North Cyprus, March 2012

This is a quick recap of our recent trip to North Cyprus in early March. Though not a popular destination yet, North Cyprus combines very good climate, beautiful nature, relatively little tourism, and extremely friendly, unobtrusive people. It may look not so well groomed at times, but I really enjoyed the authenticity of local life and the warmth of the people.





We booked an inexpensive package tour, with a hotel right on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Lapta (Lapithos) near Girne (Kyrenia). We just wanted to escape the almost unending cold and grey of the Dutch winter and enjoy some sun, good food, nature, culture and walking. I got myself this great little book from the library: Walk and Eat in North Cyprus, and we went on a beautiful mountain walk virtually every day of our 8-day holiday.

Spring is probably the best time to visit Cyprus. There is lots of vegetation and many wild flowers, including wild orchids! There are also many oranges and lemons everywhere. The weather is supposed to be very nice, although we had one day of rain and 4 or 5 days of sun.   It is also a good time for walking, which is our favourite holiday pastime.

The local food is really delicious, consisting usually of meze's (several small side dishes), chicken or lamb kebab, salads, lavash bread, local halloumi cheese, and ayran (local yoghurt drink). My mouth wets as I think back about those meals!

The locals are mostly of Turkish descent, mostly quiet, modest, warm, simple people. I managed to talk to a few of them, even though they hardly speak English. They seem not to have much, but seem to enjoy their simple life and community with others. I was fascinated by Sabo, the seemingly poor owner of a small cafe near the main square in Guzelyurt, who refused our pay for the coffee, showed me photo's of his family, gave a little toy to our daughter, and arranged for us to visit the local museum free of charge. Another old man related to me a story of his youth, how he served in the British army, and how his son died one year ago leaving two baby twins, he showed me his photographs. I was very deeply touched.

This is just a brief summary to remember what we did and saw:

Day 1: Arrival and settling in the hotel. Our hotel room was rather Spartan and needed some repairs, but it was quite big, clean and had a great view over the mountains and the sea.
Day 2: Rain, picking up our rental car, driving to Girne and then on to visit the medieval Bellapais Abbey, trying local oranges and mandarins (we ended up buying and eating oranges every day!), eating adana kebab with lavash, exploring Lapta.

Day 3: Driving westwards along the coast, visiting Guzelyurt and the ancient remains of the Vouni palace, an 8 km walk in the hills around the Gecitkoy lake. There was quite a lot of mud on the road after yesterday's rain, so we were lucky to get back just in time before the dark. Anne Sophie enjoyed the walk, spending more than half of the time in her backpack carrier on my back :) We saw some interesting green stones and small heaps of  many small caterpillars. The food at the restaurant in the center of the small village of Gecitkoy was really good and inexpensive.
Day 4: Driving westwards along the coast, a 7 km walk and climb to the medieval Kantara castle, proceeding to the rough and wild Karpass peninsula, watching sunset and eating virtually alone in the harbour of the ancient city of Karpasia, next to the remains of a beautiful 10th century basilica.
Day 5: Two lovely and quite strenuous walks near Ilgaz and Karaman. At the end of the second walk we sat down to rest on the picturesque church square of Karaman and were surrounded by 9 cats of all colors, a real treat for Anne Sophie! Then on to to the magnificent St. Hillarion Castle and then a beautiful 20km ride right on top of the Kyrenia mountain ridge towards Kozan and back to Lapta.
Day 6: Visiting the medieval fortress and port city of Famagusta. There was some kind of folk festival there, and we enjoyed some local sweets. Then on to the ancient Cyprus capital city of Salamis, playing on the beach, eating a delicious meal in Ozankoy.
Day 7: A 9km walk in the mountains of Besparmak with lavish vegetation, many wild flowers, beautiful observation points and in the end a quite recently abandoned, mysterious Armenian monastery. Then a 1-hour climb to the majestic Buffavento Castle, with Anne Sophie walking most of the way! The meal at the Buffavento restaurant was probably the most delicious we had in North Cyprus!
Day 8: Visiting the capital Lefkosa (Nicosia), taking a city walk and crossing the guarded border into the Greek part, with some Occupy the Border protesters in the no man's buffer zone. Then back to Kyrenia, enjoying a walk along the sea front, and then back to hour hotel to catch the bus to the airport.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable time in North Cyprus, and I hope we shall come back there again!

Biking the Route des Legendes in the Belgian Ardennes

Last Sunday my months of bike training were put to a severe test. With a bunch of Flemish friends I travelled to Remouchamps, south of Liege, Belgium, to bike the Route des Legendes, which is a 100km scenic route consisting of two loops of 70 km and 30 km, with numerous climbs and descents and beautiful views to enjoy.

We had a perfect bicycling weather as we started biking at quarter to 10 in the morning. The first climb, which lasted a couple of kilometers was quite a shock. Although by now, having biked up the Alp d'Huez, the Grossglockner and the Mont Ventoux, I should know what climbing is, nevertheless the first few climbing kilometers are still quite a challenge. But I felt that my training has been paying off big time!

This was followed by many more climbs and descents, with some slopes reaching up to 17%. Initially, we stopped quite often in order to keep our group together. I enjoyed the nice views of the countryside and the neat little villages that we passed by.

The second loop started with a long 5km climb, which felt like it would never end. But overall it was much easier than the first loop.

Back at Remouchamps, we set out for the final, but also the most challenging ascent, that of the infamous La Redoute, in which you climb 161 height meters over the distance of 1.7 km. This means 9.5% on the average, with a maximum of 20%! This was absolutely the most difficult climb I have ever done!



In total I biked 105km (and more than 1500 height meters) in 5h45min. I got home very late and tired, but it was a great day and a great training for the upcoming conquest of Passo dello Stelvio!

Biking through the Tulip Land and Beach Meditation

As I wrote earlier this month, I've been training hard to bike up the Stelvio Pass in the north of Italy in early September with a bunch of colleagues.

This week has been pretty busy, so I didn't have much chance to bike. So today I decided to go for a long training ride. I started out around 5:30 PM, right after Maria Sharapova lost her Wimbledon final. I biked past the old chapel of Wilsveen to the mountain bike parcour of SnowWorld in Zoetermeer, and from there past Stompwijk to Zoeterwoude and Vlietland, then along the Vliet to the Lammenschanse Brug in Leiden and then to Warmond, Rijnsburg and Noordwijkerhout. It's a beautiful route through many old towns in the north of South Holland, the heart of Dutch tulip industry. But I get a lot of headwind.

It feels good to bike with the sun and wind and fast flowing low white clouds. I am at about 40 km from home. I cross into the dunes and start cycling with the wind, southwards along the coastline. I stop briefly in Noordwijk. According to the weather service, it is wind force 4 on Beaufort scale, but the sea looks like it's wind force 5. A beautiful view of Zandvoort in the north and Scheveningen in the south! I continue along the coast, flying with the wind in my back. I stop at the beach of the Wassenaarse Slag. There are not so many people on the beach. I sit down in the sand, the sun is glistening on the wave tops. I fee like meditating. I put on a guided mindfulness meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn and try to follow my breath and mind for some 10 minutes. What a bliss!





Watch this short video of the dunes at Meijendel:

From Biking through the Tulip Land and Beach Meditation

I bike on to Meijendel and than through Wassenaar with its beautiful stately houses, along the royal estate De Horsten, over de Knipbrug bridge and then along the Vliet canal to Leidschendam. The last 2 km to home, and I am tired and cannot bike fast. But it feels good!

It's 78.5 km in a little less than 3.5 hours. The average speed is not so impressive, but with so much wind I don't really care. This is my longest ride this year. I dedicate it to my dear wife Luda, whose birthday is tomorrow and who's now on holiday in Ukraine.

Then a quick look at our Delta-N Tour de France pool cloud application at http://azuretour.cloudapp.net/, and, o wonder, after the first stage, which I didn't even watch, I am on top of the pool!

My friend and colleague Konstantin, who's also been biking, turns up at the door and we share a meal of smoked mackerel, very small Parisian potatoes (krieltjes) with dill and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and green beans. As desert we eat a whole bunch of cherries. We talk about food and fish and sour cherries and about our childhood in the now non-existent USSR. We decide to watch an old, good Soviet film about school Доживём до понедельника, but after 20 minutes or so I start falling asleep, so it's time for him to go home and for me to go to bed. What a great day!

Update:
Monday evening (July 4) another training ride in the dunes: 36km in 1h27min. The beach at Meijendel is completely empty, not a single soul! The sun is going down. What a peaceful and serene feeling!





Update 2:
Tuesday evening biked to the beach in Scheveningen with Konstantin. Ended up chilling-out at one of the beach bars on the Zwarte Pad. The ice cream was delicious, but too little :)

Update 3:
Wednesday eveing, again went to Scheveningen, this time with my good friend Jasper Seger. First we went bathing in the sea. There was lots of wind and waves, and pretty cold water, but we had so much fun fighting the waves that we didn't want to get out of the water. Then we relaxed and watched the sunset at the same bar as yesterday! It's good to be able to talk to a good friend for a couple of hours!

Training for Passo dello Stelvio

In what has become a great sporting tradition at Delta-N, early September 2011 together with a number of colleagues, we are going to bike up the Stelvio Pass in the north of Italy. In the past few years, we did Alpe d'Huez (several times), Les Deux Alpes and Col du Galibier in the French Alps and last year Mont Ventoux in Provence, all of which are frequently featured in Tour de France. Two years ago we went to climb the Grossglockner in Austria, which I reported in this post.

The Stelvio Pass seems to be quite a challenge. It is one of the most famous, most notorious, toughest and  highest passes in Europe, 2758 meters high, 48 hairpin bends. We'll have to climb over 20 km to overcome the altitude difference of some 1800 meters (with an average gradient of about 7.4%). The views are incredibly beautiful, the mountain is incredibly long, steep and uneven.

  

This year I started training in early March. I take part in a spinning group twice a week, bike to work as much as possible (including sometimes 21km to and from AkzoNobel in Sassenheim), and also an occasional training ride in the weekends, not to mention the fun rides with my little daughter.

Last Saturday I did my longest ride so far this year together with my friend, colleague and fellow Russian-speaker Konstantin! I biked about 55 km in total, starting at 8:15 from home to Mariahoeve, where I was joined by Konstantin. From there we biked to Scheveningen and then along the coast, via Meijendel, Wassenaarse Slag and Katwijk all the way to Noordwijk. The sun was shining. We had a pretty strong headwind, but we were delighted at the thought of cycling back with the wind! We stopped in Noordwijk to admire the view of the sea, the beach and the coast line. Scheveningen was visible in the distance. We cycled back downwind, it felt like we were almost flying.

We stopped at the Wassenaarse Slag to get some extra water, and guess whom we met there? Our colleague and boss Roderick! He was biking as well, together with a neighbor of his! So we continued with the four of us, with Konstantin eventually splitting off and going in the direction of Mariahoeve along A44, while the rest of us biked to Voorschoten, crossed the Vliet at the Knipbrug and then across the Vlietlanden along A4 back to Leidschenveen!



It was a great ride with about 2:15 hours of biking time! My plan is to increase training distances gradually to something like 100 km. I am also thinking of a couple of training trips to South Limburg and the Ardennen, so that I can get more climbing experience!

Holiday on Fuerteventura!

The long Dutch winter is over, the days are getting longer, my spirits are getting higher, and I feel an increasing urge to write and share!

So, we just got back from an unforgettable 8-day trip to Fuerteventura, the most eastern, second largest, but one of the least known Canary Islands.

Once again, we travelled at a very short notice: we booked a last-minute package holiday (flight & board), just 2 weeks in advance. It was a ridiculous price of 200 Euro per person, so we didn't have to think twice. I did a thorough preparation by borrowing 4 books and a video about Fuerteventura from the library. I read extensively and was very much intrigued by the island.

It's always exciting to find out whether a place meets your expectations. Fuerteventura turned out nothing we had expected, but nonetheless absolutely fantastic.









Day 1 (March 31):
Leaving the cold, rainy Holland behind, we boarded an early 4.5-hour long charter flight, with Anne Sophie falling asleep almost immediately and having slept through most of the flight. As we approached the destination, we could see the volcanic craters of the neighboring island of Lanzarotte.

As we left the airport, we were met with the warm summer breeze and lots of sun. Our daughter loves buses, and the 40-minute bus ride from the airport to our hotel in Corralejo in the very north of the island was really fun! We saw a landscape we never experienced before: stones, desert, solidified lava, mountains, volcanoes, emerald sea, little vegetation and a lot of wind. Beautiful and foreign!

Our apartment/hotel was quite OK, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty basic, but good enough, with lots of light and beautiful colors, and mostly English tourists. This is low season, so we didn't see great numbers of tourists in Corralejo or elsewhere. We spent the rest of the day wandering in the small traditional center of the former fishing village, and then took a pretty long walk along the western boulevard, with Anne Sophie running around wildly to and fro, trying to climb the lava stones and all kinds of ladders and climbing frames set up along the boulevard. There was wind and beautiful sunset and great view of Lanzarotte and of the small neighboring island of Isla Lobos. We ended up in the centre of the town, eating delicious local tapas (with adorable Canary small wrinkly potatoes and Mojo sauce) and listening to the local musicians.

Day 2 (April 1):
Our rule is to always buy local produce as much as possible. It is usually the most delicious food you can get. Due to the arid climate, not much is grown on Fuerteventura, but the local Majorero goat cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and especially bananas are really good. So these would be the bulk of our breakfast and our take-away sandwiches for lunch. It was Friday and we were planning to go to the neighboring Isla Lobos, but the glass bottom boat was out of operation on that day, so we decided instead to take a long walk along the beach.

We started out pretty early and, as always, we realized too late that our extremely white skins we burning. The only one with good amounts of sun lotion was Anne Sophie, but Luda and me were in for a couple of days of burned skin. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the walk and ended up on a fine beach with lots of kite surfers showing off their mastery of the wind. Anne Sophie enjoyed running away from the approaching waves with her usual lots of laughter and screaming and squealing. Then we played in the sand and got back home pretty tired but very happy!

Day 3 (April 2):
I picked up our rented car early in the morning and we went off to explore the island. We drove to La Oliva (former capital) with a beautiful Canary-style church and went on to see the famous House of the Coronels, impressive and majestic in its colonial beauty, set against desert-like mountainous landscapes. In the House you can learn a lot about the history of the island and about the day-to-day life on the island in the old days. Then we drove through the interior of the island, with moon-like landscapes, gorgeous mountains, windy passes and small villages towards another former capital, Betancuria, a small, picturesque town established by the first Spanish colonizers under the leadership of Jean de Béthencourt. From there we proceeded to the west coast at Ahuj, with black sand beaches, cliffs and caves that can be reached through a narrow path along the cliffs. The sun was already starting to descend and the sea and the waves glistening in the sun were magnificent.

We drove back in the direction of Betancuria and stopped at Vega de Rio Palmas, from where we embarked on a hike along a dry bed of a stream (barranco) towards the tiny white chapel (Ermita de Virgin de la Peña) situated precariously on a side of a beautiful gorge. At the altar hangs a painting showing the discovery of a statue of the saint which now stands at the main church. This statue was brought to the village by Jean de Bethencourt. Shortly afterwards the church was totally destroyed by 'Jaban' the pirate in 1593 but the statue was hidden so well that it was only rediscovered in the 17th century. It was along this stream that Jean de Bethencourt and his army marched upstream in the 15th century.

Pretty tired and hungry after 2.5 hours of walking we got into the car and went looking for a restaurant. The restaurants in Betancuria and La OlivaOliva and Corralejo

Day 4 (April 3):
The next day we decided to explore the volcanoes not far from our base in Corralejo. We drove to Las Lajares and walked about 12 km along a series of bigger and smaller volcanoes, which arose as a result of eruptions some 8000 years ago. We walked past Montana Colorada, up to the perfect crater of Calderon Hondo. This is where Anne Sophie started to show character. When we started climbing up to the edge of the crater, she insisted that she wanted to walk along and not to be carried in the baby carrier. I was quite stunned as she walked all the way up the steep path, with me, of course, holding her firmly by the hand. Anne Sophie had a lot of fun at the viewing platform with lots of squirrels running all around her, while we enjoyed the beautiful view of the crater and of the glowing hills and mountains of the northern part of the island.

On the way down, there were a couple of stone huts, which turned out to be restored dwellings of the early inhabitants of the island. While Anne Sophie was running in and out the rooms of the houses, we learned how the people of the island prepared (quite sophisticatedly) the ground to make it fertile.

We continued to the Bayuyo volcano, but couldn't quite decide which one it was. Only on the way back did we notice the path up to the volcano. Luda decided not to go up to the Volcano and continued back, while the two of us went up. Yet halfway we turned back, because the wind was getting very strong.

We drive to the picturesque coastal village of El Cotillo. We visit the lighthouse and walk on the solid lava, in which small puddles of sea water turn into salt. We end up on a wonderful white beach with a small beach restaurant and delicious fresh Gallo (chicken) fish. Anne Sophie is playing and running around in the sand and shallow sea water.

It was a nice day with a lot of sun and wind!

Day 5 (April 4):

On day 5 we drove all the way to the south of the island with short stops in Antigua, Pajara en La Pared, with the fashionable Morro Jable as our final destination. From there we drove another few kilometers on a gravel road and started on our day trip along the valley of Gran Valle up to the beautifl mountain pass of Degollada de Cofete, which in the old days used to be the only way to the small village of Cofete. As we start climbing up, Anne Sophie asks for a walking stick and walks along. She really enjoys climbing! There's lots of wind at the top of the pass, we can hardly stand upright. But the view on both sides is magnifiscent. If we had more time, we'd go down to Cofete, but it's getting late and we walk down back to the car, with Anne Sophie refusing to get back to her baby carrier. We sing along as we walk and the time flies!

We drive along the beautiful wide white-sand beaches of the East coast and stop in a small coastal village of Tarajalejo for a delicious meal of fish soup and fresh local fish. German tourists are everywhere. We enjoy the small beach, Anne Sophie is playing with a cat and a local boy. Life is wonderful!

Day 6 (April 5):

It's time for a glass-botom boat trip to Isla de Los Lobos! We leave early in the morning with the first boat. For Anne Sophie this is probably her first boat trip. She is secure in my lap. She likes the boat, but is a little cautious. We disembark and head directly towards the volcano of Montana Lobos, the highest point of this small, uninhabited island, which used to be a home to a rare sort of seals. We climb up the volcano along a steep narrow path, with Anne Sophie climbing along, using a walking stick! The view of the island as well as the view of Correlejo and of the remaining half of the crater are magnificent. We walk down, with Anne Sophie's hand firmly in my hand.

We board our glass-bottom boat for a sea trip. We watch the shoals of fish swarming in the clear waters under the boat. There is an opportunity to put on a mask and swim in the sea next to the fish. I grab the chance along with two other young men. It's fantastic!

We return to the Isla de Lobos and spend the rest of our time on the beach of a quiet lagune. There is no one around and we sunbathe and swim naked - wonderful! We take the last boat back to Corralejo and spend the evening in the cosy centre of Corralejo enjoying ice-cream, night-life and live performances by various local artists.

Day 7 (April 6):

We drive a few kilometers to the east of Corralejo, park by the white-sand dunes and walk away from the sea in what looks like a real desert. White sand is everywhere. We climb and slide down the sand dunes. Anne Sophie is enjoying it immensely. What a feeling! I've only been to a desert once, which was in the Judean desert. I liked it there, it had small plants and bushes and so. But this desert is just sand, lots of it, sand everywhere. There are no people around. Only sand, sun and wind. We walk slowly, no rush. Peace.

We walk back to the sea. The wind is so strong that there are no people on the small beach. Luda settles in behind some stones. Anne Sophie and I run from the waves and play in the sand.

We drive to the west-coast town of El Cotillo. There are surfers all around the beach. We choose a restaurant with a view over the far stretching cliffs of the coastline. We see the surfers in the distance struggling with the waves. We eat freshly caught queen fish (at least that's what they call it) and some goat meat. The ice-cream is also delicious. There is a little boy who comes to play with Anne Sophie. They seem to be perfectly al right, even though they don't speak the same language. We meet the mother, who is a Canarian from Tenerife. We talk to some international girls who surf and hang out with surfers. One of them, a Czech girl, is a surfing photographer. She tells me I should try surfing. Maybe! It sounds like lots of fun!

The sun is coming down. Anne Sophie and I climb the roof of a stone barn to bid the sun farewell, our last sunset on Fuerteventura.

Day 8 (April 7):

Everything comes to an end. It was our last day on the island. We drove down to the nameless pass between Valle de Santa Ines and Betancuria. From there we started our last hike: first a steep climb to the cross of Morro de la Cruz and then a picturesque walk along the mountain ridge to Morro de la Fuente Vieja. Along the way we saw many beautiful small flowers, we saw eagles in the sky, and the view of the west coast was majestic. On the way back, Luda decided not to climb up to the cross, but to traverse the mountain along the northern slope. I begged her not to go that way, but she did and so I went along with Anne Sophie in the backpack. I must say at certain points I thought that I can easily fall down and the slopes were quite steep. So slowly, step by step, we managed to get to our car. I was really angry at Luda that she insisted on taking that route. But all's well that ends well. On the way back we visited a local goat cheese factory in Tindaya and bought some cheese for home. We went back to Corralejo, spent a couple of ours on the beach, with Anne Sophie and me building sand castles, delivered our car, boarded the bus to the airport and flew off back to Amsterdam, with Anne Sophie sleeping all the way. We arrived at 3 am and got on the night train to Leiden, where we parked our car.

But our adventures did not end there. The car wouldn't start because the battery went empty (even though I didn't leave any lights on). So we had to wait for about an hour before we got help from the car assistance. We got home at about 6am, and being tired and confused, I left two of our bags outside. Luckily our neighbor was walking out his dog, saw the bags and brought them home. All's well that ends well. It was a fantastic holiday, and we'll surely be back on the Canary Islands!

Finished second on Grossglockner!

It took me some time to write about this biking trip, but it was for me surely one of the most exciting moments of this year!

As you might now, every year with a group of colleagues, we bike up a mountain in the Alps. The previous years we used to go to France, where we did several climbs from Tour de France, including Alp de'Huez, Le Deux Alpes, Galibier.

This year, for a change, we went to Austria, to ascend the Grossglockner, which is the highest mountain in Austria and a decent biking climb, even harder than Alpe d'Huez.


Now, this year I started training in April, as soon as the weather got better. My training consisted of biking to work and of a number of long distance rides. I biked a total of some 1900 km, for a total of some 86 hours. So I was hoping I could do much better than last year at Alpe d'Huez. And so I did!

The many hours of training paid off in the bends of the magnifiscent High Alpine Road, leading from our start at Fusch (800m above the sea level) to the finish at Fuschertörl (2400m). (However, the official time measurement started at Ferleiten (1150m), where one can buy a ticket, which is then stampted at the top, recording one's exact time.)

My idea was to keep up with my friend and colleague Dries de Groot as long as possible, for I assumed that he'd be the first at the top as he did last year at Alpe d'Huez. So I started off together with him. After some time I was in the lead, with the rest out of my sight. The biking went quite well, as I was pedalling pretty smoothly in one of the lowest gears. At about 2000 meters, I hit the snow limit. It looked like it was winter, with glistening pretty deep snow everywhere!

The biking started to get harder, and eventually Dries caught up with me. We biked together for a couple of kilometers, which were probably the steepest ones in the race. Then Dries took the lead and slowly disappeared from my sight. It started to get really heavy on me, but I could already see the tower of Fuschertörl at the distance. I passed a few other bikers, but there was hardly anyone who passed me! What struck me was that most people were riding mountain bikes, and not racing bikes. There was even a couple riding a tandem bicycle!

Well, eventually after 2 hours 16 minutes and 9 seconds, exhausted but exhilarated, I finished second at the top, about 7 minutes later than Dries. Dennis finished third half a minute later than me, and Robin finished fourth, another 3 minutes later. A couple of people did not reach the finish and turned back. The longest time of our group was 4 hours and 15 minutes.

We waited at the top for some time, but it was getting really cold (about 0 degrees Celsius). So Dries and I decided to go down. The first few kilometers of our descent were freezing cold. I was glad I wore gloves and my rain gear. But then it began to get warmer again, and we stopped time and again to savor the magnificent views of the mountains and the valleys.

It was sunny in the valley and we enjoyed a few refreshing drink at hour hotel, after which we went to relax at the swimming pool and at the wellness area with its Turkish steam bath and caldarium. The day finished off with a great dinner and a lot of chatting. The next morning we were off for a long drive home.

It was fun driving together with Dries. We could talk for hours, discuss the talks of Bill Harris that we were listening on CD, ponder about life, man and how man perceives reality. Our test came when we got stuck in a huge traffic jam not far from Cologne. Confronted with our own impatience, it was a good opportunity to reflect on that state of mind, to relax and take it easy!

Crete: Exploring the South Cost

June 22 is a special day for me. Apart from being one of the longest days of the year, it is the birthday of my dear late father Moisei Levin, who passed away 16 years ago. Today he would have turned 72. It is also the day when the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union 68 years ago, an event that left deep scars in the fates of our family (see http://www.levins.info/history/history.htm). We started the day by remembering my father.



As usual here, we had a delicious breakfast consisting mostly of the local food. I get up about 6 or 7 in the morning and walk downtown to buy some relatively inexpensive but amazingly tasty local produce, so we had freshly baked bread, local sheep yogurt and sheep cheese, local cucumbers and tomatoes, apricots, freshly pressed orange juice and a watermelon. I’ve made my usual smoothie for all of us, by mixing in a blender some bananas, oranges, apricots, peaches and strawberries.

Then we decided to relax at the swimming pool until noon, so that Anne Sophie can then sleep in the car on our way to a new destination. It was really enjoyable for all four of us to swim in the pool, although Anne Sophie was mostly running around or floating on an inflatable raft.

Having spent the previous days in the north and east of the island, today we set off for the south. After a 1.5 hour drive (which gave Anne Sophie plenty of time for her midday sleep) through beautiful mountainous countryside, we arrived to the Messara plain, which boasts some of the oldest and finest ancient cities: the Roman city of Gortys, as well as the Minoan settlements of Phaistos and Aghia Triada.

We skipped Gortys and started with Aghia Triada, which is an amazing ancient site on a hill top overlooking the Messara bay and the high peaks of the Psiloritis range (reaching up to 2500 meters above the sea level). There are remains of late Minoan and Mycenaean buildings (2500 to 1300 BC), such as a shrine, large Royal villa, the settlement area and the agora (market). It is fascinating to see the stones and walk the ground that ancient Cretans used to walk as early as 4500 years ago! Amazing if you think that it would take 1600 years before Jerusalem would be built and more than 2000 years before the peak of Greek (Hellenistic) civilization, which by the way borrowed a lot from the Cretan Minoans.

There is also a beautiful small 14-th century Byzantine church of St. George with fine frescos.

A 3 km drive took us to another fascinating ancient Minoan site: Phaistos, widely known for the disc of Phaistos, a clay disc with still undeciphered hieroglyphic characters, which is supposed to be some form of prayer or hymn.

Situated in a beautifully scenic location, Phaistos used to be a Royal Minoan palace with a number of courts, a theatrical area, the main palace, many store rooms, stairways, cult rooms, workshops and other dependencies, truly worth a visit. Anne Sophie was running around and talking all the time, making it difficult for me to concentrate on the numerous plaques describing the various parts of the site. Once again, my mind went “wild” imagining what it would be like to be here 4000 years ago.

To cool off, we drove another 12 km down to the coastal town of Matala, with its fine pebble beach and quiet clear sea waters. According to legend, it was here that Zeus swam ashore in the guise of a bull with Europa (his beloved Phoenician princess) on his back. It was nice to swim in the sea, view the sunset and enjoy a spectacular view of ancient caves in a nearby cliff. The caves are thought to have been started by the Romans or early Christians to be used for tombs, but many hippies made new elaborate caves in the 1960s. They say that people like Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan used to live here for some time.

On our way back, we stopped in a small village of Ayios Ioannis (St. John) for an evening meal in a picturesque local tavern (recommended by our Rough Guide). Being the only customers on a Monday evening, we sat under the grape vines looking down over the valley, savoring excellent rabbit and lamb meat with Greek salad and an amazingly delicious side dish (too bad I forgot the name) consisting of yogurt, Feta cheese and peppers. Anne Sophie ran around playing with a little kitten and with backgammon pieces. The hostess (the cook) and her son (the waiter) were extremely friendly and offered us watermelon and their home maid raki (a kind of vodka). Only my mother tried the raki, which was very strong, while the rest of us enjoyed the watermelon :)

It was fun driving home in complete darkness, listening to local music and switching the far lights on and off at the approaching cars, with Anne Sophie sleeping quietly in her seat. We stopped on a high pass for a few minutes to stare at the multitudes of stars in the sky.

It was a truly wonderful day. Sleep in peace, dear papa.

P.S. On our last full day on Crete, we visited the remains of the ancient Mycenaean city of Dreros. Then we went to Kritsa, which boasts a beautiful medieval church and an amazing gorge. Me and Anne Sophie (on my back) ventured to walk up the gorge, but had to give up after a few hundred meters because of a few huge boulders that I didn't dare to climb fearing that I can injure my daughter if I fall (see the pictures).

Anne Sophie was really looking forward to a bus ride to the airport and to the flight back home. She would repeatedly say "на автобусике, на самолетике", which means "on a bus, on an airplane". However, she slept peacefully in her mother's lap through most of our flight :) By the way, we flew above Venice and could clearly see the city!

Holiday on Crete!

Sometimes one has to decide very quickly. On Monday June 15th, Luda saw a last-minute, very inexpensive (195 Euro per person, 40 Euro per baby) offer for a week's holiday on the Greek island of Crete, which would start on Wednesday June 17th. And we thought what the heck and booked the holiday for the three of us and my mother, who is now visiting.

We've already been on the island for 4 days and are looking forward to the remaining 3 days! It is a wonderful destination through the combination of great weather (sun all the time), beatiful nature and scenary (the mountains and the sea seem to be everywhere), and very ancient culture which dates as far back as 2500 BC and is considered to be the cradle of European civilization.

We live in a simple but very nice, quiet accomodation on a hill overlooking Hersonissos, some 600 meters from the beach. We are renting a car, which is a great way to explore this island, where ancient sites and historical and mythical places await you everywhere.

Having spent the first day on foot, roaming about the city and the beaches of Hersonissos and relaxing at the swimming pool, on our second day we drove to the amazing Lasithi plateau and then walked up to the Dhiktean Cave, where according to legend, Rhea gave birth to Zeus. She was hiding there from Kronos, Zeus's father, who had been warned that he would be overthrowned by a son, and who accordingly ate all his sons. This very large cave is definitely worth a visit, despite quite a strenous climb of 15-20 minutes.

Almost all the roads on Crete can be marked as scenic routes on a map. The views from the roads are magnifiscent and often breathtaking. But to see the real gems of nature hidden on the island, you have to go on foot. For me it is a real pleasure, because I love walking. I carry Anne Sophie and some necessities such as water and food in a baby carrier on my shoulders, which adds another 12 kilo to my weight and gives me some extra exercise :)

On our third day we went to see the ancient city of Archanes, which has a wonderful small archeological museum, and the nearby ancient burial ground of Fourni. The burial ground, which is the largest Minoan cemetery discovered and has some Royal tombs, is very well preserved and dates back to around 2500BC. The coffins and other excavated objects are to be seen in the museum in Archanes. From there we took a winding mountain road to a place called Zaros, where Luda and mom relaxed at a trout lake, while I and Anne Sophie went up to a monastery and from their to the fabulous Rouvas gorge.

In the evening, there was a Greek party for the guests of our accommodation. Our elderly but very friendly hosts made a lot of delicious food, including barbeque, tsatsiki, etc. And there was music and a lot of dancing, including the draditional Greek dance of sertaki! Anne Sophie was enjoying herself too, running around the swimming pool, dancing on the pool table, and chasing the cat, who eventually got angry and left a couple of marks on Anne Sophie's arms.

The next day, we went eastwards to Aghios Nikolaos and down south to Ierapetra. Then we made a 3-km climb to the Dorian city of Lato. It was a very scenic climb up a very old stone road. Unfortunately, the site was already closed when we got there, so we might go there again today or tomorrow. But the walk was still worth it due to great views! From there we went to a small costal place called Plaka with a nice stony beach and a great view over the small prison island of Spinalonga. It was nice to cool down in the sea water after the very warm day and the tiresome walk!

That's it for now. I'll post the photos when we are back home! So stay tuned!

Roses in Roosendaal

This morning we went to Roosendaal once again. Luda and my mom went to buy some more clothes at the Mexx sale, while Anne Sophie and me went to walk around the town. We had really good luck, and not only because the weather was good.

Today Roosendaal's main square was also the venue of a Roses Festival, with lots of flowers, music and cheerful people. By the way, the name of this town, located near the Belgian border, means Rose Valley, so I guess this was no coincidence.

Anne Sophie and I had a really good time. She was running around the square, danced to the music of the brass bands, played with other kids, and entertained the people around her with her smiles and dancing. In between, she ate strawberries (they are now at their best) and some rice cookies.

I managed to do all the important groceries at the market and at a nearby organic shop. While I was shopping, Anne Sophie fell asleep, just in time for us to go and pick up the ladies and go home!

Holiday in Algarve, Portugal

Have you ever been to Algarve, Portugal? In the first half of May we made our first visit there, and it was just fabulous! To many people, Algarve is just too touristic to be worth a visit. So I was a little apprehensive as to what we might find there. Well, this beautiful costal province in the south of Portugal exceeded all my expectations.



Well, we went there in low season, so there were few tourists. That was definitely a plus. Secondly, we are not really beach goers, so instead we rented a car and went to explore the gorgeous countryside and breathtaking remote beaches. We did 4 walks of 10 to 12 km long, of which two were costal walks along the beautiful rocky beaches of Praia de Luz and Praia de Marina, and the other two were in the sweet scenting rolling hills of Silves and Alte. Anne Sophie enjoyed the walks, and would often fall asleep in her baby carrier, which I carried on my shoulders. We also went on a one-day trip to Seville in Spain.

Another thing we enjoyed immensely was the food. Everything tastes so great there: tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, oranges. It’s heaven and earth compared to the fruit and vegetables that we get in Holland. A simple meal of bread and cheese with fresh vegetables, some freshly pressed orange juice and strawberries – it is a veritable paradise!

The people of Algarve are friendly, pure, quiet and relaxed. It feels that they are not yet spoiled by the dubious fruits of modern civilization.

So if you ask me, I’d definitely recommend Algarve as a holiday destination. But be sure to go in low season, rent yourself a car, and go explore the beautiful landscapes and villages on foot!