The Cruise: Patmos, Santorini & Athens

Having boarded the Louis Olympia (Cruise Ship) at Kusadasi during the morning we gathered in the Can Can Room after settling in to hear a safety talk and long explanation of possible land excursions over the next two days.  Most of us were keen to get into the pool on the top deck and have some lunch before scrubbing up for a Eucharist which was celebrated in "Blake's Bar". It was a short service but an absolute highlight with the Philippino bar steward joining us for communion.

Gathering as a group we boarded the tender boat which took us to the magnificent island of Patmos. The place where St John was exiled for 2 years late in his life and here he wrote the book of Revelation. We were met by Vera a local tour guide who accompanied us first to the cave were John spent most of his time on the island using it as a chapel and dictating the last book of the New Testament to his scribe.
From there a short bus trip winding up the mountain to the Monastery which is still active with about 10 Monks in residence.  The church here is typically arrayed in frescoes and icons, rich in symbolism. Our guide Vera had strong theological opinions about the Greek Orthodox faith, a huge knowledge of the Book of Revelation and she made a lot of sense. Her overarching thesis was that unity in the church should be our great aim. Our two tour priests, Ray and Ron, agreed with both her thesis and her desire for unity as being the basic message of John's writing.

Thira, high up on Santorini

We returned to the cruise ship and prepared for a formal dinner in the Seven Seas Restaurant. As we slept rocking gently on the Aegean Sea the ship made its way to the spectacular island of Santorini.
Steve Smith opted to do the all island tour in the morning, the rest of the group were led by Georgina, a local guide, on a fabulous tour of the historic archeological site of Akratira. The excavation of this site was commenced in 1967 and is thought to have uncovered just 3% of the ancient city. Nevertheless the dig is massive covering probably the size of a football field and all under cover and viewed via elevated boardwalks. The society  that had developed this very impressive city seems to have been destroyed and wiped out with a volcanic eruption 4000 years ago! Like Pompei evidence of what was happening on the day of the eruption is everywhere except there is no sign of human life as yet. The mystery is where did the inhabitants all go.

We said goodbye to Ron and Gay who had arranged to stay on the island for a few more days. The rest of the group made the most of a free afternoon on this sundrenched Greek Island.  Shopping, eating, exploring or returning to the ship (again by tender boat). The main village of Thira is accessed mostly by a very steep cable car or 500+ steps walking or donkey taxi. It was a beautiful day but perhaps they mostly all are on this very special island.

After returning to the ship in our own time we gathered together at Seven Seas Restaurant for "The last Supper" - our final dinner as a group. Tomorrow we will be leaving the ship at a very early hour.

Our five Pharmacists raise their glasses

Arriving at Athens in the early hours all disembarked and we were met by Katerina from Mission Travel Greece. The bus took us to a street where we could stroll some distance alongside the  Acropolis and the Odeon. We had  a little hiccup with four members of the group temporarily being separated within the onslaught of tourist buses emptying and entering the area. However back together we had a sumptuous morning tea in a private rooftop room looking up at the Parthenon and across Athens.

After thank you and farewell speeches and some reflections we strolled through Athen's Flea Market and some small purchases were made before boarding our bus for Athens Airport thus concluding our tour. What a great time we have all had.