It was all Greek to me....Getting a Greek Visa

As Australians we knew that sailing in the Med would be a challenge.  I am referring to the rules of Schengen. As Australians we can only stay 3 months out or 6 in a country which is part of the Schengen Agreement.  Many hours have been spent researching this problem.

I found reference to crew on vessels being able to avoid the requirements. What it appeared to mean was that when you as a crew from a non Schengen country was on board the vessel, the rules didn’t apply. Obviously crew on ships may be months away from home port. Steve thought this surely would only apply for ships, not sailing boats like Pavlov. 

In Lavriou, Greece, our boat needed a new transmission so we decided to try to extend our stay beyond 3 months. Our passports had been stamped and time was due to run out. So we visited the Migrant Police. We were waiting for a gearbox to arrive from England. We were stuck there. I had also read about police counting up the days you had been in Schengen countries, not just the country you were in then. We had gone to Rome for 9 days in February. Italy is also a Schengen country. We entered Greece in April. Our migration police did just this.  So instead of having another 2 weeks in Greece we only had 3 days!!

After being told we could always fly home, come back in 3 months and me bursting into tears, the police tried to work out what we could do. They didn’t believe that the boat could not move without our mechanic providing written evidence.  However they wouldn’t believe him since he didn’t or couldn’t provide the tax information they required to prove he was a mechanic in Greece. This sort of hindrance we didn’t need.

The police finally contacted our embassy and they drove us in to Athens to get a signed declaration that we couldn’t move the boat. Coming down to the boat and looking at the engine would not suffice.

After he drove us back to their office in Lavriou we paid for a one month Greek visa. This wasn't an extension since you can't extend Schengan. The officer commented that if we had not had our passports stamped and been listed as crew, not as the Symi police had listed us as passengers, we could have remained longer so long as we remained on Pavlov. The Schengen rule of 3 months would only apply if we ventured beyond Lavriou.  Every time we wanted to leave the area we would have to seek their approval and the clock would begin. Only the days away from Pavlov would count. Was this the exemption I had read concerning non Schengen crew and vessels ? Still questions remained. Nevertheless for now our problem had been solved. We didn't have to leave Greece until 5 August. It was now the 5 July. The part arrived and Steve and I yet again took on another profession. This time we became mechanics to fit it.

Research again provided another answer to our desire to stay in Greece for longer than 3 months in 2014. I found reference to a Greek visa which you must apply for while in your own country, Australia for us. Hearing about people being fined for overstaying their 3 months motivated us to find a better option. We want to stay in Greece over winter 2014-15 so we needed more time. For the crew of many non -Schengen flagged boats this would not be an option due to the tyranny of distance. Luckily Sophie’s wedding called us home to Australia in November 2013.

The Greek Consulate in Sydney provided us with the information we needed. If we could provide the following evidence : medical cover, boat insurance, financial means, police check, health check we could apply for a 12 month Greek visa. This would then enable us to apply for residency in Greece. 

It took time and patience but now we have our Greek visas in our passports. We need to enter Greece by May 2014. We will winter in Levkas from October 2014 to April 2015. Travelling from country to country has meant equipping ourselves with knowledge about how their systems work. It is at times tedious and stressful but always informative.

  

Michael and I at Lavriou

 The risk of fines, having to leave Pavlov or sailing to a non- Schengen country, has been averted.

Part 1-Journey to Israel- the "holy land" to some to others "the promised land"-

We arrived back in Turkey, Dalaman Airport, from Australia, in time to catch the last Havas bus back to Marmaris. The boat would again take centre stage in our lives, for a while. Yet as always flying around the planet again causes me to reflect on how my life has changed and how my view of the world has changed. More of that later.

Planning our ten day trip to Israel had provided something for me to do in Australia. The "no job , no car, no house" feeling that enveloped me for a day in Ballina, thank god, had well and truly dissipated. Now we were back in Turkey the boat was our focus, but for only 3 weeks since we were to fly to Israel on 10 March.

Providing the pics of our life has been left largely to Steve but in this blog I will endeavour to provide my share. Now we each have a camera intellectual property rights are easier to negotiate, and my new blog provides me with another vehicle to express my observations about what we see and the impact this life has on me.

Israel. I really had no great desire to go there. There are so many places to see. But since we are moving away from the eastern Med and we had planned to go there in the rally, I thought why not.  I particularly wanted to see and experience Jerusalem. It did not disappoint.

Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Istanbul

We flew Pegasus. It was cheap, about $250 each. However this meant we had a long time to wait in Istanbul, both going to Israel and on our return to Dalaman. We spent time soaking in the environment, watching people, reading and me trying to learn about our DSLR camera. Steve had bought a new camera in Sydney so I was determined to learn how to use our old one. Steve has been teaching me about light, aperture.....I like the idea of trying to take the best shot you can and I need to learn to use what I have, unprepared as I am to buy another one!

Not so good attempt, but trying to be covert in my photography

Flying in to Israel I was particularly interested in the security measures. We had heard about the tight security. I was ready with my "can you stamp on a piece of paper" but clearly the Israelis are on to this. A small identifying paper brought us into the country, with our photo on it and a new one took us out. Not sure if we will go into states hostile to Israel but better to be prepared.

We managed to navigate the train and bus system to get to the Old Jaffa Hostel in Jaffa,  just south of Tel Aviv.  That night we ate at a restaurant which also had live music. It was great, if a bit expensive.

Tel Aviv is a young people's city. This we witnessed but was also supported by a tour guide. It is also an expensive place to live. Last year there were demonstrations about the cost of housing. 

Great atmosphere, music and German wheat beer!

Tel Aviv is the second biggest city in Israel with a population of over 400,000. In 1909 Jewish migrants came to the old Port of Jaffa. Over the years the population of Tel Aviv grew and in 1950 Tel Aviv and Jaffa merged into a single municipality. Most countries have there consulates or embassies in Tel Aviv, though the Israeli government regard Jerusalem as their capital. The  UN has not recognised  Jerusalem as their capital.

Clock tower Jaffa, Ottoman design 1900

We rarely do tours but we did in Tel Aviv. However it was free. The young woman was born in England. She walked us through a very small section of old Jaffa and provided some historical perspective of the area.

Our guide providing us with the background to Israel and Jaffa

Old Jaffa Port

View from near Old Jaffa Port north towards Haifa- Tel Aviv skyline

artist view of Israel, like a tree, growing strong out of rocky ground 

In Old Jaffa apart from the historic buildings, artists have found space. In fact we came 

across many artists enclaves in Israel. Clearly evidence of art being valued highly in general.

House of Simon the Tanner

It was here in Jaffa that we first encountered a place of pilgrimage for Christians who come to Israel. It was the house of Simon the tanner. According to the bible it was here that St Peter stayed in Jaffa. Here it is purported that he had a significant dream:that gentiles could be included in the newly formed church. As history, this is fascinating for me. As a non believer, in any religion, it is still interesting to see the places that have such a significant impact on the world. By this I mean the impact of the Christian church, in this instance. The other two big religions, Islam and Judaeism, get their time of contemplation later in our trip.

No peeing here

Now Steve thinks this is rubbish, but according to the guide the builders placed this wall in this position to stop men urinating in the street. I didn't give this much attention until we were in Jerusalem and I went for a walk up Jaffa Rd where the odorous notes of urine sang loudly. So maybe.....

This young Asian man sang in the back streets of the Flea market in Jaffa. We did notice buskers are a common sight in the major cities: a great thing.

lunch in Jaffa- hummus

Steve's brother-in-law, Tony, owns a business in Byron that makes dips. So one of Steve's missions while here was to bring back ideas for hummus. We ate hummus everywhere. In many places it is the main meal. As you can see the meal was garlic, pickles, small flat bread and hummus garnished with parsley and chilli powder. This was washed down with Israeli black beer, apparently non alcoholic?

Trying to avoid bread again on this trip proved impossible, and it was yum.

We stayed in Jaffa for two days until we picked up the car. Luckily we could catch a bus nearby and it dropped us close to the car rental- Elden. For less than $150 we had our Mazda for five days. However fuel was expensive, twice the amount we pay in Australia.

Next stop Caesarea. Driving in Israel was Steve's job. Only one person could be listed, so he got the role. I hate dealing with the aggressive driving in Turkey. I had read about a similar attitude here.

The roads are good but the country side is generally quite boring and poorly maintained. I thought, most of their expenditure goes on defence spending.

ramparts outside ancient Caesarea

Caesarea was built by Herod in 25-13 BC. It bears the marks of ancient times, Mamluk, Crusader and Ottoman structures, particularly defensive. Phoenicians also lived here. Given its position on the Mediterranean, it was first line of defence and had commercial importance. However the old port was mostly taken back by the sea. Herod tried to curry favour with his Roman overseers. He built baths, an arena for chariot racing and gladiatorial combat. There are remains of these structures, and mosaics to be seen. What amazed me was the poor repair of some of the artefacts. Buildings were poorly maintained and inadequately labeled for us the visitors and mosaics were in a shocking state. What also amazed me also was the emphasis on commercial activity today, almost at the expense of the antiquities.

no signs indicating what we were looking at

arena for chariot race

Steve near remains of arena

Ancient port festooned by restaurant and jewellery shop

                                     
                                      

damage to mosaic

From Caesarea we drove north to Akko or Acre.  This time we would see a truly crusader citadel, a significant site in the Crusades. We hadn’t booked accommodation here so in the cold and rain we would find somewhere to sleep. We walked into the walled old city to see a living world heritage listed town. The town had been repaired apparently, but it still reminded you of what it must have been like 800 years ago. We also realized why all the wiring was run outside the building. These buildings would have been difficult to modernize with the wiring concealed. So everywhere were wires strung up, precariously at times. It too was a port so more boats to see. We are always on the lookout for ports, facilities and which foreign boats might have ventured into this not particularly boat friendly environment.

An attempt to capture the sunset over Acco- as aspiring photographer! 

END OF PART 1...