LIVING LIKE A CRETAN!!

Zdravo;
Or, maybe Ya-su!  Both are "hello"  You will hear the latter in Greece, or more specifically, Crete where Kathy and I spent a few days in early January, 2017.  If this is what a cretin is - well sign me up!  Crete, is, quite simply, amazing.  It is a large island to the south of Greece, somewhat closer to Turkey than Greece, with a long, important history for this region.  On this island, the Minoans founded their Bronze Age Empire that spread across the Mediterranean and left us with many fine examples of  shockingly beautiful art and buildings, but no decipherable language, or strong clues as to why they just said "Ya-su" (conveniently, also Greek for "Goodbye") and disappeared. An Englishman named Arthur Evans decided to Make Crete Great Again in the 1920's in the excavation of a palace in Knossos, that is quite controversial even now.  I'll spare you the 3400BC or so history, as you can look it up, but here are some images from or visit to Knossos and the rest of this fantastic place.

Palace open gallery, reconstruction

Kathy and I at Knossos

 Reconstructed ceramic vessels of amazing external detail

 Left - stairs to Heaven, perhaps.  Actually the Palace was multistoried using a wide variety of new engineering methods.   The basic stone stuff, seemed best.  Right - a complex staircase.

Left - Fresco of acrobatics with a bull.  Perhaps the reason for their demise. Above a frescoed ceremonial room, or perhaps a really fancy laundry.





Meanwhile, closer to our own time, Kathy and I stayed in Chania, and explored the area a bit.  Chania has seen the Venetians, the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and at present Greece.  This is a wonderful place worth a visit to those seeking beauty wrapped in history with the considerable benefit of great food and plenty of hot water in the shower.  Some images:

The iconic Venetian lighthouse, 15th C.  

Our walk into town, old cedar, I think.

Mosque, and nearby hammam.  Ottoman, 16th 

 Above, L - R.  One of a zillion small beaches, with storm approaching.  Kathy went in the ocean, at least up to her ankles.  Deeper than I ventured.  Chania town center.

Left - Chania town harbor.  And - drumroll -  the lighthouse at nightfall -  worth any visit!  Crete was just amazing and could not do it justice here, so go see for yourself.  When you are there, just Ya-su the heck out of everyone, you'll get a warm reply and probably some rakia to share.  Postrav - - Al

Dihovo Dreams . . .

Back again to bring you a bit more of our own, private, MAK.  We want to show you the little mountain village of Dihovo.   This old stone village is in western MAK, and sits just outside of a national park.  It is home to about 250 friendly souls, and we love to visit to relax, hike in the mountains, wade in the cold, clear creek, talk to anyone that wants to talk - which is everyone - - so here you go for your own visit;

 At first, some are a bit suspicious - -    but then everybody comes running to see you . . .

 . . . everybody!  And some try and eat your gloves.

You get to see the beauty of this old village, and every turn brings the beauty of life here into a different focus.

Table flowers just past the gate

A baba makes a run for spring water

Most of the buildings are stone, this is a barn and shed.  Some buildings still have the original old slate stone roofs as well.  Still a long life ahead for these places - that have already seen much.  

The views are a mix of history and harmony    with nature.  

 One of two churches, the other one is a 40 minute walk up the mountain.  If you don't have it in you, the village also has two small chapels.  The church's "big boss" rings the bell apparently whenever he wants.   If you are lucky, the big boss invites you into the shed for a 10AM rakija break,









Nastravia!

Big Boss

Excellent stonework makes good lines

The small river that runs through town, cools you down plenty on a hot day, or after too much of the big boss' rakia

Back in the Yugoslav days, a swimming pool was built in the nearby woods, fed from the cold, cold, creek.  Abandoned now, due perhaps to strange design, and  the cold, cold water.  Or, you can climb Baba Mountain for a look back down the valley for an uplifting experience, with friends

Peace Corps Volunteers Scott and Robert, and us

Wine season apparently done . . .

Alice at the Inn

So come anytime and ring in the new year or even the old year - all pretty much the same.  If you want to visit, let us know - we know people who will leave the light on for 'ya.   Al

ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Kathy and I have been here a year now and we've learned a lot.  In many ways, life here is so different, and many more ways, life here is so much the same!  A few things that we've learned:

Sometimes you need to be FEARLESS (Alice - Split, Croatia)

Sometimes you have to be FOOLISH  (To remain unnamed - Split, Croatia

Sometimes you don't need to care if your hair is MUSSED (Maddie, Jonah - Split)

Or, if your clothes match, or even if you  have all your teeth

Because you are always BEAUTIFUL (Charlotte, Twin Springs, ID)

Sometimes you will have huge OBSTACLES(Kathy, nephew Ken Anctil - Kozuf Mt road)

Sometimes you won't really KNOW the WAY

But always there is  AMAZEMENT (Kotor, Montenegro, Skopje MAK)

And, always you have FRIENDS (Gevgelija, MAK)

And, always, always you have FAMILY (Somewhere near Split)

We've made it this far, and could not have done it without you.  One year down and whittling away at the next.  It has been amazing and we are so happy to share the ride.  Another year of amazement is on the way . . . .   Al

    

Beautiful Balkans

 We made a long journey down a tough, mountain road to discover a part of the world we had not seen and it was quite an adventure.  The odyssey began when Liz and her 3 kids came to Gevgelija in early July.  We all saw a lot of Macedonia, and she got to experience Macedonia on a Peace Corps level.  Her husband Bart joined us at the end of August, Liz rented a giant car and we were off!

We drove through Albania and got to see Donald Trump's America - no job-killing regulations, every family has their own machine gun bunker, people do pretty much whatever they want, however they want to.   The country was beautiful but the travel was crazy, even by our standards.  






We then drove through Montenegro along small winding mountain roads through stone villages, olive groves, and the occasional startling views of the blue, blue ocean.

We stayed in Kotor for a couple days, and enjoyed the amazing setting of this medieval city of churches, hilltop fortress, and narrow streets.  Kotor is set in a narrow fjord-like valley that is spectacular.  It was busy with cruise ships and tourists, but we stayed on the opposite side of the fjord in a quiet neighborhood.  And, I must say, Liz has terrific Air B&B skills.  Our next stop took us to Dubrovnik.  This is also a walled medieval and Renaissance era city of particular beauty built right on the Adriatic Sea.    It was packed with tourists, including us, so we only stayed a short while.

 Our final stop was in Split, Croatia - we'd saved the best for last.  Andrew and Talia, Brian and Sara and their families met us there for a weeks' stay.  Split is packed full of history, semi-packed full of tourists, and was a great visit.  As you can see, we added to the throngs, but quite a handsome group, eh?

We enjoyed seeing the family and meeting one of our grandchildren, Jonah, for the first time!   We also took a short side trip to Krka National Park to swim in the waterfalls.  The Dalmatian Coast was amazing, and it was good to see other parts of the former Yugoslavia.  We also got to use our Macedonian language, which is kind of similar.  I think I only insulted a few people and avoided all fistfights due to my attempts at idle conversation and lawyer jokes.  For those looking for adventure without limits - Albania is your place.  For others more comfortable with predictable beauty packed into remarkable history - the coast is a sure-fire great visit. Postravia - A

YEAR ONE....BOOM, DONE!!

Hello dear friends! I read the first entry in my blog the other day and realized two things..#1.  It has been just a year since we've left United States, and #2. I now have the answers to the questions I posed in that entry! And, as I suspect you've lost sleep wondering what those answers are..I thought I'd fill you in!

It's been quite a year..so much fun, so sad at times, homesick, happy be here in my new home, scared, excited..and all this could occur in the space of a few hours!

Question one though, was what would we be doing?  Allan works for an NGO called Apollonia Foundation. This foundation concentrates on several areas. Allan is involved in the curriculum and activities for an environmental program for children, to learn about the environment and nature. He is also involved in cross cultural activities with other NGOs in Macedonia, and with promoting science education. Apollonia prides itself, and rightfully so, on bringing art, culture, education and awareness to this part of Macedonia, and Allan works hard to promote those activities.

 

I am teaching English in the elementary school here in Gevgelija, working mostly with younger students..I love it! Last year I worked in a nearby village school one day a week, as well, teaching English to the entire school population of eleven students! I also work with special needs students in what is called a sensory room and with special needs adults doing yoga and just plain fun, rock and roll dancing...I call it dancing with MY stars! I'm also involved with GLOW , girls leading our world,a leadership club for teenage girls, and I teach yoga to my teachers.

And what do we eat? Whatever is being harvested at that moment. There really isn't cold storage here for fruits and veggies, so when something is in season, that's what we eat. We had a watermelon torrent this summer that was to die for! Lots of chicken, some pork, but beef here is pricy and not so great...bread is okay, baklava is lovely and so is the coffee!

And the language...Oh, that was a tough one! The Peace Corps places volunteers first in training communities, where you live with non English speaking families and go to language school for about five hours a day,  then you go home and do several hours of homework..Ouch! But we prevailed, and while our Macedonian friends may cringe at our pronunciation when they hear us talking, we can carry on conversations.

 And now we are in Gevgelija in the southeast corner. We will be here for a little over a year more. We have the upstairs of a house, complete with kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, porches and piano! Downstairs we have our lovely family, a couple our age and their ever helpful and upbeat son....Risto is a blessing..if you ever find yourself in a bind in Macedonia, contact Risto....he can help!

This is a beautiful country, filled with mountains, history and wonderful people. It's been a year, it's been only a year, but I feel like we have lived a lifetime here..and been lucky to do so. Come see us...especially during watermelon season!

MOJATA NOVA KOLA

And for those of you who don't know Macedonian..my new car!  And isn't it a beauty...let me introduce you! Part of the Peace Corps policy is that we can't have or drive cars, so our means of getting around is pretty much limited to bus...not a problem when we want to do a bigger trip but to just explore  Gevgelija area? Problem!

So...Allan and I have bought bikes and they have opened up a world of possibilities for us! The first time I hopped on I felt like a five year old, riding for the  first time without training wheels.....I knew I was going really, really fast! Of course, getting left behind in a cloud of Yugo smoke disillusioned me quickly as to my speed, but didn't diminish my fun at all.

I use my new wheels to get back and forth to school, for trips to the store ( note the roomy basket feature), and to just get places faster. Allan and I use our bikes  to explore...there are many small villages around here. Last night we rode to Marzentzi....my favorite celo, or small village. Once again we were detained by a huge herd of sheep and goats walking down the dirt road. No problem, guys..we're in no hurry and you have big horns!

Or we  ride to Hobo Koncko, new horse...where the goats get  to live in old houses and the few people who live there seem excited to meet Americans....

Or Negortzi, where the tiny town has a huge monument  to the courageous warriors of World War II...

Or the fields along the edge of town...

But whatever we go..it's fun..and note the helmets...riding without a helmet is a bad idea in this country, but wearing a helmet makes it especially certain that you WILL be noticed!! So come on over, put on your helmet, and get ready to make new friends!