A lava affair with Greece
crowds. This is where I had dinner at Nice & Easy, which serves up authentic local food and superb seafood dishes. Returning to the 1,664-passenger ship, I had a nightcap of Skinos sour, a cocktail made with a spirit only produced in Greece.
The next day, as I stretched out on the sun lounger on the top deck with the strains of a jazz band playing in the bar beneath me and a seagull eyeing my plate of calamari, I reminisced about that day’s visit to Knossos, the ancient Cretan site which was home to the Minoan civilization and the mythical minotaur. It’s thought to be Europe’s oldest settled city.
I marvelled at the King’s throne room with the original throne preserved intact, and the colourful wall murals. There is an ancient peace in this Bronze Age settlement disturbed only by the piercing cries of the resident peacocks.
In fact, it’s a sense of calm only superseded by my arrival at Patmos.
Sitting at the top of this island is the Monastery of St John, founded in 1088. Scenic alleyways wind upwards to arrive at the door of this Byzantine place of worship.
Frescoes from several periods adorn the walls and there is a museum displaying religious treasures, manuscripts and medieval textiles.
There is even an El Greco painting in pride of place.
That evening, I tucked into a barbecue back on the top deck of the ship as it pulled up anchor to return to the port of Piraeus.
As I finished the final morsels of this sumptuous feast, I reflected on a gloriously sunny three-day trip that was a feast for all the senses... including the taste buds.
caravaNS, luxury cottageS
pool, club right Next to the Sea