Santorini

dawn

Our captain has been early getting to and leaving every single port, so, hearing a change in the steady noises of the engine, I got up to find that we were inside the caldera at Santorini, almost ready to stop.  This was a tender port, so we were anchored about 1000 yards away from the old port.

tender leaving as we head in

Fira, above the old port

cable car system

Santorini is a volcanic island.  A big eruption caused much of the island to sink.  And what is left, has people living at the top of large cliffs facing the caldera, or at sea level on the backside of the island.  Long, winding roads go to and from the pier areas, and for the old port the tourists rely on a cable car system.

Knowing Scott hates heights, I booked a “beat the cable car” tour that transferred everyone over from the old port to the new on a large water taxi.  There we boarded our mini buses and headed out to explore.  The new port has the same switchback road system, but it’s a little wider and well maintained, since all the goods and services have to use it to get anywhere on the island.

new port from above - see the switchbacks

We first went up to Fira (on the hill directly over the old port. 

blue domed church

Oia marina from overlook

Our second city was Oia (that’s said eya – in Greek oi = e).  Oia is the ultimate tourist destination.  

bell tower atop Oia

trail along montain top

the crowds going to prime selfie spots

stairs down to city square

Most single family homes have been converted to air b n bs apartments or hotels.  Even the once famous windmills of Santorini are now vacation rentals.

famous Santorini windmills

Many of the churches have blue domes.  There are roughly 1500 churches for a population of around 20,000. Our guide said most are privately owned because there are some tax advantages.  The local government requires homeowners to pay for getting electricity to their house, but if you builf a church first, the government pays for getting telephone, electricity and water to the church. 

From Fira-Oia road looking down to sea level

We finished up our tour with a visit to a typical Santorini village and then on to the beach for a little rest and relaxation. 

restaurant right on black sand beach

restaurant mascot donkey

Donkeys do alot of things in Santorini.  They haul food and material from the ports up the hills to the towns above.  (Of course they were offering donkey rides to all the cruise passengers.)  During the wine harvest, donkeys with big baskets are used to haul grapes.

headed back to ship

That's all for now.

We dock in Athens tomorrow.

 

Mykonos, Greece

About an hour before we were due to arrive, the captain announced that we would not be stopping in Mykonos.  Overnight we had picked up some wind, and the seas were getting a little rough, so all the cruise lines made the decision not to call here today.

Maybe Mykanos?  We were this close when they called it off.

Sea state mid-day:  35 knots relative wind across the deck

Katakolon, Greece

Katakolon, Greece is a port town on the western Peloponnesian peninsula – a town of 473 residents nobody has heard of, except for the cruise companies.  It is the place closest to Olympia, site of the ancient Olympic Games.   (I’m sure the cruise companies contributed to building the infrastructure… and our tour guide told us the city runs on a schedule of “what’s in port” during the high months of the summer.)

"Jesus" tree at entrance
(it dies, and is resurected each year)

Our tour took us to both the site of the games and the Archaeological Museum. The site is more than 4,000 years old, much of it excavated through around 20 feet of mud that buried it when the two surrounding rivers flooded. 

the gymnasium

temple columns

The site was controlled by the priests.  On right were the  training areas and a large hotel for the sponsors and officials from the city states.  

the hotel

On the left were the more sacred sites – the baths where the athletes purified themselves, then the temple of Zeus (one of the original Ancient Wonders of the World), a statue to Nike (Victory), and other smaller temples.  Young athletes were trained, then “selected” by the priests.

marble pedestal, statue of Victory (Nike)

All the athletes competed in the nude, so no women were allowed in the stadium – under penalty of death.  

Everyone entered the stadium through a tunnel (much like today’s stadium entrances. The entire distance was covered instead of this 6-ft portion.

the stone throne was for an Empress (the only woman ever allowed) - while the athletes were nude, she was fully-clothed

The stadium was an open, banked grassy area surrounding the field.  The field was measured by stepping off 100 “feet”.  Runners ran the race and only the winner was acknowledged – no gold, silver and bronze.  There was one race that went back and forth 24 times – and one version of that race where full armor was worn. 

the starting blocks

loser row

Outside the entrance to the stadium a series of statues listed the men who had committed some offence and were banned from the games.  The name of the athlete and the city state where he was from were both listed. 

As other conquerors came in, some of the architecture changed.  Alexander the Great was responsible for adding a curved temple to the site.

Museum

From here we headed up the hill to the museum.  Its primary focus was on artifacts found on the site, but it also included what happened to other items.  For instance, Christian emperors banned all the pagan elements at the site, so the 40-foot high statue of Zeus was transported to Constantinople and was burned and destroyed.

Nike 

They have found a way here to show artifacts in approximate position.  As you can see in these pictures, the statue is not complete, but they position it so you can see it as it was. The outer galleries surround one room that is so large that the two friezes that were at each end of a Roman temple are displayed on the side walls.

Hermes, messenger of the Gods

It is interesting to note, that the Greek statues of men were nude.  The female statue of Nike was one of the first ones to depict the female form correctly.  

The Roman statues were fully clothed, with all their armor and evidence of their rank and privilege.

On the way back we got a better look at the farm country between Olympia and Katakolon.  

olive trees everywhere

This year the heat in May “fried” watermelons in the field.  The farmers applied to the EEU for disaster assistance, leaving the melons in the field where other farmers bring their sheep and goats to feed.  This whole area provides produce for Athens, three hours north.

watermelon disaster

 

Corfu, Greece

Corfu (Kerkyra in Greek) is an island near the west coast of Greece.  It was part of the Venetian Empire, and then under the British and the French influence.  The first Greek University was founded here, the first Philharmonic Orchestra and the first School of Fine Arts.  Its architecture blends many traditions.

It is a city of open air and tight spaces at the same time. We took the Hop-on Hop-off bus.  If we went down a street with cars parked on both sides, the bus driver had to be so careful to avoid hitting anything.  They’re so used to doing it, they answer their cell phone while steering carefully around a car. If you park in Corfu, always remember to fold in your mirror. 

bits of green everywhere - a sense they live outdoors

FOLD...YOUR... MIRROR!!!!

Along the waterline are restaurants, marinas, beaches and places to stroll.

with the old fortress in the background

water all directions

boats everywhere

It has two fortresses, one near the new port and this one on the eastern approaches to the city.

historic Greek orthodox church

The St. Michael & George Palace, built during the British occupation, now serves as an Asian Art Museum.  A Japanese show was the current offering.

the new fort

new fort

crowded pier

We returned to the pier, feeling like we had been through a wringer because it was hot and crowded. 

Most days, we’ve had one ship in port with us, but this was a day with 4 additional (2 NCL, Mein Schiff 4, MSC Armonia, and the three-masted Sea Cloud 2) – almost 9900 passengers.

Sea Cloud II

Just to get a perspective, the arrow shows where our cabin is on the stern of our ship.

Kotor departure

Since we made the approach to Kotor in the dark, as we sailed out at 5 pm we got to see what was along the fjord.  

the view as we left

One of the big attractions in the bay is the church of Our Lady of the Rocks.  Speedboats take people for a 25 minute ride out to the island to tour the church.

Since it was the height of the season, all sorts of traffic was out on the bay.

ferries and Mein Shippe 4 thread their way among the pleasure boats

this guy comes charging at us, pulls up just short of our wake
a few minutes later he got pulled over by maritime patrol boats

Along one side was what I think is a fish farming operation.

these guys are pretty good at making roads up these sheer mountains

We finally sailed out of the bay and into open water of the Adriatic.

After a VIP reception with the Captain and ships officers, we went down to the Summer Palace for dinner.  (This place tries to pretend it's the Romanoff Palace in St Petersburg - complete with faberge eggs as newel posts on the stairs and railings.)

This was the view when we sat down.

We were treated to a great sunset, but no green flash.