Our First Cruise - Wednesday 12/05/2010 Athens

To go with the threat of volcanic ash stopping us flying back to the UK, not a threat that bothered us as we were more than willing to spend another week at sea if the price was right, there was also trouble in Greece. There had been rioting in the streets in protest over the financial situation. We had waited to see if the ship would dock in Piraeus and, further, if the trips to Athens were cancelled. In fact Ocean Village split the difference by arriving in Piraeus as scheduled but the independent traveller trip to Athens was cancelled. This was no problem to us as we had booked an escorted tour of Athens.
We travelled on a coach from the port into Athens and our first port of call was the new Olympic stadium where the Olympic flame is given to new Olympic hosts having been relayed from the ancient Olympic stadium where the flame is lit.
From the stadium we could look up and see the Acropolis on the highest point of the city. Apart from the grandeur of the new stadium it had modern facilities and we were urged to take advantage of the toilets before moving onto the Acropolis. Many of our party did so and soon there was a long queue at both facilities but much longer for the Ladies’ than the Men’s, I emerged from one of the two cubicles and wondered if I was the one in error as there were several German ladies inside our sanctum, clearly the whole order of civilization had broken down. Julia not known for her rebellious nature, applauded their initiative, and soon one queue was female and the other mixed.
Our coach which had dropped us off some 100 yards down the street from the stadium had to move forward as each bus ahead moved off; the driver was now in a state of apprehension as he was at the front of the line and didn’t have his full complement of ladies.
When we moved off, all complete, we went through the centre of the city and had several points of interest pointed out to us notably the Hadrian’s Arch and the Parliament building which had featured in the unrest. We were also shown our final meeting point if we got separated at any point.
The bus let us off at the foot of the Acropolis and we walked up the 80 plus steps to reach the amazing view of the Parthenon. It was so impressive as was the knowledge of our guide another real enthusiast, her most striking fact, in my view, was that the Parthenon which looks so square and straight actually has no straight lines in its design and if it did have the building would look curved, I cannot explain this and I couldn’t see it even when see told us what to look at!
We wandered around the plateau and the views up there and then down onto the city were incredible. We then made our way down to the base of the Acropolis where our guide took us to Hadrian’s Arch and turned us loose to shop or whatever.
Julia, the intrepid, took control of our party of two and we set off towards the Parliament building when the guard changes every hour and is therefore a major tourist attraction. We passed an excavated roman villa which had been found when the underground railway was modernized. We walked down streets that still bore the scars of the riots, a large bank had been burnt out and everywhere there were boarded up or cracked windows. As we approached the Parliamentary building we heard the noise of unrest and, sure enough, there was a noisy demonstration of about 100 people yelling slogans at the front of the building. Riot police were poised to either side, ready top step in if the crowd rushed the guards, and the protesters were being filmed for future reference. We decided to remain in range and wait for the changing of the guard on the hour.
To describe the guards I will quote Wickapedia again:
The Evzones, is the name of several historical elite light infantry and mountain units of the Greek Army. Today, it refers to the members of the Presidential Guard, an elite ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Hellenic Parliament and the Presidential Mansion. The Evzones are also known, colloquially, as Tsoliades.
Though the Presidential Guard is a predominantly ceremonial unit, all Evzones are volunteers drawn from the Hellenic Army's Infantry, Artillery and Armoured Corps. Prospective Evzones are usually identified at the Army Recruit Training Centres during Basic Training; there is a minimum height requirement of 1.86 meters to join, and the soldier must serve a minimum of 6 months with an operational Army unit before beginning Evzone training.
The unit is famous around the world for its unique traditional uniform, which has evolved from the clothes worn by the klephts who fought the Ottoman (Turkish) occupation of Greece. The most visible item of this uniform is the fustanella, a kilt-like garment. Their proven valour and peculiar dress turned them into a popular image for the Greek soldier, especially among foreigners.
Even in these slightly strained circumstances the guards are very tolerant of tourists and I photographed Julia next to an unblinking sentry. While doing this we were watched closely by a modern uniformed soldier whose role is to protect the ceremonial solder from unwanted attention and to mop his brow after every stately maneuver.
Just as we were becoming blasé about the protesters they lost patience with their lack of impact and decided to block the main road behind them by standing still on the crossing. Greek drivers are emotional folk and sounded their horns and voiced their opinions about the situation. The riot police looked slightly more interested than before but returned to apathy when the protesters returned to the pavement. From there they contented themselves with hurling abuse at the building and anyone who appeared at the windows.
Suddenly there was peace, as the relief guards arrived, there was much marching and posing with feet high in the air almost touching their colleague’s boot also poised, then the new guards took up station and those they replaced marched away accompanied by applause from the tourists and protesters alike.
We retreated towards our assigned meeting place and had a cooling beverage in a pavement restaurant, not the cheapest but certainly welcome.
There was no stop off at an ouzo distillery or such so we were back on the ship by 4.00pm and being English we took tea.
In the evening we sandwiched our dinner between a film, “Blind Side” and an excellent comedian, Simon Fox, in the Connexions bar.
“Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock was by far our favourite film of the cruise and I urge anyone who enjoys sports movies to see it. I refuse to say too much but at one point Sandra Bullock’s husband says, “Who would have believed that we’d have a black son before we knew a Democrat!”
Another full day!