Category Archives: History

Historical background of a location we visit.

Exploring Tempe

Posted on by
2

Tuesday, December 15th Today Eric attended a work conference while Christi went sightseeing. Since she had heard there wasn’t much to do in Phoenix, she was pleased to find that there were plenty of things to keep her occupied, all within walking distance of the hotel.

She left the hotel at the same time as Eric, at 0845. The streets were completely deserted, with few pedestrians or cars. Two things were evident: this isn’t a business district and school must be out of session for the winter break. Arizona State University is located here in Tempe, and Tempe is considered to be primarily a college town.

It was a beautiful day””clear, sunny and warmer than it has been in San Diego, so she was happy to be out walking around. She took Mill Street, the main drag, north a few blocks to the Tempe Town Lake and Beach Park. Near the lake there is an old abandoned mill, which she is assuming the street’s name came from.

nov2009-apr2010-059-small.jpg

At the park entrance was a sign she found surprising. She knew the Continue reading →

Book Coming Soon!

Posted on by
5

Volume 1, of the yet untitled book covering San Diego to Australia will hopefully be ready to purchase soon. Many people have asked us why they should buy our book if they can read our blog for free. Here are a few good reasons:

  • Prologue: How we formed the dream and the early planning stages.
  • The entire 21 day passage from San Diego to Nuka Hiva has been re-written. At that point, the blog was in real time and we didn’t want people to worry about us. But the truth was that it was tough!
  • Many new stories from the journey – And there are some really good ones!
  • In Retrospect sections with great insights — so you can see the situation through the eyes of a newbie as we learn, while simultaneously seeing the same situation through the eyes of experience.
  • Streamlined stories – some complained our posts were too long and detailed, and the book is a condensed version they will enjoy more.
  • Formatting is first person, through Christi’s eyes – Some complained they didn’t like the third person format, so they will enjoy the book more.
  • Actual dates on each post. On the blog, the dates are not real time, which is a significant piece of information for anyone hoping to follow in our footsteps.
  • All profits will go to our cruising fund. The more books we sell, the sooner you can start reading about our next journey! So, buy one and get all your friends to buy one, too!

Mafia Strongholds, Wax Museum, and Being Fed in Crete, Greece

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday, May 20 This afternoon Andronikos, Eric and Christi set out to go to an archeological site called Axon, located in the mountains. We followed the same road that we took the day we took the day we went to the monastery and cave last summer. Last year it had been and the hills were dry. Right now the hills are verdant and green, with the flowers in full bloom. It is absolutely gorgeous. Just like last year, we saw lots of goats running around on the hills and several hanging out on the road.

mar-may2009-849-small.jpg

We passed the monastery, but before we got to the cave we turned off onto a different road. We passed through several more small villages. One of them was the village where we had gone to the wedding with 3,000 guests a few years ago and has a reputation for being one of the most traditional villages left today. In another village, we spotted a 16th century church that looks like it is still in use. We tried to go in, but it was closed.

mar-may2009-851-small.jpg

The towns are nothing more than Continue reading →

Checking In and Crossing Paths with Old Acquaintances

Posted on by
Reply

Continued from yesterday”¦ Almost as soon as we were situated, a catamaran named “Gone Native” pulled into the space we had just vacated. In a crazy small world story, it turns out that we know them. In early 2007, a friend of ours had arranged for us to meet some people who actively cruise half the year. They were really nice people who gave us a lot of good tips and advice. At the time, their boat was in Europe. We hadn’t had contact with them since. And, suddenly, here they were! Like us, they are about to stop cruising for a while and are taking their boat home to California.

In another odd coincidence story, we are now directly across from a boat named Cosmo. It was around 1115 and we were puttering around on board. Eric heard someone knocking and calling out “Hello”, but it wasn’t at our boat, so he didn’t pay attention at first. Then he looked out and saw the person was knocking on Cosmo and realized it must be the quarantine officer. Eric brought him aboard. The quarantine paperwork took 20 minutes. The only thing he wanted to see was our trash, which he looked through briefly, then left.

Now it was time to go to the Port Captain’s office. We walked out to the street and quickly caught a taxi that took us to the next bay over, Santa Cruz. Bahia Santa Cruz is definitely geared at tourists. A large cruise ship dock makes up a breakwater that splits the bay in half. The sea wall lining the inside of the breakwater is completely covered by small power boats with bimini tops, clearly intended for taking tourists on sightseeing cruises up and down the bays. There were two small military vessels in the back, too. The boardwalk is a collection of tourist shops, quite a few of them vacant. There are large hotel and/or condo complexes on the hill that separates Bahia Santa Cruz from Bahia Chahue, some of them only half completed. On the backside of the shops, on the outside of the breakwater, is a small beach.

dscf0771-small.jpg

dscf0775-small.jpg

The Port Captain’s office is in and amongst the shops. There were several armed military officers lounging around near the office. You walk in the door to see Continue reading →

History of the Mexican Republic

Posted on by
Reply

Mexico’s 1,972,550 square kilometers in size and has an estimated population of 111 million people. It is bordered on the north by the United States, on the South by Belize and Guatemala, on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. Mexico has an incredibly rich history, particularly in regards to the remarkably advanced indigenous people groups. It is believed that the original humans migrated from Siberia (it is believed there used to be a land formation that sank in what is now the Bering Strait) in migratory waves started in 60,000 BC. Somewhere between 7000 and 3000 BC, the people in central Mexico began cultivating agriculture. They went from being nomadic hunters and gatherers to settling into permanent villages. Throughout what is today Mexico, there were dozens and dozens of different ethnic tribes that influenced one another, and at various points in time sometimes conquered one another, too.

Mexico’s “mother culture” is considered to be the Continue reading →