Mediterranean Cruise, Greece, and Italy: Week 2 Cruise

 

Sunday, 7/30: 7.9 miles, 54.5 total

This morning our ship pulled in to the island of Mykonos, Greece around 7am.  We needed to take the anchor a little bit out of the harbor and take the local tender boats ashore.  We tried to get off the boat as early as possible to avoid the crowds.  Fortunately we were some of the earlier ones off the boat and for an awhile had the old part of Mykonos town to ourselves.  We wandered through the narrow, whitewashed alleyways, covered with overflowing bougainvillea.  We ended at the windmills that overlook the city and the area called “Little Venice”. By this time the crowds began to thicken, so we decided to walk uphill and just wander through some of the less touristy areas.  

Little Church in Mykonos

Smallest garbage truck I've ever seen!

Windmills

Little Venice, with our cruise ship in the background

Old church

Once atop a hill, we had an amazing view over the town and the cruise ship.  By this time it was getting hot, so we made our way down to the port to eat some lunch.  There are cats everywhere, and unfortunately we had some sickly looking ones that would not leave us alone while we tried to eat in peace.  One had some green goo coming out of its nose; not something you want to see when you are eating your lunch!  

Our ship in Mykonos

Quite possibly the smallest (and closest together) urinals I've ever seen!

Sunset on the ship

In the late afternoon we caught a tender back to the ship, grabbed a late lunch, and took a nap.  In the evening we went to the main restaurant for dinner and caught a show in the theater featuring some of the ship’s singers singing famously movie songs.

Monday, 7/31: 5.6 miles, 60.1 total

This morning we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey.  After the shipped docked, we met up with our local guide Nahide and another couple and their son for our private tour.  Our first stop was the house of the Virgin Mary, the place where it is believed Mary spent the last years of her life in the care of John.  The house is located up in the mountains in a quiet, peaceful area.  There were already quite a few people there.  It is also considered a pilgrimage site.  We spent some time quietly going through the small house and enjoying the surroundings.  

View from our room of Kusadsasi, Turkey

Our cruise ship is on the left

House of the Virgin Mary

Drinking holy water

Our next stop was the ancient city of Ephesus.  Our tour guide did a great job of explaining what each building was and why it was significant.  Ephesus is amazingly intact and it is easy to imagine what it might have looked like 2,000 years ago.  Our tour included the terrace houses, which were only recently excavated.  They were the homes of some of the wealthier individuals in Ephesus and contain beautiful floor mosaics that are still intact.  We then made our way to the facade of the Celsus Library and over to the Grand Theater, where the Apostle Paul tried to preach to the Ephesians.  It was otherworldly to stand on the stage area of the grand theater and imagine how Paul must have felt standing in the same spot in front of 25,000 people trying to preach a new religion.  

Ephesus

Public Toilets (and the guardian cat)

Nike

Main Street in Ephesus

Terrace Houses

Floor mosaics in the terrace houses

Celsus Library

Grand Theater

On our way back into town we stopped at a small store that specialized in Turkish delight and various olive oil products to test out some samples (they obviously wanted us to buy some products, but we didn’t).  Next we stopped at a leather factory and outlet.  Here we got a “private” fashion show to see some of the leather coats.  They pulled me and the wife from the other couple to get up on the catwalk and “model” some of the coats!  Afterward we were taken to the store to see if we wanted to buy any of the jackets.  They were way out of our price range.    We then made a quick stop at the ruins of the ancient Temple of Artemis, which at one time was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.  Now, it is basically rubble that is hard to discern what was there.  From there, we made our way back to Kusadasi, where we said goodbye to our tour guide and spent a few hours wandering through the shops and sightseeing (and of course, getting sucked into a rug shop for a demo).

In the evening we went to the show in the theater.  The featured singer was Cece Teneal, who is a Aretha Franklin tribute artist.  She had an amazing voice.

Matt walking the catwalk at the leather factory

Kusadasi, Turkey

Sunset on the ship

Tuesday, 8/1: 8.2 miles, 68.3 total

As we pulled in to the port of Rhodes Town on the island of Rhodes, there were already two other cruise ships in port.  Rhodes town is famous for its old medieval walled city center.  It is one of the best preserved medieval towns in the world.  Getting off the ship early, we were able to explore some of the winding lanes with very few people.  We made our way up to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights, which was originally built by the Knights of St. John in the 14th century.  Next we walked over to the Archeological Museum, which is housed in an old hospital.  

Three cruise ships in port in Rhodes, Greece

Gate into the old town of Rhodes

Palace of the Grand Master of St. John

Archeological Museum

Old town of Rhodes

We then spent the rest of the morning wandering through the old town.  For lunch we went back on to the ship for some buffet lunch.  In the afternoon we switched into our swim suits, grabbed our snorkeling gear, and went over to some small beaches close to town.  The snorkeling was okay, but the water felt really good in the heat of the day.  We made our way down the waterfront, jumping in the water at various points.  On our way, we stopped at the approximate location of where the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the seven ancient wonders of the world) might of once stood.  We walked down to a large beach that was literally covered cheek to cheek with people!

Snorkeling in Rhodes

Location of the Colossus of Rhodes (the statue spanned between the two columns)

In the evening we went to the theater and saw Jared Freiburg and the Vagabonds, a group that played 50’s rock and roll.  Jared played the piano like Jerry Lee Lewis and is an amazing entertainer (he actually played Jerry Lee Lewis in a touring Broadway musical).  I’m pretty sure they will need a new piano after his performance.      

Wednesday, 8/2: 6.1 miles, 74.4 total

We awoke this morning looking out our window at the volcanic cliffs of the island of Santorini.  After breakfast we took a tender over to the island and instead of taking the cable car up to the top, we decided to hike up to the top of the hill on the donkey path.  Since the donkeys use the same path, it is covered with donkey poop.  And since we were some of the first ones from the ship to arrive on the island, most of the donkeys were tied up along the path, making it a bit tricky to get around them.  Fortunately they are all very tame and use to humans, so you could walk behind them and not worry too much about getting kicked.  There are about 566 steps to the top, even though each step is about eight feet wide.  Since it was still morning, almost the whole trail was still in the shade.  It didn’t take us too long to make it to the top.  There were four cruise ships visiting Santorini today, meaning everything was busy.  Some people were waiting over two hours to come down the cable car!  

Hiking up the donkey trail to Fira on Santorini

Donkey trail with our cruise ship in the background

Fira, Santorini

Once at the top we reached the town of Fira.  From there we caught a bus over to the village of Oia.  The bus ride out there was very beautiful and along the cliffs.  Oia is the famous whitewashed village with blue-domed churches that everyone pictures when they think of Greek islands.  Unfortunately, we were not alone.  It seemed like almost all of the tourists from those four cruise ships were trying to pack their way into the narrow passages around Oia.  We were able to get several beautiful pictures and explore a little, but it was very crowded and hot.  At first I wanted to hike the 6 mile trail back to Fira, but after walking around Oia and sweating profusely, I decided that the bus back would be a better option (Becky had already made up her mind to take the bus back as soon we got to Oia).  Once we were back in Fira we were very hot and tired and Fira was now jam packed with tourists, so we decided to take the donkey trail back down and catch a tender back to the ship.  In the evening we went to the theater to watch a broadway cabaret show.

Oia, Santorini, Greece

Oia

Going back down the donkey trail on Santorini

View of the donkey trail and Santorini from our room

 Thursday, 8/3: 5.7 miles, 80.1 total

This morning we anchored off of the island of Zakynthos.  Zakynthos does not have any local tender boats, so the cruise ship had to use four of their own tender boats.  This meant it took a while to get everyone off of the ship.  We didn’t make it to shore until after 11am.  Once there we walked along the waterfront and looked for different places to snorkel.  We tried a few places and saw some fish, but nothing spectacular.  It did feel good to get in the water and cool off.  We spent the next couple of hours hoping in and out of the water and different locations, trying out the snorkeling.  Afterward we walked around the town and admired some of the yachts that were moored in the bright blue water.  We then took a tender back to the ship, had a late lunch and took a long nap.

In the evening we went to the theater and watched Adam Heppenstall, who is an amazing magician with a great sense of humor.

View of Zakynthos from our room

Zakynthos, Greece

Snorkeling spot

Some "small" yachts

Friday, 8/4: 10.0 miles, 90.1 total

We arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia and got off the ship around noon.  The cruise ship arranged free shuttle busses for everyone into the old town.  Once we arrived in the old town the first thing we did was take a walk around the entire old town on the city walls.  The view from the top is breathtaking.  Many of the red tile roofs are new, since many were bombed during the 90’s war.  During our trip around the wall, we stopped at the maritime museum and a few other places to take pictures.  It was very hot and humid today, maybe the most humid day of the trip.  Once we made our way back down to the busy streets of the old town, we stopped at a few churches and the Rector’s Palace, which is now a museum.  We continued wandering through parts of the old town and then went out to For Lovrijenac, which sits right outside the city wall and overlooks the water.  

View from our room in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Old Castle, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Old town of Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik City Wall

The "Shame Steps"

Around 5pm we decided to hike to the top of a hill outside the city.  There is a cable car that goes to the top, but it is almost 30 euros each.  The first part of the trail was in the trees and shady, but the second part was out in the full sun.  With the heat and humidity and climbing uphill in the sun, we were covered in sweat.  It took us about 40 minutes to make it to the top.  We were tired as we came around the last bend, but once we made it to the top, the view was worth it.  From the viewpoint, you can see several of the islands along the coast.  After a short hike back down, we caught a shuttle bus back to the boat around 8pm.  By this time we were really tired and just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep.

Hiking up to the view point

View from the top

The faster, easier, and more expensive way to the top

Saturday, 8/5: 1.4 miles, 91.5 total

We were originally supposed to stop in the port of Kotor, Montenegro today, but due to severe thunderstorms and wind, the port was closed.  Instead, we made a quick technical drop (just dropping off and picking up crew) just outside of Kotor, and then had a sea day.  Becky and I took advantage of the down day to relax, catch up on our journals, and catch some of the entertainment on the ship.  After dinner we went to the theater and saw our cruise director Ernest’s show.  He sang tunes from some of the famous acts in Las Vegas.  We finished the evening by soaking in the hot tub.

Fancy night on the cruise

Sunday, 8/6: 6.9 miles, 98.4 total

Since we couldn’t go to Kotor, today we arrived in Zadar, Croatia.  Again, the cruise ship provided free shuttle busses into the old town part of Zadar.  Our first stop was at the sea organ, which is several sets of steps with pipes in them that are set against the sea.  When waves come in against the steps, they fill in the pipes and play “music”.  The sounds are very haunting, but at the same time beautiful.  We then went over to the church of St. Donatus.  There isn’t much inside anymore, but it was fascinating to see how they used the remains of some of the ancient Roman ruins to built the foundation of the church.  Most of the rest of the morning we wandered around the old town, climbing on top of some of the city walls and sightseeing.  We then took the shuttle bus back to the boat for lunch and a nap. 

The Sea Organ, Zadar, Croatia

Church of St. Donatus

Church was built with Roman ruins

Zadar, Croatia

Celebrity Constellation in Zadar, Croatia

Main staircase on the ship

One of the lounges

Chihuly Artwork on the ship

Another Lounge

Solarium

Top Deck (always windy with very few people)

Lido deck (almost always crowded)

Outdoor movie theater

Inside Solarium

Buffet

Theater

Basketball/Pickleball court

In the evening we went to the theater for the rock show performance, which was okay (the singing seemed a little too “polished” or broadway-esque for rock music).  After the show we went outside to watch the sunset and saw the sky in the distance was very black and there was quite a bit of lightening.  We stayed out on deck for a while watching the lightening and then went back to our cabin.  Around 9pm the storm began.  First we noticed the ship was listing to the port (the side our room is on).  We looked out the window and saw continuous flashes of lightening and could see the rain pouring down.  Then we could hear the wind and all of the furniture on the decks above us moving around.  Outside our room we could hear carts and bottles and whatever tossing around.  We decided to up to the pool deck and look around.  It was raining and hailing dime sized hailstones.  Chairs were blowing around the deck and the lightening was flashing all around.  Inside the buffet area, food was all over the floor.  We toured around the ship a bit to see what else had happened and then made our way back to our room.

Watching the storm approach

Buffet after the storm