Turkey Greece 2016

Thursday 5 May

Gold Coast -> Kuala Lumpur

I was the happiest GP in the clinic today! Couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  The other GPs tried to be happy for me too, wishing me well for my Greece/Turkey extravaganza, while mopping up the "extras", so I wouldn't be late for the plane.  I work with a great bunch!

Off to the hairdresser at 4 pm, for a shearing, and home, to be greeted by son number 3.  What is the purpose of having children, if not for their usefulness in driving their parents to airports?

We diverted to Di's place, and scooped her into the car, amid a flurry of bum bags, travel pillows, and assorted paraphernalia.

As the trip organiser, I had insisted, Nazi-like, on a maximum of two "carry on" size bags each.  We needed to fit all bags into our hire cars.

Our group of 9- Di, Jill, Fay, Judith, Bob, Greg, Allan, Mike and I, met up at Gold Coast airport, amid great excitement.

Just 2 days earlier, ABC's "Foreign Correspondent" programme, had run a frightening edition on the poor safety standards of "Air Asia"! Good one!

We landed at KLIA2 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2).  4.20 am.  Air Asia was fine! Our "cheap as chips" Sri Langit hotel picked us up from International airport 2, and we now have 12 hours relaxing at the hotel.

Bring on the rest of the holiday!

Friday 6 May

Kuala Lumpur -> Istanbul

After a relaxing day, we were taken to KLIA1 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport 1).  We arrived 4 hours before our flight.

Kicking off at a cafe with mango smoothies and mushroom pizza, Di had noticed that her Istanbul-Athens flight was on her flight "printout" as on 7th May- tomorrow!  Our group is actually due to fly Istanbul to Athens, after our 10 days in Turkey, on 16th May - not tomorrow!

We had all booked our own flights online, and Di couldn't believe that she had made this mistake.

I quickly emailed our Turkish travel agent, as soon as we arrived at the airport, about the mini "crisis".  She had no involvement at all in our flight arrangements, but desperate times� and maybe she could help?

Then followed many discussions with Turkish airlines; on the phone, on the ground at the check-in counter and, ultimately, down long corridors of airline offices.

Turkish airlines were going to inflict a $135 penalty.  By the time we found our way to the dingy corridors of Turkish Airlines in the bowels of the airport, Di's flight from Istanbul to Athens was listed as being on 16th.  The official looked at us like we were crazy - until she saw the printout.  It said "7th May".  A complete mystery.

We were really confused.  Only when we received an email from our Turkish Travel agent (Ezgi Beghan, Credo Tours), did we realise that it was she who had changed the flight - for USD30!  All done on a Friday night, with a single, quick email!  My kind of travel agent!

So, we are about to take off! Turkish Airlines seems very comfortable, and the movies look good.  Istanbul, here we come!

Saturday 7 May

Istanbul

Have never had a better flight! Turkish airways were superb.  Of course, our Business class ticket helped.  I had been a bit worried about a certain family member not fitting into the Turkish airline seats, so, when an upgrade "sale" was advertised, I took up the deal.

Everything was divine.  The flat bed was SO comfortable, the food 5 star, the service wonderful.  No wonder Turkish airlines were voted best airline in Europe several times!

Our suffering friends in economy were also most impressed.  Food, service etc., wonderful. (Except that Alan's seat did not recline, and he was stuck sitting up all night!)

We arrived at 4.30 am, and watched Istanbul waken to a glorious fine day; the minarets of many mosques silhouetted against the crisp dawn.

Our hotel is superb, with balcony views to the south, of the Sea of Marmara, and a short stroll to most attractions.

After breakfast with "the gang", Mike and I set off on foot to walk around the vicinity, circling the Blue Mosque, hippodrome and Sultanahmet Square.

We then relaxed in the hotel for a while, before reuniting with the guide from my previous trip to Turkey, a dozen years ago.  Nedi is, as always, great company, and a terrific guide.  So nice to see her again.  The last time I saw her was a decade or so ago, when she came to a barbque at my house at Shailer Park.

We toured a little around the old city, before visiting the spice markets.

On a glorious Saturday afternoon, all of Istanbul was out and about, enjoying the parks, shops, and markets.  So many Turkish people stopped to talk to us, joking around in the manner I remember so fondly from my last trip.

We said goodbye to Nedi (until tomorrow), and quickly changed clothes, back at the hotel, before heading off on the tram to The Hodjapasha Cultural Centre.

Like in Prague, the young men immediately jumped up to offer us old ladies (and ageing blokes) a seat.  You don't see manners like this, in too many places anymore.

The cultural show was fantastic.  The dancing, including bellydancing, was superb.  Oh, to have such energy and precision!   The brilliant drummers had the audience participating enthusiastically, and we all left on a "high".

Back on the tram, and home.

Istanbul is vibrant, beautiful, and welcomes visitors with enthusiasm.  A great city, shared with great friends.

Tomorrow, we "do" lots of mosques.  One of our group bought a little book on "Understanding Islam".  She was (probably mistakenly) sold one written in French.

So, tonight, her homework is to learn French, then read the book!   Too easy!

Sunday 8 May

Istanbul

Mothers' Day.

Yes, it's Mother's' Day in Turkey, too.  And what a glorious day.  Perfect blue skies, 21°C.

Today, we walked and walked.  Apparently, according to Jill's "Fitbit", we did over 12 km.

Firstly, we went back to the Hippodrome, where Nedi explained all sorts of wonderful snippets of history.

Then, on to visit inside The Blue (Sultanahmet) Mosque.  Nedi was very surprised that there was no queue.

Although we were modestly dressed, we were still made to put over-skirts over our jeans.  Turkey is becoming much more conservative.

The tile work at the Blue Mosque is magnificent.  Completed in 1616, it unusually has 6 minarets, whose gold crowns shone like magnificent jewels in the sunlight today.

Then, on to Hagia Sophia.  This astounding, massive building is over 1400 years old, having opened in AD 537.

It was firstly a Greek Orthodox Christian Church for 916 years, built by the Emperor Justinian, Later, it was a mosque for 481 years and the gold leaf and tiled Christian murals were plastered over.  Now, it has been a museum since 1934.

It is an architectural and engineering masterpiece.  It has survived numerous earthquakes, invasions, and the like.  Its design was the inspiration for most mosques, built ever since.  Even today, it is the fourth largest church in the world.

On to the Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum.  The calligraphy was extraordinary.  Tiny, delicate scripts adored pages, often over 1000 years old.  We even saw pieces of Mohammed's beard and finger nails!

Included in our tour was lunch at "Deraliye Restaurant", a beautiful restaurant, serving delicious local cuisine.

We then headed to the massive grounds and buildings of the Topkapi Palace Museum.

As is usual here in Turkey, our bags and ourselves were security screened.  A holding area followed the screening, and then people presented tickets to a machine, supervised by an employee.

At the ticketing entrance, some students were asked for their ID.  They didn't have this.  A stalemate ensued, and nobody was able to leave the secure section, while, behind us, more bags and people poured though the entrance.

Our guide stepped in, and asked that the students step aside, to let others enter the museum.  She was shouted at.  More and more bags were falling off the end of the security conveyer belt.  People couldn't then enter to retrieve their valuables.  The secure area was a crush of people.

Our guide pushed her way to the conveyer belt, and shouted that they stop pushing people and belongings through.  She was the only one taking control of the situation.

Eventually, the students were told to step aside, and the crush was eased.  Hopefully, nobody took the wrong bag!

Talk about poor staff training, and lack of common sense.  Nedi was upset and incredulous.  We were intrigued!

After that intro, things were peaceful and interesting.

The grounds were bursting with the colours of perfumed roses, daisies, and deep green lawns.

This palace was home to the Ottoman Sultans since 1453.  One diamond in the collection on display here was the size of an egg, and is the largest diamond in the world, not privately owned.  We also saw the world's largest emerald.

The tile work was exquisite.

The visit to the harem was fascinating.  All eunuchs were black-skinned Africans, from the slave markets in Egypt.  If one of the children, born to the concubines, was black, a "system failure" was pretty jolly obvious!

It was much better to be born a daughter of the Sultan, than a son.  Daughters happily lived at the palace forever.  Sons left the palace at age 14, with their mothers, to be governors of provinces.  When the Sultan died, usually the eldest son would assume power, and kill off all of his brothers, so competition was eliminated!

After a bit of a freshen up, we were picked up at the hotel, and taken to a luxury yacht.  The next 2.5 hours were spent cruising the Bosphorus, with Europe on one side, and Asia on the other.  Many of the units and houses were stunning, as were old palaces, public buildings, fortresses, bridges and mosques, viewed as the sun set, and the lights came on.  We were treated to a fantastic meal, with great food and wine, as well; all for $65.

What a splendid Mothers' Day!  We'll sleep well tonight!

Monday 9 May

Istanbul

Another glorious day!

First stop was the Underground Cistern.  When invaders came to cities, in days gone by, they cut off the water supply from the aqueducts.  This cistern, built by the Emperor Justinianus, in the 6th century, held a very large amount of water, under the Hagia Sophia and surrounds.  It was in 2 sections, offering protection if one supply was contaminated.

336 recycled Roman Corinthian columns, 12 meters high, were used in the construction.

Giant carvings of Medusa, upside down, and side on, propped up smaller columns.

On to Chora Church- now a museum.  "Chora" means "country ", and this church was originally outside the massive city walls.  In time, the city walls were extended.

The mosaics and frescoes were fascinating.  It was built in the 6th century, and renovated in the 14th century.  The treasures were plastered over, when it was converted into a mosque in 1511, and rediscovered in 1958.

Then on to Istanbul's largest mosque, the Suleymaniye Mosque.  Very impressive.

The former soup kitchen to feed the poor, attached to this mosque, is now a lovely restaurant, called Daruzziyafe Restaurant.  We enjoyed a beautiful lunch there.  If Suleymaniye had not raised taxes so much, there mightn't have been such a need for a soup kitchen!  That's political figures for you!

Heading back to the old city, we passed through modern shops selling wedding dresses.  There were dozens and dozens of them.  Apparently, even girls who normally cover their shoulders and arms, happily wear shoulderless wedding frocks, and most designs were sleeveless.

Our last port of call was to the famous Grand Bazaar, comprising 4000 shops.  Security was at the door, and it was very uncrowded, reflecting the downturn in tourism.  The shop assistants were cheerful and joking, but very keen for sales!

Sadly, we said goodbye to Nedi, our wonderful guide.  Hopefully, she will return with a Turkish tour group to Australia in the not too distant future.

Tomorrow, we head to Gallipoli!

Tuesday 10 May

Gallipoli

My mother's birthday!  Rang her again, and was happy to hear that she had a lovely day.

Up with the chooks, we sadly farewelled Istanbul, and set out in our very comfortable 13 seater bus with Sayit, our driver.

Leaving behind the large home unit blocks, which accommodate most of the 17 million people who inhabit Istanbul, we headed towards the Dardanelles.

The countryside was lush, and very green.  Mostly crops, but some orchards.  Workers tended the fields, which gently sloped towards the sea.  Bright red poppies, mixed with daisies, and other wildflowers adorned the roadside.

Early morning light clouds parted, revealing an expanding blue sky.  Bright minarets of mosques rose above little villages.  Small industries peppered the landscape, while wind farms gracefully turned in the light breeze.

The road was excellent; considerably better than 13 years ago.

After 5 hours, we pulled into Eceabat, and the Limon Balikpapan Restaurant, for lunch.  The sign out of town pointed to "Feribot" (ferry boat).  Turkish words are so cute.

Our guide, Kenan Celik, joined us here.  He is a retired English and English literature professor, who now does Gallipoli tours.  A Fullbright scholar, he was the first Turkish man to be awarded an OAM by Australia.

He says tourism is down by two thirds in Gallipoli!  ISIS and all that!

Talk about a passionate fountain of knowledge!  After a while, my head was spinning!

Last year, he went to Australia for a military history conference.  He's been to Australia several times before.  This time, the visa application papers required by the Australian Government were, he says, 18 pages of very detailed questions.  Every imaginable detail was requested.  What sort of weapons did he use in his military training, etc.

Kenan half-jokingly said that, instead of filling in the form, it might be easier to come in by boat from Indonesia!

I only recently discovered that my mother's father served at Gallipoli with the 2nd Division, from September to late November 1915, before heading to France and Belgium, where he served in numerous battles.

The Gallipoli Peninsula was really beautiful.  Wild flowers, including orchids and poppies, were dancing in the sunlight, while the air was filled with the intoxicating scent of rosemary.

We started off at the fairly new (2012) Canakkale Museum.  It cost 40 million lira ($20 million).  It is a very whiz bang, state of the art audio-visual extravaganza.  Well done, too.  We shared our trip through 11 theatres with a pack of schoolchildren, aged around 9.  It was pretty graphic stuff- especially for that age group.

Some of the girls dressed up as WW1 nurses, and some of the boys in little army uniforms.

Then we headed off to the place at North beach, adjacent to Anzac Cove, where they hold the Anzac Day Memorial Services- the "Anzac Commemorative Site".  What a tiny area for 10,000 people!  Today, we were almost alone.

On to Anzac Cove, and many cemeteries.  Ari Burnu - where the ANZACS landed on 25th April, 1915.  The Nek, Ari Burnu Beach, Chanukah Bair, Scrubby Knoll, and Walker's Ridge, amongst others.

At Baby 700, Jill and Judith found the grave of their 30 year old relative.  We also found the grave of Simpson of "Simpson and his donkey" fame.

For a while, we were the only people at the famous "Lone Pine" cemetery.  To think that 10,000 men lost their lives in 3 days here, in an area the size of a football field!

Many trenches were still observed, although 100 years has resulted in them somewhat filling in with soil.

We visited 2 Turkish memorials.  There were no individual graves for these hundreds of thousands of young men - just huge mass graves.  Isn't war a shocking thing?

Finally a vehicular ferry ride across the Dardanelles to Canakkale and our hotel.

After a 13 hour day touring, we ate our dinner, walked to the ATM, bought water, and are ready to hit the sack.  Tomorrow is an early start too!

Wednesday 11 May

Pergamon

No coffee!

Having been spoilt by staying in our quite luxurious hotel in Istanbul, we were back to our usual style of abode last night.  Quite comfortable and clean and we were only in the room for about 10 hours.  But...

My bet is that the coffee machine hadn't worked for 6 months!  The ritual of slapping it, looking inside the lid, pressing buttons at random, and so on, is probably a ritualistic drama repeated by the staff every morning!

Near Troy(Troia), 37 km away, we enjoyed a nice cuppa, while Kenan , our super-duper guide, enlightened us on the 9 archaeological levels of history excavated at Troy.  Starting with constructions erected around 2900 BC; many walls, columns, artefacts and roads have been uncovered.

Wildflowers, especially deep red poppies, burst forth from nooks in the ancient ruins.

The Trojan horse on display was, of course, a very new construction.  The real story, it seems, is that an earthquake hit the area, and the horse was built to thank the pagan gods for saving the village.  It just sounds much more exciting to say that 40 soldiers hid in the wooden horse, which was wheeled behind the city walls by fascinated villagers.  The legend goes that the soldiers escaped from the horse at night, and captured the village.

For 3 hours we travelled down the western (Mediterranean) coast, and stopped for a delicious lunch in Bergama.  Green fields, crops, and small industries were the order of the day.

On to Pergamum.  Impressive Roman ruins.  Two theatres, an amphitheatre, temples of Trajan, Dionysos and Athena, the Altar of Zeus, and a vast gymnasium/bath complex and library.  The nearby Asclepeion, was a spa, hospital and shrine to Asclepeios, the God of healing/ medicine.  An 80 metre long subterranean passage led to a sacred Spring.  With frogs!  A group of Aussies on a Trafalgar tour were rushed through, while we took our time, and soaked up Kenan�s detailed discussion of the history.

Then, up to the citadel, with the fortress constructed in 2nd century AD.

The views from the top of this 350 metre hill were splendid.  We crawled all over the ruins, exploring the many interesting aspects of this site.

The Roman amphitheatre was the steepest I have ever seen.  Accommodating 10,000, it must have been a rather aerobic job for the girls and boys selling popcorn in those times!

Such a marvellous, but big day- again!

We left our brilliant scholar and guide, Kenan at the bus stop in Bergama.  At 6 pm, we headed off on our over 2 hour drive to Kusadasi, driven by Sayit.

Daylight saving means that the sun doesn't set until after 8 pm, so we were able to sit back and enjoy this part of the Turkish Mediterranean.

We have now checked into our suites - yes suites - at the Suhan Seaport Hotel in Kusadasi.  Only $20 to upgrade!

Another big day tomorrow!

Thursday 12 May

Ephesus

A new guide and driver today.  Yesim, a young lady, is our guide, and Mehmet, our driver.  Both are most impressive.

We drove to Selcuk, which is quite close to our base in Kusadasi.  This area has the historic ruins of Ephesus.  Walking the wide colonnaded streets here takes your breath away.  Established in the 10th century BC by the Romans, it came under the control of the Greeks in 129 BC.

It must have been incredible in those days.  Sporting a magnificent library, underground heating, a 24,000 capacity amphitheatre, the temple of Artemis, a brothel (reached by an underground tunnel from the library), a parliament, market, countless shops, and luxurious terrace houses, it is, as a tourist, hard to beat if you want to visit an ancient city.

250,000 people lived in Ephesus, so it really hummed.  The settlement was on the sea, but today, the sea is now 10 km away.

We were surprised to learn that malaria caused much disability and death in these parts, in ancient times.  I would have thought the climate to be too temperate.  On the other hand, today was 29°C and tomorrow will be 32°C!  Rather hot for walking many kilometres in the open.  We are all a bit sunburnt!

We went to a ceramic art place, where fantastic works are produced.  Fay volunteered to "have a go" at the pottery wheel.  I thought she was really good, until her "work of art" was placed beside the master's.  Then, we had a giggle!

Lunch was great.  We climbed the hills near Selcuk, and ended up in a cute village, and had a lovely lunch at "Dimitros restaurant", Sirince.

Later, we visited the Basilica of St John (the youngest apostle).  His grave lies in these ruins, dating from the early 6th century.

The house, where it is believed the Virgin Mary finally resided, was next.  The foundations of the tiny church are older than the 6th century building currently standing, so...  who knows? The setting was quiet, leafy and peaceful.

Finally, on to see how Turkish carpets are made.  So interesting, that we bought one for the family room!  (Instead of repairing the pool, painting the house etc., which is far more necessary!)

Everyone here is doing it very tough, with the massive downturn in tourism.  There was not one ship in dock today.  Kusadasi normally has several cruise liners docked every day.

We have most meals included in our tour, and have reached a point where we just can't face another big meal, despite doing up to 17,000 steps a day to walk it all off!  We hope they're not offended by our refusing some of the food!

The Internet here is really dodgy.  It's quite a job to get emails, and, especially photos uploaded.

And finally...  We heard there was another car bombing in Istanbul today.  Dear me!

Friday 13 May

Pamukkale

Fay's birthday!  How old? Well, the Beatles had a song about this particular birthday!

There was a shower overnight, and the morning started off a little breezy.

Stopping in Pamukkale , three hours� drive to the east of Kusadasi, for a delicious early lunch, we again noticed the absence of tourists.  The local ladies made a yummy flatbread stuffed with spinach and feta.  It was interesting to watch them make it.  There were green plums, the usual array of juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, and many, many other locally grown fruit and veggies.

We then worked the food off by climbing hills in 32°C plus heat at the ancient site of Hieropolis.  Mike and Di left the rest of us to complete the uphill hike, and joined us later at the famous Pamukkale limestone pools.

The library and stage of Hieropolis, at the 15,000 seat theatre, is the best preserved I have encountered anywhere.

The caf� area down the hill had a mineral pool for swimming.  It looked like your standard, tiled, hotel pool, with random chunks of Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian columns chucked in!

However, the Pamukkale limestone cliffs and pools did not disappoint.  Glistening white waterfalls of limestone poured down the hillside, like a waterfall frozen in time.  Pearly aqua pools of limestone fringed mineral water stepped down the hillside.

When I visited last time, there was no Visitor Centre, no cafes - nothing but this natural wonder.  Now it is beautifully set up for tourists, with magnificent rose gardens, and other spectacular spring flowers.  There was a bride and groom, excited Turkish schoolchildren and, of course, security guards.

We had a great time, and headed back to Kusadasi, stopping at a leather factory on the way.

Big surprise for Fay!  A cake, drinks, and Fay and I featured in a fashion parade.  We are such divas!  Bought a special pressie for my special daddie, Steve!  We had a ball!

Said goodbye to Mehmet and Yesim.  Great people!  Now, chilling out in our suite with the gang!

Another bombing today!  Dreadful for the wonderful Turkish people.

Come to Turkey everyone.  You'll love it!

Saturday 14 May

Kusadasi -> Izmir -> Istanbul -> Kayseri -> Cappadocia

After a fun party in our suite last night, we had the opportunity to have a sleep in today.  Of course, I was wide awake at 6 am!

Our guide for the previous 2 days, Yesim, came to the hotel to see us off.  Her little son was with her, and he is a little cutie!

We just travelled today.  Firstly, road transfer to Izmir airport, then a flight to Istanbul, and another flight to Kayseri, in central Turkey.

The scenery on the way was full of the hustle and bustle of life.  It seems that "Stop" signs, with "Dur" on them here, are only for decoration.

From Kayseri, we travelled by minibus to Cappadocia.

Istanbul airport was very busy, and the security was intense.  We were security screened even before proceeding to the bag drop area in Izmir, and again, after this point.

Mike had a security officer repeatedly grab and shake his ileostomy bag, but, unlike in Dar-Es-Salam last year, he was not stripped in public!  I think we need to go to airports with an explanatory sign, in the local language!

We are now at the Kapadokya Lodge - the same hotel I stayed in 13 years ago.

Our scheduled balloon trip has been cancelled tomorrow, as it is a bit windy.  A shame.  I thought the balloon ride was absolutely amazing last time.

After the initial disappointment, our next thought was: "we could have bought one of those leather jackets yesterday with the refunded money!"

Lots of other excitement awaits!

Sunday 15 May

Cappadocia

We woke to a still morning.  A pox upon the air traffic control authority which cancelled all balloon rides today!  To be fair, the wind picked up, later on!

Our very cheery guide for today was called Cem (pronounced "Jem").  He had a wicked, Aussie-like sense of humour, making our day fun.

[We are yet to meet a guide who supports the current conservative religious government.  Turkish tour guides aren't too impressed about Turkey shooting down that Russian plane a while ago.  It ventured 3 km into Turkish airspace.  If the Turkish forces had cut the Ruskies a bit of slack, Turkey mightn't have had to cop a 90% decrease in Russian tourism.]

The landscape in Cappadocia, which lies in central Turkey, is quite stunning and unique.  Unusual peaks and fairy chimneys dominate the landscape.  They are the eroded remains of volcanoes.  The rock is soft, and has been easily excavated by people in the past, to form cave houses.

The Romans inhabited this area.  (Honestly, where didn't the Romans inhabit?)

From 300-1200 AD it was a monastic centre for Eastern Christians.  The Goreme Open air museum contains 30 churches, plus dormitories, refectories, etc., We looked at 4 of these churches, and were impressed by the Byzantine Christian art dating from 9th to 11th centuries.  There was even a transgender painting- a man's head on a woman's body!

People lived in the cave houses until just 40 years ago.

Our tour started in the Dervent valley - a unique landscape.  I bought some CDs at a music shop there.

We visited another ceramic art gallery (Guray Muse) which was housed in a huge underground cave, and had a massive number of both modern, and ancient pieces on display.  The master potter gave a talented demonstration.  In this gallery, we saw ancient pieces of pottery, up to 7000 years old!

Lunch was wonderful, at a traditional restaurant in Avanos.  It was such a clean place, that the covered toilet seat rotated, revealing a freshly covered area of seat, when one rose from the loo.  Flushing and rotating the seat were activated by a movement sensor.

Mike has plumbing which causes him to move around, when attending to excretory matters.  The loo was flushing and rotating its seat like a whirlwind!

There are so many wildflowers in bloom at the moment.  The purple irises are quite stunning, and whole areas are amass with golden yellow flowers, with occasional poppies poking their heads up.

We walked through the Zelve open air museum, with troglodyte houses, and then went on to the "fairy chimneys ".  Harder rock at the top creates a "shiitake mushroom" shape.  Other members of the group thought there were human anatomical similarities, as well!

Lastly, we took in the views from Uchisar Rock castle.  Splendid!

Tomorrow, we are up before the chooks.  Off to Greece!

Monday 16 May

Cappadocia -> Kayseri -> Istanbul -> Athens

As we travelled from Goremi to Kayseri airport, a journey of just over an hour, we had our last chance to enjoy the green fields, snow-capped mountains, and people making their way to work in the early morning sunshine.

We said a rushed goodbye to Mehmet, our driver for the last 3 days.

First flight: Kayseri to Istanbul.
Second flight: Istanbul to Athens.

Turkish airlines were great.  As usual!

The Plaka Hotel (where Robbie and I stayed in 2004), was fully booked when Judith and Bob decided to join us.  They are a short distance up the road in another hotel.

We walked around the Plaka area of Athens.  I'm already missing the orange and mandarin trees, burdened with fruit, which lined the streets in Turkey!

Went to a "Telstra"-like shop and bought 6GB for 20 Euros!

After a trip to the supermarket, we had another mini party in our room, and have spent the last hour on the rooftop of our hotel, gazing at the Parthenon, until the sun set.

Life is good!

Tuesday 17 May

Athens

Ava...  (something unpronounceable), arrived bright and bushy tailed at our hotel to take us on a city tour.  (Booked through "Private Tours Greece").

This chirpy chap was a trained archaeologist, turned tour guide, because archaeology pays badly.

It was a 27°C, clear blue sky day, so, wisely, Ava decided that we would climb up to the Acropolis first up.

There were a few groups of Greek primary schoolchildren.  I have to say that teachers who have to take large numbers of frisky kids up slippery, steep hills- and even make sure that they all can go to the toilet- are not paid enough!

Last time I was in Athens, just before the 2004 Olympics, the Parthenon was under renovation, which, to me, seemed to cross the line to reconstruction.  The newly added bits, however, are clearly delineated from the old.  It hasn't turned out to be the vandalism I expected.  It's actually quite good!

The whole Acropolis has several ancient structures, aside from the Parthenon.  The entrance was huge.  The temple of Athena was also impressive.  Ava knew everything from A to Z about the place!  It was one of those experiences of a lifetime.

Back to our minibus for a city tour.  The University of Athens, the Academy of Athens, and the National Library form a trilogy.  Very impressive.  Then we saw the National Garden, Hadrian's Arc, St Paul's Anglican Church, Parliament, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the changing of the guard (love the shoes!), Russian Orthodox churches, and lots more.

We stopped at the Panathinaiko Stadium, where the first Olympic Games took place in 1896.  The marathon finished here at the 2004.

On to the lovely Caf� Ydria for a wonderful lunch.

Finally, we visited the Acropolis Museum, opened in 2008.  I love good architecture!  This was the best!  Many ancient relics were displayed.  Many more blank spaces were annotated as "BM".  ie British Museum, or Stolen by the Poms!

Back home, to the Plaka Hotel, where I accidentally deleted all of the photos on my camera chip!

Thank goodness, I backed them up on the iPad!

We are once again sitting on our rooftop gazing at the sun setting over the Parthenon.  Magic!

Wednesday 18 May

Athens -> Volos -> Skopelos

Another bright, fine day.

Our driver, the cheerful Kostas, had us on the road by 8:15.  We headed to Greece's north-eastern port of Volos - a nearly 5 hour drive!

Athens had been great.  Friendly, clean and interesting.  There was considerably more English signage than had been evident in 2004, when I last visited.

After escaping Athens' peak hour traffic, we headed past lakes, olive groves, wind farms, wildflowers, vineyards, pine forests, and other agricultural pursuits.

The roadsides were ablaze with white and pink oleanders, bougainvillea, and other sunny wildflowers.

We arrived at the port of Volos with enough time to have lunch in a cafe, before boarding the Hellenic Seaways Flying Cat 5 for our 14:30 hrs departure for Skopolos (the island where "Mamma Mia" was filmed).

Calm seas and a sunny afternoon made for a pleasant trip.  Unfortunately, passengers were not allowed on the deck of the catamaran, so photos had to be taken through dirty glass windows.

After a two hour plus trip, we landed at Glossa, at the northern end of Skopolos.

The manager of our rental property, Zack met us.  Zack is a multi-talented chap; an accomplished photographer, taxi driver, as well as manager of a number of rental properties.

We were introduced to Babbie (?sp), who owned the two rental cars.  The cars were only 2 months old and smelt brand new!

Zac helped with transporting our group of 9 with some of our bags in his taxi.

We proceeded to Babbie's petrol station, and filled out forms for the rental.  Only 27.5 Euros per car per day!

The service station is perched on a cliff-top overlooking the Aegean Sea and must have the best views of any service station on the planet!

We hugged the coastline, and then headed inland a little.  Our "Villa Paradise", far exceeded expectations.  There are hundreds of roses of all colours.  Geese, a turkey, a resident puppy, fruit trees galore, herbs, a pool and spa, and a little building beside the pool with a pizza oven, barbeque, a big seating area, and even a dishwasher!  All up, we have four fridges and several dishwashers!

Zack stopped for us at a little supermarket on the way.  We combined herbs and citrus from the garden with meatballs and pasta, and cooked up a storm.  After a soak in the bath, in one of the four bathrooms, we are ready for a good sleep.

Thursday 19 May

Skopelos

After a leisurely brekkie, we headed out to explore our "Mamma Mia" island, Skopolos.  It was another bright sunshiny day.  Maybe 25°C.

We headed north to Glossa, admiring the glorious views west to the Aegean Sea.  Popping out of our cars here and there, we admired the beaches, including the one where the jetty was constructed for the Mamma Mia film.  It was dismantled after filming finished.

Coffee time was spent at the port nearby.

Heading up a tiny road to catch a better view, we needed to turn our hire cars around.  The steep switch back roads resulted in Mike driving our Kia into a position where the front right wheel was suspended above the road, and the car resting on the body of the right corner.  Replacing the driver with Greg, who is much lighter, we manually lifted the car and rescued the situation.  No damage.  Whew!

Mike and Greg are the only ones in our group with international driver's licenses.

Mike woke this morning with a moderate sized abscess in his cheek.  Luckily I had packed appropriate antibiotics.  So, he was not in top shape.  But, of course, this mishap occurred because I was not giving adequate directions.  [Well, yes, of course. - Mike :)]

We eventually found the road to the "Mamma Mia" wedding chapel.

Wildflowers adorned the way, resplendent in their variety, colours, and perfume.  And ncroaching on the road.

The views were breathtaking.

All of us, bar Di and Mike, climbed to the top of the rocky outcrop, where the little Mamma Mia chapel adorned the summit.

The views were magnificent.  Crystal clear waters sparked an iridescent blue below the cliffs.

Eventually, we headed to Skopolos town.  We ascended to 600 metres, through quite dense greenery, and pine forests.  Skopolos is very green, hilly, and full of pine trees.

The whole island has a population of only 5000.  As Jill said, our arrival made it 5009!

The place is very quiet.  There were a couple of tourists at the Mamma Mia chapel, but otherwise, we have only seen very friendly and helpful locals going about their daily business.

Around 5 pm, we settled into Aktaion restaurant, on the sunny waterfront of Skopolos harbour.  We had fabulous meals, washed down with delicious wines, while chatting to friendly locals.

On to the Skopolos supermarket for supplies, and home.

Then we chatted and listened to music on one of the verandas of our house, watching the sun go down at 9 pm.

It's a bit hard to beat a day like today!

Friday 20 May

Skopelos

Today dawned slightly cloudy.  We even had a brief shower.

Fay generously passed her head cold around.  So far, Judith and I have been afflicted.  Not much sleep last night due to the snivelling.

We had a leisurely breakfast in our mansion, (equipped with 4 kitchens and 4 bathrooms!) To be fair- 3 are kitchenettes!

After devouring mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon and eggs, we motored to Skopolos town and coffee at our favourite restaurant - Aktaion.  Buying more supplies at the supermarket, where the staff are now buddies, we travelled on.  Then up, and up, and up, the dirt mountain road, to the south of Scopolos town.

Greg's car scraped a rock while avoiding an oncoming motorcycle on a very tight steep uphill hairpin bend.  Bit of a buckle in the lower part of the car!  We are investigating insurance options!

We visited the monastery of the Ascension.  Ascension indeed.  Up and up and up we went.  The views from the monastery were fabulous.  My ears were popping!

Six Greek Orthodox nuns live there.  We visited the 250 year old chapels.

After descending, we travelled on to Staphylos beach and Limnonari beach and Agnontis.  Once again, we were the only people there.

Home again, and Judith and I cooked up a prawn risotto.

Another great day!

Saturday 21 May

Skopelos

Today, we did nothing.  Almost.

As the sniffles have turned me into Rudoph, I wasn't up for much.  We cooked up a storm for brunch, and chilled out.

The manager of our house, Zack, came over to give us a receipt.  Lovely chap!  1000 Euros for 4 nights for 9 people!  Fantastic!

We took the damaged car up to Clima car hire.  The car had 1000 km on the clock, and we were the first to hire the car!  They were very reasonable and only charged us 200 Euros for the damage.

Everyone here is so friendly.  There are almost no tourists.  Maybe 20!  This place is wonderful!  Too good to miss!

Cooked up chicken, corn, bacon, onions garlic etc for dinner!

Holidays are great!

Sunday 22 May

Skopelos -> Volos -> Athens -> Santorini

We were up even before our rooster.

The day dawned cool and overcast, after a windy, rainy night.

Zack Stamoulis, our property manager, arrived at 6.45 to help transport us to the ferry.

We filled up the hire cars at Babby's garage, and said a fond goodbye.  The few people we had met on Skopelos were delightful.

Zack gave us some calendars for 2017, featuring the island.  He is a terrific bloke, and a "jack of all trades" - property manager, professional photographer, taxi driver...

The economy in Greece is pretty dreadful.  They would appreciate more visitors!  I have to say that we found 1000 Euros for 4 nights (plus 130 EUR for a booking fee), to be exceptional value for 9 people.  Especially as it was a mansion!

Once again, we took the Hellenic Seaways catamaran, and headed back to Volos, on the Greek mainland.

Our driver, Kostas, met us and drove us safely back to Athens airport.

We hired Kostas through "Private Tours Greece".  They also organised our Athens city tour, and have put together a tour of the Greek mainland for Di, Mike and I.  Highly recommended, so far!

The day cleared, and we had beautiful views of Athens, as we ascended in the plane, flying to Santorini.

We were met, at Santorini airport, by a Canadian chap, who worked for Spiradakos - a firm which hires cars.  To give us more space, we hired a tiny automatic car, and a big 9-seater, manual van.  Bits of the van are falling off, after 113,000 km, but Mike is managing to drive it very well indeed!  The little car is also "long in the tooth".

Our villa is at the "Black Beach" near the airport.  Not tourist central, but it has 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and is very comfortable.  Santorini is quite tiny.  Only about 32 km x 6 km!  We can drive to the main town, Fira, in 5 minutes max!

After picking up a few provisions, we were off to the Taverna Galini, a couple of minutes' walk from our villa.  Huge salads, swordfish, and other seafood galore.  Fresh and inexpensive!

We waddled home!

Santorini is going to be fabulous!

Monday 23 May

Santorini

So busy, that I'm a day behind in my blog!

So busy, "feeling the serenity".

Our house, Bliss Estate, at the Black Beach, Santorini, is, as I have previously mentioned, very close to the airport.  We feel a bit like the family from the movie, "The Castle"!

The planes are not bothersome.  In the daytime, we are out, and there are few planes at night.  Plus, there's double-glazing.

Monday, 23 May dawned with spectacular blue skies!  Bluer than blue!

We headed to the main town, Fira, and parked at "car park number 9", and started walking.  In fact, that day, all bar Mike and Di, walked over 20,000 steps.  Up, up, up, up, down, down, down...  Mike and Di probably did 15,000 steps, as well.

We started by walking up the hill to Firastefani, and on to Imerovigli.  All the way were stunning views of the caldera, the islands, sailing vessels, whitewashed buildings, and shiny, blue church domes.  Spectacular!

We had a wonderful late lunch at Remvi Restaurant, which was perched on the edge of the caldera.  The views were even better than the delicious food.  The waiters were great, too!

Then, we headed off on foot, south, along the caldera.  This must be one of the loveliest walks in the world.

Some retail therapy ensued.  We then trudged back via a different route.  All very picturesque.

Recharging our batteries back at the villa for an hour or so, we headed off, up the eastern coast to Oia, at the north of Santorini.

Di had a lovely surprise- beautiful flowers from a friend were waiting on our doorstep!  She had been to Oia before and decided to stay home, relax and enjoy her gift.

Oia is a very glamorous town.  Also charming and cute.  Dior, Gucci and all the labels have little stores.  A beautifully paved walkway stretches for about 1.5 km or so from the car park, and leads to a vantage point for enjoying the sunset.

On the way are breathtaking scenes of the rim of the caldera lit up magically by the setting sun.  Meanwhile, little boats nudge their way through the glimmering sea.

Talk about popular!  It was packed at the viewpoint!  Mike sat back a way, watching the last of the sun's rays light up the caldera, and the rest of us stood with the crowd, waiting 40 minutes to watch the sun set over the ocean.

Then back home.  It was nearly 10 pm.  Toasted sandwiches for dinner, after a day which was really hard to beat!

Tuesday 24 May

Santorini

Today we explored the island by car.  Towns, scenery, wineries etc.  There was a thin cover of cloud in the morning, which started to clear during the afternoon.

We looked at a couple of other, nearby black beaches.  Australia is hard to beat for beaches, wine, lack of crowds, smoke free areas....

Roussos winery (established in 1836) was our first winery.  In Australia we are lucky!  Free wine tasting (usually), free toilets etc., We enjoyed the aroma of the fruity oak wine barrels, and seeing the old equipment and modern art work.  It was a bit early to imbibe at 11 am!

The next one was Boutari winery.  Jill, Di, and I decided to lash out and have a personal wine tasting.  Six Euros.  Our host was a young man with a Russian father and a Greek mother.  He was very interesting and informative.  The wines were different and lovely.

I noticed tomatoes growing wild beside the road.  Bob popped out and picked some for us.

We climbed up to the 13th century Venetian castle in Akrotiri.  More "step classes".

There was a display of Greek bagpipes, with a great variety of pipes, and bags made of long haired animal skins.

The Red Beach was thus named because of the rock, containing high levels of iron.  A cheerful, tanned Greek man was selling fruit.  We bought wonderful cherries, grapes, apricots, strawberries and bananas.

On to Santo Wines.  This was a big establishment!  There was a wedding in progress at a Santos building uphill from our lunch table, looking over the caldera.  Brides are plentiful on Santorini!

We had local wines, and seafood platters, Greek style.  All while enjoying one of the best views in the world.

Mobilising ourselves, we started to venture north.  Mike was a bit sick of driving.  We lost Greg's car in the rear view.  People here drive quad bikes like we do cars.  They clogged up the path between our cars.  I phoned Jill and we gravitated back to "Proton", our local supermarket.  The shop assistants now know us personally!

We are crossing our fingers for a fine day tomorrow!

Wednesday 25 May

Santorini

Bliss!  Today was hard to beat!

We booked a private cruise on a luxury 40 foot catamaran - "Sunset Oia!"

Shirley Valentine would have approved of the captain!  And the first mate!

The day was perfect.  Blue skies.  Maybe 22°C.  Water temperature only 17°C.

We were picked up from near our mansion, and driven to the northern town of the island - Oia.  The minibus driver backed down the steep road to the port at Oia for about 500 metres!

We boarded and, from then on, were treated like royalty, by the crew, the vessel, and Santorini.

There were sparkling vistas of glistening white towns, clinging to the escarpment of the caldera, peppered with the royal blue domes of the churches.  Little caves complete with tiny churches, peeked above the waterline.  Three cruise liners showed their might, just out from the port.

A new volcano, only 250 years old, is rising out of the sea.  A shipping passage between two islands is gradually filling in.  The last big earthquake was in 1956.

We travelled to the volcanic plug in the centre of the caldera, where "hot sulphur" springs threatened to stain togs with their "natural" chemicals.

Crazy backpacker type tourists jumped from nearby sailing ships, screaming as they hit the cold waters.  Then, they swam to the hot spring, 20 meters away.

We motored to Ammoudi Island, and marvelled at the strikingly azure waters.

Cold or not, Judith, Bob, Fay and I donned togs and jumped in!  It was shockingly cold at first.  However, within a few minutes, not too bad.  Our fellow travellers thought we were mad!

The main sail and jib were unfurled and we tacked back and forth across the pristine, deep blue waters.

A gourmet barbque lunch was served.  Delicious pork and chicken skewers, prawns with a delightful tomato, feta and ouzo sauce, Greek salad, breads, pasta, tzatziki etc.  All washed down with wine and beer.

That did it!  The wine, I mean!  When we stopped at the next bay, Jill donned her cozzie.  With a bit of a nudge, she was soon screaming about the cold, too!

Eventually, we dressed and headed back to Oia.  The 20 minute wait to dock, was the best wait ever.  Bobbing up and down, a light breeze tickling the waters, the sun warming our bodies, and lighting up the whitewashed buildings of Oia!

That is it, for our group of nine.  What a way to end our adventure together!

At 5:15 am, Greg, Jill, Fay, Allen, Judith and Bob, leave for Athens - Istanbul - Rome.  They will have 5 days in Rome, before returning home.

Di, Mike and I catch the ferry to Mykonas tomorrow morning, for 3 nights, then on to the Greek mainland.

We have been so very lucky with the weather during our holiday.  Only one somewhat showery day, when we were due for a relaxing day in Scopolos anyway!

Thursday 26 May

Santorini -> Mykonos

You know you are in Greece when you see the driver of a large bus, whipping down a steep, narrow mountain road, with switchbacks aplenty, having a ciggie, and talking on his mobile phone at the same time!

You know you are in Greece when the major ferry from Santorini to Mykonas is 30 minutes late in perfect weather.  Like today!

However, overall they are a pretty chilled out lot, here in Greece.  With very nice men!  Honestly...Hugh Jackman has serious competition!

Except for the bloke who was renting a small unit under our house in Santorini.  The manager of the house said she had spoken to him once, and was too frightened to do it twice!  He had the idea that the whole car park was his - despite him renting a tenth of the area that we did!  On our second day, he deliberately parked behind us, blocking our exit, even though there was space galore.  He finishes his "holiday" today!  I think that I can safely bet that we had WAY more fun in Santorini than he did!

This morning we rose before dawn.  Mike drove Jill, Fay, Allan, Judith and Bob to Santorini airport, while Greg returned the little rental car.  They are flying on to Rome, via Athens and Istanbul.

It was easy for me to see them off.  I just stood at the window of our house and watched their plane rise above the runway!

Di, Mike and I left a couple of hours later for Santorini port.  The day was intoxicatingly beautiful.  Warmer, with clear blue skies, and a gentle breeze.  As we rose up the escarpment and descended down the sheer face of the caldera, the views were crystal clear, and splendid.

We dodged the many motorbikes, and even more plentiful quad bikes, which weaved between cars, trucks and buses.  Few wear helmets.

Our ferry took us to Ios, then Naxos, and, finally, Mykonas.  A Mediterranean cruise in a nutshell.

Heading to Avis, we picked up a little VW.  On the plus side: Mike no longer has to drive a big van.  And the minus: The roads are often narrower, and the drivers really crazy!  At one stage his cage was really rattled by a truck constantly honking at him.

Trying to find our apartment at Ornos was a challenge.  We stopped a few times, to ask for directions, and people were very willing to assist.

The apartment building is called "Mimosa".  This was labelled "GW apartments" on the southern wall - which we could see driving from our direction.  So we dismissed it!  There was no signage at the front, but way down the northern wall was a tiny sign, visible with a microscope pointed through the lattice fence.  What good planning!

We arrived much later than expected.  The manager giggled, marvelling that we didn't phone her.  Everyone else does!

Her name is "Katerina" .  Astounding!  Virtually every woman we have met in Greece has been called "Maria"!  She is a sparkly, effervescent, exuberant ray of sunshine.  Currently, she is renovating another unit and was painting today.  In 6 inch platform shoes, and slinky black slacks and top.

Seconds after meeting Katerina, she had taken possession of my iPad, and made me her Facebook friend!  She found this quite thrilling.

Of course, our arrival had been rather inelegant.  We were told to park on the roadway leaving about 2mm between our VW and a rock wall.  This resulted in Mike having to climb over the gearstick to exit from the passenger side.  It was like a "rebirthing".  I was pushing and shoving his legs, so his head could crown out the door.  I honestly thought we'd be calling the fire brigade!  He burst forth from the car, minus a shoe, panting and purple in the face, to meet Katerina.  First impressions are just SO important!

I thought she'd either be horrified, or scream laughing, but she took it in her stride, and gave us wine and bananas, and a first class welcome.

Ornos Beach is only 100 metres away.  The water is iridescent blue and crystal clear, with passable sand.

The Europeans don't like sand between their toes.  Hundreds of sun lounges line the beach.  Prostrate beneath the inadequate umbrellas lie the red, cooked bodies of the tourists.

The average age here is about 30.  Top age 45.  We belong in a museum.  Di and I won't be swimming there.  The beautiful bodies prance around in tiny G-string bikinis.  Total material used equals about two square centimetres!

We settled ourselves into a beach front restaurant - Kostantis.  I'm sure Mike enjoyed the people watching.  Di and I enjoyed our seafood and salad.  They do a dish with prawns, tomatoes, feta and Ouzo.  It's sublime!  I had a grilled seafood platter shared with Mike, and of course, we shared a Greek salad.  It was pretty good.

We walked to the local "Proton" Supermarket, and went a different way home.  It was hair raising.  We constantly ducked into driveway entrances, flattening ourselves on the walls, to avoid the mad car drivers.  Of course, footpaths have not been invented here yet.

Jill has just texted that the others have safely arrived in Rome.

Looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow.

Friday 27 May

Mykonos

A bright, warm, clear blue sky followed the dawn.  Again!  We are so, so lucky!

Sleeping in was a delicious treat!

Mike drove Di and I to Chora - the main town.  He then attended to some medical matters back at the unit.  Anything but go shopping!

Chora was full of tourist shops, tiny, slate paved roads, whitewashed buildings, and crazy motorbikes, quad bikes, delivery vans, and chaos.  All of this makes it rather lovely.

Di bought a big suitcase.  She is our shopping queen, and has run out of space.  I'm trying to stick with 2 small carry-ons.

We two ladies stopped for a nibble (but mostly for the loo), at Kostas Restaurant, Mitropolos Street.  Very attentive staff.  Grilled mushrooms with cheese for the two of us - 8 Euros!  Tasty!

Eventually, we rang Mike and he joined us.

We had linner at a restaurant called "The Point".  While we had been waiting for Mike outside this restaurant, the movie star style waiter offered that we could sit in the shade , even if we weren't paying customers.  Luckily, we found a car park close by, and were able to patronise his establishment.

You should have seen the size of Mike's pizza!  Super family size - 9 euros.  Good job he was super hungry!  I had moussaka, a Greek salad, and a super-sized glass of wine- 12 Euros!  Couldn't finish it!  The food, I mean!

We eventually toddled out of "The Point", and walked down to the famous Mykonas Windmills, which look over the similarity famous, "Little Venice".  The buildings gleamed in the afternoon sunshine.

After wandering around the back streets of Chora, we found our way back to the car.

We travelled back to Ornos via the coastal route.  Such a beautiful afternoon.

No night life for us!  Too knackered!  We'll leave that to the "G-string set"!

Saturday 28 May

Mykonos

We had a lazy start to the morning, and headed out for a driving tour, otherwise known as a marriage challenge.

Tiny roads, with rock walls each side of the road, ruled the day.  Most drivers were patient.  The odd one isn't, and must have much better insurance than we do.

There was only one minor bump under our car on a low rock.  Very tiny.

As the navigator, (ie mind reader, expert on roads I've never seen before etc.), I was a little too busy to start googling "Divorce Lawyer".  But I thought about it!

[As the driver, I made a very bad mind reader.  "Well if you wanted me to turn left, why didn't you say so in time to give the guy behind me some warning?"  "If you don't like me driving so close to these rock walls, then why are we coming down these narrow roads?"  Etc.] -- Mike :)

The "Shirley Valentine Beach" (Ag.  Ioannis Beach) was just like it was in the movie.  The cafe where she worked had been renovated, but the tables, chairs, windows, and building were the same.  The cafe is now called "The Hippie Fish Caf�".

The sand was passable and the sea a shimmering cobalt.  On a beautiful day like today, it looked magnificent.

There were a few bodies cooking on the sun lounges, and 2 brave souls plunged into the chilly waters.

Next stop was " Super Paradise Beach".  We were initially heading for "Paradise Beach" , but who could resist the temptation of a "Super Paradise"?

It was lovely.  Manicured.  Not busy.  But very commercialised.

The road down to the beach was steep and narrow- 20 degrees.  The buildings at the bottom had tyres piled against them, to soften the blows when vehicles lost control.

We headed to "Jackie O" Beach (really a resort) which turned out to be a long way around to the far side of Super Paradise Beach.  Nevertheless, the views were splendid.  Navigating the very narrow road, we avoided knocking down a power pole on the verge.  The two chaps 4 metres up the pole, fixing something, were more at risk of crazy drivers than electrocution or falling down.

Mykonas has a number of churches with bright red domes, and trimmings.  We saw several of these today.  It would seem that every family on Mykonas has their own little church.  Some are only 20 metres apart.  At the most, they are a few hundred metres apart.

Back on our quest to Paradise Beach we went.  When the dramatically steep road trickled almost into little car tracks, we turned around at the first opportunity.

We headed on to Ano Mera, the second largest town on Mykonas.  What a sleepy little place!  There was a sunny town square fringed with restaurants.  A friendly chap extolled the virtues of his tucker.  He had a kind face.  We sat down!

Fellow customers - an elderly couple who lived in London, and who spend 4 months of the year on Mykonas every year were enthusiastic about the food.  They were right!

We had lovely salads, fried zucchini, calamari, lamb and chicken, all for a very good price and great service.

Then we sashayed to the monastery (Panagia Tourliani) for a look around.  Very nice.  Peaceful.

Heading east we went to Elia Beach and Kalafatis beach.  Same formula as Super Paradise Beach.  Lots of sun lounges, umbrellas, passable sand, brilliant blue water and not many tourists.

I decided on the "scenic route" home.  This involved tiny, precipitous roads, stone walls, churches and more churches, a few cows, a horse (untethered on the road) and more crazy drivers.  The views were stunning.

I think we've given Mykonos a through look.  It's a lovely spot.  However, I would hate to visit when the crowds are here in August.  It would make Hastings St look pretty good.

We seem to have had a number of miraculous blessings on this trip, so far:

1. Amazing weather.  Only one slightly showery day - when we were up for a rest day anyway.
2. A few sniffles, but no big health issues.
3. The miracle of the little bread sticks.

On Tuesday, when we ordered our seafood platters at Santo winery, on Santorini, the food included yummy little breadsticks coated in sesame seeds.  About a hundred of them!  We "doggie bagged" the remainder into plastic bags we were carrying, and we have been eating them ever since.  They are still crisp and crunchy.  Sort of like the "Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes", except that we ate all the fish!

Tomorrow, we are up at 4 am, to go back to Athens.

Sunday 29 May

Mykonos -> Athens -> Olympia

We were up well before the chooks!  4 am!

The effusive Katerina, our unit manager, arrived in the dark before 5 am, bright and bushy tailed, as always.

Mykonos airport was just as daggy as Santorini.  It purveyed the warmth of the Soviet Union of old.

Soon, we were on our way, flying above beautiful islands in our short, 25 minute flight to Athens.

Our driver, Kostas, met us, and we were whisked away.  Kostas seems to be very strict about the road rules.  Never use one lane, when you can straddle two.  Only indicate if you are in the mood.  Only put a hand on the steering wheel if going way off course.  And always exceed the speed limit by at least 20km/hr.  40 km/hr over is, of course, no issue!  Double lines are an invitation to pass other cars, but talking on the phone while driving does slow him down a little!  To think my mother was worried about ISIS and the suicide bombers!

He is also one of those drivers who speaks, but doesn't listen!  I've found that they are a common breed!  But he is very pleasant, and he tries to be attentive.

We had barely left the airport in Athens, when we came upon a road closure due to the derailment of a modern train.  Two huge cranes were trying to lift it on to the tracks, causing the wheels of the cranes to lose touch with the bitumen.

After that bit of excitement, we inspected the Corinthian Canal, a project envisaged by many tyrants over the years.  Nero started the digging in 67 AD, using 6000 Jewish prisoner slaves.  However, this project, linking the Aegean and Ionian seas, did not really get going until 1883.

Taking just over a decade, and led by, of course, a Hungarian engineer called Istvan, the 6 km long, 23 metre wide, and 90 metre deep passage was completed.  Engineering rocks!  (Hungarians can be pretty cool, too!)

We ascended over pine clad mountains, taking in vistas to the sea.  Fortunately, our Greek speedster, Kostas, managed to dodge a little tortoise waddling across the road.

Arriving in Epidauras, we visited the sanctuary of Asclepis, the God of medicine.  It was quite a big place, sporting a 14,000 seat theatre, stadium, banquet hall, clinic, Egyptian temple etc.  The "cures" were secret, composed of oils and herbs, massage, meditation etc., The results were even more secret!

Next up was a 300 year old Venetian castle - Palamidi Castle.  Set high on a hill, the views to the town and the port city of Nafplio below, were stunning.  It was huge and low set with 8 mutually reinforcing bastions.  About the time that it was completed, the Turks invaded, and took possession.  Bad luck for the Venetians!  Then the Greeks walked in and took it over, without a fight, in 1822.

Onward to Mycenae.  The structures on this site go back to the 16th century BC!  Let that sink in for a moment!  The Mycenean civilisation lasted until 12th century BC.  This civilisation played a vital role in developing the culture of Classical Greece.  There are links with Homer's epics, the Iliad, and the Odyssey.  These works had a major bearing on European languages.

Diggings show that people inhabited this site in the 3rd millennium BC!

We trudged up the Acropolis, most of the way.  The paving stones were very uneven, and highly polished, from the wear of millions of shoes.

The entrance was marked by the "Lion Gate", and we posed for the obligatory photo!

There were numerous tombs associated with the site, and a magnificent treasury, with a high, cone shaped room, with great acoustics.

The drive from Mycenae to our destination in Olympia was as scenic as our morning travels.  Very hilly, lots of tunnels, toll roads, oleanders galore, orange trees, vineyards, tractors, and even many eucalyptus trees graced the beautiful countryside.

The Europa hotel is very nice.  Bathtubs, great views, good food, attentive staff, comfy beds!

We'll sleep tonight!

Monday 30 May

Olympia -> Zakynthos Island

Our driver has suggested we visit a particular church at today's destination of Zakynthos Island.  No wonder!  I'm sure that his driving tempts even committed atheists to pray to God!  Today's specials included doing 110 km/ hr in a 50km/ hr zone, and going down a street clearly marked "do not enter".  He just laughed when I pointed out the signs!

We woke to a hot and beautiful day at the Europa Hotel, high on the hill, overlooking Olympia.

Starting at 9 am, we toured this ancient site.

As we were buying our entrance tickets, we ran into Avi Something Unpronounceable (real name: Averkios Vassilos) - the guide we had in Athens!  He was tour guide for 3 Americans - Joan, Sam (Samantha) and Jean - from Wisconsin.

Olympia was flat, and had plenty of shade.  Di's back was playing up, and Mike is not fit, but lucky me thought it was a breeze, compared to climbing to the top of Acropolises in the hot sun.

It must have been a stunning place, in its time!

Famous, as the origin of the Olympic Games, in 776BC, it is still the place where the Olympic torch is lit, every 4 years, in front of the temple of Hera.

Enemies called a truce to beating the s#!& out of each other, and played sports, enunciated poems and literature, made sacrifices, and celebrated existential pursuits.  Participators explored political solutions to their differences, rather than wars.

Chariot races, javelin and discus throwing, boxing, running, and other sports were on the agenda.

The height of the ancient games popularity was in 576 BC.

Nero, in 67AD, significantly contributed to the decline of the games, by cheating.  He won a medal for a chariot race, in which he crashed, and did not finish.  This was despite him using 10 horses and only allowing other competitors a maximum of four.

Only Greek males were initially allowed to compete, and later Roman men.  Any women who snuck a look, were, naturally, thrown from a high rock.  The Taliban are continuing this tradition today.

In 394AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the games, because they were "pagan".  Theodosius II then ordered the destruction of the temples.  How intolerant!  The games were reintroduced in 1896, and have been held every four years since, except for WW1 and WW2.

Despite the destruction, there was plenty to see, although it would have been nice if the huge ivory and gold statue of Zeus, at the temple of Zeus, was still evident, as the whole site of Olympia is a dedication to Zeus.

There was a line of statues leading to the stadium (seating 45,000), depicting Greek athletes who were convicted of cheating (with sins described).  A warning!  Of course, it was routine, later on, for the Romans to cheat!

In its day, Olympia was an important religious and athletic centre, and it must have been breathtaking- in every sense of the word!

There were council houses, where the athletes took oaths, a gymnasium, shrines...  It was massive!

On the way to Pyrgos, a gypsy girl, asked to wash our very grubby windscreen at the traffic lights.  I gave her 2 Euros, and she argued for more, and didn't do a thing!  For 2 Euros, GPs do plenty!  Can somebody tell Malcolm T.?

We stopped for fuel, and when Mike started to clean the windscreen, Kostas took the hint!

The road to the port was more modern.  The DOUBLE lines were heavily studded with those bumpy protrusions, which we often have in Australia, to warn us when we are going off the verge of the road.  This road improvement made overtaking cars a very shaky experience for us!

The ferry to Zakynthos, left 8 minutes early.  Greek time!

So, now we are on Zakynthos Island.  Our hotel rooms face the sea.  They are perfect, except that reception says I can't have a bath plug, for the bath!  What is the point of a bath if you cannot use it - especially to wash clothes?

Di and I went for a 2 hour walk.  Mike stayed back at the hotel to watch the "QandA" Twitter stream.  As you do, when on a splendid Greek island, in perfect weather!

Will sleep well again tonight!

Tuesday 31 May

Zakynthos Island

Another beautiful, fine day!

Kostas, our driver transported us to Alykes, a jetty to the north of where we are staying in Zakynthos.

The 3 Americans from Wisconsin followed with Avi, their guide.

We've been spoilt by private cruises, so far.  Today, about 40 were on board, but we had plenty of room.  Most of our fellow passengers opted for the top deck, in the sun, leaving the Americans and only a few others to sprawl out on the lower, shady, deck.

Setting off to the northwest, we began our circumnavigation of the island.

The sun lit up the limestone cliffs, lining the shore in the morning, and again when we turned around in the afternoon.

I now have 10,000 photos of limestone caves, iridescent blue water, and limestone cliffs.

Xigia caves were first up, followed by Blue caves, Keri caves, and many others.

Our boat was able to motor inside some of the caves.

We stopped at a beach composed of white, polished pebbles, called "Shipwreck Beach".  It was really awful to walk on!  Of course, there was a shipwreck.  Tobacco smugglers.  Ciggies are only $3 a packet here.  With $40 a packet in Australia, I contemplated whether our whole shoreline will be littered with the wrecks of ciggie smugglers.

I jumped into the crystal clear, shimmering, aqua water.  Di and Mike watched on.  It was chilly at first, but worth doing.

Later, others had a brief swim in a cave.  It was quintessential, "Shirley Valentine" style Greece.  Simply lovely!

A swimming stop was made at Agios Sostis which had a sandy beach.  Much more comfortable!

Averkios looked after us very well, even though, technically, he was supposed to only look after the Americans, who were paying for his services.  He is a very happy, obliging gentleman.  I tried to encourage him to come to Australia, by showing him my best crocodile photo.  He didn't seem keen.  So, I softened the blows with photos of Rainbow Beach, and the coloured sands.  He liked that!

Eventually, we headed into a southeastern bay, near the point of Gerakas.

Everyone had great fun trying to photograph quite a number of turtles in the bay.  The slippery blighters dodged most camera clicks!

Our new American friends have invited us out to dinner.  We have an early start, but we're up for it!

Wednesday 1 June

Zakynthos -> Delphi -> Meteora

Our driver, Kostas, is a delightful man.  Yesterday, for some reason, his driving became much less aggressive.  Did all of the speed camera tickets come in?  His English is a little limited, but he couldn't be more helpful or courteous.  When he heard we were going out to dinner with the Americans, he picked us up, and drove us to the restaurant.  Averkios also escorted us there, and refused to be tipped, despite the considerable assistance he rendered to us during the day.

Our American friends also have a "Kostas" driver.  While not in the same "Mad Max" league as our chap, apparently he's a lead foot too.  Must be cultural.  However, our first driver ( Athens to Volos and return) who, of course, was named Kostas, drove very safely and legally!

It would appear that nearly every woman here is "Maria", and every man "Kostas".  In this regard, the Greeks follow the example set by the Hungarians.  Substitute "Kostas" for "Istvan"!

Averkios has Italian roots.  This part of Greece was once ruled by the Venetians.

Last night's dinner with Jeanne, Joan, and Samantha was great.  They presented us with fridge magnets and a map of Wisconsin.  As we are stingy Aussies (and travelling really light), we gave them nothing!

They are horrified at the prospect of a "President Trump", and are into social justice issues.

Jeanne has 10 children- a blended family!  Sam is at Uni.  She wanted to study theology, and become a pastor, but that course was too expensive!  ($60,000 ) Even if you only earn $20,000 pa, you have to pay back your student loan upon graduation.  She is doing a business degree instead.  Joan, (Jeanne's sister, from a family of 10 kids), works in insurance.  They cannot believe the Australian government wants to introduce an American style health and education system!  They think their system is a nightmare!

Kostas drove us to the car ferry, and we sadly said goodbye to the beautiful island of Zakynthos and after just over an hour, we docked in Kyllini.

We drove to Patras, the third city of Greece, and crossed the stunning bridge of Rion (Antirion).  On to Nafpaktos, where a large Venetian castle stood, high on the hill.  As they do!  The port was very cute, with Venetian walls, and a fort.  Young men were jumping off the fort into the water.

The scenery on the drive to Delphi was beautiful.  We had left the Peloponnese and were now in central Greece.  Looking out onto the Corinthian gulf from the hills was splendid.

Delphi was the seat of the oracle.  This job belonged to a woman over 50, who would inhale fumes from a chasm, speak gibberish, and then have this "wisdom" interpreted by a priest.  Propaganda heaven!  Later on, John Lennon and Yoko innocently thought this gibberish thing was a good idea, too!

The temple was dedicated to Apollo.  In the winter, the oracle and Apollo let Dionysis (the God of wine) have a go, and then everyone talked gibberish.

As usual, not much remained of the original buildings, but visitors could get the general idea of how things once were.

We briefly stopped at the village of Arachova.  In the winter, it's a ski village, and there were many lovely chalets.

By this time, it was 3.30 pm, and we had 3.5 hours to go to our destination of Kalambaka

Kostas said he'd knock it over in 3 hours.  I told him not to hurry!

My gasps and white knuckles did not register.  Kostas stared steadfastly ahead!  He whisked the van around "40 km/ hr" advisory curves at 70 km/hr.  Then, a 60 km/ hr curve at 110km/ hr!  Frequently!  He seemed to be deaf, when I said it was too fast!  Not fun!  Lucky me had the "suicide seat", in the front.  More like homicide!

When we stopped for a toilet break, I asked him again to slow down, PLEASE, by standing 30 cm in front of him and eyeballing him.  120 km/hr in a 60k/hr advisory had made me cranky!

He set out very slowly.  Right around the corner was a radar trap.  Isn't he lucky to have an angel, like me?

Down the mountain range we went, soaking in spectacular views.  Definitely slower!  Especially as we were caught behind a bus!

He did say that we had a long way to go.  But we still arrived 5 minutes earlier than predicted, with safer driving.  He also said he does this trip countless times a year.  I concede that he knows the road, but constantly breaking the law and scaring the passengers is not my culture.

We arrived safe and sound.

Kostas is kind and considerate in so many ways.  Opening doors, carrying luggage, stopping for photos, pointing out attractions etc., He laughs a lot, and is good natured.  It's just that Australians value safety and the law!

Tonight we went to Tavern Panellinio.  Not having had lunch, we thought we were up for it!  One salad shared between 3, was mountainous!  I did not touch the rice or potatoes etc.  The Greeks serve HUGE meals!

Tonight is our last night in Greece.

We leave for the long journey home late tomorrow night.  Athens-Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur-Gold Coast!

Tonight, we are in Kalumbaka- gateway to Meteora.  It is a stunning area, so our last day should be magnificent!

Thursday 2 June

Meteora -> Athens

We could not have asked for a lovelier day.  Bright, clear blue skies were the perfect backdrop for the stunning monasteries of Meteora, perched on top of pock marked rock towers.  A photographer's dream!

Kostas stopped for us to take photos- over and over!  He has been very attentive and not driving too fast for us!

First major monastery stop: Varlaam Monastery.  On top of a rock 380 meters high.  Walking up a hundred or more steps was rewarded with breathtaking views.  My long jeans were not considered to be modest, and I was given an over skirt.  These buildings are still working monasteries, with Orthodox nuns and priests, living and praying in the complexes.

In the 11th century, hermit monks inhabited caves in the area.  By the 14th century, there was a lot of trouble and strife in Greece, so the monks climbed higher and higher, until they ended up building on top of the massive pillars of rock.

They removed ladders, when the baddies threatened.  Until a century ago, windlasses hauled goods and monks up to the monasteries.  Now, there are steps!

Next up was the Great Meteora (Megalou Meteorou), the highest, at 613 m above sea level.  On the way down the stairs, I was looking at the views, rather than my feet.  Twisted the right ankle and fell over.  Almost crashed the camera too!  I decided it best not to limp to the top.  Mike was glad for the excuse, I think!  Di took one look at the zillion stairs and had opted out, anyway.

Trying to keep ahead of the hordes of tourist coaches was easy with only 3 people to unload and reload into the van at photo stops.

We later toured St Stephen's Monastery.  Not many steps!  I remember going to this one in 2004.  It has been given quite a makeover, and is very spivvy.

Hundreds of shutter clicks later, we said goodbye to one of Greece's most spectacular sights.

Up mountains.  Down mountains.  Glorious scenery all the way.  Wildflowers galore.  Many shades of oleander.  Greece has flowers everywhere at this time of year.

We popped into the Thermophyles area.  A most sulphurous hot spring poured considerable volumes of hot water forth.  Not tempting.  It's a 31C day!

Apparently, there was a movie called "300".  It was all about how 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians fought the, over one million Persian soldiers, in the battle of Thermopylae.  Until a traitor helped the enemy, the feisty Greeks held their ground for days.

We visited the memorial of this battle, and viewed a short film, in the museum of Leonidis, (the Spartan General),and saw audio-visual presentations depicting this event.

Heading to the waterfront, we had linner at Kamena Voula.  A gentle breeze cooled the air, and we gazed out on blue waters, and blue skies.  As usual, the meal sizes were gigantic!

Athens airport was next on the agenda.

We have had a splendid holiday, and have loved every minute.  How lucky are we to have had such an amazing experience!  Only one slightly showery day in 28 days of holidays!  And it was on our "rest" day!

Friday 3 June

Athens -> Istanbul -> Kuala Lumpur -> Gold Coast

Now for the long haul home.  Athens- Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur- Gold Coast.  From arrival at Athens airport to walking in our door at Shailer Park, it should take around 34 hours! We have around 3 hours at an airport lounge in Kuala Lumpur, where we can lie on a bed!

All totally worth it!

Now, to get back to work, fresh as a daisy, and pay the credit card bill!

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