Back in the states and trying to finish up my blog posts. I'm at Starbucks, but the coffee doesn't taste quite the same since I had Cuban coffee every day. I miss that. Anyway, I'd like to tell you about my last two days in Havana. Tuesday, Nov. 13. We started the day at Callejon de Hamel (Hamel Alley), an alley near old Havana that has been turned into a large display for the artist known as Salvador (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Gonz%C3%A1les_Escalona). Every building and wall, etc. on the street is covered in his art and poetry. All kinds of ordinary objects, like bath tubs have been used to display his colorful drawings and poems. There was a large tribute to Cuban national hero Jose Marti which featured a bathtub on top of a tall column and filled with grass (my cover photo on Facebook is of the Marti tribute). In addition to the alley, many of the houses along it have been painted inside by him and you can just walk inside and see more. Before walking down the alley, we learned about the Santaria religion which influenced Salvador. I had heard of Santaria growing up in Florida but did not know much about it. It is a cross between Catholicism and native African religions. Practitioners dress all in white and can be seen all over Havana.
After exploring the alley, we headed to the Ballet Folklorico of Havana. The dancers and musicians put on a performance just for us in their rehearsal space and included numbers inspired by both African and Spanish traditions. One of their dances involved the men holding Machetes and dancing around with them; fortunately, none of them came loose. At the end of their performance, they pulled us all up on stage to dance with them. It was like being at the club the night before all over again except that this dance had a distinct beginning and end. We all agreed that their performance was one of the highlights of the trip, given the intimate nature of the space. After we put our shoes back on (had to take them off to protect the floor), we headed to lunch at a Paladar in old Havana where I had Paella de Pollo y Lechon (Chick and Pork with yellow rice); it was delicious but took a long time for them to prepare.
After lunch, we headed to a Salsa class at another dance studio. We had an hour with an instructor who yelled at one of the people in our group for talking while he was teaching; it was hilarious and we laughed about it for the rest of the trip. Anyway, I've never danced Salsa before, and it was a little tricky. It is based on an eight beat count with the fourth and eighth count being pauses. So it's really: 1, 2, 3, pause, 5, 6, 7, pause, etc. Once I got the foot work down, they introduced shoulder moves which completely threw me off. Still, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon and meet more Cubans and admire their creativity and culture.
Prior to dinner, Joe had a surprise for us. He had arranged for us to ride in old 1950s convertibles (they are everywhere in Havana) to the National Hotel where we all had our pictures taken by a professional photographer. As we drove down the Malecon, Havana's waterfront boulevard, Joe had the photographer in one of our vans driving along side us taking pictures. At one point, we were blocking in a driver who got very upset and kept honking. Otherwise, it was a delightful experience and I will post those pictures as well when I receive them. Dinner was a two stop affair with us first having drinks and appetizers at the apartment of a local art collector. He was not home but his sister showed us around his apartment and his collection. This was one of the nicest apartments I've seen in what was otherwise a bland looking building and was the owner was obviously very wealthy even by America standards. The furniture was mid-century modern and the art included some artists we had seen earlier in the week. The collector was a doctor who had spent time working in Panama and making more money than he could ever have made in Cuba. He not only collects art but promotes local artists. Still, his wealth I found suspicious in a country with so much poverty. I couldn't help but think he had some connections with the Communist Party. Our guide wouldn't say but kind of rolled her eyes when I asked. Although the apartment was lovely, the AC was not on and it was very hot and humid. Probably the most uncomfortable I had been in Cuba so far due to the heat and humidity.
After that, we drove out to the house of the collector's sister in the Diez de Octubre neighborhood. The house was also sort of plain looking on the outside and on an ordinary street with run down buildings, but it was grand inside. Instead of mid-century modern, it was decorated in a more classic style, also with a lot of art. Our guide explained that most people with money don't invite people into their homes because they don't want to attract attention. This was where we ate dinner. The house was not air conditioned and although it was cool while we ate, when we moved out to the patio for rum and cigars, it was even more hot and humid than it had been at the airport. Yes, we had cigars and rum. A cigar and rum sommelier joined us and recommended cigar and rum pairings. As she also smoked cigars I couldn't help but think of the opera Carmen where the lead Diva smokes cigars and entices away Don Juan. Anyway, I did not have a cigar but took a few puffs off of someone else's. I did not see what the big deal was. But the rum was good and I enjoyed sipping it while a local musician and his band played for us. At the end of the band's performance, we discovered the singer was the husband of one of our guides. Other than the heat, it was a lovely relaxing evening and a great way to end our time in Cuba (although my experience wasn't quite finished).
On Wednesday, Nov. 14, my flight wasn't until 2:30pm so I knew ahead of time that I would have some free time in the morning. After seeing the Hemingway house on Monday, I asked Joe if he could arrange for me to visit the fishing village of Cojimar on Wednesday morning before I left. Cojimar was the village that inspired Hemingway to write the Old Man and the Sea and he dedicated his Nobel Prize to the fishermen of that village. I enjoyed the Hemingway house so much that I just had to see the fishing village. So Joe arranged it for me with Julie who had been our guide at the Hemingway house. She and a taxi driver picked me up at 8am and we headed east to the village. On the way there we passed several large sports stadium where the Pan American games had been held; they were decorated with more propaganda about the importance of sports to the revolution, etc. Anyway, Cojimar is still in the city of Havana but feels remote. Like other places we had been, most buildings could use some renovation, although I did see one nice house across the street from the ruins of another. We stopped in the Terraza de Cojimar, a restaurant / bar where Hemingway liked to hang out. We had to bribe someone to let us in since they were not open yet. But we saw the table where he liked to sit (they have it roped off) and admired all their pictures of Hemingway in the large dining room over looking the small bay. We then walked down the water front street to the site of a small Spanish fort and the adjacent monument to Hemingway. At a small park on the waterfront a lot of young people would gathered because it was a WiFi hotspot.
We weren't in Cojimar too long so on the way back Julie said we could stop at the Christ of Havana statue which overlooks Havana Harbor and old Havana. The statue predates the revolution by a few years and is similar to ones in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Lisbon, Portugal but without his arms spread out. Instead his left hand is near his waste and his right hand has two fingers held in the sign of a blessing. However, it is a local joke that from a distance it looks like he is holding a glass of rum in one hand and a cigar in the other. Julie said some people also call him the sexy Jesus because he is so attractive and has full lips. We took several pictures and then because we still had time, headed to Revolution Square where Julie took my picture in front of the giant Che Guevara mural on the Ministry of the Interior building. On the opposite side of the square is the Jose Marti memorial. The square has been the site of numerous political rallies and speeches by Fidel Castro. During this part of the trip Julie and I talked a lot about the current situation in Cuba. I asked her if people believed all the propaganda we saw. She said most Cubans were apathetic and ignored it and besides, Cubans are now exposed to outside ideas and news because of the internet. I'll talk more about that in another entry. Cubans have come up with an ingenious way to see internet content from all over the world despite the spotty internet access in the country.
Before leaving for the airport, I bought two bottles of expensive rum at the hotel. At the Delta check in, nobody said anything about it. At passport control, where they stamped my passport "Exit" and took my Visa, nobody said anything. Then at security, the guard told me in Spanish that I could not take them on the plane (liquids, darn it! I should have known better). She said they could only be in checked bags. I asked if could go back out and check them in and she said no, because I'd already had my passport stamped. "So what do we do now?" I asked. "I'm going to take it" she replied. So without intending to, I treated the airport staff and security to an expensive cocktail hour. Five minutes later I bought some cheaper rum at the Duty Free shop.
Well that's it. I had a wonderful time and the whole experience felt more like a cultural immersion than a sightseeing trip. I hope I get to back sometime soon. I'd like to see more of the island. I'm going to post one more post to talk about some of my observations and to post some pictures. Thank you for reading my blog. And thank you to Joe Sandillo and Almaz Journeys for the fantastic trip.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Havana, Day 2, Monday, Nov. 12
I’m waiting for my flight back to Atlanta from the Havana airport. It is late which I was warned would probably happen. So I decided to use the time to blog some more even thought I can’t post this until I am back in Atlanta and have internet again. In fact, the internet at our hotel has been very unreliable and usually kicked one off after about 10 minutes. Other than not being able to blog, however, it has been kind of nice to be cut off from the news and goings on in the US. So over the next week or so I will update the blog and post some pictures on Facebook.
Sunday night we had dinner at another Paladar, this one inside an old factory that has been converted into a space for artists, la Fabrica de Arte Cubana or FAC. The FAC also has space for music and several bars so it is a popular place to go at night. When we arrived, there was already a long line of people waiting to get in; because, we were eating there, we were able to skip the line. The restaurant was outside on top of the building. We were seated at the same time as two other large groups so it was a bit chaotic. It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather and was nice to be outside.
After dinner, we explored the art space. The FAC is three levels and most of the art is on the top two levels. There is music on the ground level. I was impressed at the outpouring of creativity that I saw. All kinds of art and almost none of it was political. Apparently, the art rotates and when we were there, they seemed to be featuring an artist who liked to paint and photograph naked middle aged women. Lots of them. But there was other art as well, including a painting of what was supposed to look like a formal portrait of Batista’s wife in the royal palace, however she was completely naked. It was displayed like it was an official portrait labeled, “the First Lady of Cuba, madame Batista” or something like that. After viewing the art we told our guide Yusi that we didn’t really care about hearing the music, meaning that we were ready to go and didn't need to see the art downstairs. She didn’t quite understand the hint and took us for a lap downstairs where a loud heavy metal band was playing. Most of the folks on the tour are retirees in their 70s. Several of them held their ears as we walked around. When we finally got out to the van, we all had a good laugh about it.
Monday, we spent the morning learning first about the Mafia and then about Hemingway. For this part of the tour, Julie was our guide. She is a former French teacher who also studied history, but left teaching to work in tourism, because it pays much more. In a traditional job, the average Cuban makes about $50 a month which is not enough to survive on even thought they are guaranteed a small amount of subsidized food every month, but that is not enough either. So almost all Cubans have some other thing that they do on the side, such as selling electronics from the states or working as drivers part time. In addition, many professionals who speak English leave their professions altogether and work in tourism, particularly as guides. There is no limit how much they can earn and most share that with their families.
Julie first took us to the Riviera hotel which is just across the street from ours and told us about the Mafia in Cuba in the 1950s and the casinos they built without having to worry about legalities; they only had to give Batista, the dictator at the time, 10% of all earnings. Julie also told us that in the 50s, there were 100,000 prostitutes in Havana which had a population at the time of 2 million. And also at the time, most of the country was very poor and illiterate. We went inside the Riviera for a few minutes and took pictures in the lobby which has giant windows overlooking the Caribbean. The furnishings are all mid century modern originals and we felt like we had gone back in time.
We then went on the National Hotel which is an old hotel up on a hill overlooking the city. It is where the meeting of all the bosses from the American mafia met in 1946. The meeting was hosted by Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano and the bosses discussed how they would split up their gambling enterprise in Havana. The meeting is depicted in The Godfather Part II. At the national, Julie also told us about the Cuban revolution and the closing of all the casinos. I was surprised at how candid she was about the revolution. She emphasized that Batista was a brutal and despised dictator and that Castro, Che, Cienfuegos, and others had wide spread support in their efforts and that only after the Bay of Pigs, did Castro declare that he was a socialist. Despite its accomplishments, such as universal housing, education, healthcare, and literacy, she also admitted that the revolution was bad for many and that many had left at different times and that many were still leaving in search of a better life. Half of her classmates had left the island, not for political reasons, but economic. She emphasized how much she and her generation wanted things to improve but that it was hard to be patient and wait for the old guard to relinquish power to the younger generation. At the same time, no one wants another revolution or violence. I said I couldn’t believe how open she was being and she explained that since the starvation period of the 1990s, the government had been encouraging more openness, hence not only her honesty, but also the art and music that has become more creative, things that would not have existed 30 years ago. I’ll post a separate entry later with more political commentary and observations.
After the visit to the National Hotel, our tour turned to Hemingway. I was most excited about this part of the trip since my favorite book is the Old Man and The Sea, the book that caused Hemingway to win the Nobel Prize in literature. We visited the house that he owned, where he wrote the Old Man and the Sea and where he lived off and on for many years. Hemingway’s will left the house to the people of Cuba upon his death and so it is now owned by the Cuban state. The house is on a hill on the outskirts of Havana and overlooks the whole city. Supposedly, his third (?) wife bought the house as a way of getting Hemingway out of the city and away from the bars. You cannot go in the house, but you can walk around it and look in the windows and doors which are open. People working inside can take pictures for you if you like and I paid one 5 CUC (=$5) to take some for me, including the kitchen which you can’t see. The house is small enough that walking around it and peering inside ensured you saw just about everything. We also saw the pool and his fishing boat, Pilar, which he normally left docked in the village of Cojimar. I visited Cojimar this morning before leaving for the airport and will write more on that later. Julie was with us the whole time we were at the house and told us a lot of the history of Hemingway in Cuba and how much he is admired by the Cuban people.
After a couple of hours on the grounds, we said goodbye to Julie and headed for a farm about 40 km west of Havana where we enjoyed a farm to table lunch and were shown around the grounds by the owner Alfredo, a Peruvian, who along with his Nicaraguan wife Annabelle, had moved from Paris (!) to Cuba in search of something different. They wanted to be in Latin America, where they were from, and chose Cuba because there is virtually no crime. They have an Usufruct on the land which is a Civil Law (Napoleonic code) form of ownership that I don’t really understand, but the folks on our tour from Louisiana were able to explain in to us. It is a use right for a period of years or for life (similar to a Life Estate in common law jurisdictions like England and all of the U.S. except Louisiana) and it seems to be the most common kind of land ownership in Cuba. In Cuba it is also inheritable, but I’m not sure if that’s typical in other civil law jurisdictions or not. They have the land for 20 years and that can be renewed. If they use it for any purpose other than farming, it will revert to the state. Anyway, we had a lovely time eating great fresh food under an Avocado tree and relaxing in the shade. After lunch, Alfredo showed us around his farm and talked about the bartering and trading economy that exists in much of the Cuban countryside between farmers. He also showed us his beehive of stingless bees and gave us each the chance to slurp honey out of the hive with a straw. I looked it up on Wikipedia later (when I had internet) and stingless bees are native to the tropics, especially in Central and South America. Their honey combs are formed in a spiral and they store honey in pods on top. It was out of these that we slurped the honey. It was good, but not as viscous as I think of honey. Apparently they are used more for pollinating than for honey production.
Once back in Havana and freshened up, we ate dinner at the oldest Paladar in Havana, the Guarida, which was featured in the 1993 Cuban movie, Strawberries and Chocolate, which I will have to see again. The Paladar is on the third floor of an old mansion in the Centro neighborhood of Havana, that is otherwise divided up into apartments. I had Caribbean Lobster which I had wanted to try. It was good, but had more of a steak texture than Main Lobster. After dinner, we went to a club in our hotel that featured a Cuban style band with a singer who had been part of the Buena Vista Social Club. While I sipped my Cuba Libre (rum and coke; yes, I’ve discovered that I like rum), I was pulled to the stage by one of several young female dancers who had pulled others up to dance Salsa. I’m not sure what I was doing but she basically lead me and others on our tour were there as well. But the song seemed to go on and on, and when I tried to leave, she pulled me back up, much to the delight to the others in our group. I finally was able to escape and my knees were grateful. It was a nice way to end a wonderful day.
I think I’ll stop for now. I will post a few more entries over the next week when I have time. Hasta luego.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Havana, Cuba
Good evening. I’m in Havana for a few days on a tour organized by my good friend Joe Sandillo. Joe started his own travel company, Almaz Journeys, that puts together tours to Cuba, Columbia, and Peru. I had wanted to come to Cuba for some time and so when he mentioned this trip to me, I was happy to sign up. You can read more about Joe’s business at www.almazjourneys.com. Almaz Journey’s Cuba tours comply with all US laws for travel to Cuba. The tour I am on is a people to people exchange where we have opportunities to meet Cuban people and support them in their private endeavors. For example, all the restaurants where we eat are privately owned “Paladars”. These are private restaurants that were illegal at one time, but were legalized in the 1990s.
I arrived yesterday afternoon on a direct flight from Atlanta and had time to walk around a little bit before our tour group met up for introductions and to go to dinner. On the drive to the city from the airport, I saw a lot of propaganda posters and murals with pictures of Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara, etc. There is no commercial advertising in Cuba, only social and political. The scenery along the road was mainly of people walking and waiting for buses. There were not that many cars on the road and many of the ones we saw were American cars from the 50s. But I also saw a number of what I think are old East German cars. I am staying at the Melia Cohiba hotel in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood. The hotel is European owned and on the Malecon, Havana’s waterfront boulevard. Next to our hotel is the Riviera, formerly owned by mobster Meyer Lansky and frequented by Frank Sinatra and other American performers before the revolution. I took a little time before dinner to walk around the neighborhood. Vedado is the old upper middle class part of Havana and the grid of streets are lined with large houses that all need some work. Many of these were clearly once beautiful mansions but have almost all fallen into disrepair. In fact, almost everything we have seen is in need of renovation: houses, roads, signs, sidewalks, fountains, etc. After the group had a chance to meet each other, Joe, and our guides, William and Yusi, we went to dinner at a nearby Paladar overlooking the water.
Today we spent the morning in Old Havana, exploring the narrow streets and historic squares.Much of the architecture reminded me of St. Augustine, FL but on a grander scale. And although, other areas of Havana are in desperate need of renovation and repair, much money appear to have been spent fixing up the old part of the city. For this part of the tour we had an architectural guide who told us about the significance of many buildings. For example, we saw a hotel where Hemingway liked to stay when he was in Cuba because it had a nice view of the bay. However, Batista later built a modern glass and concrete building next to it that blocked his view. Perhaps because of this, Hemingway bought a small farm in the hills which we will visit tomorrow. We had a nice traditional Cuban lunch in a Paladar by the Cathedral and I finally got to have a real Mojito. After lunch, we went to four artists’ studios, three of which were in their private homes. I saw several pieces I liked but they were way too expensive. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the inside of homes and learning about each artist’s work. Everyone we have met has been very friendly and I am looking forward to our dinner tonight which we are having at another Paladar, this one located inside a former factory that has been turned into an art gallery / nightclub.
If you are wondering why I haven’t included pictures, it is because the internet at the hotel is very spotty. I have posted a few on Facebook, but I will post most of my pics when I return to the states.
Hasta manana.
I arrived yesterday afternoon on a direct flight from Atlanta and had time to walk around a little bit before our tour group met up for introductions and to go to dinner. On the drive to the city from the airport, I saw a lot of propaganda posters and murals with pictures of Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara, etc. There is no commercial advertising in Cuba, only social and political. The scenery along the road was mainly of people walking and waiting for buses. There were not that many cars on the road and many of the ones we saw were American cars from the 50s. But I also saw a number of what I think are old East German cars. I am staying at the Melia Cohiba hotel in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood. The hotel is European owned and on the Malecon, Havana’s waterfront boulevard. Next to our hotel is the Riviera, formerly owned by mobster Meyer Lansky and frequented by Frank Sinatra and other American performers before the revolution. I took a little time before dinner to walk around the neighborhood. Vedado is the old upper middle class part of Havana and the grid of streets are lined with large houses that all need some work. Many of these were clearly once beautiful mansions but have almost all fallen into disrepair. In fact, almost everything we have seen is in need of renovation: houses, roads, signs, sidewalks, fountains, etc. After the group had a chance to meet each other, Joe, and our guides, William and Yusi, we went to dinner at a nearby Paladar overlooking the water.
Today we spent the morning in Old Havana, exploring the narrow streets and historic squares.Much of the architecture reminded me of St. Augustine, FL but on a grander scale. And although, other areas of Havana are in desperate need of renovation and repair, much money appear to have been spent fixing up the old part of the city. For this part of the tour we had an architectural guide who told us about the significance of many buildings. For example, we saw a hotel where Hemingway liked to stay when he was in Cuba because it had a nice view of the bay. However, Batista later built a modern glass and concrete building next to it that blocked his view. Perhaps because of this, Hemingway bought a small farm in the hills which we will visit tomorrow. We had a nice traditional Cuban lunch in a Paladar by the Cathedral and I finally got to have a real Mojito. After lunch, we went to four artists’ studios, three of which were in their private homes. I saw several pieces I liked but they were way too expensive. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the inside of homes and learning about each artist’s work. Everyone we have met has been very friendly and I am looking forward to our dinner tonight which we are having at another Paladar, this one located inside a former factory that has been turned into an art gallery / nightclub.
If you are wondering why I haven’t included pictures, it is because the internet at the hotel is very spotty. I have posted a few on Facebook, but I will post most of my pics when I return to the states.
Hasta manana.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Pictures from Greece
I have put together an album of pictures from my Greece trip. Even though it is a Facebook album, you do not have to be a member of Facebook or friends with me to view these. Just click on this link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10209825604742705.1073741826.1410030498&type=1&l=4653737b87
Enjoy!
Bill
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10209825604742705.1073741826.1410030498&type=1&l=4653737b87
Enjoy!
Bill
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Athens Airport, Greece
Last Day in Greece
Yesterday was our last day in Tinos and our last full day in Greece. We took our time with breakfast and talked with Diana and Maria about what we had done the day before and we were planning to do that day. Later they introduced us to the owner who is a gynecologist from Athens, specializing in in-vitro and from what we later read about him on the Internet is well published in his field. Kirk, being a doctor, could tell you more about him. He told us how he came to build the hotel over 10 or so years, starting with the just a house for himself and his wife and three sons. Two of his sons are now in college at BU in the states. He also told us of his travels throughout the Aegean islands and pointed out the islands we could see from the hotel. Somehow the topic of ruins and antiquities came up and he took us onto the balcony of his house to show us some columns, vases, and rocks he had found at the bottom of the sea somewhere (I'm not really sure exactly how he got them). The two vases were covered in shells and other signs of life, one so much that it was almost unrecognizable. After getting some pictures, he showed us his house, another apartment, and the little room he had built inside the dovecote. He also showed us the chapel that they had built on the property. For all of this he had clearly spared no expense. The chapel had frescos done by a local artist and an alter that was just as ornate as the other orthodox churches we had seen. He was obviously very proud of all of his work. He hoped we would come back and have more time so that we could go out on his boat. I hope I do get to come back someday.
Eventually we checked out, loaded the car, and left for the town of Pyrgoss on the other side of the island. It took about 30 minutes or so to get there, not including the times we stopped to take pictures. At one point we pulled over for some scenic views of the sea near what looked like an old abandoned building. There were two cars rotting away outside covered in brambles, but to our surprise there was a dog fenced in the back. We later saw that it was some sort of irrigation or pumping station and was still working; we could hear the water. But where the dog's owner was we could not tell. Poor little guy. We went on and eventually made it to Pyrgoss. Pyrgoss is the second largest town/village on the island and is situated on hills on both sides of a river. All the buildings are white and most of the doors and trim are blue. It was a little like Santorini but without all the tourists. Actually there was a tour bus there, but it appeared to be mainly Greeks. We made our way through the town, stopped to put on sunscreen, and found the Museum of Marble Arts at the end of the street on the other side of the town. The museum was very modern and nicely laid out with signage in both Greek and English. It showed how marble is quarried all over Greece. I especially like the section on documentation of contracts and rights for quarrying. There were also several exhibits of old tools so I took a picture of them for my Dad.
After going to the museum, we decided to stay in the town for lunch. We we're going to go to another village and a restaurant the hotel owner had recommended but did not have time. So we ate at a cafe in the center of the village where there were several others centered around an old sweet gum tree. After lunch we walked around a bit more. The village had a lot of narrow winding streets and a lot of flowers, especially Bougainvillea. I think I've taken about 400 pictures on this trip. I plan to go through them on the flight home and cull the ones I don't want. I'm afraid the pictures will not do these towns justice. Anyway, we eventually left and drove along the south coast of the island, stopping a few times, back to the main town of Tinos. We returned the car, left our bags at the rental agency, and walked around one last time before we had to catch our ferry. It was quite hot. In fact, just about everywhere it has been very hot and I just had to accept that I was going to sweat most of the time. In some ways all the white building made it worse, but I suspect that keeps it cooler inside.
Our ferry left at about 5pm and arrived in Rafina, a port near the Athens airport, at about 7pm. We stayed our last night in a hotel that seems to specialize in housing folks who come in on the ferries and leave for the airport the next day. After dinner at the hotel, we walked around, got ice cream, and stopped to sit for a while in the main plaza. Being a Saturday night, a lot of families were out with their kids and the square was the center of activity in the town. We enjoyed watching the kids riding not their bikes, rollerblading, eating ice cream, and having a good time. The grown ups appeared to be enjoying it too as they sat on benches and watched. What a lovely way to spend our last night in Greece. And now our plane is boarding and it's time to close this last entry. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my travels. I hope to come back to Greece someday. The people are friendly, there is a lot of history, and the food is great. On top of all that, it is a good deal for the money. So until next time. Kalimara.
Yesterday was our last day in Tinos and our last full day in Greece. We took our time with breakfast and talked with Diana and Maria about what we had done the day before and we were planning to do that day. Later they introduced us to the owner who is a gynecologist from Athens, specializing in in-vitro and from what we later read about him on the Internet is well published in his field. Kirk, being a doctor, could tell you more about him. He told us how he came to build the hotel over 10 or so years, starting with the just a house for himself and his wife and three sons. Two of his sons are now in college at BU in the states. He also told us of his travels throughout the Aegean islands and pointed out the islands we could see from the hotel. Somehow the topic of ruins and antiquities came up and he took us onto the balcony of his house to show us some columns, vases, and rocks he had found at the bottom of the sea somewhere (I'm not really sure exactly how he got them). The two vases were covered in shells and other signs of life, one so much that it was almost unrecognizable. After getting some pictures, he showed us his house, another apartment, and the little room he had built inside the dovecote. He also showed us the chapel that they had built on the property. For all of this he had clearly spared no expense. The chapel had frescos done by a local artist and an alter that was just as ornate as the other orthodox churches we had seen. He was obviously very proud of all of his work. He hoped we would come back and have more time so that we could go out on his boat. I hope I do get to come back someday.
Eventually we checked out, loaded the car, and left for the town of Pyrgoss on the other side of the island. It took about 30 minutes or so to get there, not including the times we stopped to take pictures. At one point we pulled over for some scenic views of the sea near what looked like an old abandoned building. There were two cars rotting away outside covered in brambles, but to our surprise there was a dog fenced in the back. We later saw that it was some sort of irrigation or pumping station and was still working; we could hear the water. But where the dog's owner was we could not tell. Poor little guy. We went on and eventually made it to Pyrgoss. Pyrgoss is the second largest town/village on the island and is situated on hills on both sides of a river. All the buildings are white and most of the doors and trim are blue. It was a little like Santorini but without all the tourists. Actually there was a tour bus there, but it appeared to be mainly Greeks. We made our way through the town, stopped to put on sunscreen, and found the Museum of Marble Arts at the end of the street on the other side of the town. The museum was very modern and nicely laid out with signage in both Greek and English. It showed how marble is quarried all over Greece. I especially like the section on documentation of contracts and rights for quarrying. There were also several exhibits of old tools so I took a picture of them for my Dad.
After going to the museum, we decided to stay in the town for lunch. We we're going to go to another village and a restaurant the hotel owner had recommended but did not have time. So we ate at a cafe in the center of the village where there were several others centered around an old sweet gum tree. After lunch we walked around a bit more. The village had a lot of narrow winding streets and a lot of flowers, especially Bougainvillea. I think I've taken about 400 pictures on this trip. I plan to go through them on the flight home and cull the ones I don't want. I'm afraid the pictures will not do these towns justice. Anyway, we eventually left and drove along the south coast of the island, stopping a few times, back to the main town of Tinos. We returned the car, left our bags at the rental agency, and walked around one last time before we had to catch our ferry. It was quite hot. In fact, just about everywhere it has been very hot and I just had to accept that I was going to sweat most of the time. In some ways all the white building made it worse, but I suspect that keeps it cooler inside.
Our ferry left at about 5pm and arrived in Rafina, a port near the Athens airport, at about 7pm. We stayed our last night in a hotel that seems to specialize in housing folks who come in on the ferries and leave for the airport the next day. After dinner at the hotel, we walked around, got ice cream, and stopped to sit for a while in the main plaza. Being a Saturday night, a lot of families were out with their kids and the square was the center of activity in the town. We enjoyed watching the kids riding not their bikes, rollerblading, eating ice cream, and having a good time. The grown ups appeared to be enjoying it too as they sat on benches and watched. What a lovely way to spend our last night in Greece. And now our plane is boarding and it's time to close this last entry. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my travels. I hope to come back to Greece someday. The people are friendly, there is a lot of history, and the food is great. On top of all that, it is a good deal for the money. So until next time. Kalimara.
Friday, June 3, 2016
Tinos, Greece
Greece Days Five and Six (I think)
We arrived in Tinos by ferry yesterday around 5pm. You have probably never heard of Tinos. We chose it because it is not popular for foreign tourists, but all the guide books said it was nonetheless charming. Actually, it has significant religious importance for Greeks because of the church of Panayia Evangelistria. Legend has it that in 1822, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to a nun named Pelagia, telling here where she could uncover a sacred icon with healing properties. The icon was found and the church was built on the spot. People from all over Greece come to Tinos to worship at the church and petition the Virgin Mary for healing. It is the Lourdes of Greece. More about the church a little letter.
There were only seven of us to get off the ferry in Tinos, quite unlike our experience in Santorini where several hundred got off. Anyway. We were picked up by a prearranged taxi and driven to our hotel near the village of Triandaros. On the way, we noticed Tino's many farms and dovecotes, or pigeon houses. At the hotel, we were greeted by Maria who welcomed us with orange juice. Actually, Maria was kind of mysterious. She showed us to the pool, sat us down, and then disappeared. Then she came with the OJ and disappeared again. "I'll be back." It was kind of like a James Bond movie where a beautiful woman escorts James to his meeting with the bad guy. What made it a little creepy was that there was no one else here. So if she killed us, no one would have known. Fortunately, she did not kill us. Our hotel is really several cottages spread over a very well landscaped property on the side of a hill. Our room overlooks the pool and the harbor a coule of miles below. The hotel is only a year old and it is obvious that someone put a lot of money into it.
After getting settled we walked down the road to the village tavern where we had dinner. Maria happened to be there and translated for us. This was one of those family run restaurants that one often finds in Europe where everything on the menu is not always available. I took this as a sign of a good restaurant. We each had lamb meatballs as well as some appetizers. Everyone was very friendly and we were almost the only ones there.
This morning after breakfast, one of the staff, Diana, offered to drive us into town so that we could see the church and rent a car. We had thought of walking but she said it was not a good idea as there weren't sidewalks and this was snake season in Tinos. The church sits at the top of the town a little less than a mile from the port. The traditional way of petitioning for healing is for a pilgrim to get off of a boat in the port and then walk on their hands and knees up the hill to the church. There is a carpeted area marked off by orange cones on the road from the port to the church. We were hoping to see someone doing this and we did as we stopped in a little park. She was such that we could see her but she could not see us so we didn't feel exploitive taking a picture. Actually, she was rather young and I wonder what she was seeking healing for and felt bad for her, because no one would do that unless they were desparate for help. The church, like the couple of orthodox churches I've gotten to see was small and square. By small, I mean compared to the Catholic cathedrals I am more familiar with. We saw the icon and walked around the church. The church was extremely ornate: all the walls were covered with pictures of various saints and scenes from the Bible. Overhead were at least one hundred incense burners, each with a symbol of some sort hanging from it, such as a guitar, a house, and a wrench. We wondered if it had to do with trade guilds or something. We saw the icon, or what we could of it, since it is covered in jewelry and virtually hidden. Just before we left a service started and the priests began chanting the liturgy. The chanting continued as we left and wandered around in the courtyard. It was broadcast outside and I had a lovely moment when over the chanting and the birds chirping came the clanging of the church bells. Another lovely authentic Greece experience with no other English speakers around.
After exploring the church, we walked back towards the port, stopping at various souvenir shops. I finally bought some worried beads and asked the shop owner to show me how to use them. Back near the port we rented a car, a very small Fiat, which we have until 4pm tomorrow. It was only 40 Euros for a stick shift. Fortunately, Tom knows how to drive one because Kirk and I do not. We decided to rent a car when we heard how cheap it was and about several places on the island that were too far to walk. The rental company recommended a tavern in the village of Aetofolia, several miles away. The road took us over and past several valleys and small all white villages. Every village has at least one church and there are many churches and shrines just all by themselves. I think there are 50 or so villages but there must be hundreds of churches. Another feature of Tinos is the 1000 dovecotes, or pigeon houses that line the countryside. These were originally built to house doves, both for food and for their manure to use as fertilizer. There seem to many numerous small farms on terraced land and most of the dovecotes are on these farms. On our ride to the village we saw numerous goats and even cows (in fact, two large Holsteins seemed to be charging us at one point, but they just passed on by). Most villages have a small parking area and then you can walk up into the village which we did. The tavern was small and family owned and had only one person working. He told us what he thought the best dishes were and what had been made recently. We had a kind of vegetable pie with feta on top, goat meat with fries, and roasted pork with fries. Delicious. None of us had ever had goat. I was surprised that it was not very gamey, like lamb, although it was pretty though. We were told to eat it with our hands and not to be afraid of getting juice on ourselves.
After lunch, we walked up through the village and ended up eventually on top of a hill where we took a lot of pictures of the surrounding countryside and villages. We eventually made it back to the car and headed to the beach at Kolimbithra. The beach was at the end of small cove and had crystal clear water and a slightly pebbled beach. This was the Greek beach we had been looking for in Santorini. We all got in the water and I can now say that I have swum in the Mediterranean, although I guess technically it's the Aegean. Tom and Kirk laid out in the sun while I walked around a bit. I explored the rocks at one end of the beach and then later went to a cafe at the other end. Tom and Kirk eventually joined me and had a local beer called Nisos, while we watched the sun go down behind the hill overlooking the beach. We then took a winding way back to our hotel crossing the width of the island. As we got higher and higher the sun kept coming up and so we got several pictures of "sunsets." One area where we stopped for photos was a giant valley littered with rocks. There is another legend I think about how the rocks got there, such as one of the gods dropping them from the sky, but I'm not sure. Now I am back at the hotel taking it easy. When we returned we told Maria where we had been and she said we went to the best beach on the island. So it looks like we made a good decision to come to Tinos. We are here most of tomorrow before our ferry leaves, so I look forward to exploring some more. For now, it is just wonderful to be off the beaten path and seeing some of rural life in Greece and the beautiful scenery.
We arrived in Tinos by ferry yesterday around 5pm. You have probably never heard of Tinos. We chose it because it is not popular for foreign tourists, but all the guide books said it was nonetheless charming. Actually, it has significant religious importance for Greeks because of the church of Panayia Evangelistria. Legend has it that in 1822, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to a nun named Pelagia, telling here where she could uncover a sacred icon with healing properties. The icon was found and the church was built on the spot. People from all over Greece come to Tinos to worship at the church and petition the Virgin Mary for healing. It is the Lourdes of Greece. More about the church a little letter.
There were only seven of us to get off the ferry in Tinos, quite unlike our experience in Santorini where several hundred got off. Anyway. We were picked up by a prearranged taxi and driven to our hotel near the village of Triandaros. On the way, we noticed Tino's many farms and dovecotes, or pigeon houses. At the hotel, we were greeted by Maria who welcomed us with orange juice. Actually, Maria was kind of mysterious. She showed us to the pool, sat us down, and then disappeared. Then she came with the OJ and disappeared again. "I'll be back." It was kind of like a James Bond movie where a beautiful woman escorts James to his meeting with the bad guy. What made it a little creepy was that there was no one else here. So if she killed us, no one would have known. Fortunately, she did not kill us. Our hotel is really several cottages spread over a very well landscaped property on the side of a hill. Our room overlooks the pool and the harbor a coule of miles below. The hotel is only a year old and it is obvious that someone put a lot of money into it.
After getting settled we walked down the road to the village tavern where we had dinner. Maria happened to be there and translated for us. This was one of those family run restaurants that one often finds in Europe where everything on the menu is not always available. I took this as a sign of a good restaurant. We each had lamb meatballs as well as some appetizers. Everyone was very friendly and we were almost the only ones there.
This morning after breakfast, one of the staff, Diana, offered to drive us into town so that we could see the church and rent a car. We had thought of walking but she said it was not a good idea as there weren't sidewalks and this was snake season in Tinos. The church sits at the top of the town a little less than a mile from the port. The traditional way of petitioning for healing is for a pilgrim to get off of a boat in the port and then walk on their hands and knees up the hill to the church. There is a carpeted area marked off by orange cones on the road from the port to the church. We were hoping to see someone doing this and we did as we stopped in a little park. She was such that we could see her but she could not see us so we didn't feel exploitive taking a picture. Actually, she was rather young and I wonder what she was seeking healing for and felt bad for her, because no one would do that unless they were desparate for help. The church, like the couple of orthodox churches I've gotten to see was small and square. By small, I mean compared to the Catholic cathedrals I am more familiar with. We saw the icon and walked around the church. The church was extremely ornate: all the walls were covered with pictures of various saints and scenes from the Bible. Overhead were at least one hundred incense burners, each with a symbol of some sort hanging from it, such as a guitar, a house, and a wrench. We wondered if it had to do with trade guilds or something. We saw the icon, or what we could of it, since it is covered in jewelry and virtually hidden. Just before we left a service started and the priests began chanting the liturgy. The chanting continued as we left and wandered around in the courtyard. It was broadcast outside and I had a lovely moment when over the chanting and the birds chirping came the clanging of the church bells. Another lovely authentic Greece experience with no other English speakers around.
After exploring the church, we walked back towards the port, stopping at various souvenir shops. I finally bought some worried beads and asked the shop owner to show me how to use them. Back near the port we rented a car, a very small Fiat, which we have until 4pm tomorrow. It was only 40 Euros for a stick shift. Fortunately, Tom knows how to drive one because Kirk and I do not. We decided to rent a car when we heard how cheap it was and about several places on the island that were too far to walk. The rental company recommended a tavern in the village of Aetofolia, several miles away. The road took us over and past several valleys and small all white villages. Every village has at least one church and there are many churches and shrines just all by themselves. I think there are 50 or so villages but there must be hundreds of churches. Another feature of Tinos is the 1000 dovecotes, or pigeon houses that line the countryside. These were originally built to house doves, both for food and for their manure to use as fertilizer. There seem to many numerous small farms on terraced land and most of the dovecotes are on these farms. On our ride to the village we saw numerous goats and even cows (in fact, two large Holsteins seemed to be charging us at one point, but they just passed on by). Most villages have a small parking area and then you can walk up into the village which we did. The tavern was small and family owned and had only one person working. He told us what he thought the best dishes were and what had been made recently. We had a kind of vegetable pie with feta on top, goat meat with fries, and roasted pork with fries. Delicious. None of us had ever had goat. I was surprised that it was not very gamey, like lamb, although it was pretty though. We were told to eat it with our hands and not to be afraid of getting juice on ourselves.
After lunch, we walked up through the village and ended up eventually on top of a hill where we took a lot of pictures of the surrounding countryside and villages. We eventually made it back to the car and headed to the beach at Kolimbithra. The beach was at the end of small cove and had crystal clear water and a slightly pebbled beach. This was the Greek beach we had been looking for in Santorini. We all got in the water and I can now say that I have swum in the Mediterranean, although I guess technically it's the Aegean. Tom and Kirk laid out in the sun while I walked around a bit. I explored the rocks at one end of the beach and then later went to a cafe at the other end. Tom and Kirk eventually joined me and had a local beer called Nisos, while we watched the sun go down behind the hill overlooking the beach. We then took a winding way back to our hotel crossing the width of the island. As we got higher and higher the sun kept coming up and so we got several pictures of "sunsets." One area where we stopped for photos was a giant valley littered with rocks. There is another legend I think about how the rocks got there, such as one of the gods dropping them from the sky, but I'm not sure. Now I am back at the hotel taking it easy. When we returned we told Maria where we had been and she said we went to the best beach on the island. So it looks like we made a good decision to come to Tinos. We are here most of tomorrow before our ferry leaves, so I look forward to exploring some more. For now, it is just wonderful to be off the beaten path and seeing some of rural life in Greece and the beautiful scenery.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Santorini, Greece
Days Four and Five (sort of)
We're now waiting on the dock at the port in Santorini for our ferry to Tinos. The small port is crammed at the bottom of a cliff and is really more like a wide road than a port. The area is lined with restaurants and shops at the bottom of the cliff and you can sit and eat while you wait for your ferry. That is what we are doing now and the cafe has WiFi so I thought it was a good time to blog.
We spent the rest of the day Tuesday lounging by the pool in Santorini. Our hotel is one of the 100s of hotels perched on the cliffs overlooking the caldera. Our room is basically a cave in the side of the cliffs, as are most hotel rooms in Santorini. It has its own patio and jacuzzi and the hotel has a pool and bar/restaurant. Each morning we had breakfast on our patio. We put in our order the night before and then they brought it up at the time we specified. The main staff consisted of a mother and her three daughters and each of them went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. In fact, everyone in Greece has been extremely friendly. Tuesday night we ate dinner at a restaurant the hotel recommended that had a lovely view of the sea while the sun went down. This was our big splurge meal so far, but it did not disappoint. We had all heard of Mousaka but didn't know exactly what it was, so I just decided to try it. Turn out, I like Eggplant. At this restaurant like several others we've been to, after your meal, they bring you a shot of a liquor called Tsipouro. Very strong, but very good and went well with the chocolate pastry that was also complimentary. Another way the Greeks show their hospitality.
Yesterday (Wednesday), we took our time with breakfast and finally around 11am decided we wanted to go to a beach. Santorini has several, but we really wanted to go to one that was more popular with locals and not full of tourists. Our hotel recommended one called Minothilos and arranged a shuttle for us. We were a little disappointed when we got to the beach. It wasn't exactly a black sand beach as we had been told, but was more of a grey sand beach. Some would just call it dirt. It was in a small area about the length of a football field with rock walls going out into the sea on both sides. Beyond the right wall was the airport and beyond the left wall was an anchored tanker of some sort. At least there wasn't broken glass in the sand as I had seen in Honduras. Nevertheless, we decided to stay since the umbrellas and chairs were free. We got in the water a little and it was quite cold. I mainly read my Nero Wolfe book and relaxed. After an hour or so we decided to have lunch. There were a couple of cafes/restaurants across the street from the beach so we picked one. Turns out the owner is a fisherman and they have fresh fish every day. We each had sword fish and Greek beer. This meal made the whole beach trip worth it. There was almost no one there but we had a nice view of the beach through a grove of trees. And it felt like we were in a remote Greek village even though we were actually on the most visited island in all of Greece. At that point we were all glad we had gone to the beach. By the way, the sword fish was only about $11 each. Everything in Greece has been cheaper than it would be anywhere else in Europe. We prearranged our shuttle back to our hotel around 3pm.
We rested at the pool for a bit. The weather was quite hot and the sun unforgiving so it was nice to take a dip in the very cold pool. After freshening up, we decided to hike to the village off Oia to watch the sun set. If you think of Santorini as a backwards C with the points facing west, our hotel is in a village slightly north of the middle and Oia is a village all the way at the top end of the backwards C. It was about a four mile hike on foot paths that went up and down and was sometimes smooth and sometimes rocky. We passed several small churches on our way, but they were all locked with no signage about services or anything. I'm guessing these are more like shrines, but it seems the Orthodox Church could make some money by opening up all these little churches. After a couple hours we finally made it to Oia, along with everyone else in Greece it seemed, pouring in on buses to watch the sunset. The village was much more charming and high brow than the other ones in Santorini. The main thoroughfare was a marble walking street lined with high end stores. The path seemed to get narrower and narrower as we and everyone else made their way to the end of the island to watch the sunset. People lined the walkways and railings facing west. This is supposed to be one of the best sunsets in the world, but last night there was a bit of low lying haze so the sun disappeared a little bit above the ocean. Oh well. It was still neat to see the spectacle of the whole thing. We ate dinner at a small restaurant on a side street which happened to be close to the local bus stop and so we took it back to our village.
This morning we ate our breakfast quickly and then hiked to the rock of Skaros. This giant rock sits on a promontory that juts out from the side of the cliffs. To get there involves hiking down a ways and then back up. We chatted a bit with a couple from Australia as we walked around the rock and down to a small church on the cliff overlooking the caldera. We got a lot of good photos and then we back to the hotel, packed up, and took a shuttle to the port. We are now waiting for our boat to Tinos. I look forward to blogging more later. Thanks for reading.
We're now waiting on the dock at the port in Santorini for our ferry to Tinos. The small port is crammed at the bottom of a cliff and is really more like a wide road than a port. The area is lined with restaurants and shops at the bottom of the cliff and you can sit and eat while you wait for your ferry. That is what we are doing now and the cafe has WiFi so I thought it was a good time to blog.
We spent the rest of the day Tuesday lounging by the pool in Santorini. Our hotel is one of the 100s of hotels perched on the cliffs overlooking the caldera. Our room is basically a cave in the side of the cliffs, as are most hotel rooms in Santorini. It has its own patio and jacuzzi and the hotel has a pool and bar/restaurant. Each morning we had breakfast on our patio. We put in our order the night before and then they brought it up at the time we specified. The main staff consisted of a mother and her three daughters and each of them went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. In fact, everyone in Greece has been extremely friendly. Tuesday night we ate dinner at a restaurant the hotel recommended that had a lovely view of the sea while the sun went down. This was our big splurge meal so far, but it did not disappoint. We had all heard of Mousaka but didn't know exactly what it was, so I just decided to try it. Turn out, I like Eggplant. At this restaurant like several others we've been to, after your meal, they bring you a shot of a liquor called Tsipouro. Very strong, but very good and went well with the chocolate pastry that was also complimentary. Another way the Greeks show their hospitality.
Yesterday (Wednesday), we took our time with breakfast and finally around 11am decided we wanted to go to a beach. Santorini has several, but we really wanted to go to one that was more popular with locals and not full of tourists. Our hotel recommended one called Minothilos and arranged a shuttle for us. We were a little disappointed when we got to the beach. It wasn't exactly a black sand beach as we had been told, but was more of a grey sand beach. Some would just call it dirt. It was in a small area about the length of a football field with rock walls going out into the sea on both sides. Beyond the right wall was the airport and beyond the left wall was an anchored tanker of some sort. At least there wasn't broken glass in the sand as I had seen in Honduras. Nevertheless, we decided to stay since the umbrellas and chairs were free. We got in the water a little and it was quite cold. I mainly read my Nero Wolfe book and relaxed. After an hour or so we decided to have lunch. There were a couple of cafes/restaurants across the street from the beach so we picked one. Turns out the owner is a fisherman and they have fresh fish every day. We each had sword fish and Greek beer. This meal made the whole beach trip worth it. There was almost no one there but we had a nice view of the beach through a grove of trees. And it felt like we were in a remote Greek village even though we were actually on the most visited island in all of Greece. At that point we were all glad we had gone to the beach. By the way, the sword fish was only about $11 each. Everything in Greece has been cheaper than it would be anywhere else in Europe. We prearranged our shuttle back to our hotel around 3pm.
We rested at the pool for a bit. The weather was quite hot and the sun unforgiving so it was nice to take a dip in the very cold pool. After freshening up, we decided to hike to the village off Oia to watch the sun set. If you think of Santorini as a backwards C with the points facing west, our hotel is in a village slightly north of the middle and Oia is a village all the way at the top end of the backwards C. It was about a four mile hike on foot paths that went up and down and was sometimes smooth and sometimes rocky. We passed several small churches on our way, but they were all locked with no signage about services or anything. I'm guessing these are more like shrines, but it seems the Orthodox Church could make some money by opening up all these little churches. After a couple hours we finally made it to Oia, along with everyone else in Greece it seemed, pouring in on buses to watch the sunset. The village was much more charming and high brow than the other ones in Santorini. The main thoroughfare was a marble walking street lined with high end stores. The path seemed to get narrower and narrower as we and everyone else made their way to the end of the island to watch the sunset. People lined the walkways and railings facing west. This is supposed to be one of the best sunsets in the world, but last night there was a bit of low lying haze so the sun disappeared a little bit above the ocean. Oh well. It was still neat to see the spectacle of the whole thing. We ate dinner at a small restaurant on a side street which happened to be close to the local bus stop and so we took it back to our village.
This morning we ate our breakfast quickly and then hiked to the rock of Skaros. This giant rock sits on a promontory that juts out from the side of the cliffs. To get there involves hiking down a ways and then back up. We chatted a bit with a couple from Australia as we walked around the rock and down to a small church on the cliff overlooking the caldera. We got a lot of good photos and then we back to the hotel, packed up, and took a shuttle to the port. We are now waiting for our boat to Tinos. I look forward to blogging more later. Thanks for reading.
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