November 3, 2009
Rhodes

Dear Family and Friends:

The Old Town of Rhodes is a pleasant place. The Old is now spiffy, with well-restored city walls, churches and mosques. There's the harbor of course where The Colossus once stood. And since most of the 1.7 million visitors -- mostly from Great Britain and Germany - had already departed, I shared the streets and plazas with just one small yet enthusiastic group of Israeli cruise passengers.

I looked for a cup of coffee but decided to avoid the tourist traps in the main square. I strolled up a street and spotted three Greek men sitting and smoking outside a small café. I figured I'd get a legitimate coffee and a fresh local pastry at a good price. Wrong! Read more »

Location

Rhodes
Greece
4 November 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

On the ferry from Marmaris to Rhodes, I met a delightful young couple.  When we arrived at the port in the early evening, and since I didn't have a hotel reservation, I decided to tag along with them in their taxi to their hotel that was almost completely dark - no lights on in the windows, just like many other big resort hotels we passed along the shoreline.

Then my own light went on! "So that's why I couldn't make an Internet reservation." Everything's closed. Or about to close. That's why the hotel receptionist was aloof and cold and indifferent. "Now is finish the season," he proclaimed, with just a hint of disdain.

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Location

Miami, Florida
July 19, 2001

Dear Family and Friends,

Just to let you know that I arrived home safely on Tuesday afternoon as scheduled. The Swissair flights were uneventful.

My route took me from Thessalonica to Zurich for a one-hour stopover. I was able to resist the duty free shops. Bally shoes had a half price sale, but nothing in my size!

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Miami, Florida
July 19, 2001

Dear Lily and Annie,

I got home about ten days ago and I think I am finally over my depression. I was so sad. Yesterday I put my pictures in an album and I almost started to cry. Today I went to the beach with some friends so now I am finally back among the living.

I had such a wonderful adventure in The Balkans.

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Thessaloniki, Macedonia
July 15, 2001

My Dear Family and Friends,

This evening is my next to last day in Macedonia, my next to last day in Greece, and the next to last day of my journey in The Balkans. And what a journey it has been. Almost five weeks by airplane, train, subway, bus, car, taxi, hydrofoil, ferry, and foot. Lots of foot.

Perhaps you have guessed that I did not make it to the peak of Mt. Olympus. The morning after my four-hour climb to the refuge halfway up the mountain, the goddess of Prudence prevailed over the god of Arrogance (I was hurtin') so I trekked down for three hours to a hot meal, a hot shower, and a warm bed.

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Location

Litohoro
Greece
July 6, 2001

I took the bus south. It took one hour to cross the border out of Bulgaria and another hour to cross into Greece. After all the passport checking and rechecking - standing around in the hot sun for two hours - the driver drove about thirty seconds, pulled off the road and we stopped for a coffee! As Manuela might say, “Welcome to Greece.”

I arrived in Thessaloniki on July 4 and celebrated with a drink at a bar overlooking the Bay of Thessaloniki. I finally made it to the Sea. The bar was noisy and crowded with young people on cell phones, and the orange juice I ordered cost about as much as a full dinner in Sofia. I guess I am now in the West.

Yesterday I rented a car for my trip here in North and Central Greece.

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Location