THURSDAY - OCTOBER 14

Thursday, October 14 – Good enough sleep, and again, up before the scheduled wake up call. The last of the workers came out, and the last of the rescuers made it out just before I left to go down to breakfast. I thought I would be early and alone, and there was our sick lady from yesterday, so I joined her. Had a good chat – one of the fun things about a trip like this is learning about the other folks who come along on the trips. Back to the room – and the internet was still out. I did some writing, some reading, made notes about writing an unhappy review of the hotel – and then it was time to gather for the morning trip to the Acropolis.

Except that the Acropolis was closed. Again. Greek is rife with strikes and protests and one of the targets is the large central highly prominent monument. Something to do with back salaries. So we had a discussion over options the tour company created for us. After some discussion the general concensus was to go with Plan B – go to the Acropolis Museum, and then some free time, if people wanted to shop or go on their own to see other sights. It was not a universal concensus – one person stayed at the hotel, and several who came would rather have done a plan C option – but off we went. Did some gentle sight-seeing on the way and when we got to the Museum, discovered it is a very modern structure – only been opened for a year. One of the problems in Athens is that since the city has been occupied for 6,000 years, once you start to dig for a new foundation or even for a major renovation, you are going to hit something of archaeological interest. Worse for a large structure for a museum. So they designed the museum to sit above the excavation. And the dig is still going on. The floor of the entry way and much of the first floor is clear plexiglass, so you can watch the dig going on under your feet. As items have been excavated, they are added to the museum collection.

One of Acropolis excavations discovered a huge cache of statues and other artifacts buried together. Seems that when the Persians (? – I think it was the Persians) entered and sacked the city,  they found it largely undefended and so they pretty well flattened everything. But they realized that so many of these statues had been offerings to the gods, and so they did not feel they could destroy them, so they buried them in a huge hole, all thrown together. Talk about an archaeologist’s dream!

Our guide was with us – the story-teller from yesterday. Very educated, very knowledgeable, and somehow she really want us to have every bit of knowledge she has. Now we were in a museum, with very informative signs and displays – but our guide talked us through. I was with one of the blind members, and we wandered off by ourselves for part of the time. It is a gorgeous new facility, glass walls on many sides, and a magnificent view of the Acropolis, which is up the mountain but right next to the museum. No pictures are allowed in the museum – and the reason is that the dig is moving so quickly that many of the items have yet to be properly catalogued. The museum will close again shortly, so that a new entrance can be created, so that entering, you will literally walk through the ancient city excavated underneath the building, with exhibits showing aspects of everyday life, and then move into the museum proper.

Around 1:30 we split up – some went back to the hotel with the bus, some went into the Plaka, the old market area, and I wandered off to find Mars Hill, the site from which Paul preached his homily about the “unknown god”. I had to walk around the Acropolis and then down a hill and a whole other ancient section. Fascinating. Then I had to find the hotel, which meant going through the Plaka – and I did it! Not without a little sideways wandering but with all these wonderful breakfasts, I needed to exercise. I ran into a major demonstration at the Parliament. Lots of protesters, and a lot of army guys as well. I also came across a small boy (maybe 7?) sitting on a stool and playing a small accordion. Street beggar, but very cute.

And back to the hotel. I discovered that the folks who had gone back to the  hotel had also gotten caught in the middle of a demonstration, and so had to abandon the bus and come back to the hotel by the Metro. One of the tour company people was there to guide them, so it was a fairly stress-free adventure.

We had Mass at the hotel at 5, and then a business meeting with someone from the tour company prepping us for the cruise portion of the trip – how meals and charges work, the optional tours that are available at various stops along the way (NOT cheap! – I will be taking up a collection when I return) and the schedule for tomorrow. People then wandered off for dinner. I was not going to eat, but I walked one woman who is blind to the restaurant I had been to last night. She wanted to go out, but no one else did, so off she went by herself. She is very independent, and had no qualms about eating alone, or finding her way back to the hotel. I know people who are nervous about walking out of the hotel by themselves in a strange city, and they are sighted!

I went back to get out the monthly E-newsletter and catch up on some writing (and praying!) and a slightly earlier bed. Of course, all that did was cause me to wake up at 4 o’clock, and I mean wide awake. So I did some writing, and watched a German film with English dubbing and Greek subtitles.

Today (Friday the 15^th) we have Mass at the Cathedral, and free time, packing and a departure a little after twelve for the port and embarkation. Tomorrow in Istanbul!

OCTOBER 13 - ANOTHER DAY IN GREECE

Wednesday, October 13 – We have a group wake up call at 7 AM, but I set my alarm earlier. Up and shower and shave (I am most definitely still NOT used to this idea of pulling a piece of sharpened metal across my face first thing in the morning.) And down for breakfast. Breakfast is a very nice spread – Five buffet tables of food – cold cuts and cheeses, lots of different kinds of rolls and bread and spreads and fruits and yogurt – lovely yogurt – and four or five kinds of eggs, and sausages and bacon and pastries and potatoes, five kinds of juice, coffee – hot chocolate – tea – and so forth. One can definitely eat. None of our group was there when I arrived, but shortly one showed up, then two more, then two more, then two more – as I was leaving, one of our group arrived who told me that one of the women was sick, so I called and talked with her sister. Probably just time change (and perhaps a little bit of taverna?) so she was going to stay in.

The day was dark and overcast, but no rain. We had very good luck – although it rained occasionally, only when we were in the bus. I keep saying – if you want good weather, invite the priest. We met in the lobby at the prescribed time and walked over to the cathedral of St. Dennis (St. Dennis? Yup, the first person baptized when Paul came to this area.) The sacristan didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Greek – but he speaks French, so we got along fine. Nice Mass – lovely church. Back to the hotel, where we discovered that, because of the fear of strikes, the tour folks had decided to go to Corinth because of the concern that streets in Athens would be closed with protest marches. (They do that a lot here – since September, there have been 72 permits granted for marches through the streets. Almost two a day.) I went to check on our sick lady, and found her and her sister having a light breakfast in the dining room. They decided to come with us – there is, after all, a bathroom on the bus – and our merr4y group gathered together and off we went.

Corinth is about 85 kilometers from downtown Athens, and our guide for the day is Mrs. Mara. She embodies the tradition of story-telling, and throughout the day, we were regaled with Greek legends, Most I had heard – but for some of the group, they were hearing stories for the first time.

Odd bits about Greece picked up along the way – Greece has a population of around 11 million, and something like 4.5 million live in Athens. In area, it’s about 1/3 the size of Texas. It has been an occupied city for over 6,000 years. Yes – six thousand years. I think that wins the prize.

Do NOT eat olives straight off the tree. Not only nasty, it will paralyze your taste buds for hours afterwards. Nasty doesn’t begin to describe just how bad the taste it. Olives need to soak and be cured for a LONG time before they are fit to eat.

Acro – means high. Acrocorinth – the fortress on the mountain above the three cities of Corinth (ancient Corinth, old Corinth and present Corinth). Acropolis – high above the people. Acrobat – high above something.

When you think of Greek ruins, we always think of the standing pillars – and nothing else. When the barbarians ravaged Greece, they took the marble walls and burned them in kilns, so they could get the marble dust,. The pillars were harder to fit into the kilns, and in later construction, they had been fastened with metal rods down the center, so the columns were left standing. (I had never realized that marble could burn!)

On the way, she told stories and discussed the political situation in Greece, the role of refugees and socialized medicine and other support programs. We did a detour to view the canal – the notion of building a canal through the isthmus went back before Julius Caesar. Caesar wanted to build a canal but died – Nero started one – at one point 6,000 Jewish slaves from the Galileean revolt came to work (also adding to the Jewish community). It is a straight canal, no locks – there is a small bridge at each end that blocks the canal, which helps control traffic. When a boat is cleared, the bridge drops into the water, the boat passes through and the bridge comes back into position. At which point, small children dash onto the bridge to retrieve the fish that have been caught on the bridge.

We had lunch at a small restaurant along the side of the canal and watched boats going back and forth.

And on to Corinth. We spent some time at the current archaeological site. Some of the group spent more time at the museum, because they could not deal with the walking. We saw the Bema, where Paul preached, and was most probably judged by Gallio. OIne of the buildings that remains was a public lavatory – think out house, with multiple holds. And learned where the expression “the wrong end of the stick” comes from. Has to do with the stick with a sponge on the end that was used for cleaning oneself at the public lav. (There was a running stream underneath the facility.) I assume you can figure it out from there, and that a more detailed explanation is not necessary. If you look carefully you can figure out the architecture.

I knew, but was reminded, that Greek statues and buildings were, in there days, highly decorated, with many colors and paintings. The materials used were naturally based and so over time faded and were washed away. It was not until later excavations, when statues buried deep in the earth were uncovered, that scholars realized the extent to which this decoration had been the norm.

There is never enough time. At least for me. I suspect some of our group had been ready to leave before we did, but I could have spent hours more. On the way my heart gave a little tug as we passed the sign for Epidaurus, where one of the great Greek theatres exists. Not on our tour list, and I’m probably the only one in the group who even knows it is there – to be so close. Ah well.

Back on the bus to head back to Athens. The guide had been on the phone, and the concern over street strikes for the next day was high, and so the plan was to do the bus tour of downtown Athens when we returned rather than the next morning. Of course, in the desire to show us everything about Greece, the powers that be managed to arrange a traffic jam. Sitting on the highway with traffic not moving for around an hour. At one point an ambulance sneaked past on the shoulder – and after a bit we started to move, and we never saw anything about what had held everything up. Back through downtown Athens, and finally back to the hotel around 6:e30. People went to their rooms to freshen up, and the guide from the agency was in the lobby to make dinner suggestions – we were on our own.

I went up to the roof, where there is an outdoor patio, with a breath-taking view of the Acropolis all lit. Drinks with some of the group – and then some ate in the restaurant, some went other places, and I went with two to a little restaurant around the corner – where we ran into some other members of the group. They would have walked passed it, but although much of my Greek has deserted me, I could at least read the name of the place. Nice food – good prices – lamb again (what can I say, I’m a sucker for lamb.) Back to the hotel, and discovered the internet was out. Grumble, fratsis. Read for a little and bed. 

OCTOBER 12 - DAY 2 IN GREECE

October 12 – Tuesday

Waking up on an airplane. Sigh. The usual toing and fro-ing. Breakfast according to Continental Airlines – two pieces of honeydew, three pieces of cantaloupe and a croissant thrown carelessly on a plastic tray, with a pat of butter and a packet of strawberry jam and beverages. They call it coffee – Brazil should sue.

But we arrived safely and a few minutes ahead of schedule. An easy getting off, no documents to fill out in advance, passport control was quick – bathroom stops for some – collected luggage, and the guy from the tour company was there with a sign. Now of course, there were last minute bathroom breaks and one piece of luggage that was one of the last off the plane – but ultimately we got it all together and off into the airport. With 4 blind members of the group, our rate of proceeding varies so we did have to stop and let people catch up. Blind people do very well with their canes and/or with the help of others. But when everyone is also schlepping luggage, it can get a little more complicated.

It was raining, so the bus was a little late in coming, and several people took advantage of the pause to change money. Euro’s – Greece is a member of the European Union. The exchange Bureau has a tendency to shortchange you, and there were a couple of conversations about rates posted as opposed to what was delivered. One of our group decided to use her ATM card – and the machine promptly ate the card and refused to return it. (Yes, she had alerted her bank that she was traveling.) Of course no one had responsibility for the machine, so she spent part of the bus ride into the city calling home to cancel the card.) And we later discovered that another member had lost her wallet during the exchange process. She had collected money from three others (so there would only be one exchange and therefore only one fee) and somewhere in there her wallet disappeared. Four credit cards, 2 ATM, her Social Security card, over $600 in cash, auto registration. She too spent some time at the hotel making phone calls and tomorrow she will have some lost property forms to fill out. She does have trip insurance, which will reimburse part of it, but what a way to start the trip.

The ride into the hotel is about 45 minutes and the guide did a nice job of narrating the trip. Both of our guides are called Yanni – easy to remember. Check in at the hotel was easy – some went out for a snack – we had several free hours and we were going to meet at 7 PM for Mass in the hotel, and then off for an evening at a Greek Taverna – entertainment and meal – nice way to start the trip.

Yours truly unpacked a little, took a mini nap, and started to organize. There is Internet – expensive but available – and a detailed instruction on how to log in. I tried – and I tried- and I tried – and that’s when I decided to take a nap. Up again – tried again my computer told me “No operating system.” This is NOT what you want to hear. Fortunately the back up system worked and I was backing operation – at which point I called the front desk. I asked if there were a problem with the internet and the operator asked me if I had my tv on. Say what? Yes, one logs onto the internet through the tv. This detail was NOT included in the detailed instructions. Sigh. So I emailed the work I had done on the plane, dealt with several emails and other items and then I got a phone call from one of the members – Father John I need to speak to you as soon as possible. What now? thought I, who has died? Turned out this was the woman telling me she had lost her wallet. Whew.

Mass was in one of the  hotel meeting rooms – they had set up with a dais table, elevated, three microphones – I got a small serving table and set up for a much more intimate setting. Catholics – literally the first people in sat in the last rows and everyone else tried to fill in behind them. No one sat in the front row. But the Mass was nice. And off to the taverna. Almost everyone went. One of our number (who knew he would have to do some work on the trip) skipped the traverna so he could get things out of the way and be free for the morning excursion.

The bus took us to the outskirts of the plaka, the traditional market district. Small streets, cars parked on what one would think of as a pedestrian walkway, stone streets – reminiscent of some sections of back alley Rome. A cat sitting on top of a car watching us go by – I wonder how one says miauow in Greek? We were adopted by a black lab as we got off the bus, and he stayed with us almost to the restaurant. A stray but wearing a collar. Seems the government feeds stray dogs, and puts a special collar on them. Gentle soul, this one – he was not around when we came out at the end of the meal.

The restaurant was large – long tables stretching across a large room, more tables in a balcony area surround half of the area. There was a stage on which there were three musicians playing. There was only one other group when we arrived, but in a fairly short period of time, every seat was filled, including a large group of students from Serbia who were in Greece on a study tour of ancient Greek civilization. There were small plates on the table (I am not even going to try and remember names of food dishes – bear with simple descriptions) – yogurt and some kind of herbs, a pasta dish, Greek salad, a bean salad, fish eggs (not caviar, pink, a sort of a paste) bread, a plate with sausage, a spinach filled pastry, and something that looked like a meatball but wasn’t. Interesting – wine and water were included, but you were charged if you wanted a soft drink. Nice to know the keep their priorities straight.

After a bit (the musicians were playing throughout) dancers appeared – young men and women in traditional Greek dress. The men were animated and the women were mostly bored. Pretty, but uninvolved. The dancing was nice -  occasionally the men got into athletic exhibitions of how good they were. Entrée choices were chicken, pork or lamb. When in doubt, take lamb. Tasty. A honey ice cream for dessert. Just before dessert was served a belly dancer showed up. Classical Greek face, lovely outfit, gorgeous figure (so I was told, because of course, I never noticed. Ahem.) She, too, was less than involved in what she was doing, and – because of my Lebanese friends, I am able to report that she wasn’t really a very good belly dancer.

This did not seem to bother some of the young men – although the next day one of the women remarked that she had looked around the room and many of the men were not gazing in rapt attention. That might have been because some of the young Serbian college women were heart-stoppingly gorgeous – yes, that I did notice.

The belly dancer got some of the men on stage and they danced” with her. The other dancers re-appeared in new costumes and danced for a while, and then they too got a group on stage and they “danced.” At which point – simply because it was time, not as a critical comment on what was going on on stage – we betook ourselves back to the hotel.

A gentle walk back to the bus – different people with different ailments and ages, blind members who move at different rates – some at the front, leading the way, others bringing up the rear. We almost lost part of the group on the way to the restaurant – one of the women started to lose her skirt (I was not there to see it, so I can only repeat what I was told) and by the time a repair had been made, the first group was out of sight, and the second half was concerned about getting lost. It was a fairly straight street and we had paused for them to catch up – and nobody took any pictures of the skirt episode – but we do try and keep track of our group segments.)

And bed. This business of late dinner and early rising could not keep up for 12 days, but once we hit the boat, hopefully the timings will shift. 

On My Way to Greece (And Turkey)

Monday October 11 – I am accustomed to staying up most of the night before a trip, packing and organizing and taking care of odd details, grabbing two or three hours sleep at most and heading off into whatever adventure has raised its head. This time, however, I was not being picked up until after noon, and so I had a chance to work, to get some serious sleep and to spend a fairly relaxed and civilized morning. I did some work on the calendar, I had a lovely shower and packed, I had lunch, and even thought the Super Shuttle was 20 minutes early, I was ready.

I was the first one picked up, and the next person on was from Phoenix, Arizona. I made the mistake of saying, “Hi there” when she boarded, and this was obviously a signal to chat. So I learned about her life in Phoenix, her visit to New York, her friend who had just moved here, her feelings about the Super Shuttle being 20 minutes early (she was NOT pleased) and her impressions of New York (way too busy and frantic and not at all like Phoenix). I forebear from mentioning that this was one of the reasons many of us love New York – but then someone else boarded, and since I was in the front seat (one of the perks of being picked up first – to make up for the long ride) I could start ignoring the conversation in the back seats.

Got to the airport (Newark) long queue, and a very confusing mechanical check in system. Seats with more leg room available for a mere $89 – if I could have used some of my accumulated air miles I would have gone for it, but of course that is not an option. There are no human beings involved, just wave your passport under an electronic eye and answer a series of questions, and off you go.

Now to some this may seem an easy way to go through the process, and while there are baggage assistants who actually take your bag, physical attendants are few and far between. I’m sure the airline thinks this is a grand idea, saving on all those nasty salaries. But I wondered as I checked in how this squared with all the security we are supposed to be conscious of and worried about. As our party gathered in the food court near our boarding gate, one woman told the story of her checking in. She had the same kind of confusion I did, and when she saw Jane Patricia, she didn’t even bother to read further (after all, how many Jane Patricia;s can there be in the world?) and got her Boarding Pass and headed off to the security area.

While she was waiting in line, she mentioned to someone that her pass had the wrong last name and all sorts of excitement broke forth. Had she not mentioned it, could he have boarded? Who knows? The other Jane Patricia is in our little group, and was a wonderful way of introducing yourself to someone. But it does make one wonder about security. As did the discovery that another two of our group (with different names) had the same seat. That also got worked out before we boarded, but again, this is the kind of crack security we are spending millions and who knows how much on?

But meet we did, the old friends reuniting and new friends fitting easily into the mix. People making last phone calls, buying snacks for the plane, eating in anticipation of the airline food, visiting facilities and walking. I kept finding people and making introductions. I also went to the gate personnel and arranged for the blind members to board first – except that when they started to board, none of them were around. I got two on, one made it through on their own, and the last were among the last to boars. We are nothing if not an independent group.

Overseas planes in the tourist section are pretty much of a much. I have a notebook computer, so I am able to work in the increasingly smaller space, I have noise reducing headphones, a folder full of crossword puzzles and a Kindle, with several new books loaded in for the trip, and the breviary. Yes, I found how to download the breviary (the office that priests say each day) onto the Kindle. I love the printed breviary, with the thin pages and the ribbons and the sense of connection to generations of priests before me who have walked corridors and sat in churches quietly reading these same prayers. But when one travels, not having to carry this heavy tome is not a bad thing. And while I recognize and agree with the notion of witness value, having people see one read an obviously religious book, it always made me feel a little self-conscious, like “Watch me, now I’m being holy.” With the Kindle, it’s just a man in a black shirt reading a book, and it could be the Bible (which I also have loaded in) or Balzac or anything in between. Anonymity can be comforting.

Drinks – since you can’t pay cash and have to use a credit card, I had a double. One sits in my pocket for later consultation but the first one was very nice indeed. Dinner was a choice between chicken and pasta or beef and rice – I chose the beef and rice. I am a reasonable cook and I have lived in a lot of interesting places with carrying cuisines, and I simply do not know how they can take a piece of beef (assuming that it really was beef) and do whatever they do to make it turn out like what accompanied the rice. Sigh. I’m old enough to remember when flying was fun and I can remember a number – yes, as in many – really good meals on airplanes. Even in coach. Those days are obviously gone, certainly on Continental Airlines. Now I understand the people who were eating before we left.

So I’m going to continue to work on the calendar material so I will be ready to send it to the designer when we get to the hotel, and then read and perhaps nap a little, and then it will be morning and what Continental laughingly calls breakfast, and then we go through Customs and see if there is someone there to meet us. I think I’m going to call a meeting at the hotel, so the members of the two groups can meet and we can coordinate schedules and Mass. I think we have the afternoon off and a group dinner in the evening.