We had an early morning flight from Rome to Athens, where we transferred to our home for the next week, the Harmony V yacht. This three-level boat has 25 cabins, for a maximum of 50 passengers, but there were only 48 passengers, from the Colorado, Texas, New Jersey, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, and many other places. They seem like a nice group, which will be nice to enjoy getting to know them.
Upon arriving, we were able to get settled in our stateroom, and then had the obligatory safety instruction. We hope never to use the life vest, but it is important to learn about its use. The room is fairly spacious, with a large window to enjoy the sea view. The downside is that there is only one plug in the room (nothing in the bathroom), which was sufficient when the boat was built, but not for modern time, with our many devices. After our many travels, we have learned to bring multiple ways to enable us to charge our phones, iPads, and watches, etc.
There is no WiFi on board, especially while we are moving around the sea. Perhaps we will find internet service once we are n a larger island tomorrow. We have a portable hot spot, which allows us to have access where there are cell towers, hopefully in Mykonos, our first large island stop tomorrow.
We had an opportunity to take a short nap before meeting everyone at dinner. It turned out that we had a lovely dinner at a table with two couples, who were very nice. One couple was from Melbourne, Australia, and the other was a recently retired couple from Denver. The dinner was amazing, starting with a delicious fish soup, a light salad, a choice of entree of salmon or steak (we opted for the salmon), and a cheesecake dessert. All were excellent.
Just before sunset, we cruised past a small island, Cape Sounion, that had the remnants of the Temple of Poseiden, dating from 440 B.C. Eighteen of the original forty-two columns remain, as it sits at the highest point, 60 meters above the water. There were many tourists who climbed the hill to get an up-close look. Since we didn’t dock, we just took pictures from the boat. Afterward, we enjoyed a spectacular sunset.
Around 9:30 PM, there was an opportunity to go into Kia, a small island, that looked interesting. However, we decided to pass on this visit, and it turned out that those who went said it was just okay, not a “can’t miss” opportunity. Going to bed early was a much better option, which we took gladly. Tomorrow, we go to Delos for a tour of the ancient ruins and then Mykonos to walk around and have a light dinner. No partying for us, even though it is known as the place to go to drink, dance, and have a fun time. It will be good to get online, since I am addicted!