World cruise 41

April 10 & 11

Piraeus, Greece which has been the port for Athens for about 7,000 years. By now they sort of merge together as one large urban area of about 5 million people leaving Greece's other 6.5 million people to live outside of Athens.

At the beginning I should mention that April 12 this year is the Greek Orthodox Easter, so we were in Athens on their Good Friday and Holy Saturday. At least 95% of Greeks are Greek Orthodox and strongly religious. There were church bells ringing off and on the whole time we were there. I was rather surprised that there were not more stores closed both days. However, with the ongoing countrywide financial crisis, I suppose they must do whatever they can to earn their living.

April 10 was our last private tour and was just as successful as the others. This time the company was TourGreece, and I recommend them if you are going to be in Greece. Their website is www.tourgreece.gr. Our team of Ifi and Mike were excellent. Mike would pull over, turn on the blinkers, and open the door for Margaret to hop out at every photo opportunity. Ifi was great at the history whys and wherefores of everything. She is working on her PhD in neolithic pottery through the new Museum of the Acropolis.

First we swung by most of the usual sights. Here we have the Olympic Stadium from 1896 when the Olympic Games were restarted. Next is the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. There were lots of others from Heinrich Schliemann's home (now the Numismatic Museum) to the National Library, but these are probably the most famous ones.

Next there were the Parliament Building and one of its famous guards called Evzones. They must be at least 6'1" tall, and obviously must have good legs.

Then we started going where no tour bus could ever go. First we went up Lycabettus Hill and stopped to view a brand new archaeological dig, just 6 months underway, of the School of Aristotle. It doesn't look like a whole lot yet, but how exciting!

At the top of this tall hill near the Saint George Chapel, all of Athens was spread out before us. It was breathtaking! There's the Acropolis with the Parthenon next to where the Agora was. Over there around the other side of the hill, in the distance are mountains with (highly unusual) snow on them.

Next we drove through the narrow streets of the old town or Plaka. Since the Acropolis wasn't open until noon, we stopped at a very interesting coffee shop whose name or maybe motto is (at least that's what was on a front window) "Books are people's best friends." There we had huge glass mugs of tea while Ifi gave us a crash course about the Acropolis, the Parthenon and other ruins, and showed us maps and diagrams.

On to the Acropolis. I knew I could never make it up to the top, but wanted to see what I could from a decent spot where I could wait while Margaret and Ifi went up. Mike really came through! He simply drove past the barricade and took us right up to the ticket gate! A short walk and I had a nice spot in the sun (not too chilly except for occasional wind gusts) and a fantastic view of the hill and almost all the areas on top.

I sat and finished a crocheted angel which I gave to Ifi. I also had a great spot for people watching. I was sitting right next to the stairway that went up the piece of ruin believed to be the Law Courts. Every child that came by with their parent(s) wanted to dash up those steps, and most broke away and did so. I heard mothers yelling at their children in at least 6 or 7 languages while I was there. They were hollering with good reasons: there were no handrails or guardrails on the whole thing; the marble steps and paving stones were slippery with age; and there was enough wind blowing to unbalance an adult much less a child. Margaret says that the person just right of center in the turquoise colored coat in this photo is me, but you have to know where to look.

Ship's sightseeing tours are expensive. Private tours are more expensive, but they adapt to what you want to see or do, can get you to places the buses can't go, are more comfortable than buses, and in some cases and places they are absolutely worth it.

April 11

Today I went on a ship's tour to the Corinth Canal. Margaret didn't take a tour but just went walkabout here in Piraeus.

The Corinth Canal cuts across an isthmus between the Agean and Ionian Seas. It was first conceived in ancient times, but they didn't have the technology to do it. Instead, they built a wooden road with grooves greased with animal fat and dragged boats across. The first serious attempt at a canal was planned by Roman Emperor Nero, but was ended by his death a year later. The present canal was built between 1881 and 1893. The canal is 4 miles long, 70 feet wide and 26 feet deep. In the middle portion its sloping rock sides are 170 feet high.

After a pleasant hour and 20 minutes' ride along the coast from Piraeus to the canal, our bus and a herd (or horde?) of other buses stopped at what can only be termed a convenience store. The place had souvenirs, packaged food items, drinks, one poor guy running the cash register and lots of toilets. Very convenient. I hope the store took in enough money to cover the water bill.

You could also walk a block or two out onto one of the bridges across the canal for the view from the top. I didn't and chose instead to just wait near our bus. I was told later that my purple slacks and turquoise jacket exactly matched the colors of the large graffiti on the wall behind me. There were lots of graffiti everywhere in Greece. Both of our tour guides in Athens attributed it to the 60% unemployment rate among young people ("officially" 35% overall).

Back on the bus for a 5 minute trip to the dock at the east end of the canal where the excursion boat waited to take us through. Here is a photo I snapped of the canal as we crossed the bridge.

I told you the basics up above, so here are several shots as we went through, turned around and came back. Pretty impressive for 19th century technology.

Interestingly, at each end of the canal there was a road that evidently crossed the canal, but none of us could see any evidence of a bridge between the large concrete abutments. However, as we moved away back along the canal from the west end, the mystery was solved as the bridge rose up out of the water! We got a slightly better look at the one at the east end of the canal which was made of a heavy metal grid to allow the water through. We never did find out any details of how it works. Here you can see the black and yellow sides of the span at the west end after it was up and its shadow on the water.