Kalymnos: My First Hitch & Back-Seat Scooter Ride

After a series of poor decisions -- about which I'll have more to say later -- I found myself sitting alone at a closed Kalymnos airport, without a ticket and having no idea whether or when a plane might be coming to take me away.  (I think there's one flight each day out of the airport, from Kalymnos to Athens, but I'm not sure.)   So, I could sit and wait or I could start walking.  The airport sits far outside of the main town, from which the ferry departs, and is maybe 500m high on the hillside.  I walked to the end of the runway, looked down at the town, and thought: It doesn't look too far.


And, so, one more poor decision and I found myself walking -- with two bags totalling maybe 60 lbs -- down the hill into town.  After 30 minutes, sweating profusely and tired, I realized that the port was, in fact, pretty damn far away. 


Just then an elderly Greek man pulled alongside me on a beaten-up scooter.  I have no idea what he said -- he spoke no English -- but 10 seconds later I was jumping on the back of his ride, speeding into town.  He nodded to every local we passed, and they nodded back.  I gradually loosened my grip around his waist and laughed to myself, thinking that we probably looked like quite the odd pair.  And, sure enough, I arrived safely at the port despite never once telling him where I was headed.  As he drove off in the opposite direction I offered him money, and he scoffed at me.  

Istanbul: My Number One Attraction

OK, what I'm about to tell you about isn't my number one -- a distinction goes to Aya Sofya a/k/a the Church of the Holy Wisdom.  But everyone knows how great Aya Sofya is and it's not exactly off the beaten path. So I thought I'd write about something else: Chora Church (in Turkish, Kariye Muzesi, or the Church of the Holy Savior).  In my opinion a must for every Istanbul itinerary. 

Kalymnos: My Single Life

I'm way, way behind on posts, so this comes out of order.  But I need to get something off my chest and Ellen is sleeping, so get ready for a massive rant.
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Bodrum: My First Time

Today I flew into Bodrum, a coastal town on Turkey's southwestern tip.  As we descended and Bodrum's landscape came into view, countless fields of perfectly manicured crops appeared.  They lay on a flat bench of arid soil, encircled by rolling hills some distance away, and I thought to myself how beautiful it looked.  And then thought:  I've seen this before.  It reminded me of the Shenandoah valley, which sits quietly and still between the Shenandoah and Massanutten ranges on the east coast of the United States.  Or Japan's misty countryside, near Kyoto.

This is a problem, I think.  And its happening more and more.  I'll see something and think, "This reminds me of [fill in the blank]."  I wish I could just enjoy the moment.  Or, failing that, go back to the first time I saw something extraordinary.  The first time I saw snow-capped mountains and the turquoise-coloured glacier-fed streams that flow from their peaks (Banff).  Or the first time I even saw a glacier (Ice-Fields Parkway).  Or walked on one (Mt. Shuksan).  The first time I stood among the clouds (Acadia).  Then above them (Lake Louise).  The first time I pitched my own tent and slept alone, face to the stars (Canyonlands).  The first time I saw a moose in the wild (Algonquin); an elk (Canmore); a bear (Shenandoahs).  Etc.

Thankfully, though, I haven't seen much.  Indeed, my trip has brought many new "sights":  Tokyo's bright lights; Yangshuo's jagged karsts; Patagonia's smokey granite; and the topic of my next post: Turkey's religious monuments.  All is not lost on me yet.

A preview.

     

Istanbul: A Rooftop Paradise

While the standard guidebook dedicates ample space to Istanbul's rich history and classic sights, it leaves much of the city uncovered -- meaning, that, when it comes to Istanbul's undiscovered local eateries that lay off the beaten path or beautiful little mosques in the Old City, there's plenty of room for the independent tourist to explore.


My own exploration drove me upwards and I've been walking around with my neck cranked to sky for the better part of my trip.  After a couple strolls down Istanbul's tightly packed, townhouse-lined streets, I began to think that the best views of the city exist not at ground level but from some of the scarce rooftop patios scattered throughout Beyoglu and the Old City -- the two main tourist areas.


I've since sampled many and come up with my Best-of-the-Best list.

Old and New.