Breakfast and the gym. Our bodies are really tired from all of the walking and we appreciate the day of rest.
Very foggy and cold. Hard to see 50 feet over the ocean. The ships fog horn has been signaling every few minutes.
We went to Ian’s presentation on Flam. He will do “sail in” commentary as we approach tomorrow morning. Yes, more muffins. We have a tour of the Naeroyfjord on Wednesday. The views should be spectacular.
Group trivia was tough again. A group of pigeons is called? How about the name of the Looney Tunes song? (hope you thought merry go-round broke down).
We are starting to think about our journey home and how we are going to get everything back to Grosse Ile. Next time we will spend $100 and buy all of our clothes at a thrift store and leave them behind. …
Ian gave “sail in” commentary through the fiords into Oslo. If you guessed that there were muffins, you would be correct.
We pulled in later than usual today. I’m guessing it is to please the muffin eating passengers. We arrived at the dock at 10 am and we got off the ship about 10:30 am.
I suggested we visit the Kon-Tiki museum. Thor Heyerdahl wanted to prove that people could have sailed from South America to Polynesia. To do that, he built a raft out of balsa wood and set out with 5 others from Peru.
He wrote about the experience and his book was published in 1948. I remember reading this when I was a kid and thought it would be interesting.
We could see where the museum was from the ship but there was a lot of water to walk around. 4.5 miles this morning. The sun was warm and it was already in the 60s.
These shipping containers were used to provide information to visitors.
Along the way we walked through some nice neighborhoods.
Lots of walking paths.
Thor’s team knew nothing about sailing and the craft looked like it would last a week. I guess it was their ignorance of the seas that really gave them the courage to try this.
The museum was interesting and small. Thor also built a reed boat similar to what the Egyptians used and also did some work on Easter Island.
There were many artifacts from easter Island in this museum. We spent about an hour there and decided to head back and grab lunch. The restaurant we passed on the way in was closed on Monday. We decided to stop at a market and grab some food we could eat on the way.
Our next stop was the Beer Palace. Very nice place and very large. No one was there and we sat down for a drink. We learned why no one was there. A 25% VAT or “Value Added Tax”. $13 USD per drink. We each had one and then left. Lots of visitors exploring town but little action in the stores. Visitors to Norway can get the VAT refunded but the hassle may not be worth it. There is nothing here we couldn’t get anywhere else. Nothing like a tax to kill something. There is a very large corporate tax here also. 70%
One benefit is that there is no waiting to get a table anywhere, even with huge crowds of tourists.
Nice place. No waiting.
The Oslo Opera house.
Art?
I guess if you find yourself without a t shirt you can pick one up at this handy rack.
Probably 12 miles of walking today. We look forward to a sea day tomorrow to rest.…
Ian started the morning at 6:30 as we cruised into Copenhagen. Of course muffins were to be had. We had breakfast as usual and listened and watched from the Lido.
We docked at 8 am and we got off shortly after that. Another walking tour.
St. Alban’s 1887
Nyhavn is a popular entertainment district lined with townhouses, cafes, and restaurants from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Magasin du Nord department store
Royal Copenhagen porcelain shop
Trinitatus Church 1651
Alexander Nevsky Church 1883
Frederik’s Church, also known as the Marble Church opened in 1894.
The Rundetarn or round tower was constructed to serve as an astronomical observatory in 1637.
A brick, winding walk takes one to the top.
Views from the top. The spire from Nikolaj Church can be seen.
The Royal Library founded in 1648.
Christiansborg Palace is the seat of the Danish parliament.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is an art museum built around the personal collection of Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of Carlsberg Breweries.
Tivoli Gardens is an amusement park that opened in 1843.
The old stock exchange.
We had lunch about noon at a little place called Det lille Apotek.
We visited the “Food Stalls”
We started back toward the ship and decided to stop in Vinvaerten. A little restaurant that had a quartet playing some jazz. The drummer, Tom McEwan, is wearing a metal “fish” that he used banjo picks on. Turns out he was an actor that had a children’s television show decades ago. The owner of the restaurant sang a few tunes with the band.
We enjoyed a few drinks and listening to the group. We left about 3:30 to head back to the ship to make the 4:30 all aboard call.…
We slept in today. 6:30 am. I felt like half of the day had already passed by the time we had breakfast.
It was nice to get back to the gym. We do not have many gym days left until we head across the Atlantic. A lot of the machines are down for repair and getting one is more difficult.
Team trivia seemed harder than usual. I knew that magnetic north was in Canada but the Canadians were lukewarm on the idea and so was Fred. Norway was our answer. Who created Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? I said Johnny Mercer. He wrote the song. Incorrect. What does M & M stand for?
The carpets on the elevator were replaced last week. These remind passengers what day of the week it is. They are selling the old ones for $50 a piece or $300 for a set of seven. I say purchase “FRIDAY” and use it as your entry mat.
Ian did his presentation this morning about the next two stops. Copenhagen and Oslo. We have no tours planned for these two stops. Lot’s of walking ahead. I suspect there will be crowds to deal with at both of these stops.
It was the Orange Gala night in honor of King’s Day in the Netherlands. We had dinner at Bob and Brenda’s table. I think they are anxious to get back to Yuma, Arizona. Lot’s of immigration trouble to deal with.
We arrived at 8 am. It was in the 50s and rain was unlikely. We decided to wait until after 9 am as I was already in the online queue by 8:30 am to get tickets to the Anne Frank house.
450 people were ahead of me in the queue. The message I received under that said “if the number is over 200, there is no use waiting. If it is under 200, there is no guarantee tickets can be purchased”. How fun is this? The site refreshed every minute with a new number. I had the site open on my phone as a backup. The number waiting kept going down with every refresh. 400, 350, 300… finally I was connected to a calendar where I was to choose a date. It still was not 9 am and I knew no tickets would be available for today. To keep the page active I kept selecting today’s date and let the page refresh and tell me there were no tickets available. When 9 am arrived I used my phone to select a time. I got the spinning wheel of death. I tried on the computer and I was in. I was able to purchase tickets for 1:30 this afternoon. I would later learn how lucky we were. There were thousands of people on the streets and only 20 or so were let into the Anne Frank house every 30 minutes.
If you notice the buildings leaning you have a good eye. Homes were built on wooden piles in the old days and as the wood would rot, the houses began to lean. Some of the homes lean forward. We learned that this was done intentionally to allow items to be pull up by using a hook and rope from the gable and the items would not scrape against the front of the building.
Notice the forward lean?
We walked through part of the red light district. I was surprised that it was very tastefully done.
One of the most popular attractions was Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
We finished our tour about 12:30 and found a place to have lunch. We spent about 45 minutes having lunch in this place and then walked over to the Anne Frank house. Crowds now were overwhelming.
The front of the building where Anne Frank went into hiding.
The bookcase that hid the entrance to the annex behind the building.
Terri going into the annex.
I really wasn’t supposed to be taking pictures but I did grab a few. Very dim lighting and the quality is not very good. Most of the rooms had a picture of what the room looked like back in the 1940s.
A dot map of Amsterdam showing the location of jews. 1 dot = 10 jews.
The tour of the house just reinforced the waste of humanity. The diaries that Anne kept were all located here and could be viewed in the glass cases they were in. Who knows what she would have accomplished if she was allowed to live?
We visited the Mauthausen Death Camp when we visited Austria some years back and this left us with the same feeling.
The visit took about an hour.
We went to visit a cheese store that was nearby and bought some great cheese.
Afterward we went to Tommy Paige clothing store. Tommy had some custom designed clothing based on images he had from men in the 1930s.
I bought a jacket, pants, and a tie. Next stop was Terra’s Shoes. Custom made shoes from Spain.
Saddle shoes completed the look. Terri bought some saddle shoe loafers. Next stop was a hat store.
I like it!
Our day ended at a quaint restaurant where we had a drink outside. We walked back to the ship at 6:30 and decided against going to the party at the Rembrandt Museum. We had a quick dinner in the Lido, watched a movie and went to bed. Probably another 10 mile day.
We arrived in port today at 7 am. This is a working port and because of that, guests must use a shuttle bus to get out of the port. Our plan is to go to the the city of Brugge, about 11 km away. There is a shuttle to the train station and it leaves at 8:30 am.
At 8:15 am we head out to the shuttle. We have rain gear on again today. I do have a different jacket and light waterproof ski paints also. It is cool enough where these feel great. The train out of Zeebrugge leaves at 8:54 am. Trains run every hour. We are on the very first shuttle. The driver waits longer than he should have and leaves 3 minutes late. We get to the train station and many others are running with us toward the ticket window. I take the short line. Big mistake. No one seems to be in a hurry but us. I finally grab our tickets and we run out the door. We watch as the train goes down the track. We missed it.
There wasn’t much to see in Zeebrugge. We did take a short walk and then decided to get on the next train and wait. The train was nice, quiet, and fast. Today we would do a walking tour of the sites, have lunch, and then catch the 2:54 pm train to Zeebrugge and catch the bus back to the ship. All aboard 4:30. Last bus 4:00.
There was another huge cruise ship in port with us today. We expected many tourists and there were bus loads.
We completed one walking tour and stopped in a store that carried antique prints. If you think we walked out empty handed, you would be wrong. We did buy a few etchings done of the city of Brugge. 21% VAT tax. We will get this refunded when we leave the EU.
Lunch was next and the menu was french! Croque monsieur is always my go to for lunch. Terri had something different for lunch. A salad!
After lunch we went to a patisserie and grabbed a baguette to take back to the ship. We started to do the tour of the different bars in Brugge but then decided to stop in Jerry’s cigar bar. I had a Cohiba and Terri had a scotch. We sat outside and enjoyed the atmosphere and it finally started to rain a bit. We packed up and started for the train station. We didn’t want to miss this train as the next one would arrive after the last bus left. We were on the platform with 5 minutes to spare.
No ticket was collected on either train ride. Not sure why.
We arrived today at 7:00 am. We waited until after 8:00 am to grab the shuttle bus out of the port.
Cold and steady rain. Why not go for a walk? We decided to walk to the Chalet de Ravalet. A short 3.5 mile walk through some nice neighborhoods. The rain did not let up the entire walk. My water proof socks worked well. Toes toasty warm. My jacket leaked the way a canvas tent does when you touch it. I bought it because it was breathable, not leakable. We both had umbrellas and Terri was dressed well from head to toe. We laughed along the way on how no one else but us would be doing this.
Miss Liberty had trouble leading the way as her torch was gone.
This Chateau was built in the 16C.
We knew before we left that it would not be open and rarely is.
We enjoyed taking photos and started to head back to town. Cherbourg is larger than I remember.
I can’t go to France without getting a chocolate croissant and a baguette. We stopped into a patisserie and sat down and had a snack. Why is it we can’t get these outside of France? Many look like these but never taste like these.
We came back to the ship for lunch and stayed aboard for the rest of afternoon. I dread to think that this storm is going to follow us to Belgium.
The evening entertainment was a performance by Jo Little. She sings and tells jokes. She reminded me very much of a violist I know. Same red hair and great sense of humor!
We slept in until 6 am today. Clocks were set an hour forward for our next stop.
Breakfast, gym and then main stage to hear Ian talk about the next three stops. France, Belgium, and Holland. We have been to the beaches of Normandy and have decided to take it easy in Cherbourg. I originally planned a walk to Chalet de Ravalet but I have read that it is closed to visitors.
The grounds can still be visited but I think the weather will not support this. A baguette, a few croissants, some cheese should do it. Terri wants chocolates in Belgium and I would like to see Anne Franks house in Amsterdam. Tickets must be purchased online and they are gone. They do release another batch each morning at 9 am for that day. I will try for that on Friday. Friday night is the complimentary museum party hosted by HAL.
Cold and rainy today. Long shirt and jeans. I think the t shirt and sitting outside on the deck are gone.
Evening entertainment was a performance by the Flyrights. A trio of singers from the West End of London. They did some Motown and some classic rock and roll. A solo cover of “Bojangles” by one of the trio was quite good and very original. The house band backed them up and overall they get an 8.…
Today was another day on our own. A few days back I looked into touring a Port Wine Cellar since Porto is the home of Port Wine. We decided to visit the Sandeman Cellars.
Uber was our initial thought on getting to the cellar. We were outside the port at 8:20 am and decided a 6.5 mile walk was a great way to start the day so we headed out on foot. Sandeman didn’t open until 10 am anyway. The port was in Leixoes and Sandeman was in Porto.
Nice waterfront and a bit cleaner than Lisbon.
This piece of art would go well with some of the music we have heard on the ship.
We walked through some very quiet neighborhoods off of the main roads.
Some obvious well off neighborhoods and others not so well off. Some of the condos we saw looked like they belonged in the former USSR or the former East Germany. The kind of beauty only communism can produce.
As we got closer to Porto the buildings became a lot more colorful and interesting.
We arrived at Sandeman at 10:20 am.
We took a tour with this nice young lady as our guide.
We learned a lot about Port Wine. Most of the world recognizes Portugal as the source of Port. The USA does not. Anything can be called Port.
Port is a wine where the fermentation process is interrupted midway through by the addition of brandy. Brandy with high alcohol content and little if any flavor. Complete fermentation is when the yeast dies in its own waste – alcohol (about 1 week). Adding Brandy raises the alcohol level prematurely and kills off the yeast before all of the sugar is converted to alcohol. This leaves a sweeter tasting wine with almost double the alcohol level of regular wine. This wine goes well with sweets or as a dessert itself. If you are wondering about Sherry, it has gone through a complete fermentation process and is fortified with brandy after.
All of the Ports, save the vintage, are blends and the 10, 20, and 30 year marks on the bottle indicate the average age of the blended ports. Each year the grape crop is analyzed and if the quality is high enough, a vintage port is made. The cellar here contained vintage ports from as early as 1904.
The sampling was next.
Here is a white, ruby, and tawny. The difference between ruby and tawny has to do with how it is aged and where it is aged. The ruby spends time aging in the huge barrels shown above. Exposure to air through the wood is minimal. The tawny is aged in the smaller barrels and the exposure to air through the wood is greater and it spends more time aging than the ruby.
It was fun to sample but we made no purchases. Terri liked the tawny and I liked the ruby.
It was time for lunch and Terri picked a place about 3/4 a mile away. We walked back across the river, through some winding alleys and up to a little restaurant.
No much english was spoken in this restaurant and it was a challenge ordering. The food was very good. I did see Super Bock all over town and decided to try one. Not sure what happened with the spelling on the bottom label. Too much sampling?
It was after 1 pm and all aboard was 3:30 pm. We decided we would walk back and enjoy the scenery by the river. After a mile or so I realized that we were short on time and were cutting it too close. We could do the 6.5 miles in two hours but any delay and we could miss the ship. We decided to call an Uber.
Evening entertainment was “Pianist with the Hair”. It was billed as “Carnegie Hall meets Saturday Night Live” with Julian G. Steinway artist and International Piano sensation.
His playing was adequate but not outstanding. A little trouble keeping his hands playing together. His humor was well done and probably necessary. I was entertained. Terri gave him a 2.…
Today we arrive at 9 am so we decided to hit the gym at our usual 6:30 am time. Obviously we don’t get enough exercise.
Today we are doing another walking tour of the city. It is Easter Sunday and 80% of Portugal is Catholic so we don’t expect much to be open.
We cruised up the Targus river and Ian gave us the play by play starting at 8 am.
We pulled in at 9 am and were next to two other very large cruise ships. It was going to be busy so we decided to get an early start.
Some very narrow streets and alleys.
We walked up and down to see the sights all morning long. Lots of places began to open to our surprise. We decided it was time for lunch. This little restaurant advertised traditional Portuguese food. Terri had a salad (what a surprise) and I had a burger (another surprise). My burger had a fried egg on it and two kinds of gooey cheese. No fries but small boiled potatoes. Delicious.
Did anyone know sardines where this popular? Stores all over town that carried only sardines.
After lunch we did more walking and decided to head back to the ship and drop some of the clothes we had on. It was getting very warm and was nice and sunny.
We headed back out to do some shopping. Terri realized she needed shoes. I acted surprised. She did find a few pair.
Exhausted after shopping we decided to head to the World of Beer Museum. What could be better?
We enjoyed a drink and fast wifi. I was able to finally update my iphone. 32 updates.
Back on the ship we ordered room service, watched the shipped sail back down the Targus and watched a movie.
We arrived at 7am. Still dark out so we waited until the sun came up at about 8 am.
Today was on our own. No tours booked. A map and camera was all we needed. It was in the 50s and rain was predicted. We dressed appropriately and left for some walking.
Another very clean and nice looking city. We remained in the old section. Here is a glimpse of the well maintained water front area.
Giant Ficus tree
More ruins the Roman Empire
One totally lost visitor
The Flamenco Dance school
We stopped for lunch at this place. Cafe Le Royal
No idea what these guys were all about.
Lots of miles again today and we walked back to the ship about 4 pm. We decided to skip the evening entertainment to get extra rest for our stop in Lisbon on Sunday and Oporto on Monday.…
Nice recovery day and then 3 port days. We have been so lucky with the weather but rain is forecast for tomorrow.
Which famous German composer lost his hearing at 29. I immediately thought Beethoven but then I thought, was there a Germany at his time? I thought it was controlled by Austria. Beethoven was correct. I didn’t have to give Hamish a hard time on this one but his pronunciation of the river Danube made us cringe. Dah – Nube. Right
We had dinner with Brian and Sandy. Brian is a pediatric urologist and Sandy is a nurse. They are from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They were with us at the Dead Sea mud bath. They have done a lot more traveling then we have and it was nice to listen to their experiences.
The evening entertainment was a performance of the Spanish Rumba Kings. This is a tribute group to the Gypsy Kings. The group is from Seville. 4 guitarists who used a metronome that had a bass drum sound.
The quartet started with two playing an instrumental piece. Nice playing but they were not in tune. The next number included all of the members. Two of them sang. Nice harmony and blend. After the third number the first two finally retuned. No issue for the rest of the performance. I really enjoyed their performance and they played a variety of tunes. Hotel California, Volare, My Way were tunes I recognized. They played well and we enjoyed listening to them.…
We arrived at 8 am as scheduled but had to wait for another ship to pull in to port. There were many cruise ships docked. I counted at least 5 and they were massive ships. This was a guarantee of a very congested Barcelona.
We are on our own today. The Captain gave us an extra hour because of the delay in port. All aboard is now 6:30 pm.
Our first stop is the Sagrada Familia or Church of the Holy Family. This would be about 2.8 mile walk.
Along the way we commented on how much Barcelona reminded us of Paris. Very clean, lots of shops, narrow streets, wide avenues.
The Arc De Triompf.
Construction of the Sagrada Familia church began in 1882 and the architect was Antoni Gaudi. It is hard to describe this church, still not finished, and the pictures do not do it justice.
There were many, many tour busses and hundreds of people on all sides of this church. A very long line to get inside. We asked about tickets. “you have to buy them online and we are sold out until Monday”. A reason to come back to Barcelona. This would be an all day event even without a line. Judging from the exterior there would be lots to see inside also.
Next stop was Gimenco’s for cigars. A nice and large humidor in the basement. Prices reasonable. I bought two boxes of Cubans that are made only for export to Spain.
We had lunch at “a restaurant”. We shared some Tapas. Food was very good. Some nice jazz was played on the speakers.
After lunch we decided to follow a tour I had on my iphone. The architectural highlights of Barcelona. Many but not all of the buildings were designed by Gaudi.
The Catalan Music Palace
We put on about 10 miles walking around Barcelona and decided it was time to head back. The shuttle meeting place was at the world trade center. We arrived at the shuttle about 5 pm and enjoyed the short ride back to the ship.
There was a sail away party in the Lido Pool area. We grabbed a drink and had dinner back in the Lido dining room.
Today we cruise almost directly west toward Spain. France is on the starboard side and we did pass by some French islands where I was able to get cellular service. The ships internet was down most of the day. Henk, the hotel manager, sent a note later in the day that apologized for the interruptions and promised improved internet service as they are aware of and are working on the problem.
We received notification that our flight home has been changed to a later time. 10pm. This means and arrival time into Detroit at 1:30 am or so. Holland America is working on changing that. Not sure what we will do all day as the ship arrives at 7am.
We were finally the winners in group trivia today as we only missed two questions. Doolin, the assistant cruise director, was today’s host. His games are always much faster than when Hamish is the host. Hamish has the Jamaican accent that so many cannot understand. No problem, mon.
The seas were calm as far as the eye could see. Today’s sunrise.
Islands south of France.
Ian did his presentation about Barcelona at 2 pm today. Lots to see and one day will hardly be enough. We are going to start with the Sagrada Familia church. Still unfinished, this church shows the Gaudi architecture that many buildings in Barcelona are famous for.
We spent the rest of the afternoon on the lower promenade at the rear of the ship. Lots of sun and little wind.
We decided to see a movie after dinner in the Wajang Theater. Night Train to Lisbon. Very interesting movie about the revolution that took place in the 1970s. The movie was more of a book being read as the story was told in conversations, not action. Interesting story. We are visiting Lisbon on Sunday.
We arrived at 8 am today. Captain Mercer announced that the immigration officials wouldn’t be on board for at least 15 minutes and that it would take at least 30 minutes to clear us. Next announcement was when the officials finally came aboard. 8:35. Hammish finally announced that we were cleared at 9:10. He also said that the Captain gave us extra time in Naples. All aboard is now 6:30. It is amazing how things work.
We quickly got off the ship and headed to an ATM in town to get some Euros. We will be able to use the Euros at most of the stops we will make until we finally head home. Lots of traffic on the streets and lots of horns. We did find an ATM and were able to withdraw some Euros. We headed back to the port to meet out tour guide. Pick-up was 9:45.
Maria met us at about 9:35 and we waited for two other couples. We boarded out tour bus at 9:45 and made two more pickup stops on our way to Pompei. I remember Pompei from school and I knew it was Mt. Vesuvius that caused the sudden destruction of the city. Mt. Vesuvius exploded in 79 AD and completed covered a very prominent Roman City. Second only to Rome in size. The area was first settled around 800 BC
We didn’t arrive until 11 am because of the pickups and traffic. My main concern about this adventure was getting back on the ship. Now it looks like 6:30 pm is not even enough time.
We finally started the tour at 11:30 am and the site contained hundreds if not thousands of visitors. We considered breaking off of the group more than one time but glad we did hang in with the group.
I have seen ruins from the Roman times before but I was really impressed with the size of the city. It covers about 170 acres. Maria said that it had been covered with 4 – 6 meters of ash and was forgotten about until the 16 C. Serious excavation took place in the 19 C. What really is amazing is that life was captured as it ended. People were covered in ash and their bodies decomposed after about a year. What was left were the skeletal remains and a cavern of hardened ash around what was formerly their bodies. Archeologists could tunnel down, pour in plaster and then clear the debris around them. What remained was a plaster likeness of their bodies with the skeleton inside. These bodies could be viewed at the museum. Closed on Tuesday. I did look on the internet and found some images. Very impressive.
I took this photo to try to capture how big the area is. This is just one street of many, many streets. The stone structure in the lower part of the photo held water. There were many to be found.
Each water fountain had an image carved into it. This became a way to identify areas of the city for those that lived here.
Water was carried in lead pipes. There are some who believe that these pipes killed the Roman society by poisoning them with lead. Others think they didn’t live a long enough life to be affected by lead.
These signs were added by the excavation team.
This is a close up of the street. The narrow crevices are spaces between stones. The large one is a rut worn by the countless wagons that rolled down the road.
This is a photo of the spa. The spa was used after the work day ended. The work day began with the sun at 6am and ended at noon. Afternoon was spent at the spa.
The ceiling still shows intricate design and color.
This is where one would undress and then store clothes above the bench.
Water was heated and brought into the spa with pipes. The room with the water would feel like the sauna at today’s gym.
Directions to the brothel.
Above each room in the brothel.
A concrete bed insured kept customers didn’t take too much time.
This floor was the entrance to one of the wealthier residents.
This held rainwater that residents used before aqueducts were built.
Mt. Vesuvius
Items found in the city.
The city square.
We spent about two hours exploring and then went for lunch. With all of the delays it was 2:30. We walked over to the restaurant where we were to enjoy pizza and a drink and then on to Mt. Vesuvius. Unfortunately our guide said that they could not get us back to the ship on time because the road to and from Mt. Vesuvius was clogged with traffic. Disappointed, we left the restaurant and were taken back to the port area in Naples. We decided we would try lunch in town.
This place looked perfect. Trattoria Medina.
What can be better than a deep fried pizza?
We did a little shopping after lunch and returned to the ship about 5:15. After all of the fuss above ship departure time we arrived an hour early.…
Today we were invited to the main dining room for breakfast by Jim and Jean. Breakfast doesn’t begin until 8 am so this was really a change to our schedule. I had the buckwheat pancakes and Terri had the Swedish pancakes. The food was a nice change and we enjoyed conversation about shore tours we have taken. Jim and Jean have been doing HAL tours and Jim refers to the guests on the tours as “crypts”. Those that have trouble walking because of their weight or age.
We left breakfast about 9:20 and then headed to the main stage for the presentation Ian does just before every port. Information about immigration, dock location, shuttle busses, etc. can only be found here. All of the planning I did for shore excursions was based on the times given a year ago. When Ian announced that “all aboard” was at 4:30, I knew we were in trouble. 6 pm was the time I was working with. This is the third time such a change has been announced. I went back to the room and sent our tour company a note. Can they guarantee that we would arrive at the port by 4:30?
The change in breakfast time meant gym time was a bit later and a lot more crowded. We managed to grab an elliptical and a treadmill. I have been doing so much training on machines that I am the highest level that it can go up to. Level 20 on the elliptical. Quite a workout. Terri is working on speed on the treadmill and I hear hup..hup..hup..hup as her feet land on the tread.
I went back to our room to check email. Tour company says “no” but we can still do half of the tour if we want and get back at 2 pm. I went up to the main desk and asked when all aboard was. “5:30”. I told the nice young lady that Ian just said 4:30. She told me to go to the EXC tour desk. The answer here? “We don’t have that information yet”. Talk to Ian. I went to see Ian and he repeated his “4:30” answer. He shrugged his shoulders when I told him I had a tour that ended after 5. He did say “they won’t leave you behind”.
Terri suggested we rent a car and drive from Naples to Barcelona if we miss the departure. Too far I thought. I did look at flights and they are cheap. We decided this is a place we can risk missing the ship departure.
We missed group trivia because of all of the fuss. We went to lunch and ran into Ian when we were leaving. He pointed at me and said “5:30” is the departure time. He had confirmed it with the Captain.
Our tour company says they can drop us off at the port at 5:15.
15 minutes is not much slack. Let’s see how it goes.
It was a gala night and we had dinner with Bob and Brenda. Brenda was backpacker years ago and she had many stories to share about trips she has done.
We were cruising through the strait between Italy and Sicily. We sat up in the Crow’s nest and watched the sunset near Sicily.
The Amsterdam singers and dancers did a show entitled Amor. Very well done. It is always a pleasure to listen and watch them.…
Very cool day today. I have put more miles on the treadmill and elliptical than ever before. I’m not sure what it will feel like when I run on solid ground. I ran after lunch today instead of 7 am. What a difference. 2 people in the entire gym. At 7am it is always quite crowded.
The Mediterranean continues to be rough. We are near Greece as my phone showed a welcome to Greece message. No land can be sighted so I am guessing we are more than 15 miles out from shore.
Team trivia: What is a group of leopards called? One who collects teddy bears is called? If you know, we need you here!
We out on deck chairs on the lower promenade but went to the back of the ship. It was sunny and there was no breeze. We had jeans and sweatshirts on as temps were in the 60s. Outside of room it is very windy and too cool.
We have been watching movies in the room and some TV when we have down time. Terri was trying to watch the Masters but ESPN would not co-operate in this area. Football (soccer) is king around here. I have watched more news since we have been on board than I have in the past 20 years combined. I can’t always download the WSJ because of speeds.
Tonight’s entertainment is a comedian that shall remain nameless. I don’t mind criticizing musical acts. Musicians are tough and know when comments are valid. Comedians are different and their appeal is based on their audience. A great comedian can adapt. This one could not and his show was rather weak. There were few laughs but I liked the fact that he didn’t need to be vulgar or political. When I see a comedian look at his watch, I know that he is reaching the limit of his material. I wish him luck.…
Today we began our journey through the Suez Canal at 5:30 am. Ian would speak about the canal over the loudspeakers. This meant muffins would be available on deck.
It was warm enough to be outside in a t shirt and I did sit outside a bit and walk around the ship. I realized that this wasn’t going to be as exciting as the Panama Canal. This canal was at sea level the entire way. No locks. It had also been widened quite a bit so there were no mules to pull us through.
I realized that there wasn’t going to be much that I found interesting to see. Some points had nothing but desert on both sides. Ian spoke mainly of conflicts in the area that continue until this day.
There was an occasional marker.
The Canal entrance near the Red Sea.
The trip through the canal took about 8 hours which was expected. When we we emerged into the Mediterranean Sea on the other side it was noticeably cooler, windier, and the water was rougher. We haven’t seen water this rough in weeks.
Our warmer clothes came out of the suitcases we had stored under the bed. I’m not sure if we will be sitting out on the deck for a while.
As we cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Naples we will be at a latitude similar to Washington DC.
We spent the day reading, watching and listening. We did go to see a movie about Forrest Tucker starring Robert Redford. Good movie for a nap.…
Today is a recovery day. Clocks back another hour. We are 6 hours ahead of home. 4 days at sea and then we arrive in Naples, Italy.
Lots of stops with few sea days ahead. It will be very busy and then almost a week to get back across the Atlantic. 34 days left sounds like a long time but it will go quickly.
Today we arrive at the entrance to the Suez canal. We anchored outside the entrance and waited our turn. Ships go through as part of a convoy. 2 days notice must be given and inspection by canal authorities takes place while we wait. Cost for our ship? $250,000. We anchored at about 5 pm and will wait until about 5:30 am to proceed. Travel time through the canal is about 8 hours and when we are through we will be in the Mediterranean Sea.
This ship was outside of our room and waiting also. It is a Panamax ship which is the largest that can fir through the Panama Canal.
We had dinner in the Canaletto today with Harry and Linda. This is an Italian eatery that is available to all guests for a modest up-charge. We enjoyed trading stories about our trip into Jordan. Harry sings in the ships choir and Linda plays in a flute choir back home. We had fun critiquing each of the musical groups on the ship.
The evening entertainment was Duo Yalba. They are a pair of multi-instrumentalists. They are fluent in many languages and many instruments. They took us on a musical tour around the world. Playing music from Columbia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Ireland, USA, and countless others. Each tune featured different instruments. Many instruments were made by the duo. Lots of pan flutes, recorders, some percussion instruments, guitars, violin. The house band backed them up. Great show. Final number? What else – El Cumbanchero!…
I arose about 4 am to check out the stars. It was nice and I could see the milky way. Not much different than Hickory Island but nice to see.
Breakfast at 6:30 am. Great Jordanian food. Murad showed at 7 am and we were off for the Dead Sea. 4 hours of driving time. We did stop for a restroom break and ran into Brian and Sandy and we realized we were on the same tour, with the same company but with different drivers. We would meet up with them at each stop the rest of the day.
We arrived at the Holiday Inn Dead Sea at about 11 am. We grabbed our gear and headed down to the beach. Here we changed into our swim gear and went into the sea. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. It is about 10 times saltier than regular seawater and contains many other minerals. It is also the lowest body of water on earth.
Floating in the Dead Sea is not an issue. Step in and and start to wade. Step back and you are floating.
We played around a bit and then took some time spreading mud all over ourselves.
Julie, Dave, Sandy and Brian joined us for a group mud photo. We let the mud bake and went back into the sea. All of us are on the Amsterdam.
The shine off of my head was used as a beacon to lead the others back into the sea.
Lunch was inside the hotel. As Holiday Inns go, this was definitely a 5 star. Lunch was buffet style with plenty of great Jordanian food. The tour that I had booked was over at this point. We could hangout at the hotel, swim in the sea or the many swimming pools, or head back to the ship. One of the other couples suggested we see a few more sites that were relatively close by and that is what we chose to do.
The first stop on the extended tour was Mt. Nebo. This is the location where Moses saw the promised land. The drive up was right out of a James Bond thriller. Hairpin curves all the way up and our driver ignored the fact that we were inches from the edge of the road and certain death. I was hoping Q included a few of his goodies in this substitute Aston Martin we were in.
The view of the promised land.
This area is very important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The Jordan river is in this photo and Israel is on the other side. Our next stop was the Jordan River to see the location where John the Baptist had his church and Jesus was baptized.
Murad took us to the entrance where we purchased tickets and then a shuttle took us to the Jordan River. The bus was well used and not quite up to the Detroit city busses I used to ride as a kid. We were able to enjoy the biting black flies on the bus as we waited for the shuttle to fill. I was so happy that other people get to enjoy these flies that we have at home.
We arrived at the site and followed our guide. He was less than a jolly fellow. He was very insistent and unpleasant but we carried on.
The Jordan river.
Here is the spot where Jesus was baptized.
Further down the river a sign warns that no one can go in the water or be baptized. On the Israeli side, groups of people were being baptized. An armed guard was posted on the Jordanian side.
We took some photos and then headed back to the bus. Our guide perked up and said “you wait for the bus in here”. “Here” was a gift shop. Obviously a cousin. More junk in here. The shuttle arrived and took us back to our driver.
It was 5 pm. We had a full day and dreaded the 3 hour ride back to Aqaba. Since we had James Bond in the makeshift Aston Martin we arrived a bit sooner than expected. Murad was waived over by police along the way. A few nasty words were given to the police officer and Murad then threw the ticket into the glove box and peeled away.
We needed to pay Murad for the past two days and he dropped us off at an ATM in Aqaba. It was a Thursday night and the town was alive.
Murad explained that while drinking is legal in Jordan, it is frowned upon to consume with your family. Alcoholic beverages are very inexpensive in Aqaba, unlike the rest of Jordan. Young people tend to go to Aqaba to let loose and do things they normally wouldn’t do back home.
Murad took us back to the ship and along the way we were stopped by customs. The officer asked us for our passports. We turned over photocopies as the ship had our originals. He didn’t appear to even look at them and handed them back. More angry words from Murad. “Who escapes from America to come to Jordan” , he said.
We arrived at the ship about 9:30 pm. An hour to spare before all aboard.
