Meteora, Athens, CRUISE!

Kalee-spera,

I hope you've seen the photos of Meteora on fb. This was one of my must-sees & was everything I had read about & expected. Meteora is a collection of monastic buildings perched on a set of rising rock formations. The rocks were originally climbed & settled by individual hermits & monks, with all supplies being lifted by ropes & nets. Including people! Finally there was a concerted effort & steps were hacked out of the rock & eventually the monasteries were built. Again the building materials were lifted by ropes & nets with the added bonus now of mechanical assistance. These days most are accessible by road though some are quite narrow.  I loved seeing Meteora, a v beautiful area.

After that we had a long drive back to Athens & a free day to relax. Of course I went hiking! Oh, & I went to an apothecary for that so necessary seasickness remedy. Would you believe, the apothecary only sells chemical, pharmaceutical remedies. I asked for something herbal, maybe ginger. No, I needed to find a health shop for anything healthy. A definite demarcation there.  I bought tablets 'cos it was Sunday & nothing else was open.

Finally, the CRUISE! We embarked in the morning & cruised through the afternoon. One thing I hadn't thought about. It's windy on deck when you're cruising. It took me a couple of days to feel warm enough to go for a swim.  We arrived at Mykonos, described as a granite island with cubic houses, windmills & chapels. We explored the town, stopped for an evening aperitif, a cup of tea for me, lol. Again I loved the place. As in Italy, I like the small towns & villages, prefer them to the cities. I did take one of the seasick tablets that night, the boat was rocking a bit, but went to sleep with no hassle.

Next day we cruised into Kusadasi in Turkey, & I went on the optional tour of Ephesus, with the excavations of the Greek, Roman, & Byzantine ruins. Photos are on fb.  It was fascinating & the Terrace Houses & the Library of Celsus were impressive. Did you see the photos of the mens marble latrines? Then we continued on to the island of Patmos, back to Grecian territory & visited the chapel where St John wrote Revelations. Interesting, eh.

More islands next instalment, lol.

Kalee-nikta.