Islands of Yemen It dawned to be an extremely windy morning. I attempted to walk to my 6:15a coffee at the buffet along the upper deck but not only was the wind a deterrent the security guard was too! “Madame, no one is allowed on the outside decks while in this area”. He did allow … Continue reading Day 18: At Sea

Now we have a run of five days at sea, 2509 miles from Jeddah to the Seychelles. Should be lots of time for walking, reading and eating! Today’s lecture was “Navigators of The World” - Magellan, Columbus, Cook, and do on. Alison hasn’t quite learned the knack of a segue but her talks are relatively … Continue reading Day 17: At Sea

One of many sculptures along the Corniche Today was Jeddah, infamous onboard due to our visa uncertainty. It turns out the Saudis are quite flexible in letting people ashore. Initially they only let those with a printed visa come, but an hour later they were actually selling visas at reception for those who didn’t have … Continue reading Day 16: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Feeling a little better today, throat not quite so raw. Fingers crossed it will pass quickly. Love being at sea… They snuck a time change on me last night. The next day’s Daily Planner doesn’t get slipped under my door till 10pm, usually way passed my bedtime so I woke up at the new 8am. … Continue reading Day 15: At Sea

We’re docked in Safaga, Egypt , the port for exploring the ancient city of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. It’s a 4-hour bus ride each way and that was turn-off enough for me. Fortunately I’d been there before so my backup plan for today was to go quad biking in the desert but … Continue reading Day 14: Safaga

Yesterday was an educational day, today was a fun day! 20 of the Facebook group signed up for an 8-hour snorkeling trip out of the local marina. A trio of minibuses picked us up at the cruise ship to take us around to the next harbor to board a very nice and large boat. During … Continue reading Day 13: Sharm-El-Sheikh

Lol, not the best portrait but accurate of what it’s like in Giza We docked at 2am in Safaga which is the closest port to Cairo. And when I say port I mean massive container and raw materials port. Although we managed to bully our way off the ship at 6:45am, hoping to get to … Continue reading Day 12: Cairo

I woke at 4am to witness our entering the Suez Canal. Quite unintentionally actually as I also woke up at midnight and 3am but since I was awake I got up for a looksee. Dark, as one would expect at 4am, and we were just inching southwards. At 4:50am we entered as seen above, and … Continue reading Day 11: Suez Canal

The Bridge is just a few cabins away - in case they need some help going thru the Canal…. A little change in routine today as I had breakfast al fresco on my balcony then spent an hour on the treadmill at the gym. Luckily the sea was fairly calm so it wasn’t a struggle … Continue reading Day 10: At Sea

The first of several days at sea as we head south to the Suez Canal and then Egypt. A quiet coffee in the buffet started my day, I think many people took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in. My morning’s exercise was indoors again: each length of the ship takes 3 minutes to walk, … Continue reading Day 9: Sea Day