At Sea on the Aegean
Poseidon, the god of the sea and Zeus, the god of wind and weather, decided to give us all some variety today, as we sailed the Aegean Sea. From beautiful, storm-tossed seas to mercurial skies and (at some points) torrential rain, we had the full variety of what springtime in the Aegean can bring.
Our day at sea could not have come at a better time, however, as we all reveled in the time to watch the sails being set, to relax, and to learn a bit more about the Greek culture and Greek language.
This morning, Robyn reminded us of the Greek history that we each had learned many years ago, with a talk touching on architecture, mythology, Greeks through the ages, and the fundamentals of archaeology. Throughout the middle of the day, we watched our expert crew clue up the sails several times when we were required to change course and then set them again once we were back on our original track. We also noted the fickle nature of the Gods, who today blessed us with abundant rain and dark clouds for part of our sail.
In the afternoon, we learned basic Greek from Sophia and Eleni and had a wonderful introduction to the history of the Greek language. This was followed by expertly prepared crepes by our pastry chef, Daniel, which were made to each and every one of our particular specifications.
The highlights of the day, however, continued well into the evening. Tom introduced us to the magnificent caldera, which has become the island of Santorini. We entered just before sunset and all of the iconic, whitewashed houses on the precipitous edge were illuminated by the fading light. We gathered for a barbecue dinner on the promenade deck and then moved, en masse, to the lido bar. The famous film, “Around Cape Horn” began the evening’s focus on maritime tradition, which was quickly followed by the famous “Sea Cloud Shanty Singers.”
Evening fell slowly inside the caldera and the lights of the main town, Fira, began to twinkle as our evening drew to a close. It was wonderful to have a day to catch our breath before beginning the next phase of our explorations, in the fantastic island of Santorini.
