Travels with Pat

     Whenever Kathy and I go South of the Border and the drinking water may be a problem, we use bottled water.  In Santiago our hotel was charging $7.00 US per bottle; however, a scouting trip around our hotel on the cobblestone sidewalks revealed a grocery store where the water was only 7 pesos (480 pesos = $1.00).
     We were fortunate to see the changing of the guard for the carabineros (policemen) in front of the Presidential Palace – complete with horses and a band concert on our city tour.

     After we docked at Sharm el Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula, I remembered that my youngest son, Fred, was stationed here in the mid eighties when he served with the International Peacekeeping troops.
     While I stayed on board the ship, Kathy went with part of our group to visit St. Catherine’s Monastery – the very place where 2 women were held hostage this past week.  She was very impressed with their collection of religious icons.
     Those who continued on to climb Mt. Sinai (10 mile round trip) rode on camels until they reached the 750 steps (boulders) to the top – the place where Moses is reported to have heard the voice of Yahweh coming from the bramble and was given the 10 commandments.
     Of course, Kathy reached the top and reported that it was a truly spiritual experience.  The thing that dismayed her was the amount of trash along the path.
     Because of the escalating protesting and rioting across Egypt and especially in Cairo, our tour company decided to send the ship back to Aqaba, Jordan, and arranged for us to fly home from Amman via Paris.

      After docking at the port of Aqaba, which is located on the northern tip of the Red Sea, we drove inland to discover the necropolis of Petra, a World Heritage Site.  When we arrived at Petra,  Ashraf, our guide, decided that I and another traveler needed to ride in a horse and buggy cart to the restaurant situated 3 miles away.  Even though most of the pathway was paved, there were large areas of uneven pavement which would have been a challenge for me to transverse.
     As our springless buggy jounced down the pathway past pedestrians, I marveled at the natural sandstone formations (parrot, fish and elephant) plus the many intricately carved tomb facades:  the Treasury(most famous), Nubidian silk tomb and Palace Tomb. Our buggy driver said that his Bedouin family used  to live in some of the caves before the government built several Bedouin villages.
     On our way back after lunch, we had a stellar view of the Monastery and Garden Temple carvings situated up high.  Kathy climbed up there as she hiked back to the bus.
      When we returned from our memorable trip, the ship’s staff greeted us with warm washcloths and iced tea. 
    
      
    

     After boarding our ship, the Arethusa, in the upscale seaport town of Hurghada on the Red Sea, we spent the night in port.  Following a city tour in the morning, we set sail for Aqaba which is located at the northern tip of the Red Sea – named after several factors: underwater reeds; 120,000 varieties of red coral and the reflection of sunset on the water.
     Excellent scuba diving makes Aqaba a very desirable tourism destination.  Buildings are limited to only 4 floors because of earthquake possibility.
     It’s a whole new sensation to be awakened at 5 in the morning by the Muslim “Call to Prayers” broadcast over a loud speaker in the port.

     Besides seeing the Great Pyramid from our hotel and visiting the Sphinx and St. Sergius Church reputed to be built on the spot where the Holy Family rested at the end of their journey into Egypt, we had several other adventures in Cairo.
     One night our guide suggested a restaurant “within walking distance” of our hotel.  What he failed to mention was the non-stop traffic and  the high curbs which are a challenge for me.  After dinner a security guard walked with us, helped me at the curbs and put his hand up to stop the cars.
     I think that home hosted visits are always educational and our dinner at a home in 6th of October  was particularly meaningful – not only because of the authentic Egyptian cuisine but also because of the family’s genuine hospitality.
     On the 25th of January, I was sitting outside the Egyptian Museum (Paul and I visited it in 1988) when I heard chanting in the street.  Suddenly MANY police appeared, and when our bus was heading toward the airport via an elevated freeway, we saw huge crowds of people below heading toward Tahir Square where they joined others in staging a protest over the high prices imposed on food and gas by the government.
     Only later we learned that the crowds we saw were the beginning of the “Arab Spring.”
     

     An auspicious beginning to this adventure began in Chico when all flights to San Francisco were canceled because of fog.  Since my plane for Egypt left the following morning, I rented a cab and flew from Redding which wasn’t fogged in.  
     After staying overnight at the Cairo, Egypt airport, we took the train to Alexandria where a bus picked us up and took us for a mini city tour (including the site of the Lighthouse which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) before we checked into our hotel on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
     Before we visited El Alamein, the site of one of the turning points in WWII, we stopped for a tour of the very modern Alexandria Biblioteca (library) designed by a Norwegian architect.   On our way back to Cairo we had armed guards in front and in back of the bus as we crossed the desert.

     After my son, Stephen, and his two children, Tressa and Jeremy, escorted Kathy and me to
the Outer Banks of NC which are preserving the sand dunes and grasses, I was able to add another National Park to my life list.
     In order to get the day off from school, Jeremy told his teacher that his “old” Grandma was visiting.  Of course, I protested vociferously, so later he rephrased his comment to “smart” Grandma.
     When we lived in Mobile, AL, all of our family were frequent visitors to Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island; however, the dunes that we climbed and my late husband, Paul, depicted in his prints were leveled to accommodate condominiums and motels.
     During our walk on the beach, we collected shells and driftwood, waded in the Atlantic Ocean and observed a variety of sea birds – pelicans, sanderlings and gulls.
     Our final destination was the Cape Hatteras Light House, the tallest (210 feet) in North America.

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     After our cruise we flew from Boston to Chesapeake, VA to visit Stephen, one of my sons (I have nine children ) and his family. 
     On Monday Stephen drove us up to visit Colonial Williamsburg, the nation’s oldest and largest living history museum dedicated to preserving America’s revolutionary ideas through its community of the 1770’s – the years in which the colony took its first steps toward becoming a new nation.
     After our first stop at a representative plantation, we walked down Gloucester Street and passed the Governor’s Palace and garden, an Episcopal Church and graveyard which indicated that the average age of death was around 50 years old, several taverns and the Post Office; however, the highlight for me was a street re-enactment including Patrick Henry’s response to the Declaration of Independence, a slave woman’s reaction to freedom which didn’t include her or her children and culminated with an appearance of Martha Washington in a horse drawn carriage.
     What a great way to remember our historic roots.

     Even though our cruise officially ended in Boston, there was adequate time to take a tour of the city before our plane left.  In addition to telling us that the 3 main industries of Boston are tourism, technology and movies, our guide pointed out many historic sites including the location of the Boston Tea Party, a statue of Paul Revere and the famous church steeple where 2 lanterns were hung to indicate that the British were coming by sea.
     Truth is always stranger than fiction. Our guide said that it took a crew of many men 24 hours a day, 6 days a week for 40 years to fill in the Charles Bay in order to provide land for new immigrants – mainly from Ireland.  The second bit of trivia happened in 1912 when the Molasses Factory had a HUGE explosion sending a wall of molasses 13 feet high down hill killing many people and horses.

     Started the day by remembering that Mark, my oldest child is 60 years old.  How can that be since I only feel 60 myself”  The reality is that I’m 82 – still a theatre devotee and travel enthusiast who enjoys sharing my adventures.
     Before we could disembark from the ship into the tenders, we had to go through an on board U.S. immigration which involved a lot of waiting.  Strong deck hands helped me down the steep ladder and into the waiting skiff.  At the dock other sturdy seamen helped me onto dry land and Kathy and I walked to our waiting bus for the “Panoramic Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park Tour.”
     Our guide told us that several artists from the Hudson River Valley School of Painting impelled some of the wealthy art patrons to come and see for themselves the stunning landscapes which they had painted.  Bar Harbor changed from a sleepy fishing village into a playground for the very rich including the Astors, Carnegies, Rockeffellers. Vanderbilts, etc.
     The good news is that several of the “elite” created a public land trust which led to the establishment of a National Park in 1916.  We were VERY fortunate to have sunny weather for our ride through the park.  Kathy walked around the trail circling the top of Mt. Cadillac which is the highest  mountain on the East Coast (1500 ft. elev).
     The visit to Acadia almost completes one of my life goals to visit all the National Parks in the U.S.