Day 10 on the Equinox: Haifa and Mount Carmel Nov 05 '09    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Sport and Outdoor EQUINOX PARULA ULTRALITE DAY PACK From $43 Mantaray Packcover Day Pack From $13 The Bottom Line Israel is a country that exceeded what I thought it would be, and one I hope to visit again in the future. Waking up on the tenth morning of my cruise, I found the Equinox gliding into its berth in the harbour at Haifa, Israel. And again, it was quite a spectacular view from my stateroom veranda. Located northwest of Jerusalem, Haifa is Israel's largest port and industrial center, and while I had not booked any excursions for the day, I knew that I would have plenty to do and see on the ship. Quite simply, I had started to learn how to pace myself while traveling -- spend one day out with the tour buses, then spend the next catching up and taking it a bit easy on my joints, which were not reacting well to all the climbing about. And so far, added with a goodly morning dose of ibuprofen, I was managing well with my cane in hand, and thanking god that there were plenty of elevators on board ship. I wandered down to the main dining room for another leisurely breakfast, this time choosing to have it be a la carte instead of the express breakfast, and found out some fascinating facts from the maitre d' about the ship. I was watching the waiters in the dining room, and the manager had an eagle eye on several of them, and quietly chivvying them along, and I was viewing it with a bit of a bemused look, and said to him, "A bit like herding cats, isn't it?" and he laughed and commented about the transition to a new ship was always a bit of a shakedown, even for the experienced ones. And then he told me how the new waiters and housekeeping and service staff are chosen. Namely, every new ship gets the cream of the various employees to work the ship until the next new launch. They are chosen from both peer and customer reviews, and they in turn train new employees and skimmed for the next new launch. And the Equinox had a cross-section of the world to choose from ? each employee had a nametag, with their country of origin printed on it as well. I saw people from every country in Europe, many from the Caribbean and Asian countries and quite a few Americans as well. All of them were very competent at their jobs and open to any questions that I could think of to ask them. They in turn were happy to answer my questions, and I was always greeted with a smile and hello whenever I met someone in a corridor or room aboard ship. Oh yes, and breakfast was delicious, being Eggs Benedict with the trimmings and a terrific blend of black teas and fresh orange juice. After breakfast, I wandered over to the on-line centre -- there is wi-fi access throughout the ship, but as with anything extra aboard, there is a fee. Needless to say, I was very careful about my Internet access and kept it to a minimum. To be honest, I felt rather sorry for the ship's officers that were running the centre, as most of the passengers were constantly grumping about the slowness of the system and the fact that they never quite got the hang of logging on and off the system properly as so not to burn up minutes. Many of them got the Ugly American syndrome -- and nearly everyone who threw hissy fits were Americans -- and it was again, rather embarrassing to overhear and watch. Fortunately, it didn't take me very long to zip through my mailboxes, check for anything important that had to be taken care of, and then resume my look-see aboard the ship. Sheesh. It wasn?t as though they didn't have instructions running on the big screen in the centre, nor printed up on a small sign on each monitor, or anything like that -- all you really had to do was read the instructions. It was a mess, to say the very least. When I went to take luncheon up in the Oceanview café, I sat on the portside and watched quite an adventure out on the harbour. Haifa is where the Israeli navy is centered, and where they have their training facilities. I saw what looked to be two cruiser-sized craft at one quay, and a variety of smaller ships around various platforms. Every now and then a fully loaded zodiac would come racing along, with the crew sitting on the sides in bright orange vests, and they?d be swarming over one of the vessels in what I assumed were boarding exercises. Again, as I had with the security procedures the previous day, the overall impression that I had was of extreme motivation. It was fun watching the bustle of the harbour below, and the nearly constant stream of ships exiting and entering the breakwater. The views from the ship were quite nice too. From my veranda I could see the beautiful gardens of the Baha'i temple that fill a good portion of Mount Carmel, and run from near the top of the mountain to nearly the shore in a terraced design. At night they are all lit up and lovely to see. There are also quite a number of cemeteries on the hillside as well. And then there was watching the rail traffic as commuter trains came zipping in and out of the station that was right beside the harbour. The ship left a bit late, waiting for two busloads of passengers to get back from their excursions. I watched as they were checked and waved through right to the gangway and hustled aboard by the waiting crew. Then up rattles the gangway and the shudder as the Equinox fires up the big engines and we start off. That night I was back down in the main dining room, listening to my companions recount their own adventures in Israel. They had taken an overnight excursion and had visited a kibbutz as well. When dinner was over -- another wonderful meal! -- I picked up some gelato, and went back to my room to sit on the veranda, and watch Haifa disappear in the distance. I have to say that my stay in Israel, however brief, was terrific. I never had the feeling of oppression that Egypt had had, and it's a clear example of what ambition and determination can do for a country. I do know that I will come back some day to Israel, and I hope that it will be soon.

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