Spétsai (AKA Spetses), Greece

 I can't really say I've been to Spétsai because today I decided to have a sea day.  We were anchored off the island until mid-afternoon and based on what I'd read, I thought this would be a good chance to give my feet a rest. The island is in the Saronic Island group which means that in the last three days we've been in three different groups, Dodecanese, Cyclades, and today's group. The island is small and, except for the town off our starboard side, it's largely unpopulated. Cars are not allowed in the town so the mode of transportation is by foot or horse-drawn carriage.  I talked to several of my trivia teammates and those who did go ashore said there wasn't much there except shops.

Today all of us who are continuing on had to be tested for Covid.  I passed as did everyone else apparently. Hooray!  I was told that about the same number of people will be boarding tomorrow in Athens as are disembarking so we'll still be at around 250 passengers.  That's great for us travelers but not so good for the company's bottom line I guess.  I heard that the cruise after mine will be a full ship.  Perhaps the world will start to be more normal again.

I played trivia and we didn't win. Three wins out of five isn't bad.  All but two team members will still be here to continue to play together.  In summary, it has been a lazy day.  Sorry to be so boring but tomorrow will be busy.  I'm heading down to the Corinth Canal and the ancient city of Epidaurus.

Here are a couple of photos from my veranda.

Ta-ta for now.

Santorini

Friday, the 29th of April, we were anchored in the caldera of the island of Santorini.  There was one other ship anchored with us, the Silver Spirit, another small one.  The last time I was here was 10 years ago in July and there were several mega-ships with us and it was hotter than blazes.  That was certainly not the case today.  It was overcast and chilly with a very brisk breeze all day. It was windy enough that they had to move our champagne and caviar sailaway party into one of the lounges.

                                                      A gray day in the caldera

         Not relevant to anything except I thought the name of this café was funny

Santorini is one of the Cyclades Islands of Greece.  As I said above the ship is in a caldera of a still active volcano.  The area is extremely active geologically and they are actually overdue for an eruption (luckily there wasn’t one today).  On the northern side of the island towns are perched on the sheer cliff walls and it makes for a very dramatic scene. I tendered ashore and we set out for a visit to the town of Oia (pronounced  EE-ya).  If you’ve ever seen pictures of Greek islands this is probably where some of them were taken.  Oia is atop the caldera wall with houses carved out in tiers going part way down several levels.  The buildings are all painted white with blue roofs, although not as many blue ones as I remember seeing in the past. Almost all the structures everywhere on the island are painted white, among other reasons because it reflects the sun and keeps the buildings cooler, and the roofs were blue partly because blue and white are the colors of the Greek flag and also because the blue represents the sea. Georgina, our guide, told us that more and more people are painting their roofs white too because white doesn’t have to be repainted as often and thus is less expensive.  Anyway, it still looks stunningly beautiful.

                                                                   Oia looking down the wall

I strolled a little on the main street and made a few purchases and ran into my new friend Hilary.  She had come ashore on her own and wanted to have a coffee at a restaurant she and her late husband had dined at on a vacation in Santorini. I had time left before I had to meet my group so we went to a café a level down from the main street and sat overlooking the caldera.  We were just going to have a cappuccino but a couple at the next table told us we ought to try the crêpes with strawberries (as if I needed more food!) so we did.   Oh, my goodness!  We each got a plate with the most wonderful crêpes drizzled with honey and filled with fresh strawberries.  Between the view and the taste it was heavenly!

                                                     Not the most flattering photo but here we are

    

Before I knew it,  it was time for me to meet my group so we said our goodbyes. We next traveled to the southern end of the island near Akrotiri where there is a wonderful museum which I visited last time.  If you’re ever here it’s worth a stop because it has lots of artifacts from the island dating back to 1600 BC. They were preserved in ash so they were amazingly intact somewhat like things found in Pompei. I’m not writing about the geological history because I think I’m a little long-winded sometimes.

I do want to say something related to the activity of the island though.  Most of the island is constructed of volcanic rock of different kinds.  The island gets very little rain except for a few months in the winter, but it is always very humid.  The ground is very porous and overnight there is a sort of dew that builds up because of the humidity and it of course falls on the soil and the plants and is the irrigation system.  Santorini actually has a lot of grapevines but instead of growing up and in rows, they grow low and in circular spirals.  All the crops are irrigated that way. There are few trees on Santorini so the houses are constructed of volcanic stone and concrete.  They built with lots of arched, curved  structures. That design allows the humidity when it condenses, and rain when they get it, to roll down and be absorbed in the porous soil or up on roofs into cisterns. The curved structure also is more earthquake resistant because they have lots of those too. The buildings are beautiful, but they are that way for lots of very practical reasons not aesthetics.

Enough about that.  We arrived at the shore near the southern end of the island and walked to our interesting lunch and cooking demonstration restaurant. It was along the rocky beach (all the beaches are rocky) and we sat on a covered terrace.  The  restaurant was carved into the side of the hill and the kitchen and some eating areas were actually caves.  The restaurant is a family business started by the grandparents many years ago.  I must tell you a little about them. Grandpa was a fisherman and the cave was where he would pull his boat into when a storm was coming.  He had 12 children, many of whom worked with him.  Grandma would make food and bring it to them to eat while they were working.  Her food was evidently delicious and someone suggested that she sell it, so the restaurant was born. The chef who cooked for us and the man who explained what we were seeing were cousins and grandchildren of the original owners.  They told us they had 64 cousins and their family comprises more than half of the little town’s population. They laughingly told us that when the town votes if their family wants a particular outcome, they always win.

We proceeded to be served an absolute feast; in fact, there was so much food on the table that it was overwhelming. We had bread bowls filled with tomato, cucumber, onion, and feta salad.  There were stuffed tomatoes, fried fritters made with tomatoes, cukes, onions, garlic and flour mixed together. We had tzatziki and hummus.  There was fried white eggplant (which was heavenly) and marinated seared beef. We had olives and ouzo and the house white wine.  I think we were all positively stuffed when we were done.  We could probably all have used a siesta but we were on to the next stop, a winery for a wine tasting.

                                               Grandpa & Grandma

This was a co-op for lots of grape growers on the island.  I was amazed that this place produces about 500,000 bottles a year, 30% of which is exported.  We tasted a white, a red, and the most wonderful sweet dessert wine I think I’ve ever tasted.  It was similar to some very fine grappa which I’ve had at vineyards in Tuscany and the Veneto.  There were tidbits to eat to cleanse our palates between wines, but I couldn’t eat anything at all.

                                       A Santorini white wine

Our final stop was the town of Fira, also perched on the edge of the caldera.  It was there that we said good-bye to our guide.  To get down to the tender dock there we had to take a cable car for which she gave us a ticket.  If you’ve been to Santorini you know there are two other ways to get down.  One is to walk down nearly 600 steps.  The other is to ride a donkey.  The donkeys walk the same steps as do people so needless to say there are donkey droppings along the way and it’s more than a little smelly and scary.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I walked (more walking!) up to the station and headed back.  I don’t know why, but to my weary feet and body it seemed every street in Santorini was uphill.  Clearly what goes up must come down, but for some reason I never found myself going downhill.

                                                 A street in Fira

Back on the Encore I propped my feet up and had a rest.  I met Hilary for drinks and dinner and then we went to a very nice show by the singers.  After the show we went down to a lounge, the Club, where they have dance bands playing to the wee hours.  One of my trivia teammates who is traveling alone said she goes there every evening and dances. Hilary and I decided to take a look and we had a great time. There were several couples but evidently the men weren’t dancers so we women got up and just danced away to 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music. I’m so glad we did.  I think it made us all feel a little younger again.  Then it was time for bed so we all went our separate ways.  It was a truly lovely day.

                                         Fira from the tender going to the ship

If it's Thursday, it must be Rhodes!

I’m behind.  It’s Thursday here and this probably won’t get posted until tomorrow.  Update: Now it’s Friday and I’m further beyond!

Today we’ve been in Rhodes, Greece, the largest of the Dodecanese Islands.  I decided to take a ship’s excursion which was a panoramic drive around the island.  My feet needed a rest but I still got in 3.5 miles.  Unfortunately, I didn’t make it into the old walled city, so I guess I’ll just have to plan to come back.

Our guide was excellent but she gave so much history I don’t think I can remember it all.  The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period but there are only a few remnants of that time. In the 16th century BC the Minoans came from Crete which lies to the south. A century later the Mycenaean Greeks arrived.  Homer mentions that Rhodes participated in the Trojan war. It wasn’t until the 8th century BC under Dorian Greeks that some substantial settlements arose. The legend was that the island was created by the union of Helios, the sun god, and the nymph Rhodos so the three major towns were named for their three sons.  My tour took me to the hill above one of them, Lindos.

The island was conquered in subsequent centuries by the Persians, Athenians and Alexander the Great.  Following Alexander’s death in 323 BC his empire was divided among his three principal generals. Rhodes formed a strong trading alliance with the Ptolemies in Egypt (Ptolemy I was one of Alexander’s generals and the last member of his dynasty was someone everyone has heard of – Cleopatra.)  Another of the generals, Antigonus sent his son to lay siege to Rhodes to break the alliance. The son brought catapults, battering rams and a huge siege tower, but after a year he signed a peace agreement and left, leaving behind all his war materials. ( I think I’ve heard about something similar happening in recent history when a country left a lot of armaments behind.  History repeats itself.)  The enterprising Rhodians took all the armaments and melted down the metals, sold the rest, and used the proceeds to build the Colossus of Rhodes to celebrate the peace.

The Colossus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  It was constructed around 280 BC of bronze over an iron frame and was around 108 feet tall. It represented the sun god Helios.  The exact location on the island is unknown because the Colossus was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 BC.  Everything we know about it is from fragments of writings by ancient authors.

Okay, I realize I’m writing too much history so I’m going to abbreviate my discourse.  Over the ensuing centuries Greeks came and went as then did Romans, both western and eastern (Byzantine).  Then we come to the age of the Crusades.  The Knights Hospitaller (AKA the Knights of St. John) who built the castle in Bodrum, also had a stronghold in Rhodes, the walled old city. They left Rhodes after Suleiman the Magnificent overran them in Bodrum and moved their headquarters to Malta.

My tour took me past the walls which are still intact and to the southeastern end of the island. Along the way it was interesting to see the contrast between the two sides of the island; the western gets more rain and is green whereas the southern is quite dry.  Along the way we passed the site where the Acropolis of Rhodes stood.  There’s nothing there  now.  Apparently every Greek community had an acropolis. We had a couple of photo stops where we could get a lovely view of the rocky coastline but with beautiful beaches of reddish sand below.

                                                          One of the eleven old city gates

                            Deer which is the symbol of Rhodes on a column at the entrance to the harbor

We made a stop at a pottery factory where we watched a potter make a vase on his wheel.  It took him no time.  Inside we were able to watch craftsmen etch a design into the clay items after which other artisans began coloring them. They were painted with very vivid, bold colors.  Many had a motif with a deer on them because the deer is the symbol of Rhodes.

                                                              Potter at work

                                                                     Etched Vase

                                                                     Applying color

We stopped on a hill overlooking Lindos, one of the oldest towns on the island.  It lies on a protected bay and is accessed by a steep and winding road.  We didn’t go down.  The people of Lindos have been seafaring people forever.  They were known to be excellent boat-builders and engaged in a lot of trade with all of the Mediterranean countries and kingdoms.  On the opposite side of the bay was a mountain with an old church on top and big caves in the side of it.  There is something which I found quite interesting about the caves.  The 1960’s movie The Guns of Navarone was filmed on Rhodes and the large cave we saw was where the big German “guns of Navarone” were placed.  When I get home I’ll have to watch the movie again so I can say I was there.

                                                                            Lindos

                                               Imagine 2 humungous guns in the upper cave

                        I rarely post a photo of me, but just to prove I'm really on Rhodes, here's one.

From there we drove up a coast road which is the location of lots of big resort hotels and vacation apartments.  Rhodes is evidently a very popular vacation spot for many Europeans.  I can imagine that in August, the big holiday month for many countries here, the places must be packed.  We stopped for a drink and a piece of Rhodian cake at a nice beachside café.  Then we headed back to the ship.  Clearly I missed a lot of the historical sights inside the old city, but I needed a light day and I can always come back.

Tonight I’m dining with two ladies I met who live in the Colonial Heritage community in James City County.  It’s not often I’ve randomly run into someone from home. In the past I’ve met some wonderful friends online before we cruised together and we’ve been friends ever since. 

Well, I need to post this.  I’ve been long-winded but there’s so much history it’s hard to abbreviate it, especially because I find it all fascinating.  More later from Santorini…

Bodrum, Turkey

It’s Wednesday and we’re docked at Bodrum, Mugla province, Turkey. We’re in the southwestern part of Turkey.  The ancient Greeks settled this area and the city was called Halicarnassus.  In the 4th century BC the Persians became the rulers of the area under the kings of Caria who were subjects of Persia.  One of the kings was King Mausolos.  Upon his death in 353 BC his wife, who was also his sister, commissioned a huge tomb. That massive tomb was the origin of the word mausoleum and the structure was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  After a series of earthquakes all that remained of the structure were some of the foundation stones and a few sculptures.  Alexander the Great took the city in 334 BC. In subsequent centuries it belonged to the Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans.  For a brief period in the early 15th century, the Knights Hospitaller, Crusader knights, occupied the city and built the castle that dominates the shoreline. They used many of the stones from the mausoleum. One hundred years later Suleiman the Magnificent defeated the Knights at their stronghold on the island of Rhodes so they relocated first to Sicily and then eventually Malta.

                                                           Ruins of the Mausoleum

                                                          Model of the Mausoleum

When I went ashore, Zeynep was waiting for me.  We talked about what our plan would be for the day and agreed we would not go into the castle. Frankly, my feet and knees needed a little break. Instead we headed to a hill overlooking the bay and with a view of the castle.  On the way we stopped at an ancient  Greek amphitheater.  The seating is still intact and in fact concerts are held there in the summer.  The acoustics are such that no sound system is needed.

Also on the hill with the view were the ruins of several windmills that the local population in ancient times brought their grain to be milled.  Our next stop was the ruined mausoleum.  It must have been very impressive upon its completion. There were a couple of plaques showing the structure and a model.

                Sorry not the best photo, but that's the Castle across the water

Next we went out of the city to the village of Gümüslük.  This is a small fishing community beside a little bay with crystal clear water.  It looked like the water one sees around Caribbean islands.  The shoreline was lined with little cafés serving mainly seafood (of course).  A few feet from the shore were trees that had trunks and limbs that were white, no leaves; instead they were adorned with pottery bells, gourds and lots of evil eyes, round glass discs with a black iris surrounded by blue and white circles. The symbol is found in many parts of the Mediterranean and it’s thought that if someone wears one of the amulets he can be protected from the malicious intent of another person. Someone told me later they were fennel trees. I have no idea if that's right.

                                                    Restaurants along the waterfront

                                                Decoration in front of a restaurant

                                           A tree adorned with pottery bells and evil eyes

Zeynep picked a restaurant and we sat at a table by the water and had lunch.  Our driver is fasting for Ramadan so he didn’t join us.  The restaurant was Ali Riza ' nui Yeri (at least I think it was). Once again I’m not sure what I ate except for sure there was a salad, olives, pickles, and shrimp sizzling in olive oil and herbs.  There were a couple of other vegetables unlike anything I’ve eaten but it all tasted good. There was a lovely breeze blowing and we had a leisurely lunch.

   Our beverages were served on this lovely tray decorated with flowers. You can see the water bottle and the coke can if you look.

                                    The proprietors.  Can you tell they are brothers?

When we finished we walked back up a hill to the parking lot where our van awaited and we headed back to Bodrum.  Hilary, my British friend had asked if I saw any spice shops in my journey if I would get her some saffron. Zeynep knew of a spice shop on the way so we made a stop.  The shop had dozens of big jars filled with all kinds of spices and dried herbs. If you’ve ever bought saffron at home, you know it’s expensive.  I got a bag with probably three or four tablespoons of saffron threads for 18 Turkish lire, about $1.30!

We went back to the port then.  It was close to 3 PM and I was ready to call it another day. Today was just a short hike, three and a half miles.  I’m remembering now why I don’t really love cruises with a port every day.  I need a vacation after my vacation.  This isn't the most exciting report but it is what it is.

Good afternoon from Çesme, Turkey.  

Last night upon leaving Myrina we had a little problem.  The anchor was stuck!  There was a Captain’s welcome aboard cocktail party, but unfortunately he didn’t make it.  He was busy on the bridge moving the ship to and fro to get it unstuck.  Hence, we left a little late but we had a short distance to sail so it was no problem.

This morning we arrived in Çesme (pronounced Cheshme) which  is in the province of Izmir.  It’s at the westernmost point of Asian Turkey. In the 5th century BC there was a Greek city called Boutheia, which paid tribute to Athens. During the middle ages an accord was reached between the Republic of Genoa, which was one of the great Italian trading states along with Venice, and the Ottomans. Çesme became an important trading port with caravans coming from the east to unload onto ships heading toward the rest of the Mediterranean world and in return receiving goods from Genoa and the rest of the European countries.  To that end there is a caravanserai here built in 1528.  It was there that the caravans would stop over while their goods were unloaded and then new things were loaded to be taken east.  The caravanserai was built around a large inner courtyard with stables for the animals, shops, and restaurants and rooms above for the travelers to stay, usually for three days. The building has been restored and now has a small boutique hotel.

                                                          The caravanserai courtyard

The town around the harbor is dominated by Çesme Castle. There were quite a few steps to go up to the ramparts so I decided to take a pass.  In front of the castle there were a number of old cannon and a large statue of Sultan Bayezit II who commissioned the castle’s construction.  It protected the harbor and town from pirates. 

                                                     Çesme Castle

I should tell something about my excellent guide Zeynep.  She is a 38-year-old Turkish woman who was a delight to spend the day with and she will be meeting me tomorrow in Bodrum for another day. We had a driver, Hassan, who was an older Turkish gentleman who teaches German when he’s not working.  Since it was just me, I had lots of opportunity to talk about life in Turkey with Zeynep.

                                                              Zeynep and me

When we left the castle we walked up one of the winding streets.  Cesme was occupied by Greeks principally until the beginning of the Turkish Republic in the 1920’s.  At that time there was a massive diaspora of Greeks from Turkey and Turks from Greece.  I believe that contributed to some of the hard feelings which still exist between the two countries.  We stopped at a little coffee shop and had a Turkish coffee (very strong!).  It came in an ornate little cup on a tray with a small glass of water with a spoonful of sweet mastic gum in the bottom of the glass.  I tasted the gum before it dissolved and it was sweet chewing gum.  Apparently there are lots of mastic gum trees in the area and this is a tradition here.

                                                              A Turkish coffee

On our way back to the waterfront we stopped at the 19th century Greek Orthodox church Ayios Haralambos.  The church is used for exhibitions now but you can still see some of the frescoes from the Orthodox era.  On the ceiling are portrayals of the four gospel writers and behind the area that was the altar is a depiction of Mary.  Oh, I should mention that this part of Turkey was called Smyrna in the Bible.

                                                          The interior of the church

We walked along the small boat harbor which had lots of private powerboats and sailboats.  The area is a very popular resort place in the summer. Then Hassan picked us up and we drove to a nearby town, Alaçati. The houses in this seaside town are very unique.  Many are made of volcanic stone.  Once again many were built by Greeks who lived here and when the great relocation occurred the Turks displaced from some of the Greek islands moved in.  Before we did a walkabout we went to a Turkish restaurant and had a delicious meal.  I’m not sure what all of it was but there was chicken with roasted peppers, potatoes and tomatoes; artichoke hearts marinated in lemon juice, a dish with eggplant, yogurt and tomato sauce, and a Turkish version of tzatziki which was less thick than the Greek version.  Everything was very tasty; I think I could learn to like Turkish food.

After lunch we walked down the winding street past a couple of old windmills which in the past were used to mill the grain of local farmers.  We walked into an old church which has been converted to a mosque.  As in all mosques I’ve ever been in the floors are covered with carpets.  There was something kind of funny that I realized when I got back to the ship.  I had to take my shoes off to go in and I had white socks on. This is Ramadan when devout Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.  When I got back to my cabin and took off my shoes, I had a big brown stain on one sock. I sniffed it and it was definitely chocolate.  Perhaps one of the congregants had sneaked a piece of chocolate to get them through the day.  The church had some Christian pictures, but as in Hagia Sophia, they were behind drapes.

                                                  Two of the windmills

                                                            Inside the mosque in Alaçati

We took another leisurely stroll back up the hill with a stop for a cold lemonade and then Hassan appeared to drive us back to Çesme and the ship. It was an interesting day with a lot of walking again (about four miles) and an opportunity to see a glimpse of Turkish life.

Back at the ship it was time for Trivia so I met my team.  Unbelievably we won again!  I’m meeting friends in a little while for drinks and dinner so I’d better end this.

Oh, one last thing.  My friend Hilary sent me this photo someone took of the two of us yesterday in Myrina.  I don't often post photos of me and today I've done two.

Myrina, Lemnos, Greece

Myrina, Lemnos

This morning early we anchored off the town of Myrina on the island of Lemnos. Lemnos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean.  In mythology this was the island that Hephaestus, the god of metallurgy, fell to when Zeus cast him out of Olympus. It was supposedly the location of Hephaestus’ forge because fire occasionally blazed forth from one of its mountains, indicating the volcanic nature of the island.  There is no volcanic activity now. A team of Greek, Italian and American archaeologists have unearthed ruins of the oldest human settlement  found so far in the Aegean islands. The stone tools found point to a settlement of hunters, gatherers and fishermen from the 12th millennium BC.

I suppose I should first update my day and evening on the 24th.  Boarding was uneventful  Everyone had to first get a rapid test and then we could board.  My cabin is the same kind I had last November, a Penthouse suite, but I’m not crazy about its location. It’s very close to the Observation Bar, my favorite on board, but to get to other venues I have to go down and have a long walk toward the stern of the ship.  Oh well, at least I should burn off some calories.

The ship was docked right below the palace and Hagia Sophia where I’d been the day before so it was quite a spectacular view.  When we sailed around 5:30 heading southwest into the Sea of Marmara we could see lots of ships waiting to go through the Bosporus. I went to the Observation Bar looking for the people I’d been corresponding with online. I didn’t find them but I met a lovely couple from South Carolina who had been on my November cruise on the Ovation. I hadn’t met them but they  asked if I played trivia.  They have been on the ship for a while and their whole team got off in Istanbul, so I’m joining them.  It should be fun.  After getting cleaned up I went down to the dining room and after a few minutes they brought a lady over to join me.  I looked at her and recognized her immediately as someone I’d been talking to online.  She’s from the midlands in the UK and a widow too.  We had a delightful evening and made plans to meet for breakfast and go ashore together.

                          Topkapi and Hagia Sophia from my veranda

                         Looking across to the Asian side from veranda

This morning my new friend Hilary and I met for breakfast and then tendered ashore.  It’s a glorious, sunny day; it’s not too hot and the sea is absolutely calm. We came ashore in the little village of Myrina.  It turns out it’s the day after Orthodox Easter and today is  the Feast of St. Joseph so most things are closed, but truly it made no difference because there aren’t many shops anyway.  On the tender we met Peter, a Belgian photographer, and the three of us walked around the waterfront. There was a café open and he invited us to sit and have a drink with him. The sun wasn’t over the yardarm here but it must have been someplace so we had a glass of the house white wine.  It was pleasant, not the best I’ve tasted, but drinkable.  Then Peter went off to climb up to the ruins of a castle and we continued our stroll through Myrina.

                                                                      Myrina, Lemnos

                                     Fisherman rolling up their nets

                                                           Sleepy Myrina

There was a nice little beach where we could take some photos across the harbor with our ship off in the distance, and on a point across the little bay there is a small white church with the blue tiled roof like you see all over Santorini.  With not much else to see we headed back to the ship.  My feet were grateful for the respite despite the fact that I’ve already walked over 2 miles today.  Hilary is a sun-lover so she’s out lying in the sun.  I’m on my veranda in the shade enjoying the tranquility.  Tonight is a formal night so I think I’ll dress up.  

                               Little beach with a church off in the distance on a point

                                                      Encore anchored beyond the jetty

I’ll try to write more about the rest of the day later, if anything worth writing about occurs.  For the next two days I have a Turkish female guide named Zeynip who will be taking me to see some sights around Çesme and Bodrum, both in Turkey.

P.S.  I went to trivia.  My new friends named our team "Tequila Mockingbird" and wonder of wonders, we won! Drumroll.....the prize was a genuine, made in China, embossed with the Seabourn crest, passport holder.