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Why Not

December 2024 - September 2025
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Let’s go for an adventure she said. He agreed. She planned. They went. The world became....worldly. Nine months. One main goal. Exploring. Read more
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  • Italy
  • Cyprus
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  • Why Not
    Day 132

    Venezia

    May 9 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Ah Venice. Venice, a city that could never be confused with any other. Its brilliance and splendor are as grand as any. A water city, a city of harmony and tradition. It is also one that has been inundated by tourists like Stacy and I. Walking the Venetian streets is to navigate through a sea of humanity. Beauty can have its drawbacks.

    It’s fascinating to see this water city where water taxis are more common than ones on land. There are buoys set up in the water that act no differently than the lanes of a highway, directing boats in the rules of the water that only mariners know. The canals are chock full of gondola boats to the point of creating traffic jams. Super romantic 😂

    We visited St Mark’s square and its renowned Basilica, which is the best deal in town. Only 3 Euro for a visit and breathtakingly detailed. There are mosaics depicting biblical events on its ceiling that are no less than 40 feet high. Unbelievable to be able to create such mosaics.

    We also visited Doge’s (not that one:) Palace. The palace belonged to the elected authority of the former Republic of Venice and was originally built in 810 AD. Being American, never ceases to amaze me how old things can be in Europe. The palace is decorated in floor to ceiling religious paintings on a scale that is out of this world.

    After walking other touristy places, for the 3rd time this trip, we took in a concert, inspired by the great Italian violinist Antonio Vivaldi. It was held in a church and wound up being the most enjoyable experience of the day. Separately, we ferried back to our campsite $27/night:), not Venice but right across the waterfront, because Venice is outrageously expensive ($150-$200/night), which was located on a beautiful beach and had a mini water park!! Europeans know how to camp. And… we biked and saw flamingos.    Read more

  • Why Not
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    Day 129

    Temple of Apollo Delphi

    May 6 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Like many mythological Greeks before us, we have pilgrimaged to Delphi. Delphi is where the Temple of Apollo is located and is famed in Greek Mythology for people seeking out the Oracle, Pythia. Pythia was the high priestess of the temple and had the ability to see a person’s fate.

    When Greeks felt lost and unsure how to go forward with their lives/quests, they would visit her and seek her advice. She only spoke in riddles and was up the traveler to make sense of her advice and to find their own way.

    What remains of the temple itself isn’t as dramatic as the Acropolis but is still quite a site to see. There is an adjacent museum that has taken many of the artifacts for preservation and wound up being one of the better museums.

    At one point Stacy peaked out and smiled from behind a statue I was about to take a picture of and got in trouble with the museum staff telling her that it was disrespectful 🤷‍♂️ Guess they are still honoring the gods here, doesn’t make much sense to me.

    There was a beautiful amphitheater that could seat 5,000 people as well as a track/arena for the Pythian Games. The Pythian Games were the predecessor to the Olympic Games. The temples/ruins are seemingly always on a hillside making for gorgeous views but also can’t imagine how difficult moving all that marble must have been. Also, the artwork that they made out of the marble is amazing. Gorgeous ruins and a really pretty area.    Read more

  • Why Not
    Day 127

    The Acropolis

    May 4 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Acropolis, which means highest point, and was built in the 4th century BC, on, well, the highest point:). It is awe-inspiring in its grandeur and timelessness. There are numerous temples, the Parthenon being the most well known, but there are also temples to Athena, Erechtheum and the Theater of Dionysus.

    The Theater of Dionysus is still to this day used for shows and concerts. Funnily, it is blocked off from the public except when there’s a concert 🤷‍♂️. The site is so busy that I often felt as if I were in a line for a ride at Disney. While taking pictures simply requires hordes of people being in your shot. I wouldn’t exactly say it is being loved to death, but the patient definitely has a heart condition 😂

    Greeks are a proud people and decided that nothing in Athens could ever be built higher than the Acropolis because every Greek should always have the right to look up and see where democracy was born. I like that conviction in their righteousness. As a consequence, there is no skyline in Athens, just sprawl, but what they do have is a symbol for what the whole world should be striving to achieve.    Read more

  • Why Not
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    1111111
    Day 125

    Athens

    May 2 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Arrived in Athens last night, which instantly leaves a mark. Walking outside the train station, you are immediately face to face with ruins, Hadrian’s library. In fact, going back a step, there are ruins within the train station! While excavating the train station, they came across a large set of ruins. Incredible.

    Hadrian was a Roman emperor in the first century AD, who was supposed to take over Athens, but instead fell in love with it and its people and lived out the rest of his days here. The Greeks then dedicated a monument called Hadrian’s Arch. The library was one of his many contributions to the Greeks.

    Though not in the full throes of tourist season yet, you would be hard pressed to realize it. The streets, all of them, are jam packed, yet beautiful, and who doesn’t like people watching. We walked past the Ancient Agora, which was a meeting place and the birthplace of democracy.

    We went to Zappeion Hall, which is the first building created for the Olympic Village back in 1896. Though the first Olympic Games were first held in the 7th century BC and continued until the 3rd century AD, the games were stopped for 1500 years! Emperor Theodosius wanted to focus on spreading Christianity and deemed the games to be pagan. Crazy!

    We then swung by the Panathenaic stadium, which was originally built in the 6th century BC. Still to this day, this is the stadium where the Olympic Torch will always begin its long journey towards its host country. It also one of the reasons for the creation of the marathon.

    The Greeks won a great battle versus the Ottoman Empire, in the city of Marathon, and asked one of their fastest runners to go back to Athens and tell the women about their great victory so they knew not to take their own lives as opposed to being slaves of the Ottoman Empire. Well, the distance that soldier ran from Marathon back to the stadium in Athens was about 26 miles. And we have run them ever since. The city has a great feel to it. Tomorrow, the Acropolis.    Read more

  • Why Not
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    Day 119

    Temple of Demeter and Apollo

    April 26 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Demeter, Goddess of the harvest and sister of Zeus, is most known because Hades fell in love with and kidnapped her daughter (in the fall). At first , it was a mystery to Demeter who had kidnapped her daughter, Persephone, and spent all her time searching for her and neglecting her duties to the harvest. As a consequence, all the crops died until Zeus intervened (in the spring), forcing Hades to release her from the underworld.

    Hades plays a clever trick getting Persephone to eat fruit in the underworld, meaning, she can never fully return and instead lives with Hades in the underworld fall through spring, and is released into our world for the spring through fall. Still to this day, every time Persephone leaves to the underworld in the fall, nothing grows anew until her return in the spring.

    After taking a bus, it was a 4 kilometer hike to the temple, which was quite nice. The temple was built between 500-600BC, and much like the temple of Apollo, little remains. This temple was an inspiration for how the Parthenon would be built. We then walked to Plaka Beach. It’s nice walking through Greece farm and agricultural lands, which is a beautiful blend of past and present. Plaka Beach was shockingly empty, given what a beautiful stretch of beach it is. We finished the day watching sunset from the temple of Apollo.    Read more

  • Why Not
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    Day 117

    Mt Zeus (Zas)

    April 24 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    The past two days we have been hiking, yeah! Yesterday we did a lollipop hike of around 8 miles, hiking to a beautiful peninsula. Really gorgeous. Today we hiked Mt Zeus, which has a funny story behind it and being the dork I am, absolutely plan on telling it:).

    Zeus was technically born on Crete but had to be whisked away by his Mother Rhea to be raised in a cave on Naxos because his Father, Cronos, heard a prophesy that one of his children would one day overthrow him. So, each child that Rhea, both his sister and wife (common in Greek mythology), gave birth to, Cronos would quickly eat.

    Heartbroken, and with the help of Cronos Mother, Rhea tricks Cronos into eating a magical stone wrapped in baby clothing instead of her sixth child, Zeus. Cronos Mother raises Zeus in this cave on Naxos and when he is old enough, does indeed go on to overthrow Cronos. Side note, this magical stone forces Cronos to regurgitate the other 5 children he previously ate ( Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon).

    Sorry, but am currently reading books on Greek mythology:) We took a bus to the start of our hike and had a chance to hike with a New Yorker and off and on with an Aussie couple. You gain a 1,000 feet on the hike in pretty short order but kept scenic views the whole time.

    So much of the hillside for all the Greek islands looks like pictures of Santorini, with their beautiful White House’s dotting the hillside. The view from the top gives a 360 degree view of the island. It was quite windy and chilly and fortunately had our windbreaker but probably should’ve brought an insulating layer too. But we are in the Greek islands, why would we bring insulating layers:) Fun day and felt good after too long of a hiatus to be hiking again.    Read more

  • Why Not
    Day 114

    Crete

    April 21 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Cretans will tell you that everyone in the whole world is from Crete. After all, it is the birthplace of Zeus who was the creator of the human race. Crete is quite beautiful with its endless coastline, beaches and snow capped peaks rising in the background.

    We visited Elafonisi Beach, which was one of the prettier beaches we have seen. It is famous for its shallow water and interconnected beaches where you walk through the shallow waters, yes I braved the ocean and lived to tell the tale:), from one patch of beach to another. Quite beautiful. There’s a nice little hike that circles all the beaches. We had two leisurely days there with a hotel overlooking the ocean.

    We also stayed in Chania, close to the Old Port. Seemingly all the waters surrounding Greece are crystal clear. There is a lighthouse that was originally built in the 1530’s and a mosque dating back to the Ottoman Empire.

    We were also there for Easter where all the restaurants were roasting two lambs Asado style, which brought me back to Argentina. Overall it’s a gorgeous port with tons of the usual touristy restaurants, bars, shops…and well worth the visit. We know head to Naxos    Read more

  • Why Not
    11
    Day 105

    Artemis Trail

    April 12 in Cyprus ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    Stacy and rented a car, which petrified both of us since they drive on the wrong side of the road. After filling out the contract for the rental, Stacy promptly walked to the passenger side and I the driver’s side only to realize that we were on the American side of each, forcing both of us to look up at each other and smile, then to switch sides of the car.

    We set out to hike the Artemis Trail, which hugs the Turkish side of Cyprus. Artemis, twin son of Apollo and God of the forests and all wild things. Cyprus consistently puts a lot of thought into every named thing and takes the time to explain why they did so. To me, this is how an art museum can make a piece of art so much more by knowing its story. It’s a beautiful 7km hike which perfectly follows a contour making the hike as flat as a lake.

    It was surprisingly cold, in fact, it snowed one inch the night before, and was only a high of 40°. Many of the trees were frost covered and would rain icicles down on us with each gust of wind. There is even a ski slope here which impresses me since the locals describe the summers as unbearably hot.

    Along the hike we came across Stinking Junipers which can live upwards of 1500 years!! There was also a 500 hundred year old Black Pine Tree. Amazing to think that shortly after Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, this pine tree was born. Our drive was mostly uneventful, though you wouldn’t know it based on Stacy’s reaction. If you simply watched her expression you would think it was a never ending reeling NASCAR wrecks. Definitely recommend Cyprus hiking.    Read more

  • Why Not
    Day 104

    Archaeological Site of Nea Paphos

    April 11 in Cyprus ⋅ 🌬 61 °F

    Every destination has a story to tell, but Pafos’ archaeological site takes you on a journey through Greek mythology (my fav) and Roman times. At the heart of this archaeological park are their intricate floor mosaics. They are amazingly preserved with vibrant colors depicting various scenes from Greek mythology.

    Some of the mosaics are housed so that they can be better protected from the elements. The mosaics are so intricate, detailed and beautiful, one cannot help but marvel. Above and beyond their beauty, these mosaics continue to tell their stories through the ages.

    The site used to be their city by the sea with many of the sites they built named after the gods.One of the houses we visited was the House of Dionysus (God of wine), largest of the houses, depicting everything from Scylla (mythology sea creature that is part woman, fish and dog), to the ill-fated lovers of Pyramus and Thisbe, to Poseidon’s seduction of Amymone.

    It’s amazing to think how these mosaics were simply the flooring for their houses, or how these mosaics have survived Father Time, which I suppose is a better question for Kronos.

    But I must say that I was quite taken by this place and how impressive it all was. Maybe it’s the lure of Greek Mythology for me, or its setting by the sea with Poseidon’s waves relentlessly battering the shore, as if it were fighting time to an eternal stalemate or maybe… it was just great:)    Read more

  • Why Not
    Day 103

    Blue Lagoon

    April 10 in Cyprus ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    The blue lagoon is a patch of stunning bay with crystal clear sapphire blue waters. It’s a short boat ride (30-40 minutes) from a postage stamp of a town that centers its very being around tourists wanting to go to the blue lagoon.

    We are still in the off season, yet we were one of an armada of boats heading to the blue lagoon. I don’t think it took away from the experience, in fact, in some ways it enhanced it. All the boats set up an inflatable slide and was fun watching everyone. I enjoyed the boat ride and area but since this involves water:), naturally this is more for Stacy.

    The waters, so I heard:), were quite cold and swimming was not for long. The boat also cooked a traditional Cypriot BBQ, which was something we were wanting to try and absolutely lived up to its billing. Shockingly delicious. The area itself is stunning and worthy of even landlubbers like me paying a visit.

    Though Cyprus was an accidental destination, I am so happy for the experiences, sites and people. I guess we should thank the EU’s Schengen Zone for unknowingly allowing us to have this experience and time. If ever in the area, or forced out of an area:), Cyprus rides with high recommendation and praises. Now, back to Crete, Greece.    Read more

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