World Adventures

Moving on....

2011-05-28T22:42:00.001-04:00

This blog has just gotten way too big.... It is time to move to a new location. This is not a new blog just a continuation of this one at a new location. The new address is http://amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com Just click on the hotlink and it will take you there.... Enjoy!

Decisions, decisions......

2011-05-12T11:36:00.000-04:00

I finally made a decision regarding my future voyages.... at least the first step. I just cancelled my 3 weeks in Alaska, a 3 day coastal cruise and the 70 day Grand Asia. Why? The value just wasn't there for me. Unless the price is a real bargain the itinerary has to sell me and this one didn't. The first step? I am still booked for 144 days starting December 5th... Once the dust settles and I see what is on the table for price and amenities I may make further changes, I hope not.... This was a very, very difficult decision. As everyone knows I love sailing with Holland America for very long voyages. This just wasn't in the cards for me at this time. Maybe I'll take a whole new direction and spend my time on land versus sailing all the time. We'll see.....

Where does the time go?

2011-05-03T08:12:00.000-04:00

A week ago I was just getting ready to leave the Amsterdam after completing the World Voyage.... Hard to believe a week has gone by. It has been a very busy week indeed... taxes, unpacking 10 bags, fixing my water heater, storing a gazillion photos,creating a book, playing with my new iPad, going to the dentist, sitting in the sun. Oh well, let's just say the time has flown. It has been wonderful talking with friends and family and generally catching up. What I really don't like is having to be responsible for getting things done around here. It is so much better aboard ship where every day you just do whatever you want without any chores to do. Oh yes, I have become very spoiled with my life at sea. I have spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out what my next set of travels will be and I really have struggled. First of all I really do love shipboard life but... as long as it has value for me. Two things determine that, price and itinerary. I plan on doing the World Voyage period but the part from September 2nd until the start of the World Voyage is what I struggle with. The itinerary does not close the deal for me. That is especially the case for the Grand Asia Voyage which, I believe does not have the best of itineraries, especially without Japan. So if the itinerary doesn't excite me the price has to be great and it is not. So what I'm left with is a value proposition that just doesn't light my fire. The only reason that I struggle with this decision is that I love being on the Amsterdam and would love to be there but again, at what price? I will decide soon as to my future plans but fear not, if I cancel these voyages I will not stay home... there is a big world out there with lots of photos to be had....

Day 111 Ft. Lauderdale

2011-04-26T23:44:00.002-04:00

This morning was pretty much a blur... It is so hard to say goodbye to such special friends, especially when you are virtually living together for 4 months. I got off the ship pretty early and was shocked that I was at the airport by 8:30 am. Too bad I didn't have an earlier flight. Anyway, I spent time in the airport talking with friends like Margo, Harry and Charles... the time went by quickly. Two flights later and a few delays and before you knew it I was home. Feels good to be home but now I have so many errands to run, I want to go back to the ship. It was a fabulous voyage.....

Day 110 At Sea

2011-04-26T06:17:00.000-04:00

Well…. it is the last full day aboard the ms Amsterdam finishing up the 2011 Grand World Voyage. And Grand it was… This was my 5^th Grand World Voyage and this was perhaps the best. What made it that way? Many things. It was the stellar performance of the Captain and his crew; it was the exceptional service provided by Henk Mensink and his team; it was visiting many amazing places, peoples and cultures and most of all it was my friends. I had the privilege to sail with some of the finest people one could hope for and…. That made all the difference. Tonight my friends and I had our last get together for this year’s voyage and we all committed to seeing each other on next year’s voyage. Great Voyage!!!

Day 109 At Sea

2011-04-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

This morning it was looking a bit grim weather wise but it cleared fairly quickly… It was another spectacular day at sea. The sun was very hot and the pool felt very refreshing. This evening we had our last formal night. The dinner was great and the Black & Gold Ball a lot of fun. A number of people continued the party upstairs at the Crow’s Nest after the Ball. It was a great day. Tomorrow we may have a bit of rain in the forecast which is OK because I have to complete my packing. I am all set up for my shipment of bags home thanks to Sarah Coles and Shelby and Maureen (top photo). These ladies have worked countless hours since they arrived in Spain assuring the shipping needs of the World Voyage guests were satisfied. Great job!!!

Day 108 At Sea

2011-04-23T21:41:00.000-04:00

Today was the best yet… It is hard to believe that we are crossing the Atlantic. The weather was very hot and sunny. Tonight we had the Mariner Cocktail party which was a lot of fun. Also, our second headliner, Wayne Newton, performed this evening. He is still quite the showman but unfortunately his great singing voice has completely left him. It is really sad to think that could happen to such a great entertainer….

Day 107 At Sea

2011-04-22T20:32:00.000-04:00

What a magnificent day! For an Atlantic crossing it just doesn’t get any better than this… I sat out in the sun for about 7 ½ - 8 hours and loved every minute of it. This evening was great fun in the Crow’s Nest. They had a party for the Suite guests there but our private little party was much more fun. It will be so sad to say goodbye to such fabulous friends in just a few days. Great day!!!

Day 106 At Sea

2011-04-21T20:52:00.000-04:00

Today was a real bonus day…. The sun was out most of the day and I loved it. Packing is on hold while this nice weather exists. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another beautiful day. Winding down an amazing voyage is bittersweet….

Day 105 At Sea

2011-04-20T19:55:00.000-04:00

Today was a big day! Big waves, big wind and big rocking and rolling. I never even thought about going outside. I spent a fair amount of the day packing. I have my shipping documents from Sarah Coles and her team of luggage specialists so I am ready to go. I look forward to getting home now and visiting with family & friends. Tonight I had dinner with Allan, Sandra, Ed, Becky, Robert & Bronwyn. It was probably out last dinner together as a group on this voyage but…. there is next year. A good time was had by all.

Day 104 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

2011-04-19T12:42:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s official… we have completed our last port of call on the 2011 Grand World Voyage. It has indeed been a Grand Voyage. Today, Ed, Becky & I were the first guests (as usual) to leave the ship and we walked into Funchal. We explored the town a bit until the cable car to Monte opened at 9:30. We were the first people up the cable car (as usual) and once to the top we headed for the Botanical Gardens. It was a cable car ride down to the Botanical Gardens and yes, we were the first ones there. It was a great day to explore and going to the top of the mountain and to the Botanical Gardens was just perfect. After we made our way down the mountain we split up with both of us exploring different things around the city. It was a fantastic day….

Day 103 At Sea

2011-04-18T17:31:00.000-04:00

Today was a little bit of everything… I sat in the sun for a while (when available) and when it was cloudy I packed. It wasn’t too bad a day considering that packing to go home was involved. This evening was our next to last formal night with a Roaring 20s theme. After dinner a number of us went up to the Crow’s Nest and had a lovely evening. Tomorrow is our last port of call before we put a wrap on this year’s Grand World Voyage. We arrive early into Funchal Madiera.

Day 102 Cadiz, Spain

2011-04-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

Today was a fairly short one ashore for me. Robert, Bronwyn, Ed, Becky & I left the ship around 9:30 and started exploring Cadiz. The Cathedral and the Torre Tavira were definite highlights. The Torre Tavira gave us a spectacular view of the city. After the visit to the tower we had a snack and I basically called it a day. My enthusiasm for continuing activities ashore pretty much evaporated so I just returned to the ship and sat out and read the rest of the day. One more port and this voyage is pretty much done….

Day 101 Cartagena, Spain

2011-04-16T12:04:00.000-04:00

Today was an amazing day… It wasn’t about the port as much as it was about great friends. This morning I was anxiously awaiting my long overdue reunion with my friends Aart & Yvonne. I met up with them on the dock around 8:00 this morning and everyone was excited to see them. As they went off to breakfast, I went into Cartagena for a very quick walk around with Ed & Becky. Everything was closed until 10:00 so I just was able to give it a very light exploration. I explored as best I could for a couple of hours and then headed back to the ship to spend the rest of the day with Aart & Yvonne and the rest of our common friends. It was a very emotional reunion but also fabulous in every way. I am looking forward to the next World Voyage where I am counting on seeing them. All in all I would say today was one of the very best….

Day 100 At Sea

2011-04-15T16:07:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty chilly in the morning hours so I did some packing. I figure that if I do a little every day the task will be less onerous… Later in the morning the sun popped out so I decided that packing time was over. I sat, out of the wind, for a few hours and loved it. Sunny days outside could be a premium from this point forward. I can’t believe I’ll be heading home so soon. I do look forward to seeing my family, friends and neighbors…. Tomorrow we will be in Cartagena Spain. My very dear friends Aart & Yvonne will be coming onboard for a visit ad I am really looking forward to seeing them. That will be my highlight….

Day 99 Civitavecchia, Italy

2011-04-14T17:43:00.001-04:00

Today Ed, Becky & I took a transfer from the port city of Civitavecchia to Rome. The drive was almost 2 hours to get there and we had about 6 ½ hours in Rome before we left… We covered all the highlights like a glove. We were dropped off and started at the Piazza del Popolo and from there went to the Spanish Steps, Piazza Barberini, Trevi Fountain, Academia di San Luca, Piazza Colonia, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo De Fiori, Piazza Venezia, Capitoline, Coloseum, Palatine Hill, St. Peter’s Square and Castel St. Angelo…. Whew! That tired me out just typing it. Then we had pizza and gelato… What an amazing day! Oh, by the way…. Signed glossy prints of the work of Eduardo the Magnificent are now available for sale. You can contact the artist at www.notalentwhatsoever.com Volume discounts are available.

Day 98 Naples, Italy

2011-04-13T14:20:00.002-04:00

What a difference a day makes….. Yesterday was just perfect, including the weather. Today, we had the perfect city and perfect plan to explore it but…. the weather was really, really bad. It was cold, wet and windy…a bad combination. Ed. Becky and I made the best of it. We started out exploring Castel Nuovo and then meandered our way up to Castel St. Elmo way on top of the hill overlooking Naples. It was raining so bad and we were getting pretty cold so eventually we walked back down from the mountain and settled into a nice restaurant fro some nice, delicious hot pizza…. Yummy! I included a photo of a rare piece of artwork from a little known artist, Eduardo el manifico... Such talent! We made it back to the ship where I took a long hot shower and elected to not venture forth again. Oh yeah! Soon after we returned back to the ship, the rains stopped and the skies cleared. It was still too late for me to reconsider. It is time to look forward to tomorrow… Roma!!!

Day 97 Naples, Italy (Part 2)

2011-04-12T17:16:00.000-04:00

As I said on my previous post (Part 1), today was magnificent…. The second half of the day was spent going to and exploring the Amalfi Coast of Italy. The Amalfi coast that we explored was from Amalfi, to Positano and ending up in Sorrento. The beauty of this coast is beyond compare. At every turn and around every corner was another amazing sight. Joe Banana (pictured with Allan on the last photo) did an amazing job navigating around the mountains and through the traffic to provide us a remarkable experience…. The photos tell the rest of the story…..

Day 97 Naples, Italy (Part 1)

2011-04-12T16:11:00.001-04:00

Today was a very busy day…. We arrived early into the beautiful port of Naples Italy. Allan, Sandra, Robert, Bronwyn, Vicki, Ed, Becky & I headed out with our guide Giovanni Guida aka Joe Banana. His company is Joe Banana Limos at www.joebananalimos.net. I give you all this info because he was fantastic…. I highly recommend him if you are coming to Italy. Anyway, our first destination was Pompeii. What an amazing tour…. It is pretty well preserved after being covered with ash by Mt. Vesuvius so long ago back in 79 A.D. We spent a fair amount of the morning there before heading to the Amalfi coast. I took so many photos today that I am doing 2 posts…. The Amalfi coast with Amalfi, Positano & Sorrento are posted after this one….

Day 96 At Sea

2011-04-11T15:19:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty chilly and very windy…. I did find a spot out of the wind so I managed 4 or 5 hours of sun time. In the late afternoon I even started packing… yes, packing! After 6 months it’s almost time to head home. Last night was just wonderful! I really enjoyed celebrating my birthday with such special friends. I even had 2 cakes….. I had a chocolate cake and an ice cream cake topped with macadamia nuts, yummy! Great evening…

Day 95 Piraeus, Greece

2011-04-10T11:27:00.001-04:00

Today was a fantastic day for a birthday! Ed, Becky & I were the first ones out this morning after we cleared Customs in Piraeus Greece. Our destination was Athens…. We hooked up with a great taxi driver, George, who helped make this a wonderful day. We hit all the highlights… the Acropolis, Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Olympic Stadium, and the Roman Agora…. We even watched the changing of the guard, very cool! The day was topped off with a nice Greek lunch at a local eatery. Tonight there were birthday celebrations in the Crow’s Nest and the Dining Room…. It was a fabulous day!

Day 94 Kusadasi, Turkey

2011-04-09T08:22:00.000-04:00

Today, Ed, Becky & I stayed in the local Kusadasi area. We decided to walk around and explore the city. We started with a trek to Pigeon Island to check out the fort. The fort was just so, so… not well maintained, too bad. The fort, built in the Ottoman era, to be used against pirates could be pretty nice if maintained well. Next we decided to walk along the waterfront down to the marina at the far end and then into the streets of the shopping district. Finally, we climbed the hill to the monument to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish state. The climb was challenging and the views magnificent. A number of kids we there to take advantage of the winds aloft to fly their kites. Today was a nice day to walk around and enjoy friends…

Day 93 Kusadasi, Turkey

2011-04-08T14:31:00.002-04:00

Robert, Bronwyn & I headed off the ship at the earliest opportunity and hooked up with a taxi driver, Omer, who agreed to take us to the ancient cities of Priene, Miletus, Didyma and finally Ephesus…. What a day! Omer did a great jod squiring us around a we loved the magnificence of these archeological treasures… Words would not do any of these places justice… There is so much history here, just breathtaking. What a magnificent day!!!

Day 92 At Sea

2011-04-07T14:44:00.002-04:00

Today started out pretty slow for me... no sun and too cold. By the afternoon all was right with the world. I had a great afternoon sitting poolside in the sun. It will be harder and harder to do that from this point forward. I have no illusions that Europe or the Atlantic crossing will be warm and sunny. Tomorrow we will be in Kusadasi Turkey for an overnight stay....

Day 91 Ashdod, Israel

2011-04-06T15:53:00.006-04:00

We squeezed everything we could out of our Israeli adventure today. Ed, Becky & I met up with our guide, Danny, at 7:00 am and headed for Masada, the last stronghold of Jewish freedom fighters against the Roman Legions around 74 CE. The Jewish Freedom Fighters held out against the Romans for around 3 years. When it became apparent that the Romans would overrun the fortress, around 1000 survivors committed suicide rather than submitting to the Romans. The visit to Masada was very moving…. It is easy to see hold things transpired back then. The remnants of the Roman camps, where the Tower was brought to bear against the fortress and the strengths of the stronghold itself help tell the story. The dramatic scenery around Masada is breathtaking. At times it reminds me of the southwestern USA. On top of that, the beautiful color of the Dead Sea as a backdrop makes it all the more spectacular…. The cable car ride up and down the mountain was quite nice as well. If we had had more time it would have been nice to hike it. At noon, we headed out from the Dead Sea & Masada toward our next destination, Jerusalem…. The drive, once agin was nice filled with great landscape, Bedouin camps and lovely cities. Before we went into Jerusalem, we went up to an amazing viewpoint to capture the entire city with the Dome of the Rock from and center… beautiful! Then came the challenge of finding a parking spot (a big challenge for Jerusalem). Danny did a nice job getting us situated. We entered the old city through the Jaffa Gate and from there it was a great explorations of all the various quarters, Armenian, Arab, Jewish, Christian…. Danny took us to great view points throughout the city and to a number of highlights like the Western (Wailing ) Wall, the Via Dolorosa (stations of the cross), the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to name a few. At 5:00 we headed back to the car to go to a restaurant in Jerusalem. It was great seeing my friend Dikla… I haven’t seen her in about four years. It was nice of her to come from Tel Aviv to join us for dinner. We had a great time and it was sad to have the evening end….. What a great day!!!

Day 90 Transiting the Suez Canal

2011-04-05T10:03:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty interesting… Sailing up the Suez shows such a stark contrast of the Sinai desert conditions on the Asia side of the canal (right) and the much greener Africa side (left). It is always an interesting day… I even got a little sun time in. Tomorrow, Israel!!!!

Day 89 At Sea

2011-04-04T15:34:00.001-04:00

We sailed along the Red Sea today with great weather…. It was poolside for me, visiting with friends and reading. Lovely day. We anchored at 5:00 pm today waiting for our convoy in the morning to transit the Suez Canal. I am looking forward to an interesting day tomorrow filled with photo ops. Next stop, Ashdod Israel, very exciting….

Day 88 Aqaba, Jordan

2011-04-03T15:38:00.001-04:00

Today was without a doubt a major highlight for this year’s Grand World Voyage…. It isn’t often that you get a chance to visit one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Ed, Becky, Allan, Sandra & I left the ship and the port of Aqaba at 7:00 am this morning heading for Petra also known as the Rose City. It was established around the 6th century BC and it is incredible…. The photos, starting from the first glimpse of the Treasury and you emerge from the Siq until our departure 6 hours later tell the story…. The palce is magnificent, such beauty… Ed, Becky & I left Allan & Sandra as we emerged from the Siq and climbed up to the high place where the sacrificial alter is along with some marvelous views. What a hike! We came back down and headed for the Theater and did a quick walk by survey of the Royal Tombs as we headed for the path up to the Monastery with its hour long hike and 800 steps. The hike was strenuous but the scenery and views were fabulous. Once on the top, seeing the Monastery made the hike well worthwhile. Up at the top I certainly was taken aback when I was proposed to by a young Bedouin girl (pink scarf) who appeared to be in her early 20s… my charm? OK, maybe not…. We came back down the mountain and headed to the Royal tombs where we explored them more fully. Then it was time for the long trek out of Petra to the entrance to meet up with Allan & Sandra and our driver. We all shared stories of our day and headed back to Aqaba. We decided to go out to eat so, we invited our driver to dinner and went to a place of his choice…. Great choice! Nice way to end a perfect day with a wonderful dinner with great friends. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!!!

Day 87 Safaga, Egypt

2011-04-02T13:55:00.001-04:00

What a fabulous day!!!! We wrung every bit we could out of our one stop in Egypt. As soon as we heard about coming to Egypt 2 days ago I hooked up a tour with Ramses Travel Company of Egypt for 5 of us to go to Luxor and visit the Temple of Karnak, Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings & Queens. We did it all…. Allan. Sandra, Ed, Becky & I had a wonderful day. First we went to Karnak and toured there for close to an hour. Then it was off to the Temple of Luxor. By now we were pretty pumped. This place is so amazing….. We then had a lunch, crossed the river on a boat and headed to the Valley of Kings. We visited 3 tombs and it was so amazing that so much color has been preserved for so many thousands of years…. I wish my Tshirts lasted that long. Then we went to the Valley of Queens and visited Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. Finally we visited the Colossi of Memnon before heading back to Safaga…. What a great day!!

Day 86 At Sea

2011-04-01T15:24:00.000-04:00

Great day at sea except….. I injured my foot which could present a problem for my treks the next couple of days… Oh well, life goes on. Tonight they had a Pajama Party in the Crow’s Nest and seeing people in various forms of PJs was a bit of fun. Tomorrow Allan, Sandra, Ed, Becky & I all head out to Luxor to see all that we can. Time is short but we hope to get to the Luxor Temple, Temple of Karnak and the Valley of Kings. Time will tell!

Day 85 At Sea

2011-03-31T14:57:00.000-04:00

Great day at sea…. Weather couldn’t be better. We made it into the Red Sea where the waters are a bit more friendly. The Captain announced this evening that the day after tomorrow we will be stopping in Safaga Egypt. I hope to quickly pull something together to go to Luxor, Karnak & the Valley of the Kings, talk about a quick turnaround. I also decided today to break my rule about not entering any more photo contests. I have selected the 4 attached photos for my entries. One for Architecture (Varanasi India), one for Landscape (Cape Raoul), People (Shoemaker from Varanasi) and Wildlife (Morey Eel attacking me). We’ll see….

Day 84 At Sea

2011-03-30T14:13:00.001-04:00

Today was a fabulous day at sea…. Weather sunny with a great breeze. We are sailing along between Somalia & Yemen in the Gulf of Aden at a pretty high rate of speed. We’d like to avoid those pesky pirates. Might make a good photo op….. Tonight was a formal night and we all had a nice evening with a lot of laughter… Great Voyage!

Day 83 Salalah, Oman

2011-03-29T10:16:00.001-04:00

Another wonderful day…. This Grand World Voyage has certainly been one of the best. This morning Ed, Becky & I headed out to get a taxi and explore a little of Salalah and the surrounding area. Our first stop was at a fishing inlet where we checked out a couple of fisherman, It was a nice start. Then our taxi driver suggested a stop at a Fish Souk (Market). What a great stop…. Photo ops galore! This was not your typical tourist stop. You could tell that many people were not used to having cameras and strangers in their midst. Great stop!! Then we headed out to a fishing village, Taqah. First we went to an old fort in the village which was really well done. The upper section at the top of the hill gave great scenic views. From their our driver took us to an incredible scenic view point above the beaches and town… spectacular! We then headed back to Salalah where we finished our touring at the souk. The day was completed poolside whre the sun was hot and the pool refreshing….

Day 82 At Sea

2011-03-28T14:02:00.000-04:00

Last night I had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill celebrating my friend Grace’s birthday. It was a very festive evening and a great time was had by all, especially Grace…. Today, after a much needed nights rest, I had a lovely day poolside. Ed, Becky & I were trying to plan our day in Salalah Oman tomorrow. One of the potential things we wanted to go see were the blow holes. Ed’s task was to find out when high tide was going to be so we could see the best possible action from the blow holes… no sense spending the time and money to go out there if the blow holes weren’t percolating. What better place to find out than the bridge…. These guys know everything there is to know about tides. So, Ed went to the front desk and asked them to place an inquiry with the bridge. The answer: The tides are classified information and they wanted to know why we wanted the data. They must be at Security Level Gazillion where all information that exists or could exist in the future is classified. To bad this isn’t a joke… You just can’t make up bizarre crap like this. Silly me, I always thought tidal charts were public info…..

Day 81 Muscat, Oman

2011-03-27T15:43:00.001-04:00

Today turned out to be a fabulous day… I went out to explore Oman from Muscat to Nizwa early this morning with Ed, Becky & Frank. Our guide was Mazin Mohammed Al Ruseid who is pictured in the last photo on the continuation page and also in the foot race he had with Ed going up a hill by the Jabrin Palace (Mazim won, twice). Anyway, our first stop was at the Mutra Fish Market where I was in heaven… The photo opportunities were fantastic… The people had a lot of character and the fish were pretty amazing as well. WE then headed out to the Sultan Qabous Grand Mosque which was truly amazing. The carpet in the men’s section took 600 Iranian women 4 years to make, beautiful…. Then it was off to Nizwa…. The journey was long but the desert and mountain scenes kept it interesting. Along the way we stopped for some great photos at a Wadi (dry river bed). In Nizwa we first stopped at the Silver Souk and then went into the fort which was fabulous. The views from the to were great… Then it was off to the Arab World Resturant for a traditional Oman lunch, for me it was chicken & rice…. We then headed off to see the Jabrin Castle where we first ran into some camels eating dates off the trees… Interesting creatures! The castle was fantastic, we enjoyed exploring the many levels and rooms. The view from the top was very nice. Then I asked if we go off to a hill I saw a short distance from the castle for a photo opportunity to take in the whole castle in one shot. We went there and the photo was great but the highlight was definitely not the castle it was the race. I don’t know if I had previously mentioned it but Ed raced Mazim up the steep and very rocky slope… Mazim won twice but may have had the advantage because he ran barefoot on the razor sharp rocks while Ed was bogged down with top of the line foot protection…. It was a true highlight!!! Then it was off to our last stop, the Bahla Fort, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Our driver took us to the top of a mountain so we got the best views of the fort. Then it was off to Muscat and back to the ship completing an amazing adventure in Oman. We all loved it and had a great time…. I took so many photos that I included two blog entries so I could post twice as many photos…

Day 81 Muscat, Oman (Continued)

2011-03-27T15:37:00.000-04:00

A few more photos….

Day 80 Dubai, U.A.E.

2011-03-26T08:27:00.000-04:00

Well, the time has come to leave Dubai….. It was certainly long enough. While it is a beautiful city, in the end it is a bunch of nicely built building without a hearth & soul. I much prefer places like India where it is dripping in culture and the senses get overloaded. This morning the cityscape was lovely with clear skies… After an hour or two the winds picked and the sand began blowing. You could barely see the city. The other thing of interest was the Pacific Princess, the Princess World Voyage arrived just before we left. I just missed my friends Ian & Carol, bummer. Now we are off to Muscat Oman.

Day 79 Dubai. U.A.E.

2011-03-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

Today started out fairly well but took a bad turn for a while. Ed, Becky, Robert, Bronwyn & I negotiated a fixed price (off the meter) for a taxi for the day to go to Abu Dhabi & Fujayrah. All was well until about 30-45 minutes into the trip the driver informed us that the company didn’t agree with the fixed price and insisted we go on the meter. Long story short, we cut out Fujayrah from our itinerary as well as the tip….. Anyway, we visited Abu Dhabi and saw the Emirates Palace Hotel and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the finest I’ve seen… We came back to Dubai and had the driver drop us at Dubai Creek by the Al Bastakiya area. From here we explored the waterfront and the Gold & Spice souks. After our unfortunate dealings with the taxi company we ended up having a grand day….

Day 78 Dubai, U.A.E.

2011-03-24T15:13:00.000-04:00

Today was an amazing day! Ed, Becky & I met on deck 6 forward very early this morning for our wonderful and very scenic sail into Dubai. It was their first time to visit the United Arab Emirates. We headed off the ship around 8:00 to explore some of the Emirates… Ed & Becky had arranged for a car, driver & guide to lead us on our adventure. Our guide was Gihan de Silva from Sri Lanka and our driver Bahroz Khan from Pakistan…. Both were excellent! If anyone wants to tour Dubai, our the other Emirates, contact Gihan at gpdesilva@gmail.com. Anyway we spent the day leaving Dubai and exploring Shajah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain and Ras Al-Khaimah. It was a great day exploring the U.A.E. Tomorrow we will go back out together and adding Robert & Bronwyn to our band of intrepid travelers….

Day 77 At Sea

2011-03-23T14:02:00.002-04:00

Fabulous day today... Perfect weather, great day to relax. Tomorrow we will be in Dubai, UAE. Ed, Becky & I will head out and explore a few of the adjacent Emirates to Dubai. Should be a great day.... So... how's my trip to Jerusalem looking? When will it end?