Jim - Thank you! I did get the questions. If you can think up an entertainment one, that would be good, too. The competition smoked us again yesterday at trivia. Grr ... we'll get 'em with the Bittles' help

We are just pulling into Safaga as the sun is coming up. It's breathtaking to see the hills so pretty in the morning light.

Bonnie - things have really changed in this area, certainly since I was traveling in 2000 for business. Turkey used to look like New York City during the daytime. Now, you see the veil and scarves on nearly all of the women. Since this part of the Middle East is more conservative, both men and women face more pressure to comply with the requirements of their religion as practiced today.

Abayas are required for all women in Saudi Arabia with the exception of world leaders. Saudi is among the most strict of the countries in this and other respects. I thought long and hard about whether to even enter Saudia Arabia on this trip, and if not going on ROAR 2 would have swapped this sailing for the Discovery Tour itinerary in October on the Navigator.

This is a golden opportunity to visit -- we are either the second or third cruise ship to ever be granted access to the country. Since the only kind of tourism now in Saudi Arabia is for pilgrims going on the Hagg, I figured the tours would not be like those in a port that welcomes cruise visitors regularly. For all of those who are now among the first to visit Saudi Arabia, I say go for it.

On the other hand, we got a flavor during our Egypt trip last year of just how repressive things are in a post-9/11, Iraq war kind of a world, especially in Saudi Arabia. The locals we met struggle with their Saudi visitors for a whole variety of reasons. This is a small point, but the tour desk decided to add $39 per lady onto the cost of an already pricey tour to supply the abaya. Why? If there were any pricing differential, why not subtract $39 for the inconvenience and discomfort the women experienced in the 100 degree heat?

The tour desk talk about the Cloud's visit mentioned in their case, a few of the guides bolted from their group when the call came for noontime prayers. That must have been something. They also indicated the Saudis would board the ship and do random checks for alcohol, as they had found a half a bottle of wine in a cabin on the Cloud's visit. That entailed a six figure fine and a senior Silversea official to fly in and smooth over the ruffled feathers. The Saudis act as if they are more afraid of opening their doors these days, even a little, that we are of complying with rules that appear byzantine and bizarre to me. The rules, of course, were tightened up after the Cloud visit. No going ashore at all unless you were on the organized tour (that was a change from the published schedule where independent tour guides could be arranged), a requirement to have a manifest for every person on every bus so they could know who you were and your movements (not that they knew what to do with the information or how to check people against the manifest since it was a new procedure for all involved), etc.

All in all, I decided staying in, enjoying the spa and watching 'Stripes' with Gail was the best option. With benefit of hindsight, I'm comfortable with my choice, and happy that those who wanted to visit had the opportunity to do so. Gary had a chance to check off another country on his 'things I want to do' list, and enjoyed having a peek at the country, especially in the old town section. The tour desk and the ship really jumped through hoops to make it happen.

Ngaire does look like a nun in that picture! Olivia did a great job of summing up the experience.

Yesterday, the weather changed and it's definitely cooler with less humidity. It was most pleasant sitting out on the pool deck and using the balcony. I easily fell into a leisurely breakfast-Spanish Lesson-chitchat on the pool deck-leisurely lunch-POOCH-Trivia-drinks-dinner routine again. The social hostess teaching us the spanish is wonderful and this has jumpstarted my effort to learn more spanish.

The group is by and large heading over to Luxor for an overnight stay and a visit to the temples there and the Valley of the Kings tomorrow. We are staying local overnight at the Oberoi and look forward to checking it out. I'm ready to plant my feet back on terra firma and enjoy being back in Egypt.

For those of you who asked about the prior post .. as Gilda Radner used to say 'never mind'. Chalk it up to another case of CUI.

Cheers, Anne