| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 10 February 2005 |
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The North entrance / Gate is the most famous picture of the Temple of Knossos that one gets to see in most publications.
We departed the Palace and arrived at the Museum around 9:15 AM. We instructed the driver to pick us up at 10:30 AM. The entrance fee for the museum was the same as the Palace, 1500 Drs (US$ 5). The Museum contains a lot of artifacts from the Minoan Civilization as well as objects from the Palace of Knossos. The frescoes (on the second floor) and the huge clay jars on the lower level are not to be missed. In all we spent an hour at the museum (at a leisurely pace).
We met the driver around 10:25 AM and were back at the ship around 10:35 AM. The Museum is a 10-minute walk from where the ships dock. I decided to rest until lunch (12:30 PM). The total cost for our visit to the Palace of Knossos and the Museum was 8000 Drs (US$ 26). This was a little over half the price quoted by the cruise ship. If you are the kind that likes being led by someone and spoon-fed Information then this kind of stuff is not for you.
After lunch I took a siesta till 4 PM. I went up to the top deck to view the approach to Santorini, which is quite picturesque. Since I was not taking the optional tour here, I was among the last to get off the ship. The disembarkation here was by tender. On landing at the pier, we took the funicular railway (cable car) to the town of Fira. The Cost was 800 Drs. We reached Fira in 2 minutes. We walked to the Taxi stand and negotiated a cab for 10000 Drs (US$ 33) to take us to the excavations at Akrotiri and back to Fira.
The drive to Akrotiri was a little over 20 minutes. The entrance to the excavations was 1200 Drs (US$ 4). This site has been buried under volcanic material and is considered the best-preserved pre-historic site in the Aegean. The frescoes found at this site are currently housed in the Archaeological museum in Athens. The site was apparently destroyed around 1500 B.C. Our visit at this site was around 35 minutes. On the way back we had a couple of photo stops. We reached Fira around 6 PM and wandered around the streets of Fira till 7:30 PM before taking the 8 PM ferry back to the Ship.
After a shower I wore a Blue Shirt. Tonight was 'Greek Night' on board the ship and all passengers were requested to wear the National Colours of Greece (Blue and White). Hence the Blue shirt. Went to the dinner table and chatted with the Dutch Couple and had a decent dinner (for a change). The Baklava here is still not up to the Turkish Standards.
After dinner we headed to the main lounge for a cultural show being performed by the crew. The standout act was the DJ who played the 'Bouzouki' a traditional Greek musical instrument. I will definitely have to buy an album of 'Bouzouki' music. On getting back to the cabin, I wrote my diary and went to bed.
I had booked myself on the optional tour of Rhodes and Lindos tomorrow. I hope it's worth the money. As for today, I spent around US$ 53 on the visits to the Palace of Knossos and the excavations at Akrotiri. I saved over US$ 40 on the prices quoted by the cruise ship for these tours. Not Bad!
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I woke up late was forced to skip breakfast to be at the departure lounge at the appointed time. We departed from the dock around 7:30 AM. We took a brief driving tour of the city of Rhodes before proceeding to the Acropolis at Lindos situated 30 miles (50 Kilometres) away. While the guide rambled on about this and that, I read my guidebook. I took a brief nap towards the end of the ride.
On reaching Lindos, we had a steep ascent of 20 minutes before reaching the base of the Acropolis. The second option (similar to the one at the port of Santorini) is to take a ride on the back of a mule. Once inside the ruins, I set off on my own. The tour of the entire site took me around an hour. It turned out to be a disappointment. There were hardly any ancient structures (In Part or in full) remaining. While the view from the Top of the Sea and the town of Lindos is quite good, I did not pay US$ 47 to see this. In the past 2 days whenever I have traveled on my own I have managed to see good things at half the price (as compared to the ship's tour rates). Now I have paid the tour price and I wind up quite disappointed. My advice would be to avoid the optional trip to Lindos. (Unless you like swimming and sunning on the beach there)
On the way back to Rhodes, we stopped at a ceramic workshop. I did not buy anything as the prices were highly inflated. On reaching Rhodes we took a 30-minute walking tour of the city of Rhodes located within the Old city walls. It is quite an interesting place. On returning to the ship, I had lunch before setting off to the city again. Since we were to sail out of Rhodes at 7 PM, I had quite some time on my hands.
The 2 Columns at the Entrance to Mandraki Harbour, Rhodes. It was upon these columns (reconstructed) that the colossus of Rhodes apparently rested.
A Mosaic of a Wild Cat at the Archaelogical Museum, Rhodes
I went to the Mandraki Harbour where (as legend has it) one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes, stood. I proceeded from the harbour to the palace of the Grand Master located within the old city walls. Most Archaeologists think that the Colossus of Rhodes stood here. The entry fee for Museum was 1200 Drs. The Museum had an exhibition on Alexander the Great. In all I spent around 1.5 hours here. From here I proceeded to the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes. The entry fee was 800 Drs. I was quite Impressed with the collection at this Museum. By skipping the visit to Lindos, one can see a lot more at Rhodes. There is an Acropolis at Rhodes as well.
I returned to the Ship around 6:15 PM and rested till 8:15 PM. Tonight the captain was hosting a cocktail party and one had to be dressed formally to attend the same. Since I did not have any formal wear (I am on a vacation!) I did not attend the party. Dinner was around 9:15 PM. I met the remaining 2 members at our table who turned out to be an American Couple. I was quite surprised at their reticence!
Since today was the formal night they celebrated weddings anniversaries and Birthdays of the Passengers. The American couple at our table was celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary and we had cake and champagne at our table tanks to them!
One of the elderly ladies I met earlier during the day set me up with a 19-year old! Following dinner I went to the Disco and spent an hour there. The dance floor was filled with pre-teen girls and I did not feel like going there and mingling with that crowd. As I heading back to my cabin, I ran into the 19-year old. As I was quite beat I promised to dance with her tomorrow evening. I presume tomorrow will be a day of rest and relaxation!
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We reached Kusadasi (Turkey) early morning. Since the optional tour was to Ephesus (which I had visited during my tour of Turkey 4 weeks ago), I decided to skip it. I had a late breakfast and sauntered into the town of Kusadasi along with a Canadian lady (Rita) around 8:15 AM. I spent around 2 hours in the town of Kusadasi. On spotting Rita alongside me, most of the shopkeepers in Kusadasi wanted to show her some 'Nice' Carpets. We declined the offer and continued walking. I tried to do some Internet surfing but the manager / owner of the shop wanted the equivalent of US$10 for an hour of surfing. This is a special rate for 'Cruise' Passengers. Having gotten used to pay 2 or 3 dollars for an hour of surfing, this was daylight robbery to me. I skipped the Internet surfing. I was quite glad (my stomach and tongue were overjoyed) to spot an 'Indian' restaurant in Kusadasi. Since I had just had breakfast, I could not gorge myself on the food at that restaurant.
Before leaving the USA on my Travels, I had obtained a dual-entry Visa to Turkey. I had assumed that a visa would be required to entry Turkey (Kusadasi) during my cruise. I was wrong. All one has to do is to show the Passport Copy to the Port authorities and one can get into and out of Kusadasi. Therefore, there is no need to get a VISA for Turkey if you are visiting on a Cruise ship.
I returned to the ship in time for Lunch. The food was quite bad. I wrote a strongly worded comment on the suggestion form. Following lunch I played cards with a couple of folks till 2:30 PM. We reached Patmos around 3:30 PM. We were able to dock at Patmos. (More often than not the ship anchors off shore and the passengers are ferried by boats to the shore and back).
Since Rita has been on these cruises many times, she gave me the directions to the Cave of the Apocalypse. It is a decent climb and takes around 25 minutes from the dock to reach the cave. I did not find the place to be spectacular. There is a good view of the dock and the town of Patmos from the Cave of the Apocalypse. If one continues further on for another 25 minutes, the Monastery of St. John (founded in the 11th Century A.D.) can be seen. If you are fit and up to it, you can save yourself US$ 33 that the cruise ship charges to take up to the Monastery.
On getting back to the dock, I wandered around in search of a good bookshop. Found one but they did not accept credit cards. I decided to postpone my purchase until I reached Athens. I bumped into Rita and we had a drink and chatted for a while before heading back to the ship. On reaching the boat I went to the Upper deck and played table-tennis (ping-pong) for an hour or so before heading back to my cabin and packing up. Dinner tonight consisted of an 'Indian' dish prepared none-too-well. I nevertheless proceeded to stuff myself and had a decent dinner.
Being the final night of the cruise, the crew of the ship had organized a talent show. The participants would be the passengers who were willing to display their talents. I spent an hour at the talent show, which turned out to be quite entertaining. I headed to my cabin wrote my diary and went to bed.
We disembark at Piraeus at 7 AM tomorrow.
The cruise has been anything but satisfactory. I paid US$ 800 for the 3-½ day cruise. That works out to an average of US$ 225 per day. And this does not include any of the optional tours! All I wanted to see was Rhodes, the site of one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. I had to take this cruise primarily to visit Rhodes. If that is your area of Interest as well, do enquire around in Athens and see if you can arrange a 2 or 3-day visit to Rhodes. As far as the other Islands go, I think there is too much hype and little worth seeing there. This cruise of ours should not cost more than US$ 500. If you are going to pay the price I paid and your interests are not swimming / sunning and gorging yourself on food, you would feel as ripped off as I do now!
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| I woke up around 6:30 AM and checked out of my cabin around 7:00 AM. I exchanged hotel names / numbers (in Athens) with some friends of mine who (like me) were staying in Athens for a few days before proceeding to their home countries. |
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| Copyright © - "Gopal Venkat" |
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