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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Oct 10, 2021 08:00 PM Ancient Olympia
Excursion from the ship to ancient Olympia. Imagine that they do not allow to go ashore on your own. This is the effect of covid. But after a day at see with the cloudy sky it was nice to be here again after some 45 years.... The sun is shining over Olympia - the UNESCO World Heritage site...
I am the only passenger with a Polish passport on the ship. But I was so happy to find on the ship new friends - Svetlana and Oleg. The are originally from Belarus but now they live in Malaga in Spain. Very nice companions! Yesterday we opened the bottle of champagne, drinking for friendship and happy travelling!
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Oct 08, 2021 08:00 PM All aboard Costa Deliziosa!
Sunny but refreshing morning in Ljubliana. The big, green bus of Flix bus company arrived 15 minutes before de schedule. I took the upper level front seat for the better view. And the panoramic views were nice during 1,5-hours drive to Trieste. We crossed the border without any stops. In Trieste they dropped passengers in front of the railway station. I strted the walk to the coast. No visible ships! I asked locals. Bordello Italiano. They sent me to the pier 7 - 4 kilometers south. Yes, Costa ship was there, but at the gate the security said that I must go to Stazione Marittima near the marina to register, made the test and then they will bring me to the ship by the shuttle bus. Uff!
Finally I was aboard only at 3 pm. My last expensive inside cabin is nice. A bottle of champagne and basket of fruits were waiting for the frequent traveller in the cabin.
Soon I had orientation meeting with English speaking hostess. She said that you are allowed to go ashore only on a Costa excursion. Miserable! Tomorrow we have day at sea. It was windy today. I hope that the sea will be calm at night!
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Oct 07, 2021 08:00 PM Lovely Ljubliana by night
By train, bus or by car it will take you two days, but by air it took me only five hours (including connection in Warsaw) to get from Gdansk to Ljubliana! On arrival they scanned my covid pass and then I was free to go. Public bus from the LJU airport to the Ljubliana railwal station costs 4,10 euro and it takes about an hour. The bus makes detours to all the villages on the way! It was 20 min walk from the station to my LINA accommodations operated by... Chinese. I left my backpack in the clean, basic room and went to refresh the memories in the lovely old town. I recognized that the lift to the "nebotichnik" rerestaurant is free. The view from the open terrace of this restaurant gives you the best panorama of the Ljubliana old town! And then I had a "Ljubliana by night" walk. Sorry, the illumination of the castle and other buildings is poor. But the cafes alond the river are full. The bottle of red wine in the supermarket costs from 1,5 euro up. Good night from lovely Ljubliana!
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Oct 06, 2021 08:00 PM Little, relaxing journey starts tomorrow!
After the hardships and stresses of traveling through the hot Kurdistan (see below), I deserve some relaxation. I found a cheap and interesting cruise on board a large, white ship. I am leaving tomorrow: by plane via Warsaw to Ljubljana, from there by Flix bus to the Italian port of Trieste, where the cruise will begin. Due to the pandemic, I have not been sailing the seas for almost two years, so I am really looking forward to new seascapes and meeting interesting people. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather, please! Daily "hot" reports written in English about where I am and what happened, as always, can be found in my travel log.
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Oct 03, 2021 08:00 PM I got the travel award!!
Yesterday I was in Gdynia enjoying the last day of the National Travel Festival "Kolosy". At the festival, I presented a report from the Kingdom of Tonga in the Pacific.
I was also awarded: for many years of popularizing budget traveling around the world, the jury awarded me with the "Eternally Young" award for the senior travellers.
It will be used for my next year's expedition to Antarctica, during which I hope to see the imperial penguins.
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Sep 26, 2021 08:00 PM Flying home...
It was early morning when I said goodbye to my cozy "Turunc" hotel in Antalya. It is nice and inexpensive place to stay, but they do not have the lift. Inexpensive rooms are on the 5th floor so I had an good excercise to climb up. :)
Tramway took me to terminal 1 of Antalya airport. Be prepared fo two security controls! Then in the departure hall the pianist was playing some of my favourite melodies. The 1l bottle of rum in the duty free shops cost 14 euro. We boarded new 737 of LOT airlines on time. There were nice views of the Mediterranean coast after take-off. (see picture). Wow! LOT is serving free water and some snacks even on the charter flights! After 3 hours I landed is the sunny (but much cooler) Gdansk. Home, sweet home! This was another fantastic voyage, offering great landscapes and meetings with a nice people. I already think about next departure... :)
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Sep 24, 2021 08:00 PM Ancient Perge
Tourists from the beach hotels in Antalya usually do not know that just 18 kms from the city they can find the ruins of the Roman city. To get there jump on the "tramway" heading to EXPO and get of on Aksu station. You have to have at least 4,10 lira on your Antalya Card for single ride. Once in Aksu you have to walk uphill around 2 kms to get to the Perge entrance. The ticket costs 60 lira in cash, no discounts. There is huge amphitheatre on one side of the road and stadium, agora and other ruins on the other side.
I spent there more than two hours. An interesting half-day tour for less than 10 dollars!
The sky is blue in Antallya and lovely, strong sun shines every day. But for me it is the time to think about the return flight....
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Sep 23, 2021 08:00 PM Pamukkale in Hierapolis
I have been in Turkey several times but always far from this world-class tourist attraction. There is nothing in the world like Pamukkale white water terraces. What to compare? Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Some places in Yellowstone? It is quite far from Antalya - more than 200 kms each way through the picturesque mountains so I decided to take the organized full day door-to-door tour. It cost me 45 euro, with lunch and entrance fee included. White terraces of Pamukkale are on the terrain occupied by the ancient town of Hierapolis, so on one ticket (normally 120 TL) you have two attractions. Amphitheatre is definitely worth to see, but to reach its upper tribunes you have to walk uphill some 10 minutes. If you do not want to hike there is minibus for 1 euro.
Cleopatra pool is an interesting place with broken column in the water. Photography is free, but if you want to swim between the columns you gave yo pay extra. Then you will be pushed to take of the off the shoes and you can wade in the warm water down: terrace to terrace. It is not slippery this calcium hydro carbonate.
Great place, but for me too much people! It was worth to be there anyway....
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Sep 22, 2021 08:00 PM Goodbye, lovely Kurdistan!
I was waiting more than an hour on the bus station in Slemani. The minibus was still not full. Finally I started to worry if I willbe on time in the airport in Erbil. Thanks God the driver decided to start 3- hours journey. The views were great. In the middle of the route we stopped at the roadhouse. When I was complaining to the driver, he said thatKurds are not too religious, but we have on board also Arabs and they must have some time to perform their salalt (mid-day pray).
He put me on the taxi on the outskirts of Erbil and I arrived to the airport on time. Surprise! They started procedures with covid checks. -Where is you covid test result? -I have been in this airport 2 weeks ago and nobody asked me for covid test, vaccination certificate was enough! -No, Erbil airport requires the test! No discussion! Fortunately there was quick solution: they called labs technician and he performed "real time test" asking for 30 USD (45000 dinars) and and giving receipt for 39500). So you can see how it works! After 2 hours flight I landed in Antalya, Turkey. How nice! The temperature was 28 deg Celsius instead of 38 in Kurdistan...
I took a tramway from terminal 1 to my cheap Turunc hotel (they charge your card for 4,10 lira fare). Before check-in in my Turunc Hotel I bought flat breads (3 lira each. Welcome tback o Turkey!
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Sep 21, 2021 08:00 PM What I found in the bazaar...
Suleimaniya is more westernised than Erbil. Along the main Salim street you will see high, fancy hotels. There are also more ladies in the European dressing. I had enough time to walk around the centre, visit Azadi Park with the modest Love Monument., talk with many locals. Local bazaar is very crowded and noisy. Smells in some areas not so nice, but is very authentic. I found there the quarter where they sell Kurdish traditional costumes. I had there a chance to try the headdressing of the Kurds. It consists of two parts: little round hat to put on the top of your head and the cloth - to be wrapped around the hat. Look at the picture - I and the sellers from nearby shops we had a lot of fun... What a nice souvenir from Kurdistan. It is necessaryto to bargain, but you can buy both parts for just 10 - 12 dollars :)
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