Cruise days - Egypt: Alexandria (2 days) and day at sea

May 25, 2010

Although I expected to sleep late, I woke as Margaret was finishing her makeup. She needed to be ready to board a bus to Cairo around 7:30 and have breakfast before it. Because her trip is to be almost 12 hours long, I don't expect to see her until evening. Box lunches are to be offered to all on the trip. The area across from the ship was filled with buses. I don't think I have seen this many for any stop on any of the cruises I have experienced. I don't think more than a couple hundred people are still on the ship, at the most. Almost everyone has gone to Cairo, either for the day on a bus, or by plane to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings and stay overnight for a Nile cruise back. Everyone agrees that having seen the pyramids less than 2 years ago, probably means that I would not see too much change in them, so I am remaining in Alexandria. A day alone seems restful.

My missions today are twofold. I have an appointment in the spa for a color change on my nails, and I hope to find a pharmacy where I can purchase more of the wonder cream prescribed by the doctor in Cairo when I hurt my leg two years ago.

I leisurely began my day after I knew Margaret would be on her bus and not needing to come back in the room. So I locked the cabin and began to shower. After I was dressed in the requested long pants, long sleeved shirt and a scarf to possibly cover my head, I went to breakfast where I found maybe twenty people eating. A larger selection of breakfast was still available as they had already closed more than half of the buffet stations. I sat watching the city of Alexandria come to life as it is a work day for the Egyptians living in this large city on the northwest portion of the Nile delta.

I stopped in the medical center just after breakfast to see if they, by chance, had the muscle cream I was venturing out to purchase. Their answer was no. So I left the ship showing my passport to an Egyptian official inside the ship and to another in the customs terminal and a third time when the taxi I hired left the port area.
Hiring the taxi was not in my plans because I had been told inside the ship by a couple of employees that there was a free shuttle bus to one of the largest shopping areas in the city which would have several and perhaps many pharmacies. But the officials on the group representing the port facility said that that bus was not running today, and suggested that I rent a taxi for an hour.

Negotiating the price was interesting because prices were given in American dollars or euros, neither of which I had brought with me from the room. I had brought a a little over 200 Egyptian pounds thinking that that would been plenty. The money has remained in my travel stash since returning from the trip in 2008. The first price quoted was 200 euros, followed by 250 American dollars – all for 1 hour of service. When I explained that first I did not have any euros or dollars, only Egyptian pounds and all I planned to do was be taken to a pharmacy or perhaps one more, I was able to bring the price down to 100 Egyptian pounds (about $40 US). And I promised that if the driver was able to find me a good pharmacy quickly so it did not take the full hour, he would get the full price as agreed.

Most pharmacies were not yet open which worried me just a little as I had been told they would open at 9 am. Of course all the pharmacies in Athens which we saw after our tour of the Acropolis were closed all afternoon. Mohammed did find a pharmacy open, but they did not have HEET which is what I had been hoping to purchase. They looked in their computer database and did not find it. When I added the detail that I had been given it by a doctor in Cairo, they surmised that it was particular to that city. Certainly not like where over the counter meds are available in most ares of the United States. However, when I explained that the cream I was looking for included capsicum not Mentholatum, they found one with 25% capsicum and another of the same type with 75%. I'm hoping that one or both will provide similar relief to what I had been given in Cairo. I have a friend who may be able to keep me supplied as she does business with Cairo. That is assuming I have the same reaction to the new cream in a blue box rather than an orange and white box.

Coming back to the port, my passport was examined as we came through the main gates. All the way back, Mohammed wanted me to rent his taxi for the whole day tomorrow with 5 of my friends so we could all save money over the 'expensive' buses. He did not want to hear that I was already taking one of the bus tours tomorrow, so I finally and repeatedly told him I would talk with my friends.

Luxor and see those antiquities. I really have no interest in returning to Cairo, except we probably will since Jim has not seen the pyramids and Sphinx, and I have not seen the museum and bazaars.

That's all for now. It's almost time for my spa appointment. I'll finish today later.



My manicure was moved ahead a bit partially because I arrived early, but mostly because I was the only person in the hair salon part of the spa. I spent a lovely 30 minutes with a friendly Jamaican young woman from Ocho Rios, where the visitors climb the famous river. We talked a bit about the uproar in Kingston over the extradition of the drug load wanted by the Americans. She does not believe the riots will move out of Kingston. According to the BBC this afternoon, he has fled the country. She was very clear that she did not like 'those people' in her home country and felt they should all be killed for supporting him. According to her, his supporters 'do nothing to support themselves, only take money from the drug lord and do what he wants them to do'. This was one angry woman. It will be another 3 or 4 months before she returns to her home. She works for the spa company so can travel and works on many cruise line ships, and it will be her decision when she returns to work after her trip home.

After spending time in the spa, I walked through the area outside the spa and met a mother and daughter also on the ship for the day. They too plan to leave the ship tomorrow. We spent 90 minutes talking about their experiences, my librarianship (they have already met Louise and Doris in the spa), our families and how we grew up. We jumped from subject to subject and laughed a lot. Both love to read and the mother was complaining that she didn't seem to have time to sit down and read – she needs large print books these days. I suggested Audiobooks and Playaway, a new version of individual audiobooks that are self contained in a package like a small MP3 player which many libraries are now adding to their collections. They wanted more information than I could give, so I gave them my email and invited them to contact me with their future questions.

I visited the library as I have finished the book I brought with me – THE OTHER WES MOORE – a newly published story that I received as a publisher's proof at the MLA conference. It is the true story of two men of the same age who grew up similarly in the neighborhoods of Baltimore. The difference is one went the positive way and the other is in prison on a life sentence. The book asks the questions when were the important choices made that determined their future, and why did one answer differently than the other.

I found several books in the library, and don't think I will have enough time to finish all of them before this cruise is completed. Right now I am reading a book I learned about several years ago, and it's still on my 'to read' list. It is the story of the first half century after the landing of the Mayflower, describing a history that is quite different from that which we all learn about in elementary school. I'm already hooked and past my 50 page rule, so I'll probably be trying to finish this one before we land back at the Rome port.

The muezzin is calling the faithful to evening prayers all over the city, all mosques included so the call is quite loud. I leaned yesterday that the leader who calls to prayer usually uses his own voice, but sometimes will use a recording he has made.

As I read, my thoughts shifted to my Cypriot sister Liz. We had hoped she would join me in Alexandria for a brief face-to-face visit. That proved impossible when her sister-in-law Xenia, with whom I stayed two years ago, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year. The last I spoke with Liz, she told me that Xenia is in a special hospital as her husband could no longer take care of her, and it was believed that she did not have much longer to live. Liz told me that Xenia is a bit older than George, Liz's husband, and partially raised him, so she is like a mother to him. He is finding this process very difficult and Liz felt she could not leave him, and he did not want to come to Alexandria. I totally understand both parts of the previous sentence. I wish everyone well in Cyprus and hope they find peace.

Our cabin steward was just here to refill our ice bucket. We have not actually seen him too often, because we are gone so much of the time. He seems like a magical creature who pops in and out of our room taking care of it while we are gone, but I guess we should have expected this.

This trip diary is very different from the last one of two years ago. I remember spending lots of time comparing visits of more than a decade apart to Botswana and Cyprus. I had reference points about the cultures, the people and the development of each country. This time everything is new, and I find that I don't have as much to speak about in a philosophical way. I can say that each country I have visited during this trip has reminded me of the United States in a number of way – traffic, stores, attitude toward visitors, and general ambiance. But there certainly have been some unexpected differences – the gracious smiles of the store owners or employees when I purchased something, no matter how large or small. The willingness of the hotel owners in Rome to lend umbrellas to cope with the rain of our first two days. The cars in Italy that actually do slow at intersections when someone is crossing the street. The taxi driver and the shop owner who were very kind to me today when I was looking for something when I had no idea where it was (the pharmacy) and the special blessing given to me even though I did not have the money to buy from his shop (even the lower negotiated price) As I talked with the mother and daughter this afternoon, we agreed that it is probably the politicians in many countries that create difficulties in their own country and between countries. People almost everywhere are more alike in our needs and feeling for each other than we are different, at least from my perspective.

And, with that little bit of thinking, I'll close for today. Margaret is not back just yet, although I suspect she is heading directly to the dining room for food. She was supposed to have a box lunch today, I hope it was something that appealed to her.


May 26, 2010

Today's entry will be brief – I did not go on the excursion I had purchased because I awoke with the beginnings of a Menniere's episode and knew that if I tried to ride in a bus, I would likely progress to full blown vertigo. I took the medicines I carry with me, and knew that in a few hours I would be feeling fine. I have just returned to my cabin after an early lunch, since I did not try to make it to breakfast. The medicine makes me very sleepy as well.

What is frustrating about this situation is that there is no way to get to money spent for the missed excursion unless you visit the ship's medical facility and the doctor issues you an excused absence. However, the cost of the medical consultation where the doctor would do nothing since I had already taken my medicine and was beginning to feel better, was almost 2.5 times the lost cost of the excursion. It seems to me that the doctor's excuse should not be that expensive.

So after lunch, and just before I started writing this entry, I stopped at guest relations to see if an official letter from my doctor describing my occasional condition would have helped. Guess what? As I expected, there is no trust in the company, probably because too many people would take advantage of the opportunity to just not show up for the excursions they had paid for in advance, and would expect refunds. It's a bummer of a policy, but there certainly could have been worse things that might have made me miss the tour.

I asked Margaret to watch for a book that might have photos and explanations of all we were to have seen. Today I was to have visited Mansheya square where there is a large statue of Mohammed Ali the founder of modern Egypt and the tomb of the unknown soldier. We were to have been at the catacombs of Kom el Shoqfo from the 2nd Century AD, which are dank and musty after a trip down a winding staircase of over 100 steps. I don't think I would have enjoyed that part of my tour, although Margaret said it was interesting. Next would have been the Qait Bey fort, the former location of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, and the mosque of Abu el Abbas. We were to have visited the Montaza Gardens on the grounds of the summer palace of one of the former kings of Egypt. Finally, and most important to all librarians on the trip, was the Bibliotheca Alexandria, a new library built on the location of the famous library of Alexander the Great, and housing Papyrus scrolls and other antiquities. We were to have a guided tour through this library. The original one is under the Mediterranean Sea off the coast. I learned that there are over 2000 computers for public use in this modern library, and will definitely want to see it should I return to Alexandria.

So, I will look for photos in the public domain to show you what I will see the next time I come to Egypt and Alexandria.

Tomorrow is another day at sea as we head for Sicily and Mt. Etna.


May 27, 2010

Today is the middle of a long trip across the Mediterranean from Alexandria to Messina, Sicily. We will not arrive in port until 2 pm tomorrow afternoon. The night and much of the day has been rougher than the rest of our sailing time. I slept almost 12 hours after the Menniere's episode yesterday, and got up to breakfast after most of my friends had already gone or were still sleeping late. We have been busy and are all becoming weary.

After a quick breakfast in the dining room with Margaret, Lucy, and 4 others whose names I know but can not yet quickly tell apart, I went up to the highest level inside the ship to read. It provides a wonderful view from the front of the ship and was very quiet for a couple of hours, at least until the bar opened.

I am reading a really interesting book I found in the library, having completed the other book MAYFLOWER. The new book is written by a woman who is an avalanche specialist with her husband in Alaska. The harrowing stories she tells and the information she provides is written so anyone could understand a fairly complicated semi-science. She keeps saying that no matter what the experts think will happen in an avalanche area, it probably won't be as expected. Some rescue stories have happy endings, many do not. I want to finish the book so I can return it before we leave the ship.

I also realized that I had not been in the on-board shops, so I spent some time in them this afternoon, purchasing only an ornament of the ship for our Christmas tree the next time we actually put one up. We haven't been to see Jim's dad at Christmas in a while, so I'm thinking we may be in Kansas this year.

Then it was time for the ice show as this ship has an ice rink about 1/3 the size of most rinks used for shows – maybe even smaller. The show highlighted ICE DANCING of all types with all sorts of music, costumes and good skaters. I took out my hearing aid as as most of the shows are too loud for me to stay for the entire show. (In fact, I have not attended any of the large productions that are a hallmark of most cruises.) Even without my hearing aid, I still needed to put fingers in my ears for a couple of the acts, and realized I should have taken earplugs. For the size of the ice rink, which can be used by passengers at specific times, the show was amazingly professional. Margaret was sitting almost directly across the rink from me but did not see me waving to her. A number of our group did not make this performance – there was another while we were eating dinner, and the final show will be on Saturday as we sail from Sicily back to our Roman port.

Tonight was our 3rd and final formal night. Jim would have been happy as one of the men was in a black tux, one was in a suit and tie and one was in a new tee shirt. Jim might have come to dinner in the dining room, or we both would have been up in the Windjammer buffet.

I decided to come back to the room to write today's entry before finishing my book and then perhaps going down to the casino for a while. Margaret watched me play $5 in a machine which gave me $50 this afternoon. I won immediately and almost doubled my money. I explained that if Jim had been with me, he would have wanted me to cash out and take my winnings. Of course, that is not what I did, and as I lost my last cents, Margaret said “I still don't understand what you just did.”

Soon we will be starting to pack our bags and get ready for this wonderful trip to end. I look forward to rereading these entries – adding more details and photos to make the story more complete.