Friday, October 28, 2011 – Santorini, Greece – Party Cloudy – Mid 60s

Kusadasi to Santorini: 138 Nautical Miles

A beautiful and cool day in Santorini, Greece.

Santorini is one of the islands comprising the Cyclades, a ring of islands that surrounded the sacred island of Delos (the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis).

In 1450 BC (or 1650 BC according to another source), the island suffered a catastrophic volcanic explosion.  The eruption and resultant tidal wave destroyed the Minoan civilization and may have been the basis for the many events described in the Book of Exodus).

Santorini now consists of three main islands – Thira, Thirassia, and Aspronisi – and two more recent volcanic islands – Nea Kamini (where the volcano is located) and Palia Kameni (site of the hot springs).  Santorini is named for St. Irene (by the Venetians in the 13th century).

 

Sunrise over Fira Town on Santorini

We are on tour today - “Village of Oia and Santorini Wine Tasting”.  The ship now asks escorts to wear the official Azamara Escort Shirt so that they can be more easily identified by passengers and others.

In our Official Escort Gear

Our tour starts with a tender ride to the Athinios Tender Port (a few miles south of the main port).  Ships cannot anchor in the Caldera because it is too deep (1400 ft) so they use their thrusters and azipods to control the position of the “drifting” ship.

Fira from the Tender

The Azamara Quest from the Tender

Our companion in the Caldera, the Equinox

Both Cruise Ships from the Tender

Ellen at the Athinios Tender Port

Ana, our guide, is very good and her English is excellent.  She is non-stop in her description of the island and its history.  Our first stop is the The Village of Oia, located at the northern end of the island.

Today is a Local Holiday, “October 28 Day”, that commemorates the resistance by Santorini to occupation by Mussolini during the War.  Parades are scheduled and many people are in the streets in both major villages, Fira and Oia.

The Village of Oia in the distance

Oia (pronounced “Ee-ah”) is similar to Fira – white washed buildings, churches, and shops.  The village also affords great views of the Caldera and the rest of the island.

 

The Caldera from Oia

Rugged Cliffs of Oia

Greek Orthodox Church – Oia Main Square

The main square was nice but the presence of semi-aggressive unleashed and barking dogs (menacing little children) detracted from the experience.

    

Above: Oia Views and Us

From Oia, the bus took us to the Santorini  Winery for snacks and wine.  The snacks, cheese, tomatoes (volcanic, I suppose), and a very hard bread (I liked) along with the Vin Santo dessert wine were very tasty and good. 

As we drove away, the nearby Cyclade islands of Eos and Mykonos were clearly visible on this perfect day.

Island of Eos

The Winery is close to Fira and we could see the people participating in the Holiday activities as we skirted the perimeter of the town.

 

 

Akrotiri from Fira

The Quest and the island of Thirassia

Nea Kameni and the Equinox

We finally reached the Cable Car station.  We were told by our guides that we did not need any cable car tickets since we were in Escort Gear.  The woman in the ticket book disagreed and gave us a very hard time regarding the tickets.  I refused to pay, asked her to call her manager.  She threatened to call the ship and I told her to do just that.  After a while, she waived us through.  The two checkers at the cable car launch point wanted our tickets but we were able to convince them that the lady in the office said we didn’t need any.  What an annoying experience.

Above sequence:  The cable cars and the ride down

Fira from Tender Port

Fira from the Tender ride to the ship

We had lunch in the Windows Cafe.  While at lunch, one of the waitress asked us if we would be interested in trying the Aqualina Specialty Restaurant gratis (we would have to share the table).  We, of course, said OK. 

We got to the restaurant at 6:00 PM and we asked about the possibility of a table for two (if was pretty open).  The Manager said OK but the waitress who gave us the reservation was hesitant.  Eventually, we got the table for two and the dinners were pretty nice (I got the halibut).

We had dinner during the sail away (shot through the restaurant window).

Santorini Sail Away

Dinner at Aqualina

The ship had two shows scheduled for tonight.  Up first, at 8:00 PM, in the Looking Glass Lounge, was Gary Brown.  Gary is one of the Cabaret Singers and he put on a fine show.  The audience was essentially non-existent – maybe 10 people if y9u don’t count the other cabaret singers.  People missed a great show.

Gary Brown

At 9:45 PM, we listened to Jamilla in the Cabaret Lounge.  She put on a super show (maybe the best yet on a cruise ship for us).  Great voice and stage presence.  She only had one show scheduled for this cruise – a shame.

Jamilla in Concert

Done for the night.

Pedometer: 6597 steps; 3.13 miles; 323 calories

Thursday, October 27, 2011 – Kusadasi, Greece – Sunny, Breezy, 68F

Piraeus to Kusadasi: 203 Nautical Miles

Our worst night as cruisers…

We knew we were in for a rough ride when we got to the room last night but, sometime during the night, the ship hit a major swale.  This woke me up and it was an A ride the rest of the night.  About four in the morning, the seas let up a bit and I think I got an hour of sleep.

Today, we are in Kusadasi again.  This could be number 4 or 5, not sure.  Again, since all of the tours are to Ephesus, we are going to go out on our own.

 

Kusadasi from our cabin

I am scheduled to give my second talk today at 6:30 PM.  Attendance expectations are low due to the competition with dinner.  I am encouraged by the ad below that we saw in the elevator.  It could help.

Elevator Ad for today’s activities

As always, Ataturk is on top of the hill overseeing things.

Ataturk on the job

 

Kusadasi from the deck of the Quest

After spending a little time in the market area, we decided to go to the other end of town.  This takes us to the walkway directly under the statue of Ataturk.  From this walkway, we can see all of the ships docked here today.  The most important ship, besides us, is the Celebrity Constellation.  A very nice ship that we will be on next year.

On the harbor road

All of the ships in a row

This road leads to Pigeon Island, the island after which Kusadasi (Guvercin Adasi - “bird island”) is named.

Continuing along the road, we arrived at the entrance of the isthmus of land connecting Kusadasi to Pigeon Island.  

Walkway Leading to Pigeon Island

The walkway is lined on one side with vendors hawking all sorts of goodies.  On the other side are the boats.  The highlight of Pigeon Island is the castle/fort structure that dates back to the 16th century.  The castle and entire island is open to the public and free.

We climbed as high as we were allowed and then proceeded to circle the castle.  On the other side was a modern – if not functional – lighthouse and a great view of Kusadasi Harbor and city.

  

Castle on Pigeon Island

 

Lighthouse on Pigeon Island

One interesting site we did see on the other side of the island was the hotel we stayed at when we did our business/pleasure trip to Turkey years ago.  It was a great hotel but a long way from Kusadasi.  On that trip, we were a bit hesitant in heading into town.

Four Star Hotel from our first trip to Turkey

Ataturk Hill from Pigeon Island

We headed back the way we came.  Along the way, we ran into a hookah place for the first time (there are others, I’m sure).

My second talk,”Cold Cases Solved”, was scheduled for 6:30 PM and the turnout was just about what it was the first day (10 people).  Still a small but mighty audience and the talk went well.

The forecast is for calmer seas tonight…

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 – Piraeus, Greece – Partly Cloudy – 70s

Embarkation Day

After breakfast, Bogdan took us and another couple to the pier within walking distance of the Azamara Quest.  The agents filled out our luggage tags and pointed us to the check in desks.  Within moments, we were checked in and in the lunch buffet at the Windows Cafe.

It was a good thing I looked at the Welcome Aboard Pursuits because, to my surprise, I was scheduled to give my first talk at 5:30 PM in the Cabaret Lounge.

I do not have a formal meeting with my contact, Activities Director, Alexander Yepremian, but I did run into him in the Looking Glass Lounge.  I will be giving all five of the schedules lectures on this cruise.

 

Ellen and the Azamara Quest

A Costa Cruiser as seen from the Quest

Relaxing in the Looking Glass Lounge

I showed up a few minutes early for my talk.  As it turned out, only 8, yes 8, eager attendees showed up for this talk.  The lowest turnout since my adventure on the first sea day at 9 AM on the NCL Pearl.  Not very interactive – small but mighty.

Good seats still available

We had dinner in the Discoveries Dining Room and we were able to get that table for two in the corner behind the wall where the harpist plays.  Déjà vu all over again.  The dinner was OK, the wine good, and the service great.  It did take a while to get through dinner but we did make the Welcome Aboard Show on time.

Tony Markey is the Cruise Director on this cruise (we sailed with him on the Journey) and he introduced the singers and performers that we would see in the upcoming days.

At the end of the performances, the ship began to rock and roll.  This would be only the start of bad seas to come.

Yikes…