Hopefully "Live" Ryndam Athens to Tampa 2014

[Vict0riann]

I'm enjoying your report and photos. Thanks.

[PathfinderEss]

More great photo's. Like the pellican and the food ones the best.

[mollyanne]

I have really enjoyed your review and pictures. Looking forward to more.

[Mtn2Sea]

 

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

We decided to get brave today and venture out on our own. As we left the terminal building, we asked the HAL rep which way was the nearest tram station (that was the advice given by Rick Steves in his book on Istanbul). From the water, the Ryndam docked at the far right of the docks. You go right and walk maybe two hundred yards. We found the machine to buy tokens (4 TL) and we were on our way to Hagia Sofia, which we saw on a tour back in 2007. I was hoping the restoration was complete, but no such luck. When we go off the tram, we had a short walk to the mosque, when we saw a very long line for tickets. The line moved reasonably quickly for us. The tickets were 30 Turkish Lira. We spent at least an hour walking around and taking photos. Here’s a sampling of my pics.

 

[Mtn2Sea]

We exited the Hagia Sofia and then walked across the street to the Cistern that was built by the Romans in the 5th century or so. We both found the cistern to be worth the wait in the line to buy tickets. Here’s some photos.

 

[Skipper's Mom]

Lovely journal and photos. Thank you so much for inviting us along for the journey! :D

[shrimp56]

Thank you so much for your report. I'm enjoying both the pictures and the words. And you are bringing back memories of a long ago Greek Islands cruise with Swan's Hellenic.

[ger_77]

We absolutely loved our time spent in Istanbul - and look forward to going back again in the future. Your photos brought it all back to us, thank you!

 

I got a giggle reading the daily newsletter with the description of the Turkish Taraf Dinner "including yaprak sarma (stuffed wine leaves)" - I didn't know they 'grew' wine over there! LOL :D Again, memories of great food; thank you once more.

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

Edited October 18, 2014 by ger_77

[Mtn2Sea]

According to our Captain, we left Istanbul about an hour late because the fuel guy was running late. The delayed departure didn’t bother us because we were sound asleep at midnight. This morning was our Meet and Greet meeting. I’m not sure how many people attended, but it was a lot. Those that signed up totaled 109, which is almost ten percent of the ship! A few door prizes were given out and those with special activities (pickle ball, knitters group, etc.) made announcements. Those who had arranged private excursions then began making contacts. No representative from the ship made an appearance. Since this is a sea day, my goal is to finish my library book. We will be returning to Kusadasi tomorrow, where we have an excursion to Ephesus planned. Today’s On Location follows.

 

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Tonight was formal night, which according to The Explorer is our only formal night for this 14 day segment of our cruise. Since The Explorer was wrong last week, we know to watch the daily program to learn what dress code is in play. The Captain's Toast was tonight. We learned 30 countries are represented by the passengers. Canada is represented by over 300 people and the U. S. has 525 citizens aboard the Ryndam for this segment. Our Captain.

 

 

The program tonight was a nonstop piano performance by Nakisha Ataman, who hails from Turkey. He played music representative of 19 countries. At the conclusion of Ataman's performance, virtually everyone gave him a standing ovation.

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Today, we awoke with the ship docked in Kusadasi. We chose to do our Ephesus tour today because I believe we’re the only ship in port today, unlike last week when six ships were here. We’re going on HAL’s Best of Ephesus excursion and will be leaving in a few minutes. Here’s today’s program.

 

 

 

Until later.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Mtn2Sea

[freestyling]

excellent pics and writing. Thanks.

[Mtn2Sea]

Turns out we are not the only ship in port today. Upon disembarking, I discovered we're sharing the pier with The Elegant Explorer AKA Prisendam. I thought the crowds wouldn't be bad, but was I wrong. Our first stop was at Mary's House. We were here in 2007 when the crowds were much less. They do not allow photos inside. Here's some photos of the house and about.

 

 

 

 

This is a very serene setting, even with the crowds. Many people lit a candle in memory of someone.

 

 

Here's a picture of the original well area.

 

 

The last thing we saw was the wishing wall.

 

 

Our next stop is Ephasus. Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

We've been to Ephesus several times and always find this huge outdoor museum to be magnificent. When we first came here, we both felt we had gone back in time, something we had never experienced in our previous travels. Ephesus was both a Greek and Roman community. At its height, it had 250,000 people, but due to earthquakes and disease it was abandoned in the 7th century, after over a 1000 years in existence. Here's just some of the photos I took.

 

 

As you can see, we had beautiful blue skies, although it was a little cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until later.

 

[Mtn2Sea]

More photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

We also saw the Terrace Houses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until later.

[jbhcw]

Wonderful pictures..thanks again :):):)

[Mtn2Sea]

Here's the large theatre where Paul preached.

 

 

 

Although our guide didn't say anything on this tour, a previous guide told us this is a symbol indicated a friendliness towards Christians.

 

 

After Ephesus, we went to the ruins of St. John's Basicila, where John was originally buried. Here's some photos of this area.

 

 

 

 

We're now sitting at a waterfront bistro finishing up today's adventure. Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Almost forgot to post DW's friends at Ephesus.

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

Shortly before 5 PM, the Prinsedam began tooting its horn in preparation for leaving the dock. After each blast, an echo caused by the mountains/hills surrounding Kusadasi caused there to be no silence between the blasts. It was quite interesting. Here's a photo of the Prinsendam backing out.

 

 

Tonight's dress code was smart casual, which was a relief since we had a full day! Our ship left at approximately 6:45. For dinner, I had the roasted pheasant and DW had the British roast beef.

 

 

Tonight's program was Artiom & Irina, a couple originally from Russia, who performed ballroom dancing. They represented several countries by the dances they performed, including Cuba, Spain, Argentina and the U. S. The dances included the cha-cha, samba, rumba, the jive, the waltz as well as others. Their performance was extremely good.

 

 

Until later.

[luvseaair]

Loving your review & photos. Brings back happy memories. We were on the Ryndam in August and had a great time. She's a beautiful ship and it's such a shame that HAL have sold her. We hope to sail on her again next year before she transfers to P&O Australia.

 

Sent from my GT-I8160 using Forums mobile app

[Mtn2Sea]

Looks like we're going to arrive in Marmaris ahead of schedule. This is a new port for us and, since we don't know what to expect, we've booked an excursion. I forgot to mention that internet in Kusadasi was much, much better yesterday than last week. I uploaded most of my photos for the day at the hotel where we had lunch and then we stopped for a drink at Pacifica Coffee (we turned right towards the port rather than left to a carpet shop when we got off the bus at the end of the tour) and had great internet. Also, I had trouble logging off my laptop after posting yesterday's program and we had to hurry to get to our excursion, so I just let the system log me off. When we got back, I went to the librarian to explain what happened (when I did logout.com, I got that screen that says the site is unavailable). She saw on my computer that I had entered the correct signoff and told me she would try to add minutes back to my account. Thankfully, she did. She also told me about using 1.1.1.1. to sign off.

 

For now, here's today's program.

 

 

 

Until later

Edited October 21, 2014 by Mtn2Sea

[ger_77]

Your photos of Ephesus gave me goosebumps, bringing back memories of the 2 times we have been fortunate enough to visit the site. To be standing on marble, looking at ruts made from the chariots of Roman times was unbelievable for me. I was totally blown away by the frescoes of the terrace houses - again, so very memorable - thank you for taking the time to post the photos and your impressions.

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

[cruz chic]

Thx for the update. Love the cat pics:).