The Daily for Saturday October 16, 2021

[kazu]

20 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Some purple jalapeños,  still waiting on the black pearls🤷‍♀️😂
 

 

They look really good, Brenda.  Are they hotter than regular jalapenos?  I think we are both going to wait until H freezes over for our Black Pearls to turn red 😉 😆 

 

1 minute ago, dfish said:

I knew it would happen.  Now the tired old laptop won't work on CC.  I sure hope this gets fixed soon.

 

DAM 😡 

[bennybear]

9 minutes ago, kazu said:

 Are they hotter than regular jalapenos?  I think we are both going to wait until H freezes over for our Black Pearls to turn red 😉 😆 

No they seem the same,  so far.   The strange thing is that this is the only plant that we got from all the seeds.   The black pearl seeds all germinated but  are still not even fruiting, they flowered and are now growing more🤷‍♀️

Edited October 16, 2021 by bennybear

[rafinmd]

I mentioned earlier that Safaga  was not a port I particularly enjoyed.  I found Silversea excellent on the frills but mediocre or less on the basics.  They were very late in getting me documents and by the time I got them and found the only decent thing to do in Safaga  was an overnight tour it was too late to sign up.  I walked around a bit and took a shuttle to a little resort but there was really nothing of interest and I do not have a single photo of the port.

It was the start of a series of cruises booked as a result of a disappointment from a previous cruise.  My curiosity about Luxor was whetted and 2 years later I booked a Nile River cruise on one of the boats like in @kb4683's photo.  I loved the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, and the Aswan Dam and Lake Nassar but found out too late for a pre-trip to Alexandria (The flyer was in my hotel packet on arrival in Cairo but I was exhausted and did not look at it until the next morning).  The final leg of the group was a year later on the Crystal Serenity with a stop in Alexandria, just before the uprisings started.

 

Roy

[kazu]

Just now, bennybear said:

No they seem the same,  so far.   The Black pearls are still not even fruiting, they flowered and are now growing more🤷‍♀️

 

Thanks.  WTH on yours not fruiting?  You probably tried giving them a shake already/ touching the flower pollen with a q tip.  I have fruit but not very many really but I do have fruit.  It’s just they are black and purple so no point in picking them as they won’t be hot.  

 

I definitely won’t be planting them next year.  Sure, they’re pretty and that appealed to have something different but according the package they should have turned red by now.  GRRR

[aliaschief]

Captain just gave his noontime update. I guess everything cost more these days. The cost of transiting the Panama Canal is now $450,000.00!😱

[arzz]

When we arrived in the very crowded port of Safaga in 2012 on the Seabourn Pride we felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie. 
 

[arzz]

[arzz]

Safaga to Luxor and Back OR You Can Never Have Enough Singles in Egypt - Part 1

 

We have just returned from our overnight excursion from the port of Safaga, Egypt to Luxor, Egypt.  A wonderful time was had by all.  I understand that folks at home have had some concerns due to the recent events in Egypt and the news reports re:  Cairo.  Please be advised that Safaga is nowhere near Cairo, we were treated well throughout  and we were in no way aware of any difficulties at all.

 

We were picked up at the pier by our trusty guide and our driver, as scheduled, and on time.  Two years ago our vehicle in Alexandria sported the name "Santa Claus".  This trip our trusty car was christened "sinderella".

 

Our ship was docked right next to a passenger and freight ferry that had also just arrived.  The area around the dock was an unpaved, sandy surface that was now filled with a huge, disorganized melee of local people dressed in classic local attire as well as horse and donkey carts, diesel trucks and large flat bed push carts piled high with bundles of who knows what wrapped in rugs, fabric and plastic sheet and tied with ropes.  Inevitably there were also many people riding with and hanging off the carts.    

 

We felt as if we had docked in the middle of a scene from an old movie about a steamship arriving in a classical middle eastern port.

 

And that was the start of our day at 7:15 am.  Somehow our expert driver navigated the crowds without hitting anyone or anything, and drove us out of the port area and into town.

 

Safaga is not a large city.  In a short time we were past the city limits and well on our way into the three hour drive to Luxor.

 

The roads were very interesting.  Most of the way they were two lane blacktop highways that snaked through totally barren and empty desert.  Slowly the desert morphed from tall rocky mountains, to smaller rocky rises to an almost flat surface.  For half of the way there was nothing else -- not even electric lines or a Bedouin tent.  Finally the electric and phone lines were there to keep us company -- as well as the other traffic on the road.

 

Now, it should be stated that our driver was excellent and took very good care of us -- we rode round trip with no incidents at all.  But, as observers from the United States we have been able to compile the following information about how to drive in Egypt.

 

1. On our last trip in 2011 we learned that in the cities, such as Cairo, the traffic lines in the road are merely suggestions.  The cars and people go wherever they wish on the road and somehow everyone survives, including pedestrians, and all eventually get where they wish to go.

 

2)  On two lane roads things are a little different.  First, each individual driver chooses where on the road they wish to drive.  In some places they have actually painted in a center line on the road -- but don't be fooled, the line is only superfluous and has no real meaning.

 

3)  Once having chosen your driving spot it is important to constantly be aware of oncoming traffic as they will also have chosen an arbitrary driving lane -- one cannot be too alert.  The trick is to never slow down yet somehow merge right or left to avoid collision.

 

4)  Never drive following another vehicle.  It is mandatory to pass, even on hairpin turns,   Alert, the driver must stay alert -- and, if possible, on the paved highway.

 

5) In the small cities and towns don't expect to find traffic lights.  Navigation and traffic control are accomplished via several avenues.  First, the traffic circles (we never could figure out if there is a rule about who has the right of way) -- Second the "chicken" turn (that is you just turn -- forget about slowing down -- if there is other traffic, just drive in front of them) and third the humongous super-sized speed bumps that appear in the road with no warning or marking at all -- you just have to know where they are to avoid loosing your axle.

 

6)  If you need to communicate with other cars to say things like "I am going to pass you whether you like it or not" or "get out of my arbitrarily chosen lane" you have to know how to speak "car horn" -- I do not know that language yet the other car usually replies.

 

Our best advice is to leave the driving to the Egyptians.

 

We did arrive in Luxor and were quite safe. We could tell we were getting close to the Nile as we approached town when we started to see irrigated green fields on the desert landscape.  The town of Luxor itself it was not only green but there were palm trees and flowering bushes.

 

Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings.  The site chosen for burial tombs and like Petra it is well hidden between and behind tall mountains.  It is believed that there are some 63 tombs there but only a fraction have been uncovered.  The price of admission includes three tombs (you choose which three) except that if you wish to see the tombs of Ramses VI and Tutankhamen you have to buy additional tickets.  Our guide discouraged us seeing from Tutankhamen's tomb as it is very small, and not special - Interesting note:   last Friday they celebrated 90 years since the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb.

 

We did, however, choose to see the other "premium" tomb, that of Ramses VI because the original color paintings are still in very good condition.  Among the paintings in that tomb there is a recurrent theme -- the illustration of a Goddess who was punished and is now required to swallow the sun every evening at sunset and give birth to the sun each day at daybreak.

 

Our guide was not allowed to enter the tombs with us as each tomb has one or two local guides who insist on taking you through and explaining things in very poor English -- and when done they ask for money.  One of my guides was cheeky enough to tell me that the dollar I gave him was not enough for his few minutes of commentary.  Remember that we have already paid an admission price to see the tombs.  And, when Ed and I moved through the tombs at different speeds, we each got hit separately for the tips.

 

And while I am on the subject, the dollars were pretty much a necessity to use the washroom.  We tried to get Egyptian coins but amazingly ... no one had change!  There are also the endless items for sale by the vendors "only one dollar" or "only two dollars".  I knew in advance to bring a lot of singles with us -- but to tell the truth by the end of the second day my rest stops were in jeopardy.

 

As we concluded the first day's tours (West Bank of the Nile) we also stopped to see the two huge statues -- the so called Colossi of Memnon and we visited the large Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

 

Whew!  The cool desert morning had become the bright, hot, desert afternoon and I had been up and running for ten hours!  We checked into our hotel on the Nile and laid down for a well deserved nap.

 

We then went down to have dinner in the hotel.  We ate outside by the hotel's pool on the banks of the Nile River.  After dinner Ed went to see the Sound and Light show at the Temple of Karnak -- me?  I went upstairs and went to sleep.

 

More tomorrow.

 

From the Red Sea, on our way to the Gulf of Aden and Oman

 

 

 

[arzz]

Part 2 - Luxor - Nov 24-25, 2012

 

Our 6:30 am wake up call came -- we dressed and went down to breakfast.  The same restaurant that we had enjoyed, on the banks of the Nile, the night before.  Or, as I discovered, some of us enjoyed -- somehow DH had missed the fact that we ate dinner on the banks of the Nile River.  Even though he thought he was still alert and went on to the sound and light show after dinner he was ... well ... DH.  DH protests that it was dark and he could not see the river.  He did, however, enjoy his breakfast on the banks of the NIle River.

 

This morning we were to explore the East bank of the Nile.  We began with the Temple of Karnak which used to be connected to the Temple of Luxor by a very long avenue lined on both sides with sphinxes.  A few of the sphinx remain at the Karnak Temple, more at the Temple of Luxor.  We have to admit that we are very impressed by the architecture and grand design carried out by the Egyptian ancestors 4000 years ago.

 

The temple consists of many courtyards filled with hieroglyph covered walls, pillars, obelisks, statues and all manner of monuments to honor the King.  The thing is, each mortal King has only a finite lifetime, so the King kept changing -- and each King in turn needed to create something to his memory -- so the sphinxes were moved, a new inner or outer courtyard was created ... yada, yada, yada -- and today walking through the temple is kind of like walking through the layers of an onion, peeling them off one at a time.

 

The final inner layer of the onion is a very inner and holy courtyard that was reserved for only the holiest of holy people -- to worship in the inner temple and to host their celebrations in this very inner courtyard.

 

In summary, quite large and quite impressive.

 

The Luxor Temple was next -- and it has a fairly well preserved row of sphinxes at the entry followed by more of the same.  At the time these temples were built there was no Aswan dam and these temples were located amongst the many tributaries of the Nile so it can be imagined that they were surrounded by green fields and plants.

 

We desired to be back to the ship by 3 or 3:30 pm since the all aboard was at 4:30 and we wanted to make sure that we had some extra time just in case .... so it was time for an early lunch and then to leave Luxor.  For lunch we were brought to a small, very upscale western style restaurant where we were served a multi-course meal while we listened to recordings of Christmas music and lite jazz -- we sent back, however, two of the courses (the salad and the fruit plate desert -- better safe than sorry).

 

Before leaving town we drove through the local markets where the streets were lined with small shops selling just about everything for the cook.  We noticed, however, that the only folks in the markets -- both sales people and shoppers -- were all male.  So we asked our guide.  Apparently it is the custom that the men do the food shopping.  I asked if the men decided what to purchase or if they were given a list each morning.  Turns out the men are given a list and it is the men who are trained on how to choose the best produce and food products.  Gee, I might enjoy that!

 

Our ride back to Safaga and the ship was much as it was on the way out -- long and barren but nonetheless always interesting driving.  At the port the chaos of the arriving freight ferry of the previous morning was all gone ... our ship was now docked to the rear of Oceania's Nautica which in comparison to us, seemed like a behemoth.

 

From the Red Sea,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Afternoon Everyone,  thanks for the daily report.   CC continues to be challenging.  At one point I tried to update my signature on my PC and it errored telling me that someone else could log me in.  Odd.  Using the phone and it seems to be ok.

Today's meals suggestion sounds good. Made two grocery store runs this morning and am set, I hope, foe a few weeks. 

While in PA I picked up a dog bed that was on clearance. 

Amelia claimed it first.

Jasper likes it.

[cat shepard]

18 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Good Afternoon Everyone,  thanks for the daily report.   CC continues to be challenging.  At one point I tried to update my signature on my PC and it errored telling me that someone else could log me in.  Odd.  Using the phone and it seems to be ok.

Today's meals suggestion sounds good. Made two grocery store runs this morning and am set, I hope, foe a few weeks. 

While in PA I picked up a dog bed that was on clearance. 

Amelia claimed it first.

Jasper likes it.

Those pink pussy-toes!

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Good morning, all, or good afternoon to those east of the Rockies. It’s good that Cats have their day, although they assume every day is their day. Not a bad way to approach life. @cat shepard, your catnip joke reminds me of a cat I used to look after regularly back when my first husband and I owned a cat boarding place. She would come in with two things in mind: how fast could she escape, and who could she kill on the way out. I learned to have a sprig of fresh catnip waiting in her house. Once she was in and stopped attacking the door, she would roll in the catnip and then eat it. For about 30 minutes, she would talk and interact happily with beings who weren’t there. Then she’d have a long nap. When she woke up, she was pleasant and content and happy to see me. Life was better for us both, and her owners finally had someone who didn’t outright refuse to take their cat on a return stay.

Yesterday DH and I were walking through downtown Chilliwack. Part of the Main Street of old shops was closed and de orated for Christmas. There was even artificial snow. According to one of the security people, they are filming a Hallmark movie called ‘A Christmas Miracle for Daisy’. It will be out for this years Christmas movie run. We’re looking forward to seeing it and recognizing familiar scenes!

I also worked on a new scarf. It has Usnea and red leaves in a watercolour effect with fallen maple leaves as a background blanket. It’s not the sharp look I usually go for, more like a Monet, but I like the forest spirit in the middle.

Happy Saturday, and I believe at least one BHB sets sail today!

[JazzyV]

Good afternoon. Thanks for the Daily.

Good days. I like dictionaries and always looked up words while reading or doing crossword puzzles, to broaden my vocabulary. I like cats, although I've never had one.

Interesting quote.

I love black bean soup. The drink sounds interesting. The wine sounds good too, for a white, lol.

I haven't been to Egypt. Thanks for the pictures.

 

The day started off rainy and gloomy, but it's brightening up now. It's only 57F, with lows in the 40's overnight. Doing indoor chores today.

 

@St. Louis Sal I hope your liver transplant friend is ok. So sorry to hear about your friend Steve. Prayers for you and his family.

@kazu That's a lot of work maintaining your plants. But your result is your beautiful yard.

@1ANGELCAT I agree that waiting is hard. I hope you hear something on Monday.

@smitty34877 Your family dinner sounds like a wonderful time.

@richwmn Good news indeed!

@rafinmd Enjoy the concert.

@cruzn single I hope you get the meds straightened out; one of the realities of being on multiple meds.

@Horizon chaser 1957 Lovely scarf with the forest spirit.

 

Prayers for the care list and cheers for the celebration list.

Stay safe and wear your mask if needed.

 

 

[superoma]

45 minutes ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Good morning, all, or good afternoon to those east of the Rockies. It’s good that Cats have their day, although they assume every day is their day. Not a bad way to approach life. @cat shepard, your catnip joke reminds me of a cat I used to look after regularly back when my first husband and I owned a cat boarding place. She would come in with two things in mind: how fast could she escape, and who could she kill on the way out. I learned to have a sprig of fresh catnip waiting in her house. Once she was in and stopped attacking the door, she would roll in the catnip and then eat it. For about 30 minutes, she would talk and interact happily with beings who weren’t there. Then she’d have a long nap. When she woke up, she was pleasant and content and happy to see me. Life was better for us both, and her owners finally had someone who didn’t outright refuse to take their cat on a return stay.

Yesterday DH and I were walking through downtown Chilliwack. Part of the Main Street of old shops was closed and de orated for Christmas. There was even artificial snow. According to one of the security people, they are filming a Hallmark movie called ‘A Christmas Miracle for Daisy’. It will be out for this years Christmas movie run. We’re looking forward to seeing it and recognizing familiar scenes!

I also worked on a new scarf. It has Usnea and red leaves in a watercolour effect with fallen maple leaves as a background blanket. It’s not the sharp look I usually go for, more like a Monet, but I like the forest spirit in the middle.

Happy Saturday, and I believe at least one BHB sets sail today!

Wow! Can’t wait for your Etsy site!

[Heartgrove]

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We came to our local port North Shields to see P&O Arcadia which has just arrived today for several weeks for refurbishment.

Graham.

 

The "fifth" HAL Vista-class ship.

[garlictown]

I have a friend who says 'Happy Caturday' on Saturdays.🐾😸

Katie

[Happily@Sea]

I've lived in Florida for over 50 years - I've never heard of Sweetest Day. Maybe it's only certain parts of Florida. It's not well advertised - that's for sure. 🙄

Edited October 16, 2021 by Happily@Sea

[St Pete Cruiser]

5 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We came to our local port North Shields to see P&O Arcadia which has just arrived today for several weeks for refurbishment.

Graham.

Arcadia was built on the same plans as Holland America's Vista class fleet, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam.

[St Pete Cruiser]

24 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

The "fifth" HAL Vista-class ship.

Just saw your post. Yes, I thought it was originally built for Holland America, but completed for P & O.

[richwmn]

40 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

The "fifth" HAL Vista-class ship.

 

14 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Just saw your post. Yes, I thought it was originally built for Holland America, but completed for P & O.

I think the fifth vista ship went to Cunard

 

[highscar]

To you experts on plants etc.  I love lavender and have a lovely plant which  was a gift last spring.  How do I winter it?  Someone suggested I simply put it in the garage ???????

[1ANGELCAT]

Good afternoon all, the rain has arrived and dropped the temperature about 20 degrees. I supported 2 fire companies dinners and another charity chicken bbq today. Enough food for several days. 
     Witmer fc had a drive thru Ox roast ( sold out by 4:30) 3,300 dinners. Caernarvon fc for a drive thru Turkey and all the trimmings and finally the chicken bbq.

    @Crazy For Cats, this was the event Sertoma had in Lancaster every May. It was cay last year, they plan to go back to May again next year. It’s still at Long’s park. 

 

 

 

 

[rafinmd]

39 minutes ago, richwmn said:

 

I think the fifth vista ship went to Cunard

 

My understanding is the 2 Cunard ships are closer in design to the Signature ships.

 

OK, according to Wikipedia the 5th Vista was transferred first to Cunard but before completion was transferred again to P&O.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Arcadia_(2004)

 

Roy

Edited October 16, 2021 by rafinmd
Checked wiki

[Heartgrove]

The Arcadia was originally ordered by HAL but before construction began, was paper transferred to Cunard. Cunard made the case that they needed more of a World Cruiser with strengthened bow, etc. and therefore a new build became the Queen Victoria. By this time HAL had moved on and had begun designing the Signature-class Eurodam, so the hull was completed as the Arcadia for P&O. The funnel is actually a Cunard design instead of P&O.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Heartgrove

[Live4cruises]

Yes, Roy @rafinmd, today is the day for Come from Away - hooray!  We'll be leaving shortly for a pre-play drink and leisurely walk to the Performing Arts Center.  

I hope you enjoy your concerts!  It seems to be CC'ers night out.

 

Thanks to all for this friendly place to be!