Greek Isle of Katakolon Yesterday was spent in the town of Katakolon on the Greek mainland. The big attraction for most tourists is the ruins of Olympus but having just toured Pompeii last week and having seen the site of the early Olympic games at Rome, we had no appetite for the hour-long bus ride and the three-hour inspection of the hot, dry, dusty ruins there. Other options offered a choice of nearby beaches, but that was not inviting to us either. Instead w...

Greek Isle of Santorini Mmmmmmm. . . what a great place we have found on this earth today. I've heard it's a haven for celebrities from all over the world and I can see why. According to tourist info, when a huge volcano erupted about 3500 years ago, it left an enormous caldera surrounded by a circle of islands now known as Santorini. The cruise ship anchored in the port and we were tendered to the wharf where we could reach the town of Fira situated hundreds...

Corfu is not exactly as I expected. Beautiful, yes, but possibly more beautiful from off-shore than on-shore. The water of the Ionian Sea is marvelously clear. Even walking along the pier, the water is perfectly clear. And as it deepens, the color takes on the very best deep shade of indigo. We opted out of any ship-sponsored excursion and found the bus to take us to the beach. We traveled the road along the north shore to Dasia and found a sleepy resort area wh...