Haifa Day 2

 No Shore excursion booked today, so it was nice to have a more leisurely start. Breakfast on the outside deck, already very hot. There is a shuttle bus into downtown Haifa every 1/2 hour, we agree to meet for the 9:30 shuttle. This port is like a maze. Although downtown is very close it takes quite a while for our bus to actually get to the drop-off point. As it's Saturday (Sabbath) most of the stores are closed. The Bahai gardens are open for the first 3 flights. Apparently you can only do all the steps if you are with an established group. No one seems to know how you find an established group! In any case, on a hot day like today 3 flights are fine. We then have a walk down Ben Gurion street, the main street which has buildings from the old German colony. Most now seem to be small hotels or restaurants. We walk down as far as the mall, then stop for an iced coffee. Then back to our bus stop to go back to the ship. Going through the port we can see all the shipping containers and so many cars. If you are waiting for a car to be delivered, it may be here!

Back at the ship, the wind is really picking up. This is the wind from the East, which I learn is called the Khamsin. Visibility gets bad again, and the temperature drops about 10 degrees. Lots of whitecaps further out. I have some work to do, then have a snack before heading out to the pool area. Walking around the deck is challenging, forget about wearing a hat! Many of the lounge chairs have been removed or tied down. I decide to do a late afternoon stretch class, then meet a new friend for the Middle East dinner. It's a fun dinner, served family style. Carmel and I end up at a table of Americans. It's funny to me to meet people on a trip like this that find Hummus and eggplant exotic! But everyone seems to enjoy their dinner. It's interesting talking to people with such a different world view. The wind has eased as we leave port.

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