Mark & Gill

Rode out the rocky night in relative peace it seems and woke to find ourselves docked in the busy Piraeus Harbour, Athens! Cruise over sad to say – would have been nice to have a few more days but all good things come to an end and wait there is more!

Onwards to the Acropolis – a religious centre dating back to 5th century with many old monuments/temples etc built to worship greek gods – the remaining structures are as impressive as they say and huge when you are up next to them, especially the most well known – the Parthenon (Google The Acropolis FYI). The guide had an amazing story about how little ruins moved in the last recent earthquake here – not enough to put a needle in he said! They knew this as extensive renovations underway and measuring equipment etc in place.

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Not a town but a small archipelago of 5 islands in the southern Agean Sea. The first thing you notice is all the white houses sitting on top of the towering cliffs (compare to yesterday where they were all along the harbour). Santorini was formed by an enormous volcanic eruption and was uninhabited for years. Then resettled about 1000 BC and grown from there. Still 2 active volcanoes and last eruption was in 1956 which devasted the main town of Fira.

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Tendered into this lovely little fishing port, the second largest town in Crete – crescent-shaped harbour lined by houses and shops painted in warm pastels. Lots of narrow alleys crammed with shops. Enjoyed wandering the cobblestoned paths and rather absorbed watching the “garra rufa” fish – ichthyotherapy to remove dead cells from the feet. Feet are immersed in an aquarium containing the little fish. First they nibble off the old cells & secrete an enzyme which helps with regeneration, circulation & massage.

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We sailed into this lovely sleepy little fishing village admiring a gorgeous sunrise. Katakolon is the gateway to nearby Olympia – site of the early Olympic Games. Being a little over ruins & especially traipsing around them in the heat we choose to have a quiet morning in the little town – we did watch an interesting lecture about the Olympic site & ruins – past and present views so do feel we “got” some history! I thoroughly enjoyed shopping and wandering while Mark had coffee and free internet! Today was the first day we have met several other cruise ships in port – all arrived after us so no problem and there was an amusing exchange of horns as we also departed first!

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Corfu is a small verdant island, known as the Capri of Greece. There are some lovely little bays like the one at Palaikastri – 16 miles west of Corfu town where we briefly sailed out in a local’s boat in crystal clear blue water to admire the small fish, caves and colours – very pleased the boat had a sunshade! A short drive later over more hairpin bends, and through the longest wait at a red traffic light ever (for a stretch of narrow road through a village), took us to a local tavern for meze, local wine and some shopping time.

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Wow- it just gets better! Up at the crack of dawn for the cruise down the magnificent fjord to dock at Kotor. Beautiful calm blue water, huge hills with little clusters of houses around the waters edge and then the Bay of Kotor! Magic. A highlight on the way into dock was the 2 little islands just inside the bay- “St George” & “Lady of the Rock”.  We breakfasted on our balcony through the cruise in and were ready for our all day trip into Montenegro! The trip on a medium size bus up the narrow ‘serpentine road’ with its 25 hairpin bends to get to the top was entertaining – as we met numerous cars and a convoy of 4WDs coming in the other direction. The view from the top was magnificent – looking down on the ship, landscape and fjord very impressive. The country is rich in history and landscape and we saw some of this in the little villages, UNESCO protected walled city, stunning beaches and mountains. Highest peak is 1,700m. Second highest at 1,600m has a mausoleum on top! Built in 19th century! Quite a hike on horseback! Lunched at a local restaurant with typical country food – very good! Again another very hot day in 30’s somewhere (we hear there is snow/sleet in Hamilton!) – it can get up to 42 degrees here in summer and winters are long and cold with plenty of snow! Montenegro is only 13,800 sq km in size, proudly independent after a long fight and very beautiful. They hope to join the EU in 2013.

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Boarding Azamara Quest in Venice and cruising down the canal to the Adriatic Sea as dusk fell was fairly impressive! Past the Basilica, numerous canals , observing venetian life from on high and through a flotilla of boats, glass of champagne in hand boded well for the days ahead! However, despite the lure of the after dinner activity (after a feast!) we tested the bed next – very tired after arising at 3.30 am for the flight to Venice. Stateroom provisions very good! We docked in Split, Croatia at noon Monday – very smooth overnight cruise – morning spent exploring the ships amenities – many & varied! In the afternoon we took a tour to the Split Riviera- Trogir, an island barely separated from the mainland –only 800mx400m – quite a hangout! Then toured the Dioclethan Palace in Split itself – contains a city within a palace, dating from Roman Times & now UNESCO protected. Lots of quaint alleyways, piazzas & churches as well as shops & houses, all now privately owned by citizens. Was very hot indeed and we were pleased to get back to the ship and cool off! Split landscape very dry of course but picturesque. Specialities of Croatia are the maraschino cherry (& liqueur) as well as grappa. Did you know a Croatian invented the fountain pen and also the cravat? – way too hot for one of those today!!

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Walk up Killiney Hill this am-lovely views over Killiney Bay, back to Dalkey and over Dublin City. Then to Dun Laoghaire, just along from Dalkey and a walk out to the end of one of the piers forming a breakwater and enclosing marina. Tour of a French naval patrol vessel docked alongside – accompanying  Solitaire de Figaro yachts currently on 3rd leg stopover. These were yachts & naval boats I saw going past the window earlier in the week. Fireworks on the pier tonight that we should see from home! Early flight to Vienna tomorrow to catch the cruise to Croatia and Greece! New photos posted.

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Today we all went to Belfast, about a 2 hour drive from Dalkey. Belfast is “over the border” (Northern Ireland) – Micah’s first trip to the UK!  The border is pretty much invisible apart from subtle changes and different road signs. We went straight to the Shankill Road area and spent some time wandering and looking at the now famous murals, testament to the voices & struggles of the past. Has improved my understanding & appreciation of past & fairly recent history!

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Matt & Kat’s village of Dalkey is a seaside suburb, about 30 mins by train, 15 mins by car (off peak) from Dublin city itself. In medieval times, Dalkey was Dublin’s most important port town with 7 castles- only 2 remain today. Was a walled town on 3 sides with a double ditch or rampart on the other side. Dalkey Island has a Martello Tower- one of 26 along the Dublin coast built to defend against a threatened invasion by Napolean. There is also another Martello Tower in Matt and Kat’s backyard, one just up the road that now houses the James Joyce Musuem and another at Bray is owned by Bono.

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