Greek island adventure

Nov 7 2008 Chris Rowland Goes Island Hopping, Surrey Herald

With a total of 6,000 Greek islands to choose from, a smallish cruise ship like the Spirit lets you experience as many in a fortnight as you might see in a decade of 'normal' holidays.

Our route took in seven islands - plus the sights of Athens, two fascinating small towns on the mainland and the unforgettable Corinth Canal.

Our our first stop was Lesbos, the third largest of the Greek islands, which lies only a few miles off the Turkish mainland and is unspoilt by mass tourism.

We berthed in Mytilene, a bustling coastal town, where we took an excursion on winding rural roads to the renowned Barbagiannis ouzo distillery.

Here bottles of the fiery spirit - Lesbos makes the strongest variety in the Mediterranean - clinked off the production line ready to cause hangovers in all corners of the world.

Our tour guide explained the story of Sappho, whose poems focused on relationships between women and spawned the words lesbian and sapphic.

The jury is still out on whether Sappho herself crossed the boundary between platonic and physical affection.

It was then on to the island of Kos, which has spectacular sandy beaches and some of the most interesting archaeological sites of the whole Mediterranean region.

On Rhodes we took a walking tour through the historic Old Town, with its twisting alleyways.

Next came Crete, the largest island in Greece, where the ship berthed in the busy capital of Heraklion (named after Hercules), handily placed for a trip to the ruined Palace of Knossos, built by the Minoans in around 1900BC. Legend has it that the minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature, roamed the palace's labyrinth until it was slain by Theseus.

A stop in the lovely Aegean seaside town of Nauplion, the first capital of Greece after independence, was followed by a day in Athens where we ticked off all the sights, including the stunning Acropolis.

The tiny uninhabited island of Delos in the Cyclades does not, on the face of it, appear to be a potential calling place for a cruise ship. But one of the passengers told me it was her lifetime's ambition to visit Delos because of its place in legend (as the birthplace of Apollo) and history.

Unfortunately a strong wind blew up as we anchored in preparation for passengers to go ashore by tenders.

Captain David had to make the only negative announcement of the whole cruise - the sea was too bumpy for comfort, so the visit was cancelled.

Conditions were still turbulent in Mykonos, famed around the world for its cosmopolitan atmosphere and lively nightlife.

Thankfully all was calm the next day as we dropped anchor under the steep black cliffs of volcanic Santorini where an eruption in 1650 BC caused the centre of the island to collapse into a massive crater that was filled by the sea.

Further eruptions have continued to ravage Santorini and in 1956 a major earthquake killed scores of people.

Our guide may not have been joking when he said: "An eruption is not included on this tour."