day 6 Mykonos, Greece

Still in Greece with blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and a warm breeze. Our tour today took us around the island on a comfy tour bus. We weren’t sure how the bus managed to get around the narrow, sometimes switchback roads but the driver was some kind of magician.

It is a pile of rocks with white houses perched on the hills. Purple bougainvillias climb the whitewashed walls. There are stone walls everywhere. I saw two 2 pet shops, some ponies in a bare paddock and a few dogs. A few sheep and goats scrabbled the side of a hill.

We stopped at a church which was crowded with relics inside.

At one stop I was able to dip my toes into the Mediterrean - that makes two oceans for me this year.

After driving around we walked through the village. Along the water were some restaurants, in fact little restaurants were everywhere.

We walked down some narrow streets, past gift shops and tiny cafes till we came to the 4 windmills and the remains of another church.

Somewhere else we stopped so that we could take pictures of ‘little Venice’, where the houses are built into the sea.

After the tour we went back to the ship for a late lunch, happy hour and then a long nap. A bit of news too on MSNBC.

I’m writing this on our balcony which overlooks the dock. Across from us are hills (see the first two photos). It is a lovely evening with a slightly cool breeze (Kirsten, I’m wearing your sweater).

day 4 or 5 Katakolon Greece

Greece was outside our window this morning - that makes 4 countries in 5 days - whew! Today we were docked in Katakolon, Greece, where we visited Olympia. Again we had perfect weather: sunny and dry and not too hot. We’ve been blessed with sunshine.

It was a quick 35 minute drive from the port to the site of the first Olympics. Ruins lay tumbled on the ground, although some fragments have been reconstructed.

The stadium was laid out in a large grassy area with sloping sides for people to sit. The running was done back and forth (like swimming) down the sandy track. Carm and I walked (not ran) to the end and back.

We visited two museums afterwards and to be honest I hit saturation point in the second one and escaped to a bench outside in the shade.

We saw the statue of Hermes with Dionysus, a piece of art that has survived over 2000 years. It was excavated onsite.

I almost fell asleep on the bus back, but managed to stay awake for a Pina Colada at Crooners. Nap time after, then supper and an evening visit with Jo Ellen and Don. Our excursion tomorrow leaves at 9:15 so we’ll get to sleep in a bit.

It is starting to be a blur.

day 3 - at sea and Calabria

It was a sea day today and that meant getting caught up on some sleep. I never seem to know what time it is and wasn’t getting proper sleep until last night. Early morning excursions didn’t help matters but now I think I’m a bit caught up.

We slouched around the ship today, Carm off to do his things while I did mine. Lots of people watching until we all met up for happy hour. From there it was up to the top where we could watch Italy pass by, keeping a keen eye open for where Carm’s parents came from. We weren’t exactly sure which village it was but felt pretty certain it was one of a few. The edge of the sea was lined with villages and up into the hills other villages dotted the landscape. I would have loved to be driving in those hills to see exactly where his parents were born.

Carm was excited, but uncharacteristically quiet as we steamed past. I think he was affected more than he expected.

The evening petered out. We haven’t been to the theatre once yet - I thought we’d go tonight but I guess I’m still exhausted from all this activity.