Mediterranean Cruise - Malta, Sicily & Naples

MALTA

This is as close to Malta that we got. After hours of waiting for Malta health officials to clear entry into their country, we were denied entry and the ship left for the next port. 

The port was surrounded by high walls.

We had a beautiful morning waiting to enter Malta. We went to the Sports deck and played Mini Golf and relaxed while the ship broke out the free Margaritas. 

The weather for December 26th was so warm, they opened the pool roof.

As we left the port, we noticed the elevator from the port level up to the town of Valletta.

Our captain chose to take a scenic cruise around the Island of Malta.

Passing a few islands after leaving Malta.

SICILY (MESSINA), ITALY

This was our first port call in Italy. To enter Italy, we were required to show our Covid Vaccination cards as well a requirement that we could only tour with a guide. No independent exploring was permitted. We opted for an eight and a half hour Mt. Etna and Taormina Tour. The tour left three hours late due to Italy not accepting the results of the PCR and required all passengers to take an antigen test in addition.

Overlooking the city of Messina from our balcony.

The Bus took us to near the top of Mt. Etna, which is the largest active volcano in Europe.

Mt. Etna has erupted more than 130 times.

Just before dark we visited the cliff side town of Taormina.

We were supposed to see an ancient Roman Theater, but because of the Covid test delay the theater had closed for the day.

The Piazza del Duomo

The view from Taormina sits on a rocky terrace overlooking the Ionian Sea.

NAPLES

In the port of Naples, we had two tours. The four-hour early morning tour was to Pompeii, City of Beauty and Ruin.

Wall surrounding the 160-acre city of Pompeii

This large city was frozen in time when buried by 20 feet of ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.

Ampitheater

The amphitheater looks like the day it was buried.

The cobble-stone streets were empty. Tourism is way down in Europe.

There were even street signs at the intersections in this town of 12,000 people.

These are vats that held food in the marketplace. 

Roman Fast Food

The garden from a wealthy merchant's home.

The paint on the walls were preserved.

The Forum with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

Large store of artifacts recovered from under the ash.

As Pompeii was buried under many feet of material, bodies were encased in layers of hardened pumice and ash. Scientists found that their decayed corpses left voids. They injected plaster into the cavities, creating plaster casts of the impression in the ash.

Public Weight and Measure Table in the Marketplace

We saw a small section of Pompeii and then it was time to return to the ship. 

We took an afternoon tour of Scenic Naples. It seemed like we spent the afternoon in a traffic jam. We wish we could have spent the afternoon at Pompeii.

A medieval castle built in 1279.

Scenic overlook of the harbor.

Sun setting with view of Mount Vesuvius.

 

Mediterranean Cruise - Greece

After two years of Covid and lockdowns, we decided to take a cruise that we planned before the pandemic started. We knew that the trip would present all types of challenges, but we felt the risk and extra overhead were worth it. We embarked on a 15-day Viking Ocean Cruise called "Mediterranean Antiquities", leaving home on December 21st and returning on January 7th.

Our planned trip included a stop in Ephesus, Turkey. But because of geo-political Covid restrictions, we were rerouted to Santorini, Greece. Also, the stop in Crete, Greece, was exchanged for a stop in Malta, because of the Christmas day schedule.

We flew out of the McAllen, Texas, airport into Houston, where we boarded a Lufthansa Air flight to Frankfort, Germany, then continued on to Athens, Greece.

On the long ten-hour overnight flight, we upgraded to Business Class so we could try to sleep in the lay-down seats. One of the perks of Business Class is access to the Business Lounge at the Houston Airport. This included a buffet style meal and a relaxing place to await our flight.

On Wednesday, December 22, we boarded the Viking Venus, a new 960 passenger ocean cruise ship just put into service in June of 2021. Using vouchers from a previously canceled cruise, we upgraded to a Penthouse Veranda stateroom. This gave us more space and additional amenities. We found out later that there were only 320 passengers on board when we sailed from Athens.

The Chef decorated the lobby of the Venus with gingerbread houses for Christmas. Because of Covid, we had daily PCR tests, health screening and we were required to wear a contact tracing device (shown above), as well as a mask.

Athens

Since we had toured Athens thoroughly on our own in 2006, we opted to limit our shore visit with only the three and a half hour Included Panoramic Athens Excursion, allowing some time to rest after experiencing an eight-hour time change.

National Archaeological Museum

Bronze Statue of Zeus dating to 460 BC 

Hadrian's Arch dated 131 AD with view of Acropolis through the center. 

From here we could catch the shuttle bus back to the ship docked at Piraeus.

Parliament Building at Syntagma (Constitution) Square

We watched the changing of the Uniformed Presidential Guards or the "Evzones" at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament Building.

Seemed a little chilly for a South Texas Boy.

Walking around the labyrinth of cobble-stone lanes in the Plaka District we saw many Christmas treats for sale at the bakeries.

Tower of the Winds within the Agora of Ancient Athens

Cathedral of Athens

Byzantine Church built in 1050 AD in the Plaka

Santorini, Greece

On Christmas eve morning we arrived at Santorini (Thira), Greece. We also spent several days on this beautiful island in 2006. We took the included three-and-a-half-hour bus tour around the island. 

Early morning view of Thira perched on the 1300-foot volcano rim as viewed from our stateroom balcony.

We traveled to the island via a tender boat.

After our bus tour around the island, we were able to reexplore Oia. 

This return to Oia brought back some wonderful memories.

The steep winding streets are only suitable for pedestrians. 

We remembered this windmill was close to

the "Cave House" we rented 16 years ago.

So, we went on a hunt.

WE FOUND IT. Esperas House Hotel.

Sure enough everything was just how we left it. 

Just 175 stair steps down to our "Cave House."

We came across these doors along the edge of the cliff. 

This one lead to a restaurant just two stories below, perched on the cliff. 

The quick way down is the cable car to the port for Tender pickup.

Heading back to the "Mother Ship."

Christmas Day at Sea.