Notes on the Journey (from a harbor in Crete)

Remembering that we were on this cruise to relax, we decided not to go ashore at Aghios Nikolaos in Crete, which appears to be a nice but unremarkable Mediterranean port city. Most of the attractions here are in museums - not our favorite when there's so much to see outdoors in situ around the Aegean - or involve long bus rides. Prof. Sussman, the guest lecturer onboard, characterized the largely reconstructed Minoan palace of Knossos as "Disneyland," which we took as a license to pass it up. And just sitting in the harbor, almost completely surrounded by Greek isles and trying to finish Ted Sorenson's book "Counselor," is pleasant enough. We'll next go ashore at Mykonos tomorrow.

Odds and ends from the last several days:

*The well-trained Turkish tour guides made certain to inform us that Herodotus (the father of history), Homer, and Santa Claus (St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in southern Turkey), were among Turkey's famous denizens, and that ancient Troy and Smyrna, as well as Mt. Ararat (where Noah's ark landed) were all on Turkish soil.

*Turkey was also home to two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the afore-mentioned Tomb of Maussollos (mostly reduced to rubble, but the ruins at the site are worth a visit), and the Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Selcuk (of which nothing remains).

*Note to Turkish marketers: if you want your bottled spring water to appeal to Westerners, best not to give it a brand name like "Aroma" - that's not an attribute people look for in their water. (The stuff is actually pretty good.)

*You meet some interesting people on these ships, not the least of whom are the young crewmembers. Some join just to see the world, some are climbing the next rung in the ladder of professional hospitality, and some have fascinating backstories of travail and consider their cruise ship experience to be the best break they've had in their lives. One notable thing that typifies the crews on all three Mediterranean cruises we've taken. - other than entertainers and lecturers, there hasn't been an American in the lot. This is a shame - onboard experience clearly builds character, rewards a serious work ethic, and exposes you to many corners of the globe.

*A "Greek Breakfast" as defined by our guide in Santorini: "coffee, cigarettes and a newspaper."