Day 6--Symi, Greece

The crew is so kind to us that they gave us an extra hour of sleep (due to the time change).  They changed everyone's clock, while we enjoyed last night's meal.  

Bill and I were both so tired we didn't go to last night's entertainment.  Santorina was our least favorite island, but I'm sure that is because of the crowds of tourists.  Patmos was much nicer and I'm sure that the fact that Clio was the only ship in the harbor had to do with that ranking.  I don't know how the harbor being closed affected the big ships, but it was nice that they weren't there.

Symi is gorgeous, however, at first I thought we were lost as my phone said welcome to Turkey.  Very quaint and quiet.  The yellow group was scheduled to leave at 8:15.  Sunday breakfast is always served with champagne. Dolphins were on both sides of the ship.  As we were enjoying breakfast, I remembered Bill was supposed to see the doctor to have his dressing changed.  We made a quick visit to the infirmary to have the dressing changed on  Bill's hand.  

The ship is docked in Symi and our bus was waiting for us as we departed the ship.  The driver took us up to the top of the mountain and the other side.  The scenery was gorgeous.

We then visited a Monastery, the Castle of the Knights of St. John and when we arrived found out that someone was being ordained as a new priest. It was erected in the 14th century atop the remnants of a fifth century monastery.  It was built on the site of an ancient temple to Athena.  This little area is expecting 6,000 people later in the day.

We enjoyed a short walk around the small cove.  Vasilis had told us to use the toilets to our left.  We walked further down the road and saw a WC sign.  These were "eastern squat toilets".  Now I know why he suggested we go left. Haven't seen those since we toured China. 

Our driver took us to the town where Vasilia showed us the statues of the sponge divers.  The divers would go out to sea and stay for long period of times.  The first divers would hold a big rock to get them to the bottom faster.  The daughter of the sponge shop owner told us that the longest record was 3 minutes and 58 seconds to a depth of almost 80 meters (approximate 250 feet?).  Then they advanced to the helmet with the air hose.  The only problem was the bends.  The way they "tested" them was to make sure they didn't come up too fast, was to give them a cigarette and if they could smoke it, they were OK.

The ship had to sail away from the dock at 12:30 to allow the ferry to use the dock.  We were told that we could stay in the village as the ship would be back later, but I think everyone went back to the ship for lunch.  There's two sections of upper decks and everyone was out working on their tans.  

There was a high tea in the afternoon but Bill and I both opted for a nap after getting to much sun.  

I'm not sure how to transfer photos from my phone to the blog, so you'll have to see the photo of Katarinettes on Facebook.  This is where the Germans surrendered control of the Dodecanese at the end of World War II ending Axis occupation. 

We've met some really nice people, who I know will stay in touch.  Once the ship docked again a lot of people walked down to the beach and away from the tourist shops.  I did manage to find a swimsuit coverup for our next trip.  

We only have a few more days on board, and we still haven't had time to open the bottle of champagne that was in our room.  

Dinner was great once again.  We went to the lounge for tonights entertainment and Bill and I left because we were both cold.  Still had our shorts on, and with the door opening for those who wanted to go ashore we could feel the cooler air.  Our tour guides suggested we go ashore as the bars were closing for the season after tonight.  We don't leave for Crete until 5 am. 

Turtle Safely........

 

 

Day 5--Patmos

Our first thing we did this morning was visit the ship's doctor.  He tried to find us last night as he wanted to check up on the work the hospital did on Bill's hand.  He changed the dressing and asked us to come to the infirmary every morning to have the dressing changed.  He wanted a copy of the doctor' report. He also gave Bill some antibiotics to take for the next week.  The swelling has gone done and it looked much better.

 One of the things I forgot to mention was the beautiful weather and wonderful food.  There is always something going on.  Yesterday we had margaritas on the upper deck as we watched the sunset. Every night they have a special wine for lunch and dinner, one red and one white.  

I don't think anyone has taken advantage of thIe electric bicycles you can use when in port.  

There just aren't enough hours in the day to enjoy everything.  I want to get a massage sometime on this voyage.  There were only four women in the yoga class this morning.

We just returned from a controversial talk on the migrants and refugees.  They always try and give both sides of a topic.

I must have missed the news, as the dock in Patmos was closed as a cruise ship sunk here about a week ago.  We had to tender into the harbor instead of docking.  Of course, our small group of 74 can all fit on one boat.

Vasilis introduced us to our local guide.  Our local guide told us Patmos is one of the original dozen islands of the Dodecanese and are sacred islands of the ancient land. The island is about the size of New Jersey.

There are alot of folk stories about Zeus and Poseiden.

But the number one reason people come to Patmos is it is the home of St. John the Evangelist.  St. John lived in a grotto beneath  the Temple of Diana.  We toured the Holy Cave of the Apocalpse.  Here he wrote the Gospel, and also the Book of Revelations.

We also toured the 11th century Monastery of St. John.  It sits on the top of the island and  can be seen from anywhere on the island.  Photos of course, were not allowed.  

The Holy Cave of Apolcalypse now has ramps down to it, when we were here before I believe there were steps.  At the Monastery you climbed up steps that switchbacked.  There were places to stop for those who couldn't make it to the top.  We made it to the top, but I was glad it wasn't much further.

We were shown the cracks in the walls of the cave and also where he slept on the floor.  What a feeling to know you where walking where he walked.

We visited the museum that had priceless religous relics.

The bus took us back down to the port.  We had about an hour on our own to explore the shops.

We were back onboard in time for lunch.  Bill and I both went back to our room for a short nap until one of the tour leaders gave a talk.

All members of the ship's crew call you by your name.  I don't know how they can do it, I'm still having trouble remembering.

Tomorrow we explore Symi.

Turtle Safely.......

 

 

Day Three and Four--Santorini

I was so tired last night, I didn't have much time to tell you about yesterday.  This will be brief as there is a lot more to mention. 

Our small group of 18 people ate in Plaka.  It was a small intimate restaurant/bar.  The food was terrific but I have no idea what I had other than the beet salad.  Our guide told us what each dish was called and the ingredients but by the time all these dishes were passed, I forgot.

We had an hour to wander around the shops before we took the bus to the cruise terminal.  There were four different buses of less than 20 travelers each.  All we had to do was show our passports, go through the TSA and we were onboard.  We were met by the staff, and they carried our carry ons to our room.  Each one of the groups arrived ten minutes from the others so there was no waiting.

We were suppose to be on the third floor but found our cabin had been upgraded to the fourth floor.  The room is lovely and at least twice the size of the cabin on the 50 passenger ship we took to in December.  

Shortly after arriving we went to the lounge for welcome drinks.  Everyone on the ship was introduced down to the dishwasher and laundry people.

We were giving the nightly port talk, which tells us what the following day's adventure was going to be.  Dinner was served and it was a five course dinner.  There were no compliants.  The wine glasses never got below half full.

We came up to the room and fell into bed.  During the port talk, we were told the seas were going to be rough and to stop at reception for sea sick pills.

Around 4 am I heard this terrible noise.  I jumped out of bed and found Bill on the floor.  He got up to use the bathroom and tripped over the doorway.  I guess I also failed to mention that I unplugged two of the night lights to use the electric sockets.  

He is on blood thinners so I've learned not to be too alramed when I see blood.  He was concerned because he got blood on the carpet.  I called the front desk and the receptionist said she'd call the doctor.  I didn't even have time to get dressed before he arrived.  He bandaged up Bill's hand and said he'd need to go to the hospital once we arrived in Santorini.

When we went down for breakfast, Vasilis said I should have called him too.  He said they would make all the arrangements for Bill to go to the hospital.  The doctor wanted it verified that he didn't have a broken bone.

We took the tenders to shore and took the cable car up the hill.  Vasilis took the group to the bus and introduced the local guide to our group.  He then left the group and took us to a private hospital.  He'd already picked up our passports at the front desk.  

We had to wait as there was a Korean girl who didn't speak English in surgery.  

An hour later, the doctor  took Bill back.  He was worried about infection and made him soak in something for 30 minutes.   Then the took him back to the "theater"  Two nurses both undressed him.  The even had foot and head coverings.  An hour later the doctor came out to say he did fine.  

He had pictures of the before and after.

The doctor didn't want us to leave until he took more xrays.  We waited for a little bit and then they took him back for more xrays.  Nothing broken, thankfully.  

Our tour guide walked with us in Santorini and we stopped for ice cream.  We told him we were fine and he left to get the rest of our group, while we stopped at a little cafe overlooking the bay.  

There were no crowds whe we arrived but by the time we were finished at the hospital, everyone had a chance to use the cable car.

We've been to Santorini before and there were a lot of people, but I don't remember crowds like today.  Of course, today was a holiday.  They are celebrating the first day of the World War.  There was a parade in town and we saw kids in traditional costumes.  

We took the 4 pm tender back to the ship.  Bill had a short snooze before we went up on the 5th deck for Margaritas as we sailed away.

Don't let the jacket fool you.  I was in shorts, but to be honest it was windy.

Turtle Safely........

 

Day 3--Acropolis, Parthenon etc.....

 I promised myself before we left home that I would do the blog every night.  I picked this trip because I thought it was a slower pace.

It's now 10 pm and we are just getting back to our room.  We were up for breakfast at 6:30 and haven't stopped all day.

Here's a phto of the Acropolis from the rooftop restaurant of the hotel

After breakfast our "yellow group" meet for our first time at 8 am.  Everyone introduced themselves and Vasilis gave everyone their "whisper" audio machines.  Our luggage had to be outside our room at 8 am and we were to be in the lobby at 9 am for a panaramic drive through Athens.  We've seen all the sites before.  

Five people out of the 18 decided they weren't capable of climbing up the Acropolis.  Bill was determined to do it.  For those of you who have never seen the Acropolis it is all marble.  On a nice sunny day like today, it is still slippery.  I was so glad that I hadn't forgotten our hiking sticks.  There are no handrails and nothing is flat.  

One person said her app recorded 2.9 miles which is straight up.  The app said we climbed 17 floors.  It was crowded and you had to watch constantly where you were walking.

After we caught up with the 5 who were waiting below, we walked up the Plaka.  We had a fabulous lunch with traditional Greek food.  We had small plates and they brought all kinds of different dishes.  The wine was a local one and they just served it in a picther.   

I'm just too tired to finish this blog.  Hopefully, I'll catch up tomorrow.

Turtle Safely ......

Day 2 Athens, Greece

I think these guards we saw yesterday might have attended Jackie's yoga classes.  I don't know if you can see from the photo but the soles of each guards shoes are touching each other.  

 I must say when we woke up at 4 am we felt much more refreshed after a good nights sleep.  I guess if there would be one thing that you could eliminate from traveling either the long flights or the jet lag, I'd pick the jet lag.  

The hotel breakfast is on the 11th floor.  There are spectacular views of the Acropolis.  The lights were still on it, when we arrived at the buffet as they opened.  As we were about to leave, another couple that rode in the shuttle from the airport asked to join us.  I won't say we talked alot, but the breakfast hours are from 7 am when we arrived and close at 10.  We went back to the room and Bill took advantage of the time and had a nap.  Something he never does.  

When we went down to the lobby, all three of the tour directors had a desk set up for those arriving from the airport.  Vasilis had some suggestions on things to see and do.   Everything seems to be within a couple of miles of the hotel.  The metro is $1.20 for the first 90 minutes.  

We visited the Acropolis Museum the last time we were in Greece but now they have a new world famous one.  

One quick stop in our room to pick up my phone and off we went.  Vasilis had also told us about a tiny authentic Greek restaurant.  Once we started walking we walked past the turkey sign inside a building where the restaurant was.  Knowing we have our welcome dinner which is usually very nice, we thought we'd order something small.  Vasilis told us the restaurant couldn't accomodate more than 20 people.  There was one empty table.  As we were about to sit down a couple at another table waved us over to sit with them.  They are in our group and had just arrived and spotted my name tag.  The meal was delcious.  We shared the meal and still had some leftover.  Our waitress brought over cups of their soup to try and a platter of different breads.  Bill had a local beer and I had a glass of red wine.  Total for the meal and tip was less than 15 Euros.

I have to tell you about our experience at the ATM.  We never come with any foreign money just use the ATM.  I put our debit card in the machine and my card was sucked up and gone.  This has never happened in all of our traveling.  Of course, the machine is in Greek, while some machines in Europe have several languages.  Some nice gentlement could see I was having trouble and came over and helped me.  You can't get your card back until you have completed the entire transaction.  I took out $200 so we'd have anything left for the next trip.  200 Euro was $213 in US funds including the transaction fee.  Quite a huge difference from some of our other travels.  

By the time we gabbed with this couple we decided we we'd skip the museum as it was getting too late to go  there and back in time to attend the welcome drink, meal and meeting.  

This is our second day and we haven't visited a church yet.  I think that is a record when you are in Europe.  They are all beautiful and unique and you can't help but stop in everyone you see. 

Vasilis is really worried about tomorrow.  The Acropolis is expecting over 15,000 tourists tomorrow as 6 cruise ships are in town.  

One thing you see everywhere are motorcycles, not little scooters like you see in Italy.  These are everywhere and they ride them on the sidewalks.

Our dinner was very good and there were a lot of happy people once they tried the ouzo.  The four trip leaders introduced themselves.  They were all what you expect from this company.  Fun loving people.  

I know there are a few readers that have never traveled outside the United States.  Here's a few things that are different in foreign hotels.  One thing is they do not use wash cloths.  You always have to bring them from home.  

The second is there is always an emergency pull cord to get help once you slip in there very high bathtubs and showers.  

They also have an emergency intercom by the toilet.  I am just reporting the facts.....so no comments as to why you need that.  

The next thing is the electric.  When you enter a room there is this little box that you put your key card into to give the room electricity.  It used to be that we could leave any kind of card with the magnetic strip so we could charge things while we were out.  Now the box only works with your room key.  The other interesting thing is that all the windows open.  Most US hotels don't have windows that open.  In England the law says they can only open 12 inches wide so no one will commit suicide.  So there folks, your first lesson in traveling abroad.

It's going to busy tomorrow.  Our group will be the first to leave tomorrow at 8 am.

Turtle Safely........

 

  

Day one in Athens Greece

 

Bill and I always try to have a plan B when traveling, but Monday's went very smoothly.  We were up at 1:30 am to allow for traffic which there was none and to take a different route to the airport since the Broadway curve project had the road closed from Friday evening until 4 am on Monday.  No lines waiting or lines anywhere.  Age does have benefits, as we were told to pre board with those that were in wheelchairs.  Maybe they have a category for those over 85.  

After we were settled into our seats I noticed the couple across the aisle had OAT luggage tags.  I asked them if they were headed to Greece.  Yep, they are in the group of 74 expected passengers for this small ship and land tour.

Our tour leader had called earlier in the week to introduce himself over the phone and ask if we had any questions.  We don't have the same tour guides as the others. We will be in the yellow group.

I noticed we had a very nice looking blond pilot but I didn't hear any blond jokes.  The flight was over 4 hours to Newark.  Although we landed early once again we had to wait until they had a gate empty.

Since we hadn't had any breakfast before left, we decided to grab a quick bite before our international flight.  Knowing that the next flight would be serving dinner shortly after take off, we shared a Cuban sandwich.  I was glad I had that half sandwich because I didn't care for the dinner but I always eat the ice cream.  Bill and I were anxiously waiting for the plane doors to close to find that we had a empty seat between us.  

The first flight was 4 hours 22 minutes, with a wait time of 3 hours 28 minutes and the final leg was 9 hours 20 minutes.  Both flights arrived early and even customs and baggage were pretty fast.

Everytime we take a flight there is something new and better.  This time the entertainment has changed.  Now if you want to start a movie it will tell you if you'll land before finishing the movie.

There were 8 people on that plane that will be on the tour.  A tour guide showed us where our transportation was.  The guide also gave us some suggestions of things we might want to see.  Of course there was a lot of gabbing from the airport to the hotel.  The tour doesn't start until tomorrow but at least 8 people came in a day early.  I think there will be more as the airport guide had another flight she had to meet the travelers.

Even though we were at least 3 hours early for check in, our room was ready.  We ran upstairs to check out the room before heading out to find an ATM.  Once we had some Euros in our pocket, we explored the area.  This hotel is centrally located in the heart of Athens. Normally, we would have gone upstairs to the terrace for a drink and a view of the Acropolis, but we need some sleep.  

I am way too tired to give any details or try posting a lot of photos, hopefully, tomorrow.  We walked to the National Library, the University of Athens,and  Municipal Culture Center, some ancient ruins of Athens, and the best place Parliment.  We were able to watch the changing of the guards.  I thought London was pretty good but these guys were much better.

Had a nice dinner in a sidewalk cafe.  Greek salad, bread and beers for less than $20 in the heart of a big city.

It's 7 pm and Bill is sound asleep and I'm right behind him.

Turtle Safely.....