"Do you feel Greek?"

Last Friday morning we left Athens for my great grandfather’s village called Prosimna, a two hour drive from the city. I’ve been looking forward to this part of the trip since we landed in Greece and our time with Merkurious and Sophia has only heighted this feeling. The night before we left, I was a little nervous about what I would find in the village. Would I meet some of my great-grandfather’s relatives? Would they welcome us? Would I represent my US family well and convey the sense of honor I felt to just be in this place? Only a few miles of open road and I would find out.

We arrived in the village on Friday at about 6 pm after making a couple stops along the way. We were warmly welcomed by Sophia’s father Cristsos (son of my great-grandfather’s sister, Sophia) and his wife Maurina. Cristos’ brother John lives next door and we found that he has a warm sense of humor as he made us laugh heartily. Both only spoke a few words of English, but they made us feel right at home. That evening we dined in Nafplio, a nearby city, with Sophia’s brother, his family as well as John’s son and his wife. We had a great time but were pretty tired when we returned to the village at almost 2 in the morning.

The next day we met George (grandson of George Karamanous, my great grandfather’s brother) who gave us a tour of the old Karamanous home. George has been working the last 4 years to restore the home. After this we enjoyed swimming at the beach and a wonderful lunch with more family. It was great to sit and visit as we shared a meal with a great view of the Aegean Sea.

In the evening we toured the elementary school and high school that my great grandfather helped build some 45 years ago that are still in use. It was awesome to see physical evidence of the impact he had on the village community. From talking to other family members I learned that he helped with a water system for the village as well.

We rounded out our time in the village with a big dinner at the Berboti Taverina. I was expected a few family members, but was absolutely blow away when we had 20 plus people show up. There were folks from all over the area who came to honor our trip to the village. It was a pretty special night as we sat in the village square talking, eating sheep and just being together. Definitely the highlights of the trip and a memory I will keep for a long time to come.

As I sit back in Athens now, I am impressed by my Greek family’s generosity and sense of community. They welcomed us into their lives and took amazing care of Laura and I. I was repeatedly asked over the course of the weekend if I “felt Greek?” There were some jokes about this, but I am proud of this heritage and these people.

So long Kenya… Hello Greece!

Last Sunday we bid goodbye to Kenya as we boarded an early flight from Nairobi to London via Amsterdam. We were a little sad to leave, especially some of our new found friends. After about 16 hours of travel we made it to our hotel in London where we enjoyed a brief overnight stay before boarding another plane bound for Athens. We were both anxious to get there especially since our flight the day before allowed us good views of Crete and parts of the Peloponnese.

At the airport we were warmly greeted by Merkouris (whose wife Sophia is the granddaughter of my, Keith, great-grandfather’s sister). Merkouris and Sophia welcomed us into their home and have made us feel like royalty the last few days. We have spent our evenings on their balcony talking, laughing and enjoying some of their amazing home cooked Greek meals. They even took us out walking in the evenings for some fresh air and to see some of the sights in Athens.

Our days have been filled with tourist activities, but hey, it is what you do when there is so much to see. Our first day exploring Athens included traipsing around different ancient sites and eating lunch at an outdoor café. Once again, did we say the food is great in Greece! We enjoyed another wonderful dinner with Merk and Sophia that evening, and then we all went in to the center of the city to see the Acropolis at night. The Parthenon is pretty impressive when it is lit up at night. Day two exploring Athens included the brand new (open for 2 days) Acropolis Museum, the Acropolis itself as well as the Ancient Agora (or commercial area). Today, our 3rd day touring the city, we spent at the National Archeological Museum and looking around an ancient burial site.

It is hard for us to describe how much we have seen and the degree to which these have impressed us. It makes you feel very small in the grand scope of history when you are in the presence of antiquities that are over 3000 years old. It makes our 28-30 years of life seem like nothing.

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we leave the city for Keith’s great grandfather’s village. More to come.

Welcome to Diani Beach – White sand, dolphins and sun

We have just returned from a 4 day stay at the Kenya Coast. It was an experience to say the least. To start we took an overnight bus from Nairobi to Mombasa, 8 hours of some of the bumpiest roads and only one stop for the toilet (dehydration was key). We were also impressed with our driver’s ability to pass despite oncoming traffic.

We arrived at our final destination, Diani Beach at 0630 and after looking at the beautiful beach passed out under our mosquito net. Our accommodations were somewhat less than ideal, so we spent the first day looking for a new cottage and getting our bearings. Fortunately, God was looking out for us and provided another place nearby… Let’s just say the one night we did spend was pretty much hell and we are still trying to repress the memory. Needless to say we were out of that place by 0800 the next morning, hoofing it down the road to cottage #2. It was a great relief to settle in and relax especially with the heavy rain that rolled in. It was reminiscent of the Oregon coast, just with the addition of palm trees and several monkeys.

The rest of our stay was great. We spent one day on a dhow (small boat) swimming with dolphins, snorkeling and enjoying fresh seafood. We also got a great sunburn that we are still enjoying (ouch!). Our last full day we spent walking on the beach and relaxing poolside at one of the larger resorts. It was a really nice place and now we know how the rich and famous feel.

Our trip ended with an early morning to get to Mombasa for another 8 hour bus ride that was just as bumpy and felt twice as long. Before we left we did enjoy a tuk-tuk ride around downtown Mombasa in search of coffee. It was fun to feel the wind in our hair and smell the diesel as we zoom in our three wheeled chariot.

Other highlights included fighting with mosquitoes, loud monkeys in the middle of the night, persistent beach boys and wondering when the power would come back on. Hakuna matata, just another day in Kenya right? All in all, it was a great week and were blessed to have a few days to take life at a slower pace.

Nairobi Wanderings

We have spent the last 5 days in the Nairobi taking it easy and preparing for our trip to the coast. It has been a great time to recoup and hang out with people. Highlights have included: Coffee and lunch at the Java House, a trip downtown to purchase bus tickets (sounds pretty simple, but you never know when it comes to matatus), a trip to the salon for some henna, dinner at Anghitis for excellent Indian food, a picnic with friends (exploring caves and feeding a very sad looking ostrich), a tour of the Nairobi National Museum and Laura's home made flour tortillas (so good).

Masai Mara Safari

Last Sunday morning (June 6th) we were picked up by George, our driver from Basecamp Masai Mara. George is the same driver / guide that took our friends John, Erin and Kim out to Masai Mara for their safari, so we knew we were in good hands. (He told us to give you guys his regards!)

Anyway, George drove us about 5 hours southwest of Nairobi to the Masai Mara National Reserve where we stayed for the next three days at a place called Basecamp. We weren’t sure what to expect on arrival, but lets just say it blew everything out of the water. They called our cabin the “Obama” and we were told that it is where our current commander and chief stayed when he visited a few years back. Maybe they tell this to all the wazungu (white folks) but we were certainly impressed with the digs. Looking off the front porch of our cabin we could several different kinds of antelope as well as a crocodile 50 yards away in the river below.

Over the next three days we were well taken care of by the staff at Basecamp. The food was by far some of the best we’ve had and we took full advantage of the coffee that was provided.

However, as awesome as staying at Basecamp was, the real highlight was the game drives which we made in the morning at 6:30 am and in the afternoon around 4:00 pm. It is like our friend Kim says, “Safari is magical.” Our list of highlight experiences includes:
· A family of giraffes running across the road on the way to Masai Mara
· A huge crocodile behind our cabin
· Herds of gazelle, buffalo, antelope and other grazing animals
· Several different birds of prey
· Juvenile elephants trunk wrestling
· Sunsets and sunrises over the rolling plains
· Hippos thrashing through the brush near our cabin late at night
· Male and female lion on their week long honey-moon
· Cheetahs… hunting, eating a gazelle and cheetah cubs playing.

Mt. Kenya and back again

Day 1 – June 1st: So, we were expecting a 2 to 3 hour bus trip to meet up with our guide and porter, but instead were rewarded with a long matatu ride filled with rap and reggae. The speaker next to Laura’s ear blasted hits from Snoop Dog and classics such as “Get Your Freak On.” It was almost enough of a distraction that we did not notice our driver playing chicken with on coming traffic while trying to pass other vehicles on the road. After 3 hours we arrived safely in Nanyuki and met our guide (Paul), cook and two porters.

Another matatu ride took us to the gate, where we enjoyed lunch and prepped for the journey ahead, which ended up being a little wet! Paul informed us that the thunder we heard actually meant it would not rain (unfortunately thunder in Kenya means the same thing that it does in Oregon, you are going to get wet). After a few hours hiking we made it to our first camp at 11,000 feet just as the rain subsided. We ended the day with some great views and a peek at the mountain ahead.

Day 2 – June 2nd: We hiked approximately 8 hours, the morning rewarded us with clear skies and wonderful views of the area. We kept our eye out for jaguars, but all we saw were tracks. We passed through valleys filled with birds and lobelia (a plant that looks like it is straight out of a Dr. Seuss book and can be several hundreds of years old). We ended our day at camp Shipton (13,800 ft). As we rolled into camp we were both beginning to feel the effects of the altitude. Keith had a miserable night, partially due to the guides force feeding us massive amounts of food. Lucky he enjoyed the meal twice; once going down and the other coming up.

Day 3- June 3rd: The day started at 2 am as we prepped for our summit attempt. We were only allowed hot water or tea to start our day… We would later learn exactly why. The sky was huge and filled with stars as we were led out of camp. The next few hours were a blur as we just tried to put one foot in front of the other and not get sick… We were only successful with the first goal (Even one of our guides was feeling the effects of the altitude). It was all worth it when we reached the summit and enjoyed the sunrise.

However, the day was not over yet. We still had to descend several thousand feet before we were able to rest for the day. It was another 12 hours later before we could unpack our bags and rest.

Day 4 – June 4th: Our last day on the trail allowed us a gradual downhill to the Naro Muro gate. We enjoyed the last few kilometers through the forest and appreciated the chance to take our boots off!

We would like to say the rest of the ride back to Nairobi was uneventful, but where is the fun in that. Let’s just say at one point we ended up chasing our bags across a parking lot of matatus… Everyone else seemed to know what was going on but we were a little nervous. In the end, it all worked out and we made it back to Kim’s place for some well deserved rest before our next adventure.