Today was like the first day, only in reverse. I was awake at about 5:10 am and saw the ship enter Haifa bay docks. Then the alarm went off, my wife showered, then off we went to breakfast. Afterwards we packed the final items in our hand luggage, vacated our room then went off to wait to be called off the ship. After we disembarked, we walked to passport control then walked to the tent where all the luggage had been stored, picked up our suitcase, walked through customs and out into the open. We had a short walk to Haifa train station that was overrun by people with their suitcases, all wanting to go south.
I remembered a trick that we sometimes used in basic training: instead of waiting with everyone for the bus that would take us on the first stage to home, a bus that would be full of soldiers with their bags, we would walk to the bus stop before the usual stop. There we could alight and be sure of a seat. I suggested that we do the same thing today: catch the first train going north, get off at the first stop then catch the next train going south. So we did and we had no problem with seats. To be honest, I'm not sure how full our train was and whether this exercise was worth it. Anyone, one way or another, we arrived home at 12 pm on the dot.
One of these boat trips is fine if one is like my brother in law (BIL): one can rest, watch the sea, eat three full meals a day (no cooking nor washing up), watch some entertainment in the evening, and should one desire, one can stretch one's legs in a foreign town. But this isn't such a good deal for my wife and I: we prefer to pick a destination then find all sorts of things to do in that destination. Having the 'fixed cost' of a day and a half sailing before reaching anywhere then having another day and a half at the end returning home means that for a five day trip, almost all the time is spent on board, and that's not for us.
I wrote last week that BIL was hospitalised with suspected hepatitis; after
various examinations including a CT, he was operated on for eight hours
yesterday as surgeons attempted to remove a cancer on his pancreas that had
spread and wound its way around other organs. Once he has recovered from the
surgery and regained some strength, he will start a course of chemotherapy.
There are other non-health related complications. We wish him well.
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| 1039 | Rodos log 2: the old city | Holiday, Rodos, Greece | |
| 1141 | Italy 2018 - Pisa/Lucca | Holiday, Pisa, Italy | |
| 1321 | A musical day | Kibbutz, Song writing | |
| 1394 | More data on my last viral infection | Health, Aldosterone | |
| 1509 | Italy 2022: Corso Cavour | Holiday, Italy, Bari | |
| 1772 | Cruise log #3: Agios Nikolaos | Holiday, Greece |
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