Volos & Mt. Pelion

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Day 17 - Sat. Oct. 8 - Port of call: Volos, Greece. Weather: Sunny with temperatures of 75°F/24°C



Today’s port is Volos, built near the site of ancient Iolcos, at the foot of Mount Pelion. The city overlooks the Gulf of Pagasae and is in the region known as Magnesia, which has been featured in some of the most remarkable mythological tales of ancient Greece. The reported founder of the area was Magnes, son of Zeus and Aeolus. The area was the birthplace of the Centaurs, those beings who were part horse and part human. Finally this location was where the famous Argonaut expedition set sail.



Our morning excursion first took us to the Volos Archaeological Museum, which features Neolithic artifacts from all over Thessaly, as well as excavations throughout Magnesia and Karditsa. It also features an interesting jewelry collection that dates back thousands of years.



After our hour-long overview of the collection we were driven up Mount Pelion on a very winding road to the local village known as Makrinitsa. This village is literally perched on the mountainside and provides a perfect location to take spectacular pictures of Volos and the Gulf of Pagasae spread out at the foot of the mountain. The top of the mountain is also home to Metéora, one of the largest monastery complexes in Greece, all built on sandstone rock pillars. We opted not to visit the monasteries, as it required a great deal of climbing steep trails.



Back on board we spent a quiet afternoon before attending our first formal night. Our table steward informed us that no one else was scheduled to sit with us at our table for 8, which was disappointing as we look forward to the lively discussions when we meet new people. Just as we were to start our main course the steward did bring another guest to our table and it turned out to be the Catholic priest, Father John, and we had a most enjoyable conversation with him.



After dinner Brooke and Mary Ann went to the Captain’s reception and the evening show while John retired for the night and I went for a vigorous 3 mile walk on deck.

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