Athens - Thursday 5 July

 Athens: Where an Olympic Spirit Soars in the Winds of Democracry!

The city is known as one of the sunniest in Europe, with a semi-arid climate and low average annual rainfall.  Summers are very hot, exacerbated by smoggy conditions.  Although a bustling modern capital city, Athens is the home of the ancient Acropolis which attracts tourists in their thousands.

There were at least five cruise ships in dock this morning.  It was very hot at 10am and we boarded a ‘hop on hop off’ double-decker bus for the 30 minute drive from Piraeus (pronounced Peer-ass) into Athens.  Upon arrival at the Acropolis, we were surprised to see so many tourists lined up in long queues.  Kez and David stayed, we decided not to stand in the sun and found a bus to The Plaka – a shopping district on the other side of the Acropolis hill.  We spent about an hour there, taking photos of the Acropolis and buying wine before returning to the ship.  Long queues for the bus and to go in through security into the terminal.  Lunch on the ship about 2pm in the air conditioning, was wonderful.

Unfortunately, the recent civil unrest is evident in Athens, as we noticed that buildings are damaged or in mid-construction and abandoned;  much litter and graffiti and an ever present, highly visible police force, especially around the Parliament buildings.

Back on board ship, Kez and I spent an hour or so at the ‘Girls Night Out’ in the Lotus Spa being pampered, whilst the boys went to watch an activity called ‘Swinging the Compass’.  This was unplanned on their part, the Captain announced that it would be happening for the 30 minutes before departing Athens.  The ship did one full revolution (360°) whilst they took readings of the huge magnetic compass, which is located outside on the forward deck.  The crew discovered that it had an ‘acceptable error’ of 2° so the compass was certified and the ship was allowed to continue on its way.  The boys also saw a submarine cross the bow – obviously not submerged – and Linda asked if it would be military; David’s reply:  ‘Well I don’t know anyone who can afford a private one!’ and the other David said, ‘At least there were no bubble trails headed toward our ship – then we would’ve had something to worry about!’

Time for a drink, I said!  We had booked a table for dinner at 8.30pm.  The food in the restaurants has been very good, especially the seafood and steak offerings (as would be expected on this ‘5 star floating hotel’ as David M calls it)!  We had a gorgeous table in the corner with sea views and the two wait staff were in a cheeky mood so we had a fun evening, plenty of friendly banter!