Athens to Rome 31 May - 14 June 2004
Athens to Rome 31 May - 14 June 2004 (E-Mails)
May 31, 2004
Trip to Date
Now that we are on the ship and have a real computer and not e-mailing from Internet Cafes and Airport Lounges, let me briefly summarize our adventures to date. I’ll try not to be too repetitious for those that received our previous e-mails, from the Internet Cafes and Airport Lounges. We left home for the Orlando Airport at 9:00 am on Thursday 27 May. Twenty-five hours later we landed in Athens via Cincinnati, Boston and Paris. Miraculously our luggage arrived at the same time we did. The flight over First Class on Air France was great. We knew we picked the right airline when the first things they gave us when we got on board was a glass of Champagne in a real glass and a pair of pajamas with socks and slippers, so we could get comfortable. The dinner menu had multiple entrees, and they all came with a real knife and fork, unlike Delta stateside. After dinner, the seats were made into beds, and the next thing we knew we were at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. The airport is another story in itself, but let me say it was the most confusing place I have ever been in my life, complicated by the fact the terminal we were suppose to land at collapsed the week before, so we were parked on the ramp about a mile from the airport and bussed to one of about a zillion terminals on the airport. Luckily we had a three hour layover because it ended up giving us only about an hour to drink wine in the First Class lounge. A brilliant philosopher once said that with a great wine man can endure anything, wait I think that philosopher was me, because Holly slept the entire time we were in Paris, even when she was walking between terminals. Our flight left Paris right on time and Athens was a welcome sight three hours later.
Holly’s tourist instincts took over immediately, and she had us booked on three tours to be taken over the next three days, within twenty minutes after our arrival at the hotel. Our first nights dinner was in the roof top café of our hotel overlooking the Acropolis. What a view, Toto we knew we weren’t in Kansas. For breakfast we went down to the Plaka, the old section of Athens adjacent to the Acropolis, ate and did some shopping. In the afternoon we took the first of the three tours, a tour to Sounion and the temple of Poseidon, Greek god of the Sea. (Avery we light fingered an actual piece of the temple to bring home to you to bring you good luck the rest of your life.) Romans renamed Poseidon, Neptune, but the same god. By the time this is over I am sure I will have seen my share of old, very old, rocks. As part of the tour we got to see all of the 2004 Olympic venues and there is no way I believe that Athens will be ready when the Olympics start in August. All of the venues are still under construction, and moving around Athens is a nightmare. For dinner we decided to adventure out on our own and found a quaint Taverina down some back streets about five blocks from the Hotel. The menu was all in Greek and when Holly said she couldn’t read the menu, the proprietor shouted at her as only Greeks can: “It’s in Greek” and she said just as loud, “I know, that’s why I can’t read it.” This broke the ice. We did some pointing and ended up with a fabulous meal. After dinner, we went to a small Greek bakery and after a lot of pointing, because the proprietor’s English was comparable to our Greek, picked up some Baklava pastry. Then we went back to the restaurant and bought a bottle of wine from the proprietor, who had now become our friend. We went back to the hotel and sat in the roof top gardens and enjoyed dessert while admiring the view of the Acropolis, which they light up so beautifully at night. Businesses don’t open very early in Greece, but sure stay open late, dinner never starts before 9:00 pm, but seeing as our bodies don’t have a clue what time zone they are on, it doesn’t matter. We have really gotten into the seven hour time difference from home.
The next day we took the second tour that we booked, and it went to Delphi to meet some really old Oracles. Had a really great tour guide and saw the temples of Apollo, Athena, and the place the Oracles hung out. Also saw where the battle of Marathon was fought and where the ships gathered to invade Troy which was very interesting in light of the recently released movie. The second day of the cruise we will actually cruise by Troy.
We took the third and final tour today in Athens, which included the Acropolis, and the original Olympic Stadium which had the Olympic Flame burning. The flame will soon be extinguished and transferred to the new stadium. At 1:00 pm we were able to get on the ship and it is indescribable. This is the way cruising should be. We feel that we are on the Onassis family private Yacht, small and elegant.
More of the adventure to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 1, 2004
From Some Place in the Aegean Sea
Just returned from a Champagne Reception in the Captains Quarters where we met the Captain and part of his staff. A string duet was playing and the Champagne and food just kept coming. The Captain lives well, not a bad gig being Captain of a ship. Thursday we are invited to a private dinner with the Captain in his quarters, expecting a great menu. Hope to be steering the ship before this is over. Having a suite is really nice; especially since there are only 10 suites out of the 18 on the ship taken, our treatment has really been spectacular. We are in the Jacques Cartier Suite; does that mean we have acquired some special social status when our room has a name? After being run raged all over Athens, hitting ever tour available, it is refreshing to have our first day, a lay back relaxing day at sea. The quest to see everything in the world starts again tomorrow morning when we dock in Istanbul. I have my red white and blue shirt with “Born in the USA” on the front and “Jihad you’re Ass” on the back all laid out and ready to wear. Tonight is our first of four formal nights we will have on the cruise. They just delivered this evening’s menu to our room and the Rack of “Lamb Aromatic” sounds pretty good. I am sitting here writing this with our patio door open, listening to the sounds of the ocean. We have just passed Troy, couldn’t see the wooden Horse, and entered the Dardanelle Straits which separate Europe from Asia, and were given a lecture over the PA system on the straits significance during the Second World War. The view is awesome. Seas are flat, .3 feet hardly measurable, temperature is cool, 62 degrees, and Life is Good. Hope all is well at home.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 2, 2004
Istanbul
The first formal dinner last night was most interesting. We are seated at a large round table in the aft center of the dining room surrounded by windows, so we have a beautiful view. The first night there were only two other couples at our table, a very charming gentleman with a trophy wife and a German accent who made his fortune selling and exporting lumber in South Africa, and a couple from Houston in the personnel placement business. We wondered why there were three empty chairs at the table. We found out the second night that we were at the Chief Engineers table, and he was from Norway and traveling with his wife and his very charming 27 year old daughter. If you have a ships officer at your table you want one of four, either the Captain, Chief Engineer, Second Officer or Hotel Manager. Why? Because they buy the wine for the table! Claus, the lumber exporter immediately bonded with the Chief Engineer because the Chief Engineer used to be on a ship that hauled Claus’s lumber. Holly immediately bonded with the daughter and after quite a few bottles of wine I bonded with everyone. We had a fun dinner and were the last ones to leave the dining room. Hope he joins us again tonight. We awoke this morning tied to the dock in exotic Istanbul, where East meets West, and the location of the world’s only Intercontinental Bridges, the bridges across the Bosporus that connects Europe with Asia. If we live through the Jihad today, I will pick this up when we return from our full day’s tour. Holly is determined to see everything because she claims it is exhilarating.
We returned after nine hours from one of the most interesting tours of this trip to date. Learned from our very knowledgeable and articulate Moslem Guide that Jihad means battle against the evil within oneself and not against non believers, however Jihad has been used to motivate the uneducated to do evil things. We toured the Blue Mosque, saw numerous Mosaics dating back to 560 AD and toured The Sultans Palace during the Ottoman Empire 1453 – 1858. The normal Sultan had over 200 wives and 300 children, I have enough trouble dealing with one wife and two children, but he did live well. The jewel’s, solid gold thrones and treasures were amazing. We ate lunch at a hotel in town then went to the Grand Bazaar which is huge and intimidating. The merchants in the Straw Markets in the Bahamas don’t know what high pressure is, they could learn a lot from the merchants in the Grand Bazaar. We were lucky to get out alive, or at least with our wallets. Holly held on to me the whole time and kept saying, “Don’t lose me!” I gained so much knowledge today on our nine hour tour that my head feels like it is going to explode. Time to take a shower, I hear a Martini calling. Write more tomorrow after our tour in Nessebur, Bulgaria. Hope all is well at home.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June2, 2004 Update
Bummer,
The Chief Engineer and his family did not join us tonight for dinner so we had to buy our own wine. Understand they will only join us on formal nights, but we have great table mates and had a good time. I forgot to mention that the lunch we had in Istanbul was authentic Turkish food. I always bragged how great the rice was in Tehran when I was there and now Holly agrees the rice here is fabulous. I can’t say the same about the coffee, it is quite strong. After having coffee for lunch I probably won’t get to sleep until sometime next Saturday. We cleared Bosporus during dinner and are now in the Black Sea heading for Nessbur, Bulgaria. We will arrive at 8:00am tomorrow and will have to tender to shore. We have a four hour tour set up and depart for Odessa Ukraine at 2:00pm. Today the wireless internet came up in our room, so I no longer have to run down to deck 7 to send e-mails. We are on deck 11; I can now keep the computer on the desk in our room instead of having to carry it up and down the stairs. The Black Sea is really flat, the sky is clear and there is almost a full moon. What a view! We have our veranda door open so the sound of the ocean can lull us to sleep. Tomorrow night we have been invited to dinner with the Captain in his quarters, one more night I don’t have to pay for the wine.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 3 2004
Bulgaria
Just returned from a most interesting tour, and will try to throw together a quick e-mail while Holly is taking her shower before dinner. Bulgaria is a country stuck in time and that time is 1945 when it became a Soviet Block Country. Very little progress has been made since that time and now that they have broken away from the Soviet Union they are trying to join the 21st century. The people are extremely friendly, not pushy to sell things like Istanbul, and very pro American. During the cold war the area we visited was used as a resort area for the Russians and Eastern European countries, now they are trying to attract tourism from the West. The countryside and beaches are beautiful. The first part of the tour we visited five 12th and 13th century churches that are still in pretty good shape today. Our tour guide was quick to point out that the religion in the Bulgarian Constitution is Eastern Orthodox, religion was allowed under the Soviet Union, but not encouraged and members of the communist party would not be caught dead in a church. Actually if they were caught in a church they probably would soon be dead. Today they have a Parliamentary Government with an elected President. Nessebur was actually founded in the 6th century BC by the Greeks and remnants of that time still exist here today. Things that old just boggle my mind. After our tours, we visited a very modern Bulgarian Restaurant overlooking the Black Sea. It provided a beautiful view of the whole city including our ship. We had a traditional Bulgarian lunch of cheese, sausage and Bulgarian wine, (I seem to be always talking about wine, is there a trend here) and were treated to a Bulgarian folk show with singers and dancers. We really enjoyed the show. It would be interesting to come back to this area in about five years when tourism really takes hold, and I am sure it will because they have so much to offer. You can already see a lot of hotels being built. Right now it was so nice because they probably only get one cruise ship a month and not ten in every port like the Caribbean. I am sure this area will be spoiled after tourism takes over, but for now it was a real treat. Most tour guides expect a tip, when I tipped this one she was almost embarrassed and couldn’t thank me enough. It is starting to get interesting how this cruise all seems to be tied together. When we went to Delphi, we were told that the powerful political people of the time visited the Oracle for advice and were always given advice that was first off favorable to Greece, and second spoken in riddles that were open to interpretation, so the oracle could never be wrong. Sort of the way I talk. Yesterday we learned that Istanbul was founded by Byzas who went to the Oracle at Delphi and asked about building a new city. He was told by the Oracle to “build his city opposite the land of the blind.” When he traveled to Istanbul’s Seraglio Point and looked across he saw the Phoenician colony of Chalcedon. Byzas was astounded that the Phoenicians did not see the strategic importance of Seraglio point to control the Black Sea so he proclaimed Chalcedon the “city of the blind” and founded Istanbul. The Greeks later came through there to Bulgaria. This is getting too deep even for me so enough for now. Sabrina I got you a bottle of water from the Black Sea and expect a scientific analysis, I understand that the salt content is a lot less than the other Seas and Oceans. It sure looks clear in a bottle. We will have to be careful to not drink it. Hope all is well at home, we have been gone exactly one week today and it seems as if we just left.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
(Holly’s E-Mail to Sabrina – June 3, 2004)
Sabrina, you taught me to be quite the scientist and that made the Black Sea call to me. I just had to have a water sample. I don’t have the foggiest idea of what I am going to do with it, but I just had to have it. On the boat that tendered us back to the ship from Nessebur, Bulgaria, I told Tom about my need to have a sample and the crew thought that was a wonderful idea. One of the crew held Tom by the belt as he leaned forward over the side of the boat to collect his water sample in his empty drinking water bottle amid the numerous jelly fish swimming near the surface. Actually pretty funny and probably one of the dumber ideas I have had. Anyway I have my sample. The water in the bottle is so clear it fascinated the crew members that helped us collect it. I now have it labeled Black Sea, so I don’t accidentally drink it.
The Black Sea was called, The Inhospitable Sea, by the Greeks, who of course said that in Greek. They named it due to violent storms and lack of sea life. Their gods, however, kept telling them to start settlements along the Black Sea coast, which happen to be the ports of call we have been to, and the two ports the next two days, Odessa and Yalta, Ukraine, which later became part of the Soviet Union and is now an independent country. Later it became known as the Black Sea due to lack of sea life. The only sea life is very near the surface. Much less salty compared to the Mediterranean by about half. Before this trip, I knew that Bulgaria was somewhere on the map, but really couldn’t tell you where, and now I have been there.
Holly
June 4, 2004
Odessa, Ukraine
We awoke this morning as the ship was pulling into the port of Odessa. When we docked a military brass band was playing to greet us. I don’t know if they were greeting the ship or our money because the economy here is really hurting, but it doesn’t matter. It was still nice, and we thought we were in a Russian movie. Last night’s five course dinner with the Captain and his key staff was quite nice and of course he bought the wine. Today we toured Odessa and it is an amazing city.
(Holly’s thoughts on the city) – It was nothing like I expected. I guess I thought it was going to be like a Caribbean city, but I was sooo wrong. People who have been to Vienna and St. Petersburg in Russia said that it was very similar to that. A beautiful city on the surface until you looked closely. The first street we traveled was all brick and tree lined with flowers around all the statues. Of course when you learn, by asking, not an advertised fact, that there are 1.2 million people with an average salary of $100 a month, and no I did not forget any zeros, and it takes almost 80 percent of one’s salary to live, it gives a new perspective. That was only one thing that amazed me. The city is extremely cultural – makes Melbourne look as if we live in the Dark Ages. A young boy met the bus playing his violin, and he was no beginner. We tipped him in honor of Marcy. And of course the military band that met the ship, we tipped also. At lunch we were entertained by two opera singers and a piano player that would rival the three tenors. Then we went to the ballet, and it was everything I thought a Russian ballet would be. Champagne was served during the intermission. My mind is so boggled by the high level of class, yet the simple life all around. Our lunch was fabulous, a starter of a few veggies, with thin meats with veggies to fatten it up a bit, borsch that was delicious but a lot of spices to make water and few vegetables taste great. A very small piece of chicken in a wonderful breading with rice was the main meal - again simple. The lunch also included wine and vodka, very smooooth. No wonder when these people come to the US they never return. I know the hours it takes to sing, play musical instruments, and dance like these people and then to live in poverty. Since the end of the Russian domination, they are now at least allowed to own property. Oh, there was also a huge art school along side the music school. We went to an art gallery where the great masters of Russia, all from the Odessa Art School, were on display. Of course there was a school field trip there and except for the language, I was right back at home. I will ponder my thoughts of Odessa for years to come.
Oh as to the dog and cats – Our guide told us the city had 300,000 cats, but for some reason, unlike Athens, they all looked fed, healthy, and happy. The dogs of Bulgaria looked happy, but they were all mongrels. The dogs of Odessa were all pure breds and beautiful. With so few dollars to spare, I must admit I am surprised. Seas are flat, life is good. Hope all is well at Home,
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
PS: We have been having computer uplink/satellite problems on the ship.
June 5, 2004
Added thoughts about Odessa
This morning we arrived in Yalta, Ukraine with a military band playing as we docked. We are off to do another full day tour and after four ports in four days we are really looking forward to a relaxing full day at sea tomorrow. Some added thoughts about Odessa; we were taken to the War Memorial and told about Odessa’s role during WWII. Odessa had a large Jewish population and about 300,000 Jews were taken out of town by the Germans and told it was for their safety. They were put in wood houses that were lit on fire and died. This is a secret that has been hidden for years and just recently came out. During Hitler’s Blitzkrieg he expected to take Odessa in two days, they held off for three months. Our guide’s father was killed in the war and she got most of her information from her Mother. Out of every 100 male Ukrainians that went off to war only one returned, so they lost an entire generation of males. Out of 25 males in our guide’s mother’s class none returned from the war. Our guide was quite emotional at the memorial. They still remember WWII.
We learned from people on another tour that Ukraine is hurting because communists were given an annual free paid vacation and places like Odessa and Yalta is where the people went. Now that they are no longer Russia the people are suffering. The reason we had so many wonderful events to visit for only $100. Talk about the starving musician! We were welcomed so warmly because we were the first American ship to reach the harbor of Odessa since 9/11. Hundreds of people came to see us off.
We also learned that the people of Odessa have their water turned off every day between noon and 6:00 A.M. the next morning. No hot water is allowed between April and Sept.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 5, 2004
Yalta, Ukraine
Another day, another port and another tour. Today we toured two Russian Palaces and had a Ukrainian lunch of caviar with vodka and champagne, salad with vodka and champagne, main course with champagne and vodka and dessert topped off with some smooooth Russian Vodka and Champagne. We were entertained during lunch by singers, dancers, and a 25 piece orchestra. No wonder the Soviet Union collapsed; they were too busy drinking vodka to notice the world collapsing around them. The Russian Palaces were really fascinating; the first was owned by a Russian Count before the Russian Revolution and is the place that Winston Churchill stayed during the Yalta Conference where President Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin carved up the free world in February, 1945. The second palace, Livadia Palace, was the Summer Palace of Czar Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia. After the revolution, Nicholas was told that he and his wife, four daughters and a son were going to be taken to a safe place, but instead they were all shot. Livadia Palace is the place that Roosevelt stayed during the conference and where the three leaders met. This is the place in the historic photo of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. The table and chairs they sat at are still there with numerous pictures that were taken during this historic conference.
(Holly’s thoughts) – When we were visiting the Palace, there was a group of children there too. We asked what group it was and our guide told us it was the Children’s Center which houses up to 4,500 children. That’s right 4,500. We asked if they had parents and our guide said, “some do.” What stuck me is that so many of the children were terribly deformed and crippled in so many numerous ways. Others looked fine but we learned that they do not start school until age seven. Just think how much our children know by age seven? I also realize that living with 4,500 children, no one is going to give you very much special attention.
When I took my shower with hot water tonight, whenever I take a shower at night with hot water, I will think of the people behind the iron curtain with their water and electricity turned off from noon to 6:00 a.m. The really scary part for us is many of the people in these “free” countries want Communism back, at least they had water. Our guide today told us she was happy because she knew the water would be on tomorrow morning for a while.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 6, 2004
More on Ukraine,
(Holly’s thoughts) – Sorry these emails are not all personalized but sending emails is not always easy depending on the ship’s movement, so everyone has to hear our stuff in a general tone instead of a personal one. Hope you are not getting too sick of our thoughts and travels.
Hard toilet paper – I always told Marcy that if she didn’t go to school, she would have to use hard toilet paper. She would get mad and get out of the car and go to school. Well in the Ukraine, they not only have a shortage of water but of paper as well, so toilet paper is a real premium. Now we all know that public places, even in the U.S., do not use Charmin Ultra. To imagine the toilet paper in the Ukraine, think of the hardest brown paper towel you can think of and then multiply it by 100 and reduce its size by 75 percent and you have an idea. Now the really sad part of this is these are extremely well educated people. Our guide was a walking history book.
When visiting the Czar’s palace yesterday, we were supposed to take off our shoes, but they were so happy to see American tourists, with our money, that they allowed us to walk on the beautiful Turkish rugs with our shoes on, instead of having to put on slippers like all the other tourists. Also in the palace a person would turn on the light as we walked in and immediately, when the last person was out, she would turn the light off.
I know Czars were not the friendliest of people, but we saw the actual drawings made by his children while they were working with their art teacher, and their writings etc. We saw the drawings of their mother as she used pictures to help enhance her children’s studies. We also saw family photos of them swimming and doing the things we do, and then to think of them being murdered, sort of got me. The entire family was lined up and machine gunned to death.
Believe it or not, the ship does keep us somewhat informed as to the happenings in the world. We know that Reagan died and that Smarty Jones lost his bid for the Triple Crown. How sad. We know what day it is because they put a rug in the elevators each day that tell you the day of the week.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 6, 2004
Thoughts about the Ship
We are writing a lot today because it is a sea day and we have time to kick back and relax. We are trying to document as much as we can for ourselves to put in a book with photos after the cruise, because after seeing so much, it all starts running together. If a lot of this starts getting to be too boring just use the delete button. We are cruising through the Bosporus, Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles today with lovely viewing from any place on deck or from our verandah. Tomorrow morning we are off again on a full day’s tour of Ephesus. Tonight is another formal night so we will be having a ships officer at our table again, means he will buy the wine. After dinner there is a Black and White Officer’s Ball in the Queens Lounge, reminiscent of the glory days of cruising. After seven days and 1800 miles so far on the Prinsendam I have decided that I really like this ship; in fact I really, really like this ship. It is like being in Cheers, everybody knows your name. We are constantly running into the Captain and he always has a friendly greeting. It is also never crowded, we just returned from walking a mile around the promenade deck and probably only saw three people. There is always seating available in the bars and lounges and you just never feel crowded. It is like being on a private yacht. This is the smallest ship we have ever been on but it handles the seas much better than most of the larger ships built like floating hotels. Last night we had a lightening storm with rough seas and we slept right through it, never realizing that the seas had turned rough. I understand from the people that saw it that the lightening show was spectacular. Today the sea has calmed down again, we have really been fortunate with the weather, so far it has been perfect during the day. We have met a couple from Merritt Island, a couple from Palm Bay and just ran into a couple from Melbourne. Talk about a small world. Time for me to go take a shower and transform into my James Bond look, make that a dry Martini, shaken not stirred.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 7, 2004
Ephesus (Kusadasi, Turkey)
We were met today with four Turkish gun boats facing us in the harbor. Quite the blood starter! All day we have had a security boat that blew his siren and chased any boat that got too close.
Today we saw Ephesus. It was huge, population 250,000 plus 200,000 slaves that were never counted in Roman population. Ephesus remained a city for over one thousand years – makes the U.S. really look young. Its real prime was from 7 BC to 334 AD. The Romans took over in 129 BC. It was unbelievably modern. The Romans came in, cut the heads off each of the Greek statues and replaced them with Roman looking heads. That is why whenever you see a statue from ancient times there is always a crack in the neck – so whoever conquered who could easily replace the heads and keep the rest of the city as is. It was a huge sheltered sea port on the Aegean Sea, now the sea is over twenty miles away. The river called, The River Meander, meandered the city’s decline. Over the years, it kept dumping a delta of silt in front of the city until it was no longer on the Sea and this became the city’s downfall, since it depended on sea trade. It had a huge bath just as you entered the city, and all sailors were required to take a bath before entering. Sounds like a good idea to me. They also had a bath for the citizens of Ephesus. They had a huge theater that held 25,000 people and that is how they know the population of the city. Roman law said that the theater had to hold one tenth of the population. This is the very theater that St. Paul preached to the Ephesians for three years. They still have concerts there today. It had another huge coliseum for chariot races. They had clay pipes that ran around the outside of the rich houses and created heat for them in the winter. They had a statue of their Emperor with his foot on a round world – under the statue it read, “Ruler of the World.” Yes, they already knew the world was round, and the poor Europeans had to rediscover this fact almost 1400 years later. The photo of Tom in the public bathroom was also very modern. It had a fountain in the center to keep things smelling good. Clean water ran in front of you for cleaning yourself and the city was complete with a sewer system. The Library of Celsus was the third largest library of its time holding 12,000 books. Unfortunately like so many libraries of that time, it was burned and all of the books were lost. There was a 110 x 110 meter market place called the Agora. The streets were marble and a fountain kept them wet during the hot months, so you could still walk on them.
Later we went to see where the Apostle John is buried. His tomb is a marble square that is probably 12 x 12 ft. A guide told his group that before 9/11 it was always covered with flowers brought by Christians all over the world. He said that you could not even see the marble. Today there wasn’t a flower to be seen.
The photo of the camel was interesting. People here will do any thing for money, so this guy had the camel and if you wanted a photo, it was 2 Euro for sitting on the camel and one Euro to stand next to it. We did both – Tom sat on it and then the guy took a photo of both of us in front.
With all the security and small boats going by, I think I may be glad to leave Turkey and say, “Yes, I have been there and lived to tell the story.” Hope all is well at home,
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
If it is Tuesday June 8,
It must be Santorini.
We docked this morning at the picturesque island of Santorini, Greece. It is one of the most southerly islands in the Cyclades. The semicircular shape of the island today is the result of the eruptions of a volcano which dates back to prehistoric times. When the volcano erupted and then sank into the sea, four islands were formed, Santorini, Little Santorini, and two other uninhabited islands, one of which is still an active volcano. We anchored in the center of the four islands, which is the crater of the volcano, and tendered into Santorini. We visited Akrotiri, an archeological excavation site of a very advanced civilization that lived there in 1500 BC. Many believe that this is the lost city of Atlantis. Work has now stopped on this site because the Greek government pulled all of the money from the archeologists and gave it to Athens to help them get ready for the Olympics.
Our guide told us that the main industry of Santorini is wine and wine and there are vineyards on most of the slopes, definitely my type of place. The island is known for its stark white buildings with blue roofs, an extremely clean place. Of all the places we have visited so far this is the first one that Holly and I would really like to come back to some day and spend more time. If you notice the white in the background of the picture I posted of me having a beer, that white is not snow, it is some of the buildings on the island. Because of the volcanic eruption there is no gradual slope up from the sea. The island is surrounded by cliffs and the city is built on a cliff, 1000 feet over the harbor. There are three methods to get from the city back down to the tenders to go back to the ship, either a cable car, walk down the very steep slope, or ride a donkey. There are 567 very long, very rough and uneven, cobble stone steps from the top to the bottom of the long and widening path. You can see by the pictures I posted which method I chose, I think I’ll be able to walk again sometime next week. Holly walked down the donkey path, and is now asleep on the verandah. She says her legs feel like jello and no normal mile walk around the deck today-elevator only. Tomorrow is another welcome sea day before arriving Thursday in Malta. The seas continue to be flat, the weather beautiful, and life is good. Hope all is well at home.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom and Holly
June 9, 2004
A Welcome Sea Day
Another kickback day at sea is a welcome relief after marathon touring in Kusadasi, Turkey and Santorini, Greece. We have left the Agean Sea, the Sea of Crete and have now entered the crystal clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Last night we set our clocks back an hour, but in reality have completely lost track of time. The seas have kicked up a little and are now running 1.5 to 4 feet. It sort of feels good since up to this time we had to look outside to realize we were even on a ship. Now we can see people weaving as they are walking the corridors, and seeing it is before noon they probably aren’t drunk yet, so it must be the movement of the ship. We arrive in Malta tomorrow at 7:00 am and have a tour set up starting at 8:00. This has really been an experience uploading pictures and sending e-mails wireless though a satellite link. We are constantly getting bumped off at the worse time and have to start over. That was the reason for the double e-mail yesterday. I sent the e-mail and got bumped before I got confirmation so I sent it again. We enjoy the e-mails we have been receiving from home. Sabrina, I tried to get Holly to hang off the back of the ship and collect your bottle of water from the Mediterranean Sea, but so far she won’t cooperate. Maybe after a bottle of wine tonight. No new pictures to post today.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom and Holly
June 10, 2004
-In the words of Winston Churchill “We will not falter from Malta to Yalta”
We awoke this morning as we were pulling into the harbor of Valletta, the main port and capital of the island of Malta. We toured three ancient temples that date back to 5200 BC which is 2000 years before the Egyptians. Really well preserved old rocks! These temples were built while man still lived in the cave. They even have started excavating some caves that they have found.
After that we went out on our own in Valletta, a fascinating city. The St John’s Co-Cathedral is magnificent as well as St Paul’s Shipwrecked Church were we lit a candle for Marcy. With all of the churches I have been through on this trip I really feel holy. I have been in Mosques, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and Catholic Cathedrals and think that I have all of my bases covered. I ought to be a shoe in for the next pope when I drop my resume off at the Vatican. One of the most interesting places we visited in Valletta was the War Museum dedicated to WWII. Valletta really got pounded by the Italians and Germans during the War and the city almost had to be completely rebuilt. All of the area around St John’s and St Paul’s was destroyed, but the churches survived without a scratch. The art work in the churches would have been irreplaceable. Churchill and Roosevelt met in Malta early in the war hence the above quote. The museum was really packed with war memorabilia including many items recovered from Italian and German planes that were shot down over the city.
Everyone told us that it was a short twenty minute walk back to the ship from town. Well the town is surrounded by a huge walls and gigantic bastions at each corner. We could see the ship so thought, “Oh, yeah we can walk that, after all, we could see the ship in the harbour. Two and a half hours later, we could still see the ship in the harbour and we were no closer. We where just walking back and forth along the bastions. We finally got out of the surrounding fort only to end up at the other end of Valletta. We walked by the hospital, apartment buildings etc. We were very lost. A little scary, especially since no one spoke English, so we couldn’t ask for directions. We learned why they are always telling us to take a post card of the ship with us. I was getting ready to repel down when we finally found our way, but it was a really good thing we had three hours to play with and did not count on it only taking twenty minutes.
Tomorrow is another sea day and then Saturday we arrive at Monte Carlo.
More to follow,
The Happy Wanderers,
Tom & Holly
June 11, 2004
Farewell until June 17
Tonight is our last formal night then we are in Monte Carlo until 11 pm on Saturday and Florence and Pisa until 8 pm on Sunday and when we get back to the ship we will have to pack up and prepare to get off the ship in Rome on Monday. We are staying in Rome three nights but have a lot of tours set up so we might not be able to e-mail again until we get home. If the hotel in Rome has internet access, and it doesn’t cost $50 a day to use as it did in Athens we might get a chance to sign on again but are not counting on it. By the time this trip ends we will have traveled over 18,000 miles, 4,000 of them by ship, sailed in 7 different seas, visited three continents, 8 countries, and 15 cities. What an adventure this has been. In addition one ex president died and at 11:30 EST all American flagged Cruise Ships in the world blew there horns in honor of Ronald Reagan. We are now in the process of setting up next years trip with the onboard cruise consultant but doubt seriously that it can top this one. But whatever we do, we will try to continue to live by the immortal words of Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor; Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” It has been fun writing our travelogue and posting the pictures, thank you for putting up with our nonsense. Hope all remains well at home.
See you soon,
Tom and Holly
June 16, 2004
Rome
We are now in Roma, not Rome and are having quite the language barrier; however, the internet actually works better than on the ship. We are using the hotel system so no photos.
Spent all day yesterday touring Roma as the Italians call it. A magnificent city, we spent 5 hours in the Vatican and didn’t scratch the surface. The tours and hotels set up by Holland America have really been great and when they called the Vatican tour an intimate tour they were right. There were only 10 of us on the tour and we got to use shortcuts that the masses couldn’t. The Sistine Chapel is nothing like we expected and St Peters Basilica, built on the tomb of St Peter is incredible. We are staying in Castle Granddolfo, a suburb of Roma and the Popes summer residence. Our room has a verandah with a beautiful view of the lake and the Popes summer residence so we spent last night drinking a bottle of wine on our verandah and reviewing the pictures we had taken during the day after we had dinner in a local restaurant. No capability to post pictures from the hotel. President Bush must really be liked here because we saw his name written in Graffiti all over the walls in Rome with something in Italian after it. I am sure it was praise. Yesterday we also tossed coins into Trevi Foutain to send you all good wishes. Today we are going to continue to tour Roma and then go to some Counts estate for dinner and a wine tasting. Tomorrow we have to leave for the airport at 6:30 am for a 9:45 flight. You can only scratch the surface of Rome in three days but we will have another three days next year because the cruise we have booked for next year starts in Roma.
Tom and Holly