Constanta, Romania

A stop in the seaside city of Constanta, with a beautiful promenade, Roman ruins that reminded us of Tunis, and a Saturday afternoon festival with barbecue, libations, music and beer. And perfect weather!

 

Burgas, Bulgaria

We sailed through the Bosphorus and entered the Black Sea, on which border Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Turkey. We docked in Burgas, Bulgaria and spent the day in a rural village visiting women farmers who have been working the land since the 1930s. Then a quick visit to the port village of Sozopol and back to the ship. We next sail to Romania but we'll be back in Bulgaria twice more while we're in the Black Sea.

 

Istanbul, Turkey

As you know, we don't get to stop for two days, as originally planned. Add Turkey to Algeria and Morocco (... and North Korea!) on the list of countries we've had to skip for security reasons. <Sigh> But we did pass through the Bosphorus Strait, a river that bisects Istanbul and is the place where Europe and Asia meet.

Below are pictures of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (or so we are told). Matt can tell me for sure, as he's been inside both mosques, but this is as close as we can get.

 

Limnos, Greece

Another picturesque island on a gorgeous, clear day. We did some shopping in the small port town of Myrina, and in the afternoon I hiked up to the old fortress from where I took this photo.

Now we're having a day at sea as we sail from the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea and our ports of call in Bulgaria and Romania. The cruise line felt it was too risky to stop in Turkey, so we are going to sail past Istanbul later tonight. I hope to get some pictures from the top deck, at the least <sigh>.

 

Skyros, Greece

Another beautiful town on the Greek island Skyros. Known for a Byzantine castle that protected the island ages ago, which also affords a nice view.

Since shipboard internet is slow & expensive I'm keeping the posts and photos to a minimum.

 

Mykonos, Greece

A shot of our clipper ship, and a few scenes of the gorgeous island (and port town) of Mykonos.

Debb bought a sundress from the lovely Lucas.

 

Last dinner in Athens

We had a lovely dinner tonight at a quaint restaurant housed in a 200-year-old building (new by Greek standards) high up on a hill.

The weather here is so perfect. Mild, no humidity ... California without the traffic and taxes! Well, maybe the taxes here ... and maybe the traffic too <sigh>.

Debb enjoys some Greek baklava for dessert.

"How was it?" "Fabulous!"

Still, we *had* to finish with some gelato!