Dad and Karen in Moldova

07/30/2012: In My Village and Chisinau

          Dad and Karen came to visit me in Moldova before we started out on vacation in Budapest and Vienna. They arrived in Moldova the day before and spent the night in a hotel in a town near my village called Soroca. They arrived at my house around noon and apparently had little trouble finding the place thanks to my detailed directions. Before lunch, I had time to unpack the suitcase of goodies that they brought me. The bag was so full that it was heavy. After I unpacked it, lunch was served. For lunch we had stuffed peppers and meat dumplings. For dessert, we had watermelon. The kitchen was probably the hottest I've experienced while we were eating because of the stove and the temperature outside. After the plates had been cleared, my dad and Karen presented their gifts. The main gift was a nice plate made with imprinted flowers and by a salt marsh pottery company. My host mother seemed to like it. Dad and Karen also brought chocolate and candy for my host sister Felicia.
          After the gift giving, it was time to show Karen and Dad my village. The first stop was the school. We couldn't go inside, but I was able to show them the grounds, including the unfinished part of the school. We then drove to the cemetery. Afterwards, we drove to store that represents the farthest point in the town that I have been to. Out next stop was the spring which was a short walk downhill. It was hot out and the spring was in the sun so we did not spend much time there. We then stopped at one of the stores to buy some soda before returning to my house. When we got there, my host mother showed us around the garden and we were able to eat some fresh raspberries and currants.
          It was then time to head to Chisinau. We drove through Soroca. The trip was shorter, but the road was worse than that which goes through Drochia and Balti. The drive took us about two and a half hours. When we got to the hotel we relaxed for a bit and then headed out to have dinner at an Uzbek restaurant I had heard about from other volunteers. The food was very good. I had veal pilaf. With our dessert, baklava, we also had some traditional Uzbek tea. Before the waiter served it to us he had to perform a tea marrying ceremony. Basically, he poured the tea from the pot into a cup and back again. The idea behind doing it is to add air to the tea to enhance the flavor. The tea was very good. It was sour apple flavored. After dinner, it was then time to make our way back to the hotel and to bed.

07/31/2012: Around Chisinau and Arrival in Budapest

           The next morning we got going around 11 and drove to Peace Corps headquarters in Moldova. I introduced Dad and Karen to various Peace Corps Volunteers and Peace Corps staff. Then we walked up to the central market. It was nice to show them around. When we finished, we quickly returned to the car and then drove over to Stefan Cel Mare park. We ended up just driving by it on the way to the airport. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and managed to have a late lunch at Sbarro which included a Dr. Pepper for me. There are only two places to buy Dr. Pepper in Moldova, the Sbarro in the airport and the Sbarro at the mall, so it was definitely a nice treat to have it at the airport. After a quick lunch, we went through security and boarded our plane. We had checked-in a short while after we got to the airport. We couldn't check in right away because check-in didn't open until an hour and a half before the flight departure time. Our first flight was to Bucharest where we had time to have a leisurely dinner. Our next flight was to Budapest. Both planes were very small propeller planes. The flight to Bucharest was only 45 minutes long. The flight to Budapest was longer, but only by about 1.5 hours.
          When we arrived in Budapest, we picked up our bags and went through customs. My dad then got money from an ATM and bought bus tickets to the metro station. We caught the bus with little difficulty and arrived at the metro station a short time later. After some difficulty figuring out where to buy the tickets for the metro, we got on and went to the center of town. When we got out of the subway, we took a taxi to our hotel. It wasn't very far, but we didn't know which way to go. Our rooms at the hotel were great. We had two suites, both with a living room containing a microwave, minibar, tv, desk, and couch, a bedroom, and a bathroom with a tub. When we got to the hotel we  talked for a while and then went to bed.

The Suite

Bucharest back to Moldova

Friday, June 15th, 2012:

Bucharest: I arrived at Bucharest at around noon after my relatively short flight from Athens. I was served lunch on the flight, but it was just a dry sandwich. When I got to Bucharest I was able to find some decent Thai food. Well, at least it was spicy like it was supposed to be. That was definitely the highlight of the 8 hours I spent in the airport.

I almost managed to shorten my time in the airport considerably, but I didn't know how airports work in Bucharest. Unlike in America, the counters near the gates aren't staffed until the plane needs to start boarding. They also can't change tickets or issue boarding passes. I waited near one to see if I could change my flight to the earlier one, but it was too late since they needed to start boarding the plane. If I had wanted her to be able to change it I would have needed to go to the check in counter on the other side of security. Even then, I'm not sure if it would have been free to do. Luckily, I found a spot to charge my ipod that also had wireless. I spent most of the 8 hours there. At around dinner time, I went to the Burger King in the airport food court. Every once in a while, I definitely appreciate American fast food.

At around 7:50 I got on a bus to board the small plane that would take me to Chisinau. when I arrived at the airport, I caught a taxi to the hostel I usually stay at and went to bed around 11:30.

Saturday, June 16th, 2012: Back at Site

I woke up late, took a shower, and left the hostel. I quickly stopped by Peace Corps headquarters before walking to the north bus station. I boarded by usual minibus and was on my way back to my village. I got back to my village in the evening and unpacked. It was nice seeing my family, but it was also nice to get back to my Moldovan home. In a little over a year I will be back in the US. I figure I might as well enjoy Moldova while I am here. 

Santorini

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012: Arrival in Santorini

             Today we arrived in Santorini at around 12:30. Santorini is a crescent shaped island. There are a few islands across from it that form a circle. Initially, there was more land but one of the volcanoes erupted creating a caldera. A caldera is the place leftover after a volcano erupts and the dirt collapses. In this case, the area was filled in with water creating an island out of what had originally been connected. When we arrived in Santorini, there were three large cruise ships in the harbor. We got off the boat at the port located at the bottom of the mountain and were driven to our hotel by the owner. Our hotel was located at the top of the mountain. When we got there we chose our room and relaxed for a while before heading out to have lunch. 
               We used Bethany's guide book to find a nice restaurant called "Mama's House". The food there was very good and the portions were decent. Afterwards, we went into the town to check it out and to take a gondola ride to the bottom of the hill.. We walked through narrow crowded streets before making it to the gondola station. The line for the gondola was very long because there were many people from cruise ships that wanted to take it. We discussed what we wanted to do for a little while before deciding that Bethany and I would walk down and take donkeys back up. The walk down was long, but not too hard. The path consisted of several relatively steep, long stairs. There were also many switchbacks. As we were walking down, we had to avoid some groups of donkeys that were coming up.
               When we reached the bottom we were able to see the old port and the spot where the gondola was. We walked around for a little while before heading to the donkey station. When we got there, we weren't sure it was the right place because there were just two men sitting at a table drinking fanta. Luckily, the donkey ride guy noticed us and asked if we wanted donkeys. We said yes and paid him. He finished his fanta and then brought us to where the donkeys were. Bethany and I got on the donkeys from a slightly elevated place. Hers started going up the mountain once she was on it, but only walked a little bit before it stopped and waited for mine. Once we were on, the donkeys started up the hill. The donkey guide lagged behind so we weren't initially sure if he was coming with us or not. Before we reached the first bend, though, we saw that he was heading up the hill too. The ride up was not as relaxing as imagined because the donkeys kept veering towards the wall, and while we never driven into one, we got pretty close a number of times. We got off the donkeys a little ways from the top because there were other donkeys already there. We walked to the top by foot and then headed back to the hotel to meet up with Mom and Ben. We all watched the sunset from a wall in front of our hotel. We relaxed for a while at our hotel before heading to bed.

Here are some pictures from our first day on Santorini:

                                                 View of the Volcanic Island from Santorini

                                                   There were some good views from up high.

                                                    The Three big cruise ships in the harbour

                                                 People eating and looking out over the water

                                                        A chandelier in an interesting shop

                                                 One of the narrow crowded streets of Thira

                                                               The city on a mountain, Thira

                                                                The Volcano from Thira

                                                          The path down to the old port

                                                        One of the turns in the path down

                                                                         The Old Port

                                                      The donkeys at the donkey station

                                                                   The Donkey Station

                                                            Santorini Had Great Views

                                                    One of the Nice Buildings on Santorini

                                                       The Sunset begins over Santorini

                                                 The Sunset during our first night in Santorini

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012: Volcano and Hot Springs Trip

On Wednesday, we slept in. When we woke up we had breakfast made of things we had bought from the grocery store the day before. Then, we headed into town to see the prehistoric history museum. The museum consisted of artifacts largely from the town of Akrotiri. Akrotiri was a rich town that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the 17th century BC. The city was pretty well preserved by the eruption and about 3% of the city has been excavated so far. There were a lot of pots and jars in the museum, as well as a couple of  painted walls. It was definitely worth the time we spent there. Afterwards, we had lunch at a gyro place on the main road. We ordered things to go before going to the bus station. We were going on a tour of a volcano and a hot spring. At around 2:30 we got on the bus and were driven to the port. There we got on a boat and headed to the volcano. While on our way, our tour guide gave us some information about the Caldera and the volcanic island we were going to. When we got to the volcano, we hiked to one of the resting points and she gave us more information about the volcanic history of Santorini. Apparently the volcano we went to was still active and had last erupted in the 1950s. The walk up to the top was not very hard, but it was very hot and the ground was soft which made it harder to walk on. On our way to the top, our guide pointed out the various craters where the volcano had last erupted. On our way back down, we stopped at a hot vent to feel the hot air coming from the volcano. It was so hot that I could only put my hand there for a few seconds. The guide said that this vent might partially explain why the volcano had not erupted for a while. The air is able to escape so the pressure inside the volcano does not build up quite as much.

Our next stop after the volcano was the hot springs. We got there and were told we only had 20 minutes before we had to leave. This basically just gave us time to swim to the hot springs and swim back to the boat. The water in the hot spring was much warmer than the rest of the water, but was definitely not hot. The water was also orange. Our group boarded the boat and we set off for our next destination of Thirassia. Thirassia is the largest island in the group other than Santorini. People live both by the water and up on top of the mountain. We had 2 hours to spend there, so we ate a leisurely dinner and then walked around by the water. There were several restaurants and some small buildings. At around 7:30, we bought some ice cream and returned to the boat. The guide then told us more about the island of santorini and we stopped below the town of Ia to see the sunset. The sunset would have been very pleasant if the boat had not been playing bad music. The sunset was still nice though. Afterwards, we returned to the port and took a bus back to town.

Pictures from The Harbor cruise and the Volcano:

                                               One of the exhibits in the Prehistory Museum

                                    A Wall Painting that was in the House of Ladies in Akrotiri

                                                                 Another Wall Painting

                                                                            A Jug

                                                                            A Mask

                                                                  Cups from Akrotiri

                                                                           Dishes

                                                             Blue Monkeys wall painting

                                                                Another Wall Painting

                                                    An Ancient pan that was not called a pan

                                         One of the huge cruise ships that we saw on our cruise

                                                     Santorini Behind some Cruise Ships

                                                          The lava rocks on Nea Kameni

                                                    People on the path up to the Volcano

                                                          Green Water because of sulfur

                                    The island consisted basically only of these black lava rocks

                                                   Ships in the harbor at the volcanic island                                  

                                                                View of the Rocky Path

                                                                          More Rocks

                                                                     Volcanic Crater

                                                                 Close Up of the Crater

                                                                View from the volcano

                                                  A ship in the green waters of the volcano

Thursday, June 14th, 2012: Ancient Thira, Akrotiri, and Ia.

On Thursday, Mom rented a car. We got going around 11 so that we could see everything that we wanted to see before it closed. Our first stop was Ancient Thira. It did not take very long to get there although the road up to it was narrow and winding. At the top, we had to walk up another path to reach the main part of the ruins. Ancient Thira was comprised of ruins from Greek, Roman, and Byzantine times. One of the first spots we came to was an old church that had been rebuilt several times. We also saw ruins of houses, a theater, sanctuaries, and an agora. It was very hot by the ruins, so we did not spend very long there.

Our next stop was Pyrgos. We went there to have lunch and see the monastery. We had a nice lunch, but because it was still hot, we only saw the monastery during our drive up to it. Apparently people are only allowed during certain times anyways.

Finally, we drove to Akrotiri. There the ruins had a roof over them so we were able to explore them leisurely without being in the heat. The ruins definitely hinted at the impressiveness of the city. There were many two story buildings. Apparently the city also had a sewer system although we could not see it when we were walking around. We followed the path around the ruins and then returned to our car. We got in and drove to one of the beaches called the red beach. We looked at from a little ways away, and then found a nice shady spot to eat the watermelon we had bought near the ruins. When we finished, we went for a swim near where we parked our car. Afterwards, we piled back in the car and drove to our hotel. We showered and then headed to our final destination of Ia.

Our guide on the harbor cruise compared Ia to Disney Land. There had been a town there before, but it was destroyed by either a volcanic eruption or an Earthquake, I can't remember exactly. When they rebuilt it, our guide said that they built it for tourists. When I saw it, I could see what she meant. It was full of narrow roads with basically nothing but shops, at least where we walked. There were lots of tourists there to see the sunset. We watched it from two spots before doing our last minute shopping. I bought some things for myself and a couple of small things for my host mother. Then, we ate a late dinner. On our way back to our car, we stopped at a fish spa. The spa had chairs and big tanks with small fish in front of them. The fish remove dead skin. The four of us decided to try it for 10 minutes. When the fish first came to my feet, it tickled only a little bit. More fish went to Mom's feet and so she felt them a lot more. For me the fish felt more like tiny vibrations. Although our feet didn't feel that much softer afterwards, it was still fun to do. When we had finished having our feet exfoliated by fish, we returned to our car and drove back to our hotel. We went to bed almost right away because we had to get up early to catch our flight the following day.

Friday, June 15th, 2012: Flight to Athens

On Friday, we woke up at 5:15am so that we could leave our hotel by 5:45. Our flight from Santorini to Athens was at 6:55. We took a bus from our gate to the airplane at around 6:40. When we got on the plane, Bethany, Ben and I sat in one row and Mom sat by the window in the row ahead of us. The flight served us drinks but was only an hour so there wasn't really time to serve food. When we got to Athens, I said goodbye to Bethany, Ben, and Mom because they had to catch a much earlier flight than I did. I had about two hours before my flight so I wanted by the check in counter until it opened. When I got my boarding pass, I went through security and to my gate. 

Milos

Saturday, June 9th, 2012: Cruise around Milos

On Saturday, we got up early to take a cruise around Milos to see all the nooks and cranies the island had to offer. The first place we stopped to swim was a place called Kleptiko. Pirates used to go there. There were caves to swim into and arches to swim under. We then moved on around the island to some other spots to see and places to swim. None were quite as interesting as Kleptiko. We stopped to eat on the island of Kimolos.There wasn't much on the island to see near the shore except places to eat. After an hour and a half we continued on around the island. The shore continued to be very rocky and full of alcoves. In that sense, it was very different from the island of Mykonos. On our way we discovered at least one place we wanted to come back to, a place called the moon. I took a lot of photos on our way around the island. I have put some of them below.

 Sunday, June 10th, 2012

On Sunday, we rented a car to take around the island. We ate lunch and then went to one of the beaches to swim. There were caves and arches to swim under. After swimming for a while we went to another town to see the sunset. We watched it from the monastery on one of the highest points on the island. We then found dinner in the town below. The car provided some much needed freedom to our trip after being led around the previous day. Sunday was a nice change of pace compared to some of the other days of the trip.

Monday, June 11th, 2012,

On Monday we had another relaxing day. We slept in and then went to the moon beach called Sarakiniko. We spent most of the afternoon there, swimming in the shallow water near the beach and in the caves around it. After we had finished swimming, we walked around in some caves that were on shore. None of us could figure out what the caves were for. Afterwards, we drove to another beach to eat dinner and watch the sunset. We then headed back to our hotel to pack. The next day we had to get up to catch a boat to Santorini. I took a fair number of pictures while at the beach and during the sunset. Some of the highlights are below. The scenery on the island was very beautiful.

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012:

We left at 9:45 in the morning for Santorini where we spent the last 3.5 days of the trip.