tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25052074968324356532024-03-05T08:07:20.176-05:00The Chronicles of CarlEvents in the life of a retired geneticist and medical test developer. They incoude world travel, Rotary, Polio, sailing, horseback riding and comments on the scientific worldevolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-55560718994589946502013-01-04T13:38:00.001-05:002013-01-04T13:38:09.810-05:00Carl Good added you to his circles and invited you to join Google+<!-- X-Notifications: 1:cb7d139230000000 --><div style="border:solid 1px #dfdfdf;color:#686868;font:13px Arial"><div style="background-color:#fff;padding:20px;"><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td style="padding-right:15px;vertical-align:top"><a href="https://plus.google.com/_/notifications/ngemlink?&emid=CLj7ib-sz7QCFQYYQAodRRQAAA&path=%2F106522767855156426701%3Fgpinv%3DAMIXal_s7kr7YKIlwgUqV3hfN6N1AvDQ1BIX9PPa3Cq1AeacCpTKaLQcDF6-AKAJ7crpjUOPNQEw_2AnRZEsxKHhkla4iyIFnqUpaiMmIy38FDX0uQh30lE&dt=1357324688196&uob=10"><img style="border:solid 1px #cccccc;" width="75" height="75" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uUTJ7dBgQms/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/HNWpUbYcEJY/s75-c-k-a/photo.jpg" /></a></td><td style="width:578px;color:#333;font:13px Arial;vertical-align:top"><div style="min-height:45px;padding:15px 0; border-bottom:solid 1px #dfdfdf;"><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 style="width:100%;"><tr><td style="padding-right:20px;color:#686868;font:16px Arial"><div>Carl Good added you to his circles and invited you to join Google+.</div></td><td style="text-align:right;"><a style="display:inline-block;padding:7px 15px;background-color:#d44b38; color:#fff;font-size:16px; font-weight:bold;border-radius:2px;-webkit-border-radius:2px; -moz-border-radius:2px;border:solid 1px #c43b28; white-space:nowrap;text-decoration:none" href="https://plus.google.com/_/notifications/ngemlink?&emid=CLj7ib-sz7QCFQYYQAodRRQAAA&path=%2F%3Fgpinv%3DAMIXal_s7kr7YKIlwgUqV3hfN6N1AvDQ1BIX9PPa3Cq1AeacCpTKaLQcDF6-AKAJ7crpjUOPNQEw_2AnRZEsxKHhkla4iyIFnqUpaiMmIy38FDX0uQh30lE&dt=1357324688196&uob=10" >Join Google+</a></td></tr></table></div><div style="padding:30px 0;font-size:18px;color:#686868;font:16px Arial">Google+ makes sharing on the web more like sharing in real life.</div><div style="margin:0 0 40px;"><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 style="color:#686868;font:16px Arial"><tr><td style="padding-right:25px;"><div style="border: 1px solid #ddd;"><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/intl/en/images/col-circles-3.jpg" width="150px"></div></td><td><div style="font-size:15px;font-weight:bold;padding-bottom:5px; vertical-align:top;"><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/up/coloricon-small-circles-d1dbb140a2b82be3b9abe5e1e795f622.png" width="18px" /> Circles</div><div style="font-size:13px;width:375px">An easy way to share some things with college buddies, others with your parents, and almost nothing with your boss. 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It is a beautiful island with a large reef just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula. I got my open water PADI scuba certification this fall in Massachusetts and had been thinking about a trip to the south this spring after we arrived in Southern Pines NC for the spring. During our first breakfast in Aspen Snowmass this winter I met a Mexican couple who had built a dive hotel in Cozumel. It seemed that fate was directing me so I contacted the Blue Angel Resort and made a reservation. It turned out that the couple I had met in Aspen lived across the street from the hotel they had built and once owned and I met them again.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiHdaadz7Tgg4TELTuYgKxIsgmO0Ou-1zASs_qzvUHc301gNsbn7Ek_Q34BmoA0TW2i-oHMe07aTVsU2BLmzWLOMwLMdwqoV1BOboO4LMT_e5YKuhuW5mt0GqY3DRVgdY7YE4fgB_jKWE/s1600/Cozumel+google+earth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiHdaadz7Tgg4TELTuYgKxIsgmO0Ou-1zASs_qzvUHc301gNsbn7Ek_Q34BmoA0TW2i-oHMe07aTVsU2BLmzWLOMwLMdwqoV1BOboO4LMT_e5YKuhuW5mt0GqY3DRVgdY7YE4fgB_jKWE/s320/Cozumel+google+earth.JPG" width="311" /></a></div><br />
If you wondered what happened to the Maya, they are alive and well in Cozumel. <br />
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My hotel and dive service, Blue Angel Resort, overlooks the Villa Blanca dive site near the town of San Miguel. Each dive site listed usually has two portions, one is a wall that goes into the deep blue at over 1,000 feet and the other is closer to the shore with a bottom at 60 - 40 ft. The wall portion has deep canyons going up the face and swim thoughts or small caves open at both ends. It is like flying through a beautiful garden. I did over 20 dives during my two week stay.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6OH65S7Jo1Cqei-bq-OUoTOI4hbr1UouQMD9MRrm_TIVWZ_lj6xczhMShjbgHlDb5KavXhIvXJqvsHO8nP6RbvcrUgw5RIINCY6WpFw3Gh4HyU-Cn_jcXtYES3xO_rVefwFXPAoARwed/s1600/Map+of+Cozumel+with+dive+sites..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6OH65S7Jo1Cqei-bq-OUoTOI4hbr1UouQMD9MRrm_TIVWZ_lj6xczhMShjbgHlDb5KavXhIvXJqvsHO8nP6RbvcrUgw5RIINCY6WpFw3Gh4HyU-Cn_jcXtYES3xO_rVefwFXPAoARwed/s320/Map+of+Cozumel+with+dive+sites..JPG" width="314" /></a></div>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-42682509074787455192011-03-16T12:06:00.000-04:002011-03-16T12:06:07.294-04:00Scuba Diving in Cozume MexicoI spent two weeks diving at the Blue Angel Resort and obtained my Open Water Advanced certification from PADI. The views were fantastic and the staff very professional, especially my instructor Mathew Atkins.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Angel pool and one of the dive boats</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carnival on Cozumel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on a deep dive</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlk7WjjyuHnsCwvWvwfR8kvUqTn23jcpjitSsFyprad4yQcudBwJjV5Sa4y9VeKJRfbyEi9lQ6UHhadpkcD-l7qToLgkFhAxwod6M1yDZnHFLcmIVmDD5fgv7IPCCeUI5-Qz3lZ3ymx5l/s1600/2011-02-28_17-51-58_696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlk7WjjyuHnsCwvWvwfR8kvUqTn23jcpjitSsFyprad4yQcudBwJjV5Sa4y9VeKJRfbyEi9lQ6UHhadpkcD-l7qToLgkFhAxwod6M1yDZnHFLcmIVmDD5fgv7IPCCeUI5-Qz3lZ3ymx5l/s320/2011-02-28_17-51-58_696.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Angel Restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglONI2aLuaWC_8Ba3wcMixGNtSvRYfqP4j_44JMaQ4naGxZtPNYt2Ggx2dyTjAhIcBWSlcHrX2VW81lV058WfAJBfeyyH6DaxbICtAtAz6UWswz4VHEq0QhE_8cfwxJXVvTv5Z6PBHC26H/s1600/CZ+shrimp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglONI2aLuaWC_8Ba3wcMixGNtSvRYfqP4j_44JMaQ4naGxZtPNYt2Ggx2dyTjAhIcBWSlcHrX2VW81lV058WfAJBfeyyH6DaxbICtAtAz6UWswz4VHEq0QhE_8cfwxJXVvTv5Z6PBHC26H/s320/CZ+shrimp.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transparent Shrimp on Coral</td></tr>
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</div>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-60812142884040735922011-03-09T14:42:00.002-05:002011-03-16T12:33:53.506-04:00Diving Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I have done about 16 dives to this point in a week and a half. During this trip I have taken the PADI avvanced open water course from the Blue Angel resident instructor, Mathew. This course has included lessons on buoyancy (some very useful stuff), deep diving to 100 feet, fish identification, underwater navigation and tonight night diving. In addition I have done a number of boat dives. These dives include two tanks. In the first dive we usually go deeper than the second. The deeper you go the less time you have on the dive and the more nitrogen accumulates in your blood. The second dive after a wait on the boat to partually degas, have a fruit lunch and rest, is at a shallower depth to give one more dive time and continue the degassing process.</div><br />
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I use a dive computer that is like a fat wristwatch that monitors your time and depth to ensure you don't stay down too long. It also monitors your ascent rate to ensure you don't go up too fast. The dives we do don't require a decompression step but we always hold at 15 ft. For 3 minutes as a safety factor.<br />
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I have seen many very beautiful and colorful fish as well as some really big spiny lobsters. Many of the reefs raise like pillars out of the ocean floor with numerous caves, arches, short swim-throughs and large crevasses one can swim up along the reef wall. This is especially true at the ledge which descends over 1,000 ft. Into a dark blue abyss. It is at times like flying through a forest or being in the movie Avitar.<br />
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</div>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-43129613912570160262011-03-02T18:12:00.000-05:002011-03-02T18:12:40.183-05:00March 2nd scuba diving in CozumelMore from my Scuba vacation in Cozumel at the Blue Angel Resort<br />
Today I did two dives in the morning one at Las Palmas ref and a second at Paradise reef. It is amazing how many very colorful fish are here. We saw one large shark and a Morey eel. Many of the fish were unfamiliar to me. I am getting more confident. The bottom was sandy at about 40 feet with corals rising about 20 feet from the sea floor. Our dive master took us through tight channels between close reefs with fish on either side. We also went under arches of coral and short tunnels. There were four of us on these dives, a photographer from Quebec and a mother an college age daughter. Dominique made me a friend on Facebook so that we can see the video of the dive he uploaded.<br />
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I didn't have any lessons today but will have two tomorrow. One is on underwater navigation and the other is a night dive. I am getting tired of studying but am learning a number of new techniques.evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-5867055613545548112011-02-28T08:06:00.003-05:002011-03-16T12:21:11.719-04:00Coffee at the Blue AngleI am sitting under a thatched roof looking at a vibrant blue Caribbean and can almost see the Mexico mainland. Breakfast should be ready soon. Today I may just snorkel or do a shore dive with the real stuff starting tomorrow. I am thinking about taking another course to get my advanced open water certification but it includes classwork and tests in addition to a number of dives to practice additional skills.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8bv_98KnJXpokPvw4DRSzzrt_m8sS5XXsq9eOsQCwdnDwRaGIH1uMusL6qEdyfMnHD0Feiir51SqcV5Hsjz_7yT2WJBhkDU5VKVsCJIm8096vG1Uwnod2oWfkbW7jAbUnhYKKdBsJzI1/s1600/2011-02-28_17-51-58_696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8bv_98KnJXpokPvw4DRSzzrt_m8sS5XXsq9eOsQCwdnDwRaGIH1uMusL6qEdyfMnHD0Feiir51SqcV5Hsjz_7yT2WJBhkDU5VKVsCJIm8096vG1Uwnod2oWfkbW7jAbUnhYKKdBsJzI1/s320/2011-02-28_17-51-58_696.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-32584768714043850632011-02-27T07:21:00.001-05:002011-02-27T07:21:55.470-05:00At RDU airport waiting for flight to Atlanta and then to CozumelBacks and coffee<div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7</div>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-91315013472791268202011-02-26T09:11:00.000-05:002011-02-26T09:11:35.486-05:00Scuba Diving Cozumel MexicoI am getting ready for two weeks in Cozumel Mexico scub diving. I have signed up for 18 dives with Blue Angle Resort and Dive Center. I am not sure how this will go for a guy who will go through his 68th brithday during the trip. <br />
<a href="http://www.blueangelresort.com/">http://www.blueangelresort.com/</a>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-82084321748220124882011-02-25T20:41:00.000-05:002011-02-25T20:41:11.698-05:00Scuba Diving in Cozumel MexicoI am getting ready for two weeks in Cozumel Mexico scub diving. I have signed up for 18 dives but I am not sure how this will go for a guy who will go through his 68th brithday during the trip.evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-13456899883231597972011-02-02T09:45:00.002-05:002011-02-02T09:48:16.449-05:00Snow in Groton MA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXiw2_MazJZMP-6aEeE96YUsOFXULfaBhGiO9UfBLzwrgOio3GbjM5RS-tvJZNSJZArq19bgaff-HmV7r1Ro4Kx7B_7zswrIG_2Q3owbRwPgRNmQKIJag9TzS278rl63blTTUMVsEXkMi/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXiw2_MazJZMP-6aEeE96YUsOFXULfaBhGiO9UfBLzwrgOio3GbjM5RS-tvJZNSJZArq19bgaff-HmV7r1Ro4Kx7B_7zswrIG_2Q3owbRwPgRNmQKIJag9TzS278rl63blTTUMVsEXkMi/s400/2011-01-31_09-53-48_419.jpg" /></a><br />
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Our front door. I wonder how long it will take for this to melt.<br />
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Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-55236774737602774422011-02-02T09:24:00.000-05:002011-02-02T09:24:34.391-05:00Return from Aspen Snowmass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEify8lcQQgkrjkPSAa_Ien4bCkVExzQ9INpFzvAvBe8EklcrqDNbFeXeTgZhMGeteN1wlEBVwsfJIdNAd8RGIVjZwG3IfEojc-NkXRmEdGGDvDTeuXCcJwRf5CizipfHEM5pI00ZKD4kg_p/s1600/2011-01-23_13-11-34_887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEify8lcQQgkrjkPSAa_Ien4bCkVExzQ9INpFzvAvBe8EklcrqDNbFeXeTgZhMGeteN1wlEBVwsfJIdNAd8RGIVjZwG3IfEojc-NkXRmEdGGDvDTeuXCcJwRf5CizipfHEM5pI00ZKD4kg_p/s320/2011-01-23_13-11-34_887.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We are back home for a while after a wonderful Trip to Aspen Snowmass. This was about our 20th trip to Aspen and the Mountain Chalet that included visits with old friends who also seem to show up at about the same time. In addition to the skiing we went to a talk on Superconducting materials at the Aspen Opera House. We heard about the talk from a women physicist on a ski lift to the top of the Burn. </div><br />
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They are very professional. The scariest part wast the pre flight video that empathises that you can be really hurt or killed doing this. The rest of the process was fantastic.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_x0fSxoP9hE&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_x0fSxoP9hE&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-27225054935413479622010-07-16T15:46:00.001-04:002010-07-16T15:57:13.479-04:00Can-Am Spyder riding in Vermont<div>Last weekend I drove my Can-Am Spyder motorcycle to see friends in VT. They live on a 90 acre farm with panoramic views of the mountains. Wendy drove our Prius and she and Linda rode horses the next day. John and I drove our cycles 160 miles through the green and lush mountains of VT. We returned on Tue. All in all I put about 360 miles on the Spyder.</div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dffB2vdK_RplhqDupOI1Gz35z-rBo7ScpH21U18KgvtDnMHqVjguxTLqCg8Ctb88RU_jleFgt5Up1ad-X5eA4pT_zMjwL_eo0DWowzK4YF-902j5IdD9zxVx72sMugSWf5AqSdIV8tD-/s1600/0603081131+-+Copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494594077724496498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dffB2vdK_RplhqDupOI1Gz35z-rBo7ScpH21U18KgvtDnMHqVjguxTLqCg8Ctb88RU_jleFgt5Up1ad-X5eA4pT_zMjwL_eo0DWowzK4YF-902j5IdD9zxVx72sMugSWf5AqSdIV8tD-/s320/0603081131+-+Copy.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvv_C4lNPZJj_kaLR893XQUxOaDM1vJqaBtpsmW24qRj__NNLGPbDcXYia7t462zoxDkz-7pWxteEFOsK4TcL2m4skKmyRn4a91wgcgm9Ki42p5eFe3x9cbvAoHRScV47fgXGK1ftnbAd/s1600/DSCN1679+comp.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494594073600585250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvv_C4lNPZJj_kaLR893XQUxOaDM1vJqaBtpsmW24qRj__NNLGPbDcXYia7t462zoxDkz-7pWxteEFOsK4TcL2m4skKmyRn4a91wgcgm9Ki42p5eFe3x9cbvAoHRScV47fgXGK1ftnbAd/s320/DSCN1679+comp.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pEq2A6l06GwACoYaSw1F0oGhIJ6dIjJXS5Bw89wXLM1auEyKqHrh7p2J3lPOsiVxz1i_avqGtgzu46GaVVV_We7d6S7jk5cYRVezaw2WaKHku3q9-ctDRVpHiav_h2vmn2ClvLhXuLsc/s1600/DSCN1683+comp.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494594060275448530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pEq2A6l06GwACoYaSw1F0oGhIJ6dIjJXS5Bw89wXLM1auEyKqHrh7p2J3lPOsiVxz1i_avqGtgzu46GaVVV_We7d6S7jk5cYRVezaw2WaKHku3q9-ctDRVpHiav_h2vmn2ClvLhXuLsc/s320/DSCN1683+comp.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ccoc02rcSuWvdwZtkt7HojIQg5BA-J7XhYrVBP5_MkDY3Bmsssx73bWTCXOAN6Ra_xwlnYzUGbwWe15enl4we3ocHT4_N9wzkrJEe8Yc8LCI0-FJm7AIDDLRiK12kChMvr6V55G4FZOh/s1600/DSCN1688comp.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494594054012420066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ccoc02rcSuWvdwZtkt7HojIQg5BA-J7XhYrVBP5_MkDY3Bmsssx73bWTCXOAN6Ra_xwlnYzUGbwWe15enl4we3ocHT4_N9wzkrJEe8Yc8LCI0-FJm7AIDDLRiK12kChMvr6V55G4FZOh/s320/DSCN1688comp.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuvMOohveHs_CHyM4l4pIeV5Eq8et7aIMFk8L8UKWp_a33aumy8Kbu-zVnusHL88HMSJ9WDFAeHjCXZWRRFgmqO_J8EM8o0Qo279lAPa7GruWiGQ7C5jRiuxdCgneAkv_vIrma01SZuGG/s1600/DSCN1696comp.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494594045623857650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuvMOohveHs_CHyM4l4pIeV5Eq8et7aIMFk8L8UKWp_a33aumy8Kbu-zVnusHL88HMSJ9WDFAeHjCXZWRRFgmqO_J8EM8o0Qo279lAPa7GruWiGQ7C5jRiuxdCgneAkv_vIrma01SZuGG/s320/DSCN1696comp.jpg" /></a> <br /></div>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-4330580538975209252010-06-02T16:05:00.001-04:002010-06-02T16:08:39.010-04:00Rotary Paul Harris awardI was received a Paul Harris PHF+1 award by Rotary International for my contributions to The Rotary Foundation relating to the Center for Children with Special needs in Bangladesh. http://www.ccsnbangladesh.org/evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-59990761306726425262010-04-22T11:40:00.002-04:002010-04-22T11:48:01.168-04:00Sky Diving in a wind tunnel<p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxBntZfMvaaoHArDCeTV28ZvHxTBkD8QTUVVToO7co9puI7pCXmEgAu4eCCgLy6V6y0Q-hEz4RibKVuBVg3Sg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p></p><p></p>While returning to our Southern Pines vacation home from the Fayetteville airport with my mother-in-law I saw this strange tall building in Raeford called Sky Venture. On the web I found out that it was a wind tunnel to practice sky diving. Eventually I returned to check out the facility and took a lesson for about $100. It was great and the staff very professional. Part of the deal is a CD of your flights. They have another facility in Nashua NH near our home. I will have to try it again.evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-65927526983037130642010-03-26T12:56:00.000-04:002010-03-26T12:58:13.299-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-26<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe-KlCCRpUgJQjhTT1neUdgBu3DMYadMx5SUwGMpM-ffF9UBVk4yRHpJpdScxe_9PGzDqtIgpq1y8P9sP-iLJUPWXevGOAtx_nxLbtaPmXDv8nqowVMMfQ9dIFQRBPjeGMSe5zyOfkfMU/s1600/DSCN1421+Carl+in+front+of+Karnack+pylons-20100326_031433-793300.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe-KlCCRpUgJQjhTT1neUdgBu3DMYadMx5SUwGMpM-ffF9UBVk4yRHpJpdScxe_9PGzDqtIgpq1y8P9sP-iLJUPWXevGOAtx_nxLbtaPmXDv8nqowVMMfQ9dIFQRBPjeGMSe5zyOfkfMU/s320/DSCN1421+Carl+in+front+of+Karnack+pylons-20100326_031433-793300.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452987948986209442" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmpbdXkpVBWp0ykv6YFphf-UDp_EzhQftFadQsr9qnTE3hbP9iTxFkMdJ4PJGmYOvNDMNEDk8_n7OrO8xT2oBko9sBqzQaBMmpRwseuyR8SoMrHp-7y3kNWIp__-VBtD9xbC7Z81-a1FN/s1600/DSCN1427+Hypostyle+hall+Karnack-20100326_035629-795571.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmpbdXkpVBWp0ykv6YFphf-UDp_EzhQftFadQsr9qnTE3hbP9iTxFkMdJ4PJGmYOvNDMNEDk8_n7OrO8xT2oBko9sBqzQaBMmpRwseuyR8SoMrHp-7y3kNWIp__-VBtD9xbC7Z81-a1FN/s320/DSCN1427+Hypostyle+hall+Karnack-20100326_035629-795571.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452987953724109650" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FIEVjHIZwFjD0s03rTiX7K7p8d4yntTDQSL51Lr7A2elSte7YJjsFDK28Ln1yJNnr5BQrrHstTINcstaEXHdqLdNqYYDPKgw2scV2D4GZOTdN1ywy2QAWORcLrWU3PheSOpaOEK_xTKL/s1600/DSCN1451+toilet+paper+headed+man-20100326_053748-798013.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FIEVjHIZwFjD0s03rTiX7K7p8d4yntTDQSL51Lr7A2elSte7YJjsFDK28Ln1yJNnr5BQrrHstTINcstaEXHdqLdNqYYDPKgw2scV2D4GZOTdN1ywy2QAWORcLrWU3PheSOpaOEK_xTKL/s320/DSCN1451+toilet+paper+headed+man-20100326_053748-798013.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452987969692338642" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQQ9EpAsGQtBPT3LEVz5f6RxoZGZ2DJjnjdatnZcyidD6BwbycoTpu2I6fdli9l6thGsAywQKRK5kSF1ayIHgUCM-7WDJOq_utMyBe1DcSny4qC9DKrZEAB_gyOErK-iwltdLkz8raIim/s1600/DSCN1461+Carl+at+tem%5Bple+of+Hatsepsut-20100326_065830-799152.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQQ9EpAsGQtBPT3LEVz5f6RxoZGZ2DJjnjdatnZcyidD6BwbycoTpu2I6fdli9l6thGsAywQKRK5kSF1ayIHgUCM-7WDJOq_utMyBe1DcSny4qC9DKrZEAB_gyOErK-iwltdLkz8raIim/s320/DSCN1461+Carl+at+tem%5Bple+of+Hatsepsut-20100326_065830-799152.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452987973546940146" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpIe2-UJkvQ9Vzb9EjYmrL_T19nj_TBZPSTIq3uHp0vRw9IiLGJMedDWLKjVkD4Il4CIr0-8ogQFLmi2Jv7KAuG_tGotbZHqeWiu8mrM-RUNqhtPmZDOesqAADXhF-rZtrfu7FGHA7xjp/s1600/DSCN1356-20100325_142813-702329.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpIe2-UJkvQ9Vzb9EjYmrL_T19nj_TBZPSTIq3uHp0vRw9IiLGJMedDWLKjVkD4Il4CIr0-8ogQFLmi2Jv7KAuG_tGotbZHqeWiu8mrM-RUNqhtPmZDOesqAADXhF-rZtrfu7FGHA7xjp/s320/DSCN1356-20100325_142813-702329.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452987987082789410" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>Last night we had a native dress party including our Jordanian guide and his wife. Today we had breakfast at a reasonable hour and headed out to Karnack. It is a very large temple complex and other than the Pyramids the largest we have visited. It is a series of pylon temples with the famous hypostyle hall composed of a large number of gigantic columns. No mater who a temple is dedicated to there are three deities, a father, wife and son. The amazing thing is that the ancient Egyptians put so much effort into such a useless thing. They are impressive especially considering the primitive tools available but a general waste of resources. After Karnack we visited --- which is very near the boat dock and is much larger in reality than the small area excavated. I say small but just in comparison to the other sites we have visited. We returned to the ship for lunch and I was greeted by toilet paper headed man and his two creators. After a lunch on the ship we headed out to the valley of the kings and the temple of the feamale pharos Hatshepsut. She was one of five female pharos and eventually killed by her son. This is near the valley of the kings on the west side of the Nile. I visited three tombs, the third of which was high up on a wall, deep and very hot. It was good to get outside and cool off. No pictures were allowed in the whole site. Tonight after supper we have a belly dance show and then have to get up at 3:45 am to catch a plane to Cairo. These early flights and the incessant and aggressive street vendors are the only negatives of this trip. </P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-78494149442856775702010-03-26T01:23:00.000-04:002010-03-26T01:24:38.877-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-25<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvmOpnbMwFQkqz2onYOUEv2lLHMtpbg6SVzSyOqWC0pQxuwi40-cRP380ampEZjoZ_Y2P-tccwsEVK7SyPbwmiKXiCf5yd665GrN8WRXeeq-wEEZEN0bVpdVaGLMhUa8HIVmWfQrqFJMJ/s1600/DSCN1256+Kom+Omkbo+front-20100325_001604-778878.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvmOpnbMwFQkqz2onYOUEv2lLHMtpbg6SVzSyOqWC0pQxuwi40-cRP380ampEZjoZ_Y2P-tccwsEVK7SyPbwmiKXiCf5yd665GrN8WRXeeq-wEEZEN0bVpdVaGLMhUa8HIVmWfQrqFJMJ/s320/DSCN1256+Kom+Omkbo+front-20100325_001604-778878.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452809210208612226" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSKMh2DWupWMMocFdBzNW0EtqepfQRWwoDOs_j9yQFEtGV4RBev5gXax7cvFLcB7QLXBlTVkp5WU9L6L6RzN6uUJ0Yb8dWnvTu9WBGmhvkRnr5pbsL6MW8ex8eRFaDqXaiqK24eACAK0J/s1600/DSCN1292+Camel+from+towels+on+bed-20100325_051843-780483.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSKMh2DWupWMMocFdBzNW0EtqepfQRWwoDOs_j9yQFEtGV4RBev5gXax7cvFLcB7QLXBlTVkp5WU9L6L6RzN6uUJ0Yb8dWnvTu9WBGmhvkRnr5pbsL6MW8ex8eRFaDqXaiqK24eACAK0J/s320/DSCN1292+Camel+from+towels+on+bed-20100325_051843-780483.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452809220171270002" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4M6xkGI-GOCjesE1xL2hEKE10LKEvrQk2tPL7OtTlyBMukmd-UYsiaRkKHI5yOavOASW5PsYDAYWDxwISKOA1-yCFsIIk0M5qocGbz344u5yn30nFXceW0fgwSXsxHfLYtXHjW4pRNJuE/s1600/DSCN1349Helmsman+of+our+ship-20100325_132200-781829.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4M6xkGI-GOCjesE1xL2hEKE10LKEvrQk2tPL7OtTlyBMukmd-UYsiaRkKHI5yOavOASW5PsYDAYWDxwISKOA1-yCFsIIk0M5qocGbz344u5yn30nFXceW0fgwSXsxHfLYtXHjW4pRNJuE/s320/DSCN1349Helmsman+of+our+ship-20100325_132200-781829.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452809223265889682" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPNKIrv3e_O_343bGrVkzWdQa993pJXvVbJnjN6FCv5FJSPWOm8aKQBxB3R4SWRGfHeL4jLsV00I6tPQM6zmyySmrOXgsK9358nPIYSdkguJ40jUP-fCi7EBDR-KFEie5MlhaV1VsS9It/s1600/DSCN1356-20100325_142813-782702.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPNKIrv3e_O_343bGrVkzWdQa993pJXvVbJnjN6FCv5FJSPWOm8aKQBxB3R4SWRGfHeL4jLsV00I6tPQM6zmyySmrOXgsK9358nPIYSdkguJ40jUP-fCi7EBDR-KFEie5MlhaV1VsS9It/s320/DSCN1356-20100325_142813-782702.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452809228377838834" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>The ship MS Concerto motored overnight from Aswan to Kom Ombo. I lied in bed looking out my floor to ceiling and wall to wall window watching the lighted shore and boats pass in the night. Our wake up call was at 5:45 for breakfast with a very groggy group after our long day yesterday. We were the outside ship so to go to Kom Ombo which was next door our group had to cross through the reception hall of two other ships. Some of these reception halls were three stories high. It was a short walk to the Greek Ptolemaic temple (~200 BC) built on top of an earlier Egyptian one. The temple looked very Egyptian with a few subtle differences in columns and carvings. The temple was to both Horus and Sobek the crocodile god. Sobek was a rather nasty fellow while Horus was nice. It was also a hospital with carvings of medical instruments on the walls and reliefs on the floor of people waiting for treatment. The floor carvings included board games and other ways to pass the time. No magazines but otherwise not much different from today. As before our Egyptologist guide uses a whisperer device that transmits his voice to a receiver each of us wears. This avoids interference from other guides. When I got back to my cabin there was a camel on my bed.</P> <P>We then left port on our way to Edfu which has the second largest pylon based temple. Again a very impressive edifice built by the Ptolemys which were Greek dynasties that came into poser after Alexander the Great invaded Egypt. Early Christians lived in the temple and defaced many of the carvings as they did in a number of other temples. It is interesting that the chiseled out the faces but left all the hieroglyphics. It was pretty hot so I went for a swim in the pool on the top deck of the ship. Afterwards we had tea and then another lecture on Egyptology in the lounge. Our ship negotiated a lock in the Nile with very little room to spare. As were leaving the lock I visited the pilot house and met the captain who drove the ship in a very comfortable position. I didn't see a GPS and there are almost no aids to navigation or channel buoys. A night I think that he navigates by the lights of minarets in the distance. After dinner there was a costume party where a number of us wore native dress. The picture is of me, our Jordanian guide and his wife.</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-55264043820539855422010-03-25T06:30:00.000-04:002010-03-25T06:31:38.228-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-24-10<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4twcPhFanqh779DqafcVuqegLUAEULM_6U_PsJRGrlp2me_8Q1EhWBdnTFWKCQjLeNtp4LECwALdl4e1IYri0rc4HnvHmAGM9F8WBzfSfipA0PKUROebbjSMKYngX15PShR_fXrr22Kp/s1600/DSCN1218+temple+of+Isis+from+front-20100324_012116-798228.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4twcPhFanqh779DqafcVuqegLUAEULM_6U_PsJRGrlp2me_8Q1EhWBdnTFWKCQjLeNtp4LECwALdl4e1IYri0rc4HnvHmAGM9F8WBzfSfipA0PKUROebbjSMKYngX15PShR_fXrr22Kp/s320/DSCN1218+temple+of+Isis+from+front-20100324_012116-798228.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452517238285619954" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRtE4PgBwkC225b0m5IFVS2wMJIbDGLDi0GnCDiq5UFOnH2-NU_xM4_tCsRSQHHmGXjVzeJSObVo7diOW6ilXDGG-Ul6L6r7GpCR3xqWqUUxnOdq3ktK8drvsfjw0z2_K_YowzvN6ymqQ/s1600/DSCN1241+unfinished+obolisk-20100324_033138-799335.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRtE4PgBwkC225b0m5IFVS2wMJIbDGLDi0GnCDiq5UFOnH2-NU_xM4_tCsRSQHHmGXjVzeJSObVo7diOW6ilXDGG-Ul6L6r7GpCR3xqWqUUxnOdq3ktK8drvsfjw0z2_K_YowzvN6ymqQ/s320/DSCN1241+unfinished+obolisk-20100324_033138-799335.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452517245220832354" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoU_nOqmCwPlOydGFab-srrEfBSHK4rIhDRkyO2NmfI81uT-gf6O62j6RFCkQDTLG83TDMKbUT1wDRSMsllyLFcsOxJS5pOTF2jBd5nW1UGYcH2DG4pQ70sNWDA1www8M9MXzMVMywTV6B/s1600/DSCN1244+cruise+ship+stairs-20100324_042930-700272.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoU_nOqmCwPlOydGFab-srrEfBSHK4rIhDRkyO2NmfI81uT-gf6O62j6RFCkQDTLG83TDMKbUT1wDRSMsllyLFcsOxJS5pOTF2jBd5nW1UGYcH2DG4pQ70sNWDA1www8M9MXzMVMywTV6B/s320/DSCN1244+cruise+ship+stairs-20100324_042930-700272.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452517248491731090" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>I am sitting next to the picture window of my stateroom watching the Nile go by on our way from Aswan to Luxor in Egypt. It is 900 pm local time so I see mainly the lights on shore and other cruise ships motoring past us in the opposite direction. The desert night is cool after a warm day. Across from the town of Aswan is a hill with ancient caves cut into the rock that is artfully lighted creating a spectacular view. The ship is four decks topped by an open air lounge area and swimming pool.</P> <P>Today we got a wake up call at 2:00 am. After coffee and a box breakfast we boarded a bus for the airport to catch a 5:00 am flight from Cairo to Aswan. * (We are passing under a bridge with lighted suspension cables similar to the new one that crosses the Charles river in Boston. It looks something like an Egyptian headdress. It seems like every few minutes another lighted cruise ship passes us in the other direction. ) While on a major freeway driving toward the airport our bus stopped. Numerous attempts to get it restarted failed but another bus arrived and we transferred luggage and people from one to another. We made the airport, were rushed through security and made the one hour flight to Aswan.</P> <P>On leaving the airport we crossed and viewed the Aswan high dam built by Russians at the request of Nasser. The Americans refused to build it at the time but the original Russian turbines have been replaced by more efficient American ones. This dam provides 80% of the electricity used in Egypt. The next stop was the temple of Isis that like Abu Simbel was rescued from the rising waters of lake Nasser. This large edifice was dissembled and moved to a nearby island. This temple has the classic form of two large pylons in front with additional pylons decreasing in size to the holy of holies. </P> <P>We next drove to the gigantic unfinished stella resting in it's granite quarry and heard about the ancient techniques used to remove such large structures from the living rock. (The line of cruise ships passing us has ceased. It seems that they travel in herds). After the granite quary we drove along the Nile to Aswan and to our ship. They park three abreast with connections through the center of each ship so we enter one ship next to the dock and then keep going from ship to ship until we reach our vessel. After a couple of hours of free time that included a walk around town and some rest we had a talk on the area from a Yale Ph.D. Egyptologist who is accompanying us on this part of the trip. She is an excellent speaker and provides much human color to the history.</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-70065198254560716542010-03-23T12:50:00.000-04:002010-03-23T12:53:35.913-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-21 to 3-22<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsXeDonOtVRmuTvsVHeJSb3qn9K8GQGWnMQBdk8u-eORsXnW6KvZmqv7rLAYOEncxLCVrbiFSNzag-2MoDU_eJbIot8z1LMq0qdX4HFeH4QPApcYJ0Qz69hYVN_gwazq29ZdL66mHxWq-/s1600-h/DSCN1093+Dead+sea+resort-20100322_062657-715914.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsXeDonOtVRmuTvsVHeJSb3qn9K8GQGWnMQBdk8u-eORsXnW6KvZmqv7rLAYOEncxLCVrbiFSNzag-2MoDU_eJbIot8z1LMq0qdX4HFeH4QPApcYJ0Qz69hYVN_gwazq29ZdL66mHxWq-/s320/DSCN1093+Dead+sea+resort-20100322_062657-715914.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451873500084176082" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglfjbQ20Tfnf8wEB265_wHzRhEPFj2gTWp6bsRbJhiXQY1UjBBRNu_0Sv1YRq5ZixiO7rQgzhOBwnMPko8eXZsXIfFz8QmL_2fvWLWEkXNwbPhuOM37EMaKu0VC0UkS__0p9UcJYjPDou/s1600-h/DSCN1100-20100322_065527-717775.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglfjbQ20Tfnf8wEB265_wHzRhEPFj2gTWp6bsRbJhiXQY1UjBBRNu_0Sv1YRq5ZixiO7rQgzhOBwnMPko8eXZsXIfFz8QmL_2fvWLWEkXNwbPhuOM37EMaKu0VC0UkS__0p9UcJYjPDou/s320/DSCN1100-20100322_065527-717775.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451873504548913682" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b79ph5HB1RggR9Cf7TcNEE0kYda7orIHZCGNHvD9JR-e_wLHu3hp1vKCKDbVacPYqBQFEA-iABQrbMS070Kx6gPsUSyJa5Bw8mHkWs3R-TLQHF8JAIOWjLn6pvHy3hgfi-pMw6KExEpN/s1600-h/DSCN1105-20100322_073942-719106.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b79ph5HB1RggR9Cf7TcNEE0kYda7orIHZCGNHvD9JR-e_wLHu3hp1vKCKDbVacPYqBQFEA-iABQrbMS070Kx6gPsUSyJa5Bw8mHkWs3R-TLQHF8JAIOWjLn6pvHy3hgfi-pMw6KExEpN/s320/DSCN1105-20100322_073942-719106.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451873515285212594" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wc_4WR5n-K5JMuRh4Wj7o3OmoZ7koEBrC_g9aFW7udvS2K0UAzzwR7A6noeVYkdL0scu_85Us_78tPZZ38nl-glE4q-1LQyJqPOjC1q-ju-TeeF0Ac9Jq7mJgqqPOZdKjIRZ4H_1TH_6/s1600-h/DSCN1141+royal+barge-20100323_032558-720253.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wc_4WR5n-K5JMuRh4Wj7o3OmoZ7koEBrC_g9aFW7udvS2K0UAzzwR7A6noeVYkdL0scu_85Us_78tPZZ38nl-glE4q-1LQyJqPOjC1q-ju-TeeF0Ac9Jq7mJgqqPOZdKjIRZ4H_1TH_6/s320/DSCN1141+royal+barge-20100323_032558-720253.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451873520456122274" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj340MxIup-bCVbSay4BIuHHrttDzmd10BVPq87UdVHHw55bT6-aDD41MQUttZd2leRhaZqzDyp3fanwK5jjIdsV9yDSP59g8YHqr1bYx6pA5s8u359QTY2FDshPB8Wz4vQJW9F9MRhhxYj/s1600-h/DSCN1153+Carl+touching+pyramid-20100323_034331-721608.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj340MxIup-bCVbSay4BIuHHrttDzmd10BVPq87UdVHHw55bT6-aDD41MQUttZd2leRhaZqzDyp3fanwK5jjIdsV9yDSP59g8YHqr1bYx6pA5s8u359QTY2FDshPB8Wz4vQJW9F9MRhhxYj/s320/DSCN1153+Carl+touching+pyramid-20100323_034331-721608.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451873522996990658" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>Hi,</P> <P>I missed the email yesterday as we arrived at the Movenpick Pyramids hotel in </P> <P>Cairo after 10:00 pm local time. It is very close to Giza. In the morning we left Petra for a drive North to the Dead Sea with beautiful views of the valley than goes from the Dead Sea to Aquaba on the Red Sea. We were at 5,000 feet and descended to -1,500 feet at the Dead Sea down a very steep curvy road. I could smell the hot breaks on the bus. At the Dead Sea we stopped for lunch and a swim in the sea at a beautiful hotel. The salt level is so high and buoyancy so great that you can just stand up straight without touching the bottom. </P> <P>We then drove to Amman and flew to Cairo going through a large number of passport checks. I should mention that in both Jordan and Egypt we have an armed guard on the bus. On the 23<SUP>rd</SUP> we visited the pyramids at Giza, the artifacts at Memphis and the first or Stepped Pyramid at Saqqara. The pyramids are really big and even though there were thousands of people visiting them there was plenty of room. One of my favorite things was the royal barge that had been excavated and was on display. There isn't much at Memphis but the Saqqara site is very impressive and contains a number of large pyramids including the first one. While the ruins were impressive, They were not presented very well except at Saqqara which had a good museum and explanatory video. We have two professional archeologists supporting the tour that make up for the poor explanatory facilities at the sites. Also, each of us has a radio receiver to listen to the archeologists at the sites which can be noisy. The system works rather well.</P> <P>Tomorrow we get up at 2:00 am to catch a plane to Aswan in the South. They say that this is to ensure that we are first at the sites. Also, this is the high season and it is difficult to get plane seats to Aswan.</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-54851016118604063802010-03-21T14:13:00.000-04:002010-03-21T14:15:08.593-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-21-10<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouNI9TF9QwvrqcmXQ6Kh7HkI1lgFVVlf_Gxzq5HT4WBDEPylYMtt0t8h8os-D_QjX48RGYizqD3kJweuDDuSCu5nbUWsLpitxmHlGkUrsdA58pLQXhnpzPBzoYAv8sikpQNM4OG7Pl3gM/s1600-h/DSCN0972+group+in+Petra+Wadi-20100321_030240-708593.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouNI9TF9QwvrqcmXQ6Kh7HkI1lgFVVlf_Gxzq5HT4WBDEPylYMtt0t8h8os-D_QjX48RGYizqD3kJweuDDuSCu5nbUWsLpitxmHlGkUrsdA58pLQXhnpzPBzoYAv8sikpQNM4OG7Pl3gM/s320/DSCN0972+group+in+Petra+Wadi-20100321_030240-708593.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451152340913883298" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEQOA4BRWdMm7MIhBIYSAEiJtmO-IUefGLrD0WXNTuETNuQPCWWHvbXCWGz9h9VvReB5mlfdZRxf-VHVNME3YOZ58R-TQZMqU-9WyHb1Kds8_FbqTpz4hZXll1SPDOnwer_t4h5nrzUum/s1600-h/DSCN0983+monuments+near+the+treasurary-20100321_031620-710282.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEQOA4BRWdMm7MIhBIYSAEiJtmO-IUefGLrD0WXNTuETNuQPCWWHvbXCWGz9h9VvReB5mlfdZRxf-VHVNME3YOZ58R-TQZMqU-9WyHb1Kds8_FbqTpz4hZXll1SPDOnwer_t4h5nrzUum/s320/DSCN0983+monuments+near+the+treasurary-20100321_031620-710282.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451152348845920546" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KyoOrCfCz659p2-1t-Dyd8zFt85YpHVLTTAoJ1Gdg3UfyBoEaY5idDdk2HpDKLGpswqhBY61FpKEZ0seUVRrzhy0PQ6yqG2-luHyOPr9ILMick1z076OKlfEwKIkMXPzbuPMem1NhM7i/s1600-h/DSCN1037+gully+from+top-20100321_060412-711991.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KyoOrCfCz659p2-1t-Dyd8zFt85YpHVLTTAoJ1Gdg3UfyBoEaY5idDdk2HpDKLGpswqhBY61FpKEZ0seUVRrzhy0PQ6yqG2-luHyOPr9ILMick1z076OKlfEwKIkMXPzbuPMem1NhM7i/s320/DSCN1037+gully+from+top-20100321_060412-711991.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451152358458822978" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5f7Q3qBqXGllY03rNglYoizDgwD-thQ_1470siWS3Bmetku_bnzzGPZWHdvL59ZaGgSL2raxc0cupcJqS49GqbCU2pSbdqf-nw2X0rV4sJGGfmXSsNJs-fmxi8j0bFfVIKOFQCSpBZd_r/s1600-h/DSCN1054+Carl+Margo+Dave+-+monistary+at+top-20100321_063456-714167.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5f7Q3qBqXGllY03rNglYoizDgwD-thQ_1470siWS3Bmetku_bnzzGPZWHdvL59ZaGgSL2raxc0cupcJqS49GqbCU2pSbdqf-nw2X0rV4sJGGfmXSsNJs-fmxi8j0bFfVIKOFQCSpBZd_r/s320/DSCN1054+Carl+Margo+Dave+-+monistary+at+top-20100321_063456-714167.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451152366175145586" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>Today we experienced the >2,000 year old site of Petra in Jordan mostly on foot. The weather was cool so I started out with a jacket and a backpack. This ancient area was primarily built by an Arab civilization from 400 BC to 150 AD. It was a major stop on the caravan root from Arabia to the rest of the world. Petra is a very narrow long gully or wadi hundreds of feet deep. It is so narrow and deep that along much of its length my GPS could not see enough satellites to give an accurate position. When Petra is mentioned the "treasury" is usually shown. This is a very impressive tomb several stories high was carved into the native rock. However, it is only a small part of the total site. The natural erosion in this narrow channel is beautiful and impressive in its own right. One walks a couple of miles past ancient Nabataean, Greek and Roman structures. After this walk a couple of us continued on to the "monastery" which we were told required traversing 600 steps up the mountain. While there were 600 steps there were also extensive steep sections with no steps. It was a substantial climb with the reward of incredible views to the Sinai in the distance and cliffs dropping steeply hundreds of feet with nothing in the way of safety fences or restraints. It is no place for people with a fear of heights. On the way back I did a couple of miles on a camel. Although the camel is walking , it is sort of like riding a cantering horse with similar stresses on one's pelvis. Who know what pains tomorrow will bring. My muscles were treated by an hours immersion in a warm pool at the hotel with a little therapeutic wine. This is an amazing site that combines great natural beauty with amazing gigantic stone structures.</P> <P>Tomorrow we go for a swim in the Dead Sea and take a flight to Egypt.</P> <P>Carl</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-61997703022103801762010-03-20T15:20:00.000-04:002010-03-20T15:21:58.663-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-20-10<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-kapie-S_yA8rJXEL72YLmbJ8LpdUZVYDur3Rjs9p6h3ISDp5l2AZItEyjNvaIhLsmMpNOHizXJDtZA-7l8qT1NWXk29jMGSXi0jbZ5VdJHUKSWvEApolyrwy7acnmpZLpz7e6oTHyex/s1600-h/DSCN0763+Amman+Roman+citidal-20100320_020240-718664.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-kapie-S_yA8rJXEL72YLmbJ8LpdUZVYDur3Rjs9p6h3ISDp5l2AZItEyjNvaIhLsmMpNOHizXJDtZA-7l8qT1NWXk29jMGSXi0jbZ5VdJHUKSWvEApolyrwy7acnmpZLpz7e6oTHyex/s320/DSCN0763+Amman+Roman+citidal-20100320_020240-718664.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450798479507155410" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RdSIdTVflFZlDvL9Qy33KW31LsWLDZdWxD_lOeibi_Rjc4hfjNp1-jUyWl-XuyTMeD0_6JghDIyxIpN89jOAMN1qwMWFkC3CkkSe5hnBF-uL3vHaZjT9ePeHkZKpLL382D0eSivngEPc/s1600-h/DSCN0771+Madaba+3,500+year+old+ceramics-20100320_024425-722769.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RdSIdTVflFZlDvL9Qy33KW31LsWLDZdWxD_lOeibi_Rjc4hfjNp1-jUyWl-XuyTMeD0_6JghDIyxIpN89jOAMN1qwMWFkC3CkkSe5hnBF-uL3vHaZjT9ePeHkZKpLL382D0eSivngEPc/s320/DSCN0771+Madaba+3,500+year+old+ceramics-20100320_024425-722769.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450798495211211682" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhly3o1XFkVN_UxdsEKt95mpL4rdBB8RYrJTDmw5Dj6Z0sNO3roYoevKCg03puZB0qN4QidmmK0Llh3KtzAiYXwuLHUbJYeHm0LAH8TJ_ERE4u5FZWkY04wMONlohlrSpxfWzZBw9dnMv2r/s1600-h/DSCN0815+mt+Nebo+with+Exploritas+group-20100320_044352-725979.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhly3o1XFkVN_UxdsEKt95mpL4rdBB8RYrJTDmw5Dj6Z0sNO3roYoevKCg03puZB0qN4QidmmK0Llh3KtzAiYXwuLHUbJYeHm0LAH8TJ_ERE4u5FZWkY04wMONlohlrSpxfWzZBw9dnMv2r/s320/DSCN0815+mt+Nebo+with+Exploritas+group-20100320_044352-725979.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450798514654109842" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ybowtSfPNgKjnbYEJj1ysxKnUs4D9DffXPCCxkIBVpRWIRaJJQQP2nSFmb1MEBoEvk-bepBFhohLPF-UDcVouJjEJF87T4dZsUeT1JtmuWyCuwiAp8NmJX2QLhgt1eu8-nBTB_J_FqDx/s1600-h/DSCN0821+Mt+Nebo+plaque-20100320_045624-729163.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ybowtSfPNgKjnbYEJj1ysxKnUs4D9DffXPCCxkIBVpRWIRaJJQQP2nSFmb1MEBoEvk-bepBFhohLPF-UDcVouJjEJF87T4dZsUeT1JtmuWyCuwiAp8NmJX2QLhgt1eu8-nBTB_J_FqDx/s320/DSCN0821+Mt+Nebo+plaque-20100320_045624-729163.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450798526485315266" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKrJepKbrq-r659LFjl-bOO5Lh89MxCaedC8SZJIdFxE9NZCWZJZAPenX5Twgr1eOUaPeQ6wbCZ4Enzfgy35iRZgxcD56skOvH0DMUK9nVMPeRZrYyVp2qogkrSGFYbdc41baf7mmvdTx/s1600-h/DSCN0861+desart+on+the+way+to+Petra-20100320_094010-732937.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKrJepKbrq-r659LFjl-bOO5Lh89MxCaedC8SZJIdFxE9NZCWZJZAPenX5Twgr1eOUaPeQ6wbCZ4Enzfgy35iRZgxcD56skOvH0DMUK9nVMPeRZrYyVp2qogkrSGFYbdc41baf7mmvdTx/s320/DSCN0861+desart+on+the+way+to+Petra-20100320_094010-732937.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450798545307005522" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>Hi,</P> <P>I am now in Petra Jordan between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. Today we left Amman Jordan passing through the suburbs on our way south. For the whole trip I have seen nothing equivalent to the slums seen on trips to Bangladesh and Kenya. The whole area including Jordan seems relatively prosperous including Palestinian areas of Israel (I did not go to the Gaza strip) and Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. </P> <P>First we visited the Roman site of the Citadel with more impressive ruins of a major Roman town. Our second stop was Madaba Jordan where there 3,500 year old ceramic representations of people and a church with a mosaic map of ancient Palestine that has been used to identify previously un-located archeological sites. We then drove to Mt. Nebo where Moses looked across to the land of milk and hone but was not allowed to visit. The view was magnificent across the green Jordan valley with white Jericho in the distance. On clearer days high building in Jerusalem can be seen and some say that even the Mediterranean comes into view. The group visited a modern mosaic factory employing physically challenged people. One couple ordered a $1,000 mosaic table to be shipped back to the US. We then headed south with the topography becoming more and more arid. It was not a desert of sand dunes but a rolling plateau of brown with the occasional flock of sheep and camels. We descended from 5,000 feet to 3,400 feet by my GPS to Petra and a five star Crown Plaza hotel for the night. The temperature is still cool.</P> <P>Carl</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505207496832435653.post-9083690792335047542010-03-19T15:29:00.000-04:002010-03-19T15:30:45.296-04:00update from Carl in the middle east 3-19-10<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj037AuzckoxIbNcFk7ixAWHOWoQzo4SNfyWRbRRhdlnw5XD5PkA-HrXKQbhxLyOUCafbD0aavVT3rynnyjGanR4iLQXZHcwVQVpwypQEeEtZObB96d6KIwaY4Qy2fm2MR-x1Xs9cht7x-K/s1600-h/DSCN0671+Bethshean+panorama-20100319_023002-745296.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj037AuzckoxIbNcFk7ixAWHOWoQzo4SNfyWRbRRhdlnw5XD5PkA-HrXKQbhxLyOUCafbD0aavVT3rynnyjGanR4iLQXZHcwVQVpwypQEeEtZObB96d6KIwaY4Qy2fm2MR-x1Xs9cht7x-K/s320/DSCN0671+Bethshean+panorama-20100319_023002-745296.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450429657524248098" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKuEH1XXoU5L7ERR4BPtcOUiVWl81bQ3ORqUqxEmKk-aa0KQpasVKH2dt78KxJrdZy-icvo4lAX1xyaJwTC-FWAs7eI2U7DQXUKoufZKkm1gWIPsBFqbnRl_DxUndZLld2Sx9i95W9m97/s1600-h/DSCN0686+Jordon+Customs-20100319_050446-746524.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKuEH1XXoU5L7ERR4BPtcOUiVWl81bQ3ORqUqxEmKk-aa0KQpasVKH2dt78KxJrdZy-icvo4lAX1xyaJwTC-FWAs7eI2U7DQXUKoufZKkm1gWIPsBFqbnRl_DxUndZLld2Sx9i95W9m97/s320/DSCN0686+Jordon+Customs-20100319_050446-746524.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450429678902230674" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gNnHneu_4yRklY887Yy7fPQN5zJXU95eR8UE_6zVcS7IxuYa3tD9VdLGTkrF9JaYnElNqw_Q-nO5yhOkeNzR2aNWZEu52aIFicZPuuCQTkieffP2QAAF8d7rVPwdXZYNIPt_qXs6vQ4C/s1600-h/DSCN0726+Jerash-20100319_091405-754133.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gNnHneu_4yRklY887Yy7fPQN5zJXU95eR8UE_6zVcS7IxuYa3tD9VdLGTkrF9JaYnElNqw_Q-nO5yhOkeNzR2aNWZEu52aIFicZPuuCQTkieffP2QAAF8d7rVPwdXZYNIPt_qXs6vQ4C/s320/DSCN0726+Jerash-20100319_091405-754133.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450429696152819026" /></a></p><DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN lang=EN> <P>Hi, </P> <P>I am now in Amman Jordan again surprised at the greenness of the land we traveled through. Only 8% of Jordan is arable land and we seem to have traveled through most of it. One hilly section is high enough to have a couple feet of snow in the winter. From now on as we head to Petra and then Egypt it will be a different thing with mainly arid land.</P> <P>We left the Kibbutz in Capernaum in cool weather which continued all day. Our first stop was at Bethshean beside the Jordan creek that had extensive Roman ruins with bathhouses and all the usual stuff. The ruins were impressive but we didn't have enough time to see it all. There is a rather large hill or Tel next to the Roman city whose bottom layer dates to 4,500 BC. It seems that they just built one town after another in the same place.</P> <P>We then spent two hours leaving Israel and entering Jordan by crossing the creek. We took our bus through an Israeli passport check then over to an area where we unloaded the bus and went through another passport check. Then the group loaded up on another bus after a long wait and drove ½ mile to Jordan security. We unloaded from that bus, went through another passport check and carried our luggage through a baggage check. Once through this we loaded our baggage and ourselves on the bus that would take us through Jordan. we also changed guides and I think that the new one will do better than the first.</P> <P>After an hours trip through green hills and fields of wheat we arrived at an excellent lunch at about 2:00 in the afternoon. It was great middle eastern food with the ability to rent a hooka water pipe for $5.00 for an after lunch smoke. None of us took advantage of this opportunity although they must have had twenty of the things for rent so a fair number of people must use them. </P> <P>We then stopped at the ruins of the city of Jerash which are immense. This Roman city is includes over two miles of collinated streets with a hippodrome for chariot races, an amphitheater theater and various temples. This was as good as anything I had seen in Greece but is not well known. We then drove through more green hills to Amman to stay at the excellent Amman Cham Palace Hotel where I have a small suite. </P> <P>Tomorrow we head off for Mt. Nebo where Moses viewed the promised land in the south of Jordan ending up in Petra for the night. </P> <P>Considering everything that is going on, it is good to be out of Israel.</P> <P>Carl</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>evolutionaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05808534376746628381noreply@blogger.com0