cruisin'.

paradise found. for seven glorious days, i was in the lap of luxury. as a graduation gift (my diploma actually came in the mail this week!), my mum treated me to a royal caribbean cruise of greece and turkey.

we kept thinking that each thing was to good to be true, but it was really true! we would think, wouldn't it be nice if we could have breakfast in bed? oh, we could. or, wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in a different country? yup, we did that too. or, wouldn't it be lovely to have two appetizers and three desserts? apparently that was no problem either. they had everything meticulously organized, with 800 people working on a ship with 2000 guests. a library, three pools, a climbing wall, six different bars/pubs, a gym, activities, live music, evening shows... the list goes on and on. after living the backpacking life for six weeks, this was almost overload.

as luck would have it, for the first two days, i was sick as a dog. a vicious cold is difficult to avoid when you are backpacking, and i was just as happy that i got to be miserable with a comfy bed, good food, my mum's company, and the ability to lie on the deck of a boat for hours on end.

there is no way that anyone could complain about this cruise. the weather was superb, we never had any rough seas, and never, in my entire life, have i seen so much food. we finished dinner every night at 11 PM, and by midnight there would be another buffet full of carved fruit, chocolate fountains and unlimited treats.

the most difficult part of being on a cruise, is getting to know the staff. from all around the world, these young people have left spouses, children and parents for six months at a time (with no days off), in order to provide for their families. they worked at least fourteen hours a day, and were managing on very little sleep. they were so kind, attentive, and thoughtful, but i felt incredibly guilty, because i could tell they really missed their families. the best thing we could do, was to get to know them as well as possible, and tip them the best we could - but it really did not feel like enough.

on a more positive note, the four ports of call were exciting, different, and interesting. we had two full days at sea (which i LOVED, and would have been happy to have more of), and visited three lovely, and one not-so lovely locations.

athens: i had always dreamed of greece, so i was extremely excited for our day in athens. we did a whirlwind tour of the parthenon, the olympic stadium, and the rest of the city. busy, crowded, and blanketed with thick air, athens was exactly what i expected it to be. i loved it!

kusadasi and ephesus, turkey: an absolute experience. the roman ruins of ephesus are magnificent, and the carpet-shopping experience of kusadasi was like no other. they bring you in, with no one expecting to buy a carpet, and when you have left, half the group has dropped big bucks on gorgeous turkish rugs. this little introduction to turkey has sparked my interest in a place that i knew little about.

crete: unfortunately, the port town of iraklio is ugly, but the island itself is lush, green and full of history. lonely planet recommends driving straight through iraklio, which is basically what we did. a visit to the minoan palace of knossos, discovered in 1900, and a visit to an archaeology museum afterwards definitely made this port stop.

corfu: only three kilometres from albania, corfu is (insert beautiful adjective here). mum and i took a day long coastal walk through small villages, hidden coves and sun-drenched beaches. it was so hot that i could feel the sweat falling off of my eyelashes, but 45 minutes lazing in the mediterranean certainly cooled me off.

now i am off the cruise, and back on my own. my mum was worried that i would have trouble readjusting to the backpacking way of live. i told her that for me, travelling anyway, anyhow, anywhere makes me happy. but if anyone wants to take me on a cruise, let me know, and i can be free tomorrow.!