22 October 2007 Suez Canal

Monday 22nd October 2007 - Transit Suez Canal.
This is a once in a lifetime experience - neither of us expect to do this again. We are currently anchored in the Bitter Lakes, part of a convoy of 18 southbound ships, waiting to be passed by 25 ships in the northbound convoy which, apparently, always has priority. So, for a rapid transit, travel north young man, or prepare for a six hour wait two thirds through the passage!
Evening
After six hours in the Bitter Lake the convoy moves on to the second tranche of the Suez canal - all in a line about 300 metres apart. We reach Suez (actually Suweis) at around 6.30 pm and swap our canal pilot for our Gulf pilot. Pretty uneventful as the sun sets and we head down the Sinai peninsular.
We were informed in the evening that the cost of the transit was $180 thousand.

21 October 2007 Cairo

Sunday 21st October 2007
Port Said for Cairo.
Took the desert road from Port Said to Cairo. This was very interesting as the road runs parallel to the Suez canal for part of the way and if you look towards the canal you can sometimes see a huge ship apparently sailing through the fields (see photo). However, driving through Cairo was not such a fun experience. We passed the Ministry where David worked 25 years ago on the way to the Egyptian Museum where we saw King Tut's death mask and all the other loot from his tomb. We also saw various other mummies and sarcophagi, hieroglyphics and statues and carvings. Apparently if you were to spend one minute looking at each exhibit it would take 9 months to look at the entire contents. We only had an hour and a half but we have both been before.
Next we motored to the Mina House Oberoi Hotel (5 star) where we had lunch before going up to the Pyramids. Here we got ripped off by a man with a camel but still got some nice photos and some scarab beetles. Again we were rather rushed but managed to see the pyramids and the Sphinx (see photos). However we both think that these pyramids have reached their touristic limit; seeing the Sphinx was rather like a rugby scrum with everyone fighting for photo shots. We are glad we have seen it together but would both have been disappointed had we not been previously at a more leisurely pace. A far as we were concerned the final stop on the trip (papyrus institute and general bazaar) could have been left out completely; but unfortunately was part of the institutionalised tourist rip off! Like other passengers we would have been happy to purchase any genuine Egyptian goods and artefacts but do not enjoy wasting time being exposed to tourist tat, particularly when we are a captive audience. We were given 30 minutes here as opposed to ten minutes a the Sphinx! The trip back to the ship was, inevitably, after such a long day rather tedious. However it did end on a high note with us haggling for various bits and pieces for our themed Egyptian night (yet to happen - so look out for that blog) on arrival back in Port Said.

12 October 2007 Gibraltar

Friday 12th October
Departed Falmouth. Left port to the sound of Rod Stewart singing "We are Sailing"; pretty much as expected and wondering what was in store . Next few days spent at sea with a smooth crossing of the Bay of Biscay. Mandi has joined the art class and the craft class.
Monday 15th October
Arrive Gibraltar; unusual place with indigenous population from all over the place. Walked up main street and spent some money in Marks and Sparks. Took a tour to the top of the rock where we saw the macaques (monkeys) then to St Michaels Cave which is so large it has a concert hall inside it. Next to the Siege tunnels and the Moorish castle. Then we went to Morrisons and stocked up on Gin, Tonic and wine!!
We are just about to dock in Malta where we hope to be able to post this blog. There is no internet access on the ship and an email costs £1.65 per person you are sending it to. We have been very lucky and ended up with a super table, so initial concerns unfounded - but Mandi is certainly in the youngest 5% and getting lots of attention from Sergey, the Ukrainian ballroom champion! One of the photos is of our table. From back to front Stuart and Pam, Mandi and David, Donald and Jackie, Margaret and David.

Introduction to the Ship

Hi Everyone

Welcome to Mandi and David's first blog. Our cruise departs at 16.30 pm on the 12th October 2007. The maps show our route and the ports are listed underneath. Hopefully this will be the trip of a lifetime. We will be gone for nearly six months. The ship we are travelling on is called the MV Van Gogh (pictured). It is a small cruise ship without many facilities . The ship does not have much in the way of communications (apart from a satellite phone for emergencies) so we will need to spend some time in internet cafes keeping in touch with friends and family via email and this blog.

World Ports of Call - East to West 2007

1. Falmouth
2. Gibraltar
3. Valletta, Malta
4. Port Said for Cairo
5. Transit Suez Canal
6. Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
7. Salalah, Oman
8. Cochin, India
9. Columbo, Sri Lanka
10. Phuket, Thailand
11. Penang, Malaysia
12. Singapore
13. Pandang Bay, Bali
14. Darwin, Australia
15. Cairns, Australia
16. Noumea, New Caledonia
17. Suva, Fiji
18. Alofi, Niue
19. Rarotonga, Cook Islands
20. Papeette, Tahiti
21. Nuka Hiva, Marquesas Islands
22. Guayaquil, Ecuador
23. Transit Panama Canal
24. Oranjestad, Aruba
25. Castries, St Lucia
26. Bridgetown, Barbados
27. Funchal, Madeira .







World Ports of Call - West to East 2008

1. Falmouth
2. Ponta Delgada, Azores
3. St John's, Antigua
4. Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe French Caribbean
5. Willemstad, Curaau, Dutch Caribbean
6. San Blas Islands, Panama
7. Transit Panama Canal
8. Manta, Ecuador
9. Cruise Past Galapagos Islands
10. Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands
11. Papeete, Tahiti
12. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
13. Nuku'alofa, Tonga
14. Suva, Fiji
15. Auckland, New Zealand
16. Bay of Islands, New Zealand
17. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
18. Devonport, Tasmania
19. Fremantle for Perth, Western Australia
20. Port Louis, Mauritius
21. St. Denis, Runion
22. Durban, South Africa
23. Cape Town, South Africa
24. Jamestown, St Helena
25. Georgetown, Ascention Island
26. Praia, So Tiago, Cape Verde
27. Funchal, Madeira

About The Ship

2009 onward: Limassol, Cyprus Builder: Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard, Finland Cost: $ 25 million Yard number: 1213
Launched: 18 October 1974
Acquired: 30 June 1975
Identification: IMO 7359400 Status: In service General characteristics (as built)
Class and type: Belorussiya class cruiseferry Tonnage: 16,331 GRT Displacement: 3,004 DWT Length: 156.27 m (512 ft 8 in) Beam: 22.05 m (72 ft 4 in) Draught: 5.90 m (19 ft 4 in) Depth: 16.31 m (53 ft 6 in)[6] Decks: 9 Ice class: ICE-C
Installed power: 2 × Wärtsilä-Pielstick 18PC2V diesels combined 13240 kW Propulsion: Two propellers Speed: 21 kn (38.89 km/h) (service speed) Capacity: 1009 passengers
504 passenger berths
256 cars Crew: 216 General characteristics (as Salamis Filoxenia)
Type: Cruise ship Tonnage: 15,402 GT Displacement: 2,452 DWT Decks: 7 (passenger accessible)
Capacity: 506 passengers (795 maximum).