Journal Entries
This is your Captain, speaking from the Bridge…
Posted May 30, 2007
Santorini, Greece – May 15, 2007
I begin to wonder where else he would be speaking from…”This is your Captain, speaking from the main bar on the Lido deck. As soon as I finish my tenth margarita, we set sail for Turkey.”
A cruise ship carrying 1,200 went down here a month or so ago. It rests on the bottom around here somewhere in 300 feet of water. Apparently the Greek crew was watching a soccer game as they pulled into port. Here’s a video of the big ship going down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gCs3H8tN4s
Santorini is an island and a white city perched on the rim of the world’s largest caldera. It erupted about 1750 BC and killed off a fairly advanced civilization. There is a theory that the resulting tidal wave killed of the Minoans Civilization on Crete. Another theory says this island is really Atlantis.
We’re anchored inside the 9 mile by 14 mile caldera. To get to the city you take a donkey up a twisted path, an elevation gain of a thousand feet or so. You can also walk, but mind the donkey dung. The donkey ride up is 4 euros. 90% of the tourists use the gondola ride. A few walk.
The streets of Santorini are lined with gold. The shops are open 8 AM to 12…then 4 PM to 8…longer if the cruise ships are in port.
Here are some Donkey pictures.
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/559211988XnYmln;jsessionid=abcJOSJj95fft-WsmGClr
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Latest reply: May 30, 2007
Ancient Nymphateums
Posted May 27, 2007
The Isle of Capri – May 1, 2007
The camera doesn’t lie. The dates on the Capri pictures are May 1st, our second day out. We catch the ferry from Sorrento to Capri.
The first time we came here, years ago, we walked uphill and found a sign pointing to the Blue Grotto. After a nice walk past some residences we came to an overlook of the Grotto. There are some legends here about some scandalous behavior by the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius: debauched orgies, flinging people from cliffs, nymphateums and other politically incorrect forms of behavior.
This time we take the bus and funicular uphill to the main tourist area and then the chairlift to the top of a mountain. The chairlift takes you over rooftops and gardens to a mountaintop. The sweeping views are a little obscured by clouds and mist so some of the photo ops weren’t there.
The island is full of daytrippers like us this time of year. The guidebooks suggest that spending a night or two to enjoy the more laid back evenings with dinner in a piazza might be a good idea.
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/559188879LyFybN
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Latest reply: May 27, 2007
Burning the Tax Collectors
Posted May 26, 2007
Tropea, Italy- May 3, 2007
We arrive in ancient walled city of Tropea after dark. We plan to leave for Naxos, Sicily in the morning. Our objectives are limited, walk on the beach, eat gelato, view the coast from the Chiesa dell'Isolla church on the hilltop and take pictures of ancient doorways.We run into an unexpected bonus: an outdoor concert at 11 PM and lovely fireworks until midnight. The explosions are over the water and close to our balcony.
Every year on May 3, a festival called “I tre da cruci”- the three crosses, takes place in Tropea. Its name originates from the three wooden crosses which were placed in the church of the souls of purgatory after the collapse of the small, holy buildings where they were originally located. The feast relives events in the history of Tropea.
During the festival, the expulsion of the Saracens is re-enacted, and specifically, the capture of the tax collector who was hated by everyone because he rode around the streets of the town on camel to collect taxes. The infidel, represented by a puppet stuffed with fireworks, is chased by the “bourgeoisie”, who in the end manage to expel him and light him on fire.
Here are a few shots of doorways and fireworks:
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/559178240Vzxbbl;jsessionid=abcZE3pijzkrw_Vq3kglr
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Latest reply: May 26, 2007
So, what’s an Argonaut?
Posted May 25, 2007
Paestrum, Italy – May 4, 2007
According to legend, Paestrum was established by Jason and the Argonauts. The Greek temples there were devoted to Poseidon, Athena and Hera. The site is located between of Salerno and Sicily.
The excellent state of preservation of the Paestrum ruins is attributed to abandonment of the area due to malaria and marauding Arabs. Admission is 5€, 6€ with the museum. The lady selling the tickets says, “Museo? No Museo?” Eventually I catch on and go for the Museo option.
The Museum has many fine examples of pottery, statues and frescos. You can see soldiers carving each other up and the blood is still red on some of the artwork.
The site was rediscovered about the time of the American Revolution and was an important stop on the “Grand Tour”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour
The Argonauts were mythical sailors on the ship Argo.
We drove some back roads out of Paestrum on the way to Sicily. In a small mountain town the inhabitants seem to consist entirely old men in 1940 dress styles and old women widow’s black. I ask Mrs. Phred to adopt this style of dress for life if anything happens to me. After a long negotiation, eventually she promises me a week.
Here are some pictures of Paestrum.
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/559163624zEuvNb?mediaPosition=1&track_pagetag=/page/photo/goodtimes/roadtrips&track_action=/ActionsBox/Slideshow
In 1944, an American officer surveyed the location for a potential airstrip. Somehow, he recognized the ihistorical importance of these old stones and located the strip in another place.
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Latest reply: May 25, 2007
Useless Math
Posted May 24, 2007
Sorrento, Italy – May 3, 2007
It’s 3 AM. I’ve been standing on the balcony, in the rain, looking at the lights of Naples over the Bay. I listen to the waves crash. We are in a small hotel on the coast about two miles down a steep winding road. You have to drag your suitcases the last 100 yards because there is no road to the hotel. I got up at 1:30 AM. I’ve been unable to sleep, thinking about the number of times you must clink glasses in a toast as you add more people. With two people, you make one clink; with three there are three clinks and with four people six clinks are needed.
You can see the malignant black tower of Vesuvius in the background over the city of 3,000,000. The last eruption was in 1944.
Eventually it works out:
N(N-1)/2 = Clinks, where N is the number of people.
So if you have 1,000 people drinking you must clink 499,500 times.
It doesn’t stop there. I work out how many candles you need for Chanukah ceremonies and how many times “goodnight” must be said as you add people to a bedroom. I start to work out the number 6 billion people in the same bedroom and get up at 1:30 AM in disgust. My mind hasn’t misbehaved this way in a long time. Goodnight Johnboy. Goodnight Sarah.
So now I’m standing in the bathroom with the laptop on a windowsill, plugged into an AC converter, trying not to disturb Mrs. Phred. I don’t worry much about disturbed sleep patterns while traveling. Eventually the body always regains equilibrium. I do worry a little when I begin to make up random math problems and worry at them like a meth-crazed rat in a maze.
The weather has been pleasant, mixed rain and sun. We eat well, of course. Several antipastos, a liter or two of vino bianco, a pasta dish, a meat or fish dish, dessert, coffee, grappa, a lemon alcohol drink...the quality and variety is amazing.
Two days ago we went into the City of Sorrento and took a ferry to the Isle of Capri. We took the chair lift to the top of the island for a view of the surrounding cliffs and azure seas. Yesterday we drove along the rugged Amalfi coast and walked in the hillside city of Positano. Small farmers cultivate lemons and grapes everywhere in terraced small plots. The roads and alleys are insanely twisted and narrow. I think about knocking down the ancient buildings and walls and putting in some four-lanes…but it would be wrong
Today we will drive south to sleep in Tropea and stop along the way to see the ruins of ancient Paestrum, then move on to Sicily.
I wonder how many people in history have looked out over the Bay of Naples at 3 AM in May in the rain?
Here are a few pictures of Sorrento
http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/559163497zzNXMm
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Latest reply: May 24, 2007
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