When in Greece

The sea was sapphire coloured, and the sky
Burned like a heated opal through the air;
We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair
For the blue lands that to the eastward lie.
From the steep prow I marked with quickening eye
Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek,
Ithaca's cliff, Lycaon's snowy peak,
And all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady.
The flapping of the sail against the mast,
The ripple of the water on the side,
The ripple of girls' laughter at the stern,
The only sounds: -when 'gan the West to burn,
And a red sun upon the seas to ride,
I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!
~ Oscar Wilde

This summer the time will not allow me to go any closer to the sea. The reason behind it is my decision to work and save up for my last year of study. All I have left related to salty seas is looking back to my past summer adventures and adore Steemit travelers posts from abroad.

You guessed right! This one is about Greece. It was one of my favorite places I have visited so far.

Before you begin reading any further I suggest you play this music video in the background and I promise you you will feel the good Greek vibes. It is very famous Syrtaki music.

The trip started in Zakynthos, the third largest Greek island in Ionian sea. It is famous for its lovely coasts and turquoise sea.

Source

After unpacking in Laganas we took a half day long boat trip where we could admire the shore from afar and also enjoy swimming in warm, clear and clean sea.

After two days of relaxation on the beaches, swimming and evening dancing the time has come to take a ferry ride to the mainland Greece and learn some history.

Mycenae is a majestic archaeological site near Mikines which enchanted us with its ancient looks. Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece in the second millennium BC.

Next stop was Epidaurus and its theatre. The theatre is big as it can seat up to 14,000 people. It is also admired for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or skēnē to all guests, regardless of their seating. They truly were great architects back in the days!

Loutraki was the resting point before we headed towards the capital city Athens the next morning. On the way we had a chance to see the great Corinth Canal which connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) in length and only 21.4 metres (70 ft) wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. However, it has a big historical value.

Athens were bigger than I imagined. Especially when looking down on the city from the Athens Acropolis.

It was exhausting day wandering through the Greece capital. Greek dinner with traditional Greek music and dance was a perfect match afterwards. I thought it could not get better. Boy was I wrong!

There was no sleeping in the day after. We headed to a very special place called Meteora. We visited one of the monasteries there and the view was magnificent from the ground as much as from the top.

It was amazing experience that I would love to repeat. Maybe for even longer than one week this time.

I thank all of you that took time to take a short virtual trip to Greece with me. I hope it was time well spent :)

Until the next time!