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Up and Over

Posted August 11, 2013

PART 15 (DAYS 33-35): “How’s everything here?” I asked Chris, the manager at Southern Laughter Lodge, when I arrived back in Queenstown for a day in order to catch a homeward bound flight early the following morning.

“Oh, it’s quiet. It’s finally slowing down,” he answered.

“Oh, is the ski season over?”

“No, the season can go all the way until October,” he told me. “But all the Aussie kids have gone back to university.”

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Searching for Atlantis

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 09, 2006

DAY 14: Santorini’s central volcano Nea Kameni erupted around 1625 B.C. and destroyed what the Minoans had settled there, causing a massive tsunami across the sea that washed away many Greek settlements — the most well-known being the lost city of Atlantis. Some believe the Atlantis that Plato spoke of (was it Plato?) might have been near the Temple of Knossos in Crete or somewhere near Gibraltar, but many believe it is in fact near Santorini itself. One way to find out is to go underwater and see what’s there, so I set up two scuba dives with the Santorini Dive Center. I had hopes of seeing something cool, like the remains of the mythical city, or if anything, an octopus.

The Santorini Thing

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 09, 2006

DAY 13: Santorini, according to basic geography, is a micro-archipelago of the greater Cyclades island group in Greece. The remains of a collapsed volcano, it once held a settlement of Minoan prosperity — until a volcanic eruption wiped it out. None of that barely matters today for Santorini is now a popular honeymooners destination with its unique, brightly painted architecture contrasting gray metamorphic cliffs that swoop down to black sand beaches. Its overall appeal is so romantically mainstream that it is a port-of-call on the list of every luxury cruise ship in Greece.

The Old Man and the Sea

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 06, 2006

DAY 12: When you’re in a tourist hub like Hania, you can either bitch about its commercialization non-stop, or shut up and go with the flow. That’s what I did that day, the shutting up I mean, after leisurely spending my last morning in the Neli studio, packing up, and enjoying the view from the terrace one last time. Down from my street, the town was just waking up as well: old men sat in alleys and discussed the news, while out on the tourist strip, the usual waiters and hosts of restaurants called out to potential customers.

“Hello! Oh, I see you are wondering about a good restaurant! Please, come have a seat…”

Some would try to presume the language you spoke and vie for your business accordingly — one guy pinned me for Spanish. It was competitive out there, especially with guidebooks leading foreigners to the same restaurants. Molly and E.J. had gone to one Lonely Planet recommended two days prior and said that the surrounding restaurants were sadly empty all because everyone has the same book.

The Beaten Path

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 06, 2006

DAY 11:Hania, which in Greek letters is spelled “XANIA,” is Crete’s second largest city and its biggest center of tourism. Hania’s old Venetian harbor is a hub of cafes, boutiques, souvenir shops, restaurants, clubs, internet shops, photo developing shops, glass bottom boat tour desks, accordion players, horse carriage rides, a few begging old gypsy women, and mimes. (Well, the one mime that I saw.) In the Plaza Venizelou, vendors sell balloons by day while promoters hand out club flyers by night — some to self-proclaimed “Scandinavian clubs.” Collectively, the uber-touristy scene is what many call, “The Beaten Path.”

However, there is an escape to this Touristville, particularly one for those appreciative of nature: the Samaria Gorge in White Mountains National Park — the longest and deepest gorge in all of Europe at 16 km. — a must see in my Let’s Go Greece guidebook. Only an hour away by bus from Hania, it too is an attraction for the masses — or at least the fraction that can handle its day-long trek — providing for another sort of beaten path.

Speculations and Interpretations

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 05, 2006

DAY 10: Archaeology is not an exactly science; it does not deal in time schedules. However, there is a fine line between science and speculation, and when you’re dealing with the ruins of something wiped out hundreds of years ago, it could go either way. This is such the case with the Temple of Knossos, the greatest archaeological find of the Minoan civilization — and home of the Minotaur in the labyrinth legend — a half hour bus ride from Iraklion.

During the hey day of archaeology in the early 20th century, the British “discovered” the ruins of Knossos on the island of Crete, and for 43 years excavated and restored it under their lead archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans. However, Evans sort of guessed his way around Knossos, so blatantly to the point that every guidebook and informational sign prefaces all facts with “according to Evans…” For example, in this one famous fresco found on the site, Evans had only fragments of the entire piece (lower right of photo) but simply drew in the rest from his imagination. This is like getting 20 pieces of a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle and drawing in the rest without ever having seen the box with the final picture on it.

Wandering Without The Cyclops

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 05, 2006

DAY 9: In Homer’s Greek epic The Odyssey, Odysseus wanders the Greek Isles for ten years, trying to get home to Ithaca from the Trojan War, getting into sticky, episodic situations along the way, like MacGyver. (My Cliffs Notes dub this part of the book as “The Wanderings Of Odysseus.”) In one of his earlier episodes, Odysseus encounters the one-eyed Cyclops, son of Poseidon, and defeats him in true MacGyver-style — by simply blinding his eye with a paper clip, a teabag, and some ammonia. (That’s a joke in case you hadn’t read the Cliffs Notes.)

Ruined

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 03, 2006

DAY 8: Athens, center of the Greek universe for millenia, is as legendary as the Goddess of Wisdom it was named after, Athena. The present-day capital of a civilization credited with democracy, philosophy, art, mythology, and the Olympic games, it is truly a “must-see” on any traveler’s list. But perhaps Athens’ attractions are on too many tourists’ lists because groups come by the bus loads, almost hourly in the summer days, completely breaking the mystique that is supposed to come with a Wonder of the World. The ruins of ancient Greece have been ruined.

It’s All English To Me

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 02, 2006

DAY 7: One of my pet peeves is when a traveler goes to a foreign country and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language. It’s one thing to not grasp it, but it’s another to not even have the intent to learn and assume everyone will speak English. There’s something about that that just puts you in the “asshole” category in my book.

In Greece, it’s a little different because many people do speak some English, after Greek of course. Like Tagalog in the Philippines, the Greek language is slowly dying; it has become less-popular with future generations to embrace since it isn’t really practical outside the country. However, I was told that a local Greek would still be impressed if you tried to keep the language alive, which is why I invested in a phrasebook and language CD this past summer. In addition, I was lucky to meet Lia, a Greek-American friend who had transferred to my work office for the summer, who had schooled me on some basic phrases:

ne = yes
ohi = no
yia su = hello
tekanis = hi, how are you?
efkhariso = thank you
parakalo = you’re welcome / please
signo me = excuse me / sorry

and most importantly:

milas anglika? = do you speak English?

Stuff In Me

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted September 02, 2006

DAY 6: There’s an underrated but funny quotable line from M. Night Shamalan’s movie Unbreakable where a comic book store owner tells Samuel L. Jackson that he has to leave his store because he’s closing up and he’s hungry. It goes something to the effect of, “You don’t understand. I gotta go. I gotta get some chicken in me!”

How this popped in my head I don’t know, but it spawned an on-going joke throughout the day.

“I need to get some paella in me!”

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted August 31, 2006

DAY 5: “Two tickets to Tomatina, with a return ticket,” said the young traveler in his British accent.

The Spaniard behind the ticket counter rolled his eyes, unimpressed at the Brit’s complete disregard of the local language. However, he knew what the guy wanted since almost everyone in the Valencia train station was headed towards the same place: La Tomatina, the world-renowned tomato food fight in the small town of Buñol, about 45 minutes from the city center of Valencia. At 7:45 that morning, the station was crowded with Brits, Germans, Aussies, Japanese, Americans, Canadians, and some Spaniards — some wearing Tomatina t-shirts, some toting waterproof disposable cameras — all gearing up for the sloppy tomato-filled G8 summit.

“Dos para Buñol,” I requested at the counter.

Homes

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted August 30, 2006

DAY 4: “Erik, we are homeless,” Sylvina told me at El Mercader, after they had packed all their belongings in suitcases and bags to move their lives out of Malaga.

“I’m homeless too,” I smirked.

“No, you have your home in New York.”

“Mi casa es tu casa.”

Breaking Up With Spain

Posted August 30, 2006

DAY 3: “It’s a shame,” Jack said. “It feels like when I’m breaking up with a chick.”

“You’re breaking up with Spain,” I said.

“Yeah, I’m breaking up with Spain.”

United Nations of Malaga

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted August 27, 2006

DAY 2: “So most people don’t go out until midnight around here?” I asked my buddy Jack as we walked from Malaga’s airport to the train that would take us to his apartment by the beach.

“People don’t go out until one,” he told me. “This is actually pretty early.” My watch read about 11 p.m. local time.

“I got here just in time then.”

Liquids On A Plane

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted August 26, 2006

DAY 1: “So how does it work?” I asked, holding a bottle of Diet Coke. “Do I get rid of this now?”

It was my first flight since the LE scare (Liquid Explosive) of August 2006, an airline terror threat not to be confused with the other one of the month, SoaP (Snakes on a Plane). No liquids were allowed to be carried on-board any commercial flight. No snakes too, for that matter.

After Timbuktu

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer"
Posted August 07, 2006

It’s been roughly four months since my “Escape from Mali” — the ending of an emotionally draining, albeit memorable journey through the western African nation of Mali to the legendary-turned-anti-climactic city of Timbuktu (all of which have been immortalized in The Global Trip blog “Trippin’ to Timbuktu”). Since then, life has returned to a state of normalcy — if you considering working in a youthful NYC interactive advertising agency being “normal,” sending funny YouTube and ytmnd.com links to friends and coworkers all day.

Epilogue

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted April 06, 2006

TWO DAYS IN PARIS. After two weeks in Mali, I’d have two transitional days in a Western metropolis before heading home. It would be my third time in France’s capital city and this time I’d go not as a tourist, but just a tired guy on a layover from Bamako to New York. I’d heard that flights to JFK were overbooked for four days and so there was no way around chilling out in the so-called “City of Lights” for a couple of days — but I welcomed the time to think and reflect about my journey through Mali to Timbuktu.

Escape From Mali

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted April 04, 2006

DAY 15: As soon as I starting feeling suspicious of Van with his comment over the phone about being robbed, I decided that I’d fight mind games with mind games. Van and the other “guides” of Mali had an advantage over me, sharing secret information amongst each other in another language via cell phones — but they did not know the secrets and scams that could be conducted over the internet. (In fact, Van almost fell for an email spam scam promising him a bachelor’s degree in just two weeks.)

Change of Heart, Change of Mind

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted April 03, 2006

DAY 14: The sun gradually rose up over the Sahara sand dunes, warming up the landscape from a frigid night 10 km. outside Timbuktu. “Bonjour,” I greeted Alco.

“Bonjour.”

The simple nomadic Tuareg life of him and his family continued that morning in the encampment. Alco tended to his flock while his children looked on, who then later joined him for a little quality family time with dad and Aura (picture above). The women started up a fire to cook, but for meals later; breakfast for me this morning only consisted of tea, nuts and dates. I didn’t complain for this was the way they lived in the desert simply, peacefully. It’s a shame that it had been tainted two weeks prior; I’d heard from multiple sources that the U.S. Army had secretly been deployed there, the desert outside Timbuktu, for combat training under desert conditions before being sent off to Iraq.

Tuareg To Tuareg

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted April 02, 2006

DAY 13: There are two kinds of Tuareg people: the nomadic ones that roam the Sahara and live off the few elements the desert has to offer, and the Tuareg people who had settled into cities and modernized and live off produced, material things. Hama was definitely one of the latter with his modern clothes and questionably rightfully-acquired car.

Timbuktu Or Bust

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted March 31, 2006

DAY 12: The name “Timbuktu” evokes images of a mythical city, a place impossible to attain like Shangri-La and El Dorado, a place where you are awarded with gold and riches if you could only just get there.

In reality, Timbuktu does exists in northern Mali; it is a city on the fringe of the Sahara Desert, originally a settlement of Tuareg nomads that was overtaken by Moroccans as it became a central market place along trade routes in the days of classic medieval Africa. While Timbuktu is just another city in Mali that is less accessible than most, it doesn’t stop modern-day travelers from trying to attain it, the way the explorers of the early 19th century did. A common way to get there during the rainy season is to take a 3-4 day boat up the Niger River, but in the dry season, Four Wheel Drives rule.

The Slackpackers

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted March 31, 2006

DAY 11: As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I had recently received an email from Butch (Egypt) who said he admired my style of backpacking, where you spend a little more money — as opposed to “slackpacking” (a term he coined that I will definitely borrow) when you travel on the super cheap. Not that there’s anything wrong with slackpacking — it is adventurous and perilous, and above all, cheaper — it’s just a different kind of travel. I don’t know if its because I’m older or more financially stable, or just tired, but so far I hadn’t regretted paying the extra money to have Van guide me around.

Western Unions

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted March 27, 2006

DAY 10: Van had been asking me for days if I wanted him to arrange a Timbuktu tour for me — a “standard” three-day tour with a private car, where I’d go with a driver in a 4WD from Mopti to Timbuktu, meet a guide, stay one night, tour the city, then ride on a camel into the Sahara to sleep one night in the desert at a Tuareg bedouin camp before taking the 4WD back to Mopti. For days I’d been telling him to wait until we got to that point for me to make that decision, and that time was finally upon us.

Casual Sunday

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted March 27, 2006

DAY 9: Our encampment in Begni Mato was run by a family led by a father of five young boys, each doing cute young boy things: crawl, climb steps, and read French children’s books. That all changed when one of them had noticed a small snake slither into the village and called all the neighborhood kids over. Together, the kids beat the crap out of the snake, stoning it and beating it to death with a stick.

How’s that for the start of a Sunday morning? I thought to myself.

The Godfather

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Trippin' To Timbuktu"
Posted March 27, 2006

DAY 8: After a simple breakfast of tea, bread and Laughing Cow cheese (a staple of mine in Morocco), a man came over to my table to display some handmade statues and trinkets to sell to me. As interesting as they were, I didn’t buy anything (I almost never do) and simply said, “Non, merci.” Unlike vendors in other countries, he took no for an answer and simply packed up.

Wow, that was easy, I thought.

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