Istanbul, Turkey

We have enjoyed two marvelous days in Istanbul taking in some of the highlights of this beautiful city. Istanbul is proud of the fact they exported the tulip to The Netherlands in the 1600's. Tulips were blooming everywhere we went, actually about one week past full bloom but still making the city look like one big garden. We visited The Ayasofya Museum, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Sarayi (Sultan's Palace). All are spectacular.

Yesterday, Saturday, was a nightmare on the roads, it was very busy with traffic holdups everywhere we went. Today, Sunday, it was delightful out on the roads. The weather has been absolutely beautiful and it is lovely sitting here on the Waves Deck (at the stern of the ship) under a sun umbrella. It will be peaceful and quiet for a few hours. The major passenger changeover is in Istanbul. The Black Sea cruise ends and the Mediterranean Sea cruise begins when we sail at nine tonight. The last of the passengers disembarking have been called and now the arriving passengers will start to board. There are about 170 passengers from the Black Sea cruise continuing on to Harwich, London some of whom we have made cruise friends with.

Ayasofya Museum


The Ayasofya has beautiful golden mosaics exposed now that it is no longer a mosque. Ayasofya was built as a church, then became a mosque, and now it is a museum.

The Blue Mosque




The Blue Mosque is beautiful with the many domes, gold mosaics on the second level and the plush red carpet. It is not the exterior that gives the Mosque its name, it is the mosaics inside, they are stunning.

The Topkapi Palace


The Topkapi Palace has beautiful fragrant gardens, something is in bloom or blossom and it smells very sweet while walking around. The jewels of the Sultan are on display in the Treasury and the main exhibit, the Spoonmaker's Diamond, is a beautiful diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds it is 86 carats of gems .... a lot of bling. One passenger came up to me and said, "it (Topkapi Palace) is lovely but I think the gold gutters are a little OTT". (OTT - over the top.) The two of us decided the the Spoonmaker's Diamond would be too heavy to wear and well, really ... you could only wear it once (as once you wore it everybody would notice and then it would no longer be special).

Garry called Erçument today and he is not well so we have not have been able to "touch base" with him.

Tomorrow is a cruise day and on Tuesday we will be in Heraklion, Crete.

Constanţa, Romania and Nesebur, Bulgaria

Yesterday we were in Constanţa, Romania and the Blog page has not shown up even though it was keyed in. I guess it is in Cyber Heaven so I will start again. Constanţa is the largest port on the Black Sea and not a pretty city with its huge concrete apartment blocks in the old Soviet style.


We started with a visit to the National History and Archeology Museum which holds some interesting artifacts. Above is the Glykon Serpent - Divinity of Good, Patron of House and Family, Guardian of Temples. Tomis, 2nd Century A.D.


Isis, the Egyptian Goddess of the Moon and Fecunity,
Tomis, 2nd Century A.D.



Following an ambiguous yellow arrow we walked from the National History and Archeology Museum to see the Roman Mosaics in their own purpose built building.



We drove out of town for lunch at the Murfatlar Winery where we were treated to a Folkloric performance. It was wonderful to be so far from port and able to enjoy the scenery and the wine (which was very good).

PORT STOP - Nesbur, Bulgaria

St George Monastery


We elected for an all day excursion that took us to the Saint George Monastery and then to Sozopol. It was pleasant to get that far from the ship and see a little of the countryside.

Sozopol, Bulgaria




We had a typical Bulgarian lunch at a restaurant beside the sea but unfortunately there were no folk dancers as per the previous days.

Nesebur, Bulgaria
After lunch in Sozopol we returned to Nesebur for a walk around the town before heading back to Discovery. Nesebur is a tourist town for Bulgarians and it would be crazy there in summer. However, it was nice to see the interesting old wooden buildings and 8-9th century churches. I was able to get some Voltarem, the pilgrims friend, an arthritis gel for my knees so I was happy.



The weather has been fantastic which makes up for the lack of sites to visit.

Tonight we sail to Istanbul for two days in Turkey ....

Odessa, Ukraine

No morning excursion for us today, how wonderful it was being able to have a leisurely breakfast listening to a brass band playing a welcome/send off for the morning excursion folks (at the buses on the dock). We opted to give ourselves a break and have only an afternoon tour, The Highlights of Odessa.

MV Discovery


This is a view of M/V Discovery from the top of the steps in Odessa. Discovery is a very British ship registered in Hamilton, Bermuda. The passengers are mainly Brits, Scots, Welsh, Australian, New Zealanders, Canadians, and Americans it is not a 'melting pot' but rather the Brits and their Colonials. the port lectures have been very interesting and there is also a historian giving lectures; one on Islam, another on Obama (why?), and tonight the Crusades. We haven't heard too much complaining from the Brits, it has been the Aussie who have been painful.


Highlights of Odessa



We were very surprised by the beauty of Odessa and the wealth. The wealth visible by the cars on the road such as Lexus, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi and others. Of course there are still some very old rattling Lada's to remind us of Soviet times. Major reconstruction has been undertaken and there are some magnificent buildings in Odessa. There are wide tree-lined boulevards and many parks and gardens.


As in the other cities we have visited on this trip the Russian Orthodox Church has been recently restored and was a stop on our tour.

Sailing to Costanza, Romania tonight .....

Sevastopol, Ukraine

Sevastopol is the home of the Russian fleet and an often disputed area along the Crimean Peninsular. Now the Russians pay rent for the port until 2025. It is bright sunny day and we have the afternoon off from touring. We are sitting in the sun on the Waves Deck enjoying a drink before lunch.

This morning we went for a stroll in the park where we were given the history of the port and the Ukraine relationship with Russia. Our guide was obviously Russian with a little bias :)



We stopped at a Cathedral that was closed due to reconstruction and then went to Chersonesus ruins from the first century BC. Chersonesus is a small site with a beautiful view of the Black Sea.

Later ..... Well, I would never have thought that I would be in a Russian Naval Officers Mess in Sevastopol listening to Russian music and watching a folkloric concert. It was wonderful, absolutely superb dancing and the singers have beautiful voices. The TOMOV experience allowed us to recognize when a full troupe number was coming, the solo act being a good indicator. In honor of our people they played some recognizable tunes, the Saints Go Marching In being one that I remember.

A lovely day in Sevastopol.

Yalta, Ukraine

Surrounded by the Crimean Mountains on three sides Yalta is pleasantly situated and the morning views from the ship in port were spectacular. It was a very busy day starting with a visit to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Russian Orthodox)where the golden cupola's shone in the bright morning sun.




The wisteria is absolutely beautiful in Yalta. Alupka Palace was a mix of English and Russian as the Count used an English architect. The highlight here are the six lions that are either side up the stairs to the front entrance. In different poses they are quite cute as one is on guard, one playing ball, one getting tired, one resting and on sound asleep.


Last stop before lunch I saw my first golden arrow on this trip, used as a directional arrow to the wine tasting area. We tasted ten different Ukraine wines which we would all classify as sherry or port. They saved the best for last and number ten was a very smooth port.


We saw from a distance, but did not visit, the Swallow's Castle built by a German Count for his wife in the early 1900's. Rumor has it that she danced gracefully and this is where the Castle's name comes from. The castle is perched upon a high rocky peak and is the symbol for Yalta.


Lunch at the Yalta hotel, an obvious Intourist hotel, from Soviet times was highlighted by a performance by Ukraine folk dancers.

Next was Chekov's home where he lived for the last five years of his life. I did not go inside because it was small, damp, and old antique smells would have made my allergies bad.



We finished with Livadia Palace where the Yalta Conference was held in 1945 (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin). Upstairs in Livadia Palace they have the Romanov family rooms open to the public. I went through these room but had to make a quick exit after the fifth room as the air was horrible there.


We are sailing to Sevastopol tonight ....

Mt Akhun and Yew and Box Grove, Sochi

Not wanting to visit Stalin's Dacha we selected a drive to Mt Akhun as our morning excursion. It was a scenic drive and a beautiful view of the Black Sea and the Caucus Mountains from the observation tower. At Mt Akhun all sorts of Russian souvenirs were available including a photograph with a donkey in a non photogenic ugly spot for five dollars. I am sure nobody was that stupid, as on the return he had dropped the price to one dollar.



Next stop was the Yew and Box Grove with a 1.6 kms walk up hill and down dale through the woods. I felt like I was on the Camino as it was steep and rocky with uneven steps. However, this pilgrim managed, although it was hard on my knees coming downhill without a walking stick.

We are meeting some nice folks on our daily travels while sitting in the buses, eating at cafes etc. I spoke with two women today who had walked Camino Francés last year - unfortunately they are known as pilgrim tourists, those who walk the Camino using a support vehicle for their backpacks.

Garry's mother has been placed in Intensive Care with renal failure and a heart attack. She has been stabilized and we can only hope for the best for her. Garry lost his camera after our day out in Trabzon, Turkey he discovered it yesterday when we were leaving for our next port call. Thanks to Andrée for telling me that she carries a point and shoot as well as her SLR so when I was packing I decided to do the same thing. Garry is now using my Camino camera.

UPDATE May 28, 2010
During the time on the cruise Garry was able to be in constant email contact with his sister, Anne. The doctors suggested a pacemaker and Audrey had the surgery and a pacemaker has been inserted. Audrey is now stable and back in the nursing home where she resides.

We have departed Sochi and are now sailing to our next port call - Yalta, Ukraine.

Sochi, Russia

What a difference a day makes. This morning I looked out the window (no, not a porthole) and the scene was very different. Sochi is a pretty city set at the base of the Caucus mountains. The blossoms are still on some trees and the flowering shrubs are in bloom. Being in an attractive port building the tough Russian Immigration folk did not seem so frightening as they did in the old Soviet days. As a ship passenger we can visit Sochi on a transit visa. If we wanted to be indepedent travelers a visa is required (not available at the point of entry) and this is quite expensive for a two days visit.





Today's excursion took us to a Russian Tea Tasting at a plantation about 15 kms from Sochi. Driving there we could see the reconstruction of two Russian Orthodox churches and the construction of many new apartment buildings. Sochi is a resort and spa city on the Black Sea and there are five sanitariums where folks can recuperate from many illnesses. At the tea plantation we were treated to a folkloric performance where the accordionist played accordions of varying sizes from the longest accordion in Russia to the smallest which was about the size of an iPhone.

Indded this is a very pretty city and such a pleasant sight after Trabzon, Turkey yesterday.

....and now to fill you in.


Trabzon, Turkey


We were docked when we woke and our unspectacular view of Trabzon's port was obscured by a crane. On a full day tour we were off ship by 08:15 and the exciting journey took us to a mosque that had been a church that had been a mosque and is now a museum, you get it. Then to another mosque where I decided it was not worth the effort to take off my boots to go in as it did not look impressive at all. Lunch by the Black Sea was an interesting mix of Turkish food that Dawn would have loved.



Afterwards we went to the mountain summer retreat of Atatürk Koşku where the gardens are spectacular. The Wiseria was almost finished blooming but it still looked great.


In the late afternoon we sat at a mountain lookout area and sipped tea, so the English passengers were able to have their afternoon tea (no scones though). It was a nice rest after a busy first day touring. Garry lost his camera at or after this spot.

Trabzon is in an active earthquake region and I kept looking at the buildings thinking that I would not want to be shopping in a mall, working in a tall building or living in a multi-storied apartment complex when an earthquake happens in Trabzon. The building code seems to be non-existant and our friend Peter, an Earthquake Engineer would have a field day .... he has probably been here. So that said, I am happy to be sleeping on a ship while in this region.

The highlight of the day was watching our bus maneuver through the narrow streets of Trabzon where cars illegally park directly under a Tow-Away sign and within view of the Police Station. Seems nobody is worried about being towed.


Istanbul, Turkey

Our flights with KLM were very good and we arrived early which is far better than delayed. Once again I could not sleep on a plane but I did get through the book "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". The first day was spent at sea so we adjusted to European time and caught up on sleep.


M/V Discovery at port in Istanbul