Athens and a weekend cruise

On Thursday, September 20 we left the beautiful Amalia Hotel outside Kalambaka.  The hotel was a peaceful setting.

The bus took us back to Athens once again across the Thessolian plain, some 3000 square miles of agricultural area bordered by mountains. 

After arriving in Athens, once again we checked into the Amalia Hotel, our 2nd time to stay in that hotel.  The hotel was within walking distance to the Acropolis, other ruins as well as the interesting Plaka area with many shops so we enjoyed the afternoon wandering around the streets of the city.  We were amazed in Athens how many motorcycles and scooters are in the city.  Many streets are lined with parked cycles as in this shot and well as the roads being filled with cycles on the road.

 After breakfast on Fridy, September 21, we checked out of the Amalia Hotel and the tour bus took us to the port where our group boarded the Louis Olympia cruise ship for a 3 night cruise.  The ship was larger than we had expected so we did some exploring.  The water is breathtakingly blue, just gorgeous!

Our first port later that afternoon was Mykanos, Greece.  Another beautiful town, this particular area was called "Little Venice"

 We ventured up the hill and saw several old windmills no longer in operation

The narrow "streets" wind around the town by shops and restaurants.  If you find something you like in a shop, you'd better buy it because you may never find your way back! 

After retuning to the ship at sunset, we enjoyed dinner and the entertainment, a music & dancing show in the main lounge.  After the show they had some audience participation...Russ was even on stage dancing!  Too bad I didn't have the camera along!  It was a wonderful day and a fun night but we were bushed!

 

On Saturday, September 22 we arrived in Kudasai, Turkey where our tour guide took us off the ship to visit ancient Ephesus as well as other sites.

First of all, we visited "Mary's House".  Since John was asked by Jesus to care for Mary as his mother, it's believed that at some point he brought her with him to Ephesus.  This is believed to be Mary's house.

Nearby, is a "wishing wall" where people place wishes.  I thought it rather interesting that is was called a "wishing" wall...  our prayers, prayed in faith are much more than a "wish".

 WC stands for Water Closet, otherwise known in our part of the world as the restroom; I had to take capture the sign for this one.  Notice her legs and the look on her face, too funny!  I didn't check out the sign for the men's room, it was on the other side of the building.

 Ephesus was a huge area of ruins and extremely interesting.  Our guide told us only 20% has been escavated so Ephesus was a VERY large ancient city.  At one time, it was a port on the sea but the Meander River silted in the valley so the water is no longer at the edge of the city.

It is believed that the 1st amphitheater we saw was used as a town hall and concert hall.

 

The streets were marble and very intact in this area

 

The ancient ruins are very extensive in and cover a large area.

 

It's interesting to imagine how this all may have looked when Paul, John and others spent time here.

 

 The public toilets in the day

The library behind us

 The HUGE amphitheater that holds 24,000

People that spoke or sang at the bottom were easily heard, even in the "nosebleed" section!

After our visit to the ruins, we returned to Kudasai and visited a Turkish rug maker.  A woman demonstrated the art of making the rugs.

 After that, the men started unfolding and rolling out the beautiful and EXPENSIVE rugs

They gave us refreshments.  I had apple tea, Russ had Turkishh coffee.  He had a little "sludge" left in the cup when he finished...looks STRONG to me!

 Back to the ship to cruise on

 Next stop, Patmos where we visited the cave where John was imprisoned.  We enterered through the monastery built on top of the cave

 This was the view out the window of John's exile grotto.  How many times did he look out this window (hole in the wall) to see the same landscape?  Kind of cool to think about.

 We walked up the steep and winding hill to another monastery. 

 

 This look down shows how far up the hill we were.

Back on the ship for the end of another beautiful day.

 

Sunday, September 23 began at the port of Santorini, Greece, one of the most beautiful islands we have ever seen.  We were off for a tour of the island beginning with traveling to the highest peak on the island on a steep switchback road.  It made me think once again of my mom and how she would have been VERY nervous as the skilled bus driver easily glided around curves and hugged the edge as we met traffic.  After reaching the top, it was like looking down from a plane!  A beautiful view.

 Our next stop was a winery, they had lovely verandas overlooking the sea and the volcanic island behind Russ.

 The beautiful white churches with blue domes are everywhere

Next stop, Oia, with picture postcard views all around you

 We took over 100 pictures in Santorini, it was amazingly beautiful!

 I love to see the cross, especially constrasted against the blue sky.

Next we were off to the black beach, named for the black volcanic rocks.  We stuck our hands in the cool water, but didn't go wading. 

After a stop at the Annunciation of Mary church we headed to the city of Fira.  We had free time in Oia, the black beach area and in Fira to visit restaurants and shops in the areas before we headed down the mountain via the cable car.  You could walk down the several hundred stairs or ride a donkey down, but we chose the cable car!

We sat on deck enjoying the view of the island after boarding the ship.  This is an island worth returning to, absolutely breathtaking!

 

 

Monday, September 24th we awoke back in the port in Athens where we disembarked the ship and boarded our tour bus for our last day.  Our first stop was the Olympic stadium built in 1895 for the first modern Olympics in 1896.  It's all marble and seats 60,000!

We were off to Mars Hill, next to the Acropolis, where Paul preached.

 Russ on top of Mars Hill

We visited the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon

 When we were in Israel, there were cats EVERYWHERE!  In Greece, there are many cats, but LOTS of dogs. This guy was on the steps up to the Acropolis.

 As we headed toward Corinth, we crossed a 3.9 mile canal built in 1893 joining the sea to the gulf.  Looks like a big ditch, but large boats could travel through!

 The fortress is on top of this mountain at ancient Corinth

 We visited the ruins of Corinth

Even some ancient "Barbie" dolls, made of marble with movable parts!

 In ancient Corinth, you could see the water from this location

 Interesting and extensive ruins, again, it makes you wonder and imagine what it was like in Paul's time.

Back in Athens, we've come to the end of our "Footsteps of Paul" tour.  We enjoyed getting to know the 9 other participants in the group, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of whom we will remember fondly.  After our farewell dinner, we packed our things to be ready for our journey to Barcelona on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Thessoloniki to Kalambaka

Under cloudy skies and mild temperature we left the Capsis Hotel in Thessaloniki.  The sky soon cleared to partly cloudy with a bit of fog and haze over the mountains in the distance.  We drove to Veria (Berea in the Bible), west of Thessaloniki where we visited Paul's Bema - the steps to the ancient synagogue where Paul preached.

The steps are all that is left, but there are beautiful mosaics to commemorate what happened there. 

 

As we travelled along, we were amazed at the farmland in the beautiful, fertile valley.  They grow rice, apricots, peaches, apples, cherries, kiwi and grapes as well as almonds and walnuts.

 

Soon, we were in the mountains again!

 We turned off the main 4-lane road to a two lane, curvy road up the mountains with lots of switchbacks.  It was a beautiful drive!

After eating lunch in Kalambaka, we were back on the road to go uphill again to the monasteries perched on top of the huge, high rocks.

If you look carefully, you see the monastery on top of the rock...that is where we are going!

 

Stopped for a photos on the way up!

It's incredible how far up you are and what a steep climb it is

The Varlaam Monastery

 

Originally, the only way up and down was by net on a rope...this device was used to pull up the net with the rope.

 

 Now they have a basket to get provisions up and down

 

This is the net people rode up and down in the old days.   Me?  I'd say, "NO WAY!"  I guess it took a lot of faith to trust someone to get you up and down.  Our guide said a monk was once asked how often they replaced the rope, he replied, "when God tells us to".

We saw this cross from the photo stop area on the road...it looked tiny!

 After the Varlaam Monastery, we drove over to the Saint Stephen's Monastery.  Also, very interesting and beautiful.

 Looking down on Kalambaka from the monastery.

 After a wonderful day of travel, information and beauty, we checked in at the beautiful Amalia Hotel outside of Kalambaka.  Just after arriving in our room and sitting out on the lovely covered veranda off our room, it began to rain.  The fragrance of the rain was fresh and the sound so peaceful.  It was a lovely way to end the day.  Evi, our guide, gave us volumes of interesting information, too much to share on the blog but so fascinating. 

I end today with a cross.

 In the churches we visit we see so many paintings, icons, statues, artwork, etc.  But above all, I like seeing the empty cross the best.  It reminds me of what Christ did for us, but also that He is no longer hanging on the cross...He is our risen Lord.  For that I am so thankful.

 

Tomorrow, we make our way back to Athens.  We stay at the same hotel as before where we probably won't have Internet access.  Friday, September 21, the tour continues with a three day cruise to some Greek Islands and Turkey.  We will blog at the next possible location.

Until then, Peace be with you!

Russ & Carol