Our 7:30 wake up call didn't happen so at 7:35 I called the desk and made it happen. By 8:30 everyone had eaten and assembled. Bob took a carful of luggage down to the port while the rest of us walked through the labyrinthine streets of the old town and emerged near where the Blue Star ferry's Orca was moored. We boarded the Orca and were soon on our way to Dilos, the small island that was 1) the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, 2) a Greek sanctuary, 3) a Roman free port, and 4) sacked and destroyed by Turkish invaders in 88 BCE. It was never rebuilt. The French have the excavation which they did poorly at first but are now following modern standards.

The island is amazing: a jumble of toppled buildings that were once part of an obviously opulent town. We visited the museum and saw numerous statues and mosaics along with many other artifacts. The lions that once lined the area have been moved inside and replaced by plaster casts. There are numerous statues and heads of statues, nearly all carved from Naxian marble.

Our return boat, the Margharita , left allowing us a 2-hour visit and got us back to the port two hours before our ferry to Athens left. After photographing a pair of large pelicans on the beach, a bunch of us ate lunch at one of the beachside restaurants. I then went to check email which I hadn't done for two days. I should have waited. I learned that our cat Johnson, had died at age 17. Joan was pretty distraught. This was followed by a barrage of emails that got angrier and angrier. The ferry was boarding in 15 minutes so I only had time for a quick response before I had to leave, promising that I would write from Athens .

The ferry ride took us on a tour throught the Cycladic Islands. We made port calls at Tinos and Syros and then ran norhwestward along Andros before heading westward to pass between Kea and Makronisos.

I told Bob and Anne about the emails as we drank a beer. I was standing at the fantail gazing aft when Anne came over and cheered me up. Our guitarists played continuously throughout the 5 hour ride on the Blue Star ferry. The heavy Athenian smog and light rain prevented us from seeing the Acropolis. As we pulled into Pireus we did see a beautiful sunset view to the west that outlined 10 ridgelines.

We disembarked in the drizzle and made our way to the train station across the street. Some students elected to take a cab to the hotel. The rest of us got on a train and in 20 minutes were 6 blocks from our hotel. We rolled our bags up the hill to the Pan Hotel and by 9:00 were all checked in. Twenty minutes later we reconvened and walked a few blocks to a restaurant on Hadriano. We had a fine farewell dinner in the early evening darkness. Justin, Ben, and I had a final bottle of wine together with our meal. We said our farewells about 11:00 and then split up. I went to an internet café. Joan had responded to my earlier message and seemed much calmer. I left after an hour at 12:30 and returned to my room where I took a shower and went to bed.