The Red Sea - Nov 9th

  

Wed. Nov 9th The Red Sea

By Jain

We are halfway on this cruise and on our 10th day we still get lost on this boat!  Having been in different cruise ships before I don't remember ever being turned around as we have been on this Norwegian Star. Our suite is located in the very back of this ship so you think you could figure that out which way is aft. One big clue is that the carpet has fish swimming in the direction of the bow.  I don't know how many times we have walked almost length of the ship forgetting to look down at those darn fish on the carpet only to discover we were going the wrong way. Of course another clue is that if we past John and Lori's sign on the door  "We are Cruiseaholics"  we immediately look at each other with the expression somethings wrong. I bet John  and Lori don't get turned around, (except maybe finding their way home from Gatsby's Bar.)

We blame our navigation disfunction partly because the ship is laid out cockeyed. Many floors you can't go from front to back or port to starboard without going up or down a floor. Who designed this ship and how am I supposed to find the Versailles restaurant section #9 in an emergency when I can't find it for dinner?. 

This afternoon we walk around deck 13 (don't ask me how we got there) admiring the views of the Suez Canal. There is a lot of sand out there and surprising some cities seem to just pop out of nowhere like a mirage full of palm trees. Leaving our convoy at the end of Suez Canal we find ourselves in the Red Sea. I didn't look red to me but big, really big. I guess the sea turns reddish brown due to some algae when it dies. It looked green to me.  As our ship meanders down the Red Sea on right side you can see the eastern African coast on the other side the Saudi Arabian peninsula. We are a long ways from home and in a different world.

Tomorrow we land in Aqaba, Jordan, it is our 97th country. It is famous for Petra, a famous archaeological site in Jordans southwest desert. You may remember Indiana Jones in the Raiders of the Lost Arc going through the narrow canyon of Al Sig, or the temples carved in Pink stone cliffs. We have planned to go into Ababa itself and see what's happening.

Good night from 9736 suite on the Star Norwegian Cruise Ship.

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