Greece

5-20-07

Greece has been great. The only shame is that it takes so long to get anywhere. We arrived in Athens 8 days ago on the InterCity train from Thessaloniki. It took 4.5 hours, about 3 hours less than the regular train but it cost 3 times more. From the train station we headed straight for the Plaka in search of the restaurant which serves the best Gyros in the world. I led the three of us with only a few small wrong turns to the block where the restaurant used to be. However, the establishment was not there. I felt sick. Three and a half years ago it was the best gyro, now it was a tack Greek and religious art shop. We sat in the baking sun, hear broke and hungry. After settling for another gyro we jumped on the metro headed for the port.

The heat was sweltering. 35 degrees Celsius reported one reader board by the port. We found the terminal where our ferry was to leave and slowly made our way over there. Luckily, no one died of heat stroke.

The overnight ferry was nice. We had bunks on the boat and my room was a little UN meeting. We had a snoring french man, an Indian Engineer, and an account from China who worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Liz, Samantha and I spent the afternoon sunning ourselves on the back of the boat an read.

Around sunset we met Chris, the South African, on his way to Ios for the summer. He promptly introduced me to every girl on the boat. Soon the 4 of us met two girls from the Baltics. One was from Latvia and the other from Lithuania.

They had a grant from the EU to interview young people throughout Greece. The prior 7 months they had traveled the mainland discovering what educational and employment opportunities the kids had. They were embarking on a 7 month mission through the islands to gather "data" to make comparisons. They said it was obvious that the people on the mainland had more opportunity, but they still wanted to do the work since it meant being paid to island hop.

We retired to our cabins early to rest before the fiesta on the islands (I think this sentence was inspired by the Hemingway I just finished). At 6 am we arrived in Santorini. George, the owner of the Villa, met us at the port to get checked in. No sleeping on the dock and hiking into the city for me this time.

The city was very quiet this time of morning. Weird. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and began exploring the city in the serenity of the early morning hours. As we wandered up the caldera rim, a photo shoot commenced, we were taking pictures of nearly anything. The colors of the town were amazing in the light. We also picked up a heard of dogs a few hours.

Later in the day we visited the beach at Perissa. The sand there was a beautiful black. Black sand equals really hot. It hurt your feet to walk on the sand. To make it tolerable, we had to do lots of swimming in the clear blue water. Rough, I know.

On the bus ride back to town we stopped at the Santo Winery, just as the guide book recommended. They were right on. We tried several wines that were all made from grapes on the island, all during sunset from the caldera rim. Simply amazing. It was made more entertaining by the wedding being held on the back terrace as the sun was setting. Now Liz wants to get married there- this means I might get to come back!!

The next day we rent a little jeep and cruised around the island. Highlights included the red Beach, the light house, a nude beach, and wandering through a labyrinth of white houses and blue roofs. For the evening hours, we went out to Oia, where they claim they have the most beautiful sunsets in the world. The sights were beautiful, but I think a Central Oregon sunset during fire season i tough to beat.

The next morning we headed to Ios, the next closest island on the way towards Athens. It is known for it's crazy party scene. We stayed at the "Far Out Beach Club". You had your choice of laying by the beach or by the pool across the street from the beach. During the high season- July and August, is is said that people have drinks in their hands by noon and leave the clubs at 7am. I'm glad it was not high season.

We spent a few good days relaxing by the beach, reading, and visiting sights on the island including Homer's tomb, the author of the Iliad and Odyssey. The island was fairly empty except for people searching for jobs. This was nice since they were a friendly group and they would give you drink specials at the bar they got jobs at.

On Samantha's last night in Ios, we went out to dinner at the taverna on the jetty at the end of the beach. We arrived a few minutes before sunset. They showed us the specials o f the day- still alive in the coolers next to the water. Samantha had grilled shark, liz had seafood spaghetti and I had stuffed Calamari. This dish was amazing. It consisted of an entire quid, cleaned out, the stuffed with feta, tomato, and peppers, rolled back up and skewered back together. It was then grilled on a hickory fire. Oh my, it was soooo good. It was nearly as good as the meals in Romania.

5/22/07

I've arrived in Bosnia and am enjoying it. I'll most more soon.