The end of a chapter

well its been a little bit since I last posted and I am up though I should be sleeping I will sread my thought to the masses or at least 6 people whichever is more.

Isreal was cool and though my misadventures with the jordan river is well documented I found the place to be unique and different then pretty much any place I have ever been. that being said with who I am and what I do its always a little bit stressful in that region for military folk. we are easily spotted as military and we are loved by some and hated by others. overall I never really heard of any bad experiences but you always had to be aware of where you were. nature of the beast I guess.

After that we hit up cyprus for a small day stay. luckly I did have about 5 hours off the ship to see the sites. now I dont know if most people know this, though the people that read my blog are rather smart people so I assume most will, but cyprus is actually in a sort of cold civil war. The island is split in half with the top half being turkey's since 67 I believe. so its something we are told not to talk about because it is still a bit of a sore spot. We entered into the port of limasoll and though it doesn't look like a whole lot it seems to be a place of rich folk to vacation because I saw numerous sports cars, lambo, ferrari, porsche, and aston martins to name a few and not just one or two either. So it is rather surprising that there is not more here. the main part of town is a small maybe 1/2 mile long main road where all the shops and restaraunts are and the rest is all residental. I personally found it european but also a bit middle eastern, kind of a shade of both. Some people loved it and others hated it. In all its a good place to see for a day and move on..... which is exactly what we did.

Now here is where things get tricky. the first month and some change has been a port fest with a few excersices here and there but now its go time and we are heading into the heart of our mission into the heat, literally and figuratively of the middle east. Its been a long month and a half because of the port visits and not being able to get into a rythem but now its anchors away and land but a distant memory. Finally doing our real job (hehe can't tell you though, just make up something cool like aliens or something). Time should start to go by more quickly with the day in and day out of our job blending together till finally the day we turn around and head home. Then time drags as the though of home permiates our brains. Some say the most dangerous time is when we are heading home cause everyone is dreaming of home and not focusing at the job on hand. but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. first the ditch

The suez canal at points is narrow enough that I could throw a rock from the ship and hit land on either side. For the first time we really started to see the true symbol of the middle east... yes you guessed it figs.... no! sand. lots and lots of sand. Of course lets not forget the heat, its really starting to heat up and its going to probably average over 100 degrees from now on out. so those of you that want to send me care packages I would recommend things that do not have a chance of melting hehe I of course recommend care packages but do not be surprised if it takes up to 4 weeks to show up.

finally one last thing that marks the start of the mission, small pox. A long custom of getting shot up with all sorts of diseases. the first being small pox. now I am sure some of you remember the fun known as small pox. As of right now its nothing. I have never had a problem with shots, though I am sure my mom may disagree when I was younger hehe. the shot itself is not the annoying part its the after effects. After about 3 days the shot with start to irritate and then puss up and finally fester and crust and scab over by day 14. Some people get a minor irritation other have full blown quarter sized scars. I am now going on day 3 and so far I am doing well and have yet to turn into a zombie or desire human blood so I think I am good..........so far >.>

Over the next few months it will be a lot of sea time a lot of work and hopefully time will fly by. I do not know how much I will be able to write that is of any interest other then saying the same thing as yesterday. but I will try, maybe I will just make up something..... aliens again anyone?

take care everyone.