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Final thoughts

Do you know that after 2 months and enduring 4 language changes on this Blog page, I have JUST found a button that would have brought all the icons back to english whenever we changed countries- had I known !!!! Typical of me !@#$$!

This will be my last post and I just wanted to say thank you to all those that have read the blog as we travelled along and those who have sent comments along the way. They came to be something we really looked forward to reading each day and missed when we couldnt get online.

When I began, I hadnt planned to post a diary each day, but had so many positive comments and feedback, it came to be part of my routine over these past 2 months.

I look back over some of the posts and cringe at spelling and grammar errors, but cut myself some slack since they were usually posted late at night!

So thanks to everyone for your well wishes and funny input - it has been mutually rewarding!

Cya at home :-)

Things We've Learnt on our Travels

Things Denise has learnt along the way..............

Travelling is a great way to learn about yourself

I've learned that I am alot more laid back then I ever thought I'd be

Human kindness transcends language and culture -there are many lovely people in the world

You can learn alot travelling down a foreign highway

All the NZ soldiers laid to rest overseas are well respected by their caretakers in Europe

Our dollar may be poor but we live rich lives in comparison to many

The very best thing I brought with me was a decent pair of earplugs- the difference between getting woken in hotels and having a great nights sleep every night!

You dont need to take 10 pairs of knickers overseas!

Always carry an umbrella -for sun as well as rain

Your bladder can hang on far longer than you think!

You can survive a squat toilet!

Hotels should always give couples an extra toilet for the smelly boys!!

Things Graeme has learnt about himself...........

I have found I am a control freak

I hate being out of my comfort zone, but find it exciting at the same time

Even though I am quieter, I get far more uptight than Denise !

Going commando is far better than washing your undies!

I think that big, hairy, fat farm working women are interesting to watch..yeah right!

To hear "You from NZ? Key-a-ora Mate"from a Turkish man in the Grand Bazaar is truely bizarre!

I love busy cities

The world is just far too big a place to sit at home.

Day 58- 22nd June. Istanbul-> Grand Bazaar

Day 58- 22nd June. Istanbul-> Grand Bazaar

Woke at 8am! We felt like we had been run over by a bus today after the long trip yesterday! Am still all yucky and blocked up, so have finally started some antibiotics to try and get rid of the green lurgy!

Had breakfast and then braced ourselves for the Grand Bazaar – 5000 stores and stalls, complete with all the men trying to get you in. It is pretty full on with them all calling out. Some are pretty assertive in their attempts, others funny…
” You want to give me some of your money?” “Where you from? Norway, Sweden?” etc.

It is an absolute maze in there and fascinating that this has been in use for 2000 years! We shopped for a couple of hours, finishing up our gift buying, then out into the fresh air for some lunch. Did well with the bartering today, never paid full price for anything and am getting good at the one liners that see them unable to come back with a higher price!!! Heard some other westerners getting So ripped off with what they paid for the same goods.

Walked home slowly, went past a barbers where the guy offered to give Graeme a cut-throat shave!!!!

Out for dinner tonight and then late check out tomorrow – we are getting our transfer at 1 pm to get to the airport. Apparently 1 million Turks will be leaving the city in a massive exodus for their summer holidays as well tomorrow, so it will be interesting!!

We will fly to Kuala Lumpur on a night flight then a 13 hour layover, where Malaysia airlines are putting us up in a hotel as they changed the connecting flight some months ago that’s sees us waiting there much longer.

Then we have another night flight Sunday to Auckland, landing on Monday morning in freezing cold, foggy weather!!!!! Will be strange to go to such extremes in weather. Constantinople has been very interesting although very conservative in its manner eg/ you don’t feel you can wear short or cool clothing in the city with the Muslim faith dominant here and the women are very submissive to the men. You really see very little of the women actually, especially notable in business matters. But have to say that the men on a whole are incredibly polite, well dressed and the Turks are very humble people – they have a lot of the Maori Mana about them.

Day 57 – 21st June. Kannakale->Troy->Istanbul

Day 57 – 21st June. Kannakale->Troy->Istanbul

Woke at 7am after a wonderful sleep on blissfully soft beds. Had breakfast at the hotel (worst food we have encountered on our trip – hot food stone cold and milk curdled!@#!) then we met at ANZAC house which is where the tour company work from in Kannakale.

We drove down to Troy with its famous horse which the Turks even admit is corny! There is a much more realistic one in Kannakale- the one used in Brad Pitts ‘Troy’ that the studio’s gave to the town, unfortunately Brad wasn’t there today!(Have included a pic of this better horse)
Next we were taken by a very good guide around the ruins of the city of Troy. This is a massive place as only 10% have been excavated, money being an issue and there are many civilizations that built and re-built over each other over the years – 9 cities one on top of the other in fact.

I have included a photo of a stone road that is from the 25th century BC – this was BEFORE the wheel was invented!! Puts a new perspective on old.
It was super hot again today – around 40C again, I wouldn’t advise anyone who doesn’t like very hot weather to visit any later than June as it really wipes people out and our tans are coming along nicely as you cant help being out in it when you are touring!

After the tour we were taken back to Kannakale- the roads are funny, full of potholes with crooked painted road lines! Then we were given a whole 6 hours to look around in this small town until they returned to Istanbul. This was way too long and in the heat, people didn’t want to stay out on the street all day. Walking down the road the heat felt like the blast you get when you first open a hot oven door!

We went down to the harbour and had an ice cold beer and some burgers- was very enjoyable cooling down and people watching,I have included a photo of a Turkish Man and his granddaughter who were also in the restaurant- they adored each other!
Then walked around for a bit but then decided to go back to anzac house as they have a common room of sorts at the back that has fantastic air cond. It has lots of chairs and anyone can just sit or lay down in there which was great as we had 4 hours to kill. They played the Mel Gibson movie on Gallipoli – was very sad but probably also very realistic.

Finally got the ferry at 6.30pm then onto the bus back to Istanbul. Arrived back pretty late at half past midnight and re checked-in to the hotel after a night away.

Day 56 – 20th June. Istanbul->Gallipoli

Day 56 – 20th June. Istanbul->Gallipoli

Eked out our alarm until 5.30am after a great sleep, we were so tired that we crashed. The hotel staff we great and we were able to get breakfast an hour and a half before it usually opens. Were picked up and we were off.

A large contingency of Australians on the bus, 2nd were the Kiwi’s, then a couple of Americans and a Brit.
It was 5 hours up the peninsula to Gallipoli, past the Dardenelles and the guide put on a DVD about Gallipoli – told as a documentary with exerts from soldiers diaries. It showed the utter waste of human life during this campaign.

Had lunch at a restaurant on the waterfront, then swapped guides and up to the intended landing beach (Brighton beach) of the ANZAC forces – it is well known that they actually drifted in the dark to the next cove which had high banks and left the soldiers as sitting ducks for the snipers. I have included a photo of their actual landing beach.

The guide was great – a young Turk man who so poignantly got across the message that everyone lost out in this senseless 8 month long battle – 65,000 Turks and 22,000 Allied forces. But in reality the true number of casualties was closer to 500,000 as they didn’t count those who died once they left the area or those that died from other sickness. This included the diseases carried by the flies that plagued the soldiers – one writing that he would rather continue to fight the Turks than the flies any longer.

We have found Turkey to be ridden with flies also, they could drive you mad and we must have had at least 2 dozen with us on the bus today.
We spent 5 hours at Gallipoli and stopped at every memorial there and a stop to get out and walk in the actual trenches. I would have loved to have stayed there longer and have a dig for a button or shell casing, but as we were out in 40+C sun for so many hours, it was welcome to finally get going. Everyone was drooping from being out in the hot sun for so long – I had a chocolate bar I found in my bag that had turned to pure liquid!

There were many tales of the mutual respect shown by the soldiers on both sides as time wore on in the battle, their trenches were only 8 feet apart in some places. Here was a particular tale of an allied C.O. who was shot in the leg and was crying out for his troops to help him. No-one could get to him due to the sniper fire, when a white flag was seen to come out of the undergrowth. Then an unarmed Turkish soldier walked out of his trench over to the C.O. and gently picked him up and carried him over to the astonished allies, before returning to his own trench. I have included a photo of a statue that was erected in this Turkish mans honour.There is also a photo of Ataturk - the Turkish leader next to the NZ memorial at Chunuk Bair, this showed that at the end, we all stood side by side. I have also included a poem Ataturk wrote in 1934 upon reflection of the war. If you have time, click on the photo to blow it up and read the sentiments he wrote to the loved ones of those who died.

The whole campaign was a complete waste and the human sacrifice for such a small piece of land is hard to fathom now – there is one spot at Lone Pine where 6000 men from both sides, died in 2 days for a piece of land the size of 2 tennis courts.

The lone pine for which the area is named, was actually grown from one seed – an Australian soldier who was fighting there, witnessed his brother die so planted a pine tree where he had fallen. He then took a seed home to his mother to grow in memory. After the war, a pinecone from that tree was taken back to Lone Pine once the war commission heard of it and the tree that now stands there is a symbol of remembrance.
We were all standing in one of the cemeteries when eerily a F16 fighter jet flew over our heads, followed by two more in a V formation…. as someone said, you don’t see that everyday – usually just at the ANZAC ceremonies. You couldn’t help but imagine what just one of those planes could have done for the Allies at Gallipoli?

We were all very over heated and tired by this time, then I felt so guilty when I thought that I had just finished explaining to Danni about how these men were in hot, uncomfortable uniforms – and they had no choice to leave when it got hot or unbearable.

However, the other side of this is that here we are, almost 100 years later, travelling to the other side of the world to stand and honour these men –though we knew none of them personally. I think for that, those men would thank everyone for remembering.
A full on day here at Gallipoli, that we hope to repeat at the 2015 celebrations for the one hundred year commemoration.

We left the area and caught a small ferry over to Kannakale (Shurn-ark-lay) at 7.30pm. Our hotel is right on the waterfront which is nice and we dropped our bags and straight into the swimming pool to cool down. Then dinner and off to bed for a hopefully dreamless sleep after all the suffering we have heard of today. Don’t mean to sound morbid or dramatic but actually being here – even when you know the history and its details, is very sobering. It is hard to know where to put the feelings for so many men, suffering so badly – on both sides for something that achieved little at the time. Just remember them I guess?

Day 55 – 19th June. City tour of Old Istanbul, Blue Mosque, Asia Tour & Palace

Day 55 – 19th June. City tour of Old Istanbul, Blue Mosque, Asia Tour & Palace

Woke after a fitful night for both of us, but ready to take on Istanbul. We started with a tour around our hotel area which is the old part of the city with all the mosques. We first went St. Sophia a church built in 6th century AD. WOW ! It was amazing and currently being restored so you could see the part old as it is and the newer work.
Then we went on to a small museum and the area round the Hippodrome and the Egyptian Obelisk. Evidence of the Ottoman empire is everywhere in this area of the city and their pride in their architecture. Then we visited the famous Blue Mosque which was amazing also with the protocols you follow for going into a Muslim church – complete with head scarf!

Then we did the usual carpet factory visit where they show you 120 carpets in 15 mins and hope you will buy one while sipping on apple tea!

They took us for lunch in a hotel then on to the Asia and Beylerbeyi Palace which is on the shores of the Bosphorus river. This “Summer Palace” was more opulence than you could ever, ever imagine – it was out of this world and built with plundered money from winning wars over other countries. The Sultan and his descendants lived there until they were overthrown in the 1923 revolution.

We were also taken around what is called the Asia area of Istanbul and up onto the hills that overlook the city – had a mighty view. Was very hot again today, so we had to suffer with an ice cream to cool down!

Got back to the hotel about 5pm, it is very congested with people and traffic here so were glad to get back and have a shower to cool off. One thing that is a pain is we were told by the travel agents that you use euro’s here, but the merchants all use Turkish Lira’s still. They will accept euro’s but have to convert it which is a little tricky as it fluctuates between 1.65-1.75 to €1.

We went down the road to a small restaurant for dinner –they charged in TL, we paid in Euro’s and got change in TL’s!!!!!

Back to the hotel to get photos and blogpage done (the hotel have free Wi-Fi so it’s great) then to bed for a decent sleep as am all blocked up sinusy again – query all the plane tree’s around?. Up at 5am for our trip up to Gallipoli and Troy. Will post when I can, may be in a couple of days when we get back though.

Day 54 - 18th June. Leaving Crete->Istanbul, Turkey

We are off to day to Istanbul. Pepy has been lovely and said we can stay in our apartment until we leave at 2pm for a 5pm flight. We will fly back to Athens, then catch a connecting flight to Istanbul.

We will have to cover up clothing wise as are unsure about how you dress. Here it is shorts and singlets as it is so hot but have had conflicting info re Turkey.

Namely that you should cover up or you could get insulted and then the other extreme that it is different from other Muslim countries and is relaxed and modern and the less you wear, the less you pay for goods??!!!

Everything is on a bartering scale there so should be interesting.
We have a day tomorrow of city tours and then up to Gallipoli for a couple of days then back to Istanbul before coming home.
CYA all soon :-)

Later……. Got our flight fine from Heraklion in Crete, back over to Athens. But geez that airport is a shambles. Stinks real bad as everyone smokes in the waiting area and no ventilation and we tried 4 times to find the place to get a tax refund stamp- Gray was directed by a customs guy over to an office, which was empty, then when he went back to speak to the man again, he had run away!! We were told to go various places both land and air side and ended up directed to a airport police office. The Greek that was running that was an absolute pig, his breath stunk of alcohol and when we explained that we had already tried what he told us to do, he eyeballed me big time and just repeated to do it again through gritted teeth . Graeme said it is the first time he has felt like hitting someone, but I knew you couldn’t win with him, so just eyeballed him back silently!!

Got to Athens late as the first flight was 20 mins late taking off, so we were racing to make the connecting flight to Istanbul. It was like a maze and we got slightly lost, then walked very quickly back the right way and through customs. Of course this time they wanted to go through my cabin bag which was chocka with presents!! It was all quite hilarious really! Luckily found the customs man who looked Graeme over very thoroughly?! Then stamped our tax refund – yay! Then Graeme had problems getting the cabin bag onto the plane as it was such a small cabin space they wouldn’t allow many of the carry-on’s. Gray started to see red as they let one guy on with a bigger bag while holding him back with ours – he just isnt pushy enough like them!! Then he had to fight at the other end to get it back as didn’t want all the fragile stuff going with the suitcases – he wanted to carry it!!! They did get it off for him in the end and we just made the bus to the terminal !! I just stood on the sidelines saying to relax, it would be ok!

The 2nd flight was on a tiny plane surprisingly and as fate would have it I was seated beside a Maori lady from Christchurch- Huia! It was great, we talked the whole way over on the 1 ½ hour flight! Geez I love our Kiwi sense of humour and light hearted approach to life! We stuck with her in the Ataturk airport as she was on her own, gave her the lonely planet info I had on accommodation as she hadn’t arranged anything and it was getting dark by this time.

Said goodbye to Huia, then through to our hotel transfer – OMG ! Have never seen a van that flash! Seffer, the driver was lovely and the padded leather seats and interior of this vehicle had it in the limo category- just missing the spa pool!
He is a real gentleman and took our bags as we left the airport when a short, round Turkish women slipped over in front of us , on what looked like a piece of cabbage?! He helped me to get her up, then she turned on Seffer and gave him an earful like he had thrown it there!!! It was a laugh.

It was so funny, he actually beat the Cretan taxi drivers record and drove over 130kms through the very crowded streets – I just put on my seatbelt and giggled nervously while looking the other way!! The drivers here are very impatient and quite aggressive, tooting at each other all the time. It is fine though when you don’t have to worry about driving- would never try it alone here with 15,000,000 people in this city alone!

Got to the hotel, and more quiet, well dressed Turkish men. They are very polite and respectful and love those long slim noses they all have - very regal looking!

Eventually got to bed at midnight – groan, and will be up at 6am for our tours tomorrow.

Day 53 – 17th June. Palace of Knossos, Heraklion.

Day 53 – 17th June. Palace of Knossos, Heraklion.

We woke to a hot day and another great blue sky. We decided to go to the ruins at Knossos this morning as Danni had done a school project on them and thought that seeing it in person would be educational at the least !

Got there in half an hour with no problems and into the grounds. Its only €6 per adult and kids are free, so it’s very affordable. These ruins are a great example of the age of Crete. It appears to have been first inhabited during the neoglithic period- from 6000BC and evidence of the Minoan culture has been found here - Homer also mentioned the civilizations here in his books.

The ruins we saw were from the 2nd palace period (1700-1350BC) as the first palace and its city were destroyed perhaps by earthquakes they think. There were once 1500 rooms and the palace covers 22,000 sq. metres.

We just wandered from room to room and looked at the renovations and what is left on the grounds. You could even see evidence of the water drainage system they used along the sides of the roads.
All the frescoes we saw were replicas as the originals have been taken to the museum in Heraklion, but they all told of myths and legends such as the Minotaur and the Labyrinth.
There has been criticism of the way the renovations have been done in the past, mainly using concrete to replace fallen ruins rather than re-using what is there and you could see justification for this after all the authentic ruins we have visited in Europe. However, they are still fantastic ruins, spread over a large area and are laying mostly as they fell still.

It was super hot in there, you just sweat bucket loads and one of the staff there said it has been so hot the last few days as the wind has come up and it brings the winds from the Sahara desert – thought it was rather toasty!

We drove back to the apartments and spent the afternoon cooling off round the pool and we will go down to the village for dinner this evening.
Will feel like the last supper as I don’t want to leave Crete –has certainly been the favourite so far!

Day 52- 16th June. Crete

Day 52- 16th June. Crete

Had a quiet day today – woke after a better nights sleep and only woke Graeme twice during the night, trying to find Danni in the dark!!!

We went down to the village for some more bread for our toast, then had a lovely day around the pool. It has been boiling today, temp well into the mid 30’s – it felt like a dry desert heat which is lovely when you have a pool to cool down in.

Danni swam happily the whole time, you can tell she grew up with a pool at home her first 9 years of life!! She only needed Poppa who always plays with her in the water to make it perfect I’d say.

Graeme sat and sketched from photos we have taken – one of the 5,500 photos over the past 2 months – yes OMG! I hear you all saying. Wait till we have the photo weekend when we get home, we will have to lock everyone in to stop you all leaving – and No falling asleep !
There are also 15 hours of video to watch – had a look at some Danni had shot the other day, we were seriously motion sick by the end of it ?!@#@!!!

This afternoon we sat on the balcony, looked at the ocean and drank a beer, then ouzo and cokes - very nice. Danni has become a bit of a wine connoisseur, she likes white wine as its sweeter than red and enjoyed a weak ouzo and coke this afternoon. Offered her a drop of Grappa- the national drink here, but it is the original rocket fuel and she wasn’t ready to blast off!

Finished off the day with a meal at a restaurant in the village overlooking the bay - a great way to finish the day.
Really don’t want to leave here in a couple of days as this type of rest is really good for the body and the soul – but guess the reason is that you aren’t here all the time, so appreciate it more. Just as well we have family and friends we want to go home to as there are several thermal power stations here on Crete that Graeme has seen and could probably get work at. But imagine having to learn Greek – you can’t even read it easily, the locals would have a field day laughing at our attempts to pronounce their language, although I can say Hello, Thank You and Do you speak English (which they all do)!

Day 51- 15th June. Crete->Souda Bay->Kasteli->Chania

Day 51- 15th June. Crete->Souda Bay->Kasteli->Chania

Oh, A big one today!
Woke many times in the night though, repeatedly having my travel nightmare again. Kept waking up thinking we were on the ferry and it was pitch black. Couldn’t feel Danni next to me and at one stage woke Graeme, who told me she was next door. I thought that meant next door on the ship and flew out of bed in a panic cos she was gone. Then every time I went back to sleep it would start again, it was flippin torture! Probably not helped by being hot and bothered with this bot? Anyhow, did get a few hours sleep then we got up for better things - our ‘big Journey today’.

Crete really only has one highway the whole length of the island and we drove 2/3’s of it today! It was so easy, much easier to navigate then I thought it would be after Italy. We passed through the most amazing mountain ranges that had you looking straight up to try and see the tops. Crete feels to us, very like NZ in its green environment and feel - its hard to explain but its great.
The roads have one lane on each side with a type of half lane on the right hand side. It is unspoken that you drive to the right of the right, another words on the very outside edge of the road so people can pass at will. This works surprisingly well, although a little hair raising at times when some of the English tourists drive on the inside centre line and wont let the locals pass!!

We first stopped at the Souda Bay Commonwealth Cemetery where 446 Kiwis are buried. What a beautiful place right on the bay- so peaceful and serene. We have arrived on a beautiful sunny day, with a blue, blue sky and this backdrop frames what is a wonderful show of respect to our soldiers by the Cretan caretakers. We wrote in the guest book and wandered around the graves for some time. You really notice that these men were mostly older than in other cemeteries, between 28 and 35 years. Graeme said it is because they were the first NZers who volunteered to go overseas with the NZEF. So many died between 20th May and Early June, when the Germans invaded Crete.

Gray found there were a number of NZ Flight Crew here - some graves with no names, “Known only unto God” written, in lieu of a name. He suddenly realized that my Grandfather could be one of these men if his body was washed ashore after he died in 1943, as all the commonwealth soldiers - known or otherwise, were brought here to lay. It added an element of the special ness to this memorial. I noted one wreath which had a note attached - written by an obviously old Soldier. He wrote “Sorry we had to leave without you Lads, but you are always remembered by your comrades - rest easy”. Nearly lost it then….

Later we spoke to Mum and Dad, who had rung quite by chance as poignantly, we stood in front of a grave with their surname on it. Then we drove on to Kasteli or Kissamos as it is still known to where my Grandfather is known to have been shot down with his flight crew into the Mediterranean ocean. We found a little road that wound down to the sea and got out and walked down to a deserted spot where you could see the harbour and way out to the huge cliffs, then on to the open sea. Sat in the bright sun and listened to PouKareKare Ana, there was something very serene about it, the waves were just quietly lapping the rocks and the way we had the bay to ourselves. Eerily enough, this bay is just like Cable Bay where Gran lived in her last years – the link wasn’t lost on either of us.

Stayed for a while taking pics then drove back along the highway and stopped at Chania (“Harn-e-a”) where we spent a while driving blind until we came across a parking building. It was great, you just get out and they take the car away and park it for you valet style.
They gave us a map to the old part of town where the Venetian boat sheds were built back in the 1400’s. They are still intact as is the long seawall and lighthouse.

It was So hot by then, so we stopped at a restaurant on the harbour and had lunch. Then we went down to where the big Clydesdale horses and carriages were and Danni finally got her ride! At €20 it was cheaper than the €150 in Rome and the €50 in Florence!
It was great as the man took us around all the little side roads and around the seafront in the shade of a large umbrella. Finished off a special day beautifully.

Day 49- 13th June. Crete

Day 49- 13th June. Crete

Woke to a lovely warm day again at 7.15am. Its funny here as, because we are up so high, there is a haze you look through when you look down. Graeme pointed out that we are above many of the clouds at this height- explains it!!

Tussled with the shower- its very like France where they have the shower head hung at about hip height and nowhere above that, so you end up kneeling and twisting in strange positions to get yourself washed!

We went down to the town again today to have a look around the shops. It is a very small village type setting where it all centres around the waterfront at the end of the streets. It is a sleepy, very casual setting that seems to cater for mostly Brits and Germans and is very family friendly. People rent the umbrellas and loungers and play at the waters edge – there are tons of toddlers here with their parents.

Bought a few more gifts and went to the small supermarket to get a few things, then back to our place to cool down. Had a lovely lunch of salad and ham buns, then had a little siesta before going down to the pool for a couple of hours. It was lovely laying out in the breeze and the water temperature was perfect.

Gray cooked a roast chicken for dinner, then we watch some greek tv we couldn’t understand, but the news showed the ship the Sea Diamond, which was the one we were meant to be on around the greek islands. They showed footage of it sinking last September. It was definitely more upmarket than the one we had, but since it is sitting on the bottom of Piraeus’ port, it wont be much good for cruising anymore!

Danni has had a great day with all the pregnant very young cats around here. They are gorgeous and feel sorry for them that they are all obviously pregnant so young and feeding off each other as well. But Pepy was telling us today that she lost her husband just in April to lung cancer, so guess she has had her hands full with his illness only being diagnosed in November. Feel very sorry for her as she is a very gentle person and these apartments were a joint effort to run I think. But she has help here with some younger women, so hopefully will go ok. She shut the place down over the winter so it hasn’t been open again long.

Day 49 Wednesday 13th June- Crete

Hi all- we need to use the owners computer in Crete and the connection is slow will wont be able to post photos so much, but will have a photo weekend when we get home- ha ha. We will have to lock the doors and not let anyone out till you have all seen the thousands of pics!!

Day 48 – 12th June. Athens->Heraklion, Crete

Day 48 – 12th June. Athens->Heraklion, Crete

Up at 6.30am today, ready for our transfer at 8am. Not sure why our transfer is so early as we are on a domestic flight, leaving at 11.35am and the check in is 35mins before? Others are all leaving later and on international flights but better to be sure I guess.

Trafalgar have organized a taxi for us, so that was good. In Greece they will give you a transfer at any time after a tour, whereas in France and Italy you have to be the day after the tour and at set times. That’s why we had to buy our own transfer in France at $140! Much better though than trying to navigate public transport with suitcases.

Got to the Athens airport at 8.30am and Aegean airlines had its check in open already. It was the fastest check in we have ever had, Graeme didn’t even have time in the queue to write the baggage tags!! They had 9 desks open, it was great.

Amazingly we got away with our bags being 21,22 and 26 kgs- they did write all the weights down but nothing was said – yay. Would have been painful if they had made us pay the €7.50 per kilo over the 15kg allowance. Although she did ask us where we have been, so maybe they allow for the fact that all international travellers have been allowed 20kgs on their previous flights??

Wandered through the shops, but I was feeling pretty blocked up and hot with my cold, so sat in the lounge. This airport is easy to navigate- think it underwent a big renovation when they had the 2004 Olympics.’ They have the domestic and international flights in the same place so it is probably much easier for transferring passengers, not trying to get from terminal to terminal. Sitting here now I see only about 30 passengers for this flight, so either there are lots to come in the next 10 mins or it is a pretty empty flight.

Bought a couple of little bottles of Ouzo in duty free- it is 40% alcohol!! Haven’t tried it since I was sick on it at my 25th birthday party but since it is the national drink it would be rude not to join in!

Boarded the flight and took off no problems, only a 40 min flight and we were in Crete. If we had taken the ferry it would have taken us 4-12 hours depending on the vessel! Landed in brilliant hot sunshine and straight out to our taxi waiting with our name on a board.

Up to Nymphes apartments on the coast at a mind boggling 130kms an hour on the motorway??!!! We were told there are mad drivers here! Nymphes is dazzlingly beautiful on the top of a massive cliff overlooking the small seaside town of Agia Pelagia. Pepy the owner who is well known for her hospitality was waiting to greet us and take us to our apartment, which is the one they used in the advertising for the place!

Got our rental car delivered, a peugot 206. then went down to the town for groceries. There are heaps of Brits down there, all white with singlet marks and drinking large amounts of alcohol. Graeme was very glad we are up the mountain a bit as he said he couldn’t stand it!

Graeme and Danni enjoyed a swim while I read, then we enjoyed a yummy meal of prawns, avocado and tomato pasta. Watched the sunset – the sea and sky here merge on the horizon until you cant make out which is which- is mesmerizing.

Day 47 – 11th June. Cruise Ship-> Athens

Day 47 – 11th June. Cruise Ship-> Athens

We were up at 6am today as disembarktion was to be at 7.30am. Had another rough-ish night with the partying teenagers in the next cabin- they came back from the disco I think after midnight and brought all their friends. Got sick of it after some time and thumped on the wall which stopped it – pain in the bum though.

Slow to get off the ship but good that the Trafalgar rep had got all our bags and yay!! They were intact.

Transferred by bus back to the hotel we stayed in before the cruise, then decided to go to town while we are here. Taxi’s are everywhere and only cost about €4-6 for the trip all the way downtown ( Its €3 each way for us on the bus, so much easier to get the taxi). Graeme noted today however that not many of the locals seem to wear deodorant!

We haven’t met one Greek yet who doesn’t speak clear English so its a lot easier here and the prices are definitely cheaper than Italy and way cheaper than France which is really dear for food etc.

Wandered along the Plaka enjoying all the bustle until I tried to decapitate the top of my little toe as I kicked a brick partition, splitting my toes apart and cutting a piece out of the top- ow ow ow!@#@! Couldn’t speak for a minute or two and of course it started to bleed. Sorry Dad, had to use your soft camera cover to stop it, but it has washed out fine.
Went to a chemist where the very gentle pharmacist was embarrassed to charge us 15c for a plaster- very kind and he would have given it to me anyway.

Went to subway for lunch- about the same price as home - €3 for a 6 inch sub.
Walked around the stalls and bought a few gifts then back to the hotel for a rest and wrestle more with the slow connection- at $34 for 24 hours I would expect a fast connection??!!! It has taken hours today to catch up and attach photos!

Thanks to all those who have posted comments in the past days- I have now answered them via post a comment, so keep it up!
Quiet dinner in the hotel room, we found a place that did beautiful meat and salad kebabs really cheaply. Better than the hotel where 1 boiled egg is €3 !!

On to Crete tomorrow, hopefully we can get out luggage on without extra charges- it seems the domestic flights only allow 15 kgs each and of course we all have the standard 20kg international weights in our bags (at least). We will see….

Day 46 – 10th June. Rhodes->Patmos->Kusadasi, Turkey

Day 46 – 10th June. Rhodes->Patmos->Kusadasi, Turkey

The ship travelled overnight to reach Patmos and those going off the ship were off on the tenders at 7am.
We have noticed we have had no seasickness or motion sickness this time since we embarked. Even though it is a very tired vessel overall, this is the first time on a ship that none of us have felt ill. One of the other ladies from the tour wasn’t feeling great the first day – she had that “just let me sit here and die” look on her face. Couldn’t bear to leave her like that , so gave her one of my tablets as she didn’t have anything, and she came right thankfully.
Found out later that we were meant to be onboard the ship that hit rocks and sunk late last year- hence this older ship being pulled out of dry dock!!! The captain was found to be down in his cabin drinking at the time.

Today we decided to stay onboard as Patmos is pretty barren and not much to see they tell us. Plus with the tender process it takes ages to get onshore. There was I think just a 2 hour period there, so most people have stayed onboard and taken it easy. The point of interest here is St. Johns grotto where in 95AD, he claimed to have heard ‘a great voice, as of a trumpet’, commanding him to write a book and send it unto the 7 churches. This he did – later to be known as the book of revelations in the bible.
Cant help but wonder if someone claimed this had happened nowadays, they would be more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic and given medication, rather than be revered as having been spoken to by God??

We sailed for Kusadasi (Koo-shard-a-cee), Turkey and arrived early afternoon where we disembarked with Jerome for the Ancient Ephesus tour, 49 nautical miles away. Picked up our local guide who is an English teacher here in Turkey.

Drove to the ancient city of Ephesus, out in the country, just sitting there in the middle of nowhere! The ruins are the 3rd city of Ephesus- apparently the ruler who built the first one, wanted to renovate the city but the people resisted- so he blocked up the sewer system in a bid to change their minds. All it did however was make them decide to build a 2nd city further away!!

The 3rd city was built around 70 BC and just blew us all away. It was unbelievable and there is no doubt why it was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. We walked down the same road which is still visible, where Marc Antony and Cleopatra strolled on their travels to Egypt.

A lot of the outside walls are still there and the archeologists have laid out all the broken pieces on the ground where they are to go back when the excavating is finished. This gives it an eerie, awesome quality as you are walking along seeing exactly how it was.


The library was the most complete building and puts every NZ library to shame!!
The temperature was up around 40C and very humid and sticky, but you couldn’t help but stop in the sun and stare at the magnificent layout that just went on and on. Even saw grooves in the marble road made by chariot wheels!

Jerome had explained that the stalls and shops you visit at the end of the ruins, have the Turkish men who all come at you at once, trying to draw you in and as he said when you think about it, the traders here have been doing this successfully for 2000 years.

It was a bit like going to the main street in Nadi, Fiji where the Indian Fijians hassle you to come in for ‘a very good price’. It was ok though- best piece of advice we were given – if you don’t want to buy, don’t even answer them as saying No is a form of conversation starter for them!! Jerome said we are all way to polite, so we tried the silent treatment and apart from the occasional, “I have to feed my family and see my poor old father…..’ they left us alone!

Tried hot apple tea for the first time in a Turkish rug shop the tour went into, it was yummy, very crisp and refreshing after the intense heat at Ephesus.

Back to the ship and last night tonight, so we are putting our suitcases out in the corridor tonight- and praying that we get them tomorrow all intact. There are lots of people who have had their cases broken like us – wheels etc off??!!

Enjoyed another 4 course meal in the restaurant with a couple of Canadians form our tour, a lovely end to our Greek Island cruise. We certainly want to comeback again to stay longer sometime soon.

Day 45 – 9th June. Mykonos->Rhodes

Day 45 – 9th June. Mykonos->Rhodes

Nice sleep with the gentle sway of the ship, but were woken by next doors teenagers all yelling and carrying on at 6.45am. Gray gave them a short shift with a knock on their door! There must have been some serious drinking last night as the poor porters were cleaning up 2 sets of stairs where people hadn’t made it to the toilet on time this morning and had chundered everywhere – ew!

Got up and had brekky then we disembarked straight onto the port at Rhodes. It is completely surrounded by a huge stone wall – built around 400AD! It was a beautifully clear hot day and we met Clair and Grace from our best of France tour, no problems. They are staying here for a week and we had realized earlier that we would all be here at the same time!
On the france tour the TD had a call - “EW HOO” she would call when she wanted our attention. This became the groups call name, much to my embarrassment (walking down the road with many, mostly Australians all yelling ew-hoo very loudly to keep the group all together!!)
Well today Graeme sees Clair and Grace coming along the road, so calls out the call sign to them – was so funny watching them still react to it – looking for the source!!!!!

Great to see them again- it was like seeing long lost relatives ! They took us around the old city and we wandered down the streets looking in shops. Much better prices here and a bigger island than Mykonos – they both have their own magic though.

We stopped and sat at a café in the shade as it was pretty hot by 10am and sat next to a guy who had a humongous ‘boot’ of beer, a glass shaped like a boot, complete with a extra, extra long straw to drink it with. Must have been at least 3 litres in it and it was drawing attention from tourists walking past who were stopping to take photos! Was funny.

Then we walked to the new part of the city as were looking for a cabin bag that had a pull up handle and backstraps, as the large jewellery box we had bought will put our suitcases overweight on the flights. Managed to find one at a good price and the Greek merchant gave Danni a hat for free.

We have really noticed that the Italians and the Greeks love children – especially the men who are fathers themselves. They all come up and tease her and stroke her hair, so her social skills have been superbly improved since coming on tour!!!

We all stopped and had lunch outside in the shade overlooking the harbour, sitting in huge wicker chairs- Graeme actually pinched himself today! Ate gyros (pita bread, meat and tzatziki) calamari and pizza together – was great. After this we walked to the Oz girls hotel and Danni went for a swim in the pool there while we sat and talked with a cocktail each – ah the stress of it all!

Had to say our goodbyes, this time for good till they return from their round the world trip next January and the 3 of us walked back to the port and onto the ship. Had a lovely dinner, watched the greek show then off to bed for the night!

We have had such a beautiful sunny day today, was lovely as yesterday was grey and cloudy.

Day 44 – 8th June - Athens->Greek Island cruise

Day 44 – 8th June- Athens->Greek Island cruise

Woke after not such a great sleep last night as our room absolutely stunk of cigarette smoke from next door, smelt like someone had lit up a packet or two in the room?! Air con. is obviously linked, but at least it was only for one night.
Up at 5.50am as we had to be on the bus at 7.30am, ready for our cruise departure. Left Danni’s new suitcase at the hotel as will be hard to fit 3 in the cabin.

Not sure if I said before, but we have had Irish luck with our suitcases. Danni’s was wrecked at the 2nd hotel on the Italy tour, when the porters yanked the handle completely out of her case, then just placed it back in – sheered off! Then yesterday, Graeme’s basically new suitcase was delivered to the cabin with the travel strap broken through completely and the soft handle is ripping out?! We seem to be collecting forms to take to the travel insurance company!

Anyhow, queued up at the Louis lines boarding area at the port which was slow but pretty painless, then onto the ship. Quite old and tired compared to others we have been on, but its ok.
Went to the safety briefing – the life jackets you have to wear are exactly the same style as the ones on the Titanic ??!! Wandered around getting our bearings and found the internet – so to speak…. It is one p.c. on a very slow connection, this services the 750 passengers on board so wont be trying again as it took me about 7-8 mins to send an email. Will have to catch up when we get back to Athens. It is 17 euros for 24 hours use there, but it is wi-fi with the laptop and makes it easy to post photos with the fast connection – got to keep the blogpage going or I will hear from home!

We met our Trafalgar rep on the ship - a French guy named Jerome. He is great and does everything for us with excursions and tender queues off the ship etc. This is wonderful as apparently there are large groups of American teenagers on the boat. Seven groups of 30 or so, who are graduating from school.
We saw they have taken over the top of the ship where the pool and spa is – all trying very hard to be cool! The legal age for buying alcohol is 18 years here so they love it as it is 21 yrs at home I think, there were some pretty drunk kids up there by teatime. The TD said the staff hate it in March and June when they all come on board as they are such a pain wrecking things, making a lot of noise and mess and generally being a pain to the cabin and bar staff!

At 5.30pm we all met in the lounge to await the tenders to get off the boat. Lots of ships in port so waited until about 7.45pm but then off and onto the beautiful island of Mykonos by pre paid buses.
What can you say about this island? Startlingly whitewashed stone houses laid into the hills- they are postcard perfect and the churches have domed roofs rather than flat ones (for water collection) like the houses. The domes are painted either red or blue. As we arrived just before sunset, it was all aglow in a beautiful sunlight.

It is a very small island and not as hilly as we previously thought and really just one small area of shopping. The TD said the prices are a bit dear due to the cruise ships coming in. However, you could sit right on the sea front and sip cocktails for €20 each! There was an eclectic mix of old sea dogs and trendy young tourists everywhere, along with some rather unusual looking transvestites who were individually sitting on stools outside the shops – not sure why??

We had a great wander around taking heaps of photos of this magical place until the sun set and we went back to the pick up point.Take a look at the photo today of the ship and its fare?!!! on the rigging.

Back on aboard and ate again in the restaurant – what can you say about ship dining? Top of the line, silver service with 4-6 courses at every lunch and dinner. You can choose the buffet if you prefer but all the teenagers are all pigging out there, so most others came to the restaurant. This sort of dining puts coach touring food to shame!

Off to bed around 11 pm, with only 1 time out into the hallway to tell a group of 16 or so year olds to quieten down – I love my earplugs! Off to Rhodes tomorrow.