Samos, Athens, and More

October 7, 2008
Samos, Greece
I spent today on another tour of the lovely island of Samos. Prior to my arrival, some of my coworkers had mentioned to me that Samos, the tenth-largest Greek Isle, was a lovely place with not too much to do. They were right, but I was still able to make the most of my time on shore by escorting a tour entitled the “Samos Sampler”. The tour I did consisted of visits to three main attractions: Temple Heraion (the Temple of Hera), the Ancient Aqueduct, and the town of Pythagorion (named after Pythagoras).

Heraion was the first Greek ruin I was able to examine closely since I had only seen the Acropolis and the temple of the Olympian Zeus from a distance. I believe this temple dated back to the 5th century B.C. and was all but destroyed and looted over the years. The temple itself originally contained over 150 columns six stories high; unfortunately, all that has survived [for the last two and a half millennia] is half of a single column. That was the main attraction at the site, but there were other old ruins of other buildings and such that had been excavated there as well. I will quote my mother’s response when I once asked her how her trip to Machu Pichu had gone: “It was a long way to travel to see a pile of rocks.” I suppose that the statement applies, except I only had to travel fifteen minutes by bus, so it was still worth it.

My tour group then traveled to the ancient aqueduct, where we had a chance to enter the narrow path into the pilot tunnel above the actual pipe. Just to give you an idea of how narrow it was, I still scraped a little bit along the walls even though I was keeping my body as slim as possible. The first ten or fifteen yards were this slim and also low enough that even at 5’5’’, I had to slouch a bit to clear the ceiling. At best, I would say the aqueduct was mildly interesting, but nothing special.

Before heading back to the ship, we had a chance to spend some time wandering around the town of Pythagorion. I browsed a few touristy shops, but the only things I ended up purchasing were a chicken souvlaki sandwich and a diet coke.

Sadly, the highlights of my day might have been eating souvlaki and looking at a three-story pillar, but all in all, it is always good to get off the ship.

October 8, 2008
Pyraeus, Athens, and Cape Sounion, Greece

I woke up bright and early this morning (6:30am) to board the bus for an all-day tour that took me [back] around Athens and then to Cape Sounion, which is the southernmost area of mainland Greece.

I am becoming quite the tour-goer; today marked the twelfth port I have visited where tours were offered (since our day in Rome was a turn-around day when we had new guests come on board, no tours were offered), and this was my sixth tour. I am also scheduled to go on tours both tomorrow and the following day in Zakinthos, Greece and Dubrovnik, Croatia, so I am getting my fill of sightseeing in without having to pay for most of it.

The bus left at about 7:00am and before I knew it, I was out cold in the back. When I woke up, the bus was stopped alongside the road and I was the only person still on board besides the driver. I got off and realized we had stopped for a photo opportunity at the old Olympic Stadium (from the first modern Olympiad in 1896). I visited the stadium during my last tour in Athens, so I got back on board the bus.

I fell back asleep for a few minutes and woke up again to find we were approaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the perfect time to watch the changing of the guard. Two Greek soldiers dressed in traditional uniforms guard the tomb, and they march back and forth for an hour before their shift is up. I remember seeing something similar (minus the traditional uniforms) from when I visited Arlington National Cemetery at age nine, so I wonder if it is standard for all tombs of unknown soldiers (however many there may be) are guarded in such a way. Additionally, I cannot help but ponder whether it is an honor or punishment to be stuck marching back and forth for an hour without being able to eat, drink, speak, or use the bathroom. Additionally, you have to deal with random tourists staring at you wondering why on earth you are wearing such an awkward outfit and marching back and forth. [Side note: anyone who has spent five minutes with me knows that I could NEVER do this job!]

We made our way from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the Acropolis but took the scenic route along the way, passing the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch among other things along the way. Unlike the last tour I escorted in Pyraeus, I was able to go up to the Acropolis and explore it up close. I cannot recall if I talked in my last entry about the Acropolis how I found myself getting drawn away from what I was doing or listening to by the need to look up at the Parthenon; in any event, I once again found myself in heaven every time I stared up at the massive structure on top of the hill that I was so happy to be standing next to. Sadly, most of the columns are restorations since the building is so old, but there are still original pillars standing. The view from the top of the Acropolis was amazing and I could actually see the Queen Victoria in the distance, though if it weren’t for her funnel, I would not have recognized her from so far away.

After spending close to an hour atop the Acropolis, I made my way down where my group had a chance to do some shopping in a souvenir shop, but from there, we went to a hotel where we were served a huge buffet-style lunch. It was complete with various Greek foods like souvlaki, stuffed grape-leaves, and moussaka, and desserts like baklava and also fresh fruits. It was extremely filling and I had a wonderful conversation with a family from Mexico City before heading back to the bus for the long (over an hour long) bus ride to Cape Sounion and the temple of Poseidon. Once again, I had a nap.

Upon arriving at the temple in Sounion, I was mesmerized by the blue surface below me better known as the Aegean Sea. The water was of a certain color that even a professional-quality photograph could not do it justice. I never thought I would see water as beautiful as that surrounding the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, but seeing the Aegean proved me wrong. The two colors are totally different and yet both are amazing. The view from the temple was even more exquisite since it sat atop a tall hill where I remained taking pictures for fifteen minutes before boarding the bus and heading back for the ship in Pyraeus.

We headed back to the port of Pyraeus via the coastal highway and were treated to a 60+ kilometer scenic ride along the water. As the bus approached Athens, traffic began to pick up, and then out of nowhere, the passengers on board noticed there were some jets flying over the water to our left. We eventually realized that it was the French Air Force’s 8-jet demonstration team and we were able to watch the entire show, at which point traffic picked back up and we made it back to the ship on time.

The best way to summarize the day is that everything happened in such a way that we were in the right place at the right time and were consequently treated to some awesome surprises. I am looking forward to exploring more of Athens and its surroundings when we return here for the last time on November 17.