PART II: SCENES AND STORIES FROM OUR TRAVELS IN THE 1990s

Neither Bernie nor I had been to Greece before—and we knew its many islands would complicate travel in ways that visits to other European countries did not. So it was exciting when, in 1992, we flew Luftansa German Airlines to Germany before finally heading on to Athens and three full weeks in Greece.

▲ I had booked us into a room with a window, doorway, and balcony facing the Acropolis. It was a fine introduction to one of the world’s oldest and greatest cities and civilizations.

▼▼ One day, we climbed a steep flight of stone steps to the top of the Acropolis. Compared to the crowds that notoriously overwhelm that place today, we and a few lucky others had it to ourselves.

▼▼▼ We enjoyed al fresco dining in Athens, too, both day and night.

▼▼ We found an amazing—and also amazingly windy—overlook where, naturally, we took each other’s picture.

▼ We spent a fun day in Athens’ National Archaeological Museum, where Bernie struck a pose beside an ancient but still familiar-looking sculpted figure.

The Cyclades

After those days in Athens, we took off by fishing boats to several islands in the Aegean Sea that make up The Cyclades. Rain and wind chased us for a week, but there were some lovely days in between, so we had a fabulous time anyway.

We took no cruises or escorted tours on this trip (or any of the dozens of others that I planned during our time together). For maximum flexibility, we took only one rolling, carry-on suitcase apiece—which explains why we’re wearing the same clothes in all these photos—and we managed quite fine with that.

In some cases, due to weather conditions, we had to depart from our planned schedule, but spontaneous fishing-boat rides and two-engine flights from island airports proved to be interesting, too.

▼ Our first—and still-sunny—stop was at the island of Delos (below), which in ancient times was considered the birthplace of Apollo the Sun God and also the region’s slave-trading capitol. I couldn’t help commiserating with those unfortunates as we explored the ruins of remarkable structures that they would have experienced under very different circumstances.

▼ We climbed to the top of the mountain visible behind Bernie, and then held tight to one another to keep from blowing off its peak.

▼▼ From Delos, we caught another fishing boat to Mykonos—appropriately (we thought) known as “the island of the winds”—where I had reserved a room in a small seaside inn complete with a cozy bar. My photo of Bernie (below) captures the significant wind we encountered en route over the water, when we arrived, and for a couple more days.

▼▼▼▼▼ Fortunately, we experienced sunny days on Mykonos, too. Bernie had a great time sketching then, and I always found somewhere to sit and read… or even pet the island’s mascot pelican named Petros (Peter) around town.

The stormy weather was so widespread that we changed our plans and, with the help of a local travel agent, caught a flight from Mykonos’s tiny airport to a larger one on the island of Rhodes, which was outside both The Cyclades andd the stormy weather pattern.

▼▼▼ Once on the island of Rhodes, we explore Rhodes City—including its well-preserved medieval Crusader castle and ruins of the famous “Colossus” in its harbor—and rented a car to drive a complete loop around its remarkably scenic coast.