October 16, 2017 Cruise day 4 Trip day 15 Epidavros visit
and sail to Spetses
Four days into the cruise, we finally reached a Greek
island, albeit a small one, but I have jumped ahead.
We again had an early breakfast and departure, just the
independents on our tour which meant a smaller group and an arrival at the
sites before the crowds. It was a 45-minute drive to Epidavros in a different
direction from yesterday, with the same local guide as the prior day.
Come one, come all to experience the healing powers at the
Sanctuary of Asclepius. In ancient times this place was revered as far away as
Rome for its miraculous healing powers and is now regarded as the birthplace of
western medicine. Visitors apparently came from great distances to seek a cure for
their ailments. As you were cured it was expected that you would donate to the
god for your cure. The donation was given to the Sanctuary, and hence it became
very wealthy. The donations were recorded, along with the names of those who
failed to donate and the punishment that the god subsequently inflicted upon
the “debtor”.
We walked around the ruins of the complex which were well-preserved
lead by the tour guide. The sanctuary is named after the son of Apollo and
Coronis who was born here. Coronis died right after childbirth when she was
struck by lightning. Apollo took Asclepius to Mt. Pelion where he learned the
healing arts. The sick hoped that the
healing god would come to them in their sleep and cure them. Failing that, snakes
were part of the curative process. There were lots of sculptures of them here,
but other treatments used the many hot springs, diet instruction, herbal
medicines and occasionally surgery. The place was started around 400 BC and ultimately
over 200 medical centers around the Mediterranean were directly linked to
Asclepius. After several hundred years it was ravished and sacked by marauding
pirates. However, the Romans revived it under their god of healing, Hygieia.
After touring the ruins, we went into a museum that was
originally the Hestintorion. Sacrificial and ritual meals to the cult of
Asclepius took place here. It was partially destroyed by pirates, but rebuilt
by the Romans. It had on display some of the medical instruments used here.
Much is known about the activities of the complex due to the writings of
Pausanias, who as the first travel writer came through here in the 2d century
AD.
However, the highlight of the tour was the very well-preserved,
very large theatre which remains in use today. It was built during 400 BC and
was preserved when an earthquake covered the entire facility. The theatre
served as an entertainment facility for the medical sanctuary and hosted
dramas, athletic competitions and every four years, the Festival of Asclepius. The
climb to the top was an effort, but from there you could appreciate the very
good acoustics of the structure. It was not until the 19th century
that a foreign archeologist unearthed it. The local farmers declined payment
for the use of their land and sought only the construction of a road to a
larger town.
Walking up stairs and ramp to the stadium I noticed that one
of the independents, an elderly retired French doctor was having difficulty,
even with assistance of his wife, making progress. He had a big heavy camera
around his neck that I’m sure did not help his progress. I helped him along, and
carried his camera. I and others continued with that assistance throughout the
remainder of the trip and it was greatly appreciated. Also feels good to do something nice for
someone else.
I make sure that I got back to the bus at the appointed
time, and indeed was not even the last one on.
We arrived back at the boat about 11:30 and were told that
the boat would be departing at 1:00. I decided to take a swim in the rocked off
harbor area that we had passed yesterday on our walk so I quickly changed into
my bathing suit and as I departed the boat, the attendant, to my surprise gave
me a bathing towel. Nice touch as this was not a scheduled swim event. It took
me about 12 minutes to walk to the swimming area. No one was there, and it was
nice to slip into the water. It was warmer than the prior swim, perhaps because
I was in shallower water. I swam 6 laps
of the area and saw an older (what does that make me?) man appear. I was nervous about returning on
time and in response to my question he told me the time. and then he swam around
slowly. I saw a woman in a hat (it was not getting wet) swimming outside the
breakwater. I had a brief conversation with the old man when we got out. He was
vacationing from Athens. He brother lives on the island and is a fisherman. He
is a retired civil servant. He bitterly protested the “large” reduction in his
pension benefits from the state. He said that the wealthy were still not paying
taxes and that on his reduced pension he could not live and was forced to rent
out his apartment in Athens to tourists to make ends meet. Hence his visit to
his brother. He also said that young people were leaving Greece in large
numbers and that he saw no future for Greece. His parting words were some very
damming statements about Germany (“still Nazis”) and Angela Merkel.
I swam 6 more laps and left the swim area about 12:45 and got
back to the boat about 12:55. Minutes to spare. We took off for Spetses about
1:00. They provided a Greek lunch with grilled octopus on board, a grand
gesture on their part (“complimentary”), but so far, we had not spent any
meaningful time on a Greek island. We were sailing southeast along the coast. After
a few hours we stopped for a second swim in the Aegean Sea. Not nearly as many
people took advantage of his swimming stop as had done so at the first swimming
stop. I spent some time talking to the tall guy from Montana while we were
swimming. Very limited opportunity to interact with the non-independents since
they eat separately and take separate land tours. As his wife told me on the
first day, they had moved around a lot through several major cities, but loved
Montana. Very safe and friendly and a great place to have raised their kids. No
problem with the weather and it does not get too cold. They live in Missoula
and have a cabin on the east side of Flathead Lake. We probably drove by it
going to and from Glacier NP this summer.
Shortly before 5 we approached Spetses. Finally, a Greek
island on a Greek island cruise. It is a small island and only a few kilometers
off the mainland. It has one town Spetses Town and many small coves and good
swimming beaches. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to visit them. Most of
the island is covered in forests. The island was inhabited for many years by
ancient peoples, but for about 600 years starting in the 10th
century it was uninhabited. In the 16th century Albanians fleeing
the fighting in their lands between the Venetians and the Ottomans (I don’t
imagine that any reparations were offered by the combatants.) repopulated the
island. Some of them grew wealthy as sailors and traders. During the Napoleonic
Wars they grew rich running the English blockade and refitted their ships during
the Greek War for Independence to fight the Ottomans (payback is sweet).
Our cruise leader grandly announced that they were offering
a “complimentary” (the books said admission was 6 euro, but it was nice to have
a private tour) visit to the Bouboulina Museum. This was an interesting place,
with a very interesting story. The structure, formerly a large mansion, had been
in a single-family home for over 400 years. Laskarina Bouboulina married into
the family (her second marriage). Her husband died several years later, but she
managed the family fortune, mainly in shipping, very well. When the Greek War
for Independence occurred, she financed a fleet and built the largest warship
of its time, The Agamemnon, to fight the Turks. The effort left her bankrupt
and she died a few years later. Her efforts were extremely unusual for a woman
during that era. Her impressive statute
stands in the harbor area and now there are many streets and plazas named for
her throughout Greece.
Her descendants continued to live in the house, but over
time could not maintain it. Hence all but the ground floor has been converted
into a museum. Her descendants still live in the ground floor. Our tour guide
at the museum was very good and well-spoken with an excellent command of
English.
We were then released from the tour in the town square which
is almost on the waterfront. We and our friends set out along the meandering
waterfront in search of dinner. The road is lined with chic and cheap tourist
shops and cafes, most of which were closed for the season. There were also an
unending stream of noisy scooters, motorbikes and ATVs zipping perilously close
as we walked. We walked a considerable distance, about a mile, around to the
Old Harbor which had a yacht anchorage and boatbuilding area. We found a
waterfront restaurant that was largely deserted, but which served us a tasty
set of appetizers and main dishes. My whole fish was very good.
We then took the long walk back to the boat well after
10:00. The boat remained in port for
much of the night, leaving early in the morning for Poros.
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| In the Aegean |
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| Epidavros theatre |
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| Spetses Waterfront |
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