Towards the Black Sea

Tuesday 23rd
Still making good time and looking good coming through the Greek Islands.  We eventually got tied up at Piraeus, the port for Athens, just after 11.00.  Although our scheduled meeting place for our excursion to Athens was not until midday,  we went down early and were the first there for our overall group.  Funny, we were Green18 again.  A bit of a shambles, as our group was called and we disembarked and then had to board a port shuttle to the terminal.  As this was a shared shuttle, not all our group got on the first, or the second, so the terminal was soon filled with various groups trying to gather together.

Eventually we boarded our bus and headed out of the port. As we were doing Athens (on our own), our guide was not allowed to give " touristy" information, but we were lucky that the traffic was so bad that we took the scenic route along the waterfront, which gave us some great sights.  We also got to go past Parliament at 1.00 in time for the mini changing of the guard. 

Once again we were dropped off on the outskirts of the Plaka (shopping) and we headed off.  Remarkably we found ourselves in the same shop as last time and purchased the table clothes we wanted.  We also did a little other shopping, but being happy with our purchases we headed back towards the cooler cafe area.

We sat at this cafe/restaurant/taverna, which occupied a whole side street.  Had a "sandwich" which turned out to be a dinner plate sized meal on bread and a drink.  It was relaxing and certainly no one was in a hurry - including us!  Vivian was delighted to be serenaded by the in-house guitar player.  We had a Korean couple beside us, who it turned out were on their honeymoon.  Little English, but recognised Samsung!!! There were an American family in front of us, with 3 older (20s) children.  After their meal they children stood up and proceeded too smash their plates on the ground. The staff were unconcerned and later, after they'd gone, swept up the remains.  I can only assume that there is an option somewhere on the menu.

It is some what amusing to see the TV reports on the protests against the Government's proposed tax changes etc. with Greece's indebtedness crisis coming to a head.  We saw absolutely nothing of this and the people appeared very happy in going about their day. Never believe all that you see. 

It was a pretty quick visit, but everyone we have spoken to seems happy.  The weather was perfect in the high 20s which is much better than last time.  Once back on the ship we had a little rest and away we sailed. Some lovely views on our way out to Kusadasi.  As we arrive early tomorrow we decided to have an early night - what's new?

Wednesday 24th
Beat the 6.00 alarm by about 10 minutes and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over Kusadasi as we came in.  We were first into port and sailed straight into our berth.  We were joined by 2 other ships later in the morning (they had to reverse in). At least people on our ship going to Ephesus, would have had a less crowded time, as they were well ahead. 

We just walked straight into town, at the end of the pier.  We walked along the waterfront to the old fort, but it was closed, so retraced our steps and started the markets.  There are a number of markets and they were all very good and clean.  We were impressed and even the shopkeepers were polite and generally cheerful.

By 10.00 it was time for a coffee, so we opted for an iced coffee from a place in the middle of one of the squares.  It was genuine coffee, as there were bits of coffee throughout. €9 and I gave the change to the owners son, who was doing the waiter thing & cleaning the tables.  He was only about 8 or 9 and was so cute.  Off to another market and the thing is that while you can get lost by going off to side alleys, the town is such that you always can find the port!  While leather seems to be the preferred commodity, we bought a cotton shirt & a blouse.  The quality is excellent but there was little room for bargaining and I think that that is true when buying branded goods, rather than the run of the mill stuff.

Once again,a short visit and we were back on board about 11.30 and we were on our way to Istanbul before 1.00. Fortunately we don't arrive until 10.00, so gives a chance for a leisurely rising & breakfast.  It is interesting that we had sort of got used to all those sea days and now we are entering a period which is pretty port intensive we need to change all our little patterns.  However Vivian still managed bridge this afternoon!!! Skipped the show again.

Thursday 25th
A mid morning arrival in Istanbul and yet another calm and cooler morning.  A bit of haze (smog) hung over the city, but was pleasant for our planned activity for the day, cruising the Bosphorus to the Black Sea.  It turned out to be easier said than done, particularly when one does not speak Turkish. We were pointed in the right direction at the port gate and that was the easy part.  It was only some 5 minutes walk past the university to the ferry ports, but we couldn't find one for Bosphorus.  Asked one gentleman, who did not speak English and he directed us back the way we came.  Didn't feel happy about that, so tried another young person, when a perfectly spoken man arrived and said "it is complicated" but gave us perfect directions just a bit down the road.

We bought our tickets - 20 Turkish Lira (approx $12) for the 11.15 sailing, which is the only one, so well timed. A French couple (who it turned out were not a couple), he is a Professor, were trying to make sense of the options, so we talked them into the full return trip! Having done that, an Australian couple from the ship also arrived and we too talked them into our trip.  Looking for a commission here!  It was a great trip up the Bosphorus and the sights were magnificent.  So many huge palaces etc., many of which are now restaurants. We were also surprised that all the eating places seemed really busy (for a Thursday lunchtime).  All in all mainly expensive housing along the water, all with private jetties, boats & swimming pool steps to bath directly in the water.

There are 2 very large suspension bridges, one of which is the largest in ?? - can't remember 😂.  As we approached the Black Sea, they are building a third one, right at the end of the Bosphorus.  Forgot to mention that he trip up was on the left hand (Europe side), and when we reached the end we went across to the other (Asia) side, where we stopped for lunch at a place called Anadolu Kavagi. This is a cute village, far removed from the touristy towns, apart from the number of waterside restaurants, as this is a ferry & river boat destination.  There were only about 60 on our boat, but there was also s bigger one in too, which provably had a couple of hundred.  Apart from that, it was just the locals.

Had a delicious lunch with Paddy & his wife from Townsville - retired Australian Army.  After lunch we went through "town" while Paddy had a haircut!!  The roads are all being rebuilt and they were laying paving by hand.  The stones felt like granite and there were thousands of them!  We saw numerous police and military personnel and its wasn't until later that we realised that a lot of the end of this side of the Bosphorus is a military zone, particularly a Naval base.  Anyway, as we were sitting along the waterfront waiting for our return boat at 3.30, this young girl/woman, who we had seen on our boat comes up and asks if she can take our photo, as we looked so good 😇  It turns out that she is from Kazakhstan.  A delightful girl and explained her exotic/Asiatic looks.  We agreed and she took the photo and has subsequently emailed it to us.

Certainly the eastern side on the return journey appeared to have more Mosques and was not quite as grand, until we got closer to Istanbul. I would recommend this trip to anyone returning to Istanbul and particularly to those not interested in Mosques or markets!!  We got back to our ship just after 5.00 and waited for dinner until our usual time, but were pleased to hit the sack even earlier than normal.  Tomorrow is another "up early" morning as we are visiting Anzac Cove, with a memorial service at 8.30.