Tchaikovsky and Trout

You can barely see it but this was my big trout from my superb 2 hours of fishing in mid week when I cut class to fish Buffalo with John Roberts. We caught about 8 or 9 rainbows , one on a black ant and the others on prince nymph. This one which was about 18 or 20 inches ripped off about 30 or 40 yards of line and headed straight down stream. It took a lot of luck and John lifting a big overhanging branch out of the way but we caught him.


Tchaikovsky and Trout (July 15-20, 2012)
Connie and I and John Miller signed up for an Alumni College class on Tchaikovsky. We were lucky enough to be able to stay at Bob and Barbara Priddy's house on Brushy Hill for the week.

This was the view the first morning after a storm passed through.

In addition to the views at the house, we had good company, good food, good lectures, films, piano, cello and operatic concerts. Very nice time.

Chile and Antarctica, Jan- Feb 2010

Chile and Antarctica Jan. 16, 2010- Feb. 2, 2010 with Beth and Gordon (from old iWeb) (see iPhoto for pictures)

Jan. 16 (Saturday)- Beth left on Jan. 12 for a couple of days on her own in Chile. Connie and Billy left on Saturday, Jan. 16. In Richmond it was the first warm day in weeks, but when we flew into Atlanta rain had started. We had a long layover in Atlanta on purpose; just in case of bad weather, we wanted to be in Atlanta to be sure we got the 8 pm overnight flight to Santiago. The flight itself, in business class, was very comfortable, with a very nice chief flight attendant, Brenda, and crew. Billyʼs seat did not work due to one or more electric short circuits which eliminated the sound for the movies (except for shrill, sharp screeches) and made the reading light come on and off sporadically. Both of us got a few fairly good hours of sleep.
Jan. 17 (Sunday)- After landing, and paying the reciprocity tax, we were met by Andres and went over to his house.
The rest of the day was occupied by visiting with a succession of Andresʼ children and grandchildren. Taking them in order by age- Ito (Rosario) and her husband, Sergio, and children, Aurora, now 13 (!), Leon, 8, and the baby Bertan, 2 (they live in Santiago about 5 minutes away); then Issa (Isabel), who was visiting from the north of Chile (her daughter Violeta (2) and husband did not come); Andres Jr, and girl friend Sophie (A Jr has just been made president of the family aquaculture business on Chiloe Island, which is 12 hours away by bus (mussels, etc)); Pilar and her husband Ignacio, aka Tallo, who were just married civilly and have a March church wedding for 600 people coming up;Teresita, and her friend Homero, whom Andres calls Ulysses; and then Niko, who is in the midst of a mini crisis of not being allowed to continue at the university. The second oldest daughter, Cote, with 3 daughters, did not come. She also lives in the north but in a different place from Issa. Also, Sonia, of course, who was recovering from her 8th operation for her cancer a week previous, was there as was her mother, also called Sonia.

For the prior couple of days Beth had been with A Jr, Sophie, Pilar and Tallo at the family compound in Zapillar on the coast.
The big thing of the evening was that Andresʼ business partner Sebastian Pinera was elected President that day by 52 to 48%.
Jan.18- Gordon and I had a little miscommunication about his arrival, and while I was waiting for him at one door of the airport, he was going out the other to catch a cab to Andresʼ house. After we all caught up with each other, the six of us went by car to visit Aʼs new house about 50 km and 50 minutes away. He says it is reserved for adults, and, although the kids protest, it makes sense since there is a pond and pool without a fence. This house is on 25 acres and had been owned by the stepson of Castro, the man in charge of all Cubaʼs exports (he kept some for himself in addition to marrying well- definitely he liked a capitalist life style).
Jan. 19- We left Andres and Sonia and checked in with the group at the Hyatt. We opted out of the city tour and went for a bit of a walk and then rested by the pool until time for the group “get to know you” party.

Jan. 20 (Wednesday)- A 5:45 wake up call, a quick breakfast and then the 4 hour flight to Ushuaia, Argentina. There we went thru the Tierra del Fuego Park, to the end of the Pan American Highway, and onto a catamaran for lunch and a cruise back to Ushuaia and the NG Explorer.
Jan. 21- The Drake Passage, which Beth and Connie handled much better than Billy did. We had smooth sailing from 9pm on the 20th when we left U thru the Beagle Channel, but we emerged from the protected area at about 3:45 am on the 21st. We all woke up as soon as we hit the open water because immediately things started falling off shelves and bouncing around. Beth, surprisingly ate all three meals this day, while Billy slept most of the day. Connie and Billy were wearing the Relief Band, but Billy found the tingle in the palm too shocking. Supposedly ours was one of the worst passages of the year- 35 mile per hour wind and 20-25 foot seas.
By about 3 pm it started to calm down and those of us who were feeling a little unsettled felt ok enough to go out the stern of the boat to watch the soaring albatrosses and petrels.
Jan. 22 (Friday)- The first stop, and first zodiac ride, took place at Aitcho (HO) Island, one of the South Shetlands. The climate, we were told was maritime, but we experienced high winds, horizontal snow, and significant chop. We went ashore to observe the Gentoo and Chinstrap penguin colonies, which were wonderful. We also saw several female elephant seals nestled together on shore- it is moulting time and so they avoid the water and stay together for warmth. The boat ride back was kind of scary but soon we convinced Stefan to go back to the Explorer. On the way we saw a group of about 10 Wilsonʼs storm petrels tiptoeing on the water and gruff Stefan became quite animated and amusing.
We were invited to dinner with the captain, first mate and Lisa Trotter, our former expedition leader from the Svalbard trip in the Chart Room. Lisa is spending the winter this year at Palmer Station, as “house mother” to the group staying on to repair things for next summerʼs researchers. She told us she has made 75 + crossings of the Drake Passage.
Jan. 23- Cloudy, intermittent horizontal snow and then partial clearing. The morning was for watching the icebergs and sheet ice as the captain plowed his way through. Leesa would have been scared the hull was going to be crushed. On the ice we saw a small group of Adelie penguins and then a single Emperor penguin, which is a rare sighting because the colonies are on ice way far in where the ship canʼt reach, and at this time of year the colonies have broken up there are only singles and doubles rarely seen since they are scattered everywhere.
Stefan gave a very amusing lecture on penguins- he described their “fedders”, their mating (one third fall off, one third miss the target, and one third successful), the low odds of survival during the first year, discipline (“ a whack of de flippers”), and the deadly effect of rain on the chicks (hypothermia). 

The captain wedged the Explorer right into a gap between 2 sides of a huge iceberg and this was our base for going to shore.

First we cruised by Snow Hill Island and then got out at Devilʼs Island to see an Adelie Penguin colony. It was a fairly small rookery. There was a 500 foot rise to hike but we were on the zodiac cruise first and got a little wet, which delayed making the shore landing- partially due to WMG changing his wet pants and partially to letting the divers come back on board.
For the eveningʼs activity we had a short talk about Nordenskjoldʼs expedition which had many of the same elements as Shackletonʼs- a ship frozen in the ice, long treks across the snow etc. One of the 3 groups in Nʼs expedition wintered over at Paulet Island- the destination for the next day.
Jan. 24- Paulet Island- The day started off bright, sunny and warm- about 35 with little wind. The ship pushed right up to the shore line, and the view from the bow was of thousands of Adelie penguin nests and a steady line of penguins going to the right for about 500-1000 yards to find the right spot to jump into the water. Reportedly there are 100,000 -150,000 penguins here. We can safely say they were everywhere. The sad thing is that for the nests close to the shore there were very few chicks. Speculation is that a late snow storm froze many of the eggs.
In addition to the penguins, there were sheathbirds, blue eyed shags, skuas, kelp gulls, and giant petrels. We also saw a Weddell seal. On the zodiac ride part of the excursion, we saw a giant petrel and some skua in a tug of war over a penguin carcass as well as a whole lot of porpoising penguins.
Back at the boat with frozen hands and derrieres, we passed icebergs with penguins and seals hauled up on the ice on the way to our next stop.
The passage to Brownʼs Bluff, actually part of the peninsula, was notable for huge tabular icebergs. BB looked in part like Devilʼs Tower from Close Encounters and part like the background rock for Mt. Rushmore, only of brownish color rather than gray. There were not so many penguins but they were of 2 species, Gentoo and Adelie. There also was a breeding area for Kelp gulls and lots of Cape petrels along the shore.
Back on board, we had a lecture on whales and spectacular views of tabular icebergs, with azure blue color, caves, and frolicking penguins.
Jan. 25 (Monday)- Port Foster, Whalersʼ Bay, Deception Island. The day started early with a humpback whale right at the bow of the boat. We entered Neptuneʼs Bellows into the bay which is actually a caldera of a volcano which partially erupted as recently as 1969. There were wisps of steam blowing across the black sand at the shore. This is the day for the “swimming”. Water on the beach was mild- maybe 55 or 60. Temp today about 37 with cloud and sun interchanging. Finally dressed adequately for the zodiac ride with Stefan by dramatic iron/ rust colored cliffs. Then a long walk on the beach with a few isolated Chinstrap penguins walking around wondering about the visitors. There was a small (30-40 foot) sailboat in the bay with us. 

Connie, Gordon, and Beth went for the polar plunge. Video shows Gordon liked it best. In the afternoon we cruised to Lindblad Cove, named in honor of the founder of expedition adventure travel, Lars Erik Lindblad. Along the way, the captain paused the ship so we could watch whales, and we saw a couple of fin whales at a distance, but then we got into humpbacks pretty much everywhere, feeding by lunging and very close to the ship. Dinner took place in Lindblad Cove itself, a tight little inlet, part of Charcot

Bay, and surrounded by glaciers down to the water plus chunky bergy bits and growlers. The pictures while good do not do the beauty of this place justice. In the wildlife area we saw several seals, including a few leopard lying on bergs, and a couple of Snow petrels. It is hard to go to bed at night with light still available and so much natural beauty.
Jan. 26 (Tuesday)- Couverville Island, Port Lockroy - A very gray start to the day with wind across the bow and flurries. Glaciers all around with parts of mountains rising from the glaciers at the edge of the sea. Here at Couverville we went kayaking. Then to Jougla Point and the British Antarctic Service station at Lockroy, where we could get our passports stamped and mail a postcard.
Jan. 27 (Wednesday)- Cruising, crossed the Antarctic Circle, kayaking in the Gullet.
Jan. 28 (Thursday)- Peterman Island, where Charcot spent the winter. A hut and cross in honor of some British climbers who disappeared.
Jan. 29 (Started home)- Crossing the Drake this time was not so bad.
Jan. 30 (Saturday)- Ushuaia- Brief tour while waiting for the plane. Back to Santiago. Gordon continued to Bozeman, a very long day; Beth went on to Easter Island; Connie and I spent another night in Santiago and then spent a long day at the airport waiting for our plane time. Luckily the kind people at the Airport Holiday Inn let us leave our bags there and rest/read until the departure lounge opened.
PS. It was very shortly after this that Santiago had a huge earthquake that made the airport unusable and devastated the city. Andres and family ok. 

Turkey, Israel, Jordan 2011

Turkey, Israel, Jordan- Feb-Mar 2011 (copied from my iWeb blog) (see photos in iPhoto)

2/17-2/18/2011 Richmond to NYC to Istanbul

9 hour flight across. Watched The Social Network. We were met in the airport and escorted to the Four Seasons Hotel which is pretty new, 65 rooms, built just inside the walls of the prison featured in Midnight Express, just up from the Sea of Marmara and between The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. After unpacking we went for a walk on our own down by the Sea and the the Bosphorus (connecting the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea) and then the Golden Horn (the harbor area).
Two legends about the Bosphorus 1) Leander on the Asian side tried to swim over to see his girl Hero on the European side but drowned (now on the Asian side there’s a Leander Tower), and 2) Zeus was fooling around with Io and Hera got jealous and sent a swarm of flies to her so she changed herself into a cow and swam across (hence bos (cow) phorus (ford).
Back to our walk- we got as far as the first bridge (Galata), lined with restaurants and shops, and then went back to the New Mosque.

 From there we walked to the Grand Bazaar, learned a lot about how the Turkish shopkeepers solicit business, bought a couple of rugs and other things, and then back to the hotel. I am amazed we all found our way but we had a lot of friendly help.

For dinner we went to a place close by where the doorman said he sometimes takes his family. Inside the food was Turkish and very good and then the waiter showed us the Byzantine ruins inside the restaurant.
2/19/2011 Saturday Istanbul (name comes from Stamboul (city of Islam) and Constantinople (named after Constantine who was first Christian Roman emperor)) Waking tour with Janset from Sea Song tour company (Murat the driver). Topkapi Palace with jewels, harem, great view of 3 bodies of water. Learned about the Sultans and Ottoman empire (1299-1923). Then Hagia Sophia, cathedral, then mosques, now museum since Ataturk (won at Gallipoli, Churchill said Brits and Aussies would have won except for Ataturk, started the war for independence from the occupying armies of allies after WWI and the end of the Ottomans(1923)). Then Blue Mosque with 23,000 blue itzik tiles (really the Sultanahmet mosque).

 Lunch at a small hotel (Yesil Ev) in a restored Ottoman vintage building. Grand Bazaar again with a pro guide. A little rest and some more walking. WMG went to the Hippodrome area where the Romans used to have chariot races, Beth and Connie to a smaller bazaar.

 Dinner at Mikla Restaurant at top of hotel across the Golden Horn- great views, very expensive, but obviously very hip.
2/20 Sunday Day trip to Izmir (formerly Smyrna) by plane to see Ephesus
We had our first major mistake (other than not knowing what we were doing when we bought rugs) as we got off the plane and got misdirected to the international terminal even though we were domestic passengers. Because of this and the time spent trying to figure out what to do and how to meet the guide, we lost about an hour and a half. We did eventually catch up with Osan and Mustafa and took off to see “Mary’s House” which the Apostle John built for her to protect her. It was tiny and not much. It was found in the 1950s by some archaeologists on the basis of the vision of a blind nun in Germany. Then we went to Ephesus itself which has been only about 2/3 dug up by Austrian and Turkish scholars.

 Most impressive was size of the site, the Celsus library, the shop area, the terrace houses with intact rooms, marble, friezes, mosaic floors, the amphitheater

for 24,000, and the long road down to the harbor (now silted up and the ruins are 4 miles from the sea). Back to Istanbul without incident.
2/21 Monday Istanbul with Janset. First we went to the Yerebatan Cistern which is just unbelievable in size and beauty.

 Then to the Rustem Pasa Mosque which is much less touristy and bluer than the Blue Mosque. Then the Egyptian or Spice market including the market for pet birds, dogs, leeches etc. Then a great and very filling lunch at Hamdi with a wonderful view of the sea, the Horn, the Bosphorus and the city areas surrounding them. Big tower across the Horn, near Janset’s house and shop where a guy in the 1500s flew across the Bosphorus on big homemade wings like a hang glider (looks too far to do to me). Next to the Orient rug shop recommended by Osan where we ended up with 3 more rugs!!!
2/22 Tuesday on to Tel Aviv (As I write this Bahrain, Morocco, Libya, Yemen are having deadly riots, and Egypt has decided to open up the way to Gaza and to let Iranian ships go thru Suez- hope we get out of this area of the world in time.)
We spent this day lounging in the hotel till time to go to the airport. It was cool (40s) and raining by the time we got to the airport. The food on the Turkish Air flight was actually tasty, and the flight was uneventful (security less than I expected for coming into Israel). Unfortunately we didn’t have any time to see Tel Aviv (Spring Hill in Hebrew) in daylight, but we met the group at the hotel.
2/23 Wednesday Tel Aviv to Mizpe Ramon in the Negev Desert.

 First thing to note- everything is in Hebrew alone for the most part. Next big difference between Four Seasons and our 3 star hotels. We started driving south in the bus with Martin as our guide and the first stop was at Tel Beersheva which is a restored Chalcitean (?) settlement from about 4500 BC with a 4 horned altar ad a water collection cistern system similar to what is described in “The Source”. We then went for a camel ride, saw a baby camel 6 days old, and then went to Avdat which is high on a hill in a moonscape of a desert and was settled by the Nabateans on their spice caravan route and then the Romans and then the Byzantine Christian monks. Destroyed by bedouin squatters out of spite for the gov’t tearing down their houses, it was a huge ruin with some areas of restoration. 2 churches, Roman fortress gate, great expansive desert views.
2/24 Mizpe Ramon to Eilat
We stopped early on to view the MR crater which is Grand Canyon like in size (and also saw a few ibexes). Then we went into the Timna Park to see some spectacular sandstone rocks carved over 540mm years and an over the top reproduction of the tabernacle. In Eilat at the end of the day we walked along the beach, watched part of a wedding and saw the flea market, then had a burger away from the group.
2/25 On to Petra
In the morning we went to the coral observatory which had a great exhibit of Red Sea fish and coral life. Then we spent a long time crossing by foot over into Jordan at Aqaba and met our new guide Riyad who had a face and smile like Dustin Hoffman. We ate lunch at a kebab place and hit the road for Petra where we spent the night at an unfinished hotel.

2/26 This was the day we got to see Petra which involved a very long walk down and up or a jarring cart ride or a partial horse ride. Then a great lunch and on to Mt. Nebo where Moses saw but could not enter the Promised Land and died at 120 in spite of no diminishment of his vigor. Last stop for the day was a visit to the Madeba crafts store where Beth bought a mosaic table which we hope arrives intact. Hotel in Amman was the best yet in regard to food but not bathroom.
2/27 A busy busy day. Border crossing which was very long and drawn out. Saw the very narrow Jordan River at the Shieck Hussein crossing site, then to a Roman/ Byz/ Crusader city Scythopolis or Bet She’An. Nazareth to see Church of the Annunciation, Cana to see wedding church, Jordan River again at baptism site (not that one) (Yardeni), a glimpse of the Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights and to the hotel at Tiberius.

2/28 A day in the Galilee. The first thing was also the most interesting- we went for an open boat ride on the Sea of Galilee from Tiberius (Tveya); and as scripted, a storm blew up with whipping winds ad some rain. The ship captain had a great sense of humor about the storm and the rainbow, played gospel and Jewish songs on his iPod, and many quips.

 As an example the first thing he did, as we left the dock, in the shadow of the Golan Heights, 25 miles from the Syrian border and 15 miles from the Lebanese border, is put up the “target”, ie the American flag. As we approached the port side (docking was a feat of seamanship in the gawky wood boat with a huge rudder) was open the smallest gift shop in Israel. His last comment was that the boat is for sale.
The boat let us off at the place where they house the restored 2000 year old wooden boat discovered by a couple of locals in 1986 during a drought (similar preservation story to the Vasa).

 There is some speculation that the boat may have been used by Jewish fighters from Magdal (as in Mary M) against Vespasian’s Romans in the 60s CE. It had 12 kinds of wood used on it.
Next we went to Mount Tabgha, traditionally said to be the site of the Sermon on the Mount (Beatitudes) and was paid for by Mussolini. Beautiful arched design and well cared for grounds. Then Galilee fish lunch, a visit to the Church of the Multiplication (not tables, loaves and fishes) then the church of Peter’s primacy (upon this rock), then Capernaum to see the old site (same order as all these places seem to have- Roman then Byzantine then Crusader) of the synagogue (I can’t tell it from a Greek temple) ad ruins possibly from 1st c. CE.
We’re not done yet- we drove by Chorazim where Jesus chastised the locals for not listening, then a harrowing ride by taxi up the switchbacks of Mt. Tabor to see the Church of the Transfiguration, and then into Kfar Yasif to meet with Pastor Hani, an evangelical Christian Israeli citizen with Phoenician roots viewed as an Arab by the gov’t. 120,000 Christians in Israel with most Greek or Latin but numbers decreasing. A bit of a rant about Evangelicals in the US ignoring them.
Then Akko and a view of the Med Sea from our room.

3/1 Tuesday Akko (Acre) (Ptolemais) to Jerusalem
After an initial stop or two looking for a ATM and a pharmacy where someone in our group bought over the counter amoxicillin, and after a brief glimpse of the port town of Akko (Romans, Byz, Arabs, Turks, but repelled Napoleon) and its several mosques and the Crusader wall, we progressed down a busy highway to the port of Haifa (3rd largest with about 700,000 people) which has port and power plants at sea and then sits in the heights of Mt. Carmel above the port. One drives thru an old German section and then goes by the extensive, beautiful, well maintained Baha’i Gardens then into the ritzy upper most level. Views of the port and the Med Sea. Then we went thru the burned area in a recent kid made fire on the mountain that killed 44 people trapped in a bus and burned up 2,000,000 trees- the US sent a 747 specially adapted to dump water on fires but too late. Next was the Carmelite nun monastery on the site where Elijah is supposed to have beaten 400 priests of Baal in a bake off (see who has the power to ignite a sacrificial offering without a flame to start it) (Ahab, Jezebel, II Kings?).
The road the progressed down hill to Caesarea, built by Herod the Great (that Herod 37-4 BCE) right on the water. Before getting to the town we stopped where Herod’s 30 mile aqueduct runs along the ocean shore and had a chance to dip toes or fingers in the Med. Caesarea has a 4000 seat theater, a hippodrome and a palace on the water with some newly displayed tiles from the period.

From there into Jerusalem with a dusk view of the security wall between old Israel and the Palestinian area acquired from Jordan during the 6 days War (1967) (old Samaria) (wall built in the early 2000s and seems to have cut down on a lot of terrorism).
Arrived 6:30 pm in time for dinner and then a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls by Joe Christian (!! his real name).
3/2 Wednesday Jerusalem itself (J sits at about 2700 feet above sea level- surprise to me). Too many places seen today so I’ll just list them for now:
Mount of Olives (site of group photo) with a camel and a huge crowd, but great view of the Dome of the Rock (not a mosque), Al Aksa Mosque, Holy S Church, big city wall, old city of David, J “Y”, King David Hotel. Poor Martin has had to explain about 100 times where the Dome of the Rock sits, where the temple was, where the second temple was, who built them and who destroyed them. 

Walked down steep road of Palm Sunday to Jesus flevit (Jesus wept) church (1/5 really well done ones by Bartolini in late 1880s), by the Russki gold domed church, then the Garden of Gethsemane with very old Olive trees, another B church (gloomy, big mosaic on cornice outside; then up the big hill on the bus past the right angle of Suleyman’s wall) and into the Armenian quarter to room of the last supper which lies on top of one of King David’s tombs, to Dormition Church where Mary went to sleep and was swooshed up to heaven (but we thought we heard she died in Ephesus at the Mary house revealed by the blind German nun). Several of these houses we and churches we have seen were built by Kaiser Wilhelm II (Augusta and Victoria near last supper, Dormition, one from earlier in the trip, and one in the Christian quarter where we stopped later to shop (guilty conscience?).
Then lunch break near the Burnt House, on down the steps observing the Herodian stone, to the western wall, the wailing wall.

Then uphill thru the souk to the Via Dolorosa with a stop on the roof of the former Austrian embassy to see the Dome of the Rock again and a closer view of the skyline (an oasis above the crowds (at least half have been Jewish school kids of all ages 4 or 5 to teens)). Then we followed theVD along its route with a brief stop for shopping, into the Holy Sepulcher Church with Golgotha site inside, a marble slab representing the tomb, an actual cave that might have been a burial site, and dueling tomb sites depending on one’s branch of orthodox Christianity (they don’t get along). We saw a wooden ladder on the side of the HS Church which Martin said has been there for a hundred years because the branches can’t agree who has the authority to move it).
A long day of tough walking but home and bed early.
Thursday March 3 Dead Sea, Masada, Qumran
We left Jerusalem and passed by the West Bank to catch the major road south to the Dead Sea (about 1400 feet below sea level, falling by a meter a year due to evaporation, lack of water flowing in from the Jordan River, lack of rain and use) (lowest place on earth with Sea of Galilee second and Death Valley third). Along the way we saw a camel stuck in a median strip, more camels, a couple of bedouin camps, a guy riding 3 children on a donkey, lots of goats, lots of sheep and even an ibex. First stop was the Arava factory where they make hope in a tube from Dead Sea mud. Then an extensive tour of Masada, going up by funicular, and we saw Herod’s castle, the location of the 10th Legion camp, and the massive ramp the Romans built up the mountain for their battering ram.

We drove by Ein Gedi where David hid out from Saul and cut his cloak while he was asleep (I Samuel), saw more bigger ibex, and had lunch at Qumran.

 Then we toured the Essene settlement with ritual baths, refectory, and library and observed the caves in a distance.
Last stop a dip in the Dead Sea for those who wanted to- avoid wearing jewelry, avoid splashing and getting it in one’s eyes. Muddy, slippery fun for those who went in. Silkier skin, too, after it was all over.
Friday, March 4 Jerusalem
Today we began the day with a visit to the Garden Tomb which has a logical story about its location near a place that looks like a skull, a garden, and a tomb carved into the rock. Our docent was a very enthusiastic English fellow named Roy who didn't really care about whether the Garden Tomb was the real one because "He is risen!!!".
We had communion there right next to a very spirited and loud evangelical group having a service with a lot of praying over each individual in the group.
On thru the gauntlet of bag, scarf, and trinket sellers to our bus and an all too quick visit to the Israel Museum, where we saw a model of the city from the second Temple period (even after being told about the 2 temples and their dates and the Moslem Dome of the Rock location, about a third of the group still hasn't got the timing yet) and the Dead Sea exhibit.
Then thru the Berlin wall over into the Palestinian area to have lunch at the Bethlehem Bible College and to learn about the Palestinian situation from Palestinian, Arab, and Christian eyes; then the Church of the Shepherds, the field of Boaz and Ruth, and the Nativity Church. 

Back thru the checkpoint where the guard was slumping in her chair talking on the phone and we had a very hard time not going back into the Occupied West Bank. Dinner and good byes.
On back to Jordan for the Albemarle related part of the trip.
Saturday, March 5 Tel Aviv to Amman and on
Friday night and Saturday a couple of the elevators in the hotel would only advance one floor at a time because of no work on Shabat and I almost called hotel maintenance. Our flight was at 11:30 but we had heard so much about how thorough the Israeli security check is we were advised to get there 3 or 4 hours before the flight. We got there before the line opened and the before the counter opened.
We met Abboud, HR manager from JBC at the airport in Amman and took off immediately to see Jerash. This Roman city of about 60-75 acres is very well preserved. Consistent with a theme from Israel, that the Romans wanted to show how powerful they were in their buildings, there are columns in Jerash that were
made of granite from Egypt. Our guide Basel was very knowledgeable and we have him for 3 different spots.

After Jerash we hit the road for the Dead Sea. When we reached the place where we were at sea level we stopped to see the sign. Mom tried to take a picture but our driver got nervous because there is a no photo sign there due to the military base looking over the border to Israel.
Last thing of the day was a mud treatment and a massage for each of us. Kempinski Hotel definitely a big step up from the bus tour hotels.

Sunday, March 6 Dead Sea to Safi to Kerak to Aqaba
This day we drove from the hotel to Safi to cut the ribbon on a computer lab at a school supported by Jordan Bromine.

 Then a quick plant tour, on the road to the Crusader castle of Kerak, where Abboud’s family is from, then on to Aqaba- a long drive.
Monday, March 7 Aqaba to Wadi Ram to Madeba to Amman
We met Basel at Wadi Ram and took a truck drive over the sand to see the amazing rock formations and dunes. The desert had a carpet of small purple flowers.

 Then we made a mad dash to Madeba to see the St. George Church where there is a 1500 year old mosaic map of the middle east, partially destroyed by fire and earthquake but impressive. We talked a bit to the Greek Orthodox priest in the church and also saw a 1000 year old gift from Russia to the church.
We next went into Amman to meet Abboud’s family including his wife, 2 boys, and mother.
To the airport and a 13 hour trip home.
Added notes:
1) every bathroom is an experience, every hotel during the one night stand part was also an experience, 2) everyone in Israel

has an agenda- usually involving religion, 3) compare 15 % Christians in Jordan with 1 or 2 percent in Israel and higher percent in occupied west bank, 4) on the airplane from Jordan the flight map showed direction and distance to Mecca so can pray.