Saturday, June 30, 2007
Cappadoccia
I'll have to upload my photos from Istanbul. I do have a few despite my illness...or you can google Cappaodoccia Turkey and see the same thing. Ha.
Feeling Better.
Thank you for all of the good wishes from home.
I wish I could post pictures of the nice people around here who helped me deal with these couple of bad days but I don't even have pictures of all of them. It was an international effort, seriously. Eva from Warsaw and Vicki from Madrid checked on me in the room and brought me water. John from San Francisco came by to see me and offered to do some chi energy healing. Zafer, a local, gave me boiled potatoes and plain rice to eat yesterday (and later some homemade food from his mother). Sara and Derek from Philly took me out for a few hours the other day and made sure I was all right yesterday, too.
I wish I could post pictures of the nice people around here who helped me deal with these couple of bad days but I don't even have pictures of all of them. It was an international effort, seriously. Eva from Warsaw and Vicki from Madrid checked on me in the room and brought me water. John from San Francisco came by to see me and offered to do some chi energy healing. Zafer, a local, gave me boiled potatoes and plain rice to eat yesterday (and later some homemade food from his mother). Sara and Derek from Philly took me out for a few hours the other day and made sure I was all right yesterday, too.
Friday, June 29, 2007
The Heat.
I haven't been anywhere with air conditioning except the bus. Honestly, it's not that bad. Sometimes falling asleep isn't so easy. And it can be annoying when you sit down for awhile then stand up and realize you have sweated right through your clothes. Then it's a little uncomfortable.
Other ailments.
I had a rough week leading up to this stomach problem. Bruised front and back from canyoning (which was worth it) in Olympos. And about a week of daily nosebleeds...sometimes two or three times a day. Hot and dry weather I suppose. Those seem to be over with. I hope. I have to say, I'm looking forward to the cold weather in South Africa. 100 degree days are tough as it is, worse when you're not well.
I've been ill.
Sorry, it's been a few days. I've been in bed. I hadn't been feeling well for a few days, but Thursday night it really hit me. I was back and forth from my bed to the bathroom for about four hours. I'll spare you the details but I had no idea so much water could come out of one body. I slept from about 4 a.m. (after the first call to prayer anyway) to noon. Got up, drank some water. Took some medicine so I could at least keep some water in system. Taking medicine was pointless the night before because I was constantly throwing up. Sara and Derek (from Philadelphia) invited me to ride around with them in their rental car so I did that for a few hours. I drank a cup of tea but was too afraid to try to eat anything. Came back and slept again from about 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Then took a shower and slept again from midnight to 8 a.m. Today, I am going to try to function as normal person. I ate two pieces of bread but I'm afraid to try anything else. I still don't feel great.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Istanbullus.
Olympos is a popular vacation place for young Turkish people. I've met some really cool ones in the last couple of days, all of whom I'm going to look up when I get to Istanbul next week.
Injury sustained.
Had to put the hydrogen peroxide and band-aids to work today. While climbing through the ruins of Olympos managed to snag my big toenail on a rock. I think I'll be all right.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Speaking of bottles of water...
I've been drinking tap water through Greece and Turkey. No problems.
Getting ripped off.
A lot of shops in Turkey don't have prices on anything. Bargaining system, right? Fine, but who wants to bargain for a bottle of water? The double-pricing system (one for the tourists, one for the locals) is really a drag.
Getting hassled.
In Greece, the most, and pretty much the only hassling was done by restaurant touts - Have a drink? Hungry for something? Yes please just see our menu. Lovely table, right here, just for you. Hallo, Hello, Bonjour, etc. They stand out on the street near the dining area and try to get your attention. Since I was by myself a lot in Greece they didn't bother me too much.
In Turkey, you get hassled by every single shop owner. You can't take a look at anything without being approached...and they don't leave you alone either. We've gone out as a group a few times (about ten people) and it is a nightmare.
In Turkey, you get hassled by every single shop owner. You can't take a look at anything without being approached...and they don't leave you alone either. We've gone out as a group a few times (about ten people) and it is a nightmare.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Saklikent Gorge
Loved this walk through the water in the gorge. A lot of small waterfalls to climb along the way.
A visit to the Carpet Weavers' Associatıon - Silkworms included
This was absolutely fascınatıng. First, we watched some weavers knotting rugs and they explained the technique. Then, we got to see how they harvest silk form silkworm cocoons. Can you see the threads of silk? Really amazing. Reminded me of the beginning of Middlesex (a fantastıc novel by Jeffrey Eugenides) and the discussion of the grandmother keeping silkworms in Asia Minor...not far from where we were.
Ancient cıty of Ephesus
Like I said. A lot of visitors at Ephesus. Incredible place, of course. The green area in the background used to be the harbour.
Boys from Detroit
Met these guys from Detroit (well, they don't really claim it} in Rhodes. You can see they are thrilled at the idea of being blogged. Looking forward to meetıng up with Paul - the guy on the left - in Istanbul in a few weeks. Paul went to Duke for grad school. I've seen about a million kids from Duke, they are everywhere.
It's been a busy few days
All right. Tonight I'm definitely going to put up some pictures! Finally in one spot for a couple of days - Olympos. Have been busy wıth this bus tour thing, which is easy but a little intense. I'm ın a town made up of treehouse villages...still haven't explored much yet though.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
KÖYCEĞİZ
Yesterday. Ephesus. So hot. So many tourists. Cruise ships. Oh dear.
Got on the bus and drove a few hours south to Köycegiz. Through the mountains, back down to the sea. It's a weird town.
On bus are Australians and a couple of American girls. Nice people. Hopefully, some good pictures to post after this afternoon.
Got on the bus and drove a few hours south to Köycegiz. Through the mountains, back down to the sea. It's a weird town.
On bus are Australians and a couple of American girls. Nice people. Hopefully, some good pictures to post after this afternoon.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
This Turkish keyboard will be the death of me.
I'm in Turkey! Arrıved this mornıng after about 24 hours of workıng towards gettıng here. So far, so good. Bloggıng may be a challenge though becuase thıs keyboard ıs serıously problematıc:
i ıs ı (you are just goıng to have to accept that)
I ıs rıght but İ ıs not
, ıs ş
. ıs ç
@ ınvolves Alt
öÖ çÇ Ğğ Üü İı Şş are also makıng appearances
oh dear. ı can't fınd the proper punctuatıon because shıft on the rıght and left perform dıfferent functıons. Plus, I have no ıdea how blogger wıll deal wıth ıt. It took me about ten mınutes just to sıgn ınto my emaıl!
Also, at the moment workıng from a free but very slow computer...so ı'll have to fınd a buddy to vısıt the ınternet cafe later. have been hangıng out wıth an australıan gırl and we've agreed that goıng out alone ıs probably not a very good ıdea. only because you get harrassed nonstop by turkısh dudes. ı'm sure they are harmless, but ıt ıs annoyıng.
turkısh flags everywhere. kemal ataturk everywhere. ıt's dıfferent and fascınatıng already. we heard our fırst call to prayer from the mosque here ın kuşadası thıs afternoon. ı'm really lookıng forward everythıng here. tomorrow mornıng we see ephesus then head south along the coast. wıll get some pıctures up when ı can!
i ıs ı (you are just goıng to have to accept that)
I ıs rıght but İ ıs not
, ıs ş
. ıs ç
@ ınvolves Alt
öÖ çÇ Ğğ Üü İı Şş are also makıng appearances
oh dear. ı can't fınd the proper punctuatıon because shıft on the rıght and left perform dıfferent functıons. Plus, I have no ıdea how blogger wıll deal wıth ıt. It took me about ten mınutes just to sıgn ınto my emaıl!
Also, at the moment workıng from a free but very slow computer...so ı'll have to fınd a buddy to vısıt the ınternet cafe later. have been hangıng out wıth an australıan gırl and we've agreed that goıng out alone ıs probably not a very good ıdea. only because you get harrassed nonstop by turkısh dudes. ı'm sure they are harmless, but ıt ıs annoyıng.
turkısh flags everywhere. kemal ataturk everywhere. ıt's dıfferent and fascınatıng already. we heard our fırst call to prayer from the mosque here ın kuşadası thıs afternoon. ı'm really lookıng forward everythıng here. tomorrow mornıng we see ephesus then head south along the coast. wıll get some pıctures up when ı can!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Weather
If you were wondering...a little hot in the afternoon but fine in the shade, and there is generally a nice breeze. The evenings are absolutely perfect. As you may have noticed from the photos, it's like this every single day. You begin to understand why it's so popular with Scandanavians, Germans, and Brits (and I suppose it excuses a little of the trashy beach town atmosphere that comes along with it).
Part of the trail to the beach in Oia...
It is a long hot walk down the side of the volcano to the beach. Beach = hot black and gray stones about the size of a fist...not the most comfortable place to nap but interesting at least.
The view of the caldera from Oia
Santorini is a series of upscale white and blue villages perched on the edge of a volcano. The caldera formed after the biggest volcanic eruption ever. It is pretty spectacular.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Stuff I'm carrying I haven't used...
1. raincoat
2. rain pants
3. rain cover for pack
4. umbrella
5. "first-aid" kit (it's extensive) - ok i used the benedryl once
6. guidebooks for South Africa and Turkey
7. phrasebook for Turkey
8. 35 mm camera
9. playing cards
10. extra batteries
11. blank notebooks
12. notecards to write letters
2. rain pants
3. rain cover for pack
4. umbrella
5. "first-aid" kit (it's extensive) - ok i used the benedryl once
6. guidebooks for South Africa and Turkey
7. phrasebook for Turkey
8. 35 mm camera
9. playing cards
10. extra batteries
11. blank notebooks
12. notecards to write letters
Sunday in Santorini
Hiya. I'm in Oia (ee-ya) on Santorini. A small town famous for sunsets. The ferry ride was painless...in fact it was pretty enjoyable. I read a fantastic book (The People's Act of Love - thank you Alysson!) pretty much nonstop. I was glad to stop thinking about the actual trip for awhile.
My last night in Rhodes I moved from the new town to the old town and stayed in a little hotel run by a guy from Queens. He had guitars all over the place and we started talking and he loaned me his bass for the night...so I got to play some music which was really fantastic. Then I met four guys from Detroit who had just been through Turkey. We drank some retsina (a Greek wine made with pine resin), they gave me some tips on Turkey and one of the guys is going to be in Istanbul indefinitely so I'm going to look him up when I get there. It was a really good last night in Rhodes...and I was ready to get out of there.
This computer does not have an accessible USB port so I'm not sure when I'll get pictures up here but you've all seen Santorini in photos...it's the volcano rimmed with white and blue houses and churches. The most famous of the Greek Islands, anyway. I'll probably get out of here tomorrow if I can work out the ferries to Samos. Things are a little slow on Sundays in Greece so we'll see how it works out. I will let you know...
My last night in Rhodes I moved from the new town to the old town and stayed in a little hotel run by a guy from Queens. He had guitars all over the place and we started talking and he loaned me his bass for the night...so I got to play some music which was really fantastic. Then I met four guys from Detroit who had just been through Turkey. We drank some retsina (a Greek wine made with pine resin), they gave me some tips on Turkey and one of the guys is going to be in Istanbul indefinitely so I'm going to look him up when I get there. It was a really good last night in Rhodes...and I was ready to get out of there.
This computer does not have an accessible USB port so I'm not sure when I'll get pictures up here but you've all seen Santorini in photos...it's the volcano rimmed with white and blue houses and churches. The most famous of the Greek Islands, anyway. I'll probably get out of here tomorrow if I can work out the ferries to Samos. Things are a little slow on Sundays in Greece so we'll see how it works out. I will let you know...
Friday, June 15, 2007
The new plan...is no plan.
I've made a few expensive mistakes already. I guess I'll have to think about this as a practice round-the-world trip (ha) because I'm learning a lot about how I could do this better. So, tomorrow I'm going to Santorini on a overnight ferry, then I think I'll buy a ticket to Samos (if I can), from Samos I can catch a ferry to Kusadasi, Turkey and get on the hop-on hop-off bus doing the same route I want to do in Turkey. I think that will be better for me, on my own, than the public buses. We'll see what really happens...
If YOU want to go the Greek Islands...
1. Go with someone else - it's relatively expensive and it would definitely help to be able to share accomodation.
2. Rent a car - much easier to get to off-the-beaten places with a car rather than trying to use the bus, plus you can see a lot more in a little bit of time. In addition to the cost, I'm a little scared to drive with the locals, especially without anyone to help navigate! They drive on the same side we do, so at least that would be easy.
3. Give yourself a lot of time to explore and get from one island to another. It's not high season yet, and you can't just get on any boat any time to get to the next place you want to go. The ferry system is complicated.
4. Get a cabin on an overnight ferry, if you can afford it, because otherwise you are in for a sleepless night.
2. Rent a car - much easier to get to off-the-beaten places with a car rather than trying to use the bus, plus you can see a lot more in a little bit of time. In addition to the cost, I'm a little scared to drive with the locals, especially without anyone to help navigate! They drive on the same side we do, so at least that would be easy.
3. Give yourself a lot of time to explore and get from one island to another. It's not high season yet, and you can't just get on any boat any time to get to the next place you want to go. The ferry system is complicated.
4. Get a cabin on an overnight ferry, if you can afford it, because otherwise you are in for a sleepless night.
Lindos
Lindos is about one hour from Rhodes town on the public bus. I made a quick day trip the other day.
Rhodes Old Town
Rhodes was fortified in a hurry without aesthetic consideration. Maybe that's why I don't have too many good pictures?
Rhodes photos...finally
Sorry, have been to a few low-tech internet cafes so had some trouble uploading and editing photos. Here we go.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Some things I've learned about Greek people (warning: blatant generalizations here)
1. Young people work hard - almost all of the people I've talked to work long hours, six days a week. Some, every single day. And they have the same problem we do - overqualified and underemployed.
2. People that serve tourists are grumpy, but if you actually take the time to talk to someone they are incredibly nice, open, and curious about what I think about Greece, and what my life is like in the U.S.
3. They are patriotic, but not in the American sense.
4. They are crazy drivers.
5. They love basketball - the Greek version of the NBA is always on in cafes and bars.
6. They drink a lot of coffee (and a lot of instant coffee).
7. Most people live with their parents until they get married.
8. Everyone speaks a little English (and German, Italian, French, etc.)
2. People that serve tourists are grumpy, but if you actually take the time to talk to someone they are incredibly nice, open, and curious about what I think about Greece, and what my life is like in the U.S.
3. They are patriotic, but not in the American sense.
4. They are crazy drivers.
5. They love basketball - the Greek version of the NBA is always on in cafes and bars.
6. They drink a lot of coffee (and a lot of instant coffee).
7. Most people live with their parents until they get married.
8. Everyone speaks a little English (and German, Italian, French, etc.)
"You look like the Greek"
It pays to be ethnically ambiguous sometimes. Respect. Ha. I can speak just enough Greek to make someone think I can understand it and then I have admit that no, I don't understand, and I am an American.
Rhodes
I'm in Rhodes now...the largest inhabitied medievel town in Europe. Arrived last night after the loooong ferry ride. But, we saw some interesteing little towns on isolated islands. The boat only comes once a week to some of these places...can you imagine? Met some American girls and Australian girls moving on to Turkey. I'll probably do the same and ditch my previous plan of heading back to Athens. I have a few days here to decide, but I'm really torn about what to do...maybe I'll go to southwest Turkey, come back to the Greek Islands, then go to Istanbul. Not sure, I've heard that crossing the land border can be complicated and drawn out.
Tourists!!!!!
Knossos. Partly reconstructed which is a bit weird. The ruins themselves may have been better...and without so many people much better .
Iraklio
Well, Iraklio was a pretty depressing town. Big city, all concrete, and filthy. But, I met a guy, JT, in the bus station and we did like the Greeks - drank coffee and played chess (he had to teach me) for three hours in an outdoor cafe.
Monday, June 11, 2007
KPHTH
Tonight is my last night in Crete (KPHTH is Greek for Crete, by the way). I arrived in Agios Nikolaos this afternoon and had my longest walk with the pack so far. It's time to lighten the load, seriously. I'm shipping some stuff back tomorrow (Mom, it will probably arrive in about two months). Ag. Nikolaos is a pretty quiet town, not much happening, looks like mostly families here. Still quite a few tourists, but not as many has Xania or Rethymno. I chatted with a girl (ok, she's 28) in the shop and she said it's very boring around here, no theatre, no music, only one cinema that gets movies a year after their Hollywood release. But, she's always lived here and said she can't imagine living anywhere where she could not be near the sea. So, she'll stay.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Plakias Wind
The geography of the southern coast of Crete creates some very windy conditions. Today was no exception. I caught a bus to Iraklio because hiking was looking very unlikely.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Plakias Youth Hostel
I'm here now! Arrived this morning on the early bus from Rethymno and it is gorgeous. More like a commune than a hostel - and no college kids! Lemon and olive trees, a river right nearby, a few blocks from the town so secluded and peaceful...this afternoon will probably go for a hike, there are a lot of good trails very close by.
Davide
Davide is Italian, from a tiny village near Milan. He only speaks a little bit of English but we managed to have dinner together, and a Greek coffee, and to have some kind of conversation. You'd be surprised what you can understand (especially with the help of a some Spanish). This is his Italian military hat he wears when out hiking. He had already backpacked, literally, through a big part of Crete, and spent a month in Brazil before coming here.
Franck
Franck explained to me that the French do not use the thumbs-up sign anymore because of their hatred of Americans. They won't even use the thumb to hitchhike! Freedom fries, anyone? We got along famously, of course.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Rethymno
I'm in Rethymno, on the north coast of Crete between Xania and Iraklio. I'm learning a little bit about the history of Crete, which can be absolutely shocking at times. Minoans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, independence struggles, World War Occupations, Resistance fighting, it's incredible (and that's probably not in the correct order). Right now, is the longest period of peace ever in Crete. So much to learn...
Last night, I met Franck and Penelope. Franck is French but living here in Greece with Penelope and learning Greek. Penelope has a day job but is also works on films. She studied the history of Greek Music at college and so we had a long discussion about that. Really fantastic. And I had raki for the first time (To toast in Greek, you say "yamas" which means "to us"). I'll post some pictures later...I'm on my way out the beach.
Tonight, we are meeting up again to see an old Greek 60s rock band that are on some kind of reunion tour...the Olympians.
More in a bit...perhaps during the siesta. Ahhh...Greece.
Last night, I met Franck and Penelope. Franck is French but living here in Greece with Penelope and learning Greek. Penelope has a day job but is also works on films. She studied the history of Greek Music at college and so we had a long discussion about that. Really fantastic. And I had raki for the first time (To toast in Greek, you say "yamas" which means "to us"). I'll post some pictures later...I'm on my way out the beach.
Tonight, we are meeting up again to see an old Greek 60s rock band that are on some kind of reunion tour...the Olympians.
More in a bit...perhaps during the siesta. Ahhh...Greece.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Whew. A lot of new photos today.
So, I really enjoyed hiking today and I felt compelled to post a million pictures. Tomorrow, I'm leaving Xania but I'm not sure where to next. Either Rethymno or Iraklio. Knossos and Cretan wineries are in my future...
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