Day 36 - Amsterdam
Our flight left a little late at 7:40am, so we got in at 9:30. A little time to wander the mall at Shiphol airport. After the mall/airport, we went to weterringstraat, a neighborhood north of the harbor. It was everything that I expected of Amsterdam, the canals, the buildings, the people on bikes and the smell that is synonymous with Amsterdam. We passed Cafes and "coffeeshops" daring each other to go in.
We went to our room, checked in, had a nap then went out for Thai food at Bird, the best Thai restaurant in Amsterdam. Located right in the edge of the redlight district, has the sights right in front of you while you eat. After Bird, we walked around the town a little more, then headed off back to the room about 12am.
Day 37 -
We slept in til 11, then went to Anne Frank house. It took us 2 hours waiting in line before we got into the building. Reading excerpts from her diary as we looked into restored rooms, made you both laugh and cry. The family plus 4 others lived in that 500 sq ft home for 3 years, until someone betrayed them and they were shipped to Auschwitz. Only the father lived. With the Anne Frank house done, we decided to do a canal cruise. In an hour we drank back some Heinekens and meandered the canals of Amsterdam, completely encircling the town. We learned that the houses are so small that they have to move everything into the windows. Every place has a bell tower where a pulley is connected and the furniture is hauled up. We learned a lot about the town, by just cruising and listening to the captain's stories. Some warehouses penetrate up to 30 metres below the street, they close off the slough to the canals nightly to clean the waters and Amsterdam has a housing shortage, that's why the have all the houseboats.
Fun fact: the Dutch eat everything with a knife and fork, even hamburgers!
The canal cruise and Heinekens whetted the palate for more booze and food. So, off to Burger Meester we went!! 100% Organic burgers freshly made and brought out to you, eventhough the shake was great, it cost almost as much as a burger did. We scarfed down our burgers and bought some beer and wine to do some pre drinking before we explored the red light district. We drank some liquid courage and headed off. Holy crap, the best window shopping in the world! We spent a few hours poppin in and out of a few bars and then it was closing time! They close up the red light district at 1am, and the funniest thing is seeing the girls, who were advertising their assets moments before, leaving "work" in their street clothes. It was time for more food!! A little sauced by this point, we bought some shoarma and trudged home.
Day 38
Last day of vacation. :(
We woke up and went out for coffee, then walked to the Van Goh museum. It contains over 200 original paintings, 300 sketches and 700 letters of correspondence between himself and his brother. The highlight was the "Potato Eaters", his only attempt at painting a masterpiece. Some surprises included a few Gaugan pieces and a few Monet pieces. We walked around, and just took in the markets, squares and shops. We went out for coffee to refuel and ate some pannenkoeks then continued on back to the apartment. We had to eat our last meal at a Surinamese restaurant called Kam Yin and we walked the redlight district for the last time...on this trip.
I just like to say that out of all of our travels (Mexico, USA, Belize, Turkey, Greece, Czech Republic, Amsterdam was the only place where we didn't feel like dumb tourists. Everyone was super friendly, as long as you were friendly and no one gave a crap what you looked like, who you were etc. Everyone in Amsterdam is concerned with their own lives, not yours. Oh yeah, and everyone in Amsterdam is beautiful and fit, you'd have to be to ride your bike everywhere!!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Days 32, 33, 34, 35 Prague
Day 32 - Prague
We made it to Prague around 6am the plane stunk and the seats sucked but I think I'm just sick of travel days. When we got into Prague we hit up a cab and drove into the city. It was beautiful!!! As it dropped us off at our apartment, we decided that we should take the opportunity to explore the old town in peace and quiet. Only the joggers were out at this time!! We crossed Charles Bridge into the lesser town and explored. Charles Bridge is fantastic when there is no one around!! You actually have room to explore, take photos and soak it all in. After wandering, we had breakfast and checked in to the apartment. After this one, there is no need to ever purchase a hotel room ever again! The price and the room we have to move around in was incomparable. Big bathroom, kitchen, living room and a huge queen size bedroom with 500 year old frescoes above us. We napped and after we went to see the old town square, passing by some great buildings as we did so. The clock tower was one of them. So fantastic, every hour on the hour, little religious figures march through the peepholes at the front while a bugler sounds off some tunes.
We hit up a shopping mall after, bought some jeans (not used to 19 degrees after all the plus 30 days) at hit up U Vejvodu, a huge beerhall serving cheap beer and meat dishes. We started with some half litre pints of pilsner (Czech pilsner), sausages, and finished with a fully baked pork knuckle. We drank and ate til our bellies were expanded and headed back to the apartment. At this time, we had been up for 36 straight hours thanks to our 4am flight.
Day 33
Still in Prague we started our morning with homemade coffee, tea, and a full English breakfast. We then walked back to Old Town Square, past the clock tower and visited the Salvador Dali exhibit. It contained several pieces of originals including a series of prints that left your mouth agape. He was a sick genius. Strange sexual, violent, and religious art expanding through all the mediums like sketches, oil painting, sculptures and silkscreens decorated the hall. One of the highlights was a woven tapestry depicting a civil war battle. After we avoided a downpour by visiting a sex museum which housed the first 2 movies ever commissioned as well as old toys and bondage gear. Then we hit up U Vejvodu for more pints.
We made it to St. Georges basilica by Prague castle and watched a 6 piece orchestra perform 60 minutes of pacheabel, Mozart and Vivaldi. It was my first time exposed to classical music and I couldn't help but to love the fact that here I was, in Prague, at a church built in 950 listening to Mozart!! It was great! After it was time for more beer and meat, we walked in search of the fabled u Fleku, but found it closed for renovations :( . Rolling with the punches, we found yet another famous beer hall called U Medvidku, where we ate traditional beef/pork dishes and washed it down with budvu budweiser. The original budweiser. We stumbled home, full of meat, beer and scenery.
Day 34 - Prague Castle
We walked up the stairs to the Castle grounds. As you walk up these stairs, you can look over the city, it's amazing. Baroque churches dot the cityline, punctuated by gothic towers. We reached the top and were spat out into the square. The rich families that weren't royalty, built their own palaces here, the Schwarzenburg Palace is a beautiful example of renaissance architecture. But as you see the towering minarets if St. Vitus Cathedral, you are quickly hypnotized to go into it's direction being swallowed by it's doors. Built over a period of 600 years it has many different styles of design but the gothic overpowers the baroque and renaissance styles. With gargoyles and saints peering down at you as you enter, you can't help but to feel the history as you enter. Words cannot describe the interior of the cathedral. Frescoes, stained glass windows, sculptures and paintings fill the room, and everywhere you look there is something new to take in.
After the church we spent time in the picture gallery which houses over 300 original canvas paintings spanning the dark ages and the renaissance. In the basement of the actual palace you can learn the history of the castle, it's inhabitants and even feast your eyes on crown jewels, crystal and old manuscripts. Walk the golden lane and pop your head into the various shops and even see where Kafka spent his time penning the "metamorphosis". We went into the basement of St. Georges Basilica and looked at the crypts and tombs. The powder tower is a watch tower that was added onto later and now holds the various years if weaponry and attire worn by the Czech Army. We spent a total of 5 hours exploring the grounds and then it was time for a beer. We bought a beer and drank it on our way to the Jewish quarter. We passed synagogues and the Jewish cemetery, all the while looking at the crystals offered in the shops aligned on the street.
All this sightseeing built up a huge appetite for more beer and meats!! Back to U Vejvodu we go to drink a few pints and I ate a huge rack of ribs. My favorite place by far in Prague is U Vejvodu. We bought some more absinthe and went back to the apartment to end the night. To drink real absinthe, you place a spoon over a glass with a sugar cube upon it, pour the absinthe over it slowly until it's soaked. When the cube has finished dripping the excess off, you light it and burn it until the cube is caramelized and has started to drip into the glass. When done, pour fresh water in drops over the cube until it mostly has dissolved into the glass below, drop the cube, stir and enjoy! Within a minute, you will feel a heightened sense of euphoria which develops into a mild drunk. The green fairy!!
35 - Prague
The only thing we really wanted to do today, was to go see the dancing house. That's exactly what we did. Then it rained, a lot! So we had to take refuge and what better place to take refuge than in another beer hall. We had a few pilsners, soups and of course, sausages!! After, we decided to go shopping, but the weird thing about Prague is the money. 300 Czech Koruna or crowns is about $17, but the 300 amount I just can't get over, I don't feel like I'm getting a deal. We picked up a few things, trinkets mostly but I don't think Prague has much to offer for men's shopping, not stuff I like anyways, although I did pick up a pair of jeans. After we were bored of shopping, we got soaked in the rain went home and dried off for our last dinner in Prague. We decided on a Cafe right across the street from us called Cafe Atmosphere. It was great! Hoegaarden on tap for 38 Kc ($2.20) and pork ribs for 120 Kc ($6.50). We enjoyed our food and headed home to pack up for our trip to Amsterdam at 7am.
We made it to Prague around 6am the plane stunk and the seats sucked but I think I'm just sick of travel days. When we got into Prague we hit up a cab and drove into the city. It was beautiful!!! As it dropped us off at our apartment, we decided that we should take the opportunity to explore the old town in peace and quiet. Only the joggers were out at this time!! We crossed Charles Bridge into the lesser town and explored. Charles Bridge is fantastic when there is no one around!! You actually have room to explore, take photos and soak it all in. After wandering, we had breakfast and checked in to the apartment. After this one, there is no need to ever purchase a hotel room ever again! The price and the room we have to move around in was incomparable. Big bathroom, kitchen, living room and a huge queen size bedroom with 500 year old frescoes above us. We napped and after we went to see the old town square, passing by some great buildings as we did so. The clock tower was one of them. So fantastic, every hour on the hour, little religious figures march through the peepholes at the front while a bugler sounds off some tunes.
We hit up a shopping mall after, bought some jeans (not used to 19 degrees after all the plus 30 days) at hit up U Vejvodu, a huge beerhall serving cheap beer and meat dishes. We started with some half litre pints of pilsner (Czech pilsner), sausages, and finished with a fully baked pork knuckle. We drank and ate til our bellies were expanded and headed back to the apartment. At this time, we had been up for 36 straight hours thanks to our 4am flight.
Day 33
Still in Prague we started our morning with homemade coffee, tea, and a full English breakfast. We then walked back to Old Town Square, past the clock tower and visited the Salvador Dali exhibit. It contained several pieces of originals including a series of prints that left your mouth agape. He was a sick genius. Strange sexual, violent, and religious art expanding through all the mediums like sketches, oil painting, sculptures and silkscreens decorated the hall. One of the highlights was a woven tapestry depicting a civil war battle. After we avoided a downpour by visiting a sex museum which housed the first 2 movies ever commissioned as well as old toys and bondage gear. Then we hit up U Vejvodu for more pints.
We made it to St. Georges basilica by Prague castle and watched a 6 piece orchestra perform 60 minutes of pacheabel, Mozart and Vivaldi. It was my first time exposed to classical music and I couldn't help but to love the fact that here I was, in Prague, at a church built in 950 listening to Mozart!! It was great! After it was time for more beer and meat, we walked in search of the fabled u Fleku, but found it closed for renovations :( . Rolling with the punches, we found yet another famous beer hall called U Medvidku, where we ate traditional beef/pork dishes and washed it down with budvu budweiser. The original budweiser. We stumbled home, full of meat, beer and scenery.
Day 34 - Prague Castle
We walked up the stairs to the Castle grounds. As you walk up these stairs, you can look over the city, it's amazing. Baroque churches dot the cityline, punctuated by gothic towers. We reached the top and were spat out into the square. The rich families that weren't royalty, built their own palaces here, the Schwarzenburg Palace is a beautiful example of renaissance architecture. But as you see the towering minarets if St. Vitus Cathedral, you are quickly hypnotized to go into it's direction being swallowed by it's doors. Built over a period of 600 years it has many different styles of design but the gothic overpowers the baroque and renaissance styles. With gargoyles and saints peering down at you as you enter, you can't help but to feel the history as you enter. Words cannot describe the interior of the cathedral. Frescoes, stained glass windows, sculptures and paintings fill the room, and everywhere you look there is something new to take in.
After the church we spent time in the picture gallery which houses over 300 original canvas paintings spanning the dark ages and the renaissance. In the basement of the actual palace you can learn the history of the castle, it's inhabitants and even feast your eyes on crown jewels, crystal and old manuscripts. Walk the golden lane and pop your head into the various shops and even see where Kafka spent his time penning the "metamorphosis". We went into the basement of St. Georges Basilica and looked at the crypts and tombs. The powder tower is a watch tower that was added onto later and now holds the various years if weaponry and attire worn by the Czech Army. We spent a total of 5 hours exploring the grounds and then it was time for a beer. We bought a beer and drank it on our way to the Jewish quarter. We passed synagogues and the Jewish cemetery, all the while looking at the crystals offered in the shops aligned on the street.
All this sightseeing built up a huge appetite for more beer and meats!! Back to U Vejvodu we go to drink a few pints and I ate a huge rack of ribs. My favorite place by far in Prague is U Vejvodu. We bought some more absinthe and went back to the apartment to end the night. To drink real absinthe, you place a spoon over a glass with a sugar cube upon it, pour the absinthe over it slowly until it's soaked. When the cube has finished dripping the excess off, you light it and burn it until the cube is caramelized and has started to drip into the glass. When done, pour fresh water in drops over the cube until it mostly has dissolved into the glass below, drop the cube, stir and enjoy! Within a minute, you will feel a heightened sense of euphoria which develops into a mild drunk. The green fairy!!
35 - Prague
The only thing we really wanted to do today, was to go see the dancing house. That's exactly what we did. Then it rained, a lot! So we had to take refuge and what better place to take refuge than in another beer hall. We had a few pilsners, soups and of course, sausages!! After, we decided to go shopping, but the weird thing about Prague is the money. 300 Czech Koruna or crowns is about $17, but the 300 amount I just can't get over, I don't feel like I'm getting a deal. We picked up a few things, trinkets mostly but I don't think Prague has much to offer for men's shopping, not stuff I like anyways, although I did pick up a pair of jeans. After we were bored of shopping, we got soaked in the rain went home and dried off for our last dinner in Prague. We decided on a Cafe right across the street from us called Cafe Atmosphere. It was great! Hoegaarden on tap for 38 Kc ($2.20) and pork ribs for 120 Kc ($6.50). We enjoyed our food and headed home to pack up for our trip to Amsterdam at 7am.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Days 28, 29, 30 & 31
Day 28 - Travel day to Athens
Our first leg started in Naxos where our ferry was to leave at 11:20am. We arrived just on time and boarded. It was a short 40 min trip to Paros and we only had an hour to spend there. We went for coffee and dips at a seaside cafe. Paros looked quiet and peaceful, if we ever decided to come back to Greece, I think Paros would be on the list. We boarded our 2nd leg in Paros bound for Mykonos, where we had 3 hours to take in the town. Mykonos has the stigma of being the party capital of the Greek islands and because of this, we decided that a pass through was all we wanted. I think it was a bad call. It looked like a great little town but you can never tell until it gets late. We ate some Gyros at a small local shop inside the town steps away from the sea. We then boarded a taxi to the airport where we would take the 3rd leg and eventually winding up in Athens. When we arrived in Athens, we quickly snagged a cab and made our way to the Acropol. Oh oh oh, but when we got to our hotel the cabbie told us to be really careful, this was a bad part of town at night, lots of muggings, thefts, violence and robberies. Yes Omonia square at night is supposed to be a bad place. And to top it off, the Classical Acropol Hotel was CLOSED!! There we were, in the middle of the night, bags in hand, tourist clothes on our backs, stranded. We crossed the street, phoned the other Acropol, thinking we might've screwed up but nope..we were at the right place (wrong place). We asked a couple of cabbies to take us to a hotel, once they figured out what we needed, one happily took us to Novotel. We checked in, unpacked our things and headed for the bar, we needed a drink.
Day 29 - sightseeing in Athens
We woke up, ate our included breakfast (best coffee since Turkey) and headed for the Acropolis. As we twisted ourselves up and around to the top, we passed sights like the theatre of Dionysus (closed for a concert) and the odeum of Herodes. When getting to the top the first ruin to your right is the temple if Athena Nike, a beautiful building, it once housed a wooden statue of the goddess of victory. Once we passed that we got to the Parthenon! In the middle of being restored, it was the most spectacular building I've seen (except for the AyaSofia) and we spent a hour encircling it. Built as an homage to Athena, the myth goes to empress the people Athena and Poseidon engaged in competition, she grew an olive tree which provided food, oil and shade. Poseidon created a salt water spring that flowed from the earth, the people gave the victory to Athena, named the city after her and built the Parthenon to honor her. Another building on Acropolis is Propylaea, adorned with carvings and statues it completed the top of the city.
Going down from the Parthenon, you walk the Pananthaic way to the Agora passing by the cemetery and stoa of Attalus. Stoas are large roofed buildings with columns that provide shade from the heat, as well as places to do business and house sculptures. Completing our wander of the ancient city of Acropolis, we wound our way to the Temple of Hephaestus.
We walked away from the site famished and sought out lunch at a cafe below. After lunch we went in search of Hadrians Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, they are located right beside each other. The temple is huge and if you look at it from the right angle you can see the Acropolis and Hadrians arch. You can just imagine what people saw for the first time arriving to Athens thousands of years ago.
To finish our day, we marched up the hill, past parliament and found the Pananthanaikan Stadium. The only stadium completely made out of marble, dates back to the original Olympics but only a few original pieces remain. You can hike up to the top of row 21 and see a 360 degree view of Athens including the Acroplis and Lycabetta hill. Krista even ran a lap around the track!!
We returned to Novotel, locked ourselves in our room and had room service.
Day 30 - Delphi
Reluctantly we joined a tour and went to Delphi. They picked us up at 7:45 and started the journey to Delphi where our tour guide blabbed the entire two hours up to the site. When we reached the site, we ditched and wandered on our own, we passed a theatre, bath houses an agora and the remains of ancient houses. Built on the side of a hill (like all other fortified ancient cities) you could see for miles. It's said that Apollo swam to the people in the form of a dolphin, hence the name. In the middle of ancient Delphi is the temple of Apollo where the oracle of Delphi lived. The oracle spoke the words of the gods and politicians and priests translated to the seekers of information. At the top of Delphi is a huge theatre which was used as a precursor to the Olympic games. Athletes competed in the nude and it was better if you weren't well endowed, and if you notice, most statues still preserved depict this. At the bottom of Delphi is a circular temple built to Athena and a huge gymnasium. After the site, we visited the museum of Delphi which houses artifacts pulled from it. Highlights include the two brothers and some Mycenaean gold.
We returned home late after purusing a few villages and decided to dine at the top of our restaurant. The eatery had yet another 360 view of Athens but it also had a fully lit view of the Acropolis. A picture perfect end to a day.
Day 31 - the national Archeological museum of Athens.
We made it to the museum at 1pm expecting it to be open for hours but it was only open til 4!! We thought we had to be quick, afterall we spent 5 hours in Istanbul's museum. But it was spectacular. I'm sorry to say that athens' was a complete let down. It did have a lot of significant items, but after seeing Istanbul's I guess I was a little let down. Highlights included a bronze statue of Poseidon/Zeus and a marble statue of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros.
Our first leg started in Naxos where our ferry was to leave at 11:20am. We arrived just on time and boarded. It was a short 40 min trip to Paros and we only had an hour to spend there. We went for coffee and dips at a seaside cafe. Paros looked quiet and peaceful, if we ever decided to come back to Greece, I think Paros would be on the list. We boarded our 2nd leg in Paros bound for Mykonos, where we had 3 hours to take in the town. Mykonos has the stigma of being the party capital of the Greek islands and because of this, we decided that a pass through was all we wanted. I think it was a bad call. It looked like a great little town but you can never tell until it gets late. We ate some Gyros at a small local shop inside the town steps away from the sea. We then boarded a taxi to the airport where we would take the 3rd leg and eventually winding up in Athens. When we arrived in Athens, we quickly snagged a cab and made our way to the Acropol. Oh oh oh, but when we got to our hotel the cabbie told us to be really careful, this was a bad part of town at night, lots of muggings, thefts, violence and robberies. Yes Omonia square at night is supposed to be a bad place. And to top it off, the Classical Acropol Hotel was CLOSED!! There we were, in the middle of the night, bags in hand, tourist clothes on our backs, stranded. We crossed the street, phoned the other Acropol, thinking we might've screwed up but nope..we were at the right place (wrong place). We asked a couple of cabbies to take us to a hotel, once they figured out what we needed, one happily took us to Novotel. We checked in, unpacked our things and headed for the bar, we needed a drink.
Day 29 - sightseeing in Athens
We woke up, ate our included breakfast (best coffee since Turkey) and headed for the Acropolis. As we twisted ourselves up and around to the top, we passed sights like the theatre of Dionysus (closed for a concert) and the odeum of Herodes. When getting to the top the first ruin to your right is the temple if Athena Nike, a beautiful building, it once housed a wooden statue of the goddess of victory. Once we passed that we got to the Parthenon! In the middle of being restored, it was the most spectacular building I've seen (except for the AyaSofia) and we spent a hour encircling it. Built as an homage to Athena, the myth goes to empress the people Athena and Poseidon engaged in competition, she grew an olive tree which provided food, oil and shade. Poseidon created a salt water spring that flowed from the earth, the people gave the victory to Athena, named the city after her and built the Parthenon to honor her. Another building on Acropolis is Propylaea, adorned with carvings and statues it completed the top of the city.
Going down from the Parthenon, you walk the Pananthaic way to the Agora passing by the cemetery and stoa of Attalus. Stoas are large roofed buildings with columns that provide shade from the heat, as well as places to do business and house sculptures. Completing our wander of the ancient city of Acropolis, we wound our way to the Temple of Hephaestus.
We walked away from the site famished and sought out lunch at a cafe below. After lunch we went in search of Hadrians Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, they are located right beside each other. The temple is huge and if you look at it from the right angle you can see the Acropolis and Hadrians arch. You can just imagine what people saw for the first time arriving to Athens thousands of years ago.
To finish our day, we marched up the hill, past parliament and found the Pananthanaikan Stadium. The only stadium completely made out of marble, dates back to the original Olympics but only a few original pieces remain. You can hike up to the top of row 21 and see a 360 degree view of Athens including the Acroplis and Lycabetta hill. Krista even ran a lap around the track!!
We returned to Novotel, locked ourselves in our room and had room service.
Day 30 - Delphi
Reluctantly we joined a tour and went to Delphi. They picked us up at 7:45 and started the journey to Delphi where our tour guide blabbed the entire two hours up to the site. When we reached the site, we ditched and wandered on our own, we passed a theatre, bath houses an agora and the remains of ancient houses. Built on the side of a hill (like all other fortified ancient cities) you could see for miles. It's said that Apollo swam to the people in the form of a dolphin, hence the name. In the middle of ancient Delphi is the temple of Apollo where the oracle of Delphi lived. The oracle spoke the words of the gods and politicians and priests translated to the seekers of information. At the top of Delphi is a huge theatre which was used as a precursor to the Olympic games. Athletes competed in the nude and it was better if you weren't well endowed, and if you notice, most statues still preserved depict this. At the bottom of Delphi is a circular temple built to Athena and a huge gymnasium. After the site, we visited the museum of Delphi which houses artifacts pulled from it. Highlights include the two brothers and some Mycenaean gold.
We returned home late after purusing a few villages and decided to dine at the top of our restaurant. The eatery had yet another 360 view of Athens but it also had a fully lit view of the Acropolis. A picture perfect end to a day.
Day 31 - the national Archeological museum of Athens.
We made it to the museum at 1pm expecting it to be open for hours but it was only open til 4!! We thought we had to be quick, afterall we spent 5 hours in Istanbul's museum. But it was spectacular. I'm sorry to say that athens' was a complete let down. It did have a lot of significant items, but after seeing Istanbul's I guess I was a little let down. Highlights included a bronze statue of Poseidon/Zeus and a marble statue of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros.
Days 26 & 27 - Naxos
Days 26 & 27 - Naxos.
These days are so chill all we did was wander up and down St. George beach and into the town at night. We ate Greek food, drank Greek beer and wine and toasted ourselves on the beach. Our modest pansiyon called Mavromatis Studios was 200 metres from the beach and was very basic. Family owned and operated, it provided free tomatoes and that's about it, but with the beach closeby, what else do you need? Just a couple of blips: the supermarket wouldn't accept a 5 euro bill and upon checkout, the pansiyon wanted cash. Would I go back to Naxos? Maybe... But maybe not.
These days are so chill all we did was wander up and down St. George beach and into the town at night. We ate Greek food, drank Greek beer and wine and toasted ourselves on the beach. Our modest pansiyon called Mavromatis Studios was 200 metres from the beach and was very basic. Family owned and operated, it provided free tomatoes and that's about it, but with the beach closeby, what else do you need? Just a couple of blips: the supermarket wouldn't accept a 5 euro bill and upon checkout, the pansiyon wanted cash. Would I go back to Naxos? Maybe... But maybe not.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Day 25
Day 25 - Santorini to Naxos
Our ferry to Naxos departed at noon, but first we had to get down the switchbacks to the port. Hitting the Santorini bus station for the last time, we shouldered our way onto the bus, sat our butts in the seats and made the final trip. It was a lot quicker and a lot less nerve wracking going down, until we arrived at the ferry port. A thicket of tourists were pushing this way and that trying to find their boat. With no signs directing you where to go, the port police had their hands full fielding a myriad of questions from a thousand tourists in different languages. Finally, after asking 3 different officers, I found out where our departure was; gate 4. Too bad it was full. We waited for our boat to come in, watched the others disembark, then boarded. It was a pleasant ride, especially after the 2 hours of pushing, waiting and pushing some more.
We arrived at Naxos port, grabbed our luggage and a bus was waiting right there for us. Maybe this day would turn out afterall? Nope! I thought the directions to our studio were flawless: take the bus to agia Anna, pass the cinema and bam, Mavromatis studios! Not that easy. We wound up looking this way and that, never finding the cinema and rode the bus to the end of the line. Good thing was we got to your the huge stretch of white sandy beaches, but the bad thing was we had no idea where we were! We asked the bus driver who didn't speak English at all, he dropped us off 3 km from our studio. We flagged down a cab, they just started back to work, and he delivered us to our studio.
We checked in and went in search if food and drink at a local taverna. We ate greedily and I kinda calmed us down, enough to get us to a supermarket where we bought the next 3 days of food and drink. We then hit the beach and watched the beautiful sunset from St. George Beach. After we walked into town, which was bustling with people, and walked to the temple of Apollo. It was quiet and peaceful. We snapped photos and enjoyed the view of the lit up town below us for a few minutes. We picked ourselves up and walked back through the town, and walked through the old market. A labyrinth of low, narrow streets houses a bunch of storefronts then spits you back into the town square. We walked the beach all the way back to our studio where it was time for a night cap.
Our ferry to Naxos departed at noon, but first we had to get down the switchbacks to the port. Hitting the Santorini bus station for the last time, we shouldered our way onto the bus, sat our butts in the seats and made the final trip. It was a lot quicker and a lot less nerve wracking going down, until we arrived at the ferry port. A thicket of tourists were pushing this way and that trying to find their boat. With no signs directing you where to go, the port police had their hands full fielding a myriad of questions from a thousand tourists in different languages. Finally, after asking 3 different officers, I found out where our departure was; gate 4. Too bad it was full. We waited for our boat to come in, watched the others disembark, then boarded. It was a pleasant ride, especially after the 2 hours of pushing, waiting and pushing some more.
We arrived at Naxos port, grabbed our luggage and a bus was waiting right there for us. Maybe this day would turn out afterall? Nope! I thought the directions to our studio were flawless: take the bus to agia Anna, pass the cinema and bam, Mavromatis studios! Not that easy. We wound up looking this way and that, never finding the cinema and rode the bus to the end of the line. Good thing was we got to your the huge stretch of white sandy beaches, but the bad thing was we had no idea where we were! We asked the bus driver who didn't speak English at all, he dropped us off 3 km from our studio. We flagged down a cab, they just started back to work, and he delivered us to our studio.
We checked in and went in search if food and drink at a local taverna. We ate greedily and I kinda calmed us down, enough to get us to a supermarket where we bought the next 3 days of food and drink. We then hit the beach and watched the beautiful sunset from St. George Beach. After we walked into town, which was bustling with people, and walked to the temple of Apollo. It was quiet and peaceful. We snapped photos and enjoyed the view of the lit up town below us for a few minutes. We picked ourselves up and walked back through the town, and walked through the old market. A labyrinth of low, narrow streets houses a bunch of storefronts then spits you back into the town square. We walked the beach all the way back to our studio where it was time for a night cap.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Day 24 - Santorini
Day 24 - Santorini
Caldera cruise to the volcano, swimming in the hot springs and dining in Oia (ee-ah)
We got to avoid the bus this morning and instead, rode the cable car down the steep cliffs of Fira to the port. It was a quick ride and my palms only sweated a little. We had some hot bevies and waited for our boat to leave. Once we boarded we met a Californian who told us about his vacation and vice versa. He gave us tidbits of info on Prague, Amsterdam and a few places we haven't decided to visit yet. We made a quick trip to the volcano where we easily hiked the well packed trails to the top only stopping long enough to take pictures of our surroundings. As we reached the peak, we were made aware of the last time it fully erupted spewing smoke and ash over the surface. It's still active, parts were puffing smoke and you could see the sulfur leaking out between cracks. We stayed at the top long enough to take more pictures of each other and the beautiful panoramic views. Our next stop was the hot springs on the other side. On this portion of the tiny expedition, we met a young couple from Ottawa and New York who had met last year in Greece. They regaled us with tales of their trip and stories of New York. I like New Yorkers, they are a no bullshit breed that stick their middle finger up at you if you don't take them for who they are. We all chatted, our New York friends, us and Mr. California, until it was time to plunge into the azure waters of the sea. We had to swim about 100 metres into the hot springs (lukewarm springs) where the water was a brownish colour that stained your clothes. I hit my shins 20 times on well hidden submerged rocks and thanked god I didn't decide to dive down head first. We spent a half an hour frolicking in the waters and returned to our ship to engage in more conversation with our new found friends. After pulling into the port of Fira, we saw that the cruise ship people had vacated the port and the cable car was readily available. We all entered, Mr. New York crossed himself as we were quickly pulled up the rock face and we discussed plane crashes. We exited the car, said goodbye and went in our different directions, us to our apartment, Mr. California to the bus stop and New York in search of food. We got home, ate our homemade gyros, cleaned up and got ready for our dinner in Oia.
We boarded yet another bus and wound our way along the side of Santorini to the beautiful town of Oia. We spent a few hours exploring the town, checking out the lovely art galleries and searching for our restaurant. While searching, we stumbled on a tiny cafe with a beautiful view of the caldera where we had a strudel and I had my first frappe. I'd seen everyone downing these in various locations around Greece but because I love my hot coffee, I never had the want or desire to try one. It was refreshing!! After our little break we went to our restaurant and started our dining experience (thanks I & J!!) at Ambrosia, a little restaurant nestled in the side of the cliffs. We had a lovely meal consisting of a mouth watering Santorini house white wine (a must try!) grilled octopus, sautéed shrimp, fillet of duck, accompanied by an almond and pistachio ice cream. The view was something out of a story book and the food was comparable to an Iron Chef episode, plated and cooked splendidly. We left our restaurant, purchased some local wine (again!) and took the bus back to our room where we enjoyed our last night on our balcony. Santorini is the most chill and gorgeous places on the face of the earth! Until you get the cruise ships and the hordes of people filling the streets, boo you.
Caldera cruise to the volcano, swimming in the hot springs and dining in Oia (ee-ah)
We got to avoid the bus this morning and instead, rode the cable car down the steep cliffs of Fira to the port. It was a quick ride and my palms only sweated a little. We had some hot bevies and waited for our boat to leave. Once we boarded we met a Californian who told us about his vacation and vice versa. He gave us tidbits of info on Prague, Amsterdam and a few places we haven't decided to visit yet. We made a quick trip to the volcano where we easily hiked the well packed trails to the top only stopping long enough to take pictures of our surroundings. As we reached the peak, we were made aware of the last time it fully erupted spewing smoke and ash over the surface. It's still active, parts were puffing smoke and you could see the sulfur leaking out between cracks. We stayed at the top long enough to take more pictures of each other and the beautiful panoramic views. Our next stop was the hot springs on the other side. On this portion of the tiny expedition, we met a young couple from Ottawa and New York who had met last year in Greece. They regaled us with tales of their trip and stories of New York. I like New Yorkers, they are a no bullshit breed that stick their middle finger up at you if you don't take them for who they are. We all chatted, our New York friends, us and Mr. California, until it was time to plunge into the azure waters of the sea. We had to swim about 100 metres into the hot springs (lukewarm springs) where the water was a brownish colour that stained your clothes. I hit my shins 20 times on well hidden submerged rocks and thanked god I didn't decide to dive down head first. We spent a half an hour frolicking in the waters and returned to our ship to engage in more conversation with our new found friends. After pulling into the port of Fira, we saw that the cruise ship people had vacated the port and the cable car was readily available. We all entered, Mr. New York crossed himself as we were quickly pulled up the rock face and we discussed plane crashes. We exited the car, said goodbye and went in our different directions, us to our apartment, Mr. California to the bus stop and New York in search of food. We got home, ate our homemade gyros, cleaned up and got ready for our dinner in Oia.
We boarded yet another bus and wound our way along the side of Santorini to the beautiful town of Oia. We spent a few hours exploring the town, checking out the lovely art galleries and searching for our restaurant. While searching, we stumbled on a tiny cafe with a beautiful view of the caldera where we had a strudel and I had my first frappe. I'd seen everyone downing these in various locations around Greece but because I love my hot coffee, I never had the want or desire to try one. It was refreshing!! After our little break we went to our restaurant and started our dining experience (thanks I & J!!) at Ambrosia, a little restaurant nestled in the side of the cliffs. We had a lovely meal consisting of a mouth watering Santorini house white wine (a must try!) grilled octopus, sautéed shrimp, fillet of duck, accompanied by an almond and pistachio ice cream. The view was something out of a story book and the food was comparable to an Iron Chef episode, plated and cooked splendidly. We left our restaurant, purchased some local wine (again!) and took the bus back to our room where we enjoyed our last night on our balcony. Santorini is the most chill and gorgeous places on the face of the earth! Until you get the cruise ships and the hordes of people filling the streets, boo you.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Days 22 & 23 - Santorini
Day 22 - Rethymno to Santorini
We woke up at 5am to catch our 6:30 bus back to Heraklion. We were hoping we could go on a tour to Santorini straight from Rethymno but for 250 Euro... So we jumped on the bus and hit the ferry right on time. Since Rhodes everything has come up roses (cross fingers). We slept on the ferry and when we awoke, we were coming into the port of Santorini. We were then shuttled to the town of Fira, The bus hit switchback after switchback and ascended to the top. We got to the crowded bus station and left in search of Hotel Nemesis and without much problems, found it. It was perched overlooking the caldera and the people running it were super nice. She knew me right from the start, recognizing me from my twitter feed. She told us what not to miss, showed us to our room and gave us directions to a modest taverna called Ellis in Fira. We drank a litre of house white, ate some Greek tapas and met a couple who were here 25 years ago. We exchanged traveling stories and took photos of one another and told them our itinerary. They gave us tips in Prague and Amsterdam and went on their way. We finished our food, ordered more wine and took in the the panoramic view. After, we went back to our hotel and had a power nap...after only sleeping for 4 hours the previous night we needed this one.
We cleaned ourselves up and headed into town once again. We wondered the narrow, cobbled streets and window shopped until we came out to a viewing area. The town glistened in the night like an earthbound constellation, it was the most relaxing view in the world. We sat and stared in awe of this inspiring view we've on heard of in poems and seen in pictures. Traversing the serpentine corridors, we made it back to the hotel rather late and hit the hay.
Day 23 - Santorini
Akrotiri - The red beach
Hitting the well run bus again, we journeyed to the southern tip of Santorini where the red beach is located. Scurrying up and around rock faces, we popped out onto the beach. The wind was strong, the water was cool and the sun beat down upon us as we basked on the most unique I've ever been to. There it was quiet, peaceful and we read our books and oiled our bodies. We spent the day sunning ourselves until we couldn't take it anymore. Our skin was getting used to the sun and I think I even started to develop a tan!! We plodded back along the rock cliffs, took pics as we went along and made it to the bus stop just as the bus arrived. We scored a seat, watched the world go by and pulled into Fira's station where we headed to the nearest Gyro shack. Luckys Souvalaki is a fast food haven packed with locals and budget travelers alike. We inhaled our snacks and made for the local supermarket to pick up dinner and more booze for under 9 Euro! After the long beach day with no sun burns we got our drink on, made food and enjoyed our balcony. After that the night got a little hazy...
We woke up at 5am to catch our 6:30 bus back to Heraklion. We were hoping we could go on a tour to Santorini straight from Rethymno but for 250 Euro... So we jumped on the bus and hit the ferry right on time. Since Rhodes everything has come up roses (cross fingers). We slept on the ferry and when we awoke, we were coming into the port of Santorini. We were then shuttled to the town of Fira, The bus hit switchback after switchback and ascended to the top. We got to the crowded bus station and left in search of Hotel Nemesis and without much problems, found it. It was perched overlooking the caldera and the people running it were super nice. She knew me right from the start, recognizing me from my twitter feed. She told us what not to miss, showed us to our room and gave us directions to a modest taverna called Ellis in Fira. We drank a litre of house white, ate some Greek tapas and met a couple who were here 25 years ago. We exchanged traveling stories and took photos of one another and told them our itinerary. They gave us tips in Prague and Amsterdam and went on their way. We finished our food, ordered more wine and took in the the panoramic view. After, we went back to our hotel and had a power nap...after only sleeping for 4 hours the previous night we needed this one.
We cleaned ourselves up and headed into town once again. We wondered the narrow, cobbled streets and window shopped until we came out to a viewing area. The town glistened in the night like an earthbound constellation, it was the most relaxing view in the world. We sat and stared in awe of this inspiring view we've on heard of in poems and seen in pictures. Traversing the serpentine corridors, we made it back to the hotel rather late and hit the hay.
Day 23 - Santorini
Akrotiri - The red beach
Hitting the well run bus again, we journeyed to the southern tip of Santorini where the red beach is located. Scurrying up and around rock faces, we popped out onto the beach. The wind was strong, the water was cool and the sun beat down upon us as we basked on the most unique I've ever been to. There it was quiet, peaceful and we read our books and oiled our bodies. We spent the day sunning ourselves until we couldn't take it anymore. Our skin was getting used to the sun and I think I even started to develop a tan!! We plodded back along the rock cliffs, took pics as we went along and made it to the bus stop just as the bus arrived. We scored a seat, watched the world go by and pulled into Fira's station where we headed to the nearest Gyro shack. Luckys Souvalaki is a fast food haven packed with locals and budget travelers alike. We inhaled our snacks and made for the local supermarket to pick up dinner and more booze for under 9 Euro! After the long beach day with no sun burns we got our drink on, made food and enjoyed our balcony. After that the night got a little hazy...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Days 20 & 21
Day 20 - Rethymno
We found our way to the Arkadi monastery 20 km outside of Rethymno. One of the most important sites in Crete or Greek history, was originally constructed in 500AD and later rebuilt in the 1500's. This was the site of a battle between the monks and their families against the Pashma of the Turkish Ottoman empire in 1866. The story goes the the Turks demanded surrender of the monastery on November 9, 1866 but the Greeks refused causing, what the Greeks call "the holocaust". Thousands of Turks besieged the monastery killing all but 150, but before the end of the battle the women, children and elderly locked themselves in the powdery. When the Turks penetrated the heavy Venetian doors, the Greeks lit the fuse igniting the powder killing over 1800 Turks. To this day one of the most celebrated holidays in Greece in November 9.
After visiting the monastery, we perused a small cretan village where we purchased some lavender oils and visited the local museum. Everything in the museum was donated by the families of the village, an entrance fee of 1.50 Euro was charged and all money goes to the village. We arrived back home in the late afternoon and set out in search of a market to buy food for dinner. Everything was closed on Sundays, so it was a little difficult to find food but we managed. We went back to the apartment, cooked dinner, drank more local wine and stayed in for the night. The first time in our entire vacation that we did so.
Day 21
This was the day that we were to take our cretan cooking workshop! We were picked up from a local cafe and taken to a part of Rethymno called Antsipopolous. We met with a family who owned a small taverna and the mother taught us how to cook a variety of authentic local cuisine. It was just us and a French woman who barely spoke English and Krista was able to translate in her broken French. After cooking a plethora of meals we sat down at 3pm and ate our accomplishments. It was a fun day, surrounded by a family of friendly Greek people. We were driven back to our apartment, cleaned ourselves up and headed for the beach. Still full from a very late lunch, we baked in the sun for an hour or so and retired to our room for another hour. The sun went down and we headed out to shop! Krista bought a beautiful dress, shoes and a local necklace while I hummed and hawed purchasing a Fred Perry windbreaker. Gotta love European clothes!
We found our way to the Arkadi monastery 20 km outside of Rethymno. One of the most important sites in Crete or Greek history, was originally constructed in 500AD and later rebuilt in the 1500's. This was the site of a battle between the monks and their families against the Pashma of the Turkish Ottoman empire in 1866. The story goes the the Turks demanded surrender of the monastery on November 9, 1866 but the Greeks refused causing, what the Greeks call "the holocaust". Thousands of Turks besieged the monastery killing all but 150, but before the end of the battle the women, children and elderly locked themselves in the powdery. When the Turks penetrated the heavy Venetian doors, the Greeks lit the fuse igniting the powder killing over 1800 Turks. To this day one of the most celebrated holidays in Greece in November 9.
After visiting the monastery, we perused a small cretan village where we purchased some lavender oils and visited the local museum. Everything in the museum was donated by the families of the village, an entrance fee of 1.50 Euro was charged and all money goes to the village. We arrived back home in the late afternoon and set out in search of a market to buy food for dinner. Everything was closed on Sundays, so it was a little difficult to find food but we managed. We went back to the apartment, cooked dinner, drank more local wine and stayed in for the night. The first time in our entire vacation that we did so.
Day 21
This was the day that we were to take our cretan cooking workshop! We were picked up from a local cafe and taken to a part of Rethymno called Antsipopolous. We met with a family who owned a small taverna and the mother taught us how to cook a variety of authentic local cuisine. It was just us and a French woman who barely spoke English and Krista was able to translate in her broken French. After cooking a plethora of meals we sat down at 3pm and ate our accomplishments. It was a fun day, surrounded by a family of friendly Greek people. We were driven back to our apartment, cleaned ourselves up and headed for the beach. Still full from a very late lunch, we baked in the sun for an hour or so and retired to our room for another hour. The sun went down and we headed out to shop! Krista bought a beautiful dress, shoes and a local necklace while I hummed and hawed purchasing a Fred Perry windbreaker. Gotta love European clothes!
Days 18 & 19
Day 18 - Heraklion
Today we went to the Palace of Knossos, home of the mythological Minotaur. We woke up late, after the lovely evening we had the night before, we wanted to take our time getting out and about. This place comes alive at night, but at around 3am gets eerily quiet. We slept with the window open last night and fell asleep to the sounds of the Heraklion nights: the chatter and laughter of the locals, the cars whizzing by on the streets below and music off in the distance.
We went back to the bus stop and found the Knossos bus, this place is so easy to get around in! The bus was marked "Knossos". We made the leisurely drive, stopping to pick up more passengers and had a brief tour of the city. It took us about 20 minutes to get there. We entered the palace and looked around, it was kinda cool. After seeing so many beautiful ruins, this was underwhelming. Although it was nice to be in a place that was over 5000 years old, the archeologist that uncovered this back in the late 1800's, restored it to his own imagination. You could still see the original stonework and layout of the building, but on top
he recreated it in pieces based on what he thought. He used concrete, wood and stone, he even recreated frescoes. The palace was huge and it was apparently situated between 2 streams and the sea was steps away. This made for a fertile growing area. We left Knossos, boarded the next bus and hit up the Fortezza. Crete been invaded by many different countries but they embrace this, unlike other islands. The Fortezza was built in the 1500's and was used to guard the port. It still stands as it were, buy we're unable to go inside. After the Fortezza it was time to hit the shops! We went up and down and around even finding a Fred Perry outlet, and
bought some things to take back home. Krista found some nice things while I went away empty handed (the Fred Perry outlet sizes were either too big or to small...boo!) and it was time to eat some mezes!
All that walking, bussing shopping and picture taking worked up an appetite! We were told that this place called Ippocambo (Seahorse) was the place to go, the other night we tried to find it, walked an hour in 2 directions only to see that it was just a block away from our hotel.
We took a seat across the busy road aand ordered our food. We had beets, calamari, meatballs, tzatziki, chick pea patties, bread and wine. It was great! I think the best thing about the experience was watching the servers play frogger with the food! Not one plate was dropped. They served us a complimentary desert of ice cream, strawberry cheesecake and chocolate. Mmmm! We paid our bill (to-la-gha-riaz-mo, para-kolo) the bill please, said thank you, that was delicious (ef-ha-ri-stow, i-tan-no-sti-mo-ta-to) and zig zagged back to our room at Kronos Hotel. We fell asleep soon after our heads hit the pillows, it was 11pm.
Day 19 Heraklion to Rethymno
We had an early morning breakfast at our hotel and zipped to the bus station. This country has the best busses and they are cheap! We were planning on taking taxis everywhere and budgeted accordingly, but now were saving money and traveling in comfort. We found our bus, met a 60 year old Irish woman who married a 30 year old Moroccan man, who proceeded to tell us all her troubles on our 90 minute ride. Dammit! I just got a new book I wanted to read. We made it to the station, strapped on our packs and headed in the general direction of our Afroditi
apartment rental. It used to be the French Embassy. We found it easily, asking locals on the way and checked it. We met the owner who showed us to our room and gave us some white wine, it was fantastic! Sadly, we just missed the 2 week wine festival but were still reaping the benefits. We settled in, and went out for some booze and salads, gotta eat your greens. We found a quiet place and enjoyed an inexpensive meal right on the sea front, it's all about the sea front. After all, isn't that why you come to the Med? We had lunch and explored the town a bit. We found a little travel agent, booked our remanding ferries and a Cretan cooking class! More later! We went back to the room and had a nap.
When we woke, we cleaned ourselves up and went out in search of dinner. We found a place, rather, the place found us. Maria's restaurant on the harbour. 10th best in Crete, so said a magazine article plastered on the outside podium. We were sold on it by it's charm and owner. I wanna call him peg leg the pirate Pete, but his name was Nico. The restaurant was picturesque. Located right on the Venetian harbour, they sat us on the second floor balcony overlooking everyone and the harbour. We ordered calamari, wine, prawns, white fish, seasonal greens, potatoes and......LOBSTER!!! The best (and most expensive) meal so far. Musicians played on the harbour, fish were jumpin and people filled the seats below. Very romantic.
We paid our bill and were off to stroll through the town, we found an outdoor cinema that was playing Transformers 3, said why not and enjoyed a movie under the stars. I love my wife and my life...what a superb night!
Today we went to the Palace of Knossos, home of the mythological Minotaur. We woke up late, after the lovely evening we had the night before, we wanted to take our time getting out and about. This place comes alive at night, but at around 3am gets eerily quiet. We slept with the window open last night and fell asleep to the sounds of the Heraklion nights: the chatter and laughter of the locals, the cars whizzing by on the streets below and music off in the distance.
We went back to the bus stop and found the Knossos bus, this place is so easy to get around in! The bus was marked "Knossos". We made the leisurely drive, stopping to pick up more passengers and had a brief tour of the city. It took us about 20 minutes to get there. We entered the palace and looked around, it was kinda cool. After seeing so many beautiful ruins, this was underwhelming. Although it was nice to be in a place that was over 5000 years old, the archeologist that uncovered this back in the late 1800's, restored it to his own imagination. You could still see the original stonework and layout of the building, but on top
he recreated it in pieces based on what he thought. He used concrete, wood and stone, he even recreated frescoes. The palace was huge and it was apparently situated between 2 streams and the sea was steps away. This made for a fertile growing area. We left Knossos, boarded the next bus and hit up the Fortezza. Crete been invaded by many different countries but they embrace this, unlike other islands. The Fortezza was built in the 1500's and was used to guard the port. It still stands as it were, buy we're unable to go inside. After the Fortezza it was time to hit the shops! We went up and down and around even finding a Fred Perry outlet, and
bought some things to take back home. Krista found some nice things while I went away empty handed (the Fred Perry outlet sizes were either too big or to small...boo!) and it was time to eat some mezes!
All that walking, bussing shopping and picture taking worked up an appetite! We were told that this place called Ippocambo (Seahorse) was the place to go, the other night we tried to find it, walked an hour in 2 directions only to see that it was just a block away from our hotel.
We took a seat across the busy road aand ordered our food. We had beets, calamari, meatballs, tzatziki, chick pea patties, bread and wine. It was great! I think the best thing about the experience was watching the servers play frogger with the food! Not one plate was dropped. They served us a complimentary desert of ice cream, strawberry cheesecake and chocolate. Mmmm! We paid our bill (to-la-gha-riaz-mo, para-kolo) the bill please, said thank you, that was delicious (ef-ha-ri-stow, i-tan-no-sti-mo-ta-to) and zig zagged back to our room at Kronos Hotel. We fell asleep soon after our heads hit the pillows, it was 11pm.
Day 19 Heraklion to Rethymno
We had an early morning breakfast at our hotel and zipped to the bus station. This country has the best busses and they are cheap! We were planning on taking taxis everywhere and budgeted accordingly, but now were saving money and traveling in comfort. We found our bus, met a 60 year old Irish woman who married a 30 year old Moroccan man, who proceeded to tell us all her troubles on our 90 minute ride. Dammit! I just got a new book I wanted to read. We made it to the station, strapped on our packs and headed in the general direction of our Afroditi
apartment rental. It used to be the French Embassy. We found it easily, asking locals on the way and checked it. We met the owner who showed us to our room and gave us some white wine, it was fantastic! Sadly, we just missed the 2 week wine festival but were still reaping the benefits. We settled in, and went out for some booze and salads, gotta eat your greens. We found a quiet place and enjoyed an inexpensive meal right on the sea front, it's all about the sea front. After all, isn't that why you come to the Med? We had lunch and explored the town a bit. We found a little travel agent, booked our remanding ferries and a Cretan cooking class! More later! We went back to the room and had a nap.
When we woke, we cleaned ourselves up and went out in search of dinner. We found a place, rather, the place found us. Maria's restaurant on the harbour. 10th best in Crete, so said a magazine article plastered on the outside podium. We were sold on it by it's charm and owner. I wanna call him peg leg the pirate Pete, but his name was Nico. The restaurant was picturesque. Located right on the Venetian harbour, they sat us on the second floor balcony overlooking everyone and the harbour. We ordered calamari, wine, prawns, white fish, seasonal greens, potatoes and......LOBSTER!!! The best (and most expensive) meal so far. Musicians played on the harbour, fish were jumpin and people filled the seats below. Very romantic.
We paid our bill and were off to stroll through the town, we found an outdoor cinema that was playing Transformers 3, said why not and enjoyed a movie under the stars. I love my wife and my life...what a superb night!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Day 17 - Faliraki to Heraklion
Day 17- Faliraki beach to Heraklion
Finally we were outta here, unless you're 20, wanting syphilis, or a divorce, stay away from Faliraki Beach. We had some good experiences there, The Castellan Restaurant, the beach itself (Zorba the Greek with Anthony Quinn was filmed there!...Classic!) but we were glad to leave it behind. Starting at 7am we darted out of the White Palace Studios, boarded a bus and made it back into Rhodes town. We had a decent breakfast and boarded yet another bus to the airport. One thing I will say, the Greek bus system is cheap and very effective! We hit our enjoyable fights to Athens then on to Heraklion. We exited the airport and were directed by locals, which bus to take into town. This place was very chill! The streets were quiet, locals coming to and fro and no drunk Brits!
We found our hotel quite easily and checked in. The Hotel Kronos is just off the main strip, close to ferries and the bus station and a very quaint little place. The staff were uber friendly, it was ideally located, clean and secure. We cleaned the 8 hours of busses, airports and airplanes off our bodies and headed out to dinner.
This is the Greece we were looking for! We found a mom and pop restaurant with a huge square shared by 2 other restaurants. We shared some Greek tapas: greek salad, aubergine salad, snails, calamari, stuffed zucchini, pickled beets, bread and house white wine. We chased it with complimentary desert and Raki! The locals packed the square, musicians entered and the aromas of bread and garlic filled our nostrils. It was picturesque. Most come for crazy dancing and staying out all night, but this is what we were in search of! Everyone told us to avoid Crete, but I guess they never looked for what we found. Seaside eateries, serving fresh authentic cuisine, filled with charm and charisma. You can have Rhodes, I've only been on Crete for 6 hours and I'm in love...
Finally we were outta here, unless you're 20, wanting syphilis, or a divorce, stay away from Faliraki Beach. We had some good experiences there, The Castellan Restaurant, the beach itself (Zorba the Greek with Anthony Quinn was filmed there!...Classic!) but we were glad to leave it behind. Starting at 7am we darted out of the White Palace Studios, boarded a bus and made it back into Rhodes town. We had a decent breakfast and boarded yet another bus to the airport. One thing I will say, the Greek bus system is cheap and very effective! We hit our enjoyable fights to Athens then on to Heraklion. We exited the airport and were directed by locals, which bus to take into town. This place was very chill! The streets were quiet, locals coming to and fro and no drunk Brits!
We found our hotel quite easily and checked in. The Hotel Kronos is just off the main strip, close to ferries and the bus station and a very quaint little place. The staff were uber friendly, it was ideally located, clean and secure. We cleaned the 8 hours of busses, airports and airplanes off our bodies and headed out to dinner.
This is the Greece we were looking for! We found a mom and pop restaurant with a huge square shared by 2 other restaurants. We shared some Greek tapas: greek salad, aubergine salad, snails, calamari, stuffed zucchini, pickled beets, bread and house white wine. We chased it with complimentary desert and Raki! The locals packed the square, musicians entered and the aromas of bread and garlic filled our nostrils. It was picturesque. Most come for crazy dancing and staying out all night, but this is what we were in search of! Everyone told us to avoid Crete, but I guess they never looked for what we found. Seaside eateries, serving fresh authentic cuisine, filled with charm and charisma. You can have Rhodes, I've only been on Crete for 6 hours and I'm in love...
Day 16 - Faliraki Beach Rhodes
Day 16 - Faliraki Beach Rhodes
After our hellish day of travel from Fethiye to Faliraki, we decided to take it easy. We had a beach day! We staked out our claim at the quiet end of Faliraki, and soaked up the sun. Having acclimatized to the heat of Turkey, the 35 degrees of Rhodes was a nice change. We played in the cool, shallow waters and people watched from our loungers. This was a drastic change from the fully covered, muslim women who, it seemed, swam in vinyl track suits. Topless sunbathing was everywhere, you couldn't turn your head without seeing a young, attractive woman shedding their top.There were some playing paddleball in the water, joining water sports and just strolling. Even Krista joined in the fervor. The ones that went topless, received better service from beach and bar staff.
After 3 hours in the sun with nary a burn, it was Heiny time! We found an inexpensive watering hole and sucked back a few bevies down the beach, closer to town. We returned to the hotel room, where we were told earlier that they had to switch our rooms (still choked about that) and our bags would be transferred. When we arrived to the front desk, there stood our bags! This place had the worst customer service we've experienced on our vacay so far. What do you expect from a cheap Pansiyon? We grumbled a bit, headed to our rooms and proceeded to have a disco nap. When we awoke, we showered and headed out looking for the fabled Desert Rose restaurant. Naturally, the place that was "easy to find" eluded us and we sought out another establishment. We decided on Porto Bello, had calamari, garlic mushrooms, lamb and fillet mingnon. It was delish!
After our late dinner we walked the gauntlet of the Faliraki Beach nightclub scene, it was PUMPIN! A mini Cancun, (the locals call it Little Britain) we powered through and made it back to our room by midnight. I kinda wished we avoided Rhodes, too busy and full of drunk teens, I'm glad we had it as a stop over. Don't get me wrong, what we saw of it was beautiful, it's just that after our laid back week in Calis beach, we didn't want anything to do with a part scene. We had a long day ahead of us the next day starting a 6am, so we conked out! Tomorrow: Heraklion!
After our hellish day of travel from Fethiye to Faliraki, we decided to take it easy. We had a beach day! We staked out our claim at the quiet end of Faliraki, and soaked up the sun. Having acclimatized to the heat of Turkey, the 35 degrees of Rhodes was a nice change. We played in the cool, shallow waters and people watched from our loungers. This was a drastic change from the fully covered, muslim women who, it seemed, swam in vinyl track suits. Topless sunbathing was everywhere, you couldn't turn your head without seeing a young, attractive woman shedding their top.There were some playing paddleball in the water, joining water sports and just strolling. Even Krista joined in the fervor. The ones that went topless, received better service from beach and bar staff.
After 3 hours in the sun with nary a burn, it was Heiny time! We found an inexpensive watering hole and sucked back a few bevies down the beach, closer to town. We returned to the hotel room, where we were told earlier that they had to switch our rooms (still choked about that) and our bags would be transferred. When we arrived to the front desk, there stood our bags! This place had the worst customer service we've experienced on our vacay so far. What do you expect from a cheap Pansiyon? We grumbled a bit, headed to our rooms and proceeded to have a disco nap. When we awoke, we showered and headed out looking for the fabled Desert Rose restaurant. Naturally, the place that was "easy to find" eluded us and we sought out another establishment. We decided on Porto Bello, had calamari, garlic mushrooms, lamb and fillet mingnon. It was delish!
After our late dinner we walked the gauntlet of the Faliraki Beach nightclub scene, it was PUMPIN! A mini Cancun, (the locals call it Little Britain) we powered through and made it back to our room by midnight. I kinda wished we avoided Rhodes, too busy and full of drunk teens, I'm glad we had it as a stop over. Don't get me wrong, what we saw of it was beautiful, it's just that after our laid back week in Calis beach, we didn't want anything to do with a part scene. We had a long day ahead of us the next day starting a 6am, so we conked out! Tomorrow: Heraklion!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Day 15 - Fethiye to Rhodes
Day 15 - Last day in Calis Beach/off to Rhodes.
This was our last day in Turkey, all we had to do was finish some laundry and make our 4:30 ferry to Rhodes. We stayed up late last night watching Breaking Bad after all the action outside died down and slept in til 10. We woke, had coffee (Krista had tea) and ate a "traditional English breakfast" of beans on toast. We sat on our balcony and took in our last day in Turkey! Calis beach is a beautiful place to have stayed and I was a little sad to leave it behind, BUT Greece was ahead! Having little faith in others, I had to make sure that our transfer was going to come to our apartment. We walked down to Karakay Turizm and spoke to Serkec, the guy who booked our trip to Rhodes. He assured us the transfer would pick us up and get us to the boat on time.
We went back to the apartment, nibbled on some lunch, then decided to nap. We woke, cleaned the house up a bit and checked out. We walked down to the corner where we were told that our transfer would pick us up between 3:30-3:40. We waited and waited until 4pm. Our boat was to leave at 4:30 and it still would take us 15 min to get there!! We had to make the boat! Stupid transfer!! I quickly flagged down a Taksi (Turkish) and we made our boat. We would've lost our hotel in Rhodes, had to make the next ferry in the morning at 9am, needed to book another hotel last minute in Fethiye and a new one in Rhodes. Boooo Karakay Turizm! I sent them a nasty email demanding them to at least cover our Taksi. On top of it all, the ferry WAS supposed to be a fast track hydrofoil, but when we got there, it was just a regular ferry. Instead of an exhilarating 90 minute ride of epic-ness, it was a slow nauseating 3 hour crawl. Un stoked! Roll with the punches...
Well we putted into Rhodes and arrived at the ferry port. We went through the port where it is said that the Colossus of Rhodes once stood. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it was made out of bronze and greeted all who travelled to Rhodes. In 500AD it collapsed due to an earthquake and fell into pieces where it lay, it was ignored for another 4 centuries. Story has it that a Jewish merchant bought it and had to use several caravans to take it away. It was then melted down and used for coin currency.
We got off the terminal, went through customs and were officially in Greece! When we went to find a taxi to Faliraki beach, we were told that a nationwide taxi strike had occurred a few days ago. Oh mios duo, It just keeps piling on!
Walking through the old town of Rhodes, we went in search of a bus station. We asked many people along the way, but all was not lost, I got to practice my Greek! We finally found the bus station, it was filled with locals and tourists. We were herded onto to busses, and made the journey to Faliraki Beach. What a hopping joint! Half naked people everywhere! We checked in to our modest Pansiyon and found a delightful dinner where I sucked down a few Heinekens and we shared a Greek plate. A peaceful end to an otherwise, turbulent day
This was our last day in Turkey, all we had to do was finish some laundry and make our 4:30 ferry to Rhodes. We stayed up late last night watching Breaking Bad after all the action outside died down and slept in til 10. We woke, had coffee (Krista had tea) and ate a "traditional English breakfast" of beans on toast. We sat on our balcony and took in our last day in Turkey! Calis beach is a beautiful place to have stayed and I was a little sad to leave it behind, BUT Greece was ahead! Having little faith in others, I had to make sure that our transfer was going to come to our apartment. We walked down to Karakay Turizm and spoke to Serkec, the guy who booked our trip to Rhodes. He assured us the transfer would pick us up and get us to the boat on time.
We went back to the apartment, nibbled on some lunch, then decided to nap. We woke, cleaned the house up a bit and checked out. We walked down to the corner where we were told that our transfer would pick us up between 3:30-3:40. We waited and waited until 4pm. Our boat was to leave at 4:30 and it still would take us 15 min to get there!! We had to make the boat! Stupid transfer!! I quickly flagged down a Taksi (Turkish) and we made our boat. We would've lost our hotel in Rhodes, had to make the next ferry in the morning at 9am, needed to book another hotel last minute in Fethiye and a new one in Rhodes. Boooo Karakay Turizm! I sent them a nasty email demanding them to at least cover our Taksi. On top of it all, the ferry WAS supposed to be a fast track hydrofoil, but when we got there, it was just a regular ferry. Instead of an exhilarating 90 minute ride of epic-ness, it was a slow nauseating 3 hour crawl. Un stoked! Roll with the punches...
Well we putted into Rhodes and arrived at the ferry port. We went through the port where it is said that the Colossus of Rhodes once stood. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it was made out of bronze and greeted all who travelled to Rhodes. In 500AD it collapsed due to an earthquake and fell into pieces where it lay, it was ignored for another 4 centuries. Story has it that a Jewish merchant bought it and had to use several caravans to take it away. It was then melted down and used for coin currency.
We got off the terminal, went through customs and were officially in Greece! When we went to find a taxi to Faliraki beach, we were told that a nationwide taxi strike had occurred a few days ago. Oh mios duo, It just keeps piling on!
Walking through the old town of Rhodes, we went in search of a bus station. We asked many people along the way, but all was not lost, I got to practice my Greek! We finally found the bus station, it was filled with locals and tourists. We were herded onto to busses, and made the journey to Faliraki Beach. What a hopping joint! Half naked people everywhere! We checked in to our modest Pansiyon and found a delightful dinner where I sucked down a few Heinekens and we shared a Greek plate. A peaceful end to an otherwise, turbulent day
Monday, July 25, 2011
Days 12/13/14 - Calis Beach Fethiye
Days 12/13/14 - Calis Beach Fethiye
The past few days have been the most relaxing I can remember. It harkens back to the summer holidays I had in early high school, before the dreaded summer job. We stay up late, sleep in late and are in and out of the sun. The other day the temperature soared to a boiling 45 Degrees Celsius! That day was spent in and out of the Sea and pool, we had to mix it up. When that salt dries on your skin...
Yesterday, we went on a boat trip from Olu Deniz Beach (6th ranked beach in the world), where they took us to Butterfly Valley, Camel Beach, Cold Water Springs, St. Nicholas Island and the Aqua Marine Park. The boat was packed with locals, and every stop involved swimming and sightseeing. We grabbed a few loungers in the shade and set up shop. We dozed to the lull of the waves only to wake up in time to leap off the boat into the Turquoise waters. We were served an underwhelming lunch consisting of Kofte, salad and noodles. We shared a table with a charming Turkish family who spoke broken English and the little daughter wanted her picture taken with me. It was cute. For the remainder of the day, she followed me around and smiled when eye contact was made. Though the boat tour was pleasant, reaching places available only to water crafts, we felt that it was too long. We started at 9am and made it back to the apartment by 7pm. I pounded a few Efes and we ended our day with a deep slumber. Life is rough!!
Today is our last real day in Calis Beach as we leave tomorrow at 3:30pm for Rhodes. It's just a chill day, drinking on our deck and shopping to rid ourselves of the last few Lira in our pockets, are the only things on the agenda. Tomorrow we are bound for the Greek island of Rhodes leaving behind the Turkish Coast. Oh Turkey...
The past few days have been the most relaxing I can remember. It harkens back to the summer holidays I had in early high school, before the dreaded summer job. We stay up late, sleep in late and are in and out of the sun. The other day the temperature soared to a boiling 45 Degrees Celsius! That day was spent in and out of the Sea and pool, we had to mix it up. When that salt dries on your skin...
Yesterday, we went on a boat trip from Olu Deniz Beach (6th ranked beach in the world), where they took us to Butterfly Valley, Camel Beach, Cold Water Springs, St. Nicholas Island and the Aqua Marine Park. The boat was packed with locals, and every stop involved swimming and sightseeing. We grabbed a few loungers in the shade and set up shop. We dozed to the lull of the waves only to wake up in time to leap off the boat into the Turquoise waters. We were served an underwhelming lunch consisting of Kofte, salad and noodles. We shared a table with a charming Turkish family who spoke broken English and the little daughter wanted her picture taken with me. It was cute. For the remainder of the day, she followed me around and smiled when eye contact was made. Though the boat tour was pleasant, reaching places available only to water crafts, we felt that it was too long. We started at 9am and made it back to the apartment by 7pm. I pounded a few Efes and we ended our day with a deep slumber. Life is rough!!
Today is our last real day in Calis Beach as we leave tomorrow at 3:30pm for Rhodes. It's just a chill day, drinking on our deck and shopping to rid ourselves of the last few Lira in our pockets, are the only things on the agenda. Tomorrow we are bound for the Greek island of Rhodes leaving behind the Turkish Coast. Oh Turkey...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Day 11 - Calis Beach Fethiye Hamam day!!
Day 11 - Calis Beach Fethiye
Filled with sun and lazy days, Calis Beach is paradise! Today we decided to sleep in after staying up late last night watching the Belly Dancers next door. Best seat in the house AND we didn't have to pay for it! Not that we're cheap, it's just when you've seen one hotel show, you've seen em all (Mexico's late night all inclusive "entertainment"...blech!).
After a home cooked Turkish/Krista brunch, we sauntered over to a Hamam (Turkish bath) and were pampered and contorted beyond belief. Not knowing what to expect, we entered the Hamam, got changed and were directed to lay in a Eucalyptus sauna. We breathed in the aroma, and sweated out the toxins, Efes and wine. A half an hour went by, in came our Turk, he directed us to lay on a marble round table. Krista was the guinea pig, She was thoroughly scrubbed head to toe with water and and exfoliating pad. With the deep deep groans emanating from her, I knew she was loving it, and to make sure I didn't fell left out, Vadal kept throwing warm water on me! He even threw a cold bowl of water down my pants, a relief from the 30 minute sauna I assure you, but a shock nevertheless. After her scrub down came the bubbles. He soaped her up, flipped her this way and that and massaged her in all the right places. I closed my eyes, relaxed and let Krista get adjusted, nothing risqué, just a good old fashioned Turkish rub down.
After Vadal was finished with Krista she was led away to a room where she enjoyed a nice apple tea. Now came my turn! He exfoliated me, soaped me up, scrubbed the calluses off my feet and gave me a Turkish massage, it was invigorating. The best part was yet to come, he contorted my body parts and adjusted my legs, back , arms and head. He cracked knuckles, picked me up, cracked my back, and he even stretched out my arms but locking his arms with mine, back to back. He sat on my back, gave me the camel clutch and at times, it felt like assisted yoga! When we were done, I'd never felt more limber and relaxed. He led me to the same room where I joined Krista for some apple tea, he applied a mask to Krista and proceeded to entertain us with a wee bit of a magic show. All with a sense of humour of course, he made kerchiefs, water and salt disappear, and threw them at us when he brought them back. After the show, he gave us his card: masseur and illusionist! Only in Turkey!!
Filled with sun and lazy days, Calis Beach is paradise! Today we decided to sleep in after staying up late last night watching the Belly Dancers next door. Best seat in the house AND we didn't have to pay for it! Not that we're cheap, it's just when you've seen one hotel show, you've seen em all (Mexico's late night all inclusive "entertainment"...blech!).
After a home cooked Turkish/Krista brunch, we sauntered over to a Hamam (Turkish bath) and were pampered and contorted beyond belief. Not knowing what to expect, we entered the Hamam, got changed and were directed to lay in a Eucalyptus sauna. We breathed in the aroma, and sweated out the toxins, Efes and wine. A half an hour went by, in came our Turk, he directed us to lay on a marble round table. Krista was the guinea pig, She was thoroughly scrubbed head to toe with water and and exfoliating pad. With the deep deep groans emanating from her, I knew she was loving it, and to make sure I didn't fell left out, Vadal kept throwing warm water on me! He even threw a cold bowl of water down my pants, a relief from the 30 minute sauna I assure you, but a shock nevertheless. After her scrub down came the bubbles. He soaped her up, flipped her this way and that and massaged her in all the right places. I closed my eyes, relaxed and let Krista get adjusted, nothing risqué, just a good old fashioned Turkish rub down.
After Vadal was finished with Krista she was led away to a room where she enjoyed a nice apple tea. Now came my turn! He exfoliated me, soaped me up, scrubbed the calluses off my feet and gave me a Turkish massage, it was invigorating. The best part was yet to come, he contorted my body parts and adjusted my legs, back , arms and head. He cracked knuckles, picked me up, cracked my back, and he even stretched out my arms but locking his arms with mine, back to back. He sat on my back, gave me the camel clutch and at times, it felt like assisted yoga! When we were done, I'd never felt more limber and relaxed. He led me to the same room where I joined Krista for some apple tea, he applied a mask to Krista and proceeded to entertain us with a wee bit of a magic show. All with a sense of humour of course, he made kerchiefs, water and salt disappear, and threw them at us when he brought them back. After the show, he gave us his card: masseur and illusionist! Only in Turkey!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Days 9/10 - Calis Beach Fethiye
Days 9/10 - Calis Beach Fethiye
The days in our vacation rental, we sleep in to whatever time we want to, get up, go for a swim right out of our front door and stroll down to the corner market. These are the lazy days of our vacation! We have done absolutely nothing besides eat, sleep, drink and eat some more. We have a full kitchen so we've decided to make some Turkish Krista/Dennon fusion food. Our apartment is lovely, it's brand new, has no TV but we have a view people pay to see. We are right at the end of Calis beach, it reminds me of a bigger, better and busier version of a resort on the Okanagan. It's been 40 degrees plus everyday, but we're able to cool ourselves in the sea that's about 40 steps outside our front door. We sit on our balcony, watch the sunset and the passersby. Krista's polished off 2 books and I've finally had the chance to read some Kurt Vonnegut. It doesn't get any better than this! Today we ventured a little farther south and purchased our tickets to Rhodes and our boat tour. Tonight I'm gonna smoke a fat cigar and drink some beer. Stay tuned..
The days in our vacation rental, we sleep in to whatever time we want to, get up, go for a swim right out of our front door and stroll down to the corner market. These are the lazy days of our vacation! We have done absolutely nothing besides eat, sleep, drink and eat some more. We have a full kitchen so we've decided to make some Turkish Krista/Dennon fusion food. Our apartment is lovely, it's brand new, has no TV but we have a view people pay to see. We are right at the end of Calis beach, it reminds me of a bigger, better and busier version of a resort on the Okanagan. It's been 40 degrees plus everyday, but we're able to cool ourselves in the sea that's about 40 steps outside our front door. We sit on our balcony, watch the sunset and the passersby. Krista's polished off 2 books and I've finally had the chance to read some Kurt Vonnegut. It doesn't get any better than this! Today we ventured a little farther south and purchased our tickets to Rhodes and our boat tour. Tonight I'm gonna smoke a fat cigar and drink some beer. Stay tuned..
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Day 8 - Pamukkale/Hieropolis drive to Fethiye
Day 8 - Pamukkale & Hieropolis
Waking up early is getting harder to do every morning, but today we're taking a tour to the white cliffs of Pamukkale (cotton castle), Hieropolis (holy city) and transferring to Fethiye. Our mini bus picked us up promptly in front of our hotel, we bade farewell to Erdal and our new Virginian friends and started on our long journey. 3 hours to the site, 3 hours around the site and 4 hours to Fethiye. Whew!!
Along the way we picked up a few more people and drove to the National Unesco Park of Pamukkale, but before we commenced the tour, we stopped for lunch. They took us to a roadside restaurant swarming with half naked European tourists (the first time in Turkey we saw any exposed people), and ate a suspect meal. I knew I'd pay for it later. We started our tour at a silver shop, where locals tried to sell us overpriced silver, turquoise and amber. It reminded me of Mexico. Of course, no one bought anything so we left and continued up the mountain to he Ancient City of Hieropolis. It's said that Hades himself heated the thermal waters below so the people above could heal themselves in the pools. Hieropolis was amazing and was built much like other Roman/Byzantine cities: Agora, latrines, theatre, bath houses, etc. But this place was, of course, different! They used a very complicated drainage system which carried the important thermal waters to and from the pools. Ancient canals snaked throughout the complex ending up at various locations hither and tither.
One location was the Cleopatra pool. Worried about her fading beauty, she sought out this already famous location and visited it in her later years. Apparently it worked and news of this drove many more people to visit the city. In the pools are original columns from the ancient city that you can swim with, but with hordes of people already crammed in there creating a disgusting people soup, we resisted the urge and turned our attention to the white cliffs of Pamukkale.
Located on the west side of the Holy City, Pammukale is where the thermal waters pool and fall over the cliffs. The minerals form a white cotton candy stone surface which can be seen for thousands of metres. There in the pools, you can wade and submerge yourself and it is said that the thermal waters will cure all that ails. We spent 3 hours on the site, exploring and wading but were ready to get to our next destination...Calis Beach in Fethiye!!
Our drivers dropped everyone off back in town and continued rolling through the hills until we made it to Fethiye. They struggled with their GPS, swearing in Turkish and finally found our beachfront Apartment in Calis beach (Chalish). The manager Julien, met us at the front and showed us our place. Julien is a nice British gent who lives in the building, he gave us directions and pointers on the various need to know locations (grocery and booze stores!!). He also provided us with a welcome package that included cookies, tea, coffee, crisps (British slang for potato chips), bread, eggs, fruits, veggies, juices, pop and water. We walked to the store down the road, bought some booze, sat on our beachfront balcony and watched the world go by.
Waking up early is getting harder to do every morning, but today we're taking a tour to the white cliffs of Pamukkale (cotton castle), Hieropolis (holy city) and transferring to Fethiye. Our mini bus picked us up promptly in front of our hotel, we bade farewell to Erdal and our new Virginian friends and started on our long journey. 3 hours to the site, 3 hours around the site and 4 hours to Fethiye. Whew!!
Along the way we picked up a few more people and drove to the National Unesco Park of Pamukkale, but before we commenced the tour, we stopped for lunch. They took us to a roadside restaurant swarming with half naked European tourists (the first time in Turkey we saw any exposed people), and ate a suspect meal. I knew I'd pay for it later. We started our tour at a silver shop, where locals tried to sell us overpriced silver, turquoise and amber. It reminded me of Mexico. Of course, no one bought anything so we left and continued up the mountain to he Ancient City of Hieropolis. It's said that Hades himself heated the thermal waters below so the people above could heal themselves in the pools. Hieropolis was amazing and was built much like other Roman/Byzantine cities: Agora, latrines, theatre, bath houses, etc. But this place was, of course, different! They used a very complicated drainage system which carried the important thermal waters to and from the pools. Ancient canals snaked throughout the complex ending up at various locations hither and tither.
One location was the Cleopatra pool. Worried about her fading beauty, she sought out this already famous location and visited it in her later years. Apparently it worked and news of this drove many more people to visit the city. In the pools are original columns from the ancient city that you can swim with, but with hordes of people already crammed in there creating a disgusting people soup, we resisted the urge and turned our attention to the white cliffs of Pamukkale.
Located on the west side of the Holy City, Pammukale is where the thermal waters pool and fall over the cliffs. The minerals form a white cotton candy stone surface which can be seen for thousands of metres. There in the pools, you can wade and submerge yourself and it is said that the thermal waters will cure all that ails. We spent 3 hours on the site, exploring and wading but were ready to get to our next destination...Calis Beach in Fethiye!!
Our drivers dropped everyone off back in town and continued rolling through the hills until we made it to Fethiye. They struggled with their GPS, swearing in Turkish and finally found our beachfront Apartment in Calis beach (Chalish). The manager Julien, met us at the front and showed us our place. Julien is a nice British gent who lives in the building, he gave us directions and pointers on the various need to know locations (grocery and booze stores!!). He also provided us with a welcome package that included cookies, tea, coffee, crisps (British slang for potato chips), bread, eggs, fruits, veggies, juices, pop and water. We walked to the store down the road, bought some booze, sat on our beachfront balcony and watched the world go by.
Days 6 & 7 - Selcuk
Day 6 - Selcuk
We woke up in Izmir at our pensiyon, and because we already purchased our train tickets, we had a little more time for breakfast. We packed our belongings and trickled downstairs and to our surprise, found a complimentary fresh breakfast at our disposal!! We ate our fresh breaky and bounced to the train station, I still couldn't believe that we only had to pay 11 Turkish Lira!!
The train ride was pleasant and very chill, we passed through Izmir and into the countryside. Orchards, fields of corn and vegetables on either side reminded us of back home.
We arrived in Selcuk (pronounced Sell-chook) and walked up a slight incline to Hotel Bella. We've been looking forward to this hotel and were not disappointed, greeted by smiling faces and lokum, (Turkish delight) we checked in. After we settled into our room, we went upstairs to the beautiful rooftop patio and were met by Erdal, the owner. He proceeded to tell us of the town, it's people their history and offered us a ride to Ephesus, the reason why we came to Selcuk. It's the best preserved Hellenistic/Roman/Byzantine city. We graciously accepted. We spent 3.5 hours wandering the site, with the Celsus library and the terrace houses as the stand alone favorites. Ephesus has been rebuilt 5 times, so it houses a plethora of history throughout many an Empire.
With a quick phone call from the bookstore, Erdal picked us up and brought us back to our room. It was time for a power nap!
We slept with the sounds of nesting storks outside of our window, and when we woke, we ran upstairs, snaked a table and drank some Efes beer and wine. Now came dinner! The Turks really know how to prepare their meats, being a butcher by trade, this was something I can really appreciate. Meat stuffed mushrooms, eggplant, Russian salads, and bean salads danced onto our table until the coup de grace: the main dish! I had the grilled lamb and Krista had the spicy kebab. Both truculent, but mine, I have to say, was the better of the two. The best lamb I've ever tasted, we chased it down with a sugar soaked cake desert and a strong glass of Raki. Raki is the Turkish version of Ouzo or Sambuca with a twist, it doesn't get you drunk but rather stimulates you much like an Absinthe. Wow!
Day 7 - Selcuk
The night before, at approx 10pm, Erdal informed us that the PMD Tour was available, so we immediately signed up. Priene-Miletus-Didyma are some lesser known sights but are worth the excursion out of Selcuk town. After seeing most of the important artifacts already excavated and on display at the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, it was time to see the sources!
We boarded the mini van, among the other tourists, sat back and listened to our guide. A retired seventy something former archeologist, he delved into the history of the region, posed questions and made quirky jokes. The first stop was Priene! He jumped out of the van and expertly traversed his way 400 metres up the side of the mountain. With the ten of us in tow, he put most to shame and waited at the top. He told us the site was only 2% excavated and it used to be a port city the rich owned. It had a theatre, an agora, a temple. It was built up by the Byzantines until the days when the waters subsided and silt took over the land below.
Next stop was Miletus and it was amazing! Among the ruins, were remnants of the bath houses, we everything could be bought...for a price. It also had a huge Amphitheatre the held over 15,000 people! We explored inside and out, found winding corridors and even a castle that was added onto the top.
The final portion of the tour was the biggest temple of Apollo in recorded history at the site of Didyma. Still partially standing, this is a site where priests lived in and asked the advice of the oracle. The story goes, that the oracle, always a woman, lived in a room and continuously breathed in a gas that made her see the visions. These were the visions of Apollo. The site was unbelievable!
After a modest lunch, we drove back to the hotel and had a power nap, again! Being out in the middle of nowhere in 40 degree weather for hours at a time, can really knock the crap out of you!
We woke up, cleaned ourselves and sauntered into town looking for a genuine Turkish meal. I don't know how these restaurants stay open! Sometimes it seems as though there is more places to eat, than people to eat at them. We got asked to sit at a bakers dozen different places in 9 different ways. They say things like "Yes please" - "You look Hungry!" - "Best meatballs in town" and when you refuse... Watch out!! One guy called me gay with a Turkish gesture of the OK sign (don't use this sign in Turkey unless you wanna fight). We chose The Ejder Restaurant, under the shadow of the Roman Aquaduct, placed our order and waited for the meat and Efes parade to begin. Hours later, after eating like amSultan, we lumbered back to the hotel and fell asleep.
We woke up in Izmir at our pensiyon, and because we already purchased our train tickets, we had a little more time for breakfast. We packed our belongings and trickled downstairs and to our surprise, found a complimentary fresh breakfast at our disposal!! We ate our fresh breaky and bounced to the train station, I still couldn't believe that we only had to pay 11 Turkish Lira!!
The train ride was pleasant and very chill, we passed through Izmir and into the countryside. Orchards, fields of corn and vegetables on either side reminded us of back home.
We arrived in Selcuk (pronounced Sell-chook) and walked up a slight incline to Hotel Bella. We've been looking forward to this hotel and were not disappointed, greeted by smiling faces and lokum, (Turkish delight) we checked in. After we settled into our room, we went upstairs to the beautiful rooftop patio and were met by Erdal, the owner. He proceeded to tell us of the town, it's people their history and offered us a ride to Ephesus, the reason why we came to Selcuk. It's the best preserved Hellenistic/Roman/Byzantine city. We graciously accepted. We spent 3.5 hours wandering the site, with the Celsus library and the terrace houses as the stand alone favorites. Ephesus has been rebuilt 5 times, so it houses a plethora of history throughout many an Empire.
With a quick phone call from the bookstore, Erdal picked us up and brought us back to our room. It was time for a power nap!
We slept with the sounds of nesting storks outside of our window, and when we woke, we ran upstairs, snaked a table and drank some Efes beer and wine. Now came dinner! The Turks really know how to prepare their meats, being a butcher by trade, this was something I can really appreciate. Meat stuffed mushrooms, eggplant, Russian salads, and bean salads danced onto our table until the coup de grace: the main dish! I had the grilled lamb and Krista had the spicy kebab. Both truculent, but mine, I have to say, was the better of the two. The best lamb I've ever tasted, we chased it down with a sugar soaked cake desert and a strong glass of Raki. Raki is the Turkish version of Ouzo or Sambuca with a twist, it doesn't get you drunk but rather stimulates you much like an Absinthe. Wow!
Day 7 - Selcuk
The night before, at approx 10pm, Erdal informed us that the PMD Tour was available, so we immediately signed up. Priene-Miletus-Didyma are some lesser known sights but are worth the excursion out of Selcuk town. After seeing most of the important artifacts already excavated and on display at the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, it was time to see the sources!
We boarded the mini van, among the other tourists, sat back and listened to our guide. A retired seventy something former archeologist, he delved into the history of the region, posed questions and made quirky jokes. The first stop was Priene! He jumped out of the van and expertly traversed his way 400 metres up the side of the mountain. With the ten of us in tow, he put most to shame and waited at the top. He told us the site was only 2% excavated and it used to be a port city the rich owned. It had a theatre, an agora, a temple. It was built up by the Byzantines until the days when the waters subsided and silt took over the land below.
Next stop was Miletus and it was amazing! Among the ruins, were remnants of the bath houses, we everything could be bought...for a price. It also had a huge Amphitheatre the held over 15,000 people! We explored inside and out, found winding corridors and even a castle that was added onto the top.
The final portion of the tour was the biggest temple of Apollo in recorded history at the site of Didyma. Still partially standing, this is a site where priests lived in and asked the advice of the oracle. The story goes, that the oracle, always a woman, lived in a room and continuously breathed in a gas that made her see the visions. These were the visions of Apollo. The site was unbelievable!
After a modest lunch, we drove back to the hotel and had a power nap, again! Being out in the middle of nowhere in 40 degree weather for hours at a time, can really knock the crap out of you!
We woke up, cleaned ourselves and sauntered into town looking for a genuine Turkish meal. I don't know how these restaurants stay open! Sometimes it seems as though there is more places to eat, than people to eat at them. We got asked to sit at a bakers dozen different places in 9 different ways. They say things like "Yes please" - "You look Hungry!" - "Best meatballs in town" and when you refuse... Watch out!! One guy called me gay with a Turkish gesture of the OK sign (don't use this sign in Turkey unless you wanna fight). We chose The Ejder Restaurant, under the shadow of the Roman Aquaduct, placed our order and waited for the meat and Efes parade to begin. Hours later, after eating like amSultan, we lumbered back to the hotel and fell asleep.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Day 5 - Izmir
Our original plan was to take the IDO ferry from Yenikapi terminal to Bandirma, where it connects to an express train to Izmir. All in all, it was supposed to take a total of 9 hours. We would have cruised the Marmara Sea and saw a lot of the Turkish countryside, but alas, the travel agent we spoke to was a douche. He told us the we would be able to just walk on to the ferry with no problems...when we checked the day of departure, it was full. My mistake for taking the word of someone else. Lesson learned. Instead, we purchased 2 tickets to Izmir courtesy of Turkish Airlines. What a great flight! A quick trip, a fresh healthy in flight meal and enough room to stretch my 6'3" frame. Air Canada has nothing on Turkish Air.
We arrived at Adnan Menderes Airport and were whisked away in a Taksi (Turkish) to our Pensiyon called the Vatan Otel. When we pulled up to the first Vatan Otel, my pulse drastically increased!! Thank the travel gods, it was the wrong one! A few blocks down the road our driver decried that this was the proper hostel. There we were met by a parrot named Vatan and his owner, who looked similarly like his 30 year old feathered friend, right down to the hair!!
We checked in and traipsed upstairs. Our room was clean and comfortable, but definitely not
the 4 Seasons, who wants that pampering anyways?! After cleaning up we decided to check out the vast building, complete with 2 restaurants, a computer room and a lovely garden terrace located in the back away from the scorching 35 degree sun. We enjoyed some complimentary refreshments and reflected on our stay in Istanbul.
Izmir, though beautiful, was a place we expected to pass through, but we decided to seek out Efes at a local eatery. After meandering down a beautiful back street surrounded by merchants, fresh fruit vendors and Ivy covered corner shops, we popped out beside Basmane Gir (station). I remembered that the reason I picked the pensiyon was it's proximity to the train station. Having learned my lesson, we ducked inside and purchased 2 tickets to Selcuk, our next destination, for a mere 11 Turkish lira ($6)!! We were set for the next day, so we decided to celebrate with some mezes at the pensiyon's annexed eatery. After struggling with our poor Turkish, they understood what we wanted and smiles immediately flashed across their faces.Triumphantly they paraded dish after dish of Turkish salads and Russian breads to our table, followed by Efes after Efes (the best Turkish beer!). We thanked them in Turkish and told them how full we were and how delicious it was, the cook even came out to receive his accolades!! We paid the bill and promptly retired to our room, bellies full and the sounds of the late night festivities filtering through our window. Ahhhh the Turks...
We arrived at Adnan Menderes Airport and were whisked away in a Taksi (Turkish) to our Pensiyon called the Vatan Otel. When we pulled up to the first Vatan Otel, my pulse drastically increased!! Thank the travel gods, it was the wrong one! A few blocks down the road our driver decried that this was the proper hostel. There we were met by a parrot named Vatan and his owner, who looked similarly like his 30 year old feathered friend, right down to the hair!!
We checked in and traipsed upstairs. Our room was clean and comfortable, but definitely not
the 4 Seasons, who wants that pampering anyways?! After cleaning up we decided to check out the vast building, complete with 2 restaurants, a computer room and a lovely garden terrace located in the back away from the scorching 35 degree sun. We enjoyed some complimentary refreshments and reflected on our stay in Istanbul.
Izmir, though beautiful, was a place we expected to pass through, but we decided to seek out Efes at a local eatery. After meandering down a beautiful back street surrounded by merchants, fresh fruit vendors and Ivy covered corner shops, we popped out beside Basmane Gir (station). I remembered that the reason I picked the pensiyon was it's proximity to the train station. Having learned my lesson, we ducked inside and purchased 2 tickets to Selcuk, our next destination, for a mere 11 Turkish lira ($6)!! We were set for the next day, so we decided to celebrate with some mezes at the pensiyon's annexed eatery. After struggling with our poor Turkish, they understood what we wanted and smiles immediately flashed across their faces.Triumphantly they paraded dish after dish of Turkish salads and Russian breads to our table, followed by Efes after Efes (the best Turkish beer!). We thanked them in Turkish and told them how full we were and how delicious it was, the cook even came out to receive his accolades!! We paid the bill and promptly retired to our room, bellies full and the sounds of the late night festivities filtering through our window. Ahhhh the Turks...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Istanbul Day 4
We woke up, just like every morning, to the sound of the call to prayer. Who needs an alarm clock!! After showering and tidying up our vacation rental apartment we started out in search of an inexpensive breakfast. Not cheap, Istanbul can be tough to find a reasonably priced restaurant, especially in the tourist trap of the Sultanahmet district where we decided to vacay. Once out of our apartment, we crossed through the Hippodrome and found a quaint cafe called the Sunrise Cafe, there we gorged ourselves on Turkish coffee, (a must try!) tea, fresh fruits, veggies and baked pastries. Nothing beats a Turkish pastry slathered in honey! After we paid our server and thanked him in Turkish, we went out in search of the Archeological Museum located beside Topkapi Palace it houses over one million items on display. Everything from early Mesopotamia to the most recent Ottoman empire, some stuff was almost 4000 years old! The highlight for me was the Sarcophogus of Alexander the great. After spending 4 hours looking at countless antiquities, it was time to be a real tourist and do the city sightseeing bus tour. 20 Euros allows you to board a double decker bus and join a hop on, hop off tour which takes you to all the important sights of Istanbul. Running approximately an hour and a half (2 with traffic) we covered a lot of ground on the European side and Asian side and attempted to hop off to see Dolombache Palace. However, we were greeted by an overwhelming lineup and after waiting 30 minutes with not a step forward, we decided to abandon in search of lunch beside the Bosphorous. After a coffee and some kebaps we continued our bus tour and hopped back on. We finished our tour and went back to the Hippodrome to people watch. After people watching, we built up a taste for alcohol and went in search of some Efes beer and house wine. We spent an hour looking for the perfect place and stumbled upon it! A non descript place called the Kebapci Kardelsler, owned by the most charming gentleman who brought out meat plates, fruits, teas, beers, wine, desserts and even offered us Turksh cigarettes! We spent 2 hours filling our bellies with Turkish staples, and unfortunately, we were the only ones at his restaurant. With tonnes of competition surrounding him we convinced a group of Belgians that this place was not to be missed. After our apple tea, we thanked the man profusely and rolled ourselves home. A great end to an almost perfect day, and our last day...tomorrow we travel to Izmir.
Istanbul...the first three days!
Day 1: We arrived at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul at 3:20pm. Upon our arrival we were met by our driver Deniz, and made our way to Ekim Apartments. We were greeted by Saban the owner and then made our way out into the city. Our apartments are located within walking distance of everything on our agenda. First we walked through the Hippodrome and saw the Egyptian Obelisk and the Constantine Obelisk as well as the Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain. We then walked to the Bosphorous and made our way to the Galata Bridge where we dined on a fish platter, drank Efes beer and enjoyed our view of the Bosphorous strait, the Golden Horn and Galata tower. We dined in between continents! It was amazing!
Day 2: We woke up early only to find that this city (besides the call to prayer heard throughout the Sultanahmet district) doesn't start to function until 9am. We had Turkish Coffee and tea on a lovely cobbled back street and watched the tourists flow in. Next stop: the Hagia Sofia, AKA Ayasofya, AKA Saint Sophia. It blew our minds, we wandered up to the top section where we saw the beautiful mosaics of the Emperor Justinian (who commissioned the building) The Virgin Mary, The Emperor Constantine, Jesus Christ and the Deisis Mosaics, Christ and the Empress Zoe and the Emperor Comnenos, Jesus Christ and the Empress Irene. The Ayasofia was built as a Byzantine church and when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, they converted it into a mosque but did not destroy the beauty within. I doubt the Christians would of done the same, stupid Christians. We marveled at the domes, columns, buttresses and the beautiful architecture for about an hour and we saw countless jaw dropping sites: tombs, marble pots and even where a Viking carved his name in the 9th century. We walked out of the Ayasofya, crossed the street and checked out the Blue Mosque. It was built to mirror the Ayasofya and although beautiful, it pales in comparison to the Ayasofya. Shimmering blue mosaics throughout, gives it it's name and you have to take off your shoes and cover up before they let you in because it is still a place of worship. After, we went to Topkapi Palace and spent an afternoon wandering the many rooms of it's Harem and the palace itself. We saw such items as the Topkapi dagger, encrusted with emeralds the sized of golf balls and an 86 karat white diamond among others. We weren't allowed to take pictures and I thought I might spend a day or year in jail after I was berrated for trying to do so. We ate some street food and went back to the apartment and crashed out about 9pm.
Day 3: Went took our time waking up and went out for breakfast to a quaint little cafe called the Green Cafe where we drank Turkish coffee and Tea and enjoyed a light breakfast consisting of cheese, olives, eggs and fresh veggies. We hopped across the street and went into the Basilica or Yerebatan Cistern. In the early centuries of Constantinople, this was the underground water reservoir for the city's inhabitants and drew it's water from the the forests 25 km away via the Valens Aqua-duct. As we descended into it's depths, we were surprised how dark and cool it was, hundreds of marble columns supported the ceiling and water still remains, now the home to thousands of fat fresh water fish. We walked down to the end where the heads of Medusa supported 2 of the columns. Certain scenes of James Bond's "To Russia with love" were filmed.
As we stepped out into the pale sunlight, we walked to the Grand Bazaar, the oldest market in the world!! Flush with merchants saying "let me sell you something that you don't need" we purchased a few items and Krista bartered for her silk/cashmere scarf. After strolling around the covered Bazaar we attempted to find the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, and failed miserably!! But the best way to get to know a city is to get lost in it! Fortunately for us we stumbled across the University, the Sulemaniye Mosque, the Beyzit Tower and a few other sights that we don't even know the name of. We met a friend who took us to his leather shop and then we scuttled away and had an Efes beer not far away. Next we walked up the beside the Bosphorous, to the Galata Bridge and found the Spice Bazaar!!! We entered and were bombarded by the sights, smells and the sounds. We purchased some spices of course, a spice grinder and some Turkish Delight!! Mmmmmmm. Now it was time for dinner at the world famous Hamdi Restaurant!! It was the most beautiful setting for dinner...EVER!! Surrounded by the The Bosphorous, Mosques, towers, bridges of Europe and Asia, we gorged ourselves on expertly grilled meats, Efes beer and house wine. After our most excellent meal, we walked across the Galata Bridge and into the fish markets of the Asian side in the Golden Horn. Now it was finally time for our Bosphorous Cruise!! We boarded a ferry and chugged up and down the Bosphorous Strait taking in the sights and sounds of both continents with the highlight being the big ass castle on the Asian side. Rumor has it that back in the Constantinople days they hung a huge chain from one side to the other to discourage entrance of opposing armies. What a great day!!
Day 4 is today and the plan is to take it easy but also take in he Archeological Museum and Dolombache Palace, but I'm sure we'll stumble across a myriad of other awe inspiring visuals!!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Cozumel!!
I had this huge desire to go back to Mexico and try my hand at snorkeling. I really never had any hobbies when I went traveling so I figured we should pick this one up. After researching different places in Mexico, I decided that the best place was Cozumel. I searched Expedia for about 2 months looking for the best fares from Calgary to Cancun (direct flights to Cozumel are waaay to expensive!!) and in May I booked 2 round trip tickets to Cancun for $1200! Our flight left on Dec 30th and returned Jan 7. Pretty good price for the high season, right? The secret is booking well in advance, people always told me to do the last minute deals but I wanted to go to Cozumel specifically. The next step was to find great accommodations for a reasonable price. I hate all inclusives. Boring food, stupid shows in the evening and fat ignorant people left and right. First stop, TripAdvisor! Since this was my first real kick at the can booking a relatively cheap vacation, I really didn't know where to look, but TripAdvisor rang true. I looked and found a place called AMARANTO BED & BREAKFAST http://tamarindoamaranto.com/
This guy named Jorge designed and built it with the emphasis on the traditional Spanish style, thatched roofs, great stone work. It was a great place and the staff (Jorge plus his dog and cook) were excellent! They helped us out with snorkeling put ins, restaurants and general questions. We booked 7 nights for under $500!! Total trip so far...$1700 for 2 people. Great price, all we have to worry about is the food and booze. First, we needed to get from Cancun to Cozumel...we split a cab (no buses for 3 hours after we landed) it cost us $50 plus we need to board the ferry over to Cozumel, that was $20 too. Not bad so far.
You would think that because it Mexico, you'd be able to get food and booze for cheap. Beer is about the same price or maybe just a little cheaper and food...well the restaurants were waaay to expensive for what we got. Our first foray into the Cozumel restaurant scene was a little Taco restaurant called LOS OTATES
it doesn't have a website but you just ask the locals, and you can find it. What a gold mine!! We had 6 tacos and 2 Dos Equis and it only cost us $10!! If you're all about 4 star restaurants, this is NOT the place for you. But damn, they were the best Tacos el pastoor you'll ever have, and the price...
Too bad almost every other restaurant we went to paled in comparison to the quality, freshness, service and the price...I know, I know, I keep rambling about the price, but when you're a budget traveler, that's all that matters.
Here's the run down of all the other restaurants we tried:
Playa Azul beach Club - 2 beers, 1 pineapple rum & 1 pina colada = $25 too much
Wet Wendys - we spent our new years here! Great people and theeee best Margarita/Pina Colada's on the island, but for $7.50 a pop....meh.
Coffee Express - Great Omelettes and coffee = $5.00
Pancho's Backyard - They advertise the best margarita's but they lie. Bad service and $9.00 Margs... go elsewhere.
La Cocay - The swankiest place on the island. This is where we spent our New Years Dinner. Crap food, crap drinks but great service and the backyard is a romantic setting. Guess what? That's what you pay for. With tip our bill ran to $250. OUCH. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!
Dorados De Villa - 2 for 1 Caronas, 8 Tacos 1 bottle of watter, chips and guacomole = $30 Meh.
Especias - THEEE best "high end " restaurant in town. Great Food, great service and a good private outside patio (if you can score it) We had Onion soup, bread & oil, 4 zucchini boats, chorizo plate, 1 Margarita, 2 Sol's, shrimp and bacon and 2 shots of this liquorice tequila for $50 with a generous tip. YOU GOTTA GO HERE!!
EL FOCO - The same kind of food as Los Otates, but for triple the price.
Long story, short...if you want to find great local food at great prices, stay away from the downtown core. Go up north of the core and hang with the locals.
OK, now for the snorkeling experience. Our first snorkel was at Palancar beach. It's free admission but the shore snorkeling is crap. You gotta go out and hit up the reef to see stuff. We did the tour and it cost us $30 per person, but I think it was worth it. We saw spotted eagle rays, turtles, tons of bermuda jacks and a few others I really couldn't put my finger on.
We didn't have an underwater camera, so no pics...sorry.
Dzul Ha - Great shore snorkeling!! Lots of stuff to see and the best thing its FREEE!!!
Playa Azul - Poor visibility and an overprice bar but it was a lovely beach.
Chakanaab Parque - WAAY TOO EXPENSIVE!! It's for dumb tourists and unfortunately, we got sucked in. $21 per person entrance fee, great snorkeling as it's a national park but the food is overpriced and the booze is too. AVOID AVOID AVOID.
The low down on Cozumel is this: If you want a cheap vacation go here and do what we did but don't do what we did. learn from our mistakes. Plus the taxis will suck the money out of you here. Anywhere you wanna go is going to cost you $20. Then when you need to get back, don't be surprised if the say it's $25-30. Jorge called them the "Taxi Mafia" So True.
This guy named Jorge designed and built it with the emphasis on the traditional Spanish style, thatched roofs, great stone work. It was a great place and the staff (Jorge plus his dog and cook) were excellent! They helped us out with snorkeling put ins, restaurants and general questions. We booked 7 nights for under $500!! Total trip so far...$1700 for 2 people. Great price, all we have to worry about is the food and booze. First, we needed to get from Cancun to Cozumel...we split a cab (no buses for 3 hours after we landed) it cost us $50 plus we need to board the ferry over to Cozumel, that was $20 too. Not bad so far.
You would think that because it Mexico, you'd be able to get food and booze for cheap. Beer is about the same price or maybe just a little cheaper and food...well the restaurants were waaay to expensive for what we got. Our first foray into the Cozumel restaurant scene was a little Taco restaurant called LOS OTATES
it doesn't have a website but you just ask the locals, and you can find it. What a gold mine!! We had 6 tacos and 2 Dos Equis and it only cost us $10!! If you're all about 4 star restaurants, this is NOT the place for you. But damn, they were the best Tacos el pastoor you'll ever have, and the price...
Too bad almost every other restaurant we went to paled in comparison to the quality, freshness, service and the price...I know, I know, I keep rambling about the price, but when you're a budget traveler, that's all that matters.
Here's the run down of all the other restaurants we tried:
Playa Azul beach Club - 2 beers, 1 pineapple rum & 1 pina colada = $25 too much
Wet Wendys - we spent our new years here! Great people and theeee best Margarita/Pina Colada's on the island, but for $7.50 a pop....meh.
Coffee Express - Great Omelettes and coffee = $5.00
Pancho's Backyard - They advertise the best margarita's but they lie. Bad service and $9.00 Margs... go elsewhere.
La Cocay - The swankiest place on the island. This is where we spent our New Years Dinner. Crap food, crap drinks but great service and the backyard is a romantic setting. Guess what? That's what you pay for. With tip our bill ran to $250. OUCH. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!
Dorados De Villa - 2 for 1 Caronas, 8 Tacos 1 bottle of watter, chips and guacomole = $30 Meh.
Especias - THEEE best "high end " restaurant in town. Great Food, great service and a good private outside patio (if you can score it) We had Onion soup, bread & oil, 4 zucchini boats, chorizo plate, 1 Margarita, 2 Sol's, shrimp and bacon and 2 shots of this liquorice tequila for $50 with a generous tip. YOU GOTTA GO HERE!!
EL FOCO - The same kind of food as Los Otates, but for triple the price.
Long story, short...if you want to find great local food at great prices, stay away from the downtown core. Go up north of the core and hang with the locals.
OK, now for the snorkeling experience. Our first snorkel was at Palancar beach. It's free admission but the shore snorkeling is crap. You gotta go out and hit up the reef to see stuff. We did the tour and it cost us $30 per person, but I think it was worth it. We saw spotted eagle rays, turtles, tons of bermuda jacks and a few others I really couldn't put my finger on.
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| Palancar beach |
We didn't have an underwater camera, so no pics...sorry.
Dzul Ha - Great shore snorkeling!! Lots of stuff to see and the best thing its FREEE!!!
Playa Azul - Poor visibility and an overprice bar but it was a lovely beach.
The low down on Cozumel is this: If you want a cheap vacation go here and do what we did but don't do what we did. learn from our mistakes. Plus the taxis will suck the money out of you here. Anywhere you wanna go is going to cost you $20. Then when you need to get back, don't be surprised if the say it's $25-30. Jorge called them the "Taxi Mafia" So True.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Belize!
After we married in Playa del Carmen, my wife and I decided to go a little further south into the unspoiled land of Belize!! After researching flights to Belize, we decided to hire a van & driver to pick us up from our hotel in Playa and make the 5 hour journey across the border to Belize. We were fortunate enough to find this guy: http://www.gettransfers.com/ his name is George and their operation is small but efficient and the drivers were super rad! I think it cost us $250 each way (he drove us back into Mexico and up to Cancun Airport!)
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| Corozal, Belize main street |
They picked us up at our hotel, drove us down to Chetumal on the Mexico/Belize border, helped us get over the border and dropped us off in Corozal, Belize where we had our first Belikan beer. Lemme tell you, it wasn't the last!! After our beers, we were off to the airstrip where we were to board our plane service by Tropic Air:
http://www.tropicair.com/ |
| Maya Island Air transport to San Pedro |
They flew us from Corozal, Belize to the island of Ambergris Caye, San Pedro Belize. There we started our honeymoon at the number 1 resort on the Island called Xanadu Island Resort.
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| Living Room unit 2 Xanadu Island Resort |
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| Bedroom 1 |
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| View from our deck at Xanadu Island Resort |
http://www.xanaduresort-belize.com/
This is a great resort!! The staff were so helpful and friendly, you can use the kayaks, there's a pool, they have a little bar and on top of the full kitchen, you have a beach BBQ!! they even helped us book our tour to Lamanai.
During our stay in San Pedro we ate at some of the best restaurants I've ever been to. I love seafood and while you're on the island, you're going to eat it! Best cerviche I've ever had...ooooh and the conch fritters!! Damn!! Here are some of the restaurants we dined at:
Celi's Restaurant Ramon's Village Crazy Canuck's Bar Blue Iguana Grille
Ruby's Cafe
But my favorite place by far was THE JAMBEL JERK PIT.
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| Our bus. The driver loved Bob Marley. |
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| Small bats on a tree! |
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| Crocodile hanging out. |
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After we spent our time, had our lunch and walked through the little museum it was time to go. Back on our boat to search for wildlife, drink some Beliken and high tail it back to our hotel!!
Our last expedition in San Pedro was to visit the tiny Caye Caulker. It's a small little island that was almost destroyed by a hurricane a few years ago and you can still see where it ripped through the island on aerial shots. After we discovered Caye Caulker, we decided that the next time we come to Belize, we're hopping the Cayes all the way down to Palencia!! If you wanna do some Caye hopping, here is a link:
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| Couple shot on Caye Caulker |
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| Sailboat on Caye Caulker |
An introduction.
For years I have been obsessed with Punk Rock! I fell in love with it and decided to open a record store called
EVOLUTION RECORDS. After that I joined a band called ALLSTAR ASSASSINS, where we traveled across Canada playing over 250 shows. I've gone from coast to coast, witnessing the best and worst of places. Some of my favorite places in Canada include: Victoria, BC - Jasper, AB - Sault Ste. Marie, ONT - Montreal, QC - Charlottetown, PEI. Do I like these places because of the scenery, people or venues? Well, I must say that it's a combo of everything. Have we played great shows outside of these places? Yup! Best show ever...Anytime we played North Bay, ONT. Great people, great shows...kind of a shithole though. Anyways, how did we do it? We (Ants of TRD and myself) booked the show ourselves. We knew where we wanted to go, we just needed an X to mark the spot, and we just went.
Touring with ASA made me fall in love with travel. I've been through almost every major town or city from Tofino to PEI, and the crap in between. Sure I've been to Mexico all inclusives with my buddies, blacked out, threw up and kept going. That's Not TRAVELING! Since I've been with my wife, we have these huge plans to see the world. I still love music, but it's kind of taken a back seat to my new passion. Along the way I've met some great people and discovered great tidbits of info, and I'd love to share them!!
EVOLUTION RECORDS. After that I joined a band called ALLSTAR ASSASSINS, where we traveled across Canada playing over 250 shows. I've gone from coast to coast, witnessing the best and worst of places. Some of my favorite places in Canada include: Victoria, BC - Jasper, AB - Sault Ste. Marie, ONT - Montreal, QC - Charlottetown, PEI. Do I like these places because of the scenery, people or venues? Well, I must say that it's a combo of everything. Have we played great shows outside of these places? Yup! Best show ever...Anytime we played North Bay, ONT. Great people, great shows...kind of a shithole though. Anyways, how did we do it? We (Ants of TRD and myself) booked the show ourselves. We knew where we wanted to go, we just needed an X to mark the spot, and we just went.
Touring with ASA made me fall in love with travel. I've been through almost every major town or city from Tofino to PEI, and the crap in between. Sure I've been to Mexico all inclusives with my buddies, blacked out, threw up and kept going. That's Not TRAVELING! Since I've been with my wife, we have these huge plans to see the world. I still love music, but it's kind of taken a back seat to my new passion. Along the way I've met some great people and discovered great tidbits of info, and I'd love to share them!!
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