An olympian journey

WHEN athletes walk down the tunnel to enter the arena at the London 2012 Olympics it’s a pretty safe bet the names of Ben Johnson or Dwain Chambers will not adorn the walls.

The ancient Greeks took a different view. At Olympia, the original site of the Olympic Games, the entrance to the arena is lined with statues bearing names of the cheats who had brought shame on the Games.

Those who had sought sporting victory and fame by illegal means were fined and ordered to pay for a statue of the God Zeus on the track leading to the Olympic Arena, called the Bases of Zanes.

During the 98th Olympics, in 388 BC a boxer named Eupolus bribed his three opponents to let him win. The Hellanodikai judges fined all four men. The fines paid for a row of bronze statues of Zeus with inscriptions explaining what had happened. These six bronze statues were the first of the Zanes.

Olympia, tucked away in the middle of nowhere in south-west Greece, was one of a long list of destinations on a 12-day cruise aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Forget the stuffy image, these ships are like floating hotels where you open your curtains each morning to a new skyline.

This floating hotel is 86,000 tonnes with 11 guest decks, nearly 1,000 staff and is stuffed with New York-themed artwork reputed to total over $3m.

Joining the cruise in Venice, the itinerary was full of enticing destinations, but being a sports nut, Olympia just edged out Istanbul as my must-see.

You can be adventurous and just set out alone. It might sound daunting, but a day walking around Istanbul really brought home the real vibe of the city, while hiring a car in Greece is an experience.

Travelling with my wife and two-year-old son, we hired a car for the day and set off on the 30-minute drive to Olympia. It was a quiet midweek day which was fortunate since Greek drivers, I discovered, enjoy hogging the centre of the road as if they feared some wild animal rushing out of the edge-side bushes.

The town of Olympia is dour – a few roadside cafes where sun-beaten faces watch the world. At the edge of town is the original site of the Olympics, dating back 2,700 years. Ruined columns stand defiantly against the elements and years – impossible to identify without the help of signs along clearly marked pathways.

At the main arena, walk down the tunnel into a grassy area and feel the weight of history flood over you. The original starting line is still visible.

Mums and overweight dads rest on their haunches before treading in the footsteps of sporting legends, as family members catch the moment on camera.

Couples sit high up on the banks which look down on the field, scattered now, but it is easy to imagine the arena packed full of folk.

I am no connoisseur of ancient ruins, but after Olympia what I discovered in Athens just blew me away. The Parthenon, part of Athens’s Acropolis, a temple dating back to 447BC, towers high on the hillside, poking out from a plethora of tiled rooftops, making it visible from most approaches.

After a day treading the busy streets of Athens, I could think of no better way of relaxing than a massage in Nieuw Amsterdam’s Greenhouse Spa and Salon.

Eating on board is amazing. From your early morning omelette, to a midnight cheeseburger, self-service buffet restaurants cater for most tastebuds. If you fancy treating yourself, the pan-Asian Tamarind restaurant, steak-loving Pinnacle Grill or Italian eatery Canaletto offer a feast.

Approaching each port is one of my favourite moments, it’s so serene. On the Bosphorus Strait as we sail into the natural harbour, known as the Golden Horn, one side is Europe, the other Asia, earning Istanbul the distinction as the only metropolis that is on two continents.

The fifth largest city in the world, with a population of 13m, Istanbul can be a daunting proposition. With a child in tow, we opted for one of the organised tours on our first evening in Turkey. But after getting our bearings, the next day we felt confident to do our own thing, and were rewarded by some of the friendliest people you could wish to find.

The Blue Mosque, with its cascading domes and six slender minarets, is well worth a visit, but the colourful, vibrant winding streets and numerous markets are intoxicating.

The Nieuw Amsterdam’s final Turkish destination was in the holiday port of Kusadasi. Bars line the streets, a massive market sells everything you could want – and most of the stuff you don’t – a world away from the cultural delights of Istanbul.

Two of our ports on the homeward loop offered us the chance to relax by the sea. The Greek ports of Mykonos and Santorini opened my eyes to a country previously only experienced on Corfu,

Mykonos boasts beautiful beaches, small family-run bars, and streets just wide enough to push a buggy. My son, Thom, was quite happy to splash away in the sea, building sandcastles, and was quite upset when the afternoon sun setting was our signal to hop back on board a shuttle craft.

At Santorini we landed at the foot of towering cliffs and our enthusiasm for a long trek upwards was waning.

There are two options for reaching the height and delights of the clifftop dwellings. Either a cable car, or go traditional and hop on board one of the never ending line of donkeys.

We went mechanical, and whizzed to the top before our lattes had time to be whisked, much to Thom’s disappointment who took a liking to the donkeys.

A day at sea was the perfect way to end our 12-day cruise, allowing the family to lounge by one of the two outdoor swimming pools, return the books to the on-board library and check our return flights and emails at the internet cafe before departing for a day in Venice before the two-hour flight back to London.

GETTING THERE...

• Richard Hercock travelled on Holland America Line’s MS Nieuw Amsterdam on a 12-night Mediterranean Empires cruise from Venice.

• Prices for a similar cruise in 2011 start from £1,599 per person sharing a twin stateroom including scheduled flights from London (regional flights may be available at a supplement), transfers and 12-night cruise full board basis. Call 0845 351 0557, or visit www.hollandamerica.co.uk