A Catching Up Entry

April 22, 2015

Nauplia, Greece 

Wow. It's been over a week since I wrote entire day of adventures. We have traveled well over 800 miles in that time, but have experienced over three millennium of history. For anyone who is truly paying attention...sorry. It's been a whirlwind of activity. 

The itinerary in brief:

Tuesday April 14, Nazareth and the Golan Heights

Wednesday April 15, a day at sea, doing laundry (my John, the laundry man) and getting ready to leave the ship soon. 

Thursday April 16, Kusadasi Turkey and the breathtaking Ephesus. 

Friday April 17, the Greek isle of Mykonos and the ancient ruins of Delos

Saturday, disembark the ship at 8:30 AM in Athens and tour the Greece National Museum before settling in for a night of rest in Athens. 

Sunday April 18, onto a small tour boat for a tour of the Greek islands of Hydrea, Poros and Aegina. 

Monday April 19, Athens and a visit to the new Acropolis Museum, as well as a trip up the cable tram to the highest hill in Athens and a tiny chapel of St George. 

Tuesday April 21, the Acropolis of Athens, the ancient Parthenon, and the Erechtheum temple, among a number of stops. 

Wednesday April 22 (today), Corinth, ...

So much and so many fast miles through time we have traveled. It's late at night and I wish to share only a few of the incredibly moving moments of the past week...

Nazareth meant being in the places that Christ got started with his ministry, including the River of Jordan. The most significant moments for me were watching the large group of Eritheans at the river, immersing themselves, singing and praying. These are the same people we meet in Jerusalem. I was completely touched by their amazing faith. There are many other moments of that day that I shall share when I have the time, but this one brought me to a place of peace. 

Our day in Turkey meant seeing the huge, inspiring ruins of Ephesus. Again, I shall share more of the trip later, but my biggest moments of this day was being in the theater that St Paul spoke to the Corinthians, while we toured the ancient  city...and an evening concert, back at that same theater.

This was a goosebumps night, with the theater lit up, and we were snuggled at tables with wonderful music performed by the Kusadasi Philharmonic. 

On to Greece and Mykonos with the ruins of Delos...I was underwhelmed, mostly because of my experience at Ephesus. More ancient ruins, more Greek history and more data to process. Sorry Delos...My brain was still in Ephesus. 

We arrived in Athens early Saturday and spent the next few days seeing the sights, some of it on our own, some with tours...

Sunday was a delightful cruise to the three aforementioned islands, with some terrific entertainment. Later in the day the dancers got many of our fellow passengers to dance with them. Between the rocking boat and the wine, I only lasted a few minutes!  

More later. The ancient history lessons of high school have faded, so I'm in a serious learning curve. Thanks for hanging in there with me.