Cruising part 3 (Italy, Greek isles)(2024 Europe)

There was a seafood place more southwest that I wanted to try and after trekking through the heat, we found that it wasn’t open. A second option, ‘A Cucchiara, brought us back toward the cathedral. This was a more modern restaurant but overall I still enjoyed it and had some good seafood pasta.

Before heading back to the boat, we stopped at a small cafe and had a cannoli and another mini maritozzi.

Our 8th day was going to be a super short one. Originally we were supposed to go to Corfu but they altered it to the port of Katakolon (which is near Ancient Olympia). To reach that area, you do have to take an hour long bus ride. The weather again was working against us as it was going to be mid-90s again. We elected to just walk around the tiny 2 road port town and then head back to the ship to relax.

While down in port, we did run into my folks who had the same idea and we shared some greek dessert – baklava and kataifi (shredded phyllo dough).

The following day we stopped on the island of Santorini. This is what you picture when you think about the Greek isles and what you see depicted in TV shows and movies. The island is created from volcanic activity and is very rocky. To get up to the town you have three options: cable car, walk, or ride a donkey. While riding a donkey may seem fun and great for getting that insta-picture, my understanding is that the animal welfare of the donkeys is not good. Walking was out of the question for D as it was a steep walk up. The disembarkation and tendering process on this cruise was a little different than others. You had to sign up earlier (up to a few days before) on their online system and then you were given a tender group #. Only when your group was called were you allowed to go down. We didn’t know this until the day before so our tender group was later in the morning. By the time we arrived onshore, there was quite a queue for the cable cars. We ended up standing in the sun/heat for about an hour before getting on the cable car to take up to the town of Fira.

Once up top, we walked through the streets filled with various shops and restaurants.

I had looked up a relatively cheap place that was supposed to have some good gyros. We found our way to Lucky’s Souvlakis and ordered both a chicken and pork gyro. Both were quite tasty.

The classic white walled buildings with blue roofs are located in a cliff town called Oia. There are public buses that weren’t too expensive that you can take there, about a 30 minute ride. We found the bus stop and drove across the island. The road took us to the opposite side of the island where it was less cliff-like and actually had more sea access. There were houses scattered throughout but nothing quite condensed like in the various towns of the island.

We arrived in Oia in the early afternoon. A combination of the heat and the crowded narrow streets made the experience less than idyllic. Given that I didn’t know if we’d ever be back to this island, I wanted to at least walk around for a little bit to take it in.

We grabbed some gelato before trying to find the bus back to Fira and then back to the boat. We had a specialty dining meal at Il Bistro on the boat that evening.

Our last port stop before ending in Athens was on the island of Mykonos. This island is known as a party island and I think A LOT more happens in the evenings and late into the night/early mornings. We did not have any grand plans but wanted to go into town and walk around. The island is best known for their windmills (Kato Mili) and an area called Little Venice (Alefkandra). While the temperatures were still in the 80s, this seaside town had a nice breeze so it was more comfortable walking around. It was nice because we tagged along with my sister and her family doing a walking tour of the village. We also stopped for a nice lunch by the water. A nice final day before we disembarked the following day in Athens.