Day 24-25 Tenefire, Canary Islands

We had a nice, relaxing day at sea yesterday.   I went up to the fitness center and spent a little time on the treadmill, bike, and in the whirlpool.   We spent most of the rest of the day sitting on the verandah outside our room.  We are on the south side of the ship so we get the sun mot of the day.   Last night we had reservations for dinner at one of the ship's 2 specialty restaurants - Portofino’s.   We had a wonderful full course Italian dinner.  I started with the restaurant's specialty drink, a cucumber martini and we shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio with dinner.  For an appetizer, we had Risotto al Gamberetti, a shrimp and rice dish.  I had a tuna dish called Carpaccio di Tonno for my 2nd dish and Ray had a Caesar salad.  For the main course, Ray had Spiedino di Mare (lobster, gamberoni, scallops & salmon) and I had Saltimbocca alla Romana (veal wrapped in sage and prosciutto).  We also shared a mushroom & pasta dish. The desserts were hard to choose.  I had a wonderful Tartuffo al Cioccolato, which I can only describe as chocolate heaven.  Ray had a sampler dish with small portions of the 4 desserts  on the menu.  His favorite was berries in Grand Mariner.   We finished with special coffees and practically rolled out of there, we were so full.  It was great. 

Lazy Gorilla

Today we docked at our final port before crossing the Atlantic.  I didn't know much about the Canary Islands before arriving here.  There are 7 islands in this island group, which is located about 180 miles west of Morocco.  We visited the largest island, Tenerife, docking in the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  These islands are a vacation spot for many Europeans.  The climate is warm almost all year, it is clean, and friendly.  The guide on our tour said that the residents of the Canary Islands have more in common culturally with South America and Cuba than Spain.

Penguins

Our tour for today was different than any of the others so far this cruise.  We took a 45 minute bus ride to a place called Loro Park in the town of Puerto de la Cruz.  This was originally created as a parrot park, but has grown over the years to house many endangered animal species, as well as many exotic palms and plants.  Our guide took us around so that we would get to all the shows at the right time - an Orca whale show, a Sea Lion show, and a Dolphin show.  We also got to walk through the shark tunnel, see the aquarium, penguins, chimpanzees, gorillas, a white tiger, and a large walk-in bird cage, as well as lots of different kinds of parrots in cages along every path.   After we got to all the shows, we had time to walk around on our own for about an hour.

Parrot

We were both very impressed with the island.  We passed through the city of La Laguna en-route to the park,   This former capital city is the university city of the Canary Islands.  The main university specializes in the study of micro biology and astrophysics.  This city is also the location of a teaching hospital specializing in kidney transplants.  So, Pete and Christie, if you are ever looking for a tropical island, this may be the place for you.  You might have to brush up on your Spanish, but they get a lot of English tourists, so most people speak English. 

Orca

The only problem is that the islands are volcanic.  There is one main volcano, Teide, and a number of little ones.  The main one has a history of going off once every 100 years, give or take a few, and I think he said the last time was around 1907, so it's due.   There is also a haze that hangs over the mountains.  Our guide told us this is made up of fine sand that blows in from the Sahara Desert 200 miles away.

Dolphin Jump

By the way, the Canary Islands were not named for birds.  When the Spanish explorers found the islands, the people living there had lots of dogs.  The name comes from the Latin word for dogs, canis.

Now we will be at sea for the next 7 days.  This is the real vacation part of the trip - no tours, no alarm clocks, just plenty of relaxation and enjoyment of the ship's ammenities, as our mood directs us. 

Day 23 Malaga, Spain

Santisma Trinidad

Yesterday we were in Malaga, Spain.  We sleep all the way to 8:30AM, had a leisurely breakfast, and then went to Guest Relations to get tickets for the shuttle bus into town.  Ray was tired and would have liked to just stay in the room, but I pushed him a little to go out for a walk with me.  The shuttle bus dropped us off at the edge of the city, what would have been about a 30 minute walk for us.  From there we headed toward the Cathedral, consecrated in 1588.  Construction was begun around 1527 and continued in various phases through the 1960s.

Malaga Cathedral

Ray decided he had seen enough churches and art, so he waited in the gardens while I went in to see the Cathedral.  It was beautiful.  There were chapels dedicated to various saints all along the sides, each one filled with statues and paintings.  The main altar was mostly gold.  Opposite the altar was the choir area,, with a huge pipe organ on either side and wood carvings of saints on the back of each choir chair.  I spent an hour in there admiring the art.

Pieta in Malaga Cathedral

When I came out, Ray told me he had been watching a group of little old Spanish ladies who were visiting the church.  As soon as they arrived, people appeared to try to sell them lottery tickets.   Know your market.

Next we walked through some old narrow streets which have been turned into a pedestrian mall.  The area was lined with cafes and the expensive shops.  This is a lovely city.  We also saw horse and carriage sides offered in several places around the old town.  This seems to be a common tourist offering in most of the European cities we have visited, just like in New York City.

Malaga Cathedral Main Altar

There were other things we could have gone to see in Malaga, but we decided to just do a little souvenir shopping and go back to the ship.  It was formal night, so we wanted time to get gussied up.   Dinner was great, and afterwards we went up to our favorite bar for a drink and to watch as we passed the Rock of Gibraltar.  It would have been nice to see this during the day, but our schedule had us passing at 8:30PM. 

Archangel Rafael

This morning I woke up a little before sunrise and was able to video a lovely sunrise over Africa from our vantage point on the Atlantic Ocean.   Today is a sea day.  We are going to just relax and get ready for our visit to the Canary Islands tomorrow.

We've been warned that satellite connections may be sporadic over the Atlantic, so there may be some days when I can't post anything.   I'll post when I can.

Horse & Buggy

Day 22 Cartagena and Murcia, Spain

Last night we had a very pleasant surprise.   We were tired so after dinner we went up to a small club on the 14th floor for a drink before skipping the main show and calling it a night.  We found a guy named Segundo Vasquez playing classical guitar.  He was great.  Our original intention was to just order drinks and go back to our room, but we stayed through the end of his set.  He's playing at the same club tonight, so we're probably going back to hear him again.

Cartagena Harbour

Virgin of Fuensanta

We got to sleep a little late this morning.  The ship didn't dock in Cartagena until 10AM and our tour group met at 10:15.  Today's tour was called "Journey to Murcia".   Murcia is the capital of the Spanish province of Murcia.  It is a lovely city, a little less than an hour inland from Cartagena.  We visited a beautiful church at the Monastery of the Virgin of Fuensanta (Holy Spring), the Cathedral in Cardinal Belluga Square, and the Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia.  The countryside between Cartagena and Murcia is mostly flat, with farms, orchards and vineyards.  The foothills begin just beyond Murcia.  The area is struggling with it's water supplies, hence the patroness of the city is the Virgin of Fuensanta.  The locals have a pilgrimage each year carrying the statue of the Virgin, and the first 2 times they did this, it rained.  Our guide said the first time it even snowed, something very rare for the area, which has a climate like California.  

Murcia Cathedral

They also have a carnival each year with a sardine as the mascot.   The picture below is of a sardine fountain in the river, honoring this fish.   I guess they have a sense of humor too. It was a nice, 4 hour tour and David was a much better guide than we had in Barcelona.

It was nice to get back to the ship by 3PM and go for an ice cream at Ben and Jerry's to hold us over until dinner.  This ship is different from others we have been on because it has some food options other than ship's food.  Deck 5 has a promenade with shops, 2 pubs, a coffee shop, and Ben & Jerry's.  There is also the Johnny Rocket's hamburger dinner and 2 specialty restaurants on Deck 11, on either side of the main buffet.  

Sardine Fountain in Murcia

Tomorrow we are going to dock at Malaga, Spain.  We reread the description of the tour we had signed up for and decided it didn't sound very exciting.  There were no others that sounded like they had much to see, so we just canceled the one we had.  This way we can sleep in and just take a shuttle into town after all the tours have left.  We plan to just check this port out on our own.

Day 21 Barcelona

Today we are in Barcelona.  We got into port an hour late this morning because we encountered 80 MPH winds last night.  This is the most we've ever experienced on a ship.  I think it was too much for the stabilizers because we were rocking like crazy most of the night.   It began after sunset, so we couldn't see what the waves looked like.  Of course, neither of us got much seep last night.

Despite the lack of sleep, we went out on a tour called Barcelona and Gaudi.  Antoni Gaudi was a unique architect who built a number of buildings around Spain.  He is known for not liking straight lines.   As we toured the city, our guide made a special point of showing us the buildings Gaudi designed.  The first 2, the Figueras House and the Mila House, we just paused to look at from the bus. Our first full stop was at Park Guell.  This was supposed to be a garden city, commissioned by Eusebi Guell in the early 1900s, but never finished.  The idea was to build about 60 houses in the park, but people didn't want to live that far from the main city of Barcelona at the time.  The gardens, elaborate entrance, stairs, and public square were built, but only one model house. Guell donated it to the city as a public park in 1923.

Our last stop was at the Temple of the Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family).   This amazing church was begun by architect Francisco de P. del Villar in 1882.  Antonio Gaudi took over a year and a half later, working on this until he died in 1926.  Construction was put on hold during the Spanish Civil War and not picked up again until 1952.  Now there is a team of about 300 people working to complete the church by 2026. Gaudi's designs are so unique, so full, that you really can't appreciate them unless you see them yourself.

Although this was a good tour, the guide rushed us through faster than I would have liked.   At the first stop she told everyone where the rest rooms were, then refused to wait until all the women got through the long line.  When the 10 minutes was up, she just continued the tour, leaving 4 of us behind to find her and catch up on our own.  I was lucky that Ray waited for me and watched which way she went, but I heard the others say they went the wrong way and didn't find her until they got to the bus.   That's the first time I ever saw a guide leave without making sure all the group was with her.

The worst thing about today is that Ray lost his small camera.  We think he may have left it on the bus.   Luckily, we have been backing up our photos every night, so we only lost the ones he took today and we still have my videos.  He brought another, larger camera so he can still take pictures on the rest of the trip, but he really liked the one he lost.  It was small and easy to carry on these tours.   Usually the tour buses check and send any items they find left behind back to the ship's lost and found, but this guide was probably in such a hurry she didn't bother.  Oh well, I know what to get him for Christmas now.

Tomorrow's port is Cartagena, Spain.  It will be another short tour so, as long as we can get a good night's sleep tonight we should have a good day.  I think the weather is supposed to be a little warmer.

Days 18-20 New Cruise and Bourmes, France

Cruise 2 Route

For the past few days it has been difficult to either get an Internet connection or, when it became available, to find time to use it.   I used up the last of our paid minutes on our last sea day on Friday.  We arrived back in Civitavecchia on Saturday morning, but the tour we hoped to take was cancelled because not enough people signed up.   That meant we just had to get out of our room after breakfast and find a place on the ship to read for a few hours until our new room was ready at 1PM.  Between Friday night and Saturday night we had no Internet access while they closed out one account and opened the next. 

We met our new dinner companions Saturday night.  We are seated with 5 nurses from Jackson County Hospital in Florida, who seem to vacation together often.  Ray is the only guy at the table, but he doesn't mind. 

Bourmes

Sunday morning there was a mass onboard so we went and discovered that we have an excellent Catholic priest on this cruise.  He is a retired Navy chaplain from Pensacola - Father David.  The amazing thing is that he is recovering from surgery to remove cancer from his kidneys 2 weeks ago and he still managed to make it on board.  There was no priest on the first cruise, so I'm guessing he was scheduled for that and had to cancel because of the surgery.  He is an excellent homilist, vibrant and friendly, you wouldn't know he was sick if he hadn't told us why he needed to keep it short and sit down occasionally.

Bourmes Castle

We took care of Internet signup and a few other things between breakfast & our tour start time.  The ship docked at the port La Seyne-Sur-Mer, across the harbor from Toulon, France, about 11AM.  Toulon has a French Navy base with a number of moth-balled ships in the harbor.   Our tour for today was a village named Bourmes, about an hour away and on top of a high, rocky hill.    This was hopefully the low point of our tours.  It had a bad omen to start, since all the other tour buses had been called and ours was still waiting about 15 minutes after the others for this tour had left.  When we got on the bus we found it had been overbooked.  The bus was packed and there were still 4 people standing.  The 4 had to get off.  I don't know what happened to them.

Flowering Vine in Bourmes

The bus ride up was not much to talk about.  The village was mostly 10th century, with a church and a small castle, but nothing special.  Bourmes is known for it's flowers, but our guide said they mostly bloom from December to March.  We hiked along the village streets, some of which rose at about a 60 degree slope.  It was a very strenuous walk, both up the streets and back down a winding stair.   The guide pointed out a few flowers along the way and talked about the village's defense position.   Then we had an hour free.  The shops didn't have anything I couldn't get elsewhere, so we just took a few pictures , stopped in a cafe for cappuccino and were back on the bus 15 minutes early.   



View of the Med from Bourmes



We did finally make it to a show tonight.  Last cruise we were so tired at the end of each day we decided to skip the shows.  They should be mostly the same on this cruise, so we don't think we have missed much.  Tonight a group called The American Dream were on and they were great.  They are a Motown cover group, with 3 guys and one woman.   People were dancing in the aisles by the end. 



Tomorrow we will be in Barcelona.  Hopefully, it will be a better tour.



Day 17 Sicily

Today is the last day of our first Royal Caribbean cruise.  Tomorrow we have a day at sea then the next morning we dock back in Rome's port, Civitavecchia, where most passengers will leave the ship and a new group will board.  We have a beautiful, calm day at sea today.  This has been such a activity packed cruise that I know everyone needs this day of rest.

Messina

Yesterday we docked in Messina, Sicily.  This is the largest island in the Mediterranean, only about 2 miles from the southern tip of mainland Italy.  The straight of Messina separates the island from the rest of Italy.  Since we have been going off on full day tours with lots of walking at every port, we decided to sign up for something milder here.  The ship didn't dock until 2PM, and was leaving again at 8PM, so we opted for a 4 hour tour to Tindari.   This is a town on top of a mountain with beautiful views of a lagoon and the countryside dotted with olive groves.

Greek-Roman Theater at Tindari

The town is also an important archaeological and religious site. Being up high, overlooking the coast, it is a strategic location.  Sicily has been inhabited at least since the 8th or 9th millennium B.C.  Around the 10th century BC it was settled by Phoenicians and around 734 BC the Greeks arrived.  Later, it was conquered by the Romans. At Tindari, we saw the ruins of a Greek theater which had been restored and modified in the Roman era for their use as a theater for gladiator events.  The area is covered with the ruins of Roman houses and baths, and encircled by a defense wall.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tindari

At the very top of the hill is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tindari, which contains the Black Madonna.   This is a Byzantine sculpture of the Madonna, carved from mahogany.   It is called the Black Madonna because the wood is dark brown.  The story is that at the time when invaders were destroying all churches and religious items in northern Africa (probably Turkey), the monks packed this holy statue in a crate and sent it off on a ship.  No one knows what happened to the ship, but the crate containing the Black Madonna washed up on the shores of Sicily.  With the people found it, they brought it to the top of the nearest mountain and built a small church on the former site of a temple to the Roman Goddess of Agriculture.  (too many gods and goddesses this trip, I can't remember which one this was.)  Recently a new, large church was built around the original little church.   It is a lovely church, with mosaics depicting the rosary along the sides and lots of stained glass windows.  The Black Madonna has a place at the center behind the alter.  A marble Last Supper sits under the alter. 

Black Madonna

The bus ride was about an hour each way and the scenery was lovely along the road.  The little town around the church was old, quaint, and obviously geared towards tourists.  Every building we saw had a shop in front.  We bought a few souvenirs, some fresh almonds and pistachios, and had a nice gelato before returning to the ship.'

We got back too late for the main dining room and tried to order room service, but we couldn't get through.  It's odd, they advertise the room service dinner menu, and you can order breakfast or snacks from room service via the TV, but the only way to order dinner is over the phone.  After waiting with musak for about 10 minutes, we gave up.  I wanted to go to the buffet, but Ray had his mind set on a milk shake at Johnny Rockets, so we went back there again.   This was more fun than the first time.  When we went the other day, we just got hamburgers and left.  This time the waiter gave us 6 nickels to put in the juke box to play our pick of 60's songs.  Then he made me a nice flower out of napkins.  Finally, they put on Donna Summer's "Let's Dance" on the juke box and the 2 waiters & 1 waitress did a line dance in the aisle for us and the 2 other couples who were in there.  That was fun.  We left singing.  Back in the room we sampled a little bottle of Ouzo I had picked up in Greece before calling it a night. 

This morning I woke up in time to see the sunrise - the first time I've been able to do that this trip.   Ray is really tired so I'm letting him rest as much as possible today.  I think these tours have really worn him out.  Tomorrow we signed up for a tour called "Bracciano Lake & Wine Tasting" to get off the ship while they clean and restock for the next cruise.   We have been in a room at the very back of the ship and will be changing to one more towards the center of the ship for the trans-Atlantic crossing.  Getting off will get us out of the way so they can clean the rooms and move our stuff from one room to the other.  They offered 2 tours for back-to-back passengers, but the other was to Rome to see all the things we already saw 2 weeks ago.  I'm hoping this will be a nice relaxing visit to a little Italian village on a lake.

Day 14-15 Egypt

Today we have a day at sea to rest again. They were smart in giving us a sea day both before and after Egypt.  After the last 2 days, we definitely need it, although we seem to have a little more stamina with each tour. I will warn you now, this is going to be a long blog entry, because it is going to cover 2 very full days.
For the past 2 days we have been touring Egypt.  This was a tour of good and bad, poor and rich, history and present conditions.  For all it was, we wouldn't have missed it for the world.  It began with warnings, in a letter from guest relations, from our waiter, our head waiter, and from people we met who are familiar with the area.  We were warned not to eat or drink anything that may have been washed with or contain local water.  We should only eat cooked foods, canned soda, and bottled water provided by the ship.  Even purchasing bottled water from a vendor is risky because it may have just been filled from the local water supply.   The second warning was that we would be hassled and badgered by people selling things wherever we went.  Our tour was for 2 days with an overnight in a hotel, so we packed only a change of clothes, essential toiletries, medications, cameras and 4 large bottles of water.

At Citadel of Salah Al-Din,

Monday morning at around 7:30AM we left the ship at the port of Alexandria and queued up to pass through Egyptian security.  That was chaos, as the authorities tried to send everyone with overnight bags or backpacks to the right and everyone else to the left.  When we finally got through, we discovered that our bus was the one furthest away from the ship in a lot containing at least 40 buses.  We joked that they were making us walk to Cairo.

We were in the first bus going on the overnight tour.  The bus was packed - no empty seats, but we discovered over the next 2 days that we lucked out.  Our guide, Hany, was the man who designed the tour, and he had connections around Cairo that helped us in many ways.  Plus, he was knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and entertaining.  He said he is a history teacher and that he gives lectures on Egyptian history all over the world.  He also claimed to be the guide chosen to show President Obama around when he visited Cairo.  (Ray doesn't believe him, thinks he is a great guide, salesman and storyteller.  I plan to try to look him up on the internet when I get home.)

The tour started with a brief bus tour of Alexandria before we headed out on the 3 hour drive to Cairo.  I was surprised to see the Pyramids of Giza to our right, just beyond the city as we drove into Cairo.  I always thought they were further out in the desert, but they are practically at the edge of the city.   Our first stop was at the Citadel of Salah Al-Din, a lovely, large mosque, built by an Egyptian ruler named Mohammed Ali (no, not the boxer) between 1176 and 1182 A.D.. 

Great Sphinx at Night

After spending time there learning about the mosque and Muslim religious practices, we continued on to the Egyptian Museum.  Hany gave us a great tour of the highlights of this museum, including the Tutankhamen exhibit, the papyrus room, and several mummies.  We got to see the 4 sarcophagi and 4 outer boxes that contained Tutankhamen’s mummy, plus the wonderful gold mask.  It was a thrill to be able to walk around it and see the intricate detail on all sides, not just the face everyone sees in photos. 

By this time is was 4pm and we had only had an early breakfast and a small snack on the bus.  We headed to our hotel for a late lunch.  This was at the Mena House Oberoi, a 5 star hotel, on a site right next to the pyramids.  The food was good, although we were careful not to touch any salads or fruit.  After lunch we checked into a very nice room and managed a half hour rest before the next event.

Step Pyramid

At 6PM we boarded the bus again for a short ride to the viewing area for the Pyramids Sound & Light show.  Seats are positioned in front of the Sphinx, with the 3 main Pyramids of Giza behind and they play a recording of the history of these pyramids while lighting the pyramids in different color lights and projecting shapes onto them and the structure next to the Sphinx.  It is done as if the Sphinx is narrating.  Although not the kind of laser light shows we have seen in the U.S.., it was wonderful to see the pyramids lit up at night and to hear the story.

Camels at Giza Pyramids

The tour included a dinner back at the hotel after the show, but we were tired from walking and not really hungry, so we went straight to our room.  We had to wake up at 6AM the next morning.

Tuesday we got up, boarded the bus again and headed out to see the step pyramids at Saqqara.  Hany showed us that this is at the edge of the Sahara Desert, with the lush Nile Valley bordered by immense distances of sand.  From there we visited the Mit Rahina Museum, which boasts artifacts from the ancient city of Memphis, a small Sphinx and a huge statue of Ramses II.  Our next stop was at the Pyramids of Giza for daytime photography and camel or chariot rides for anyone in our tour so inclined.  And no, neither of us had any desire to ride a camel.   We just watched and took pictures. 

At Giza Pyramids

The other points to note are that the temperature on Tuesday was well over 100 F. As you will see from the photo of us, my hair was completely wet from perspiration under my hat.  There was no way I wanted to ride a camel off into the desert in that heat.  The second point is that, they were right about the hawkers.  Everywhere we went, men and young children were trying every way possible to sell us something at outrageous prices.  Our guide instructed us on how to deal with them, so we did fine.  Of course, then our guide gave us numerous sales pitches on the bus, offering various tourist items for sale.   He worked with local merchants to get the things most likely to sell and offered them to us at reasonable prices.   By the end of the tour, there were jokes that he would try to sell us his underwear next, but I think we all appreciated his fair prices and getting the kinds of things we wanted without having to haggle with street vendors.

After Giza, we boarded a lovely river ferry for a lunch cruise on the Nile.  It was only in the city,  but we can say we cruised on the Nile.  Food was good and we were entertained by a belly dancer and a whirling dervish.   If you don't know what that is, you'll have to wait for the video.

Whirling Dervish

Our last stop was for souvenirs.  We were able to pick up and pay for things we had ordered on the bus, plus shop for other items that were off the shelf at 2 stores where Hany helped tour members bargain.  One store sold only papyrus art, the other sold jewelry, clothing, and miscellaneous statues and trinkets.  By the time we re-boarded the bus for the drive back to the ship it was about 5PM.  Our ship was scheduled to leave port at 7:30PM, so this was cutting it close.   We got back about 7:45 and at least one of the 5 buses that made this journey got back after us.  Of course, if you are on a ship sponsored tour, the ship waits for you, so we weren't too concerned.  We felt the ship move away from the dock within a few minutes of our getting back up to our room. 

It was too late for the dining room and we didn't feel like buffet, so we found the Johnny Rockets "diner" on board and ordered burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. 

It was a great trip.  I do have to add a few other notes.   As we drove to the various sites, we couldn't help but see the poverty around us.  In this city of 18 million people, traffic is horrendous, and to complicate things, there are donkey and horse drawn carts mixed in with the cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses.  People bring small herds of cattle, sheep and goats into the city to sell alongside the road.  An irrigation canal runs through part of the city, and it is the most polluted, garbage filled water I have ever seen, yet I saw poor people fishing in it, trying to provide some protein for their family.  I saw men sitting in cafes drinking coffee and smoking water pipes, waiting for someone to come along hiring workers.  Men who had been hired for a job were standing waiting for their employer to pick them up.  All around there were women in long dresses and head scarves. (I only saw one burka.)  Everywhere there were buildings under construction.  I also noticed something I have seen on Caribbean islands - lower floors lived in and the top floor showing open vertical pipes or metal beams so the buildings are ready to add the next floor when money and need coincide.   In contrast to this,  we passed lavish homes and apartment buildings.   Like any large city, it has rich and poor areas, but in Cairo, the differences seem at the extreme.

Day 12 Turkey

Today is October 17th and we have a day at sea.  It is about 7AM and I am sitting on the veranda waiting for Ray to wake up so we can go to breakfast.  Yesterday was a long but very interesting day.   The ship docked in Kusadasi, Turkey around 6AM, in a light rain and lightening visible on the mountains.  We had ordered room service breakfast, something we will not do again.  The eggs and sausage were cold, they forgot our juice, and there was only enough coffee for one and a half cups each.  Better to deal with the crowds in the buffet. 

Port of Kusadasi

I learned a lot today.  One thing I didn't know is that the country of Turkey is actually on 3 continents.  A small northern part is in Europe. The rest is partially in Asia and partially in Africa.   Kusadasi and Ephesus are in Asia, so I have now touched on my 6th continent.  When we get to Egypt, we will both be able to say we have been on every continent except Antarctica.

St Mary's House

Our tour, called Best of Ephesus, left at 8:30AM and the first stop was the house of Mary Mother of Jesus.  If you remember your bible, when Christ was crucified, he gave over the care of his mother to his disciple John.  John took her to Ephesus, where he preached for man years.  There is a small stone, 3-room cottage in the hills just outside the city where it is believed that Mary lived her last years..  Pope John Paul declared it as the authentic House of Mary based on the evidence available.  There are documents proving John preached in this area.  Referring again to the New Testament, Paul's letters to the Ephesians are letters to the Christian community in Ephesus.  There is a spring flowing from the mountain just below Mary's House, and people (including me) fill bottles with this holy water.

View of Ephesus Main Street

Our second stop was at the ruins of the city of Ephesus.   This city was built 4 times, the first 3 being destroyed by earthquakes, and the 4th believed to be under the current village.  The first city was built around 2000 BC as a city devoted to the goddess Artemis.  It was conquered by the Ionians in the 11th century BC, and temples built to Athena and Apollo.  Romans conquered the area in 190 BC.  It was originally a port city, but the sea receded over the centuries and there is an open plain below the city now where there was once a bay.   Over the years, as earthquakes and mudslides destroyed the city, it was rebuilt in different locations around the area.

Ephesus Library Facade

The ruins we visited were of the third city, which was mainly Roman with some Ionic remnants.   This was the city where St John the Evangelist preached in the synagogs and public squares.   The area that has been excavated is a long main street, where they have uncovered the original paving stones, and many buildings along the street.  This includes 2 theaters, a library, the state agora (open square), market square, temples public baths, and private homes.  We spent a few hours here and it was fascinating.

The third stop on our agenda was the ruins of the church of St John.  The first church at this site was built over St John's grave.  It appears to have been rebuilt in the 4th century.  In the 6th century, a large basilica was built on the site by Emperor Justinian.  The Turks captured Ephesus in the 11th century, and the Ottomans invaded in 1390.  At some point the alter was removed, and a minaret was built, converting the basilica to a mosque. It was destroyed during the Mongol raids of 1402.

Ephesus Grand Theater

Our fourth stop was at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum.  Many of the statues, coins, jewelry, furniture, and other artifacts discovered in the ruins of Ephesus are on display here.

The last stop was at a hotel for a late buffet lunch.   The food was good here.  Most of the food was more or less familiar, just slight variations in seasonings.  We noted that it was the first tour lunch we have been on that did not offer a local wine or other alcoholic beverage.

At the end of the tour we saw a demonstration of how handmade Turkish carpets are woven.  We then did a little souvenir shopping and headed back to the ship.

Tomb of St John the Evangelist

One of the little gifts that our tour guide gave us and which many shopkeepers also give to shoppers, is the "evil eye" on a pin.  This is a bead with a design resembling an eye that is supposed to ward off evil spirits.   We wore ours to dinner tonight and we think it worked.  The previous night, the new couple at the table started talking about their "religious" beliefs, which, from our perspective, were not religious beliefs at all, but environmental.  They said a number of things which Ray found offensive and he was not looking forward to dining with them for the remainder of the cruise.   When we got to dinner, they were not at the table, and the head waiter came and asked us if there was a problem with the service.  It seems this couple complained about dinner taking 2 hours when they were used to eating in a half hour at restaurants at home.  I just responded that service was fine, and they probably were not accustomed to fine dining.   If they don't appreciate a relaxed dinner and conversation, they should be eating at the buffet.   Tonight is a formal night and they told us the first time we met them that they didn't like formal, so they probably won't show up tonight.  I think there are only 2 other meals were they might show up and we're hoping they eat somewhere else for those as well.

Today will be a nice relaxing day at sea.  You probably won't see another post from me for a few days. Tomorrow we dock in Alexandria, Egypt and  Ray & I are going off to see the pyramids.  It is an overnight tour and I won't be bringing my computer.  So the next blog entry probably won't be for about 3 days.  (It has taken me all day today to get an internet connection.  It's  now 8:45PM, and I hpe this connection lasts long enough for me to complete this post.)

Day 11 Rhodes, Greece

Medieval Walls of Rhodes Port

Today we docked in the medieval city of Rhodes.  This is the port were the Colossus of Rhodes once stood,  This 31 meter high statue was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 BC.  The fortification walls and towers are the first thing you notice now as you enter the port.  If I understand correctly, the castle and fortifications were built by the Knights Templar during the Crusades. 

Lady of Filerimos Church

Ray needed a rest today so I went off on the tour of Rhodes on my own.  The tour didn't meet until 10:30AM so we got to sleep a little later this morning.  Once on the bus we drove along yet another coastline.  This one was mostly beautiful beaches broken occasionally by villages.   Our first stop was on Mount Filerimos.  the name means "they want to be alone", and it was named this because of the monastery that was built on top of the mountain.  First there was a temple to Athena, and the ruins f this are still visible.  A  small Greek Orthodox church was built behind the ruins and a monastery behind and to the side of the church.   These are no longer in use, except as a tourist attraction.  There is a lovely tree-canopied path leading up to the monastery and weddings are often held in the courtyard at the end.

Lois on steps to Cross on Filerimos

Opposite the path to the monastery is another path.  The stations of the cross are spaced along the path and there is a large cross at the end.  There is a spectacular view from the cross overlooking the island and both the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

From there we boarded the bus and headed across the island to Kallitheas Bay to visit Kallithea Springs.  They say Hippocrates recommended the healing powers of the water here.  The current facilities were inaugurated by the Italians in 1929.  After being abandoned for many years the structures were renovated and reopened in 2007.  Brochures claim that there is recent scientific proof of the curative powers of the springs.  All I can say is, the buildings, floors, and gardens are beautiful.  As you enter, the floors are made with pebbles, placed carefully by hand to create art in the floor. From the main pavilion you walk down marble stairs to the gardens and springs..

Kallithea Springs

Our last stop was at a 5-star hotel along the beach for  "local mezes and wine."  Mezes are the Greek version of tapas, small portions of food meant to be eaten when you are having a few drinks.   The only thing is, for our tour this was set up like a buffet and it turned out to be enough for a full lunch.   The food was all Greek recipes, things like fish, mussels, calamari, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage, cheeses, salads, etc.   Unfortunately for me, I didn't care for much beyond the cheese.

Navigator of the Seas

This was a short tour today.  The bus dropped us off at the port about 2:45PM.   Some of the group went to walk through the old town and the castle, but I just stopped in a souvenir shop and then returned to the ship.  I found Ray in our room and we went downstairs for a Ben & Jerry's.  Now I've downloaded the photos for today and written this blog entry, it's time to get ready for dinner.   I'll go online to post this later tonight. 

Day 10 Athens

Posidon's Temple

Another full day is done.  We docked in Athens at around 9AM and were on the tour bus by 9:30.  This was another bus ride along a coastline to start, but a very different coastline  The terrain around Athens is comparatively flat along the coasts, with hills just a little inland.  The land is rocky with sparse growth.  Still lovely, but in a different way than Naples.   The road along the coast was winding, but the curves were more spaced out and the rocks had been blasted out to widen the road to a reasonable size, so the trip was easy.  It took about 2 hours to drive to our destination, Sounion Cape.  This is the site of the ruins of Poseidon's Temple. The walk around the temple was a little challenging, on top of a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea and over uneven rocks.

The Acropolis, with Parthenon on right

We learned a few words in Greek to get us by.  Hello or good day is "calimara".  Thank you is "efcaristo".  Yes is "ne" and no is "ohi".  I know that's probably not the way you spell these words, but that's how they were pronounced.   The other difference is, when they say "ohi", they don't shake there heads from side to side like we would for no, they lift their head up and down once, like a horse neighing.  So when I said yes to a store clerk and nodded, it confused her until I said "ne".    

From there we headed back to Athens for lunch at the Metropolitan Hotel.   The meal proved that Greece is different in more ways than their alphabet.   Almost every time we have lunch on a tour, the main course consists of a chicken cutlet, cooked however it is cooked locally.  Here the first course was an eggplant  dish that I believe is called Mousaka, and the main course was veal over a pasta that looked like rice.  It was served with Greek red and white wine which was quite good.  We had ice cream and a very sweet honey cake for dessert.

1st Modern Olympic Stadium

After lunch we headed to the Acropolis, which is the highest point of ancient Greece.  There are a number of ruins there, the most significant being the Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena.  We could not actually go into the gates of the Acropolis because there were protesters at the gate and the gates were closed to prevent problems.  Instead, we went to a hill in a park just below the Acropolis and took photos from there.  Along the way we saw the caves used as jail cells in ancient times, one of which was noted as the place Socrates spent time in.  We also passed a small historic Greek Orthodox church, Saint Demetrius, but didn't have time to go inside.

Hadrian's Gate

On the way back to the ship the bus stopped at a small store for a souvenir shopping opportunity.  The bus pulled into a side street to bring us to the store, and when we were ready to go, the driver had to back out into another small street.  A woman from the store stood in the street in the back of the bus directing, but even with that help, it was an interesting maneuver that took about 10 minutes to complete.   Once he extricated the bus from these side streets, we passed the temple of Zeus and the original Olympic stadium built for the very first modern Olympics in 1895.   

I believe our bus was the last one to get back to the ship. Everyone was supposed to be on board by 6:30PM and I think we arrived at 6:29PM.     It was too late for the 6PM dinner seating, so we just dropped our stuff in the room and headed to the buffet for a quick dinner.  Then we wandered up to the bar on the 14th floor for a drink as we watched the ship leaving Athens.   This bar has a great view forward over the pilot's station.

Time for another day to end.  I will post this in the morning.  Tomorrow we dock in the 2nd Greek port - Rhodes.

Days 8-9 Naples and At Sea

As I write this I am sitting on the veranda outside our room, on our first full day at sea.  We have been going non-stop since we arrived in Venice a week ago, so this is our first day of rest and we are taking advantage of it.  We slept until 10:00AM and made it to breakfast only a half hour before they switched to the lunch menu.  But before I describe today, let me tell you about yesterday.

As you may have noticed, my blog entry for Saturday and Sunday in Rome didn't get posted until Tuesday night. The system was down Monday night when we got on board.  Since we were on a tour all day yesterday I couldn't try again until last night.  Hopefully it will be better for the rest of the trip.

Amalfi Coast

Yesterday we were crazy enough to go on a 10 hour tour.  We were already exhausted from the last week, so we started out falling asleep on the bus.  That didn't last long though.  Our guide Antonio was wonderful and between him and the roads we traveled, we kept awake.  The first half of our tour was a bus ride along the Amalfi coast.  This is a general term to describe the coastline between Naples and Salerno.  This is a beautiful rugged coastline, with houses and terraced orchards built into the hillsides.  We passed an island formerly owned by Rudolf Nuryev, Sofia Loeren's villa, and hotels cattering to the rich and famous, in addition to many wonderful villages.  However, the most amazing thing is the road itself.  Image a full size tour bus navigating a narrow, winding cliffside road with just barely enough room for 2 cars to pass.  For the entire length of the road, it didn't go more than 100 ft without a curve, and many stretches were no longer than the bus.  Every time we met a truck or another bus we had to stop so one could navigate the curve at a time.  At several points there were "traffic contrallers", people with stop signs and radios to let traffic flow one way and then the other  There were no traffic lights.   We sat in the front of the bus and got some video of the drive.  At some points we passed other vehicles with less than an inch clearance.  Our guide said that bus drivers coming from other areas will hire a local driver experienced with this road to take their bus through rather than chance it themselves.  Of course, our driver received a great round of applause at the end to show our appreciation for his expertice.

Villas Along Amalfi Coast

Along the way we made 4 stops.  The first was for photos.   The second was to see a demonstraiton of how they make decorative wooden inlays.   The third was a shopping stop in the village of Amalfi, and the fourth was for lunch in a small town just south of Salerno.

Pompei Gladiator Training Field

After lunch we continued to Salerno where we turned inland to the expressway and headed to Pompei.  What had taken about 4 hours driving along the coast now took a about 45 minutes to go a little more than half way back on the expressway.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon touring the reconstructed section of the ruins of Pompei.  This is an amazing archeological site, definitely worth the trip if you ever hve the opportunity.  It is much larger than we thought it would be.  Our guide said we saw about a third of what has been uncovered and described the large area that is know to contain more but has not yet been excavaed.   The unique thing about this former city of about 20,000 is that the lava from the volcano Vesuvius did not flow over the city to burn it like it did other villages.  Instead, the inhabitants died of suffocation from the gases and volcanic dust that lasted 3 days after the eruption and eventually buried the city.  As a result, people, animals, houses, and objects were not destroyed, only quickly buried.  A horrible way to die.  Buildings were only toppled by later eathquakes.  That makes Pompei one of the richest archeological sites in the world.

Zeus' Temple, Pompei

It was another half hour ride back to our ship, and then a quick process to get back onboard.  We made it back to our rooms with a half hour left to get ready for dinner.  We went to our new table for 6 and a third couple, from San Diego, joined us.  Service was very slow, but I think someone was missing and the assistant waiter was covering more tables than normal.   The 3 tables covered by our waiter were the last to get dessert and we were never offered coffee.  We'll see if it gets better tonight. 

Today we are taking it easy.   WIth a late breakfast we'll probably just go for an ice cream this afternoon (there's a Ben & Jerry's on board) and then I might go to Bingo.  Tonight is the first formal night and I'm looking forward to seeing how Royal Caribbean handes that.  We are noticing small differences between this line and Celebrity.  Even though they are sister companies, I think they have different target markets.  Some of the amenities we are used to on Celebrity are not available here, while ther appear to be more activities for younger people.   I hate to admit it, but even though I am still a kid at heart and mind, the body just can't do what it used to.