Still Trucking!!!

Well, we had made it as far as Dubrovnik, Croatia during the last post. We ended up having a good weather on our second day and were able to go through the old city...which is pretty much a really well preserved ancient city that consists of narrow alleys, huge plazas, marble streets and long, rising stairs all of which are surrounded by large castle walls and look out points hanging precariously to the cliffs just above the ocean. The blue and turquoise bays that surround the walls are beautiful and there are tons of footpaths to hike up into the trees to overlook the entire site. We really enjoyed the afternoon and the rest of our stay in Dubrovnik. The next day we caught the bus from Croatia into Kotor, Montenegro. In the last post I had commented on the natural beauty of the Croatian coast...well, the drive coming into Kotor took it up another notch. You have huge fjords with mountain rivers running into the blue waters. The gigantic grey mountains rise vertically so drastically that appears to have no slope at all, and they run directly into the waters. It was something truly amazing to see. Small towns dot the road as you make your way along the coast to Kotor. There was no camping in Kotor...but a lady at the bus station named Sandra took us to their house/rental apartments and we were able to stay there for the night for a really good price, so that worked out well. We spent the day climbing the ruins of the old fortress, which zig-zag their way up the mountain side, providing spectacular views of the city, the mountains and the ocean. The entire experience reminded us of climbing Macchu Pichu, very similiar weather and feel to the whole thing. At night, the entire path gets illuminated and it provides and incredible backdrop for the city. (We wish we would have climbed up prior to getting lodging, as I believe you could camp within the ruins and no one would say anything...pretty laid back set up) Again, we had great weather, so that was good. Our next stop was Budvha, Montenegro. Unfortunately, the heavy rains had set in again. We arrived in the early afternoon and decided to head for the Jaz Beach Camp, which was described as "a swampy campground" and, considering the weather, we figured this description would hold true. We took a local bus down the highway a few minutes and were dropped off at the end of the road. We walked towards the beach and came across the dilapitad and flooded camp sites of the Jaz Beach. It mainly consisted of abandoned campers with the windows busted out, a few empty buildings and a single, sagging tent set in the middle of the field with the poles falling in all directions. It was one of those things where you wonder if the people were still inside the tent....and had been for a couple of weeks. Overall, you got a sort of abandoned-small town-bad horror film kinda feel to it. (Dead things Mikey, dead things!!! name that movie) So we walked up the beach to where there were some more buildings and found a small restaurant with people inside. The owner said that there was no camping but that if we went down the street to the white house that we could camp there. So, down the street we went where we encountered a man and two women who said we could set up camp in the backyard. They had bathrooms and a shower, so it worked out really well. During the night, there was all sorts of loud wildlife noises coming from the fields behind the house...but there were a lot of cats around so I figured that it couldn't be anything too big. We awoke the next day and caught a break in the weather. We packed up and attempted to hitchhike back into town. We had read that hitchhiking was very common in Montenegro, we didn't see any signs of this in our experience, but, nevertheless, we made it back to town and caught another bus to Ulcinj. We took a taxi to the Velika Placa, the big beach, and found camping in a secluded, relaxing place owned by a man named Tomi....a good ol farmer type. It was a cool and beautiful night, and you could finally see the stars...yeah! We spent the next day under the sun at the beach, just relaxing. It was a good day. We then moved on to Albania. Albania was a communist country for 50 years until 1991. It was a country without private cars until that point and many of the buildings still have the very Soviet concrete look to them. Things are slowly changing, but going from a Communist nation directly into a democratic nation is an intense transition and it is still taking place. There are a ton of Mercedes Benz's around, which resulted from the huge black market for stolen cars during the initial free for all of Democracy. Yet, Albania is a beautiful country that is really fascinating to me, and the people are incredible. And now, the rest of the story...the same taxi drive took us across the border, yet he stopped at the last gas station and dropped off his taxi sign, apparently taxis can't cross the border. He dropped us off in Shkodra at the Furgone, minibus, station. Funny thing about these stations is that they seem to be in a constant state of flux and move from corner to corner, so you can't really pin them down, but the taxi drivers seem to know where the last stop for that day is. We took the furgon to Tirana, which is jam packed with cars and chaos. We were able to to travel from here to Berat, a mountain town that is on the Unesco World Heritage list for its preservation of Ottoman homes that climb the mountain sides. They are really beautiful. We hiked up the hills to overlook the city and to see the castle walls, which still house 200 families. We met some very friendly locals that liked to chat and just relaxed for the evening. We eventually made it down to Dhermi, a beach town in the south of Albania...it was a long journey but we got there. Luckily, some nice locals helped us during our journey, as when we got to Vlore, a city that we had to change buses in, no one knew where the next Furgon to Dhermi would leave from. A local "taxi driver" or guy with a car, took us to where he thought he last stop was. We sat there for a little while, speaking Italian, more or less, and watching things like cows wandering into traffic and what not(funny thing is that I have used Italian more in Albania than I did in Italy!). He kept saying that a bus should pass by, then his daughter called from the local university, so we went to pick her up cause she needed a ride, we then stopped to get lunch at a local Burek/Sandwich place, and then drove back to the waiting point. A bus passed us on the other side of the road and the chase was on....unfortunately a large truck was blocking the road and we couldn't catch the bus. So he drove us all the way to the other side of town, where his brother owns a restaurant to wait there as it is the only road out of town heading towards Dhermi that the buses would use. (all this for 2 bucks) By this time the sun was shining and we could sit by the ocean while waiting. He then offered to just drive us to Dhermi. We crossed through mountains, stopped to take photos and made it to the beach. We stayed practically on top of the ocean for the night, we got a really good deal because there was no running water at the time. We were able to watch the Inter Milan-Barcelona match with the locals at the hostel. The water and beach were pristine and we were able to sleep with the sound of the ocean just outside our door. The next day we hiked from the beach back up to the main road and waved down a passing furgone that took us to Saranda. The drive consisted of beautiful coastline and turquoise waters. We meet two locals on the bus that invited us to lunch when we got to Saranda and helped us find a place to stay for the night. They talked with the owner of the restaurant who got a friend to drive us to a place to stay for the night. The two guys who bought us lunch were from Vlore, far north from Dhermi, and asked if we had been invited to stay with any locals yet. When we said no, they assured us that if we were in their home town we could've stayed with them. Albanians are genuinely friendly and helpful people, truly warm. Tomorrow we are going to hang around town, maybe go to Ksamil, where you can swim to some islands, and then we are heading to Greece. The weather has been great and we are looking forward to some Greek sun and relaxation. Not too long before we get to cruise around Ireland with the Lowry Clan.....looking forward to it. That's all for now!

Welcom to Sunny Croatia....atleast that is what the brochures say!!!

Well, we made our way through Italy and ended up taking the overnight ferry from Ancona to Split, Croatia. We arrived to gale force winds and rain!!! We were able to find the camping site without a hitch and set up camp. Although the weather was rough, we were able to enjoy the stay at the campsite and were happy to be in the tent. We were right by the ocean, which was a huge plus. We then took a bus from Split to Dubrovnik, which consisted of a coastal drive for about 5 hours or so. All I can say is that the coast of Croatia is amazing! You have lush forests and rocky mountains that descend directly into blue and turquoise waters with small sandy beaches tucked into coves. It was raining and cloudy and I can still say it is some of the most impressive natural beauty I have seen...I cannot even imagine what it must look like with the sun out. We passed through Bosnia, only for about 16km, but we were able to get a picture...so that is cool. We are planning on heading south towards Montenegro and Albania, ending up in the Greek islands. This is just a quick update, all is well and we will keep you posted with further developments!!! Team Lowry

The Continuation of the Continuation Continues...Part II

We had made it to Fez last time we spoke, so that is where will we start today. We settled into our room and decided to get some dinner on a rooftop patio, a little relaxation before the flight in the morning. We ate a camel burger and a lamb burger, both of which were excellent and a nice change of pace. With our bellies full and the sun setting, we decided to find the internet to print our boarding passes for the next day... but we had some issues with finding them and soon realized it was because the flight had left that afternoon, not the following day. Our time in Morocco was immediatly extended by a week, which, considering the cost effectiveness of Morocco, wasn't a bad place to miss a flight on a budget....so we settled in and decided to enjoy our time til the next flight left, what else can you do. We ended up meeting some other travellers that were currently living in Germany as ballet dancers but were originally from the states. We spent a couple nights hanging out with them and strolling the gigantic medina that lies in the heart of Fez. The next day we were sitting in the sun eating some sandwiches when a guy walked by and recognized us from Essaouria. We started talking and ended up hanging out with him and a guy named Stephan from Germany for the rest of the day. (Abdul was in Fez to help Stefan around as Stefan is dating Abdul's wife's best friend...kinda crazy connection). We were invited to eat couscous (the food so nice they named it twice) with Abdul and his family at their house. It was excellent! Everyone eats from the same bowl and drinks from a single glass, it really has a communal feel to it. They get together every Friday to eat as a family after the daily prayers. Abdulthen took us around the hills surrounding the city and we just relaxed in the sun. We hung out with some of his friends in the Medina and drank mint tea. He invited us to hang out with him and friends that night for a drum session and were parted ways til dinner. We all ate at a restaurant in town and hung around til late that evening for the drum session, it was a lot of fun...everyone just having a good time. It was really refreshing to just hang out with local people outside of the usual circumstance of a merchant/consumer situation. Once you become a friend with one person in a group the rest take you in and say that you are family now. The next few days were spent hanging out with the peoe we met and being shown different sights around the city....oh, and checking put the local medical services (those kidney infections don't like to go away and they bring quite a bit of pain with them) We decided to go to the local hospital to get antibiotics...if there was any doubt we were in a developing nation in Africa, they were erased completely at the hospital. It seemed more of a building/complex that could have been abandoned and then turned into a temporary ward for patients and doctors. This experience along makes you realize the incredible gap between developed nations and impoverished nations. Through broken French and hand gestures we got the idea across and were sent to an offsite lab to do some tests...48 hours later we had the results and were able to get antibiotics. They worked and the infection subsided...very good!!! After a few days in Fez we headed for Tangier, where our flight left from. We pretty much just laid low until our flight to Milan, Italy. Funny thing though, at the airport in Morocco, the security guy was just sitting in a chair, smoking a cigarette while the beeper went off at every single person that passed through the metal detector. He just kept waving us on without any expression at all. I figured they might askme to open my bag as I have sand from different places stashed in astic bags in our cooking pans...but they didn't seem to care at all. Same thing At the border check in Italy, couldve smuggled in all sorts of stuff, not that we were looking to. So, we had made it to Italy (bergamo) to be exact and headed via train and bus to Venice. Talk about a change, going from Morocco to Venice! Not better or worse, just vastly different. Venice is a beautiful city though and can be enjoyed just walking around and admiring the twisting walkways and blue green canals that slice through the city. The sun was out and we were smiling. After two days of taking in the sights, we decided to make our way to Florence to see Michelangelo's David. The first quote for the train was outrageous, 40 euros a person, so we headed to the main bridge off the island a put our thumbs up...without much luck...so back to the train station. This time we found regional trains for a total cost for two for less than the original cost off one, nice! Off to Florence, with a few connections and a few extra hours we got to Florence and caught the bus to a local campground, overlooking the whole city...really beautiful. It felt great to be camping again!! It's our own little house on the road! We went to see David the next day, it was really amazing to see in person....we had no idea the dude is like 40 feet tall or so...really well preserved too. The following day we decided to head for Rome and set up camp along a busy roadway with a sign to Roma in our hands....6 hours later we hadn't gotten a bite (hitching in Italy is a bit more difficult than France). So we camped another night and caught the regional trains to Rome. We found another campground just outside the city and relaxed in our tent under heavy rains. We spent the next few days under sunny skies seeing the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Pamtheon, the Spanish Steps, all sorts of ruins, the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel....it was really great to see all these places in person. Some truly incredible works. We are still camping and will be looking to move on tomorrow, either into Croatia, Albania, Greece or Turkey, we have yet to decide where we will start....until the next story time!!! Wa hoo!!

The Continuation....

So, last we left off we were sleeping in a Berber tent in Morocco, hoping that the gas wouldn't erupt into a ball of fire, killing most and scaring the rest beyond recognition....well, there were no problems and we all made it through the night alive. We woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise over the desert and eat breakfast. We spent most of the time just enjoying the sandy dunes that surrounded the camp and taking in the fresh morning air. We then hopped back on the camels and started the long journey home. Once again, we passed through some truly amazing countryside....forests, mountains, deserts and so on...it was really great. We arrived back in Marrakech with daylight still to spare and caught a taxi (this time with better haggeling skills and a stubburn disposition, each of which got us a reasonable rate)and arrived at a hostel in the Ville Nouvelle, on the new side of town as it was closer to the bus station. It was a completely different world on this side, we had gone from the chaos of the Medina area to what seemed like a normal city...I even asked the driver if we were still in Marrakech. It was actually nice to be able to relax and rest up before catching the bus the next day. Our next destination was Essaouria, a beach town on the Atlantic coast. Jimmy Hendrix actually spent a year in this town and got his inspiration for the song "Castles of Sand" from the surrounding beaches...just a fun fact, in case they ever ask it on Jeopardy or something. Upon arriving to the town it appears fairly weathered and battered by the sun and sea...an old lazy fishing town. We caught a glimpse of the beach and sea and our spirits were ready for the ocean. We found a place in the heart of the Medina...clean bathrooms, friendly staff, and cheap rates...our lodging, two full meals at small restaurants and transportation from Marrekesh to Essaouria was cheaper, much cheaper, than a single train ride in the UK....ahhhh, that is nice. We spent the next few days lazing around the beach, walking the town and getting a few infections...a little ria and Urinary infection...but it was still good. G spent the day trying to find some diarrhia medication for me and by the end of the trip the locals walking around town were asking if we were feeling better cause they knew G was looking for medication, nice people. It only lasted about a day, so that was a big plus. We found antibiotics for G, but they didn't do the trick and the infection seemed to have become a kidney infection, atleast from what I could gather on webMD, unless you speak French or Arabic, a lot of self diagnosis has to take place. There is nothing quite like taking pills from a box written in Arabic and hoping it's the right stuff...it's not a language you can really sound out if you don't know the script. After four days at the beach, we decided to head to the city of Fez a couple days before our flight. We ended up catching the bus back to Marrakech, spending one more night in the city and taking the train the next morning to Fez. On the bus ride back to town, I decided to relax and listen to some music...it was then that the opening jam to Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" came pouring into my head while my eyes watched a woman in traditional, conservative Muslim garments sitting across from....the complete clash between the audio stimulation and the visual stimulation was wild...two worlds meeting head...it was a cool experience. The train ride to Fez the next day was seven hours long and consisted of a constant flow of people coming and going at every stop...you kind of just pick a compartment to sit in and cram in together. At one point I had gotten up and a huge group of people got on the train, at one point there were something like 4 kids and 6 adults cramming into the compartment with G trying to explain that I was sitting next to her. One women was Moroccan but seemed to thave the spirit of a full blooded New Yorker, very outspoken to say the least. She came in like a hurrican and was kicking people out of the compartment, telling them to take their luggage down, I couldn't understand a word, but tone and volume got the point across...all we could do was laugh. She ended up being really friendly as the trip went on, just very intense. We made it to fez and found our lodging for the night without a snag. Simple, cheap and friendly staff...always a winning combination. Well...we will have to continue this story again..we are in Rome and back on the Euro, so these computer sessions tend to be a little pricey...more to come though, we are planning on heading to Albania, Greece and, if the money lasts, Turkey next!