Rimys Trip 07

Greece

rimy — Sun, 2 Sep 2007 09:27:00 GMT

Skopia

A train from Athens to Thessalonica was an event in itself. The first train to Florina didn't run because: well nobody knows they just didn't feel like it.

Finally we arrive in Florina a destination much anticipated. From here we walked to Skopia a small village in Northern Greece, known as the Macedonian region. We were chasing Shelle's roots, the village in which her grandparents, babba, daddo and mum had lived before migrating to Australia in the early 60s.

So many stories had been told, and pictures had been painted in our minds. We knew that her aunty lived there, but did not know where, or how to contact her. We had come to see and feel the village that we had heard so much about and is such a big part of Shelle's ancestry.

It was a short walk from Florina, a small village in which we were able to walk around and discover in no time at all. Our time was made more fruitful by our experience with a horde of men sitting in the shade of a central park, drinking, eating wild roast boar on a spit and playing music.

They spotted us a couple of hundred metres away and inviting us to join them. Shelle is able to understand Macedonian thanks to her babba. But the village now has Greek predominantly as their first language. So our communication skills were tested. Luckily there was a local boy who had learnt a little English at school and was able to interpret enough for us to come and participate!

The people reminded me of the warmth of Shelle's family as they welcomed us in with open arms, put food in our mouths and a drink in our hand. They played us some music, sang songs, laughed and joked, a celebration that would have continued well into the night. unfortunately we had to catch the last train back to Thessalonica.

The village was very special, not because of the surroundings, but because of the people that were there, and had been there in the past, it was moving and helped us to understand what a big thing it was for Shelle's family to pack up and leave Skopia forever. They left for a strange country thousands of miles away; a foreign language, a foreign custom, in hope for a better life.

St Tropez

rimy — Sat, 4 Aug 2007 09:29:00 GMT

St Tropez

Saint Tropez was made up of quaint little streets, people with flashy money and a massive pirate lolly shop, the trip was made worth while by this little story...

Pam, Potter and Shelle need to go to the loo (again). Seeing as though we did not take out a loan before we left solely for Shelle's toilet fund, she and we have become quite good at escaping the fee charged at most public toilets; McDonalds being our life saver on a number of occasions; amongst other ways.

They found an electronic toilet common in Europe. It is a big stainless steel monstrosity that opens when a coin is inserted. So the three girls wanting to escape the fee held the electronic door as another woman left. They all hopped in, thinking how clever they were. However the electronic door shut, light was now absent, (the light only goes on when you pay) and the cleaning process began. Not just a simple flush of the toilet, but a spray of jets first from one side of the room, causing the girls to huddle on the other, where the second spray began soon after and then the third. The laughter echoed and bounced around the steel contraption. There was no escape, they jumped and splashed about until it finally stopped. Everyone in the vicinity could hear the screams of laughter coming from the W.C., as they then had to hold the door open a little for the other, to shed a little light on the reason for being there, business done and away we go...

Gallery: Italy

rimy — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 00:20:00 GMT

Cinque Terre

rimy — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:21:00 GMT

Cinque Terre

We stayed in two different places; the first was in Riomaggiore the most southern of the 5 villages. We went further north of Cinque Terre also, just above in a little place called Dieva Marina. Here we still had easy access to the Cinque Terre National Park.

The accommodation was different to anything we had experienced as back packers. There were two fold out beds in a tall tipi like tent, it was comfortable and affordable.

We caught the train back to Riomaggiore and began the 'lovers walk.' This walk leads on to a spectacular trek north to all five villages via the cliff tops. It was an amazing walk, each village unique in its own right, hard to explain something neither words not photograph can capture fully, it is mixture of the history, the people, the local produce, the make up of each town which sparkles differently out towards to Mediterranean.

Besides the delicious pizza we ate by the water, the fourth village; Vernazza had a particular treat in store,

We had eaten our Italian meal by the water, and had reluctantly got ourselves up and ready to continue the last and most difficult part of the walk. But we were drawn to the village and found it hard to leave.

On our way back to conquer the last part of the 5 village trek, we noticed a small gathering growing under traditional set of village windows on one of the buildings. Only this window was different to the others as it displayed a floral decoration.

We learnt that this meant a wedding was underway in the town, we also noticed that everyone in the expanding crowd of local villagers held a bag of some description. They were restless and stood staring up at the window salivating, waiting in anticipation.

The recently wed couple fought their way through the crowd disappearing briefly, before reappearing at the same window everyone was staring at with expectation. The couple waves first, like shy celebrities from the window, and then they gave the crowd what they were waiting for. They presented a massive basket that took the space of the double window sill. The crowd cheered! The basket was overflowing with all sorts of lollies, chocolates, sugar coated almonds etc, which they threw out to the crowd.

Now it was on for young and old, literally. All ages were involved, 10-11 year olds and younger were elbowing grannies and vice versa, it was hilarious! NO MERCY! NO PITY! Shelle (getting heavily involved) beat a 70+ woman to a lolly on the ground, feeling bad she offered it to the lady who firmly refused, looking offended, instead returning to the pigeon fight as lollies rained from above. The exhibition went on for a solid 20 minutes, if not more, and the couple went through about 15-20 of the massive baskets, allowing the majority of the crowd to walk away with bags over flowing. We did not do to badly either thanks to Shelle, and her ruthlessness!! It was a memorable experience. The extra sugar helped the energy in the final stage as we arrived in Monterosso, (the most Northern of the 5 villages) as the sun went down.

Gallery: England

rimy — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:09:00 GMT

Gallery: Peru

rimy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:25:00 GMT

A snippet of a beautiful country.

The Inca Trail

rimy — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:59:00 GMT

Day 1 Inca trail!

An early rise: 5ish. Breaky and a quick idiot check to make sure we have packed all our necessities. The typical Peruvian breakfast, flat hard cased Bread, filled with air and jam. That’s right, oh for a little bit of Vegemite... it has been 2 months since we left our land girt by sea and the Aussie cravings are beginning to set in.

We board a bus outside our hotel and were welcomed by a smell that would encompass us for the next four days. It was the sickening stench of the local porters, who don’t seem to have seen a shower... full stop! We learnt later that this was due to there need to work. They don't go home between groups and freshen up or recover. As soon as one group finishes, another begins, hygiene is not a priority; earning a living is.

The Bus ride is long, Shelle catches up on her sleep, but my head is pressed against the window the whole trip. The scenery was incredible, overlooking deep valleys and towered over by ice capped peaks, and so much green: GREEN! A lovely colour! A great contrast to the dry colours of the desert areas we had covered previously in Peru.

Eventually we arrive at a central point to pick up the remaining porters. Here we exit the bus briefly, as we do we are forced to swim through a swarm of vendors, all trying to sell us exactly the same products. We hold our breath and head straight for an enclosed cafe looking area. Here we are free to buy the remaining essentials without hassle. We buy ourselves a walking stick. Little did we know these sticks would become our best friends for the next few days. I was told mine was eucalyptus, yet I wasn’t convinced by the smell.

Shelle wanted a Bamboo stick... because that’s what she likes... the other stick was more solid and definitely stronger... but that’s what she likes... so she had a bamboo stick for 5 minutes.... before being told Native plants are not allowed to be used and will be confiscated at the gate. Now coming to her senses, she swapped it over for a hard wood stick... armed and dangerous we jump back on to the bus whilst our guide Gasper purchases a colourful Balaclava... just to have some different on his 25th Inca trail hike.

From here we head to the 82km mark... our starting point. We hop off the bus and prepare our selves, load our 6kg packs up grab our scooby snacks, buy a couple of Ponchos and we’re on our way, the Porters are doing the same except they are loading themselves up with a good 25kg, including 5 each of ours. There were 14 Porters each carrying 25kg, 7 in our group 8 including Gasper our tour guide, plus Zac our new Inca trail guide... So for 9 people their were 14 porters each with individual jobs... 2 Cooks, 1 waiter... and many more,

The trek begins, for 5 minutes anyway, until Shelle and Sarah need to go to the Loo... but I won’t mention every time that happened, because that would be a story in itself!

We walk to the starting point, get the group photo, work our way through a customs like facility, get a stamp in our passport and cross a wobbly bridge over treacherous moving water! ...A river if you will.

We are all allowed to take our sticks through, although as suspected they are not eucalypt, but a tea or coffee plant. However our guide was denied the use of his stick as apparently it was a native plant. Because he is Peruvian they expected he should know, it was dealt with poorly and Gaspar got rightfully wound up...

So it begins...

At 2700m, the air was still plentiful, the slopes were gradual and the scenery was special. We stopped at a few Archaeological sites. Our new guide Zac detested the label of ruins, he explained a number of times that they were abandoned, not ruined.

After a few breathers, snacks and light rain we stopped for lunch. We expected a sandwich maybe? Bread and Jam perhaps? We were welcomed by the Porters who had raced a head of us. Upon arriving the Porters stood clapping as we had made the first stage, they also did this at the end of each day.

They had set up a dining and a cooking tent, tables and chairs, a table cloth and cutlery...

We walked in, placed our backpacks on a blue tarp they had set out for us. We sat in the dining tent and were completely blown away by the 3 course meal we received.

Avocado Vinaigrette

Vege Soup + garlic bread.

and Al paca, with mushroom sauce and veges

Topped off with a cup of fresh coca tea, Zac advised us to mix it with Camomile.

mmm not bad...

It was brilliant! This was the theme for every meal there after... EVERY meal.

Back on track after letting the food settle, we said good bye (unbeknownst to us) to the last toilet, with a seat and a flush for the next two days.

The camp site was already set up, our tents had our bags and some wafer thin mattresses, the dining There was a snack cheese wantons and popcorn ready... although the drinking water they boiled for us for the rest of the trek had a distinct popcorn taste which took some getting used to.

Dinner was at 7:30, again a 3 course meal, with the main being a banquet of different foods... this was the same every day... I must say my favourites were the garlic pork with rice... beef and mustard sauce with rice... chicken kebabs... with rice.... and an amazing Peruvian dish which looked like a sandwich. Yet instead of bread it was made of mashed potato, the filling was avocado, salsa, and other things topped with grated egg. 10 out of 10 oh and a bit more rice.

Day 2...

The first Challenge. It was inevitable in the morning that we were to experience the toilets first hand. I had walked past them and smelt them previously, now it was time to make use. Armed with toilet paper, a peg for your nostrils or a gas mask you make your journey to the colourful squatters. I say colourful if you like a range of colours between yellow, brown and kaki, sloppy green.... unfortunately the gas mask, and peg were unavailable, and holding your breath wasn’t a good idea at 3000m altitude.

The grated foot holds were a good guide to get your aim straight, however it seems that people were not able position their feet correctly, couldn’t squat properly or were qualified spray painters.

So... we continue our trek. A quick walk to the last camp, we are passed by women and their alpacas, racing ahead to sell you Gatorade, cervasa, water, snickers, and anything else you could want at the next stop.

From there we began our climb to the highest point. Dead woman’s pass at 4200meters. Hard yakka, a good mind set was necessary. We stayed in groups which was good for morale... closer to the top I raced ahead wanting to get some good footage as everyone arrived. Definitely harder with less oxygen. Shelle said she felt like a dead woman walking, but was determined not to let anyone except Porters pass herself and Sarah as they conquered the mountain.

At the top we tried to take in as much oxygen as was available, we fed our face with chocolates, and water, then rested.

We were to arrive at camp well ahead of schedule, so the guide showed us a couple more archaeological sites, slowing us down to give the porters time to set things up...

At the camp site: applause, set up sleeping area, tea, cards, a dice game and dinner at 7:30 topped off with a night cap of warm vino: a warm wine with chopped apple; before a well earned rest.

Day 3

This day was our favourite, by far... favourite because we had a chance to escape the Gringo trail, we were able to sleep in till 7am, and before we knew it we had stopped as Zac contemplated a short track to a different Inca site; one still largely overgrown, and not seen by the hundreds that pass by it every day. The beginning was tricky due to human landmines delicately placed on stepping stones amongst puddles. Once past those we were hunched over and working our way through an overgrown path. An Inca site that has not been cleaned was really great to see.

From here we descended down to a large Inca site, where the decision came again to follow or not to follow the gringo trail... lucky for us our guides decided not to follow the beaten track. To be the only ones we had to do it on the quiet. We crept across the crest of the mountain, through some rough terrain, staying low in clearings, and moving swiftly where necessary. After a long journey stopping to look at orchids: or ORKIDS! as Gasper would say. We came out on a mountain side over looking the beaten track and also our first glimpse of the final destination: Machu Picchu.

We continue down in stealth mode, wanting to keep moving due to a range of biting bugs. Suddenly we had to stop. There were noises ahead. Three Authority park officers were working on the track, it seemed that he was in trouble for taking us off the beaten track, but we found out later that he told them we were really into 'ORKIDS!', and the only place to find them was up on this side of the mountain.

The final camping area was a little different. We were nestled into the mountain edge, and literally had less than a meter between our tent door and the cliffs edge... wise to only go in and out of your tent door when fully alert.

We sat and discussed with our leader the theories behind another Inca site, big, steep, and nestled next to a river and waterfall. We found that a lot of hypothesis was involved with Inca history, and that nobody really knows what went on, as there are no written records about these areas.

Day 4

Rise early at 3:45am pack everything ready for the Porters to take breakfast was still exquisite... toast of course, banana pancakes, sausage...amongst many other things, all was enjoyed even at 4:00am.

When ready we walked the two minutes to the gate where we had to wait until 5:30 to get through. We were the second group in line, and the challenge was set...

Waiting in the dark was long but there was an air of excitement.

5:30am - Gates opened and away we raced, after the first group.... we caught them quickly but could not pass... until our guide called out PORTER! (this means they are to step to the mountain side whilst the Porters move past.) Before they realised we were not porters, we were well past them and on our way to the glory of the sun gate. Here we receive a closer view of Machu Picchu, and a time to sit and reflect before we are surrounded by other groups.

We were buzzing, we had completed the trek, the walk down to Machu Picchu was relaxing, the sun was shining, the clouds minimal and we were able to walk with a spring in step. As we arrived, we realised that even though it was only 6:00am, we weren’t the first ones there, people staying in the local town had caught the bus up in droves, and it was obvious that unlike us they had showered in the last 24 hours, let alone last 3 days.

From here we settle into our 3 hour tour of the site, the place is massive truly the Mecca of all Inca sites. The theories were plenty, facts minimal.

Our journey was complete, it was real; we had conquered the Inca trail...

The Inca trail was like nothing else and the perfect lead up to the phenomenal site. A site that is surrounded by so much mystery, a site that sends shivers up your spine as you sit and contemplate what might have been, a site we will never be able to truly understand: Machu Picchu.

Gallery: New York

rimy — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:34:00 GMT

United States

Gallery: Road Trip

rimy — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:49:00 GMT

Mexico

rimy — Tue, 6 Mar 2007 09:24:00 GMT

We spoke to alot of Californians about our proposed trip to Mexico, everyone warned us, be careful of the Federali, they will get you, they are all corrupt, etc. and they were partly right!!

The ice cream truck we drove attracted attention wherever we went. This wasn't such a bad thing in the U.S.A.

As expected we were pulled over and searched at the border by Mexican customs. But these guys were friendly and loved the beads on the side of the truck that Jonno and Stefan got from a mardi gra in Texas.

These festivals are not like the Sydney mardi gra. In short everyone collects beads during the day and then at night girls show their boobs for them! Sounds like a great party HA HA! It was funny watching those who new explain it to the others as we watched them lift up their shirts, jiggle and laugh.

The cultural change on the other side of the border is immediate obviously all the signs suddenly become Spanish, but the people and their nature was visibly different. Cars and buildings were smaller, colors were more vibrant!

Before long we were pulled over again, this time by the Military. Two stood strong with their rifles still the others searched the truck. We were polite and tried out our poor Spanish skills. We got out straight away, opened the van and let them go; they were also friendly and let us through!

We learnt though that you should watch them to make sure they don't steal or plant anything, but we were ok at this stage.

That night we drove through to Ensenada with no further hold backs, However all hostels were difficult to find or completely full. So we decided to go 78km further. Unbeknownst to us we it was to become alot more difficult. It darkened quickly, the old truck's lights strained to see ahead, windy and treacherous roads and poor Mule was driving on the opposite side of the road for the first time!

Half an hour in and it was pitch black, we knew there were big drops at the side of the cliffs we just couldn't see them. After a couple of hours we were becoming anxious, as the roads deteriorated, and we began to lose hope, wondering how we had lost our way. We decided to get to the end of this stretch and call it a night. Yet at the end of the stretch, at what seemed to be the end of the earth, the Hostel stood tall like an oasis. We had arrived. It was an amazing hostel at the end of a beautiful little Mexican town.

The next day we wandered around and relaxed!! It was an awesome town, taco stands and not much else, just dust stunning dry scenery, plus real road runners!

All of a sudden, everything changed! Apparently there was a race in town the next day; the small town became very VERY BUSY!! DIRT BIKES AND DIRT CARS!! There was a flourish of RV vans, red necks in BIG UTES! And I MEAN BIG everything is bigger in America.... so now the quiet local Mexican town became very loud.

So we stayed one more night and got into the spirit of things, planning to leave half way through the race and beat the rush back to the states!

To begin our day we had a flat tyre and being unable to access the spare, we were lucky one of the locals was a tyre expert.

On to the race, just like on TV, it really felt like Mexico. There was no space between the competitors and the crowd, so many possible dangers, yet everyone was having a great time! We got in amongst it, as they came screaming down a hill, through some palm trees, one didn't quite make the turn and flipped off the edge into a palm tree! The masses swarmed, locals going loco! This was our cue to move on.

We cruised and after being searched a couple more times by Federali, one of which got very excited when he found a bag of white substance in Jono's pocket. After we explained that it was ciocolat bianco (White Chocolate) he smelt it and settled down.

We stopped in La Fonda, surfed through the morning fog, which seem to only get thicker, and refused to lift. We were lucky enough to have a pod of dolphins come up close, playing a little before moving on. We surfed until the mist swept across so quickly we could no longer see the shore!

Back to the border via Rosarita; where spring break was beginning. The landscape was amazing; I could just stare out the window for ages. This was lucky, because a couple hours were spent (3-4) in the SLUG (traffic Jam leading up to the border.) So we sat in the scorching heat, turning the truck on and off so as to stop it from over heating. We became customers to the locals, children juggling, people fire breathing, selling anything, we gave out stickers and beads and our remaining pesos, but it could never be enough!! There are too many... it's sad, but you give them a laugh, some fun, a ride on the back of the truck, and hope you have made their life a little bit better for that day.

When we finally got to the border we and the car were at boiling point, we were all down to shorts. Mule walked through and was past the border with in minutes, Jonno and I drove through. As expected we were stopped and checked. Jonno's visa had expired, which he knew but had applied months ago for a renewal, which was currently being processed, it was already paid and applied for, but their computers didn't show it up, after much deliberation, amongst being told to go back into the car and dress properly, Jonno was allowed to pass for a fee. So a total of 6 hours to clear the border and we are on our way, we picked Mule up on the highway and drove to San Diego.