Hail to the Greeks: This is the Mother of All Blog Entries!

Well hello again. I am sorry I stayed away so long, but life stopped me from updating the blog.

I have been in Egypt for about a week after a 16 day adventure in Athens and the Greek Islands. And what an Adventure it was.

I started off at the Athens Backpackers' Hostel, which is one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. It's run by Aussies and right by the Acropolis, aka lots of fun and great location. When I got there I dropped off my pack and headed out. I stopped by a little sandwich shop grabbed a wrap and Heineken, and sat at the foot of the Acropolis, and had myself a nice little lunch.



This should be a good preview of what's to come. Honestly this little trip started off great and stayed that way. The Acropolis was fantastic.....but I have to say I was disappointed to see it covered in scaffolding.

I know it's a necessary evil, but after taking Greek history classes and having a slight love affair with Greek mythology it was pretty disenchanting to see the ugly metal claws engulphing the Parthenon.



C'est la vie.

So that night I met the six lovely ladies, Steph, Cassie, Louisa, Maria, Renée, and Natalie, who were sharing dorm room number 11 at the Athens Backpackers' with me. These ladies were all expats whose families lived in Hong Kong and in my opinion the best girls in all of Greece.



We quickly bonded and made plans to meet in Ios.

The next day I took a little trip to see the ruins and temples of Athena and Apollo in Delphi. It was three hours on a bumpy and not so fun minibus. But in the end it was worth it. Above the temple of Apollo is the best preserved stadium in all of Greece where the Olympic Games were held.





So of course we had to do a little test run of the stadium.



In ancient times the Greeks regarded Delphi as the centre of the world, and according to Greek mythology, Zeus released two eagles at opposite sides of the world and they met in Delphi. And in the centre of the world is the earth’s belly button, which as legend has it, if you touch it, you are supposed to have ‘strange’ dreams. So of course I touched it. But I don’t know if legend is right or not. I actually didn’t sleep at all that night, although I tried.




Late that night or early that morning, which ever way you want to look at it, I jumped on a ferry to Ios.

Ios was the most fun part of my 16 day Greek adventure. In Ios I was reunited with the best girls in all of Greece, and I met up with my Kiwi friend Chris that I met in Luxor a few months ago.

Day one in Ios started off with a well deserved lazy day at the pool. It was glorious.



After a bit of sun and fun we retired to our rooms to grab a bit of downtime before the night time festivities, which are never lacking in Ios.

Oooh, but let me tell you about the ‘rooms first. This was not a trip of luxury and pampering, it was a trip of fun and experiences. We stayed at The Far Out Village, Hostel & Camping grounds. The ‘rooms’ we stayed in were tenderly termed ‘dog boxes.’ Dog boxes are very small tin and wood boxes (tin from the outside and wood from the in) that have canvas/tent style roofs. AKA small little saunas to sleep in, with two very small little ‘beds.’ I am still kicking myself for not taking a picture.

Anyhoo, I digress. That evening Chris and I went out with Jeff, who Chris met in London, through Fiona, one of the girls on the trip he took through Egypt and the Middle East ( I know I tend to give more details than necessary, I am working on that).
We bounced around several bars, met up with the lovely ladies, and tried something called a Flaming Lamborghini. Yowza is all I can say. It was a fun night.

Next day more lazing around, this time at the beach, mmm, it was nice. That night was more of the same, with the addition of the boys dancing on the tables, and another Flaming Lamborghini, some people don’t learn.





Day three we decided to check out the island of Ios. After many failed attempts to rent scooters, we opted for a car. Unfortunately I couldn’t drive, I never learned to drive manual, c’est la vie. We spent the day driving around checking out the sights (Homer’s grave was one of them) and the beaches.





We also stopped in small little restaurant somewhere off the beaten path and had some dinner. This restaurant had the best Greek salad I had on my trip, and I had lots of them! It was a really nice day, and we saw a beautiful sunset.




That night would be our last all together in Ios: Steph, Cassie, Louisa, Maria, Renée, and Natalie were off to Mykonos in the morning, Chris was off to Athens the next evening, and I headed to Santorini the day after that. So we did it up in style….lots of dancing, drinks, and hopping from one place to another…fun times.



The next day was an afternoon I won’t soon forget. The Kiwis (New Zealanders in case I forgot to say that earlier) were playing the Aussies in the Tri-nation rugby cup. It was quite an event. Those Kiwis don’t mess about when it comes to rugby, and there were lots of Kiwis at Far Out. The Kiwis won and the festivities began very early that day and continued until Chris left for the ferry.



During the festivities I met Mike and Rachel, two more Kiwis, who would be my travel buddies for the next little bit.



I don’t know what it is about the Kiwis, but they are pretty similar to Canadians, they are laid back, and fun to be around, maybe that’s why I haven’t met one I haven’t like so far. Kiwi Katie, one of Chris’s traveling buddies, was supposed to be traveling with us, but in the end she decided to stay at Far Out and work in the kitchen with Jeff for a month, which was too bad, I would have liked to travel with Katie, she’s a doll.

Santorini was beautiful. Ios was the most fun, but Santorini was the most picturesque of the islands I visited. The beaches are either black or red, from the volcano eruptions and lava deposits.



Mike and I managed to rent scooters in Santorini, but my scooter driving ended in about five meters. I had a slight mishap. I have never driven or been on one before, so I didn’t realize there was a lag before it kicked in, so I revved it again and off I went. I mean literally off I went. Now I bruised my ego more than I did myself (thankfully) only a little road rash on the knee and elbow. I ended up on the back of Mike’s scooter.





Day two I got an ATV to drive around on.



It was much slower than the scooter, boo, but I stayed on it. We zipped around Santorini all day and took in all its beauty, which is ever present. I have a bit of a love affair with the Greek Architecture, so all the white and blue houses and buildings made me giddy with joy. I was one of those people oohing and ahhing, mind you to myself, all day.







At the end of the day we took in the sunset at Oia, which is supposed to be one of the best in the world. It is.





The next day Mike and I headed to Crete, Rachel went back to Far Out to work for a month.

Crete is huge. We landed in Iraklio, and after a daytime snooze we hit the happy trails and went to see the sights. We toured around the city for a bit, and then headed off to Knossos. I hate to say it, but, Knossos was pretty disappointing. The recreations of Sir Arthur Evans, the British archeologist, were, for lack of a better word, cheesey. I expected grandeur and instead I got the creations of Evans’s vivid imagination.



Like I said, c’est la vie. But I did get a straw cowboy hat there!



The next day we rented a car, no I couldn’t drive this one either, and took in a bit more of the gigantic island. I was not disappointed that day, there was much to see and do, and the beaches were great. One of my favourite parts of Crete was driving through a tiny little village town and seeing the cutest little Greek nona shucking green beans on the side of the road smiling. We were stuck behind a car so I rolled down the window and said hello. She was adorable and let me snap her picture.



The next day I headed to Naxos by myself. It was time for a little chill time. Naxos is relaxed and quaint island, with an underrated beauty. The day I got there I went to the beach and strolled around a bit. During that stroll I ran into a few more Kiwis I met at the rugby match in Ios. I am a Kiwi magnet, which I think is a good thing. They were off to Paros and we planned to meet in Mykonos in two days.

I took an organized tour through Naxos, which was actually very nice. The villages are full of the architecture I love, and the people are fantastically sweet.



While I was wandering about I came across three Greek men having a late morning beer (11:30 a.m.). They invited me to join, and kept offering me their own beers, if the bus hadn’t been leaving in five minutes I would have. But they did let me snap their picture.




The rest of the day was filled with the beach, a stop at one of, if not the world’s oldest church, and more history of the island. Naxos was a good island to have a little chill time on.












Last stop of the trip was Mykonos. What’s there to say about Mykonos? Beach and party island about sums it up.





Oh, and it’s the most expensive island in Greece!! But the little town was lovely….more of the architecture I like.

All in all it was a great trip, probably one of, if not the best I have ever taken. I have to say of all the people I met on my travels, I miss the ones from Ios the most.

Trains, Taxis, Minibuses, Buses, Taxis and Trains

Well, I just got back from a little weekend trip in Alexandria, well Alexandria was the drop off point because I was never actually in Alexandria except to get on and off the train.

So the point of this little trip was to go visit Tammy and go to the beach. So after I got to Alex, we are close enough that I can shorten its name, I jumped in a cab and went to Agami.

Agami is a beach town outside Alex that I used to go to as a kid. It was, as Sahel is now, the place to be. Now it has sort of lost its glitz, but the beach is still good to me. But this story is not all beach and fun times; we had some funny ups and downs.

When I got to Agami Tammy told me the next day we were to wake early in the morning to jump on a minibus at 7 a.m. to Marsa Matrouh.

Marsa Matrouh is a brilliant beach. I also went there when I was about 13, so I was willing to ride in the uncomfortable minibus for 3 hours.

Well 5 hours later we got to our 'hotel,' oh yeah we were supposed to spend the night. Before I go on please have a look at the view from the hotel room.



Pretty isn't it?!

So back to my little story, we got there at noon and were told to wait in the room for 2 hours while the trip organizer went to find food. Tammy, myself, and the others, were not having this.

So we left to find the beach.......Only this wasn't the Marsa Matrouh I had been to before. They brought us to a public beach, which here in Egypt is a big bad, uh uh no way!

The problem with public beaches is that we 5 ladies were the only ones wearing Westernized bathing suits. All the other women were swimming, if they swam, were in head scarves and full clothing.

Now picture the stares we got.
Ok, now picture the stares I got, being obviously Egyptian.

This was not the relaxing day at the beach we had pictured or paid for. So, after a few arguments and with the trip organizer, we decided to cut our loses.

When the sun started to go down, we hit the road.

The ride back was much more comfortable, the big bus was pretty empty, and it was only 3 hours, fancy that!




Oh and we got a ride in a pretty funked out cab:



The next day was more like it. A private beach in Agami, which basically means young people in their bathing suits enjoying a day at the beach. The waves were amazing, and the sun was hot. So all is well that ends well.



Well this may be the last blog for a while with pictures. I am off to Greece in the morning, so I won't have my trusty 8 million pound laptop with me to dump the pics on. I will try and update during my travels. But do forgive me if the white sands, blue waters and cold drinks in the Greek Islands keep me away from any computer at all!

Oh and did I mention I HATE packing?! Yeah, I know, poor baby.

Adventures on Foot

I know, I know, I stay away for a while then I blog for two consecutive days. I never said consistency was a strong point.

So anyway, on the topic of finding your own adventures yesterday I decided to visit the Citadel, which I haven’t been to in seven years, unless you count the night we went to the concert, but I don’t.

It is an amazing building. The domes, the minarets, and the alabaster façade of the entire mosque, are all fantastic. I spent about an hour and a bit there, just wandering about, snapping pictures, etc. When I finally went inside, I had to put on a nice big satin-type green cloak, as a sign of respect so as not to show any skin.



But inside the mosque was brilliant. The circles of lights were my favourite part, which you will be able to see from the sheer volume of pictures I shot.



When I was done at the Citadel I still felt like wandering about, so I took to the streets. It was a pretty fun little adventure, and an adventure it was!

As I was walking across the street a small white pick-up truck saw me and sped in my direction. I literally had to jump up and out of the way on to the curb. And I was not a second too soon, the thing almost rammed my foot as I jumped. When I turned to look at the driver he looked out the window, grinned and gave me the thumbs up sign, like I had passed some test.

But some of the other locals were a bit friendlier, and some weren’t. I met some women selling fruit on the side of the road. One asked me for water, so I filled her bottle from mine, and in return she let me take her picture. They all became enamored with the camera and asked me to keep taking their pictures, which I did. It was pretty funny.



After I got away from the fruit ladies I ventured on, and met the olive man, and snapped a few pics.



Before I walked on, he told me I should take some pictures of another man selling fruit.

When I turned around to see the man he was talking about, I was greeted by a man wielding a chair and threatening to beat me with it if I took his picture. The olive man was yelling (and laughing) “She’s Egyptian!!” It was funny to me even then.

So after a little bit more wandering about, it was time to go, so I hailed a cab. Word to the wise, while in Cairo always keep your eyes open. You never know what you are going to see. Look closely at the next picture, the driver wasn't wearing any shoes.



**oh, and in case it isn't obvisous, the links are to the pictures.**

The Bread Man Wins

So I think Egypt is rubbing off on me. Well, in certain ways. I am a bit tardy on this post, obviously today is not June 30th, which is when I had intended on updating the blog. But c'est la vie.

So the bday was lots of fun, and really how could it not be, two days of sunning, swimming, celebrating and being treated like royalty. We stayed at a summer home of Dina's friends, and they had someone there to cook for us, etc. It was surreal, I am not used to that kind of treatment, but I did let myself enjoy it for the weekend.

We even had a nice bottle of Moët for my champagne bday, and a surprise bday cake. And yes they got me the candles that keep relighting. It was all fun and games.



But weekends in the sun eventually have to end. So Back in Cairo I have been doing much the same as before, wandering about the streets, most often aimlessly.

It's funny when you travel half way around the world, you expect life to be completely different. But it’s just not the case. People wake up in the morning, go to work, come home have dinner with the family, hang around drink tea, watch TV etc. I admit to being a bit naïve, I was expecting adventure and mystery at every turn. But Egyptians, which I am one of them, are normal people. Surprise!

But on another note, it is pretty easy to find adventure here, and you don’t even have to look that hard. A few days ago I hopped into one of the tiger attacked taxis, and as we were leisurely (aka sweating our faces off) driving down my grandmother’s street, a man carrying a load of bread dropped a loaf.

Now before I continue this little story I have to tell you how bread is transported around the city. A young man carries a large wooden skid on his head while riding a bike. Not a very easy task; especially that the bikes are in pretty rough shape.

So, my taxi driver slowed, not stopped but slowed, the car down, opened his door and scooped up the lost loaf. He then began beeping his horn and drove up to the bread man. He informed him he dropped a loaf and tried to pass it to him through the passenger window of the moving car.

I was sitting in the back the whole time wondering if all this was actually happening. The poor bread man could not grab the loaf, keep his bread on his head steady and keep riding. So he told the driver to keep it and eat it. But this is not the end.

The driver then instructed the bread man to ride over to the driver’s side of the car and he would put it on his load for him…..while driving.

So the bread man does as he is told, and Mr. Taxi Man opens his car door, stands up, yes the car is still moving, and places the loaf on the top of bread man’s head. Quite the spectacle I must say! I only wish I had the pictures to show you all. But I was too in awe to pull out the camera. But here is another bread man so you can see what I am talking about.Sorry it's blurry, but he was moving and I was in a taxi.