Best of Greece and 7 Day Aegean Cruise
Day Twelve – 22 Sept 2009
Weather: Sunny, 29
This was the first early wake-up and I was happy I slept a lot the night before. I was at breakfast at 6:15 and then to the conference room to wait for our tender to Patmos at seven. This was for the Scenic Island Tour optional.
We were on the first boat. The tender was a large boat that could carry up to a hundred people each. It took a few minutes to get ashore where we boarded our bus.
Our guide took us on a drive around the island and showed us to the city hall which overlooked the harbour. It was a great view.
She took us on a short walk through the narrow streets and showed us a “strip mall” which was, in reality, four shops in one building.
We re-boarded the bus and went to visit the cave where St. John spent some time when he was exiled from Ephesus to Patmos. It was a bit of a steep walk down to it, but after everyone saw a man on crutches and missing his right leg walk down the steps, no one complained about the climb. The cave was actually just a room built next to a rock wall. The guide tried to tell us “this is where John laid his head” and stuff like that. I could only shake my head and wanted to ask how she could possibly know that. It all seemed like Patmos was using and embellishing the tale to attract tourists.
The guide finished the short optional with a drive to the other side of the island.
At one point, she indicated an old isolated house and said a man and woman would be there to wave to us. I thought she was joking, but sure enough, an old man and woman were sitting on their front step waving.
We were dropped off at the dock and brought into a taverna for a free drink. I got a Coke and wandered the scenic area.
Optional Opinion: Skip this if you want to save a few Euro. The scenery was nice, but nothing to compare to later stops. I honestly believe the stop at Patmos was not necessary at all, that half day would be better spent in Kusadasi. Instead of the optional, sleep in to avoid the 5:45 wake-up and take the tender after the excursions have left and walk around the very nice little town. We never had enough time to go beyond the square that was right on the shore.
There was some debate as to when the last tender was to leave for the ship. We were certain it was 10:30 but some said 10:15.
I checked with the Cristal rep on the dock and she said 10:15 so I had to gather up as many as I could recognize and tell them we were leaving earlier – including a trio who were just sitting down to their free drink. They had only a couple minutes to finish. So, if you tender in or take a shuttle – double check the time of the last ship/bus and don’t leave it to the last moment.
I took the third last tender and watched the last one leave the dock at 10:25. I don’t think we left anyone behind. The ship left a few minutes late and we proceeded toward Kusadasi. The trip took a little more than three hours, and en route, we slipped between the narrowest passage that separates Greece from Turkey. An impressive sight to watch.
We arrived in Kusadasi at two and were one of the first ones off the ship for the Ephesus optional. The bus took about twenty minutes to reach the site. As many others have said, it was not to be missed.
Now truth be told, I wasn’t as impressed as the others.
But I’d been to Pompeii and Egypt and I’d consider those to be far more impressive – primarily because they are so complete. Ephesus is a strong third in my book and it would be a mind-blowing site to visit when it’s 100% uncovered (as right now, only 20% has been revealed).
The library was beautiful.
And the theatre was as impressive as Epidarus.
The site can be hot so ensure you bring water. There were only a few trees for shade. Our group found a wall to hide behind while we waited for everyone to show up at the end.
Optional Opinion: Not to be missed. As I noted, if you’ve been to Egypt, you won’t be as impressed as others, but seeing the library and theatre was worth the cost of the optional.
We skipped the shops outside the exit of the site and took the bus back to the town where we were invited into a jewelry shop for a demonstration and a drink. I went to the WC and skipped out on the demo as I wanted to do some shopping while still in Turkey. I walked the streets of the Main Bazaar that isn’t located far from the dock.
Most of the shops were selling knock-offs but I managed to get an Ephesus t-shirt and fridge magnet as well as a bunch of pashmina scarves for gifts. The prices here were FAR lower than at any other location, so if you want pashmina scarves, wait until Kusadasi. Scarves that were 15-20 Euro in Greece and Istanbul were 6 Euro in Kusadasi. I bought about 50 Euro worth for gifts.
When my backpack couldn’t hold anymore, I returned to the ship. The ship wasn’t scheduled to leave until eight, but there was no buffet on the schedule so we had to be back for the sitting at seven if we wanted to eat on board. The walk back was a roundabout way to get to the ship through the port security, but we passed through a lot of shops after the security check including duty free and McDonald’s (so if you decide to stay on shore after dinner starts at seven, you can pick something up at McDonald’s or Burger King).
It was Greek night as well, so they encouraged everyone to wear blue and white. I went up for dinner and had deep fried meatballs, chicken and potatoes in lemon sauce and a selection of desserts which included baklava as well as a nice coconut square and a piece of something like apple strudel.
After dinner, I checked my email and used my laptop to copy my photos to a USB memory key. I can’t stress enough how important it is to do this. Tonight, a couple on our tour laid their camera down next to the window for dinner and forgot it. Even though there wasn’t a second seating, the staff could not locate it, so every picture they took up to that point on the tour was gone forever.
Forever!!
For Greece, I took an Acer Aspire netbook (but now use an MS Surface). It was well worth taking it to protect your photos as well as connect to wireless internet and keep in contact with home from the comfort of many hotel rooms.
When I was done with my photos, I went down to watch the Greek show at the Metropolitan Lounge, if for no other reason then to remind me why I skipped the last two shows. It works well to put people to sleep. LOL.
The quality of the entertainment was very amateurish, but what else was one to do on the ship in the evening. I have to admit, though, that it was quite interesting to watch the ship’s tour director switch from language to language. I heard she speaks more than six languages fluently.
Tomorrow was our full day at Rhodes with another early wake up call. I managed to crawl into bed by 10:30.
Go to Day Thirteen
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