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Knossos, Crete Jan 9, 2023 Crete is synonymous with Minoans and arguably the most famous relic of that age is the Knossos Palace. Knossos conjures in my mind a vast palace with hallways and squares held up by gracefully tapered blood-red pillars, the walls covered with intricate frescoes. I am off to see it for … More Palace of the Minoans
Kastelli, Crete Jan 7, 2023 I had been wandering in Iraklion in my usual aimless fashion, taking photos of the central area and the harbor when I came across a group of older men sitting on a bench. It was picture-postcard perfect and I asked if I could take a photo. They acquiesced and thus … More An Unexpected Festival in a Mountain Village
Chania, Crete Jan 2, 2023 The catch of the day lies on slabs waiting to wind as dinner, probably much as it has for centuries on these shores. Like most modern cities, the everyday hums along predictable lines. In the pedestrian center are the glut of shops and cafes leading up to and around the … More Many Faces of Chania
Kato Paphos, Cyprus Dec 31, 2022 On the southwestern tip of the island of Cyprus lies its Archeological treasures, arguably the best in the island. Kato Paphos or the lower reaches of the city is home to a vast area of 950 thousand square meters, chockful of ruins, most of it is still being … More Villas of the Exalted
Paphos, Cyprus Dec 31, 2022 Imagine a vast rocky field on the shores of the Mediterranean sea, the sound of surf pounding the shores ceaselessly. Blue skies with scurrying clouds above and the screech and squawk of seabirds drifting in the breeze. A place fit for kings one might say. And so it is. This … More Tombs of Kings
Magusa, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Dec 30, 2022 The name might read Famagusta, but cross the border and it becomes Magusa. It was simple enough to get to the bus station, in the northern part of Nicosia. More of a bus stop, the dust-laden little room sat at the corner, well known enough to … More Famagusta or Magusa
Turkish Nicosia Dec 29, 2022 Most of Nicosia is like any modern city with its bland concrete blocks and the most interesting part is the old walled city. Originally begun in the 13th century AD, the current fortified structure with its eleven pentagonal bastions date from the Venetian period of 16th century. Almost a perfect … More A City Frozen in Time
Larnaca, Cyprus Dec 27, 2022 Lost baggage is apparently an unexpected bonus of post-pandemic travel, and I arrived in Larnaca minus my backpack. “Yours is not the only one”, the agent told me snappily. We have lost more than twenty thousand bags. You have to wait”. Was this a point of pride, I wondered but … More Languishing in Larnaca
San Jose, Costa Rica Jan 22, 2020 For the indigenous tribes who called this home, the death knell began with Columbus’s last voyage. Upon reaching the east coast, he dubbed it a rich coast or Costa Rica. And that was the trigger needed for the Spanish to descend in hordes. All in search of gold … More Gold Fever
San Jose, Costa Rica Jan 20, 2020 Hordes of tourists may descend on Costa Rica but few spend any time in San Jose. Even guidebooks seem to advise against it. Unlovely it might be, but the city has grit and it felt more real to me than all the other touristy areas I have been … More Snapshot of San Jose
ITCHY FEET TRAVELS 