Holy Week at MSC Melody, Part II
My journey began from the Civitavecchia port, even though the rest of the passengers started their voyage from Genova. We spent the next day (April 18) on the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and the Mediterranean Seas, cruising towards Nafplion, a small port city in Greece. Because of the time difference, we were asked to set our clocks an hour ahead at night. By early morning we were passing the Stromboli Island before sailing through the famous Messina Strait.
I had nearly twenty-five people for the morning Mass that day. The food was sufficient to make a Catholic guilty, let alone a priest, since it was Holy Week. I tried to discipline myself not to fall into the sin of gluttony! Since there was nothing much to do after the Mass, I walked around and talked to some people. I quickly gained many friends, especially from among the staff. Some of them wanted to talk to me about improving their spiritual lives. One person wanted to know how she could be baptized and become a Catholic, once she is back in her country; another wanted to share her life struggles, looking for some possible spiritual solutions. I soon realized that there is an urgent need of a priest on every ship, more for the crew than the passengers, since they work continuously for several months and are deprived of all the sacraments. For the rest of the time I began to read the book Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life by Ratzinger.
The following morning we passed by the tip of Tainaro and Cape Maleas (the southern tip of the Peloponnesus Peninsula) and reached Nafplion around 12: 30 pm. There were several excursions offered to us and I took the “Panoramic Drive & Epidaurus”. We were transferred to the shore by small boats and from there we had a thirty minute bus ride to Epidaurus. It was an enjoyable ride through beautiful vineyards and ancient olive groves. On the hillside, the main Temple was the most celebrated healing center of the classical period, where the sick went in hope of being cured. In order to find out the right cure for their sickness, they needed to spend a night in a big sleeping hall and in their dreams the god himself would advise them what they had to do to regain their health.
The best preserved of all the ancient Greek theatres, the Theatre of Epidaurus, is still being used for theatre performances. Plykleitos the Younger designed this theater in the 4th century BC. There are 55 rows, which could seat 15,000 people. Regardless of their seating, the spectators could hear every spoken word because of its exceptional acoustics. I went to every corner of the theatre and it offered a magnificent view from the top. The pictures, even with my ordinary camera, came out beautiful.
On our way back to the ship we went to another beautiful location – the Corinth Canal, which separates the mainland Greece from the Peloponnese Peninsula. This canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea.
