Our last morning on the ship! I was sort of sad because we have had an amazing time, but I was excited about the next stage. There was still one more excursion left: a taste of Crete. We almost missed the bus for the excursion and there were no good seats left- I had to sit next to a complete stranger :( After that, the day could only improve, and it did! Our tour guide was a very bubbly Greek woman who kept adding "a" to the end of words: "the besta toura in the whole worlda" She was very sweet!
We had a scenic drive through the countryside of Crete and then ended up at Minos Winefarm. When we got there we watched a video on wine making. Then they gave all the adults some wine to taste. (Ash and I got fizzy orange juice) We rushed back to the bus to get good seats and then drove to a small village in Crete.
We walked around in the village a bit and then made our way to a taverna. There we got a plate of Cretan snacks (cheese-pie, Greek yogurt, olives etc.) and a cup of herbal tea (which I didn't like). We watched dancers perform traditional Cretan dances and even got to join in at the end! That was very fun. Then we walked back to the bus and drove to the ship.
Once on board I had a nap, packed and went to our last lunch. After lunch we went for a bridge tour. The bridge is the room where they drive the boat from. We were with a few other people and a guide. He was very nice. We saw the Captain's chair (and even got to sit on it!) Our guide showed us all the equipment and told us about it. It was really interesting.
At about 4 o clock there was an announcement that we were nearing Santorini. I went up to the top deck to watch- it was amazing! Those white houses perched up on the steep cliffs are so dramatic. We were actually disembarking at Santorini and staying there for 2 nights (the ship goes back to Piraeus). Disembarkation was by tender boats and was very exciting. We obviously had to bring our luggage with us.
We had a hotel transfer from the harbor and so arrived at Caldera Lilium hotel very quickly. They showed us to our rooms, which are really beautiful. The hotel has amazing views across the sea and to the neighboring volcanic island (!!!) We ate a snack on the porch and then relaxed in our room.
Mom, Ash and I went for a walk up the street and were almost blown off the road. Santorini is the windiest place I've ever been in! We watched as the sun went down (well, it really just disappeared into the mist on the horizon) Afterwards we had dinner in the dining room (dad didn't come because he wasn't feeling well) We had a bread platter, a Greek salad and seafood pasta. I didn't eat the seafood, just the pasta.
When we came back to our room, we played with dad's camera. We took 'ghost' pictures where we put the scene on fireworks (leaves the shutter open very long) and then slowly moved around as it was taking the picture. They look so cool! Then we went to bed.
What a lovely blog again and such nice pictures. Ashlyn looks good as Captain, the cap is missing! Did you all join in the dancing? That must have been such fun. I hope Dad is feeling better...
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea it was to keep a blog, because you are undertaking so many different things, exploring with so many different guides. Now you have a good record of everything. 2 beautiful pictures of the vulcanic island and I am looking forward to tomorrow's blog about it!
Goodness me, your holiday must feel like it is flying by because every time I go away I find 3 posts when I come back again! Then to my amazement it is really 3 days later. O wow, you got to see the captains bridge. Hey Ash, you look good as captain!!!! Must have baan a stunning view. Sorry to read that dad is still not feeling well. Hopefully now that you are back on land, he will feel better? Photos look stunning, and i would have loved to see those dancers performing!
ReplyDelete