It’s breakfast time when we arrive in Siracusa, one of the most beautiful cities in Sicily and our last stop in the country. Sea Cloud is docked along the canal that divides the new city from the island of Ortigia, the original historic center of this powerful Greek colony of the past. Everybody is excited to go ashore to see the Greek theater, the Ear of Dionysus, the colorful market, and to stroll in Ortigia, where we can taste our last Italian gelatos.
Born and raised in Italy, photojournalist Massimo Bassano has published his work in National Geographic Traveler and on the National Geographic website, as well as in numerous European publications. He regularly leads photography and multimedia works...
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On this two-week voyage, we save the last day as an exploring day to adjust to the voyage thus far and the group interests to finish the trip with a crescendo. Since we’d had plenty of excellent sailing day and night across the Ionian Sea and the water was still too cool for an improvised beach day, we knew that this group would love a surprise stop at the stunning Greek rock of Monemvasia on the east side of the Peloponnesus. The offshore rock was inhabited in prehistoric times, and the medieval town of Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century. An arched bridge was built to connect it to the mainland in the late 19th century, but there are no roads or vehicles in the walled medieval city that is perched under the cliff face. No maps or guides are necessary, and we all enjoyed the morning winding through the labyrinthine streets and alleys. It was a stunning finale to a beautiful voyage.
I often wondered if the sailors of Homer’s day felt as we did when we sighted dry land after a long voyage? During breakfast we tied up to the small pier in the sleepy port of Pylos on the Peloponnesus peninsula after two fantastic days of sailing across the Ionian Sea. Under cloudless blue skies, we drove through sage-green olive groves surrounding the Bay of Navarino to the Mycenaean Palace of Nestor—Homer’s wise and benevolent king who features large in both the Iliad and the Odyssey . In the afternoon, after a sumptuous Greek buffet lunch on the Lido Deck, we climbed up to the spectacular Neokastro—a 16th-century Ottoman fortress that was modified and added to by the Venetians when they occupied the region in the 17th century. What a perfect introduction to Greece after our circumnavigation of Sicily.
Sea Cloud sailed all night long. The wind was perfect to keep us under sail even when the crew rested. It was a peaceful night with gentle, rocking movement and the constant symphony of the Ionian Sea against the body of the ship. Stars shone and all the guests slept in peace, maybe dreaming about all the beauty seen already. Temples, theaters, cathedrals, aristocratic palaces, and beautiful landscapes. Now that we are sailing to the origin of what we saw in Sicily, it’s time to learn something more about olive oil. More than an ingredient used in the kitchen, it’s a medicine. And it’s thanks to the Greeks who spread the technique of cultivation all over the region that olive trees are today the heroes of the Mediterranean landscape. We heard a lecture titled: “Olive Oil, the flame of Greek Gods.” It was used as lamp oil for centuries, to light up the temples in Greece and colonized territories. Only much later was it used as an ingredient for cooking. After lunch, historian Robyn Woodward gave a presentation on “Mycenaeans, The Age of Heroes” so we could learn something else about the Greek civilization before we landed in Pylos, on the west side of Peloponnese. It was a classic day at sea until Expedition Leader Tom asked if anyone wanted to help close the sails. We’d been watching the crew maintain the sails for days; now it was out turn to help.
