Mediterranean and
Transatlantic Cruises – Oct-Nov 2015
I just finished a 31 day
cruise of the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean
crossing. This was the second time I had
been on the Silversea Silver Wind, the first was 20 years ago.
October 27-30, 2015 – Athens, Greece
I flew to Athens a few days early, to adjust to the
time change. My hotel, randomly picked
online was in a perfect location, near all the shopping and eating areas, and
within walking distance to most of the historic attractions.
Well I feasted for three
days on fantastic Greek food, with Greek salads once or twice a day.
On my second day, October
28, all the stores were closed and it was a national holiday, celebrating the
day Greece
joined WWII by refusing to let Mussolini enter the country. All the historic sights were free so I
revisited the Acropolis and many other ruins.
Theater at the Acropolis
Me, atop the Acropolis
Meat market in Athens
These are for Julie
Fruits and spices at the market
Greek Olives
On the 29th I
went to visit the Olympic Stadium and Village.
What a disappointment – the only thing there were the buildings. I walked for miles and passed a few souls.
One of the Olympic swimming pools
The Olympic Stadium
Walkway at the Olympic Village
Greek and Olympic flags
On October 30, I joined the Silver Wind in Piraeus.
November 1, 2015 – Alexandria, Egypt
My second visit to Egypt was
pretty close to my first many years ago.
The city was run down, with many buildings in dire need of repair. The traffic was horrendous making it almost
impossible to cross the street. After my
hour walk along the coastline, I took a horse and carriage ride. The driver was very informative until it came
time to pay him. The agreed upon price
was $10, but he demanded $30. Well I
walked away and headed for the ship.
When I reached the port entrance, the guide finally accepted the $10 I
offered.
My walk along the Mediterranean
Egyptian castle
Your typical apartment building. Look at the balconies.
November 3-4, 2015 – Haifa, Israel
Unfortunately due to the
problems in Israel we had to
skip our stop in Ashdod. So instead we spent two days in Haifa. The main attraction in Haifa is the Baha’i Temple and gardens. I think there were 3000 steps to reach the
gardens. Although it is the third
largest city in Israel,
there are not many attractions to see.
Baha'i Temple and Gardens
Modern skyscraper in Haifa
November 5, 2015 – Limassol, Cyprus
Hurrah! A new country has been added to my list. I took an absolutely beautiful walk along the
Mediterranean.
During the walk I passed a number of the 16 modern sculptures along the
path. They were quite a contrast from
some of the ancient structures. On my
return I walked through the old town visiting the Limassol Castle.
One of the sculptures on the beach path
Another sculpture
Typical building in the old town
Ruins by the castle
November 6, 2015 – Fethiye, Turkey
Fethiye is a fairly modern
city, having been completely rebuilt in 1957.
There must have been 1000 boats and yachts in the harbor worth millions
of Euros. Today’s walk took me around
most of the harbor, a total of over five miles.
Before returning to the ship, I walked through the shops resisting any
temptation to buy another t-shirt.
Plant sculpture
More plant sculptures
Spices
A few of the 1000's of boats
November 7, 2015 – Rhodes, Greece
This stop was a last minute
addition, making up for Ashdod,
Israel. I had been to Rhodes
recently, but still enjoyed the walled city and beautiful architecture. There was no power in the old town, so that
ruled out any shopping or eating in one of the Greek cafes. Later I walked around the new town before
returning to the Silver Wind.
This is the closest I've been to a temple in years
Walkway in Rhodes
Windmills in Rhodes
November 8, 2015 – Aghios
Nikolaos, Crete
At first I thought Crete was
a separate country, but then I found out it is part of Greece. I only need a handful of countries to reach
100. It was Sunday and most of the shops
were closed. I did my daily walk along
the shoreline meeting many fellow passengers doing the same thing.
Some of the tourist shops
were open but the ones that interested me were closed – oh well!
November 10, 2015 – Catania, Sicily,
Italy
Due to weather related
problems we had to substitute Catania for our
original port of Siracusa. At breakfast we were treated to an amazing
view of Mt. Etna.
The last time I saw
Mt. Etna was 20 years ago
on the same ship. On that voyage Mt.
Etna gave us a spectacular view of lava flowing down the slopes. Below is a copy of the picture I took 20
years ago.
My picture of Mt. Etna taken 20 years ago
Mt. Etna today
As I’ve done every day I
took my walk through the city.
Catania, like most other Sicilian cities have been plagued
with lava flows from the volcano and disastrous earthquakes. There is always the chance that history will
repeat, but hopefully not while I’m visiting Sicily.
Old Roman theater
Vegetable market on the street
November 11, 2015 – Messina, Italy
Again, most of the historic
treasures in this city were destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1908. Today I was in a shopping mood, but when I
finally make it to the shopping district, the feelings were gone. I wonder if I will buy anything on this trip.
November 12, 2015 – Sorrento, Italy
I’ve been here a few times,
so I passed on taking the tender to shore.
November 13, 2015 – Civitavecchia, Italy
Today only 22 of the 200
passengers stayed on the ship for the upcoming transatlantic crossing. I walked in to town but again, I did not have
the shopping urge.
November 15, 2015 – Palma de Mallorca, Spain
This is another new port for
me. I took the shuttle bus to the
magnificent cathedral with my friends Angela and Paul. We followed a walking trail to the town hall,
council offices, theaters, museums and the obligatory churches. I visited my one church of the day. After the walking tour, I took a three mile
walk back to the Silver Wind.
Cathedral in Palma
Government house
Palma sign
Windmill in Palma
November 16, 2015 – Cartagena, Spain
For the first time on a
cruise I felt under the weather and did not even attempt to get off the ship
today. The few pictures are from the
ship.
November 17, 2015 – Malaga, Spain
Today we did another walking
tour of this beautiful city. After a
slight detour (yes, we got lost) we found the market. It was one of these beautiful structures that
has probably been a market for hundreds of years. I purchased some tomatoes so I could have a
real caprese salad. I got enough for
seven days. In the afternoon I took a
walk along the beach, somewhere I had never been before.
Cruise dock walkway
Flower stand
Fish on display
Rainbow brush
New Ferris Wheel in Malaga
Beach in Malaga
Boys playing near beach
Ferris Wheel at night
November 19, 2015 – Funchal, Portugal
This is probably my favorite
island to spot at on a transatlantic crossing.
The scenery is beautiful and it was fun to walk around the old town.
One of the main streets
Man walking into sculpture
Pirate ship
November 26, 2015 – At Sea
Today was the ship building
contest that Angela and I entered for the second time. On our last crossing we took first
prize. This time, we only came in
third. Our creation carried 146 cans of
coke before starting to sink in the pool.
Next time we’re going for 200.
Loading the soda cans into our boat.
November 27, 2015 – San Juan, Puerto Rico
After seven days at sea it
was nice to step on dry land. I had a
nice walk to the Morro Castle and found the
path along the ocean. I don’t remember
walking there before, but Eric said we did it years ago.
Cemetery at El Morro Fort
Street in Old San Juan
November 30, 2015 – Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida
After 31 days on the Silver
Wind, it was time to face reality. My
friend Herman and I drove to Orlando. But do not fear, we re-board the Silver Wind
on December 11 in San Juan for an eleven day Caribbean adventure.
