I decided to take the ferry to Athens. It’s more expensive than a flight, takes all night, and no-one chooses it unless they are taking a car with them, but I like ferries so I bloody-well booked it anyway. I arrived at Heraklion Port on a dark, cold and drizzly evening. After avoiding being run over by one or more of the vehicles powering across the dock and disappearing into the gaping mouth of the Kriti I, I boarded and…
After having a great time circumnavigating the island, it’s time for me to be leaving Crete. Although Crete is part of Greece, and I usually only write ‘Leaving (insert country name here)’ posts when I depart a sovereign nation, it seems appropriate in this case to make an exception. As the bloke who fixed my tyre in Ierapetra said, ‘Greece is Greece, Kriti is Kriti. Different Place’. From this beautiful and fascinating island I’m heading north to Athens on the…
I was keen to do some hiking during my time in Crete, and thought the Dikti Mountains in the east of the island looked like a good place to start. After picking up a map from a hiking store in Heraklion, and doing a little touring on the way, I was ready to set out for a few days walking in the mountains. After heading west from Ieraptera, I wound my way up the freakishly steep mountains to the little…
(Dear reader, I do not have access to my laptop at the moment. Consequently I am unable to include photos, of the kind you know and tolerate, in my posts. I’ll be sure to add some in when I can.) Arriving late into Athens airport, and with a few hours to wait before my connecting flight to Crete, I decided that now was the time to try my first Greek souvlaki. In Greece, the Greek language is written, naturally, in…
It’s been great to spend some time on the coast of Anatolia, but it’s time to be leaving Turkey again, again. Since I am so close to Greece, I figure now would be a good time to have a better look at the place. Whilst sailing last year I visited a couple of the Greek islands (see Arriving in Greece), however I didn’t have a chance to explore Greece properly. I’m keen for some more diving before it gets too…
I’ve had a great time in Europe’s second largest nation. It’s a beautiful place with an amazing, complex, and often tragic history. I’ve certainly learnt a lot over the month I have spent traveling around, but it’s time to be leaving Ukraine. I’m heading back to Turkey for some diving off the south coast, so I’ll let you know what I find under the water. ‘Til then, remember the old Ukrainian proverb: ‘Only when you have eaten a cockroach do…
A few of my mates asked if I had eaten a Chicken Kiev in Kiev, and I was also interested in trying the dish in the city after which it was presumably named. However after delving into the origin of Chicken Kiev, I found out that the name is in fact a misnomer. Like moleskin fabric is not made of moles, and the 100 years’ war went for 116 years, the Chicken Kiev is not from Kiev. In fact, there…
I bought my sleeping bag way back in 1998, shortly before buying a four-wheel drive and heading off on an around Australia adventure. It was the best I had ever owned, lightweight and toasty warm and made in Australia. For over twenty years my sleeping back kept me snug and warm on hikes, four-wheel drive and remote motorcycle trips, overseas adventures, and just crashing on a mate’s couch. It had a few minor repairs over the years, and a little…
Sofia, Bulgaria I like to walk. Whenever I book accommodation in a new place I try to find a central spot from which I can explore on foot. You get to know a place better when you walk around it, and I like the feeling of becoming familiar with my new little neighbourhood of streets, alleys and parks. City Garden was only a short distance from my apartment in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, and I found myself walking through it many…
I heard that the Bulgarians were willing to vaccinate tourists against Corona, so the day after I arrived in Varna I set off to find out if it was true. I found the location of a local medical centre, and after a short walk arrived at the address. There was a chemist adjoining the clinic, so I thought I would ask there first. Using a translation app on my phone, I explained that I was a visitor from Australia and…