YCGL - Tuesday, June 25, 2024 - Day 13 - Yes, I am alive and Well and Am a Victim of On-Board Internet

 Hello Everybody,

I've been trying to write as much as possible, but if there is no internet connection, I can't write.  I was on a phone plan on-board the ship for $23 for about 2 days.  However, I could not hot-spot with that plan, so now I've renewed the plan on my computer and not my phone.  Which is a shame, but we have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to write while I've been on land.  

And I don't dare download pictures until the night of the 27th, when I can download the last of the data plan I have.  

The tour has been fantastic.  We have crammed so many activities that we get to a hotel at night, eat dinner and then I've been crashing.  For example, today we had breakfast at 6:20, in the staging area at 6:45 and on a tender boat by 7:10 into the town of Kusadasi, Turkey where we transferred to a bus to take us to Ephesus.  The gates opened at 8:00 so we were one of the first groups in.  We walked the ruins for almost 2 hours, then drove to a Turkish rug school and shop where we learned about the Turkish double knot system for hand-weaving the rugs.  I'll explain more when I can show pictures.  We got back to the boat at about 12:45 and I fell asleep for an hour and just caught lunch at 2:00.  The ship left Kusadasi and sailed to Patmos, where we toured the cave where John wrote Revelations starting at 4:00.  Then visited the Monastery of St. John at the top of the highest peak on Patmos. We got back to the ship at 8:15.  

Eating has been good to excessive, and I've been feeling fine.  My back has been a problem since the first days of the tour, but walking with a walking stick (and Tylenol) has really allowed me to walk with and sometimes faster than the rest of the group.  Stairs are still a problem, but is getting much better.  And slowly, I've been able to catch up on my sleep.  So I'm good there.  

So, it's 9:00 and I need to go to dinner.

I'm doing fine and having a great time!

Thom

P.S.  Happy Birthday Erik!