Piraeus, Attica, Greece

---

Monday May 6th, 2013. Piraeus, Attica, Greece

The Greek people have always been connected with the sea ever since they first occupied the land they called Hellas. The geography dictates the indelible land-marine link. Mainland Greece, comprised of the Southern Balkan Peninsula and the Peloponnese is the centre of the Greek nation. All Western nations can trace some of their cultural heritage back to ancient Greece and the Hellenic influence has touched nearly every human society on earth. The port of Piraeus was once an island and has served as the main Greek harbour since at least 500 BC. Cargo, commercial and passenger vessels from around the globe share the docks.

Pireus is Greece's third most populous city. The protective 'Long Wall' which guarded the route between the port and Athens was begun in 478 BC. The Megas Liman (Great Harbour) is one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean. Adjacent to the Great Harbour is the ancient port of Zea and on the eastern side of the city is a pretty marina called Munichia which caters for the private yachts and fishing boats. Piraeus still focuses on these 3 ports.

We disembarked the ship and walked through the town (pretty much everything was still closed), past the Cathedral and turned left up a steep hill and down the other side until we reached Zea Marina. We walked along the harbour looking at all the flash boats. We continued on until we came to the beach and the marina at Munichia (a.k.a. Mikrolimano). D walked down and took some photo's - M waited at the top of the steps.

We then turned uphill and negotiated the hundreds of steep steps that take you up to Kastella Hill where we had a fantastic view of the Saronic Gulf. We took some photographs and then went to look at the church that is perched on the top of the hill. We then turned back down the hill and returned to Zea Marina before walking back to the ship for lunch. Sailaway was at 3.30 pm.

---