We arrived on the island of Heraklion in the morning; and as soon as they dock, they want you ready to leave the ship if you are scheduled for any excursions. There were two optional excursions we could sign up for and I did both. I know I will never get back over here and wanted to make the most of my time.

In the morning we visited the Minoan Palace of Knossos, the residence of King Minos. This is the site that supposedly housed the labyrinth, where the Minotaur was to have lived. There were a lot of rooms in this place, indicated by the “labyrinth” of passages, but the guide said the Minotaur was only a Greek legend and it really didn’t exist. It may have been one of the more “intact” as far as “ruins” go. It was a little easier to see the layout due to the restoration process.

We went back to the ship for lunch, but first we had a disembarkation talk we needed to listen to, so we were off to the Amphitheater for that. Then we were able to get some lunch. Father Zach then had Mass for us in one of the conference rooms. It’s a moving experience when a group of devoted followers join together to celebrate the Mass.

The last excursion was to the island of Santorini, so while we were doing all of that other “stuff,” the ship was sailing away to the land of blue domes! We visited the villages of Fira and Oia (pronounced EE-ah) and it was very beautiful there. We got very little time to shop and a little time to take pictures. I managed to do a little bit of both. When we first arrived, we went by cable car up the side of the cliff to the town of Fira. I believe at one time that was the only way to get to the top. We had a long walk up to the top of the village of Oia and the spectacular views from up there. I walked to the point where you were supposed to get pictures of the blue domes, but the line was too long. I took the shorter route and still got to capture some blue domes but prolly not as many. But had I stayed in the other line, I would have had to leave before I even got a picture because of the time constraints. It was a long walk back to the bus. . . Albeit all downhill, but rugged and many cobblestones. That has been the rule on this trip.

Fortunately once we got to the bus, the guide and driver took us the “other” way down the cliffs to the dock. This was much better. . . No walking, but the road was treacherous and full of 180° switchbacks with a 45’ bus. It was scary. This is the “new” way according to our guide!

Once on the dock, we were loaded into our tender and motored back to the ship. It was close to 9 p.m. but we managed to grab a bite to eat, then I went to bed.

Till next time. . .

Dale