A Classical Greek Adventure - Part Three - The Islands

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Having just returned from an amazing trip to Greece, I decided to document my trip for family and friends who want to know “a little more” about my adventure. Numerous visits to ancient sites, many cans and bottles of Mythos beer, great people, lots of laughs, and 496 photographs later, here’s a taste of my trip to Greece and the final blog.

Having just returned from an amazing trip to Greece, I decided to document my trip for family and friends who want to know “a little more” about my adventure. Numerous visits to ancient sites, many cans and bottles of Mythos beer, great people, lots of laughs, and 496 photographs later, here’s a taste of my trip to Greece and the final blog.

Following a night in Athens, Michelle, Pat, and I jumped in a taxi (the Transat Vacations bus was too small to fit the entire group) and rode down to Piraeus, the port of Athens. The taxi drive had its advantage in that we arrived at the ship before everyone else and had the opportunity to find our rooms and get settled. With just over 400 cabins, our ship, the Ruby, was a great place to call “home” for the four day cruise of the Greek islands. Fortunately, I had an outside room with two portholes, two single beds, and a small washroom. The ship also featured a fine dining room, buffet, pool, jacuzzis, fitness centre, casino, shop, and many lounges.

At 11am, and following a life jacket drill, we set course for our first island destination, Mykonos. With a bus ticket in-hand we disembarked the ship and had a short ride to Mykonos Town deciding that before we got lost in the narrow streets we would follow the coast and find the iconic windmills. After walking by an area known as “Little Venice” due to its structures built right on the edge of the water, the five windmills appeared before us. With many photos taken, we attempted to navigate the streets veering away from the water and came face-to-face with the island’s mascot, Pétrus the Pelican (we thought this was a unique event, but by the end of the day, we had run into him three times!). The houses and shops are all white blocks with accents of blue and red for the doors, windows, and balconies. We ended our day on Mykonos with a beer in front of the windmills before heading back to the ship for dinner and the night show and setting off for not another island, but another country - Turkey.

After a quick breakfast in the dining room, we disembarked and set-off by bus from the port of Kusadasi to the ancient site of Ephesus. Our first stop was the House of the Virgin Mary where she is reported to have lived during the last years of her life. Following this brief stop, we had a continued to Ephesus. Once accommodating 250,000 people during its height, this city is filled with marble, stunning floor mosaics, and the famous reconstructed library. After a climb up the theatre’s steps and a look down the road reportedly walked by Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, we boarded the bus and were taken to a Turkish carpet store. Dozens of carpets were unraveled at our feet as we sat around a square room and were awed by the cotton and beautiful silk carpets. We arrived back on the boat and set off back to the Greek islands and our next stop - Patmos.

A very religious island, Patmos is known as the island where St. John the Theologian received the word of God and wrote his “Revelations” in 95 A.D. Since the ship could not dock at the port, we were taken by a tender boat to the shore and then by bus up to the fortified Monastery of St. John the Theologian (built in 1088 A.D.) which houses a lavish chapel filled with icons as well as a museum. We then descended the slopes to a small grotto and saw the reported place where St. John heard the voice of God. Following a short bus ride back to the port, we were transferred to the ship by the tender boat just in time for dinner and “Greek Night” entertainment.

The next day we visited the capital of the Dodacanese islands, Rhodes. Another religious island, Rhodes is known for its association with the Crusades of the Middle Ages. After docking at Rhodes Town, we traveled by bus to the southeastern tip of the island and the town of Lindos - reported to be one of the hottest places in Greece. The fortified acropolis has a rich history dating back to the fourth century B.C. and is filled with buildings spanning numerous centuries including the Temple of Lindian Athena (4th century B.C.) and the church of St. John constructed in the 13th century A.D. It was truly one of the hottest days of the year and even out tour guide would not go with us to the peak as it was too hot. As part of the tour, we visited a pottery factory and were “encouraged” to purchase hand-made pieces which were quite beautiful. We ended the tour in Rhodes Old Town. Reported to be the hottest day in 25 years, the temperature continued to rise to 45 degrees and the local government decided to close all public buildings, such as the Palace of the Grand Masters and the museum, after noon. We were able to walk through the 16th century A.D. gates and down the Street of the Knights, a narrow street lined by inns constructed for the various nationalities of the Order of St. John, such as Spain, France, Italy, and Auvergne during the Crusades. After this tour, I decided to head back to the ship and relax before the next day which I highly anticipated.

When I woke-up the next morning, I looked out one of my portholes and saw a tugboat ushering us into the port of Irákleio, Crete. After disembarking, we headed-off by bus to the archaeological site of Knossos Palace - the reputed home of King Minos and the half-human, half-bull Minotaur. We were the first group at the site and immediately entered at 8am. Seeing the crowds of people who entered after us, we learned that 6,000 people (at 6 euros each) enter the site every day during the high season. This has had an unfortunate effect on entering some areas of the site, such as the labyrinth under the palace, which are now closed due to the fragility of the buildings and particularly the stairways. Many of the buildings on the site are reconstructed in addition to the vibrant frescoes which are now housed in the museum (closed for a year due to renovations!). Nevertheless, I could still imagine the grandeur of the palace during its peak and the power that the Minoan Civilization held over the surrounding area. We were transferred back to the port for a quick walk around the shops before heading back to the ship to travel to our next destination - Santorini.

This stretch of the Aegean can often experience rough seas, and so they were as we made out way north to the island of white houses perched on cliffs, blue-domed churches, and glistening water. Not wanting to anchor too close to the island (and risk the same fate as the now sunk Sea Diamond ship), we traveled by tender boat to the port and were taken by bus to the picturesque town of Oìa. The views were spectacular and you could use-up a whole memory card of photographs trying to capture every angle. We discovered from our tour guide that over 1.2 million tourists visit the island every summer. Fortunately, it was fairly calm by the time we reached the top of the cliff leading down to Firá and the port. There were three options to descend to the port - walk down the steps, take the three-minute cable car, or ride a donkey. Well, what other opportunity would I have to visit Santorini and descend a cliff on a donkey? So, donkey it was. As the donkey owners loudly wrangled the tourists onto their own donkeys, I was somehow put on one that was not tied to a group. Before my donkey’s owner started to descend with the group of tourists tied together, mine decided to start down the steep and zigzagging stairs with a preference for hugging the extreme right side of the stony walls. My legs were so tightly hugging the donkey that I didn’t care about my knees scrapping against the walls - it was worth the experience. At the bottom of the cliff, I bought a round of much-needed beers before we boarded the tender boat and returned to the ship for our last night on-board.

After placing my luggage outside my cabin before midnight the night before, I awoke for a quick breakfast before our final disembarkation from the ship back at the port of Athens, Piraeus. After confirming that my luggage was safely outside the ship with the others, we boarded a bus to take us to the Titania Hotel. As our rooms were not ready, Pat, Michelle, and I walked through the National Gardens and also to the massive Temple of Olympian Zeus, the largest in Greece. The remainder of our final day in Athens was spent wandering the streets of the Pláka district, eating some amazing souvlaki and gyros, and drinking some Mythos and Alpha beer. The restaurant we chose for dinner had an amazing view of the Acropolis, but little did we know that as night closed in there was one more surprise. Looming over the illuminated Acropolis was a bright, full moon. Walking up to the moonlit Acropolis and down the Sacred Way was the perfect ending to a Classical Greek Adventure.

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Photos

Pétrus the Pelican, Mykonos
The island's mascot having a bite to eat.

Ephesus
Sitting on an ancient toilet at Ephesus.

Ephesus
The library.

Ephesus
I have now walked the same street as Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

Santorini
The picturesque view of blue-domed churches, white-washed houses, and the glistening sea from the town of Oìa on Santorini.

My donkey
My lone donkey that got me to the bottom of the cliff on Santorini.

Athens at night
A full-moon over the Acropolis.

Comments

[Mary]

Again, wow.
Thanks a ton Colin....now I want to go to Greece too!

[Pat]

Thanks
Thank you for sharing your journal with us. It was a wonderful trip. One of our best yet and you helped to make it more enjoyable.

[Rowena]

A third WOW
Thank you for sharing your trip with us. It is obvious that you had a great time and that it was very educational. As a teacher, I had to add that last part. Also, now I can brag that I know a "blogger". So where to next???