Greece- Meteora

                                         

More Greece, anyone? 

We continued on down the road, driving a few more hours to Meteora, the site of monasteries built on the tops of mountain pillars. Greek Orthodox monks started building these monasteries in the 1100's, and most were completed by the 1500's. I was so excited to visit this place because I couldn't get over how fascinating the whole concept was. The rock formations alone would be enough to draw you to this place, which are thought to be over 6 million years old, formed by eons of erosion. Then you add a bunch of monasteries, constructed in medieval times, clinging impossibly to the tops of these peaks. It proved to be just as cool as I thought it would be. 

      

In this picture, Seth and I are admiring our amazing view from our hotel balcony. Way on top of one of those rocks was the St. Stephen's monastery or Agios Stephanos, the first one we visited. 

Historically, these monasteries would have been pretty challenging to visit. The only way in and out was either an 80 ft ladder or a net on a rope that was hoisted from a big winch inside the monastery. The whole point for the monks was to achieve solitude and safety. They had originally fled into these hills to escape religious persecution, so being hard to access was all part of the appeal. 

For the rest of the blog, I occasionally used some photos from the internet that did a better job of showing the monasteries in their unique positions. If it looks like we didn't take the pictures ourselves, you are probably right. 

Here is a 'bird's-eye' view of the St. Stephen's monastery, which became a convent for nuns in the 1960's. Pretty recent history if you consider the fact the foundations date back to the end of the 12th Century. 

This picture was taken as we entered the monastery. Although the pictures will never do the place justice, try to picture us walking across a deep chasm on a concrete bridge to enter the place. Historically, this wouldn't have been here. You would have likely been brought up in a rope net on a winch off the side of a cliff. 

Here was one of the historic winches used to bring people and goods up and down

All of the monasteries had a common theme. You entered the katholikon (church) via the narthex, which was full of beautiful Byzantine art, depicting the lives and deeds of the various saints. Then you would continue to the nave which is in the shape of a Greek cross. Jesus was depicted on the ceiling, right in the centre. If the monastery had collected relics, they were usually housed here. 

Seth and I posing with a much more famous mother and baby 

One of the excellent parts of these monasteries was the view we enjoyed from all of them. From St Stephen's, you could see over the entire Kalabaka town, where we were staying. 

The nuns had also built some very beautiful and tranquil gardens, here on the top of the world. This one was full of lavender. 

After exiting the monastery, there was still enough daylight to venture out on the rocks for some amazing viewpoints and pictures.

 

The next morning, we headed back into the hills to see everything we had only got a taste of the day before. Our first monastery was Varlaam, which involved a bit of a climb up some stairs. Luckily I had Jared for packing around little Seth. At the top, we were rewarded with a fantastic view from a big open courtyard. There were also a bunch of exhibits down in the basement, and I learned that there used to be 26 monasteries up in these hills. Now there are only 6. 

It was a day completely full of beautiful views 

This was our lunch spot. Our food attracted a bunch of stray kitties, which provided ample entertainment for Seth.  

Here we are with the Holy Trinity or Agias Trias Monastery in the background. If you are a fan of old-school James Bond, it was featured in For Your Eyes Only. 

It was my favourite monastery. It had the longest climb, but I kept reminding myself that these places are still 100X more accessible than they used to be. I was also spoiled because Jared carried Seth everywhere. 

Here they are, almost at the top! 

This place was so tranquil and calm at the top, and the Byzantine art was some of the oldest we saw. It was hard to leave this place, because it was like nowhere I had ever been before. I will always remember the combination of stunning rock formations and beautiful monasteries. However, we had flights booked to Santorini in a few days, so it was time to start heading back for Athens. 

This was a familiar scene on the many hopper flights we took, jumping from Greek mainland to Santorni, and then onwards to Italy. Seth slept really well on pretty much all of the flights. 

Next blog will be Santorni. Until Next Time! 

Greece- Athens and Delphi

Hey Guys! 

After a rather long break from international travel, we left Canada for the first time since March 2020. It's crazy to think about it that way. Where does the time go? Other than having a baby and renovating a house, right?! 

This time, we had picked Greece and Italy for the month of November 2022. Neither of us had been to Greece before, and the last time I was in Italy was 2009. Needless to say, I had probably forgotten a lot of what I saw the first time.  

What I wanted to see this time around was history- particularly of our Western civilization. Of course, I was also incredibly excited for the food. Our plan was to spend about 1 1/2 weeks in Greece, before heading to Sardinia to see Karo and Jaime (our traveling buddies from South America), and then finishing off the trip with mainland Italy. 

We are also expecting our second child in March of 2023, making me about 5 months pregnant at the start of our trip. Looking back, this could have been quite the tall order to travel across the world with a toddler and a pregnant lady. However, as you will see from the next few blogs, we lucked out and had a fantastic time. So, let's look at some pictures! 

Our first stop was to Athens. Although completely jet-lagged, we ventured up to the Acropolis on our first morning. The Acropolis is a large hill in Central Athens that has long been the focal point of the city. It was here that the ancients erected their beautiful temples to honor the gods, most importantly Athena, the protector of Athens. The Acropolis remained a highlight for me throughout the entire trip. It is just such an amazing archeological and historical site. The Parthenon is the largest and most famous structure on the Acropolis. It was built between 447 and 432 BC, making it almost 2500 years old. However, the hill site has been inhabited from the 13th Century BC, when a local Mycenean ruler built a fortifying wall around his residence. The city of Athens is even older, it is thought it has been continuously inhabited for 5000 years. This depth of history never ceases to amaze me, and we kept encountering it time and again as we moved around Greece and Italy. 

Posing in front of the Parthenon

We visited the Acropolis Museum in the afternoon, which is right 'across the street.' As you can see from the picture, you have a great view of the Acropolis from the top floor of the museum. It was so well laid out, you could appreciate all of the sculpture and other treasures found up on the Acropolis, placed safely inside the museum. 

Speaking of treasures, these are the sculpted maidens that make up the "Porch of the Caryatids." There were originally 6 maidens that held up the porch of the Erectheion- one of the most sacred temples on the Acropolis. 

The next day, we ventured into the Ancient Agora of Athens. This was the heart of day-to-day life in ancient Athens. This is where everyone gathered to talk about politics, religion, philosophy and to exchange ideas. It was the site of their government, with temples and a marketplace. It was such an amazing experience for me, to be able to walk among the stones (not much of its former grandeur remains) and imagine the early days of democracy. Jared and Seth are standing in front of one of the best-preserved sites of the Agora- the Temple of Hephaestus. 

Our Air BnB was in a great location, and we were very close to Filopappou Hill. It is just a little smaller than the hill of the Acropolis, so you still got great views from the top. Seth also enjoyed the time to wander around and be free. He could only be cooped up in the backpack for so much time each day. 

On our last day in Athens, we visited the National Archeological Museum. If you are only going to visit one museum in Athens, this would be my pick. Of course, I would want to do more! However, when you have a toddler, you have to pick and choose. This place had everything; from the Mycenean pottery that dates back to the 16th Century, to the Egyptian collection of mummies and room upon room of ancient Greek sculpture. We could have spent the entire day there. That obviously wasn't going to happen with Seth around, he needed to get OUT of the backpack, so we let him outside to do this:

Running through the pigeons! One of Seth's favourite activities while on our Europe trip. There was no shortage of open squares full of them. I had to get over my disdain for pigeons because my son loves them so very much. 

We left Athens in our rental car and drove north, heading for Delphi. To the ancient Greeks, this was their most sacred place, the centre of their world. According to legend, Zeus released two eagles at opposite ends of the world, and this is the site where they met. A dragon named Python was slain here by the god Apollo, and to commemorate the event the ancients built a temple here dedicated to him. The thing that most people associate with Delphi is the oracle, as people travelled from far and wide to hear her predictions. She operated out of the Temple of Apollo, in the inner sanctum. It was from here that she made her predictions of the future. Alexander the Great came here to hear whether he would be victorious in his military conquests. 

This is all that remains today of the once imposing Temple of Apollo. 

Here is the Sphinx of Naxos, which used to stand on a 10 m pillar outside of the Temple of Apollo. What really impressed me about the site was the fact that people had travelled from so far away with such extravagant gifts to offer to the temple. It was said that the predictions of the oracle were quite ambiguous, so it wasn't always easy to know exactly what the oracle was saying. For example, if someone came asking for advice over whether to invade their neighbors, the oracle might reply: "A great empire will fall." Yet, it wasn't ever clear which empire was going to fall. 

This was Seth's highlight of Delphi, meeting the stray dogs and cats. 

My original plan was to do all of Greece in one blog, but I am now realizing how very silly that would be. Why not stretch out the fun? Next blog will cover Meteora and Santorini. If you've never heard of either of those places, you are in for a treat. Until Next Time! 

 

Haida Gwaii in September

Hey Guys!  

A place so nice we must blog twice! Ok, sorry that is so corny but this is truly an amazing place and deserves at least two blogs. We returned in September to have another chance at this special place. This time, we were joined by my Mom and Dad, which made it even more memorable. This time, we took the Inside Passage ferry to get up there. This leaves from Port Hardy and weaves its way between islands to reach Prince Rupert. Then you take a ferry the next day for Haida Gwaii. Definitely the 'long way around' but getting there was half the fun. 

We had a beautiful day of sun for the sailing, which was pretty lucky for September.

We spent a lot of time watching out the sides for whales, and we all saw a spout or two!

We had some fantastic views from the boat

It was a full day affair, we got on the ferry in Port Hardy shortly after 7:30 am and arrived in Port Rupert after 11 pm. A big day, indeed! Seth was a great sport for all of it. 

Here is the route we took, complete with the ferry to Haida Gwaii (Skidegate) the next day.

No surprises here, Jared was back to his old tricks. One massive bonus of this time of the year is that Jared actually keeps some of the fish he catches- so I can eat them! 

I don't think Seth was actually that thrilled to be daddy's little fishing companion here, but I don't think he is going to hold a grudge

I think this picture was taken because the fly in the mouth is special for the Tlell River. Again, all fishing related details need to be directed towards Jared. 

And look at the results! Big, delicious fish. That is my Dad on the right.

We took a day trip with my parents out to North Beach, one of the most famous beaches on Haida Gwaii. At the very eastern edge of this beach is Nai-kun or Rose Spit (pictured above). The narrow strip of beach stretches out to a disappearing point. The Haida believe this is where the first life began for their people. Check out the creation story below; 

Back at the beginning of time, when the water that once covered the earth subsided, only a raven survived. In his loneliness the bird combed the islands that broke the surface of the great sea, seeking companionship. Finally, when soaring over along a sandy beach, he heard faint cries emanating from a clamshell that had washed up on the shore. The raven swooped down and pried the shell open. To his great wonder, the sounds grew louder and louder, and the startled bird watched in amazement as several men clambered out.

Nai-Kun translates to 'the long nose of Nai,' which kind of fits for an 18 km long spit that just trails off into nothing. People call Haida Gwaii 'the edge of the world,' probably in part because of places like this.

                                        

The harbour in Daajing Giids (formerly Queen Charlotte City)

Sunset picture, as seen from the beach right beside the clinic

Speaking of clinic! We did to a little bit of work while we were up there! I got spoiled with some bigger surgeries and exciting emergencies. There was even an injured little saw-whet owl that needed some care before being sent down to Vancouver to a rehab facility. Seth really wanted to touch him!

Balance Rock

One of the coolest things we did was drive out to Rennell Sound. The beaches out here are absolutely stunning, completely massive and not another soul to be seen! 

What an action shot! 

Playing in the surf

Gregory Beach in Rennell Sound 

Seth remembered the pots and pans from last time. Especially now that he is more capable, he was all about them! 

Walking out to Yakoun Lake, navigating the roots

Culturally modified trees. The Haida take strips of bark and use them to weave baskets, hats, rugs and the like.

Spirit Lake trail. Seth riding in style

A massive bolete that was just hanging out on the road side! We ate some fresh, but my absolute favorite is to dry these guys and have them for soups and such. 

Here Seth is with his future wife, Annie. Look at how much they have both grown up!

Fast asleep on the Anvil Trail. Apparently this was also the day Jared saw a bear (!) 

I was working....

Another trip up Tow Hill, as Mom and Dad absolutely had to see this wonder. 

And one last one of our dream boat son at the foot of the Hiellen Pole. 

Until Next Time!