Thursday April 30 2009 - 264 miles to Venice as we sail North West, now we’re in the Adriatic, with calm seas and temperatures the same as yesterday. The sky is clear and the usual people are still walking their morning circuits on deck 10, though there’s more and more people in long pants and jackets, fewer in shorts.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Two Sea Days after Athens
Wednesday April 29 2009 - Sometime during the night, we rounded the lowermost point of the Greek mainland and this morning we‘re sailing North West in the Ionan Sea. It’s warmed up a bit at 15 degC (59 degF) with choppy seas and sunny skies with no rain in the forecast. The hazmat team arrived at 08.40am and I put them off for an hour as we weren’t long up, they should be knocking on the door any minute now. I went to a lecture by stage and screen megastar, Sandy Duncan, later in the morning then I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon playing 3 card poker, net loss $3. At 02.00pm Izzy was cleared by the medical centre and she’s feeling better, but she decided just to spend the day in the cabin anyway.
Thursday April 30 2009 - 264 miles to Venice as we sail North West, now we’re in the Adriatic, with calm seas and temperatures the same as yesterday. The sky is clear and the usual people are still walking their morning circuits on deck 10, though there’s more and more people in long pants and jackets, fewer in shorts.
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Thursday April 30 2009 - 264 miles to Venice as we sail North West, now we’re in the Adriatic, with calm seas and temperatures the same as yesterday. The sky is clear and the usual people are still walking their morning circuits on deck 10, though there’s more and more people in long pants and jackets, fewer in shorts.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Athens
Tuesday April 28 2009 - We had planned to take the train into Athens this morning but Izzy wasn’t feeling too well when we awoke so we decided against it and stayed local, we’ve been here a couple of times before so it wasn‘t a difficult decision. The ship docked in Piraeus, about 40 minutes drive from Athens, depending on traffic. Izzy had a couple of bouts of upchucking and 5 or 6 bouts of down chucking during her day spent in the cabin and I made a half hour shore visit to check out the duty-free shop in the terminal building.
The folk dancers on board
I watched a local folk dance show around 04.30pm then watched the ship sail out into the Mirtoan Sea, south of Athens. When I returned to the cabin, Izzy’s temperature had risen slightly above normal, so I decided to notify the medical centre, the nurse arrived at the cabin within 15 or 20 minutes and after giving Izzy a shot and some pills, filled out the forms required by the CDC. Since Izzy’s last symptoms had been around 02.00pm, she is quarantined ‘til 02.00pm tomorrow, they think it’s probably a bug picked somewhere and since she’s improving already, 24 hours quarantine is considered enough. No quarantine for me as I haven’t got any symptoms.
The hazmat team - first time he's been asked for a photograph
Fifteen minutes after the nurse left, the hazmat team arrived to disinfect the cabin, they were quite efficient and completed their job in about 15 minutes, including time to pose for a picture.
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The folk dancers on board
I watched a local folk dance show around 04.30pm then watched the ship sail out into the Mirtoan Sea, south of Athens. When I returned to the cabin, Izzy’s temperature had risen slightly above normal, so I decided to notify the medical centre, the nurse arrived at the cabin within 15 or 20 minutes and after giving Izzy a shot and some pills, filled out the forms required by the CDC. Since Izzy’s last symptoms had been around 02.00pm, she is quarantined ‘til 02.00pm tomorrow, they think it’s probably a bug picked somewhere and since she’s improving already, 24 hours quarantine is considered enough. No quarantine for me as I haven’t got any symptoms.
The hazmat team - first time he's been asked for a photograph
Fifteen minutes after the nurse left, the hazmat team arrived to disinfect the cabin, they were quite efficient and completed their job in about 15 minutes, including time to pose for a picture.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sea Day before Athens
Monday April 27 2009 - No wireless internet connection this morning, after 95 days of wireless access in the cabin, apparently there‘s something wrong with their router. I went up to deck 10 to post my blog and wireless access was available there, so it’s just a matter of distance. I went to a cooking class/ demonstration this morning as I’d left my door key in the cabin and Izzy didn’t answer the door, she was sleeping, so it was either sit in the casino or go to the cooking class. It’s cold today, a high of 10 degC (50 degF) so no pool time, after I got back into the cabin (courtesy of the room steward) I fell asleep and didn‘t waken ‘til noon (doing nothing is tiring). After lunch we attended the quiz show, ‘Brain of Royal Princess’ to find the brainiest person on board, it was an entertaining half hour where a lady from Boston beat out 3 other worthy contestants.
The Backbeat Beatles in concert in the Cabaret Lounge
The highlight of the evening was a live show starring none other than the fab four themselves, the ‘Backbeat Beatles’, the Cabaret lounge was packed to the limits. I enjoyed the show very much, they looked quite like the originals, especially Paul and John and they sounded great, singing many of the Beatles biggest hits and chatting with the audience. I had to restrain myself as I found myself almost clapping along with the music and the whole scene was made all the more penchant by the sight of so many saggy boobed old people (and that was just the men) trying to emulate the moves of their youth, I heard the medical centre was on stand-by alert.
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The Backbeat Beatles in concert in the Cabaret Lounge
The highlight of the evening was a live show starring none other than the fab four themselves, the ‘Backbeat Beatles’, the Cabaret lounge was packed to the limits. I enjoyed the show very much, they looked quite like the originals, especially Paul and John and they sounded great, singing many of the Beatles biggest hits and chatting with the audience. I had to restrain myself as I found myself almost clapping along with the music and the whole scene was made all the more penchant by the sight of so many saggy boobed old people (and that was just the men) trying to emulate the moves of their youth, I heard the medical centre was on stand-by alert.
Istanbul
Sunday April 26 2009 - Istanbul, what can I say, I loved it, it’s exciting, visually stunning, friendly people and all at the price you want to pay. This morning our breakfast was interrupted when the captain announced ‘brace, brace, brace‘, he told us later that as the ship was coming in, an unexpected current pushed us quickly toward the dock, fortunately they just managed to avoid a collision using the thrusters.
Me in the Blue Mosque - it was a little dark
The Blue Mosque - Istanbul
We left early this morning to visit one of the city’s most recognised landmarks, the Blue Mosque. Since we were early, it wasn’t very busy, but the vendors were there waiting to pounce as soon as we stepped off the bus, if I was asked once to buy souvenir book of Istanbul, I was asked a hundred times, usually 5 or 6 times by each guy. We removed our shoes at the entrance to the mosque and carried them with us in the bags provided by our tour bus, the tour company also provided headsets and receivers which picked up from the microphone worn by the guide, so we could hear him easily even in crowds. The mosque was most impressive, the interior is decorated with more than 20,000 blue Iznik tiles and 216 stained glass windows, it is an active mosque and most of it is cordoned off for use by worshippers, but we were able to admire the entire area as our guide outlined the practises and uses of each area. Outside the mosque, we walked through the Hippodrome, once the site of a Roman circus with it’s giant obelisk transported from upper Egypt over 2000 years ago.
We moved on to the Topkapi Palace Museum and Harem, contrary to what you might think, the harem was not specifically a place for the Sultan’s women, the word ‘harem’ means ‘private area’ and it was used as living quarters for the Sultans entire family, not the least of which was his mother, who was responsible for picking new wives for him. The harem was bare and devoid of much in the way of furniture but it was still fascinating to see the inner workings of the great dwelling.
Cats at Topkapi Palace - they were very friendly, especially that little black one
A short walk took us to the museum and its’ magnificent collection of jewels, including the massive 86 carat Topkapi diamond, Izzy compared it to the diamond on her ring and gave me such a look. We passed a gold and glass chest filled with emeralds, some the size of goose eggs, other piddley little ones only about the size of a grape, then a beautiful suit of gold encrusted with jewels and sceptres and swords and sash badges and crowns all laden with gold and precious jewels and only a thin sheet of glass stopping you fondling it all and rubbing them over your naked body, Izzy drools at the thought. But the best thing about the palace was all the little cats wandering about, they were very people friendly and we found out later that they were all cared for, micro chipped, registered and fed by the state.
Since it was almost noon, our guide directed us to a picturesque spot, the Konyali Restaurant, overlooking the Bosphorus, where we had lunch, typical Turkish fare, some good, some not so good, but I got enough to eat.
Inside St Sophia church/mosque/museum
The museum of Saint Sophia was our first stop after lunch, it was built in the 4th century as the Holy Roman Church of St. Sophia, then in the 15th century, when it was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Empire, 4 minarets were added and finally in 1936 it was transformed into its’ current use.
Izzy with water jar inside St Sophia
The interior with its’ massive dome rivals the Vatican for sheer space and grandeur, impressive giant marble jars, each carved from a single piece of stone, occupied the corners, their function to provide running water in the winter months when outside wells were frozen. Around 02.00pm we made the obligatory visit to a carpet store for a glass of apple tea and a demonstration/sales pitch on carpets, after an informative 20 minutes, we left and went shopping in the bazaar, Izzy bought a genuine Turkish carpet, we know it’s genuine since we paid $10 for it. After a while, we returned to the bus and were back at the ship by 04.30pm, in time for sail away at 05.00pm.
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Me in the Blue Mosque - it was a little dark
The Blue Mosque - Istanbul
We left early this morning to visit one of the city’s most recognised landmarks, the Blue Mosque. Since we were early, it wasn’t very busy, but the vendors were there waiting to pounce as soon as we stepped off the bus, if I was asked once to buy souvenir book of Istanbul, I was asked a hundred times, usually 5 or 6 times by each guy. We removed our shoes at the entrance to the mosque and carried them with us in the bags provided by our tour bus, the tour company also provided headsets and receivers which picked up from the microphone worn by the guide, so we could hear him easily even in crowds. The mosque was most impressive, the interior is decorated with more than 20,000 blue Iznik tiles and 216 stained glass windows, it is an active mosque and most of it is cordoned off for use by worshippers, but we were able to admire the entire area as our guide outlined the practises and uses of each area. Outside the mosque, we walked through the Hippodrome, once the site of a Roman circus with it’s giant obelisk transported from upper Egypt over 2000 years ago.
We moved on to the Topkapi Palace Museum and Harem, contrary to what you might think, the harem was not specifically a place for the Sultan’s women, the word ‘harem’ means ‘private area’ and it was used as living quarters for the Sultans entire family, not the least of which was his mother, who was responsible for picking new wives for him. The harem was bare and devoid of much in the way of furniture but it was still fascinating to see the inner workings of the great dwelling.
Cats at Topkapi Palace - they were very friendly, especially that little black one
A short walk took us to the museum and its’ magnificent collection of jewels, including the massive 86 carat Topkapi diamond, Izzy compared it to the diamond on her ring and gave me such a look. We passed a gold and glass chest filled with emeralds, some the size of goose eggs, other piddley little ones only about the size of a grape, then a beautiful suit of gold encrusted with jewels and sceptres and swords and sash badges and crowns all laden with gold and precious jewels and only a thin sheet of glass stopping you fondling it all and rubbing them over your naked body, Izzy drools at the thought. But the best thing about the palace was all the little cats wandering about, they were very people friendly and we found out later that they were all cared for, micro chipped, registered and fed by the state.
Since it was almost noon, our guide directed us to a picturesque spot, the Konyali Restaurant, overlooking the Bosphorus, where we had lunch, typical Turkish fare, some good, some not so good, but I got enough to eat.
Inside St Sophia church/mosque/museum
The museum of Saint Sophia was our first stop after lunch, it was built in the 4th century as the Holy Roman Church of St. Sophia, then in the 15th century, when it was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Empire, 4 minarets were added and finally in 1936 it was transformed into its’ current use.
Izzy with water jar inside St Sophia
The interior with its’ massive dome rivals the Vatican for sheer space and grandeur, impressive giant marble jars, each carved from a single piece of stone, occupied the corners, their function to provide running water in the winter months when outside wells were frozen. Around 02.00pm we made the obligatory visit to a carpet store for a glass of apple tea and a demonstration/sales pitch on carpets, after an informative 20 minutes, we left and went shopping in the bazaar, Izzy bought a genuine Turkish carpet, we know it’s genuine since we paid $10 for it. After a while, we returned to the bus and were back at the ship by 04.30pm, in time for sail away at 05.00pm.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Two Days at Sea after Israel
Friday April 24 2009 - Two weeks left in our trip around the world and after weeks of virtually calm seas, as we head North West in the Eastern Mediterranean, the water is a little rougher this morning. The barf bags have been set out in the hallways, a sure sign of rough weather even though, currently, It’s sunny and clear with a forecast high of 18 degC (65 degF). Our next stop, Istanbul is 400 miles to the North. We slept in ‘til 11.00am this morning, went up to play trivia, then after lunch, spent the afternoon in the casino with varying success, before getting ready for a captains cocktail party at 05.00pm. He went through the usual speech, gave out the awards for long time cruisers, warned about the coming rough weather and said he was looking forward to our arrival in Rome as he was leaving the ship for some time off at home. We arrived late for the party and only had time for one free drink, a disappointing outcome since the quality of a CCP is directly related to the number of free drinks you can drink in the allocated time.
Doreen and Bob
Saturday April 25 2009 - It’s cold today, sunny with a high of 14 degC (57 degF), the rough seas didn’t materialize and it’s still fairly calm. The afternoon’s highlight was an advance birthday party for Maine Bob at 04.30pm, his wife Doreen had arranged everything in what we called ‘smokers corner’ on deck nine. He was shocked when he turned up to find about 40 people waiting for him and even more shocked when we all sang ‘Happy Birthday to You’ followed by ‘When I’m 64’ . Doreen had beer and wine laid on as well as finger foods and the whole thing went off very well, Bob was feeling no pain by the time it broke up around 07.00pm. Istanbul is just over 100 miles to the East over the Sea of Marmara and we’re scheduled to arrive there at 07.00am tomorrow morning.
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Doreen and Bob
Saturday April 25 2009 - It’s cold today, sunny with a high of 14 degC (57 degF), the rough seas didn’t materialize and it’s still fairly calm. The afternoon’s highlight was an advance birthday party for Maine Bob at 04.30pm, his wife Doreen had arranged everything in what we called ‘smokers corner’ on deck nine. He was shocked when he turned up to find about 40 people waiting for him and even more shocked when we all sang ‘Happy Birthday to You’ followed by ‘When I’m 64’ . Doreen had beer and wine laid on as well as finger foods and the whole thing went off very well, Bob was feeling no pain by the time it broke up around 07.00pm. Istanbul is just over 100 miles to the East over the Sea of Marmara and we’re scheduled to arrive there at 07.00am tomorrow morning.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Ashdod - Israel
Thursday April 23 2009 - Because we left Egypt late last night, there was some confusion as to when we would arrive in Israel, so we went to sleep not knowing when our shore excursion would be leaving. I set the alarm for 07.00am and when we got up, we found that we were scheduled to go through Israeli immigration and start our tour at 08.00am. We rushed breakfast and went up to the Royal Lounge at 07.55am where we waited 20 minutes for the officials to arrive then after a series of waits we made it on board our bus and started off about 08.45am.
guard on the street outside the port area
View over Jerusalem
We made a brief photo stop at a high point overlooking Jerusalem then headed down to the Dead Sea, 400 metres below sea level, my ears popped as we passed the sea level mark and continued lower, then along the coastal road to the Fortress of Masada. It was an imposing sight, a mountain block detached from the rest of the escarpment, its’ plateau 450 metres (1400 feet) above the level of the Dead Sea.
Me at the top of Masada
View from the top of Masada with cable car at the bottom left
The history of Masada is fascinating in that it was laid siege to in the first century by 8000 Roman troops, the 960 defenders of the rock, when all hope of holding out was lost, decide it was better to die by their own hand than become slaves of the Romans, subsequently they killed all their families then each other until the last person killed themselves. We took the cable car to the top and our guide, Helen, led us around describing the purpose and history of each building, there are lots of buildings still standing or reconstructed per the original. After a while, we took off ourselves having arranged to meet the guide at the bottom around 02.00pm. It is a very interesting site, much more has survived than I had imagined and much more was there in its’ time.
We met the guide back at the bottom and moved on to the Lot Hotel and Spa on the shoreline for lunch and a close up visit to the Dead Sea.
The beach area at the Dead Sea
Lunch was buffet style and was not too bad and after we had eaten, we went down to the waters edge where we had free time for a swim. We were warned not to stay in the water too long as it can cause undesirable physical effects on you, the chemicals in the water can also damage your skin and destroy any clothing immersed in it and you should make sure you don’t swallow any or get any in your eyes. It is also very important that you thoroughly wash and rinse yourself after bathing. We had about 2 and a half hours at the beach front and Izzy and I spent most of it swinging in a big hammock, we returned to the bus at 05.45pm and made the two and a half hour trip back to the ship.
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guard on the street outside the port area
View over Jerusalem
We made a brief photo stop at a high point overlooking Jerusalem then headed down to the Dead Sea, 400 metres below sea level, my ears popped as we passed the sea level mark and continued lower, then along the coastal road to the Fortress of Masada. It was an imposing sight, a mountain block detached from the rest of the escarpment, its’ plateau 450 metres (1400 feet) above the level of the Dead Sea.
Me at the top of Masada
View from the top of Masada with cable car at the bottom left
The history of Masada is fascinating in that it was laid siege to in the first century by 8000 Roman troops, the 960 defenders of the rock, when all hope of holding out was lost, decide it was better to die by their own hand than become slaves of the Romans, subsequently they killed all their families then each other until the last person killed themselves. We took the cable car to the top and our guide, Helen, led us around describing the purpose and history of each building, there are lots of buildings still standing or reconstructed per the original. After a while, we took off ourselves having arranged to meet the guide at the bottom around 02.00pm. It is a very interesting site, much more has survived than I had imagined and much more was there in its’ time.
We met the guide back at the bottom and moved on to the Lot Hotel and Spa on the shoreline for lunch and a close up visit to the Dead Sea.
The beach area at the Dead Sea
Lunch was buffet style and was not too bad and after we had eaten, we went down to the waters edge where we had free time for a swim. We were warned not to stay in the water too long as it can cause undesirable physical effects on you, the chemicals in the water can also damage your skin and destroy any clothing immersed in it and you should make sure you don’t swallow any or get any in your eyes. It is also very important that you thoroughly wash and rinse yourself after bathing. We had about 2 and a half hours at the beach front and Izzy and I spent most of it swinging in a big hammock, we returned to the bus at 05.45pm and made the two and a half hour trip back to the ship.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Port Said - the Pyramids
Wednesday April 22 2009 - Up at 04.45am this morning for an early start, we were to be on the bus by 06.00am. We were the last bus in our convoy which had a pick-up at front and back of the column, each pick-up had two police officers in the front and three armed soldiers in the back on seats set into the bed. On our bus and presumably the same on the other buses, in addition to the driver there was our business suited armed security guy, an Egytologist/guide and a representative from Memphis Tours. As we left the town of Port Said, each cross street was blocked and traffic held by a policeman so that the convoy never had to stop, our lead vehicle used his siren frequently to announce our coming. We left the dock area at 06.10am and arrived at the Giza Plateau just before 10.00am so it was a long journey, about an hour into it as we came through a police checkpoint, we had a few nervous moments when as the last bus, we were separated from the rest and pulled off the road as the convoy took off without us. Our tour representative got off and exchanged words with the police and after some arm waving we were back on the road. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that the people were not friendly toward us, because in general, they were, people occasionally waved and smiled as we drove by and we reciprocated.
Izzy climbed the Great Pyramid
The Great Pyramid of Cheops, with Izzy at front
We stopped for about half an hour at the great pyramid of Cheops and were able to climb part of it, it was spectacular to see and even more massive than in pictures. The vendors in the area were very aggressive, one came up and pulled off Izzy’s headgear and started to rearrange it, as he said, in the correct way, meanwhile another guy was loading me down with ‘free’ gifts, ’no charge’, he insisted it was purely a gift, then when I began to walk off he suggested I should give him a gift, just a small one, I said I had no money whatsoever and he was quick to take all his gifts back.
Izzy and friend on the high plateau
Overlooking the Giza Plateau
We then moved up to a higher plateau which gave a good view of the great pyramid, the Chephren pyramid and the Mykerinos pyramid, once again were bombarded by aggressive vendors, but the view was excellent, unfortunately we didn’t have time to ride a camel across the sands, maybe next time.
The Sphinx
Me and the Sphinx with Cephren's pyramid behind
Next we moved down to the area of the Sphinx, east of the Cephren pyramid, the Sphinx’s face is thought to be in the likeness of Cephren and is believed to have been the guardian of his tomb.
It was now about noon but before heading for lunch at a local ‘5 star’ restaurant, we stopped at a jewellery maker where several people onboard had ordered cartouches made, the quality of the cartouches was so bad that no-one would accept them.
Me, Izzy and Pat in the restaurant
Lunch as buffet style and the best that can be said is that it was edible, though I must say the restaurant staff were extremely gracious and help[ful. After lunch we made a one hour visit to the Museum of Egyptian Antiqueties, 120,000 artefacts from the pre-dynastic era to the time of the Pharaohs, then the long drive back to the ship, we reformed in convoy about half way back, arriving dockside around 06.00pm. I liked Cairo, the people were generally friendly and welcoming, but the city is an open sewer in places and poverty is everywhere, it’s a shame that the area around these major world renowned antiqueties is so poorly maintained, it might serve well to clean the place up a bit.
We ordered room service on board, then as we ate our food, an announcement was made by the captain, the canal was backed up with shipping heading South, so we weren‘t able to depart at our scheduled time, our most likely new departure time 10.00pm.
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Izzy climbed the Great Pyramid
The Great Pyramid of Cheops, with Izzy at front
We stopped for about half an hour at the great pyramid of Cheops and were able to climb part of it, it was spectacular to see and even more massive than in pictures. The vendors in the area were very aggressive, one came up and pulled off Izzy’s headgear and started to rearrange it, as he said, in the correct way, meanwhile another guy was loading me down with ‘free’ gifts, ’no charge’, he insisted it was purely a gift, then when I began to walk off he suggested I should give him a gift, just a small one, I said I had no money whatsoever and he was quick to take all his gifts back.
Izzy and friend on the high plateau
Overlooking the Giza Plateau
We then moved up to a higher plateau which gave a good view of the great pyramid, the Chephren pyramid and the Mykerinos pyramid, once again were bombarded by aggressive vendors, but the view was excellent, unfortunately we didn’t have time to ride a camel across the sands, maybe next time.
The Sphinx
Me and the Sphinx with Cephren's pyramid behind
Next we moved down to the area of the Sphinx, east of the Cephren pyramid, the Sphinx’s face is thought to be in the likeness of Cephren and is believed to have been the guardian of his tomb.
It was now about noon but before heading for lunch at a local ‘5 star’ restaurant, we stopped at a jewellery maker where several people onboard had ordered cartouches made, the quality of the cartouches was so bad that no-one would accept them.
Me, Izzy and Pat in the restaurant
Lunch as buffet style and the best that can be said is that it was edible, though I must say the restaurant staff were extremely gracious and help[ful. After lunch we made a one hour visit to the Museum of Egyptian Antiqueties, 120,000 artefacts from the pre-dynastic era to the time of the Pharaohs, then the long drive back to the ship, we reformed in convoy about half way back, arriving dockside around 06.00pm. I liked Cairo, the people were generally friendly and welcoming, but the city is an open sewer in places and poverty is everywhere, it’s a shame that the area around these major world renowned antiqueties is so poorly maintained, it might serve well to clean the place up a bit.
We ordered room service on board, then as we ate our food, an announcement was made by the captain, the canal was backed up with shipping heading South, so we weren‘t able to depart at our scheduled time, our most likely new departure time 10.00pm.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Red Sea day and Suez Canal
A comfortable position to view the suez canal
Monday April 20 2009 - Quiet day at sea after our long day in Upper Egypt, as we sailed North in the Red Sea. I spent some time around the pool and in the evening we watched the movie ‘Body of Lies’
Tuesday April 21 2009 - We were up early this morning and had our breakfast on deck 5 as we would be spending the whole day travelling through the Suez Canal. It was something I’d always wanted to do and we planned to spend the whole day on deck, Jim and Lucy joined us and we were happy to have a great location to watch the passing scenery. Early on we travelled through the outskirts of the town of Suez, mostly industrial buildings along the canal’s edge.
Ferry crossing area, typical several places along the canal
The town quickly gave way to sandy banks, some places built up 20 or 20 feet other places only a few feet above the water line. We moved to the starboard (East) side of the ship to take advantage of the rising sun and waved to the occasional military personel stationed along the bank. The canal is 119 miles long and shortly before lunch, we were in Great Bitter Lake where water from the Mediterranean meets water from the Red Sea and evaporates allowing a constant flow of water into the canal from both sides. The canal has no locks and at places it is only wide enough for single transits, though there are wider sections allowing ships to pass.
Jim and Jim about to sample the Chinese liquor
We were joined by Pat and Jim and the six of us sat eating and drinking the day away, by 03.00 we were sampling Jims Chinese liquor, he had paid 75 cents a bottle in Shanghai and it was eminently drinkable and also quite potent and we soon were singing to anyone who would listen, including a boatload of Egyptians who passed us by.
Mosque on the canal bank, close to Port Said
Half way along we passed the town of Ismailia but otherwise it was all sandy banks with occasional ferry crossings and bridges in two places, one place had a massive open grandstand where about two or three thousand soldiers were marching to an accompanying band. We reached the edges of Port Said around 04.00pm and by 05.00 we were tied up to the dock, which was covered with vendors’ stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs. I really enjoyed the transit and it was all the better for the company and the brilliant warm comfortable weather and the accompanying beverages, of course.
Safaga - Luxor - Egypt
Sunday April 19 2009 - We had taken advantage of an offer of a private tour arranged by Pete and Leslie, two other passengers, for less than half the price of the same tour operated by Princess. Our tour also included a half hour boat ride on the Nile, something not in the Princess tour, and it all worked out great, we were very happy with the arrangements provided by the tour company, Memphis Tours.
It was advertised that it would take from 2½ to 3½ hours each way by bus from the dock to Luxor, in fact it took 3 hours and 45 minutes approximately each way. We were up at 05.00am for a quick breakfast, the ship docked about 06.00am, and after a lot of waiting around our convoy moved off shortly before 08.00am.
Our escort vehicle on the way to Luxor
Our government supplied security guard
Our bus was first in line directly after the lead security vehicle, we sat directly behind the security guard who was smartly dressed in a nice business suit and had an automatic weapon slung over his shoulder, under his jacket so that it wasn’t too obvious, we named him Rambo. In addition to our driver, we also had a back-up driver, a representative from Memphis Tours and an Egyptologist/guide named Islam also employed by Memphis Tours. We started off slowly winding through town, allowing the other buses to stay with us, occasionally the security vehicle would sound his siren to encourage traffic ahead to pull over a bit to allow us to pass. As we moved out of town and into the desert landscape, sandstone hills and sandy flats, I couldn’t help but think, here we were in the first bus, most likely to be first into trouble if any arose, sitting behind the most likely target of any attack, the armed security guard. After an hour or so we stopped at a roadside café for a washroom break, all kinds of souvenirs were for sale at hugely inflated prices, Izzy looked at a local head dress, $35, the guy asked, eventually she paid $5, it was probably worth $2 or $3. By the roadside several women and children with donkeys, or camels, or goats posed for pictures for $1, they got a few takers, but most people sneeked a quick pic while they weren’t looking.
Our journey continued, every 5 or 10 miles we passed through a check point where the road was blocked by a chicane of barriers with armed police manning each post, sometimes with an elevated watch tower with a machine gun projecting out an opening, sometimes with a couple of policemen seemingly asleep in their vehicle.
Izzy, Pat and Jim at the Valley of the Kings
On the trolley at Valley of the Kings
When we arrived in Luxor, it was almost noon, our first stop was the Valley of the Kings and it was hot, 100 degF and the sun was brilliant white reflecting off everything around, we entered the reception building and reviewed the photographs and 3D model of the tomb locations, then boarded the little electric trolley to take us up the long drive to the location of the tomb entrances. Our entrance ticket allowed us to visit any 3 of the several tombs open to visitors and we chose those of Ramses 4th, 9th and 1st, the tomb of King Tutankamun was not open to visitors and we were told it was quite plain and contained nothing other than his stone sarcophagus.
Me at the Valley of the Kings with several tomb entrances visible behind
Excavation work continues
The tombs we did visit were basically all similar with complete wall and ceiling decoration pictures and hieroglyphics, that of Ramses 4th was different in that the walls were not protected by glass and, surprisingly, you could actually touch the paintings. All the tombs were amazingly bright and clean, easily accessible by stairs or ramps, no photography was allowed in any of them.
Shell talking to one of the guards at the Valley of the Queens
Next, we moved on to the Valley of the Queens, the location of the spectacular Temple of Queen Hatshepsut rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces merging with the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it.
Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Valley of the Queens
Our guide suggested that her name is easily remembered if you think ‘hat cheap suit’. The Valley of Queens is also memorable for the 1997 terrorist attack where 58 tourists and 4 Egyptians were killed, it was strange to be there, remembering back to the reports on tv, now the area appears to be somewhat protected. Izzy decided to forego the long climb to the top of the temple and relaxed in the coffee shop near the entrance while I climbed to the top. I made sure I was back at the coffee shop 10 minutes ahead of schedule so that I could get a drink, the price of which varied from $2 to $4 depending on who you asked, I opted for a $2 ice cream bar.
Our transport on the Nile
Arriving at the Sofitel hotel for lunch
We moved on, making a brief photo stop at the colossal statues of Amenhotep III, then on to the banks of the Nile where we enjoyed a relaxing half hour boat trip to our lunch stop at the Sonesta Sofitel hotel.
The avenue of huge columns at Karnak - it was the busiest place we visited
Inside the temple complex at Karnak
Lunch was edible and by the time we were finished it was after 03.00pm so we wasted no time in moving on to the world famous complex of temples at Karnak, built over a period of 2,000 years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Although the complex has been completely rebuilt in modern times, it is particularly nicely preserved, in fact it’s so clean and tidy that it reminded me of Disneyland, I almost expected to see a roller coaster winding through the top of the columns.
Sunset on the drive back to the ship
We left Karnak around 05.30pm, driving back to Safaga, I watched the passing scenes of life and fell asleep before we arrived back at the ship around 09.15pm, we were scheduled to sail at 10.00pm. Back on board, we had a late dinner then watched the sail away before going down to our cabin.
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It was advertised that it would take from 2½ to 3½ hours each way by bus from the dock to Luxor, in fact it took 3 hours and 45 minutes approximately each way. We were up at 05.00am for a quick breakfast, the ship docked about 06.00am, and after a lot of waiting around our convoy moved off shortly before 08.00am.
Our escort vehicle on the way to Luxor
Our government supplied security guard
Our bus was first in line directly after the lead security vehicle, we sat directly behind the security guard who was smartly dressed in a nice business suit and had an automatic weapon slung over his shoulder, under his jacket so that it wasn’t too obvious, we named him Rambo. In addition to our driver, we also had a back-up driver, a representative from Memphis Tours and an Egyptologist/guide named Islam also employed by Memphis Tours. We started off slowly winding through town, allowing the other buses to stay with us, occasionally the security vehicle would sound his siren to encourage traffic ahead to pull over a bit to allow us to pass. As we moved out of town and into the desert landscape, sandstone hills and sandy flats, I couldn’t help but think, here we were in the first bus, most likely to be first into trouble if any arose, sitting behind the most likely target of any attack, the armed security guard. After an hour or so we stopped at a roadside café for a washroom break, all kinds of souvenirs were for sale at hugely inflated prices, Izzy looked at a local head dress, $35, the guy asked, eventually she paid $5, it was probably worth $2 or $3. By the roadside several women and children with donkeys, or camels, or goats posed for pictures for $1, they got a few takers, but most people sneeked a quick pic while they weren’t looking.
Our journey continued, every 5 or 10 miles we passed through a check point where the road was blocked by a chicane of barriers with armed police manning each post, sometimes with an elevated watch tower with a machine gun projecting out an opening, sometimes with a couple of policemen seemingly asleep in their vehicle.
Izzy, Pat and Jim at the Valley of the Kings
On the trolley at Valley of the Kings
When we arrived in Luxor, it was almost noon, our first stop was the Valley of the Kings and it was hot, 100 degF and the sun was brilliant white reflecting off everything around, we entered the reception building and reviewed the photographs and 3D model of the tomb locations, then boarded the little electric trolley to take us up the long drive to the location of the tomb entrances. Our entrance ticket allowed us to visit any 3 of the several tombs open to visitors and we chose those of Ramses 4th, 9th and 1st, the tomb of King Tutankamun was not open to visitors and we were told it was quite plain and contained nothing other than his stone sarcophagus.
Me at the Valley of the Kings with several tomb entrances visible behind
Excavation work continues
The tombs we did visit were basically all similar with complete wall and ceiling decoration pictures and hieroglyphics, that of Ramses 4th was different in that the walls were not protected by glass and, surprisingly, you could actually touch the paintings. All the tombs were amazingly bright and clean, easily accessible by stairs or ramps, no photography was allowed in any of them.
Shell talking to one of the guards at the Valley of the Queens
Next, we moved on to the Valley of the Queens, the location of the spectacular Temple of Queen Hatshepsut rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces merging with the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it.
Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Valley of the Queens
Our guide suggested that her name is easily remembered if you think ‘hat cheap suit’. The Valley of Queens is also memorable for the 1997 terrorist attack where 58 tourists and 4 Egyptians were killed, it was strange to be there, remembering back to the reports on tv, now the area appears to be somewhat protected. Izzy decided to forego the long climb to the top of the temple and relaxed in the coffee shop near the entrance while I climbed to the top. I made sure I was back at the coffee shop 10 minutes ahead of schedule so that I could get a drink, the price of which varied from $2 to $4 depending on who you asked, I opted for a $2 ice cream bar.
Our transport on the Nile
Arriving at the Sofitel hotel for lunch
We moved on, making a brief photo stop at the colossal statues of Amenhotep III, then on to the banks of the Nile where we enjoyed a relaxing half hour boat trip to our lunch stop at the Sonesta Sofitel hotel.
The avenue of huge columns at Karnak - it was the busiest place we visited
Inside the temple complex at Karnak
Lunch was edible and by the time we were finished it was after 03.00pm so we wasted no time in moving on to the world famous complex of temples at Karnak, built over a period of 2,000 years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Although the complex has been completely rebuilt in modern times, it is particularly nicely preserved, in fact it’s so clean and tidy that it reminded me of Disneyland, I almost expected to see a roller coaster winding through the top of the columns.
Sunset on the drive back to the ship
We left Karnak around 05.30pm, driving back to Safaga, I watched the passing scenes of life and fell asleep before we arrived back at the ship around 09.15pm, we were scheduled to sail at 10.00pm. Back on board, we had a late dinner then watched the sail away before going down to our cabin.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Two more sea days after Salalah
Friday April 17 2009 - It‘s a beautiful partly cloudy day as we head North West in the Red Sea. We‘ve left the pirates far behind, the coast of Sudan is a hundred miles off the port side and Saudi Arabia is a hundred miles off the starboard side. The sea is medium to high waves, but the ship is remarkably stable and level, probably as we‘re moving at close to top speed. There was a special interest lecture at 01.45pm this afternoon, ‘Mind stunts and memory techniques‘, I meant to go, but forgot about it. We played trivia this afternoon and won, with a stunning score of 17 out of twenty, ‘which superstar had a snake named muscles?‘, later we watched the big production show, Rhythms of the City.
Saturday April 18 2009 - Bright sunny day, today with a high of 26 degC (79 degF), I spent most od the morning working on my suntan. We had lunch in the main dining room, first time since we came on board, as the buffet is getting wilder as out-of-control seniors run riot. We went to a gameshow, Liars Club, where you have to determine who is telling the truth from four celebrities on stage. We got zero out of five correct, but had a good time throwing marshmallows at the people on stage, Bill had the idea at lunch and the maitre d‘ was happy to supply the marshmallows, he even suggested we could have some ripe tomatoes as well. Tonight was a formal night, so we were all dressed up in our finest attire, right after dinner, we changed into shorts and went up to the pool for an evening swim, then an early night as we have to be up at 05.00am tomorrow. One of the passengers has arranged the same tour that Princess offers, so we cancelled our ships tour and joined the passenger’s tour at less than half the price, I’ll let you know tomorrow night how it all went.
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Saturday April 18 2009 - Bright sunny day, today with a high of 26 degC (79 degF), I spent most od the morning working on my suntan. We had lunch in the main dining room, first time since we came on board, as the buffet is getting wilder as out-of-control seniors run riot. We went to a gameshow, Liars Club, where you have to determine who is telling the truth from four celebrities on stage. We got zero out of five correct, but had a good time throwing marshmallows at the people on stage, Bill had the idea at lunch and the maitre d‘ was happy to supply the marshmallows, he even suggested we could have some ripe tomatoes as well. Tonight was a formal night, so we were all dressed up in our finest attire, right after dinner, we changed into shorts and went up to the pool for an evening swim, then an early night as we have to be up at 05.00am tomorrow. One of the passengers has arranged the same tour that Princess offers, so we cancelled our ships tour and joined the passenger’s tour at less than half the price, I’ll let you know tomorrow night how it all went.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Two sea days after Salalah
Wednesday April 15 2009 - First day in the area subject to pirate attack and we were disappointed, this morning that we didn‘t see another single ship. By 10.00am the captain announced that we were now in the corridor protected by an international task force and around 02.00pm we saw a destroyer, don’t know which country, as it was too far away. There was a flurry of activity, mostly by passengers with cameras and binoculars, when a couple of small boats appeared ahead of us, was this finally the pirates, they turned out to be only fishing boats, but they could have been pirates disguised as fishing boats. At 03.00pm we went to a free wine tasting seminar, where we learned all there is to know about fine wines, 2 white, 2 red and an ice wine sample, trouble was there was a long discussion between each sample. We went out on the promenade deck after dinner tonight and our lunch time waiter had been drafted as a security person patrolling the deck with his eyes focussed out to sea, we felt so much safer.
Our location on the stateroon tv
Thursday April 16 2009 - No pirates in sight, in fact no ships of any kind in sight, we’re 1000 miles away from our next stop, Safaga, in Egypt. Currently, 09.00am, the coast of Somalia is about 50 miles South of us while the coast of Yemen and the town of Aden is about 30 miles North, if all goes to schedule, we should pass through into the Red Sea by the end of today.
Canadian Navy to the rescue
Around 11.30am the captain announced there were several navy vessels ahead of us, too far for anyone to identify, then within 5 minutes from behind the ship, we could see a helicopter approaching, a Canadian Sea King flew by, I was on the top deck and could clearly see a crewman standing in the open doorway waving as the big copter flew the length of the ship before peeling off to the port side. We never saw any of the ships ahead of us, presumably they moved off to other locations. We went Sabatinis, the special restaurant, for an English pub lunch of fish and chips with mushy peas, the food was good enough but the portions were small so we headed straight to the Panorama buffet after, for desert.
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Our location on the stateroon tv
Thursday April 16 2009 - No pirates in sight, in fact no ships of any kind in sight, we’re 1000 miles away from our next stop, Safaga, in Egypt. Currently, 09.00am, the coast of Somalia is about 50 miles South of us while the coast of Yemen and the town of Aden is about 30 miles North, if all goes to schedule, we should pass through into the Red Sea by the end of today.
Canadian Navy to the rescue
Around 11.30am the captain announced there were several navy vessels ahead of us, too far for anyone to identify, then within 5 minutes from behind the ship, we could see a helicopter approaching, a Canadian Sea King flew by, I was on the top deck and could clearly see a crewman standing in the open doorway waving as the big copter flew the length of the ship before peeling off to the port side. We never saw any of the ships ahead of us, presumably they moved off to other locations. We went Sabatinis, the special restaurant, for an English pub lunch of fish and chips with mushy peas, the food was good enough but the portions were small so we headed straight to the Panorama buffet after, for desert.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Salalah - Sultanate of Oman
Our one and only Frankincense tree - in the distance, the black spot is a military group, training
Tuesday April 14 2009 - Is it Salalah or Salalah, we were up early for a 07.15am start to our tour ‘Jobs Tomb and Frankincense Trees’, Salim, our guide, met us dockside and we were soon underway in this second largest town in Oman and birthplace of the Sultan, Qaboos Bin Said. The countryside around the dock was scrubby desert in all directions and soon we were at our first stop, the Frankincense trees, or I should say the Frankincense tree, as we only ever saw one. We had only stepped from the bus a few seconds when he sound of automatic gunfire startled everyone, the guide was quick to explain that the area was also a training ground for the military and about 200 yards across the wadi, a large black vehicle with several black clad individuals, could be seen. I kept one eye on them, one eye on our bus and one eye on the guide as he explained how Frankincense is collected.
Mughsail Beach
This rock outcropping reminded me of wee Spammy
We piled back onto the bus and headed to our next stop, Mughsail Beach, a picturesque 2 mile stretch of beach with interesting cliffs and rock formations, I walked down to the blowholes while Izzy took a shady seat, it was 85 degF and still only 08.15am. Unfortunately since it was low tide, the only thing coming out of the blowholes was air.
The mosque at Job's tomb
Izzy makes friends with a camel, we called him big Spammy
Next we drove a long distance into the mountains to the site of the tomb of the prophet, Job, or one of the tombs as our guide told us 2 other countries also claim to have Job’s tomb. After visiting the tomb, we made friends with a local camel, who allowed Izzy to approach him, then we took the long trip down the mountainside avoiding stray camels on the road. In town, we stopped at the souk and Izzy bought two Arabian style robes before we returned to the ship, just in time for lunch. After dinner, we watched a comedian, Jack Wilks, he’d missed the ship in Dubai and just joined us today at lunch. I realised after a few minutes, I’d seen him before about 15 years ago and he was still doing the same act, still funny even the second time.
Monday, April 13, 2009
2 sea days after Dubai
Sunday April 12 2009 - I have a chest cold and cough so we just had a quiet day at sea - slept in late and had dinner by room service. So I’ll take this time to post pictures of some of the greatest people who have become a large part of our journey.
Monday April 13 2009 - This morning we had breakfast on the open deck at the back of the ship. It was a beautiful morning, 25 degC (77 degF) and sunny, as we sailed down the coast of Oman toward our next stop, Salalah. There was a notice in our daily patter that there would be a ‘practice pirate attack‘ alert and around 09.45am as I sat reading on deck 5, a 5 second blast on the ships horn followed by the announcement ‘code papa, code papa, code papa, sounded out. I passed by the casino, collected Izzy and we went down to our cabin and propped the door open as per instructions , shortly the captain announced we were being followed by a fast boat accompanied by two small skiffs and that some fast manoeuvring may be required. After being checked by a crew member, we sat and waited for the captains ‘all clear’ announcement which came about 10.05am, the drill was completed and all passengers accounted for in 18 minutes and 36 seconds, we had successfully outrun the bad guys, the passengers went wild with excitement………….. just kidding about the passengers getting excited, the only time the passengers get excited is at meal times…….
Tonight at dinner, the captain announced that we would be staying in Salalah longer than originally scheduled. Arrangements have been made for us to be accompanied by a couple of warships through the area most susceptible to pirate attacks, we are to meet at a pre-arranged location at 10.00am Wednesday morning so instead of leaving Salalah at 05.00pm we’ll stay ‘til 10.00pm.
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Monday April 13 2009 - This morning we had breakfast on the open deck at the back of the ship. It was a beautiful morning, 25 degC (77 degF) and sunny, as we sailed down the coast of Oman toward our next stop, Salalah. There was a notice in our daily patter that there would be a ‘practice pirate attack‘ alert and around 09.45am as I sat reading on deck 5, a 5 second blast on the ships horn followed by the announcement ‘code papa, code papa, code papa, sounded out. I passed by the casino, collected Izzy and we went down to our cabin and propped the door open as per instructions , shortly the captain announced we were being followed by a fast boat accompanied by two small skiffs and that some fast manoeuvring may be required. After being checked by a crew member, we sat and waited for the captains ‘all clear’ announcement which came about 10.05am, the drill was completed and all passengers accounted for in 18 minutes and 36 seconds, we had successfully outrun the bad guys, the passengers went wild with excitement………….. just kidding about the passengers getting excited, the only time the passengers get excited is at meal times…….
Tonight at dinner, the captain announced that we would be staying in Salalah longer than originally scheduled. Arrangements have been made for us to be accompanied by a couple of warships through the area most susceptible to pirate attacks, we are to meet at a pre-arranged location at 10.00am Wednesday morning so instead of leaving Salalah at 05.00pm we’ll stay ‘til 10.00pm.
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