As we sail towards Piraeus we pass Hydra where the windmills are all visible. The glow behind is from Athen and we have a stunning display of stars.
Today is the start or cruise three, there are 380 customers leaving and 360 joining (the astute amongst you will therefore know there are going to be 10 empty cabins this journey as we were full last week.) However for us it’s just another port to wander around. We could pop into Athens but we have been many times and frankly in this heat it would be a long hard day. Instead we decide to take a walk back to a point we were at two weeks ago and the turn the opposite direction to explore fresh territory.
No surprise there is a statue of Neptune near the port entrance, then we head off to the southern coast, not far but Piraeus is like San Francisco and everywhere is hills no matter which direction one walks. We wander down to the posh marina where many superyachts are berthed, including Sunday which is quite something!
Then we head along the coastal route back towards Encore, taking the widest route possible. Only the naval academy stops us being coastal for the whole route, ironically just like in Venice last Sunday.
As we return we pass two large ships, Norwegian Getaway which has 4000 customers, and Virgin’s Resilient Lady with nearly 3000. Both these are at a newer dock which can cope with the huge vessels, we soon return to our baby in the next dock which is older and much smaller.
Soon we’re back onboard after a draining walk but well worth the explore of new areas. We’re on the lookout for Tenerife friends Jaqs & Mike who are joining us for our final week. We soon spot them and have a welcome lunch poolside.
Dinner tonight is booked into the new(ish) Solis restaurant but we grab a quick aperitif at Patio Bar first, and then a second at Solis Bar – it would be rude not to! We have a fabulous dinner, with so much to catch up it goes on until we’re almost thrown out!
