The Calypso

Turkey.

The early morning arrival into Istanbul was unlike any other port entry I’ve experienced. The Bosphorus is filled with every imaginable variety of boat. I woke up for the sunrise to find countless flocks of seagulls fighting against the winds, sometimes flying low over the ship to use its draft. I didn’t have any trips planned for the first day, so I visited several spots with some friends, including the Ataturk Bridge, the Sehzade Mosque, the Blue Mosque, the St. Sophia Museum and the Byzantine Cistern. We ended up at the Grand Bizarre, an intricate maze of shops where we quickly learned that taking more than a quick glance at an item meant that you were entering a haggle-fest with the shop owner. The girls bought quite a few items, and I was happy with a jersey for the nation’s top football team.

The next day, I boarded a bus then a plane for Cappadocia, located southwest in Turkey about an hour outside of Iraq. The area is known for its strange conic cave dwellings, especially Kaymakli, an entire underground city built by fleeing Christians awhile back- literally miles wide and deep, spanning around the entire region. Our guide told us about how he used to play in the caves before they became such an attraction. There were points where I was crawling on my knees and could not see a thing- he must’ve been a brave kid.

That night, we checked into our (awesome) hotel, ate a (huge) buffet and headed to a performance of the whirling dervishes. The dance is an ancient Sufi tradition that embodies the belief that the human form is perfect when it spins- so, most of this seven-stage performance is spent watching four or five men spin in a trance to this beautiful music. It was definitely entertaining, but I had a feeling that the dancers were more committed to their craft for money than anything. I really didn’t sense a spiritual presence in the room. Nonetheless, this was one of the more bizarre experiences I’ve had yet.

The next day, we continued on throughout the region of Cappadocia, visiting “fairy chimney” structures that contributed to the area’s moonlike appearance. Unfortunately, our guide chose to take us to several tourist traps; these would look like small shops where a particular handmade craft was produced, but then turn out to be wholesale factories where we were ambushed by swarms of salesmen. This was obnoxious and we all gave a poor evaluation for the latter end of the trip. The ride home was nice, though, since we all purchased some cheap Cappadocian wine to enjoy on the return plane ride.

On the final day in Istanbul, several of my friends and I decided to walk across the Ataturk Bridge and reply to the first man who said the words “Bosphorus Boat Tour.” This worked, and we ended up following some guy a half mile away from the main commerce area where he introduced us to a father-son duo whose boat was probably the smallest in that harbor. We agreed on a price of 18 Lira each to take us past all of the main palaces and mosques along the coast, stopping for an hour on the Asian side of Turkey for lunch, then returning to port. By the way, I can now say I’ve been to Asia- no big deal. We killed the last few hours in the city walking through an enormous park, enjoying some Turkish Delight and sitting down for hookah at a restaurant near the ship. The entire day was fantastic and was a great conclusion to our trip.

Greece.

Just a placeholder… update coming soon!

Arg.

I realize I’ve neglected this blog terribly, so I’m making the effort to update it with four countries worth of content in the next two hours! I’m now sitting in the Library of Alexandria (recently rebuilt) and have to be on the ship across town by 6. Wish me luck.

Croatia. (cont’d)

After my last entry, I hopped back on the ship and worked out to get ready for kayaking. This was definitely a bad idea since kayaking turned out to be an intense workout in itself. We left at one o’clock for the hills where our bus parked on the side and we began a steep stroll down a path that zig-zagged back and forth down to the water. About five minutes in, one of the girls fell and busted her leg open. She tried to stay with us but couldn’t even bear to sit in the kayak. Because she had to be taken to the hospital, our kayaking instructors were stretched and my group was left sitting in the middle of the channel waiting for someone to lead us- not a bad thing at all. I reclined in my kayak and stared at the amazing view for about twenty minutes.

Finally, the least experienced, but apparently most attractive, guide hopped in a kayak to tell us which general direction to paddle towards. Every time I looked back to ask if we were headed in the right direction, our guide could be found flirting with the two slowest blondes - perfect (don’t hate the player, etc.). Anyway, we made it to the island of Lokrum after taking a route that was about a 1.5 kilometers when we could have easily crossed the channel directly in several hundred yards. Regardless, it was beautiful.

At the island, we received snorkeling goggles and tubes that had clearly been used for several years. When asked if he would use the mouthpieces if he were on our position, our young guide decisively shook his head, so most of us only used the goggles. Though we really didn’t receive much instruction as to what we were looking at, the marine ecosystems of Lokrum were beautiful. Competing for our attention were the large groups of wild peacocks roaming the island.

That night, we returned to the boat for dinner and went out to an awesome villa several girls rented in Old Dubrovnik for three days. We went to an “Irish” pub shortly after, then I wondered off into a club appropriately titled El Fuego and the rest is history. The next morning, I woke up at six o’clock to shower for my trip to Medjugorje, then foolishly sat back down to catch a power nap - so powerful that it caused me to miss the bus. Defeated, I ate breakfast alone and decided to tag along with some girls shopping around Dubrovnik for the day. We ended up at a small bar located on the edge of massive cliffs called Cafe Buza. The custom is to drink, then jump, but I just jumped. (Sidenote: Dhani Jones was there filming an episode for his Travel Channel show- he jumped right after I did off the same cliff. I’m sure they’ll say it was 90 meters high when it was really only about 15-20.)

I hurried back to the ship shortly afterward and barely turned my passport in on time- still haven’t gotten “dock time” – the penalty you’re given if you sign in even several minutes late. Five minutes can mean being stuck on the boat for a minimum of three hours in the next port.

Anyway, I’m in a small café right now in Piraeus, Greece that doesn’t officially have internet, but they’ve gracefully allowed me to use their personal connection. Check out the photos below for the sunrise this morning- one of the best I’ve seen yet on the trip. Yassas for now!