Travelog # 2 EURO5

The first ferry ride for Kevin was from Marmaris Turkey to Rhodes Greece, and it was smooth but not so comfortable for Kevin. It isn't but 50 minutes so the discomfort was short lived. We found a comfortable pension which is owned and operated by an American, so we found help with local knowledge right away. Our first action is to find a place for brunch and begin eating our way through Greece. It is certainly a different food group and the presentation is different. The food choices are more varied and in some instances more recognizable, the souvlaki pita for instance. These sandwiches are stuffed with pork, tzatziki, tomatoes, onions and the like it is incredible. I thought the best I had ever had was from a small shop in downtown Corfu, but there is a small place on Socrates avenue in Rhodes that does it better.

It is a short walk to the castle or fort built by the Knights of St. John. It is in perfect operating condition and has been here since 1316. It could become a Hilton Hotel with some effort but no rebuilding. If it did so it would be one of the most unique in its class. Scott and Kevin tour the whole facility while I sit in a window opening where there is a very cool breeze. The stairways to the second and third floor are 15 feet wide and grand. There are mosaics, moved from Kos, on the floors of the third floor. Kevin is intrigued by the Greek writing and asking many questions as to pronunciation. The shopping is plentiful and colorful, but much different than Turkey. Here the merchants allow you to pass without the barrage of offers and attempts to engage you in conversation. It is rather civilized. I was going to take Kevin and Scott to Mike and Mamas, but it seems that he is either out of business or closed. It is hard to tell which, so the stories of a previous visit will have to suffice. Kevin is accepting and trying the new foods rather well. There are just a few basics he does not like, but he will try new things. It is encouraging to see this as we are just starting the trip and there are several new foods to come. When anyone asks, "where have you been?" Kevin is the first to respond and gives a complete rundown of our travels. This trip is for him and he is absorbing an awful lot regarding cultures, people, languages and history.

Thursday morning and we are off on a fast catamaran from Rhodes to Patmos. It takes two hours to get to Los, a trip that would take two days in Traumerei. The sea is smooth and Kevin does enjoy this boat trip. There are stops at Symi, Kos, Kalimnos, Lyros and Lipsi before we arrive in Patmos five hours after we left Rhodes. When we leave the ferry there are about 15 people with placards advertising that they have rooms or flats for rent. How do you select from so many? I selected a lady with a large hat and she led us on a 10 minute walk into the town where she has a neat 3-story home converted into "rooms to let". We have 3 beds, a kitchenette, air conditioning, a porch/patio and breakfast for 25 euros a night for the three of us. The tourist trade is down and we are not in high season yet. What a deal! I am on the patio now overlooking the neighbors gardens of vegetables and flowers, listening to the roosters crow, drinking a cup of coffee and see three ancient windmills on the hill top just to the south, not bad for 25 euros.

Yesterday, after a lunch, we rented two motor scooters to get around the island. Kevin in all sincerity told the merchant that he also wanted one. The fellow looked at him as though he was nuts. Scott and I had a good laugh, but Kevin was not so understanding. In the afternoon ride we visited the Church of the Apocalypse and the Monastery of St. John.

We asked the fellow in Rhodes as to the best way to plan a trip across the Aegean and be in Athens on Sunday. He suggested we go to Patmos and thence to Syros. From Syros we could go anywhere. That is not necessarily so! We have tried to find a way to leave the island and we have two choices, go back towards Rhodes or directly to Athens. Neither is a good choice. The ferry to Paros runs twice a week, next Monday is the next day, Samos we can get there but then what? It is really an interesting puzzle, in that no travel agent here knows the ferry schedule from any other island. We can go to Samos, Kalimnos, Kos, Rhodes and other Dodecanese islands but we do not know how we can leave any of them. Our ray of hope is that we have planned for and now found a wi-fi connection and can get on the web to get ferry schedules. We have all day to find a solution. Later… There is no good solution to this problem. The Dodecanese islands are seemingly treated as foreign lands. There is a circular route from Athens to Rhodes up through these islands and back to Athens. It is as a large traffic circle, you can get on anywhere and get off at the next stop but it is very difficult to leave the circle. We leave at midnight Friday night for the 10 hour tip across the Aegean to Athens. There are no cabins on this route! Our ferry is in luck, if we were to be attacked by a foreign force we would have a great advantage. Of the 600 people aboard at least 350 of them are Greek soldiers. Due to the hour of departure, there is no meal or drink service until 6 am. At sunrise I wander the decks and see an occasional sailboat enroute to some Aegean Island and recall the great trips on Traumerei in these same waters. The wind appears to be about 8-10 kts and there are no seas, perfect early morning sailing.

When I hand the taxi driver the paper with our hotel name and address, he looks at it as though it were in a foreign language. I tell him that if he doesn't know the way we will find another taxi, he assures me he knows the way. I have seen this act before and am uncomfortable as we depart the boat. Some taxi drivers assume the rider is without knowledge and will not notice an extra mile or 10 minutes on the meter. We pass the Titania and Omonias Square more than once as he tours downtown. We have the occasional stop to again read the map and hotel name and assure me he will find it. Later he stops for a signal light and there is a Tourism Police on a motorcycle next to my window. I ask the policeman for help and indicate that our driver is wandering around as though he is lost. The policeman speaks to our driver who instantly assures me he now knows exactly where we are and at the corner we turn left to our hotel. As we are stopped the policeman arrives and again speaks to our driver who then says there will be no charge.

We have checked in and go to the National Museum. This place was under renovation the last time Kathy and I were here. They were preparing for the Olympic crowd. It has been upgraded to a class one facility. All the interior has been refurbished, all the display pedestals are new gray marble and beautiful. Each item on exhibit is shown in a manner as though it were the only item on display. Poseidon is standing tall in the center of a long room and is beautiful to see again. There photo policy has changed somewhat, you can now take non-flash photos. We were talking about the photo policy and how they stated that flash photos were harmful to the marble works. That's a bunch of hoot, these marbles have been outside for 2000 years and sunlight hasn't harmed them. The new displays of the frescoes which are from Thyra are in a spotlighted area, unlike past times when the area of display was a subdued light. This display theme may be harmful. Anyway in the discussion Kevin states, "The museum methods are immature". That is a mouthful. There is a new area which displays a newly, 1999, found bronze of a lady in robes. It looks somewhat like the statue of Mary in Efesus. It is larger that life without missing parts and surely to be a main attraction.

As we were using the internet connection at the Cafemoca, I noticed a small restaurant across the street. It's a Bulgarian Restaurant. We haven't had that yet so there we go to try something else. This note is to give all a bit of trivia for their information. There were two things on the menu which are different and perhaps are a source for two well known English words, Mish-Mash is a Bulgarian stew dish, Hotch-Potch is another of the dishes. Just thought you would appreciate the info.

This is a bright Sunday morning and we are at the breakfast table before 7 so we can get a cool start on the day. The streets of Athens are deserted of auto traffic and only a few pedestrians. It is a 20 minute walk to the base of the Acropolis. As we are walking south on Athina Street you can see the Acropolis at the end of the deserted street in the background. It is truly a marvel to see and of special beauty in this cool early morning. There is an Orthodox service being held in a very old and very small church at the bottom of the Acropolis, Kevin and I enter and listen to some of the chanted service, have our own special time of prayer and then join Scott who is taking numerous pictures of the structure. It is truly a peaceful day. The 15 minute climb to the top is gradual and easy. There are perhaps 200 people already there but the tour buses come later. A slow tour around the perimeter telling Kevin what we know to be of the structure and the environs. It is clear enough to see some of the remote temples, Hadrian's Gate and the Olympic Stadium built for the 1896 Olympics Games. We tour the small Parthenon Museum and depart for the stadium. On the way we walk beside Hadrian's Gate, Scott and Kevin tour the grounds which have a Temple to Zeus in the center. Thence to the stadium, which was formerly open to the public. Steve Renneckar has wheeled around the track and we wanted to do the same. It is now very Spartan clean and closed to the public. It seems that some vandals attacked the stadium seats with hammers and chipped away some of the marble.

We proceeded back towards the hotel through the National Gardens and did not have to walk the now busy streets with thief fumes and noise. The far NW corner of the garden borders the National Parliament building where the honor guards are on duty 24 hours a day. As we arrived they were leaving their standing posts and moving toward the monument. In this position one cannot approach them and they are pretty busy for the next half hour changing sides and prancing about. However we patiently waited them out and they returned to the place where they are available for the requisite photograph. I have several of Kevin standing beside the 6 foot 4 inch guard in his pleated white miniskirt and high heel clogs. Kevin looks very small. We have had our tour of Athens and now to our new room and contemplate tomorrow.

We are covering a lot of ground in a short time and it would be easy to think that we are too fast. Kevin has an interest but it is primarily a visual need that is being fed. He will recall seeing the sites and as time goes his reading will include many articles which refer to these places. He will recall the site and not necessarily the dates or events. Specifically I think of articles in the National Geographic Magazine as being ones which would cause a visual recall.

We are on an early morning bus to Delphi, surely one of the most important sights in Greece. It is not so much a visual sight as it is historical. The stories about Delphi will come later. We have joined travel with a young lady from Dover and Kevin has taken to conversing with her. She has patience and an interest in answering his questions. After the Athina Treasury and the temple to Apollo Kevin and Jennifer are off to the ruins across the road and I turn right to the museum. We all meet at the museum to see the Chariot Rider bronze and other fine works from the site which completes our tour of Delphi.

The plan was to continue with the bus system to Navpatkos and Patras where we would board a ferry to Corfu. The ferry ride would be 10 hours and that is an uneventful 10 hours. I suggested that we alter the plans and head north and inland to a site which Kathy and I have wanted to see, but haven't. This we do and after a 4 hour bus ride we are in Meteora, a site known for its monasteries. Kalambaka, the town closest to Meteora, is set amongst a half dozen monoliths. The cliffs are 400 meters absolutely smooth and straight up. They are very imposing in their size and proximity to the town. There is a cutaway trail to the top with swinging bridges connecting the sites at the top. There is a monastery on each of 6 of the monoliths. We are in the highlands so the temperature is moderated to cool, this along with last nights rain makes the morning a very special time. We took the local bus to the top of the hills and to the highest monastery. The pictures will have to tell the story, it is much to magnificent to put in words. There are monasteries on each of several hills with restricted entrance, I am not dressed properly so I can't enter. The air is clean, after last nights rain, and clear. The temp is in the 60's and the walking, downhill, is as good as it gets. After a 2 hour visit we start the long walk back to the room so we can get a bus to Igoumenitsa and Corfu.

This bus ride is a total of about 180 miles and takes 7 hours of driving. There are about 7 mountain ranges that run parallel to the coast. The heights of the ranges are about 54000 feet with valleys at about 1400 feet. The road must cross all of the ranges to get to the coast. So, it is up one range and then down to the valley and do it again. It is about 15 miles of very crooked road to ascend and another 15 to descend each of the ranges. That makes the trip 7 times 30 which is 210 miles. The roads are as crooked as those climbing Mt. Lemon. We cover a straight line distance of slightly more than 100 miles. In Igoumenitsa we board a ferry to Corfu and thence a taxi to our hotel where we arrive at 11 PM. We started this journey at 3:30 in the afternoon.

First, I was expecting to visit some acquaintances, as in Mike at the Navigator Bar, but find that changes have occurred. Mikes place has been closed by the federales due to some discrepancy in his tax filing, whatever that means. It is good to feel a mattress beneath a tired body and we sleep until about 6 AM. I am up and at the marina to find Fred and Phyl's boat and see who else in the marina that I know. Answer, no one else! A trip to town is required to schedule our trip to Italy which is for tonight. A short trip through downtown and show Scott where the fort is plus eat a Gyro pita. We are putting a wrap on Greece. Fred asks Kevin if he would like to swim in the Ionian. A yes is the resounding answer so we leave the quay in "Perception" for a position just outside the marina where Fred and Kevin enjoy an hour swimming around and diving from the rails of this sailboat. This is truly a gift from Fred and Phyl to end our stay in Greece. We are now aboard a ferry going to Igoumenitsa where we leave later tonight for Bari, Italy. That is the subject of the next log.

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