Montenegro

So far we've only been here for 4 days, but I think it's safe to say that we both like it a lot. It's incredibly beautiful here, all mountains and a great coastline. We arrived first at Ulcinj, just across the border from Albania. It was a nice small town. We spent our days there walking around the little bit of the town, but mostly enjoyed our hike along the coast. We had excellent views of the water almost the whole time. There wasn't very much sand, it was mainly rocky. The next stop was Kotor, further north. It is famous for it's walled in old town (which most of the coastal towns also have) and because it is situated on Europe's most southern fjord. It was very nice there, as expected, but there was very limited accommodation options, so we had to pay a little more than we had wanted to for a night's stay. Because of this we only spent one night in Kotor, and a day exploring the city and climbing up the mountain to the fortress, before leaving for Budva. It's much nicer here, more low key than Kotor, and has plenty of places to sleep. We took an apartment and have just spent the last couple days relaxing and enjoying having our own space to unwind in. We also walked around the town, but there isn't a ton to see, so it didn't take too long. Tomorrow we are taking a train from Bar (Montenegro) to Belgrade (Serbia). It's supposed to be a very scenic train ride, so we are looking forward to it.

Gjirokastra and Kruja

As I wrote in the last post, we are in Albania now. After walking across the border with Greece, we took a taxi to Gjirokastra, which isn't that far from the border. The town is one of the two cities that was classified as a museum city during the 50 years of communism and was thus spared all the demolition that buildings in other Albanian cities and towns were the victim of. The old town of Gjirokastra was largely built during the time when the Ottomans ruled the area and the architecture is obviously reflective of this. The town is in the mountains, which provide a great backdrop to all the stone houses and cobble stone streets (which were really steep and tiring to walk up) There's also a castle at the top of one of the hills of the town, which we walked around. There is a war museum inside, as well as a prison, which King Zogu (King from early 1900s) and the Nazi's used as a prison.

It was really nice there, and as I said, these were the first Albanian people we met, and they were very nice. Having no idea what to expect from Albania or the people, we have really enjoyed it here. People have actually given more than we have asked for on a couple occasions, which never happened in Greece, and would never happen to anyone in Egypt.

After a couple nights in Gjirokastra, we got on a bus for Tirana. The roads in Albania aren't the best, and the first part of the trip was through the mountains as well. So the bus was probably going something like 30 km/h for the first few hours of the trip, which was sometimes pretty bouncy. The whole trip took us 7 hours or so, but I don't think we travelled more than 300 km's.

Tirana is nice as well and we have enjoyed what we've seen so far, although we are spending tomorrow exploring the rest of the city. So far we've seen just what was around us while we ran errands or just wandered around. Today we took a day trip to Kruja, which is just north of Tirana, also on the side of the mountains. It was pretty nice there. There is also a castle, which we took a picture of but didn't go inside. There's also a good antique bazaar, with some shops also selling handmade stuff made in the town. We spent a few hours walking around the market before heading back with some souvenirs.

I also put up a picture of 4 Mercedes next to each other. We read in our guide book that in the early 90's, after communism ended here, there was a total free-for-all in the country and a massive amount of stolen Mercedes Benz from Western Europe arrived. Looking around I would say half, if not more, of all the cars in Albania are 1990's edition Mercedes. It's pretty funny.

picture update

Here are pictures I had meant to upload for Meteora, Ikaria and Santorini.

Santorini, Naxos, Ikaria and Meteora

After we last posted, we took the ferry to Santorini, which is probably the most visited of all the Greek islands ( I made that up, but I imagine it to be true, so go with me). We rented a car with the other couple we were travelling with and spent an entire day driving around seeing the island, which turned out to be a great idea because we got to see everything and it didn't cost a whole lot. It is a really beautiful place.

I'm already out of adjectives to use to describe the great stuff we are seeing, so from now on just assume everything is great/cool/amazing/incredible unless I say it's crappy.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been the greatest, it was kind of cold in the islands while we were there. It wasn't snowing or anything, but there wasn't tons of sun, and we had to wear long sleeves the whole time. Kind of goes against how you would picture the Greek islands, but I guess everyone has winter.

After Santorini, we went to Naxos, which is the biggest of the Cycladic islands (the group were hopping around). It is extremely mountainous, and all the roads are constantly winding around some mountain, which made for some excellent scenery. Again we spent a whole day just driving around the island, seeing whatever there was to see, but mostly just seeing little villages and enjoying the coastal and mountain views.

We were scheduled to take a midnight ferry to Ikaria, which is a much smaller island to the east of Naxos. After trying to kill a few hours waiting for midnight to come, we stood at the port for 2 hours in the cold because the ferry was very late. We ended up arriving in Ikaria at 7 am, when we were supposed to be there at 3:30. Surprisingly, this was the first time the boats were not on time. After going to sleep for a few more hours, we just wondered around the main town there, enjoying how quiet it is. One guy in town even told us not to tell anyone about the island so that the number of tourists stays as low as it has been. So don't tell anyone, okay?

That night we went and sat in a natural hot spring, which is one of the things Ikaria is famous for, there are many hot springs. The following day we again rented a car and drove around. I think this was probably the best drive I have ever been on. The island is small, has mountains down its spine, and the views from everywhere were great! We stopped in some great little villages as well as doing a short hike to have a picnic lunch on the trails. Beats eating in the PATH any day.

That night we took an overnight ferry back to Athens, where we boarded a train and headed for the north of Greece, a place called Meteora.

It's a beautiful place as well. There are monestaries perched on top of the mountains that overlook the village where we stayed. We hiked through the forest up to the first 2, but as we were eating our lunch it started to rain pretty hard, so we had to go back into town. After walking for an hour and getting pretty damn wet, we found a coffeeshop to take shelter in. The rain kind of ruined our day there, but at least we got to see some of it.

Right now we are in Albania! Finally made it! The people we've met so far have been really nice, so we're happy with that. Unfortunately this internet isn't so fast, so I can't put up too many pictures. Sorry.

Let the Island Hopping Begin! Mykonos

We arrived in Mykonos yesterday afternoon after taking the very comfortable Blue Star Ferry. When we arrived at the port we planned on camping just outside the city (Hora) as the prices from accommodation here are exhorbitant. Turns out in low season you can have your pick of hotels and pay equivalent to what we payed for our hooker-surrounded hostel in Athens. Score one for us! We are staying in a beautiful hotel just off the main drag in Hora. Mykonos, of what we have seen, is absolutely beautiful. The "city" may be full of one too many want-to-be fashionistas (god knows where they think they are going), trendy clubs, and overpriced shops but it doesn't detract from its undeniable beauty. Today we spent the day at the beach - it isn't warm enough to swim but it was nice to just sit by the water and read. Mind you, the natives are in down jackets right now so there is no way for Daniel and I in our t-shirts and shorts/skirts not to look like tourists! It's that warm Canadian blood.

Tomorrow we plan on visiting the sacred island of Delos, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis and the centre of ancient Greek mythology.

Athens, Greece - A Bittersweet Affair

We arrived in Greece in the afternoon of Mar. 21. Our flight on Royal Jordanian Airlines from Amman was topnotch...two thumbs up for the official air carrier of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan! Leather seats, tons of leg room and a delicious lunch.

As Greece is a real shock to the wallet after our travels through the Middle East and specifically Egypt we opted to stay in Athens in the cheapest place we could - a Hosteling International hostel in the Athens district of Omonia. Our Lonely Planet warned us that the area was seedy but honestly it was completely fine apart from the hookers that hung out on the corner just a few blocks away. But really, are we going to let a few hookers keep us away from budget accommodation? I think they add character to the area. We didn't have much day left once we arrived and got settled but we wandered a bit around the "bohemian" area of the city and had dinner there. It was very nice. Narrow streets, little independent shops and a nice casual air.

The next day we awoke to a sheets of rain pouring down. We thought we would be brave and tough it out so we donned our rain jackets and headed out. An hour later, soaked to the bone and freezing we succeeded defeat and headed back to the hostel. Mind you at this time a pesky pain was beginning to form in my stomach and I was having trouble forging on. We spent the rest of the rain filled day (it never stopped until 10pm that night) in the hostel room, me drifting in and out of sleep and clutching my stomach, Daniel reading and plotting our island hopping course. That night, once the rain ceased (and my stomach relented a little) we walked around the city a bit more. We were very pleased with what we saw.

The next morning we were determined not to waste the day and though my stomach was still killing me and I hadn't been able to eat since the morning before we decided to do the grande Acropolis/Ancient Angora/major sites in Athens tour. Everything we saw was very impressive and I can't express how beautiful the view is from atop the Acropolis looking down on the

Mediterranean, Athens and the surrounding hills/mountains. Unfortunately, in Ancient Agora my stomach got the best of me and I lost my cookies, beginning what would be a downward spiral for me. The rest of day and night I spent in bed with chills and a high fever. The next day we planned on leaving Athens for Mykonos but again I awoke very sick (day 3) and Daniel, very concerned insisted that we go to the hospital. Long story short, I picked up a virus somewhere and only today and I beginning to feel right again. Despite the stomach troubles Daniel and I both thought Athens was a beautiful, lively city. It was a sharp contrast to the Middle East as Greek women seem to have a penchant for anything tight, short or high-heeled. Talk about culture shock!

Petra and Amman

Sorry, I forgot my camera when I came to use the internet, so I can't put the pictures from Petra or what I saw here in Amman today. I will put some up next time.
Petra was really cool, although I think we were both expected to see a whole city carved into the rocks, meaning more like houses and things like that. There were about 10 plus really amazing buildings with facades that were still intact, and they were worth the trip there without a doubt. But from the look of it, most of the people of Petra lived in caves. The best part was the entrance to the city. We walked 1300 metres in a narrow, winding canyon, with the cliffs high above us. Then as you reach the end of it, you see the best preserved building in Petra, the Treasury. It starts to peak out as you get closer.
Amman is kind of boring, not much to see here for tourists. We're flying to Athens tomorrow, so that's why we came here, as well as to see what a Jordanian city is like.
That's all I got, pictures to come.