Victor Emanuel Nature Tours

Greece: Birds & History Cruise – September 1-10, 2010
 

Aboard the M/S Galileo

Only 2 cabins are still available!

This fall VENT is returning to Greece for our second ever Greece: Birds & History Cruise, September 1-10, 2010. We have chartered the 49-passenger M/S Galileo, a superb three-masted sail cruiser, for a circumnavigation of the Peloponnesian Peninsula. With the promise of beautiful landscapes, good birding, and visits to extraordinary museums and historical sites, we are confident this cruise will provide an unforgettable travel experience.

Sanctuary of Athena, Delphi— Photo: Barry Lyon

Our itinerary includes excursions to some of the most famous and important sites in the ancient Greek world. Among the places we'll see are: Epidaurus, containing a near-perfectly preserved 2,400-year-old theater; Mycenae, seat of power of a mighty state in the second millennium B.C.; Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games; and Delphi, home of the legendary Delphic Oracle.  The trip begins with visits to the highly regarded new Acropolis Museum and the famed National Archaeological Museum.

Our time at the archaeological sites and at a natural area called Dinari Lagoon should produce an impressive assortment of migrant and resident birds. Among the possibilities are a range of Eurasian shorebirds, herons, flycatchers, swifts, tits, wheatears, wagtails, shrikes, warblers, buntings, and more. Little Ringed Plover, Common Redshank, Short-toed Eagle, Alpine Swift, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Black-eared Wheatear, Blue Rock-Thrush, Western Rock-Nuthatch, Red-backed Shrike, and Cirl Bunting are all species we have a good chance of finding. While at sea, careful watching from the ship's viewing decks may present opportunities to see Levantine Shearwater, Eleonora's Falcon, and Yellow-legged and Audouin's gulls.

M/S Galileo— Photo: Courtesy of Variety Cruises

Leading this departure are VENT leaders Victor Emanuel and Barry Lyon, along with Dr. Paul Woodruff, professor of philosophy and classics at the University of Texas. Paul is well-versed in all aspects of the history and culture of ancient Greece and will present a series of lectures that incorporate the dominant themes of ancient Greek civilization, namely history, philosophy, and theater.

I hope you will join us on what promises to be a very special Greece: Birds & History cruise. Cabins begin at $6,995 in double occupancy from Athens. Contact our office soon to reserve your cabin, as we anticipate this trip will sell out.