Greece

9/27--10/6/09

The ferry from Brindisi to Corfu was relatively uneventful and gave us a chance to catch up on some needed sleep.  Who knew seeing so many old things could make you so tired?  The doctor couldn't have written a better prescription than Corfu.  On the bus ride from the port to the campsite/bungalow we met an old couple heading out to dinner.  They spoke decent English, enough to ask me what the new LED display was on the bus and hopefully enough to understand my limited explanation.  I quickly turned the conversation to more pressing issues - like food and where to get dinner!  Turns out they were headed to a local restaurant that just happened to be across the street from our bungalow.  This tiny little place has been one of the top two meals we have had since we started.  Fresh fish, zucchini balls, beet root (I'm still not sure I know what this is but it is damn good!), Greek salad and of course a shot of Ouzo - which we quickly remembered is not so damn good!

We left the port city the next day and headed to the better beaches on the West coast in a town called Palaiokastritsa.  This was our first taste of the Greek beaches...shear rocky cliffs that dive into crystal clear blue/green waters.  A nice slice of heaven that we soaked up for a couple days before heading to Athens.

With our bodies and minds well rested we boarded a bus headed for Athens.  Now how, you might ask, does a bus get to Athens from the island of Corfu?  "Simply", said the nice Greek woman who offered us the option as the easiest way to get there.  So, off went.  Loaded our bags on a bus that immediately got on a ferry and crossed to the mainland.  Upon arrival, we re-boarded and started the overnight adventure from Igoumenitsa to Athens.  This will hopefully be something we file under "Lessons Learned":  Do not take an overnight bus anywhere unless you are held at gunpoint.  8 hours of two old Greek woman yapping a mile a minute, another woman who had smokers cough and, of course, the never ending winding roads that relentlessly knock your head against the window every time you somehow manage to doze off, we arrive at Athens bus terminal at 5am.  (I need to talk to that nice woman about her abilities as a travel agent.)

So off we went into the Athens dawn.  After stretching out our cramped neck, an orange juice and the first of many curly spinach doughy things that are so incredibly delicious, we headed to the Acropolis.  (Useless fact...) On September 30, Mika and I were the very first people up to the Acropolis.  Proof is in the photos - there was no one else there!  It was an amazing site even though the whole thing seems to be under construction/renovations.  Walking among the ruins you can sense the power coming from the mountain and the temples built there 3000 years ago.  Understanding why everyone and their brother wanted, and at some point did control this city.

Apart from the ruins, the city of Athens pleasantry surprised me, Mika has been telling about Greece since the day we met, this being her third trip and all, but as they say, seeing is believing.  A sprawling city like Los Angeles, the heart of Athens is all low standing buildings built on narrow streets that wind endlessly.  You can wander for hours in and out of small bazaars and restaurant lined streets always ending up in a fenced off section displaying the 3000 year old ruins of some guys house!  As a builder I am dumbfounded by their abilities to do what they did with the tools they had - which I suppose was just an unlimited supply of manpower, but impressive just the same.  As a side note but not to be left out, the new Acropolis museum just opened up and is spectacular.  Definitely worth the trip and gives a thorough explanation of the structures as well as their demise.  No one, however, has any idea when construction will be complete or even what it is they are doing up there!

We left Athens on the October 2nd and boarded a ferry bound for the beautiful Santorini.  Everything you hear about Santorini is true.  For the past 4 days, Mika and I have been ATV'ing ourselves from beach to beach and from one cliff side town to the next.  We have seen sunset after sunset only to turn around and see the moon rise.  We had a beach side dinner in Oia (eeh-aw), beach side breakfast in Perissa, and a cliff side lunch somewhere in between (you get the pattern).  Somehow we managed to forget to book our ferry to Rhodes which only runs every 2 days so we were forced to stay an extra day - damn!

I do have one point to make anyone considering visiting this, or probably any of the other Greek Islands.  Buy your sunscreen before you come.  I cannot stress this enough.  I am not sure why they have focused on sunscreen when this could apply to the myriad of other objects that are not commonly found on a volcanic island, but they have.  After much searching, and enough huffing and puffing to last Mika at least a week! we forked over just shy of 20 Euro for a small bottle of SPF 30.  For those of you playing at home, that's $30 USD for maybe 100ml of what my sister has coined as "Liquid Gold".

Live and learn - right.

We leave for Rhodes just past midnight tonight on a ferry.  Hopefully the overnight experiences of the bus do not apply to water transportation.  We wrap up "Phase 1" of our journey in Turkey and head to Kathmandu on the 15th, just in time for the Deepawali festival and Mika's birthday.

If you take a minute, zoom in on the photos if the insects and the flowers.  They are pretty impressive if we do say so ourselves!

-Alan