Our visit to Katakolon

Katakolon, Greece

The day began strangely. We had breakfast in the dining room, met a couple of very nice people and then returned to our room. We were having a late departure from the ship so there was no need to hurry. This is a tender port and we were on an excursion, a calm situation.

We looked out from the balcony and we could see 3 or 4 tenders bouncing in the water below us. 

Then and announcement came over the PA saying the tenders would be delayed because of needing to put pontoons on the tenders because of the sea conditions. That made absolutely no sense to us but who are we to argue with the captain. They told the people who were not on excursions to wait in other areas of the ship and to not go to Michaelangelo. They did not tell the people on excursions what they should do so we went down to go to the Princess Theatre at the time stated on our tickets. What a nightmare!! There must have been a thousand people in line. It took us at least 20 minutes to get to the front, get our stickers and take a seat. Then we sat there for over an hour. We were supposed to be called at 11:05 and is was well after twelve before our excursion group left the theatre.

We did get there . That is the part of ocean cruising that I do not like. Lines and tenders are a pain. I was glad that we were on a princess tour and not a private one. We knew the bus would wait and the excursion would happen whenever we got there.

We were fortunate in that we were able to be at the front of the line when the first bus filled and so we had our choice of seats on the second bus. It is nice to get a seat near the front with lots of glass area in the window.

Our Guide’s name was Helen. She spoke very good English and her accent was such that she was easy to understand

As we drove to Olympia she told us about the country side and the history of the area. It took about a half hour to get to Olympia.

The ruins were more substantial that I expected. It was quite hot by then and a lot of the walking was up and down hill. I am glad it was not much further or I would not have made it. They need more benches.

To end the tour we were at the race track where the first races had been held in 776BC. We could see the original starting line and the finish line. Helen informed us that anyone who wanted to run it or walk it would receive an Olympic metal at the end of their race. Of course that was too good an opportunity to pass up so Ken and I walked it and we have metals to show for our efforts. ( the metals are gold colored plastic, not gold, just in case you were wondering. So now you can say you know 2 Olympic Gold Metalists.

We trecked back to the bus and took our ride back to the dock and the tenders. The line was quite long so we decided to go to the near by beach and have a closer look at the Mediterranean  Sea. We walked in the water and so now we can say we were in not just on the Mediterranean.

We were late and did not have lunch. It was so close to our dinner time that we share a piece of fruit and got ready for our evening meal. I was too tired to even change my clothes. I just changed my shoes and added a shawl.

Dinner was good and fun as usual. I had another TAPAS styled meal. After dinner we just relaxed afor a few minutes. We came back here to got a little bottle of brandy.

The production show was called Soul Music and it repeated some of the tunes from the earlier show called Motor City. It was good and high energy but we prefer the original. We sat next to a very nice couple from the Redding California area. They share our opinion of Donald Trump. Quite refreshing!!

After the show we went to the International café for our special coffee. I was pleased to note that they accepted our old card without hesitation. We shared our table with 2 lovely ladies and had a grand visit.

By now it was time to call it a night.

Tomorrow we are in Mykonos!!!