Cruise days - Greece: Athens and Rhodes

May 21, 2010

Today was a day that Margaret and I could sleep in a bit, as our joint excursion did not begin until almost 10 am. So we were up for breakfast, basically the same choices we had in the dining room a couple of days ago. We met up with Joanie Bradford and Michael Gannon, friends who I have not seen in a while, and had a nice conversation over breakfast. We were all going on the same excursion, but ended up on different buses with different guides. In fact, I think that all 24 of us were going to the same place.

Our excursion was called Scenic Athens and Acropolis. Our bus trip to the ruins included running commentary about the important locations, gardens, buildings, statues, ruins, etc. that we passed. During the early part of the trip we saw the remaining columns of the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, the National Parliament Building with the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior with the guards in traditional dress including skirts, and the Panathinion Stadium location of the first modern Olympics in the 1896 (this is where the Olympic torch is lit every 4 years).

And then we reached the Acropolis where the walk up and down can be difficult and dangerous. Much of the pathway is paved with marble stepping stones and steps, both of which can become really slippery in rainy weather, which was forecast for today. That coupled with the incredible crowds of visitors (which one guide told the group was 'low' and we were 'lucky') makes the ascent and descent slow and tiring. Margaret and I had received numbers for the same group as her friends, Dave and Barbara, so the four of us mostly walked together helping each other. The steps were slanted, mostly higher than normal with shorter step areas. And once we arrived at the top of the Acropolis, we then needed to walk on gravel through which marble points and rocks protruded. After centuries of people walking on the marble near the ruins, the rocks have been rubbed smooth and slippery in many places, and with cracks, crevices, and other natural shapes that are difficult to negotiate.

Most of the ruins – the Parthenon, the Temple of Nike (warrior Athena), and others – are partially hidden by scaffolding because of the enormous amount of restoration being completed. Two years ago when Anita and I went to Africa and other places, we passed on Athens as a connection city because we did not want to see the Acropolis until the restoration was completed. Well now I have seen it, taken a lot of photos with many tourists in them because it is almost impossible to find a view that does not include tourists. And, I still think our decision of two years ago was the right one. The restoration will be amazing when completed, but for now, you must concentrate really hard to see the ruins without modern interruptions.

I wandered around by myself most of the time, looking for unusual points-of-view for photos. I found a spot that gave me what I think will be one of my favorite photos of the trip - a spot where there were few people and a view of the Parthenon which included some flowers.

We were all to make our own way down from the top to a meeting place for the bus to pick us up. We were taken to the center of Athens, near the Parliament building where we were met by a Royal Caribbean representative who led us to a shopping area and made recommendations for trusted shopping or restaurants for lunch.

 Barbara, Dave, Margaret and I stayed in town for lunch – my sister Liz makes a better pork stuffed with Feta cheese, peppers and tomatoes. The restaurant was fronted by this beautiful multi-story bougainvillea. We walked a few blocks to another area and found a narrow street lined with small shops with reasonable prices catering to tourists, where all of us were able to find a few things to purchase for ourselves or gifts.

I have a nephew who is anxiously awaiting my return because his birthday present is coming from the trip instead of at his birthday on May 10th. I feel certain he is going to like my choice when he receives is after I return and get it mailed to him. And since his older brother's birthday will be within a week of my return, I found something for him today.

I also found what has become a traditional trip souvenir - a pair of Grecian earrings - lovely and recommended by a kind shop clerk, with approval from Margaret, who also purchased earrings.

Back to the ship by reduced fare taxi complements of Royal Caribbean. Time to clean up a bit, go to dinner, visit with some friends in the Viking Lounge almost at the top of the ship and then here to my room to get ready to try uploading after I brought these entries up-to-date. Unfortunately, it's after 10 pm and we have an early excursion in Rhodes tomorrow morning, so I'm off to bed instead of to the computer room.

See you all tomorrow. I wish I could confidently upload photos without breaking my budget, but once again, photos will wait until after I return home. Perhaps I'll have better luck with free wifi in our hotels during our anniversary trip from mid August to early September.


May 22, 2010



After the bus left the pier, we drove for about a hour along the beautiful coast to Kamiros, an ancient city in ruins. The guide spent several minutes explaining what we would see before we left the bus. (She had also identified towns, the airport and power plant on the way to the site, as well as talking about the types of houses we passed.) Once out of the bus, we moved up a hill (the lady from the previous paragraph stayed on the bus – important, so keep reading) and gathered at the edge of the main and lowest areas of the ruins. Our guide suggested that everyone walk up the gravel and large stone path to the top of the valley. As I looked at the site, I decided that one would not need to walk too far to see most of the important areas. (Barbara and Dave confirmed this after they returned to the bus.)

I motioned Margaret over under a tree where I had found an empty bench so she could sit for a while. She was still tired from walking up the hill yesterday to see the Acropolis. I explained that I had walked up the path right in front of us and felt that I had seen all I needed to see and photograph of Kamiros. She made the short walk and agreed, so we sat and chatted. We left to visit the bathrooms (or bathroom – one per sex). The men's line was moving much more quickly, so some women moved over to join the line. Apparently there was no difference inside. This worked with some of the men, and more women joined that line, while the women's line continued to move really slowly. Some men were offended and would not wait at the back of the line, but instead just moved into the line after the first man at the front of the line, or in front of the woman heading the line. Despite this, the men's room line moved faster. Cultural differences were apparent in this experience.

As I walked down the hill to the bus it occurred to me that if the lady who stayed on the bus, had realized she could see much of the ruins without climbing the hill (very difficult to imagine in her wheelchair), she might have left the bus to come to the location where Margaret and I looked over the ruins. According to the guide when I mentioned this to her, she understood what I suggested and still chose to stay in the bus. At least the guide had tried, and I'm certain that several men and/or women would have shared the pushing of her wheelchair.

We returned to the city the same way, along the coast, that we had left a couple of hours earlier.













Our final stop was the old medieval and walled city of Rhodes. We had a walking tour of the city and then about 45 minutes on our own. Our tour included the Port d'Ambrose, the Palace of the Grand Master, the Hospital of the Knights of Malta, the Street of Knights, the Governor's Palace, and the Hotel des Rhodes. All these locations were within the city walls. It was interesting to walk within this very old city, with four entrance gates on the waterfront, and feel as if you were in a semi-modern city. There were cars and motorcycles, lots of stores, museums, street performers, and more than just tourists milling around. It was quite an unusual experience.

The bus returned to one of the gates, nearest to where the tour ended, to take those who did not want to walk right back to the ship. Margaret said “Why should I walk when I can ride?” So we rode.

We were back in time for me to check my email and try to get online with my netbook. Understand that I had used some time from the package I had purchased to lower the price per minute from 65 cents per minute. The cost is still quite high, but there is no refund if you don't use all your minutes, and I didn't think I would use the largest package. Little did I know just how slow the connection is on the ship. Margaret used a couple of my minutes to check her email, and then I went looking for one of the hot spots a couple of decks below us. I found it and could not stay connected. I finally approached a man who appeared to be working on line, explaining that my 'geek' had stayed home. He walked me through the process and got me connected. However, everything went from bad to worse because of the slow connection. Ultimately, I did not get any more work completed, nor was I able to upload pre-typed diary entries to my blog, nor did I stay connected. Suddenly every window closed and I was unable to log in.

At this point I was angry so I walked over to Guest Relations, told them of my experience, worked with one of the IT guys to prove that I could connect and knew how to do it (although his way was different than the way I was taught by the man who helped me.) Once everything was confirmed, they kindly refunded the entire amount I had paid to open the account. I protested, saying that I had used some of the minutes to be online a day or so ago, but the Customer Representative insisted and I said OK.

I still don't think that I will be able to do much with the blog while on the cruise, but I should have almost everything ready when I get home. I have been editing and deleting photos each evening, so the first sort will be completed by the time I return to Ellicott City. I thought Africa and Cyprus were difficult from a computer point-of-view, no way, they were a piece of cake when compared to what I found here on Royal Caribbean. I hope the wifi we find in California will be faster. Then I might be able to blog and upload photos at the same time. Keep your fingers crossed.