My First Experience with Greek Culture
This summer, I went on a week-long cruise with Seabourn cruise lines to some of the gems of the Greek Isles. My mom, dad, and I visited Patmos, Paphos, Rhodes, Santorini, and Spetses for a day each and even got to see the famous city of Athens before and after the cruise. This vacation was exciting and eye-opening in many ways. I am so excited to share my thoughts with you all!
Patmos
Our very first and favorite stop was Patmos. We went on a tour with an excellent tour guide, who was originally from Italy and had his own Italian restaurant in the primary shopping center of the island. He showed us the Cave of Apocalypse, which is actually more of a grotto than a cave. This location is believed to be where John of Patmos received his visions recorded in the Book of Revelation. We all got to watch a service at the holy site, and it was more than beautiful. Subsequently, we arrived at the gorgeous Monastery of Saint John. We learned about its history, took many delightful pictures, and saw relics from B.C. and A.D. Here I bought a small bracelet as a souvenir and my parents purchased a few things as well.
Paphos
The following location we visited was the city of Paphos in Cyprus. In Paphos, we took a tour with a lovely lady who began the tour by taking us to Aphrodite’s Rock, where the Greek goddess was supposedly born. Next, we visited one of my favorite tourist attractions, the Kourion Ancient Amphitheatre. I got some of my most amazing pictures there, and it was definitely the best part of the excursion. Lastly, we took a little tour of a small plantation that provided us with fresh lemonade and fruit slices. This time, we learned about the agricultural history of Paphos, which I appreciated because it was much different than the history I learned from other tours in Greece.
Rhodes
Next up, we went to Rhodes. Here, we did not take a tour and instead gazed at the awe-inspiring Kastello, a famous medieval castle in the city of Rhodes, and explored it ourselves. In order to experience more of the modern culture of Rhodes, my parents and I spent most of the day exploring the shops, trying the exceptional food, and getting lost in the maze of medieval architecture.
Santorini
The next day, we arrived at the famous Santorini, the city I was the most excited to explore. We began the day with an early-morning hike on the Santorini Caldera, a well-known volcano. We left for the walk very early in the morning to get the whole thing to ourselves and our tour guide. We found that this was a great idea, and I would definitely recommend it to others! After the hike, we enjoyed a warm bath in the hot springs and a quick swim in the Aegean sea. Much later in the day, we once again enjoyed the modern culture of Santorini and wandered around the shops, bought souvenirs, and saw the iconic blue and white buildings.
Spetses
Once again, we did not have a tour planned on this day and instead enjoyed Spetses by ourselves. We briefly strolled around the city and bought a few souvenirs here and there, but as this was our last day of the cruise, we wanted to spend it on the ship as a family. So, in our final hours of vacation in Greece, we discussed all that we had seen and done and reveled in it before finally leaving for home.
To conclude this blog post, I just wanted to say how grateful I am to have seen a whole other part of the world during the times we are currently in. I am so lucky to have safely experienced such a beautiful and unique culture, and I hope to experience it again!
Patmos
Paphos
Rhodes
Santorini
