Hydra Island

After meeting up with Dan at the ship terminal, we took a tour of Athens...

Athens, Greece

The Parthenon

Mars Hill (Paul preached from here)


After touring the Acropolis, we met up with Lisa, who had just flown in from Is. Got to tour some of Athens together...

The Acropolis

A tour of Athens on a double decker bus (hop on hop off). A great way to see the city!

After the tour, we decided to hop a boat from Athens to Hydra Island a day early as there was a strike scheduled for the next day. So we got into Hydra at 1030 pm....found a hotel for the night. Hydra is a fascinating island where no cars or bikes are allowed....only donkeys. It is a very dry island. Hydra means water...it used to be flowing with springs but after an earthquake in the 1800s, they all dried up. They now have to have water shipped in. We are now at our three bedroom villa toward the top of the hill behind the city (only one city on this island).

Yup....we even got to swim here! Goin again today...and tomorrow...and the next day;)

Port entrance

The bustling port of Hydra ;) No cars are allowed...only donkeys for transportation. Surreal!

The view from our verandah last night

Med. Cruise

We have internet again! So I am updating the blog. We have fit so much into a short time so it has felt like we have been gone a lot longer than 2 weeks.

Lisa and us with the Dome of the Rock in the background (plated in gold)

After our time in Jerusalem, we headed back to Haifa...then got up early for a flight to Athens where we boarded our cruise the next morning. Three day cruise of Greek islands and a bit of Turkey.

Cruisin the Aegean Sea!

Mykonos Island

Ultimate beauty;)

The main street in Ephesis, Turkey. This is where people sold idols for those coming to worship the godess Diana (Acts 19). Only 1/10 of this city has been excavated...and it has taken 145 years to do this much.

The theater (mentioned in Acts 19)

Our ship from the Kusadasi, Turkey port

Approaching the island of Patmos, where John spent time in exile

This is the view from the supposed cave where John wrote Revelations. A church has been built around the cave.

We met some friends we know from Australia on our cruise! Pam Prouse (front) and David and Judy Silverlock live in Perth, Western Australia. We first met them in 1994 when we were there as a family. The are on a 10 week tour of Europe. On the cruise we ate dinner with them each evening and we spent Sunday with them on Crete.

We docked in Heraklion, a city located on the northern shores of Crete. Lots of shops in the markets eager to sell you their wares

That's a fortress in the background at the Heraklion harbor

Santorini - sits atop an ancient volcanic crater

Santorini

Dan was at the arrival hall at the port in Piraeus when we disembarked. It was good to see him amongst all of the strangers! We are at the hotel near the port and will soon leave for a day tour of Athens.

Dead Sea, Nagev Desert, Jerusalem...

We took our rental car and drove south to the Dead Sea through some very interesting areas (tell you about it when we get home....;). The Dead Sea scrolls were found near the northwest corner of the sea. We got to see a few of the caves (from a distance) where they were found in the 1940s. Then we went to a swimming area and "swam"...more like flailed... in the very salty water. Then drove to the Nagev Desert where we stayed at a camel ranch....rode camels for an hour into the desert and they fed us dinner and breakfast....authentic foods that the travelers prepared as they traveled on the spice road on camels. Tuesday we drove up to Jerusalem where we stayed within the walls of the Old City...brimming with culture - lots and lots of it! Saw the Western Wall, Mt of Olives, Hezekiah's Tunnel (where you wade through a tunnel in refreshing water) and a few places where they think He (J....) is buried...... This morning we rode the bus 2 hours north to Haifa and we are now getting ready to leave tomorrow for Athens. It has been so amazing to experience Lisa's life here. We have eaten really good food, seen awesome sites, met really nice people and have not felt a drop of rain;)!

Just chillin in the Dead Sea. It's nearly impossible to sink. Greasy water...

Us three and the Dead Sea

A trek thru the Nagev Desert on our camels

Cover thy head....;) At the Western Wall

Jerusalem fruit stand

Golan Heights

We took Lisa, Geri and Laurel a few hours north to the Golan Heights to seen the countryside. Awesome time!

Nimrod Fortress, Golan Heights....built in 1200's

Nimrod's Fortress, Golan Heights. Built in the 1200s

Hermon Stream...like an oasis surrounded by arid country

Sea of Galilee

We drove our rental car east to the Sea of Galilee through Tiberias, Capernaum, swam at a kibbutz (commune). Drove around the "sea". Awesome day! Then came home and spent the evening with some of Lisa's friends. We also had a Thanksgiving dinner with everyone

The Sea of Galilee

The River Jordan where it drains from the Sea of Galilee

Some very nice people we have met