March 30, 2012
Today we disembark from our ship. I loved cruising - it was fabulous! I didn't get seasick at all so will definitely cruise again!
We got up around 5:00 a.m., got ready for the day, and then headed to breakfast at 5:45 a.m. After finishing breakfast, we went back to our cabin to get our carry-on luggage. The stewards had already come in and cleaned most of our room - wow! We met our group in the Metropolitan Lounge and waited for Bianca to come lead us off the ship, through customs, and out to our bus.
Nani was our tour guide once again for the remainder of the trip. She was nice but a little gruff and in most people's opinion, gave way too much information!!
The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. Many ancient rulers dreamed of building this canal with the first being in the 7th Century B.C. But the projects were always abandoned. Construction finally got underway in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that bankrupted the original builders. It was completed in 1893, but due to the canal's narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslips from its steep walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic anticipated by its operators. It is 4.0 mi in length and only 70 ft wide at its base, making it unpassable for most modern ships. It now has little economic importance. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic. (Wikipedia)
The Harbour of Kenchreai - In the 1st Century, a thriving Christian community existed here. St. Paul mentions the "church at Kenchreai" in his epistle to the Romans. In the Spring of A.D. 53, Paul and others departed for Ephesus on a boat that set sail from the harbour. These are the remains of the church. There was some beautiful sealife in the rocks off shore.
We visited the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth. It was quite fascinating to see such old artifacts!
Roman statues had no heads permanently attached. A likeness of whoever was ruling at the time was made and put atop the statue. Interesting...
Funeral bed from the 4th Century B.C.
After going through the museum, we walked around Ancient Corinth. Pottery suggests that the site of Corinth was occupied from at least as early as 6500 B.C. Corinth is mentioned many times in the New Testament, largely in connection with Paul the apostle's mission there. Under the Romans, Corinth was rebuilt as a major city in Southern Greece. It had a large mixed population of Romans, Greeks, and Jews. Paul resided here for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-18). Paul wrote two of his epistles to the Christian community at Corinth, I Corinthians and II Corinthians. (Wikipedia)
It was very cool walking on the very stone streets that Paul walked and preached!!
Temple of Apollo
Shops
Paul spent 18 months in the city before the Jews of the city charged him with breaking the law and brought him before Gallio at the city's place of judgment (bema). Standing on this platform, Gallio dismissed the charges against Paul as a dispute of Jewish law and not of a criminal nature. (Bibleplaces.com)
Views from Ancient Corinth:
View from the bus as we traveled to our next stop:
Kolizeras Restaurant- this is where we stopped for lunch. It was a very nice restaurant. Many notable people from around the world have eaten here. They have a gallery of pictures showing those people. The food was fabulous!!
The Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon is an impressive "tholos" tomb on the Panagitsa Hill at Mycenae, constructed during the Bronze Age around 1250 B.C. The lintel stone above the doorway weighs 120 tons, the largest in the world. (Wikipedia)
looking up at the top inside
You can see how big these stones were.... Here is Brenda.
Greece was gorgeous!!! Loved the snow on the mountains!
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km southwest of Athens. In the second millennium B.C., Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece.
Lion's Gate:
View from the Acropolis
Remember all the cats I talked about seeing? Well, there were dogs as well and usually they were just lying around sleeping - it was quite a sight!
View of the Mycenae Acropolis from below
This was a cool statue in Athens. I know it has to do with Greek Mythology but I googled it and could not find anything about it...
City of Athens:
We got back to our hotel in Athens around 5:30 p.m. (we are staying at the Radisson Park Hotel once again). There was really nothing to do (the hotel is not in the best area to go walking around) so since we have a very early start tomorrow, we decided to use this time to shower and clean up a bit. I also took this time to check and see if Tracy had sent me an email - yep, he sent a really LONG one!!! I also wrote a few postcards.
Then it was time to head to dinner. We went a few minutes early so I could stop and mail the postcards I had written. Dinner was at 7:30 p.m. and we sat with two other couples. Dinner was once again a huge affair: first course- crepes with cheese and ham, second course- beef and rice with fresh tomato sauce, dessert- chocolate mousse pie. It was all quite delicious!
A few couples in our group had suites at the hotel this time and you could see the Parthenon from their balconies. So we went and took pictures of the Parthenon all lit up! Very cool! After we took pictures, we walked across the street to a newstand to get some bottled water for tomorrow. Then it was back to our room for some much needed sleep.
