Monday, November 26, 2018
The Labyrinth of Jason: Movie Labyrinth
The Labyrinth of Jason: Movie Labyrinth: Lately I've been on a labyrinthian movie-watching project. It all started with wanting to see all 90 movies that have won the Academy A...
Thursday, March 10, 2016
The Carnival in Souda
Here are pics from the "small" local carnival in Souda. You'll see why "small" is in quotes in the photos below.
What the ... ? Blackface and bones in the hair? We're definitely not in Kansas, Toto....
Greeks are not happy with Merkel...
Or the bald white dude in the stewpot. I don't know who he's supposed to represent...
Nope, definitely not fond of Merkel.
The Vampire Squad. I don't know whether this is political or just people having fun.
What's a parade without pirates?
Financial crisis? What financial crisis?
I'm really not sure what the message of this float is...
Just a small local carnival...
Here's Merkel and that bald dude again...
Time for some food! Yummy souvlaki!
Spotted a drone getting the whole thing on camera...
Vampire squad again, this time closer to downtown. The woman holding the sign--which is Greek for "withdrawal" as in from drugs--is my friend Soula, whose picture you may have seen with me on Facebook.
One of the MC's holding what must be the list of floats...
The other MC
It just happened to be his birthday. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" in English...
The aftermath
Walking home...the sun is setting fast!
Is this super market riffing on the Louvre?
An interesting somewhat abandoned house I passed on the way back home.
The sun is completely down now, and I have some serious walking to do...
Getting closer!
One of the first phrases I learned from my Greek CDs was: "Η Βενζίνη είναι ακριβή" -- The gas is expensive.
That's all for now!
What the ... ? Blackface and bones in the hair? We're definitely not in Kansas, Toto....
Greeks are not happy with Merkel...
Or the bald white dude in the stewpot. I don't know who he's supposed to represent...
Nope, definitely not fond of Merkel.
The Vampire Squad. I don't know whether this is political or just people having fun.
Financial crisis? What financial crisis?
I'm really not sure what the message of this float is...
Just a small local carnival...
Here's Merkel and that bald dude again...
Time for some food! Yummy souvlaki!
Spotted a drone getting the whole thing on camera...
Vampire squad again, this time closer to downtown. The woman holding the sign--which is Greek for "withdrawal" as in from drugs--is my friend Soula, whose picture you may have seen with me on Facebook.
One of the MC's holding what must be the list of floats...
The other MC
It just happened to be his birthday. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" in English...
The aftermath
Walking home...the sun is setting fast!
Is this super market riffing on the Louvre?
An interesting somewhat abandoned house I passed on the way back home.
The sun is completely down now, and I have some serious walking to do...
Getting closer!
One of the first phrases I learned from my Greek CDs was: "Η Βενζίνη είναι ακριβή" -- The gas is expensive.
That's all for now!
Walking to Souda
I still have a lot of catchup blogging to do, but I also want to stay reasonably current, so you guys know what I've been up to!
The pre-Lenten season lasts 3 weeks in the Greek Orthodox tradition, and this is week 3, making this coming Sunday the final and largest Carnival before Lent, and the fasting time begins.
Last Sunday (March 6) there was a "small" carnival in Souda, which is sort of a suburb of Chania. I walked there and back for the exercise, and I figure I must have walked at least 20 kilometers that day. Sore feet!
Here are the pics!
Looking down the big boulevard that goes from the main government square to the water. This is close to Chania city limits.
Passing by a large church. I think it's Άγιος Ιοάνις.
Souda in the distance.
I think this must be a park of some kind.
Walking...
That's Souda in the distance again. You can't quite see it, but it's just this side of the foot of the hills in the distance.
More walking...
Still more walking...
I think these trees must be the edge of a war cemetery or something...
The entrance.
Finally getting close to Souda. The cars are backed up for the parade...
And here are the people lined up on the parade route.
I'll post the parade itself separately!
The pre-Lenten season lasts 3 weeks in the Greek Orthodox tradition, and this is week 3, making this coming Sunday the final and largest Carnival before Lent, and the fasting time begins.
Last Sunday (March 6) there was a "small" carnival in Souda, which is sort of a suburb of Chania. I walked there and back for the exercise, and I figure I must have walked at least 20 kilometers that day. Sore feet!
Here are the pics!
Looking down the big boulevard that goes from the main government square to the water. This is close to Chania city limits.
Souda in the distance.
I think this must be a park of some kind.
Walking...
That's Souda in the distance again. You can't quite see it, but it's just this side of the foot of the hills in the distance.
More walking...
Still more walking...
I think these trees must be the edge of a war cemetery or something...
The entrance.
Finally getting close to Souda. The cars are backed up for the parade...
And here are the people lined up on the parade route.
I'll post the parade itself separately!
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
First Hike, Part 2 - updated
Well the last post seemed like it was getting a little long, so I've decide to continue this as a second post. Here we are at the second break. No tsikoudia this time! It was really hot in this valley.
Looking back down on the road.
Time for a quick nap! I'll have to ask my cousins if it looks like I'm flipping you off in this photo!
Seriously bonking at this point. I'm having to stop and catch my breath every few steps.
I don't think I've ever been more glad to see a road.
A glimpse of the marker at the top of the trail from the bus:
The road down was very exciting. Wasn't able to get (m)any good pix from the bus window...
...and here we are back at the trailhead, at Lakki (Λακκοι) !
Here's the best map I was able to find online. This map makes it look like the trail doesn't go all the way to the road. The lines and arrows are mine.
...and up we go!
Another culture shock is the way they slop paint on the rocks as trail markers.
Some dude on the hike blotting out the sun:
Here he is again. Frikkin' photobombers.
We head left on that road up there. I'm starting to get pretty tired by now. BTW that structure is for water for sheep. I think I took a video of it. Maybe I'll upload it later.
The road! Ah, now I can catch my breath for a while...
But it ain't over! The hardest hiking of the trip is just ahead ... the guy to the left send only 40 minutes of climbing left, but it ending being more like 70 or 80 for me. :-P
Looking back down on the road.
Time for a quick nap! I'll have to ask my cousins if it looks like I'm flipping you off in this photo!
Seriously bonking at this point. I'm having to stop and catch my breath every few steps.
I don't think I've ever been more glad to see a road.
.... and down to Omalos ...
That's it in the distance, on the valley floor ...
Passing by an historic church (or monastery?) called St. Michael's (Άγιος Μιχάλης)
Here's the hotel/taverna where we ate after the hike:
A glimpse of the marker at the top of the trail from the bus:
The road down was very exciting. Wasn't able to get (m)any good pix from the bus window...
...and here we are back at the trailhead, at Lakki (Λακκοι) !
Here's the best map I was able to find online. This map makes it look like the trail doesn't go all the way to the road. The lines and arrows are mine.
And a map of the larger area so you have a better idea of where this is on Crete. Click on the image to enlarge; Omalos is just northwest of Samaria National Park, outlined in green.
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