Hello friends! This post is being created ship-board the loverly Erotokritos operated by Endeavour Lines of The Paleologos Group- quite a title for a ferry but she’s quite a ship. My experience with ferries till today is a little bleak: cold steel decking, super spartan accommodation (if any at all) and an all-business approach to guests/passengers/cargo... this one is quite the opposite. Greeks know shipping and hospitality, of course they have thousands of year of practice at each of those concepts.
It was hard to leave Positano this AM, such an enchanting setting and coolness to the little cliff-side hamlet, we rose early and set out down the Amalfi coast to cross the bottom of the boot to Brindisi. It was a long drive, road signs down here in the south are a little hit-and-miss if you are relying on them to navigate. We drove to Salerno then waaaaaaay over to Taranto then finally on to Brindisi. We arrived to pick up our tickets from the Costa Morena Sea Port @ 3 PM, did a little shopping, dropped the rental car at the airport and taxi-ed back to the seaport around 4 PM. We boarded @ 5 and @ 7 PM we sailed into the Adriatic.
On the way, near Taranto we stopped at a Pre-Roman temple at Metaponto, this was from the time of the Athenian “Empire” more commonly known as the Delian league. The Acheans operated several towns, ports and outposts around the Eastern and Central Mediterranean including sites in the Southern Italian mainland (like Metaponto) and Sicily. This temple to Hera (and at times Apollo) stands at a crossroads on the way to the ancient sea-harbor. The village that once stood here had a population of around 8000, it is now all vineyards and olive groves. All that remain are foundations and two walls of pillars and capitals. Very ancient, very Greek, very cool.
Between the historic temple-ruin, our ferry and the fun and friendly Greek stewards aboard, we have been treated to a dose of Greek-ness even before we make landfall! ~S
Greetings from the Ferry Endeavor somewhere in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. It is Friday night, I think it’s about 10:30pm. Stanley and I had a long day that was a mixture of stress and pleasure and we’re now comfortable in our state room aboard our ferry on the way to Greece. The day started in our lovely Positano bed and breakfast where they served us a delightful small breakfast of muffins and coffee. A perfect amount to get us on the road. We said goodbye to Positano and made our way through the winding steep streets, along the Amalfi coast to Solerno where we could connect to the Auto Estrada. Driving in Italy, especially along steep coastal roads that wind furiously back and forth, is not pleasant. Adding crazy drivers into the mix and cyclers that do not pay attention and think they are somehow expendable and invincible, today was another very stressful drive. To add insult to injury, the roads in this part of Italy, from Solerno to Brindisi are very poorly marked and the signs are not clear... leading you one way but then not ever indicating again at the next exits or turns which way to go. There were times I wanted to cry - only because I was the navigator and we were on a strict time schedule having to be in Brindisi by 5:00pm to pick up our ferry tickets. The scenery was delightful though, Italy, in all regions, is quite a beautiful corner of the world.
Being that I was stressed and unsure of our direction, I did not take a lot of pictures today from the road, however, we did find a very cool Greek Temple in a town called Metaponta near a crossroads we needed to take. We just happened upon it, and it was called the Temple of Hera. Very cool, very pretty, and if it is any indication of what Greece will be like, I cannot wait to get there!
We get to Brindisi, find our way to the Ferry Terminal so we can pick up the tickets and find out we have to drive way over to the airport to return our car. So, we make our way there, return our car and find out again that the ONLY way back to the Ferry Terminal was by Taxi... no busses, no trains. $45 Euros later... :) we park ourselves in the terminal and wait about an hour to board the ferry. In the terminal there was a fabulous Italian looking “Tom Cruise” police office patrolling the terminal and he looked just like Tom Cruise in Top Gun with the one piece police uniform that was similar to Tom’s flight suit and super fabulous sun glasses to match... I swear, this guy woke up this morning and looked at his Top Gun poster while he was getting dressed. Too funny. He was very nice though - all the police officers here in Italy are, not like American police who like to intimidate and bully, or be completely uninterested and ambivalent.
Onto the ferry we go... this boat is huge. It is much like a small cruise ship with different classes of state rooms... some with bunks, some with beds, some with showers, some with views, some without. There is a casino, a restaurant, a self serve dining hall, a disco room, a pool, a pet villa, several decks, a grand staircase, a gift shop, etc. It’s actually quite nice. We departed at 7:00pm and Stanley and I walked around the ferry checking out the sites and enjoying the warm Adriatic air as we left port for Greece. After walking around, we found a nice spot on deck with a table and sat down to call the family. What a nice treat - to be able to say hi to my mom and dad and especially Brandon after not seeing or talking to them in a week. I miss them all very much and hearing their voices was a super nice treat to the end of our first week in Italy. Brandon... I love you so so much and cant wait to see you when I get home.
After our phone calls, Stanley and I sat down in the restaurant and ate a lovely dinner. Stanley had Pesto and I had Spaghetti. We had our first bottle of Greek red table wine and it was delightful. Very flavorful with a taste of sweet new grapes... we liked it. Dinner was delicious and the waiters were very nice... one taught us how to say “Thank You” in Greek... I dont know how to spell it, but it is said “Ef-ar-ee-sto”. After spending a week in Italy and being able to say quite a few words in Italian, it will be difficult to switch to Greek and learn their words, especially when they use a completely different alphabet. Tomorrow morning, I will study my guide book and start preparing.
The agenda tomorrow... we arrive in Patras at 12:30pm. This is a long ferry ride, but we have beds to sleep in and it’s early, so a nice nights sleep will be fantastic. Anyway, once we arrive we plan to find out about Greek Island Cruises. We’re thinking about two options... the first would be to explore the Peloponnese a little, then drive to Athens and take a 3-4 day island cruise, then explore Athens for a few days and head home. Option 2, the one we’re really hoping will work out, is to explore the Peloponnese a little, then check out Athens, and finish with a cruise from Athens to Venice.... yes, Venice :) We would very much like to go back and spend a few more days in Venice, so a cruise from Athens to Venice would be perfect. Then we’ll fly home about 5 days later than planned from Venice instead of Athens. Can we make it work? We hope so. We need to see what cruises are available, what the airline can do for us regarding a flight change, and if it all works out... we’ll be seeing you all in two more weeks instead of one. We know you miss us... we miss you too... but these kids are enjoying Europe to it’s fullest :) ~M
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