Santorini

Sensational Santorini, it’s really like no-where else on earth! It is what was left after a massive volcanic eruption.  The sides are incredibly steep with few coming down to the water. The rock is all volcanic, and there is little rain so not a lot of vegetation. There are quite a few wineries though, making a unique product. Our favorite was the dessert wine, Visanto, made from sundried grapes.

We did another shore excursion, starting with a drive through a good part of the island, with 1 ½ hours at Oia village at the far north end. A very pretty town, but very touristy.

After that to the winery to try several wines, before ending in Fira, the main town. It was very busy, even though it’s shoulder season with only 2 smaller cruise ships in port. We looked through the shops, then found a little restaurant with a view overlooking both sides of the island, and had beer and tarmasalata while using the internet.

We decided to start walking down (instead of taking the cable car) a little after 2pm, as it actually started to rain a little. A rare occurrence!

Other than avoiding the donkey poop, and the occasional aggressive donkey with rider, it was a pretty easy walk taking about a half hour.

We’ll go for a swim and relax a bit, we did a lot of walking today. Then we need to get packed! Can’t believe it’s our last day.

Rhodes

Rhodes is really incredible. And we have only been to the Old Town! There is so much to see, and we were lucky enough to hit Heritage day when many extra monuments are open to the public, and they are all free!

The cruise dock is right beside the Old Town, about a 5 min walk. Once through the old walls there is a maze of little twisting streets. Although many of the buildings hold shops or boutique hotels, there are private residences as well.

We walked on top of part of the old walls, getting a great view over the city and down to the harbour. The fortifications and battlements are fantastic, very well preserved. After lunch we walked up the Street of Knights (the Knights of St John occupied the city in the Middle Ages) and went through the Palace of the Grand Masters with it’s beautiful mosaic floors.

I think Rhodes is an island you could easily spent a week on!

On board last night was the White Night party. Everyone to wear white at the poolside barbecue, lots of fun!

Marmaris

Marmaris has a lovely setting on a large bay with mountains all around. There is a huge yacht harbour with every kind of boat in it. The old town is quite close, but a fair walk as you have to walk all around the yacht harbour to get there.
Today we took our first Azamara Shore Excursion, to Cleopatra Island. Cleopatra and Mark Antony visited there, an early celebrity endorsement. It was about a 45 min drive over the mountainous peninsula to where we caught the boat. It was a beautiful drive through pine forests and small villages. Then about 30 min by boat through the clear blue waters. The island was not busy when we first got there, and we walked around some ruins narrated by our excellent guide. Then went swimming on one of the first sandy beaches we've seen. You aren't allowed to lie in the sand, or even walk across the sand above the water line, there is a guard with a whistle!
We had about 2 1/2 hours to enjoy the island, the water was wonderful. Then back to Marmaris in time to check out the shops.

Azamazing Evening

It was a lovely evening. The venue was the terrace of a hotel below the old castle, and overlooking Fethiye and the harbour. The Balik sisters, also known as the "Opera Twins" performed for us under the stars while we had Turkish snacks and drinks.
It took incredible organisation to get everyone from the ship and back smoothly, but they did it!

Fethiye

Fethiye is larger than we expected, very spread out as there are no high-rises. It’s a lovely approach by boat into the beautiful bay with many coves. Very high mountains in the background. Where we tender in close to the centre of town there is a huge marina with all sorts of watercraft. A local guy gave us an informal tour through some of the very steep and winding back streets. Lots of cats around, and they all look well fed. After a bit of hit and miss we found the road up to the tombs. Only 5 lira to be able to climb the many stairs right up to the tombs. Very impressive! And a great view over town as well. The ruined castle was nearby so we walked to the base of that as well.

Afterwards we walked back into town and went to the Marketplace. Lots of lovely looking produce and interesting spices etc. Very friendly and helpful people.

We decided to have lunch at the market, you pick out your fish and they cook it in one of the restaurants. We had prawns, squid and sea bream, served with salad and garlic bread.

Afterwards we wandered through more of the market and the pedestrian streets, also along the waterfront promenade. Hot and sunny again today, about 30C. Late afternoon we headed back to the ship for a swim and a bit of a relax before getting ready for our “Azamazing Evening”.

Kas

Kas Turkey, (pronounced Cash),not to be confused with the island of Kos Greece, which is nearby.
This is our favorite port so far. It's a beautiful little town with steep rock cliffs behind. It has lovely old buildings, an old Roman theater on the edge of town, and several Lycian tombs cut into the rocks. There are also many lovely shops, much nicer than what we saw in Bodrum.
The harbour is full of boats taking people on dive trips, or to the sunken city of Kerkova. Originally we were going to do an excursion to Kerkova, but as it was a full day one we would have missed seeing Kas!
We did our little hike over to the theater and the tombs this morning before it got too hot, then came back for a swim in the afternoon. It's very rocky, so the "beaches" are on top of the rocks, with ladders leading into the water. The sea is lovely and clear, warm and buoyant.
.Overhead we watched hang-gliders going off the cliffs and coming in to land on the Quay.. Hot and sunny, a really wonderful day.

Bodrum

A lovely sunny day today in Bodrum, but apparently yesterday it poured rain all day and flooded. There were even cars swept away! So today everyone in town was busy cleaning up, shoveling mud out of shops and clearing the streets. Many of the shops in the market are without power, but they are still open!
We walked over to the castle on the opposite side of the harbour from our ship. It's a very well preserved and interesting building, as well as holding the Underwater Archaeological Museum. We spent quite a while looking around before walking through the marketplace. We both bought scarves, but otherwise didn't see much that interested us.in the stores.The harbour is full of Gulets, many cruises start here as well as day trips to various islands. There are a few beaches in town, but they are quite rocky.

Last night onboard we went to a cocktail party for the Seminar at Sea participants, and met some of the other Travel Agents.

Patmos

We ate in the Main Dining Room last night. Very good food and service. We sat with several couples from different parts of Britain. There seem to be quite a few Brits on board!
It rained heavily this morning, but cleared up a bit before we tendered in to the little town of Skala on Patmos. There is a fortress like Monastery that overlooks the town. Quite windy with intermittent rain showers, so we've walked around town and looked in the shops. We'll head back for a relaxing afternoon on board!

Mykonos

We departed Piraeus at about 7pm yesterday. The Azamara Journey is a sister ship to the Regatta that I have cruised on before. The layout is the same, but it looks quite different. The ship is full, but certainly doesn't feel it. We have a standard outside cabin, very comfortable. Last night we went to the buffet Greek dinner, and sat outside as it was such a nice night.
This morning we tendered in to Mykonos. It'much cooler here than in Athens, a comfortable 25C with a mix of sun and cloud. The main town is small, and very pretty with it's windmills , white buildings and winding streets. We wandered the town and enjoyed the sights

Athens hotel

We've enjoyed our hotel, a great central location. Lots of shops, restaurants, and ruins nearby.
The Acropolis museum is well worthwhile, we could have spent more time there!
Now we're off to Piraeus to get our cruise.

Athens

We arrived at Athens airport early evening, and were very glad to have a private transfer! Long lineups for taxis and lots of traffic, especially in the center of Athens as the Prime Minister was going to give a speech.
We are staying at a small hotel in the Plaka, simple but clean and friendly.
There is a lovely roof terrace where breakfast is served.
This morning we had a small group (which turned out to be private!) walking tour, to the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, Olympic Stadium, National Gardens and Parliament. It was good to do a morning tour to beat the heat, and the worst of the crowds. As we were coming down from the Acropolis, there were hoards going up! There are certainly lots of tourists around, especially the Acropolis and the Plaka.
After a rest we will head over to the New Acropolis Museum.