Rescue Workers Evacuating Greek Cruise Ship

by Jonathon Morgan on

The Sea Diamond, a Greek cruise ship, called for help earlier today after running aground in shallow water. Now rescue helicopters and over a dozen ships are working to evacuate the 1,600 people on board. While local weather conditions are good, workers are trying to move quickly as the ship is taking on water.

Some of the 1,200 passengers — mostly from Germany and the U.S. — have already begun boarding lifeboats and abandoning ship. The ship has an additional 400 crew that will most likely have to be evacuated.

Fortunately, at least some of the passengers have reached Santorini, the nearest island, and “no one has been hurt,” a local official told Reuters.

No word on how long the operation is expected to take.

Photo of the Day (3/28/07)

by Neil Woodburn on

For some reason I can’t let go of the beach these days. I’ve got beach plans for the weekend – sure, but how I wish it were this dark sandy Santorini scene above. That’s right! Complete with umbrellas and empty beach chairs, this shot was taken by Ambre78 while hanging out in Greece. Nice work!

If you’d like to see your island, beach, and sunny vacation travel photo work featured on Gadling, be sure to place them in our Flickr pool.

Let There Be Darkness

by Iva Skoch on

This evening between 7:55-8pm CET in Europe, some European cities–Paris and Athens among them–went dark for five minutes. Not by accident, either.

Tomorrow, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will unveil a long-awaited report on global warming. And, apparently, nobody (aside from global warming deniers and skeptical environmentalists) expects it to be pretty.

Pressure is building on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to call an emergency summit of world leaders to break the deadlock over cutting greenhouse gases.

I wonder how much money would be saved by keeping the Eiffel Tower dark indefinitely. The 20,000 flashing lights sure make it look more visible to air traffic though. Oh, but wait, air travel is bad for the environment, too. This is where I might stop being an environmentalist. I guess you have to pick your battles.

Word for the Travel Wise (01/08/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

There is something about Greek mythology that has always felt like a dream. I remember reading the far-out tales long ago on these super human men and women thinking how so-very unreal. This ancient greece.com site offers a brief summary on some of the principal Greek Gods starting with Chaos and works its way into the small bios of Eros, Pontus, Cyclope, Hades, and Apollo and so on. It’s a nice place to refresh if it has been a while and if you’re planning a visit to Greece to explore the mythology more in depth.

Today’s word is a Greek word from Greece:

oniro – dream

Online sources for learning Greek for free include BBC Languages and AGNI. The courses at BBC Languages are incredible. Probably one of the best you’ll find online and audio can even be found for today’s word by clicking here. Amerispan offers Greek immersion and language courses in Athens. Pretty pricey, but hey it’s Greece!

Past Greek words: toh karavee, Pascha, aigolios, thello, foni, filaki, imera

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of December 17

by Adrienne Wilson on

It has been a hectic day filled with holiday shuffle and travel and it has truly worn me out. I’m exhausted and with such a busy week I confess, even I missed out on some of these great plugs found here on Gadling. If your week was anything like mine be sure to check them out too.

5. Lots of Santas:
Ho, Ho, Ho… Considering the time of year and season it only makes perfect sense to feature this march of hundreds of thousands of Santas in Russia once more. I’m sure it was an awesome event for anyone visiting during the time.

4. Planespotting in Saint Martin:
Please give a warm round of sound to Justin Glow who makes his Gadling debut with this interesting post of how enjoyable it is to sit lazy with cocktails on St. Martin sand and well, watch the planes as they come fly very close to the ocean and far too close for my comfort zone.

3. The Austin Report Part 2: Bizarre Shopping:
Tis’ the season to be emptying your wallet and not look back. Looking for some gifts with character? Head to Austin with Neil as he points you to some neat shopping destinations around the Texas town.

2. Hanukkah in Honduras:
Spending the holidays abroad can be a blast, but depending on where you go it can also be a real hassle. Iva points us to a very nice read about an adventurous family spending Hanukkah in Honduras. I wouldn’t have put the two together, but I know little about menorah’s and what is done on each of the 8 days.

1. The Wandering Honeymooners:
Huggy, happy, honeymooners always bring a tear to my eye. I’m so envious right now. The Moran motto: “Get hitched. Hit the road.” I love it and love that Brendan and Sarah are sharing their beautiful matrimony on the road with all us single, lonely or simply travel deprived individuals.