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.