Excerpts from a travel journal
Thursday, October 6th
Once in Greece the car rental experience went smoothly, We were assisted by a good-natured young Greek guy who had us on our way quickly. The drive to Athens from the outskirts was easy enough, just freeways with a couple of toll roads. Once we arrived in the middle of town, where our lodging was located, JoAnn and I nearly had nervous breakdowns looking for parking! The garages we had looked up had no room. We drove into one place and were told to back out. We drove up the steep hills in the manual transmission car, tires smoking, warning lights flashing on the dashboard, and using the parking brake to shift on some of the hills.
We spotted a parking spot in a residential area and took it. We followed JoAnn’s trusty Google directions to our place through the noisy traffic and graffiti along Solonos Avenue. We stayed up quite late (and slept quite late) catching up, ready for another adventure together.
The Hop-on, Hop-off Tour of Athens… The tour revealed a crowded city with all the ornate buildings and ruins scattered among mostly unnotable architecture. We got off at the Acropolis stop after taking pictures of the old and the new throughout the city. Included in those photos are motorcycles inches away from the cars they are snaking between and some lovely shots of hills and their buildings in the distance.
We found our way up to the Acropolis with the help of signs and the questioning of other tourists. There was lots of marble in the streets and stairs, narrow streets that were not too crowded, and an old man feeding a troop of contented-looking cats. The cats and dogs are everywhere in Greece and we were told that the Greeks themselves do not agree that the culture of caring for the street animals casually is a good idea. Throughout our travels we saw the occasional cat without an eye but generally the animals looked well fed and were not that big of a nuisance. There wasn’t even as much poop as would be expected with that big roaming population!
When we arrived at the Acropolis I was too tired in my brain to do anything but stare at the outside. The others went in for the tour, or so I thought. I wandered through a lovely courtyard on the side of the Acropolis where live music could be heard wafting through the early evening’s perfect temperature. I touched base with Doug, wandered some more, and discovered two waifs sitting on a bench; Vicki and Susan. I took them to my magical courtyard and later we were miraculously discovered by JoAnn and Carol. Miraculous because we did not have any reliable communication among their Sim cards, my eSIM and our batteries running out from manic photo-shooting.
We discovered a wonderful restaurant, enjoyed a darling server and some Greek food and headed back to our place through glowing plazas and past shops, surrounded by animated people. It was such an enjoyable vibe!
Saturday, October 8th
Up at 6:30 to take the ferry to Spetses (Spice Island). It was a half hour group effort with JoAnn, Susan and Carol directing our Nissan Evalia all the way. We got a giant, sweet, greasy thing from a guy on the beach and nobody could stomach the whole thing… JoAnn felt a little sick on board but better toward the end of the three hour cruise…just like Gilligan!
Spetses had a split, split, split personality. Ratty shops lined the shore of an incredibly gorgeous sea. The water was a rainbow of aquas deepening in color as they became part of the larger body of water. There were plastic covered eating areas with the sea both above and below the diners. There were beautiful churches in some junky garbage-strewn areas. The nice shops were hidden a little way from the from the beachfront and that was a pleasant area. The island looked very peaceful but the crazy, loud motorbikes and inexperienced drivers shattered that peace,
We dipped our toes into the lovely water and walked to Longshore Café where Carol and I had delicious chicken filets and the others had Beet salad, Greek salad and smashed beans and onions. Everybody was thrilled to share and sample….except me.
We had a little more strolling left in us so, abandoned by Susan the super-shopper, we explored some churches and a close lighthouse. We strolled back to the ferry and traveled back to Athens on the Aegean Sea…destination Piraeus. We hoped that we might find parking in our current section of Athens and we finally found some darling young men willing to keep the car for the night for €20.
Sunday, October 9th
This was Delfi Day! Our first stop was Auto Union to make Susan an official driver. She took up at the mountains, winding at top speed while I pooped my pants in the backseat…well almost.
Delfi was a wonderful maze of ruins! There were white stone structures and pillars around every corner, dedicated to different Greek deities. One highlight was a group of German students in search of Kleenex. Of course they targeted our group of three motley grandmas as likely holders of such things and JoAnn readily came to the rescue. Her bag contains everything! The Germans were delightful and tickled to practice their English with us elderly Americans.
The most amazing coincidence was a reunion with one of my students who graduated in 1999. So strange to see Eric as a husband and father of two little boys!
Monday, October 10th
Headed out of Athens. Once out of the city the roads are wonderful! A fairly easy hour of driving brought us to Acrocorinth, the fortress associated with the city of Corinth. Under threat the Corinthians would all take cover there. Acrocorinth is a huge archaeological treasure! Some buildings are ragged foundations and some are complete gems. They date from all different eras… some thousands of years old and none very modern…sort of a family tree of an establishment…a history of the area. There were beautiful vistas and lots and lots of lovely stairs…and steps.
The next stop was Epidaurus with its famous 2000 year old arena/theater that held 14,000 people. The stage is barely suggested but the seating is stunningly intact. The seating and entrance gates have had a little conservation help but these were the least destroyed “ruins” I have ever seen. The acoustics are tremendous as proven by a man singing while standing on the sweet spot which is marked in front of the location of the old stage. We finished off in Epidaurus by having lunch in the midst of beautiful begging cats.
In the city where we would spend the night, Nafplio, we found a plain, sunny church building high up some narrow cobbled streets and an austere Catholic Church with golden walls and dozens of icons. We finally found the gem of it all, the sea! A citadel sat stood on an island near where we chose to eat and lit up as the sun left the scene.
Vicki used her acute powers of observation and analysis to point out a mail-order bride with her husband. Her conclusion was helped by the fact that the woman was gorgeous, scantily clad, and young with a cosmetically created butt. In contrast, her husband was well into middle-age and would have done well to use the butt-building fund on a diet and exercise program for himself.
The most adorable scene of the evening was a Greek woman about our age, hair back in a smooth gray bun, fishing line in hand, pulling small fish out of the water while sitting just at the shore. She drew an audience of hungry cats, some of whom came away from her with a generously donated flopping fish. It was such a sweet, peaceful scene that old lady and the cats!
Tuesday, October 11th
A long, long winding drive started in Nafplio over easy toll roads and ended zigzagging through mountains with the sea gleaming far below. Very frightening to not be at the wheel for a control freak such as myself!
We had to call the host to identify which falling apart road we were supposed to take once we reach the village. She was a bit offended that we identified a “paved” road as a dirt road…she was, clearly, remembering it in its early life before decades of disintegration! It was worth the bumpy ride! We arrived at Villa Somatania and were met by a delightful woman and her sweet little boy in front of a tiny church. No English on her part and very little Greek on ours combined to make communication comical!
A door opened from a narrow passage into a stunning dream of a lodging place. There was a separate little kitchen (the only real place to gather), three separate bedrooms in two separate buildings, a bathroom on the outside of the kitchen building that three of us had to use in the middle of the night and a deck on the top of the world. From this deck we could view the city of Thalames, the sea, an occasional belled goats and random cats cats that came and went.
We followed that finely paved road, careful to not break limbs in its ruts, to a darling restaurant where we had omelettes, salad, wine and Diet Pepsi….oh, and a begging dog and begging cats kept watch.
We survived a little drizzle when we headed back to the villa. There were some ruins of decrepit buildings that we got close enough to inspect. Susan was dying to get inside and I went around the back so I wouldn’t have to be a witness to her breakage. Once home, tired, we went our separate ways with random meetings on the deck above the world to ooh and aah at the sunset. Sleep was only interrupted by other Zeroes invading our room because they were ashamed of going to bed so early, and later, dogs, coyotes, gunshot and snoring.
Wednesday, October 12th
We left the magical environs of Thalames and headed to Kalagrias Beach near Stoupa. The sand was fine, the sky was blue with fluffy white clouds and the water was light aqua and clear. Leftover old tourists (or retirees) ambled out to their chairs and parked their leathered, brown bodies for another day of sun worship. We refreshed ourselves with soaking our feet and headed off to Old Kardamyli.
We parked near piles of soil and followed a path for a short distance to the old fortress. There were several buildings and a tower with winding steps to climb. This was the viewpoint for which attacks by water or land could be spotted and citizens in the area could wait safely until the threat had gone.
After Kardamyli we found Ancient Olympia but not before we investigated every small rugged road while Vicki followed the dot on the GPS. JoAnn was insisting we turn around. Carol and I were gazing longingly back at the sign with an arrow which had indicated the way to Olympia. After brushing against trees and shrubs on a very narrow lane we arrived at a stream. At this flooded road I was laughing (but annoyed we would have to go all the way back when we were right on the doorstep to our destination). Susan sat calmly in her chauffeur role unfazed by the crazy route she had just driven.
Carol jumped out of the car, walked into the water and proclaimed that we could make it through “no problem” and she would direct the car through. Carol always said “no problem”. Thus inspired JoAnn, Vicki and I ditched Susan to drive through alone. JoAnn marched through the water a little mad and frustrated that her advice, which was correct, had not been heeded. We found her, recovered, ahead vamping for any man who might come along and save her. We picked her up for her own protection.
Ancient Olympia was a vast expanse of ruins…B.C. It was interesting to imagine the buildings and games described on the information boards. I mostly wandered along as I was experiencing a little ruin fatigue. I did love, though, the whole ambience of the history of such a place.
We arrived at Loulirra’s in Petrus in the dark, used the provided code and walked into a disaster! Furniture was grouped in the middle of the floor. Patched holes covered the walls ready for sanding and painting. Beds were bare of bedding and there was certainly not enough sleeping space for five women. Then, I reread the description of the lodging, “Being on the first floor you won’t find anyone disturbing you by climbing stairs”. Climbing stairs from the MAIN FLOOR to the FIRST FLOOR…. what we think of as the second floor in the United States.
The lodging upstairs was marvelous with a nice deck overlooking the water. Vicki pulled her bed in front of the door to be able to hear the waves as she slept. All I could really hear from my room was the traffic on the busy road in front of the house but it didn’t keep me awake for long.
Thursday, October 13th
We are on our way to Tsepevelon to stay in a hotel way up in the hills! The Zeroes never seem to lack something to chat about…travels, family, memories, scenery, news, the stupidity and evil of Trump and his followers… I tune out things like cooking and cuisine and concentrate on writing!
We headed to the city of Patras where it was recommended travelers see Saint Andrew’s Church. The church was impressive but the beggars outside of the church were sad.
Right before arriving at our destination in the hills we happened upon an astonishing ancient bridge where we stopped to look around and take some photos. It turns out there is a whole system with similar bridges in that area we had far too little time to see them all.
We arrived in Tsepevelon, undamaged, after seeing gorgeous mountains and gorgeous colors. The hotel was down a narrow steep hill from where we stopped to survey the situation and we decided to leave the car parked where it was and walked down to the hotel. It was, of course, a very old building with beautiful, very old, stuff inside and an extensive garden. Our hosts, Maria and Demetrios, greeted us with kindness and small shots of something warm and delicious. They went out of their way to make sure we had everything we could want and sent us to our rooms. We had to explore other parts of the village to find supper so we left Villa Paroraia and climbed the steep hill.
As the five of us were looking lost and out of place, a middle-aged couple came strolling up another hill and asked us what we needed. They suggested the café they had just left. We exchanged bits of our stories, snapped a photo with them and went on our way. These connections are my very favorite thing about traveling. I wish we could spend all the money we spent on wars on exchange programs so all of us would love people from other places and the world would become less angry.
Friday, October 14th
After breakfast I took my turn driving the winding roads through the mountains including one odd detour onto cobbled streets. One of these streets had crumbled to the extent that I had to back up and release the emergency brake to stamp on the gas in first gear to get us up!
Our first stop was the charming town of Metsovo, famous for its many local cheeses. We had a lovely tour of an old house which had belonged to one of the movers and shakers of the place. Our guide showed us weapons and pots and pans and clothing and looms and jewelry and furniture and icon…many, many, icons in the icon room! It reminded me a bit of a tour of a Summit Avenue back in Saint Paul but so much older!
The first cheese shop we saw was so sweetly decorated it drew us right in. The guy at the cheese shop was knowledgeable about both tea and alcoholic delights! We walked out with many delicious things! We also contributed to the town’s economy by selecting several things from the shop housing chocolate delights….stretching wall to wall and ceiling to floor. These were consumed in the car before continuing to Kastraki. We will be there TWO nights which is a welcome relief but it would be impossible on our Zero adventures to see as much as we do if we were just lallygagging!
A woman named Ritsa met us at the house in Kastraki and she was a bubbling font of information; smiling and open. We conversed about many things and she shared that her salary, working in a hospital, was $520 a month and her husband made $1200 a month as a police officer. With several children it was very hard to provide the home and education they desired.
The little house where we stayed had no living room, just a small kitchen with almost enough room for all of us to be in there at the same time. The beds were hard but good enough for a bunch of Zeroes. Dinner, two blocks, away after grocery store stop was divine.
The last few days had brought cold, cold weather and drizzle and my clothes were soggy and completely inadequate. JoAnn and I settled down for a talk as we rested in our side-by-side beds and nestled in for the night.
Saturday, October 15th
Today is a day of impressive rock formations, many with monasteries or convents perched on the very top. To be closer to the gods in heaven, many religious edifices were built as high as possible. We climbed many steps and walked many paths; marble and stone, cobbled and sand, through woods with a dirt packed path. The two buildings that I went inside were as expected; clean and quiet with icons and chapels. The first, a monastery, was dark and somber. The second, a convent, was light and felt happier and sunnier.
In some buildings it is required to wear a skirt if you are a woman. Vicki and I ended up borrowing some old, crumpled, dirty pieces of cloth which we wrapped around our waists. Looking at that picture of us in our “finery” I can’t help but think anybody’s God would have preferred to see what we were wearing to begin with!
Carol and JoAnn wanted to visit all six buildings. Vicki, Susan and I were content with the first two. We wandered or sat or took 1000 more pictures of the fascinating landscape. Everybody was happy with their choices.
We took a quick trip home and realized that we had to go back again quickly if they were going to catch the last two monasteries. We took the frantic drive, saw what we set out to see, stopped for souvenirs at an opportune spot and smelled an outdoor grill’s delicious scents. We raced back to collect the absent Zeroes to have dinner there.
Sunday, October 16th
Today we stopped at the Mount Olympus National Park Visitor Center, enjoyed some displays, got information and bought some books. The staff went out of their way to find what we wanted. We attempted to leave and were sort of chased by one of the staff who insisted that we watch the 3-D movie about the park. Evidently, this was the pride and joy of the place. Movie watched and enjoyed we thanked them for encouraging us to watch it. Their faces were glowing with pride as we said goodbye.
A half hour drive up slightly precarious roads brought us as high up the mountain as we could go. From that parking area one can hike to the top (NOPE) or you have four other paths from which to chose. The E4, was what we wanted to hike. It was supposed to be a downhill walk to a magical waterfall. We followed the crowd to a very unimpressive waterfall where I was rejuvenated by a splash in the water as was Carol. Leaving that brisk experience I noticed the sign that “Don’t wash. Drinking water.” Well we neither washed nor drank…just splashed a little! We tried to hike but it was like the Superior Hiking Trail in May; muddy and rocky and slippery. Susan turned back immediately as she is extremely breakable and must be cautious. Vicki and I turned back next after Carol expressed concern about hiking in the shoes she had on. If Carol, the intrepid one, was concerned about her footwear we were officially nervous now!
Carol tried to find JoAnn after we abandoned her and ended up reuniting with Susan on a bench near the parking lot. Vicki and I, accidentally, found the path we should have been on to begin with. It was the other E4 going downhill. It was easy and beautiful with wonderful rock formations the jutting over an even path.
We found our guest house lodging to be charming and dinner at Meze Meze merely adequate. One should be cautious about recommendations from accommodation owners. Now, snuggled into bed on another chilly night I’m so thankful for trips like these with friends like this.
Monday, October 17th
We shared an adequate breakfast at the guest house with three young, beautiful Germans, university friends traveling together. Their English was good and they were delightful company! Vickie wore a pink glow all through the meal remembering how she had walked in on one of the men getting dressed that morning.
We marched through town, peeked into a lovely cemetery with photos of the deceased on most of the gravestones, and found the beginning of a path which promised to transport us to a wonderful waterfall. At the start of the walk an animated man used his adequate English skills to tell us: “Go straight and look around. Go wiggle, wiggle and look around there. In 20 minutes come back here.” Then, with a knowing look, he nodded his head toward his ONE-EURO-PER-USE toilet shack and back to five women who, likely, would need it.
His cryptic directions were accurate and we wound up staring at an elevated pool with no water cascading over it! Minnehaha Falls in a drought! We found another path, losing Susan to some arduous shopping in town, and continued with some lovely views and high rocks we used to scramble upward. I wanted to turn around when I thought I was likely to break a limb soon and Vicki and I left Carol and JoAnn to surge forward. We ran into a darling couple from Iran and two guys from Poland. Vicki is TOTALLY related to them! The tourists we encountered were unfailingly interested in others and the Greeks were kind and patient wherever we went. Traveling, always. gives me a feeling of warmth and the madness in the world disappears for a while.
We headed up the hairpin turns to Makrinitsa. Yannis, representative of the “mansion”, met us and led us through the carless cobblestone streets. The narrow main street had flat stones and a few shops and restaurants, up and down flights of stone stairs. Once a person turned on to the secondary paths the stones stuck up at odd angles and were more difficult to travel.
One never knew when they would stumble across a cat or dog all but Makrinitsa was a wonderland of beautiful photographic shots with cats posed on steps or fences and one handsome dog on top of a short wall with the bay and the town of Volos framed behind him.
We dined on the edge of a path using dirty silverware to eat delicious food. Our cook/hostess/server/owner/non-cleaner of silverware kept joking that we might need a shot of tequila. As Carol and Vicki learned, he was married to a Mexican woman and spent half of his time in Greece running this café and the other half in Mexico. Sounds like a dream life to me!
Tuesday, October 18th
We stayed in an amazing, big, fancy house on the top of the world. Our patio overlooked an amazing water view and a small city beyond. Our plan had been to take a ferry to Skiathos but some were interested in staying in the fancy house to relax in the luxury. Others were reluctant to make the scary drive down to Volos and back. As luck would have it, we learned later that the ferry trip had been canceled and it would have been a wasted trip. I surveyed the Zeroes for their thoughts on this day:
Gloria-lots of beautiful sights and memorable paths, playing games in the evening and laughing with friends
Susan-loved our place except for a few water issues, one of the Susans locked us out of the house and Yannis had to rescue us, wonderful and steep view
JoAnn-the patio, door wit the giant bar to barricade it, historic age of the mansion, steep and rocky walkways
Vicki-sitting on the patio with views, slate roofs everywhere but very impressive proceeding down the hill, no hot water
Carol-great cafes and great food, Gloria’s snoring, stinky drain smell in our room
Wednesday, October 19th
Heading to Athens and returning to our real lives. We took a detour from the tollway and ended up on the main road along the coast. We stopped for pastries and caffeine at a lovely roadside area. These places are huge and clean and have decent restrooms and things to eat! We had planned to stop and change drivers at Martino which advertised a Byzantine church and some ruins and an amazing downtown. The author of that information was, evidently, high. The church was NOT notable and the rest of the town was ramshackle and nondescript.
We dropped Carol, Vicki and JoAnn at our last lodging, near the airport, and returned the car after many U-turns and lies from the GPS. Upon our return Carol, JoAnn and Susan went to a café for supper but Vicki and I walked around and searched for something casual and close by. As always we walked twice as far as we imagined we would and when we got to the place we were looking for it turned out to be an apartment building now. Luckily, we spied a bakery and were able to feast on sandwiches and desserts.
We all packed our bags and said goodbye to Carol and JoAnn who would leave for the airport at a time a bit less annoying than our 5 AM the next morning. All went well and we all arrived safe, warm and contented in Minneapolis.
Add comment
Comments