Thursday, October 22, 2009

Cruising - truly a buffet-lovers way to travel

I'm wondering how many of you have cruised or would like to or have ever wondered how it would be to sail the seas, needles in hand. Perhaps it's a dream of yours, one you'd like to bring into fruition or just something you're a little curious about. Let me just say that I have never considered myself a cruise kind of person. My idea of travel means a more full-immersion experience of the culture of the countries I visit and yet, now that I'm on dry land and looking back at our recent experience, I'm prepared to change my mind.
 
Cruising is truly a buffet-lovers way to travel and who doesn't love a buffet? Not only do you select from a range of dishes at every meal (and, of course, you already know from prior posts how these cruise guys force-feed you. 'No, not another baked Alaska—at least not applied to that same hip') but the mode of travel also spreads the world at your feet in little bite-sized pieces. Not up to Rome today? No problem. Eat and sleep your way through port, have a massage, read a book or knit away the day.

Cruising is about options, many of them packaged so neatly that your barely require much advanced planning. This appeals to a huge number of people, especially those looking to relax. Though occasionally visiting those ports of call seem a bit surreal, as if you're flicking through a National Geographic special by remote control. How can you grasp Santorini when you went to sleep in Corfu? Never mind: thereare always weightier matters like what to select for supper amid multiple options.

But just let me say that here I've seen places I might never otherwise visit - Rome, Pompei, Sicily, Debrovnik,  Santorini, Argistoli, Corfu. My experiences are varied, intense and utterly memorable and, to top it all off, I  gasped at some of the most awe-inspiring sunsets I have ever seen, the kind of end-of-day splendor that needs to be savoured to   be appreciated. Sky jewels. Cloud diamonds. Silver and gold made more precious by its fleeting quality.

Though I will share all my perspectives of the ports we visited in posts to come, let me just begin with these photos, images that have soaked into the very retina of my imagination.