Tuesday we were docked in Saarema, an island of Estonia. Where we were docked there is quite literally nothing. It is apparently the only place around the island that is deep enough to have a port. The main city of the island, Kuressaare, is a 45 minute ride across the island. We booked an excursion because we believed that it would be the only way to get to Kuressaare and its castle. It we had known that Oceania would be offering a shuttle bus, we would have gone on our own, especially since the excursion was not good. It started with the bus ride across the very flat, very uninspiring landscape. They did make a quick diversion through a small village. When we arrived in Kuressaare, there was a stop at a stature by the water.
Then there was an inexplicably long "panoramic" drive through the uninteresting town while the guide tried to find some windmill, which she never did. When we finally got off of the bus in town, our guide took us for a very short walk before she announced that there would be a 15 minute shopping break. She would then lead us to the castle, but a tour of the castle was not included. Before we had gotten off the bus, she had told us that we could take the shuttle bus back if we wanted to stay longer. So, at the shopping break, we said goodbye to the tour and walked through the town towards the castle.
This is fun to be off the beaten track!
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