day 3 Piraeus and Athens

We pulled up to the port in Piraeus, Greece early in the morning.  I have been fortunate when I have done excursions in ports that they haven’t been too crowded.  When we were in Dubrovnik the other day, the guide said we were lucky because there were only two ships that day, but there had been many ships the day before and it was so crowded it was hard to enjoy.  That is how today was!  There were a ton of cruise ships in the ports so dozens of busses were going into Athens.  Everyone wanted to see the Acropolis and it was so crowded that it wasn’t a lot of fun.  It was warm and sunny and beautiful, but hard to see anything with so many people around. Our tour guide was not that great and seemed confused by a lot of things.  She pointed out important buildings as we drove by and then we stopped at the Old Marble Olympic Stadium. 

We drove up to the Acropolis and meandered our way through the crowds to get up there.  The walkways are so slippery and I was thankful that it wasn’t raining!  It always amazes me that people wear flip flops when touring ancient ruins.  They complain constantly about how uneven the terrain is, how hard it is to walk, etc.  Wear athletic shoes people!!  Our guide told us some things about the Acropolis (one of the most photographed and recongnizable hills in the entire world)  She told us about the Propylaea, Temple of Apteros Niki, Erectheum, and the Parthenon.  It was hard to hear her/understand her due to the crowds and her daffiness (even though we had headsets).  After she finished we had a couple hours to do what we wanted.  I walked down a charming road to Plaka, which is the old preserved district of Athens.  There were art and craft shops and restaurants.  I love Greek food and was excited to have lunch there.  The restaurant I went to was in a great area – outside with gorgeous sun and a breeze, but I was disappointed in the food. 

Athens from the Acropolis

The guide made a lot of jokes about the economy and said there was 26% unemployment in Greece.  Poverty wasn’t visible like it is in India though.  I saw one beggar in Athens and the Greek people wouldn’t let any tourists give money, said they were discouraging that kind of behavior.  At the port a woman was dragging a little girl behind her and trying to get people to put money in her cup.  No one gave her money and whenever someone turned her down she barked at them about how she only wanted 50 cents and would grumble out loud about “these people” giving her money – like she was entitled to it and the tourist were being rude to her.

According to the guide, Greece only has 11 million people and 6 of them are in Athens. I was a little disappointed in Athens.  I guess I thought it would be like Rome – lots of ruins and easy to see things, but Athens was not as nice as Rome.

I got back to the ship mid afternoon and read a book and enjoyed the rest of my evening.  The weather is absolutely perfect here and I am enjoying the sun and bree

Fall break cruise day 1

Fall break cruise day 1

 I had been up for 48 hours and it felt good to sleep.  I always get inside cabin rooms on cruises – they are cheaper, but also they are pitch black which means I can get some great sleep.  

We had the morning free since we weren’t docking into Dubrovnik until 2pm.  The cafeteria is always crowded and hard to find a seat.  I always ask if I can sit next to someone – sometimes we eat in silence, sometimes we have a great chat.  I sat next to a couple and they didn’t say much.  They got up to leave while I finished my breakfast.  Another couple asked if they could sit with me and they were delightful!  Joe and Emily from Montreal.  We chatted about a lot of things and it was nice to have company.  I walked around the ship 8 times which is 3 miles.  The weather is so nice!  This is my fourth cruise – 2 in Alaska and one in the Mediterranean Sea at Christmas so this is my first cruise that isn’t cold!  It is nice to be on the deck whenever I want without having to bundle up.  After my walk, I went to my room to read then had lunch.  Then I walked on the deck some more to see Dubrovnik as we pulled in to port.  The coast is beautiful and the Adriatic Sea is so blue!  Much different than the Arabian Sea which is what I live on. 

My excursion was to drive to a tourist town, Cavtat, and walk around there, travel along a river to have a snack, then have a tour of the old city in Dubrovnik. Our guide, Marina, told us a lot about the 1991 war and the history of former Yugoslavia.  Croatia became independent after that.  I have always heard how beautiful it was and that is true.  66% of their income is tourism.  The people are poor because they can only work for 6 months (the tourist season).  90% of the people in Dubrovnik are Catholic and 82% of the country is Catholic. Everywhere I travel, I get a magnet and a Christmas ornament (and usually ornaments for my nieces), but I didn’t manage to find one which strange in such a Catholic country.  Maybe I will have better luck in Split, or when I come back to Dubrovnik in March.

 

cavtat

Cavtat

The countryside was gorgeous and we drove up high so we could get a good view of Dubrovnik.  We drove to Cavtat, which is a suburb of Dubrovnik, and many townspeople go there on weekends (I was there on Sunday) Dubrovnik only has 45,000 people in it, but I guess they still like to get away to smaller towns.

 It was very warm – probably in the 80s even though it was Sept 28^th.  We stopped at this restaurant on the river – where it was much cooler -  they served homemade cheese and prosciutto on bread – delicious.  They also served wine  - I didn’t have any but the guide had warned how strong it was and the people around me kind of choked on it J

We drove into the old city of Dubrovnik and looked around.  We got there kind of late and things were closing, but I know I will be there again for a math conference in March. The Old city is a small area, but very interesting.  I look forward to exploring it more. 

Day two at sea

I like having “at sea” days between busy port excursions.  I slept until I woke up – no alarm!, ate breakfast, then walked 3 miles around the deck.  The weather is gorgeous, not chilly at all, but not too warm either.  I passed a lot of older couples walking and groups playing shuffleboard.  The other cruises I have got on have been in the summer or at Christmas and there were lots of families.  This one seems to mostly be older couples, which is great because they are usually chatty and have been to lots of places.

I took a nap then went to the big dining room to eat lunch.  I asked them to sit me with someone (which they didn’t yesterday, but today I hit the jackpot!) They led me to a table with a couple that had also asked to sit with someone else.  The man was older and had a big white beard like Santa Clause.  The woman introduced herself as Betty Ann and the guy said “my given name is Lesley, but you can call me Santa” I am not kidding!!  We had a lovely lunch and unlike the couple I met yesterday who were on their first cruise, this couple was on their 24^th cruise.  They told me all about how this ship compares to other ships etc.  They are retired and can go on last minute cruises and recently went for a week in Alaska for under $100 each!!!  They are my travel heroes.   I had noticed the “Santa” had a red shirt on, but it wasn’t until we got up to leave that I saw he had green pants on and whole Santa type get up.  Awesome.  I do love Christmas!

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reading and walking around the deck.  Heaven. 

The People in My Day

I was thinking about all the people I encounter often here in Mumbai and how it affects my day.

Jessie  She comes on Tuesdays and Fridays to cook and clean - she can read English so she cooks
food out of my US cookbooks since I vomit often when I eat Indian food.

Salam Last year I hailed a random rickshaw and the guy noticed I was out at the same time each day. I pay him a little extra and he takes me to school nearly every day.  I get to relax and not try to give directions to someone who doesn't speak English.  We leave at 7:09 and get to school at 7:25. He doesn't speak much English but knows English numbers for time and knows "tomorrow, yesterday, and next week"  so that is helpful for communication.

The Guards  When I get to school, I am met by guards at the security gate.  They say hello and check the rickshaw to make sure I don't leave anything in there. If it is pouring during monsoon,
they keep an umbrella over my head until I reach the door.

Prakash He is the copy guy.  I always tell him he wouldn't have a job if I wasn't here.  I keep him
busy copying math papers and laminating things - he tries to hide when he sees me!

Ramona she is the middle school secretary and we all know secretaries run the school.  She is
indispensable!

Random Richshaw guy  Going home from school, I just take whatever richshaw will pick me up.
they never want to drive to where I live!  I get turned down a lot so I tip big hoping if they see me again they will pick me up.  occasional one that has taken me home before will see me and pick me up because they know I will tip. I often get quiet guys who speak NO english and just spit constantly and stare at me in the mirror.  Other times I will get someone who speaks no English but will babble to me in Hindi or whatever and I just smile.  Rarely I will get one that speaks a little English and wants to ask me a lot of questions.  It takes me a lot longer to get home than it does to get to school.  Traffic is a lot worse in the afternoons and the drivers drive too fast and often drive in the wrong lane - I close my eyes a lot! Also there are a lot of beggars that bother me at the intersection of death.

Nilendra  He's my trainer.  I have a lot of bone density and muscle mass issues due to my
illnesses -and a lot of joint and movement problems.  He makes me lift weights and do strength training and stretching to combat some of my problems. He makes me work, but if I tell him it
is too much or my body doesn't want to do what he's asking, he modifies it.

Tree Guy I encounter many homeless people every day, but tree guy is special.  He keeps all his
stuff in a tree a block from my house.  He rarely moves more than a few blocks in any direction
from his tree.  He's mentally ill - talks to himself all the time. Has fights with the tree and the
fence.  I don't even know his name - he's so out of it - I've never seen him speak to a person -
ever.

Wheelchair guys  I give food to a few families that live on the sidewalk near my house and there
is a group of guys in wheelchair (very rough machine - not what 1st world countries think of as a
 wheelchair)  have a disability in Mumbai makes living in this tough city even tougher!  There
 is one guy who wheels all over my area so I see him in different places.  He speaks English so
 he's always telling me some crazy stories about how he fell out of his chair or something.  He
 rarely asks for money, but he is very time consuming!