Rain-soaked, sun-drenched Saronic Islands

                             Sea and sky blend somedays

We set out after our cruise for Aegina, (aye-ena) the closest of the Saronic Islands to Pireaus on a day so gray that the sky and the sea merged into a bleak panorama and arrived at its charming harbor town under threatening skies.  The skies cleared and we spent two nights in a charming 200 year old mansion converted to hotel some 25 years ago.

We chose Spetses island for our next destination - about two hours from Aegina by slow ferry and we set out on a day as gloriously spectacular as our previous trip had been gray.  And we have fallen under the charms of this place and will spend our fourth night here tonight before setting out to explore the mainland.

Saturday afternoon we explored the island on foot - 9.5 miles later -- we had crested its highest peak and  walked among olive groves and pine forests.  This is the island where author John Fowles lived and worked when he wrote his epic, The Magus.

We have had sun and blue skies and last night a storm moved in that lit the skies with lightening strikes, thunder boomed and rain came down in sheets.  Today the rain continues.  I sit in the lobby of the one hotel still open that has internet access -- the only woman in the lobby, by the way and certainly the only one with a computer -- awaiting Joel who has visited the local barber.

We are staying in a charming hotel for 35E per night - having been convinced by the owner, Petros, when we stepped off the ferry that it was a great place.  He was right - we hope to return someday.

Of Beys and Beyans

We had four stops in Turkey: Kusadesi, Istanbul, and then on the Black Sea coast we visited Trabzon and Sinop.  We thoroughly enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells that signaled we were visiting places far from home.  The call to prayer that echoed at regular intervals, the spices, the colors, the people. . .we agree that it would be fun to return to each of these places and spend more time (especially Istanbul) than a cruise stop permits.

                              Istanbul

We don't know Turkish though - unlike with Greek words, where we know enough to at least be polite in greeting - so in Turkey we were limited to polite smiles, head nodding, gestures and in some cases, total gaffes.  And I must admit, I was the worst offender:

When visiting mosques all must remove their shoes before entering, all are to be appropriately dressed (no bare arms, shorts or inappropriate clothing) and women must wear head scarves. 

While in Trabzon we decided to visit an impressive mosque in the heart of the bazaar area. 
We both removed our shoes. 
Joel entered the mosque while I stayed outside wrapping a scarf around my head.
An elderly Turkish man spoke to me and gestured upwards.  I followed the gesture and admired the ceiling.
He repeated the statement and gesture.
I looked again and turned to him, bowing slightly and said, "Beautiful, simply beautiful." (in English) and then followed Joel into the mosque.
We sat side by side and admired the interior.

As we walked out to my total mortification I realized what the elderly man had told me when I saw a woman heading upstairs to the women's section, clearly marked "Beyan" with an arrow pointing up the stairs.

We've learned two Turkish words this trip: bey (men) and beyan (women); and they won't soon be forgotten.

Bye to a Bleak and Blustery Black Sea

            Sea and sky were the same color

We sailed out of the Black Sea on Tuesday, arriving in Piraeus sometime in the early hours of the morning Oct. 13th, Greek time.  Our cruise went far more rapidly than the calendar indicates; it doesn't seem that 12 days have passed since we were beginning the adventure to new ports of the world.

Our cruise provided many adventures, wonderful discoveries and more history than one can absorb in a single trip: we visited the lands and sailed the same seas that centuries ago were home to Romans, the Ottomans, Jason and his Argonauts, just to name a few.

The bit of history we weren't prepared for was discovering a bit of my history as we made our way to Russia.

"Excuse me. . ." a lady called out while I studied the various food choices on the Lido deck one lunchtime.  As I turned, she continued, "but, are you from Washington?. . .You are Jackie aren't you!?"

She was a bit grayer in the hair and used a cane to steady herself (a bad knee), but I recognized her instantanously:  the mother of one of my best high school buddies!  It was at their Italian home in the central Washington town where I grew up, that I first ate real homemade spaghetti, it was with her daughter I celebrated my Sweet 16th. 

She and her husband were on the cruise celebrating their 58th anniversary and my good buddy - whom I hadn't seen in decades - was with them.  We renewed a friendship and shared history stories - ours - that kept us all amused and entertained during the dark and dreary days.

Gray Skies over the Black Sea

The Black Sea is living up to its name: it is a dark - and today - very dreary sea.  We've had heavy clouds and last night a heavy rain as we crossed this body of water en route to Sochi, Russia. I write this from the ship anchored just off the Russian coast.

We didn't clear the wait-list for the shore tour - in fact, it turns out we weren't on the wait list after all - so we will 'see' Russia from a distance.  The authorities are strict here: you are either on a tour or you hold a Russian Visa, we don't qualify on either account so will take photos (and add to the blog later) of the shore and the two ships that seem to be 'guarding' us as tour groups tender to the shore.

The cruise continues to provide some fascinating stops and tomorrow we will be back in the land of passports and shore passes.  Today will be spent watching the deep dark waters and sky that surround us.

Having one HAL of a cruise!

We write from İstanbul.  Sitting in an İnternet cafe usiıng a Turkish keyboard. Cruise has been great so far. We have zig-zagged across the Aegean with stops ın Kusadesi, gateway to the land of St. Paul and then back to Volos, Greece where Jason rounded up his Argonauts and set out to find the Golden Fleece.  From there to Thessoloniki. Greece where the father of Alexander the Great is burıed.  We have had a great look at history. 

Will add photos and more detail when we are back to the land of the wireless computer.

Setting Sail

We are off to the Black Sea

We are off to the Black Sea.  The Westerdam is in port.  We will board in the early afternoon and set sail at 5 p.m.  We quite literally bumped into our Florida friends this morning on a Piraeus street corner. W.e met them on the Westerdam when we were assigned as table mates a few years ago; what a perfect way to renew a friendship aboard the same ship 

Contemplations are done - the cruise is about to begin.

Dog Days of September - Greek style

We couldn't resist the charms of the street dog we named Amiga, after a similar charmer who came into our lives during the Mexico days. . .

Amiga, our Poros friend

  And because our paths crossed during our brief visit, Amiga is now one of our travel treasurers - those memories that will linger long after we've returned to the Pacific Northwest.

Amiga and a fellow street dog entertained us

Our Grecian Amiga seemed to appear one evening while we were dining.  And the next day she showed up as we walked along the quay; much further south of where we had been when we first met her. She seemed so well-fed and cared for that we didn't suspect she was a street dog until last night when she brought several of her 'street friends' to entertain us at the restaurant where we were dining and ultimately was chased away by the owner.

Then she decided she'd be my 'guard dog' and watch -- or sleep on -- my Bagallini purse. (Another use for those all purpose bags!) All the street animals, cats and dogs, were well cared for on this island.  I suspect it is through the animal welfare efforts. This donation can was next to the visitor information booth :

Bus,Train, Plane, Bus, Boat: Poros

Flying Dophin High Speed ferry - last leg of our journey here

Our Big Adventure has begun.  This post is being written in Poros, Greece, an hour from Piraeus by fast boat; 2.5 hours by slow boat.  We arrived here 23 hours after leaving Kirkland WA. During that time we traveled on our trusty Metro bus to Seattle from where we rode the Link train to Seatac Airport, then flew Delta Airlines to Amsterdam, KLM to Athens, caught a bus to Piraeus and then the high speed ferry to Poros (pictured above).

I have to admit that at about hour 18 we were asking ourselves if such travel is worth it.  We could have stayed home, slept in a comfortable bed eaten better food and not looked like human paper clips trying to sleep in a Delta Airbus 300 or a KLM 737 plane.  As we dashed (quite literally) to three different transfer desks in Amsterdam's airport trying to acquire boarding passes, the question again came to mind.

But then as the KLM flight left the soggy gray skies of Amsterdam for the Aegean's blue skies and sunshine, we knew we were on the home stretch.

Hotel Manessi  Poros is the larg building on the right

 Our hotel, Hotel Manessi,is footsteps from the ferry landing, and just across the channel is the Greek mainland.  We watch the car/passenger ferry yo-yo back and forth from early morning to late at night. We've sipped Mythos beer, eaten the best gyros we've ever had, visited the monestery high up in the pine-blanked hillside, walked for miles along the waterfront and find that it is almost time to return to Piraeus and start part two of the Big Adventure.

The weather turned cloudy and rainy our first full day here - note the cloud cover in the photo below, however, today the sky is bright and the weather extremely humid.

Sunset from our deck

Octopus drying in the afternoon sun will be someone's dinner tonight

Greek cats on Poros lead happy lives it seems