Cyber-attack, Curmudgeons, Critters and Covid

Our trip began with a cyberattack so we probably shouldn't have been surprised that it ended with Covid.

Such was the start and end of our trip to America.  A trip that will go down in our travel memories as one of 'those' (roll of the eyes) trips. The kind that had a mind of its own and no amount of planning could have anticipated its unexpected twists and turns.

Not this trip to Manson!

Admittedly, the challenges could have been far worse. On the flip side, it could have been far more pleasant as well. We know that you travelers among us can probably relate to 'those' trips; the kind that adds little or nothing to life's happiness quotient. 

The Scout now describes ours as one in which 'our expectations were low, and they were met or exceeded.'  

On the home stretch: heading to Seattle

As expats living most of the year in Greece, but with a home base in the Pacific Northwest, our travel back to the States isn't what we think of as a vacation or holiday. House repairs/projects and health appointments are scheduled months in advance of our return and then we fit the good times in around them. 

Our calendar was filled with 'must do' items and interspersed with the 'want to do' fun things. We'd find a balance between them, or so we thought as we set forth. . .

The Cyber Attack

Seattle, Washington

Our US gateway airport is SeaTac, just outside Seattle, Washington.  Our noon arrival some 24 hours after we'd left Kalamata, was on a warm mid-August Sunday - a time when the airport is normally pleasantly empty and getting through baggage claim and immigration is a snap.

That is unless you arrive the day after a cyber-attack on SeaTac brought down its internet systems, disrupting travel for thousands. 

Luggage carousels sat idle at SeaTac thanks to a cyber attack

Surprisingly the airport's international terminal was indeed empty. Very empty.  Our British Airways flight was the only arrival. While we hadn't been caught up in the initial cyber strike, we got a dose of its continuing fallout. Those impacts made headline news for days as travel disruptions and inconveniences continued.

The Scout waits at SeaTac for our luggage

Even with just one arriving flight, the wait for checked luggage was very long. A wait so long, I called the rental car company to assure them we would still be picking up the car sometime that afternoon. 

Those who've made that trip between Europe and Seattle know how brain- and body-numbing it can be. We'd entered a new degree of numb by the time the bags arrived - but we were among the lucky ones because they did arrive!   

Aftermath of cyber-attack took days to clear up

A month later SeaTac was still dealing with the hackers. In mid-September the low-life criminals demanded six million in bitcoin be paid to them in exchange for the information stolen from the airport.  I am happy to report that SeaTac hasn't given in to the demands and the FBI continues to investigate.

The taxi driver just didn't understand my excitement

Late arriving luggage seemed a hallmark of our trip. Those same two checked bags didn't make it on to our Kalamata flight before it left London on our return to Greece in September. We arrived on a late Saturday night and the bags arrived the next day. They were delivered by taxi to our village.  Because we have no house numbers or street names, we met the taxi at the beach cafe near our house to pick up those bags.

The Crank and The Curmudgeon 

                                      Crank - an annoying, ill-tempered person                           

                         Curmudgeon - ill-tempered person, often stubborn and grouchy.

The fence saga that I wrote about while in the states really did end up being a saga. Suffice to say the planned three-day project sucked up three weeks of our month in the States. Its price doubled, sucking up a few thousand more dollars than it should have. 

We worked on the fence as well to get it done by the time we left

While our 'concerned neighbor' (that I likened to Gladys Kravitz, in my last piece), will likely continue in her role as the roaming neighborhood crank, she will meet her match should she focus again on our place. An unintended consequence of her meddling was my transformation from once-good-intentioned-neighbor to curmudgeon:

Should the crank resurface the curmudgeon is ready

Shakespeare, I believe, describes the new me well!

Critters

HiHo Silver was away for a week

A few weeks into our stay in America we got a message from our house/kitty sitter in Greece asking about a warning light that had come on in 'Hi Ho Silver,' our Toyota RAV. that she was driving in our absence. 

Believing that electrical wires might have gotten damp in a storm, she took the car to the local repair shop and after three days of test driving and checking, they couldn't find the source of the problem but pronounced it safe to drive until we could get to the dealership in Kalamata.  The headlights and brakes worked, even if nothing else on the dashboard did: no speedometer, no gas gauge no temperature indicator. 

The car went to the dealership a week ago. It took the mechanics but a minute to diagnose the problem - one all too common in rural areas: 

'Rats!' they said, showing us an air filter full of dark brown droppings the size of grains of rice. 

The rat did it!   (Photo credit: Axleaddict.com 2008)

 'Leave the car - it could take days to isolate the damage and order parts,' they added.  

We rented a car from company run by a FB friend of mine. It pays to have FB friends especially when you tell them you have no idea when you'll return their car.  Living here, he understood our problem.

Happily, I report that within four days the wires eaten by the little critters were located and replaced.  'Hi Ho ' is home again with moth balls and critter repellant lining the engine. 

Covid: The Climax

It is Covid!

So why not end the fun fest with Covid?  It seemed a fitting climax. 

We give little thought to Covid these days. Seldom do we see anyone, especially travelers, wearing masks. I no longer pack them when we travel. But Covid is still out there. Our house sitter reported that it had struck her down two days after her return to New Mexico.

 Although it knocked us flat for a couple of days, in reality it was no worse than those colds and flu we used to get. And my new motto is: it could have been worse! 

Now three weeks later we are back in the saddle at our Stone House on the Hill. Our area is gearing up for olive harvest which will kick off the end of October.  

Thanks for your time. Good travel wishes to you and yours.  And how have your trips gone this year?  Have you had one of 'those' trips as well?  Tell us about it in the comments or shoot us an email. Always good to hear from you~

 

Southeast Asia ~ A Coming of Age

The fact is that a lot of years had passed since we were last in Malaysia. 

In our minds, our return visit last month was far overdue.  That was one reason we chose its capital, Kuala Lumpur, as the starting and ending point of our recently completed Southeast Asian adventure.  

Downtown Kuala Lumpur was a happening place

Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it is often called, is 55 kilometers, or 35-miles, from its KLIA, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.  Our visit required four such rides; two at each end of the trip. Time and distance provided us ample time to visit with our cab drivers, all of whom spoke English well.  

At some point during each ride, the conversation invariably went something like: 

Chatting with our cab drivers - Oh My GAWD!

'So, your first time in KL?' asked the driver.

'No, we were here before. . .' one of us would answer, pausing, then adding, '. . .about forty years ago.'

At which point each of the cabbies -- who ranged in age from 40 to 56 -- nearly drove into the freeway barrier as his head snapped from focusing on the road to the rear-view mirror to get a good look at the talking fossils in the back seat.

The best verbal response was from the 56-year-old who exclaimed, 'Oh. My G-A-W-D! I was 15 then!!' 

Each of the conversations ended with the driver telling us about his elderly parents who were in our age range but were still 'getting around' and how good it was that we were still traveling. 

Coming of Age

Street scene 2023 Kuala Lumpur

We have aged, and hopefully grown a bit as well, since our first visit to Malaysia's capital city. But our changes pale in comparison with the changes to this cultural, financial and economic center of Malaysia.  

The city looked much like the photo above during our first visit in the early 1980's. But those old storefronts are fast being replaced with towering skyscrapers offering condominiums, offices and retail space.  The photo below was taken from our hotel room.

Kuala Lumpur from our hotel window

Back when we first visited KL it had a population of 1.1 million. Today's population is 8.6 million. Its population density and urban spread is evidenced by towering buildings of living accommodations that began to fill the skyline miles before we reached the city's center.

Residential high rises outside city center

What we found most interesting is that even with all the change, we were as taken with this new modern high-density version of the city as we were with the old charmer, we explored decades ago.  Maybe that is because it still retains many of its historical buildings which were a pleasant contrast to the ubiquitous high-rise structures.

A heritage building in KL

The Old and the New 

Entry display at one mall

Shopping malls abound in the heart of town. Our first stay was at the JW Marriott Hotel, which was part of a high-end shopping mall, and also across the street from yet another high-end mall.  We could log our day's footstep goal with a single trip through one of the multi-storied malls.

Coffee at one mall allowed us to watch video ads across the street

We were bedazzled with jewelry displays, clothing, and cars. There's definitely another world out there! I had no more than said, 'Can you imagine these places at Christmas?' when we saw this photo:

Christmas must be something else!

Each of the three nights we spent at the JW, we were treated to a car show outside the front door in the valet parking area. This purple car won out for the color, but each day we found some breathtakingly expensive car parked just outside the door.

Outside our hotel in valet parking

We had one additional night and a full day in KL on our return leg of our journey. We chose to experience a bit of history and stayed in the heritage wing of its Majestic Hotel, located in another part of the city. The hotel, with a tall sleek conference hotel wing to one side, was originally built in 1932, just across the street from its heritage train station. It simply oozed with charm. . .the music playing as we stood in line to check in was Glenn Miller's 'Moonlight Serenade'.

Hotel Majestic, since 1932.

We sipped cappuccinos while others had High Tea in the old wing's lobby. We could have sat in the Orchid Room but will save that for 'next time'. 

Orchid Room - Majestic

Happy Hour was held in the stately old bar where you could play a game of billiards or watch financial news on a flat screen television. The air was tinged with cigar smoke - just adding that perfect old gentlemen's club touch to the setting. 

Happy Hour at the Majestic Hotel

The Southeast Asian Adventure

For those who missed the last post outlining this adventure, a brief recap: 

KL was the first stop on a journey that would take us to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam and Singapore.  We flew from Athens to KL via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. We were reminded that it is a long haul to get to SE Asia no matter from which direction you fly. It was an hour and a half to Istanbul then 10.5 hours to Kuala Lumpur.  

Most of our journey was completed aboard Oceania's Nautica cruise ship.  We boarded that ship in Bangkok, Thailand after a brief stay there.  And that is where our tale begins next time when we will be: Bangkok Bound.

Thanks for the time you've spent with us today and thanks to those of you who sent us travel suggestions and recommendations. All were appreciated! 

Kalo Mina! ~ July in Greece

 Kalo Mina, we call out in greeting, Good (New) Month! 

A summer sunset in Greece

July has arrived in Greece. The cicadas are filling the air with their surround-sound sizzling summer song. The sound they make reminds us of those huge oscillating irrigation sprinklers used to water thirsty fields in Washington State or the sound of electricity running through high voltage wires leading from the Columbia River on a hot summer's day.

The cicadas song is definitely the sound of summer in our slice of Greece but it also serves to remind us of the sounds we knew in our 'other world'. This is our fifth summer spent as American expats living in the rural part of the Peloponnese; transplants from the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Stoupa Beach - summertime!

Temperatures in Greece are soaring - with the thermometer climbing to 90F /32C. Humidity is just under 70%.  This is the type of weather that gets us up early so that outdoor olive grove and garden chores are completed by mid-morning, and errands are completed before noon. 

Afternoons - at least for locals - are spent indoors trying to stay cool. Tourists on foot, bike and in rental cars, head to the beaches to bake themselves into various shades of red and brown.

Last summer's fire got a bit close to us

Sadly, summer has become a time of wild fires, warnings and alerts have been coming fast and furiously in recent days. Now, reports of fires.  They remind us via social media that the level of heat and a brisk breeze is a dire combination. Greece has taken a proactive approach to firefighting this summer.  Firefighters from neighboring European Union countries have already arrived in Greece and are stationed throughout the country on the ready to fight any outbreaks that happen over the weekend.

Summer's Mid-Day Nap

With the heat and humidity climbing  and our ambition correspondingly dropping, summer here is a time to perfect the mid-day nap. This Greek equivalent of a siesta usually takes place between 2 pm and 5 pm. 

The Summer Nap - our cats love it!

Called  'these ores ths laikis isikhias' in Greek, its literal translation is, 'the hours of popular quiet'. It is taken so seriously that police can cite those who violate the quiet. It is a time for a mid-day meal, rest and quiet. Prompted by the intense heat, often times the mid-day meal is eaten as late as 4 p.m. and the nap times can extend to 6:30pm. 

Laborers stop work and resume in the cooler evening hours.  Many retail outlets close during  nap hours, opening in the evening and staying open as late as 11 p.m. or midnight.  Restaurant diners don't arrive for meals until  8 p.m. or later.

The Summer After Covid 

We have a fine dining restaurant in the village now

I will admit we worried about a number of our friends and their businesses as the year-long Covid lock-down pretty much stretched into a two year lockdown, but I am happy to report that not only have all of our retail stores and restaurants in this part of the Mani re-opened, but we have also added new businesses to the line up as well.

Medikon opens in Ag. Nikolaos. Photo: Medikon

In our village of Agios Nikolaos, we've had a fine dining/cocktail lounge open at the harbor in place of a long-time traditional Greek eatery. While we miss that menu and the folks who ran that place, the new restaurant has ratcheted up our dining options.  I might add, it is also run by a couple from Athens whose family is here and run a traditional beach taverna just down the road.

Gelato in Agios Dimitrios

And in Agios Dimitrios, the small hamlet literally at the foot of 'our' hill, a cafe has opened. This is BIG news as it is the only eatery or retail business in the village! A mom-and-two-daughter team from Kalamata has quickly turned it into a popular drink and snack destination.

Laid Back Locals

An early morning coffee klatch on the beach!

We were officially called 'locals' this week when a village businessman we often see having coffee at the same places we go to, labeled us as such. He said because we see each other enough to recognize each other - and he was born and raised here - then, we are considered, locals.  So being 'locals' our summer mornings are spent as locals do -having a coffee at one of the many tavernas and cafes in the village.  A group of lady friends met for coffee a few weeks ago and you can tell from the photo we are locals: as we are hovering in the shade and there so early the tourists haven't taken over the beach chairs in the background. 

Although 'meeting for coffee and conversation' here is much like anywhere, we expats always take a moment to marvel at our surroundings. 'Can you believe we are meeting for coffee on a beach, walking distance from home and can run our feet through the sand while visiting?' one of us will invariably ask of the other.

Summer Travels

It is a joy to once again be able to travel this summer - with limited required mask wearing and no need to show Covid vaccination cards.  It almost feels like 'normal'. We just returned from a 10-day outing which began in Athens and then involved island hopping.  We were reminded again by the languages we heard spoken, of Greece's world-wide appeal as a tourist destination.

Tourists, 'selfies' and Athens sights from our hotel

Despite airport chaos -- cancelled flights, delayed flights, lost luggage, enormous lines -- in major airports across the European Union and England, travelers keep on traveling.  

In the cool of the night - temperatures drop to the 70's

We are still waiting for those residency permits of ours to be renewed - now in month three of our countdown -- so we are required to stay within Greece for our travels this summer. Road trips (gasoline is just under $10 a gallon) and ferry trips are making this 'renewal lockdown' really quite tolerable.  We plan a return to the States in August/September.  At least the flights are booked, but with the continuing and increasing aviation chaos, we are braced for our flights to be cancelled -- hopefully soon enough to come up with a Plan B.

EasyJet, RyanAir, and British Air employees are all planning a series of strikes during the next two months.  Each strikes on a different set of days to make it real nasty and confusing. We are booked on British Air - they are to notify travelers by 14 days prior to departure. We will deal with that when we need to. In the meantime, we will enjoy the summer, naps, coffees and an occasional road trip.

TravelnWrite is on the Gold List!

We were most pleased to be notified this week of having made the Gold List of Boomer Travel blogs for 2022 by the folks at Getting on Travel. Check out some of the blogs on this list - it will be great for armchair getaways and might even prompt you to pack your bags!

Safe travels to you and yours~ hope to see you back here soon!

Linking this week with:

 Through My Lens

Travel Tuesday

Our World Tuesday

My Corner of the World Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Friendship Friday Blog Hop

Venice ~ Nothing Can Compare

We stood in the open mid-section of the vaporetto, braced against our suitcases and chilled by the cold wind that whipped off the canal that late November afternoon. We could have sat inside but didn't want to miss one minute of the sights, sounds, and smells that are Venice.

Venice vaporetto taking passengers to stops along the canal

We'd selected three cities to visit during our early winter 10-day Italian Escapade: Bologna, Verona and Venice.  I think we may just have unintentionally saved the best for last! 

Venice Revisited 

Oh the city of gondolas is magical

It wasn't our first visit to this centuries-old city built  atop some 117 small islands separated by 150+ canals and  connected by more than 400 bridges. But it certainly had been too long since we'd been back. On this late autumn trip we had arrived by train after spending a night in Verona then boarded a boat headed for our hotel in the San Marco district. Luckily our stop was one of the last so we could do some sightseeing along the way!

Aqua Alta 2012 in Venice  - photo from a blog post about that trip

Our last stay in 2012 was during a time known as 'acqua alta' (high water); a time when the city is flooded by high tide bringing the canals up over its walkways and piazzas. We didn't venture out often back then as each outing meant a balancing act on raised platforms installed for pedestrians to get around on when the floods occur. We hoped we'd not have a repeat of that weather phenomenon during this stay - and luckily, we didn't.

Famed Rialto Bridge - Venice

During our five day stay we planned to explore this fabled city's quarters, or sestieri, as they are called. Our overly-ambitious plans included visits to two nearby islands, Murano (for its glass) and Burano (for its lacemaking and colorful buildings). However, we were so taken with Venice we never made it to them. 

Exploring on a sunny but chilly morning

We again set forth on foot (as you do here until you are traveling on a canal) without any itinerary or 'must see' list. However we ended up visiting more tourist attractions than we had in the past because there were no lines of tourists.  We can probably thank the season and the lingering concerns over Covid for reducing the number of fellow visitors, but honestly, it was almost too good to be true.

No one taking a photo of the Bridge of Sighs - incredible sight!!

Take the Bridge of Sighs. . .on past visits so many tourists have wanted to take its photo - or worse, a selfie of themselves and the bridge - that we usually avoided the area all together as standing from where I took the photo above felt like being a sardine in a can.

We stood at that railing with few others

With maybe a dozen or so ahead of us, the line to check Covid vaccination status was longer at St. Mark's Basilic than was the ticket line. Absolutely no wait for tickets and no crowds inside. We were able to buy tickets once inside (again no wait) and visit the upper level art gallery and outdoor viewing area on the roof - again with only a handful of  others.

Waiting in the rain for the restaurant to open

The weather was fickle - one day we'd have sunshine and on another, rain.  It was chilly in the daytime and got rather cold at night which prevented us from enjoying the many bars and restaurants with tables and chairs that spill out onto the piazzas.  But it was never so extreme as to keep us inside as had the acqua alta on the previous trip.

The major sestieri (districts) of Venice

There is nothing better to our way of thinking in Venice than setting out on a walk with no destination in mind. Twisting walkways lead you over bridges, past shops, through piazzas and reveal all sorts of treasures that we find as interesting as those highly touted tourist sites. Take for instance:

 

Window food and drink storage

  A favorite walk was through residential areas, admiring flower boxes, shutters and facades on the ages-old buildings. It was  fun to spot places like the window sill above. It was cold enough to keep food and beverages chilled outside and that is just for what this window was being used. 

Ambulances and emergency rooms

We are both fans of Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti novels. Often a victim is taken to the hospital by ambulance in these 'who-dunnit' stories. It was interesting to see what the ambulances and emergency room entrances look like in a city whose 'roads' are canals.

Dock builders balanced on beams over the water

We found it interesting to watch workers balance on narrow beams - walking, and kneeling -- on the frame they were putting into place.  I'd not seen construction equipment working from a barge before nor workers balancing as if they were ballerinas. 

Did I mention the food?

Needless to say all the walking we did worked up both thirsts and appetites in all three cities we visited.  I haven't yet told you much about Italian food and drink. The next post will take you to public markets, shops, bars and restaurants. . .I promise to make your mouth water in a 'Taste of Italy'  

An Aperol Spritz

For those of you who are reading The Mediterranean Lifestyle magazine, you'll get a taste of Italy in  my article "A Bite of Bologna" that appears in the just-published Feb/March edition.  This edition is available on line and for the first time ever - in print as well!  

My article in The Mediterranean Lifestyle Magazine

That is it for this time around. We send wishes for safe travels to you and yours and thank you for the time you've spent with us strolling through Venice on a winter's day. Please come back for a serving of Italy's culinary arts and bring a friend or two with you~ 

Linking with:

Through My Lens

Travel Tuesday

Our World Tuesday

My Corner of the World Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Friendship Friday Blog Hop