Yes, I'm publishing this on the 10th, a day late; I'm busy
and exceptionally tired in real life too!
My mum always said to go through everything I write and remove all "verys"
and I see what she means: there are 7 "verys" in this entry. Two important facts: (a) I mention modern-day
toilets so I guess my digestive system has always been a vacation issue, and
(b) this was my first experience of driving on mountain roads and I only talk
about the driver's horn and not that I was terrified...TERRIFIED! I'm touched that the Greek men gave us
sultanas and now wonder if this had some special meaning. Did I tell you that
Heraklion is on the Greek island
of Crete?
3/11/71
Heraklion, Crete
Personal Log: Ninth Day
For the first time, we got 10 marks for our dormitory! We were woken up at 0700 and disembarked at
0900 hours. I needed a travel sickness
pill which worked very well. We first
went to Knossos
(which is one of the seven wonders of the world) and, with the help of a very
pleasant guide, found it very interesting.
Following this, we were taken to the museum at Heraklion, which was
enjoyable, what we saw of it! We rushed
in and rushed out again! The Greek roads
are very bumpy; I noticed. We stopped at
St. Titus' Chapel at Gortyne and the Roman Odean too, along the road, and look
at the Dorian Laws carved on the wall.
We had dinner on the beach then went to Phaestus. It was very peaceful here and had a beautiful
view. I wasn't very impressed with the
modern-day toilets. The journey back was
all along mountain roads and the driver used his horn alot! Having got back to Heraklion, we went to the
tourist shops which were still open although it was quite late. I bought a ring, a pendants and a very
pretty, cheap bracelet. When we got back
to the ship (having lost Fiona on the way!) some Greek men gave us all a packet
of Greek sultanas as a souvenir of our visit.
In the evening we went to a sing-sing then retired to bed.
Navigational Log:
0100-0400 Middle Watch
0300 Vessel passing C. Stavros to starboard.
0400-0800 Morning Watch
0530 Vessel sighted Heraklion. Vessel to hand steering. Vessel to commander's orders. 0547 Stand by below, all ready below. 0554 Pilot on board. 0555 Stations for and aft. 0606 Tug fast forward. 0613 Vessel approaching berth, starboard
side. 0621 Line ashore fore and aft. 0632 Lines and one spring fast fore and
aft. 0636 Rung off main engines.
Now I have recalled that Sultanas are grapes. You're making me want to go to Greece, which I absolutely must do before the whole of it is sold off in the name of austerity. I'm guessing it is rather different now than in your journal, but maybe not? Have you been back?
ReplyDeleteThanks to people like you who fill the web with VERY interesting, amusing and informative articles