Where Am I Now?

This shouldn't be too difficult if you watch the news, enjoy National Geographic, or are religious. However, some people are not religious and maybe just not geographically inclined.....the people in this country are known as Hashemites and they were so nice and hosptable everywhere I visited.

Give up?

I was lucky enough to visit the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan where I enjoyed visiting Petra, Amman, and drove the entire length of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.

On the Border

Yesterday was my second visit to the barren border crossing up at the junction of Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The border is very sparsely populated. It is especially so in Kuwait.

There are literally no homes until you get within about 45 miles of Kuwait City. Just about everyone in the entire country seem to live in the city or it’s suburbs. The Kuwaiti highway between the border and Kuwait City is lined on both sides and down the middle with Acacia trees. The tree’s are short and stunted; probably due to the extreme heat and dryness in this area.

The highway also has lighting all the way to the Saudi border, which at night was very nice. Once you get into Saudi Arabia the desert is a black hole. Sometimes you can see signs of civilization miles and miles ahead of you and sometimes you can see nothing at all but the road and the occaisional vehicle. The stars are simply awesome and are always worth a stop.

Close - But Not Quite

Kuwait Towers

I rented a car with a friend and went to Kuwait yesterday to see my son David before he goes north into Iraq. Unfortunately, when I got there I found out the rules for entry onto the American bases changed last month. I wasn’t allowed in despite my military ID. All I could think of was how depressed he would be. I figured he would be bummed because it would be his last chance to see one of us for awhile.

Luck was with us after all because he was worried about my safety and where I was so he called home to KS (collect!). Patricia then called my cellphone. I was really surprised to get a call at all because of the change in couuntries and cellular service, but she got through and put the phones together. David and I were able to talk to each other via a 16,000 mile round-trip connection. This in spite of being within a mile or so of each other.

After all was done it was a great day. We had a good talk and I was able to visit Kuwait. I only wish I could of actually seen him.

Kuwait City

Kuwait Towers - Signature Structures in the Country

The taller tower has restaurants on the lower "bubble" and a double-decker observation deck on the upper bubble. One of the decks rotates 360 degrees every 30 minutes.

The tower with one bubble is a one million gallon water tank and the tower with no bubble is a center that controls the lighting and other functions.

What a view from almost 400 feet (120 meters) up!

David Overseas

David at Delphi (August 2003)

I always liked this photo. David is overlooking Delphi which is an ancient town and seat of the most important Greek temple and oracle of Apollo. Alexander the Great visited in 336 B.C. to get his future "read" and the Pythian priestess acclaimed him “invincible”.

David is overseas again but not as a student-tourist this time. I plan to visit him in Kuwait where he is temporarily located serving in the Army.

Ships, Wrecks, Screws and Rudders

My Best Vanna White Pose

Growing up a Navy brat I had long known ship's screws can be quite large but I was still surprised when I first saw the ANA's rudder and screw sitting on the bottom of the Red Sea. While visiting the wreck we all had to get a photo posing by the screw (Notice the different colored edge area of the screw where diver's hands have kept the coral worn clean).

The surprising size of this wreck made you feel humbled by the power it took to sink the ship. One of the guys searched online and couldn't find any information out about the wreck so we are left to wonder under what circumstances this ship met her end.

Across Saudi Arabia

Mother Baboon Looks to Cross the Highway

Russ, Mustafa and I drove from Hafr Al-Batin to Jeddah, which is over 800 miles one-way. I've traveled quite a bit of the Eastern and Northern areas and really wanted to see more of the other parts of the country.

On the way going we drove around Medina and from the non-Muslim road we could see the Mohammed’s Great Mosque. It was already night time and the minarets were as bright as football stadium lights. If you didn’t know, non-Muslins cannot enter Mecca or Medina so there are roads that go around them for the non-Muslims.

On the way back from Jeddah we drove through Riyadh which took us through Taif. Taif is located up in the mountains and is the summer residence of the Royal family and it is supposed to be cooler up there. Just outside of Taif on the mountainous two-lane road there is a troop of baboons. The Saudis stop alongside the road to look and feed them. This mother had a right arm that was useless. We surmised she had been hit by a car at one time or another. She was doing okay when we saw her.

Wreck Dive and Eels

We dove a wreck that sat at an angle. The ship's rudder and single screw were at 110' and the bow at about 45'. While exploring, Mohaned, Malcolm and I saw a very big eel. I was barely able to catch the last half of it in a photo before he disappeared under some decking. Look in the lower left hand of the photo. All Malcolm could do was watch it go and then he quickly looked up to see if anyone else saw what he saw. We were all surprised and I was so lucky to get any photo at all.

Diving in Jeddah

Front Row (L-R) Mustafa, me, Malcolm

Back Row (L-R) Russ, Toby, Mohaned

A few friends and I took an extra day off work while everyone else is on vacation this summer and went diving in Jeddah. I hadn't seen the countryside between Hafr Al-Batin and Jeddah so Mustafa, Russ and I drove. In spite of the one-way 1300 kilometer trip we had a blast.

Drift Dive

We enjoyed a number of drift dives off Ambergris Caye with this particular dive being the last of our trip. It was a rainy morning so I called the dive shop to make sure we were still going. They said as long as we wanted to go they’d take us. We were enjoying ourselves so much we never watched a TV or listened to a radio so we failed to realize a major storm was out in the Gulf of Mexico. The seas were calmer than they had been the previous days and we were going to get wet one way or another so we went. We had an excellent time diving two sites one of which was called “Christ the Abyss” with a couple from the L.A. area.

Erina & Patricia with Saint Peter at "Christ the Abyss"

The Winnie Estelle

This is the view we had from The Blue Tang’s (our hotel) rooftop deck. The deck sets three stories high, which is the highest a building can be built on the island, so the view is excellent. The onshore breeze blew lightly in our faces and kept us cool in all weather conditions. I think Patricia and Erina preferred a nice rain so they could kick the standing water one each other.

Most mornings and evenings you could find us relaxing and enjoying one picture perfect moment after another. We'd watch islanders walking and riding by on their way to work or school. The boat taxis were hauling loads of people to and from the outlying islands. You really cannot call it a "bustling hive of activity" as the pace of life is very laid back.

The classic boat anchored in the center of the photo is the Winnie Estelle. I don't know anything of the history on the boat, but I have read an internet article, written by the owner, about it's care and the piloting required for boats down in the Belizean waters. We imagined Humphrey Bogart towing it through a jungle river while worrying about leeches!

The Winnie Estelle

Cleaning the Catch

A San Pedro fishing boat Captain Cleans a Barracuda

We walked down the beach and met a fishing boat Captain and his crew who were all very friendly. He talked to us as he was cleaning the fish and told us to just wait a little bit and his friends would come to visit. We were kind of wondering what he was talking about when sure enough here came not one but three rays to feast on fish pieces and parts. The Captain told us every evening he cleans the day's catch at the base of the pier and every evening he is visited by a number of rays who eat the free leftovers.

A Ray Cruising Above the Turtle Grass Like a Grey Ghost

Off to School

Brittany on her way to school

Anytime our friend Enes' daughter sees us she has to stop for a chat. She forgets about going to school or going home. She is such a sweet little girl.

Addis for Breakfast

Naveed Khan Baking Bread

Visiting Naveed is one of our favorite stops in the morning. One of us will stop and pick up a couple unleavened breads and a couple cups of hot addis. Addis is a thick pasty soup made from lentils which are cooked with spices and served with a little bit of cream (the fat kind - not the 2%) drizzled over the top. Please note that Naveed is one of the friendliest guys you can ever meet so don't let the sober face fool you. It is customary for people not to smile over here when they get their photo taken.

My Bread Baking in the Oven

Naveed flattens out the dough on the convex topped round thingie (the seat looking thing to the left of Naveed in the top photo) and then throws it upwards onto the inside of the oven sticking it to the side. The oven is really hot so he doesn't loiter long inside. He then watches it until it browns and pulls it off with two long rods.

To eat this breakfast, Middle Eastern style, you gather a few of your co-workers / friends and sit around in a circle on the floor. You break the bread into small pieces and use the pieces as a spoon to scoop out a bit of the addis from the bowl. Follow it down with some juice, water, tea or even pepsi and be prepared to fight off a snooze in about a half-hour!

My Favorite Fish

A Bold Yellowhead Jawfish Looks Right Back at Me

I saw two of these little 3-4" fish about a foot apart peering at me over a branch of coral. I couldn't believe my eyes so I slowly moved closer watching them the whole time. As I moved closer they would descend into a little hole. When I moved back they came back out to look at me. I surmise this one gathered I wasn't going to eat him as he stayed up while the other one descended into the sand and could not be seen.

To me, they were so beautiful and surreal they look like something out of a Star Wars movie.

Nurse Sharks Amongst Us

Patricia Descending to Depth While a Nurse Shark Cruises By

We really enjoyed the different types of dives Everett and Enes led us on. On one dive we would cover a lot of distance underwater looking for larger species. After our surface interval, we would do a slower more intensely investigative dive where we would inspect all the crannies, crags and cracks looking for the interesting little guys.

Always following with the camera, I like the slow dives better. There are so many things to see besides the big guys cruising by.

The Filipino Lady's Grave

Patricia and Erina Looking for the Grave Stone Marker and Being Followed by the Ever Present Yellowtail Snappers

We dove with Enes, Everett and Clifford at Belize Diving Adventures and the "tall tales" were as plentiful as the beautiful reef fish we enjoyed. I think Everett's best story was when he told us that a Filipino Lady had been granted her dying wish and had her ashes scattered outside the reef at her favorite dive spot. He said we would probably even be able to find the grave stone marker that had been erected in her honor some years later. Talk about hook, line and sinker! We swallowed that one bigtime. I mean, it is so beautiful, it is only common sense to think someone would want to be scattered there!

Needless to say, no matter how hard they looked, Patricia and Erina never did find the marking for the "Filipino Lady" while Everett and Clifford had a good laugh for days!

Front, Middle and Back Streets

Crusing Down Middle Street

San Pedro has three streets running North to South on the caye. The are Front Street, Middle Street and Back Street. Front Street is closest to the ocean while Back Street is closest to the lagoon, while Middle Street is well.......in the middle. Middle Street is for two-way traffic while the other two streets are one-way. We didn't figure that out until one day a guy smiled politely and told us we were going the wrong way. So we turned at the very next side street to check out the signage and he said you are STILL going the wrong way. It turns out some of the side streets are one way also. Whew! We still laugh about that one.

Elvi's Kitchen or Elvis' Kitchen??

Interior of Elvi's Kitchen - Note the Sand Floor and Tree Inside

Okay. So we're from the Midwest and not too hip on the Caribe accents so it is understandable that we kept thinking we needed to go to Elvis' not Elvi's to try the food recommended by the locals. We were initally thinking we didn't want to go to a touristy place named Elvis' Kitchen. We finally broke down and made it for lunch one day and boy were we surprised to find the photo of an older lady (Elvi herself) on the cover of the menu and not the "King." We enjoyed the food and the restaurant decor. They built the building around a tree inside and the floor is still sand, which is kind of neat. I guess they do that so the next high tide from a hurricane can just flow right on through. If you get to San Pedro we'd recommend a visit.

Happy Birthday Erina!

Smiling for the Camera and Trying Not to Get Water in Her Regulator

So my "little girl" turns 15 (July 9)! Oh my gosh I suddenly feel very old! Seriously, Erina has made me very proud to be her father. I am looking forward to many more life adventures together with her.