This was published 8 years ago
Mediterranean history cruise: An ancient world revealed
By Alison Stewart
The walled city of Kotor sits on a fjord, which is actually a submerged river canyon.Credit: Alamy
We plunge off the deck of the wooden caique into the cold Mediterranean to swim 50 metres into the volcano, where sulphurous gases bubble up, heating the hot springs to 37 degrees. This is Palia Kameni, an active volcanic centre in Santorini's circular archipelago, once a single volcano that erupted catastrophically 3600 years ago, collapsing into the sea to give birth, some say, to the myth of the lost city of Atlantis.
Our guide tells us as we hike to the top of smoking sister volcanic island, Nea Kameni, that there have been six "volcanic events," the last in 1950, and seismologists estimate there shouldn't be another eruption for at least three to 12 months. Comforting. I think.
But a modicum of danger is in order to kickstart the metabolism, for we are being extravagantly spoiled aboard the French small luxury liner, Le Soleal, on APT's 17-day Ancient Mediterranean luxury cruise from Athens and Istanbul to Venice, with 14 indulgent nights aboard.
The Charioteer, Delphi.Credit: Alison Stewart
Think French patisserie – cremes brulee and pistachio chocolate tart to die for and pre-dinner cocktails as the sun sets over mountains iced with snow. Or immersion in ancient worlds, exploring the genesis of civilisation. Or late-night espresso martinis as the northern constellations shine through the Observation bar skylight while Bruno, our star barman, shakes, rattles and rolls his cocktail magic and classical pianist Valentyn Smolianinoff soothes the soul with his sublime sonatas.
Try intense engagement with a string of Aegean and Adriatic cities, their culture, history, and politics. Followed by fine degustation-style a la carte dinners with matched European wines and champagne, fresh-baked, light-as-air breakfast pastries and croissants served in bed if so desired, as the glassy sea slides past and another glittering destination appears gift-wrapped by sunrise.
And hot cabin showers with nothing but a glass screen between you and the view. Over-the-top? Absolument!
Athens' Temple of Zeus.Credit: Alison Stewart
There is, however, a serious note for a few days of this 3471-kilometre extravaganza. APT's owner, Geoff McGeary has chartered Le Soleal, one of French cruise company Ponant's four exploration and discovery ships, for Gallipoli's 100th anniversary, and his son, APT company director Robert McGeary is hosting the 250 guests, 70 of whom have won ballot tickets for the dawn service.
Military historian Hugh Dolan and naval commander Peter Martin travel with the ship to enrich the Gallipoli experience with thought-provoking lectures that offer a complex interpretation of the "Anzac myth". For a few days, Gallipoli prevails, with dawn and sunset services, lectures, films, peninsula visits, even a commemorative dinner offering the same menu officers on board Minnewaska experienced the night before the doomed landing.
There's the organisational nightmare of transporting ballot passengers from our Dardanelles mooring to Gallipoli access point, Canakkale, then onto the jam-packed peninsula, as well as earlier excursions for all guests.
Le Soleal.
We appreciate the logistical impediments when we hear 78,000 Australians have descended on Istanbul in the hope of making the service, there's concerns that an erratic satellite feed might disrupt the onboard live dawn service, Canakkale has run out of bottled water, 14 cruise ships jostle off Gallipoli and a log-jam of buses queuing for the ferry off the peninsula means frantic negotiating by tour director Jude Cathcart to return sleep-deprived guests to the ship's sanctuary!
Strained (and some tearful) faces break into smiles when they finally arrive back onboard at 9.30pm on Anzac Day to be greeted by cheers and hugs.
But while the cruise is a one-off, it is also a forerunner of APT's 2016 Boutique Collection Cruising program between Venice and Istanbul, which includes the 15-day Aegean and Adriatic Seas cruise aboard Ponant's new ship, Le Lyrial, and the 15-day Adriatic & Aegean Odyssey aboard APT's MS Island Sky.
Delphi, Greece.Credit: Alison Stewart
Gallipoli is still on the itinerary but the emphasis swings more to the Aegean and Adriatic ports, with an itinerary similar to Le Soleal's, which includes Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Canakkale, Gallipoli, Troy, Assos, Istanbul, Kepez, Kusadasi, Ephesus, the Corinth Canal, Itea, Delphi, Kotor, Montenegro, Dubrovnik and Venice.
Despite the elegant luxury, our cruise is not merely cruising, lovely though that may be. This is active cruising with an eye to a more vigorous clientele who might be attracted by APT's "Freedom of Choice excursions". Hence the Santorini swim and hike, giving us a visceral appreciation of the youngest volcanic landform in the eastern Mediterranean.
In the same vein, other adventures include a Montenegro Bay of Kotor kayak, a Croatian wine and olive country cycle, a hike along Dubrovnik's Old City ramparts and a speedboat ride into a luminous blue-water cave. Plus explorations through layers of civilisation at Ephesus, Delphi, Troy, Assos, the Acropolis and Parthenon, Emperor Hadrian's Temple of Zeus, Istanbul and more, as we navigate the Mediterranean's ancient wonders.
The Library of Celsus, Ephesus.Credit: Alison Stewart
It's fitting that Greece, birthplace of Western civilisation, is our jump-off point. Athens eases us into our maritime meander with a few nights at arguably one of Europe's most civilised hotels, the gracious Hotel Grande Bretagne, with its front-row views of the Parthenon, pink Parliament House, Syntagma Square and the 300-metre limestone Mount Lycabettus.
Yes, there is an economic crisis but perversely, there's a lift in the steps of Athenians for spring has come, bringing purple judas-tree blossoms and sparkling tangerines to the streets. We sail from Piraeus as the sun sets on the Acropolis and our lovely French lady prepares to dance along the Aegean and Adriatic coastlines.
The two-year-old Le Soleal, whose name is a mix of the French soleil (sun) and solal (the one who shows the way), is an intimate, elegant, European-style cruise ship with a distinctive French flair. No waterslides, casinos, or lurid decor. Interiors are sophisticated, with good use of neutral colours (sand, caramel, chocolate, pale aqua and cream). Paintings and sculptures have a nautical or solar system theme.
Le Soleal's Observation bar.
There's a gorgeous two-deck sculptural central atrium light representing a swirling shoal of fish, or perhaps the Milky Way. The 132 private-balcony cabins spread over four decks accommodate 264 guests. They are 22.6 square metres, cunningly designed for maximum storage, flat screen TV, desk, safe, air-conditioning and fridge.
Smart casual is requested and a word of warning to Bermuda-short aficionados – this item of attire is not universally loved by the French.
Captain Etienne Garcia, who hails from the Loire Valley, guides the sleek ship and his charming "wakee-wakee" becomes a familiar call for a series of unmissable sunrise experiences. And how to describe those experiences? Like a child with a tray of cupcakes, I must pick only the most delicious.
A highlight would be the sunrise navigation of the Corinth Canal, standing on the bridge while the 18-metre wide ship navigates the 21.4-metre wide, 6.4-kilometre high-walled channel that cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, slicing the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesian peninsula – an experience Jude Cathcart said she'd wanted to do for 20 years as a cruise director.
There's the pre-dawn navigation into the Bosphorus Strait, gliding past Istanbul's minarets, with the rising sun gilding the Golden Horn, to moor beneath Topkapi Palace.
Treading the marble pavements of Turkey's ancient city of Ephesus, marvelling at centuries-old sophistication from classical Greece to the Roman Empire, yet still only 20 per cent excavated.
Entering the hidden world of Montenegro's Kotor fjord, actually a submerged river canyon or ria, that points inland between overhanging limestone cliffs to a perfect walled city.
Cycling in the Croatian countryside among bullet-pocked farmhouses, reminders of the 1991-1995 Croatian war of Independence, imagining the terror as neighbours attacked neighbours and listening to the war memories of our young Croatian guides.
And because I'm a hedonist at heart, I have to include shipboard life, specifically new friends made and stories exchanged in the favourite Observation bar, or at dinners in Restaurant L'Eclipse with the Med rushing by, or lunch by the pool at Restaurant Le Pytheas. And meals ashore to sample Mediterranean produce as spring advances on summer – in Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Dubrovnik, Istanbul and Venice. There is a gym on board. I never saw it.
And finally, the raw emotion as French relief captain Regis Daumesnil sang an impromptu rendition of Eric Bogle's poignant anti-war And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, with passengers at the Anzac sunset service spontaneously joining in the last verse – Waltzing Matilda.
It encapsulated the complexity of that day and reflected the warmth that grew between Australians and the French officers and crew, who had begun the voyage bemused by Gallipoli, but ended it, in Captain Garcia's words, with affection, compassion and genuine camderaderie.
FIVE OTHER ADRIATIC DESTINATIONS
OTRANTO, ITALY
Not just a pretty face, this historic seaside town in Puglia, close to Italy's easternmost point, was once and important Greek, then Roman port called Hydruntum. Its strategic position – on a clear day you can see across the Strait of Otranto to Albania – means the Byzantines, the Normans, the Aragonese and the Turks all coveted it. When 800 locals refused to convert to Islam, they were executed and their bones and skulls are stacked behind glass in the town's Romanesque cathedral.
MLJET, CROATIA
Ancient Greeks called the island Melita or honey isle. Small but seductive, this most southerly and easterly of the Adriatic island archipelago is a cyclist's dream, forested but flat with quiet cycle paths that circumnavigate salt lakes, crossing the island to take in the beaches before retreating inland again. Legend has it that the nymph Calypso kept Odysseus captive here for seven years.
PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK, CROATIA
The best way to experience this World Heritage-listed national park in mountainous central Croatia is on foot. The 16 terraced lakes are strung together by limestone-backed waterfalls, caves and boardwalks. Look out for the highly endangered (mostly invisible) European brown bear. The tourists, however, are yet to become endangered, so visit in shoulder season, if possible.
HVAR, DALMATIA, CROATIA
Hedonistic Hvar is the longest and purportedly the sunniest Croatian islands. Rosemary, lavender, olives, viticulture and fishing keep Hvar's economy spinning, but the island is driven mostly by sun-seekers. The only way onto the island is by ship, from ports in Croatia including Split, or from Italy.
PIRAN, SLOVENIA
The Slovenian coast wedged between Italy and Croatia is only 46 kilometres long but Piran is its jewel. Also known as "piccolo Venezia" (the Venetians ruled here for 500 years), this Venetian Gothic town is fashioned from Istrian limestone and marble and lush with olives and cypresses. Some claim it's the Mediterranean's most photogenic town.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Emirates flies daily from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Athens via Dubai and returns from Venice via Dubai. See emirates.com
CRUISING THERE
APT's 2016 Mediterranean Boutique Collection Cruises include the 15-day Aegean and Adriatic Seas cruise aboard Ponant's Le Lyrial (June 14 or 28, 2016) from $14,990 per person twin share; and the 15-day Adriatic & Aegean Odyssey all-inclusive small ship coastal cruise aboard APT's MS Island Sky (departures in April, July and August 2016) from $13,295 per person twin share (includes APT's early payment discount). See aptouring.com.au or your travel agent.
The writer was a guest of APT
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