Making my way east across Crete, my next stop is the town of Rethymno. This city was built almost entirely by the Venetians in the 13th century. Even though it’s a bit sprawling, it feels like more of a small town to me. There’s not a lot going on here, but there were some interesting sites in town. My first stop was the Archeology Museum. Right outside was this, what I assume is a Venetian Gate. There was no information…
The ferry times to and from Milos are not at all convenient. I left at around 2pm and arrived on the the next island at 7pm, checked into my hostel, grabbed dinner, and got ready to explore the next morning. Now, welcome to Chania on Greece’s biggest island of Crete. I’m starting my exploration of Crete on a Sunday, everything is usually closed on Tuesdays, and it’s Christmas week, so I’m making a mad dash to all of the places…
The airport in Athens is about twenty miles out of town. Thankfully, they have a good metro system and a train that goes all the way to the terminals. I hopped on a little plane and was off to explore some of those famous Greek islands, starting with the Cyclades. I’ve already been to a few Greek islands on this trip, but the remainder of my Greek adventure will be all island hopping. Naxos Greece has a total of around…
In the southern part of Peleponnese is maybe one of the most legendary cities in the world. Everyone has heard of it, Sparta. Modern Sparta, however, is just an average Greek town and there’s nothing particularly appealing about it. There are a few sites within reach of it though, and that’s why I’m here. First, at the edge of town are the ruins of ancient Sparta. There’s really very little of them left. The site is free to visit and…
Leaving Ioannina my first thought was that it was nice to be driving on a straight road for a change. Ha! I left early and drove for about an hour to the ferry port in Igoumenitsa, then drove my little car that doesn’t smell like it’s burning onto a very big ferry bound for the island of Corfu out in the Ionian Sea. After about an hour and a half I was in Corfu Town. It was still early when…
I just don’t have the words to describe how beautiful the drive from Kalambaka was. To get to my next stop in Ioannina I had to drive the twisty roads all the way through those mountains most of the day, but I didn’t expect the scale of them. Every bend revealed a new eye popping view. I was really caught off guard by it all. Tzoumerka National Park Be prepared, this post is a long one… This region of Epirus…
It was a long day of driving to this next short stop. The first thing you notice arriving in the small town of Kalambaka is those crazy rocks racing for the sky. With the exception of the gas station right across the street, the view from the balcony of my hostel was pretty awesome! Those rocks loom no matter where you are in town though. The town is called Kalambaka, but the area is referred to as Meteora. As early…
Greetings and welcome to my next adventure, Greece! My flights and connections here all went surprisingly smooth. I landed in Thessaloniki, got a tiny rental car, and immediately drove almost two hours southwest to the small village of Litochoro. I had a specific reason for coming so far out of my way on day one, but more on that in a bit. I got a good night’s rest and then started exploring the area. Get prepared for lots of ancient…
My flight back to Ulaanbaatar from Ulgii was, thankfully, uneventful. I spent one day getting myself in order, getting my trusty LandCruiser back (they gave me the same car again, but a different tent), getting supplies at the State Dept Store, and I was off again. This time I’m headed south to the Gobi Desert. I planned this for last thinking the weather would be warmer while the rest of Mongolia started to freeze. My first stop isn’t really that…
I made it out of Murun and all the way to Erdenet in one day. Luckily the road was paved and relatively smooth the whole way. The hotel I checked into was definitely better than freezing to death in the guesthouse in Murun, but my dreams of hot water would unfortunately have to wait. So I settled for being happy with the warm room and cable tv for a few days. I ventured out one day to explore the city…