Sunday, July 13, 2008

Ships Ahoy!

We've seen quite a number of ships and boats and yachts, as you might imagine. A couple of nights ago (Thursday I guess), when we went into Ermoupolis, we saw several huge yachts and sailboats moored along the harbor's edge. There was also a cruise ship anchored in the bay. It was the two enormous yachts, however, that caught our attention.

They were both out of George Town, Grand Cayman Islands. One of the violists googled it and found that when it was last purchased, in 2003, it cost 23 million euros. That's something close to $36 million!!! It had a crew of 5 twenty-somethings, two girls and three guys, all tan and fit of course. It really was beautiful. The other, even bigger one, was a yacht for hire, but I don't know the details of that one.

Ermoupolis is the major shipping port of the Cyclades Islands. It is also the metropolitan capital for that group of islands, besides being the capital of the island of Syros. It's a very busy port, with tankers and freighters coming and going, besides all the tourist vehicles (ferries and yachts, etc.). We've enjoyed watching them move in and out of the harbor.

Photos: an old row boat that we pass on our way up to the campgrounds for meals; various yachts in the Ermoupolis harbor; a cruise ship protesting the fact that the British Museum continues to hold on to the Parthenon marbles that Elgin "stole" back in the 19th century. All efforts to even buy them back have gone useless. The British Museum claims that they can preserve them better than the Greeks can. The Greeks believe that the marbles belong at the new Acropolis Museum that should open next year. This cruise ship made me laugh at its blatant politicking =)

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