Round the World 2008

I’m back in Athens and finally went and saw the Acropolis.  The Parthenon is still covered in scaffolding while it undergoes restoration.  The views from of the city from the Acropolis are great.  Walking around afterwards I came upon the Herakleidon Museum of Visual Arts that had three exhibits that I enjoyed.  One was on M.C. Escher and another was on Vassarely who is one of my favorites.  The third was on Toulouse-Latrec. Unlike earlier in the month when I was in Athens, the weather has been cooler and we even had a powerful thunderstorm. 

Tonight I’m having dinner with Soula, a high school friend who lives here and tomorrow I leave for Oslo via London.  I spent a while these past few days planning my upcoming road trip through Iceland.  There’s a ring road around the island which I plan on driving in one week.

I spent a few days in Chios, the island in the Aegean Sea where my parents are from. I rented a motorbike and stayed in my father’s house in the village where he grew up, Vessa. I knew lots of people from the village from previous trips and there were many people who were visiting from the US. Effie and Tony were great hosts who fed me and took me to some of Chios’ best beaches.

I spent one day biking around the island which is around 18 miles wide and 30 miles long. I biked up along the island’s west coast stopping at beaches along the way and passing through Sidirounta, the village where my grandmother was born. Then across the island into the mountainous area where I stopped for lunch at a village called Pitios.

Saturday was the Saints Day of Agios Stefanos (St. Stephen) when people from the villages near the island of Agios Stefanos take small boats over to the island for a church service and an all night celebration. The boat trip over was an experience itself…crowded boats with everybody just holding on and hoping for the best. It was nice going there since I hadn’t been there since I went with my father back in 1979.

I’m back in Athens now before leaving for Cairo on Wednesday. Today I found the Brazilian consulate here in Athens and got my visa application submitted. I’m going to try to get to the Acropolis while I’m here which I haven’t seen since I was a kid.

My nephew Christopher and I decided to take the day trip to Albania. The ferry ride from Corfu was about an hour and a half and we got some scenic views of the Corfu coast as we left. We docked at the port city of Saranda where we took a bus to the Butrint ruins. We spent a few hours there and then some time in Saranda which is a beach resort. Then a nice Albanian lunch in the countryside just outside of Saranda. Albania is very poor and a huge number of Albanians (we were told almost 30%) have emigrated to other European countries since communism ended in the early 90s.

Seeing my family was great and we went out to dinner on the night I arrived in Monastiraki close by to the Acropolis in the center of Athens. After 5 months of being away it was nice to see so many people I know: Dean, Barbara, Michael, Christopher, Scott, Stella, Nicole, Stephanie, Soula, Mrs. Pappas and Thea Maria. We had one full day in Athens before we went to Corfu and took advantage of the modern subway system to get around. The highlight of the day was visiting the Athens Archaelogical Museum with my brother Dean and nephews Michael and Christopher. Thanks Mrs. Pappas for letting me stay at your apartment and Soula & Barbara for washing my clothes.

I flew with Dean’s family from Athens to the island of Corfu (known by the Greeks as Kerkyra) off the west coast of Greece where we are now relaxing. We’re staying at a beautiful resort on the sea and the weather has been perfect. This evening we hiked up to the top of an old fort in Corfu’s main town that overlooks the island and then had a delicious Greek dinner (at Michael’s recommendation). This evening there is a show of traditional Greek dancing at the resort. We’re considering a couple of excursions for the next few days including a seaplane flight and a day trip to Albania which we can see across the water.

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Just put up links in the sidebar to photos from Facebook I’ve been sharing with friends I’ve made on the trip:

Borneo: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1920&l=17142&id=1348776272

Japan: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1662&l=70975&id=1348776272

China:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1505&l=9c285&id=1348776272

Australia:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111&l=11bd8&id=1348776272

Inca Trail: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1444&l=9ed7c&id=1348776272

Mongolia: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1441&l=be5c9&id=1348776272