Right now, I am sitting in one of the lounges on the ship, watching the outer reaches of Greece pass by on my right with dozens of wind mills enthusiastically turning on the hillside just yonder sea. We are on the Mediterranean now and it is calm and pleasant. In the lounge, a man is tuning his violin in readiness for a later performance. Light jazz is playing (competing with violinist!) and in the adjacent lounge a ballroom dancing lesson is underway. Mike has gone to the main theatre for the lecture on the Suez Canal. I prefer to read up on it online. I am drinking mint tea.
This morning we arrived in Crete at the small port of Heraklion. This is the town from the ship…just before we arrived
The tug came to see us in…
This is the port from the ship…
It was a short morning stop with Mike and I having no fixed excursions. After waking at 6am, we hit the gym and after an hour workout, returned to our cabin to shower and dress. By then, most of the passengers who were going on excursions had cleared the dining area and we had a leisurely uncrowded breakfast. Just before 9am, we were on the free shuttle that would take us out the harbour. Then it was a 1.6km walk into the town. This is Mike at the entrance to the town….these walls date back to about 1600…
Heraklion has loads of touristy kind of shops with cruise ships being a huge form of income. We walked around the town, including the back streets…
We found a Starbucks and had a cappuccino and I managed to upload the video of our cabin, for those who are interested. We booked this cruise in July 2016 and wanted a balcony cabin, but they didn’t have one. They did have a small suite which was way more than we were prepared to pay. I booked it anyway, because it’s easier to exchange a suite for a balcony that to try to exchange a sea view cabin for a balcony cabin. But the balcony cabin just never became available and so in the end, we phoned MSC and found out how we could make this cabin a whole lot cheaper. She gave us the options, so we ditched all the frills and here we are.
After Starbucks, we meandered back to the ship via the old port and visited the Heraklion Fortress (Koule Castle) which is amazing. (Tiny photo from Flikr – just to give you an idea).
I love a bargain. While we were in Heraklion, we passed a second-hand store…I picked up this top for 1 euro….so what’s that? R16!
#442 of my 1000 thanks is for prayer. No matter where I am in the world, speaking to God is so easy and instant. I’m so grateful that I can pray without hindrance.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
For the next couple of days we are at sea and then in transit through the Suez Canal. Next stop is Friday – to Israel.
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂