November 29, 2022 - Afterthoughts

We have been home for 3 weeks now. Our schedule has finally returned to normal. At least normal for the holiday season. It took me a lot longer to get back into the groove of creating this blog than I ever expected. I don’t know why, but things kept getting in my way. I am glad to have finished it. Doing so helped me to relive the experiences. That is what motivates me to do this in the first place. The blog is really my journal. One day mobility issues may force us to stop traveling. That will be a good time for me to crack open Happy Wanderers. 

In the meantime, if this effort helps to keep you informed about our adventures, I hope it does it with some enjoyment.

Right after we got home Alice saw our podiatrist to assess the extent of her foot injury. What we thought was an ankle sprain turned out to be a fractured third toe. X-rays revealed that it had already started to heal, but it will take several more weeks to heal completely. Alice continues to have pain but it is getting better with the passage of time.

I was feeling left out, so started having significant pain in my right leg. I was diagnosed with a baker’s cyst behind my right knee last May. That was a secondary finding during an exam for blood clots. None of those were present. Because I did not have any pain I declined the injection that was offered. They don’t drain these cysts anymore. There is less risk in doing the injection. I was told I might develop pain eventually or the cyst might rupture and cause the feeling of water running down the inside of my leg. I decided to deal with that as events arose. Three days before the cruise ended I started having to deal with the pain. I made a doctor’s appointment the day after we got home. The earliest he could see me was two weeks later. The outcome was that I had the injection. Wow, the pain was almost gone the next day. I walked 3.3 miles on my volunteer shift at the hospital today. No pain no worries.

But I digress. My goal is to share our reaction to this journey. During the entire five weeks, we did not experience anything that we wished we had excluded. 

The sights in Turkey exceeded our expectations a lot. We had not anticipated how many archeological sites there are in Turkey. The natural features also abounded. Cappadocia really caps those off well. The size of the cities and their populations make Chicago and New York seem like villages to us. Our guide and fellow travelers contributed to this positive experience. We have concluded that we are not good candidates for organized land tours. The early rising and bags out are not our thing. We will consider tours that provide independent travel in the future.

Our three days in Athen were a perfect segue to the cruise. We relaxed and limited our explorations to the neighborhoods around our charming hotel. This worked for us because we had been here before and covered the major sights then. This had us very mellow when we boarded the ship. Our first cruise through the Greek Islands was also done in a laid-back way. 

So, we still had a good energy level when the second cruise started. It was good but not good enough. We ran out of gas in Alexandria with our explorations in Egypt. The pace was intense. The coach rides were long. The tour departure times were too early. But we managed. We paced ourselves through the Holy Lands and felt that we had accomplished all that we wanted to there.

We had a wonderful time. The memories linger on. Looking ahead continues to excite us. We are always asked what is next. In January we will take a seven-day Disney cruise. We are anxious to see how they cater to the various ages on their cruise. In July we will celebrate Sean’s September milestone birthday. We will take Sean and Shelly on a Norway Intensive cruise on Azamara. We are all looking forward to this. Even though it is eight months away the excitement is building. In between, we will try to do a road trip to avoid some of the winter weather here.

Thank you for your interest in our travels and for following this blog. It has been fun to share it with you.

November 8, 2022 - Tuesday - Homeward Bound

We were up early this morning to meet our driver for our 6:30 pick-up. This was necessary because our flight to Istanbul would take off at 10:00 and it is a 45-minute drive to the airport. It also required that we walk off Journey with all of our luggage. We waited in line at the gangway with a few other passengers. At 6:30 it was announced that the ship would not be cleared for departure until 7:00 due to a passport control snafu. At 7:00 we left the ship and managed to herd our luggage for the long walk through the terminal. Outside we waited a bit looking for a driver with our name. Most of the others were gone when our driver appeared. He helped with our luggage and got us to his van a block from the terminal. We are not sure why he was not allowed inside, but it worked out OK. 

We followed the coast for quite a distance before turning inland toward the airport. This was not the same route our driver followed when we arrived in Athens because then we were going to the heart of Athens. Now we were coming from the port in Piraeus. This was a more scenic route past many marinas with sailboats and large yachts. We arrived at the airport shortly after 8:00. We checked in with Turkish Airlines and got boarding passes to Istanbul and Chicago. They checked our bags through to Chicago.  By the time we cleared security, it was just one hour till boarding began. We spent it in the airline’s lounge. Very nice. The 1 1/2-hour flight was smooth and comfortable.

In Istanbul, we had another wait in the lounge before boarding. On the plane, our cabin attendant was from Cappadocia. She was delighted to learn that we had recently been there. This made for excellent attention all the way home. We again enjoyed excellent meals with entrées cooked to order by the onboard chef. We cannot say enough good things about the quality of service on Turkish Airlines.

We arrived at O’Hare early and breezed through global entry. Our only delay was waiting for our luggage. Even the taxi was at the door within 5 minutes of our call. We walked in our door at home at 9:00 PM. That was 4:00 AM in Athens. We had been up almost 24 hours. I fired up the hot water heater and we went to bed.

This had been an exciting and fulfilling 5 weeks but our last 10 days had taken a toll on us. We got to see everything we wanted to see. That was fine. It was the pace that took its toll. The terrain in the Holy Lands and the length of the rides to get to the sites wore us down. 

We don’t regret doing this because it is a once-in-a-lifetime journey at our age. We have great memories of all that we got to see and do. We have a deeper appreciation for the challenges that Jesus, the apostles, and the early Christians endured.

Now we look ahead to our next adventures.

November 7, 2022 - Monday - Sea Day

We are cruising back to Athens. Tomorrow we will leave for home. Today is for packing and saying our goodbyes to the many wonderful people we have met. We will miss them, especially the crew. We also spent some time in the shops to use up the last $250 of our onboard credits. This allowed me to capture a $525 Citizens Eco Drive watch with a blue dial for just $100 after discounts and shipboard credits. In addition to time, it tells the date, the day, the 24-hour time, and the time anyplace else in the world. And it is not digital. I love it.

November 6, 2022 - Sunday - Limassol, Cypress

Discovering Charming Omodos was our goal today. We drove from the port city of Limassol into the surrounding mountains. The scenery was gorgeous and in less than an hour, we arrived at the small village of Omodos. Our guide led us up cobblestone streets to the heart of the town. On the way she pointed out George's bakery and several cafes that we might want to visit when she set us free. The primary objective was the square and the church on one side of it. Then she took us through several small lanes passing local craft shops along the way. When we got back to the square she gave us an hour and a half on our own.

At last Alice and I had the freedom to do our thing. First, we made our way back to a perfumery that we had noticed on the walk around. The lady in this small shop blends her own fragrances. She had bottles of many fragrances on the shelves along with testers. The first one Alice picked up was Joy. We both liked it and it became our reference as we tried others. The lady suggested some scents based on our liking Joy. One of these was My Way. it came down to a choice of My Way or Joy. Joy won and we purchased a bottle.

In the course of all the testing, we learned that the village is home to 15 permanent residents. During tourist season that number grows by another 150. This woman lives in a town 45 minutes drive away. During the season she has a home on the edge of Omodos. The season runs from May through October with a few weeks in November when cruise ships come. She was a delight to visit with.

Now we walked the lanes and visited the square again. Just next to the square we found a shop with a lot of embroidered and household things. Our guide had told us about a kind of lace that was unique to this village. We asked about it at this shop. The owner got a bag down from a shelf and proceeded to show us lace pieces that his mother made. These were very nice. He said that it is a dying art because young girls are not interested in learning how to make it. The work is delicate and intricate. We found a piece that we liked. For 10 euros we were able to take it home. In further conversation, we learned that the lady with the baby outside the shop was his wife. When she came inside we talked some more about the lace and played with their young son. What a lovely visit.

Our time was running out so we headed toward the parking lot. On the way, we passed George’s Bakery. In addition to the many baked goods in the cases, there were what looked like sausages hanging in the windows. We learned that they were not sausages but sweets. This is called sousoukos. It is made by stringing soaked almonds on cotton strings. Then the strings of almonds are dipped in a solution made from grapes or carob or pomegranates. They are dipped several times depending on how thick you want the “sausages” to be. Fortunately, we did not have to buy whole ropes of sousoukos. The baker had cut the three flavors into foot-long pieces. For just 6 euros we brought home a foot-long piece of each flavor. 

What a day. This is how we like to visit. In the future, we will try to avoid organized tours and return to doing our own thing at our own pace. It is not the cost that discourages us. It is the lack of freedom to visit as we wish.

Omodos was indeed charming. The setting is scenic. The people are friendly and helpful. We became like family to those we chatted with. 

This was a very good and special day for us.

November 5, 2022 - Saturday - Haifa, Israel

Nazareth is the simple title of today’s excursion. Nazareth is known as the place where it was announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus. It is also where Jesus grew up and spent his childhood.

At last, we got to visit the Church of the Annunciation that we had seen so many times from a distance. This oil the largest Christian Church in the Middle East. It is believed to sit atop the grotto where the Virgin Mary was drawing water as the Archangel Gabriel appeared, telling her she was to give birth to the Son of God. Just a few steps away is the Church of St. Joseph. This simple church built in 1914 is said to rest on the site of Joseph’s ancient workshop. The complex is nicely done and it is beautiful. 

We stopped in the gift shop on our way out to buy a souvenir book. They had just about every language but English. Outside the grounds was a long street of shops and vendors. There were no English volumes there either. We will have to rely on the internet to embellish our memories.

Back on Journey, I tried to update this blog, but the connection to the internet was just too slow. It will have to wait.

This was another good day apart from the internet failures.

November 4, 2022 - Friday - Haifa, Israel

In keeping with our concern for Alice’s injured foot, we chose Leisurely Galilee as our excursion for today. 

Our first stop on this 9-hour tour was the River Jordan. On our way we drove through Cana, the town where Jesus performed his first miracle, transforming water into wine for the wedding feast. The visitor center at the River Jordan provides toilets and changing rooms. People changed into white robes and walked to ramps that allowed them to descend into the river’s waters without getting into the muddy river bottom. There were ministers with these groups who directed their baptisms. It was very moving.

At another ramp, people were able to remove their shoes and roll up their slacks before walking into the water. standing there they felt the fish nibbling at their feet. One woman said it was like the Thai fish foot massage she had experienced. We did not partake.

The inevitable gift shop stood between the river and the coaches. We transited with our hands in our pockets.

Now we drove along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This sea though not very wide is pretty long. We could see the other side in most places, but we could not see the other end. There were some small boats on the water. We were told the wind could pick up in the afternoon and make the water very rough, so boating was limited to early in the day. We thought of the story of the apostles in their fishing boat when a storm came up.

Our first stop was at the Church of the Multiplication commemorating the miracle of the loaves and fishes. This church was built in 1981 and features a 5th-century Byzantine mosaic floor depicting the miracle.

Then we drove to the top of the Mount of Beatitudes. Here a domed Catholic Church memorializes the Sermon on the Mount. Beautiful gardens surround the church and the associated monastery. From the garden terraces we had sweeping views of the Sea of Galilee. We both managed the ups and downs of the paths and steps nicely.

Returning to Journey we passed the Church of the Nativity as we drove through Nazareth. We returned to visit it on Saturday.

This was another full and spiritually rewarding day. It was a very good day.