A Day in the Cyclades

Today was an enjoyable day at Andros, the northernmost island of the
Cyclades. There were two problems with this visit. One was expected, one
was unexpected. The expected, was that it was not a simple matter of
stepping off of the ship – lifeboats were going to be used as ferries.
This was a necessity since we could not bring the ship in close enough so
we could offload directly on the dock. The unexpected surprise was that
for only the third time on this cruise, it rained most of the day.

While the elements might make some hesitate to venture forth, the stalwart
mariners of the “Empire State VI” had no qualms about visiting dry land
whether rain or shine. The first step, was to set up a floating pier of
sorts next to our debarking ramp, which would then be placed next to the
lifeboat (don’t ask me for the nautical terms since I am at “sea” in that
department). In order to create this complex mechanism, a tangle of ropes
and chains needed to be employed in order to properly affix the boats to
the gangway.

While this was being contrived artfully, all hands watched and poked fun
of mates and cadets that were splashed by the seawater. I believe the
chief mate would have thrown a couple of them in if he wasn’t so busy.
After this was done, two of our open air lifeboats were lowered and were
shuttled over. Of course, since this is an atypical type of drill there
were all sorts of delays.

For example, I and several crew members went to debark on the port side,
but after waiting fifteen minutes were told we needed to go on the
starboard side. So we soon found ourselves in a gaggle of cadets that
were making jokes about the lines at Great Adventure. Yes, this was the
line for the SUNY amusement park water ride of the day.

So we waited and waited with some tempers, including yours truly, a bit on
edge. When we finally got toward the end and received our liberty cards,
we discovered that there was a separate line for crew and that a high
speed boat was waiting for us! The lifeboats chug along with *just*
enough speed to save you.

We zoomed over the water and arrived at the dock where groups of SUNY
Maritime people began to outpopulate the native Androsians. Well, not
quite. The town has a population of 1,500 and you have to figure about
600 of us went for the day trip. All of the locals were welcoming
(probably of our cash as well), and very apologetic about the bad weather..
They swore that they only got rain once a month. They were so expectant
of our visit that they hung posters of our ship all over town.

So which Greek god or goddess would cause rain? Anybody?

The town of Andros itself is small, but terraced along a mountainside.
The pastel-colored architecture is just plain awesome to look at and has
many narrow streets. First stops were to get postcards and the national
pastry of Greece: Baklava, or something in the Baklava genus. When I post
the photo the lovely Michelle may be able to identify it. As I wound
through these sideways and byways I found their maritime museum which was
by this arch bridge and a steep precipice. From this cliff I found our
students cliff diving (or jumping) into a lagoon of 20 foot water. You
can rest assured that I did *not* jump.

I did not realize it, but I have become something of a tour guide, and
cadets are now thanking me for providing them with port information. I am
constantly being asked of questions of “what I should do?” Well, heck if
I know since I didn’t know what to do myself.

Throughout the day I kept on running into and losing groups and found
myself mostly wandering through the streets. I had lunch with some of the
officers and we asked for a good local dish. The waiter suggested the
young goat and three of the five of us ordered it. When we got it was
plainly lamb with a pot roast consistency (unless goat is very very very
similar to lamb). In any event, I liked it lamb/goat (henceforth referred
to as “Loat” or “Gamb”). This was followed by some sort of cake soaked in
some sort of syrupy thing followed by coffee.

The coffee needs special consideration since I don’t drink coffee, but
while I was going to the bathroom they ordered one for me. The coffee was
in a small teacup, and was best described as “…the grounds of American
coffee, made into a paste.” Professor McKoy took a finger full which
adhered to his fingers like brown playdoh. If at any point you need to
get off of the coffee… and you go to Andros, I’ll let you know what place
it was.

As an aside, my cabinmate had some coffee (with the baklava thing) earlier
in the day which he said was delicious, so if you are Androsian, I am
*not* libeling your coffee. I am only speaking ill of the particular
coffee I saw at a specific place which serves “Loat” when you specifically
order “young goat.”

We were also accosted at lunch by a pride of feral cats that made their
living by begging for food from diners at the restaurant. A fleeting
consideration of a ship’s cat passed through my mind, but I don’t think it
would have worked out. I would have liked some more time to enjoy the
island, but it was a good visit.

We headed back at 1700 and this time I did take the lifeboat back. Riding
in one of these devices makes me wonder if they are really meant to save
you (watch out for wet seats). The way they turn on the engine is through
some sort of satanic lawnmower-type device which took two to three men
about seven minutes of cranking to get started. Everybody applauded when
we got underway.

With that said, one of our instructors who stayed aboard noticed how the
cadets got better and better at handling the boats as the day went on. He
was happy because this is the type of stuff you could not teach in the
classroom and shows the practicality of learning on a ship. For example,
he kept on telling one of the cadets to use a boat hook to put a rope in
place, but the cadet kept throwing and missing it. Finally the light went
on and he got it. When asked about the tour groups that came onto the
ships, there were “hundreds” of teens who loved getting wet in the
lifeboats as they were shuttled back and forth.

So the day was fun and educational on the whole. One of our faculty
commented that it was a good primer for Piraeus since it was a controlled
liberty so hopefully there won’t be many problems over the next few days.

Incidentally, these lifeboats are built to carry 145 people. When you see
pictures of them tomorrow, I wonder just how big these people are?

Tonight, there is some sort of shindig at the marina for the alumni and
after we will get underway for Piraeus where we are to dock in the
morning. I have heard a rumor that the Androsians are going to shoot off
some fireworks when we weigh anchor!

Next up Piraeus and Athens…

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe