Here I am in Istanbul (not Constantinople) the city on the Bosporus, the ribbon of land separating Europe from Asia and the Black sea from the Sea of Marmara and thus the Aegean to the East. As my plane glided downward and spiraled towards the glittering city I thought about the Golden Fleece and if it had seen a similar view on it’s journey from Greece to Turkey 3 thousand years ago.

I had hoped to connect to my flight to Thessaloniki immediately, but Turkey wanted me to stay. Late flight, missed connection, security, visas, immigration (twice) and eventually a cramped ride in an airport shuttle to some hotel somewhere in Istanbul, an unsettling 45 minutes from the airport.

So here I am typing this out at 01:00, too nervous to sleep (for fear of missing another flight) but with nothing else really to do.

Travel has gotten faster in the modern age, but I wonder if it hasn’t lost some of it’s humanity. Dysentery sucks, but if the red fox really does have amazing riding.

Hopefully I will see Greece tomorrow.