A trip to Mt. Pelion, Greece's earliest civilization!

This morning when we woke up we were docked in Volos, Greece. Our excursion did not leave until 10am so we had time to enjoy breakfast and get organized. The room is not that big and we probably brought too much stuff (as always) so I spend a lot of time reorganizing. 

Getting to our excursions is very easy on this ship - we don't have to meet up in the theater and get stickers on our shirts and get called to exit the ship - you just get off at your required time and head to the correct bus number as per your excursion ticket. 

Our trip today took us first for a very quick visit to the Archaeological Museum of Volos. It seems every town in Greece has their own museum. The visit was quite quick and our guide had to narrate most of it as it's all in Greek!!  Some English wording but not many. But after this we were on our way to Mt. Pelion. What an amazing ride up the mountain (in a full size bus) - hairpin turns with cars coming the other direction. The driver would sound his horn on certain turns - he knew what he was doing. And as we edged ever closer to our destination the view became more and more incredible.

Side note: we think this road to Mt. Pelion might have been used in a James Bond movie car chase scene!

Even better, when we reached our destination there must have been 20 full size buses already there - parked on the sides of the road heading down, and lots and lots of people wandering around. The tourists are back!!

We then left the bus and proceeded to walk up the rest of the way - a small winding roadway (the occasional car would pass us heading up or down). Shops and eateries along the way. Small bed and breakfasts or small hotels advertising availability. Flowers blooming along balconies or through the crevices between the stone walls. Lots and lots of wisteria blooming along the road. And on our left side this amazing view of the harbor below where our ship was docked.

Once reaching this town of Makrinitsa, we were left on our own. We needed a bite to eat. After trying one eatery, where no waiter would acknowledge our presence (we later learned that there was a 35 minute wait just to order), we left and found a bakery - bought what looked like a nice cookie for each of us (turned out to be gingerbread with raisins). Further down the road we then had some cookies and cream ice cream. Guess that was our lunch.

Mt. Pelion was the homeland of Chiron the Centaur, tutor of mythological heroes such as Achilles and Hercules. And if you remember, a Centaur was half man - half horse. We were told that this area is now the getaway spot for famous Greek actors and actresses. We think the higher you live on Mt. Pelion, the richer you are.

Back to the ship by 2:30pm and spent the rest of the afternoon out on deck soaking up some sun. Beautiful breeze up on Mt. Pelion but quite warm when we arrived back at the ship.

We may just eat a light dinner tonight in what's called the World Cafe - the restaurant they open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with lots of options.

Pictures of our ship, counterweights and spools from the museum, drinking cups from a local bar, view from Mt. Pelion. The Greeks were amazingly ahead of their time. 

More tomorrow...