Ellada: 3 Weeks in Northeastern Aegean Islands

nice write up!

i so agree with your drawing the distinction between "traveling" and "vacationing". But then there is an even more vulgar breed of vactationeers. Its called "package tourists". These package tourists are an insult to exploration in particular, and humanity in general. As I have noted in one of my ilogs, these people are also an environmental hazard, as their astronomically huge consumption of food, soda, coffee and alcohol while touring results in burden on earth resources. I have often thought about bulldozing these packagers at the very site they are swarming and clicking their cameras away.

also, regarding you getting worked up over the dilapidated condition of mosque in that island, this is quite pervasive all over Greece. The mosque that was built in the name of Fatih Sultan in the Agora area of Athens is now being used as a storage for archeological stuff. Another Ottoman era mosque in Plaka area of Athens is now a church. In fact Istanbul has much visible traces of its Byzantium past than Athens has of its Ottoman past.

And then these "civlized" people have the audacity to lecture us on preserving our "heritage"!