Author: Wandering Amerrickans

Another heavily cloudy day with no visibility beyond a couple 100 foot high ceiling. We drove the 20 miles back to Seward, stopping at Seavey’s Ididaride to see if we could tour the dog kennels and snuggle some puppies but the tour was 1 1/2 hours long and we didn’t have enough time before our wildlife tour of Resurrection Bay was to begin.

The backup plan was to go to the Alaska Sea Life Center so we headed over there. We only spent maybe 45 minutes, but it was fun to see the seals, sea lions, puffins, etc and all the undersea creatures.

We had rescheduled our tour for today from a few days ago. It was to be a shorter cruise than the six hour we had originally planned and was to only stay in Resurrection Bay looking for marine mammals, therefore the size of the seas would not play as much of a roll.

As we began the boarding process we donned our masks and were surprised no one else was, as federal guidelines for all public transportation was still in effect that masks must be worn. The person checking us in told us our assigned seat assignments and then told us every seat was sold out and so we would be sharing the table cubicle with others. Wait… what? Every seat sold out? Not a single mention of masks? And we could expect to be seated across a table from total strangers who are or aren’t vaccinated and/or are or aren’t wearing a mask? You have got to be kidding me!

Yesterday Billy got a call that someone he works closely with (who has been vaccinated since January) got Covid and it took him and his 20-something daughter down- hard, like real hard!

I know this is Alaska (aka the Last Frontier). I know and respect we Americans love our liberties ( we are them) but enough is enough. There we were sitting – the only people wearing masks- listening to the guy behind us hack and I mean hack, then suck his snot up, then blow his snot out along with what sounded like a section of his lung and this went on for five minutes. I actually went and spoke to the captain and she informed me that they would “remind” passengers before we set sail that they were supposed to mask up but they could not personally call anyone out if they chose not to.

Needless to say, we were pissed, and uncomfortable and we decided to cut our losses. A shame as we would have enjoyed the ride but not at the expense of our health nor the satisfaction of those who are selfish enough to disregard federal mandates and demonstrate they care about nobody but themselves (and yes… I just said it)!

So they literally had to unlock the aft door and drop the gangplank for us to disembark- and frankly- it was one of the best decisions we have ever made while traveling. That boat ride was going to be nothing short of a super spreader event and we had no interest in being part of it!

We walked out on the docks and decided it was time to regroup once again… and come up with a new game plan. The good news is that the three of us are used to changing plans, tossing around new ideas and being spontaneous. We change our plans a lot, and while some may see us as wishy washy, we see it as constantly improving our skills of being flexible and adaptable- traits that allow you to comfortably travel in uncertain places, in uncertain times and still have fun and feel safe. Rigidity doesn’t work for us: it only sets you up for disappointment.

Seeing as it was just about lunchtime, we decided on the BBQ joint that Billy had nixed day before yesterday. And my oh my… what a great decision. The owner was a real gem! The food was off the charts! And the IPA Billy had was tinged with Kodiak Island pine! The whole place was outdoors and just as we sat down, the sun popped out for a few minutes! Pure perfection!

Following lunch, we retraced 40 miles of highway we had already crossed three times previously, we stopped to check for bears at the creek with the salmon (no bears), we stopped for ice cream and wished we could see the mountain tops in all their magnificence…

We stopped north of Anchorage for coffee and poke bowls to go – restaurants have been completely understaffed and stretched thin this year or, they just haven’t been able to open, making dining out here, beyond difficult.

By the time we reached Talkeetna, our destination for the next two nights, we were beat. It rained almost the entire 240 miles, stopping just as we reached the Talkeetna junction (about 15 miles from our lodging). It is so strange knowing that a 20,000 foot mountain is standing right in front of us and we can’t see it!

Our cabin was cozy and we enjoyed talking to the owner and his summer helper who hailed from Montenegro (one of a very few lucky students that was able to enter the US on a J-1 visa this year). They were headed out in the bush, and we had a good discussion about the very large sidearm he carried (a 44 magnum with a 7” barrel) and how he considered it is as basically “insurance.” He said he carried it to protect himself against black bears, not grizzlies – which I found surprising (We have now crossed the geographic line that defines a brown bear from a grizzly bear), because, as he said, “black bears were so unpredictable.” When I asked him what he meant, he couldn’t really elaborate… but Jenny could. She explained, “Mom… look… a black bear is unpredictable because if they stumble upon you they are gonna take a minute or two to decide if they are gonna eat you. A grizzly? There’s no deciding. If they stumble upon you… they are definitely gonna eat you!” I laughed my ass off at her oh-so-simple deduction on this Alaskan’s thought process! And you know? I bet you she’s right!

But… as he said… the chances your “insurance” even helps you out when you have hundreds of pounds of angry muscle running 35 miles per hour at you, and you have to unholster, aim, and shoot with a single bullet? Forget about it- you don’t stand a chance. But hey… it is nice to say you have insurance!

August 11 – Where are the Bears?

This morning brought rainy skies, low clouds and a prediction of it not letting up, at all. Needless to say, the hike back to the Harding Icefield was not happening.

We had a very leisurely morning, letting Jenny sleep in until 10:00 as between fighting the cold and a headache yesterday that didn’t seem to want to retreat, no matter how much medication we fed her, I thought some extra sleep would be a good idea!

By the time we made it out the door it was 12:30. We had decided to head north to a town called Hope that sits on the coast of Turnagin Arm (the same large body of water we drove around the day we left Anchorage). Hope is an historic town that came to be from the gold rush and because it is 15 miles on a dead end off the highway, it doesn’t get a lot of visitors.

As we were driving, we also decided to make a slight detour ( a 20 mile one) to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where they have native animals that have been rescued but can’t be released back into the wild. The weather had turned worse and was now hovering around 50 degrees with a steady downpour and stiff winds.

On Jenny’s wishlist of things she had hoped to see coming to Alaska, had only been otters. After seeing lots of them, she has now focused on bears. While there was one on the edge of the trail, we didn’t actually see much of him so she is still on the lookout. I figured this was at least a start and seeing as we have looked for them but not found them yet, we could always say, “we saw bears in Alaska.”

The enclosures for the bears are huge; they could easily hide out and never have to see a human, if they so choose- the way it really should be. But, luckily for us, they were hanging out close enough for us to see them up front and personal. We have never seen a brown bear ( basically a grizzly but a bit larger, living along the coast and feeding on salmon mostly) and only seen grizzlies in the distance or at a rehabilitation center so this was a first. When you really look at the size of it- how huge their head is, or even just their nose, you certainly gain an appreciation for their strength. One of them had us cracking up, scratching his belly on the logs (though it looked like he was doing something else).

The black bear was huge and reminded us of Lily… We used to call her our “bear” as she reminded us of one with her thick fur coat and soulful eyes. It made us a bit sad as her passing is still so fresh in our minds and raw in our hearts. Jenny thought the bears all seemed sad; it was hard not to disagree and while these animals are now captive, they would not have survived in the wild otherwise.

We also got a kick out of the porcupine. I had seen one in Greer before but not up as close as this guy. He was so cute, eating peas for his lunch.

The Center certainly gives you a good overview of the animals, plus we all learned a thing or two. First off we were all surprised at how small musk oxen are in size and how equally small their horns are – I had always pictured them bison-size.

Caribou are also smaller than I thought and are not double hoofed like a deer but have lots of toes. But most impressive and shocking to all of us was that there is another bison species that is native to North America – the wood bison. Wood bison were originally found in parts of Alaska and western Canada, they are larger than the plains bison with their hump noticeably bigger. They were thought to be extinct by the early to mid 1900’s before a small herd was found in NW Canada in the late 1950’s. An ongoing project has led to a captive breeding program here at the Center, and they have since placed a new herd in the wilds of Alaska. We love this sort of story so the hefty price of admission for this alone was worth it!

We laughed that the only animal we didn’t see in their enclosure was the moose. We have seen lots of Moose, on both coasts of the country, and thought how funny it would have been if we had seen the moose and not the bears.

We pulled into Hope close to 3:30 and were all hungry. We made a U-Turn (because you know about Merrick road trips) after passing a sign for The Dirty Skillet, a restaurant I had read about. We grabbed a seat outside, under a pavilion, and enjoyed the fire pit that warmed us from the center of the table. We ordered some apps and each got a burger with fries then split a bowl of homemade chocolate /coffee ice cream topped with a bourbon caramel sauce- everything was delicious!

After linner (because that’s what it ended up being) We drove further down the road into historic Homer. Wow! Is this place charming! So many buildings were made from square cut logs and most had historic plaques marking them – the earliest I saw was 1890’s. We parked at the end of Main Street and walked over to Resurrection Creek to watch the locals fishing for salmon- a seriously entertaining endeavor!

On our ride back, we stopped to see if we could catch a glimpse of the bore tide that was predicted to be pretty good. The wind was honking and the drizzle still spitting making it difficult to stand and wait and watch; but that is just what we did… to no avail. We definitely saw some surfable waves but the actual bore tide wave eluded us.

A few things we have noticed about driving in Alaska, since we have already covered close to 800 miles: the highways are completely litter free and except for one poor porcupine, we have not seen any roadkill. In all my travels back and forth to Greer, I can safely bet that in 800 miles of highway I have seen dozens of roadkills. And funny thing is 1 mile seems a lot longer to travel here than back home – still trying to figure that one out…

By the time we got back to the cabin it was close to 8:30. The rain had stopped but the clouds were still thick as a woolen blanket and the wind was still at it. We had no choice but to turn the heat on to get the chill out of the cabin and out of our bones.

Tomorrow is our last day for the coast, unless we end up making a serious detour for a few hours to Valdez later on. We have loved being on the water and the Kenai Peninsula is simply stunning. I remember having conversations with people about why we love Patagonia so much, as it is still so wild and a few of them retorting, “Well then, have you been to Alaska?” I get it now. I totally get it.

Aug 10 – Wait…what?

Another rainy morning with cloud layers so low we felt like we could reach out and touch them. We enjoyed a rather leisurely morning, sipping coffee and eating oatmeal and cereal for breakfast

We left around 10:00, giving ourselves plenty of time to check in for our six hour wildlife cruise through Kenai Fjord National Park with Major Marine. As we got closer to Seward there was more blue sky visible and by the time we arrived there was more blue than clouds! Yay, I thought. We are going to have a fantastic day for the boat ride. But, as I was waiting to check in, I overheard one of the agents talking about 14 foot waves and 30 knot winds. Wait…what? When I reached the desk and asked her if she was talking about today’s forecast she said yes, and they were suggesting everyone take dramamine.

When I approached Jenny and Billy with the forecast, Billy quickly shot me down as, “not happening!” I will agree that 14 foot waves and 30 knot winds on open seas did not sound overly appealing.

We walked along the harbor and began putting a new plan into motion.

We decided we would head out to the only spot that has vehicle access to Kenai Fjords National Park to check out Exit Glacier. We discussed hiking the Harding Icefield Trail, a grueling 4 mile trek to the end that climbs 1,000 feet per mile, estimated to take 6-8 hours. But once up there you have views of the entire Harding Icefield.

So with our plan in place we decided that first off we needed sustenance. Choice #1 closed, choice #2 Billy rejected, Choice #3, a creperie, was open but the kitchen was backed up and we had a bit of a wait. Turned out the wait was worth it as the food was delicious and the lady who owned it was very interesting, having raised 30 kids! And she had been a swim coach and coached Lydia Jacoby’s swim coach – Lydia is from Seward. We loved seeing all the signs everywhere cheering her on and congratulating her – such an amazing story!

Our first views of Exit Glacier from a viewpoint along the highway, were amazing, looking far across a rocky floodplain to the glacier pouring down over the tops of the mountains.

As we began the trek, Jenny said she didn’t know if she was mentally prepared for it, still suffering from her cold (we covid tested her again), and feeling the beginnings of a headache. Billy said we would just go as far as we wanted then turn around, I said if we had no plans on getting to the top then we should just take another trail where we could actually see the glacier as this trail was in the trees. Billy said we should stick to the plan.

Fifteen minutes in and we peeled a layer, ten minutes later we peeled a second layer, another ten minutes and we were down to our final layers. We had dressed for cold windy weather and to be out on a boat, Billy didn’t have his hiking shoes on, I had on polartec fleece pants and only Jenny was dressed for the conditions we were in. About .75 miles up the trail, huffing and puffing from the climb and our hefty packs, Billy said he was out and we were headed back. “Oh no we are not. I didn’t just kick my ass to not even get a glimpse of the glacier up close. I am going the next 3/4 miles to the first viewpoint. You can turnaround,” I said. And so on we trudged- up, up, up, and it wasn’t just incline it was like stair stepping up the rocks. But once we reached Marmot Meadows the views were incredible of not only the glacier but of the valley.

We took a long rest and when I suggested we should try to get to the next viewpoint another mile up, Jenny was game but Billy flat out rejected it. The skies were almost completely clear, the views would have been incredible but we headed back down. At the time I thought it was the right decision, all for one, but in hindsight Jenny and I should have gone; she was game and this was her trip.

Pulling out of the jam-packed parking lot we got a good chuckle at the fact that in almost any other national park there would be license plates from just about all 50 states represented. In Alaska? Only two were from outside of Alaska! There were also a handful of U-Hauls, a result of the car rental shortage that is happening- desperate times call for desperate measures, so they say!

After our hike we stopped for a well earned gelato and then took a few detours down either side of Resurrection Bay, as far as we could drive on each side. We parked the car down at Lowell Point and walked out onto the black sand beach- a true beach. The day had cleared completely and we were finally able to see the true majesty of where we were.

Jenny asked me if I thought this was the prettiest place we had ever been, and now seeing it in all its glory I said, “We have seen a lot of mountains in all our travels, but none of them were as grand as this.” She turned and said, “Well, I think it is the most beautiful place we have ever been. There. I said it! Even more beautiful than Switzerland!”

I told her I was so happy to hear her say that because when we rebooked Alaska Jenny had no plans to go to Switzerland but an unexpected opportunity came up and she spent a week in Switzerland hiking the gorgeous Alps; so I had been concerned that Alaska would not be as awe inspiring to her after that but apparently I was dead wrong!

We made one last stop on our return to the cabin, at the Bear Creek fish weir that sometimes the bears hang out at. Unfortunately, there were no bears but we were entertained watching the trout trying to jump the waterfall.

We also got to talking with a young guy from Germany who had gone to Mexico and spent the required 14 days there so he could get into the US. He had planned on hiking 1500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail but had only gotten around 800 when it was closed due to the Dixie Fire so he decided to switch plans and come to Alaska for the remainder of his time. We gave him a ride back to the highway junction, wished him well and then headed to the cabin.

The setting this evening was perfection. Clear blue skies and not a breath of air, so I decided to take full advantage of it by getting a fire going in the fire pit. Billy barbecued dinner and then went to bed while Jenny and I stayed up sitting at the fire pit until well past 10:00 enjoying the beautiful sunset, roasting marshmallows and talking. She was clearly disappointed we didn’t try for the top today. I promised her if the weather holds out I will go back and do the full hike with her tomorrow.

August 9- Totally Alaskan

We woke to blue skies, a first!… that quickly turned cloudy… We packed up and caught the 9:00 ferry back over to Homer to get our car and pick up our bear spray.

Mission accomplished, we headed north. We were able to catch a somewhat cloud obscured view of the volcanoes across Cook Inlet.

Looking at a map we detoured along a side road thinking we would have a nice view of Cook Inlet but instead, it was blocked by trees. We did, however, find a moose on the side of the road happily grazing away on the thick vegetation- totally Alaskan!

By the time we reached Soldotna, we were very hungry so we decided to forgo all other plans in order to grab lunch. St Elias Brewery was choice #3 after choice #1 & 2 were closed and it did not disappoint. Our sandwiches were made using their pizza dough instead of rolls or wraps- so yummy!

From there we stopped at Fred Myer (basically a walmart super center) for some provisions. I have been in three different markets since we have been here and all three have the worst seafood selections I have ever seen – pretty surprising considering we are in Alaska.

After loading the car we drove back from the direction we had come, to the visitor center where we parked and walked down to the Kenai River. There were tons of people standing right on the edge of the river fishing for sockeye salmon.

We struck up a conversation with one of the locals and he explained how you fish for salmon. Unlike so many other species that you catch on lures or bait or flies, sockeye won’t take any of those, instead, we were told while they swim they are opening and closing their mouth so you throw a hook with a weight out into the water and, as the local put it, “try to floss them through their mouths.” If you snag them anywhere but their mouths, you must throw them back. Not surprisingly, Billy has zero interest in this kind of fishing! I will say it was crazy to see how many fish were being caught this way. One can only surmise that they were stacked in there like chord wood but because of the milky hue the Kenai River has, there is zero transparency to it to actually see them. This was a cool experience though – totally Alaskan!

As we made our way back to the car it began to rain and wouldn’t let up for the remainder of the day. We took another dirt side road in hopes of seeing bear but no luck. The views were pretty and again, we could only imagine they would be stunning if we could see them in their full glory. It has been a bit of a bummer that we know we are completely surrounded by majestic beauty but still haven’t been able to realize the full scope of it.

We made a few u-turns on our continuing drive – because remember it ain’t a Merrick road trip if we aren’t doing u-turns! First one was for a fly shop Billy saw – I think he is getting jazzed to start doing some trout fishing. The second was at a pull off that had two signs- one said “wildlife viewing” (a sign we are very familiar with seeing while road tripping), the other said “fish viewing” (a new one for us). There was a small trail that lead to a gin clear creek with a small viewing platform and in the creek were loads of bright red, ginormous, humpbacked, salmon with huge beaks. What a sight! We watched as they were clearly mating wondering why there were no bears here for these easy pickings but one must assume in a place like Alaska, everywhere has easy pickings! Another totally Alaskan sight!

We found the driveway for our lodging for the next three nights – a completely off the grid cabin right on the shore of Kenai Lake. When I went to the office to check in, the owner greeted me and gave me the lowdown on everything. The last thing he told me was how to reach him if there was an after hours emergency but then turned and said, “But please…no after hours emergencies.” To which I responded, “Oh, no worries. We don’t ever have after hour emergencies. Unless of course I run out of wine.” He chuckled and said, “Well then you will have to drive 20 miles to Seward.” But I assured him, “Oh not a chance I’d drive to Seward, if I run out of wine then I’ll break into the bourbon.” To which he had a good laugh.

We barbecued burgers for dinner on our little porch using a kettle grill and charcoal, something we haven’t done in 27 years, and sat at the table looking out at the lake. After dinner Billy decided to try his hand at fishing while Jenny and I played a game of cribbage. The throwback to simple times was really quite enjoyable. In all the crazy remote places we have ever stayed in, I don’t think we have ever had zero connectivity to the outside world… totally Alaskan!

Jenny loves our little cabin, the best accommodations so far she said (even with the total lack of wifi). She got the big bed in the loft up the spiral staircase (she said the stairs remind her of her apartment in Maastricht), and Billy and I took the bunk beds downstairs (nearer the bathroom – 😉) I figured that at 50 years old, it was about time for me to finally see what it’s like to sleep in the top bunk!

Aug 5 – We Found the People

After more than a year’s delay, we are finally able to take Jenny’s high school graduation trip to Alaska. This trip was planned with adventure in mind while traversing a large portion of central Alaska over the course of 2 1/2 weeks. We, but Jenny especially, are disappointed that Thies could not join us as originally planned but with the borders still not open to vaccinated Europeans… well… don’t get me started!

Our flight to Alaska wasn’t as bad as I had originally planned on it being. We didn’t get the upgrade I was hoping for but we were able to move up to seats with extra legroom and seeing as this was a 787, it allowed for far more comfort. The flight time was also and hour and a half shorter than it had posted so that was a huge boon! But the best part of it was the adorable golden retriever on her maiden flight that was seated in the row in front of us; Jenny and I just couldn’t get enough of her!

Starting about 45 minutes before landing, we started getting glimpses of mountain peaks jutting out above the clouds. The skies were very hazy mixed in with sparse clouds so the view wasn’t perfect but the sheer immensity of this place struck us as the mountains never let up, even until landing at Ted Stevens International Airport.

I grabbed a taxi to go get our car rental while Billy and Jenny secured our luggage. Perfect timing as they were just walking out of the terminal when I pulled up. We immediately put an order in for pizza and beer to go from Moose’s Tooth Pizza, we checked in to our fairly worn out room at TownPlace Suites (this was the best redemption on points I have booked as the room was $360 a night, and I would have been pissed if we spent that on this room); we chowed dinner at 11:00 and then all abruptly fell asleep.

This morning I thought it best to fuel up for our drive so stopping for lunch wouldn’t be necessary. we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Snow City Cafe, a place that gets great reviews, leaving perfectly satiated!

After breakfast Jenny and I went to Walmart to pick up the order we had placed on line last night and then on to Costco for bear spray and a few more snacks to last the trip.

After getting everything organized in the car, we were ready to hit the road at 11:00AM. We all decided that there wasn’t much in Anchorage that would lure us back but that’s the case for us for most cities in the US.

The drive out of Anchorage was spectacular, as far as one could see. unfortunately, there was a heavy layer of low-lying clouds that obscured most of the tops of the mountains on both sides of Turnagin Arm, a narrow waterway branching off of Cook Inlet. It was low tide so the mudflats were the main attraction, dashing any hopes of seeing the whales that give Beluga Point its name.

As we drove further south, the clouds lifted more and by the time we crossed over onto the Kenai Peninsula, we could see the mountains across Cook Inlet, including what we realized was the top of Denali, but only after we had passed the viewpoint for it!

We only made two stops on the four plus hour drive to Homer- one at a viewpoint and the other at a Russian Orthodox Church on the hill above Ninilchik.

The church was built in 1901 and sits on a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet. Its gardens and graveyard are a bit overgrown but that only added to its mystique.

The views dropping down into Homer were breathtaking, we can only imagine what they look like on a blue bird day. As we crossed over to the Homer Spit we were immediately struck by mobs of tourists in a fairly honky tonk area – the kind of scene we typically avoid at all costs. In all my research, Homer had been described as a cute artsy town, the sort of place Jenny loves – this is definitely not that.

We found the business that we rented our room from for the next two nights. The clerk told us to follow him as he walked us over the boardwalk, pushing our way through people standing in line waiting for a local popular restaurant to open. Ugh we thought as we walked on – this was not the image I had imagined nor researched.

Turning a corner, we were finally away from the crowds. The clerk opened a nondescript door and we were immediately blown away with the setting and the view! We were smack dab on the beach, in a cute room furnished in a chic beach vibe with a small kitchenette and a large balcony. We could not hear nor see the hordes of tourists on the other side and except for the occasional beach stroller, we felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We absolutely loved it!

Just a few days ago, a very large earthquake struck off Kodiak Island (Just south of Homer); sirens blared and all of Homer that sits at sea level was told to evacuate due to tsunami warning. Obviously where our rental is, is a prime area for being washed away by a tsunami so fingers crossed, we will not see anymore seismic activity anytime soon!

For the next couple hours. we hung out, relaxing and enjoying the view. We ended our evening with a delicious dinner at Little Mermaid before turning in and calling it a night, with all the daylight that is still to be found in August in Alaska!

Aug 6- We Now Have Friends in Alaska

The day we left for our trip, Billy sent word to his sales force that he was going to be in Alaska and as such might be out of cell phone/wifi range for an uncertain amount of time. One of Billy’s sales guys responded. asking him if there was any chance we would be in Homer as his sister and her husband lived there, and he was sure they would love to show us around. Flash forward to today…

After a quick breakfast of cereal and coffee in our room, we walked over to the boat basin to meet up with Courtney and her husband Kevin. We were immediately struck by the inclination the ramp down to the water was at along with the height of the pilings that hold the floating docks – holy cow, both were extraordinary.

Cortney, Kevin, and their two adorable labs – Trip (a chocolate lab) and Trigger (a yellow lab), welcomed us onboard their vessel “Hooked Up” for what turned out to be a fabulous day experiencing parts of Alaska a bit more off the beaten path.

Our morning began with a smooth ride across Kachemak Bay where we beached the bow of the boat to offload us and the pups. Kevin moored the boat and then rowed back to shore with the dinghy where he proceeded to tie it up as far up the beach as possible. (At the time I thought it a bit odd and that perhaps he was trying to make it difficult for someone to abscond with it).

The hike off the beach began with a set of stairs but we hadn’t even gotten to the first landing before there was a warning sign posted about recent bear activity. Upon reading it, Kevin turned around and quickly remarked, “the brown bears had finally made it here.” Up until very recently the only bears that were in this part of Alaska were black bears, but…apparently not anymore. The good news is that between the firearms and the bear spray we were carrying, we were prepared!

Following the stairs, we encountered a series of switchbacks that climbed the cliffs overlooking the magnificent Halibut Cove, with views that were just spectacular.

Along the trail Courtney pointed out all the different berries that were growing and warned us to steer clear of the “Devils Club” that lined the trail as the thorns of it would quickly embed themselves into your skin if it came into contact with you. The vegetation was beyond dense with a variety of native plants packed in as tightly as fans at Lollapalooza; the perfect hiding place for bears I thought…Oh and the pile after pile of bear scat we passed on the foot-wide trail, only confirmed the fact we were deep into bear country. Had we attempted this hike alone, without Kevin and Courtney leading the way, I am certain I would have turned around after encountering 3 large, fairly-fresh piles within 100 feet.

As we hiked on, we enjoyed easy conversation exchanging stories on various topics, and appreciated hearing perspectives from local Alaskans. The trail leveled off and then slowly began its descent into what seemed to be an ancient riverbed.

We hiked on until BAM!, we literally walked out into an opening with an iceberg filled lake that stretched back to the magnificent Grewingk Glacier pouring down out of the mountains above. Wow, wow, wow!

We sat and took it all in for a bit, relishing the beauty and solitude of the area. At one point, we heard what sounded like a large thunder clap but Kevin insisted there is rarely thunder in this part of Alaska, We pondered whether it had been the glacier calving on its face, some three miles from where we were standing. Not long after we were joking about which one of us could run quicker up the pebbled beach, Kevin pointed out that the previously statue-still lake, was now moving. We watched as the water line receded and then moved forward, receded again and moved a bit further forward, receded even farther and then moved a bit further inshore and so it went; another thunder clap followed minutes later by more wake movement – it was so cool but a bit unnerving at the same time.

Upon the return hike, we encountered a group of people that suggested we leash the dogs as there was a black bear sitting on the edge of the trail. Sure enough, as we rounded the exact corner they had said to anticipate it, there it was. Unfortunately, the vegetation was too thick to see much more than the outline of its head and ears but I suppose we were fortunate in that it left us alone!

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, it made sense why Kevin had tied the dinghy way up the beach the way he had – there was really no beach to be seen. Where just hours earlier there was at least thirty feet of exposed ground running from the tree line, now there was five feet; the tides in Alaska can be extreme., to say the least

We enjoyed a late lunch in Halibut Cove at The Saltry, a really cool restaurant built into the rock outcroppings of an island that had a large boardwalk elevated above the water, running along the waterline.

On the return trip to Homer, Billy was thrilled to see his first Alaskan puffin, as Kevin passed along a bird rookery. The ride home was a lot lumpier than the ride out but we had no problems. We headed to the Sawlty Dog to enjoy a few beers with Courtneey and Kevin before saying our goodbyes.

Today was such a nice, unexpected adventure. We enjoyed every minute of it but the best part of it is… we can now say, we have friends in Alaska!

August 7- Our Kind of Place

Most of the incredible vistas have had some form of cloud layer blocking theme since we arrived, but late last evening Mount Iliamna popped out, standing tall in all of her 10,016’ glory. So this morning, it was a real treat to see the entire Kenai mountain range sitting across Kachemak Bay allowing us to finally have a good perspective on what has been hiding all this time.

This morning we were switching locations and had planned on heading to Seldovia, a town located across Kachemak Bay from Homer but that is only accessible by a 45 minute ferry ride or a 15 minute plane flight. I of course, had planned on the ferry ride, because as we all know, I avoid small planes at all costs!

We packed up our stuff, rearranging our bags so we would only have one duffel for the three of us, along with the cooler and a dry goods bag. The ferry was at 11:00 but since we didn’t have tickets yet (when I tried to book them two months ago they told me no need to, I should just get them the morning of), I pushed for us to leave a bit earlier.

We arrived at the ferry terminal, 45 minutes before the scheduled departure only to be told that the ferry was sold out but if I had already purchased my tickets, we would be good to go. Wait…what? They had insisted months ago I didn’t need to pre-buy and now they are telling me that they are sold out. Oh, yeah, and all the other boat charters are also sold out, but they very kindly offered to put us on the next ferry…at 6:30, seven and a half hours later. Uhm…I don’t think so. Time was of the essence so I had no choice but to resort to option two…and I assure you, I shuddered as I suggested it…we would fly.

While we were standing there discussing it, another couple who had been behind us in line, and subsequently denied tickets as well, overheard us talking about our options. When they heard us talking about flying they were eager to join in. I called the “airline” and they confirmed that they indeed had space for exactly five people. How perfect right? five seats were left. Nope. Not that. There were five seats because there was nobody else scheduled on that flight; meaning….the aircraft only holds five passengers…Lord help me!

Tony and Lori were a cute couple in their late sixties I would think. He asked us where we were from and when we said Connecticut, he told us they were from Florida but he had grown up in Westport, CT and in Essex as well. We laughed telling him that’s where we lived, it turns out I knew, and had done some volunteer work with, his late mother.

OK, so we now had a way to Seldovia but logistically we had to figure out where to leave our car as we would be returning to Homer by ferry in two days and then we had to figure how to get to the cottage from the airport in Seldovia as I knew it was right off from the boat ferry terminal, not the airport. The airline agent said it would be best to leave our car at the ferry terminal as they didn’t really offer parking for more than one night; so that’s what we did.

Upon checking in with the airline, Jenny immediately noticed a sign that said we could not travel with our bear spray (both Jenny and I had it in our backpacks). The agent suggested we leave it in our car but I reminded her she told us to leave our car at the ferry terminal so we didn’t have our car. Needless to say, we are hoping our bear spray is waiting for us at the terminal when we return and, more importantly, that we don’t need it in our hike tomorrow!

Billy watched as the plane landed, a single engine, 1970s era Cessna 207. He laughed that the plane came in “hot” and laughed even louder when he saw a young female pilot hop out. Did I mention that she was young? Like very young?

Turns out Brittany was hot shit. She has been flying six years, so we are guessing she got her license at 18 years. She said she flies roundtrip to Seldovia nine times a day. We were going to be the first leg of today’s fifth run. She was quick to try and put my mind at ease assuring me we had perfect flying weather and we would only be off the ground for 12 minutes.

So, I will admit it…the flight over was incredible; the views were spectacular and I was happy to fulfill Jenny’s wish to fly in an Alaskan bush plane. I told her that I thought she had secretly sabotaged us for the ferry so we would have no choice but to fly, even if it wasn’t quite the full bush plane experience she was looking for.

We landed in Seldovia, were quickly offloaded and pointed in the direction of town, Brittany assuring us that our two legs were more than capable of getting us there. So, we schlepped our bags and cooler the 1/2 mile to the village and found our adorable cottage sitting right on the water.

We dumped our stuff, grabbed an excellent lunch, headed back to the cottage and chilled the rest of the day and night, watching the otters play and catch fish. Jenny just loves them, she says they remind her of Lucky.

Seldovia is a super quaint, artsy, laidback, beautiful village with a great vibe. When we asked our host for the key, she said she doesn’t have one. The kids and dogs run free and wild, the locals clearly look out for one another and lend a hand to lost tourists who are schlepping their sh*t through town 🙂 This is our kind of place!

August 8 – Solitude…

We woke to a steady rain today, the first of our trip. When we were trying to figure out what month to travel in, we decided on August even though we read it would be rainier but it is supposed to be less buggy than June/July – a worthy tradeoff Jenny had said. We also woke to Jenny feeling crummy. We knew she had been fighting something and even though we are all vaccinated, we covid tested her yesterday before we came to Seldovia and were given a negative result (of course we hope its accurate but we have still been taking all the precautions of masks and distancing etc).

We had a good laugh over coffee, talking about the seagulls that seemed to call all night and them moving around on the metal roof but especially since it sounded as though they were using the roof as a means to crack open their shellfish!

Our plan today was to hike the Otter Bahn trail out to an area called Outside Beach where I had read extensively about the tide pooling opportunities there at low tide. Today was the lowest tide there would be of our trip, minus 2.0 feet below mean low tide – creating a 20 foot tide swing, so the tidepools were said to be great.

The trail was basically through a coastal rainforest with extremely dense vegetation of giant ferns and loads of salmon berries. We called out often to the bears we knew were lurking in the woods but were relieved, since our bear spray was sitting at the airport in Homer, that we never came across any scat on this trail, unlike the last hike where we easily walked over 20 piles. The trail was a bit longer than described but it was beautiful, and we were the only ones on it.

Emerging on Outside Beach, we encountered a black beach (really rocks and pebbles), on a cove with two peninsulas jutting out on both sides. There was a creek rushing down across the beach, well actually two, the second was wild in that it just disappeared into the ground not making it the extra few feet to the ocean’s edge.

We made our way towards the area that looked like it should be tide pools, only to be disappointed that we could find almost nothing. A few anemones, a pygmy rock crab that was bright purple in color, a few cool snails, and one minuscule sucker fish like the one Jenny used to have in her fish tank and how the heck she spotted it, I have no idea. I felt especially badly for Jenny as she made the trek not feeling well only because she loves the tide pools and everything I had read said we should see starfish, octopus, sunstars, sea cucumbers, etc., but there was nothing of the sort.

We had also read this morning that it was a great beach for collecting sea glass but again, we didn’t find one piece. I will say this for all of the Alaska coastlines we have been on, there is not a single solitary item of garbage – nothing, zilch, nada! I am shocked that with the huge fisheries there are here that there is not a ton of fishing detritus washed up everywhere. We haven’t seen a piece of plastic anything, anywhere… if only the waterways of Cambodia could be so lucky.

What Outside Beach lacked in beachcombing it more than made up for in solitude and ambience. We were the only ones there and it certainly gave you that remote Alaska feel.

We decided we should head back as the break in the rain we had been lucky enough to enjoy up until this point, was rapidly coming to an end. The mountains were quickly disappearing before our eyes and by the time we made it on to the road for the walk back, the rain began to fall. Walking back along the road, Jenny said she was having deja vu – hiking in the rain, feeling like crap – she had pushed through the same situation in Peru a few years ago but that time was burning with fever – let’s hope that is not to come.

Back in the village, we decided to get some food – first place closed on Sundays, second place coffee and pastry only, third place doesn’t do breakfast, fourth place -a coffee shop- was open and their menu said they had breakfast sandwiches. We put an order in for three but were quickly told it had been a busy morning and they only had enough left to make one sandwich. OK, how about a decaf latte and a cappuccino – they had no decaf (and apparently I was only the third person to ask for decaf so far this year) and did Jenny want that cappuccino “dry or wet?” Uhm… the girl had completely stumped us. Dry or wet? Apparently dry is more foam, less liquid and wet is more liquid less foam-Jenny drinks a lot of coffee and has done so in A LOT of places and this was a first for her.

Our last hope was the food truck and wouldn’t you know – ding ding ding -it was the winner! We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches and an order of biscuits and gravy to take back to the cottage (hey, don’t judge! We had just hiked a few miles and remember it was cold and rainy). By the time we were back inside, it was pouring and we were glad to have arrived back before the deluge.

Another break in the rain and I decided to take a small walk. I was in search of the bright red salmon Billy said he had seen looking over from the bridge last evening. The bridge over the Seldovia Slough is probably 30 feet high at dead low tide and 15 feet high at high tide. Yesterday, as we were walking to town from the airport, I looked over one side and about 30 feet below I could see monstrous salmon holding themselves in place. A local kid hear me and walked over, looked down and dropped his fishing line that had a large, round, orange lure on the end (it looked like a huge bobber). I thought there wasn’t a chance in hell he would catch anything as he plopped it right on their noses, but wouldn’t you know it – BAM! The smallest salmon (which was larger than any trout we have ever caught) snatched it right up. The kid let out some line, ran over to the stairs, climbed down and claimed his prize. It was one of the craziest fishing scenes I have ever witnessed!

The rest of the day was spent playing cribbage and backgammon and reading. The rain finally stopped around 7:00 and the sun popped out for a brief time. Seeing as Jenny was not feeling great, the rain was a bit of a godsend as it allowed us to not feel pressured to keep exploring.

Seldovia is a really neat town. I love how so many of the houses are uniquely and creatively decorated, many with carved wooden sculptures, rich in detail – there is definitely a lot of character here. The cottage we are staying in is over a nursery/gift/curio store that has something to look at no matter which direction you turn. The town has loads of public parks all planted with beautiful flowers with spots for sitting and relaxing. There is an air of peacefulness and solitude here, almost like any other place we have ever been- even the seagulls knocking on the roof didn’t disrupt it!

Scenes from around town:

March 1 & 2

Buda and Pest makes Budapest

Not a whole lot to tell but wanted to share some pics and this is the easiest way to do it.

We arrived in the rain, with forecast of continued rain until we left so we figured it was going to be limited sightseeing. Our dinner was at Monk’s Bistrot, a very highly rated restaurant but when we entered at 7:00, we were the only ones there. The owner said he thought it was because of the coronavirus- that people were not going out, even though Hungry has yet to have a confirmed case. Nonetheless, our dinner was delicious and we enjoyed the views of the castle area lit up at night.

It cracked us up because so many people thought we were nuts for going to Turkey and Jordan but the biggest threat seemed to be in Budapest as a large protest with extensive police presence, including plenty in riot gear, passed by the front of our hotel!

The following morning we woke to rainy skies but were all up earlier than expected. When we finished breakfast and stepped outside, the rain had stopped and some blue sky was poking through!

We made our way along to our first stop, “Shoes along the Danube,” a memorial to the Jewish citizens of Budapest, lost to the holocaust. Jenny couldn’t understand how people could smile and have their pictures taken next to this heart wrenching memorial – obviously clueless in its meaning.

From there we walked around the Parliamemt where we considered a tour but the next one was an hour later and confined inside with a large group of people crammed together – we took a pass but enjoyed the immense grandeur of the behemoth.

About this time, we had kept watching a tram going by and noticed on the map that it went near to the areas we were headed. After some difficulties securing tickets, we figured it out and hopped on – for two stops before it terminated. Oops!! Off we got and looked closer at the map finally figuring out the routes; we mastered it for the rest of the day!

Our next stop was to the Buda side of the river to the famed Castle Area. It was a beautiful historical area that we enjoyed walking around and the only area where there were crowds.

We continued walking from there further along the Castle Area until we decided to head back down as Jenny wanted the iconic picture of the Parliament Building (that is located on the Pest side, from the Buda side).

Our stroll continued, including a nice stop for lunch.

Crossing back over to Buda we went to the Market hall in search of a famed chimney cake , a cinnamon sugar stack of yumminess!

So after 8.7 miles, we called it a day. Too tired to make our dinner reservation, we ate in the hotel and were all asleep by 8:30 to get as much rest as possible for our long trek back home tomorrow – hopefully an uneventful one!

We enjoyed Budapest a lot. Thought it a beautiful city, at least what we saw of it but felt a bit of that cold personality like we experienced in Latvia and Lithuania. It was though, a nice stopover and we are glad we took the time to see it!

February 26 and 27, 2020

Oh Wow Plus 100 Camels

Our one day of rest and relaxation in Aqaba turned out not to be. The hotel’s main pool was under construction and the noise was unbearable to sit outside, even on our balcony. So we hung out in the room and got caught up on work and the blog.

At 3:30 our driver came to fetch us and bring us to Wadi Musa, the town closest to the main entrance of Petra. I have decided that Jordanian drivers are a bit reckless and certainly drive like the wind. As we topped out at the pass through some of Jordan’s highest mountains, there were patches of snow still sitting in the shade. Crazy to think yesterday it was snowing here.

We made it to the hotel just in time for sunset, had an incredibly warm welcome from the duty manager, the cousin of a waiter at the other hotel who we had befriended and watched the sun set over the beautiful mountains.

Dinner at the hotel was delicious and we all went to bed early for the alarm was going off at 5:30AM so we could get into Petra before the crowds.

Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the second one we will have visited this trip (the first was Wadi Rum Protected Area). It is not known precisely when Petra was built, but the city began to prosper as the capital of the Nabataean Arab Empire from the 1st century BC, but was later annexed to the Roman Empire and continued to thrive until a large earthquake in 363 AD destroyed much of the city. The earthquake combined with changes in trade routes, eventually led to the downfall of the city which was ultimately abandoned, only to be “discovered” by westerners in 1812.

Our timing this morning was great as we pretty much had the Siq all to ourselves as we walked in. The Siq is the ancient entrance to the city of Petra. It is basically a ridiculously deep slot canyon with walls some 250 feet high, still paved in ancient cobblestones in part, with remnants of original dams, canals and carvings of the Nabataeans. The walk through the Siq was beautiful and peaceful, leaving us in great anticipation of arriving at the end where we would come face to face with the Treasury, Petra’s most famous building.

Arrival at the end of the Siq gave us the initial glimpse of the magnificent treasury building. Stepping out into the open brought this stunning structure into full view, literally resulting in audible gasps of, “Oh wow!” It is a truly spectacular sight and there were few other people around to detract from its impact. Thies remarked that he had expected it was going to be much smaller than its actual size of roughly 80 feet high. It’s original purpose is still a mystery but it has recently been thought to be a tomb. The carvings and columns are lovely, and its placement under an overhang, built into the sandstone cliff is truly marvelous. We lingered here a while, taking photos and just absorbing its overwhelming presence before heading down the main trail deeper into the old town of Petra.

All of the canyon walls are filled with caves. There are hundreds of them carved into the rock having been used for stables, homes, tombs, stores, etc. We knew there was a view of the Treasury from above so we set out to find it. We ended up eventually finding the main trail of Al-Kubtha that would take you up high on the cliffs above the Treasury for a view down on it. Did I mention that this trail takes you up? Like up 1 mile and over 600 steps or in the case of some areas just indents carved into the rock. This trail was a serious workout but the views along the way were spectacular without a cloud in the sky to obscure the panorama.

Thies and Jenny had gone on ahead of us…you know younger more able bodied folk they are, and by the time we made it to the viewpoint, we found them hanging out on the edge of the cliff in a Bedouin’s tea house, chatting it up with a family from the Netherlands. The family was grateful to receive news from us that we had passed their two other children carrying their hotel-packed lunch boxes not far from where we were now.

The view over the edge down to the Treasury was breathtaking. We sipped fresh pomegranate juice and watched as the sun rose high enough in the sky to shine its first rays of the day on it, lighting it up slowly from top to bottom – so dramatic!

Back down the 600 steps and our knees surely felt it more than our glutes did going up! Oh, but the price we are willing to pay for the experience of it all.

On the way we checked out the area known as the Royal Tombs. They are magnificent in their structure and colors of granite zigzagging every which way throughout- reds, yellows, whites, blacks, oranges, and pinks were like a sunset explosion.

Billy and Thies decided to try their hands at negotiating with the local Bedouins for a few souvenirs and gifts to purchase to take back home. As it seems for all of the vendors, they are masters at their craft and even a truly excellent salesman like Billy, doesn’t stand a chance…At one point, the vendor offered 100 camels for Jenny… at anywhere from $3500-$5500 per camel I’d say she’s worth some money. But once again, the experience was fun and the items purchased will immediately remind us of the incredible time we have spent here in Jordan.

We continued down on the main trail, knowing that tomorrow we would cover most of the same ground so instead we veered up into the hills to see some of the outer, less visited sights that we were sure we would not want to stop at after our planned trek for tomorrow. The temple of the Winged Lion was pretty basic, with not much to see as none of it had been restored.

The other was the Byzantine Church, which while also not restored, and having been mostly destroyed by earthquake and fire, was a great stop for the mosaic floor alone. We also got a good laugh over the “guard” watching a US boxing match on his iPhone flinching and jerking with what must have been the jabs and blows being dealt in the ring.

Though still early in the day, it had already been a full one for us and the sun was out in full force. We decided to call it a day and go find some grub as we were all hungry and tired. The crowds on the main trail, the ridiculous amounts of trinket sellers lining the road, and the large numbers of donkeys and camels everywhere certainly detracted from the scene this should be. I was so happy we had enjoyed it before it had turned into a bit of a circus with the tour groups and crowds. In reflection, had we entered to the scene we exited on, the entire experience would have been different and probably disappointing.

Lunch back at the hotel hit the spot and we all passed out right after. We woke to watch another beautiful sunset over the rugged mountains of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan -such a great day!

February 28, 2020

Beautiful Jordan – In More Ways Than One

We were out the door on time this morning at 6:30AM for our drop off at Little Petra. The taxi driver told us to let the guy know at the bookstore outside the Petra Visitor Center when we were ready to be picked up and he would call him. I told him if he never hears from us to please send a search party out to look for us.

Technically there’s one way in and out of Petra, making it so you have to backtrack but I had read about a hike in to Petra through the “back door” that allows for one way travel. It also allows for you to avoid having to go up the grueling 800 or so steps to see the Monastery, the last structure on the main trail inside the confines of Petra Archaeological Park. The back door entry follows the Jordan Trail which is basically the Appalachian Trail of Jordan and can be done in a few hours. It was all appealing so I applied for the permission letters to hike before leaving home so we would be all set.

We arrived at Little Petra and were the only ones there, even the Bedouin vendors hadn’t arrived yet. We walked through the canyon, entering Little Petra through its ancient “door.” We were amazed how this far out from the main sight of Petra there were still hundreds of caves and carvings.

I searched for what is known as the Painted Biclinium, a sight that was said should not be missed. A sign helped point me in the right direction where I climbed the sandstone steps to peer inside the first century AD structure to view one of the few surviving examples of Nabataeans frescoes depicting grapevines, flowers and cherubic figures, including Venus. Pretty neat indeed. From there we walked back out where we found the sun lighting up the main temple turning it a beautiful golden color.

Thies took on the roll of navigator using the maps.me program to guide us to our destination of the Monastery. The trail is not very well marked. There is the occasional orange rock or red arrow, a sign every so often but that’s it and there are a lot of trails running off of the main trail so GPS was pretty essential.

The first two miles or so of the trail was through open country of sparsely populated Bedouin camps. No one was moving except for the dogs who dutifully ran up and barked at us only to turn back home once we passed their grounds. The lapis sky did not even have a single cloud and with the air only slightly crisp, we were happy with our decision to get an early start.

Orchid on Our Trail

The first small ascent took us to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking Wadi Araba. Here the topography dramatically changed. We descended into the canyon on a trail that hugged the wall only to round a bend and have Thies point out that the trail goes up and I mean up! Thank God we came early because the trail was still in the shade as while I had read that there was some incline on this trail, no where was it mentioned that there are 292 steps you must climb – I know, I counted! After yesterday’s 8 miles and 600 steps, it was a bit of a “oh sh@t” moment looking straight up but up we soldiered on to reach an incredible viewpoint looking all the way out across the Jordan Rift Valley.

Up until now we had had the trail all to ourselves. There were a few people on a hiking tour that we passed at the rest stop but that was it until we came upon the cutest lady whose rosy cheeks matched the color of her heavy robe and were perfectly accented by the colorful headscarf she wore wrapped tight on her head. I would guess she was in her sixties, mainly from the grey in her eyebrows and the creases around her twinkling eyes. “Monastery? she asked. “Yes,” I said. “Where you are from?” “The United States,” I replied. “Ahhh… America…” In her very rudimentary English she said she was Bedouin, she goes to sell pashminas and that she makes this trek every day! What? Every day? We hadn’t passed a village let alone a tent in miles and we still had miles to go. Not to mention those grueling steps we had just climbed. She was adorable and immediately I was drawn to her beauty and her strength.

Not too long after that we rounded another bend and were looking out ahead at the trail trying to figure out which direction we were going to go next. There weren’t many options – right side, a 2,000 foot drop, left side a sheer wall. As I scanned the mountain I was drawn back to a video I had seen about this hike. I looked across the canyon at a small cut out in the rock face, “Oh dear God, that had better not be the freaking trail.” Thies turned to me, GPS in hand with this look of utter sympathy and certainty and stated, “I think that’s it.” Immediately my heart started pounding. “It can’t be,“ I implored. I had asked on the Trip Advisor forum about the issue for people with heights and I was assured it had all been rectified and there was only a small part (five feet they said) that would bother someone with acrophobia, even if it is not intense. There was no wall, and for that matter there was no trail! This trail made the trail in Zion look like a walk in the park. I told them I was going to have to crawl and Jenny was too because I would be so freaked out watching her walk it I couldn’t handle it. Just then some people that must have been ahead of us crossed the trail. There was no mistaking it – that was the trail. Thies, in his ever upbeat attitude turned to me and assured me, “You got this!”

As T minus zero came closer, my heart was pounding in my ears. Thies went first and got so close to the edge both Billy and I were begging him to step back. Jenny went next and once up assured me it wasn’t as bad as it looked. “It’s just this one part,” she said. Billy stayed behind me, supporting me through his silence. Just as I make my first step up, legs ferociously shaking, trying in vain to slow my breathing, I hear a voice calling, like a beacon of light to a mariner, “Madame. It’s OK. You be fine.” The sweet little lady was watching me, recognizing my tentative steps and desperate grabbing at any crevice in the rock face I could find. Her words and encouragement melted my heart. “I’ll be fine, she said. I’ll be fine.”

The trail continued from there, hugging the cliff with views to die for out over the rugged terrain but with a small wall separating us from the drop off, I was Ok.

We started to descend into the valley, slowly zigzagging down the canyon wall where eventually the terrain widened again and the top of the monastery could be seen. Cresting over a small hill, where the Monastery first came into view, was as memorable an event as ever. Its commanding size and presence made a lasting impression. Jenny asked why the Treasury was the face of Petra when the Monastery was so much more impressive.

We sat up on a hill overlooking it for quite some time before we moved lower to a tea house to continue soaking in the view. Jenny and I ordered a pomegranate juice and a lemon and mint juice while the boys scurried around.

Scenes from the Teahouse:

Not too much later the cute lady came through but now she was hauling a nylon rice sack filled with firewood. I smiled at her, enthusiastically saying, “You made it,” while she smiled back and continued on her way.

The hike from the Monastery back to the visitor center required descending the 800 steps we avoided by coming through the back door. The stairs are lined with vendors – everyone selling the exact same thing. How any of them make a coin is beyond me. It must be a tough life.

At some point, Thies and Jenny got ahead of Billy and I. As we made our way down, I came across Jenny taking a photo of the landscape when a young boy on a donkey nearby told her she could take his picture. When she did, she asked if he would like to see it and she spent a few minutes sharing it with him and laughing. I love that Jenny is never afraid or thinks she is too good to have meaningful exchanges with the people she meets on our trips. In fact, the opposite is true. She thrives off these interactions.

Another couple hundred stairs and once again Jenny gets ahead of us. This time we round the corner to see Jenny talking with the adorable lady from the trail, and I immediately know we are about to spend some money. She and Jenny are in an exchange smiling and laughing with each other. She sees me and grabs Jenny’s hand, leading her to a bench to sit down and tells me to take their photo. I do and share it with her. I point at all the wood she hauled and she smiled and said, “tea,” She asks if we would like to buy a pashmina and I am immediately struck by the fact her stall has about 20 pashminas compared to the 50, 100 or more that we have seen. She has only a few other trinkets and then some rocks and goat antlers that she has collected for sale. She says her name is Shayla and asks Jenny hers. We buy two scarfs from her for 7 Dinars apiece and she offers us a third for 5. Before we know it, she hands Jenny one of the few trinkets she was selling, a colorful mobile that has camels hanging from it, and says, “ A gift from my heart. No pay. For you.” My heart is melting at the thought of this lady who, if she’s lucky sells one item a week – if that, gifting Jenny something. It isn’t the first time we have experienced the generosity of someone who has so little and I suspect it won’t be the last. It is unfathomable really but perhaps not inexplicable.

There is something about Jenny that people are drawn to. Perhaps it’s her genuineness and her pure interest in interacting with people. She is patient and kind with others and always respectful. When an opportunity presents itself to have a moment or two of authentic banter, Jenny jumps on it. Just yesterday she shared a photo of herself in her “cheese head” from the Green Bay Packers game we went to, with a guy who, honestly, knew no different but said he had wanted a Cowboys baseball cap or “maybe one from Green Bay Packers.” She convinced him a slice of Wisconsin cheddar on his head was far better than any nylon cap with a boring old star. But these are the scenarios that seem to happen to us every trip. The few minutes it takes to engage in genuine communication, changes the entire feel of a trip. Jenny is a champ at it and for that she, we, really anyone who travels with her, is heavily rewarded by it.

We bid our goodbyes to Shayla and finished the last of the stairs off to find Thies waiting at the very end. Traveling with us isn’t quick – we slow down to take the scenery in, to shoot pictures, to chat with the locals or to pet a dog. We tend not to rush through things but also to not draw it out to the point that it’s painful. The more countries we travel to, the more we recognize it’s not about the number of things or places we can tick off having seen but the impact the place has on you and for that to occur, you must slow down and smell the roses – so we try.

The majority of the hike back out was the same from the day before. It wasn’t quite as crazy with tourists, perhaps yesterday a cruise ship came into Aqaba. Our cabbie said there has been so much fluctuations in tourists. After the Arab Spring, it was almost nonexistent. It had been strong until the coronavirus and now numbers are rapidly dropping. They are worried what will happen. I can only imagine.

Over lunch, Thies said the hike was one of his favorite things. I agree. It was just over 9 miles of rugged spectacular beauty.

That’s the Moon and Venus in the Top Left

February 29, 2020

The Lowest Point on a Highlight of Trips

We woke to another blue bird day in Petra to make our way north again, this time to the Dead Sea. After breakfast, where I broke down and had one last cup of Bedouin tea with pita and labneh; I guess I was a bit sad to leave this area of Jordan, we started our journey. Our final night in Jordan would be spent at the lowest place in the world at -1,300 feet below sea level. We had only planned one stop and that was at Dana, an abandoned village that is now the home of nothing else but a popular guesthouse for those people traveling on the Jordan Trail.

As we gained distance and elevation the weather changed quickly. We entered a thick cloud layer that left the road blanketed in fog. If anyone were to ask me whether I, at any time felt uneasy or unsafe in Jordan, my answer would be – only when driving in a car. The roads are of inclines that would never pass in the States. The width and guardrails for two lane mountain roads would be unheard of – except maybe in some of our national parks – I’m talking about you Rocky Mountain NP! But the absolutely craziest thing is that the lines in the highway appear to mean nothing – solid, divided, dashed, existent, or the fact there’s none and certainly should be. The left side’s second lane of travel is apparently also the right side’s; two apparent lanes really means three lanes, or occasionally four lanes; the random speed humps encountered in the middle of nowhere are meant to be dodged or what the hell… hit head on going 100 km/hr. So is Jordan safe? Absolutely… unless you are driving in a car. Which is why I was glad we had the accident early on, to get it out of the way and let me rest easy… ha!

As it was, on our way from Dana to the Dead Sea, I thought this could be all she wrote for us. Thies, once again, was drooling with the thoughts of biking this paved way and me, in the last row of the minivan was just praying our driver, who apparently actually races cars for fun, realized how precious his cargo was.

It was more than unfortunate that the fog hid most of the views that surrounded us as for the moments we could gain a glimpse – oh my, were they outstanding. I had no idea Jordon is as mountainous as it is – it is crazy rugged, with jagged peaks every which way – totally unexpected.

As we whirled down the mountains, we came around a corner and laid eyes on a sight I had never seen before and hope to never witness again. There were dogs… tens, if not hundreds of them living in this stretch of desolate land with no obvious reason of being there nor means of surviving there. It was like “Planet of the Apes” but with canines. One of the strangest and most troubling sights we have ever witnessed.

Our descent down from the summit was rapid and unprecedented. We had descended 5,000 feet in less than two hours and were still high in the mountains when Billy announced we were forty feet below sea level. Wait! What? Thies and I both said we were having a really hard time wrapping our heads around the fact we were below sea level while we were carving through canyons high in the mountains above the Jordan Valley far beyond. How is it possible?

When we finally hit the valley floor we headed north to our last stop of the trip. It was amazing passing by stand after stand of vegetable sellers. There are clearly no hungry people in Jordan as the ridiculous abundance of crop-grown foods makes it impossible.

There was a surreal feeling to traveling along, looking at an area that is known to be a place of great angst for the Jordanians. Jordan, like Egypt, has a peace accord with Israel but there is little doubt that there is no love loss there. More than half the population of Jordan considers themselves to be of Palestinian descent – I think I need not say more. It was like today as we were driving and Billy asks the driver who the bumper sticker on the car in front of us is an image of. Seriously? I thought he was being a bit radical. Qadar, our driver, emphatically and almost with a surprising tone states, “Saddam Houssein. The Jordanians loved him.” As far as I was concerned that was a “check” response. Do you really pursue that as an American? I think not.

We pulled into the Marriott and underwent another round of heavy security screening again. But, this was the first place that flinched at Billy’s pocketknife and they actually ended up taking it away from him. He was beyond perturbed to say the least but he held it together and relinquished it with an agreement to pick it up tomorrow before we leave for the airport.

We grabbed a quick lunch on the deck overlooking the resort and the Dead Sea before everyone changed to take a dip. It is well known that the sea has healing properties but it is also known that you can pay a price to receive those benefits.

Thies, in a bit of impatience, ran for the sea before I could warm him and before he read the large warning signs, that any drop of salt water in the eye was going to basically feel corrosive. The Dead Sea is ten times saltier than your typical ocean water and as such what stings in the ocean basically burns here.

Crazy You Can Raise your hands and your Feet

Billy, Jenny and Thies had fun bobbing around in the rather rough water even though it had far more waves than normal. After a bit, Billy exited and Jenny and Thies proceeded to cover themselves in the famous Dead Sea mud. I didn’t bob, mainly because I chose to be the photographer, as well as, I had a few wounds from my tumble out of the truck that I thought if the salinity were to touch, would have me walking on water. I only covered my hands and arms but could feel an absolute difference in my poor parched skin afterwards.

The rest of the day was spent lounging by the pool, watching the sunset and having our first non- Middle Eastern dinner in ten days. We also bid adieu to Thies as his flight was early out. We had a lot of fun with him. It was of course great getting to know him even better. Billy says he’s soulful, and he really likes that about him. I see that too – a very nice quality to have for sure.

There’s nothing like spending time immersed in another culture to remind you how lucky you are yet it enables you to develop sensitivity and understanding of our differences and learn to be comfortable with them. It allows you to recognize and accept that we aren’t the same and that we shouldn’t judge one another by our cultural standards or norms rather we should find common ground to relate to one another – based around respect and decency.

I went into this trip not too sure how we, as Americans, would be welcomed and treated. The people of Jordan have blown away any preconceived fears I might have had. The genuine, heart-felt appreciation they showed for us visiting their country was truly overwhelming. I was shocked by the praise we received as Americans, certainly not what I was expecting.

So many fears were laid to rest and so many misguided ones at that. I found nothing but warmth here and of course raw beauty in not only the landscape but especially the people. I feel a bit of a fool thinking it would be any different, having allowed mainstream news to be my guiding light. I had read and heard so many accounts that a trip to Jordan was life changing; I worried it might be a let down and I wouldn’t feel that way too. I’m happy to say that’s not the case. It more than changed my perspective on this part of the world and isn’t that really what one of the main goals of travel is all about – enlightenment?

There are so many memories etched in my mind. So many take sways I am grateful for. So many sights that left me breathless and so many people that made my heart melt.

A life changing experience for sure.

February 20-21, 2020

Warm Welcomes and a Top Five Experience

Just as walking out the door in Istanbul quickly let us know that we were in a Muslim country, arrival at Amman airport was quick to let us know that we were in the Arab world. Besides the obvious airlines, Fly Dubai, Emirates, etc., there was Yemen Air (which I am not too sure I would take any time soon) and Safe Air (hmmm?…the name alone sets me off). Within minutes there were gentleman in traditional Arab garb – actually pretty cool because I have only ever seen them on TV and many women in burqas.

There was a process to go through to enter – visas stamped and certified, passport control and one more final security check verifying it all one more time, before we could enter baggage claim. But we were warmly welcomed to Jordan.

Our driver, Murad, was waiting for us with a sign and warmly welcomed us to Jordan. Our nighttime drive in was a bit of a let down as we were hoping to get the full experience of being in the Middle East but their were definitely obvious bits and pieces to it.

Of course the feeling that we are actually in the Middle East comes to play in your mind. There is a clear risk traveling here, especially as an American, but then there is a risk everywhere nowadays – New York, Barcelona, Paris, etc. Back at the hotel in Istanbul, we had to walk through a metal detector and place any shopping bags through an x-ray every time we walked into the hotel, though they were a bit lackadaisical about it with known guests. But still, there was a security presence.

I had read about security in Amman, especially at the hotels, but I was not quite prepared for the extent of it. We pulled up to the hotel and were struck by the initial welcome experience. You pull into the driveway stop at a security checkpoint where the driver opens the window, the guards wipe the steering wheel looking for any residual trace of explosives his hands might have left behind, they then walk around the car with a mirror on a stick looking underneath for bombs, they have the driver open the trunk, record the license plate number and check to see who is in the car. They then lower the huge cement Jersey barrier defense system so you can drive on. All of this before you reach the actual doors to the lobby.

Murad was so cute. He turned to us and said, “Please do not let this alarm you. Jordan is a very very safe country. You can walk the streets any time of day and all night long, go anywhere and you will be fine. There are no safety issues here in Jordan. We are very lucky.” After the car is cleared, you then drive up to the front door where you unload and then pass through a metal detector, a swipe over with a wand if you beep and your bags go through x-ray. OK – at this point we are definitely feeling like we are some place we have never traveled to before.

The front desk clerk warmly welcomed us and before we knew it, the front desk manager came sashaying over also warmly welcoming us, thanking us for visiting and letting us know we had been upgraded to an executive suite where fruit platters and pastry platters etc were waiting for us. He could not have been nicer and more friendly. Billy told him how refreshing it is that the international Marriotts seem to always make their guests feel special and the hotels in the US seem to care less. The manager said the US and UK hotels seem to treat their customers with a take it or leave it attitude while the international hotels really want their guests to be happy and to return. He couldn’t be more right! There is something terribly wrong with that, especially considering Billy spends anywhere between 75 – 100 nights a year at a Marriott hotel.

By the time we had received word that Jenny’s boyfriend Thies (who was on his way to join us) was delayed out of Amsterdam and would more than a likely miss his connector in Bucharest. it was 2:30 AM before we had figured out what happened to him and that he would not be arriving until tomorrow now. Jenny was obviously very disappointed but we were happy to hear that at least he would be arriving tomorrow at 3:45, so he would not miss too much time. We passed out exhausted in hopes of a better’s night sleep.

With all of that, on top of how tired we all already were, there were no plans for today. We woke up at 10:30AM, got some work done, and left at 1:45 to have what turned out to be a delicious lunch at a very hip place called Sharms el Balad.

After lunch, we decided to walk down to the center of the old town and check out the Roman Ampitheater. The walk was through a quiet neighborhood yet we clearly drew interest from any passerby’s. Down on the main drag the city seemed to come alive. There were endless shops, many selling traditional outfits for ladies that were actually both exotic and chic. But here is where we certainly felt the fact we are westerners. The stares were only matched by those in Myanmar BUT we heard “welcome to Jordan” from just about every vendor we passed.

The Ampitheater was bustling with families and couples out enjoying the beautiful day. Today is Friday, the first day of the weekend here in Jordan and the locals were out in droves. I will be honest in that it was a bit uncomfortable recognizing that we were so out of place. Why that wasn’t an issue in Myanmar I can only guess that our minds have been tainted by the news with all that is reported about sentiment of Americans in the Middle East. Funny thing is, while we were waiting for our Uber driver, we were speaking to a cab driver that has worked for the Marriott for 20 years. When Wolf asked us where we were from and we told him America, he responded, “Americans are good people.”

Following a very quick visit to the Amphitheater, we hustled to get back to the hotel to meet up with Thies. We grabbed a taxi, who overcharged us by double, though it was really Billy’s fault for offering him double but by the time we arrived at the Marriott, we had laughed so hard with Faoud (or Jimmy as he says his nickname is) that we felt like we had paid for entertainment. Another person who loves America and was happy we were here.

Thies was there waiting for us; Jenny was thrilled; and our possee for the next nine days was together. We basically turned around to head out to the Citadel as high on Jenny’s list of things to experience was to watch the sun set over Amman while listening to the call for prayer. Wolf drove us but informed us the Citadel had already closed but we could still enjoy the views and the calls.

Standing on this hill, overlooking one of the many valleys that Amman is built on was beyond surreal. Watching the gigantic Jordan flag waving in the wind, high on the hill, the flocks of birds flying, the sky turning a light pink color, all while hearing the call to prayer echoing through the valley was an experience I think none of us will ever forget. It was like the stereotypical opening scene to any modern dramatic movie set in the Middle East. Truly one of the most amazing cultural experiences ever.

Though little time spent, the hours we have have surpassed our wildest imaginations. There is no mistaking where you are. It seems on so many of our trips, we can find similarities to places we have been or see things that remind us of other locales – not here; not yet at least. Amman is unique — there is no two ways about it. Personally, I am hoping this trip will wipe out the preconceived ideas we have of this area. I am hoping it will let me see a side to the place and the people that is never portrayed to us – the crazy thing is, the few hours we have been here, it is doing just that!

,

February 22, 2020

Roman Ruins and Dutch Fun

We were up and out early today as Murad was picking us up at 9:00 for a trip outside of Amman to the northern part of Jordan, not far actually, from the Syrian border. The weather was drizzzly but the forecast was for it to clear so Murad said he would pray to the Angles of Open Skies to clear the way for us.

Our ride into the countryside was very pretty through verdant hillsides covered in olive trees. There were many farm stands on the sides of the road selling carrots, cabbage, pumpkins, tomatoes, pomegranates, bananas and basketball-size heads of cauliflower. If only there was not so much trash everywhere, the scenery would have been spectacular. But as it was, you certainly had the feeling of being in foreign lands.

Our first stop was Ajloun Castle located high on Mount ‘Auf at 1250 meters above sea level. Ajloun Castle is a 12th Century fortress that was built under the rule of the sultan and military leader Saladin. Unfortunately, the normal outstanding views of the Jordan Valley, Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem were obscured by the low clouds that hung.

The views had been the main reason to come but oh well, it was still pretty cool to see, even if most of it has been rebuilt since the Crusades.

The second stop was the main reason for today’s trip – Jerash.

We didn’t even make it more than ten feet passed the front entry before one of the vendors caught a hold of Thies. He was a good sport and let him wrap his head in a traditional keffiyeh before he turned him down to purchase it. We had a good laugh at the fact that the price at the front door was 5 Jordanian dinars but by the time you passed through the whole souk and made it to the backdoor, the price was down to 3 dinars!

The ancient city of Jerash has been occupied for the most part for 6,500 years, beginning in the Neolithic Age. Today, it is considered one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in the world, outside of Italy. Amazing considering all it has been through from occupation by the crusaders, massive earthquakes and wars. It boasts colonnaded streets with hilltop temples, a huge hippodrome that used to be the scene of chariot races, a large amphitheater that for some reason had men dressed in traditional Arab clothing playing a drum and the bagpipes and a beautiful forum that is still largely intact.

Upon arrival, the weather had turned partly sunny and at one point it got downright warm however it wasn’t long before the clouds returned but how lucky for us that the rain stayed away.

It was very pleasant walking the immense grounds – passing under Hadrian’s Arch built in 130, walking along the stone streets that are rutted from years of chariot use, and having a laugh that the Jordanians there selling trinkets knew where Eindhoven is!

We also had a great laugh from Thies, dancing high up on the forum to the bagpipers down below. Thies is missing Holland’s Carnival to be here in Jordan, so it is necessary to throw in a little bit of that Dutch spirit!

Our car ride back took a little longer than anticipated as we had a bit of a fender bender once we got into Amman. Our driver made a super sudden stop – ABS activated and all but we got hit from behind. We all felt fine, the car sustained no damage which surprised us as it certainly felt like a pretty good impact Needless to say, we took some prophylactic ALEVE and are hoping for the best in the AM. Well, we can tick that one off our checklist – thankfully it was a super minor one!

We made it back to the hotel wondering if we had time to try and see sunset from the Citadel since we missed it last night, but the clouds were still hanging in Amman so Jenny decided we will have many more beautiful places to watch the sunset over the next few days. I think she is right. We are headed to some of the most remarkable and unique locations in Jordan, if not the world. A great adventure still awaits us.

I will be offline for at least two days. We are traveling to Wadi Rum tomorrow to spend two nights in the desert at a traditional (well pretty traditional) Bedouin camp. We have a few fun adventures planned but I will hopefully be able to get caught up on Tuesday evening once we are back in wifi and have electricity!

February 23, 2020

Bedouin Beauty and Mystery

We left the hotel at 8:00 AM to start our drive down south to Wadi Rum. I had planned only one stop after leaving Amman and that was in Madaba to see St George’s Church – home to the largest mosaic map in the world. Inside this Greek Orthodox Church, rediscovered by builders in 1884, is the oldest map of Palestine on record and is believed to have been created in 560 AD. The only problem was, we showed up at 9:00AM – just in time for Sunday Service so we weren’t able to walk inside and see this historical wonder without waiting until 10:00 AM for service to be over. So we hopped back in the van and continued south, turning on the King’s Highway.

The King’s Highway is noted in the bible as the road that Moses was banned from using by the King of Edom as he tried to lead his people through. For hundreds of years, the highway was also an extremely important trade route between Arabia and Syria. Today it not traveled as much as there are two alternate highways that are much quicker compared to the slow going sinuous road that had Thies wishing he had his bicycle. The driver told him to close his eyes and pretend he was riding while we zipped down the canyon.

We stopped at a roadside viewpoint where we were wowed by the incredible valley that lay below us. There was a large dam that created a good size lake in this otherwise dry area. We had a good laugh when Thies noticed a sign on one of the vendors homes that offered Stamppot – a traditional Dutch dish of sausage, kale and potatoes. The vendor was cute as could be – said Americans are very nice people and wanted to know why the people from the Netherlands are so long – too funny! This guy who lived in one tiny room gave Jenny and I each his last two oranges, insisting we take them because they were from his heart. Once back in the car I said he looked just like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and everyone laughed and agreed!

I had imagined Jordan to be dry and barren but for the first two hours it was green farmland and hills in all directions but very abruptly it changed to a rocky landscape . As we drove along I thought again how strange it was that it didn’t seem familiar at all, especially the desert. I’ve been in and have driven through plenty of deserts in my life, yet this one seemed different. I finally realized that the reason this didn’t look like any other desert I have seen as it had no plants at all and only rocks, baseball size grey rocks that looked as though they had been scattered by someone playing jacks.

We made a few stops along the way but the remainder of the drive was unremarkable less seeing daily life in small towns.

We pulled into the Wadi Rum Village about six hours after we had left Amman. The village was a scene of pickup trucks outfitted with benches in the bed, bedouin drivers and guides standing around, all in traditional dress of thoabs (a long dress-like cloth) and keffiyehs (some red and white with the agal-rope, some solid colors tied around the head). It was quite the scene but our driver quickly found the right truck to take us out into the desert to our camp for the next two nights, Arabian Nights Camp.

The drive across the red sand under the craggy mountains was amazing. Thies said it reminded him of Monument Valley – so fun it is a familiar place to him. There are certainly aspects that are similar to Monument Valley, the ochre sandstone cliffs stained with black streaks of desert varnish but upon closer inspection these rock formations are different than any I have ever seen.

Twenty minutes later we pulled into our camp – far removed from other camps we had passed, small in size, unbeatable in location, and looking just like I hoped it would – like a traditional Bedouin camp. Our tents were awesome with views to die for… we couldn’t have been happier!

The communal tent where meals are taken and guests congregate was warm and inviting with benches and tables lining all sides, a fireplace on one end with animal hide rugs strewn about on the floor and hot tea on offer.

We went for a walk and marveled at the rock formations – red rock sandstone with white sandstone seemingly poured on top dripping down just like a drip-cake. I honestly have never seen that before anywhere. We watched the sky turn colors as the sun set far from where we could see the horizon.

Soon thereafter we made our way to the communal tent to enjoy the warmth of the fire for once the sun disappeared the chill quickly set in. Our dinner was a delicious chicken dinner known as zarb, cooked in the ground on a tiered rack with carrots, potatoes and onions. It was served with a variety of chopped salads, hummus, pitas, and a vegetable dish that is similar to ratatouille. All simply delicious!

The scene in the communal tent was something straight out of a movie. A dark smoky lounge, if you will, guests and workers hovered around the fireplace exchanging stories and smoking cigarettes. The room only lit by a few bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Other guests quietly sitting around on the outskirts taking in the scene before them. Such a vibe; and an unforgettable one at that. At one point this tall western-looking guy walks in – hair a bit unkempt but pulled back in a ponytail/bun, good looking guy, wearing a full length traditional heavy Bedouin robe, clearly familiar with the people and comfortable with the place- and takes a seat on the floor at the fireplace. He immediately seemed familiar to me adding to the already mysterious feeling of this place. But when he spoke, in his thick Australian accent, I was certain we had met before…

Our beds called quickly, and our cozy tent, walls lined with thick goat hair rugs and a bed covered in a super fluffy duvet kept the frigid outside temperatures from making it unbearable but the room was finally a temperature we liked – sleep came like a high speed train – fast and unstoppable!

February 24, 2020

Oh the Magic of Wadi Rum…

This morning we had a different sort of breakfast, a simple Bedouin style one but I fell in love with their tea – IF you mix it with regular black tea. The Bedouin style tea is a black tea mixed with enough sugar to keep C&H in business for the rest of their days and a copious amount of sage, that grows like a weed here – seemingly one of the only things that dares to grow here. If you take a cup of straight black tea and hit it with a decent shot of Bedouin tea, you have a drink that is certainly exotic yet enjoyable.

As we walked back to our tent following breakfast, our neighbor popped out of his tent and teased us that we were having a champagne breakfast because he saw a bottle of wine sitting next to our tent door. The weird thing is, it only added to the sense I had had about him last night when he walked into the tent for dinner – by this time I had placed him in a previous time with all of us but, though feeling certain it was him, thought the odds were so infinitesimal that I said nothing.

Our driver Omar loaded us up into the heritage Land Cruiser pick up truck and we headed off for a full day tour of the Wadi Rum Protected Area. The morning air was brisk to say the least and we bundled ourselves against the chilly weather. Our first stop was Kahdzhuil Canyon where we could see ancient petroglyphs left behind from the tribes who inhabited this area long ago. Our first, of what turned out to be many, trips into a canyon in Jordan was beyond entertaining watching Omar maneuver through the slot canyon trying to show Thies how to avoid falling in the water by mantling through the small slot canyon- incredible!

When we came out of the canyon, Omar said he wanted to show us something. He told us to wait where we were while he walked over to an area and scooped up sand in his thoab. He knelt down on the ground and then asked Thies how to spell his name. He then scooped up some sand in his hand and proceeded to “write” Thies on the dry sand with what appeared to be wet sand. He followed with Jenny, Billy and Dominique. When he was finished writing names he then “drew” a camel to which Jenny and Thies each gave their best shot at sand drawing a camel as well.

Next stop was a very large sand dune with an unbelievable view from the top. Unloading from the pick-up, I got the heel of my shoe caught in the tailgate of the truck and before I knew it, went crashing to the ground. Jenny looked at me and said, “Oh Mom…”; Billy looked at me and said, “You OK?”; I laughed and said, “Well, that’s one way to get out of the truck!”; Omar smiled at me, said nothing but extended his hand.

Our stop at the sand dune brought us to an area that allowed for Thies to do the one thing I knew he had wanted to do – sandboarding. Omar gave a brief, and I mean brief, explanation on how to do it – stand up or sit down. There it was. Thies, smartly, and in great relief to me, decided to have a go at it sitting down. He caught some speed but remained in control the whole time. Relieved he made it with no broken bones, I cringed when he suggested he and Jenny go tandem. He climbed back up, caught his breath and off the two of them went, tumbling off at the end but rising from the red sand unscathed! The sand boarding box has now been checked – done!

Not long after we pulled away Omar stops the car, gets out and asks Billy, “You want to drive?” Billy jumped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat, zipping along through the desert. Our next stop was a small, manageable hike to a natural bridge known as Khor al Ajram, or Little Bridge. We all did the small hike to the top and then headed on to the next stop.

A few minutes after leaving Omar stops the car, gets out and asks Thies. “You want to drive?” Thies jumped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat taking us through the desert to our next stop – a super cool one for Jenny, as it centers on one of her favorite movies- the purported house of Lawrence of Arabia. There really wasn’t much to see, but the views from above were stunning and passerbys had built hundreds of cairns that certainly made for a stunning visual effect.

Not long after we pulled away Omar stops the car, gets out and asks Jenny, “You want to drive?” Jenny says, “No thank you. I do not know how to drive this kind of car,” to which Omar responds, “No problem! I teach you!” Jenny tried again to assure him she was fine but he insisted she should drive so she hopped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat and got her first lesson in driving stick shift, in the red sands of the UNESCO sight of Wadi Rum. All three of us passengers in the pack of the pick up were amazed at how well she did handling a stick shift, driving in deep sand, with a guide who, those his English was more than passable for what the weather was doing, would not be your first choice as a driving instructor for learning to operate a standard vehicle. Jenny handled it all like a pro, she didn’t stall once, and she and Omar were laughing their way through the magnificent scenery of Wadi Rum.

We made a quick stop at a canyon to enjoy the view and not long after we pulled away Omar stops the car, gets out and asks me, “You want to drive? You know how to drive this kind of car?” I jumped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat assuring him I did and off we went! We made a wrong turn or two and I was trying hard to follow his directions, “turn left…turn right…harder right…no harder left…no right again” until we found the right track to our midway stop of lunch. We pulled into a beautiful alcove and Omar set up a large rattan mat for us while he got busy preparing a delicious lunch of vegetable stew from scratch. We all enjoyed lazing in the sun and marveling at the silence that befell us. The silence here is heavy, weighing on you like a wet blanket, quickly dimming all other senses as it takes over.

Following lunch we headed out again further into the desert where none of us had a clue where we were or where we might be headed. We stopped at Mushroom Rock, then another canyon, and then another canyon where Omar stopped and told us to walk through and he would meet us on the other side. There were a few other people there that it felt OK. The next canyon and then the next that Omar dropped us at with intention to meet us at the other side had fewer and fewer people until we were the only ones. I told Omar it showed him our complete trust in him, even though we had only known him for a few hours. He drove away smiling and said, “Yes…see you tomorrow…”

The final stop was for sunset, we climbed high up on a sandstone mount where we were feeling certain we would have a beautiful sunset. We got there an hour and a half before the sun was due to set, set up our cameras and relaxed.

About 20 minutes before sunset, we watched as a literal wall of weather came roaring in, taking out the sun, turning the skies black, wiping out any trace of distant Mountain View’s and leaving us with the feeling we were going to get really wet.

The Perfect Line of Weather Coming at Us

We ran for the truck, where Omar was waiting on the other side of the hill so he could not see what all the fuss was about but we managed to convince him somewhat that something bad was heading our way and we needed to go, like now.

We made it to camp, before the rain started, took showers to try and rinse the sand from the cracks and crevices it did not belong in and made our way to the communal tent where the fire was going and we could relax and warm up for a bit.

At some point, the familiar mysterious man walked in and I finally turned to Jenny and said, almost in jest, you know who he reminds me of, that guy in Patagonia we picked up hitchhiking; She said she could see that, but end of story because really what are the chances. That was three yers ago in an exceptionally remote pat of the world, hours from any civilization and that is exactly where we were now – in an exceptionally remote part of the world, maybe not hours from civilization but certainly far removed. And need I mention there are over 7.5 BILLION people in this world….so what really are the chances of running into a complete stranger twice in this life? Infinitesimal right?

We finished our dinner and for some reason the subject of Patagonia, the region not the clothing brand, came up. I do not remember how it all unfolded from there but I turned to this guy knowing exactly where I was headed with this conversation and started off with:

“You ever been to Patagonia?’

“Yeah, I’ve been there.”

“You go there on a motorcycle?”

“Yeah” (with a bit of a strange look on his face)

“You ever been to El Chalten?”

“Yeah. I think I was there.”

“You broke down outside of Chalten. We picked you up hitchhiking with your tire in hand and took you back to your motorcycle.”

(Him now looking intently at me)

Me continuing…”You were with your girlfriend but there wasn’t enough room in our car so she stayed behind and we took you to your bike”

(Clearly I struck a chord)

Him: “Was the motorcycle yellow?”

Me: “Hmmm. I can’t remember that. But I remember you got shook down in Venezuela by the cops and it was your scariest country in South America.”

Billy: “What’s your name?”

Him: “Daniel”

All of us: “Oh my God, you are the guy we picked up.”

Him (Daniel): “Are you sure it was me?”

Billy shows him the selfie I took of all four of us next to his broken down motorcycle and he confirms, “Yeah…that’s me and that’s my motorcycle.” We all about die from the sheer impossibility of it all.

We spend the next hour or so, reminiscing on that fateful day, how it all came to be, what happened after and how incredibly remarkable it was all four of us were sitting together again in a Bedouin tent in the remote lands of Wadi Rum, Jordan. Life doesn’t really get any more bizarre than this. It is difficult to write this one off as a mere case of coincidence. I’m not spiritual really, certainly not religious and even less so superstitious but this one has certainly left us all stupefied.

February 25, 2002

Authentic As It Gets

We woke in the middle of the night to heavy rain falling on the roof of our tent. I remembered that Mumu, one of the Bedouin owners of our camp, had said we were under a flood advisory. As I lay in our tent, images of flash floods sweeping down the canyon floor crept into my mind. It probably didn’t help that Mumu had shown me a video of heavy rains in the area at one point not long ago and how the canyon floor had turned into a roaring red rapid.

When we woke in the morning the mountains were obscured under a blanket of heavy fog and rain was still falling. Funny that we are here in the rain as Wadi Rum averages three days of rain a year. We got dressed to meet up with Daniel to recreate our selfie and to meet up with Mumu to find out what our plan was for today before we departed. We had originally planned a camel ride, all of us except Billy that is, but with the rain and cold we weren’t too sure about that now.

Last night Billy had asked Mumu how to tie his shemagh around his head the way the Bedouins do. Mumu told Billy his was a bit too small and that he would gift him a keffiyeh in the morning. True to his word, he had a camouflage green one that he quickly and expertly tied around Billy’s head -perfect for Greer Billy thinks. In return, Billy gifted Mumu his flashlight, a rechargeable 1,000 lumens torch that would light up the entire valley floor, just about.

Mumu suggested we wait and see about the weather if we wanted to ride a camel but in the meantime he wanted to gift us a small side trip. He said his cousin would come to take us out to a truly authentic Bedouin encampment to see the real way these nomadic people live.

His cousin Faisal was the real deal. He wore a long red and white keffiyeh with the agal ring around his head and a heavy thick Bedouin robe with a thoab underneath and sandals on his feet. His deep mahogany skin was worn, he smoked like a chimney and had a smile so genuine and warm he immediately felt like a friend. We hopped into his pickup truck and off we went into the desert to some unknown place, at an unknown distance, for an unknown time – a real adventure I assured my crew!

Faisal drove like he was participating in the Dakar rally, taking unmarked forks left or right with no hesitation. Something tells me he could make this drive in the thick of a moonless night without his lights on! He was a man of few words but spoke English well enough to communicate with us. We pulled up to a few ramshackled tents and got out of the truck.

There were goats, chickens and a donkey on one side and camels on the other. A woman was speaking in Arabic, clearly caught off guard that she was having visitors. Faisal told us we could take a look around and then join him in the tent to sit by the fire and drink tea. A few flakes of snow actually began falling at this point and the ever so dainty dusting they left on the rock features was magnificent, allowing for a definition in depth that is otherwise difficult to distinguish.

The wind really whipped at us and it wasn’t long before we were sitting around the fire drinking tea with Faisal and a young boy.

I asked Faisal if this was his home and he said no, that he lives in Rum Village now but he had lived here like this as a child like his father and grandfather before him but his parents moved to the village for Faisal and his siblings to go to school, never to return to a nomadic life. While I think it is wonderful that education is given such an importance, it is also a shame that traditional ways of life are lost. It was interesting because in Rum Village there was written on a wall, “Education takes you out of the darkness and into the light.”

Faisal told me these people were his cousins – everybody we met from the workers to the guides all called each other cousins. They said there were hundreds and hundreds of cousins, reminding me of some of the heavily Mormon towns in Utah or then again, perhaps a Phelps family reunion!

As we warmed at the fire, I had some serious reservations about the tea we were about to drink. The cups were “washed” in a plastic bin with beige colored water. The water for the tea was poured from a 40 gallon plastic jug once used to hold some sort of oil. The water was put on the fire where I had hoped to see bubbles rising but I was going to have to settle for steam – and some serious hopeful thinking. I had read and had been told how incredibly rude it is to turn down an offer of tea, especially if you are sitting in someone’s house like we were, so a “no thank you” was not an option, no matter how sincere and polite it may have been!

An hour later, we left to go back to camp and grab our things. It was still raining and cold so we decided the camel ride was off the table, much to Jenny’s disappointment. Though I was up for the challenge of trying to ride a camel, after having just been bounced around in Faisal’s truck, I figured my neck and back were probably holding on by a mere thread before giving out, so I thought it best to skip it as well.

Mumu met us in the village to hand us off to a taxi driver that is his good friend and was insistent on giving us our money back for the prepaid camel ride. We refused the money instead asking him to please share it with all of his workers and thanking him for the extra trip out to see the traditional Bedouin Camp – something we all enjoyed and Thies even commented on the ride back that he really liked it.

The one hour ride to Aqaba was a gorgeous drive through a canyon between two sets of jagged mountains streaked black with basalt and red with iron ore intrusions.

It wasn’t until we got to Aqaba that the rain finally let up We could see the streets were covered in dirt that had washed from the garden median into the road. Security at this hotel was just as severe as in Amman, which of course we welcomed. Upon checking in, the front desk clerk said that they had received more rain over the last ten hours then at any other point in the last eight years. Wow! So glad that wasn’t the case in Wadi Rum because for sure we would have been washed away.

The hotel is very nice but it certainly was a bit of a let down. The funny thing is Billy was upgraded to the Presidential Suite – the one room I had specifically said we did not want. The view from the hotel is great, overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, an offshoot of the Red Sea. Here you can see four countries at once – Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – pretty cool. We watched the sunset over Mount Sinai and since the restaurant at the hotel was unexpectedly closed that we wanted to dine at, we opted for room service since we had a dining room table. We enjoyed a casual dinner in our room overlooking the lights of Israel reminiscing of our time in magical Wadi Rum.

February 15, 16 and 17

“How many hotels in how many days?”

And we’re off… on another grand adventure to an area of the world that might not be considered by many as top of their bucket list. We are excited and certainly a bit nervous, but I think that is to be expected. There are lots of things we are looking forward to and of course there are the unknowns – which there are in all trips – but maybe more so in this part of the world.

Our first stop is a few days in Istanbul followed by ten days in Jordan and two nights in Budapest. We had lots of concerns about travels to this part of the world. When we heard of the demise of Suleimani we thought for sure our trip was done. As we sat and waited and watched the steps of all involved, we felt ok. When Trump’s new “peace plan” between Israel and Palestine was offered up, we sat and waited again. When the coronavirus started spreading, we sat yet again. Part of me thought there’s a message… but the rest of me knew that I couldn’t read into happenings that way. I read many reports from just returning Americans from Jordon, all proclaiming no issues for them, everyone was very friendly and welcoming. They don’t like Trump and his politics but they have no issues with Americans at all. Of course, we aren’t naive enough to realize that is the case for everybody and we certainly understand there is a risk for terrorism but we, as a family, like we always have, sat down and discussed it, concluding there really was no reason not to travel.

Our trip began with staying the night at JFK before our morning flight to London Heathrow. I had booked a room at the Marriott Courtyard but Billy suggested we should stay at the new TWA hotel – he thought it would be a neat experience and a fun way to start off our trip. We arrived at 6:30 and were immediately struck by just how cool this hotel is!

They have done a great job bringing the era of 1950s air travel back to life. It is an instagrammers dream and the people watching was far beyond entertaining. There are multiple areas to dine and drink but the highlight is an original 1957 Constellation airplane stationed outside that has been turned into a cocktail lounge.

My mom told me that when she left for Africa in 1956 from La Guardia airport, she flew on a TWA Super G Constellation. Her flight had to stop for refueling in Gandor, Newfoundland; Shannon, Ireland; Paris and finally Athens before she transferred to Ethiopian Airlines for the rest of the trip – can you imagine? It would be fun to bring her there to see it all again!

Our morning flight to Heathrow was uneventful but arrival at 10:00 pm threw us off a bit. We had an eleven hour layover and by the time we got to the hotel the kitchen had closed. Dinner ended up being Domino’s Pizza – something Billy and I haven’t “dined” on since college and Jenny had never had.

We woke Monday AM and found that I had an email from British Airways saying our onward flight to Istanbul had been cancelled – end of story, no alternative given. I called and spoke to an agent who asked me how flexible we were. Expecting perhaps he would suggest an alternate flight that left a bit later and required a stop, he instead offered up a flight that would get us to Istanbul on Thursday! Mind you that’s three days later and is the day we leave for Amman. I quickly let him know that was not an option and relayed the flights on Turkish Airlines that they could put us on instead if there was no British Airways flight until then. After some back and forth he agreed and so we were looking at almost twelve hours to kill before our new flight time. We all went back to sleep since we hadn’t had much the night before and decided after showering that we would go to Windsor Castle for a few hours.

We called an Uber, arrived in Windsor 20 minutes later, grabbed a quick bite and hit the castle running. I had been there when I was fifteen and remembered how grand it was but it was fun for Billy and Jenny to get to see it. We saw the lavish state apartments, the queen’s dollhouses which we all said Sib would love, and then St George’s Chapel where Harry and Megan were married (where we of course lit a candle for my dad).

(No pictures allowed inside).

In and out in record time thanks to low crowds, we made it back to Heathrow with three hours before our scheduled flight.

We went to check in at the ticket counter to get our boarding passes and discuss our luggage that we hadn’t seen since we checked in at JFK as it had been checked thru to Istanbul and the guy totally blindsided us. He said we didn’t have seats. We were standby because BA can’t just go giving away their seats. He said they were oversold and there were others in front of us in the same boat. I told him I had confirmed with Turkish myself this morning and I had a record locator number that Turkish Airlines had given me to confirm my booking. He replied, “I am Turkish Airways and I say no seats.” OK buddy… screw you…so we went to a kiosk and checked in there using the Record Locator number they had given me earlier and bingo – we got boarding passes. In a hurry to get thru security before he figured out what we had done ( although we were well aware we couldn’t count our turkeys until they hatched- he could always yank us off the plane) we went to check on our luggage situation at the international transfer desk only be told again they were oversold and we didn’t actually have seats. We acted dumb but this guy was very nice and helpful and somehow after twenty minutes of phone calls, confirmed our seats – phew!

When we boarded the plane we checked the app to see where our bags were and they were still sitting where they were this morning. Needless to say, we weren’t feeling positive nor thrilled with the idea of another day in the same clothes we had left CT in two days previous. As it turned out – no bags and no indication of when we might ever see them again.

There had been a cute family sitting in the row in front of us who we chatted with upon landing and complimented the children on their stellar behavior. They were so cute! The man saw us sitting in the baggage office and came in to speak to us. He lives in London, does a lot of business in the States but was born and raised in Turkey. He wanted to offer his telephone number in case we needed anything, had any questions or just wanted to meet up. His name was Hayati and it’s times like these that your faith in the kindness of others gets restored. It was perfect timing…

It was beautiful coming into Istanbul and seeing all the mosques lit up at night – there are so many of them!

But by the time we got checked in at the hotel it was 3:00 AM. The hotel is beautiful – a brand spanking new JW Marriott in an old renovated building with views of the nearby Galata Tower and clear across the Bosphorous to the Hagia Sophia -simply stunning.

We were welcomed with passion and appreciation by the staff and upon entering our room, there was two plates of lovely desserts waiting for us – the best baklava I have ever tasted!!!

I washed clothes until 4:00 AM, drank a glass of wine and then collapsed into bed to post this. I worry we will end up sleeping most of the day away but I’m determined to get up and get out of here to go out and explore. The weather is supposed to be stellar in a time when it is normally cold and rainy or even snowy. We are looking forward to checking it all out and soaking up the culture here.

February 18, 2020

Bazaar Istanbul

I set an alarm for 9:45 this AM in order not to sleep until dinner. It wasn’t easy waking up but we rallied to get to breakfast before they stopped serving. It was an incredible spread on the top floor with a beautiful view.

We were out the door by 12:00 walking in the crisp air of a beautiful sunny day. Walking along, it didn’t toke long to realize that we were in a predominantly Muslim country. The majority of women were wearing headscarves and clothing that covered all of their bodies while plenty dressed al in black with their faces covered as well.

Yesterday on the plane flight, Jenny pointed out that the seat back entertainment console had a channel that was the countdown for the next prayer as well as a screen that showed where Mecca was in relation to the plane – a first for us for sure.

Our destination was the old section of Istanbul to walk the ancient roads. I had originally had a plan for us but with the delay, I decided better to just let the day unfold as it may be instead of try and force something that should have been.

We immediately walked across the Galata Bridge that spans the Golden Horn. We loved watching the hundred or so fisherman lined up side by side tossing their lines into the waters below hoping to catch a puny fish. The dichotomy of people was an interesting statement.

The waters of the Bosphorous and the Goldon Horn are a beautiful cerulean color. There were thousands of clear jellies floating along that we could see from high above. We came across our first Mosque and Jenny said immediately that she wanted to go in. Since we had no baggage, we had no head wraps so we had to make a quick stop to buy some. Of course there was one next to the mosque and at $3 a piece, it was not an issue to purchase ourselves one since ours were who knows where!

The mosque had a sign for the tourist entry where a notice was posted to remove our shoes. Reminiscent of Myanmar we thought but there our socks too needed to be removed, here they could stay on but the females needed to cover their hair. This Mosque, the name I do not know, was as plain as and drab as any office building in middle America. We didn’t stay long, before setting our sights on the Egyptian Bazaar, also referred to as the spice market.

The spice market building was quite beautiful inside. It had one long middle street with all the shops open on the sides. It was busy but not so much so that you couldn’t see.

It didn’t take long for one of the sales guys to pull us in to his shop. His tactics were smooth yet humorous, not pushy nor overbearing, persistent yet respectful. Billy was quite active here, choosing some mint tea he had been given a sample of, as well as a peppercorn mix. He tried to persuade me to look at the other floors of Turkish rugs but that didn’t happen. He was a real affable guy and we enjoyed the entertaining time spent here.

Onward to the Sulaymaniyah Mosque I had read about as being lovely we stepped out into the packed streets of the shopping corridor where vendors stores were hawking everything from wedding dresses to silk flowers, scissors to traditional dress costumes, shoes to pashminas – each store specializing in only one item. We wondered how they stay afloat with so many of them competing selling the same stuff.

Istanbul is built on hills and we were encountering our first one as we climbed up towards the Mosque with the reward being an incredible view!

The Sulaymaniyah Mosque is 500 years old and has stood through turmoil and earthquakes. It was beautiful inside, not lavish like the great cathedrals but had an understated elegance with stained glass windows, tile inlay, arches and domes and chandeliers that appeared to almost be floating. We came in just at the end of prayer where the men pray in the great room and the women pray in separate enclosed rooms all the way in the back of the building whose glass windows are covered over with a very intricate wood lattice work. Certainly interesting.

There was a volunteer tour guide there who approached us and gave us a quick history on the mosque. He spoke of America as following that of the Ottoman Empire and ruling many lands. He asked us, referring to us as brother and sisters, if we were religious to which Billy replied, “No, but spiritual.” Jenny and I also replied no but told him we respect and welcome everyone’s beliefs – to which he quickly agreed and went on and in about tolerance and respect but then went on to explain how Judaism is incorrect in this way and that way – so much for his speech on tolerance and people respecting one another.

We enjoyed the peaceful grounds of the Mosque and decided to go see another one. The second mosque Sehzade Camii, was similar to the first but had no other people in it when we visited which was a nice surprise.

Walking through the neighborhoods was very enjoyable. We haven’t been stared at like I thought we would, though I’m sure it is coming in Jordan. I have heard very little English spoken, seen only one tour group and felt like there aren’t many Westerners here that aren’t of Turkish origin. It has been very pleasant and we have felt welcomed every place we have stepped into.

Scenes from around town:

We decided since we were in Istanbul, we should see the Grand Bazaar – a legendary sight that is known for being overwhelming to the senses. As it turned out it was quiet and pleasant and the much hyped touts trying to get you to buy their rugs weren’t out in force. The bazaar has over 4,000 shops in it, employing more than 30,000 people. It is an indoor labyrinth of alleys and walkways that leave one confused as to how to get out! It’s a good thing we still have no luggage because Jenny saw so many boho things she knew would look “just perfect” in her room!

We stopped for snacks of kebabs and then headed to the famous Hafiz Mustafa for a box of baklava and other Turkish pastries of which the names and ingredients are unknown to us but the taste is sublime.

As we were walking back across the Galata Bridge, Billy erupted with how much he was “digging Istanbul.” He likes the vibe here – go figure. Once at the hotel we had hoped to find our luggage awaiting for us but to no avail. We enjoyed a drink in the top floor lounge overlooking the Bosphorous and Asian side of Istanbul until we could no longer stand the cigarette smoke – crazy it is still allowed here.

Dinner was at Ahente Para way way way up on the top of a long steep climb – one that really worked the glutes! We ordered a few mezze plates but found ourselves exhausted from our travels and lack of sleep.

Billy decided to head back to the hotel and Jenny and I went clothes shopping for all three of us. Our travel insurance had kicked in now so we stocked up on some basic essentials to get us through a few more days .

Back at the hotel Billy ran into a colleague from – Alcon. I swear he runs into people he knows at the craziest of destinations!

By the time Jenny and I got back it was almost 11:00. We walked 10 miles today and were completely wiped. The front desk guy said that the airlines told him our bags were coming on the flight that landed at 11:00 pm – fingers crossed!

February 19, 2020

Misunderstood Understandings

We ended up with a late start this morning, mostly due to me trying to get the blog done. I had given it my best effort last night but after multiple times of nodding off and lines of random letters being recorded, I succumbed to the demands of the sleep god and rapidly hit REM. Around 2:30AM both Jenny and I woke up by chance and watched as a large fire burned across the Golden Horn in the area we had walked around in yesterday.

It was 12:30 before we headed out and wouldn’t you know just as we were leaving, we were informed our luggage had arrived! Yippee!!!

We wasted no time making our way to the ferry terminal where we planned to catch a boat across the Bosphorous to an area known as Kadikoy. Since Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents, we figured we should partake in its uniqueness and visit Asia today as well!

We were having a heck of a time trying to figure out the ticket machines when a nice young guy came over and helped us out. Everyone we have encountered in Turkey has been very friendly so far, well everyone that is except that jerk Mr. I am Turkish Airlines. Yeah! But who’s laughing now? We made that flight didn’t we? HA! And really, he wasn’t even in Turkey; he was probably just a bitter Londoner!

There were two adorable girls at the ferry terminal, maybe late teens early twenties who were handing out samples of, go figure but, Oral-B toothpaste. They asked us where we were from, then from what state. Their English was exceptionally broken but the one managed to tell us that her boyfriend has spent two summers working as a bartender in Connecticut of all places! As we walked away they high fived each other and giggled with delight over their ability to have a conversation with a few Yanks.

It was too bad a heavy mist hung low this morning as the views were wonderful and on a clear bluebird day I’m sure they would be spectacular.

The first thing that struck me shortly after we disembarked was almost none of the women on this side wore head wraps and there were plenty of short skirts, tight clothes and colorful hair. In my totally unscientific estimate I would say 85% of the women yesterday were covered and less than 5% today were – quite interesting.

We enjoyed a nice walk through a very nondescript area that happened to follow along the coastline. Once we got into the lee, it was downright warm to the point we had to take off our jackets. We delighted in the feel of the sun, the quiet leisurely pace and the removed feel of the local neighborhood area.

Kadikoy is known as the boho area of Istanbul, hence why we ventured there and while there was a very small area with that vibe, we wouldn’t have recognized it as such had we not been told. We enjoyed the street of vintage stores, purchasing a few postcards and a couple of old coins with holes drilled in them for Jenny.

We stopped for lunch, which really turned out to be an early dinner because by the time we were finished it was 4:30. The food was fine, nothing worth describing in detail or photographing but it did its job, especially after we had waited a ridiculous amount of time for it, watching every table that came in after us receive their food and we still waited… Billy remarked that that seemed to be the theme of our trip so far – “misunderstood understandings.”

We thought we had ordered our food but apparently we hadn’t; we thought (because we were told) our luggage was coming yesterday at 5:00PM but apparently it wasn’t; we were told we had confirmed seats on the Turkish Airlines flight but apparently we didn’t; we asked if the lip balm Jenny was buying was clear, we were told emphatically it was, but apparently it isn’t because after application Jenny looked like Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Oh well c’est la vie!

As we walked along the bustling streets, we entered the market place area. It’s always so much fun seeing how the locals shop and what is clearly the important staples. There were your obligatory fruit and vegetable stalls, a few meat stalls, lots of fish stalls, olive and other brined items stalls and lots of delicious bread and pastry stalls. Billy was keen on going into the pastry stall when he saw the huge variety of cookies available. The guy behind the counter couldn’t have been cuter, insisting on giving us cookies to try before we bought some, and even asking to be in my picture. So fun and delicious and special.

We ended up running for the ferry back making it with exactly 8 seconds to spare (there’s a countdown clock as you board but don’t worry there was another one twenty minutes later but it seemed like a fun thing to do).

Back on the European side, we walked back across the Galata Bridge, this time on the lower level past the row of seafood restaurants on our left where the employees were standing waving their colorful, laminated picture menus, begging you to dine in their establishments. On our right were the lines and sinkers of the fisherman above. We had a good laugh about how much fun it would be to tug like hell on their lines leaving them to think they had caught a fish far larger than the seven-inchers their buckets were full of.

Walking into our room, we were all three giddy with excitement over the sight of our suitcases. We had made due just fine; none of us had complained. You can’t be a traveler and not be flexible. You can’t say you want to see the world and not be able to roll with the obstacles that inevitably accompany that desire. We could have missed out on two great days in Istanbul if we had focused on our missing suitcases. Instead, we dealt with the hand we were given and made the absolute best out of it – that’s the way we Merricks roll! But nonetheless, contact lenses, skincare products, and blue jeans were a welcome sight!

Jenny and I went out for a quick “photo shoot,” leaving wiped out Billy relaxing in bed. There was a cool area we had seen from the breakfast room above and so we went to go find it even though the sun was pretty much set.

We found some other street art while we were out too.

By 7:30 Billy was asleep, and Jenny wasn’t far behind. I, on the other hand, was nowhere near ready for bedtime. I cancelled our dinner reservation and decided to go for a walk to get some better, closer nighttime pictures of the mosques. I ventured to just the other side of the Galata Bridge, enjoying the walk and vibrancy of this city. The fisherman were still out, though not in the numbers we saw in the daytime and loads of people were walking every which way.

It was a great day in Istanbul. We were on two continents in a matter of four hours – how could you not love that? Because of our delay, our itinerary of planned visits got messed up. The sights I had originally planned to see on Monday are best seen early in the AM before the crowds arrive – that wasn’t an option for us jet lagged fools on Monday. And those same sights were closed today on Tuesday. We have tomorrow, most of the day as our flight to Amman isn’t until 9:15PM, so that’s our plan for tomorrow. Up and out early but… I know how that goes… so we will see!

And a few more random photos from our walk about today:

That’s a Cat on Top of the Vine-Covered Tree

February 20, 2020

The Biggies

It was an early morning for us today- out the door just before 9:00. We used the leftover money on our travel card from the ferry to grab the tram to Sultanahmet; what a nice and convenient way to travel.

Today was going to be a day of Istanbul biggies- the famous landmarks everyone says you must see. The weather was chilly with overcast skies and rain forecast in the near future but we figured we could knock most of the sights out before the skies opened up.

Our first of four stops was the Blue Mosque built in the early 1600s for Sultan Ahmed I. It has six minarets and five main domes. The inside was similar in design to the mosques we went to on the first day but on a much grander scale with more mosaic tile work. It is difficult to appreciate the full beauty of the inside of the mosques because as visitors, we are relegated to the very back and can’t walk around much of the inside.

It’s interesting how many mosques there are in Istanbul- 3,113 according to my research! It seems everywhere you look, there’s a mosque. It kind of reminded us of all the churches on Santorini.

Our next stop was the Hagia Sophia whose name means “holy wisdom.” It was originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the sixth century A.D. but has also served as a mosque and is now a museum. When it was first constructed, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This state, officially Christian, originally formed the eastern half of the Roman Empire and carried on after the fall of Rome. It only became predominantly Muslim after 1925.

Unfortunately, the inside is undergoing extensive renovation with half of its interior covered in scaffolding and cloth covers but what we could see was simply stunning. The stone floors with their 1400 years of history have been worn smooth, especially the marble thresholds that have depressions in them now. The stained glass windows, iron work and intricately painted tiles were a real sight to behold. The beauty of it all was there were very few people to contend with – a real treat for sure!

From there we walked across the street to the Basilica Cistern, an underground chamber that more often than not is filled with water, but this time it was almost dry. The cistern was dark and very damp as one might expect with the constant dripping of water from the ceilings above. There are hundreds of stone columns and arches holding up the earth above that have been lit in a delicate way giving the place an almost romantic feel.

On our way to our final stop we passed this gal wearing a vest that said “Security” on it. We were cracking up that she was probably imported from the States and someone thought they were getting themselves some ferocious pit bull but instead ended up with this precious beast who was desperate for Jenny to pet her and who was just as desperate to climb the gate and love on her…

Our fourth stop on the Istanbul biggies tour was Topkapi Palace. We were very pleasantly surprised to see no lines at all to buy tickets. I had read to get there early, before all the tour groups, and you could have the place to yourselves so we didn’t dilly dally this morning!

I had also read to make your way to the Harem first so as to also not contend with all of the tour groups. As it turned out not only did we not have to contend with any tour groups, we didn’t have to contend with anybody else at all. Us and one other family of three were the only ones we saw – a super duper treat!

The harem is a large complex made up of baths and chambers, courtyards and passageways, with a few large “meeting” rooms interspersed. While only a few pieces of furniture are in here the highlight is the simply gorgeous mosaic tile work, intricate mother of pearl inlay and gold leaf accents all making a lavish feast for the eyes.

We wandered the rest of the grounds of the palace, popping our heads into some of the various buildings – housing the likes of antique armors, clocks and watches as well as artifacts and relics sacred to the Islamic faith, including a gold cast of a footprint of the prophet Mohammed.

By this time the forecasted rain began to fall and the thought of wandering the streets, getting drenched and being cold, did not appeal. We were relieved to see that our early plan was a good idea because upon exiting the serpentine of ropes for purchasing tickets were completely full now! Yeah us!

The fun thing about Istanbul, for Billy especially and today’s stops in particular are that James Bond “From Russia with Love” was partially filmed here. He was so excited when Jenny told him about the filming locations. He is a huge 007 fan and watching the movies is one of his and Jenny’s favorite pastimes.

We used up the last of the money on our travel card for a tram ride back, deciding to just go back to the hotel where we could relax and enjoy lunch upstairs overlooking the Bosphorous, Golden Horn and the Hagia Sofia before heading to the airport for our flight to Amman. We had a delicious meal, excellent service and really enjoyed having the entire dining room to ourselves.

Back in the room, we decided a nap was in order as we were all beyond tired. The room has been too warm for us every night and none of us have had our best sleep. Couple that with days of travel, a change of eight time zones, miles of walking, and keeping some crazy hours and voilà, we all passed out.

Once at the airport we marveled again at just how enormous this building is. Billy said he doesn’t think he’s ever been in a space that’s as big as this. It was interesting because security is right when you walk in the door, the first security checkpoint that is. I am assuming that is in response to the terrorist bombing that took place at the old Istanbul airport lobby a few years ago. Of course something in Billy’s bags got flagged and they spent quite some time determining if he could fly with a lighter or not – ever the boy scout he is. What I can’t believe they didn’t take was his rather large pocketknife. They seemed more interested in his nail kit. I suppose if it had been in his carryon, he would have lost it at the second x-ray screening.

On the car ride up to the airport, Billy reiterated how much he liked Istanbul. He said the lay out of the city, the history and the culture made for a really fascinating few days. Of all the places my maternal grandparents traveled to, Istanbul had been their favorite. Funny that it seems to be one of Billy’s too. Jenny and I both really liked it as well. For a quick visit we got a good taste and experienced things we have never before, especially the mosques and heavily muslim culture. We never once felt the least bit unsafe or unwelcome nor did we feel like we were intruders in their world. Istanbul sits at the crossroads of not only two continents but two very different cultures. It really is a captivating city and one we would all gladly return to to explore in more depth.

October 22, 2019

“Why Riga?”

Leaving The Netherlands after eleven days was sad for me and beyond difficult for Jenny. Our time spent with our “family” there was very special and once again, the hospitality went beyond! Billy joined us for the final two nights which was wonderful as he get to see everyone again and meet new people he had never met before.  

Some Highlights from our trip:

A trip to my father’s childhood home

 

Jenny and her boyfriend Thies standing in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany!

 

Giethoorn

Heusden

 

The funny thing is everyone kept asking us, “Why Riga?” Well, you know us, we go places that aren’t as on the beaten path but that wasn’t the reason this time. Billy has always said he wants to go to Riga but when you ask Billy, “Why Riga?” He really is not too sure why. He thinks it came from a book he read once. So we don’t really know why Riga but we are nonetheless excited for two new countries and in an area that we haven’t been to before.

Our flight from Eindhoven to Riga on Wizz Air was a breeze. Wizz Air is a low-cost Hungarian airline and while the seats and interior felt pretty worn, the female pilot did a great job getting us through some pretty good turbulence and rough landing conditions! 

 I was prepared for our arrival in Riga by previously downloading the Bolt app (the Latvian equivalent to Uber). I had read all about how badly the taxis scam you here and was glad to see it reconfirmed by the signs posted everywhere in the luggage claim area. Our Bolt driver spoke no English but lucky for me he spoke Spanish so communicating was no problem. Unlucky for us was when we were just nearing the Airbnb rental, Jenny gasped and started digging through her back pack. Of course my heart started pounding as I am asking her what she was looking for-my thought is her passport. Turned out it was not her passport but her raincoat which she left on the plane along with her wallet, driver’s license, debit card and 50 euro in it.

We dropped our bags at the apartment and set out to find some food and wifi so we could figure out how to see if the coat was turned in at Lost and Found. After some initial challenges, Billy got through to the airport in Riga and shocking to us, they had Jenny’s coat and her wallet. Billy volunteered to go back to the airport to get it while Jenny and I grabbed some supplies for the apartment.

After our early morning, we all took a quick nap and chilled for a bit before heading out for dinner at Neiburgs. It was a very quiet evening, but our dinners were quite good and we enjoyed the walk back home through the winding cobblestoned streets of Riga. Our brief introduction to Riga certainly left us intrigued and we laid out plans for what we would like to visit over our next two days.

October 23, 2019

“Getting to Know Riga”

Our Airbnb is quite spacious and very nice-two bedrooms, two bathrooms in an old historic building with exposed brick walls and wooden beams. It was very inexpensive (like $80 a night) and is really perfect with one caveat-it is located one floor above a bar where they party hard until 2:00 AM (4:00 AM on the weekends).

Those are our bedroom windows above the doors!

The noise level was hovering at tolerable as we all fell asleep last night but it escalated as the night progressed and as such, we all slept in a bit this morning. I went out for coffee but returned to let Jenny try and get caught up on some school work. We didn’t end up heading out until almost noon and of course by that time we were hungry.

Jenny had wanted to go to the Central Market, so we decided that would make a great first stop. The Central Market is housed in and around five 1930’s era German Zeppelin hangars. Each one houses a mainstay of the diet-fruit and vegetables in one, fish in another, meat in another, breads and dairy in the other with the fifth one’s interior currently under construction. A stop at a local market is always top on Jenny’s list of things to do while we are in foreign lands. She always says there is nothing like seeing the foods that people eat to give you an even better insight to their culture. 

We stopped in the food court first to fill our bellies with some local cuisine before making our way through the stalls.

We joked about how unbelievably fresh the fish were, literally trying to launch themselves from the water tanks behind the display cases while their brethren lay gasping for air having been recently laid out on beds of shaved ice. I always think the markets will end up bothering Jenny but she really accepts them for the bastions of culture that they are-even tolerating seeing all the parts of her beloved piggies on display (I will spare you the pictures)!

Fish roe

The second one from the bottom had us laughing and guessing what kind of cuisine exactly they would serve until Billy suggested perhaps it was food from the Caucasus Region-duh!

After the market, we decided to stay in and around the immediate area of Old Town Riga. Riga was founded as a port town in 1201 and UNESCO has designated its Old Town as one of their sites of culture. We figured we would wander through the streets and turn here and there as interest captured us, but we also had a few planned stops for the day.

The first was to go to the top of the tower of Saint Peter’s Church. The original church had been totally destroyed during WWII, so the current edifice was built thereafter however, it was still lovely inside with its mostly brick nave and dark wooden altar. But the real gem was the view from the top! Wow! So nice with all of the red tile roofs and the spires from the many churches. The juxtaposition of old and new actually worked, for the most part and only seemed to interrupt one vantage point.

You can see Central Market

Our walk from there took on a mind of its own as we weaved in and out of twisted cobblestoned streets, turning down ones that were photogenic or appeared to have something of great interest at the other end.

We stopped by the Swedish Gate, the only gate of the Old Town wall that still stands today, and so named for the courageous Swedes who protected Riga in 1710 during the siege of the Russian Empire.

We stopped for cappuccinos and a sweet (or two) along the way before coming to the second planned stop of the day-the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. 

The Museum is being temporarily housed in the former American Embassy. A note on the door warning one that they would need to heave the doors open was the only outward sign of the building’s former purpose. Apparently following 9-11, the embassy beefed up its security with bullet proof doors that are still in use as the museum has decided to keep them as a reminder to all who enter of current world tensions.

The museum was somber, to say the least. We certainly didn’t expect it to be uplifting but wow, it was a shocking narrative. Latvia was brutally occupied for over fifty years, from 1940-1991, by both Germany and the Soviet Union, losing more than 1/3 of its indigenous population during that time. A horrible time in world history; a time that should never be forgotten. Their hopes for independence were realized in 1989 when the “Baltic Way” (a human chain of more than 2 million people, holding hands through the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) brought world wide attention to their plight-a true testament to the strength of man’s determination.

From the museum we walked on passed the National Theater and Riga Castle (closed to the public now) and on to the “Three Brothers” some of the oldest buildings (early 16th century) still standing in Riga. We headed back towards the apartment, stopping for another cappuccino and by this time a cocktail for us before making our way to the apartment to chill for an hour or so before heading for dinner.

Riga Castle

Three Brothers

Our dinner this evening at Restorans 1221 was delicious. We actually couldn’t stomach dessert as we had stuffed ourselves with appetizers and entrees.

After dinner, we enjoyed another walk home through the charming streets.

St Peters Church

Jenny went to do some school work and Billy and I went to the Armoury Bar under our apartment to see what it is all about. As soon as we sat down at the bar, the bartender took our order and then asked Billy if he wanted to see an Uzi-a decommissioned one but still. There was something uncomfortable about sitting in a bar while handguns and uzis were being crossed across the bar-even they no longer have their firing pins! Not something you would ever see in the States-that’s for sure!

Some of our observations from today were:

-Dark shoes are the footwear of choice-Jenny and I certainly stood out in our white sneakers!

-The Latvians are serious, the restaurant workers show little enthusiasm or friendliness, though we have managed to sway a few with our sincere enthusiasm

-Navigating through the crowds of locals is a bit challenging-they don’t concede any space and they exchange no pleasantries with you along the way

-We are bike rider deprived-no one rides a bike here!

We have enjoyed Riga so far. It is a beautiful city with lots of charm. Wandering the Old Town has felt perfectly safe-even crossing over into the Central Market area was not a problem. The weather has held out for us. After almost eleven constant days of rain in The Netherlands, Riga has remained dry, albeit chilly. The Baltics in October was a BIG gamble weather wise-so far so good even with snow in the forecast for next week! Fingers crossed for us!

 

October 24, 2019

“Another Day of Reflection and Uplift”

This morning was another later start, and after a breakfast at a semi-decent bakery, we headed out for our planned trip. Our morning consisted of grey skies again, a bit of a bummer as it really does create a bit of a somber feeling here, but still we were glad it was not raining, as we had expected to be the case.

Our first stop was the Freedom Monument which was erected in 1935 and has been Riga’s central landmark for almost a century-amazingly surviving Latvia’s occupations and WWII. It is a roughly 130 foot tall granite and copper work of art with the top depicting a woman holding up three golden stars, which represent Latvia’s unification of the historical regions of Kurzeme, Vidzeme, and Latgale. There is a two man honor guard standing watch at the base of the monument.

Our next stop was the Riga Nativity of Christ Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Riga, originally opened in 1884. It is a work of art from the outside and although the cathedral has survived both world wars, in the early 1960s Soviet authorities closed the cathedral and converted it into a planetarium, called the Republic House of Knowledge. The restoration back to house of worship began in the late 1990s and today it has been restored to its former glory.

We entered and were immediately struck by the singing and chanting going on somewhere where we could not see the participants. As we approached closer, we realized there was a funeral taking place. There were seven mourners standing alongside the body of an elderly gentleman while three men and two women, clearly of the church, sang songs and chanted prayers of some kind-the sounds were mesmerizing. 

Jenny has never seen a deceased person before, so for her, it was almost hypnotizing listening to the beauty of the rhythms, echoing through these chambers and watching the man lie in view for all who entered the sacred house to see. She was really captivated by it, in a peaceful, empathetic sense; and believe it or not, it was hard for both of us to pull ourselves away from the scene.

From there we set our sights on one of two planned destinations for today, a museum known as the “Corner House”-the former KGB Operative Headquarters in Riga. So as most everybody knows, we are not museum goers in the traditional sense, but there are museums that tend to catch our fancy; this being one of them.

We arrived having missed the last English tour by 15 minutes. The next scheduled tour was going to be in Latvian, so we decided instead to look into the exhibition prepared on the first floor which tells the story about the activity of the State Security Committee (KGB), during the occupation of Latvia.

When I suggested to Jenny we would have to skip the tour of the basement and cell blocks as the following 2:00 tour was in Latvian, with the subsequent English tour not being held until 3:00, she said we should take the Latvian tour-even if we would have no idea what was being said, at least we could see it. I understood at this point, that she really wanted to see what this place was all about, and I will admit, I was not surprised given her future interests in career paths. So, I approached the tour guides to let them know that despite our lack of the Latvian language, we would be taking the 2:00 tour whether we could understand a lick of what they were saying or not. They looked at me as though I was crazy but I explained that we would rather see it than not, to at least have an understanding of what happened here and with that, they kindly offered that if no one showed up for the 2:00 tour, they would give it to us in English-and so it was!

In 1940-1941 and 1944-1990, chekists (aka KGB officers) imprisoned, interrogated and, executed citizens who were considered to be opponents to the occupation regime here, inside the Corner House. Over 47,000 people were imprisoned here at one time or another. 

Both Jenny and I steadied ourselves with deep breaths as we descended into the depths of prison cells, where unspeakable atrocities took place. To take the time to describe what these people endured would require pages of script. Suffice it to say, in the most simplistic, yet respectful way possible, it was sheer hell. 

Our visit to the Corner House was a revelation on Latvia’s recent past. Yesterday our tour of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia was somber, today our tour was haunting-yet actually fascinating in a macabre sort of way. The tour serves as a memorial for those who suffered within those walls; a disturbing reminder of a dark period in the city’s history that as I mentioned yesterday, and was reiterated by our guide today-should NEVER be forgotten nor repeated.

The good news was once we emerged from the depths of the cell blocks, the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue! What a profound feeling it was to walk out from the dark, dank cellars of this building into the fresh air and sunshine-it certainly gave us a whole new respect for our freedom and offered us the chance to reflect on the few who might have been as lucky, but more than likely, were not…

We had to go back for pictures of the church with the now blue sky!

In the early 1900’s Riga became the European city with the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture with around 50 Art Nouveau buildings of high architectural value in the medieval part and more than 300 in the rest of the Historic Centre. Seeing these buildings was our intended next stop. While the buildings are scattered throughout Riga, there is one area in particular that holds the largest concentration of these particular architectural gems.

We all really enjoyed this mental uplift from the museum we had just left. But, it was closing in on 4:30 and we were all getting a little tired of being on our feet and a bit thirsty. We stumbled upon an ultra cozy bar where we grabbed some beers, fries and cappuccinos while watching a rerun of the Vuelta de España bike race and then a vicious, yet almost comical match of USA vs China in table tennis. 

Our dinner reservations were for 7:00 so after our drinks, we hightailed it back to the apartment, to shower and change before making our way to dinner at Rozengrals. This is the sort of venue we would NEVER attend-a medieval-themed restaurant where the servers are in costume but the setting had been too much to pass on and the reviews had actually been quite good. As it turned out, the setting was stellar, the food was OK but the service was beyond subpar. We certainly did not let it wreck our evening and to recover from it, we grabbed a scrumptious dessert in an equally enchanting setting!

 

Our two days in Riga has been perfect. There would be no reason to spend a third, unless we left the city. The sun coming out today and the blue skies lent a different all around feel for us. They say the city is dying on the vine, that the residents, especially the younger ones are fleeing. It seems evident in the lack of pedestrian populations you encounter on the streets. The one thing that has been so nice, is the complete lack of tourists-especially the ones with the selfie sticks. The Bolt driver told Billy that Americans never come to Riga-we are not too sure why but we certainly did not mind being in the supposed, very limited minority. 

Tomorrow we hope to see more of the country as we take a three hour bus ride from Riga to Vilnius, Lithuania. 

October 25, 2019

“Vilnius by Bus”

We walked to the bus station this morning, pulling our suitcases behind us, feeling a bit like vagabonds as we stopped in the grocery store to stock up on provisions for our four hour bus ride. We got to the station about 30 minutes early, where we sat back and watched people come and go-I honestly believe we were the only foreigners there and certainly the only Americans.

Our Lux Express bus was only half full and it lived up to its name. For 28 Euro a piece, we had large recliner chairs, wifi, monitors in the seat back for games or shows, and coffee service-a deal we all thought. 

The route to Vilnius is pretty much direct but not on a highway like one would expect. Instead, we travelled on two lane roads the whole way. We were a bit surprised there was no highway between the two capitals and wondered why. A highspeed highway would probably cut the travel time down in half when you take out the time for slowing for roundabouts, left turners and stoplights. 

The countryside was sparsely populated and we only passed through a couple small towns and even smaller villages. We saw few people out; even the designated bike lanes were completely devoid of any riders. The landscape shifted back and forth between vast fields of farmland and forests of pine and birch. Except for two major rivers, there were no other real waterways crossed. 

The weather was dreadful-about as close to raining as it could get without actual drops falling from the sky, leaving the view obscured beyond a few hundred meters, making it difficult to get a good feeling for what the countryside actually looked like. 

Fields of yellow flowers-can’t you see them?

The bus ride was uneventful, thank goodness as I had my concerns about Jenny or I getting motion sick, but we were both perfectly fine.

Arrival in Vilnius was to building after building of Soviet-era block style apartment housing-not quite so welcoming. But it quickly gave way to a more modern and built up city with an actual downtown. Compared to Riga, we saw fewer rundown areas housing equally rundown homes that once shone in wealth and glory. And just an interesting side note that Jenny came across-those Soviet-era housing neighborhoods were used in filming the disturbing but riveting miniseries, Chernobyl.

At one point, the bus pulled into a parking area, came to a stop and people started getting off. Billy and I started wondering if maybe we were supposed to get off too. We decided I should ask before we ended up somewhere we weren’t supposed to be like Belarus. The driver said something I couldn’t understand and then, “Next stop, coach station.” OK the coach station must be the bus station so on we went. 

After arriving at the central bus station, we hailed a Bolt and made our way to the old town section of Vilnius where our hotel for the next three nights is located. Hotel Pacai, a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel is a new hotel built in seventeenth century buildings. It was such a great point redemption that it made it difficult to justify paying for an Airbnb. 

The Hotel

Our immediate reaction was that old town Vilnius is more upscale than Riga-it is far more refined with the sidewalks in good repair and the buildings all polished off just so. There appears to be more wealth here with stores housing names like Burberry and Prada. Jenny said that Vilnius is the biggest tech startup hub in the Baltics and has one of the most advanced broadband systems in all of the EU, making sense for the clear difference in outward wealth between the two cities.

After grabbing showers, we headed over to D’eco Restaurant for dinner. It received great reviews and was right around the corner. Dinner was very good, service was a bit uneven and it was the first place we have been where there was a spot on the slip to add a tip-highly uncommon in the EU where they actually pay their employees a living wage.

When we emerged from dinner, the mist had lifted and the stars were starting to come out. We are hoping tomorrow will bring clearer skies for us to set out and explore old town!

 

October 26, 2019

“Vilnius/Riga, Vilnius/Riga”

Wishes for a day of blue skies was not to come true but it wasn’t raining and wasn’t nearly as gloomy as yesterday-so we will take it! After a nice simple breakfast at a cute kind of tacky cafe, we started off for our self-made foot tour of Vilnius using points on a tourist map to make our way along.

Vilnius Historic Centre is also a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. With its beginnings around 1000 AD, but with no real town being developed until the 13th century, by the 15th century Vilnius was the capital of the largest country in Europe, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

There is definitely a difference between Old Town Riga and Old Town Vilnius-the streets here are wider and more open. There are many more people here and lots of tourists groups taking walking tours-but none with the dreaded selfie sticks. There is more color worn and more friendly faces though Vilnius has just as much a shocking and disturbing past as Riga.

In September 1941, two ghettos were established in old town Vilnius. The larger ghetto housed about 30,000 Jews, mostly skilled laborers and specialists. while the smaller housed 10,000, mostly elderly and the incapacitated. Three months later, the occupants of the smaller ghetto had been completely eradicated and this ghetto ceased to exist. From December 1941 until September 1943, the remaining occupants of the larger ghetto were spared as they were forced into labor but on Sept 23 and 24, the ghetto was emptied forcing the 14,000 occupants into concentration camps and labour camps. In early July 1944 the Red Army approached Vilnius and the last remaining Jews were killed off. When the Nazi occupation was done, only 2,000-3,000 Vilnius Jews had survived from the pre-occupation numbers of 50,000. If that doesn’t give one pause as they walk through the streets, not too sure what could; lest, again, we should never forget.

We entered the Orthodox Church here to draw comparisons to the one in Riga. It is simply fascinating just how ornate they are inside. Jenny said that of all the house of worship she has ever entered, which surprisingly has been a lot, she thinks she enjoys the Orthodox Churches the most.

We wound our way along, exiting the old town through the Gate of Dawn and turning down a pretty nondescript road where we did encounter many buildings that were pretty rundown.

We came across an abandoned church-St. Church of the Heart of Jesus, completed in 1756. It was a great photo op and we all wished we could have a look inside, but alas…

This area of Vilnius was seeing a lot of construction in the form of refurbishment of old buildings, that I’m sure will one day be beautiful apartments. Off to the side, was a small park with the remains of an early 17th century walled fortification and a stunning view beyond. Unlike Riga, Vilnius is built partially into hills.

In looking at the map, I realized we were looking down over an area of Vilnius Jenny had just been telling me about a few minutes previous.

The Republic of Užupis is Vilnius’ boho and artistic enclave. It had at one time been the roughest neighborhood in Vilnius and home to the red light district.

Nowadays it sports artsy scenes and a rather independent vibe.

It has its own president, flag, and constitution (a pretty whacky one at that), which is displayed in over twenty languages along the wall of one of the main streets.

The Constitution Plates

The hand with the hole means no bribes can be taken. This is their flag.

Walking past a cute eatery, we saw people noshing on delicious looking pizzas, the kind whose uneven crust looks to have been formed with love and whose edges were darkened in just the perfect amount of places, so we decided to stop for some. It ws a nice spot, sitting outside-a tad chilly but the heaters were on so we were all comfortable, and the pizza was delicious.

After lunch, we made stops at more churches and then on to the Palace of the Grand Dukes and Cathedral Basilica then turning back down into the heart of old town and on to the hotel. In Riga, we had covered about five miles a day, here we came in just under 4 miles.

Jenny and I picked up our computers and headed out to a coffee house to get some work done while Billy showered and napped. We enjoyed our lattes and cappuccinos and a hot chocolate that was really nothing more than a cup of melted chocolate that we had to use a spoon to eat it. Talk about a sugar high!

We had a nice dinner again, in a small restaurant, down a charming street. Jenny was psyched as she is three nights for three with having carpaccio!

Jenny and I have decided we like Riga better than Vilnius. Riga feels more authentic and cozier; It’s more edgy and raw, with few tourists. It feels like it is meant to be lived in with more cafes and coffee shops and less trinket stores. Vilnius is lovely, with an incredible diversity of architecture that surprisingly escaped much damage from occupation. But Riga wins out for us. And what about Billy? He said to ask him when we get home.

 

October 27, 2019

“A Visit to the Countryside”

Our skies this morning were cloudy but showed some promise of clearing. We woke earlier than what has been normal as we had breakfast plans this morning. Last night, walking home from dinner we passed a place called Holy Donut, and as you all know-we love our donuts! It’s amazing the things Jenny will rise and shine early for!

Jenny and I headed out first to secure a table and some donuts just in case this place is some sort of cult favorite. We snagged the last table inside, ordered up four donuts to split between us all plus an açai bowl for me. Billy joined in shortly thereafter, as the line was forming out the door, and we indulged in the Lithuanian version of donuts-a bit dense but good, with the star being the cinnamon donut followed by the apple fritter.

And look…blue sky!

Returning to the hotel to drop off our computers after Jenny spent some time working on schoolwork, Billy suggested we go out to Trakai to see the castle. We had only been in the city since arriving, beside our fog shrouded drive from Riga to Vilnius, so a trip to the countryside sounded nice.

Us just being silly waiting for the Bolt driver

Our Bolt driver picked us up right in front of the hotel and as soon as we got in, he asked us where we were from. When we told him the US he asked, “Chicago?” We told him no and then he asked, “Arkansas?”… Arkansas? Where did that come from-nobody ever throws that one out there. Turns out his son had gone to the University of Arkansas, and he had gone to visit him there, along with Chicago and Colorado-a rather eclectic mix of places.

Along the Drive

The drive to Trakai took about 35 minutes and both Jenny and I were feeling pretty car sick by the time we arrived. We were happy to be on solid ground but disappointed to see the ridiculous amount of people there-almost all families with lots of children. As we walked along there was an accordion player playing for money and a younger woman stopped to give hime change. When he spoke to her in Lithuanian, she said, “Sorry I only speak English.” He asked where she was from and she replied, “America.” To which he starting playing America the Beautiful-a touching experience!

The Trakai Island Castle was first built in the 14th century, though it was almost completely destroyed during the 17th century and left to rubble before being renovated and rebuilt, beginning in the 19th century. It looks almost completely new and while it was architecturally pleasing, the rest of it was ho-hum. Funny thing is Jenny had said that the castles she has seen on our recent trips to Europe have left her disappointed-add this one to the list.

We spent all of 45 minutes there before we called for a Bolt driver to take us back to Vilnius-and wouldn’t you know it was Arkansas!

Once back in town, we grabbed a snack and drinks while the rain began to fell. We had been very lucky up to this point so as we sat inside and watched the people pass by the windows of a local cafe, with their umbrellas and head scarves, we were content.

We returned to the hotel to shower and let Jenny get more work done (can you tell that perhaps she didn’t get as much work done in The Netherlands as she should have) before making our way to Gaspar’s for dinner.

The restaurant was about a 1/2 mile walk from our hotel, in a direction we had not been yet, through quite winding streets. It always amazes me walking down these dark roads that we pass so many single women walking down them-you would never see that in any city in the US.

Gaspar’s is an Indian influenced restaurant, and our meals of chicken tikka, curry, schnitzel in Indian spices, etc were outstanding. Jenny declared it the best meal of our stay in the Baltics, and Billy agreed. The only problem was we stuffed ourselves and our walk back home was done to some moaning and groaning.

We leave early tomorrow for a final night in The Netherlands. Our original plan was to spend our final night in Amsterdam to check out the University of Amsterdam, but Jenny decided it wasn’t necessary. We had made a quick trip to the University of Leiden earlier in the trip to attend an info session on the International Relations Program they offered, and Jenny decided that was the place. We also looked at University of Groningen, which she also liked but Leiden has all the academics she wants. So, because none of us are fans of Amsterdam, we decided to spend some more time in Leiden seeing the sights and more of the University, as well as for Billy to get a chance to see it since he was not with us on our earlier trip.

The great news for Jenny, is Thies is going to join us, which of course we are looking forward to it as well!

October 28, 2019

“Charming Leiden”

It was a very early wake up call this morning-5:00 AM-to get to the airport in time. We had no idea what to expect as far as traffic, lines, etc and since it was Monday morning, we thought better to play it safe. Turned out, we were more than good-the Vilnius airport was dead. We laughed at the flight information board-it was extremely antiquated-more like a train station than the modern tv screens used today in most of the airports of the Western world.

Our flight was on Air Baltic today, the flagship carrier from Latvia. The flight was fairly full but comfortable enough for my crew to sleep!

I couldn’t get over all the wind turbines I could see as we approached Denmark-there were hundreds of them in the sea and hundreds more once we crossed over the land-wow!

A rainbow for us upon landing!

As soon as exited baggage claim, Jenny and I went to find us some golden bottles of the brown chocolatey goodness known as Chocomel.

Billy found Thies in the main hall of the airport and we all set out on the train to Leiden. 20 minutes later we arrived. walked the ten minutes to our hotel, Hotel d’Oude Morsch-a refurbished army mess hall right at the old gate to enter Leiden.

We dropped our bags and Billy and I headed out one way, while Thirs and Jenny headed another way. As typical for us, we just walked along with no real destination in mind except to see more of the town Jenny hopes to call home for the next three years.

Leiden is a beyond charming town, with all the character of Amsterdam but none of the crowds of tourists. It is a college town, the university having been found in 1575 with one in ten people being a student. It is architecturally rich with many of its 17th century buildings still in tact, along with earlier centuries-some dating to the late 14th century. It also boasts itself as the birthplace of Rembrandt as well as the place the Pilgrims originated their trip from-yes those Pilgrims-who knew they were living in Leiden when they decided to depart for new lands.

Billy and I enjoyed walking through the town, stopping eventually for a delicious lunch of the traditional Dutch foods of bitterballen and uitsmijters.

We stopped in a church where I lit a candle for my dad, the last of many lit in every town of our trip. I told him I was sorry he wasn’t here to see Jenny and hear about her future plans of hoping to attend university in The Netherlands but more importantly that she was head over heels for a Dutch boy and one from the family from some of our oldest and dearest friends-my dad would be beyond tickled and so proud! Lots of things came together this summer for all of this to be happening-some good, some bad but it was all serendipitous, because we are walking the canals of Leiden right now.

Right after leaving the church, walking on a quieter side street, rounding the corner we ran into Thies and Jenny, smiling and holding hands-so nice! They have covered just about as much as ground as us (six miles when it was all said and done) and were headed to have coffee with Thies’ old Latin teacher who is now a law professor at the University here.

We returned to the hotel to relax and clean up for dinner. Thies and Jenny joined us for a nice meal at Waag, a building dating from the 16th century that once was the customs house. Dinner was good and both Billy and I enjoyed spending time with just Thies and Jenny together.

Our walk back was full of laughs as Jenny was hitting her after dinner high. I love that she doesn’t have concerns over being silly or worries what other people will think. In this day of everybody being so concerned about getting “likes” and being on trend, it’s refreshing to see her carefree spirit.

We had a great family trip. The Baltics were great to see-so unique with all of the Soviet influence but unlike Slovenia, I feel no draw to return. Our trip to The Netherlands was wonderful on so many levels and deeply meaningful in a very personal sort of way. To quote a woman I adore, life is “Prima.” For Jenny especially, except when it’s time to say goodbye…