After a day in camp it was off to our Cruise Ship - Rhapsody of the Seas - I capitalised Cruise Ship because the ship is so big and beautiful and impressive. Having never been on a cruise ship before, we were somewhat overwhelmed by the splendour, size and opportunities available. Of course they have so many ways of getting ever more money from you. And all prices are in US dollars, so it is easy to think it is cheaper than it is. An example is laundry - we did three kgs of washing in Hong Kong for $8. In Vietnam it cost $4. Here a small plastic bag - deliberately flimsy - costs $50 NZ. Hello hand-basin!
Before we got on the ship we had to sellotape labels to our bags. A guy asked if he could use ours and we agreed. Turns out he was a San Franciscan native A San Fran Giants fan chris@apple.com - when it is just your first name, it means you are big in the company He designed Apple AirPods and Apple HomePod - two huge products
Being a huge SF Giants Fan and a huge Apple Fan it was just the greatest honour ever to give someone some sellotape. The first point of business was a Lifeboat Drill. We were given long, loud and frequent reminders about the details and importance of this exercise. Everyone was to attend - immediately the signal was given. By the way, our Lifeboat was number 13 - how auspicious is that! Not a worry though for a non-Tridekaphobe. Jacq and I were one of the very first there. We were given a run down of everything, then many more arrived and we were given the run down again. It then became apparent many were not with us as required. They began calling out numbers of cabins - 2610, 3514 etc. There were a lot of numbers being called, and a fair bit of frustration evident, so I called out BINGO pretty loudly and it lightened the mood. Eventually - emphasis on that word - everyone arrived (with no signs of embarrassment at keeping everyone else waiting so long).
This happened again on one of the excursions. One lady was very late to the bus - we couldn’t leave without her. As excursions cost a lot of Euros, and were all fixed times, it was unfair on everyone. Eventually she got on board - with no apologies. We had a stop off with strict instructions to be back to the bus at a set time. Yet again she was really late. No apology though. At the next stop exactly the same thing happened - still no one said a word. At the last stop off we had an hour of free time. If you wanted to stay longer you had to tell the organiser and then arrange your own taxi back to port. As you will have guessed, she did not turn up at the set time and had said nothing. Our guide informed us he had not heard from her and he would not be waiting to either. He told the driver to set off and everyone quietly clapped.
On the cruise we stopped of first in Croatia - in Split - and travelled to Omis, where we did a river-boat cruise. It was beautiful. A morning tea of huge slices of heavy cheeses, hard bread, bitter black olives and proschetto was to be washed down with rough red wine. I am sorry Mrs Pasalic, but I passed. Good local, honest fare but I couldn’t handle it. The area is famous for pirates - so I felt at home as my ancestors back in the 1500s turned from farming to pirating as a more profitable venture. On the river cruise a boat pulled alongside us and the skipper climbed aboard our boat. I asked if he was one of those local pirates the area was famous for as our skipper hopped off and into the empty boat alongside. Back in Split we visited the old palace of the emperor and lots of little markets and stalls. History is everywhere - the pavers we walked on during our guided tour were laid two thousand years ago and are as solid and sound as ever.
On cruise day two we visited Corfu. The cruise advertised a bus to the town for 12 Euro. We headed out from the terminal and found an open-top, hop on hop off, tour guide provided, tourist bus that took us not just to town but all over the island, stopping where we wanted and then back to the terminal - all for only $18 Euro. Chalk a win to us on that as it was brilliant. It was going to cost us $60 US for a cruise excursion that was to be a day at the beach but that was cancelled. We did not regret missing that one bit.
On cruise day three we visited Santorini. Oh my! I have always dreamed of the white houses on Greek beaches - and we were there! Angeline Jolie worked on Tomb Raider here, fell in love with the island, and bought a three million dollar mansion here. It would be worth twice that now.
Santorini has only had electricity for 35 years. Electricity is generated via diesel generators - dirty, expensive, and the machinery is expensively breaking down. This is a real worry for the people on the island - power is very expensive, power cuts are becoming more regular and taxes are higher here than anywhere in Greece. They are even differentiated by region in Sardinia, with some regions taxed even higher than the rest of the island. Other unusual points to note - none of the properties on Santorini have an address. No street numbers at all. If a parcel or letter arrives for you, the Post Office ring you and you come and pick it up from them. If you buy a property with no house on it, you have to have the foundation of the house built within four years of purchase. If not they take the land back.
The island has had many huge volcanic eruptions - one that shaded the earth’s atmosphere for some time about three and a half thousand years ago. These eruptions provided a modicum of topsoil - albeit rich in minerals - and so grape growing became an option. Because the island has very little rainfall - but high humidity - they grow the grapes close to the ground with no support structures. This allows the grapes to gain the dew moisture in the evenings and so survive. With little water there is opportunity for the sweet varieties and the island is famous for this. Other crops are similarly sweet - cucumbers,, squash, tomatoes, persimmon etc. Wine is a huge part of the economy - and tourism.
When we were there the traffic was a major challenge on the narrow, winding mountain roads - especially for the big tour buses. There were three cruise ships in when we went - the following day there would be six. How people or traffic would be able to move was beyond me. We ate fresh caught fish in a little restaurant on a cliff overlooking the white houses and the bay. It was beyond beautiful. The houses are white because of government decree - lately this has been relaxed to include earth colours. The effect is beautiful - as picture postcards attest.
The island is famous for donkeys - taking tourists up and down the mountain. It seems exploitive and we declined. Any negatives mentioned are to be taken with lots of grains of salt - this whole trip was the greatest pleasure and privilege - and are simply to add points of contrast, interest and/or comic relief. On that point - smoking. It is hard to believe how prevalent smoking is in so many of the places we have visited - especially Hong Kong and Europe. It is so sad. There were cigarette butts everywhere in Santorini for example. We took a cable car down the mountain and a tender boat back to the cruise ship - no capitals as we were getting used to it . The shows they put on at night are impressive and we sat in luxurious arm chairs to watch them. Having the World Cup on TV in the bars, poolside and in our cabin - all at easily accessible times was an added bonus. Typically we caught a show then retired to our cabin and watched the late game on TV.
The following day we visited Costa Costa beach in Crete. This found us living a life we only saw in the movies - cabanas on the beach front, waited on with drinks, sand-brushers, masseuses and music playing peacefully in the background. It felt wrong to be honest - just too privileged.
Random tip for travellers - Jacq purchased a fan with a rechargeable lithium battery for about $12 in Vietnam. It was a life-saver for her - used every day. I honestly did not mind the heat at all, but it was a bit too hot for her at times. On the topic of heat, the temperature in Santorini reaches as high as 55 degrees Celsius at its hottest - though in the volcanic craters it reaches 80 degrees. | 
