Santorini, Greece Where do I start? This is the most beautiful of the ports, in our opinion. A beautiful and dramatic island. The ship docks in front of a volcano. This is the only port where we were tendered in by local tenders. Our options for ascending the 1000 foot cliff to the main town, Fira, included walking the 600+ steps to the top, riding a donkey to the top and risking the unpredictable behavior of the donkey, not to mention the intense smell of donkey poop and being swatted with a donkey tail. The most civil and most enjoyable way is the new cable car to the top. The view of the white houses built along the cliff edge and the sea below is breathtaking. We took a local bus to Oia and spent a couple of hours taking in the fascinating view of the village filled with white houses with blue roofs. The shopping in this area is plentiful and most shops reflect local artisans work which are of excellent quality and variety. The clothing was beautiful too. We had lunch at the “Med Restaurant” which overlooked the areas below the cliff and dined on Greek salad, the crispiest cucumbers ever, souvlaki, Greek wine and beer. The sail-away here was very dramatic with the full moon shining brightly over the twinkling lights of Santorini.

Santorini

Athens, Greece The next day, June 17, we arrived at Athens. From our balcony we checked out the port of Piraeus and were surprised at how large the port is and how cosmopolitan the city appeared. After breakfast, the four of us exited the ship to meet our Piraeus Private Tour bound for Athens and met our guide, Eleni. When we arrived at the bottom of the hill of the Acropolis, we were a little overwhelmed with how high (200m.), we would have to climb to see this ancient wonder. However, our guide had some little secrets about how to avoid lines and take some shortcuts and we made it to the top. Eleni sat us on the marble rocks beside the Acropolis and gave us a history lesson on the origin of the Greek language and history. The Acropolis was a complex of several well restored buildings which were very impressive. We were amazed at the view of Athens from above and also about the size of the city. Afterward, we stopped for refreshments of yummy Greek coffee with ice cream called sweet iced coffee and watched the local people passing by. — Janet

Janet Bell is currently cruising the Mediterranean on board Noordam. She will be updating us throughout her voyage.

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