Saturday 16 May 2009

A Brief Stay in Crete

Thursday 30 April 2009. Having gone onboard Ocean Village Two, we went first of all for a bite to eat and then to the top deck to have a look at our surroundings.

The coach transfer from the airport had taken no more than 20 minutes and from the top deck of the ship we could see the radar globe on the hilltop next to the airport. It's more or less right in the centre of the photo on the horizon.

In this view we see how the city seems to come to a full stop near the docks with the streets and high-rise buildings suddenly turning to scrub and rough roads but with a beautiful church just outside the city perimeter.

The airport was so close in fact that as aircraft took off, they roared over the ship, just commencing their turn as they passed overhead. This photo was taken with a telephoto lens but even so, the sight as they went over the ship was pretty spectacular!

The Minoan Line high-speed ferry Festos Palace was moored next to us all day. A steady stream of lorries were running up to unload supplies and goods.

Like the Festos Palace, Ocean Village Two must have turned around and reversed into her berth so as to be ables to sail straight out when the time comes. This is the view over her stern.

There wasn't really time to get off the ship and have a look around Heraklion so we explored the ship, found our cabin and unpacked and booked a meal in the La Luna restaurant. By the time we had done all that and had the meal and tested one or two bars onboard, the light was fading outside.

The Minoan Lines ferry next to us had lit its lights and as day faded to night the city came to life around us like a set of fairy lights coming on.

The evening's entertainment was provided by a whirling and side-stepping troupe of dancers and a mad mandolin maestro accompanied by a chap on a keyboard, to get us in the mood for the culture that we were to find over the next few days.

Tomorrow would be a day at sea as we made our way into the Adriatic Sea and up towards Croatia and Dubrovnik. We'll leave that for the next entry.

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