next and last port in Spain tomorrow. It was another beautiful day in Spain. 

Cartagena, Spain

We had no plans here other than to try to visit several museums. We docked shortly before 10 and were on the gangway when they announced that we were free to leave the ship. We followed the crowd, the HAL Eurodam was in port also, so lots of people, to the main walking street and just started walking. There were some beautiful buildings in the area, built after the Spanish civil war. Many of them are Art Deco in design. We asked about a transportation museum we had heard about but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. We first visited the Crafts Center. There was a lot of ceramics and some modern things, not the classic Spanish art I had seen in the past. From there we headed toward El Corte Ingles, Spain's equivalent to Macy's. It was quite a long walk but we found it. 

Inside the dept store they had food in the basement, including a large grocery store. I like looking to see what they have. We looked for the souvenir area and again it was not what I expected. In the past they had a lot of beautiful things which were made in Spain. Now they had magnets and some small plates, but nothing very nice. We looked around a bit then headed back toward the port. 

There were cafes on the sidewalk all along the street. We waited until we were back on the pedestrian only section to choose one. Mel had calamari, as usual. I ordered a tortilla de patatas which is a Spanish omelet with potatoes. I ate those almost daily when I went to school in Valencia for a summer many years ago. It was delicious as was the cafe con leche. The ship served flan after dinner so my Spanish food experience was complete. We may eat the same tomorrow!

We had really wanted to visit some museums. We arrived at the former City Hall which was a gorgeous building, just as it closed. The guard allowed me to take I picture of the staircase then closed and locked the doors. The info office next door said there are museums open until 6, like the Roman Theater museum across the street. We went there. It looked small from the outside but actually had a tunnel to a building in the next block then continued until you were out in the theater! It was like an amplitheater but they showed models of how it had once been a theater with a large stage. From there we exited and ended up in front of the facade of an old church. It had been built on top of part the theater. We were looking for the exit but ended up on top of the hill at the base of a castle. We continued up and visited the castle museum also then went back the way we came, passing the church and finally following an alley around to the main entrance of the Theater museum. We had left bags there so had to go back. 

We were only a block from the pier. We headed that way, past where our ship was berthed, to the Museum of Underwater Archeology. They had a lot of items from old ship wrecks. They had examples of items processed with the correct conservation methods versus some that were not. It was very interesting. They had a number of coins that were found including some beautiful gold ones. One Spanish wreck was found off the coast of Virginia by a private treasure hunter. Spain actually sued for possession and won, but the artifacts are still in a museum in Virginia under mutual agreement. They just had one of the two anchors found at that museum. 

By now it was after 4 pm. All aboard was 5:30. We headed back to the ship. Mel used the phone while I went onboard. There were hundreds of jellyfish in the water by the ship, I had never seen that before. We walked over 8 miles today and up almost 30 flights of stairs. Hopefully we will both be ready to do it again tomorrow in Malaga. 

Civitavecchia, Italy for Rome

We stayed in Rome for a few days before a prior cruise so had seen most of the main sights. One place we missed that I really wanted to see was the catacombs. I contacted a tour operator a year ago to see about arranging for a private tour to pick us up at the ship and take us there. They wanted €250 per person, so I nixed that idea. HAL had a tour going just to the catacombs then to a farm for lunch so we signed up for that thinking it would be an easy day and we would see what I wanted to see. I started thinking maybe it was wasting our time there to just do that so asked if we could change to the transfer to Rome. Then we could do the catacombs on our own and see other things as well. I was told that there were so few people on the tour that they would have to cancel it if we canceled so we would be taking the original tour. 

We boarded the HAL bus shortly before 8. There were only 18 of us on a full size bus so everyone had a window seat. The guide started telling us about our day and it included things that were not in the tour description, which was a pleasant surprise! Our first stop was the St Sebastian Catacombs. A description I have read say the tunnels were built for Christians to worship in secret without persecution but in the tour they only mention them as being Christian burial tunnels. At one time there were 60 different ones with hundreds of thousands of tombs. There are only 6 remaining today, St Sebastian being the oldest. We had a guide from the catacombs for our group. We were not allowed to take pictures which was disappointing. Because it is a burial ground and sacred, they do not allow them out of respect for the dead. I think it was also to sell postcards. There are 7 miles of tunnels in this location, we were taken thru less than a mile of them. There were niches on all the walls and some marble plaques where wealthier people were buried. Before the tunnels were opened to the public all the remains were removed to more private locations. The floors were dirt as were the walls and ceilings. Some families had entire rooms where many were buried. There was a small chapel where St Sebastian was originally buried. There was now a tomb for him in the church that was built above the catacombs. Our last stop in the tunnels was an area for wealthy Romans. They cremated their dead so there were burial urns in the elaborate tombs. When the church above had been built hundreds of years ago, they wanted to stableize the ground so had buried this part of the catacombs. They were rediscovered in 1922, so are intact. There had been no looting since they were buried for so long. The ceilings had intricate carvings on them, one had fresco paintings. It was a very interesting tour, I was glad to finally see the place in person. 

Our next stop was the Pope's summer palace! That was a total surprise as there had been no mention of it in the description. A couple of people complained about it as they had walking issues so had chosen an easy tour but the rest of us were very happy about it! Castel Gandolfo is built on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake. It was quite an uphill climb to get into the Summer Vatican City. Outside the gates were many shops and restaurants. We had over an hour to explore on our own. One of the last stores down the street was selling cheese, cookies and salami, giving out very generous samples. I think all of us ended up there at one point, buying something because we felt obligated after all the samples but also because it was good. We were not quite as hungry for lunch after that. 

Our last stop was lunch. It was at a farm but the farm was a beautiful winery and exclusive restaurant. We first had a demonstration on how to make gnocchi by the owner of the farm, and given wine and appetizers. The wine was delicious, but I am not much of a wine drinker so who knows. Everyone else seemed to like it too. We were then given a tour of the restaurant which is actually under the beautiful old stone farm house. The largest rooms, where we ate, were ancient Roman cisterns, a great atmosphere. They had caves that went on from there including an old looking dome with a skylight. It was a beautiful place. Lunch started with a salad and red wine. And bread and olive oil as well, of course. They also produced their own olive oil. Next we had a plate with lasagne and gnocchi which was very good, followed by tiramisu, one of my favorite desserts. During lunch I asked our waitress if we couldn't have white wine as well, even though the red was very good. I got a cheer from the table when they brought it. I went to buy some wine to take home to our daughter and discovered it was only €4!!! That is a bit more than $4 a bottle. I got a cheer when I announced that to the rest of the group also. 

It was a 90 minute ride back to the port after that. Most of us slept after all that food and wine. The tour had been excellent, everyone agreed. Excellent tour, lousy description. I did mention it to the Shore Excursions office. I wonder if they will actually change it. They never even mentioned the summer palace which made it very special. We were back onboard at 5 pm. 

Naples, Italy

We have been to this port twice without actually seeing Naples! The last time we headed down the Amalfi Coast, which is beautiful, and visited Pompeii. This time we joined a private tour to the Isle of Capri. Our group met on the ship at 7:40. There were only 8 of us so very manageable. We headed off the ship before 8. We had to go thru a large terminal to meet up with our guide. We walked from there to the ferry on the next pier and boarded the boat for Capri. It was about an hour ride. 

Once on the island we saw many people go directly to smaller boats to go the Blue Grotto. The woman who arranged the tour had been to Capri twice before without being able to get into the grotto. We were hoping for better luck. Our guide said it is easier to get into the rowboats that take us into the grotto from shore than from another boat so we would take a bus there. A rowboat????? The one main road to the other part of the island is very narrow so we had to stop many times to let other buses pass, or any other vehicle. There was a lot of traffic. We saw from the pier a road and bridge high up a cliff, we would be taking that road. They call it the Mama Mia road because that is what people say when they go by that one section. Is was VERY high up with a drop straight down at the edge of the road. When we arrived at the Blue Grotto we were told to take all our belongings as we would not take the same bus back. The roads and parking are such that they just rotate the buses. The next group ready to go takes the next bus. 

From the drop off point we took a number of steps down to the water. We could see about 3 or 4 larger boats with maybe 20 people each, offloading into very small row boats. They were all painted blue and white. They put one person on the floor in the bow with 3 people packed on the floor in the back. The waves were quite high so it was a bit challenging getting into the boat not to mention maneuvering onto the floor. Mel was in the bow, I was first in the back. After me came 2 larger women. The first one sat on my leg, that wasn't great but there wasn't much she could do about it. It was so rough. She got settled then in came the third. She had little room to sit then arrange her legs under the seat of the man rowing. Unfortunately she already had knee issues so had a really hard time. Once we were all settled we were taken to get in line with the other boats. We had to wait our turn. When we got near the entrance it was almost unbelievable that anyone could get in there. It was probably less than a foot wider than the rowboats and not very high. When a wave came in, there was less than a foot clearance. The rower had to time it perfectly when the wave went out to pull our boat thru the entrance by a chain attached to the rocks before the next wave came in. The lady in front of me scooted down so I was the highest point in the boat. It was wondering how many people have been decapitated attempting this feat. Once inside there were about 4 other boats. We all just went around the edge of the cave then back to the entrance. Because of how the light reflects in the water, it appeared to glow blue. It was very pretty but more of an adventure than anything. We then had to crawl off the floor and get out of the boat with the high waves. It was a relief to be back on the stairs. We heard that it closed about 20 minutes after we were there. They cannot go in when the tide is in or if the water if rougher than it was. Our guide said it is open about 25% of the time so we were very lucky. 

Our next stop was Annacapri, the smaller of the 2 villages on the island. We walked thru town seeing some of the beautiful shops and hotels, to an overlook for pictures. That area was the start of the 800 stairs that would take you down to the port, at one time the only way to reach that village. We met back at a chair lift to the top of a hill. It was a one person lift. We had a great view most of the way up but the top was totally fogged in. That was unfortunate. Once down the lift again, we went to a nice restaurant. Most of us had pizza. It was good, not outstanding. 

From Annacapri we went to the village of Capri. We walked all the way to the other side of the island, maybe a 10 minute walk, so not very wide, to a beautiful park. Again there were designer stores and very beautiful hotels along the way. We had about 20 minutes to look around before riding the funicular down to the pier. There we also had about 20 minutes before getting on the boat back to Naples. I think Mel and I both slept most of the way back. We had a short walk back to the ship and were onboard at about 5:00. It had been a very nice and adventurous day. 

Messina, Sicily

Sicily was one of the ports added after Egypt was canceled. We knew nothing about it but listened to the talk by the ship's port advisor. We decided to go to the art museum which has a large collection of pieces by Caravaggio then just walk around town. Sometimes nothing goes as planned. 

Mel found a couple during breakfast who was willing to share a taxi to the museum. We did not get into port until noon. They ended up disembarking right behind us so we walked together to get the cab. There were a number of drivers on the pier all saying "Taomina" which is another small town on the island. The drivers we talked to said the museum was closed.  So we asked how much to Taomina, but we wanted to stop by the museum just in case. We finally agreed on 25 euros per person and got into the cab. The driver spoke a little bit of English, but not much. I told him we wanted to go to the clock tower first. At noon everyday music plays while Angels and Knights move around in a circle and bow. We arrived in time to see the end of it, good timing. We drove to the museum and it was closed so we headed to Taomina. 

Taomina was about 45 minutes away. It is an old roman town built in a cliff 700 feet up from the sea. We were dropped off at one gate and arranged to be picked up in the same place in 1 1/2 hours. We started down the Main Street until we found a Tourist Info office. We got a map of the town and looked around in the office. They had some very old marionettes of Knights and a royal family and a very decorative cart. It had tiny figures all over it including on the wheels. It was nice that we had seen it as in the town we saw ceramics of it as well as paintings and other pictues. It much have been very significant to the town. The Main Street was full of shops and restaurants and especially people! It was quite crowded. We went into several ceramic stores. All the ceramics were made in Sicily. One character caught my eye. It looks like a jester with 3 legs coming out of his head, very odd. I finally asked and found out that it is medusa in the middle, the 3 legs are for the 3 points in Sicily, it is a symbol of the island along with a pine cone and one other that I can't remember. We went into several old churches and onto a square that overlooked the water. We reached the far gate and turned around and went back. Our friends wanted to visit the gardens and I wanted to shop so we separated until meeting back to get the taxi. 

On the way back to Messina we asked to be taken up to a WWII Memorial that is on a hill above the city. From there we could get a good view of the city and take pictures. Then we went to a large church on the next hill over. I asked to be dropped at the cathedral next to the clock tower rather than the ship because we still had 1 1/2 hours before all aboard. I had been so focused on seeing the clock tower that I hadn't paid attention to the cathedral next door at all. It had a beautifully carved arch around the main entrance. The inside was a lot plainer than many that we have seen but was nice. Up toward the front I noticed a museum so we went in there. It was very small but held an amazing amount of gold. There was a three dimensional silver picture of the Madonna and child covered with jewelry. The Madonna had on real rings made of gold and gem stones. Another framed piece looked like a shield but when you looked closer it was made up of jewelry that had been donated to the church. There were hundreds of rings, watches, bracelets and chains, quite impressive. 

When we went out of the museum and started to head out of the cathedral the huge main doors opened and in came the arm of a crane! There was a small crowd gathered, including 2 priests, so we joined them. I asked the priests if they spoke English to try to find out what was happening. They called over a guide. She told us that the pole at the top of the clock tower had fallen 3 years ago. It had been renovated and was going to be put back in place the next morning. It would stay inside the church overnight. It was pretty exciting to see this huge thing coming in the large door of the cathedral. There was a metal flag with a rooster on it which acts as a weather vane and a very large copper ball. Once it was in place on saw horses, we left the cathedral and headed back to the ship. It was only a few blocks so we were there shortly after 4. It was a short but very enjoyable visit to Sicily. 

A Weekend in Greece

When we were in Greece a number of years ago we were not impressed. Santorini while looking quaint with all the blue roofs, was just full of tourist shops and one jewelry store after another. Athens did not keep the integrity of the old city like Rome did. It was full of ruins and old buildings mixed in with tacky buildings from the 20th century. Our stop in Corfu was nice, the place where European royalty built summer homes. This visit I decided to book an overland tour thru our travel agent to see more of the country. I was glad I had, Greece is a beautiful country and much more than tourist shops!

We were to meet on the ship at 8 am, leave by 8:30. We arrived at 7:45 and were almost the last ones there! It was a group of 52, divided into 2 large buses so a lot of extra seats. We did not need to crowd in, that made it very comfortable. We started out immediately leaving the port town of Piraeus and past Athens. We started going through mountains and once over the coastal ones could see many covered in snow. Greece is the third most mountainous country in Europe after Norway and Albania. Who knew? The countryside was beautiful. We made several rest stops before arriving at our destination of Meteora. We first went to a restaurant for a nice Greek lunch. The tall spikes of stones were outide the windows. It was on top of these formations that they built monasteries hundreds of years ago. The rocks were filled with caves where hermits had lived for years, it was a beautiful place. At one time there were dozens of monasteries but now only 8 remained. Several had been turned into nunneries as they ran out of monks. 

Our first stop was the difficult monastery, called this because of the 100+ steps to reach it. As I had pulled something in my back that morning on the ship I was dubious about making it to the top but the steps were even and I used Mel's walking stick to help me. At the very top there was a short bridge connecting the stairs to the rock where the monastery was perched. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictues. Part of the structure was less than 100 years old but the tiny sanctuary was hundreds of years old. It was covered with beautiful frescoes. Wish we could have taken pictures. 

From there we went up higher into the mountains to the "easy" monastery. There was a bridge directly from the parking lot to the building. This one was much larger with living quarters and 2 churches. One was only for the nuns. The one that was open was again covered with beautiful frescoes. The view from the top was beautiful. 

We headed back down the mountains to the small village of Kalambaka at the base of the rocks. We checked into our hotel then headed out to look around. There were a lot of restaurants and tourist shops, that was about it. We did some shopping then stopped for a small dinner. We had eaten lunch at 2:30 so were not very hungry. Mel had fried calamari, the best ever according to him. I had shrimp in a tomato sauce with peppers, onions and feta cheese. It was very good also. We went back to the hotel to use the Internet. We were excited to finally have some that we were not paying for by the minute. Unfortunately their internet was slower than the ship, very disappointing. 

Some from our group, including Mel, met in the lobby at 8 to attend the Procession of the Assention. Greeks take their Easter seriously, celebrating for days. It was amazing that we were in Jeruselem for Easter then again for the Greek Orthodox Easter in Greece. The entire town seemed to have shown up for the procession. The old bishop was there along with other clergy. Mel said it was a great experience. I was happy to be resting my back but disappointed that I couldn't spend the time online. 

Wake up calls were at 6:30, way too early for me. But we had gotten to sleep at a decent hour so it wasn't too bad. We had breakfast and were on the bus going to our next destination of Delfi by 8. We backtracked toward Athens then took a right onto a mountain pass road. The road was quite new. Our guide said the old road was a real challenge for buses. As it was, there were many hairpin turns. One turn did a loop with a bridge going over the same road. It was a beautiful drive with small villages and many olive trees along the way. Because of Easter it was a challenge for our guide to be sure we got to see everything. The monasteries had not opened until 3 the previous day. Delfi ( or Delphi in English) was to close at 2:30 so we needed to get there ASAP as there was a lot to see. Lunch would be after our visit. 

We drove thru the town of Delfi where we would be spending the night, on to the museum and ruins. The museum was very nice with a lot of the sculptures found in the ruins of Delfi. There were very large ones which had once graced the tops of buildings down to tiny ones made of metal. There was also a lot of gold, most of it adornments for women. Our guide walked us thru giving commentary in each room. It was very interesting. After the museum we headed to the ruins themselves. This site was where a woman was put into a trance by fumes, becoming able to tell fortunes. They built a huge temple to The Oracle there with smaller buildings put up by various other cities. It was all on a hillside so all uphill to visit. Our guide took us as far as the large amplitheater then we were on our own if we wanted to continue up to the stadium. I think most of our group did that. The stadium had seats along one side with pedestals of some sort at one end. It was full of grass. Along the sides were covered with wild flowers, a good time to be visiting. 

We met at the bus at 2:30 to continue on the mountain road to a Greek tavern for lunch. We passed thru a ski resort town which was interesting. It was packed with people and cars for the holiday. The bus had to stop a number of times to let cars pass. The road was very narrow. The restaurant was on the side of a hill so had a very good view. We were served about 5 different appetizers then a hamburger. It was an interesting meal. From there we went back thru the ski village and past the ruins to the town of Delfi where we spent the night. 

The town was on a hill with 2 major one way streets, one up a lot higher than the other. Our hotel was at yet another street higher than the main ones. To get into town we had to walk down about 100 steps. Going back up would not be as easy. The Main Street had a lot of nice stores with ceramics and other souvenirs, nicer quality than those we visited in Kalambaka. At the far end of town we sat for a few minutes on a plaza overlooking the valley. It was beautiful. We could see a small portion of the sea from there as well as hundreds of olive trees in rows running the length of the valley. Also at the end of the village was a shop with the most beautiful ceramics we had seen in Greece. The shop keeper said they were made by an artist next door. They were copies of Greek pottery found in museums all over the world. Next door was the artist's store, his wife helped us. It was full, top to bottom with that beautiful pottery. What a talented man. 

We headed back thru town then up the stairs. We could see the church down the street so walked in that direction rather than back to the hotel. There were a bunch of teenage boys tossing firecrackers over the rail to a plaza below. Guess teens are the same everywhere. The church was not open but it was pretty from the outside. We walked back to the hotel to use the Internet. It still was not very good but at least it worked in the lobby. We sat and used it for a bit then went to bed. We had another 6:30 wake up call in the morning. The Easter service here was at midnight so we missed it. Some in our group heard it so were out on their balconies to watch. They had firecrackers as well as fireworks. Amazing that we both slept thru it. 

We were back in the bus and headed to Olympia before 8 the next day.  It was a 4 hour ride. The ruins in Olympia were closed for Easter. Fortunately we had been the last time we were there. We went directly to a large restaurant where they were roasting lambs over coals. We had passed by a number of homes and businesses doing the same on our ride. They sacrifice the lamb for Easter. They had Greek dancers performing and a lot of food. They also had Internet so I spent almost the entire time online. It was a loud but nice lunch. We were back at the ship before 3 pm. 

We dropped off our luggage in our cabin and immediately went out again to see the town of Katakolo. There wasn't much there but one street 2 blocks long. There were shops on each side. It was where ships come in to visit Olympia, not to see the town. We went back to the ship by 4, early for us. All aboard wasn't until 5:30! Greece is a beautiful country full of interesting places to visit. I am so glad that we gave it a second chance. 

Kusadasi, Turkey

We were in Turkey about 7 years ago so had already seen the main attraction at this port, Ephasus. We decided to just spend the day shopping and getting a Turkish bath. We were off the ship shortly after 8. Since our last visit they had built a nice little shopping mall right next to the pier. We walked along the coast to the causeway going out to Pigeon Island. The fort, which takes up the entire small island, was closed for renovation so we were unable to go in. It was a nice walk though, and made for some nice pictures. 

Back by the pier we headed up the street to the main bazaar. And so it started. Kusadasi is the capital of Genuine Fakes! Shop keepers were on the street encouraging us to go in. Mel headed into a watch shop, I went into a rug shop. I wanted a tiny rug for a doll house. The smallest one they had was too large and over $200, so that idea was forgotten. The owner did his best to get me to buy one anyway, I declined. We continued down the street headed to the Turkish Bath. We stopped to look in a lot of shops. Asking for directions to the bath we were told past the castle, up toward the mosque. We don't get those directions in the US! We finally found it but it was closed. A man walking by said it had not yet opened for the season, so no Turkish Bath for us, bummer. 

We headed in the direction of the ship to leave packages and have lunch. We of course shopped along the way. There were a lot of leather goods stores so we decided to check one out. Mel really needed a new leather jacket. He tried a few on then the most expensive one was perfect. Now it was my turn, the first one I tried was very nice. We told the shop owner we would be back as we wanted to look around. The price went down. We said no, we really had not looked at any other shop and wanted to go back to the ship, we would be back. The price went down again. We finally walked out of the store. The shop keeper followed us and the price went down again. We went back into the store, Mel offered $50 less and it was accepted. The price was less than 50% of the original. As we were paying he started in on my jacket. That one was also less than 50% of original price, we walked out with 2 jackets. You have to wonder about the real value as the original price is definitely not it!  

Just a bit down the street we went into a luggage store. I had been looking for an extra one in a few ports. The shop keeper mentioned our 2 jackets. Word travels fast in the market! We did end up buying a suitcase when the price went down even more as we walked away. With our jackets and name brand knockoff clothes for the grandkids, we filled it and rolled back to the ship. 

After lunch we headed out again. I had told one shop that I would be back for Greek Delight as I didn't want to carry it in the morning. We found a few pieces of ceramics in one store. We wanted to pay for it with our Visa so the guy said to follow him to a different store. Most owners seemed to own more than one shop. I figured it would be nearby but was led down the block and around the corner, up 2 flights right into a rug shop. I found a gorgeous little silk rug. It was about 12" x 8" and $2200!!!  I did not need a rug that badly, or at all with those kind of prices. He did go down to $1000, I asked to pay for my ceramics. Then I was taken to a jewelry store downstairs. They are very good at marketing. As I paid they brought out a tray of sultanite rings. This was a Turkish stone that changes colors depending on the light. He started at a very high price, Mel was disgusted as I had already bought a beautiful ring on the ship. He went down about 50%. I said I needed to look around as I had no idea of a good price. As we walked down the street the shop keeper from a store next door came running after me to show me his ring. It was the same one! He went down another 25% so I bought it. While waiting for it to be sized he showed me earrings and pendants to match. The price was right, after a lot of haggling. Mel found a watch he wanted around the corner, then we headed back to the ship to get ready for the ship's party that evening. I must say that shopping in Kusadasi is a very fun experience. The people are all very friendly and polite. In other places we have experienced very pushy, almost to the point of being rude, vendors, wanting you to buy. Here if you bought or not we were offered a delicious apple tea and left as friends. Two shop keepers who we had passed at least 3 times commented as we went by, "You are a lucky man!" I got a kick out of that one. 

At 6 pm they started calling out preassigned letters to start disembarking and getting on buses. We were H so waited about 20 minutes for our letter to be called. As we got off the ship we were each handed a blanket as it was very cool there, especially in the evening. We boarded the bus and headed out to Ephasus. There was a guide onboard, narrating our journey, that was unexpected and nice. The CEO and new president of HAL were onboard for a few days so this was another of the special events planned for us. Once in Ephasus we found tables set up on the Main Street. There were many tables set up with "heavy appetizers". The food was different with a lot of lamb and yogurt. It was probably the best of Turkey, we did not care for it. But there was a lot and I am sure they gave us their best. We ended up at a table for 6, the other 2 couples were who we eat with daily in the ship. The fourth couple showed up and sat next to us at the next table. It is so nice that we enjoy each other's company. 

Once we were done, the ladies decided to go get desserts. On the way we stopped at the port a potty. It was the most elegant one I had ever seen with wood paneling, real flush toilets and heated seats! They really went all out to make this event special. The dessert buffet was set up in front of the ruins of the library. The string players from the ship were in the library playing, very nice. As it got darker all the lights went on and made the ruins beautiful. We headed back with plates full of delicious desserts including baklava. The desserts were better than the food, fine with me!

At 8:30 we all headed to the amplitheater for a concert. They had put out stadium cushions so we were not sitting on the cold stone. The show started with some folk dancers. They were very good, spinning and jumping around. But the atmosphere of the 3000 year old amplitheater made it very special. The CEO and president spoke a few words, being amazed at speaking in that place. They did not need microphones as their voices carried very well. We were told how special this party was, as if we didn't know! The last concert held in Ephasus was 10 years ago. Sting and Elton John have both preformed there. That won't happen again as the speakers vibration caused some damage to the stones. 

A 30 piece orchestra ended the show with 11 short pieces. It was the Aegean Concert Orchestra. I can only imagine how they must have felt being able to play in that historic place. It was an incredible evening. There was also some drama though. On the cruise are many older people with walking issues. The ship assigned a crew member to every person in a wheelchair or with a walker. The streets were uneven cobblestone, so not easy to navigate for anyone, especially in the dark. There were crew members everywhere with flashlights telling everyone to be careful. As the concert was going on we could see the people who had used a ramp to get in, starting to go out. They were led by crew members, many on the bottom step with a ten foot drop right by their feet. I think everyone was holding thier breath as some of them went by. Someone did drop their cane and it clattered down a flight of stairs. We heard later that a few people just went down on their butts, step by step. After the concert we filed out. We did hear someone fall along with some screams. Apparently no one was badly hurt, fortunately. There was an ambulance standing by just in case. We heard there were 3 falls. Later the number had grown to 50. Amazing how the gossip travels and grows on the ship. We were back onboard at about 10:30, it had been a magical evening. 

Haifa, Israel

The ship traveled overnight a short distance up the coast to Haifa for a different opportunity in Israel. We met up with Mickey for the "Northern Christian Tour". We headed out a bit before 8 am. She and the driver had driven the 2 hours from Jeruselem that morning. Our first stop was Nazereth, the boyhood home of Jesus. The Basilica of Annunciation was a beautiful church built in the place where the angel Gabriel was said to have told Mary about the upcoming birth. The basilica was consecrated by the Pope in 1964. Countries from all over the world sent beautiful mosaics which were on a wall outside as well as inside the sanctuary. In the middle of the sanitary was a lower area which surrounded ruins. Some 2000+ year old stairs were said to be from Mary's house. It was the first ruins we saw from the actual time of Jesus. There were also ruins outside the basilica covered by a roof  to protect them. It was a beautiful place. The bus picked us up and took us a short distance where we were actually given time to shop! Mickey also picked up some snacks for us, baclava, it was delicious.  

We left Nazereth and headed to the Sea of Galilee. On the way we stopped at a beautiful small church refered to as a Latin Church. We next stopped at the Jordan River. The place where Jesus' miracle took place was a lot further down river but in a place that is not safe so tourists were always taken to this location. There were schools of fish swimming by on the surface as well as huge catfish close to the shore. There was a large area set up to be baptized in the river. I think my parents did that 40 years ago. The shop was huge with a lot of nice items. Most of us went for the Dead Sea products. We would not get to visit the Dead Sea so this was the next best thing. 

We next stopped at one of the original kibbutz. They produced dates and had a large shop full of date products. They had about 10 different varieties of dates with samples of each one. The date spread with walnuts was excellent. They also had a lot of chocolate. It was made in Germany but very good quality for a very good price. We left there and headed to lunch. As it was Easter break, the roads were packed. Our driver decided to go all the way around the lake rather than sit waiting in traffic for a long time. That was an extra treat. All along the shore were camp grounds that were packed with people. The far side of the lake was the Golan Heights which we unfortunately know about because of the conflicts there. In some areas there were fences with signs saying Danger - Mines - Keep Out. Very sad. It would be a beautiful place to hike. 

We finally reached our "lovely seaside restaurant". It was actually just anothe tourist restaurant next to a crowded campground. Not quite what I had pictured. There was an interesting salad buffet and 4 choices of main dishes. I chose the baked St Peter's fish, from the nearby lake (Sea of Galilee). Mel had the same fish deep fried. Not the best fish I have had but it was tastey. After eating I went outside to take pictures and stick my toes in the dirty water. The shore was very rocky so not a great place to swim. 

We started heading back to Haifa. On the way we stopped at Capernaum, the ancient city of Jesus. It was said that the 4 apostles lived there, Matther, Mark, Luks and John. There was a modern octagon shaped building built over what is believed to be Paul's house where Jesus stayed while he was creating miracles in the area. There were ruins of an entire town including a beautiful synagogue. Back on the bus Mickey said we would now go back to the ship. I asked what happened to Jesus' Boat, another stop in our itinerary. She whispered to me that there were complaints from the back of the bus that they wanted to just go back. I said I wanted to stop. There was one woman in our group who complained about everything. I was not going to let her change our tour. 

Jesus boat is of course not his actual boat but it is from his time. It was found in the Sea of Galilee in the 80's when the lake level was very low. They covered it with plumber's foam and took it out of the lake. It was put into a pool of water until they could preserve it properly and build a museum to display it. There was a short film showing how they had recovered it. The boat itself was barely the hull, made from over 20 different types of wood! There was a nice museum store where people were grabbing Israeli Military caps for $1!  I think most people enjoyed the stop although a couple of people did not want to pay the entrance fee. Amazing to come this far and miss something because of $6!

Now we headed back to the ship. We were a bit ahead of schedule so Mickey said she had a surprise for us that was not in the itinerary. We ended up stopping at the Elvis American Diner. There was a bronze statue of Elvis outside, with pictures of him covering every surface inside. It was cute, made to look like a diner from the 50's, all white with red trim and neon lights. We drove thru the city of Haifa to see the headquarters of the B'hai faith. They had a beautiful temple there with gardens going all the way up the hill. We stopped at the top for pictures, it was a beautiful view of the city with our ship looking tiny in the harbor below. We were back at the ship by about 4 with Mickey giving each of us a big hug. She was an excellent guide. It had been 2 wonderful days in Israel. 

Ashdad, Israel

Israel has never been at the top of my list of places I wanted to visit. In fact I had no desire to go there at all. But when Egypt was canceled and replaced by Israel, I wanted to be sure to see everything we could see in the 2 days that we would be there. No one else seemed to be arranging personal tours so I got online and contacted a tour company. It is a small country so we could have done any tour either day and Guided Tours Israel was able to accommodate us both days. I asked our tablemates if they wanted to join us, then a few others. The bus held 16 but I didn't want to fill it. Mel's and my tours would have been comped if the bus was full but with the large crowds we were expecting in Jeruselem on Easter Sunday, I kept to 13 the first day, 14 the second and was wishing it were only 10. It worked out fine but 10 would have been a bit easier to deal with. 

We were to dock at 7 on that Sunday. We had to do a face to face with customs again as we had in India so were hoping to get out on the pier to meet our guide by 8:30. We actually docked a bit late so passport control started a bit late. We were in the passenger terminal by about 8:40. Our passports were not stamped because some countries will not allow you in if you have visited Israel and vice versa. I had never heard that before. 

Our guide was right there waiting for us. Her name is Mickey, easy to remember. She started talking the minute we were all on the bus and never stopped for 2 days. She was extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions to the best of her ability. We started out heading to Jerusalem. It took about 45 minutes. We could see Tel Aviv in the distance on our way. It was very hilly and green. Mickey said it would all be brown within a month as their rainy season had just ended.  Our first stop was Mount of Olives which afforded us the oportinity to see the original walled city of Jerusalem from a distance. We were given so much information that I am bound to get some names and dates wrong but I will do my best. From our place on top of one hill to the top of the next, Jeruselem, was filled with cemeteries. To the left we could see the archeological dig at the City of David. The Golden Gates which at one time was an entrance thru the western wall was there in front of this. This was the gate where Jesus entered the city the week before he was crucified. It was later sealed by the Persians. Down the hill from that view point was a small but beautiful church, the Church of All Nations. It had beautiful mosaics on the facade as well as inside. It had a garden full of ancient olive trees, the Garden of Gethsemane. One was 1200 years old! They were in bad shape until someone worked to revive them to the point that they once again produce olives. 

The bus dropped us off outside the Old City, going thru a lot of traffic to get there. We took off on foot into the walled city. I believe we entered thru the Zion Gate into the Armenian Quarter. We first went to St James Cathedral and into the room of the last supper. King David's tomb is believed to be underneath that area. What is interesting about these places is that NONE of them are the actual places or things. There is very little remaining from Jesus' time, they are either replicas, usually hundreds of years old, or possible locations where things accurred. I found it interesting that all the places we visited are places of pilgrimage even though they are not authentic. But by this time, having visited just a couple of places that I learned about in Sunday school many years ago, I was thrilled to be there. I am so glad that our itinerary changed to allow us the opportunity. 

From the Cathedral we headed to the Jewish Quarter. We had to go thru security to get to the Western Wall, also known as the wailing wall. It was named that by the Arabs in the neighboring quarter who could hear the Jews crying and praying in front of the wall. The Jews do not call it that. The line for security was on a stairway. It was divided by a railing. People kept coming down the wrong side to cut in line in front of us. Mickey was very vocal about that not being the right thing to do. We went thru security onto a large plaza in front of the wall. Our group split into men and women and we approached the wall. It was hard to get near it as there were many women praying or crying and just hanging on the wall. Our group of ladies pushed in for a picture of each of us touching the wall then went out to meet the men. 

Right next to us was the Arab Quarter. We walked along narrow passages past a lot of food vendors and a lot of people. At one point the walk way was above the ground on both sides. They had excavated down 22' to the original roman street stones. Ruins everywhere. We raced thru a market street, not to shop but to get to the closest place to take a picture of a beautiful mosque called Dome of the Rock. Non-Muslims have not been allowed inside since 2000, so we had to make do with a picture from the steps leading down into the market. There was a policeman there telling people where to stand for your picture. Some woman was standing right in front of me so I moved up 2 steps. The vendor in the last stall told me to get back, go away. Not sure what the issue was but we learned that Israel is always in conflict, always afraid and always prepared for danger. It must be a difficult place to live. 

From The Rock we went to Via Dolorosa, Walk of the Cross or street of pain, literal translation. It was on this walk that Jesus carried his cross thru Jeruselem before the crucafiction. There were stations along the way, where he leaned against the wall, where he dropped the cross etc. Of course all of them were where they thought this had happened. At the end of the street was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here there was a large crowd. We walked up some stairs to the place where Jesus died on the cross. A service was just starting so we could not get close. Downstairs was a rock slab where he was laid after death.....probably not the actual location and certainly not the actual slab. People were throwing themselves on it and wiping it with scarves like something would rob off for them. A bit much for my taste but interesting. We walked thru the streets with no opportunity to shop as Mickey kept telling us we would find everything in Bethlehem and the Christians there needed the money. This was the only issue I had with the tour, little time to shop. 

We walked a ways thru the modern city to find our bus. Parking is at a premium near the old city. We were supposed to stop for lunch but by then it was 2:30. Everyone hauled out the food I had advised them to bring just in case because we were starving. Mickey determined we would not need lunch. Oh well, she said we would go to a nice seafood restaurant the next day on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, sounded lovely. 

I did not know that Palistine is enclosed by a wall like East Berlin used to be. Since 2004 there have been no terrorist attacks in Jerusalem so it is serving a good purpose. Mickey was one of the few guides to have permission from the Israeli Secret Service to go thru the gates into Bethlehem. The other side of the fence as a bit less modern and a bit dirtier. We stopped to pick up a local guide then went to the Basilica of the Nativity. It was under renovation so there were scaffolds everywhere. There were also religious ceremonies taking place so we had to be quiet and stay out of the way. We got in line behind a group of Poles to go thru a small door to reach the nativity site. A group of Egyptians came up behind us and started to push their way amongst us and on either side. A little old lady, about 4' tall, just pushed her way thru our group. We told her "No!'  Some of us had to barricade the sides of the line or they would have all gotten in front of us. It was a large group. Two young men did manage to get in front of us but in the end they were very polite and astounded as much as we were by the actions of the Egyptions. We later refered to the time as the war with the Egyptions. 

We finally got thru the door with the main alter to our left. There was a small stand selling candles and tiny wood crosses with Bethlehem carved into them. He did a brisk business with our group as we were stuck there for at least 10 minutes. We kept moving forward but very slowly. There was scaffolding to our left and once the Egyptions made it thru the door they started crawling thru it to once again get in front of us. We were all very glad we hadn't gone to Egypt at this point, if that is how the people are. We could see an arch over the heads of the people ahead of us but had no idea what was there that we were waiting to see. It looked like everyone was going in that direction but no one was coming back. That was a bit mystifying. It was so tight by this time that we could not put our arms at our side. At this time our guide asked for the second time if we really wanted to wait. Since it was my tour, it was my decision. I said we had come this far, we were not going to miss anything. Mel and I were about 2 people behind the front. A priest came and told everyone to move back for services. It was even more of a madhouse. People were trying to move closer while those in front were following orders to move back. The people in the back of our group were really dealing with the Egyptions. One lady grabbed an Egyptions lady by the shoulders and removed her from in front of her saying "No!!!!' It was quite an experience. When the door was finally opened again after a 10 minute service the crowd surged forward. Mel was carried by it right down the stairs. I grabbed ahold of him and was able to follow. I yelled to the lady next to me to grab ahold of me but by the time Mel and I were down the stairs, she was 20 people back. It was unreal. Down the 4 or 5 stairs was the place Jesus was born, allegedly. People were throwing themselves on the star around the spot or again wiping scarves on the area. It was hard to get a good picture. Behind there were 2 more steps going down to the manger. I asked what it was and found out I had asked a guide. I got a long and interesting answer. The manger is a replica, of course, made of marble. Israel has little wood so our little wood nativity sets are not authentic. The guide told me that the alleged actual manger is in Rome. By this time the first surge of people had cleared out so Mel and I sat to wait for the rest of our group. It took quite a while for them to all make it down the stairs. This is the experience we will remember the most from our trip. We were all talking and laughing about it for days. But we got to see what we wanted to see. 

The guide took us back to his starting point which was a large, unmarked building. Inside was a huge store. We were free to shop and spent over 30 minutes there. Only problem was that they had no postcards or anything that said Jeruselem. We were even more disappointed that we had not been allowed to shop in the Old City. There was a large section of olive wood carvings. Some of the larger nativities were thousands of dollars. They were beautiful. Everyone bought something, they did have a nice selection but not everything we wanted. The owner of the store told us about his grandfather who in 1947 bought 4 urns from some shepards. They ended up holding the long lost Dead Sea Scrolls, an amazing find. One of the urns was in the store, 2 more in a museum, the 4th is at the Vatican, if I remember correctly. From there we headed back to the ship making one stop that was not on the itinerary. It was an Elvis Diner serving American burgers and full of Elvis parifinalia. The Israelis LOVE the US as well as all things american. We arrived back at the ship at about 7:30. It had been a long, tiring day but thrilling and interesting also. We made arrangements to leave earlier the next day as we would be in the port of Haifa at 7 am. 

Suez Canal

We arrived at the entrance to the Suez Canal at the appointed hour of 10 am only to be told that our time had been changed to 3. They are dredging the lake in the middle of the canal where ships usually pass each other headed in different directions. For this reason they were taking 30 ships at a time thru one way. All we could do was wait our turn. We were to be number 29 with the Pacific Princess, also on a world cruise, bringing up the back at number 30. The Capt said cruise ships are usually given priority, not this time. So unfortunately a large portion of the passing would be after dark. 

Our time finally came right around 3. There are no locks on this canal, so we just kept moving along. The city of Suez was on the south side, absolutely nothing but sand on the other. That was the Sinai peninsula. Looking at the vast expanse of nothing you had to wonder why there have been so many issues over possession, kind of like the Faulkland Islands! There were manned guard towers every few hundred feet to the south, a few on the north side as well. We saw the huge bricks they had along the shore which would be put into the canal to block it in case of an emergency. Suez was full of Palm trees and green. The other side was sand. We watched for a long time from the outside observation area on deck 6. There were a lot of people below us watching from the bow. It was interesting to look at everything but at about 6:00 lights started turning on and it got darker and darker. There wasn't much we could see by then except for the walls and guard towers and a lot of lights everywhere. We did, however, keep looking out once in a while just in case. At about 11:00 we took a last look from our balcony. We were just passing under a bridge. We wondered what was on the other side since we had only seen a lot of nothing, but didn't feel like going out of our cabin at that hour to check. 

The Capt reported that we left the canal around 3 am. It had taken 12 hours to pass thru. He also told us that to reach Ashdad, Israel we would only need to go 5 knots/hr. At that slow speed the stabilizers would not be affective so we were going to head out to sea then make a 90 degree turn into Ashdad going 10 knots. He is always thinking of the passengers comfort and for the benefit of those who get sea sick I am sure it was appreciated. 

Aqaba, Jordan

It was nice to be in port again after 4 days at sea. We were cleared to go ashore at 7 am. We met our group for a private tour on the ship at 7:15. We all went off the ship together. The guide with our group's name was at the end of the gang way. We boarded a large, nice bus and were off. There were 24 of us on a bus for 40 or so, so it was very comfortable. Our guide was a feisty Jordanian woman named Salem. She talked to the woman who had organized the tour then declared "I'm the boss now!" She was very cute and an excellent guide. She told us about the only port city in Jordan, Aqaba, as we drove thru on our way to Petra. She pointed to the other side of the bay and told us that was Israel. That was thier only port city on the Red Sea also. We were on a fairly good freeway headed out of town, up over some mountains. The entire terrain was sand and rocks.....in the entire part of the country that we saw! Some of the colors and formations changed but it was all sand and rocks. 

One of Salem's first comment was that she had us until 6:30. We promptly corrected her that the ship leaves at 6, we had to be onboard at 5:30. You could almost see her brain working trying to figure out how to fit everything in. It ended up being a very rushed day but we saw everything we were supposed to see and got back to the ship on time. 

Our first stop was to "squeeze the orange". I had never heard that expression before. The place was a large store. We all ran in, straight to the restrooms then straight out, sad not to have time to shop. We arrived at the small town outside of Petra in about 2 hours. There was a lot of traffic headed to the site. One bus had stopped and parked in the middle of the road. It took a while for us to get moving again once the driver finally returned. In the parking lot Salem told us that was where the bus would be at the end. We had to find our way back there. We went down to the entrance plaza. Salem went in for our tickets. There were small stores all around, no time for shopping. She also told us that we had paid to ride a horse down to the canyon but no time, we were to say no when she offered it to us in front of the wranglers. She was thinking of any way to save minutes. She did not save time in her commentary though. She was very knowledgeable and stopped often to explain things to us. There was a walkway down to the canyon. There were carts passing by on a separate rode as well as horses. We saw our first ruin, a tomb, before entering the canyon. 

The canyon was a slot canyon, formed by water millions of years ago. It was about 100 ft high on each side. All along it were remains of what had been water pipes leading into Petra. It was quite an elaborate system built in the second or third century BC. There were also other tombs as well as dams along the way. Most of the dams had been restored to keep water from destroying the canyon. At one point it was only about 15' wide. While walking down, there were dozens of people and every once in a while Salem would tell us to get to the right or left for a cart to go flying past. Each one held a driver and 2 passengers. The drivers were whipping the horses to go faster. I felt sorry for them. But if you were not out of the way, I don't think they would have stopped if they could! After a little over a mile the canyon opened up and there was the treasury looming in front of us. It was quite a sight after walking thru that canyon. It was a larger canyon and filled with people. There were vendors and even a shop. 

The treasury was never actually a treasury. Those who discovered it after hundreds of years of it's being "lost", saw the urn at the top and assumed it stood for wealth rather then death. It is actually a huge tomb but the name stuck. They are excavating in front of it as an entire story has been covered with dirt and rocks thru the years. At that point Salem gave us the option to start the walk back, all uphill, or continue on another 1/3 mile or so to see more. Some who had difficulty walking chose to head back. A few took the carts back. I was tempted but figured it would not be good for my back. It was a vey rough ride. I did however, want to see more before I did that if I had chosen to do so. 

We continued down to the right of the treasury. It again opened up to a large canyon filled with people. There were many tombs on one wall and a huge amphitheater at the end. This was as far as we had time to go. We missed a lot but we're happy with what we did get to see. There were several shops and vendors there. We left the group and headed back to have time to shop along the way. Thru the canyon was a very gradual slope so a very easy walk. Closer to the top it was steeper so not as easy. It had been cool when we arrived in the morning. I had wished I had a jacket. By the time we were at the top again, I was glad that I didn't. We shopped a bit then Mel went to the restroom. I bought one last item then went to the restroom and headed to the bus. I couldn't tell if there was anyone from our group behind me or not. At the bus Salem said there was one person missing, Mel. I told her he was probably looking for me but sorry, after that climb and the steps back up to the parking lot, she was going to have to look for him. He was standing in the plaza waiting for me, 10 min after we were supposed to be on the bus. Whoops! Now Salem had to readjust her timing. She said we should have arrived at the restaurant at 12:30, leave at 1. Now we would arrive at 12:40 and would have to leave at 1:05. She had everything timed to the minute. There was a lot of traffic going back thru town. The restaurant was almost on the other side. We arrived at about 12:40. It was set up with long tables and a buffet like a lot of tourist restaurants all over the world. We got our food, ate quickly and were out of there at the appointed time. Our astonished server asked if we were in a hurry as we raced out of there. It was pretty funny. The food was quite good with a lot of vegetables, chicken and beef. Since they don't eat beef in Jordan and the meat was very tough, we decided it must be camel. There were several desserts including one called Uum Ali. It was a runny bread pudding with lots of cinnamon and no raisins!

Our next stop was Wadi Rum. We had no idea what to expect. Most shore excursions in Aqaba go to Petra or Wadi Rum, not both. That was why we were so rushed. It was about an hour and a half drive once again thru mountains and sand. There were cultivated fields everywhere in the hills, full of rocks and sand. I guess they grow wheat there. There were also many flocks of fat sheep and shaggy goats with a hearder with each one. Our driver finally stopped so we could get a good picture. He probably thought we were crazy wanting to take pictures of sheep. We passed a guard shack where an officer talked to our driver. We could hear him say Americans. The officer came onto the bus anyway. We all said hello, he turned and left. That was funny too. Aqaba is a free port so they have the security checks on the way in and out of the district. 

Salem decided to take is to Wadi Desi (no idea how to spell that or if that is the correct name) instead of Wadi Rum. She said there would be fewer people so less lines. The trucks would be waiting for us so there would be no wait there either. We arrived and got into the backs of 4 small pickup trucks. There were benches with pads on them on each side. There were 6 people in each truck. We took off across the sand, dust and wind flying around us. The rock formations were beautiful. One cliff looked like it had ice cream melting down the side of it, almost like the formations you see in caves. Very different than how they looked in Petra. This was sandstone. There were quite a few tent cities, set up for tourists. There were a lot of camels around each camp. Our first stop was to see some petroglyphs. They were carved into the wall of a mountain. They were from around 200 bc and very interesting. Salem translated them for us, showing the difference between the caravan camels and wild camels. There were also ostrich and oryx. They have reintroduced the oryx after they almost went extinct. There are still ostrich is a wildlife preserve that is not yet open to visitors. I really enjoy petroglyphs for some reason. At this sight there were also camels to ride on if you had the time. There were a few tourists riding. I was glad we went to this sight as there are only rocks and sand at Wadi Rum, no petroglyphs. 

Our next and last stop was at a Bedouin camp. They served us a delicious tea made with black tea, cardamom and cinnamon. Salem told us how they made their coffee and the proper way of serving it. If you served it with your left hand it was an insult, etc. A lot of rules! She had told us on the bus earlier about the Bedouin people and how Jordan had gone about trying to change their nomadic lifestyle as they were crossing international borders in their travels and not adhering to any laws. It was hard to do a census or educate their children the way they were living. The government first set up schools and provided free food to the children if they attended. After a while it was getting hard to get their children to school for the food so the people started moving their camps closer to the schools. Then the government started providing houses and land to the Bedouins if they would register their family. Little by little all the nomadic people have moved to small settlements on their own rather than having the government tell them they had to, very clever. They have health clinics in each town as well as schools. Salem told us a lot about Jordan, it's King, who you could tell she thinks highly of. She said in the Middle East a degree from Jordan will get the best jobs and a Jordanian passport is good in more places than other nationalities. They have over a million refugees from war torn Syria. They are given medical assistance and in many cases free food. It has become a burden on Jordan but they continue to help them. She is very proud of her country and from the sounds of it, with good reason. 

After the coffee demonstration we were supposed to have seen them making bread in a fire oven but no time. We got back in the trucks and headed back to the bus. Salem talked almost the entire hour back to the port. She answered every question we had. It was a wonderful day and an excellent tour. We were back at the ship at 5:25, five minutes ahead of schedule. Rather than eat in the dining room we ate in the Lido so we could watch sail away. It was interesting to see the small Jordanian coastline with Israel right there and Saudia Arabia not too far off in the other direction. We learned from the Capt that our slot to go thru the Suez Canal had been moved up so rather than a slow cruise back into the Red Sea and up to the canal he would be going fast to get there for our 10 am crossing. Our itinerary said we would cross the day after that. Things change when you are on the high seas!

No Drama in Yemen

We are now off the coast of Saudi Arabia. We passed thru the straights and past Yemen with no incident. Although we are relieved, I think we are also a bit disappointed that we didn't see anything. We passed closest to Yemen a bit later than originally scheduled, at about 12:30. As I predicted there were a lot of people on deck to take a look at what we could see. With Mel's telephoto lense he was able to get some pictures of buildings on the islands. When I walked on deck 3 later I could see how fast we were going. The ship was throwing a wake! I had not seen that before. Someone said they saw a helicopter way off in the distance but that was it. This morning people are reporting that a US destroyer was spotted about 300 yards from us at 6:30 last evening. The Capt reported that it was actually a ship flying a Saudi flag and going as fast south, 23 knots, as we were going north. The problems in Yemen surely added a bit of excitement to our cruise but I am glad we are through and save. 

Salalah, Oman

We were told that the town of Salalah was about 30 minutes from the pier and that a taxi would cost $40 to $50 each way. Sounded like it was going to be an expensive day. Once we got off the shuttle that took us from the ship to the gate of the port, we asked around if anyone would like to share a cab. Our plans were to go into town for the morning, come back to the ship around noon, grab our snorkel gear and spend the rest of the day at a resort hotel. No one wanted the same itinerary as we did but there were a couple of guys that just wanted to go to the market. We ended up giving them a lift just to the market and having the taxi on our own. The guys were part of the navigation crew on the ship. They never offered to pay for their portion of the trip which we both found a bit odd, but oh well. They were nice guys. Our driver had told us that he would drive us until 4:00 for $100. 

The market in Salalah was nothing like the one in Muskat. It was very small and seemed to have the same things in every store, frankincense, pashminas and perfume. We walked down to the beach from there. There was a lot of construction going on. They had torn down a lot of homes to build a resort hotel which I had suspected and our driver later confirmed. On one side of the beach was the wall of the royal palace. There was a fence on the beach so we could see their private beach and buildings. The compound must have stretched on for a mile. 

Since the ship was still on red alert after 3 weeks, the shore advisor had started making a handout for doing each port on our own. The library was closed so the reference books were not available to do the research ourselves. I had the sheet which named all the major sites in the area. We asked to go to the Museum of Frankincense World next. It was quite a nice museum with a lot of artifacts dating back thousands of years. Another section had a lot of model ships, Mel especially enjoyed that part. They also had a nice gift shop. I picked up a couple of things giving the shop keeper US$. She did some calculations then called another woman in. They did some calculations together then said come to me and went into a different store. They again did some calculations then she said come again and I followed her back into her store. She finally handed me an additional candle. I guess I had given her too much. It is interesting when you don't understand each other's language. 

The museum was built on the grounds of a huge ruins. They had golf carts to take you around. At one time there had been as many as 50 mosques in this area, some of them still had a bit of wall and pillars. It was very close to the ocean. And quite interesting. When we went back to the taxi I told our driver that we would like to go to several other spots. He said it would be an extra 75 km or so, so more money. He wanted $60. I offered $40 as it was not even noon and there were other places to see. We settled on $50. We had thought we had him for the day for $100. Guess we were wrong. 

Our next stop was in the town of Taqa. There was a small fort there which had been nicely renovated. They even had cushions and things hanging on the walls so you could see how they lived when it was in use. The stones were very uneven, I tripped 4 times! I never trip, so that was an experience. We headed from there to Khor Rori which is an inlet with fresh water. It is preserved for migratory birds. On top of the hill there was a large ruins. All the other tourists were going thru the ruins, I headed straight down the hill to the water. We could see some large birds. At first we thought they were swans then realized they were flamingos! They only had a bit of pink on their wings. Guess the food around here was not. rich  in whatever it is that turns them pink. There was a nice bench by the water so while Mel sat there I headed toward the marsh area. As I approached, the birds took off so I was able to get a couple of pictures of them in flight. Then I saw a camel grazing in the reed filled shallow water. I got a lot closer to take pictures then saw the other camel. It was nice just running into them lke that. There are no wild camels left in the world but these guys were pretty much on their own at that time. We walked back up the hill to go thru the ruins. It was extremely hot without a cloud in the sky. I was hoping that I had put on enough sun screen. (I had, no pink skin anywhere later in the day.) There was a small museum down the opposite hill from the marsh. It didn't have much to look at. There was a photograph of a heard of camels and I thought that would be fun to see. There was a short film running but that room was full so we moved on. 

We headed inland, up and over a hill to a wadi or oasis. Once we were down the other side of the hill, there were camels everywhere, I got my wish. We had to stop the car a couple of times for them to pass by in front of us. We reached the river. Unfortunately it was a water recreation area with kayaks and boats to rent. There were 4 guys in kayaks making a lot of noise. It kind of took away from the atmosphere. I walked into the water which felt very refreshing. At that moment 4 camels decided they wanted to be on the other side of the river and walked right by me. That was fun. Up the hill a bit there was an enclosure made with stacks of branches under a high overhang. It was a camel corral complete with sacks of grain. We came down from there to find our driver. He was praying, facing Mecca. We did not interrupt him, these people are very devote. On the way back we asked him if he owned any camels. He said 40! That was surprising. Then he said his family also owns 100 cows. They must be a well to do family. He himself was married with 2 little boys. He asked if we had ever tried camel meat. We said no but would like to. At the top of the hill we'd gone over was a small building. There was a tent with a couple of plastic tables and chairs set up outside. We stopped at the "restaurant". The building just had a window where you ordered. I asked for 2 cold waters and told our driver that I would pay him in US funds if he would please pay for our meal. He brought a plate of thick tortilla like bread and another with the camel meat. It looked like dark chocolate covered with powdered sugar. The "sugar" was actually camel lard. Yum, NOT!!!! We both tried it more out of politeness than curiosity at that point. It was like grease covered jerky, very tough, not at all good. I ate 3 small pieces and gobbled down the bread. That was really good. We left more than half the camel. At least we can say we have tried it. Others on the ship had tried it also. The response to it was always "tough". 

We drove back toward the ship. Our driver had told us there is a beach close to the pier so we had him take us there. It was a beautiful, small cove beach. Again I wish we'd had our suits on. The water was crystal clear and clean. We just stayed long enough for me to pick up some shells. I asked our driver how much for the lunch. He said free. That was nice. Especially since it had been so awful. We ended up giving him the $160 he had asked for as it had been a very nice day and we had seen a lot. As nice as it is to save some $$ it is also nice to leave the country with the people we associated with also happy with the experience. 

The beach was walking distance from the shuttle stop so we contemplated going back for a swim but by now it was after 3. The last shuttle to bring us back to the ship was at 4 so we decided against it. It was probably our last opportunity to swim during this voyage. Oh well, seeing the sights seemed a lot more important. 

I am sure that everyone has seen what is happening in Yemen on the news. If you know your geography, you know that going thru the Gulf of Aden to get to the Red Sea will take us between Yemen and Somalia, 2 countries we don't want to mess with right now. There are narrow straights which have Yemen on one side, near where the Saudis are targeting. Everyone has been talking about it for days, even speculating that we might have to go around Africa rather than risk going thru that area. Yesterday evening our Capt came on to fill us in in what is happening. He said that Carnival's security, parent company of HAL, is full of former military, CIA and FBI. They are keeping a constant watch on the situation and are seeing ships pass thru as normal, no reason to not go ahead with our itinerary. The Capt did say that we will be cruising at about 17 knots. When we reach the straights, around 11:30 tomorrow morning, we will speed it up to 23 knots to get this baby moving, his words. So we are not in danger but he is going to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. About 21,000 ships pass thru the Suez Canal every year so having that area compromised would have a huge financial significance. I have a feeling there will be about 800 pair of eyes looking out to sea at 11:30 in the morning, I know I will! Other ships that have passed in the last several days have reported no sightings of war ships. They are staying close to shore to keep anyone thinking about doing a misdeed away from the shipping lanes. We have faith in our Capt to do what is safe but will be happy when we reach the Mediterranian.