30-Day Cruise to the Holy Land and the New World

2014 - The year I turned 60!

I wanted to do something really big the year I turned 60 so I would always remember it. When I saw this cruise in a mailer: Holy Land Explorer and Journey to the New World, I knew this was what I was looking for. The cruise started in Athens, Greece and ended in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I had always wanted to visit Egypt and Israel. The other ports were pure bonus, although we had been to a few of them before. Kris was mostly excited about going to Egypt, Turkey, and Portugal.

After months of waiting for the big day, we left home on Saturday, Oct 18, and flew to Los Angeles. The next evening we boarded our Air France flight to Athens, Greece, with a four hour layover in Paris, France. The layover alone was special, even though we didn't leave the airport, because Kris proposed marriage to me on the Eiffel Tower in 2002. This would be our first time back to Paris! We reached Athens very late Monday night, walked across the street to the Sofitel Airport Hotel and had a good, long sleep. Tuesday afternoon, we boarded the MS Prinsendam, which has since become our favorite Holland America ship!

The entire 30-day cruise traveled 8,056 nautical miles [about 7,005 miles] at a speed of 10.7 to 18.1 knots depending on the seas. With the exception of only a few days, we enjoyed outstanding weather. I will tell you up front, we're not very good about taking a lot of photos but here are a few pics and words from our trip. Click on a photo to see a larger version. 

Tuesday [Oct 21] Athens, Greece. Since we had been to Athens before, we didn't sign up for a shore excursion. We chose to sleep in and try to acclimate. The embarkation process was the smoothest and quickest we've ever experienced. We sailed away that afternoon across the Mediterranean Sea toward Egypt, on the "Elegant Explorer", Holland America's smallest cruise ship. The Prinsendam started out originally as the Royal Viking Sun in 1988. She was sold to Seabourne and was known as the Seabourne Sun. In 2002 she became the MS Prinsendam and has been continually upgraded, the last renovation in 2007. Not only is she gorgeous on the outside, but she's small and can go places other ships can't go. We had a great captain in Tim Roberts and looked forward to his public announcements daily.

Wednesday [Oct 22] At Sea. We had a full day and night at sea which was much needed since we were still adjusting to the new time zone. We spent the day picking shore excursions and relaxing. This would also be our first formal night but somehow we didn't take any photos.

Thursday [Oct 23] Port of Alexandria, [Cairo] Egypt. We woke up and found ourselves in the port of Alexandria, Egypt! We were up, far too early for my taste, for our first shore excursion which departed promptly at 7:00 a.m. Why do they have shore excursions that start so early?! We're supposed to be on vacation, I grumbled. I vowed never to let Kris pick the shore excursions again, LOL! This would be a 12+ hour tour [you'll see why below] to the Giza Pyramids [build around 2000 B.C.], Great Sphinx & the Pyramid of Saqqara [believed to be the oldest stone structure in the world]. It was a beautiful but very hot day. 

Once we were on our tour bus and away from the port of Alexandria, we were absolutely shocked by what we saw. It wasn't surprising given the population of something like 18 million in the greater Cairo area. From the port it was a 3-hour drive to Cairo, where buildings looked war ravaged and rundown with garbage and graffiti everywhere. We both said to each other that we actually felt like we were in Mexico. Traffic was anything but orderly with no painted lines dividing many of the roads. Drivers were all over the place. Luckily, we were in a huge bus. When there was a painted line, drivers, including ours, used it to center their vehicle on which really clogged traffic. Imagine the sound of constant horn honking because that's what it was like... I won't be so quick to complain about our traffic anymore...

Heading out early in the morning.

Returning after dark, we were late getting back to the ship.
Can you guess why? Traffic was always heavy...

Along the way, we saw lots of these cone shaped "teepees" on rooftops. We learned that pigeons, an important food [and fertilizer] source in Egypt, are raised in these "dovecotes", the oldest thought to have been in Egypt. Have we been missing out on an opportunity with all the pigeons in the U.S.? 

I call these dove teepees.

Our first stop was at Saqqara where the Step Pyramid of Djoser [Zoser], the second king of the 3rd Dynasty [2667-2648 B.C.] is located and believed to have been created by one man, Imhotep. It was smaller in size than the Giza Pyramids but still in pretty good shape considering. Next to the step pyramid is the Mortuary Temple which we walked through. Inside, the colonnade, which opens up into the Great Court, was reconstructed with stones found in the sand. It's a constant work in progress and very important to Egypt's history.

The many souvenir vendors were ruthless and relentless, particularly the camel owners who offered photo ops and rides. I made the mistake of thinking I wanted to ride a camel but soon regretted it. Trying to get on, I realized just how inflexible I am these days! My camel also didn't cooperate when I tried to dismount and almost flipped me head over heels. I had a nice bruise on my arm for days. After all that, the camel owner tried to get more money out of us. I'm glad for the experience but can't recommend camel rides, at least not in Egypt!

Step Pyramid at Saqqara.

Our tour guide taking us
through the colonnade. 

I may look confident, but I was petrified
and it was uncomfortable!

Next, we had a buffet lunch at a very nice nearby hotel. I was a little disappointed it was American food but at least we didn't leave hungry. We weren't far from the Giza Pyramids and Great Sphinx which we actually had seen from a distance while at Saqqara. 

We stopped for a photo op before arriving at the Giza Pyramids. Our armed guard, Muhamed, who was proudly packing two pistols [one on either side of his belt], took some fun photos of us "touching" the tip of the highest pyramid. Muhamed was always close by to give Kris a helping hand if we needed him and we appreciated that because the ground was not level. He also saved us from the vendors who wouldn't take no for an answer. 

Being up close enough to touch the Great Pyramids of Giza was pretty amazing.
Another check mark on our bucket list!

The middle Pyramid [Khafre] was built for the
 fourth of eight kings of the 4th dynasty.

The Great Sphinx excavation circa 1878. Picture from
Family Tree Magazine.

The Great Sphinx today measures approx. 240' long and 66' 
high. It has the facial features of a man, body of a lion.

It was an exhilarating day but a very long drive back to the ship. We watched the sun set and the rest of the drive was in the dark. Most people napped after all the walking we did. We got back late but the ship waited for us since it was a Holland America sponsored tour. That's one reason we don't, as a rule, find tours on our own. We've heard stories about how in Egypt the tour operators will take you to your tour destination for one price and then ask you for more money to get you back in time because they know you can't afford to be late!

Friday [Oct 24] Port Said, Egypt. We sailed overnight to Port Said, located at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. We were greeted upon arrival, just below our cabin on the pier, by performers dancing to extremely loud Egyptian music that seemed to go on forever, as well as an assortment of souvenirs laid out for purchase. It was so loud, we didn't dare go out on the balcony to take photos. Again, it reminded us of Mexico, except for the fact it was much cleaner here. We were lucky enough to be on the dock side in this port and enjoyed a beautiful view of the city. 

Port Said, Egypt.

Port Said is much smaller than Cairo, although the population is about 700,000 from what I've read. Surprisingly, the only tour offered was a small bus tour in a limited area, possibly due to security issues. Our three buses, which traveled together, were followed by a van full of armed guards, provided by the government to protect tourists although we never felt unsafe at any time. We also spotted security guards on roof tops. 

We drove through the old quarters where European-style 19th century architecture blended in with Egyptian character from a long ago era. We saw women with and without scarves on their heads as well as women fully covered in black with only a slit for their eyes. Of course we saw a sign for McDonalds as well! They're everywhere!

This way to McDonalds!

Our first stop was a visit to The Military Museum containing artifacts of 20th century wars as well as information about the construction of the Suez Canal. This was followed by a trip to the Commonwealth Cemetery where we participated in a wreath ceremony and moment of silence to honor the Allied Forces who fought in Egypt during both WWI and WWII. There were headstones of soldiers and sailors from different countries and it was obvious they take great pride in being the caretakers of these fallen soldiers. 

Commonwealth Cemetery.

A moment of silence.

On the way back to the ship, we parked along a street for a few minutes near a church and walked around. Kris and I were the only ones who were brave enough to venture away from the buses. We walked all the way to the corner of the block to snap a few photos.

Typical housing with laundry hanging off the balconies.

A father snapping a photo of his son in front of a fountain.

Chatting with our tour guide, Heba.

Church tower in Port Said.

We felt very welcomed in Port Said! Apparently they just 
started receiving tourists again this fall, possibly since the 
Jan 2011 revolution.

Saturday [Oct 25] Haifa, Israel. We covered a lot of ground and saw many sights during our 10 hour tour here day. The scenery everywhere we went was absolutely beautiful, in stark contrast to where we had just been. From Haifa, we drove inland and by the end of the day would circle the Sea of Galilee.

As we were docking in Haifa, we and some of our neighbors 
can be seen out on our balconies taking pictures of the gigantic 
Celebrity Silhouette ship!

The bulk of our morning was spent at Zippori [Tzipori] National Park, a few minutes northwest of Nazareth. Zippori encompasses ruins from the time of the Talmud. It contained a system of streets, public buildings, dwellings, a theatre, central market, bathhouses, synagogue, churches and a fortress. As we walked along the ruins, we slowly climbed higher, passing prickly pear cactus and finally reaching the top where great views of the Galilee Mountains can be seen. The ruins have been partially reconstructed. The synagogue contains a number of Byzantine mosaics, one of a woman's face known as the Mona Lisa of the Galilee and another of the Zodiac featuring Greek deities on the synagogue floor. Even some of the walking paths featured mosaic patterns. There is also an ancient reservoir system which regulated water using a valve, pretty high tech for those days. 

Zippori resevoir system.

I was tempted to try a prickly pear but they weren't ripe.

The fortress, built during the Crusader period.

View of the Galilee Mountains.

Our next stop was Capharnaum the Town of Jesus, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee and just 2.5 miles from the Jordan River. This is the place Jesus is said to have lived after his rejection in Nazareth. Here he called some of his disciples [Peter, Andrew, James and John], taught in the synagogue and performed miracles. The town was abandoned over 1,000 years ago and rediscovered by archaeologists in the 1800s. It is now a very popular and important tourist attraction. It was very crowded and hot the day we were there and not much shade was to be found!

Entrance to Capharnaum.

Synagogue made with white limestone.

Statue of St Peter with Sea of Galilee in the background.

Aerial view of Capharnaum [found online].

We were soon off to see the Yardenit Baptismal site on the River Jordan not far from the Sea of Galilee. At the entrance is the Wall of New Life that continues to the baptismal pools and depicts a bible verse from the New Testament [Mark 1:9-11] telling about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. The wall has the verse translated into all languages. 

You could rent or buy a white robe and be baptised in the Jordan River if you wanted to. It was a very crowded day and we only had a few minutes to browse the gift shop and snap a few photos before we were off again to our next stop.

Wall of New Life

The people wearing red hats were from 
another bus tour. They were filling their 
empty water bottles as a souvenir. The 
line was too long so I bought a small 
bottle of river water in the gift shop.

Catfish? Not sure I would want to be baptised in this water...

Sometime during the day we stopped for lunch but it wasn't anything to write home about. More American buffet food.

Our last stop was the Susita Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights where we had a fantastic territorial view of the Sea of Galilee. It was getting dark by then and it was hazy as well so no great pics. We were the only ones there.

It was going to be a beautiful sunset.

Territorial view of the Sea of Galilee.

Susita Nature Reserve, Golan Heights.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at Mount Carmel for a panoramic view of Haifa. Unfortunately, we had a passenger who was feeling car sick so we didn't have the opportunity to get off the bus and take photos because she was blocking the door in the front of the bus. It was too dark anyway, but we did get see all the beautiful lights of Haifa from the bus windows so I can't complain. Soon we were back on board the ship enjoying another scrumptuous meal.

Sunday [Oct 26] Ashdod [Jerusalem], Israel. After a very short sail overnight, this was to be another early morning and long tour day of 11 hours. Our tour guide turned out to be an American woman from Chicago who married an Israeli and has lived in Israel for 35 years. We had a two hour drive ahead of us to the Masada Fortress overlooking the Dead Sea and not much in the way of sightseeing along the way. 

We passed Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and drove along the shore of the Dead Sea, also known as Salt Sea [a landlocked salt lake between Israel and Jordan], lies about 1300 feet below sea level -- the lowest elevation and lowest body of water on Earth's surface. We passed countless hotel resorts that offer safe, natural skin treatment and pampering spa treatments. 

But before we would have the opportunity to experience the Dead Sea, we would visit Masada Fortress by taking a cable car up over 1,000 feet to the top. From the Judean King Herod the Great's day, Masada was a refuge with at least two luxurious palaces, a Byzantine church, a Synagogue, swimming pool, water cisterns, and a large storage complex capable of storing many months worth of food. The entire site was enclosed by a stone wall. The story is that around AD 73, after a three year Roman siege, almost 1,000 Jews took their own lives at Masada rather than face a future of slavery. 

It was a truly fascinating place and one has to wonder how on earth they were able to build this fortress so high up. If you'd like to see what I'm talking about, take a look at this 3 minute video: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1040/video I found online.

Taken from inside our cable car on the way up to the Masada
Fortress. You can see the Dead Sea in the haze far below.

Kris at the top. Hang onto that handrail, it's a long way down!

Stone walls.

Another incredible view from the top.

A cable car on the way up [or down].

Those who don't want to pay for the cable car ride can walk all
the way up and down using the stairs...if they want to.

Down below where the buses parked looks like a desert oasis.

Following our tour, we took the cable car down, and after a quick visit to the gift shop, drove to a nearby resort hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea where we enjoyed yet another buffet lunch! Those who wished to, brought bathing suits and took a soak in the Dead Sea. They say the mineral-rich waters are so salty you can't sink but you shouldn't stay in the water more than 15 minute as it can be very harsh. We didn't bring water shoes which is a must, so Kris and I chose to relax near the beach and soak up the sun. It was very relaxing. Check out this great website I found: 10 things you didn't know about the Dead Sea.

Guests floating in the Dead Sea.

Wishful thinking?

The beach was quite crowded.

Monday [Oct 27] At Sea. A welcomed day of relaxation after so many back to back tours! It was also a formal night but we were too tired to dress up... The Lido was really nice and quiet.

Tuesday [Oct 28] Marmaris, Turkey. Today, we had a great view from our cabin after docking early in Marmaris, on the Mediterranean shore.

Beautiful Marmaris, Turkey.

Our tour today would take us to Dalyan Village on the southwest coast of Turkey and the point at which the Mediterranean becomes the Aegean sea. Our first impression of Turkey was, "How beautiful!" Everywhere we went was very clean and just beautiful. From Dalyan, we boarded a river boat for an enjoyable cruise along the river where The African Queen was filmed. We had a very good tour guide named Octay who looked like a much younger version of Sean Penn, only Octay was way better looking...

  

Our African Queen tour guide, Octay.

Selfie on the boat!

From our boat, we could see the famous Lycean rock tombs carved into the rocky cliffs, circa 400 B.C., the last resting place of the Kings of Kaunos. 

Click on the picture for a closer view of the Lycean rock tombs.

We would eventually find our way to the archaeological site of the ancient city of Kaunos where we walked amongst, yes, more ruins. It was much like other ruins we had already seen but on this tour, one of the Prinsendam performers was with us and our tour guide convinced her to sing an opera for us while we were all seated in the theatre ruins. Pretty cool. During our walk to and from the ruins we encountered more prickly pear cactus, a mountain goat, turtles, a pomagranate orchard and a flock of sheep. We were averaging about 5 miles of walking on tours according to our pedometers, not bad.

Kris hanging out in the ruins...most likely resting.

Paula, singing opera. Everyone was spread out in this massive
circular theatre and I couldn't get everyone in the picture...

After we had our fill of the ruins, we had a long walk ahead of us to get back to the boat and a leisurely cruise awaited us to Iztuzu Beach where endangered Mediterranean loggerhead turtles come ashore each year to lay their eggs. Of course, the only turtles we saw were pictured on a sign since their eggs hatch from July to September. After spending time at the beach, we returned to an open air style seafood restaurant in Dalyan Village where they served us fresh cooked sea bass, soup and salad with a tasty apple for dessert.

Miles from everywhere according to a sign at the beach.

Iztuzu Beach.

A photographer came on board the boat -- we bought the photo.

After eating, you could hang your feet in a fish tank [for a fee] and the tiny carp, also called doctor fish, would nibble dead skin off your feet giving you what's known as a "fish pedicure". As much as my feet could have used a pedicure, I passed because of the risk of bacterial infection. Let's face it, I'm just not that adventureous!

Following lunch, we headed back to the ship just in time to sail away. It was the most beautiful scenery and we thoroughly enjoyed it from our cabin balcony.

Relaxing on the balcony enjoying the views.

The scenery reminded us of Alaska.

Bye bye, Marmaris, Turkey! We loved you and hate to leave!

Wednesday [Oct 29] Kusadasi, Turkey. Coming into the Kusadasi Port the next morning, the weather was quite cloudy and cold, not a good sign. It did eventually warm up but we had another tour that departed at 7:00 a.m., I'm going to kill Kris! Maybe not, at least it's less than a four hour tour. But then again, it was a tour of ancient RUINS so I may reconsider! Poor Kris was freezing throughout the tour so that was punishment enough.

Kusadasi was a very short walk from where our ship docked.

Today, we visited the ancient Greek city of Asia Minor, "Ephesus", and it must've been the most popular tour of the day. Ephasus is located in Selcuk, a small town less than 20 miles from Kusadasi so a short drive. I have to say it was the largest and most interesting of all the ruins we'd seen so far. Ephasus was once one of the four largest cities of the ancient world, with a population of more than 250,000 people. Established by the sea, it became the heart of trading in the ancient world. The recorded history of Ephesus goes back to 14th century B.C. and the library, theatre, streets, fountains and temples are very well preserved. I could picture the hustling and bustling port city in its day.

What made this tour more fun was the fact that these ruins were heavily populated by kitty cats. It was as though they were part of the tour, eager to hear all about Ephasus. They were everywhere, including hanging out in trees! There were also a few friendly dogs as well wandering around, wagging their tails, hoping someone would pet them and slip them a treat. The cats were less friendly [duh] but so entertaining. There was practically a cat in every photo we took!

Can you spot the kitty?

Different tree, different kitty.

They're everywhere! Some were friendlier than others.

Beautiful architecture.

Public toilet for men only with two rows of 8-10 holes.
There was water running below to carry away waste and a
live band would be playing in the center of the room to
cover up the sounds. Can you imagine?

I wanted to bring this kitten home...

Cat guarding the library.

Ancient street guarded by cat.

Massive theatre guarded by cat.

If you want to take a picture you must pay money: $1 Euro.
I took this picture from inside the bus.

Saw this on the way out of Ephasus and thought
it was hilarious. At least they're honest.

From Ephasus, the bus took us back to Kusadasi for a demonstration at a carpet making factory. First they showed us silkworm cocoons floating in a pot of water and how they got the silk thread onto the loom. Then we saw a worker actually weaving a silk rug on a loom by hand. I hope she is paid well because those rugs are extremely expensive.

After the demonstration they served us our choice of Turkish apple tea, wine or a watered down version of Raki otherwise known as Lion's Milk [similar to Ouzo, anice-flavored liquor] and a very tasty pastry while they rolled out all of carpets in the picture below one at a time for us to feast our eyes upon. They were absolutely stunning and I would not mind having one but they were way out of our budget. There was at least one party that bought one. We kind of felt like we were held captive especially when we had to go through a jewelry shop before we could exit! We should've known from all the cruises we've been on this would be the case.

The making of a Turkish silk rug.

We walked across the street as soon as we could find an opening in the parade that was taking place. It was crowded due to it being the 87th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic and there were a lot of celebrations happening that day. Very colorful and fun to watch the excitement. 

We had just come from Matis Carpet and Jewelry. Luckily the
parade had just ended and we could get across the street.

We made our way to a nearby plaza and chose from the many restaurants available. Ahhhh, Turkish beer, delicious food and free internet. Does it get any better?

After eating, reading email and people watching for awhile,
we made our way back to the ship. On the way we spotted
Starbucks! And, of course, souviners just before the ship.

No shortage of coffee or free internet.

Never a shortage of souvenirs ...

Thursday [Oct 30] Iraklion, Crete, Greece. Iraklion [Heraklion], on the Island of Crete, was from the Neolithic Period [6500-2800 B.C.] and over the ages was ruled by the Romans, Arabs, Venetians, and Turks before being recognized as an independent state around 1898 after France, England and Russia intervened. By 1913 Crete was unified with Greece. In 1941, Germany attacked but met resistance from Australia, New Zealand and Greek soldiers. Seems like a very popular and coveted place, now peaceful and thriving.

Today was another cloudy and cool day. In fact, by the time we boarded our tour bus it was pouring rain and I was not a happy camper because I forgot to bring my umbrella along. Even though it was raining, the scenery was beautiful.

Rain, rain, go away - come again some other day!

Our tour today would be at the Palace of Knossos ruins followed by the Heraklion Archaelogical Museum. Yes, I said ruins. Our tour guide was far too detail oriented and the tour moved too slowly for my taste so I wandered around on my own trying to avoid the rain. The palace complex was similar to others we had seen.

Potty stop before the Knossos Palace ruins tour.

Crowds, long lines and puddles everywhere.

People waited in line to see this. Kris was one of those people.

Wooden throne.

Finally, we left for the Archaeological Museum. Again our guide was going into great detail about each exhibit, of which there were many, so we wandered off on our own path.

The dead were laid to rest in pithoi
vessels. The body was placed in a fetal
in order to fit inside.

Athletes and acrobats engaged in bull-leaping, considered a
contest of strength, endurance and skill.

Praying statues from Shrine of the Double Axes.

Board game inlaid with ivory and plated with gold and silver.

Yay, museum tour is over! Back to the ship for more food!

Friday [Oct 31] Katakolon, Greece. Happy Halloween! Back to sunny and warm weather, we were headed to a fully guided visit to the original site of the Olympics [can you say "ruins"?] followed by a little free time at the nearby village of Olympia. So far, we had very little free time.

The ancient Olympic Games began in 776 B.C. primarily as part of a religious festival dedicated to Zeus, the father of Greek gods and goddesses. The only athletic event of the games for the first 13 festivals, held every four years, was the stadion race, a 600' foot race. They games were suppressed in 394 A.D., some time after Greece came under Roman rule, as part of a campaign to impose Christianity as the state religion of Rome. The first modern Olympics were in Athens, Greece in 1896.

We covered a lot of ground and here is some of what we saw:

Ancient Olympics.

More ancient Olympics.

I don't remember what this was.

Ready, set, GO! Oh, you were just tying a shoelace.

Trying to imagine the games back in the day.

A noisy drone that kept reappearing. Hope it got our good side!

This is probably where the athletes ran the 600' race.

For those who didn't want to walk the quarter mile uphill to
the bus. We roughed it and walked.

Greek beer & French fries plus free internet. We were happy.

Olympia was a beautiful little village.

That night, the crew did a great job decorating the ship for Halloween but unfortunately we did not bring a camera to dinner and we were too full and tired after dinner to leave our cabin to take photos.

Saturday [Nov 1] At Sea. Another formal night. Surf 'n Turf [hold the turf please]. All is right in the world tonight.

Our nightly table and beautiful view at dinner.

Still crazy about each other...

...after all these years!

Sunday [Nov 2] Messina, Sicily, Italy. Our original itinerary was for the port of Taormina but a last minute change took us to Messina, 3rd largest city of Sicily. This was OK with us as we had already visited Taormina and Mt Etna in the past. Taormina and Messina are less than an hour apart, Messina being at the most northern part of Sicily just across the water from the toe of the Italian boot and home to one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world.

Our tour today included the beautiful Sanctuary of the Black Madonna in Tindari perched high upon a rock overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea. We took the scenic route along the northern coast. The roads were extremely narrow, with little to no shoulders, and rose to quite a high elevation in order to reach the sanctuary. We were in the front seat white knuckling it the entire way, while watching for bicyclists who would suddenly appear around a blind corner. They are brave to share those narrow winding roads with such large buses.

Sharing the road with bicyclists.

There were spectacular views  . . . and some treacherous. On some of the switchbacks, you have a view of Mount Etna, assuming it is not obscured by clouds.

On the way to Tindori.

Mediterranean Sea.

Blind corners everywhere with no shoulder whatsoever.

View of the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tindari.

Our bus parked a quarter mile below the sanctuary but we had no trouble walking up the hill. It was such a beautiful day. We would do a lot of walking today as we would also visit a museum and more archaeological ruins just beyond the sanctuary as well as shopping from the street vendors. Many of the vendors were handing out free samples of freshly roasted nuts and marzipan pastries which I couldn't resist buying!

The sanctuary was stunning and ornate inside and out. It was built in the 1960s mainly to house the Black Madonna which was supposedly found in a case by fisherman in the ninth century. Miracles have been attributed to the statue and many pilgrims come to pay their respect to the statue. We were allowed to go in the sanctuary even though services were taking place. I managed to take a video and a few photos before I was told "no no". Our tour guide had said it was allowed. Oh well, so I was not able to get a closer picture of the Black Madonna.

Sanctuary of the Black Madonna
in Tindori.

Interior.

Holy Water.

Stained glass windows.

Tindari [Tyndaris] was founded in 396 B.C. by Greek settlers and eventually housed as many as 5,000 citizens. It remained through the Roman age. In the first century A.D. part of the city fell into the sea due to a landslide. It eventually was destroyed by pillaging conquerors after the ninth or tenth century A.D. and became an abandoned ancient city. The panoramic views are unbelievable from up here where you can see the Aeolian Islands far below. It is easy to see why Tyndaris was originally built in this strategic position and sad that someone would come along and destroy it.

We spent quite awhile going through the museum and the ruins. The ampitheatre is small and overgrown and some stones have been removed to build a wall. You can also find arches, bath houses, houses, schools and other buildings.

Greco-Roman Ampitheatre.

Beautiful view from the ruins.

Time to head back to the ship.

Monday [Nov 3] Naples, Italy. We had a pretty nice view from our cabin as we sailed into Naples this morning. We had been to this port years ago and thoroughly enjoyed a visit to the ruins of Pompei. This time we would visit the smaller Ancient Herculaneum, founded by Hercules, which much like Pompei was engulfed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D after an earthquake. I have to say I liked visiting Pompei more but was glad for the opportunity to see something that I had not seen before. 

View of Naples from our cabin.

First we had a short stop at a cameo making factory where works of art were carved by hand onto shells and jewelry.

We moved on to Herculaneum where upper class Romans maintained luxurious properties. While Pompei was buried under a thick layer of volcanic ash and stone, Herculaneum's destruction was the result of a flood of hot volcanic mud that buried, sealed and protected entire buildings containing inlaid marble floors, mosaics, and paintings. While both were discovered in the 18th century, less of Herculaneum has been uncovered. We did a fair amount of walking and were able to view the inside of 2,000 year old mansions. We saw wall mosaics, frescos of Hercules, statues and marble furniture. Some of the buildings still held the original bones of people who were killed instantly.

Frescos of Hercules.

Typical street in Herculaneum.

Wall mosaics.

Cooking pots.

Bones remain untouched in the lower arched
doorways of this building.

Click on photo to enlarge.

We were pretty tired at the end of this tour and looked forward to getting back to the ship to relax. We would sail away as we were eating dinner. 

Tuesday [Nov 4] Civitavecchia [Rome], Italy. We would wake up to a marvelous sky in Civitavecchia, the last port of this segment of the cruise. Most of the passengers would be disembarking and less than 300 passengers would stay on board for the next segment. We would be picking up new passengers as well.

What a sight to wake up to!

We've been to Rome before and this time Kris chose a tour of Ostia Antica, ancient Rome's main commercial port and military base. However, for some reason we were expecting a modern military base because we missed the part in the description about Ostia Antica being "buried for centuries by sand". Little did we realize, but this was another tour of ruins that were still being excavated. We had focused on the fact that at the end of the tour, we would all be going for a gelato, lol.

Although our guide was likable enough, we decided to wander on our own, walking down a 2,000 year old path. We knew what time we were supposed to be back at the bus and had walked quite a ways, following the signs to a coffee shop and bookstore figuring they'd have internet. We kept an eye on the time and when we felt like we had just enough time to make it back to the bus, we headed back not having any luck at the cafeteria. We took a few pictures along the way. This place is absolutely huge!

Ostia, said to have been established in the 7th century B.C., contained many Roman bath houses, communal latrines exactly like the one we saw at Ephasus, two and three-story apartments, hotels, brothels, bars, shops, temples mosaics, sculptures, wall paintings and graffiti.

Many of the statues have been
replaced by plaster copies due to
people vandalizing the originals.

Decumanus Maximus was a main road in the city.

We stuck to the main road so we would
be able to find our way back to the bus.

If you build them, Kris will come. He couldn't resist going up
these stairs to see what was at the top. I followed.

The view from a stadium at the top of the stairs.

Beautiful umbrella pines.

The never ending road. We walked 45 minutes one-way!

Walking down the 2,000 year old road, this heart shaped
stone caught my eye.

We got back to the bus just in time but waited and waited for everyone else to show up. Apparently, our guide wasn't all that serious about the timing. We were beginning to wonder if they had gone for gelato without us! After an hour of waiting everyone started trickling in and soon we were headed into town for gelato. After our bus driver found a place to park, everyone followed our guide like ducklings blindly following their mother. We ended up in a plaza but our guide could not find the gelato place. She made a phone call and we got back on the bus and drove around, parked again and followed her around the entire block. We finally found the place but it was CLOSED! We walked on in search of another gelato place but each of those we found were mysteriously out of gelato. Too weird. Our guide suggested finding a place to have a coffee or a wine but no one was really excited about that. Finally, as we continued to walk around we ended up back at the place that was closed and found it open. Someone had been called in to open up for us thankfully.

While everyone was deciding what they wanted, I stepped up and ordered a scoop each of pistachio and coffee! It was most definitely the best I ever tasted and worth the wait. Slowly but surely everyone got their gelato and while they were eating. I went to the restroom to wash up. I soaped up and my wedding ring slipped off my finger and got stuck in the drain! I called someone to help me and then managed to get ahold of it with the tip of a toothpick. But because the automatic water would not shut off I thought for sure it would be washed down the drain. Somehow I managed to pull it out and get it back on my finger. I'm so thankful I didn't lose it...

We were back on the bus soon and headed to the ship, but by then traffic was unbelievably backed up so it took a very long time to get there. Another day of adventure would soon be over.

Wednesday & Thursday [Nov 5 & 6] At Sea. We would sail for two days and pass the Rock of Gibraltar heading toward Cadiz [Seville], Spain. Although it was mostly sunny, you could see rain storms in the distance. It was another formal night but I can't honestly remember if we attended or not. There were six formal nights on the entire cruise and we did three of them.

Friday [Nov 7] Cadiz, Spain. We arrived around 10 a.m. to a lovely view of Cadiz. The weather had changed to mostly cloudy.

Port of Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz is a port city near the Rock of Gibraltar on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. It is the capital of Cadiz province, one of eight provinces which make up the community of Andalusia and was founded over 1,000 years B.C. It has been home to many cultures and civilizations - Phoenicians, Greek, Visigoth, Roman, Moorish and Spanish to name a few.

Because both of the Flamenco dancing tours we were interested in were cancelled due to lack of interest, we got off the ship and walked around the old city. All of the streets were extremely narrow. I'm sure when it was built, they never imagined that motor vehicles would some day be invented! Some streets had tables and chairs outside of small cafes so traffic couldn't go through. You really had to know your way around to avoid them.

A small knitting shop with a creative way
of advertising samples of their workshops.

Cafes in the middle of the street.

Cars actually drive down this road?

The pooch on the balcony was lonely and
looking for attention so we stopped.

A tiny view of our ship from this street.

There were many massive doorways like
this one, both in churches and apartments.

We found a small hole in the wall pizza joint and went in to enjoy handmade oven-fired pizza. We found out too late they didn't have internet. We had some trouble communicating so I wasn't able to get a veggie pizza but the Hawaiian was very good and reasonably priced. They served Coca-cola in heavy glass bottles. Kris is more adventuresome and always tries the local beer. On our walk back to the ship, we spotted what appeared to be a firetruck with firemen knocking stuff off of the side of a building which we watched for awhile trying to figure out what was going on. There were lots of other interesting views as well.

Apparently the building is falling apart!

Modern sculpture in the round-about near the port.

Motorcycle parking at its best.

Symbol of freedom and progress in the
process of limiting the power of the state,
the Cadiz Constitution of 1812.

17th century fortification still stands.

Restaurant row. By the afternoon, it was filled.

We thoroughly enjoyed our walk around this beautiful old city that must hold countless stories and secrets from its past. We headed back to the ship.

The ship was just a short walk away from everything.

Saturday [Nov 8] Portimao, Portugal. Portimao turned out to be a beautiful and charming little fishing "village". We enjoyed our walk yesterday so much, we decided to do it again.

We walked along the water and just took in the views. We noticed a restaurant along the way and checked for internet. It worked without having to go in! After downloading our email, we continued walking until we came to the end of the path where it opened up into a large plaza with a fountain, restaurants and shops. The clouds were looking kind of dark all of a sudden!

We didn't want to spoil our dinner so I had a gelato and Kris had a beer. The gelato wasn't as good as the one we had in Italy, but it was okay. The bartender had no sooner poured Kris's beer and it started raining! Luckily, we were able to wait it out under the canopy at the outdoor bar.

Pavilhao de Gelados No 1.

Outdoor bar/restaurant where Kris got his beer and we hid
from the rain shower until it stopped.

It was a short day on shore so we headed back to the ship. We were never so glad that we had a balcony cabin as we were today while we were sailing away. What a great place to visit!

A beautiful little inlet we sailed by.

We spotted a castle!

When we were safely out of the harbor with the assistance of
the harbor pilot, along came the pilot boat to pick him up. He
is paid very well to jump off ships in all kinds of weather...

Sunday [Nov 9] Lisbon, Portugal. Another beautiful port! Each day seemed somehow better than the previous day. I don't know how it could be but it is. We were having such a good time. This would be another day of walking around, sometimes in the rain but we loved every minute of it. Each day, we would announce, "I can't believe we're in [insert city name here]!" We felt so fortunate and blessed.

Panoramic view of Lisbon. We were lucky to get such great
views from the ship in port.

Painting on the side of a building near the ship.

Me and my shadow.

We tried to stay ahead of the rain but it wasn't always
possible. Glad I brought my umbrella.

We were looking for a marketplace we had heard about when
I spotted LDS missionaries and had to say hello. It turns out
Elder Cluff is from Mesa, near us and Elder Fox, from Canada. 

The streets were busy for a Sunday.

Beautiful architecture.

There are outdoor restaurants everywhere.

For lunch, we found an authentic Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a bowl of the best tortilla soup we've ever tasted. We were able to check email and relax for awhile. We took a different path back to the ship and enjoyed new scenery along the way. Once we were back on board the ship, it would be announced that because of bad weather we would not be able to visit our next two ports, Ponta Delgada and Horta, Azores. Instead we would visit Funchal, Madeira, Portugal and have an extra sea day.

Monday [Nov 10] At Sea.

Tuesday [Nov 11] Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal. Funchal, on the volcanic Island of Madeira, was named for the wild fennel that grows there. This was to be our last port of call before eight days of nothing but blue seas while crossing the North Atlantic Ocean. As we came into port, we snapped a panoramic view. The clouds would eventually dissipate and it would be a gorgeous day.

Click on photo for a larger view of panoramic Funchal.

We were docked near the new Aidastella, a massive German ship. You couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

We would be here until 11 p.m. and chose to do our own thing since we had so much fun doing just that in previous ports. It was a very long walk into the heart of Funchal and it wasn't long before we were stripping off our jackets. With many shops and restaurant choices, we would eventually stop for a gelato and rest. Once we got our strength back, we walked up and down the many colorful streets. We had some interesting views along the way.

Along the very long pier, there were plenty of taxis available
but we decided to walk since we would be at sea for 8 days!

This little rental vehicle caught Kris's eye. We could have
rented it for 26 Euros the first hour or only 60 Euros all day.
It was really meant for one person so we passed. Cute though.

After passing through a tunnel under an old stone fort, there is
a viewpoint but we decided there were too many stairs.

We kept walking and happened to
look up and spot a casino.

Beautiful sights every where we went.

Pizza Hut and McDonalds, felt like home.

In this tourist area, traffic was forbidden.

The streets were lush with greenery and lined with restaurants, shops and tourists. It was barely November but we managed to find a shop window with a Christmas display so apparently it isn't only the U.S. that rushes the holidays.

We didn't need a reminder that it was almost Christmas time.

We decided on an outdoor restaurant with a good view of a live band that was playing in the plaza. They were playing oldies but goodies, the Beatles and many more American songs we recognized. They were very good not to mention entertaining! We saw no reason to go anywhere else so we ordered and enjoyed the music for as long as we could. We thoroughly enjoyed this port.

We settled in at the Cafe' Apolo Restaurante to enjoy food,
drink and live music. What a perfect end to a great cruise!

When it started to cool off, we decided it was time to head back to the ship. We took our time along the same path, stopping in a shop to buy a toy for Gabbi. We missed her a lot but she was having a great time with the wonderful family who watches her when we travel. They have cats and three small dogs, not to mention a little girl who loves Gabbi's kisses so we don't worry a bit that she might be missing us.

We got a kick out of this sign as we re-
entered the port. Translation: prohibited
droppings of animals.

Wednesday [Nov 12] - Thursday [Nov 20] . We would sail almost 3,000 miles from Funchal to Fort Lauderdale! We got very few steps on our pedometers during this time but we did attend a few of their Digital Workshops to become more familiar with Windows 8. We're not into many of the daily activities they offer or even the nightly shows, but we did get a lot of reading in as well as well as watched a lot of movies.

For the duration of our time at sea, the weather would be in the 70's and actually got warmer as we got closer to Florida. We saw days of beautiful sunshine as well as days of clouds. On the cloudy days we could see huge rain storms in the distance. We had many nights of being rocked to sleep with rollers and pitching at sea. I couldn't decide which I liked better but with the rollers, the lower cabins up in the bow had to have their port holes covered so I'm guessing that's not good. Our cabin was in the center of the ship on a higher deck and with the ship's stabilizers deployed, we enjoyed gentle rocking. In any case, it was a bit difficult making the walk to and from meals, but somehow we managed, LOL.

We even had a little excitement one night after we were undressed and in for the night. An alarm sounded around 10 p.m. The ship's crew had held many drills so we were used to hearing this alarm and being told it was only a drill. Thoughts of the Costa Concordia crept into our minds and we wondered if we should jump up and quickly get dressed. But, following the orders we learned during our drill, we waited for the captain to make an announcement. Unfortunately, this would be the real thing, not a drill. I don't remember the exact details but there was a small fire on board. The captain kept us well informed, telling us everything was under control and soon, the fire was out and we were fast asleep. We were so thankful.

By the time we docked in Fort Lauderdale, the weather would turn slightly chilly and rainy. We headed to the airport and waited for our flight. As much as we would miss the sights, gourmet meals and having someone make our bed for us, it would be good to get home.

Hopefully you enjoyed seeing some of our pictures. If you made it all the way through, please leave a comment below. Thank you!