Athens

November 15 -We spent a day touring Athens. The Acropolis provided a great "teaching moment" - an opportunity to talk about democracy and input in the governmental process.

Built in the 5th century BC this archetypical image of Western Culture attracts over 3 million tourists a year. Athens is the capital of Greece. It has been inhabited continuously for over 7000 years and has been one of the most important and influencial cities in the western world.

An absolute must: A visit to the Acropolis!

Egypt and the camel caravan in the sand

We arrived early in Alexandria and boarded a coach for our unforgetable 13 hours in Egypt. There are 65 million people living in Egypt and those who live in the country (the peasants) still maintain a traditional lifestyle. They wear tunics and we were told the most valuable asset is a donkey or an ox. The population is predominately muslim. During our 2 1/2 hour bus trip we traveled through the desert, noticing the green patches of cultivated areas back to back with desert. We can't believe we actually saw one of the remaining 7 wonders of the ancient world: The pyramids at Giza. We also saw Cephrens Pyramid, the Sphinx, and the Valley of the Temple. At the Sakkara Country Club we traveled in 4x4 vehicles across the desert to our camel caravan ride. Erik and Dieter were thrilled to race up and down the sand dunes - as far as they were concerned the faster the better! When we arrived at the area where we were to get on the camels, we were worried Georg might have trouble with his allergies but he seemed to survive with loads of antihistamine drugs. The camel caravan only lasted about 30 minutes but it was the highlight of the trip!

Dieter's camel, Martha, had an "attitude" and my camel "Moses" was quite a contented creature. This amused us and we are still talking about Martha and Moses.

We went on to Sakkara, Egypt's ancient cemetary and the Step Pyramid of King Zoser.

I'll post the website for the pictures later, but here are a few.

Many people were eager to have their photos taken with us > then they would ask then demand money. It was a challenge to avoid any eye contact and I seemed to have more trouble than everyone else with this problem. Dieter kept telling me not to smile at anyone.

I'm attaching a picture of our friends Chris, Brad and their amazing children Kelly (Erik's buddy), Tommy (Dieter's pal) and the lovely miss Nicky. We had the priviledge of meeting this Canadian family who have been travelling since August. They will be back in Ottawa the end of August so they're gone for an entire year!

Rhodes Greece and life onboard

The Captain decided we would stay an additional day in Rhodes because yesterday when we were supposed to set sail the Mediterranean Sea wasn't too friendly (50 knot winds and 10 meter waves). Rhodes is rich in history and legend as are all the Greek Islands. At 1400 square kilometers, Rhodes is the fourth largest Greek Island. It is thought that the Greeks erected the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, in the town's old harbour.

Today we walked around the ancient city and toured "The Palace of the Grand Master." Apparently it was built at the end of the 7th century AD. Today the castle is used as a museum.

We haven't seen much of our children since we boarded the Royal Caribbean Cruiseship "The Legend of the Seas" because they've made friends in their kids clubs and they're just too busy! Most of the kids activities begin as early as 8:00 am and wrap up at 10:00 p.m. AND these activities include dining with fellow kid cruisers.













It seems the boys have missed just hanging out with kids their own age so they're catching up now. We will generally see them at night but they're no where to be seen all day. We will take them with us on excursions, much to their dismay.


Erik seems to be taking another growth spurt so Georg is considering "platforms" and we're hoping they come back in style. We also need to buy the boy bigger shoes as his feet are growing to try to keep up with the rest of his body!

Somehow we managed to get a deluxe family suite on this ship which means that we have two bedrooms, a living room, a foyer and two bathrooms as well as a large deck off the main bedroom and also the living room. Living in a suite has also given us priviledges such as membership in the concierge club (special brunches, snacks, cocktails and hors d'ouervres) daily. We won't know how to make our beds or pour a cup of coffee after this experience!

So, needless to say, we're having a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying life onboard. We've made good friends with some wonderful people and are learning so much about their country and life as they know it.

Tomorrow we will set sail for Alexandria. We won't be going to Limassol, Cypress.

Mykonos, Ephesus and Kusadasai Turkey

More pictures on .mac at: http://web.mac.com/betterthan_nothing/Site_4/Photos.html

On November 8 we were in Mykonos Greece to witness the truth about those white and blue buildings on the rocky slopes. Yes, it's a beautiful contrast especially with a bright blue sky.

According to Greek mythology, Mykonos was named after the half god half man Myconos who was the grandson of Apollo. The rocks around the island were thought to be the petrified bodies of giants that were destroyed by Poseidon and Hercules. Many different peoples ruled these islands including the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Cretians, and Ionians. The Spartans conquered the island in 393 BC and then the Romans absorbed Mykonos into their empire, eventually the Turks landed in the 1500's and made fishing a strong part of day to day life. During the push for independence during the 1820's Mykonos again became part of Greece.

Mykonos has an area of 33 square miles and a population of 5000. During the tourist season some 900,000 visitors invade the island certainly more than any conquering armies from its past.

Ephesus is one of the most facinating archeological sites on the eastern mediterranean. The findings at this ancient city are the remains of one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. The ruins from the Roman and early Christian era are so extensive and well preserved that it is easy to imagine the daily interactions of the 250,000 people who used to live here. This area grew to be the second largest city in the Roman empire and the site of the Christian shrine thought to be the one-time home of the Virgin Mary. Ephesus flourished as the center for worship to the fertility goddess Cybele. The Arcadian Way was the main street and the ampitheatre held over 25,000 people. The Temple of Hadrian, the Celsus Library, the Marble Way, and the Fountain of Trajan are under constant restoration but are in amazingly good condition.

Since the 8th millenium BC Turkey was home to the oldest human settlements on earth. During the 3rd millenium BC (old Bronze Age) an early Hittite nation settled in the central plains. Following the migration of "Sea People" from Greece the Hadrian Empire collapsed. Alexander the Great marched his army into Asia Minor two centuries later and defeated the Persians. After Greek rule came the Roman empire and it became a political core of the Roman province of Asia Minor.

People like Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, The Virgin Mary, St. John and St. Paul all walked these streets AND SO DID WE!

This was a very sophisticated city with clay pipes for heating homes and aquaducts for water supply. The library housed 12,000 scrolls which were documented on the marble walls of the library. Unfortunately we all know that the contents of those scrolls were lost when the library was destroyed by the Visigoths. Imagine how much knowledge existed back then that we had to recreate later! Science, history and physics - all lost.

Eventually the harbour silted up and is today three miles inland. Earthquakes destroyed so much but today they continue to excavate and what they are finding under those lumps or hills is enlightning - a human treasure. We can only imagine what life was like.

We shopped in Kusadasi and learned about the art of weaving. A tradition that has been part of the Turkish culture for millenia. We're very happy to now own a couple of these treasures - works of art. The government subsidises the weaving cottage industry as a way to preserve this traditional way of life. Only women do this work.

Today was a very special day for so many reasons - seeing such ancient sites, participating in traditional Turkish customs and last but not least, celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary. Seems like only yesterday we met at the University of Regina - but actually that was in 1979! (We went to University when we were 10).

Hey, how about that Sask Party!

It's interesting to think that so many things will be different upon our return home.

Today we are in Mykonos, Greece and tomorrow we head for Turkey.

Have a great day! We miss you all.

The Heucks

The French Riviera

(Scroll down to the very bottom to adjust the music volume, and to listen to other tracks.)

We're not at a posh hotel where people like Tom Cruise typically stay during their visit to the French Riviera. 1100 euros per night just isn't in the budget this year. Our apartment is quite nice and very kid-friendly with an outdoor swimming pool and tennis court and in walking distance to the sea (about a 10 minute walk).

I can understand why so many people want to flock to this location with it's gentle weather, sunny skies and NO WIND!

The boys have been catching up on homework and have been practicing their tennis and running off some excess energy.

Georg and I have finally figured out how to make a cup of coffee that we find palatable. The trick here is that sour cream doesn't work and although some of us claim to speak french, there are still things that are lost in translation. I'll never live this one down.

The pictures of Portugal on to Barcelona are on the website listed below:

http://web.mac.com/betterthan_nothing/Site_3/Photos_1.html

This site has Photos , Photos 1 2, Photos 3 and Photos 4

Leg One of the Journey remains in the first site we posted earlier from Orlando.

Yours in sunshine
The Heucks

Barcelona, Spain to Cannes, France

We arrived in Cannes and somehow we feel at home here. Our ability to communicate in French allows us to connect with people on a personal level which creates a feeling of family and community. Georg doesn't really speak French but he does communicate using broad arm gestures and animation oh, and like sister Diane, he also gets creative and pronounces English words with a French accent. If nothing else, he makes people laugh or smile.

The weather here is about 20 - 25 degrees although today it's overcast. Because we're so close to the Pyranees (mountains) the air smells like Banff. We especially love the tranquility as the population is considerably less dense than Barcelona par exemple.

We've had considerable difficulty trying to keep our blog updated because the menu and instructions have all been in Spanish. And even now, the internet disconnects us if we take too long composing messages on the blog. As a result, we have relied on our dear friend Wes Stevenson to post our messages to you. Wes (and no doubt Kristy has been involved as well) have tidied up our messages and posted them from their home in Kelowna, British Columbia Canada. Wes is also responsible for the creation and maintenance of that map, detailing our travels AND they added the terrific music to our blog too! When we're so far from home and the world seems, sometimes cold and sterile, we especially appreciate YOU, our friends. Your warm thoughts and kind wishes are like warm blankets on a chilly night.

I'm sure this appears unusualy sentimental today and it is. We had a very bad experience yesterday and are grateful to have learned an important message at a small cost. Today we are different people than we were yesterday.

Yesterday morning during our breakfast at Aparthotel Guttenburg in Barcelona we met a lovely couple from Sweden: Kirsten and Kenneth. I recognized the Scandinavian singsong in their dialogue and Kirsten resembled very much my Scandinavian relatives. As I'm always seeking any opportunity to use one of my few Norwegian phrases, I told them "Ja ike svense, ja i norske." As my father taught me I told them - I am not Swedish, I'm Norwegian." We were not surprised to hear they'd toured around Barcelona on foot the previous day (yes, this is a typical stereotype that the Swedes are the most physically active people in the world, but in this case it was true). We were happy to provide them with our unused DAY 2 for the double decker tour bus.
Note: this was another of our language faux pas. We were actually trying to buy a pass for 2 adults and 2 children for one day but ended up with passes for 2 days! The list of language inadequacies continues to grow! Anyway, we exchanged addresses with our new friends and hope that one day we'll see them again. We were kind of basking in that happy euphoria of meeting almost relatives in Barcelona. Their warm smiling faces and laughter just made us feel good.

We checked out of our hotel and thanked and said goodbye to Malcon from Argentina, who worked at the hotel. Malcon is the reason we chose to stay another night in Barcelona. Our first night arriving in Barcelona pre-cruise was less than positive for the children and we think they'll need counselling as a result of our ordeal where we were lost for 3 hours in downtown Barcelona. When we told this to Malcon he was a good listener and tried to be as helpful as possible. In the end, he told us great places to eat and things to do. He was attentive to all our needs for parking and even printed off directions on how to get to our hotel in Cannes for us. We were touched by his kind offer to have us stay with him in his apartment if we ever return to Barcelona. What an exceptional human being that Malcon!

So with all those warm feelings we left the big city of Barcelona (population 1 million and with greater Barcelona population is 3 million). We drove out of Barcelona towards Cannes.

Driving along highway AP7 just before La Rocha Des Vallees, around 2:30 p.m. we were passed by a Black Audi station wagon. The passenger drove up to our car and pointed frantically towards the undercarriage of the car. It took us awhile to realize he was trying to tell us something. Finally we got the message and pulled over.

Remember we're travelling on a freeway with 3 lanes and a speed limit of 130 km. It's noisy and the traffic is frighteningly FAST.

Georg got out of the car and went around to the passenger side. The man banged loudly on my door causing me to open it and see what he was pointing at. He was shouting loudly in arabic and we couldn't understand him.

The next thing I knew Erik shouted HEY in a very loud voice that I didn't recognize. When I turned my head I was face to face with another man who had a hold of my purse and was trying to pull it out of the car. Luckily I had a lot of clutter by my feet: a bag of toiletries, a garbage bag and my backpack-type purse (which was tangled in my feet).

The sound of Erik's LOUD voice - I keep thinking about this..

The man had his arm across my legs and was reaching by my feet but I never heard or felt it because I was too distracted by the banging and the shouting and the sound of the traffic.

Both men fled and the car sped off and it was over within 30 seconds.

Georg got back in the car and it took Erik and I 15 minutes to explain what we realized had happened. Georg was completely oblivious to the whole thing and really couldn't comprehend what we were telling him.

The reality of what might of been will haunt us forever.

Our passports and everything were in that bag.

Our friend Chris would have seen this coming but he's a trained RCMP officer. We did not see this coming at all.

To combat the stress we did what any self-respecting people would do. We stopped at the next garage to buy chocolate and strong coffee.

We did see the car on the highway a few km down the road and we do have the plate number and have documented the incident. Right now we're not sure what to do with this information.

As we reflect on the whole unbelievable incident we realize that those highway hijackers were professionals and we were typical targets - tourists. We know that if there had been anything wrong with our car, a light would have ignited or we would have heard something clanging.
We know NEVER to stop for anyone. We know WHERE we need keep our passports and identification AT ALL TIMES (even during travel in the vehicle). We will be extremly cautious about all stops including stops for gas.

Thankfully the children are fine. We still have all our documents. Nobody was injured.

Our pride is maybe damaged as we thought we were smarter than that.

Later in our trip I saw an elderly man stopped on the side of the road and his wife, in the passenger seat, looked troubled. I worry about those other unsuspecting tourists and hope they don't fall victim to this sort of incident.

Today we are in our lovely apartment in Cannes. We intend to take it easy today because our spirits are slightly wilted. We're okay and we will be fine because we learned something - a cheap lesson.

Our friend Wes has an e-mail "Spirit helpers" and today I think it is truly indicative of what he/and you - our friends - are to us.