On Saturday morning, April 29, thirty-four Mature Friends dropped in on Athens, Greece. But don’t think we pulled a Dorothy, thinking we weren’t in Seattle anymore. Actually, with the temperature in the 60s, a cloudy sky, and intermittent drizzle, we felt right at home. This feeling was reinforced later when two of us discovered the local Starbuck’s! But I’m getting ahead of the story….
After checking into our rooms, we were welcomed with a delicious lunch in the dining room of the five-star Park Hotel. After lunch, some of our group took naps while others began exploring the city. Exploring was easy — just step outside the hotel, walk a couple blocks and look to the left. There in the not-so-far distance was the Acropolis! Along the way, on 28 October Street, we discovered the local Starbuck’s, just before Omonia Square.
Tour of Athens
But the real exploring came the next morning when we hopped a motor coach and took off to visit the major sites in the city. We visited Constitution Square and saw the changing of the guard, then on to the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Zeus, the Royal Palace, the Pan Athenian Stadium, and then on toward the Acropolis and its museum. As we walked up Acropolis hill, the weather disintegrated into a light rain. But what’s a little rain to seasoned Seattlites? We continued our tour and enjoyed being at this wonderful monument, built in 431 B.C. to celebrate victory over the invading Persians.
After our day of touring, we were on our own for dinner. Our guide walked us over to Victoria Square, where we could catch the subway downtown. Many of us couldn’t resist this temptation, and had a wonderful dinner at one of the various cafés in the Plaka district. Although we ordered different entrees, the Greek salad courses were consistently good, full of fresh veggies including the reddest, juiciest tomatoes I’d seen in a long time.
The next day we were on our own to revisit places the bus had taken us or to head off for other sights. Several of us took the funicular up Lycabettis Hill, one of the best vantage points to get a sweeping view of the city.
On our way down the hill, we ran into the Labor Day parade passing through Constitution Square. As we approached the Parliament building, we ran into the changing of the guards. Where did they get those cute skirts?
Later we toured the Agora, where ancient philosophers discussed and expressed their wisdom. We stood in the reconstructed Stoa, where Socrates and the Stoics once held forth. If you closed your eyes and took a deep breath you could feel their presence and hear the echoes of their thoughts and insights.
The Grand Tour
After spending three glorious days in Athens, we began our big tour. In terms of Paul Revere’s ride (one if by land, two if by sea) our tour could be described as three – first by land and then by sea.
By Land
We often associate countries with their major city. For example, when you think of France, you think Paris. When you think of Italy, you think Rome. And the same is true for Greece. However, Greece, like the other countries, is far greater than its main city.
So on May 5, we hopped a motor coach for a tour of the rest of Greece. Rolling through the countryside, fatigue tempted us to close our eyes. But the scenery was so beautiful that sleep was unthinkable. Our first stop for a quick break was in Corinth. There we saw the deep canal that joined the Aegean Sea with the Adriatic Sea and also the ruins of the ancient port where St. Paul landed. Our first touring stop took us to the archeological site of Epidaurus and then to Mycenae, where King Agamemnon once held court. We not only saw the footings of the throne room of the palace, but also incredibly preserved gravesites just outside the original city walls. Farther outside the city, we entered the "beehive" tomb, reputedly of Agamemnon himself. The tomb is shaped like a huge beehive with superb accoustics. If you stand in the middle and speak, you can be heard throughout the tomb as though speaking through a loudspeaker.
Olympia
Invigorated by our first archeological tours, we continued on to Olympia, where we had a superb dinner and then spent the night. The next morning, we visited the site of the first Olympic Games, held in 776 B.C. It’s amazing to see the actual stadium still in place, with its starting and ending running blocks and sloped sides where the audience cheered their favorite naked (yes, naked!) athletes.
Top of the Audience Hill in Stadium
In the following picture, you can see our Greek guide — on the right in the yellow shirt. I said "Greek guide," obviously not a Greek god!After seeing the site and the remains of the buildings in the Olympic village, we toured the adjoining museum. Obviously, the Greek sculptors intimately knew their anatomy:
Delphi
After a hearty Greek lunch down by the river, we took off for Delphi, passing through such towns as Patras, Levadia, and Arachova. As we approached Delphi, we could see three towns in succession going up the shoulder of Mt. Parnassus. The highest up was Delphi, where we stopped and had dinner and then explored the town a bit on our own before bedding down. Next morning, we drove up to the site of ancient Delphi to see the ruins of the sacred site of the famous Oracle. The more energetic members of the group then climbed to the top of the site to see the stadium where the Patagonian Games were held. Some even ran the track, which didn’t go in circles, but in a straight light (one stad), about 200 meters.
After Delphi, we passed through the city of Thebes, where Oedipus Rex was to have held court in the famous play by Euripedes. Unfortunately, the new town is built right over the ruins, so there was nothing to see. So, we continued our drive through the pastoral Greek countryside back to Athens for dinner at our hotel.
By Sea
On Friday, May 5, we boarded our ship, the Perla, and set sail for Turkey. After getting our credit set up and organizing our assigned dining-room tables, we relaxed over a drink in the main bar and watched a slide presentation of the ports we would visit. Our ship made the following ports of call, one port (sometimes two ) per day:
So, find your stateroom, order room service, and relax and enjoy the voyage. We set sail . . . NOW!
Istanbul
As the Perla eased into the harbor, we crowded the decks to watch Istanbul and its mosques and minarets come into sight, then the palaces and other grand buildings as we came closer. That afternoon, we had time to visit the Blue Mosque, then an Oriental rug outlet, and finally a trip through a small bazaar since the Grand Bazaar had already closed.
The next day, we toured the huge church of Hagia Sophia, built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century A.D. The remarkable feature of this church was its enormous dome, still standing after 12 centuries. Our guide told us that the design of all mosques are based on the design of this church, with it’s wide open space under the dome. The guide also explained that the mosaics had been plastered over when the Turks turned the church into a mosque. Now the plaster has been removed and the mosaics are being restored, quite well preserved under the plaster for hundreds of years.
After the church, we took a tour of the famous Topkapi Palace! And yes, the dagger used in the movie Topkapi is there, in all its gem-encrusted glory.
Mykonos
The next day we landed on the island of Mykonos, with its beautiful beaches, bleached white buildings and ancient windmills.
After a beer on the deck of a café overlooking the clear waters of the Mediterranean, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. Some stayed in town for the fresh seafood, while others reboarded the Perla for another gastronomically delightful meal on the ship.
Patmos
On the morning of May 9, we docked in Patmos. Several of us decided to tour the island on our own, which turned out to be extremely easy. Taxis were waiting at the dock to take groups of tourists up the steep hill to the grotto where St. John the Devine reportedly received The Revelation from God. Then at the appointed time, the taxi would take the group to the very top of the hill to the Monastery of the Apocalypse. Aside from the sweeping view of the town and harbor below, the 11th century monastery houses relics and precious manuscripts in its treasury.
Inside the Monastery at Patmos
When we had finished, our taxi took us back down to the harbor, where we could check out the souvenir shops before reboarding our ship.
Ephesus
Back again we sailed to Turkey, landing at Kusadasi. From there we hopped a bus for the hour’s drive to the ancient city of Ephesus, and were we in for a surprise! At the end of the trip many of us listed Ephesus as the highlight of our tour, with good reason. At its height, the city’s population topped 250,000. This town, a hub of commerce for the Middle East was jumping — a thriving seaport. We entered the city gate and walked down the main street, which ambled downhill at an easy grade.
Walking Down Main Street in Ephesus
As we walked, our guide pointed out temples on either side along with various shops and homes. Most everything had been knocked down in an earthquake in the Middle Ages, but we could see the columns (Ionic, Corinthian, and Doric) and the rubble of where the walls stood for each building. About halfway down, we left the street with its chariot ruts and walked on an ornate mosaic sidewalk that led to the two story façade of the city’s library.
Near the library was a tunnel leading to a brothel. So, men could tell their wives they were going to the library, but then take a quick detour to check out carnal pursuits instead of literary ones.
A bit farther, our guide showed us an advertisement for the brothel, carved into the stone pavement. Toward the end of our stroll through the city, we took a breather by relaxing for a bit in on the stone seats of the city’s arena, where gladiatorial fights had been given.
We filed out of the area through the gate where the wild beasts would enter. Underneath the arena we saw where the beasts had been caged before they unleashed their fury against unarmed criminals (such as Christians) and also against armed gladiators.
As we left the city gate, our guide pointed to a symbol of a circle with three lines through its diameter, like a pie cut into six pieces. The guide showed us how that symbol had all the Greek letters for the word fish, which was the early Christian symbol.
We had a short time to regroup and then the bus took us back to Kusadasi and the waiting Perla. Next stop — Rhodes, the “Island of Roses”!
Rhodes
First, we toured the main Medieval city of Rhodes, with all it’s original walls. As we entered the city, two frisky dogs decided to join us and accompanied us throughout our tour, much to our amusement. But our real attention was focused on the guide.
Basically, she walked us through identifying different sites and telling the history. The main palace had been destroyed by fire, but was now rebuilt so it’s not original. Just inside the city gates, there’s a street that runs down to the shopping area and also in the opposite direction to the museum. We’d need that information later when we had free time in the city.
Next, we hopped back on the bus and rode inland about an hour to the ancient town of Lindos, with its own acropolis perched on the highest part of the town. We walked the steep climb up and toured the grounds just outside the walls of the acropolis. Then the heartier among us climbed the steep stairs and went inside.
There wasn’t much to see other than pieces of pillars and footprints were walls had been. Workers were busy restoring the site, but so far not much had been done. From the backside of the acropolis, you can stand on the remains of the wall and look way down at the Bay of St. Paul, where the apostle almost was in a shipwreck while trying to dock at Rhodes almost 2,000 years ago. Back down in the town after doing some shopping, we headed back to the main city, where we had free time until we set sail at 5:30 pm.
Crete
Our final island stop took us to Crete and then to Santorini. We docked at the capital city of Crete, Heraklion. From there, we took a bus inland to the ruins of the huge Palace of Knossos, where King Minos had held court in about 1500 B.C. Partially reconstructed by Sir Arthur Evans, the palace must have really been magnificent. Reproductions of columns and frescos blew us away with their complexity and beauty.
Original Throne Room of Knossos with Restored Fresco
Our guide told us how the palace even had running water thanks to a sophisticated plumbing system. We could see three segments of the original pipes still in the ground. After touring the palace and seeing the actual throne room, we headed to the museum to see the original pieces of art excavated from the palace. It was amazing that these pieces have held up well enough for us to enjoy them 3500 years later.
Santorini
We left Crete and sailed into harbor in the caldera of Santorini, the remains of a volcano that blew itself apart about 1500 B.C. In fact, the tidal wave generated by that explosion wiped out the population on the near side of Crete. Fortunately, for King Minos, his palace was on the other side of the island. Taking a tender in to shore, most of our group took the cable cars to the top, while three of us intrepid ones marched up all 588 steps, trying not to get our shoes too dirty with the donkey manure on the stairs. You see, the other option was to ride a donkey to the top, and soon we were surrounded by them. Once the group of riders broke away, we were fine until the riderless donkeys were herded back town. Then we had to hug a wall till they passed.
On top we entered the town of Thera with its brilliant whitewashed homes, narrow streets, open-air cafés, and little shops filled with all sorts of trinkets and jewelry and souvenirs. But the main reason for making the climb is the sweeping view of the old volcano caldera and the Mediterranean Sea. Some say that Santorini is the lost continent of Atlantis. Well, we all know that finding the real Atlantis is about as likely as digging up Jimmy Hoffa’s body.
Back to Athens
With Santorini, our cruise was almost over. The next morning we docked at Piraeus, where the cruise had begun a week ago. But we still had one more day in the beautiful city of Athens. Everybody took off in their own directions for last minute sight-seeing and shopping or just enjoying being in the comfortable city of Athens, especially since it was now warmer and sunnier than when we arrived. That evening Jerry had arranged for a cocktail party at the Rockwood Pub, where we’d met for drinks during our first days in Athens. Along with the cocktails, the restaurant prepared a lavish Greek buffet table for us, thanks to our kitty, which had some more money left.
Our final dinner was about the best on the trip, and cut across all courses of Greek foods The chefs had made everything on the premises, and the results went beyond outstanding. We feasted on such specialties as stuffed grape leaves, Greek salad, lamb, moussaka, pastitsio, and other dishes. Dinner also included house red and retsina wines. And to top off this extravagant feast, we finished with a stunning dessert of chocolate cake with a delicate, chocolate crown on each piece.
— by Curt Johnson
Next Stop: South America!
And so we ended our trip to the Mediterranean. And now, after nine month’s rest, we’re be ready to embark on the next cruise, which is South America! We'll not only stop at several ports along the way, but we'll do what Captain Bly of the Bounty failed to do: Sail around Cape Horn! We sail in January 2007!