Greece is the Word!
Well, after a busy 4 days in multiple ports, we enjoyed a day of rest and relaxation at sea. We jogged on deck, sat poolside enjoying festive beverages and a good book. We were also entertained not only by the party band that played, but also by the guests from all over the world who were wearing bikinis and speedos without out a self-conscience bone in their bodies. Even after 10 days of eating and drinking too much, I felt pretty good about myself and my good sense to cover what should be kept hidden at this stage in my life!
But I digress, so back to commenting on seeing the glorious wonders of the world. One of the places I was most looking forward to visiting was Santorini. I had seen it in the settings of popular movies and in pictures in magazines, so I was anxious to see how it measured up in person. Let me just say that it didn’t disappoint. Despite having stayed up until 2 am dancing in the late night lounge (yay, us!), I awoke at 6:15 AM and was able to witness us pulling alongside the beautiful Greek island of Santorini and actually watched the sunrise over the cliff-top city of Fira. It was amazing! A quick ride in a tender boat a few hours later brought us to the tiny port at the bottom of the island – at the same time that two other cruise ships descended on this relatively small island! So imagine several thousand people arriving at the same time, where there are only 3 options for getting to the destination village at the top of the cliff: by cable car/gondola (for which the line stretch on indefinitely), by donkey taxi , or by foot (where you walked along the same steep and treacherous trail where the donkeys walked and did other business). We were adventurous and had planned in advance to opt for the donkey ride. The uphill trek is almost indescribable; but try to picture a very steep incline, zigzagging up the side of a cliff, where there are literally hundreds of people trying to go up the same path, with people on foot mixed among the 50 or 60 donkeys going upward (with no control or instructions provided to the riders) In addition to that, there are hordes of donkeys that are coming back down the narrow mountain, going against the upward traffic to collect more passengers below. It was incredibly hot and most of the walkers, who didn’t want to wait in lines for the gondola or the donkeys, were ill-equipped for the uphill climb amidst the stampede of donkeys. We even saw an elderly woman with a seemingly serious gaping head wound, being carried through the craziness in a Cleopatra –like device. It was 20 minutes of pandemonium where I doubted the sanity of our choice, but it was actually quite a memorable and laughable experience when it was said and done. At the top of the cliff was a lovely town with spectacular views of the sea and surrounding islands. After a beer in a hill-top café and some shopping for gifts in the very busy marketplace, we worked our way to the town’s bus depot and took a scenic ride to the other side of the island to the black sand beaches. We found a great beach location where a restaurant had chaise lounges and umbrellas that were free to use as long as you ate and drank - no problemo!! We of course made friends with our waiter, George, and spent the next 3 hours or so lounging, reading, napping and swimming in the Sea of Crete. The only bother was the constant flow of beach-side solicitors trying to sell us a massage (eew!) or knock-off sunglasses and handbags. As a side note, black sand on a 90 degree day in Greece is even hotter than white sand – but it was very cool to spend the day in such a unique setting. After a bus ride back to Fira and a gondola ride back down to the port (much less traumatic than the trip up), we arrived back on the ship. That night there was a fun party poolside, with a live band, dancing and a late-night buffet. We rightly skipped the spread of food, but we held our own on the front row of the dance floor and stayed until the band quit. And yes – we did do the Macarena, I am sorry to admit, but it was fun in the context of the night.
Today we docked in Piraeus, Greece, the port that is just 7 miles from city of Athens. We hadn’t heard great things about Athens, hearing that it was dirty and crime-ridden, so we were sort of luke warm about getting off the ship. There was even a tour guide strike which caused all excursions to be cancelled for the day, so we were concerned about getting transportation into the city. But we decided that we should at least make an effort to go in so we could see the Acropolis and the Panthenon. We easily found a cab and made our way to the site of historic ruins – and are we ever glad that we did! It was unusually hot and completely packed with tourists, but it was quite amazing to see. Much like the breath-taking vision of the Coliseum in Rome, it was hard to believe that the structures are over 2500 years old. Many parts are undergoing restoration, but even the scaffolding attached couldn’t deter from the vision of the aging stone structures perched at the highest point of the vast city of Athens. Afterwards, having seen the primary reason for our visit to the city, we ventured off to Plaka, a popular shopping and dining district, for a good Greek meal. It was a very pleasant atmosphere and it was in this bustling area and we were finally able to find a gift for me to buy Steve for our anniversary, which had eluded us at all our previous ports. After shopping and a nice meal, we made our way back to the ship by mid-afternoon, with enough time left to go poolside. So what had started out to be a day with low expectations, turned out to be quite a nice day after all. We ended it by skipping the formal dinner and chose instead to have a casual meal on the upper deck, complete with a jazz guitarist and the sun setting over the Greek Islands.
Antio, Greece!
Well, after a busy 4 days in multiple ports, we enjoyed a day of rest and relaxation at sea. We jogged on deck, sat poolside enjoying festive beverages and a good book. We were also entertained not only by the party band that played, but also by the guests from all over the world who were wearing bikinis and speedos without out a self-conscience bone in their bodies. Even after 10 days of eating and drinking too much, I felt pretty good about myself and my good sense to cover what should be kept hidden at this stage in my life!
But I digress, so back to commenting on seeing the glorious wonders of the world. One of the places I was most looking forward to visiting was Santorini. I had seen it in the settings of popular movies and in pictures in magazines, so I was anxious to see how it measured up in person. Let me just say that it didn’t disappoint. Despite having stayed up until 2 am dancing in the late night lounge (yay, us!), I awoke at 6:15 AM and was able to witness us pulling alongside the beautiful Greek island of Santorini and actually watched the sunrise over the cliff-top city of Fira. It was amazing! A quick ride in a tender boat a few hours later brought us to the tiny port at the bottom of the island – at the same time that two other cruise ships descended on this relatively small island! So imagine several thousand people arriving at the same time, where there are only 3 options for getting to the destination village at the top of the cliff: by cable car/gondola (for which the line stretch on indefinitely), by donkey taxi , or by foot (where you walked along the same steep and treacherous trail where the donkeys walked and did other business). We were adventurous and had planned in advance to opt for the donkey ride. The uphill trek is almost indescribable; but try to picture a very steep incline, zigzagging up the side of a cliff, where there are literally hundreds of people trying to go up the same path, with people on foot mixed among the 50 or 60 donkeys going upward (with no control or instructions provided to the riders) In addition to that, there are hordes of donkeys that are coming back down the narrow mountain, going against the upward traffic to collect more passengers below. It was incredibly hot and most of the walkers, who didn’t want to wait in lines for the gondola or the donkeys, were ill-equipped for the uphill climb amidst the stampede of donkeys. We even saw an elderly woman with a seemingly serious gaping head wound, being carried through the craziness in a Cleopatra –like device. It was 20 minutes of pandemonium where I doubted the sanity of our choice, but it was actually quite a memorable and laughable experience when it was said and done. At the top of the cliff was a lovely town with spectacular views of the sea and surrounding islands. After a beer in a hill-top café and some shopping for gifts in the very busy marketplace, we worked our way to the town’s bus depot and took a scenic ride to the other side of the island to the black sand beaches. We found a great beach location where a restaurant had chaise lounges and umbrellas that were free to use as long as you ate and drank - no problemo!! We of course made friends with our waiter, George, and spent the next 3 hours or so lounging, reading, napping and swimming in the Sea of Crete. The only bother was the constant flow of beach-side solicitors trying to sell us a massage (eew!) or knock-off sunglasses and handbags. As a side note, black sand on a 90 degree day in Greece is even hotter than white sand – but it was very cool to spend the day in such a unique setting. After a bus ride back to Fira and a gondola ride back down to the port (much less traumatic than the trip up), we arrived back on the ship. That night there was a fun party poolside, with a live band, dancing and a late-night buffet. We rightly skipped the spread of food, but we held our own on the front row of the dance floor and stayed until the band quit. And yes – we did do the Macarena, I am sorry to admit, but it was fun in the context of the night.
Today we docked in Piraeus, Greece, the port that is just 7 miles from city of Athens. We hadn’t heard great things about Athens, hearing that it was dirty and crime-ridden, so we were sort of luke warm about getting off the ship. There was even a tour guide strike which caused all excursions to be cancelled for the day, so we were concerned about getting transportation into the city. But we decided that we should at least make an effort to go in so we could see the Acropolis and the Panthenon. We easily found a cab and made our way to the site of historic ruins – and are we ever glad that we did! It was unusually hot and completely packed with tourists, but it was quite amazing to see. Much like the breath-taking vision of the Coliseum in Rome, it was hard to believe that the structures are over 2500 years old. Many parts are undergoing restoration, but even the scaffolding attached couldn’t deter from the vision of the aging stone structures perched at the highest point of the vast city of Athens. Afterwards, having seen the primary reason for our visit to the city, we ventured off to Plaka, a popular shopping and dining district, for a good Greek meal. It was a very pleasant atmosphere and it was in this bustling area and we were finally able to find a gift for me to buy Steve for our anniversary, which had eluded us at all our previous ports. After shopping and a nice meal, we made our way back to the ship by mid-afternoon, with enough time left to go poolside. So what had started out to be a day with low expectations, turned out to be quite a nice day after all. We ended it by skipping the formal dinner and chose instead to have a casual meal on the upper deck, complete with a jazz guitarist and the sun setting over the Greek Islands.
Antio, Greece!
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