Saturday, 26 October 2019
Passing Through Suez Canal

It is well before breakfast time, but the sun is rising as the Encore sails southward through the Suez Canal.  She is in a convoy of ships making their way, one after another, through this flat, smooth landscape.  We are scheduled to exit the canal at 6pm, but before I begin what it is like here, I shall return to the several days I have missed.  And I'll begin with an apology for my silence, but I have been so busy both on and off the ship, that I have hardly had time to sit at the computer.  But here we go, back in time to . . .

Tuesday, 22 October 2019

Aigos Nicholais, Crete, Greece

The Encore sailed smoothly and quietly through the night from Piraeus to the eastern end of the Island of Crete, and the port of Aigos Nicholais.  I enjoy a 7am seated breakfast in the Colonnade, the primary casual restaurant on board the Encore.  Main course orders are taken by a waitperson, who also brings hot coffee and juice.  Fruits, salads, pastries, and all sorts of exotic side dishes are available at a buffet for personal pickings.

By 9am we drop anchor in the harbor off the Cretan coast and I am soon enjoying a 20-minute tender ride to shore.  Today's 9:30am excursion will take me to the Minoan (pre-Greek) city of Knossos and then on to a brief lunch stop in Heraklion, just a few minutes away. It takes one hour and 20 minutes to drive through quickly changing scenery.  The arid, rocky hills in the very east of Crete, soon give way to green forest and farmlands to the south, and the blue-green Aegean Sea to the north.  I am joined on the bus by Hendrix Botha, a single gentleman of a certain age, originally from South Africa but now living in London.  He is an interesting and pleasant companion and we  make plans to have dinner back on the ship.

Our group, with an able guide, spends about 90 minutes visiting the ruins of the Royal Palace of Knossos, the vast complex at the center of Knossos, the Island of Crete, and all of Minoan Society.  The labyrinth, home to the infamous Minotaur (offspring of a liaison between a royal princess and a bull) has the body of a man and the head of a bull.  Every year he demands 14 young men and women from Athens to be brought to him for sacrifice . . . but it's a long story.  Read Bullfinch or Mary Renault's trilogy of novels that begins with The Bull from the Sea.

Tour Group with Hendrix in Center

Scenes from Knossos

Our Very Exuberant Guide 

There is much argument about the state of the ruins.  Part of the excavation remains in the partial form in which they were discovered, while other parts have been restored and painted in the richly garish colors that the Minoans preferred.  Not authentic, the experts cry, but they do give a better sense of the reality of life here, especially to those who lack the visual imagination to see it their minds. 

The ruins are very crowded today, much more so than when I was first and last here in April 1993, spending three days on the island of Crete.  Central Heraklion is just a short drive away.  The group is heading for lunch at a local (but rather large) Greek restaurant, close to the Lion Fountain, one of the city's landmarks.  Unfortunately, we don't get to see much more of the city than that.

Light lunch at the cafe consists of Greek salad, home-made bread, fresh lemonade, “elephant ear” pastries.  After lunch I have a chat with a gentleman and his wife; turns out he is Dan Hericksohn, one of the main speakers on the cruise, I have already reeived a printed invitation to have dinner at his table in the main Restaurant tonight.  I will have to reschedule Hendrix for another night

The tour bus returns to the ship at 3:15pm and I enjoy a one-hour walk through the town, along the coast and a few streets inward.  In 1993 I spent a few pleasant hours here, having taken a three-hour bus ride from the resort at which I was staying on the far west side of Heraklion.

I join a group of ten for dinner at 7:30 at the speaker’s table and discover that the menu in the main Restaurant is much better:  tuna carpaccio, rack of lamb with veggies, chocolate gelato, Italian white and red wines

Severalof the guests had cruised with each other but Dan is an excellent host and makes everyone feel welcome.  The discussion ranges from previous adventures, to medicine, politics, and literature (to make me feel included) among the mix of male and female guests.  Dinner is over at 9:45 and I am ready for a quiet night as we sail on to Haifa.