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Mon Oct 16 Mykonos (Greece): Pure enchantment – theidyllic, picture post card Greek island: Miniature buildings in whitestucco, little shops, vines & gardens, those signature windmills, theseafront, sail boats & those ink colored Aegean waters. And a perfectday: Powder blue skies, billowy clouds & warmish temperaturesof almost 80 degrees.Early travels: But my first visit to Greece &the eastern Mediterranean was actually back in August 1971, arriving from Veniceon an old tub, disguised as a cruise ship (the 300-passenger Carina ofChandris Cruises), that was then over 40 yrs old, primitive, very basic anduncomfortably un-air conditioned in the otherwise sweltering Mediterraneansummertime. We stopped in the Greek Isles & also inTito’s Yugoslavia, but later quickly hopped a train at Alexandria for thedelights, charms, intrigues of Cairo. It seemed more mysteriousback then, almost foggy (The Return of the Mummy!) butthat’s my imagination, and back then it was still certainly more exotic on thetravel map. Lots of memories & impressions, but I doremember us ordering a so-called “American club sandwich” at the Cairo SheratonHotel (we had 2 days ashore to/from Alexandria). A robed waiterlater wheeled it in on a trolley, lifted the silver lid but then --- to ourgreat surprise --- there were chicken feathers left on the meat! I alsorecall an eccentrically colorful Mexican, Cesar Rubio, and who made hats in hissalon on East 57th St back in Manhattan for the likes of Mrs Astorand the Duchess of Windsor, but who became locked in the lavatory on the trainarriving back at Alexandria & our little ship. As we leftthe train & were leaving the station, we heard loud screams of “assassin,assassin, assassin!” When the otherwise empty train was slowlyhuffing & puffing and backing out for some side track, he had managed topry open the lavatory window & out poked his head topped by gleaming, welllacquered, much-too-black hair. There was a great commotion --- policerunning about, train people scrambling and then the loud screeches of railwaybreaks --- but good old Cesar was saved. We were young & full of exciting adventure andbeginning our collections of visits to faraway places. The creakingCarina fitted the bill – then just about the only "cruiseship" visiting Egypt. My travel mate was in the high-end travelbusiness in Manhattan and so previously we had several days' stays at the veryfancy Savoy in London (we were in the so-called Elizabeth Taylor suite, whichwas huge and overlooked the Thames), then to the equally grand Crillon in Paris and then to the gilded Savoia Majestic inMilan. But the ship (at Venice) was a 180-degree turn: Bunkbed cabins with an exposed single light bulb & empty sacks for pillows ongraying, rather course linens, all but primitive lavatories & showers downthe hall and waiters (in soiled shirts and hired, we were told, as bartenders)that seemed to drop more food than they served. The breakfast eggswere done (soaked and often swimming) in strong Greek olive oil, teatime wasnothing more than open tins of plain biscuits, we had some kind of fish, okra& fried potatoes (swimming as well in olive oil) for 14 nights andthe nightly entertainment was a single performer: the robust captainsinging opera, Greek opera of course. And when time for bed, we'd stopeach and every night and for several of the wee hours to pick-up fresh waterand so those cherished breezes through our constantly opened porthole all butdisappeared. The cabin quickly became a steam bath. In contrast, agroup of older, very proper German & Austrian ladies took to the top deckeach evening and, wearing very tidy pajamas & robes, slept in deckchairs. Later, several of them marched off to their embassy, protestingthat they were misled by the cruise line and "demanded" that they beflown home. When we finally got to Venice, we all but ran to the airportand flew off, returning to London. When a friend booked his Greek isles cruise in thefollowing summer, on another Chandris ship, the Fiorita (formerly aBritish Rail cross-channel ferry), he was comforted to know that it was theCompany's "newest cruise ship". Well, upon arrival (alsoat Venice), he was shown to his cabin, but was promptly sure there was somemistake. He was shown to the lowest deck and felt it must be a crewcabin (tiny, metal walls, another exposed light bulb in the ceiling and toppedby a broken sink). But a hurried Chandris steward was quick to saythat there was no mistake – that cramped, inside cabin down on C Deck wasindeed his assigned room. Afterward and over the years, I've had many returnvisits to Greece and those Aegean islands – on ships such as the Jupiter,Atlantis, Eugenio C, Achille Lauro & Romanza. And I alsoremember July 1998 when we spent three weeks hopping from one Royal OlympicCruises' ship to another: the Olympic Countess (the former CunardCountess) to the Islands and to Turkey, to Kusadasi & Istanbul; then after 7 days and back at Piraeus, we switched over to the little StellaMaris II (only 150 passengers) to different stops (like Itea, Skiathos& Heraklion) and also to Israel; and then back to Piraeus and finallyswitching to the Triton (once the Cunard Adventurer) for yetanother trip round those beautiful Aegean isles.But interesting how almost all the oncepopular & busy Greek cruise lines have now gone: Sun Line,Epirotiki, Typaldos, Efthymiadis, K Lines, Chandris, etc. Spicedwith ongoing troubles in the Middle East, the old ships of these companies grewolder & older and then once affordable Greek crews became less & lessaffordable. One by one they vanished. These days, onlyLouis Cruise Lines remains. Somehow, they have endured. ​photo: Achille Lauro & Stella Oceanis,
​1988​