Naples, Malta, and Crete

October 28, 2008
Naples, Italy

The ship returned on Tuesday to Naples, Italy and I signed up to do a tour to Pompeii and Sorrento. Sadly, I do not have too much to report about what I saw. Sorrento was described to me as a town situated on top of a cliff, but when I got there, I had to search for the water, and all I saw were name-brand boutique shops like Paul & Shark and Lacoste, and a few souvenir shops as well. To be fair, the ride to and from Sorrento contained beautiful scenery while we drove on a coastal road high above the Bay of Napoli, but the town itself was not anything special. Granted, the weather was not amazing, but Sorrento still seemed like just another Italian city I had visited. At the same time, it was nice to see a new place.

Pompeii was great, but not mind-blowing. This could be driven from the fact that I have seen more ruins in the last month than most people see in a decade, or perhaps it could be driven by the fact that I was at Ephesus ten days ago, and the two archaeological sights are similar. The two things that Pompeii has that Ephesus lacks are plaster casts of the bodies of some of the people that died in the eruption, and a brothel. Aside from that, I was not wowed by Pompeii.

I look forward to returning to Naples so that I can visit the Isle of Capri, go for a drive along the Amalfi Coast, and eat more Pizza!

October 29, 2008
Valletta, Malta

We docked on Wednesday in Valletta, Malta, and while it was not the ship’s first visit here, it was my first visit to the small island. I elected to do another tour that took me to the old and new capitals of the island: Mdina and Valletta.

When I arrived at Mdina, it reminded me a lot of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was the same type of city in that It was originally surrounded by a moat that has been sodden and is now filled with grass and other greenery. Additionally, like Dubrovnik, Mdina is mainly a pedestrian city (though its residents, numbering approximately 400, are permitted to drive within the city), and walking around reminded me of my trip to Croatia. We walked past this small church, which was locked, but I could hear Gregorian chant coming from within so I stood and listened for a while. Beyond that, I enjoyed walking through the city but doubt I will ever return there.

From Mdina, we boarded the bus and headed to Valletta, the new capital of Malta. Valletta is the first city I have ever visited that was heavily bombed during the second world war, and they have reconstructed all damaged buildings with the exception of the royal opera house. It was interesting walking through a city that once was greatly covered in rubble, and also interesting to walk down a street and have my guide point out which buildings were hit and which ones weren’t. We visited the church of St. John and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful paintings on the ceiling of the church, and also the large Caravaggio painting they had depicting the execution of St. John the Baptist.

After leaving the church, we had some free time and I walked around. We then walked past the office of the Maltese Prime Minister, and visited a garden that overlooked the waterfront of Valletta, which was a beautiful vista. From that point, we headed back to the ship, and I said a temporary goodbye to Malta. We return a few more times here, and I am nearly 100% unsure of what I will do when we make our way back here.

October 31, 2008
Crete, Greece

After a lovely day at sea, the ship dropped anchor today in Aghios Nikolaos on the island of Creete. I decided to do a tour called “Essence of Crete” that would take me to the restored Minoan Palace and then to a traditional Cretan village.

I boarded the tender off the ship at around 7:45am to start the tour, and we boarded the bus for an hour-long bus ride to the area known as Knossos. Unfortunately, my guide never stopped talking long enough for any of us to sleep peacefully, but I was able to squeeze in a short nap before we arrived at the old palace (which dates back to before 1500 BC). Once again, I walked around a pile of ruins, but I still enjoyed walking around and seeing how advanced the buildings were at that point in time (for example, I saw a terra cotta water pipe underground that dates to 1700 BC).

From the Minoan Palace, we boarded the bus for yet another long bus ride in which our guide felt the need to talk from beginning to end. We arrived about forty minutes later in the traditional Cretan village we were visiting and proceeded to walk around. We visited the shop of a man who makes bells for animals (boring), and then visited a traiditional Cretan museum (also boring) and after all this we arrived at a tavern and ate some lunch. The lunch was undoubtedly the highlight of the village visit, but it was still interesting to see an old Cretan village like such. Sadly, it smelled like donkey dung.

We left the village at about 3:00pm and headed back to the ship for yet another long scenic drive in which our guide (big surprise here), decided to stop talking for about five minutes. However, he seemed to be against total silence and asked the driver to put the radio on while we ‘relaxed’. After these five minutes, our not-so-lovely guide decided to keep talking, and spent at least fifteen minutes talking about the weather and how it changed over the last decade. Needless to say, I was relieved when the bus finally arrived back at the ship and I was able to tender back on board and relax for an hour before going to work.