I am back in Athens from visiting Crete, and will be heading to the Organic farm in Northwest Peloponnese; if everything is amiable at the farm, I will stay for the month of March. I could have stayed much longer on Crete, although I don’t think I will be back in April, the overnight travel is somewhat grueling. It will be a toss up if I visit any islands, although there is a good chance I will travel Peloponnese before I head north. If I decided to not visit any of the Greek Islands, in fact, it is no big deal, I did live in Hawaii for a while. The Greek islands can be quite expensive anyhow.
I have noticed a major shift in the energy during the holidays of Carnival and Clean Monday. If humans had any idea how the entities thrive off these types of holidays, humanity would truly abolish such activities.
I did buy an Eastern Europe Lonely Planet here in Athens, it comprises of all the countries I will be visiting, except for a few Western countries that are on the tentative list. The primary reason for having the book are the maps, navigation in general and when arriving in a capital city, and the hotel list; I do ignore the writers personal opinion, and the prices can be obscured because of the rapid changing economy. I have experienced the guidebooks to be quite accurate despite the comments of some travelers. Everyone has their own opinion concerning the operation of travel, due to personal uniqueness I really don’t care what other people may say or think concerning the style of travel. In addition to the Eastern European guide I can download some detailed PDF’s from the Lonely Planet website for specific areas if needed.
I have been contemplating my travels and tentative route this spring, summer, and autumn. The tentative plan is to enter Bulgaria no later than May 1, I know of an organic farm I can visit near the south center of the country. After traveling Bulgaria I will head north to Romania, then travel the east areas of Romania heading north. I might visit Moldova; at any rate, I will travel the western areas of Romania from the east or Moldova and drop into Serbia from the north and travel south to Macedonia. From Macedonia, I will cross into Albania. I do not have any time frame for these countries, except for the visa that is three months for each country. I am thinking of taking a boat from Albania to Italy by November/December. During the winter, I will try to organic farm throughout Southern Italy and Sicily. From Sicily, I might take a boat to Tunisia. Once spring breaks, I would backtrack after visiting Rome to Albania and head north to Bosnia, and many other countries for the season of 2010. By traveling Romania and Serbia for the summer, I may be able to avoid the tourist syndrome. This tentative plan can change, although the route to Albania most likely will occur. I do like the winter route to Tunisia, but that could change. Even so, I will be visiting Rome; after visiting multiple Roman sites all over the Middle East, visiting Rome will happen, but in low season.
I visited five countries in my first year of traveling, only. This second year could be seven countries. I enjoy the quality of slow travel, next to fast moving from one country to the next.