Brazilians in Bursa??

On the way back to Istanbul I decided to stop in Bursa for a night to visit my Tunisan friend Waji. Bursa is the city where I did my AIESEC traineeshi for five months. The city of Bursa is about two hours south of Istanbul and is known for it’s Ottoman History, popular Uludag University and winter snow sports. While living here I was teaching English to adults a private language school. Unfortunately I left with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth because the owner of the school was not paying me in on time and expecting me to work very long hours for very little pay. However, other than the work situation I had a great time in Bursa meeting Turkish students and other international students who were doing internships at the various textile and manufacturing companies in the city. Teaching English was also incredibly rewarding because I got to meet so many people and the Turkish students were incredibly hospitable and engaged students. Wajdi was doing a traineeship at the same time as me but was hired on permanently and has been living in Bursa for the past four years.

I was totally surprised how many memories came rushing back to me while waiting outside the bus station for a smaller bus into the downtown area. Seeing all the bus traffic reminded me of how I was almost crushed by a bus that had lost it’s brakes and was careening down a hill with the passengers inside jumping out and doing a tuck and roll action. I was also reminded of waiting outside my school for a small crowded bus to appear and to struggle to be sucked into the crowd where people would be packed like sardines. There was even the familiar smell of my nose inside the armpit of sweaty non-deoderized Turkish men as they reached up their arms to hold onto the bus handle. I never dreamed that I would be returning to Bursa but it made me realize how powerful the sense of “place” can be. I dont’ think I would have ever been able to return to some of those memories without actually being in the place. I’m not going to get into much more of the sentimental stuff but all I’m saying is that I think it was important for me to return to be able to reflect on those five months and to be able to recognize the changes I’ve experienced in the past four years.

Wajdi cooked some great chicken for me as well as a special Tunisian spicy pepper oil to use for bread. It was wonderful! When I asked Wajdi how he spend his spare time he showed he began to enthusiastically open all of his cabinets for me, here is the pic:

Get the picture?

We had a great time catching up on old stories and which of our international friends we were still in contact with. I found out that there were a couple AIESEC marrıages. If any of you AIESECers are reading this I’m sure you not surprised – “AIESEC Love!”

Wajdi and I headed down to a pub called “Chaos” to meet some of the current AIESEC students and trainees. The club small,playing very bad loud music, serving expensive drinks, and the dancing was horrible. Just as I remembered it!!

We picked up Irena, a trainee from Brazil and Gustavo, a trainee from Ecuador and headed back to the house. Irene showed us how to prepare a drink called Tres Fasione (Three Phases) which is made by pouring an intial layer of thick juice, followed by a layer of wine, and then on top a final layer of vodka. The drink must be prepared very cautiously so that the the three parts to do mix. You then take the entire drink in one gulp and it is rumored to help you “catch a man or woman.”

Here is a picture of the drink preparation:

After the drinks Irene made this great chocolate fondue which we ate with bananas and grapes. So delicious!

The night was filled with cholate, sweet alochol, smoke, music, dancing and conversations that rapidly switched between English, Turksih, Portuguese and Spanish. It was wonderful!

Here I’m drinking a Tunisian speciality – Date Liquer!

Slideshow from Ephesus

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Chillin’ Out by the Ancient City of Ephesus

On Tuesday night I took a overnight bus from Istanbul to the town of Selcuk near by the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. After a sleepless bus ride I was shake awake by the bus “flight attendant” and told to exit the bus. I looked out the windows into the pre-dawn light to see that we were stopped on the side of the road, not even in a bus station, and that I was the only one disembarking. I hesitantly gathered my things and got off the bus which quickly drove off. Once the sun came up I phoned the contact number for my hostel and was immediately picked up by “Carlos”, a Turkish man with long sunbleached hair and boardshots. We drove 2km down the rode to “Atilla’s Hideway – The Backpacker’s Resort”. The place is up a small hill in a serene grove of pine trees. The “resort” has a pool, poolside bar, hammocks, lounge chairs, bean bags, pool table, nargile (water pipes) and tons of boardgames. They serve a great breakfast and dinner and the staff if very friendly. Most of the people staying here are Australian doing the Turkey tour or working in the UK and taking a holiday. The place defines the word “chill” and is so peaceful it’s easy to lose track of hours. My stomach is the only thing helping me tell and it is quickly satiated.

Yesterday a van picked us up and took us to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus was the Asian area of the Roman Empire is the second largest ancient greek/roman ruins in the world.

At the ticket area I heard some Americans negotiating with an official guide on the price for his services.  I asked them if I could contribute to the payment and join their group and they accepted.  They were from Los Angeles and Palo Alto and had abandoned their cruise ship stringent tour plans to do their own thing for the day. 

The ruins were really amazing and turkey is pretty lax around visitors to the archaeological sites, there are no barriers or roped off areas.  You can practially throw your arms around 2,000 year old ionic column and lick it and nobody will stop you.  I was really impressed with the complexity of the ancient roman water sysem and pipes that brought fresh water from the mountains into the city.

We saw the ancient parlimentary house, terraced house of the rich, and my favorite, the group toilet area where important civil business was conducted.  If the stone seats were too cold the slaves would be sent to warm up the seats before their masters sat down, what a humiliating job!

I have some more pictures coming but I don’t have the cord to connect to my digital camera right now. 

I think this theater is in better shape than the Oakland Coliseum! 

Slideshow from Bosphorus Cruise

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Dining and Dancing in Taksim

“It’s Saturday night, I guess that makes it all right.” 

After spending a leisurely day at home eating, drinking tea and walking along the water by Hanife’s house we decided to get dressed up and head to Taksim area for dinner.  We had fun trying on different outfits for each other and debating what to wear, well, Hanife tried on different outfits, I only have one dress so there wasn’t much debate.

Most Turkish people work a six day week so Saturday night is their only night to go out without having to work the next day.  As we drove along the Anatolian coast towards the Golden Horn we passed by dozens and dozens of families making BBQs in the parks along the water.  Most of these are the more traditional families in which the women are covered and girls my own age have two or three children.

I was clutching my seat the entire time as Hanife expertly and agressively weaved through traffic and assertively inched in front of neighboring cards at merging areas.  Taksim Square is the epicenter for the European side of Istanbul.  Unlike Sultanmehmet with it’s historic palaces, tea gardens and mosques, this part of Istanbul is young, hip and modern.  The nightlife is cenetered around Istiklal Cadessi which is pedestrian only streeting running about for about one mile and chalk full of clothing stores, music stores, bars, cafes, restaurants and street vendors selling everything from corn on the cob to super glue.  Since it was Saturday night the place was packed and it took all our strength to walk down the street without losing our purses or each other.

We had dinner at trendy “360″, a restaurant/bar on top of a building with a 360 view of the city.  It was in one of those unmarked buildings so that you feel very coy when you slip in the door, ascend in the ancient elevator and arrive in a very eloquent rooftop terrace.  We dined on Turkish wine, warm chestnut salad, duck and pad thai noodles!

During the dinner we could see fireworks erupting throughout the city aknowleding weddings and club openings.

Yikes, the tan line!

After dinner we  wound through the busy streets looking into busy cafes and bars and browsing the street vendor’s goods.  It was very strange because we passed by many bars that were full of young men, not a woman in a sight.  Hanife was not able to explain what they one single gender places.  There were plenty of young Turkish women in the streets wearing the latest cotton shirt/dresses in bright reds and greens and oranges…just not inside the bars.

Between the warm tea, ice cold beers, ice-cream, milk pudding, mussels, kebab and raki that the shops are offering it was hard to choose a place to settle.  We found a garrishly decorated type of pub where there were two musicans playing live music on top of recorded tracks.  They had a Gypsy Kings type of vibe and the crowd were “polite” people as Hanife would say.  I drank some type of cocktail advertised as a Martini that tasted more like Nestea and the moved onto the Raki, the anise flavored liquor that turns milky white when combined with water.

Hanife started dancing and showing off her Latin dancing skills  and after a couple songs of me protesting she finally got me up the dance floor.  We were whirling around and it was so much fun!  I’m usually quite shy about this kind of thing but the crowd was warm and encouaging and the bind was playing special songs just for us.  It was really exciting!!

Turkish Breakfast!

Here is Hanife and the wonderful Turkish Breakfast that she prepared for us after our walk along the Sea of Marmara.

• Three types of cheese coatedi n olive oil
• A salad of gilled egglant, tomatoes, peppers with an olive oil/pomegrante sauce dressing.
• Eggs grilled with spicy beef sausage (no pork in Turkey!)
• Tomatoes and Cucumber Salad
• Olives
• Ayran – Salty milk drink made from a bacteria
• Bread toasted in olive oil

Git! Git! Espanola?

This morning I took the train from Hanife’s flat into Sutanmehet area which is the old part of Istanbul with all the large mosques and the grand bazaar. Due to my laundry problem all I had left was a tank top and shorts. In the train filled with mostly older men and “covered women” I was definitely showing the most skin of anyone on the entire train and I was cringing the whole time at my mistake!

I headed to kebab shop to eat some meat and drink some tea. The son of the owner of the shop took it upon himself to sit with me to “practice his english” and to make sure I was being served appropriately. I guess it’s the tan but he thought I was from South America.

After leaving the restaurant I headed for the Grand Bazaar to buy some cheap clothes to “cover up”. I felt a little less exposed since I was in a more touristy area but I felt it was necessary to have at least some sleeves. As you walk through the bazaar you are hoarded byshopkeepers trying to guess your nationality and say something in your language to grab your attention. Again to my surprise I was bombarded with “Espanola”, “Hola”, “Senorita!”.

I finally navigaed to the clothing area which is mostly dominated with the long overcoats worn by the covered women and stands of colorful pajamas and underwear. I quickly realized that all the t-shirts for women come in only one size – “really tight”. The young ladies of Turkey do not wear low cut shirts because this would be too exposing but instead where incredibly skin tight shirts instead. I bought a ridicuous orange shirt with rhinetones and glitter and the words “just can’t get enough” on it but at least it was only three dollars and covered up a bit more skin.

I ended up exiting the bazaar in the Spice area where I bought the most amazing plump and juicy cherries.

Next I headed for Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. I sat in the gardens between the two magnificent buildings. Each time I took out my map a young Turkish man seemed to appear from nowhere offering to help me or to show me around. I know they meant no harm but this became incredibly annoying after the fifth or sixth time it happened. Hanife tells me I have to say “geet geet” to make them go away but that feels a bit demeaning. Instead my new line is “I’m waiting for my husband!”. That seemed to do the trick Perhaps my “I just can’t enough” t-shirt was misleading.

The Blue Mosque

This is the Yeni Cami (Mosque).  This was taken right as the call to prayer was being bellowed from the Mosque’s minuret.  The men are lining up outside to wash their feet before entering the mosque.  As I was walking around the city during this time there were many groups of men spilling out of mosques and sitting on rugs on the sidewalk because it was so crowded inside the mosque.

Hanife has been filling my belly with the most amazing salads, cheeses, meatballs and sweets.  I have pictures on the way!

Tonight we are heading to Taksim, the hot spot for young Istanbullus to a restaurant called 360 that supposedly has an amazing view of the city.  Can’t wait!

Funny translation story:  Hanife has two cats “Nil” and “Kitty” (whom I named four years ago).  For some reason Kitty has not gotten any bigger in the past four years so I told Hanife that she was a “runt”.  I had a hard time explaining what that word meant so Hanife looked it up in her Turkish/English dictionary.  The dictionary offered a Turkish word for runt that is literally translated as the pieces corn  that do not pop when making pop-corn.  We had a good laugh about this!

Returning to the Motherland – Turkey!

Woke up real early yestrday morning and bid adieu to Ms. Thalia of Pensione Thalia.  I’ve exhausted all my clean clothes and had to wear a Malibu Rum shirt that I got from one of the “Malibu girls” at my favorite bar in SF – “The Fishbowl” and some sweats from Old Navy, I was looking good, real good

I boarded a small ferry boat bound for Ayvalik, the closest Turkish port town to Lesvos. I was getting nervous because I had bought an 11:00 bus ticket from Ayvalik to Bursa and the ferry boat was late.  We finally deboarded at 10:30am and then I had to wait in the customs line.  Last time i entered Turkey they charged Americans 100 dollars, not sure if it was different because I was arriving by sea or policies have changed but this time it was-only 20 dollars.  I met this real nice older Australian couple who were trying to catch the same bus as me.  We made it to the bus station right at 10:57 where I surprised myself by remembering enough Turkish to able to communicate that the Aussie couple needed to buy a ticket as well.

Now traveling by buses in Turkey is the way to go!  Especially if you choose a good bus company like Kamil Koc (that’s pronounced “Camel Coach” by the way).  The buses are large with luxurious seats, AC, movie, radio and a young boy attendant who brings you water, tea, sweets, juice and antibacterial towlettes throughout the journey.  The eight hours went by very quickly!

I was surprised how sentimental I felt after returning here four years after my five month English teaching stint in Bursa.  Little things came back to me that I had forgotten like how the Turkish people click their tongues and roll their eyes to express “no” and how it takes about five people to answer one question even if the first person you asked already knew the answer.

Hanife picked me up fom the main bus station and took me to her new apartment which is located in a very “Pacific Heights” area of Istanbul.  Hanife is looking as glamorous and fashionale as ever!  It’s wonderful to see her and it’s very cute the way she supplements Italian words into the conversation when she doesn’t know the English word.  As soon as we returned home she whipped up a great meal of a roasted vegetable salad, pasta with salmon and watermelon for desert.  We had a good time laughing and remembering our times in Bursa and then I go sleepy and was sent to bed….literally.

Feelin’ the European Dance Beats

These are the songs that I can’t get out of my head because they are playing all over the radio, clubs, restaurants and even TV commercials. Thank you good people of YouTube who have nothing to do but create this funky little videos!

Yves LaRock – “Rise Up”

Mika – “Relax, Take it Easy” (just wait for the chorus, you’ll be humming it all day!)

Robbie Williams doing Manu Chao…yeah, it happened. Maybe Manu Chao was spending too much time se gusta marijuana to release the rights to this. Oh yeah, Lily Allen got to jump in on this one too!

Fedde Le Grand – “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit”

Alex Gaudino – “Destination Uknown”, pretty tacky video

Mytilini Town

I’m totally exhausted because I rented a car for the last two days and I’ve been up and down and all around this island so I’m not sure where to start. I’m staying in Mytlini which is the capital of Lesvos, there is a large University here so there are tons of young people.

I’m staying at this tiny little Domtia (pensione) where owner, Thalia, speaks to me in non-stop Greek. Although we suffer a language barrier I was able to pay and turn on the AC, I guess money has no language barrier. There are four rooms in the house but I haven’t seen any of the other residents.

The most striking thing about this island is that the architecture is totally different than the island in the Cyclades. Instead of the white washed homogeneous homes on Ios, Santorini and Sifnos the homes here are all colorful old mansions. I think this had to do with the Turkish influence on the island, the Turkish people used to live here. A lot of the mansions are being restored and they are really stunning to look at. It’s also refreshing to have a lit bit of color of well!

The town thrives around the u-shaped harbor where there are tons of cafes and restaurant.  The cafes all have brightly colored sofas and lounge chairs. At all hours of the day the cafes are filled with 18-22 year olds sipping frappes (whipped ice coffee), playing backgammon and generally checking each other out.  I’ve been a little turned off by the over priced coffe, bad pop music and the fact that I’m don’t know backgammon so I haven’t joined the crowd yet.  The other result of all the young people is that everyone has a scooter and walking through town is a bit trecherous because  cars and scooters have the right of way so everyone is constantly hopping on and off the fickle sidwalks to avoid being run over.

The other unique thing about this city is that there are tons of dogs sitting on every corner. They are super tame and just stare at you with adorable little bored eyes.   Why don’t they bark?  Is it a natural selection thing that the dogs who didn’t bark were more likely to pass on their genes because the barking dogs got killed off?  Here is a cute little puppy face that I shot today:

So where have all the young men gone?
Gone to internet cafes, every one.

Mytilini has a little piece of my heart because they have a crazy number of 24 hour internet cafes with all the latest equipment.  The cafes are filled with young guys playing computer games, downloading music, and instant messaging.  I’ve been going to one called Sponda a couple times a day and I seem to be the only woman here.  When I speak English 30 paris of eyes instantly leave their computer screen and turn towards me with curious shy eyes.  Only one or two can muster up the words to ask where I’m from but then they get nervous about their English and go back to World of Warcraft or whatever they are playing.  They seem totally bewildered by the fact that I’m traveling alone and they keep looking at the door as if some other American woman or man will walk in to claim me as their traveling partner.

I’m having some trouble with the pictures that I took but I hope to get them up soon.  I rented a car for the last two days so I want to write about my adventures but I’m totally exhausted so it may have to wait.

Today is the Fourth of July/My Birthday…I would say the celebration (of both) can be described as totally non-existent which sounds kind of sad but really it hasn’t made me sad. I do miss that Toot Sweets cake though!

Hope everyone has a good holiday.

I’m heading to Turkey tomorrow. I will take a boat to Ayvalik and then a bus to Istanbul where my dear friend Ms. Hanife will pick me up.

Lesvos – Birthplace of Lesbianism

I’m not kidding!  I thought people were just making a joke when they changed the ‘v’ to a ‘b’ saying this was the island of the “Lesbos”.  It’s actually true!  This is the birthplace of Sappho, the ancient Greek poet who wrote many sensual nature inspired verses directed at her circle of female friends.  The word “lesbian” actually comes from the name of this island “Lesvos”.  Apparently in September the island is filled with lesbians from around the world who flock to Eresos on the eastern end of the island where Sappho was born.  There is a huge “women only ” festival and a lot of the travel agencies here cater specifically to “women travelers”.

Hmmm.  I am a single woman from San Francisco traveling around the island of Lesvos….I wonder if people think I’m on a pilgrimidge as well?!

The best part about this island is that they rent automatic cars, SCORE!  I am hitting the road tomorrow, hope to have more to share soon!

A Full Moon in Athens and a Harrowing Sea Journey

There was a full moon for my last night in Athens. If you know me well you know that I get a little wacky during full moon nights because I can’t sleep and I’m filled with an unreal energy and alertness. I got a little lost in the touristy area of Athens and was wandering through the area of the Acropolis looking for the metro station.

Every single little road and corner was filled with tourists eating their 11pm dinners. I finally made it back to the hostel, usually there is a pretty diverse mix of nationalities but California was dominating the scene. In my room were two girls from USF and at the bar was a guy from Sacramento, and three people from LA. It was comforting after the last three weeks of travel to be able to talk about some familiar places. The funniest part of the night was when the bartender brought out this little machine with four slots for fingers. Everyone slides in their finger and the machine starts beeping ,I thought it was one of those memory games but when the light stops by one of the little finger slots the person gets a little shock.  It was sickly addicting!

I woke up early the next morning to catch at 12:30pm ferry from Piraeus, the main port in Athens.  The port is humongous and very poorly laid out.  I was waiting in the wrong area and when I was finally directed to the right area I had to walk about 1 mile just to get there.  It was all very confusing and then it turned out that the ferry was 5 hours late.  This meant that instead of arriving in Mytilini (island of Lesvos) at 9:30pm at night I would arrive at 3:30am in the morning which an intimidating time to arrive at a town where you have no hotel reservation.

I met a nice man who helped me navigate getting to the right dock and boarding the ship.  He had a family business selling emboridered fabrics to churches.  He told me a great story about being on a plan and having to land in Istanbul instead of Athens because of mechanical problems.  Most Greek people would not consider visiting Turkey because of the political and historical tension.  However, this man told me how wonderful it was and how hospitable the people were.  This made me feel a bit more hopeful that not all Greek people feel so negative towards Turkey…there is hope, there is hope.  This is a much larger issue that I hope to be able to address later.

I guess the boat leaving so late was a big deal because the Athens news channel was there interviewing irate passengers.  I was not asked to be interviewed but I’m sure that if I was I would deliver a good combination of outrage and international diplomacy in my interview.  Once onboard they were giving away free drinks and food at the restaurants but the announcement was made in Greek so I didn’t get to take part.  I just thought everybody was really really hungry.

Not knowing this would be a night voyage I bought a deck seat, meaning I did not have a comfortable place to sleep.  I ended up curling up on a trunk carrying life vests.  It was right near the bar which was playing r&B hits from the early nineties for 12 hours.  I slept very fitfully and woke up wet, salty and shivering.

I arrived in the Mytilini town in Lesvos at 4:30am and started wandering the streets looking for a hotel.  This very nice man who sold jewelry drove me around to every single hotel that had a 24 hour reception but to no avail.  I ended up camping out at the fortress on the hill overlooking the town until the sun came up at 6:30.  I found my way to a little pension where the nightgown clad owner speaking in nonstop Greek took my bags and then shooed me away telling me to come back at 9:00am.

Luckily Mytlini is a University town so they have a young population with tons of internet cafes, many of them are 24 hours for hardcore gamers.

I can’t explain how ridiculously friendly and hospitable every single person I’ve met has been.  The restaurant owner where I had breakfast took a seat with me at the table and told me everything I should visit on Lesbos.  Even the guy at the Internet cafe took out a pencil and started scribbling notes.  The rent-a-car guy invited me for tea and introduced me to this whole family.  I do not think this is just a young woman traveling alone thing (or perhaps I’m being a naiive) but it feels very genuine and welcoming.

More out Lesbos …the islands of the Lesbisans( no joke!) to come!

Here is the harbor in Mytilini town:

The castle/fortress where I tried to sleep:

Sifnos – A Splendid Secret

The four day visit to Sifnos was fantastic!  I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and peaceful island.  All of the people I met there were very sincere and hospitable without being overbearing.  Here are some great pictures I took while on the island:

Sailboats in the harbor at Kamara, the village where I stayed.

Terraced olives groves and a small village in the distance.

I can’t get enough of these tiny churches!

This is a little church connected to Kastro – the Midievel captial of Sifnos

Waiting for the bus in Apollonia – check out the old lady on the scooter!  I bet she knows how to drive a stick shift…..

Isn’t this is a great looking little villa?  I learned that although many of these white houses look the same they are actually designed with a unique architecture to provide maxium coolness in the summer and maximum warmth in the winter. 

Walking out to the beach – you literally step off this deck into the water.

Not a bad place to have a little lunch, eh?

I hiked down to this beautiful church and went swimming on the cliffs behind the building.

Sunbathing on the  cliffs behind the church. I felt like a lizard sunning on the rocks, a klutzy lizard because if you had seen these legs one hour after this picture was taken you would see a big red scrape all over the left one- wups!  Thank you anti-bacterial wipes.

Chillin! 

The water is majestically clear!

So while in Sifnos I befriended the guy and gal around my age who ran the local (only) internet cafe.  Khristina was from LA and was traveling around Greece, found herself in Sifnos and decided to stay.  Hari, a greek guy from Athens wanted to “get away from it all” so he answered an ad.  They were incredibly friendly and accomodating and kept my wine glass full.  I also met a gal from Chicago who was bartending at the only bar in the village.  Don’t think that I didn’t think about looking for a job and staying on the island forever….because I did….and I’m still thinking about it!

I had to come back to Athens today to do some shopping/errands/etc.  My boat leaves tomorrow for the island of Lesvos (that’s “vos” with a ‘v’.)   I’m staying at the Hostel Aphrodite again in Athens, it’s sorta nice to come back to a place where people remember you.  Below is an image of Steve who manages the bar and his tube of Vegemite.  That’s the crazy black vitamin paste that the Australians cannot live without.

Upcoming Posts:

• George, the Greek physician from the Bay Area eloquently explains to the Turkish/Greek emotional tension.
• Backpacking TechTalk – Is Facebook the new My Space?  Internet Cafes Out – Wireless Internet In!

Why does this car have three pedals?

So my plans today to rent a car and explore the island were foiled by the fact that I never learned how to drive stick shift and they didn’t have a single automatic car on the whole island.  DUH!!  I met a nice British guy who reluctantly offered to teach me to drive but after we surveyed that the only practice space was a road that led into the ocean up a steep hill we decided to scrap the idea.

Luckily, the heat wave is starting to abate and I grabbed my stuff and took a bus to Platys Giaglas (something like that) and spent the whole day lounging on a chair, reading “Corelli’s Mandolin” and floating around in circles in the water.  For exercise I would challenge myself to swim out to buoy and float around that for about five minutes.  It’s a tough life, huh? 

I took some great pictures of old stone walls, cute churchs and some that I hope show the serentity of the beach and the island.  Unfortunately this is hte only internet cafe on the whole island and the prices are steep so I need to wait until tomorrow when I’m back in Athens.

I befriended a family from North Carloina who was sitting behind me on the beach.  The father was a plastic surgeon.  He had just come back come a conference in Athens and when I asked him about he pulled out a black marker and started drawing circles around the places where I could use “some work”.  JUST KIDDING.  He did remind me to put a lot of sunscreen on my scars though. 

I’m starting to figure out some of the greek letters using my knowledge of fraternity parties and Mr. Depasquale’s Honors Algebra class to figure out the sounds.  “Corelli’s Mandolin” actually helped me with some of the phrases and local expressions.  It’s nice to be in one place for more than two nights becaus I”m starting to recognize people and the eb and flow of the incoming ferries.

Last night I was invited by the owner of the Internet Cafe to watch the “premiere” of the new DVD he had bought – “Kicking and Screaming” with Will Ferrell.  It was so hot that I could hardly cross my legs because they kept slipping on each other from all the sweat.  Half way through the movie we noticed a group of six seven-year old boys climbing on top of each on the stairs of the cafe trying to get a view of the movie.  They were so cute and were promptly invited in.  The movie was pretty dumb but the company was quite nice!

I”m heading back to Athens tomorrow for a night to catch a ferry out to Ikaria or Samos….the islands closer to Turkey. 

Oh yeah, I found out what that great smell in the valleys was – OLEANDER!

Sifnos Serves It Up

Hey Everyone!  I escaped from Ios just in time to preserve my wallet, liver and possibly a few inhibitions.

Took an awful nine hour ferry from Ios to Sifnos, the AC didn’t work, the toilets were all clogged, and the cabin smelled of suage and smoke.  I did befriend an Iranian biotechnology student and played a couple good games of rummy.

I had called a day ahead to a hotel that was recommended by Lonely Planet.  The man I spoke to on the phone spoke very poor English and told me the price for the room was “30 o’clock” and kept insisting that I  was having a “good morning” when I was trying to tell him I would arrive at midnight the next day.  However, to my astonishment, there was this tiny little man  waiting at the port for me with his tiny van and nice smile.

I’m staying in the port town of Kamares, it’s hardly a port, more a resort.  I like it because there aren’t too many tourists and hardly any Americans.  It’s a nice family place and very very quiet compared to Ios.  Here is a picture of the beach here in town:

Here is the whole village  – I think I’ve walked the length of it at least twenty times already.

I woke up early today and hopped on the bus top the capital of the island – Apollina.  This “bustling” captial city has a total of one bank and five restaurants.

I walked for about 2 kilometers down the countryside to the Kastro, which is the ancient walled off city.  It was blisteringly hot but the walk was beautiful and it smelled like fresh herbs.  All along the way there were small white houses inbetween terraced farmland, it must be olives or figs.

Here is Kasro from a distance:

A tiny little church at the end of a winding road

Sifnosians are know for the excellent cuisine.  I just had some wonderful friend cheese balls and succulent pork in a nice lemon sauce.

There is this bar in town “the old captain’s bar” that I”m going to go check out….ok, it’s the only bar in town but they have music playing and my iPod died many days ago.

I’m renting a car tomorrow (thank to Maidie, Dan Selleck and Mom who helped fax my license over) so I should get some more great pictures.

Forgot this pic!

It’s not all just a big party, it’s a really beautiful island as well – here is a church in the main square.

However, notice it’s 2:30pm and no one is outside because they are all still sleeping

I’m trapped on the island of the lotus eaters!

“”I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of nine days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eaters without thinking further of their return” (Odyssey)

The party island has wrapped it’s little claws around me and I’ve decided to stay for two more nights. I figure I’ll allow myself this party pleasure for a couple days before I drift off to Sifnos which is an island that few travelers have even heard about it.

As far as the party scene, I went out last night and it was amazing. Imagine the best party you have ever been to, multiply that by ten, and cover an entire island village with that and that is what Ios is like. The drinks are cheap, the music is great and people are dancing all over the bars. I had a hard time taking pictures in the clubs because of the lights and madness but I’ll go ahead and show some pictures of the happy faces of my new friends and hopefully you can get the picture.

How about these tan lines, eh?

Angie and Alan – My Australian friends. He’s an Australian Tico!

Apparently these decorative toilet seats are all the rage now. It’s not bad, eh?

“South Beach” guy staying at our hotel and traveling with his two younger brothers.

I don’t understand the premise of this picture but this is Angie and a nice couple from Vancouver Island staying at our hotel.

Late night blackjack game back at the hotel.

Ios – Spring Break All Year Long

I’m in Ios now, one of the smaller islands in the Cyclades. The ferry was supposed to only take one hour but due to a suspicious “rescus mission” the boat was three hours late and then managed to stop at every single little port on the way and turned into an 8 hour voyage. There were only eight other tourists on board, a couple from South Africa, a group of architecture students from Urugay and Angie and Alan, my new friends from Australia. WE were all so frustrated with the delay and mixed stories that I was preparing a mutiny with my new friends, but then I got tired and decided to go to sleep instead. I brought Angie and Alan along with me to my hotel where they manage to consume ridiculous amounts of alochol while keeping me entertained with their great traveling stories.

A couple descriptions of Ios

• The best analogy is that it’s like a Saturday night on DP in Isla Vista (only some of you will get this reference, but it’s the best I can do)
• The island is the “party island” for 18 – 25 year old beautiful international jetsetters.
• Despite the heavy drinking and partying everyone always looks fresh and beatiful
• The main topic of conversation each day is about how much was drunk the night before and each night is always determined to have been “the best party of the summer”

Despite the party atmosphere, Ios is actually a beautiful little island with some great beaches. The main town is built into a hill and all of the restaurants and shops are hidden among these winding narrow cobblestone streets. I’m only here for two nights, I felt that if I stayed any longer I would be drawn into the hedonistic beach party from which I would never return.

Note: Most of the employees of the hotels and bars are Australians who have been traveling the world and need a place to chill out for four weeks and make some money. Aussies say “how you going?” instead of “how you doing?” That’s the largest chunk of culture I have to add to this post.

Here are some pictures I took:

View from my hotel room

Sunset, ahhh!!

(Looking down at the pool area, there is a pool bar too, of course!)

You can check out the hotel website for some more cool pictures of Ios and the hotel.

I was feeling a little under the weather last night so I stayed in and rested but I am hitting the town tonight. That means napping until 9pm and leaving the hotel at 12pm. The bars here don’t close until sunrise!!

The Scorching Voyage to Santorini

I left Naxos yesterday and boarded a ferry bound for Santorini. Aboard the ferry I was turned off by the loads of tourist and large percentage of Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses and designer luggage thinking I had picked the wrong spot. It was so hot that I passed out on a table in a pool of sweat. I was madly clutching my one bottle of water, more concerned about this $.75 item than about my purse and credit cards.

After an excruciating longtime waiting in the hold of the ship for the boat to dock (this may be extreme but I think i can sort of imagine those trains the jews had to ride in when they were carted off to the concentration camps – old people were fainting and babies were screaming) we finally arrived at the base of a huge cliff. I struggled into the tourist office barely managing to produce the words “single” and wave my passport and euros at the woman the counter. She booked me in some hotel and a man came to pick me up and drive me up the winding hill towards the top of the cliff. He was non-stop chatting the whole time in broken English about the island, his job, and he kept awkwardly slapping my bare leg.

We drove through the down and down a road and stopped at a building that had looked like it had just been build 2 weeks ago. He informed me that he was the maintenance man and that the managers were on vacation. From what I can tell I am the only person actually staying at this hotel and probably the first person to ever flush the toilet or sleep in the bed but the view is beautiful and rooms are spacious and modern.

Here is a look at my hotel room.

Once I showered and rehdrated I hiked up the hill to explore the town of santorini. OH MY GOD, IT’S GORGEOUS! This is easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and definitely rivals my allegiance to the skyline of Istanbul and the enchanting t and and canals of Venice. I don’t have all my geogly down pat but basically the terrain of the island is shaped by the earthquakes and volcanos that have plagued it for the last thousands of year. Words don’t do justice but take a look:

Even though the town is full of tourist and tourist shops it is still quite charming and peaceful.

My guidebook recommended watching the sunset at the bar Francos. I was the first one to arrive so I had my choice of the various lounge chairs and tables separated into three or four balconies on the side of the cliff. The most striking thing about Francos is that loud dramatic classical music/donnie darko music this is playing. The waiters look like a cross between Hari Krisnas and finely groomed and chiseled men from a theme calander – “Men of the Mediteranean”. The menu ranged from a $10 beer to $500 bottle of Cristal….I stuck with a glass of wine .

I sat for about two hours peering over the clips watching the sunset, enjoying the music, the tasty refreshing white wine and sporadically eavesdropping on the other tourists. The nice thing about traveling alone is that nobody know who you are when you don’t speak and reveal your accent.

Santorini is known for the “honeymooners” island and there are many many couples but it does not bother me. I will just have my own romance with the beautiful island!

Today I’m off to do some wine tasting and hit up the beaches. I need to take it easy because tomorrow I depart for Ios, the “spring break” capital of the Cyclades.

Scoot Scoot – Sue Takes to the Road

So apparently the best way to get around these islands is on a scooter or ATV. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately I left my drivers license at home so I couldn’t rent one by myself. Luckily, the group of guys I met from Toronto invited me to com along with them and sit on the back of their scooters. These guys have Greek heritage and know how to speak the language and most importantly order the right food.

Riding on a scooter is so fun and exhilarating. The warm wind whips through your hair, the sun beats calmly down on your charred shoulders and nothing escapes you since there are no windows. Even the chaning “vroom vroom” of the engine make a nice melody to illustrate the terrain of the island – steep hill, tight turns, patches of sand and smoothy empty highways.

We headed back to Plaka beach where I introduced the guys to my Greek friend John since he had also lived in Toronto. We shared some beers, greek salads and stuffed tomatoes:

With our full bellies we headed down to the beach to rest in the sun and the guys did some windsufing.

I would like to take this time to acknowledge Tyra Banks for giving some bathing suit modeling tips in Cycle 8 – Episode 11, this one is for you Jaslene!

Hopping back on the scooter we rushed back to the port to climb up to the Temple of Apollo, one of the most famous symbols of the island.

Temple of Apollo

Looking back from the Temple into the center of Naxos

We ended out trip by heading to one of the local peaks to watch the sunset. At one point the hill was so steep that Villy, the guy I was riding with had to use his feet to push us up the hill. I learned that these guys (22 and just graduated college) are really into taking action shots where they Jump over rocks and capture the image at just the right time so it looks like they are sailing through the air. They encouraged me to do this as well – let’s just say i finally got to open that bag of bandaids