We are well and truly home now! We became lazy with the log in the last few days in UK and once in Kent spent lovely times with Sue and Steve and Margaret and Peter as well as seeing Marie and Geoff Greenwood. We went out for dinner with Margaret, Peter, Marie and Geoff on the 24th to celebrate Stephen's 64th birthday - Margaret made a booking for us at the "Milk House' wwhich I kept muddling up calling it the 'milking Shed'. It was a lovely, fun evening with these wonderful people who remain our very good friends after the time we spent in Kent in 1997.
Back tracking to add more to the Cotswold blog, In Tetbury we visited the parish Church of St Mary's. It has been a place of Chritian worship since AD 681. That is amazing for us to thinkof the long continuity of faith. The church we visited was built between 1777 and 1781, replacing the medieval church on the same site. It is Georgian Gothic and grade 1 listed building.
While in the small villages of the Cotswwolds we popped into a tiny parish church in one of the villages, negotiating a narrow path that wound around the church to the front door. We walked inside to find a small, atmoshheric church with the well worm and smell of many, many years of worship.
It would seem we spend a lot of time in churches. I just want to enlarge on the visit to St John the Baptist in Cirencester. Stephen has outlined what we saw - it is one of the largest parish churches in the UK. This church in the 'wool' town of Cirencestor has many fascinating features. The most notworthy is the Boleyn Cup made in 1535 for Anne Bolyen by Henry VIII . It is a solid gold chalice cup with a lid - made at the request of Anne her self. She gave it to her daughter Queen Elizabeth and it is said used it to take her last communion before her beheading, The Queen then gave it to her physician - Richard Master, who lived nearby. This was characteristic of the lady who had little money at her disposal - inheriting the kingdom after Henry's big 'spend ups'. The cup was finally given by Richard Master to the church. The cup is housed in a small wooden case with lighting and a very serious secuity system due to its value. The Master family are well recorded in the church - obviously being people of substance and position in the area. We were told by the delightful man, a volunteer guide, that when the Queen Eliz II visited the church and saw the cup her comment was " So you have the other one" - Henry had made 2 cups and the royal family still retain theirs.
The guide told us that when Eliz I was on one of her many progressions around hher kingdom and visited Cirencestor she had been informed about the beauty of the church.lady Upon arriving in the city market place - where it is situated she said "'Tis but a church' how ever, once she stepped inside she said "We must have one in London!" . The church is truly beautiful. We arrived at mid day the next day for the service of Holy Communion - just we two and the minister. A lovely service. He showed us after the service "Tom and Jerry" in the Lady Chapel - 2 wooden carved creatures - a sneaky looking cat and a cute mouse perched up in the rafters ! Gorgeous.
This is a very wealthy church - the Boleyn Cup is a huge draw card for tourists and donations yearly are substantial. Also they are hired as a venue for many purposes, graduation ceremonies, important conferences etc.
We also ate our lunch in Cirencester Park - the Earl of Bathurst's 3,000 acre estate deigned by Alexander Pope.It is spacious, with a lot of paved wolk ways, Chestnut trees and acres of beautifully kept lawns.
Nother notable visit was to The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens. Stephen was very impressed with the presentation of the park - obviously they have more funding than the Otter Park in the Cotswolds. Their otters didn't have the peculiar fishy scent that the Cornish otters exuded. The park is huge and very popular for a holiday venue for families! We saw the rhinos in their large enclosure vis small train, meercats, giraffes and lotsd of lemurs. The gardens were fascination - flower beds, vegie gardens and a New Zealand garden - a walk through NZ flora with a few exotics thrown in for goood measure - intentionally or not?
One of our tours took us to the Broadway tower - a large stone tower built in the usual honey coloured stone. We didn't climb it - apparently you can see 16 Counties from the top of the tower - on a clear day!! This tower is a unique capability Brown Folly - built by one James Wyatt. It is built on an ancient beacon sight with views of a radius of 62 miles. There is also a secret nuclear Bunker used by the Royal Observer Corps to track enemy planes over UK in WW I and WWII . It was converted into a nuclear bunker during the cold war. It would have been nice to have seen more of the tower. It took us a while to actually see it from the road - there were simply masses of cars and buses and crowds! We decided against the jostle and the bunker is open only in the weekends ,
Another feature of the lovely touring we did was to visit Nailsworh Vallet where I counted 20 plus mills. The neighbouring valleys of Avening, Horsley and Newmarket have a lot of mills also. We were spoilt for choice as which to visit - settling for the Egypt Mill , now a comfortable hotel. It sits by the river with outside, riverside terrace. It was a cornmill in the 14th century, also served as cloth manufacture, fulling, logwood mill producing dyes. Richard Webb was the name of a former owner - a very high handed individual known as the "Pharaoh' and is thought to be the origin of the name of the mill - or maybe beacause gypsies lived on the river banks. Gypsies were then thought to have come from Egypt. The restoration began in 1985. We had a look at the old waterwheel. Amazing to think people were harnessing water right back in the 1300s.
BACK TO GREECE:
I didn't write at the time about our visit to Methoni - the site where my father's POW transport came to rest after being torpedoed by the allies. I have a wonderful book now that describes this event and the debt the surviving soliders owe to a certain German Engineer onboard the Jansen. After the attack on the ship the Italian crew - including the Captain took to the life boats leaving the ship to fend for itself. It was this German who took control of rescue operations and navigated it toward Greece where it was driven onto the rocks at Methoni. I have a very good account now of these events and as I looked down onto the cruel rocks which the men had to come in over I was shocked and horrified in equal measure. The clifs that the old castle stands on is very sheer. The bluff is evidently bufffeted by high winds and storms and it was in one such huge storm that the Jansen was driven onto reef. The facts are well recorded in "No Honour, No Glory' so no need to repeat them. I could well imagine the scene - men desperate to get off the sinking ship having to make a precarious descent along a rope from deck to shore. The rope wildly swaying in the gale , surf crashing over these jagged extensive rocks , men loosing their grip to be dashed to their death on the rocks , men jumping in from the deck to swim ashore - how any survived I have no idea. My father is said to have decided to stay on deck until his turn came to descend via rope. A wise decision even though he was a superb swimmer - or maybe because of his knowlege of the sea.
That night was a terrifying ordeal and it was important to see the site . The day we visited was hot and sunny but it was easy - looking down on that treacherous coastline - to hear the wind, see the surf and , with a shiver, the young men battling to survive. There must have been horrible injuries incurred. I have so much to be grateful for to my father Ernie for the way he dealt with and coped with during those horrific years while he was fighting or encarcerated. Thank you Daddy for your endurance and sound sense.
Saturday 5 November 2016
Wednesday 17 August 2016
Up in the Cotswalds
The last day we spent in Cornwall we headed over the border into Devon to see the Lydford Gorge, apparently the deepest gorge in southern England. It is a very pleasant area with a stream that varies from a torrent through a narrow rock gut and circular bowls card intoe the rock to a series of placid ools in nice oak woodlands. We took the short route which zigzagged down to the stream then followed it up to the series of falls and whirlpools. At this point the path became a narrow ledge on the rockface and the branch to the innermost cavern becam a series of slick rock steps with no exterior handrail - a head for heights was required. We were ging to follow this with a visit to the White Lady waterfall ar the other end of the gorge, but realised the walk would have been a bit much. Still a pleasant dsy out.
The next day we left the cottage and decided to drive across Exmoor on the way to Cheltenham on the western edge of the Cotswalds. Leaving Cornwall it was interesting how the countryside changed. By comparison Cornwall had been slightly bleak with stone walls and a bit of rock in the hills and lower growing trees. By the time we were in Somerset the contours were flatter and there were more lush woodlands. Each county seems to have its own character even though iots hard to put your finger on the difference. Once again we were frustrated by the English habit of hiding the countryside from the road so that the views are visible only in short bursts.. We stopped at a pub in the middle of Exmoor for lunch. The moor itself, while a national park, is mostly farmed but I assume that there are wilder areas accessible by walking.. We passed a hunt in progress and the pub we stopped at was obviously firmly in the hunting stable with signs saying "Ban prejudice, keep on hunting.".
In Cheltenham we are in a small apartment (more a room with en-suite) over the garage of a very exclusive house, surrounded by cricket and other sporting fields. The owners are currently in Portugal so we are dealing with the housekeeper.
On the Sunday we visited the local preservation railway that runs from Toddington to Cheltenham. They started the group in the 1980's after the line had been closed and lifted and it is impressive what they achieved since then with a run of around 30 miles, 5 stations, 3 complete rakes of carriages, 4 operational steam engins, a number of diesels and railcars and a huge collection of other rolling stock waiting restoration. They have a staff of 900, all of whom apart from 3 are volunteers.
The next couple of days we started the round of some of the Cotswald villages, all of them a picture of warm honey coloured stone houses with the occasional thatched roof in beautiful gentle rolling countryside. At Tewkesbury we tourded a mediaeval house that is now the information centre and an exhibit of building restoration and local history. We found that this had been the site of decisive battles in both the War of the Roses and the Civil War. In one the then Prince of Wales was killed and ended up buried in the adjacent abbey. The abbey church was sold to the town when Henry VIII abolished the abbey and it has been the parish church since them, apparently the largest in England. It is certainly large with massive circular columns on either side of the nave.
Today we drove down to Cirencester which claims to be the capital of the Cotswalds. The town is quite small and seems to have a fairly random layout, even though the Romans laid their town out in a rectangular grid. After the Romans left the town seems to have been pretty deserted until the Normans established an abbey around 1100. Again the abbey was demolished by Henry VIII but the church remained as the parish church. There is an excellent museum here covering the history of the area. One of the outstanding features of the town is the patronage of the local earl who has donated his collection of historical artifacts to the museum which he supported and has opened the park of his manor (3,000 acres) as a public park for the townsfolk - the central avenue alone is over a mile long.
We have another 2 days in the Cotswalds before moving down to Kent.
The next day we left the cottage and decided to drive across Exmoor on the way to Cheltenham on the western edge of the Cotswalds. Leaving Cornwall it was interesting how the countryside changed. By comparison Cornwall had been slightly bleak with stone walls and a bit of rock in the hills and lower growing trees. By the time we were in Somerset the contours were flatter and there were more lush woodlands. Each county seems to have its own character even though iots hard to put your finger on the difference. Once again we were frustrated by the English habit of hiding the countryside from the road so that the views are visible only in short bursts.. We stopped at a pub in the middle of Exmoor for lunch. The moor itself, while a national park, is mostly farmed but I assume that there are wilder areas accessible by walking.. We passed a hunt in progress and the pub we stopped at was obviously firmly in the hunting stable with signs saying "Ban prejudice, keep on hunting.".
In Cheltenham we are in a small apartment (more a room with en-suite) over the garage of a very exclusive house, surrounded by cricket and other sporting fields. The owners are currently in Portugal so we are dealing with the housekeeper.
On the Sunday we visited the local preservation railway that runs from Toddington to Cheltenham. They started the group in the 1980's after the line had been closed and lifted and it is impressive what they achieved since then with a run of around 30 miles, 5 stations, 3 complete rakes of carriages, 4 operational steam engins, a number of diesels and railcars and a huge collection of other rolling stock waiting restoration. They have a staff of 900, all of whom apart from 3 are volunteers.
The next couple of days we started the round of some of the Cotswald villages, all of them a picture of warm honey coloured stone houses with the occasional thatched roof in beautiful gentle rolling countryside. At Tewkesbury we tourded a mediaeval house that is now the information centre and an exhibit of building restoration and local history. We found that this had been the site of decisive battles in both the War of the Roses and the Civil War. In one the then Prince of Wales was killed and ended up buried in the adjacent abbey. The abbey church was sold to the town when Henry VIII abolished the abbey and it has been the parish church since them, apparently the largest in England. It is certainly large with massive circular columns on either side of the nave.
Today we drove down to Cirencester which claims to be the capital of the Cotswalds. The town is quite small and seems to have a fairly random layout, even though the Romans laid their town out in a rectangular grid. After the Romans left the town seems to have been pretty deserted until the Normans established an abbey around 1100. Again the abbey was demolished by Henry VIII but the church remained as the parish church. There is an excellent museum here covering the history of the area. One of the outstanding features of the town is the patronage of the local earl who has donated his collection of historical artifacts to the museum which he supported and has opened the park of his manor (3,000 acres) as a public park for the townsfolk - the central avenue alone is over a mile long.
We have another 2 days in the Cotswalds before moving down to Kent.
Friday 12 August 2016
Cornwall
On our way down to Cornwall the motor way was flanked on each side by woodlands, really pleasant and preferable to the concrete barriers we found in many places in Europe, but it does mean that you don't get a good view of the countryside. However once we got to cornwall we would see around us, right? No way - the roads are bounded on both sides by high hedges, stone walls and earth banks. Also once you are off the major roads the country lanes are single lane only and our rental car at times was scraping mirrors on both sides in the hedges.. Even when there is a slight widening for passing traffic it is only possible to squeze through By pushing both cars into the hedges. In any case it has been driving Gillian round the bend as our GPS plunges us down roads that would not in any sesible country qualify as a private driveway.
For the first 4 days the weather has been, in my opinion, miserable with cold windy days. However today (Thursday) we have had a warm sunny day and enjoyed an outing to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. These gardens were part of an estate until the 1920's then fell into disrepair. In 1991 a project was started to restore area to its former glory and the results are impressive. There are 2 area, the gardens and the estate, but we only managed to get around the gardens starting with the New Zealand section which is a path through tree ferns, pitisporums, rimu, titoki and manuka with an undergrowth of ferns.. Other areas included an Italian garden with a small pond, a large walled flower garden and a "kitchen garden" that is more like a large market garden with an area of over an acre containing every sort of vegetable you can think of, many of them being heritage varieties they are trying to save.
The previous days we had 2 outings, the first to the Tamar Otter Park which is a privately run animal park. The otters were in enclosures heavily surrounded by notices warning against putting hands hear the animals as apparently they are capable of removing a finger. The otters movement reminds me of flowing water, particularly when they are moving as a group, but the smell is not that of clean water. They smell pungent and strong. We were given a talk about the otters as they were fed and another about 6 of the park's dirds of prey, though due to the location they did not fly them (the last time they did they lost a peahen to an eagle). In the forest area of the park they had deer and wallabies roaming.
From the park we drove down to visit the Jamaica Inn, an old pub in the middle of wht had been Bodmin Moor. There is a museum in the pub covering smuggling, shipwrecking and the author Daphne du Maurier who stayed there and wrote some of her novels there, one of which is entitled The Jamaica Inn. After laeving the inn we tried searching for Dozmary Pool, the reputed lair of the lady of the lake who gave Arthur his sword. We could only see a corner of it from the road, but it did not sem exceptional being a small lake surrounded by grassland. We then headed east to find a stone circle called the Hurlers mentioned on the map near Minions. This turned out be 3 circles in a north south line on a genltly sloping moorland. At the top of the slope there is supposed to be a prehistric setttlement, but we did not go that far. On the way here we passed a sign to Trethevy Quoit and not knowing what this was we went back to investigate it. The Quoit turnd out to be a megalithic tomb or dolmen consisting of several flat tones set upright supporting a huge capstone roof. This would have been covered with an earth mound.. The habit of ancient people of draging huge stones around the countryside is bizarre given the lack of technology, buyt I suppose they were a status symbol.
The other outing was to Tintagel where there is an ecellent display of information about the castle and the area in the information centre and then visited the Great Hall of the Fellowship of the Round Table, an establishment founded by a wealthy businessman in the 1920's. Here there was a 10 minute sound and light show of one version of the Arturian legend and a wander through the great hall itself with stained glass windows of the shields of various knights complete with a potted history of each. I was astonished by the amount of effort put into filling out the characters of these mythical folk and noted the author had not tried to sugarcoat the sins of the knights who were not perfect beings.
Anyway we have 1 more day here before heading to the Cotswalds for a week.
For the first 4 days the weather has been, in my opinion, miserable with cold windy days. However today (Thursday) we have had a warm sunny day and enjoyed an outing to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. These gardens were part of an estate until the 1920's then fell into disrepair. In 1991 a project was started to restore area to its former glory and the results are impressive. There are 2 area, the gardens and the estate, but we only managed to get around the gardens starting with the New Zealand section which is a path through tree ferns, pitisporums, rimu, titoki and manuka with an undergrowth of ferns.. Other areas included an Italian garden with a small pond, a large walled flower garden and a "kitchen garden" that is more like a large market garden with an area of over an acre containing every sort of vegetable you can think of, many of them being heritage varieties they are trying to save.
The previous days we had 2 outings, the first to the Tamar Otter Park which is a privately run animal park. The otters were in enclosures heavily surrounded by notices warning against putting hands hear the animals as apparently they are capable of removing a finger. The otters movement reminds me of flowing water, particularly when they are moving as a group, but the smell is not that of clean water. They smell pungent and strong. We were given a talk about the otters as they were fed and another about 6 of the park's dirds of prey, though due to the location they did not fly them (the last time they did they lost a peahen to an eagle). In the forest area of the park they had deer and wallabies roaming.
From the park we drove down to visit the Jamaica Inn, an old pub in the middle of wht had been Bodmin Moor. There is a museum in the pub covering smuggling, shipwrecking and the author Daphne du Maurier who stayed there and wrote some of her novels there, one of which is entitled The Jamaica Inn. After laeving the inn we tried searching for Dozmary Pool, the reputed lair of the lady of the lake who gave Arthur his sword. We could only see a corner of it from the road, but it did not sem exceptional being a small lake surrounded by grassland. We then headed east to find a stone circle called the Hurlers mentioned on the map near Minions. This turned out be 3 circles in a north south line on a genltly sloping moorland. At the top of the slope there is supposed to be a prehistric setttlement, but we did not go that far. On the way here we passed a sign to Trethevy Quoit and not knowing what this was we went back to investigate it. The Quoit turnd out to be a megalithic tomb or dolmen consisting of several flat tones set upright supporting a huge capstone roof. This would have been covered with an earth mound.. The habit of ancient people of draging huge stones around the countryside is bizarre given the lack of technology, buyt I suppose they were a status symbol.
The other outing was to Tintagel where there is an ecellent display of information about the castle and the area in the information centre and then visited the Great Hall of the Fellowship of the Round Table, an establishment founded by a wealthy businessman in the 1920's. Here there was a 10 minute sound and light show of one version of the Arturian legend and a wander through the great hall itself with stained glass windows of the shields of various knights complete with a potted history of each. I was astonished by the amount of effort put into filling out the characters of these mythical folk and noted the author had not tried to sugarcoat the sins of the knights who were not perfect beings.
Anyway we have 1 more day here before heading to the Cotswalds for a week.
Sunday 7 August 2016
Once again back in the UK
After the brush fire behind our accommodation near Catania in Sicily we had 2 days to lie back and relax, which of course we did. This was our last chance this trip to enjoy temperatures around and over 30C as from now on we're in an English summer. So on Friday we headed to the airport with expectations of again being shaken down by Alitalia with baggage charges and other hassles. However we were pleasantly surprised as not only did they not charge us and overlooked the overweight status but they raised no objection to changing our booked seats so we could sit together. Our trip down from Rome had been plagued by not being able to change our seats and exorbitant baggage charges.
Anyway we arrived at Heathrow to find the usual endless corridors ending up in a crowd waiting for non-EU immigration with an expected wait of over an hour. However Isnagged a passing official and asked whether our E-passports could be used in the Fast Track lane. She said no, but asked if we had filled in our immigration forms - No we hadn't as they were not passed out as our flight had been within the EU. "OK, come with me"she said and marched us down to collect our forms and then handed us over to the Fast Track attendant who gave us a spot to fill in the forms and then ushered us to a very short queue. Just as well as next to us a woman who had been standing in the main queue for a long time collapsed and was last seen being attended to by the airport staff. Arriving at the immigration desk we had a pleasant chat with hte official on NZ weather and reginal accents - he was from Glasgow. Arriving at the rental car office we had a short wait before being attended to by a young man who spent the time discussing property investment in Morocco. In general the attitude of all we dealt with was warm and welcoming, a change from a lot we had met in Europe. Heading out we immediately felt at home in a traffic jam 6 lanes wide on the M25 before dodging off into Shepperton to our overnight stop. The roads here are so pleasant and edged by trees and substantial houses that it is a complete contrast to the barren and dry environment we have been in around the Mediterranean.
We found our B&B in a road closed at one end by gas mains repairs requiring us to negotiate the only access by way of a road that I wouldn't consider suitable for a private driveway. Anyway we were warmly welcomed into the B&B which was very comfortable and negotiated for a light breakfast for the next day. We were reminded that we should expect big delays the next day as it is the first Saturday in August and it is standard for the Brits to head for Cornwall en masse on that day. Bearing this in mind we decided to go shopping the next morning and make a late start.
In the morning we had a late start and headed to the nearest mall at Staines to look for a replacement jersey to replace the one I left in Turkey and which I am going to need in a Cornish summer. Anyway we found something suitable and then found a small street market to wander round. When we found our way onto the M3 I was surprised to find traffic heavy but flowing readily until we hit the area where the A303 narrows to a 2 lane road past Stonehenge where we crawled for half an hour. Apart from that we had a good trip enjoying the mellow countryside on a sunny day.
Our accommodation in Cornwall is a cottage attached to an old farmhouse close to the border with Devon. As you would expect the doors are small, the stairs steep and narrow up to the bedroom and the kitchen and bathroom appear to be after thoughts. However it is comfortable and well equipped including a 4 poter bed.
Anyway we arrived at Heathrow to find the usual endless corridors ending up in a crowd waiting for non-EU immigration with an expected wait of over an hour. However Isnagged a passing official and asked whether our E-passports could be used in the Fast Track lane. She said no, but asked if we had filled in our immigration forms - No we hadn't as they were not passed out as our flight had been within the EU. "OK, come with me"she said and marched us down to collect our forms and then handed us over to the Fast Track attendant who gave us a spot to fill in the forms and then ushered us to a very short queue. Just as well as next to us a woman who had been standing in the main queue for a long time collapsed and was last seen being attended to by the airport staff. Arriving at the immigration desk we had a pleasant chat with hte official on NZ weather and reginal accents - he was from Glasgow. Arriving at the rental car office we had a short wait before being attended to by a young man who spent the time discussing property investment in Morocco. In general the attitude of all we dealt with was warm and welcoming, a change from a lot we had met in Europe. Heading out we immediately felt at home in a traffic jam 6 lanes wide on the M25 before dodging off into Shepperton to our overnight stop. The roads here are so pleasant and edged by trees and substantial houses that it is a complete contrast to the barren and dry environment we have been in around the Mediterranean.
We found our B&B in a road closed at one end by gas mains repairs requiring us to negotiate the only access by way of a road that I wouldn't consider suitable for a private driveway. Anyway we were warmly welcomed into the B&B which was very comfortable and negotiated for a light breakfast for the next day. We were reminded that we should expect big delays the next day as it is the first Saturday in August and it is standard for the Brits to head for Cornwall en masse on that day. Bearing this in mind we decided to go shopping the next morning and make a late start.
In the morning we had a late start and headed to the nearest mall at Staines to look for a replacement jersey to replace the one I left in Turkey and which I am going to need in a Cornish summer. Anyway we found something suitable and then found a small street market to wander round. When we found our way onto the M3 I was surprised to find traffic heavy but flowing readily until we hit the area where the A303 narrows to a 2 lane road past Stonehenge where we crawled for half an hour. Apart from that we had a good trip enjoying the mellow countryside on a sunny day.
Our accommodation in Cornwall is a cottage attached to an old farmhouse close to the border with Devon. As you would expect the doors are small, the stairs steep and narrow up to the bedroom and the kitchen and bathroom appear to be after thoughts. However it is comfortable and well equipped including a 4 poter bed.
Tuesday 2 August 2016
Etna
After a lazy day in the apartment and around the pool today we decided to check out the largest tourist attraction here. We have seen the volcano Etna vaguely through the haze on a couple of occasions and thought it time to find out more. We had seen a road sign off the main road pointing to Etna so headed back to where we had seen it and found a narrow road between rock walls that headed inland. From then on the direction signs ceased so we pulled out our tablet and tried to use Google Maps to help us (the GPS wouldn't recognise Etna as a destination) with mixed results. After a long series of switchbacks through narrow urban streets we found a new sign pointing to Etna Sud - Hooray! Interestingly the town we had climbed up through had more shops than we had seen in all our travels through Sicily to date.
From then on the signs were mostly visible, but not entirely - Italians don't like to make things easy. As we climbed on generally good roads it was surprisinow dense the vegetation was andwe presumed that the clouds that Etna attracts means a resonable amount of rainfall. Even the relatively recent lava flows were showing signs of green. We passed several obvious vents at around 1200m altitude and about 1500m the trees started to thin out and there were high poles along the road for guidance in snow. Reaching the main centre at 1900m altitude we stopped near a crater formed in 1998 which seemed to have deposited a lot of gravel over the landscape. The crater itself was a little smaller than Mt Eden in Auckland but in many ways looks very similar. The general environment reminds me of the Bruce Road on Mt Ruapehu with fields of rough rock and gravel. Just around the corner was mayhem with a parking area crammed with 100s of cars and buses and a constant flow of people covering the road. Just above us was the cone of the 2001 eruption with a steep trail covered with ants (well people looking like ants) struggling up a 25 degree incline.
We stopped, looked, turned around and escaped. We could have taken a cable car up to 2500m altitude, but the crowds put us off and it would have been cooler up there. Instead we set course for the town of Taomina which we had seen recommended in several places. Deciding to avoid motorway tolls we fought with our GPSthrough several rather drab towns along the coast until we came out on the coast itself on a narrow road above a series of attractive, if stoney, beaches. We would have stopped, but there was absolutely no space. The road then climbed around a sheer point and we found ourselves winding around the coast below the town. The steep hilside above had semicircular bridges hanging in space to allow the road to zig-zag up the cliff to the town. We ended up driving through pedestrian only lanes in the middle of town which was wall-to-wall tourists. The town was really nice - clean, colourful, shops were bright and the houses seemedd to have a lot more character. Perched way above on an impossible peak one section of the town hung on to vertical cliffs and there was no obvious way to reach this section.
Arriving back at our accommodation we found that the land behind the complex was on fire and we watched as the fire advanced. The complex caretaker was at the rear boundary with a garden hose, but it was clear more was needed.. Eventually a pump equipped landroved turned up with wht seemed an impossibly small water tank. Eventually a garden hoe was found to try and keep up the water supply and the low volume high pressure pump they used proved quite effective in quenching bursts of fire that threatened the trees around. Next door a regular fire engine pulled up, but we didn't see any of the action around that. After an hour a helicopter with a monsoon bucket arrived and really started to damp everything down. In the end the damage was restricted to around 2 hectares of scrub and grass land.
From then on the signs were mostly visible, but not entirely - Italians don't like to make things easy. As we climbed on generally good roads it was surprisinow dense the vegetation was andwe presumed that the clouds that Etna attracts means a resonable amount of rainfall. Even the relatively recent lava flows were showing signs of green. We passed several obvious vents at around 1200m altitude and about 1500m the trees started to thin out and there were high poles along the road for guidance in snow. Reaching the main centre at 1900m altitude we stopped near a crater formed in 1998 which seemed to have deposited a lot of gravel over the landscape. The crater itself was a little smaller than Mt Eden in Auckland but in many ways looks very similar. The general environment reminds me of the Bruce Road on Mt Ruapehu with fields of rough rock and gravel. Just around the corner was mayhem with a parking area crammed with 100s of cars and buses and a constant flow of people covering the road. Just above us was the cone of the 2001 eruption with a steep trail covered with ants (well people looking like ants) struggling up a 25 degree incline.
We stopped, looked, turned around and escaped. We could have taken a cable car up to 2500m altitude, but the crowds put us off and it would have been cooler up there. Instead we set course for the town of Taomina which we had seen recommended in several places. Deciding to avoid motorway tolls we fought with our GPSthrough several rather drab towns along the coast until we came out on the coast itself on a narrow road above a series of attractive, if stoney, beaches. We would have stopped, but there was absolutely no space. The road then climbed around a sheer point and we found ourselves winding around the coast below the town. The steep hilside above had semicircular bridges hanging in space to allow the road to zig-zag up the cliff to the town. We ended up driving through pedestrian only lanes in the middle of town which was wall-to-wall tourists. The town was really nice - clean, colourful, shops were bright and the houses seemedd to have a lot more character. Perched way above on an impossible peak one section of the town hung on to vertical cliffs and there was no obvious way to reach this section.
Arriving back at our accommodation we found that the land behind the complex was on fire and we watched as the fire advanced. The complex caretaker was at the rear boundary with a garden hose, but it was clear more was needed.. Eventually a pump equipped landroved turned up with wht seemed an impossibly small water tank. Eventually a garden hoe was found to try and keep up the water supply and the low volume high pressure pump they used proved quite effective in quenching bursts of fire that threatened the trees around. Next door a regular fire engine pulled up, but we didn't see any of the action around that. After an hour a helicopter with a monsoon bucket arrived and really started to damp everything down. In the end the damage was restricted to around 2 hectares of scrub and grass land.
Monday 1 August 2016
East of Sicily
Before we left Tre Fontane I had another look at the surroundings. It is the middle of the dry season and the weeds are high and brown. Everything around sicily would look so much better if they had some control over the weeds and rubbish - the roadsides are strewn with plastic bottles, bags and other stuff that blows into heaps and straggles everywhere.. The roads around our accommodation have a clear area for traffic but beyond that the sand drifts are deep enough to bog a car and are worrying when you hit one of them that edges onto the road as there is a momentary loss of control in the loose sand. In short the town looks a little desolate and this is the middle of the holiday season. I imagine it looks like a ghost town in winter.
On the road again our first stop was Valle dei Templi near Agrigenta where we were promised more tmples than we'd see anywhere. We found the entrance to the park, but couldn't see a sign for parking, so after 15 minutes circling we found a back road that led to a chaotic dusty carpark among olive trees with all the first comers parked haphazardly under the trees with awkward manoeuvring room between them to get to the spare spaces. Anyway we wedged ourselves baside a large 4WDfor protection and headed up the hill in soaring temperatures and humidity. An american I met said he had been there 8 years earlier in August and it had been much hotter. The temples are arranged along the top of a ridge with a sheer cliff below them. 3 of them are partially erect and the others are just the foundations. We gather there is not a lot known about the history of the city in Grecian times and their remains have largely been overbuilt by the Romans, Bysantines and Arabs and as a final insult the area was heavily bombed and shelled towards the end of WWII. The first temple at the eastern end (attributed to Juno) has about half the columns standing with a section of the pediment in place. We viewed it from below but decided the sweat to climb up to it was too much so started the walk to the next temple (named Concordia after a Romen inscription found there) which has been almost completely restored. At this point an electric shuttle paused near us and we hopped on to save our legs, but ended up 1 km down the road at another entrance to the park and the site of the third temple which was in ruins.
At this point Gillian had had enough of the heat so rested under a tree while I poked around and puzzled over a twin water channel cut in the rock - was this separated for fresh water and drainage? Or more to the point why did they have a water channel at the top of a hil in a dry area? We started the walk back to Concordia and came across a man lurking behind a parked van selling bottles of ice cold water - hallelujah! He saw that Gillian was suffering from the heat and donated a large chunk of ice to wipe over here face and shoulders to go with the bottle we bought. However as someone official looking buzzed past on a motor scooter the water seller magically disappeared - obviously unofficial.
When we arrived at Concordia access to the immediate area was blocked by preparations for some big event with lighting and sound towers and seating. However we learnt that the temple owed its longevity to a local bishop converting it to a church in the 600's and it had been restored a few times in last 200 years. The building is magnificent and gave us a feeling of the scale of these buildings that the Greeks scattered over most of the then known world. I would love to see one fully roofed as I find it difficult to see how they spanned the space given the technology of the day. I assume they used wooden roofing as I have never seen indications of roof tiles around the sites.
During the Christian era the area was extensively used as a graveyard with shaft burials and burial chambers hewn out of the rock.
We retrieved our car from the olive grove and headed towards Enna where there are Rmon sites including a large villa, but decided we'd had enough of the old stuff for the day and continued following our GPS to Aci Trezza, just north of Catania.
I must at this point comment on the Italian roading system. While the urban roads are diabolical and the small country roads require care and accuracy and good brakes when meeting other traffic, the main roads are astonishing. The regional road we took had viaducts over shallow valleys that made the Newmarket viaduct look like a toy and reaching a town there was a 2km tunnel to avoid the local traffic. When we hit the autostrada the rule was "Do not go around anything, over or under." 10s of km of bridges and tunnels to achieve a high speed route, much of which is under a 50km/h speed restriction which everyone ignores.
Well the GPS did its best but for a start tried to put us on a ferry so we ended up on the wharves and retreated under the watchful eyes of the wharf police. Heading north again a couple of closed roads totally confused the GPS so we ended up squeezing through a another network of narrow Italian suburban streets with little idea of where we were heading. Eventually we found our way to Villa delle Palmes which is located on the main road north along the coast. The village of Aci Trezza Is about 1 km south and is an area of 3 storey buildings crammed around a small harbour that is packed with small boats. This is not the usual scene of boats spaced along a quay - there are a series of rafts of boats tightly tied together to fit in the available area. Our accommodation is a series of 3 apartment blocks, each with around 10 apartments, and a recreation area with a good swimming pool,and a shaded area with table tennins and other amenities. Very pleasant.
Yesterday we decided to look at the east coast and took the autostrada south of Syracsa. Taking a local side road down to the beach we squeezed between high stone walls past substantial life style type houses to the dead end of the road (no turning option) which ended at the top of a cliff. The shoreline here was rocky with a verticl drop to the water of around 10-15 m. After waiting for another car to clear the road we continued on to a recommended beach at Lido di Noto. Alas we had forgotten it was Sunday and there seemed to be no parking available. Eventually someone pulled out and we squeezed or Clio into a space designed for a Bambina. There was a small area of teh beach that was public, but any suitable space was already cover by towels and sun umbrellas. Not daunted we changed and dumped our towels on an area of concrete blocked and walked into the sea. While the beach is narrow and backed by a high concrete retining wall, the sand is good, there was little rubbish and the water was the warmest sea water we have come across yet in our trip - very pleasant. We continued on down to the Isolle de Cossella which is the southernmost point of Sicily. The area around here is absolutely covered in vast arrays of tunnel houses, most of them empty at this time. The scale of the horticulture is astounding. We headed off down one side road past a huge ruin that we assumed had been a monastry as there was a large chapel perched on the second floor level.to find a lagoon populated by flamingos (white not pink) and a pebbly beach with limited access and no more than 10 umbrellas along its 1km length. Continuing to the cape we found a packed beach protected by a small island with a low modern lighthouse.
This morning I heard what sounded like explosions from behind where we are staying and can only assume it is Etna reminding us that it is still there.
On the road again our first stop was Valle dei Templi near Agrigenta where we were promised more tmples than we'd see anywhere. We found the entrance to the park, but couldn't see a sign for parking, so after 15 minutes circling we found a back road that led to a chaotic dusty carpark among olive trees with all the first comers parked haphazardly under the trees with awkward manoeuvring room between them to get to the spare spaces. Anyway we wedged ourselves baside a large 4WDfor protection and headed up the hill in soaring temperatures and humidity. An american I met said he had been there 8 years earlier in August and it had been much hotter. The temples are arranged along the top of a ridge with a sheer cliff below them. 3 of them are partially erect and the others are just the foundations. We gather there is not a lot known about the history of the city in Grecian times and their remains have largely been overbuilt by the Romans, Bysantines and Arabs and as a final insult the area was heavily bombed and shelled towards the end of WWII. The first temple at the eastern end (attributed to Juno) has about half the columns standing with a section of the pediment in place. We viewed it from below but decided the sweat to climb up to it was too much so started the walk to the next temple (named Concordia after a Romen inscription found there) which has been almost completely restored. At this point an electric shuttle paused near us and we hopped on to save our legs, but ended up 1 km down the road at another entrance to the park and the site of the third temple which was in ruins.
At this point Gillian had had enough of the heat so rested under a tree while I poked around and puzzled over a twin water channel cut in the rock - was this separated for fresh water and drainage? Or more to the point why did they have a water channel at the top of a hil in a dry area? We started the walk back to Concordia and came across a man lurking behind a parked van selling bottles of ice cold water - hallelujah! He saw that Gillian was suffering from the heat and donated a large chunk of ice to wipe over here face and shoulders to go with the bottle we bought. However as someone official looking buzzed past on a motor scooter the water seller magically disappeared - obviously unofficial.
When we arrived at Concordia access to the immediate area was blocked by preparations for some big event with lighting and sound towers and seating. However we learnt that the temple owed its longevity to a local bishop converting it to a church in the 600's and it had been restored a few times in last 200 years. The building is magnificent and gave us a feeling of the scale of these buildings that the Greeks scattered over most of the then known world. I would love to see one fully roofed as I find it difficult to see how they spanned the space given the technology of the day. I assume they used wooden roofing as I have never seen indications of roof tiles around the sites.
During the Christian era the area was extensively used as a graveyard with shaft burials and burial chambers hewn out of the rock.
We retrieved our car from the olive grove and headed towards Enna where there are Rmon sites including a large villa, but decided we'd had enough of the old stuff for the day and continued following our GPS to Aci Trezza, just north of Catania.
I must at this point comment on the Italian roading system. While the urban roads are diabolical and the small country roads require care and accuracy and good brakes when meeting other traffic, the main roads are astonishing. The regional road we took had viaducts over shallow valleys that made the Newmarket viaduct look like a toy and reaching a town there was a 2km tunnel to avoid the local traffic. When we hit the autostrada the rule was "Do not go around anything, over or under." 10s of km of bridges and tunnels to achieve a high speed route, much of which is under a 50km/h speed restriction which everyone ignores.
Well the GPS did its best but for a start tried to put us on a ferry so we ended up on the wharves and retreated under the watchful eyes of the wharf police. Heading north again a couple of closed roads totally confused the GPS so we ended up squeezing through a another network of narrow Italian suburban streets with little idea of where we were heading. Eventually we found our way to Villa delle Palmes which is located on the main road north along the coast. The village of Aci Trezza Is about 1 km south and is an area of 3 storey buildings crammed around a small harbour that is packed with small boats. This is not the usual scene of boats spaced along a quay - there are a series of rafts of boats tightly tied together to fit in the available area. Our accommodation is a series of 3 apartment blocks, each with around 10 apartments, and a recreation area with a good swimming pool,and a shaded area with table tennins and other amenities. Very pleasant.
Yesterday we decided to look at the east coast and took the autostrada south of Syracsa. Taking a local side road down to the beach we squeezed between high stone walls past substantial life style type houses to the dead end of the road (no turning option) which ended at the top of a cliff. The shoreline here was rocky with a verticl drop to the water of around 10-15 m. After waiting for another car to clear the road we continued on to a recommended beach at Lido di Noto. Alas we had forgotten it was Sunday and there seemed to be no parking available. Eventually someone pulled out and we squeezed or Clio into a space designed for a Bambina. There was a small area of teh beach that was public, but any suitable space was already cover by towels and sun umbrellas. Not daunted we changed and dumped our towels on an area of concrete blocked and walked into the sea. While the beach is narrow and backed by a high concrete retining wall, the sand is good, there was little rubbish and the water was the warmest sea water we have come across yet in our trip - very pleasant. We continued on down to the Isolle de Cossella which is the southernmost point of Sicily. The area around here is absolutely covered in vast arrays of tunnel houses, most of them empty at this time. The scale of the horticulture is astounding. We headed off down one side road past a huge ruin that we assumed had been a monastry as there was a large chapel perched on the second floor level.to find a lagoon populated by flamingos (white not pink) and a pebbly beach with limited access and no more than 10 umbrellas along its 1km length. Continuing to the cape we found a packed beach protected by a small island with a low modern lighthouse.
This morning I heard what sounded like explosions from behind where we are staying and can only assume it is Etna reminding us that it is still there.
Intermission - Gillian's thoughts
\We have been away now for several weeks and Stephen has done the 'blogging' as I find not having a cursor on this tablet difficult. However I want to record a few moments so we don't forget.
Turkey: The hotel Miniature was just delightful. The staff was minimal - one person at the dessk 24 hours a day. The breakfast was cooked byone person. The breakfasts were delicious - they would cook what ever you wanted and also had a smorgasboard with the usual cheeses, hams, fruit , croissant and breads. Not to mention the wonderful coffee - Turkish and filter.
The presence of soliders and guards , all armed with a range of serious weapons, was not scary. Some how the atmosphere was just of folk going about their daily lives, although after the bombing that killed 4 police men there was a marked increase in their presence.On our trip to Galipoli peninsula our guide told me that people in Istanbul are very anxious about their safety.There was another bombing just after we left Turkey and s we decided to put off our planned visit back to Turkey to visit Ephaseus , Miletus etc while we were in Samos.Our favourite restaurant in Istanbul was run by a delightful young Turk who Stephen tried to persuade him to come to Onemana and run the cafe there. He would like to of course but it is not exactly straight forward. It was in that cafe that we had their Teste kebab - a casserole cooked in a pottery vase shaped vessel with tin fooil on the mouth of the 'vase". When cooked it is bought to your table and with a serioes of carefully placed whacks with a sharp implement the bottom pops off with an explosive 'POP" and your casserole slides out, deftly placed on your plate. We had seen many of these 'vases' with their tin foil lids placed out side the restaurants around lamp posts etc and wondered what they were.
The rules re clothing worn in the blue mosque are strict. We were both ok but I was amused to see a man wndering around wearing a long blue skirt over his shorts!
After we had visited the Blue mosque we were wandering through the market place. Having decided to exit between 2 stalls I saw a little house made of cardboard complete with pitched roof, window and open doorway. Through the window and doorway I saw 2 little tabby kittens playing with each other. Turning around I saw mother cat arrive with a roll of what looked like paper in her mouth. She dropped the paper when she saw us, greeted us with a 'meow' and went into the little house to check on her young. She emerged to tallk to us some more before we moved off. Just as we left I saw a piece of laminated paper taped to the roof of her house - "Madam Cocoa" . I thought that was quite delicious.
Galipoli: Stephen has written about this so all I will say is that I was surprised tthat it was not as bleak as I had expected it to be. Certainly the site was formidable for an offensive, landing on such narrow beaches with no protection from the Turks above them and the sheer incline that they had to scramble up. I wasn't prepared for seeing it on a gloriously hot day with bule skies and sparkling seas.r guide was very infomative and we learnt more about the campaign. I hadn't realised that at the time of the initial landing the number of Turkish forces present were considerably less than the ANZACs. At the 'Neck' the Turks were shouting to the ANZACs to stop advancing as they were being cut down to 'a man' by the Turks and they wanted the slaughter to cease. The commanding officer however knew best and so sent our men to their death. Of course the stories of the interactions between ANZACs and Turkish soiders are well documented.It really was a very special visit and a place that is beatifully preserved. The words by Ataturk inscribed at a memorial beside a large cemetery were very moving. As was the cemetery itself. Of course there are many memorials and graves - and of course many more men in unmarked graves. One of these is Stephen's great uncle Cyril Dunlop, buried somewhere around Lone Pine. We searched for his name on the memorial but didn't see it.
Troy: This was a superb visit also. Out guide is very passionate about the history of this site.I bought a book written by a well known and authoritative man who was our guide's 'tutor'. Certainly the site fits the legend in many ways. What I did learn is that the wars were most likely related to land goods, naturally! There is plenty of evidence that troops that supported Priam in his defence of Troy were folk from the surrounding countries and lands. It appears from the excavations that the Troy of Priam was about 1250 - 1180 BC. This time frame sits along side when Agamemnon rules Mycenae.
There are many layers of occupation at Troy - Troy I ( 3000 - 2500 BC) , Troy II ( 2,500 - 2,300), Troy III ( 2,300 - 1,700) when there was sequences of walled villages, each larger and more populous than the previous settlement. There were narrow streets with regular rows of houses. During this time the area had many invasions hence the need for the defensive walls. The delightful Schliemann removed all the walls of these settlements so there are not many remains of this era remaining.
Troy VI (1700 - 1250BC) free standing houses and fortification of walls changed to show advances in miliatry engineering, masonary and town planning.
Troy VIIa (1250 - 1180 BC) Troy was rebuilt after a devastating earthquake that ruined TroyVI.
Troy VIIb ( 1180 - 1,000) , after the Acheans ( Greeks ) left the citadel was occupied by the survivors until destryed by another fire.
Troy VIII ( 1000- 85BC) was the first Greek settlement at Troy.
Troy IX ( 85 - 400/600AD) the top layer of settlement on Hisarlik ( the site known as Troy) was Greek and Roman city.This was known as Novum Ilium. The early Roman emperors chose the Trojans as their ancestors! This city was the largest it had ever been , spreading all over the ridge. The greatest part of the city has not yet been excavated. To date there has been a music theatre, council chamber - senate unearthed.
There was only one other couple on our tour - both from NZ and lovely company.We spet some time in Chunakale before our trip had to Istanbul and during that time hunted unsuccessfully for Stephen to have a donner kebab. We did see however a delightful scene where a older man arrived at this stall on the water front by bike with a large plastic bag full of meat scraps. He called in loud Turkish and simply masses and masses of cats appeared, to fee voraciously on the meat he threw onto the quay.
The trip back to hotel miniature was made into a a bit of an endurance test an accident on the motor way in Istanbul which meant they closed the motor way and we took a very big detour to the hotel - arriving at midnight with an early departure the next morning to the airport anbags to be repacked!
However it was a great trip to have done despite the knolwedge that bad people were plotting to do bad things. Today we learnt of the attempted army coup in Turkey and yet more loss of life. The day before there was news of the attack via truck in Nice. As Pip says, interesting times to travel abroad. We were at a restaurant at a little village at Ormos near the hotel here in Samos last night when Vailiy - the son of the onwers of the hotel who had tken us there, received news of the attepted coup in Turkey. As you know Samos is very close indeed to Samos and he reflection was that it was a little too close for him.
OK - back to chronological comments. I am not sure what Stephen has written about Israel so there might be a double up. In. Briefly the highlights for me were the boat trip on the Sea of Galilee. Certainly the surrounding hills were very barren and grey. I understand from our guide that geological evidence indicates that at the time Jesus lived the climate was a little less harsh and there was a bit more green cover on the hills and plains.It wasn't the environment that made its impact. As we sailed there was a sensation of peace - odd for a country surrounded by hostility. I did wonder if I had prewired myself to sense this. Who can say? However it was a lovely - dare I quote " still voice of calm" and a sense of, yes - this is a very special place.
We were amazed and fascinated by what we learned about life for modern Israelis , from the various religions and cutoms,water supply, wars past and present - seeing smoke from gun fire on the Golan Heights over in Syria and the remains of fenced areas on the border where mines still lay hidden .
Staying in the kibutz , surrounded by a big range of men and women practicing various approaches to their faith with accompanying dress also increaed our awareness of their modus vivendi. The staff in the kibutz seemed solemn folk. The clothes worn by the various jewish 'sects' ( for lack of the right word) fascinated me - as did the ultra orhodox jews with all their rights and exemptions. Also the Drews ? (SP) which we had not known about. Such harsh strictures should they marry outside the faith.
The entire trip was amazing but the next memorable moment was in the garden of Gestheme ( sp?). I had not realise olive trees can - not all do - live for 2,000 years. I was unexpectedly aware of another sensation of - I am struggling here to say what it felt like. I had gone in very aware of the heat of the day - close to 40 degrees and the sun still blazing hot. I was also very aware of cranky knees and was dettermined not to let them stop me. In this very small area, fenced in on all sides by a wire fence ( I think) and a huge church on the side - looking at very ancient knarled trunks of still viable olive trees I felt something that 'moved' me - for lack of a better word. I have no idea if this site is truly 'the site' of Chrit's agony - but I certainly was aware of some sensation that told me this was a place of importance. It is quite a flat arae, a gentle incline to the garden then the fenced area - with ground rising more steeply behind it - not quite as envisioned from illuistartions seen in our youth. Our guide was very enthusiastic about the beauty of the city of Jerusalem - certainly the golden and honey coloured stone was stunning.
We saw lots more of course. I will just mention the dead sea. Again - some surprises. The level
Is dropping so fast as I am sure Stephen hs noted. I didn't expect it to be so muddy - our footsteps sank deep into the grey sludge, threatening to suck off our beach shoes.At one point stephen scrapped his shin on something sharp as he pulled up his leg - taking some skin off. Of course it graze became infected - thankfully I had taken an antibiotic cream. Even so it took some time to heal - as shin injuries tend to do - and the redness surrounding the site has finally just about disppeared. I hate to think what was in that sludge. People had been told of its healing properties and were lathering themseelves with the mud! We didn't stay long in the water and were glad of the showers afterwards. It was very hot indeed - somewhere around 40 degrees I believe.
Apart from being dropped off at the wrong hotel and the long wait while they sent us a taxi to transport us to our 'upgraded hotel' the tour was very well conducted. Despite having some trying members on his tour our guide was meticulous and very kind indeed.He was very well informed, some of his facts we are a little doubtful about but nonetheless he was interesting and patient. Becuase of the financial situation in Israel he provides a lot of support for his daughter and her family - he says without it she would 'drown'.
I continue to be amazed the fluency of English of the people we encounter. In a supermarket in Pylos - on the outskirts of the town I was at the meat counter, working out what meat we wanted for dinner and how much to ask for. As in a butcher in NZ the meat is cut according to size and the cut you want - rather than preprepared on trays with cling wrap. A voce interrupted my thoughts by inquiring if he could help. "Just tell me what you are looking for and I will help you! " Certainly not what I expected so far from the tourist centre.
Once in Greece it was lovely to be further away from the tourist centres. We go to see the sights we identify of interest but it is equally exciting driving along the crazy roads ( especially crazy in Greece) and into the little towns. We are still amazed by coming across unexpected treasures in the most unlikely places. Back in our accomodation we enjoy the peace and quiet - mostly peace and quiet! Here in Tre Fontane, Sicily, we are surronded by locals who are night owls with strident voices. It is OK as shut the shutters, close the windows - double glazed - and go to sleep.
Siesta is a serious business here in Sicily. We popped into the village family grocery shop at 2pm one day. We thought at first the shop had shut but no - the staff were hanging around the till talking loudly and were happy for us to shop. All lights, except from chiller cabinets were off so we groped around finding our goods, paid and beat it out into the hot sunshine. When we go into town after 7.30pm it looks a different place -everything is open and the place is humming.
I am jumping about a bit - we saw lots of fascinating stuff in the Peloponese, had lovely swims in the sea - water quite warm, gorgeous food, lovely pool at Ennalio Suites etc.
Samos is different again. The hotel Sophis where we stayed is really unique. I know Stephen has written about it - just suffice to say that seeing a Greek family operating their business at close up while living their lives in the midst of it was a real privilege. The parents and Vasily take guests out to local restaurants , ordering for them and joining in the fun. Sophia (Mumma) and her sons prepare a weekly Greek BBQ ( olive wwood fired) for the guests and while we were there she cooked a traditional wood fire dinner for us all. Sophia has little English but a graet joy of living - cheekily greeting guest new to the hotel wIth 'Kalimara' in the morning instead of Kalimera. Later she appears chuckling about 'octopus, octopus' Guests are tickled un suspectingly with plant fronds - slapping unsuspectingly at imaginary insects, Vasily bought lunch out for us one day - as we lay around the pool - calling "Get up lazy tourists , your lunch is here!" Lots of other horsing around but only with the audience they know will enjoy it so it is never offensive.
Turkey: The hotel Miniature was just delightful. The staff was minimal - one person at the dessk 24 hours a day. The breakfast was cooked byone person. The breakfasts were delicious - they would cook what ever you wanted and also had a smorgasboard with the usual cheeses, hams, fruit , croissant and breads. Not to mention the wonderful coffee - Turkish and filter.
The presence of soliders and guards , all armed with a range of serious weapons, was not scary. Some how the atmosphere was just of folk going about their daily lives, although after the bombing that killed 4 police men there was a marked increase in their presence.On our trip to Galipoli peninsula our guide told me that people in Istanbul are very anxious about their safety.There was another bombing just after we left Turkey and s we decided to put off our planned visit back to Turkey to visit Ephaseus , Miletus etc while we were in Samos.Our favourite restaurant in Istanbul was run by a delightful young Turk who Stephen tried to persuade him to come to Onemana and run the cafe there. He would like to of course but it is not exactly straight forward. It was in that cafe that we had their Teste kebab - a casserole cooked in a pottery vase shaped vessel with tin fooil on the mouth of the 'vase". When cooked it is bought to your table and with a serioes of carefully placed whacks with a sharp implement the bottom pops off with an explosive 'POP" and your casserole slides out, deftly placed on your plate. We had seen many of these 'vases' with their tin foil lids placed out side the restaurants around lamp posts etc and wondered what they were.
The rules re clothing worn in the blue mosque are strict. We were both ok but I was amused to see a man wndering around wearing a long blue skirt over his shorts!
After we had visited the Blue mosque we were wandering through the market place. Having decided to exit between 2 stalls I saw a little house made of cardboard complete with pitched roof, window and open doorway. Through the window and doorway I saw 2 little tabby kittens playing with each other. Turning around I saw mother cat arrive with a roll of what looked like paper in her mouth. She dropped the paper when she saw us, greeted us with a 'meow' and went into the little house to check on her young. She emerged to tallk to us some more before we moved off. Just as we left I saw a piece of laminated paper taped to the roof of her house - "Madam Cocoa" . I thought that was quite delicious.
Galipoli: Stephen has written about this so all I will say is that I was surprised tthat it was not as bleak as I had expected it to be. Certainly the site was formidable for an offensive, landing on such narrow beaches with no protection from the Turks above them and the sheer incline that they had to scramble up. I wasn't prepared for seeing it on a gloriously hot day with bule skies and sparkling seas.r guide was very infomative and we learnt more about the campaign. I hadn't realised that at the time of the initial landing the number of Turkish forces present were considerably less than the ANZACs. At the 'Neck' the Turks were shouting to the ANZACs to stop advancing as they were being cut down to 'a man' by the Turks and they wanted the slaughter to cease. The commanding officer however knew best and so sent our men to their death. Of course the stories of the interactions between ANZACs and Turkish soiders are well documented.It really was a very special visit and a place that is beatifully preserved. The words by Ataturk inscribed at a memorial beside a large cemetery were very moving. As was the cemetery itself. Of course there are many memorials and graves - and of course many more men in unmarked graves. One of these is Stephen's great uncle Cyril Dunlop, buried somewhere around Lone Pine. We searched for his name on the memorial but didn't see it.
Troy: This was a superb visit also. Out guide is very passionate about the history of this site.I bought a book written by a well known and authoritative man who was our guide's 'tutor'. Certainly the site fits the legend in many ways. What I did learn is that the wars were most likely related to land goods, naturally! There is plenty of evidence that troops that supported Priam in his defence of Troy were folk from the surrounding countries and lands. It appears from the excavations that the Troy of Priam was about 1250 - 1180 BC. This time frame sits along side when Agamemnon rules Mycenae.
There are many layers of occupation at Troy - Troy I ( 3000 - 2500 BC) , Troy II ( 2,500 - 2,300), Troy III ( 2,300 - 1,700) when there was sequences of walled villages, each larger and more populous than the previous settlement. There were narrow streets with regular rows of houses. During this time the area had many invasions hence the need for the defensive walls. The delightful Schliemann removed all the walls of these settlements so there are not many remains of this era remaining.
Troy VI (1700 - 1250BC) free standing houses and fortification of walls changed to show advances in miliatry engineering, masonary and town planning.
Troy VIIa (1250 - 1180 BC) Troy was rebuilt after a devastating earthquake that ruined TroyVI.
Troy VIIb ( 1180 - 1,000) , after the Acheans ( Greeks ) left the citadel was occupied by the survivors until destryed by another fire.
Troy VIII ( 1000- 85BC) was the first Greek settlement at Troy.
Troy IX ( 85 - 400/600AD) the top layer of settlement on Hisarlik ( the site known as Troy) was Greek and Roman city.This was known as Novum Ilium. The early Roman emperors chose the Trojans as their ancestors! This city was the largest it had ever been , spreading all over the ridge. The greatest part of the city has not yet been excavated. To date there has been a music theatre, council chamber - senate unearthed.
There was only one other couple on our tour - both from NZ and lovely company.We spet some time in Chunakale before our trip had to Istanbul and during that time hunted unsuccessfully for Stephen to have a donner kebab. We did see however a delightful scene where a older man arrived at this stall on the water front by bike with a large plastic bag full of meat scraps. He called in loud Turkish and simply masses and masses of cats appeared, to fee voraciously on the meat he threw onto the quay.
The trip back to hotel miniature was made into a a bit of an endurance test an accident on the motor way in Istanbul which meant they closed the motor way and we took a very big detour to the hotel - arriving at midnight with an early departure the next morning to the airport anbags to be repacked!
However it was a great trip to have done despite the knolwedge that bad people were plotting to do bad things. Today we learnt of the attempted army coup in Turkey and yet more loss of life. The day before there was news of the attack via truck in Nice. As Pip says, interesting times to travel abroad. We were at a restaurant at a little village at Ormos near the hotel here in Samos last night when Vailiy - the son of the onwers of the hotel who had tken us there, received news of the attepted coup in Turkey. As you know Samos is very close indeed to Samos and he reflection was that it was a little too close for him.
OK - back to chronological comments. I am not sure what Stephen has written about Israel so there might be a double up. In. Briefly the highlights for me were the boat trip on the Sea of Galilee. Certainly the surrounding hills were very barren and grey. I understand from our guide that geological evidence indicates that at the time Jesus lived the climate was a little less harsh and there was a bit more green cover on the hills and plains.It wasn't the environment that made its impact. As we sailed there was a sensation of peace - odd for a country surrounded by hostility. I did wonder if I had prewired myself to sense this. Who can say? However it was a lovely - dare I quote " still voice of calm" and a sense of, yes - this is a very special place.
We were amazed and fascinated by what we learned about life for modern Israelis , from the various religions and cutoms,water supply, wars past and present - seeing smoke from gun fire on the Golan Heights over in Syria and the remains of fenced areas on the border where mines still lay hidden .
Staying in the kibutz , surrounded by a big range of men and women practicing various approaches to their faith with accompanying dress also increaed our awareness of their modus vivendi. The staff in the kibutz seemed solemn folk. The clothes worn by the various jewish 'sects' ( for lack of the right word) fascinated me - as did the ultra orhodox jews with all their rights and exemptions. Also the Drews ? (SP) which we had not known about. Such harsh strictures should they marry outside the faith.
The entire trip was amazing but the next memorable moment was in the garden of Gestheme ( sp?). I had not realise olive trees can - not all do - live for 2,000 years. I was unexpectedly aware of another sensation of - I am struggling here to say what it felt like. I had gone in very aware of the heat of the day - close to 40 degrees and the sun still blazing hot. I was also very aware of cranky knees and was dettermined not to let them stop me. In this very small area, fenced in on all sides by a wire fence ( I think) and a huge church on the side - looking at very ancient knarled trunks of still viable olive trees I felt something that 'moved' me - for lack of a better word. I have no idea if this site is truly 'the site' of Chrit's agony - but I certainly was aware of some sensation that told me this was a place of importance. It is quite a flat arae, a gentle incline to the garden then the fenced area - with ground rising more steeply behind it - not quite as envisioned from illuistartions seen in our youth. Our guide was very enthusiastic about the beauty of the city of Jerusalem - certainly the golden and honey coloured stone was stunning.
We saw lots more of course. I will just mention the dead sea. Again - some surprises. The level
Is dropping so fast as I am sure Stephen hs noted. I didn't expect it to be so muddy - our footsteps sank deep into the grey sludge, threatening to suck off our beach shoes.At one point stephen scrapped his shin on something sharp as he pulled up his leg - taking some skin off. Of course it graze became infected - thankfully I had taken an antibiotic cream. Even so it took some time to heal - as shin injuries tend to do - and the redness surrounding the site has finally just about disppeared. I hate to think what was in that sludge. People had been told of its healing properties and were lathering themseelves with the mud! We didn't stay long in the water and were glad of the showers afterwards. It was very hot indeed - somewhere around 40 degrees I believe.
Apart from being dropped off at the wrong hotel and the long wait while they sent us a taxi to transport us to our 'upgraded hotel' the tour was very well conducted. Despite having some trying members on his tour our guide was meticulous and very kind indeed.He was very well informed, some of his facts we are a little doubtful about but nonetheless he was interesting and patient. Becuase of the financial situation in Israel he provides a lot of support for his daughter and her family - he says without it she would 'drown'.
I continue to be amazed the fluency of English of the people we encounter. In a supermarket in Pylos - on the outskirts of the town I was at the meat counter, working out what meat we wanted for dinner and how much to ask for. As in a butcher in NZ the meat is cut according to size and the cut you want - rather than preprepared on trays with cling wrap. A voce interrupted my thoughts by inquiring if he could help. "Just tell me what you are looking for and I will help you! " Certainly not what I expected so far from the tourist centre.
Once in Greece it was lovely to be further away from the tourist centres. We go to see the sights we identify of interest but it is equally exciting driving along the crazy roads ( especially crazy in Greece) and into the little towns. We are still amazed by coming across unexpected treasures in the most unlikely places. Back in our accomodation we enjoy the peace and quiet - mostly peace and quiet! Here in Tre Fontane, Sicily, we are surronded by locals who are night owls with strident voices. It is OK as shut the shutters, close the windows - double glazed - and go to sleep.
Siesta is a serious business here in Sicily. We popped into the village family grocery shop at 2pm one day. We thought at first the shop had shut but no - the staff were hanging around the till talking loudly and were happy for us to shop. All lights, except from chiller cabinets were off so we groped around finding our goods, paid and beat it out into the hot sunshine. When we go into town after 7.30pm it looks a different place -everything is open and the place is humming.
I am jumping about a bit - we saw lots of fascinating stuff in the Peloponese, had lovely swims in the sea - water quite warm, gorgeous food, lovely pool at Ennalio Suites etc.
Samos is different again. The hotel Sophis where we stayed is really unique. I know Stephen has written about it - just suffice to say that seeing a Greek family operating their business at close up while living their lives in the midst of it was a real privilege. The parents and Vasily take guests out to local restaurants , ordering for them and joining in the fun. Sophia (Mumma) and her sons prepare a weekly Greek BBQ ( olive wwood fired) for the guests and while we were there she cooked a traditional wood fire dinner for us all. Sophia has little English but a graet joy of living - cheekily greeting guest new to the hotel wIth 'Kalimara' in the morning instead of Kalimera. Later she appears chuckling about 'octopus, octopus' Guests are tickled un suspectingly with plant fronds - slapping unsuspectingly at imaginary insects, Vasily bought lunch out for us one day - as we lay around the pool - calling "Get up lazy tourists , your lunch is here!" Lots of other horsing around but only with the audience they know will enjoy it so it is never offensive.
Thursday 28 July 2016
A week in Sicily
Well we're coming to the end of our first week in Sicily at Tre Fontane and are about to move to the other end of the island near Catania. Neither of us has formed an attachment to Tre Fontane despite the warmth and staying on the beachfront. Our accommodation is spacious with good facilitities, but is to our minds lacking in some basics. While the kitchen is good and has plenty of pans, dishes and utensils no dishwashing implements or detergent is provided and there are no kitchen knives. Minor things, but they detract from what would otherwise be an excellent beach house. The town itself to me in unattractive, I suppose because, like most villages here, the houses are built to the edge of the footpath (where it exists) or the carriage way and colours are drab. As the streets are narrow and impeded by steps to the houses and parked cars we have found several streers where it is not possible to fit our Renault Clio. Wandering through the town in the afternoon it is a bit of a ghost town with most shops closed, not that there are many of them. The town has a revenue generating scheme charging 1 Euro per hour for all carparks on the major roads, including the 3km stretch along the beach, even though for some of it the only thing higher that a grasshopper is a sand dune. There is a steady parade of parking officers on bicycles with hi-viz jackets passing us as they enforce the fees.
Enough of the negative. It has been good to watch the families on the beach where there is enough space for each group to have 20m of beach to themselves and soccer and volley ball games happen. 100m down the beach is an organised area with sunbeds, umbrellas and "entertainment"- canned music, dancing in the sand lessons and a lifguard. The reat of the 4km is free for the rest of us.
While we've been here we have enjoyed warm weather, a great family beach and peace and quiet.. We made one excursion to Selinunte where there are the remains of a large Greek town including many temples, one of which has been re-erected, while the other are like pi,e of giant lego blocks. The largest of the temples is said to be the second largest uncovered to date and had a double row of columns around the perimeter and a 3 storey courtyard in the centre. The quarry for the stones used is located several kilometres away and still contains column sections that had not been completed. The method of transport explains why circular columns were so popular as a support as the sections could be cut out of the rock as cylinders, broken free, then rolled using horses pulling on ropes wrapped around the cylinders. Square blocks would require rollers or wheels to move them. Not that there was a lack of enormous rectangular blocks lying around the temple sites. One wonders why a community would need the number of temples existing here (at least 8 big ones) until you think of the number of competing churches we see in quite small communities today.. I wonder how the then civic authorities managed to allocate the various religious orders their temple space without upsetting the others.
Tomorrow we plan a major day of antiquities while we travel the length of the island. First the valley of the temples at Agrigenta (Dreek of course), then the Roman remains at Enna before heading to the east coast.
Enough of the negative. It has been good to watch the families on the beach where there is enough space for each group to have 20m of beach to themselves and soccer and volley ball games happen. 100m down the beach is an organised area with sunbeds, umbrellas and "entertainment"- canned music, dancing in the sand lessons and a lifguard. The reat of the 4km is free for the rest of us.
While we've been here we have enjoyed warm weather, a great family beach and peace and quiet.. We made one excursion to Selinunte where there are the remains of a large Greek town including many temples, one of which has been re-erected, while the other are like pi,e of giant lego blocks. The largest of the temples is said to be the second largest uncovered to date and had a double row of columns around the perimeter and a 3 storey courtyard in the centre. The quarry for the stones used is located several kilometres away and still contains column sections that had not been completed. The method of transport explains why circular columns were so popular as a support as the sections could be cut out of the rock as cylinders, broken free, then rolled using horses pulling on ropes wrapped around the cylinders. Square blocks would require rollers or wheels to move them. Not that there was a lack of enormous rectangular blocks lying around the temple sites. One wonders why a community would need the number of temples existing here (at least 8 big ones) until you think of the number of competing churches we see in quite small communities today.. I wonder how the then civic authorities managed to allocate the various religious orders their temple space without upsetting the others.
Tomorrow we plan a major day of antiquities while we travel the length of the island. First the valley of the temples at Agrigenta (Dreek of course), then the Roman remains at Enna before heading to the east coast.
Sunday 24 July 2016
Farewell to Greece
Well the last 2 days in Samos echoed the rest of the stay - relaxed. We spent a morning exploring the west end of the island finding a couple of really nice beaches. We had heard of a restaurant named The Tavern at the End of the World reached by a 3 km track along the coast from Limnionas Beach so looked for the sign with no luck. We headed down a road that looked like it might go in the right direction, bit decided to turn back when it became u rough unsealed narrow track along the cliff. However, when we got back to the beach we saw the sign clear as day. Anyway that particular taverna will have to wait for our nexr visit.
The road to the west from Lampos is surprisingly good with a good surface and wide emough that you don not have to dive into the olive trees when a truck is coming in the other direction. The road climbs around a massive limestone block Oris Kerkis which rises around 600m with shear cliffs on all sides. We dreached the western end of the island and decied to stop and turn. At the point we stopped a driveway left the road towards a few stone buildings below. I would have been nervous to negotiate it in a landrover as it was narrow and very steep with a surface of ruts and loose gravel, but down below we could see a number of vehicles including light vans and pickups that had obviously made the trip.
That night we all went to a taverna that turned out to be the least good of the ones we visited at Kampos. The food was OK but not up to the standard we had come to expect. The next night we returned to Stella at Balos Beach where we had had the best meal of our stay. This time we told the chef that we wanted meat (the previous time had been fish), and he once again exceeded our expectations with an offering of 4 dishes including fried aubergine, marinated peppers stuffed with ham and cheese, lamb and crispy skin chicken.
followed by an amazing frozen nutty dessert. All this and wine for less than $NZ75.
Our last morning we packed, had breakfast, said a sad farewell to our hosts, the family that run the hotel, and our friends from the UK and headed off for our flight to Athens. Arriving at Athens (a very familiar environment for us) we were directed to a gate where there was a flight boarding for Rome, our next destination. Rolling up to the gate we were told "wrong airline"and checked the departure board to find that the gate was right, but our flight was a bit later. We sat reading until around the nominated boarding time I noticed that the gate screen was showing a different flight. Back to the departure board to find that our gate had changed and we did a quick trip downstairs to find a long queue waiting to board. A pleasant flight with Aegean later and we were in Rome. We had been told by our accommodation to call for a shuttle which would cost 14 Euro, but thought that as the accommodation was on the boundary of the airport a taxi would not be much more - it turned out that even sharing a taxi we were charged 30 Euro for a 5 km trip!
We were booked into a small pleasant B&B near the beach at Fiumincino but found there were few places close by for dinner and had to wait for the local pizzeria to open at 7:00pm. A very different type of pizza here with thin crispy base.
We booked a shuttle back to the airport for the flight to sicily and encountered the wonderful world of Alitalia with excessive baggage fees, unhelpful staff and budget airline seating. As our fare did not allow us to select our seats we were placed seperately in seats 2B and 2E.
Arriving in Palermo we headed for the advertised car rental office area to be told that it was not ready yet and to take a shuttle to the old offices where we joined a mob waiting to be served. Over an hour later we were told that we had been allocated a smart car which would obviously not fit our luggage and we could upgrade to a Renault Clio, a diesel automatic. After our little Hyundai I10 on Samos this was a big heavy and sluggish beast, but at least we could fit. Most of the way to our next accommodation was on the autostrade which is a superb motorway and much better than the ones we had used in southern Italy on our last trip. The scenery was not entirely what I expected with the area around Palermo being spectacular vertical walls of rock which morphed into rolong hills and then extensize plains as we moved south. Arriving at Tre Fontane we struggled to find the accommodation as there were almost no street numbers and the place itself had no identifying features at all. With the help of several locals we finally made contact and moved in.
Tre Fontane is a town of beach houses with narrow alleyways, often one-way, between tham. The centre of town which contains a few bars and pizzeria is blocked to all traffic from 9:30pm to 2:00am, though we haven't ventured in to find out what goes on yet. The area we're in is a straggle of houses across the road from the beach, which reminds me of Foxton with a long, wide flat sandy beach and low dunes aong the road. It is very much a family beach with family groups spread along the length during the day. So far we have found very few here with any English so our sign language is improving.
Enoiugh for today.
The road to the west from Lampos is surprisingly good with a good surface and wide emough that you don not have to dive into the olive trees when a truck is coming in the other direction. The road climbs around a massive limestone block Oris Kerkis which rises around 600m with shear cliffs on all sides. We dreached the western end of the island and decied to stop and turn. At the point we stopped a driveway left the road towards a few stone buildings below. I would have been nervous to negotiate it in a landrover as it was narrow and very steep with a surface of ruts and loose gravel, but down below we could see a number of vehicles including light vans and pickups that had obviously made the trip.
That night we all went to a taverna that turned out to be the least good of the ones we visited at Kampos. The food was OK but not up to the standard we had come to expect. The next night we returned to Stella at Balos Beach where we had had the best meal of our stay. This time we told the chef that we wanted meat (the previous time had been fish), and he once again exceeded our expectations with an offering of 4 dishes including fried aubergine, marinated peppers stuffed with ham and cheese, lamb and crispy skin chicken.
followed by an amazing frozen nutty dessert. All this and wine for less than $NZ75.
Our last morning we packed, had breakfast, said a sad farewell to our hosts, the family that run the hotel, and our friends from the UK and headed off for our flight to Athens. Arriving at Athens (a very familiar environment for us) we were directed to a gate where there was a flight boarding for Rome, our next destination. Rolling up to the gate we were told "wrong airline"and checked the departure board to find that the gate was right, but our flight was a bit later. We sat reading until around the nominated boarding time I noticed that the gate screen was showing a different flight. Back to the departure board to find that our gate had changed and we did a quick trip downstairs to find a long queue waiting to board. A pleasant flight with Aegean later and we were in Rome. We had been told by our accommodation to call for a shuttle which would cost 14 Euro, but thought that as the accommodation was on the boundary of the airport a taxi would not be much more - it turned out that even sharing a taxi we were charged 30 Euro for a 5 km trip!
We were booked into a small pleasant B&B near the beach at Fiumincino but found there were few places close by for dinner and had to wait for the local pizzeria to open at 7:00pm. A very different type of pizza here with thin crispy base.
We booked a shuttle back to the airport for the flight to sicily and encountered the wonderful world of Alitalia with excessive baggage fees, unhelpful staff and budget airline seating. As our fare did not allow us to select our seats we were placed seperately in seats 2B and 2E.
Arriving in Palermo we headed for the advertised car rental office area to be told that it was not ready yet and to take a shuttle to the old offices where we joined a mob waiting to be served. Over an hour later we were told that we had been allocated a smart car which would obviously not fit our luggage and we could upgrade to a Renault Clio, a diesel automatic. After our little Hyundai I10 on Samos this was a big heavy and sluggish beast, but at least we could fit. Most of the way to our next accommodation was on the autostrade which is a superb motorway and much better than the ones we had used in southern Italy on our last trip. The scenery was not entirely what I expected with the area around Palermo being spectacular vertical walls of rock which morphed into rolong hills and then extensize plains as we moved south. Arriving at Tre Fontane we struggled to find the accommodation as there were almost no street numbers and the place itself had no identifying features at all. With the help of several locals we finally made contact and moved in.
Tre Fontane is a town of beach houses with narrow alleyways, often one-way, between tham. The centre of town which contains a few bars and pizzeria is blocked to all traffic from 9:30pm to 2:00am, though we haven't ventured in to find out what goes on yet. The area we're in is a straggle of houses across the road from the beach, which reminds me of Foxton with a long, wide flat sandy beach and low dunes aong the road. It is very much a family beach with family groups spread along the length during the day. So far we have found very few here with any English so our sign language is improving.
Enoiugh for today.
Tuesday 19 July 2016
Samos continued
We're now down to our last 2 days on the island and the wind has picked up. Shutters are banging and the trees are thrashing around, but the wind is warm and the sky is clear. There are fewer bodies in the sunbeds.
We had another excursion around the island yesterday going to Posidonio a small bay at the east end of the island looking out over a very narrow strait to Turkey. Posidonio is really attractive with a small number of houses and 2 tavernas strung around the quayside with small boats tied up. The larger taverna has a private jetty for boaties to tie up next to their table while dining. (Well, not quite, but nearly). I am sure they will serve the meals onto the boats if asked. The water is, as usual, beautifully clear with shoals of small fish swimming around the shallows. Our friend Steve pounted out the weever fish hiding among the rocks - apparently they hide in rocks and sand and have poisonous spines that inflict a very painful and possibly dangerous dose if trodden on. Swimming shoes to be worn around here!
The bay had a really nice atmosphere and we stopped and looked at a couple of the small holiday houses wondering what the cost of renting would be if we ever came this way again. One dowside would be the road which, while generally good, runs through a village and was obvious set out in the days when the only traffic was donkeys and even then there would have been only one way traffic when someone stopped to unload. Added to the width there are several blind right angle corners which provide an element of surprise.
2 days ago we visited an Engish couple we met at the hotel who have bought an apartment in Kalovassi, a town on the north coast of the island. David kindly offered to meet us in the town and guide us which turned out to be esential as the access to their place was via an extemely steep and narrow strip of rough concrete winding through pine trees fot a kilometre. When we arived it was surprising to find quite a number of houses and apartments sharing the access. The apartment is situated on the side of the hill above the town with a short path down to the town centre and a great view over the town and coast to the north and west. David and Angela have been coming to Samos for years and now spend a lot of time there both summer and winter. They recommended that we visite a restaurant not far from our hotel at Balos And we went there that evening.. What a find! Well, finding it was the first issue. Balos is not recognised by Google maps so we used our map which like most maps here is quirky, out of date and often downright wrong. Anyway we reached the end of the road at the top of the beach and couldnt see any sign of it. Fortunately Angela had given us a card from the restaurant and we recognised a sign withe the logo and an arrow pointing along the top of the beach. We soon came to a narow paved path leading between high walls away from the beach and followed it to find 6 tables nestled in a bamboo grove. We were warmly welcomed by the owner and chef in fluent english - he had spent some time in Brisbane but had never been to NZ. The blackboard menu just said "Ask the Chef". When we booked we had asked for fish fillets as most taverna serve fish whole and grilled which is not the easiest to dismantle and are often charred. Kygi (the chef)confirmed this and asked us what we would like - we looked at each other and said "You choose, but not too much quantity". He said no problem and proposed 3 starters and three mains, all manageable portions and at a rate we coiuld digest comfortably. Wow, he certainly got it right! Starting with griiled aubergine with tzaiki, finely sliced beetroot and grilled cheese stuffed with tomato we wentg on to buterflies sardines, shrimps (actually large prawns) and panfried sea bass fillets. Each dish was a delight and a change from the standard taverna fare while still retaining the essentials of greek cuisine and wonderful blends of herbs. The meal was accompanied by bread baked to the chef's mother's recipe whick had the texture of a cornmeal loaf, but lighter, and was apparently a mix af 5 different grain flours. It had been baked with a strand of olive oil through it and was served with a dip of local olive oil and balsamic vinegar. To end the meal dessert was water melon and a cold dish similar to icecream, but with a beautiful light crunchy texture. In all it was a wonderful experience until the breeze started blowing the cigarette smoke across from the next table causing Gillian's lungs to seize up and we had to make a hasty departure. We hope to return before we leave the island.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a couple of ceramics workshops and found them varied and not entirely focused on the basic toruist trade rubbish. One in particular had a range of quite avante garde work and unique finishes and glazes.
Enough for today.
We had another excursion around the island yesterday going to Posidonio a small bay at the east end of the island looking out over a very narrow strait to Turkey. Posidonio is really attractive with a small number of houses and 2 tavernas strung around the quayside with small boats tied up. The larger taverna has a private jetty for boaties to tie up next to their table while dining. (Well, not quite, but nearly). I am sure they will serve the meals onto the boats if asked. The water is, as usual, beautifully clear with shoals of small fish swimming around the shallows. Our friend Steve pounted out the weever fish hiding among the rocks - apparently they hide in rocks and sand and have poisonous spines that inflict a very painful and possibly dangerous dose if trodden on. Swimming shoes to be worn around here!
The bay had a really nice atmosphere and we stopped and looked at a couple of the small holiday houses wondering what the cost of renting would be if we ever came this way again. One dowside would be the road which, while generally good, runs through a village and was obvious set out in the days when the only traffic was donkeys and even then there would have been only one way traffic when someone stopped to unload. Added to the width there are several blind right angle corners which provide an element of surprise.
2 days ago we visited an Engish couple we met at the hotel who have bought an apartment in Kalovassi, a town on the north coast of the island. David kindly offered to meet us in the town and guide us which turned out to be esential as the access to their place was via an extemely steep and narrow strip of rough concrete winding through pine trees fot a kilometre. When we arived it was surprising to find quite a number of houses and apartments sharing the access. The apartment is situated on the side of the hill above the town with a short path down to the town centre and a great view over the town and coast to the north and west. David and Angela have been coming to Samos for years and now spend a lot of time there both summer and winter. They recommended that we visite a restaurant not far from our hotel at Balos And we went there that evening.. What a find! Well, finding it was the first issue. Balos is not recognised by Google maps so we used our map which like most maps here is quirky, out of date and often downright wrong. Anyway we reached the end of the road at the top of the beach and couldnt see any sign of it. Fortunately Angela had given us a card from the restaurant and we recognised a sign withe the logo and an arrow pointing along the top of the beach. We soon came to a narow paved path leading between high walls away from the beach and followed it to find 6 tables nestled in a bamboo grove. We were warmly welcomed by the owner and chef in fluent english - he had spent some time in Brisbane but had never been to NZ. The blackboard menu just said "Ask the Chef". When we booked we had asked for fish fillets as most taverna serve fish whole and grilled which is not the easiest to dismantle and are often charred. Kygi (the chef)confirmed this and asked us what we would like - we looked at each other and said "You choose, but not too much quantity". He said no problem and proposed 3 starters and three mains, all manageable portions and at a rate we coiuld digest comfortably. Wow, he certainly got it right! Starting with griiled aubergine with tzaiki, finely sliced beetroot and grilled cheese stuffed with tomato we wentg on to buterflies sardines, shrimps (actually large prawns) and panfried sea bass fillets. Each dish was a delight and a change from the standard taverna fare while still retaining the essentials of greek cuisine and wonderful blends of herbs. The meal was accompanied by bread baked to the chef's mother's recipe whick had the texture of a cornmeal loaf, but lighter, and was apparently a mix af 5 different grain flours. It had been baked with a strand of olive oil through it and was served with a dip of local olive oil and balsamic vinegar. To end the meal dessert was water melon and a cold dish similar to icecream, but with a beautiful light crunchy texture. In all it was a wonderful experience until the breeze started blowing the cigarette smoke across from the next table causing Gillian's lungs to seize up and we had to make a hasty departure. We hope to return before we leave the island.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a couple of ceramics workshops and found them varied and not entirely focused on the basic toruist trade rubbish. One in particular had a range of quite avante garde work and unique finishes and glazes.
Enough for today.
Saturday 16 July 2016
Samos
I'm sorry for the break in posting, but after my rant about our flight delays I've been lazy. I must also apologise for the spelling and grammatical mistakes as by the time Istop writing I don't feel like reviewing and just hit "Publish" so what you get is my stream of conciousness raw.
Anyway back to life on th eroad. We hired a car at Samos airport - both the airport and the car are small despite the 2 737s parked on the tarmac. We found however that here small is good and there are few cars larger than a Mazda 1. We had been told thaht Samos is considered the green island of the Aegean and as we drove we were passing through hills covered is olive groves, occasional vineyards and scrubby vegetation. It is still basically bare rock with the trees hanging on however. The entire island is steep with high hills rising directly from the coast. This means that the roads are up and down with continual corners and switchbacks. The surprise is that the roads are generally in good condition and mostly wide enough except through the villages. We ended up behind a petrol tanker and was happy to use him to clear the road ahead, particularly as there was nowhere we could have passed without Gillian having a panic attack.
Arriving at the hotel about an hour and a half later (average speed about 30 kph) we met up with our friends from the UK, Sue and Steve Baker. They had also invited another couple who had been to the hotel with them in the past and are from Staplehurst. We hadn't seen them for several years as we they were in the US the last time we were in the UK and it is good to catch up. The hotel is a family run affair including we gathe the initial construction. The life of the hotel revolved aroung the swimming pool with the breakfast area on one side and the bar and BBQ area on the other. Life is casual and the main occupation of the guests is to lie back on the lungers and be insulted and have ice thrown over them by the barman/manager/.... Vasili who makes everyone feel welcome and part of the family. Vasili speaks excellent English and has spent some time in the UK. It is difficult to describe him as he can be serous, joking, efficient and everyone's mate all at once whie matching the guests beer intake. A lovely guy. The rest of the family are nice and we have met 4 generations with the bay often parked in a pushchair ar the bar. We have a room with a balcony looking over the pool to the hill behind covered with low trees replanted after a major fire a while ago.
The town we are in is mainly a single road along the coast peppered with tavernas, car and bike hire centres and shops catering to the tourists. The beach itself is a mixture of sand and pebbles and sloes steeply underwater. As usual the sea has brilliant colours and while not tepid is at a good temperature for swimming.
For the first few days there was a constant wind which mdae the beach unpleasant so we stayed around the hotel. Then Gilian had a slightly uneasy gut. However we we went as a group to the town of Pythagorieo at the east end of the island. This was an important centre in ancient times, but little of that remains. There are many places on on th eisland named after the philosopher Pythagoras as he came from here around 570BC. Above the hotel is a cave where he reputed to have taken refuge and taught, but most of the information about him is slim and of dubious reliability. Of course on the island many things are attributed to him including a cup which, if overfilled, empties itself, supposedly to teach moideration.
The next day I wend out on a boat trip with the group, but Gillian didn't think she could face the schedule, so stayed on land. We went to a small island off the coast and climbed over a rough track to a small beach on the south side. While the beach was nice with fine sand and beautiful water there was little shade. After an hour there we headed back to be collected byh the boat for an onboard BBQ. On the way back we encountered a herd of goats that roam the island, the only inhabitants apart from a small monastry. After a good lunch of souvaki and salad and a swim off the boat in about 40 m of water we headed back, stopping for an hour off another beach to again swim from the boat.
The next day Gillian and I drove along the north coast to Samos towm to visit the archaeological museum. The north of the island is lusher than the south, but the beaches are all soney and oflen only reached by paths down the cliffs. The town is not large and in some ways resemble Wellington with a thin strip of level ground along the harbourside with the commercial area backed by steep hilside with the houses built up the face of the hill.
The museum contains the finds from Herion, an important religious centre from pre-history times which included the largest known greek temple. Most of the exhibits are votive offerings, many of them recovered from wells, including bronze, wood, jewellery and pottery. One of the most impressive gifts apparently had been a complete ship 30m long of which only the foundation stones remain. In Roman times the area was declared a permanent sanctuary and tax-free attracting numbers of refugees and tax evaders.
I have to say that the main attraction of the island is the slow pace of life as, while the tourist industry is it's lifeblood, ther beaches are almost deserted and nothing happens in a hurry. There is no sign of the Syrian refugees which seem to be keeping the crowds away.
Last night our host Vasili took us to the neighbouring town of Ormos where we ate dinner at a table perched on the side of the quay and listened to a 2 musicians playing a guitar and bouzouki, an instrument that has 6 strings arranged in 3 pairs and sounds a little like a mandolin.. The water was very calm and it was a wonderful atmosphere with small boats returning and tying up with the music drifting out over the harbour. The style of the music was traditional and quite different to the music that is dished up in tourist centres, with the music slightly discordant and syncopated and the songs sounding a little mournful. A good evening.
The weather has been hot and dry with temperatures reaching 36C - quite comfortable unless you are exercising as the humidity has been very low. Enough for today as I need to fall into the pool.
Anyway back to life on th eroad. We hired a car at Samos airport - both the airport and the car are small despite the 2 737s parked on the tarmac. We found however that here small is good and there are few cars larger than a Mazda 1. We had been told thaht Samos is considered the green island of the Aegean and as we drove we were passing through hills covered is olive groves, occasional vineyards and scrubby vegetation. It is still basically bare rock with the trees hanging on however. The entire island is steep with high hills rising directly from the coast. This means that the roads are up and down with continual corners and switchbacks. The surprise is that the roads are generally in good condition and mostly wide enough except through the villages. We ended up behind a petrol tanker and was happy to use him to clear the road ahead, particularly as there was nowhere we could have passed without Gillian having a panic attack.
Arriving at the hotel about an hour and a half later (average speed about 30 kph) we met up with our friends from the UK, Sue and Steve Baker. They had also invited another couple who had been to the hotel with them in the past and are from Staplehurst. We hadn't seen them for several years as we they were in the US the last time we were in the UK and it is good to catch up. The hotel is a family run affair including we gathe the initial construction. The life of the hotel revolved aroung the swimming pool with the breakfast area on one side and the bar and BBQ area on the other. Life is casual and the main occupation of the guests is to lie back on the lungers and be insulted and have ice thrown over them by the barman/manager/.... Vasili who makes everyone feel welcome and part of the family. Vasili speaks excellent English and has spent some time in the UK. It is difficult to describe him as he can be serous, joking, efficient and everyone's mate all at once whie matching the guests beer intake. A lovely guy. The rest of the family are nice and we have met 4 generations with the bay often parked in a pushchair ar the bar. We have a room with a balcony looking over the pool to the hill behind covered with low trees replanted after a major fire a while ago.
The town we are in is mainly a single road along the coast peppered with tavernas, car and bike hire centres and shops catering to the tourists. The beach itself is a mixture of sand and pebbles and sloes steeply underwater. As usual the sea has brilliant colours and while not tepid is at a good temperature for swimming.
For the first few days there was a constant wind which mdae the beach unpleasant so we stayed around the hotel. Then Gilian had a slightly uneasy gut. However we we went as a group to the town of Pythagorieo at the east end of the island. This was an important centre in ancient times, but little of that remains. There are many places on on th eisland named after the philosopher Pythagoras as he came from here around 570BC. Above the hotel is a cave where he reputed to have taken refuge and taught, but most of the information about him is slim and of dubious reliability. Of course on the island many things are attributed to him including a cup which, if overfilled, empties itself, supposedly to teach moideration.
The next day I wend out on a boat trip with the group, but Gillian didn't think she could face the schedule, so stayed on land. We went to a small island off the coast and climbed over a rough track to a small beach on the south side. While the beach was nice with fine sand and beautiful water there was little shade. After an hour there we headed back to be collected byh the boat for an onboard BBQ. On the way back we encountered a herd of goats that roam the island, the only inhabitants apart from a small monastry. After a good lunch of souvaki and salad and a swim off the boat in about 40 m of water we headed back, stopping for an hour off another beach to again swim from the boat.
The next day Gillian and I drove along the north coast to Samos towm to visit the archaeological museum. The north of the island is lusher than the south, but the beaches are all soney and oflen only reached by paths down the cliffs. The town is not large and in some ways resemble Wellington with a thin strip of level ground along the harbourside with the commercial area backed by steep hilside with the houses built up the face of the hill.
The museum contains the finds from Herion, an important religious centre from pre-history times which included the largest known greek temple. Most of the exhibits are votive offerings, many of them recovered from wells, including bronze, wood, jewellery and pottery. One of the most impressive gifts apparently had been a complete ship 30m long of which only the foundation stones remain. In Roman times the area was declared a permanent sanctuary and tax-free attracting numbers of refugees and tax evaders.
I have to say that the main attraction of the island is the slow pace of life as, while the tourist industry is it's lifeblood, ther beaches are almost deserted and nothing happens in a hurry. There is no sign of the Syrian refugees which seem to be keeping the crowds away.
Last night our host Vasili took us to the neighbouring town of Ormos where we ate dinner at a table perched on the side of the quay and listened to a 2 musicians playing a guitar and bouzouki, an instrument that has 6 strings arranged in 3 pairs and sounds a little like a mandolin.. The water was very calm and it was a wonderful atmosphere with small boats returning and tying up with the music drifting out over the harbour. The style of the music was traditional and quite different to the music that is dished up in tourist centres, with the music slightly discordant and syncopated and the songs sounding a little mournful. A good evening.
The weather has been hot and dry with temperatures reaching 36C - quite comfortable unless you are exercising as the humidity has been very low. Enough for today as I need to fall into the pool.
Tuesday 12 July 2016
Life In an airport
To meet our scheduled departure from Athens for the fligt to Samo we set the alarm for a time far too early and apart from missing exits and directional signs around Athens airport and abnandoning the rental car on an on-ramp to the motorway we had a smooth trip to the airport. Checking in was simp[le once we had found that although our e-ticket had Aegean Airlines in bold letters across the top, we were actually flying with Olympic Air. Through security and a couple of hiccups while they frisked me and dug through my daypack to find a small pair of pliers and the the wait began. Sitting at the gate we were informed that our flight was about to board and the bus to the aeroplane was positioned outside the gate door. Then nothing happened. Then the bus drove off - empty. The we were told something in. Greek. A while later an English translation was found and relayed to say that due to weather conditions at Samos our flight was delayed and that we would be told what was happening in half an hour. The another half hour, Then another half hour. Then another Greek announcement and a surge towards the counter - translation was proviided and we found that the flight was cancelled and we had to go back to the checkin counter to book another flight. Arriving at the checkin we were told a special flight had been arranged for 6:00 and we were given new boarding passes and a lunch voucher.
During our morning in the departure lounge we had made the acquaintance of a delightful woman travelling with 3 great kids. They had just arrived on a from Los Angeles and were going to a house they own in Samos town. As she spoke fluent Greek she was a great help in finding out what was going on and we hung very close to the family. She also gave us a lot of good information about Samos and the way of life there.
Anyway after spending 3 hours dawdling over lunch with the three kids draped over chairs in various states of awareness we headed back to go through security again and hang around until the gate number was displayed. Then we waited. And waited. And an announcement came that the flight was delayed due to weather. All other flights from the airport were rolling out, but we waited. Since flights are possible to Samos only during daylight hours we realised that it was unlikely that we would be leving the ground that night. By this stage temppers were wearing thin and objectionable people around us became more so.
Eventually the expected announcement was made and a mad dash ensued to baggage claim to retrieve our luggage and up stairs to try and get some accommodation and rebook for the next day. We were rebooked for 9:00 and waited in line to see where we would spend the night while the group behind us droned on that the weather forecast was no better for the next day. All we could hear from the head of the queue was that there was a shortage of accommodation and ..../ However when we meekly handed over our boarding passes we were given a meal voucher for diner and breakfast and the gir turned to the next in line. Gillian said "WHAT ABOUT OUR ACCOMMODATION" and the girl turned withoiut a word and disappeared into a back room. We waited, and waited, and waited, and suddenly she rushed out, thrust a bit of paper into our hands and said "get receipts for the taxi" and dismissed us. After oining a melee of people witing for a taxi we gave the driver the paper and asked "how far?". "Half an hour " was the reply - by this stage it was nearly 10:00pm and we were tired and uncertain whether the dining room at the hotel would still be open. After a scenic trip down the coast with a very pleasant taxi driver he stopped outside a very swanky hotel and gave the doorman our bags. We of course were dressed for a casual day on the beach on a Greek island and looked totally out of place. While signing in the woman next to us was told her room was NZ500+ a night - a little beyond our usual budget.
Anyway, after dumping our bags in the room, we headed for the restaurant and despite our appearance were given a table on a long balcony overlooking 2 fabulous swimming pool complexes and looked over the most expensive menu we had seen for a long time. Nothing daunted we ordered and enjoyed a supberb meal. On leaving I went to pay for the wine which was not covered by the voucher and in the end had to be taken to the other side of the hotel as I wanted to use a credit card to pay. We finally fell into bed after midnight with an alarm set for 6:00am when room service had been asked to provide breakfast as our tame taxi driver was picking us up at 7:00 and the dining room did not open till a later time.
We arrived back at the airport with no great hopes of flying to be greeted by many familiar faces. One group had ended up stuck in the airport overnight with only a voucher for a snack meal - we had been lucky. Anyway when we were all on the bus going out to the plane there was a very cheerful atmosphere and when we finally touched down in Samos, after an "interesting" landing (the approach to the runway is blocked by a mountain so a 90 degree turn is required then heavy braking on the short runway) there was spontaneous applause.
Of course our hotel transport was not available and we were told to take a taxi. Not us - we grabbed a rental car and headed west down the island. More on this later.
Eventually the expected announcement was made and a mad dash ensued to baggage claim to retrieve our luggage and up stairs to try and get some accommodation and rebook for the next day. We were rebooked for 9:00 and waited in line to see where we would spend the night while the group behind us droned on that the weather forecast was no better for the next day. All we could hear from the head of the queue was that there was a shortage of accommodation and ..../ However when we meekly handed over our boarding passes we were given a meal voucher for diner and breakfast and the gir turned to the next in line. Gillian said "WHAT ABOUT OUR ACCOMMODATION" and the girl turned withoiut a word and disappeared into a back room. We waited, and waited, and waited, and suddenly she rushed out, thrust a bit of paper into our hands and said "get receipts for the taxi" and dismissed us. After oining a melee of people witing for a taxi we gave the driver the paper and asked "how far?". "Half an hour " was the reply - by this stage it was nearly 10:00pm and we were tired and uncertain whether the dining room at the hotel would still be open. After a scenic trip down the coast with a very pleasant taxi driver he stopped outside a very swanky hotel and gave the doorman our bags. We of course were dressed for a casual day on the beach on a Greek island and looked totally out of place. While signing in the woman next to us was told her room was NZ500+ a night - a little beyond our usual budget.
Anyway, after dumping our bags in the room, we headed for the restaurant and despite our appearance were given a table on a long balcony overlooking 2 fabulous swimming pool complexes and looked over the most expensive menu we had seen for a long time. Nothing daunted we ordered and enjoyed a supberb meal. On leaving I went to pay for the wine which was not covered by the voucher and in the end had to be taken to the other side of the hotel as I wanted to use a credit card to pay. We finally fell into bed after midnight with an alarm set for 6:00am when room service had been asked to provide breakfast as our tame taxi driver was picking us up at 7:00 and the dining room did not open till a later time.
We arrived back at the airport with no great hopes of flying to be greeted by many familiar faces. One group had ended up stuck in the airport overnight with only a voucher for a snack meal - we had been lucky. Anyway when we were all on the bus going out to the plane there was a very cheerful atmosphere and when we finally touched down in Samos, after an "interesting" landing (the approach to the runway is blocked by a mountain so a 90 degree turn is required then heavy braking on the short runway) there was spontaneous applause.
Of course our hotel transport was not available and we were told to take a taxi. Not us - we grabbed a rental car and headed west down the island. More on this later.
Wednesday 6 July 2016
Farewell to the Peloponnese
Well as promised we tried the suckling pig at the local taverna which turned out to be a little disappointing - the dish was a HUGE heap of pieces of roast pork without gravy or any sauce. The meat was tender, but didn't have any "oh wow" flavour. Gillian had a mousaka which was nice but not exceptional. One of the problems of the tavernas is that the portions are too large - even an appetiser can be a full meal for 2 people and as we want to try all the local dishes we always end up with more than we can eat. We particularly like the tzaziki which is fresh and often very garlicy and comes on a side plate piled up with about 500ml of tzaziki topped with a sprinkle of something red (not paprika) and finely sliced capisicum.
Another dish we really appreciate is the fried zucchini which arrives at the table as a heap of crisply golden fried lengthwise slices that have a wonderful flavour. Again the serving is huge.
Anyway the next day, our last at Marko's cottage, we lazed around and spent a bit of time on the beach. We tried another taverna in the middle of the local village with the wooden tables and chairs with checked table clothes set out on a terrace under low spreading trees looking out over the coastal plains towards the mountains. The food was good and it was pleasant to wath the light on the hills change as the sun set.
We packed and set out the next morning to return to our accommodation at Lechaio Beach near Corinth for the last 2 days of our stay on the Greek mainland. Our first stop was the museum at Chora which contains much of the stuff excavated from the Palace of Nestor we had visited a couple of days before, but we found that the museum closed on Mondays so we headed back to the road north. In the village of Chora we found an excellent example of modern traffic struggling to run alongside traditional village layout with one main road up the the square needing first gear and being 2 way with a total width between the houses of about 3m. Stopping at a small village to top up the fuel I spent a good 5 minutes negotiating with the old woman who ran the petrol station as she was convinced that the car should take diesel and she had to get a man from a nearby shop to confirm that I wanted petrol before she was prepared to dispense it. I presume that she has had a bad experience with furriners before.
After surviving the road through the hills we joined the motorway and once again marvelled at the quality of motorway system given the state of the Greek economy and the standard of Greek roads in general. As the centre of the Peloponnese is high and mountainous the motorway runs through several tunnels and over major bridges maintaining an alignment easily suitable for 130kph travel. If only NZ could do the same!
The moutains either side of us were steep barren rock sparsely covered with occasional low growth with the ares between being flat and cultivated, but still very dry. On the coast near Kalamata we crossed 2 small rivers, both looking like a string of stagnant pools and after that we did not see another watercourse with water. While not as arid as Israel this is a dry unforgiving country to live in. Having said that we have not seen any water restrictions any where we have been, but I don't know whether the water is all from underground sources or like Israel they use large scale desalinisation plants.
Arriving at Lechaio Beach we were greeted like long lost friends and tole that we had been missed for the 6 days we had been away. I know its just "hospitality speak", but its nice to be recognised. In our feedback for the accommodation when we left I had noted the lack of a hot water jug in the unit, even though there was a filter coffee machine. Anyway soon after we settled in a staff member came over with a jug for us - they actually take note of what people say!
We have spent the next 2 days lazing around the beach and pool in very pleasant temperatures around 35C. Tomorrow we fly to Samos to spend 2 weeks with our English friends Sue and Steve Baker.
Another dish we really appreciate is the fried zucchini which arrives at the table as a heap of crisply golden fried lengthwise slices that have a wonderful flavour. Again the serving is huge.
Anyway the next day, our last at Marko's cottage, we lazed around and spent a bit of time on the beach. We tried another taverna in the middle of the local village with the wooden tables and chairs with checked table clothes set out on a terrace under low spreading trees looking out over the coastal plains towards the mountains. The food was good and it was pleasant to wath the light on the hills change as the sun set.
We packed and set out the next morning to return to our accommodation at Lechaio Beach near Corinth for the last 2 days of our stay on the Greek mainland. Our first stop was the museum at Chora which contains much of the stuff excavated from the Palace of Nestor we had visited a couple of days before, but we found that the museum closed on Mondays so we headed back to the road north. In the village of Chora we found an excellent example of modern traffic struggling to run alongside traditional village layout with one main road up the the square needing first gear and being 2 way with a total width between the houses of about 3m. Stopping at a small village to top up the fuel I spent a good 5 minutes negotiating with the old woman who ran the petrol station as she was convinced that the car should take diesel and she had to get a man from a nearby shop to confirm that I wanted petrol before she was prepared to dispense it. I presume that she has had a bad experience with furriners before.
After surviving the road through the hills we joined the motorway and once again marvelled at the quality of motorway system given the state of the Greek economy and the standard of Greek roads in general. As the centre of the Peloponnese is high and mountainous the motorway runs through several tunnels and over major bridges maintaining an alignment easily suitable for 130kph travel. If only NZ could do the same!
The moutains either side of us were steep barren rock sparsely covered with occasional low growth with the ares between being flat and cultivated, but still very dry. On the coast near Kalamata we crossed 2 small rivers, both looking like a string of stagnant pools and after that we did not see another watercourse with water. While not as arid as Israel this is a dry unforgiving country to live in. Having said that we have not seen any water restrictions any where we have been, but I don't know whether the water is all from underground sources or like Israel they use large scale desalinisation plants.
Arriving at Lechaio Beach we were greeted like long lost friends and tole that we had been missed for the 6 days we had been away. I know its just "hospitality speak", but its nice to be recognised. In our feedback for the accommodation when we left I had noted the lack of a hot water jug in the unit, even though there was a filter coffee machine. Anyway soon after we settled in a staff member came over with a jug for us - they actually take note of what people say!
We have spent the next 2 days lazing around the beach and pool in very pleasant temperatures around 35C. Tomorrow we fly to Samos to spend 2 weeks with our English friends Sue and Steve Baker.
Saturday 2 July 2016
More of the same
Since I last wrote we have mainly hung around our little cottage with a couple of excursions. On Thursday we drove down to Methoni to see if we could find any remnants of the wreck of the Sebastiano Veniero, also known as the Jansen or Jason, on which Gillian's father was on when it was torpedoed and run aground in 1941. We have seen a photo taken of the ship close inshore beside the Venetian castle at Methoni and had been told there were some rusted metal bits still visible, but we fialed to see them. However we now have an image of the site and can imagine what the scene was like back then trying to get the survivors to shore in atrocious weather conditions.
The castle itself is immense and still has very impressive defensive walls standing facing the town and along the top of the cliff where the ship was wrecked. In the middle of the old town area is a church which appears very old and we wondered if this was the "hall" where the prisoners were held after the wreck, but as we recall they were held in a "hall in the town" which wouldn't fit. Unfortunately the guys in the ticket office didn't seem to know what we were talking about which is the norm in Greece - nobody cares about WWII, except in Crete, as all the stories are about the Civil War which raged immediately after.
We returned to the cottage around the south coast of the peninsular, seing a couple of OK beaches, another Ventian castle at Koroni and as usual a lot of olive trees.
Friday we spent a good part of the day on the beach below the cottage. Most of the time we were the sole inhabitants, but there were people in the house above the beach who seemed to continuously talking just the other side of the fence. The beach is a good size, about 100m long, with coase golden sand and a lot of rocks just offshore. However when we went in for a swim we found the sand sloped quite quickly to over waist deep befor the rocks began, so it was pleasant even if the water was cooler than some other beaches we hve been to - still much warmer than Onemana ever gets.
Saturday we slept in late and while we were sitting on the front porch were hailed from the road by a couple who wanted information about renting the cottage. They are archeologists who come over every year to work on the site know as the Palace of Nestor - a Mycenaean palce destroyed by fire around 1200 BC. They told us about a find last year of a shaft grave from around 1500BC which included an amazing array of grave goods. See www.griffinburial.org. They also told us that since we were last here the whole site has been given a new roof and suspended walkways. So in the afternoon We headed up to see the changes. The last time we were here you walked around the passages and rooms, but now you look down on them which does give a better picture of the scale and layout of the palace. The couple also recommended a local taverna that serves spit roast suckling pig on Saturday nights, so guess where we're going for dinner.
The castle itself is immense and still has very impressive defensive walls standing facing the town and along the top of the cliff where the ship was wrecked. In the middle of the old town area is a church which appears very old and we wondered if this was the "hall" where the prisoners were held after the wreck, but as we recall they were held in a "hall in the town" which wouldn't fit. Unfortunately the guys in the ticket office didn't seem to know what we were talking about which is the norm in Greece - nobody cares about WWII, except in Crete, as all the stories are about the Civil War which raged immediately after.
We returned to the cottage around the south coast of the peninsular, seing a couple of OK beaches, another Ventian castle at Koroni and as usual a lot of olive trees.
Friday we spent a good part of the day on the beach below the cottage. Most of the time we were the sole inhabitants, but there were people in the house above the beach who seemed to continuously talking just the other side of the fence. The beach is a good size, about 100m long, with coase golden sand and a lot of rocks just offshore. However when we went in for a swim we found the sand sloped quite quickly to over waist deep befor the rocks began, so it was pleasant even if the water was cooler than some other beaches we hve been to - still much warmer than Onemana ever gets.
Saturday we slept in late and while we were sitting on the front porch were hailed from the road by a couple who wanted information about renting the cottage. They are archeologists who come over every year to work on the site know as the Palace of Nestor - a Mycenaean palce destroyed by fire around 1200 BC. They told us about a find last year of a shaft grave from around 1500BC which included an amazing array of grave goods. See www.griffinburial.org. They also told us that since we were last here the whole site has been given a new roof and suspended walkways. So in the afternoon We headed up to see the changes. The last time we were here you walked around the passages and rooms, but now you look down on them which does give a better picture of the scale and layout of the palace. The couple also recommended a local taverna that serves spit roast suckling pig on Saturday nights, so guess where we're going for dinner.
Wednesday 29 June 2016
Very laid back
I apologise to anyone who is trying to follow our travels as I have been working on Greek time and have been remiss in my duties. I last posted on Friday and truth to tell we have done little since then.
On Saturday we drove into Corinth to try and find the market that we had been told about. After a few navigational issues we stopped and found a travel agent who gave us vague directions. Taking the 9th turn on the right we sasw a stall and turned down the next (narrow) road to find that we were in a one way street going the other way. Since there was no other traffic we did the Greek thing and continued until we found a side street, also one way going in the right direction.. We got some of the way down and attempted to park on the kerb, but a girl indicated she was leaving and we could have her park. That was good, but her car was a lot smaller than ours and we squeezed ourt way in. This was not a market as we have seen in France or Greece before. It was squeezed along a narrow residential street with the stalls taking most of the soace and no room to move between them. We did not look at the vegetable stalls and the areas we saw were mainly clothing and knick-knacks such as kichen fittings, watches and cheap jewelry. After half an hour of pushing our way through the crush we ahd enough and went back to the car. Where to go? We had seen one end of the Corinth Canal so decided to see the other and headed in that direction. We stopped at the side of the canal near an ancient road that the Romans used to haul their ships over the isthmus on carriages. The Romans started to dig the canal, but it had to wait for the invention of the stem shovel to become reality. Now it is too small for modern freighters, but is used for small craft and small cruise ships. I was intrgued to see how the bridges at each end worked as they did not seem to be the usual lift or swing type that I have seen, so I walked over the nearby bridge to find that the central span is actully dropped into the canal allowing boats to pass over it - I would never have thought of it.
As we have been driving around this area we have noticed the narrow gauge railways that were active when we were last here are now unused with dere,ict rolling stock sitting in the stations. Iassume this is part of the Greek austerity measures, but it is sad to see a complete network sitting idle.
We decided to continue north and drove out onto the peninsular we had been looking out to from our accommodation. After a drive along a surprisingly wide and modern road we found a beach on a salt water lake. After lunch at a beach taverna that is so unmemorable that I can't remember what we had, we swam and lazed on the beach for a while before heading back to Lecaio Beach.
Sunday and Monday we hung around the accommodation and swam in the sea and pool.
Tuesday we had to move on reluctantly. So reluctantly that we booked another 3 days when we returned from the south and cancelled our booking in Athens. The fact that we also saved some costs has nothing to do with it :-)
We found that the new motorway now extends nearly to the south coast and it feels strange to be travelling though Greece an a superb modern road at 130kph - so different to struggling down the usal national roads ready to jamb on the brakes at every corner if faced with a bus or truck taking up most of our side of the road. However once off the motor way we were back in familiar territory and found the drivers in the south a bit more "assertive" than we had met further north, particulaly if they are dring Mercs or Beemers which a lot of them seem to do.
We found our accommodation here near Pylos after Gillian had several nervous attacks over avoiding oncoming traffic on the narrow country road by pushing into the olive trees or balancing the near side tyres half on the asphalt with the rest hanging out over a drop. The cottage is clean, tidy and well equipped and stuck in the middle of nowhere.. We were met by Helen who has more German than English, but I think we understaood some of what she tod us. We are surrounded by olive trees and set back from a remote country road looking out over the Mediterranean. After settling in headed back to Gialova, a small town we had stayed at in 2005 - what a surprise - it has now gone upmarket and is a tourist trap. Anyway we found somewhere to buy basic supplies and had dinner at Hotel Zoe where we had stayed previously. The restaurant is set at the top of the beach under a canopy of trees and to Gillian's delight was able to offer moussaka which she has not found on the menu anywhere before now. An what moussaka - Gillian is still drooling and demanding to go back before we leave.
Today we drove into Pylos tp find a supermarket (more of a mini-mart)to gather supplies and managed to completely lose ourselves in the impossible maze that is so typical of Greekl villages. Once back we headed for the local "good" beach which is a lovely arc of sand with fairly shallow water. The beach is popular and looks great, but there is a banm of seweed on one side with fragments floating ove an area of the bay which is sticky and even after a quick shower we found fragments still attached.
It's 10:00pm and time for bed after watching coverage of the Istanbul bombing - sobering to think we were in that terminal a week ago, but the probability of being anywhere at prcisely the wrong time is incredibly low.
On Saturday we drove into Corinth to try and find the market that we had been told about. After a few navigational issues we stopped and found a travel agent who gave us vague directions. Taking the 9th turn on the right we sasw a stall and turned down the next (narrow) road to find that we were in a one way street going the other way. Since there was no other traffic we did the Greek thing and continued until we found a side street, also one way going in the right direction.. We got some of the way down and attempted to park on the kerb, but a girl indicated she was leaving and we could have her park. That was good, but her car was a lot smaller than ours and we squeezed ourt way in. This was not a market as we have seen in France or Greece before. It was squeezed along a narrow residential street with the stalls taking most of the soace and no room to move between them. We did not look at the vegetable stalls and the areas we saw were mainly clothing and knick-knacks such as kichen fittings, watches and cheap jewelry. After half an hour of pushing our way through the crush we ahd enough and went back to the car. Where to go? We had seen one end of the Corinth Canal so decided to see the other and headed in that direction. We stopped at the side of the canal near an ancient road that the Romans used to haul their ships over the isthmus on carriages. The Romans started to dig the canal, but it had to wait for the invention of the stem shovel to become reality. Now it is too small for modern freighters, but is used for small craft and small cruise ships. I was intrgued to see how the bridges at each end worked as they did not seem to be the usual lift or swing type that I have seen, so I walked over the nearby bridge to find that the central span is actully dropped into the canal allowing boats to pass over it - I would never have thought of it.
As we have been driving around this area we have noticed the narrow gauge railways that were active when we were last here are now unused with dere,ict rolling stock sitting in the stations. Iassume this is part of the Greek austerity measures, but it is sad to see a complete network sitting idle.
We decided to continue north and drove out onto the peninsular we had been looking out to from our accommodation. After a drive along a surprisingly wide and modern road we found a beach on a salt water lake. After lunch at a beach taverna that is so unmemorable that I can't remember what we had, we swam and lazed on the beach for a while before heading back to Lecaio Beach.
Sunday and Monday we hung around the accommodation and swam in the sea and pool.
Tuesday we had to move on reluctantly. So reluctantly that we booked another 3 days when we returned from the south and cancelled our booking in Athens. The fact that we also saved some costs has nothing to do with it :-)
We found that the new motorway now extends nearly to the south coast and it feels strange to be travelling though Greece an a superb modern road at 130kph - so different to struggling down the usal national roads ready to jamb on the brakes at every corner if faced with a bus or truck taking up most of our side of the road. However once off the motor way we were back in familiar territory and found the drivers in the south a bit more "assertive" than we had met further north, particulaly if they are dring Mercs or Beemers which a lot of them seem to do.
We found our accommodation here near Pylos after Gillian had several nervous attacks over avoiding oncoming traffic on the narrow country road by pushing into the olive trees or balancing the near side tyres half on the asphalt with the rest hanging out over a drop. The cottage is clean, tidy and well equipped and stuck in the middle of nowhere.. We were met by Helen who has more German than English, but I think we understaood some of what she tod us. We are surrounded by olive trees and set back from a remote country road looking out over the Mediterranean. After settling in headed back to Gialova, a small town we had stayed at in 2005 - what a surprise - it has now gone upmarket and is a tourist trap. Anyway we found somewhere to buy basic supplies and had dinner at Hotel Zoe where we had stayed previously. The restaurant is set at the top of the beach under a canopy of trees and to Gillian's delight was able to offer moussaka which she has not found on the menu anywhere before now. An what moussaka - Gillian is still drooling and demanding to go back before we leave.
Today we drove into Pylos tp find a supermarket (more of a mini-mart)to gather supplies and managed to completely lose ourselves in the impossible maze that is so typical of Greekl villages. Once back we headed for the local "good" beach which is a lovely arc of sand with fairly shallow water. The beach is popular and looks great, but there is a banm of seweed on one side with fragments floating ove an area of the bay which is sticky and even after a quick shower we found fragments still attached.
It's 10:00pm and time for bed after watching coverage of the Istanbul bombing - sobering to think we were in that terminal a week ago, but the probability of being anywhere at prcisely the wrong time is incredibly low.
Friday 24 June 2016
Relaxing in Greece
Friday 24 June. It has been nice to spend the last days lazing around in our apartment. Looking out to the north from our shaded and sheltered balcony over the pool to the sea and barren hills beyond with a complete lack of imperative things we have to do is an excellent way to relax.
Since we got here (Lechaio Beach if you're interested) life has slowed down. The weather has been warm, but with a persistant nrtherly wing that has made the beach swimming a little less comfortable. The beach is not up to NZstandards, but it is wonderful to wade out into water that is really luke warm and not have to leave because you are getting cold. The pool is a good size and again warm enough that you can hang around in the water for as londg as you want, especially as it is beautifully maintained by someone else.
On Tuesday & Wednesday we hung around the apartment. Thursay was a trip south to visit Ancient Epidaurus, a site that has been occpied from at least Mycinean times through to Roman. There is a large theatre that is still used for performances and has excellent accoustices, this being demonstrated by the guide of a tour party by clapping her hands all over the orchestra area with clear echos heard from where we were standing outside the theatre itself. The rest of the ruins indicate a wealthy and important centre, particularly for health and medical treatment, and there is a society dedicated to restoring parts of the ruins to their former glory. The town is set in a green valley with barren hills around. The restored parts of the ruins certainly give scale to the buildings and give an impression of how impressive they were when newly built. Like many settlements around here the town was sacked and looted more than once and was finally deserted after major earthquake damage.. Anyway after we had visited the theatre and the centre of the old town we were hot and decided to head for teh nearest beach at Palaia Epidavros.. The Greeks cannot keep the spelling of place names consistent, even in Greek, so you need to sound out place names phonetically to make sure you're heading in the right direction. Anyway we we found the town and saw a sign a a beach pointing down a barrow alleyway. With some doubt we manoeuved the car into it and headed round blind right angle corners and dodged the rubbish bins to suddenly arrive at the sea with the only way to go being a hard left hand turn onto an apparently pedestrian promenade. However there was a sign af a car at the other end so with much trepidation we rumbled over the beautiful paving to find a dusty unpaved parking area and small beach. Despite the perfect weather there were only half a dozen people on the beach so we grabbed a piec of shade under a permanent straw sunshade and made ourselves comfortable. The beach was mainly small shingle but once we were in the water we found a band of low weed and a silty bottom. However the water quickly got to a good depth and the temperature was great. We spent the rest of the afternoon here.
Unless you have visited Greece it is hard to comprehend what the roads here are like. In theory most allow 2 vehicles to pass, but between dodging potholes, pedestrians, parked cars and vegetation growing over the road it is difficult to stay on your side of the road. Mostly the pavement is tarseal with many patches with no pedestrian allowance. Corners are often blind and offer no extra width for large vehicles to turn. Even roads to major tourist sites though the local village can be single lane through the town centre and shared with pedestrians. There is a reason that large cars here are not common.
Today we visited the site of Ancient Corinth which again has been an important settlement from 3000BC through to Roman and Bysantiun times. The excavations seem to have focused on the commercial area and expose the Roman equivalent of a major shopping mall with 5 rows of shops around the centrl area and a couple of temples. There is a great view over the area down to the sea and the town is overlooked by the massive and shear Akro Corinth hill that lowers over the area and is topped by Roman, Bysantine and Ottpman fortifications.
Anyway, tonight we are eating in, so I need to start on dinner.
Tuesday 21 June 2016
Back in Greece
Monday 20 June
At 2:00am I received a text telling us that our flight was delayed by an hour. Unfortunately we had a pre-arranged transfer booked so at 3:00am we were on the way to Tel Aviv airport. In a way it was to our advantage as it took us an hour to get through security before we could get to passport control.
We asked at the checkin for a wheelchair for Gillian on arrival at Athens on the advice of our tour tour guide. While it saved Gillian's knees and chest and sped us through immigration and customs, we had a long wait for our luggage. Anway it arrived at last and we grabbed our rental car and headed for Corinth.The motorway tunnels we had seen in construction in 2005, the last time we had been here, are now complete and the toll route is a model of a modern 6 lane motorway. However, when we left the motorway the roads looked so familiar with dusty roads that narrow unexpectly, hidden corners, no footpaths and piles of rubbish spilling onto them. The road to our accommodation had cars parked both sides and with heavy traffic in the area due to a public holiday being forced to dodge into any available space and push into vegetation to avoid oncoming traffic my concentration was on the road so we drove past the accommodation without seeing it. Turning round we corrected this and arrived to find an oasis in a crazy scene. The Enalio Suites more than matched its reputation with a warm welcome and upgraded us from a lovely studio unit to a 2 level suite. The units are built in warm stone and the top rooms look out over the pool to the Gulf of Corinth. The place is spotless, the pool is just great and the outdoor dining area serves a superb breakfast. There seem to be at least 4 staff on duty at all times, which is surprising for a facility with only 14 rooms, but we're not complaining.
The area here at Lechaio Beach is not a touristy area, rather a holiday area for the Athenians with a mixture of old scruffy flat roof baches, empty overgrown sections, ornate 2 storey nouses and small apartment blocks. Once the holiday weekend was over the crowd thinned and most houses are shut up and the beach is almost deserted. While the beach does not measure up to Onemana, it is pleasant enough with a mixture of sand and shingle and warm water. In short it has a very comfortable feel for us and we are relaxed here.
At 2:00am I received a text telling us that our flight was delayed by an hour. Unfortunately we had a pre-arranged transfer booked so at 3:00am we were on the way to Tel Aviv airport. In a way it was to our advantage as it took us an hour to get through security before we could get to passport control.
We asked at the checkin for a wheelchair for Gillian on arrival at Athens on the advice of our tour tour guide. While it saved Gillian's knees and chest and sped us through immigration and customs, we had a long wait for our luggage. Anway it arrived at last and we grabbed our rental car and headed for Corinth.The motorway tunnels we had seen in construction in 2005, the last time we had been here, are now complete and the toll route is a model of a modern 6 lane motorway. However, when we left the motorway the roads looked so familiar with dusty roads that narrow unexpectly, hidden corners, no footpaths and piles of rubbish spilling onto them. The road to our accommodation had cars parked both sides and with heavy traffic in the area due to a public holiday being forced to dodge into any available space and push into vegetation to avoid oncoming traffic my concentration was on the road so we drove past the accommodation without seeing it. Turning round we corrected this and arrived to find an oasis in a crazy scene. The Enalio Suites more than matched its reputation with a warm welcome and upgraded us from a lovely studio unit to a 2 level suite. The units are built in warm stone and the top rooms look out over the pool to the Gulf of Corinth. The place is spotless, the pool is just great and the outdoor dining area serves a superb breakfast. There seem to be at least 4 staff on duty at all times, which is surprising for a facility with only 14 rooms, but we're not complaining.
The area here at Lechaio Beach is not a touristy area, rather a holiday area for the Athenians with a mixture of old scruffy flat roof baches, empty overgrown sections, ornate 2 storey nouses and small apartment blocks. Once the holiday weekend was over the crowd thinned and most houses are shut up and the beach is almost deserted. While the beach does not measure up to Onemana, it is pleasant enough with a mixture of sand and shingle and warm water. In short it has a very comfortable feel for us and we are relaxed here.
Free Again
Today (Sunday 19 June) we have finished the tour and can run to our own timetable, or should that be crawl - we slept in and decided to do only one thing. After a leisurely breakfast we caught a taxi to the Jaffa Gate in the old town. We had been told to allow 50 dhekels but Inoted that the meter said 41 shekels. More on this later.
Gillian had had to miss the old city while on the tour as she would not have been able to keep up with the group without severe stress to her chesy. Now we could saunter down to overlook the Wailing Wall at an easy pace. Unfortunately we had forgotten the dress code for religious sites here and I was in shorts and GHillian had bare shoulders so we did not go right up to the wall. This time there were almost no orthodox Jews by the wall, but there were a number of casually dressed people leaning with their hands aginst the wall.
Moving on we found the location of the citadel where Pilate condemned Jesuss which is station 1 of the cross. Following the Via Doloroso to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre we were again prevented from entering due to our dress or lack of it. Again I was impressed by gthe low key way the stations of the cross are marked with metal discs mounted high on the wall. Given that the route is a drawcard for thousands of pilgrims a year and the najoroty of the shops on the route are selling religious memorabilia I expected the route to be overblown.
After approaching a few taxis and being quoted inflated costs to get back to our hotel we grabbed one who was dropping off a fare and got back to the hotel for the standard 50 shekels. The first drivers wanted 70, dropping to 60 when we walked away showing that bargaining and fleecing are alive and well.
After a light lunch we spent the afternoon lazing in and around the swimming pool.
Anyway our transfer picks us up at 3:00am tomorrow so an early night.
Gillian had had to miss the old city while on the tour as she would not have been able to keep up with the group without severe stress to her chesy. Now we could saunter down to overlook the Wailing Wall at an easy pace. Unfortunately we had forgotten the dress code for religious sites here and I was in shorts and GHillian had bare shoulders so we did not go right up to the wall. This time there were almost no orthodox Jews by the wall, but there were a number of casually dressed people leaning with their hands aginst the wall.
Moving on we found the location of the citadel where Pilate condemned Jesuss which is station 1 of the cross. Following the Via Doloroso to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre we were again prevented from entering due to our dress or lack of it. Again I was impressed by gthe low key way the stations of the cross are marked with metal discs mounted high on the wall. Given that the route is a drawcard for thousands of pilgrims a year and the najoroty of the shops on the route are selling religious memorabilia I expected the route to be overblown.
After approaching a few taxis and being quoted inflated costs to get back to our hotel we grabbed one who was dropping off a fare and got back to the hotel for the standard 50 shekels. The first drivers wanted 70, dropping to 60 when we walked away showing that bargaining and fleecing are alive and well.
After a light lunch we spent the afternoon lazing in and around the swimming pool.
Anyway our transfer picks us up at 3:00am tomorrow so an early night.
Sunday 19 June 2016
The Holocaust Museum
I have realised that I have left out a day in this epistle, Friday 17 June.
We started with a visit to the Garden Tomb, an alternative site for the crucifixion abnd burial of Jesus. In the 19th cenytury an Engalish general decided the traditional site at the Church of the Selpulchre did not fit the gospels, mainly as he believed it had been inside the city walls at the time which would not have been acceptable. He found a site which he (and many others) thought seemed to fit alongside the road to Damascus just outside the line of the walls. He and others raised money to buy the land which has evidence of having been a vineyard in the time of Christ and creating an "English" garden around a rock with shadows that in some lights look like a skull and a tomb carved in the rockface. It is impossible to prove the location is correct, but it is a pleasant contrast to the arid streets around Jerusalem.
We were told that it is mandated the all new building in Jerusalem must be clad in stone leading to a pleasant harmony of colour looking over the city.
Next we headed over to the museum holding the Dead Sea scrolls. First stop here was to view a immense model of the entire city at the time of Herod based on excavations and contemporary reports. Where possible this is exact stone by stone. The main feature is the temple area which was the largest structure by a huge amount.. Everything else is diminhed in comparison. The model was created as a memorial for a young man killed in one of Israels conflicts after his parents heard about a similar model in Holland. The model is located next to a sort of onion shaped dome which is the repository for the Dead Sea scrolls.
We then went to the Holocaust Museum, an impressive modern complex that really brings the horrors of that time into focus. We started in the Childrens Memorial where you walk through a dark chamber with 4 small lights reflected in mirrors so that you are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of lights suspended in the air while the names, ages and countries of the 1.5 million children who died are read out in 3 languages.
Entering the museum itself we found a long triangular corriedor sloping upwards interrupted by barriers with video screens. At each point you are diverted into side chambers where the history of the second world war, naziism and the trestment of the Jews and other persecuted populations are presented in photos, recounts and videos. There was too much too take in in the hour we had available, but the message was unavoidable. Very sobering.
We started with a visit to the Garden Tomb, an alternative site for the crucifixion abnd burial of Jesus. In the 19th cenytury an Engalish general decided the traditional site at the Church of the Selpulchre did not fit the gospels, mainly as he believed it had been inside the city walls at the time which would not have been acceptable. He found a site which he (and many others) thought seemed to fit alongside the road to Damascus just outside the line of the walls. He and others raised money to buy the land which has evidence of having been a vineyard in the time of Christ and creating an "English" garden around a rock with shadows that in some lights look like a skull and a tomb carved in the rockface. It is impossible to prove the location is correct, but it is a pleasant contrast to the arid streets around Jerusalem.
We were told that it is mandated the all new building in Jerusalem must be clad in stone leading to a pleasant harmony of colour looking over the city.
Next we headed over to the museum holding the Dead Sea scrolls. First stop here was to view a immense model of the entire city at the time of Herod based on excavations and contemporary reports. Where possible this is exact stone by stone. The main feature is the temple area which was the largest structure by a huge amount.. Everything else is diminhed in comparison. The model was created as a memorial for a young man killed in one of Israels conflicts after his parents heard about a similar model in Holland. The model is located next to a sort of onion shaped dome which is the repository for the Dead Sea scrolls.
We then went to the Holocaust Museum, an impressive modern complex that really brings the horrors of that time into focus. We started in the Childrens Memorial where you walk through a dark chamber with 4 small lights reflected in mirrors so that you are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of lights suspended in the air while the names, ages and countries of the 1.5 million children who died are read out in 3 languages.
Entering the museum itself we found a long triangular corriedor sloping upwards interrupted by barriers with video screens. At each point you are diverted into side chambers where the history of the second world war, naziism and the trestment of the Jews and other persecuted populations are presented in photos, recounts and videos. There was too much too take in in the hour we had available, but the message was unavoidable. Very sobering.
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