DAY TWENTY: Boring Old Stuff

Egypt to Greece

Thanks to the noisy camel next door, I got almost no sleep last night. It got worse too. As if the snorting and grunting wasn't rude enough, the camel and his owner were also responsible for the ultimate breach of pet-friendly hotel etiquette. That's right, just outside the door to my room was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

I went next door to confront the camel owner about the situation. All he said was, "how do you know it was MY camel?"

"Okay, I don't have photographic evidence of your camel doing it, but there aren't any other camels staying at this motel . . . so, come on . . . it's common sense."

"Mind your own business, sir."

"I AM minding my own business. Your camel doing its business outside of my motel room door is definitely my business."

"If you don't like it," said the camel owner, "you can always go over to the office and complain to the manager."

"Yes, I think I'll do exactly that."

"Great. Make sure you say "hello" to my uncle for me."

I sure didn't get much satisfaction from that encounter, but at least I was able to get in the last word. I handed him a huge garbage bag and admonished, "next time, pick up after your pet."

************

Back in my room, I got some bad news. It was a text from Captain Skull.

Well, that sure was a kick in the pants, a wrench in the machinery, and a block in the road. Instead of a couple relaxing days of terrorizing the Mediterranean Sea with my pirate pals, I now was faced with a hard day of bike riding in order to get to Europe. Plus, I had to plan a route around the east side of the Mediterranean, where there is nothing to see except historic sites from the birth of the Judeo-Christian faith and ruins from the cradle of western civilization. In other words, more "old stuff." BORING! I'm ready for some new stuff.

Nevertheless, a cycle tourist has to do what he has to do, so I did what I had to do. I made a new plan, loaded my gear onto my bike, flipped the finger at the camel owner next door, and started my journey to my sixth continent.

The crossing of the Suez Canal reminded me that I was re-entering Asia for a few hours. Here are a few pictures I took along the way.

Camels in Egypt (These camels seemed well-behaved.)

Looking out into the Mediterranean Sea in Israel

Cheetoes fingers at a campsite in Greece.

After eating the whole bag of Cheetoes (and somehow keeping them all down) I decided I should probably head down to Athens to maybe give all that boring old stuff a fair chance to impress me. I found a couple of famous buildings called the Parthenon and the Acropolis. They were so crumbly and decrepit that I can't imagine anything interesting could have taken place there.

I looked around for another old building I heard about. I think it was called The Colliseum, or something like that. Apparently, it's an arena that hosts gladiator fights and lion-feeding events.

I rode The Reckless Mr. Bing up to a local resident and asked, "can you please direct me to The Colliseum?"

His reply was quite condescending. "The Colliseum is in Rome, you idiot."

I could not believe he knew nothing about his own city. Turns out, after asking directions from dozens of other Greeks, he was right. It seems the Greeks were more into philosophy, heroic literature, and comedic plays than bloody violence. To each his own, I guess.

************

I went back to my campsite and looked up at the stars. I smiled. I was satisfied with the progress I made today because I've been feeling a little lonely. I was finally in Europe, where bike tourists crisscross the continent like ants crisscross a picnic table. Now I was positioned nicely to meet up with some of them. I fell into a deep, deep sleep.

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Bill ShaneyfeltSome of those shots seem oddly familiar.
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1 year ago