travelthroughhistory

CHRISTMAS IN THE MOUNTAINS

2012-01-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

I spent this Christmas in Salmon Arm, a beautiful little town tucked below the mountains, straddling the shores of Lake Shuswap. My family members are skiers and snowboarders so one day we went on an excursion to the Silver Star Mountain Resort, a special treat for me even though I'm not a skier.

I'd been to Silver Star a couple of times in the past but only during the summer. This time it was truly a 'winter wonderland'. It's a pretty village with Victorian-style houses painted pastel colours. There's a number of shops and eateries there and it isn't as high-end and expensive as some other resorts, such as Whistler, on the Coast.

I spent the day strolling the village and checking out the shops while the family skied. There is 3,066 acres of hills with ski runs, and 12 lifts. There's very much a family atmosphere here and the slopes were teeming with family groups. For the youngsters, there's a Kid's Zone where they can play on their own and have ski lessons while mom and dad tackle the steeper slopes. I saw one tiny fellow, couldn't have been more than two, on a wee pair of skis, being guided along by his grandparents. And lots of children skiing on their own or being pulled in sleds.

If you've never been skiing there before you can take some tours to acquaint yourself with the mountain. Free tours leave from the centre of the village every morning and afternoon. There are also Nordic XC Camps held on the mountain and heli-skiing from the village. If you want to spend your holidays there there are plenty of accommodations. (www.skisilverstar.com)

The 'boarder and the skier, Mike & Alex

BURNABY HERITAGE VILLAGE: CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN THE 1920'S STYLE

2011-12-19T23:46:00.000-08:00

Inside the Jesse Love farmhouse at the Burnaby Heritage Village, the scene is set for a merry Christmas celebration. Decorations are aglow, a tall fir tree stands in the living room decorated with handmade ornaments, and a tableau of carollers dressed in original clothing gather around the piano ready to sing in a carolling diorama.

All around the village, there is a Christmas spirit. Inside the Seaforth School, the children have decorated the room in traditional '20's style and a docent in period costume lectures a group of visiting children on etiquette and school-room manners. ( A young boy sat down on a bench and was scolded because "you don't sit down when the girls or women are standing!" )

The Burnaby Village Museum gives visitors a chance to experience things the way they were back in the 1920's. The ten acre heritage village is decorated in the 1920s stile, shop windows are full of seasonal goodies and costumed townsfolk welcome visitors into their homes and shops.

At the blacksmiths shop, the smithy is busy working while a group of school kids watch. And in the print store, a woman gives a demonstration of how the old printing presses worked.

The Blacksmith Shop

The construction of the heritage village began back in 1971. The Century Park Museum Association was formed to govern the Heritage Village. The museum opened in November 1971with a blacksmith shop, buggy and bicycle shop, general store, land office, school house, manor house, ice cream parlour, apothecary shop, barber shop, dentist shop, Chinese general imports shop, print shop and a tram. It first opened for visitors in July 1972, described as a depiction of the 1890- 1920 era of the lower mainland. It was known as the Heritage Village until 1984 when it became the Burnaby Village Museum. It has expanded to 9 acres allowing the construction of an administration building to house collections and staff offices.

The annual Heritage Christmas event is a great opportunity to experience Christmas traditions as they were in the old days as well as learning their origins. There are activities for children and families and lots to see and do. I love browsing the shops, especially the general store, where there are items on display that I remember from my childhood on the Prairies (the galvanized tubs like the one my mom melted snow in on the old stove for our Saturday baths, the old telephone that you operated with a crank!)

In the window of the Bakery you'll see cookie tins with the faces of old British Kings. And the Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee herb shop displays cases of weird dried herbs and bones and an assortment of strange herbal remedies.

Inside the old Church, there's a touch of Latin America, with a duo playing "Feliz Navidad". I visit the old interurban tram next, remembering how I used to ride the tram from school. It operated from 1912 until the late '50's. The car has been restored with elegant brass hardware and cherry and oak wood interior.

Probably one of the most fun places at the Village is the old carousel. This 1912 carousel is fully restored. It used to operate in the PNE grounds years ago. I loved riding it. Now I can ride it at the Village (and it goes fast too!) accompanied by the music of a restored 1925 Wurlitzer Military band.

You can read more about Christmas at the Burnaby Village Museum on Travel Thru History,
www.travelthruhistory.com

Santa Claus visits the Village daily from 1.20 - 4.30 and 5.30 to 7.30 to December 23 .
For general opening hours: www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca

DEFILING A GODDESS' IMAGE

2011-12-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

ATHENA

A German magazine is on trial in Athens because they published an image of the goddess Athena making a rude gesture. The charges is 'defamation'. The publisher of Focus, a weekly magazine, and twelve of its journalists had been accused of insulting a national symbol. The cover of the magazine's February 2010 issue depicted Athena, draped in a Greek flag, raising her middle finger in a rude gesture with the caption " Cheats in the European family." This offended the Greeks and a group of Greek lawyers launched a law suit.

The Greeks are very defensive of their ancient symbols and treat them reverently. In museums you are not allowed to pose beside statues as this is considered irreverent. In archaeological sites like Delphi, considered to be the centre of the earth, there are strict regulations as to behavior, loud music, etc within the sacred areas. So, just as the Muslims took offence when a Danish cartoonist poked fun at Mohammad, the Greeks are not amused by this 'defamation' of their chief goddess, and patron 'saint' of their city Athens.

Who was Athena? She as the daughter of Zeus and was born full-grown and in full armor, springing from his head. (With no help from a mother). When Homer wrote about her in The Iliad, he portrayed her as a fierce and ruthless battle-goddess, but elsewhere is is only warlike when she is defending the State and the home from enemies. Athena was pre-eminently the Goddess of the City, the protector of civilized life, of handicrafts and agriculture; the inventor of the bridle, who first tamed horses for men to use. She was Zeus's favorite child. He trusted her to carry the aegis, his buckler and his devastating weapon, the thunderbolt. She is often described as "grey-eyed" or "flashing-eyed". Of the three virgin goddesses she was the chief. They called her the Maiden, Parthenos, and her temple was known as the Parthenon.

THE PARTHENON

She is extolled by poets as the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. Athens was her special city. She created the olive and the olive tree is her symbol, the owl her bird.

ATHENA'S OWL

On the Acropolis, between the Parthenon and the Erechtheion are ruins dating back to pre-Persian invasion time, which are believed to be the original Temple of Athena (possibly from about 529 BC) In ancient times there was a large statue of Athena on this site made of chryselephantine and gold that could be seen from a distance.

Athena dominated the city then, and she is still very much the favored goddess of the city. So when the prosecution and defence lawyers of the German magazine appealed to have the charges of defamation dropped, the Greek judges rejected them. The charges carry a maximum two-year prison sentence.

AN AUTUMN WEEKEND ON MAYNE ISLAND, B.C.

2011-11-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

At least once a year our writer's group spends a weekend on beautiful Mayne Island, one of the Gulf Islands in Georgia Straight between the mainland and Vancouver Island. We've been going there now for nearly 20 years, almost every year. This past weekend was a special time for us as we gathered to honour the memory of one of our dear friends who passed away this summer. We wanted to do all the things she enjoyed and one of them was walking in the woods and along the shores of the island.

There are a many places to visit on Mayne Island. One of them is Campbell Point. The morning was overcast and the sea looked gray and stormy but soon the sun came out .... and stayed...for the rest of the weekend.

A favorite excursion is to the Japanese Gardens It was built in memory of the Japanese farmers who used to live and work on the island until they were interned at the outbreak of WWII. The garden features ponds, bridges, a waterfall, torii gates and an authentic recreation of a Japanese charcoal kiln.

We love to go to the Garden to browse and write haiku. It's a place to meditate and enjoy nature. The gardens are maintained by volunteers and there's a little box where you can leave donations for the upkeep of the gardens.

One of the pretty fountains

Cross the bridge to the little islet surrounded by the pond. There were still some flowers blooming and even bees buzzing around them.

Farther around on the path beside the pond a lone heron stands guard. (This is just a stone heron but it looks so real!)

And there were bright red crab apples growing in the trees. (a bit to sour to eat!)

This was a lovely time to visit the island with all the brilliant autumn colours.

On another day we drove to the Georgina Point Lighthouse at Oyster Bay.

This is a historic lighthouse built in 1885, overlooking the Strait of Georgia.

It's always fun to explore around this area. You can watch the ferries sail by on their way from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay.

There are many other places of interest on Mayne Island with hiking trails to Mt. Parke or along the many scenic beaches. If you want to kayak or canoe there are rentals available, as well as bikes for cyclists. If it's shopping and art that interests you, there are crafts shops and boutiques as well as artist studios. Check out the Mayne Island visitor's website to find out more about the island including the many island accommodations and activities. www.mayneislandchamber.ca

We always stay at the Blue Vista Resort www.bluevistaresort.com

And be sure to check out the Springwater Lodge for great meals. Sit on the deck in nice weather and enjoy the scenery of Miner's Bay. This is the oldest lodge on the coast, built to accommodate men on their way to seek their fortunes in the mines at the turn of the century.

Evening over the Straits

HONORING THE DEAD ON ALL SOULS NIGHT

2011-10-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Mountain View Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Vancouver, in operation since 1887. It covers 106 acres, home to 92,000 graves and 145,000 interred remains. The cemetery is located in what was once farmland, in the area of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Ave. Buried beneath the ground here are everyone from war heroes to sea disaster and slide victims and victims of the worst transit accident in BC when a transit streetcar crashed in 1909 killing 15 people. There are wealthy people interred here as well as those who met their ends through violent or tragic means.

The wealthy include Henry O. Bell-Irving, a cannery owner and Yip Sang, a Chinese businessman. But there are also grave of well known athletes: Joe Fortes, a popular African/Canadian lifeguard and Harry Jerome, an Olympic runner. The mother of poet Robert W. Service, Sarah Emily Service, is buried here along with murder victim Janet Smith, age 22, aka "The Scottish Nightingale". Her murder in 1924 was known as "The notorious Janet Smith Case"

Burials are often grouped together according to religion or nationality or organization affiliations. Other groups are paupers, and war vets including Canadian military graves.

On Saturday, Oct 29, "All Souls Day", the cemetery was open for visitors during the night. Candles lit up the pathways and shrines were set up with candles and incense to honor the dead. There was choir music, the Carnival band, and music by a Asian musicians playing instruments made of bamboo.

It wasn't at all spooky wandering the candle-lit pathways. Occasionally there was a pyre burning in a cauldron or a piece of timber. There were adults and children, many of them visiting specific grave sites. My friends and I wandered the labyrinth of tombstones and pathways, stopping now and then to light candles and read the inscriptions left on the shrines.

It was a tasteful and nostalgic way of celebrating the Hallowe'en weekend. Inside the cemetery office building tables were set up where you could make your own votive candles with materials supplied including flowers.

I thought of my many friends and family members who have passed, several of them just this year. It was a good way to remember and honor their memory. I've been on the Ghost Tours of Vancouver bus trips which also stop at this cemetery and focus on the more sinister side of the graveyard sharing gruesome tales of old murders and accidents. But wandering the tombstones by candlelight, listening to music, lighting votive offerings, seemed a much more meaningful way to celebrate the Hallowe'en weekend.

A VISIT TO HISTORIC CHINATOWN

2011-10-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Recently Vancouver's Chinatown was officially named a national historic site. The area covers Pender Street from Gore Avenue to Taylor Street and includes 24 heritage buildings that showcase the distinct architectural style with their recessed balconies and iron framework. The site includes buildings such as the three-storey Chinese Freemason's Building, built in 1901 and Shanghai Alley where Chinatown originated. Many of the original residential buildings and stores in the area were demolished by fire but there are many still standing.

I decided to make a trip to Chinatown specifically to photograph some of the old buildings. I go to Chinatown frequently but don't always take time to appreciate these historic buildings that were part of the beginnings of my city.

The Jack Chow Building (known historically as the Sam Kee Building) was listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not as the 'narrowest building in the world" (it's only 6 ft wide). Back in the 50's when my ex husband was doing a lot of painting in Chinatown, he worked in this building and we were invited to spend Chinese New Years there with the then owners. That was an experience I've never forgotten -- not only sitting in the salon that was so narrow it had only room for a couch, or taking part in the mah jong and card games in the underground room that goes right under Pender Street!

The Wing Sang Building at 51-67 E. Pender is the oldest building in Chinatown dating to the late 1800's. It was owned by a Chinese merchant, Yip Sang, who established the Wing Sang Company which sold tickets for the Canadian Pacific Steamship Line and operated two salt herring plants on Vancouver Island.

You can take a guided walking tour of Chinatown, but I chose to go on my own as I often do, mainly to photograph some of these unique old buildings. The history of this area goes back to the days of the Gold Rush of 1858 which brought the first Chinese to Canada. Many of them arrived not only to pan for gold along the Fraser River, but to work as labourers for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). As the city of Vancouver was built, Chinatown also grew and became the heart of the Chinese settlement in Canada.

Shanghai Alley started in the late 1880's on the shores of False Creek at Pender and Carrall Streets. The population then consisted mainly of male labourers who worked as mill workers, loggers, farmers, peddlers, grocers, laundrymen and restaurant workers. It was a male bachelor society who lived in crowded and densely populated Chinatown that gradually expanded eastward along Pender Street.
Along Shanghai Alley are plaques and posters explaining the history of the area. The Han Bell at the end of the alley was a gift to the citizens of Vancouver from the sister city of Guangalon China. It is a replica of one unearthed in 1983 in that city. The original bell dates back to two millenia and is the symbol of the history of both cities.

Chinatown was first declared a historical site in 1971 and the first restorations were carried out but recently it has been named a National Historic Site proclaimed by the Federal Government. Although these days the major Chinese population lives in suburban Richmond, Chinatown is still an important part of our city's history and a day's stroll around the interesting shops and narrow alleys proves to be a worthwhile adventure.

The Millennium Gate and marks the entrance to this historic area. It was donated by the People's Republic of China after Expo '86. It's Chinatown's landmark, an elaborate 4-columned gate with hand painted traditional colours and tiles. At 50 East Pender is the Chinese Cultural Centre a two-storied building with exhibition rooms and an auditorium where events are held aimed to preserve and cultivate Chinese heritage. The China Gate entrance to the Cultural Centre, was originally the entrance to the China pavilion at Expo '86 in Vancouver, was presented to Vancouver Chinatown, As you enter the China Gate at the entrance of the Cultural Centre, you will see the bust of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in front of the gateway that takes you into the serene atmosphere of the Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden which is modeled after the private gardens of Ming Dynasty Suzhou China. The garden is free, but don't miss the interesting tour into the adjoining scholar's house for a small admission.

Don't miss a stroll up the streets to browse in the many shops including all the tea and herb shops where medicinal plants are sold. There are a variety of grocery stores which sell unusual dried produce including salted fish and strange roots. And stop for a meal at one of the many restaurants. I particularly like the Hon's Won Ton House on Keefer Street. For Dim Sum, try the Floata Seafood Restaurant on Keefer Street. And the Keefer Bakery on Georgia Street specializes in ethnic Chinese cake and baked goods.

AN AUTUMN WALK IN STANLEY PARK

2011-10-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Stanley Park Yacht Club

On a sunny Autumn Sunday I took myself to Stanley Park, my main intention being to enjoy and photograph the autumn season in the park. Stanley Park is a beautiful green space in the city of Vancouver, larger than NYC Central Park (404.9 hectares - 1,000l acres). It's a favorite place for people to go for a day of strolling , a picnic, a run, skateboarding or cycling. Inside the park are gardens, an Aquarium, art displays, playgrounds and many interesting places to visit. Surrounding the park are some excellent beaches, English Bay, Burrard Inlet and Coal Harbour where there are marinas.

I got off the bus before it reached the park (the bus goes right into the park where you can walk easily to various locations). I wanted to enjoy the lovely gardens and views along Coal Harbour.

One of the interesting sculptures is this one of the woman sitting on the park bench checking the contents of her purse. Today someone had given her a bouquet of flowers to hold.

As you enter the park, you will see another statues, a monument to Lord Stanley of Preston for whom the park is named. At the official opening of the Park on September 27, 1888, Lord Stanley is said to have 'lifted his arms to the heavens as though embracing them', and dedicated to park 'to the use and enjoyment of people of all colours, creeds and customs, for all time'. The statue captures this historical moment.

Lord Stanley

Stanley Park has been associated with many famous people, including the Mohawk poet, Pauline Johnson who is buried in the park near Third Beach, the artist Emily Carr who often painted in the park, and others. Every weekend there are artists in the park near the Aquarium area displaying their work. And near the entrance to the Park is a memorial to the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns including plaques with quotes from his well known poems.

Robert Burns, poet

I was hoping to see a blaze of autumn colours the day I went to the Park. However, due to our late summer, the autumn frosts had not yet touched the trees and everything looked lush and green.

I always enjoy strolling under the giant fir and cedar trees, some of them ancient trees. Unfortunately several years ago a terrible wind storm wrecked havoc in the park and blew many of these old trees down leaving huge swaths of empty space.

One of the main attractions in the park is the Aquarium. There used to be a zoo area as well but this was removed during the '90's, so only this interesting sea world exists now. It's a popular place for the children, especially the dolphin and beluga shows. Outside the aquarium is this impressive sculpture of a killer whale by renown Haida artist Bill Reid.

The park is a great place for families with many different play areas for the children, picnic tables under the trees, a water park and other activities.

A really fun way to see around the park is to take the horse-drawn carriage ride. I can recommend this as I went with my friend one time and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time! This day I happened to see the carriage going by loaded with tourists.

At one time, Stanley Park was the home of several villages of indigenous people. Here at Lumberman's Arch, there used to be a Squamish village. Various places in the park where the Squamish people's hunting or gathering grounds. It was up this part of the Burrard Inlet that Captain Vancouver sailed when he first came in search of that northwest passage. The Squamish people went out in their canoes to greet the British ship. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver. The Lumberman's Arch is a memorial for the loggers of B.C.

I walked back through the park trails to where there is a small railway. At this time of year it turns into a Hallowe'en Train and the woods encircled by the track are full of spooky things. Great fun on a late October evening! During the summer this area now becomes K'lahowya Village, dedicated to the First Nations People, with displays telling the Park's history and connection with the indigenous people who once occupied the park.

Eagle on a rock, in K'lahowya Village

Stanley Park is one of my most favorite destinations when I want a quiet walk in the forest, or along the seawall, or just to browse through the many garden areas. No matter how many times I've gone there (and I started going to the Park almost every Sunday since I was a young teenagers) there is always something new to see and enjoy.

RETURN TO MARATHON

2011-10-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

The Battle Field of Marathon

This is an old post from July 2006 when I made a return trip to Marathon, the site of the famous battle between the Greeks and the Persians in 490 BC and the place where the race called 'the marathon' began.

June, 2005

I had a busy, eventful day today starting early this morning when I headed off on a day trip to Marathon. Last night as I lay in bed I had some uneasy thoughts about these plans, but after analyzing the reasons why I felt these trepidations, I recalled the details of my first trip there back in May 1984 just after I'd come to live in Greece. I'd always come to Greece in the autumn so I was not prepared for the climate of May and didn't realize that, though the day was overcast, the sun is very penetrating here. Consequently, I ended up having the worst sun-burn of my life, so serious I was sure my back would be scarred from the blisters.

Tumulus

How it happened was, I'd gone to Marathon to see the tumulus of the Greeks who had died at the battle of Marathon, and later gone to Marathon beach to enjoy the afternoon. After a few hours on the beach I stood on the highway waiting and waiting for the bus back to Athens. By this time I was feeling the affects of sun-stroke. The bus didn't come. But a nice looking man in a van stopped and asked if I'd like a ride. Without hesitation, because I simply had to get off that highway, I said yes. I realized later how risky it was, that my guardian angel must have been on high alert. When he turned off the highway onto a mountain road I got real scared. He stopped the van and I waited, trying not to panic. What the heck would I do anyway? Well...it all turned out okay. He'd only stopped to change into his shorts. He must have realized how frightened I was as he was quite kind to me and later drove me around to show me the home of Papandreaos, the Prime Minister, and other posh mansions in the area where he lived. Then he dropped me off so I could get the trolley home. (note: Later, I was sick for days from sunburn and sunstroke. It taught me to respect the Greek sun, always wear sun-screen, carry water and wear a hat!)

Well, today sure wasn't going to be a repeat of that day! I set off covered with sun-screen, carrying water, food, and a hat, necessary equipment in this hot country. Got the bus at 11 a.m. for Marathon which is 42 k. NE of Athens. The road passes along the coast to the plain of Marathon which extends in a crescent around the Bay of marathon, skirted on the landward side by stony mountains. I explained to the ticket boy that I wanted to get off at the 'tombs and museum' which are on a side-road before you get to the town. It's an hour and half ride out to the east coast of Attika, past the various small coastal towns and resorts. I noticed we were passing the plain that is marked as the famous battle site, then the sign of the tumulus went whizzing past. Next I see we are entering Marathon and the boy told me it was here I should get off. (How in heck was I going to get back to where I wanted to be?) There was a museum where I was let off, but it turned out to be the new "preservation of the Marathon" museum. Across the street is the Olympic stadium entrance with the starting gate for all marathons run in Greece.

New Marathon Museum

The new museum was actually interesting. They were just setting up for some event tonight so the young lady was apologetic but showed me around. It is mainly a record in photos and writing of all the marathon since the first modern Olympics in 1896 when a Greek shepherd, Louis Spiridon, who was known for his powers of endurance won his first marathon and in a show of indescribably enthusiasm, 60,000 spectators and the King of Greece welcomed him in the Panathenaic Stadium as if he was the new Pheidippides, the runner of the original 40 miles from Marathon to Athens back in 490 BC.

There was a gallery of women runners too. The first woman to run a marathon was from Syros. She was known as "Melpomene" and she ran 40 k. of the 1896 marathon the day after it was officially run. She had been denied permission to run in the official race so she decided to run alone. She asked a priest to pray for her protection but he refused, saying he would only bless official athletes. Her finishing time was 5.30 hrs.

I was told I could get a bus to the tombs at 2 p.m. and I went to wait on the corner. Two buses passed and I visualized another incident like had happened back in '84. So I decided when the bus finally came (right at 2 pm as the schedule said!) that I'd go straight back to Athens. It turned out that the bus detoured around by the tombs and the beach. The tomb is in the middle of an olive grove, the dome of it rising above the trees. It's like a big upturned bowl with sod covering it. Nothing seems to have changed since I first saw it so I wasn't missing anything new.

The beach though had been built up with tavernas and hotels. I wouldn't have minded stopping.

Persian boatsThe Battle of Marathon, in 490 BC, is one of the most celebrated battles in history. It was here that an army of 9000 Greeks and 1000 Plataeans defeated the massive 25,000 strong Persian army, proving that the Persians were not invincible. The brilliant Greek general Miltiades' ingenious battle strategy saved the day when he altered the conventional battle formation so fewer soldiers were in the centre, more in the wings. This tricked the Persians into thinking the Greeks could be easily overcome. They broke through the centre but were ambushed by soldiers in the wings. The Greeks had sacrificed earlier to Pan and when the Persians retreated in disarray, they knew Pan had heard their prayers. That's how the word Panic got it's meaning. At the end of the day 6000 Persians and only 192 Greeks perished. After the battle a runner named Pheidippides was sent to Athens to announce the victory. After shouting "Nenikekame!" ("We won!") he collapsed of exhaustion and died. This is the original of today's "Marathon" foot race.

Statue in memory of Pheidippides, the messenger

In ancient Greece, bodies of those killed in battle were returned to their families for burial. But as a sign of honour, the 192 men who fell at Marathon were cremated and buried in a collective tomb. This is the burial mound I went to see. The top of the gravemound commands a view of the battlefield. At the foot is a marble bas-relief copied from "The Warrior of Marathon". The tomb stone had the names of the fallen arranged according to tribes, but this no longer exists.
According the the historian Pausanias, the Persian dead were flung into an open trench.

The Tumulus where the Greeks are buried.

I've just been reading Steven Pressfield's excellent book "Gates of Fire" about the war at Thermopylea, when the 300 Spartans led by their king Leonidis, and an allied army of about 6000 men faced the formidable forces of the Persians at the "Hot Gates". His descriptions of this battle, which happened only 10 years after the one at Marathon, are so vivid, it helped me to visualize exactly what it must have been like for the Greeks in both battles.

The Greek Phalanx

"One felt as if he were facing men from the underworld, from some impossible country beyond Oceanus where up was down and night day. Did they know something the Greeks didn't?"

(I recommend, if you like historical fiction, you read this book as it is truly outstanding!)

This September was the anniversary of the Battle of Marathon and the yearly marathon race will be run from here on November 13. It starts at the battlefield of Marathon and ends at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. If you're a marathon runner, you should make it a point some time to participate. After all, this is the 'real' thing!

Photos from Wikipedia

AN EARLY AUTUMN STROLL IN THE WOODS AT CENTRAL PARK

2011-09-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

Central Park is a 90 hectare (222 acre) urban park in Burnaby, B.C. The park was founded in 1891 and named to honour Mrs. David Oppenheimer, the wife of Vancouver's second mayor, who was born in New York City.

There's no nicer place close at hand to go for an afternoon stroll, and as I hadn't visited the park for some time, I decided to make that my Saturday afternoon destination this week. The park is located on the border of Vancouver/Burnaby and it's easy to get to from where I live by bus and skytrain.

One of the exercise stations (this one is for sit-ups)

The park as many amenities besides the well-kept trails. There is a running route (the Terry Fox route in honour of our beloved young cross-Canada runner who has inspired so many and in his name so much money has been raised for cancer research. There are also fitness aids along the trails to help you stay fit. And if all you want to do is walk, there are many trails to explore.

Don't be alarmed if as y ou walk along you are greeted by the friendly black or grey squirrels or chipmunks. They are so tame they'll come right up to you, hoping you might have a little hand-out like some seeds or nuts.

The children's playground is full of exciting opportunities for adventure.

And the day I was there, one of our last warm days of early Autumn, there were a lot of picnics. The park is well equipped for group or individual picnics. There is also a pitch-and-putt, swimming pool, and lawn bowling facility in the park.

Picnics

There's a small gazebo in the park. When I passed by later in the afternoon there was a wedding party there having their photos takens.

The first tinges of Autumn were being to show in the coloured leaves. Soon the park will be blazing with colour. I meandered along the tree-lined pathways, not quite sure where I'd end up. It's a bit of a maze in the woods but there were lots of people on the trails that day.

The park's main attraction is the large proportion of well-preserved temperate rainforest. One of my favorite places in the park is the large duck pond. Children enjoy feeding the ducks, but the signs around the park remind you not to feed the wildlife. So if you are inclined to do so make sure it's the appropriate kind of food for them.

Feeding the ducks.

I sat for awhile on a bench by the little 'lake' and meditated, wrote in my journal, and had a small picnic lunch. Such a serene way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

If you go:
The main park entrance is off Kingsway near Patterson. If you go by skytrain, get off at the Patterson station and walk into the park from there. You can also enter the park from Imperial Road to the south.

MY SUMMER AT THE BEACH

2011-09-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Second Beach Pool

I love going to the beach, especially to swim, and in Vancouver you have a good choice of where to spend those hot summer days. My favorite place to swim is the Second Beach pool. To get there I enjoy a cool, scenic stroll along Lost Lagoon. The pool, which is right on the beach, is heated, and I usually go there because the sea water is often too cold.

Whenever I go, which is usually mid afternoon on, I take along a picnic lunch for myself and once I've finished swimming, I head over to the picnic tables overlooking the beach and the entrance to English Bay.

Then I often take the long walk on the sea wall to the English Bay beach to get my bus home. One day I decided to stay at English Bay to watch the sunset. That turned into an excellent outing as there were hundreds of people on the beach waiting for the moment when the sun dips below the horizon. Then they all cheer and clap. It was like watching a show!

New Brighton Pool

There's a pool nearer to where I live too, and I often ride my bike over there. New Brighton park and pool is right behind Hastings Park racetrack, and is situated on Burrard Inlet. The pool isn't as nice as Second Beach and it's usually full of kids leaping in and out of the water, whereas at Second Beach pool there are a lot of family groups in the water with their kids, plus the slides that the children enjoy so much. But the walk (or cycle) around the park way afterwards is pleasant and you always see the big freighters nearby at the docks.

This summer I didn't go into the ocean to swim as often as I sometimes do. But one day last week, when it was very hot, I decided to make a day of it at Jericho Beach, one of the nicest sandy beaches in Vancouver. As usual I took along a picnic lunch although there's a concession there. Surprisingly the water was pleasantly refreshing and I had two good swims. I noticed a great many other 'seniors' in swimming too and that day the beach was crowded with people having fun in the sun.

Jericho Beach

So now the summer seems to have ended and my swimming days are over until the indoor pool opens again where I go for waterfit. But it was an excellent summer and I took advantage of every hot, sunny day to enjoy the outdoors.

Enjoying the Last of Summer

I LOVE TRAINS! An Afternoon of Fun Riding the Burnaby Central Railway

2011-09-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

I've always loved trains. When I was little living on the prairies the train ran through our town, Lloyminster Sask., and I loved watching it pass by from the field where we children played. We were always warned to run home though when the jigger cars came by as they were usually itinerant workers scouting jobs on the farms and heaven knows who they were or where they'd come from. I remember a day I was playing in the field across from our house with one came by and my friend called out "Run to beat the band!" I'd never heard that expression before and thought it sounded very exciting!

When my family moved to Stratford during the years Dad was overseas, we lived at my grandparent's home. Grandpa was a mechanical engineer and worked for the railway. I knew he worked at the CNR shops as a foreman but didn't realize til years later that he was actually a mechanical engineer and had some hand in developing the first diesel engine.

So trains have been in my blood. And that very long cross-Canada train trip from Stratford to Vancouver when I was twelve years old was the adventure of a lifetime. And on that trip the historical fiction writer in me was born.

I still like trains, though I seldom get to ride on them. But this weekend I spent an afternoon Confederation Park in Burnaby where there is a miniature train museum, the Burnaby Central Railway, and miniature trains of every type: diesel, steam, electric. The engines and some of the box-cars and cabooses are exact models of real trains and in between are seats for passengers. For $2.50 you get a 10 - 15 minute ride through the woods, over trestles and under tunnels. Great fun!

At the Rainbow Creek Station you'll find all amenities including a railroad museum with RR paraphernalia. There's picnic sites and a place for private parties. That day a group were celebrating some children's birthdays.

The tracks and trains are built and maintained by the BC Society of Model Engineers www.bcsme.org
The railway is located behind Confederation Park in North Burnaby at Hastings & Willingdon Ave, behind the park on the foreshore area. The railway operates weekends and holidays 11 am - 5 pm from May to October. It's not only for kids. Lots of adults were riding it the day I went there.
Contact 604-291-0922 or www.burnabyrailway.org

It was all a pleasant surprise for me as I didn't even know about this railway. I've been on the one at Stanley Park and Bear Creek in Surrey. I thought this was a more exciting ride. So take some time to visit and enjoy being a kid again!

A DAY WALKING STEVESTON'S HISTORICAL WATERFRONT

2011-09-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

Steveston Village, located on the southwestern shore of Richmond, was once a frontier seaport and principal port on the mighty Fraser River. It was founded by William Herbert Steves in 1880. He imagined it would be a town that would rival Vancouver. The town flourished up to 1910 and then there was a decline in the salmon industry. At the turn of the twentieth century the village was one of the busiest fishing ports in the world. There were fifteen salmon canneries, six hotels, numerous saloons and gambling dens and daily windjammers anchored in the port loading canned salmon to distribute to the world markets. On weekends, up to 10,000 people thronged Steveston's boardwalks: sailors from all over the world, Native Indians, Japanese, Chinese and European immigrants. In 1918 a devastating fire destroyed much of the town and there was more hardship during the 1930`s depression.

Bunkhouse kitchen

At the time the Second World War broke out there were many Japanese fishermen living here and after Pearl Harbour their boats and property were seized as they were all sent away to interment and Steveston lost half its population and many businesses. There is a small memorial park for the Japanese fishermen at Garry Point and one of the historic houses left at Steveston belonged to a Japanese family.

It's always a pleasant outing to spend the day at Steveston. You can rent bikes to ride along the dikes, visit the fish market on the wharf, or the Farmer's Market. Or just stroll along the boardwalk and take in all the sights while you investigate the heritage buildings, some now turned into museums.

Kite flying at Garry Point

Last weekend my friends and went to Steveston, first for a salmon barbecue at my friend Diane's home. She bought the fish fresh from the fish market on Steveston's wharf. Then we set off for a tour, to show my friend from Germany around. Patrick has been to Vancouver many times, but never to Steveston.

By the Steveston boat works

We started off at one end of the boardwalk where there are several heritage houses including one of the bunkhouses used for workers in the cannery. The day was hot and so walking along by the river was refreshing. When we got to Steveston town there are many boutiques and excellent dock-side restaurants: everything from seafood to Italian food. One of the most popular (on the wharf) is Pajo`s Fish and Chips. The town itself has many heritage buildings including the Steveston Museum which shows the history of the community. (pick up a brochure that will guide you through a Steveston Village Heritage Walking tour).

Fisherman`s Wharf

The Fisherman`s Wharf was bustling with activity as the fish boats were in port displaying their catch and lots of people go there to buy their fresh salmon, shell fish and even sea urchins.

Sea Urchins

Fresh Salmon for Sale

We stopped by the Gulf of Georgia Cannery which is a National Historic site, although this day we didn`t tour through it. Then we walked over to Garry Point where you can enjoy a broad view of the river delta, picnic at the beach or fly kites in the park. At the very end of the Point is a memorial to fishermen. It represents a seine net mending needle mounted on a round base with a compass rose motif that represents a compass, one of the main instruments used for navigation.

Sculpture of Salmon Cannery Workers.

The day proved to be invigorating and somewhat tiring by the time we walked all the way back to where the car was parked. But if you take the bus there, or drive, you can park in the village and walk from there. I also recommend renting bikes down on the wharf and cycling the dikes. If you cycle east you`ll reach the historic London Heritage Farm or going around Garry Point you can cycle as far as the airport.

Fishermen`s Memorial at Garry Point

Patrick and I with a view of the River from Garry Point

A PEAK EXPERIENCE

2011-09-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Rick had won tickets for the Grouse Mountain Sky Lift so he invited me to accompany him on a day-trip. It was only the second time for me to go up the Lift and for Rick it's been many years since his last visit. You can ride the lift for $39.95, expensive, but there's lots to see and do when you reach the top. The gondola swings 300 meters above the treetops and travels up the mountain in only 12 minutes. The views are fantastic, but just wait til you actually get to the top!

The first thing we did was relax with a coffee at the mountain-top cafe and enjoy the view of Vancouver far below. It was a clear enough day you could see all the way to Vancouver Island and past Point Roberts in the States.

Our first stop was at the Logger's Show. They perform at intervals during the day and it's well-worth taking in the brave and often goofy antics of the loggers, illustrating what old-time lumber-jacks did in the woods.

This unexpected character almost gave us a heart-attack with his antics high atop the pole. Along with all the other performances by the two lumber-jacks who perform their various stunts such as axe-throwing, sawing contests and climbing, it was an excellent show!

There's lots of things to do on the mountain including zip-lines, para sailing and the various shows including ecological lectures etc. Of course, in winter time this mountain is a popular skiing resort for locals. And hikers love climbing the famous Grouse Grind Trail.

Para sailing

Rick and I walking around to see the two orphaned grizzlies, Grinder and Coola, who live in a natural habitat enclosure. A ranger gives a talk about the bears during the day. Grinder was found wandering alone on a logging trail, half starved, at Invermere, while Coola was the only survivor of a car crash near Bella Coola that killed his mother and brother cubs. They've been cared for on the mountain for several years and are now pretty well full grown bears who wander contentedly in their forest home and bathe in the pools.

We were just in time to take in the Birds in Motion show next. These are birds of prey who perform and fly about while the trainer gives you the story about each bird. The first was a Harris Falcon from the desert of South America. He was the only bird not found locally. The next was a red-tailed hawk, then a great horned owl (I loved this guy!), a turkey vulture and a bald eagle.

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

One of the newer features on the Peak is the Eye of the Wind, the worlds first and only wind turbine. You can take a glass elevator to the top of the tower to get another panorama view. It costs $19.95 to go up in the glass viewer. You can reach the wind turbine by gondola, but we attempted to walk. It's a long, steep climb up there. I took it slow and easy with a few stops to catch my breath. Rick went on ahead, but I just went as far as it took to get a good view of the wind turbine and that satisfied me. At least the walk down was easy!

Eye of the Wind

If you can afford to go, I highly recommend a visit to the Peak for a day's outing. It's great fun for the whole family and of course it's a major tourist attraction too. Try to go on a clear day so you can enjoy the magnificent views. Rick suggested we should have gone a bit later in the day to catch the late-afternoon sun and early sunset. Maybe we'll do that another time!

View from the Peak

A LEISURELY EVENING PADDLING AROUND DEER LAKE

2011-08-24T00:59:00.000-07:00

Deer Lake is a peaceful, small lake in Burnaby with leisurely walking trails and scenic vistas. Nearby in the park area there are often summer music festivals. The Burnaby Art Gallery, Shadbolt centre for the Arts and the Burnaby Village Museum are also located by the lake.

It's a beautiful area of natural habitat with wooded areas and trails for walking. There are canoe, kayak and paddle boat rentals there as well and last week a friend invited me to go with her on a little outing.

We chose to use the paddle boat as neither of us have had much experience in kayaks or canoes. The boat was very easy to paddle and steer and quite comfortable. For two hours we paddled our way around the lake, stopping now and then to take photos, have a relaxing chat, or to observe the lovely scenery around us. Such a serene way to spend a Friday evening!

There is a Coast Salish tale about this lake, told by the poet Pauline Johnson. The story is about a hidden waterway between False Creek and Deer Lake that was discovered by a young Indian, the first Chief Capilano. He speared a "king" (harbour seal) in False Creek with his elk antler spear but the seal escaped through this hidden underground creek. Chief Capilano spent months searching along the shore and one day he was enticed to go inland by what turned out to be the flames of a forest fire. On the shore of Deer Lake he found the remains of the "king" seal and recovered his lost spear, giving him back his prowess as a hunter.

I didn't know about this legend at the time we were paddling the lake. I do recall the former location of the Oakalla Prison farm on it's shore. Now there's a condominium development there. That was a notorious prison and had the bad reputation of a place where hangings took place. I couldn't help but think of that as we paddled by it and it was a relief to see now there is this green space where once the prison farm was.

We enjoyed our excursion. The gorgeous sunset was another reward of an evening well-spent on the lake in the company of a friend.

If you want to go paddling, canoeing or kayaking, check out their website for rental fees and times:

www.deerlakerentals.com

LA ESMERALDA: A Beautiful Lady of Dubious Repute

2011-08-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

She is known as the White Lady, La Esmeralda, a stately four-masted barquentine, pride of the Chilean Navy. But a shady past has marked her with a blemish she can’t seem to live down.

She was built in Cadiz, Spain in 1946 and was to become Spain’s national training ship but due to several explosions at the shipyards, work was halted and eventually she was sold to Chile to help pay off debts incurred as a result of the Spanish Civil War. She was officially launched in 1953, making her maiden voyage to the Canary Islands, then New Orleans, proceeding through the Panama Canal to a welcoming fanfare at the Chilean port of Valparaiso, on September 1, 1954. Esmeralda is now a training ship for the Chilean Navy, visiting ports worldwide as a floating embassy for Chile.

Unfortunately Esmeralda’s reputation was sullied during the infamous Augusto Pinochet regime from 1973 to 1980 when she was used as a floating jail and torture chamber for political prisoners. Consequently these days when she sails into port, crowds of protesters – political groups and Chilean exiles –gather demanding retribution in the form of a formal apology from the Chilean government.

I was invited aboard La Esmeralda for a reception ,”Flavours of Chile”, presented by the Chilean Trade Commissioner. At the time I had no idea of the ship’s dark history but it made my visit somewhat more meaningful, because I wanted to learn more and see the ship for myself. I expected to find the wharf crowded with protesters but when I arrived there were none. I was greeted aboard by a couple of handsome young officers and from there directed to the reception area on the deck where tables of various Chilean wines were offered as samples as well as the plates of delicious Chilean appetizers brought around by the stewards.

The ship itself truly is a beauty, a four-masted tall ship, one of the tallest and longest ships in the world. She has a crew of 300 sailors and 90 midshipmen, 46 of them women. Marcia, one of the lovely young female officers, took my friend and I around on a tour of the deck area, and explained the functions of the various pieces of equipment on board. The ship is spotless, the wooden decks polished and unmarred, the brass fittings shining in the afternoon sun. She pointed out the 21 sails and explained how every morning at 6 a.m. the trainees must climb to the top of the centre mast. If they falter or make a mistake they must do it again at noon. And if they make a bad error they must climb it again and again to get it right. She showed us the tasks she is responsible for every day as well as climbing up to secure the sails, although being a tall girl she only has to go part way up to do that. The shorter crew members are the ones who climb to the very top, a daunting job that not many people would have the courage to participate in.

None of these young trainees and likely many of the senior crew would not have been born at the time of Pinochet’s brutal regime when the atrocities were carried out on board the ship. In fact, there were no ‘bad vibes’ aboard, only the friendly smiling crew who mingled with the guests and greeted us all with Chilean warmth. I wonder if the Chilean navy placed a memorial plaque on board, recognizing what had happened in Esmeralda’s past, if it would be atonement enough. But for those who had suffered torture or had loved ones die aboard her, the stigma will remain, and it’s a staunch reminder that political prisoner abuse and torture are not things of the past.

Author's note: I was informed of the tragedies that happened during the junta in Chile by a Chilean friend who managed to survive it and came to Canada as an exile. I was thinking of him as I toured La Esmeralda. In his memory, and for all the others who were victims of Pinochet's cruel regime, here is a poem I wrote dedicated to my friend Anibal, who died of cancer October 28, 2005

CAPTIVE AUDIENCE

a poem for Anibal

I sat at your feet

a disciple at the feet of the Master
I listened to your stories
of shanty towns, poverty
President Allende dying in his bombed-out palace
Victor Jara, the musician/poet,
his hands crushed,
beaten to death in the Stadium
because he sang for the people.
I learned about social injustice
from you.
You taught me well.
Urged by your political passion
I joined marches,
raised my voice with the populace:
Peace, not War!
You captivated me,
I was your willing audience.
Your smile lit up my world
like a blaze of Chilean sun.
I absorbed every story you told.
Hundreds of Chileans died, you said,
tortured, beaten,
some dropped from helicopters into the sea.
Thousands disappeared.
You were imprisoned,
Ran for your life across the mountains
into Argentina
disguised as a priest.
Over glasses of Chilean wine
red as blood
you told how you had to flee again,
this time on a plane bound for Canada.
I shared your anguish
though I could never truly experience your pain.
Exiled, torn from your roots
like a tree blown down in a fierce storm
this tempestuous life of yours
enveloped me,
I was swept into the vortex of your melancholy,
submerged under the waves of your nostalgia,
drowned in the sea of your despair.

Memorial Wall to the Disappeared of the Pinochet regime, Grand Cemetary, Santiago, Chile

BAMBERTON BEACH: A Perfect Beach for a Reunion Picnic

2011-08-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

Every summer my cousins who live on Vancouver Island get together for a family reunion picnic on beautiful Bamberton Beach. This year there were a lot of the younger family members absent but we still had lots of fun. The weather co-operated with a warm sunny day. And although the tide was up quite high when we first got there, later on it receded enough to get into the water without having to walk over too many barnacle-covered stones to reach the sandy shoals. The water was warm, too, making for a pleasant swim!

Bamberton Beach is 225 meters of sand flats and pebbled beach area with tide pools to explore and shallow, safe swimming areas for families to enjoy the sea. The land once belonged to BC Cement Company and was given to the Province in 1959. It is now a Provincial Park with campgrounds up from the beach among the forest. Looking east you'll see the shores of the Saanich Peninsula with the Gulf Islands and Mt. Baker beyond.

It's located 45 kms. north of Victoria off Highway 1 and close to the communities of Mill Bay, Shawnigan Lake, Cobble Hill and Duncan.

You can find information about Bamberton Beach Provincial Park and some of the programs that are offered for children and families here: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/bamberton/

The little boys who attended, grandsons of my cousin Lynette and her husband Marv, had a great day playing on the shore and exploring the little fresh-water creek that runs into the sea. Later they played crokinole on the grass with their grandpa.

Exploring the Tide Pools

I look forward each year (this is the fourth) to this picnic with the cousins and their families. And the trip over to Victoria by ferry is also a pleasant voyage. This time we even spotted a couple of pods of Orcas!

THE COUSINS: Me, Merilyn,Lynette and Adele

See you at the beach next summer, Cousins!

ENCOUNTERING WHALES

2011-08-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sailing on the ferry to Victoria

One of the interesting sports for locals and tourists here on the Pacific northwest coast, is whale watching. You can go on charters from Vancouver or Victoria to see Orcas or you can go to the west coast of Vancouver Island to Tofino and Uclulet and see grey whales. Or sometimes, while you are crossing Georgia Strait from Tsawassan Ferry Terminal to Schwarz Bay you will be lucky enough to spot a pod of Orcas (killer whales).

Watching for Whales

This weekend when I was on my way to Victoria on the ferry the announcement came over the loud speaker that there was a pod of whales ahead. Everyone rushed to one side of the ferry and then ran over to the other side to see where the whale-watching boats were headed. Sure enough there was a pod of Orca's frolicking alongside, diving and spouting water to put on a show for all the excited tourists on board the ferry.

An Orca Appears!

A few minutes later the captain announced there was another pod ahead. Unfortunately that time we didn't see any surfacing. But there must have been quite a few around in the area that day as there were several whale watching boats out.

Whale Watching Boats

If you want to check out the whale watching tours, here's one of the sites where you can find information for both Vancouver and Victoria. For anyone visiting the Coast it makes for an exciting outing.
http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/SightsActivitiesEvents/NaturalSightsParksWildlife/WhaleWatching/BritishColumbia.htm?gclid=CMX5hbTzvaoCFWkZQgodfFUSGQ

WANDERING AROUND ATHENS

2011-07-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a relaxing moment in Thisseion

When I visit Greece, I don't go as a tourist. I've invested 32 years of my life in this country, much of it in Athens, so I consider myself sort of an honorary citizens. From my first trip there in 1979 to my most recent, whenever I go there I feel I am at home. Over the years a great many of my friends have passed on or gone back to their own homelands, but I still have friends who live in Athens and these people are part of my Athens family. We've known each other a long time!

View of the Acropolis from Thisseion

I never get tired of going to Athens and visiting all the old familiar places. When I go I also plan visits to places I have never been to -- believe it or not there are still a great many islands and parts of the country I have not yet seen. But I still love just hanging out in my old haunts and retracing former footsteps.

The little tourist train

Even though I know my way around, sometimes it's fun to hop the little tourist train and go chugging through the narrow laneways, a pretty neat way to get from one side of Plaka to the other without walking if it's hot. My friend and I took the train again this summer, from Plaka to Thisseion. You can hop on and off wherever you want so we always hop off in Thisseion where there are comfortable sidewalk cafes and great views of the Acropolis.

Monastiraki

I always wander around to check out what's new in the shops in Plaka and Monastiraki. Sometimes I try out different places to eat but I still like going to some of the tavernas where my friends and I used to hang out. When I went by my favorite taverna next to the Roman agora last summer I found out that my friend Ari, the waiter, had retired and moved to Patras. The old Dirty Corner is now the Posh Corner and the Moroccon Chicken Corner is now a more spiffied up eatery on the corner of Kidatheneon and Adrianou. My favorite taverna in Plaka Square is closed now, and too bad as they had music and dancers. You could sit in the Square and take in the show for free.

I still hang out all the time at the To Kati Allo on Hatzichristou St. I've known Anna and Leonidis, the people who run it, for years. Their son Dino, who helps his parents and waits on tables, is now a father with two kids and an American wife. I've known him since he was a little boy. Not many of the same patrons grace the tables there nowadays, and it is a nostalgic time for me as I miss my friends Robbie and Graham and some of the other gang. (Both of them passed away a few years ago). But I still meet my girlfriends there, and dear old Ove the Danish scholar is usually sitting inside so we have a chat.

The Agora

It doesn't matter how many times I have climbed the Acropolis Hill, I still feel in awe of it. The same goes for the Agora. I know every stone by heart but I love it there. I remember that on my first trip to Greece, the first day I arrived in Athens I let my feet take me walking not knowing where I'd end up, and I ended up in the Agora. That was a huge dejas vu moment for me, as when I looked around it seemed a curtain had been lifted and I 'saw' it as it had been. It was such an emotional experience, I stood there and cried. I never tire of wandering around that whole ancient area including the Hill of Nymphs and the Pnyx. I am familiar with the history and can imagine what it must have been like when ancient Athens was at the peak of her glory.

The New Acropolis Museum

Same goes for the Museums. I love visiting the museums although I try not to overdo it. This year I made another trip to the Acropolis Museum which is fabulous. And another day I went to the Benaki Museum because it's been a couple of years since I visited it.

Parliament Buildings in Syntagma Square

I was curious about the protesters in Syntagma Square. On the night I arrived I had to walk through the street by the Parliament that was cordoned off by heavily armed police and military. I worried that I was walking into one of those riots the media has been quick to report. But no, it was only the peaceful protesters. Some speeches were being made but otherwise it was more like a festive atmosphere. I went back several time to take photos of the tent camp. I never saw any violence while I was there and when it did happen it was only in the area around the Square. Everywhere else was peaceful.

Peaceful Protestors

I love riding the trams, metro and buses and know my way around quite well. Sometimes my friend and I take the tram to the beach for a late afternoon swim. The metro system in Athens is excellent and some of the stations are like mini museums. (You have to watch out for pickpockets though.) When I lived there in the '80's I tutored English all around the city so I grew very familiar with the various areas of Athens.

Of course it's sad to see how the economic situation has affected the Greek people. There are many closed shops and unemployment and constant strikes, and the people are worried. But Greeks are resilient people and hopefully they will rally and eventually all will turn out okay.

I know I'll keep going back to Greece as long as I am able to travel. I am constantly torn between wanting to be there and having to be here. There have been a couple of times I meant to return there to live, but now it is more practical for me to be here. But it will always be my second home. And I can hardly wait to go back again!

Temple of Olympian Zeus with Lycebettus Hill in the background

HOME AGAIN: CLOSURES & NEW BEGINNINGS

2011-07-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

My wonderful vacation is over but already I am missing Greece. If it were more practical for me to do so, I'd be living there again. But because of my work here, my writing contacts necessary for publications (especially for my novel), and the current economic situation there, it isn't possible. Over the years I'd made a couple of attempts to return to take up residency and each time something happened to thwart the plans. If I could afford to be there six months of the year as I used to during the '90's, that would be ideal. But financially I can't afford to do that. So I have to be satisfied with making it a holiday destination instead.

Each time I return, there are changes, and closures of a kind. For one thing, a number of my very good friends have passed away during the last few years. Others have left to return to their own countries. I still have several ex-pat friends who have lived in Athens for years, and those are the people I go to visit. I always stay with my friend Christina and her daughter Daniella as they are like my Athen's family. (I used to babysit Daniella from when she was a year old, and now she's a gorgeous 15yr old young lady!) And each time I visit I try to see something different.

#14 Vironos St. where I used to live. Now all shuttered up with an iron gate sealing it all off!

One of the big shocks for me this time was when I went past #14 Vironos Street in Plaka where I used to live. Every time I am in Athens, and pass by the iron gate, I stop to peek inside the courtyard and reminisce about my life there back in the '80's. This time, there was a huge iron sheet placed over the entrance with a door and 1 buzzer so you couldn't look inside the courtyard. I expect Kyria Dina has either moved to her seaside home or perhaps even she has passed away, and now the house is under renovations. It made me sad not to be able to look inside. Just like three years ago when I made my last visit to Lala, the shepherd's village where I used to live part-time. It was like a ghost-village with nobody around and many houses shuttered up, possibly because the old ones had passed away.

Lala, Euboeia

I miss those by-gone times. And especially I miss my dear friend Roberto. It seems strange now to sit at the To Kati Allo Taverna where we all used to hang out, and most of the time there isn't anyone I know there other than dear old Ove (also alone), other than the nights the girls meet there. I still enjoy hanging out though, and chatting to Anna and her son Dino who run the place. And this time, I made friends with a nice man who works at the souvenir shop just at the corner.

There are still many islands and parts of the country I haven't visited. This year my friend and I spent four days on Poros which was a pleasant surprise as for years I had bypassed it. While I was visiting Poros I learned that a very dear friend of mine from Vancouver had passed away. On the night I had this sad news, I was walking by the sea and the sky was brilliant crimson with a sailing vessel silhouetted against the sky. I paused to say a prayer for Dora and took a picture of that moment.

Dora's Sunset

Of course Dora's unexpected death shattered me but I was determined to keep on enjoying my time on the island. Unfortunately this was made difficult by my travel partner. So after that we parted ways and I went on my own to the Peloponnese. Solo travel is something I truly enjoy so that part of the journey was most memorable as I traveled down to Gythion and the gateway to the Mesa Mani.
I will certainly return to see more of it.

And, for the first time since 1979 I made a bus tour visit to Mycenae, which included a stop at the ancient theatre of Epidauros. So there were many excellent experiences during the three weeks I was in Greece. Three weeks? That was the shortest time I've spent there in awhile but I had been offered some classes this summer and decided that it was best not to over-extend my stay. Wish I was still there though! And for sure I'll be back next year!

TOURING THE ARGOLIS BY BUS: MYCENAE & EPIDAUROS

2011-07-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

Being a seasoned solo traveler, I'm not one who enjoys traveling with a herd, but occasionally a group trip is worthwhile, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area and short of time. It has been 32 years since I first visited the Bronze Age site of Mycenae and I wanted to return this time. I could have taken the local bus but the idea of a long 2k. slog up the hill to the acropolis in the blazing Greek sun didn't appeal to me. So I opted to take a day trip of the area on a bus tour. The tour included the north east area of the Peloponnese from the Corinthian Canal down as far as Nauplion visiting both Epidauros and Mycenae sites.

Over the years I've attended several dramas at the Epidauros ancient theatre, but had never investigated the Asklepeion healing sanctuary there. I've also been to Corinth a couple of times, but had never returned to Mycenae to see those massive cyclopean walls, the Lion Gate and the Royal tombs. This bus tour seemed the best option for me and the thought of riding in an air conditioned bus was appealing.

The route took us on the coastal road, past the fabled site of the Eleusinian Mysteries and across the Corinthian Canal which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea. Once you get beyond the industrial zone past Piraeus, the scenery is spectacular. The Corinth Canal provides a short cut and safe passage connecting the two seas and dates back to Roman times when the first excavations began, forging a way through where boats would be hauled from one side to the other of the narrow isthmus. With better technology the canal was finally opened in 1893, and is similar to the Suez Canal.

Epidauros theatre

Asklepeion

Our first stop on the tour was the Sanctuary of Asklepeion, the healing shrine at Epidauros, which traditionally included a theatre, part of the ancients psycho-therapy. The sanctuary was dedicated to Asklepios,the legendary son of Apollo. These shrines were always near natural springs and in settings that were inspirational for the well-being of people who visited. There was a gymnasium, stadium for games and a theatre where festivals and dramas were held. The theatre of Epidauros seated 14,000 people and was found almost intact in its beautiful setting amid trees, with a backdrop of rolling hills. The acoustics of the theatre is nearly perfect because of the extraordinary way it was constructed. Even today the actors do not use mikes to project their voices.

The Asklepeion sanctuary which is part of the site, contains many ruins of the buildings such as a 'hospital' for the ill, a 'hotel' for visitors, dwellings for priests/physicians and a spa. It is in a setting of pine trees in a valley, a tranquil setting to aid in the healing of those who came for treatment.

The Bourzi at Nauplion

Nauplion: Palimidi FortressThe tour bus left Epidauros headed toward Nauplion and stopped for a photo shoot of the picturesque town nestled by the sea below the importing ramparts the Palamidi Fortress. On the way, we passed by the archaeological site of Tiryns, a Mycenaean fortress featured in Homeric epic poems and stories related to Theseus. I definitely plant a trip to explore this 3,000 year old site further on my next visit.

Tiryns

After stopping for an excellent lunch, we finally arrived at Mycenae. The acropolis and palace of Mycenae is the citadel of Agamemnon, the king who led the Greeks in the Trojan Wars along with his brother Menelaus who was king of Sparta. The site was uncovered in 1874 by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (who also excavated Troy) as he set out to prove the factual basis of Homer's epithets of "well built Mycenae, rich in gold". Unfortunately he also plundered these sites and removed a lot of artifacts. This site is famous in the Greek tragedies, as after his return from Troy, Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra and her lover who later were murdered by their daughter Electra and son Orestes. This fulfilled a curse on the House of Atreus.imposed on Agamemnon at the onset of the Troy Wars.

Lion Gate

The citadel is imposing, especially the gigantic stone walls and the famous Lion Gate where you enter the site. There are a number of impressive ruins including a circle grave and the palace itself high on the crest of the hill.

Further down the hill is another huge domed grave or 'treasury' site where royalty was apparently buried. Schliemann had identified the tombs of Clytemnestra and her lover Agesthies and of the "Treasury of Atreus" named the Tomb of Agamemnon, however it is now concluded that although these maybe royal tombs they were from a different period. The big 'treasury' bomb is an impressive monument which is entered thru a 15 metre corridor into a beehive-like structure built without use of mortar. The great lintel of the doorway is formed of immense stones estimated to weigh 118 tonnes.

The Beehive Tomb (Treasury)

I had always hoped for a second look at this amazing tomb and was just as awed this time as the first.

When we left Mycenae we stopped by a pottery workshop. This huge shop makes and distributes the museum copy artifacts that you find in souvenier shops around Greece. It was interesting to watch the potter and pottery painter at work and to see the thousands of pieces they have produced in this family-operated shop.

The Potter at work

The Painter at work

Pottery before it's painted

For me, the day trip in a comfortable air condition environment with a well-informed tour guide was worth the price (99Euro) and I even got a student discount, thanks to my friend Carol!

VISITING ANCIENT GREECE

2011-07-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

New Acropolis Museum

I can not understand people who come to Athens and fail to visit the Acropolis or the new Acropolis museum. This museum is one of the most outstanding displays of artifacts and well worth taking the time to visit, even if you're not a history buff. In my opinion, if you've come all the way to Greece on holidays, you should at least spare a little time to visit ancient Greece as this history is such an important part of the Greek culture and psyche.

The new Acropolis Museum is more than just a museum, it's a link between present and past. It's treasure include more than 50,000 pieces unearthed in excavations around Athens. And one of the amazing things is about it is walking over the plexi glass floors and viewing below you several eras of Greek life from Byzantine, to Roman, to Classical and Hellenistic. The way the exhibits are displayed is also a beautiful thing to see. As many times as I've viewed these exhibits in the old Acropolis museum, to see them in their new, modern spacious exhibition halls is breathtaking.
So, if you're in Athens, don't miss out on this experience. You won't forget it and it's impossible not to feel the positive energy around you as you come in touch with Athens past.

No visit here is complete without a visit to the Acropolis, the city's most iconic landmark. Since my first visit to Athens back in 1979, to the present, I must have visited the Acropolis several hundreds of times, yet I never get tired of climbing the hill and wandering those sacred heights. The restorations are still in progress and there is scaffolding around the Parthenon, but it's still as beautiful as ever. If you go, try to go early in the day or evening because it's a long climb up in the fierce mid-day sun. But you won't be sorry you made the effort.

Temple of Olympian Zeus from the Acropolis

Theatre of Dionysus

There are sights to see below the Acropolis too. I love the little theatre of Dionysus, and if you get chance, go to a drama or music performance at the Herodian (Theatre of Herod Attica - Roman period).

The Agora

And don't forget the agora -- ancient Athens meeting place. One of my favorite temples there is the beautiful Temple of Hephaestion. I never grow tired o browsing the pathways around the ruins or visiting the little museum in the Stoa of Atticus. On my very first visit to Athens, when I let my feet take me walking, I found myself in the agora. As I stood there, it was as if a curtain had been lifted and I saw it as it had been. It was an overwhelming deja vu experience and I began to cry, overcome with emotion. Since then I have had a special draw to this ancient meeting place, as if I had truly 'been there' in the past. Maybe that's why, when I've written about it in my historical fiction novels, I can 'see' it so clearly. These ancient monuments have a very special meaning tome and I'll never get tired of visiting them.

Today I went to the Benaki Museum mainly to look at artifacts from the Bronze Age 3200 - 1000 BC, the Classical period 5 - 4 BC) and the Hellenistic period 3rd C BC)

Macedonian gold treasures at the Benaki

The Benaki also has an excellent Museum of Islamic Art that is worth a visit. While you're over there in Thission visit the Keramikos which is where the elite of ancient Athens were buried just outside the city gates.

There's lots of museums and sights to see around Athens so when you come for a visit be sure an take yourself around. If you're pressed for time you can always hop on and off one of the tour buses or the little red train!
I'm going to visit the Bronze site of Mycenae and the ancient theatre and Asklepion of Epidaurus tomorrow.

EXPLORING THE MANI

2011-07-05T01:12:00.000-07:00

Mani Tower House

I visited the little town of Areopoli (Ares town) a gateway to the Mesa Mani in the Peloponnese. Formerly called Tsimova, it was given its new name "Town of Ares" (God of War) because of its efforts during the War of Independence. It was from here that the leader (Bey) Petrobey Mavromehalis declared the uprising. A statue of him is in the town square.

Areopolis is a typical Maniot town with stone built tower houses (some recent, others restored). The sights here are typically Maniote. Aigia Taxiarches cathedral has primitive reliefs above the door from 1798. There are tower houses restored to look like those of the Medieval times but built in the 1800s.

I wandered the narrow cobbled streets admiring the unusual architecture, fuchsia bougainvillea and coral hibiscus spilling in a colorful array over the stone walls; old wooden doors painted green, blue, purple and orange. There were several tiny churches dating around the 1796 era to the early 1800's.

The Mavromakalis family church is in a little plateia, the interior is lined with frescoes. There is also a Byzantine Museum in the Pikoulakis Tower but I didn't visit it this day.

What is the Mani and Who are the Maniotes?

Scenery in the Mani

This southernmost peninsula of Greece stretches from Gythio in the east to Karathamyti in the west, terminating at Cape Tenaro, a mythical entrance to the Underworld. It's spine is the vast stony mass of Mount Taiyetos and its southern extension, Sangias, a wild landscape with an interesting idiosyncratic culture and history.

This part of Greece seems to still be close to its violent medieval past which carried on until the end of the 19th C. and remains somewhat isolated. Despite this it's one of the most hospitable parts of Greece. There are two parts of the Mani, the Exo (outer) and the Mesa (inner). Mesa Mani is the part of the peninsula south of Gythio, classic Mani territory, a jagged coast and land mass of rocks. The mountains are key in Maniot history forming formidable natural barriers providing refuge and bastions of resistance over the last two millennia.

The Dorians never got this far south in the wake of the Mycenaean. There was some Roman occupation later and even Christianity didn't take root until the 9th C. (500 years after the estabilishment of Byzantium).Thru the years the Venetians and Turks took control of the Peloponnese and there were constant rebellions climaxing with a Maniot uprising March 17, 1821, a week before the War of Independence was officially declared.

Tower House pension

Along with their national assertiveness, the Maniotes were known for their extreme traditions of blood feuds which were exploited by the Turks. These blood feuds were the result of a feudal society that developed around the 14th C. After arrival of Byzantine refugee families, known as Nykians, various clans developed, forming strongholds in tightly clustered villages. Over the centuries these clans clashed frequently and violently, claiming land, power and prestige. As the feuds grew more complex, strongholds were built -- these stone battle towers raised only by those of Nykaina descent many of which still remain.

From these fortresses, the clans (sometimes based in the same village) conducted vendettas according to strict rules and aims, the object being to annihilate both the tower and the male members of the opposing clans. The favored method of attack was to smash the tower roofs. Because of this,the towers rose to heights of 4 and 5 stories. These battles could last for years with women bringing in food, ammunition and supplies. They would end in the destruction of a family or total surrender of the clan.

I've always been curious about this area of Greece and it's unique history so it was a special thrill for me this trip to at least visit Ariopolis, the gateway to this turbulent but fascinating area. Next time I'm here I hope to travel right down the spine of the Mesa Mani and see some more of it. It's worth the trip, quite different from the usual island tours and other Byzantine sites of Greece.

A JOURNEY INTO THE MAGIC OF THE PYRGOS DHIROU CAVES

2011-07-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

It was an unexpected treat on my travels to find how easy it was for me to reach the fabulous Pyrgos Dhirou Caves from Gythion. This is a major attraction in the Mani, known as the Spilea. This is one of the world's largest and most enchanting caves.

Cave Entrance

Boats transport you through the Vlyhadha Cave Waterways

You first go on a 30 minute punt ride through the waterways of the Vlyhadha Cave, a well lit cavern, crammed with stalactites of various colours that reflect in the water.

The tour ends with a short walk through the Alepotrypo Cave area that is like stepping into a Gothic cathedral with huge chambers that drip with stalactites like melting wax.

Excavations here have unearthed evidence of prehistoric occupation. The caves were discovered around 1900 but no-one suspected what wonders were hidden in its interior until 1949 when Greek the Speleological Society began to investigate. These caves were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago. The stalactites and stalagmites that are now beneath the water were formed when the sea level was much lower than today. Stalactites have been found at a depth of 71 metres. Inside the cave they have found fossilized bones of panthers,hyenas, lions, deer, ferrets and the largest collection of hippopotamus bones in Europe. Pottery has also been found near the natural entrance to the cave, indicating the presence of prehistoric men.

I took lots of photos inside the caves. It was one of the most outstanding places I've seen and made my trip to the Mani all the more worthwhile.

HOW AN ILLICIT LOVE AFFAIR CAUSED A 10 YEAR WAR.

2011-06-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm in Gythion, entrance to the Mani at the south Peloponnese right now. All this area belonged to Sparta and Gythion was Sparta's seaport. Now it's a quiet little fishers town with scenic views of the sea and the distant peninsulas of the Peloponnese.

Yithio (Gythion) is an attractive seaside town, the shore-front lined with seafood tavernas and little hotels. I've been staying at the Saga, run by a French/Greek family. I just love my room and balcony overlooking the sea, and it's close walking distance to the town centre.

Right across from my pension is the little islet of Marathonissi. This used to be named Kranae in ancient times. Now there is a restored fortress there, the Tzanetakis, built around 1810 by the Turkish Bey to protect him from his lawless countrymen.There's also a museum of Mani there, telling some of the history of this very unique part of Greece. What is most famous about this little island is the story that it was here that Paris of Troy had anchored his ship, and when he abducted Helen from her husband Menalaus' palace in Sparta, the two renegade lovers spent the night here.

Marathonnisi

Fortress

Whether or not he 'abducted' her is questionable. After all, Paris was a handsome young Prince of Troy and her husband was an older warrior king. But whatever happened, it was the beginning of the fabled 10 year Troy Wars. There is some speculation though, that the real reason the kingdoms of Bronze Age Greece rallied together to fight against the Trojans, was because Troy controlled the grain shipping lanes of the Aegean Coast and Helen's 'abduction' just gave them a good reason to do so. At any rate, Homer's Iliad tells the whole story of how this 10 year war got started and ended, a tragic end for so many including Priam and Hector of Troy and brave Achilles.

THE ROAD TRIP: 1 ferry, 5 buses and a taxi

2011-06-28T02:17:00.000-07:00

Galatia, the Peloponnese

It was a long day's journey but one I enjoyed very much, especially that serene feeling of traveling alone to a new destination, always an exciting experience for me. I left Poros at 11 am. on the little ferry across to Galatia (about a 10 minute journey) and from there hopped a bus headed for Nauplion. We had to change at Epidaurus and sat at a roadside taverna for a little while before boarding bus #2 on to the lovely town of Nauplion. I've writing about this place before at http://www.travelthruhistory/html/culture11.html

Nauplion, The Palamidi Fortress

The Bourzi

Venetian Gate

Nauplion is a beautiful town exuding fading elegance, reminiscent of when it used to the capital of Greece. It has an interesting, sometimes violent political history. The first King of Greece, Bavarian Prince Otho, had his residence here l833/34. It's a picturesque town with a long, attractive waterfront and a high stony backdrop of cliffs where the Palamidhi Fortress looms above, a centre point of the War of Independence. This is the site of the original acropolis which was later restored by medieval successors. The towns third fort, the Bourtzi, is out in the bay. It was built in 1473 by Venetians to control shipping lanes. Right across the bay is Argos, from where the fabled Argonauts set sail. My four hour lay-over there gave me lots of time to browse and refresh my photos of the town.

The Long and Winding Road

Panoramic View of the Sea looking down on Argos

Next I boarded a bus bound for Tripoli, which is the gateway to the Arkadia a place that features in a couple of chapters of my novel Shadow of the Lion. So of course I was thrilled to get a first-hand look at the geography. The road winds up and up, around hair-pin curves into the mountain heights with panoramic views of the valley and distant sea. I couldn't help but think of my characters in Shadow who traversed that wild countryside by horseback. Very hardy men indeed!

At Tripoli I had to walk across town to the Sparti bus depot and just made it in time to get the next bus, 10 minutes later. I'd been to Sparti twice before and hoped I would make a connection on to Gythion because I didn't fancy getting stuck there. The city is called Sparti, but it's the site of ancient Sparta, a city that had no great temples or important buildings, its motto being "It is men, not walls, that make a city". Modern Sparti is laid out on a grid and isn't very remarkable or scenic and in the past there always seemed be a lot of gypsy beggars lurking around. I stayed put in the bus depot cafeteria for my two hour wait for the on-going trip to Gythion.

By 9.15 pm I boarded a bus full of young lads on their way back to their army barracks. It was dark by then so I couldn't enjoy the scenery. The trip only took about an hour and when I arrived at Gythion, not having a clue where to go, I just hopped a taxi and asked to be taken to a pension that was recommended in my tour book. It turned out to be an excellent choice as I am located on the sea front, right across from the little islet of Marathonissi where it is said Paris of Troy, having abducted Helen from Menelaus' palace at Sparta, dropped anchor and the lovers spent their first night here. How romantic is that?!

The Port of Gythion

The French-Greek owners of the hotel/taverna (the Saga) are very pleasant and I felt immediately comfortable and at peace. For 35 E. I have a beautiful little room where I can sit on the balcony and enjoy the view of the coast and sea. I can see it will be an excellent place for me to do some writing.

This morning I set off to find a bank and web cafe and will explore the town further and write more about it.

I am hoping I can find a bus tour around the Mani peninsula (which is why I came here) but so far the tourist shop was closed so I'll try again later. I plan to be here for at least a couple of days. There is apparently a general strike in Greece for 2 days which means there won't be transportation although I did spot one bus today so I wonder if in the Peloponnese they are exempt from the strikes?

At Sparti

BUMPS IN THE ROAD

2011-06-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

A friend just sent me this little piece of advice. "She travels light who travels alone."
It came at an appropriate time for me when I came to the parting of the ways with my travel companion. No surprise, really, as this particular person has proved unreliable on the road in the past and (as usual) we parted on strained terms. This time it was her incessasant neurotic raving about mosquitos (among other things such as her opinionated, self-centered and usually bigoted commentaries on other subjects). I got tired early on of hearing "I shall do this" and it all being what she wanted to do. I'm a pretty compliant person but found I was biting my tongue to keep from retorting whenever she went of on one of her rants and insisted on doing only what she wanted to do.

Traveling with a friend means you are two and it's give and take. In this case it was me being the compliant one all the time to accomodate what she wanted to do. (Remember something when traveling with a friend: There is no "I" in "TEAM")

We had been enjoyed a day on Poros Island when I learned of my dear friend Dora's death and was trying to keep my mind occupied on positive thoughts. So when I was invited for drinks on to a posh yacht, asked because the yacht guy wanted to hear more about my novel, I grabbed the opportunity. Of course I included my travel companion even though she seemed reluctant and negative about the invitation.

The yacht "Scott Free"

We went on board, and believe me it was a mind-boggling experience to see what luxury these people can afford. And they were very nice people, a Greek American and his wife and family from US. We had wine and an excellent discussion on Greek history (mainly about Alexander). I tried included my friend as she is a classical scholar, and she did her bit of pontificating about what she knew but the family seemed more interested in what I was telling them about Alexander and my experiences living in and visiting Greece over the past 32 years.

When they mentioned they were hading for Kefalonia island I raved about it (I've been there 4 times and love that island!). My friend interjected that they ought not to go there if they were allergic to mosquitos. I made light of it saying I'd never seen any there and if there were any they would be sure to find her. When we got off the yacht and began walking back to the hotel, she launched into a non-stop verbal rant at me accusing me of making an 'obnoxious' comment and going on and on and on about how mosquitos could kill her and how I didn't understand about people with allergies. (Yes I do. I used to work in daycare where we had strict cautions about kids with peanut and other allergies. And although I don't seem to have allergies of my own I know others who do and they do not rave on incessantly like she does).

Anyway this rant went on ad nauseum even after I asked her to stop and leave me alone to which she replied 'Yes, I'll leave you alone. I'm going back to Athens!" No surprise to me. She always bails out when things aren't to her liking. But what got me was the non-stop rant which she would not quit even when I tried to go to bed, until I lost it and had to actually 'scream' at her to shut up and leave me alone. At one point I tried explaining that I was feeling bad about my dear friend's death but she simply didn't understand and dismissed this. Anyway, we parted ways the next day, although it took two days to get her monologue out of my head. But once I did, believe me, my trip took an definite positive upswing! She tried hard to spoil this trip for me but I wouldn't let her and frankly she spoiled it for herself as I had a grand time!

I've been an intrepid solo traveler since my early childhood. My parents should have gone gray early on with my escapades. And once I got my adult freedom -- kids grown and on my own -- I was off and running up the road to adventure.

Now and then, though, I have agreed to travel with a friend. (I have only once gone on a group tour and that proved to be the most lonely time I've ever had!) There have been some good trips, with travel companions who have been fun and co-ordinated their plans with mine. One special trip was when I went to Venice with my friend Ingrid. We had also had a successful trip to England and Greece the previous year. And I have another girlfriend, Cheryl, who has made some excellent short-run trips around BC with me. It was fun being tour guide for my sister and niece and there are also other accompanied journeys I've made that have worked out okay (with just a few snags along the way). But sometimes there are time when traveling with a friend simply does not work out. And this time, when I agreed to let my Norwegian friend join me on the trip I'd planned to the Mani in the south Peloponnese, I had some trepidations but dismissed them. I shouldn't have. For one thing, she said she wasn't interested in the Mani and only wanted to lay on a beach. That was my signal that this wasn't going to work. Every time I've agreed to travel with this person it has ended up in an unpleasant disaster. I had even laid bets with myself this time as to how long it would take before the poop hit the fan. It only took four days.

Dora's Sunset

(this was taken the night I stood on the shore and said prayers for my dear friend who had passed)

So now I am solo again. Aside from the fact I am feeling devastated over the news of my very dear friend's death, and really had looked forward to sharing my travel companions company on this trip to the south Peloponnese, her attitude just didn't fit with mine and the trip ended today. I'm off tomorrow to Nauplion and hopefully will make a connection south to Gythion. It's a bit convoluted and may go through Sparta, but I've been that route before - solo - so it shouldn't be worrisome for me. I guess it's just the sadness I feel over the loss of my friend Dora, and wanting to have company (someone who understood and could give me a sympathetic hug) that left me feeling quite at odds earlier today - wondering if I should just turn back and return to my other friends in Athens. But, being the intrepid solo traveler that I have been in the past, I must get over these bumps in the road and go on. There are new stories to write and new adventures ahead. And I'm sure I'll meet some interesting new folk along the way.

(note: you will see by following posts what a great time I had. And if she had come along it would have been a constant complaining because the beach at Gythion wasn't that great and she'd have insisted on staying at one out of the town which would have made it difficult for me as I like to explore.)

EXPLORING PRETTY POROS

2011-06-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

We got here three days ago and liked it so much we've decided to stay another day. Poros ("The ford") is one of the green Saronic Gulf Islands just a short distance off the coast of the Peloponnese separated by a narrow strait. It's actually made up of two islands divided by a shallow canal with a bridge crossing. Poros Town (Sferia) is a busy little port with a large harbour for ferries and yachts. Kallavia is the quieter area across the canal.

Poros Town (Sferia)

We are staying in a refurbished old mansion, now the Hotel Dionysos, overlooking the harbour. In spite of the buzz of the little pakakias (motor bikes) and cars, it is mostly quiet, especially early mornings and later in the evening, with a beathtaking display of nightly sunsets that paint the sky gold and crimson. All along the harbour are huge yachts from various ports around the Mediterraean and even England. And there is also an anchorage for smaller sailboats.

Hotel Dionysos

There aren't many tourists here and those are mainly Scandanavians. The Swedes love this island and it is their archaeological society who tend the excavations here. There's no shortage of excellent tavernas along the harbour as well as interesting shops with good quality merchandise -- not much of the cheap tourist trinkets usually for sale. We spotted a dress shop last night near our hotel and intend to return to make some purchases.

Poros main street

Kanali Beach

Yesterday I took a taxi up the mountain to the Temple of Poseidon where the famed orator Demosthenes fled after the Athenians were defeated by Macedon at the Battle of Charonea. He had been making speeches, publishing anti Macedonian pamphlets and defaming King Philip and Alexander. So rather than face what might happen if he were captured, he chose to drink poison and commited suicide at this sanctuary.

Temple of Poseidon

Monastary Garden

The road from the port winds up the mountain through the pine forests affording magnificent panoramic views of the island and sea. There are excavations at the Sanctuary, although most of the building materials were removed during the 17th and 18th centuries and some taken to Hydra. I stayed long enough to take some photos which I'll include here later.

Lots of yachts and sailboats in Poros' harbour

Then the taxi wound back down the mountain to the beautiful 18th century monastary of Zoodhouho Piyis. I didn't go inside but browsed in the lovely courtyards where there were flowers and shade trees.

Most of the time we are spending on the little sandy beach at Kanali, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. And at night we go to the Poseidon Taverna for excellent food, everything from sea food to Cordon Bleu. Prices are reasonable and the waiters attentive. In fact, we've found most all the locals friendly and helpful.

Me and the Mermaid

Of course the usual applied to the young woman working in the little tourist office next to our hotel who didn't seem to have a clue, nor cared to check for us, when we inquired about buses from the mainland to Gythion. (Claimed we had to go all the way back to Athens to get there!!!) Typical here. I often wonder what training these 'tourism' people have to go through before getting work as it has happened frequently in the past. Best to do your own investigating and know where you are going.

Poros Sunset

Poros is a pretty island, and worth a visit. In all the years I lived in and have visited Greece this was only the second time I came here. The first was on a rainy day back in the '80's when my friend and I stopped briefly while on a 3-island boat cruist. I can totally recommend it as a good, quiet get-away, far from the tourist bustle of the Cyclades and by far just as beautiful!

CASTLES AND IRON AGE HILL FORTS

2011-06-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

I just spent a few days in Caerphilly, where my father was born. And one of my favorite things to do there is to tour around Caerphilly Castle, MY castle - as I grew up hearing stories about it. I never get tired of visiting this remarkable, well preserved castle, built over a Roman fort in about 1266. And again this time, I looked for the Green Lady, but she didn't make an appearance. I wrote a story published in Europe Up Close about the castle and the haunting of this Welsh queen, and you can read about it here:
http://www.europeupclose.com/article/the-green-lady-of-caerphilly-castle/

The Castle at Night: Looking for the Green Lady

I had been to Old Sarum iron age hill fort earlier this week, and yesterday, en route to Worcester with my cousin Chris, we passed two more iron age hill forts, British Camp in the Malvern Hills and Bredon Hill. I'll post photos of these sites later. We only saw them at a distance but it was a beautiful sight.

British Camp (Roman era)

Today Chris took me to Warwick Castle for an amazing tour.This huge castle dates to the 1300s. and is beautifully preserved as it was lived in up to Victorian times. One of the features is the dungeon, and a tour there was more spine tingling than any Halloween exhibit I've ever scene. Downright creepy it is so realistic with interactive displays and actors posing as various characters including the executioner.

In the Stocks

Warwick Castle

A Knight

A tour through all the rooms of the castle was a wonder and in many of them are the wax figures of the characters who lived there over the years as well as displays of armour used in battle. I loved the Secrets and Scandals of the Royal Weekend Party. And guess who was there? The young Winston Churchill!

We also enjoyed the display of birds: eagles, raptors, vulture. the one thing we didn't see which I'd have liked to watch was the jousting. It's a fabulous place to visit with lots to do and see. Today there were many school groups there and they have special events for kids like the Princess Tower.

Coming home we had a bonus visit to Stratford-upon-Avon to Anne Hathaway's house - a place I've always wanted to visit. There was even a chair there that was supposedly Shakespeare's courting chair!

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford-upon-Avon

MYSTICAL STONE CIRCLES

2011-06-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

A Blustery Day at Avebury

Even in the pouring rain with a battering wind destroying our umbrellas, the stone circle of Avebury is an amazing sight. My travel-writer tour guide Keith, an expert on the area's stone circles, took me around there on my first day in Salisbury. I have to admit I thought I was suffering from hypothermia I was so cold and wet but it was such a fascinating place and even in the inclement weather it was worth a visit. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be on a clear sunny day. This is one of the oldest and larges henge sites in Britain, begun about 5000 years ago. The unusual thing is a pretty little village is situated right in the middle of it. This area has been occupied since the Bronze age with farmsteads. And nearby within walking distance are other famous prehistoric monuments as well.

Ancient Stones

The next day it was sunny and warmer so we wet off first for Woodhenge. The earthwork here began in around 2300 BC and consisted of a circular bank with a ditch. Instead of stones there were wooden posts in various sizes. And near the centre a small cairn of flints containing the body of a 3 year old whose skull had been split before burial. This is one of a few pieces of evidence for human sacrifice in Neolithic Britain.

Wooden staves at the Woodhenge Circle

Not too far away is the famous site of Stonehenge a massive stone monument that evolved between 3500 BC and 1600 BC with giant blue stones brought from the mountains of Wales that align with the rising of the sun on the Winter and Summer solstices. You can no longer go into the inner circle like I did on my first visit back in the '70's, but you walk around and can listen to the history of the stone circle on hand held recorders.

Stonehenge

The Great Heel Stone

After visiting these circles we stopped by the site of Old Sarum which is the setting for my work in progress Celtic novel Dragons in the Sky. I wanted to make another visit here to do more research and I did find out a few new things, such as at the time of my novel the fortress of Old Sarum was made of white chalk bricks and that they used totems at the entrance gates, much like our First nations people did.

The trench around the Hill Fort

Site of the hill fort at Old Sarum

View of Salisbury from Old Sarum

I never get tired of seeing these amazing places, all of them World Heritage Sites. This opportunity, thanks to my writer friend Keith, provided me with a wealth of information and made it a fabulous experience.

DISCOVERING ALEXANDER IN AFGHANISTAN

2011-06-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I visited the British Museum to see the special Afghanistan exhibit, a treasure trove of artifacts dating back to around 3000 BC. The finds were from various excavations and the museum of Kabul (what was rescued after the Taliban destroyed many important items). Four sites have been excavated and some of what was discovered is shown in this amazing exhibition. During the war, brave Afghan officials hid many of the artifacts and these are some that are now being shown in the exhibit.
Some of the earliest finds are from Tepe Fullol, and these date back to 2200 BC. They included some exhibits of lapis lazuli. Lapis is only found in Afghanistan and Chile. The Afghan lapis is a slightly differently color, more purple. There were also bowls made with gold from the Oxus River. The Bronze Age culture was rich there as it was in the Mediterranean countries such as Greece.

What really interested me more than anything else were the Hellenic inspired artifacts, dating to the time of Alexander the Great. Most fabulous were the finds from the ruins of Ai Khanum, a city founded by Alexander's companion and general, Seleukos, just 3 years after Alexander's death. The site was not located until 1964 when the Afghan King Zahir Shah spotted a Greek capital sticking out of the ground. The city had been largely inhabited by locals but there was a definite Greek influence in the architecture and artifacts found at the site. The real name of the city has been lost but it is called Ai Khanum (Moon Lady) There was a reconstrucion of the city and palace that shows it in 3-d and it is amazing. Unfortunately in the early 100 AD it was looted and destroyed by marauding nomads and most of the treasures were stolen.

On the Silk Route there was another fabulous city, Begram, discovered by French archaeologists, where some valuable glass articles were found, dating to Egypt during Roman occupations. Most of them were made in Alexandria and sent or traded to Begram for the royal treasury. There were also ivory carvings that represented the Indian river goddess Ganga.

In 1978 on the eve of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a Russian archaeologist discovered several graves that exposed exquisite gold crowns and other treasures. There were over 20,000 pieces of jewellery showing amazing designs and craftsmanship of the people of that region.

In the rotunda of the Museum there was entertainment by a troupe of Egyptian musicians.

The exhibit is held over to July 17 so if you happen to be visiting London, be sure and take a look!

WALKING IN ANCIENT FOOTSTEPS: Sacred Shrines and Cylcopean Citadels

2011-06-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Because I'm a historical fiction writer as well as a travel journalist, and the editor/publisher of a travel ezine that focuses on History/Archaeology, I make a point when I'm traveling to visit interesting, and sometimes rarely visited archaeological sites. Next to writing, I guess you'd say archaeology is my passion and there's nothing more fun for me than climbing over age-old stones in ancient sites and imagining what it was all like way back when.

A few years ago two friends and I went by car to a site outside of Athens that is one of the off-the-beaten-path sites, deliberately built far from the city as it was a sacred healing shrine. This is the Amphiareion of Oropos, which is situated in a beautiful setting 6 km outside of Athens near the fortified port of Oropos. It was dedicated in the late 5th century BCE to the hero Amphiaraos and pilgrims visited it to seek oracular advice and healing.

The Amphiarion

There was nobody around the day we visited. I was with my friends Petra, who was assistance director of the Finnish Institute, and Dina who is also an avid historian. The three of us had a fabulous afternoon wandering around, with Petra translating inscriptions on some of the stele and explaining a lot of the functions of the sanctuary. The sanctuary has a temple of Amphiaraos as well as a theatre that seated about 3,000 people. Attending a performance of drama was part of the psychotherapy of those healing shrines. Supplicants would enter the shrine, converse with the priests, attend the theatre and sleep on the stone benches wrapped in the skins of sacrificed animals. Whatever they dreamed was interpreted by the priests who handed out advice.

When I visited there (around 1994) I didn't take many photos and now that it's the digital age, I really want to make another visit so I can write more extensively about this important, but not well known site. There are some nice beaches nearby where you can picnic under the shade. You can reach the Amphiareion by car or bus to Oropos with a 3 k walk to the temple.

Another important healing shrine outside Athens on the Attica coast is the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron (Vravrona). This place has always intrigued me because of the little girls known as "Little Bears" who were acolytes of the shrine. This is where Agamemnon and his fleet gathered before they sailed to Troy. Agamemnon killed a stag sacred to the goddess Artemis and this enraged the deity causing him to then have to sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia in order to ensure a favorable wind for the Greek fleet.

Sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron

Around the site are votive dedications including statues of young children as well as items pertaining to feminine life such as jewelry boxes and mirrors. There's an archaeological museum near the site that contains extensive and important collections.

The Arkteia festival was celebrated every four years with a precession from the shrine of Artemis Brauronia on the acropolis of Athens which is approximately 24 kms from the sanctuary. Young Athenian girls approaching marriageable age formed groups and were consecrated to Artemis as arktoi She-bears. They spent their time in sacred dances, wearing honey-colored saffron robes, running races and making sacrifice. Nudity was also an element in these preparations for womanhood. There may have been joint worship of Iphegenia at the cult site. Because the goddess Artemis was a danger propitiated by women during child-birth, and to the newborn, clothes belonging to women who had successfully born a child were dedicated to her. Garments of women who died in childbrith were dedicated to Iphigeneia at Brauron.

Brauron

Another ancient site is the citadel of Mycenae, located in the north-east Peloponnese. I visited here on my first trip to Greece back in 1979 and have always intended to return. The citadel is located on top of a rocky hill. It's an imposing structure, centre of power in the late Bronze age (1600-1100 BCE). The famous Cyclopean walls are similar to the megalithic stones of Stonehenge with great rock walls and massive stone lintels. According to legend, Mycenae was founded by Perseus. There's a lot of epic stories and legends surrounding this citadel.

The Famous "Lion Gate" of Mycenae

One part of the site is the famous Treasury of Atreus which is on a hill opposite the palace. This is a beautiful tholos tomb which is also known as the "Tomb of Agamemnon", built around 1250 BC. This is where the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered a golden funeral mask which he called the Mask of Agamemnon. (You can see it in the National Museum of Athens.) This has been disputed because it apparently is not from Agamemnon's time, but just the same it's intriguing and the tomb has an aesthetic appeal. If you're familiar with The Iliad and all the stories told by Homer about the Troy heroes, you can let your imagination go wild here.

I hope that I'm able to visit these site on this trip. There'll be lots of new stories if I do.

Photos courtesy Wikipedia Commons

GREECE: EXPLORING THE MANI

2011-06-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

GYTHION

The port of Gythion (Gythio) in the south Peloponnese is the gateway to what is known as "the Mani", a narrow peninsula that once could only be reached by sea. I'll be starting out from here to explore the Mani and it's unique villages.

TOWER HOUSES

The Mani (which originally meant "dry" or "treeless") is part of the Taygetos mountain range which forms the western spine of the Peloponnese. It's divided between the prefectures of Laconia and Messenia. Laconia was dominated by Sparta in ancient times. Homer refers to some of the towns in the regions and there have been artifacts from the Mycenaean period found here. When Spartan power was destroyed in the 3rd century BC, Mani became a self-governing area until the Roman invasion. Over the centuries the peninsula was fought over by the Byzantines, the Franks and the Saracens. As a result there were many local wars until the Mani's autonomy was abolished in 1870.

The Maniots are known for their wild nature and their zealous safeguarding of family property and tower houses (pyrgospita) were built to protect the feuding families. Many of these are now abandoned but some are being restored and occupied; some are offered as visitor accommodation. The area attracts visitors who are interested in the Byzantine churches and Frankish castles. There are also many popular beaches.

THE MANI COASTLINE

The local people work as olive farmers. There is some tourism during the summer near the beach areas but many of the villages are remote and have few inhabitants. The area is known for its unique culinary products (glina or syglino) pork or pork sausage smoked with herbs such as thyme, oregano, mint and stored in lard along with orange peel) It is also known for the world's best extra-virgin olive oil and local honey.

One of the well-known tourist spots are the Diros Caves where you can see stalactite and stalagmites. These caves are partly underwater and can be toured in gondola-like boats. Sounds like fun!

I will see if there are any tours out of Gythion but otherwise will just take a bus and tour the area, perhaps staying for a night along the way. This unique area of Greece has always fascinated me so this is sure to be a highlight of this year's visit.

photos courtesy of Wikipedia commons

EXPLORING NEW PLACES: POROS ISLAND & GYTHION, PELOPONNESE

2011-06-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

POROS

The only time I've been to Poros Island was on one of my early years in Greece when it happened the 3-Island day cruise boat I was on stopped at the port for a few hours. It's one of those nearby islands that most tourists by-pass. There's so many islands in Greece that are more popular destinations.

Well, this year Anna Britt and I have decided we'd like to stop over there on our way to the Peloponnese and take a look around. I've been looking over some things about Poros and there are a few attractions I would like to investigate. Poros is a small island with just over 4,000 inhabitants. It's just 58 km south of Pireaus and a very short distances off the Peloponnese coast. It's a hilly, mountainous island with a few sandy beaches on the southern shore. Recent studies show that the island has been occupied since the Bronze Age with graves located dating to the Mycenaean period. The ancient polis of Kalaureia was a sanctuary to Poseidon, the sea god. During the Byzantine period the island was often raided by pirates. During the Ottoman occupation of Greece, it remained independent. Russia once had a naval base there until the early 1900s.

One of the archaeological sites that interests me is the Sanctuary of Poseidon built around 520 BC (only a few columns remain). It was here that the popular orator Demosthenes, poisoned himself with hemlock after he fled the Macedonians in 322 BC. (He had been responsible for slandering Alexander's name in the Lyceum).

From Poros we can take a ferry over to the Peloponnese (with a choice of several ports). We plan to head south to the seacoast port of Gythion (Gythio) which at one time was the sea port of the Spartans.

GYTHION

Apparently Gythion is noted for its excellent fish restaurants and some great ouzeries. It is almost the gateway to the Mani and much of the south eastern cost of the Peloponnese. It's a nice little town to wander about in and enjoy the neo-classical houses. It's basically a working lcass town, once an important port. There's a long waterfront, and off the shore a small island called Kranai (now connected by a causeway) where Paris and Helen stopped off after he abducted her from King Menalaous in Sparta. Back in those days, it was a busy port for Sparta. During the Ottoman rule a tower was built which now houses the Ethnological Museum. There is also an archaeological museum in a house built in 1891. Remember the film "The Tempest" with John Cassevettes? It was filmed near Gythion.

Gythion has a population of about 5000 but lots of Athenians come here on weekends. It's close to Nafplio and only a half hour drive from Sparta and the Byzantine site of Mystras. There are lots of interesting places to visit in the area including the Diros Caves and I am planning to explore the Mani peninsula with its stone towers and history of feuds and freedom fighters.

LIFE IN ATHENS: A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE AND A VISIT WITH FRIENDS

2011-06-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Christina's House in Filoppapou

I have long-time friends in Athens and one of them is Christina, a Swedish woman who has lived there for years, formerly working in the tourism industry. When her daughter, Daniella, was a toddler, I used to baby sit for her. (She's now a gorgeous teen-ager!). I have often stayed at Christina's house in the Koukaki district, but last year she moved up the street and around the corner to this other house in Filoppapou. There's a little courtyard up on the second level out back where we spend a lot of time relaxing and catching up on news.

Carola, Christina and me at the To Kati Allo Taverna

One of the places all the friends tend to gather, is a tavern on Hatzichristou Street, Magrianni, just outside of Plaka, called To Kati Allo. The owners are gypsy folk from Sparta and we've known them for a long time so this is the most popular meeting place for us friends.

Anna Britt and me at the To Kati Allo

We have other gathering places too. One of our favorites, for sunset picnics, is the Hill of the Muses, where once upon a time the wealthy citizens of Athens lives (such as Themistocles). There is a magnificent view of the city out toward the sea, and the Hill of Filoppapou. I'm hoping that we can organize another of these get-togethers this time as it's one of my favorite places.

Hill of the Muses at Dusk

Filoppapou by Moonlight

I usually have my birthday parties on the Hill, some memorable ones where friends and family came from Canada to join with my Athens friends. This year there'll be friends from abroad too: Anna Britt is coming from Norway (she's a classical scholar I've known since 1993), Deborah, a friend from Vancouver, and Inka, the travel writer friend who lives in Turkey who I met on Naxos last year. We're hoping our friend Vesa, an architect and classical scholar from Finland, might also be able to join us. (I met many classical scholars in Athens during the time I was researching for my novel "Shadow of the Lion".)

Anna Britt and me with Filoppapou under the full moon

I have friends from abroad and local Athens friends who I will be visiting with. One of them is my dear friend Dina, who I named "The Persian Princess" when I first met her back in '93. I usually stay a few days with her and her husband Andreas in their hilltop home with it's magnificent view (especially at sunset!)

Andreas and Dina

Sunset from their balcony

Of course, I haven't forgotten about all that delicious Greek food and the fun we always have going to the taverna in the evenings, or during our walks around the Plaka in the day. One of our favorite places is a little taverna called "Kouklis" on a back street in Plaka (Tripadon) which Anna Britt and I have dubbed "The place of the flaming sausages". There they bring out plates of the various dishes for you to choose, their specialty being flaming sausages. For sure we'll be dining there at least once during my visit.

Kouklis Taverna

On my last visit to Athens, I discovered a fabulous Irish Pub in Monastiraki named (of all things!)"The James Joyce". It was recommended to me and I intended to go back there at night when the place is packed with locals as well as other travelers. I stopped in at lunch time when it was very quiet, but has a definite Irish pub ambiance. And the Guiness (of course!) and steamed mussels were absolutely the best I've tasted!

Guiness and Mussels at the James Joyce Taverna, Monastiraki

Then of course there is the endless choices of places to eat the best Greek food. We have our favorites, one being the Garden Taverna a little very Greek place on Kolokotroni Street in Koukaki. (You need to speak a bit of Greek to order and read the menu). And last summer I went with Dina and Andreas and friends to a nice taverna overlooking Thission. Must try that place out again!

Dinner, Greek style.

I'll be arriving in Athens in the evening, June 19, and might head straight for the To Kati Allo to meet up with friends and have a taste of Anna's good home-style cooking! Of course I'll raise a glass or two of krasi kokino (red wine) as well or maybe some of that Mythos beer I like so much! Then after a few days of seeing the old familiar sights and catching up with Athens friends and visitors from abroad, Anna Britt and I will be heading off for an adventure in the south Peloponnese with a stop-over at Poros Island.

NEXT STOP GREECE: ALL THE OLD FAMILIAR PLACES

2011-06-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

The Acropolis

Going back to Greece is like going home to me. Since 1979, my first trip, I have spent countless days and months there, living in Athens from 1983 - 1987 then returning in 1989 for a long run of six month stints. It's only been in recent years, since the double expense caused by the Euro, that I have been staying for shorter periods. This year, for only 3 weeks. I actually intended to go back there to live once I retired from my daycare work, but in the end realized that to be in touch with the literary communities and since I was by then teaching classes in writing in Vancouver, it was best to stay put. But my heart is, and always will be, in Greece and in particular, my Athena!

#14 Vironos Street, Plaka (this is where I used to live)

Each time I return, I walk by #14 Vironos St. (Byron's Street) in the Plaka where I used to live. I touch the gate, peek inside the courtyard and reminisce about my life there. I have so many memories of that little basement suite and the courtyard with all Kyria Dina's flowers, and the little spitaki where my dear friend Roberto used to live. Although Roberto, who was an artist from Argentina, and several of my other friends have now sadly passed away, I still have a circle of good friends and acquaintances in Athens, and that is another thing that draws me back there time and time again. They are my Athen's family.

Some of the Athens gang and other family & friends from abroad at the Hill of Muses.

One of the things about Athens that I never get tired of doing is walking around all the old familiar places. I know Athens well as when I lived there I did ESL classes with children all over the city. I used the transit and often walked, even long distances. So I am familiar with where most things are although there is always something new to explore and this year my friend Anna Britt and I intend to check out some of these newly gentrified areas just to see what's going on, as well as a chance to see something new.

View of the Agora from above (that's the Temple of Hephaestion)

I could walk some of those pathways blind-folded I know them so well, yet I never get tired of retracing my old footsteps. The Acropolis and the Ancient Agora are of course two of the most significant areas in the Plaka. I am so familiar with them that the first time I stepped into the Agora (1979) I had a deja vu experience that made me feel as if I had really been part of that ancient world. I've had many such experiences in Greece. Perhaps that is why I feel as if my soul is there. I not only write about Greek ancient history, but I have 'lived' it.

The Sacred Way that leads through the Agora up to the Parthenon on the Acropolis

The Plaka Square is in the centre of this oldest part of the city. It's a hub of activity with shops and tavernas. When I lived there, we used to hang out around Plaka Square but these days it is very touristic and much more expensive to dine there. However, I usually go there to sit in the little square and sometimes for a special evening meal, although I've been told one of my favorite taverns where they had live music and Greek dancers is now closed. (Economics of breaking the strict laws?)

Plaka Square, Kidatheneon Street

The corner, fondly known as "The Dirty Corner" on Vironos Street by the Lysikrates Monument has now been turned into a posh coffee house. When I write my "Life Below the Acropolis" stories, this place will be featured as there are many tales to be told about the events and people who used to hang out there in the 1980's.

The once infamous "Dirty Corner", scene of many a Greek drama!

There's lots more to Athens besides the old area of Plaka (although this is the most interesting, it is also the most touristic). I enjoy browsing around Syntagma Square, the National Gardens, and often walk down Panapistimio Street where the gorgeous Neo-Classical university buildings are located.

In front of the University buildings.

And then there's Athens at night. I love when it gets dark and the Acropolis is all lit up with a golden light. The Plaka is bustling with activity. People are heading for the tavernas for their evening meals. The little squares are full of people out for their evening 'volta'. Kids are playing in the squares while their parents sit and chat with glasses of ice cold frappe. This is a part of Athens life that is so unique but often missed by tourists. There is, however, a popular tourist activity, and that is to see the Athens Sound and Light show, performed at the site of the ancient Pnyx. There you'll see a reenactment of the history of the city so it's well worth taking in. There's also the Dora Stratou Dance Company performing traditional dances on Filoppapou Hill. Athens is alive at night, especially during the hot summer days when it's the coolest time to be out and around. But at any time of the day, the city has a living pulse. You can hear it and feel it. And that's one of the things I love about being there. For some reason, my whole life changes and I feel more 'alive' myself. Yes, I guess I truly do have an everlasting love affair with this remarkable old city!

The Acropolis from the Tower of the Winds, Roman Agora

NEXT STOP: WORCESTER & WARWICK CASTLE

2011-05-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Worcester Cathedral

My cousin Chris is chief gardener at the Worcester Cathedral. I've visited there several times. Chris is driving down to Caerphilly to pick me up and we'll go back to Worcester together. He's a great guy to spend time with: a mountaineer, marathon biker and all-around good sport. So we're looking forward to a few pints and lots of talk about our travel adventures.

Undoubtedly I'll visit the Cathedral again. The Cathedral was actually founded in 680 but the original cathedral no longer exists, although the crypt dates from the 10th century. It was built between 1084 and 1504 and represents every style of English architecture from Norman to Perpendicular Gothic. It's famous for its Norman crypt and unique chapter house. One of the interesting things inside the Cathedral is the tomb of King John. There's also a memorial to Prince Arthur Tudor whose younger brother was Henry VIII.

Cathedral Interior

Chris is going to take me to Warwick Castle, a place I've never been to before. This is a medieval castle on the River Avon, built by William the Conqueror in 1068. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century, then converted into a country house by Sir Fulke Greville, who became the earls of Warwick from 1759 to 1978. This castle has been used a s a prison and was used to imprison the English king, Edward IV. In reading about the castle one thing intrigued me, and that was the involvement of the notorious Richard III who, in the early 1480's, had two gun towers, the Bear and Clarence Towers, constructed which were left unfinished on his death in 1485. The towers had their own well and ovens and were an independent stronghold from the rest of the castle, possibly in case of mutiny. Queen Elizabeth I visited the castle on a couple of occasions.

Warwick Castle

The castle is protected as an ancient monument and is one of Britain's top 10 historic houses and monuments. These days there are lots of interesting things to see at the castle including archery and jousting displays, "The Castle Dungeon", a live actor experience and seasonal attractions including the "Flight of the Eagles", a bird show featuring bald eagles, vultures and sea eagles. There are also gardens around the castle that are open to the public.

Warwick Castle has hauntings too. There's a show called "Warwick Ghosts Alive" which portrays the murder of Sir Fulke Greville who had been given the castle by King James I. There's also supposed be the ghost of a little girl. Sounds like lots of spooky fun!

photos courtesy Wikipedia.

TRAVEL PLANS: Next Stop WALES!

2011-05-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

Caerphilly Castle

This the castle that I grew up hearing stories about. My dad was born in Caerphilly and I still have cousins living there, so I visit as often as I can. This year it's a special visit, because my cousin Sheila had a stroke last November and I want to see her and spend time with her family and the other cousin, Janet, whose mother Joyce (another distant cousin of mine) passed away earlier this year.

The Filer Cousins

I love the little town of Caerphilly, nestled in the green hills north of Cardiff. When he was young, my Dad worked in the Bedwas Navigational Collieries just outside of the town.

The collieries were in the hills just behind the town.

The collieries no longer exist and the slag heap is overgrown with some new houses being built in the area. From the time he was 14 years old, my dad trudged out there every morning before daylight and trudged home every night when it was dark, sometimes never seeing daylight for weeks. He lost his mining cards in the early 30's because he spoke for the men and immigrated to Canada as there was no more work for him.

Windsor Street, where my Dad lived.

On my first few visits to Caerphilly, starting in 1974, my two old uncles, Reg and George, still lived in the family home. After they passed away it became occupied by others. But each time I go to Caerphilly I still walk down Windsor Street and visit the old Filer homestead.

My sister Jean and I in front of Dad's home.

Caerphilly is famous for its cheese, and the castle which has a long, interesting history. You can read more about Caerphilly on this previous blog, written last July.

http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com/2010/08/tour-of-my-castle-and-caerphilly.html

The last time I visited Caerphilly I also spent a day with my cousins at the St. Fagan's Heritage Park, which has examples of Welsh life going right back to the Iron Age. I've also visited the fairy-tale Castel Coch which is nearby.

http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-in-time-st-fagans-national-history.html

Not sure what I'll see this time but I'm looking forward to a few cold pints in the pub with the cousins, and some of those delicious fish and chips! And of course, my annual tour through Caerphilly Castle. I'm still looking for the ghost of that green lady! Maybe this time I'll see her?

MAKING TRAVEL PLANS: Second Stop: SALISBURY, OLD SARUM, STONEHENGE and AVEBURY

2011-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

OLD SARUM Iron Age Hill Fort

On my second trip to England in the late '70's I visited an elderly friend who was the last remaining member of a coven in Bournemouth. I said I was going to visit Stonehenge, and she suggested I go into the inner circle and see what the spirits brought to me. On my way to Stonehenge I had a stop-over at Salisbury and while waiting at the bus depot, I noticed a sign pointing to an Iron Age Hill fort, Old Sarum, some 4 kilometers down the highway. It happened that at that time I had been planning a novel with a Celtic theme. I already have written some of it, a story told to me by a young girl named Olwen who was an acolyte of the Druids, but I wasn't exactly sure of where the story took place. I just knew it was set in the Iron Age somewhere in the south of Britain.

OLD SARUM ( Caer Gwyn, in Olwen's time) (watercolor painting by me)

What happened next was one of those powerful deja vu moments that you remember forever. As I walked down the road toward Old Sarum, it became more familiar to me and when I finally arrived at the earth mound and began exploring, I realized that this was exactly the place Olwen had 'told' me about. This was the setting of my novel, "Dragons in the Sky". Since then I have made two other trips back to the earth mound, one the following year and another two years ago. And this year I am returning to revive my research because I have taken that old half-finished novel off the shelf and I'm starting to work on it again.

Here is a description (in Olwen's voice) from "Dragons in the Sky":

West of the muddy river, the downs unfolded into grassy slopes. The meadows were thick with goldenrod and clover. There were farmsteads scattered all along the boundaries of our tuath, fields tilled by the yeomen and seeded with barley and wheat and grazing lands for our herds. The pastures were fed by little springs and the streams flowed into a muddy brown river that separated the pastures from the enclosure of our village. At the edge of the downs were beachwood groves where men hunted deer and wild boars. Beyond this, the Plain stretched out on the horizon. These were the tribal lands of the Atrebates. No raiders could steal our stock, nor cross our borders, without being sighted from the ramparts of Caer Gwyn’s hill fort.

STONEHENGE

I went to Stonehenge on that first trip and back then you could still stand in the inner circle. What a thrill to be there! And yes, the 'spirits' did speak to me, and most strongly, the voice of Olwen. I've always wanted to make a return visit to Stonehenge, and two years ago I intended to, but a series of mishaps with travel plans caused me to miss going. So this year I am going back again, to see if I can conjure the spirits of those olden times, and hear Olwen's voice speak to me.

AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE

One place I've never visited is Avebury, the largest stone circle in Britain. So this year I have planned a visit there and fortunately I have been offered to be tour-guided around all these areas by a local man who often writes for my Travel Thru History ezine. Keith Kellett lives in Avebury village, and has offered to drive down to Salisbury and escort me to these sites. I'm just thrilled to be able to visit these amazing historical sites in the company of a local expert! And a big thanks to Keith for offering to chauffeur me around.

Photos of Old Sarum, Stonehenge and Avebury courtesy Wikipedia

MAKING TRAVEL PLANS: First Stop LONDON!

2011-05-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

By the London Bridge

Two weeks from today (June 10) I'll be boarding a plane from YVR and heading for London Gatwick for the first part of my 4 week holiday. I've been to London dozens of times in the past, beginning with my first trip in about 1975 and my stays there have extended from a month or more to just a day. This time, I'm only spending a day and night there before proceeding on to Salisbury. And I'll stay an extra night on my way back from Worcester before I leave for Athens on June 19.

I know my way around London on the tubes and for the past few years I always stay at the Indian "Y" which is located near the Warren Street Station on Fitzroy Street, an ideal location as it's walking distance to a lot of the sights. It's a great place to stay, reasonably priced, clean, friendly and includes breakfast and dinner. It's also situated in an area once frequented by writers: those of the Bloomsbury group and others such as Dylan Thomas. Right across the little park from the hotel is the home of Virginia Woolf and G. Bernard Shaw and down Fitzroy Street is a pub were several well known writers including Dylan Thomas hung out.

Every time I go to London I try to find different things to do so I'm not always browsing around Green Park, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square etc, although I never get tired of walking by those popular tourist areas. This time I imagine there'll be lots of Royal Wedding souvenirs in the shops and kiosks so I'll take a look at those.

One thing I love to do in London is to go on the London Walks. I've been on several, and there are quite a few to choose from. Because I'm arriving quite early in the morning on that Saturday, I plan to have a little rest at the Y first, then venture out to do my London sightseeing. So I'll go on one of the evening walks. Just for fun I'm thinking about the "Blood-Curdling London" a spooky walk through heinous places or perhaps "Ghosts of the Old City" (I find hauntings fascinating!). You meet at certain tube stations and walk from there. This one's led by the "Duke of Darkness". Sounds thrilling!

Early the next morning I catch a bus down to Salisbury where I'll be meeting up with a fellow travel writer who has offered to escort me to the stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury. I'm making this stop in Salisbury partly to renew some research for a half-finished novel I want to resume working on. So it should prove to be a very worthwhile side-trip.

Salisbury

A SPRING WALK IN THE SUN YAT SEN GARDENS

2011-05-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

On one of our rare sunny days this Spring, a friend and I went for a walk in the Sun Yat Sen Gardens.

This beautiful garden and park in the midst of Vancouver’ Chinatown is an authentic reproduction of an age-old Chinese tradition. Classical gardens such as these were popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Ming scholars had private gardens where they could live and work. The gardens followed certain traditional designs to provide the scholar with tranquillity and spiritual energy.

This garden is dedicated to Sun Yat-Sen, the ‘father of modern China”. Like all Chinese gardens of that era, is based on the harmony of four main elements: rock, water, plants and architecture. Blended together they create a perfect balance -- the yin and yang.

The rocks used in the garden and park were imported from Lake Tai near the Chinese city of Suzhou. These limestone rocks, known for their rough beauty, are placed in various locations throughout the Garden, around a jade-green pond meant to inspire tranquillity. (The softness of the water balances the hardness of the rock).

The Garden and Park are is planted with a variety of symbolic plants, mixing native Chinese and local plants including bamboo, cypress, pine, flowering plum and miniature rhododendron.

The traditional architecture, found in all classical Chinese gardens, blends with the natural elements.

Adjacent to the Garden is the Dr. SunYat- Sen park which compliments the Garden. The entrance to the Park is free. There is a bust of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen , who visited Vancouver frequently, at the entrance gate. Next to the Park and Garden is the Chinese Cultural Centre, on Chinatown’s main street.

There is an admission fee for entry into the Garden, but the Park is free, and it’s well worth a visit at any time of year, a place to get away from the busy city streets where you can meditate on the beauties of nature in a serene setting.

VICTORIA'S HISTORIC BUTCHART GARDENS

2011-05-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

As part of our Royal Wedding weekend, my friend and I went to historic Victoria B.C. to celebrate. One of the special things we did on our last day there was to visit the famous Butchart Gardens.

Victoria B.C.'s historic Butchart Gardens is one of the most popular floral show gardens on the West Coast. This magnificent landscaped area which covers 22 ha(55 acres) was conceived in 1904 and designed by Jennie Butchart after the limestone quarry that her husband Robert Pim Butchart had acquired for his burgeoning cement business was exhausted. Under Jennie's supervision and artist eye, the abandoned quarry blossomed into a spectacular Sunken Garden.

The gardens grew into a beautiful early 20th century showpiece in the style of the grand estates of the period. Besides grassy lawns, flower beds, ornamental trees and a unique collection of memorabilia brought by the Butcharts from their travels, there are nurseries for plants, trees and shrubs.
Among the objects collected from their travels is the Fountain of the Three Sturgeons and the life-like bronze casting of a wild boar, both from Florence, Italy.

Fountain of the Three Sturgeons

The Butcharts also created a beautiful Italian garden beside their house.

The Italian garden

By the 1920's more than fifty thousand people were coming each year to visit the Butchart's Gardens and today they are one of the most popular tourist destination for visitors to Vancouver Island and Victoria.

The Butchart's luxurious house which included a bowling alley, indoor salt-water swimming pool, billiard room and a self-playing Aeolianpipe organ, is now the Dining Room Restaurant and offices with some rooms still used for family entertaining. The Garden is still operated by the family. The Rose Carousel, the only carousel on Vancouver Island, is a fun diversion for youngsters and adults alike. The carousel is a menagerie of animals, birds and decorative mirrors. The designs were hand picked by the great grand daughter of Jennie Butchart and the carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. It's housed in the Children's Pavilion under a clear dome and a roof planted with native plant species.

A popular part of Butchart's is the Japanese garden area where you can walk quietly under the trees over small ornate bridges and cross the creeks on stepping stones.

Everywhere you look, the gardens are full of glorious blooms. On this visit it was a brilliant array of tulips and blossoming trees. It's easy to see how Butchart's Gardens has an international reputation for it's year round displays of flowering plants.

This visit to Butchart's Gardens was a perfect way for my friend and I to end our special visit to Victoria to celebrate the Royal Wedding weekend.

A ROYAL WEDDING WEEKEND

2011-05-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

Statue of Queen Victoria

What better a place to spend the Royal Wedding weekend that in historic Victoria BC? After the excitement of watching the wedding of Kate and Will on TV, my friend and I continued the celebration with a weekend at the Queen Victoria Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia's capital city named after the Queen. Our hotel was centrally located, with a view of the fabled Empress Hotel, the Inner Harbour and the Royal BC Museum.

View from the balcony

Our hotel was near Beacon Hill Park

Victoria has a definite British flavour. The Hudson's Bay Company was established there when Fort Victoria was built in 1843. To ensure British sovereignty over the new colony, a naval base was established at Esquimalt and became the headquarters of the Royal Navy's Pacific squadron. It's still the base for Canada's East Coast naval fleet. Victoria is full of heritage buildings and sites including some of the city's most impressive structures: the Parliament Buildings, and the Fairmont Empress Hotel, designed by Rattenbury, and built by the Inner Harbour.

Parliament Buildings (rear view)

After arriving at our hotel, we started our day with a walk to the popular James Bay Tea Room where a special Royal Wedding Tea was being served. This little heritage house, built in 1907 as a family home, is chock full of royalty memorabilia, a museum of the royalty. And that day it was full of folks celebrating the big event including two tables of sweet young 10 year old girls dressed in fascinaters and fancy bonnets celebrating a birthday party. We enjoyed our royal tea with fresh scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam; cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, a plate of small pastries and of course a pot of fresh-brewed English tea.

The James Bay Tea Room

Interior of the tea room

The Royal Wedding Tea Party

The Royal Newly-weds

After our tea we walked around the Inner Harbour and looked at the handicraft booths, many of them First Nations artisans. Vancouver Island has an important aboriginal heritage and the First Nations culture is represented in Victoria with the cedar-plank Big Houses and towering totems poles that stand by the Royal BC Museum as a reminder of the region's original civilization.

Besides it British influence, when the gold rush began in 1858 Victoria grew into a frontier city with thousands of miners of European and Asian descent arriving to join the British, French-Canadians, Metis and Hawaiians who were already there working for the Hudson's Bay Company. Victoria still has an impressive Chinatown area, once known as "Forbidden City" a place of mystery and intrigue where few Westerners once dared enter.

History blends with contemporary life in Victoria. You'll see double-decker buses and horse-drawn carriages. There are beautiful gardens, pubs, tearooms, shops and restored heritage buildings in the downtown area as well as throughout the city. It's an elegant city and always a great place to spend a weekend browsing the sights along the Inner Harbour, the many beautiful gardens, such as the Butchart Gardens, the art galleries and the wonderful Royal BC Museum.

We topped off our day with dinner at Vic's Steak House. After dinner we walked along by the Parliament Buildings which are always lit up at night.

Steak, at Vic's Steak House. Yum!

Tally-ho in front of the Parliament Buildings

There are many excellent places to dine out in Victoria. Our favorite is Spinnaker's Brew Pub and Restaurant just across the Johnson Street Bridge. The weather was warm and sunny so the next morning we sat out on the deck enjoying the view of the harbour while we had a delicious Royal Wedding brunch: oysters baked in the shell, Bangers and Mash and a sparkling glass of mimosa. Then we headed out to Butchart Gardens for the afternoon. A perfect way to celebrate this special Royal Wedding weekend.

WALKS WITH RUTHAKI #4: A MEDITATION WALK ALONG THE FORESHORE

2011-04-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

On Good Friday I took a neighbourhood walk down to the foreshore where there are three little parks overlooking the harbour and Burrard Inlet. The first one is called "The Meditation Park". I love to go there and sit on the bench enjoying the view and contemplating life.

The mountains that day were incredibly clear and I had this wonderful view of The Lions, one of Vancouver's most famous landmarks on the North Shore.

You get a good view of the Burrard Inlet shipping lanes and docks from these little parks. You're no longer allowed to go down along the road that leads along the waterfront, but from up on the foreshore ridge you can see east and west and take in the views of our industrious harbour.

A little farther along at the next foreshore park, there are pretty flower gardens and lovely houses with interesting yards. There are flower beds along the curbs as well. It's a quiet street, not much traffic, and when I ride my bike I often come along here and cycle down to New Brighton Park where there is a swimming pool and a pleasant green picnic or play area as well as walks along the shore.

This is one particularly attractive little 'fountain' set up in one of the yards. I think it fits very well with the theme of 'meditation'.

I love this little curb side garden with a flowering magnolia and some interesting small irises. I learned recently that the magnolia has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. The reason it has no leaves is because it is pollinated by beetles. Isn't that interesting? At this time of year there are lots of magnolias (also called 'tulip trees') blooming around Vancouver.

This day I didn't walk as far as New Brighton, but stopped at each of the 3 little meditation parks to rest and clear my head. After all, it was a day of meditation. Then I walked back up one of the quiet residential streets and, as usual, took a different route to look at the lovely old houses and gardens along the way back to my home.

WALKS WITH RUTHAKI #3: A Sunday Walk in Stanley Park

2011-04-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

Lost Lagoon Fountain, Stanley Park

There's nothing nicer on a mild Sunday than a long walk in Stanley Park. Last week I didn't participate in the annual Vancouver Sun "Fun Run", instead I went on a marathon walk of my own through the quiet paths and around the lagoon at Stanley Park.

It turned into a longer walk than anticipated because the bus routes were blocked off due to the Fun Run, but I wandered down from Robson and Denman Street to the edge of the Lagoon and set off from there.
There were lots of birds in the lagoon this day. It must have been the Blue Heron's nesting time as I saw an unusual number of them by the shore, as well as the usual gaggles of geese, ducks and swans.

Instead of taking the seawall walk, this time I cut through the Park via the road and walking under the big trees, stopping now and then to enjoy the views of English Bay and the Burrard Inlet. My destination was the Ferguson Point Tea House as I had discovered a forgotten voucher for a meal that I had and wanted to use it before it expired. As I learned later, I could have easily reached the Tea House by the seawall, but the stroll through the forested part of the park was a nice change.

Ferguson Point was originally the site of an army a garrison and the Tea House was once a mess for officers stationed there during World War II. Later it was used as a residence for the military, until the 1950's and opened as the Ferguson Point Tea Room in 1978.

It's a pleasant place to go for brunch, afternoon tea, or late lunches with a beautiful view of the Inlet from the windows. It's a cozy atmosphere, and the day I was there the tables and couches were occupied by a lot of family groups. I enjoyed a meal of fish and chips and a refreshing margarita.

After my lunch I walked back along the seawall. There were lots of walkers, joggers, cyclists and in-line skaters out that day enjoying the fresh air and sunshing. The seawall is always one of my favorite places for a good long walk with stops now and then on the benches to enjoy the views and meditate.

Third Beach

I walked along as far as Second Beach and cut back through by the Lagoon Path into the Park itself where the Spring flowers are in bloom. There were cherry blossoms and the flower beds were bright with daffodils, hyacinths and other spring blooms. I enjoy strolling the gardens in the Park and walked through back to the bus loop just behind the Malkin Bowl tea house/restaurant.

FIRE DANCING: An Out-of-body Experience in Macedonia, Greece

2011-03-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

I should have known that my plans were in the hands of Fate when I got food poisoning two days before my departure from Athens to attend a much anticipated performance of fire dancing at the annual May 21st Feast of Saints Constantine and Eleni in northern Greece. I was determined to go. The pharmacist assured me that the box of capsules he prescribed would do the trick. Just to make sure, I bought a second box to take during the overnight train ride to Thessaloniki.

Upon arrival in Thessaloniki, I went straight to the bus depot. The fire dancing takes place in the town of Langadas, a forty-kilometer journey. As I sat in a nearby park while I waited for the bus, a strange sensation came over me. I felt disoriented, dizzy and light-headed, strangely out-of-touch with reality. My senses seemed numb as if my mind and spirit had completely left my body. I began to panic. I felt as though I were dying. I imagined the horrified reaction of my family in Canada when they learned that my body was found on a park bench here in this foreign country. Alone and anonymous, I scribbled down information about myself on a scrap of paper and put it in my pocket just in case.

Three police officers appeared. I considered appealing to them for help. Instead, I took a deep breath, sipped some water, and told myself it was all in my imagination. Anyway, it would be better to die in a hotel bed than on a park bench. So I got on the bus headed for Langadas.

Langadas is a quiet farming community with tidy houses, rose arbors and vegetable gardens. I had no trouble finding my hotel, the Lido. It’s the only one in town. I bought a souvlaki to eat and went up to my room to sleep off the light-headed and disoriented feeling I had. But even after I woke, the euphoric out-of-body sensations persisted.

I went for a walk breathing in the fresh pungent air of the countryside. Still I felt strange, disconnected from reality. I considered going to the local hospital. First I’d go back to the hotel, shower and change my travel-soiled clothes. I wanted to die looking presentable.

While combing my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed how my eyes were glazed, the pupils small as pinpoints. The I realized that the strange euphoria I had felt all morning must have been caused by drugs. The diahorrea medicine!

A local pharmacist confirmed it. “You shouldn’t have taken more than the one box dosage,“ he scolded. I had overdosed on opiates. I wasn’t going to die. I was just stoned. The instruction on the package had been all Greek to me!

That trauma taken care of, I set off to find the Anastenarides, the famous mystics who dance barefooted on hot coals and somehow miraculously never get burned.

In Greece, the Orthodox Church considers Fire Dancing to be a pagan ritual, even though the initiates claim that their unswerving faith in God protects them from the fire. The Fire Dancing is performed every year on the Feast of Saints Constantine and Eleni in the Greek Macedonian towns of Seres and Langadas. Although the Church has ceased to heap fire and brimstone on the Fire Dancers, the ceremony is still secretive.

I roamed around the town asking several locals where I could see the fire dancing. My question was greeted with a stern look and stony silence. Why such mystery? I wondered. Near the outskirts of town, I located the small Church of the Saints, but there was only a wizened crone dressed in black solemnly tending the graves. No sign of Fire Dancers. A small midway had been set up on the roadside near the Church with carnival rides, game booths and fast-food cars. Behind the midway the field was cordoned off with a picket fence and rows of wooden chairs had been set up. A group of gypsy women dressed in bright flowered skirts and colorful kerchiefs surrounded me. They smiled at me, their gold teeth gleaming.

“Pou einai oi Anastenarides?” I asked. “Where are the Fire Dancers?” Once again my question was greeted with the typical lift of the shoulders, chin and eyebrows, which translates “I don’t know.”

Back at the Hotel Lido, I struck up a conversation with Marc, a Belgian photojournalist. He had also spent a fruitless day searching for the Fire Dancers. He had learned that the fenced-off part of the midway was where the Fire Dance would be performed.

“It’s held outside of town because of the Church’s edict,” he explained. “The presence of the carnival and gypsies gives the Fire Dancing more of a circus atmosphere, which is acceptable to the town folk.”

Marc’s detective work proved more fruitful than mine did. The next morning he located the konaki, the house of the Anastenarides where a calf had been sacrificed as part of the mystic rites.

“The house is not far from the church,” he said. “The ritual dancing begins this afternoon followed by the Fire Dancing.”

I set off toward the pastures at the edge of town. I could hear the distant throbbing of drums, and followed the sound to a low-roofed house with a long porch on which many people had gathered.

I approached the house cautiously, not sure if I would be permitted to enter but I was welcomed into a large room where benches had been arranged around the walls for spectators. The sharp aroma of incense and bees wax permeated the air. At one end of the room was a table heaped with religious relics, ornate silver icons and varnished paintings of the Saints. As visitors entered, they lit slender bee’s wax candles and genuflected before the icons. In front of the altar table, the barefooted Anastenarides, both men and women, whirled and swayed as they danced to the throbbing of a big single-sided drum, a wailing clarinet and the whining strings of a lyra. They circled the room in front of the table of religious relics. As they danced they clutched icons and waved red handkerchiefs decorated with silver and gold talismans to ward off evil and made strange groaning sounds, which give them their name. Anastenarides is derived from the Greek word anastenagmos, meaning “to groan”.

The mood in the room was one of reverence. As the haunting cadence of the music filled the room, a gray-haired elder carried around a clay smudge pot and drenched the participants and spectators with fragrant sage-scented smoke. I thought of the similarity to our North American aboriginal ceremonies.

The monotonous booming of the drum had a hypnotic effect. After several hours, in a state of Fire Dance just as hundreds of years before, their forefathers performed their perilous walk through fire.

These mysterious rituals began during the invasion of the Tartars who swept through the Byzantine Empire burning and pillaging. In a Macedonian town, a church named for Saint Constantine had been set ablaze. The parishioners who went through the flames to rescue the priceless icons were miraculously not burned. To the Anastenarides, the Fire Dance represents the triumph of good over evil. They belief it is their absolute faith in God and their ability to achieve a state of self-hypnosis, that allows them to dance on hot coals and remain unburned. It is truly an out-of-body experience.

Several hours passed. The music and drumbeats grew more intense. I felt mesmerized by the wailing minor chords of the music. Outside the konaki a large crowd had gathered. Suddenly there was a commotion. A contingent of local police had arrived. Where we to be arrested for participating in a pagan ritual? No, the police had come to escort the Fire Dancers to the carnival site.

A long processional formed. The spectators followed the Anastenarides down the country lane, accompanied by the musicians. Suddenly, as we trooped through the pastures toward the carnival site, ominous black clouds obscured the sky. A violent eruption of thunder boomed and dangerous spikes of forked lightening crackled earthward. A deluge of rain poured from the black heavens. Within minutes, the road was churned to mud and flooded with rivulets of water. As the drenching rain poured relentlessly down, the Anastenarides clutching their precious icons, ran for cover back to the konaki. I found shelter under the eaves of a farmhouse with Marc, the photojournalist.

“No fire dancing tonight,” Marc laughed. The two of us were soaked to the skin.

“Tin oh kahnomay,” I replied with a typical Greek shrug. “What are we to do?” It was the hand of Fate. I knew it!

There was still one more day left of the religious celebration. The next morning dawned bright and sunny. No sign of storm clouds. Once again I went to the house of the Fire Dancers and spent the afternoon watching the initiates dance. Just as it had the day before, a crowd gathered, the dancers performed their rituals, the musician played, and in the evening a processional formed to parade down the country lane. Then, at exactly the same moment, as the Anastenarides left their konaki, it began to storm. Once again it seemed that the Fire Dancer’s mystic communion with the Saints had been squelched by an Unseen Power.

“Somebody up there definitely doesn’t want this to happen,” I remarked to a bemused black-robed priest who watched from under the shelter of his umbrella as the rain-soaked Anastenarides scrambled back into their house.

He shrugged, lifting his chin and eyes heavenward. “Ti krema!” he said. “What a pity!” There was a smug smile on his face.

Disappointed, I left the konaki and made my way through the downpour back to my hotel. I had to leave Langadas the next morning. I’d have to wait for another time to see the Fire Dancers perform. The only out-of-body experience that year was the one I’d had on the park bench in Thessaloniki.

To View You Tube films of the firedancers:

http://wn.com/anastenaria

WALKS WITH RUTHAKI #2: DOWN AT THE BAY

2011-03-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

It was an overcast day when I set off for my Sunday walk today. I headed down to the Bay in the West End. English Bay is one of Vancouver's most popular spots any time of year. In the summer it's a busy beach scene and in other seasons it's a good place to relax, talk a walk, jog, in-line-skate or cycle. The sea-wall that circles Stanley Park extends along the beach front as far as Sunset Beach just past English Bay.

As you approach the Bay and foreshore park you'll see a group of bronze laughing men at the corner. These are part of the public art displays you'll see around the city. I stop and check them out. Always worth a chuckle or two.

Sun Dial

I never fail to discover new things when I'm walking. Today, in spite of having been by here hundreds of times, I actually stopped to read the plaques around the Sun Dial and found that it is a dedication to 3 the greenhorns who staked the first land claim in this spot in 1862 at a time when this was all forested area.

Sylvia Hotel

I headed down the sea wall walking west past the venerable Sylvia Hotel, a heritage building built in 1912, one of Vancouver's famous landmarks.

Ships in English Bay

The day was cloudy and cool. Out on the bay there was the usual fleet of tankers at anchorage. It took just half an hour to walk from English Bay to my favorite summer-time spot, Second Beach. This is where I spend many leisurely hours in the summer, especially in the swimming pool. It's also a good place to lounge or play on the sandy beach. In the park nearby there are children's play areas and picnic tables under the trees.

Second Beach

There's a concession stand at Second Beach so I stopped for a coffee before heading back along the trail toward Lost Lagoon. This time, I didn't walk along the Lagoon, but took the upper trail along the Rhododendron Garden. There were actually a few in blossom.

Early Rhodies in Bloom 

It wasn't until I started out of the Park that I began to see more signs of Spring. And when I got to Barclay Street, there were the cherry blossoms I was looking for!

Perhaps by next week there's be more signs of Spring. So why not come along with me on one of my Sunday walks?

ONE FULL MOON NIGHT IN ATHENS: A Cautionary Tale

2011-03-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

(What my Mother told me: “Don’t take candy from strangers!”)
Note: This story happened several years ago but the same thing is happening today even in my own home town in Canada!

Full Moon Over Philipappou Hill

The first night of the July full moon in Athens. My friends and I have gathered at our local taverna with plans to view the spectacular full moon from the Acropolis, while enjoying classical music played by the Athens Symphony.

A strange young man enters the taverna. He is dressed in sandals, short tunic and carries a homespun wool bag. His hair and beard are long and blonde. He is an apparition of someone from Biblical times, like a modern-day version of John the Baptist. Mike, a British painter who has is studio in the area, says he has seen this odd character many times. He thinks the young man lives in one of the caves on Philipappou Hill, near the Acropolis.
The young man appears to be a deaf mute. He does not speak, and gestures to Anna, the taverna owner, indicating he wants food. She gives him a souvlaki and he leaves. But we are curious. We wonder where he has come from, and how he makes his living here? Clearly, he is not Greek. Who is he?

Philipappou Hill, Athens

The second night of the July full moon. Anna Britt, a Norwegian classical scholar; Vesa, a Finnish architect; Lena, a Danish girl studying Greek, and myself, a writer from Canada, decide to have a picnic up on Philipappou Hill to celebrate the moonlight. The hill is opposite the Acropolis. Footpaths wind up through the pine groves to the crest of the hill where there is an impressive monument to Philipappou, a Prince of Syria who was exiled to Athens by the Romans and died here in AD 116.
From the crest of Philipappou Hill we have an eye-level view of the Parthenon all lit up with golden floodlights. In the brilliant, star-studded sky, the beautiful moon beams down flooding the hillside with a soft silvery-blue light. We sit at the base of Philipappou’s monument and share our snacks: a bottle of wine and a bit of brandy, some crackers, cheese and olives.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, truly like the appearance of a an apparition, the strange young man we had seen at the taverna the night before, is standing in our midst. We are stunned speechless, as his appearance is so sudden and eerie. But because we are also still curious about him, we invite him to share our food and drink. He refuses the food, but snatches the bottle of brandy out of Vesa’s hand and quickly drinks down what is left of it then smashes the bottle on the rocks. We are startled by this abrupt, rude action. He takes a bottle of ouzo out of his bag and offers it to Vesa. Vesa, who has been drinking the brandy, refuses. I have been drinking wine and decline the offer too. Lena is pregnant, and doesn’t drink. To be polite, Anna Britt takes a couple of sips of the ouzo. then hands the bottle back.
We invite the young man to sit with us. We want to know all about him. What is his name? Where does he come from? Where does he live? He squats down, not speaking but evidently capable of hearing everything we say to him. It doesn’t take long before we grow suspicious of his ‘mute act’ and wonder if he merely belongs to some odd cult and has taken an oath of silence. Anna Britt takes another swig of ouzo and tries another angle to engage him in conversation. He says nothing, but occasionally laughs in a derisive manner, laughing at us. His attitude is arrogant and rude. We are beginning to feel very uncomfortable in his presence.
I decide to challenge him about his inability to speak. He knows exactly what I’m saying and laughs. Anna Britt says she is feeling dizzy and decides to lie down on a flat slab of marble. He finds this very amusing. Our suspicion increases. We are feel uneasy and wish he would leave. All the other moon-watchers have left the hillside. We are alone with this weird guy. Anna Britt say she is feeling nauseated and tries to get up. She can’t move. She is very frightened, almost hysterical.

“What was in that ouzo?” she asks the young man.

He laughs maniacally and as suddenly as he had appeared, like a disappearing ghost, he is gone... poof! Vanished into thin air.

Anna Britt tries to move, but her limbs seem to be paralyzed, and she begins to retch violently. She is conscious. but now we are certain there was something potent in those few sips of ouzo she drank from the young man’s bottle.
I volunteer to run down the hill to find help. Halfway down, I meet two Greek men and explain what has happened. We race back up the hill. They try to help Vesa pick Anna Britt up. She is crying, and vomiting every time she moves, but somehow, even though she is a dead weight, the three men lug her half-way down the hill to the parking lot. One of the Greeks runs down to the street to find a telephone, and calls an ambulance. We are so thankful for their help. Without them, we would not have got ten Anna Britt down the hill.

The ambulance arrives, but the drivers appear to be helpless. It is Vesa, and the other Greek men who tell them what to do. “Put a cover over her. She’s in shock!” (By now Anna Britt was shivering even though the night was very warm.) We asked if they had equipment with them to pump her stomach. They did nothing but cram her and us into the back of the small ambulance and drive off to an unknown destination.

We arrive at a hospital, but we have no idea which hospital or where in Athens we are. Nobody speaks English and even with our elementary Greek we get no straight answers. We are deposited in the emergency room. There are several nurses lurking in the office drinking coffee and smoking. Nobody rushes to help us. Eventually a doctor comes. By now we are frantic, because Anna Britt is clearly in serious distress. We explain to the doctor what has happened. Can she pump Anna Britt’s stomach, please? Obviously she ingested something toxic and it needs to be flushed out of her system. The doctor’s response was simply: “We have strong drinks in Greece.” (Referring to the fact that Anna Britt had drunk some ouzo.) We try to explain that Anna Britt only had at most five sips of the ouzo. That she was not drunk. That we were not ‘stupid tourists‘, we were scholars, living in Athens while we researched and studied.

This did not impress the doctor. Anna Britt continued gagging and vomiting. Her limbs were still paralyzed. There was nothing she could do, the doctor said. We would have to wait until she ‘slept it off’.

I decided to phone the tourist police. I still had no idea of what hospital we were in. A man in the waiting room talked to the police officer and explained. The police officer said that we must make a report the next day. Several hours had passed by now. Anna Britt was not improving and the doctor and nurses were doing nothing to help her. We are more than frantic. What if she dies? What shall we do next? I decide to phone Mike.

Four o-clock in the morning, Mike drives across town to the hospital. We tell him what happened on Philippapou Hill. He speaks sternly to the doctor and tells her she must do something, that this wasn’t simply a matter of ‘too much ouzo.’ Mike has lived in Greece for many years, and is fluent in the language, and whatever he said had some impact. With that, they put Anna Britt on an IV. But it isn’t for several more hours that she recovers enough so she can move without vomiting and get off the gurney by herself. She is weak and shaken, but she is alive.

The next day, Anna Britt and I set off to make the police report. First we visit the tourist police office, as I had been instructed. They sent us to another precinct downtown. When we began to describe the weird young man dressed in Biblical clothes, the police officers simply laughed at us and dismissed us.

“Too much ouzo. We have strong drinks in Greece,” was their only response.

Frustrated, we stop by the tourist information booth at Syntagma Square and report our dilemma. The woman says Anna Britt should inform her Embassy. We go to the police station in our district. The officer in charge is cordial and invites us to sit and chat. We explain who we are and why we are living in Athens. “How interesting! Would you like to talk about archaeology?” he asks. He is not interested in taking a police report of last night’s incident. He suggests we talk to the officer in charge of patrolling Philippapou Hill.

By now it is nearly six p.m. and we have been roaming around Athens since early morning trying to make a police report. We go to the place where we are told the Philippapou patrol will be waiting. But when we start to describe the weird young man with the unusual Biblical costume, and explain that he lives somewhere on the hill, is obviously making a living out of doping tourists so he can steal their money, the officer snickers, waves his hand, and dismisses us. He is not the slightest bit interested in what has happened or who this dangerous young man might be. He lights up another cigarette and lounges over to the kiosk to buy a coke.

Completely frustrated, we give up our quest to make a police report. We return to the taverna where our friends are waiting. Word has gotten around about our terrifying experience. The general attitude of the Greeks is a shrug. “Serves you right!” is the basic message.

Anna Britt contacts her Embassy. There is nothing they can do unless a police report is made and charges laid. The entire episode is dismissed. The weird guy in the Biblical costume with his drug-laced ouzo is still at large somewhere on Philippapou Hill.

Anna Britt and Me Under Another Full Moon
(Philippapou is behind us)

We all agreed on one thing: When we were children, our mothers warned us: “Don’t take candies from strangers.” It might be an old-fashioned adage, but it’s still true. And it’s something that, even though we are now adults, we still need to keep in mind.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Date rape drugs, and other ‘knock-out’ substances have been in use for several years, often in bars around Athens, as well as in cities other parts of the world. Victims are not only young women, but men too. Travelers, be aware when accepting drinks from strangers, no matter where you are, that this could lead you into a dangerous and compromising situation.

WALKS WITH RUTHAKI #1: WALK, JOG, CYCLE, SKATE: The Stanley Park Seawall

2011-03-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went on my first long sea-wall walk in Stanley Park. It doesn’t matter what kind of weather, you’ll always find walkers, joggers, cyclists and in-line skaters on seawall. It was the first spring-like weekend of the year and a good day for a brisk tour around one of Vancouver's most popular walks.

I started my walk from the Park entrance, walking along by the Yacht Club, going east toward Brockton Point.
The Stanley Park seawall is 8.8 kms (5.5 mi) so I don't usually attempt the whole circuit. People have been enjoying this seaside path since 1917 but it wasn’t until the mid ‘70’s when the walk was properly surfaced making it an easier route for walkers, joggers and cyclists. The seawall loop around Stanley Park is one of Vancouver’s most popular locations to enjoy the outdoors. The path is divided making it easier and safer for pedestrians and those on wheels. Remember to check the park map for signs indication direction as cyclists can only go in a counter-clockwise direction.

There are interesting sights along the way and benches lining the path if you need to pause for a rest. You might also consider a horse-drawn carriage ride around the Park which is loads of fun. You can also rent bikes.

Be sure and stop to see the totem poles at the Brockton Point Oval. And past that is the famous 9-o'clock gun that booms out over Coal Harbour to mark the time every night. There's also the historic Dead Man's Island, now the naval reserve, but once a First Nations burial ground. Next you'll come to the Brockton Point Lighthouse. In the early settlement days, there was a small village near here where ship-jumpers lived with their native wives.

This part of the walk will take you all the way around to Lumberman’s Arch. This was once the site of a First Nations village. There's a children's water-park here and even though there wasn't water to frolic in, there were plenty of kids enjoying fun on the adventure equipment there.

From here you can cut back through the park to the entrance. There are refreshment stands at Brockton Point, Lumberman’s Arch, and by the Aquarium if you want to take a coffee or snack break. You'll also find washroom facilities there.

I stopped on the beach here for my first picnic of the season and rested awhile enjoying the view of the snow-capped mountains of North Vancouver and the busy waterway of Burrard Inlet and the inner harbour.

From here I walked back through the park on a quest to find cherry blossoms, but because of the late season there weren't any in bloom around the Japanese memorial for WWI. I stopped at the Aquarium to view the Belugas in their outdoor pool. Then I walked along the trails to the Pavilion and bus depot.

On my next Sunday sea-wall walk I'll take a different route. There's lots to see in the Park and it makes for a relaxing, refreshing afternoon to enjoy the day on the sea-wall.
Bike and Rollerblade rentals are located near Denman and Georgia St.

Stanley Park Cycle: 768 Denman St. 604-688-0087

Stanley Park Rentals: 1798 W. Georgia St. 604-688-5141

For a map of the seawall: http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley

A TASTE OF IRELAND IN THE MIDST OF A GREEK BAZAAR

2011-03-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

The James Joyce Irish Pub, Monastiraki

I was strolling around Monastiraki Flea Market one afternoon last August when what should my wandering eyes see but a Paddy green awning with "The James Joyce Irish Pub" written on it. Imagine that! An Irish pub in the midst of Athen's most famous Greek bazaars. I had passed by there the day before while exploring Thission but this time I decided to check it out. Friends had told me about it and guaranteed it was worth a visit. It's located on a side street just between Thission and Monastiraki Metro Stations. You can spot it right behind the fences that block off a new archaeological dig on the street running by the rail tracks.

It was afternoon, so still early for the rowdy crowd that I'm told jam the place in the evening, but I was hungry and thirsty after my long walk around in the mid-day heat, so I went inside.

It was like stepping back into Ireland, dimly lit, dark wood, tables with stools and a long bar - and air-conditioned! I checked out the menu. and it had a mouth-watering list of dishes to choose from including such dishes as Sausages and Mash and Dublin pasties. Of course there is Guiness on tap!

Naturally, the first thing I ordered was a tall glass of Guiness. After all, this was an Irish pub, so I passed on my usual favorite beer, Mythos.

I ordered steamed mussels. The mussels were stewed in white wine and lemon with bacon bits and were absolutely fabulous! Some dark bread accompanied them to sop up the 'soup'.

I spent a quiet, relaxing hour or two at the James Joyce. Next time I'm in Athens I'll go by in an evening when the places is hopping with good cheer and Irish music. It's unique to find such a place in the middle of the traditionally Greek market area and it topped off my afternoon wanderings.