Hi All
Happy Father's Day to all of our father friends. But special wishes
to Grandpa Fraher, Grandpa Pribyl, and our son Patrick. We had a
fantastic visit to Cairo with our guide Khaled. Most hilarious was
our police escort from Port Said to Cario and back. We would travel
in the left lane and they traveled along side in covered pick-up
trucks. Each truck had at least 8 armed men. Sirens blared as they
alerted traffic to our passage. The local police of the city would
stop in coming traffic to the highway as we passed. When we reached
the border of Port Said that patrol honked and waved good-bye as
the next escort picked us up. People on the streets waved as we
passed as if we were dignitaries. We visited Ali Mosque and the
citadel first. Then the Cairo Museum. We spent most of our time
in the King Tut exhibit and the mummies. It was most impressive
and so helpful to see the artifacts and statues before visiting
the pyramids. We had a better sense of how the temples might have
looked. Next we had a 3 hour lunch/shopping trip at Khan Khalili
Bazaar. It's fun to look but living on a boat stops the temptation
to buy anything. We drove to the River Nile where we boarded five
Feluccas (traditional Nile sailing boats) for a cocktail sail. Ivo
from "Movimento" (EMYR boat) sailed our boat while the
owner removed the sun canvas. We were quite proud when we caught
up to and passed other boats. Our hotel was very nice Huge swimming
pool...unfortunately we didn't bring our suits. We had a nice dinner
and an excellent nights sleep. Today Mike S., Al, and I slept in
while brother Mike and others went on the Papyrus Institute trip.
Sleep was a luxury the three of us just couldn't give up after two
months of rigorous travel. We then spent 3 hours at the Pyramids.
That truly was exciting. The highlight of the day was a 30 minute
camel ride by the pyramids. Al, brother Mike, and I gave in and
spent $13 each and it was well spent. The camels had halters and
a lead rope that our driver attached to our friend Gus' camel. To
my dismay the lead fell off of the back horn on the saddle and my
camel decided he was going back home. Thankfully my driver caught
his lead and my bumpy trot was short lived. It was an awesome feeling
riding in the desert next to the pyramids. I spent an extra $5 to
crawl down inside the 2nd pyramid The tunnel went downhill about
50 meters. The tunnel was 1.5 X 1.2 meters and very musty smelling.
After that 50m we had about 20m of upright passage and then another
50 meters up into the main burial chamber. That room was about 6
X 10 meter room. Our last stop for the day was pictures by the sphinx.
We were "pinching ourselves" all weekend. It's so hard
to believe where we are. The most bazaar sight during the trip home
was looking out into the sand dunes and seeing huge ships and tankers
passing on the Suez Canal. Another was women walking down the road
with huge baskets or jars balanced on their heads without using
their hands. Tonight we had another Rally Dinner. We had kids dancing
for us ranging in age from 8-14 years. Such fun, so full of energy,
and lots of rhythm. Another great meal and entertainment. Tomorrow
we leave early for Hertzliya, Israel the last port of the EMYR.
(134 nm)
Love Sally and Al
June 13, 2008
Hi All
We arrived safely outside Port Said about 5 AM and had to wait until
6:30 before we could "parade" into Port Said canal to
the Arsenal Marina. Tomorrow morning we leave for an overnight to
Cairo. Highlights include Mohammed Ali Mosque, Cairo Museum, visit
bazaar Khan Khalili, sail river Nile with Feluccas. Our hotel is
by the Pyramids. Sunday visit Pyramids then back to Port Said via
Ismailia. We'll have a Rally Dinner. We'll return to Herzliya, Israel
on Monday June 16 arriving on Tues. June 17.
Love Sally and Al
June 11-12, 2008
Hi All
Tom and Bev Walton on "Half Moon" drove to Ashkelon to
spend the afternoon with us. They stayed for part of the Rally Cocktail
party. Unfortunately they had to leave before the food was served
and the entertainment began. Ashkelon had great food and plenty
of it. The Russian dancing girls in skimpy beaded outfits and feather
headdress's came next. We had great music so lots of dancing occurred.
Remember to ask Mike Sikorra about his French dancing partner when
you see him next. The Rally made the decision earlier in the evening
to delay our trip to Egypt. We had 3 meter seas to beat into and
many boats were canceling this leg of the trip. So yesterday we
walked out to the lighthouse and watched the surfers riding the
waves. Then we decided to walk into the shopping area about 3 miles
from the harbor. It's strange seeing so many guards and military
personal wearing guns and carrying machine guns. People through
out Israel have bomb shelters in their homes and have to use them.
What a way to live...We had a great pita lunch and then found a
nicer way back to the marina through parks and along a beautiful
white sand beach. Surfers were having a great time the waves had
increased since morning. We had a Group 4 Pot Luck dinner last night
and we left early this morning for Port Said, Egypt. The wind switched
last night to the NW but very light. So we still have the 1-2 meter
seas to contend with. We should arrive outside the Suez Canal tomorrow
morning about 5 AM. When the whole fleet is there we'll form a line
and head in together. Sadly about 20 boats chose not to make the
trip to Egypt (weather conditions or just worn out from all the
overnights with only two people on board). We'll meet up with them
again next week in Herzliya Israel for the final Rally Dinner.
Love Sally and Al
June 8-10, 2008
Hi All
We arrived iN Ashkelon, Israel about noon on Sunday. The first leg
of the trip took us four hours to sail. 9 nm. Then we made our turn
keeping us a minimum 6nm off Israel's coastline. It was pretty rolly
and ended up motoring the next 12 hours. The marina was serving
beer and signing us up for tours. We grilled some nice Lebanese
steaks for dinner. Monday we had a tour of Masada and the Dead Sea.
We traveled through the Negev Desert to Masada. Masad is a mountain
top fortress on the western shore of the Dead Sea. It's the remains
of elaborate buildings built by Herod the Great during his reign
in 1st BC. Masada is a symbol of freedom and courage to Jews because
of it's history. there's an old Richard Harris movie called Masada.
Jewish revolt against Rome in 1st BC when the Zealots held out against
Rome for three years at Masada before choosing suicide over surrender.
We rode a cable car to the top and the views of the Dead Sea were
spectacular. After lunch we went to the Dead Sea where many people
swam (floated) Mike Fraher was the only one aboard Artemis to go
in. I had open sores Mike S. didn't want to change into his suit
behind a towel, and Al didn't like the looks of the water. The life
guards main job was to calm people down as they would panic when
unable to put their feet down. The water is so salty it makes it
difficult to maneuver. You are so buoyant you need to roll over
before standing up. "Lady in the pink glasses, lady in the
pink glasses, relax, relax and start swimming toward shore."
We had 4 birthday cakes and impromptu cocktail party. Tonight we
have a formal Rally Cocktail party and entertainment. Tomorrow we
leave at 5 AM for Egypt.
Hi All
It's been a rocky ride so far and no sailing. The boys asked "What's
for lunch?" and I answered "Tuna". Sikorra said "You
mean the one I was suppose to catch?" I told them I had canned
tuna just in case. We had a nice lunch and then the excitement started.
Suddenly the line on the starboard fishing pole started to run out.
We were slow to react after all the teasing we'd been dishing out
to Sikorra for the past half hour. After about 20 minutes we got
a good look at his gorgeous yellow fin tuna. The next course of
conversation was how are we going to get this "sucker"
up into the boat. It kept diving and Sikorra kept reeling him in,
playing and trying to tire him out. It was a question of who was
wearing who out. But Sikorra was the victor. He reeled him in close
to the boat and Al was able to scoop him with our fishnet. Whrew
it was on board. Mike F poured gin into his gills and eventually
we got him into the cockpit. Amazing! He was so beautiful. One gorgeous
fish! It was hard to hold him up on the scale to weigh him with
the boat rolling and Sikorra could barely lift him. He was about
3' and we're guessing between 20-30 pounds. Now the work began.
Sikorra with Al's help had to filet him and then we put away five
big meals of tuna for four people. Finally used my Seal-a-Meal.
The mess in the cockpit wasn't too bad and we're looking forward
to grilled tuna tonight. Whrew what a lot of work.
Love Sally and Al
June 5, 6, &
7, 2008
Hi All
We were greeted by the Israeli navy as we entered Israeli waters.
Suddenly a gun boat with machine guns aimed raced along side (actually
showing off for pictures). They patrolled the fleet for the next
ten miles as we approached Haifa. We got a lot of pictures but not
the one that will always remain in Michael's mind as the gun boat
flew by spouting a big "rooster tail". It took a long
time to get situated in Kishon Fishing Harbor (engines off 11:20).
We are rafted off each other. Artemis is the fifth boat out and
there are another 8 boats outside of us. It a crazy maze of walking
over boats to shore. Al, Mike and Ton organized the tying off of
the boats in the raft because our fenders were flattening out with
so much pressure on the inside boats.(Finished at 2:30) The Carmel
Yacht Club and Ekko Municipality hosted a BBQ on site. Lots of beer
and wine but no food by the time we got to the tables. Sally's brother
Mike arrived safely about 8:30. It was a good thing the party was
going full blast because he would have had a tough time finding
Artemis amidst all the boats, especially in the dark. Thurs. June
6 We went on a full day tour to Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, and Golan
Heights. So much to do and see in too short of time. In Nazareth
we visited Mary's Well (St. Gabriel Greek Orthodox Church)and Basilica
of Annunciation. The Basilica was built in 1969 for the Pope's visit
and it's maintained by the Franciscan Order. It has two levels the
lower being the grotto which was home of Mary and the site of the
Annunciation. The upper level is the local Roman Catholic Church.
It magnificently decorated with
large mosaics, works of art, ceramics contributed by Roman Catholic
Communities from around the world. Each country presented a Madonna
that was representative of their culture. We had lunch on a Kibbutz
(no longer socialists settlements)then we drove to the Sea of Galilee.
The sea was whipping up quite a chop. There's a small chapel St.
Peters with the rock on which Jesus stood and told Peter he would
be the lead the church. We visited the village ruins of Capernaum
on northern tip of the lake
Peter's second home. (mother in-laws house)We traveled over the
Jordan River and circled the Sea of Galilee. After standing on Golan
Heights it was easy to understand why Israel wants to hold on to
it. From that height and distance Israel would be open to Syrian
attacks. The drive down from Golan Heights was both beautiful and
frightening. Our bus could barely maneuver the hairpin turns and
several times the front bumper scraped the road.
Fri. June 7
Today we went up the coast to Acre (Acco). The tour began at the
Festival Garden. We were greeted in the Enchanted Garden by an official
of Acre. Performers representing their two cultures Muslim and Jew.
A young Jewish man sang two ballads of peace and then two young
Muslim men played traditional instruments. We had a tour of the
Grand Munie, fortress courtyard, Crusader Knights halls, escape
tunnels Crypt, Hospitalliers Hospital and Turkish Bazaar, Ottoman
Palace (Acre Fortress/prison). We had and audiovisual of Turkish
Hamam and then a walk through Templar Tunnel to the seaport and
Lighthouse. We drove to the Lebanon Border for a great view of Israel
and returned to Haifa about 2:00. We plan to sail to Ashkelon Israel
overnight (87 nm)Then wind has been blowing hard all day but seems
to be dying down. It may be a bouncy night with seas on the nose.
Love and God Bless
Love Sally and Al
June 3 & 4, 2008
Hi All
We had another fantastic day in Lebanon. We had a scenic two hour
drive up into the mountains, through fertile agricultural areas
of Bekaa Valley to Baalbeck. We keep thinking "How many more
Roman ruins can we possibly enjoy" Today was by far the best
we've seen in all of our travels. The Romans wanted something special
and it took over 400 years to complete. The Great Temple is the
Temple of Baal (Jupiter) god of the sun. The "smaller"
temple is the Temple of Bacchus (Dionysus or Adon) god of wine and
ecstasy. We had another fantastic lunch and then visited Chateau
Ksara for a tour of the wine cellars and wine tasting. Didn't buy
any... We have a formal Rally Dinner at the Jounieh Yacht Club Restaurant
by the pool. We"ll have a short visit to Beirut tomorrow, grocery
shopping and an evening departure for Haifa, Israel (85 nm).
The yacht club went all out and wined and dined us. It was fun
having real food for a change croissant salmon, salad, filet beef,
carrots, potatoes (not french fries) broccoli and taramassu. Our
group leader Miro, from Czech Republic had a birthday so we had
ice cream cake too. The music and dancing was fun. Plus we had three
exotic dancers who performed for us. Later we went back to Snow
White to drink Miro's special plum shiglivitz equivalent to moonshine
in US. Miro is Al's "Czech brother". Al's Great Grandfather
came from a small town near Miro's home town. June 5
We entered Israel's waters at 8 AM We expect to go into the harbor
around 11:00 this morning.
Love Sally and Al
June 2, 2008
Hi All
We are in quite a "posh" marina. We hear it's the nicest
marina on the Eastern Mediterranean. It has 3 large swimming pools,
restaurants, locker rooms, tennis courts, ping-pong tables, basketball...
family yacht club. All the expensive Italian, German, English and
Japanese cars fill the parking lots. Also lots of US 4 wheel drive
vehicles. There was a special concert downtown Beirut last night
to celebrate the successful election of their new president and
the reopening of the downtown area. Two weeks ago no one went downtown
because of the shooting and bombing. We saw very little evidence
of it. The streets are heavily patrolled or at least last night
because the new president was suppose to make an appearance but
not sure if he did. When our bus stopped to let us out we saw a
riot squad with shields racing across the street and a truck with
a machine gun on it. We weren't too sure we wanted to stay. But
we were assured it was safe. It took us a while to find the city
center down deserted dark streets but found a bustling square with
families enjoying ice cream and shopping. Very modern architecture
as much of Beirut was rebuilt after the war in early 1990's. There
is a strong French influence because 1923 League of Nations sent
France to settle Lebanon lawlessness. People drive worse than the
Italians. There are no lines for lanes of traffic and you may have
3-5 lanes going at a time. Red lights are not always acknowledged.
Lebanon has about 3 million people. One million live in Beirut.
One million Christians left during the 25 year war in 1970's so
now it has 50% Muslim and 32% Christians. Many American franchises
TJ Friday, KFC, Applebees, Hagen Das, MCDonalds, Burger King...
Most signs are written in English. Three languages are spoken Lebanese,
French and English. The 2006 conflict began as a "sit in"
for a decent living wage and it got out of hand. Today there is
a sense of hope for peace between the people of Lebanon and with
Israel. Today we drove up into the mountains and toured the magnificent
Jeita Caverns. The upper galleries wind through 650 meters of stone
formations and canyons. The lower galleries we toured about 600
meters on a subterranean lake in a small boat. Close to 7000 meters
have been explored. We drove to Byblos next. We enjoyed the remains
of the ancient city (7000 BC) Crusader castle, church and market
area. We had a nice lunch (no need for supper). Last we stopped
in Harissa to visit a very modern cathedral built 1970-1990. (war
interfered) Also on the site is statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary
erected in 1908. There's a chapel in the base and steps winding
around to the top. Spectacular views of Beirut and the harbors.
Once again we are reminded that much of what we see on TV only shows
a small snapshot (often violent) of a country and it's people and
we're unprepared and quite surprised at the beauty of the land and
friendliness of the people.
Love Sally and Al
June 1, 2008
Hi All
We had a quiet, beautiful starlit passage to Jounieh, Lebanon last
night. Jounieh is an exclusive marina a short distance from Beirut.
It's quite secure and we have a beautiful swimming pool. The larger
yachts in groups 5 and 6 will be in St. George's Marina downtown
Beirut. We expect to arrive at the harbor two hours. I wanted to
send an email in case reception is not good inside the harbor. We
have a full day tour to Byblos, Jeita Grotto and Harissa for tomorrow.
Then we have another full day tour to Baalbeck and Anjar followed
by a Rally Dinner the next day. We are cutting our stay in Lebanon
by one day because of the day we lost due to weather from Iskenderun
to Lattakia Syria. We will leave for Haifa, Israel Mon. June 4 in
the late afternoon. Sally's brother Mike will be joining us there
for the rest of the EMYR. Hopefully we'll have WiFi in the marina
so we can try to SKYPE today.
