Contiki 12 - Med Cruise 7.

Contiki Day 12: Med Cruise 7, Crete, Thursday September 15th, 2011.

So, technically, today is the last day of the cruise, as we have to get off tomorrow morning at like 630 am. We are in Crete, Knossos, where we can tour the famous Palace, where King Mynas and the myth of the Minotaur took place. Most of us declined the guided tour, as it was more of a city tour than anything. Lewis and I decided to go to the Palace on our own. Lewis had decided to fly back to Santorini, he had friends staying there for a few days and he wanted to join. It was a good idea, as the cruise was over and Santorini was definitively worth more time than just a rushed day.

So, we met up at 10, a bit of sleeping in was appreciated and Lewis needed to pack and whatnot. So we walked outside, around the town a little bit and then I got myself a very much needed caffeine Starbucks - Whipped Cream fix -Yummy! Then I went with Lewis to buy his plane ticket and then we grabbed  a cab to Knossos Palace. It was a bit sketchy, as we actually had to bargain a price with the guy, who was trying to get us to pay an outrageous price to wait for us while we were there and then take us back. No! We got a decent price just for a one way, finally. It was very far and took a while, and the area wasn't nice at all. I wasn't impressed so far, because I knew Crete was a beautiful place, and we only got to see the poor neighborhood. How glad I was not to be alone.

The site was actually very very beautiful. I know I keep going on and on about the views, but honestly, it was breathtaking. You can so understand why a big palace would be sitting right there. It's all about the location :) There was a tour of French people walking around at the same time we were there, so I was listening in and translating some of the facts to Lewis. Of course, being a mythology maniac myself, I already knew a lot. It was a very fun, relaxing day.

Taking a lot of different pictures  with Lewis, just walking around slowly, taking it all in. I was a bit disappointed that half the site was closed off and that there was no "real" labyrinth. Seems like it was even more of a Myth than I though of. But there was a lot of wall paintings with bulls, all colorful and impressive. And there was a roped off area that to me, looked like it could have been part of the maze, so I decided it was. Whatever, it made me happy lol.

After we were done, maybe like 2 hours later, we walked across the street to the souvenir shops. I love those. I bought plenty of stuff, met a nice vendor who was all excited I was from Canada, showed me his collection of money and a picture of him with our Premier Stephen Harper, when he was here vacationing a few years back. It was kinda funny.

Now we had to go back and try to get a cab back to the port. Sounds easier than it was. All the cabs were reserved for returning people. It was a real pain in the ass to get someone to call the company and get us a cab. We had to wait forever too. We finally got one, who tried to bargain a price, again. And then he took us on a very scary ride. His driving was insane, and he was taking through back streets and very very bad neighborhoods, and he took the long way. Honestly, I was very scared by the end of it. I wasn't sure he was actually taking us back, I thought we were going to get robbed.

But we made it back, and I had to say goodbye to Lewis, who had to leave soon. I decided to go back to town and walk around all the shops again. Bought more stuff, then came back to the ship for Tea time. Tea hour was the best, they'd set up this amazing buffet of small sandwiches and pastries, it was so delicious. Lounged for a bit by the pool, started packing my stuff, just relaxed.

We had another meeting, where we all sat around, took millions of pictures, exchanged email addresses, got our passport back and instructions for the next morning. We had to have our suitcases out of our rooms that night, so we needed to pack an overnight bag. Tricky, but it made sure our bags would be out by the time we were. We were getting a ride back to either the President Hotel in Athens, or Syngtama Square downtown.

We all went to dinner together, one last fancy event with lots to drink and then ended the night at the disco. Nothing special, but it was a tad more emotional, and pretty much everyone showed up. One last Contiki party :)

Contiki 11- Med Cruise 6.

Contiki Day 11: Med Cruise 6, Santorini, Wednesday September 14th, 2011.

Today is going to be a big day. Santorini. I was so looking forward to this island. I was up very very early, walking on the deck and taking pictures. I know vacation is usually a time to relax and sleep in, but not for me. I sleep-in every weekend I'm not working. Hell, I paid 3k to be on this trip, I was going to enjoy every minute of it. I guess that philosophy probably caught up with me, as I was very tired and a bit moody that morning.

We were getting off at 8am, and we had to line up and take those little boat shuttles to bring us to the island. It was pretty great to sit on top of this boat and watch the scenery for 10-15 min. (Although it did take forever until we finally got to go.) We have to take a bus and go take a tour of the Island, and a visit to the Village of Oia. It was included with our Contiki Tour. I'm not going to go on and on and on about the scenery's, it was breathtaking, yes, but you've all seen pictures before, the tall volcanic island with all the white houses with the blue domes. It's featured in every movie and on every postcard. This village has a lot of movies filmed there too, think the Sisterhood of the Travelling pants, the scene with the donkeys :)

This spot was just marvelous, it was a picture-perfect moment everywhere we turned. We were given some time to walk around this enchanting city and do some shopping after the tour. I am not quite sure what I did wrong this morning, I was a bit moody, but I was basically told I should spend the day alone by the girls I usually hung out with. I felt like I was in High School again. We had time in this village, then we were being driven back to the top of the Island, different village and we had the rest of the day off. Most of the group wanted to take a cruise in a pirate boat later on, and go see some volcanic rocks from up-close. I really wanted to do this, the other girls didn't want to, and I might have said something wrong, I really don't know. Oh well, it stung, but it wasn't the end of the world. And it was so beautiful and peaceful, I wasn't going to let it ruin my day. I walked around with other people, bought a lot of souvenirs, paintings included and discovered my favorite snack ever, peanuts covered in honey and then sesame seeds. Oh it was so good!

So, after that, we were left at the other village, Thira, where we had 3 choices, take the Cable Car down (We had a free ticket) or walk down, about an hour-long walk in stairs (with my foot? No Thank you!) or take the donkey ride for a few euros. Well, I absolutely wanted to take the donkey ride, but going up, no way I had the balls doing that going down. The Cable Car was going to be scary enough as it is. (And it so was.) It was shortly before Lunch and I decided to go back to the ship and grab some buffet there, before coming back and doing the Pirate thing. I broke off from the rest of the group, everyone was pretty much going their own way anyways. The Cable Car was absolutely terrifying, especially when you don't like heights, but it was a once in a lifetime thing, and it was beautiful. I couldn't take enough pictures of the view.

Grabbed some food on the ship, then found out the shuttle boats were not running for 2 hours, Lunch break so I took a nap in my room; I was feeling sorry for myself at that point and I wanted to shake out of my funk. Because of this, I completely missed out on the Pirate Ship cruise, so that was disappointing. So I finally went back after my nap and my shower, took the boat back and then decided to try the Donkey ride on top of the island. Well, it would have been great to have people I knew with me, I could have had my picture taken on the donkey. There was only a couple with me. It was a fantastically hilarious experience! I laughed so much, I got scared, I got hurt, it was awesome! It's one hell of an experience. My donkey was crazy, he wanted to be the first in line so he was running up and cutting other donkeys off and hugging the walls. (I have videos.) I wasn't really able to take good pictures, as you have to be using both hands to hold yourself steady, but still, best time ever, even by myself. After that, I spent a long time shopping around and ended up sitting at a table by the view and I watched the sunset with a nice glass of wine and a very yummy gyros. Aaaaah.

Went back to the ship on one of the last shuttles and then I had to change, we had a Contiki Cocktail Party/Hour scheduled at the Disco. They opened early for us, since we missed the captain's Cocktail yesterday, we wanted something special. It didn't turn out so great. I won't go into too much details, but a lot of the group was on "rowdy" and rude behavior, throwing peanuts around and being very demanding to the staff, who were doing us a favor after all. But the drinks went down very fast and then we went straight to dinner as a group, using 3 big tables. lot of wine was consumed again, and a very late night was had by most of us. I went to see the last showing of the Mama Mia presentation by the crew, and it was very fun!!!

Of course, I had to make a fool of myself at Karaoke at the Disco after that ;) Nah, I wasn't so bad, I love singing. It was a nice icebreaker I guess, as I got the whole thing going! Ended the night at the Sports Bar and Casino, as per usual and that was it. Another very nice day with Contiki :)

Contiki Day 9: Med Cruise 4

Contiki Day 9: Med Cruise 4, Mykonos, Greece, Monday September 12th, 2011.

(Yeah, FYI- when it's that color, it kinda hurts...)

Today was pretty much a free day, we weren't scheduled to get to Mykonos until 4pm. It was a good day to sleep in, but the first thing I realized when I got up (at like 9am) was that I could feel the boat move. I don't get sea-sick, thankfully, but I was feeling shaky on my feet, like my sense of balance was gone. I walked around, souvenir shop, picture shop (Found a picture of me boarding the ship, grinning like a maniac, I basically bought it so it'd be off the wall lol) went for some food, etc. A very relaxing day. A lot of people were sleeping, a lot were sick or not feeling well. There was apparently a biiiig storm somewhere close and that was making the sea very upset. Rumors were that the Delos expedition would be cancelled later on. Well that made me panic. Delos was in my Top 3 of MUST SEE things. Spent the morning and the beginning of the afternoon walking around and reading my book and drinking Mocktails at the Sports Bar while writing all my postcards. I didn't have my massage session until later that afternoon.

For Lunch, they had a Taco Bar by the pool so I went for that instead of the Buffet. It was good, and a lot of my group went for that too. We ended up several tables of us just drinking and eating and killing time until we finally got to Mykonos. Then I went for my massage and although it was pretty expensive (140Euros) it was the BEST thing ever. Of course now, I can't remember what it was, but it was a special package of 4 massages, Head-Feet-Hot Stone and whatever the regular stuff's called. 90 min in heaven, and my girl was a young lovely girl from the Philippines, we kept chatting until I kinda fell asleep. She didn't mind, I guess she's used to it. It even helped my foot, I walked so much better after! The only thing I should say, is to be careful of the pushy sales afterwards. You're so relaxed and half asleep and then they start telling you about products they recommend for you, I just kinda nodded, thinking I'd just say no at the reception and then she said she'd throw in a free facial for me tomorrow and demonstrate the body scrubbing lotion, by giving me a free session. I'm not sure what happened, but I ended up with a free demo the next morning, before the center opened and then I had ahuge bill because I had somehow agreed to buying all those products. (So expensive... I gave some of it away and used some, but a lot is still sitting in my pharmacy, untouched. Oh well, it's vacation.)

We finally got word that the Delos excursion was cancelled, the weather was just too bad. It was understandable, because we could see and feel the wind, but I was sooo disappointed. :( Even approaching Mykonos, there were more problems. We couldn't go where we were supposed to, because of the wind, so we had to wait close by for another ship to leave, so we could take its spot. Of course they were late and blah blah blah, so we didn't end up getting off the ship until close to 6pm, instead of 4. At least, the officials decided to change the all-aboard time to Midnight, to make sure we had plenty of time in Mykonos. Well, as I wasn't really supposed to see Mykonos, I was a bit confused. I wanted to go to Paradise Beach and party, but I also wanted to walk around the island, shop and watch the sun set and run to the windmills. What helped was that most of my group was well advanced in the pre-drinking, so very loud. A few girls took a different bus to get to the beaches, the non-party ones and I started walking with a couple more people, thinking I'd start with the scenery's and then maybe go to the beach.

Mykonos was breathtaking. The sun was setting so we got treated to an explosion of colors, with the sun, the water and the white houses. It was fantastic. The wind was absolutely crazy, it made it very difficult to take decent pictures, with your hair flying all over the place like that. It was hilarious. We were a bit in a rush, trying to make sure we saw everything, that we "lost" Lewis in the crowded streets. But I knew he wanted to take his time and take a lot of pictures, the rest of us were looking for a decent place to eat. And of course, I was wearing the wrong shoes again (never again with the ballet flats) and I wanted an elastic bandage and Kelly wanted some cold meds. So we hunted for a pharmacy. We kept getting distracted with all the lovely shops; a real paradise for jewellery and art and hand-made stuff, not your regular touristy souvenirs. We finally lucked out and bought our medical supplies. Kerri had the brilliant idea to ask the nice pharmacist where he would recommend we eat, as we didn't want to pay a fortune just to eat close to the water. He gave us a card for his favorite restaurant and told us to tell the owner he sent us, as they don't usually accept tourists, just locals.


It was a very crowded place, they weren't that friendly and service took forever (We even lost a girl while waiting, who decided to go some place else, leaving just 3 of us.) But boy was it worth it! I decided to have Salmon as it was the fish of the day. It was something like 12 euros for a plate, and it was the best, freshest, biggest piece of fish I have ever had. Wow! Unbelievable. We have shared a few pitchers of red wine (the girl's choice, I'm a white wine kinda gal) but it was actually really good. And we also had complimentary dessert, the biggest piece of baklava ever. It was an amazing meal, absolutely worth it. Very cheap too, considering the portions and the quality. We ended up a bit tipsy, waking slowly back to the ship, shopping and laughing on our way. It was a great evening, very relaxed and I was glad to share it with Kerri and Kelly. We even stopped in a shop and for some reason, I feel in love with a great dress, which wasn't all that expensive and even fitted me. Crazy. (I still blame the wine.) I bought it, knowing I wouldn't wear it very often, but still, what a great souvenir!

Went back to the ship, it was shortly after midnight, we went and grabbed another glass of wine by the pool (white this time) thinking we would stop by the disco where the rest of the group was bound to finish the night, but after a glass or 2, we were so tired, we decided to call it a night. But what a night :)

Contiki Day 7: Med Cruise 2

Contiki Day 7: Med Cruise 2, Istanbul, Saturday September 10th, 2011.

Considering we didn't have to meet the group until close to 10am, my 730 alarm clock was a bit early. But I wanted plenty of time to get ready and go outside and take pictures of the view, approaching Turkey!!! It was another beautiful sunny day, and I wasn't the only one who had the idea of going outside. The decks were packed. I made a habit of going to the buffet for breakfast, as not all the restaurants were included. The buffet was great, at least it looked great, but it wasn't always too good. The eggs especially, were always different but always disappointing. My safe foods were cucumbers and potatoes. It didn't matter how cooked the potatoes were, every day they were great. Tea, juice, bacon, cucumbers and potatoes and I was set for the day. I also collected bottle of water to put in the fridge in the room, big and small, so we always had plenty. And I could always leave for the day with a small one in my backpack. (I found I was always filling the fridge, as the water was constantly "disapearing". I figured, I had the included package, my roommate did not, it was not a big deal, right?)

So, Istanbul, big day. The whole day was Contiki included, no optional activity. Arrival at 10am and return to the ship by 7pm. So we all met, got our instructions for the day and waited for the OK to get off the ship. This is a crazy experience by the way. Thousands of people lining up, more or less, trying to get off the ship as soon as possible, and trust me, not everyone understands or respects the concept of a line. So, once outside, you try to stick with people you know, not to be swallowed by this ocean of people, none of which are paying attention. Yes, everyone is excited to be in Istanbul. You have to cross a boder-type, security post, they xray your bags and make sure you have a proper visa (which is just a piece of paper they give you, you don't even have your passport.) After that, we met with our guide, a nice actress, I can't remember her name, as I could barely pronounce it. She was fantastic. All day-long, she was holding this yellow sign that said "Louis Crystal 5" so we wouldn't lose her, it was hilarious. We were also given this little earpiece radio thingy, so we could hear her all the time. She loved her city and the history and she loved doing tours. We had a quick bus tour, to show us a few buildings and places we would be going to.

There was a lot of walking, I was so glad I was wearing my sneakers and 2 tank tops as the weather was 41 degrees. We walked to the Topkapi Palace's Garden, which was sooo beautiful. Like in a movie. Then we headed to the Blue Mosque. Everything was very fast paced today, because we had to get to the sites in between prayer calls and it was Saturday after all. There was a very long line to wait and we were told that we would have to take off our shoes (eeew) and to cover up our knees and shoulders and hair. It's a church after all, makes sense. My pants went over my knees, I had brought a t-shirt to cover my shoulders and I had my hat, as always. (Although it does not feel respectful to wear a hat inside a church...) I made the mistake to pack one with a "V" neck, so I was refused access, until I covered up my "shoulders" with a blanket thingy they handed to me. Huh. So much for being prepared. It was very impressive to be there, although it was very crowded. I felt like it was hard to breathe. You were not allowed to speak, at least not above a whisper, as people were parying. It was hard to take pictures, but it was beautiful. Ah the ceilings! I much prefered outside, where I could put my shoes back on and give the cloth back. But it was a once in a lifetime experience, you can't go to Istanbul without visiting a mosque.

Then we walked some more to the main square and I was completely fascinated by this Egyptian Obelisk in the middle of everything. It was very surprising and so beautiful. (It was stolen hundreds and hundreds of years ago and brought here by boat... crazy huh?)

Next stop, the Hagia Sophia. Now this, this was exceptionnally beautiful. I loved it. It feels like religion didn't matter in this place, just faith. It was incredible and it had all those stories. If you can pick only place place in Istanbul, be sure to go there, you won't regret it. We had a lot of time to walk around and see everything. Then we stopped for a quick break and then walked all the way back to where we first were. The schedule and itin was all upside down because of prayer times, we had to make sure not end up locked out of a place. It had to be perfectly timed. So it meant a lot of walking and barely any time to rest. Walk, walk, faster, faster, hurry. But it was worth it. I'm skipping a lot of details here, because it's a beauty and atmosphere that I can't describe, you really have to be there to feel it.

Then we made it to the Topkapi Palace, where only a few rooms are opened to the public, and heavily guarded. That's where the Sultan and his royal family lives. It was very interesting, although we were running out of time, our guide even had to call the place where we would eat, that we were going to be late. But once we got there, it was like a huge patio, with an incredible view on the water. I was lucky enough to be able to pick a seat at the very end of the table, and pretty much stared into the distance the whole meal. We took our time eating and resting our feet. It was mid-afternoon already and I was absolutely ready for a nap. We'd seen so much already. But it was time for more.

We headed to a different part of town, to a store where we would have a Carpet sales presentation. They served us cold apple tea which was incredibly good. We sat through a long presentation on carpet. I won't say it was boring, because it was interesting, but it was a bit too long for me. And then of course came the pressuring to buy. They kept trying to make us believe they were doing us this huge favor with deals and whatnot, and I agree this was a great souvenir, and good quality, but way too expensive. (They'd say that for Contiki they were cutting the price down in half, so from 1600 liras to 800, which is roughly half in euros, so 400 euros, but they would throw in free shipping or a carry-on case and if you bargained hard enough, you could get a small one down to 250 euros, which is still like 450$ US or CAN.) No thank you. And they were pushy. Kelly and I made the mistake to go with a salesman and check out more carpets and prices, and we wasted so much time there. We didn't buy anything, although Kelly did hesitate for a while.

By the time we got out, alot of people had went ahead to the free time in the Grand Bazaar. That's where we went too, and let me tell you, this has been one of the msot incredible experiences of my life. Think a really really big flea market, but with beautiful, new stuff, not old attic stuff. It was sooo easy to get lost, there was so many stalls and alleys. The first 10 min, we got a bit scared and almost turned around. We were told that the fun part of the bazaar is to barter/bargain with the vendors and get better prices. We got one that wouldn't move his price and a few other guys circled us, a bit agressive and pushy. Some of them were flirty, but these men were scary, we felt completely intimidated. But we went back to the main aisle and then it was better. We stuck to the main one and not get lost in little corners, where people were not as nice. One thing for sure, I would not have wandered down by myself. But it all got better after that, we met friendlier people and I discovered I am actually really good at bartering. Of course, I was always buying multiple articles but I was usually able to get a very very good price. It was a very fun afternoon and I had a full bag by the end of it. I would go back any day.

We went back to the bus, so that they could drive us back to the port. But we were missing someone. We waited over 30 min, it was a big drama with everyone offereing comments and suggestions, but with Contiki, you are always told to be on time, that the bus will not wait for you. So we had to end up leaving, and the poor guide was feeling horrible. (We remembered to tip her.) We got to the ship a bit last minute, exhausted and hungry, but we had such a great day. I ran back to my room to drop all my bags, grabbed a sweater and went up on the deck, as the sun was setting and I wanted pictures before we left. (We were sailing to Izmir.)

It was so beautiful outside, I took like a gazillion pictures. I had a few people from my group there too and we had a blast. We screamed like little girls, several times, because we were right by the ship's horn and it blew a few times, it was terrifying. So freaking loud and out of nowhere, I though I was going to have a heart attack. I didn't feel like changing and going to the fancy dining room and just went to the buffet instead. Very long line, but the food was ok. I sat poolside with my book but I was joined by several other people and we chatted and had a few drinks. I always made sure to at least stop by the disco, where pretty much everyone was gathering at night, but it was always the same songs over and over again, so loud and I wasn't always in the mood for a heavy drinking night, especially after such a big day. But I always made an appearance, grabbed a few drinks and then I'd go down to my Sports Bar, for a few beers and a few Euros in the casino. The staff from both the Casino and the Bar were awesome, they really liked me, I chatted with them a lot and always got refills without asking. (Ok, it was all included, but still, I never had to ask or wait.)

Anyways, after all that, I was very glad to go to bed, and we didn't get to Izmir until 1pm tomorrow, so I could at least sleep in a little bit.