Monday 28 July 2014

Day 4 - Katakolon Part A

The second full day of the cruise was the port of Katakolon (8am till 1pm) - from which its a 30-40 min drive to Olympia (or closer to an hour if you aren’t reading the road signs correctly and you miss the turn off).

This morning I woke up early again and got to watch the sun rise over the Aegean sea - magic!  



Speaking of magic, I also noticed that we were being followed by a very elegant looking ship that had been in port the day we left Venice. Disney Magic was due to dock at Katakolon an hour after us and I was fascinated to see it. I had glanced at it when I was planning our cruise - the timing and the departure port worked well for us - but there is no way I could have looked my three sons in the eye and told them that I went on a Disney cruise without them! 



We decided to have breakfast in the One Lounge. They put on a very nice continental buffet of breads, pastries, cereals, fruits, yogurt, cheeses and meats.  It was very adequate for our needs and quite delicious and fresh.



After this we returned to our cabin to get ready for our first proper port day and to enjoy watching the ship dock at Katakolon.  From our cabin I could see the officers on the bridge and was able to watch the ship being manoeuvred into position. It was fascinating!






As an aside, I read on the forums that the beaches at Katakolon are not suitable for swimming as they are full of jelly fish.  I made a mental note and moved on. Here in NZ we occasionally get jellyfish wash up onto our beaches too but its not a big deal and it doesn’t stop the swimmers.  There no point in being precious about it. 

Well let me tell you, the water in Katakolon is freaking FULL of jellyfish! Oh my goodness! I was flabbergasted!!!  No swimming for me!





Getting off the ship was a bit surreal. We enjoyed being led through the throngs by a butler and were off the ship very quickly. This was our first proper look at it from up close and on the outside and IT IS HUGE!!!!  Standing on the dock with this behemoth looming high above us really made us realise what a HUGE ship it is!  I felt entirely dwarfed which is unusual for me as I am only 5ft so I have a very very thick skin when it comes to feel dwarved!




But we didn’t have time to stop and admire it. We had booked a car with Avis and were on a mission to pick up the car and get on the road before the buses.  In retrospect this had its good points and its bad points.  The good point was that we got to Katakolon before the crowds. The bad point was that we could have followed a bus and not got temporarily mislaid. Whoops!

Anyway, it wasn’t too hard finding a place to park the car and we were soon traipsing down the longish roadway to the ancient site of Olympia. Buying our tickets was easy and we got them for the museum as well as the grounds.  




Many people said to me before the trip that Olympia is nice but Ephesus is much better.  Having now been to both I can agree with that, but still there was something magical about being there.  I did a Bachelor of Classical Studies many long long years ago and this site kept cropping up in the many papers I did - in literature, art, architecture, music and history.  Not that I remember a lot of it now, of course! It was also really interesting to see people working at further excavations in a roped off section near the entrance.  I wonder what more fascinating things there are to discover.



One disappointment, however, was that many of the informational boards/signs had been removed for maintenance so a lot of the time we were looking at a jumbled pile of ruins with no real insight on what it was or how it would have looked.  Perhaps from that perspective it would have been better to have joined a ship excursion or tour group.  

But all the tour groups we saw were big and most of the people on them looked deathly bored and like they were wishing they had stayed in bed  or relaxed by the pool with a cocktail instead. 


Can't believe we are here! So excited!!!

Entrance to the Olympic Stadium










Anyway, we had a lovely time wandering around in the glorious sun.  But after a while the sun got too much and so we decided to head to the museum before the tour groups came. By that time there were multiple different language groups from both the MSC Preziosa and the Disney Magic and the site was very busy.  Plus we had high hopes that the museum would be air conditioned!!!

I have to say, I LOVED the museum! It was spacious, well lit and clean. The displays were beautifully set out with plenty of information.  An hour raced by very quickly. As we left the empty lobby had filled up and people were two or three deep in front of all the exhibits. We were very glad we got in when we did and we really enjoyed our time there. The sense of history at both the archaeological site and the museum was incredible and we are so glad we decided to go ahead and do this and not just stay on the ship or in the port of Katakolon.















I absolutely adored these griffins! They wouldn't have looked at all out of place on a 16th century Paris cathedral!





After this we took a saunter down the main street and perused the wares. There were a LOT of shops and most of them had the same kind of stuff. I picked up a cute bracelet for me plus a little leather kitty pouch for my niece. We also got a tshirt for my eldest and a really nice set of olive wood salad tongs.  We were very limited for suitcase space and weight so that stopped me from going wild!  


Meanwhile my husband was clock-watching like a fiend and trying to hurry me along.  He was concerned about finding our way back and returning the car in time.  Again, from that perspective maybe a tour that included time for shopping would have been a lower stress option.

Anyway, we got back to the car and my husband positioned our car behind a departing bus and we followed it back to Katakolon.  We had one slightly hairy moment when the bus went through as a set of traffic lights turned red and my husband stopped and we lost sight of the bus!  It took us a wee while it find it again and we were both a bit anxious till we found ourselves passing familiar landmarks.  

The drive to and from Olympia was interesting. All around us were signs of an economy in nosedive.  I lost count of the number of multistoried buildings that were incomplete shells. And many many house had fallen into disrepair and been abandoned to the weeds.



It was such a relief to see this again!  There were a few anxious moments where I wasn't sure whether we had set off in the right direction or not!


We didn’t have time to look at the multitude of colourful shops along the main street but went straight to return the car.  After doing this we joined the pilgrimage back towards the port, stopping to admire the incredibly beautiful Disney Magic.  Looking at its graceful lines and classic design, I think I fell in love a little.  Since returning home I have learned that the Disney Magic was recently ‘reimagineered’ in a massive overhaul to update and maintain it.  It certainly was a beautiful looking ship!







Our ship was parked furtherest away from the port entrance - probably 5-8 mins walk.  I can’t say exactly because although we were getting perilously close to all aboard time, we could resist stopping to take a multitude of photos.  








Despite the delays though, we made up time by being able to jump queue at the first gangway where were were greeted by butlers and ushered aboard into the cool of the ship.  I don’t know how they did it - waiting out in the boiling sun in full suits!  I bet they were glad when everyone was on board and they could return to the air conditioned cool of the Yacht Club!

After returning to the ship we showered, changed and sauntered along the deck to La Palmeraie for lunch - stopping for strategical photos.  





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