From Ottoman “cat sitters” to modern-day street guardians, Istanbul’s bond with its cats runs centuries deep.More than 15 million people compete for space in Turkey’s largest city, which straddles Europe and Asia on either side of the Bosphorus, much like a house cat perched half on the sofa, half on the coffee table. That’s the…

Arrived in Fusina at 7am. This is now the closest cruise terminal for Venezia since they banned cruise ships. It is also a ferry terminal and about 18.5km from Venezia. A wet rainy morning with temperatures around 16C. Our tour today was just a boat ride into Venezia then free time to explore. We boarded…

Arrived in Koper around 7am and docked close to the town center. This is the largest coastal city in Slovenia on the Adriatic and only 13 miles from Trieste in Italy. Slovenia is a relatively new country which got independence in 1991 and has a population of 2 Million. The day started cloudy and dry…

Arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia around 7am. Dubrovnik is on the Dalmation coast in southern Croatia. A warm, sunny day with temperatures reaching 19C. Todays tour was north, out to the Neretva river delta. A small group of only 13 and our guide was Sanja, a local woman. Boarded our bus and headed along the coast…

Arrived at Kotor, Montenegro around 8am having negotiated the channel into the bay. A very mountainous region on a rainy morning. Kotor (Cattaro) is in the southern region of Montenegro (Crna Gora) on the Balkan peninsula. Montenegro is about 85% mountains with a population around 630,000. The capital is Podgorica which is in the interior….

Arrived at Igoumentisa around 10am and docked. This is a coastal city in Northwestern Greece near the Albanian border. It is a busy car ferry port with a population around 11,000. A mostly sunny day with temperatures up to 23C later. Our tour commenced at 10:15am with 24 of us and our guide was Nina….

Arrived early morning at the port of Gythion otherwise know as Gytheio or Gythio or Gythium. It is on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece. A small town with a population of 4500 that features neo-classical architecture. Had an early tour meeting at 6:45am to tender ashore on a rainy morning….

Arrived off the Greek Aegean Island of Santorini at 7am. This is part of the Cyclades group of islands. A partly sunny day with temperatures up to 22C by the afternoon. An 8.30am tour took us by tender to the shore where about 30 of us transferred to our 2 masted barque. A 20 minute…

Arrived at the island of Mykonos in the Aegean Sea and anchored by 6:30am. A partly sunny day with temperature up to 23C today. 4 other ships here so a busy day. Ashore by tender around 7:30am for a tour out to the island of Delos. Transferred to the full Delos ferry for the 30…

Arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey at 7am. This is a resort town on the Aegean coast. Population is about 180,000 with many foreigners who have bought houses here since the government relaxed restrictions on purchasing. An overcast day with a few showers and temp around 20C. Majority of the tours from here go to the nearby…

Arrived at anchor off Mytilene (Mitilini) on the Greek Aegean island of Lesbos (Lesvos) at 9am Monday Oct 20th. This is the 3rd largest Greek island just off the coast of Turkey. A poor island with a decreasing population. Went off on a bus tour to 2 local churches with our guide Christina. Drove south…

Kavala is mainland northern Greece, population 57000. We arrived at 12:30 on Saturday Oct 18th. There is a castle overlooking the town. Weather was overcast and around 20C. At 1:30pm went off on a bus tour to Xanthi about 50km away. We were on grey bus #12. Our tour guide, Chryssa was a young lady…

Arrived Istanbul (Byzantium, Constantinople) at 17:15 on Thursday October 16th. Staying at Intercontinental Hotel. An overcast evening around 20C. Walked out in the evening to nearby Taksim Square with the prominent mosque. Carried on walking down the busy pedestrian Istiklal Street with the shops, restaurants, historic buildings. Out walking again next morning across Taksim Square…