Kerkyra, Corfu

I awoke at 6:30 to the sound of equipment on the bosun’s deck…  This is a tender port… We are one of 6 ships in port with as many as 9421 passengers.  It is likely to be a busy day in the old town.

I went up to the Lido, had coffee, a couple of croissants and some fruit, and studied the guide book…  I checked to see if the internet was available… it wasn’t… big surprise…  I plan to carry the laptop and post the accumulated blog posts and photos.

We headed for the tender about 9:00… there was no line… they were making announcements almost begging for guests to come, get tender tickets and go ashore…  So we did… There was no group plan today… just go ashore at your leasure. The tenders landed us at the “New Port” nearly 2 kilometers from downtown… We walked.

We reached downtown with the mob… there were 5 cruise ships in… with as many as 10,000 passengers, so none huge, but all big.  At 1,100 passengers (although only 800 or so this trip)  we were probably the smallest ship… 

We walked through town… more European than Greek… the stores were a broad mix from tee shirts (best shirt seen, “Fuck Google, ask me”) to knit shirts with the correct animal on them… We reached the old fort… for this trip our goal… paid our admission, then explored… Once the walled town, then the protective citadel, it was variously Venetian then British, with each occupation leaving its signature.  We climbed the hill within, to the light house overlooking all.

Back down… exploring a bit more before finding a table at the café Europa, for beers and an wifi connection.  I posted a blog update, bringing the blog up to date..  I uploaded 12 photos of Hagia Sophia.  I didn’t get others uploaded, and didn’t get the links to photos updated… that will await our next port.

We walked back through town, considered a taxi but were quoted 10 euros for a short ride so walked… found Sig and Toby and Carolyn on the dock, passed through security and boarded the tender back together…

Now back aboard… Tina took a shower… We are sitting in the crow’s nest, it is pouring… a moment ago there was lighting… the cruise ship 3,000 feet away has disappeared in the squall… We are glad we are no longer ashore…

Thursday Morning… 

I awake very early (4:00 am) to a thunder storm…   Dress, go to the top deck.   I am the only passenger about… the crew is washing down the decks… I count 43 lighting flashes in one minute.  Most are shield lighting, high above us, above the clouds, but a few lightning bolts are seen, mostly astern.   It seems that Zeus is putting on a show for us… welcoming us to Olympus.  It continues until nearly dawn.  

Now a bit after 6:00 am… the ship’s company is waking… I am in the lido, blogging… the storm is subsiding.  

One of the peculiarities of this ship is the shortage of chocolate muffins…   Breakfast in the lido includes an area with breads, croissants and muffins.  Most days, among the sea of muffins only 4 chocolate muffins are found.   Several of our group are fond of chocolate and like the chocolate muffins… Those of us who rise early have taken on the duty of claiming chocolate muffins for those who rise later… As I write this, three of today’s four chocolate muffins are sitting on a plate on our table… In general the early risers are not the chocolate muffin fans… (except Erik) we are more likely found with croissants, fruit and herring.

Now about 7:00… still dark outside… a large tug is alongside… We have arrived in Katakolon

We walk off at 8:00… 7 of us gathering on the dock… we walk into town, past taxis and people offering us rental cars… we are looking for the express bus to Olympus… (I want to take the train, but the train is state run and there are rumors that it isn’t very reliable, so we take the bus) There are several companies offering busses to Olympus.  The common fare is 10 euros… Tina askes how much for 7 of us… we get a one euro discount (each)… We walk to the bus… ride to Olympus… It rains, no, it pours, stopping as we arrive… we explore the ruins and the neighboring archeological museum.   

This was the site of the ancient Olympic games… the ruins were interesting… this wasn’t a town, but was a ceremonial center.  It was organized differently… It was never sacked so the statues sill had their noses…  This may seem like a small detail, but in the ancient world the statues had power, and when a new regime or culture took over (taking over generally involved swords and combat) they defaced the old statues… generally by knocking the noses, and in the case of male statues, the genitals off…  This city was destroyed by earthquakes… Here the marble gentlemen are still fully equipped.

Our time in town done, we went in search of our bus… This was not easy… there were three parking lots full of tourist busses… many like ours, white… we found ours with time to spare… others didn’t… plus we picked up one extra passenger from a Costa official tour (we dropped her on the edge of town where her bus was waiting… )

Back to the Port of Katakolon we walked along the waterfront, lined with cafes, one with Greek dancing…  all crowded with tourists from the three cruise ships sitting in the harbor.  We have beers, octopus and stuffed grape leaves… we try the internet from the café, but it was painfully slow…  Bad internet is a theme on our trip.

We are back aboard the ship… again in the Crow’s Nest, overlooking the port… I am writing… Tina is reading… others from our group have joined us…  We are discussing, planning tomorrow’s activities in Santorini… another day, another island.

I am posting this from a cafe in Oia, Santorini... but this is not a report about Oia or Santorini... that will have to wait until Turkey, tomorrow...