All Our Bags Are Packed!: Cruise: Israel, Greece and Turkey, cont. # 12

Cruise: Israel, Greece and Turkey, cont. # 12

As we get ready to leave Israel via Haifa and the surrounding area, it's time to reflect about our overall Israeli experience: There were many unexpected aspects about our visit: Somehow, (while in a taxi) my wallet (credit card, money, etc.) fell out of my pocket. I got a call from the taxicab driver several hours after we left the cab. He had my wallet. By chance, my old business card was in the wallet and the driver was able to call me on my cell phone. He assured me that everything was intact. He returned to the area of our apartment from his home which was quite a distance. (He got a nice reward).

Compared to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem was cleaner, less hectic, obviously more religious and it had a "nice vib." Although a week was spent in each city, meeting people at the Jerusalem apartment complex seemed easier, more inviting. We met an American - Christian Evangelist who (along with others) migrated to Jerusalem to improve the relationship between American Christians and Israel. His group was instrumental in transferring the American consulate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

We learned more about Israeli "politics" than getting a "religious experience." Everyone we spoke to about USA spoke favorably about Trump (although they did not approve of his antics), hated Obama, hope that Biden stays alive (can't stand Harris), really liked Reagan and thought Clinton was "okay."

Israeli budget is spent in the following order: Defense, Education, Health and Infrastructure

This was a great experience - well worth the time.

Best of all, everyone we met was friendly and helpful!

For us, staying in an apartment and experiencing the local atmosphere was well worth it.

We had to do a Covid self-check before we got on the ship.

Our guide agreed to take us to the port. Seabourn offered a shuttle service from a Haifa hotel. We felt it was not necessary since we were closer to the port. We spoke to someone at port a gate that indicated our ship's "entrance" was close to the below building

We found another gate. There was the usual "passport control" but there was also confusion. The gate staff called a supervisor who, in turn said that we should continue on the port road.

We meandered from one port area to another - looking for our ship - asking questions - always getting confused looks from port authority staff, etc.

We finally found our ship. However, the officer asked what we were doing, how did we get to this part of the dock and that we had to go through "Immigration and Passport Control." In order to get to this part of the port, we had to leave the area and re-enter near that pretty building. We go to the port exit area but had trouble leaving since we (essentially) entered illegally. We finally were able to exit. Unfortunately, the road to get to Immigration and Passport Control was on the other side of a one-way major boulevard. The road took us outside of Haifa before we could turn around. When we did, we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic and, to compound the problem, there was a "No Left Turn" situation that would NOT allow us to enter the Immigration and Passport area. So, we had to exit Haifa in the other direction in order to turn around.

We FINALLY got to Immigration and Passport Control. There were hoards of people. We got ushered from one line to another ending up where we had to be re-tested. This entire process (entering port to being tested) took about two hours of stress. The next step was to get on the ship. That was until we were asked for boarding passes. We didn't have boarding passes. When the port staff checked our names (and after telling each person we were on the Seabourn), it turned out we were in line for the wrong ship and we had to wait until passengers on the other shipped cleared.

Not a happy camper. To further compound the problem, we had to wait for our larger luggage pieces which were taken by porters thinking we were traveling on the other ship.

Finally, the situation was resolved. It turned out that the earlier memo should have read that ALL passengers meet at the hotel and wait for a port shuttle. Part of this "chaos" was due to "security issues." Because of the ongoing Palestinian issues, changes were made on the fly and the ship's intra-communication didn't go too well. In fact, our first cruise day (which was to remain in Israel) was cancelled due to "a Gaza issue."

Nice gesture. We were greeted with champagne - it was time to find our room and unwind.

Main stairwell of the Encore

Pretty artwork

We're (now) happy!

Ship's Bridge

First dinner aboard ship

Early morning ride on tender to Agios-Nikolaos (Crete)

Pretty ship

Harbor entrance

Lots of stairs

Pretty "lake" (inlet) connecting to the sea

Surprise! Surprise! Electric cars on this island!

And sponges...

Late afternoon relaxation

Enjoying dinner and each other on outside deck

Harbor entrance to Rhodes

Plenty of old areas to explore

Old, first century Jewish area (still active) is behind us

Fun place

Another manhole

Neighborhood mosque

Plenty of nice beaches

Ceramic factory

Third generation family business

Next generation not interested in carrying on with the tradition

Paint applied using these "bulb" devices

Plate on left has been fired. Plate on right side has not yet been fired

Next stop is Lindos - a spiritual, religious and a "go to beach/scuba area

295 difficult steps, forty-five minutes to reach top combined with 90 degree temperature, we decided to pass on this site. Besides, if we did make it to the top, we would have to work our way down to the bottom.