kastellorizo

after a very enlightening stay in israel we left towards greece. it was only a short 3 day sail and the weather looked ok. unfortunately this was not so for the entire crossing and we did have to sail through minor storms or no wind at all. but after 72 hours and a very scary water spout right on top of us, we safely arrived in greece. the island of kastellorizo was a great surprise. we fell in love with the place instantly. the simple small and color-coordinated houses with beautiful windows painted in beautiful colors and, the mountains behind, made the view of the town simply spectacular. this island is one of the prettiest spots we have visited on our entire trip not only for the architecture and charm but also for the most wonderful local people we met. we really felt like home and formed and instant great impression of the greeks.





what we had planned to be an entry port became a 4 day stay with new friends. we had dinners on board and at the different restaurants and tried mousaka and all the other fabulous great greek dishes. we were very surprised though of the price of the fish. 23 euro per kilo and 46 if lobster. ouch! something tells me we will have a lot of chicken in this part of the world…





the island does not have a road around for cars. only some paved kilometers that lead to the airport and one taxi that makes the runs back and forth. every other place we went to, we either walked or went by dinghy, or we climbed. there are some steep stairs to the top of the mountain. we climbed with difficulty and while catching our breath enjoyed the picture perfect view.

the history of the island is rather sad. most of the original inhabitants have fled to australia and other countries. they have seen their houses and culture being destroyed by the italian occupation, then the french and later with the second world war and a major earthquake. but after so much tragedy, some have returned to restore their houses and maintain their roots and culture alive. in general the 200 inhabitants now keep the place beautiful, clean and very inviting to the tourists. we would be glad and lucky to come back here anytime.


around kastellorizo there is a cave with an entrance on low tide and with good weather. it is not easy to go with the sailboat because, as with many places in greece, the depths are too great right off the shore. it is like the steep mountain continues its steep slope down the water line and leaves no room for beaches or even a few feet for anchoring. we saw this on the charts and took our dingui around to see the cave. it was a very bizarre experience. the color of the water was an amazing blue and was cold but yet inviting. it was great. we went in for a swim and later explored a second similar cave and other beautiful spots around kastellorizo. definitely a unique spot!

around the holy land

we rented a car and spent a few days driving around this small yet interesting country. we drove through the dessert and also through completely cultivated lands. all the territories that used to be dessert not too long ago are today covered with numerous highways, train tracks and plantations of all kinds from potato to plantains and vineyards to sunflowers. they are all artificially irrigated and some covered in tents to create what we assumed to be a climatized environment.

we also visited many cities each with their big shopping malls and mac donald’s all around and of course old architecture and so many wonderful parks and sacred sites. we went to the north to haifa and akko and to the lebanese border. to the east to zefat and the sea of galilee south of the golan heights. we also visited nazareth and bethlehem, surprisingly to us a part of the palestine territories where israelis cannot cross, just as our rental car with Israeli plates was probably not allowed to cross as per our rental agreement but with which we somehow did cross.
we also went to the south to gaza or at least to the border to see the wall. the israelis call it a security wall and the palestinians the apartheid wall. to us it was definitely a very big and tall wall.





we also visited the dead sea to the east and had the mandatory bath in it. an amazing experience similar to nothing we have tried before. maybe astronauts experience this with no gravity in space. it was crazy to be floating completely effortless, even standing you can float and if you try to submerge yourself you will certainly fail at it.

it would have been a great idea for esteban to read the sign that advised not to submerge the head in the sea. turns out the salinity and minerals are so painful to your face that once he tried submerging his head he had to dart out of the water into the showers to relieve some of the pain in his eyes ears and nose. luckily it did not last long and we continued bathing in this exotic place. in total we had the car for five days, enough to see and enjoy a lot of israel.

tel aviv and yafo

the marina where we stayed was some 20 kilometers north of tel aviv and yafo so it was relatively close to go there and so we did a few times. the cities are next to each other and are full of nice street cafes and markets. we tried different restaurants and walked around many different places. we must have gained a few pounds courtesy of the great pastries and delicious hummus and other great dishes. this city reminded us of miami because of the beach-style life. these two places were among the many we really liked of israel, and we were lucky to spend some time there with our good local friends!

jerusalem

jerusalem is a beautiful city. it has history; old buildings and modern architecture as well; boutiques and delicious restaurants; parks and lots of places to walk around. it is super clean and we were lucky to have had a very pleasant weather which of course always helps when visiting a place. we visited the old city within the wall and some of the jewish, catholic and muslim sacred sites. it is a place were the difference of religions is obvious in every monument and the variety of cultures in every restaurant.




we were impressed with the quality of products sold in the boutiques, most of them really pretty and well designed. I loved the clothes in all the windows and enjoyed seeing people wearing the latest fashion. we have not seen much of this in the last months, specially women, as they are mostly covered. we also enjoyed the markets and generally walked all around this very interesting place.

israel

after a short and pleasant 24 hour sail we arrived in israel just a day before their independence day. entrance into this country was a bit different from any other place we have visited before. they have strict security measures in place and the navy monitored our every movement as far as 40 miles from their shores. we maintained constant radio contact and they escorted us into the marina with a big navy ship loaded with a gun pointed at us; but we must admit they were at all times very polite and welcoming. once settled in the gorgeous marina at herzliya we joined in their 63rd independence day celebrations. we met our very special neighbors from s/v nirvana who gave us t-shirts from the regatta and flags. we blended right in and celebrated with them.



we also went around the entire complex with a shopping center, fancy stores and delicious restaurants and enjoyed the beautiful show of the regatta and the air show courtesy of the israeli air force acrobat planes flying over the mediterranean sea. it was a joyful and beautiful day, at least for some; as for the palestinians it is known as a date for mourning (they call the creation of israel the "naqba" which means catastrophe in arabic).



learning of the history of this country and the struggle of those who live here was very appealing to us. the conflicts of culture and religion are visible everywhere. the military planes fly constantly and there are security measures on land like check points in all public places, not to mention restrictions and walls between israel and their neighbor countries and palestine territories.

we learned a lot from visiting this wonderful place but still leave without understanding many of the intricacies of their problems. it is amazing how the israelis have managed to build such an amazing and developed country in the midst of all the conflicts and of course the dessert. i absolutely loved israel and was pleasantly impressed with everything i saw.

suez canal

20000 ships go through the suez canal each year. This year we were one of those and part of a very small group of sailboats that crossed. The total length of the canal is 162 kilometers. It starts in the city of suez. We left this city around noon with a pilot and covered the first 81 kilometers until the middle lakes into the city of ismalia. Here all small boats are required to spend the night. we actually spent 3 nights and took a train to Alexandria and later a bus to cairo. Upon returning we picked up another pilot and we covered the remainder 81 kilometers until port said in the Mediterranean. Here we dropped the pilot and slept one night out of the canal right in the med, very exposed to wind and swell. This was the most rolly night ever…. And to top it off it was very cold. But we were happy to have crossed the suez and be in the med.

The canal is pretty simple. There are no locks and it is a long stretch of water marked by a marker every kilometer and with sand dunes left and right for the most part of the journey. Upon arriving in the south tip we were required to hire an agent which was of course not the greatest experience. they overcharge and the service is pretty substandard. Everyone that we came across asked for the baksheesh which is part of the everyday life in Egypt. It is simply a tip but whenever you give it, no matter how much it is, it will start an argument that is too little and they always want more… we played the game as required and tried to be patient throughout. We did have what we think was the only exception to this rule. Our pilot for the last leg was quiet, polite and after receiving the baksheesh he did not even look at it but simply put it away and thanked us. we were very surprised and happy to have met him and have had him on board.

There are three separate convoys of ships transiting the canal. One northbound in the morning and two southbound in the afternoon. The canal is open every day except when there is a warship crossing; and in this case it is reserved for only that one vessel. Small boats like ours are allowed to transit during daylight hours only and go next to the big ships. It is pretty amazing to see the big guys perfectly lined up going through the canal.

Sailboats are not allowed to sail so we had to motor all the way. we did pull out the genoa briefly to help the speed but this is technically not allowed. In our case our pilot asked that we do so to go faster. The experience was interesting and we enjoyed the view and the conversations with the two pilots we had on board. the marinas at suez and ismalia were very pleasant, and except for our agent our crossing experience was an enjoyable one.

cairo

after alexandria we took another train to cairo. this time we got ourselves in a first class car, not wanting to experience the hard third class trains of egypt ever again. we arrived at the central station in cairo and witnessed the most chaotic traffic of the trip so far.


from there we took the metro and then decided to go to look for a hotel in zamalek which is a beautiful residential neighborhood with upscale shops and amazing houses where all the foreign ambassadors live. This neighborhood was definitely the highlight of our trip we walked endlessly through beautiful streets avoiding the crazy traffic of cairo and had a relaxing weekend strolling around, seeing the great boutiques, art galleries, eating at delicious restaurants, and acting like residents of this place more than tourists.
esteban got a badly needed hair cut in one of the local hair saloons. We loved the hotel we stayed at and the quietness of this area of the city.










of course we also visited the museum and the pyramids and the sphinx; a must for all tourist in this place of the world. and of course we thought they were amazing. surprisingly the tourism that day was very low and we enjoyed the pyramids plateau almost all to ourselves. at the end of our short stay we took a brand new bus back to ismalia and continued our canal crossing towards port said and the Mediterranean sea.

alexandria

during our transit through the suez canal and more specifically our stop in ismalia, in the middle of the transit, we decided to take a train and travel to alexandria and cairo. the train was in itself an experience. going to alexandria we took the cheapest possible train and only one available. the total price was 2 dollars per person for over this 5 hour trip and we stopped everywhere. the view was exceptional and educational inside and out. inside we watched the people and talked to some of them, all very friendly and practicing their few words of english with us. outside we watched astonished the garbage all around. to us egypt was like india, dirty all around; very sad.

once we arrived in alexandria on the mediterranean coast, we walked around the city center, had delicious food and found ourselves a nice little hotel with the most fantastic view of the harbor. we enjoyed cable TV with hundreds of channels; definitely a novelty for us. we must have watched 4 movies during our stay. we also visited the catacombs, and the famous bibliotheque, built where the ancient one once was. we walked all around to enjoy the shops and very good food. it was a good break and a good doze of civilization and busy city life.