Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 – At Sea
Ahhh…we slept in today until around 10:00 (even though Mikeo knocked at 9:!5 and we blamed Morgan). I took Morgan to the doctor as her foot was really bothering her and she said she couldn’t put weight on her ankle. The facility was much better than I thought it would be. I thought it would be a small room, but they seemed to have quite extensive equipment and rooms.
We didn’t understand how the medical center works though, and they were closing 6 minutes after we got there. There was also no doctor there except for 2 hours a day. There was a crew doc there, and he saw Morgan to start with. He x-rayed her right foot, and then he called the passenger doctor in. The doc took us to his office and said that it was fractured and that he needed to splint it. UGH. I tried to get an air cast or anything else, so he said that he would x-ray the left foot to compare it to the right. Unfortunately, he came back and said for sure that it was fractured, and that even though it is a small fracture, it is a fracture nonetheless. UGH. So, he splinted it and gave Morgan crutches. He said that she cannot put weight on it. Hmmmm……This is going to be interesting.
We didn’t do much in the day time after that, but Mike and I did do our 2 miles of walking and running. We had dinner in the dining hall, and they had surf and turf. It was delicious (Morgan and Mike had the same thing). After dinner, we went to the Filipino Crew Show, and it was awesome. We got to learn a little more about the culture by hearing some songs like the National Anthem, and we were also entertained by some dancing. Boozee, a bartender on the cruise, was the host. He did a great job. Also, Edwin, our wine steward was in 5 of the 7 acts. He was awesome. There was also an amazing Elvis impersonator. He was really great. We had a fun time, and it was great to watch the crew have so much fun performing.
We go to bed after discussing what in the world we are going to for the tours with Morgan in her crutches. She is not very good at the crutches, and she has fallen on them several times.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, Santorini, Greece
Monday, June 29, 2009 – Santorini
Pictures are HERE.
Today, we didn’t dock until noon which was really nice. Grams knocked on our door at 10:00 and was completely dismayed that we were still in bed. Ahhh…sleeping late. What a nice change. To avoid the wrath of Grams, I got ready and went to eat breakfast with the fam. It was really crowded, so we ate with a couple from the Netherlands.
We left for our tour around 12:20. We took a boat in from the big ship to the dock. It was pretty rough getting out of the tender, and an older man almost fell flat on his face. I was thankful that right after that, they stopped people from exiting and tied the boat to the dock again.
Our tour was one of my favorites. We went to the highest point where a monastery is, and the scenery was FABULOUS. We walked around and took some pictures. Seeing the terraces (rock walls) and the white buildings with blue domed churches everywhere was such an amazing sight. We saw a few donkeys, some fig trees, olive trees, and grape shrubs (they make them into shrubs there).
We went to the town of Oia after crossing across the narrowest part of the island where you can see both sides. There are three types of volcano rock – red, brown, and black. It is a spectacular sight to see the different colors in the cliffs. The town of Oia was charming, and I could see spending a week there. We shopped (I got two necklaces, a slider for my other necklace, and some earrings), took pictures, and went in a little café.
We went from Oia (pronounced eee-ya) to Fira. We did a little shopping, Morgan got some gelato, and we walked toward the cable car to get back to the ship (it moved while we were in port). Mike let us know that he and Tracy had arrived in Fira after their ATV drive, and we met at the Kastro Café on the top of the cliff in Fira. As we were walking to the café, Morgan stumbled on the cobblestone and hurt her ankle. We had to help her get back to the ship. We had a few glasses of wine and headed back to the ship.
We ate in the dining hall and saw a beautiful sunset (supposedly they are the best here although we heard the same thing in Corfu). I had mahi mahi with some crab legs, and Mike had veal cordon bleu. Morgan had the “perfectly grilled chicken.” There was a party on the lido deck, so we went up there to check it out. They had chocolate fountains (Biko, I was good and so was Mark) and lots of other desserts. They also had line dancing, and I got to do the Cupid Shuffle. We were thinking that we need Mikeo to do the YMCA when they were doing it, but he and Tracy stayed in town for dinner.
We sailed at 11:00 pm, and I think we were all excited to have a relaxing day at sea the next day. Morgan’s ankle/foot was still bothering her and was kind of swollen. I hope it is better tomorrow.
Pictures are HERE.
Today, we didn’t dock until noon which was really nice. Grams knocked on our door at 10:00 and was completely dismayed that we were still in bed. Ahhh…sleeping late. What a nice change. To avoid the wrath of Grams, I got ready and went to eat breakfast with the fam. It was really crowded, so we ate with a couple from the Netherlands.
We left for our tour around 12:20. We took a boat in from the big ship to the dock. It was pretty rough getting out of the tender, and an older man almost fell flat on his face. I was thankful that right after that, they stopped people from exiting and tied the boat to the dock again.
Our tour was one of my favorites. We went to the highest point where a monastery is, and the scenery was FABULOUS. We walked around and took some pictures. Seeing the terraces (rock walls) and the white buildings with blue domed churches everywhere was such an amazing sight. We saw a few donkeys, some fig trees, olive trees, and grape shrubs (they make them into shrubs there).
We went to the town of Oia after crossing across the narrowest part of the island where you can see both sides. There are three types of volcano rock – red, brown, and black. It is a spectacular sight to see the different colors in the cliffs. The town of Oia was charming, and I could see spending a week there. We shopped (I got two necklaces, a slider for my other necklace, and some earrings), took pictures, and went in a little café.
We went from Oia (pronounced eee-ya) to Fira. We did a little shopping, Morgan got some gelato, and we walked toward the cable car to get back to the ship (it moved while we were in port). Mike let us know that he and Tracy had arrived in Fira after their ATV drive, and we met at the Kastro Café on the top of the cliff in Fira. As we were walking to the café, Morgan stumbled on the cobblestone and hurt her ankle. We had to help her get back to the ship. We had a few glasses of wine and headed back to the ship.
We ate in the dining hall and saw a beautiful sunset (supposedly they are the best here although we heard the same thing in Corfu). I had mahi mahi with some crab legs, and Mike had veal cordon bleu. Morgan had the “perfectly grilled chicken.” There was a party on the lido deck, so we went up there to check it out. They had chocolate fountains (Biko, I was good and so was Mark) and lots of other desserts. They also had line dancing, and I got to do the Cupid Shuffle. We were thinking that we need Mikeo to do the YMCA when they were doing it, but he and Tracy stayed in town for dinner.
We sailed at 11:00 pm, and I think we were all excited to have a relaxing day at sea the next day. Morgan’s ankle/foot was still bothering her and was kind of swollen. I hope it is better tomorrow.
Sunday, Argostoli, Greece
Sunday- Argostoli, June 28th, 2009
Pictures are HERE.
Today, we docked in Argostoli, Greece in Cephalonia (kefalonia) which was the location used for the movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin with Nicolus Cage. The island is the famous resting place of Odysseus from Illiad and Odyssey. As we pulled into port, the water was smooth as ice, and the view was beautiful. You could see the white buildings with orangish roofs in the distance, and mountains all around. Mike and I didn’t go walk because we had to meet at 7:40 this morning to leave for our tour. We have been finishing our walk/run about that time, so we knew we would have to get up way too early for vacation. We had breakfast delivered to the room again. I had my same special K with skim milk and banana. Mike planned to prepare a croissant using the eggs and cheese, but the croissants were tiny so he just ate it.
We had to tender into port which means you ride in the lifeboat to the shore. I was so happy to see that roughly 100 people were on the boat comfortably, so I feel better that our 16 group could make it on the lifeboat if necessary. Of course, I am really hoping that we don’t need them at all.
Once we were onshore, “white 5” which was the sticker we wore to identify our group got on a bus. We had a good guide who was easy to understand (from England), talked enough but not too much, and was interesting with some humor. He spoke a lot about the Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and I decided that I wanted to watch it.
The first stop was to an underwater cave at Lake Melissani. We went down into the cave (on Astroturf on top of the rocks), and then we got into a boat. There was a man rowing, and he sang some of the time. He took pictures, and he rowed us around. He did hit me in the head a few times, but he was otherwise good. We went into the cave, and we could see the beautiful structures hanging. It was apparently damaged some by the 1953 earthquake, but it wasn’t as badly damaged as the rest of the island. It had to be rebuilt almost entirely.
We continued on a very steep and winding road that gave great views down. However, I nodded off a few times as it was so relaxing with the turns and the guide speaking so soothingly. The views were really nice though.
We arrived at a small town, Fiskardo, that didn’t get as damaged in the earthquake, so it still had Venetian architecture. It was a nice harbor town with shops and restaurants. I bought a pretty plate to hang on the wall. I also bough the Captain Corelli movie, so that we could see what the guide was referring to during the trip. Mike got some Greek snacks from the deli and said that they tasted authentic. :)
We had to do a bit of a rush to get back to the bus, and the steps and uphill were determined to be a 3 man effort because it made everyone breathe hard. We have laughed a lot about the one, two, and three man pictures used in the cruise brochure to represent how difficult the effort will be on the tour.
We rode the bus back into Argostoli and stopped to take pictures of a famous European beach. It was beautiful with the blue water, white sand, and spectacular scenery. We also saw a couple of fish farms and some goats on the way down. We could also see where the original town of Argostoli was by the remains, and we could understand why they moved lower. The city is still on a fault line, so we are hoping that they stay earthquake free for a long time.
We took the tender back to the boat, and we went straight to the Lido deck for lunch. I had cashew chicken and rice from the Asian place, Morgan had a hamburger, and Mike had some Asian, cheese and crackers, and a salad. You can’t beat that variety.
We set sail at 3, and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon as we departed. The sea is calm, and the atmosphere is just stunning.
For dinner, we ate in the dining hall, and I had prime rib. It was delicious. Morgan had prime rib too. After dinner, Mike, Mark, Tracy, Mike, and I went to the Pub Crawl. It was AWESOME. It costs $20, and you go as a group to 5 different bars where you get 5 different drinks. Every time the leader says “Pub Crawl” everyone has to yell “Pub Crawl at the top of their lungs. We started in the piano bar and had a wayne wayne or wang wang or something like that. It was fruity and pretty good. Then, we went to the top of the ship and had a chocolate martini. We also had to pass a lemon using your neck at that point, and it was a lot of fun. Team 1 was the victor which was our team. Next, we went to the pool bar and had a long island tea. After that, we journeyed to the Northern Lights bar which is the dance club for a Kamikaze. Even the bartenders joined in at that point. We ended up in the Queens Lounge where we had battle of the sexes. Mike G was one of the three men picked to be on stage, and he was hysterical. Basically, the host asked questions and the three guys and the three girls got points not on whether the answer was right but on how many of their answers were the same. So, they had to try to answer what the others said. They were questions like, “what does the ms stand for in front of the ship name, what does a woman notice first about a man (and vice versa), what is the name of another Holland America ship, etc.” It was really fun.
After that, we went to the casino to find Papa. He was at the craps table but it wasn’t going so well. We played “Let it ride” poker (both of us had never played that one), and then we played three card. I was down about 40 bucks after both. Papa went to bed, and Mike and I went to the Roulette table. It was a lot of fun. We both ended up ahead for the day. J 25 and 13 were hot numbers. What a great day.
Pictures are HERE.
Today, we docked in Argostoli, Greece in Cephalonia (kefalonia) which was the location used for the movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin with Nicolus Cage. The island is the famous resting place of Odysseus from Illiad and Odyssey. As we pulled into port, the water was smooth as ice, and the view was beautiful. You could see the white buildings with orangish roofs in the distance, and mountains all around. Mike and I didn’t go walk because we had to meet at 7:40 this morning to leave for our tour. We have been finishing our walk/run about that time, so we knew we would have to get up way too early for vacation. We had breakfast delivered to the room again. I had my same special K with skim milk and banana. Mike planned to prepare a croissant using the eggs and cheese, but the croissants were tiny so he just ate it.
We had to tender into port which means you ride in the lifeboat to the shore. I was so happy to see that roughly 100 people were on the boat comfortably, so I feel better that our 16 group could make it on the lifeboat if necessary. Of course, I am really hoping that we don’t need them at all.
Once we were onshore, “white 5” which was the sticker we wore to identify our group got on a bus. We had a good guide who was easy to understand (from England), talked enough but not too much, and was interesting with some humor. He spoke a lot about the Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and I decided that I wanted to watch it.
The first stop was to an underwater cave at Lake Melissani. We went down into the cave (on Astroturf on top of the rocks), and then we got into a boat. There was a man rowing, and he sang some of the time. He took pictures, and he rowed us around. He did hit me in the head a few times, but he was otherwise good. We went into the cave, and we could see the beautiful structures hanging. It was apparently damaged some by the 1953 earthquake, but it wasn’t as badly damaged as the rest of the island. It had to be rebuilt almost entirely.
We continued on a very steep and winding road that gave great views down. However, I nodded off a few times as it was so relaxing with the turns and the guide speaking so soothingly. The views were really nice though.
We arrived at a small town, Fiskardo, that didn’t get as damaged in the earthquake, so it still had Venetian architecture. It was a nice harbor town with shops and restaurants. I bought a pretty plate to hang on the wall. I also bough the Captain Corelli movie, so that we could see what the guide was referring to during the trip. Mike got some Greek snacks from the deli and said that they tasted authentic. :)
We had to do a bit of a rush to get back to the bus, and the steps and uphill were determined to be a 3 man effort because it made everyone breathe hard. We have laughed a lot about the one, two, and three man pictures used in the cruise brochure to represent how difficult the effort will be on the tour.
We rode the bus back into Argostoli and stopped to take pictures of a famous European beach. It was beautiful with the blue water, white sand, and spectacular scenery. We also saw a couple of fish farms and some goats on the way down. We could also see where the original town of Argostoli was by the remains, and we could understand why they moved lower. The city is still on a fault line, so we are hoping that they stay earthquake free for a long time.
We took the tender back to the boat, and we went straight to the Lido deck for lunch. I had cashew chicken and rice from the Asian place, Morgan had a hamburger, and Mike had some Asian, cheese and crackers, and a salad. You can’t beat that variety.
We set sail at 3, and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon as we departed. The sea is calm, and the atmosphere is just stunning.
For dinner, we ate in the dining hall, and I had prime rib. It was delicious. Morgan had prime rib too. After dinner, Mike, Mark, Tracy, Mike, and I went to the Pub Crawl. It was AWESOME. It costs $20, and you go as a group to 5 different bars where you get 5 different drinks. Every time the leader says “Pub Crawl” everyone has to yell “Pub Crawl at the top of their lungs. We started in the piano bar and had a wayne wayne or wang wang or something like that. It was fruity and pretty good. Then, we went to the top of the ship and had a chocolate martini. We also had to pass a lemon using your neck at that point, and it was a lot of fun. Team 1 was the victor which was our team. Next, we went to the pool bar and had a long island tea. After that, we journeyed to the Northern Lights bar which is the dance club for a Kamikaze. Even the bartenders joined in at that point. We ended up in the Queens Lounge where we had battle of the sexes. Mike G was one of the three men picked to be on stage, and he was hysterical. Basically, the host asked questions and the three guys and the three girls got points not on whether the answer was right but on how many of their answers were the same. So, they had to try to answer what the others said. They were questions like, “what does the ms stand for in front of the ship name, what does a woman notice first about a man (and vice versa), what is the name of another Holland America ship, etc.” It was really fun.
After that, we went to the casino to find Papa. He was at the craps table but it wasn’t going so well. We played “Let it ride” poker (both of us had never played that one), and then we played three card. I was down about 40 bucks after both. Papa went to bed, and Mike and I went to the Roulette table. It was a lot of fun. We both ended up ahead for the day. J 25 and 13 were hot numbers. What a great day.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Mike and Morgan near argostoli Greece.
every minute. Did pub crawl on ship tonight and had a blast.
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