Ágios Nikólaos

‍‍During most of the night I could hear engine noise.  I put in earplugs, but they didn't help much.  I am hoping I will sleep better tonight. After a breakfast of yogurt and granola (the guy serving me was kind enough to pick out the chocolate pictures in the granola) some fruit and coffee, I did a few laps around the boat, but it wasn't a lot of distance.  I figured I would need to get up earlier so I would I have time to get more laps in, but I got in plenty of walking on the tour today.  We took the tender (the boat that takes us from the ship to the port in the town we are visiting) to the bus waiting for us in Milos.  Kelly was our local guide and she was very good. 

Our first stop was for a walking tour of the city of Plaka (evidently there are cities named Plaka on several of the Greek islands).  We made a stop at a little shop for coffee and a watermelon tart.  The watermelon tart was wonderful. It seems that watermelon is a favorite fruit in Greece.  I had a Greek coffee (similar to Turkish coffee).  It was very strong and very good.  Then we were given some free time to walk around.  Then it was back to the bus to go to see Sarakinko Beach. The beach has a lot of caves and crashing waves.  There were a considerable number of people on the beach, but most of them seemed to be there just to be seen.  We had to walk gingerly down to the beach and back up. 

Then we headed to a restaurant at Paleochori Beach for lunch. On the bus Michael took our lunch orders.  The choices were lamb, pork or a vegetarian alternative.  John and I chose lamb. We sat with another couple from Tauck.  It was nice getting to know some of the passengers better.  First we got some crispy pita bread and some toppings (olive spread, tzatiki, and a creamy fish spread.  All were delicious.  John only liked the fish spread.   The next "course" was a watermelon salad with cucumbers and onions.  That "course" was followed by a basket of bread, which was followed by a basket of zucchini chips and a dipping sauce.  At that point I was feeling stuffed and then our main dishes came out (I had totally forgotten there was a main dish).  The lamb and potatoes were very good.  The lamb was so tender and fell off the bone.  The last course was dessert.  It was a custard like dish.  They said it was similar to a napolian, but with no chocolate.  When we finished lunch, John and I headed out to walk off our lunch.  After our walk we got back on the bus and headed back to the town to get the tender.  John and I took another walk to look at the beach in the town.  The tenders were scheduled to leave the dock at 15 minutes past the hour and 45 minutes past the hour.   However we got to the dock at 3:10 pm and the next tender didn't come to the dock until 4:15 pm.  It was no big deal and we got ice tea while we waited. 

We we got back on the ship we showered and dressed for dinner and headed down to the lounge to learn about our trip for tomorrow and then up to the Open deck on deck 4 for a Welcome by the Captain and am introduction to the head staff.  Three sisters in our group invited us to join them, their mother and another couple (not on the Tauck Tour) for dinner.  We got the Captain's Table.  John and my food selections today were better than most of our choices last night. I picked the traditional Greek Bean Soup and John got a fried risotto ball for appetizers.  For our main course, I got shrimp and chorizo over couscous.  John and mostly everyone else got the Beef Wellington.  They were both very good.  The sisters had chocolate souffle as a dessert, but John chose a fruit trifle and I chose fruit tart.  They were both very good. 

I really enjoyed having dinner with the the sisters.  We all laughed a lot.  Tomorrow there will be a BBQ on the Open deck and we are all getting together again for the dinner.   I can't wait. 

Tomorrow we need to be on the outside upper decks around 6:30 or 7 pm as we sail into the Caldera .  It is supposed to be a sight not to be missed.  John is even going to get up to see it!

So it is off to bed for me so I can be ready for our tour of Santorini.Read more