Dale's Thoughts about the FSoP trip...

Wow. That was some trip.

I just went through and added some more links, captioned the pictures in the blog, and just reviewed the trip. I am really glad that I did this blog, because the memories from the trip were already fading, and this was a great way for me to review and revisit.

I don't know if it helps anyone else, but the maps have helped me. All of the maps in the blog are interactive, you can use the controls on the maps - or you can click on the link below the map and go into Google maps. Even better, right-click it and open it in a new window. You can zoom in pretty far and really see details - for instance, if you look at Ephesus, you can clearly see the route we walked, first west to the Library at the corner, then north through the Agora to the Theater (clearly visible on the satellite image), then west a bit and then north to the bus stop. Of course, all of the routes are not verified, I just took the default Google maps routes, and some of the places may be a little off, but overall I am pretty happy that I got real close on most of the places.

The trip by the numbers:

14 days

8 hotel rooms (if you count the cruise ship)

8 hours time difference DFW to Greece

2 countries (Greece and Turkey)

13,000+ air miles

1,500+ bus miles

750+ boat miles

who knows how many miles walking on foot?

and there were the donkeys on Rhodes and Santorini...

Was it worth it? Yes, definitely.

Would I do it again? I would have to think long and hard, but right now I would say no. This trip was physically demanding due to the heat, the long days, the travel, and the lack of down time to recover. And I am very much out of shape. So at the moment, I would probably not do another trip of this duration and magnitude, and certainly not in June.

What was most impressive?

This seems to be a question that I get a lot about the trip. It's such an open-ended question that it's hard to answer, so I typically break it down this way:

For spectacular beauty: Santorini Island - the cliffs, the colors, the ocean, the volcano, the sunset were all simply beautiful

For spectacular ruins/excavations: Ephesus for sheer size and details, Troy for historical/archeological perspective.

Spiritual significance: The Island of Patmos where John wrote the Book of Revelation

Biggest impact to me personally: a better understanding of the Grace that God has lavished on us, and how I should live my life in light of that understanding.

*Dale*