KETCHIKAN - RAINING KATS AND DOGS

Today our port was Ketchikan – and it was drizzly then rainy and always cloudy. It was not a good weather day at all. We stepped off briefly to wander but were soon chased back inside. Lunch today was at the Pinnacle Grill aboard the ship. It was quite lovely – as it was a port day, there were not many guests dining, but it was very special. The afternoon was spent reading, sudoku puzzling and Brian was putting a plastic model together. After all, it was a good day to be inside!

Later we had a special invitation by Cpt. Bos to join him on the bridge. That was such a surprise and yet another adventure. Early on in the cruise Brian had asked if he would be kind enough to put mom’s picture up on the bridge in a place where she could have a good view of the Alaskan Voyage. So he invited us up to see where her picture had been placed for the trip. She was front and center of the bridge with an unobstructed view. He is a very kind man and we had a lovely visit with him before leaving him to his duties. He had to go to the little chapel to administer to a couple renewing their wedding vows. Tomorrow is an at sea day – we are traveling back down the inside passage and after going through some dreary weather and gale force winds during the night, we should have clear skies all day tomorrow for the rest of our journey home. There might even be some good whale watching from the ship. I think he mentioned that we might even see some orcas and a sperm whale if we are lucky. Humpbacks are a given – and we don’t get tired of those. So tomorrow is another day….and the last of our special voyage together.

SHHH... I THINK MARGERIE IS ASLEEP

The scenic cruising day of Glacier Bay begins early. We set the alarm for 6:30 as we begin the entrance from Icy Straight into Sitakaday Narrows. Whales and sea otters have been seen and we should be able to spot Puffins, Marbled Murrelets, Harbour Seals and certainly lots of bergie bits in the water. Always there is a running commentary from the park rangers that come on board for this very special journey into Glacier Bay National Park. It is my most favourite day up here. There are several glaciers on the way There is the Reid Glacier, Lamplugh Glacier, Johns Hopkins Glacier and then we get right into Glacier Bay and there is the spectacular Margerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier. It has been so cold up here this year that we will be very lucky to hear the cracking and see the calving that we have seen in previous visits, but I will have my camera ready just in case. Just heard that the one of the glaciers that we saw drops off 15 feet per day – WOW – that is a lot of calving that must be going regardless of weather as I said. Hmmm something to be learned every day!! So we are well onto our way to the end of Glacier Bay and should have our first sighting of Margerie momentarily. Margerie is a growing glacier. That means that it is snowing all year round in the ice field and although Margerie advances forward 7 feet every day, that is not enough of a melt for the collection of snow in the ice field above it. Brian, Eileen and I have had the traditional pea soup that they serve in the Glacier Bay area – it is cold outside today only about 10 – so it was a welcome treat. The skies are overcast, but getting brighter – so maybe….just maybe….Eileen and I are now drinking our traditional Baileys and Coffee. We have been known to bring on our own Baileys, but today we bought the souvenir mug with the Baileys. These are Kitiwakes

Well the day was lovely and there was lots to see – no good pictures of puffins or otters…the glacier wasn’t very active and only a small amount of cracking – the skies were not as clear as we were hoping and it was freezing!!!…but any day spent in Glacier Bay National Park is still a wonderful day! After dinner when we came back to the room – look what we found – now between all of us we have seen some fancy towel folding – but this was a new one for all of us! I want to take him home – so early night tonight – last stop Ketchikan tomorrow and then we will be motoring home!

See you soon!

SKAGWAY

What a treat we had last night at the Indonesian Crew Show that began at 11:00 at night! If you have cruised and never attended one of these shows, you are missing out on a lot of fun! The selections of dance on song are all done by truly amateur performers that consist of members of the staff that you see daily around the ship. But the piece de la resistance, is the grande finale which is the Angklung Orchestra. Cruise guests are encouraged to join in. We couldn’t hold Brian back – he was fidgeting throughout the rest of the show ready to jump up at a moments notice and ready to take the stage! Yes he was first on his feet and front and center to receive his #3 Angklung. Eileen and I were cheering him on from the second row. This instrument only plays one note and the musician must shake the instrument back and forth vigorously when his number is called. The selections that we heard were Spanish Eyes and My Way – what a treat! There were about 30 eager participants to entertain us with these very special renditions of familiar songs.

Well, we have lucked out with two wonderful days of mostly sunshine. We had a lovely walk into town in Skagway. Eileen and I are wearing our most beautiful necklaces designed by the silver artist Lisa McCormick. The card with the piece read…. “The masks are singing mouths are open. They are forever connected”. They are beautiful and we are so very lucky to have such a wonderful and caring brother.

The trip is going so wonderfully. I can’t even begin to explain how lucky we are to be able to do this trip together one more time. It is so special for me to travel with Brian and Eileen. These are my favourite trips. We have so much to remember and share with each other – good good times.

We were in town for quite a long time and even had lunch at a small Alaskan Brew Pub – Eileen and I had a halibut burger and it was delicious – Brian had halibut fish and chips and all of us washed it down with a glass of Spruce Tip Blond Beer – it was very good. I was going to have the Prospector’s Pale - but was advised that it was more bitter, so I went with the other selection. The ship was docked from about 7:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night – so once again we were underway and ready to get to our next adventure – Glacier Bay. ttfn

WHALE WATCHING AND WILDLIFE VIEWING IN AUK BAY

Today began with a bit of disappointment – we didn’t go up Tracey Arm as I as thinking we would….don’t know why. I know that the last time we were up on this cruise in August, it was difficult to navigate because of the large bergs that had calved off the glaciers – so we could only go part way. Maybe they take that piece off the itinerary for the cruises that are later in the season – not sure, but if I get a chance, I will ask someone.

Still a very pleasant day of scenic cruising and then we arrived in Juneau at 1:00. We disembarked and got on a bus that would take us to Auk Bay where we would get on our boat to go see wildlife and whales. Our first viewing was harbour seals. They are the cute ones – there was a small colony on one of the little islands that we drifted slowly by. Next was the giant Stellar Sea Lions. They are large and noisy. As the naturalist put it, the colony sounds like a bunch of rowdy teenagers all burping the alphabet! and it did sound like that! They were very active and I was able to get some good pictures.

Now it was time to find whales. We were very lucky to be able to spot one orca and several hump backs. The lone orca was just passing through, so we weren’t able to get a good look at him – just a few glimpses of the very high dorsal fin that was about 6 feet tall. It was a large male. He surfaced and blew only a few times and then he swam well out of view. Now the stars of the day were the humpbacks. They put on quite a show. I had a hard time getting good pictures of them as I seemed to always be focused on the wrong one! Loved seeing what we did though, and the pictures I did get will help me remember what a special sighting we did have.

Time for bed!

A QUIET DAY

Today was spent at sea. The weather was overcast at times and sunny at others…all in all a calm and leisurely day. Just before noon we were at a small reception with the captain. Good eats and free drinks and a lovely chat with Cpt. Peter Bos. We have sailed with this particular captain for at least three of the trips we have taken. He remembered our mother and he took her picture up to the bridge so she can have the best view of the Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay on this – our last Alaskan voyage. He seemed pleased that we were doing this family cruise in her memory. Most of the day was spent enjoying the spectacular views of the Inside Passage. At times the ship is so close to the shore on either side that it seems if you threw a rock you would have no trouble reaching the shore. We could see lots of salmon splashing about and the odd spout of a humpback whale. Eileen and I were fortunate to see one sound – that is when the tail comes out of the water and they dive to feed. We weren’t close enough to get a good picture, but definitely close enough to have a good look.

We passed by one of only 27 manned lighthouses. Most of them are automated. This one is quite isolated – the lighthouse keepers are helicoptered in from Prince Rupert for a 28 day stretch – as you can see from the picture, this structure sits on barren rock with no room to even walk – just precipitous cliffs down to the water. The captain’s narration told us of it’s reputation having many mishaps and tragedy associated with it’s staff. There have been attempted murders, successful murders, incidences of mental breakdown and deaths from attending to maintenance. I’m sure the close quarters of the staff and the isolation is key to the problems that develop here. Cpt. Bos always has interesting stories to relate when we travel this route. So tonight our clocks are turned back by one hour and we can look forward to scenic cruising in Tracy Arm tomorrow and then a stop in Juneau where Eileen and I will go on a whale watching tour. Sure hope I have some spectacular pictures to share with you tomorrow! Bye for now…

FIRE ON MIDSHIPS

Little bit of excitement before we left port today. Seems that there was an electrical fire in the midship around the shops. Didn’t cause much damage, didn’t delay our leaving – but did leave a nasty smell that made the eyes water. Had no trouble getting “mom” on board. They did ask what was in the box…and then said how nice it was to be taking her on a cruise. So she has taken up residence on the desk looking out the window. We don’t want her to miss a thing. We joined the sail away party on the Lido deck and enjoyed BBQ…. ribs, steak, salmon and chicken. They also had some really nice salads and lots of bread to choose from. It was crowded there so we brought our selections down to our cabin and ate on our deck. It was very lovely. The deck has so much room. It is really great for sitting and enjoying, eating or lounging. The skies cleared as we began our departure and it has stayed clear right into the evening. At midnight we get to Ripple Rock and Campbell River, so we will watch outside to see the swirling waters. We tried our luck in the casino. Played for a while, but no one was winning and it was cold in there. Already I am looking in the shops for another sweatshirt to wear. Have a feeling that I should have brought some warmer clothes – in the next few days I will know for sure. If we get into Juneau in the morning on Friday and if I am still cold, I will go to our favourite clothing store and get a sweatshirt and maybe a jacket……course they will have Alaska written on them or have Forget-me-nots or have the Big Dipper or a moose or a fish or or or…..but at least I will be warm! It was hard to think of warm clothes after only being home from Vegas for 1½ days. It was over 40 down there!! But this is Northern BC and Alaska. Well, I will talk to you again later and maybe I will have some pictures to share then too. Bye for now…

SIMPLY SPEAKING SEDONA IS AWESOME!

What a beautiful day for a drive - got an early start around 8:00 and off we were to Sedona. The scenery changed from dry desert and cactus - to green scrub bushes and red dirt. Then we turned the corner and ....

it simply took my breath away. It is like nothing I have seen anywhere before. It was so colourful and lovely. The red rocks are stunning and the landscape is unforgetable.

We stopped at a few spots to take pictures and then we went for lunch in a place that I can neither spell nor pronounce. Had deep fried pickles - Arizona style. They were good and certainly there was some jalapeno in there somewhere. There were lots of stores to wander around in and I did my best to leave a little money to say I had been in Sedona. There were some lovely local artists and artisans whose work was distributed and available in the local shops. It was a very wonderful time spent there. As we were leaving, there was this most beautiful house and a camera shot or two in between the wrought iron rungs of the magnificent fence was stunning. Here is a peek at part of the garden...

and yes that is the most beautiful lawn. I don't even want to think what his water bill must be - there were gladiolas and other plants that were familiar to me from the northwest - certainly a beautiful oasis in this baren, albeit beautiful part of the world. So hope you are all well...I am busy and happy and having a wonderful time. Oh and as for the movie last night....dinner and drinks in a reclining seat and popcorn all served to your seat.....and then a blanket and pillow and further reclining? All true and it was a very unique experience and the movie we saw was People Like Us and it was really good - so a 10 out of 10. See you soon!

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU....

This morning when I opened the blind....life was happening right outside the window! How amazing this is. I had to stand there and take pics while the oportunity was at hand. At first I saw a little bunny and then there was some movement over nearer the fence - a little gecko and then some bigger movement and it was a lizardy thing. When the two were facing each other, the larger one put on quite a show. Out of my bedroom at home, the only movement I see is the traffic on 160th - so this is quite a treat. I watched them for a while until they made there way though a drainage hole at the bottom of the adobe wall. Wow - I don't think I would get anything done if I lived here. You don't even have to leave the yard - there is so much going on.

Today, the pool will come in handy - I think that the temp will rise above 100. We don't have a lot planned today - we are picking up a quilt that Sharon had layered and quilted - that will be fun to visit a fellow quilter. Then a movie tonight in a theatre where you have you dinner and wine delivered to your seat and when you have finished your repast, they deliver a blanket, pillow and popcorn to your totally recling seat for the rest of the movie - I will tell you more about that experience tomorrow!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Today was another great day. We had a relaxing start and then it was grocery shopping. Of course it is always more interesting to shop away from home. Today was raining and cloudy - but definitely not cold. It was quite nice all day in the low 80's - yes back to Farenheit in the USA. Now at 9:00 at night it is 79 degrees outside and sooooo pleasant to sit and not a bug in sight - even better.

There is a plethora of birds here. The little quail are the most fun. Their little families are getting bigger - not the real babies that are fun to see, but still these families scurry around. They are capable of flying up to the top of the fence and then to flutter down, but you seldom see them other than on the ground and they are quite shy. Thanks to the amazing zoom on my new little camera, I was able to get a few good shots

The cactus are lovely too. It seems that I missed the desert in bloom, but there is still lots of colour. Amid the brown, tan, rust and ecru desert colours there is still beauty and colour. Can't wander into the desert as there are rattle snakes, spiders and scorpions about. So I take the pics I can wherever I see something that interests me.

Even out the bedroom window there is a lovely scene that greets me when I raise the shade. This is a lovely place. So with an afternoon of clothes shopping and a BBQ dinner - I am now ready to settle in to watch a bit of TV before off to bed - another adventure awaits tomorrow! Ciao for now!

BRAND NEW ADVENTURE IN ARIZONA

What a great way to start summer - a holiday. I am down in Scottsdale, Arizona for a week and although a hot time of the year to be here, I know it will be a a great visit. The temperature today is a cool 98 degrees and I say cool, cause it is cool by Arizona standards, but as for Vancouver? It is so wonderful and warm. I was on the same plane as my friends, Mike and Sharon, so we arrived here about 5:00 in the afternoon. We did go out for dinner and now we are planning some adventures this week. So far Sedona, shopping, DBack Baseball game, shopping, movie in a theatre where you have dinner, drink wine and then they give you a blanket and pillow and you watch the movie.....oh and did I mention shopping? There is a beautiful full moon tonight.

I haven't much to add yet, so I will leave you with this beautiful image taken in their backyard at 9:35 (yes it gets dark earlier in the evening here - farther south. Wanted to experiment with a night shot from my new Sony Camera - so far so good I say! Talk to you tomorrow!

LAST ADVENTURE ON SANTORINI

Today we met our bus to go on our excursion over to the volcano, hot springs and then to Thirassia and our donkey ride. Our first stop was the volcanic island of Nea Kameni. Upon our arrival, I made the decision not to attempt the climb to the crater. It was a very hot day, uneven path and strenuous climb that would last about 35 minutes with no shade. Not for me. Tina went and took my camera – when she got back 1½ hours later … she was so mad. She said there was nothing to see (I guess I made the right decision – well right for me anyway). She said there was a pipe sticking out of the ground that was some sort of a vent and that was all.

Next – on to Palaia Kameni – the hot springs – Since I had all that time on the boat, I had changed into my bathing suit and was already for a dip. The boat stopped and people started leaping off it into the frigid (cool) water of the Aegean and then swim over to the shallow hot springs area. Poop! I wasn’t going to do that either. So I put my clothes back on again and waited for the boat to start off for Thirassia. The people that had made the small swim and into the hot springs were slightly orange when they returned. Whatever minerals that were in the hot springs covered the suits and bodies of all who entered and there was nowhere to shower off.

Ok we departed for Thirassia and when we threw out the lines, all that was on the shore were a few restaurants. The top of the cliff where the ghost town of a city remains was accessible by donkey only 1 way and when you got up to the top…you just had to walk down again as there was nothing to see! We decided not to go up and that was our day nothing turned out quite as we had expected. However, we did have a nice boat ride.

On our way back to the port – as we were sailing back, a tragedy occurred in Oia. The donkey/pedestrian path from the water up to the cliffside town had a landslide. One man was killed and 4 others were injured. Our little boat passed close by and we could still see part of the slide happening and people on the slide area. The unfortunate tourists were on the tour boat that was about 10 minutes ahead of ours. Some of the people on our boat were supposed to do that ride/walk, but now the area is closed as the slide has destroyed a big part of it. So we all went back to port to awaiting buses and that concluded our outing. I took some pictures, but was not aware of exactly what had happened until we were docked.

So now we will be at the hotel for a restful day and then our homeward journey starts tomorrow. It begins with a 5 hour ferry ride getting into Athens around 11:00 p.m….then a short sleep at the hotel when we will be picked up at 4:30 a.m. to get to the airport for our 2.5 hour flight to Frankfurt. After a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt….we will then depart for our 10 hour flight to Vancouver. So there will be no envying me this part of the journey…but it is necessary as to get home. Just hope the new volcano in Iceland does not interfere with these final travel plans.

I am looking forward to coming home and it feels good to say….see you soon!

EXPLORING SANTORINI WITH THE GREEN HORNET

Today we decided to follow different roads to see where they would take us and they took us to some interesting places. Lots of opportunities for picture taking. So rather than put up a bunch of words, I am going to put up some lovely photos for you.

Here is one of the sunsets that we see from the balcony (tonight’s sunset was spectacular).





These are the pastel houses on Santorini – that we found quite by accident on our journey today.



These are some homes that have been made from the old windmills – again thanks to having the rental car to go exploring.



Here is a view from Oia looking down the caldera to the left…







and to the right.

So tomorrow we are having our last excursion before getting ready to come home. We will be going to the volcano and hot springs...and then to the island of Thirassia - places we can see from the hotel - and we will be riding donkeys! So stay tuned for this one last adventure and I hope to have something intersting to tell you.

SANTORINI DAY 3

The hotel here is absolutely gorgeous – it is built on the side of the caldera in the town of Imerovigli that overlooks the island of Thirassia and the town of Oia. To our left is the volcanic island, Nea Kameni – needless to say the population there is 0. The views from our balcony are spectacular – but omg the stairs are nasty. There are actually 200 stairs from the reception desk up to street level. On the way, there are 2 elevators that probably cut out about 60 stairs – if that – but one hardly notices. The only good thing about the stairs is that if we make it up to street level in the morning…and then we are out and about in the sun touring around, the stairs are all down when we get back to the hotel.

When we first arrived, they did not have the notation of twin beds for our reservation, so they put a cot in for the first night and then yesterday, we were shown to our new room. Turned out to be a suite with two bedrooms, a living room, 1½ bathrooms and its own hot tub. So we are very comfortable now….and yes life is so tough!

We rented a car for 3 days to help us get around a little easier. We were able to get from one end of the island to the other. There are many places to stop along the way and enjoy the scenic views and the typical blue and white that Santorini is noted for. When you drive in Greece, you have to be very cognizant of the fact that pedestrians walk out in front of vehicles, cars cut corners, motor bikes turn on the inside left of you, streets are often too narrow for two cars to pass (sometimes there is backing up involved) and drivers are aggressive in general.

Saw the best graffiti ever….it was collections of white stones placed on black volcanic earth. It looked so nice – we didn’t add to the collection, just stopped the car for a minute to get a picture. It was on the way to Oia (pronounced eeya). It was a beautiful drive right to the end of the island. This is the place that people go to watch the sun set. From our hotel in Imerovigli, we see the fabulous sight right off the balcony, so haven’t seen the need to drive there.

THE LAST SWIPE

Even though yesterday’s luggage moving day was exhausting, we were so glad we had done that. Today all we had to do was go down to the gangway early and then we took our hand luggage off with us. We swiped our cruise card one last time and away we went with our possessions like two Bedouins into the early morning light. Leaving the ship early and in a hurrying ensured that we would make the 7:30 sailing of our ferry to Santorini. As it was, the port at Piraeus is huge and we actually had to take a taxi from Gate 11 around to Gate 8 and then we were safely aboard the ferry for the 5 hour ride to Santorini with 45 minutes to spare. Other than lengthy, there was nothing outstanding about the ferry ride. We made a few stops at other islands - Paros, Naxos and Ios – then it was Santorini – the last stop.

We got to our hotel about 1:00 and it was good to have a place to be for the last leg of our journey. The reception desk at our hotel is down about 65 stairs from a small gate on the street. Then I know I counted 315 to get up to our room and then a further 578 to get back up to the street. (actually only 200 altogether) The hotel is on a cliff and though the view is spectacular…it is tiring getting back up to street level again. So we took our time to settle in and then we went into town for a bit. I’m sure there are still more items to buy before we leave for home!! It was cool today and there were times that the sweatshirt jacket came out. We wandered around town for a while, had dinner and then came back to the hotel – we are a ways out of town, but the public bus ride is E1.60 and the taxi is E5.00. So we will take transit as often as possible. The plan for tomorrow is get up have breakfast - that’s the best plan we have had for days!! At some point we need to buy another piece of luggage – (after researching, that is our best and cheapest option) but we have several days to figure all that out. We are able to be in touch more frequently now…..as there is free internet….but the days might finally be quieter and less hectic. Either way, you can be sure you will read about it here!

SANTORINI

We had our first glimpse of Santorini when the ship made its final port of call yesterday. We had a drive around the island that gave us an idea of the layout when we stay here for 6 nights. We were able to get our very heavy luggage off and take it to the hotel for safekeeping. This would make our disembarkation so much easier and enable us to catch the very early ferry from Athens. Unfortunately no one told us about all the stairs just to get onto the funicular – thank goodness some kind young men from Germany came to our rescue and we were able to get on and ride to the top of the island. Then after a short, but difficult walk on cobblestones….we were able to get a taxi to take us to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel, there were several stairs – but at least down. However, the transfer of these heavy pieces of luggage was exhausting. We will explore options how to get our “trinkets” (feels more like a suitcase full of boulders) home. To be considered are mailing….purchasing another suitcase and paying for an extra bag on the airline….paying for an overweight bag….an upgrade to business class to fly home…. One thing we know for sure – we still have to shop in Santorini!!!

With our luggage safely stored at the hotel, we rode the funicular down and had a well earned beer at the bottom before boarding the tender to take us back to the ship. Beer in this little restaurant cost twice as much as it should have – but quenched our thirst and then it was back on the ship for our last evening with our new friends.

We said our goodbyes to Afghanistan/Toronto, Australia, Boston, California,
England, New Zealand …and of course all y’all Southerners. We said goodbye to the crew that were special and then an early bed for to get ready for our early disembarkation tomorrow.

EGYPT Day 2

Today was another early start and then we were on our way for a breakfast cruise up and down part of the Nile. (the longest river in the world) The part that we cruised on was not very long and we just kept turning around and repeating the voyage until we had finished our breakfast and taken pictures – about 1½ hours. It was very nice. We once again boarded our bus and this time we set off for the Step Pyramid. That was the very first pyramid before the 4 straight sided ones that we know. Can’t imagine what it was like during the building of these. The plan, the numbers of people, cutting the stones, carrying them for miles and finally the placement of them! Our tour guide had a degree in Egyptology and was presently studying for her master’s degree. She gives lectures in North America and soon she will be lecturing in Virginia and in Montreal. She was so interesting to listen to and the knowledge that she could recite without hesitation when people asked questions, was extraordinary. She also explained about the political unrest in the country – because people asked and also because there was a big demonstration right outside our hotel last night. The police actually fired “sound bullets” to disperse the crowds. I didn’t rush to the window with all the sirens wailing – people shouting and finally the gunshots. (that’s what all the ruckus was that I mentioned in the previous post). She explained that this has become a way of life and these times are not frightening to her because the police and the army are very much in control – except for the nasty traffic. She expects that there will be much unrest right up until the election in September – their first democratic election ever!

After the step pyramid – we then made our way to Giza to see the pyramid of Cheops. Last night, we had a sound and light show here, but no time to see the pyramids in the daylight – so today was the day. The vendors around the sights are annoying to say the least. They are constantly in your face yelling one dollar one dollar. They try to put things in your hand saying it’s a gift and then tell you to give them money. We were warned not to take anything and just keep saying no – so I walked around the pyramids with my hands in the air saying “No thank you” and not making eye contact! However, I did manage to buy a few souvenirs and I RODE ON A CAMEL! Our tour guide, Dina, introduced us to a boy whom she said would be fair $3.00 US and not try to take advantage of us. So first, up went Tina and then I had my turn – thank God that’s over with! I had to face some pretty considerable fears doing that one. I did get up – the camel stood up and walked in a circle and then the camel was down on his knees and I was back on terra firma once again. Don’t ever want to do that again – it’s officially scratched off the bucket list – I’m not sure it was on there to begin with!

The pyramids are so immense – the base of the largest one is 13 acres. All the angles and degrees are so accurate – the precise engineering is difficult to understand today – let alone 4,000 years ago. Hard to be there and not be totally overwhelmed – and then some idiot camel driver or a vendor gets in front of you as you are trying to get a picture saying one dollar – one dollar – where you from? (Brian – you didn’t tell me about this….) Interesting note – carry your own toilet paper in Egypt or ….one dollar one dollar for a very few small squares – we were warned so we carried our own with us!

On to see the Sphinx – quite large indeed – and yep – his nose is gone! Originally it was carved out of one piece of sold rock. They think it is older than the pyramids and that is was originally a complete lion and then some self absorbed ruler thought that the head should reflect his likeness – and as the head was a different piece of stone, this seems to substantiate this belief. What happened to the original head? She told us, but that is one thing I will look up when I get home. There was so much information – it was difficult to remember everything. Since it was sandstone and not marble, we could very likely been walking on what remains of the destroyed head.

So then to lunch and then a race back to the ship so that we could get on board and continue our journey to Santorini. One other thing that was interesting along our drive was the pigeon houses that were everywhere – hard to get a photo as the bus was moving quite quickly, but I did my best. Now I am finished writing for now. I sometimes think my blogs are a bit long winded – but what we have seen and done cannot be said in just a few words – and heck – you can always just enjoy the pictures. I am missing home quite a bit just now and I think my writing helps me to be closer to you. See you soon!

OVERLAND IN EGYPT - Day 1

We got on our bus at 7:30 am and then started on our trip to Cairo with lights flashing and horns honking (our police/security escort). We stopped first at Citadel of Salah El Din on the highest hill in Cairo. We took pictures inside the Mohammad Ali Mosque and then wandered outside to look at the beautiful panoramic views of downtown Cairo. The mosque itself was not overly impressive – but I’m sure holds great meaning to the locals who still pray there. While enjoying the view, I had my first misty glimpse of the pyramids.I must say I felt very excited. The Egyptian fellow who pointed them out to me then asked for a tip. Everyone here has his hand out! With a 19% unemployment I guess this is to be expected.

Our next stop was at the Museum of Antiquities. This museum is only half a block from the square where millions of people were demonstrating only a few short months ago. Fortunately, this 100+ year old museum was not harmed during the demonstrations and although people did break into it, only a few items were taken. All but three pieces have been recovered. Concerned citizens formed a human chain around the most priceless objects in the museum and most likely saved it for being pillaged. The golden objects of the Tutankamen exhibit remained untouched. I was fortunate enough to see this exhibit when is made a world tour in 1970. I saw some objects at Expo 86 – but now to see the exhibit in its home is very special and something I never expected to see. I find the whole experience here rather surreal.

The next stop was to drop our things off at the hotel and then get ready for our Light and Sound Show at the pyramids. It was quite fantastic. With the voice of Omar Sharif and I can’t remember the other one telling the story of Cheops and other family members. It was a beautiful way to be introduced to the pyramids. Tomorrow we get to go back there and see them in the daylight.

Cairo is very noisy, crowded and filthy. As I sit here writing tonight, sirens have been sounding constantly for the last 20 minutes or so. The traffic is unbelievable – You see everything on the streets from cars criss crossing and honking, buses pushing their way through, donkeys pulling carts, people pushing carts, people riding horses or donkeys, people jay walking everywhere, motorcycles with up to 4 people on them and of course no helmets, people trying to sell stuff, - (oh the sirens finally stopped – but the horn honking hasn’t). I have yet to see a car that doesn’t have scrapes down each side. The white lines on the road are only a suggestion – and other than that it is every driver, person or animal for himself! At 10:00 at night – every 5th vehicle on the road has no lights on it – or it is a horse, donkey, bicycle etc. Enough about the traffic. As for the dirty streets – that is a shame. Garbage is everywhere. I saw a shopkeeper sweeping out his store and he just swept the plastic garbage onto the road. It is quite bizaare.