International Criminal

I never thought my travels would come to this...I am now an International Criminal. It all started so innocently.  I never have understood travelers who try to buy things without the local currency, sadly it's mostly Americans. I see it on the same plain as expecting the world to speak your language. While many do speak English and use US currency I think it's rude to assume it. So in being the being the smart respectful traveler that I am in my own mind, I went directly to the bank window at the Addis Ababa airport and bought $20 worth of the local funds, that came to 377 Birr. I had a 4 hour layover so I figured I'd get a coffee, a snack, and maybe a trinket. I went to the coffee shop and it was packed, no space at the bar and no chairs at all. I had no desire to push my way in dragging a small roller bag with me and order anything I had to juggle while standing. So I went to the duty free store thinking I would spend my Birr on fresh Ethiopian coffee for my office mates. I looked around, found coffee and asked how much.  The lady said $6, I asked how much in Birr, "We don't take that, just US and Euro."  I was bum fuddled and a bit put out so I put the coffee back and left. Sorry office mates, I didn't get the coffee. I went to a trinket shop.  The Addis Ababa airport is more market place than airport, there are numerous tourist trinket shops and 3 duty free stores that are sparsely stocked with all the same stuff; liquor, candy, and parfume.  The trinket shop had all the same junk you find anywhere; really bad wood carvings, expensive t-shirts, and cheap ugly jewelry. The only think worth buying was a soccer jersey for my nephew Cody but they wanted $35 for a cheaply made replica. By this time I had been up an going for 36 hours so I was tired and crabby. I decided to forget the shopping and go through security to wait at the gate. I had no idea what to do with the 377 Birr in my pocket. I boarded the flight to Nairobi and started reading the inflight magazine on Ethiopian Airlines, Selamta.  In the back there was an interesting section on Travel in Ethiopia and what do I see???  In the currency section, "It is illegal to carry more than 200 Birr when entering or departing Ethiopia."  Oops! So for $20 I have unknowingly become an international criminal. BTW if your going to Ethiopia let me know, I have Birr you can take with you, but I'll only give you 200, unless you just feel like living dangerously.  Travel On!

Reef Hook Diving

Palau opened my eyes to a whole new diving experience: Reef Hook Diving. 

Blue Corner is a dive spot on the southwestern end of the outer reef of Palau.  It is a spot where the outer coral reef juts out into the ocean and is world famous for its strong currents and huge schools of fish.  Our group had heard tales of Blue Corner but we were a bit apprehensive about the strong current.  When we tied to the buoy, our dive guide, Neil, warned us the current was pretty strong and instructed us to grab the rope next to the boat and work our way down the buoy line, holding on until we were all ready to go together.  As soon as he gave the pool’s open sign, I was first to back roll in and I was immediately swept away in the wrong direction.  I kicked with all my might and after what seemed like forever I made it to the line on the boat.  Hand over fist along the boat and down the mooring line as the current tried to suck me away.  When we were all together hanging on the line, Neil gave the go sign, we let go all at the same time and flew along the top of the reef.  I have never been in a current that strong, but just going with it was fun; it felt like I was flying!  As we came near the corner we made our way closer to the ledge and found a spot on top to hook in. 

Divers hooked in - notice air bubbles going straight back

The reef hook is simply that, a large hook, about the size of your hand on a 3 or 4 foot line with a large brass clip at the other end.  Before the dive we attach the brass clip to a central location on the front of the BCD and roll up the line and hook and secure them in a pocket.  We find a hole or depression with a lip deep in the reef that is strong and anchor the hook there.  Being careful to keep our fins off the reef we put some air in the BCD and float above the reef looking straight into the current.  In front is a drop off out into the deep blue sea and we just wait with a hurricane force current blasting us in the face.  Be careful, you might lose your mask if you turn your head sideways.  I would hold onto my mask but my regulator would free flow when I looked to the side. 

 

Eventually schools of large ocean fish come cruising by; dogtooth tuna, wahoo, reef sharks, pyramid butterfly fish, triggerfish and many more; all of them swimming along so easily as if there is no current at all.  The sharks would face into the current and hang there without motion as if they too were hooked in.   It was not a steady current so while on the hook you could be yanked up, down, left or right.  Sometimes there would be a strong surge in an already strong current and I just knew my line was going to break any second or my BCD rip and I would go flying over the top of the reef and take out 30 other divers like dominoes.   When I lived in Adak, Alaska we would experience such strong wind storms that you could not walk without holding onto something, you could feel the power of the wind in your face!  This was similar but in water. 

Reef shark just coasting above me

When our time was up Neil motioned us so we would all unhook at the same time and fly together over the top of the reef, on the other side the current was much less but still strong enough that we had to make sure we stayed together as we ascended and did a safety stop in the open water column.  Thank heavens for who ever invented the safety sausage; a long red inflatable pencil shaped balloon that notifies boats there are divers below.  We came up in what I thought was the middle of nowhere but the boat captain saw the safety sausage and was ready with a line off the back of the boat so we would not be swept away while waiting to climb aboard.   Back on the boat we were pumped full of adrenalin and so excited to talk about what we just did.  It was the most exhilarating dive I have ever done.   I wanted to come back and do it again the next day!

The only negative to Blue Corner is that due to its popularity it is a very crowded dive site.  You really have to be careful not to mow into other divers even when they are not always so careful.  To dive Blue Corner you really need to be an advanced diver and have a profession dive guide, so if you have the experience don’t let the thought of the strong current deter you; GO FOR IT!!  IT’S WELL WORTH IT!!

Travel On!

 

Peleliu Island - Site of a WWII Battle

Completely unknown to me before this trip, Peleliu Island is located on the southern tip of the Palau chain of islands and it was a very bloody battle location during WWII.  Before WWI the Germans occupied Peleliu and mined phosphate there.  After WWI it was the Japanese who carried on the mining and used it as part of their supply chain in WWII.  MacArthur thought it would be a good location for the US to secure during WWII because it was on the right flank of his planned attack route to the Philippians.  Peleliu was invaded by US Marines and Army in September 1944.  What was supposed to be no more than a one week easy expulsion of the Japanese turned into an 8 week bloody battle; one of the most bloody up until that time.  If you like to read about WWII history and battles, I highly recommend you read With the Old Breed on Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge.  I don’t really enjoy reading about war but I found this book fascinating since I knew I was going there. 

Today Peleliu is inhabited by 539 people who make their living mostly from fishing, taro production and growing fruit.  Children growing up on Peleliu can attend school locally up to junior high but have to go to boarding school in Koror, a town on another island, for high school. 

Orange Beach was one of many different beaches to be simultaneously invaded on that September day in 1944.  Almost 70 years later I am standing on that beach, water like glass inside the reef and big rhythmic breaking waves hitting the outside of the reef hundreds of yards away.  Smooth tan colored sand with many small shells under my feet and a gentle breeze that makes it comfortable to stand in the shade of a tree.  The sun is oppressive and the humidity gives my whole body a layer of sweat.  Outside the reef the sea is relatively calm with rhythmic swells and breakers.  The birds are chirping and the whole scene is very peaceful. 

As I stand there, I try to picture a line of Naval ships outside the reef, Marines in landing craft racing toward the beach and the noise of men streaming off the landing craft onto the beach with the sound of machine guns and bombs being lobbed by the Japanese.  I try to feel the adrenalin, excitement, and fear they must have felt as they waded ashore, past buddies who had already been shot, floating in the water dead.  Knowing most of these men were just kids, 19 or so, who had never been away from home before.  Of course I could never really feel what they felt and never really understand their emotions but I knew the peaceful location of today was the complete opposite of the noise and chaos of 69 years ago.  I thought about the families who lost loved ones on this beach or this island and wondered if they were ever able to see the beauty of this place.  I was sad for the loss of so many men from both sides!

The locals have started a WWII museum located in an old concrete building that was a Japanese fuel depot.  It was full of various guns and ammo that had been salvaged from the island, including some very large bombs.  The best part was all the letters written by US GIs to Japanese families returning personal items they had found on the island after its capture.  Those were the most touching to read and some were accompanied by the return letter from the Japanese family.  

Bloody Nose Ridge is the highest point of Peleliu and capturing this point was the goal.  To get there the Army and Marines had to fight their way across an island made of solid ancient coral, covered in thick tropical jungle in 90 degree heat and 95% humidity.  They wore very thick cotton uniforms with long sleeves, long pants, and very heavy thick boots plus they carried hundreds of pounds of gear and equipment.  To get to Bloody Nose Ridge we rode in a van with windows down for AC, wearing light cotton shorts, t-shirts and sandals, carrying nothing.  The road now goes a little more than half way up the 200 plus foot ridge, at the end of the road is a very nice Japanese memorial.  From there we climbed straight up over 120 wooden stairs to get to the top – it was steep, hot and humid so the climb was not easy but compared to what the GI’s had to face to get there it was a walk in park.  At the top there is an Army/Marine monument and a spectacular 360° view of the island and surrounding sea.  I wondered how the GI’s who captured that ridge saw beauty of that view.  They had been in hell for weeks, they were homesick, tired, scared, dirty, hurting, and who knows what else but did they see the beauty?  Or is the beauty lost to the trauma of the experience?  Maybe having just come through hell made it even more beautiful?  I can never know but at that moment I was grateful to God for the beauty and grateful to our service members for their service and sacrifice!

Jellyfish Lake

You have seen it on the Discovery Channel a hundred times and always thought how cool it would be to actually see that.  If you make a trip to Palau only to see Jellyfish Lake you will be disappointed but if you happen to already be in Palau don’t miss it!  There are actually more than 80 saltwater lakes in the islands of Palau, each with its own biodiversity.  A few even have similar type jellyfish but there is only one that is accessible to tourists.  South of Malakal Harbor only accessible by a 30 minute boat ride is Eli Malk Island; this is where Jellyfish Lake is located.  Your boat docks at a pier and the park rangers check your entrance pass.  You are directed not to wear any sunscreen, perfume or lotions of any type.   You can wear just a swimsuit but the water is pretty chilly. 

Many of our group wore our wet suits and booties.  With mask, snorkel and camera in hand we left everything else on the boat and started the hike to the lake.  The trail was made of rock and concrete stairs that were pretty steep but were shaded by the tropical trees.  It was about a 10 minute hike up a hill to flat terrain across the top and then a 5 minute hike down into the valley where the lake is located.  There is a dock at the lake guarded by another park ranger and it looks like nothing special; just some tropical cold freshwater lake.  Our guild instructed us to swim out and around the corner along a mangrove shoreline with cardinal fish in the roots.  He told us when we start to see jellyfish keep swimming, when we see 10 or 15 jellyfish, keep swimming, when we see 30-40, keep swimming, when we see 100 keep swimming and when we are completely surrounded by 100’s of jellyfish stop and look around.  He warned us to move slowly and try not to kick with our fins while around the jellyfish so we don’t harm them.  

When I arrived at the main gathering of jellyfish I just floated….so quiet…so surreal.  The jellyfish just pulsed as they moved up down and around.  They were sized from as small as the tip of my pinky finger pulsing very fast, like the heartbeat of a humming bird, all the way to the size of my outstretched hand pulsing much slower.  It was the most Zen moment of my whole life, so relaxed, so peaceful!  I was thinking that everyone needs a jellyfish lake in their backyard to float in after a stressful day.  I just kept taking photos and video even though they all look alike, I could not stop because I wanted to remember every single moment.  At one point a couple of other swimmers came close and they were talking to each other above water and grunting and pointing below water.  Their noise ruined the whole experience so I moved away from their chatter.  After what seemed too short a time we swam back to the dock and did the hike in reverse.   The next time you see Jellyfish Lake on the Discovery Channel mute the sound, move closer to the TV and just silently watch the movement of the jellyfish – it won’t be the same but you will get the idea.   This was totally worth the extra cost!!

Click Here for Jellyfish Lake Video

Travel On!

Palau

To get to Palau from the US you go through Hawaii, Guam, and Yap and eventually arrive in Palau about 2 am local time.  We had a full day in Yap before we caught the 1 am flight to Palau so we were all falling asleep even before we boarded the 45 minute flight.   As we arrived over Palau all we could see were city lights, yes compared to Yap everything is a city.  I could tell right away that Palau was much more populated than Yap.  We arrived tired and crabby to a large open air lobby at the Sea Passion Hotel and had a bit of a bumpy check in with unorganized staff and a broken air conditioner in the room.  After a few hours of sleep everything was all better.  The Sea Passion has one of the most scenic swimming lagoons I have ever seen; the perfect crescent shape, surrounded by perfectly shaped palm trees, water that is 10 different shades of blue/green and a white sugar sand beach.  Sadly I never once swam in that lagoon.  After a two hour round trip boat ride to the dive sites and a full day of diving I was ready for a shower and  dry clothes when we got back to the hotel.

Often when I travel to a new location I find myself saying, “This looks like….” But that was not the case with Palau.  Granted there are a lot of places on this globe I have never seen but, so far, no place looks like Palau!  Most Pacific Islands are either one huge mountain volcano covered in lush vegetation, an atoll, or an ancient flat coral reef that looks like it will be swamped with one good wave.  To me, what set Palau apart is how there are thousands of tiny little dot islands so close together.  Like God tossed a hand full of huge limestone pebbles into the ocean and said, “Let there be Palau.”  The larger islands are not just one big mountain, like Fiji, they look as if some of the pebbles all bunched together and grew vegetation.  The small islands are 50 to over 100 feet tall, have really steep sides covered in tropical vegetation, and most don’t have any beach.  The sides plunge straight into the water where the sea has eroded a perfect undercut making each little island look like a cartoon mushroom.  It is hard to describe.  I never got tired of inspecting each island as we flew passed in the dive boat on the way to and from the dive sites:  looking at its shape, looking to see how far the sea has cut into the base, looking at the different trees, none of which were palm trees unless there was a sandy beach.  There are very few islands with a sandy beach.

Since the hotel was just around the corner by boat, our dive master picked us up every morning in the boat, took us straight back to the hotel in the afternoon and we left all our gear on the boat.  It was great not to have to wash gear every day and schlep it back and forth to the boat!!  A girl could get spoiled!!

Palau is a lot more populated than I expected and it is full of people from other places.  Everyone I met was from somewhere else; India, Philippians, China, Japan, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and any other place you can think of.  There is a large population of young US expats and I am not sure why; some were doing the bum around the world thing, some were working and I think some were going to school.  It looks like there is a lot to see and do in Palau.  The main island of Koror was full of resorts, shopping and restaurants.  We never made it up north the largest main island where the capital city of Melekeok is located.  It would be good to have a car and be able to take a day or two and just explore the island.  I would think it would be pretty easy to spend a couple of weeks just in Palau exploring the area and diving.

A Once in a Lifetime Trip

         
That is a once in a lifetime trip!! 

What does this statement mean to you? 

Is it a trip to a location so remote, exotic, exciting and expensive that you only take one trip of that type during your whole lifetime?  OR could it mean you go to that remote, exotic, exciting, expensive location only once because there are so many other remote, exotic, exciting, expensive trips to take? 

Maybe it's not remote.  Maybe it's not exotic to some people.  Maybe it's not expensive at all.  It only has to be a place you have dreamed about going. 

Where do you want to go on your once in a lifetime trip(s)?

Travel On

Yap – The Land of Stone Money

Traditional Dress

Yap, it is not the sound a small annoying dog makes; it is an island in the southwest Pacific.  Located just over 800 miles due east of the Philippine Islands, Yap is one four island states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia.  Spread out over one million square miles of ocean these small islands total only 271 square miles of land.  Getting here is not easy but well worth it.  The trip started in Seattle with an afternoon flight to LAX where I met up with my Helena Scuba friends.  We stayed overnight and caught an early flight to Honolulu.  After a short layover we boarded a 7.5 hour flight to Guam.  While in Guam we had enough time to take a short jaunt out of the airport to walk along the beach at Tumon Bay.  Back at the airport we caught a 3 hour flight to Yap arriving just after 1 am local time.  It was a 26 hour trip from LA!

As we came out of customs we were greeted by a lady dressed in a lava lava (traditional colorful grass skirt) and something like a lei that is woven from thick strips of palm leaves with small red flowers woven in.  She was topless but I did not realize that until later because the lei covered her very well.  She gave each of us a smaller version of her lei as we came out of customs.   Just like most tropical airports this one was completely open to the warm humid night air.

We were on Yap to scuba dive which I have already written about but we also discovered a very rich and traditional culture.  Part of the joy of travel is the research you do ahead of time but I have to admit I did absolutely no research on Yap before this trip.  In my mind, Yap was just a minor stop to see the Manta Rays so I spent my time reading about Palau. 

Men's House

I underestimated Yap!!  Populated well before the birth of Christ by sailors from Indonesia and the Philippines the Yapese have always been known for their great navigation skills.  When you live in a place that is less than .03% land and GPS has not been invented yet, you better know how to navigate by reading the sea, clouds and stars.  While the modern world has invaded Yap with mini-marts, cell phones and Wi-Fi many people still live a very traditional life.  The social structure is a caste system with a strict social rank and each area is led by a chief.  The men never change their social rank but women can change by marriage.  They still meet in community houses built out of palm leaves, coconut rope, tree trunks, and bamboo with low eves to keep out the sun but open sides to allow air flow.  They are very cool inside on a hot day.  Built the same, but a bit smaller is the “men’s house” where men hold meetings and just gather to get away.  Much like a man cave today, only no electricity for the big screen TV. 

Stone Money Bank

Their financial system historically consisted of various sizes of stone money that was carved from Palau and brought back to the island.  Even today local people still own stone money and use it to buy land and homes.  When you think of stone money, you think of small coin size pieces carved from stone, right?  Well no, their stone money ranges from small sizes like that to very large round stones taller than a man with a hole in the middle.  We visited a stone money “bank.”  It was a path lined with all sizes of round wheel-like stones each with a hole in the middle used to carry them back to the island.  The money never moves but does change ownership.  Its value comes in the history of the stone and how it was carved.  A small stone, carved by hand with a giant clam shell and brought over long ago on a wooden canoe is more valuable than a much larger stone carved with more modern metal tools and brought over on a large ship.  When the stone changes hands the current owner must pass down the history of the stone to the new owner.  A long rich history adds value to the stone. 

Betel Nut and Pepper Leaf

Something very unique to Yap and almost nowhere else is the chewing of Betel Nut.  This is an addiction that is much like smoking, chewing tobacco or habitual coffee drinking here in the states.  I don’t remember meeting one Yapese adult that did not chew Betel Nut.  The Betel Nut grows on a palm like tree; they pick a green nut, crack it in half, put lime inside (not the fruit, but ground up limestone) and wrap the whole thing in a pepper leaf.  Put it in the back of the mouth and slowly chew, spitting out the extra juice.  Doing this causes the juices to become a bright red color and if you did not know any better you might think a chewer was bleeding in the mouth.  The red color stains the teeth and anything else it is spat upon.  In many stores there are no spitting signs and there are spitting cans outside to keep it from staining the sidewalk.  Our tour guide extraordinaire, Theo, sat us down in the men’s house, showed us the process and let us try it. I tried it and it gave me a small head rush like a first cigarette but I did not chew too long.  Your dentist would not be very happy with you if you chewed Betel Nut on a regular basis, it is not easy on the teeth.

WWII Wreck

Yap did not become entangled in WWII until late, April 1944, when the Japanese build a runway so the Americans started bombing it.  I asked what the local people did during that time and was told some left to live with family in other areas and some stayed trying to avoid the dangerous action.  In that short time it saw its share of WWII action and there are still many war relics scattered over the island and in the surrounding sea.  There are still 120 American men listed as MIA on Yap.  You might ask, why, how is that possible?  I did.  But with the depth of the sea, the steep ocean shelf and the extremely dense jungle, it is very possible.  There are planes that went down over Yap that have never been found and one that was discovered as recently as 2006. 

I have a lot of respect for the Yap people they seem to have done a great job at adopting the modern conveniences of life without losing their rich heritage.   Yap is a place I would like to return to; for great diving and to experience more of the daily life of the local people!

Diving Yap

 The Manta Ray Bay Hotel picked us up and we checked in by 2 AM.  My trusty world diving buddy and travel companion, Pat, and I were given the “Seahorse Room.”  There was a seahorse carved into the door, seahorses on the bedspreads, seahorse photos on the wall, a seahorse shower curtain and last but not least a seahorse carved into the Betel nut on the key chain.  The only thing missing was a seahorse in a salt water aquarium.  Every room in the hotel had a different sea creature theme; very creative!! 

The diving in Yap is known mostly for the Manta Ray cleaning stations and the Mandarin Fish dive.  Since Yap is located pretty much in the middle of nowhere Pacific Ocean it is the perfect place to see larger pelagic ocean species who are attracted to the 24 hour buffet of the coral reef.  Manta Rays come here for a quick spa treatment courtesy of various cleaner wrasses before they hit the singles bar to find love.  This provides divers with an almost guaranteed sighting of these huge, majestic, elegant creatures who seem to effortlessly fly though the water.  

The boat ties off to a buoy a few hundred yards from a very shallow coral reef.  Divers roll in and go straight down to 40 feet or so, our goal is not to scare away the rays who are already cruising the shallow cleaning station.  We circle around this shallow area making sure to stay below the lip of the plateau and we spread out just barely peaking over the top of the coral reef.  We just “sit” there in one place as still as possible and wait for the show to begin.  Pretty soon there is one big manta ray coming straight for me, he veers off and goes around for another pass.  Then there are two, three and even more at times.  Sometimes they sneak up behind you, the diver next to you starts to point and just as you start to turn your head to see what they are pointing at, this huge white underbelly buzzes your head and starts the circular dance of the cleaning station. 

At times there are no rays, so we just wait.  Since we have been sitting there relatively still the smaller fish start to get use to your presence and they will come pretty close.  This is the perfect time to get photos of small fish that are normally too skittish to let you take their photo.  I think the cleaning station is the best of both worlds; huge manta rays and small guys, all in one stop.

The Mandarin Fish is something completely unique to a small part of the west and south Pacific.  It is a small fish, about 1 to 2 inches long that is strikingly colorful.  I had only seen them in the fish id books and looked forward to this special dive.  Mandarin Fish live in and among shallow coral reefs in protected lagoons.  They feed and mate in a very small territory and the best time to see them is at dusk when they become more active and come out to mate.  The divers are stationed along an area of finger coral and we wait…and wait….and wait.  Eventually you see a bit of color move way down low in the coral, stay still and they come higher and higher, eating their way up the coral finger.  

Photo by Mindy Coplin

Pretty soon a much larger Mandarin Fish struts by and beckons the little lady out to mate.  They meet belly to belly and in a flash they dart up a foot or so release sperm and egg and in an instant they are apart and she goes back to foraging along the coral and he struts off to find the next female.  In Yap this is a special dive that you pay extra for so we were amused to find the same fish living among the trash and anemic coral along cement wall in the boat basin of Sam’s Tours in Palau.

Since Yap is located hundreds of miles from anywhere they also have wonderful walls just outside the barrier reef that drop into the abyss and are covered with every kind of life you can think of.  On one side is a vertical wall covered with sea life while on the other side and below is nothing but deep blue sea!!  Keep an eye out on the deep blue every now and then because you just never know who will silently swim by while you are too busy looking at a ¼ inch nudibranch. 

A Female Nomad

Searching for something new to read on my Nook, I came across a book called “Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World” by Rita Golden Gelman so I downloaded it immediately.   It is about a woman who has what seems like a dream life with fancy Hollywood husband whose job opens up many high class opportunities to rub elbows with celebrities and invitation to all the best parties.  Almost out of the blue she faces a divorce at 48 and decides to do something totally out of her box.  She heads to Mexico and that is just the start of an adventure of full time travel for many years.   Many people claimed she was running away but she thinks, and I agree, she was running toward life; a life full of experiences.

The title caught my attention because that is what I think I would like to do; travel full-time roaming from place to place, going somewhere that I find interesting, seeing the country and getting to know the culture, meeting some of the people and living within that culture for a time.  Then when I feel like moving on, I do, I go to the next interesting place.  I stay as long or as short as I like.  I have thought of this often but then reality comes into my brain and says, “How do you pay for this?”  I hate reality!  I would not be able to work in these places so should I quit work here in the US, use my savings for a few years and risk having to be a Wal-Mart greeter at 55?  Who knows if I will even live to be 55 so why not go now??  It seems like people who are able to make full-time travel a reality are mostly authors or artists; they sell a book or two, some photographs or paintings and can travel for a few years.  That is the case with Rita, she has an established reputation as a children’s book author.  With her foot firmly in the door of the publishing world she had the freedom to roam and still make a living.  This is not possible for a real estate agent.  I can’t sell homes in hundreds of different locations, in markets I know nothing about, in countries I am not licensed to work.  And my local Whidbey Island clients would not care to hire an agent who is off gallivanting around the world, silly clients; they expect something like great service, someone here to actually find them a house or sell the one they have.  So that limits the income potential on the road.  Since you read this blog, you know good and well I do NOT have my foot in the publishing world and most likely won’t without a miracle.  Although I come from a background of some talented painters, my mom and granny have produced some really good art work; I did not inherit that talent.  Photography might be my only hope.  I think I have a pretty good eye and can take some really good photos now and then.  Would you like to buy some?

Traveling full time does not have to be expensive.  I don’t need to live at the Hilton but I am too old to live in a dorm room with a bunch of loud, drunk, smelly 20 year olds.  There are a lot of places in the world where I can live for a few hundred dollars a month as long as I live like a local, I wouldn’t want to live like an American anyway, I can do that in America.  If I am going to spend time in Chile or Argentina or Thailand then I want to experience the place and lifestyle not try to reproduce my American lifestyle.  There are limits; I don’t have any desire to live in a mud hut on the Serengeti with the Maasi without electricity.  I would, however, be thrilled to live in a small wooden house in Belize with at least a swamp cooler for the bedroom at night.  In the book, Rita had a knack for meeting people and becoming a part of their lives.  That is an important skill I would have to work on.  It takes me a long time to really be comfortable around people I don’t know.  Living and spending time with a local family really added to the fullness of her experience.  It allowed her to experience more than just the tourist version of a country.  She got to know the real culture and experience the local foods, customs, holidays and family life.  It helped that she spent most of her time in developing countries; Mexico, Indonesia, Guatemala, Thailand.   Those places are much more affordable than the developed world of Iceland or Italy. 

Courage!  It just takes courage!  Rita had a push, a divorce she did not ask for, but she had the courage to follow her desire.  Do I have the courage?  I travel more than most people but do I have what it takes to make the leap?  I might have to start slowly by spending 3 or 4 months someplace and see how that goes.  My friend Dawn taught me that no decision is permanent!  No matter what I do, I can always come back home and sell real estate on beautiful, although cloudy, Whidbey Island.  I'll keep you posted....

Hotel Hell

This is a story of anything that can go wrong will go wrong.  All names have been kept authentic in order to convict the guilty, but keep in mind this happened back in 2006 so it’s possible this hotel may not be in business or it may not even be owned by the same person today.  It could be the greatest place to stay today, I have no idea, but this was my exact experience.

I arrived in Athens about 7 PM from Paros and my US flight did not leave until the next morning.  I booked a room on the out skirt of Athens on line well before I arrived and arranged transportation to and from the airport.  Upon my arrival in Athens, Theo from Peri’s Hotel was not at the pre-arranged meeting place where I exited baggage claim.  I waited a bit then asked the information desk to call but she pointed me to a pay phone.  In Greece back then you could not just pop a coin into the phone to make a call, you had to buy a phone card and the smallest denomination card was 4 Euro.  I called, Theo answered, told him who I was and he impatiently said, “I am waiting, where are you?”  “I am at the phone by the information desk.”  “Oh, I see you.”  And he walks toward me with no sign in his hand, how was I supposed to find him with no sign?  He had no idea what I looked like.  Well that was an expensive phone call; in hind sight I should have made him credit me for that call.  He tells me to wait here and he walks toward the info desk and comes back with a pretty and petite French lady.  On the 15 minute drive to the hotel he and the lady chit-chat and laugh all in French as if I was not in the car.  At the hotel he carries her bags in and checks her in quickly.  I get my bags up the stairs to the lobby and wait while he takes her to her room.  When he comes to check me in I give him my Visa and he looks at me as if I am an idiot, “I don’t take cards.”  It would have been nice to know that up front, most people leaving the country are trying to leave with as little local cash as possible so I did not have enough to pay.  He said I could go to the cash machine in the morning.  Sure, whatever!  I was starving so I asked about the taverna that is advertised to be only 3 blocks away, it closed for the season yesterday, but there is a nice place near the beach that will pick me up and bring me back, fine.  Without asking if I minded, he calls the French lady and asks if she wants to join me.  UGH!!  I don’t really want to eat dinner with a stranger that I can barely talk to.  A quiet dinner, a book and bed was more my plan.  She comes along, is happy and friendly, and insists we share a plate of fish.  Not really high on my list but I just want to eat and go back.  We have a nice dinner, the fish was good, lots of bones, but the salad and tatzeki was great.  I learned that she is also in real estate, we talked a lot, her English was good but the accent was thick so I really had to listen closely.  She kept ordering wine which was tasty but I was so tired.  Finally the waiter brought the check and told us that the van lady who brought us had gone home and he would take us back when his shift was over in 30 minutes.  It is now 11:30 and we got into his old, dirty, beat up hatchback with black and red vinyl seats.  This was creepy!!  He talked to the French lady in Greek and she seemed to understand.  He clearly did not know where he was going; he turned around again and again.  Finally she convinced him to call someone, he calls, he talks, he drives, he turns around, he drives more, he turns around, and he calls again.  This happens three times!  Then he asks me, in English, for the hotel phone, who was he talking to before???  I give him the hotel card that I thankfully picked up at the front desk.  He calls, he talks, he drives, he turns around, and it is after midnight and I have to pee so badly!!  I just might pee in his car if he does not find this place, too bad I could not say that in Greek.  As we were driving I saw a mini-mart that we had passed on the way there so I knew we were in the right area. After two more calls to unidentified people I saw the hotel about two blocks away across an open field.  I pointed and said there, THERE!  The roads did not go through so it was not clear how to get there without driving over the field.  I should have just gotten out and walked across the field.  At this point he made one more phone call and finally found an unmarked dirt road that took us to the hotel. 

This place is located in what looked to me like a rundown neighborhood with many vacant lots surrounding it.  It is built to look like a large house, not a hotel, and there are no signs on the building at all.  I am guessing it does not meet zoning, if they have such a thing in Greece.   The key was in the door so we walked in and the French lady shut the door while I sprinted to my room that was the first room on the first floor, just next to the reception desk.  It was now 12:30, so much for a short quiet dinner.  It was really hot in the room so I opened the sliding door and partially closed the roll shutters so I would get some air but it was not completely open.  I fell asleep right away and what seemed like seconds later I heard a loud knock.  I could not tell if it was at my door or down the hall, either way I was not going to answer so I ignored it.  The knocking continues and then a man’s voice said, “Madam, I am the proprietor, please open.”  At this point I realized he was on my balcony knocking on my roll shutters.  I answered, “NO! GO AWAY!”  “Please open the front door, someone has locked it.”  After a moment he said it again.  I told him to go around to the front and I would open it, I heard him leave so I went out to the lobby in my pajamas and opened the door.  There was a man and woman with luggage waiting on the steps.  The key that had been on the outside when I returned was now on the inside.  The people on the steps said thank you as I went back to my room, it was 1:30 AM.  I tried to sleep, but tossed and turned all night.  About 4 am people started stirring in their rooms and in the lobby.  I heard every movement, every toilet flush, every shower, and every hair dryer.  People in the lobby were speaking loudly right outside my door.  I was so annoyed!!  Finally the lady with breakfast came to the door, she brought coffee, bread, cake, a slice of cheese and juice that looked and tasted like colored water. 

When I went out front to catch the van to the airport, Theo approached me and began to complain about who ever moved the key and he sounded like he was accusing me of doing it.  That was the straw that sent me over the edge!! 

                “I did not touch your key!”

                “I did not say you did.”

                “Some man banged on my patio door at 1:30 in the morning”

                “They had to, they had to get inside.”

                “I did not know who it was and the man on the patio knew I was a woman in there by myself, it scared me.”

                “He had to and since you did not answer he had to go to another balcony.”

                “I DID ANSWER, I opened the front door in my pajamas, you should be thanking me not yelling at me, what if your wife was alone in New York City and some strange man asked her to open her patio door and let him in.”

                “Madam,” he said very condescendingly, “this is Athens, not New York City, Athens basically has no crime.”

He did not care one iota and proceeded to tell me how worried he was when he received a call at 1:30 AM.  WHAT??? He was worried by a phone call?  And he could care less that his client was scared out of bed in the middle of the night.  I could not leave it alone. 

 

Again I forcefully said, “I am the one who opened the door, you should be thanking me!!!”  Pause…

“You opened the door?” 

“Yes.” 

“Oh I thank you 10 times, not once, I thank you, I am sorry for the trouble but what else were they to do, someone moved the key and put it inside so no one could put a key into the outside.” 

Then he proceeded to rant about whoever moved the key.  UGH, please just get me to the airport!!  I have to admit that I thought about taking my bags and leaving him at the airport without paying.  I did not do that, like a the good girl my mother raised, I went to the ATM and brought him 60 Euro.  However I did not say thank you and neither did he.

I would have much rather stayed at the Airport Sofitel and paid 200 Euro for a comfortable bed, quiet room, restaurant on site and no patio with some strange man banging on my roll shutters instead of paying 60 Euros (plus a 4 Euro phone call) for a hard bed, loud complex, no dinner without a painful transfer, mediocre breakfast, rude owner and a stranger on my balcony.

Santorini Greece

As an elementary kid I read about the island of Santorini in World magazine and was fascinated by the white town perched on the edge of a sheer cliff above a rich blue sea.   Santorini, known as Thera in Greek, was a typical volcano island until it was destroyed approximately 1600 BC by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history.  Most of the island collapsed leaving a semicircle shaped island that looks like a Greek God took a huge bite out of the island. 

While visiting Al and Ardy, I mentioned the desire to see Santorini so Al got right on the computer to check the ferry schedule and find an affordable hotel.  Days later Ardy and I boarded a huge Blue Star auto/passenger ferry early on a Saturday morning.  We sat in the first class lounge near the bow and watched as we headed north around Paros on our way to Naxos where we picked up more passengers and then headed south to Santorini.  About 3 hours later we approached the back side of Santorini and my excitement started to build.  The back side, rarely photographed, has mid-sized cliffs with gently sloping land that looks like farmland.  Then we rounded a sharp corner and began to enter the caldera, WOW, it was completely different than the back side.  The caldera is lined with vertical cliffs of different strata that rise straight out of the ocean to dizzying heights.  The first town we saw was Oia (pronounced Eea) it was perched on the northern end of the island at the top of those steep cliffs.  Some of the city looked as if it tumbled over the edge of cliff.  What a sight!!  The island is much larger than I expected, imagine how big it was before most of it sank into the ocean.  Photos don’t do it justice. 

As we docked we scanned the crowd with “Rooms to Let” signs looking for Hotel Popi.  There were more people with hotel signs than there were people on the boat at least that is how it felt as we were walking through the crowd.  We found our driver and he escorted us to a van that would take us up the switchbacks along the steep cliff to the city of Fira where our hotel was located.  As we entered Fira it was much larger and more modern than I expected it to be.  All of a sudden our driver pulled over next to a Harley Davidson shop, got out, opened our door, and said, “Please follow.”  He went down some stairs, left under an arch, down a narrow walk way, right into a patio, across to another narrow arch, down more stairs to a tile walkway, that lead to a pool and then up a flight of stairs to Hotel Popi.  We were not sure we would ever find our way back but thankfully the Hotel Leta next door has signs and blue arrows painted on the ground and that was the only way we could find the hotel in the evening.  We checked into room 10 that had a beautiful view toward the east over farmland and out to the sea.  At first we were disappointed because we really wanted a west view but the room was only 35 Euro a night and it was much quieter than anything facing west or closer to the caldera. We were just minutes walking distance to the market area and cliff edge.  We just dropped our bags, picked up a map and hit the town for some shopping and sightseeing.  We walked around the narrow streets of the old town lined with many different shops. 

While shopping we were stopped by two guys who asked our opinion about some shirts they were buying.  We talked a bit, gave them our opinion and went to the next store.  They came across and asked again about other shirts so we talked a bit longer, they were from Toronto, were both cute as pie and very fun to talk with.  They helped me pick a pashmina, we said goodbye and continued walking.  About 5:30 we choose a nice cliff side table to watch the sunset over the caldera.  We ordered drinks and sat chatting and taking photos of the sunset every few minutes.  We also had the perfect spot to watch the donkeys carry people and goods up the path from the old port where the cruise ships dock hundreds of feet below.  One of the donkey men, about 70 years old, was guiding his group of donkeys while on his cell phone; old world meets new.  After the sun set we wondered around the narrow streets of the market for a while longer.  Almost every other store was a jewelry store, not just average jewelry but extremely expensive and flashy jewelry.   The windows were full of pieces that were over 5000 Euros; do that many people spend that kind of money on a vacation trinket??  I did see a little bauble that caught my eye; I had never seen anything like it before or since.  It was square cut fancy sapphires of all colors lined on each side with small single cut diamonds and it was priced at 4000 Euros.  It was the most beautiful bracelet I had ever seen, lots of color and sparkle!!  The storekeeper came down to 2800EU (about $3600) but that was more than I spent on the whole two weeks in Greece so I just could not bring myself to spend that much. 

By now it was dark and we were hungry so we found a cliff side restaurant called Archipelago.  It was a bit expensive but I am sure so was everything else with any kind of view.  We both ordered sea food spaghetti, it was a light tomato sauce with muscles, scallops, calamari, huge shrimp with the heads and crab legs that were red and white speckled.  It was delicious!!  Ardy and I sat there and chatted for a long time, she is such a neat lady.  At dinner the wind picked up, blowing right up the cliff, thank goodness we both had brand new pashminas!  But too bad the cute Canadian guys were not at dinner with us.  After dinner we walked back to the hotel, thanks to the blue arrows we did not get lost.

It was really warm outside so we left our shutters open, not a good idea, the mosquitos used us as their dinner.  I tossed and turned most of the night and right at sunrise I looked out the window to see a beautiful pinkish/reddish foggy layer over the sea just before the sun came up.  I rolled over, covered up and tried to go back to sleep, just to be startled by some very loud and very long sounding bells from the church not too far away.  Even though I was crabby because they interrupted my last bit of sleep it was hard to stay crabby because they had such a joyful sound.  I am guessing this was an alert to notify worshipers it was time for church.

Since there was no sleeping with bells continuing to chime I went to take a shower.  Like much of Europe, our bathroom was all tiles and the shower portion was simply a basin with a raised lip, no curtain or door to keep water inside.  The shower head was a wand mounted at the knobs, not up high, so that you had to hold it to wet your hair and upper body.   This is normally pretty easy to do without spraying the whole room as long as the shower head works properly.  Not the case here, this shower head had water coming straight out as it was supposed to AND had water coming out all sides so there was no way to avoid spraying the whole room.  I tried to shower quickly but could not help but laugh the whole time as I sprayed the whole room, even the toilet paper got all wet. 

Today’s agenda was a visit to Oia, the smaller town on the northern point of the island.  Most of the photos that you will recognize of Santorini are taken in Oia.  We caught a bus from Fira for about $2.  After a curvy road with many beautiful views of both east and west sides of the island, we arrived in a courtyard that was the bus stop for the town and probably the only flat surface large enough for a bus in the whole town.  The streets are narrow cobble stone with homes, inns, and stores built into the rock on one side and hanging off the rock on the other.  It was so storybook; there was another beautiful view around every corner.  Ardy and I both felt like we were in a dream or a movie.  We wandered up and down and around the whole town.  We caught the bus back to Fira and had a couple of hours before we needed to catch another bus back to the ferry terminal but I was exhausted from lack of sleep and lots of walking so I plopped into a lounge chair by the pool while Ardy went to find a dress shop.  The bus back to the ferry was only 1.60 Euro and was exactly on time although the ferry was a bit late.  We took the high-speed ferry back to Paros and I am pretty sure I slept the whole way back.  These two days in Santorini were a dream come true!!  Thank you Ardy for going with me, you are a great travel companion!!!

KAREN’S SANTORINI TIPS:

ü  Put Santorini on your top 10 must see places.

ü  Stay in Oia if at all possible, it will be extremely expensive but worth the experience.

ü  Stay at least 4 full days if you can: 1. Fira, 2. Oia, 3. Volcano Tour, 4. Akrotiri Archeology Site and some diving, if possible.  You might be able to do this in three days.

ü  Avoid the rental car, busses are organized, cheap and drivers are CRAZY.

ü  Experience the steps down to the water in Fira or Oia.  Fira has donkeys and cable car while Oia is walking only. 

ü  Wear comfortable thick soled shoes with good traction, the pathways are old lava stone that is very polished from all the years of foot traffic and it is very uneven.

ü  Take a wrap or light jacket, the evenings are chilly

ü  SUNSET – position yourself early, relax and experience every slight change in color of the sky and the way it lights the town.