Croatia to Israel

Greetings, from somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean!

Well, not middle per say, but a few hundred miles (I believe) south of the island of Cyprus. Tomorrow, bright and early we'll arrive in Haifa, the northern port city of Israel. Since I last wrote, we have visited Dubrovnik, Croatia and Patmos, Greece. Both incredible places where I would absolutely enjoy spending more time. I'm not sure if we weren't thrilled by Ravenna because we've both spent a fair amount of time seeing Europe, but at least for me, Dubrovnik and Patmos were 100% different and completely stunning.

We arrived in Croatia before either of us woke up, but when I did- I walked to the balcony, opened the curtains and turquoise water and hundreds of red roofs on a hillside appeared where distant hills had been late the night before. I completely agree with everyone in the exponential difference a balcony makes. Still hoping to see a dolphin or whale of some kind... :-P Alex and I grabbed breakfast and took a cab to the old city of Dubrovnik. Our driver was surprisingly pleasant and extremely knowledgable about the history of his city. We said farewell and thanks for the history to our cabbie and took in the turquoise waters which surround the city for a moment before walking through the gate to the “Old City”. After buying two tickets to walk on top of the wall that surrounded the city, we started the climb up incredibly steep (and often slippery and rail-less) stairs to the wall. The views were worth it. It seemed as if each turn offered a better view of something we hadn't quite noticed before. We spent a few hours walking around the wall, purchasing (incredibly expensive) water (knocking on wood, we haven't had a hint of bad weather yet!) and wandering a bit through the city. We decided we were getting close on time and still had the most important part of the day to accomplish. Geocaching in Croatia.

If anyone doesn't know what geocaching is, to sum it up quickly- it's using a multi-trillion dollar satellite system to find Tupperware in the woods. Anyone can hide a container filled with trinkets of theirs, a log book and a writing utensil, then upload the exact coordinates of where it is to geocaching.com and others will start searching. Most times, when someone finds it, they take an item, leave one of their own, and sign the book. It's fun, sure- but the coolest part (in my mind) is that it will take you places you would have never found on your own. We took out the GPS (I uploaded coordinates to it before our trip) and started walking. .62 miles, one wrong turn, a correction, and a right turn later, we found it. It was a pretty simple find, but the location was an 'off the beaten path' park that had 0 people in it, with paths zig-zagging along the cliff's edge and one leading down to a secluded pebble shore that would have been perfect for spending a lazy day. We headed back to the ship in time to relax a bit and take in an incredible sunset from the top deck before dinner. Our cast of characters for dinner could not be more different. Including Alex and I, there are 4 couples. One couple includes a hedge fund manager and a retired teacher who buys, improves and sells multi-million dollar homes. Next is a retired school administrator and her husband who is still working as a nuclear submarine repair man in Connecticut. The final couple... we're not quite sure what to make of them yet. He's from Ontario (and sounds every bit the part), she's from Ukraine. Not sure what either of them do, but he's pretty far 'out there', so to speak. (Doesn't believe Americans landed on the moon, all that kinda stuff.)

Next we had our first day at sea. Nothing too exciting happened, we lounged by the pool most of the day, until we had to get ready for our first formal dinner. This was the first time I thought that a larger ship would have been nice, just to be able to have more entertainment at our disposal. As far as sea-sickness goes, I've worn the scopolamine patch most days, but aside from a few times at dinner when there seems to be the most motion for some reason, I have usually had to look out a window to figure out if we are moving or not. Although as an interesting aside- the medicine dilates your pupils, so reading up close becomes next to impossible and I end up looking like some who is... 'more seasoned' than I, by pulling things away from my face to try and read from different distances. So for someone who gets slightly sea-sick, I would highly recommend the Mediterranean for your first attempt at cruising. Everyone I've talked to says it has the least volatile seas. For example, today is the first time we have whitecaps. The Broads in Winnipesaukee are a good comparison today. At other times? Squam.

Yesterday, we got up early for a very important reason. No, we were not in port- we were using the $250 raffle win for massages. Incredible. After we left the spa, took showers and changed, we were just about on time to go to the buffet for lunch, then catch a tender (small boat the acts as a shuttle back and forth) to Patmos. We were incredibly fortunate to have a perfect deep blue sky which in contrast to the white washed buildings along the Greek coast was stunning. We met up with Ontario and Ukraine randomly and decided to split a cab to St. John's Grotto and the monastery on the top of the island between the four of us. Hopefully we'll have more pictures up soon- but just being in the same cave where John had the vision which allowed him to right the book or Revelation was an experience like no other. It seems that with each country we visit, Americans' idea of what is considered “history” gets another kick in the pants, so to speak. We came back to the ship and relaxed, then got ready for dinner and went to see a comedian who was the evening's entertainment.

Today was another day at sea, with more meals at the buffet and lounging for a few hours by the pool. While Alex takes a nap, I've decided to give an update here then continue thoroughly enjoying a Vince Flynn book I stole from home :-) As a last note- our steward, Ronald from the south Pacific is amazing. He's funny, attentive, and incredibly helpful. Somehow after the first day, he knew us both by name and what was where in our room. We could walk up to him and say “Hey Ronald, do you happen to know where item x is?” “OH HELLO Alex and Scott!” He would yell from half way down the ship, “Yes of course, it's in the shelf below such and such.” He's outstanding. Although Alex confessed yesterday that she is missing coming back to towel animals on her bed. Maybe I'll see if I can convince Ronald to work some magic. (Shh, don't tell Alex!)

Tomorrow is Israel, so-

Shalom, chaverim.