Monday September 30, 2019
KUSADASI, Turkey – Made it safely over to Asia Minor, but this was one of the most physically challenging days we have had on any trip.
We started in the morning from Karlovasi on the west coast of Samos, in Greece. We had a 6 p.m. ferry from Vathi, on the northern coast, to Turkey and relied on public transportation to get there. That meant a bus ride of a journey of 32 kilometers. The key was finding the bus station in Karlovasi and we were told from the girl at our hotel that it’s a short, 15-minute to the enter of the center of the town. The hotel was within walking distance of the port after we arrived from Mykonos but had to find the bus for the journey across the island.
The 15-minute walk turned into a 2-hour ordeal and carrying two, overloaded backpacks, two suitcases on wheels, a shopping bag which had to weight about 40 pounds and cooler, we finally made the bus station. Turned out “the station” was one small kiosk next to an urgent care center. The bus left at 12:30 and we were able to see much of the northern coast of Samos. Waynette was impressed with the amount of greenery and trees and I noticed a few interesting beaches.
The bus ride was about an hour and dropped us off at the waterfront in Vahti. Since we saw two ports, Waynette GPSed the ferry port and that swung around to the right side. Since the ferry office did not open until 5 for the 6 pm. departure, we had some time.
Over the past few days, the weather has been exactly the same, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, gentle wind and temps in the mid-80s. Carrying all of our baggage became a very sweaty business and we found a pizza place with shade. We ordered a mushroom pizza and the traditional Greek salad and sat for about two hours. That’s so favorable about European cafe society. There is NEVER any hurry or push and you already ask for the check.
After lunch, we asked for wifi and the waitress have us log-on information. We proceeded to book our final four nights on the trip in Athens and began to explore transportation and fees into Petra, the great archaeological site in Jordan. That will be a challenge and terribly expensive. We kicked around several options and decided on nothing, at this point. We’re planning to visiting around Oct. 19, the 20 and around that time. So, there is not much of an immediate hurry.
From the pizza place, we had about a 10-minute walk to the ferry station and lined up with other travelers to board. When we approached the terminal door, the guy checked the passenger manifest and did not find our names. We had a printed confirmation and notice we paid the fare. He asked for our passports and wrote our names at the bottom of the passenger manifest. We then boarded without any hassle.
The journey over to Turkey was about 90 minutes and when we arrived, we had our passports and visa entrance for Turkey, which we printed out before leaving home. The documents were in good order and our passports were duly stamped.
We then wandered into the streets of Kusasdai, once a sleeping fishing village on the west coast but now the gateway to Ephesus, the great Greek archaeological site. We plan our visit to Ephesus on Tuesday.
To find our hotel, the Eliada, Waynette used GPS and we missed a key street, Instead, we were re-routed by a hill which was one of the steepest I ever climbed in a city. Because of the heavy load we each carried, the sweat was pouring down and the aches and pains of schlepping this stuff became acute. Tonight is definitely a two or three ibuprofen night
After we found the hotel and cooled down, we took to the streets. The surrounding area around is a neon combination of stores selling signature but knockoff brands, cheap kebab joints and we even found a McDonald’s
We’re booked here for overnight and decided to stay a second night. That’s because we do not have to carry our treasures to Ephesus. On Wednesday, we leave Kusadasi and head north to other important Greek archaeological sites in Izmir and Troy.
New Year’s greeting … on this first day of Rosh Hashana, a fond wish for a happy, safe, prosperous and healthy new year. The shofar we hear we today should summon us to recognize a responsibility to ourselves and a responsibility as citizens. I’m keenly aware I’m not at services this year but still feel the power and importance of this day.
PICTURES – Images from Samos
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