World Cruise Day 98/152 - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - Not ready for prime time - and optional masks starting tomorrow - no April Fools!

Cruise day: 98/152

Ports days: 41
Sea days: 57
Countries: 16
Continents: 5
Ports: 30

First - the HUGE news - starting tomorrow, April 1 (no joke here), masks are now optional for us!  Woo!  They are optional on the ship and recommended (but still optional) off the ship in situations where social distancing is not possible, like tour buses and such.  We are really excited by this new development and it will make ship life feel much more normal.  I'm sure there will be a group of people that feel more comfortable wearing a mask, and that is certainly their right.  For those of us that are comfortable not wearing it - we are finally free to live life mask-free.  Woo!

Overnight, we made the short sail from Jeddah to Yanbu, a port town about 185 miles to the north.  Yanbu is divided into three segments, Yanbu Al-Bahr, Yanbu Al-Nakhl, and Yanbu Al-Sina'iya, and has a major Red Sea port servicing Saudia Arabia. Yanbu also serves as a gateway city for visitors to the holy city of Medina.

The port observation tower in the Yanbu Commercial Port

Our tour today was described as a scenic drive through Yanbu, a visit to Yanbu lake, a beautiful manmade lake, and then a visit to the historic city and market.  OK...but...

We sailed right through this morning, carrying our visa, passports, vaccine cards, and immigration papers - had to show nothing to anyone

Our drive took us past this - called Twin Towers - a building under construction

We drove past a petroleum and petrochemical plant

We have no idea what this was

This huge grain silo, also visible from our ship, is stocked with imported grain

We saw a Domino's

Our first stop was at Yanbu Lake - a manmade lake that our guide described as beautiful, tranquil, peaceful, and a beautiful place to bring the family for relaxation.

What we saw was a small series of interconnected ponds.  There were plants.  There was a waterfall.  There were a few birds, turtles, and cats.  And, nobody was there.

The water was a very artificial green

This cast of characters was there

A turtle and a cat

Myna

Little egret

Sparrow

Great blue heron

There simply wasn't much there.  We walked around for 20 minutes and got back on the bus.  And, this was the highlight of the tour.

They like using cubes set on their corner as signs - we saw several as we drove around

The bus then went to the historical section of Yanbu.  Did I mention that the historical section of Yanbu is about 1,000 feet from the bow of our ship?  

We walked around and looked at some historical buildings that are being restored.

One of the many shops that weren't open yet

An old grain storage area

Fairly traditional Islamic window covers are designed to block the view of the inhabitants from the passers-by below

Scholars have been unable to decipher what language this was written in

Lawerence of Arabia was said to have stayed here

We entered the local market.  Vendors had small storefronts with various wares.

We did ask our guide about public displays of affection. In my readings, they simply were not acceptable, and in many cases, could bring fines.  But, over the last couple of days, we saw young Saudi couples holding hands.  Our guide said that was totally acceptable and things are more relaxed now.  She even said that on rare occasions, you will see couples kiss in public, although that is still unusual.  That meant we could resume our norm and we started holding hands again as we walked.  That felt good.

There was very little to see or browse so we headed back to the ship.  When we went through the port entry, we had to send our bag through x-ray, but nobody asked to see anything - no paperwork - no ship card -  nothing. 

After lunch, we lounged around in the outdoor pool and hot tub.  We met friends at 5PM to head back to the historic area as the shops were supposed to open late in the afternoon.  The night market is open until 1AM or so.  We walked back and found it to be just about the same as when we were there earlier in the day.

A vendor had mini Bentleys for kids to ride

With the market essentially a bust, we walked more into town to check things out.

An unusual sculpture in the middle of a round-a-bout - a fish in a basket with a spoon

A farmer selling dates and other fresh goods out of his truck

A pretty stylish pedestrian overpass over a busy road

After our wanderings, we headed back to the ship

Interesting things happened to us as we walked around.  There were four of us - our friends, Kathy & Steve, Arlona and me.  We certainly stood out as we walked around as we were the only westerners around.  Several folks just ignored us.  Many more, however, went out of their way to not only acknowledge us but also to call out, "Welcome!"  We were looking around in a parking lot when a man came out of the store, saw us, and came over.  He asked where we were from and where we were staying.  He didn't understand the concept of a cruise ship until we showed him our ship cards with the photo of the ship. Then, he got it. He asked if he could drive us anywhere or could be of any help.  He was incredibly gracious.  Later, as we were walking, he drove by, honked, waved, and asked if we needed anything.  Incredible.

It really was quite interesting seeing how interested many folks were in finding out about us and offering what appeared to be a sincere welcome.  It just goes to show that no matter where you go, there are good, decent people that are welcoming and friendly.

We walked back to the ship and headed up to dinner.  As we entered the port area, the guards there asked to see our passports and inspected the exit stamps that we received yesterday in Jeddah.  Weird, but OK.  When we came back earlier, nobody asked to see anything.

Nothing was especially appealing and after seeing the Domino's sign earlier, we both had a hankering for a good pizza.  The available toppings were chorizo sausage, pepperoni, ham, and pineapple.  We grabbed some bacon from the baked potatoes, and got mushrooms and bell peppers from the salad bar and had them add all that to the pizza as well as double cheese.  Topped with some parmesan, it was absolutely wonderful.

We talked with several folks that did the big excursion today - a trip to the holy city of Medina.  Most were extremely disappointed with the tour and several were going to ask for a refund.  The trip cost over $700 for a couple.  You drove to Medina, saw the outside of the mosque, had lunch, saw a few other sights and a museum, and came back to the ship.  A couple folks compared it to getting tickets to the World Series and only being able to see the outside of the stadium. We are glad we skipped this tour.

Tomorrow will likely be a ship-day as there isn't really much to see in port.  Our Yanbu takeaways are:

1. The city is nice if not very impressive
2. There is very little for tourists to do or see
3. The big draw is a visit to Medina - but that visit seemed to be really disappointing for those we talked with

For us - Yanbu was a bust.  We would not opt to visit here, even given that the people were friendly and welcoming.  Ther simply is nothing to do.

We are looking forward to April 1 tomorrow and the end of the mask mandate.  Of course, the bars opening as we sail away from Saudi Arabia will help everyone's mood as well.