ClearlyEnlight's Travel Blog

A Productive Two Days.

2009-07-15T20:57:00.003+03:00

The last two days have been very productive. Boris’s mom came out the village, we had to figure out the water and she paid the tax for the next couple of years on the house, I am holding on to the receipts. One thing in Bulgaria, concerning the car, the company, and whatever else, the tax needs to be paid first, and then everything gets done, however the tax is very cheap.

Yesterday, a local plumber fixed the water problem and now the water is flowing; the well also has water deep down into the ground, but not for drinking. The last two days we cleared out all the junk in the summer house, and a guy with a horse drawn wagon hauled it away. We also found the stash of wood and coal, bag loads of coal, and plenty of wood, I might just buy two cubic meters of wood to be on the safe side for this winter.

The big expenses, I thought, (wood stove, boiler, and wood/coal) will not be an expense. I will have the plumber change the piping in the shower room and buy a new shower head. What a giant help Boris’ mother has been getting the summer house cleaned out, the dry kitchen was the worst. Boris’ mother lives in Greece and is leaving to go back home on Friday. Aneta (Boris’ cousin) showed me around the town that is 5 kilometers away.

I will be staying in Hisar until Monday, taking a break. Zhivko (Boris’ bother) will head out on Monday, for the week with me to the house. We will prepare the summer room to sleep in, cut the grass and put up a shade awning, and start painting, tiling, and put in new piping in the shower room. Then we will paint and tile the winter room and entryway. Tomorrow in Hisar, Zhivko and I will get the car registered, switch the insurance into my name, and order the DSL for the house; I also need to get the oil changed in the car. We will also look for a weed whipper and an awning, and a few other supplies.

I am so happy to have the summer house cleaned out. When I saw the multiple bags of coal that is located in a locked room by the winter house, my eyes lighted up, also there is tons of paper and cardboard to start the fire this winter. There is a chicken coop in the back, it would be nice to have some chickens. I could get some eggs and at some point in time cutting off a chicken’s head, butchering his ass, and make some fresh organic chicken soup—it’s a long shot.

If you are a control freak, avoid moving to a foreign country. One thing I have learned is that the people here know their country, and village, and what works best—trust is essential. The plumber uses horse hair against the threads to prevent a leakage. I was kind of surprised when the horse wagon pulled into the yard. I must say, Boris’s mother found the right connections in the village. Uncle George (Aneta’s dad who is Boris’ grandfathers brother, who built the summer house) says he will stop by for some tea on a regular basis. He is a really nice guy, although it seems like he thinks I understand the language. Some of the locals just talk, and talk, I just nod my head the Bulgarian style.

I met the neighborly drunk, I think he excited that I might have a TV, sorry, not where I live, his mother is bent at the waste. The old people that are bent at the waste is from chronic farming.

Working on the House!

2009-07-13T19:22:00.003+03:00

The last two days I have been working on the house in Belya Reka. Yesterday, Boris had the day off and we moved everything out of the winter house. The winter room with an attached shower room will be my main dwelling area. I will also have a nice outdoor patio area; I will be creating an yawning for shade.

The summer house is where I will store stuff, and possibly fix it up, we will see. The winter house with the kitchen and shower is the priority. The winter house has a sink and running water. I have decided to use the wood/coal burning hot water heater. There is no point about buying a new one. I will just fire up the wood burning boiler every evening for a shower and to wash dishes. Boris said that his grandmother was very proud about having the wood/coal burning boiler, so it just hit me like a light, create good energy and make the late great grandmother proud.

I have the room totally cleaned out, and can observe what needs to be updated. I need to do some plastering, patching some of the walls. I think I will tile the whole house—the living space (7 meters square), shower room (3 meters square, and entryway (2 meters square). Boris’ mom supplied many things for the house, a wood burning stove for the winter, an electric cooking stove and oven, a gas burning stove; I do prefer to cook on a gas stove. They also sent a good futon mattress and there is a lot of bedding there that needs to be cleaned. Laying tile will provide coolness in the summer and a lot less dust.

The villagers are really nice, the uncle stopped over and pulled out a few nails. The guy from the cafe stopped by to say hi and helped me move a few things. Also, the neighbor across the street stopped by and gave me a couple of apples. I really like the energy of the village so far, and it feels very relaxed. The big town, only 5 kilometers away, provides everything.

Right now I am driving back and fourth to sleep in Hisar, and I can say Hisar is a wonderful relaxed area. Once I am settled I will start posting pictures and more information about Bulgaria—stay tuned.

House Sitting Completed.

2009-07-10T16:50:00.003+03:00

I just arrived in Hisar, Boris' family town, his brother lives here, and the flat is where they grew up. Yesterday I drove up to the northern border to get a new three month visa, and then stayed one more night at the house sitting place. Today drove to Hisar across the highest mountain pass in Bulgaria; the car is running great.

Hisar is known for excellent natural spring water. Historically, a walled Roman settlement existed, which the ruins of the walls still stand, also an area where the Roman Emperor visited to rest. I do agree, Hisar is a relaxing area.

I will began getting the house ready where I will be living, which is only 75 kilometers from Hisar, I should have DSL hooked up soon at the house.

We're Cruising in Bulgarira with ClearlyEnlight.Info

2009-07-05T13:12:00.006+03:00

I bought a car from the couple I house sat for in May. We took care of the paper work on Friday, all I need to do is get it registered within two weeks. The car is a French made Peugeot that runs diesel getting excellent gas mileage, a great running car.

Plus I will be launching a web site offering my services building affordable Websites this fall. I have my first customer, and will start to build a website advertising two different holiday homes.

Looks like I will not have to head to Sofia, Boris deicide to move into a different flat in Sofia, so he move all my stuff, and stuff for the house, to his brothers which is about 75 kilometers from the house I will be living at this winter.

I just need to head to the border of Romania and get a new three month visa, first.

I have launched The Insight Guide at ClearlyEnlight.info, I understand that many readers may not be interested in the context of the subject, although if you could take a look at the design work that would be great, leave a comment if you like. The in-depth articles each have their own home page, if needed check out the Site Map to navigate.

I will update the Insightful Compositions once in a while and will be adding the rss reader feeds soon.

Parrots in Bulgaria.

2009-06-26T09:43:00.003+03:00

One week of house sitting completed with the Orange Wing Parrot and the large Bulgaria sheep dog. Another week an a half of house sitting and then I decided to visit Romania for a few days, then head back to Sofia and get another three month visa.

The first time a non-EU resident applies for the long term visa for Bulgaria, they want the person to head out of the country and attain the visa at an Embassy. I don't have the paper work with me to get the long term visa in Romania, although I thought of taking a small holiday in October. So I will start getting the house ready for the winter and get settled during August and September and then visit Macedonia and maybe another country and get the long term visa while I an visiting.

I really enjoy being around a parrot again, it has been a long time. While I lived in Ohio I did some Parrot rescue and did some breeding. I will most likely get a Parrot, I did find a breeder in Greece. I will wait to see if I find the right type of property to buy before buying a Parrot.

I must say it is really different not blogging on my own computer. Once I get back to Sofia I will be loading up a couple of new websites and revealing my plan how to bring in some income. Many English people are forced to go back to England after living Bulgaria for awhile because it is very difficult to make any money. However the variety of things I will be pursuing I think will work out just fine.

I most likely will not be able to post any pictures until I get back to Sofia.

By the way, I woke up early this morning with Michael Jackson vividly on my mind and was shocked to notice on the Internet that he died.

Arrived to House-Sit.

2009-06-20T09:00:00.003+03:00

I arrived at the house to care for the parrot and the dog. We coulden't find the password for the wireless Interent for my computer, but I can the home owners computer for the Internet.

I should be posting soon.

The Village Nest—Bulgaria.

2009-06-07T11:34:00.012+03:00

Yesterday, a friend of Boris’ drove us out to view the house which is 175 kilometers from Sofia. We first stopped in Plovdiv to meet Boris’ lawyer friend. I will be heading to Plovdiv tomorrow by train to complete the paper work for the company. Then I will open a bank account with an Italian owned bank, they do have a branch in Parvomay; however the house is 5 kilometers from Parvomay. The house resides in a small little village with three cafes, and some food stores; everything is one block away from the house. If your driving though on the way to Turkey, don't blink you might miss the village. After getting the bank account I will apply for the long term visa.

The situation of the house will work, although some work is needed. Boris’ grandmother primary lived in the house, his father lived there for a time. Nobody has lived in the house for 10 years. The main house has four rooms, which one room was used as a dry kitchen. I will utilize the front room as a summer room that has two big windows looking into the yard.

The separate building with the running water is where they spent the winters; it is one room with a sink; it did have a wood stove, and the shower is in a separate room. The plan is to remove everything and paint the kitchen room; I will buy a slender cast iron wood stove and place it in the proper location in the room. The house has many rugs that will be good for the flooring. Boris has a bunch of tile for the shower room and I will buy a small boiler (hot water heater). There are many beds, blankets, and tables, so I will choose the best bed and design a desk/dining table that will fit properly. The winter dwelling is the most important, which I will have to buy wood, the entire winter should cost about 400 lev. During the summer time I will create outside sitting and a partial outside kitchen. I will store my clothes in the summer room, which there is a large wardrobe closet. I might buy an old style washer or just wash my clothes by hand.

The yard area is very private, and I think it will work out just fine, accept only one important aspect—the house lacks a toilet. The remedy to that is not that difficult now-a-days. Cabela's has remarkable merchandise, I have been buying clothes and other items from Cabelas for over twenty years. The Thetford Porta Potti would be ideal, but the weight for my ultra reliable mail forwarding service would be costly. However, The Nature Bio-Toliet should suffice the situation, plus it is lightweight to ship. Here is the link to all the portable toilet alternatives Cabela's offers.

After house sitting the parrot, Boris and I will began the clean up. I think it will be quite cozy; however the villagers will be a head rush. I will most likely be the gossip of the village for awhile—that is one benefit of not speaking the language.

Boris’ second cousin and great uncle (the father’s bother) lives down the street in the village. The cousin speaks good English and she is inquiring about DLS for the house and how to turn on the water; Boris left a wireless router in the house, and the electric does work. The DSL is only 20 lev a month, if I buy a car the insurance is only 300 lev a year. I guess cable TV is only 13 lev a month, but I will not have a TV.

I do have a lot to accomplish this next year; I am processing a strategy how to bring in some income through the internet. I will keep an eye out to buy a house.

By the way ClearlyPersonal.com has a page rank of 3, and I loaded the Welcome page of ClearlyEnlight’s Insight Guide at ClearlyEnlight.info, also, ClearlyEnlight.com is getting a makeover. I bought the bundle of Rage Software that aids in optimizing websites.

An Extended Stay—Bulgaria!

2009-06-03T17:41:00.005+03:00

Some major developments have taken place here in Bulgaria, I will be nesting for a least a year, possibly longer. Boris and his mother offered me to live at his fathers house that has been vacant for the last five years in a town 50 kilometers east of Plovdiv. We are going to see the house before I leave for the next house sitting situation.

The house has a large garden, a kitchen with a wood stove, and well water. They are happy someone will be living in the house; it is healthy for the home, plus I will take care it, I just have to buy wood for the winter or get a permit to chop down a tree. I might have to pay the electric, too. I might have Internet from the Belgian neighbor, if not I will buy the Mobile USB Internet from Globul, or get some DLS piped into the house. The wireless mobile is the way to go, I can go anyplace, just about, in Bulgaria and log onto the Internet. I did buy a cell phone from Globul.

Boris' long time lawyer friend is setting up the limited company that is essential to receive the long term visa. I will be opening up a bank account, however it will be a Euro account; right now the interest rate for a six month CD is a big whooping 8.50%.

I might buy a car, Boris has some contacts, and he is translating everything, and is always available for translation. Around next February, I think I will buy a new 15 inch Macbook Pro, I will wait until the new operating system—Snow Leopard—launches, and see if they upgrade the 15 inch with the fixed 8 hour battery. I will give Boris my white MacBook that I bought in Jordan, it is the least I can do, he is a great friend and very helpful.

It is meant for me to nest, and possibly live here in Bulgaria for a while. I am keeping my eye out to buy a house. I could pick one up for $5000, however, I will live at Boris’ father’s house for the next entire year. One option is if I would buy a house, I could work on it during the summer and live at the father’s house during the winter. I will be arriving at the house mid-July, after I house sit.

So what will this mean for the travel blog? I will keep blogging for all you loyal readers, I always have something to write about, and everyone will get a great dose of life in Bulgaria. Nevertheless, I will most likely, visit the Balkans, and other places of the area. I will visit Krakow, Poland at some point in time.

My company, Clearly Professional, has come out of hibernation in Bulgaria.

I will take the challenge and learn Bulgarian to the best of my ability, “inshala” on top of that comment.

Alternative Heath Care and Kittens.

2009-05-25T10:00:00.007+03:00

The one eyed cat that I feed is a mother of two cute little kittens in the above picture.

A subject I have meant to write about is in regards to the alternative health care industry, referring to massage, and any type of modality that works with the body, including energy work; however, I am not referring to Acupuncture within this ariticle. I refrain from seeking out massage or any other modality because the struggle to find someone who will remain within their scope of practice. A person that has been trained for massage, reflexology, or any other modality is only trained within that scope of modality. They are not trained to work with a person within the structure of the emotional reality of an individual. Studying over 600 hours of massage, trigger point release, and deep tissue, I am fully aware the potential problem of the practitioner by deluding themselves that they are a healer or therapist, which is derived from a low self-esteem.

The mother cat lounging on the safe side of the fence, her right eye is blind.

The terminology of any type of modality should be “practitioner” and not “therapist”, a major mistake of the alternative health care system. Once a practitioner of Massage, Chiropractor, Reiki, Reflexology, Rolfing, NET, EFT, or any other modality, perceives himself or herself as a “healer”, that person is severely deluded and most likely can be damaging to the inner self of the client. The powers of the darkness are subtle, cunning, and deceiving. The darkness strives to create a scenario that a person will believe related to a person’s past. The darkness dwells in the past that the ego quality of playing the victim attaches upon the person.

The light remains in the moment and projects into the future, but without allowing fantasy, or expectations to dominate the perception of projection.

For some odd reason, petting her butt motivates her to eat the cat food, she does love home cooking.

Any practitioner of alternative or traditional health care that attempts to delve into a person’s past, and traps them into a stage of self-pity and playing the victim, and the practitioner uses their low self-esteem that creates a damaging effect: That person is under the influence of the darkness. The darkness uses ego-driven qualities of feeling special and playing the victim by combining self-pity and disagreeable instances from childhood to fasten, and attach onto the congested emotional baggage of the individual. Henceforth, the strategy of the darkness is to trap the individual into a non-progressive cube of negative self-pity, loathing the past produces, animosity, and bitterness—the individual becomes positioned dogmatically into believing what the ego is dictating. The darkness thrives within the spectrum of this catch twenty-two.

A common site around the house, the cat is nice an relaxed on the other side of the fence.

The reality is that everyone experienced, on some degree, disagreeable occurrences in the past. Everyone of humanity needs some sort of nurturing on some level within an area of life—each person is different, each person has different circumstances. The majority of humanity suffers from a lack of inner intimacy, even though they may be married and have children. The practitioner of a low self-esteem will not only draw out normal deficiencies, but also pursue negativity upon the client that creates a false sense of higher esteem upon the practitioner that is founded upon the egocentric hopelessness that results from separateness of the inner self. Consequently, the transferred energy from the practitioner to the client is damaging to the client’s inner self.

So a person might be asking, if a person experienced disagreeable circumstances in the past that is causing problems within their current life, what is the remedy?

Any type of abusive or disagreeable emotional occurrences from the past created congested emotional baggage within the individual’s emotional reality. Emotional congestion causes passive, lethargic brain activity that produces an absent mindedness that creates a sense of lost and insecurity within the core of the individual; consequently, troubleshooting in regards to decision-making within the moment is handicapped. The only remedy is to release the congested emotional baggage; one method is through weeping, however, the darkness has brainwashed cultures in to believing that it is weak to cry. Understanding the context of a former disagreeable circumstance is not always necessary. However, the context of a past occurrence can produce awareness that may be positive for the individual.

There are several methods that are available that can remove layers of old congested emotional baggage, however, it is crucial that the practitioner is healthy without any negative agenda toward the client.

If you sense the practitioner is involved within an addictive lifestyle, prone to jealousy, or envy, and dwells separate from their inner self that fabricates a low-self esteem, avoid this type of person.

However, there are many good-hearted practitioners of alternative, and traditional health care. Knowing the person or visiting someone through a referral of a friend is the best choice. Randomly choosing can be risky. I personally avoid seeking massage work because it is difficult to find someone who will strictly focus on the scope of bodywork.

Insects, Flying Creatures, and Culture.

2009-05-23T10:31:00.007+03:00

Meet Robbie the puppy doggie. Beautiful if you ask me. He is sitting tall and contemplating why the cats in the neighborhood refuse to play with him.

The couple of the house will be back around the 27/28th, so I will be here for a few more days, which is OK, I did allow a window of flexibility, I am in no hurry.

Staying here in the country side about 15 kilometers from Tryavna, I have observed the largest variety of insects, and flying creatures, along with the most incredible bird songs throughout the day and, interesting enough, during the nighttime. The presence of most creepy crawling creatures and flying insect critters I do enjoy, even the wasps and bumble bees; however, the size of the hornets in this area resemble from the Jurassic era, I have never seen such large hornets. It is best to have a tennis racket in the house just in case, I choose to keep my distance from the hornets.

I have no idea what this interesting flying insect is, however, check out his radar.

Traveling a post Soviet country, I cannot help from remembering back in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell and the Soviet bloc slowly dissolved. The perceptions that generated from preconceived ideas in America were of fear and danger. I remember the common thought was traveling Poland or The Ukraine that you will be mugged and robbed because the Mafia controls the infrastructure. Possibly, some danger existed, however danger of theft or bodily harm also exists in the large cities of America and can happen in anywhere of the world.

The perception of Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia, from what I remember, was portrayed as supreme on the danger list. Today, I experience Bulgaria as an ultra pleasant country, predominantly, easy going compared to the countries I have traveled. A measure of negativity exists in every country and culture and, indeed, there is a measure of negativity imbedded in the culture here in Bulgaria. Within the former Ottoman countries I have visited, there exists a unique breed of negativity because of five hundred years of oppressive subjection—each country is downtrodden with a different degree of negativity verses positive. Comparing Upper Egypt to Greece is a fine example, as former Ottoman countries. Bulgaria is slowly changing, though, bracing against, but simultaneously, welcoming the western onslaught of imperialism.

In addition to the subject of perception, oddly enough, the stereotype mentality of the west consists that the women in the eastern countries are abused, and strongly desire to meet a westerner. I have experienced this to be untrue. Indeed, there are dating sites that can provide a wife for someone in the west, I knew a couple of men in Santa Cruz that married Ukrainian women, although both marriages ended up in divorce after a time; however the girls did receive their green card. Of course, there are different forms of abuse within every culture around the world. The attached stereotype image in regards to cultures, counties, cities, and personal reputation is a twisted perception or reality.

The neighborly sheep and their guardian.

The majorities of women that I have met here in Bulgaria are in relationships and show no interest in moving to the west; compared to Greece, the girls are more unapproachable, though friendly, but the language barrier does play a role. From my experience from the countries I have traveled, from a male perspective, I experienced the Greek girls to be the most friendly, open, and talkative. Indeed, the Egyptian girls are most bold, in addition to the Arabs to be the most traditional, which can generate an attraction in itself. From meeting other travelers from around the world, I found the Polish, and Slovakian women to be the most approachable, friendly, and charming. This is not an absolute generality; this is my own personal experience.

The town of Tryavna in the picture below.

Currently, I am contemplating of returning and nesting here in Bulgaria for awhile, I was offered a third house sitting situation in the autumn, although I will be traveling Romania and Serbia starting in mid July.

A Set Plan—Bulgaria.

2009-05-09T11:47:00.001+03:00

Currently, the house-sitting is working out excellent. The puppy dog and I have cultivated a friendly relationship; I find interesting the psychology depths of the puppy dog The doggie is getting a workout each day that provides doggie naps throughout the day.

My cooking talent has changed for the better. A combination of the wood fire stove and ceramic baking pots has changed everything. This week I cooked some tomato based bean/sausge soup/stew. A pot of tomato/lental soup/stew with chili sauce. In addition to cooking another pot of bean, kebab veggie soup. Also, I am specializing in cooking fried rice; I love sesame oil. I am cooking from scratch, I might refer to a recipe as a foundation, however I am not cooking from any recipes, I find it way better to cook from scratch.

I am getting a lot of offline work done, and have created much more design work. I came up with the idea of two new websites in addition to Clearly Professional; however, I am focused on getting ClearlyEnlight’s Insight Guide finished first, which the web address will be Clearlyenlight.info.

A new development occurred, one of the English ladies that visits at the coffee shop on Mondays mentioned she has a friend that is looking for someone to house and pet-sit two outside dogs, and one orange wing amazon parrot. When I was involved with parrot rescue in Ohio ten years ago, I took care of an orange wing for sometime.

Last Thursday, the homeowner picked me up in town and drove me to show the house, pets and the grounds. The house is among a small village ten minutes from the town of Dryanovo, which is about 20 kilometers from Tryavna. It is a very nice comfortable house; I will be house-sitting starting June 17 up to July 12, from there I will be heading to Romania.

After I leave this current house-sitting situation I will couch-surf with Boris’ brother for a while in the town called Hisarya, and then head back to Sofia and stay with Boris for two or three weeks before I head to the new house-sitting situation. I will visit Veliko Tarnovo and most likely Plovdiv before I house sit in June. I will avoid the Black Sea because of being touristy and everyone talks negatively concerning the area because of the tourism. Personally, the tourist industry, and how the ego relates to travel, which the majority are not even aware, makes myself ill.

At this point in my travels, the two countries I highly recommend to visit are Syria and Bulgaria.

I started to take some pictures of the area, I should have some posted soon.

Respite in Bulgaria.

2009-04-30T15:35:00.002+03:00

I am having some excellent respite time house/pet sitting.

Here in Bulgaria many aspects are noticeable from the former Soviet era. There are still many old Soviet cars on the streets, along with old buildings, and statues still stand. Bulgaria having an influence from the Russians and Ottomans comprises of an interesting mix with excellent sausage of Eastern Europe and Kebab from the influence of Turkey.

Around Tryavna many old peasant looking people exist who lived their lives during the old regime. The old couple laking out of the woods with a cart of fire wood they just collected, an old man bent over at the waist walking with a cane is a common site. Several old people in Turkey, Greece, and here in Bulgaria I have noticed are bent over at the waste, I cannot help from wondering how did their body become so bent over? There are those who raise sheep and cows that live in the villages dotting the country side of the Central Balkan National Park. The small village I am dwelling is the type of old village you will view in a movie. Old, run down type of cottage houses where the older generation still lives from the old Soviet era; the younger generation moved on to find education and work in the bigger cities.

As I recall, all the travelers I met who visited Bulgaria mostly stayed two or three days, basically, they visit Sofia and moved on. Indeed, there is not much for the tourist in Bulgaria except for the beaches of the Black Sea, and skiing in the mountains in the winter. Although, why travel as a tourist? Possibly the avoidance of boredom? The lack of having an interest of depth in life? Certainly, the shallow person will want to move fast, after all, what else is there to see? I have found it fascinating to observe this aspect of travel. It is common to view certain aspects among travelers: the person what to be recognized by others, or to become famous, or they are trying to profit from traveling and the tourist industry—or all three. This is not an absolute generality.

A house-situation is available in Italy for two months starting September 15, I am tempted, however I will not jump the gun, I will stick to my 2009 travel route.

I find that traveling from place to place and blogging regular about the history and tourist sites is energetically draining, and I view it superficial. It is pleasant to see that most people would like the context of this blog based on the reality of life and personal blogging. I have much more of an interest with blending my writing with subjects of the reality of life, personal, and spiritual blogging, with a blend of history of the area and country. There are many websites with information of tourist sites a person can browse. However, some tourist sites will deserve an individual post. While in Greece, including Turkey, blogging everyday about each site produced a depleted system.

In addition, I will not be converting my travel blog into a website. Many bloggers do prefer setting up a website style interface for their blog; nevertheless, this travel blog will remain a writing blog with few changes on the side bar from time to time.

I have asked the opinion of many people about posting the above route that I have accomplished in traveling on the front page. One person, through commenting on another blog mentioned that it is “ego driven”, although the subject at hand was numbering how many countries a person has traveled, which I view the subject of numbers as shallow.

The mere reason why I post the above accomplished route traveled is for the navigation of the reader. I have visited many travel blogs that it took a several hours just to figure out where they have traveled and how long they stayed in each country. Feel free to leave a comment concerning your opinion of the above subject.

The process I am using to produce, edit, and post pictures is working well. The program “Flickery” works great and has produced simplicity posting pictures to Flickr. A desktop program for Mac called “Tweetie” was released, which I prefer to Tweetdeck when posting and reading on Tweeter. Having a good simplified routine for pictures, micro-blogging, and regular blogging benefits the day to day process for travel blogging.

Interesting enough, my other website, ClearlyPersonal.com has a page rank of 2. This occurred without even trying to get a page rank, besides using iWeb to build the website, which is not SEO friendly. However, trashing the built in navigation bar, creating links from text, powering each page with meta tags, and creating two different types of site maps might have contributed to getting a page rank considering I am only posting once a month, and have very few links on the site.

I am feeling much better concerning my cough, although I can say that western medicine causes an obscure type of energy with ones spirit. If a person experiences themselves with a lack of ambition, motivation, and lack of interest in life—if your taking any western medication—you may want to reconsider the circumstances. The shroud that is cast from the digestion of western medicine produces a depressive state of energy. Indeed, when an individual requires an ingestion of medicine, the medicine can produce positive results as a cure. However, an ongoing intake of western medicine for who could contend with the difficulties of life will benefit by avoiding the consumption of western medicine, such as antibiotics, antidepressants, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety type of pills. I will avoid the digestion of western medicine unless it is absolutely necessary, although this episode I wanted to avoid any type of Bronchitics and that nasty cough did reside.

Today I just received a reflexology session from one of the English women that I met on Monday at the coffee shop.

House-Sitting in Bulgaria.

2009-04-27T13:59:00.002+03:00

I am at the house/pet-sitting situation, which I arrived on Wednesday, and the owners left on Friday. This area is a beautiful area of Bulgaria and very easy going with small villages dotted around the Central Balkan National Park. The house is about 15 kilometers from the town of Tryavna, I will be heading to Tryavna each Monday because it is the market day of the week, and most likely on Thursday to resupply with food and check the Internet. The couple left me the old work car to drive into town. On Mondays all the English people meet for coffee, which I will be joining everyone.

A few people have e-mailed me concerning how I am able to find house-sitting situations. When I was in Israel on the farm, the raw food guy from America and I were talking about different types of resources for the long term traveler. Two minds can troubleshoot into ideas that one mind may not think of—the Goggle searching began. I found a few sites on house-sitting, one site in particular called housecarers.com, the site costs $45.00 to join for thirteen months. I decided to join and searched for any available houses in the countries I will be visiting and there was not a single household looking for a sitter. I, of course, choose patience to see what is meant to be, and what might take place. Most available house-sitting situations are in the English speaking countries.

The extremely positive aspect to housecarers.com is that within my profile I can add three or four countries I will be visiting, including cities, regions, towns, and villages. Once a homeowner submits an ad, the system e-mails the members who has that particular country in their profile, then the potential sitter can send an e-mail to the homeowner. Within the profile the member can upload pictures, and create a detailed profile with the link to a website or blog. This is how the current house/pet-sitting occurred. In addition, I might house sit for their friends who I visit with on Mondays. This is also how I found the house in Romania where I might stay for awhile in August, although that house has no plumbing. During this time I did have another homeowner e-mail through the system of housecarers.com here in Bulgaria, although my plans were already cemented. Once I settle on a plan I will not change the plan, In addition to housecarers.com, there also exists a site called caretakers.com. There are a few other sites on the Internet in connection to pet-sitting, house-sitting, caretaker situations.

House/pet sitting is ideal for the traveler, especially for the long term traveler who prefers to travel slow. Bulgaria is a wonderful country; friendly people, many resources for the traveler with a combination of couch-surfing, organic farming, and house-sitting. The people are easy going and friendly.

The puppy dog is very friendly and enjoys playing tug-of-war, and fetch and catch the ball. The house is a charming little cottage with an efficient stove that creates central heating for the house. This situation has provided me with quality solitude and comforting silence. Throughout this time I will be working on my body through self-massage; my muscles need to thank the makers of the tennis ball. I will resume my yoga routine along with push-ups as I was doing in Beirut. I find it difficult to maintain this routine on the road. My whole diet and routine in life is changing compared to when I left, I must maintain this routine once I move from place to place. It will be a struggle, but it is essential at this point in life.

In addition I will work on my website, and cook some nutritious food. I caught a nasty cough from being around too much second hand smoke in Sofia, and a head cold occurred. This time I am taking the antibiotics, hopefully it will fight this cough.

Today is Monday, I am feeling much better compared to last Saturday when I started the antibiotics.

New Poll—Cast Your Vote.

2009-04-16T14:44:00.003+03:00

I added a poll to the side bar today. I am wondering what type of context of writing does the reader prefer on my blog. I am not into teaching how to travel, I believe everyone is different and there are plenty of travel bloggers that are stuck on teaching others how to travel.

Certain type of writing can be very draining for myself, although I am wondering what is the interest of the reader. You can also contact me through this link and state your opinion.

Posting pictures will always happen along with the post.

If you are reading this through the RSS, or a Reader feed, or through your email, please migrate over to the site through this link and cast your vote, thanks.

Bulgaria—Couch-Surfing.

2009-04-15T14:38:00.001+03:00

The pictures on the post are of Meteora in Greece.

I arrived in Sofia yesterday by train, the trip was about six hours, but very comfortable. Couch-surfing is excellent, again. Last night we went to dinner with a few of his friends, and I got a good view of the town of Sofia. Certainly, the first impression is the feel of a former Soviet country. Boris, my couch-surfing host is 35 and remembers life under the iron curtain. There has been change, but nothing dramatically. Western Imperialism slowly creeping into Bulgaria, although it is a dilatory process. Thus, the traditional flavors of the Ottoman influence are abiding. The energy of Sofia is relaxed compared to Athens, but I do like the city of Athens.

I am happy to be out of Greece, not only because of the expense of the Euro, but Central and Northern Greece is a far cry from Crete, Messinia, and the Mani. I experience the people in Central Greece to be quite unfriendly, uptight, and less interested in the traveler.

I am very satisfied the areas I chose to visit in Greece. Visiting Crete and touring Peloponnese are well worth it. Contemplating only two months in Greece, I feel that it was the best choice considering that Greece is very a diverse region. The sad aspect to Greece is the onslaught of the Western Imperialism and the detrimental effect of the Euro. One hundred percent of people said that the Euro and the EU are negative for the common people and are snuffing out the traditional culture. Only the international bankers and politicians are benefiting from the consolidation of Europe. Unfortunately, there are some negative aspects to the culture of the Greeks, although it really matters what region is spoke of, I did find the culture to be quite charming within many aspects.

The main highlight of Greece is the two different situations I couch-suffered, both Greek gals are very pleasant, warm, and welcoming individuals. In addition, the Mani Coast of Peloponnese is special, it is the third eminent area of energy and landscape. The first is the White Desert in Egypt, and then Cappadocia in Turkey.

I will be couch-sufing in Sofia until Wednesday, and then heading to the Central Balkan National park to house-sit for a month. This weekend Boris and I will be taking a day trip to Plovdiv to visit his brother, at least I think that is name of the town.

I will be taking a break from blogging once I am at the house. I will not have Internet access at the house, which is OK, I will be heading into the main town once a week for food and Internet.

The Temple of Apollo—Delphi.

2009-04-13T15:26:00.003+03:00

Delphi dates from the Mycenaean age between 14th and the 11th centuries BCE. During this time, the deity that was worshipped was Ge “Earth”. Around the end of the ninth century, the cult of Apollo became established.

Delphi was considered the naval of the earth and the Center of the Universe. The Temple of Apollo became firmly established after Apollo killed Python the snake that guarded the oracle of Ge. From the time of sixth and four centuries, Delphi and the Temple of Apollo flourished with fame. People traveled for throughout the ancient world to hear the Oracle and receive advice. The Temple survived until Theodosius abolished the temple activities and dismantled the temple in the 4th century CE.

Delphi is truly beautiful, and the location of the Temple that is situated on a cliff is outstanding. However, the location does not interest me, it is the characteristics of Apollo that are interesting. Written in stone at Delphi the say goes: All things in Moderation, and—Know thy self, two sayings that are of basic wisdom to living an amiable life.

Apollo is said to be the god of music, prophecies, poetry, archery, and said to be the god of light and truth. Apollo is associated with the sun, also adverted to as the most beautiful of the gods. He is Artemis's twin brother, and son of Zeus. His symbols are the bow, lyre, and laurel. Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius. Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill health and deadly plague as well as one who had the ability to cure.

In contrast, Ares is the god of war, murder, and bloodshed. Brother to Athena, and is the son of Zeus. Ares has affairs with Aphrodite. His symbols are vultures, dogs, boars, and a spear. Ares correlates with Baal of the Canaanites whom Judaism worships, the offshoot of the failed Israelites. All the world religions worship Baal, and Ishtar who correlates with Aphrodite.

From studying the gods of Greece, one cannot help to think that Apollo is one of the good guys. Light and truth are always associated with Apollo.

One more night—Athens.

2009-04-06T14:29:00.006+03:00

Athens at night.

I decided to stay in Athens one more day. I have been overly tired and my digestion is slightly off balance. Also, my muscles from walking up the many stairs in Nafplio and Mystras are sore. So, I will take a day of rest on this rainy, gloomy day in Athens and tomorrow I will head to Delphi. Using a tennis ball on the wall to massage my gluteus and piriformis muscles works well.

The Temple of Poseidon.

I moved from the six bed dorm to a four bed dorm yesterday. The four bed dorm might lack electrical outlets, but the room has better energy, plus, for now I am the only person in the room.

The Acropolis of Athens.

The month of March worked out great by only staying at the organic farm a week in a half, and then traveling Peloponnese. Greece is a beautiful country, and the culture is much more opened than Turkey because of the breakdown of the religion. Around the globe, small towns are similar; people are bored, they gossip, the desire to know everyone's business is predominate. Even so, the energy here is Greece is considerably relaxed than in many places in Turkey. Greece and Turkey are similar in many ways because of the influence of the Ottomans, however, there are stark differences between the two countries.

The area of the Temple of Poseidon.

The blend among the sexes changes the energy of a region, including the acceptance of alcohol. It is fascinating to have observed the negative results of the separation of the sexes in certain regions. Indeed, karmic bonds are attached to any region, culture, tribe, and nation that suppresses freedom of expression, and that subdues nature. The populace of the country suffers on different levels due to the ideology that is taught. Nowadays, humanity is distant of understanding our true nature because of the deranged perception that the media teaches. The result is a locked Chakra system, and congested emotional baggage.

The below picture is the Olympic Stadium used in 1896 when they renewed the games. In 2004 the Stadium was restored and used for a few events, including the finish location of the marathons.

I find it remarkable the urge people have to go out at night and party—the younger generation especially. The level of discontent is unusual; emotions unchecked is what creates the motivation, which predominantly, loneliness and boredom is the prime influence. A continual detail I observe of the majority is door slamming, and not having any sense of consideration of their fellow citizen.

My plans are set until at least June, I will be visiting Delphi, Volos, and Meteora here in Greece and then head to Bulgaria. I will visit Sophia of a few days before I head to the house-sitting situation. If I have time I might visit one town on the way in Bulgaria.

Beautiful Nafplio—Greece.

2009-04-04T16:28:00.001+03:00

The pictures are of a panorama view from the hotel, although not in order. If you are reading from the RSS feed or e-mail, you might want to visit my Flickr page for supplemental pictures.

I arrived in Nafplio last Friday from Sparta. Nafplio is situated on the Argolic Gulf in the northeast Peloponnese. Most of the old town is on a peninsula jutting into the gulf; this peninsula forms a naturally protected bay that is enhanced by the addition of manufactured moles.

During the Greek War of Independence, Nafplio was a major Ottoman stronghold and was besieged for a year by Theodoros Kolokotronis. The Acronauplia, and then Palamidi, finally surrendered because of starvation. After the War of Independence, Nafplio became the capital of Greece.

Nafplio and Argos that sits across the bay is the oldest inhabited area of Greece dating back 6000 years. Three fortresses reside in Nafplio, which The Miltiades Bastion (Palamidi) consists of 999 endless steps to reach the top. The bastion provided a prison for condemned criminals from 1840 to 1920. War of Independence hero Theodore Kolokotronis spent several years here after being condemned for treason.

The hotel I stayed at had a rooftop that provided wonderful views of the area; there are 148 steps to the hotel from the ground level of the old town. I highly recommend The hotel Dimitris Bekas, only 25 Euro for a double.

Many Greek romantics visit Nafplio on the weekends; the area can get busy and is overrun during the summer. Nafplio is beautiful with three different castles; I especially like the island fortress of Bourtzi. Nafplio is only a two-hour bus ride from Athens.

Sparta—Peloponnese.

2009-04-01T08:15:00.003+03:00

The city and region of Sparta is most popular from its history. Today, Sparta is nothing to speak of considering the energy of oddity that it possesses. Even so, most people will find themselves in Sparta to visit Mystras.

The engulfment of Sparta’s history relates to the military and the infamous hoplite. The most popular battle happened in 480 BCE when a few hundred soldiers prevented an entire Persian army from conquering and dominating Greece.

The Spartans fought ruthlessly based on self-sacrifice that caused a merciless ideology. Every Citizen of Sparta was considered a hoplite. The hoplite training began at birth that lasted until they were sixty, which the men lived in the barracks until the age of thirty. Newborn babies that did not pass the test of fitness were left on the mountain to expire. Even though, the life of the Spartan slave proved to be a life of harsh cruel labor. The word “Spartan” defines as: “showing the indifference to comfort or luxury.”

The decline began in 371 BCE with the battle of Leuctra. The long drawn-out Peloponnesian wars were conducive to the decline of Sparta, too. Helen, who made-off and eloped with Paris of Troy was from Sparta, which sparked the long Trojan War.

I experienced the energy of Sparta a complete contrast to Kalamata, and especially the Mani coast. My inner chemistry was slightly shocked from the change of energy. Interesting enough, at the bus station I met a nice woman who is working as a teacher in Sparta for one year, but is from Athens. She expressed how she dislikes living in Sparta, and we agreed concerning the odd energy. The energy is comprised of anger and discontentment; there is an uneasiness that exists within the city limits of Sparta.

Although from the pictures you can view that the surrounding area with the snow capped mountains of the Taygetos Mountians are a beautiful site to behold. The view from the mound of Ancient Sparta is outstanding, including the view of Mystras from a distance.

Mystras—Peloponnese!

2009-03-31T08:00:00.001+03:00

Mystras resides six kilometers from Sparta. Mystras is a former city that is built upon a high hill, consisting of a lower city, an upper city, and the castle at the top of the plateau. In 1249 CE, the fortress found its foundation; the Franks built the fortress. The Byzantines defeated the Franks and made Mystras its capital.

Mystras flourished while the Byzantine Empire was declining. Mystras was the last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire as the Turks were conquering the surrounding areas of Greece. Mystras declined under the Turks beginning in 1460, a despot of Morea, but thrived again after the Venetians captured Mystras in 1687.

The population grew to 40,000 inhabitants, during the time of the Venetians, but the Turks recaptured Mystras in 1715. In 1770, the Russians burnt the city. Ibrahim Pasha burnt the rest of the city in 1825. Restoration began at Mystras in 1950.

The climb up to the fortress is quite grueling; even so, there are many churches, buildings to explore, and spectacular views that create a good rest at the top of the fortress.

The little village of Mystras is charming compared to Sparta. On the bus from Sparta, I met an English guy who lives in Qatar working for the news network of Al Jazeera. We both did the climb together, which worked out well.

Mystras was declared a world heritage site in 1989 and one of the biggest sites on Peloponnese.

Areopoli—The Capital of Mani—Greece.

2009-03-26T13:00:00.003+02:00

On Monday, I traveled from Kardamili to Areopoli, which is south on the Mani Coast of Peloponnese. Areopoli is named after Ares, the God of War, who correlates with Auman of Egypt, Bel of Sumer, and Baal of the Canaanites who Judaism of today worships. Areopoli is a site of the Greek War of Independence as in Kardamili. Today, Areopoli consists of a stone brick town with the small population surviving on fishing, olive oil production, and tourism.

A Maniot, Petrobey Mavomihalis, declared the war the against the Turks in 1821. An army of 2000 Maniots advanced on Kalamata and after a two-day siege, the Maniots took the city. The statue of Mavrmihalis dominates Main square of Areopoli.

The town possesses some fine architecture of buildings, tower-houses, and churches built from stone. I consider Aeropoli the stone village, which is the capital of Mani.

The hotel I stayed at is an old tower-house that was converted into a hotel. The surrounding area is beautiful, and only about fifteen kilometers exists the most remarkable caves I have visited.

It is said that the length of the Diros Caves is fourteen kilometers. A large potion of the floor of the cave is a lake; the boat ride is 1500 meters through the cave. After the boat ride the walking tour is about 400 meters.

If anyone visits Areopoli, the Diros Caves are not to be missed.

The Diros Caves are a spectacular natural wonder.

Kardamili—The Mani Coast—Greece.

2009-03-25T18:49:00.007+02:00

I arrived in Kardamili last Friday. The Poet Homer, around 1200 BCE first mentioned Kardamili as one of the seven towns that Achilles was offered by Agamemnon as a dowry to settle the Trojan War. During that era, Kardamili was the main port for the city-state of Sparta along with Gythio. Local legend dictates that the tombs of Castor and Pollux—twin brothers of the Helen of Troy—reside in the old town of Kardamili.

Ruling for two centuries dating back to sixteenth century, The Troupakis-Mourtzinos Clan proved to be the most powerful and engaged in the War of Independence in 1821 against the Turks. The clan ruled from fortified tower-houses in the old town of Kardamili. These tower-houses exist everyplace on the Mani Coast.

Within the old town, an 18th century church, with a collection of vacant tower-houses still remain, and are well preserved. I experienced the town of Kardamili quite delightful and charming and one that will go onto my chart of favorite towns, but another town that survives solely from tourism.

The hotel owner, an old crouched over woman, was quite interesting, she didn’t speak any English, although we did accomplish the bargaining process. She said 40 Euro a night for the room, which had a kitchenette. I moaned and groaned and she asked my how much and I said 35 Euro. She agreed reluctantly; I gave her 100 Euro and asked for my change. We went down stairs and she offered tea, she called her son who speaks English. The old, crouched over woman tried to bargain for a higher price and I said no, she did give me the change with a downhearted demeanor.

After about twenty minutes she knock on the door, she started to show me that I had to run the water a long time to receive the hot water, and then asked if I would stay for three days. I said no, but I knew that she was not comfortable with the price of 35 Euro. I was somewhat pestered from her whining and just gave her 20 Euros more, which added up to 45 Euro a night. She was hesitant, but took the money—I will not make a big deal out of money.

The next day I stopped at their door and their son was visiting, they invited me inside, and offered homemade wine, feta cheese, homemade organic beef that their other son raises, and a cooked small type of bird they shoot out of the sky with its head attached, and we were all joyful having a bunch of laughs. There were so happy, they let me use an iron, and turned on the heating so I could dry my clothes that I washed in the room.

Interesting enough, the day I was leaving I stopped to give them the key, and again, they served me tea and we said our goodbyes; the lady followed me out and give me 10 Euros back and kissed me on both checks. I find it fascinating how people relate to money.

Ancient Messini—Greece.

2009-03-22T13:00:00.000+02:00

On Friday I trekked up the small town of Mavormati and Ancient Messini. The Taygetos Mountains divide Sparta and Messinian Mani, and Messinia. The route from Kalamata to Sparta requires climbing to the Langada Pass and change buses. Because of this mountain division, the domination of Sparta upon Messinia deteriorated around 370 BCE, after 350 years of Spartan rule. The Theban General Epaminondas claimed Messinia as their capital after he defeated Sparta.

According to Diodorus, the city was built in only 85 days. No doubt, the Messenians were eager to re-establish their capital after four centuries of resistance to Spartan oppression. The fortified city of Messini, with its 9km long enclosing wall, which was part of the strategic barrier against Sparta, the southernmost of a chain of walled cities including Megalopolis and Argos. Ancient Messini became the new capital along with defensive positions against Sparta. Supposedly, a myth dictates that Zeus was born in Ancient Messini and not Crete. Who really knows where Zeus was born? I certainly do not know.

The ruins of Ancient Messini might not draw many tourists, although, I found Ancient Messini, and the upper town of Mavromati a delight. The charming town of Mavromati sits above the ruins of Ancient Messini that provides exceptional views of the valley all the way to the coast.

The Stadium with Mavromati in the background.

The site is free to visit. The design of the city is of many Roman styled cities I have visited. Ancient Messini inhabited a fountain house, two theater, a Doric style Temple of the deified Messene, an Agoria or marketplace, and a fine looking stadium and gymnasium. The center of the city stood the sanctuary or temple that was dedicated to Asclepios, the god of healing, which the model in the picture portrays.

The temple of Asclepios dates from the Hellenistic period and is 71.9 meters by 66.67meters. A sacrificial altar existed within the temple.

There are only two buses to get to Mavromati and the first one is at 6am. I decided to take a bus from Kalamata to the modern town of Messini, which is twenty-five kilometers from Mavromati. I hitchhiked, and caught a ride for half the distance, and then decided to wave down a taxi to Mavromati. I took the bus back to Kalamata from Mavromati.

The above picture was taken from Mavromati.

Pylos—Nestor—Greece.

2009-03-19T10:00:00.001+02:00

I took a day trip to Pylos from Kalamata yesterday. Pylos processes an immense natural harbor. Pylos is a picturesque town that resides with an absorbing history. From Pylos I took a bus up to Nestor’s Palace and then hitchhiked to the museum at the small town of Hora.

Nestor is a mythical hero who fought in the Trojan War, and interesting enough, who voyaged with Jason and the Argonauts. For all regular readers you might remember my stop in Giresun in Turkey, a stop that Jason and the Argonauts experienced. As I mentioned formally, even if the mythical stories are not precisely true—it is the location of the story that interests my intellect. Nester’s Palace is only a foundation, not a big hype, but the history and location is interesting and beautiful. In addition, the Mycenaean Palace was two stories.

The most modern history of Pylos begins in 1827 when a combined fleet of British, French, and Russian fired at Ibrahim Pasha’s combined Turkish, Egyptian, and Tunisian naval fleet sinking over 50 ships and killing 6000 men in the bay of Pylos. The reprehensible action of the allied fleet is considered a misunderstanding and should have never of happened, the original plan was to influence the Turkish out of the bar of Pylos. Within my travels of Turkey, you may recall the beautiful Ishak Pasha Palace near Mount Ararat. Although this Ibrahim Pasha is of Egypt who ruled after Muhammad Ali, you may recall the post of The Citadel of Muhammad Ali in Cario. There is much more history of Pylos that can be found at this link.

Interesting enough, in this area resides Voidokilla Beach where is said to be Homer’s Sandy Pylos. Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, asked the old King Nestor of his fathers whereabouts (remember Odysseus couldn’t fine his way home and Telemachus left Ithaca in search of his father). Also, within this area is Nestor’s cave where Hermes hid the cattle that he stole from Apollo—exciting stuff. One of my favorite stories is the journey of Odysseus.

The town of Methoni is only eleven kilometers south of Pylos. Methoni is one of the seven towns offered to Achilles by Agamemnon to settle the Trojan War, Achilles declined the gifts; I did not make it down to Methoni, but wanted to reveal some historical information of this area of Messinia of Pleoponnese.

In regards to the story of the American couple that also couch-surfed here in Kalamata, I know them from the blog world. They do not update their blog often, although I noticed they were in Egypt and they were on their way to Israel at the time I was in Israel. I sent a friendly e-mail that I added their link on my blog, and asked if they wanted to meet in person—I never received a response. I always have an interest with reference to locations people have traveled; previously, I have received many ideas from other travelers. From their travel route, a strong feeling within dictated this was the couple from the blog world. I have a rule; if a person does not ask about my travels, I will not talk about myself. They never did ask about my travels, although we talked about Egypt. The depth of conversation I shared concerning the Egyptian culture, I observed that they refrained from having an interest concerning my travel route, length, and style. I have met people on seven-month, twelve-month, and sixteen-month journeys—as in this couple— strangely enough, some “round the world travelers” will not have a mutual interest in the other traveler.

Olympia—The Olympic Games—Greece.

2009-03-16T17:09:00.010+02:00

In Ancient times, the Olympics were the most prominent and distinguished sporting event in the world. Countries and states would shortly terminate their conflicts, disagreements, and battle against each other in the sporting arena. The games lasted one thousand years until Theodosius the First abolished the games in 394 CE.

The first official Olympic games began in 776 BCE. The games renewed in action every four years in 1896; today the winter and summer games rotate every two years. In 2004, the games returned to the Olympia where the Olympic flame was lit and carried to the stadium in Athens.

The games occurred at the first full moon of August in the honor of Zeus. The temple of Zeus at Olympia housed the statue of Zeus, which was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. This is the forth location that existed one of the wonders that I have visited.

The gathering of the games lasted five days, and only Greek males were to compete, after a while Romans participated in the games, but only males, women were banded from participating and as spectators. In addition to the games, analytics and executives gathered to attain transactions and to intellectualize.

Ancient Olympia may not “wow” the long-term traveler; even so, the historical significance combined with the energy of competition provides a charming character.

I bargained for a room in a nice hotel here in Olympia. The regular rate for the room is 45 Euro, and breakfast is 14 Euro. I got a comfortable room with breakfast for 35 Euro with free wireless Internet. The town of Olympia is solely tourism, however at this time of year everything is slow. One large group of Canadian high school students was at the site; they are on a ten-day tour of Greece and Italy. Strangely enough, I asked if they were going to Delphi, and they said No—perplexing.

Here is a model of what Olympia looked like during the BCE era.

This picture below is the view from the stadium area side of Olympia looking toward the temple of Zeus, notice the tunnel entering the stadium and the natural hills of the stadium. The stadium could hold 4500 spectators.

Tomorrow I am heading to Kalamata to couch-surf for three nights.