Wesołych Świąt from Poland

I had made plans to spend two weeks over Christmas and New Year's in Poland with my old friend Szymon Safjan and his family.

I arrived in Warsaw on the morning of Saturday, December 21, a little tired after an 8:30 am flight from Athens. From there, we drove south to Zakopane where we would be spending the next six days with Szymon's family.

Zakopane (pop. 30,000) is located in the southern-most part of Poland at the foot of the Tatry mountains. It is known as Poland's 'winter capital' for skiing, mountaineering and hiking and as such, receives around 2 million tourists a year.

Szymon regularly spends Christmas in Zakopane with his parents, his sister, and two other families. Together they stay at a beautiful hotel/resort that offers great views of the mountains. I was happy to be spending Christmas here with Szymon and his parents, whom I lived with for a couple of months in 2005.

The other two families that stayed with us (old friends of the the Safjans) were also very nice. Together, this was one educated group: among them and the Safjans, there were seven lawyers (including Szymon's dad, a judge on the European Court of Justice), two doctors, one stockbroker, one marketing manager ...and one senior policy analyst for the Government of Ontario. But more importantly, everyone was warm and generours, and made me feel very welcome among them.

For the next six days our schedule was more-or-less as follows:

1. Wake up after 9:00
2. Enjoy a magnificent buffet breakfast in the hotel with the Safjans
3. Meet up with the other families to stroll the valleys surrounding Zakopane (on two such days, we covered 19 km and 12 km, respectively), or if the weather was not good, stay closer to home and enjoy the amenities in the hotel, including the pool, saunas, a gym and a squash court
4. Go to a local restaurant for a traditional Polish dinner, drinks and many laughs
5. Retire for evening and repeat the next day

Christmas eve (from left to right): Ania, Szymon, Marek, me, Jurek,
Malgosia, Piotr, Elzbieta, Wlodzimierz, Dorota, Maciek and Tomek

In Poland, Christmas eve is the highlight of Christmas celebrations. For this we had reserved an elegant private room in the hotel for dinner. Here we were served a traditional 12-course meal, gave many toasts and exchanged gifts. It was wonderful and I felt very much at home despite being away from my family in Canada.

The Ferocious Halny Winds

Overnight, the Halny winds that are known to occur throughout the region of the Tatry mountains were blowing increasingly hard. We awoke on Christmas day to find that the power in the entire hotel was out. We made our way through the dark corridors of the hotel to the dining room where to our surprise breakfast was being served by candlelight! Even more surprising, the hotel staff had managed to serve the magnificent Christmas buffet (including champagne) without proper power. If the staff were stressed they didn't much show it and for this I give them top marks.

After breakfast, a few of us left the hotel to attend mass at a nearby church. On our way, we began to see the full extent of the damage caused by the Halny winds: large trees broken in half or completely uprooted; fences and billboards blown over; and roofs torn from their structures. The tin roof of one such building had been entirely folded over itself and was being secured by firemen to prevent it from completely flying away.

The winds continued throughout the day and the next, at some points reaching speeds of up to 150 km/h. It took some time before the power and hot water were restored in our hotel, but many in the region undoubtedly had it much worse. Needless to say, we spent most of this time indoors.

Oddly enough, all of this was happening at the same time as Toronto and much of southern Ontario was enduring its own troubles due to a severe ice storm, leaving thousands without power and hydro.

On December 27, most of our group left Zakopane to return to Warsaw. I must admit that I was sad to be leaving, for I had such a nice time with everyone over the past few days. This was a very unique Christmas for me. Though I could not be with my family, I spent the holidays with three wonderful families that brought me into their group as one of their own. For this I am very grateful.

Some photos:

Our hotel

Hiking the Chocholowska valley

Typical, traditional architecture of the Zakopane region

Aftermath of the Halny winds

 

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Bye Bye Greece

After four wonderful weeks, I left Greece on December 21. Having explored Athens and the islands of Kalymnos and Crete, I have only good things to say about the natural beauty of this county, its people and their food. I highly recommend Greece as a travel destination and hope to return one day, if only just to climb in Kalymnos.

A few observations I've made over the course of my visit:

• Greeks are very warm and welcoming people, particularly when you make the effort to learn a few words in their language. I had no shortage of interesting exchanges with shopkeepers, waiters, and random people on the street.
• Greek food is simple and delicious (though I wish they wouldn't pair so many dishes with french fries). Greek yogurt - often at 10% fat content - provides a wonderful start to the day, and their pastries are outstanding.
• By Canadian standards, the Greeks are crazy drivers (as evidenced by the many graves lining the highways), but its a style of driving that I didn't have a hard time adapting to and I like the fact that stop signs can be taken as mere suggestions.
• Greek oranges are outrageously delicious. Freshly-squeezed orange juice is availabe everywhere and tastes like Tang.

Some random photos:

On the ferry to Telendos island, just off Kalymnos

Domitille et moi

Kalymnos

My Kalymnos host family: Frank & Anastasia

A cottage I briefly visited in Avdou, Crete

My host family in Crete: Emmanuel and Pamela

View from my cabin in Heraklion

My Russian neighbours in Heraklion

 

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The Cretin Hop, Part 2

Monday, December 16

This morning we headed east to Crete's second largest city, Chania (pop. 54,000). The drive lasted about two hours and took us across the northern coast of the island and over a series of mountain ranges. This was our longest drive since renting the car and the first that took us exclusively along the main highway, which is less interesting than the smaller regional roads. As a result, we were both happy to finally reach Chania just after noon.

Port of Chania

Once parked, I took Leah for her first authentic Greek gyro (pronounced 'hiro'), complete with fries stuffed inside. We then stolled the old town and the port, exploring side-streets and small shops. Unfortunately, Leah was quite under the weather and I was not feeling super energentic myself, so by 3:00 we decided to make our way back to Heralkion. It turns out that our timing was perfect, as it rained for the entire drive home.

That night, we went for a traditional Greek dinner of stuffed peppers and tomoatoes, meat balls and roasted potatoes, raki and, of course, Greek salad. Poli nostimo!

Tuesday, December 17

Leah left this morning for Paris. After dropping her off at the airport I visited the Heraklion Archeological Museum, which features an excellent collection of frescoes, jewellery, coins and many other objects from the Minoan civilization that inhabited Crete over 3,000 years ago.

The rest of the day was spent f'ing around at home, feeding the wood stove and drinking raki.

Wednesday, December 18

Knossos

My plan today was to tour the region around Mount Idi, an hour drive southwest of Heraklion. There I hoped to visit the historic village of Anogia and tour a cave in another nearby the village. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be pretty rainy and even got quite foggy as I drove farther up into the mountains, so most of my time was spent in the car. But there's something to be said about driving stick shift through winding mountain roads and exploring new territory. Give me that and some good tunes and we're golden.

On my way back to Heralkion, I stopped by the ancient archaeological site of Knossos, considered to be the oldest city in Europe. One of the positive things of touring Greece in the winter is that you can find yourself alone at major tourist attractions, as I did in Knossos. The place is pretty incredible. (Tip: skip the rushed guided tour - even if the guide offers it to you at half price.)

Knosses was followed by more f'ing around at home, which I'm doing as I write this. I'm happy to enjoy the tranquility before an activity-filled Christmas in Poland and then India!

Some photos:

Turkish mosque Yiali Tzami (est. 1649), Chania

Leah making friends with the locals

Un beau gars!

Rollin deep in Crete

 

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The Cretin Hop, Part 1

Sunday, December 15

The Lasithi Plateau was our destination today. Lasithi is about an hour drive southeast of Heraklion. It is known as the "Plain of Windmills" for the thousands of now-mostly-abandoned windmills that were used to irrigate the land. Still, the mountainous drive to and around this bowl of farmland was beautiful. What we didn't expect was the snow!

Locals enjoying the snow at the Lasithi Plateau

Being a Sunday, many families were out to hike around Lasithi. The snow that had fallen wasn't much by Canadian standards, but there was enough that kids and parents everywhere were throwing snowballs at each other and building snowmen. A popular Cretian custom seems to be building snowmen on the hood of one's car and then driving around with it. This also seems to fit well with the Greeks' general driving habits.

Along our drive through Lasithi, we stopped at the village of Psychro to hike up to the Diktian Cave. This cave is known as the birthplace of Zeus and is an ancient site of worship. As the story goes, Zeus was the child of Kronos, who had devoured his other children to prevent them from overthrowing him as he had done to his father. Zeus was hidden by his mother, Rhea, in Diktian Cave to ensure that he would not follow the same fate as his siblings. (Zeus eventually poisoned Kronos, making him regurgitate his siblings to become new gods.) The cave is filled with limestone stalagmites and is pretty incredible to walk through.

Not far from the site of Diktian Cave, we passed through the village of Krassi and a famous plane tree that measures 24 meters in circumference and is estimated to be over 2,000 years old. Amazing!

We continued on from Lasithi to the coastal town of Agios Nikolaos (pop. 27,000). Here we spent only a short time, enough to see the old part of town and enjoy a beer by the harbour before driving home.

Definitely a 5-star day!

Some photos:

Lasithi Plateau

Cretian snowman no. 1

Cretian snowman no. 2

One old, fat tree

Agios Nikolaos

 

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Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek island. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, but is also considered by some to be a country within a country, with its own history and traditions. Crete was once the centre of the Minoan civilization (c. 2700-1420 BC), which is regarded as the eariliest recorded civilizations in Europe.

I arrived in the island's capital of Heraklion (pop. 135,700) in the afternoon of Thursday, December 12. High gale-force winds of over 50km/h had been affecting the region around Kalymnos and I was worried that my ferry to Kos and my subsequent flight to Crete would be affected. Luckily everything was running on schedule. Indeed, the winds were so strong the previous nights that I kept my shutters closed for fear of my windows blowing open.

I was greeted at the airport by Emmanuel, the owner of the small cabin that I would be renting for the next week through Airbnb. Emmanuel and his wife, Pamela, live a five minute drive from the airport in a small suburb called Prasas, which is also just a few kilometers from downtown Heraklion.

The cabin is in their backyard and is accessible via a narrow path through lush vegetation and olive trees. The cabin itself is small and cozy, but well-equipped and with a backyard that overlooks a valley and the sea in the distance.

Pamela was at the cabin to welcome me and explain a few things to me. She had also prepared a Greek salad for me and left me some food basics, including olive oil, wine and Raki (a Creteian spirit) - all home made!

After a good night's sleep sheltered from the blowing wind, I lit a fire in the wood stove and sipped my coffee while enjoying the beautiful view from my back deck. Emmanuel came by and let me know that he would be driving into town shortly and could give me a ride, which I accepted. I got a ride into town with a Russian girl, Margarita, who is renting the small apartment next to mine. Margarita and I spent the next few hours strolling the narrow streets of Heraklion before parting ways in the mid-afternoon.

I had to be at the airport for 5:00 to meet my friend Leah who was arriving from Amsteradam and who would be staying with me for the next three days. I was happy to have Leah visiting. She was traveling in Europe for the first time, so I invited her to come spend some time in Crete while she was at it. I was looking forward to have a familiar face to travel with.

Emmanuel was also kind enough to meet me at the airport before Leah's arrival to arrange a cheap car rental for the week, which would give us total freedom to explore the island. I was a bit nervous about driving a stardard tranmission car back from the airport, but it turns out that the practise I got in Iceland a couple of years back served me well.

Saturday, December 14

Leah and I decided to head straight south to visit the ruins of Phaestos Palace - a Minoan palace built around 1600 BC and destroyed around 1450 BC - and then continue further south to the coastal hippy village of Matala.

Enjoying the view before Phaestos Palace

The drive to Phaestos Palace was beautiful, taking us through green valleys with snow-peaked mountain ranges in the distance and a number of small villages. While passing through the village of Mires, the road was suddenly blocked with was appeared to be a street market. I was forced to drive through a series of very narrow streets to find a way around. Not being used to driving standard, I was stressed that I would stall the car at a busy intersection or on a hill (which I did several times, but without incident). Interestingly, the craziness of the Greek drivers also makes them pretty relaxed with road blunders, like stalling your car. The only time they seem to honk is if you're blocking their way forward. But if they can drive around you, they will.

Once through Mires, we stopped outside of Phaestos Palace to lunch on cheese, bread and sardines, while overlooking the mountains in the distance. Exploring the ruins of the palace didn't take long and we continued onward to Matala and the beautiful 'Red Beach', which is surrounded by cliffs and caves. The small caves have been known to house hippies since the 60s and we did see a couple that were visibly inhabited.

By 5:30 we were back home safe and extremely satisfied. For dinner we headed into Heraklion (Saturday night, afterall) for a fantastic traditional dinner and a stroll though the old town. Unfortunately driving home was less enjoyable, as we had a hard time finding the highway and I got stressed out weaving through narrow side streets trying to find my way (I need to learn to be more patient with my co-pilot!). But all ended well for our first day of touring among the Cretians.

Phaestos Palace... or what's left of it

Hippy village of Matala in south-central Crete

Leah with toes in the sand at the Red Beach, Matala

 

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Team UN

While there are not too many climbers left here in Kalymnos, we've managed to assemble a nice, diverse group for climbing and dinners. We call ourselves Team UN for our broad international representation. From New Zealand we have Nick and Helen; from France, Nicolas, Domitille and little Théo; from the United States, brother-and-sister duo Josh and Jennifer; and myself from Canada.

Each morning we meet outside of Nick and Helen's studio and head to the crag together - often piled into Nick and Helen's minivan. After a day of climbing, we either get together for a potluck dinner or go out to one of the local restaurants.

Team UN (from left to right): Nicolas, Josh, Jen, Helen, me, Nick and Domitille

The other day, we met a group of Greek climbers who invited us out for beers afterwards. We met them at a local taverna that seems to be exclusively patronized by Greek men who play cards or backgammon, smoke and drink (similar to the Greek taverns on Bloor St. east of Ossington in Toronto). We had a great time and enjoyed many tapas-style dishes, included one of small, fried fish eaten whole, called marida.

On Sunday night, the owner of my studio knocked at my door to tell me that I have a new neighbour - a fellow named Phillip from Germany. I met Phillip briefly, confirmed that he was here to climb, and invited him out with us the following morning. Because he'd arrived quite late, Phil had nothing to eat, so I have him some things for breakfast and lunch and he headed off to the crag the next day. We ended up climbing really well together and rest of the group welcomed Phil into Team UN. That night, we got about a dozen climbers from all over out to a local restaurant for drinks and piles of Greek food.

Having travelled here alone, I feel very lucky to have met such a good group of people. It is for experiences like these that I was motivated to take this trip. So far I have no regrets.

 

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Pothia: where the streets have no name

Tuesday, December 3

On Tuesday the weather was not looking so nice for climbing, so I decided instead to visit the island capital of Pothia (pop. 11,500), which is only a short drive from Kalymnos. My host family, as I call them, were also heading into town and offered to give me a ride.

I was dropped off at the local travel agency so that I could book a flight to Crete for December 12. While the ticket was being processed, I went next door for a gyro (with tzatziki, veg, and french fries packed inside - mmmm) and made my way to the harbour, which is lined with bars and terraces and, surprise, many boats for fishing and leisure.

At the harbour I stopped by the Kalymnos tourism office to get some information on the town. There I spent a good 20 minutes chatting with the two guys there, who gave me some background on the economy and tourism in Kalymnos, and how it's shifted from sponge diving to climbing. They also gave me a map of the town and traced a walking route that would take me through the major local attractions. I noticed that the map did not have any street names. When I asked if they could write the major ones for me they laughed. "The streets don't have any names here!" they said. It turns out that the districts are identified by names of the churches located there. Beyond that, people use more specific landmarks.

The next couple of hours were spent exploring the narrow, winding streets, which are often only lined with one-foot wide sidewalks, so that you're constantly watching out for approaching motorbikes and cars. After a couple beers at a bar by the harbour, I bought some groceries and took the bus home.

The next day, the weather was also looking so-so. Seeing as my friends were also taking the day off from climbing, I opted to rent a bike and take a ride through the villages north of Masouri. I passed through a couple villages, but didn't pass a single person in any of them. I guess most people have moved back to Pothia or the environs for the winter. The only population I encountered was several heards of goats. At one point, I approached about 40 of them walking in the middle of the road and had to make a bunch of noise to scare them off.

I returned home before noon, having done a 20 km and feeling pretty good. The rest of the afternoon was spent inside working on photos, writing and staying warm. Later that evening, I met the Kiwis, Nick and Helen, and a French couple, Nicolas and Domitille (and their two-year old son, Theo), for an aperitif. I had plans to have dinner with Nicolas and Domi, and they invited Nick and Helen as well, so we ended up having a nice potluck together and made plans to climb together the following day.

Pothia town square

Pothia harbour

Nameless streets

Happy hour!

Jeremyopoulos, God of Pothia

Touring northern Kalymnos

 

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