2 October-5 October--Sea Day, Disembarkation from Holland America, Athens, Embarkation Scarlet Lady and Mykonos

eylarson

Oct 5

3 min read

2 October—Sea Day we sailed the Dardanelle Straights connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Always interesting to be aboard a large ship sailing under a bridge. Smooth sees and a lazy day for us with dinner in the main dining room sharing a table with British and Australian couples. The Australian lady is a professional ballroom dancer. Her partner is learning. We managed to pack up our bags and have them outside by the midnight deadline.

3 October—Disembarkation in Athens and Check-in at our hotel was relatively painless in spite of five cruise ships unloading at about the same time. The line for a taxi made Disney’s lines look short. Taxi driver did not know where our hotel was, but Google Maps saved the say and we arrived safely.

Our hotel was just blocks from Constitution Square and was on a main shopping street. It was a short walk to the Acropolis Museum and off we went. After we had a huge lunch od souvlaki, pastitsio, and dolmades. We caught the hop-on/hop-off bus and completed the last circuit of the day. Athens is worth more time. So many museums in addition to the Acropolis Museum.

4 October--We vacated our room and left our hotel room by check-out time had breakfast at McDonalds and caught another hop-on/hop-off bus for a tri down the Greek Riveira. Lots of beaches and upscale condominiums. They are building a huge residential commercia complex at the site of the old international airport. I hope they can pull it off.

Embarkation was relatively easy. Virgin Cruises gives those who have any of the larger rooms “Rockstar” status. Basically, this comes with a bunch of perks that start at embarkation. We got to jump the line at registrations and even at immigration. Our room has a stocked bar, and we have an “Agent” available for any special requests. We had dinner at Gumbae, the Korean restaurant on board with a central grill. It is a shared, family style meal. Our tablemates were a couple celebrating their first anniversary, an Austrian couple who recently moved back home from the Caribbean, and a couple from Ohio.

5 October—Mykonos and a food tour. Lots of walking on a cool and windy (It’s always windy on Mykonos) day. It is a small island that relies heavily on tourism. It is the end of the season so it is not as crowded as it could be. The Seaside village is a warren of narrow passages with shops, bars and restaurants along the way. We sampled olives, fruit leather, olive oils, and cheeses. We ended with baklava at a century’s old bakery. Because of the constant wind grain was brought to the island and milled to flour which was shipped out or baked into “rusk” a bread dried to remove moisture and a staple for sailing ships. That’s it so far for today. Dinner at the Mexican restaurant on board.