Subscribe in a readerAcross the Med
The Acropolis
We’ve been cruisin! A week and half through the Med had us pulling into a new port every other day.
From Kusadasi we arrived in Pireaus the next day. Our little group caught the subway to the Acropolis which was dispairingly being renovated. The Parthenon, the 2500 year old ‘must see’ of Athens, was worthwhile for its sense of history and power and for the amazing dominating views it affords, but not really for its present condition. Stu and I spent little time walking the old lanes of Plaqa beneath the Acropolis and instead caught up with some Greek friends of his who drove us around the Aegean coast to a great little seafood restaurant near the temple of Poseidon. The day’s excursions were great and plenty of red wine gave it a nice after glow.
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Inside Saint Johns cathedral
I knew nearly nothing of Malta before we docked there a day later. It’s a country only half the size of Awaji island near Kobe, but in the Middle Ages it was of prime importantance. The Knights of St John were an order tasked with protecting the interests of the Christian faith against the Ottamon’s. The church of St John is the most stunningly detailed church I have ever seen. Full stop. The church really defies description of the equisite craftsmanship in the marble floors, arched ceilings and lavishly decorated walls. But a few special bits of interest were the memento mouri skull imagery and Michaelangelo da Caravaggio’s famous ‘Beheading of St John’, the only work he ever signed.
The eerie medieval lanes of Medina
We took a yellow Bedford bus out to the Blue Grotto and bought tickets for a run-a-bout boat to take us into the caves. The boat ride was a bit of a rip, so I bought a snorkle and mask and had a swim. Steve, Kik, Sarah and I then made the call to head out to the Old City of Medina which was the site The Great Seige that nearly destroyed the order. It was easy to get lost in the maze of ghostly lanes draped in golden street light. We came upon Bachus restaurant and learned that it was the site of the amoury built by Grand Master Fra Martino de Redin in 1557. It was too good a chance to pass up and we dined in luxury and history. Steve-o and I insisted on been called Grand Master Roger and Grand Master Steve for the duration of the dinner.
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Pizza and Wine for breakfast with my roomy, J
Rome wasn’t built in a day but there we were trying to see it in one. From the Roma Terminus we stepped out of the heavily tagged Rome underground to the impact of the Colloseum right outside, the grand site of gladiator battles and hunting bloodbaths and my boyhood wonder. So, 5 of us started the morning here with great pizza and red wine (why not?) right under it. Only Gaby and I went inside and waited through an inefficient ticketing system and a disorientating audio guide. But inside the Colloseum itself is well worth the look if you bring your imagination, despite having being pillaged for building materials for more than 1000 years. From here Gabs and I made our way to The Vatican. Hundreds were lined up around St Peters square and so we joined them, eventually passing through the metal detectors and into the revered seat of Catholic power. I’m not really sure what to say.. The emotion of believers around you in St Peters Basilica was moving, but something about the size and scale was domineering. The beauty of St Johns in Malta was oddly richer than the Vatican, I thought. My feeling inside the Basilica was just that I was very small. Gaby and I had just enough time to visit the poorly signposted Trevi Fountain, grab one more delicious gelato, and finish off the day with an ordinary pasta. Then it was back on the boat to Barcelona.
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Japanese Barca fans at the Nou Camp
The Peace Boat soccer team talked me into joining them on their Barcelona tour. First stop, was the Nou Camp stadium, home of Barca FC. The 90000 seat stadium is impressive and it must really go off when a game is being played. Another time, I hope. We passed through the locker rooms, media center, pitch side, and Barca’s own museum. Thierry Henry, come back to Arsenal and bring back that 2006 Champions League trophy with you. We then headed to an astroturf pitch and played a full 90 minutes against a well drilled local team. We got our butts kicked. They were good lads though and we hung out together in a Tapas restaurant afterwards.
Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, still under construction
Risa and I still had time in the day to catch the subway to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, his famous cathedral, still unfinished after more than 100 years. Unfortunately, it was near closing time so we couldn’t go to the upper levels, so instead we headed to the Gothic Quarter in the center of the city. It was Friday night and Barcelona was in thrawl of a 4 day weekend. We were swept along with the crowds, down the side streets and alleys, lost in the maze on our way to the gothic Cathedral. We passed street performers, ate well and met up with some of the other GET teachers before Kisen Limito. 2 had had their bags stolen from beside their feet that day. Zanen!
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Back on the boat we started classes again after the long layoff. But it was only 3 more days until we were docking again, this time off the coast of Africa. Our Peace Boat contracts don’t allow us to drive so we couldn’t scour the more remote parts of the island. But we headed an hour south by bus to Maspalomas which promised a natural reserve of sand dunes. As we neared Maspalomas we scrunched our noses at the resort developments that pushed kilometres back. The main beach was plastered with uniform umbrellas, like it was the Costa Del Sol or something. We had a swim here which was alright and then headed to the beautiful sand dune reserve we’d seen in the photos. The reality? A smutty haven for aging nudists. I guess if I come back it’ll be to open an off shore bank account.
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The carefree week we had in Europe was a fantastic break from classes. Now we’re heading across the Atlantic with new guests from Cuba and Venezuela lecturing about issues in their countries which seem misrepresented in western media. I’ll be able to see Cuba for myself in just a few days. We’ve had another Cuban salsa god onboard so my body is ready to move.
Our gang of GET teachers and CC’s are pretty close and the room parties have been kicking off recently. We brought out the Sheisha’s again for an Arab night, and in middle of it all went had a stonking Halloween party. The other day we had a sports day, which I can say is nothing like sports as you know it - think games with chopsticks, 3 legs, eggs and spoons. It was all very nice actually. Our team was the Lions, and so we had tails. Now in any other country the other teams wouldn’t be able to resist stealing your tails, but not here. Points to everyone for fair play, and big ups to my Lions Tug-of-war team who ate the other team. The mighty mighty yellow Lions won overall all and we were rewarded with a beer tower in Namihei.
I’m getting into the Latino spirit!