Kusadasi, Katakolon, and Mykonos

---

I'm including a few places in this entry because I didn't really do too much there. I actually didn't even get off the ship in Mykonos, Greece, but I took some great pictures from the ship. A cruise ship is actually and excellent vantage point for landscape or panoramic shots. You're elevated enough and far away enough to get quite a bit. So I have a lot of those kinds of pictures. That's the first thing I do when we get into port is head out on deck to see what kind of pictures I can get.

So anyway, Kusadasi, Turkey is a much tamer and touristy Turkish town (say that five times fast). It's a little island with lots of resorts and shops and fisherman. The only thing you have to be wary of is that everywhere you look someone wants your money. Now that's all well and good if you're looking to spend money. This is the place to haggle, but if you just want to wander, like me, then there's a strategy. You have to walk with purpose and avoid eye contact with both merchandise and store owners. Every vendor will try and get your attention by asking a question or trying to lure you into the shop with some offer or another. The key is to just keep walking. Say no thank you even if they just ask you where you're from. Don't stop or they'll think you actually want to strike a deal and then it's just a matter of negotiation. But if you're so inclined, it's a great place to spend your money on Turkish trinkets. Rugs, lamps, jewelry, perfume, turkish delight as far as the eye can see. They even have a Starbucks.

I wandered through the bazaar area, but I'm still in cheap mode until I make a bit more money on board, so all I was interested in were pictures. They have a castle/fort that you can go walk around. I think it was one of the first things established in Kusadasi and functioned as the main stronghold and defensive position for the island. There wasn't a whole lot else to do, so after wandering for about an hour I returned to the ship and got some more pictures of the landscape.

Katakolon was very similar, but smaller and in Greece. It's really just a short street with a bunch of shops and restaurants. You don't really haggle in these places. Instead, you just spend too much money, but the shop owners don't hassle you either.

Being Greece and all, I had to have a gyro. And being a gyro, it was insanely cheap (even for euros). The "fast food" place I went to took nearly 20 minutes to get my order, make it, and then take my money, but it was good. I still don't quite get why the Greeks put french fries in their gyros. Once again, there wasn't much else to do, so I walked around, took a few pictures and got back on the ship. Katakolon is apparently really close to Olympia, Greece, and a lot of shore excursions will take you there, so when we go there again, I might try to venture farther just to see more.

So that's the last of Turkey that I get to see this contract. We going to a few places in Greece again, but we're kind of gradually making our way to Mediterranean routes as we get closer to crossing the Atlantic.

I'm trying to take as much advantage of the free internet here in Barcelona, so hopefully pictures will be up soon on my Facebook page. They're open albums, so anyone can view them even if you don't use Facebook. Here's the link for my Turkey album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54248&l=f961a&id=500941314

---

Photos

Katakolon
random side rode next to the port

Comments

[JM in Transit]

trip sick
these pictures are making me trip sick. ... ahhh... other places. even when they're shitty they're so nice. so when they're nice they're unbelievable. love, envious in LA