When we got up this morning at 7.00am, we saw that we were docked in Piraeus, mainland Greece and gateway to Athens. It was still dark, but it looked so picturesque I had to take a photo.
We had last been to Piraeus in 2022, to join the Azamara Pursuit for a fabulous 9-day Mediterranean cruise, so it all looked very familiar, as Balmoral was docked in exactly the same berth.
Once again, the weather was cloudy with the threat of rain in the air. Quite different from what we had expected doing a Greek island-hopping cruise!
We enjoyed a good breakfast as we had to assemble in the Neptune Lounge for our excursion at 8.15am. Now, you’d think that everyone would be making a beeline for the famous Acropolis, but as we are booked to do a land-based escorted tour of mainland Greece next year called Ancient Greece Uncovered, which includes a visit to the Acropolis as part of its itinerary, we decided we’d give it a miss this time. We therefore opted to take a scenic coach ride all the way out to Cape Sounion to see the Temple of Poseidon.
We’d been advised that it would take a good 1.5 – 2.0 hours to get to Cape Sounion, as it was around 40 miles away along a winding coastal road. It would have been lovely and scenic but for the torrents of rain pouring down the coach windows. We were pleased we had brought our cagoules with us and we were determined not to let the weather spoil our day. 🙂
It was around 10.15am before the coach pulled up and we all alighted and followed our guide along the path towards the ruins of the temple, that we could see on the hill in the near distance. By now, the rain had stopped, and I was able to use the excellent zoom facility on my phone’s camera to take a photo of the temple.
Our guide informed us that the Temple was built in the 5th century BC, and served as a coastal marker for sailors and as a site for rituals and prayers for safe sea voyages. It was appropriately named; Poseidon is the Greek name for the god of the sea. (The Romans called him Neptune.)
The location of Poseidon’t temple on its steep cliffside meant that we had stunning, rugged views of the Aegean sea. It was certainly worth taking the trip all the way out here.
Once we were up close to the temple, our guide told us how the famous English poet Lord Byron had a huge affinity with Greece, supporting its fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire, using his wealth and fame to further the cause. He died in 1824, as a national hero in Greece. On one of several visits he made to the Temple of Poseidon, he added his name to the other graffiti that was etched there. Wow!
Can you see Byron’s name in the close-up? It’s just over halfway down, the left-hand side, preserved there forever.
After we’d had about an hour and a half to look around the monument and take in the fantastic sea views, it was time to make our way back down to the coach for the return journey to Piraeus and the Balmoral. It was strange, and it had been a theme of this cruise so far, but the rain had held off while we were looking around the temple, but as soon as we boarded the bus and set off, it started up again! Despite all the rainy days, we had never actually got wet yet! 🙂
It was around 1.15pm when we arrived back at the Balmoral, just in nice time for lunch. In fact, I had decided I would have a decent lunch now and give dinner a miss tonight; you get to the stage on a cruise ship when you feel as if you are sick of eating! (yes, really!)
We had a look at the Daily Times to see if anything was on this afternoon, and there was a game of Indoor Kurling at three o’clock, so we decided to go to that. We did OK and progressed to the next round, but then we were knocked out. We therefore returned to 9088 for a power nap, and we were pleased to see that the sun was out at last, shining down from a blue sky with fluffy cumulus clouds drifting lazily by. 🙂
Just before five o’clock, we hotfooted it up to the Lido Lounge for today’s “Bubbles and Speak” session with the inimitable Ivan, the Serbian sommelier. He really did know a lot about wines and he told us that in the course of his job he usually drank the equivalent of 1½ to 2 bottles of wine a day! Blimey!
The session overran a little bit and those on first sitting had to leave, including us. However, I had a little more time to get ready as I wasn’t going to go to the Ballindalloch restaurant until the coffee-and-liqueurs stage, around 7.30pm. After Trevor left, I took my time getting ready, pottering around in the cabin and watching BBC news before heading for the Morning Light pub with my laptop, in order to do some of this blog. By this time, the Balmoral was underway once again, and I watched out of the window as the coastline receded into the distance.
I had intended having a glass of cava, but when I got there all the bar staff were dressed up in sombreros as they were holding a Margarita Night. I therefore settled for the classic version, and sat and did a few paragraphs of my blog before it was time to head off to the restaurant. I’d timed it perfectly – just as I arrived, a coffee was poured out for me. 🙂
Then it was off to the Neptune Lounge for tonight’s dancing (if we had time) followed by the cabaret. Tonight’s show featured one of the show company’s principal singers performing her solo show, and it was called “Divas by One.” She performed some of the most well-known songs by superstar female artistes such as Karen Carpenter, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Adele. We enjoyed her show a lot. 🙂
We finished the evening off, as we always do, by going up to the Lido Lounge for the quiz, and we were joined by Steve and Tracey. We didn’t win, only scoring 10/15. The winners scored 14.
After Steve and Tracey said goodnight, Trevor and I decided to go up to the Observatory, where resident pianist Steve Thiebault was playing and singing a selection of country favourites. We enjoyed a couple of drinks in there; I liked the red wine Sangrias and the Aperol Spritzes they do on board and they were reasonably priced at £7.25, less our 10% discount.
It was around midnight when we returned to 9088. Going out onto the balcony, I noticed that it was dry and there was a clear, starry sky. Hopefully the weather had turned for the better and sunny days lay ahead.
We certainly hoped so! Tomorrow we were due to arrive in Fira, Santorini, arguably one of the highlight islands of this cruise. After leaving both our curtains and our balcony door open, we settled down and slept very well, after an interesting day.