Greek Island Cruise October 2013

After our exhilarating but exhausting trip to Kilimanjaro, Kirk booked a cruise to the Greek Islands for some rest and relaxation. 


Venice (Italy); Corfu (Greece); Santorini (Greece); Mykonos (Greece); Olympia (Katakolon) (Greece); Venice (Italy);


We spent an extra day in Venice before we boarded the ship.  It was great.  We watched the gondoliers from atop the bridges and had a wonderful day wandering around the city.  We had a wonderful Italian dinner in a small local restaurant on one of the canals.  Our hotel room was actually in a an apartment building.  We registered, had to walk back outside to the building next door, schlep our suitcases up 3 flights of narrow stairs to our room.  It was a nice little room, not as nice as Rome, but nice.



We went to 4 Greek Islands.  Mykonos was nice with the old windmills.  We climbed up some rocks to enjoy the sun near the beach.  It was a beautiful spot to relax.  Olympia and Corfu were interesting with lots of history but by far, our favorite was Santorini.  The ship docked  out in the bay and we tendered to the edge of the island.  The town is perched on the top of a very steep hill.   The islands are actually the remaining portions of a collapsed volcano, called a caldera. There are two ways to get from the dock to the town: cable car or up the hundreds of  stairs.  We, of course, chose the stairs.  There are two ways to take the stairs: by foot or on a donkey!  We walked up to the top, zig zagging up the stairs, avoiding donkeys and donkey poop!  It was quite an experience.  The donkeys were in small groups, owned by old Greek men who were guiding them up and down the hills.  Once we got to the top, we rented a 4 wheeler.  Kirk drove us from one end of the island to the other.  We stopped at a deserted beach to explore the area. We found a wonderful winery on top of a hill with a stunning view.  We sat and tasted some local wines and enjoyed each other's company.


We returned the 4 wheeler and wandered the streets, enjoying the whitewashed stone buildings with the bright blue roofs and the quaint churches with the bells high above in the steeples.  We saw a young couple getting wedding photos taken.  As the sun started to set, we found a hotel on the edge of the hill and went up to their rooftop bar and had a local beer and watched the sun set behind the cruise ship in the bay.  We hiked back down the stairs and back to the ship after what I think was one of the most fun and romantic days we have ever spent together.


All in all, this was a wonderful way to relax and enjoy my birthday!   Gold star for the hubby!