Dont fret, We are still here

We're in the mountains of Nepal. Internet is obviously a rare commodity, we'll update when we can and hope everyone is doing great!

You may have won this battle Zeus, but the war isn't over.

After spending time with family in the Greek Islands, we flew from Crete to Macedonia area of Greece, up north, and spent 3 nights in Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki, which unbeknownst to me, is actually the 2nd largest city in Greece. We spent a few days walking around the city, seeing the random ruins you stumble into everywhere throughout Greece, shopping, and *enjoying* the tons of bars and restaurants. There is a great scene here with a few areas that are completely lined with bars and restaurants with outside seating until close to the sunrise.

what a smile...

So logically after a weekend of heavy drinking we next went to Litochoro to attempt to climb the near mythical Mt. Olympus. Figuring out any public transportation in Greece (outside of the islands) has been a big challenge. I never would have thought south america would have been easier, but we received via the internet, and through broken language conversations so much conflicting information on how we get to Litochoro its a wonder we somehow got on a bus from Thessaloniki that deposited us in the main square of Litochoro 90 mins later.

So i'm no mountain climber, but the guide books describe that its a difficult and steep but very doable hike up Mt. Olympus. From the start of the national park behind Litochoro. Its a total of 20 kilometers to the top. Most people who do the climb, get a ride that skips that first 9 kilometers and do the final 11 and then back down in two days with a night spent at a mountain lodge.

So we arrive in town and the sky has darkened to a shade of ugly ugly gray and it proceeds to begin raining hard. It's about 63 degrees in town, but the internet informs us its about 27 on the top of the mountain. Holy sh8t! We naively never considered snow and freezing temps. After spending time reading on the beach, packing snowpants was the furthest thing from my mind. So after reviewing the weather forecast (NON STOP rain for 3 days), we make the decision that unfortunately climbing Mt. Olympus would be a stupid and perilous affair. We check in early to the fancy hotel in town I had booked as a treat to enjoy after we completed the hike and spend the night.

The next morning we wake to see even more fog and feeling a bit lazy after lounging in a room we would enjoyed on a more traditional honeymoon, we decide do the first 9-10 kilometers of the mountain hike to at least get out and see some of the area and mountain.

So off we went, walking about a kilometer to the start. So over the next 5 hours we went and down and up and down and up again a valley that rose into the mountain. Officially it was a 2500 foot elevation gain, but i'd be shocked if we didn't two times that because you spend 25% going down the valley you just went up.

The hike was eerily beautiful filled with foggy, misty canyons

which eventually led to Avatar-esque mountain streams filled with the cleanest, blue-est rushing water, while passing tons of odd black and orange salamanders.

Along the way we passed a church built into a small cave, and a small prayer box further along, and towering granite faces.

Breaking Bad S3 opening scene style random Greek shrine

In the final kilometer (of course), i realized my left knee hurt and somehow I had twisted it at the very end. Annie had to carry me down the mountain. (just kidding, i walked fine albeit with a minor limp)

So after reaching the end of the 10 or so kilometers we were supposed to see a town on the mountain. Well let me tell you, the "town" was literally one restaurant (which was closed), a bathroom, a national park information booth (which was abandoned), and a few horses tied up. Short of walking back down 10 kilometers of trail, walking 17 kilometers down a road in the dark, we were stuck between a mountain and more mountain.

A Dutch couple who completed the hike up the mountain (who painfully informed us that once you got above a certain point you were actually above the clouds, there was no rain, and it was quite pleasant), were also stranded in this random non existent mid mountain town without a ride back. After trying to bribe a non english speaking Greek tour bus driver, a younger German tourist drove by and and Annie, I, and the two Dutchies found our way back to town.

Although the monasteries perched on the hills of Meteora were our original next destination, I decided to call an audible and head straight down to Athens a day early as the last thing my knee needs for a few days is climbing the rainy steps of Greece to view a monastery.

Matt. out.

Tavernas. And More Tavernas... and then maybe another one for good measure.

Yeah I know, Its been a little while since we've posted a blog - its been due to a combination of some of the most laughable excuses for internet connections and the fact that we were lucky enough meet some of our family in Greece. After 2 quick days in Mykonos, we met Melanie and Paul(Matt's sister and brother in law) for a week in Santorini and Milos, and then traveled around Crete with my parents.

Instead of rattling on about the beaches and history and hiking shenanigans, attention must be paid to what we all ate. I've eaten "Greek" food many times before - a greek salad made with lettuce, some dry souvlaki, tzatziki, etc. I always thought of it as ok, but apparently this is because I havent had Greek food in Greece. Made with fresh Greek ingredients.

The typical style of eating here is done at a Taverna, which is a casual style restaurant that serves up small plates and entrees on a table covered in paper. You can order fancy drinks, but most people stick with liters of house wine, bottles of ice cold water, and giant beers. Most tavernas have pages and pages of dishes available, but always include the staples: grilled meats, fish, squids, and octopi, casseroles of vegetables and meats and cheeses, small plates of grilled vegetables, fried dumplings (both veggie and meat), cheeses, potatoes, and fresh salads.

Here is some foodporn. Because I had to.

Platter of thinly sliced and fried eggplant, zucchini, onions, and red peppers. (random town, Crete)

Meal made entirely of small plates: cheese pies, local cheese, eggplant salad, tzatziki, potato salad, and sliced cucumbers. (Milos)

Tzatziki - yogurt, garlic, and cucumber. and some awesome. (Therissa, Santorini)

Chicken Souvaki with boiled poatoes with herbs, and saffron rice (Therissa, Santorini)

Octopus, caught and then grilled right by the beach (Therissa, Santorini)

Baklava (Oia, Santorini)
Wilted greens with garlic and lemon (Amoudi Bay, Santorini)

Fried whole little fishies (Amoudi Bay, Santorini)

So, one would think that since theres so much to choose from, you could go weeks before eating this fresh and delicious food gets old. Incorrect. After about a week of tavernas day and night, it gets a little tiresome, so you have to search out alternatives. Italian and Middle Eastern food is easy to find in most places and some of these restaurants equally good if not better than some of the best Greek tavernas weve been to. Since Greece is close to Italy, eating black truffles is easier and far cheaper than in the US. Thus, I believe almost all the non-Greek meals I've eaten contained truffles in some form or another.

More foodporn.

Taglietelle with mushrooms and black truffles (Oia, Santorini) This particular one was Melanie's.


Grilled mango and local proscuitto (Chania, Crete)
And then theres breakfast. In Milos and Santorini, we made our own breakfast, which was mainly made of our favorites - yogurt with fruit and honey, eggs, coffee, OJ, and a little something I like to call TOAST.

Santorini balcony breakfast.

In conclusion, Greek food is awesome. Greek food is fresh. But I could totally go for some tacos for dinner before heading back to the tavernas tomorrow, if you know what i mean

Thanks for coming to meet us family!



OH - and in case you were wondering what "hiking shenanigans" are, here is a visual aide. This is my mom, who after walking 10 km into a trek in Crete's Samaria gorge, fell, hurt her knee, and was saved by a donkey, who walked her back to civilization. :)

The Sh*t They Should Have Shown: Argentina and Chile

Ok we admit we watch the Real World/Road Rules Challenge on occasion. There is always a finale clip show with unseen moments that is invariably always funnier than what was on the original episodes show. So here are some photos from Argentina and Chile from our "Sh*t They Should Have Shown."

McDonalds- You have outdone yourself. Tortilla chips on a burger.


What? everyone doesn't have a drunken picture with themselves and a tranny pirate from a club at 4 am?!


"Fast Food" in Buenos Aires.
Ok no matter what Annie said, you get quite bored on 20 hour bus trips.




Cat or small but chubby tiger, unsure.

What? Replica A-Team van on the streets? Thanks to whoever owns this for the gift to me.


Uh oh, if you have seen Annie with these...

You know this is coming out later.
You can't escape Dylan McKay even if you try.

Warning label including a dead friggin baby on all Chilean cigarettes. Otherside had a big "INFARTO!" sticker too.


Ugliest dog in the world? in Chile atleast.
Yes thats a faint picture of the Saints-Vikings NFL opener in the background.

Ok that's all for now. Hope everyone is well!

Where in the World have Annie and Matt been since the last blog post.

Since we last wrote, we have ridden buses for 28 hours, stayed in 4 different hotels/hostels, traveled through 3 cities in 2 different countries, and eaten more mayonnaise than I have eaten over my whole life. Its time to play catchup.

After Bariloche, we hopped on another overnight bus that took us 17 hours north of Patagonia up to the city of Mendoza, the capital of Argentinian wine country. The city itself reminds me alot of both southern California and northern California for different reasons. The streets are wide and lined with sycamore trees, the houses and buildings have a Spanish feel, and there are outdoor cafes everywhere. It can get pretty hot on a spring day but cools off a lot at night, near frost.We spent our 3 days in wine country as we should have - drinking a lot of local wine. We did this both by going on a wine tour which took us into the Uco Valley and by twice visiting a tasting room in town - The Vines of Mendoza. I'll spare you all my wine nerdery and give you the short story: The Malbecs from the Mendoza region are very drinkable and intriguing, the Merlot of surprisingly good, and the Argentine white grape Torrontes, if made well, can beat out my love Gruner Vetliner any day. The views of the mountains from the flatness of the valley are completely stunning and are best appreciated after a lunch of local meats and cheeses and of course a Malbec.

Before leaving Argentina for Chile, we decided to spend a day relaxing at the Cacheuta Hot Springs. The springs, which are perched in a deep narrow valley in the foothills of the Andes, reminded us so much of Palm Springs that we would have forgotten where we were if we haven't had to take an old South American public bus through the mountains to get there. Which is why I love this country. The bus driver stops many times along the way to talk to friends, take policemen from street to street, and to make jokes with the passengers. We had to pause to let a group of horses cross the road and the street dogs would chase the bus when we passed through a town. This was our goodbye to Argentina, which after 6 weeks, has become a home to us. But we'll be back.(especially since we can - we've purchased shockingly expensive entrance visas that are good for 10 years)


CHILE

The pass through the Andes near Mendoza is the best way to get over to Chile. We orginially hadn't planned on going to Chile, but after landing in Argentina and learning more about South America, we realized how easy it is to get there. So we again, boarded a bus, and headed over to the coastal town of Valparaiso. The drive took about 9 hours and took us through the Mendoza desert, the Argentinian foothills, and then to the intimidating snowy peaks of the high Andes. The Chilean border sits right in a valley in between two impressive mountains which oddly are part of the uber-exclusive ski resort Portillo. The road also passes right next to the highest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua. (approx 22,000 ft). Some of these photos were taken thru a window which had a decal advertisement all over it, hence the weird texture.




Once you cross into Chile, there is a stretch of road that is made up of 16 hairpin turns. I thought that I've seen curves before, I also thought Ive been nervous about driving on ledges before, but this was on a whole other level. The bus drivers here are really great drivers and do this stuff all the time which makes it quite impressive to watch though a little terrifying at the same time.


After the road evened out, the Chilean land was really beautiful. The foothills in Chile are greener than those on the Argentinian side. Its also much more obvious you are in South America on this side since there are houses and villages built into the valleys.



Valparaiso is an old port town built into very steep hills that sit right on the Pacific coast. The city is known for its funiculars that have been taking people up and down the hills since the late 1800s. The buildings are all colorful and are covered in very impressive and artistic graffiti. I was sad we only had 2 days in Valparaiso as I really enjoyed the artistic atmosphere and the San Francisco-like feel.



mmmmmm mayonaiseeeeeee

We are now in Santiago but are leaving on Monday to start the long journey to Greece. (Seriously, its gonna take 3 whole days and will involve 3 planes, a ferry, a couple of trains and some buses) I'm not really sure that I'm ready to leave South America - I have found it to be such a beautiful and comfortable continent. But I do think that my hardworking fleece and jeans could use a little break while we head up for some warmer weather.