Blogs from South Aegean, Greece, Europe - page 80

You always save the best for last. And Santorini is truly the best. But I must say, it is not that easy to decide on that. Rhodes impressed me a lot. And Crete is something else. But Santorini took my breath away! Lost Continent of Atlantis? Imagine this. Five thousand years ago, the island was believed to be a sophisticated outpost of Minoan civilization. Then catastrophe happened. Around 1450 BC, the volcanic island erupted.....its "heart" sank below the sea, and the earth shook all around and across the Aegean. Thira, which is how Santorini was called then and even now, was wiped off the earth along with the great Minoan civilization. Atlantis, called as such to mean "Happy Isle" was a lost isle, completely submerged by the sea. Ancient philosophers like Plato wrote of this Happy ... read more

From Patmos, the island of the Apocalypse, we left the island in the evening and woke up to find ourselves in Rhodes. Now, this I've got to say. I wasn't prepared for Rhodes. Perhaps because all this time, I was more fascinated by the more popular islands like Mykonos or Santorini. All I knew about Rhodes was some history lesson marking the Colossus of Rhodes as one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. But an earthquake more than 2,200 years ago wiped out this ancient bronze statue that stood by the harbor, so there is really just a memory, if not a legend or myth about this world famous landmark. Of more "recent" history is the flight of the Knights to Rhodes during the Medieval period, only to be chased out once more by ... read more

From Mykonos, we departed before midnight and woke up in Kusadaci, Turkey. I have to admit I slept in and didn't bother to go out. We were here just a week before, and I thought I'd spend the morning on the boat and dreaming away. Shelly wouldn't pass up the chance to go out and check out more bazaars , of course. So I saw her off, dear old me waving her goodbye as she crossed the plank and walked off towards another shopping expedition. I went to the breakfast lounge and lingered.........really lingered over my breakfast. Had 3 cups of coffee over an hour-long breakfast of omelette, salmon, some sausages and those sweet , juicy tomatoes that I just love. Then off to about half an hour of walking around the deck . Surprised to ... read more

We checked out of Athenais Hotel on a bright, sunny morning bound for Piraeus where we would be boarding our ship. We booked this cruise with Louis Hellenic Cruises months before. The itinerary includes: Mykonos, Kusadaci (in Turkey), Patmos, Rhodes, Heraclion (in Crete), Santorini and back to Piraeus, Athens. All of 5 days. Out Monday and back Friday. I know......it could have been a lot better to choose just one or a couple of islands rather than island hop in the next 5 days. But then again, we can always go back and this should serve as a good preview. After "exploring" our cabin , checking out the buffet, Shelly and I were so happy to be unpacking and packing just once in the next 5 days. The cabin is small, but it is clean and ... read more

Last weekend my friends and I stayed in Athens and enjoyed some of the Carnival festivals going on here. We first attempted to partake in the Burned Meat Thursday festival but were unsuccessful in finding a taverna. We still ate meat, just in the form of gyros instead. Then on Saturday night we went to a parade. After the parade we got crepes. This was a wonderful experience because the waitress was absolutely phenomenal! First she was impressed that we capable of reading Greek (though it was very slow and we didn't understand most of it). She was happy to help translate what was on the menu for us. Then she asked us if we were from the North... as in from Scandinavia! It was great, she was so helpful and kind! Then on Sunday my ... read more