BigWorldAndSmallWorld Blog

After land tour, we took a Celestyal 4-night Cruise to Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes, Santorini and Crete.

Rhodes is one of the most beautiful islands in Greece. Acropolis of Lindos is a fascinating archaeological ruin, standing over 100 meters above the sea and overlooking gorgeous beaches and waters. This magnificent palace was built between 10th and 4th centuries BC for Greek God Athena. I was amazed by its grandeur.

The Colossus of Rhodes is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Across where the ship docked, there is a medieval castle. The strong wall of the castle stretched 2.5 miles long, amazing!

I was looking forward to Patmos to see St. John’s cave. It did not disappoint me. Even though it was not allowed taking photos inside the cave, seeing the actual cave where John lived was like a dream. It was here John saw a vision and heard Jesus speaking to him, thus he wrote the Revelation. The monastery built on top of the cave was nice. We didn’t climb the many stairs to St. John’s Church; instead we drove by and saw the church from a distance.

Patmos is the smallest Greek island. On the island, we visited a 400-year-old house. From the window of the house, we can see a nice view outside. The most interesting thing walking through the alleyways was seeing different kinds of hands on the doors. The guide told us man could tell from the door’s hand whether the hostess was married or not because the hand on door showed wearing a ring or not.

Santorini is the island we had high expectation. We took the excursion package where a bus took us from the ship dock to the most northern village of Oia. When we arrived at Santorini around 4pm in early April, it was perfect weather not too hot not too cold, and the best of all not too many people. Seeing postcard-like scenery, taking many pictures of the azure seas, caldera landscape and white and blue houses, and sitting on a bench to relax and enjoy the moment was a truly satisfying experience. Many people came to Oia to see sunset, it was absolutely stunning.

The day we arrived at Mykonos we met a hurricane with strong winds and heavy rain. The port was closed due to safety reason. It was unfortunate but we were glad we were safe.

Crete is the largest island. There was not much to see there other than a market place to shop.

Even though we went to Turkey’s Ephesus, because this was the second time I visited Ephsus, I am not going to repeat what I have already blogged in my Turkey trip blog. However we visited a fancy Turkish carpet place.

Last but not the least, Celestyal cruise’s food was good. You can eat buffet all three meals or you can order from a menu at supper time.

I had a wonderful 12-day Greece tour with 4-night Iconic Cruise to Greek Islands in March. The land tour only covered a very small part of Greece, see the map where the tour route is circled in black.

Athens has some historic landmarks dated back to 5th century BC, including but not limited to Syntagma Square, the Temple of Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, and the Acropolis. Throughout Greece, you will see several Acropolises. Acropolis in Greek means “high city”. At Athens’ Acropolis, I saw the beautiful Temple of Athena, amazing tall remains of Parthenon and a fantastic panorama view of Athens.

After Acropolis, we had some free time to wonder around the Plaka (the city center) on our own. At the foot of Acropolis cave, we ran into a nicely located restaurant and had a very tasty lunch.

In the evening, we went up the Lycabettus Hill. Even though it was a cloudy day, we did not see the sunset as planned, but we saw the breathtaking view of Athens light-up.

We passed the narrow but deep Corinth Canal to Peloponnese Peninsular. I was amazed by the pre-historic Mycenae culture, a cone-shaped tomb and ancient ruins. At Epidaurus, I liked the 2300-year-old open-air outdoor theater a lot. It combines perfect mathematic proportion with excellent acoustics. Everyone no matter where one sits in the theater can hear the sound at that time, how amazing!

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Even though the Statue of Zeus is no longer there, the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Hera, exercise gym, torch-lit station, sacrificial altar and game stadium ruins still can be seen at Olympia. Imagine tens of thousands people sitting on the grass watching the ancient Olympic (776BC-393AD) games, what wonderful experience that was!

Driving through the scenic Arkadian Mountains, we arrived at a picturesque mountain town Arachova. It was nice having some free time to walk around and take some beautiful pictures.

Setting on Mount Parnassus lays Delphi, the home to the most famous Oracle and the Temple of Apollo. In ancient times it was considered the Navel of the Earth. According to mythology, this was the place where the four eagles of Zeus met after they were released from the four corners of the world. The hotel we stayed at Delphi was located on the top of the hill, not only it has an amazing view but also we saw beautiful sunset and sunrise.

From Delphi, we returned to Athens. This ends the land tour. I looked forward to the Greek Islands cruise afterwards. Do you know Greece is 60% mountainous? Do you know Greece is one of the top olive oil exporters in the world? Do you know shipyard is Greece’s 2nd largest industry? Have you tried ouzo, the anice-infused drink the locals are fond of? I tried, but it was too strong for me. Do you like the delicious dip of Greek tzatziki? I do. Athens is also the 3rd busiest port in Europe. When you are at Athens, National Archaeological Museum is worthwhile to visit.