Caesaria, Haifa, Megiddo, Nazareth, Cana and Tiberias

After a well-deserved rest at Tel Aviv, we drove to Haifa, stopping along the way to see Caesaria, the city built by King Herod. In Haifa, we went up Mt. Carmel, the home of prophets Elijah and Elisha, to visit Stella Maris Church. We visited the excavations at Megiddo before proceding to Nazareth where we had mass in the Church of the Annunciation and married couples in our group were invited to renew their marriage vows. We moved on to Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performed His first miracle of changing water into wine at a wedding feast. Finally to Tiberias for the night.

The tour bus that took us to the different places in Israel. It was big for a touring group of only 15 but I'm not complaining.

The enthusiastic, bible-quoting guide was telling us that the reason why these statues were without heads was because the ancient residents of Caesaria just mounted appropriate heads to make new statues. If I heard him right, this is a distant precursor to photoshop.

He is telling us important historical facts about the amphitheater none of which I can recall at the moment.

While the local guide was feeding us with more information about Caesaria, my attention was riveted to this solitary fisherman trying his luck at sea. What an incredible vacation it would have been for me, if I had the chance to fish the Mediterranean Sea and catch a big one. During all the time I was watching him he did not get a single bite but I bet he had a hell of a good time regardless.

A view of the port city of Haifa and the Mediterranean Sea (the sea is there if you can see through the haze) from a small lookout across the street from Stella Maris Church.

The ruins at Megiddo

Excavations at this site revealed a series of temples built on top of each other over a period of two thousand years.

On the way back to the bus, I ran into this tindahan selling these stuffs. I can only recognize peanuts from the lot.

A trip to the Land of the Bible, October 2009

My wife and I just got back from a trip to Israel, Jordan and Egypt last night. It was a hectic 15 day land trip that left us tired and worn out. I guess we have been spoiled by taking many cruise trips of late or we are just getting too old LOL. On the other hand, even the younger members of our small group of 15 people complained about the tight and physically demanding itinerary. I'll share with you pictures I have taken during our trip in the course of many future postings. In the meantime here's a few for now.

We took an Air France flight from LAX to Tel Aviv, Israel with a 4 hours stopover in Paris. At the airport in Paris, the priest with our group held a Sunday mass...the first of many masses I attended. Ganito pala ang pilgrimage! I am not a religious person, I did not know what I was getting into when my wife cajoled me into joining her on this trip LOL. I wanted to go to South America instead! It turned out to be an OK trip for me. I was amazed at the religious devotion shown by all the members of our group and the people of all religious persuasions that I ran into in the different countries we visited.

I checked out the prices of booze in this tax-free airport shop and I was reminded that it was sometimes cheaper to buy them outside the airport with tax and all.


We ran into this kababayan who was on his way to Pinas for a two weeks vacation from his job at a cruise ship based in Europe.

Our hotel room in Tel Aviv was a let down from what we expected but, what the heck, we were just there for the night.

The view from our balcony was ok.

Irvine Global Village Festival, October 3, 2009

"More than 10,000 guests will travel the world at the City of Irvine’s Global Village Festival. Boasting artistic cultural performances on five stages, this annual festival’s live entertainment is a mosaic of music and dance representing more than 50 cultures from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Immerse yourself in cultural displays, world religion information, and creative demonstrations. Indulge in international cuisine, explore our world marketplace and keep the little ones in motion with hands-on art projects, games and activities in a giant, interactive Kids Village. "

After reading that info, I told my wife we better go see this festival pronto. The Global Village Festival turned out to be more village than global but there was no admission and parking fees so there was really no reason for me to bellyache. I was just disappointed....I was expecting more, a lot more. Anyway, Irvine is a city not too far from ours so it was worth the drive and the time we spent there.


The path to one of the parking lots

One of the five stages at the site

The Pinays manning the display booth said they'll have a better one next year and they will also have a food booth.

Native Indian booth

At the Czech-Moravia-Slovakia booth table of alcoholic beverages, I noticed a tall can of Budweiser, a popular domestic beer, so I asked the lady manning the booth the reason for its presence. She pointed to me the beer can next to it with a Budweiser label also. She said they've been making and selling their Budweiser beer in their native country for 700 years but they cannot legally market it in the US under the same label. Corporate dictatorship or sound business practice?

A long row of booths selling ethnic food

One of the open air stages

Civil War era encampment in Huntington Beach, September 2009

Last September 5, I went to Huntington Beach Central park to see the annual gathering of civil war buffs and their encampment. I was surprised at the size of the encampment and the number of participants in their authentic costumes. They easily outnumbered the visitors/onlookers! When I was strolling at their "village," I felt like I was transported to their era by a time machine.

Next year, I'm going to bring my grandchildren to their encampment and war re-enactment because it is a good learning experience for them to see history alive and in the flesh.

This guy is displaying the various weapons used in combat during this ugly phase of US history

The confederates assembling for a big showdown with the union contingent

The northern or union contingent preparing to meet force with force

The conferate troop marching to battle to the beat of a drummer boy

The artillerymen waiting for the opportune moment to rain in death and destruction

Not my kind of fighting! Opponents lined up against each other, face to face and exchanging shots like they are on a target range.

Casualties start to mount

The victorious contingent returning from the battlefield

A field hospital doctor explaining what he had to do when the dying and wounded start coming in

Tall ships festival, Dana Point, California

A couple of weeks ago, I went to see the happenings at the annual Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point....for the first time.....after they have been celebrating this festival for more than two decades..........at a place 30 minutes drive from where I live!

I am no stranger to Dana Point because I fish there a lot, as I do, at other landings along Southern California coast, enjoy their picnic facilities, eat at their fine restos or just drive there to unwind. Why I never bothered before to spend a few hours there, at least once till now, during the yearly festival is probably a tribute to the many other attractions Southern California has to offer to its residents and visitors alike year-round.

I had a great time checking out the festival. I should have planned to stay longer so I can see the tall ships sail out into the sunset and simulate a sea battle between them. There's a fee if you want to be aboard these ships during this engagement and get a feel of the action; but just to be able to photograph these ships in full sail moving out to the open sea is worth the wait. That regrettably, I did not do, I left after a couple of hours but I will be back next year.

Tallships moored side by side and open to the public. Late in the day, they sail out and simulate cannon battles. They fire their cannons at each other but there is no ammo or balls or whatever they call their deadly projectiles - it is all sound and no fury....no damage anticipated except to the eardrums of those standing too close to the cannons LOL.

I bet the view is superb up there.

Three different modes of sea transport

Portrait of a pirate family LOL

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

We left Lake Louise after a late lunch and headed for Calgary where I reserved a hotel in the downtown area through Expedia's "call center" in Cebu! I was trying to book hotels in Calgary and Edmonton online but the 'net connection was very slow and erratic. In frustration, I decided to just go ahead and call Expedia's 800 number and to my surprise, I talked to a girl in Cebu who got me hotels in Calgary and Edmonton at the locations I preferred and within the price range that I was comfortable with. How the world has shrunk!


That piece of paper sticking on my windshield was my Banff National Park pass

Downtown Calgary

The Cebu based Pinay working for Expedia got us a hotel right in the downtown area and for $134, we had a bedroom, a living room, a well-equiped kitchen (like we needed one LOL) and a view I can't complain about. I once paid a premium price for a hotel in Europe with a window view of a wall grrrr....LOL

Calgary Tower in the background

View from Calgary Tower

It's a long way down if the glass breaks!

Note where the kid is standing LOL

I wonder what the kid was thinking?

After an overnight stay in Edmonton, we took our flight to LAX. Goodbye Alberta, see you again sometime!

Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada

Lake Louise is only 30-35 minutes away from Banff but we decided to leave early to have more time to enjoy the lake and to get to Calgary with plenty of daylight.


Traffic is very light along the way but when there's a slow moving vehicle on the road, cars pile up behind. None of the faster moving vehicles will cross the double yellow line to overtake even if there is no oncoming traffic. They'll wait until there is a passing lane or a turn-out. I wish drivers in Pinas are as traffic obedient.

I missed the turn-off to Lake Louise (what else is new LOL) and we found out we were already at Yoho National Park and have crossed the Continental Divide!

Lake Louise finally!

I don't know them, they were just an added attraction or a distraction to the scene depending on how you look at it LOL.

Must be some kind of a secret ritual or she was signaling her photographer friend to quit fooling around with the controls and just take the damn picture LOL.

That's the kayak rental place in the distance

Caught at the edge is part of Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a top of the line hotel with a spectacular view of the lake.

Taken from inside the resto at Fairmont Chateau

Walkway to the lake