2014: A Year in Review

2014 has been a year of ups and downs in the Gorven-Cossey household. Life cannot be smooth sailing all the time, and one has to anticipate misfortune even when things seem to be perfect.

Ups:

• William received his South African permanent residency;
• I finally completed my Bachelor of Accounting Science degree;
• William bought himself a new car;
• I started working at a multi-national courier company after three months on the job hunt.

Downs:

• Our beloved cat, Salem, crossed the rainbow bridge. We did not have enough time with her, and she is very sorely missed, even though she has been gone for 7 months; and
• William had to have a knee operation to reconstruct his anterior cruciate ligament following a niggly football injury

Other noteworthy events:

• Some friends welcomed their children into the world (Candice & Sheldon, Mellisa & KB, Kirsty & Guy, Carey-Anne & Ryan);
• While others discovered they are expecting (Ange & Roger);
• Other couples tied the knot (Mbali & Mpho); and
• Colleen & Fernando took the first step towards a new life together by getting engaged.

Looking into the horizon and the coming year in general, I foresee a year not without it's challenges, but one filled with hope and new beginnings. My goals for 2015 are as follows:

• Complete my Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting Science (CTA level 1);
• Tick off the last remaining item off my 2014 goal list by completing an open water scuba diving course); and 
• Fulfill my life long dream of visiting Egypt.

Wishing everybody a successful 2015!

Throwback Thursday: Euro Trip for Mom's 50th - Part 3

This installment completes the trilogy that was Throwback Thursday.

The last leg of our trip was Dubrovnik, Croatia. 

We arrived the Sunday evening and headed straight to our hotel. Unfortunately we could not get an earlier flight and thus have more time to explore the wonder that is Dubrovnik. A city nestled in history, and so beautiful it seems like a mirage.

The next morning we set out to discover the Ancient City, which was extremely busy given the summer season. Stalls and shops line the streets within the walled town, each offering visitors a glimpse into the life of its residents. To escape the throngs of people, we rode the cable car to the top of the mountain and admired the spectacular views. We ate lunch at the restaurant and tried to cool down - the humidity was worse than Durban!

Old Town

Old Town, Dubrovnik Croatia

View from the top of the mountain

No longer hungry (but still hot) we returned to our hotel and lazed around the pool.

Tuesday morning we decided to go on a tour recommended by the hotel. We visited an olive oil producing farm and a traditional farmstead further inland. We sampled the local poison, and other delicacies grown on the property before being treated to some traditional Croatian dancing. Our tour guide also taught us alot about Croatia's political troubles with neighbour Bosnia & Herzegovina. 

Olive oil manufacturing process

Traditional farmstead

Local Brandy

Traditional dancing

Our preview into the wonder that was Croatia taught us that it's residents prefer the simpler things in life, are proud of their heritage and pursue peace at every opportunity. We did not see a single fast food outlet during our stay, what a surprise!

Croatia covers a considerable expanse of land and due to time constraints we did not visit the Plitvice Lakes, amongst other points of interest. All the more reason to return at some point in the future!

Have an awesome weekend.

Gone Skiing

This time last week we were at Afriski, a ski resort situated in the Maluti mountain range of Lesotho.

Our friends, Shannon and Colin, whom we met on a Contiki tour in 2010, invited us to join them and six other people on a midweek ski getaway. Neither William nor I had tried skiing before, so we were keen for an adventure and always up for the opportunity to travel to a new country.

We left last Saturday, and spent the night in Clarens, a small artsy town in the Free State to break the six hour journey to Afriski. We stayed at Knock Out View Lodge and what stunning accomodation it was, and with a competitive price to match. Our cabin was beautifully furnished and had an amazing view of the mountains (as the name suggests). We lunched, shopped, watched the rugby at the local pub (go Sharks!) and eased into holiday mode.

Clarens crew

Accomodation at Knock Out View, Clarens

Everything is within walking distance in Clarens

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the Clarens Inn, before embarking on the final stretch of the road trip. We reached the Caledonspoort border post shortly after 10:30 and after discovering new laws and customs surrounding the kingdom of Lesotho, were waved onwards.

We arrived at the resort a bit later than intended, and had roughly twenty minutes to suit up into ski boots and snow proof clothing. Our introductory lesson went well for some, as they grasped the skiing concept with ease (myself excluded). We were taught the correct positioning and posture and more importantly how to stop (pizza slice). I gave up on the lesson about 15 minutes in, after my calf muscles cramped so badly due to the tightness of the boots. 

The following days were filled with fun, laughter, videos of us falling, playing board games and laughing until we cried. We ate like kings and queens. The others advanced to the intermediate and advanced slopes whilst I pottered around the beginner's slope getting more acquainted with these extra length appendages on my feet (read trying not to cross the ski tips while skiing).

By far the most fun of this entire trip was the bumboarding. Each afternoon, after the slopes closed at 4pm, guests were invited to go down the advanced ski slope on a bumboard, which effectively was a thin piece of plastic shaped like a shovel. The speeds we attained during the descent was amazing, and some spun around in circles or completely veered off course into the snow barrier. Absolutely far too much fun was had during this time.

Advanced, intermediate and beginner's slopes

Geoffrey, the resort mouse, whom I made friends with while everyone else had their ski lesson

View from the top of the beginner's slope

Our four days flew by, and before we knew it it was time to head home.

Bumboarders, day three

William and I atop the intermediate slope

Afriski crew with the resort mascot Pudi (a mountain goat)

All ten of us bumboarding on the last day

Thank you Colin for organising such a wonderful trip, we appreciate it very much. To Shannon, Cara, Mike, Leigh, Nevan, Duncan, John, William and Colin for the fantastic company - thank you. 

Reunion trip in the Alps!

Throwback Thursday: Euro Trip for Mom's 50th - Part 2

Previously on the blog... We ended off at the Kurdish island of Kusadasi and had a fantastic shopping spree. 

Our next port of call was the historical town of Rhodes, and it was also Grandpa's 79th birthday. The third biggest of the Greek Isles, Rhodes combines ancient castles and medieval villages with beautiful beaches. The temperatures were sweltering, and William and I both felt the effects of heat stroke during the tour of the Grand Master's Palace (it did not help that out tour guide spoke in a monotone). 

View of Rhodes

Gardens at the Grand Master's Palace

Entrance to the world heritage site

Grandpa's birthday

And mom's

Our tour guide Lisa (far left) and the crew of waiters

Happy birthday!

My grandparents

My mom, William and I

We returned to the ship shortly after the tour ended, feeling rather drained. Having grown tired of Moussaka, I opted for a pizza for lunch and it was just what the doctor ordered. That evening was the Captain's dinner, and our waiter kindly organised my mom and grandad a birthday cake.

The following morning we docked in Heraklion. Unfortunately, as with Patmos, we did not have more than a few hours to explore the town, so we walked the streets for a while before returning to the ship.
 

Our one good find in Heraklion, this stunning bakery

Our last stop was the picturesque island of Santorini. What a surreal feeling to look at those beautiful blue roofed structures - the postcards really don't do Santorini justice. We had an afternoon on the island, and not selecting any excursions, we toured the town, admired the beautiful views and indulged in their famous iced coffees. Definitely a place to return to. As our tour guide so aptly put it, this trip was like sampling a case of wines. Discover your favorite then go back and enjoy the vineyard.

Looking out over the bay of Santorini

Mom finally made it to her dream destination

Beautiful church

The next morning we disembarked the Orient Queen one last time, and drove to Delphi - believed to be the centre of the Earth, and also the site of the precursors to the modern Olympic Games called the Pythian Games. What a magnificent place, the history was so rich it felt like we had stepped into a time warp.

Delphi

Saturday morning I woke up with the most terrible earache ever experienced in my life. It started at 3am and continued throughout the morning. My mom and I went to the local hospital in Athens, and saw a Greek doctor that barely spoke a word of English. What I was able to decipher was "infection". Typical Gorven luck in action again! I was prescribed antibiotics and sent on my way. We spent the rest of the weekend in Athens before catching our flight to Croatia...

Third and final installment to follow shortly.

Throwback Thursday: Euro Trip for Mom's 50th - Part 1

One year ago today, my mom, William, my grandparents and myself landed in Athens for the trip of a lifetime. My mom wanted to celebrate her 50th birthday by travelling Greece, and visiting her dream destination of Santorini.

After 18 hours of transit, we arrived in the (beautifully warm) ancient city en route to our hotel to join the rest of our tour group. We booked the Trafalgar Aegean Odyssey tour, which comprised two full days in Athens before embarking on a seven night cruise.

Whilst in Athens, we visited the first Olympic Stadium, the Acropolis and the Olympieon and dined in Plaka, the oldest section of Athens. Now we know why the Greek economy is in recession: they've never heard of point of sale bills and more often than not we'd receive a handwritten bill in Greek. Other times our bill was of a verbal nature. Clever - no VAT.

View from our hotel

We boarded the Orient Queen and our first port of call was Istanbul, Turkey. We booked an excursion for a full day tour of the city. Learnt a lot about the city (including the fact that Turkey falls into both Europe and Asia). The The Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya were the first landmarks we visited. The structures were beautiful, but on a summer's day reaching temps of 30 degrees, and a couple of hundred people going barefoot inside, a rather unappealing smell lingered in the air. We had lunch at a traditional restaurant before continuing to the Grand Bazaar (imagine a flea market the size of a mall). Our tour guide warned us about the gypsies that roamed the market, selling 'gold' to tourists at extreme prices. We spent only a few minutes inside (just to see what the fuss was about) before exiting hastily and finding a coffee shop for some respite from the heat and to take a load off our aching feet. Shortly thereafter, we returned to the cruise ship for a swim and a cocktail on the pool deck. 

The Ampitheatre in the Acropolis

Our hotel

Olympic Stadium

Inside the Grand Bazaar

Inside the Blue Mosque

First look at Istanbul

Our cruise ship

Aya Sophya

Mom and I dressed appropriately

The Grand Bazaar

Exterior of the Blue Mosque

Overall impressions of the city: Pretty but we won't return in a hurry. Why do we say that? Whilst we were there, the country was experiencing some political unrest and although we were safe at all times, one could feel the tension emanating off the Istanbul uses. Would we return to Turkey? Maybe sometime in the future, but we would definitely bypass Istanbul.

Next up on our itinerary was Mykonos. Wow. Photographs of this beautiful island do not do it justice. We arrived in the late afternoon, and our tour guide took us for an evening stroll around town. The cruise ship docked in the harbour overnight, so passengers had the option of staying at a hotel on the island as opposed to a night on the ship. We walked around the maze of passages containing curio stores and restaurants a-plenty, and ate lamb for dinner at a restaurant on the beach, an idyllic sunset the backdrop. The next morning we disembarked the ship to start our day on the beach. A bus trip and 40 minutes later, we arrived at Paraga beach.

What a surreal feeling it was knowing we were actually in Greece, on this stunning island that has featured time and time again in magazines and movies. William and I swam in the Mediterranean (which was surprisingly cooler than anticipated) before enjoying a delicious lunch at the restaurant. Note to self: Make sure you know which beach is the nudist beach (awkward). Our time on Mykonos came to an end shortly thereafter, and sadly we did not see the infamous pelicans that call the island home. Definitely a reason to go back! Mykonos was my highlight of the trip. I would love to go back and spend more time exploring this gem of a hotspot. It has such a unique vibe.

Paraga Beach

Mykonos

View from our dinner table

Another beach shot

Sunset

Our fourth day of the cruise was spent at sea. We lay around the pool, reading and enjoying the scenery that surrounded us. Greece really is magnificent, and I would encourage any traveller to make a turn past the Aegean Sea.

Our third stop was the island of Patmos. We spent only a few hours here and due to the limited window of time, we literally disembarked the ship, had a bite to eat at a restaurant in the harbour, browsed some curio shops, and returned to the ship. Our fourth stop (and second for day four) was the thriving city of Kusadasi. Governed by Turkey, the town is very much the opposite of Istanbul as it encompasses more of the European free living vibe. The shopping is absolutely amazing in Kusadasi, and we picked up major bargains on branded products, perfume and of course a leather jacket for my mom. 

Patmos

We even found a South African store!

We had these beautiful sunsets every evening.

...to be continued...