Stromboli

I had heard the whispers and rumors of a Sleeping Giant that existed right off the southern coast of Italy just north of Sicily and the Messina Strait. But rumors and rumors and you never know if there's any truth in it.

On my first Mediterranean cruise, as the ship traveled south, heading in the direction of the "boot" of Italy, the Captain had made an announcement that at approximately 3:00 am the ship would be passing by this would-be Sleeping Giant.

I thought to myself, "ok I'm going to see what this is all about." So at 2:45 am, I got up and headed out to the deck to see what I could see. My mom was concerned about me walking out on deck by myself that late at night, or early in the morning, so she decided to come with me. In retrospect, it probably was a good idea that she came with me. It's nearly 3 am and we are literally the only people out on deck.

I look around outside, from both the port and starboard side of the ship and I see nothing but pitch black darkness. Unfortunately, I had no clue as to whether or not I should expect to see this Sleeping Giant on the port or starboard side of the ship. It made me a little nervous to be staring into black nothingness. I could understand perfectly well now how people just "disappear" from a cruise ship.

My mom and I decided to settle on one side of the ship on some deck chairs that were outside. We thought we'd give it 5 minutes and if we didn't see anything at all, well then, we'd go right back to bed.

And there it was! Like a firecracker exploding in the sky. Off in the distance was this red glow of light that shot up so quickly that it disappeared instantly. My mom and I looked at each other with astounding looks on our faces as if to say, "did you just see what I saw?" We were so fixated on this now dark spot in the distance that we got up out of the deck chairs and stood against the railing. That was the only thing separating us from that black hole of nothingness. And then suddenly, there it was again. A red spray of light shooting up briefly into the night sky.

This Sleeping Giant, well it's known as the Stromboli volcano. One of only 3 active volcanoes in Italy. And the volcano believed to be the longest continuously erupting volcano in the world. Geologists and vulcanologists believe that Stromboli has been erupting for more than 2,000 years continuously.

I was actually witnessing a real life volcano eruption. It was amazing, brilliant, breathtaking and a little unbelievable. How many people can really say they've seen an erupting volcano spewing red lava into the black of night?

If you can believe it, Stromboli is actually an inhabited island. There are approximately 700 permanent residents who share this tiny little island with one angry volcano. Of course, the inhabitants all live at the base of the volcano right near the port. This way, they can, with a moment's notice, evacuate the island. And the apparently the side of the island they live on is on the opposite side of the lava flow. That doesn't mean though that this enclave hasn't previously been evacuated from the island and/or destroyed in the past.

I believe that when we passed by Stromboli that night, we must have been on the opposite side of the island from where the community lies. We saw nothing bit darkness. There was no light reflecting off of the ocean's surface from the moon. There was no glow of life on the island, or any other nearby islands or any land mass nearby. Nothing but this bright red glow of lava that would appear every few seconds.

Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. Had my mom not been there with me, she would not have believed it. Had I not taken photographs (albeit not very good ones) then perhaps no one would be believe me. Even in the photos I do have, all you see is a red glow in the top left corner of the photo. For all you know, that could be any random red glow.

The one bonus we had on this cruise was that we would, less than a week later, sail past the same area on our trek back towards Rome. This time, we would be passing Stromboli during the early afternoon daylight hours.

Our passing of the volcano and the island during the day was not nearly as dramatic as our view at night. However, while passing it this time around, we could now see the community that rests at the bottom of the volcano. We could also see a distinct cloud of ash and smoke that hangs right over the caldera of the volcano. It was, however, this ash and smoke that prevented us from being able to see any sort of lava eruption.

It was neat though to see the same scene from two different perspectives, one in the dead of night, and the second one during the light of day.

As we'll be passing by the same area on our upcoming cruise, you can rest assured that I'll be looking out for Stromboli again.

Rome

They say that all roads lead to Rome. Perhaps they do. After Santorini, Rome was high on my list of cities I wanted to go back and visit. It's no wonder that this city is much beloved and often referred to, Ever heard of, "when in Rome, do as the Romans?"

The only time I've ever been to Rome, it was as a day trip. Our cruise ship stopped at the port of Civitavecchia for the day. The great part of this was that I would get to see Rome, the bad part of it was that Civitavecchia is approximately a 1 hour 30 minute drive from Rome. That meant, of my 12 hours in port, 3 of them would be spent driving back and forth. That really kind of puts a damper on everything because your already limited time is even more limited

In order to make the most of my day, we booked an all day tour with a private company that would give us a private tour of the city.

The driver was there to pick us up as soon as we got off the ship and off we went to Rome!

Due to the fact that Rome is a tourist mecca, we knew that our limited time would mean that there wouldn't be any time to walk around the Roman Forum, nor enter the Colosseum. With that in mind, and after driving for a little over an hour, we got our first view of Rome from a lookout point atop one of Rome's famed Seven Hills. It was a breathtaking sight to see this grand, and ancient city laid out right before your eyes.

Since I can't list everything we saw that day, I'll just hit a few of the major attractions.

After a short stop at Circus Maximus, our tour took us to Capitoline Hill, where there there is a beautiful statue of Marcus Aurelius astride his horse as well as sculptures of Castor and Pollux. From Capitoline Hill, you can look out across the way directly into the Roman Forum and beyond the Forum make out the shape of the Colosseum.

Before it got too late in the day, we drove across town to the Vatican. It's interesting that the Vatican is it's own country, not just a part of Italy. In fact, it's the only country who's boundary is completely surrounded by another country. For our trip to the Vatican Museum, we had booked a private tour of the complex as it's so diverse and large. We knew we would have 2 hours to hit all of the major points. It's amazing the wealth and breadth of the art work that is inside the Vatican Museum and that has been collected over the centuries. Of course, the highlight of a trip to the Vatican Museum is Michelangelo's famed Sistine Chapel. While we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, I can say that it was absolutely gorgeous. To understand what it took to paint the ceiling, the amount of time it took, the symbolism involved, is to understand and appreciate this great artist.

From the Vatican Museum, we made our way into St. Peter's Basilica. This is the largest church in all of Christendom, and the heart of Catholics around the world. The enormity of it's size is just amazing. In fact, inside the basilica, on the ground are markings that show where the next largest churches fit if they were to be put inside of St. Peter's. The two most important pieces of art inside of St. Peter's Basilica is Bernini's famous altar, and Michelangelo's marble carving of La Pieta. Both were truly stunning.

In the afternoon, as we were running out of time, we headed over for a brief stop at Piazza Navona. There we saw Bernini's famous 4 winds fountain. After that, we headed over to the Pantheon, followed by a visit to the famed Spanish Steps. We each threw the obligatory coin over our shoulders to ensure our visit to Rome again in the future. From there we headed over to Piazza di Spagna and the famous Spanish Steps.

Finally, before heading back to Civitavecchia, we ended our day back at the Colosseum. We only had enough time to take some exterior shots of this marvelous engineering structure, as well as the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum.

Then we were whisked back for our drive back to Civitavecchia to re-join the cruise.

I'm glad that this time around, we'll be ending the cruise in Rome. I've planned 2 nights post-cruise in Rome so that this time I can breath and take the time to really appreciate all of these ancient wonders in all of their glory.

Kusadasi, Turkey

Until I booked my cruise in 2005, to sail in 2006, I'd never even heard of Kusadasi, Turkey before. But I quickly came to learn that Kusadasi is the gateway to the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, whose ruins today are among the best preserved of any ancient Greek city.

Like Pompeii, Ephesus used to be a port city with the harbor running right up to the gates of the city. However, the water has receded and the harbor now lies many miles west of the city. When Ephesus ceased to be a harbor city, it spelled the demise of the power of the city.

What started as a Greek city eventually became part of the vast Roman Empire. In fact, Ephesus was the gateway to Asia for the Roman Empire. Ephesus is famous for being a city in which both Mark Anthony and Cleopatra are purported to have visited.

One of Ephesus' start attractions is the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Other attractions are the Temple of Hadrian, the Amphitheater and the gorgeous Library of Celsus. At one point in time, the Library of the Celsus held more scrolls and literature than any other library in the world. Today, its facade has been beautifully reconstructed to its original grandeur using all original pieces.

The amazing part about Ephesus is that when you visit the site today you get a sense for just how vast the ancient city was. However, what we can see when we visit is only 15% of what is believed to be the entire city. The remaining 85% has yet to be touched and still remains buried.

Seeing thousands of years of history in front of your very own eyes is awe-inspiring, to say the least. It gives you a greater appreciation for the study of history and archaeology, and an appreciation that much of what we have in our lives today, and the rules, laws and lifestyle we lead were in many ways influenced by these ancient cities.

This year, on my cruise, we will once again be calling on Kusadasi. I'm still a bit undecided as to whether or not I will go out and visit Ephesus again. I will admit that when I first realized that our cruise was going to Turkey 3 years ago, I was hesitant about what I would find. However, when I left, I was struck by the wonder of the ruins. I was more than pleasantly surprised by this stop on our cruise and I look forward to what my visit this year will bring.

Naples

Naples, home to the original Neapolitan pizza that Italy is so famous for. Unfortunately, on my first trip to Naples, I didn't get to experience any of that amazing pizza. We'll see if I get the opportunity to this time around.

The first time around, immediately upon arriving in Naples, we departed the city for a drive along the Amalfi coast and a tour of Pompeii. By the time we got back to Naples, it was back on the ship and off to the next step.

Driving along the Amalfi coastline is one of those events that I'm not sure I'll ever forget. I'm just glad I wasn't the one doing the driving! This has got to be one of the most picturesque drives in the world, probably rivaling a drive along Pacific Coast Highway. The drive was through very narrow roads with the mountain on one side and a steep drop off a cliff on the other side, filled with all sorts of hairpin turns as well as some of the most scenic villages and towns I've ever seen. This drive certainly isn't for the faint of heart. I can't recall how many times our big tour bus came across traffic driving in the opposite direction and either we, or the other drive would have to carefully maneuver in order to get by each other through these turns and these narrow winding roads. It was an adventure in and of itself.

All the while, we passed some of the most gorgeous scenery. Each turn brought about ooohs and ahhhs and it seemed like every view was postcard worthy. We passed by the famous coastal communities of Sorrento, Ravello and Positano. Due to time restrictions, among others, we just wouldn't be able to stop. Oh well, maybe on a future visit. At the southern end of the Amalfi coast drive, we did stop at the small town of Amalfi.

Amalfi was once an important port and maritime town. However, today, it is just another small, sparsely populated town among the Amalfi coast. There is a major basilica that dominates this small town. However, other than that, it is basically just your typical charming resort town. After our brief lunch and shopping stop there, we continued back inland towards Pompeii.

Pompeii was made famous centuries ago due to the fact that without warning, the town was completely buried in ash from the erupting Mount Vesuvius volcano. The town used to be a major port town as well (though now the harbor is more than 5 miles away), that sat at the base of this sleeping giant known as Mount Vesuvius. When the volcano erupted, the town, and any inhabitants that could not get out were buried.

Today, it is an important archaeological site. Due to the fact that it was buried in ash for hundreds of years, and the eruption was quite unexpected, the city is almost perfectly preserved. Archaeologists have uncovered thousands of artifacts from the area and by studying these artifacts, the layout of the city, the buildings, etc. in the city, we are able to get a better glimpse into traditional Italian life.

One of the more touching things you see at Pompeii is the people who didn't make it out alive and basically were mummified by the ash. There are many examples of this through the city. You can see that most of these residents were either found with hands covering their mouths or face down on the ground to try to avoid inhaling the ash. It was actually quite moving.

Another great aspect of Pompeii is that inside many of the dwellings, especially the more opulent ones, you can still see the original frescoes on the walls or the beautiful mosaics on the ground, in bath houses, etc.

The destruction of Pompeii is something I had read about numerous times in school books, but being able to see it in person was amazing.

When I found out that my cruise ship would be calling at Naples again this time around, I decided that this time I wanted to do something different. So, after much research and debate, I've decided that when we arrive in Naples, I'm going to walk to the train station and board a train bound for Sorrento. After spending a little bit of time in Sorrento, I'm going to head for the pier and catch a hydrofoil over to the island of Capri. We plan to spend a few hours here on the island taking the funicular from the port up to the posh town of Capri Town. From there, we'll grab a bus and head over to Anacapri where we'll board a chair life to the top of Mount Solaro for views over the island. Then we'll head back to Capri Town and hydrofoil back over to Naples.

Athens

It's nearly impossible to go through school without learning a little bit about Greek mythology. Getting a chance to see Greek mythology, history and archaeology up close and personal was a real thrill for me on my first Mediterranean cruise.

Athens is a sprawling, modern metropolis, jam-packed with people amidst some of the greatest archaeological, historical and mythological sites found anywhere in the world.

The first time I visited Athens, I hired a private tour guide in advance to meet us at Piraeus, the port city that is the gateway to Athens. We left early in the morning and meandered our way through the port, passing a few 2004 Olympic sites on our way to the most famous sight in Athens - the Acropolis.

The Acropolis is the most recognizable symbol of Athens, and perhaps all of Greece. It's easy to see why as this large rock juts up from the landscape and dominates all of the city. The Acropolis can be seen from all over the city, with its famous Parthenon looking down at the citizens below.

The Acropolis, through the centuries, has been used as a fortified protection area for residents and as a battle sight for would-be invaders. Today, the Acropolis continues to undergo numerous restoration projects to try and bring it back to its former glory and to excavate any and all possible artifacts remaining at the site.

Aside from the Parthenon, the other well-known symbol of the Acropolis is the famous caryatid statues. Originally, there stood 6 female caryatid statues that were carved out to double as support structures for one of the buildings that stood atop "the Rock." In the 1800s when Lord Elgin of England arrived, he took one of the caryatids back with him when he left. Those artifacts that he removed are known as the "Elgin marbles" and the original caryatid can now be seen at the British Museum in London. However, the 5 remaining original statues no longer reside at the Acropolis either. They have all been moved to the new Acropolis Museum. And where the originals once stood now stand 6 replica statues.

After having left the Acropolis, our tour guide took us to Syntagma Square. We were in for a treat, for we were in Athens on a Sunday, which means that at 11:00 am the Changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier would occur. Every hour, on the hour, there is a small changing of the guards ceremony, however, on Sunday's the ceremony is done it all of its pomp and circumstance. It was truly a sight to see.

Apart from the Acropolis, we also saw the old Olympic Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the ancient Agora and the Roman Agora. We also took a drive down the coastline to the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula to Cape Sounion. Atop the Cape stands the gorgeous Temple of Poseidon. This area is most famous for its amazing sunset views.

We ended our day back in Athens for lunch and a walk through the famous Plaka, outdoor shopping area. I had my first experience of an authentic Greek gyro - and it was yummy!

This time aorund when our cruise heads to Athens, we will be bypassing a guided tour. Instead, we will be taking the metro from Piraeus directly into Athens and exploring on our own. If all goes well, we are again intending to go to the Acropolis as well as strolling through the Plaka. Additionally, I'd like to get over to Mount Lycabettus to see some of the goregous views that it is known for.

Mykonos

Mykonos is the only port I've ever missed in all my years of cruising. Part of the reason for booking our first Mediterranean cruise was to visit the Greek Islands. I had heard previously abuot the danger of missing Mykonos, but I guess I never thought it would happen to us.

When we arrived around midday to Mykonos, there was already another cruise ship there. I believe it was an Azmara ship. The dock at Mykonos can only fit one cruise ship, and docking space is given on a first-come, first-serve basis. As the other ship arrived before us, they were given the dock, and we were expected to tender.

But you could tell right away that the water was rough. The wind was blowing and there were plenty of whitecaps on the water's surface. After dropping anchor and waiting anxiously for an hour or so, the Captain came over the PA system and announced that due to the conditions it wouldn't be possible to operate tenders to land. The situation was just not safe enough for passengers.

So instead of visiting this lovely Greek island, we remained anchored offshore for a few hours before moving on.

I had originally planned to spend most of my time in Mykonos taking a tour to the archaeological site located on the neighboring island of Delos. After that, I would return to Mykonos town and explore the Little Venice area and wander up to the famous windmills.

When I was looking at cruise itineraries for this year's trip, I was pleased to see Mykonos back on the itinerary. Hopefully, this time around, we'll actually make it into Mykonos and the seas will be cooperative.

Again, I'm hoping to take a local ferry over to Delos in the morning hours to explore the island. Delos is noted as one of the most important, if not the most important mythologically, historical and archaelogical sites in Greece. Mythology made this island the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Today, the island is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. No one is allowed to overnight on the island, instead all visitors must make day trips from neighboring islands to Delos.

As I'm scheduled to be in Mykonos from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm, I'm planning on taking a morning ferry over to Delos, wandering for a few hours before returning to Mykonos, and then spending the rest of my time exploring around the Mykonos town area.

Let's hope that all goes according to schedule this time around!

Itinerary

One of the main reasons, if not the main reason, for choosing the particular itinerary I'm sailing on is because of Santorini. This beautiful Greek island, that is part of the Cyclades, has to be one of the most gorgeous spots on earth. The views from the small northern town of Oia are some of the most breathtaking views ever.


When I was choosing an itinerary for this trip, my one criteria was that it had to include Santorini.

We finally decided on this itinerary on the Ruby Princess because it seemed to have a nice mix of old ports that we've visited before, as well as new ports that we've never been to.

Our itinerary has us going to: Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Corfu, Greece; Olympia, Greece; Athens, Greece; Mykonos, Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey; Rhodes, Greece; Santorini, Greece; Naples, Italy; and Rome, Italy. Prior to boarding the ship in Venice, we'll also be visiting Milan and Verona, Italy.


Of these ports, I've previously visited Athens, Kusadasi, Santorini, Naples and Rome. Which means that I haven't been to Milan, Verona, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Olympia, Rhodes, and Mykonos.

I can only hope that this trip to the Mediterreanean is half as good as my first trip was.

Italy, Greece, Turkey, Croatia... here I come.