Dad finally got his dhow ride which he has been wanting for years. Oman is very mountainous but nothing grows on the mountains. However, where they irrigate there are beautiful flowers and grass growing.

Grand Isle marina in Oman

Dhow ride

On this segment we are fortunate to have on board some incredible guest lecturers. Regent in conjunction with NPR and PBS has quite a few well-known news journalists on board. The intent is for them to have a lecture and then to meet with us in smaller group settings and have open discussions. We have already had two sessions with Charlie Cook who is one of the most respected political analysts in Washington.

We are off to pirate alley. However, guess what? We are having mechanical problems. One of the generators is not working so we cannot go as fast as we need to. They hope to fix it in Jordan but the necessary part has to be flown in from Germany.

written by  rcodel on May 7, 2011 from Salalah, Oman
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011
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We are in Aqaba, Jordan, and have successfully navigated through pirate alley without any incident in a convoy escorted by some war ships which we saw in the distance.

There were armed Israeli security people on board patrolling the decks with binoculars, etc. When we went through a narrow strait between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea we were told that it is called Hell's Gate and is the hottest place in the world which is probably true since it was very hot.

Jordan is a beautiful, mountainous country but with little vegetation. We went to Wadi Rum which is famous for Lawrence of Arabia. In fact, the movie was actually filmed there. We drove through the desert in a four wheel drive vehicle driven by a local bedouin and also visited a local bedouin camp. Dad was in heaven remembering driving in his jeep through the dunes in Rehoboth Beach. The landscape was spectacular with lots of sand and rock formations.

In the evening at the pool bar I recognized the voice of a man sitting next to me. It turned out to be Charles Gibson from ABC. He was most known for his long stint at Good Morning America. He said he also grew up in Washington and went to Sidwell Friends - small world.

Bedoin camp

written by  rcodel on May 12, 2011 from Al 'Aqabah, Jordan
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011
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The president of Regent joined us here and told us that when he arrived in Cairo yesterday,the large international airport was totally empty and that he was the only guest at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo. This country is going to have major economic probloems, more so than it already has had for many years.

The generator part arrived here from Germany and has been installed. We are back up to full power.

Ghost town

Port Said is at the northern endf of the Suez Canal. We started transiting the canal at 6 am and arrived here at 4 pm. The Suez Canal has one way traffic and ships travel in a convoy. We were the first of 20 ships and were led by an Egyptian navy ship. Sand, sand, and more sand.

We spent the day traveling from Ashdod to Jerusalem where we stayed overnight in a hotel. This special two day tour was a complimentary event for world cruisers. We first went to Bethlehem which is in Palestinian territory where no Israelis are allowed. We saw the wall that separates Israel from Palestine form the Palestinian side.

Entrance to Palestine

Wall from Palestine side

In Bethlehem we visited the Church of Nativity which is built on the spot where Jesus was born in a cave. Mary was living in this cave with animals because she was about to deliver and was turned away at the inn. The belief was that a woman is unclean for 40 days after giving birth so the inkeeper thought he would not be able to rent his room for 40 days -- so he made a financial decision to send her away. She gave birth in a nearby cave which also housed the animals of the shepherds.

Bending to enter church showing humility

Church of Nativity

Bethlehem

We had lunch in East Jerusalem. The guide told us "look East Jerusalem is not a war zone contrary to popular belief". We learned while we were here that Obama made a speech about giving up territory including where we had lunch today. His thoughts seem incomprehensible to us from our experience here.

In the afternoon we visited the Mount of Olives and Temple Mount, the place where Jesus was prepared for burial and buried in the holy sepulchre. We also went to the Wailing Wall which is in Temple Mount.

Temple Mount from Mount of Olives

Temple Mount

Old city of David from Mount of Olives

Young soldiers

Old town Jerusalem

Jesus' tomb - Holy Sepulchre

Wailing wall

Annointing stone

In the evening we had an exclusive outdoor dinner party.

Dinner party

written by  rcodel on May 19, 2011 from Jerusalem, Israel, West Bank
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011
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Jerusalem is at a high altitude. The west side of the city is green and the east side is desert. The Dead Sea is ther lowest place on earth at 1,500 feet below sea level.

We had lunch on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias. We could see the Golan Heights on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is really a fresh water lake and in Hebrew the world for it is lake.

It is unbelievable to us now that we are here and have learned so much that Obama would want to give up the Golan Heights because it would deprive Israel of its only source of water. As a precaution against this happening Israel is quickly building desalinization plants along the Mediterranean Sea to produce its supply of water, most of which now comes from the Sea of Galilee.

Sea of Galilee

Golan Heights

In Nazareth we went to the Church of Annunciation, one of Christendom's most revered shrines and the largest church in the middle east, where the archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Under the church we saw the cave where Mary had lived. On top of the front of the church is a statue of Jesus. By chance there was a live white dove sitting on his head. Our tour guide went crazy since this is almost miraculous. The dove signifies the Holy Spirit. Notice the dove in the photo. Inside the church there is a mural of Jesus with a dove over his head.

Church of Annunciation

Live dove over Jesus' head

See dove over Jesus' head

We also visited the Church of Joseph which is built over chambers where he lived and Mary lived nearby down the street -- friendly neighbors.

Joseph's bed

Haifa is a beaujtiful city on the Mediterranean Sea.

Haifa

To add a little perspective to Israel we were told that it is smaller in size than Lake Michigan.

We leave Israel with a totally new understanding of this fascinating and wonderful country.

written by  rcodel on May 20, 2011 from Haifa, Israel
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011
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We took a fast Ferry to the Isle of Capri which is a beautiful island with a town high on a rocky hill accessible by car or funicular.

Isle of Capri from ship

Grand Isle marina on Isle of Capri