Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia

  I had just arrived from Frankfort, and I was tired of airports so I picked up some random bag that looked like it could be mine and then went out to find my Grandparents. After I found them of course I had to take a picture so they could show my parents of my safe arrival. After the picture Ii handed my bag to Papa and said," Here, this is more your luggage than it is mine." (Most of the stuff in my bag was stuff for the boat that Papa had ordered and had shipped to our house.) 

So then we started the long bus ride from the airport to the harbor and of course the boat.

Corinth Canal

After we arrived on the boat we had decided since we were leaving the next day it might be a good idea to get some pork gyro's because we wouldn't find them anywhere else that we were going. After some delicious pork gyro's we went back to the boat and I crashed. Then I did something that I had never done before.  I woke up before anyone else did.  Now if any of you know me, that is like unnatural of me.  After waiting for 3 hours so my grandparents could get up as well as everyone else, we left the dock and said goodbye to civilization. 

Driving through the Corinth Canal

Now in Australia I thought we had a rough first day, but I couldn't tell you how wrong that statement would be. We left the harbor thinking that the weather site would be right, however, it said we would have 10-15 knots of wind. Then we left and got winds of about 30-40 knots. Now any of you sailors out there would know that 40 knots of wind IS NOT FUN.  And of course since it is the Mediterranean the wind was right on our bow. So we went through 5-7 hours of this crap and eventually we decided that this sucked and went to a closer anchorage. 

When you get bored sailing then have a leg fight with
your cousin.  You can guess who won.

The next day wasn't as bad but it wasn't perfect, but we had to leave anyways. So we left and arrived to the spot we were headed for the first day and anchored right next to it. Now the spot that we were at then is a very special spot called the Corinth Canal, and if you don’t know what that is you should look it up. The Corinth Canal (in simplest terms) is a massive cut through the small piece of land between the middle and the bottom of Greece. Also the Corinth Canal was originally thought of by The Caesers. There we went through and then went to an anchorage near a historical place called Delphi.

At Delphi high in the mountains

Now you can probably guess where we went next but anyways we went to Delphi. Now Tutu (my Grandmother) would probably tell you a lot about the historic value of Delphi, but I’m just going to tell you the basics. 






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Ruins at Delphi

Delphi was where the Priest of Delphi lived and he/she could not speak correctly.  Was called the Oracle of Delphi.  At that day and age people were extremely religious and believed in almost anything a priest said about god. If you put some thought to it you would be able to figure that someone who couldn't speak right put was supposed to interpret their religion then the person who translates would hold all the power. So whatever that person wanted to happen would happen or whomever paid him got want they wanted to happen.


In the next place I talk of there is nothing historic that Ii know of but what happened to us was just too funny. It started raining one day and we just thought it was normal rain, but we were very wrong. After it rained we went out to go to town and then I said," Why is the boat red?" and then we all turned to look at it and well the boat was a reddish-orange color. Now after we went through the arduous task of cleaning the boat with salt water Tutu looked up what it might be. Well the weather site said that it was sand from the Sahara desert. Now of course your thinking what is the Sahara desert doing in Greece. Well I’m afraid I don't have an answer for you. 

Setting the asymmetrical sail during the
passage from Corfu Greece to Montenegro.
First raise the 'sock' and then pull a rope to
raise the sock to the top of the sail,
letting the sail fly out with the wind.
I got to do all the cranking on winch.

My butt and the set asymmetrical.

Now after we left Greece we wanted to head to Montenegro, but if you happen to have a map in front of you, you would see that we had the long coast of Albania to go through first. Since Albania was recently through a war and does not have much to see, we decided we would do our first overnight passage and go straight from Greece to Montenegro. During that overnight passage it was a full moon so we could play games as we watched. 

On night watch during overnight
passage up Albanian coast.

But after that horrible moment of your laptop running out of battery and you just can’t take any more Game of Thrones you just sit there… sit there… and do nothing but watch. So after awhile of Tutu looking at me she said," Alright I’ve got a timer, it will go off after 15min. So go ahead and take a nap. So I did and guess what. She never woke me up! I woke up after we had passed through Albania and saw Montenegro for the first time. But I couldn’t believe it; she lied to me! But anyways that’s all I have to say about that.

Where WW2 Nazi submarines hid in the mountain
at Montenegro.  Tutu made me wake up early so I
could see the old Serbian POW camp and these
submarine things.

Montenegrin coffee = STRONG!

This next thing is long after that O/N trip but I'll say it anyways. Tutu had planned a trip through a lot of Montenegro and of course we had to go. So we waited at the stop and a van pops up that barely held all of us but we went anyways. So during the trip the driver was making jokes so the time could go by and the awkward silence between everyone could slowly dissipate and all of us become friends. After awhile he succeeded and we became friends with 2 Australians and surprisingly a Mexican guy -- all of them living in a hostel.

Black Lake with grandparents and cousin

Finding the perfect stones to skip across Black Lake

First part of Tara Canyon.  Very narrow and
very deep.

The island on right was man-made by local people
back in the 1600s.  There is a church built on it.  We
drove the boat through that narrow cut.

Drinking very strong coffee at the monastery

At first we took several stops to get supplies for our 15 hour trip but after awhile we started stopping to take pictures of the the veiws of Montenegro's coast and of course the 2nd largest canyon in the world which is where our trip was based around. After about 3 hours of this we stopped at the first really interesting place. In this place priests sold honey and they sold this coffee that is very, very strong and grainy. Of course I had to try this coffee. But I mean this stuff is stronger than taking a swig of whisky. Also the cool thing about this place was that they powered themselves by harnessing the power of the waterfall that is right next to their church/monastery. 

On bridge at Tara Canyon.

After that we headed to this historic bridge that was supposedly fought over by Germany and Montenegro in WW2. After that we ended our trip in one of the deepest lakes in the world -- Black Lake. We didn’t stay there long but it was very interesting just to look at it. 

Hard to see but a tall wall went straight up the
mountain to a castle/fort on top.  The main city
was inside the walls down near sea level.
This was an old Venetian walled city.

After our trip we came back to the city of Kotor.  Now Kotor was once controlled by the Venetians in the 1400's. At Kotor there was a very long and large wall covering all the mountainside that looked quite impressive for something so old. But that’s really all I have to say about that.  The Australian college guys who were on our canyon trip said it took them almost 3 hours to walk to the top of the wall and back down.  No thanks!

To finish off this long essay about my trip here it is about the short time we were in Croatia. The only interesting thing that we did in Croatia was go to their capital called Dubrovnik. We went to Dubrovnik on what was supposed to be a pretty day but of course that was wrong. So we had to end our trip early because of the rain, but I'll still talk about what happened while we were there.

Main street inside old walled city of Dubrovnik

After we got off the ferry and onto the port Elizabeth, my cousin who has been with me here, started doing her normal thing of," I’m hungry, or I want ice cream." So to start we found a suitable place to eat and ate there. But guess what, she didn’t like the place we chose so we had to listen to pouty Elizabeth, and sadly I can’t say I have seen many other forms of Elizabeth this summer. But anyways what we ate was pizza which is actually Montenegro's and Croatia’s like special thing, and not to offend you New Yorkers but their pizza is better. Afterwards we started walking down a long alleyway and found a Mexican Restaurant. All of us were sad we had pizza instead of Mexican food. 

Also this alleyway was filled with birds that look like bats which was kind of interesting. After that we went to an ice cream shop and got ice cream because well we were all starting to get headaches, and you can probably guess from who. After that we walked around trying to find a phone shop but then it started raining and we had to leave.

That is the conclusion of all the interesting things that happened this summer in Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia.

Siphoning gasoline.  Papa put the empty gas tank on the
deck and the full tank up on the mizzen coach roof.  He
put a hose between the 2 tanks and wrapped a rag
tightly around the hose at the opening of the full
tank.  Then I blew into the tank with the rag tight
to my lips.  This creates suction and the gas starts
flowing to the lower tank.  Papa said in the old days
that people would suck on the hose and get gas
in their mouths.  This works better!

Oh…a couple more things.  One afternoon a bad storm blew through with winds over 50 knots.  It was rough!  Papa got the anchor up so we could get out of the anchorage and out to open water to wait out the storm.  But somehow the rope on the dinghy got wrapped around the propeller of the outboard engine.  The dinghy had been tied to the back of the boat while we were anchored.  When Tutu started driving the boat after Papa got the anchor up, then the dinghy was dragged backwards.  It filled up with water and the gas tank was outside the dinghy floating upside down. 

She did not help siphon but got
in this photo anyway.

 I helped Papa get the gas tank onto the deck of the boat and to tie another line to the dinghy so it wouldn’t float away.  After the storm passed we went back to our favorite spot in front of a hotel with wi-fi and we anchored again.  Then we had to get the gas from the tank that floated into a clean new tank because any water would ruin the engine.   Papa taught me the easy way to siphon.  That was the worst storm I have been in.

Papa teaching me how to breathe using scuba gear.

Also, one day this summer Papa put on his diving gear and went under the boat to check on everything down there.  After he was finished working, he had me come to the swim ladder and hold on.  
Then he showed me how to breathe underwater using this thing called an octopus.  We only went down a few feet.  We did this about 6 times.  One time we stayed down several minutes.  It was fun.  Now I want to learn how to scuba dive.

Breathing underwater

Papa said I can learn when he gets the boat back to the Caribbean.

I enjoyed my time alone exploring in the kayak

Using a foot-pedal pump to inflate kayak

what I have been doing these past couple weeks.

Ancient trade harbor at Knidos.  Romans built that
breakwater about 2700 years ago.  The left side has
collapsed and is underwater but the right side is still there.

Well since I have been lazy recently I'm gonna put 2 weeks and 3 days worth of blog in one post.

Being lazy in the A/C.

 Knidos
In Knidos we went into a prosperous dock with a restaurant there. At first we thought that if we went into the dock we had to eat at the restaurant which would be extremly expensive because all they had to eat there was fish and it was 70$ per kilo and you pay for the whole fish head and all, but after we asked they said we didn't.  We could just pay for the dock and not eat in the expensive restaurant.  While there we found ice cream that was only 25cents, which is the cheapest that we have seen anywhere. Also when we were there we found out that it was the home of the first completly nude woman statue of Aphrodite or any other woman. Finally we went to bed after having dinner on the boat.

A sign at Knidos that tells lots of stuff about the place.

Selimiye

The restaurant where we first docked in Selimiye.

Then the next morning we went a long way and got to Selimiye, When we first got there and tried to go to the dock the dock was full so we had to go to a restaurant's dock. We stayed at the restaurant dock for 3 days, and the only thing we did was swim. Then on the 4th day we saw a open spot on the town dock so we went ahead and got in.

Man with gold teeth.  That is his restaurant
beneath the maroon umbrella.

While at the town dock we met a man with a whole front row of gold teeth.

At the restaurant dock we could swim right at back
of our boat.  That water is much deeper than it looks.

On the first day at the dock we ate at the gold tooth man's restaurant and had a delicious shrimp casserole and an equaly good beef casserole. That was the only time we ate at his restaraunt. We just stayed at the dock and did almost nothing accept me going kayaking every once and a while.

At night the restaurant put tables
on all the dock area.  They needed
more room to serve all the
customers.  Really busy place.

Walking around Selimiye looking for an ATM

When at Selimiye we found the holy bakery store. It had the best white bread I have had anywhere and at the cheapest prices. We stayed a really enjoyed this place for 9 whole days which broke the new record of being compltely lazy on a boat.









Serce

On the 10th day at Selimiye we left and went to Serce. On the way to Serce we decided to fish which proved to be a fatal mistake. While motoring we came close to a French charter boat that suddenly tacked just as Papa turned to go behind them and they fingured us and cursed at us.    I didn't know what was happening so I waved at the people finguring me. Then me and Papa got a good laugh out of something, and that something was that a few seconds later the fishing pole was ringing and it was going out really fast... too fast....so fast that all of the line went off. Then a few minutes later I saw the French boat completely stop so I think the line got caught on the propeller on the French boat.... MUAHAHAHA! Then some time after the incident we found a perfectly good fender in the water and picked it out of the water. Then soon after we arrived at Serce. At Serce we swam and had dinner and after I read which was pretty late and everyone else was asleep.   It was so hot that that I had to get a cold pack out of the freezer to put on my chest and neck just so I could go to sleep.

A Bay Near Marmaris

When we sail Tutu usually drives.  But Papa
was driving when the French charter boat
turned when they shouldn't have.

We woke up early this morning and had a dificult time getting the stern line untied, but we did it. Then when we tried to sail it only worked for about 20minutes then we had to motor for the rest of the way because there was no wind. Then when we got near Marmaris we decided to go to a small bay near Marmaris. Soon after arriving I decided to get into the water.While in the water I found  a hat and decided to keep it,. Then after several arguments between BeBe and Tutu about having to do her blog we had dinner and went to sleep.  The next morning we docked in the marina to wait for BeBe's family to arrive in the middle of the night.

We put fans in the cockpit when sailing.
It has been very hot.

Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cleopatra's Pool

Goofing off at museum

For the blog posts for Thursday and Friday, and for today. 

These folks were short!!

On Thursday we woke up really early in the morning and took a van to Marmaris then took a bigger  nicer bus to a ancient city called Ephesus.  Papa and I went to the museum while Tutu and BeBe went to the house of the Virgin Mary.  


Then we ate an ok lunch with the tour group and went to the ruins of Ephesus.  We looked at some old rocks that all looked the same and saw some big gates that looked magnificent and also saw the largest theater out of all other ancient theaters.   The acoustics were amazing.

Baths at Ephesus.  Required for entry to city.

The first thing when you arrived at the city were the baths.  In ancient times everyone who arrived was required to bathe before entering the city.  This allowed men like doctors to look at the stranger's body and see if they had any disease.  It also made them wash off any germs they might be carrying although they did not know about germs back then.  And the most important thing was that it would show if they had any hidden weapons.


While we were looking at some big rocks and columns that all looked the same we looked at the infirmary (ancient hospital) and also learned about some of the gods that supposedly roamed around Ephesus.  If someone got healed in the infirmary then they left a part of themselves as an offering of gratitude to whatever god was responsible for healing them.  Most people who survived the hospital cut off an ear to leave at the infirmary. 

Ephesus -- it was hot!

The umbrella helped

Crosses & Bones game circle on right.
The 6 letters to test if Christian on left.

Taking a break

A popular game was called crosses and bones.  People played this game on stones all over the city.  There were also 6 letters that would be written next to the circle that they played in.  When a stranger arrived he could play the game and people would ask him what each of those letters meant.  If he answered all 6 letters correctly, then he was accepted as a Christian.  They did this because Christians had to keep their new faith a secret.

Backgammon stone

Another stone game board

They also played backgammon on a big stone area.  And some other game we didn't know about.

Gate of Hercules on main pedestrian street

The main road was for pedestrians only.  It was steep and sloped down over 60 feet from the baths down to the library.  About halfway down was the Gate of Hercules.  This was 2 columns placed on either side of the road that made the road get narrow.  This prevented chariots from using the road.

Library of Celsus.  One of only 2 libraries in the ancient world

Then after we looked at the Brothel which is also the first place in the world to actually advertise anything and they were advertising women.  Stones were put in the roadway down near the port.  Arriving sailors could look at the stones and decide which woman they wanted to meet.  The stone would have several carvings like a woman's face and name, a heart that was shattered, a circle that meant money and a footprint shape.  This signified that if a person had a broken heart and some money, he could follow the footprints and have the woman's company.  A sailor would decide which face he liked best and follow that shape footprint to that woman's house or brothel.   World's first known advertising.

Main street going down to Library.  The valley
in the background used to be the harbor.  Dirt has
filled in about 8 miles in the past 2,000 years.

Then later we saw how small were all of the rooms the regular people lived in.  

Our guide in latrines

And we saw the bathrooms that they had, and learned that normally they would have their slave do all of the wiping when a man used the restroom.  Only the men and their slaves could enter the bathroom, and only the men could use the bathroom.   


Then when we learned about all of the gates and about the statues and how long it took to make them. Then after all of that when we went through the magnificent halls to enter the theatre we checked out the accoustics for the largest known theater of Rome Greece and Turkey. After we did that we drove in the bus for another 3 hours and they showed us the hotel we would be sleeping in.  We had a ok dinner and tried to go to sleep.

Swimming in Cleopatra's Pool

A hot spring source that fills Cleopatra's Pool

Then on the morning after a unrestful night of sleep we had breakfast and went to the bus to go to a cool place called Cleopatra's pool which actually has a naturally set temp of 35degrees celcious. 

Top of mountain at Pamukkale

Which after swimming in the pool we left and went to a place that is a mountain that is white which I thought was interesting.  




The Turks call this the Cotton Castle.  There is a lot of mineral deposit from the flowing waters.  I think it is called calcium carbonate.  It is white and looks like snow but it is hard.  There are shallow pools formed from this calcium carbonate that terrace down the mountain.

The fill trench with constantly flowing water to the pools

  

On top of Pamukkale

Then I went climbing down the mountain barefoot because they made you take your shoes off and went into the warm pools in the mountain.  The guide said the waters will be all gone in 150 years and Pamukkale will no longer exist.

Descending the pools at Pamukkale

After that we went back to the bus and went to a onyx making place and looked at how they made the onyx. After that we started the long ride back to Marmaris.

Lots of calcium carbonate deposits over a very long time

What a shame this will all be gone in 150 years

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