Advertisement
Published: June 13th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Friday 11 June.
Our last 24 hours on the Wind Star started as usual with an early breakfast on the Pool Deck. As we ate we approached Cape Helles, the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula, where English and French troops landed on 15 April 1915. This cape marks the beginning of the Dardanelles, a 70 km long stretch of water, varying in width from 2 to 6 km, that connects the Agean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, thus forming a link in the waterway between the Mediterranean Sea and The Black Sea, and constituting part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. A strong current, flowing at 8 km/hr, exists from the Black Sea to the Agean Sea as a result of four large rivers putting a lot of fresh water into the Black Sea. At about 10 am we entered the Dardanelles and the Captain related the history of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 over the deck sound system as we passed some of the impressive memorials. While I stayed on deck, Karen went to the Lounge to do some letter writing. The hairdresser approached her there saying that she had a free hour and would Karen like
Cape Helles
Our first view of the Gallipoli Peninsula. a complimentary hair cut. After looking everywhere for her twice, I was concerned that she may have fallen overboard. When I finally caught up with her, I of course failed as usual to notice the change to her hair and had to confess as much to the hairdresser. To make me feel really small, the next 5 women who walked past said “Karen, you've had your hair cut. It looks so nice”. When will women ever learn that men's minds work in different ways!
Later in the morning we reached The Narrows, the narrowest stretch of the Dardanelles, by the town of Canakkale. It was here that the fleet of British and French war ships were stopped in their tracks by the guns of the forts on either side, and the mining of The Narrows. The Allies lost three battleships and gave up the plan to seize control of the Dardanelles by sea power alone, triggering the land battle that we know as the Gallipoli Campaign, which lasted for 8 months at the cost of half a million casualties. On a hillside at Kilitbahir, clearly visible from Canakkale on the other side of The Narrows are huge letters spelling
The Brirish War Memorial.
One of several memorials and over 30 war cemeteries on the Peninsula. out the first words of a poem by a Turkish poet, commemorating the momentous struggle for control of the Gallipoli Peninsula. It reads:
“Traveler, halt! The soil you heedlessly tread once witnessed the end of an era. Listen! In this quiet mound there beats the heart of a nation” A number of events were put on to while away an afternoon at sea. About 6 people completed the Mini Deck Walking Marathon. I took part in the Crazy Putt Challenge; 4 holes of putting through the lounge and reception areas, with casino cups on their sides for holes. I am mortified to have to admit that I ended up last, taking 31 shots for a par 16 course! Later on in the lounge there was a Wii Challenge, using the big screen in the Lounge used for slide presentations. There was also a Team Trivia Challenge, and a talk on future Windstar cruises. The activity that we enjoyed was a tour of the galley, during which the head chef talked about the routine of his staff, where his produce is purchased from, etc. We were pleased to hear that the kiwifruit, orange roughy, and racks of lamb come from
NZ. Then it was time as usual for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles in the Lounge, the chef putting on a range of suchi dishes on this occasion. At 7.15 the Captain gave his farewell address, having us in fits of laughter recounting some of the questions that passengers have asked him in the past, like “ Does the crew sleep on board the ship?”, “Does the sea go right around this island?”, and of course “What time does the midnight supper start?”. We had dinner for the 3rd time with a couple from Arizona who we got on with really well. They were simply our kind of people and, as you do on trips like this, we have promised to visit each other in our own countries at some time in the future. Then it was time to get bags packed before getting to sleep rather late.
Saturday 12 June.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID. We woke this morning to find the sea blanketed in fog. At the orders of the harbour master in Istanbul, we had to virtually stop for an hour until the fog started to clear. After breakfast most people hung around on the decks while the cabin
The Narrows at Canakkale.
The fort on the Asian side. At this point the Dardanelles are only about 1200m wide. staff started preparing the cabins for sailing again that afternoon. Some people were supposed to be off the ship by 7.30, but, with the delay, it was 8.30 before disembarkation began. We went ashore at about 9 o'clock, found our tram nearby to take us into the city centre, and headed for our Hostel.
Thus ended one of the most enjoyable weeks of our lives, apart from Karen's health problems (she is still stuffed up with a cold). It is virtually impossible to fault anything about Windstar cruises. The route, the timetable, the excursions, the food, the cabins, the entertainment, the on-board facilities, the space and freedom aboard, and the never ending good humour and attention of all the staff, made this every bit the memorable experience that we had hoped it would be. I would be very surprised if we were not to sail with Windstar again at some time in the future.
P&K
Advertisement
Tot: 0.234s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 5; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0473s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Pam
non-member comment
HI, Sounds like you both had a wonderful trip on the boat. Great memories. I know you will enjoy Turkey. Take care Love Pam and Irvin