Staying at the Dock

For those of you who appreciated my appreciation of Trains and asked what other methods of transportation I liked and didn't like, I hate cruising. I've only taken three cruises, which is two enough, thanks. The first was a trip on the Azure Seas during a shoot for some tv program or other, which I cannot really remember. It was very short, just down to Ensenada for a day or two. The other was a miserable cruise in the inside passage of Alaska. Why do I hate it so? Somebody said, being on a boat is like being in jail, only you are surrounded by water. That's about right. Jailed, trapped, can't get back to civilization. That's kinda the way I felt when I went to live in St. Thomas. Jailed, trapped and couldn't get back to civilization very easily. Funny thing, St. Thomas is not much bigger than a couple of cruise ships strung together. It's the number one port for cruise ships. People rush off the ships and run through the shopping area and head back to the ships, urged by the taximen who shout 'back to the boat' over and over again. I'll never return to the hot little atol in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, ever. My favorite cruise was down the Nile River. It was very civilized, but of course I am very fond of Egypt in general and have visited many times. Not lately of course, the last time I was there there was an event shocking enough to be considered a warning--, one day after I left the reception area in the hotel where I'd stayed was bombed. I so wish the Middle East would calm down so I could return. It's a magical place. Sometime soon I will tell you the story of me and Jermaine Jackson shopping in the Souk and other challenging events surrounding my trips to Egypt. I'm the traveler Ruth Adkins Robinson