Saturday, 2 November 2019

The Fifth of Five Sea Days

Sailing to Salalah, Oman

Hello again from Seabourn’s Encore, as she makes her way to the first of two ports in Oman.  While the five days at sea have been restful, there have been enough interesting lectures and activities to keep everyone busy.  I have also used the time to finally finish reading Colson Whitehead’s Underground Railroad, a truly disturbing account of the physical and psychic horrors of slavery in the pre-Civil War South.  The central premise of the novel—that America does not deserve to exist because of its racial sins—may be controversial, but the telling of the tale is at once riveting and terrifying.

While the food on board is not as exciting as prelimary reports would have me believe, I still have eaten my way through the passing days.  We have had three time changes—one hour back and two hours ahead as we sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.  Although the Captain has announced special security measures as we sail through this treacherous part of the world, the ship sails on quietly, unbothered by the cares that surround us.

I am ready to set foot on land/sand again and am excited about seeing a world so different from my own.  I will try to convey in future blogs as much as I can the spirit and tenor of the land.

But today I will provide photos from around this truly incredible ship.  Forgive me if I have posted some of these in an earlier blog.

Looking Down the Atrium Double Curving Staircase, a Hypnotizing Sight 
Both Day and Night

Ground Floor of Atrium Curving Double Staircase at Entrance to the Restaurant 

One of the Restaurant’s Chandeliers 

The Restaurant Awaiting Diners

Sushi Restaurant, for Authentic Japanese Food

 The Sky Bar and Lounge at the Forward Top of the Ship

Halloween in the  Lounge

My favorite Waiter on the Colonnade Terrace

My Suite (3 photos)

Thursday, 31 October 2019
Still Halloween, Still at Sea

So, finally I arrive at Petra.  The city was founded by local Arab tribes about 300 BCE, but the most extensive building and ornamentation was done by the Romans, who turned Petra into a fortified village.  After the fall of the empire, Petra was hidden away for seven centuries until local traders stumbled upon it again.

It is an easy walk from the ticket booth to the entrance to the Siq—a wide path with prehistoric stones and caves lining each side.

The Siq itself is a slightly longer-than-one mile narrow curving path, hidden from the sun by high walls of rock and stone.

As I emerge from the last narrow curve of the high Siq walls, the most famous view of the Treasury Building comes into view, growing larger as I step out into the sunlight.  

   

Although the Treasury facade, built into the side of the rose-colored cliff, is the most complete and magnificent of the ruins, the Petra site is much larger, with mile-long walks in three directions offering views of royal tombs, public buildings, places of worship, and an outdoor theatre.  

After visiting the ruins, we are served a buffet lunch at a hotel just outside the entrance, where all the buses are waiting.  The ride back is quiet and relaxing.  We stop at a different rest area and shop. This time we are greeted by crew members from the Encore who serve a “Caviar in the Desert” surprise, with drinks, crackers, and, yes, caviar.

My bus was the first to leave the ship this morning, but somehow we are the last bus to return at 5:30pm.  As we wait on the line to walk up the gangway and through security, we are treated to a welcome pageant of most all of the crew members singing and dancing joyfully to welcome us back.  Many of the passengers join in the festivities 

Special Commentary It has been a truly incredible day, but I must comment on the one problem that arose in our group because the guide put the personal needs of two passengers above the needs of the group as a whole.

Our guide is supposed to narrate and lead our group of 25 down the entry path and through the Siq, pointing out important geologic and cultural objects.  But there are two passengers with us, who in spite of lots of advance warning, need help just getting down the entry path—the easiest part of the journey. 

 

 I believe that everyone should have the chance for a full visit to the site, but the guide spends so much time with this couple, far behind the rest of the group, that he is nowhere near when we need him as a guide.  A young crew member from the ship is also with us and I suggest that she stay behind to help the couple, so that the guide can spend his time with the rest of us 23 passengers.  But the guide refuses that option.  The rest of us are left alone, waiting around for almost 30 minutes, cooling, or rather heating, our heels, as the day is getting warmer and there is no shade where we are waiting  About half the group, including myself, decide to go off on our own.  Our time here is limited and we would like to see as much as we can.  Fortunately I have my guidebook with me so I am able to make sense of what I see, without the help of the guide.

Let me be quite clear:  this couple should have help negotiating the path, but there are many options they could have chosen — using a hired carriage, for example, or bringing someone of their own to help them, that would not have affected the whole group—and the guide and the crew member should have directed them to this help.  At the end of the day, the climb back up the Siq is very arduous and it was very difficult for me, even using my cane.  I could never have kept up with the group, so I started out on the return a good while before the others, so that I would not hold up anyone.

Thursday, 31 October 2019
Third Day at Sea:  Halloween

There are big plans for Halloween tonight on the ms Encore. Entertainment will revolve around the annual event and everyone is encouraged to wear costumes.  I shall appear exactly as I am—that is certainly scary enough.

I am enjoying an after-breakfast cappuccino in the Seabourn Square   (the central lounge and information area on the ship).  

The morning coffee in the Colonnade, where I had French Toast for breakfast, never stays warm because the AC blasts at a very high level. Admittedly, the temperature and humidity on deck have been really unpleasant for the past few sea days, but someone needs to moderate the inside temperatures.  At least there are individual controls in each suite, so I can turn down the fan and raise the degrees when I get too uncomfortable in the cold—or I can just open the door to my veranda.

And in my imagination I can return to the more pleasant temperatures in Aqaba and Petra on . . . 

Monday , 28 October 2019
Aqaba and Petra, Jordan

Because all of today’s shore excursions leave by 7:30am, the Colonnade is open for breakfast at 6:30.  Although there are several different excursions on offer, almost everyone is going to Petra—10 buses, each with about 25 passengers, are all heading out on the same route.  It takes about two hours to drive to our destination.  The drive takes us through the central part of Aqaba, Jordan’s only water access. Both Africa (Egypt) and Asia (Iran) can be seen from the city. Many new infrastructure and beautification projects are visible, including an entirely new cruise port facility.  Even this short ride through the city reveals many historical monuments, including large fountains and statues.

As we pass the outskirts of  Aqaba, the scenery quickly changes to a desert of harsh sand and stone.  The well-paved four-lane highway (sometimes widening to six lanes on uphill stretches) is well maintained and traffic moves quickly.  There are patches of green where irrigation allows year-round planting and strings of tall modern windmills for the generation of energy.  Otherwise all is beige sand and blue skies.

We make one short stop for toilets and/or shopping about 30 minutes before reaching Petra , but the shopping looks mass produced although it is all stamped, “Made in Jordan.”  At least the signs are . . .

Arriving in Petra I find a much larger town that I expected. Homes and businesses line the hillside on both sides of the winding two-lane main road.  There are many major hotel chains (including Marriott and Mowenpick), and every other building seems to be a restaurant.  We soon join a long line of tourist buses in the parking lot and take our first steps into the cooler—some might call it “chilly”—morning air.

Before I take my readers into the historic site of Petra’s ancient ruins, I will take a break and save the excitement and many photos for the next blog.