An Aegean Odyssey - A Fascinating Greek Experience
18 Feb 2019
When is a cruise not just a holiday - when it is an educational tour as well!
As the winner of the Probus 2017 Photographic Competition member Elaine Alexander from Probus Club of Cowes accompanied by her husband recently cruised the Greek Islands on the Aegean Odyssey with Voyages to Antiquity. How fortunate they were to experience this amazing journey, meeting new people, experiencing another culture and being immersed in their ancient history, archaeology and stunning temples, churches and monasteries. It was food for body and mind!
Three days were spent exploring the area of Athens and surrounds with it’s spectacular Acropolis and museums before they joined the cruise.
The ship was relatively small, accommodating approximately 300 passengers. It was well equipped with two restaurants, a pool, health spa, beauty salon, a bar, several lounges, a library and very friendly and helpful staff.
On board lectures relevant to the onshore tours were held in the lounge or could be watched later on the television in cabins. Onshore tours were very well organised with local guides and individual listening devices, which enabled us to hear the commentary clearly.
Evening entertainment consisted of local music and dancers, classical or 50s, 60s,70s music. The latter leading to displays of baby boomers remembering past dance moves, some even performing with walking sticks!
The Aegean Sea provided a different experience on each island, from the popular tourist sites of Santorini with it’s blue and white houses, the prehistoric site at Akrotiri and of Mykonos with it’s beautiful, picturesque windmills. The Avenue of the Knights on Rhodes or the ancient archaeological site of Philippi on Kavala. As the ship was smaller than many large cruise ships they could visit many smaller islands ‘ off the tourist track’. This was like travelling back in time where often there were no cars, just laden donkeys for transport, even for household appliances. The villagers were delighted to see everyone and very welcoming. On Karpathos they visited a private home to sample traditional honey and cinnamon treats and chatted to locals who had lived in Australia after WW2.
Some of the best experiences happened by chance eg arriving on Samothraki on their Independence Day and watching the local parade of army, bands and children in national costume. Patmos locals giving everyone blessed bread as they emerged from church, or being amazed by the ingenuity of a unusual vehicle constructed to navigate their narrow village lanes. The intricate black and white designs on the houses of Pyrgi and the women sorting the mastic gum grown on trees on Chios. Here we were docked immediately adjacent to a main road which had to be closed for the day to allow our gangplank to go down across the roadway!
Other memories are the abundance of eucalyptus trees growing, especially along roadsides, many wandering cats and dogs cared for by the villagers, evidence of the ailing economy in many derelict houses and the immersion and devotion of the people to their Greek Orthodox faith, Greek philosophy and mythology.
However Elaine said her most memorable experience was the monasteries of Meteora on the island of Volos. These are built on breathtaking formations with incredible views, which could previously only be accessed by the monks by drop down rope ladders or being pulled up in baskets. It was well worth the hundreds of steps needed to access them.
Elaine passed on her appreciation to Probus South Pacific, Active Retirees Magazine, Voyages to Antiquity and Cruise Traveller for a truly memorable experience.
To find out more about competitions available to Probus members visit the PSPL website.
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