Thanks so much Anne for your wonderful reports. I always miss my LCT buddies after these great trips - but planning new trips helps me cope - safe trip home! Joanna

Before I forget, here is the recap of our private overnight in the Red Sea beach area near Safaga. Joanna, we miss you too!

Cleo awoke at daybreak. She glided out of bed and onto the balcony. Her ship slid smoothly past the port buoy into the harbor at Safaga. Cleo headed down to wish the other CAMELites well on their journey to Luxor. Ah, it was shaping up to be a grand adventure.

We joined Ken, Ngaire, Linda and Ron at the gangway. In case you were wondering whatever happened to those American Motors quirky concept car types from the 1960’s, they are the taxis used in Egypt today. A lone taxi driver offered to take us to the port gate (about ½ mile) for the low, low price of $30. We were dubious about how six of us with overnight bags were going to squeeze into the chariot. Ken artfully negotiated for the free shuttle into Safaga to drop us at the port gate instead. A stream of invectives came from the taxi driver, who saw his $30 windfall go by the wayside.

We met our drivers just outside the gate, standing near two sleek black Mercedes sedans. The ladies opted into Mr. Said’s car while the men rode with Mr. Nasr. We cruised south, riding on a new highway. Ah .. but this is Egypt. One knows this will not be a smooth ride for very long.

The fun began when red and blue gates marked ‘RED SEA’ were dragged across the highway. Mr. Said was having none of it. He drove right up to the gate and tried to plow his way through. Following much discussion and wild gestures, he determined there was no information as to why the road was closed, but he could not get the gates moved to pass by, either. Meanwhile, we watched Mr. Nasr smoothly swing the other car around into the alternate road and take off. By now, the cars blocked by Mr. Said were fuming. The horn cacophony was deafening. No matter .. Mr. Said budged through the mess and got behind a big tour bus. So far so good.

Suddenly, Mr. Said slowed the car and indicated he needed to wait for Mr. Nasr. Cleo quickly pointed to Mr. Nasr’s car that was disappearing into the distance ahead of us. Aha! Off we went again. Next thing we hear is the theme from ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’. Yep, it’s the cell phone ring tone. Of course – it’s Mr. Nasr! In the midst of Arabic, we hear the phrase ‘Madam Bus’. Cleo? A Madam? Good heavens, boys, this is the Queen of De Nile and her close friends. Harrumph.

But we are not done. Mr. Said arrives at the cutoff just in time to greet the police cruiser. Once again, we are turned back. We see oncoming headlights and realize we are heading south in the northbound lane of the new highway. It appears no one has told the northbound traffic there are southbound cars. Someone is trying to pass and suddenly the large tour bus is closing in on him. Eeek!

We finally pass the accident scene, a tractor trailer lying on its side like a wounded buffalo. We rejoin the convoy with Mr. Nasr and arrive in the Hurgata area in about 20 minutes’ time.

No one mentioned to the good citizens of Hurgata there’s a global recession underway. Buildings are going up everywhere and work crews were no where to be seen. Ah .. the Egyptian construction company “Built by Magic” must have gotten the contracts. All kinds of Arabian domes and names line the roadway, luring travelers with promises of luxuries more brilliant and unlike any other. The only thing missing is customers. It turned out the government, who provided or sold land to speculators several years earlier, is unhappy with the lack of development. The solution was ‘use it or lose it’. Those with the land are building furiously and opening for business at a record pace. My guess? Bankruptcies will abound in short order.

As we slipped out of our chariots at the Oberoi, Mr. Said and Mr. Nasr assured us they were at our beck and call, day or night. They lived only 5 minutes from the hotel and would be there before we could get to the main entrance. We entered a large reception area with golden domes, cream and beige painted walls with the eight-sided star and lovely light fixtures to set off the gorgeous ceilings.

We were received by the assistant general manager with cool towels, date milk and repeated requests to extend our stay. We are invited to a reception by the general manager that evening and advised a special barbeque is on offer for dinner. We overlook the pool area, well populated by Western European families. It is quite windy as we step out onto the jetty to survey the snorkeling possibilities. The red sea is a mixture of brilliant tones and shades of turquoise, sandy white, blue and purple waters. The jetty is the place to slip in for snorkeling, and the jellyfish are plentiful. The water rippled in concentric rings around the rocks .. I’ve not seen this anywhere else in my travels.

We settled in for a long lunch, joined by another couple from the ship who were on a day tour of the area. Cleo was totally serene following a huge plate of lasagna and ready to let the litter bearers carry her to her room. The lovely Egyptian waiters, pool attendants and chariot drivers continued to make Cleo feel welcome as only the Egyptians can. The rooms are all on one level, two-room suites with private outdoor dining and sunning areas. We soon realized the effect of sun and wind was that of Ambien .. we fell sound asleep for an hour, then settled outside for some more fresh air. The pool was really chilly so swim time was limited.

We joined up with Ngaire, Ken, Ron and Linda for the cocktail reception. It was a lovely party at the pool deck, complete with violinist. We visited with a few other guests, had dinner and once again fell under the spell of relaxation for a long night’s sleep.

After breakfast, we decided to head back early to see a little of Safaga. We worked out it would be far better to have the cars drop us at the Holiday Inn in Safaga, where we could transfer to the free shuttle bus and avoid the hub bub at the port gate. The shuttle arrived shortly after we got there, and we bid our drivers a fond farewell. There was little to see or do, so we opted not to return to Safaga for more shopping. We saw Don and Cynthia, who had enjoyed some snorkeling from the beach at the Holiday Inn early in the morning. Time for lunch (of course) and then back to life onboard. Pooch and Trivia were on. Our Luxor companions returned around 5 pm, happy with their visit to Cleo’s stomping grounds.

Anne: I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, you are absolutely BRILLIANT! Lee

Photos from PETRA, JORDAN:


POOCH & TRIVIA Players.


The two Princes of Jordan, note the one on the right has a British mother.




Olivia with the Treasury in the Background.


Don & Michele with interesting colors in the rock.


Linda & Ngaire.

The Royal Tombs.

Suzie & Suzanne with matching dresses.


Deck Bar-B-Que on Arabian Night.

Great pics. I can't wait to catch up on all the blogs.

Love the photos, Ken. Suzanne doing her best Norma Desmond!! Great Petra shots. Can't wait to see in person.

Beth, just wait til you see what Suzanne has in her camera from last night! More like one of those young Olympic gymnasts and Fred was her "spotter"/dance partner! Hope she sends it pronto to Karen to post, as her hair was hitting the floor! I wasn't there to witness, unfortunately, but saw it today at our three hour lunch on the pool deck (no lectures, no loss) that started with Pat taking videos from the jogging track of the "girl talk" going on below!

Ken, the photos are fantastic, as usual. I could kick myself for not going to Petra when I toured Egypt. Everyone looking great. I hate to see your Arabian adventures come to an end. Hope everyone gets home - with luggage - safely!

I've just updated our blog to include Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt and the transit through the Suez Canal. We just finished our last Pooch tournament and then played Trivia. Now most of us are getting ready for our last dinner. It's great having a sea day at the end of the cruise so you can pack leisurely.

It has cooled down considerably now that we've moved north in the Mediterranean. It's 6:00 PM and 67 degrees outside. We just passed Crete. We'll be lucky if we hit 70 degrees this week in Santorini, which will seem pretty cool after this itinerary.

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Eugene and Gail

Thanks for sharing the incredible Petra photos. I went there in 1996 and it was the most spectacular place I have ever been to.

Nancy

REALLY appreciate all your reports and photos; can't believe it's almost over!

Safe travels, all.

We're among the last of the CAMELites leaving the ship. We had a lovely farewell dinner with Olivia, Suzie, Suzanne and Marilyn. Early evening for us and then a late wake up this morning.

We are off to the airport shortly for a short flight and overnight in Vienna. On to Chicago tomorrow and then home on May 8.

It's been grand. Thanks for traveling along with us.

Cheers, Anne

Sitting here cooling my heals in the Lufthansa first/biz lounge waiting for my flight to Munich and on the SF. Bid Olivia farewell as she headed to her lounge and Ngaire and Ken walked me to the door here.

Ngaire with her awesome taxi karma has found the inbound ride for all you B2B'ers arriving later this month. He was able to skirt the traffic this morning saving our two caravaning cabs an hour.

This has been a fabulous cruise. What a stellar itinerary and the people weren't bad either :) .

I left the ship very impressed with the staff and made some grumbling noises on my comment card about the food. Also,this has been the first time I have ever had staff actively campaigning to have you say something positive about them.

I happily ;) ended up with 6 shower caps by the final night. Two hubbies donated their suite's extra to me and then my attendents left me my ration for the entire cruise on night 14. I also noticed I had 4 Miller Lights lined up for my final night.Hmmmm, I don't drink beer. Whatever...

Apparently one or more of the Silversea transfer busses have arrived as this tiny lounge is starting to fill up. We beat them by a good 90 minutes.

Save travels to my cruise buddies enroute home and may those staying on in Greece toss a couple of plates for me!

Sorry your cruise has come to an end. I will miss your wonderful reports. I'm glad it was so much fun!

Hope you all have safe trips home, and thanks so very much for the SeaMail!

Safe travels home. I'll miss the CAMEL sea mail, Ken's photos, Eugene's blog and the rest of the fun. Thanks for taking us along. Arrive home safely.

I will echo Donna and thank all of you who reported privately and publicly for taking us along on this trip. How we wanted to go, but just couldn't get away. Your reports helped in part. Glad it was wonderful for you. Safe travels home.

Have LOVED all your reports and the wonderful pictures! This trip flew by too fast.....safe travels home to all! Thanks so much for taking us with you!

Safe travels home everyone, and thanks very much for the great sea mail and photos. They are most appreciated!

Dena

Welcome home CAMELites - it certainly has been one amazing journey. Thanks for including those of us at home in your luggage.

Eugene just read your blog. I had trouble downloading it on the ship. Wonderful report on the trip and some of your pictures were really fantastic. Appreciate all the work you put into that.

A quick note to say that Don & I am surviving our post trip touring Greece, thanks to Ngaire, Linda, & the ship's doctor's good meds. From Piraeus, to Kalambaka (Meteora), Delphi, Olympia, Corinth & now in Athens (for several more days), we have been on the fast track for an 8 day post trip.

We really loved the ship's itinerary & smooth sailing. What an adventure!! We vote for Petra as our favorite; however, there were just so many unusual places. Glad to have been able to experience this trip of a lifetime.

Michele, glad to hear that you and Don are enjoying your post trip. Not sure what happened to you but hope you (or could it be Don?) are on the mend. What a trip. I'm envious. Ok, let's face it, I'm pea green with envy wishing I could have been there.

Just catching up with all the posts, photos and Eugene's terrific blog! Thanks to all for all the great reports!