After a long delay we are now back on the Blog, safe and sound. The voyage from Safaga to Goa harbour took us a total of 14 days, which is certainly a long time but on the other hand, one of our lives' most interesting fortnights. In the last hour before departure from Safaga all passengers were briefed on the security threats facing the ship in the Gulf of Aden and give the opportunity of leaving then, and the option of rejoining in Goa for the rest of the crossing to Phuket. No-one took these options but it did leave us [View Full Entry]

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We had a smooth crossing between Sharm El Sheikh and Safaga. Not that it mattered: we were both weary from the day's activities and the next day's excursion was to start around 6. At about 4 we took on a pilot and started manoeuvring into the docks at Safaga. This is a major port for Australian wheat and alumina so you can imagine how romantic the surroundings are. Still it was a lovely sunrise and the seas were calm. Quickly to the buses and through the deserted streets. Again the coastal mountains were completely without vegetation and mostly jagged granite. The [View Full Entry]

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Early on the 21st the ship rose early, took on board the pilot and extra crew, and took its place in the southbound convoy for the Suez canal. It took us the whole day to transit and with this and the northbound convoy we must have seen 40 big ships using the amazingly narrow strip of water. Strange to see completely barren flat desert on the Sinai side and relatively lush oasis on the Nile side. Through the canal the boats are separated by 5 mins but at the Bitter Lakes the southbound let the northbound convoy pass and we got [View Full Entry]

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On the morning of the 19th we were effectively becalmed and mired in thick smog/fog/mist. We could see dozens of ships at anchor on the outskirts of Alexandra harbour: the crew dropped the sails and started winding the way through to the unseen harbour. On this ship you often don't know what to do first even though it is small. In this case participate in Tai Chi, enjoy another huge breakfast, listen to the historical commentary about the famous library or lighthouse of Alexandria, or watch the crew deal with the pilot and ubiquitous tugs - Greg took the tugs, Catherine [View Full Entry]

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We set sail from Piraeus with light rain and gentle breezes. As is customary on this Line, the sails are raised to the sounds of Vangelis: its not as cheesy as it sounds particularly with this much sail! The cruise has continued with winds below 25kts and just one night anyone would regard as rough. There are currently about 120 passengers aboard and this will reduce to about 50 for the crossing. The crew and passengers come from 35 countries though passengers are primarily. Europeans, Yanks and Australians. Greg has had his hands on the wheel just once so far but [View Full Entry]

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It was simple getting from Tirana down to Athens by plane and we had chosen a hotel we knew so we slipped easily back into town. Obviously we were quite busy on the blog today but that will be the last for a while as we sail tonight. This one comes from my Blackberry from Piraeus dock which might explain the strange formating and no photos. Also this cabin is moving! There were two definite highlights of the visit, the first being the New Acropolis museum. This is a spectacular setting for presentation of a stunning array of artifacts and they [View Full Entry]

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Catherine enjoyed frankfurters for breakfast heated over a Gaz-type stove and in a 250 mL coffee pot. Such was the Ulcinj Hilton/home stay. Our cabbie was on time and we headed for the border along ever-deteriorating roads. This area really was a frontier in geography and vibe. At the frontier proper, the wind was cold, chilled by the previous night's snow! The roads actually improved in Albania though the old mercs - a legacy from Hoxha era smuggling - seem to adopt a speed mania. Our destination was Schkodra bus terminal and we soon recognised the similarity to the villages of [View Full Entry]

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The trip from Dubrovnik to Tirana was a 4 step 2 day trip along the coast of Montenegro to the Albanian border and then south to Tirana. We left Dubrovnik very conveniently by cab when the cabbie offered a good price. The Croatian coastline south of Dub was more of the same small coves and turquoise sea. This day the squalls kept coming from the south. The cabbie pointed out the lack farms or factories in southern Croatia: another sign of war. Crossing into Montenegro this cabbie was with us until Herzog Novi bus station. His nerves were on edge due [View Full Entry]

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We arrived by bus on the northern eastern corner of Dubrovnik and in the shadows of a huge cruiseliner: the Costa Mediterranea I think. Apparently these mega-craft accommodate up to 3000 folk. All hell breaks loose when they all converge on a small place like Dubrovnik at once. We experienced a bit of this as we entered the old town with backpack and wheeled luggage. Gawking tourists all around us and stopping whenever and wherever. We made our way to a quieter part of the city where Catherine, via someone else's Blog, had booked an excellent guest house. We ended up [View Full Entry]

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Mostar was described by a World Bank colleague as the most integrated Yugoslavian city before the war, and now is one of the most divided along a number of lines. The famous Mostar bridge, which we both vaguely remember being destroyed, has been fully rebuilt using local expertise and money from the international community. A great deal of effort was expended in getting the bridge to look something like its former glory of 1557, even to the point of using the same materials and building techniques, but nonetheless it looks a little too tidy nowadays. Mostar was great though a bit [View Full Entry]

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