Busy cruise

 TSH and Diva are booked on a lot of excursions for this leg of the cruise. In Rhodes, they did a walking tour and a visit to the archaeological museum with a knowledgeable guide. It is one of those places which has been occupied by many many countries over the centuries, so there are remnants of Greeks, Romans, the Ottoman Empire and modern Italians. Many of their artefacts have been stolen and some of the impressive mosaic floors have been moved there from other places. The old town and castle are built from stone which is in a very good state of preservation. The Colossus of Rhodes – one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – no longer exists, but they were shown the probable site where it stood. 

In the museum, the guide was talking about weapons in the ancient world and invited the guests to identify a partly obscured one in a picture. It was TSH who correctly suggested ‘boomerang’.

On arrival in Turkey, the first visit was to Ephesus. TSH and Diva have been here before but thought it worth a second visit. The site is very impressive, with many identifiable remains, including houses and the famous library. Ephesus was the site of the Temple of Artemis – impressive statues in the nearby museum – the 2^nd wonder of the ancient world on this holiday. The guide was approached by a Silversea guest who had lost his own group and needed help to find them again. TSH was very sympathetic, remembering his own scary experience at the terracotta warriors.

Silversea continue to make the luggage situation worse. TSH received a letter offering $1000 as compensation for the inconvenience (not for the bag, which it is assumed will still arrive at some point). On enquiry, it turned out that they would only reimburse what people actually spent and produced receipts for. TSH, along with other people in the same position, has no wish to go shopping for unsatisfactory clothes in a strange port. He wrote another widely circulated email and they have agreed to pay him the money anyway.