Small Ships Cruises

Has it ever occurred to you that we tend to take the Mediterranean for granted? We all know it’s there, we all love its waters, coastlines, islands, hidden coves and beautiful beaches. We wine and dine in its harbour-side cafes, tavernas and lokantas. By turns, as we cruise it in our luxury mega yachts, we find it seductive and sophisticated or wild and beautiful. But how well do we really know it?

So a few basic facts to start with. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning ‘inland’ or ‘in the middle of the land’ – from medius for middle and terra for land. It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km² (965,000 sq mi). It has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.

Where it connects to the Atlantic at what Homer knew as ‘The Pillars of Hercules’, but which we now call the Straits of Gibraltar, it is a mere 14kms wide. It is significantly more salty than the Atlantic and other oceans and gets saltier still as you go eastwards and the climate gets hotter. It has virtually no tides.

Those who delight in cruising these beautiful waters should never forget they are following in an ancient seafaring tradition. The Med has been a major highway since time immemorial. Certainly there are records of the Egyptians trading during 3,000 years before the birth of Christ although the Phoenicians were arguably the first great navigators sailing its length and breadth. By the time the legendary ‘Helen’ causes 1,000 ships to be launched in aid of her rescue, people had been cruising Homer’s ‘wine dark sea’ for well over 2,000 years.

The Roman’s, in true possessive fashion called the sea ‘Mare Nostrum’ or ‘Our Sea’. Whether or not Roman General Mark Anthony started the great romantic tradition of cruising when he took to the sea to tryst with Cleopatra it would at least seem quite appropriate. Some claim their meetings took place just off Paleocastritsa in Corfu – where the translucent waters remain drop dead romantic to this very day.

For us the amazing thing is that the appeal of the Med not only endures it keeps on growing. The diversity from West to East is quite remarkable and it would be almost impossible in one holiday lifetime to claim you’d ‘been there, done that, got the t-shirt’ – although if you could you’d need a very large shed for your t-shirt collection.

So never take the Med for granted. We don’t and especially over the coming months which to our minds are the perfect time for cruising as the beach-hungry crowds start to thin out, the waters are at their warmest, and the welcome is warmer than ever. There is still chance to book for 2015 – give us a call.

We’re aware that not everybody will be on an Aegean cruise this week. But fret not – follow the following simple instructions and you can creat your very own Aegean Cruising Experience.

First you need the right music. You may not have any Bouzouki CD’s – in fact many people have done away with the CD player all together. But Spotify is at hand. All you have to do is go to the Spotify website and you can create a Greek music playlist. If you want to be authentic best avoid Nana Mouskouri and Demis Roussos. A better starting point is a musician named Theodorakis.

Turn the music up to an acceptable volume and uncork a bottle of chilled Retsina. Most good super-markets stock Retsina these days. It is something of a ‘Marmite’ wine – you love it or you hate it. Bear in mind that if you’re trying it for the fist time the more chilled it is the more likely you are to love it.

Have decent swig of Retsina then take the shoulder of lamb you have been marinading in some olive oil, lemon juice and oregano out of the fridge, bone it, dice it into small cubes and put it on some bamboo skewers. This is called Souvlaki – best not to put anything else on or people might think you’ve got a carry-out from the local kebab shop. Top tip here is to soak the skewers first for an hour so they don’t catch fire.

Light the barbecue – personally we prefer a mixture of real wood and lump-wood charcoal. That will need to burn down until it is nicely glowing so whilst you’re waiting make the Greek salad.

Basic ingredients for the salad are tomatoes, cucumber and Feta cheese – again readily available at your supermarket, or at a push you can use ‘home-brand Greek style cheese’. The important thing is that it’s crumbly. Dice the tomatoes and cut the cucumber into 8cms sticks. The addition of a few black olives adds colour and sophistication. Dress the salad with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic and a smattering of oregano, thyme and other Mediterranean style herbs.

You’ll also need to make some Tztasiki – for which you need to cut some more cucumber into fine cubes, or go ‘spaghetti’ style, and stir into a good Greek yoghurt along with some crushed garlic and lemon juice.

If you have guests round (shame if you don’t as this is really worth sharing) you will hopefully by now be on the second bottle of wine and, whilst the charcoal is still burning through, it’s time for the Greek dancing. If you’ve been on a Greek cruise, or for that matter any sort of Greek holiday, you’re bound to have been to a Greek evening and know what it’s all about. If not don’t worry – simply go to YouTube and type ‘Greek Dancing’ in the search box. You’ll be amazed – gobsmacked even – at what you find!

Dancing will almost certainly work up a thirst – so lucky you put that spare bottle of Retsina to chill. Your guests might also like an Ouzo and ice (no lemonade – that’s so awfully Essex!). Let them chat away because it’s time to get the Souvlaki on the barbie.

This is no time to loose attention. Give the Souvlaki 3 minutes then turn it a quarter turn then repeat until you have done the whole kebab. The outside should be slightly crisp, the inside still succulent and just pink. If you’ve gone for bigger meat cubes it might take longer.

Call your guests to the table and serve with the Tzatsiki with plenty of lemon to squeeze. For a true Aegean cruise experience try and find a few seagull sound effects. Perfect!

We don’t believe in taking sides in politics but whatever you think are the rights and wrongs of the Greek-Eurozone debacle we must not forget that whilst Greece may be running out of cash she still retains her greatest assets – her islands and Homer’s fabulous wine dark sea.

What’s more this is far from the first potential ‘disaster’ Greece has faced over the millennia. Any nation that has sat at the centre of Western civilisation since time began will always face ups and downs – volcanoes may explode, Empires may come and Empires may go, yet Greece has always endured.

One of the very reasons Greece has bounced back is that people always want to return to the breath-taking beauty on offer by day and the twinkling lights and music of the harbour front tavernas after dark. Not to forget some lightly fried fresh calamari and a glass of frosted Retsina. Indeed travel has always been Greece’s ‘funder of last resort’, and the tourist pound has played a vital part in many a recovery.

Whatever happens to the wider economy that tourist pound will be desperately needed over the next few years. We are of course biased – we have deep roots in Greece and many friends there. It is one of our favourite places on earth. The islands have a haunting way of calling you back – and there is no better way to see them than to follow in the footsteps of the Argonauts, take ship and hop between harbours, beaches and hidden coves.

So the most apparent thing about the shenanigans going on between Athens and the euro-bankers is that, whatever the broader outcome, we should all be making plans to holiday in Greece and making them now. So if it’s been a few years since you were last there, and you’re thinking about 2016, perhaps we might encourage you to put it at the top of your list. They’ve been looking after us with a warm hospitality for years – they’ll welcome you even more now.

Not to forget of course that there is still good availability for Greek cruises this autumn. Every demonstration of support will be warmly welcomed. Also don’t forget that cash is king! Whatever happens to the currency you’re guaranteed top value.

Call 0208 324 3118 to voice your support and book.