Aegean Delights - Port Report!

MYKONOS

A new port for us and a really lovely place. We tendered here and strangely, we didn’t have to get tender tickets, but the tendering worked very well. People on trips obviously had first dibs, then people just queued for the tenders, but it wasn’t a long wait.

We turned left from the tender drop off point and walked along the seafront. It was very warm so we stopped for a cold beer (any excuse!), then we walked back the way we had come looking for the windmills. After a few false starts, we went through an alleyway, came out by the sea and there they were! There were some Greek dancers in front of the windmills, but they were just finishing as we got there! Obviously, I took loads of photos. We stopped for drink in a cafe in Little Venice. Beware - a pint and a Mai Tai was €18 - Venice prices for sure! We then went back to the ship for lunch and a snooze in the sun :)

KUSADASI

We had been there before, while on holiday in Turkey. We got off the ship and spent a little while looking at the shops, but you just can’t browse as they pounce on you, so we decided to walk out to the fort. We remembered it was a lovely place and that we had had a delicious pizza there – well not this time! The fort was all closed up for renovation, the path round the fort was in a bad condition and the pizza stalls were gone. So back to the seafront for a nice beer (DH) and coffee (me) and free wi-fi :)

PIRAEUS

This is what I really booked the trip for. We got off the ship and bought tickets for the hoho bus. It is a little way from the ship. You go through the terminal, turn left and through a tunnel and you will see several tourist buses. We chose City Sightseeing as they always seem to be the best - €20 each and this covers the two routes, red and blue. The blue route takes you to the Acropolis. We got off there and queued to get in only to find we should have bought the tickets at the ticket office! The tickets are €12 each or €6 for over 65s- but they want proof of age. We didn’t have our passports or driving licences with us but I did have our EHIC cards and they accepted them. So back to the queue, but it moved quickly. There were lots of people there as there were several large ships in. It’s a bit of a climb, but well worth it. The views are amazing. After a lovely cool beer and a snack, we caught the red route bus and went right round Athens. I would have liked to have seen more of the city, but that will have to wait for next time as by now we were really tired. When we got back to the ship I found that we could get the free port wi-fi in our cabin, so made use of it while DH had a snooze :)

MONEMVASIA

Well what a beautiful place this is. We tendered here again, and again it worked well, just queue up and onto the tenders. There is a nice seafront with bars and shops, also the old town, which is along a carriageway across the sea. We didn’t realise how far it was to walk and it was VERY hot that day, but we eventually reached the gateway and went into the old town. It is lovely with little shops and bars. I believe you can climb up to the upper town, but we met someone who had and she was sweating profusely! So we decided against it! We caught the bus back – it is €1 per person each way. We stopped for a drink and wi-fi, but it was not very reliable. We were told later that the first café from the tender was best with a good strong signal. We had gone to the second one. I had never heard of Monemvasia when I booked the cruise, but it was a beautiful surprise.

KATAKOLON

I had read that this was a very small place, but it was not that small. There were two streets of SHOPS :) and some bars. The first bar that you come to from the ship, which is called the Poseiden Bar has excellent wi-fi and the password is on the table. There is a mini train and some horse drawn carriages. The horses looked well cared for (unlike in Havana) so we decided to go. It cost €5 each and we were the only people on it, although it holds about 10 people. We were taken along the road and then back along the beach. A beautiful grey horse and a rather dishy driver ;) I gave him €15 as he was such a lovely man and I felt a bit sorry for him, as there were 3 ships in and he didn’t seem to have many customers. There was a scary moment, however, when the horse was spooked by a vehicle and galloped across the road, but was reined in by the driver. It did make me wonder, though, if insurance would cover you in the event of an accident on one of these vehicles!

CORFU TOWN

We had a fairly early flight home, so didn’t have time to see Corfu Town and we were a bit tired and hot on the first day, so gave it a miss, although I had intended to have a look round the old town. I have to say the trip to the ship from the airport is not very inspiring, but I understand the old town is very nice. Oh well, next year ;)

There's no doubt about it - the itineraries in this part of the world are brilliant. So many beautiful places - and Thomson seem to find new ones each year to keep them fresh. Monemvasia sounds lovely - a new one on me but clearly one to watch out for! You certainly had a good itinerary Linda. Glad you enjoyed it so much.