Attache Press Release

Ottawa Sun - Peter Worthington

Gone with the Wind Song

Nothing but clear sailing for veteran Sun Scribe as he tours ancient ruins scattered through Greek Islands as part of exotic cruise vacation.

As someone who has travelled a lot as a working journalist, it was years before I adapted to travelling as a tourist. Nowadays, I do more tourist travelling than journalist roving - which pleases wife and family (and maybe even editors), but makes me wistful.

As a journalist, when hitting a foreign country, I used to be comfortable heading to the nearest riot for a story or to the foreign ministry fro accreditation. As a tourist, these days, I tend to be taken to the nearest ruin or pretty village to take a photograph.

When doing the tourist bit there can be only one boss. In my case it's Yvonne, who does the thinking, planning, organizing. I'm along as spouse, occasionally rebelling, but usually doing what I'm told.

Over the past 20 years, we've used travel agents Butterfield & Robinson a lot - maybe a dozen trips, usually on bicycle to places like China, New Zealand, France, Italy, Morocco. Albeit expensive, every one has been exceptional. I kind of feel that we've helped keep B&R solvent - which it certainly is.

This year, for our 30th wedding anniversary, Yvonne decided an exotic cruise in the Aegean, from Athens to Istanbul via a bunch of Greek islands, would be appropriate.

She contacted the new Attaché Travel service, which perates out of Holt Renfrew. It used to be that travel agents made their money from the carriers, not the clients. That has changed. Attaché charged $100 which, I'm pleased to say, was an inspired investment. They did a superb job, and went the extra mile to ensure all was well.

Yvonne chose the Windstar line, which has three motorized sailing ships (Wind Star, Wind Song, and Wind Spirit; maybe they could name a fourth Wind Bag!) that accommodate some 140 passengers each (unlike those huge liners that seem like floating prisons) and visit fascinating places.

Our ship was the Wind Song. While cabins were compact, it struck me that the bathroom was so efficient and well-designed, it puzzles me why hotels don't get ship designers to do their bathrooms. Hotel bathrooms often are the ultimate in inconvenience - even in pricey hotels.

Often there aren't hangers, washbasin space in cramped, towels inconveniently placed, toilet paper sited where you have to be a contortionist to reach it. That sort of thing.

Once criticism I had of the Wind Song was that it was hard to get something simple to eat - the food was lavish, with fancy sauces and exotic names and chosen to make your clothes shrink.

Another minor criticism was that when swimming of the aft of the ship, they disapproved of diving off the rail. If you do it, they threaten (joking, I think) to lock you in your cabin for the remainder of the trip and your wife scolds you.

There we lots of ancient ruins on the Greek Isles (and on our boat, come to think of it). Among the ruins we visited on the trip were Delphi, the Acropolis, Knossos on Crete, Delos, Santorini (a highlight), Bodrum, Ephesus, Rhodes. Frankly, looking at the innumerable photos we took, it's difficult to distinguish one old ruin from another - just like real life.

The ruins go back several thousand years B.C. - which I learned, to my horror, is an increasingly unacceptable term. B.C.that is. Before Christ supposedly implies that Christianity determines world definitions (which it probably does). The new, preferred term is B.C.E. - Before the Common Era. Inane.

That's got to be an American lib-left innovation. Even Muslim Turkey has not problem with the traditional B.C. distinction. Our guides even made fun of the new order.

We all have favourite sites. One of mine was the crusader's castle at Bodrum, Turkey, built around 1200 A.D.which accommodated 50 knights (of Jerusalem) and 150 soldiers and later, as a Turkish prison, held 700 inmates. Over the dungeon is the ominous sign in Turkish: "Tanrinin Belunmadigi Yer" which translates "Where God Does Not Exist." Appropriate for a dungeon.

Another pleasant memory is the great numbers of dogs and cats that seem to abound - all living frugal lives, I suspect, but all friendly, ineffably polite, all seemingly unthreatened and tolerated by locals. It speaks well of Turks and Greeks that stray animals feel so comfortable.

For those of a certain bent, another reality of the ancients is their interest in - how shall I say it? - the earthy, vulgar, naughty, rude? Statues with huge "phallic accessories" (the guides' delicate description). Some are certainly eye-poppers.

I notice the Butterfield people have started cruises as well as bicycle and walking trips. But I'll stick to Windstar for the moment - especially as I'm told they offer discounts to repeat customers, which is more than B&R does.

For those who might be interested - phone Attaché, they're the best we've dealt with, and this is an unsolicited testimonial - the most valuable kind.