Another day and another country. This time it is Greece. There are some words that best describe this country, and they are aquamarine coastlines, sun-bleached ruins, strong feta cheese, and even stronger ouzo. The Greek people are passionate about politics, coffee, and gossiping – mostly the men that we hear loudly arguing over friendly coffee time gatherings. With a population of 10.8 million folks that speak Greek, you can bet on having a great time touring this country.
There is so much to see and do in and around the capital city of Athens, it would take a month instead of one day. The most spectacular landmark has to be the Acropolis, the well-known hilltop site with ancient temples such as the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the museum. You can also see the Old Olympic Stadium, Hadrian's Arch, and Temple of Zeus.
Ship tours included the Acropolis, Cape Sounion, and a tour of Athens for 8 ½ hours and $200. Ancient Agora Plaka and Greek Mezedes for 4 hours cost $110. There were some more excursions, but too many to list.
Other wonderful places to see are the outer islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Crete. We have been lucky to have stops on these islands more than once. One of the most unusual things happened when we were in a restaurant in Mykonos. One of those giant Dalmatian pelicans wandered into the entrance of the café and begged for food. Namely fish. You have no idea how big these birds are until you see them up close. He must have been six feet from beak to tail and stood 4 to 5 feet tall. The owner shooed him away, and we said to each other, did we really see that? Another one of those special moments to recall.
Food is a big deal in Greece such as homemade tzatziki on gyros with soulaki grilling nearby. The Greeks love eating out (so do we). Seafood is the number one entrée, while fruit is traditionally served for dessert. However, some of their specialties include baklava, doughnut balls with honey and cinnamon, and kataifi – a dessert with chopped nuts in angel-hair pastry. Rice pudding, called rizogalo and custard-filled pastries are popular. And a syrupy fruit preserve can be spooned over Greek yogurt, our favorite.
The Zuiderdam arrived to the port of Piraeus, Greece, around 4am. Except we were in a different spot than we used to be, which was Cruise Terminal 2. It turns out that two other ships were docked where the Amsterdam used to dock and they were the Tui Discovery 2 from yesterday, and a Celestyal cruise ship, which we learned was the former Ryndam. How about that? Close to us was the Sun Princess, probably the largest of all of the cruise ships here today. We had been forewarned that there may be a shortage of taxis today, due to the fact it was Holy Saturday and Easter tomorrow. That was a concern for the number of folks that were disembarking today. However, we noticed a line of taxis that numbered close to 100. Oh well, for those who worried about getting to the airport on time, HAL had a bus transfer that they could book. Always a good alternate plan, even if it costs a bit more.
Breakfast was served a half hour early in both the dining room and the Pinnacle Grill. Even the Lido started at 5:30am, so the group leaving would not go hungry, heaven forbid. And there is always the 24 hour room service, which we have not done even once on this cruise. We watched the activity on the pier with the number of people leaving. It seemed that the best laid plans don't always work. The locals had other ideas as to the process, so it took longer than expected. At least today was not a zero-clearance morning, so eventually it all worked out.
We went off of the ship by 10:30am and went directly to the waiting shuttle that took us to the Municipality Theater in Piraeus. It was about a 20-minute ride. We were not all that far from where we usually dock, and we could have walked to the Marina Zea. But by eliminating that part of the hike, we were able to make it further once we were at the Marina.
The port city of Piraeus is often over-looked when it comes to touring. Athens take the majority of the guests to their city and surrounding sites. After seeing the Acropolis and the countryside numerous times, we decided to see what was closer to "home' for a change. And that was several years ago when we met up with tablemates Susie, Woody and Barbie for a seaside Marina Zea lunch…quite by accident. They had taken a taxi to this row of Marina restaurants while we had walked there.
Once again, the ship's map was useless as it only showed the sites in the city of Athens. The Ho-Ho bus map was a bit better but still did not show street names. Our best bet was doing a Google map search so we could remember the way to the marina from this shuttle stop. It was easy, and it all came back to one of us the closer we got to the beautiful boat marina. The streets were already getting crowded with local shoppers gathering the last-minute items for their Easter Day meal. We have read somewhere, that Easter is the biggest annual holiday in the Greek Orthodox religion, as it is with the Catholic religion as well.
The weather had started out on the windy side where we were docked, but eventually the winds died down leaving an almost cloudless blue sky. The sun was most welcomed, and we really did not need the sweatshirt or vest we wore. The temperature must have been at least 75 degrees or higher in protected areas. Leaving the shuttle at the theater, we walked to the nearby church to take a peek on the inside. There may have been a Holy Saturday service that just ended, and we did not want to disturb the parishioners. Needless to say, this cathedral-like church was magnificent inside, but no photos were allowed. We continued on our way downhill and turned on the right street that led to the Marina Zea.
This marina is one of the most scenic ones in this area, and all of the highend yachts and sailboats are moored here, as well as small craft and older fishing boats. Turning right at the water's edge, we made our way to the far end of the peninsula, crossing over a bridge to the row of very lovely seaside restaurants where we had by chance met our tablemates years ago. Under this shoreline bridge were schools of fish by the hundreds. Locals had tossed some old bread to them and they tore it to bits. We did see a sign saying "no fishing", and the fish know it.
It was still too early for our lunch, and it would be difficult for us to find a table in the shade by now. Each venue was filled with mostly locals out for the day, and doing what they do best…..eating out with friends and family. Most all of these restaurants featured fish and shellfish for their entrees, although it is quite normal to see many Italian eateries in between. We sat for a while at the park where the street ended and the marina began. Many little kids were out riding their bikes and scooters, while their parents sipped the strong coffees from nearby coffee cafes.
From here, we backtracked all the way around the entire marina, but followed the lower walkway close to the boats. Because of the nice weather, there was a lot of maintenance work happening like painting, polishing, and varnishing parts and pieces of every type of vessel here. It was interesting watching the fishermen working on their nets or washing down their old wooden boats. About the halfway mark, we went back up to the street and followed it uphill to our lunch destination if it wasn't too crowded.
Locating one of the best pizza and pasta restaurants on this stretch, we had to keep going since all of the tables in the shade were occupied. We would continue the search going all the way to the top of the hillside looking for a shady spot at a different café. There were some tables available, but they did not serve pizza. Still, it was worth the hike to get some fantastic photos of the Aegean Sea from the cliffs.
Heading back downhill, we did stop at our favorite place because a table for 4 in the shade was empty. What we failed to see was the small card that said "reserved". Oops….the waitress came outside and said we could not sit there, so we chose to go inside the restaurant, which was much better. We could have moved over to the adjacent table outside, but it was too close for our comfort. We were the only guests inside the café, which suited us just fine. We ordered two draft beers called Fischer along with a Romano pizza to share. And just as we remembered, it was delicious with a perfect crust and tasty toppings of mozzarella cheese, thinly-sliced Parma ham, and plenty of tomato sauce. "Rocket" was on the top, which was really arugula for color. We added the only dessert they had available which was panna cotta….very good and not overly-sweet. On a side note, the outside table was never occupied.
While we relaxed, we watched as to-go meals were handed out a side window to Uber motor scooter drivers. What a great idea since there was no place for anyone to park a car. All of the high-rise apartments here had no dedicated parking, like a garage, so they resort to parking in the narrow streets. Another reason why we see so many people walking. Better for them too.
All aboard was 4:30pm, rather early for such an important stop in Greece, but we made sure to watch our time. From here, we made our way back to the bus stop, but waited for 20 minutes or more before the shuttle left. The guide on the bus announced there was a problem at the terminal, and they were asked to hold us back here. If he explained it further, we could not understand his broken English. The good thing was that the driver kept the air-conditioning going, and everyone was comfortable.
We got back to the terminal by 4pm with no problem, and went through their xray before boarding the ship. We had hoped to purchase some cookies or biscuits along the way, but nothing was packaged for easy buying. Not that we needed more food, but their cookies are shortbread and stuffed with dried fruit. So good…..
Captain Frank came on with his talk around 5pm saying that we would be crossing the Ionian Sea heading towards the horn of Italy at the speed of 18 ½ knots. He promised a talk about the Messina Straits tomorrow. It was still 73 degrees outside with smooth seas and 1 ½ foot swell. Tomorrow the temps will drop 10 degrees and higher winds. Also the clocks would go back one hour tonight. Perfect, we like that direction better.
Dinner for us was back in the dining room with starters of chicken orzo soup and soba noodle/shrimp salad. One of us tried the cheese and avocado dip with tortilla chips….just like cheese nachos and good. Mains were rigatoni with chicken and pork belly that is seldom served. Also good. Dessert was one scoop of orange sorbet, and one vanilla custard which looked just like panna cotta.
The entertainer this evening was Miss Lauren Day, a singer with modern day tunes. Wonder how many guests had the energy to attend?
A sea day tomorrow and also Happy Easter!
Bill & Mary Ann
