Ireland - Counties Clare, Limerick & Kerry (June 7 - 20)

What a fabulous finale to our Sabbatical journey! Ireland was so beautifully green, clean, rocky, musical, and friendly. We flew into Shannon, County Clare, on June 7, picked up a rental car and promptly drove to the cliffs of Moher. The pathways and lookout landings at the cliffs provided excellent opportunities to hike or to take photos.

Cliffs of Moher

From there, we made our way to the small village of Corofin to begin a 10 day housesitting assignment. Patricia, the homeowner, had a lovely house with 3 pets; Mollie (a blue heeler), Tinkerbell (a miniature chihuahua), and Pinky (a chocolate brown cat). What an amusing interaction between these three. We spent between 1-2 hours walking the dogs each day, taking them to a nearby lake where Mollie could have spent all day retrieving sticks that we threw into the lake. The lake had upwards of 40 swans and was so picturesque, surrounded by rolling hills, dairy farms and an abandoned castle.

House where we housesat in Corofin, County Clare

The sunroom

Mollie, Tinkerbell and Pinky vying for attention

Mollie retrieving sticks thrown into the lake

A highlight of our time in County Clare was discovering that there was going to be a folk festival in the area the following weekend. Although tickets were sold out when we initially enquired, the organizers released some additional ones and we were fortunate enough to get them for one day. The event was held in Doolin, on the west coast near to the cliffs of Moher, and was their second annual. With the unpredictability of the weather there, a large tent was set up where you could sit, stand or dance while watching the performers and then there were smaller tents housing food and arts and crafts booths nearby. The organizers scheduled groups to alternate between instrumental and vocal or a combination of both with a very creative use of instruments and props (e.g. bending saws, singing into tea kettles).

One of the acts at the Doolin Folk Festival

While in Corofin, Olive spent a lot of time working on her thesis and we fit in several day trips including: a hike of the huge nearby park called the Burren, a rugged, rocky, moonscape-like landscape; a trip to the beach at Ballyvaughan and short excursions into the countryside to see old castles.

Hiking in The Burren

Rainbow colours

Castles like this were common

Extensive use of stones for houses and fences

After the housesit we had three days to explore so we headed to Limerick, stopping at the Bunratty Castle and then staying overnight at Rossbeigh Beach where we swam in the Atlantic Ocean. From there we drove all around the county of Kerry, on a route called the "Ring of Kerry" which included a short ferry ride to Valentia Island, a hike to the peak of one of the mountains on the island, a hike to a lookout of the Skellig Rocks and a day in Killarney National Park.

Beach at Rossbeigh where we stayed at a B and B

Very popular bar we ate at in Limerick

We would love to return to Ireland again one day. We were only able to see parts of three counties, obviously so much more to see.

As I write this final blog, we are on the plane on our trip back home to Canada and I have so many mixed emotions. Part of me would love to keep traveling, however, another part recognizes that it is time to go back home and get more involved in the lives of family, friends and community. It is also time for Olive to focus more again on her writing and not be distracted by all of the travel related distractions. We have so many great memories that we will cherish, so many wonderful people we met, so many fabulous experiences. We are grateful.

During the last week of our trip, I wrote a longer poem and have included two of the verses that relate to our travels ...

Olive and Dan,

Came up with a plan,

To spend a year on the road,

In all of their travel,

Their marriage didn't unravel,

But you might even say it "growed".

During their one year Sabbatical,

It took plenty of mathematical,

To calculate schedules and costs,

But it sure wasn't a bummer,

To experience nine months of summer,

And to escape the Calgary frosts!

Thanks for all of the comments, encouragement and interest over the past year. If you ever want to reach us, our email address is fastnz2002@yahoo.ca

Dan & Olive

Fethiye, Ephesus, Cappadocia and Istanbul, Turkey (May 31 - June 6)

On May 31, I met up with Olive and my sister-in-law, Bert in Fethiye, Turkey. The women had just returned from a fabulous week-long cruise along the coast of Turkey while I spent the week in Greece (see last blog).

Sculpted sea-life shrubs in park in Fethiye

Trees with unique tree trunk along promenade in Fethiye

For the early part of the afternoon we strolled the promenade in Fethiye then caught a late afternoon bus to Izmir. The 6 hour bus ride went well, buses were comfortable, even had intermittent wi-fi. From Izmir, we planned to catch a connecting bus for a 1.5 hour ride to our destination of Kusadasi but contrary to the advice we received in Fethiye, buses were no longer running at that time of night. This left us with the dilemma of either staying overnight in Izmir (and losing our hotel reservation) or trying to catch a taxi. After a bit of bargaining, we opted for the taxi and with a set price, the taxi driver decided to shorten a 1.5 hour trip into a 1 hour trip, reaching speeds of 160 kms/hr. At one point a dog ran out in front of us, the driver swerved and braked and then chuckled as if he was expecting that, however for the 3 of us, it was not a laughing matter and we were thankful that we arrived safely at our destination.

Next morning we joined a tour group to see the sites around Ephesus. What an amazing place, full of Biblical history. Our knowledgeable guide made the day fascinating and well worth it. We visited the archaeological site of Ephesus, the temple of Artemis, a colourful pottery factory, the house of the Virgin Mary and the Isa Bey Mosque. Later that evening we caught the overnight bus to Goreme, Cappadocia.

Exploring the ruins at Ephesus

Library at Ephesus

Touring Ephesus with Bert

Next morning we met up with Bert's husband Ed, and son Nathan to spend a couple of days together in this region. We toured the Goreme Open Air Museum, then followed a narrow gully on a hike through the Red and Rose valleys. This hike turned out to be a highlight of our time there as we took numerous side hikes into mountainous cave dwellings trying to follow them as far as we could. Nathan was the most agile of our group and managed to squeeze through all kinds of narrow openings!

Fascinating rock formations in Rose Valley, Cappadocia

Hiking the caves near Goreme with Nathan and Ed

The next morning we had hoped to take a hot air balloon ride (very popular & picturesque thing to do here with 50+ balloons in the air at sunrise) however, the weather conditions were not suitable so the trip was cancelled. We opted to rent a car for the day and explore the countryside. We followed the route of one of the suggested tours of the area (Green tour) stopping at the Pidgeon Valley, exploring the underground city of Kaymakli, driving through the Ilhara Valley with the Selime Monastery at the end, and then zigzagging our way through the countryside to end up at the Nevsehir airport where Olive and I caught a late evening flight to Istanbul.

Pidgeon Valley

Exploring the underground city of Kaymakli

Cave Hotel we stayed at in Goreme

Ed, Bert & Nathan returned to Goreme and were fortunate to have suitable weather for a hot air balloon ride the next morning. Olive and I meanwhile set out to make the most of our 2 days in Istanbul walking to see numerous mosques (including the Blue Mosque), the Topkapi Palace grounds, the Basilica Cistern, the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. The following day we met up again with E/B/N and took in two evening performances, the first a Whirling Dervish spiritual ceremonial dance followed by a cultural love story drama called the "White Rose". There is so much to see and do in Istanbul that, like many places we have visited, we hope we can one day return.

One of many mosques in Istanbul

Turkish Delight was delightful!

Evening cultural presentation in Istanbul

We flew from Istanbul to London on June 6, stayed overnight and caught a connecting flight to Shannon, Ireland where we plan to housesit and tour until June 20. We have booked return flights to Canada for June 22 so our Sabbatical year is rapidly coming to an end!

May 23 - 31, Dan on Greek Islands, Olive cruising the coast of Turkey

While Olive joined 6 other women on a cruise up the coast of Turkey, I spent a week exploring two Greek islands, namely Santorini and Naxos.

Santorini is the island that is most commonly photographed when you see images of white washed buildings, blue capped church roofs and cities set up high on the hillsides in Greece.

Fira, Santorini

One day I hiked about 12 kms around the caldera (volcano) from Fira to Oia, the town in the distance

Looking back at the town of Fira

Oia, Santorini

I spent a day on the beach on Naxos Island, almost nobody there this time of year

Beach huts you could rent for the day

Promenade in Chora, the main city on Naxos Island

Famous gate as part of ruins overlooking Chora

The sun "rolling down the hill" as seen from Naxos Island

Olive - In January my sister-in-law invited me to join her and several other women on a Turkish cruise with a friend who'd recently started a luxury cruise company. Ours was the maiden voyage for the cruise company, and they out did themselves in making us feel welcome. Prior to beginning our cruise we visited a Turkish bath. An experience that's hard to describe - think of being in a board room for the first time with your future partners and your all naked as the day you were born, engaging in polite conversation!! Needless to say we got to know each other very well in a very short time, and boarded the boat extremely clean. Over the next 8 days we engaged in many conversations, enjoyed hikes, visiting ruins, swimming in the sea, shopping, and enjoying wonderfully prepared meals.

 Each day we sailed to several bays and explored the local sites, including Kalkan, Kas, Sunken City Kalekoy, St. Nicholas Church, Myra, Demre, Butterfly Valley, Gemiler Island, Fethiey, and Gocek Islands.

Here's the web site for Arkadaslik Yaching if you'd like to see some amazing pictures of our time there - http://www.arkadaslik-yachting.com/route-1.html.

Sue, the owner, is a woman from Calgary who started this company recently following some life changing experiences. We all thoroughly enjoyed our time together and the care she and her crew took to give us a wonderful experience. One of the highlights of the trip included 6 of us paragliding from the top of a mountain (6,000 feet up). Not something that's usually in my comfort zone but definitely glad I did it!!

Barcelona, Athens, Delphi and Rhodes (May 16 - 23)

On May 16 we returned our rental car in Perpignan, France and boarded a high speed train for Barcelona, Spain (BCN). While on the train we sat across from a couple from Australia - who also happened to be traveling for a year. The trip took about 2.5 hours and we spent the whole time comparing notes and learning about each others lives. It was a great gift for us as we'd had very little opportunity to talk with people for the past month - due to our lack of French. We had good connections via metro from the airport to the hostel that we booked in downtown BCN, which had a lovely terrace for relaxing on.

Since we only had a short time in BCN, we promptly headed for the Sagrada Familia, an incredible Basilica (that is still under construction) designed by Antoni Gaudi. He has designed at least 10 buildings in BCN (6 of them are World Heritage sites)  From here we strolled the famous La Rambla walking street, then hung out at the Catalunya Plaza with its fountains, flowers and interesting people-watching opportunites. Our favorite memory of BCN however, was the chance to meet up with an old friend, Carla Santizo de Montenegro. Carla grew up in Guatemala and along with her family, hosted us on our past missions trips to her home country. Carla and her husband and 3 boys pastor a church in BCN. We had a wonderful visit together.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Inside the Sagrada Familia

Meeting our friend Carla at Catalunya Plaza in Barcelona

Next morning we boarded a flight to Athens, Greece where the following day, we met up with Olive's brother Ed, his wife Bert and a day later their son Nathan. During our 3 days in Athens, we explored the Agora area, the Acropolis and Parthenon, the National Archaeological Museum, the National Garden, the Plaka and other temples and ruins. We really enjoyed Greek foods and were thrilled to have another opportunity to spend a couple of weeks traveling with family members (we spent a week with Olive's sister and husband earlier in Australia).

Looking up at the Acropolis overlooking Athens

Visiting the Parthenon with Ed, Nathan & Bert

The Acropolis at dusk

On May 19, the whole group of us rented a car and drove up to Delphi to see more archaeological sites including the museum, the sanctuary of Apollo with its many ruins, the gymnasium and the temple of Athena. We stayed at a hotel with a balcony overlooking a beautiful valley of olive trees and the Corinthian Sea in the distance. It is hard to explain the historical significance of what we have seen in Greece so I am not even going to try, there is just too much history that it overwhelms. You will have to experience it for yourself!

View from our hotel balcony in Delphi 

Theatre in Delhpi

Temple of Apollo in Delphi

Looking out at the bay in Rhodes

Beach in Rhodes

We left Athens in the evening of the 20th and flew to the island of Rhodes where we have continued sightseeing. We have enjoyed great food, drinks, an afternoon at the beach and the people of Greece that we have met.

On May 23, we will part ways for a little while; I will catch a ferry to Santorini, Olive/Ed/Bert/Nathan will catch a ferry to Fethiye, Turkey where the girls will begin a 7 day cruise around the coast of Turkey with 5 other women from Canada and the guys will head out to explore Turkey. I plan to meet up again with the girls on May 31 and then we will meet up with the guys around June 4.

We are continuing to have an incredible time and so often find it hard to believe how fortunate we are to enjoy and experience all that we are.