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Selasa, 23 Agustus 2016
A RETURN TO THE CYCLADES AND CRETE
I usually try to go to the island of NAXOS when I'm visiting Greece, because it's my favorite island. This year is no exception, however I've decided to also stop at PAROS. Aside from a weekend a long time ago when I went to babysit a friend's little boy while she performed at a taverna, I've never spent time on that popular island. I've heard so much about this island from other people, I figured it was time to explore it myself.
PAROS
There's a wide choice of things to see and beautiful beaches to visit so my little stop-over should prove to be really interesting. I'll probably wish I'd booked more than two days there!
From Paros, I will go to Naxos which is very nearby. As always, I'm heading for Maragas Camping, and like last year I'm going to stay in one of the bed tents. These are quonset-hut type 'tents' with a bed and electricity inside and lots of room to walk around. I found it very comfy and it's cheap!
NAXOS, Maragas Beach
Spectacular Naxos Sunset
The beach there is just spectacular and there are some wonderful little tavernas along the beach where you can sit and watch the sunset. Besides that you can take the bus into town and there's lots to see including the Venetian Castle, the Portala (doorway of the Temple of Apollo) and many other things. Naxos has a very interesting history and I've been on the round-the-island tour a number of times. It's a big island, with mountains and lots of greenery as well as those gorgeous beaches. It's the island where, in the myths, Theseus landed with Ariadne, the princess of Knossos after they had left Crete when the volcanic explosion on Santorini drove them all away. Unfortunately Ariadne ran off with the celebrants of Dionysos and that's the last Theseus saw of her. This time when I'm there I must remember to visit that particular sanctuary and see if I can conjur Ariadne's spirit.
MARAGAS BEACH CAMPING
Last year when I was on Naxos I wrote a lot of poems while on the beach and one of them was about Ariadne.I am hoping the Muse is with me this time too. I find if a very inspiring island!
IRAKLION, CRETE
IRAKLEON, MOROSINI FOUNTAIN
From Naxos I take the ferry to Crete. I'll stop a couple of days in Iraklion in order to see the sights there which will include the Palace of Knossos famous from Minoan times. There is so much to see in Iraklion and other parts of Crete that I may decide to extend my time there because it's worth spending time. I've visited Crete on a couple of other occasions but not for a few years, so it's going to be fun to return.
THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS
MINOAN ARTIFACTS AND PAINTINGS
Eventually I'll head back to Athens and then a lot of new adventures will take place. Among those I am hoping that I can do some book readings as the second volume of SHADOW OF THE LION is supposed to be published in October.
NOTE: photos of Paros and Irakleon from Wikipedia
Jumat, 27 November 2015
adventure
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cruises
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history
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islands
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pirates
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sea life
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Spain
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EXPLORING TABARCA, THE PIRATE'S ISLAND, SPAIN
If anyone mentions �pirates� to me it immediately piques my interest. So when my friend Inkasuggested that I might like to visit the pirate island of Tabarca off the Coasta Blanca in Spain, I was more than interested.
We caught a boat from Torrevieja for the short, pleasant cruise to the island, just a few nautical miles off shore. The island was once known as Illa de Sant Paul (Saint Paul�s Island) because it is believed that St. Paul disembarked here. For many years up to the 18th century it was a refuge for Barbary pirates and part of the Republic of Genoa. Later it was fortified by Charles III of Spain. Around that time, some Genoese sailors were shipwrecked off the coast of Tunisia and rescued by islanders from Tabarca. They settled there and people of Genoese descent can still be found on the island. From 1770 the island was known as Nueva Tabarca (New Tabarca).
My two travel writer friends, Inka and Darlene and I wandered around the old town and explored the shoreline and ruins. The island was once fortified with walls, bulwarks, warehouses, a governor�s house and barracks.
The gateways are still there as are the Governor�s House (now a hotel) and the church of St Peter and St Paul built in 1770. Later the garrison was removed and by the end of the 19th century the island was populated by about 1,000 people, mainly fishermen. Tabarca is the smallest inhabited islet in Spain. Today the population is around 50, although during the tourist season there are up to 4000 people a day who arrive as visitors.
The gateways are still there as are the Governor�s House (now a hotel) and the church of St Peter and St Paul built in 1770. Later the garrison was removed and by the end of the 19th century the island was populated by about 1,000 people, mainly fishermen. Tabarca is the smallest inhabited islet in Spain. Today the population is around 50, although during the tourist season there are up to 4000 people a day who arrive as visitors.
After seeing all the sights around the town, we stopped by a restaurant for lunch, attracted by the �pirate� who welcomed us inside.
We chose a table on the terrace of the Nou Collonet, overlooking the sea and enjoyed a delicious lunch from the menu of langostas y bogavantes, pescados and other traditional Spanish cuisine. The island has several good restaurants as well as hotels for overnight accommodations.
Inka meets the Pirate
Langostas
After lunch we hiked across the desolate grassy expanse to the garrison ruins and the old lighthouse at the tip of the island. Tabarca is a protected marine reserve for seabirds and various marine fauna. The sea around the rocky shoreline is crystal clear and perfect for snorkeling. It was declared a Marine Reserve in 1986, the first one in Spain. Boats to the island run from Alicante, Torrevieja and Santa Pola. Some of them have glass bottoms so you can view the reefs and sea life.
I didn�t see any pirates on Tabarca other than the one who welcomed us to the restaurant, but it was certainly an excellent way to spend the day with my friends. 
Old Fortress
Lighthouse
Jumat, 18 April 2014
SAILING DOWN THE NILE
The Sonesta Star Goddess?
We boarded our river boat, The Sonesta Star Goddess, at Aswan. We were greeted at the gangway by the crew dressed in navy middies, and escorted into the elegant lounge where we were offered warm scented cloths to refresh our faces and hands, and a drink of citrus juice. After having traveled by plane and van for many hours, this was indeed a welcoming! Then we were shown to our suites.
The Crew?
The lounge
?
The cruise ship has 33 suites. Mine was a two-room suite with all the amenities and a small balcony overlooking the river.
After we were settled we were invited for cocktails on the deck and given a tour of the ship. There�s everything a larger cruise ship might have including a spa, exercise room, dining room, bar where there is evening entertainment, various small shops. On the top deck there�s a swimming pool, hot tub, bar and lounge area where you can sit and watch the river slide by.
Sonesta�s fleet of five Nile River cruise ships offer 3-, 4-, and 7-night trips between Aswan and Luxor. http://www.sonesta.com/nilecruises/
I�d had no idea that the Nile River was quite as wide or as beautiful as it actually is. It�s the world�s longest river, flowing approximate 4665 miles out of the heart of Africa, northward to the Mediterranean Sea. There are two sources: The White Niles from equatorial Africa and the White Nile from the Abyssinian highlands. The cataracts, a progression of white rapids form the southern border of Egypt at Sudan. The First Cataract is at Aswan.
We traveled north from Aswan to Luxor on our three-day voyage, stopping each day to visit archaeological sites. Usually we set sail in the late afternoon, sailing during the evening and early morning. It was remarkable how quiet it was, as if the ship was sliding with the current, the pastoral shores slipping by like a silent movie.
Nile Sunset?
Past Aswan, at Edfu, the great Nile Valley begins. Limestone cliffs run parallel along the shore for more than 400 miles, sometimes stretched toward the desert. These cliffs reach heights of 800 feet in some places with mesas and plateaus. The cliffs on the west are like sentinels standing before the Libyan Desert, and on the east they withdraw into the Arabian or Red Sea Deserts. At the delta in Lower Egypt, it fans out with seven major tributaries into the Mediterranean Sea.
For some reason a children�s song kept running through my head as I sat on the deck watching the river flow by:
Oh she
sailed away on a
pleasant summer's day
on the back of a crocodile.
You see, said she, "He's as
tame as he can be, I'll
float him down the Nile."
But the
croc' winked his eye as she
waved to all good-bye,
wearing a sunny smile.
At the
end of the ride the
lady was inside, and the
smile on the croc-o-dile!
sailed away on a
pleasant summer's day
on the back of a crocodile.
You see, said she, "He's as
tame as he can be, I'll
float him down the Nile."
But the
croc' winked his eye as she
waved to all good-bye,
wearing a sunny smile.
At the
end of the ride the
lady was inside, and the
smile on the croc-o-dile!
But it seems there are no crocodiles lurking that part of the Nile now. Since the building of the Aswan Dam in 1960 they all reside on the south side of Lake Nasser, in the White Nile. However, I�d learn later that there is a crocodile museum at Kom Obo.
I was also reminded of Agatha Christie's book Death on the Nile and a friend pointed one out that would have been just the kind of Nile boat (a felucca) that Christie wrote about.
My travel friends and I enjoyed lounging on the upper deck in the warm March sunshine, watching the shoreline slip by. The river�s annual floods deposit fertile soil along its banks so the Nile sustains a variety of fish and fowl. In the reedy marshes egrets, ducks and geese nest. The Nile was known to nurture the sacred lotus, reeds and papyrus plants that were later used for writing on. The ancient Egyptians called the river the �Father of Life� or �Mother of all men�.
Markos, Linda and Yves enjoy a relaxing afternoon?
There is always a parade of farmers leading donkeys laden with produce or cut suger-cane and reed, boys on ponies walking along the river bank under the palms. People toil in fields, and there are herds of goats and cattle grazing near the shore. The name of the river is Greek in origin, a version of the Semetic word �Nakhal�. The ancient Egyptians called it Hap-Ur or Great Hap. The river was the manifest of the god Hapi, a divine spirit that blessed the land with rich silt deposits. The Nile is Egypt�s life-blood.
These days, with tourism at a low ebb, there are few boats operating on the river. Out of more than 229 ships, there are currently only 24 operating on the river. They provide an opportunity for guided excursion to explore the historic landmarks along the river: temples, tombs and ruins, with Egyptologist escorts. And there are plenty of leisure activities on board.
One day the Sonesta operations manager, Mr. Ahmed Tawfick, invited us to tour the kitchens and wheel room. We had been enjoying such amazing gourmet meals it was fun to go into the kitchen to meet the head chef and other staff who daily prepared our delicious meals.
In the wheel room we watched the pilot skillfully navigate the ship up the river. Mr Tawfick explained that there are only three families who are, by tradition, pilots of the Nile cruises and this man has been at the helm for 40 years.
Every night there was entertainment in the bar lounge. The first night was our Captain�s cocktail dinner. The next night was a �Gallabria Party� where passengers dressed in Egyptian costumes and danced to Egyptian music. The third night was a belly dance show with the most amazing dervish who whirled dizzily in colourful skirts.
whirling dervish
On the morning of the fourth day we met in the lobby and prepared to disembark for our cross-country tour van trip through the desert to the Red Sea. I felt sad about leaving the ship after such a welcoming and relaxing cruise. But there were lots more adventures waiting at the Red Sea!
Sonesta�s fleet of five Nile River cruise ships offer 3-, 4-,and 7-night trips between Aswan and Luxor. http://www.sonesta.com/nilecruises/
NEXT: DAY 1 OF THE CRUISE WE STOP AT EDFU AND KOM OMBO
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