December 2005

Sharm El Sheik

Sharm, as it's known, was not one of the more "sharming" places we've been. It's the centre for the enormous diving tourism business of the southern Sinai Peninsula. The hundreds of diving day boats moored in the harbour start leaving at dawn, and continue to move in and out throughout the day until sunset or later. The rally boats were tied up to a high cement quay, part of the commercial harbour, and we bounced around in the resulting wash. We were right next to an island ferry that had its generators going 24 hours a day, and its wash provided some extra surge too. Water was available through a series of poorly connected hoses, one boat at a time, at $6 per ton (cheap, but intermittent). Electricity was available, at $10 per day (expensive, and had to be hard wired to power posts!). AND we paid $20 per night to stay there! For what, we asked.

On the positive side, on the way over from S. Qeisum, we caught a 1-meter mahi-mahi (sometimes known as dolphin-fish), as well as 3 tuna, so when we arrived, Garry did the honours on the BBQ, and everyone enjoyed the grub. We were greeted by a group of dancers the day after we arrived, and the governor (mayor) of the town presented us all with maps and information on the area. We also organized a singing afternoon when the VdG singers (again aboard TT) alternated with some of the local dancers.

11 04 01 Mahi mahi before
11 04 02 Mahi mahi after
11 04 03b Welcome dancers
11 04 04b Receiving our gifts from the governor
11 04 04c The group in Sharm
11 04 05a VdG Singers with Ann advertising the flag

And best of all, we discovered a small café that served a latte and a chocolate croissant that were to die for. So it wasn’t all bad. It was necessary stop on the way to Aqaba, as it was the base for our tour of the Sinai Peninsula. As well, it gave us a chance to do a bit of re-provisioning.

12 01 02 St Katherines Monastery
12 01 03 Many chandeliers decorate the inside of the old church itself
12 01 04 Garry & Ann, to prove we’ve been there

Passage up the Gulf of Aqaba

We left the harbour of Sharm at 0630 on December 5, with little wind and calm seas. By the time we had sailed the 20 miles to Tiran Island and the Straits of Tiran, the wind was blowing 20 knots right on the nose. As we transited the Straits, the wind accelerated to 25-30 knots on the nose and we had seas of 2-3 metres against us, fortunately not yet breaking. On the other side of the Straits the winds remained at 25-30 knots and the seas were now 2-4 metres and breaking. We pounded into this for 27 miles and several hours before reaching a safe anchorage at Dahab. All in all, our most unpleasant passage to date, and on a day that was forecast to be light winds from behind us. So much for forecasts! We were forced to remain at anchor in Dahab from our arrival through to the evening of the 7th. We left then in winds that had dropped to 18-20 knots and seas that had moderated to a metre and a half. Our trip from Dahab to Aqaba was not pleasant but nothing like the bit from Sharm to Dahab. After a 14-hour slog, we arrived in Tala Bay to a warm welcome from the marina staff.

Tala Bay Marina, Aqaba, Jordan

We were guests of the brand new Tala Bay Marina which is just a short bus ride south of Aqaba City proper. This architecturally exciting complex of condominiums, hotels and shops is designed around a small but very up scale marina and a soon to be built golf course. The Tala Bay people graciously waived the moorage fees for our entire stay in return for our presence at their press conference for the official opening of the complex, and for our agreement to sail in front of the marina on a designated day so that they could have a photographer take some footage for publicity.

We were also invited to a reception hosted by the Dutch Ambassador to Jordan. Held on one of the rooftop patios in the Tala Bay development, it was a first class event in every way. The Ambassador was a terrific guy who welcomed us warmly. Also in attendance was the Dutch Ambassador to Iraq who had some very interesting things to say about that situation.

12 04 01a Tala Bay from above
12 04 01b Tala Bay aerial
12 04 02a Pool Bar
12 04 02b View from the pool
12 04 04b Tala Bay from quay
12 04 04c Tala Bay at night
12 04 05a Ann and Garry at reception
12 04 05b Lady Coppelia crew
12 04 05e Gertrude Mistral and margreet Thalassa
12 04 05h Singers at reception
12 04 05i Kekeni crew at reception
12 04 06 TT heading out for demo sail
12 04 06c TT actually under sail
12 02 01a Ann with our jeep
12 02 01b Our jeep drivers
12 02 02a Ann at base of typical Wadi Rum crevasse
12 02 02b Typical Bedouin man with ancient instrument
12 02 03 Ann with group at base of Lawrence home
12 02 06 Ann and Garry dipping hands in the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea was not a highlight of the trip – it was bordered (on the Jordan side, anyway) by only a few “beaches”, and the public one where we stopped was a pig-sty. Some of the group actually swam in it, but we only dipped a hand in, just to say we did it.

Petra is a totally different experience. It is a huge site and, even though we spent two days there, we only scratched the surface of this fantastic place.

Words really cannot do justice to the magnificence that is Petra. It is justifiably considered by some archaeologists to be the 'eighth wonder of the ancient world'. Unique in every respect, it offers something special to historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists, architects and naturalists. But even the ordinary tourist can appreciate Petra – all it takes is time to walk the site, to read about its history, and to marvel at what these ancient peoples created.

This remote dead city is one of the great archaeological treasures in the world; it is certainly the most important attraction in Jordan. Its appeal comes from the site itself, which is filled with steep rocky slopes, towering craggy mountain tops and cliffs, and multicoloured sandstone caves. The beauty of the city is in the magnificent facades, especially the Treasury and the Monastery, and the tombs, be they the intricately carved “first class” tombs, the beautiful, though less imposing “second class” tombs, or the more modest caves that served as tombs for working class citizens. All of these are carved into the mountain sides – this is what makes it so different from many of the other ancient sites that we’ve seen.

The residents of Petra were the Nabataeans, ancient Arab tribes who originally came from the Arabian Penninsula more than 2200 years ago to settle in southern Jordan. Petra was an active and prosperous city until it was eventually abandoned sometime before the 14th century. It was rediscovered in 1812 by a Swiss traveller, Johann Burckhardt.

There is lots of information around about Petra, so check the internet for all the details you might wish to see!

12 03 01 Siq – the huge crevasse about 1 km long – to get to the city of Petra
12 03 02 The Treasury Building
12 03 03 Ann sitting on base of old colonnade
12 03 04 Donkeys waiting for passengers to climb to Monastery
12 03 05 Monastery
12 03 06 Our group at Tea House near Monastery
12 03 07 One of thousands of natural rock caves – all colours natural
12 03 08 Garry resting above Monastery
12 03 10 Ann thinking, Garry in new galabea
12 03 13 Garry at fancy hotel bar for first beer in months

Eilat, Israel

Eilat sits at the very foot of Israel, a pointed foot nestled between Egypt and Jordan. It is a tourist destination for Israelis, and has particular appeal as it is a tax-free zone. With an 18% VAT in the rest of the country, this is significant.

We arrived in Eilat on December 18, after an “interesting” entry into the country. Checking in was more complicated and time-consuming than for any other country, perhaps excepting Egypt. It’s the only country where we’ve had to go, with the boat, to a special entry port to check in before going to the marina.

Israel itself is as much a state of mind as it is a country. It is easy to feel the not so subtle pressures that the Israelis feel everyday living, as they do, surrounded by countries who would prefer that they would just go away. It's certainly different from anything we have encountered so far.

Christmas, 2005

We knew Christmas would be different this year, being in Israel. We didn’t understand how different!

With two other couples from the Netherlands, we traveled on December 23 to a desert camp on the site of the ancient city of Tamar, some 3000 years old. It is believed that both King Solomon and Moses lived there at some time. The camp and the site are supported by an organization from the US who put together groups of Christians to travel to Israel for one or two weeks to study the Old Testament with interested Jews. It's sort of a "let's get together and see what we have in common" kind of thing. It is staffed by volunteers led by the kind and gentle Asher from Israel, and with Neil and Diane (the cook) from the US, as well as Ruth and Rosemarie. Asher lives there full time and the others for 7 to 9 months. There was also a group of four young people who were there as volunteers for a shorter period of time. The facilities are very basic--very old portable buildings with 3 beds to a room at either end with a common washroom in between. Meals are cooked by the volunteers, served cafeteria style, and taken together with guests and staff in a common dining room. The volunteers do all the clean up.

In December, there were no tours so we had the place to ourselves along with the “residents”. The six of us arrived on the 23rd and another Dutch couple from the Rally joined us on the 24th. The desert setting was wonderful with lush irrigated farms in a semi arid environment and some pleasant hiking up a sandstone hill from which we could see for miles all around. While we were at the top we could see the beginnings of a sandstorm, which by the time we returned to camp, was full blown. Fortunately, it lasted only a couple of hours.

Nearby, there was ... a crocodile farm! We stopped in for a short visit and it was rather startling to see two irrigated ponds in the middle of the desert. One of them was stocked with over a hundred full size (3-4.5 metres) crocodiles; the other with nearly 300 young crocs ranging in size from half a metre to a metre and an a half. One man ran all of this on his own. We never got a straight answer as to what happened to the surplus crocs.

On our first night at the camp, some of the staff asked us where we were from and what we used to do before we started cruising. And, as usually happens, we asked them the same thing. One of the staff, a woman in her mid 70's, asked us if we knew the story of The Sound of Music. When we said of course, she told us that it was the story of her life. Indeed, her name was Rosemarie von Trapp and she was one the von Trapp singers. She was 8 years old when they escaped from Austria. All of this resulted in a unique experience for us.... when we all sang Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, Ann accompanied us on the piano, and Rosemarie accompanied us on the guitar and sang as well. Later, we sang Do-re-mi and Edelweiss with her. Magic!!

On Christmas day, we traveled a short distance to Jerusalem for the day. However, the weather was uncooperative with rain and some hail for most of the day so we really only had a bus tour of the city. Nevertheless, we were there on Christmas Day. When we returned to Tamar around 8 pm, the staff had delayed dinner for our arrival, having prepared a lovely roast chicken dinner. As it was also the eve of Hanukah, we were treated to a brief description of the meaning of this major Jewish celebration and witnessed the lighting of the first of the Hanukah candles before sitting down to dinner.

On Boxing Day, we returned to Eilat where all Rally participants took part in a happy hour with potluck hors d'oeuvres and carol singing on the quay behind the boats. A great event!

12 06 01 Our home for Christmas at Tamar Park
12 06 02 The communal outdoor “living room” where we had drinks in the evening
12 06 03 Garry under a limb of a thousand year old tree in Tamar Park
12 06 04 Garry with Carla (Odulphus), Andre (Panta Rhei), Peter (Odul.), Ria (P.R.)
12 06 05a Crocodile farm – the parents
12 06 05b Crocodile farm – the babies
12 06 06 Sandstorm approaching Tamar Park
12 06 07 Dozens of switchbacks to climb a local historical site
12 06 08 Christmas Eve Singing, Rosemarie von Trapp on guitar at left
12 06 09 Common sight in Israel – many kids in the army, carrying guns everywhere
12 06 10 Asher lighting Hanukah candles at our multi-religion Christmas dinner
12 06 11 The whole group of us who spent Christmas at Tamar Park

New Year’s Eve

We celebrated New Year’s with a largish group of Dutch friends, aboard Odulphus, the boat of Peter and Carla. It was relatively quiet, but there was lots of wine, good food, and a great celebration all round.

12 07 01 Ann and Garry celebrate New Year’s on Odulphus