Tag: Intrepid Travel

Day 132 – 150

September 4^th to 22nd September

You will never know if you never go.

Istanbul

Totally underestimated this wonderful city. It is so quiet in the tourist areas making it very comfortable to visit but not too good for the Country.

Some of the most beautiful buildings in Istanbul were designed by Sinan a famous Ottoman Architect. “”I saw the monuments; the great ancient remains. From every ruin I learned, from every building I absorbed something.” He produced over 200 buildings in his lifetime.

A love story: Sinan was in love with the Sultans daughter, Mihrimah. Her name meant Sun and Moon. It is said that Sinan built two mosques dedicated to her. One in the East and one in the West so at the Spring equinox the sun would set behind one minaret and the moon rise between two on the other side. Simultaneously! Very romantic. How true the story is will never be known but everyone loves a good legend.

Visited the Hagia Sophia Museum which was closed but lovely to look at. The Blue Mosque or  Sultan Ahmet Mosque is named for the blue tiles inside the building. It was great to be allowed inside as we were with the Suleymaniye Mosque. This  Mosque is even more beautiful due it finer, less ornate interior.

The Grand Bazaar and spice market. Perfect. Just like the books you read as a kid. Colours, copper, hundreds of mosaic lamps, rugs, spices, brass, coffee. Everything! A feast for the eyes.

Tasted the biggest and most mouth watering figs ever. The food here is so scrumptious; Pide, Mussels stuffed with rice from the fish sandwich vendors along the river, Turkish delight. Nuts. Our Intrepid Travel tour group consists of 1 Aussie man, 11 Aussie girls and 2 Canadians. A great mix.

Gallipoli

We grew up with the stories of the ANZAC but to be at Anzac Cove where these young men came ashore to be slaughtered,  you truly understand the bravery of the men and boys, some being as young as 14. It is humbling to be there amongst  the hundreds of memorials for the men that  died fighting for their country.

The Turkish are so gracious and respectful of the whole area and welcome the new generations of Australians and New Zealanders with open arms. A mutual respect is present without being flaunted.

“You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land , they have  become our sons as well”. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The ferry goes to Canakkale which is the Asian side by of Turkey. A country that spans both Europe and Asia. The Trojan horse stands near the port (this is the one used in the movie). Stuffed Mussels are sold per piece from vendors dotted along the foreshore.

Selcuk by bus took around 7 hours and the scenery is surprisingly similar to the Australian bush. Ephesus and the Greco – Roman ruins, gods and goddesses. Enough to make your head spin.

One story of the many… Zeus was a bit of a womaniser and fell in love with a woman called Io. Hera, his wife, was not happy about this and was vengeful. To protect his girlfriend, Zeus turned Io into a heifer. Clearly he did not think this through. Hera was very suspicious of the random appearance of a beautiful white cow and sent it away to be guarded by a 100 eyed creature who was able to watch over it 24/7. Zeus then sent Hermes to kill the creature who he lulled to sleep with his lovely music before doing the deed. The 100 eyes were taken and set into the tail of a bird and voila! A peacock!

What happened to Io? She either  turned back into a beautiful princess or sirloin steak.

The old school public toilets at Ephesus were a communal affair, quite the meeting place. To avoid embarrassment the loos were set around a pool full of frogs. It was always the frogs!

Selcuk is a lovely town but unfortunately tourism is down. The President and Prime Minister were in town to open a new train line and so were 5000 Police Officers. It appears that the Governments ideology is not helping tourism which is sad as Turkish people on the whole are kind, generous  and have a great sense of humour. Australians are especially welcomed here.

A crystal mined in this area is called disphore also named Zultinite (by the U.S Company that mines it). It changes colour from amber to pink  to emerald green when exposed to different lights. A very popular purchase.

There is a very competitive breed of rooster in Pamukkale. One starts the crowing and the next minute there is another. They compete with eachother until one passes out. Sort of like a roosters drinking game.

Apart from the roosters, Pumukkale (Cotton Castle) is known for its calcium cliff like structures and the hot springs that feed through the calcium bi carbonate to form warm pools. Cleopatra’s personal pool was on top of the plateau and is surrounded by beautiful plants and, of course, shops, restaurants and baths. The cost to swim in her pool was 30 turkish lira. It is supposed to cure a multitude of ailments with its minerals.

Discovered the joys of real homemade Turkish ice cream. It is like toffee and is scooped up with a long stick. Delicious. Apparently, the texture is due to Mastica, the sap from a tree that is used in both Turkey and Greece.

Ruins of rock tombs are dotted through the hillsides of Fethiye. Visited an umbrella roofed shopping street and the famous blue lagoon where a sunbed and an umbrella is 15 TL and worth it. The beach is very pebbly and  beautifully white as though it has been landscaped that way. The water is a vibrant blue. Mojitos on the rooftop bar with our mates for the sunset and to watch the paragliders come swooping in for a landing.

 

Boat trip from Ucagiz What an experience! The boat was comfortable and the food was prepared by the Captain and her husband. Amongst the feast was cauliflower with garlic yoghurt sauce. Need to get the recipe for this one.

Imagine jumping of a boat into water that is very deep but so clear that you can see the bottom. Pockets of very warm and very cold-water surprise you. The water is indescribable so the suggestion would be to come to Turkey.

Moored at Kalekoy Island that was topped by a fortress. Halfway up is an ice creamery called “I am here”. The lemon and mint ice-cream was the best ever and the host and his wife were constantly filling our cups with a myriad of different flavours so that we wouldn’t miss out on anything.

Dinner was amazing and we all slept under the stars after some of the girls had an Uno play off.

Antalya is a very pretty  coastal town catering for the German and Russian tourists. The pension Razer was comfortable with beautiful gardens and a little bar and restaurant. Our hosts offered us their personal home pool but the beach was too enticing. A private beach close by was 30 Turkish Lira for the most wonderful experience. Deck chairs on a large pallet over the water with service and the water lapping underneath you. Very clever use of space.

Noticed a spa treatment that included a face mask, body exfoliation and massage for 25 Euros. What a deal. Only problem was that on enquiring, the masseuse/owner walked out with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Couldn’t tell if he was sweaty or wet. Instead, we bought a jar of Clay mask for $5 and the entire group had a facial for free. Much better deal and a lot more fun sitting on the verandah with mud covered faces and a drink or two.

The bazaar in Antalya was a Roman Bath house and the ceiling, vaulted and stunning. Restaurants here have pools inside and if you eat there you can swim. A bit voyeuristic to have a silver service meal and have someone splashing around in a bikini.

Hadrian’s Gate is in Antalya and there is also a lot of the original wall.

The broken minaret stands behind the ruins of a place of prayer. First, it was a temple, then a church, then a mosque, then a church and then a mosque again. Finally, it was destroyed by an earthquake. Makes you wonder if God said, “if you can’t share no one can have it” and BOOM!

Turkish delight comes in all flavours. Originally called Osmanlica, meaning comfortable although you are not too comfortable after eating too much of it. It has been within the borders of the Ottoman Empire since the 15th century. A British traveller name it Turkish Delight.

Konya is a a 7 hour  road trip cross over the Tores Mountains, a very devout area and the birthplace of the Whirling Dervish, a faith from the 13^th century lead by a man called Mevlana ( Rumi). The hats symbolise tombstones, the black cloak is the ego (which they discard before the whirling begins), the white attire means purity. A red sheep skin symbolises the sunrise of the day that Mevlana died.  It is said, that the whirling started when Mevlana heard a jeweller banging on an anvil. It was a sign and the beat motivated Mevlana to whirl around and eventually enter into a trance like state. Mevlana’s followers copied him and the whirling dervish was born.

Cappadocia (land of beautiful horses) is one of those places that you have to experience first hand. Nothing you see or read can describe the immensity and solid beauty of the landscape. There are manmade pigeon holes in the incredible formations as their guano was an industry at one time. Our hotel was in one of the many rock caves. A balloon ride over the landscape is affordable and a highlight. Pictures tell the story. It is customary to decorate the basket with flowers  on landing and of course a toast to the end of a safe trip.

It was on the way to Darende that we visited incredible rock formations. This area is very arid and these structures just appear. The 3 graces, the Camel and the Fairy Castles. Gokpinar is abeautiful lake that is the most incredible blue, again in the middle of nowhere.

Cemberlitas Village is in Adiyaman and is agricultural: grapes, tobacco and wheat. Stayed with a lovely family here and slept under a thousand stars again. Could get used to it.

On the way to Mount Nemrut we walked across a 2^nd century AD Roman bridge. The bridge originally had 4 columns representing the family but, boys will be boys and the oldest brother (Emperor Caracalla}  killed his younger brother (Geta) and destroyed the 4^th Column that represented him. The standard script for a Roman soap opera.

Trudged up Mount Nemrut and to our surprise it was like Easter Island with the heads and bodies of all the famous gods. They were all there including King Antiochus (who thought he was one). Commagene, Zeus, Apollo and Herakles. These statues are replicated on the East and West side.

A tour of Turkey ended with a flight back to Istanbul, a quick sprint around the Grand Bazaar and a street food walk on the other side of the city.

Turkey is a magnificent country and there is nothing to fear here. Even walking at night is fine. The Turkish people are very friendly and welcome tourists openly. It is such a shame that past problems have maimed its’ tourist industry as it has so much to offer. Our little group was led by Suleyman Erkose, a fantastic guy first and tour guide second. He was so well read and attentive to all our quirks. As for  the group? They were fantastic and the laughter flowed constantly.  We had a ball.    

The pictures tell the story in this post

Casablanca

First impression of Casablanca was how dusty it was and why would you buy a black car?

Hotel Azur in Ain Dieb faced the surf beach but the streets were almost empty all day because of Ramadan. The Muslim people fast between 4am and sunset so at 10pm the streets are crowded and there is music until 4am when they commence the fast again.

After walking 5 kilometres to a shopping mall that kept disappearing into the fog like a mirage, we were put through a security scanner and our bags were removed and x-rayed.

Two days later we moved to Casablanca city. The hotel Transatlantique was built in 1920 and the foyer is like an old black and white movie set. Very beautiful but the rest of the hotel was in very bad shape.

The old buildings that, at one point in their history would have been majestic, are in such sad disrepair.  However, the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993, is imposing and cost around 800 million dollars. It was almost entirely funded by the public.

Friday is a special prayer day in Ramadan so we sat on a bench and watched hundreds of people pouring into the mosque. Looked like a grand final football crowd. The prayers are heard for quite a distance as they are blasted through loud speakers and reverberate of the stone walled buildings.

Rabat

Local train to Morocco’s capital. Rabat. Totally different to Casablanca. More trees, wide boulevards , the  beautiful Kasbah des Oudaias and numerous other landmarks.

Meknes

After a 3 hour 1st class train (carriages just like in the movies, but no murder), arrived in Meknes, a famous wine making area of Morocco. This city was built by Sultan Moulay Ismail. He was a tad jealous of Louis IV of France and tried to outdo him by creating a Versailles type town with high walls and over 50 palaces.

The granary was used to store grains and other food stocks in case of war or famine. Luckily nothing occurred and the food was distributed. (it was also a stable for all his horses).

Taste an avocado and orange juice smoothie. They are delicious. No alcohol in Ramadan?

Volubilis

Try walking through an archaeological site in 42 degrees. But worse. Try being a Muslim guide unable to partake of food or water.  Volubilis was a provincial Roman capital. and the area is filled with ancient mosaics and Storks!

Fes

Fes means pickaxe in Arabic. Why? Can’t remember.

This city is just what you would expect. It was fantastic and does not disappoint. The medina of Fes is huge however from the hillside above, it looks empty. Hence, its name, “the mysterious city”.

The Medina is a bustling, vibrant, exotic place consisting of 9400 alleyways. Each section or souk, selling its specialty. The tannery was a highlight with its dye pits.

Horses and mules are the only form of transport in the Medina and when you hear Balak! Balak! it means move over to the side or you will get run over by a mule. Trouble is the alleyways are very narrow and the mules are very wide.

Morocco is known for its ceramics and most of the towns don’t have statues in the squares or parks. Instead, the buildings are decorated with the most intricately designed mosaics.  So….naturally we visited a mosaic factory and watched the artisans draw the designs and cut up the square tiles into perfect shapes with only a chisel hammer.

Midelt

A long drive through cedar and pine forests. Stopped to say hello to some Barbary apes, North Africa’s only monkey and visited a beautiful Swiss like town called Ifrane that is a ski resort.

The accommodation here was a very pleasant surprise.

The Sahara

It is impossible to describe this experience. Driving through so many different landscapes: desert, vibrant green date palm plantations, cedar and pine forests and areas that are full of fossils and orchards. Incredibly diverse.

Seeing sand dunes in the Sahara for the first time was an awesome experience.

The pictures again tell the stories.

Travelled for an hour and a half by camel to our camp, 20 kilometres from the Algerian border. Slept under the stars choosing not to sleep in the tents.

The tents are made of woven goat hair. When it rains, the fibres mould together and become waterproof. Our meal prepared by the camel herders, was a Moroccan soup, chicken tagine and fresh fruit. It was delicious and afterwards the same guys played the drums and sang folk songs. Woke early to witness the sunrise over the desert and then back on the camel train. A magic time.

Todra Gorge

Travelled through the foothills of the Atlas mountains.  Mud brick villages, lush pockets of date palms and family market gardens. The irrigation system here is hundreds of years old. Here again the accommodation was amazing and the scenery spectacular. No words!

Ait Benhaddou

This is an area where a lot of the desert movies have been filmed. Lawrence of Arabia, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator and Game of Thrones.

An incredible (use that word  lot) place that now houses only a few families and uses tourism for its income. Our rooms peace was only interrupted by the donkeys going past and the call to prayer from the mosque.

Aroumd

This was a test. After all the bread, olives, tajines, lentil soups and skewers, we were informed that our accommodation was up a mountain and that the only way up was to walk or on a mule. Not wanting to look like Sister Sarah, we sauntered up the hillside to the top where the views were worth every step. It rained today for the first time and it was delicious.

Stayed in a Gite owned by a Berber family. Again our accommodation was wonderful only to be surpassed by the fantastic hospitality of our hosts.

The sun was shining on our downhill trek in the early morning and then a 5 hour drive to the West Coast.

Visited a Woman’s Co-operative that make the famous Moroccan Argan Oil.

Essaouira

A shoppers paradise. Lovely place with the bonus of being on the Atlantic Ocean where the sea breeze cools everything down.

It is hard to judge what places were the best because they were all so different and offered such diverse experiences. Must point out though that Essaouira is the most lenient for alcohol  in Ramadan so how could you go past a Mojito or a few beers on the roof watching the sunset  with  new mates. Bliss.

The accommodation here was a Riad which is a mansion that could have historically been owned by a nobleman. It was a mezzanine type structure with a central courtyard. Our shower looked like a pizza oven.

Essaouira is a fishing town and the fish markets were great . So many sardines! Love sardines.  It is surrounded by high walls and canons.

The art and handicrafts were a feast  for the eyes and the people, although fasting in the heat all day, were beautiful, helpful and kind. Morocco’s population is mostly Muslim and the people here are certainly wonderful ambassadors of their faith. So polite and helpful. Dissipated any preconceived opinions we may have harboured.

The hamman. We had never heard of this form of bathing so we gave it a whirl. You strip down to your underwear and lie on a lino covered slab where the lady proceeds to throw very hot water all over you. Then she applies the olive soap all over your body and disappears for a few minutes where you lie there covered in slimy soap wondering if it is a joke and if she is coming back.  Understandably this feeling was due to being taken there through narrow alleyways and up up up a skinny staircase. Anyway, she did return and attacked  us with a really hard scrubber.  Explanation of what came flying off our bodies is up to your imagination. Another dousing and a hair wash with Argan Oil. After that, an hour long massage and set on our way. Wow! What an experience. A very common weekly thing in Morocco. Cost $30. No pictures. Censored.

Marrakech.

Casablanca and Marrakech are a bit like the bookends to the many volumes of experiences that is Morocco.

We arrived into the city to a very unpleasant 42 degrees. It is hard to appreciate the flavour of a place when you feel like you are gong to fall over from heat stoke. We had street food for dinner in the main square and it was delicious but there was no let up of people wanting you to buy watches, sunglasses or just plain beg for money. It is hard to appreciate the calamari with  a watch shoved in your face. The markets were good but the merchants are  more overt than we have seen. Having said that, it was Ramadan and as we were guzzling down the iced water to keep hydrated, the people were waiting until sunset before they could have their first drink of anything.

We had a final  dinner with our tour mates who were a great mix of Australian, Kiwis. Canadians and a token Russian.

This trip was with Intrepid Travel and we don’t believe, in the time that we had, you could get a better deal. We saw and experienced so much and our guide Mohamed Ait Alla was fun, understanding and knowledgeable. All for less than $100 a day!

So much to love about Morocco.

But what about the doors!

And now to Italy….

 

 

28th April to 2nd May 2017

Day 5-8

Peru to  Cusco to Puerto Maldonaldo

Up in the air – down to Cuzco. Suffered altitude sickness in Cuzco and this time didn’t even get out of the plane! 25 minutes on the tarmac while it was refuelling and got a bit crook. Up in the air again and down to Puerto Maldonado – the entrance to the Amazonas from the Peruvian side.

 

The tour we booked for our Amazonian experience was with Intrepid. We were collected by Emperatriz and taken to the office and given a duffel bag to put our clothing in for 4 days. Then a longboat for 2 hours to the Caymen (means Amazonian alligator) Lodge. A beautiful setting hidden amongst the lush rainforest. The rooms had shade cloth covered windows and no electricity so at 5.30 we lit candles. The showers were cold but that didn’t matter much after what the guides put us through and each bed had a mosquito net. After settling in we went on a night walk. Emperatriz (Empy) told us to turn our torches off and the darkness was incredible. The sounds of the jungle were heightened and what was more disturbing was that we had already sighted panther prints.

The stars from the jungle lit up the sky with the milky way and the Southern Cross standing out.

A boat trip to the Clay Lick, a naturally forming wall of clay on the riverbank. It is where Macaws go to get their salt supplement or to neutralise their dietary toxins. Quite a phenomenon. We took off in the long boat at 4.30am and travelled 2.5 hours down river to the special spot where we waited on plastic stools that were handed to us on leaving the boat.

Travelling down the river and watching the sunrise was stunning.

Macaws mate for life so one pair would come to the tallest tree and check out the situation. When they were happy that all was safe they would travel to a shorter tree. In this way, they gave other birds the signal that it was safe to fly to the clay lick. By the end of the session there were about 20 Macaws on the cliff. This was a small group on the day.

 

Later in the afternoon we went for another walk where we tasted more delicious fruits that can only be found in the Amazon jungle.

 

Day 3 was a 14 kilometre round hike to the lake. Sounds easy but it was very muddy and we wore gumboots as sometimes the mud went up to your calves and you needed to be pulled out, hopefully not leaving your gumboot in the mud. Long pants and long sleeves, heaps of mosquito repellent for Dengue, not Malaria and lots of sunscreen. The dilemma was which one to apply first.

Into the jungle we went with a renewed admiration for the soldiers that bunkered down in the mud.

 

There are very interesting trees in the jungle. The Kapok tree which produces a cotton like substance that was used when we were young to fill pillows. The Walking palm that sets out new above ground roots so that it can slowly move towards a break in the canopy. The erotic tree that speaks for itself – picture confiscated due to its R rating.

After 7 muddy kilometres we arrived at the lake and after a fantastic lunch tht we carried from camp, we took a canoe to seek out the wildlife.

 

It was a bit of a slow wildlife day but we did see Otters, bird life and beautiful scenery.

While we were fishing for the non-existent piranhas and the elusive anacondas under the canopy of a large tree, a hoard of squirrel monkeys came screaming down to our sheltering tree to feast upon the berries. Squeaking and squawking and picking the berries like professional grape pickers but instead of storing them, sticking them in their mouth until a huge shriek from the boss monkey had them jumping from limb to limb and disappearing into the forest again.

 

This tour was made even more special because of the people that were with us and my birthday celebration. The lovely Bicky from Bega and a fantastic couple – Carol and Joffrey form the UK. (Empy’s names for Vicki and Geoffrey). Val was Bal. Peruvians don’t like using V’s too much.

We were very impressed with our time here. It was simple accommodation but our guide Empy who is now a friend and the few people that were with us were great. The meals were fantastic especially since they were cooked in very simple conditions. There was a special chili called Fish Eye that was mixed with lemon juice and red onion. Yum

This tour is highly recommended but my goodness you get very hot, sweaty and filthy.

BACK IN LIMA

Carlos again met us at the airport. We all went to dinner and visited a beautiful place called Calleo which is the port where the cruise ships come in and is very close to Lima airport. We were surprised that a lot of the beautiful seaside homes were empty because of the threat of another tsunami even though the last one was in the 70’s. It would be the equivalent of St Kilda or Manly.

 

No one begs in Lima. They all sell something even if it is lollies or cheap jewelry on the street. Avery proud race.

Last night in Peru. Off to Colombia.