Sorrento, Monte Carlo & Home

Prepared October 14, 2012 at home Kona, Hawaii

April 27 and 28, 2012 transiting the Mediterranean Sea:  Why are all the ship's deck lights on?

After sailing from Alexandria on the evening of the 26, M/V Silver Whisper set a northwesterly course across a very calm, eastern Mediterranean.  All of the security of the Indian Ocean and Red Sea had disappeared, and suite drapes could be left open, with ship exterior lights lit and pool deck lights ablaze, reflecting on the sea surrounding the ship.  Of course, there were the usual diversions for guests, and most world cruise passengers were involved in farewell functions or packing.  Where did all this stuff come from?

The evening of the 27, there was a special six-course dinner in La Terrazza hosted by a Silversea Executive VP (who had flown in from Monte Carlo), the Captain, and the Hotel Director.  It was just the ticket to top off the 10-plus pounds that J had gained during the cruise.  But, without regard to the calories, it was a wonderful dinner, and the self-congratulatory speeches were mercifully short.

On late afternoon of the 28, we passed through the Strait of Messina between Sicily and Italy.  We had hoped to see the Stromboli volcano that night but the Lipari Islands were shrouded in fog and cloud.  Europe's most active volcano was not visible as we headed northward along the Italian coast toward the Bay of Naples.

The Strait of Messina with Sicily in the Distance

Sadly, no Sicilian port for us.

April 29, 2012 anchored off Sorrento, Italy:  What Euro Crisis -- The Rotten $ to € Exchange Rate?

At 8:00am, we anchored in the Bay of Naples off Sorrento, and after breakfast, we took the ship's tender into the Marina Piccola (Port), followed by a short shuttle bus ride up the sea-front cliff to the Piazza Antiche Mura.  This piazza is outside the remnants of Sorrento's medieval wall, which separates the medieval section of the city from its more modern districts. 

Mt. Vesuvius from the Bay of Naples

Early morning fog obscures all coastal development. 

M/V Silver Whisper Anchored Off Sorrento

We were fortunate to be the only cruise ship at anchor.

There are normally three or four (less, of course, Costa Concordia).

Tourist Map of Sorrento

The red dot is where the shuttle-bus terminal is.

We walked into the old city (which seems to be the focus of most tourist-related activities) only to discover that the main commercial street (Corso Italia) had been blocked off and turned into a pedestrian mall for the day.  Although it was Sunday, most shops were open, and there were puppet shows, carriage rides, and other on-street activities for tourists and local residents.

Sunday Promenade, Corso Italia

Locals, tourists, children and pets taking a stroll in the sun.

Puppet Theater -- Punch and Judy Do Battle

Even puppeteers use teleprompters these days!

  A Peaceful, Shady Rest in Front of the Church

Every place seemed fairly busy, except the churches.

After walking up and down the length of Corso Italia, we turned toward the sea and explored the side streets leading back to the sea cliff and the port.  Those streets were much less congested and led one to understand why Sorrento was such a famous tourist destination.

A Quiet Side Street

No Italian suicide drivers here -- go to Rome.

Cooper's Italian Cousin Catching a Few Rays

Yes, the dog is sound asleep in the middle of the street.

City Fathers Immortalized in Stone

Although not sure who these "founders" might be, it is fairly evident that one of them sent you on your way to the afterlife and the other determined the direction, up or down. 

Hotel's Private Garden with Terracotta Water Bowl

For a mere €600 per night, you may walk in the garden (of course only on the path).

We walked for about an hour in the back streets of the old city and found a number of beautiful private gardens.  Some of those gardens were associated with high-end hotels and some possibly with the city museum, which did not seem to be open.

Local Statue Garden

Yes, there is a plaque, but two years of high school Latin proved worthless. 

By now, our feet were getting tired and the sun was getting higher, so we stopped at a local gelato shop.  We  had wonderful chocolate gelato and espresso.  Thus, we were fortified for the long stairway down the sea cliff face to the port and our tender back to the ship.

Sorrento Sea Cliff and Bath Houses at Port

The stairway is cut into the face of the cliff.

Some of it can be seen in the extreme left center of the image.

Mt. Vesuvius, M/V Silver Whisper and Sorrento Port from Stairway

Taking photos was an excuse to stop and rest on the way down.

After climbing down the stairway and walking past the bath houses, we reached the port and waited in the small park by the port for the ship's tender to arrive.  Back on board, went to lunch on deck to enjoy Spring on the Italian Med. 

Ship's Tender (aka Life Boat) Preparing to Board Passengers

According to tourist literature, the Excelsior Vittoria Grand Hotel in the background is the local five-star establishment.  Italy does have earthquakes -- Right?

After lunch and a nap, we began to pack and sort.  Before we upped anchor and sailed for Monte Carlo, Monaco at 6:30pm, E had completed most of the packing.  Except for moving the bags, J has long been considered non compis mentis when it comes to packing.  This is largely because he is incapable of neatly folding clothing, or anything resembling folding for that matter.

Arrivederci Sorrento

A parting view from the Gulf of Naples off the Sorrento Coast.

April 30, 2012 at sea and in port: The Ligunan Sea and Monte Carlo, Monaco:  The Casino Royale and All That

The night of April 29 and most of the daylight hours of April 30, we transited the channel between Sardinia, Corsica, and Italy, and then the Ligunan Sea.  The weather was overcast, and there was some wind chop, but the main item of interest among the passengers was whether we would pass close enough to Isola del Giglio to see the Costa Concordia aground.  We did not, which was not surprising, since we were aboard an Italian-built and officered ship.

Although there were the normal range of at-sea activities for passengers, most were busy with packing and undertaking such administrative things as closing out shipboard accounts  and redeeming prize points won at bridge, trivial pursuit, bingo, etc. (Anyone got any use for four Silversea logo tee shirts?)  Most passengers were planning to have all these activities finished by the time we docked in Monte Carlo, because they had plans to help the local economy by dressing in tuxedo or evening gown and visiting the famous Casio Monte-Carlo (aka Casino Royale to all you James Bond fans) or dining ashore at one of the white tablecloth restaurants.  Remember, every additional fork in the table setting costs you $25.00 per person.

The plan of the day called for us to dock at 6:00pm along the Quai Rainier III; however, the ship was forced to lay off Monte Carlo for about an hour because another cruise ship was in our assigned berth.  After berthing, it took another two hours to clear the ship, so many of our revelers and gamblers ended up with greatly-reduced time to eat, drink and lose money.

Laying Off Monte Carlo, Monaco

We were to dock where the white cruise ship is moored.

Yachts in Inter-Harbor, Monte Carlo

Rumor had it that some where available at a "reasonable" price.

Casio Monte-Carlo (Aka Casino Royale), Bring Money

Sorry about the t-head crane.  The nouveau-riche have to live somewhere.

Since we had an early departure from the ship to catch a flight in Nice, we did not participate in any Monte Carlo activity.  After dinner, we watched a movie and went to bed early in anticipation of that peculiar form of torture imposed on modern humans -- air travel.

May 1 and 2, 2012 traveling by air: Nice, Frankfort, San Francisco, and Kona:  Air Travel Never Gets Any Better!

Since our flight departed Nice, France for Frankfort, Germany at 9:00am on May 1, we were up,  breakfasted, and disembarked by 6:30am for the 45-minute car ride from Monte Carlo to Nice.  The drive through the coastal mountains was very enjoyable, and our female driver gave us some local perspective about being a working person in the land of the rich and famous.  It can be summed up as "not so great."

Disembarking M/V Silver Whisper for the Last Time (World Cruise 2012)

It was very early in the morning and had been raining.

Monte Carlo Quay - Waiting for Our Ride to Nice!

How could J smile this early in the morning -- too much coffee?

Photo by Norman Rafelson, M/V Silver Whisper

The flight from Nice to Frankfort was uneventful; however, transiting the Frankfort airport from the intra-Europe to the intercontinental flights left one feeling like a rat in a maze.  J ran afoul of German bureaucracy when the immigration authority in the form of what appeared to be a 12-year-old, female bureaucrat decided that J's passport did not have a proper entry stamp into the Euro Zone.  The entry stamp had been applied by Italian authorities in Sorento, where we first entered the Euro Zone.  This officious young lady immediately declared that J was illegally in Germany.  To which J replied that he did not particularly mind--he would stay for a while at the German Government's expense.  This was not well received.  In the meantime, E was in a parallel queue, where the immigration agent was listening intently to the banter between J and the young lady.  That agent finally intervened, pointing out the passport page where the Italians had put the stamp in E's passport.  On inspection, this was confirmed in J's passport (although very faint).  With a certain amount of grumbling, J was stamped out of Germany (Europe) to which he could not help but comment to the German officials "You are going to have to spend more money to buy ink for the Italians."  The reaction was not positive.  

We made the Lufthansa Frankfort/San Francisco flight with maybe 10 minutes to spare, and got the Teutonic look from the stewardess that is reserved for barbarians from the New World who cannot be prompt.  Anyway, that flight was uneventful, and we arrived on time at SFO expecting to be met by a Silversea representative to take us to a hotel for an overnight.  It didn't happen.  Apparently, J misunderstood who was to make arrangements for the overnight in SFO, and only by luck (most hotels were fully booked) did we find a room in a nearby airport  hotel.  J got to write on the blackboard 250 times -- Always check in-transit hotel arrangements!

The next morning, May 2, we had a 10:00am United flight from SFO to Kona.  It was uneventful, but our luggage (for reasons only United's god might know) went to Las Vegas!  Why is it every time you get off a United flight you feel you should clean the soles of your shoes?  The good news is that J's brother and his wife met us at the Kona airport and all ended well!

It was a wonderful trip, and we plan to do it again in 2013, so watch this spot for J & E's continued adventures in the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.  And remember, always carry hand sanitizer for your shoe soles when you fly United.

"That's All Folks!"

And This Piece of Paper Certifies It!

Into the Mediterranean - Suez Canal & Alexandria, Egypt

Prepared October 1, 2012 at home Kona, Hawaii

April 25, 2012 transiting the Suez Canal:  Anyone know the Triumphal March from Aida? 

We sailed from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt mid-afternoon April 24 in order to arrive at Port Tafiq, Suez, Egypt in time to form up with the northbound morning convoy transiting the Suez Canal.  The Suez Canal operates on a convoy system with one northbound and two southbound convoys every 24 hours.  This convoy system is required because, although the canal has no locks, it has only one shipping lane and two bypasses at the Ballah Bypass and the Great Bitter Lake. "The first southbound convoy enters the canal in the early morning hours and proceeds to the Great Bitter Lake, where the ships anchor out of the fairway, awaiting passage of the northbound convoy.  The northbound convoy passes the second southbound convoy, which moors in Ballah-Bypass.  The passage takes between 11 and 16 hours at a speed of around 8 knots (15 km/h; 9 mph).  The low speed helps prevent erosion of the canal banks by ships' wakes." (Wikipedia, the Suez Canal)  Click "View Larger Map" for more geographic data.

View Larger Map

The Suez Canal and Environs

Silver Whisper, under the supervision of a Suez Canal Pilot, started the northbound transit at about 6:00 am.  We were the first ship in a convoy of about 25 ships, so when the sun came up, we had great views of the canal.  In addition, our Destination Lecturer, Jon Fleming, provided a narrative geography and history lesson as our transit proceeded.

The Suez Canal

The contrast between the desert and the canal is striking.

Northbound Convoy & Suez Canal Friendship Bridge

This bridge is the only highway bridge over the Canal.

El Ferdan Railway Bridge Across the Suez Canal

Largest swing-span bridge in the world.

Most of our approximately 11 hour transit consisted of sand to the right of us and sand to the left.  However, we did pass the city of Ismailia near the mid-point in the Canal and a number of military bases and Egyptian monuments to the endless Arab/Israeli wars.

Monument to WWI War Dead

This is a British monument.

Monument to Arab/Israeli War Egyptian War Dead

Wonderful art; the AK-47 memorialized in concrete and steel.  The dead don't care.

Egyptian Army Memorial to Yom Kippur War

What else you going to do with obsolete tanks?  Not much of the battlefield refuse remains probably mostly Chinese cars or appliances by now.

Operational Egyptian Army Post
Yes, that is American military hardware.  The only thing the US exports much of these days (and we have to give that away).

Besides these edifices to humankind's folly and watching for the occasional seabirds, the only other events of note was passing the southbound convoys at the Bitter Lake and  Ballah-Bypass.

LNG and Container Ships at Bitter Lake
Note:  The LNG ship's bow seems to be facing the "wrong way."  Who knows?

Bulk Carrier in the Ballah-Bypass
Capesize bulk carriers could not pass through the Canal until recent dredging.

As we approached the northern entrance to the Canal, just the hard-core history and geography buffs remained interested.  The rest of the passengers adjourned to lunch and the latest culinary excesses that awaited them.  J and E attended a special luncheon for their trivia team, most of whom had been together for the entire world cruise.  It was, as expected, an excellent luncheon, topped off by cherries jubilee prepared table-side.  "We're not in Kansas any more Toto,"  or for that matter Kona!

Cherries Jubilee for Those Who Are a Bit Peckish

The chap in the middle has a fire extinguisher in his right hand, just in case.

In the early evening, we exited the Canal near Port Fuad and turned to port, setting our course westward through the Med toward Cleopatra's city, Alexandria.

April 26, 2012 in Port, Alexandria, Egypt:  Avoid the Small Snakes.

We docked in Alexandria's Western Harbor, the Marine Station Cruise Ship Terminal at 7:00 am, just across the harbor from King Farouk's palace and the two Royal steam yachts that haven't moved since Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Egyptian Army overthrew him on July 23, 1953.  They are getting a little rusty.

View Larger Map

Alexandria, Egypt

The Western Harbor is in lower left corner of the map.

Ras El Tin Palace

The royal yachts are moored just to the left (not shown here).  

The palace is now one of the residences of the President of Egypt.

We had decided against the routine city tour, and after breakfast, we went ashore in the shuttle bus to visit two museums -- the Greco-Roman  Museum and the Alexandria National Museum.  The local tour desk functionary had assured us that the two museums where "near" each other and "close" to where the shuttle bus dumped us off at the Cecil Hotel on Alexandria's corniche.  After an hour's battle with Alexandria's narrow, congested streets, our bus succeeded in traversing approximately one mile as the crow flies from the harbor to the hotel.  (Of course, no crow could fly from the harbor to the hotel, because it would die of air pollution.)

Traffic, What Traffic?

This is mid-day traffic.  Anyone want to guess what rush hour would be like?

Finally arriving at a small plaza near the Cecil Hotel, we stepped down into the cries of taxi and carriage drivers loudly offering their services.  But, we and another couple (Pinky and John) declined their offers and decided to walk to the museums.  Armed with our trusty tourist maps and secure in the knowledge that Jerry was, after all, a geographer, we could find the museums without the hassles of cabbies.  BIG MISTAKE!  It quickly became apparent that the tourist maps we had been given bore little or no resemblance to the current street pattern of Alexandria, and there was this little problem that the street signs were in Arabic.  

We were about to give up, then decided to ask a traffic policeman for directions.  He gave us the blank stare of those without a common language.  But, our conversation quickly attracted a young school girl who spoke English, and as she was giving us directions, an older gentleman with close-cropped hair and no beard emerged from the local coffee shop and took an interest in the conversation.  After the student had finished her directions, "Keep going that way, you can't miss them.  They are in large white buildings.  The Greco-Roman museum may not be open."  The old man (we suspect a retiree from the Egyptian army or police) asked in English if he could escort us to the museums.  Gratefully accepted.  Starting off at a quick pace, he led us through the main and side streets of Alexandria.  For sure, without his guidance, we would have never found the museums with or without a geographer in our midst.

Our Volunteer Guide Leading Us To The Museums

He believed the sidewalks were too dangerous!

After about 30 minutes of walking, we arrived at the Greco-Roman museum, only to discover it was closed for renovations.  And, had been closed for several years.  So, seeing Cleopatra's snake was not on!

Greco-Roman Museum -- Closed for Renovation, Opening ???

Note the scaffolding and canvas on the front  and over the columns.

On to the Alexandria National Museum, where we arrived after another 15 minutes of walking through the city streets.  At the ticket booth, we discovered that none of us had any Egyptian Pounds, and the museum's admission tickets were sold only for cash, Egyptian Pounds.  Another walk to the local bank to change money and back to the museum.  After buying the tickets, we were allowed in, but no photos inside the museum.

Alexandria National Museum -- Exterior View

Our ad hoc tour guide is in the lower right corner.

He is supervising our street crossing.

Alexandria National Museum -- Entry Ticket

No Egyptian Pounds.  No Ticket!  No Entry!  Bureaucracy rules!

We spent about an hour viewing the exhibits, which concentrated on ancient Egypt and were well-presented and described in both Arabic and English.  However, very little of the material related to Ptolemaic Egypt (Cleopatra's time), which was somewhat disappointing.  When we finished, our ever-faithful guide escorted us back to the corniche and to the plaza for the shuttle bus ride back to the ship.  Because of road construction, the return trip to the ship took even longer, about two hours.  Crows were dropping to the right and to the left of us!

The Corniche, Eastern Harbor and the Mediterranean Sea

Would you eat the fish?  Would the fish eat you?

Marine Station Cruise Ship Terminal and M/V Silver Whisper

This is a new cruise ship facility.  About 300 feet from here, things begin to come apart.

We sailed from the Western Harbor at twilight and turned northwest toward Europe and our next port of Sorrento, Italy.  That evening was one of those dress-up-in-costume nights so favored by our English cousins.  E & J did their bit, although J's costume was modest, consisting of an Omani headdress.  The Middle Eastern dinner with a mesa and a number of other Arabic dishes made getting into costume worthwhile.

Twilight Depature, Western Harbor, Alexandria

King Farouk's Royal Yachts take up a large part of the image.

Arabian Night Dinner Invitation

No camel was served.

The Happy Band Mostly in Costume