Plying Through Life – Travel Stories and Other Adventures

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Welcome To My Travel Blog

Well, mostly travels anyway. This is really just an excuse to tell stories about places I’ve been or adventures I’ve experienced. I hope you find them entertaining.

Athena’s City

Summer, 1980. I’ve only just started my life of international travels, and I’m already hitting bucket list spot number two.

When folks speak about things that went on in the past, stories evolve. Often, depending on the biases and creativity of the teller, they’ll evolve to the point where they are considered fantasy or myth but are believed anyway. While you don’t need to go far into the past to see that well demonstrated (less than a month?), today we’ll go way back and see where it takes us.

Nafplio Plus

Sometimes on a tour, especially when you’re covering a lot of ground, one place blends into the next. If they don’t have names that have echoed down the centuries as so many of our stops did, the problem becomes more acute. Ergo, if I were called on to describe the differences between Nafpaktos and Nafplio, I would struggle. Five months later, I’ll try.

The Navel of the World

Suppose you were a big shot in the ancient world and you wanted to get an insight into what might happen in the future, or how best to handle a current problem. Potential solutions: consult with an Oracle, or contemplate your navel. In one place, you could do both.

Teasing Old Memories in Corfu

Greek islands. Utter the phrase, and folks instantly envision sun drenched beaches and whitewashed buildings with flat roofs, or blue domed churches. Turquoise water glistens in the distance.

Ok, maybe not all Greek islands. Still, visiting the island of Corfu was something I’d looked forward to as a highlight of our Greek trip. But why?

Struck By Meteora

… And in recent news, a tourist traveling through Greece was struck by a cluster of what the Greeks call a “Meteora.” They were large and rocky, and the very sight triggered what might be called a “come to Jesus” moment.

Tomb Raiders

It’s not Lara Croft, or even Indiana Jones we’re talking about here. This is for real. As is the treasure.

Thessaloniki

It’s the second largest city in Greece, with over a million people in its metro area. But I hadn’t heard of it.

The Original Olympics

Today we find ourselves in the midst of a full bore summer Olympics, with all the pomp, drama, hype, glorious victories, and stomach churning losses that a modern Olympics entails.

But how did we get here? What were the original Olympics like?