WILD AND TAMED

EAST MED CRUIZE

Back on NCL with discounts...after a stay in a local Civitavechia guest house where we had pleasant accomadation & wonderful food...so all was well until Char mistakenly walked into the plump husband's room while he was naked in his bathroom & promptly went to lie down on his bed...He was not amused...

This time through the Messina Straights & on to Greece where we stopped off at Olympus...nice village...rip off tour to see statues @ the site of the 1st Olympics...didn't do it.

A stop in Piraeus...the port of Athens...had been here over 20 yrs prior & it was in much better shape then.

Then on to  Smyrna...or as the Ottomans call it...Izmur...hot & dusty.

A night parked up on the Bosphorus in Constantinople or as the Ottomans call it...Istanbul...hot,dusty...& we were wiser from our visit some yrs prior...did not leave the vessel.

Back west & a stop in Naples...what a disapointment...quite dirty & I felt unsafe...The view from the ship out to Capri was nice though.

STILBAY...FOT

With Char's mum in tow, we flew into George on the beautiful South African, Garden Route Coast. 

With our little Chevvy rental we checked into Dunecrest...boasting all the mod cons & a stone's throw from the beach in the quaint & lovely town of Stilbay.

At the Feast I met Christo & Ria Botha for the 1st time. Also had a look at the nearby village of Jongesfontein which like Stilbay was stunning.

On our way to Gonubie we were caught in a terrible storm which made driving treacherous. We dried off & refreshed at the spectacular Storms😉 River Bridge.

The night was spent in Jeffreys Bay...JAYBAY...which had grown considerably since, like Stilbay, I had not seen since 1983.

On to Rose in Gonubie where we had pleasant walks on the pretty beaches.

Before our homeward trek we stayed a few days with the Viljoens in Bethal...the treat being a visit to an authentic Afrikaner Restaurant...Antiek Sjek in Hendrina...sadly no more...a casualty of  that crumbling nation.