our final blog...maybe

PORTUGAL!

Finally…here is our entry for Portugal! Thanks to all of you reading for your patience.
Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal and has about 2.5 million people. It faces the Atlantic Ocean, stretches along the Tagus River estuary and is Europe’s most westerly capitol. The city is built over a number of hills and it is here that Vasco da Gama and other great discoverers set out to explore the world. Although Lisbon has a 3,000 year history, most of the city’s buildings and monuments are from the 18th century. In 1755 Lisbon was devastated by one of the worst earthquakes ever recorded The earthquake caused a tidal wave and fires. This triple disaster is estimated to have killed over 15,000 people. Today in Lisbon you can see many of the cities buildings and homes decorated with small glazed ceramic tiles. These tiles were widely used to protect buildings from going up in flames again.
We had a fabulous day in Lisbon. We hired a taxi guide, traveled the city taking in the major sites and explored the windy streets and clustered hilltop neighborhoods. Lisbon is picturesque and her people charming. There are cathedrals, open squares, statues and fountains. Buildings have a sun washed pastel color with red tile roofs. Many of the streets are cobbled and narrow. There are trolleys to help people get up and down the hills.
After exploring Lisbon we did what the residents do…we traveled out of the city to the delightful town of Sintra. Sintra was once a coveted summer retreat for royals and the wealthy. Today it is a romantic get away for people from all over the world. We thoroughly enjoyed rambling around the town and exploring the park and palace of Pena…a multi colored fantasy palace built in the early 1800’s for the queen of Portugal.
Next we traveled to the seaside town of Cascais. Cascais sits on a pretty curved bay and is a town of both fisherman and the retiring rich with camera toting visitors thrown into the mix. Elegant hotels and open fish markets line the waterfront. This was the ideal location to get a great seafood lunch and we enjoyed a mouth watering unbelievably fresh shrimp the size of lobster and white fish lunch to die for. We will be back!
To finish off the day, we had a Cunard hosted dinner in the city’s bull ring arena. The hosted dinner was for world cruisers only of which there were about 800. The arena was transformed into an elegant dinning venue, crystal candelabra, floral centerpieces, red carpet, the whole nine yards. The music was live orchestra, the dancers flamenco. We were greeted by the CEO of Cunard and decked out horses and riders at the door. It was a sight to see and a magical evening to experience. For some of our travel friends, this was our last port together since many were departing the ship in Southampton and flying home. The night was spent celebrating our shared experiences.
Next stop…Southampton and the Queen Mary 2!
ATLANTIC CROSSING
The crossing was generally uneventful except for some pretty strong gale force winds and high seas

Italy and Spain

Italy and Spain
It is hard to believe but our world cruise is quickly ending. We have just departed from Barcelona, Spain on our way to our last port (Lisbon, Portugal) before our disembarkation in South Hampton, England. We depart from the Queen Victoria to the Queen Mary II for our final cruise across the Atlantic to New York and the end of our travel experience.
Our first stop in Italy was Naples. From there we joined a small craft charter to the Isle of Capri. There we walked and bussed around the Island for the day and enjoyed the storybook views of this wonderful little community. Our next stop was Rome where we bussed from the coast into Rome for a fast visit to several treasures of one of our favorite cities: The Spanish Steps, Piazza Navano, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s and Vatican City. We walked most of the way and the weather was terrific
Our next stop was Barcelona where we rented Ipods containing a guided tour of the city and a map directing us to much of old Barcelona, what a wonderful day.
We are sure we are going to get many questions about our likes and dislikes so Larry put together a list of the bests and worst of the world cruise:
Overall, most emotional impact: India
Best two experiences: Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef and a Rickshaw ride through old Delhi
Two most beautiful sites: Bangkok Palace and Taj Mahal
Two best sail-aways: New York City and Sydney (ask to see our video of these)
Two best parts of sea days on the ship: Art classes and Bridge tournaments
Two places we’ll never visit again: Malaysia and Acapulco
Two best on shore meals: Hong Kong lunch and Athens dinner
Most scary travel spots: Viet Nam and Egypt
Most amazing: Panama Canal and Hong Kong
Most unique: Elephant ride in India
Worst part of the experience: Too long to be away from family and friends
Biggest surprise: How well everyone seemed to enjoy our blog site. By the way, when we get home, we’re going to send one last blog with all our remaining pictures so check in after May 1st.

Athens, Greece

Piraeus for Athens, Greece
Today we made port in Piraeus, Greece…the cruise ship’s stop for entry to Athens. Piraeus is 6 miles southwest of Athens’ city center and is actually the third largest city in Greece.
Athens, named for the Greek goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom), is the largest city (about 4 million) in Greece with over a third of the country’s population. It is often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization with a tradition of democracy, philosophy drama and comedy. The birthplace of a Greek who’s who….Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the remains of the temples of the Acropolis, hundreds of ancient statues, and the host city of the first modern day Olympic Games (1896), there is no shortage of things to do and explore in Athens. This city is one of the oldest in the world with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years.
Having visited Athens on a prior trip, we decided to take a relaxed approach to enjoying the city and avoided the main tourist attractions already seen. We spent most of our day walking Athens’ oldest quarter, the Plaka and the adjacent Agora which was the center of ancient city life.. The Plaka is just below the Acropolis and was a delight to explore. It is a maze of narrow pedestrian thoroughfares with many neoclassical mansions along side humble houses. There are numerous shops, cafes and we were lucky to come across a hand turned barrel organ being played by a local citizen. As evening approached, the tavernas set tables covered in brightly colored linens out into the narrow lanes and café owners beckoned evening strollers to stop, relax and enjoy a fine meal. As dusk fell, it was a very pretty sight with the votive candles on all the tables and the wonderful smells of traditional Greek food in the air. We spent our evening with 10 other cruise friends at a local taverna known to one of our traveling companions. It was a great meal, enjoyed on a roof top garden room, alfresco. After several courses of traditional Greek food, wine and oozo (sp?), we walked through the ancient city back to the ship for a late sail away. Next stop, Naples!

EGYPT AND SUEZ CANAL

EGYPT AND THE SUEZ CANAL
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th century to the 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the new kingdom (the 18th through 20th dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile River, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The burial grounds consist of two valleys, East Valley, where the majority of the royal tombs are located, and the West Valley. The entire area has been a focus of concentrated archaeological and Egyptological exploration since the end of the 18th century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen (with its rumors of the curse of the Pharaohs), and is one of the most famous sites in the world.
Luxor
As the site of the ancient city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the world’s greatest open-air museum, the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnack and Luxor standing within the relatively modern city. Across the Nile River, lie monuments, temples and tombs, which include the Valley of the Kings.
We traveled by bus convoy ( over 70 busses from several tourist ships, etc.)for over 4 hours through the Egyptian countryside to stop at our first site, the Valley of the Kings. We went into the actual tombs of Ramses I,III and IV.What a marvel to see the hieroglyphics and colors that have lasted for well over 3000 years. Our next stops were to the Karnak and Luxor temples which were both amazing. We were very fortunate to have a guide that was also an Egyptologist. Our guide was able to tell us what stories the hieroglyphics were depicting and who had ordered them written. The ride through the interior of Egypt was itself an eye-opening experience. Once again, we witnessed Donkey led carts, bundled sugar cane and a lifestyle similar to that in India. The people appeared friendly and interested in the western tourist. Along the way were numerous military checkpoints and armed personnel watching our every move. Being so close to Iraq and Iran was a little nerve-racking for Larry.
Suez Canal
The Canal is a large artificial canal in Egypt, west of the Sinai Peninsula. It is 101 miles long and about 1000 feet wide at its narrowest point, and runs between Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez on the Red Sea. The Canal allows two-way water transportation, most importantly between Europe and Asia without having to travel the long way around via the southern tip of Africa. Before it’s opening in 1869, goods were sometimes off loaded from ships and carried over land between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The Canal has no locks because the terrain through which it passes is flat, and the minor difference in sea level at the ends is easily coped with through the length of the Canal. Our passage through the canal started in the very early morning, before 5:30 AM and continued through out the day. Our passage was completed at 4PM. While in the canal we witnessed armed guards standing on manmade sand plateaus with machine guns on either side of the passage. Security was very noticeable and abundant. On either side of the canal are huge fields of sand, little to no vegetation, and the occasional village dotting the flat fields of sand off in the distance. The weather has cooled and it was pleasant to be out on deck with our sweaters in 68 degree temps.
We would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to our grandson, Ahmad, April 10th. Happy 2nd birthday Ahmad! Also, to Chrissy, Happy Birthday on the 21st! Next stop, Athens, Greece.

Our introduction to Arab Lands

Our first encounters with the Arab world…..
DUBAI-(UNITED ARAB EMERATES)

On the surface, Dubai has failed Larry’s cultural substance test: what you see is impressive but it’s only skin deep. The ruling Sheiks from the Maktoum Dynasty have worked hard to create a world class modern city and it appears they have achieved that goal. Having discovered oil in the mid-60’s, they are very proud to have the worlds tallest, only, biggest etc. facilities; and they keep building them. At present, 20% of the world’s cranes are reportedly being used in Dubai. Can you believe a ski slope with real (man made) snow in the middle of a desert? They have one. They have built several, large air conditioned and modern shopping malls with all the finest designer labels giving the image of conspicuous consumption by wealthy visitors. I now understand why Tiger Woods comes here every year for a golf Tournament. The resorts are big, beautiful, opulent, and exclusive. All the guides we listened to were proud and talked of little else than the money being spent here. Of course the growth is all related to oil money and the desire of the ruling Sheikes to spend it on infrastructure. Only 20% of the resident population are citizens and they are taken care of womb to tomb. The Sheikes are very cautious not to allow new citizens due to the benefits available. The balance of residents are expatriates living off of the fantastic development activities. However, it is estimated that oil supplies will be exhausted by 2010 and the hope is to create a resort and business community that will sustain itself after the oil revenues are gone. An interesting byline was our traveling partners, the Kredels, visit to the new (four month old and open) Raffles hotel, 16 floors of mostly empty rooms at $1100 a night.(hmmm???) Everything is very, very expensive here so only the rich and famous will be able to take advantage of the luxury. Will it be able to sustain itself?, at these costs it’s unclear.
For our part, we toured the city by guided double deck busses for over three hours in the heat. Dubai was our highest port temperature to date, topping off in the high 90’s. At the end of our tour, we enjoyed beverages at a local Starbucks located in one of the fabulous indoor malls while waiting for our shuttle bus back to the ship. Next stop, Salalah, Oman.

SALALAH, OMAN
The city of Salalah is known as the “perfume capitol of Arabia”. In ancient times, this area was the center of the incense trade, a treasured commodity in the ancient world. Camel caravans and ships brought frankincense, balsam, and myrrh thousands of miles from this southern Arabian port to serve the markets of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Frankincense and incense burners are still common products and frequently sold in the local markets.
Today, coconut trees, palms, tropical fruit trees and aromatic foliage surround Salalah. Agriculture is a mainstay. The land is fertile and fed by underground subterranean water reserve systems. Despite lying close to the Arabian Desert, Salalah enjoys a temperate climate through most of the year as a result of a monsoon season (June to early September). The city has beautiful white sand beaches and is a destination resort area for the peoples of the Persian Gulf region.
Although a modern place, Omani tradition rules everyday life. National dress is worn in the workplace and when out and about. Men wear white, floor length robes known as dishdash and a headdress with a scarf that can be wound around a pill box cap to form a turban. The women wear floor length black cloaks called the abaya, a head scarf, and face covering called a burqa. It was very easy to spot the tourists and those that were residents given this difference in attire. The government and city shops close at 1PM on Thursday and remain closed on Friday, which is the Muslim weekend.
While in Salalah, Larry remained on ship, still recovering from tummy troubles picked up in India. Ruthanne, along with four traveling companions, went ashore and toured this city of antiquity.
Just outside of the city lies the Al Balid archaeological site, the ruins of a fortified town that was an important port from 100BC-400AD. It was a beautiful spot on a hillside above a fresh water stream that fed into the Arabian Sea. Why the ancient port was abandoned remains a mystery.
Our tour visited three tombs; Nabi Imran, father of the Virgin Mary; the Islamic prophet, Mohammed Bin Ali, which offered a fine example of medieval Islamic architecture; and the prophet, Job whose tomb was located in the hills a little over an hours drive from the city. Job’s tomb continues to draw religious pilgrims from all over the world.
While traveling to Job’s tomb, we saw free range camels grazing in their natural habitat. It was a site to see. The terrain was very similar to the I-10 freeway from LaQuinta to Phoenix, desert with scrub shrubs, a few trees and outlined by dramatic desert mountains. The one exception was the plethora of free roaming camel in all sizes. The Omani people use camel for transportation, leather, milk and meat.
Our last stop was an open air, primitive fish and meat market. After opening the tour bus doors, our noses were assaulted with the smells raw fish and meat remains produce when subjected to desert heat. Needless to say, the ladies did not leave the bus, quickly closed the bus door after the men had stepped out, and waited for them to explore this site on their own! Upon their return, the men agreed we had used good judgment in remaining on the bus.
Next stop, Safaga, Egypt.