I didn't wake up early enough in the morning to see the Corinth Canal in 99, but I did see it the last time I worked on a ship in this area in 98, which is when I took the photos posted here. Only small cruise ships can fit through this ancient waterway.

The little tugboat that could

I don't remember many details about this unique place, but I believe it dates back to Biblical times - however I could be wrong. I do know that it is an amazing feat to take a cruise ship through this incredibly narrow passage. You can almost reach out and touch the rocky sides of the canal from the decks of the ship. A navigational mistake of a foot or two could be devastating to the ship's hull!

Reach out and touch....the side of the canal

GALAXIDHI (visited 8/98 and 10/99; written circa 6/00)

Man's best friends

Galaxidhi is a quiet little Greek resort town. During my 99 visit I decided to climb up the rocky, wooded hill just next to where the ships tenders came in. It was a park area with some old ruins near the top. I'm pretty sure that these cave-like structures, made out of rock outcroppings, were little shrines or chapels in previous times. Anyway, it was fun to hike up the hill, and luckily I befriended two local canines who became my guides and dare I say "companions" for the next couple of hours. It felt like they were leading me safely up and down the hill - it was as if they took on the role of being my protectors while I was visiting Galaxidhi (I found out later that there are many poisonous snakes in the area).

My own personal Greek postcard experience

The dogs seemed to be enjoying my company, and I was definitely grateful for their companionship. When we came back down the hill, it was time to part ways. As an offering of thanks to them, I went and bought some dog food from a local store. When I came back to the spot that I met them at, mysteriously they were not around. Finally, one of them saw me from a distance, and I called him over. He absolutely devoured his can of food. I was feeling bad that the other dog had not returned because it was time for me to head back to the ship. Just then, he came barrelling out of nowhere, and nearly knocked me to the ground when he saw that I had food. I have never seen any living creature eat food the way this dog ate his food. He snorted down the entire can of food in one breath! It was amazing. He must have been HUN-GRY!

MYKONOS, GREECE (visited 10/99; written circa 6/00)

Do they have chiropractors for donkeys?

The island of Mykonos exemplifies the essence of Meditteranean culture for me. Every association about Greece I've ever had from books or movies is evident on this little island. You have undoubtedly seen tourist photos of Greece - they almost always show Mykonos. Luckily we were there during the off season, when there was a slight chill in the air, so it wasn't jam-packed with tourists. Many people who run the local businesses close up shop and leave the island during the non-peak times of year.

Three cheers for the white, white, and blue

All of the houses and buildings in Mykonos are painted white (and most have a blue trim), giving off an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. There is a gently sloping hill dotted with these cool little white houses, and you can explore many narrow winding walkways that weave all through the village. It's easy to become disoriented and lose your way, but not for long because the island is not that big. The whole feeling is a little unreal. The only time I can remember seeing such an aesthetic consistency in a place was when I was a kid running around in a theme park!

And never again will I go a sail-ing

Being such a unique destination, Mykonos attracts a lot of tourists, and consequently the prices are very high. There were, however, a couple of reasonably priced restaraunts, and I got to have some great vegetarian food like dolmas (rice wrapped in grape leaves), and Greek salad (juicy olives and feta cheese!) with my entertainer friends from the ship Lindsay Hamilton (a fantastic Broadway style singer from England), Johnny Gorman (look out Las Vegas), and the quirky Australian pianist/comedian Robert Keane. Would I go back to Mykonos on my own? Probably not, mostly due to the high popularity (and prices) of the place, but I was glad that I had the chance to see this visually pleasing island.

VOLOS, GREECE (visited 10/99; written circa 6/00)

The main attraction here was a trip to an ancient but active monastery up in the hill country. Unfortunately I was unable to go to the monastery on either one of our two visits here, because the musicians were scheduled to play at ridiculous "welcome back" events masterminded by the ship's hotel manager. This is where we stood out on the pier with our little preppy outfits, smiled, and played "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" for two minutes as the passengers get off the bus, get handed a glass of champagne, and walk back onto the ship. Most of the passengers were so burnt out from the trip (they be OLD folks) that they didn't even notice that there was a band playing! It's one of those cruise ship gig idiosynchratic duties that can be totally humiliating to so-called "serious" musicians.

One cool thing I remember about Volos is that while walking around the town I stumbled into a Greek Orthodox Church that had the most wonderful fragrance emanating from it. It was very peaceful inside. I improvised sign language with the Greek priest there to let him know that I really liked the incense they were using. When he understood what I was trying to convey, he made a motion for me to wait, and then returned with a handful of the incense, which looked like little crystal pellets, and handed it to me. He refused to accept any payment for it. This type of incense is burned in a special container using charcoal, and it smells very sweet. That priest really made my day.

NAVPLION, GREECE (visited 10/99; written circa 6/00)

We were only here for a few hours. I had time to take a taxi all the way up to the top of a very high hill, where there was a really cool old fort like structure, made out of stones. I think I remember that the fort had a prison and a church, amongst other rooms - it was a huge complex. The inhabitants could see any ships approaching for miles around from that vantage point, so strategically it was a great location for defense.

During my visit there were three young Eastern European guys acting kind of rowdy up there, and there weren't many other people around. These guys were goofing around on a very narrow ledge that obviously wasn't meant for walking on, and they made me nervous. For some reason they decided to turn their attention towards me, asking me where I was from. I told them America, not knowing that they were Serbians, a group America was opposing at the time. To my surprise, they not only told me they were Serbians, but actually said that they liked Americans - "Hey, Bill Clinton, we love you!" they shouted enthusiastically. I was shocked, and I never really could tell if they were being sarcastic or not.

Amazingly, in all of my travels, I don't remember ever running into anyone with anti American sentiment - with the exception of some of the western European crew members on the cruise ships! I think the so-called "Eurotrash" crew members become disgruntled after having to serve so many wealthy Americans - that's the only segment of the American population they are familiar with, and therefore they form their prejudices from their own ignorance and inexperience. The funny thing is many of them harbor a secret desire to live in the USA.

Anyway, everything was cool with the Serbs. Instead of hiring another taxi, I decided to walk down a very steep ancient staircase back to sea level and the ship. It was a lot steeper than I anticipated; it took about 30 minutes to go all the way down, and my legs were literally shaking from fatigue by the time I got to the bottom.

PIRAEUS / ATHENS, GREECE (visited 10/99; written circa 6/00)

Is this the "real" Parthenon, or just the "idea" Parthenon? Hmmm, let's ask Plato.....

Piraeus is the nearest port city to Athens, about 45 minutes away by car. The incredible history of the area becomes evident very quickly upon arrival. There are structures from 500, 1000, even 2000 years ago or older intermingled with more modern buildings.

The temple for the goddess named Diana, who later became a "Knicks dancer"

Visiting the Acropolis is an amazing experience, although on any given day thousands of tourists feel the same way - the place is mobbed. There's the Parthenon, a nice museum, and the Temple of Diana at the top, and an incredible Roman ampitheater down below. From what I understand most of the philosophical debates did not take place up on the Acropolis. In fact, most of those lofty and impassioned discussions about the meaning of existence featuring the likes of Socrates and Plato happened in the marketplace at the bottom of the hill.

Athens covers a huge area, and looking out on the city from the peak of the Acropolis is astounding. It spreads out in each direction as far as the eye can see. You definitely need more than an afternoon, which is what I had, to see even a small portion of what Athens has to offer. History reveals itself everywhere. Even during the construction of the subway system, major archeological remains are being discovered and unearthed. Apparently the completion of the subway system is years behind schedule as a result. Some of the finds are actually on display in the subway stations themselves!

Another cool attraction is the (first?) Olympic stadium. It's tiny by today's standards - about as big as a large high school stadium. It's fun to stand there and imagine what it was like to be there all those years ago.

RHODES, GREECE (visited 11/99; written circa 6/00)

The wall of this fortress stretches around the entire old city area - amazing!

This is yet another location with unbelievable historical remains. The "old city" area is protected within a massive fortified wall. I don't remember any historical details about the place, but obviously they were attacked enough times to warrant building this humongous fortification. It must have taken many years to build it. This is a fun place to visit with lots of cool little shops and restaraunts, and not nearly as swamped with tourists as Athens.

Although you can't see it in this photo, these two fisherman had a bucket of freshly caught fish directly behind them. I watched as a dog tried to slowly sneak up from behind the fisherman and steal the fish, but alas, he was unsuccessful - busted!

AGHIOS NIKOLAOS, CRETE, GREECE (visited 11/99; written circa 6/00)

The island of Crete is quaint and romantic, and while still being a tourist hotspot, it's more off the beaten track and is a little more mellow than some of the other Greek destinations I visited. The patron saint of the island is St. Nicholas, and his image is everywhere you turn. Both of the times I visited the island I had fantastic meals at a great little seaside restaraunt called "Faros". Greek vegetarian at its best!