One of the hazards of shipboard life is doing laundry. On the ocean cruise the laundry is free you just need to throw your clothes in the washer and press the start button. Since this is a Viking cruise everything is in English. Simple enough but the washer dryer had no warning that 6 days on the ship and using them will cause shrinkage. Surely this is why my jeans are tight. I am not sure if I want to take a chance and wash again before we leave the ship. Who knows what will shrink.
As you can see all of our days have been busy. I actually would love a sea day to sleep in past 5:30 am. We have done well and stayed out of the gift shop and the jewelry shop on board. If we stayed out of the dining room and away from the wine our weight when returning home will be better. Good thing the airlines haven’t started weighing passengers.
Okay some of the things we have learned on this trip. Dan learned room service and before dinner appetizers can be a great edition to the in room wine in the mini bar. We haven’t even had to open the bottle we bought in Venice. Ellen has now mastered opening a wine bottle using one of the folding corkscrews. More learned facts including all of the Adriatic coastal cities were built on slopes and there are constantly lots and lots of steps. Santorini is probably the most beautiful and photographed area especially in Oia. I have amazing respect for bus drivers in several of the port towns.
We will be heading to Delphi today and along the way looking at signage I am starting to worry since it is truly all Greek to me. It should make for interesting reading over the next several days as we are on our own
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Let the games begin
Today we landed at Katakolon Greece. This is the closest port for cruise ship visitors to visit the site of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. The site was actually a religious site where men came to compete every 4 years. Representatives from all of the surrounding city states would participate. At the most popular time there could be as many as 40,000 would compete. If the warrior was the victor he was considered to be a god by his peers and countrymen. And would be on platforms next to the Temple of Zeus.
The site is actually in ruins (is this a surprise)as it was covered by other buildings and materials until it was rediscovered. There is much written word so the archeologists have been able to describe and piece together the site. Ruins that have been spared after the Roman’s and Turks raided the site have been preserved in a nearby museum. It is really amazing to look at artifacts that are 3000 years old.
They have recreated the cornerstone column at the temple of Zeus to give the visitor an idea of the proportions in the Temple. The original statute has been destroyed in Constantinople when the Turks invaded. It was made of ivory and gold and stood 40 feet high.
Today is a short day for us. We are scheduled to be back on the ship by 12:30. There is only a small town to explore. We are going to actually have lunch at the poolside grill. This is the first and only lunch we are having on the ship since the other days we are on tours. There is the usual hotdogs and hamburgers and a Mexican specialty including a hot pico de gullio The food was great and the salsa extra hot. Seems a surprise on a cruise from Venice to Greece.
The weather so far has been perfect. Lots of sun and clear skies. Not quite warm enough for shorts or going in the pool. It is also an early night for us since we are exhausted. Good news is I am not too far behind on the blog
The site is actually in ruins (is this a surprise)as it was covered by other buildings and materials until it was rediscovered. There is much written word so the archeologists have been able to describe and piece together the site. Ruins that have been spared after the Roman’s and Turks raided the site have been preserved in a nearby museum. It is really amazing to look at artifacts that are 3000 years old.
They have recreated the cornerstone column at the temple of Zeus to give the visitor an idea of the proportions in the Temple. The original statute has been destroyed in Constantinople when the Turks invaded. It was made of ivory and gold and stood 40 feet high.
Today is a short day for us. We are scheduled to be back on the ship by 12:30. There is only a small town to explore. We are going to actually have lunch at the poolside grill. This is the first and only lunch we are having on the ship since the other days we are on tours. There is the usual hotdogs and hamburgers and a Mexican specialty including a hot pico de gullio The food was great and the salsa extra hot. Seems a surprise on a cruise from Venice to Greece.
The weather so far has been perfect. Lots of sun and clear skies. Not quite warm enough for shorts or going in the pool. It is also an early night for us since we are exhausted. Good news is I am not too far behind on the blog
Early becomes earlier
As we are traveling to Greece we get a double whammy. Not only do we lose an hour traveling but get bombarded by daylight savings time. So that makes us lose 2 hours and still be ready to leave the ship at 9: o’clock. But I guess that is sleeping in compared with 8:10am tours
Again we will be gone all day. First up to the monastery. There are now only 5 monks living there the oldest is 85 and still doing mass for some of the Greek citizens. Great views of the beautiful coastline with the blue green waters. Then high up to the hills for a look at the oldest settlement in Greece, Paleopolis. The narrow streets almost scrape the sides of the bus. Great view point of the sandy beaches and rock outcroppings
Lunch was a typical lunch with way too much food including great Moussacka The tour completed, and then there was time to do a walking tour in the city. The city architecture reflexs the Venetian influences, then the buildings were changed by the French when they occupied the city and balconies were added and the height of buildings increased.
The weather continues to be good, low to mid 60’s and sunny. If you are in the shade it can feel very cool to cold. I usually start with 2 shirts and my sweatshirt. By mid afternoon my sweatshirt and second layers are gone.
We have not been going out at night since we are just exhausted. I think we are getting “old”. We have even missed some of the evening shows and Dan is in tucked in for the night by 9pm (well 10pm actually) by the time everything is done. Tonight’s fun event was laundry since we have been gone 9 days already and will have another 11 to go
Again we will be gone all day. First up to the monastery. There are now only 5 monks living there the oldest is 85 and still doing mass for some of the Greek citizens. Great views of the beautiful coastline with the blue green waters. Then high up to the hills for a look at the oldest settlement in Greece, Paleopolis. The narrow streets almost scrape the sides of the bus. Great view point of the sandy beaches and rock outcroppings
Lunch was a typical lunch with way too much food including great Moussacka The tour completed, and then there was time to do a walking tour in the city. The city architecture reflexs the Venetian influences, then the buildings were changed by the French when they occupied the city and balconies were added and the height of buildings increased.
The weather continues to be good, low to mid 60’s and sunny. If you are in the shade it can feel very cool to cold. I usually start with 2 shirts and my sweatshirt. By mid afternoon my sweatshirt and second layers are gone.
We have not been going out at night since we are just exhausted. I think we are getting “old”. We have even missed some of the evening shows and Dan is in tucked in for the night by 9pm (well 10pm actually) by the time everything is done. Tonight’s fun event was laundry since we have been gone 9 days already and will have another 11 to go
Monday, April 1, 2019
Montenegro
Well we have just added another country to the ones we have visited. Montenegro has the most amazingly coastline. It is rocky and like most of the area comprised of Limestone. The port we dock at is at the end of a 17 mile inlet. It has tall cliffs on either side so you feel you are traveling in a canyon. It is considered Europe’s southern most fjord. In town there is a Venetian built wall in 1420.
Our tour today brought us up to the highest hill in the port area and then down the other side of the mountains to the museum of Nicholas II of Montenegro a stop at a local restaurant where Dan is drinking homemade Grappa at 10 am. Lots of school children touring the site
After lunch a drive back to town/port. Dan is liking these drives more and more since it is a “power nap” time. Back to the old town and a view of the monestary. Cats are abundant in town and unperturbed by all the tourists. Yes the cats keep the area rodent free. A walk back to the ship. As far as the Balkan countries we seem to like it the best. Like many of the other cities along the coast there is a town wall and fortress although the port is secluded due to the natural fjord.
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Various Photos from Peloponnese
The theater at Epidavros Beach town at Kardamyli 5 Euro lunch View from the drive View from Fortress Driving...
