Tag Archives: Greece

Aptly named Capo Colonne (Venetian) “The Cape of Columns”

On April 26 M.S. Prinsendam made port of Pireaus, Greece, which serves as the port for nearby Athens. The city of Pireaus lies some 5.3 miles/8.5 kilometers west southwest of Athens, and 29 miles/46.4 kilometers northwest of Cape Sounion, at the tip of the Attic Peninsula. Driving distance, however, runs about 42 miles/68 kilometers, and takes about an hour and a half.

Sounion, Greece

From the parking lot you still have a 760-foot/230-meter hike to get to today’s destination. Along the way you’ll see some photographic opportunities as you trek high above the rugged Aegean coast.

The southernmost tip of the Attic Peninsula.

Near the top of the hill you get your first glimpse of what awaits you:

Sounion, Greece

And upon reaching the apex of the hill this is the sight that rewards your journey here:

Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

The Temple of Poseidon was built between 444 and 440 B.C. It was one of four major monuments started by Pericles, who led the Greek city-state of Athens for a period of time during the Greek Golden in the 5th century B.C. Other Pericles monuments include the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus.

Temple of Poseidon, Cape of Sounion

We’ll spend Wednesday and this week’s Fun Photo Friday wandering around the temple. Until then, here’s a preview:

Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

Temple of Poseidon

Ursula and I found ourselves on this little excursion because of a couple of good friends whom we met aboard M.S. Prinsendam. Marilyn Anderson, the Taco Bell Queen of Farmington, New Mexico, and her mother Margaret. When we weren’t sightseeing together, we were playing bridge or sharing a table in the main dining room aboard M.S. Prinsendam. You meet some really neat people aboard these cruises, and if you’re lucky you make some lifelong friends as well.

Marilyn Anderson (right) and her mother Margaret

The Temple of Poseidon lies atop a bluff at the southernmost tip of the Attic Peninsula. Up here you are 200 feet/60 meters above the rugged and scenic Aegean coast:

Cape Sounion

With a good telephoto you can snap an image of the Sounion Beach:

Cape Sounion

But it’s the jagged cliffs to the in the opposite direction, to the east, that for me gave the better photographic opportunity:

Sounion Cliffs

But after taking a quick look around the summit, it’s time to get back to the 2,400-year-old Temple of Poseidon, which doesn’t look half bad for its age:

Temple of Poseidon

Temple of Poseidon

Temple of Poseidon