JJ and Jason's travel blog

Meteora

June 26- The bus ride to Meteora was quite an adventure….  There was no direct bus and we could only get tickets to Lamia- a city about a third of the way up there.  The not so helpful man at the bus station had 6 of us confused that morning.  A Spanish couple was heading south and J3 and another American couple were heading north.  Our buses were scheduled to come at the same time and when only 1 bus arrived and they told us all to get on, that didn’t help the confusion.  None of us knew had to change buses on the way to our first destination that day.  Delphi couldn’t tell us when any connecting bus would leave, if any from Lamia.  We finally reached Lamia and there was a connecting bus to Trakala in an hour and a half – almost up to Meteora and of course, they couldn’t tell us if and when there was a connecting bus to Meteora.  The bus change in Trikala was actually pretty smooth and this 4^th bus took us to our final destination that day.  It was a long day and to add to all the bus confusion, the other American couple from Delphi took the same route.  Sounds good right?  Oh my…..  this man is why people hate American tourists.  Luckily his wife or girlfriend seemed to like listening to his loud, long winded voice.  Not so sure about the other bus riders.  They got off at Kalambaka, the main city for touring the monestaries of Meteora and we went 2km farther to Kastraki, a smaller quieter village better for hiking the area.  The balcony of our room at the Sydney Hotel overlooked the amazing monasteries from the 1500’s that are built into/on top of the rocky cliffs of the area.  If you can’t wait for our pictures of this place, I suggest you look it up on line – We’ve never seen anything like this before.  We had dinner at a spacious outdoor taverna and realized that 3 people working there looked like people in our lives.  Our waiter was Philip Rascoe, the helper or bus boy or something was Hugo Aranda, and one of the cooks was Marko’s new wife Kathy.  She’s Greek, so maybe they really are related????  The grilled pork was a little dry and the wine wasn’t that great but we had fun anyway. 

June 27- Angelos, the Greek Aussie at the hotel was very helpful and gave us a map of the hiking trails around the monasteries after filling our bellies with energy for the day.  J3 took just over an hour to reach the peak of the tallest monastery – Moni Megalou – 613 meters above sea level.  The trail was hardly there and a strenuous upward hike but the bees – oh the bees!!  I think the reason it took only just over an hour was because the bees kept us (mostly JJ) going.  JJ has a new found fear of bees – really only when they’re buzzing constantly in her ears in the woods on a small trail with a scary vertical drop that could easily get the best of you with only a slight foot misplacement.  We knew this could not be the normal tourist route for exploring these monasteries.  Just as expected, loads of tour buses surrounded the monastery at the top.  The monasteries are still active so men must wear pants and women a skirt down to the knees and shoulders covered.  It was a HOT day so JJ was prepared and just slipped on a sarong over shorts and T-shirt over a tank.  Jason was equally clever and wore his pants with zip off legs.  Anyway – this monastery (Moni Megalou) was probably the most extravagant, seeing as how a rich man became a monk here but first put ALL his wealth into the monastery.  In the 1500’s, the monasteries were reached by removable ladders, then windlasses were installed so that monks could be hauled up in nets.  Now there’s stairs – more climbing!!  The view at the top is of course amazing and you can see a few of the other monasteries as well.  We walked the not so bee-covered road to the next one – Moni Varlaam.  And then a longer road to Moni Agias VarvarasRousanou, an active nunnery.  Then the longest road took us to Moni Agias Triados, our last monastery for the day.  They’re all fairly similar inside, elaborate frescoes covering every inch of wall and ceiling in each church, pleasant courtyards, balconies with amazing views, etc.  The last one, Triados was more remote and didn’t have any tour buses so we were the only ones in there during our visit.  Parts of “For Your Eyes Only” were filmed in this one and it has the best view of Kalambaka and the valley below.  After all the hiking and walking, we decided to hike the last stretch – a 2km trail down to the town and then through the town to the “center” which was really the other side.  We were EXHAUSTED so we rested our jelly legs and celebrated our victory of being alive after 7 hours of strenuous hiking in the heat with mythos at a café before bussing the 2km back to Kastraki.  J3 had a craving for stuffed peppers and tomatoes so we searched high and low for them in Kastraki.  Each place we asked, “Do you have stuffed peppers and tomatoes?” answered with, “No, but we have mousaka.”  Mousaka is an eggplant casserole dish that looks like lasagna – no tomatoes, no peppers, no rice filling.  We’re still trying to figure that one out….  So, we forgot how bad the wine was until after we sat down at the same taverna with familiar faces – but still no stuffed peppers and tomatoes. 

Athens and Delphi

June 23-Athens here we come!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAXTON!!!

Off early on the 6am boat (OUCH!) to Athens which took ten hours (DOUBLE OUCH!) where we found accommodation in the main area of town and took a catnap on a real sleeping surface.  Had nice dinner and shopped in the Plaka area and a little internet catchup to boot.  This is when we read the email from the Rotarua, NZ Police Dept that the bad, bad man who stole our bags in NZ was arrested and about to serve 2 years in the pokie!  Ah, if he only had liked our 600 photos enough to keep them somewhere handy!  Oh well, we had a nice feeling of redemption that night anyway.

June 24- We meandered towards the Syntagma area where we were to meet Andreas, a longtime friend of Jason’s Dad.  He is Greek/American living in Houston and was coincidentally spending some holiday time in Greece.  Before we could catch up with him, we saw that today was a special day.  Unions of various groups were out in full force to march and chant about their specific beefs with government, and were shaking up the Syntagma area pretty well.  We found Andreas through all the hubbub and he took us for a long walk thru Athens, telling stories along the way of the neighborhoods as they were when he grew up here, as well as lots of great Greek/foreigner relations and idiosyncrasies, history, etc.  Thanks Andreas for a nice afternoon!

That evening we took a bus to Delphi, west of Athens.  Delphi is famous in Greek mythology.  In ancient times, Zeus released two eagles at the two ends of the earth, and they both landed in Delphi, making it the “spiritual center of the earth”.  There is an amazing complex of temples, ruins, athletic stadium, theatre, etc where Delphi thrived in the old days.  Now, there is also a museum with some amazing artifacts from that period as well.  After finding the best room deal, we ventured out on the little hip “new” Delphi town.  We had eaten a late lunch so we just grabbed a bad sandwich at a café and a night cap at an expensive bar.  We had a big day of tramping around the ruins ahead of us the next day. 

June 25- “Old” Delphi was just as described above.  An ancient city centered around the Temple of Apollo on the side of the mountain that has mostly been destroyed, some of it partially re-erected and the museum had a drawing and a model of how the city might have actually looked in the best of times.  We hiked all the way up to the stadium where Jason ran the 40 meter dash in 12.9 seconds.  Lower on the mountain, through the gymnasium, stands the Temple of Athena which was also very impressive.  Even more so than the small islands we’ve been, small Delphi (old and new) lived up to the small town reputation of seeing the same people everywhere you go.  We kept running into the same couple – a German, Nick, and his wife, Bee from Indonesian.  Their permanent home is in Perth Australia although they are traveling around now, much like J3, but they are DRIVING!!  Their car caught a ferry from Perth and they’ve been through India, Iran, Turkey, to name a few…..  After running into them yet another time back in the new Delphi town while drinking wine at a taverna with a very talkative and opinionated Greek, we realized it was fait that we would just have to hang out that night.  Luckily, the Greek’s TV was not working on the one channel that was playing the soccer game we wanted to watch so we went to a café to watch it before dinner.  After a career as a professor and ten years of sheep farming, Nick and Bee are retired now and have NO schedule of when they’ll go back “home”.  As inspiring as that is for J3, Bechtel has not been THAT good to us and unfortunately we will have to work again……  Anyway – thanks Nick and Bee for a great evening and interesting stories!

Folegandros, Part 2 (Day 3-5)

Day 3- After sleeping in, we took a nice walk/hike to the old church on the hill in Folegandros Hora.  Even though the church was closed, the view of the town and the sea was spectacular.  Later that night at dinner, we met a British couple, Bob and Bridie.  Bob is some sort of secret rocket scientist for Airbus (the European equivalent of Boeing) and Bridie is an interior decorator.  Bob likes Metaxa (Greek brandy)- no matter who is drinking it- and J3 were his huckleberry.  He had LOTS of great stories to share.  We eventually went back to their place for a nightcap and to do a book swap.  This is where we met their new pet, Cliff.  B&B met Cliff the first night they arrived in Folegandros when they were hanging out on their balcony and a cute, spazzed out little black fuzzy mutt came over the cliff adjacent to their balcony to visit (hence the name!).  From that moment on, he was their adopted pet.  He was VERY hyper/wacky/skiddish, probably due to a tough puppyhood.  Cliff was skiddish, but would follow B&B around all the time.  We even saw them walking thru the town the next day with Cliff close on their heels.  We can only hope that the landlady who promised to take care of him after they left will actually take care of him.

Day 4- Another “book/food/cards/food/beer/cards/book” day.  <<JJ is currently up 275 points in the ongoing rummy game, but the lead is slipping quickly!>>  That night after dinner, we met a nice couple from Athens (Niko & Maria) who helped us respect the great drink, rakomelo (raki with honey, heated).  While enjoying the beautiful night, Jason noticed the half moon above and repeated the word for “half moon” that Antonis (Captain) in Antiparos had taught Sheila & J3.  After two bewildered looks from Niko and Maria, and two MORE bewildered looks from J3 including where they learned the word, Niko and Maria explained that this word was definitely NOT the word for any moon they had ever heard of.  In fact, J3 quickly learned that it was not the best word to say out loud in public.  Yes, the Captain strikes again!  And we still don’t know the real word for half moon either!

Day 5- Brekky and off to Agios Nikalaos beach by bus/caique boat for more sunbathing, reading, etc.  We ended our last full day in Folegandros at Mikro and the other bar (to remain nameless) with our buddies Zoja & Niko.

Folegandros- Day 1&2

Next stop, Folegandros.  Don't ask us what day it is.

We arrived at the port and immediately went to the Hora (main town) and started wandering around looking for a place.  After getting two quotes for a high price, we find something cheaper and more amazing- a room at Pension Georgia.  We got one of the best rooms Georgia has, with a large balcony to watch the sunset over the hills.  We ate an early dinner of matsata, which is the local spaghetti that looks like fettuccine and has a bit of a dumpling taste....MMMMMMM, DUMPLINGS...

Folegandros' Hora is a hilltop town with great views of the ocean below, but the center is filled with about 6 quaint little squares with tavernas, cafes, and tons of bougainvilleas and other flowered plants/vines/trees.  It's also the third island, including Antiparos & Anafi, where the local restaurants don't practically drag you into their restaurant.  A very relaxing place.

One night, as we were wandering around, we ran into the German couple we had met on Anafi....YES, they ARE following us!  Being the Germans' last night on Folegandros, we decided to go for a nightcap with them, and they led us around the corner from the main area to a small bar called "Mikro", which- you guessed it- means "small" in Greek.  Peaches, our waitress, told us that the next day is Mikro's one year anniversary.  By the end of that nightcap (and a great crepe!), we knew we'd be back to celebrate.

The next day, we decided to go to a beach called Katergo.  This beach (as with almost all beaches on the island) can only be reached by boat or a long hike/walk.  Guess which option J3 chose...  So we took the bus/boat combo meal to the beach, hung out to ipod tunes, read a little, played some rummy (Jason is now up 475!) and frisbee, and Jason jumped of another large rock...twice.  Nothing but a little foot sting after this one!

That night after a great dinner in one of the tavernas, we went back to Mikro for HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!  Got to know our waitress/bartender Zoja really well that night.  "Peaches" is an inside joke we promised we'd keep quiet about...so don't spread this around in one of those "tell 10 friends" emails or silly "blog" sites, OK?  Good.  Zoja is half Greek, half Czech and half Canadian...wait a minute.  JJ is good at math and tells me that doesn't add up. Zoja is 1/2 & 1/2 and RAISED most of her life in Toronto, Canada.  She came here to work for the summer in her cousin's bar/cafe.  Niko, the owner/cousin, and his girlfriend Zmaro (I'd bet 100 euros I screwed that one up) are awesome too!  They offered us lots of their spiked watermelon concoction to celebrate the occasion, and the night ended in the one club on the island, a sort of indoor/outdoor place on the outskirts of Hora with Zoja and two other new friends of ours, Christopher and Stefania.  Jason found that Zoja is a great crowd, and his comic routine made her laugh (her great contagious laugh that rivals Cathie's) and even spit out a bit of Mythos beer.  JJ talked Stefania's ear off, and Christopher told great stories of overserved Scottish guys ending up on the wrong island.  And a good time was had by all....

Antiparos- Misc. Extras

A few extra items related to our time on the lovely paradise they call Antiparos....

While snorkeling during the island boat cruise, the Swedish father & son (Frederick & Anton) & Jason caught an octopus.  They brought it onto shore proudly, as if they had caught a 350 pound sailfish.  Antonis immediately proved he's a little more experienced at this sort of thing, and bites the back of it's neck to put it out of it's misery.  Then later at the next stop, Antonis shows us how to tenderize octopus "Greek style" by slamming it methodically on the concrete...70 times.   Not 50, not 60, not 71, but seventy times!  It became nice & puffy, ready for the grill!

While riding around the island, we did the introductions with the Swedish family, and upon JJ's clarifying that her name is Johanna, the Swedish family and the other Swedish sisters on the boat all started to sing the super famous song, "Gimme Hope Joanna"..."give me HOPE Joanna, HOPE Joanna, give me HOPE Joanna, till the morning come...."  Jason had to finally admit that JJ is not insane, and there really is a song he doesn't know.  Now, to make it even MORE unbelieveable than 7 Swedes on a remote island in Greece knowing the words to this dang song, Frederick even had it in his MP3 player- one of only 120 songs!  Imagine the luck!  So, Jason finally heard it sung by an actual singer, rather than 7 Swedes and JJ after a bottle of ouzo...an improvement indeed!

Here's a little info J3 found which is solid proof that the internet is way too powerful and accessible..."Although this is not actually a South African song, it's a well-known anti-apartheid reggae song by Eddy Grant from the 1980s, before the end of apartheid, and it was also recorded by the South African Band, Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels. Joanna is probably the city Johannesburg."  Jason is even more angry he didn't know it since he knows Eddy Grant from his monster hit "Electric Avenue".

Antiparos

<<Insert correct date here- we've lost track!>>

After another long difficult day on Naxos slaving on the beach under an umbrella, writing postcards and plowing through yet another "unputdownable!" novel until we saw the sunset, we left for Antiparos via the boat to Paros.  Antiparos is basically the little brother of Paros, smaller & located just west (30 minute ferry ride from Paros).  We quickly did our usual sneak attack on the hotel/pension folks- get to the main area, sit for a meal, and one of us hits the pavement looking for accomodation while the other finishes the wine/beer & relaxes.  This is much better than having the "deer-in-the-headlights" look that most tourists have when they walk off the boat onto a new island.  Then add to that the fact that there are usually more Greeks trying to sell their rooms than tourists exiting the boat! It's a mad rush of people with signs with hotel rooms & photos who have the best deal ever!  REALLY!!

Side note- Jason has turned the tables and is now up by 350 points in rummy!

Ah yes, back to Antiparos...We found a place on the port side of town with a nice little balcony with access to the southwest sun, so good sunshine all afternoon.  We even had a narrow view of the port.  It was windy on the next day, so we just wandered around getting aquainted with the place, walked to the beach on the west side of the island.  The first two nights, we went to Soul Sugar, a nice little bar with great jazz/world/soul music.  Mike D, look up the band & song "Aquarian Dream- You're a Star".  You'll like it.

Day 3- Went on a boat trip around the island with Alexandros island cruises.  Our staff included Antonis (Captain), Nikos (cook/deck hand/dishwasher), Sheila (waitress), and Cookie (pet dog/assistant dishwasher specializing in bones/scraps/etc).  Sheila is a lovely Irish lady who has been to Antiparos yearly for around 13 years.  She was invited by Antonis to come along and pour wine to earn her keep.  The other guests on the boat included 2 Norwegians, and 7 Swedes.  After a few stops around the island, some snorkeling and rock jumping (Jason's favorite pastime...no pulled muscles yet!), we arrived at a little beach for lunch.  Had souvlaki & greek salad, and a bit too much ouzo for anyone's taste.  And the specialty was squid, grilled on the fire.  No spices needed due to the great salty flavor it contains naturally.  After a few more stops & the same fun, we left the crew and agreed with Sheila to meet for dinner at Pavlos, her favorite restaurant on the island, whose owner (Pavlos) owns the hotel where she stays every year (part of the restaurant building).

Met Antonis & Sheila for a great dinner of lamb, fish, ouzo, & the local drink SikoudiyA, which is my best attempt at the phoenetic spelling (caps means accented letter).  It is like ouzo, only stronger and no annis/licorice flavor...but with the same nice burning sensation when it goes down!  Pavlos is the typical Greek restauranteur in our dreams- funloving, generous, loud (in a good way), and a great cook, passionate about the quality of his restaurant and hotel.  Sheila and Pavlos are great friends.  We learned this was due to the many Sikoudiya filled dinners where they shared their life stories together.  Antonis and Pavlos are also very close it seems.  The only person near the same vocal volume as Pavlos is Antonis, usually asking Pavlos to bring some more of something.  Jason joined Antonis in eating a fish head, a supposed aphrodesiac.  Jason swears that was the last thing on his mind while chewing for the next 15 minutes....MORE OUZO PAVLOS, PLEASE!

The night ended after Sheila & Antonis took us to "The Doors", a small bar which is named either after the 70's group or the fact that there are two doors at the entrance.  We aren't sure which.  JJ quickly noted that the owner/bartender/DJ looked like the dark curly haired Spanish guy from "The Princess Bride".  You know, Antonio Banderas, only shorter and not nearly as handsome...plus a nice bushy moustache to boot.  And of course, he had a buxom blonde foreigner working as bartender (and probably summer girlfriend).

Day 4- Official SikoudiyA Recovery Day...slept in, then went on a bus ride to the top of the island to the caves.  This is a cave of rock/salt formations like Carlsbad Caverns, except that due to many decades-maybe a century- of looting, the majority of the stalagtites & stalagmites are broken off!  Too bad, since it seems it would be really amazing intact.  But nonetheless, it was an interesting afternoon trip.

After some reading, etc that afternoon, we went back to Pavlos for din-din.  Saw the Swedish family we had become friends with on the boat, and we combined for a table of 7.  The Swedes are Frederick & Ingalina Larrson, and their kids Jonna, Julia, and Anton.  Great family, super-polite & bright kids, and fantastic dinner partners.  We were eventually joined by Sheila & Antonis.  Stayed many hours, ending with some great bouzouki playing by Pavlos' son Beno (Benedict) and singing by Pavlos, his friend Aristotlos, and other locals.  Of course, Pavlos was the most boisterous of the singers.  A few badly played guitar songs by yours truly, off to The Doors again.  Anton gave Jason a rubber bracelet (like the AIDS/Breast Cancer ones) which says Alska Football, or Love Soccer (for you Americans).  It is a campaign in Sweden to stop violence in the stands so kids like Anton don't have to be chaperoned by a security guard to watch a soccer game.  J3 had no idea those polite Swedes could get so rowdy!  Anyhoo, Jason made a new friend- who coincidentally never showed his true friendship by jumping off a high rock formation with Jason...Next time, Anton...next time...

Day 5- Sheila had mentioned the night before that the Greeks on Antiparos are geniuses at bribing and brainwashing, forcing helpless tourists like J3 to stay days or weeks longer than intended.   These tactics included Antonis' generous offer to let J3 ride the cruise for nothing in return except being waiter/waitress/dishwasher, as well as Pavlos yelling "You will be back tomorrow, you will go on the boat tomorrow", sort of like Obi-Wan Kenobi does to people/aliens on Star Wars...However, J3's fortitude & determination proved too strong for those mind tricks, and we left for the island of FolEgandros.  But we'll be back, Sheila, Antonis, and Pavlos!!!

Naxos

June 8- A nice long walk- backpacks in tow- to the bus stop by 6am.  Then off on the ferry at 7-ish.  Arrived in Naxos fashionably late, of course.  We quickly found a place to stay- Pension Dimitra.  The owner, Visilious, gave us a ride and we dropped the goods off & hit the town.  Visilious and his wife are a nice elderly couple who made us feel right at home.

We immediately noticed signs for "cultural music sunset concert" and were interested.  We walked around the Kastro first, which is the old Venetian part of town on the hill above town.  The show included (all traditional Greek) a well-spoken gracious host, bouzouki player, violinist, dancers in fisherman & sheepherder garb, and one instrument whose name escapes us.  But we do know that it is a bagpipe-like instrument made of goat skin & a flute at the end.  The shepherd basically blows in the front to fill the bag with air, and squeezes while hitting the right notes.  Plus, there was a nice, colorful collection of local drinks- white, red, & rose wine, three types of famous kitron, and raki of course.  We followed directions from the host and tried them all.  For as he said, it makes the music sound better!  Sounds like a Slack Daddies motto to us!

During the show, we met a great couple, Ian & Amanda from Atlanta, NYC, and now London.  He's a Brit, she's American, they've been married 9yrs, they like long walks on the beach, and her mom makes a killer key lime pie.  Ian being a Brit, the Brit jokes were in abundance of course...3 vs 1 is easy!  We went to a late dinner/nightcap with them by the water & called it a night.

The next few days were easy going, food & fun filled days which included nothing more than shopping, sunbathing on the beach, eating lots, and dinner w/ Ian & Amanda at Picasso Mexican Restaurant (owned & operated by Canadians?!), and an adventurous dinner hunt that began with high hopes for fresh fish and ended with a great traditional Greek meal in the Kastro on Old Market Street.  Note: the Aegean/Med Sea is mostly fished out, so prices make you think you're in land-locked Kansas!  This definitely ain't Galveston!

June 11- Rented a car-the smallest & cheapest one they had of course- and toured the island.  The island is a very rocky, mountainous place with pretty little villages perched on the mountainsides, marble & stone streets & houses, and great ambiance.

Our first stop was Plaka beach, where we hung out and did the typical sunbathing, book reading, and the try-not-to-stare-at-the-nudist-sunbathers thing.  The next stop was Temple of Demeter (Dimitra), which is the remnants of a Greek temple (circa 5ooBC) and the subsequent remodeling into a church.  Great archeological, architectural stuff...no better than in Greece!

Unfortunately, the main part of our village touring was during siesta, so there wasn't much to do except explore by walking and taking lots of pics.  One notable was a tour of the 2-room, one tank kitron & ouzo distillery in the village of Halki.  Ouzo is the famous Greek liquor made from annis (liquorice flavor).  Kitron is the Naxian specialty liquor, made from leaves of the kitron fruit (similar to lemon/grapefruit) and tastes just like you'd imagine.  There are three types- green, which is like cough syrup and the weakest; clear, which is middle strength & less sugar (J3 favorite); and yellow, with is strongest and least sweet of all.  We came, we saw, and of course, we bought some!

We continued the island tour with an amazing drive down the mountains on severe switch-back, zigzag roads and a stop in Apallon for some pastitsio & baklava, and to see the Kouros statue of Apollon, a 10 meter tall unfinished statue-probably because it cracked during the carving.  We closed out the day with a few stops along the beach road home, ending at the Portal of the Temple of Apollon for another sunset.

That night, we met some interesting Swedes, Anders & Nina at this cool Blues & Jazz Bar in the back alleys of the Kastro.  They were definitely overserved, ordering more, and quite opinionated & outspoken.  Nina accidentally started a sentence to JJ in Swedish at least 5 times (maybe it's JJ's Scandanavian looks?, maybe the Black Russians?).  The narrow alley where we were sitting was severely sloped and the chairs were unstable, so JJ almost had Nina in her lap several times.  It appeared to us that Nina didn't seem to think that was a bad idea.  We will stop the speculations right there...Add to the mix a few overserved and overzealous Greek men hitting on the two married women, and the night was complete!

June 12 was spent sunbathing & sunset-watching on St. George's beach near town, along w/a nice Thai meal at the East/West Asian restaurant.  Yes, even salad boy could eventually get tired of Greek salad, so he needed a change of pace.  JJ didn't mind, since curry+coconut= mmmmmmm!!!  Strongbow cider on the menu made JJ's rating of the restaurant go thru the roof.  This night included the best sunset yet, one of the best we've ever seen...feet in the sand in beach lounge chairs listening to a great mix of laid back music.

Naxos is our favorite island yet.  It's big enough to fill all your wants & needs, but has kept it's small town charm & personality very well.  It's fun to just walk around all day & explore, or sit on the beach and vegitate.  We'll weed thru the hundreds of photos & add to the blog soon (as well as the rest of Greece).

Anafi

June 5- Up at the crack of dawn...well, sort of. We awoke & finished packing and took a cab to the port, a coffee and chocolate croissant and off on the boat to Anafi at 9am. The Anafi stop was supposed to be at 11am, but we arrived at 1pm......aaahhh, Greek time!
We had our rolling backpacks unwrapped in total backpack hike-mode, and upon finding the first spot with a cold beverage, we decided to stop and rest. Anafi is NOT Santorini or Mykonos, etc. It has no hordes of hotel folks trying to get you into their car and show you their great place. Anafi has a population of 237. And that probably includes the dogs & cats, which would bring the human pop to about 100. In other words, this is a very quiet, quaint, low-tourist island. When we asked the lady serving our Sprite "where is the center of town?" (trying to locate a tourist info office, or something of that nature), she looked around, thought for a moment, and pointed straight down to the spot she was standing on, to indicate, "right here!". Geographically, she was probably right. But there is a town square (or two), but they are really just 30ft square areas where kids play soccer (trying not to kick the ball down a path that is DOWNHILL) & old folks congregate to talk about fishing, donkeys, local politics, & the weather, of course. We can just imagine the conversations....."Nice weather, huh?"..."Yep, not a cloud in the sky."..."Yep, I saw a cloud once last month, but no rain."..."Yep, I think I saw that cloud once."..."Yep. Hey, did you see that George had his light on till 1am last night? What could that boy be doing till 1 in the morning? Strange, I tell ya.".."Yep."
Back at the "geographical" center of town, Jason suggested one of us go look for a "dhomatio" (a room to rent) while the other hangs out and finishes the nice cool Sprite & watch the bags. JJ agreed, and of course volunteered for the latter task, so Jason was off across the thriving metropolis of Hora (main town), Anafi to find a place to stay. He first encountered several elderly ladies, one who asks him in Greek- and the universal language of hand gestures- to help her up from her seat on the steps. After discussing in Greeklish the problems with bad knees that they share, Jason is off. He found a few places that were closed (it's low season in June still! Somehow 68 to 88 degrees and no clouds is just not good enough for some tourists!) and one that was fully booked.
Then "Popi" found HIM and showed him a room. It was nice, and cheap! So Jason headed back uphill to get JJ, leaving Popi a bit confused but she got the jist of it...that he would return quickly. Along the way, Jason wandered down a path to another place and was met by a gruff 50-something man and a young boy who looked to just be trying to help out. Jason explained in Greeklish that he needs a room and the man invites him into his office. Only after sitting did Jason see the logo and word "Police" on the wall. WO! Miscommunication! After explaining there was no problem and he just needed a room, the man says to sit and starts making phone calls. You see, since the beginning of time, Greeks took on many roles, responsibilities, and jobs in their culture. Example 1- Police chief and hotel booking agent! He makes several calls (Jason assumes their booked) and Jason starts to feel nervous that Popi is soon on the phone list! He's right. Sure enough, Chief finds a room, escorts Jason outside and points a few buildings over to Popi's! Jason scampers away saying essentially, I have to get my wife, and hopes Popi doesn't see him. She does, and after an uncomfortable exchange where Jason tries to NOT look like the American who's busted trying to find a better deal, he gets JJ and they move into Popi's.
We had lunch at one of the handful of restaurants in town (one of the three that were actually open during siesta, 2-6pm), and moved on to another for afternoon wine and cards (JJ is up about 450 at this point!). JJ quickly realized that our waiter was the same guy from earlier, while she was watching bags, who was sporting a clean, new machine gun across his shoulder! Example 2- Restauraneur and sherriff??? We ordered wine and no shots (hehehe) and continued our game. The only other people in the place were all co-workers/owners and their friends. They slowly left for siesta and a girl named Fotini told us that the guys were closing but we could stay(since we were on the patio). So we played a while longer (too bad the bathroom was inside!) and Jason came back to get the rummy game close!
After a nap, we went back to the same place for dinner. Turns out this place has some characters...The Sherriff? (co-owner), Marko (co-owner who is a cross between Luke P. on 90210 and Johnny Cash in the late 60's, and a lot like the Sherriff but with less mileage), and a guy who seemed to be their cousin. Luke Perry and Cousin played bouzuki (mandolin/guitar instrument) and guitar and sang traditional Greek tunes over dinner while Sherriff/big brother smoked his cigar and drank his drink next to them, seemingly pondering life. You can do the math and figure out that the service slowed down dramatically at this point. Good thing we already had our food & wine & didn't need to rush off to the theater any time soon! We soon realized there was a 16-ish "nephew" hanging with them. He had his hand rolled smokes and a Heineken (they don't card at this restaurant..) Also, the Sherriff's girlfriend showed up and joined the group. She rounded off the clan we would see many more times. Plus, we can't forget the nice German couple we met on the boat. They were there in the corner watching quietly and not saying much (same as when we ate next to them at lunch today!).

June 6- Off to the beach! There's a beach around the bend from the port, a 1km hike downhill from town (Hora). Part of the way down, we realize we forgot money, so after a husband/wife imaginary game of rock/paper/scissors where the husband always loses, Jason went back for the Euros. We made it down without incident, and spent a great day lying on the beach and reading our books. We didn't bring much because we thought there would be a shop with towels, water, etc. But remember, this is ANAFI....nothing but small pine trees for shade on this beach. Late afternoon, went back to the area above the beach to have some late lunch/early dinner. Lo and behold, who is hanging out at the "staff only" table, but the clan from last night- Sheffiff (minus his weapon), Marko, Cousin, & Nephew. We say our hellos and enjoy the meal of fresh fish and greek salad.
Since we didn't have the guts to ask for a ride on our buddies' mopeds, we had to hike back UP the trail to Hora. Once back, we went to the west side of town to watch the sunset with our 1.5 liter local white wine (2.30 Euros or around 3 bucks) which was in a re-used water bottle. It seems everyone drinks it. It's fresh wine made recently with no preservatives and no need for corking. Not too shabby, esp for the price! Dinner tonight at "To Steki" where- you guessed it- the Germans were eating! We met our waiter, George from Thessaloniki, who also is on assinment as a teacher at the town school. He was very nice, and helped us with some local info- like Sherriff hunts wild game like rabbitts, etc with the machine gun.  We'll keep his name Sherriff just so the reader doesn't get confused! He also joked how everyone knows everything about everyone...like the lady next door asking him what he could possibly be doing that required his light to be on till 1am...

June 7- Woke up at the crack of 10, washed clothes & hung on the patio, had lunch, and read books all day while watching the clothes dry....the tough life. At lunch at Alexandras ("center" of town), we ordered soup, greek salad, and 3 drinks. She had mentioned that she had stuffed tomatoes & peppers, but we declined. Plus we had been noticing that all restaurants bring bread, and you are charged for it...strange. So along with our order, we get stuffed tomatoes & peppers! Wow, guess since it's after 2pm and lunch is essentially over, guess we got the leftovers! They were great. But then the bill came, and we were wondering if we'd get charged for bread again, as well as the "extra" stuffed veggies. Well, the bill had the veggies, and TWO breads! Guess they charge per person! So after clarifying, Jason asks to get the bread to go (no reason to waste it!). Lesson learned- decline food that appears to be "free" unless you are willing to pay for it! Funny though, that none of the Anafi folks were trying to take our money...it's just the way they do business. We're sure they're thinking "I'll give them these veggies, and if they take them, good for me! If not, I'll eat them later." Watched another sunset, and stopped into a shop before dinner. Lo and behold, the shop worker was Sherriff's girlfriend! Nephew rode by us on his moped for the 5th time in 2 days. Small town, I tell ya. Dinner at George's place...baked rabbit! Maybe Sherriff's ammo payed off after all! Chatted w/George again, exchanged contact info, and turned down his offer for free wine since our bus to the port tomorrow leaves at 6am! PS- The Germans were there again!...We think they're following us!

Santorini

June 2-5- Santorini probably has the most famously picturesque setting of all the Greek islands. The town of Fira sits perched on a cliff overlooking the small port and the volcanic island across the bay. And then there's the sunset. When the sun goes down, it makes for one of the most beautiful scenes ever. The sky turns all shades of pink, blue, & purple, and the white-washed & blue trimmed buildings of the town change also to beautiful sunset colors & shadows.

We arrived in the morning, tired & ready for a real bed instead of the ferry boat floor. We accepted the first offer, a hotel 500m from Fira. After a GREAT nap, we head to town. There are tons of little 6ft wide paths between bldgs, shops selling food, coffee & desserts, souvenirs, clothing, fine jewelry, etc. It's a shoppers paradise as well as a beautiful view. We spend the day getting aquainted with town, searching for accomodations in town (for the next few nights), and getting over our jet/boat lag. The night ended at Tropical Bar, where we met Jay & David, some nice folks from D.C. We chatted a long time, got some advice for places around the island, and headed home to drink our bottle of wine and play cards on the deck.
Day 2- We awake planning to check out & go to another hotel we found yesterday, but we were offered a good deal by our hotel manager (they all seem to own or know people who own others!). We accept the ride to the new place in town, and it's nice! Poolside room, only 5 euro more than the other we saw. Throw the bags in the room and hit the pool! We had yet to live the life of a tourist in Greece- lay by a body of water (beach or pool) and read a book. After a few hours of that (with IPOD jammin' tunes), we head to town for more of what we did yesterday. After finding a shirt for JJ and re-scouting the shopping scene and a few sites (small church, etc), we have some dinner and end the night at a Jazz Bar where Ianni the bartender was a great host, including showing us what Raki is- sort of a mild grappa...or a mild tequila without the horrible tequila taste part...you just have to taste it. We met some Scots from Australia and a nice couple from upstate NY and had the typical life story/travel itinerary chat.
Day 3- Moto rental and around the island we go! We get the heck outta town before we're run over, and spend the day cruising around the island on our mopeds. First stop was lunch at a taberna/restaurant, where we had good food served to us by the 11 year old son of the owners, and JJ had a quick game of indoor soccer with him and his little brother. Next, Red Beach, where the sand & cliffs are....you guessed it, RED. The rest of the cruise was interrupted by stops at little beach villages for a quick water/juice/ice cream and a rest. We ended the tour in Oia, the town on the northern tip of Santorini, which is possibly more beautiful than Fira, simply because it's smaller, cleaner, and less travelled (by tourists). We ate dinner at a restaurant suggested by Jay & David- Santorini Mou...I Love You. We believe it's named after a song by the owner, Mihales, who is extremely warm & welcoming to all who enter. We caught them on a slow night, and it was early (we wanted to get back to Fira before dark). So we didn't get the full effect of what the restaurant offers for entertainment, but Mihales showed us his huge albums of photos and corresponding "thank you's" from EVERY previous guest around the world. He asked us to write something, took our photo, and sang us a song "which reminds him of people like us". It's basically a nice song about how he likes my smile and wishes we could hang out together forever, ships crossing in the night, etc. But all in all, we regretted not being able to see him do his thing with a packed house. It was obvious he is a great storyteller and makes everyone feel right at home. Highly recommended if you ever go to Santorini!!!
Now, back to Fira at dusk with only one moped w/headlights (DOH!, OOFTA!). We go straight home & play some more cards in the room and pack....off again early tomorrow to Anafi!

Goodbye Norway, Hello Greece

May 31- Last day in Norway (Oslo). Ran some errands, like dumping photos to disk, patching Jason's favorite jeans (so as not to show off his spectacular boxers to the world), etc. Went to dinner with Lars to Ketchup & Curry- good Indian. Lars' garlic chicken was GREEN but tasty, no ketchup to speak of (curious...), and our tummies were happy. A quiet night at Lars' so we can get up early.

June 1- Up at 3.30am to get to the bus stop at 4.30....Plane leaves at 6.50! We had a Belgian beer in the Brussels airport during our 3hr layover, while everyone from 3 to 93 smoked cigs around us. Upon arriving to Athens, we decided to head straight for the islands, since our Athens friend Leon and our Corfu connection Ann both were better suited for seeing us in late June or July.
So, up at 3.30 and flying all day, we get a quick dinner in at the Athens Plaka (main area of town) and take the metro to the overnight- 11 HOUR- boat to Santorini. We purchased the cheap tix, which bought you a nice old airplane seat in a huge room full of travelers from all ages & nationalities, sleeping in every part of the floor that they can. And of course that includes the 18-to-early 20-somethings talking as loud as they possibly can until as late as they possibly can. Guess we were like that when we were kids.....
One of the first parts of the Greece travel book says something like, "...the Greek idea of breakfast is coffee and a cigarette....The Greeks smoke more per capita than any other European country...Often one finds Greeks smoking before, after, and DURING their meal...lately, a law was passed requiring every restaurant to have a no smoking section- let us know if you find one." First of all, breakfast is coffee and SEVERAL cigarettes. Second, they practically smoke while chewing. But hey, my Italian Arch professor in Italy told the class (after being asked why Italians smoke so much) that the Amerians were the ones that brought them those classic films where everyone who is anyone is smoking...so we'll just have to live with it! We try to get a little sleep, earplugs & eyecovers in place...