Life's Been Good To Us So Far!

The most common question people ask is: “What do we do in our spare time?’ It’s a good question because I wondered what we would do to fill our time. I made sure I brought lots of knitting, painting, and art supplies. Finally, we are at the time of year that those things are starting to come in handy.

It seems that people start to head north from Los Barriles in April. We were happy our friend organized a whale shark snorkel for all of us in La Paz. It was our second snorkel with the whale sharks and while both were fun, we could relax more and enjoyed it more the second time. We were happy that it is now better regulated with less people, fewer boats and a lot more time given to just swimming alongside the shark. A La Paz marine biology student served as a tour guide. Not sure how to explain but there is a certain peacefulness in swimming along next to him. Initially the guide yelled for me to move to the side a bit as I was headed straight into the whale’s mouth. I was able to stop and then start swimming right next to him for several minutes. It felt like a half hour but was much less than that. Brant initially got swished away by the tail but then was able to catch up and swim along as well. All four of us had a wonderful experience.

So that was our anniversary celebration——our 40th. We also had an outstanding meal at the Tiger Club. Asian fusion foods and unique, excellent wines at a restaurant owned by a woman from France who grew up in Singapore and now lives in La Paz. While our home is only 1.5 hours away, we loved staying at the Cathedral Hotel that had been recommended by so many.

After that trip, we continued to fill our time with saying good bye to all the folks headed north (wimps). We took a couple of trips as well. First, a trip to Brooklyn to visit Maris and assist with Gabe and Maris’ new apartment move in. It was a great way to learn the location of every hardware store in Brooklyn. Then onto North Carolina where we were thankful to have an elevator in the building. Sarah and EB planned a great trip to visit Brant’s nephew and explore the Carolina sea coast. Not to mention a playdate on Mother’s Day with Jack the great nephew… others (several mothers) were there but it’s the little ones that make it so special. We were only back in Los Barriles for a couple weeks before taking a quick trip to Shingle Springs/Coloma. So great to have friends so willing to put up with us and our crazy shopping sprees. Not easy to find Miracle Whip in the Baja! As much as I love Baja Sur, California will always be my special place.

At last, back home in LB for a couple months before we head to Canada for 5 weeks. Time to catch up on more of those DIY projects. Today the last of the tomato plants were removed, and the bed covered with plastic. (Hoping to solarize to death the fusarium wilt). Working on making new planters out of metal barrels, propagating succulents, fertilizing citrus and many painting/varnish projects including a mural. Very hard to fit it all in between our pickleball 3x a week, weightlifting at gym 3 x a week schedule. (We take Sundays off). And of course there is happy hours with those left in town, scrabble games, chess, duo lingo, and finally time for a little reading. As I think everyone finds in retirement, there is never enough time…. And at the moment I am watching an iguana wander very slowly across our pool deck. Sorry for the length of this post but rest assured at least a thousand pics were left out.

After sort of catching up on house chores it was time to celebrate a birthday. Brant set up a perfect day of snorkeling near the sea lions which happened to be on a tiny rocky island that was surrounded by beautiful coral and reef fish. I was impressed that we swam around the island twice until I realized how tiny the island was. The water was much warmer (no wet suits needed) and crystal clear compared to our whale shark visit in April. We shared our boat with a young couple from Germany traversing Canada, US, Mexico, Central and South America over the course of 2 years with their new camper. Our boat captain deftly parked the boat up on a secluded beach in Balandra Bay where we had a picnic of shrimp ceviche and burritos and beer and our own private beach. I felt very pampered as the boat captain set up 3 umbrellas for the 6 of us to dine under. My favorite stuff all in one day….snorkeling, and a spectacular beach. Then a nap in a beautiful hotel (Casa Al Mar) ….and a wonderful meal at Nemi. (We went to Nim the night before which was also very good). We could not remember which was the place people always recommend so we just went to both. We are good at problem solving. Both were very good. Nemi had very unique and special foods, after a nine course tasting menu paired with eight wines, I don’t have an excellent recall of what they were…. But I do recall enjoying every bite!

Except for a couple days in Cabo for health maintainence appt, we will be here and back on our summer schedule until we seal up the house with storm shutters and head to Sioux City/Canada/ Seattle/ Sacramento travels for high hurricane season. Was going to get the islands painted on my mural today but need to get my appetizer fixed for happy hour——hasta luego! As always so thankful for this kind of crazy place we live that is filled with adventures and fun people… always ready to help out or just have a great happy hour together.

Sorry if you get this twice, bizarrely post fell out of site and had to “republish”. I noticed a friends comment was truncated so checked on site and noticed the entry had disappeared!

We love the Baja but in the winter it sometimes seems a bit too windy and cold. So when friends mentioned Sayulita we were on it. We thought we were pretty clever to get a 22 dollar flight to Mexico City which is a HUGE airport. I guess it was cheap because it was too late to get a connection. Our good old Marriot points served us well with a nice dinner and a hotel we could walk too. The airport is like a small city.

The last time we went to Puerto Vallarta (with an explore to Sayulita and Punta Mita,)Maris was about 4 years old. It had changed so much that we recognized nothing…..absolutely nothing. We remember miles and miles of beautiful beach with occasional shacks selling buckets of shrimp and beer.

A driver took us up to Sayulita (last time it was the good old VW bug) where he expertly navigated through narrow streets made more narrow by curbside dining. Sayulita seemed like a California surfer town, mixed with a Greek island village in the middle of a jungle on the coast of Mexico.

The driver (utilizing unique driving techniques including sidewalks and prolonged backing up on hilly roads) took us to our container resort. A very cleverly built place clinging to a jungle cliff overlooking the ocean. It was perfect for a few days but not a long term set up for sure . (It is what I envision an economy room on a cruise is like but Branted pointed out… this would probably not come with sliding glass doors the length of the room that go out to a large ocean view deck). Our containers shared the amenities with a swanky resort… so we had a beautiful pool to enjoy. It was surprisingly quiet except for the birds and coati.

The first day we headed to a jazz festival in San Pancho. They had 2 stages set up for the festivities. To enjoy both, you simply rotated your chairs about 180 degrees when the bands changed.

We felt very lucky to have 4 friends guiding us to the best restaurants and beaches as well as an outstanding beach massage. They even took us to a beach where they delivered hot French fries to our beach blanket.

We love walking and so do our friends. We walked from Sayulita down the beach and up some steep cliffs all the way to San Pancho where we bought a king bedspread from a guy selling stuff on the beach. I think he should paid us for lightening his load but Brant was happy to avoid shopping by bartering at our lunch table.

It was a great trip for relaxing and seeing a different type of Mexican beach town. The jungle plants made me want to do watercolors (not that I did). A good place to be with adventurous travelers sharing interesting conversation over good food and drink.

It seems as we age it gets tougher to come up with new birthday ideas, but remember that dinosaur themed birthday when you were 7? We had a real dinosaur party… and we are not talking about the attendees (sorry, bad joke).

Many months ago, we met someone who did some great plant maintenance and building projects in our yard. We learned he had a very large property…. About 1500 acres. And on that acreage he had found a megaladon…..

He was kind enough to take 9 of us on a big hike through his property (with terrific assistant guides). First stop was the megaladon… just a quick side trip off the road. Amazing to think it was there for millions of years but not revealed until a heavy rain uncovered it’s spine and teeth.

Next stop was a group of small buildings designed to allow them a good place to sleep when deer hunting. They were busy building a big grill and we are hoping to join them for a big barbecue one of these days.

We did not have a clear idea how long we would be hiking or exactly where we were going. Regardless, we were not disappointed! But it would be nice if I worked on my Spanish. The terrain was not easy. Lots of ankle turning rocks in stream beds followed by trail clearing with a machete and finally a steep climb to an observation tower (for those deer). Along the way we saw many fossils, glass like sheets of quartz, beautiful (but a very dry) landscape.

Well we do wish we’d packed a bit more water… so happy the guys helping with the hike had extra. Despite that minor detail, we had a wonderful day.

Be sure to turn the volume up …,

We are glad the ocean retreated and gave us this great playground. And so glad to have friends to share the experience with who never once whined (at least not in front of me). Brant and I want to try to use our birthdays to have new experiences. (Hey nice weather here in February if anyone wants to help next year). Brant says this one will be hard to top. I better get working on it. We headed back and soaked our sore legs in the ocean so we could get ready for a wonderful party for Brant at our friends’ home the next day. So kind of them to do after hiking all day the day before! We refuse to fossilize quite yet…. Gotta keep moving (but with more water in our mochilas next time).

Yes, we were here last year in December but somehow with all the projects and moving here, it did not feel very festive. This year we took time to really enjoy the holiday season and I have to say it was a lot of fun. We have been doing a better job of trying to balance exercise, projects; both home and community and plenty of fun stuff. It is so important to remember that the community needs our help and the need to try to support it financially becomes more clear as “year rounders”.

Brant is now in Rotary Club and the big fundraiser is the “Taste of East cape”. About 20 restaurants give out delicious big tastes of ceviche, tamales, torras, ribs, barbacoa, ice cream and pastries , with a band playing and a silent auction. Much money was raised and the kids get a new playground and many other projects will be completed.

Then there is the art show and sale that takes place scattered out over a kind of subdivision in the desert that has yet to be fully built. It’s a desert hike combined with an art show. A great place for Christmas shopping with the proceeds helping local schools.

And there is the annual house tour…. Leaving you feeling house poor, but at least you have given to a good cause. It’s a great tour to do with friends so you can first argue about directions then later argue about which is the best house. The group that does this gives scholarships to students. Currently they are fully paying for 200 students in our area to attend school. Mexico pays for school only until the eighth grade.

There was also the Country Classic ATV ride. An exciting ride through the dessert with stops for line dancing, smores over a campfire, a beer bar in the middle of nowhere, a band stationed even more in the middle of nowhere and all done while answering country music trivia questions on paper plates attached to trees. We had a group of 4 ATVs of friends traversing arroyos, gorges, rocks, creeks, and I thought probably impassable ditches. ( I got out to take the weight off the vehicle). I am sure the route took many days to create but the proceeds raised will help fill the food pantries which help many needing food for their families, and is especially critically needed during hurricanes.

The toy drive was held at the entrance to town marked by the barrels fountain (where many stop for family photos and was constructed by the Rotary club). After Santa piles up all the toys dropped off, they are driven by rotary club members to a more remote town and given to the children on Three Kings Day. This is the day gifts are generally given in Mexico. I was surprised to see how many kids enjoyed getting their pic taken with Santa. Brant had fun taking pics for families and I enjoyed watching the excited kids.

Finally it was time to decorate so the Margarita and Ornament Making Party at Cafe Marias was well timed. I probably would have made even more ornaments if it wasn’t for the strong drink in a big red solo cup. It seemed unwise to mix drinking and hot glue guns but it was for a good cause. The money raised helps fund an after school art program for the kids. and it sure was a lot of fun.

The best fun was a surprise delivery of those ornaments to our friends in Shingle Springs. Friends invited us and we grabbed a cheap fare which apparently explains the quiet Cabo airport that day. We had a great time surprising our friends with the help of our hosts that even supplemented us with warmer clothes. And I got to got to go to Christmas Book Club….. even if I wasn’t as big a surprise by then! It was a fun filled few days …. A perfect Christmas gift for us .

Once we returned it was time to decorate. We were surprised to see more decorations in town than we have ever seen before. I knew I wanted a Baja tree but wasn’t sure exactly what that was or how to get one. As it turns out our century plant began producing one in the summer. (And yes they do die after they bloom.) we were also surprised that it was about 20 feet long, so we cut off 5 feet and very carefully dragged pulled and tilted it up to our rooftop deck on the third floor. We were surprised how big it was but we applied many strings of lights ( good thing we are retired and have time for this stuff) then Brant lashed is to our rooftop terrace. I can say Boy Scouts taught him well because it stayed up throughout the holidays. The neighbors enjoyed our light show tree with only one jokingly complaining about light pollution but with some complaining when we forgot to turn them on. Now we have to figure out where to store it. Not sure if this will compost!

We had a smaller agave bloom next to our pool stuck in our umbrella holder. ( I found it propped against our neighbors fence by some gardener who knew someone wanted so I dragged it up the street. Some police officers stopped and helped me trim it to a good 8 foot size). We decorated with pretty un breakables collected since college. The breakables stayed inside on a tiny little Christmas tree and our bar…. Nice reminders and so glad they are here to be taken out once a year.

Our friends had us over for Christmas Eve for tasty US tacos that can not be found here. So wonderful to have watched their home transform from a dirt lot with a beautiful view to a warm and cozy home with a spectacular view. And love those tacos that remind me of summer poolside parties. We often had tamales for Christmas but they are not plentiful here . The supplies to make your own are plentiful…. Hmmm maybe next year! My friends and I did that one year and thereafter bought….

And at last, I finally used my cookie gun… yes worth it to find room in the truck. Wow now that is a fun fast way to make cookies. Getting colored sugar was another challenge; first finding really white sugar that was not available here until about 2 years ago, then borrowing food coloring from a neighbor who happened to find one day and has never been seen again. Yup who knew you could make your own ! Three of us made a hundred little cookies in no time.

We had a wonderful Christmas Day dinner with our neighbors after a walk down to the beach. We pulled our gate open and found a cat painted on a rock. We lost Jude this year (sad but a cat who had a lot of fun), so it was a special mystery gift. As we walked down the road we saw that someone had left beautiful cat rocks next to many neighbor’s gates. A nice mystery that took quite while to solve….

We can now find turkey here and our neighbors cooked up a delicious smoked Turkey. We had all the usual trimmings followed by a fire crackling in an outdoor fireplace made it feel a bit like our old home.

As always, New Years comes up quickly after Christmas. Last year there was little energy left for New Years and no black eyed peas to be found but we decided this year we needed to make up for COVID New Years. Reservations made for the beach restaurant with a good band …. And most importantly a group of great friends not opposed to packing into a Photo Booth.. and even more important, black eyed peas on the roof at midnight… with a few fireworks in the distance. (so thankful for friends who sent us off with black eyed peas from California last summer). And those same friends joined us on the roof that night. So happy that D and C found a way to get here. It was great to share the evening with silver and gold friends together.

Well this has been far too long a blog entry, and sad that Brant is not putting together his terrific music filled Christmas CD this year. The year before last was one filled with too much excitement tinged with fear and the work of closing down shop and saying goodbye to so many over so many months . It was a year of getting rid of most of a lifetimes collected stuff and for me it was a sense of great loss. This year was about building a new “home”. We have been surprised to find so many friends who share our interests yet come from diverse backgrounds . We love having time to pursue new interests and projects. Most importantly, it is so good to realize we still love learning new stuff. We look forward to having a year of sharing new discoveries with our friends both old and new.

Our “Christmas card” is a bit late but hope everyone had good holidays with family and friends. It is never too late to wish a year of good times to all!

What better place to have a parade of SUP witches? Seems far better spot for SUP than on Lake Michigan in October. Brant and I rode our bikes out to the beachwatch the arrival of witches and a few lucky dogs. It marked the beginning of several days of festivities.

October is a wonderful time of year, except there is too much to do. The Sendera Sisters/ Hiking Hermanas are back to it. Love having a little routine in our weeks that seem to become effortlessly busy .

Halloween has become more popular in Mexico. The skills of Día de Los Muertes face painting have been applied to Halloween with great success. This year we went to the pooch parade which was combined with the kids in costume walking down the sidewalk (much like Placerville) . We enjoyed handing out candy to the kids that had some pretty awesome costumes…. As well as some parents. It was a little chaotic as pick up trucks of workers left for the day, mixed with ATVS of costumed halloweeners , and a few cows who looked a little confused.

On the next day we attended the parade for Dia de Los Muertes which ended at the cemetery on top of a hill in Los Barriles. There were shrines and bands and children proud of their artwork. And yes, it was a celebration of so many people that clearly meant so much to those there, but you could also see the sadness of loss . So a unique mix of both… and that is why face paint can be a good thing! And Music and food ….

Back home in LB, and the house still not completely back together….mainly because we find other things to do….like going to a turtle release. Friends are in town visiting, so it seemed only right to go “try “to see a turtle release. We have wanted to do it for many years but neither of us are “morning people”. Jet lag has made me more of a morning person (check back in another month) so off we went to the turtle release….

It’s about a 3 minute atv ride (or a ten minute walk) from our home where they keep a fenced in area with what looks like chicken wire hooped cages over the hatching eggs. We could see the tiny turtles from behind the fence trying their best to escape.

I mentioned “trying” because it was somewhat difficult to figure out how this actually works. When we got there, no one else was around other than the 5 of us. A gentleman on the beach said that we didn’t have to wait for the release because we could just find hem wandering to the beach. He said they already picked up about 5 and moved them to the water that morning. (They are moved so that they aren’t inadvertently run over by an ATV or picked up by a dog or seagull)

I was puzzled because I had walked on this beach many many times and had never seen a turtle. As we stood there at the chain link fence it suddenly became clear what was happening. We looked down and saw a little gal trying to make her way through the fence and then we noticed another that had already crawled under the fence. We carefully (and joyfully assisted: scooped them up in sand to avoid human touch (bacterial spread either way). They seemed so tiny and fragile and yet so determined to get to the water. When I blocked the rising sun the turtle changed course….ahah…they really are headed to the rising sun. My phone flashlight got her back on course.

I have heard what an amazing experience this is and while I have always wanted to do it, I was surprised by how much fun we had. Just wonderful to see the little turtles crawl as fast those little legs would take them into the surf and just swim away. After about a half hour they were all gone except for the occasional bob of a tiny turtle head to get air. Sadly one was scooped up by a gull.

So for several months of the year, a group of people (many I believe in the same family) take an ATV down the beach every morning. They cover several miles of the coast and when they see the mama turtle marks on the sand, they hop off their atv and dig up the eggs. When they arrived that day, they had 84 new eggs to bury.

These are Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. They are the most common and smallest of the sea turtles—-only growing to a max of 100 pounds. They return to the same beaches every year …but just the females who have to be 30 years old before they can lay eggs.

Our last Greek Island of our trip…saved the biggest for last! We knew Crete was too large and our travels for so long that spending a week going spot to spot was not the way to end our trip. We had planned to do a Turkey Riviera Sailing cruise but we got kicked off the first because we are too old and the second because they could only find one other couple to travel with us. So we will save the sailing cruise for another time.

We arrived in the dark, rented a car with a few other Brits pulling out nearby that seemed to be having difficulty adjusting to driving on the correct side of the road. The plan was to spend a night in Heraklion so we could go to the Palace of Knossos in the morning. Yup, just needed a simple room to spend the night before heading out…..but they upgraded us to another property due to construction issues. Now we were on our way to an all inclusive on the beach for one night! We had missed dinner so they had made us up a plate. But more importantly, the bar was open till midnight so we tossed the bags and headed to the bar with a half hour to spare.

Once again…we are faced with the pressures of trying to figure out which cocktail to pick. There are 3 types of new alcohol here to research. One is ouzo which Brant has already written off. I like ouzo with fennel though it is a little like using mouthwash that makes you a bit drunk. Then there is Raki (also known as Tsipouro or Greek Moonshine). This varies hugely as much is homemade with shots handed out for free at the end of a meal. I think its better with honey and herbs added, this I think it served hot in the winter. My favorite was Metaxa which is basically brandy but they can no longer call it that because they don’t use French grapes. There is also Mastiha which is a liqueur made from the resin of the Mastic tree. It has a pine herbal flavor. And if you get bored of regular wine, you can try Retsina. It is a wine that that has pine flavor that seems like what pine sol would taste like….though I had one Retsina that was very tasty.

The bartender decided we needed a little help and made us a special welcome cocktail. Tasty and strong. He then went on to describe his travel plans. His biggest problem was having enough money for those plane tickets. He felt he could find jobs wherever he went. I loved listening to his confidence and desire to see the world.

This place made me think of little cabanas on the beach in south Florida until they were leveled to build condos. A nice spot but time for Knossos. After a REALLY BFGB we are headed to Knossos. This spot was discovered by an archaeologist who many feel got carried away with his “remodel” of the site. Nonetheless it is very very old and after being deserted for 3,000 years it required lots of excavation. It is called Europe’s oldest city and was settled as early as the Neolithic age. Its first settlement happened in 7,000 BC and was occupied until about 1,100 BC. It was not discovered until 1878 and excavations began in 1900.

But here is what I think is most interesting. Long ago, I read a book called “Natural Born Heroes”.The book was mainly about the kidnapping of a German general from Crete during World War 2 but very tangential with descriptions of Crete and much about healthy lifestyles that enable hero behavior. I decided to reread the book while traveling on Crete. I was so surprised to realize that the book took place in the towns we visited and even on some of the hikes we took.

In the book, there is an archaeologist who was not respected by other archaeologists but is respected by Cretans who recognize his love for Crete. He theorizes that there is truth in Greek mythology. That Greek mythology reflects a few bits and pieces of the lives of true people. In the book the author outlines how the findings at Place of Knossos might further support his ideas…..even a plausible explanation for the Minotaur. It was remarkable to consider how ancient this site was and how even more remarkable that it existed for so long.

After leaving Knossos the plan had been to go straight to our next stop but Mátala Bay became irresistible. I hate to even admit we did it online but it was only an hour or so out of the way so why not? For those who don’t know, this is the beach where Joni Mitchell camped in a cave for a month with mean old Carey. The story amazes me. Here is this new star singer, well enough known for the hippies at Mátala to recognize her,who goes to Mátala trying to move on from her recent breakup with Stephen Stills and hooks up with a bar/cafe employee who lets her move into his cave with him. For a month she keeps writing, playing and singing and walks away with most of one of the most famous albums of all time, Blue. It seems a story as good as a Greek myth.

The beach was crowded, the town looked likely to have Joni souvenirs (so we avoided), so happy we did not park on the asphalt parking lot and instead in a dirt field, we just headed out to the beach and to get food and drink at Micheal’s Cafe (not the mermaid cafe)…in full of view of the Mátala Bay Caves. I know this place has changed but the beach is still crystal clear and the caves are still there. If you can erase the palapas and all the people except the ones wearing flowing skirts, you can imagine it. That album, I always felt, was meant to take you to another place, the best thing to do when you are stressed, and that album did it for me so many times. And it is still beautiful poetry that makes me tear up at times.

Then we headed up this crazy wild Baja Sur like coast to Chora Sfakion. We now will stay at a pretty big house looking over the coast which is described as being a traditional home. A good place to spread out, wash clothes, repack and ready for return. We are not sure why this is considered traditional…perhaps the terrazzo floors? The shuttered windows?, the large kitchen with 5 liters cans of olive oil?

And we came here to hike…especially the gorges. We told a young man we met from Berlin in Koufonisia that we were headed here and he said—-“oh, where the hikers go.” He is correct, everyone here is in their North Face or Patagonia best. Brant and I are here to test how well pickleball shoes hold on scree and marble cliff polished by thousands of hikers. (Shoes are toughest part of carryon).

Hike number one: Imbros Gorge, we drive a crazy curvy road about 20 min from the house, park and have some bowls of slow cooked lamb and pork beer and wine then head down the stairs into the gorge. It is described as being easy and it is for the most part. Some ankle turning rocks but a few miles later through a narrow gorge we pop out at small palapa with fresh squeezed OJ. The plan is take a cab, or the back of a pick up back up to our car. We are so happy to just have a ride back up to the top, but other hikers are busy negotiating the price. Such a strange system…the price keeps changing as a couple more hikers emerge. Finally we have 9 packed into an SUV (don’t ask how), but only after the driver has become angry with the Patagonian clad hikers trying to reduce the price from 5 to 4 euros. Ceremoniously the hikers who did not participate in the argument (us plus wives) are seated in front and the other 4 are stuffed into the back. I don’t believe there were even seats there!

Hike number two: Chora Sfakion to Loutros. The hike starts a couple kilometers outside the village which requires sharing a cliff hugging road with big trucks so we find a cab to take us to the trail head. We hop over the guardrail and find us on a trail going straight down between switchbacks. The switchbacks are so close together that the Brant’s head seems just a foot directly below my feet. It’s a relief when we each the part of the trail with a guide wire. We finally reach a spectacular beach called Sweetwater. And oh is it sweet to be there! The beach is about half naked and half not. There is a small pier to allow a boat to drop off and pick up passengers. There is a tiny restaurant on the pier too. Nice to not have to pack sandwiches on these hikes! But now we need to make a decision. Our calves are tired from tensing to keep our balance and it’s difficult to tolerate an even longer trail to a small town where we will meet another water ferry. A German hiker had just arrived from the little town and tells us this leg is about the same as the next just longer. This doesn’t seem possible based on what we have read. He says he has an app he trusts completely. We decide to take our chances and find the hike to the next town and find it is far, far easier, Oh my, still wondering what those hikers thought! . So wish we had at least given them the cab phone number. How nice to sit on the water ferry and let it take us home.

Hike number three: Marmara Beach to Loutros. This time the water ferry drops us at the beach. After a delicious lunch Brant swims out to the caves but sadly this beach seems a little crowded. (For the first time we see sign posted requesting no nudity), We are told in the busy season it is 4x busier. After checking the gorge, we are back up on white and gray seaside cliffs that are not too difficult just treacherous. It is even more treacherous when we have to share it with goats. The E4 route leads us to a bar but alcohol and cliffs are not a good combo. Eventually after visiting some castle ruins we make it to the tiny town of Loutros where we finally have those drinks and await our ferry back.

We left with many more hikes to do and another island to visit (Gavdos Island). We drove to the top of a gorge and then hiked in a bit at the bottom (we realized we did not have the time or proper shoes to do the whole thing). We have never been to a place quite like this. The hikes are unique and beautiful. We are surprised how different each one is and how easy the town has made it for those of us who need a little help (ferries, cabs and buses). It was kind of a playground for adults. You could hike down and have a boat pick you up on the beach after you finished your aperol spritz…..

Reading my book has made it easier to understand the area. Dramatic scenery is best description. Definitely a place to come back and finish our explorations.

It’s time to get back to Brooklyn so we headed to Chania. We stopped at a beautiful winery and spent the night at a beautiful perfect hotel in Chania. It’s a very touristy town but shops with some unique art pieces and of course every inch packed with cafes. For the past month we have eaten inside only once or twice.

Once the rental car is returned we are ready for a flight to Athens then Athens to Istanbul then Newark, NewJersey. Istanbul is such a huge city but feels very comfortable. We walked along a path next to the ocean and found a spot to eat. Thanks to google translate we were able to order—and we all laughed and the cats joined us…our typical mealtimes in Turkey and Greece.

They had an impressive variety of wine and learned that this where malvasian wines originated

Back to Athens airport via the tiny Naxos airport. Once in Athens we had a five hour layover that let me do many blogs. Originally we had a 2 hour layover which given our previous mad rush we decided to extend the time. A bit. We really don’t know why but we got access to the lounge so we had a great place to hang out. Found our cab driver in Rhodes who spelled Brant’s first name correctly. He told us what a crazy summer they had and happy it was finally slowing down. Our airbnb was inside the walled old town. Happily, our cab driver actually lived there as well so he was he able to drive his cab inside (you can only drive inside if you reside there). As it turns about 6,000 people live inside the walls—-not just tourists who think this is a cool place to stay. It is the oldest continually inhabited walled medeievel city in Europe.

It seemed a very mysterious place to arrive at late at night and find that lockbox and wander into the a tiny alley between 2 houses. But all good once inside with a stocked fridge and a basket of food and chilled wine. And an easy walk to a restaurant with the standard set of cats waiting for you to drop your food.

The airbnb is owned by a German woman who has lived here 20-30 years and clearly loved her Greek home. She has remodeled and rebuilt and continues to maintain her airbnb while living next door. So glad she gave us the tip that at noon they would allow tourists to walk the top of the wall around the town. Her sweet dog Balou was our guard dog through our stay. Once you patted him he stopped barking.

We had fun winding our way through old town, except when the cruisers disembarked. We walked many miles all around Rhodes town. We even checked out the casino but had no luck. Brant bought a new wallet from someone crafting the wallets. She had lived in Florida briefly where she learned to speak English fluently and Madrid where she learned to speak Spanish fluently. She says the best way to learn is to pretend it’s easy. Very annoying as I struggle to learn Spanish.

Our neighbors in Los Barriles gave us contact information for another couple from LB who summer in Rhodes every year. Enjoyed having a nice pasta dinner with them. Our first cab driver told us that in Greece everyone loves pasta…so true. Not sure we ever saw a restaurant that did not have pasta…

As we had no car we hopped on a bus that took us to a place called Lindos. We had to slowly (and I do mean slowly) wind ourselves through a skinny alley (shops on both sides)with lots of folks to eventually get to the entrance to the archaeological site. So glad Brant got advance tickets. If we did not have those tickets I am surewe would have been in line for an hour or more. Actually I am pretty sure we would have given up and gone to the beach. As it was we had time for a nice stroll through the place (clever store placement) then a long descent to cafe, bars on beach, a nice swim and a slog back up the hill to the bus.

Rhodes is a big island and we saw only a small slice. Seemed a bit more citified and actually enjoyed that. We worked in one more island by catching a boat out to the island of Symi then getting back with a half hour to spare to catch our cab to the airport to head for Crete.

Symi was a beautiful island with different architecture from what we had seen. Another great place to wander and eat and drink.

Would we come back: Maybe. So many other places to visit but this is a great jump off place to Turkey. I think we would have enjoyed exploring more of the island. And it seemed like a nice place to live.

We came up with a brilliant idea….cancel our day trip to Santorini and instead take a ferry to Koufonisia for the night then on to Santorini the next day, returning to Naxos that evening. Ano Koufonisia turned out to be a spectacular island but sadly the Santorini ferry was delayed and our trip there had to be canceled. So many had told us not to go there because it is crazy busy with cruisers. We tried to pick a day (as advised) without a cruise but as it turns out, we could only find a day with less cruises. So remember we are here in the shoulder season and , every day had 3-5 cruises arriving—-about 10,000 or many more people by boat everyday. I was surprised you can actually find all this info on a site. I think Santorini in May sounds good to me—-for a whole week. We met a couple and several other people who have avoided Santorini for the past 5 years for this reason——our taxi driver said they were a brand name—yup, a victim of their success! Still, will look forward to returning in the off season.

Koufonisia Islands is a group of islands at the southern tip of Naxos. Ano Koufonisia is where we landed, grabbed our backpack and started walking toward the place we rented a bit away from the tiny port (a mile or so). Quickly we were picked up by the manager (owner?) who dropped us off only to tell us to get back in car when we asked to rent bikes. A half hour later we were on our fat tire Ebikes and peddling back to our beautiful little condo. We had a great time exploring on our bikes. Without a doubt the prettiest beaches on our trip thus far. Most of the beaches seemed pretty remote accessed generally by footpaths but most of the time there was a bar/ cafe. We were always shocked how reasonable the prices were at these spots. Mainly we were really mesmerized by the beauty and peacefulness of the island.

Would we come back?; We both would love to come back here someday. It is a very special place. We met a man from Berlin who works for an NGO. He was traveling alone and said he had been coming here for over 20 years (he was in his 40s). He travels all over but says he always ends up coming here when he just wants to relax. He spoke passionately about how he loves watching the colors change in the ocean….we so agree with him. He spoke English fluently and also Spanish because much of his work is in Latin America. We gave him our VRBO site and maybe we will see him again this winter. We think he would like LB.

I had to be a bit careful with beach pictures. Here many people are nude and I do my best to avoid taking their pic as they are really not appreciative—understandable given that I don’t even like to have pics of me in my bathing suit. On any given beach I would say 5-90 percent are nude. I like that it is mixed because it becomes so normal (as it should be.) And normal to be with or without a bathing suit I mean. It does make sense to not have to toss a wet bathing suit in your back pack——but us, oh my, we would look like such newbies with our white bathing suit imprint. After nearly jumping in nude (but then a large group showed up) I decided to check if it was actually legal. Actually there are no real rules…I kind of don’t ask don’t tell approach—-so not exactly legal but……

When Brant planned the trip he was very worried about a 2hour connection as we had to claim our luggage and move it to another airline. We did not realize it was 2 different airlines initially. SO of course, everything went wrong. The first flight was about 45 minutes late. Sadly the luggage was also late, another 40 minutes or more. As we checked the screens we could see final boarding call before we even got through security, but we thought lets go for it! Sadly our bad luck continued, our boarding passes would not scan. Security was incredibly backed up and far pickier but not as adept at finding things as Istanbul. It appeared they were training a group of new agents. Every single device had to be powered up. Every item had to be in a separate bin! For example, Brant’s belt had to be in its own bin. The agent became angry when I prematurely went through scanner (I was unwisely trying to speed the process and the woman behind me as well). A very loud argument (in Greek) ensued with the agent—I decided to try to quickly slip away not wanting to be a part of this threesome when security arrived. I told Brant to take off running. He did and once I extricated myself I did too….oh and of course, we had the last gate! We ran and ran and ran around wheelchairs and even one walker (must have run out of wheelchairs?)…… then we were told to get on the bus (our private bus all to ourselves), when another couple calmly joined us from Vienna, their 22nd trip to Naxos. We suspect the plane was held for them, not us. But we made it! That was when I realized I had failed to wait for my IPad and had gone running without it. The flight attendant assured me she had done the same thing at the same airport and they had a great system for getting it back. She was correct…I did it get back on next flight through Athens. The police officer was so happy when my pin that I had to give to him opened it when I called. Very awkward to give to him but he assured me, I am POLICE OFFICER! The same man was there when I picked it up. Wow tough job. He was constantly answering phones, trying to decipher what they were saying and honestly just seemed so happy when he could actually help someone. When we left he said, “Bye Bye!”—I kid you not. I said, Bye! Bye!. Sorry a long story—-but so funny (until I realized IPad gone).

Our driver at Naxos airport who works with the property management was very friendly and informative. After a quick walk through winding alleys we got to our apartment. When we rented it we were concerned about noise factor but 80 reviews said not a problem. The first night we sat on the deck listening to a large group of young women doing an ABBA sing along. We kind of wish we went out to street to watch at bar but on deck we could laugh all we wanted without hurting any feelings—and trust me, it was hilarious. Sadly, the techno pop that did not turn off till 3 am did require ear plugs. We were surprised that 80 reviews could be wrong but when we mentioned the 3am music to the rental property the late night music stopped and all was good. (Suspect they were violating a noise ordinance).

We have chosen our places to stay to try to get a variety of experiences and it has worked very well with mainly very pleasant surprises—-like the beautiful fruit, wine and crackers left for us at this apartment. It was fun to be on the “main drag”. Fun to watch the boats and people—then step out door to shops, ferries, restaurants and bars.

We did not realize it would be so tough to organize ferry day trips. It was surprisingly expensive as well…for example, 86 euros per person one way to Santorini. As it turns out there is much to do on the island that I would not have wanted to miss.

One day we explored to the northern part of the island via sailboat—much of which cannot be reached by road. Lots of jumping off the boat for swims and a little cliff jumping. Beautiful relaxing day… We met a couple on their honeymoon. They were from New York and now living in Dallas. They were trying to plan a move to Sicily. I also met a woman from North Attleboro, Mass—my hometown. She literally lives around the corner from where I grew up. We were so shocked. We actually knew same people in town—still there after more than 50 years! Great also to hear the energy and excitement in the young people on the boat. There were people from France, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada and the US on the boat. Sign language is important here.

One day we rented a car and explored the island. We could have used the local bus but decided I like to stop way too often for that to work. This is where Zeus spent his child hood (born in Crete ). Maris had told us it was a great hike to mountaintop but that our hottest day during the trip (90s)with no shade on the trail so we opted for rabbit stew, rotisserie chicken and aperol spritz’s in a beautiful village in the mountains.

We also found an outdoor movie theater and watched “Where the crawdads sing”. All in Greek subtitles! They had excellent food and drink without US movie prices. We enjoyed walking through the downtown….So many bakeries and fish shops…

We spent time swimming and relaxing on the beach. As in all of Europe you just rent those loungers on the beach. Maybe we need to start that service in LB?

The flight started easily enough….one person to check you in, one gate that the same person in charge of it. Remember Wings TV series? . A short walk to the little airplane….

So the question, would we come back: I would like to do the hike to Mount Zeus. There were really nice beaches here but not as nice as our next island. I think the answer is maybe. It is a great base to start out from to explore this area but I think probably works better to just move from one island to another if that is your goal.

This was just a great place to wander around and try to get lost in the little streets. Naxos has a nice combo of modern and old….and the people were so friendly and helpful here.

Warning: It’s a long story but we are here at the airport for 5 hours and lets just sayI am happy I have knitting, a blog, a sketchbook and all the wine I want (actually we aren’t sure why we have that but we are not complaining). So be prepared, it’s a great time to attempt blog catch up.

I suggest for your soundtrack while reading this: the Olympic Fanfare and Chariot of the Gods by Vangelis who sadly recently died due to COVID.

Arrived at Olympia a bit later than we meant to but that’s okay because we have the routine down. Stayed at Leonidaion Guesthouse (great location and a comfy room) where the proprietor told us of his upcoming vacation plans—motorcycling from Patagonia to Brazil then off to San Francisco where he was motorcycling with friends from San Francisco to Tiajuana . We felt the need to give a few written recommendations including that he should head down to LB for a visit.He made us feel like we have a pretty unambitious trip planned. He was doing this in 6 weeks. His reasoning: he usually only takes a 2 week vacation but for 2 years COVID caused him to miss his vacations for 2 years. Makes sense!

We picked up our ticket for the Olympia ruins (where the original Olympic Games began). Due to our Unneda Waterfall trip we area a bit delayed so the ticket sales operator was very concerned about our late start. We had until 8 and we assured her (over and over) that it was fine. (I told Brant that telling her we once did the Louvre in less than 30 minutes would not be reassuring). Slightly embarrassingly, we zoomed through the museum then out to the ruins where they played the Olympic Games for about 1400 years. Seriously—way over one thousand year of competition with all kinds of crazy sports! It was put to a stop as Christianity gained popularity in about 300 AD. The Christians marched in and put an end to the false gods of Zeus etc. —-as Olympics was seen as a pagan celebration (for some understandable reasoning given the sacrifices etc.). Once again, off with the heads of the statues. It seems this would have been difficult to do—chisel, machete, exactly how did they do that? At least, unlike the Acropolis that was blown to smithereens by some general in some war, this spot was further destroyed by an earthquake after the Christians got done with it. I guess after that the “pagans” lost interest in pursuing the games. So as always happens , it became buried in dirt until 1829 when a French archaeologist began excavations. In fairness to that General back in Athens (Ottoman, we believe), how was he to know they were storing all their kegs of gunpowder up at the acropolis?

But back to the Olympics ….. the modern day Olympics resumed in 1896 (in Athens, not here). No longer pagan, just capitalist! Four years later the first woman competed in the Olympics, in 1990 (AD that is). So here we are a few thousand years later admiring the incomprehensible ability of the Romans to build, sculpt, and infrastructure these communities only to lose all these abilities in the Dark Ages. While it seems impossible this could happen again in this digital age…..I think perhaps youth feels differently . Climate warming? Overpopulation? Polarization of communities? More demagogic leaders? Could another dark ages happen? ….okay time for an Aperol spritz. Or a liter of wine (that’s how they sell it in the restaurants here—-my kind of place).

So would we come back here again? And please remember we don’t at all regret any place we have been thus far, but we are talking about a return trip. No, probably wouldn’t come back. We lucked out to have a beautiful evening with that golden light to see the grounds with just a handful of people—-with our soundtrack playing softly on Spotify—who needs audio tours? Also this area was not as pretty or dramatic as other places, but perhaps the flatter land is what allowed them to build a stadium for 35,000 male spectators (women not allowed to even watch the games). I did notice you could come here and join a marble carving work shop which I think would be interesting. And as in all travels here, lots of friendly kind people….

Okay—-here we go—-another BFG breakfast and OTD to Delphi. Brant says he thinks some company caters these breakfasts throughout Greece. He might be right but they sure do seem like a lot of work…lots of cheese, cold cuts (lots of them), eggs 2 ways, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, sausages, rolls, bread, toast, risks, yogurt, honey, fruit, muesli—-each set up the same.

It’s important to keep Siri and Miss Waze on their toes! Neither thinks we have a good sense of direction but I think they have gotten used to us looking for the nearest beach. Neither has been a starlet with directions as they sometimes tell us to to turn left over a cliff. I told Brant I think they are trying to kill us so they don’t have to navigate for us anymore.

Yet another beautiful beach at Sandhill. Comes complete with bars for getting a cold beer and sand bars for drinking the cold beer. Alas, too early for the cold beer so we headed on to lunch once again. Interestingly the menus seems very, very similar at each restaurant. Mousaka, pastichio, gyros, souvlaki and pita everywhere. Fortunately the menus are very large. And Brant has sorted out which is the best beer…Alpha or Fix.

Well, if the ruins you are going to are the center of the world (per the Greek Gods) and the home of the gods and you start at beach level, prepare for a steep climb to a beautiful place.

Same routine but a classier place, tiny elevator, dump luggage, admire view, set off for ruins. We definitely saved the best ruins for last in my opinion. As we slowly walked back down the frequently slippery big steps we could hear strains of music as the sun was setting. At the base in the agora was a chamber orchestra/ Greek tragedy being performed. We kept walking slower and slower so we could hear it (for free). When we got to the bottom (in the agora) a woman was quickly going up to the last of us hikers. I thought she was telling us to leave quickly, but no —-she was telling us that we could quietly exit then come back in and circle to the back to see the last of the performance. (This was in Greek but a nearby guide noticed we were puzzled and came and told us). I loved noticing the huge smiles on a couple college age students (French I think) who quickly took her up on the offer and joyfully watched—-music majors I bet.

It really was beautiful especially in the setting. For some reason one of the performers with her beautiful voice brought tears to my eyes. It was hard not to think a woman like me many many years ago (but shorter with no rights at all) may have been sitting on the rock bench by the agora listening to some ancient sort of instrument played (remember we did those museums fast) while worrying about her son’s poor performance in the wrestling championship and thinking what dinner she could fix to help him feel better about it. Interestingly there were the most American folks here of all the places since we left Athens. (Still US folks—or Canadian seemed to be less than 5 percent of the visitors.)

A nice dinner, BFGB in AM, and off we go! Next stop Kalambaka….

Would we come back: Definitely for a performance we were interested in seeing. There is also skiing nearby—not surprising given the elevation. I think the ruins with a coating of snow would be beautiful.

WARNING; THE CONTENTS OF THE NEXT FEW POSTS MAY GET A BIT TEDIOUS. IT SEEMS WE OFTEN FORGET WHAT WE DID ON OUR MANY TRIPS AND USING THIS TO TRY TO RECALL IT IN A PLEASANT WAY. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SKIM THROUGH AND Just CHECK OUT THE PRETTY PICS. And if that gets tedious, just pour yourself a nice drink and tell us you enjoyed it!

We have now entered to “stay one night at each beautiful spot phase of this trip” for the next five nights. A feat not to be taken lightly on a 5 week trip! It quickly became mountainous (and more and more beautiful) as we left Athens. The roads were good and we actually preferred the country roads to the toll roads. Especially when we got the opportunity to stop at a roadside fruit/vegetable stand! We pointed but for whatever reason she decided what we should have, piled it into our bag, we paid and ate whatever it was along the way. Brant thinks perhaps she just gave us the stuff she was trying to get rid of but I think she was trying to show off her special stuff. She told us all about the stuff—in Greek.

We took a side trip out to a little beach that looked like a perfect Athens escape (45 minutes away)and was reminiscent of the movie, “ think of later”. It might be the perfect place to stop after arriving in the Athens airport. Then in about another hour we were at Nafplio which on first glance did not seem exceptional but the town had it all. A promenade next to the water, a pedestrian only town with many steps, cute shops, cafes, and a very long walk up to the fortress guarding the won. In fact this town had 3 fortresses guarding it. Our hotel room looked out to one on an island. We were shocked at what a terrific room we had on the water for about 50 dollars including 2 big breakfasts.

The problem with the town is that it’s hard to choose which bar to have the Aperol spritz (Brant votes for the one that serves free nuts) then even more difficult to choose a restaurant, which occur at frequency of every 10-20 feet. The one I chose after extensive research had an hours wait so we walked a bit and easily found another. Yup, I was forced to order squid ink pasta and I believe buckwheat groats with calamari and shrimp. On top of that a stray dog (which is very uncommon here because I think that cats evicted them) threw up next to our table. They offered to reseat us but we knew how busy they were and at the end they gave us a 10 percent discount. Despite language barriers the service has been good everywhere and the people kind and thoughtful. This was definitely a Greek family vacation town (as well as a romantic weekend town)—-lots of kids having fun. We finished the night with a free concert in the town square.

After another BFG breakfast we were off to Monemvasio. The drive once again through beautiful mountains to walled pedestrian only town. There were places to spend the night and of course more restaurants and bars.

SO the question—Would we come back? Yes, we left with much more to do. We would have liked to hike up to the castle. I think an evening cruise on the Corinthian canal would be interesting. Floating in the sea on the beach at Korfous would be wonderful after a long flight. And definitely, overnighting at Monemvasio would be unforgettable.

We spent 4 nights in Alonissos and wish we could have been there another 4—maybe 40. This says a lot as we lost our electricity twice (hence explaining the many candles in the home) it had a shower that was basically just a shower head in the bathroom ceiling with a drain in the center of the floor. It had what I called a Barbie doll oven with cooktop. No screens, with railings on the stairwell that felt as though they would break. And a slant on the old slate floor that mimicked the effect of too much ouzo. Did I mention the washing machine that had to be pried open with a knife and the drain hose had to be placed in the toilet when you used it?

BUT it was a magical spot. SO quiet and dark with shutters closed that we once slept till 10. At night you could hear strains of music from the town until about 11 and then it was suddenly completely quiet and still. I made mushroom risotto on the Barbie doll cooktop with leek sausage and we ate out on a patio set with candles (thanks Brant). It was a 2 min walk to a restaurant with a spectacular view….and of course many bars. There were so many footpaths we were still finding new trails the day we left.

The island was covered with pears, pomegranates, apples, figs, blackberries and grapes. I had my coffee and just reached over the railing for figs. And the food was excellent! One of my favorites was Vlita (described in English as local greens sautéed). I was finally able to find someone who told me it was amaranth, I’ve tried to grow without much success but now I need to try again. A bowl of vlita, grilled halloumi with tomato and bread is a perfect dinner. Of course you have to have a house wine—which in many places was excellent (and sometimes not)—but only 3-4 dollars!

This was a great place to sort of relax. We kept saying we would just spend the day relaxing on the balcony but hard to resist exploring such a beautiful place. A hike to the beach, a rented motorboat to explore the coves with a swim in the cove, etc. And we got our wash done! My cat came every morning and evening for a little milk and I worry about who will feed him now. (Though he looked well fed).

After 4 days we hopped on the local bus, loaded our luggage and headed to our ferry. Beautiful ride to Skiathos. We decided against walking up into the hills of Skiathos and instead took a water taxi to another beach for dinner then came back and wandered around a bit before we headed to Naxos via Athens. This is the area where the first Mama Mia was filmed (actually most on Skopelos, a neighboring island). Yup, lots of Abba at the bars, day tours to the movie spots and a theatre in town playing it several times per week. Very tough to get that music out of your head.

An easy drive to Volos (well it was easy for me) where we stayed in a nice hotel on the ocean hosting a medical conference. Could definitely spot those docs—busy on their phones and dressed conservatively—intermittently meeting up with the poolside family. Asked a 5 year old Greek girl how the pool was and in precise English she said, “Perfect!” Yup that would be Maris. Then she whispered to her mom, “Mom, it was perfect right?”

As we had no need to attend the conference we took a long walk along the boardwalk or malecón? Excellent lunch with a delicious herb. I asked waiter who was trying so hard to understand us. He put a great deal of time into finding the name and having written down in English. It was Critama—an herb only grown in Crete. Took a dip, watched a sunset. We even tried Tsirisoupolis which was actually a free drink from the hotel. It’s okay but I liked it better when honey and herbs were added. We loved watching how folks came to the beach after work to stand or float in the water and chat with their friends.

We have it down, BFGB, toss the luggage in car —then off to the ferry. Drop off car, roll luggage down to the port and power vampire at the cafe before hopping on our 3 hour ferry to Alonissos. Enjoyed meeting Brits waiting for the yacht to be prepared for their sail vacation. It was on that ferry ride that I wrote about 4 entries then published sadly without pics.

The ferry zips into a tiny port and we are a bit disappointed when we realize our air BnB is on the top of high point on the island. It’s a curvy scary ride where he drops off at the top of a cobblestone square where the pedestrian only town begins. A man asks if he may take bag… I say well I don’t know where I’m going yet. He says he does and he will take me there…. Ok so off we go. Down windy paths and steps littered with figs to a shuttered little house on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Dimitri tells us there is no wifi,everything is expensive, we should rent a car…. When he leaves we are feeling a little disappointed, as though we have made a mistake.

But then we go to dinner on a rooftop and wander through the cobbled streets listening to jazz coming from a bookstore. We realize there is a bus running every 20 minutes and foot trails everywhere. Then we go back to our shuttered little house and sit on the balcony looking out over the town and the ocean. The full moon rises and we think….nope not a mistake!

Down the mountain once again, SIri had had it with us at this point—telling us to turn left through guardrails on steep mountain passes and routing us through wall scraping paths into cobblestoned towns where it becomes unclear if you are on a road or in someone’s outdoor market. No one yelled at us so I think we were fine…. You might want to ask Brant’s opinion on this. He thinks Siri decided to kill us. We decided to change to Ms. Waze for a while but she only deals in Greek words and that alphabet is not friendly to the average GDI as opposed to those former sorority/fraternity members.

For the first time it was challenge to find a restaurant for lunch, we were definitely in the farmlands of Greece. We found a town and a restaurant but finger pointing and pantomiming seemed somewhat unsuccessful but perhaps a waiter? who spoke a bit of English brought us 2 toasted sandwiches with chips and a big beer for the 2 of us—total—5 dollars. He knew the menu was useless unless we ordered a Sigma Neu, or a Sigma Alpha Epsilon…… We thought he did not understand what we were asking for when he zipped away on his motorcycle with coffee drinks balanced on the handlebars of his motorcycle but he was back quickly to make those sandwiches. I think he thought we were very lost….

Suddenly we were at Kalambaka. Huge boulders the remnants of an ancient lake or debris from a rushing river created these monolithic rock towers. Monasteries are perched on the very top—-and of course we dumped our luggage, admired view and headed out—-to tackle the steps up to the monastery. We earn those cocktails! Not surprisingly it is a favorite among rock climbers—one German rock climber used his phone app to get us on the right trail. Not sure how he walked with all those carabiners hooked to him. It was unique and beautiful but and slightly odd. Not surprising much filming happens here—-Game of thrones for example

So drinks, dinner, BFGB and off we go again——next stop the mushroom museum in town before we head to Volos. I know what you are thinking—-a mushroom museum? But it was great! I could not resist sharing my “Mushrooms of Maine” post with one os the staff. She caught me off guard when she asked if I spoke Spanish. She told me she was a latina at heart and had was self taught in Spanish. She had been to Mexico City and hoped to return. We had a wonderful conversation about Mexico and mushrooms. Once again we are reminded what a globally connected world we are in—-surely this will eventually convince leaders what a waste of money war is! Or how much easier to get underground resistance in place.We hope we get to show her around Los Barriles some day. The casita will be waiting for her.

Would we return: If I learn to rock climb I would definitely return to Meteora. Perhaps to see it in the snow? They sometimes get a meter of snow in the winter.

I was sad to leave the ocean but Brant once again picked the perfect place in the mountains. The roads became increasingly more narrow until we were driving on cobblestones and realized we were in the middle of the town square which apparently is okay to do here…at least I think those were friendly waves from the shops. In the mountain I could see a deep gorge that looked so otherworldly that I was adamant we find before it got dark. So into another teeny tiny elevator, dump luggage in room, open shuttered doors to beautiful view and zoom back out the door. Some creative map reading located the gorge. Another place for the Ewoks to fly through….

Yet another dinner at a beautiful cafe with a few cats sitting right next to me (I wonder why?). For the first time in a couple days we heard English spoken at another table. A couple whose husband just decided to come to Greece while in the midst of a road trip in Tennessee and booked tickets for a week later. They were talking about how the wife had spent time there since a child when they ran into a local they knew. Moments later a group of Greeks joined their table and slipped into perfectly fluent Greek—both of them. Wow—-wish we could do that! Inspired me to get back to my Spanish .

So we have developed a strategy for this part of the trip, hike in the morning before the buses arrive and hike in the evening after the buses leave. We have had castles completely to ourselves, but have questioned whether we are on the right trail at times. We reserve the middle of the day and after dark for eating, drinking and driving (somehow that doesn’t sound right).

The ruins at Mystras have an interesting if not typical history. After kicking out the Romans, some Greek guy with lots of power (and I assume strong slaves by the looks of the big rocks) builds a really awesome castle/fortress which of course requires lots of people to keep fixing/ feeding/cleaning up so a town “flourishes” on the land below the fortress. It is such a cool (literally because its in the mountains) place that it attracts lots of artists and architects. It becomes such a popular and cultural center where everyone wants to live there so of course multiple wars ensue to gain ownership. The Venetians get it (bet the food was great), then the Ottomans take it over, but alas the Greeks get it back. Fortunately now no war needed to enjoy, just tickets and strong legs. Makes so much more sense (though not as exciting)to make money off tickets, restaurants and hotels than plundering…..

Once gain, BFGB shared with the cats, load car and we are off. We thought our room was a terrific bargain at about 55 dollars for 2 including 2 BFGBs . Now time to head to Olympia, home of the original Olympics—-but first a stop along the coast. And the question: Would we come back? Very beautiful there, very interesting to see the countryside of Greece and if we returned would do more extensive hiking but would probably go to a new place first.

So would we go back to this area:Yes I think we might. There was clearly a great deal to do in the area, food was inexpensive and delicious——and we need to rent an ATV and find those falls! Next time….

It was an easy 1.5 hour flight from Istanbul to Athens with a tasty lunch included. (Note I said lunch was included). A nice cab driver took us to our apartment In Athens. He was shocked that I knew what avogolemono soup is, but he told me it was “mama food” and should not be in a restaurant. It is funny how many cab drivers love talking about food….which is great because that is what I love talking about.We got tips on where to get Pakistani and Guatamalan food in Brooklyn,too. I think food is its own language. . The apartment Brant found was perfect—-right down to a balcony with a view of the Acropolis… easily accessed in the “go find the lockbox somewhere “ routine that we have perfected. I think the region was Plaka and it was really a perfect neighborhood. Very quiet at night, easy walk to the Acropolis, great restaurants, shops, and grocery stores steps from our building.

It was a beautiful day when we got there, but decided to check out the laundromat and the grocery store and hold off on tourism until tomorrow. Unfortunately it was too beautiful to resist walking up to the Acropolis. Then we couldn’t resist a drink while seated on the walls of the Acropolis while the live theater performance began. Then we could not resist hiking up to Aerophagus as the sun began to set. Unfortunately, very sadly , someone could not resist pickpocketing Brant. We have traveled many places famous for pickpocketing (Rome, Cuzco, Paris, London, Guayaquil, Mexico City) and as a result do all sorts of stuff to protect our “valuables”. Sadly it only takes one golden sunset on a warm sunny day to let your guard down and have someone notice. No one should ever grab someone else’s stuff, but they do and we will just leave it at that. Fortunately we have expected this to happen after many decades of travel so we did have copies of everything. We did our best to not let it color our view of Athens but…..and the laundry did not get done that night…and we were a bit weary and wary the next day,

So in summary: we enjoyed Athens. It was easy to get around, the people were helpful and friendly (except one), the prices were reasonable (unlike Rome) and like Rome (though not as majestic) it was always fun to see scattered ruins through the modern city. There were very few crowds except while walking up to the Acropolis which was a pretty easy walk. We enjoyed exploring the neighborhoods (even if it included doing a police report)—by the way, don’t skip this because it’s a hassle because you may need it in unexpected ways. We had to present it with the international drivers liscence to allow us to rent a car. We also had a great tour of the city and out to a beautiful temple of Poseidon by the shore.

We ended our stay with a wonderful dinner at an excellent restaurant on the terrace top of a building, The Balcony restaurant. Definitely worth a 20 minute cab ride….fortunately it was just 3 minutes from our apartment. Afterwards we went to a bar that was mainly outside on the sidewalks. Young people,some with prams, enjoying the warm summer night.

We always ask ourselves at the end of each visit, would we come back here? Well I think we would for some sort of special event—concert or one of those destination weddings but now that we have been in the more rural parts of Greece I think we would just head out to those beautiful old towns and sparkling water. More on that later…..

I could add an absurd number of pictures as it is truly a photo every 5 steps but trying to limit to a few favorites. We have learned in Greece that it’s also common here to say “Bye bye!” I did not realize that when I said that in Turkey but now have heard many many times in Greece. Soooo I found a way too large tablecloth or bedspread that I wanted to buy because it had elephants on it, It seemed however to be much too large for my carryon. He offered me one much, much smaller for 10 euro, I offered 5 euro, he said “Good buy!” I reached for my wallet thinking he was impressed with my bargaining skills, but realized in fact he was saying “good bye”. He took the fabric and tossed into the pile and turned away from me. Hmmm…perhaps bartering not common in Greece—I think he meant good by! I said, “Bye bye”

After saying good bye to Maris we headed to Istanbul. The more we visit Brooklyn the more we like it. We talked about how New York truly has a little bit of every country. While its a very pricey place to live you never really need to travel because everything is in New York. So why travel? We decided to test the theory.

Istanbul felt instantly exotic, but easy to navigate—even with few English speaking people. I suppose a great part of it was the large number of women wearing burqas, which I never completely adjusted to, but it certainly added to the mystery of the place.

It was an hours drive to our hotel which was actually within the old town—which is no vehicles—so into a buggy again. For unclear reasons we were upgraded so after quickly checking out our hotel we were off to dinner (which happened to occur about 3 hours after we woke up).

So this a HUGE city—in size and population—twice the size of New York City, and a third larger than LA. It is spread out over the ocean front of the Marmara sea along the Bosphorus strait on the continent of Asia and Europe. I didn’t fully realize the geopolitical importance of the location until I saw the ocean “parking lot” of tankers and container ships waiting to be tugged through the strait—-about a thousand per day. At the end of the strait, the tankers pop into the Black Sea. It’s a small sea with just a few countries along it’s coast —among them, Russia and Ukraine—hmm interesting huh?

While we did lots of walking—-20,000 is our top number we also used public transit. Our favorite was the ferry which was about 40 cents a trip. We happened to be there for Victory Day which is when Turkey took Asia Minor or Anatolia from Greece. Lots of music, food, people and flags everywhere (which was our tip off that it was a holiday0. Regardless it was an organized easy place to get around. And always food was nearby. It was definitely a city of contrasts—women in shorts next to women in full burqas—often chatting together. People tried to help us (like trying to buy tickets from a machine) but their method was to just say things over and over in Turkish so it generally wasn’t that helpful. We left with so many more places we wanted to explore.

This is special baklava made for victory day. We also had baklava with water buffalo ice cream—-interestingly it’s made to be a little chewy. Chewy cold ice cream—-very interesting. Also some stands served ice cream with a magician—-very odd and unexpected—-the little girl in front of me cried when he gave it to her took it away and pulled from her then served it upside down. Kind of made me want to cry too—I knew exactly how she felt. JUST GIVE ME MY ICE CREAM 🙂

The Tokapi palace was huge. We literally walked for miles through garden and palace. I think I took a hundred photos of just this place. We had never seen anything close to it in our travels. It was so old and yet I felt I could have furnished it with West Elm and DWR then cuddle up with a good book.

This was a place we left with many more things left to do. Maris had warned us the airport was complex with 3 security check points before even getting to your gate. On the second check point they found a tiny pair of scissors in my knitting (which was not of concern atthe previous 4 airports), they kept standing there holding the scissors and not giving me my luggage back. I could not understand what they were saying—nor could they understand me. Finally, I said “Bye Bye!” And waved good bye to my scissors. She laughed, zipped up my bag, then waved and said “Bye, Bye!” You don’t need to speak the language but you did need some patience and a sense of humor.