Greece, the Corinth Canal and Sounio

I started the day feeling quite excited.  We're going to go down the Corinth Canal and I've seen pictures........  It looks quite awesome.

"The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former peninsula an island. The builders dug the canal through the Isthmus at sea level; no locks are employed. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) in length and only 21.4 metres (70 ft) wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. It now has little economic importance."

Reading a bit more, it seems it's been beset by problems and is now only used for tourist ships.  And as a tourist, I can tell you it's definitely an experience.

It's hard to believe that's nearly four miles of canal ahead of us. 

The sun is really high and hot (that's why the picture looks washed out), &  the sides are closing in. 

High walls on either side - just a brilliant place to be

You can see we don't have a lot of room on either side.

The people on the bridge stop to watch.  They think it's as cool as we do. 

And to get the view from one of the bridges, looking down on us, click on this link>> Oooooh! That looks a bit tight!

It took ages for us to get through the canal.  According to the captain it was because of low water, tides etc.  There is more about it on Wiki.  I was quite happy though, it just meant we had a longer experience. Absolutely class! 

So, once through the canal, it was on to Piraeus, our final destination of the cruise.  We'll be arriving in the afternoon, and we'll be on tour to a place called Sounio to see Poseidon's temple.  The ship stays in Piraeus overnight, and we leave tomorrow via Athens Airport and then home

The ship arrived in Piraeus late (something to do with an extra long ride down the Corinth Canal), and we had a 90 minute drive to Sounio.  And then, to add to the drama a little, the port authorities were late to come aboard to clear the ship for disembarking.  It was all getting a little tense as the minutes ticked by.

We all got on the bus, and enjoyed quite a fantastic view as our driver took us along the coast road to our destination.  I think I've now decided I really like Greece, all as a result of that coach trip.  But, as I said, it took 90 minutes to reach the temple, and the sun was beginning to set.  Peter and I were beginning to think we weren't going to make it. 

But as it happened, the tour had ended up being timed nearly perfectly.  I say nearly.  If we'd had arrived 15-20 minutes later, we might just have been able to watch the sun set.  A really quite beautiful place.

The Temple of Poseidon, Sounio

Sunset from Sounio

All too soon it was time to leave, and our bus took us home in the dark.

So that was the end of this cruise.  Tomorrow we fly back to Heathrow and normality.  It really has been such a wonderful two weeks, I don't want to go back.   My only consolation is that I'm off on another cruise a few weeks.

Goodbye Mediterannean - Hello Canaries.  

Our first visit to Albania - Sarande

We've only got a half day in Sarande - and it's gonna be a hot one.

Looking from the deck, we are surrounded by hills on land, and the port looks out on more mountains - it turned out we were looking at Corfu.

Corfu from Sarande Port

And I made a mistake in my last post.  I thought Albania used to be part of Yugoslavia.  Wrong!  Albania has always been Albania.  It went through a socialist period, but became a parliamentary republic in the 90's.  So I've learnt something.  Anyway, now we are here, time for a wander to see what there is to see.
Basically, Sarande is a bit of a holiday destination.

For us, it was a very hot day, so it was odd to see people wrapped up.   We did see a couple go for a swim later in the day though.

Absolutely glorious.

We had a lovely morning just pottering along the sea front and back.  Very nice.
Then it was time for the off.  Another half day sailing and tomorrow we get to the Corinth Canal.  I've seen pictures and I'm all excited.

Looking back at Sarande.  The hills form a stunning backdrop to the town. 

Life at Sea on the Minerva

So today is a sea day - a day where the ship heads towards the next port, and the passengers fill their time while we sail.

And that is why Peter, and the Lecturers, and the after dinner speakers and acts are on board - to help the passengers fill their time.

The Minerva is a delightful ship and one of our favourites.  It has such a relaxed, unhurried air about it.  During our two cruises so far, we have never had to look for somewhere to sit, be it in the lounges or on the deck.  I will admit the Veranda Restaurant has looked a little full sometimes, but still, there has always been a table or too free.  They had to bring an extra chair into the Darwin Lounge once, but that was because of the very excellent after dinner speaker of the night, so that would be the exception to prove the rule I think.

Perhaps it's because it's a small ship, and therefore not many passengers, but the Minerva doesn't really do queues either - I think the longest  I've seen was for the BBQ on the rear deck once.  Little things like this lessen any chance of stress while you are you are supposed to be having a relaxing holiday.  The staff are very attentive, so much so that you are rarely given the opportunity to carry your own plate from the buffet to the table.  The food is very good, we've always been given a good cabin with a relatively modern bathroom and everything is kept very clean.  You can't really go wrong, can you?

But it doesn't suit everyone.  If you were looking for loud music and the chance to dance into the wee hours of the morning whilst supping copious amounts of alcohol - then this is not the ship for you.  Dancing show girls, climbing walls, wave machines, casino's and fast food are not the thing here.  Everything is very low key and discreet and if you are up after 10.30 at night, it's pretty quiet in the bars. I think of my friends and family, and I think many of them would be bored.

But not Peter and I.  We really like this ship.  We really like how well looked after we are, the quiet of the library, and the under stated comfort around us.
Swan Hellenic prides itself on providing cruises to expand the passenger's knowledge and awareness of the world around us, and as a small ship, it can get to places others can't reach.  It appeals to our middle aged sense of adventure.

So what else can I tell you about the Minerva?

Well, as I said, the food is good, and like all ships, you get to eat far more than you need.  For Peter, one of the highlights of this ship is that he can help himself to the vanilla ice cream twice a day - after lunch and after dinner.

And help himself he does!  He's been eating, as one passenger described it, "Half  a bucket of ice cream", after each of these meals.  He's been having me in hysterics when I've watched him fill his bowl with almost guilty glee, carrying mountains of the stuff back to the table.  He's like a child, absolutely made up that no one's stopped him from taking so much.

Another reason why we really like the Minerva.

So what do we do on a sea day?  Well, Peter does have to work, that includes his online work as well as his afternoon class. But at least he gets to do it looking out to calm seas and blue skies.  And when he's finished, we get to relax on deck and watch the sun go down.  Very nice!

Tomorrow we will be in Albania.  This is a first for most people on board, and we have no idea what to expect. I remember my sister visiting Yugoslavia before it broke up, and telling me what a wonderful place it was.  So, roll on Sarande.

Sicily, Catania and Mount Etna

So today we were up early, because today we are going to see a volcano!  Mount Etna to be exact. The paperwork said something about being able to see the Silvesti Crater and it was down as the recommended tour.

We were docked In Catania, where Mount Etna dominates the skyline.  The air was clear, and we watched as the mountain belched steam into the sky. All very exciting.

It was a long bus ride, taking us from sea level up the side of the volcano to a height of 2000m. This is nowhere near the top because you need the cable car and a 4 wheel drive to take you the next 700m.  As the coach climbed, our surroundings changed.  The busy city and urban streets disappeared, replaced with the  black splintered rocks and boulders of lava flows.  There were so many of them!  Everywhere you looked you could see another, and be able to follow its route down the mountain.

We learned about the various eruptions from our guide. The most recent happened in 1983 and 2002, and the lava flows that we could see were from those eruptions.  Apparently, it takes 100 years for the vegetation to grow back and cover it up.

A house buried in the lava flow from 1983

We did get to see a small crater left by a previous eruption, but was slightly disappointing not to be able to get closer to the summit, and most of the passengers eyed the cable cars longingly,  Sadly there was no time. The views were awesome though.

Then it was a long bus ride back to the port.  I'm glad we took the tour, now we can say we've been on Mount Etna, I even have a few rock samples to prove it. But, if I get the chance to visit another volcano, we may do things differently.

Lipari Island, Lipari and Stromboli

The ship arrived in the bay outside Lipari about 8 o'clock in the morning.  The tenders ferried the passengers between the ship and the little fishing dock, and we sat on the deck in the sunshine eating breakfast.  No tour today, and we could take our time.

We eventually made it across, and that took our time wandering the narrow streets.  We decided we liked Lipari, with its overhanging balconies, twisting roads and narrow little pathways full of pot plants and flowers.

We found our way to what was marked as an archeological site.  It was a little disappointing, overgrown and closed. We then took the path upwards to the Acropolis.  It turns out that like Athens, Lipari started out as a small settlement on the top of the rock, which later becoming a walled town. Over time the town spread outside the walls, the inside of which became "the castle".  The castle became a prison, and the prisoners worked for the townspeople during the day, returning to the castle to be locked up during the night.

Now the acropolis is a series of buildings used as museums. Some of the old prison cells were used to exhibit a series of modern art pieces, and the cathedral there was quite lovely.

Norman Cloisters attached to the cathedral.  Really lovely

It seemed a shame that so much of the area within the walls seemed unused and unkempt though.

A disused ampitheatre on the "castle", or acropolis at Lipari

More buildings on the acropolis that seem to not have a purpose.  A shame really, because it was lovely up there, and the views were amazing. 

We loved Lipari, so much so that we didn't want to leave. We sat and ate lunch in one of the street cafes, perused the gift shops that remained open during the siesta, ate icecream on the quay, and last but not least, visited the churches there. It was all just lovely.

This "Seaman's Nativity" was found inside the church right on the little quay.  Quite amazing. 

The ship left Lipari around 5.30pm, and headed for the next island, Stromboli.  Stromboli is a quietly active volcano, and the plan was for the ship to circle it whilst it was dark, so that we could see the glow of activity in the crater mouth. This isn't always a successful venture, as it depends on what mood the volcano is in.   At around 9pm the ship started to sail around the island, and the passengers made their way to the decks.

And we were lucky. Stromboli was in the mood to show off, and we watched a display of red fireworks leave the crater mouth every few minutes. Even the red glow of the crater mouth between times was quite something to see in the dark.

So that was our 4th November. Tomorrow we are going to Catania, and we will be on a tour to another volcano, Mount Etna.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Sicily, Palermo and Monreale

Oh, what a wonderful, lazy morning we've had.  The sun has been blazing hot and we've been sitting on the deck reading, or watching the coastline of Sicily pass by as we approach Palermo.

This afternoon was taken up with a tour to the Cathedral at Monreale.  Palermo traffic is manic, but we were lucky because it was siesta time, so we managed to escape the city unscathed.

A view over Palermo from Monreale

The cloisters, and then the cathedral at Monreale really are quite gorgeous. Apparently the Sicilians were ruled by the Normans for 100 years or so, and this cathedral was built by the last Norman king.

The Cloisters as Monreale Cathedral.  The decorated pillars are quite wonderful

All the gold and the colours that can be seen inside the cathedral are metallic leaf on the back of 1 inch square glass mosaic tiles.  The guide said there was something like 40 kg of gold on the walls.

The work involved in all the images was amazing. The results were equally so.

Evenings are always very relaxed, and tonight was even more so, we had an early night, settling down into the cabin with books and Sudoku.

Tomorrow we are at Lipari, no tour, so we can take it easy and do our own thing. Class.

Malta and Valletta, Day 2

So, this morning we woke to a sunny day in Valletta. So it was breakfast on the rear deck in the sunshine, and then off to explore the town and to find some Wi-Fi.
I seem to have been having a sort of technical disaster this cruise.I've brought a netbook and my tablet with me, but no matter how I've tried, I've had real difficulty loading the blog. Preparing pictures and text has been easy enough, but loading it up to my blog site has been just about impossible. So today we needed to find some free Wi-Fi which would give us time to work out what was going wrong. .

The first thing we decided to do was take the lift from the port level up to the city. It costs a euro, but it's free if you are over 60 apparently.




The lift takes you directly to the Upper Barracca Gardens, is a wonderful park like area with a fantastic view of the harbour, and the Saluting Battery Museum. They fire the Salute at 12 noon with much pomp and ceremony, and much to the delight of the tourists.

We found fast, free Wi-Fi in Eddies, a restaurant near the Cathedral, where we established the reason for all my problems..... Windows 10 and Edge.  Once we'd worked that out, I was able to upload three blog posts at once.

We loved these little taxi cabs buzzing around the city,  They all had names like "Barbie". 

And then we took our walk around the city. It really is quite lovely. There is so much lovely old architecture and so many wonderful churches. Modern structures are very sympathetic with the old city and all in all it makes for a very good wander. Especially if you like shopping.

Inside the St Francis of Assisi Church

All too soon it was time to get back to the ship, to get lunch, (the chefs were cooking out on deck today) and then get ready for Peter's class. It went very well, and then it was a very relaxed afternoon and evening.

Tomorrow we will visit Sicily.  Palermo to be exact. Another day to look forward to.

Malta and Valetta Day One

We have just had the most brilliant day, and I think I am getting to really like Valletta and Malta.

It didn't start off brilliant.  Last night was rocky. I woke often with the feeling that I was about to be tipped out of bed, and Peter had to get up and rescue fallen items in the night. It stayed rocky for the rest of the morning, although it was quite pleasant on deck, with a warm breeze.

As we got closer to Valetta, the sea decided to play tricks. Every 3-4 minutes the rocking became very much worse, tipping people, crockery, cutlery and food all over the place.  Then the captain announced that he would have to retract the stabilisers as the ship sailed into Valetta Harbour. Hold on folks!
There was a cheer as the Minerva sailed through the harbour walls. No more rocking and rolling. Yippee!

We left the ship quite late in the afternoon, (having sneaked a nap after lunch), with a plan to walk around the edge of the town to the harbour breakwater.  We've downloaded some maps of the various places we are visiting, and our map of Malta showed a path right to the breakwater.

Well, it was quite the little adventure.  The path is not for the person that is a little unsteady on their feet, or of a nervous disposition, but if you're up for it, the sights were awesome.  Waves crashed against the rocks, drenching the way ahead but adding so much life and drama to the walk.

The final few steps involved paddling through several inches of water as the crashing waves on the other side of the harbour wall came flooding across our route.

Those waves were fantastic. 

But all too soon it was getting dark, and we had to make our way back to the ship.

An unforgettable experience. If we come back to Valetta, we would definitely take this walk again.

The ship is staying in Valetta overnight, but we had dinner on board, and watched 'All at Sea', the three man theatre company, produce a couple of sketches.

And tomorrow we'll wake in Valletta again. We plan to spend the morning having a look around town. The ship is due to sail at 2pm and Peter has a class at the same time.  Hopefully the sea will be kinder to us then.