Two for the Road: August 2017

Larry wrote a blog account and posted some pictures, but I think we was in jet lag...hardly any pictures of Greece itself, so here is another take on the trip:

Adventure was the right term. Our sailing ship was small and pretty difficult to maneuver, as the sea was very, very rough. So much so, that our rudder snapped and our sail broke from the mast one day. Our adroit Skipper got us under control and the Coast Guard followed us safely to a cove. Rudder was repaired the next day and sail tied to the mast for repair later. Ten days was a long time. Most days we got soaked to the skin--it was kind of like being on a carnival ride; very exciting; definitely not smooth and romantic.

The Aegean Sea is a glorious azure blue; the islands are 90 % rock; the little villages are as quaint as you see in travel photos. Bright, white buildings perched on the cliffs with blue window trim and blue doors; quaint churches here and there painted all white with bright blue domes. At each port, we disembarked (often a little hazardous), and explored a village. We walked up a flight of stairs and then wandered through a maze-like bunch of tiny streets. As we walked, we caught sight of many lovely and picturesque views: doorways, long views down the cliffs, rows of houses along the narrow streets. I'll try to select some photos and attach them. Though I am not good at that, it's primarily what I want to do with this addendum.

We stayed in Athens two days before and after the sailing trip. It is HUGE ! I had no idea. Many of the streets were almost deserted, as we were told everyone leaves in August and goes to the islands; thus, most islands were very crowded and Athens nearly deserted. The Acropolis, as Larry pictured, was like an ant hill. Our favorite trips were to the Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum itself. Lots of antiquities and the latter is built in the image of the Parthenon containing as many of the original marble sculptures (or portions thereof) as they have recovered. Fortunately very early on, I believe in the 1600's, an artist produced very exact renderings of how the sculptures looked, so they are able to display parts or all of a slab in the museum. (It was interesting to see how they got all the bird poop off each one--a very tedious undertaking and something you wouldn't really think about until you saw it.)

All in all, we had a wonderful time. We traveled well with our friends Lois and Martin (who kept us laughing a lot with his silly puns. Once on a bus he talked about the "Acrapolis" and a Greek lady got really offended, but she just doesn't know Martin; his puns are endless and he means no harm). Our boat-mate Aussie ladies were very sweet and we learned a lot about Australia from them. Our Skipper, Jose, whom we called alternately, "Skippa" (a la the ladies), Jefe (he is Spanish), or Maestro (as he tried to teach us something about sailing), because we felt Jose just didn't suit him. Thank god he was very experienced and could handle an emergency or we all might be at the bottom of the sea.

After a couple days in Alexandria, VA (in Mart & Bob's house which they generously readied for us after their renters left and they themselves left for Chicago), we are beginning to feel human again. It was a very difficult trip--took a lot of strength and we lost a lot of sleep. It is something we always wanted to do and we now have some wonderful memories.