Travel

Heraklion Crete

Ηράκλειο

Past the Golden Horn into the Sea of Mamara and thru the Dardanelles. Past the Hellespont and historic Gallipoli with it’s monuments to the Anzac and Turkish dead, the ancient site of Troy, then across a rolling Aegean Sea. Daytime downpours as we pass through storms; lightening flashes in the night sky as we sail into the Mediterranean to Crete.

Orchards and vineyards of Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. While it retains its own local cultural traits (such as its own music and dialect), Cretans identify themselves as Greeks. Irakleio (Heraklion) is the largest city and capital of Crete.

We dock and pick up our rental car from AthensCars at a cost of 40 Euros a day. Of course we have to add gas @ 1.59Euro a liter, or about $8 a gallon. This is still a bargain as ship’s tours cost four times as much and offer less. We set off in our little Fiesta undaunted by place names spelled three ways: Greek alphabet (Ηράκλειο), Latin alphabet (Irάκleio), and thankfully English (Heraklion). Slow readers will be lost. We manage quite well in the intermittent rain and drive out of town to ΚΝΩΣΟΣ (Knossos). (more…)

By Pat, ago

Constantinople

From our terrace at And Hotel.

I celebrated my birthday in Constantinople. When I visited in 1981, the population was 2.7 million, about half of whom were carpet salesmen. A lot has changed since then.

Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople, is the 5th largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million. There still are thousands of carpet salesmen, but distributed among them is a vibrant collection of perhaps the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met, and the nicest bunch of cats in the world. (more…)

By Pat, ago

Exploring the African Continent

Oceania Nautica

It is back to Africa for me. I fell in love with South Africa and its people during my travels in 2006. Fascinated by Africa’s history, intrigued by its politics, and yet horrified by its disease, poverty, and politics, I am eager to return to the continent. This time my friends and I travel North and West Africa for a glimpse into a part of the world I barely know. Many of the countries I will travel have acquired new names since I attended school during Africa’s “colonial” period.

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By Pat, ago

Glad to be in Vladivostok

End of the TransSiberian at Vladivostok, 9288km

25-26 March 2010

We awake to the sight of a frozen Amursky Gulf as we approach Vladivostok. Our expectations are high as Paris said it is much more beautiful than Khabarovsk. Our host stay is a little out from downtown but we walk, stopping at an orthodox church, the Golden Horn harbor area and home to icebreakers, the Russian Pacific fleet, a Russian sub, war memorial, and memorial to the soldiers of Civil War.

We pilgrimaged to the train station for memorial photos with an engine that was given to Russia in 1942 as part of the Lend-Lease program and with the 9288km marker of the TransSiberian Railroad. That’s 5805 miles of Russian railroad, birch trees, snow, and clickity-clack. It was well worth the trip.

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By Pat, ago

Impressive Khabarovsk

21-24 March 2010

Bright, sunny, freezing cold, an occasional falling dagger disguised as an icicle. Ice crystals sparkling on the snow. It may be spring for Siberian locals but butt-freezing to this California girl.

As our train approaches Khabarovsk we see rolling hills, lots of rivers, and small villages of wooden houses. Most industry I see is logging and everywhere there are truck tracks over the ice and snow. The basic wooden house has not changed across nearly 4000 miles. Russian architecture (more…)

By Pat, ago