Apr 5, 2010 - Sharm el Sheik - Egypt

Monday 5th April Day 86 Arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh in glorious sunshine, with an even earlier tour of 7.30pm, we had our breakfast as the captain navigated the berth. On the dockside was a variety of transport to take the Arcadian passengers on different tours. We were soon on our way through lots of check points, where armed guards told you with their body language and hand signals, not to take photographs. (See pic) We drove in convoy through the most amazing scenery, desert yes, the colour of the mountains is hard to describe. The...

Apr 21, 2009 - Suez Canal

Today our ship is transiting the Suez Canal. We received a letter from Capt. Kent last night inviting us to the Bridge anytime after 0800 for the transit. In 35 years at sea, this will be only his second time to pass through the canal. We were really excited to be invited up. Before heading up, we ordered breakfast in the room and the three of us watched from the balcony and read some entries from Wikipedia on the canal. As the ship entered the Bitter Lakes area we went on up. The pilot was there giving the instructions on speed and heading...

Jun 20, 2008 - june 18 08

18 June 2008 The day began at 1030 with a well earned food intake and a cup of tea. At 1100 the agent returned to let me know that we could refuel at 1300 and to take our paperwork. We then proceeded to break down the carnage of the interior and clean up. The agent returned at 1300 and told me that we may have to anchor, so I was checking the anchor, which I hadn’t been able to attend to due to other issues and I found it had twisted itself into a tornado shape all the way up into the winch – no wonder it wasn’t working… So we confirmed...

May 29, 2007 - Ismailia to Port Suez

Ismailia to Port Suez The pilot came on board about 9:30am and off we went. At 2pm we had to drop anchor for one and a half hours as an American warship and a submarine had to pass and no small boats are allowed on the canal at the same time. They only give the canal authorities 2 hours notice before they arrive.

Feb 11, 2006 - Soez

Muy temprano despertamos pues a las 10:00 A.M. partía nuestro autobus, 13 horas, según Lonely Planet nos aguardaban hasta St, Catherine's. Llegamos a muy buena hora, nos dió tiempo de comprar falafels, agua y galletas para el viaje a precios razonables, evtando asi, los abusos de los vendedores en la estación. Queríamos acomodarnos de tal forma, que quedaramos sentados cada quien en dos asientos para viajar lo más cómodo posible, pero el de los boletos acomodó a todos los pasajeros del autobús antes de partir. Por supuesto no salimos...

Jan 23, 2006 - It's a small world after all!!!

Firstly, a HUGE congratulations to Tonya, and her husband Dan on their new arrival of Max!! He is adorable, and apparently huge! So I survived getting out of Uganda in one piece!! I got very little sleep on my last night, despite being exhausted. I had to be up for around 1:00am, and only fell asleep around 12:15. I think I was anxious to leave! The power then went out at 1:05, so it was a little difficult getting myself ready to go in the dark, but at least I had a flashlight(that actually worked!). It was a bit nerve racking walking...

Nov 20, 2005 - Overnight bus via Suez Canal

After view another temple, we leave Hurghada for our overnight 12 hour bus journey to Dahab. We watch a few movies and eat a few snacks till the wee hours of the morning, having a sleepless night, driving over the Suez Canal, and along the Sinia Peninsular.

Apr 24, 2005 - Me and Moses

This is the story of the largest physical achievment of my life, climbing Mt. Sinai. MT. SINAI: 2285 meters 4.5 hour round trip 750 rock stairs That's all I have to say...no but as you know climbing mountains is not really my bag. Saying this was a challenge is an understatement. About half way up my hands were so swollen (sausage fingers) I thought they would explode. You know when you boil a hotdog for too long and the ends kinda blow out of them, this is what I had visions of. Well my fingers did not explode and my legs did not fall off...

Apr 8, 2005 - Eygpt

After my brief flirtation with the history, the religion, the guns, and the mud of Israel, I crossed the Southern boarder between Eilat and Taba in Egypt. Taba is a small resort town just across the boarder. It was quiet. A rather large bomb had rock the town about a year previously and scared off all the Israelis that had previously made up the bulk of visitors. I had about four hours to kill waiting for a bus to take me a few hours down the Red Seas coast to Dahab where I was going to spend a couple of days diving. While waiting for the...

Apr 4, 2005 - Cairo, Eygpt

Cairo, Egypt April 4 When we left our ship, we departed in a convoy of 20 buses, with a armed police escort and armed guards on board each bus! Traffic was stopped for our convoy to proceed. Apparently security was a concern because two years ago there was an attack on some German tourists at the pyramids, leaving 27 people dead. So needless to say, safety was a primary concern of the tourist department. Truly, this visit to Cairo was an experience of a lifetime! There is something miraculous about this place! ----the views of the 4500 year...

Mar 16, 2005 - Suez Canal, Egypt

Passed thru here on my way from Sharm to Cairo. Long 9 hour bus. Very cramped and I was the only foreigner. I guess not many foreigners travel by bus, lots of Egyptians were suprised but helpful. You can tell if there are others, because the signs would be in English or other languages too. Not here, everthing is Arabic. The buses are marked in Arabic only, so had to ask around if I was on the right bus. The Sinae penusula was given back to Egypt in 1987 from Isreal. The agreement was that neither side could have soldiers there. So the...

Feb 28, 2005 - Ismylia(on the Canal)

Left Cairo at 2:15 by bus to this fine city on the Suez Canal. We crossed the Nile delta and the agriculture was all around us...grape vines(not for wine),orchards, lots of alfalfa, date palms,sugar cane and garden produce of many kinds! Arriving at 4:45 and then searching for the Intl. Youth Hostel which is on the lake...the taxi driver did not understand any English and we thought the hostel was 12 k. out of town. After 3-4 starts I(Tim) became a bit edgy and suggested we go some other places that had been discussed, several times...