Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Final Thoughts--May 25, 2010
We agreed that we should summarize our final thoughts about going around the world. We also need to ask any of you who are reading this blog to comment on our trip because our travel agent has asked us to speak to the agency's clients about the world cruise. What should we tell them?
Whenever friends and family members asked us what the trip was like, we told them that we should look in a thesaurus for all the synonyms for fantastic, wonderful, unbelievable, incredible and any other superlative that means fabulous. We would highly recommend the trip to anyone. Now, if you think that you are not destined to take a trip such as this, you should know about a man that we met early on the trip. He said that several years before he had received a brochure from Princess Cruises outlining their exotic voyages, which he promptly threw in the wastepaper basket because these trips were not for him and his wife. At 3 a.m. the next morning, he woke up realizing that these were vacations that they should take and redeemed the brochure from the trash. They went to China on a Princess cruise and then took every other trip listed in the brochure, culminating with the 2010 world cruise. Maybe you are more like him and his wife than you know.
A trip such as this was a great leveler of people. No one cared what your profession was now or before you retired. No one cared how big your bank account was, and they only commiserated with you on how much your stock accounts had plummeted. We were sure that some of our fellow travelers would be considered very wealthy but many were similar to people in your own social circles.
This trip was really something for Sara who never flew in an airplane until she was 20, never ventured off the North American continent until she was in her early 30s on her honeymoon and never traveled to Europe until she was in her 40s on a business trip. Ken had spent a semester abroad in college in London. One of Sara's most memorable trips when she was young was when her parents took her friend Peggy and her on a bus trip to the New York's World Fair in 1964. Her favorite ride was It's a Small World and that was one of the major lessons that we learned on this trip.
Wherever we went, it seemed that people were concerned about the same things. They wanted to live a good life, and they wanted their children to live a good life. They loved their children, their parents, their family members and their friends and wanted the best for them. That was even true in the ancient civilizations, and the lost cities of Petra and Pompeii. Maybe those people did not have the technological advances that we enjoy today but their lives were more similar to ours than they were different.
We also were concerned about the Ugly American image about which we had always heard. Would we be considered Ugly Americans? Judith, the speaker on the Pacific Princess whose expertise was the Middle East, taught us some valuable lessons about this, which proved to be true in the countries that we visited and were helpful in understanding who Americans are in the world and why. People in other countries did not hate us, but rather they envied us and looked to the United States for leadership. They were heartbroken that we had not lived up to our potential. In the United States, every person counted. In most other countries, human dignity was reserved for only the ruling class. While there were the elite, everyone else was desperately poor. In the United States, we have, or had, a large middle class that could make a difference. We need to use this advantage that every individual counts more in our place in the world.
As Americans, we had been warm and welcoming to individual visitors from other countries but we really did not like foreigners in general. We wanted everyone to be just like us. We do not have a choice about living in a multi-integrated world so we have to be open to a globalized culture. What we must do is accept their cultures, even if we do not approve or like them. It is in the best interest of ourselves and our country that we try to understand different ways of life.
In many countries, we saw overwhelming signs of poverty but we needed to see over them. In Rabaul, Papau New Guinea, the citizens were still recovering from the effects of the volcano eruption in 1994. We were told that the volcano only stopped spitting ash in December of last year. Until then, the residents walked around with ash all over their clothing. The people were not demanding, and their needs were simple. They did not know or seem to want what they did not have. In Mumbia, India, we saw some of the poorest people in the world in the largest slum in Asia who lived their entire lives in an assigned caste system based largely on the decisions and actions these people made in their past lives. Yet industries existed there, and the slum was one of the most productive areas in the city. The people we encountered in these places seemed genuinely happy.
In the People's Republic of China, we were amazed how our tour guides referred to the Government as almost a third parent, on an equal ranking of importance to their lives as their father and mother. While we would much rather live in a democracy, or even a monarchy, than in a communist country, our guides and the people that we met there seemed to be very content.
Seeing how women were treated in the Middle Eastern countries that practiced Islam was the disturbing. We were upset when we saw women who had their faces covered because we thought that those coverings dismissed them as human beings. However, we were assured by women tour guides in the Middle East that females could do anything and everything. We did not really know if the women were happy because we were never given the opportunity to speak to any of them alone but the men seemed to enjoy looking the foreign females up and down in our modest though distinctly Western dress (shoulders and knees covered, and no plunging necklines).
What was the most difficult thing to take was how people in other countries interpreted history differently than we did. When we visited the Hanoi Hilton, we were told by our tour guide how horribly the French had treated the Vietnamese prisoners during the war between the two countries and how graciously the Vietnamese treated the American prisoners during the Vietnam War by catering to their comfort with games, parties on the weekends and church services. We think that John McCain and other POWs would beg to differ. At the Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki, we were led to believe the the residents of that Japanese city were quietly minding their own business when the American aggressors bombed the city. In fact, Japan seemed to be rewriting history by stating that the United States government was mainly responsible for World War II. Does the date of December 7, 1941, mean anything? But we must remember that the lesson to be learned was that we do not have to like or accept what we saw or heard but we must try to understand it.
While trying to understand other countries and their residents, we learned another important lesson on the cruise we will try to implement in our daily lives at home. We need to be nicer to ourselves and each other. Being members of the Baby Boomer generation, we were born to parents who met and married during or after World War II and lived through the Great Depression. We were led by our parents to believe that we were not rich enough, smart enough or good enough. We always thought that someone out there was better than we were. On the cruise, our every want and need was catered to by a crew that wanted us to "escape completely," Princess Cruises tag line. For 107 days, we became a family. In our daily lives, we need to stop putting ourselves down and give ourselves the leeway that we have readily given to others.
Now we are trying to get back to what was our normal lives. We have tackled grocery shopping but still have to confront other tasks in the not-too-distant future, such as cleaning the house (thanks to the wonderful condition in which our terrific house sitters left our home, we were given a blessed reprieve), taking care of necessary repairs to our house and cars (the fan in our family room died and the hard disk on our computer crashed) and filing our income taxes for last year (we have an extension until October).
Whenever we have gone shopping in Bradenton, we have found ourselves spending a considerable amount of time just marveling at all the new, and old, products that were offered and found ourselves wanting to buy them all, whether we needed them or not. After shopping in foreign stores with limited choices, we found the variety and diversity of items offered both overwhelming and fascinating.
One of the first things Sara did after we returned home was to take the artwork we had collected to a framing store. Two of the pieces deserved special mats and frames and would be ready in a week. However, the map that the ship commissioned of our voyage, which needed only to be dry mounted and placed in an off-the-shelf frame, was ready the next day. When Sara went to pick it up, the framing specialist removed it from the brown paper wrapping to show her. As she turned it right side up for Sara to inspect, she proudly proclaimed, "Ta-da!" Sara joined her in her enthusiasm with a chorus of "Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da!" It was definitely a "ta-da" moment.
We all have had many bad moments in our lives in which we suffered and wallowed in self pity. But we also have had many "ta-da" moments that we may not have even realized and that we did not rejoice in. Our goal in the future is to revel in as many "ta-da" moments as possible. Our wish for you is that you find many "ta-da" moments in your lives and enjoy all of them to the maximum.
TA-DA!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Arrivederci, Roma and Pacific Princess World Cruise 2010
We were up at 5:30 a.m. to finish our last-minute packing and get ready to congregate in the Cabaret Lounge at 6:30 a.m. It seemed fitting that rain was pouring outside. We were incredibly lucky with the weather on the port days during the last three-and-one-half months. Only in Fiji and the Bay of Islands did we experience rain. At 6:25 a.m., we made our last trip down the hallway on Deck 7 to the front of the ship to take the elevators to Deck 5. From the Cabaret Lounge we were directed to debark on Deck 3, using our Platinum key cards for the last time, and claim all our luggage before we boarded the bus from the Port of Civitavecchia to the airport in Rome. Our guide on the bus tried to provide us with information about the port and Rome, but no one seemed to be listening so she eventually left us to our thoughts as we ended the trip of a lifetime. The rain continued during the entire bus ride.
Once inside the airport with all our luggage, our group divided into four extremely slow moving lines, two for those flying to Atlanta and two for those journeying to JFK Airport in New York City. After standing in line for an hour, we received our rewards of paper tickets and red tags on our luggage that was to be checked. However, we still had to carry all our luggage, and none of it had been weighed. We went the direction the agent indicated and turned the corner into another large room where we were directed to another long winding line that went a little quicker. The prize when we reached the front of the line was the weighing of our two pieces of luggage to be checked (both of our large bags weighed in at slightly under 50 pounds each) and directions to another, even longer winding line to complete a security check. The agent told us that our flight was already boarding but we should be able to make it. (Wait a minute, we have been up since before dawn. Our bus made it to the airport in less time than expected because the traffic was extremely light on a Saturday morning and now there was the possibility that we might not make our flight? What was wrong with this picture?)
Unfortunately, we made our major mistake after completing the security check. In addition to having Sara take off her shoes, the agent asked her to remove her blazer and hat. In a different line, Ken was requested to remove everything from his computer bag. When each had reassembled all their belongings after their checks and could not find each other, they both assumed that the other had gone ahead. However, Ken had both airline tickets while Sara possessed both passports. When Sara got to the final checkpoint, where she was required to show her passport before boarding the shuttle bus to the airplane, she inquired about Ken. The agent said that she thought he had already boarded the bus. Sara asked how this was possible because he did not have his passport but the agent simply nodded. Obviously the language barrier had come into play. When Sara did not see him on the shuttle, she returned to the checkpoint and waited for him to appear, which he did after another five minutes. The lesson to be learned from this near fiasco was to have each member of your party in possession of all their important documents at all times and determine places to meet after each checkpoint if you became separated.
We were the last passengers to board the plane at approximately 10 minutes before it was to take off. Being last meant that finding overhead storage spaces for our carry-on luggage was almost impossible. It was scattered all over the plane, which meant we would be the last to debark in New York City because we had to collect all our items. As a result of the backup of airplanes on the runways, the plane was an hour late taking off. But the captain announced that we should still arrive on time, which we did. Optimistically, we thought that the ordeal we would face at the JFK Airport would be much easier. Wasn't air traffic usually lighter on Saturday afternoon? The real question should have been, "How naive can a couple who had just traveled around the world be?"
The plane did arrive in New York City on time. Then all the passengers waited in a dismal hallway for almost a half hour before we proceeded through customs. What we did not know was that was the easy part. Waiting for baggage that sporadically appeared consumed another hour. (The baggage handlers must have taken advantage of their scheduled breaks despite the large number of travelers.) Then a security guard directed to an even longer line at the other side of the baggage collection area, where we waited with all our luggage to enter a door that we had no idea of what was on the other side. The security guard muttered something about these types of tie-ups always occurring when airline carriers tried to land more 2,500 passengers at the same time. Sara went to the front of the line to ask the airport employee if the restrooms were on the other side of the mammoth area. The woman told her that once a passenger crossed to the side on which we were waiting in line, that person could not go back to the other side where the bathrooms were. Fortunately, Sara did not have to use the facilities that badly.
Once we passed through the door, we found another line that snaked along. Once we reached a certain point, an employee relieved us of our checked luggage, and we waited single file for one employee (yes, only one) sitting behind a desk to check our passports. The whole ordeal from departing the airplane to getting to the gates where we were to check in for the final leg of our flights took three hours. And we had thought that a five-hour layover at JFK Airport was excessive.
Because all the gates were in use for earlier flights and our departure gate had not yet been assigned, we waited in the lounge area of Gate 12 with Rita, Sara's friend from the Princess Book Club, and her husband, who were flying to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a seven-mile drive home. We had a three-and-one-half hour drive from Fort Lauderdale. Rita and her husband had taken a world cruise on the Pacific Princess in 2008 and had returned for a second great voyage in 2010 because the price was right.
We were discussing the ports we had visited when Sara heard herself say, "I think that I liked Pompeii more than I liked Petra. While Petra was better in geography and architecture, Pompeii showed more of what daily life was like at the time." Six months ago, Petra and Pompeii would have never been mentioned in the same sentence by any of us. Is this what traveling around the world does for a person?
We boarded our final flight on time and then waited an hour for take off. Our pilot informed us not to be concerned because the airline had padded the schedule due to the construction work being done at the JFK Airport so we should arrive in Fort Lauderdale on time, which we did just before 11 p.m. We collected our suitcases and our one-way rental car and took off for Bradenton. This was Ken's idea to drive straight through but Sara did her part by singing along with the radio to keep him awake. Sad to say, the cruise did nothing to enhance her off-key singing. When we arrived home at 3:15 a.m., we were greeted by our cat, Foxy, who acted as if we had never been away and only wanted us to pet her.
We described our adventures with the airline in detail to remind us why we were so satisfied that we determined early that we should sail around the world rather than fly between different ports. The three airports that we flew in or out of in China were no better in building happy memories of air travel today. We were now even happier that we decided that a cruise was the best way to go around the globe.
While this will be the last entry about our actual trip, we promise our readers at least one more entry in which we will philosophize about what the trip meant to us and what we learned. We promise that entry will follow in less than a week.
Arrivederci for now!
The Perils of Pompeii
COMMENTARY FROM SARA: Before providing a description of our day in Pompeii and Sorrento, Sara would like to provide her thoughts of Italy in general.
I love Italy! It is one of greatest countries in the world to visit. While I do not have a traceable drop of Italian blood in the my body, I think that I was meant to be of Italian heritage with my use of broad hand gestures to punctuate my speech; my cravings for all Italian foods, wine and gelato; and my vocal variety when I am excited. We spent 10 days in Italy in October 2007, visiting Rome, Florence and Venice, when the weather should have been warm and wonderful. On most days it was cold or rainy, or cold and rainy. We traveled between the three cities on the train, and every day we arrived or departed, it seemed to be pouring. But Italy was still magical.
I love the light pastel houses built on the cliffs like decorations made of icing on a giant chocolate birthday cake. While I am not sure that I would feel comfortable driving in Italy, I love the narrow winding streets through the small towns with buildings and homes only a few feet from the streets. Everything is packed in tightly with long expanses of old stone walls. I love the warm, friendly residents who are accustomed to welcoming visitors and often speak a little English. I love the solution that the people have found for a lack of space by growing lemon trees protected by wire cages for limoncello with trellises of grapes for wine growing above them. Lemons and wines are two of my favorite vices. I love the olive trees, cherry trees, tomatoes, garlic and artichokes. Because of the lack of space, there is no room for tractors and other machines so the farmers must harvest the crops by hand, so everyone gets involved in the act. I love the narrow streets lined with shops where friendly store owners are happy to help you find everything from top designer fashions to local handicrafts. What is there not to love about Italy!
POMPEII--While we have visited three cities in northern Italy, we have never been this far south. The Bay of Naples is breathtaking with its sapphire blue waters and m-shaped peaks of Mount Vesuvius. Even the ancient Romans were attracted by Sorrento's natural beauty and built villas and estates there, as well as the ones they had in Rome and other Italian cities. Sorrento also is the doorway to Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Positinao, Amalfi and both the Amalfi and Sorrento Coasts. The coasts are very similar except that the white limestone of the Amalfi Coast is more intact while the dark color of Sorrento Coast is the result of volcanic ash.
No one could go wrong with any of the tours offered by the Pacific Princess or by taking a taxi or public transportation to do independent touring. Less than a week ago, we visited the lost city of Petra, abandoned because of changes in the trade routes and invasions from foreigners to all but the Bedouins who always knew the city was there. Today we chose to visit Pompeii, another city that was lost but in a much more tragic way. Pompeii, which means five in Italian, was a congregation of five villages built at the base of Mount Vesuvius. Because the crater was hidden in the mountain, no one knew it was volcano until it erupted in 79 A.D., buring the city in 22 to 25 feet of ash and killing 2,000 people who died of suffocation and the corrosives ashes that burned their insides. What a horrendous way to die!
However, the volcano totally preserved their way of life and froze an entire society at one second before the eruption so that we are able to study the lives and customs of the Romans 2,000 years ago in the imperial age. A visit to Pompeii can teach us more about the ancient Romans than reading every book that a significant library would have on the subject. Similar to the story of the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, China, Pompeii, and eventually the neighboring town of Herculaneum, were discovered in 1748 when a farmer was digging a well. Today about two-thirds of the town has been dug out from under the ashes and more than 3,000 tourists visit the 165-acre site annually.
As the playground for the rich and famous in the first century, Pompeii offered a seldom-seen look at the lavish, indulgent lifestyle that the world's most affluent and powerful people enjoyed. After passing through the ruins of the two temples, we came to the Basilica, which was a courthouse. Most of us think basilicas are churches but Pompeii was destroyed before Christianity had spread through the country and the residents were still pagans. The huge structure sported huge frescos in vivid color and large columns that were made of terracotta that had been covered with plaster to look like marble. The road from the Basilica led to the Forum, where merchants bought and sold wool, silk, gold, spices and olive oil, and citizens participated in political life. Paintings on the walls of the Forum in rich reds, blues and yellows depicted what the vendors were selling because most residents could not read.
Because Pompeii had no sewage system as a result of the underground lava, the streets acted as the sewage system with wide sidewalks for the pedestrians. So that people could cross from one side to the other, workers had placed steeping stones across the streets at various points. One of the most interesting sites was the urine collector. (Everything was recycled with the feces being used as fertilizer.) The uric acid in the urine was used to bleach and dye the woolen fabrics. To contribute to the economy, people were paid to pee. When the emperor learned of this practice, he taxed it and increased Rome's economy in another way. The main reason why Rome had not accepted Christianity at this point in time was that Christians believed that all people were equal while the emperors preferred to consider themselves gods.
One of the most gripping exhibits was the human-sized plaster casts of the molded bodies of two residents who died of suffocation. It was hard to believe that only minutes before, they were living, breathing humans who expected to live their lives in comfort to a very old age.
Then we toured the residential areas. An important part of the lifestyle was the bath and the gym. These early Romans enjoyed all the pleasures of a lavish spa. Open 20 hours a day, the baths were the place to socialize, meet new people and trade political favors while cleansing the body, luxuriating in an alabaster steam sauna and enjoying a relaxing massage to soothe tired muscles. A braiser with a warming fire was donated by a politician who had his slogan imprinted, "You will pay less tax."
The houses were a mirror of who lived inside. One of the most spectacular homes, the House of Faun measuring 33,000 square feet, had four dining rooms, an atrium, two gardens and the largest mosaic in the Pompeii with more than a million pieces that depicted the Battle of Esus. Mosaics were really frescoes made out of stone. From that early mansion, we viewed a development of the not as fabulously wealthy. The area boasted 31 bakeries (archeologists found bread inside the ovens,) 89 wine bars and 26 brothels. One of the most popular of the last category showed frescoes of specific services that the prostitutes provided and the passion of the sailors for the prostitutes. Because the line of people to see these frescoes was long, our guide suggested that we peak inside when we passed the front of the line at the entrance. That line was longer than the line to see the Great Sphinx in Egypt!
On our way out, we were able to catch a glance of the big theater that seated 5,000 people, which is under construction and then go inside the smaller theater. Actors were considered the lowest level of society with artisans who used their hands being the highest level. We toured the barracks of the gladiators, who were considered professionals in Pompeii. They went to schools to learn how to use their weapons and were considered celebrities. Punxsutawney Phil, who was peaking out of Sara's purse, actually jumped out onto the ground when our guide described the life of the gladiators. We think that he had found his favored profession for when he was not serving as the Weather Forecaster Extraordinare.
When we returned to Sorrento after our tour of Pompeii, we strolled the narrow streets of the old city, stopping to admire the wares of the storekeepers. Sara must accept the fact that Ken will never be a shopper if these romantic storefronts did not interest him. We then returned to the ship by bus and tender to continue our packing.
One suggestion we would give anyone planning to take a long trip is not to attempt to pack everything you brought plus all the souvenirs you bought along the way into four suitcases when you started on the cruise with five suitcases. To meet the baggage weight for the airlines and not pay the charge for an extra suitcase, we ended up leaving behind clothes and shoes. Ken was way too happy to leave his dress shoes behind. He thought that this sacrifice equated to never having to wear a dress suit again, Sorry, Ken, it doesn't! He has some weddings to attend in the fall. We also borrowed the scale of our next door neighbors' Doris and Claude to ensure that no piece of luggage to be checked weighed more than 50 pounds. Before we went to the dining room for our last supper with our table mates, we placed our checked baggage in the hallway.
Dinner was delicious with Baked Alaska for dessert. The world cruise farewell showtime was the Beatles Celebration, a fab performance stage tribute to the Beatles. Tomorrow we leave for home. Can it really be the last full day of a 107-day trip. It's so hard to say good-bye!
Last full day at sea
The first thing on everyone's to-do list on the last sea day was to pack for their trip home or their next voyage after the cruise. At 9 a.m., at least one person from every family unit was asked to attend the Debarkation Talk by our cruise director J.J. King. Everyone had received their baggage tags for debarkation the night before. We were White 1, the first passengers off the ship at 6:30 a.m. for our flight from Rome to JFK International Airport in New York and then to Fort Lauderdale. J.J. also asked all family units to complete the last paper evaluation of the cruises of the Pacific Princess. Bowing to technology, all future evaluations will be done on line on the computer.
J.J. suggested that we mark Excellent in all categories for the staff. If we had a minor complaint, we should not penalize an entire department but rather write a specific comment on the back of the evaluation form. Sara would like to determine how she can use the pep talk with her college students who seem to like to zero in on a minor incident and rate the professor accordingly. She can hear herself saying, "Don't dwell on that F you got on the first test that you blamed on your instructor for not providing a detailed study guide rather than your failure to study, or that C- you received on a presentation because you had no introduction, structure, conclusion and message and did not meet the time requirement but still thought that the instructor had not given you the specific criteria to receive the A you so justly deserved. Instead think of the overall wonderful learning experience that you had in this class." She is not sure that college students will buy that line of reasoning. The meeting ended with the playing of "Time to Say Good-Bye" and representatives from all the ship's departments walking to the stage to wave good-bye to a tearful audience, who rewarded them with a standing ovation.
At 10 a.m., the members of Cruise Critic held their farewell meeting in the Pacific Lounge. Joining us were passengers who plan to join Cruise Critic. We passed out names, email addresses and current home cities of members who signed up at our meeting in April and Lists of Valuable/Not-So-Valuable Items for Long Trips compiled from suggestions from our members. We added a category, How We Can Make Our Home Feel More Like a Cruise Ship, for everyone to work on when they arrived back home. Our fearless leader MaryAnn read a fantastic essay she wrote to summarize our 107 days of adventures. As soon as she emails us a copy, which everyone at the meeting requested, we will include it on the blog. As the song said, "It's so hard to say good-bye to yesterday." These 107 days have comprised the trip of a lifetime.
Tonight was our last formal night. The men griped that the staff should not have planned a formal night this late in the cruise while we were packing to go home but everyone showed up at dinner in their finest formal wear. One suggestion that Sara would give future female passengers on long cruises is to concentrate on their formal clothes. Forget the little black dress. Bring the brightly colored, beautiful gowns and/or jackets or tops that will garner compliments from the other passengers, making you the person to be remembered.
The Pacific Princess Singers and Dancers presented their last production for the cruise, which received a standing ovation from all. The two leads and eight members of the troupe have worked so hard during the trip and have meshed beautiful into an outstanding ensemble. We loved all of them and hope to hear fantastic news about their entertainment careers in the future!
At the end of the program, the cruise director introduced the grand winner of the photography competition on board, selected from the first-place finishers in all four segments. To our delight, the winner was Janie Gilkey from Kansas City. We learned that her winning entry was the one that bested Ken's memorable photograph of the three bathing beauties showering after the ceremony for crossing the equator. Janie had borrowed a camera from a friend and told us that she just kept snapping pictures. Now she owned a camera of her own. No one deserved it more than Janie who had traveled to many countries even before the rest of the world became aware of them.
While 107 days seemed like a long time when we started this voyage on January 27, we were not ready for all of this fun to come to an end.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Fwd: Athens: Greek's Crowning Glory
From: "Kenwood Geigel" <kenwood.geigel@gmail.com>
To: "kenwood geigel paradiseken" <kenwood.geigel.paradiseken@blogger.com>
Cc: "sarameansc" <sarameansc@aol.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 3:57:32 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Athens: Greek's Crowning Glory
PIRAEUS FOR ATHENS, GREECE--Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Until last night, we were not sure that our ship would stop at Athens because of the political demonstrations that resulted in three casualties. We received a letter from our captain on Tuesday relating that a protest rally may be planned for the day of our arrival. If we had the opportunity to go ashore, we were to "keep well clear of any gathering crowds or demonstrations, as the situation can deteriorate rapidly and there have been instances of violence associated with these large political gatherings."
Fortunately, Princess Cruises' security department that had been monitoring the situation with support from the U.S. State Department, determined that the city was safe and secure for its passengers. Four other cruise ships came to the same conclusion making our ship one of five in the port of Piraeus, which should have helped the Greek economy. Our guide, Aliki, who told us to call her Alice said that she was not Alice in Wonderland but rather Alice in Wonder Greece.
Piraeus and Athens are one large city of approximately 5 million people. In World War II, Piraeus was destroyed by the Nazi who did not bomb Athens out of respect for the ancient Greek architecture. So Piraeus is a very modern city while Athens is home to the treasures of the ancient Greeks. As all affectionados of Greek mythology know, Athena, the patron goddess of the city, sprung full-grown from Zeus' head (of course, there is a much more detailed account of this miraculous birth that you can read in Greek mythology). Then when the Olympians wanted to determine who should become the protector of the country, Athena battled it out with Poseidon, who promised to make the country the greatest naval power for all eternity. In a war of one-up-womanship, Athena hit her foot on the ground and an olive tree appeared. She stated that with this tree, she would give the country peace and wealth. (Today, Greece has more than 140 million olive trees, that can live more than 3,000 years.) The vote was a tie with the senior official breaking the tie by choosing Athena.
Our first stop was the Old Olympic Stadium, built in 1896 over the ruins of the original stadium, to host the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. During the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, it was used for archery and the finish of the marathon. The original games were played every five years until 390 AD when the emperor decided the games should not exist. And they did not until the end of the 19th century AD. In the ancient games, only Greeks were permitted to compete and only the first place winner was announced. The entire city of Athens was renovated for the 2004 Olympics, with the best addition, according to our guide, being the new metro system.
Next we visited the National Archaeology Museum, which holds more masterpieces of ancient Greek art and sculpture than any other museum in the world. We arrived at the same time as a school field trip of fourth graders. What a wonderful way to learn about Greek mythology and ancient Greek history! The headsets that we were issued were wonderful because we could hear everything our guide said.
When workers excavated the Acropolis, they found six graves with 19 skeletons: eight women, eight men and three children. Among the items buried with the dead were 24 kilos of gold, mainly in the form of Byzantine jewelry, and five burial masks on the men, one of which was gold and had been dated back to the 16th century BC. Alice also taught us how to date ancient Greek statues. The earliest ones, which were inspired by the Egyptians, were larger than life (size did count!), had no motion and no visible anatomy. Later, the Greeks added motion with one foot in front of the other, visible anatomy, smiles (for the most part, these people lived in peace and harmony), and arms that were still attached to the body. In the 5th century BC, the sculptors added muscles and more definition, hair styles, attempts to separate the arms, vivid colors but no smiles, because the Persian Empire had invaded Greece so the statues represented the serious mood of the citizens. Until the 4th century BC, there were no statues of naked females because the Greek believed that the males had a more pleasing body. All men wanted to be either athletes or warriors.
We also gazed with wonder on two "perfect" male bronze statues that must be the impetus for a woman's comment about a handsome man being "he's a Greek god!" The first was the perfectly balanced body of either Poseidon about to launch his trident or Zeus with his thunder bolt. Take your pick. Sara decided that the scholars should study drawings of both gods and determine which one had the body most like that of Ken to make their decision. The second was either the handsome prince who handed the golden apple to Aphrodite as the most beautiful Greek goddess or Perseus who was the half-god, son of Zeus who was holding the head of Medusa. Our guide thought that the way the statue was holding his hand down in disgust indicated that it was Perseus. When we asked her if she had seen the statue of David in Florence, she replied that it did not count in the same league because David was a boy. These statues were grown men! We did detect the presence of love handles!
Almost as impressive were the Grave Stele or tombstones. Two figures appeared on the funerary monuments--the one seated was the deceased while the one standing was a maid, relative or spouse. The two figures were in the pose of a handshake, indicating that they were saying goodbye to each other with the standing figure providing gifts to the decreased for the afterlife. One woman was holding an open birdcage so that the soul is free to fly closer to the creator.
Our guide's favorite statue was of Aphrodite holding a sandal in her hand while an extremely ugly creature, who loved beautiful women, tried to get closer to her. The creature was named Panic. While the ancient Greeks lived a simpler lifestyle, they had the same fears that modern people do and the same need to look beautiful.
Before touring the Acropolis, we enjoyed an authentic Greek lunch complemented by delicious Greek wine. Then we started to climb the 80 steps to at the Acropolis. Our guide told us not to be concerned about the dogs sleeping on the steps because they have been adopted by the guards and are friendly, harmless, adorable and have all their vaccinations. Vendors wanted to sell us umbrellas to protect us from the sun.
The Acropolis, which means "upper town" is the grounds while the Doric temple is the Parthenon, the largest such structure in Greece and the crowning achievement of Greek civilization's golden age. The white marble temple, built in the 5th century BC in 15 years by free citizens was dedicated to Athena Parthenos or the Virgin Athena. Only three buildings on the Acropolis have been preserved. Our guide had us check the distance between the columns, which was not equal, and note that the columns tend to bend. If one continued the columns to the sky, they would meet and create a very high pyramid. The Parthenon is decorated with reliefs of battle scenes, the fall of Troy and centaurs fighting against man. All the battles represented one thing, the Greek victories over the barbarians. The other buildings on the Acropolis are the Temple of Athena Nike of which the Greek's cut off Nike's wings to keep Nike in Greece for good, the Erectheion that honors both Athena and Poseidon and the porch of the Caryatids that features columns of marble maidens supporting the roof.
Then our guide led us through the narrow, twisting streets with many stairs to the Plaka, Athens' most famous shopping district with its cobbled pedestrian lanes lined with jewelry stores, souvenir shops and boutiques. Prices for Grecian goods seemed very high. As we rode back to the ship, we were glad that we had the opportunity to have a taste of Athens.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Petra: Jordan's Rose Red City
On every tour guide's or travel group's list of Places to Visit, Petra rates near the top of the list. What these guides and groups fail to tell travelers is that one has to walk one and one-half miles to the entrance through the winding path carved out of the caverns and under the blazing, unforgiving desert sun in 105 degree temperature. To give Princess Tours the credit it deserves, all the literature that we received from the ship stated that it was a strenuous walking tour and one of the most active shore excursions that was recommended for only those passengers who were physically fit. Both Sara and her friend Sue from Las Vegas had wondered the day before if they were capable of completing the trip. What amazed us when we all gathered in the Cabaret Lounge at 7 a.m. was how many physically fit passengers were on the ship.
Ten buses were assigned for this tour, the largest number to date. When we were in China, we learned that eight is a very lucky number. Being assigned to the Red 8 bus, along with Sue, was very fortunate for us. Our guide Soli grew up in Petra, was an archeologist who worked on the excavation of the two drivers and two camels in Petra from 1996 to 1998, taught history in the secondary schools and was now a full-time tour guide. (For all our friends who are, or have been, teachers, Soli preferred giving tours to teaching students. We thought it was because tourists gave tips rather than complaints!) Soli's favorite piece of advice was, "Feel free to be free!"
Petra, which is probably tied for the title of the world's most dramatic lost city along with Machu Picchu in Peru, has been lauded in both the Bible and the third entry in Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark movies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. So it had to be something special. On our two-hour trip from Aqaba to Petra, we learned that Aqaba means difficult or hard because it is surrounded by a chain of mountains while Petra comes from the Greek word for rock. We passed many small villages whose colors blended into the mountains. In this arid country, little vegetation exists with only small patches of greenery.
Petra was built by the Nabataeans during the time of the Roman Empire more that 2,200 years ago. The Nabataeans chose the site for its natural springs, its natural fortification and its location on the ancient trading routes, which also made it a target for attacks by the Romans, who absorbed the kingdom into the Roman Empire in 106 AD. Petra and the Nabataeans continued to flourish and prosper until a large earthquake in 363 AD destroyed many of the buildings and crippled the water management systems. Changes in the trade routes eventually left Petra abandoned and lost to the memory of all, except the Beduions who traveled through the area and camped there. In 1812, the Swiss explorer Johannes Burchhardt set out to rediscover Petra. Disguised as an Arab scholar, he convinced a Bedouin guide to help him infiltrate the lost city.
Today tourists from all over the world marvel at the structures these ancient societies built. We learned that the two ways to get into the city are on two feet or four feet by horse to the entrance the Siq, the long, winding sandstone canyon, or by horse-drawn buggy through the Siq down to the Treasury. Deeming ourselves physically fit, we chose to walk with our guide, who provided detailed commentary at several spots. Highlights on the Siq included the remains of the terracotta pipes built onto the sides of the canyon to carry water, the section that was ridden through in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the five steps of fertility carvings on the rock walls, Nemo the whale who changes into a winking elephant with one eye on the front of the naturally created formation, and the two camels and two drivers that Soli helped to excavate.
At one point, Soli asked us to stand on the right side and then walk across to the left side. He then directed us to turn back the way we had come and close our eyes. With our eyes still closed, he played the theme song from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movies on his cellphone and then commanded us to open our eyes. As soon as our eyes opened, we viewed the jaw-dropping grandeur of the Treasury, the picture-postcard view of Petra. The two schools of thought are that this building was either a tomb for a master king or a temple for a master king. The building was carved from the top down in three stages for the protection of the workers. It was one of the most impressive structures that we have ever seen. According to legend, pirates left treasure in the urn that sat on the top level. Treasure hunters first tried to climb up to the urn and then tired to shoot at it as attested to by the bullet marks on the urn. However, they found nothing because the urn was solid rock.
The craftsmen added eagles to the Treasury, which are the symbols of undertakers escorting the souls to heaven. A horse was on each side representing Castor, the good twin, and Polax, the evil twin. Castor's horse faced east to represent the new day while Polax's horse looked west to signify death.
We walked with our guide through the Street of Facades, the name given to a row of Nabataean tombs carved into the cliff. The higher the tomb and the more elaborate the intricate carvings, the wealthier the family. Carved into the side of the mountain by the Nabataeans in the first century AD was the theater, which could accommodate 4,000 spectators.
Our guide then gave us an hour on our own. Ken decided that we should climb up numerous flight of stairs cut into the rock to the High Place of Sacrifice. Once we reached the top, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of all of Petra. This High Place of Sacrifice was used for important religious ceremonies honoring the Nabatean gods and for funeral rites. What amazed us was that vendor stands were open at the top of our climb and that two tourists were smoking cigarettes inside the temple at the top. On the way down, Sara stopped at one of the vendors and purchased a silver pendant that was part of the Queen Noir project to help residents make a living. According to our guide, the young woman from the United States who became the fourth wife of King Hussein had made a great difference in the lives of Jordanian women, who represent 60 percent of the country's population. She is friendly with the current King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania, named one of the most beautiful women in the world, who also is involved with the education of Jordan's women.
Walking up through the Street of Facades and the Sig was much more strenuous than walking down. Here was where many of our fellow travelers fell behind. They tried, often unsuccessfully, to engage the horse-drawn carriages that were already rented by other travelers at the bottom of the Sig. We came upon some friends about half-way up the Sig, allowing Ken to go ahead, passing all other tourists while Sara stayed with our friends. After getting Ron and Judy in a carriage and Neilly on a horse, she and Bob walked the distance to the visitor's center where they caught up with our fellow travelers.
We were hot, tired, sweaty, thirsty and covered with dust but content. Petra was truly magnificent and worthy of its rating as one of the must-sees in the world. Our guide Soli was one of the best trained guides we have ever encountered. Now Sara wants to plan a trip to visit the lost city of Machu Picchu. Ken, just accept the fact that you are going there!