Saturday, March 7, 2020

The Nile


So, this week we went and picked up our tickets for the big trip.





Here's a picture of our ship, the S. S. Tosca. Basically we're thinking of it as a hotel that moves from place to place, so we don't have to deal with the hassle of checking in and checking out each day. Plus it shd prove handy in case we need some down time.





It's still a while off, but this is really starting to feel real.

Back when we got to go to Hawaii in 2006 my three want-to-see goals were sea turtles, a volcano, and petroglyphs, all of which were more than satisfied, and of course much else besides.

For Egypt, it's the Pyramids, Sphinx, and some temples.

Really looking forward to it.


--John R.



FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS (March 8th)
The Washington Post now reports a quarantine on a cruise ship on the Nile. Not our ship and not our tour company, but clearly something we'll have to keep a close eye on.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/on-the-nile-american-tourists-among-those-quarantined-on-ship-hit-by-coronavirus/2020/03/07/51b0f29a-60a1-11ea-ac50-18701e14e06d_story.html


Thanks to Shelly for sharing the link.
--JDR








at

3 comments:

  1. grodogMarch 7, 2020 at 7:52 PM

    Sounds great, John! My grandparents went to Egypt in the 1970s, and loved it.

    Definitely looking forward to hearing about the trip, since Egypt's on our short-list as well.

    Allan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John D. RateliffMarch 8, 2020 at 1:22 PM

    Thanks for the good wishes Allan.

    As someone who did my science fair project on The Great Pyramid back in the day, I plan to make the most of this chance to see the real thing.

    --John R.

    ReplyDelete
  3. N.E. BrigandMarch 15, 2020 at 6:45 PM

    Two of the first three confirmed cases of COVID19 in Ohio were a couple who apparently contracted the disease while on a Nile cruise. I don't know if it's the same one you reference in your update. We're now up to 30 confirmed cases, and four days ago, when the confirmed Ohio number was just five, but the governor nonetheless shut down all public gatherings over 100 (the CDC tonight recommended no public gatherings over 50) and shut down Ohio schools for the next three weeks (and today he said that may be extended through the rest of the school year), the state health director said the actual number of cases was believed to be much higher than the confirmed number, perhaps including 1% of the state's 10 million people.

    But as you live in the greater Seattle area, you're well aware of the new world we're all living in.

    ReplyDelete