Sea Cloud entered the peaceful, scenic harbor of Ithaka, Greece this morning at sunrise. The steep mountains surrounding the small, serene port were clothed in green hues of pine, olive, and cypress. The waters were still and mirror-like, reflecting the modest collection of whitewashed buildings collected along the waterfront. After breakfast, we used the Zodiacs for the first time as tenders for the short ride to shore. We boarded coaches for the half-hour trip up the mountain to a Greek Orthodox monastery, where we enjoyed a tour of the church with its collection of icons and frescoes. Our guides, Eleni and Smaro, gave us wonderful explanations and told us the history of the island, famous for being the home of Odysseus, the mythical hero of Homer’s Odyssey. After some free time in Ithaka town, we returned to the ship for lunch on the Lido Deck. Later, we had the opportunity to go in Zodiacs to see Sea Cloud under full sail. Before dinner, Allan gave a lecture on Olympia, tomorrow’s destination, as we continued our journey.
6/7/2024
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Sea Cloud
Tyrrhenian Sea en route to Naples, Italy
The day dawned bright with a 7-knot northwest wind gently frothing up the surrounding sea – ideal conditions for our day’s sail south towards Naples, our final destination. After a delicious breakfast we joined our captain, John Svendsen on the Lido deck for a fascinating talk on the ship’s recent refit. He walked us around the ship from stem to stern pointing out many of the historical features and how they took care to honor the historic integrity of the vessel when retrofits needed to be done. Lunch featured a Sea Cloud favorite – the pasta wheel! Rich, yes, but worth every calorie! Gulia Ciampini, our photo specialist, then established a station in the lounge to collect a representative sample of all the passenger’s photos from our past 10 days together to make into a slide show for our final evening’s enjoyment. The captain’s farewell reception accompanied by Mario, our talented Italian pianist, was followed by a sumptuous four-course dinner that was beyond amazing. It was a perfect end to this incredible journey.