Month: August 2021

Today we arrived in Corfu. The ship pulled in about 7 am. We had breakfast in the Lido and then headed out to visit. No excursion planned for today and no real walking tours. This was a day of “winging” it.

We walked through the customs and a gentlemen with a carriage offered a ride. I asked how long the ride was and he pulled out his map and showed us all of the places we would visit. “50 minutes”, he said. “She is a good horse”.

After a short ride on the main road we turned down a less traveled street. “Bob Tail” kept her nose to the task and our guide pointed out landmarks along the way. 

There was an “old town” and a “new town”. If someone hadn’t pointed that out, we may have not known. Our tour ended near the fortress that we wanted to see.  We paid the driver and headed off on foot. 

There are so many ruins in Europe it is hard to remember the significance of each set.

We stopped for a lunch at a cafe nearby. Great food. Nice view.

We wandered around town for a bit and walked back to the ship. Dinner at the Lido and cards with the Daleys. The entertainment aboard this cruise is weak. I am guessing because of the low passenger count and Covid 19. The music playing on the back of the ship is good and we tend to play cards there.…

Today was a day at sea. We slept in to about 8 and headed to breakfast and then the gym. It was already after lunch by the time we finished our workout.

Terri had some decorating business to do and I had lots of issues with students at Lourdes University. I took care of those and worked on the blog on the Lido. We finished and prepared for dinner in the dining room. Terri and I had a private anniversary celebration of 18 great years together and talked about the many more we plan to have together.

Tim and Kelley had lots of internet issues and we did not meet for our daily game night.

Definitely a day of rest after multiple excursion days.…

Today we arrived back in Athens. The cruise we are on is almost the same one week cruise for two weeks. In Athens, some folks left the ship and others joined us. Since we boarded the ship last Sunday in Athens, we weren’t able to tour the city then.

Today is another HAL tour. Our bus left the port about 8:15. A short drive to the acropolis. This acropolis one of about 200 in Greece.

This area represents the Venetian, Greek, and Roman Culture. Each used the same location and built on the other ruins of previous cultures. Arches and bricks are from later Roman construction. Greeks used huge blocks while Romans found it faster to use bricks.

Lots of tourists but I am guessing it is a fraction of who is here in normal times. There was a lot of climbing in the heat. We grabbed a coffee at a nice cafe.

After lunch, our guide took us through a museum and stopped at the most important pieces. The first pieces was used a timer. Water was put into the vase and it poured out of a hole in the bottom. 6 minutes was the time limit for a senator addressing citizens.

The next piece was a series of discs with names on them. These were used by members of the Senate to eliminate members they thought were unworthy. Names of those that should be removed were placed in a bin and then counted. One woman next to me said “Joe Biden”.

The next piece was a child’s potty chair.

The final piece was a shield used by warriors from Sparta. The shield weighed almost 50 lbs.

Our final stop was a large parthenon that had about 7 pillars remaining. One of the pillars was on its side and one could see the hole in the middle that was used to line up the pillar when it was assembled.

We returned to the ship about 4:30 pm and headed to the Lido deck for dinner. We joined Tim and Kelley for another game of euchre on the back of the ship. Terri and I won and moved the tally.  3 games to 3 games.

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Today we pulled in to Nafplion. We have a HAL tour booked at 7:30 am. Ancient Corinth and Mycenae. This is our first tender port. If one is not on a HAL tour, a tender ticket must be picked up which gives a tender time. Just a way to control passenger traffic. Tours meet in the mainstage and then are directed  to the tender. It was a calm morning and the ride in was an easy 30 mins. 

We met our guide, Ann, after we left the tender and boarded the bus. 

The Corinth Canal was the first stop. This canal was a 2,000 year old dream. Connecting the Aegean with the Adriatic and eliminating the need to travel around the Peloponnese peninsula. It is believed that Periander( 602 BC), was the first to conceive of the idea. The project was too complicated back then. Plans were developed through the centuries. The final design was completed in the late 19th C. The canal is only 25 meters wide and makes it useless for today’s modern ships. 

A bungee jumping business is set up underneath the Corinth Canal bridge.

Lots of mask police. The greeks feel the same was about all of the government demands. They feel that they are the only people on earth with a corrupt government. I assured them that they are not alone.

One of employees at an outdoor excavation sight we were touring insisted that after we toured the park we could not turn around and go in the museum. She was quite nasty to our tour guide. It was all Greek to me.

Ann was having none of this. She took us through the park, back up to the entrance and into the museum. Miss”put your mask on” was also working in the museum. She kept repeating the only line she learned in the liberal college she attended. “Put your mask on”.

We spent the entire morning touring the area. Many of the pictures show things from 1500 BC. Look and enjoy. Its difficult to remember so much history about all of these.

We had lunch at a nice local restaurant. We had moussaka, boiled potatoes, salad, lamb, and of course, baklava. We sat with a couple from Idaho. They had 6 kids and 29 grandkids. The women next to us was from Long Island. Her husband stayed back on the ship. We all discussed our travels in the past and in the future. Alaska and Antartica seem to be a popular destination. Folks on this cruise are amazed by the World Cruise we took. When we were on that cruise, we were “first time world cruisers”.

We started back for the tender port but made a few stops along the way. We arrived to pick up a tender at 3:30. Last tender to the ship was 4:30. No real chance to visit the downtown area.

The sea was rough. Water was pouring in through the side door. A woman near the door was completely soaked. After 30 mins or so the tender rounded the opposite of the ship where the sea was much calmer.

We met Tim and Kelley for happy hour and then went to dinner. We enjoyed the sunset from the back of the ship and played a few games. …

Today we visit the island of Mykonos.

We pulled into port about 9 am. Our guide said he would meet us on the pier at about 9:15 am. I had sent a message to him yesterday but the internet was very bad and I wasn’t able to receive his response until this morning. The tour was titled “Sightseeing with a Mykonian”. This was a tour booked through trip advisor.

Matt met us right on time and Tim and Kelley were able to join us on the tour. We drove the short distance to town. Short enough to walk but really no sidewalk to walk on.

We parked the car and began a walking tour of the city. This is usually a very busy tourist area. This morning there were few folks around.

Matt grew up in Mykonos and learned a lot of the history from his grandfather. His parents own a hotel in another city on the island. He didn’t like they way they took advantage of tourists and decided to start a cleaning business instead of working for them. “All you need is a broom and a mop”. He does have a degree in nuclear science. He said Greeks do not appreciate this and to get a job he would have to move to Switzerland to work on the Cern collider. He did not want to leave his family and decided to stay in Mykonos and start a tour business.

Mykonos nickname is “Island of the Winds”. Today was very unusual as it was calm. Calm and very hot. We walked along the narrow streets and then around an area known as “Little Venice”. Here we saw some wind mills that originally ground wheat. Wheat was easy to grow in this area.

Typical tourist shops were interspersed among the churches and other historical buildings we visited. Most of the building were four to five hundred years old.  I imagine prior to last year, this island was jam packed with tourists. Matt shared with us that some times as many as five cruise ships will be in port. Today we were it.

Closer to lunch time we headed to the beach for a nice swim in the ocean. The Mediterranean Sea is about 20 times saltier than the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. It did have an effect on our buoyancy. No match for the Dead Sea which is 40 times saltier.

Matt prepared a lunch for us. Typical Greek food. Ham, beef, mykonos cucumber, tomatoes, figs, bread, and greek yogurt. We enjoyed that in a shady spot right on the beach.

We parted ways with Matt after lunch. Tim and Kelley headed back to the ship. Terri and I did some shopping. After browsing several shops we headed in to one jewelry store. The owner offered me a chair and a beer. I’m not sure why all stores don’t do this. Terri had a glass of wine while she tried on some bracelets. 

Nothing fit her tiny wrists. We did find one she liked and the owner said he could make it fit. He took it back to the workroom, bent it, cut it, and polished it. By the time I finished my Alpha Beer, he was finished. It looked marvelous!

We decided to find a place to have a cool drink. Shopping is hard work!

We stopped at a place on the water called Velitos. We had a drink and watched a guy throw old food into the water. Pizza, buns, rolls, other baked goods. The fish devoured the scraps in no time.

We finished our drink and then headed down the street to Kastro’s for dinner. Tim and Kelley joined us. Great Greek meal. 

We returned to the ship by ferry and met up in the Lido for a competitive game of Farkle. Kelley seems to have the magic wrist in this game. Tim mentioned that Montenegro was no longer on the itinerary. We both had excursions through Trip Advisor and were able to cancel them with no penalty. No word from HAL on this yet.

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Today was a sea day and we got up later than usual. Breakfast and then the gym. 

We had to get a covid antigen test done and we did that at 11am. I congratulated the nurse on the speed, accuracy and depth of the swab. “Yes, many take the swab and go to (as trump would say) Chhh-iinnaa. ” The fact that she was oriental and probably Chinese made me laugh even harder.

The Dive In was waiting for us after the grueling workout. They have added milkshakes to the menu!

Tim and I played some more table tennis. Interesting game when the ship rolls to one side.

Terri and I listed to a piano quartet in the Lincoln Center. A piano quartet contains a violin, viola, cello, and piano. The group played a program called “Music of the Ballets”. Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Peer Gynt and others. The intonation of the group was superb and the attention to detail outstanding. I gave them a 10.

Another formal night. Tim and Kelley invited to dinner in the Pinnacle Grill to celebrated our 18th anniversary.

The evening entertainment were the HAL dancers. They are usually very good and tonight they didn’t disappoint. The show was introduced by the Cruise Director. She reminded us that masks are required everywhere on the ship. She made this announcement without a mask on. Sound familiar?

The show was called the “Instruments of the Orchestra” and the group put on a great show.

We played the dice game Farkle with Tim and Kelley after the show. Fun game. Strange name. The mask police were in full force. If you buy a drink, they leave you alone.…

Today we arrived in Lamassol, Cyprus. We picked up our pilot about 8 am and he brought us into port at 9 am.

This was a late change made by HAL. We couldn’t find any third party excursions available so we went with a HAL organized excursion. Lots of benefits with using HAL but also a few downsides. Cost is a factor and clientele is another. Most HAL excursions are double what one can get through a third party. The benefit of the additional cost is that HAL takes care of any delays in the tour. The ship will wait. No waiting on third party tours. The clientele on a HAL excursion tends to be older and less mobile folks. These folks are also experts at complaining. We knew this when we booked this tour.

The tour was a bus ride to Nicosia. Nicosia is a major city in Cyprus but has been divided since 1964. Turkey controls one half and Greece the other. Our guide shared his feeling that the Greeks and Turks do not hate each other. They treat others as equals. All of the problems with the division are with the governments of both nations. The government creates division where there is none. I couldn’t help but think of how things are back home. The government tells us who to like and who to hate. As I learned on the World Cruise, people are more alike than  different. As English becomes the universal language of communication, it is easier than ever to discover this. People in Greece or Cyprus roll their eyes at the same governmental interference that we do.

Our guide was very good and very knowledgeable. It was difficult to process so much information on the bus ride. We did stop in the city for about an hour. Enough time to grab some lunch at a local restaurant. We came across a little place and ordered some local fare. I had lentils with rice and Terri had chicken and potatoes. We shared our orders and enjoyed the unique flavors. I detected some cinnamon in the lentils. Unusual but very good. There was enough food for 4 of us. We ate what we could and asked for the check. I handed my credit card over but the waiter said they do not take credit. Cash only. I had only 5 euro on me and needed 15. I asked about an ATM and he saw that I had US dollars. He said that he would take them. I looked up the exchange rate, gave him USD, thanked him and we left.

Besides a CC that has no foreign transaction fee, I use a debit card that has no ATM fee and allows one to get local currency. 

What remains of an aqueduct and the statue of liberty in the town square.

We traveled up to the Khirokitia archeological site. Remains of a civilization were uncovered in the 1930s. The settlement here was from the neolithic period of the stone age. Interesting to see and learn about. Difficult to get pictures that convey any sense of what the eyes see.

Remnants of living quarters above and a reconstruction of what they originally looked like.

Another hot day. 100 degrees mid afternoon.

Our bus dropped us back at the ship about 3:30 and we went up to the Lido for dinner about 5.

After dinner we played a few more hands of euchre with the Daleys and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

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Today we planned on visiting the Acropolis. The structures found here date back to 3rd and 2nd century BC.

Breakfast and then we grabbed some water. Very hot again today. The walk was a few miles from the ship. Lots of people out in the city.

I labeled the photos. Hold the cursor over them or click to enlarge. Lots of history in this area outside of the walled in city. Wikipedia has a lot of interesting info on this area. We enjoyed a walk back to the ship along the coast and headed up to the Lido for a late lunch.

The “Dive In” is a restaurant in the swimming pool area. Cooked to order burgers and Nathan’s hot dogs. We ordered up some food and commented on the attire of some of the guests in and out of the pool. We both agreed that there is a certain age when one does not wear a speedo or a bikini. Some didn’t get the memo on this. No photos included. Not sure the censors would allow them anyway. I concentrated on the burger and that helped.

I met up with Tim for table tennis tournament. We warmed up with a few singles games and then played doubles when the tournament began.

We had fun losing 2 sets to 1.

Formal night in the dining room. Tim and Kelley joined us.

I happened to find a shop that had some nice cuban cigars. We enjoyed those and a few hands of euchre before the evening entertainment.

Mainstage entertainment was an illusionist and mime. Ruben Camprui. There was no problem getting a seat with so few passengers aboard. We all ended up dozing off. To be fair, it is hard to give an act an evaluation of an act when you are asleep.

I’m guessing with the bands I have heard and this act, COVID has really taken a toll on the entertainment. Musicians and other entertainers haven’t been performing and need to get back into the groove. Some are unwilling to get out into the public. Some do not want to work because the government is paying them to stay home. If I am having an extremely difficult time getting a plumber or an electrician to do work for me, HAL and others are having the same issue with entertainers.…

The Mediterranean Sea is very calm empty and sleeping on a bed is wonderful. It was after 7 and we went up to the Lido for breakfast. It was practically empty. I did learn that we were only carrying about 800 passengers. These ships like to run full. 1400 is the max and in a normal year they would be carrying that amount.

No more self serve at the Lido. Now there is an employee to get whatever you wish. At full capacity, I doubt if this system would work.

This day was spent mostly at sea so we went to the gym for a one or so hour workout. The gym was empty.

While I worked on the blog, Terri did some power walking around the promenade deck.

After lunch it was time for team team trivia. Four on a team. Kelley joined us while Tim did an international beer tasting. We invited a gent to join us that was sitting alone. Arnold was from Spain. We asked about family. “When you get to be my age, there is not much family left.” We guessed that his wife is gone and he said that he would rather do things and be with people rather than sit home alone.

Question #2. Which fast food restaurant had the first drive in. My answer was Wendy’s but the team wanted McDonalds. Answer? Wendy’s

Question #6 Which type of music promotes plant growth. I was certain it had to be Acid Rock but the real answer was classical. Who would have thought?

Our team finished with 6 correct out of 16. The top team had 15.

We picked up the local pilot at about 3:30 PM and he took us into port. The island of Rhodes was our destination.

The Medieval old town city was visible from our balcony.

We had dinner and prepared to have an evening on the island. It was 6:30 pm and the sun was beginning to go down. The evening provided some cooler weather that we enjoyed. Humid and in the 90s all day.

The city was surrounded by a wall and then had a moat. There were only so many entrances to get inside of the walls and visit the city. The wall was built in the 14th century but today had modern business built into them.

The Knights Hospitaller of Saint John built the walled city and lived along this road. Above is the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.

The city was packed with tourists as there were five cruise ships in port.

The city was filled with music. We saw a few Bouzouki players, a young boy playing accordion, and a guitarist strumming and singing. It was a beautiful evening to be out.

All aboard was 10:30 pm. We will be spending the night in port.…

Today is the day we leave. Our neighbor Courtney, who usually drives us to the airport, was unable to take us this time. Knowing this, I booked an airport shuttle last week. Uber doesn’t seem to like “hire ahead” anymore and was unable to use that. Normally I would use Uber for a trip like this but was unsure about the route to Grosse Ile. The Wayne County bridge is still closed and all of the traffic comes across the toll bridge. Not a problem until the bridge swings open and causes a huge backup. 

I confirmed the shuttle on Friday. Warned them about the bridge closure. “Yes sir. No problem sir.” Wouldn’t you know they cancelled by email Saturday morning? Thankfully I rise quite early in the morning and was able to book another shuttle.

The driver arrived and there was no issue. We arrived well ahead, sat at the Margaritaville bar and had a nice lunch. There was a guy playing the steel drums along with a soundtrack. The heads of the pieces he chose were alright. His solos were not very well thought out. More melodic interest and less speed would be my advice. I gave him a 4 out of 10. 

Our flight to Dulles was an hour and our connection started boarding an hour after we landed. We flew United. My few United trips always surprised me with the extra room each seat has front to back. It was the same on the domestic and international flight.

Masks were required in the airport and on the plane. We had to show our vaccine cards as well. In Dulles, out tickets were stamped after we showed that we did the PLF that Greece required. Constant reminders about keeping masks on at all times, including between bites of food and sips of a drink. One of the flight attendants woke me up in the middle of the night because my mask was down.

Some people went way beyond what was required. Maybe the woman in front of me should have stayed home? Hat, foam along brim, mask material hanging all of the way around, sunglasses, mask with slit for mouth, and face shield.

If were that concerned and couldn’t stay home, I would want at least an N95 mask.

In my case, I am neither concerned or staying home.

The people in the airport had various ways they wore the masks. Many employees had them around the chin. Many folks had them just under their noses. Mandating masks just does not work as this proves.

We were able to get some sleep as we had a row of three seats. Terri took the floor (her choice) and I curled up across the seats.

We landed, grabbed our luggage and met the HAL folks just past customs. 35 min shuttle to the airport. Stop one, the COVID waiting room. Mandatory temperature check. After five minutes here we went to the testing area. Mandatory swab test. Last time I had one of these I could feel the swab down to my toes. Not so much this time.

Another waiting room until our test showed negative. Maybe 15 minutes. We were then able to board the ship. We were received with applause. Crew and staff were so happy we were here and that the cruise line was up and running. This was the second cruise for them this year. 514 days without work.

Hand sanitizer was everywhere. Staff wiping everything down. I wouldn’t be surprised if the negative effect of all of this cleaning is an immune system that has been compromised. Many believe the Polio epidemics in the middle of the 20th century were caused by improved sanitation of waste and drinking water. Polio used to infect everyone when they were very young. They got a little sick and then recovered with antibodies to protect themselves. With improvements in the water, especially in affluent areas, no antibodies were being developed at a young age. When older children were finally exposed, they had devastating effects.

The ship was laid out just like the Amsterdam (world cruise). We had lunch on the Lido deck and then unpacked.

Tim and Kelley arrived right around dinner time and we were able to have dinner together. Afterward we watched the sunset and the moon rise over the Mediterranean.

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We leave this Saturday. Holland America Line (HAL) is sending out almost daily changes. We lost Israel and picked up Cyprus. We haven’t been to either country but I did want to at least step foot in Israel. Another trip. An advantage of booking excursions through HAL is that when this happens, they make the change. Trip advisor and its subsidiary Viator also make this quite easy. A refund for our Israel excursion was quickly made. I quickly booked an excursion in Cyprus but it was refunded about 20 minutes later. HAL offered nothing and nothing could be booked on trip advisor after we received our refund. We will just have to wing it.

Speaking of the pandemic. We did find another couple that refused to stop living. Tim and Kelley Daley. I met Tim at MSU back in the 1970s. We both lived in Wilson Hall and enjoyed an occasional Mai Tai. Kelley was also an MSU student and they married after college. Tim and I kept in touch with at least one email every decade and more recently we discovered that we both lived on Grosse Ile. They will be joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to their companionship. We each planned our own excursion and then compared. We each have our own interests and some of them match!

HAL is requiring everyone on the ship to be vaccinated. All passengers. All crew. Masks too. Covid test will be given on site when we check in. Greece is requiring a special “Passenger Locator Form” to be filled out before guests can enter. This form contains a listing of places you have traveled to prior to Greece along with other Covid questions and required answers. I am guessing that all of this information will be handled much like the forms that one fills out for US Customs when returning home. All kinds of detailed information about purchases is required. At the fork in the customs line, those claiming items purchased line up to pay a tax. (these are the goood people) The other line gives the form to the tall guy with the goofy grin. When his collection of  hand written completed forms gets very large, he turns and gently eases them into the trash (or is it recycle) bin. The form is nothing more than a way to intimidate people into claiming items they purchased for taxing. I know that these are not read by anyone. Mine are never legible and my name is Foghorn Leghorn. As more people figure this out, some entry points do an inspection of bags by lottery. Push the button when you arrive at customs. It will display a red or green light randomly. Green = good. Move along. Red = bag inspection. Sorry, that lamp made to look like a woman’s leg  you purchased in Amsterdam requires you to pay Uncle Sam a tax. I imagine all of the collected Covid information will follow the route into the collected form bin. People in charge like forms. At least they like to collect them.

HAL keeps rolling out more promotional items. I earned $250.00  to spend on the ship by owning 100 shares of Carnival Cruise Line stock. Carnival is the parent company of HAL. The benefit of returning to the same cruise line is earning mariner points. We are now at level III. Each level offers complimentary services. Points are earned by each day of the cruise. The world cruise earned us a boat load of points. We were gone 116 days. The free laundry on level IV is a goal for us.

The plane ride is never something I look forward too. The seats aren’t comfortable enough to sleep on so I have to tough it out by watching non-stop movies. We fly to Dulles then on to Athens. The second leg is almost 10 hrs. I’m starting to mentally prepare.

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