Kinsey, a third generation kindle who traveled to China, Southeast Asia, Nepal, and Greece and always a faithful companion and tour guide, died last Tuesday near the Acropolis of Ancient Greece. He was 5.
He died from a one meter fall onto ancient Greek ruins, and although at first glance it appeared that Kinsey suffered no damage from the fall, his glare-free, battery-efficient countenance no longer had that same spark to which his companions had become accustomed.
“Kinsey was dependable, high-energy, and always full of information,” said Andrew, Kinsey’s faithful and always curious travel companion. “I will miss him dearly, and although I may try, replacing him will be nearly impossible.”
In lieu of flowers, Kinsey would have requested that we all send books.
Kinsey was still full of life up to his last hour.
In Athens, I led a small private tour for Adam, Drew, Amanda, and Carley earning myself the nickname “Tour Guide Andy”. We ran around Ancient Athens from the Acropolis to the Parthenon to the Agora to the Temple of Zeus and to the original Olympic Stadium just to name a few. At each site, while dodging other tourists, we learned of the history from Lonely Planet’s kindle edition and marveled at the beginnings of western civilization.
The restoration process of some of these sites was in full swing. I have mixed feelings about such rampant restoration. I want to see the sites as they would have originally looked; however, I also want to see what remains from the original builders. Even if it is only a small piece of a much grander building, knowing that small portion comes from the original constructions in the 5th or 6th centuries B.C. would be magical in its own way. In addition, the sites would never be hidden behind scaffolding or bracketed by construction cranes.
That said, walking through the Agora and up the hill to the Acropolis and finding a panoramic view of Athens from its top, was inspirational. It was proof of what people are possible of achieving irrespective of what has been done in the past. It was proof that societies can make big steps forward when given the right mindset. And it was proof that owning the high ground in any situation is advantageous because no one can sneak up on the Acropolis.
Saying goodbye to Mykonos and the people I had met over the last couple days is no easy task, but I am excited to explore Athens and its historic sites. After a sunny, beach-side breakfast complete with Greek yogurt, Greek coffee, a slice of cake, and bread until I feel full, I get back on a ferry towards Athens. This time, I ferry to Athens’ Rafina Port, which is on the other side of the city, but the ticket price is a little better, and there is still a bus to take me to the center of town when I arrive. On the boat, I make friends with three Greek girls as we watch part of the movie “Center Stage” in English with Greek subtitles. One of them was looking for work on Mykonos island over the summer and the other two were accompanying her. Working on a Greek Island sounds like it could be a very nice summer job! Their English is pretty good and before parting ways, they give me some pointers of what to see and where to go in Athens.
For the next couple weeks of my journey, a friend from school, Adam is meeting up with me and we will explore Athens, Istanbul and Morocco together. After a short walk from the bus station to the Pella Inn, my hostel in Athens on 104 Ermou Street, I meet Adam and his brother Drew in our dorm room and our first adventure is finding food. But before we do anything, we appreciate the unreal view of the Acropolis that we have from our dorm window and the even better panoramic we get from the hostel’s rooftop. We leave the hostel in search of another cheap and delicious gyro place, we find the one that Drew had spotted earlier to be closed, and we start to improvise. We walk around Monastiraki and weave through its many narrow streets and alleys. As we pass every restaurant, we are semi-harassed with questions whether or not we choose to stop to check the menu and its prices, but eventually, we find a nice restaurant that produces a meat lovers plate with about 5 or 6 different types of meats. The three of us sit down, order Mythos beers, meat and bread, and all seems right as we watch the sun set on the Acropolis. After dinner, we wander around Plaka, an historic area of Athens located on the foothills of the Acropolis, and I find a fedora that fits and have a fun time bargaining for it. We make it an early night so that we can return to our hostel’s rooftop and admire the lit up Acropolis as we meet some of the other guests. We befriend Carley and Amanda from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and although originally they think they have a ferry booked heading towards the islands the next morning, after they wake up early and figure out how to get to the port, they realize that their days are off and they have an extra day in Athens. The good news is that it means the five of us will tour Athens’ highlights together.
Spanning a small area of only 33 square miles and with a population of about 10,000, Mykonos is easily transversed by motorbike or all-terrain vehicle (ATV). At this time, there are still few tourists and the island is pleasantly quiet. Also staying at Mama’s Pension, Kristen and I hire (a.k.a. rent) ATV’s and take off to explore what lay on the island. It is a bit cold to go for a swim, but that does not stop us from searching out many of Mykonos’ beautiful beaches and testing the waters with our feet while walking up and down the sand. Starting near our guest house at Agios Stephanos Beach, throughout the day we see many other turquoise coast lines, white houses nestled into hills extending from the water, and views that are meant for postcards. Other highlight beaches along our journey included Paraga, Paradise, Panaramos, Agios Sostis, Kalafatis and more.
The island being no more than 10 miles in its longest dimension allows us to search many of its nooks and crannies. We even move inland away from the coast and explore the village of Ano Mera. We find a wonderful bakery with an uber inviting smell, and I devour a feta cheese filled pastry to hold me over until dinner. Some of the roads that we travel along have a couple too many bumps and hills, but luckily on our ATV’s, we are semi-prepared to attack most paths that lay before us. I have limited experience driving such a vehicle, but after a day’s worth of riding, I can say I feel much more comfortable on an ATV.
The last goal of the day is to find an empty west-facing beach to watch the sun go down. We drive around the southwest extension of the island and eventually find a small stretch of unoccupied beach to watch the sun. We climb down from the road to the beach, spot a comfortable rock, and settle in to watch another colorful Mykonos sunset—a perfect ending to a full and fun day.
I land in Athens, find a bus to Piraeus Port, and figure out how the ferries operate. I arrive with a list of islands in mind that I might like to visit and learn which island the next ferry will be traveling to. In twenty minutes, there is a ferry leaving for Mykonos Island (one that was on my list), I figure out how to navigate the large, major port of Athens, and am soon on my way to a Greek Island. The ferry boat is less of a water taxi and more of a cruise liner, complete with 5 levels, bars, restaurants, couches and tables. After a windy and sunny four and a half hours, a quick stop at Paros Island, and a snack, I am greeted at the Mykonos port by many trying to sell their guest houses and hotels. I meet Christina from Mama’s Pension, like the sound of the place and the photos she shows me, and I am soon getting a ride in her car to the guest house. The house is run by Christina and her mother, “Mama”, both of whom are very friendly and helpful in providing tips of how to navigate the island. Mama’s Pension is about 2 km outside of town, but Christina gives me and another house guest, Kristen, a ride into the main town in the early evening. I look forward to a relaxing couple days while exploring the island and starting to learn more about Greek culture.
Kristen (from Australia who is currently studying in Sweden) and I explore the city as the sun starts to set, all the while looking for a perfect spot to enjoy a drink and watch the day’s final light. After exploring and photographing the windmills and Little Venice in various parts of town, we settle down at a nice bar called Katerina’s, which is located in Little Venice and has a small west-facing balcony. The food is a bit on the pricey side given our budgets, but we enjoy a drink to keep our seats, and after dark settles in, we move on to a small gryo shop down the street. A gyro is a delicious pita wrap filled with meat from a vertical spit, tomato, onion, tzatziki sauce, and french fries. Because they are inexpensive and my hunger still strong, I go back for seconds. The gyro may have been so good because of the delicious tzatziki sauce with its yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil and dill. I immediately know I will be searching this place out again before leaving the island.
One quick but full afternoon in Kathmandu remained between me and Europe. Soon after getting back, I went out to a late lunch with Team Australia. We went to the Kathmandu Garden of Dreams, which has been restored to its prior glory with funds from the Austrian Government. The garden was an oasis of calm in the middle of a very hectic capital city. It was hard to believe that outside of its surrounding walls, the hustle of Kathmandu continued. The meal was delicious, the company entertaining, and the escape from Kathmandu welcome. After saying another goodbye to my trekking companions from Australia, I met back up with Susan and Bill who I met in Pokhara for dinner. They have been on many treks over the years and were full of information as I had already begun to think about what trek I might want to do next.
Nepal, the people I met there, and all its natural beauty has easily been one of the highlights of my journey thus far.
Pokhara was a nice change from Kathmandu. Calmer, cleaner, and more picturesque, Pokhara was the city from where I began and ended my trek. The Lakeside shops and restaurants were fun, vibrant, and all with a fantastic view, especially when the clouds would cooperate. Just before the trek, it was a bit surreal to watch the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine as the television footage would cut in and out with the electricity.
After returning from my trekking adventure, I had a couple extra days before continuing on to Europe and decided to spend most of that time in Pokhara instead of Kathmandu. The speed and atmosphere of the town was much more pleasant. During this time, I rented a bicycle and toured around the different neighborhoods, visited the Ghurka museum, tried to visit the mountaineering museum (but was turned away by a worker’s strike), and caught up on emails and journaling. In addition, many of the friends I made throughout the trek were still there and we shared stories and dinners. Unfortunately, the day I chose to leave, the bus system employees were striking. I needed to get back to Kathmandu in order to catch my flight the next day, but all buses had been canceled. My only choice was to fly the very short, roughly 30-minute flight from Pokhara airport. The strike affected more than just buses as it was impossible to find any transportation to the airport, so I had one final trek as I walked to the airport alongside Bill and Susan from San Diego from my hotel who were also doing the same thing.
In the terminal while waiting for my flight, I had the small world experience of running into a couple who lives only 15 minutes away from me in the San Francisco Bay Area. Setareh and Salvador were very friendly and talking with them made the short wait and even shorter flight literally and figuratively fly by. When we boarded the plane that seats maybe 20 people, the captain soon emerged and started by saying, “Unfortunately, the flight has been delayed…”. I held my breath waiting for him to say because of a strike and then it would be almost impossible to get back to Kathmandu, but I was relieved when he finished his sentence with “… because of bad weather in Kathmandu.” The weather in Nepal had been changing so quickly that I am confident the wait cannot be too long. Although we were shuttled back into the waiting area, we only had to stall about 20 minutes before re-boarding the plane and taking off.
I always try to manage my expectations so that they can be met or exceeded. However, with the ABC trek, my expectations of Base Camp continue to escalate with every meter gained in altitude. And more specifically, my expectations of sunset and sunrise dominate my thoughts of our final destination. I hope sunrise will be perfect because most mornings thus far have been almost perfectly clear, and greedily, I hope we are lucky for sunset, as many of the afternoons have been cloudy and rainy. Both events exceed expectations.
In the afternoon, a cloud swallows base camp and visibility drops to nothing; however, just before sunset, the clouds part showing off the peaks of the surrounding mountains. The clouds that remain are only additive to the sun’s wave goodbye. The line separating white from gold on the mountains slowly ascends as the sun continues to drop. The blue of the sky, which I thought couldn’t be any deeper, slips to navy, midnight blue, and eventually black letting stars I never knew existed start to appear. Fully half-satisfied, I begin my prayers for an equally successful sunrise in the morning. I predict that such a sunrise would meet my elevated expectations and be a lifetime memory.
Waking up as the sky begins to light and layering myself in wool, down jackets, scarfs, gloves, and anything else that would fit to protect myself against this below freezing weather, I venture outside to find no clouds and a perfectly clear, crisp sky. Despite my finger tips starting to lose feeling because I refuse to put down my camera, I am prepared for something special. I investigate the landscape to figure out what spot to be in and when during the next two hours as the sun would rise above the mountains eventually lighting and warming the Annapurna Sanctuary. Now I have a rough morning plan, my camera, the perfect weather conditions, and a big smile.
The first mountain tip, which sits around 8000 meters high starts to shine like the first candle of many. All heads at base camp turn to respect this first light. Soon the second and third peaks are illuminated and the sunlight starts its journey down to the base of the Sanctuary. We all patiently wait for the warming rays of the sun while trying to keep our hands and noses warm by blowing into cupped gloves. Almost too quickly, the sun reaches the floor of Base Camp and the sky starts taking on that unrealistic blue from the night before. The color in my photos will look as if photoshop might be responsible, but it’s natural. The blue’s richness seem as though it should allow constellations to show through, and although the moon remains very visible, the stars do not. I continue to spin and marvel at the mountains around me until I warm up, take a couple too many photos, and feel ready for breakfast.
The sun performs for us at our trek’s destination making the Annapurna Sanctuary feel like it’s on top of the world.
The trail is full of surprises with what gets carried up and back down and with the types of activities that can be seen nearby. Goats, cats, dogs, donkeys, ponies, buffalo, chickens, and roosters are all common sites, and unfortunately, that means their excrement is also. Fifty kilogram wood lodge-building beams, raw yak meat, cans and bottles full of Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and bamboo baskets filled with everything else passes by us in both directions. There are no roads and helicopters are too expensive, so everything is either carried by donkeys, and when donkeys are unavailable and/or the cargo too heavy, porters carry it using two thin shoulder straps and one large forehead ribbon. It’s hard for anyone to complain of fatigue after witnessing this.
More than anything, trekking solo meant I could set my own pace, start when I wanted, break when I wanted, and take photos when I wanted. Because the Annapurna Base Camp trek is relatively popular, there were many others on a similar path to me, and oftentimes, I would run into the same faces again and again.
I knew that the views would be spectacular and the trek challenging, but I did not realize how much I would connect with some of the other trekkers along the way. These individuals added to the journey as much as any of the vistas. Here are some of those faces that made my trek so memorable.
