Well I write this little upload from my room in BKK, enroute to Vientiane and then Luang Nam Tha again on Monday. I have 4 weeks there doing an impact study on how effective the EU education project I have been working with for the last few years, has been in increasing gender parity in the enrolments and general support for girls in education, specifically in Akha villages. Will also take with me a group of different ladies who have demonstrated interest and activity in their own villages, to give opportunity for them to see other ways of being and time to sit, chat, share ideas, concerns and give to each other. I look forward to giving back to you the stories and faces and moving accounts that always create challenges for personal change in me.
But before that … a little rundown on the last few of my movements post Crete, which was the last sum up.
Crete (which blew my mind by the way by it’s raw rugged mountain beauty, crystal waters, rocky precipices, spectacular seafood and warm lovely people) is a spectacular place, and big enough to get away from the crowds and find your own little rocky swimming spot with olive tree to shade. My favourite spot was Matala … an old hippies hang out from the 60’s, with a rocky hillside with caves dug out the sides and a grassy hill behind to whack up the tent. Met some great people there, one being a sports massage therapist, which was a perfect leadup to the Olympus marathon again, with the daily de cramping massages. Cheers M! Perfect!
… plakias, crete ….. my soul i have to say feels at home around greece and particularly around crete as it did when i first travelled thru laos … and i ended up living there for a while huh …
After Crete I met torge tp, from Berlin, and we went camping around Sithonia … the middle leg of the Halkidiki Peninsula which is in the Macedonia region of Greece. Endless rocky, sandy green headlands where you can place your tent pretty much wherever and soak and enjoy the wilderness. Both nights we were witness to amazing electric thunderstorms, schools of dolphins, and woke to mornings of “textile free” delicious cool Mediterranean swims. Completely delightful.
Then came the marathon again. Bit proud of myself this year … bettered the time by 41minutes!!! and was 5th woman in my section up to 40yrs! yeow! Think I paced myself a fair bit better (ie was 10 minutes slower to the first checkpoint, but then 20 minutes faster by halfway, and 41 by the end). And another completely fab greek wnd with a whole pile of delightful people … known & unknown
sooooooo yep … i just found this photo of the nepalese sherpa who came third in the olympus marathon … check out the quads on this guy!!! a clear example of why i had to settle for a 300th+ placing!!
well well … the lack of activity on my blog is a clear indication of the rolling good times i had in greece
the place is truly magical and has just about all the ingredients of a perfect destination as far as i’m concerned … crystal clear sea, white sand beaches, unspoilt islands, feta cheese and olives in too many varieties to count (&&&&& for less than a loaf of sliced bread), night time energy, afternoon siestas, fabulous coffee, freddocinos, waterfalls, streams, rivers and wonderful mountains for exploring … not to mention a very vibrant, energetic and warm bunch of people all round
i was very lucky in meeting a whole lot of lovely peoples during my marathon time, so spent the majority of my days with these peoples and was therefore privileged to see, stay and go many places i would otherwise never have found. so thank you mara, versilles x 2, mims, fanis, alex, sophia, apostelos in particular for making my time so memorable and special
i also spent about a week in denmark at the roskilde festival where another lovely friend … thank you marcusssssss!!! … found me a ticket, luxury camping, backstage entry, backstage dining, beer tickets, food tickets and a whole lot of licorice which was the perfect accompanient to a whole feast of music … radiohead, band of horses, hf, tokyo police club, kings of leon, goldfrapp, the ting tings, digitalism, cat power, blonde redhead to name only my cream of the crop
so as you can see, i am indeed a lucky lucky girl … i’ll let the pics below tell the story
(and ohhhhh … i see i have just uploaded all the photos in the exact opposite order so think backwards or head to the bottom and scroll back up!)
these two kept me giggling and entertained for many of my greek days! thanks boys!
… well earned after an afternoon of riding in the hills
i have to admit, even though i like to think i am fairly fearless, some of these steep firetrails had me off the bike and pushing it down the bumps and slippery bits more often than not! i need to work on my technique clearly
yep … this is what you call crystal blue water …
out on the boat for a day to a whole lot of uninhabited islands, beaches, caves, deep water swimming spots thanks to these wonderful friends
versillies, mara and apostelos
more beautiful valleys, crevices, cliffs, trees, breezes with a sunset to make it even more special
an amazing little waterfall/swimming hole only found with a little rock scrambling and some local knowledge … up in the mountains ne greece
… oh yeah and just to prove i did make it to the end … 9hrs and something minutes after the start … definitely not looking or smelling particularly fresh at this moment!
i was lucky enough to be able to enjoy this super comfy and amazing little private beach spot courtesy of mara and versillies … no sandy wet towel sunbaking here … all about the white cushions, sofas and chilled drinks straight out of the fridge
amazzzzzzzing
… with personal tuition from the lovely mara, dined on with some amazing fish from versillie’s spear fishing adventures
my secret inherited tips … cider vinegar and lose the knife with the fetta … it’s all in the crumble
