Star Clippers is not a well known cruise line. It is small. It sails (really sails) its ships. And it has long been one of my favorites, ever since I sailed with it during its inaugural season.

Those that sail on Star Clipper’s three ships really do love the experience and are always asking for new itineraries. So it is nice to see that they are finally going to sail to the Baltic…the homeland of the company’s owner and president, Mikael Krafft.

Star Clippers has now opened the books and confirmed port details on the line’s new Baltic itineraries that debut in summer 2012. With the positioning of Star Flyer in the northern European region from May through August, the tall ship cruise operator expands its European offerings to stretch from the eastern Mediterranean up to Norway.

Star Flyer will sail a variety of itineraries with departures out of Southampton, England; Oslo, Norway; Hamburg, Kiel and Warnemuende (Rostock), Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Ranging from three-night samplers to 11-night explorations, the ship not only calls at some of the Baltic’s most popular capital cities, but also visits several smaller, charming, lesser-visited ports along the way.

“When we were developing the Baltic itineraries we knew we had to make them special and unique, which is why we included so many intimate ports that are going to leave a lasting impression on our guests,” said Mark Carlson, director of marketing for Star Clippers Americas. “Our guests like adventure and they seek memorable experiences, and we expect the Baltic cruises to be among our most popular ever … so guests should book early.”

With the exception of three back-to-back 10-night Sweden, Russia and Finland cruises that sail round-trip Stockholm, the itineraries are non-repeating and offer extensive options for thoroughly exploring the region’s natural beauty, cultural diversity and historical depth.

Three departures out of Germany’s Hamburg (May 10), Kiel (June 22) and Warnemuende (Aug. 10) will coincide with annual sailing parades, which attract tall ships from around the world. Additional ports in Germany through the season on various cruises include Borkum, List/Sylt, Flensburg and Sassnitz/Ruegen.

Nine additional ports in Sweden appear among the itineraries and ensure that the homeland of Star Clippers’ owner and president Mikael Krafft is well represented: Marstrand, Gothenburg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Stromstad, Simrishamn, Kariskrona, Visby/Gotland and Goteborg.

Guests will explore the stunning landscapes of Norway during scenic cruising and calls at Kristiansand and Arendal, while the Danish ports of Esbjerg, Ronne/Bornholm, Nyborg/Fyn and Kalundborg offer Nordic charm. Finland, one of the world’s most beautiful countries, features calls at Helsinki, Hanko and Mariehamn/Aaland. In addition to Amsterdam, guests on select cruises will visit the ports of Texel and Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, or also visit close-by Antwerp and Zeebrugge, Belgium.

The Baltic cruises also feature a variety of additional exotic and cultural port options throughout several countries — Gdansk, Poland; Ventspils, Latvia; Tallin, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight), and Klaipeda, Lithuania.

Extended port stays ensure guests have plenty of time for exploring the sites on one of the line’s exciting shore excursions or sampling the local cuisine and shopping for souvenirs.

To request a brochure, call toll-free 800-442-0556 or e-mail brochures. To make a 2012 Baltic reservation, contact a travel professional. For information, call Star Clippers at 800-442-0551 or visit www.starclippers.com to view a video about the line or take a virtual tour of the Star Clippers ships.

Been a little busy enjoying many interesting sights over the last few days in Germany.

We went into Southampton, England, but got some bad advice on where to go and ended up in a shopping center that did not open for about 45 minutes so we had a look around and when the shops opened Lesley went looking for some baby clothes. Talk about very dear. A simple ordinary quality shirt was 8 pounds which equates to about $12.50 in our money. Everything was dear and we did not buy anything. The weather was somewhat ordinary and chilly, so after looking around a bit we went back to the ship.

Later that day we set sail with a new bunch of passengers who boarded in Southampton to go on the Baltic cruise for nine days and there were some who booked for the 18-day cruise to include Norway as well.

After a day of cruising we arrived at the entrance to the Kiel Canal and because they were doing some maintenance on part of one of the locks we had to wait for about two hrs. But when we started it was very different fromo the Suez Canal, because there was greenery everywhere with houses, farms and development. There were many cross canal car and lorry ferries and small and large towns all the way along the canal.

We took almost 600 photos and a couple of movies along the way and when I get time we will sit down and delete some of them and condense them into sometime more manageable to show family and friends when we get home. That is the great thing with digital cameras is that you can keep taking photos and then delete the ones you do not need afterwards. The camera I have now is one that my son Ashley gave me for father’s day. It has a rechargeable battery that can take about 500 pictures before it needs charging and we have the other battery charged up all the time, so it makes it very simple to change the battery as well With an 8GB memory card we can take 1,241 good quality photos before needing to change that as well. I normally download them on to my laptop every couple of days and back them up on an external drive just in case.

It took all day to go through the Kiel Canal and then we were in the Baltic Sea. It was a beautiful trip and would recommend it.

The next morning we were in Warnemuende in Germany. Some passengers took a 9-1/2 hour bus tour to Berlin however, we chose to get an all-day transit ticket and go into Rostock for the morning. We purchased our tickets which cost 4.50 euros each from the train station, boarded the electric train that leaves every 15 minutes go into Rostock and we were given instructions how to go to New Market. We were to get into Rostock station, go down two levels and catch a No. 5 or 6 tram and that was all we had to do. They did not tell us there were two platforms and, of course, we picked the wrong one and went for a nice tram ride the other way to Meunde. We only waited a few moments at that terminal before going back the correct way. The poor tram driver came over to see why we were still sitting there after everyone else had hopped off, but when we explained to him he just laughed.

We were soon where we wanted to go and had a great tram ride as well. Talk about lots and lots of shops. Lesley got herself a nice waterproof jacket.

My mouse on my laptop had been acting up so I thought I would buy a new one At home, this would normally cost about $15, so we went looking and looking. A couple of people did not know what I was talking about and finally we found a computer shop and one chap wanted to sell me an Apple USB mouse for 49 euros which equates to about $65, so we said “no” and when we got back to the ship the techno chap said he could loan us one, but I have fixed it for now.

We are now on in Tallin in Estonia and we took the shuttle bus into town and walked about and found a large shopping centee where I found numerous shops where I could buy a new mouse and finally paid 9.90 euros which is a lot more reasonable than 49 euros.

We only had four hours before the ship sailed and it started getting really cold so we returned to the ship. It is a nice city and if we had more time would have caught the hop-on, hop-off bus but we didn’t have time. One of the guides on the shuttle bus was a college student and she said that they have lot of snow there in winter.

We have just sailed for St. Petersburg, Russia, and we stay there for two days and one night. The ship left about 25 minutes late, because two passengers were late. I guess the Captain will have something to say to them.

We then sail to Helsinki for one day and then one sea day and arrive in Copenhagen on May 25.

We then will be on our final nine days of  cruising which started in Dubai on  April 18 and will finish in Copenhagen on June 3.

Those of you who follow this blog know that my friends from Australia, Owen and Lesley Morrison, have been sailing with Seabourn for several weeks. They recently moved from the Seabourn Pride to the Sojourn and then encountered internet problems. I did not received any postings from them for a couple of weeks.

So, yesterday Owen sent all of the ones I missed. So I am going to resume posting them here as they are so interesting….

Well, just so you know, the earthquake in Spain occurred in the mountain area well away from where we were and it happened after we left Oporto, Portugal. Lesley did a tour in Oporto and I stayed back on board and washed all my shirts.

Owen and Lesley Morrison

Lesley went to the historic town of Guimaraes, known as the “cradle of the nation.”  It is the birthplace of the first king of Portugal and an hour by coach from Oporto.  Lesley reports that it was a lovely drive through green leafy areas with lovely stone houses, each with a vegetable patch.

They went to the king’s castle and palace which is now a museum.  There are a couple of levels of stairs to climb and with no handrails is not good for people with walking difficulties.  Once inside the rooms were well restored with tapestries hanging on the walls, huge pieces of oriental porcelain, local furniture that was carved and looked to be inlaid with ebony and each room had an enormous fireplace. There is also a private chapel that was used by the family but the steps up to get inside were very steep and once again no handrails.

They walked down a very steep street and went past very narrow streets with beautiful old, but well-kept houses on both sides. The town was once again very clean. There were a lot of little cafes in the town and a lot of school children doing some project. We think it might be something to do with Fatima (May 13 is the feast day of the first apparition of  Our Lady at Fatima in 1917.)

We left Oporto and for dinner went to the Patio Grill on the ship. It was on the same deck as the Colonnade (deck 8) which is a buffet for breakfast and lunch and a set menu for dinner. The Patio Grill is open for lunch as well. The Patio Grill is the same as on the Pride and Spirit, but the setup is far better.

The Patio Grill on the small ships is on deck 8 and most tables are exposed to the elements and the cooking area is portable, but in the case of the Sojourn it is a purpose-built area and the seating is mostly covered and there are some tables partly exposed.

We enjoyed the food very much and the service was cheerful. This is a place we will go back to many more times.

After dinner, the waters became rough and that continued all night. The next day was somewhat ordinary. Lesley was not too good and had a very quiet day. I went to breakfast down in the dining room and unfortunately the service there is quiet slow. I was talking to a couple later and funnily they said the same thing. Lesley had room service for breakfast of some tea and toast.

I had lunch at Sojourn Square and brought some sandwiches back for Lesley and we had dinner in our room as we did not want to go out and get dressed up.

Yesterday going through the Bay of Biscay was very rough and it got up to force 8 winds.

Today we went to the dining room for breakfast and we got there about 8 a.m. and were finished about 9 a.m. I had fruit and eggs, etc., and Lesley had eggs, etc. and it took them over 40 minutes before the eggs etc. arrived. There must not be too many cooks on in the morning, but we found out today that most of the passengers have room service for breakfast and most of the staff are occupied with room service and that could explain why it takes a long while to serve up scrambled eggs, grilled tomato, hash browns and toast.

Tomorrow we get to Southampton where 360 passengers leave the ship and 360 start another cruise. We plan to get off and catch a bus and see the city. It will be Sunday, but I have checked some websites and there will be buses running and there will be some shopping areas open.

We wanted to change our euros into pounds, but they wanted to change the euros into US$ and then into pounds with two exchange fees, so we got some US$ and for $100 got about 55 Pounds and paid one exchange fee. We want to have some local currency in case we need it. It costs 7.5 pounds for an all-day bus pass

I have been having trouble with the internet on this ship. On the Pride I could send one email to all my friends. On this ship it says there are too many recipients, so I have to split it up. A bit silly.

Those of you who follow this blog know that my friends from Australia, Owen and Lesley Morrison, have been sailing with Seabourn for several weeks. They recently moved from the Seabourn Pride to the Sojourn and then encountered internet problems. I did not received any postings from them for a couple of weeks.

So, yesterday Owen sent all of the ones I missed. So I am going to resume posting them here as they are so interesting….

On Monday, May 9, we docked in Alicante, Spain, and went on a shore excursion. We found the city to be very clean and modern with many historical buildings. The city is historically and economically linked to North Africa.

We drove from the cruise terminal past the yacht club and there was a yacht with a winged keel ready for some yachting race later this year. Our first stop was the Castle of Santa Barbara, perched on Mount Benacantil, a rocky mass rising over 500 feet above sea level.

Owen and Lesley Morrison

The image of the mountain from the beach resembles a face, hence the reason why it is referred to as “Face of the Moor” and it is the city’s icon. During the visit at the castle, you can admire some interesting Iberian archaeological artifacts as well as the most preserved features including the main tower (Torre del Homenaje) and the English bastions. I did not go up to the top as it was a little uneven and quiet steep in parts. Lesley did and took some great photos.

The drive up in the bus was a little hair-raising but the drivers made it very safe. We then headed back down to the city and were dropped off and saw a museum and historical center in the middle of town. From there we walked to the Cathedral of Alicante, better known as Church of San Nicolas de Bari. We then walked to the town hall and then Lesley had some horchata, a local brew which was very sweet and left a starchy taste. Some of the passengers liked it but not Lesley. We had some free time but there were no shops, just a lot of restaurants including Burger King and Subway and many pizza places.

We are enjoying our time on the Sojourn and starting to find different parts of the ship. The Observation Deck on Deck 10 is great. It has a 270-degree view and there a large seating area inside and a big veranda area outside where you can take some great photos but, boy, it is a long way off the water

I go up there every morning as that is the place for the early risers where there is tea, coffee and fruit juices together with danishes from 6:15 until 8 a.m.

At 7 a.m. I go the deck 7 and go to what is called Seabourn Square where you can book excursions, plan your day ashore and pay your accounts (you can check your account including your bookings for shore excursions on your TV in your cabin at any time which is great). The lounge has a coffee bar, a library and a computer center. They even provide photo copies of all newspapers and I read the Australian one every day. You can even get the photocopy of any newspaper delivered to your room for $7.50 a day or just simply read it in the lounge.

Our cabin is on deck 6 and this morning we found another observation area with lounges and a whirlpool at the front of the ship on this level. We are finding something new on the ship every day.

This morning we went through the straits near Gibraltar and the waves have picked up as we are now in the Atlantic Ocean, but there is not much movement in the ship.

People who know me well know that if I am not cruising, then chances are I’m playing golf. These do seem to be my two passions.

And whenever a cruise lines puts these together then they get my attention. Here is the newest golf offering from Crystal Cruises:

In the game of golf, when is water a lux ury and not a hazard? When you’re sailing with Crystal Cruises on a golf-themed itinerary to an idyllic island with some great greens, of course.

The trio of golf sailings will take you to the British Isles via London this July, from Barcelona to Lisbon with a stop in the Canary Islands in November, and finally a round-trip Los Angeles sailing to Hawaii over the holidays. And legendary pro golfer Billy Casper (with 51 PGA tour wins) will headline all three!

The Crystal Golf Program includes onboard practice with brand new TaylorMade equipment, cocktails, caddy and cart service on the courses, and complimentary cleaning and storage of golf clubs and golf shoes after each round. Afterward, there’s the on-board Feng Shui spa so you can keep your zen going even longer.

It’s time to get your putt on with the pros at some of the most gorgeous championship courses the world over, like:

• Poipu Bay (Kauai)–top Hawaiian course surrounded by ancient places of worship
• Royal Portrush (Belfast)–designed by course-architect great, Harry Colt
• Carden Park (Liverpool)–Jack Nicklaus/Golden Bear “thinking golfer’s” fairway with spectacular views
• Royal Dublin (Dublin)–Ireland’s second-oldest links
• El Saler (Valencia)–one of Golf Magazine‘s “100 Greatest Courses in the World”
• Golf Club Del Sur (Canary Islands)–home to several PGA European tour competitions, surrounded by 8,000 palm trees
• Palheiro (Funchal)–coastal ridge greens on a 200-year-old estate

Rates: 2-for-1 fares start at $5,470/person, and include free air from two dozen North American cities (or air credit), up to $1000/person “As You Wish” spending credits; and additional savings for family/friend groups, early payment, or new-to-Crystal travelers.

For more information, contact your travel agent or go to www.crystalcruises.com.

My friends Owen and Lesley Morrison from Australia have now moved from the Seabourn Pride to the Seabourn Sojourn and are continuing their European travels.

By Owen Morrison

Special to AllThingsCruise

We are settled after a good night. The bed is big and very comfortable and long and wide. It seems to be bigger than a queen. We didn’t feel any movement during the night although the seas seemed calm. We woke to find we were already docked. It has been all go here with a lot of things happening. One of the speedboats from the back of the boat was taken out by crane and loaded on the back of a truck, an ambulance took someone away, buses arriving for tours and trucks unloading supplies.

We had breakfast upstairs outside and it was great. It’s a buffet but you can also order from the menu. Then we went down to the ship’s “square” where Lesley had coffee and I read the paper. They print a full sized copy of the Australian and other papers every day for everyone to share.

There was a porters strike in Rome yesterday and some people getting on the Pride were late getting to the port. We are in Livorno today and the Pride is here too so they came with us as we left later than the Pride and they will board her today.

We have a lovely big balcony and the cabin is bigger in that we have a bigger walk-in closet, bigger bathroom and more storage space. The bed is bigger which makes it look smaller.

Today we went to Pisa. We went by bus and there were about 20 of us, which left about 20 spare seats. Our bus took us to a shuttle bus that cost some euros that took us to where we could walk along on a pathway with stalls on one side and peddlers all about. The peddlers were okay, if you said “no” they left you alone.

We went into the Miracle Square and not only was there the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but we also saw a huge cathedral and a baptistry which is round and has wonderful echos inside. The cathedral has a huge bell tower and inside the cathedral is wonderful. Our guide spent far too much time telling us about the history of the inside. We took some great photos.

Outside there was the Tower of Pisa and it cost 15 euros to go inside but you have to book days ahead and only a certain number are allowed inside at any given time, because they do not want to put undue strain on the foundations. I did not bother them.

It cost to go into the cathedral and the baptistry, too. The tour, including entrance fees and shuttle cost $119 US. It was a great afternoon. We left at 1:45 p.m. and got back to the ship at 5:30 p.m. I bought a couple of tea towels, but that was all we bought.

We are now sailing to Alicante in Spain and get there tomorrow and then to Portugal on Wednesday.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

My friends Owen and Lesley Morrison of Australia are have been sailing on the Seabourn Pride in the Mideast and are now transferring to the new Seabourn Sojourn where they will visit the ports of  Florence, Alicante, Lisbon, Porto, Southampton, Kiel Canal, Warnemuende, Tallinn, St Petersburg for two nights, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Flamm, Aalesund,Olden, Stranger, Oslo and Copenhagen. Whew! They love to cruise!

Today is the day that they change ships. Here is their report:

Owen and Lesley Morrison

By Owen Morrison

Special to AllThingsCruise

We arrived here on the Seabourn Pride about 6 a.m. and had a quick breakfast as we had to be out of our room at 8 a.m. We could have stayed on but decided to get off and wait in the terminal.

The terminal is just a long covered walled area with some porta loos and people do not normally wait there for the transfer to another ship. But we did not mind, however, unbeknownst to us Seabourn had arranged for a car to take us to the other ship just about ½ a km away and when we got to the new ship, the Sojourn, we were taken on board straight away, where normally you have to wait until about 2 or 3 p.m. to board.

We met some staff from a previous cruise and the captain and a couple of senior officers came down to meet us and we were given the royal treatment. We were taken to the area where new guests sign in, our photos taken for our identity cards and a short time our stateroom was ready and all our bags were in the room. They certainly looked after us.

This cabin is a little smaller than our other room, but we have a better walk-in wardrobe and to our great approval the safe is very easy to use. It is in a great position and you do not have to stand on your head to use it. One small problem, the safe would not lock so we called up and they came up and told us the buttons were stuffed, so they simply just took one out and replaced it with a new one. It works fine.

We have been looking around the ship and it is much bigger than the other one, but much nicer and everything is larger. On the Pride you could borrow DVD’s from the library, here they are all on the TV in you room, some 200 movies.

It is 3 p.m. here now and we have a lifeboat drill at 5 p.m. and all the newbies must go, but is the one and only time we have to go, because there will be additional drills at every embarkation port  — Lisbon, Southampton and Copenhagen.

We have noticed that there are many English passengers and many are older than us who are doing a 18-day round trip from Southampton to Rome and back stopping at different ports on the way to and the way home. They all have very white skin.

There are four places to go for dinner, but we have not made up our mind where we will be going.

Tomorrow we are going to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and someone said it does not lean any more. We will find out tomorrow

May 6, 2011

By Owen Morrison

Special to AllThingsCruise

On the Seabourn Pride – We went to Sokhna which is a small port out of Cairo which has only been established recently that is to say the last 10 to 15 years.

Lesley went on Pyramids, Sphinx and Museum shore excursion and I stayed back at the ship because those things do not interest me particularly.

Lesley’s trip left at 8 a.m. and arrived back at about 6:30. I was somewhat worried about security, but I did not have to worry as I found out later the security staff on each bus had large guns and machine guns under their coats. I went out on the shuttle bus to a Red Sea resort at 9 a.m. and they would not let us off the wharf area without a truck of tourist police with us. Once our security on the shuttle showed their weapons we were allowed to pass in to the resort, but after we saw the army with rifles and other things outside the main gate, we went to the resort and caught the first bus back to the ship.

Lesley saw tanks and armed police and army in and on the way to Cairo. She also saw her cousin and husband from Goondiwindi, Australia,  in the museum in Cairo. What a small world? One of the men on the trip had his camera stolen by one of the peddlers at the Pyramids but it was recovered by the police and the thief arrested. It added a bit of excitement to the day. The peddlers were very much in your face.

At the museum she saw the gold sarcophagus of King Tut and the gold burial mask. The originals are not allowed to leave Egypt and the ones that go on tour are copies. The workmanship was superb. The pyramids are incredible; it is hard to believe that they were done without modern equipment. Lesley didn’t go inside the pyramid as it was a crawl space two feet wide by three feet high that you had to go down to get inside for about 300 feet. The Sphinx is wearing away and they seem to be doing some restoration work on it. It was a very long day and the schedule was tight for her.

Yesterday we went through the Suez Canal. We entered about 6 a.m. and got through at 3:30 p.m. Only one ship can go each way so you go through in convoys. We had six ships in our convoy and there were about 12 ships waiting at the lake about half way to go back where we had come from. There were ferries at various points along the canal to get car and trucks and people across. They go in between the ships going through the canal. There is a huge bridge crossing the canal and also bailey bridging along the banks so they can get across.

There is army or other military outpost every 10 kilometers and we saw them launching a bailey bridge set up with generators which drive the bridge and put it in place at night because no ship goes through the canal at night, which gives the locals access to the waterway. We saw one vehicle crossing where the ferries take three large trucks, with a queue with about 50 trucks with trailers wanting to cross. We saw an ambulance coming along the parallel road to the canal with its siren going only to be held up waiting for the next ferry.

Once we got to the end of the canal there was Port Said and many ships in port. There was a large sand storm happening so you could not see much and it was quiet rough for a while after we left the Egyptian waters. Now we have about 900 km to go and will be in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, at 7 a.m.  We have arranged for our bags to be transferred from this ship (Seabourn Pride) to our new ship (Seabourn Sojourn) in port.

We leave Civitavecchia on the Seabourn Sojourn at 7:00 pm on 6 May for our next journey.

Last December Chet and I took a cruise on Seabourn from Dubai to Singapore. We were on the Seabourn Spirit for over two weeks and made many new friends. Two of those were Owen and Lesley Morrison who live near Brisbane, Australia. They loved their Seabourn cruise so much that they signed on for a couple of more cruises this spring. Owen has been sending “Postcards” to friends and family and they are so well-written that I thought I would share them with you. Plus, right now they are traveling in a part of the world — the Mideast — that many cruisers are wondering about. Here is his first-hand report.

By Owen Morrison

Special to AllThingsCruise

Yesterday (April 29) we were in Aqaba, Jordan, and we could have gone to Israel a few miles from where we were at no cost at the border going in, but there was a $75 fee to return to Jordan.  So we choose not to go for a number of reasons, one was that we needed a visa that they put on a separate page in your passport, so you can take it out when you go to an Arab country. We have been told some Arab countries will not let you in if your passport shows you have been to Israel. Also, safety is a concern in Israel at the moment.

Owen and Lesley Morrison

So we just stayed in Jordan. We took the shuttle bus in to town, but as it is Friday most of the gold shops and large shops were closed as Friday and Saturday is the Arab weekend. Sunday to Thursday is their working week. The small shops and souvenir shops were open and there were shops selling water wings and rubber tubes so all the children to go to the beach. We walked around town and at the crossings here you take your life in your hands as they do not stop for anyone. There was even a McDonalds in town.

Lesley was going to buy a cloth bag for Tayla our eldest grandchild, but they wanted too much even when we haggled, so we did not buy it. We sat in the park and some local Jordanian children came up and talked to us in broken English and before we left I asked their mother if I could take their photos and first she said okay, but then the father said no. So after about 45 minutes dodging the traffic we went back on the shuttle bus  to the ship.

We did not go on the tour to Petra because we were told that there was three hours of walking over very uneven ground with loose rocks underfoot. I could have taken a donkey ride or a donkey ans cart ride, but I talked to someone who did the cart ride and his back and bottom were very sore afterwards as there is no padding. Good decision on our part not to go. We got one of our friends to try and get a DVD for us about it, we have got some books about it and one of our friends will send us some photos.

Petra is an ancient Nabatean city north of here. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is situated in the remote Shara Mountains. It was a vital part of a major trading route connecting ancient Mesopotamia, Africa, China and India. The locals built the city of rock in the mountains and to this day it is a place of magic with its ornate carved facades and ever changing colors. The city was occupied by the Romans and the Byzantines and they have left their mark as well.

The Dead Sea is north of here as well but with the trouble in Syria it is not the place to go without security

Wadi Rum is 45 minutes north of Aqaba and offers a combination of desert landscape, desert wildlife, archaeological ruins and is the land where T. H. Lawrence and the Arab revolt took place. The Bedouin culture still exists  here.. We were going on a 4-wheel drive to this region but the tour was cancelled due to lack of numbers.

We are now on our way back to Egypt to the port near Cairo named Sokhna and we arrive there tomorrow morning. Lesley is going on a tour to The Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum. After that we move on to the Suez Canal.

###

The very morning we arrived in Fiji, we joined the MV Reef Endeavor in the middle of a seven-day “Discovery Heritage Cruise” and soon learned we were in for a busy day. Instead of taking us to the ship immediately, they put our group of eight writers on the bus with all the other passengers and we were off to visit the Bouma waterfalls. Despite the fact that we had had so little sleep in the past 40 hours, we were not about to miss this island highlight.

We were on the northeastern Fijian island of Taveuni, known as the “garden island” because it receives tremendous amounts of rain and is so green and lush that it is similar to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The trip to the waterfall was made in an open-air bus over dirt and gravel roads. It took about 45 minutes to get there, followed by a ten-minute walk. There are actually three waterfalls but all but four of us only went as far as the first one which was quite spectacular.

Not only was it high and full, but it fell into a lovely pond suitable for swimming and most people went swimming, except for some of us who were still in our flying attire. There was a high ledge next to the waterfall, and some of the more stalwart (including several teens) took to jumping off the ledge into the water.

A light rain fell during much of our visit and it cooled those of us who could not swim. After our waterfall visit, we returned to the park headquarters for a picnic lunch provided by the ship. This gave us our first change to meet our fellow passengers. There were 41 aboard the ship, including three families with children, before we joined them. The ship will actually carry a max of 168, however, this seven-day itinerary has not received lots of publicity.

Most of the passengers are from Australia and New Zealand…in fact, most visitors to Fiji are from these two countries, which are a 3-4 hour plane ride away. The rest on board are a mix of American, Dutch and Fijians. All speak English and as they have already been traveling together for four days, they are a friendly group.

Finally, about 2:30 p.m. we actually board the Reef Endeavour and find our assigned cabins, only to learn that we must leave at 4:30 p.m. to head to the local village for a kava ceremony and a feast. Again, this experience is not to be missed so we all quickly shower, don island attire, attend a quick safety briefing from the captain and head into the village of Naselesele for the evening’s ceremonies.

A Fijian village is a collection of homes and outbuildings and usually everyone in a particular village is related. Some are large enough to have a church, or a community hall or a store…but many are just family enclaves. We find this village to be quite large…it has a community hall with electricity and a church under construction. Hosting groups such as ours helps enable them to fund such improvements.

Tonight the people from two villages have come together to host us under the auspices of the local tribal chief Ratu Talema who controls almost half the island. There are perhaps 150 men, women and children present, most dressed in their best Fijian finery. All, except the fidgety children, sit on woven mats while we Western guest are permitted to sit in chairs.

After we arrive, we witness the solemn kava ceremony, performed by seven young men under the keen eye of the village elders. The chief and our captain exhange gifts and formal greetings in this welcoming ceremony, which is centuries old. After it is complete, the women came forth and gave each of us lovely Fijian leis, which they made by hand. Some of these were quite elaborate.

Our dinner here is a feast called a lovo where everything is cooked in an underground pit. Most of the meats and vegetables are wrapped in banana and tarot leaves. (The ship actually provides and prepares the food, which the villagers dig the pit and assist in cooking.)

After dinner, the villagers perform songs and dances for us. Such performances are called mekes and they are quite exuberant as Fijians love music. A choir of men and women sang various songs while different groups performed. The most outstanding was a group of young men, garbed as in grass skirts, who danced as warriors. Many women and children also performed and it was a memorable evening under the clear Fijian sky.

That night, finally, I managed to get nine hours of sleep. Whew! What a great first day in Fiji.