edoyle

Lisbon

edoyle — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Tue.May 31. Docked in Lisbon.Took the tour "Highlights of Lisbon"Lovely city,many wide squares.We visited the maritime museum which is part of what was a monastery.

Former monastery now a museum

The church is still there with lovely stained glass windows but it was never finished.There are marks on one wall where an addition was to be,but never was,and all the niches are empty,no statues.
The maritime museum has replicas of the ships used in the days of exploration and naval
costumes of the periods.
We drove by a tiled wall of various shades and I took a quick picture from the bus.

Tiled wall

There was a statue of Christ,arms outstretched as on Corcovado in Rio,on a tall pole.Apparently
the Bishop of Lisbon visited Rio and wanted to have a similar statue.
We visited the monument to Portuguese explorers which has figures carved on each side,
including the figure of King Henry the Navigator.

Monument to exploration

Closeup of monument

The weather was lovely,warm and sunny, but not too much so.
Several people got off in the main square off which is a pedestrian street.

Main square with pedestrian street off it

I am having a problem downloading photos.Only a couple of the last lot took.I am going to download some of Lisbon but if you don't see any you'll know that the problem is still there.
The internet is excruciatingly slow.I log in and the page disappears and I have to redo it all over again.

I may be able to write another blog or maybe not.I'll see how things go with the packing.

I am really anxious to get home now.145 days is a bit too much,although it has been very
interesting.

Cadiz

edoyle — Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Mon.May 30. Docked in Cadiz,3rd largest city in Spain,population 2 million.Went on a tour to Jerez de la Frontera.This is where sherry gets its name.A lovely little town with several squares.The main square is large with a huge fountain, in the middle of which is an equestrian statue,that invariably has a pigeon on the rider's head.It rained briefly,the first rain we've had.
We went to the Gonzalez Byass winery where they make Tio Pepe sherry.The founder of the company,Manuel Gonzalez,was funded by his uncle,in 1835, and named his best sherry for him,hence Tio Pepe,(Uncle Joe)They use only two types of grape and three types of sherry that vary from very dry to very sweet and in between.The founder joined with his English agent,Robert Blake Byass to form the winery.He later bought his partner out but kept the name bacause Gonzalez by itself is a very common name.
A tradition began when someone left out some sweet sherry and mice drank it.Now they put a glass of sherry on the floor with a little ladder against it and another glass with snacks for the mice.I took a picture of a photo of a mouse climbing the ladder.
I learned a lot about sherry today.

Malaga

edoyle — Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Sun.May 29. Docked in Malaga.This is a large port with 2 warships in.This is Armed Forces Day and there will be a parade and crowds of people visiting the port to tour the warships and tanks etc.The King,Juan Carlos will come.Many of us took the tour "Marbella and Puerto Banus"
Marbella is an exclusive resort,once a fishing village until the tourists came because of the weather.Many wealthy Arabs bought land and built large mansions.Jose Banus was a friend of Franco's and was given permission to develop a port.We saw many expensive
yachts,most registered in the Cayman Islands.We were told that some were so big they had to dock in Malaga.Talk about "conspicuous consumption".The town was attractive with wrought iron balconies and several small squares.

barcelona

edoyle — Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Fri.May 27. Docked in Barcelona.This is a very large port with several big ships docked.Had a quick tour of the city by bus.Saw the church designed by Gaudi,the Sagrada Familia (Sacred family)Extremely ornate,just the front finished.

Sagrada Familia

Gaudi died in a car accident in 1926 and a designer who admired Gaudi's work took over.He is doing the back in a simpler style,representing the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ.The church was visited and consecrated by Pope Benedict but it wont be finished for decades.
We drove past Las Ramblas,the main shopping street which has a statue of Christopher Columbus at one end.

Las Ramblas

We then went to a winery,saw a film and got on a train for a tour of the vineyard.They are very "green".The cellar roof is just above ground level and is painted white to reflect the sun so less energy is used to keep it cool.The train went into a pitch dark building where we saw slides projected onto a wall.There were 3 porticos projected on the wall with different slides in each,telling the history of wine in the region.It was very well done.
Tomorrow is a day at sea and I have asked my stewardess to bring my 3 suitcases in so I can begin packing.We have no more formal nights so I can pack my formal clothes.

Marseille

edoyle — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Thurs.May 26 Docked in Marseille.The old port was founded by the Greeks in 600 BC and now is only for small boats.There are so many it looks like a parking lot.One large boat is a restaurant

Boats in old port of Marseille

There is a free ferry which goes from one side to the other.There are many high rises and new construction.Notre Dame de le Garde Basilica sits on La Garde hill,a former lookout.

Notre Dame de la Garde

I took the tour "Marseille Highlights and Cassis"We were driven to Cassis,a popular resort town.We had to take a little train as the bus could not negociate the narrow streets winding down to the town.The train stopped above the town as it couldn't go further and we walked the rest of the way.There was a nice beach and little streets off the main square with lots of cafes.

I had a cup of coffee at one cafe and then we returned to the ship.A fairly relaxing day.

Fri.May 27. Docked in Barcelona.This is a very large port and there were several large ships docked.We saw our sister ship,the Mariner docked.We had a quick tour of the city,
leaving the bus to see the famous church designed by Gaudi,Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family)He died in 1926 and his work is now being recognised.He designed many buildings in the city,all very ornate.The church is unfinished and is taken over by a contemporary of Gaudi who is adding the back in a simpler style.It wont be finished for decades.It is quite extraordinary looking.

Sagrada Familia

We were driven to Torres winery where saw a film about the founding in 1870.The 5th generation have a winery in Chile and one in California.They don't use pesticides or fertilizer and support the environment.The top of their cellar,which is barely higher than ground level,is painted white to reflect heat.We got into a little train which took us around the vineyard and then into a dark building where we had a display on a wall of rotating slides and these were shown through three simulated porticos.
The train then took us into the cask area with hundreds of casks on their sides and finally into the bottling area.
We returned to the main building for a tasting and then back to the ship.
We had a surprise event after dinner,a flamenco performance by a man and two women,
in the theatre.A wonderful show with several changes of costume.
Tomorrow we are in Malaga.

Portovenere

edoyle — Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Wed.May 25. Three of us took a tender in for about an hour and a half.Portovenere is a lovely little village.Small boats and cafes line the waterfront.We changed some dollars into euros and entered the village through a brick portal.The one street was narrow and uphill.I bought a pair of sandals,which I needed,in the only shoe shop.
The sky was blue and there was a gentle breeze.It was really lovely.
We got a tender back in time for lunch.

What a time I'm having with this blog.I wrote about the two days in Jerusalem and it wasn't saved so I had to rewrite it.There is also a problem with the pictures.I write down the numbers but often different pictures are reduced.I may have to limit the number of pictures I get reduced for the blog.
I'll have to think about packing soon and I dread this.

Times of arrival in various ports and excursions have been changed so we don't always know what's going on until almost the last moment.

The Holy Land

edoyle — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Thurs.May 19.Still docked in Ashdod.Met at 7:45am for our overnight in Jerusalem.Drove around the city.Saw the wall separating the Jewish and Arab areas.Our guide,jewish, has
Arab friends and said it was now difficult to visit each other.Saw the Dome of the Rock, the 3rd holiest site in Islam.

Dome of the Rock

Via Dolorosa

Walked the Via Dolorosa where the Stations of the Cross are marked on doorways.It is very narrow and crowded and we were told to stick together with our guide.The whole is a vast bazaar and we would have liked to have spent some time there.I took a picture of a handprint on a wall where Jesus is said to have leaned when carrying the cross.

Handprint where Jesus leaned with cross

We went to the Western (Wailing) Wall.Men and women have separate areas separated by a wall.The square was set up for a ceremony for the new graduating recruits.

Wailing Wall,women's side

Square where recruits will graduate

We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the hill of Golgotha,site of the crucifixion,
burial and resurrection.

Site of Crucifixion

We had lunch,then drove through the Judean Hills to Bethlehem.Our Jewish guide could not enter so had to leave us and a Christian Arab guide took over.We visited the site of the manger in the Church of the Nativity.
We then returned to our hotel,the Leonardo Plaza,where we just had time to shower,change and were off to another hotel for dinner.We were shown into a lovely garden where there was a table of middle eastern hors d'oeuvres,delicious.That would have been enough for me but we were escorted to an open area beyond the swimming pool
where there were tables for 8 and a stage.We sere served a lovely dinner,too much food.
We were happy to learn that left over food is given to the poor.We had an M.C. who was a
terrible commedian and 3 wonderful musicians,one of whom sang.The last event was a pyrotechnic display which was magnificent.This was quite unexpected.

Day 2 Fri May 20.We left the hotel at 7:30am,drove through the Judean desert and Jordan valley to Tabgha where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.We saw the Mount of Beatitudes in the distance where the Sermon on the Mount was preached. We saw the Sea of Galilee which is quite a resort area.We had lunch in Galilee then went to Yardenit where
the River Jordan separates from Galilee and where Jesus was baptized.Many people come here to be baptized.

Where baptisms take place in Jordan river

Sign for baptismal site

We went to Nazareth,to the Basilica of the Annunciation,largest church iin the Middle East.

Church of Annunciation

Our last visit was to the church of St.Joseph,built over his carpenter's shop.
We arrived back to the ship in Haifa,had a tour of the city,saw the large Baha'i Temple
and magnificent gardens.

Baha'i temple and gardens

Haifa

We were all pretty tired.Now 2 days at sea and then Sorrento,Italy.

Israel

edoyle — Sun, 22 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Wed.May 18. Docked in Ashdod,largest port in Israel.There are plans to enlarge Haifa which will then be the largest,but this is in the future.
Israel has a population of 7.7 million.Almost 20% are Arab and of that 20% 95% are Muslim
and 5% Christian.The Christian Arabs are mostly in Bethlehem.
I took a 5hr excursion to Tel Aviv-Jaffa.Tel Aviv is a lovely city,high rises,a lovely opera House.I saw the plaque marking the spot where Itzak Rabin was assassinated after he stood on a balcony and announced to 400,000 in the square,the news of the Arab-Israeli accord.As he walked from the rear stairs to his car a man came from the crowd and shot him in the back.(Where were his bodyguards?)I took a picture of the plaque,hope it comes out.There is broken rock behind it.Rabin was The Rock,now broken.
Our guide was very proud of the Law of Return.Any Jew born anywhere in the world can come to Israel and be accorded full citizenship.He is not immigrating but returning home.
If necessary he receives assistance with Hebrew,housing and anything else to ease the transition.
We drove to Jaffa and saw both the modern and old city.Jaffa used to be the port where pilgrims came to the Holy Land.Then Haifa was built and the port has plans to be enlarged.
We saw hundreds of cars on the dock and were told that they are either being sent to Eilat and from there to Africa,etc. or came from Eilat and were going to Europe.This avoids the expense and long wait transiting the Suez Canal.
Tomorrow we have the complimentary overnight to Jerusalem.

Sharm-el-Sheikh

edoyle — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Mon.May 16.Arrived at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula.Some went snorkling,some went on a glass bottom boat and some just took the shuttle into town.I did the latter.This is a big resort area but not much to see.Quite hot in the sun.Saw the hospital where Mubarak and his wife are,though she has been released now.When she was arrested for using her position to enrich herself she developed heart symptoms.

Tue.May 17 At 6am we entered the Suez Canal.It is now 2:30 here and we will reach Port Said in about half an hour.We will stay until evening to pick up the people who flew to Cairo from Luxor.They will be exhausted.This was an expensive trip but these were people who had never been to Egypt and didn't want to pass up the opportunity to see the Pyramids.Some just went on a long day trip to Luxor,3hrs there and 3hrs back and then visiting all the temples.They couldn't see everything and even that was expensive.

We arrive in Ashdod,Israel tomorrow and the next day those of us on the world cruise have our complimentary overnight in Jerusalem.We will have 2 full days and will rejoin the ship in Haifa on the 20th

We have had Israeli soldiers on board for some days now.They are not in uniform and are inconspicuous.They walk the deck with binoculars.They don't show any weapons but I know they have them.I feel really safe with them on board.

Security was strict in Egypt and I expect it will be more so in Israel.

Sharm-el-Sheikh

edoyle — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Security was strict in Egypt and I expect it will be more so in Israel.

Muscat

edoyle — Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Thurs.May 5. Arrived in Muscat.I took the tour "Splendors of Muscat"We saw the glitzy palace of the Sultan which is used for State occasions only.

Main walkway to palace

Walkway to Sultan's palace

The Sultan,Qaboos bin Said,is visionary but wants to preserve the culture,language and architecture of his ancestors.
He was born in Salalah and lives in Muscat but has a palace in every city.
We visited a private museum where I took a picture of a letter written to Pres.Andrew Jackson by the then Sultan.I am unable to reduce it to add it to the blog.

Private museum

Oman is the size of Kansas with a population of 2.7 million.Our guides all wore the long white robe,the dishdashi and on their heads wore the embroidered cotton cap.For official functions they have to wear a turban,the shade and design of which is left to the wearer.
The women wear a long black robe called an abayah and wear a veil,a hijab,covering their heads and most of their faces.
Our last stop was to the Souk where a friend and I bought spices,500gm, for a dollar each.

Entrance to souk

Safaga

edoyle — Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Sat.may 14. Docked in Safaga.Took excursion to the Sheraton Soma Beach Resort.It is in the middle of nowhere,a huge hotel,marble Interior and lovely beach but nothing around.
The road was excellent but hardly any traffic.The hotel looked new but we were told that it is 13 years old.

Entrance to Sheraton Soma Bay

Sphinxes guarding entrance to Sheraton

There was a large infinity pool

Infinity pool at Sheraton

and plenty of space for sunbathing

Place to sunbathe

Beach at Sheraton

Several of us returned on the early bus,while others stayed the whole day.
On the way back there was a mermaid with 2 fish in a roundabout

Mermaid in roundabout

Sun 15th. Took the shuttle to Hurghada,a resort town almost an hour away.It is bigger than Safaga,looked at some shops and got the next shuttle back.
There is so much unfinished building around,hotels,apts.etc.The recession hit hard here.
Tomorrow we arrive in Sharm-el Sheikh.I am not going on any excursion.Mubarak is in hospital here,so I'm sure there will be a lot of security.

Jordan

edoyle — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Fri May 13. Docked late yesterday evening because the ship had to slow to 16 knots,one of four generators malfunctioned.The part was supposed to arrive in Aqaba but I don't think it did.Noone saw any activity and the part was large,so I'm told.All excursions for
yesterday were transferred to today.I took "Lawrence of Arabia's Wadi Rum"and enjoyed it very much.
Jordan has 6 million people and they love their king,Abdullah,the son of King Faisal and an Englishwoman,Toni Gardner,who became Queen Mouna.She still lives here.
The desert has deep valleys and mountains and it was here that T.E.Lawrence united the Arab tribes to fight the Turks and the film "Lawrence of Arabia" was made in Wadi Rum.
We got into jeeps,4 to a jeep,and were driven across the desert.

Our jeeps

Our jeep drivers doing a song and dance

This was different from
Fujairah which had soft sand dunes.Here the sand was stony with high cliffs all around.It was very romantic.We stopped at a Bedouin camp and several of us rode camels.

Riding a camel

You have to hold on to the front and back of the saddle as the camel stands up otherwise you are pitched forward.It is not the most comfortable ride as the camel moves both legs on the same side together and you have to keep a good grip on the pommel horn.We drove over some dunes and I put some reddish sand in a ziplock bag.

Sand dune in Wadi Rum

Our camel ride was a mile,about 20 mins.We had tea and coffee at a large Bedouin camp where people can stay.The entrance to the tents with the toilets was interesting.

Entrance to women's toilet at Bedouin camp

Entrance to men's room at Bedouin camp

Inside bedouin camp

The face of T.E.Lawrence was carved into a rock and there was some ancient rock painting

Face of Lawrence carved into rock

Ancient rock art

This area was under water millenia ago and there is a water table that the Bedouins know how to tap close to the surface.A project is underway to pipe the water to Amman,which apparently has no access to water.
Before we got back in our jeeps the drivers did a song and dance and invited people to join them.
We saw camels with babies and were able to pet the babies who were curious about us.

Camel and baby

Dubai

edoyle — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Tue.May 3.Docked in Port Rashid in DP World (Dubai Port World)There are many docks here.As in Fujairah,the population is about 2 million,15% of whom are citizens who get all the benefits.Dubai is the second largest of the Emirates,Abu Dhabi being the largest.
Dubai has been ruled by the Maktoum family for decades.Sheikh Rashid had a vision of turning this fishing village into a commercial and tourist attraction in the 1930s.He had the creek dredged to allow ships in, which brought commerce and then oil was discovered and the building frenzy began,only to grind to a halt with the recent recession.Rashid's son now rules and seems to be as visionary as his father.
The city has many tall buildings with interesting shapes.

Interesting high rises

Bank

The streets are wide,3 lanes on each side divided by a median usually with flowers.

Flowers on median

On one side are sandstone apt.buildings and on the other are steel and glass high rises.There is quite a bit of greenery,incongruous in this desert setting.I believe they desalinate most of their water.

Shops

The Burj al Arab is the iconic landmark of Dubai.It is a hotel,321m high and costs $3,000
a night and it is said that they will never recover the cost of building it.It is in the shape of the sail of a dhow,an Arab boat that is still occasionally seen.It has a helipad on top on a projection and a bar and seafood restaurant in a tube-like protrusion from the top.There is also a tennis court on top without any protection.

Burj al Arab

We visited the Dubai Museum which used to be a fort to repel invaders.There is a constantly rotating slide show of Dubai from the 1930s to the 2000s and models of Arab life with figures in different settings.Included were pearl fishers.It is a small museum but
really lovely.
We next visited the spice souk,which sold not only spices but everything else one could imagine.

Spices in spice souk

Largest gold ring in the world

The smell was enticing.We then visited the gold souk.I priced a thin 18" gold chain but felt it was still too much even after the price was lowered $60; it was made in Italy.
We saw a sign for no unloading beside a pile of unloaded stuff.Doesn't anyone read?

Noone obeys signs

The world's tallest tower is here.

Burj Khalifa,worlds tallest building

The heat was getting to us by now and we were glad to get back to the ship,although a few people stayed to shop.
Dubai is a fascinating city, all magnificent buildings but no personality.perhaps this will develop in the future.
The QE2 is docked in Dubai.It was supposed to be converted to a floating hotel but this was put on hold when the Emirate became bankrupt.

QE2 docked in Dubai to be a hotel

U.A.E.

edoyle — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Mon.May 2.Docked in Fujairah,one of the 7 Emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates.Population about 2 million,75% of whom are foreigners working here.They get no benefits and living is expensive so they are unable to bring their families.The locals get almost everything free,housing,electricity and education.When a foreigner retires or loses his job he has to leave and receives no pension.Most of the workers are Indian.
I went on a desert safari.We were 4 in each of 25 Toyota Land Cruisers.When we arrived at the dunes our drivers deflated the tyres and off we went! It was exhilarating and somewhat hair raising.

Throwing up sand

Camel compound

Some of the ascents and descents were very steep and a few times I thought we'd go head over heels.I also felt sideways tip overs were imminent.A few women wore sandals and almost burned their feet on the hot sand.It was also windy as well as hot.One car was stuck on top of a dune and had to be pushed back by another car going up.It then had to find a less steep slope to come down.

Land Cruiser stuck on top of dune

On sand dune

The city has some tall buildings and flat arab houses.

Fujairah City through the Land cruiser

Houses being built on way to dunes

I drank 2 ltrs of water on this trip.
Tomorrow Dubai.

Incredible !ndia.This is their slogan

edoyle — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We docked at Indira Dock at 8am Thurs.28.I was on the tour "Highlights of Mumbai"We had to have face to face contact with Immigration first.All this security as a result of the bombing of the Taj Hotel in 2008.
Mumbai is made up of 7 islands and has a population of 18 million.It is the financial capital and is home to Bollywood,the largest film industry in the world.The city never sleeps and teems with people.Traffic is a nightmare but there are very few accidents because everyone knows how to negociate the traffic.240,000 people come in by train every day.

People leaving railway station coming to work

Street scene

The trains are so crowded that commuters cannot bring their lunch so a system has evolved whereby the hot lunch is picked up from the person's home,brought to the railway station,put on a special train,picked up at the other end and delivered to the person in his office.It takes 4 people for one lunch.The lunch boxes have 3 compartments for the curry,rice and vegetables and are identified by a letter,a number and a colour.
The men who do this are usually illiterate and never make a mistake.They can be seen riding their bicycles with trays of lunch boxes all over the city at noon.They have a union and are known by their Nehru caps.

Lunch boxes ready to be delivered

One can be fined for honking without cause.One sees the occasional cow on a grassy plot but it must be accompanied by its owner.A cow alone is taken by police and the owner must pay a fine to get it back.
We visited the Gandhi Museum.It was the home of a good friend and Gandhi used to stay there when in Mumbai.

Where Gandhi lived when in Mumbai

Letter by Einstein on Gandhi's death

Part of Gandhi's library

The gateway of India was erected hurriedly to welcome King George V and Queen Mary in
1911.Artisans later added decorative carvings finishing in 1923.

Gateway of India

Taj Mahal Hotel

Opposite is the famous Taj Mahal Hotel.Construction was present for an upcoming event.
We saw a Jain temple with a lovely decorated ceiling.

Ceiling of Jain temple

The Jain are strict vegetarians,have no priests and when praying cover their mouths with a cloth tied behind the head to prevent any drops of saliva from touching the statue or any bug from entering their mouth.They believe every creature has the right to live and they wont kill anything.
Another group are the Parsi who worship the elements.Tata,the wealthy industrialist is a Parsi.They do not bury or cremate their dead but leave the body on top of a special tower
(there are two)surrounded by trees and greenery.The vultures pick the bones clean which fall into the pit below where lime disintegrates them.
Our next stop was to the Dhobi Ghat.This is the open air laundry for those who don't have a washing machine.The laundry is picked up,sorted,washed in stone troughs,rinsed dried and ironed and returned to the owner the next day.

Dhobi Ghat

Dhobi Ghat,open air laundry

We went to the Prince of Wales Museum,named for King George V who laid the cornerstone in 1903.One section had miniature paintings,really beautiful.
We then went to the Hanging Gardens,so called because they are irrigated from a reservoir underneath the ground.

Hanging gardens

Home of wealthiest man in India.built according to Feng Shui

While walking through the gardens we were pointed out the home of the richest man in India who built the home according to Feng Shui principles.
It has a glass top and a strange looking base difficult to see from a distance.It looked like an odd apt building.
I took a picture of Bombay University from the coach.

Prince of Wales Museum

The architecture in Mumbai is most interesting.The large buildings were built by the British with Muslim overtones,a style called Indo-Saracenic.The main railway terminus,called Victoria terminus,or VT by everyone has been renamed but noone uses the new name,which is hard to pronounce.It is Victorian with a dome and minarets,very ornamental,technically an architectural nightmare but very endearing.
Marine Drive winds around and is called the Queen's necklace because of its resemblance to a string of pearls when lit at night.

Marine Drive

Getting back on the coach I took a picture of this bright sari.

Bright yellow sari at Gateway of India

The heat and humidity were getting to all of us by this time,I had already drunk 3 bottles of water,so we were all glad to return to the ship where I threw all my clothes into the washing machine (after lunch,of course)
A film of the Royal wedding will be shown this afternoon,so I'll probably watch it.

Cochin

edoyle — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Mon.Apr.25,arrived in Cochin at noon.After all the formalities I did not go ashore.

Tue.26 Tour "Highlights of Cochin and Harbour Cruise" Cochin is built on interconnected
islands and peninsulas.It is in the state of Kerala,a communist state that is democratic.It is one third the size of Canada with four times the population.It has the highest literacy rate of India,more than 96% and the lowest infant mortality.
The Portuguese were in Cochin for over 150 years.They built a palace as a gift for the King in exchange for trading rights.St Francis Church was built in 1503 by Franciscan friars.Vasco Da Gama was buried there but his remains were later returned to Portugal.

Vasco da Gama crypt in St Francis church

Ceiling in St Francis Church

Detail of ceiling painted by friars in St Francis Church

There were many Catholic churches,and there is still a large Catholic population,but when the Dutch ousted the Portuguese in 1666 the church became Dutch Reform.Then when the British ousted the Dutch in 1802 the church became Anglican.
This pattern was followed in most of the recent places we visited:first the Portuguese,
then the Dutch,then the British,each leaving behind remnants of their architecture and culture.

Dutch style house

Engliah style house,now a restaurant

The Chinese fishing nets are a tourist attraction,introduced by the Chinese centuries ago.
They use counter weights and are still in use,though not very efficient.

Chinese fishing nets from our harbour tour

Chinese fishing net

We went on a rice boat around the harbour

Small river boat

and saw our ship docked on one of the islands.

Our ship from the river boat

Santa Cruz Cathedral

Santa Cruz cathedral is the largest church in Cochin,I went there one Sunday on my last visit.
An interesting feature are the gaily decorated trucks.many with saints names or names of Hindu gods.

Decorated trucks

Sri Lanka

edoyle — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We did not stop in Galle.We were to anchor and tender in but it was raining and the sea was rough so the lifeboats could not be lowered.Even had they been able to be lowered,we
could not have boarded them as they would have been bobbing up and down in the sea.
The lifeboats carry 100 people when used as tenders and 150 when used as lifeboats.
We arrived in Colombo late afternoon but could only dock at a freight terminal.Some people went ashore that evening.The ship moved to the passenger terminal at 6am the next morning.
It is Easter Sunday.Happy Easter everyone.I had a panoramic tour of Colombo.We got out of the bus only once to see Independence Hall,the other pictures were taken from inside the bus.

Independence Hall

Guarding Independence Hall

Taj Hotel

Gov't bldg.

Several of us wanted to go to Mass so we left the tour a little early and got tuk tuks to the church, which was packed,mostly with Tamils,I think.We then got tuk tuks back to the pier,where we had a long walk to the ship.I think taxis are allowed to drive in through security but apparently not other vehicles.

Street market

Meditating Buddha in park

Outside Chinese Embassy

The pier was lined with little shops but I didn't buy anything.As soon as I was onboard it began to rain heavily.I had lunch and washed all my clothes in the laundromat;they were soaked from the heat and humidity.
It is 6:30pm here and we have already set sail for Cochin,India.

Shops on pier from my cabin

Incredible India

edoyle — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Docked in Chennai (Madras) yesterday,late morning.Had to meet with Immigration officials in the theatre and have our passports stamped.Then we could go ashore.I went on the shortest excursion,a shopping tour.Our bus was stopped outside the port by more officials who checked our passports,comparing either our names or passport numbers to a list.This took some time,beaurocracy being one of the incredible things about India.
We were taken to a shop that sold jewels and pashminas.Most of us wanted to see tops so our guide brought us to a "mall".It had many little shops,not air conditioned.I bought some tops and pants and tops that come with a scarf,good for lounging.We met at the designated place and had to cross a huge intersection to where the bus was parked.I would have hesitated to do this on my own,without the guide.I saw the shuttle parked in front of our bus,so those who took the shuttle in would have to fight the traffic on their own.Our guide never explained any landmarks to us.I took a few pictures,a statue of a man,Indian?English? a large building and the only one with a name,the Acad.of Music.
So many people signed up for the spice dinner that it was held at two hotels,both 5 star,
the Sheraton and the Taj and will be held tonight also.Those who went last night loved it.I am going tonight.
Tomorrow we leave for Sri Lanka where we will have 3 stops.I am not going on a tour tomorrow but doing highlights of Galle(prounced Gaul) the next day and then we dock in Columbo before going back to India,Cochin and then Bombay (Mumbai)
I'll be so glad when we get away from this crushing heat and humidity.
Our bus let us off close to the gangplank but we had to go into the terminal and be screened.This may be the result of the bombing of the hotel in Mumbai.

Penang

edoyle — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Fri.Apr.15 Drove through george Town,lovely city with Chinese and Indian temples and high rises.We went to where Batik is made and saw how the special wax is applied with a very fine brush in various designs.

Applying wax to make batik

Various dyes are then applied within different parts of the design by brushes and then water is added by another brush to spread the dye which runs rapidly along the fabric,being prevented by the wax from bleeding into other areas.We each got to choose a pattern with the wax outline on cotton.I took a picture of my choice,only partially completed

My half finished batik

I did have a lot of drips which were covered up by the dark blue background.This will be dried,boiled to remove the wax,which will lighten the colours,and it will be mailed to me.I'll be anxious to see how it turns out.The partially done piece took me over an hour in horrible heat and humidity.I cant tell you how I longed for Holland!

Sat.Apr.16 Phuket,Thailand.The ship was to dock on the eastern side of the island,where there is a cruise terminal,but the taxi drivers were blocking the pier so the tour buses couldn't get in,(not sure what their argument was about) The ship anchored on the west side in Patong Bay and we were tendered in to shore.

Resort beach

The west is the resort side with miles of white sandy beaches and calm blue water.Hotels and shops lined the street and our tour buses had some difficulty picking us up.I was on bus number 15(there were 17 in all)and we got little purple fish to pin on our shirts so our guide would recognize who belonged on his bus.We went directly to an elephant camp where two at a time rode an elephant,very rocky,rather like riding a camel.
One mahout fell off his elephant and the elephant just raised a leg and the mahout stepped on it and climbed up.

Elephant ride

We saw a baby elephent and a slightly bigger one perform some tricks and the bigger elephant gave a "massage"A person lay down on a mat,was covered by a small blanket and the elephant moved her foot(they are all female)up and down the back and then put her trunk at the person's neck. this was a kiss.I couldn't believe how many people lined up for this "massage".

Elephant massage

The elephants did not look very healthy,they had areas of depigmentation on their ears and trunks.I felt sad that these magnificent animals were treated like this.

Monkey in elephant camp

We saw how rubber is made.The latex is treated with formic acid to render it malleable.
Formic acid is from bees,unless there is another form,and I wonder if people who are allergic to bee stings are also allergic to latex.
We visited a very ornate Buddhist temple and I climbed to the top and took a picture of a
statue of Buddha on a mountain top.

Buddhist temple

Buddha on mountain

Our last stop was to a cashew factory.We saw the cashew trees with their bright fruit which contains the nut in a hard casing which has to be boiled,dried then cracked open to
extract the nut.

Cashew tree

Cashews,before and after shelling

We sampled every flavour of cashew imaginable.
I couldn't wait to get back to the ship to take off my clothes and put them in the laundry.
We now have two days at sea before we reach Sri Lanka.