A variety of pics

An update

It is Thursday morning and we have an unexpected day at sea as I shared on the blog yesterday. Yes, we are disappointed in not getting to see Palermo, but we are on vacation and just going with the flow. We just had a nice breakfast with a couple from Northern England. Jan is going to go to a basic Spanish class. I haven’t decided what I am going to do…maybe read. The sea is a bit rough, but not anywhere near as rough as we have seen it on a past cruise. We are told that we will have heft head winds all the way back to Barcelona, so it may continue to be a bit rough until Saturday morning. No worries though. The big issue for the change in plans was not anything dangerous for us, but that the pilot that is required by law to be onboard could not get on because of the significant waves. They came alongside in a pilot boat last night and tried several times to get him on the ladder to climb up and on board. They finally gave up as it was risking his safety. So, we have had a marvelous time and will just enjoy what the ship has to offer for the next two days. Enough for now. I think I will also post a variety of pics of Jan and I from the last two weeks.
Tim

A change in plans

FYI - A bit of a bummer - after a very nice day at sea today, the captain just announced ship-wide that there has been change for tomorrow. Unfortunately there are storm and gale force winds that are building around the coast of Sicily. One of the requirements for us to port in Sicily (or really any port) is that there must be a port Pilot onboard on board our ship to take us in. That requires them to sail from that port out to our ship in order to get him (or her) onboard. This evening after several attempts to get him here, they gave up for safety reasons. That in and of itself aborted our port there. Right now even as I type this the ship is as settled as it has been the entire trip, so apparently we have not encountered that weather system yet. The captain said that he will be taking us south of Sicily, and whatever activities for the day tomorrow will be announced and distributed later tonight. So, I do not know whether we there is some other port that is accessible at this point, or we will just have another day at sea. The captain said that he will try to keep the ship sailing as smooth as possible as we go past this system. So...could be interesting. It's okay, we watch a great show tonight in the auditorium, The Eastcoast Boys who sang the songs of Frankie Valie and the Four Seasons. They were good enough that we went back for the second seating to hear their routine again. They were one of the best acts we have seen on the ship. Enough for now...I wanted to get this out tonight before getting into rough waters and possible not having internet connection.
Tim

Athens, Greece

I will admit that at the beginning of our day in Athens, we were very tired. We were looking forward to seeing Athens, however with this being the fifth day in a row of excursions, we were looking forward to the day at sea on Wednesday (actually today as I write this).  We began the day as usual with a quick breakfast. Going to the formal dining room was also an option, but we chose to sleep a bit later rather than take the time out for an “ordered” breakfast.

Once locating our bus at the dock, we began tour through a town called Pireaus. A very large shipping port in Greece, it was about a half hour drive to Athens and the Parthenon where our first stop was planned. The trip description warned that it was about 2-300 steps up to the Parthenon, and while it was a substantial walk, it did not seem quite that far. One of the interesting things we found at a number of the stops in Greece on both days was the number of dogs just hanging out at sites. They had the temperament of house dogs and were clearly unattended. We found out later that the city actually cares for them, including daily feeding and veterinarian care.  I did not understand it, but I did get a brief  “dog fix” since I could not pet my own.

Regarding the Parthenon, I am not even sure where to begin, so I may just post a number of pictures for you to see. Like the pyramids and Sphinx, you can read all you like about it from home. Being here and standing next to it is another story. To consider who was here and what went on here several thousand years ago is overwhelming. I hope each of you are able to travel here some day and see these magnificent cities and structures for yourself.

Building that the Apostle Paul preached in

As we left the Parthenon and toured part of Athens on the way back to the ship, we stopped at an amphitheater that was built in 1892. A British gentleman came to Athens and inspired them to build one for the Olympics. At the games held this year, only men were allowed to participate, and they had to be naked. Hence, the number of statues of naked men that are scattered around the area. Notice the Parthenon sitting atop the Acropolis in the background.

Rhodes, Greece

We began our day in Rhodes as all other days in a port began with grabbing some breakfast in the Windjammer, a large cafeteria where there are many buffet stations with varieties of food. Pastries and breads; scrambled eggs; pancakes, waffles and French toast; a station for eggs to order such as fried eggs or eggs Benedict; a station for fruit; another for juices and drinks. On a cruise there is no excuse for ever being hungry.

We gathered in the auditorium as we did each morning and waited for the staff to call our excursion number. As we heard our number called, we filed out like a herd of cattle as we made our way from deck five down to deck two where our pass cards were punched, showing we were leaving the ship. From there we located the bus for our tour and found seats. Our guide in Rhodes was named Olga. It happens that it was only in Egypt that we had a security officer on each bus. They were always very nice, and as I understood it, always armed. One passenger told us that they got a glimpse of the guard’s gun. When they asked about it, he showed them that it was a very small machine gun in a holster under his suit.

We passed the medieval city of Rhodes as we made our way to the village of Kamiros. Dating back to about 200 BC, it was amazing how much of the structures were still intact; homes that were all interconnected; baths; meeting areas; cisterns for water; even the temple to worship Apollo including platforms for their offerings. As I recall, this was one of the places that the Apostle Paul visited during his journeys.

Leaving Kamiros we drove through the countryside, noting many fruit and olive trees. Our next stop was at the medieval city of Rhodes. Having withstood the attack of the Romans for three years before they gave up and went home, the structure was amazing. Three series of substantial walls, three separate moats in front of each entrance, and that was before actually getting to the city in the center of the structure. Within one picture below can be seen cannons protruding from an outer wall. These cannons were actually placed there for the production of the movie, The Guns of Navarone, and not part of the original structure.

After following our guide through a significant portion of the city while she explained more about the city than I could remember, we had some free time to look around and shop at any of the substantial number of shops that lined the streets. While we were given the option of walking back to the ship after our free time, about a 20 minute walk, we chose to meet and take the bus. We had gotten enough exercise today.

Sunday - a short day in Limossol, Cyprus

The day in Cyprus began with a steady rain. While it would have been easy to be less than thrilled, our tour guide for our excursion explained to us that Cyprus had been experiencing drought conditions for several years. Therefore they considered it a blessing. It was hard to argue with that. It also was a little chilly (for here) but the tour and the day were very nice, even with the rain.

Our first stop was at the village of Omodos, originally a Greek Orthodox monastery. Within the village, the streets were quite narrow, paved with natural cobble stones that had been there for centuries. It was described as a walking village because the “streets” were so narrow that even the “smart cars” that were everywhere would have been far too wide. It continued to rain during our tour. As there were no drainage systems, other than the streets, the water flowing freely all along the way. Our first pause was at a bakery, with a wonderful smell you can just imagine.

We stopped next at one of the local wine press that the entire community used. A basket was hung on the wall, typical of the ones used as villagers brought in their grapes to be pressed. The wine press consisted of a very large wooden “screw” and attached mechanism that when turned, pressed the grapes and deposited the juice in very large clay jars. Of course we had an opportunity to taste a couple of the local wines. Yes I did, and it definitely took the chill off from being in the rain.

Our next stop was at the village Greek Orthodox Church. Though it was noon, there was a service still going on in the church. The guide said it was a special day for one of the saints. She also said worshippers were not bothered by tours as it happens all the time. I was quite uncomfortable with our presence in the back of the sanctuary, even as quiet as we tried to be.

 

 Following this stop we walked down one very narrow street where some of the local villagers had shops in which they sold many things, including a number of crafts they made themselves. We actually purchased very intricate doilies from two different ladies. One owner told us that the younger people are not interested in learning the crafts and that when this generation is gone, so will the knowledge to make such things.

The Sanctuary of Kourion was our next stop, the oldest structures reaching back to 325BC. The most recent being with the Late Roman Period as recent as 7^th century AD.  Interesting, the oldest pottery fragments found within the

community dated back to about 2000BC. Within the village we toured the remnants of one home, with a surviving mosaics that was quite beautiful; temples, (one being the Temple of Athena); a Roman bath within the home, complete with clay pipes to provide the water; and even the village amphitheater that overlooked the Aegean Sea.  Staged in many old Roman movies, the open theater hosted regular combat with both human and animal combatants. 

From here we headed back to the ship. All along the way back, the principle industry was evident everywhere, that being hundreds of thousands of citrus trees: orange, grapefruit, lemons, Mandarin oranges and Clementine.

 

 

 

Saturday – the 2nd day in Egypt – Alexandria

 To say that the last few days have been hectic would be an understatement. It is actually Monday as I jot a few notes – with the help of Jan, I am trying to remember all that we have seen. I am going to post more pictures for Saturday than comment. The reason for this is both time, and to some degree memory. Suffice it to say that Alexandria is a beautiful city. Like most cities it has areas that are quite elegant, while others are amazingly poor. One such area of poverty was evident around the catacombs, one of our stops. I have no pictures of our walk down into the catacombs, because we were required to leave the cameras in the bus. It was interesting that these catacombs were entirely pagan – no religious influence at all. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I may try to comment more later as time permits.

As I sit here waiting for the ship internet to come back up, one of the interesting things about the catacombs was that there were also spaces for horses. When someone’s horse was exceptional, they also were lowered through a hole down into the catacombs, where a specific section was designated for horses. (It never did come back up this morning before we went into Rhodes, Greece – so here is what I wrote this morning.  It is Monday afternoon here – we’ll be in Athens tomorrow and will catch up on Wednesday – a day of just cruising.