It's the little things...

I was travelling to work today on the trolley (the Greek name for the yellow 'buses' that run on electricity) and two things made me smile:

1) An old man gets off the trolley at his stop - looks around him and passes his still valid ticket to a person about to board.  The person thanks him very much.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TrolleyBusPiraeus.jpg

(In Athens, you buy a public transport ticket for 1.40 or 1.20 and stamp it in the machine upon entry of said transport.  It stamps a time on it and your tkt is valid for 90 mins of travel from the time you stamped it.  So, obviously once you've finished your journey and there's still time left, it's nice to give your ticket away - I've done it in the past and had it done to me too).

2) Same old man sees a homeless person on the street (an increasing number unforutnately of late), and stops to chat to him and give him some small change and a cigarette.
OK, this isn't going to stop the man being homeless, but it's the compassion that made me smile, the humanity displayed.

Keep it up Greece - don't let the IMF and Germany strip you of your dignity and human spirit.

Travelling to Hong Kong by container ship!



Remember back in February I posted about my proposed trip by container ship to Australia? I then further investigated my fears about this, especially given the pirate activity in the Indian Ocean.

Photo courtesy of Darren B. Hillman at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dazzy1960/5922809930/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Not my exact ship, but the same Container company

Anyway, after discussions with the shipping agent and a long think, plus that discussion with my father, I decided to go for it!  So today, I have placed a deposit for a proposed July 2013 departure date.  However, having looked at finances, I will not be going as far as Australia.  I will take the following route:

m/v Ever Chivalry:

Itinerary:Hamburg
Thamesport (2 Days)
Piräus (10 Days)
Suezkanal (12 Days)
Jeddah (15 Days)
Colombo (23 Days)
Tanjung Pelepas (28 Days)
Kaohsiung (34 Days)
Ningpo (36 Days)
Shanghai (37 Days)
Taipei (39 Days)
Hongkong (41 Days)

Yantian (42 Days)
Tanjung Pelepas (46 Days)
Colombo (50 Days)
Jeddah (56 Days)
Suezkanal (58 Days)
Piräus (60 Days)
Rotterdam (68 Days)
Hamburg (70 Days)

In purple is the route I will take - so in total: 31 days from Piraeus to Hong Kong and spend a few days in Hong Kong.  

Looking at this itinerary, the longest stretch at sea will be between Jeddah and Colombo (8 days) and then Tanjung Pelepas to Kaohsiung (6 days).

How will I spend my days I wonder?  Well, don't forget I've already travelled by container ship across the Atlantic, so I am aware of what to expect.  It's a good job I now have a Kindle to store loads of good reading material before I go - plus write up a fantastic log of my journey!

Am I excited?  Oh yes!  My next question: does anybody know anybody in Hong Kong who'd like to show me around?  Or any idea of affordable accommodation?

And if any publication is interested in featuring my journey, do please get in touch.  I would love to hear from you.

Five Minute Friday - Risk - Life in Greece

Today's topic for Five minute Friday is...Risk.  Write for five minutes, no editing, uninterrupted on this topic...OK...

GO

People think that I take a risk living my life the way I do.  It's no big deal, I am a qualified English Language teacher and enjoy teaching in different cultures.  I have had the pleasure of being about to teach in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Egypt and currently, Greece. 
People turn their noses up when they hear I live in Greece, especially when they hear Athens.

"Isn't there a RISK living there?"

Well, isn't it a risk stepping outside your front door every day, wherever you are in the world?   It's not a dangerous country - the people here are friendly, helpful and beyond all that, HUMANE.

Yes, it can be risky - just like in your own countries.  But where would we be in life if we didn't take risks? I took a risk, coming to a strange country to work - and I love it.  It's taught me humanity, broadened my mind and tonight, I will even be supporting my adopted country in the EURO 2012 football (Greece vs Germany).

So go on people - take a risk in life. Don't let fear hold you back.  You could learn something about yourself in the process.

STOP.

5 Minute Friday - PATH

I've joined a Friday challenge: a 5 minute Friday challenge to write about a topic for 5 minutes, completely unedited, etc.

So - here goes!

PATH is today's topic.  My path, I thought, was set out for me.  I had a good job in London, my flat, the car, the cat, etc.  But was I happy?  NO!  I kept feeling something was missing.
Always one to get itchy feet, I assumed as I 'matured' I'd get rid of this feeling, but it just grew.  I got miserable in my job until eventually, in my 30's, I jacked it all in - went to University and am now living in Athens, Greece after having re-trained as an EFL teacher.

Am I happy - you bet!  Is my life secure?  Not really, but then that was what was missing for me - I need a sense of 'insecurity' in a way.  Luckily I don't have kids yet, otherwise that'd surely change.

So it seems my Path has changed, and I am grateful.  Or maybe this was always meant to be my path, but I was on the wrong one originally!  I'm glad I've found my 'Itheca' - my path.  And just because your path might be vastly different from those around you, don't think it's a wrong path.

Whew!  5 minutes isn't a long time eh?

Across the Atlantic

I've been promising this post for a long time now - my adventures across the Atlantic. 
Sorry I've neglected this blog for a while - the month of April saw me busy with the A-Z Blogging Challenge here.
So here it is!  Enjoy...

********************************************************************************

Our route

“You’re going WHERE?” enquired friends.  It was not so much my destination(s) that fascinated them: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Colombia and Costa Rica – rather the fact I had chosen to get there by ship, no – not a cruise ship but a passenger on a Del Monte ‘banana boat’…a container ship if you will.

            “But why?” asked my father.

            “The journey’s all part of the fun…besides, you should understand, being an ex man of the sea.”  Having been nurtured since birth on stories of the great high seas and countries afar, my wanderlust for all things original had certainly been, in part, from his gene pool.

Boarding the ship

            I boarded the Hornlinie German Del Monte ship in Le Havre.  Registered in Liberia, she was an impressive sight – the bridge aft with the containers forward of that and as I was lead up the gangplank by Stewerd Slava, I felt a growing excitement well up inside:  5 weeks round trip – 11 days at sea until our first port of call: Guadeloupe.

My cabin

            My private cabin rivalled that of any cruise ship – champagne and flowers greeting me.  Unpacking I opened my cabin door at the knock and found a German couple standing there: Bernd and Christina from Breman.  They helpfully advised that there were 5 other passengers, the rest would be crew.  Bliss - only 8 of us!

            My days were spent writing, reading, being shown around and educated about the hold: cargo included electronics’ and cars to the Caribbean, swimming in the small outdoor exercise pool and chatting to the Latvian Captain on the Bridge.  I inadvertently found myself thrown into the unofficial role of EFL teacher to the crew – a new career opening, perhaps?

Fire drill training

Not 'haute cuisine', but delicious nontheless!

Captain & Pilot on the Bridge

            Eating with the senior crew three times a day – salads for lunch, delicious meat and fish dishes for dinner and experiencing sunrise and sunset at sea is an experience beyond explanation.  The captain explained in his 25 years of sailing, he had never missed a sunset – always hoping to catch a glimpse of refraction…that green light that bounces off the horizon when the sun hits – he’s only ever seen it twice, and no such luck for me either that trip – proving just how rare this phenomenon was.

            24 hr stops at our destinations allowed just enough time to tour the main sights: bustling local markets of the French Antilles, colonial architecture and the Walled city of Cartagena as well as armed guards with Alsatians tending our ship at Turbo, Colombia (pretty scary, but we were well looked after).

Loading in Turbo, Colombia

For me, the biggest impact of this trip was the sense of peace being at sea affords you: how life is put into perspective out here.  Seamen are quite spiritual people deep down, despite this crew’s Eastern European dour demeanour.  These 5 weeks spent at sea with them – I am starting to see the appeal.

Sunrise - day 1

Hence my decision to undertake another trip in the summer of 2013 - read about my proposed plans here.

Thank you, Kevin Griffiths at the The Cruise People for organising.

A not so conventional person?

I had a very odd conversation with my dad yesterday on the phone.

Me: "Hi dad"
Dad: "Hi love - I'll call you back." (Bless!  Even at my age, he still likes to save me money)
Me: "Hi again.  Have you heard what's happened in the Maldives?" Click here to see the story
Dad: "Yes - are you worried?"

(For those of you who might be wondering why I might be worried, see my past post about my planned trip next year).

Me: "Yes! But when I went across the Atlantic by container, we were in danger in Colombia too."
Dad: "Yes, but that was from drug lords - this is pirates.
Me: "My agent's told me the ships they take passengers on go at twice the speed of the taken ship, have armed escorts and are high sided."
Dad: "Yes, he's trying to tell you those ships aren't as easy to board.  Listen, there's an element of risk either way - you just have to decide if you want to do it."

THAT'S when I had my thunderbolt moment: I'm a woman in her late 30's, not married, no kids  planning a trip to Oz by container ship from Greece through some bl**dy dangerous waters. WHAT a bizarre conversation to be having.  How many other people would be having this sort of conversation with their dads? 

Do I have a death wish?  I know I have a slightly unhealthy desire to 'be different' and non-conventional, but am I pushing boundaries?
Clearly not too unusual as my agent's told me the trips get booked up with passengers up to a year in advance (let me make myself clear, this is NOT a cruise ship, it's a container ship passage).
Obviously, then, there are people out there like me who also take these trips.

The thing that makes me chuckle is the very laconic style of our conversation (my dad and I).
We finish off with:

Dad: "The problem comes is with the guns.  Clearly you don't want to get shot."
Me: "Hmmmm, clearly not, no. 
Dad: "If it comes to it, the crew will tell you to stay inside, and you must do so, understand?"
Me: "Sure - my agent had also said the problem is with the stupid passengers who want too much adventure and go out on deck."
Dad: "Good, so if you follow your instructions of the Captain, you shouldn't get shot at" (said in a very conversational tone I might add).
Me: "Yes, this might be the one time in my life I actually do as I'm told!"

I will have a serious think about this trip, stay in touch with my agent and keep myself well informed.

Volunteerism and the Kindle

What do I mean by my title?  Well, those that follow this blog (and for all things Greek, don't forget my other superbly popular blog), you'll know in recent posts I've been debating the merits of the Kindle and have drawn the conclusion that I actually read more now (it's just so much EASIER) - yet if I come across a good paperback, will not rule out the chance to devour one.

Image courtesy of: www.inside.org.au

So!  My latest excellent Kindle read?  This fantastic adventure by Tony James Slater (who hails not far from my native part of the UK I hasten to add!), about life as an animal volunteer in Equador. 
It was a book close to my heart as I, too, had spent time in a developing country (Sri Lanka) volunteering, albeit as an English Teacher (I sense another blog post coming on for all you interested readers).  I contacted Tony through his Facebook page to congratulate and thank him for such an entertaining read (and at such a good price too!)
He very kindly responded to me and, as a fellow blogger and trying to get my own novel off the ground, has offered support in any way he can.  Ahhhh - these writers, they're a nice bunch really aren't they?

What am I reading now?  I just HAD to purchase the adventures of a flight attendant, "Around the World in a Bad Mood" and to be honest, I was up 'till 3am reading it!

Thanks, Kindle.  I hope you don't - after the Honeymoon period, decide to up the prices significantly of your books (at least wait 'till I get mine out there!)

Happy Reading everyone!