May 10, 2008—- Athens, Greece 10 hours ahead of PDT
We had a chance to sleep in until around 9:30am and were awaken by the horn of a tugboat blowing. We were in Piraeus, the largest port in Greece. During the early morning hours our ship had approached Athens from the south, using the sea traffic separation scheme that controls the inbound and outbound traffic into the bay. Everyday there are ferries that depart for the Greek islands as well as Italy, Cyprus and Turkey. We have another sunny day, highs were around 75 degrees with a slight breeze once in awhile. Athens is the capital of Greece and is a very busy city. We walked to the train station once the shuttle bus had brought us to the passenger entrance of the port. This is such a large port that our ship was probably a mile away from the entrance, thank heavens for the shuttle. The train station was about a 2mile walk and we figured out the ticket system, got on the train and headed towards downtown. We had no formal tour scheduled again, relying on Evany’s past experience in the city, things like, don’t forget to validate your train ticket prior to getting onboard, otherwise there is a $480 fine. We landed right in the prime downtown area, lots of little shops that were built on ancient ruins, and when they start to construct new buildings, they are always running into ancient ruins. Athens still holds the ancient Acropolis and all of its history in high regard to ensure it is always available to everyone who visits. The core of the city is built on a lofty hill with steep sides, providing an excellent defensive site. You can see the Acropolis when you take your eyes off the path you are walking, it’s always right there in front of you, just looming on the skyline like a city in the clouds. We started heading towards that area, avoiding carts of merchandise in the street, other people, and the small holes that were in the sidewalk. We walked a bit, and then saw a small tourist type choo-choo train, ok, it was almost like the kind you find at the country fairs. For $5E you could get on and off at the different stops and save your feet, which was very enticing, so we jumped on. The train took us around the area, and we got our bearings. When we reached the area near the base of the Acropolis, we jumped off. Evany had warned us of the extremely steep walk and the high steps that would take you to the top, it would be a bit demanding physically. The weather was still cool enough and the crowds light, so Kim, Marlene and Bonnie elected to take up the challenge and go for it. Connie and Evany decided to do some wandering on their own, and agreed to hook up back at the ship. Kim, Marlene and Bonnie started their ascent up the Acropolis watching out for the pieces of large slabs of well worn marble that were slick, avoiding the uneven pavement and climbing up some steep steps, but we managed to get to the top. The walk up included approximately 80 steep steps through the Propylea led us to the Parthenon, the Erectheion and the graceful Porch of the Caryatids. The 360 degree view from the top is amazing, you can see the entire city below and pick out the white marble of other remaining ruins in the city such as the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Theater of Dionysos. We remained on the top of the Acropolis for a while, just enjoying our achievement and taking in the feel of what this special place was all about. We headed back down very carefully after watching others slip on the smooth marble that had been worn down by so many travelers. We found our train at the bottom, and jumped back on for another ride around the area. We drove by very modern day buildings that had neighbors that were ancient ruins. It was time to grab some lunch and we wanted to have some Greek food, so we started looking for some place, and ran into one of the Romers had just eaten at a restaurant down the road, and he recommended it to us. We found the place, and were given a table inside. This was a very busy establishment, and looked to be a family run business. We were seated next to the kitchen, ok, actually Bonnie’s back was to the open kitchen. Marlene and Kim could watch the preparation of the meals, it was very entertaining. The whole place was well managed chaos. The waiters running with seven or eight plates of food on their arms, tables being cleaned in a matter of seconds (the tablecloth cover was a clear plastic that would be wrapped up with left over plates and taken all into the back), live guitar music and singing (Marlene thought it was a record that was stuck), and all of this entertainment at no extra charge! The food arrived and it was great. The food here is fresh, the ingredients are the freshest, you could smell the tomatoes in the kitchen, smelled like a just like a garden. We had such a great time, and we’re given a gift of dessert from our waiter with a wink and a smile. This lunch provided not only the needed recharging for the walk back, but gave us a great memory to cherish of this area always. We walked around the local shopping area called the Plaka, and then headed to the train station to find our way back to the ship. This was done without incident, and it was a relaxing ride back to the port. Once there we started walking, and more walking and some more walking. We did have to take a break and strolled into a McDonald’s just to take a picture of their menu. Then it was back to the walking thing…did I say anything about walking? We managed to get in over 7 miles today. Kim’s got a few blisters that just start to heal and then we have a day where we are walking long distances. We really enjoyed today, probably one of the best in our book of fun days. We found Evany and Connie relaxing on their balcony when we got back. They had wandered over the city and had done some shopping as well as had tried to go to the Archaeological Museum, but it was only open until noon, we think everyone takes siesta, at least we have found that to be true in most of the countries we’ve visited. The normal operating hours are 8:00am to 2:00pm and then again from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. This is true for most stores unless they are specifically tourist type shops. We were all tired and sweaty, so most of us elected to take showers before dinner and we got a load of laundry done too. We had dinner and then came back to the room. Kim and Bonnie went downstairs to order the video of this part of the cruise (Evany had purchased the prior video), and while down there decided a stop into the casino would be fun, we hadn’t been there for a while with all the early morning tours. We played for a bit, then Kim came running over to where Bonnie was playing, stopping just long enough to say “go watch my machine, I’ve got to go get ID”, and then she ran off. Needless to say, she did it again!! She was playing video poker, had the Queen and Jack of Hearts held, and then she drew the Ace, Ten and King of Hearts – that would be a ROYAL FLUSH!! The best hand in poker, and since she had just upped her bet to $10 for that hand, she won the most you can win at that game – she won $8,000.00!! The casino host who helped with her last win was the same one for this win. When Bonnie arrived to baby sit the machine, all he could say was “she did it again”, meaning Kim. Marlene was asleep in the room (just like before), and Kim called from the elevator lobby saying “open the door and put your robe on, I did it again”. The door was ajar when Kim arrived and Marlene elected not to parade in her nightgown and robe, but awaited the traditional (it’s becoming a tradition now) of throwing the $100 bills on the bed and then recounting the win! Big congrats to the big winner-Kim!! Kim still is attributing her wins to her clean pure life, oh we the rest of us could be so pure!! It’s a wonder the casino doesn’t have her under investigation. It’s just about midnight and this writer is tired, gotta get some rest, have to wish everyone (where this applies) a most happy Mother’s Day!!
11:55pm N36 degrees 24 minutes E23 degrees 4 minutes, 21.0 knots, 1833 nautical miles from Rome, 9147 from Ft. Lauderdale, 143 nautical miles to Katakolon, 65 degrees outside, slight seas, light breeze