Islands in the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic Seas and Chinese tourists

Years ago when I was a much younger wage slave I watched the movie "Shirley Valentine" and agreed that the protagonist's desire to sit on beach on a Greek island drinking wine would be so hedonistic and wonderful. What I didn't realize at the time and did not fully grasp was the attitudes of many Western travelers were like when taken out of their normal environment and how much they feared the things they did not "know" in their day to day life. 

Well movie reality and real reality are not always the same. When travelling to the islands on our cruise I had envisioned sandy beaches where I could sit and sip an aperitif or two. Well I did get to have a few beers at some port stops but if you have travelled on cruises you will know that sometimes the stops are not long enough to have a casual drink and relax. There are shore excursions or other must see sights to be done before boarding the tender back to the ship. And if you do pull into port you may be one of hundreds bombarding an island at the same time overloading the basic infrastructure of the island. The ship we were on had only had 160 passengers which allowed us to go into ports the larger ships could not. At one port I watch a larger cruise (a floating village or a horizontal floating hotel) ship pull into port and it took almost an hour the passengers to disembarked. Now these hoards are looking for, gasp, a hamburger and fries with a Coke. Not the unique food and flavors of the islands unless that happens to contain some alcohol. the other advantage of our cruise ship was that it was an European based line so catered more to European tastes though the second half of the cruise was mostly Americans and Canadians. The entertainment was provided by a classically trained musician who felt he needed to play "Achy Breaky Heart" over and over. He did play some Frank Sinatra and other pop/rock classics but one night played classical piano in the main lounge. He was interrupted by some noisy North Americans trying to get to the bar during the middle of one piece.

Not all of the larger cruise ships passengers were Westerners many were Chinese. The Chinese are now one of largest groups travelling in the Western world and have surpassed the Japanese. This too has changed Mediterranean travel. One of the most annoying things is trying to get past someone from China taking selfies in the middle of a narrow European passageway not understanding that those of us trying to get some where are queuing up waiting for them to get out of the way. China's National Tourism Administration has issued a 64-page Guidebook for Civilized Tourism (Link here). One of  a few items found include:

The caption reads: “Don’t spit phlegm or gum, throw litter, urinate or defecate wherever you feel like it. Don’t cough, sneeze or pick your nose or teeth in front of others.”




But after awhile with or without the Chinese and other Western tourists the islands dis start to look the same. For many it had to do with Venetian rule and for others it was just a fact of geology. I haven't identified where these photos were taken but will admit I did pick the photos that had similar looks just to prove my point but each and everyone was an adventure to explore.

I have heard from a few of you who read this blog and you too have said many of the same things that Shirley's friends did when she said she was going on her adventure. No I am not really brave I just want to see the world as it really is and not in the way I live day to day at home. This may mean I will eat the local cuisine and obey the local rules but I will be on an adventure.

All those who wander are not lost.