ASHDOD TO MYKONOS

MYKONOS (Greece) – What a pretty sight with this beautiful little fishing village waking up on our port side.  We had to tender in and once on land it was everything you see in the picture postcards, but even better!!  We walked the narrow grey cobble streets, mortared with white, and around to the Windmills – all breathtaking along the way with little restaurants on the water, with their checkered table cloths, colourfully painted wooden furniture and all with a small vase of flowers.  We then meandered through the very narrow streets, shared with motor bikes and cars – no paths!   The colours were so crisp and clean – bright blues, reds, yellow and greens, adorning the white washed buildings and churches.  The pretty little shops were beneath the little homes atop and were just delightful.  We then walked around the foreshore, more al fresco restaurants and bars and we saw every kind of boat from the littlest fishing boat to the monstrous private cruisers, no doubt worth millions.  No wonder everyone falls in love with Mykonos!!  Have too many photos, it will be hard to choose just a few today.

Photos above are:  Judy at Windmills;  view of beautiful homes on the hill;   beach scene;  Colin with foreshore in background;  cute little restaurant;  picture postcard church and fishing boats;   and the beautiful ‘white shop’.

 

PORT SAID TO ASHDOD (JERUSALEM/BETHLEHEM)

ASHDOD (Israel) – Our third early start in four days and 3 huge excursions but today is so wonderful because we are going to JERUSALEM & BETHLEHEM on a ship tour.  Along with throngs of tourist buses again, and with our interesting guide Bernice, we were filled with stories from the Bible along the historic route into Jerusalem – we also sang out the moving hymn “Jerusalem” on the bus which was ‘hair-raising’.  Our first stop was the Mount of Olives and what a magnificent view it was of this beautiful city, next to the Garden of Gethsemane with its gnarled olive trees;  and then into the Church of Agony, also known as the Church of All Nations.  We then entered Bethlehem (can’t believe that we are actually here!) and it was quite overcoming to enter the Church of St. Catherine where the birthplace of Baby Jesus is dedicated by the beautiful Silver Star – I was one of the lucky ones to get into the Grotto and take a photo (totally  not allowed but others were too!! – you are allowed to take photos of the doorway to the Grotto but not to enter without permission).  After lunch at the Grand Court Hotel we went to the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall) filled with prayers written on little pieces of paper which are not destroyed but buried every so often. The stone courtyard was buzzing with throngs of pilgrims.  While standing at The Wall we both said a little prayer for Nanna Zoe.   We then traversed The Via Dolorosa depicting Christ’s last journey, with the Stations of the Cross, which was absolutely filled with stalls of colourful souvenir shops of every description, and finally into The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which holds the Tomb of Jesus Christ.  It’s hard to put our feelings into words but today was a very, very special one that will never be forgotten.

Photos above are:  lovely view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives;  Garden of Gethsemane;  Church of St. Catherine;  stained glass inside this beautiful church;  The Silver Star;  the Wailing Wall.

 

SUEZ CANAL TO PORT SAID

PORT SAID – we docked late in the afternoon so were able to go ashore and after getting past all the hawkers had a walk around but weren’t too impressed.  Next morning bright and early, the entire ship I think (over 40 buses) went in convoy, along with our own armed guard, and army guards brandishing machine guns guarding us all front and back.  We arrived in Cairo and the traffic was absolutely chockas but eventually arrived at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities where our guide was extremely thorough in making sure we learnt as much as we could about their history.  It was the most amazing building housing tombs, mummies and priceless treasures, including King Tut’s solid gold mask and all his lifelong treasures that were buried with him – the gold adornments of that era were beautifully crafted and extremely ornate – they must have looked awesome! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos in the museum.  We then had a lovely cruise on The Nile and ate at a nice restaurant right the river. 

Could barely believe that the Pyramids and Sphinx were right on the edge of suburban Cairo and how massive was the Great Pyramid – couldn’t get it all into one photo!!  Again thousands of tourists and bothersome hawkers everywhere but at least we were there too and touched those massive stone blocks that tapered towards the sky.  The Sphinx was also just an incredibly amazing creation of mankind and how lucky we feel to have seen these wonders of the ancient world.

Photos above are:  armed guards alongside pointing gun at Anne;  our tour organiser, thank you Ros;  cruising on the Nile with Cairo in background;  Pyramids in outer suburbia;  not a great pic. but couldn’t get it all in!;  gives an idea of the size of each block, most weighing between 2 & 3 tons;  having fun at the Pyramids;  the Sphinx;  Judy kissing the Sphinx;  Colin placing a new nose on the Sphinx.  

 

SALALAH TO AQABA (PETRA)

AQUABA – this lovely coastal port of Jordan is the gateway to PETRA – a stone city of unbelievable magnitude built into the hills, was lost for hundreds of years until it was discovered in 1812.  We took a ship’s tour, along with about 1,400 others, for the journey of a lifetime.  Weather was kind fortunately as we trekked for a couple of kilometres along the narrow chasm of rock walls (the Siq)  dodging many ‘hitchers’ on horseback or horse and carts.  It was well worth the effort as the “Treasury” came into view - hard to explain in words how beautiful was the sandstone masonry and how well it has been preserved and then just a short walk to the “Ampitheater”, a multitude of rock carvings, tombs, camels, tourists and souvenir stalls.  What brilliant atmosphere and scenery and this  of course, was also the setting for Indiana Jones – the perfect backdrop!!

 Photos above are:  the easy way to get down there;  through The Siq;  The Treasury;  camels at The Treasury;  tombs & markets;  spectacular scenery;  climbed forever to reach this beautiful theatre which you might be able to spot on previous picture; they must have been very tall people;  urns and jewels for sale;  it was like Pitt Street;  Indiana Jones Gift Shop.

 

 

PIRATES -  Forgot to mention that we had Pirate Drill before entering the Red Sea and had to participate by staying in our cabins, with curtains closed and simulate an attack by those dreaded pirates.  They bombarded us with rocket-powered grenades but not to fear we had ‘water hoses’ that were actually set up for quite a few days on the Prom Deck.  Fortunately I don’t have any pictures of any pirates and we escaped unharmed.

 

DUBAI TO SALALAH

SALALAH (Oman) – home of the ancient ‘Frankincense’ which is still used today as the base for incense and perfumes - an interesting city, again of sandy coloured buildings, mostly well maintained.   Our small group toured these streets, savoured the sights and enjoyed the interesting markets filled with leather pistol, bullet & knife holders, bags and shoes – mostly all made on the spot on their sewing machines.  Also lots of colourful clothes, materials and what got the men excited about were the lovely ‘pill box’ hats – just had to have one!  Drove many kilometres along the beach and not a sole in sight as the sea was rough and it was their ‘siesta time’.  Dilapidated homes along the foreshore, obviously not prime location here.  We also visited a small banana plantation/farm, and they were good.  We ended at the wonderful Frankincense Museum and archaeological site… 

Our wonderful group of ‘Crazy Cruisers’ meet for lunch every couple of weeks and Joanne & Garry  have made up some awards for those ‘fortunate/unfortunate’ travellers who have make faux pas along the way, or do something a little different, to award their prized certificates…   Colin received one for taking over the microphone as our guide was not the most fluent and it wasn’t his ‘day job’.

Photos above are:  the banana plantation;  Jo & Garry on our fun bus;  the Muttrah Souk (markets);  our guide and his offsider at the Frankincense Museum;  Paula taking a photo of Colin & Ray;  and Colin receiving his Omani Tour Guide Interpreter & Bloody Legend Award.

 

MUMBAI TO DUBAI

DUBAI – from putrid to pristine!!  What a pleasure to behold – clean, tidy, stunningly attractive and HOT!!  We arrived in the evening and a group of us went ashore and headed for Dubai Mall where we watched the spectacular ‘Dancing Waters’ light up and put on a beautiful show and in the background was the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building – lit up in all its glory!  Next morning we went solo and took a cab to a nearby market place where we were asked whether we wanted to buy watches.  After hesitating, we nodded and were taken to the back of the shirt & bag shop and escorted up to the attic, sat on plastic crates and to our amazement,  watches appeared in plastic boxes from behind the wall!!  A tricky situation but fortunately we made a couple of good purchases – a Rolex & Cartier!! We thought that was scary until he insisted we needed a bag and were taken to a derelict building, up in the lift, doors locked behind us and a room full of bags – yes, we bought one!!  Happy to see the light of day again, we headed back to the ship for lunch.

We then met up with our good old mate John and his lovely Jhing and were shown many wonderful sights - including the Madinat Jumeirah, a lavish resort with Venetian style waterways and gondolas, and a fabulous Arabian market place - had a ‘huge’ coffee!!;  Ski Dubai (complete with huge ski run & chair lifts etc.) – a sight to behold situated in a massive shopping mall; one of the man made Palm       where the streets, lined with huge apartment blocks, are shaped like palm fronds and where the magnificent Atlantis Hotel is situated;  finishing up in John & Jhing’s old neck of the woods on the shores of Dubai Creek.  A fantastic day, made even more special with dear friends – this is a place we’d really like to return to in the not too distant future.

Photos above are:  John & Jhing;  Madinat Jumeirah Resort;  the Burj Khalifa – world’s tallest building;  snowfields at Ski Dubai;  the Atlantis Hotel;  and a handsome couple we dine with nightly – Ros & Arnold.

 

COCHIN TO MUMBAI

MUMBAI – another small private tour with Mumbai Magic, organised by Joanne, which was fantastic – could write a book about today – we saw it all and smelt even more!! Drove through the slums and hard to believe that people survive living here in such squalor.  First stop was the Gateway of India, a magnificent arch structure right on the waterfront (built to commemorate King George V’s visit in 1911). At the same spot we captured photos of the beautiful Taj Mahal Hotel – a spectacular place to stand and look around – then the heavens opened, we were unprepared and drenched!! We were taken underground to a railway station – omg – then to the small but beautifully presented museum dedicating the life of Ghandi.  We drove along Marine Drive, a really nice stretch of sandy beach, walkway and some nice hotels but not for swimming – no way!!  The Jain Temple was sweet smelling and so colourful, then we stopped for pictures at the “local laundry” – literally thousands of pieces of laundry washed (all in the same water), dried & ironed everyday and returned to their rightful home!!  Our late lunch was delightful with “breads” to dip into many colourful and tasteful goodies. A modern building was pointed out to us – looked like layers of kids blocks piled one on top of each other – and were informed that a family of five lived there, with staff of 300!!  With a population far bigger than Australia, what a day of extremes it was and although pretty horrendous in many places, we saw the bones of what it must have looked like when Colin’s parents were living here 60 years ago with the British Army - living quite a different lifestyle.

Photos above are:  Gateway to India;  Ghandi Museum;  inside Jain Temple;  laundry;  our lunch;  downtown Mumbai;  a welcome beer for Colin & Garry;  girls in their Indian garb;  and Neil serving Colin dessert