http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/WCTravelers/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from WCTravelers en-us Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:05:31 +0000 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:05:31 +0000 Hi everyone this is Pastor Linda. There has been much conjecture about the author of our blog. Rich wrote most of the narrative with a few additions from my perspective. My job was to write the narrative for the pictures and be the technical person for downloading. We found text to be easy to download but pictures were a bit of a problem on the ship because our sattelite connection to the int http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Bothell/blog-346580.html Our final tour day dawned partly cloudy and pleasant. We joined our guide Mary and took off for Corinth and Mycenae on our final day of touring. After traversing the heavy downtown Athens traffic it took us about an hour to reach the Corinth Canal. Four miles long and only about 75 feet wide this canal sits below rising cliffs of several hundred feet with sheet wallsmdasha little confining http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-346577.html The Pacific Princess docked by 600 AM in Piraeus Greece. This is a teeming modern port filled with cruise ships ferries and a wide variety of vessels. Itrsquos a very modern port with nice passenger terminal facilities.After a final breakfast and a time of waiting for our check out there was a bit of sadness in our group as we departed from the ship which had been our home for nearly two http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-345989.html When the Pacific Princess departed from Patmos the weather began to change and the ship experienced a few rain showers. But the next morning arriving in Santorini the weather had improved under warm and partly cloudy skies.Santorini sits on top of the caldera left from a major volcano which erupted more than 2500 years ago. Its white washed buildings and blue roofs are often used in promotion http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Santorini/blog-345987.html The Pacific Princess sailed into the harbor of the small Greek island of Patmos under mostly sunny and pleasant skies. This was the first port where the ship did not dock and tenders were used to get into the small village of Scala the commerce center for the island.Patmos is a small island about 18 miles long and only has about 3000 year round residents. During the summer months its populatio http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Patmos/blog-345310.html Everyone was eager to explore the ancient city of Ephesus as the Pacific Princess arrived in Kusadasi Turkey. Surprisingly this port city is a clean modern seaside resort currently undergoing a boom in tourism including many Brits and Irish folks who are buying condos in the area.We docked next the new Cunard Lines Queen Victoriaan impressive large vessel. The dock area is a nice shopping ma http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Ephesus/blog-345309.html After three hectic days in Egypt and Israel a day cruising the Mediterranean was a welcome respite. Unfortunately about a third of our group seems to be experiencing the 24 hour gastroenteritis bug which seems to be going around the ship. If reported to the clinic on board everyone with these symptoms is quarantined in their staterooms for 24 hours so most choose not to report their symptoms.T http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Mediterranean/Aegean-Sea/blog-345307.html It was another warm and sunny day as our group arrived in Haifa. Israelrsquos largest port. Another busy port we docked across from several very modern looking Israel navy vessels at the base of the hills that make up Haifa.Our guide was there to meet us promptly at 800 AM and it looked as though we would be off to a quick start. However our bus could not leave the port area because someon http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/North-District/Tiberias/blog-344435.html The Pacific Princess pulled into Ashdod Israel on a bright and warm morning. The port is an industrial center and our dock included things like a new railcar for Jerusalemrsquos soon to be light rail line and about a million containers.Everyone in the group had signed up for the shore excursion to Jerusalem and all 30 of us assembled on the dock eager to begin a day of discovery. We had a yo http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Jerusalem-District/Jerusalem/blog-344432.html The entire group with one exception joined in a tour of Cairo and the Pyramids at Giza along with the Sphinx. The day dawned warm and partly cloudy and everyone was excited to see one of the great wonders of the World.Unfortunately our 1000 AM arrival ended up being 1045 as Princess decided to bring boxes freight and several local folks onboard before clearing the vessel for passenger disem http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Mediterranean/Port-Said/blog-343491.html The weather improved today for our port visit to Alexandria Egypt. We had partly cloudy skies and a temperature in the mid 70s. This is a big sprawling city of perhaps five million persons was named after Alexander the Great and is a thriving container port for the country. In the summertime it is a favorite beach resort for many Egyptians wishing to get away from the desert heat. The city i http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Mediterranean/Alexandria/blog-343129.html Today was the second of two sea days onboard the Pacific Princess. Our entire group is adapting to the rhythm of the ship. Naps are being taken more reasonable meals are being eaten and folks are taking advantage of various shipboard programs.A little discussion about the Pacific Princess. This ship was originally one of the Renaissance Cruises ldquoRrdquo series built in the mid1990rsq http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Mediterranean/Sea-of-Crete/blog-342613.html Our group in on its way to Alexandria Egypt. The Pacific Princess set sail from Naples under cloudy skies and headed south and east so we can reach Egypt in two days. The weather is about 70 degrees but we had showers all day long.Folks got into the rhythm of a day at sea. Everyone had the opportunity of taking advantage of this very nice floating resort.Linda gathered most of the group in Sa http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Mediterranean/Ionian-Sea/blog-342328.html The Pacific Princessrsquo Captain decided to dock in Naples instead of anchoring in the bay outside of Sorrento Italy due to possibly difficult weather conditions. To visit Sorrento the ship must use its tenders to go ashore and water conditions were questionable if the offloading could take place. So we docked in downtown Naples instead.Naples is famous for inventing pizza and for its traff http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-342050.html Rome experienced a major rain fall in the early morning hours as a cold front came into the area. Some of the group not yet time adjusted to the local time decided to arise early and make the most of the morning in Rome before we departed to catch the Pacific Princess in Civitavecchia. Rich found a coffee bar across the street from the hotel at the Esquilina Market similar to Seattlersquos P http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Civitavecchia/blog-341668.html What a difference a good night's sleep can make Linda and I rose to a warm and sunny Roman day ready for a great adventure. The hotel was nice and quiet and the morning breakfast was very nice.Our modern bus arrived right on time along with Mauro our guide. By 900 A.m. we were onboard for a trip through downtown Rome at rush hour. Talk about a lot of smart cars and motorbikes the bus seem http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-341296.html Arrived in Rome 19 hours after leaving our front door. It was a long series of flights and many adventures. When we arrived at our hotel we found that everyone had arrived safely with all their luggage and were eating dinner. Thank you Lord for gettting us and all our luggage here. We had a wonderful meal at Trattoria Cecio the food and drink were delicious and the service was excellent. Aft http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-341122.html