Gobble Gobble Gobble - Turquoise Coast

Apologies for the complete and utter lack of updates but I was so distracted by Turkey's delights (pun intended) that I had a hard time justifying computer time to update you all on my happenings. Despite being a month behind I was so enamored with Turkey that I'll provide posts on her sights before getting into my current locale of Bulgaria.

I arrived in Turkey about a month ago now and this amazing country was truly the highlight of the trip thus far.Arriving in Turkey via the Greek islands may seem like a hop, skip and a jump but these two neighbouring countries do not make cross-border tourism exchange an easy feat. By way of over-night ferry from Santorini I made it to Rhodes (Greece) for a few days before taking a day cruiser over to Marmaris. As the only fella with a backpack on this little ferry I realized long before our arrival in Marmaris that many Greek tourists pop over to get a Turkish stamp in their passport and hopefully some cheap goods in duty free. If that's the kind of Turkey trip you're looking for I hope you enjoy it but I would strongly encourage anyone interested in visiting to go further afield than the coastal tourist destinations or just Istanbul for that matter.
Anywho, after a 3 hour bus ride from Marmaris I arrived in my first Turkish destination of Fethiye where I signed up for my back-packer's cruise of the Turkish Turquoise Coast. Fethiye was a interesting little town but much like Marmaris it is a coastal tourist hub so bear that in mind. The culinary highlight of this jaunt was their fish market where you can choose your fancy from one of 10 stalls or so including prawns and crayfish so fresh they're still moving. The market is enveloped by dozens of restaurants that will cook up your purchase for a small fee and include salad and bread. We enjoyed the experience so much the first night we decided to return for round 2 and more prawns our last night there.

Prior to boat departure I teamed up with a pair of fellow Albertans for a hike up to the ghost city of Kayköy. This former town is a vivid memory of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the 1920s. Entire Christian communities ın Turkey were exchanged with Muslim counterparts in Thrace. The result was this haunting shell of a former vibrant community.

The following morning we headed down to the port to depart on our cruise from Fethiye to Olympus along the Turquoise. Before my departure a number of people recommended I partake in one of these Blue Cruises and all raved about the experience and in no way was I disappointed.
I learned there are a number of factors critical to any trip at sea including: your shipmates, adequate supplies of Efes, contraband Turkish vodka and Ugandan gin and of course the weather. We went 4 for 4 on these benchmark factors as 5 Canadians and 5 Australians travelled halfway around the globe to enjoy an extraordinary four days at sea with several follow-up days on dryland in Olympus and Cappadocia.
I have nothing but fond memories of this trip and several new friends to visit across Australia and Canada. It's a difficult experience to describe you've been on a güllet but I have a few key memories that will stay with me forever:

• Sleeping on deck under the stars and setting sail before dawn under a brilliant full moon hanging low on the horizon with a stunning reflection sparkling on the water;
  
• Climbing waterfalls ın Butterfly Valley (although there was a serious absence of butterflies up in there);
• Laughing until it hurt every night as we participated in the great traveller's cultural exchange;
• Euchre, Club 500, Sh*thead and Asshole (Bottoms) - and yes, those are all card games;
• Contraband Ugandan gin, Turkish vodka and that lighter fluid - paint thinner mix the Turks call Raki;
• Jumping from the boat into the crystal clear waters of the Turkish Mediterranean at least four per day (and Justine's cheating at swim races);
• The amazing cooking of Fatma and her incredible talent to turn 4 simple ingredients into culinary gold.

To Marcus, Orit, Jeff, Nelly and Justine (the Aussies) and Mark, Joanna, Carly and Emma (the Canadians) thank-you all for the memories and the trip of a lifetime. I know I'll see you all again soon and next time we won't look for excuse to make it longer, we'll just plan a month or two from the beginning.

Travel Update: Turkey

Howdy from Turkey!

Sorry for the blog delay but I'm cruising down the Turkish coast and internet access is harder than ever. Will provıde a more substantial update shortly but just wanted to pass along the vital information that Turkey is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

I'll spend the next 3-4 weeks exploring this diverse nation so stay tuned!

Drewshbagging it in Santorini

So my extended tour of the Greek islands got increased yet again as my 3 days in Santorini evolved into 5 as I moved in with five Seattlonians (Seattlites? Seattlovians?) who made me an honourary Americaner for our much to brief time together.

Santorini was an amazing island that illustrated some of the most obvious extremes in modern Greece. Between it's towns, beaches, roving animals and obvious economic indicators Santorini proved to be much more than a honeymooner's paradise.

Santorini boasts three major towns I was able to visit - Oia, Fira & Perissa. Oia is this idyllic, gravity defying village that is nestled on the Northern tip of the island. It's a honeymooners paradise with it's stunning vistas, sunsets and glowing white hotels that hang almost precariously over the sea in a stunning fashion. Perissa has developed along a 2 mile stretch of beach on the islands Southeastern plains and appears to be the destination of choice for backpackers or Anglophiles looking to spend their summer as a "fly ho"* or other bar and restaurant staff. Appropriately for this party town and in contrast to Oia's romantic evenings, Perissa's sunrises are a major attraction for party-goers stumbling home after a quick stop at one of the several 24 hour bakeries that serve the best damn Nutella croissants this kid has ever gotten all over his shirt.
Cats vs. Dogs - I'm sure this metaphor can be played out in many ways but Greece's roving packs of wild pets have even found their own pockets on this island. Oia tends to be dominated by docile cats stretched out in the summer sun while Perissa's bands of dogs have found their homes under the chairs of bar patrons, digging holes on her pristine black sand beach and providing walking companions on the way home from the bar. I even found the only dog I've ever wanted to pack in my backpack and take home with me: Ears. She was half husky- half mutt with one blue eye and one brown and ears that stuck out at 9 & 3. If you ever venture to Perissa and find Ears in the puppy mix you give her a good pet for me (and then wash your hands - I think she has fleas).

Red vs. Black Sand - As an aspiring vulcanologist I can tell you that Santorini is a volcanic island (fact). The benefit of this magmatic activity are the outstanding black sand and red sand beaches. There's no clear winner in this contest aside from those who get to enjoy their graces.

Economic Disparities - In contrast to Oia's glittering buildings that seem unchanged in a dozen years Perissa was clearly undergoing a construction boom until recent troubles. The money that poured into this beach town to elevate it to the next level is now highlighted by unfinished concrete shells where work has come to a standstill. So far this has been the most obvious display of Greece's current economic woes through my island tour but it's telling of the impact of the economic crisis.

Staying vs. Leaving - Moving in with the five Seattlavians and out of Anna's Youth Hostel was a welcome change especially considering this crew put the rad in radishes. Settling into the semblance of a real apartment would have proved all too easy and Santorini's charms certainly had me getting lost in a sea of black sand and nutella croissants. Take this as a word of caution or what have you but the Greek islands have an amazing capacity to suck you in and not let you go. I have never been so unaware of time, dates and the outside world in my life as I have been over these last two weeks touring Mykonos, Ios, Santorini and now Rhodes. It's a wonderful feeling that's a blessed mix of freedom, pure relaxation with the tinge of a constant hangover. Overall Santorini was a total blast and I hope to be reunited with the Sunscreen Magnates of Perissa Beach sometime soon. Until then and having spent only a day in Rhodes I must say that so far I am utterly smitten with this new island but I have places to see on this trip and a EuroRail pass that's feeling lonely amongst all this ferry travel.




I'd like to close this post with a list of hilarious things:


1) Ruining the dinner of families by yelling at the moon while drinking on the beach
2) The D.E.N.N.I.S. system
3) Drewshbag - Defined as being in or related to the state of drunken Drew. This includes but is not limited to limp-wristed high-fives, blackouts, banging on the door of shared hostel rooms, and giving speeches about not being "those Americans" 4 hours prior to completing all of the above.
4) Strategies to break up perfect couples.

*"Fly Ho" is the complimentary term given to the lovely ladies who post fliers for their bar's evening events and comb the beach to make sure revelers know where to go for their free shots that evening.

Travel Update

Arrived in Santorini last night and checked into Youth Hostel Anna for a few days. My boat to Rhodes doesn't leave until the 21st so I'll enjoy Santorini's sights for the next little while before continuing the journey on to Turkey.

If anyone's been through here before and has some recommendations in Perissa or Thera please let me know!

Detour: Ios

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men and the same holds true for those who operate the Greek ferries.

I left Mykonos on a blustery day destined for the isle of Santorini but the winds and waves made the island impregnable and effectively turned my entire ferry into a floating sick bag. I checked around and no, these folks did not eat at Music Cafe or Niko's just prior to boarding (see previous Mykonos post). Personally I didn't have any major issues and I must say I take great pride in my constitution for not spilling my lunch.

Anywho, we had a scheduled stop in Ios where a couple friends I'd made were getting off. They announced that they'd stop indefinitely while they made a decision on whether or not to continue on to Santorini. Personally I take stops like this as a sign that solid ground is my best option and disembarked with Brent and Colleen and besides there are worse places in the world to be stuck. As an aside, the boat sat rocking in the harbour for 2 more hours before they quietly announced that it would not continue on to Santorini that evening.

When I was originally planning the trip with Mitch and Josh we had debated whether or not to go to Ios or Mykonos and ultimately decided on the latter. And while I loved Mykonos if your sole intention on coming to Greece is to party your ass off for as cheaply as possible I will whole-heartedly recommend the island of Ios. The party is just as good as Mykonos, the beaches may even be considered better and honest to god Ios is about a third the cost of her cycladic sibling. This is obviously public knowledge as the island is chalk full of three nationalities: Canucks, Aussies and Brits.

The winds continued on the second day filling the sea with a fury that contrasted sharply with the crystal clear skies. I was not dissuaded by this and headed to the beach with some folks from the hostel including some time in these rough waters.

It brought back memories of a summer my family spent up on Georgian Bay. These waters can get notoriously rough and as kids sometimes the windy gray days were the most fun. We had two kinds of waves to survive: rollers and crashers. Rollers can be overcome with a little jump but a crasher can only be survived by diving straight through to the next valley between the crests.

I don't know what or where our goal was on those days we would battle the surf; how many waves needed to be overcome before we beat the sea or even if the only definition of victory was survival. Whatever the case when faced with an oncoming crasher as my ferry slugged into Ios I'm glad I dove straight through because the other side was too much fun to be missed.

Eggs and Bacon - Mykonos in 10 Easy Lessons

For the love of Mykonos! I've made this island my haunt for a touch too long but as the days have gotten longer and my bathing suit shorter I've learned some important lessons about life in Greece and in particular Mykonos:

1) When the sun is shining Mykonos smells like maple bacon; on the rare gray days it smells like eggs. I don't know what gives this island it's eggs and bacon polarity but I do enjoy it;

2) Greek mosquitoes love my sweet sweet Canadian blood. While I am mildly concerned that my blood-alcohol content level will lead to a mosquito population explosion I hope that instead it will lead to drunk flying accidents and knock the buggers off;

3) Oregano is the best restaurant in Mykonos (Greek or otherwise). Situated at the top of the hill overlooking the main town this restaurant has all the tell-tale signs of greatness: delivery scooters buzz in and out in a constant stream, the patronage is predominately Greek and the food is spectacularly good and so reasonably priced they're practically providing a public service. I thought I knew what Greek food was but until my first trip to Oregano (and the subsequent 7 follow-ups) I had no idea what I was missing;

4) If you want an underwhelming food experience that's overpriced and will almost certainly deliver a case of diarrhoea then eat anywhere in the main town and particularly anywhere along the waterfront. If by chance you are specifically looking the the latter of my three described sensations may I recommend either Music Cafe or Niko's;

5) At all costs avoid the town when a cruise ship is in port. On a regular day the streets are a tnagled cobweb but trying to navigate them behind an ambling pack of septaginarian pacaderms is the only thing I've found that can induce stress on the entire island;

6) Without question rent a scooter or quad. Both are the desired modes of transportation for visitors and the best way to explore the island's towns, beaches and hidden secrets;

7) When it comes to beaches Super Paradise > Paradise. While this seems self-evident just based on the names we had to check to be sure.

8) The nightlife is unquestionably sensational and I certainly recommend Scandinavian Bar or Jackie O's. But my strongest advice is buy a 10 Euro bottle of vodka and then bring only what you can afford to spend and nothing more. The drinks are the most expensive I've encountered in all of Europe (I'm reassured by my Greek friends it is specific to this island);

9) Above all plan your exit strategy. Travelling to Mykonos is not like some war with Iraq that you can just enter into willy-nilly and be done with in a few days. If so I would have unfurled my Mission Accomplished banner about 7 days ago. The island is absolutely idyllic and has everything you could want in a holiday but the routine becomes so common that days and nights blend together and before long you've forgotten what day it is or when you arrived. Two days ago when I had to ask the date I was struck with a moment of panic and I knew it was time to go. Mykonos is an island to lose oneself in a holiday so come and enjoy but do not expect to find yourself;

10) Delos is a must-see for Greek ruins. This small island off the Mykonian coast is an ancient religious and trading hub and quite spectacular. When you go be sure to hike up to the lookout and do me a favour and let me know if a monument erected by three Canadian boys still stands.

I am "bringing a responsible end" to my Mykonos vacation with a gradual withdrawl via ferry to Santorini tomorrow. After a few days there it's on to Rhodes to make the leap over to Turkey to explore their side of the Aegean. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know!

Next Up

I'll stay in Mykonos for a few more days before heading off to Santorini and Rhodes as I make my way to the Turkish Aegean coast. If anyone has any recommendations on where to stay or what to see on these two islands let me know!

P.s. I promise this blog won't turn all "woe is me" now that I'm travelling solo ;)