A Few Laid Back Days in Greece

Gythion

 

It took a few days to recover from Israel and Egypt.  I confess two long days of sightseeing tired me more than it would have done several years ago.  The years pass, the body ages but I feel the same inside as I did 30 years ago. Thus it is always a surprise how tired I become.

 

As a result, I needed as well as enjoyed a sea day and a late arrival at Gythion, Greece.  Israel is on Eastern European "summer time" (daylight savings).  Egypt is on standard time in the same time zone.  We had advanced our clocks and watches an hour between the two countries.  Greece is on Eastern European summer time so we set the clocks and watches back again. All I know is that when the sun rises it is almost time to get up in the morning.

 

Gythion is a small resort town at the very south end of the Peloponnese peninsula.  We anchored a bit off shore of the local marina.  There are no facilities for cruise ships even one as small as then Silver Wind.  Gythion has a subtropical climate, which makes it an ideal winter vacation spot for Greeks.  In June, the temperature tops out in the 100's.  We were visiting off-season and it was predictably hot. 

 

Gythion is a very sleepy town with not much going on.  Michael and I took the first tender to the wharf for a walk around before the weather turned really hot.  We climbed a hill for the view, descended some steep steps and walked the causeway out to a tiny island rumored to have been the place to which Paris first fled with Helen when he stole her from Menelaus to start the Trojan War.  Now only a lonely lighthouse, a local museum that looks like a fort and a small taverna is there.

 

Having seen the sights at the south end of the town, we stopped at a waterfront taverna for some locally brewed liquid refreshment.  Michael discovered that the place had free Internet and caught up on his e-mail, made a blog post and a Facebook entry and sent pictures to friends and family.  I'm definitely getting i-Phone envy.  There well may be an i-Phone or an i-Pad in my future.

 

The day was definitely getting hotter.  We strolled north.  Michael bought some shaving cream; to support the local economy he said. We considered getting more Euros from a local ATM but it was out of order.  I followed the small map we had and found the other major sight: a small Roman Era amphitheater just sitting weed grown in a field next to a military outpost.  It had become too hot to do more so we went back to the ship for a delightful late lunch in the air-conditioned Panorama Lounge.  A swim in the Silver Wind's pool won out over another trip back to town.

 

I think the highlight of our Gythion visit was probably the Roman amphitheater.  Imagine, it has just been sitting there for two thousand years!  It is in remarkably good shape for an abandoned artifact.  No one carted off the stone to build something else. It's just there and that is wonderful.

 

 

Corfu

 

Corfu was a simple overnight sail from Gythion.  While Gythion is at the southern end of mainland Greece, Corfu is an island just off the northwest corner of the mainland.  The island extends past the Greek border and part of it lies off the west coast of Albania.  I can say that I've seen Albania although there is little chance that I will actually set foot there anytime soon.  Albania is the last Communist country in Europe.

 

Gythion is a sleepy Greek town; Corfu is a major international tourist attraction.  About the only thing they have in common is the Greek language and people. Wandering around old Corfu Town was pleasant but the most amazing part of the Corfu experience was standing on the ship's bridge while we sailed in to the harbor. 

 

We arrived at the pilot station at 10:00a.m.  The Greek pilot who came on board started chatting with the captain in fluent Italian.  They discussed procedures and checked the charts. I'm sure that I also heard a discussion of restaurant menus too.  About the only Italian I understand involves restaurant menus and I'm sure I heard manicotti and risotto mentioned.

 

The bridge operation ran like a well-oiled machine.  It was impressive how smoothly everything went with only the occasional command spoken by the captain in a normal tone of voice.  When he put his hands on the throttles and thrusters, he smiled broadly.  He REALLY likes driving the ship.  I tried to stay out of the way so did not take pictures.  The only one I took is of a dog on the wharf who was employed as an assistant line handler.  The pilot said they had not lost a line since the dog had been trained to chew on the end of the rope.

 

I took some pictures of things I found interesting in Corfu.  There is one of some boats moored in a moat between the town and an old fort.  The water is so clear that it looks like the boats are levitating. Corfu is tourist central and some of the people look outlandish.  We bought a honey and sesame treat that tasted something like a cross between baklava and a doughnut.  Michael and I visited a four hundred year old local synagogue.  As in Rhodes, most of the congregation had been killed by the Nazis during WWII.  Unlike Rhodes, more Jews have returned to Corfu Town in recent years.

 

I bought some saffron and some inexpensive jewelry. Michael found another free Internet hot spot, e-mailed, and posted while I sat in the shade.  The weather started to become windy, just as the captain had predicted earlier.  As we rode the shuttle bus to the pier, we could see waves with white caps even in the sheltered harbor.  We experienced a stiff wind as we re boarded the ship.

 

I found the visits to both Gythion and Corfu very low key and relaxing.  These two half day trips ashore followed by a sea day before arrival in Venice had me recharged and ready for another few extremely busy days.