June 12 to 14
We had a relaxing morning slowly gathering our luggage, taking showers and then once again venturing through the winding streets of the Chania old city. We ate omelettes on the bank of the Venetian harbor, bought coral worry beads, then took an hour glass bottom boat ride with Captain Nick where Darren and I snorkeled off a close island. Nick also let us take turns driving the boat and chatted with me about traveling.
Back on shore, we walked to the old lighthouse with Darren finding his own worry beads, then had seaside caffeinated coffee drinks before heading back to the apartment. Monika was super nice and let us checkout in the afternoon just before we needed to leave for our bus to the airport. We had a difficult time finding the bus stop she suggested, but we made it to the station just before it left.
We flew from Hania, Crete to the north of Greece in the city of Thessaloniki. Darren slept the whole one hour flight, but I was able to catch sight of the green circle of trees surrounding the Acropolis of Athens.
In Thessaloniki we took the bus from the airport to the city and discovered how huge and crowded it is. Thankfully our apartment was in a quiet university neighborhood and we were met at the front door by the caretaker who spoke perfect English and gave us great recommendations for the area for food.
After FaceTiming with Darren's parents, we ate at one of the recommended falafel spots. We were horrified to see images on the television about the Orlando mass shooting, but we didn't really know what had gone on until we watched the English speaking BBC the next morning in our apartment.
I was on the verge of tears watching about all those innocent people being murdered. I don't understand the mindset of it. But I do know that we have to keep living the best we can and trying to be an example of love for others.
We packed up once again and explored the dense city. First we walked down our street to the city's saint's church Agia Demetrious. I believe it was built in the 300s and still has Byzantine mosaics and frescoes along with the typical icons, holy gate, and massive candles. One candle was the length of my body and cost ten euros.
After the church, we walked past the old Roman ruins of a hippodrome along the main Venetian style street of the city all the way to the sea. Along the way we bought train tickets for an afternoon train to Lesitoro. At the end of the street I found an info kiosk for a map and information about tour buses. I was starting to really not feel too well and the city was a bit overwhelming and sprawling, so I thought the bus might be a good idea.
As we walked along the sea towards the city's iconic White Tower and starting point for the bus, we paused for super strong frappes. One can never have too many in Greece.
On our bus ride we passed museums, the old wall, churches, markets, squares, and we paused and got off at the ruins of Byzantine castles from which we hiked up to the old Acropolis. It had after been transformed into a jail, but now is offices for the archeological organization of the city. From the bus we also paused at the Galerius Gate from Roman times and I paid to take a look inside the ancient Rotunda while Darren bought us falafel. It was a good time to relax because I was feeling worse. The food and resting helped a bit, and I was able to have enough energy to explore the awarded Byzantine Museum with Darren and I poaching a college guided tour. The most interesting aspect for me was again just learning and thinking about the transition they had from pagan to Christian and how they were different from the western form of Christianity.
After the museum, I wanted to leave plenty of time to get to the train station, so we found the correct bus and ended up getting on our train 40 minutes or so early. That was perfectly fine with me.
Our newest AirB&B host was kind enough to pick us up from the train station in Lisitoro. This was great because unbeknownst to us it was five kilometers from town and there were no taxis. We had amazing views of Mount Olympus, and after our host showed us around our huge house we walked downhill into town and snapped a few shots of the massive rock. We also prepared for our hike. I bought another jacket and socks and we purchased drink and food. We also supped at a local restaurant on chicken souvlaki, an eggplant and feta dish, potatoes and bread. It was delicious and they even gave us free dessert.
Today we hiked the first five hours up Mount Olympus. We tried to hitchhike to the trailhead but only had luck with acquiring a five pack of dogs which we named carbaryis, feta, kalimera, Zeus, and souvlaki. They were still with us when we hiked back to the taxi stop.
We caved and paid the twenty euros for the taxi to take us to the Gortsia trailhead, but to me it was worth saving us a six hour hike up a road. Instead we began through the forest that reminded me a bit like Tennessee woods, but less humid. After two hours we reached the first refuge and took a coffee break. We continued on past smatterings of wildflowers and a line of beaded and bell wearing horses to tree line. From there the views of the sea and craggy mountains were magnificent.
I had been worried about rain and forecasted thunderstorms but thankfully rain and light grapple really only hit us the last 20 minutes or so of our hike. It also became very foggy but we were still able to spot a couple Balkan chamois and the turn for our refuge.
We arrived around 2PM but were tired so we dried off by the fire and took a nap for a few hours. After awaking I read a little, ate supper with Darren and then enjoyed the rest of the evening chatting with our refuge mates from Atlanta, Germany, Switzerland, and Greece. I have also been stoked to catch up on this writing!
Showing posts with label Greece. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greece. Show all posts
The Samaria Gorge
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Greece
Yesterday we woke up around 5AM to catch the 6:15AM bus to trailhead for the Samaria Gorge. It is purported by some as the longest gorge in Europe, but I think it is surpassed by the Verdon Gorge. Either way, Darren and I were excited to take a break from museums and bask in beautiful nature. Although the trail can be famously crowded, we were able let to hoards from the bus pass us and find tranquility spotting the Cretan mountain goats, butterflies, birds mostly by ourselves. We began the hike with a number of switchbacks starting the 4000 foot descent of the gorge. Along the way were innumerable fire houses and hoses. I guess they are very concerned that their pine and cypress trees could burst into flames at any moment. They are also prepared for rock fall and had occasional fencing over the top of the trail for particularly dangerous spots. Near the end of the switchbacks we began seeing beautiful wild pink oleander buses and the start of a small creek. The trail became somewhat less rocky as we passed old ruins and in between massive limestone cliffs.
We paused for occasional water and snack breaks with plenty of spots to refill our bottles and use the restroom. Eventually we came to an area that seemed more typical of gorge hikes I have done in the past: sandy ground and narrower trails through limestone canyon. We never had to do anything technical, but Darren did find a small offshoot canyon to explore until it became to difficult without a rope to ascend.
One our our last stops was at the Samaria village that had a feisty Cretan goat trying to forage people's lunches. One young girl was screaming as it almost pushed her with its horns.
Eventually we emerged past a ticket checkpoint into a village where we took a van two more kilometers to the beach. There we found a table by the beach to reward ourselves with Greek yogurt, Greek salad, a cappuccino and frappe, and, of course, free wifi. We then bought our bus and ferry tickets and strolled over to the black sand to enjoy the ocean. We decided to get some deck chairs (free with the purchase of a drink) after I realized my feet could not handle the burning sand. We ran across it enough to get in the Libyan Sea for the first time. Then we relaxed until it was time to take our ferry to Sfaklion and then our bus back to Hania.
Back in town, the streets were booming with people, some of the teens covered in what looked like colored powder. Apparently there was a "color party" going on somewhere. We bought the cheapest meal of the trip so far, two euro pita sandwiches, and then wound our way through the pedestrian streets of the town and along the Venetian harbor.
We paused for occasional water and snack breaks with plenty of spots to refill our bottles and use the restroom. Eventually we came to an area that seemed more typical of gorge hikes I have done in the past: sandy ground and narrower trails through limestone canyon. We never had to do anything technical, but Darren did find a small offshoot canyon to explore until it became to difficult without a rope to ascend.
One our our last stops was at the Samaria village that had a feisty Cretan goat trying to forage people's lunches. One young girl was screaming as it almost pushed her with its horns.
Eventually we emerged past a ticket checkpoint into a village where we took a van two more kilometers to the beach. There we found a table by the beach to reward ourselves with Greek yogurt, Greek salad, a cappuccino and frappe, and, of course, free wifi. We then bought our bus and ferry tickets and strolled over to the black sand to enjoy the ocean. We decided to get some deck chairs (free with the purchase of a drink) after I realized my feet could not handle the burning sand. We ran across it enough to get in the Libyan Sea for the first time. Then we relaxed until it was time to take our ferry to Sfaklion and then our bus back to Hania.
Back in town, the streets were booming with people, some of the teens covered in what looked like colored powder. Apparently there was a "color party" going on somewhere. We bought the cheapest meal of the trip so far, two euro pita sandwiches, and then wound our way through the pedestrian streets of the town and along the Venetian harbor.
Beware the Minataur and His Maze
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Greece
It is almost midnight, and we are planning to wake up at 5AM, so why am I still awake? I will explain in just a few moments.
This morning we woke up sometime around 4 or 5AM because we had gone to bed so early on the ferry. We were so awake that we gave up, took showers, and meandered up to the deck to watch the beautiful sunrise over Crete. After about an hour or less, we arrived at the island, bought our tickets to Chania for the afternoon, than found the bus to Knossos. It was so early, that when we arrived all of the cafes and the palace site were still closed. Finally, one cafe let us sit for expensive coffee and soon after the site opened where we bought breakfast pastries. A lady from the Union of Santorini and Crete guides approached us and asked if we wanted a tour of the site for 10 euros each. I do not have a very in depth guide book, and I was sick of reading displays, so I thought this would be a good idea. The only problem was that we needed a group of six for her to be able to guide us. We waited at least a half hour and almost gave up, but some folks with a baby, and a couple with a baby showed agreed to join the group around 9AM or so and we were off. Crazily I learned that one of the Argentinians was from Entre Rios, and she knew of my university.
Anyhow, during our tour from "Mama Moomoo," we learned all about the ancient Minoans, their palace, natural air conditioning using corridors, Sky lights and Windows, sea and floral motif frescos, processions, labirinthian rooms, water pipes, humongous storage jars, and the myths and archaeology that go along with the site.
I was really happy for the fabulous tour and that we had gone to it before the archaeology museum we went to after a lunch of Greek salad, mousaka, and some Cretan appetizer. In the museum we saw the originals taken out of the site for preservation plus the Cretan history with objects all in context and chronological order. The museum reopened just two years ago after being closed for eight years for improvements, and I think they have done a marvelous job.
After having our museum fill, we wandered the pedestrian city streets and found the old church, harbor, and fort with obvious Venetian influence from when they were in power of Crete. The lion was ubiquitous.
Finally we returned to the bus station to take the three hour bus ride to Chania. To my delight there was decent wifi on board, so I did some travel research and even booked us a place to stay in Thessolaniki.
When we reached Chania, our house host met us and walked with us to our apartment. I thought I was paying decent attention, but later this evening after exploring the old town, Darren and I wandered around the streets for who knows how long looking for the correct apartment door. Finally we walked to a coffee shop with free wifi and I found the correct address. Finally we have been able to get our bed and can catch a few hours before our ten plus mile hike tomorrow. Yikes.
Our Last Day in the City of the Olive Tree
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Greece
Thursday, June 9
We had one last day in Athens and we had already seen the major major sites, so today we checked out some of the smaller museums including The Byzantine and Christian Museum, The Cycladic Museum, and The Benaki Museum. The first took us through Greek history and helped explain how Greece transitioned from Greek to Roman and then early Christian/Byzantine rule. It reminded me somewhat of the transition it may have been for the Indians in Latin America transitioning to Catholic influence, not truly getting rid of those influences. In the Greek situation, it seems that the Byzantine era continued with practices like burying the dead with items and wearing elaborate jewelry. I also learned about the Christians in Egypt which were called Copts and their mixture of pagan and Christian symbols. The museum included a section on the importance of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and how folks would often take bottles with holy water or other items for their time in these places.
Our second museum, The Cycladic Museum, started with a temporary exhibition by Ai Wei Wei, a Chinese fella who has been influenced by the Cultural Revolution and who has incorporated current events into his geometric art. For example, he had a marble mask representing the poor air quality in Chinese cities. He also created installations specifically with the museum in mind including tires and floats representing the refugees passing through the Greek region and a giant Cycladic figure with a falling vases--an allusion to his most famous art piece: pictures of him dropping a Chinese vase.
We began the museum's permanent exhibits on the top floor with a section devoted to ancient daily Greek life. I liked learning about the grime and sweat tool the athletes would use to clean themselves after they would train or play in their ancient games. The next floor described the ancient Cyprians and their influence and how they were influenced by the world around them because of their position between the East and the West and their frequent travels between the two. Finally we reached the Cycladic floor filled to the brim with their iconic ancient 3000 BC to 2000 BC statuettes of figures crossing their arms in front of them. Apparently these later influenced the art of Picasso and Modigliani. This was easy to see because of their geometric stretched out shapes.
After the Cycladic museum, we paused to eat some pizza and frappes in the posh area close to all the embassies (frappes seem to be extremely popular). We were refreshed and our last museum was refreshingly free. The Benaki included art and historical items like we had seen in the other museums of Greece, but it also included costumes and recreated rooms from the region. I loved the bright deep colors in the fabrics of the dress and furniture and the huge multi-pieced jewelry.
Darren was having a hard time staying awake after all of these museums, but we were able to amble through the National Gardens to the Panathenaic Stadium. It was hot and we did not feel like paying the entrance fee because we could see it quite well. So, we decided to go ahead and make our way on the tram and metro to Pireus to pick up our ferry tickets. After obtaining them in town, we took a metro stop back to the more peaceful town of Mikrolimano for seaside chicken souvlaki and Greek salad.
By the time we walked and took the metro back to Pireus, it was late enough for our ferry to let us on board, probably around 7PM. Our ferry was not supposed to leave until 9PM, but they showed us to our room passing by signs for a pool. We thought maybe we would use it, but instead we collapsed in our private room and were probably sleeping by 8PM. I had decided to splurge on getting the room, and I was glad we did. We could have just slept the night on airplane seats, but it was super nice to lie down and take a hot shower in the early morning.
We had one last day in Athens and we had already seen the major major sites, so today we checked out some of the smaller museums including The Byzantine and Christian Museum, The Cycladic Museum, and The Benaki Museum. The first took us through Greek history and helped explain how Greece transitioned from Greek to Roman and then early Christian/Byzantine rule. It reminded me somewhat of the transition it may have been for the Indians in Latin America transitioning to Catholic influence, not truly getting rid of those influences. In the Greek situation, it seems that the Byzantine era continued with practices like burying the dead with items and wearing elaborate jewelry. I also learned about the Christians in Egypt which were called Copts and their mixture of pagan and Christian symbols. The museum included a section on the importance of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and how folks would often take bottles with holy water or other items for their time in these places.
Our second museum, The Cycladic Museum, started with a temporary exhibition by Ai Wei Wei, a Chinese fella who has been influenced by the Cultural Revolution and who has incorporated current events into his geometric art. For example, he had a marble mask representing the poor air quality in Chinese cities. He also created installations specifically with the museum in mind including tires and floats representing the refugees passing through the Greek region and a giant Cycladic figure with a falling vases--an allusion to his most famous art piece: pictures of him dropping a Chinese vase.
We began the museum's permanent exhibits on the top floor with a section devoted to ancient daily Greek life. I liked learning about the grime and sweat tool the athletes would use to clean themselves after they would train or play in their ancient games. The next floor described the ancient Cyprians and their influence and how they were influenced by the world around them because of their position between the East and the West and their frequent travels between the two. Finally we reached the Cycladic floor filled to the brim with their iconic ancient 3000 BC to 2000 BC statuettes of figures crossing their arms in front of them. Apparently these later influenced the art of Picasso and Modigliani. This was easy to see because of their geometric stretched out shapes.
After the Cycladic museum, we paused to eat some pizza and frappes in the posh area close to all the embassies (frappes seem to be extremely popular). We were refreshed and our last museum was refreshingly free. The Benaki included art and historical items like we had seen in the other museums of Greece, but it also included costumes and recreated rooms from the region. I loved the bright deep colors in the fabrics of the dress and furniture and the huge multi-pieced jewelry.
Darren was having a hard time staying awake after all of these museums, but we were able to amble through the National Gardens to the Panathenaic Stadium. It was hot and we did not feel like paying the entrance fee because we could see it quite well. So, we decided to go ahead and make our way on the tram and metro to Pireus to pick up our ferry tickets. After obtaining them in town, we took a metro stop back to the more peaceful town of Mikrolimano for seaside chicken souvlaki and Greek salad.
By the time we walked and took the metro back to Pireus, it was late enough for our ferry to let us on board, probably around 7PM. Our ferry was not supposed to leave until 9PM, but they showed us to our room passing by signs for a pool. We thought maybe we would use it, but instead we collapsed in our private room and were probably sleeping by 8PM. I had decided to splurge on getting the room, and I was glad we did. We could have just slept the night on airplane seats, but it was super nice to lie down and take a hot shower in the early morning.
The First Greek Hippie
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Greece
We have filled our Athenian days in a big way. We arrived in the morning and had a full day to try and stay awake. So, it probably was not the best idea to tackle one of the most tiring tourist sites in all of Athens: The National Archaeology Museum. Regardless, after figuring out how to use the metro system, locating and solving how to use our key to get in our apartment, showering, and obtaining food this is what we did. We took the metro to the only part of the city I had read can have violent crime and nervously walked ten minutes past graffiti to the museum.
I lost Darren after the first 45 minutes or so and left him to sleep in the lobby while I cruised past ancient Greek to Roman sculpture. I also perused through prehistoric art, Egyptian art, vases, and an exhibit of 19th century traveler's view of Athens. When I finally emerged after my fifth or so time passing by the endless statues back to the lobby, Darren was no longer present. I found him outside lying on the cool marble column lined porch with rain lightly falling in the background. He told me he wanted another ten minutes to sleep, so we rested and ventured out to find an early supper. We choose a place with baked goods and caffeine that threw in a couple baklava with our meal.
We traveled the metro and walked back to the apartment only to discover that our keys were missing. Trying not to go into full panic mode, we retraced our way back north and thankfully Darren immediately saw the keys underneath the chair upon which he had been seated.
The caffeine consumed was not effective, and after returning to our apartment again, we fell asleep within an hour...probably around 7 PM or so. We both only maybe woke up once during the night, and were raring to go the next morning around 5:30 or 6AM.
We tackled the ancient city of Athens with three Rick Steves' walking tours. First we saw the Acropolis, then did a city tour, and finally explored the Ancient Agora. Amongst the tours we also explored the remains of the Temple to the Olympian Zeus and ate dried olives and chocolate Caprice cookies on a shaded bench. We walked up a long hill back up towards the Acropolis pausing for cappuccino and a salad and sandwich before seeing the newish Acropolis Museum. It was amazing and not too overwhelming. Our favorite part may have been the Lego replica including our favorite hippie philosopher Diogenes telling Alexander the Great to stop blocking his sunlight.
We finished with the museum almost as it closed at eight, and boogied on the metro and walking up the steep hike to watch the sun set on Athen's tallest point, Lycceitus hill. We made it to the top with a perfect twenty minutes or so to relax with the other waiting tourists. After the sun sank, we ventured down the mountain to find the metro. We first found a light supper in Syntagma Square and another bench to watch the break dancers, inline skaters, and bike riders look for an audience. I was glad to experience the whole vibe, but when I became cold and tired, it was time to find my bed. I was quite impressed of how much we were able to squeeze in the day and that we were able to be out and about until 11PM.
Memorable moments and sites seen on our walking tours: Acropolis tour: a gazillion cats, watching Greek soldiers March through the Propylea in the early morning, the olive tree that Athena gave to the city winning for ownership against Zeus who produced a salty spring from his Triton, the great view of the city and learning about the Greek youth who stood up to the Nazis who asked him to take down the flag at the Acropolis, the story of the procession along the Panathenic way through the agora up to the Acropolis during Athena's birthday when the Athenians would bring a cloak for the wooden Athena statue in the Erechtheion, the beautiful female caryatids of the Erechtheion, feeling Biblical sitting on the graffiti covered Mars Hill and gazing at the Acropolis.
Here is the extent of my Greek vocabulary:
Yassas: hi/bye
Kalimera: Good morning
Efaristo: Thank you
I lost Darren after the first 45 minutes or so and left him to sleep in the lobby while I cruised past ancient Greek to Roman sculpture. I also perused through prehistoric art, Egyptian art, vases, and an exhibit of 19th century traveler's view of Athens. When I finally emerged after my fifth or so time passing by the endless statues back to the lobby, Darren was no longer present. I found him outside lying on the cool marble column lined porch with rain lightly falling in the background. He told me he wanted another ten minutes to sleep, so we rested and ventured out to find an early supper. We choose a place with baked goods and caffeine that threw in a couple baklava with our meal.
We traveled the metro and walked back to the apartment only to discover that our keys were missing. Trying not to go into full panic mode, we retraced our way back north and thankfully Darren immediately saw the keys underneath the chair upon which he had been seated.
The caffeine consumed was not effective, and after returning to our apartment again, we fell asleep within an hour...probably around 7 PM or so. We both only maybe woke up once during the night, and were raring to go the next morning around 5:30 or 6AM.
We tackled the ancient city of Athens with three Rick Steves' walking tours. First we saw the Acropolis, then did a city tour, and finally explored the Ancient Agora. Amongst the tours we also explored the remains of the Temple to the Olympian Zeus and ate dried olives and chocolate Caprice cookies on a shaded bench. We walked up a long hill back up towards the Acropolis pausing for cappuccino and a salad and sandwich before seeing the newish Acropolis Museum. It was amazing and not too overwhelming. Our favorite part may have been the Lego replica including our favorite hippie philosopher Diogenes telling Alexander the Great to stop blocking his sunlight.
We finished with the museum almost as it closed at eight, and boogied on the metro and walking up the steep hike to watch the sun set on Athen's tallest point, Lycceitus hill. We made it to the top with a perfect twenty minutes or so to relax with the other waiting tourists. After the sun sank, we ventured down the mountain to find the metro. We first found a light supper in Syntagma Square and another bench to watch the break dancers, inline skaters, and bike riders look for an audience. I was glad to experience the whole vibe, but when I became cold and tired, it was time to find my bed. I was quite impressed of how much we were able to squeeze in the day and that we were able to be out and about until 11PM.
Memorable moments and sites seen on our walking tours: Acropolis tour: a gazillion cats, watching Greek soldiers March through the Propylea in the early morning, the olive tree that Athena gave to the city winning for ownership against Zeus who produced a salty spring from his Triton, the great view of the city and learning about the Greek youth who stood up to the Nazis who asked him to take down the flag at the Acropolis, the story of the procession along the Panathenic way through the agora up to the Acropolis during Athena's birthday when the Athenians would bring a cloak for the wooden Athena statue in the Erechtheion, the beautiful female caryatids of the Erechtheion, feeling Biblical sitting on the graffiti covered Mars Hill and gazing at the Acropolis.
Here is the extent of my Greek vocabulary:
Yassas: hi/bye
Kalimera: Good morning
Efaristo: Thank you
Kusadasi and Samos
A beautiful day to sit inside and write...
Don't worry, I'll enjoy the summer sun later today. In the meantime I thought I'd try to catch up somewhat on my travels since I finished them a few days ago. IfI don't write about themnow, I may never. This will probably, however, be a very condensed version of my normal epic porportion of writing. Sorry for those of you who were interested in the contents of all of my meals. If you want, I will send you a personal email with the info :).
May 13
First of all, I'm going to catch up on our stay in Kusadasi, Turkey. After our Ephesus tour, we called our travel agency and thankfully had a new tour guide for the next day. He took Becky,a couple girls traveling by themselves (theywere staying at thesame hostel), an Asian man, and few other people,and me in a tiny van to Pamukkale.
We had drive three or four hours to get to the city, but I had a phenomenal time. I could tell the tour guide was passionate about his culture and job, because he gave us a lot of information about every aspect of Turkish politics, education, economy, daily living, etc. I loved it! On the way back home I barraged him with a million questions about Turkey and his personal schooling. He happily answered them all.
We passed fields and fields of cotton--Turkey is one of the most popular bed sheet manufacturers--and finally stopped at a hotel in Pamukkale for a quick dip in hotspring pools and lunch. We then headed on to the main site of Pamukkale. Our guide took us to the Kleopatra pool where apparently Cleopatra soaked to stay healthy. He explained that the ancient column and stoa ruinsstrewn pool is a UNESCO site. UNESCO, along with the help of other organizations, managed to shut down three five-star hotels near the site that were polluting the water due to overuse. Now hotels below the pool are given a certain amount of water per week after it has trickled down the mountain. I was happy to learn of a successful environmental endeavor.
We had a few hours to explore the sites of the area, so Becky and I explored them all! First we walked along the snowy-colored mineralized pools and walkways outside of the Cleopatra pool. We took loads of pictures and quickly examined the artifacts in the local archeology museum which mostly had remains froma theater. Finally we changed and plunged into the Cleopatra pool. I loved its warmth and the fact that I was sitting and swimming underneath ancient columns. I accidentally got a little taste of the clearish blue-green water and I swear it was just like Perriet. Becky and I explored all parts of the pool and finally hung out by the spring's source. After awhile I felt like I was suspended in a big bottle of Sprite. It was very odd, but fun.
Eventually it was time to leave, so our guide took some pictures for us and we met the rest of the group. On our way home we stopped at a massive gravesite that is being excavated and, of course, covered in wildflowers. We then tried to hunt down some local soccer players at their hotel, but they hadn't arrived yet (our guide had told us about them, and we had voted to stalk them). Our final stop was at Red Rock which is basically a pathetic version of Puente del Inca, Argentina where rock is mineralized and takes on a reddish tone.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
May 14
Our final full day in Kusadasi we were picked up by no other than our Ephesus tour guide. Yea. I tried to keep on a happy face. Thankfully we had a great group of fellow tourists who were passionate about photography and seeing all the sites at a slow pace. The guide also apologized, sort of. He took us to Pergammom. I started sluggishly looking around at the ruins, not completely listening to the historical explanations (which is strange because I LOVE history), and snapping a photo here and there. Finally, at the temple of Zeus I realized that Pergammonis significant to me. In fact, I've been to the Temple of Zeus before, two times in fact...at the Berlin Pergammon Museum. Well, then the whole thing became fascinating; it was like putting two puzzle pieces together in my mind from two continents. Invigorated, I enjoyed sitting in one the steepest (in not the most steep) theaters of the ancient world,savoring the tastiest tour lunch we had eaten, and then heading on to peruse the Asclepium. The Asclepium is an ancient medical center dedicated to Aseculapis, the "God of Medicine." I found it to be one of the most enthralling archelogical sites of our trip because massive doric, ionic, corinthian, and composite columns are still partially intact. One can also see where the sick would stand to tell the "doctor" his or her ailments. Most interesting, however, are the ancient baths in which people would soak. Some of the pipes to heat them can still be seen. I just wish there would have been cleanwater, cause I would have plopped right in. Sadly only two or three turtles could enjoy its murkiness.
Around 6PM we finished our tour. This was Becky and I's last night together in Turkey, so we decided to splurge and go to a Turkish Nights show at a Cavansari near the harbor. On the way, we stopped at our usual email spot, and ended up running to the show (somehow I always end up running places on my trips). We madeit to the hotelthankfully in time and even ended up getting quite a bit of money off our tickets, just because we are beguiling. Theshow was entertaining and very thorough. We sawregional Turkish dances and listened to Turkish instruments. We watched in awe at the belly dancer fling her stomach and hair all about her and then hilariously get five or six old men from the audience to try to mimic her movements.The show was quite lengthy thanks to some singers who sang every imaginable famous song from all continents. The smoke on all sidesof us becamesuffocating, so we were ready to leave by the time it ended. We did, however, as a whole have a good time.
May 15
Turkey was amazing, but it was time to say goodbye. The next morning we launched off towards Samos and what we hoped would be some rest and relaxation. Thankfully our wish was soon fulfilled.We tooka peacefulferry ride and after settling into our hotel located500 meters from the port, we took a local bus to a beach (we had wanted to rent a moped, but none of us had an international driver's licence). I read in my guidebook that the beach was rocky, but that are sandy beaches nearby. Imagining rocky beaches in the US' Northeast, I figured we would probably walk to the sandy beaches, but such was not the case. The pebbles strewning the beach were amazingly bright and beautiful. I asked Becky to bury me in them...I mean, who has ever been buried in rocks!?! I tried to keep them from falling off of me as we both died laughing.
We walked a bit down the beach collecting tons of rocks, got tired, and then sat...and sat. We spent the entire afternoon on the pebbly beach as I read to Becky the bulk of a crazy Hispanic book (surprise, surprise) I had brought with me. We took the last bus home and explored the tiny streets of our town on the way back to our hotel. We stopped at a couple stores. I ended up buying some much needed knock-off sunglasses (the Greek sun is brutal!) and a bag similar to oneI'd seen on an Argentine girl on our ferry that morning(the Argentine Montagne brand completely gives them away). Becky went on a painting buying splurge. We returned our things to the hotel and ate our first true Greek salad at a nearby restaurant that faces the harbor. At the end of our meal, I had to save Becky from sampling the complimentary ouzo. She didn't know that the licorice smelling drink is full of strong liquor.
May 16
Becky and I did our normal morning routine: wake up, clean up, eat breakfast,hoard extraitems from breakfast for the afternoon, and then leave. We had to pack up all of our stuff because we'd be leaving (ALREADY!) that afternoon for Mykonos. In the morning we looked at the massive kore (male youth) statues and scary griffin handles in the Samos Archeological museum. Afterwards, we decided we needed some nature time, so we took a local bus west to a very small town suggested by my guidebook as a great place to go. I told the driver where we wanted to hike, and he said, "Oh, yes very beautiful." So he dropped us off and sent us in the right direction. We strolled on a road past fields and then started steeply climbing up, up, upon forest covered (thank the Lord!) switchbacks. We hiked for probably two hours or more in this 45 degree upward angled manneruntil we passed a group of seniors led by what looked to be a cruise activity director. Becky asked him how much longer it would be until we reached the waterfalls. He looked confused and told her waterfalls were in another town. I said, "Umm...Becky, you know we are going to the Valley of the Nightingales, not waterfalls." I felt bad about the mix up. I had read to her aboutthe waterfalls and the valley. I guess it had sounded like they were in the same place.
We passed some more people who told us we only had a little bit to go and that the village was very cute. Well, now I was confused about what we would be seing. I thought we would be hiking through a bird infested valley. I think that is what we had walked up, because indeed, by the time we reached the apex of the mountain we found a truly cute little village. It wasn't what we had been expecting, but we definitely had a photo binge looking at all the colorful little houses and churches all aperch on the top of Samos. Again we walked through narrow cobble-stone streets. Before we descended, we quickly ate homeade apple pie and ice cream and a helping of our daily Greek salad at an ivy-covered restaurant overlooking the valley.
Becky was worried about missing our bus, so we scurried down the mountain in probably a third of the time it had taken us to climb up it. At the bottom, a very drunk man and his embarassed girlfriend invited us to sit down with them for a drink (of water for us) while we waited for our bus. They told us our bus was coming a half hour later than we had thought, so we relaxed and enjoyed hanging out. They let us sample ricefilled grapeleaves (they weren't too bad) and I loved watching the girlfriend shake her head as her boyfriend said who knows what type of obscene things in Greek.
I should mention something about the fat-man's-squeeze that Greek island bus ticket takers must endure. Normally busses in all the places Becky and I traveled had a healthy number of people standing in the aisle. The Greeks, not wanting to let any person get away without paying his or her fare, will shove people aside using their stomachs or hands miraculously passing from the front to the back and from the back to the front of a bus
Don't worry, I'll enjoy the summer sun later today. In the meantime I thought I'd try to catch up somewhat on my travels since I finished them a few days ago. IfI don't write about themnow, I may never. This will probably, however, be a very condensed version of my normal epic porportion of writing. Sorry for those of you who were interested in the contents of all of my meals. If you want, I will send you a personal email with the info :).
May 13
First of all, I'm going to catch up on our stay in Kusadasi, Turkey. After our Ephesus tour, we called our travel agency and thankfully had a new tour guide for the next day. He took Becky,a couple girls traveling by themselves (theywere staying at thesame hostel), an Asian man, and few other people,and me in a tiny van to Pamukkale.
We had drive three or four hours to get to the city, but I had a phenomenal time. I could tell the tour guide was passionate about his culture and job, because he gave us a lot of information about every aspect of Turkish politics, education, economy, daily living, etc. I loved it! On the way back home I barraged him with a million questions about Turkey and his personal schooling. He happily answered them all.
We passed fields and fields of cotton--Turkey is one of the most popular bed sheet manufacturers--and finally stopped at a hotel in Pamukkale for a quick dip in hotspring pools and lunch. We then headed on to the main site of Pamukkale. Our guide took us to the Kleopatra pool where apparently Cleopatra soaked to stay healthy. He explained that the ancient column and stoa ruinsstrewn pool is a UNESCO site. UNESCO, along with the help of other organizations, managed to shut down three five-star hotels near the site that were polluting the water due to overuse. Now hotels below the pool are given a certain amount of water per week after it has trickled down the mountain. I was happy to learn of a successful environmental endeavor.
We had a few hours to explore the sites of the area, so Becky and I explored them all! First we walked along the snowy-colored mineralized pools and walkways outside of the Cleopatra pool. We took loads of pictures and quickly examined the artifacts in the local archeology museum which mostly had remains froma theater. Finally we changed and plunged into the Cleopatra pool. I loved its warmth and the fact that I was sitting and swimming underneath ancient columns. I accidentally got a little taste of the clearish blue-green water and I swear it was just like Perriet. Becky and I explored all parts of the pool and finally hung out by the spring's source. After awhile I felt like I was suspended in a big bottle of Sprite. It was very odd, but fun.
Eventually it was time to leave, so our guide took some pictures for us and we met the rest of the group. On our way home we stopped at a massive gravesite that is being excavated and, of course, covered in wildflowers. We then tried to hunt down some local soccer players at their hotel, but they hadn't arrived yet (our guide had told us about them, and we had voted to stalk them). Our final stop was at Red Rock which is basically a pathetic version of Puente del Inca, Argentina where rock is mineralized and takes on a reddish tone.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
May 14
Our final full day in Kusadasi we were picked up by no other than our Ephesus tour guide. Yea. I tried to keep on a happy face. Thankfully we had a great group of fellow tourists who were passionate about photography and seeing all the sites at a slow pace. The guide also apologized, sort of. He took us to Pergammom. I started sluggishly looking around at the ruins, not completely listening to the historical explanations (which is strange because I LOVE history), and snapping a photo here and there. Finally, at the temple of Zeus I realized that Pergammonis significant to me. In fact, I've been to the Temple of Zeus before, two times in fact...at the Berlin Pergammon Museum. Well, then the whole thing became fascinating; it was like putting two puzzle pieces together in my mind from two continents. Invigorated, I enjoyed sitting in one the steepest (in not the most steep) theaters of the ancient world,savoring the tastiest tour lunch we had eaten, and then heading on to peruse the Asclepium. The Asclepium is an ancient medical center dedicated to Aseculapis, the "God of Medicine." I found it to be one of the most enthralling archelogical sites of our trip because massive doric, ionic, corinthian, and composite columns are still partially intact. One can also see where the sick would stand to tell the "doctor" his or her ailments. Most interesting, however, are the ancient baths in which people would soak. Some of the pipes to heat them can still be seen. I just wish there would have been cleanwater, cause I would have plopped right in. Sadly only two or three turtles could enjoy its murkiness.
Around 6PM we finished our tour. This was Becky and I's last night together in Turkey, so we decided to splurge and go to a Turkish Nights show at a Cavansari near the harbor. On the way, we stopped at our usual email spot, and ended up running to the show (somehow I always end up running places on my trips). We madeit to the hotelthankfully in time and even ended up getting quite a bit of money off our tickets, just because we are beguiling. Theshow was entertaining and very thorough. We sawregional Turkish dances and listened to Turkish instruments. We watched in awe at the belly dancer fling her stomach and hair all about her and then hilariously get five or six old men from the audience to try to mimic her movements.The show was quite lengthy thanks to some singers who sang every imaginable famous song from all continents. The smoke on all sidesof us becamesuffocating, so we were ready to leave by the time it ended. We did, however, as a whole have a good time.
May 15
Turkey was amazing, but it was time to say goodbye. The next morning we launched off towards Samos and what we hoped would be some rest and relaxation. Thankfully our wish was soon fulfilled.We tooka peacefulferry ride and after settling into our hotel located500 meters from the port, we took a local bus to a beach (we had wanted to rent a moped, but none of us had an international driver's licence). I read in my guidebook that the beach was rocky, but that are sandy beaches nearby. Imagining rocky beaches in the US' Northeast, I figured we would probably walk to the sandy beaches, but such was not the case. The pebbles strewning the beach were amazingly bright and beautiful. I asked Becky to bury me in them...I mean, who has ever been buried in rocks!?! I tried to keep them from falling off of me as we both died laughing.
We walked a bit down the beach collecting tons of rocks, got tired, and then sat...and sat. We spent the entire afternoon on the pebbly beach as I read to Becky the bulk of a crazy Hispanic book (surprise, surprise) I had brought with me. We took the last bus home and explored the tiny streets of our town on the way back to our hotel. We stopped at a couple stores. I ended up buying some much needed knock-off sunglasses (the Greek sun is brutal!) and a bag similar to oneI'd seen on an Argentine girl on our ferry that morning(the Argentine Montagne brand completely gives them away). Becky went on a painting buying splurge. We returned our things to the hotel and ate our first true Greek salad at a nearby restaurant that faces the harbor. At the end of our meal, I had to save Becky from sampling the complimentary ouzo. She didn't know that the licorice smelling drink is full of strong liquor.
May 16
Becky and I did our normal morning routine: wake up, clean up, eat breakfast,hoard extraitems from breakfast for the afternoon, and then leave. We had to pack up all of our stuff because we'd be leaving (ALREADY!) that afternoon for Mykonos. In the morning we looked at the massive kore (male youth) statues and scary griffin handles in the Samos Archeological museum. Afterwards, we decided we needed some nature time, so we took a local bus west to a very small town suggested by my guidebook as a great place to go. I told the driver where we wanted to hike, and he said, "Oh, yes very beautiful." So he dropped us off and sent us in the right direction. We strolled on a road past fields and then started steeply climbing up, up, upon forest covered (thank the Lord!) switchbacks. We hiked for probably two hours or more in this 45 degree upward angled manneruntil we passed a group of seniors led by what looked to be a cruise activity director. Becky asked him how much longer it would be until we reached the waterfalls. He looked confused and told her waterfalls were in another town. I said, "Umm...Becky, you know we are going to the Valley of the Nightingales, not waterfalls." I felt bad about the mix up. I had read to her aboutthe waterfalls and the valley. I guess it had sounded like they were in the same place.
We passed some more people who told us we only had a little bit to go and that the village was very cute. Well, now I was confused about what we would be seing. I thought we would be hiking through a bird infested valley. I think that is what we had walked up, because indeed, by the time we reached the apex of the mountain we found a truly cute little village. It wasn't what we had been expecting, but we definitely had a photo binge looking at all the colorful little houses and churches all aperch on the top of Samos. Again we walked through narrow cobble-stone streets. Before we descended, we quickly ate homeade apple pie and ice cream and a helping of our daily Greek salad at an ivy-covered restaurant overlooking the valley.
Becky was worried about missing our bus, so we scurried down the mountain in probably a third of the time it had taken us to climb up it. At the bottom, a very drunk man and his embarassed girlfriend invited us to sit down with them for a drink (of water for us) while we waited for our bus. They told us our bus was coming a half hour later than we had thought, so we relaxed and enjoyed hanging out. They let us sample ricefilled grapeleaves (they weren't too bad) and I loved watching the girlfriend shake her head as her boyfriend said who knows what type of obscene things in Greek.
I should mention something about the fat-man's-squeeze that Greek island bus ticket takers must endure. Normally busses in all the places Becky and I traveled had a healthy number of people standing in the aisle. The Greeks, not wanting to let any person get away without paying his or her fare, will shove people aside using their stomachs or hands miraculously passing from the front to the back and from the back to the front of a bus
Athens: To an Unknown God
Becky and I arrived in Athens yesterday afternoon a little pooped from our eight hour ferry from Santorini to Pireus; we had woken up at 5:30AM to make it to the dock. We had been having issues with transportation in the islands, so we were greatly relieved to see Becky's last name held up as we left the ferry. Our driver dropped us off at our hotel, we put things away, and emerged to try and find our way through the enormous city that is Athens.
I have to be honest. My first impression of Athens was not the most pleasant. We past graffitied, square, cement, building after square, cement, graffitied building as we searched for a money exchange kiosk. Thankfully we found one in the mix, and then we took care of some other other errands. I bought my ticket back to Turkey, and we found a nearby cheap vegetarian restaurant called Healthy Food Vegetarian recommended by one of my guidebooks. We drank carrot juice, Becky had a Greek salad (we would have eaten one everyday since we arrived in Greece, except today we broke tradition), and I got a mushroom, pasta casserole which was reminscent of academy cafeteria food.
Satiated I navigated Becky and I to the Archeology Museum (don't laugh Jessica and Brad...I really found it ;). I love museums that show items in chronological order; we meandered through all sorts of findings from the earliest findings up until Christianity took over in Athens. We only had a few hours until closing, so we had to speed walk a lot at the end. My favorite items were the theatre masks and large statues of, of course, Hermes and friends. We even found a statue of a siren. I took a picture with it, but a museum worker (there are one or two in every exhibit room) told us that we were being disrespectful. Maybe this was true; people worshiped these pieces of art. Perhaps it would be for the Ancients like someone today desecrating a Bible in front of a Christian. An any case, we didn't take any more pictures with the sculptures.
Becky and I scurried through the rest of the museum and then took it easy the rest of the evening. We strolled through a tiny cobblestoned street called Gladstones that is lined with shops and cafes. At the end of the street we went inside a Greek Orthodox Church and then sat on the benches outside chatting for a long while. We needed a rest. We have been traveling intensely for the last two weeks. We realized we haven't probably taken enough time to just sit and watch people, their movements and interactions.
Before our trip, Becky got us hooked up through her mom to stay at a university with whom her mom's university is associated. After a huge hotel breakfast on the terrace--kiwi, apples, dried apricots and figs, cereal, bread, lime juice--a man who works for the university picked us up and took us to the university. He drove us past all of the endless sea of city to an area that actually has a bit of green and is quite charming. A lively thin lady met us when we finally stopped at the apartment building we were to stay in. She introduced herself as one of the dance teachers and showed us to our apartment. It is so nice! We have a bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen with a bounty of food, and free laundy and workout room. The dance lady helped us orient ourselves, gave us info, and told us to come visit her, as she is our next door neighbor.
After Becky and I put our things down and ate a few of the brownie cookies they gave us, we ventured to find the bus and metro to take us back to the city. I felt even more at home as I passed none other than a Starbucks! Getting to our destination, the Acropolis, was amazingly easy although one short old man we asked to tell us which bus stop to stop at to get the metro missed his stop because he was too busy explaining it to us. I felt pretty bad, but he gave us a huge smile as we passed him. From then on and after our meeting with the university folk, my view of Grecians was greatly heightened. In the Greek Islands and during our first day in Athens the only nice people seemed to be foreigners: guys from places like Albania and the former Yugoslavia. Thankfully everyone today was awesome!
Becky and I got off the metro at the Acropolis, paid our 6 euros and consciously took time to drink in all the sites we visited. It was SO nice to not be a part of a tour group. We read passages from Fodors as we looked at the different sites and that was sufficient for us. First we went to the Theatre of Dionysus in which famous tragedies of Sophocles and the like and comedies by those like Aristophenes were performed. Next was the Odeon, then the main area on top of the hill: the temple of Athena Nike (Propylea or something like that), the Parthenon, and the Eurtheon. I learned that most of the sacrificing to Athena was done in the latter. The Parthenon was mainly used to store treasures for the Delian League. We went through the Acropolis Museum, took a look at the huge city of Athens, and then passed back through the temple of Athena Nike.
From there we climbed up slippery limestone to the Areopagus. We walked around it a bit and then realized that this was the place where Paul preached to the Athenians. I had my Bible with me, so Becky and I sat down on the famous rock outcropping and read the sermon he gave to Athenians in Acts 17:16-34. It's a really wonderful passage and it was amazing to be able to see all the places it describes from where we were sitting. We could identify with Paul's reference to the many Athenian statues.
The rest of the day we spent looking at the ancient agora, eating at Plaka, and finding our way back to our apartment. Well, we haven't done the latter quite yet, but I bought a Starbucks frappachino, so I should have the energy to find our street.
Happy Sabbath to those with whom the sun hasn't yet set.
Sunday
Becky and I had a very homelike Saturday night in our apartment relaxing and watching her dream man Paul Newman (you know...the guy from the salad dressing bottles) in some movie. We ended up going to sleep later than normal, so this morning we didn't get out of the apartment until around 11AM. We took a taxi and then a two hour bus to Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. We rode along the coast watching enumerable people enjoying Athens' endless beaches and little coves. The water was bright blue! 
After gaining a butt cramp, I finally saw the massive temple on an cliff on a high peninsula and we soon disembarked. Becky and I walked around taking pictures in the blazing Grecian sun and then sat on some ruins under the solitary tree of the area. She wrote and I painted for probably more than an hour. It was a gloriously lazy day. The ever-present museum workers were friendly and helped us find Lord Byron's signature before we left. Even well known English writers carved graffitti!
The Islands
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Off to the Mainland
Howdy everyone that actually reads these. The Greek Islands flew by in a flash for Becky and I. Tomorrow we head to Athens and our five last days traveling together. After that is my perilous trip back home. I hope I actually make it! Well, I will have to divulge more infor about our adventures later. It's been a lot of beaches, reading, museums, and questions of why we aren't enjoying the "night life." Ah, well.
Ephesus
Monday, May 15, 2006
Swimming Under Ancient Columns
Okay, I've been very atrasada in my writing. I've totally skipped out on all of Kusadasi. I have explanations though. We went to internet cafes everynight but the keyboards were impossible again and I had a hard time spending time a lot of time writing . For the first time on our trip we had to pay money to use email. We were definitely spoiled before Kusadasi. Ah, well.
Here is a brief overview and, well, random things about our trip:
Everynight we were harassed by the same two fellows to come and have hashish with them from the ubiquitous waterpipes. Everytime we came up with a new excuse followed by a garnish of "maybes." Turkish shopsellers and other people seem to have a mantra of questions they ask foreigners. "Where are you from?" "What hotel are you staying in?" "Won't you come just have a drink with us?" The hashish boys liked to ask us these questions everytime. Our last night, with pepperspray in hand, we were worried we'd have to encounter them again. Thankfully, they were not there.
The more creative phrases from various other folk was much more entertaining. On one tour, our bus or van door opened and a little man appeared and said, "Hello. (pause) I am here," touting postcards and souvenirs in his hands. The other funny expression came from various shopkeepers who would say, "Excuse me, yes, please." A little presumptious, eh?
Ah, but I love the Turkish people. I had no idea how they would be before I came on this trip. But the majority made me feel at home. Unfortunately, our first tourguide in Kusadasi was, to say the least, a bit slippery. Our first day in the area he took us to Ephesus in nearby Selcuck (If I return to this part of Turkey, I will stay in this charming little town.). This part of the tour for the most part went smoothly. We learned all about the people and beautiful ruins of the ancient city between two hills. We saw the public latrine where the men would sit on the pot (use the bathroom...of course after their servants had heated them with their bums) and discuss politics and who knows what else. What a grand idea. Too bad the ancients didn't allow structures like this for women. Maybe that is why we always have to "go to the bathroom in groups;" to make us for this injustice. Besides the latrine we saw a relief of Nike, the goddess of victory and learned that the checkmark (as in, "I'm checking off on a piece of paper that I did the dishes, exercised, etc. on my things to do list.") is derived from her and means victory. So everytime one I put a checkmark beside all of those groceries I've bought, it's really a moment to celebrate. Grocery shopping victory.
We also saw a statue of Hermes. My favorite Greek/Roman god (hmm...is that wrong for me to have a favorite pagan god?) because he guides travelers, is a messenger, and also is associated with healing. That's why he deserves this whole paragraph. Oh, yeah. The Celsius library, great theater (where Becky and I renacted being gladiators), and agora areas were pretty cool too.
After lunch with our other tour members with the normal citrus soup, bread, vegetables, and shish kabops and rice, the trouble began. Our guide had a different itinerary than we had. His had a lot less things planned for us to do than we were supposed to do. This produced a lot of discussion amongst everyone, calling of agencies, and emotions. We eventually got to do two of three of our planned activities (minus the carpet and ceramic exhibitions that everyone in our group had seen at least two times on other tours). I'm glad we fought to do them because they were worth the effort. The first was a visit to St. Mary's House. It is believed that Mary and John set up home in Ephesus after Jesus gave them to each other at the crucifiction. Today there is a small house with some of its original stones still intact. The rest has been reconstructed. We heard a religious service, lit candles inside the house, and drank water from a fountain that is supposed to make us live ten years longer. Becky wrote down wishes or prayers on a piece of toliet paper and tied it to a wall where other pieces of wish tissues are tied. She told me she wished for a "hot husband, a successful career, and a long life for her parents." :). 
Well, that is all the time I have to write for now. I'll have to write about diving under ancient columns a bit later. Until then, I'm having a fabulous time on a Greek island called Samos. I love Greece already.
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