Perhaps you have never noticed that over the millennia, religion has been at the forefront of all history. Before “history” was even recorded there were poems and stories, learned, repeated, changed and eventually accepted as fact. Homer’s Odyssey and The Iliad are classic examples. Since there were no cameras or other means of recording what “was”, all religion in some way are based on mythology and the interpretation of mythology.

During the last few months in Europe we had seen more than our share of churches and monasteries, but as we drove through the valley north of Kalambáka we saw the first of the amazing monasteries of Metéora, balanced on what seemed to be totally impossible rocky pinnacles and cones, surrounded by sheer cliffs. The mind first asks “how”, followed by “why”. We parked and stood looking up at one of the greatest sights of mainland Greece. Metéora literally means “middle of the sky”, “suspended in the air” or “in the heavens above”.

Back on the mainland of Greece now, our first stop was the beautiful city of Athens; a place with so much history it literally drips out of every stone. We could give you a history lesson on Athens, but if you have never been there, or even if you have, the photos here may inspire you to go, or bring back fond memories. Athens is one of those cities in the world on a short list of “must visit”.

Tearing ourselves from an idyllic camp near Elafonissis on the far southwestern tip of the island, we headed through the mountains on a tortuous highway that looked like a snake going crazy. Are there any straight roads on Crete? Our next stop was Chania (Xania).

OK, my long Mexican 70th birthday adventure is over except for my memories. Now, as I promised, we are picking up with our Trans-Eurasian Odyssey, which will eventually take us through 26 countries and over 40,000 miles, across impassible deserts and over 15,000-foot mountain passes, through the Stans, China, Mongolia and Siberia. Hold on for the ride.

Turning off the Wakhan Corridor, we breathed a little sigh of relief, but really, compared to the roads we had driven through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan just to get to Khorog, the Wakhan had been a drive in the park. Now we headed west again, back to Khorog to resupply and to experience […]

People in the foreign countries we are visiting are part of the joy of overland travel, and for sure, the children are the most fun. They have no fear, no set opinions, no religious or political concerns. They are just curious that strange people in a strange vehicle from a place they may never have […]

Ever since we began planning our adventure along the Silk Road, the Wakhan Corridor had been an intermediate goal. It was part of the route that Marco Polo took on his journey across Central Asia in the 13th century. The Corridor itself was created during the Great Game era (1800’s) by the Russian and British […]

Yes, our blogs are way behind again. We will get them caught up someday, but at the moment we are so busy keeping ourselves and the truck alive and experiencing this amazing part of the World that we have traveled so far to see. We made our way across Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and finally to […]

Leaving the Peloponnese and heading to Piraeus, the Athens harbor, we had to cross the famous Corinth Canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea. Cut through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, it effectively makes the peninsula of the Peloponnese an island. Several rulers in antiquity dreamed of digging a water passage […]