Thanksgiving Roses

Visiting Glenn and Monica over on the Olympic Peninsula for Thanksgiving, i couldn't help but notice some hardy roses braving the late fall weather. 

They survived the heavy rains a fortnight ago and recent blustery weather to raise their heads in celebration of this day of thanks. 

It reminds me to celebrate family and friends who make my world a special place. 

Please join me in giving thanks for the people and things that make life worth living and being a smile to my lips and joy to my psyche, all year round, not just at Thanksgiving. 

Sparkling Sunshine

Ikuko and I went walking a little after noon today. It was a normal mid-November day with a cold south wind and our ever-present clouds.

As we walked along the sidewalk near the ferry holding area, the sun broke through the clouds and lit up some roses that were still bravely showing their faces despite the low temps we've been having the last couple weeks.

I was dazzled by the brilliant sunshine. Must have been my eyes were accustomed to the gray clouds and grayish palette that tinged the landscape. Whatever the reason, BOOM, the bright colors of those last roses of the year jumped right up and assaulted my amazed eyes.

I hope they bring you the same joy and amazement they brought me. 

Cruise Wrap

The weather changed from the last time we saw Athens. This morning it was cold and overcast outside our cabin. This photo was taken a little after seven this morning nd even though the camera automatically adjusts the exposure to get the best results, you can see it is still dark.

Turning to look toward the outer harbor, I counted 16 ships riding their anchors. There were three other large ships, two coming into port and one leaving. In addition, there were ferries, pilot boats, bunkering boats, and tugboats hustling to and fro taking care of business in this busy port.

We have a 1000 flight in the morning from Athens to Heathrow so we leave the ship at 0630. That meant Iko had to get started packing right after breakfast. 

When 1000 today rolled around (24 hours before our flight) I started trying to check in on line. The paperwork for Athens was fairly quick but Heathrow was a nightmare again, made even worse by having neither good WiFi nor a printer. About 1330 I got the Passenger Locator Form for each of us completed and filed. Part of the reason it took so long was because while looking up information or files to add at various spots on the form, it bounces you off because of inactivity (seems like 2 minutes) and it doesn't save the info already submitted. 

Finally had the PLF, negative COVID test results and was ready to check in on line. Jumped through those hoops only to get an error message on the Heathrow to Seattle leg saying that Iko's passport was being verified by the US State Department. "Try again later" it says. I tried a couple more times. At 1530 went to the Guest Services desk and asked them to print our Passenger Locator Forms. We'll check in at the airport in person tomorrow. Hopefully, when they see the actual passport, they'll check our luggage through to Seattle, and let us board our flight.

I felt like we were being picked on until, while I was waiting for the printer at the front desk, a man wearing a Seattle Seahawks cap came in and said he lost his room keycard, beverage keycard and a credit card in Athens. The two keycards were easy to replace but the credit card was not so easy. The clerk took them him to a private room where he could call the CC company, but as you probably know, that's just the start. 

I felt sorry for the poor guy, but it brightened up my day to remember that there were worse things than fighting the Heathrow paperwork.

 Well, I'll button up the laptop soon, so need to get this post published. Next addition from back in Edmonds. It's been great having you along for the trip.

Mykonos, 9/21/21 and a Sea Day, 9/22/21

We tied up at the pier in Mykonos this morning. There were three other cruise ships anchored nearby. The Apex left Rhodes after we did, but was anchored here already when we pulled in this morning. 

Not long after we arrived, I got this shot of the setting full moon across the smooth Mediterranean.

According to the on-line sources I read, Mykonos has been a popular resort area since the 1980's. There were and, perhaps still are, nude beaches. There are many bars and similar establishments that have historically, and still do cater to the LGBTQ? community. Of course, there are plenty of souvenir shops. Iko and I weren't interested in any of the options so stayed aboard our home away from home. 

A little later in the day, as I was observing the scene from topside, I was glad we hadn't gone to town since the long lines of passengers waiting for the Seabus or water shuttles were looking bedraggled and hot. The ship's personnel recommended the water taxis because the land bus was irregular, more expensive and it took longer to drive around the bay than it took across the water in a straight shot to the town,

Back to the attractions of Mykonos. The diverse bar attractions reminds me of the diverse group of passengers we have aboard for this cruise. More so than on other cruises, Iko and I both remarked on the diverse couples we saw. There were the obvious hetero married couples, the pairs of women or of men who may or may not have been married, older men with younger women, older women with younger men, older men with younger men, older women with younger women, an older white woman with a younger quite tall black man who always wore flowing robes, and various other arrangements. 

I'm not wanting to sound sexist, racist, ageist, or any other kind of "ist" but, on the other hand, I'm intrigued by how much change has been made, at least in some parts of the world, in letting people feel comfortable in their own skins. I'm not sure how these changes will play out long term with the old mores and standards of society. I think we are in a time of flux where changing behavior is weighed against old standards and change advances and retreats in phases. 

The driving force behind most of those old restrictions was the need for procreation, support for the family, and survival of the group by being suspicious of strangers or different people. In most places today we have plenty of people, typically they don't need to be tied to a family to survive, and we mix with strange people from various cultures daily. 

It will be interesting to see how these trends play out. I've seen great changes in my time on this sphere and I expect there will be many more. Too bad I won't be around much longer to see what happens in our future. 

Back to more mundane thoughts. This shot of the setting sun as we left Mykonos reminds me that our cruise is drawing to a close. Tomorrow will be another "sea day" and then we will tie up in Piraeus, pack our bags and prepare for a quick trip to the Athens airport and a return to the real world.

 Our sea day was another pleasant day. Wait staff brought us coffee and breakfast, I logged almost six miles of deck walking, we watched the fairly smooth water, counted the increasing number of ships as we drew nearer to Athens, and most importantly, I beat Iko in today's Cribbage session.

Overnight in Rhodes 9/20/21

 We stayed tied up to the pier at Rhodes overnight and until 2030 Monday night. We had a light rain around 0530 Monday morning. It was the first rain since the light rain in Olympia.

There are many things to do here if you are energetic, have money to burn, and don't like hanging out on the ship when in port. None of those things apply to us so we take it easy and stay cozy in our floating home.

I saw this and similar fishing boat charters heading out into the Mediterranean twice a day. Don't know what they catch or what they do with the fish they do catch. 

There are also many walking tours of the old city. We encountered them along the way in our walks, we taking our time and going places we wanted, they on the guide's schedule seeing what was on the agenda for that tour. Alright, I guess, but not normally for me.

There are also longer tours to other spots on the island, including a donkey ride to a hilltop in Lindos to see the "Acropolis of Lindos." Thrilling I'm sure, but again, not for Iko and me.

When we berthed Sunday evening, a German cruise ship, Mein Schiff 5 was berthed on the other side of the pier. They sailed away sometime early in the morning and the Celebrity Apex tied up in its place. The Apex appears to be about the same size as the Eurodam. It looked to me like they built the superstructure on an older hull because, although the upper part is modern, the hull is an older model without bow thrusters.

This busy sign was posted on all doors leading in from the Promenade Deck. All bases covered. Their insurance agent would be proud.

We went to a special dinner in the Pinnacle Restaurant tonight. It was billed as a gala six-course dinner with drinks and wine included. I told Iko it was my birthday dinner.

Since Iko and I don't drink alcohol, I had a talk with their sommelier a couple days prior. Explained that we would like to have something besides iced tea with our dinner. She wanted to know what I could suggest. Told her I didn't expect special infusions or shrubs, but that a thoughtful selection of virgin cocktails and non-alcoholic wines would be appropriate. For inspiration, showed her the non-alcoholic drinks the Herbfarm in Woodinville matches to their dinners for non-drinkers. 

I must say she did a good job on short notice. We had virgin Mojitos with the canapes, sparkling imitation champagne with the salmon tartare/caviar. A nice chardonnay later with the halibut, red wine with the beef tenderloin and a special mildly heavy, after-dinner drink with coffee. All without alcohol. Since we had a free drinks card included with our travel package, we had been drinking the white and red wines in the dinning room, but another diner at our table was impressed that he wouldn't need to drink only non-alcoholic beer with his meal. 

Having had a good meal in honor of my 82nd, we toddled off to bed while the other diners headed for the theater for the evening show. Tonight it was a combination of magic and comedy. Neither get past my hearing aid limitations so I generally pass on the shows.

Rhodes 9/19/21

 

At each port a pilot comes on board to guide the ship through the last bit of water to the pier. In the case of Rhodes, it was less than a kilometer. At Kotor, we took on the pilot about five miles out because of the narrow spots and tight turns. In the case of Puget Sound it is many miles away from the port at a spot just off Ediz Hook near Port Angeles. 

In every port the Eurodam gets exterior maintenance. Today painters were working on the white paint forward and the crew was washing down the hull.

As you can see from the pics above, we tied up port side to, with the bow pointed southwesterly. From our cabin on the starboard side we had a view of the old city with its walls and fortifications.

The old walls are amazing. They date from various periods when they were erected or strengthened by various rulers or occupiers. If you are interested in learning more about the walls and their history, here's a link to a local person's blog with comments: The Walls And The Gates in Rhodes (theislandofrhodes.com)

As usual, I just captured what caught my eye. For a more complete guide of the old city, please see the link, above. These arches marched on up the road. Or perhaps they would more properly be called buttresses? 

I noticed a photo of this same old church in the referenced blog. I was intrigued by the stonework.

Along the roads and alleys inside there were shops of all kinds. Here classic Greek clothing was on offer and floating like ghosts in the breeze. 

Some of the smaller side streets were paved with cobbles like I've never seen before. The stones were in the size range of 3-4 inches and set at an angle in a strong concrete base. The stones were well worn but I didn't see any missing even after what looked like many years of vehicle traffic. I thought the photo was interesting because near the car you can get an accurate idea of the look, but in the foreground it looks like the stones are missing and the surface is a series of indentations. I'm not sure why it appears like tht. Must be a trick of lighting,

As mentioned, the streets were lined with shops, restaurants and entrances to small hotels. A thirsty couple were sitting at this table drinking cold beer. I stopped to admire their cold beer dispenser. They were nearing the bottom of the pitcher(?) but had slowed down considerably by the time we returned this way an hour later. The beer looked like it was still cold.

Many restaurants had employees on the street out front trying to entice people in with promises of wonderful authentic Greek food with seating with a sea view. The third floor of this colorful restaurant promised seating for 80 people.

At stops in other locations in Greece we saw banana plants with green fruit. This is the first time I saw a potted banana houseplant. It was on a sheltered porch with only afternoon sun so could only support a few fruits.

One of the many minarets/towers/spires to be seen around the old town.

This street-level window caught my eye. It offers daylight and fresh air but remains private, secure and watertight with curtain, bars, shutters and a small roof to shed the occasional rain.

Another eye-catching tower.

We enjoyed our visit to the old city, but passed on the restaurants, ice cream and gelato stands, and souvenir shops. We made our way back to the ship and had latte's in the Crow's Nest, enjoying the view.

The ship's internet was slow yesterday afternoon, then it became REALLY slow. So slow it would time out on the simplest tasks. I think there is only limited bandwidth and as people come back from tours in the afternoon, they all try to check mail and surf at the same time. I finally gave up and finished this Monday morning.

Chania (Souda) 9/18/21

 As we pulled into Souda (Port for Chania) I snapped the sun rising through the mist over the Mediterranean. It looked more like the moon than the warm sun we've known for the past two weeks. It didn't take long to rise above the mist and warm the day to the mid-eighties. The breeze was welcome even if humid and warm.

Iko and I scanned off the ship and caught the bus to Chania. It cost 1.7 Euros each way for the 15 minute express run to downtown. The bus stop was across the street from the big covered market.

I was so impressed with the leather belt I bought in Croatia that I decided to look for a leather goods store here. We walked around the outside of the market and sure enough, about a half-block away we found just the place. There were many good leather belts on display. I picked out a brown one in my size and paid 16 Euros, quite a bit less than the one in Croatia for a very similar product. I like the design of the buckle end that allows fine tuning of the size. Well, as long as the tuning involves shorter instead of longer.

The market covered an entire block and was laid out with two main pedestrian streets running perpendicular to each other across the middle of the block. Both streets were covered and the shops were staffed by helpful people, all with at least basic English. They probably spoke German as well since many of the tourists were from Germany, including a good many who are on the Eurodam.

These two shopping streets remind me of the shopping streets in Japan where they are sometimes half a mile long.

I didn't see any produce stores but there were several cheese mongers and dealers in olives and their oil and other olive goods. Edible, that is. There were other stores that carried products made from olive wood.

I saw three or four butcher shops. There were prime cuts of meat available in the display cases, but they also displayed the entire carcass of many animals. Here we see a chicken and a goat (identifiable by the remnant of fur on its tail) and some goat heads. I observed several American(?) tourists quickly turn their heads. We are used to seeing meats cut into their final chops, steaks, roasts or ground meat, and neatly wrapped in plastic. Here you are reminded that that end product came from an animal and didn't come from the factory prewrapped and ready to grill. 

I've had headcheese and pork head soup, but haven't had goat head soup. Did a quick search and found mostly references to the Beetles album, but with persistence, found a couple good looking recipes for the real thing. Too bad I'm a vegetarian, I probably could have found a local restaurant where they served such soup.

Some rabbits hang in this cold case. I noted the old man in the shop (just above the glass at the divider) who had dropped his mask and was smoking a cigarette as he worked.

The ship's dining room is split between decks 2 and 3. On the way north only the part on deck 2 was open. On this part of the cruise, with more passengers, the seating is open on both decks with many tables vacant for proper spacing. The assistant stewards carry the plated dishes from the kitchen pep area as needed. They are uncovered and delivered to the tables by the dining room stewards. They do a good job and the hot dishes have warm plates and the cold, cold plates. 

My dining companion was keeping a close eye on the proceedings. 

We sailed from Souda around 1700, so we dined to the gentle rocking of the ship as we sailed into the Med on our way to Rhodes.

Argostoli (again), 9/16/21

When the ship stopped at Argostoli on the way north, Iko and I started walking to town but turned back for fear of rain. This time I picked up a map of the downtown area from the small tourist building at the end of the dock. We looked at the map, figured it was less than a mile to the shopping area, but decided to take a taxi in and walk back. We figured it would be better to get hot and sweaty on the way back the ship's AC rather than vice versa,

Fresh, mostly local produce was at the front of this market and olive oil and other such cooking essentials were in the back. This market was off the main (tourist) street and the clerk didn't speak English so we made do with sign language and finger pointing. We got some good local olive oil, more fresh sweet grapes and some dried figs. When I asked if the dried figs came from Turkey, she understood that and snorted disdainfully, saying, emphatically, "No, Greece made!"

When the taxi dropped us off at the far end, we found the tourist shopping street in Argostoli to be quite nice. Shops lined both sides of the street for about six blocks, the surface was white with pavers and the shops represented all the local goods. In addition to the local crafts, there were souvenir shops selling typical Greek things from around the country.

We finished our shopping and sightseeing and headed back to the ship, As we walked along, we saw other passengers walking toward downtown. Most looked hot and weary and were looking around the second-class stores along the route. Many probably didn't make it to the nice area and I wondered why the city fathers (or mothers) hadn't provided a shuttle service to the shopping area. 

Other cities with remote shopping areas sometimes provided free buses and sometimes arranged for buses for a nominal fee. In any case, they encouraged passengers from the cruise ships to patronize the main shopping area. 

I think the taxi drivers (who line up right outside the pier) and owners might have a strong influence since they now have a corner on the transportation market and charge an exorbitant set fee of ten Euros for the short ride to town. Maybe they give a kickback to the mayor that is more than the storekeepers are willing to cough up. Whatever the reason, it's too bad because the passengers are the ones who suffer.

Couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this voracious citrus tree gobbling up the "no right turn" sign.

Back aboard ship we cooled off  and Iko beat me at Cribbage before dinner. She's ahead in the cruise series now. I think she's taking advantage of my tired brain caused by planning and guiding our trips ashore. 

People Have Questions

 Time to answer some questions that have been asked via texts, emails or comments to this blog.

Who cleaned up the mess of broken crockery after the party in Athens?

That was an interesting story. After the last dish was flung and the dust settled, the MC, or more likely owner, went around asking for male volunteers who wanted to compete for a prize. I heard him ask one man if he was a drinker. 

He lined up the seven volunteers across the dance floor area and told them to close their eyes. Helpers placed a push broom before each man with the handle leaning lightly on his chest. Now he had them open their eyes and explained that the man who did the best job of sweeping up the broken dishes would win a prize. 

The men all set about sweeping and soon the floor was clear. The MC again had them line up and a waiter brought a small metal glass of Ouzo for each of them. To a chorus of "Opa" the glasses were raised and the Ouzo drunk. It was a win-win situation, the broken shards were swept up and the sweepers content to have each won a prize. 

Can we bring flowers and produce back to the ship?

I haven't seen an official policy on this, but we brought back aboard almonds and grapes one day, more grapes, dried figs and Greek fruit candies another day. Yesterday we brought back some bottles of local olive oil. The operator of the X-Ray machine alerted another crewman who requested to be allowed to look in our bag. I told him no problem, that we had olive oil and water. He gave the bottles a cursory glance and waved us through. 

They do watch for alcohol though. It is well stated that alcohol from ashore is not allowed. If guests bring it back the crew will hold it in a secure location until final debarkation. They allow wine purchased ashore to be consumed but with a corkage fee of $35 per bottle, as I recall reading somewhere. Obviously, they are protecting one of their ancillary sources of income.

When does our cruise end?

Our cruise ends on the 24th in Athens.

Is the produce local that we see in the farmers markets?

As near as I can tell, a good portion of the produce is locally (on the Island of Kefalonia) grown. Now is prime season for grapes, melons and the plum family. I see those often along with what look like local strawberries and fresh figs. Greens, cabbages, broccoli and other members of the cole family are also plentiful. Zucchini, cucumbers and some of the tomatoes look to be locally grown, but some of the tomatoes are too prefect and must be from commercial growers somewhere. 

Have we had a problem with common colds or Covid?

So far we haven't had any problems with illness of any kind. I haven't heard of any aboard ship although I'm sure the ship's administration would try to keep such news under wraps, if possible. 

There are hand sanitizer dispensers in many locations throughout the ship and masks are required to be worn except while actively eating or drinking. Additional help might have been gained by prohibiting smoking in the bars and casino, which is a change from previous cruises. 

What do you do during a day at sea?

Iko and I keep it low key. I get up at 0530 or 0600 irrespective of the time zone, work on email and blog until 0800 or so when Iko is ready to go to breakfast. We usually go to the Lido Marketplace (buffet in the past, now "point and be served") although we sometimes go to the dining room.

Later we may go to a presentation about an upcoming port call or anything else that strikes our fancy. Or laze around the ship watching the ocean or people.

We usually go to coffee in the early afternoon. Perhaps play cards for awhile. Sometimes take a nap, usually in the room since it's too warm outside for napping. I like to get my walking in before dinner, although I sometimes walk after dinner.

We get ready and go to dinner at 1730. After that I work on a blog entry or we play cards. Then I do an hour or so of Japanese language study before going to bed around ten.

Slow and easy does it. We don't take in the many other events or happenings aboard ship. Here's what the daily handout for today looks like. It's in tri-fold form so is long and skinny as individual pages:

Kotor, Montenegro 9/15/21

 We tied up in a new port in a new country today. The city of Kotor beckoned to us from just up the pier and across the street. We had our ship's card scanned as usual at the gangway, walked up the pier, took the escalator down under the street, up the other side, and entered behind the stone walls of Old Town Kotor.

The sun rose slowly over the mountain to the east of the city, gradually moving down the hills to the west.

First stop was a maritime museum. There were many exhibits but this photo is the only one that made the cut because of the length of this post.

St. Tryphon's Cathedral was across the square. It is noted as one of the main attractions of Kotor, so I headed over, paid my three Euros admission and spent as much time as I dared while Iko waited in a nearby café (because of the many stairs in the cathedral and treasury). If you are interested in reading more about St. Tryphon and the church, here's a link to a short article: https://www.montenegropulse.com/st-tryphon-cathedral-kotor-montenegro.html

Along one of the stiarways were pieces of the original church and those that were built again as earthquakes damaged the older ones. This one if from the 9th century.

The article, linked above, describes how hard times after one of the destructive earthquakes prevented complete restoration. Even today one tower is two feet shorter than the other. This bell is a remnant of an earlier iteration of the church.

Relics of St Tryphon, and the church itself, came to be in Kotor by a strange twinst of fate, also outlined in the referenced article.

Many of the old walls are intact with repairs here and there. I've remarked to myself several times how the old walls in these cities are much older than the time our country's been in existence.

Inside the old walls there are narrow streets and byways like a honeycomb.

 Many of the walls and battlements are from the times when the Turks were trying

to capture these towns.

I liked the hanging baskets of colorful flowers. In this case flamboyant petunias. I also liked the functional shutters on most of the buildings.

More stones, but I couldn't resist adding this photo of the old stone steps, worn in the centers by many feet over the centuries.

Looming over the city are the monte negro (black mountains) from which the counrty takes its name. 

We took a little longer over dinner tonight so missed the opportunity to take another sunset shot. I'll be back tomorrow as we sail into Argostoli for a return visit.