A Day Late And No More Than A Dollar Short

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Victoria 16 March

Yep, you read that right. We are now a month further and back home. A combination of too much happening and too little connection to the internet. While I did file short notes about where I was and what was happening, I did not get it together to really put anything down and get it posted. So, here goes, late but not lost...

Our friends in Zwolle had the attic ready for us to move into and dinner was planned. Another one of the foods that we missed and that Gerrie had asked for. The conversation was great and yes, we ate too much again.

One of the nice things was to get the chance to talk to Bjorn. He has not been online nearly enough so we had not had much contact with him and as he is not living at home, we had little or no info from him. That contact is now restored and I will be trying to talk him into going diving with us in the future.

Our next move was to head out to Ratingen in Germany where a friend we met 25 years years ago in Indonesia lives. Visiting with Uli is always nice as he shares our love of good wine and beer. We talked until the wee hours and decided to head into the center of town the next day.

The center of Ratingen is quaint and pretty. We always enjoy walking there as there is a large auto-free zone in the center. We had lunch in a pub/restaurant which is located in a building which was erected in 1490. The lunch was one of my German favorites and we washed it down with an Alt.

More walking was in order to try to remove some of the calories we added. Our next stop was the new brewery in town, the Ratinger Brauhaus. This innovative brewery chose several recipes for Alt, asked the locals to drop by, taste the brews and vote on their favorite. The winner is now brewed in the corner of the restaurant for all to see. Note the computer control screen on the wall to the left of the copper tanks. I liked the brew as well.

Our plan was to drive to Frankfurt to catch our flight to Sharm el Sheikh on Thursday. It was cold and rainy when we left in the morning and I was worn out when we arrived at the airport. But the flight went quickly, our entry into Egypt smooth and our transfer to the hotel efficient. The Sakara on the patio of the hotel was an appropriate end to a very long day. Rik arrived later that evening to join us for two weeks of diving.

Gerrie and I were scheduled to dive the first day so it was a task to get everything together and ready to go for the next morning. But we made it and the drive went well. The next two weeks went way too quickly. We dove, drank, ate and slept.

We went to Dahab to dive with Asser on the last day of Feb. The drive through the desert was uneventful and pretty. When we arrived in Dahab, Asser was waiting to meet us. We went to the dive shop he had chosen and filled in paperwork for the diving. Then we loaded up and headed to the parking area for the Blue Hole.

We settled into the “restaurant/???”, had a cup of tea and prepared for the dive. The wind was blowing pretty hard from the east and it was kicking up a rough sea so we had only one possible entry to the water, a small protected chimney which took us down to 60 ft or so, The Bells. (Thanks for reminding me Asser) We cruised around on the reef to arrive in the Blue Hole for our exit. By then, the waves were uncomfortable and made the exit difficult. Rik was worried about his dry suit as the reef was shallow at this location but all went well and the suit as still dry.

We decided to make the second dive at the Canyon. The waves had dropped a bit and as the exit at the Canyon is a bit deeper, it should be a bit easier to do. So, in we went, making a comfortable dive to the Canyon, through it and back. When we arrived at the channel to the exit point of the dive, the waves had picked up again and made the current coming out of the lagoon difficult to swim against. But, we made it.

While we were in Dahab, a cruise ship had an accident in the main harbor of Sharm in which 3 crew members were killed. This caused the police to close the harbor for two days. So, our diving for the first day of March was canceled.

On this trip, we managed to see no sharks, no manta rays, no whale sharks. On the other hand, we did see lots of nudibranchs, octopus, giant moray eels, lion fish, rays, turtles and Italian bikini- and thong-fish (unfortunately some of these were giant too!) While on one of the local dives, we found an absolutely immense eagle ray. While his wing span was nothing to write home about measuring in at no more than 2.5 meters, his body was massive! We first sighted him laying in the sand about 50 meters from the Temple. He moved a bit and settled back in to the sand while we watched. Later, at the end of the dive and we were getting back on the boat, the ray passed under us on his way to another rendezvous.

Another great happening while in Sharm was the party on the last night before the temporary closing of the Camel Bar for remodeling. We managed to get home around 2.30 and still missed the dive masters and almost-underage attendees dancing on the bar. The band was very good and played some great music.

Kudos to Corrie for being such a great organizer for us. She kept us entertained and honest, though she would only allow us to make one hour dives! And to Ilaria for adding the necessary spice to our dive boat when she was on board filming the tourists for Oonas. You girls can come diving with me anytime.

Kudos to the crew of the Hooligan, the boat we dove from for two weeks. The captain allowed Rik and Gerrie to steer the boat for extended periods of time. The Cook, who has work for Oonas for 17 years continued his tradition of great food and we enjoyed every meal as we have on every trip before. And he does this in a kitchen the size of a matchbox!!!

But, as with all dive vacations, it had to come to an end. So, we headed back to Frankfurt, spent most of the night in the airport as our arrival was after midnight. We checked into our hotel the next morning and rested, relaxed and prepared for the next leg of our journey.

We caught our flight to Porto, hopped in our rented car and drove to the house that my brother-in-law bought and is fixing up. For the next week, we ran around the middle of Portugal looking at old towns, mountains and beaches. We tried lots of local meals and loved them all. And the wines and cheeses from this region are affordable and good so we drank and ate our share of each...

So, one week we are in the Sinai Desert and the next we are in a mountain ski resort standing in snow. From air conditioning to wool sweaters and down comforters. Last year in March at my brother in law's, the weather was warm enough for his two daughters to run around in bikinis. This year, it was so cold that there was frost on the car windows each morning as well as on the end of my nose!

The last day in Portugal we spent in Porto, walking around, riding a tour bus and taking a subway ride to the suburbs. The impression was that we would have to come back and spend a lot more time exploring the narrow streets, interesting cafes and terraces and having a very close look in each of the port warehouses/cellars!

Our flight out of Portugal was uneventful. I did like the airport of Porto as it seemed efficiently laid out and it operated up to that level as well. Unlike Frankfurt which seemed more like a bus slalom race course. On arrival in Frankfurt, the plane taxied not to a gate but to a remote location on the tarmac. There we were met with a bus which took us to an equally remote terminal gate. From there we had to walk for what seemed a few miles to get to where we could claim our luggage. What's the matter Frankfurt, did Lufthansa forget to pay one of their parking bills?

Our flight back to Texas went slowly but we did make it back home. Now to get that damned satellite internet connection fixed...

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Photos

Old Ratingen House
This house was one of only a few to survive a great fire in the 1700's. Saved by the thick rock wall between it and its neighbors

Ratinger Brauhaus
If you find yourself out front, there is good beer inside!

Blue Hole/Dahab
This is a teaming location in the summer vacations

The chimney
Our protected entry point for diving the Blue Hole. Note the waves

Coimbra 1
Coimbra from the river

Uphill Walk
Narrow streets