Day - 27 - Aegean Sea

A day at sea and it was a beautiful day. The Captain turned west from Kusadasi and took the ship to the shores of Greece where we saw a very impressive mountain called Athos. We passed many huge monastaries along the shore - evidently there are about 80 on the peninsula. Then we headed west towards the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus on our way to Istanbul. Today we earned our keep. Between 8:00am and 6:30 pm we downloaded thousands of pictures, the majority of which were not works of art and burned well over 100 CD'S and answered endless questions.....how do I send an email, what is my logon name, what is the internet,why is this so slow, do I have to read my email and if I do not want it, do I have to pay, how do I get to my travel agent, how do I change my seat on the plane home, what time is it in Chicago, what do you mean the shops close for Ramadan, where is the closest bathroom, can you turn the heat down in the card room , who am I , where am I??? By the time we had finished I would have clicked on anything. The good part is that I now know how to do this stuff and can quite flippantly say click here and here and here...magic!

Day - 26 - Kusadasi

We decided to explore Kusadasi in the morning and as most of the passengers had gone to Ephesus, we had it mostly to ourselves. The shop docked right in town and the first stop off the ship is the bazaar...there is no escape... and we didn't leave for about three hours. You can buy carpets , jewellery, pottery , pashminas and all manner of things you do not need. The quality of the carpets and jewellery is impressive and we were sorely tempted. Kenny wanted a set of worry beads and he spent about an hour in one store choosing the beads and getting just the right combination of lapis and silver. What he has now is very personal and he bonded with the jeweller! I meanwhile sat and had cups of Turkish coffee with a shopkeeper who wanted to sell me rings dripping in diamonds.

In the afternoon we helped people with pictures and then we walked along the Corniche as the sun was setting. This is Ramadan and Moslems do not eat between sunrise and sunset. As we were walking in the narrow alleys which are full of shops the mussein called from the mosque and this ended the day's fast . It was amazing to watch how quickly people appeared with plates of food. We enjoyed this easy day.

Day - 25 - Rhodes/Lindos

The weather changed overnight and we wakened to blue skies, sunshine and the island of Rhodos.We had signed up for a ship's tour of Ancient Lindos which is situated on the eastern side of the island. The drive throught the barren countryside was interesting . It is all sandstone and limestone and clay and olive groves, which seem to be the only thing besides hibiscus which will grow here. Our guide told us that according to legend the island rose from the sea many moons ago, accounting for the type of rock found here. Lindos is a small village which has an ancient Acropolos high on a cliff overlooking the town. Acropolis means people living on the edge of something and fortifications are always on the outskirts of a community...we learn something new every day! This acropolis was a temple to Athena which was modified by the Knights Templar who eventually became the Knights of St. John and moved their headquarters to Malta ...sometime in the 12th. Century . Restoraton is currently taking place but, regardless, what is there is impressive. Apparently St. Paul landed there and hid from the Romans in the protected harbour. On the way back we visited a pottery works and were very impressed by the exquisite pottery made by a local family. This is a dying art and the expectation is that it will not survive another generation. Back in Rhodos we decided to just go for a short walk into the town, which is again a walled city with tiny narrow alleyways . Just inside the first gate was a leather shop and a very nice man standing outside who said "Welcome to Rhodos and where are you from"?. Next thing I have a coat on my back and lo and behold it had my name on it. How could I resist! Kenny was really lucky and got a Rhodos hat for only 4 euros. I am NOT getting off the boat again!. We really do like this place and of all the Greek Islands, this is the one we would choose to come back to.

Day - 24 - Delos/Mykanos

It was raining as we arrived in Delos and the wind was howling. We decided to give it a by and in the afternoon when we got to Mykenos ...just up the road (across the pond) ...the weather had improved and we went exploring. Mykenos is a lovely place with these wonderful old windmills which have canvas sails. It is also a rather touristy expensive place. We walked all through the narrow alleyways and climbed to the windmill at the top of the town and then towards sunset we decided to throw caution to the winds and to hell with the expense, and sit at a bar and watch the sun disappearing. A liter of wine later and with out tongues loosened --we are chatting to people in the surrounding tables mainly about enjoying the moment, being a rock for a million years and this is not a rehersal sort of stuff .... and when we got the bill were pleasantly surprised to find it was only 4 euros. We will go back there again.........a very nice day.

Day - 23 - Santorini

We came - it rained and stormed - we left.
Who wants to ride on wet donkeys.
Picture is of dry donkeys from our last visit.

Day - 22 - Piraeus

Day 21 was a sea day from Sorrento to Athens - hectic.

Day 22. What can we say - another day in Piraeus - the port of Athens. Cold, windy - so we go for a long walk through the town, take a picture of the little boat, buy two candy bars and so back to the ship. The exciting life at sea.

Day - 20 - Sorrento

Day 19 was a wash out and we could barely see Taorimina let alone Mount Etna and as the sea was too rough to tender into Sicily we proceeded on our way to Sorrento.

Day 20 we arrived in Sorrento and the weather had greatly improved. There we met our friends the Ulmis from Comox, who are on our sister ship, the Regatta, which was also anchored in the Bay of Naples. With them was Craig and his wife Delores. Craig is a wonderful entertainer whom we had met last year . We all, along with friends of Ron and Sandi from Vancouver, who are currently travelling in Europe, had a two hour coffee in a restaurant in Sorrento's main square. The group then headed to a restaurant in a little harbour just outside Sorrento, that we frequented last year, for a three hour luncheon. It is situated overlooking the ocean and serves the greatest seafood and pasta dishes. We had wine, great food and conversation and a truly wonderful time with lots of laughs. This was definitely the best day of the trip so far. We parted sadly on the quay on our way to our separate ships. Ron and Sandi heading for Corfu and us to Athens.

Day - 18 - Kotor

On our second visit to Kotor, Montenegro, we enjoyed it as much as on our first visit. We were only there for the morning so we headed into the town which is a wonderful old walled city and did the tourist thing which involved buying the must have t-shirt. This was entitled "The Ten Montenegrian Comendments!!!!" on how to avoid work.One of the ten is -- "Work brings illness, don't died young" Another "Love you bed as you love youself" These are not my typos but are proudly displayed on the front of my favourite t shirt and it just reinforced my love of this place. I like their sense of humour.
We sat at a little cafe and had the cheapest coffee we have found so far on this trip and then returned to the ship where we taught for the rest of the afternoon

Day - 17 - Dubrovnik

Day 17 started out as a normal shore day on the good ship Nautica. We were planning to spend a relaxing day exploring Dubrovnik - that was up until we noticed that the internet was down - no signal from the satellite - tantamount to a disaster. Kenny has to phone Tennessee because something needs to be switched somewhere in the bowels of the ship but you can’t do it without 1:permission from Head Office which 2: requires a phone call to the radio officer who says yes you can use the phone on the Bridge to call Head Office but tells you to get permission from 3: the General Manager to use the satellite phone and then 4: phone the bridge and ask permission to go onto the Bridge and use the phone and then 5: knock on the door and ask permission to enter and 5: then ask to speak to the guy you spoke to in the first place who 6: has gone for lunch and you just talked to him 30 secs ago to arrange to see him on the Bridge and then you start over again and then it is 4:00am in the morning in Tennessee and when you phone them there they are asleep and not too happy to talk to you and tell you to phone back and you are now back to Step #1 and as may have noticed I decided to leave the numbers out because there are so many steps just to be able to pull a switch that it is now 3 hours later and we still have no internet and soon the passengers will be returning to the ship and will get even madder than yesterday when they found out for the first time that it is 95 cents a minute and so hopefully you can escape as soon as possible and have a well deserved drink or two .

It all adds up to life on board

Day - 14-16 - Venice

Three days in Venice in glorious weather on the good ship Nautica docked next to the Grand Canal. What else could one ask for? Nothing that you read prepares you for the sight of Venice as you approach from the Adriatic. We sailed in slowly past the island of Venice and the city unfolded before us. There was the Grand Canal, the Doge's Palace , St. Mark's Square and the wonderful waterfront buildings in shades of ochre and red. What a city! This was the end of one cruise and the beginning of another and in between sorting out cruise stuff we managed to tour the Doge's Palace on the first day . It is quite extroadinary , filled with frescoes and painting by Tintoretto and other notable Italian Reniassance artists. Many of the paintings and treasures from the Palace are in the Louvre and according to our guide the Italians have asked for them to be returned. The French however, say that they might get damaged in transit. This does not sit too well with the Italians who wonder how Napoleaon managed to get them all back to Paris undamaged! On day two we just wandered around the streets , got lost a few times.... but you always find your way to water. There is no way off!
Today we got up early and headed for St Marks. We wanted to visit the Church and it was well worth the early start. It is magnificant. The walls and ceiling are covered in glass mosaics and as the light filtered throught the windows different section lit up . Underfoot are the most exquisite marble mosaics, many in geometric patterns . It was difficult to decide whether to look up or down . We went up to the Gallery and out onto the balcony .This overlooks the square and resting there are copies of four magnificent bronze horses . We were quite overwhelmed. Inside are the original horses which have been carbon dated to the second century and probably came for Constantinople.
We spent the next few hours wandering the streets again and looking at shops and at real estate prices . We could not even afford a closet in Venice let alone an apartment! A wonderful visit and we sailed away this afternoon to the sound of people from water taxis shouting caio. Magical

Day - 13 - Dubrovnik

When we got married we spent two weeks in a small town north of Dubrovnik and we fell in love with this part of the world. During the Bosnian War in 1991 Dubrovnik was shelled and many people died and building were severely damaged. Since then great efforts have been made to restore the old walled city to its full glory and now apart from some scaffolding and parts of roofs a brighter colour than the rest, and shrapnel and bullets holes in some of the walls , it is difficult to see the devastation of that terrible conflict. The city was thronged with people and we escaped into a church where the Sunday service was taking place. Three girls were singing what sounded like Croatian folksongs and it was beautiful. It is moments like this which give you goosebumps. We also visited a small seaside town south of Dubrovnik called Cavtat and loved the peace and quiet and wonderful ambience we found there. This is a place not to be missed.

Day - 12 - Montenegro-Kotor

Montenegro--black mountains. We had no idea what to expect. We entered a fjord and in beautiful weather and calm seas we sailed through a narrow pass. This opened up into a channel which had houses all along the edge and huge towering black mountains rising straight from the ocean. This is a spectacular place. The ship went up an inlet where there was a church on a small island . In the light it appeared to be floating in the water, As we passed the ship's horn sounded and the bell in the church started to peel. It was magical . As we progressed further into the fjord people came out to wave and in each small community that we passed we heard the church bells welcoming us to the area. We could not take pictures quick enough and I had decided days ago to limit myself to 15 per day.... an impossible feat today. We arrived in Kotor which is at the head of the fjord and saw that it was surrounded by amazing fortifications . It is a walled city and the ramparts go up into the mountains and surround the town., We climbed hundreds of steps and when we got to the top we had the spectacular view that you see in this picture, This is a beautiful, beautiful place . I know I said that Santorini was first on my list.......Sorry ... this has surpassed anything I have seen so far.

Day - 11 - Sicily/Naxos

The ship docked in Naxos and it was a very pleasant surprise. The bay is very wide and has great beaches . In front of each hotel umbrellas , all of the same colour , row upon row like soldiers were lined up, although at this time of the year they were empty. In the height of summer it must be wall to wall sunbathers. We walked from one end of the bay to the other and then returned by the back streets, picking up a gelato on the way. We really liked this place and next week when we return, we plan to rent a scooter and explore further.

Day - 10 - Amalfi/Ravello

Day nine was a sea day on route to Amalfi.
On arrival in Amalfi it was mizzling (one of those many Irish words used to describe precipitation which makes you wet, but you can't see it) We had been to Amalfi before so this time decided to go to Ravello, which is a small town high in the mountains above Amalfi. The bus ride was hazardous ---a very narrow road , a big bus , traffic lights which did not work in either direction, and Italian drivers all added up to a trip to be remembered. When we got to Ravello the rain had changed to bucketing so the kiosks in town made a killing on the sale of umbrellas. We did visit a very beautiful villa which had magnificant gardens and a view of the bay far below. We had a coffee and tried to keep dry. Upon our return to Amalfi ....even worse traffic in the way down------an Italian standoff to beat all...we wandered into a church and a wedding was taking place. The bride was in white , one bridesmaidwas in black, one was in fushia and the flower girls were in yellow!The guests were equally exotically dressed and there was more gold , pure white open neck shirts, hairy chests, shoes with toes at least 6 inches long and glitter to light up a Christmas tree. It was fun to watch and we stayed for the whole service.

Day - 9 - Piraeus/Athens

Did the laundry - What else would you do in Athens?

Day - 8 - Santorini

I got up early, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed for the top deck because I had heard that the first sight of Santorini is unforgettable ....and it was. The ship entered what seemed to be a large lake and is in fact the centre of a volcano which exploded in the Minoan Period and the wave it set up was responsible for wiping out the Minoan civilization centered in Crete, many miles away. In a circle around me were these very high cliffs and on top was what looked like snow. Surely not at this time of year and in Greece? As we got closer I saw that it was houses clusterd along the top of the cliffs and falling down the side. It was unbelievable. When we went ashore we had the choice of a donkey ride to the top of the cliff and the town -----donkeys in my experience are not to be trusted---- walk up the same path as the donkey, trying all the time to avoid mounds of donkey poo, or take a cable car. We opted for the cable car and then spent a few hours drinking in the views from this magnificent place. We wandered along tiny narrow street and up and down alleys, all of which are painted white. The houses are white also and have blue shutters and doors and masses of pots filled with hibiscus and geranium and all sorts of exotic cacti in lovely pots. The place sparkles and each vista opens up some new view which leads me to believe that this is the most spectacular place we have ever visited. It is the most amazing example of a caldera and it actually gave me a strange feeling to be in the centre of what must have been the explosion to end all explosions. We had Greek coffee in a small restaurant hanging over the cliff and decided that we would love to come and spend some time on this island.

Day - 7b - Mykonos

Two hours after Delos we arrived in Mykenos. On one of our previous trips we had met Pamela, who is a brilliant piano player and singer. We have kept in touch with her and at the moment she is working in Mykenos in a piano bar. We were so excited to see her and she showed us around, especailly where she works and the area where she lives. She took us to a restaurant off the beaten track, sitting right on the water's edge, and we indulged in some wonderful Greek food. We were so happy to see her again and when we parted we set off to explore the rest of the town which is very cute, very touristy and very expensive.

Day - 7a - Delos

We anchored off Delos and on looking out saw another pile of rocks! Having seen enough of ruins to last a lifetime we decided not to go ashore but then changed our mind as we really needed some fresh air. What a surprise this island turned out to be. It is uninhabited and no-one is allowed to stay overnight. They are currently excavating and we saw some amazing statues and mosaics and columns and bits and pieces of this ancient place just scattered about. We only had two hours but we plan to go ashore again when we return in a few weeks time.

Day - 6 - Rhodes

The Island of Rhodos is off the coast of Turkey, yet is Greek. We were happy to be back in the land of the Euro. The old city is walled and is perfectly preserved. Upon entering one of the gates, narrow alleyways head off in all directions, and as most of the shops are located within easy access to the cruise ship----we find that many passengers only want to walk from the ship to the shops and back!----we try to get away from this area as quickly as possible with this time, one exception. We found a carpet shop where a lady was weaving wonderful silk and wool carpets and as it is the end of the season they are selling them off at a great price. We were sorely tempted. Many of the crafts are of a very high quality and we loved the glass wall plaques which have metal pieces through the glass---again we were tempted . But, we stifled ourselves and instead went off in the narrow streets and tried to get lost. That is a favourite thing of ours to do and often leads to finding a little cafe where the locals eat. We found such a place and stopped for a Turkish coffee, for which we are developing quite a taste. We liked this island very much and hope to rent a scooter next time back (in a few weeks) and explore further afield.

Day - 5 - Kusadasi - Ephesus

After a day at sea we arrive in Kusadasi, a place for future exploration. We signed up for a tour to ancient Ephesus. Throughout all our travels we have see numerous monuments, historical sights, old churches, remains etc. but never have we seen anything as spectacular as Ephesus. We went on a ship's tour and so had a guide to give us informationon on the site. The city is 6 miles from the sea now but in the time of the Ephesians it was a busy port. In the past 100 years they have excavated only about one tenth of it. So far, it is magnificent. The theatre holds 24,000 people and has been restored enough that concerts with the likes of Pavorotti, Sting and Joan Baez, who did not need any amplification as the ecoustics are so incredible. It was here that St.Paul preached to the Ephesians in AD53. The library facade has been restored and many of the mosaics are still visible and in brilliant colour. A tunnel runs underground from the library to the brothel across the street. So , when a man said he was going to do a bit of research who could guess to what he was referring....nothing changes! We saw ancient Ephesian toilets where 40 men sat in a row,inches apart, and carried on their business and also conducted the commerce of the city, and where the marble seats were heated by slaves prior to the morning visit. Apparently women found a spot in the olive groves nearby! We spent a few hours there soaking up the ambience and wanted more.

Day - 2&3 Istanbul

Down to work with Erdie, our favourite HCS techie, busy day introducing guests to the system and getting them up to speed. It is a little like the first day back to school in September with us playing the teacher role and the guests doing a good impression as students with all their needs.
Day three we walk to the historical area of Istanbul from the ship across the bridge over the Golden Horn, the dock area of Istanbul. The Bosphorus is the busiest waterway we have ever seen - amazing that there are no collisions - cruise ships, freighters, ferrys, fishermen, tour boats etc. Determined that we would make this a quick check out and visit the main sites during our next stop here. Couldn't resist the Haghia Sophia established as a mosque in the 1400s and famous for its Byzantine mosaics. The architecture is so different from anything we have seen before - massive. We walked around Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque but decided to leave them until our next visit. Next the Grand Bazaar - huge covered area with long arched alleyways covering acres. If you can't find it here it is not in Turkey. Istanbul is a very comfortable city, at no time were we hassled or did we feel insecure.

Day -1 The Prequel

We arrive in Istanbul at 10:30pm and hail a taxi to take us straight to the Nautica. HCS has arranged for a cabin for us so that we can get on board the night before our cruise begins. The taxi literally hurtles through town at speeds up to 140kph. You hear about this type of terrorism but now we are living it. Get on board to discover that our cabin has been commandeered for storage for the ships complete compliment of dressing gowns. Dump them in the corridor and so to sleep.