A POETIC CRUISE
In Odysseus Footsteps
"Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven far journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s secret citadel. Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of, many the pains he suffered on his spirit on the wide sea, struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions".
THE ODYSSEY
BRINGING LEGENDS TO LIFE
Odysseus’ travels lasted ten years in the Odyssey and ever since Homer wrote his beautiful epic poem in the 8th century BC, scholars and explorers have tried to recreate Odysseus' journey. From the fiction of Homer’s poetry to reality, this is what we achieved with this sumptuous cruise through the Mediterranean in search of cyclops, sirens, giants and more.
“Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say
that we devise their misery. But they
themselves- in their depravity- design
grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns.”
Homer
The Odyssey
"Bringing Legends To Life"
We created this poetic cruise in the Mediterranean for a couple, one of their daughters and their granddaughter, to discover Odyssey's journeys back to Ithaca. At first, it was all about history and visiting incredible ancient sites, but soon, we challenged everything and came up with the perfect idea. One that was way more ambitious and magical.
The trip started in London with a once in a lifetime visit to the British Library to see an incredible treasure: some of Homer's surviving papyrus manuscripts. From there, we reached the British Museum for a private visit to hear all the tales of Odyssey's journeys and how Homer's poem has been inspiring artists ever since.
After London, we flew to Turkey to visit the ancient city of Troy, where our tale began. Here, in the middle of the ancient ruins, we saw the archaeological digs with a team of archaeologists working on-site to understand what the real Troy was and how it inspired Homer.
Then, two helicopters flew everyone to the couple's superyacht, and we sailed west like Odysseus did centuries before.
From Turkey to Greece, Tunisia to Malta, Spain and Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia), our cruise took them to visit incredible natural and mythological sites and see and explore the most beautiful ancient ruins around the Mediterranean. We cross paths with artists such as James Joyce and historical figures such as Alexander the Great and Empress Elizabeth (Sissi) in Corfu.
We explored some of the legends Homer writes about and some other Greek legends during our journey. But the most incredible part of our journey was all the magical encounters we created with mythology. We followed Odysseus to the Underworld where Hades reigns to learn Tiresias' fate, opened Agamemnon's burial chamber, explored the cave of the Minotaur and even saw "by accident" a real mermaid during an exploration around Capri on board a submarine.
It was two weeks of marvels and epic tales where we brought the ancient gods and mythological heroes back to life while exploring some of the most beautiful ancient sites of the Mediterranean. A trip that created some unforgettable memories and showed magic does exist.
WHEN MYTHOLOGY MEETS REALITY
When we started creating this Homeric cruise, we had in mind something more traditional that focused on history, gastronomy and relaxing moments. But from the moment we presented our first draft to the grandparents, everything changed. We then imagined exploring some legends of Greek mythology; in no time, they were enthusiastic with the idea or fully recreating them. Even more, we suggested bringing mythological creatures to life for the pleasure of their granddaughter.
This is how we embarked on a journey to make the impossible possible and achieved one of our most magical creations at that time. Does minotaurs, centaurs, mermaids and nymph exist? Now they do, and the whole family can attest they do. A camera was always closely filming everything without being seen.
