What does Dubrovnik and Ketchikan have in common?

Thursday, 30 June 2011, Dubrovnik

Wednesday – Hvar, Croatia

Hvar Town is at the NW end of the long island of Hvar that seems to
point down the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. A matter of fact, we saw
our first Dalmatian as soon as we stepped off the tender.  It looked a
bit different from the ones at home. As I mentioned in my previous
entry, Hvar is billed as, "the sunniest place in Croatia." It was
cloudless yesterday all day (go figure), and it was also pretty hot.
Hvar is a small resort town where many sea side cafes cater to those
who feel that an authentic Croatian seaside meal consists of a Mojito
and a slice of Pizza. A matter of fact, no restaurant we saw offered
anything other than menus that began with that drink and food choices
and then went all the way down to Magarita's and Hamburgers.

Other than that, the town was wonderfully atmospheric, and had a
lovely fort to climb to that provided a nice view of the harbor and
Silver Wind anchored majestically. We returned to the ship for a late
lunch (beer and a tuna sandwich, oddly enough), and I spent the
afternoon reclining at the stern of the ship and viewing the nearby
island which was said to be a nude beach area. Of course, my 7x30
travel binoculars coupled with the small amount of vibration of the
ship's engine led me only to believe that a number of people on that
little island must just have very pink colored bathing suits. A number
of the other guests, however, asked to borrow my binoculars. Perverts!

Thursday – Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is a World Heritage Site walled city that was partially
reduced to rubble by the Serbs in the mid-1990s. I visited Dubrovnik
twice during a cruise on Silver Wind in 2004. It was hot and crowded
then, a number of interesting churches and museums were free to visit,
and you could walk the portion of the town wall that had survived the
artillery shells from a number of locations around the city for free.

Today, Dubrovnik was hot and crowded, there was a greater of
interesting churches and museums that charged $5 to $15 each to visit,
and you could walk the entire town wall which has been repaired and
restored to better for accommodating tourists who are willing to pay
$15 each to walk the entire wall around the actually beautiful town.
And for paying $18 you can take the brand new cable car up almost
2,000 feet above the city and take pictures and have a beer. We did,
we did, we did, and we did. We saw more Dalmatians and a pilgrim with
a cell phone. We also discovered that the locals play a very strange
version of Basketball. You learn a lot by traveling.

So, what does Dubrovnik and Ketchikan have in common? Well, apparently
men in little souvenir shops who greet you warmly and then give you a
long religious sermon about the commonality of all religions but
explain at great length that theirs (oddly enough the same one) is
based on God's word while all the others are well meaning but not so
based and actually dead wrong. A different salesman in the small gift
shop adjacent to the recently restored synagogue, said to be the 2nd
oldest in Europe, explained that an elaborate 6 inch door hanging that
incorporated two rams' heads, some somewhat Arabic lettering, and a
blue eye symbol was an authentic Jewish Croatian design, made in
Dubrovnik. I asked him the purpose of it. He said it was to ward off
evil for the Jews. I asked him how that worked out for them here.

Leaving Venice

Wednesday, 29 June 2011 - Approaching Hvar, Croatia

The coast of Croatia is off our port bow. So is some rope and a funny looking metal thing that has some sort of chain on it. It holds the ship when we stop where there is no jetty-thingy. I'm sure you are impressed with my understanding of this boat thing stuff. I will try to impress the new captain who came on yesterday with my boat knowledge. He has a very nice hat, but for reasons unclear his middle name is Macaroni. It says so on his hat which has "Captain" on one side and his full name on the other. Otherwise, he seems like a nice guy and greeted me by name. Uh, oh.

I thought I'd post a few more of pictures of Venice and environs. When we sailed in to Venice a couple of mornings ago, we approached the end of the apparently miles long breakwater which is part of the multi-billion dollar flood control project that will protect Venice from its enevitable destruction for maybe another 5 years. Very sad and a very inconvenient truth as Venice is cleaner, more livable, and more vibrant than I've seen it in years. The Lido beach area is clean (a big surprise since Venice is at the very end of what was a not very pure Adriatic Sea during the Yugoslavia era), and even the Vaporetti are under (ignored) traffic light control. Despite the difficulties of moving goods and materials in a city without roads, there is a lot of construction.

With the new cruise segment, the ship is full. The GROUP of Australians are still on board and still telling me (whom some actually talk to--at least until a fellow member of their group approaches) that they are "Members of The Group", but an additional 80 or so folks have joined the ship. The averaged age, despite The Group, is quite a bit younger including a large extended family of middle aged parents and a few very bored teenagers. There's also some young Italian couples, perhaps newlyweds, who wear very tight clothes. The women are dressed nicely, too.

It continues to amaze me that unlike years ago the guest make up of every cruise is so different. Ages, economic situation (within the limits of this sort of product, of course) and nationalities can be very different. There are still only a minority (but larger group) of Americans on this segment, and there are more Brits but fewer Australians. We've met a couple from Philadelphia and heard a few European tinged very US accents. Should be fun meeting some people if we want to, but this was a very high per diem cruise--even with my 7 day freebie applied. It is quite possible that these two segments are full of people who are just too well off for us to have a lot in common with. I suspect that the more frequent (and very enjoyable) "re-positioning" cruises with more sea days are more our style and that of like minded people.

The slow cooking ("sous vide") vacuum bag system is being used in the two main galleys now on Silversea. The process allows for the preparation of very tender meat that is cooked exactly to the proper temperature throughout. This, and the hot rock grill by the pool, plus the much more daring chef who is not afraid of highly seasoned and more international recipes, has resulted in fantastic and varied dining. Even the buffet lunch has been a most unusual gourmet experience. The wines are well beyond those on the previous cruises of recent years, and the service has oddly become less intrusive without any attention being sacrificed. The Hotel Director who just arrived for this segment was on with us last cruise. He told me in private that a lot of changes were made in just the last few months, and some (apparently) were caused by underlying factors that resulted in the very frustrating confusion (or combining) of my "no lactose" needs with "no gluten" diets of others. Our butler is trying very hard and actually succeeding frequently. (He does need to stop doing a medical history whenever we pass him in the hallway. He does try a bit too hard, I'm afraid.) The art lecturer is still on board and is about to give a lecture to the three or four folks who want to sit in a dark instead of watching the beautiful arrival. She has promised to tell them something "that they don't know" no matter what they may or might know. She has put in a lot of effort in her work, but if this is possible, she is trying too hard to the point of alienating some of the guests. Oh, for the intellectual and nuanced scholarly lecturers of the old days. Fantastically educated and urbane folks, if I must say.

Now to go on deck and watch the approach and anchoring in the bay at the SW corning of the island of Hvar. I've never been there before. Hvar is considered the "sunniest place in Croatia." There are no clouds today, but there haven't been clouds anywhere during the entire cruise. There are lots of nude beaches, the guidebook says, in Hvar. And it has the highest proportion of dermatologists. (I made that up). Tomorrow we spend the day in Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful walled cities in the Med. I'm sure I'll take a picture or two and have something to say in a couple of days.

"Streets Still Flooded, Please Advise"

Tuesday, 28 June 2011 - Venice, Italy

That's what Robert Benchley (father of the author of "Jaws") said when he first arrived in Europe. He was sent by his New York newspaper editor to get rid of him. Well, the place still is flooded but remarkably pleasant. We sailed in at dawn yesterday and could see San Marco without people, a once in a lifetime event. Anyone's lifetime if they get up early enough. The no people part is because the place is always mobbed. The Italian guides invariably suggest that you don't try to clean your hat when the pigeons poop on you (so that "it dries", they say). Actually, it is to get Americans to be walking around with poop on their hats, a little anti-tourist joke. (I am making that part up, by the way--well, kinda).

I've been to "The Venice of Italy" (as distinguished from "The Venice of the Orient" or "The Venice of The Netherlands", etc., places that don't look like the real Venice at all, by the way) four previous times and have enjoyed it more each repeat time. Barbara had never been here and appeared to find it OK. We ventured out at 8 am yesterday and purchased 36 hour Vaporetti (water bus) passes and proceeded to take every route around, through, and around the other way. (I wasn't navigating, in which case we would have been lost.) We got off the boats long enough to walk many kilometers around back canals, through picturesque alleyways, and through the old Jewish Ghetto (where the word, "Ghetto", but not anti-Semitism was invented), and discovered a rebirth of the Jewish life here. There was a couple of kosher restaurants as well as other indications. Helpful signs directed us in many directions simultaneously so that we walked many more kilometers and took a lot more boats before returning to Silver Wind for a beverage while watching the teeming masses on an Italian cruise ship sail out. The Panorama Lounge where we were is on the 8th deck of Silver Wind, and we were below the guest cabins on the Costa ship. Enough of these big ships. They are spoiling the ports for tourism, but Venice will survive that--if not the rising ocean.

We ventured out again after dinner and ended up walking more than is possible here knowing that cell phone dispatch guys in funny outfits could drive up back, and then out again this morning when we visited more neighborhoods, took more vaporetti, and took another couple of GBs of pictures. We sail out in two hours and will arrive at Hvar, Croatia tomorrow at noon.

FYI, Barbara is working on uploading her reports at http://barbara-med1106.blogspot.com and my full reports are at http://cbu-med1106.blogspot.com and clicking on my profile or picture. Thanks for following along. I'll looking forward to hearing from you as we continue this trip back down the Adriatic and round Italy.

Lost at Sea - II

Sunday, 26 June 2011 - At Sea

Periodically I make some helpful comments about shipboard life, the service and food on Silversea on the current cruise, make complaints and whine for no reason, and become dreadfully sarcastic. The sarcasm ended (mostly) when I noticed during a cruise a few years ago as I passed the Hotel Director's office, he had a printout of my blog and was highlighting some of my comments. There is more than a fine line between having some fun and fowling one's nest.

As this is one of the only three sea days on this 22 day voyage from Athens to Monte Carlo, I thought I would make some comments but avoid too much that could be interpreted as a report other than this being one of having died and gone to heaven but with occasional shore excursions. No experience is truly perfect, but Silversea in general and the Silver Wind on this cruise have fine tuned the operation to the point where the variations of the guests' taste and anticipations of the experience are the only drivers of less than ideal circumstances for any individual. The food is varied, very well prepared, fresh, and truly gourmet. The complimentary wine list is way improved, and the individual recommendations by the wine staff are excellent. The service is refined, attentive just short of a fault unlike on previous cruises where it was beyond that point and could be downright annoying, and the shipboard experiences and activities are varied enough that undesired events or entertainment can be avoided or substitutions made at any given time. The production show is hideous for our taste but well attended, the guest entertainers are very good but not what I would buy tickets for at home. We prefer to go up on the top deck and look at the stars or sit on deck on the stern and enjoy an after dinner drink. Even the butler is doing his jobs without too much to cause alarm (see previous blogs). The obsession with shoe shinning is still there a bit. My sandals are very sparkly and my deck shoes are a joy to behold. There are two charming "Gentlemen Hosts" who seem to be entertaining the unescorted old ladies.

On the other hand, there's a self proclaimed art expert lecturer who bops around the ship trying to rope people in to her talks by saying, "You will hear things you don't know." Of course, she doesn't know what they know or don't know and for that matter what she actually knows from what I've seen of her talks. I seem to recall that when I was a ship's lecturer years ago, I would have been left off in some obscure port had I tried strong arm people to attend my talks. Oh well. And of actual ship's crew, only the "IT Officer", a lanky gentleman from India, seems to be a grump. His help to needy Internet users usually consists of his saying, "You should not be having that problem." Imagine that, a computer guy who isn't charming! He does reverse charges if needed and seems to be available to computer users who are into abuse.

So rather than look for more non-existing problems, I'll talk a bit about the other guests on this segment. I mentioned earlier The Group, 50 or so Australians traveling together with their own doctor, separate excursions, perhaps their own cutlery and provisions for all I know, who all wear little label pins and drink, dine, and otherwise hang out together including filling up the pool at the same time I believe. Although they are a bit elderly and do keep to themselves a bit too much, they are not in any way annoying or disruptive. The problem is more subtle. Us Silversea long time repeaters are a demanding but very loyal group. We expect a certain shipboard experience. A well behaved but understandable clannish group on board does change the experience. Earliest noticed is that offered shore excursions were canceled at some ports on this cruise due to the lack of 50 of the prospects, and some evenings one of the alternative dining venues is unavailable as Captain's Choice has booked the entire room or pool deck for themselves that evening. Perhaps on other high end small ships this would not be a problem, but on Silversea where "mingling" among like souls is one of the attractions, this is a bit of a change. Not a big change, but it is noticed. Also, such a large number of first time Silversea guests is unusual. I did say subtle.

I suppose the effects of a private group on board might be less if the ship was normally full. With 206 revenue guests, we are about 60 to 70 below capacity. From my inquiries, it appears this is due to mostly Americans canceling this sailing as the "Arab Spring" in Egypt started about the time that penalties for canceling this segment would have kicked in. As tomorrow begins the next segment, all in Western Europe, the ship is expected full. Captain's Choice is staying on. I will report any differences and no doubt have a bit more fun reporting on a more diverse group of guests.

Thanks to a few more readers signing on to the automatic feed of this blog on the "cbu-blogs" Google group. Note that the full blog is at http://cbu-med1106.blogspot.com where all the entries are available as well as my reports on previous trips.

EVERYTHING BUT "I NEED WARP 8"

Sunday, 26 June 2011, At Sea

Saturday - Sail in and afternoon in Corfu, Greece

We took the Captain's offer seriously yesterday and without additional permission or advance notice we strolled past the "Restricted Area" signs onto the Navigation Bridge in the front of the 8th floor of the boat. (See, I am qualified with all that boat talk stuff.) Instead of calling Security, Captain Luigi (his preferred address, really) welcomed us quite warming. The high resolution radar and Chart Pilot integrated navigation/con system are very impressive. All ships' tracks are predicted, possible conflicts with other vessels are indicated, and deviation from the preplanned route is pointed out. The officers on duty go about changing settings, saying "hum" frequently, and quietly answering phone and radio calls as the Captain and Greek pilot have a friendly discussion in Italian which seemed to include lots of technical details regarding our approach and docking as well as restaurant advice. Probably without need I didn't take any photos of the bridge out of respect and fear for the Gerka security officers who were probably practicing for an assault and recovery operation after they reviewed the videos from the security cameras. The most remarkable things about our couple of hours observing the Bridge operations from calling and picking up the local Pilot through docking at Corfu were that the Bridge is very quiet throughout the entire operation, the half dozen personnel on the Bridge work quite independently and competently at their respective jobs, and that the Captain says exactly the same phrases as Captain Kirk. We heard, "Captain has the Con", quiet commands of "Left 5 degrees", and even, "Hard to Starboard". Everything except, "I need warp 8". Also, a dozen or so unseen officers and crew did their jobs of line handing, mooring, observations and reporting ("Port Stern is 100 feet clear of jetty"), etc., without being summoned or otherwise commanded. That is, everyone was where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. It was very cool.


Corfu, Greece

We took the first shuttle into this World Heritage Site town on the north end of the long island of Corfu. The island actually extends north of the Albanian border on the mainland. So this is very northern Greece. Corfu Town has two forts, picturesque back alleys, a restored synagogue, and a few very touristy streets full of shops selling lemoncello and kumquat liquor. Lots of kumquat stuff, a whole lot. Also anatomically correct bottle openers, bottles of kumquat liquor, and just outright dildos made from various materials. (I didn't ask why.) A small harbor, actually in the moat of the "new" fort, is one of the few places to have the strange phenomenon of small boats hovering mid-air.

We returned to the ship and rested up as Barbara worked on her blog (http://barbara-med1106.blogspot.com) and I checked out the ship's pool on the TV on my favorite channel. (This avoids the 2 minute trip to the pool if the two small kids on this voyage are even approaching the pool deck.) After our usual aperitif we had the ribeye steaks "under the stars" on deck and then sailed out at 11 pm, happy to leave the less stable countries of the Middle East and Greece. Now we are back in politically stable, uncorrupted, and secure Western Europe where the population has faith in their leaders as we are few miles east off the coast of southern Italy. Hey, wait!

HONORS and GREECE IS ALSO BANKRUPT BUT NICE

Saturday, 25 June 2011, Corfu Greece

Back on board after a nice afternoon in Corfu Town, the most Northerly town in Greece. I will report in a day or so on our extended time on the Bridge this morning during Silver Wind's approach and docking at this lovely town and of our wander around of this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Here is my report of the last few days after leaving filthy but unpleasant Egypt.


Thursday - At Sea

Venetian Society Reception

Thursday evening was a the "Venetian Society" formal evening. Silversea Cruises has amassed 260,000 or so "Venetian Society" members in its 16 years. Anyone who has set foot on one of their ship in those years--or stayed overnight, actually--is a member. I guess you can say that it's an nonexclusive club with high dues but good food. At any rate, at this once per cruise event, the members reaching milestones and those with the highest number of days onboard are honored. Barbara reached the 100 day point on this cruise and was called up to receive an empty bag from the captain to rousing applauds by the others in attendance, and I was called attention to for having the most days on Silversea of all on this particular sailing, 432 days, but who's counting. The couple sitting with us asked how Barbara could have 332 fewer days. I said that she didn't come along on all of my cruises. That worked. Go figure. While Barbara was being honored I had a nice conversation about my experiences as a faculty member at CU with the president of UNC. She was enthralled, I believe, if not downright amused. The Venetian Society reception is always fun.

 
Friday - Gythion, Greece

I posted a picture or two during our Hellas Fix beer lunch yesterday at a taverna along the waterfront in Gythion. Consider this a supplemental report.

Gythion is at the most Southern end of the Pelloponese Peninsular. That is, the southern most part of the Greek mainland. The town looks lovely from the sea as we sailed in, and actually was pretty nice. As the temperature reached the forecast 102 degrees, it was downright mellow downtown. We were greeted by a statue of a disassembled mermaid and then took an extended but very slow walk where we discovered the Silver Wind was resting on a plinth. We found a great free WiFi hotspot and had a couple of beers with the potato chips from the Red Carpet Club in Newark we had saved for just such an occasion, tried to make a call on a very basic cell phone, and looked at a 4000 year old grandstand. It was a very pleasant stop at a lovely beach resort town in beautifully clean bankrupt Greece. I bought shaving cream and Greek Tums to help the local economy. The shop keeper was thrilled and phoned Athens with the good news (I think on the cardboard cell phone.)

Gythion Taverna

Having a lunch of Hellas Fix beer at a taverna on the waterfront of
this most southern town of the Peloponnese. Beer is good and WiFi is
free. We sailed 506 nm west and most annoyingly ADVANCED the clock
from Egypt to Greece. Very laid back town and high of 102F expected.
Barbara says she can read the Greek letters but it still comes out
Greek. This restaurant is named apparently for the last line on most
eyecharts. More later....

A Wonder of the World

Wednesday, June 22 2011 - Alexandria Egypt

Tuesday, Port Said for Cairo

In 1994 or so I visited Cairo and the Pyramids for the first time. It was a very long bus ride then (an elderly woman on Song of Flower at that time asked me why they were "so far" from the ship. (I told her to ask Ramses the 2nd instead, I seem to recall), and it was a long ride yesterday I. But this time the port was Port Said, noted as a "summer Egyptian resort" for the cooler client (95 degrees, but cooler than Cairo yesterday) and described as "the Southern Entrance to the Suez Canal." Since Port Said is at the Mediterranean end of the Canal, the description as the "Southern Entrance" took some analysis. Actually, those words are meant to denote that with the Canal branching West and East, this port is actually the entrance to the South going ship traffic, not the port at the Southern End of the Canal. I'm OK with that.

Actually, Port Said is a pretty lovely city of a few hundred thousand. Large fairly upscale apartment buildings line the canal, no doubt affording very interesting views of the massive ship traffic (of often massive ships, I must say) that comprise half of Egypt's GNP. Also, Port Said is relatively clean, something I can't say of everywhere else we went on this visit to Egypt. The recently liberated people seemed a bit skeptical of their future (as well as tour bus passengers), and they have a right to be (of their future, not us). The ever present security escort was still there as it was on my tours more than 15 years ago, but now they were very young men with smaller machine guns that they may not know how to operate who appeared to be employed to just stare into space and look very bored. The old regime apparently had employed most young men to do nothing, and the results of very few young people actually working was most evident. The three hour drive to Cairo was of desert visas of plastic bags and empty plastic bottles, about a foot deep as far as the eye could see. The streets of the outlying areas of Cairo were full of unfinished apartment buildings and more garbage, but every corner had bored looking security guards who were mostly smoking and standing around. Shops, restaurants, and other actual work seemed to be done by older Egyptian men or foreigners. I wonder about the education of the young men and more so how an economy based on hard work and merit will develop. Generations of meaningless jobs based on connections with members of the regime and no history of free market economy or any sort of democracy plus a stronger emphasis on the trappings of strong religion were quite noticeable since my last three visits. Most or my fellow guests on the tours made similar observations, and we wish the Egyptian people well. What else can we do?

I chose a tour that went to the Step Pyramids recently unearthed temples of Gizi instead of the much too short visit of last time to the Egyptian Museum. The new archeological site was devoid of tourists (but not post card salesmen with their chant or "One Dollar") but most fantastic. We were able to walk into the tombs and into the basement (!) of the pyramids for no extra charge. There were 4000 year old murals still with bright colors and hieroglyphics which seemed to describe something or other. This was worth the 3+ hours of driving time each way alone. We also visited some more familiar pointy things, now adorned with cell phone towers (the pharaohs talk to god but we talk to each other?) and a curiously upside down US flag. The tour guide assured me that this was purely a result of a sloppy mistake. The fact that the US supported the recent dictator was not mentioned. Of course, the recent revolution and demonstrations resulted in a massive reduction in tourism. So I suppose the guide wasn't about to get into a political discussion.


Wednesday - Alexandria

We sailed into Alexandria Harbor at a more civil 9 am this morning. Barbara and I took the ship's shuttle bus into the 90 degree plus early morning air to observe a very picturesque seafront and port area (pictured) and teeming unpaved or more precisely streets with broken pavement but piled high with trash (unpictured). The old colonial buildings are decaying and the palm trees appeared to not have been watered in years.

We will venture out later and may have a better report. Alexandria is worth visiting, even now, but I suspect we are worn out from the long day yesterday. The new museum appears to be a gem, and old forts and a spectacularly vibrant big city street life may be a lot more appealing after a short rest and a light lunch.


LOST AT SEA - 1

I thought I'd make my first report brief of the ship and shipboard life on this cruise. Essentially, the rebuilt Silver Wind is fantastic. The 2nd ship of Silversea's now six ships was originally the twin of the 294 guest Silver Cloud, but now has its original Observation Bar on 9 deck restored. I have my early coffee and lactose free pastries there each morning and watch the sail in. Also a spa and other amenities have been added as well, and it is no longer necessary to walk on the top deck to get to the bow above the navigation bridge. The suites and public areas have been redone, colors brightened, and the bathrooms rebuilt with huge sinks, marble tilling, and much increased storage and shelf space. This little ship is doing very well otherwise. The food is the best ever--I loved the tangine last night along with a number or North African foods prepared for our Egypt call, the dining rooms have hours based on the tour times and ships sailing times instead of fixed regardless of what the ship and guests were likely to do, and even the butlers know how to shine shoes, a major improvement. (See early blogs).

The guests on this segment, Athens to Venice, are the usual mixture of Americans (down by 50 or so due to cancellations since the Egyptian demonstrations started about the time that cancellation penalties were about to kick in), Australians, and a handful of Europeans. For a change (and I hope not a policy), there is a pre-arranged group of 50 Australians onboard. They are very well off, quite elderly, and appear to get great satisfaction from their chartered flights from home, their own doctor traveling with them, and their ever present little label pins that constantly remind them of who they are. For reasons that can only be guessed at, any attempt at conversation with a member of this group (even after a week on board) will be responded to with first the phrase, "I am a member of THE GROUP", and any conversation that ensues will be instantly cut off when any other member of their group appears. I am reminded of Igor in Young Frankenstein who started each conversation with, "I was hanged". These Australian folks appear happy and are causing no problems, but small cruise ships don't mix groups easily with regular customers. I trust the management in Ft. Lauderdale takes note.

Ashdod, Tel Aviv, and Jaffa

Monday, 20 June 2011 - Port of Ashdod Israel

The port city of Ashdod has been continuously settled since the 17th Century BC. The bible mentions it as the City of Giants ("Anakim"). Today it has one heck of a commercial sea port, full of freshly delivered cars. Oddly enough, nearby Tel Aviv has no place for one more car to park at least judging by the hour or more it took to drive the less than 20 miles where we stood in traffic until enough space opened up for our tour bus.

Tel Aviv is actually a city not without some charm with some more or less majestic boulevards, a busy downtown, and a spectacular beach which looked a lot like Copacabana if there were a lot more falafal stands in Brazil. Our excellent tour guide Ilan pointed out that in 1909 a handful of families drew lots for the 16 building sites that has now grown to a metropolitan area of millions. The original nearby ancient city of Jaffa from which these families escaped from the squalor and crime has become a tourist area with lots of shops selling Chinese made souvenirs among some antique stores and cafes plus an orange tree that was hanging from nearby buildings, perhaps to make room for one more parking space. Jaffa is historically significant, however, since archeology is revealing all many of older cities beneath the current one. For all it's worth, the first "Trojan Horse" strategy was employed here against the ancient Egyptians when wine barrels were filled with soldiers. Happy soldiers no doubt. Of course the Egyptians got even some years later, but that's another story.

We stopped at  the Rabin assassination site in Tel Aviv where, as the guide said, the dream of peace was murdered along with the prime minister. Some truth in this perhaps, but it is still unclear to me that after these two days in Israel it is all the more puzzling what the politics within Israel and with its most unfriendly neighbors (all of them to various degrees) is all about. Israel is a modern very, very, very prosperous democracy surrounded by states with very little of these virtues. What Israel is hated for could really be these things. Internally, Israel feels safe and confident with highway and rail construction everywhere. The current government's reactive policies appear to be not particularly loved. Very liberal Tel Aviv has its gay pride parade recently without problems recently, and major operas are being performed in Tel Aviv and even Massada throughout the season. These two visits on this cruise are most notable for my observing no "war mentality", unobtrusive (but ever present) security, and people just going about their business and/or recreation.

Barbara is on the all day tour to Jerusalem today. I'm sure her 8 GB memory card will come back full and we will have at least one good non-Chinese made souvenir, but we will sail for Egypt tonight with me still having the 3 1/2 shekels I brought from Boulder from my last visit.