Friday, September 17, 2010

Acropolis & Corinth........We're in Athens




Greek Acropolis & Corinth


We arrived in Athens as the sun broke the horizon. We got going earlier than usual so we didn’t miss breakfast. The joke on the elevators is “Heavens forbid we miss a meal! I had my usual two eggs over easy with toast, bacon and sausage. After breakfast we went back to the room, collected our day’s essentials: cameras, water, tickets, Euros, MA’s lipstick, etc. and headed to the Explorer’s Lounge where we met up with the rest of our tour group, destination the Acropolis, a lunch at a seaside hotel, the ancient city of Corinth and a photo stop at the Corinth Canal.

We boarded a really nice motor coach outside the docks and after a 45 minute ride through Athens we arrived at the Acropolis and started up the stairs to the top of the hill. They said it would be 180 steps, but whose counting!

Along the way we met a nice old guy all dressed up in traditional Greek clothing. He offered to pose for a photo for one Euro. We quickly produced the right coin and he let us take three photos. Despite hundreds of tourists at this Greek monument this morning somehow I managed to get most of them out of the photos. We walked around, taking in the history of the site, and finally headed back down the hill to find our bus, Red #4.



The next stop was the Kalamaki Beach Hotel and lunch. We arrived, got off the bus and headed for the buffet that had been prepared just for our group. It doesn’t take me long to figure out what to do. I grabbed a plate, made sure I had a little of everything and found us a table. As it turns out we had joined a couple from San Diego, CA, Capt. Todd Cheney and wife Kristin. He is a US Army Chaplin currently stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY and he will be deployed to Afghanistan next February. He is a Southern Baptist minister and went to seminary with a pastor from Second Baptist, our church in Houston. We enjoyed their company for lunch and I later took a photo of them on the coastline where the Apostle Paul landed near Corinth. All you prayer warriors out there can put Pastor Todd on your prayer lists along with Kristin who has to come into Houston on a regular basis and get checked out at MD Anderson. They have three young children.

Our next stop was the ancient city of Corinth, a few miles away. We did a walking tour of Corinth and found the place where the Apostle Paul was to have been put on trial. It’s called a “Tetra”. The walking tour was enjoyable and we ended in time to stop at the Corinth Canal linking the Crimean Sea with the Aegean Sea. Later I checked out everything we had seen with my pocket New Testament, it was right on!



Our bus ride back to the port was delayed because of about a hundred protesting truck drivers. They blocked the freeway and the traffic came to a standstill. I think some cops arrived and got them moved to a single lane and we made it back to the ship just in time to enjoy the sunset over the hills of Athens. The planet Venus has come out over the horizon, I think that means it’s time to join our dinner companions. Later! WW

2 comments:

  1. Wayne/MA,

    Thanks again for the update. I am running late again to check your daily update.

    As you said, you did a good job of capturing these historic places without the tourists all around. It must be a treat to walk the streets where Paul walked - what a blessing. Still looks like we don't have to worry about you and MA going hungry.

    Looking forward to the next update.

    Have a God blessed day - dave b.

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