Up early to walk to another hotel where I caught the bus to Piraeus – the historic port of Athens. I transferred there to a cruise ship to do a bit of island hoping. It was pleasant on the ship which has three levels. The lowest level was the dining room, the middle level tables and chairs and the top level open (although part of it had a canvass covering for shade).
At the bus stop I met a lady and her daughter waiting for the bus. She had studied in Athens and was a major in art history. So she knew a lot about Athens and Greece and was introducing her daughter. We spent some time together on the ship and were joined by a lady from Nigeria.
There was entertainment on the top deck that got a bit crazy. It started out with popular Greek music and dances, but eventually evolved into things like ‘Hava Nagila’ and ended up with things like ‘Oh when the saint go marching in.’
The first port of call was Hydra, which seemed mostly to be tourist shops. I had been instructed to get a Greek fisherman’s cap in Greece. I had spotted on the first night I was in Athens but decided there was plenty of time to buy one. I never saw another in Athens. So I started searching the shops in Hydra and eventually did find one. It has ‘Authentic Greek Fisherman’s Cap Mad in Greece.’ So I guess that’s official. I also bought a fancy letter opener and a tiny, tiny chess set. They had nicer chess sets, but they were also bigger.
The second stop was Poros. More tourist shops. I did break down and buy a tee shirt and a couple of bookmarks. I keep remembering that this stuff has to fit in my suit case.
After Poros we had ‘lunch’ on the cruise ship. It was a buffet and my problem is that at buffets I always eat too much. And as a consequence, I was very sleepy all afternoon.
The final stop was Aegina. Tourist shops seem to have been replaced with sidewalk cafes. I wasn’t all that hungry but I did go for a scoop of ice cream. Somehow Greek ice cream isn’t as good as Roman gelato or Texas’ Blue Bell. The day had started out sunny, but it clouded up in the afternoon and looked like it might rain. Aegina seems to be the place to by fruit, vegetables and pistachio nuts. I already had too much stuff, and bringing agricultural products into the US causes problems at customs. But the ship’s crew were all carrying bags of fruits, vegetables and nuts.
Speaking of pistachio nuts, all the nutrition experts say they are good for you. But every time I look at them in the store they have more than the recommended daily allowance of salt for normal folks and way, way too much for someone the doctors want to have a low salt diet.
While I was waiting for the cruise ship to sail from Piraeus I finished yesterday’s travelogue; and while I was waiting for it to sail from Aegina I did most of today’s log. So in a few minutes they will be available on this blog.