Lisbon, on the broad estuary of the Tagus River, was our port of departure, an interesting harbor which may have been founded by Phoenicians…with features pointed out by our Cruise Director, Peter, being announced from the bridge. Sailing on our four master-clipper, under simultaneous sail and motor, we headed for the Gulf of Cadiz.and Tangiers, Morroco. We visited the Kasbah, a market with shops selling rugs, leather goods and spices. Spices were displayed in large pharmaceutical-like jars. The owner explained the spice mixtures, their uses and passed around samples for a whiff…A band of four musicians entertained us in a salon, serving a strong mint tea and local pastries.
Sailing to Motril, Spain, we travelled from the shore to visit Granada and the Alhambra. Decorations of geometric, floral or Arabic script add a note of fantasy to the 600 year old Palace of the Sultans. The majestic castle is serene with its graceful arches, decorative tiles and open courtyards with fountains. Surrounding the palace are gorgeous gardens with trellises, sculptured bushes and colorful vines. The time there was too short~
Next we had a wonderful day at sea on the Mediterranean. Malcolm and I enjoyed daydreaming over the waters, which were a bit stormy, but not too rough. You could see from the expanse of looking left to right that the world is still round—It was enjoyable to be able to spend so much time reading as we sailed eastward.
On to Palma in the Balearic Islands of Spain where we drove though the beautiful landscape of Majorca, with mountains and coastline scenery to the village of Valldemosa. We visited a Majorcan mansion, now a museum displaying Mediterranean pottery, furniture and paintings. The gardens there were charming. We also entered the Carthusian monastery where Chopin and George Sand were permitted to spend some months in refuge from the villagers ~ due to the quarantine imposed by his tuberculosis. We strolled into the village where we enjoyed the local traditional hot chocolate, a ‘drink’ as thick as pudding, and biscotti type delicacies from a local pastry shop…
Port Mahon, Menorca, Spain, is a beautiful harbor with military installations and an isolation building for immigrants who had to be in quarantine for two weeks to determine if they carried contagious illness before entering the interior. We visited an archeological area with prehistoric remains of stone structures in a worshipful circle dating back to 2000 BC built by talaiotic people. These people also created cooling caves for the preservation of food.
The next day we were once again at sea, by now having experienced seas of yawing, pitching and rolling. I overheard several passengers say how much they enjoyed the mild rolling in bed at night…That night we had the Captain’s dinner, served with lobster and champagne. We were leaving Spanish waters now and heading toward Sicily.
Trapani on Sicily is an area where olive and almond trees make up the two main crops. We visited a mountain top village, Erice, a medieval town looking down to the circling sea. It had been inhabited by Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans in sequence. Later the Normans built three gates to the city. We visited the Venus Castle, gardens and medieval church. Our visit ended in a bakery where we sampled delicious, marzipan-like almond cookies with Marsala wine. As our ship left port, our cruise director played Vandalen’s “1492,” a dramatic departure as we sailed outward for another day at sea, heading toward Porto Empedocle, Sicily.
In land from the port, is Agrigente in which in the 5th century BC Greek settlers began building up this Valley of the Temples. Here we saw the ruins and restorations of 4 major brown stone temples, displaying their variety of structure., and gleaming in the sunlight. We saw sepulchures built into the wall where families would be buried in the same vault.
At this juncture we temporarily left Italian territory and sailed to Malta, where our ship is registered. We began touring Valetta in an outdoor colonnade of porticos overlooking the Sea in this present day capital. We walked to St. John’s cathedral where 12 nations compete for artistic splendor in the church’s interior. These inner chapels were built by the Knights of St. John, old time crusaders, carrying on their religious traditions. We saw beautiful floral wreaths on the doors of the houses, celebrating the annual flower festival. Next we visited the medieval city of Mdina with its incredible vista of the sea viewed from an extended wall about the cliff. Bakeries tempted us with their local pastries as we basked in the sunlight. A medieval day was being celebrated and we saw armored soldiers parading in metal helmets and chest plates.
Sailing eastward from Malta the Star Clipper encountered one of the most beautiful harbors of the Mediterranean ~ Syracuse. The ancient Corinthians of Greece thought so too, so in 734 B.C., they settled here and farmed the fertile terrain…grain, vines and olive trees flourished. By the 5th century B.C. the city of Syracuse was an enormously powerful city state in the classical Greek world. We saw the ruins of the largest remaining Greek theatre, cut out of rock, which could seat 15, 000 people. Today it hosts two Greek plays per summer, spoken in Italian ! We saw the great altar of Hiero II, longer than a football field, and an ampitheatre built by Romans for their bloody games. We entered fascinating caves where stone was mined for buildings in Syracuse. Later we visited the old portion of the city, built on Ortygia Island with its medieval and baroque palaces. Here we saw a 2nd century Doric temple which has been converted into a baroque cathedral of St. Lucia. We were there on the feast of St. Lucia so a procession was planned for later in the day, and the city inhabitants were dressed in their finest formal wear.
Entering Greek waters, we sailed to Katakolon, a seaside town in western Ilia, overlooking the Ionian Sea. We travelled by bus to Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games. It was not a town but a center for temples, monuments, altars, theatres and statues. At one time the Colossus of Zeus, stood here as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Our guide made the place come alive, with its aura of a democratic location where city states from all over Greece came in peace, to compete despite other rivalries and wars. Our guide explained the stories behind the art in the museum. This is a very special location, awe-inspiring with a hush across its fields and groves.
The next day was one of our four days at sea, leisurely and enjoyable with time to distill the wonderful sites we have visited. We love days at sea, and enjoy strolling around the decks, gazing into the waves, meditating on their horizons, large enough to see that the world is still round~ The ancients had to see that, too—
As we sailed into eastern Greek waters toward the large rock that is an island, Monemvasia, we saw its walled city distinctly outlined by wide medieval stone walls running up the Cliffside. This port was a stopover for ships headed to Venice or Constantinople. Taken ashore in tenders, we walked across the road connecting Monemvasia to the mainland. Then up a hill with cars parked outside the walled city. We entered the city gate into a charming medieval village with little shops, cafes and crooked streets. Then we came upon their open plaza in the center of the town, with a Greek church, with an attractive interior where the altar was screened off from the view of the body of the church ! Most of the passengers wanted to climb up the cliff to the church at the top of the mountain. We wended our way, zig-zag on the stony path upwards, once in a while looking over the town below and the surrounding sea. Half way up an old wooden door with metal covering led to a tunnel through the rock to the next level. The ruins of an old church stood there. Finally, we reached the beautiful Greek stone church of St. Sophia, perched at the top of the 1000 foot cliff. What a view of the wonderful green Greek waters. Amazing…Coming down was difficult along extensive patches of black polished stones. One of our passengers, a former fire chief, assisted me over this stretch. Back down at the bottom of the cliff we enjoyed an eggplant dish at a café, surrounded by cats wishing to taste our neighboring table’s fish !
Our ship was to go to Mykonos, but strong winds prohibited our entrance into the harbor, so we sailed on to Syros, a more typical Greek island with less of a focus on tourism. We saw a neighborhood outdoor market, the town hall and impressive, more modern churches. We found a free bus to take us around the town in a quick 20 minu te drive. That night I sang in the talent show on the Tropical deck. The song was “Unforgettable,” and I dedicated it to Malcolm.
Our last day was spent in Hydra [or Idra], another enchanting island without cars, where sweet donkeys carry people’s loads to their houses after they arrive by ship or ferry. The museum displays a whole room of charts from the middle ages, depicting Europe of each era from then until now. We climbed the fortifications and hiked uphill to a cove where some passengers were swimming. Then we strolled back to the village where we had treats of grilled octopus and local wine. Walking to the other side of the island we saw restaurants overlooking the sea. In several places we saw ladders on the side of the cliffs were people could swim out into the deep waters. This is a port where only a few anchorages are available because of the depth of the sea floor.
The passengers on the cruise were of interesting backgrounds in terms of countries – New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, USA, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. They were from a variety of professional and work-related experiences. The food was excellent, with a six course dinner every night. Seventy-five percent of the passengers had been on the Star Clipper before, so they enjoy sailing and the ambience of the ship. On the next to the last day, the crew took us out in tenders to take photographs of the ship. She certainly is a beauty ~ that Star Clipper.
There are a few pictures from the trip on the Photos – 2011 section of this site.
