Jumeirah Mosque My sightseeing today began at the Jumeirah Mosque. It was built in the 1970’s as a gift to Dubai from the current Sheikh’s late father. Its architecture was influenced by mosques in Syria and Egypt and it can accommodate 1500 worshipers. [read more]
Lots and lots of shiny stuff here in Dubai. Gold, glass, steel, water. Today I got an eyeful. First, the Burj Khalifa did not disappoint. Twice as tall as the Empire State Building, it has 163 floors. The 124th, 125th and 148th floors have observation decks [read more]
Today I am in Khasab, Oman, the narrow chokepoint on the on the Straits of Hormuz, that little point of Arabia that juts up into and almost touches Iran. Officially, the country of Oman honors the trade sanctions placed on Iran. Unofficially, there is a thriving smuggling [read more]
My music references always date me, usually to the 70’s. You can do the jitterbug down in Muscat land because this is one clean city! Just about every building that you can see is white or light stone, there is no litter, anywhere, and even the sidewalks around the Grand Mosque look like they’ve been spit-shined. [read more]
We have two pretty sensitive passages on this trip. Later we will pass through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman to port and Iran to starboard. But for tonight, we squeeze through the water that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. To port is Yemen, war zone and terrorist training ground, to starboard Somalia, land of pirates. [read more]
You know it.s coming but you’re not sure just when. One more turn in the siq and there it is. The first startling moment you turn a corner and see Petra’s Treasury appear is breathtaking. The Siq, the mile long main entrance to the city, is a natural ravine lined with towering rock walls. [read more]
Deja vu, all over again. Three and a half hours on the bus to come right back to Luxor Temple. First stop will be the Luxor Museum. [read more]
My romantic dream of exploring the ancient wonders of Egypt included a felucca on the nile leisurely meandering from temple to tomb in the style of early 20th century explorers, but perhaps without the camels. [read more]
Happy Birthday to me! Today in Crete became my get better or go home day. I set out to explore The ruins of Knossos, the ruins of the ancient palace of the Minoans and home to the Labyrinth of the Minotaur. [read more]
How fun was this day? Drew, Julie and I booked a 10 mile rafting trip down the Merced River. The heavy winter snowpack made this some of the best water I had seen in years. Drew and I [read more]
We left West End, Tortola yesterday headed to Salt Island. Straight into the wind and current, we motored the whole way. The 12 mile trip took about 5 and a half hours. We had anchored in on the lee side of the island and have a calmer anchorage [read more]
Our sail today if from Norman Island to West End, Tortola. This is an opportunity to provision but the store has very little selection of anything. We took a walk along the boardwalk and got to take a quick tour of a very nice yacht that a crew was scrubbing for their next charter. [read more]
Started the day with a lovely snorkel in the cove. Not many fist but I saw a nice stingray. We pulled anchor and set off for the Indians – four rocks projecting out of the water. There is a nice reef around the whole thing [read more]
We departed Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda for a 4 mile trip to Copper Island – not much here but some mooring balls. We hooked onto one and were immediately greeted by our token 3 foot barracuda. [read more]
Last night we anchored just outside the restricted area for the Baths on Virgin Gorda. It was another rolly night – I decided to change my strategy and sleep sideways on my berth. It helped a bit but I could never stretch out. We had a long and slightly scary swim ashore [read more]
We left our happy Jost Van Dyke to sail to Little Jost Van Dyke to hike the trail to the bubbly pool. This is part of a rock formation between two islands that creates a jacuzzi pool. The waves roll in over some high rocks and then drop in to the pool [read more]
Today has been scheduled around celebrating Sharon’s birthday at Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke. We struck out at about 9:00am for the 1.5 hour sail. This is a very busy anchorage and the strategy was [read more]
We left St. Croix this yesterday at about 8am. Sailing was almost due north to St. John. We took turns at the helm and got acquainted with the nav equipment. At about 3:30 we entered Drake Channel with St. Thomas and St. John (USVIs) on our left, and Tortola, Norman Island [read more]
We dinghy’ed to the marina this morning and walked about town for a while. We took a few minutes at the fort and then hit the ATM for our boat money. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at a dockside bar. Really Mom, its about the WiFi [read more]
Yesterday we finished up our instruction in the pool and finished with two reef dives in the afternoon. We performed the required tasks, took our final exams and are now PADI certified. We celebrated at Rumrunner with our instructor [read more]
We arrived in St. Croix 3:45 yesterday afternoon. We disembarked and were immediately offered rum samples. I was unable to find a taxi willing to transport us to our address in Christiansted. There was a high-priestess [read more]
I am back in Male after 7 days in paradise. Every day snorkel, breakfast, move to next reef, snorkel, lunch, explore a small island, snorkel, dinner, rinse and repeat. [read more]
This Hawksbill Turtle was not particularly alarmed by my presence nearby. I was snorkeling the South Male Atoll (Kaafu Atoll) and came upon several. This turtle stuck around and seemed to be as curious about us as we were of it.
I am at the airport to meet up with the group. The boat (pictured above) is a strange blend of fishing and houseboat. There are 4 guest cabins. I will be sharing mine with a 20 year-old girl from Denmark. [read more]