Archives for July 6, 2009

Oceania’s Ship Nautica was built in 2000 and recently refurbished in 2007. With a 1.7:1 guests to staff ratio (684 guests and 400 staff) and 9 passenger decks there is ample space and attention to detail for even the most discerning cruiser.

If you have travelled with Oceania Cruises before on Regatta or Insignia then you will be well acquainted with the style and layout of these fantastic vessels. Nautica resembles the other two ships in every way. Once aboard the ship following an exceptionally warm welcome, the International staff are on hand to cater for your every need.

The 12 day voyage embarked from Athens and made a stop in Crete before cruising the Ionian Sea and onto Dubrovnik, Croatia. In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The walled city is beautiful to walk around and admire the architecture. From Dubrovnik we sailed on to Corfu, Greece and the following day onto Katakolon where we disembarked for a shore excursion to Olympia – the original site of the Olympics in 776BC. We were able to walk around the impressive ruins, including the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hera. The Temple of Hera is the location where the torch of the Olympic flame is lit, by focusing the rays of the sun.

The next islands on the itinerary were Santorini and Mykonos. Both very attractive islands with many blue domed chapels and churches, busy streets with lots of blue balconies and an abundance of tempting jewellery shops – if you haggle you can get a great deal.

Delos and Rhodes were the next islands we stopped at; Rhodes has some wonderful castles and palaces to visit. Kusadarsi, Turkey is the penultimate port on our journey and a short ride from the ship takes you to Ephesus, an unbelievable site of past civilisation with stunning Roman architecture. The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BCE), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Our final destination was Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. There is an abundance of attractions to visit in this wonderful city; however the National Mosque of Turkey, more commonly known as the Blue Mosque, because of the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interiors, is worth seeing, as is Topkapi Palace. The spice market, grand bazaar Turkey’s largest and oldest covered market (with over 4,000 shops) are the best place to barter for a bargain.

Unfortunately the trip comes to an end all too quickly – 12 days has flown by!

In addition to the many shore excursions in each port there is a full program of activities on-board during the day and additionally evening entertainment for all guests to enjoy. Cabins are extremely comfortable and food delicious at every eatery.

This was once again a fantastic trip on Oceania Cruises, so much so that our reservations have already been made for next years cruise to the Caribbean – watch this space for future reports.

In Greek mythology, Poseidon is said to have created the island by striking Corfu with his trident, so that he and wife Amphitrite could have some peace and quiet. Now Di & Andrew explore this quaint island.

Despite an excruciatingly early start it was wonderful to find ourselves back in Paxos after what must have been 28 years.

Our journey involved a flight to Corfu followed by a 2 ½ hour ferry to Gaios, the picturesque main port and town on the tiny island of Paxos. We sailed south down the island past Lakka, a wonderful natural sailing harbour, tiny Loggos which once had a thriving soap factory and finally into the new port of Gaios.

Our villa, just a few minutes drive from the harbour, had wonderful views from the terraces and elliptic pool over the sea to mainland Greece. This was also a great vantage point to watch passing ships, ferries and sailing boats and in the evening the twinkling lights of the local fishing boats and the sweeping rays from the lighthouse on the tiny island of Panayia at the mouth of Gaios Harbour.

Gaios has some of the best preserved Venetian buildings in Ionian Greece, though sadly the original British governors house is in dire need of restoring (Britain ruled the island for some 50 years in the 19th Century). Since our last visit very little had changed in the town: the ouzo bars in the main square were still the meeting place for the locals but now joined by the many sailing flotillas that visit the island as well as luxury motor yachts from all over Europe.

From just the one bus that took the locals and tourists around the island on the narrow roads, there are now three and five taxis! The bus is still king of the road and so it is best to plan your journey when you know the buses are not around: the roads are so narrow and in many places with stone walls either side or deep ditches so with little room to manoeuvre!

The stony/shingly beaches are best on the east and southern sides of the island with dramatic cliffs on the west. We found a couple of bays with tavernas where we enjoyed traditional greek lunches of deep fried calamari, aubergines and courgettes with greek salad with huge slices of delicious feta cheese: all washed down with a Mythos(the local beer) or a tin carafe of the local rose wine.

This is a popular island for walking, especially in the spring and autumn when the sun is at its weakest: distances are not great but the terrain of hills, terraces and cliffs make an interesting challenge. A perfect island for the escapist but with a dusting of chic shops and villas.

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