Where are the Jays

Agios Nikolaos Crete

Population wise Crete is one of the larger of the Greek Islands. There are easily discernible towns and less of the cute, whitewashed buildings. That is not to say it isn't a nice place; it is just different. We chose to the tour of the town of Plaka and a boat ride to Spinalonga for our excursion for the day. A bus took us to the town of Plaka which is the jumping off spot for the extremely small and nearby island of Spinalonga.

Spinalonga started out life as a fort and still very much looks like one from the outside. The fort is pretty much the island. We did not visit the fort to learn about the battles that were fought there but rather to learn about its time period as a leper colony. Seems that in the early 1900s, Greece decided to gather all of their lepers and to send them to designated areas since at that time leprosy was considered to be an incurable disease and they thought the people were "dirty". This place remained a leper colony until the early 1950s. At that time, leprosy was curable and the few who had not yet been cured were sent to a hospital and the place was abandoned. Possibly many locals were afraid of the place too. It was not until late in the 20th century that they started to salvage the buildings and to turn it into a tourism destination. They are still working on many areas. The main gates are there, many buildings are still standing or have been reconstructed but more are to come. When you got sent there it was just you and not your family and it was a life sentence so to speak. Babies were born, but they were sent to an orphanage and kept separate in case they displayed the disease. So there was everything a small town would have plus some dormitories. Local women came and did the laundry including washing all the bandages from the sores so they had hot water before many other parts of Greece. There is a book written in the early 2000s called the The Island (later adapted to film) that is set in Spinalonga when it was a leper colony. The place began its tourism life while there were still people alive who had lived on Spinalonga which is unique for an historic site so there is good insight into the town life. It was quite an interesting excursion.

Spinalonga Fortress behind us as we travel to The Island

Older building

Example of shops run and used by the occupants of the leper colony

View of dormitories built for additional housing

After the boat trip to the island, we hung around the small town of Plaka. It is cute and Jeff got a great "boat" picture.

Greek fishing boat, now art

boats that ferried us to the island

Crete is becoming a luxury beach destination, so we did pass a couple of very nice resorts and I think a second home subdivision too. Later in the day, Jeff and I wandered around our port town of Agios Nikolaos.

Agios Nicholas

The Abduction of Europa sculpture

‘The legend suggests that Zeus, the father of all gods, fell in love with a beautiful princess named Europa. He took the form of a white bull and approached her while she was playing with her friends. All her friends were captivated by the beauty of the robust and friendly animal and began caressing it. Then Europa tried to ride on his back. Then the bull rushed into the sea and took her to Crete in spite of her weeps.’ click here for more

Rhodes

Okay, just going to start off with we both liked Rhodes a lot. It is in the Dodecanese Islands of Greece. We chose the Tsambika beach excursion for the day and had the surprise realization that we were going in the morning and were back to the ship for lunch. Jeff got to stand up paddleboard some - sore scrapped knee kept me off the board and we swam around in the calm water some. There were no waves at all and a nice sandy bottom. Unfortunately, not a white sand beach like ours at home so the sand was hot.

Since the ship did not leave till 9:30 at night, we hung around the ship in the heat of the day and then went into Rhodes to explore. From our spot at the pier we could see a walled city right there which is old town Rhodes. A very cool city! We got a map from the ship and off we went. Rhodes was home to some of the Christian Knights so we went to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, and the Archeological Museum of Rhodes.

Ancient city of Rhodes

We wandered around town for a few minutes enjoying the squares where huge old trees gave a lot of shade; probably passed the tree that is a descendent of the Hippocratic tree but did not realize it - shipboard friend said it was nothing special and then went to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Saint John from the crusades. It was a neat place to see. There is a huge open courtyard when you first walk in. The bottom floor was more museum with displays and the upper floor had some furniture and paintings, but the real thing there was the beautiful mosaics that were on the floors everywhere. The building itself is simply a nice old castle, but a special one. The building is in very good shape for its age since the Italians ruled this island in part of the 20th century and Mussolini chose to live in it. Oh, I should add the palace is at the top of a long narrow road going uphill. Along the way we peeked in and saw some nice little courtyards and a French Consulate Office.

Now this is a Castle

After the palace, we wandered a different way and saw more nice old architecture and some nice-looking lodging - mostly hotels and more cute, shady squares. We stopped in one and each had a decent beer for 2 euros each so with the exchange rate we each had a nice size glass of a decent beer for $2. We decided we better get to the museum before it closed for the day so we studied the map and went to find the museum.

Suleimaniye Mosque 19th C
These Islands were part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of WWI

The museum is housed in the ancient hospital of the Knights and is from the 15th century. There is some artwork and relics in the museum, but my memory is more of the building itself and its courtyards. There was a big courtyard again when you walked in and then there was another garden/courtyard up above. There were exterior covered walkways on the second floor that then led to a courtyard/garden in the back of the building. There was a koi pond and some nice plants.

Koi pond in shadows

It was time to wander a little bit more before we returned to our ship.

Kos

Kos is a Greek Island that is extremely close to Turkey - like it fits into a curved part of Turkey and when the 2 countries are getting along people take high speed ferries to go to the Turkey side to shop or spend the day which is less than 4 miles away. It has been part of Greece since only 1948 before that the Italians and the Turks/Ottomans occupied the island. We chose to do an excursion called Kos 4wd Adventure and that it was strenuous. Um the only thing strenuous about it was that you had to be careful with all the bees/wasps in one area. Otherwise, we were driven around on bumpy roads in large 4 wheel drive SUVs with the air conditioning on. Jeff and I had expected open air jeeps and the couple we rode with had expected open all terrain vehicles so we were all a little disappointed in it. Having said that, the views were fantastic. This island goes long periods without water so we saw a pond/lake that is called Turtle Lake and we went up in the mountains some. Turtle Lake is so named because there are often turtles or tortoises around - you know the type you see at the zoo that live to a 100 or so. The lake is almost empty right now, but was full of small frogs jumping everywhere! It was amazing how many frogs were in that small area. The write up says the roads were unpaved which may have been true since in the winter this area is off limits to people and is used by the military for training. The guides were great about stopping and describing what we were seeing below like how the island fits within a curved area of Turkey and other sites.

Tortoise

We also stopped at a village abandoned in the 1950s when there was no longer demand for the crops they grew. Once the wood in the ceilings collapsed, so did the rest of the building.

Little left of the village, though some is now an Airbnb

Single room with oven in the background

We also visited a small mountain town for lunch. When we got out of our vehicles, a friend called me over and said that they had just watched them make mousaka there and then had it and it was fabulous. We ate at the restaurant across the street from theirs, but it was the best mousaka I have had. Have to add here that I have not become a fan of mousaka but this was much better than what I had our first night in Athens. After our food break, we had time to wander around the small town and to see the views looking down in the valley. There you could see the outline of a funny looking lake. It is a salt lake that slowly all but dries up in the summer. The lake is fed by a mixture of salt water from an inlet and rainwater. We ended our tour with a stop by it. Wish I had the photos from our tour guide to show you. She is a photographer and they were great. Pretty sunsets and from the winter she had pictures of a type of flamingo that visits the lake then (none in the summer).

Salt Lake along coast line

We explored the town after the tour and saw the most bizarre collection of tour boats. We also saw the largest Catamaran Sailboat we have ever scene. After that it was time to get ready for Azamara’s big dinner/dance party on deck, White Nights. (Everyone wearing all white)

Ephesus

Ok here is where I had my first of several "duh" moments of this trip. To me all Ephesus meant was another town of ancient Roman ruins that for some reason most people were excited to visit (not just people on the cruise). I thought well okay it is a big place and maybe it is in better shape than a lot of places, but this is a place where cruise companies brag/promote that we had it to ourselves after dark, etc. So why? Well it is BIG, it is well preserved and it is popular. But my first "duh" moment came when the tour guide went "When St Paul visited here.... and we know from his letters to the Ephesians..." Wait duh - Ephesus is a town from the Bible!! Boy did I feel a little dense. Our tour guide started us on the top of the hill and we walked down. Pass all the important sites down the road that had been the major thoroughfare of the city in its hey day. So pass homes, shops, the Celsus library, the water system, talking about life during the different time periods. How the men would tell their wives they were going to the library when in reality they were going to meet up with a prostitute through the connecting doors of the library. How rich people did crazy things like have their slave sit on the stone of the toilet to warm the seat up for them. How there was running water in the toilets. We walked into part of the theatre which is huge and still in use today - supposedly lots of big stars have performed there. Then we hit another road and she had us gather in a shady spot because they were about to do a re-enactment of the time Cleopatra and Marc Anthony visited Ephesus.

Road

Medusa

Library

Menorah edged into a step of the library

Earlier in the tour we had gone to The House of The Virgin Mary. Mary was brought to this area by John the Apostle and lived here till her assumption. A German nun had visions of the place and the old building is around 2000 years old. It was found in 1891. It is believed to be a very early chapel if not actually her home. We are in Turkey a Muslim country and here is a chapel that has been incredibly well preserved for the mother of Jesus. I found that interesting until I learned that there is a book in the Koran for Mary and that Muslims think of Jesus as a prophet just not the son of God like Christians.

Mother Mary’s home

Petitions written on small pieces of paper

Water believed to be healing

After our tour we explored town and then back on the boat. Next stop Istanbul!

Our first Muslim city

We did a 10 day Greek Island Cruise with Azamara starting in Athens ending in Istanbul, Turkey. In between, we visited Mykonos, Paros, Patmos, Santorini, Agios Nikolaos Crete, Rhodes, and Kos plus Ephesus in Turkey. Mykonos and Santorini are well known and thus quite touristy islands many of the others were much quieter. This cruise is heavy on all the history that abounds in this part of the world. Jeff and I enjoyed some of the history, some of the beaches and some of the food! We are following this cruise with a Greek, Turkey Intensive Cruise so there will be a couple of posts with Roman or Byzantine ruins and beaches. This part 1 will have the first 4 places we visited.

Mykonos

As I said above Mykonos is a popular tourist spot. Like all of the islands it is gorgeous! It really is whitewashed buildings against deep blue water. We are currently in the Cyclades set of islands. We explored it on our own in the morning and then did a walking foodie tour in the afternoon. One of the iconic pictures for these islands but especially Mykonos is the windmills so of course we had to walk over to look at them. Oh one thing up front. These islands tend to be windy and Mykonos is in a league all of its own so windmills make a lot of sense. We took pictures of them and we got to go in one and walk up the circular stairs to the second floor.

Fabric sails catch the wind

Inside Windmill

Another popular area in Mykonos is little Venice. There is a small area of the old town where the houses are literally coming straight up out of the water. We learned they had been built that way in ancient times so that it was harder for intruders to enter the area. Protection from intruders is also why all the houses look so much alike and are attached to each other. The intruders had less walls to try and enter, harder to tell one house from another and the locals could jump from house to house as needed. One group of intruders surprised me; pirates. I never thought about pirates in this part of the world.

Venice Beach

Then after lunch it was time for our food tour. We started off with a dish with the nickname of submarine. It is a white sweet made from the same tree that gives them mastic and it is in a little cup of water. You use the water to soften the sweet and you lick it. It is very sweet! Then we went onto another sweet that was a jellied fruit slice and we were getting worried it would be all sweets after we had bought a cookie to ward off hunger. Happily we moved on to other types of food. Next we had a chicken soulvaki skewer and piece of pita. Unfortunately we had to eat it standing up and blocking a business' s doorway. From there we moved onto a taverna where we did sit down and enjoyed ouzo and a small plate of mezes such as the grape leaves wrapped around a rice mixture, some olives, and a couple of other things. Then we went back to the shop where we got the submarine and this time we had the mastic alcoholic drink. We were done for the day, but the bars were just starting to clean up for the nightly party that starts around 11pm and goes till early in the morning - hey might as well party while it is comfortable outside!

Paros

Another island in the Cyclades; more white buildings and gorgeous blue water. These islands do not get much water for long periods - made us think of Sacramento, California where no rain from spring till fall. We went on a walking tour along the Marathi Marble Quarries and to the town of Lefkes. So we walked along a road that was built in 1000AD of marble - well mostly rocks these days. The scenery was pretty and we learned about their native botany along the way. We saw date trees, olive trees, wild sage, wild oregano and learned about how they grow tomatoes and other plants in an arid climate. The marble is special here because it is the marble that was used in most of the well known statues from antiquity. It is extremely white - no veins of any color going through it. Unfortunately it has been mined to basically extinction (if it were a plant or animal) so it is no longer allowed to leave the island for projects. Oh back to the plants that are cultivated. They only water them when they are first planted so they get established and then the plants are on their own. Now unlike California there is moisture in the air so maybe the plants get water that way. Anyway they do grow and produce a product but it is very small so according to our guide the flavors are very intense. She also gave us some baklava that was coated in powder sugar which she said is a common wedding sweet. We ended in the small town of Lefkes in the middle of the island so very few tourists (or people on a work day) allowing us to see a typical small town. She taught us more about the houses. Seems it is now a law on at least some islands that the houses must be white to keep the traditional look. However, originally the houses were white because they were whitewashed with a limestone mixture to help disinfect and keep the homes cleaner. We finished in a little taverna where we had a wonderful concoction of greek yogurt with sweetened fruit. So Jeff who hates yogurt loved this stuff because it had no odor and a completely different texture to it. The fruit is a traditional dish where they take some of the early dates and use twice as much sugar to date ratio and soak it for awhile and then put it on things like the yogurt. It was quite nice.

Lefkes

Look back at Lefkes

Ancient road

Olive trees can live for 100s of years, note the trunk on the close one

Patmos

We opted to explore Patmos on our own and not take any tours. It was a lovely relaxing day.

Jeff had to checkout the sailboats

Yellow flag with Double Eagle is flag of Eastern Orthodox Church

Greek fishing boats

Cabaret Lounge

That’s chocolate

Santorini

We pre-arranged an independent tour sailing and swimming trip for Santorini. Santorini is volcanic, so we saw incredible rock formations and colorful beaches. We sailed on a large Catamaran with a fun group of passengers. The tour advertised swimming in the warm waters of the Caldera. We enjoyed the swim in the crystal clear water, but it was cold. Afterwards we had a great Greek lunch prepared on board followed by another swim stop.