"Off the Leash" with David and Jean

We awoke early this morning with the hope of a ride over to Crete.  There was a plane scheduled to depart at 9:00am but there was no word from the crew as to whether they could take us along.  It is “Space Available” after all, meaning that cargo and duty passengers come first.  We waited around in the terminal and the loadmaster came in and spoke with us and the passenger terminal folks.  After exhaustive calculations on the weight of the cargo, baggage and we hopeful passengers, (I sucked in my gut) she said “I can do it.”  “You guys can come along.”

Waiting in the terminal in Sicily for the news on our ride.

We rode the short bus out to the aircraft and met our pilot and copilot.  Great guys.  They make this run across the Mediterranean several times a week.  The plane is a small Navy C-24.  A twin engine, turbine powered, constant speed, variable pitch airplane with 8 seats and no bathroom.  We have been on this plane before and we have learned to make one last bathroom visit before take-off.  Less than two hours later we made our final approach and landed to a cooler, drizzlier (is that a word?) Greece.

We were still undecided on our next move so we booked a suite at the Visiting Officer Quarters (VOQ), dropped off our bags in the room and made our way to the Galley for Sunday Brunch.  That means they had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and French fries in case you didn’t want scrambled eggs.  We went with the eggs.  Ham and cheese omelets to be exact and the food was actually very good.  I temper that statement with the fact that were both starved and this was pretty much the only game in town on a Sunday morning.

Tomorrow morning we plan meet with a travel agent to book passage to Athens.  We’re not sure whether we want to fly or take the overnight ferry.  Both have advantages.  Flying is quick and cheap but, if we sail, we’ll book a cabin, get some sleep and arrive in the morning.  We will see what the local professionals have to say.

Till tomorrow………………stay tuned.

In the late Bronze Age, these primitive clannish communities chose to put considerable time and effort into gathering huge rocks and arranging them into ceremonial circles for the use in rituals with long-forgotten meanings.

The people of the Middle Ages had some interesting explanations for the circles.  Example:  they were arranged by giants! (Well that could be the answer!)  Later the stones were thought to be petrified partiers who had been caught dancing on the Sabbath!  The latest theory is aliens did it!  No matter how they got here, it blows your mind to get up close to these mega ton monoliths.

We were very blessed to be able tour inside the circle with world renowned expert, Pat Shelley.  We were able to enter the circle with Pat before it opened to the public.  He brought it to life with is treasure trove of knowledge.  Having worked with National Geographic, the BBC and PBS for many, many years, there is very little he doesn’t know about Stonehenge. No matter what you think the circle was used for, celestial observatory, ritual burial grounds or giant sundial, the fact that Neolithic tribes, before the invention of the wheel made this place happen.  This is a mystery that will, most likely, never be solved definitely…………and that’s precisely what makes it so magical.

On Thursday, we decided to take the trip to Bath to see the famous 2000 year old Roman baths.  The city itself is a lovely place to visit and we started our tour with a two hour guided walking trip around the city with Bob, one of the Mayor’s official guides to the city.  It was absolutely fascinating to view the city with someone who could bring it alive with stories and behind the scenes info, both old and new.  One of the amusing things we learned was about the evil spells the Romans would cast on people that pissed them off.  They had scribes write the curse on a copper plate, they would roll it up and throw it in the sacred hot pool hoping the water goddess would wreak havoc on the offending party.  Things like someone having his tunic or sandals stolen while he was in the bath would be cause for the terrible curse of Minerva to be invoked.  Reading the curses was pretty entertaining and brings life to the place.

The Roman baths themselves were the best preserved and most interesting we have ever seen.  It’s pretty hard to travel anywhere in Europe and avoid Roman influence so, we have seen a few Roman baths.  Not like this!  The natural hot springs still bubble up from the earth and sooth sore muscles and supposedly cures everything from arthritis to gout.  It was an truly remarkable site and worthy of anyone’s time to visit.

On a side note, we have taken to packing a picnic lunch for our daily outings.  Fish and Chips and Steak and Ale Pie is good the first time but, you cannot exist on it.  Let’s just say that dining in England is not like France, Italy or Germany.  Eating our ham sandwich in the city square while we waited for our city tour was a joy compared to some of our restaurant experiences.

Hello again…..we took a break to catch up on our rest for a few days.  We arrived in Salisbury on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning we were off to see “Blenheim Palace”.  Queen Anne had this palace built for Duke John Marlborough after he won a great victory over the French in Blenheim, Germany.  (about 1730).  If it weren’t for this man, it is said that, England might be speaking French today!!  Well I think this is a well deserved reward!  His descendants still lived here until last fall (2014) when the old Duke died.  The new Duke lives nearby with his young family.  Maybe he will choose to move back into the Palace when his children grow up….who knows?  Hey….if he doesn’t want the place….I could get used to living like this!

On Sunday we drove to Cherbourg to board the ferry and cross the Channel to Portsmouth England.  I was a little nervous about the whole process but it went very smoothly.  We arrived a little bit earlier than we needed to so we found a local McDonalds and had a cup of coffee.  Sunday seriously limits your shopping and dining options in Europe as most things are closed.  That’s one reason we often choose to travel on Sunday’s.  There just isn’t much else to do. Anyway, when it was about time, we got in line to check in at the port.  When the ferry docked, a stream of British vacationers came steaming off in their cars, caravans and camper vans.  When it was our turn we were directed to the boat and shown where to park. Fortunately, I had upgraded us to Club Class where we had a private lounge with tables, reclining lounge chairs, complimentary coffee, tea and cold drinks.  It was super comfortable and the five hour crossing passed in no time.  When we arrived in England, the unloading process went as smooth as loading  and we drove about 40 miles north toward London before stopping at a nice little hotel for the night. Our England adventure starts here.