A balcony over the street June 14, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Travel , add a comment
I sat on the balcony of the apartment in the ancient Venetian townhouse last week in Hania, looking down and along the narrow street watching people go by while I ate breakfast. Across the road the little ouzeri wasn’t quite open yet, though the son of the family, who had been playing guitar in there until about 11 the previous night was already up and gone, delivering to restaurants. A couple of cats wandered around, and women were setting up tables, sweeping, going about their business. Tourists came by, some with a walking guide, taking photos of the buildings covered in nasturtiums and bougainvillea.
The hotel was Silde Apartments, and is highly recommended. It only has 4 rooms, and I think I’d pick the one at the top, though mine on the first floor was excellent too. Silvia runs it, with the help of Thomais from next door, and they’ll do everything they can to make your stay go well.
A long way down June 11, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Travel , 1 comment so farThe Samaria gorge is rumoured to be the longest in Europe (though the gorges du Verdon may contest that claim), running from high in Crete’s White Mountains to the sea. It’s a well-beaten trail, followed by thousands each year, though not for the faint hearted or unfit.
After a long, early bus journey from Hania to Omalos at the top of the gorge, you arrive, pay your 5euros and look over the cliff, through the conifers to the start of the walk.
The first three or four kilometers are the hardest, and the steepest. After twenty minutes, I’d seen two injured people, and was really starting to wonder whether this was a good idea. Although the path is very well built with steps and handrails, its still hard going. The views are worth it though, and looking back after the first, hardest part is spectacular.
Further down, the going gets easier, and by the time I got to the half way mark, at the abandoned village of Samaria, it was much easier. The gorge starts to close in after that, and you’re walking down the riverbed which must have been a raging torrent a few weeks earlier as the snow melted, but is now a rocky path with the limestone and chert walls looming hundreds of metres above. The folds in the rock tell the story of the orogeny here, and had I been a little less exhausted, it would have been interesting to see what I could make of them.
All the way down, there are wildflowers and trees, providing much needed shade and beautiful to see if you have the energy to enjoy, rather than just trying to put one foot in front of the other.
After 13 kms, the park ends, though the track still has a couple of kilometers to go before it reaches Agia Roumeli and the sea. The last part is very easy, on a sealed road, though if it was hot could be hard.
It’s very easy to do this by public transport, by catching the bus from Hania at 0615 or 0730, and then, from Agia Roumeli, catching the ferry to Hora Sfakion, where the return bus will wait for you. The ferry ride is an added bonus, with quick views of the villages along the coast which have no road access so can only be reached by boat. In the airport on the way home, I met a couple who had stayed in Loutros, one of these villages, and had loved it for its peace and quiet. Maybe next time.
A few thoughts if you’re contemplating this walk:
- I am not very fit, but I do walk a lot, and this was at the limit
of my ability. It has taken me about 3 days to recover, and is
particularly hard on the knees. Think carefully about whether you’re
really up to it. I wish I’d been fitter, because I would have enjoyed
it a lot more. - People in Hania seem to think it takes about 4 hours. They must
be very fit indeed - it took me about 7, including breaks, and I don’t
think that’s unusual. - Make sure you have good shoes, with ankle support, particularly for the rocky parts.
- Take sticks. You can buy them in Hania, and I wish I’d had one
to save the knees. I can’t emphasise this enough - in 16kms, you will
descend about 1200m, and about half of that is in the first 4kms. That
is a very steep gradient, and if you’re not used to it, it is a
killer. - Take food. There is plenty of clean water in the park, though
you’ll need a bottle for it, but you will be in there 5-7 hours, and
working hard, so make sure you’ve something to eat. - The Rough Guide is rather pessimistic about the distance. All
up, its about 15kms, not 18. That last 3 km would make quite a
difference. - I don’t think this would be much fun in July and August. The day
I did it, the temperature in Agia Roumeli was about 23C, with a breeze,
so quite pleasant, but at 30C or higher, it would be very hard indeed. - If you’re on your own, don’t worry. There are lots of people, and if you do have an accident, there is a good warden service who will pick you up on a mule and walk you out. Apparently there are helicopters if something really serious happens.
Blogging by the sea June 9, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Travel , add a commentIts an unusually cloudy day in Hania, as I sit in an internet cafe looking out over the harbour. I’ve had my fruit, greek yoghurt, thick greek coffee and fresh orange juice, taken a short stroll around the picture perfect Venetian harbour, and now it’s time to have a quick check on the email and make sure the blog’s still there.
It’s been a quiet, relaxing week of book reading, wandering through the town, sitting on the beach, eating too much and generally having a very pleasant time. I’ve a few photos, and will blog it all once I’m back.
In the meantime, why not go and visit some of the fabulous blogs off to the right of this, or the Green Bloggers down at the bottom of the sidebar?
Normal service resumes in a day or two
From NZ to Heathrow April 1, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Travel , add a commentMy parents arrived in England today. For my mother, its her first ever trip, and my father hasn't been back since he left as a child fifty years ago.
As we sat on the Picadilly and Victoria lines, wending our way up to Walthamstow, my own first impressions on that same trip through the above ground stations of west London came back. The backs of houses, all looking dour and dark in their brick rather than the painted weatherboard I was used to. The sheer size of the city stretching out forever. Giggling at the surreal experience of traveling through the monopoly board stations of Oxford Circus and Kings Cross. Being so tired I was almost awake again after the long, long trip here. A surprisingly mild and bright spring day.
Mum's blogging her trip over on Ruth's Reflections. Go and have a look
Malta again - British Jet.com and another good restaurant February 11, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, Miscellany, Travel , add a commentTrying to do a day trip to Malta is a bit of a drag. It’s too far, and the flights don’t help, so I had to stay over for two nights, which is hardly a problem given the lovely people I get to work with there, and the excellent restaurants.
I flew with British Jet this time, rather than BA. I’d never heard of it either, but it’s a Maltese low-cost airline, running a couple of MD90s, with good service for the cost and a worthwhile alternative to BA or Air Malta. If you’re on your own and want some space, seat 22B is beside the wing exit, and there’s no 22A. Although they claim to be very strict about handbaggage, I was allowed on with 7kgs. They did ask me to put it into two bags so none was over 5kgs, which is fair enough - I don’t want that falling on my head either.
On Friday night I went with my colleague and her husband to Del Borgo, in St John St, Birgu. Birgu is also known as Vittoriosa, and is one of the ‘three cities’, and another of the tiny medieval cities which are a feature of the island. This place is extremely popular, and booking a week or two in advance is highly recommended. We started with shared dips, which came with a mountain of bread and were almost a meal in themselves. The rucola one was creamy and piquant, with the spicy, traditional Maltese broad bean dip a lot stronger and perhaps more of an acquired taste. The third one was more sweet, and with tomato and other ingredients that we couldn’t quite identify. I had thought we ordered hummus, but if so it was an unusual, if very palatable, hummus. We then moved on to a pasta dish of tortellini filled with blue cheese, gorgonzola and artichoke hearts which was creamy and pleasant, but not a highlight.
I was really too full for dessert, but a plate of petit fours was a good way to finish. The wines were Maltese, from the Medina vineyard. We started with a lighter shiraz, and then moved on to a cabernet sauvignon, which was fuller and more oaky. By that time though, I was suffering from the 2am arrival the night before, and feeling a little cold. If I’ve one suggestion for the management, it’s to buy some heaters!
A weekend in Malta January 28, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany, Travel , add a commentMy favourite client decided I needed to do a site visit to Malta, and as a Kiwi suffering badly from mid-winter sun deprivation, who was I to say no? I stayed on over the weekend, to have a bit of a look around at one of the very few European Mediterranean countries I’ve not been to.
It’s always interesting to visit places which attract huge numbers of tourists in the summer during January when its cold and wet, and the tourists few and far between. Malta is an interesting place for a city break though, and by no means reliant on its beaches for its attractions.
Valletta must be the smallest capital city in the world, in one of the smallest sovereign nations. The walled city itself is tiny, and full of well-organised streets on a grid rather than the maze similar towns tend to be, and wandering around it in a morning is quite easy. There are plenty of distractions though, particularly the wonderfully Hapsburg Cafe Cordina, with a fabulous range of cakes and pastries, excellent coffees and an elaborately painted ceiling. Avoid the Knights Hospitallier exhibition though, especially in January when there are no other tourists around and its rather creepy down in the tunnels below the old hospital, with dim lighting and graphic diaoramas of the results of late medieval warfare.
Malta is fascinating because it has been inhabited for so long, and layer upon layer of history has settled into the limestone which covers the island. Two of the earliest sights were the highlight of my weekend. The Hypogeum was carved out of the rock between 3600 and 2400 BC, and goes down about 10M, in a way a Stonehenge in reverse. I’m intrigued by the idea that people came to this little place for about 1200 years, burying their dead and who knows what else. It’s very carefully protected, and only 80 tourists are allowed to go through each day, so book well before you arrive in Malta if you’re going in the summer.
On Sunday, I hired a car and risked the narrow, flooded, potholed roads to get to the temples at Hagar Qim and Mjandra, in the South of the island. By then the weather had cleared up, and I had a happy afternoon exploring the stones in the sunshine. It must be risky with such delicate monuments, but being able to get close to the stones, see inside and touch them makes all the difference.
I presume it is because of the limestone that these monuments were built, and still exist. There’s a particularly soft limestone here which is fairly easy to work, so although building these must have been a huge task, it would not be an overwhelming one. The stone was probably quarried locally.
Finally, Mdina, the ‘Silent City’. This tiny walled city was the capital of Malta until the Knights of St John built Valletta, and is still the archbishop’s seat as well as the home of members of the island’s aristocracy. On Saturday night, my colleague took my for dinner at the Medina Restuarant where we had an excellent meal in an old palace. The creme caramel came in slices, rather than those mean little single servings which are far more common, and the scallops were the best I’ve had in a long time.
My lasting impressions of Malta are of excellent food, welcoming people, solid rock built forts, churchs and neolithic ruins, and terrible roads.
Off to Malta January 17, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany, Travel , add a commentThis afternoon, I’m off to Malta for a few days. Its a mix of business and pleasure, a trip for a client extended into the weekend, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to see a few sights.
I’ll try to blog if I can get online, but will be back on Monday.
