November 19 - Athens (Piraeus), Greece

Here we are in Piraeus, the port for Athens,  on a beautiful but chilly Sunday. I slept in a little this morning since I had said my goodbyes to my friends last night.  My intention was to stay on the ship today since I’ve been here several times, and after climbing up to the Acropolis a few times already, I didn’t feel a need to do it again.  After breakfast I decided I ought to at least go and take a ride to Athens, so I went ashore and   negotiated a ride with a taxi driver.  He spoke limited English and of course my Greek is non-existent except for good morning and thank you, but we managed to communicate. As usual I sat in the front and we went off to the Acropolis so I could take some photos.  

It turns out that my driver used to be a striker for one of the big football (soccer) teams in Greece. He showed me a couple of photos of himself as a young man in his soccer uniform with Pelé, the great Brazilian player.  He evidently had to retire after getting a massive injury to his left leg.  He wrote his name down for me but it’s in the Greek alphabet and I’m not sure what it says.  I'm going to see if one of the staff can transcribe it into English letters.  I believed him because he looked to be in his late 50's or 60's and he reminded me of a couple of old US football players Al and I encountered in our travels.  Years ago ball players weren't making the fantastic sums of money they do now and from my conversation today I gathered the same thing is true here.  Anyway, when we got to the area below the Acropolis he parked in a no parking zone and put a note on the dashboard  with his name and phone number and assured me people would recognize his name and leave his car alone. We walked to the park below the Acropolis so I could take some great pictures.  When we got back to the car a little later it was there as he said it would be.   

This one is just to prove I was really here

One of the many musicians playing at the Acropolis.  I'm not sure what the instrument is he's playing.

I should tell the story about the olive trees around the Acropolis.  According to legend Poseidon and Athena were competing for the favor of the people living in this place.  Poseidon smashed his trident against the ground and brought forth a salt water spring. Athena, the wiser of the two gods, planted an olive tree on the Acropolis and Athens chose her.  The trees on the hillside are still olive trees and of course, the city is named after her.

I didn’t want to see anything else but he was very insistent that we needed to go and have coffee at a  marina in Piraeus so off he went.  Because it’s Sunday there isn’t a lot of traffic and we drove at breakneck speed.  Along the way we passed the football stadium and he told me that was where he used to play.  True to his word, it was a beautiful marina lined with cafés along a promenade. The cafés were crowded with locals out for a Sunday walk and coffee.  The street ran right along the dock and my driver parked half on the dock and half on the narrow street, put his note  back on the dashboard, and we walked to a place for a coffee and some sparkling water.  His was literally the only car parked there because it was obviously not a parking place. In fact when I opened my door to get out I  pushed over an orange traffic cone.   This marina had the kind of yachts you see in magazines with stories about celebrities partying on the Riviera.  We sat for perhaps a half hour watching people go by.  My driver told me he has four grown kids and showed me a picture of his dog.  Somehow despite our lack of a common language we had a conversation of sorts.  He treated me to the coffee and then we drove back to the port.  It was a nice couple of hours interlude.  I got his phone number so that the next time I come back to Piraeus, I can call him to drive me again.  I know I haven't said his name and that's because he told me the nickname he's called and it sounded something like"Kringa" but I'm not sure of that.  He was a nice man whatever he's called.

My coffee companion

I heard this morning that we were picking up about 380 new passengers today which means we won’t have a full ship. (The Encore holds 600 passengers when fully booked.)  It’s easy to tell who the new people are because they wander around looking a little lost.  In a couple of days they will know their fore from their aft.  

I haven’t written much about some of the dinners I’ve had.  As usual I’ve gotten invitations to hosted tables every night and I’ve accepted a few of them.  Hilary and I were invited to the same ones every night. I guess the staff knew we were friends and tried to put us together.  Two nights ago we had one of the nicest evenings I can remember in a long time.  Among the guest entertainers this past week were two pianists who perform playing one piano.  When they’re playing they sit side by side and there are four hands playing at the same time, with their hands crossing over each other. It’s hard to describe but they were absolutely fantastic and they are also hilariously funny.  There were five of us at the table and I think we laughed the whole time.  Some hosted tables can be very dull, especially if they are ones with eight or ten people  but this one was a lot of fun.  One night I sat next to the officer in charge of security which was very interesting given where our voyage goes next. As we sail down to the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and onwards there are extra precautions taken. 

 

We've set sail on our way to our next stop in Crete tomorrow.  Today we were the only cruise ship here, something I've never seen before. The season is really over. Here's a photo of the sunset we're sailing toward.  I've rambled enough for one day and it's time to get ready for the evening.  There's a dance party but I'm not sure my knee will cooperate.  Hasta mañana!