Photo Essay: Four Days Cruising the Aegean

Our ship, M/S Perla, plotted a course down the Bosphorus and Dardanelles and into the Aegean for four days of cruising.

Day 1: Once the Perla was safely docked in Tourlos Marina, we disembarked and walked the 3 kilometers into Mykonos Chóra. Pétros the Pink Pelican greeted us as we walked the harbor shops, took photos, and searched for a bus to Paradise Beach. After a short if cramped bus ride we were deposited at the Tropicana Club on Paradise Beach. We didn’t walk too far up the beach because Paradise is a clothing optional beach and we were getting some nervous looks from sunbathers farther up.

Back to Mykonos Chóra for photos of the windmills and Little Venice with some Ouzo (the Greek national drink) at Café Express overlooking the harbor before we caught a taxi back to the boat for a magnificent view of a Μύκονος (Mykonos) sunset.

Day 2: Today would find us once again back in Turkey, but first we would be stopping at Pátmos, home at one time or other to Paul, John of the Gospels, and John of the Book of Revelations. A tender took us to Skála, the capital of Pátmos where we found a taxi to drive up into the hills to the Cave of the Apocolypse. After climbing the 47 steps back up from the cave we found our taxi was waiting to take us to Chóra and the Monastery of St. John the Theologian. By 11 AM we were heading for the Turkish city of Kuşadası and our afternoon tour of ancient Ephesus in the rain.

Ephesus is a ruin that archeologists are having fun putting back together. They are not opposed to stacking parts of pillars higglly-piggily one on top of the other to create some sort of ancient abstract art. Our guide, Yildem, was a trooper trudging through the rain as her assistant left her holding his Perla 18 lollypop sign because he was getting too wet and wanted to run back to the bus. She pointed out all the worthy ruins: the men’s room, brothel, baths, library, temple, etc.

Then it was back on the bus and back to Kuşadası.

We wandered around the shops and the Öküz Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai (which is now a hotel) skowly making our way back to the harbor and ordered Raki (Turkey's answer to Ouzo) at the Kazım Usta Balık Restaurant. Customs awaited us before we could get back on the Perla.

The sunset was worth a picture as we passed by the Greek island of Samos. Tomorrow would belong to Rhodes.

Day 3: Rhodes Commercial Harbor greeted us with a fine vista of Old Town. We entered through Pagagias gate, passed by the ruins of the church of the Virgin of the Burgh and arrived at the medieval fountain located in the Plateía Ippokrátous. We continued our wandering until we arrived at the Plateía Moussion and the Inn of England where English knights of the order of St. John would stay until the place was closed after the pope excommunicated Henry VIII. It’s now a bank.

Strolling the Street of the Knights, which according to Rhodes Guide.com was “one of the best preserved and most delightful medieval relics in the world,” brought us to the Mosque of Suleiman and the Roloi, a clock tower built in 1856 on the ruins of the old Byzantine tower destroyed in an explosion of gunpowder the Turks had stored in the church of St. John of the Knights. The Roloi offered a great view of Rhodes and a bar where we had our “free” drink that came with the purchase of our ticket.

As we walked back down to the harbor we found we had time for a look at the museum housed in the Gothic Knight’s hospital. The place was filled with sculpture and pottery, including a perfectly intact statue of Aphrodite bathing. Having seen enough statues with missing appendages and cracked pottery for one day, it was time tp board the bus for Líndos.

The tour of Líndos began with a drive through New Town Rhodes where we saw many buildings built by Mussolini during the Italian occupation of Rhodes. For some reason our Greek guide thought they were ugly. Then up Monte Smith for a view of the Rhodesian coast, past the ruins of the Temple of Pythion Apollo and on to the road to Líndos.

Líndos is yet another picturesque Greek town nestled along a hilly coast with a harbor and acropolis. It was the acropolis that brought us to Líndos. After climbing the more than 300 steps to the acropolis we were treated to a magnificent view of the area and the partly reconstructed ruins of the temple of Lindian Athena. Then it was back down the acropolis and back up Krana Hill so we could climb back into our bus.

We were transported back Old Town Rhodes for our entrance through d’ Amboise gate past the Palace of the Grand Masters that our guide told us was rebuilt by Mussolini as a gift to himself. She was no more impressed with his reconstruction efforts here than his building efforts in New Town.

Back on board ship, we found ourselves steaming toward Crete.

Day 4: Irákleio, Kriti (Crete) was the biggest harbor we had seen since Istanbul. We hadn’t signed up for the tour because the tours were often more expensive than a taxi ride. We lucked out and got George to be our taxi driver. For €80 George took on much more than the €192 tour of Knosós the Perla was offering. George took us to vineyards, an aquaduct, the Venetian walls of the Old City, and Bembo fountain as well as Knosós. He had us back at customs so we could board the ship. It was time to head north for Santoríni Harbor, the graveyard of the Sea Diamond.

Everyone seemed to be at the railing trying to decide where exactly the Sea Diamond had gone down with no hands on board. Several likely locations were mentioned but no one of the crew was telling if they knew. The tenders quickly arrived to whisk everyone to Skála Fira, the small dock for the town of Fira perched high on the cliffs.

The Teleferik, an Austrian gondola usually used to transport skiers up some slope in the Alps took us up the cliff side as we gazed down upon the 520 steps we could have taken. The view from Fira was breathtaking. We wandered the main street, Agíou Miná, looking at shops until we found the perfect store to purchase some Greek olive oil. Not far from there was the Stani Tavern with a wonderful rooftop view three flights up. It was Ouzo time again.

The Teleferik brought back down to Skála Fira and after a little more sightseeing we hopped onto a tender and headed back to the ship. As we left Santoríni the sun was setting on the town of Oia. Athens beckoned.