South Of Someplace

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Delphi to Meteora

The Comedy Of Errors

Every traveler expects to hit a few bumps along the way. After our very long drive from Mistras, through Tripoli, and around the Gulf of Corinth, we ended up in a hotel room with an annoying issue too bizarre to discuss in detail. We left as early as possible in the morning without bothering to shower.

While touring Delphi and a nearby monastery, I was struck with an acute case of Montezuma's revenge. The peak of my discomfort occurred at the monetary where the toilets are, most inconveniently, of the old-fashioned, European stand-up variety. To that little frustration, add the fact that no toilet paper was supplied. I foraged through my bag and pockets and found just enough paper to make it through the unpleasant ordeal.

All's Well That Ends Well

Once my tummy stabilized itself, we set out on another long, winding drive northward toward Meteora. I was happy to have tackled so many mountain roads in California over the years. It was good training for my adventures in Greece. The countryside here is very similar to California. The mountains that we saw today looked very much like the mountains near Yosemite National Park. And we drove through an agricultural plane that looked strikingly like California's Central Valley.

In the latter third of today's drive, we encountered a number of speed traps, both human and mechanical. I managed to outsmart the humans and, hopefully, the robots as well. Perhaps my luck is changing.

We arrived at Meteora in time to explore the site briefly before sunset. Meteora features monasteries that sit atop high cliffs. They monasteries were built by hermits, and before the advent of the automobile and modern roadways, this place must have been rather isolated.

Tomorrow, we plan to tour as many monasteries as we can. Hopefully, our legs will be able to manage all of the climbing involved.

Peloponnesian Odyssey

The road from Nafplio to Tripoli winds up and over a spectacular mountain range. The drive is challenging - we had to stop suddenly in one of the hairpin turns to avoid hitting a large flock of unattended sheep - but the views were breathtaking. Thank goodness for clear weather!

Driving in Greece requires awareness and flexibility. Most roadways, even highways, have one lane of traffic going in each direction. But they drive on the shoulder, as well, in order to let others pass. And someone always wants to pass you. They make their intentions known by tailgating mercilessly. At this point, you are expected to move to the right so that at least part of your car is on the shoulder. The tailgater squeezes past you using what's left of your shared lane.

Warning to drivers: Do not park on the shoulder of roadways in Greece!

Speed limits drop upon approach to towns and tunnels. 100 to 80 to 60 km/h, for instance. But if you slow down anywhere near ths much, the tailgaters become even more aggressive. Let the driver beware!

Our destination was the Byzantine city and fortress of Mistras near Sparti. Sparti, unfortunately, isn't particularly nice. But Mistras is very impressive with many well-preserved chapels and structures. The palace is under renovation, but most of the buildings were accessible. Each of the chapels has frescos painted into the walls, but most of the paintings are in poor condition.

Afterward, we took a rather long drive back through Tripoli, up to Korinthos (Corinth), and along the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Views of the gulf were fleeting and somewhat difficult to enjoy, because the roadway is effectively one huge construction project. They are replacing the old road completely, but the work reduced the width of the existing road significantly. The aforementioned practice of tailgating reached epic intensity along the entire 125 km stretch. It was difficult to enjoy what should have been a lovely view.

We crossed the massive Rio-Antirrio Bridge to the north side of the gulf. The bridge (officially named the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge) has been in service for ten years but looks as though it opened last week. It's spotless, brightly painted, and geometrically stunning.

The drive on the north side of the gulf was more relaxed and pleasant. Despite encountering occasional rain showers, we were able to pull off into turnouts and enjoy dramatic views of the sun setting over the water.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Rainy Days and Mondays

After picking up the car from the most helpful Hertz guy ever - he grave us detailed directions to a whole bunch of sights - we made our way down the winding coastal road toward Epidaurus. Much of the sineage here is written using the Greek alphabet. Good thing I still remember those thetas and rhos and mus and lambdas from math class!

Light rain fell as we visited the large and impressive marble amphitheater at Epidaurus. The soft, moody light worked well with the curved patterns of the rows of stone. One of my favorite shots includes a tour group that was dwarfed by the mighty structure.

We located our hotel in the seaside town of Nafplio, checked in, and enjoyed a light lunch at an outstanding bakery on the waterfront.

Mycenae was our next stop. We toured hilltop ruins as the rain began to abate. I took some shots of clouds hanging from distant mountains before we headed back toward Nafplio.

On the way we visited the archeological site of Tyrins. Here, we toured the remains of an acropolis and "Cyclops walls" built from stones so large that people imagined that only the giant one-eyed creatures could have lifted them.

Back in Nafplio, we drove up to see two hilltop castles. Both were impressive, but the enormous Palamidi fortress is in a class by itself.

Hoping for fair weather for tomorrow's excursions.

Election Day

Greece held local elections on Sunday. The national elections will be held next week. It's all very low key. We haven't seen any demonstrations or marches. It's barely mentioned except in the context that some tourist destinations would be closed for the day.

After a night spent battling a relentless mosquito, I decided not to rise as early as normal. I took a mid-morning walk but found conditions to be challenging for photography.

We packed up, checked out, and spent a bit of time in the hotel lounge before heading to the pier to catch our ferry.

Once back in Piraeus, I photographed a couple of pretty churches in the setting sun, and we enjoyed a nice dinner before turning in.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Santorini and Other Grand Destinations

During my memorable four-day stay in lovely Santorini, I mused as to how the island compares to other spectacular travel destinations.

The Cinque Terre region in Italy invite an obvious comparison. Santorini and the Cinque Terre both feature beautiful towns built into dramatic seaside cliffs. But the Cinque Terre retain much more of a working class feel. Santorini, by comparison, is full of swimming pools and luxury villas. I don't remember seeing a single swimming pool in the Cinque Terre. Most of the towns there don't have a true hotel, just apartments that you can rent from local families.

Santorini is a place where one can linger for days, sipping wine and cappuccino and taking in the amazing views. The Cinque Terre will be a quick day trip for most tourists. Only most dedicated hiking and photo enthusiasts would care to stay longer.

Santorini and Maui share a volcanic history, but the Hawaiian islands are only a few million years old - newborn babies in terms of geological time. Santorini is part of an ancient volcano that's effectively crumbling into the sea. Both islands feature agriculture in their less developed regions, but Maui is far larger, and it's peaks are much higher than the cliffs of Santorini. Also, thankfully, Santorini has no high-rise hotels. Only traditional villas.

Santorini shares unexpected traits with Grand Canyon in Arizona. They both feature viewpoints which become jammed with spectators at sunset. And both use burros to carry cargo and riders up and down hill. To be fair, Grand Canyon actually uses mules, but the principle is the same.

One final comparison - Santorini and Venice. Each is visually spectacular in it's own way. Each can be explored more completely by tourists who are willing to send some time. But Venice is in a class by itself for historical significance.

Mykonos - Day 2

Up at 5 and out by 5:30 to photograph windmills. Yes, Mykonos has windmills, several of them. And yes, you may call me Dan Quixote for shooting at them. I woke The Goddess and we enjoyed one of the best hotel breakfasts ever. Very impressive!

The main focus of the day was a boat trip to the uninhabited island of Delos, which according to legend was the home of Apollo. Because of its religious significance, Delos enjoyed relative freedom from pirates and plunderers and became a central hub for shipping.

Today, Delos is in ruins, but at one time it was covered with a network of structures. The amphitheater is particularly impressive.

Tours of the island permit visitation from 10:30 to 13:30, but everyone is required to leave on time. Most of the walkable area is on flat ground, but you can climb to a peak optionally for panoramic view.

The Mediterranean sun is relentless, and we saw a couple of unfortunate tourists with horrible sunburns. On lady's neck was beet red, and a young many was already at the point of blistering. He looked as though he should seek medical treatment.

Back on Mykonos, we enjoyed a pasta lunch before taking a bus to Ano Mera, the location of a functioning monastery. Unfortunately, it wasn't as impressive as some of the ones that we've seen on prior trips to Portugal, etc. We asked a local shop to call a taxi service for us and returned to Mykonos Town. I spent an hour taking photos while The Goddess did some shopping.

Before returning to the hotel, we enjoyed crepes and cappuccino at a restaurant that was frequented mostly by locals, most of whom were focused on a televised football game. (Barcelona was one of the teams.) The crepes were outstanding.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Mykonos Town

The high-speed inter-island boats are impressive. We took the Swordfish operated by the SeaJets company. It skims across the water at an incredible clip. The motion effect was fairly light considering the speed of travel - just a slight rolling sensation in addition to the predictable wave-crossing vibrations. The on-board video about the solar system induced more discomfort than the motion of the actual boat.

As we navigated through the Cyclades, we passed island after impressive island. Unfortunately, the people in the window seats were more interested in sleeping than sightseeing. Most of the curtains were drawn, and I was able to catch only fleeting glimpses through the open slits.

We checked into our hotel and enjoyed fresh juice at poolside before wandering the walkways of Mykonos Town. It's a charming place, not nearly as stunning at the towns on Santorini, but lovely in its own relaxed way. The town caters to tourists with many gift shops and restaurants, but it's surprisingly quiet, and everyone seems to be discreet and well-behaved. We didn't encounter any loud bars, for instance.

We spent time alternately exploring and shopping for gifts, and after a well-deserved late afternoon break, we enjoyed the sunset and a tasty dinner at Eva's Garden.

Update - I feel compelled to add that Mykonos comes across as a very tranquil and classy destination. From the descriptions that I had heard, I was expecting a wild, Cancun at Spring Break party atmosphere. Nothing could not be further from the truth.

Mykonos Town is quiet and rustic, a fishing village that happens to have good restaurants, tasteful shops, and upscale hotels. If you go there expecting to find a "party town" where drunken college kids run wild in the streets, you'll think that you ended up in the wrong place.

Santorini to Athens

I celebrated my last morning in Santorini by sleeping in, a welcome break after my intense day of travel and three consecutive 5 am wake up times. I showered, finished my packing, and scheduled a taxi pickup for 2:30. I had received a card from the driver who had driven me back from Imerovigli the night before, and his friend was available as promised.

After checking out and leaving my luggage at the front desk, I strolled Oia for one last item, picking up souvenirs and taking some final photos of the town. I like to use my camera like a casual snap shooter sometimes, working quickly and sampling all that there is to see. I find that I get some of my best composites this way.

I saw yet again more brides being photographed. The first few seem special, of course. The next batch become novel. After you've seen twenty-five brides in three days, the sight of them becomes tedious. And tacky.

I took cash from the ATM near the bus station, bought some small mementos, and enjoyed a tasty lunch at yet another seaside cafe - cappuccino, coffee ice cream, and apple pie.

After arriving in Athens I took the X96 bus toward Piraeus to meet up with The Goddess. Reading the bus stop signs was virtually impossible. The stops are quick and the signs aren't apparent. And they're written in Greek. My stop was Dimotiko. I had been in Greece long enough to recognize that D's are routinely spelled with the triangular delta symbol. I knew that we were in Pireaus, because I could see large ships moored at the port. When I saw a bus stop sign that began with a delta, I grabbed my suitcase and hopped off.

And there stood The Goddess, all smiles. She even knew what door of the bus I would use. (I guess I'm a back of the bus sort of guy.)

We checked into our hotel, enjoyed a light dinner - The Goddess looking radiantly goddess-y - and prepared for a very early ferry departure to Mykonos.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

The Mystery of Self Esteem

I used to sympathize with Charlie Brown. He never got any lucky breaks. He wasn't talented, smart, or good looking. He wasn't all that well respected even within his small cadre of friends. His dog was a whole lot cooler than he was. And perhaps worst of all, Charlie's gal pal Lucy compulsively sabotaged his repeated attempts at football glory.

Lucy had her own issues, of course. She couldn't bear the thought of Charlie becoming successful. She propped up her fragile self image by holding a friend back from reaching his dreams. If Charlie's great breakthrough is ever to come to pass, he needs first to learn to distance himself from parasitic relationships.

Ziggy, like Charlie Brown, was hapless and routinely upstaged by an endearing pooch. My heart went out to Ziggy - I think everyone felt for the guy - but I never saw myself walking in his shoes.

My attention turned to Mad Magazine with its dry, irreverent look at the ironies and absurdities of life. Classic 'Mad' represented how I viewed the world. To some degree, a dash of biting wit still helps me deal with the unexpected craziness of life.

That said, Charlie Brown, Alfred E. Neuman, Spy vs. Spy, et al. never accurately represented how I felt about myself. Eventually, however, I did stumble across a comic strip with that seemed to describe my inner psyche perfectly. It seems dreadfully pathetic to admit this today, but that strip was called 'The Born Loser'. I identified with that title, profoundly and emphatically.

I don't know how my self esteem ended up in such depths, but it always seemed to be there. I can't blame my family. They did what they could to reassure a routinely despondent lad. Then again, when we're young we're programmed to view the counsel of our relatives with suspicion. Their encouragement isn't necessarily genuine, we reason. We may wonder whether they make supportive comments just because we happen to be related, or because they're stuck with us and they can't tolerate our endless moping for one minute longer.

Yes, 'The Born Loser' was me, and I was his doppelgänger in flesh and blood.

Occasionally, a popular song would come long that expressed swagger and self-confidence. These songs made me feel as though I were living on an alien planet. I couldn't imagine anyone actually feeling that type of bravado. "Those must be the lucky people," I reasoned. "The ones who get picked for school plays and sports teams. The ones who are always smiling and who connect so effortlessly with others." The ones who don't make people cringe when they enter a room. I knew people like that, of course - lots of people. I admired their effortless social skills, I could never picture myself doing what came to them so naturally. I was different. I was shy and reserved and awkward, and that, I thought, would never change.

Maybe that's why I'm an introvert. For so many years, the world didn't seem to have a place for me. Outside of my steadfastly supportive family, I received no indication that I was of any value to anyone. My existence made sense only in the world of my imagination. And in that world is where I spent the bulk of my time - dreaming, learning, creating.

Eventually, at some point in my twenties, I raised my self image out of their dark, cavernous depths and up into the waiting sunlight. The sunlight had always been there, but reaching it was a staggering challenge. I likened the process to the old saying about pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. In the initial stages, it almost seemed that difficult.

But step by step, as I replaced unhelpful ideas and internal evaluations with newer, more helpful thoughts, I made progress. I found places in the world where I actually seemed to fit - awkwardly at first, but it was a step in the right direction. With each passing month, I inched a bit further. Eventually, the world seemed like a bright and welcoming place, a place full of new possibilities and opportunities. A place where I could thrive with passion and enthusiasm.

But I wonder, how many Charlie Browns and Ziggy's and Born Losers are out there? I'm not unique. Low self esteem is most certainly a widespread problem. Luckily, out of sheer curiosity, I stumbled upon the inspiration that I required. I found my own haphazard path to a brighter future. But is every sufferer of poor self image going to be this fortunate? Can we expect them to find their way forward without guidance?

The ideas and techniques that pulled me out of the shadows weren't secrets. I didn't have to pay a self-appointed sage for advice. Some of the most helpful ideas I found on the shelves of bookstores.

Are these ideas being taught in schools and in corporate training centers? Are they being ministered in places of worship? Blended into the training received by first responders and armed forces personnel? If not, why not?

Why is a person who feels a tenuous connection to the world left to find their own way into that world? Why are we gambling that they'll figure it out some of life's most important lessons on their own? How can we help them to make that transformation more smoothly and efficiently? How can we welcome them into the brighter future that awaits?

Santorini - Day 3

The morning was clear and sunny - good for photography! But the weather also encouraged one of the rare unpleasantries of European life - the "old guy in a Speedo" phenomenon. Two such specimens were lounging at the hotel pool when I retuned from my morning shoot. What a nice mental picture that was! Have a heart, Grandpa! Cover up your stuff.

I took what they call "The Local Bus" to the town of Fira this afternoon. Bus schedules are merely a suggestion here. The bus arrived at the square in Oia twenty minutes late. By this time a large queue had formed. Some of us were told to wait for the next bus; it would arrive in half an hour. The bus was so jammed that they had to ask some boarded passengers to step off. Just then, a second bus arrived. On this second bus, which left five minutes later, we had seats and plenty of space. Ah, comfy!

Fira is busy and glitzy and trashy with lots of designer shops. In an odd way it reminded me of Atlantic City on a cliff, except without the casinos and high rises. Just the designer shops, the beggars, people on the walkway selling junk, etc.

Fira has a cable car that I'll never be able to ride without having a panic attack. It sails down the cliff toward the ocean at a high rate of speed.

The light was hazy in the afternoon and strikingly un-photogenic. I walked quickly through Fira and north to the next town of Imerovigli. The walk is not far, but it's all uphill.

At Imerovigli, I photographed a beautiful church called The Church of the Resurrection of Christ. The caretaker said that this church is busy at Easter but less so for the rest of the year. Chapels and churches are so numerous on Santorini that they are used only for specific purposes and holidays, not for Sunday masses each week.

The caretaker mentioned a small chapel situated out on the edge of the cliffs. I followed the long, steep trail past a rugged rock formation and eventually found my way to the chapel. I scrambled on some rocks for a better camera angle. At one point I slipped and landed on my bottom and stuck my left hand directly onto a thistle. Ouch! It stung for at least half an hour.

Here, I thought that I was exploring Santorini, and but I seem to have stumbled onto Thistleonia! (A little Greek island humor, there!)

All's well that ends well. I climbed back up to town and took some sunset shots that I'm hoping will turn out well. I took a taxi back to my hotel and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was simple, rustic cuisine that tasted like food prepared in someone's house.

Oops! I ran out of water. The market is now closed. Going to be dry tonight! I need to use the bag of cough drops! No drinks available until morning!