Posts tagged Chris Danner
What I Learned in Scotland
Really quickly, think of how cool Sean Connery is…yeah, Sean Connery. That’s how cool Scotland is. While Scotland doesn’t exactly have the best weather in the world, the light rain and overcast sky hanging over lush green pastures and rolling hills gives the entire landscape a comforting, even homey feel. The entire country welcomes you into it. And maybe it’s just me, but any country with castles makes me feel like I can run around with a sword and rescue princesses from towers (every little boy’s dream).
The myths, legends, and history of the Scottish highlands creep out of every stream and jump out at you form behind every rock. After a week of learning about the culture and history of the Highlands, here’s what I’ve learned:
- The Loch Ness Monster, Nessie, most definitely exists. There is no way for me to convince you in this blog, but if you take the tour of the Loch with a true believer, YOU WILL BELIEVE.
- Also, sadly Braveheart did not do the best of job at capturing William Wallace’s life and Robert the Bruce was awesome and not as backstabbing as the movie made him out to be. The true story of Wallace, in fact, is even more baddass. The dude was one bloodthirsty psychopath…his sword’s sheath was made from human skin.
- The Scottish really do not like the British. There’s some bad blood in that department and most Scots are more than ready to tell you all about it.
- Finally, there’s Scotch everywhere, and it is glorious. The smooth, smokiness of Scotch must be among the best tastes in the world and it is impossible to make it around Scotland without having more than a healthy dose of the heavenly stuff.
Visiting the Fringe Festival
The biggest and best surprise of the entire trip came in Edinburgh. We arrived at the beginning of an event that I am definitely returning to next August. The Fringe.
The Fringe Festival is the world’s largest art festival…by a long shot. And this is art in the best and most diverse sense of the world. There are hundreds of visual art shows, plays, comedy shows, musical performances, and lectures as well as being the world’s best convention of street performers.
There are solo-dramatic performances, hilarious stand-up shows, even classes on burlesque (I didn’t make it to that one, though). For a little cred you might respect, Flight of the Conchords was discovered there and Rhys Darby (Murray, the manager, from the show) performed this year.
Parts of the city are transformed into massive hubs for the festival, town squares are converted in beer gardens with astro-turf and large alley ways branch off into venues and bars. The nightlife stays open till 5 a.m. during the Fringe and since the first shows start at 8 a.m. and the last shows start at 3 a.m., you could theoretically experience the Fringe for almost 24 hours a day.
The venues are small and the prices are totally reasonable too, I saw four shows (all amazing) in places with no more than fifty people and didn’t pay more than 10 pounds a ticket. If you get a pass for the Fringe you can see all the shows you want for 5 pounds each. It was an exhilarating start to my time in Scotland. The motto for our Haggis tour was “Wild & Sexy” and the Fringe was just that. I have to go back and do the Fringe for a full week next year
Greece: Go for the History…and the Party
When I think of Greece, the first two things that come to mind are probably the history and the partying. Fortunately enough for me, these are two things I really enjoy. But there is way more to the country than that, and I have only just scratched the surface.
The Greeks founded Western civilization and gave us the basis of western literature, among other things. If you are planning to go, read a little history, a little Homer and get an idea of life in ancient Greece because when you’re there it comes to life all around you. From the Roman invasion in the 2nd century BC until the early 19th century, Greece was under foreign rule. The Greeks, however, have held onto their culture with an iron fist. They are a proud, kind and welcoming people who are always pleased to see that you have seen the light and chose to visit their country.
Next, the food. Greek cuisine is widely regarded as the healthiest cuisine on the planet. Despite their chain-smoking, the Greeks manage to live forever. It’s fresh salads, delicious feta cheese, fresh fish, fresh this and fresh that. Incredible. Get on it.
The landscape. The island of Santorini (one of the world’s most popular honeymoon destinations) boasts the world’s most beautiful sunset. There are over 5,000 Greek islands and with that many choices, you know they have a diverse range of landscapes. The beaches are nestled in coves against clear blue waters and the sea is famously dark and seductive. Just think of how awesome it would be to say you sailed around the Greek islands for a bit, it feels cool just writing it.
The party. THE BEST PARTY IN THE WORLD, as far as I’m concerned and you won’t be disappointed if you’re looking for an all night, dance-your-ass-off marathon party session. The glamorous party is in Mykonos, but if you want to do it all on a budget and party with students and backpackers check out Ios.
Just do it.
Mykonos
Mykonos. Just say the word and heart-pounding dance music should begin to pump through your system.
I’m not really religious, but I would wager that God created Mykonos as a reward for humanity doing something really awesome, like inventing democracy. This island is an international icon of hedonism, beauty and the est damn time of your life.b
You will never find yourself asking “where’s the party?” because the party is all around you. And it doesn’t stop. If you’re like me and whole-heartedly believe that clubs that close their doors at 2 a.m. might as well be called retirement homes, than Mykonos is probably the place for you. Most clubs don’t close till 6 a.m., some open at midnight and keep going till 11 a.m. or whenever the last reveler dances out the door.
It makes Vegas look like a vacation with your parents and it makes Cancun look like a high school party.
The world’s most beautiful and professional partiers (yes, that is a profession in my book) descend upon Mykonos from every nook and cranny of the earth to party all-night and tan on breathtaking beaches all day. It is an exhausting cycle that few could keep going for more than a week. Mykonos is a gauntlet, thrown down by Dionysus, to challenge those who have no time for the saying carpe diem, but rather live by the opposite, carpe noctum.
So why sleep when you can live in a dream? Amen.
Volunteering in South Africa
As much as I love the idea of picking vacation spots based on beaches and the cheapness of beer, it gets old…fast.If you love to travel and are looking for something more unique to do with your free time, look into volunteering. From your own backyard to every corner of the globe there are programs that invite you to help out.
Think of what you would like to do. Be it teaching English, conserving the environment, coaching sports, building schools, playing with kids – whatever – there are opportunities to do what you love, make a difference and explore the coolest places on earth.
Some programs are just a week long, others can go on for months if you find yourself loving it, and you will if you give it a shot.
In South Africa, Lindsay and I met up with a group of about thirty girls (reason enough for me to return but that’s besides the point) who were all volunteering on a variety of projects in and around Cape Town. Everyone was able to choose which project fit them best and at the end of the day they all returned to a communal house that was as cool as any backpacker hangout I’ve seen anywhere in the world.You get to meet travelers from around the world who have been brought together with a common purpose of trying to make one little part of the world a bit better.
Lindsay and I agree that some of our best travels have been when we volunteered in foreign countries and both of us will always be looking to do more of it. It’s an amazing experience and I promise you will have as good of a time helping out than you would have had pounding Coronas and getting sunburned in Cabo.
Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster
Would you take me seriously if I told you I believe in Nessie, the Loch Ness monster? Crazy thing is I actually think I do. At least the old sailor on our boat trip made it very easy to imagine such a creature existed below us in those deep and murky waters of Scotland.
A few of us from our Scottish Highlands Bus Tour decided to spend an hour of our first evening aboard a boat in one of Scotland’s most beautiful settings. This lake, or loch in Scottish Gaelic, is a natural body of water created on a fault line, its depth reaching 260 meters at points. The temperature of the water is frigid and it’s hardly transparent enough to see your hand dipped in two feet deep. We were told, “If all the water in all the lakes and rivers of Scotland was poured into an empty Loch Ness, it wouldn’t be enough to fill it.” Water pressure is intense when people or unmanned remote vehicles submerge. The conditions of the water have made it extremely difficult to really investigate the possibilities of massive creatures in the water, but there are some, like our boat guide, who make it their life missions to prove this creature exists.
I met a few fun individuals from the tour who shared my dreams of having Nessie recreate the quintessential Free Willy moment over our heads. We even took a picture to later be edited in Photoshop with that effect. But soon, the boat guide brought us down below to hear his tales and be convinced, not just amused.
Multiple TV monitors displayed the activity going on below the boat. One could map out the depth and appearance of the lake bed and another illustrated the wildlife with massive blots of color. Twenty-five years of this man’s life have been dedicated to finding Nessie and her pals, as they believe there are possibly 18 “monsters” in the loch. And when he began showing photos of the TV monitors picking up 3-ton creatures, our eyes opened a little wider. When a remote-operated vehicle submerged to the lake bed, they found a skeleton of mass proportions in the shape of our Nessie assumptions. Whoa.
The biggest shock came when he showed us a photo he captured while kayaking years prior. NASA confirmed this photo hadn’t been altered digitally – so he claimed. And if that’s true, holy cow, there is something with a huge, scaly neck in Loch Ness.
I love running into these passionate people around the World who find one thing they would die for and spend their lives pursuing one goal. Though we Americans like to be skeptical of stories like Nessie’s, it’s fun getting pulled into these old mysteries by the people who bleed them.
Nessie’s out there, man. Go check it out for yourself.
Things To Know Before Visiting Greece
Things To Know Before Visiting Greece:
- You can’t flush paper down toilets on the islands
- The water on the islands isn’t recommended for drinking, so get that money ready for all those bottles
- ATVs and scooter rentals are everywhere and seem like they’re totally worth it
- The Greek and Italian languages are nothing alike
- The beaches are sometimes difficult to get to on the islands and most are clothing-optional
- There’s no avoiding cigarette smoke in Greece. It’s everywhere.
- In Greece, the party starts well after midnight and can continue into brunch time
- The water really is that blue
- They don’t have the greatest beer…and the wine is clearly superior in Italy
- Gyros are a lovely and cheap option for eating out, especially before or after a late night
- Italians LOVE Mykonos
- Going topless on a beach is quite common
- Feta in Greece is served as a thick slab of cheese, not in crumbles, and it’s delicious there
What to Expect from Santorini
Holy mackerel, Mykonos ripped my body apart and threw it to the seagulls. With every passing minute on the ferry, my head swirled against the motions of the waves and filled with pain. It’s so sad, when your body becomes a victim to disease on the road, but I tried to wipe away my horrifying expression and enjoy as much as possible this most anticipated destination: Santorini.
Here’s what one can expect from Santorini…
- All civilization lies at a high elevation on the island. It takes a while to get places.
- Buildings really do cling to the cliffs and present those beautiful cityscapes.
- The beaches are both calm and crazy and all are clothing optional.
- Scooter and ATV rentals abound, making it very easy to get around and love where you are
Climbing caused my head to throb – I could barely open my eyes to the gorgeous sunset falling over the rooftops. And without the ability to open my eyes, I couldn’t rent a scooter and therefore discovered no beaches. Sadly, I did not see Santorini the way it was meant to be seen.
My weary body did, however, muster up enough energy (after 18 hours of rest) to go on the optional tour with the group: to walk over the Santorini volcano, swim in hot springs and ride a donkey from the water to town. Views were blue, rocky, and gorgeous at every glance, and luckily, the heavy smell of sulfur in the hot springs had no affect on me. I could barely breathe, let alone smell! We covered our faces in hot mud from the floor of the hot springs and my struggling complexion caught a break with its healing effects.
We boarded stubborn donkeys at the base of the cliff, only to laugh and scream all the way up. They would run, stop, bite each other, squeeze our legs against walls and other donkeys and I couldn’t help but make as many “ass” puns and donkey references as humanly possible.
Santorini has the parties and the peace. I wish I could have experienced and loved both, but instead I dealt with the realities of travel: the occasional disease caused by exhaustion.
Nights in Mykonos
The word “Mykonos” causes some people to involuntarily pump their fist and bite their lip with anticipation with the thought of staying up until brunch time having cocktails while dancing on flashing platforms in your weekend best. My grandma body sighed at the sound of “Mykonos” knowing fully well it could not handle the pressure to party all night long…but it has to because that’s the job. Go, grandma, go! Pump those fists!
Night fell. I emptied my camera bag and refilled it with water bottles and two Red Bulls. I threw a new dress over my head, blew my hair dry, and gave my mirror image a thumbs-up. Let’s do this, grandma! Note to all: camera bags insulate nicely, so energy drinks stay nice and cool. Following some dude on stilts through downtown Mykonos Town, we eventually found our way to a big ol’, throbbing club that offered us VIP passes to avoid a hefty cover charge.
It took two hours, but the party started. Bodies filed in and ordered Red Bull and vodkas like fresh robots off the assembly line. Girls with feathers strapped to their glutes swung on poles and fanned themselves to the pulse of the techno. I couldn’t help but bring that hand up in a fist and thrust it into the open, flashing air. The music carried me across expanses of time, even though my Red Bull ran dry and sandals dug into my feet. At every climax of the beats, the bartenders stood on top of us all and threw handfuls of napkins into beams of light. They scattered on sweaty crowds and mopped up every spilled drink on the ground.
My care pack served me well and I lasted amongst the most dedicated night-dwellers until 5:30 a.m., when I walked outside to a sunrise…and very afflicted eardrums. Getting back to the hotel at 7 a.m., I passed a runner and giggled.
I wouldn’t do it again for ages, but I truly enjoyed bouncing to ridiculous beats and the repeated scream of “My-Ko-Nos” for that one night only. Grandma pulled it together. And so can you.
Paros: First Stop in the Greek Isles
A beach! A warm beach! Without jellyfish, sharks or boiling outdoor temperatures! The Greek islands were calling me while I was still preparing for the trip in America. Every island the ferry passed was a tease until we finally slowed and reversed into the port for Paros. Oh, sweet breezes and salty air! We made it to our relaxation portion of this year’s Internship, a much needed moment for sun-worshipping and getting rid of my wicked farmer’s tan.
Paros marked the first destination on a tour of three islands in the Aegean Sea and she met almost every expectation. White buildings with strong blue accents made up the entire landscape, and windmills stood poised over the harbor. Restaurants lined the boardwalk and the wind made my hair dance into happy knots.
The tour itinerary was something along the lines of “choose one or more of the following: eat, walk, shop, rest, beach, pool, tan, read, rent scooters, drink, enjoy your beautiful surroundings.” That sounds darn near perfect.
The next day, when it came to a full day of experiencing Paros, our tour guide had something in store if we had no inspiration on our own. I took part in the optional day tour and found myself wandering picturesque fishing towns, running across wave-breaking walls, and at a lovely beach playing newly invented ball games with new friends and a very hospitable sun.
Nightfall in Paros had me dancing on a table. How’d I get up there? Oh, I know. Two days of soul-pleasing leisure and a Red Bull. And it did not take any convincing to get the other tour participants up on the tables with me. Flashing lights pulsed and free group drinks flowed to make smiles spread across our newly tanned faces. This was only the beginning. We all had energy.
