Cruising for a Cruise

10th May, 2015 (Sally; Tony)

2015 and the first newsletter from Sable. Another year cruising, this will be our eighth, and still there are places to see and waterways to cruise. Plus a few friends and family still to visit and experience this way of life.

We travelled to Sable by a rather involved and extended route, instead of the normal 27 hour flight to Paris. We took a shorter flight to Dubai where we embarked on a three week cruise through the Suez Canal to Turkey. A different experience for us and one in which the jury is still out. We met many lovely people; and some weird ones too. But as far as we could tell we were the only ones on board experiencing their first ever cruise.

A quick tour of Dubai and a meal with a family friend before boarding the cruise boat Azamara Questthen on to the first stop, Muscat, Oman. We took a tour inland to the ancient capital of Nizwa visiting two of the old forts so saw a lot more of the country than the immediate port. It was then seven days at sea as we travelled past the coastline of Oman and Yemen into the Red Sea. Security was tight, the threat of pirates is taken very seriously, we had blackouts every night and several armed security guards were taken on board, a great bonus for them as their usual assignment is oil tankers with no four-course meals or discos every night.

At the entrance to the Canal was a flotilla of tankers and cargo ships all waiting to be allotted a position in the sequence of ships allowed to go through. This is partly determined by the amount one pays so obviously we were right up there with $$$ as we were only preceded by two boats, one being an American Navy vessel. Behind us as far as we could see were a line of vessels, 49 a day are allowed through (one way only). It accounts for 7.5% of the world’s sea trade.  It is 101 miles long and has been open since 1869. They are now building a second canal beside it for about half the distance so plenty of earth works and construction sights to see plus always the Egyptian army on watch. The new 43km section of canal will allow convoys to simultaneously enter the canal from each end and pass in the middle. At 5.00pm I watched a group of workers all getting on their motor bikes, time for home perhaps, but no they all made straight for the small mosque which had obviously been built for the workers. Had to think that it would be a difficult thing to see in our country, a group of Bikies heading for a place of worship. But then again how else could you describe their headquarters?

First stop once through the canal was Haifa, Israel. We took a tour from there to Jerusalem. What an interesting day that was. Our guide was an American Jew until he was 40 then decided to move to Israel. Very informative, proud of his country and quite political in some of his comments. We now both feel so much better informed about Israel, a remarkable country bursting with skill and innovation. And having seen first-hand the territory of the West Bank (Palestine) the problem seems truly insurmountable. Jerusalem was interesting, we visited the most popular sights: Garden of Gethsemane, Wailing Wall, Mount of Olives and had lunch in a Kibbutz that featured heavily in the 6-day war where they held out against the Egyptian army before being relieved. From Haifa we also had a night’s entertainment in an old Roman Theatre where we listened to a concert of jazz and classical music and watched a troupe of young, very enthusiastic Israeli dancers. Lots of fun.

Next stop Cypress, where we wandered the town of Limmosol. We decided to have a typically Greek lunch and sitting at a cute café ordered a couple of dishes — calamari and mussels. Both delicious but when I asked if the mussels were local was a bit astonished to be told they came from NZ, fresh-frozen every week. So much for local flavours!

Kaz, [pronounced Cash] in Turkey was probably our favourite stop. Cute little fishing village, rapidly becoming a tourist destination as it has great diving spots. No quay so we were tendered off on the ship’s life boats, and managed a walk along the shore to a small Roman amphitheatre. There was a group of local young adults there involved in some energetic game in which if you scored a forfeit the whole team had to dash up the steps of the theatre, round the top and down the other side. It looked to be some traditional game but on asking found it was a team building session between two groups from the local drama school. A very pleasant way to pass an hour or so watching modern-day drama students playing in a 2000 year old theatre.

We passed through the Dardenelles at night so were unable to see the outline of the hills and landscape of Gallipoli Peninsular, which was a little disappointing, and arrived in Istanbul on April 24th. Of course the city was full of tour groups all heading for Anzac memorials and there were nine cruise ships in port. The centenary of the landings was featured prominently on TV; and in a balanced manner. For the Turks, it was a nation-building moment in their history too, especially as the successful defence of the peninsular was led by Mustafa Kemal, later to become, as Ataturk, the first president of the Republic and one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. Portraits of Ataturk still adorn almost every public building. We avoided the crowds that day by retiring to a Turkish Bath House and having one of the experiences of a lifetime — a full Turkish bath and massage in surroundings that were originally built for the Sultan and his ladies. I’m sure we both lost a few layers of dead skin, it seemed to come off in rolls. If you are in Istanbul it is a must. That night was our last on the Quest. Next day we moved to a hotel and had another three nights there before flying to Lyon and on to Roanne. In Istanbul, we caught up with cousin, Paul and Pat who had attended the dawn service at Anzac Cove and enjoyed an authentic Turkish meal cooked in pottery jars which are ceremoniously decapitated at the table and emptied onto your plate. Istanbul is exciting, crowded and a giant shopping bazaar. We did manage to leave without buying a carpet, that in itself is a feat, but if we hadn’t been up to the limit in baggage I would have had to purchase some of the pottery bowls. Lovely colours and designs. Next time!!!

Sable had worn the winter well, it takes no time to get the boilers up and heating on. Nice to be in our own space again and after four days we were ready to leave. We’ve now been cruising a week, the country is looking wonderful, a mild winter and the spring growth is outstanding. Charolais cattle standing up to their bellies in buttercups, little calves almost lost among the pasture. And the wild flowers on the sides of the canal are in full flower. I have my herb garden planted, and in two days we collect our first visitors in what looks to be a busy year. At Decize we wandered into town and bought new bikes to replace the couple that were stolen last year on our last day in France. We’re looking forward to being mobile again and getting out into the countryside. Plus, we need the exercise!

Another week has passed, hopefully we will get this away tomorrow after a Skype call with one of the family IT experts. This week we have been joined by our first visitors for the year. Marion and Graham Jones belong to the same Rotary Club as Tony and have been on a cruise to Gallipoli then on to a Western Front Tour. All battlefields and cemeteries so a few days relaxing on Sable was exactly what was needed. We met them at Nevers, they had traversed most of Belgium and France in one day to get to us so a welcome glass of champagne was called for to revive and celebrate.  They soon settled into our slower way of life, there was copious patisseries, plenty of wine and lots of good laughs. Always a delight to share our way of life with others. Graham quickly found his way to the local boulangeries, where the order for two baguettes was supplemented with six patisseries. Our final day with them was near the famous wine village of Sancerre where we tasted and bought enough to keep us going for a while.

Since they left we have moved very slowly northwards, two nights at each stop and a chance to christen the new bikes with a 22km ride into Cosne-Cours sur Loire. First ride for a long time so some tender spots. There is plenty of inspiration to do more cycling as we are moored on the EuroVelo6 route which is a designated cycle trail from the Atlantic coast at Nantes all the way to the Black Sea; 3,365kms, across 10 countries and for most of its length it follows the Loire, Rhine and Danube. There has been several well laden groups of cyclists pass us obviously doing some if not all of the route. They do look a lot fitter than us.

Now we are moored at Belleville, the view from the window is two enormous cooling towers of the local Nuclear Power Station with a continuous plume of steam going skywards. No one worries, in fact they welcome it as the plant provides work for over 600 locals and all the villages around benefit with new buildings, schools and sports fields. We too are benefitting from their generosity as the port is beautifully maintained with picnic tables, electricity and water all for free. A good spot to do some work on Sable, we have been here two days and she now has a new carpet in the wheel house.  Tomorrow we move on, one more stop before we cross the Loire on the famous aquaduct at Briare, a local tourist spot, so sure to be plenty of folk watching and taking pictures.