Farewell Crete, Hello Athens! With Cairo On The Horizon

Sunday I leave Crete for an 11-day stay in Athens.

Although it was my second time on the island of Crete, I previously had not given myself the opportunity to spend any time in Athens outside of a few layovers in airports.

A great traveler and friend who I met recently in Tbilisi, Georgia, who has been to Greece many times and loves it there, strongly suggested I spend time in Athens, and I suspect I might not be forgiven if I pass on this opportunity.

I’ve already been presented with an exhaustive list of things to do and see in Greece’s capital city, which is well-known as the cradle of democracy and western civilization. (Though some may argue the latter is an oxymoron). Nevertheless, I am looking forward with great anticipation to this trip to Athens.

While handling a full itinerary, I plan also to be an attentive, busy travel blogger, posting photos and reflections of Athens here on a regular basis.

That’s my plan.

Meanwhile, I’m hoping for the caretaker of spring to press her impatience with Old Man Winter (assuming genders here) and have dear old Mother Nature move him aside early this year.

The old cold bastard Winter has annoyed me too often of late, offering just a couple of reasonably warm, dry days to enjoy Crete, following the weather debacle he greeted me with at my last stop in Batumi, Georgia, which was frequent sleet and snow resulting in deep slush daily in the streets.

In any event, on Feb. 25 I booked a flight from Athens to Cairo, a destination I’d long planned to visit, and I’m also excited about that.

I still have to check whether Egypt requires an exit plan from the country upon arrival, which many countries do, because I don’t have one and it could be a problem. Presently I have only a one-way ticket and an intense curiosity about Egypt, with no idea where I’m going next or when I want to leave yet.

However, It will mark my first venture to Africa — my 29th country and fifth continent on this five years-plus journey (not that I’m counting).

So stay tuned, my friends, and remember this ancient Greek proverb:

“The sins we often regret are the sins we never commit.”

***

One more note as a follow to my last post in which I remarked on how many miles of walking Google logged for me in 2021.

My comfortable Merrell hiking boots which I believe I bought in Thailand at an insanely low price several years ago, must have heard how I was averaging 2.5 miles a day (per Google) last year and decided it was time to retire on the beautiful Isle of Crete. In fact, they were terrific boots for a long time but now I’ve laid them to rest and will move on to Athens to shop for a new pair.