Day 1 - Singapore

Our first day in Singapore was a Sunday. We ventured out after breakfast and were hit by humidity that neither of us is used to. We didn’t have a specific plan in mind, but since our hotel was close to the Gardens by the Bay we began to follow the meandering river in that direction. We wandered through Riverside point – this was clearly a night spot with many restaurants and bars (my favourite name was Octotapas, a Spanish restaurant).

It was about 9:30, not a lot of things were open and there weren’t a lot of people about. Oh, except for the joggers. Man, people love to jog in Singapore. How they manage to do that with all that humidity, I dunno. There are quite a lot of bicycles too, both with people on them and many just sitting around in random places. Those are the share bikes.

There are three main bike share organisations where you scan the QR code on bike you want to use (with an app you download that holds your credit card details), then you just ride the bike to your destination; park it in a specified bike parking location, and the next person is then able to use the bike. Your credit card gets charged for the time you used the bike, except for the first 15 minutes which are free, and voila, bike sharing! But people aren’t always so responsible, are they? Bikes don’t get put back where they’re supposed to be put back and you find them strewn haphazardly around the city. Dominique also pointed out that you could conceivably ride bike share company A for 15 free min, ditch it, then hop on bike share company B for 15 min, ditch that one, etc and get free bicycles for the day (apparently, they have a system that prevents that type of abuse).

The bikes were cool, but it was the electric scooters (the two-wheel stand up kind not the four-wheel sit-down kind) that really got me. I want one. There were also people on a contraption that was a single wheel, maybe 40-50 cm high with flaps that came down where you could put your feet. So cool! I think I’d fall off of them if I tried though. These Singaporeans know how to get around.

We continued on and marvelled at the diversity of architecture and the cleanliness of the place…and how hot it was getting.

We got to the Gardens by the Bay and explored a little and decided to come back the next day to have a look inside the two domes and the “Skyway” –  a 128-metre long aerial walkway, 22 metres above the ground connecting three of the Gardens’ Supertrees. But after an hour or so of wandering around we had to go. First of all, we were hungry, but more importantly we were meeting our friend at 3. He was going to take us around town.

The Merlion from Sentosa Island

We met Firdaus a year and a half ago when we travelled with a G Adventures tour in Jordan. He met us at our hotel and we took the MRT (subway) to Chinatown. The Chinese New Year celebratory decorations were still up and the place was very festive. There was bustle in the streets and there was everything up for sale: from electronics, to plastic kids’ toys, to fruits and veg. Actually, Dominique and I stocked up on Tiger Balm which was selling for 0.50 cents!! Firdaus thought we were weird…

After Chinatown he brought us to Faber Peak so that we could take the cable car to Sentosa island. The climb to the peak was beautiful up a forested path. We were on the lookout for monkeys, but sadly, didn’t spot any.  The journey on the cable car gave us a magnificent view of city, but Sentosa island is mostly made up of amusement rides and gift shops so we didn’t stay long, and by the time we got back we were famished. Time for dinner!

Singapore is famous for it’s Hawker courts where people go to eat. They are like large courts with a variety of food options – yes, like the food courts in malls, but 100 times more delicious! This is where we had our dinner and it was every bit as good as we had hoped. We were going to come back the next day!

The best laid plans…en route to Singapore

This is the first time that I’ve flown with a discount airline (Scoot, now part of Tiger Air). I wasn’t sure what to expect so I thought I’d load up my laptop with movies, load up my carry on with snacks and even splurged and got myself some wireless headphones. What could I possibly need other than that?

I always think that I’ve got everything sorted a week before I go. No problems. Then, the day before departure arrives and I remember all the things that I forgot to do or forgot to get or failed to plan for. Every time it’s something different, or should I say every time it’s a new opportunity to learn. (read: stress)

So here I was thinking that I had made all the arrangements that I could make before D-day (departure day) – Had sent my itinerary to my son and friends in Malaysia, had selected my seat in the “quiet” section of the plane, paid for my meal, packed all and sundry items that I could possibly need, etc, etc. And yet, I was scrambling up until the last minute - shoving things in my bag and breakfast in my mouth, running to the bathroom to get things I had forgotten, hair still wet from my shower – general mayhem, what. I inhaled the last of my breakfast as grabbed my bag and headed out the door, Felix, frantic to follow me, and me blocking his attempts (it’s the hardest part of my journey – saying goodbye to my dog.) My friend graciously offered to bring me to the bus station  and once I was in her car, the journey had officially begun.

I was pleasantly surprised at the new Murrays bus that was going to take me to Sydney- loaded up with free wifi and usb ports, but I was desperately tired, having not properly slept in 3 days, so I tried my best to get some sleep. I wandered in and out of consciousness, never quite getting to sleep’s sweet spot of REM. Before I knew it, we were at the airport.

I hate queueing. There’s a reason that I do my damnedest to pack only a carry-on bag. This time however, due to the variety of activities we have planned, the onset of the wet season and the two bottles of wine that I’m bringing for my friends, well, the checked baggage was unavoidable. It was relatively painless, although I noticed my anxiety (queue-rage?) spike when people who were staring at their phones failed to move forward. Their slowness was not making me wait any longer to get to the front, but it made me want to slap their phones out of their hands regardless. I’m not a tolerant person apparently. God, I hate queueing.

Fast-forward to the flight.

I changed the selection of my seat early this morning when I couldn’t sleep. I thought I was being clever as my previous selection had someone on the window seat with me on the aisle. In my new seat there was no one. Niiiice. I debated moving to the 3 seats in the middle that also had no one, but thought if I can get the aisle and the window, why not?

Alas, when I arrived at my seat there was a couple seated in the two seats next to mine. Sigh. I looked over to my previous seat -  still only one person by the window. Oh well, make the best of it, right? I got movies coming out the wazoo on my laptop and some swish headphones to avoid conversation.

The man next to me starts talking. He and his wife are from India (am I travelling to India too? He asks). They’ve been visiting their daughter in Blacktown for the past 6 months. She’s been there since 2012, but her husband has been there since 2007. Their son still lives in India though, so it’ll be nice to see him again, although they will definitely come back to Australia for another visit as they really enjoyed it.

We haven’t even taken off yet.

During a lull in the (one-sided) conversation I pretend to fall asleep. We taxi the runway and we’re off the ground, I can finally power up my laptop and get into watching some of those movies. So why is it that I’m writing this instead of watching Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer? Try as I might I could not find ANY movies on my laptop. The only thing I can think of is that when I backed up the movies onto my portable HD (which I didn’t bring with me), I “moved” instead of “copied”. Fark. Now how am I going to avoid my fellow man?? Dude next to me keeps looking at my screen to see what I’m doing/writing. It’s annoying AF.

And he sniffs.

Every two minutes.

I start to twitch.

Thankfully our pre-paid meals arrive. We get served first coz we’ve already ordered. It’s a pretty paltry offering but then, I only paid $7 for it so can’t complain and it’s nice to be served first. This meal, associated to my seat number is the only reason I haven’t moved yet.  But, the row behind me has only one person in it so after the meal, I escape Mr. Nosey Parker, sniffy-sniffy under the altruistic pretense that I want to give him and his wife more space to spread out.

My new row-mate, the young lass by the window, is watching something on her phone. Perfect she’s not looking to make friends. I try to get some sleep with my new-found space and privacy, but I just can’t. Dude across the aisle gets a frozen beer and is not happy. “I own my own business and this is not the way you treat your customers…” I feel sorry for the airline staff. Then there’s the baby in the section in front of us. Yeah I paid extra to sit in a “quiet” zone with no babies, but the thing is babies are LOUD when they’re not happy and nothing can stop that…except maybe a movie being piped directly into your ears. Sigh.

Quiet, occupied lass next to me has a twitchy leg. It doesn’t stop. Bounce, bounce, bounce. I can see it out of the corner of my eye. Bounce, bounce, bounce. I want to reach over and make her stop, but I would probably get arrested.

I get a waft of beer #4 come to me from the other side of the aisle. Dude there is still not happy and is now talking to the purser about how it’s not his problem they had an issue with the fridge (true, but still). He keeps saying that he’s happy to buy another beer, so I’m not sure what he’s complaining about. 

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

Sniff sniff.

WWWWAAAAAHHHHHHH.

The guy behind me is sucking on hard candy (GOD please let it be just that) I can hear slurpy wet noises coming from behind. Crinkle, crinkle the paper. Slurp, lip smack, slurp.

Oh god! This is why movies were invented: For long ass plane rides. There’s no way to tell how far we’ve gone or how much longer this flight is going to be. I have lost all notion of time. I fear I may be losing my mind!!!

Oh wait. There’s the time on my laptop. 5:30 pm. I took off at around 2.

Fuck.

We’re not even ½ way there.

I just want to sleep…

Amman and Good Byes

We arrived back in Amman in the late afternoon. Some of the group were leaving late that night and the rest of us at various times the next day. At our last supper, we decided to go to a night club - yes there are night clubs! None of us had "clubbing" outfits, except maybe Mel who continuously flouted the "dress modestly" rule, but we were assured by Ayman that it wouldn't matter.

It was very much like any night club you might find, bodies bouncing to the music, people having a good time, it was Friday night and the place was packed. The music wasn't really my scene, but it was great to cut loose and dance! No creepy guys, no unwanted attention. What fun!

The next day, Dominique and I, along with 3 others who weren't leaving until much later decided to see some of the sights of Amman. Fidarus, is a devout Muslim, and he asked if we would like to come with him to the King Abdullah I Mosque so he could make up for missing the service yesterday. We could visit while he prayed and then we could go to visit the Amman Citadel afterwards. We agreed so off we went. 

The King Abdullah 1 Mosque is MASSIVE. It was built in the 80s and it has a beautiful turquoise blue mosaic dome that can fit up to 3000 people!

As infidels we were allowed to enter some parts, but we females had to don a chador, which they had readily available for rent. It was a hot sunny day (big surprise) and the chador were made of polyester - unpleasant! But the mosque was totally worth the discomfort as it was absolutely beautiful. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, and we weren't allowed to into the main body of the mosque (the bit under the big dome), but we did visit the women's part and some of the other common areas. The mosaic work was lovely as was the stained glass.

When Fidarus was done, we were off to the Citadel!

Towering above the city, on a hill, is the Amman Citadel. This historic site comprises a 1700 meter wall that dates back to the Bronze Age, the iconic Temple of Hercules, and the Umayyad Palace. The Ammonites lived in this area during the Iron Age. The citadel dates back as far as the Bronze Age. It was during this period that it was fortified (around 1800 BCE). Since then the site has undergone many rebuilds and additional constructions during the Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad eras. As a result of the large number of constructions on this site, very little remains from the original Bronze Age citadel. We spent some hours wandering the ruins - the Temple of Hercules (160 AD), the Umayyad Palace (7th or 8th century AD), and the Jordan Archaeological Museum. We were all a bit over ruins by this point though and we were hungry. 

The BEST falafels!

We had heard it said that the BEST falafel place in Amman was just down the road from our hotel so we decided to go see for ourselves. It was a little place, with take away only. OMG. The rumours were true. Best falafels ever!

 After that it was time to say goodbye to Amman and our new found friends. Suan and Shann had gone in the morning and Dominique and I vowed to come visit them one day in Malaysia. Fidarus, who was from Singapore told us to look him up if ever we did make it to that part of the world. Maybe one day we will.

 

Aquaba

Faheem, me, Fidarus and Jennifer

Aquaba is the southern-most and the only costal city in Jordan. It is situated on the gulf of Aquaba at the top of the Red Sea. Today was a relax day and we were going on a boat ride. Some of us would snorkel and some of us (namely Dominique and I) would dive! We also talked Jennifer into giving it a go - later when asked what she thought of diving she said, "I didn't like it. It was too quiet." 

Abdallah was our dive master and he was a great guide. It had been a few years since either Dominique or I had gone diving so there was quite the learning curve, but once we got back into the groove all was well. Due to pollution much of the corals have been destroyed here, but we still got to see a turtle, grey reef sharks and some colourful coral fish. The water was fine and the day was warm. All in all a great day!

Dominique, Abdallah our Dive Master, & me

 

I borrowed Faheem's GoPro to take some photos underwater

There was a tank under there!

Wadi Rum

 

Now, you may have noticed that I rarely mention the fellow members of the group we were traveling with, this is mostly out of respect for their privacy. One person though was quite trying. Dominique and I get along very well with Suan and Shann from Malaysia and for the most part get on well with the others in our group - the large majority of which are under 30. 

And then I lost it.

We were back on the bus today and headed toward Wadi Rum aka the valley of the moon. We were going to stay in a Bedouin-style camp in the desert. Ayman (our guide) tried to describe the wonder of sleeping in the desert; the quiet, vast expanse of the sky above you, the wondrous silence, the magnificence of the stars and the milky way, the peace and tranquility... it sounded like bliss. 

Usually on the bus we would talk to our seat neighbours quietly, and Ayman would sometimes point out interesting things or tell us historical facts about the area we were traveling in. Today Jennifer was machine-gunning questions at Ayman, this was nothing new, but for some reason it really, really got under my skin. I was watching Ayman's face getting more and more tense - tense and upset guides are no fun. Jennifer was relentless. I finally snapped and yelled, "WHY DON'T WE TAKE AYMAN'S ADVICE AND APPRECIATE THE SILENCE OF THE DESERT UNTIL WE GET TO CAMP?!"

Well, a hush fell over the bus. I was kinda embarrassed because it wasn't directed at everyone... but when I looked back at my fellow passengers they were all smirking and I even got a thumbs up from Suan. Jennifer shrank back into her seat and mercifully she shut up. Ayman's face remained impassive, but a while later when we were off the bus and playing in the sand he said thank you to me. Actually, a few people did.

 

There were two options available to us this afternoon and evening; the first was a camel ride in the desert and the second was a night walk in the desert. I declined both of these and I was just a little annoyed when I learned that everyone EXCEPT Jennifer was going on the first excursion. But my ire was misdirected as Jennifer, on seeing the disarray in camp, proceeded to clean up. Good on ya Jennifer! 

After dinner everyone went on the night walk. Except me. Our driver was there and one other Bedouin gent but they stayed to themselves and retired early. The stars put on a fantastic show - you never realise how many are in the night sky when you're in a city. The crackling of the fire was the only sound I could hear. Bloody brilliant.

 

Petra

 Where do I even begin...

 

You can see the water conduits
near the bottom

Petra was known to its inhabitants, the Nabeteans, as Raqmu or Raqēmō. The Nabeteans were a nomadic people and they inhabited the area from about 7000 BC. As this area was smack dab in the middle of an important incense trade route, the Nabeteans thought this would be a good place to trade and make some money. Turns out this was a brilliant idea and from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD Raqmu thrived and the Nabeteans became wealthy. 

Then the Romans came and messed it all up. Well, the Romans re-named the place Petra and annexed the Nabeteans and their city. That was the beginning of the end. Sea trade became more prominent, earthquakes happened and then slowly the city was abandoned and "disappeared" back into the desert until 1812.

To get to the city we hiked through the Siq, a narrow 1km-long gorge flanked by soaring 80m-high  sandstone walls. The colours and patterns of the rock are astounding, and there's also evidence of the Nabetean's ingenious water conduits that allowed them to control the scarce water into dams and cisterns making Petra an oasis in the desert. The gorge abruptly ends and you find yourself in front of Al-Khazneh, the famed treasury of Petra. Gob-smacked.

The Treasury’s façade (24.9 meters wide x 38.77 meters high) embodies the Hellenistic style of decoration which reflects the far flung influences of it's trading partners. It's believed to have been the mausoleum of the Nabatean King Aretas IV. As with all the mausoleums, (yes, the treasury isn't the only one!) the carving started at the top. First, the stonemasons created a slim ledge along the width, then, stage by stage, chiseled the structure, decorations, and interiors out of the wall, following the masters’ preliminary drawings. All components needed to be fully completed before they moved down. The staff could possibly be lowered from the highest fringe of the rock on a seat on a rope for touching up the completed construction, which was then stuccoed (that's gone now). Two vertical rows of slots on both sides of the façade served as climbing notches and as helps for scaffolding to work the outside of the construction. 

There's nothing inside, it's just a rectangular room with incense burn marks on the walls. The corners though, are astounding, so precise it's mind boggling - all carved by hand with simple tools.

 

Well, Petra is not just the treasury. As I said this was a thriving and wealthy trading hub and later a roman city. We spent the day wandering this amazing place, visiting other mausoleums, a roman theatre, the triumphal arch and the monastery...there was even an incense trader there! 

We hiked over 25km today. It was magnificent.

Madaba, Mt Nebo and Kerak

 The next day we were headed out of Amman towards Petra. Along the way we had 3 stops: Madaba, Mt Nebo, and Kerak castle before we stopped for the night at Wadi Musa- the town just outside of Petra. But before we left Amman, there was one important stop to make. The supermarket.

So excited! Ayman told us that we wouldn't have the opportunity to pick up snacks or other sundries for the next couple of days, so we should stock up now while we had the chance. Mainly, this was for our big day tomorrow at Petra, although there would be places to have lunch, there wouldn't be any nibbly type food available and "Trust me," he said "you're gonna need it." He didn't direct us to the type of food that would be good to bring and I must say that the choices that some of our fellow travellers made was puzzling. Is cheese a good idea as snack food in the desert? Really? Nutella? I bought hard fruit and veg and some granola bars.

Our first stop was Mt.Nebo. This was the place where Moses got a glimpse of the promised land and then died. After all his hard work he was not allowed to enter the promised land. Harsh. There's a modest church that has some ancient mosaics dating to 530 CE! I could imagine the view - allegedly you can see Isreal across the valley, however, we had a hazy, windy day and visibility was disappointing.

 

Onward!

We stopped just before lunch at Madaba. We were here to see the famous Byzantine-era mosaic map of the holy land which is preserved in the floor of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. There are approx 2 million pieces of coloured stone that depict the Nile delta and the valleys, villages and towns that surround it. Really cool! 

We had about an hour to kill before lunch after that so naturally we went shopping. I ended up buying a runner made of camel hair. Where I was going to fit it, I don't know.

After lunch, we were back on our little tour bus and on the way to Kerak Castle. The way was winding and dry. There ain't much growin' in these here parts.

We stopped mid-afternoon at Karak Castle, one of the largest Crusader castles in the Levant. Built in 1142, it is a massive structure with large ditches all around it to defend against sieges.

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (aka Saladin) tried twice to capture it and failed. It was his nephew in the 1188 who finally capured this important post. There were many battles to win this castle and it changed hands many times. In 1893 the Ottoman empire regained control and housed a garrison in some parts of the castle, but other parts had been pilfered by the locals who took the stones containing potassium nitrate which is used to make gunpowder.

Its was really quite spooky in there, dark and cool, with the wind howling through the place kicking up the dust and dirt. You could almost hear swords clashing and the battle cries of the Crusaders and the Saracens fighting for their lives...or maybe it was just me.

After our visit to the castle we got back on the bus to head to Wadi Musa a small town just outside the ancient city of Petra. We arrived late and we had the option to visit the famed Treasury at night, but I just wanted to go to bed, knowing that we were getting up at the crack of dawn and walking all day. Tomorrow Petra! SO EXCITED!

 

The Dead Sea

 

The Dead Sea is 430 m below sea level which means its the lowest place on earth. It's also the saltiest body of water on earth - over 9 times saltier than the ocean! (how they figure that out I dunno) Because of this nothing grows around it, and nothing lives in it...hence the name. You can actually see crusts of salt along it's edges. It's hot and dry and not very inviting. 

We arrived in time to have lunch - it was sweltering outside, so the air con was quite welcome. As we ate we could see the sea...we could hear it calling...I can't even remember what we ate.

After lunch we went down to the beach, it was impossible to walk bare foot on the sand because it was too hot. There were also little crests of sand where salt deposits had formed. Although there were some people there, it wasn't packed - there's no lingering on this beach, you go in, you frolic then you go.

You can't swim in the Dead Sea, you just float. It's the weirdest sensation. Have you ever tried to submerge a wake board or some other flotation device? Imagine that your body reacts the same way. So when you try and swim, you're really just skimming the surface. The water is also quite viscous, it's a little like oil, but not. It's inadvisable to put any water in your mouth or to try and submerge your head. Yeah, ok I got some water in my mouth..it's really, really gross.

When we had our fill of Dead fun we got out and tried to towel off, but because it's oily-ish you just end up smearing it rather than wiping it off. It was heaps of fun!!

Needless to say the bus ride back to Amman was very quiet...we were all sleeping like the Dead.

Jerash

 The next morning we were off to Jerash which was a short drive from Amman.

Although we were visiting Jerash - a Roman city until the mid 8th century CE - the site is much older than that. The earliest settlement has been dated to 7500 BC! Jerash was a hub of travel in it's Roman days, graced by the likes of Alexander the Great, and the Emperor Hadrian (of Hadrian's Wall fame).

Ayman, our G-Adventures guide, is very knowledgeable and he learned us many things about Rome and the way they did things. For example, the main road through town was always called Cardo Maximus and it was oriented North-South and it was lined with columns where mechants set up shop. While walking down this columned avenue, you can imagine the hustle and bustle that must have gone on here.  There's also a Decumanus Maximus which runs East-West. 

Old city-New city in the background

 We wandered about this ancient city for a while and met up again as a group at the theater. Remember back when we were in Athens and I asked you if you could spot the difference between a Greek and a Roman theatre? Roman theatres have a "back stage" - Greek theatres do not.

This, the South Theatre (the North Theatre was much smaller - for council meetings and the like and it was destroyed by an earthquake), seats 5000, and just like the Greeks before them, the acoustics were amazing.

After about an hour of wandering Jerash, we were off again. To the Dead Sea!

Amman - Meet the Crew

According to the map, we weren't far from the hotel, but we weren't quite sure how far and we had our bags, and it was already hot at 8am. So when we went to drop off our key to the shop keeper across the road (as per the Air BnB host) we asked them how far it was really to the hotel.
"OOOOHHH that's VERY far. I will take you for $7 US.

Being new to the whole place and the cost of things we agreed. 

It was 3 blocks away.

When we got to the hotel, our rooms were not yet ready as it was still quite early in the morning and so not yet check in time. They gladly stored our bags and we went off in search of the famed Citadel in the middle of Amman. 

With our trusty tourist map in hand we began walking toward the citadel. It's really hot in Jordan. 

We didn't find it that day - we wandered around the market a little bit, but it was really hot and loud and people-y. One thing we noticed - and loved - was that when approached by vendors, you only had to say no thank you once. That's it. 

"Madame, have a look at this..."

"No thank you."

"Have a good afternoon, madame." 

Its so nice not to be harangued!

We decided to go back to the hotel to see if our room was ready and maybe have a wee kip before we met the people we would spend the next week with.

Our room wasn't ready yet, but the lobby was air conditioned so we parked ourselves on one of the lounges there and looked over our itinerary again. A few minutes later 2 other women (obviously tourists also) came and sat on the lounge next to ours.

"Do you think they're on the same tour as us?" Dominique whispered to me

I sidled a look at them. "Yeah, probably. They look cool though!" 

That's how we met Shann and Suan. And yes they were part of our tour.

That evening, after meeting everyone (we were 15 all up) we headed back to where Dominique and I had walked that morning to grab a bite to eat. The vibe was completely different and it was full of people out on the town. The falafels and hummus were delicious!!

 

Welcome to Jordan!

Dominique and I arrived in Jordan late in the afternoon the day before we were joining the G Adventures tour that would take us from the capital Amman to Aqaba on the banks of the Red Sea, by way of the Dead Sea and of course, Petra.

We thought it was hot in Greece...

Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel and Palestine to the west. Talk about questionable neighbours. We had booked an Air BnB and it had a washing machine! So of course we did laundry that night in preparations for the 8 day tour. We had decided to go with a group coz well, remember who the neighbours are, AND we were two females traveling alone in a Muslim country and we weren't quite sure how that would go down. It just felt like the safer thing to do. For those of you who don't know, Dominique and met while on a tour in China, and that group was fantastic! Anyway it was only for 8 days, surely we could handle what ever was thrown our way.

We weren't particularly hungry so we stayed in and made order of our things and reviewed what the tour had in store for us. That's when I read the following about the day in Petra:
    "Hike approx 25km (15 mi) to cover the entire site. Climb (steps) to two sacred hilltops. Depending on the weather and the interests of the group, opt to hike an additional 2km (1.2 mi) to see the magnificent views from the top of the treasury. This makes for a unique and unforgettable experience."

???!!!! 25 KILOMETRES?????!!! Surely that was a typo.
25 km in THE DESERT???? Are you kidding me?? I had flashbacks to the 18km walk we recently survived, errrr I mean, enjoyed, and the stiff muscles we endured the next day (it also reminded me of that stow-away cockroach....shudders)

Ironically this was just outside the Air BnB - a Greek restaurant

Crazy rock climbing hermits and monks

The first stop on our sunset excursion was to take photos of Holy Trinity. Since we'd already had our fill of that we took pictures of the goats wandering past - and their doggie shepherds. I was trying to entice one to come over for a cuddle when the guide told me that it wasn't a good idea. These guys had a job to do and they took it very seriously. And once he told me that I could see that they both had their backs to the goats and were facing us - to make sure we didn't get too close to their charges.

Our next stop was Stefanos - again we had already done that so we waited outside...where there was a mamma cat and her two kittens. They were up for a cuddle. (yeah I did a lot of cat and dog petting on this trip).


We then went into town to visit one of the oldest churches in the world, Kimisseoss tis theotokou.
Originally built in the 11th century it has had some facelifts in its history, but everytime the restaurateurs have recycled the materials from the past structure. There are even pieces of marble from the temple of Apollo that was there before the church imbedded in the walls.

As you enter into the vestibule (where non-christians had to stay back in the day) there are paintings of heaven on the right and hell on the left: A word of warning to the parishioners?

When you enter the small church you can't help but notice the marble pulpit - the original marble pulpit from way back when. They still hold regular services here.


We then rushed back up the hill to see the setting sun on this absolutely beautiful place.

The next morning we set off on a hike behind the monoliths and up to the top. Along the way we saw some of the original caves where the first hermits set up camp. These guys started coming to the area in the 9th century, looking for a quiet place to be closer to god.

Initially they had to climb the rocks to get to their cave - this is not an easy feat without ropes, they are all vertical and sheer faces. More and more hermits came to the area and they started meeting just once a week to hold services. Then after 5 centuries of this they decided to build a monastery. It took years to gather the materials together, and then they had to haul all that stuff up to the top with baskets on ropes.


They built 24 altogether, but today only 6 are still in use.


Our hike ended at the biggest monastery Great Meteoro. It is massive. And there's only one monk living there. In this monastery you can visit the old kitchen with its blackened domed roof, the ossuary where the skulls and bones of the old monks are stored, the old winery full of massive barrels and other winemaking accoutrements, and the small museum which had some of the very first printed manuscripts. Fantastic!

I'm not sure why but by the time I reached Great Meteoro my knee was killing me. Luckily/sadly we had a bus to catch directly after the hike so I was able to put it up a little. It was very swollen.
We were on our way back to Athens and our last day in Greece.

Meteora

In the morning there was a mist over Meteora - totally magical. When I saw them for the first time with the light of day, they reminded me of someplace I visited a few years ago: Uluru.

A long, long, long, long time ago (they reckon about 60 million years ago), this area of Greece was under water (just like central Australia). Where the Meteora monoliths are now was a delta where the rivers ended in a massive lake. Sediment from the rivers settled and kept settling over many years. You can actually see the different layers in the rocks. Then an earthquake hit the area, the lake was drained and became what is now the Aegean sea. The stones of Meteora were pushed up. The looser material was washed away but the silt underneath made up mostly of sandstone and conglomerate, underwent a natural process that basically made it into a concrete-like substance. Over the years, rain, wind and extreme temperatures softened the edges and made the rocks what they are today. Cool eh?


We went up to the farthest monastery first, Stephanos, which nowadays is a nunnery. It is the most accessible one with only a small bridge to cross. Although all the monasteries have been there since sound the 14th century, they have all been renovated and look quite new except for the architecture. They are stunning. And the views, well...

They are quite big, but the areas open to the public are very restricted. Before entering the monasteries or nunneries women have to put on a skirt (if they're not wearing one already) and men have to be dressed modestly, and you have to pay 3 Euros to get in.


Although all the monasteries have been renovated, the one thing that remains virtually untouched is the chapel. The walls are all covered with Byzantine paintings. Golden candelabras, coloured glass in the small round windows carved narrow wooden seats with armrest as high as your shoulders (come to think of it, I'm not sure they were armrests!). They are all quite small, but stunning. Sorry no photos allowed.


We then went on to visit Holy Trinity monastery which is ''next door''. But to get to it you first had to walk down into the valley and then take stairs back up to the top.


Same spiel with the skirts - swanky polyester wrap- arounds, 3 Euros...but they gave everyone some Turkish delight so they get extra marks.
Holy Trinity monastery is the one that you see in all the photos so we actually spent more time outside taking photos than inside!

We kept walking back towards Kastraki (where we were staying) and the next monastery (now nunnery) was Roussanou. This is the most heavily populated monastery/nunnery with 34 ladies (the others number from 1 to 6 people only). These ladies are industrious! In their gift shop they sell their honey, hand cream, hand embroidered hankies, wine, jams, you name it!
It also had a museum-y type room with some ancient artifacts - old priest's robes, chalices, holy spoons and lances (lances??), but the piece de resistance, IMHO, was the manuscript of Plato's works. Wow.


After Roussanou we had to head back down to town to grab a bite and to be there in time for our sunset tour.


One of the ladies from our sailing school had come to Meteora too and we decided to join her on this excursion.

Road to Meteora

We were sad to say farewell to Hydra, but today we were off to see Meteora. This was a place both of us put on our ''must see'' list.


We caught the first ferry back to Athens and then took the metro to the bus station. Except is wasn't the bus station. It was the train station. Bugger. OK so we took a taxi from the train station to the actual bus station and waited for a few hours. Bus stations are depressing.

The bus ride to Meteora is 5 hours long through some beautiful scenery, I'd like to say I saw it all and drank it in like a desperately thirsty person, but I didn't. I read my book and slept.

We arrived in Kastraki (the village at the foothills of Meteora) in the early evening. Holy crap. Monolithic stone pillars jutting from the ground and reaching towards the sky. Jaw dropping. And some dudes a long time ago though that would be a great to put some monasteries there. At the top.

Our accoms were very close to the town square where we were dropped off - admittedly, its a very small town and we met our next hostess. She explained where every thing was and how to work stuff before she left us to our own devices.


You know when you get to a new place and check everything out - opening cupboards and drawers and such? Well we did the same and when we got to the bathroom we discovered that we had the smallest shower ever. Width-wise I could stand side ways. Just. I couldn't bring my arms up to wash my hair for example. To do that I had to turn length-wise. But then I couldn't bend to wash my feet. We had more room on the boat! The room was impeccable though, all slate and wood.


We went for dinner in the first place we came across and there wasn't much on the menu for me so I went for the spaghetti napolitain. The waiter said no. But he did suggest the chicken souvlaki. I told him I was a vegetarian and the only thing he could offer me was dolmates. Now, I do enjoy dolmates, but as a whole meal? I'd been eating junk food on the bus all day! Fine I had the bloody dolmates. They were fine, but I was not quite satisfied.


Oh well, tomorrow was going to be a great day.

Dolche far niente redux

It was now Sunday, and when we emerged from our rooms we could hear the priests chanting from a nearby church. Well, perhaps breakfast on the balcony is in order! I made myself a cup of tea and Dominique ate a yogurt that she had bought the day before. Then the lovely pension lady came up with a tray with OJ and breakfast cake! How awesome is this place??!!


We spent the morning walking all over the little town and along the coast, oo-ing and ah-ing and taking loads of pictures. Until finally our stomachs lead us back to the port where everything was still open (it was Sunday after all).

There were cats e'ry where!

After we had satisfied our hunger we decided that beach time was in order. So off we went to the ''big'' beach. Now Hydra is pretty much just a mountain that comes out of the sea, so there aren't any beaches as you might picture them. There are what I would call swimming platforms out of concerte where you can take the ladder down into the water. There is only one ''beach'' and it is only about 20 meters long and 5 meters wide. And there's no sand. Its all rocks. Still, we had a very lovely afternoon lazing in the sun and going for a swim in the crystal clear waters.

A spectacular day.