TOURING ITALY - ADRIATIC COAST AND NORTH TO VENICE

Another post from Italy, but no photos I am sorry as this computer won't read my memory card USB Adaptor.

Since our last post we have worked our way up the east coast of Italy, spending time on the Adriatic Coast and working our way inland and back to the coast again. This zig zagging has given us an opportunity to see highlights inland and on the coast.

This region of Italy has afforded us a choice of accomodations from Agriturismos to apartments and small hotels. As more tourists come to this area, everything is open year round, unlike the south coast (foot of the Italian map) where hotels and apartments are only open from 1st June to the end of September, and there were very few private homes or Agriturismos to stay in.

We have found the countryside from Fano on the coast to inland towns like Atri very beautiful, with fields of poppies, grapes, wheat etc. As it is spring, many crops are rising and the patchwork of the paddocks is beautiful. We have stayed in Tavuliia ( a small town towards the coast from the ancient town of Urbino) which is the home town of motorcycle racing champion Valentino Rossi. The day we arrived he was racing in Germany and won, well the cannons fired for hours, there was a band playing echoing out over the valley to our Agriturismo. That night we went into town for dinner at a little local Cucina and were presented by the proprietor with a Valentino Rossi flag with his number 46 emblazened on it, two caps and two calendars with the compliments of the official fan club! These Italians are so passionate about their sport and sporting heroes.

We have worked our way up north and in the last few days have stayed in Montegrotto a Spa town north west of Venice. It is a lovely wooded town with thermal waters. We visited Venice by train (easiest way to get there due to traffic congestion across the causeway) and had a wonderful time exploring the canals and little paved alleyways - a photographers jackpot. Due to the days of rain before and the day we arrived, combined with a high tide, the piazzas were flooding due to water coming up throught the stormwater vents. Some shops had their gumboots at the ready to get in or out! Venice was full of tourists but still an amazing city.

We are heading north tomorrow over the alps and into Austria, where we are going to stay with a family in an apartment above their restaurant, 800m up in a small mountain village. During the winter they run a ski school and the son is a chef who well known for his Austrian, French and Italian dishes.

In two weeks we are due at the Villa we have rented in Todi, Umbria, so in the meatime we are heading north up through Austria, Possibly southern Germany and across into Switzerland then down past the Jungfrau back into northern alpine Italy, down to Milan then Florence and Pisa to Todi.

We will update you when we can find computer cafes and are able to download our photos.

Now an update about us;
We are all well and getting along fine. Only had a couple of moments, when we have spent too long in the car and are hungry, but an hours silence fixes all!
Lizzy and Anthony have been great company for Jenny and I and kept us going when the trecking got tough in some countries. It gives us an extra dimension seeing the country through their eyes.
Anthony has sprung some sort of growth from his chin. Lizzy is looking healthier by the day with this wonderful Italian food. Jenny is loving the food and sporting a new hair style and colour (Oops that slipped out) and I'm expanding around the girth and looking thinner on top (roll on 50)
Our little blue Peugeot 307 sport wagon has been great, but it took me a little while to come to grips with the manual stick on the right. The Diesel with turbo has been economical and yet speedy enough to head down the autostradas at 130km per hour, slightly faster than the trucks but way slower than the mercs, BMWs and Porsches in the left lane
"Charlotte" our GPS makes sure we are on the right track, and I don't know how we could have done this trip without her and Anthony's techno and navigational skills.

Italy as a country is far more diverse culturally and geographically/topographically than we had thought. It is certainly a land of contrasts, from the steep/rocky Amalfi Coast, to the dry hot flat southern mediterranian coast, the flat barren land of the south coast covered in closed resorts, to the picturesque landscape of the north adriactic coastal area through towards the Tuscan/Umbrian inland, up to the north and the Venetian Islands. Can't wait to see the mountains of the north.

We hope all our friends and family are well and please keep in touch either through comments on the blog or emails to cohenfamily@xtra.co.nz . We like hearing about what you are up to. It gives us a connection to home

FROM GREECE TO ITALY AND OUR ROAD TRIP

Its has been some weeks since our last post in Greece. We have had real problems finding computers that are able to download photos and then upload to the blog.



We are in Vieste a holiday resort on the Gargano Peninsular, on the Adriatic (east) coast of Italy, and they have new computers. Well here goes...


Leaving Sifnos our beautiful island in the Cyclades Group, 3.5 hours south of Athens by ferry. This photo is our last day as we leave the island.

Back in Athens we visit a number of sites including the Ultar of Zeus in this photo.


















We then flew to Rome and spent 6 days visiting the historic sights before collecting our Peugeot Wagon for our tour of Italy. This photo is of us at the Colosseum.
















We joined the crush on the Spanish Steps. It was a public holiday and all of Rome was out in the sun!











We joined the thousands at St Peters to see the Pope give his public address on Sunday













We collect our car and headed south through Naples to Pompeii. This photo is of us in the buried town of Pompeii - you can see the chariot ruts in the stone paving slabs. An incredible place to visit. The plaster casts of the inhabitants dying is very sobering.














Next we headed down the west coast of Italy called the Amalfi Coast. Stunning with the roads carved in the hillsides - vertical drops to the sea below and straight up above. We stopped at Massa Lubrense a delightful fishing village - I can see why Larry Greco's family settled here.

We leave Massa Lubrense and drive south along the Amalfi Coast. In this photo we have stopped at a lookout above Positano.














We make our way down towards Sicily and stop at Tropea with a great view of the Volcanis Island of Stromboli out in the sea. In this photo you can see Stromboli in the red sky after sunset












We cross over to the other coast and head north to Metaponto, the home of Pythagorus. We visit the Sanctury of Hera, where Pythagorus lived and was buried.











We are now heading up the east coast past Brindisi and Bari and have come out onto the Gargano Peninsula that sticks out into the Adriatic Sea. It is a beautiful resort with the old town clinging to the rocky headland and the beaches either side with hotels and resorts. This photo is of us tonight having a pizza and wine picnic above the marina and watching the sun set.

We trust that our family and friends are all well. We are having a wonderful experience and apart from the italian motorists a wonderful time.

GREECE

Hi everyone
Due to a formatting problem with this blog, there is a huge gap between the bottom of the last post ISTANBUL TO GREECE and the previous one of Turkey to Cappadocia. Please just scroll down to find the previous posts.
Thanks
Peter

TURKEY AND ON TO GREECE

Well since our last post we have finished our travels from Cappadocia up through Turkey back to Istanbul and then we have flew on to Athens, Greece.

First a few photos that I did not include in my previous post - yes I have a computer where my SD card reader works !!! Sorry if the text is a bit repetitive but at least you will know what the photos are of.

Peter and Jenny floating on The Dead Sea in Jordan

Standing in Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, with the Dardenelle Strait behind. There was a very sombre feel to this cove. We looked up the cliffs and realised what an impossible task the New Zealand and Australian soldiers had to advance with little cover on the beach and scale those cliffs.

We crossed the Dardanelles from Eceabah to Cannakkale and stayed the night before continuing the next day to the ancient city of Troy and the Wooden Horse .

We drove on south down the west coast of Turkey stopping at Kusadasi a beautiful port town. Inland we visited the old ruins of Ephesus and Jenny found the roman public toilets in the ruins !!! Incredible how this city of 200,000 people had everything, from theatres to library's, shops, houses, markets, village square, roads, piped water, sewerage system, etc etc and all thousands of years ago!

Above Ephesus on the top of the mountain, we visited the house that Moses took Mary to live in following the crucifixion of her son Jesus. The little stone cottage had a beautiful peaceful feel to it and we spent some time inside considering this event and the 2000 years since. Hard to comprehend and almost overwhelming!

From Ephesus we drove on down further south to Pamukkale and the massive white cliffs covered in Calcium from the natural springs in the hills above.

Higher up on the hill we climbed to the ruins of Hieropolis which was once a thriving town with people visiting to enjoy the springs which they belived had healing properties.

Next it was around the south coast of Turkey to the Tourist town of Antalya. A beautiful seaside and port town, where the old city has been preserved and the new city is growing to accomodate the 7 million tourist who visit each year for the history (like us), the mountains for skiing in the winter and the warm waters for boating in the summer. We stayed at the Sheriton on the beach front, one of the better hotels on the tour!

From Antalya we drove north through the Taurus Mountains to Konya a very poor and conservative town. Then across the Obruk Plateau which was like the Desert Road in NZ with mountains and extinct volcano's. We are following the original Silk Road route that the traders in their Camel Caravans followed. In Sultanhani in the desert we visit a Caravan House, where the traders would stop and spend the night safe from the Bandits.

Following the mountain range and the now extinct volcanoes across the Obruk Plateau we stop on the side of the road as there begin to be more fertile soils and farms. Our guide Alp Kose asks a farmer if we can talk to him about his mud brick house and farm. He's delighted, but more so when he sees Lizzy and decides he wants her to marry his youngest son who is currently doing his compulsory military training. We start talking about doweries and he wants a photo with his future daughter in law and her parents!!! Lots of fun and much smiling as Alp translates there excited talk. Finally we pull Lizzy away and depart on the bus.

Further on along the Silk Road we arrive in Capaddocia. Many thousands of years ago when the volcanoes erupted, they spewed Volcanic Ash into the valleys. Over the years with erosion, they formed amazing structures called Fairy Chimneys which the locals carved out and formed houses that they lived in.

They also carved into the hillside and made amazing networks of underground cities. These sometimes reached to 14 levels.

At night we visit a traditional Cappadocian restaurant and have a meal of lamb stew cooked in sealed pottery jars, which the waiting staff bring into the restaurant and with great gusto use a small axe to knock the top off the jar to get the stew out. Very nice and a bit of fun.

In northern Cappadocia we drive to a small town called Avanos, where we visit a family run pottery factory and showroom. The owner and father makes a tea pot on the wheel, then cuts it in half to show us how beautifully thin the sides are. A masterpiece ruined ! Jenny buys a beautiful plate and small bowl as a memory of the beautiful pottery we saw.

Then after spending a day driving back from Ankara the capital of Turkey, we arrive back in Istanbul and our tour is over, We visit the Spice Bazaar which like the Grand Bazaar with all the gold, silver, mats, etc etc is amazing.

So 3200km and a couple of weeks later we have visited many beautiful sights in the western half of Turkey.

AND SO ON TO GREECE ...

We fly from Istanbul to Athens and stay in a central Athens boutique hotel. Even though it is early in the tourist season, there are thousands of tourists at the

Acropolis and the Parthenon is covered in scaffolding.

Anyway we enjoy our few days in Athens before we leave for Serifos the Island Jenny and I stayed on 23 years ago. We are disappointed in the changes we find on Serifos, including a two lane road they have built 3 years ago around the bay where the restaurants are - ruined it!!

This time we chose to stay in the port town of Kamares on the Island of Sifnos which is another 30 minutes further south in the fast ferry. A good choice, it is compact and a great little community that we fit into well. We stay in Hotel Stavros which is right on the Quay amongst the restaurants and we can see the pier where the ferries tie up to deliver passengers, cars and supplies. A facinating location and the people are very friendly.

Each day there are more shops and cafes open as they get ready for Greek Easter on 27 April. Its funny watching the town wake up from winter. The only problem is the water is very cool (I guess 16 c) and so we can;t swim but enjoy the enforced rest after our couple of months travelling.

Next week we head back to Athens for two days and then we fly to Rome for 6 days before collecting our car and beginning our Italian Tour. We will update the blog once we have started our Italian leg of this trip.

Our love to all our friends and family. Thanks for your comments and emails.

FROM İSTANBUL TO CAPPADOCİA - TURKEY

We enjoyed four days in Istanbul before joining our tour group, however Lizzy became very ill on our last day and vomited for 22 hours. We called a doctor who arrived by ambulance with a driver and paramedic assistant. He put Lizzy on a drip with medication and within 24 hours she was much better. We then joined our Turkey tour guide in Istanbul to fınd ourselves on a 44 seater coach with 42 other people, not the max 20 seater coach we were expecting. Not a good start. Jenny who is not a good back seat passenger suffered with the bouncing motion and became very sick on the first day, collapsing and passing out in Eceabah as we were about to board the ferry to cross the Dardanelles to Cannakkale. She was taken away by ambulance for treatment at a medical centre and just made it back in time to join the ferry crossing. The next day was almost as bad with more vomiting until we could get some motion sickness medication. Thank goodness for the toilet on the bus.

Visiting Gallipoli was a very sobering yet moving experience. To walk on the beach that so many ANZACS gave their lives on is hard to describe. Standing there looking up at the cliffs that they had to climb under enemy (turkish) fire made you realise what a terrible mistake had been made landing the troops on the wrong beach. We visited the Australian and then New Zealand war cemeteries and found the inscription of Jenny's grandfathers brother Mr Bain. We laid four poppies on the memorial, a special moment.

Over the next few days as we travelled south down the west coast, visiting the Ancient City of Troy and saw the replica of the wooden horse, Pergamon the terraced hillside city, Izmir the large port town and spend the night in Kusadasi at a lovely hotel overlooking the Mediterranian. Nearby the ancient city of Ephesius was facinating with its collonaded streets, Hadrians temple, Roman bath house, public toilets with marble toilet seats, grand library and carving of the goddess Nike with her feather, now portrayed as a stylised tick by the Nike sport brand. We also visited Mary's House, the mother of Jesus Christ, set in the woods near the top of a hill overlooking Ephesius. İt had a very special serene feel to it and we had a moment to stop and pray and light a candle.

Travelling further south we arrive at Pamukkale and the ruins of Hieropolis and the cascading white terraces caused by calcium deposits from the mineral springs above in the hillside. İn the valley below there are steaming vents and a thermal power station.

On the southern coast of Turkey we arrive at Antalya, a modern tourist city of 1 million people that hosts 7 million tourists per year. Staying at the Sheriton for 2 nights its a nice change and we enjoy the food and lovely accomodation. A highlight was visiting the old city with its marina with gulettes (traditional turkish sailing boats) and other boats. We visited Perge with its stadium and 200m track that hosted sporting events in 200AD and its gymnasium with bath house and underfloor heated rooms - facinating and incredibly clever for its time.

Changing direction we head through the mountains and drive a couple of hundred kilometres north and inland to Konya which is at the crossroads from North to South and East to West. We are on the old Silk Road which the Trade Caravans followed hundreds of years ago. We visit a Caravan House on our way across the flat central plateau with its snow covered volcanic mountain range in the eastern distance. This fortified house was were the traders and their camels overnighted in its shelter from the bandits who regularly attacked and pillaged these caravans.

We stopped on the side of the road and talked to a traditional turkish farmıng family who welcomed us into their paddock. We had a great photo session and finished up with them wanting to keep Lizzy as a bride for their youngest son who was returning next week from completıng his 18 months of compulsory Military Training.

Finally we arrive in the Cappadocia Region of central Turkey with its amazing underground houses carved into the soft sandstone and the Fairy Chimneys, cone shaped rock structures that people carved the centre out of to form houses - hard to describe but an amazing sight! We experience a traditional Cappadocian meal out at a restaurant, where they cook Lamb in sealed pottery jars in earth ovens like İndian tandoory one's. They break the jars open with an axe - all very dramatic but very tasty.

I am sorry that I have no photos this posting, as the hotel doesn't have a cable for my camera and my USB adaptor for the memory card won't work on this computer. Oh well.

I trust you our family and friends are well and thank you to those of you emailing us news from home/NZ

FROM ST KATERINES IN EGYPT THROUGH JORDAN TO ISTANBUL TURKEY

Since our last post, we have still found it difficult to get on the internet or when available in the hotel its is grossly expensive. But here we are, our first day in Istanbul and the internet is cheap and free in the hotel; if you can get a computer!

We visited St Katherines on Mt Sinai which was quite moving, where Moses received the ten commandments and we touch the burning bush. We then drove back down out of the mountains and north up the coast to Nuweiba to catch our 2pm ferry up the Red Sea to Aqaba, Jordan. We wait but by 2.30pm our guide returns telling us there is no ferry but one may come at 10pm tonight. We discuss options and decide to try our luck crossing through Israel. The border is about 80 km north, so we set off driving. We complete customs on the Egyptian side and pass through their border checkpoint and then we walk dragging our cases behind us 200m across no mans land towards armed guards on the Israeli side - just like the movies but no ones running and there are no shots !!! We are received and questioned as to why we are entering Israel and what are our plans. When we say we are just passing through from Egypt to Aqaba in Jordan on a family holiday, they then want to know where we are going and what countries we will visit later. Satisfied with the answers we are moved through to a section to Xray our bags. All is well until the last bag, when they demand who's is this bag. We check the label and its Jenny's. She melts into the ground and they ask us to open it. Searching through, they find her Epilady leg shaver with transformer next to a container filled with pure perfume oil we bought in Egypt - it all becomes clear, they thought it was a bomb. The bag goes back through the Xray and they start smiling again. We walk past the guys holding AK47 machineguns and head on out of the border post for a change of undies!! Outside we find ourselves in the town of Elat. We talk to a taxi driver and ask how much to the border post of Aqaba, Jordan. We get scalped US$20 for the 15 minute Taxi ride, despite my attempts at negotiating. We were told US$10 max is what we should pay. We arrive and pay US$82 departure tax and are allowed to pass with little fanfare. We walk the 200m through no mans land like old pros and cross into Jordan no problems. We meet our guide Mahmoud and then wait one hour for an entry visa - some excuse that the system is down, meanwhile being eyed out the window and Mahmoud explaining why we have come through Israel. Finally its getting dark and they issue the visa and away we go the 15 minutes to our hotel - and finally the change of undies!

Our hotel, The Movenpick in Aqaba is very nice, on the shores of the Red Sea. We have a good rest and swim the following morning. At 12.30pm we meet Kamal our guide and driver for the Jordan Tour and leave heading north to Wadi Rum, a desert area where we meet a Beduion Tridesman and have a ride in his 4 x 4 (no camels anymore!) into the desert. Amazingly tall rocky hills extend out of the desert and we drive around exploring the landscape where Lawrence Of Arabia was shot. He takes us to caves and then we stop at the base of a massive sandstone hill 300m high and he makes Beduion tea in ther shade and we eat pita bread with cheese segments. lots of fun and we communicate with his broken english and lots of hand gestures.

We drive north 180 km and stop at Petra. We stay in an old village that has been converted in to a 5 star hotel called Taybet Zaman, where each room was one of the tridemens houses but has been rebuilt with modern appliance - very novel and a great view from the side of the hill. The following day we drive down to the new town of Petra and then walk 1km to the Siq, a narrow passage 1.8km long through the mountains towering above. This was where one of the Indiana Jones movies was filmed. Walking out of the end of the Siq, we see an incredible view of the Treasury El Khazneh, carved into the red sandstone - breathtaking! We rest, its 32c and only 10-30am. We walk on another 2.5km past incredible temples and tombs carved into the sandstone mountains, then past a a more recent Roman colonnade and Amphitheatre. We have a break and some snacks for lunch then start the gruelling walk and climb 1.5km of tracks and 850 steps up the Ad Deir mountain to the Monastry, which like the Treasury but bigger and not as elaborate has been carved into a red sandstone mnountainside. The view from the top is breathtaking and we need the rest as we are exhausted. Many people are making the trip on the back of donkeys, but not us kiwis - mad buggers walked it!! The walk down although faster and less tiring is tricky passing people and donkeys on the narrow steps and then at the bottom the long walk slightly uphill all the way out of the valley and the Siq. We collapse at the Sandstone Restaurant where we are to meet our guide and after a rest and a drink we have some food. Back to the hotel we fall into bed at 7pm and sleep.

We proceed on with our trip heading to Amman in the north. Along the way we see the vast changing countryside, from desert to mountains to massive canyons to green valleys, travelling up the Ancient Kings highway, route of the ancient trade caravans. We stop and visit Kerak Castle on the way.

Then on to Madaba, where we see the Greek Orthodox Church of St George with the oldest known map of the Holy Land in its floor as a Mosaic.

Next we drive to Mount Nebo where Moses looked out over the holy land after his 40 years of wandering in the desert. In the distance in the valley through the heat haze, we can see the north end of the Dead Sea and the city of Jericho.

We arrive in Amman the capital of Jordan with a population of just under 2 million. We have got on well with Kamal our Driver/Guide and he asks if we would like to visit his family before going to the hotel. We agree and find he lives in a 3 storey house on the east side. The ground floor he rents out, the next level his widowed mother lives, then his family consisting of wife and 5 kids live above. He is part way through building a top level which will be for his eldest son (now 20 years old) when he marries. We arrive to find the house full of relatives, as it is a three day public holiday weekend to celebrate the Prophet Mohammed's birthday and they are visiting their mother. She invites us to sit in her level and have tea and meet the family. This we do (she is left on the couch) and chat in broken english with Kamal translating for an hour.

We have a couple of days in Amman and drive north with Kamal to visit Jerash, Pompeii of the East. Amazing how the Greeks built their city over earlier towns. It is an amazing site, with an Amphitheatre seating 7000 and a beautiful Circle collonade and street which was the market and main street. Jerash had a population of 20,000 people with a water supply and its own sewer, attested by the manholes in the middle of the limestone paved streets - incredible. Abraham our guide was very wise and knowledgeable and despite the 34oc temperature we enjoy the visit.

We then spent two days at the Dead Sea about 80km west of Amman. We needed the break from being on the go and the Movenpick Reort was wonderful. Floating on the Dead Sea due to its salt content or covering ourselves in the mud was a lot of fun. We also enjoyed a massage each to get us ready for our Tour of Turkey.

And so we have arrived in Istanbul Turkey. We are staying in the Old City and having a good time before joining our Tour in 2 days. The weather is noticeably colder, only 20oc when we arrived yesterday and I would guess 160c today. First time I have put trousers on.

Well we will keep in touch as and when we have internet access and update you on our Turkey experience.

Egypt and cruising down the Nile River

We left Cairo 11 March and flew via Aswan to Abu Simbel to view the massive statutes of RamsesII and his wife Neferitari. Mind blowing in size and incredible to think that they paid US$40 million to move them up out of the Nile valley before they flooded the Nile following the building of the High Dam and creation of lake Nasser.

We fly back to Aswan and join the boat the NILE PLAZA for our cruise starting tomorrow down the nile heading north back towards Cairo stopping at Luxor. We have a sail in a Falucca (traditional egyption sail boat) across to Elephantine Island - bit of a non event! Back to the boat and the quality of which we (and we find out later many others) are very disappointed in. Lucky if it was 2 star and the food inedible. We complain and consider leaving the boat, but are advised to stay put as everything is fully booked. We manage to get kids moved from their room, the floor of which is 1 metre below the waterline and stinks of diesel and is damp and musty!

We visit Philae temple on an island by small motorboat, the high dam (massive) built in 1971 with help from the Russians and Lake Nasser the largest lake in the world and then a factory shop making pure essential oils. We buy two small quantities and a glass bottle.

We cruised to Kom Ombo and visited the temple from which we saw the sun set over the Nile - magical. We cruise on to Edfu and visit the Temple Of Horus which is well preserved as it had filled with sand and lay undiscovered and accordingly not defaced or pillaged. Amazing structurehyroglyphics and statues

On to Esna a very poor town. I get off and go for a walk, but most people stay on board. Watch them extending the river wall to accomodated more boats - now almost 500 between Aswan and Luxor and growing all the time as they are all full! We wait our turn to go throught the Lock and drop 7.5 m down to cruise on the Luxor. Takes from 2pm until 5.30pm to get through, 2 boats at a time.

We cruise on to Luxor and visit the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank. We visit 3 tombs, Ramses III, Ramses IV and Setnakht. Very interesting in the Alabaster hills, dusty and incredibly hot at 32c with thousands of people everywhere. We then go to the Necropolis of Thebes - built into a massive alabaster hillside it is incredible. We walk up and discover howbig it is. The view across the valley floor and the green crops to the Nile is an amazing cntrast to the dusty hills. On the way back to the boat, we visit an alabaster factory and shop to see how they craft items from little boulders. In the afternoon we visit Karnak Temple, the largest temple in Egypt and right in Luxor. Very impressive with its rows of Sheep Sphinx, which used to run for 3 miles in a straight line all the way to Luxor Temple. We drive to Luxor and view what was built by Amenophis III and RamsesII. This temple had silted up over time by 12 metres being on the banks of the Nile. When discovered, it had a more recent city built on top of it, so most of the columns and statues had been cut off at 12m. We see the restored remains of a Mosque 12 m up still in the top of part of the temple - incredible.

We leave Luxor after two nights on the boat, with a galabaya party. Our group wins all the competitions but one and seems to be the most bonded group... fun fun fun.

We fly across the Red Sea to Sharm El-Sheikh a resort area still in Egypt. In the cusp of land where he Red Sea meets the Sea of Suez. Built on desert land between the hills and the Red Sea it is amazing. Our resort on the edge of the cliffs has good terraced access to the sea, coral reef and fish. Huge pools and grounds the rooms are massive - a nice change and a couple of days rest and access to the internet is great. Internet is very expensive in Egypt and hard to find outside of the hotels which charge 44 pounds (NZ$13 for 15 minutes!)

Tomorrow we will visit St Katherines. Mt Sinai, then the port f Nueiba to catch a ferry to Aquaba in Jordan. Will see how internet in Jordan.

THIS COMPUTER WILL NOT READ MY SD CARD SO NO PHOTOS TODAY.