Costa what ?

Amalari asked if it was a cruise ship that she could see in the background of one of my blips. The answer is, of course - yes.

The tiny port of Katakolon is the gateway to Olympia for the cruise world. Ships descend on this tiny port and offload thousands, and I mean thousands, of passengers who take coaches up to the famous classical site.

Some of the ships which visit carry more than 3000 passengers each. Today the Ruby Princess and the Costa Fortuna, along with three smaller ones, all came into town. There must have been an influx of more than 8000 tourists - vitally important to the locals (and best of all, leaving the area by the time it gets dark)

A few years ago, friends remember Katakolon as being undeveloped. Now the waterfront is lined with very nice little cafes and restaurants with really friendly staff, and tourist shops, with repetitive souvenirs. Taxi drivers offer to take people to the beach and for a small part of the day, the little town is invaded.

From my blip you may be able to see the sheer size of these ships. This one is not the biggest that was there today, and even the biggest of today's visitors is relatively small in the overall scheme of today's huge vessels.

The Costa Fortuna hardly fitted onto the dock and just the front part towered over the little restaurants.........

Spoiling the area ? Or providing a controllable and vital income? Environmental damage or a lifeline ? .......