Month: May 2006

Well, I’ve made it to Crete. The Flying Cat from Thira was fast and interesting. I met a couple from Orange County, CA on the way and we had an interesting conversation. She is a travel agent for AmEx and he is an endocrine cardiologist. They are only here for 2 nights, and, like me, trying to cram as much in in the time alotted. We exchanged email, etc…I’ll probably run into them in Knossos on Monday, but they don’t know that yet.

I’ve decided to make this leg of the trip as simple as possible by avoiding unnecessary bus tripping. I’ll stay here for 2 nights, and take a day trip tomorrow to Phaestos, on the southern side of the island. Crete is a big place, so more about that later. On Monday afternoon I’ll hop a bus to Hania, which is very different than Iraklion. This city is the largest south of Athens and how it does hum. The cybercafe I’m in right now is enormous, with at least 100 stations, and almost all of them are filled with kids gaming against each other. Mostly shoot’emkill’em games, and the sound of hard rock, screaming motorbikes, scooters and the smell of a busy city fills the air. This is culture shock after the touristic pleasantries of Thira, Paros, and Mykonos. Still, the museums and digs call my name as surely as the air is filled with carbon monoxide.

About my hotel…Not as advertised, but it will suffice for now. By far the worst lodging I’ve had an also expensive at 75Euro a night, but I have very little choice in the matter. It’s called Hotel Daedulos, and there is no rubbish bin in my room. The lights are flourescent, and the shower is typically Balkan, i.e., a spray nozzle and a tub made for tub showers and feet washing, chipped enamel to boot. Still, I have a very clear cable connection on the TV and the phone works.

My dinner tonight consisted of Tzaziki (yogurt and cucumbers) and Stoufada, a rich tomato sauced beef stew thin with chips (fries). Not bad, actually, for 14Euro. I’ll take a picture of the place tomorrow…the whole place is outside, and on a slanted side street, so you eat on an angle.

The noise outside is compounded by every kid beween 14 and 25 sitting at one of dozens of outside cafes, and these are not the quaint cafes of the quiet streets. these are cafes of fast times and serious trends. Space-age, plateglass, and brushed chromium steel. The newest and the best rock blares from enormous systems as kids drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, and otherwise try to be seen. Amazing. In some ways it reminds me of a middle eastern scene, and we are not far from the coast of Africa. Certanly closer than I am used to.

This place is driving me nutz. I gotta go. I’ll update tomorrow when daylight drives the fashionable inside.

Johnnyboy

Santoini is a lovely island. The volcanic eruption in 900BC that destroyed the Minoan city and culture here inspired Homer to describe Atlantis. The ash blew as far south as Egypt, and many scholars now believe that the ash, falling fiery chunks, and the resulting tsunami (parting of the waters) were the causes of the Biblical exodus from Pharoah’s captivity. New translations of the Old Testament have also revealed that “Red Sea” is a poor translation of “Reed Sea” which lies just a few kilometers from where the Isrealites left. The Red Sea is much too far away to have allowed the escaping slaves to outrun the chariots of their pursuers. So, what were conceived of as miracles were actually Mother Nature.

What remains is called The Caldera, and forms the bay around which, perched on the edge of the crater, lie the towns of Fira, Ia, and Ormious Antonious. In the middle is the top of the cone, still active in some spots. There have been two earthquakes since that time: one in 1956 and the other, I think in 1978. Still, the island rermains a tourist center of grand proportions, and is just as busy as Mykonos, although more beautiful. You’ve seen pictures, namely the famous blue domed church with stark white structures overlooking the sea. That’s Santorini, and it all looks like that, and it is no contrivence for the tourist trade. Unfortunately the food has something to be desired. It is as expensive as Mykonos, yet lacks the quality and style of the other island.

My rooms are very nice. They are clean, neat, relatively inexpensive (45Euro), but the Almighty Dollar still sucks, so that is about 65US. All in all, it’s been an experience I wouldn’t trade, but it’s time to move along. This is the theory I call ‘Traveler’s Syndrome’.

Time to go. Hit the Road. Worn out my welcome. Not- moving- fast- enough. It’s that time when one has visited all the museums, seen the churches, eaten the food at most levels, and watched the television in linguistic bewilderment. Luckily I am doing that tomorrow, but not until 5:40PM when I catch a hydrofoil across the southern Mediterranean to Crete. I won’t arrive until 8PM, so I have booked my room already. I shouldn’t suffer from TS while on Crete since my schedule is tight and the sights somewhat numerous. It will be a daily juggling of hotels, buses, and archeological sites until I depart next Wednesday for Pireaus, the port of Athens, and my departure point for the convention. So I think this will be a cure for TS, but first I’ll check out one more site here on Santorini in the morning before I take to sea.

I have such luxury problems, I cannot begin to list them…

Johnnyboy