Definitely not for sissies

Just having returned from a very ambitious two-week trek across Jordan and Egypt, we are exhausted from the adventure, yet excited at the prospects of our travel schedule for the next few months. We start with an explanation of our exploratory Arabian/Egyptian expedition. As you may or may not know, Vivere Travel’s business plan is based on travel agent accompanied group adventures to bucket list locations throughout the world. Before we ever consider taking a group, we first scout out locations and tour ideas to provide our clients the best experience possible. With that in mind, we set off for our mission to Jordan and Egypt on March 11^th.

We first arrived in Jordan for visits to Petra, Amman, Wadi Rum, and the Dead Sea, before transitioning to Egypt to tour Cairo, the Pyramids, Karnak, Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, a five-day Nile cruise and finally, Aswan. Planes, buses, and automobiles not to mention camels, donkeys and horse drawn carriages were to be our mode of transportation and let’s not forget a ton of walking. The average westerner will no doubt experience true culture shock on several levels. In the cities, five times a day you will hear the “call to prayers” blaring simultaneously from the minarets of dozens of mosques while strangely clothed men and women narrowly avoid death in their attempt to cross overcrowded roadways full of ruthlessly determined relentless traffic. 

While we certainly are not complaining about this visit, we found the pace on this exploration to be somewhat challenging both physically and schedule-wise for a couple of seniors. This was a working holiday by all accounts with most days starting before dawn and then spending ten to twelve hours touring with lots of steep, difficult terrain. Keep in mind, there is no OSHA in these countries and level sidewalks, handrails and organized cues are noticeably missing just about everywhere. On the other hand, the rewards were great and bearing witness to monuments and structures built four thousand years ago went a long way to soothe sore muscles and tired bones. Our highly educated tour guides were also an indispensable part of our adventure without whom we would not have enjoyed the trip nearly as much. We are currently putting together a custom, slower paced version of this adventure for possibly 2023 or 2024. Please let us know if you have an interest or would like advance notice of our plans.

With the challenges of pandemic-fueled travel restrictions, virus testing, cancelled flights and travel plans, it is actually hard to believe we got so much in. We celebrated New Years 2021 in Riviera Maya, Mexico, made it to Hawaii twice, road tripped to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, enjoyed all-inclusive fun in Jamaica, sailed out of L.A. for the first post-COVID cruise to Cabo, spent a week chasing and finding the Northern Lights in Iceland, warmed up with an all-inclusive week of sun and fun in Riviera Cancun and topped the year off by enjoying Christmas on a Western Caribbean Cruise and New Years on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise. No wonder we started 2022 off exhausted and late on your regular adventure updates.

Now that we’ve had the opportunity to rest, regroup, and repack, we are very excited to present you with another year of exploration and adventure. In spite of what is going on in the world, we took advantage of fewer crowds and experienced a wonderful new appreciation by those who depend on the travel industry to earn a living.  As the general public feels it is safe to go back into the water, competition for the most popular destinations and venues will translate into higher prices, more crowded destinations and far less availability. Of course we are way ahead of that curve and have already negotiated some truly awesome group travel itineraries for 2022 and 2023.

We still have limited availability for our “Back to Africa with Chris & Sue” safari adventure, Alaska, roundtrip from San Francisco, and final payments are due February 27th for our European Rhine River cruise but at this moment, we can still get you in.  Our Intro to Italy Adventure, followed by a  Mediterranean and Aegean cruise, an Alaska Cruise Tour, a Norway Northern Lights cruise adventure and finally, a Cruise Tour of Australia and New Zealand are all confirmed for 2022.  For 2023, we have confirmed adventures for an Ireland and Scotland tour in the summer and then it’s off to Spain, Portugal and Morocco for a taste of something a little different in the Fall.  

We hope you are all staying healthy and happy and as always, would love to have you join us as we continue to discover what this exciting and beautiful world has in store for us. – Chris & Sue

Visit VIVERE TRAVEL for full itineraries of our upcoming adventures.

We still have one room left for this incredible Adventure of a Lifetime. Not much time left to take advantage of opportunity but if you get back to us right away, we can make it happen.

By Chris Elder

After three sea days from Abu Dhabi, Sue and I were ready to get back on dry land and were looking forward to our adventure to  the famous Taj Mahal. This excursion would require a two hour taxi ride to the Cochin International Airport, a three hour flight to, and an overnight stay in Delhi and a three hour car ride to Agra. Before we could leave the port, however, we had to have our visas activated with an in person visit to Indian Immigration. Having completed this task relatively quickly, we were then able to go off on our own on a wild cab ride to the Cochin Airport through a deluge of monsoon fueled pounding rain. 

Our introduction to India started with pedestrian and auto traffic the likes of which we have never experienced anywhere. Bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, three-wheeled “tuc tucs”, every form of cab, truck and vehicle you could imagine all competing in an endless dance of squeezing into nonexistent lanes of traffic. Colorfully dressed and highly courageous pedestrians who apparently have absolutely no rights in traffic courageously dart in and out of the honking and beeping chaos carrying children, packages and hardware.  In spite of up to five vehicles across just inches apart on roads designed for two to three, we managed to arrive at the airport relieved, alive and unscathed.

Once at the airport, things were pretty much as normal as one would expect at any other airport. The flight to Delhi was uneventful and another short, albeit wild, cab ride to our hotel followed. The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel was highly secure, modern, well appointed and the staff went out of their way to insure our comfort. Before heading up to bed, the business center staff helped us print our vouchers so we would be ready for our six am tour the next morning. Since we left before the restaurant opened for breakfast, the hotel provided us a nice take away breakfast as we departed for the ride to Agra.

Our private car was prompt and full of complimentary water, drinks and candy and off we went as our driver skillfully negotiated the traumatic Delhi traffic on our way out of town. It took about forty-five minutes to get outside the city and on to the modern expressway before we could sit back and relax for the three hour trip to Agra. Flat farmland dotted by small villages, the occasional toll station and the smoking chimneys of brick factories made up the scenery for most of our drive. The occasional motorcycle with three or more passengers including the brightly dressed Hindu woman sitting side saddle on the back made for some interesting photos as we sped down the expressway.

Finally arriving in Agra, the insane traffic congestion ensued and picking up our guide, we arrived in the area of the Taj Mahal. Our tour included a ride to the gate via a horse drawn cart and after precariously climbing onto the rickety contraption we were off again threading our way through the cabs, tuc tucs, souvenir vendors and never ending procession of people. There is never a question of what country you’re traveling in when you see the sea of human existence spilling out everywhere. Arriving at the gate, there are actually three, one for each of the Emperor’s wives, we climbed down and joined the throng for our tour. The Taj Mahal is a monument built over the remains of Emperor Shah Jahan’s beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and is constructed of stunning white marble. As I have done in my previous blogs, I’ll leave the history for the reader to explore and simply try to give you a feel of our experience through the photos.

As we followed our guide through the gardens and buildings surrounding the monument we suddenly became aware that we were a subject of interest to the locals. We were asked to pose for selfies which grew to full photos with families and then what seemed like hundreds of people wanting to be photographed with us. Finally our guide stepped in and told us to politely refuse the requests so we could get on with our tour. He told us that many of the local people had never seen a westerner other than in magazines and on TV and our presence was quite unique to them. I have to admit that being a moviestar in India was quite unique to us as well.

After completing our tour of the Taj Mahal and under the age old pretense of seeing a demonstration on how things are made, the guide delivered us to a shop that produced semi-precious stone inlay products and another that produced local jewlery. We are pretty used to this tactic but these shops actually had a few items we liked and much to the delight of our guide, we made a few purchases where I’m sure he was richly rewarded by the shop keepers for his efforts. I politely asked him to keep to our tour itinerary and from then on he happily complied.

An authentic Indian lunch followed at a local hotel and I must say that if you like Indian food, you would have been in heaven here. The amount and spread of food was incredible but unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get used to the spice combinations and exotic flavors. This author is a simple meat and potatos guy and as usual I survived on white rice, chicken and cold beer. Sorry foodies, Andrew Bordain I am not!

We completed our day with a tour of Agra Fort which I found to be almost as interesting as the Taj Mahal. It has been in continuous operation as a military facility for over 500 years and still has a military contingent assigned today. It is a dominating collection of structures including palaces, gardens, a prison, and at one time a moat filled with crocodiles and another dry moat full of tigers. Walking around in the facility was impressive to say the least, not to mention warding off our paparazzi, but the intense heat finally got the better of us and we were quickly ushered back to the safety and comfort of our air conditioned car. Dropping off our guide we were soon on our way back to Delhi for more Indian food for dinner (Oh boy!) and a final night’s rest at the Radisson.

Breakfast next morning was again Indian but there was fresh fruit and delicious baked goodies for me so you needn’t worry about my wasting away. Off to the airport at ten am where we had no trouble catching our international flight to Sri Lanka (Of course Indian food was served for lunch) where we would meet up again with the Majestic Princess. After a brief stop at customs before boarding we were back on board where I proceeded directly to the grill for a burger, fries and of course a very cold beer. We are now cruising in the Indian Ocean and will arrive in Penang in a couple of days where we will report on our next exciting adventure.

Ciao for now,

Chris and Sue Elder

By Chris Elder

Dubai welcomed the Majestic Princess with stifling 75% humidity and temps over 100 degrees F. Uncomfortable to say the least but our bus for the morning city tour had great A/C so off we went to see the sights. Ten years ago this ultra modern city did not exist as evidenced by brand new buildings, homes and commercial centers. There is still construction going on everywhere with huge cranes, concrete mixers and building material scattered everywhere you look. We visited the small Dubai museum, the mosque, and had several photo ops before taking a water taxi over to the Gold Souk and the Spice Souks. After our shopping spree it was back to the ship for some lunch and then off again for our Desert Safari.

We decided to do this excursion on our own and our driver met us promptly just outside the cruise terminal. This was a small private tour of just six of us so after picking up our four vehicle mates from a couple of Dubai’s finest hotels we were off down the highway and into the desert wilderness. It took about an hour for us to reach a meeting point of about ten other vehicles, Toyota Land Cruisers, where we took a short break while the drivers started letting air out of the tires. This would give our vehicles more traction as we tackled the fabulous red sand dunes that lay out as far as the eye could see.

Once off the highway the fun began as our convoy sped up one dune and straight down the other. A wild and thrilling roller coaster ride ensued until we reached a beautiful spot in the middle of nowhere and had the opportunity to try our hand at sand boarding. Sue and I were not courageous enough to stress our poor knees on the boards but we thoroughly enjoyed the antics of the rest of our group while they plummeted down the dunes with a limited degree of success. Once we all had enough sand in our shoes it was time jump back into our air conditioned 4×4’s and head to our camp for camel rides, dinner and a show.

Getting on the camel was a piece of cake and the ride at sunset was fabulous but getting off the beast proved to be a real challenge. Front legs drop straight down and hold for a moment and at that point you’re holding on for dear life and trying not to be flung forward onto the sand. Once down you have to throw your legs over the hump to dismount and in spite of riding horses for thirty years, I felt like a total idiot trying to drag myself off the creature. Once again, we were happy to have survived the encounter and can’t wait to do it again.

Following the camel ride we entered the safari camp and had a wonderful barbecue dinner including the most delicious dates and exotic appetizers. Once our bellies were full the show started and we were entertained with a dizzying performance by a male dancer that spun for about thirty minutes. Normally this would have been a belly dancing performance but since it was during Holy Ramadan, belly dancing was not permitted. The show was great although I would have of course preferred the belly dancers, and then we were once again back in our vehicles and off to the ship.

Overnight the ship made the short distance to the old city of Abu Dhabi where again we woke to scorching heat and high humidity. Today we would do a short city tour that culminated in a visit to the spectacular Grand Mosque. Again, the pictures will have to speak for the beauty and opulence of this structure which houses among other things, the largest carpet and the most expensive chandeliers in the world. Dress code here is strictly enforced, especially for women, and poor Sue had to don a black costume over her clothes and a black veil to cover any exposed hair. With the heat and humidity there were times I didn’t think she was going to make it but you’ve already come to know what survivors we are. After about two hours wandering in the mosque we were once again back in the air conditioned comfort of our van and on our way back to the Majestic Princess. Tonight we would enjoy our Arabian Nights themed sail-away party as we set course for our next port of call, Colombo, India.

Until then, Ciao for now!

Chris and Sue Elder

By Chris Elder

Our adventure started with a couple of days in Rome to “loosen up” a bit before joining the brand new Majestic Princess on her maiden voyage of the Mediterranean, Suez Canal transit and continued voyage to Shanghai, China. It had only been two and a half weeks since our very ambitious amazing Africa adventure so we were looking forward to a relaxed twenty-eight day cruise with lots of sea days. Outside of a nice al fresco meal we spent most of our time in Rome shopping and recovering from the long flights. We enjoyed a beautiful drive from Rome to Civitivecchia Port with a private luxury car driven by a remarkable young Romanian man who told us all about his emigration to his favorite city, Rome.

Although the Majestic Princess is the third in its class, it was designed specifically for the rapidly growing China market where it will be making its home port in Shanghai. There is a definite emphasis on Asian cuisine, art, entertainment and shopping in the design of the Majestic. We found it a little amusing that the hamburger grill now features Dim Sum and the outdoor pizza kitchen was replaced by a noodle bar. Other than a few other subtle changes, the vessel is stunning, roomy and as comfortable as her sister ship, the Regal Princess, that we had the pleasure of sailing last year to the Baltic. We booked a balcony stateroom on Aloha deck aft which is close to the fitness center on deck 17 and the International Marketplace buffet on deck 16.

Our first port of call and first official day of the cruise took us to Napoli where we did a little shopping in the morning before setting out for an excursion to Herculaneum. Like Pompeii, Herculaneum fell victim to the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. but there were differences. The first being that Herculaneum was a very affluent port city made up of the upper crust of Roman civilization much like our modern seaside communities of today. Secondly, where Pompeii was destroyed by lava, ash, white-hot rock and lapilli, Herculaneum was inundated with boiling mud resulting in much better preservation of the cities buildings, infrastructure and even wooden rooftops, furnishings and pottery. We have been to Pompeii a couple of times and found Herculaneum to be just as interesting although quite a bit smaller. Like Pompeii, a huge amount of Herculaneum remains to be excavated however since a modern city now sits above the ruins, it may be many years before it yields all of its buried secrets.

From Naples we set course for the picturesque island of Santorini, Greece. Last time Sue and I visited this island paradise of white washed buildings perched on cliffs overlooking the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean we did a pretty intensive land tour covering most of the island. Today we opted to sail out to the center of the active volcano which formed these volcanic islands and hike up to the vista point for a panoramic view of the caldera. It was a steep climb on rocky terrain so we were both pretty happy to successfully complete the trek and be on our way to a traditional lunch on the small island of Thirassia. On Thirassia we dined al fresco at a seaside restaurant with the stunning backdrop of rugged mountain panoramas and enjoyed our Souvlaki (kebabs) and local Greek beer in the fresh salty air. A short sightseeing cruise of the Santorini coastline followed before we were back onboard the Majestic Princess to set sail for the Suez Canal.

Although it is very interesting to have the opportunity to travel in this part of the world, we are constantly reminded of the turmoil in the countries that surround us as we prepare to take our place in the convoy through the canal. The crew practiced pirate drills and rigged the ship with fire hoses to repel any attempt at unauthorized boarding of our floating home. After anchoring off the coast of Egypt for the night we started our voyage through the canal at about four in the morning and as this is the maiden voyage of the largest cruise ship to ever transit the canal we were given the honor of leading the southbound convoy behind a military escort. The transit took about eleven hours to complete at which point we entered the Red Sea. Our course continued south to the Sinai Penisula where we then changed course in a northeasterly route up to the top of the Red Sea to Aqaba in the Kingdom Country of Jordan.

Once at the most northern point in the Red Sea you reach Aqaba on the east side and Elat, Israel, on the west side only a mile or so apart. Our shore excursion in Aqaba took us on a two hour journey through the desert to the lost city of Petra. Speaking of desert, since entering the Suez Canal, the desert is endless in every direction and reminds us so much of our own Mojave desert back home. Traveling along the Kings Highway we pass camels, goats, donkeys and sheep herded by Bedouins, all trying to scratch a meager existence out of this harsh terrain that so much history was written around. On our way up the winding roads into the mountains we pass through several little towns, each with their characteristic mosques, schools and soccer fields until we finally reach our destination city of Petra and the gateway to the lost city.

Our weather has now changed from relatively mild to downright hot so our one mile walk in the direct desert sun to the Siq or passageway to Petra was rewarded by luxurious shade once we entered the narrow canyon (Siq) that guards the entrance to Petra. It’s about a half mile through the Siq with its stunning orange and red sandstone cliff walls when suddenly the famous Nabataean Treasury appears before you without warning. Yes, the Treasury is one and the same as portrayed in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Treasury is only the first building, although the best preserved, in the much larger city of Petra. Without trying to go into all the history of this city its much easier to tell you that I was fascinated at how advanced this Nabataean society was. The photos tell a much better story than I dare pretend so please check out the link at the bottom of this post.

The walk back out was brutal in the mid day sun as it tends to be an uphill walk all the way back to the starting point. You also have to negotiate the donkeys and horse carts that seem to come at you from every direction not to mention the vendors trying to sell jewelry, trinkets and head scarfs. In spite of the traffic the visit to Petra was another bucket list item that everyone should do at least once. After lunch and what seemed like a gallon of water later, we were back on the air conditioned bus and headed back to the Port of Aqaba and the Majestic Princess to complete our journey south through the Red Sea.

So here we are leaving the Red Sea and making a course change west around the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. We’ll have six relaxing sea days before landing in Dubai to enjoy all the creature comforts the Majestic has to offer. As you can see, since we have access to the internet, I continue to work and just in case you’re worried about how much we’re eating, I am proud to announce that I have faithfully worked out every day with the exception of excursion days. So far that’s two sessions on the Expresso Bike and six spin classes. The spin instuctor is the same wicked taskmaster I had on the Regal and although I hate him, he is helping me combat the calories that hide around every corner on a cruise ship. It also doesn’t hurt that all the equipment is top of the line and brand new. 

So that’s about it for this installment. Make sure and check out the photos at the link below. 

https://goo.gl/photos/Kb8V916RJTpuZqdZ6