My first stop - London after a looong wait

Got into London, after a 3 hour plane delay - technical fault after boarding! I was stuck in the plane for a good 45 minutes before they announced that they needed more time to clear the problem. So t's back to the lounge for another 3 hours. A friend was correct - I am starting the trip rightly, better safe, and that's why last minute hiccup.
The phone battery was flat when the plane landed and I only realised then that I didnt have the address of Aunty Bern with me. It was a very long queue at the immigration and after the hour long queue, I had to explain my lack of an address to the Immigration Officer. She was kind to allow me through with a little reminder not repeat the offence again.
As the phone was dead, I had to try get some coins or smaller notes to call Bern. Luggage and all at hand, tired and frantic after the long delay - cursed when credit cards didnt seem to work on the public phones... Bern bless her heart! had paged for me at Heathrow, my name was repeated a few times over the PA system .. help was at hand!
Finally managed to get to Caledonian Rd station where Bern and David came to pick me up.

Mykonos - Tagoo.

Hotel Tagoo is situated in the golden area of Mykonos over looking the Aegean Sea, where you can see the islands of Ciros, Tinos, and the historical island of Delos.

Delos is a must visit - the birth place of Apollo.

I chose this hotel for location ... and yes, it looks perfect too. The hotel has won Travellers' Choice awards for the past 4 years consecutively.

Flights booked

Skylark will make her grand debut out of the La Rochelle Harbour tomorrow, flying the Malaysian flag! (sternside).

Plans wise - The itinerary is settled... (with fingers crossed), with the booking of flights in Spain and Greece.

After the sailing of the Southern Coast Portugal, and then pitstop in Gibraltar of Spain and the rest of sailing of the Mediterranean Spain coast, we will set off exploring Barcelona, move on to Granada, Seville and Madrid.

From Madrid we'll catch a flight to Athens (Euro 319 for both of us!!).

In Athens, we'll take a driving route through Pelopnnese - stopping over Corinth, Nafphion, Mycanae, Olympia and thereafter to Delphi, before heading back to Athens. Yes, I plan to do the whole mythological route of ancient greece.

From Athens' port Piraeus, we'll take a boat ride to Santorini stopping over at Paros and Naxos.

And after the sojourn in Santorini, we'll take a fast boat over to Mykonos. Hope to visit Delos for a day and then a few days later from Mykonos back to London (Euro410 for both of us) for a few days before heading back to KL.

Quite a task getting the routes planned - Colin is such a techie - got printed google maps charting the routes!

Back to work and more reading!

28 days to trip

I have yet to post anything on the plans for Southern Coast of Spain. I have left it to Colin to do the reading and research first. He's more interested in Spain - the spanish guitars, tapas, wine and songs.

I love the idea of Spain but I am haunted and called by Greece. It's so cliche - but the many different legends, fables, myths of Greece which are intermingled with its rich history have filled many of my reading hours with great pleasure, fuelled my imaginings and now that I am so close to stepping into that world, it's so unreal yet exhilarating and intoxicating at the same time, even the simple step of planning the itinerary.

I plan to give Homer's Iliad and Odyssey another read and if I have the time - I will re-read David Gemmel's books on the Kings of Greece.

It is oh, so very easy to be seduced by this beautiful country. It was born in glory - having given birth to the great philosophers - the minds that gave foundation to political systems, the cradle of democracy. It is the enchanting home - the land and seas - of gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines. It is my dream to take a stroll in their paths, perhaps catch a glimpse of their shadows.

My reading of the travel guides have left me overwhelmed - there are so many things to I want to cover - historical sites, museums, art galleries, markets, food, scenic routes, performing arts, sunrises, sunsets and everything in between!

Armeni Village

The Armeni Village is a pretty boutique hotel perched on the edge of the Caldera in the lil seaside town of Oia, Santorini.

I plan to spend a full day dawn to dusk in the hotel itself just soaking in the sights and looking out for nymphs and cyclops, hoping to catch the bewitching notes of of the mythical Sirens' songs. The hotel being on the edge of a hill will afford a grand view of the Volcano, the cycladic islands of the Great Green, the specks of white sails of boats bopping by, the winding marble streets of Oia ... Yes, have a confirmed booking for 4 nights - we have a studio here!

p.s. The pics are from the official website for the hotel at www.armenivillage.com. I will post my own Armeni pics later and you can see for yourself if the official pics are a close representation of the real thing.

Caveat : Not all our accommodation will be like the Armeni Village. Whilst this trip is not quite on a shoe string, Colin and I agreed that we will budget it such that we will enjoy the luxurious and pay the price for it by staying in cardboxes on other days! (may be not quite cardboxes but at cheaper lodgings like the B&Bs, smaller motel-like places). 

Greek, any one?

Colin tried to pick up elementary greek last night... and it was hilarious. The word "thank you" is made up of 4 syllables, compounded with difficult phonetics ... No wonder the phrase.."it's all greek to me!"
Planning the trip is getting more fun (if at all possible!).

SV Skylark's twin sister

This is what SV Skylark will look like . . . Amel makes only one model! A 54' piece of perfection.
I can't wait to board! Yet, the whole adventure is going to be daunting and demanding. I'm the only non-sail-trained person on board. Crew members are all men, I will make myself useful in the galley kitchen and looking good on deck?

:-) The pic is taken from www.amel.fr.
I will post pics of Skylark when we meet!

30 days and Counting

30 days to clear blue Mediterranean seas
30 days to the start of another adventure ..
From books and Muse,
Long have I dreamt
Of the dances of matadors & flamencos
The art of Gaudi, Dali, Goya
Places Alhambra,Andalucia, Sevilla
Of Aegean legends
Apollo, Zeus, Athena,
The epics - Iliad & Odyssey,
Hector, Achilles, Cassandra.
Epics,history, philosophy
Troy, Alexander, Socrates!
Will my imaginings and dreams be seen small
when i get there?
Will reality be bigger, grander?
I can't wait to experience it all!


So this is a dream journey for me -
and when opportunity knocks - with no hesitation - I accepted a very generous offer from my uncle to board the brand new SV Skylark on her maiden voyage through the Mediterranean. The Skylark is due for commissioning early July 2009 at La Rochelle, France. (Sailing Vessel Skylark is found at svskylark.blogspot.com).

The PLAN:
Flight KL- London
then London - Lisbon
Boarding SV Skylark in Lisbon
Lisbon through the coasts of Portugal,
Southern Spain and then disembark in Barcelona
Walking through Barcelona
Driving from Barcelona to Grenada, Seville and Andalusia
Back to Barcelona
Flight Barcelona - Athens
Athens - Plane or boat to Mykonos
Mykonos to Santorini
Santorini to Pireus,
Drive on Pireus to Corinth, Olympia, Delphi and back to Athens
Flight Athens - London
London back to KL.

The PREP:
It has been months of trying to get most of my work completed and looking for kind souls (in the legal profession!) to be caretakers of my ongoing files. So far, I have managed to clear my diary for 2 months. Bonus, the loveliest of surprise, Colin will be joining me on part of the journey! However, planning the trip with him in mind does not come naturally, save to say I believe he is now leaving me with a very wide discretion as to the details!
We have started looking at guide books, travellers' tales and online sites. Part of the joy of travelling lies with the anticipation, the research and the day-dreaming!
I am playing with the idea of writing some creative travel tales of my own, perhaps in the form of poetry or with the focus of comparing my readings with my reality of exploring all the magical places!

Hence this blog.

Colin has started practising his Spanish! and listing the activities we can do together - many involving music and dance. Especially after I revealed that my planning consists ruins, museums, ruins, art galleries, ruins and food.

So, at 30 days before :

I have flight tickets - checked!
Travel - Reading - ongoing - Portugal, Southern Spain and Greece
Sailing - One crash course (checked) and still reading ...
Sailing jacket - check! (all form and no substance but I look the part of a sailor!)
New underwater camera - checked!
Still debating whether to bring along the laptop!

Guess I will start packing, unpacking and packing again - to travel as light as possible but with enough (is there such a thing for a city oriented kampung girl?!). My motivation on packing will be to avoid the incredulous looks on the faces of the crew uncles when I board with my ultra-huge trunks! (Saw a 100 cubic litre pantzer trunk at HOL Pavillion, sorely tempted to travel with it.)

I will start the packing stage posts and more on what I hope the trip will be like soon!