It is just about midnight on the Celestyal Olypmia. I am sitting in a lounge trying to compose a more sufficient blog post about our to days at sea. There are a couple of problems which I cannot control. The first is that my magic wifi device doesn't work at sea. The second is that the ship's wifi, which I just purchased, is lagging and probably will not allow me to post pictures, let alone this entry. Regardless if it posts tonight, or if I get it out there tomorrow, I am hoping that I can give proper credit to the day's we've experienced.
By now, some of you have surely researched the Olympia. I will give you a quick recap. It is a ship that holds about 1600 passengers, but I think we only have about 500 tonight. There are 9 major decks and the 9th includes two pools and a dance floor. The lower decks have a casual dining facility which included a buffet and a more formal sit down area. The whole ship is 21 plus for alcohol which makes our job here a little less stressful. The ship also contains a theater and about four lounges. Each day, we get a print out of the activities that are available for us. These have included origami lessons, zumba classes, and many more. I am not sure how many kids have participated in them, but they are free for us.
When we boarded in Athens, we had quick instructions from John about the boat. Our trip to Mikonos was lovely as well. Most of us went to bed really early because we had a 4:15 am wake up call. In order for us to avoid Turkey, we got off the boat at an island called Samos. It was small, but EF had coordinated breakfast on the island for us. About 10 of us took advantage of a ship excursion to see the Temple dedicated to Hera and the rest of the island. Our guide, Irene, was wonderful. When our tour had completed, we found ourselves on the site of the birthplace of Pythagoras. It was really cool to know how much of an influence he has had on modern mathematics. We also found our two groups reconnected as we waited for our ship to return. Some of grabbed lunch, while others went swimming in the sea. The visit was long, and we had awoken really early, but it was nice nonetheless.
When we boarded the ship, we found that they had held a late lunch seating available for us and many were thankful for having something to eat and a quick nap. We had an evening visit at Patmos. I didn't disembark, but I've heard the island was beautiful as well. [Side note: I've switched lounges because the lights were turned off in the one I was sitting in.] After dinner, many of the kids went to bed. They had had a really exhausting day. Others, however, seem to have unlimited energy. These kids are somewhere on this floor dancing. We have a visit to Crete scheduled for tomorrow, but John has told us that many shops will be closed because of the upcoming Greek Easter. Our evening visit to Santorini shouldn't be impacted by the holiday.
The kids are having such a great time. It is refreshing to see. Many times, on tour, they hit a wall, but this trip is a little different. The cruise has refreshed some of us. It is a little different for me in another way too. On a traditional tour, the kids are stuck together the entire time (not meant as a negative), but for the last three days of this tour, they have an entire ship to explore in small groups. While some of the unity might disappear with this style, there are positives too. I was chaperoning a makeshift dance earlier with some other teachers. A bunch of our kids were dancing and a bunch of other passengers were there too. The cultural exchange was neat to witness and I don't think our kids will soon forget it.
Well, I think I am done for the night. It is still not the post I want it to be, but it is the post I've come up with. I will probably spend a few more minutes trying to actually post this entry, lol. I am also not confident in a post tomorrow. I will definitely make some Facebook comments, but the next true post might be on the flight home. Thank you for the kind words these past 10 days. I really appreciate them and watching my counter go up each day really provides some motivation. It has been an absolute pleasure to work on this trip.
Thank you so much for your wonderful daily posts. I feel as though I am there. Cheryl M. Nick's aunt.
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