The candle is pure magic. As the last shades of orange, pink and purple fade, the lights of southern Italy come on, flashing on small boats crossing the harbor and on heavy ferries connecting the tip of Italy with Sicily, just three miles across the Strait. of Messina. The gleaming villages climb the mountains on either side of the gap. The shores, dotted with shops, restaurants and piers, sparkle.
Standing on my balcony, aperitif in hand, I watch Italy fade away. Next stop: Greece, somewhere out there, on the other side of the Ionian Sea. But first? Dinner in the conveniently located restaurant on the ground floor.
Sailing through the Mediterranean is a thing of dreams. For my 15-day trip from Barcelona to Athens on board the Viking sea, the list of ports of call reads like a romance, each of the stops sparks the imagination: Monaco, Rome, Naples, Crete, Ephesus. This is the kind of itinerary that generally draws veteran cruisers like myself (I’ve sailed on about 40 different ships) – folks who graduated from sweet short voyages to these ambitious voyages to various more distant countries.
But as I speak to those on board the little ship, I notice a curious thing: a preponderance of first-time cruise ships and people who have never set foot in Europe until now, some citing a sense of Carpe Diem urgency caused by the pandemic.
Laura Lynn McCurry, for example, traveled from Oregon with a large group of family and friends. This kind of trip had been on her bucket list for a long time, and when her mother recovered from the illness last year, they agreed to make it happen. Like right now. “We decided that, given this crazy world, we needed to move on with this dream,” he says, noting that it is his first trip to Europe. “When Mom’s health started to fail, this cruise gave us hope. And now here we are! “
I hear similar stories throughout the ship, whose passengers are generally younger and more adventurous than other voyages I have taken. And everyone is delighted with practically every place we go.
On a shore excursion to Avignon, the tour group listens with great attention to a guide as we pass through the Palais des Papes, walk through the splendor of medieval Gothic, and learn how six popes ruled in the 14th century here, when this small town in The south of France became the seat of Western Christianity.
At the glamorous James Bond Monte Carlo Casino, where we have to spend € 17 and abide by a strict dress code just for the privilege of walking past the slot machines and gaming tables under dripping chandeliers, everyone is happy to lose $ 20. (or $ 50) in red or black on roulette. In Pisa, I join all the people who take shameless photos, with big smiles while pretending to hold or push down the Leaning Tower of the same name.
“We never really saw ourselves as cruise ships,” says David Sission of Seattle, who is traveling with his sister. He only had one trip before, on a small boutique line. “This seemed like the best way to see a lot, really fast. And then when we find our favorite places, we will return for a longer visit. “
It’s a fair philosophy, and those on board divide their time in port between organized tours and just wandering around alone, exploring wherever their feet take them. And the ship, with its elegant Scandinavian-style Wintergarden living room, Nordic spa, and many restaurants, is always waiting to take us all to the next destination at the end of another exciting day. There is freedom in it, after so much blockage, the Viking sea crossing the waves in the open sea, the infinite horizon from the balcony, another new place to discover just around the corner.
We see historical ruins, such as the Library of Celsus and the great amphitheater in the ancient port city of Ephesus (in present-day Turkey), where the settlement dates back some 3,000 years. We take a winding tour through the small towns of the Amalfi Coast, our big bus barely glides through the curves, the land falls into the waves crashing below.
In Sicily, the day’s activity includes seeing volcanic sites where molten lava has frozen to black waves on the flanks of Mount Etna. And of course there are also culinary delights when we arrive at Murgo Winery, located 500 meters above sea level, where whites like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are the specialty. “We aim for lightness but also complexity,” says Michele Murgo, one of the eight brothers who owns the winery. (Only five are involved in running the place. “If there were more, too many, we would have a revolution,” he says wryly.
As we sip wines and sample local meats and cheeses, including a particularly enjoyable pecorino, he recounts the story, from the winery’s founding in 1860, to the first bottling, much later in 1982. “We’re on a great adventure,” he says. about your company.
And soon, I resume my own adventure, the ship leaving Messina, great seas ahead. Back on board, McCurry comments on the magic of his own day, and indeed the entire voyage. “We did a ‘The Godfather’ tour today, it was great,” she says. “This cruise has been above and beyond, much more than we expected.”
Writer Tim Johnson traveled as a guest of Viking Cruises, which did not review or approve this article. The federal government advises Canadians to avoid nonessential travel. This article is intended to inspire future travel plans.
Reference-www.thestar.com