More pictures
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Monday, August 18, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Pictures From Egypt
Hey Guys! I'm still alive and loving Egypt! I've been traveling with my new and very good friends Christian and Jahan. I haven't had time to write but here are some pictures in no particular order (pictures include a cigar on an overnight felucca up the Nile, me in Cairo, Mount Sinai, watching the sunset in the Sahara and other exciting adventures, which I'll explain later). (Also, none of these are from my camera -- all post those later.)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Fire on Penteli Mountain
My ferry from Crete came into Piraeus Port, Athens, Greece at 6 am. I was completely exhausted and made it back to the house by 7:30 am to just relax, nap and read all day.
I was talking to my beautiful girlfriend via skype when I realized the call was disconnected due to power outage. I went outside on the balcony to see what was up, then when i looked up I saw large amounts of billowing black smoke.
The fire was a couple blocks away so I alerted Mary Beth and the kids then we all went to check it out because rumor was that it was a house that caught fire.
As I walked to the scene of the fire, planes and helocopters began dumping water on the fire.
I took pictures and video of everything. The fire was put out about 2 hours later and everything and everybody is ok.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Day of Rest
I woke up this morning and decided that I was just going to take it easy. I have been very tired from all the walking, hiking and trips, so I needed a day of recoop before I took off for the islands.
I did a little work in the late morning. Everybody else was getting ready to hike. I decided that I was going to tag along and get some excercise. I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
We drove to the back side of Pentalli mountain, stopping for water along the way, where there some nice trails to hike on. Unfortunately no shade. SARG (their dog) was in the back of the car flipping out in anticipation. We all started out down a path and Mick said that he was going to run and anyone who wanted could join. I volunteered to keep him company.
Now, what I didn't think about is that Mickey is in great shape and in training for the Mount Olympus marathon on June 29th. The other fact that I let slip my mind was that I hadn't run in a couple weeks and I'm not accustomed to running hills and mountains. I also didn't know how long we were running for.
We were running on a nice steady pace, a shuffle really. Nothing that I couldn't handle. We also were tallking the entire time so it was really nice. I could definitely notice the hills and grade fatiguing my legs faster than normal. I was going strong for 45 minutes then it was downhill for my legs even though we were running uphill. Meanwhile, I was thinking that we were almost done so I finished my water and powered through. By this time Mick was a little ahead of me. We made it to a road then Mickey said it was time to turn around and go back! I was already spent! I was dying of thirstAnd to make matters worse it felt like the entire way back was uphill. I wasn't out of breath, my legs were just on fire.
We ended up running 18 km and burning 1580 calories, not too shabby!
I did a little work in the late morning. Everybody else was getting ready to hike. I decided that I was going to tag along and get some excercise. I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
We drove to the back side of Pentalli mountain, stopping for water along the way, where there some nice trails to hike on. Unfortunately no shade. SARG (their dog) was in the back of the car flipping out in anticipation. We all started out down a path and Mick said that he was going to run and anyone who wanted could join. I volunteered to keep him company.
Now, what I didn't think about is that Mickey is in great shape and in training for the Mount Olympus marathon on June 29th. The other fact that I let slip my mind was that I hadn't run in a couple weeks and I'm not accustomed to running hills and mountains. I also didn't know how long we were running for.
We were running on a nice steady pace, a shuffle really. Nothing that I couldn't handle. We also were tallking the entire time so it was really nice. I could definitely notice the hills and grade fatiguing my legs faster than normal. I was going strong for 45 minutes then it was downhill for my legs even though we were running uphill. Meanwhile, I was thinking that we were almost done so I finished my water and powered through. By this time Mick was a little ahead of me. We made it to a road then Mickey said it was time to turn around and go back! I was already spent! I was dying of thirstAnd to make matters worse it felt like the entire way back was uphill. I wasn't out of breath, my legs were just on fire.
We ended up running 18 km and burning 1580 calories, not too shabby!
Mycenae
Today, I decided to go to Mycanae. Mycanae has a rich history incuding being the palace of Agamemnon. In the morning, Walton asked me if he could join me which I was happy about cause he's a huge history buff and can teach me a lot.
I met Walton and his Mom at the U.S. Embassy to pick him up then we took a taxi to a different bus station than yesterday. Once we got there, we realized that not many people spoke English. We managed to find the ticket window for Argos which is near Mycanae bought our tickets and once again had to run to catch the bus.
It was a 2 hour ride to Argos but 1 hour into the ride we both had to go to the bathroom. Once we arrived in Argos we asked the bus station dude for the bus to Mycanae and the bathroom and he told us that the bus was leaving. With no time for the bathroom we ran after the bus and hopped on with the bus still in motion.
10 minutes later, nature was calling and we asked if we could use the bathroom at the next stop. The door swung open and Walton sprinted for the bathroom. I was right behind him.
The site was amazing, probably one of the highlights of my trip thus far. To enter the palace, you walk through Lion's Gate. The Palace is strategically located at the top of a hill, making attack very difficult. The view from the top is awesome.
The coolest part of the site for me was the legendery ancient stairwell that Agamemnon's kids escaped the palace from. The story goes that during the Trojan War, Agamemnon and his 10,000 ships were sailing to Troy and they had no wind. A fortune teller with Agamemnon told him that if he sacrificed his youngest daughter it would bring great wind and take them all to Troy. He stabbed her in the heart and the winds tooks him to Troy. When he returned home, his wife killed him for revenge. Agamemnon's kids, Orestes and Elektra, murdered their mother for killing Agamemnon and escaped through the 99 stair passage leading out of the palace.
This was that passage and Walton and I were determined to make it down to the bottom with only a keychain flashlight. The stairwell was pitch black and cordoned off with a rope. We stepped over the rope and continued down stairwell. About 10 meters down, there were thousands of flies all over the place that we turned around and went back. We tried again, this time using Walton's pant legs that I had cut off earlier as a mask from the flies. I used the flash on my camera to illuminate the passage for a little bit, then walk down 5 stairs. After 15-20 minutes and about 75 stairs we realized that our bus (and last bus of the day) would arrive in 10 minutes. Unfortunately we couldn't make it to the bottom but it was a valient effort. We hurried back and caught the bus back to Argos.
Argos was a ghost town and probably 100 degrees F. After realizing that NOTHING was open, we managed to find an open cafe and ate a delicious Greek pizza. We caught our bus back to Athens and caught the Metro back to Halandri. Great day!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Cape Sounion
Today I set out to see the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion. I took the bus to the metro and the metro to Victoria and set out on foot in search of the Bus station that services Sounion.
I went to the ticket office and asked about the bus to Sounion and he told me to run after the bus that was pulling away. I sprinted for the bus and hopped on.
It was 2 hour journey down the Saronic coast which was very scenic. It was like driving down PCH only cooler. Once we arrived you can see the Temple perched on top of a hill with a 360 degree view of sea, mountains and islands. Quite a spectacle.
After hanging out at the temple for a while, I decided to explore. I hiked down to the water line which was semi treacherous at times but it was a good thing I was wearing my hiking flip flops.
Grace had advised me to wear my bathing suit and with the gorgeous turquoise color of the water, I couldn't wait to jump in. I threw my stuff down on a rock and dove in only to realize that my stuff was only inches away from being swept out to see. I got out of the water and decided to find a better place to swim.
I hiked further around the peninsula and came to a nice little cove that I had to myself. It was next to an ancient wall, probably the foundation of the structure that once laid here. In the exploring mood, I grabbed my camera and jumped in the water. The cave was cool. In the back of the cave there was a well that led to the surface.
I did some swimming and tested out the underwater capabilities of my camera before hiking back to civilization and eating some grub while waiting for the bus to come.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Mongrels of Athens
I woke up today and decided to hit the town. I caught the bus and took it to the metro. Jumped on the subway and went to Akropoli. Once I was there, I decided to explore the entire area around the Acropolis more thoroughly. I revisited the Parthenon which is just friggin' awesome! I also saw the Odeon as well as the Cave Prison of Socrates.
On my way down from Socrates' Prison, I was attacked by rabid dirrty mongrels. I had been warned by my parents of homeless dogs that roam the street in packs but had yet to experience this phenomenon until today. I was chugging along enjoying the atmosphere, when four dogs out of nowhere starting barking and running towards me. My parents told me to pick up a rock and throw it at the dogs, but to my dismay I was standing in the only area without sizable rocks to throw. A life or death situation, my inner Alpha-Male took over. I threw down my backpack started barking and screaming like a mad man kicking dirt and running after all the dogs with my arms flailing in the air. This lasted about 1 minute until other people appeared semi frightened by the dogs or just freaked out by my bizzarre behavior.
After the dogs, I continued on to Zues' Temple which is massive and pretty cool. I stopped by a cafe to eat lunch and a frappe(mmm...). Walked to the Athens Archaeological Museum which has some pretty cool stuff in it but I felt was poorly organized.
Fatigued from the heat and all my walking, I got yet another Frappe and chatted with 2 American girls sitting next to me at the cafe. Afterwards I hit the Ancient Agora which is an ancient meeting place of the ancient greeks. This is where in ancient times they would convene for meetings or markets.
After my long day of walking and hiking, I hopped on the metro on my way back home. What a day...
