InspIreland

It's been a busy two weeks and particularly a busy last few days. We said farewell to the Dean "Toronto" on the weekend with a night on the town Saturday and a nice dinner that he bought on Sunday. All of this did nothing but foreshadow my own departure a week hence and was made doubly sad as a result. The week itself went quickly. I hung out with the girls and Sofia as much as was humanly possible, went out for some more Counterstrike with Costa and Theodore, and it got to the point that the guys at Micro cafe knew what to bring me when I sat down... Sokolata Karamella. I also made it to the horio on Wednesday for one last stay. And I ate 20-some meatballs, which I'm generally not that fond of, but my Aunt Marina, well, they were good is all...

The weekend came again, and my departure was looming, but it didn't really feel like I was leaving. Friday night I went out with Niki, Lee (for awhile), Sofia, and a bunch of their friends and we had a great time. Then Friday melted into Saturday and we all stayed home and chatted, ordered crepes, and watched TV, which quickly became Sunday where we had dinner downstairs with Diane and the wine flowed freely (they have some very tasty homemade wine, which is even better with an apple in it). And, actually, in retrospect I think Sunday was crepe night. In any case, Sunday became Monday, and I got all my last minute stuff done, sent a bunch of stuff home so I wouldn't have to carry it in my bag (I wouldn't have been able to fit all of it anyway), went out for coffee with Lee, Yanni, and Sofia, then went home and made baked apples while George made some loukoumathes. Mmmmmmm... and then, strangely, it was goodbye time, as I left early Tuesday morning. Thankfully, it didn't feel like it was really the last time I'd see them for who knows how long, so it wasn't as difficult as it usually is. It just didn't sink in. Then, back upstairs, where I was hoping to have us all sleep in the living room "like old times" but Kelly wasn't feeling great and Lee was tired, so Niki and I stayed up late and hung out before my last day finally ended.

Tuesday morning I was up nice and early, well, wait, let me rephrase that, I was up early (there was nothing nice about it), and packed and ready to go. I woke the girls to say bye, we hung around and waited for my cab, and then off to the bus station. I was sitting on the bus, 8:25 (it left for Athens at 8:30) when my phone rang. It was Niki. I answered the phone as follows: "What'd I forget?". Turns out I had taken her glasses and left mine on the table. Oops! I asked the bus driver if he'd wait as I'd forgotten something, and then took off in a cab "polla grigora" and made the exchange, making it back at about 8:33. Then I was really off. To a bad start. The bus arrived at the metro stop in Athens 20 minutes late, 10:50, and when I took the metro towards the airport, I'd just missed the previous train and had to wait a further 21 minutes, meaning that the train didn't come until 11:35. Well, my plane left at 12:50, so I was assured an interesting hour and a half. I made it to the airport just after noon, checked in, and it turns out, made it with time to spare (about 5 mins) to my plane. Whew.

3 bus hours, 4 airport hours, and 5 plane hours later I was in the heart of Belfast, which even from the bus ride in from the airport seemed very beautiful. It was. I made it to my hostel with little difficulty, only a long walk and some drunk girl coming up to me, jogging on the spot, and saying "This is me jogging" in a heavy Irish accent about 4 times. I asked her friends where they'd would undoubtedly be an interesting venue. They didn't answer me, unfortunately, just laughed.

The next morning, I hit the town with a French girl (Virginie) staying in the same hostel, and we went and checked out the political murals painted all over the place, especially around Divis St./Falls Rd. We were really fortunate to actually run into Danny Devenney, the man who'd painted many of the non-violent political murals, and had a good chat with him and his friends. A very nice guy and after we talked I asked him if he minded me taking a photo of his murals and he got right in there which was cool. Speaking of cool, it was quite chilly, and we wound up going into a pub to get something warm to drink, but had to settle for something warming. A pint, that is. And then in come the regulars, most of whom, they tell us, have been drinking since 6:30 that morning. Right next to us, two Irish men sit, both ex-IRA members. I don't have to tell you it was a little interesting. If nothing else, it was a good conversation, though their extremist views didn't exactly mesh with my not-so-extremist views. I mean, the one guy had done nine years in prison for doing some bombings, and then he's telling me he lost his wife and kids, but that was because when he got out, although he'd promised his wife no more, he went back to it. He was one of the blanket wearers, too, apparently, meaning the prisoners who refused to wear the prison uniform.

Anyway, we left not shortly after, it really wasn't scary or anything, though it probably should've been, but they seemed to like us and we were willing to listen if not agree, so there wasn't really any tension. I continued walking around the city myself because Virginie had a meeting, and saw that the centre is quite clean and nice. The sun goes down early though, and before I knew it, I was taking night shots and my thumb had split because the air was sucking all the moisture from me. I bought some gloves at M&S and continued along photographing and admiring the beauty. I went out with some of the hostel staff (all very nice, here at The Ark) and other visitors for a pint or two across the street and after a movie, Red Dragon, called it a night.

The next morning I took a bus up along the beautiful Irish coast to Giant's Causeway. We passed many beautiful things that I wasn't able to photograph, but also stopped for a few here and there in some small coastal towns, at a castle, and at a lookout where there is usually a rope bridge but it had been taken down for the year. The Causeway itself, supposedly built by a giant who wanted to challenge another giant in Scotland is impressive but not so big as it looks in photos. Still very neat, and worth the trip up, especially because of all the other scenery en route. We also stopped at the Bushmills Distillery, which is the world's oldest licensed Irish Whisky distillery. The distillation process was interesting, but not so interesting as the bottling area. The place can spit out 180 bottles a minute and was a testament to automation. None of my furtive photos came out, but it was amazing. Then, of course, the tasting, which was quite, well, tasty.

The rest of that day was not too eventful, driving back in the dark, doing some stuff around the city, and so on, but I discovered that Franz Ferdinand plays in Dublin the next day (i.e. today) and so I decided to head out this morning to Dublin, which was next on the itinerary anyway, and go see them and some friends I have there. So that's what I'm doing. Hopping a bus in 40 mins and going to Dublin. I'm not sure the itinerary after, but probably over to Galway, down to Cork, then across to England. Time continues to fly, which is lucky because it helps take my mind off all the people I miss, which seems to be just about everyone at this point. Soon enough, at least, I'll be seeing a whole batch of you, though don't be mistaken, I'm loving it here too. But, I should go catch my bus and some food, see you soon! (pictures soon)

Time Warp

While I have noticed that time moves far more quickly in Europe than at home (perhaps owing to the greater rotational speed given its relative distance to the equator), what I have experienced since Sunday is nothing short of Einsteinian. Yes, Sunday, aka Halloween everywhere except here. Time warp related? I don’t know. It did seem, however, to drag on longer than your average slow Sunday. My first clue, though I didn’t know it at the time. Monday, I headed back to Hania, thinking I’d take the last highspeed off the island to Athens, and collect my iPod to boot.

I caught the bus Monday, noticing that the wrong time was on the ticket, but having no problems on the bus whatsoever, and I was back in Hania. Nikos was meeting me later that day, so I walked around Hania one last time, noticing that the stores were closing at 3:30. I thought that Niko had said 2:30 was when they closed, but maybe not. I had, incidentally, left my bag at the KTEL (bus station) so I wouldn't have to haul it around with me. Niko met me while I was having lunch, then we took off for another cafe up on the hill overlooking Hania. We went on his bike, and man was it cold. But the cafe was worth it, a very nice view and as it was by now nearing the end of the day, a great view of the sunset before we took off, though not without a couple really delicious desserts. A little alliteration never hurt anyone.

We traded his bike in for the car, stopped at his place for a bit (I thought of my mom or Aunt Joeanne in their house - I counted some 40 flies on the ceiling). His mom Raided them, however, and they soon started breakdancing on the floor, one by one. Then we pointed the car in the direction of the KTEL and grabbed my bags. They closed at 8:30, and the clock was ticking. Not to mention my ferry left at 9:00. We got there a little after 8:00 and there was a massive lineup because the attendant was unloading a bus. I discovered I had thrown out my papers saying that it was MY bag in there, falling apart, on shelf 14. This made me very nervous as I remembered the whole debit card debacle at Eurobank, and I was very tempted to hop the counter and get my bag while the guy was gone, especially since I was waiting in line for 15 mins and they seemed to go all too slowly and quickly at once. If I went at closing time to try to get my bag without papers, it would be too easy for them to tell me to come back tomorrow when someone else could deal with it.

However, I resisted the temptation as I stood there nervously for far too long, though it did play on my nerves quite a bit. Finally the guy arrived at 8:20 and couldn't care less that I'd lost my ticket. Whew. Back in the car, we drove to the port at Souda, arriving at about 8:35, with 25 minutes to spare. I didn't have a cabin, just a deck seat, so I'd wanted to arrive a little earlier to get a good one (maybe missing a neighbouring armrest or with lots of floor space or something), but at least I was getting to the ferry with my bags. That said, for a day after the long weekend when all the cabins were sold and the ferry itself was supposed to be near full, there weren't that many people boarded when I got on. So I got a decent seat, though I should say for future reference that if you're travelling deck class, Minoan Lines are the way to go, not Anek lines, even if they're 5 Euro less. The Pullman seats, contrary to their name, require no pulling whatsoever to recline or sit up, making any attempts to sleep difficult as it shifted anytime I did.

I got a Mythos from the bar to help my cause and pulled out my book, The Cretan Runner, a first-person retelling of Crete's famed resistance to the Germans in World War 2, a very good story. I was hoping that, since I'd arrived with only 25 minutes to spare, we'd soon be under way and there's still be many seats available. 9:00 came, and then 9:10, 9:12, seats filling more and more, 9:20, and so on, until 10:00, when the ferry finally left. "An hour late," I thought, "ahhhh, Greece." Maybe this meaned I would be getting in an hour later to Athens, at 6 AM instead of 5 AM. So there was a bit of good news even though the deck had filled up quite a bit in that extra hour.

I was unable to sleep for more than 10-15 minutes. My eyes did grow heavy, I did feel tired, but to no avail. At one point, when one of the guys sitting closest to me abandoned his chair for a spot on the floor (he had his sleeping bag which I had stupidly left behind thinking I'd have no need for it) I was desperate enough to try the same. I took off my 'jacket' crumpled it in a ball on the floor and tried to sleep, but it wasn't quite comfortable or clean enough for me to try longer than 10 minutes before I gave up on sleep altogether. So I cranked the iPod, read my book, and we pulled into Athens at 6 AM on the nose. Exactly one hour late. At least they got that part right.

I took the metro to Omonia and wandered down the street to Agious Constantinos, where the bus takes people so inclined to the Bus Terminal. I got there at about 6:30, where a man who, well, let's just say had trouble speaking, grunted at me, making hand motions like a "T" for timeout, "10 & 2" for driving, and "Horizontal scrub" for no, I assume, tried to tell me something. Perhaps the busses were on strike, perhaps he was not quite all there, I didn't know. There were plenty of others standing around too. I asked one man, who said the bus would come at 7. I'd been waiting for 15 minutes and that was a long time to continue to wait, but I tried. The next 15 minutes went very slowly, punctuated by people smarter than me getting into cabs and leaving me wondering what was really going on. 7:00 came and went, then 7:05, and finally 7:10 before I decided and managed to successfully hail a cab where I was joined by an old couple. For only 3 Euros, I was at the bus station.

When I got my ticket for Tripoli, I was told that there was one leaving in three minutes. I looked at my watch. 7:30. Sure. I grabbed the ticket and ran to the bus, but looking at my ticket as I ran, I noticed it said 6:30. Hmm. I didn't have time to go back and tell the ticket agent she'd made a mistake, so I hoped the ticket collector wouldn't say anything. They didn't. I made the bus and I even had time to run to the WC quickly. As you may have guessed, however, my suspicions had long been raised about all this time tomfoolery, and I started to wonder if, maybe, there had been a time change. Living in Saskatchewan, you see, I've never experienced one. How would I know?

My fears were allayed only slightly when the clock on the bus matched my watch. My cell phone, which I thought was supposed to sync with the system automatically, also matched my watch. Still, something funny was going on. I managed about an hour of sleep, finally, on the bus. The road to Tripoli is quite different in the fall/winter, greener. More pretty than I remembered. Maybe that's just because my eyes were fuzzy. We finally did arrive in Tripoli, where we passed an outdoor clock on one of those farmacy green crosses proclaiming the time to be an hour earlier than and of my various time pieces indicated (had I checked my iPod, I would've got the correct time). I got a taxi and asked him what time it was, and sure enough, I had experienced the time warp. Which, if one looks back on this story now, is quite obvious and certainly didn't make the trip to Tripoli very easy.

I thought my time warp story ended there, but it didn't. As it is now Saturday (where did the week go?) I realize that I have only 10 days left in Greece before I board a plane to Belfast. If this isn't a time warp, I don't know what is. As for the rest of the week, it's been more of the usual Tripoli stuff. I did manage a few hours of sleep on Tuesday before the other Dean came and then Dean, Kelly, Sophia, and I went out for coffee. We also ran some more errands the next day and I've been looking for a tailor or outfitter to repair my backpack which would be really handy before I depart for Belfast. I'll probably spend a few days in the horio, since I haven't really seen much of Uncle Ted, Aunt Marina, Maria, Kosta, or any of their kids. I've also been continuing my Greek studies here to pass some time during the days when everyone is working. I imagine my next update will probably come to you right before I leave Greece. The Toronto cousins leave this Monday, too, so I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of them and/or hitting the town this weekend. Now, I'm off to fight the warp. Wish me luck.

<Sunset on Hania Photos>

One Step East, Two To The West

Another week gone, another slow Sunday here in Greece, and as you probably already figured out given that you're reading it, another update. Last week, I finished my Greek classes on Wednesday. To give you some idea where I am, I just learned how to conjugate verbs in the past tense and other fun stuff on my last day. Which will be useful because I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell in Greek when I return. Presuming that I remember how, that is... In other news, I bought myself some plane tickets with EasyJet, so I now am officially leaving Greece Nov 15, stopping in London for a few hours, and then heading to Belfast. This should give me a week in Ireland and a week in England/Wales before I board that cold cold airplane on Dec 5 for the white fields of home. I'm shivering already.

So, what's been going on? Well, Nikos, a really nice guy that runs a cafe in Rethymno, went to the beach with me a few times. That guy swims like a fish, but I guess living a five minute drive from a beautiful blue-flagged beach with few tourists and an island in swimming distance (barely for me!) will do that to you. The beach itself is worthy of the flag, pristine, and local, and this time I brought my camera so I could get a few pictures. I also went out for coffee a few times with Panaiota, my teacher.

Thursday, I went to the cafe to see what Nikos was up to since we'd been planning to go out to Rethymno that day. His sister, Eleni, had come in on the early morning ferry from Athens and she was going to come with us. He also called Manous for me, a cousin of his in Rethymno, and got me a hotel lined up. Very nice guys, as I've said before. Then, since it was such a beautiful day, we did the tourist thing and sat eating salad and (in my case) drinking a nice big Mythos in the harbour sun. We went to the beach again that afternoon, I did a little strolling around the old town, and then I had a coffee with Panaiota. Panaiota, who really shouldn't have come, since she had some sort of food poisoning which I didn't know until she abruptly excused herself from the table to get sick. Then, I packed my bags up, grabbed some souvlaki and watched a bit of Shanghai Noon until Nikos and Eleni picked me up.

We drove off for Rethymno, and I discovered when we arrived somewhere about 20km shy of the city that we were actually going to see some live Cretan music aka Μιχαλης Τσουγανακις. It was really good, he played whatever instrument that was (Laouta?) very well and the guy playing the Lyra was expert. I actually took a little (24MB) video which you can see by right-clicking and selecting Save As here. It's at full zoom from our table, so not exactly great, but there it is if you want it. Anyway, the night was replete with dancing, clapping, whisky, and more dancing. We left there around 4 AM and went out clubbing in Rethymno. By then, Eleni was justifiably tired and by 6 or so I was getting there, too. Then, we had some gyros, got my stuff from Nikos' car (I forgot my iPod in the front seat, though) and tucked into bed a little before 8 AM.

Friday I was awakened at noon to chanting from right outside my window. It's a long weekend here, Oxi (Oh-he) Day, celebrating, I think, when the Greeks pushed off the Italians in WW2, though the Germans weren't far behind. In any case, there were a bunch of kids out my window chanting and I was not exactly wide awake but I got to look at their costumes and that was enough of a parade for me. I strolled around the old town a few hours later, took a few pictures, and a nap. I went out again Friday night, but on my own this time. You have to be in a certain mood for this, and I wasn't, so I hung out for awhile and then went home. Saturday was much the same. More stores were open since it was a regular day and not a holiday, but it gets dull pretty fast around here. I bought myself a book about the Cretan Resistance called The Cretan Runner, that seems interesting so far, strolled around the town, sat and had lunch and watched the people walk by, strolled some more, and then sat and had a hot chocolate in a cafe and read a bit of my book. This may sound dull, and it can be, but that's sort of life around here, especially when you're in a strange city and don't know anyone.

Today is Sunday, as I've mentioned, and there's even less to do, so I'm forgoing the coffee and using the internet instead. Well, I still may go get a coffee later, it's only 3:30, after all. Tomorrow, I'm back to Tripolis via Ferry, though which one remains to be seen. I was supposed to meet Nikos yesterday but have no idea what happened, so I still have to get my iPod back before I leave. I've gone through enough of a withdrawl to write a song on my cell phone. If anyone has a Sony Ericsson phone with MusicDJ, they can try out this song/ringtone:

Drums - XX-07-15-15-15-15-16-16-16-16-23-23-24-24-25-25-26-26-25-25-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-32

Bass - XX-XX-09-10-09-10-15-16-15-16-23-23-24-24-31-32-31-32-31-32-24-24-23-24-23-24-24-24-23-24-23-24

Chords- 01-02-09-02-09-02-10-15-10-15-17-18-23-23-XX-31-17-02-17-02-17-18-24-24-23-23-10-15-23-23-23-23-08

Accent- XX-XX-03-XX-03-04-15-16-15-16-23-23-24-24-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-31-32-23-23-24-24-15-16-23-23-23-23

I hope that useless bit of transcription is useful to someone. If not, well, skip over it. I probably should've said that before rather than after, but you'll know for next time I guess. Anyway, I'm off to do... something. See you in another week.

<Rethymno Photos>

Mohos and Back Again

So, another week has gone by. I'd like to report that I'm now completely fluent in Greek, at times even correcting other native speakers' grammar. I'd like to, but of course I can't. However, I now know when to use things like 'va' (pron: na) in a sentence, put verbs into the future tense, and play a new backgammon game called asodio. It was a good week in school in any case, and my class officially ends tomorrow, after which I have a few private lessons to make up for the fact that I started a little late in the week.

For the week itself, there's not much else to say. Aside from my Grecian studies, I've gone out for coffee - by which I mean various flavour of hot chocolate - a LOT. Especially compared to my relatively cafe-free life back home. We (my teacher and I) play a lot of tavli, and as I mentioned, I've learned a new game or two. We also went to a cafe one night with a piano, and since it was dead (there were three other tables in the whole place, and it seats between 100-200 people), and of course I had to play a little bit. I also have been out for a movie once or twice in my weeks here, having now seen 40 Year Old Virgin (not that good) and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (not that bad). I'm excited about this new Zorro I see is supposed to be coming out, I've certainly seen the old one enough times.

The weekend came, however, and I decided whatever else happened I wanted to get out of Hania for it and go somewhere. Since I probably wouldn't have another chance to see my cousins in Mohos, well, you already knew I headed there from the title. I rented a car Friday after class, checked some flight information here about getting to London (I've ruled out Egypt and will probably head to Ireland and then England/Wales a few weeks before hopping the plane home), and took off for Mohos.

It's about a three hour drive, but I had a bunch of new Greek music courtesy of my cousins up north to keep me company, so it went pretty quickly. Not to mention some beautiful night views, though I didn't take this picture until the next day. Incidentally, I'd like to buy some CDs here, and probably will buy one or maybe two, but they're _20_ Euros! That's almost $40 CDN. Or, to put it in a more universal currency, highway robbery. In any case, I have a bunch of music that I think my sisters (and hopefully dad) will like too. But once again, I digress. I got to Mohos and ate dinner with Maria and Ari, and then Maria stayed up with me and we chatted and played some more Tavli while watching who-knows-what movie with you-know-who and that Greek actor, Then Theimame. Oh, actually, I do remember, it's the one where Sean Penn is an autistic father fighting to raise his child. Pretty good actually, though now that I remember it, I don't think Then made an appearance...

It gets pretty chilly up in the mountains at night, and I was surprised again at the Greek weather. The next day, we went to watch Mohos play Iraklion, apparently the number one and two ranked teams in the league, and the game was in Mohos. The field is awesome, carved right into the mountain with a great view backing it from the stands. The game was not even close, and the home team took the game 5-0, but it was still entertaining, if only for the new Greek I was learning from agitated spectators. Not the sort of stuff you see written on a blackboard.

I mentioned the cold, but midday, it was quite hot. I was wearing a sweater because the house was still cold, but on the field it must've been 28 Celsius. Beautiful! I did eventually decide that I should get some photos of the game just for fun, since the talent was skewed a little in one direction, and I wandered up to where some of the hardcore fans were sitting... on the old cliff that had been carved long before the new astroturf had been put down, not to mention the two-year old stands. It was definitely a soccer game in Greece, looking down on the field from the mountain amidst rocks, shrubs, and various degrees of evidence that goats grazed these same shrubs. That night we went down to Stalida, we were going to have dinner with Mina and Maria, but they had company they couldn't get rid of, so it turned out to be us. It was a nice dinner, and a beautiful night to drive back up - the moon was on the water and the lights of the coastal towns were lit brightly - so I got the photo which I'd wanted the prior night. My picture didn't turn out too well, but it's hard to snap a quick photo when you're sitting in a truck on a narrow road in the middle of the night. We tried, darn it!

Today, Sunday, I went down to the cafeneio with Ari and Yanni (their son) and sat there with them for awhile, and at one point, without asking, the priest took off in Ari's truck which didn't even make Ari blink and I thought it was amusing to just see him drive off. He was back very shortly after, and then we headed home, and Ari came down with me to pick some pomegranates off the tree to eat. Then we all sat around peeling them, and the priest came by again and stayed for awhile. Very nice guy, but I guess you'd expect that...

I had to get going at some point, even though I was unsuccessful at removing the virus from Maria's computer (with the internet connection completely disabled, no Windows disc, and everything in Greek, it was a long shot from the get go, but I really did try), so I said my goodbyes and left after lunch and the Karate Kid (man, I love that movie!).

Now I'm back in Hania, I have a week or less of class left, and then I'm probably heading back to Tripolis to visit and pick olives or whatever else but mostly to see the family before I hit the skies. Speaking of family, if someone doesn't mind telling Aunt Soula, I have pictures of everyone over here up for her.

<Mohos Photos>

Han-ia Feel the Love?

Oh, hello there! I didn't see you come in. It's been a long time and I'm pleased to report that though my internet presence is perhaps waning as I become busier (and ironically have less and less of interest to report) my offline persona is doing just great. I had a bit of a thinkathon and decided that since my primary reason for coming to Greece this year was to learn some more Greek (well, there was no 'some more' in the original mission statement but that might've been a little too ambitious) I should go with the school route. Looking into schools, it seems there are three places where one can educate themselves in a short time whilst here: Thessaloniki, Athens, and Hania. You may recall my fervent dislike of Athens and my recent experiences in Thessaloniki or you may not, but in any case, the decision was clear. Hania. I would be on an island, in a beautiful city, and learning Greek. Case closed. Work, if I could find it, great. If not, well, at least I was doing something productive.

That decision made, I talked to the two schools there and got things as sorted as possible from Tripolis. Then I discovered that my cousin, Dean Katsiris, who lives in Toronto and I've never met, was in the neighbourhood, and Uncle Ted and Kosta came in for dinner with him, the girls, Theodore and Maria, and myself. It was a nice dinner at the Chalet not far from the girls' place. Then, we hit the town. Very interesting to meet Dean, he reminds me a lot of my other cousin, Dean. Katsiris. In BC. That one. Actually, I suspected his existence about a year ago, when I discovered upon googling my name in a poll for Stupidest Person on Earth (see poll and results) and traced the name of the person who put my name up to Toronto. Since I don't know anyone in Toronto, I suspected there must either be a Dean Katsiris there or else one of my other cousins had a runin. In any case, George Bush was already in an overwhelming lead and I decided that while I was in the running he was not going to steal another election, so I asked some friends and well wishers to vote for me and the rest, as they say, is history. This is THAT Dean Katsiris.

Anyway, it was a little early, admittedly, so we went out to a cafe-bar and sat having a few drinks and watching Greece lose out to Denmark on its chance to get into the World Cup this year. Sofia AKA "Kinito Girl" came by and said she'd come out with us later, and somewhere in the evening, Lee's Yanni and a couple that I'd met once before joined us. We finally went out and went to the club where John & I had had such a great time when he was here. The owner seems to really love Niki (and who could blame him) and so we again got a reserved table given to us. Which we used for a spell until a few Thanos Petrelis songs (or maybe it was Polu Kala Lername) came on and then we danced.

The dancing was in full gear, the platters were spinning as were the lights, as they tend to do here, when ours snapped off. It was a bit of a shock to have the light come crashing down on the table, as you may have guessed from this photo which I coincidentally snapped just as it happened. Kelly's reaction = priceless. Anyway, the moral of the story is we had a great time. As always, Tripolis was great. I got to spend a little more time with the kids this time, I babysat Theo & Maria one afternoon (Theo & I finished the girls' 1000 piece puzzle and Maria & I watched Monsters Inc) and I also took Theo out for a game of Counterstrike which I think he enjoyed. And of course, more coffees with Kelly (I won't mention the tavli, don't worry Kelly), more Pacino movies and late night chats with Niki, and introducing Lee to Strongbad emails and going visiting with her and her friends. Not to mention dinners with Diane & George, another stay in the Horio, and all the other day to day stuff that, well, I did say "not to mention".

After that Sat night I caught a couple hours of sleep and the bus to Athens, then the 2:00 ferry to Hania from Pireaus, which made it there by around 7:00. After a bus ride from Souda to Hania, Siba & friends picked me up and drove me to where I'd be staying in Stalos, which was quite nice of them. Stalos, and particularly Pano Stalos, is a nice quiet area about 10 mins from Hania and quite well connected by overflowing busses. Though I'm not in any way a morning person, there is something nice about waking up early, walking down to the bus past vineyards and looking down at the sea and the foggy mountains, hopping on a bus, and then walking from the station to the schools to get stuff done. Even on a Monday morning.

It took a few days and some tests at both schools to see what my options were, but by Wednesday I was sitting in class with two fellow students, both retired, very nice people. Carlos is blind, or nearly I think, and that made things a little interesting, and Carrie is just an interesting woman in her own right. So interesting classes. I definitely am learning things and think that my own Greek school could've been so much better if only the teachers had at least used English to explain what we were doing and what things meant to a bunch of 6 year olds who didn't know how to answer the question "What is your name" and were supposed to be learning about passive/active voice, and so on. You know, that and if we weren't a bunch of 6 year olds who were ripped from our Saturday morning cartoons for four hours of hell that really put a lot of effort into NOT learning any more than necessary in that place.

So the school is good, and I've moved into Hania proper now with a little place that's right by the old harbour and amid the hubbub which I also like. The place itself isn't so great, but a very nice owner and a shower that consists, as many do in Europe, of a faucet dripping onto the bathroom floor. Mmm... cleansing. I've also befriended a few locals that are getting used to seeing my face. There's a cafe where I go a few times a week for a nice Greek salad and Coke (in a glass bottle) after school where I've gotten to know the owners and just this afternoon I went to a nearby beach with the owner's son. It's a nice place with an island that's swimming distance away even for this out of shape specimen, with some small and natural 1-2 m high 'cliffs' perfect for diving.

Also through Siba I've met some Germans working at the NATO base here, and I may go see a missle firing just for something different. OK, and because I'm kind of a geek, it's true. They're all very nice, and we've been over to Enrico's place (I know, doesn't sound German to me either) to watch movies and this past weekend we all went out to a bar in Platanias called the Rock Club or something like that. They have drums behind the bar which, on first glance, seems a neat idea, and then one of the workers starts drumming along to one of the songs and inserting really poorly timed fills (as in, finishing a whole BEAT too late) and then it gets annoying really fast. There was also a little bar dancing which I have some photos of but I'm afraid the girls got a little too out of hand for me to publically post those photos, put it that way.

Anyway, that's in no means comprehensive, but I think it's enough. I really like Hania a lot and am happy I came down here. There've been good moments and bad, as with anywhere (like, for example, Eurobank (those #$%*()#$%#(*!'s) holding my card hostage, or arguments about the meaning of 'skase') but it's really pretty, nice, and still lively. I have another week or two of study and then I may head to Rhodes or Egypt or something (after visiting my family in Crete a little more) before heading back to Tripolis and then back home, with a stopover in the UK first. Oh yes, that's right, I should be coming home Dec. 5. So you will soon be free of the blog. Soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sit in a cafe in the harbour and get some homework done...

<Tripolis & Hania Photos>

Home Away From Home

Last time on: Life of I. John had gone home, Dean was alone in Athens, and a baptism was imminent. Almost all of that has now changed. Yes, John is still at home, or at least in Saskatchewan, but Dean is now with his cousins in Tripolis once again and the baptism (as well as a wedding) are no longer imminent. The baptism, for my cousin's son, George, was nice. I somehow made my way by foot to St. Nicolas church (in the Koukaki area of Athens) and managed to have a much less traumatic experience than George, Diane, Niki, Lee, and Kelly, who hiked from the other side of the acropolis and were accosted less than delightfully in the markets (nothing serious, of course, or I wouldn't be so flippant). Little George did well, hardly crying at all until he was covered in oil, and who could blame him?

It was raining, so the day Trippers (aka the Tripolis Five aka the only other guests at the thing that I knew) skipped out on the reception, leaving me alone though Gus & Christina (& her father) made sure I wasn't abandoned. The reception was quite nice actually, good dinner, I met a guy named Gregory who'd been to Saskatoon and spoke some English, and his wife who hadn't and didn't but humoured my 'interprative Greek' very patiently. They invited me to dinner at their home on Saturday, though I was unable to attend, but very nice of them nonetheless. Then the Greek dancing started up and even little George was getting in on it, good times.

That night also happened to be the night of the European finals in basketball, pitting Greece against Germany. I didn't get to watch the game aside from the final minutes, where Greece confirmed its victory and all hell broke loose in Athens. It was wild. The streets went from empty as we left the hall to full of honking and yelling that could be heard across the city. Gus dropped me off at my hostel, and I quickly dropped off my valuables (except the camera) and grabbed the last metro train to Omonia. We had a bit of an adventure stopping in Syntagma Square, and I say "we" because I was joined there by hundreds of revellers heading to Omonia, where the party was. The train didn't move for five minutes, so we all got out, drums, airhorns, and all, and danced and chanted in the subway until the train was ready.

Omonia itself was crazy when I arrived, but got progressively crazier VERY quickly. I've never EVER seen so many people in one place, cheering and singing and I myself probably sung the Greek national anthem 10 times (one of the few cheers I actually knew beforehand). People had scaled the six storey high public art piece in the square, fireworks were being lit off, flares waved proudly along with flags, banners, and anything that looked remotely patriotic, firecrackers were exploding at peoples' feet, and in all directions car horns could just be made out over the roar of quiet moments. After an hour or two or that, however, it got a little tiring, so I walked back to my hostel (quite a distance) and the interesting part is that almost ALL THE WAY BACK it was lined with cars deadlocked on the road, filled with people singing and waving flags and honking. Unbelievable.

I left the next day to visit my family a little more extensively in Tripolis and the village and have pretty much been doing that since. I spent a night in the horio but it's a little different now that it's not summer and the girls are in the city. That said, Lee was there, I got to spend some time with Maria and her kids, finally see Kosta, and of course with Uncle Ted and Aunt Marina. Stephania has definitely earned her nickname, Tsunami, and little Marina (who just celbrated her first month here) is tiny and cute. As for Tripolis, well, I've gone out a few times with the girls, usually to hang out in the cafes Greek style (which means there's usually a small dose of backgammon involved - current score is Dean: 5, Kelly: 1 though I'm confident I'll lose that soon) and a lot of socialising. I regret not taking John shopping here, there are a lot of cool stores that I didn't see in Athens.

I also went on a grocery shopping binge with Kelly, it really is amazing how quickly food disappears around here! I tried to make my dad's famous baked apples, but I suppose I discovered there's a reason they're my dad's and a reason they're famous. I failed miserably. Well, they tasted OK, to be fair, but they weren't quite right in a lot of ways. Niki and I have been having a Pacino-athon of sorts, Theodore & I managed to finish a puzzle the girls had sitting under their couch for over a year (I'm told Larissa did much the same thing when she was here), and basically, I've just been hanging out with everyone. And I should also do my customary book recommendation for the week: John le Carre's Absolute Friends. But good things must surely end, and I'm off next week to figure out what I'm doing with my remaining couple months in Greece. I'm leaning increasingly towards language lessons, since my reason for coming to Greece was, in fact, to learn Greek and not get some small-time job, but that small-time job is also becoming a necessity as my bank account spirals ever closer to zero, so we'll see. Maybe I can do both somehow. We will see.

One other item of note was that I found out my Uncle Ted was Koubarro (godfather, of sorts) at a wedding and so this past Saturday we went up for it. It was easily the latest wedding I've ever been to (and could ever hope to attend). The wedding started at 8:30 before accounting for Greek time and the fact that the wedding before was also on Greek time, so we didn't really get things going until 9:30. The reception we arrived at just past 11 PM and we didn't get to eat dinner until after midnight. Not often you attend a wedding one day and the reception the next (with bride and groom still in full gear). Unfortunately, as a result of this lateness, the rain (on which our drivers are woefully over-cautious), and even by my standards an hour and a half trip, coupled with the kids getting sleepy and/or even falling asleep, we pretty much ate dinner (which was quite good!) and ran. It was a nice wedding, though, and even if we didn't get to party it up after, I'm still glad we went.

So that's where I am now. I'll be in Tripolis for another day or two before setting off for who knows where. I have a line on a job in Athens working in a hostel (a guy I met in Ios), I saw a lot of help wanted signs when I was in Ios last, I have a line on a language school in Crete (and a friend who's offered me a place to sleep if I do), as well as another friend travelling through the islands for a week or so. So the options are definitely on the table and I will probably investigate all of them.

<George's Christening Photos>
<Craziness in Omonia Photos>
<Wedding Photos>

Island Adventure

After a final day of what can only be referred to as slothenly delight in Tripolis, John & I departed for Athens, Pireaus, and our ferry to Ios. We went all the way to the airport to try to change his tickets (this is a big undertaking I assure you) only to discover the flights were full, or at least the woman at the Alitalia counter had 5 minutes until the end of her shift and was trying to get rid of us. So John was unable to change his flights and less than two weeks were left on the clock. We got on the overnight ferry to Ios and the adventure began.

We arrived before the sun in Ios, though it was close behind. I'd called ahead to Francesco's, a hostel I'd heard lots of good things about, and they were supposed to have a van waiting for us. They didn't. A guy from another hotel was there and friends with them so he took us. But we got to the hostel and the reception was closed. Since the other guy was so nice to us, and the price was about the same - 12 euro (plus we had our own room instead of a dorm and also a swimming pool). So we walked the direction we thought it was. Which led us past a woman insisting we not walk there and that it was a different direction, which then led us up to the top of the landmark hill of Ios. It was a little early for such a hike, but it gave us a great view of the town not to mention the sunrise, and also allowed us to spot the place we were looking for - Sunrise Hotel.

We met Julio and his sister Pamela from Mexico there again, we'd met them in the van from the harbour earlier, and John & I spent some time by the pool before I took off with them to Milopotas beach on their ATV. John just wanted a day by the pool so that worked out well. The beach was quiet, but there was a cool campsite (Far Out) where I would probably stay next time with lots of activities, and anyway it was quite a nice beach. We hit the town that night after some time in the hotel bar, which was quite cheap and a good time. Ios is definitely the party island it's reputed to be. There were a couple girls that John & I had to make efforts to extricate ourselves from, not as easy as it sounds, but there were no high speed chases involved. This time.

The next day I rented an ATV to explore the island and took John along for the ride. It was wholly underpowered (do NOT rent 50cc's for more than one person, ever) and took too long to get anywhere, but we made it somehow to Agios Nikolaus beach and did get to see a bit more of the island. Then we went to Harmony and had some Chimis (Clayton still makes the best ones) though we didn't really use the hammocks that make the place famous. We did, however, begin what would become a rather lively tournament of Backgammon (Tavli in Greek) that would carry through the islands and back to the mainland. I'm proud to say I won Ios. We went out again that night with a bunch of guys we met and had a great time once again.

We took the afternoon ferry to Santorini, spending the time up until then at the hotel pool. Sid, a guy we'd met the night prior, was there and we met a bunch of other people, but because I didn't give them my cell number with the Greek country code in front of it (30) we didn't cross paths with them again. Getting into the harbour, we were looking for Hostel Anna but unable to find it, however, the room renters were so hungry for full rooms that we were able to bargain them down to BELOW the cost for a bed in the hostel. For 6 Euro a night we had a private room with a pool and let me say, it was pretty sweet. We rented a car for 30 Euro and pretty much covered the entire island in our 2 night-3 day stay. We drove to Oia and had dinner and were heading to Fira when I realized I had again forgotten my glasses on the restaurant table. We turned around and got them but by then we decided to go to the room - we'd done more than enough partying in Ios and could use a break.

The next day we went to the famed black beach of Perissa and then went wine tasting at Boutari in Megalohori. We drove up to Pirgos on the mountain, which was covered in cloud at the top, and then went to Fira for dinner. John also picked up a backgammon set, and had a beer in a hammock overlooking the caldera (finally I got to have beer in a hammock!). We were going to go out in Fira, but it seemed largely dead and also old, though we knew it was still early. We thought we'd head down to Perissa and maybe find a better nightlife, but there was not much to be seen there either. We sat at a place called the Beach Bar and had another beer, but left shortly after to begin the battle for Santorini. John, it turns out, is very lucky on the old dice, and managed to come out on top despite my superior tactics. So we each had an island a piece. We left for Crete the next day, but we took a cruise in the morning to the volcanic centre of Santorini and the so called hot springs there, and also stopped at the red sand beach. All very nice, I was glad we were able to squeeze that in.

The hydrofoil got us to Irakleio, Crete in record time, and we took a cab to a nearby rental agency that was still open, and got a cheap car for our five days in Crete. 25 Euro, though I would at times lament its desperate lack of power. I had called my cousin Maria to see when it would be convenient for us to drop in, and she said tomorrow, so we went west first. We drove to Stalida and were unable to find a room, and doubled back to Hersonnisos still unable to find a hostel or room or place to stay. I should mention that by the time this was happening, it was around midnight, and we were tired having had a long day already. Eventually, we drove back to Irakleio and tried unsuccessfully for a LONG time to find the hostel listed - it turned out the road was under construction and was not an easy find even if it hadn't been. But, by the time we found it, reception was closed. It was 2 AM. In fact, everywhere was closed or full and both John & I were getting tired and cranky. So, we pulled the car into a place that looked decent enough to park, reclined the seats, and spent the night in our Renault. So the car, doubling as a hotel, was a great deal after all, if not the most comfortable sleep I've ever had.

After an hour in the Minoan ruins of Knossos, we spent the next day on the beach at Hersonnisos, a fun beach with lots of water sports (I tried the flying wing and it was great!) and young people. One of the better beaches we went to. Then we went up to visit Maria and Ari in Mohos and she had already included us in dinner plans. It had been about 8 years since I'd seen her, so it was good to catch up. They also insisted that we stay with them, after a terrific batch of Greek ribs, and we happily albeit reluctantly gave in. Ari, John and I went to town for a bit and sat in the caffeneio, and Maria & I watched the Ring 2 and played a little tavli, in which she taught me a few new things sure to aid me in claiming Crete for myself in our backgammon tournament. It really was a great day and I'm so happy we were able to spend some time with them.

The next morning we had to get underway, and we drove down to see Stathi and Irini, who were exactly as I remember them. It's funny how you don't realize sometimes how much you missed someone until you see them again. Such warm people. Eventually, though, we had to say goodbye, and took off for Hania. Somewhere en route we stopped at a small town to check out a fountain and had some rabbit for dinner. We got a room for three nights at 10 Euros and booked a hiking excursion to Samaria gorge (the longest gorge in Europe) leaving at 6 AM the next morning. So I grabbed a glass of wine to help me fall asleep and so ended another day in Crete. I also started listening to Good To Great, an audio book Dan gave me about what separates truly iconic and excellent companies from just good ones, and I found it to be really interesting. The author, Jim Collins, makes some of the worst analogies ever, often times even admitting to the stupidity of the analogy after having spent ten minutes making it, but this serves as entertainment between points of enlightenment, and it was definitely a worthwhile listen. We also played a little backgammon, at the end of which the score was 4-2 in favour of me.

5 AM came all to early but it always does. We got on the bus to Samaria and hiked the 13km rather quickly. We were supposed to meet at the Kri Kri cafe at the other end of the gorge at 4:30 and we were there by 12:30. Which took its toll on our knees and John's ankle, but it was beautiful and I'd do it again in a second. It begins with a rather steep descent and then a walk along the creek at the bottom of the gorge and also along a dried up riverbed that probably is just roaring in the spring. We had a nice salad and some greens, also yogurt and honey, and waited. Then we tired of waiting and went to the beach to wait. Finally, we left, ferried over to another town, and took the bus back to Hania. Our tour guide, Siba, was really cool and came back and chatted with us for a while. We found out she was going to the same beach that we were the next day, Elafonisos, and we exchanged numbers and decided to meet there.

As always, we took the slow, scenic route to the beach but made it there eventually, met up with Siba, and hung out. The beach really is as beautiful as it is purported to be, surrounded by reefs, with lots of little ponds and narrow sand bars connecting many separate and distinct beaches and little bits of pink sand washing up in the surf. Siba's tour left at three, but we joked that she'd see a yellow blur anyway and we'd beat her back to town. We stayed until five, but sure enough, driving back the proper way (she told us the road to take) we did pass her bus. We were going to meet her that night, but she wasn't feeling great, so we decided instead to go travelling with her the next day on her day off. John & I grabbed some seafood for his (and maybe my) last night on an island, he had swordfish and I had squid. We walked around the old Venetian quarter for a while and checked a club or two but there wasn't much going on. Again, a little more backgammon in which I won two more games, bringing it up to 6-2 and then John completely came back, at one point skunking me by rolling an impossible double-five after calculating that that was the only roll that would get him to have a piece on my lonely home row piece, and wound up victorious in Crete. It was a tough loss to swallow.

The time sure flew. Our last day on Crete we picked up Siba at her place, drove to Kourna lake, spent some time there, and then went to Rethymno where she showed us around and just hung out. We had a nice dinner, graciously bought by Johnny boy (though it wasn't really fair because I had my money out first!), strolled around the old town, and had to say goodbye to Siba who took the bus back to Hania as we drove to Irakleio to catch our ferry. She was a lot of fun and a great girl to hang around with, both John & I felt lucky to have met her.

And so my travels with John ended. The ferry was nice and had enough empty seats that both John & I were able to sprawl out across four of them and sleep soundly. We did a lot of shopping the next day near Syntagma and Monastiraki, and now I have a new pair of jeans, a couple shirts, and some new cologne that I bought on the street for 5 Euro (Armani's Night). We went out the last night, after, of course, some more backgammon in which I managed to skunk him and won myself the mainland 3-2, bringing our total properties to be tied. Then he & I walked to his bus, said goodbye, and I can only assume/hope he is now on a plane headed for Canada and probably fast asleep. Tomorrow, I have a christening to attend here in Athens and I'll probably spend a little more time with the family in Tripolis, and then it's time to look for a job. Judging by my initial inquiries, it looks like it'll be quite a feat to actually find one. Wish me luck!

<Ios & Santorini Photos>
<Crete Photos>

Peloponessian Odyssey

With one day trip to the Diros caves out of the way and only three days left to cover the Pelops and also get up to Delphi, we had to set sail on our three day Odyssey the next morning. It was to be a long trip back to Ithac... err... Argos to return to our beloved Penelop... err... our friendly rental car guy Tasos, but we had our maps and were ready to get underway. We didn't realize that a mob of scooters (some might call them suitors) were at that very moment tearing across Argos taking advantage of our absence. In a rather stretched way, our Odyssey was not so different than another undertaken a by a much more famous Greek.

We took off from Tripoli after some rice pudding, a stop at the bank for supplies, and some food in our bellies. Filled with the spirit of adventure, we took off on the old highway for Olympia. The road was winding, like Poseidon himself (who has been promoted and now manages land as well as sea travel) was bent against our travel, and the 100 or so kilometres stretched hours.

We stopped in Orhomenos because there was a sign saying there were some ruins and drove up the mountain to find an old theatre on the mountaintop. It was nice because we could actually touch and use the ruins and had them to ourselves with nobody blowing piercing whistles at John. Plus the view from there was really nice, it was like looking down from Greece and seeing Saskatchewan, farmland spread all over the valley. Hungry, we stopped in beautiful Levini and were rewarded with some nice lamb and delicious greens. We also passed a really impressive village called Langadia clinging to the side of the mountain (which I remember from prior travels) and stopped for some photos again.

Then, we travelled through a forest before arriving in Ancient Olympia. I think it was better set up for tourists since my last visit, probably for the Olympics, and I actually am glad I saw it again. Having paid our respects to Zeus and with Athena at our back (after all, we spent a night with her when John arrived), we overcame Poseidon and made it to Pyrgos for some food and Greek pastries in the main plateia. It was actually a nice city, what we saw of it. If nothing else, some food definitely hit the spot... even if it was Goody's (the Greek McDonalds, basically).

Then, off to Patra. We got down to the port and looked for a place to stay, finally finding a Pension that my Lonely Planet mentioned. However, they were complete jerks, which John assures me is a nice word for them. After a battle with the cycloptic woman at the till, from which we emerged victorious by asking if we could see the room that we were to pay 30 Euro for in low season, being told no, we can't, and walking out, we heard a strange music in the air (Calypso?). Walking towards it, we found a street wall-to-wall with people, and a Hotel Galaxy beckoning to us. We payed 10 Euro more to stay there, but we had been seduced by its siren song and great location, so we grabbed a room and were convinced to move our car from out of a back alley. The seductress convinced us to move our car in closer and closer until finally it was shipwrecked in a spot right down the street with the ruins of several other cars to keep it company. But strangely, we felt quite safe with our choice of parking spot.

Long hours of our journey (almost 8) were spent at that hotel, until finally we were able to escape the next morning at 11:00. To discover, as we attempted to flee, driving down the street, that there was a ticket on our window and our license plate holder on the windshield. A quick pullover revealed that we had been stripped of our plates and so we went to battle with the locust-like police. First, we stopped at a travel agency/tourist info place/oracle to gather information. It turns out that:

a) The fine was going to be 65 Euro.
b) Our adversaries had divided and we must first meet them in the post office (where we would pay the hefty cost of battle) and then at the police station where we would, the oracle prophesised, emerge victorious after some great and even more painful battle and a bit of misdirection.

As always, the oracle was correct. We made it to the post office, waited in line a long time, and finally paid our 65 Euro. That, incidentally, is a HEFTY cost for a parking ticket in a place where tonnes of people were parked anyway. Determined to keep our spirits up, we attempted to joke about the ordeal and even took photos. The moral boost saved the day and we won against the post office. However, even under torture, none would or could disclose the location of the secret police base, so we had to ask at a gas station. Finding it, I was called into the office of one of the officers to go head to head. Or so I thought. A translator was called, who notified me that I would not be able to drive my car for 20 years... errr... days unless I paid THREE TIMES the amount. In total, my friends, that comes close to 200 Euro. Needless to say, I yelled at someone for the second time on my trip. Obviously this was a trap designed to snare tourists (which we were) since leaving a rented car for twenty days is not an option, and I let them know I was unimpressed with being targetted thus. But, we were trapped. Worse, we had to go back to the post office to pay the rest of the money.

With directions to the nearest post office, we set off, moral at an all time low and our pictures seeming to mock us. The directions, in a cunning move by police, were in fact misdirections, and we were told after waiting in line again that we weren't able to pay there but had to find the main post office again. Finally, we found it, charged to the front of the line, and told the woman that obviously we needed our car today and would have to pay the rest. The terrible cost was paid, with my money laid on the counter as far as the eye could see, rivers running green with their blood, but the battle was won. A trip back to the police station and they were to devistated to fight and so gave us our plates, and we fled Patra after a LONG layover swearing never to return (unless we had to).

Saddened at the loss of so much money, we weren't in that great a mood even as we came up to the new Rio bridge connecting Pelops with Central Greece/Sterea Ellada, where we were carried safely over the sea to a pretty town called Nafpaktos. We ate lunch in a restaurant right beside the beach and our spirits slowly lifted. Deciding that even now we could still hear Patras' siren song, we determined to put more distance between us and not dwell there in the sun, but drove straight to Delphi.

The ruins there were very nice, as was the museum, and we checked it all out. This is where the oracle once was and three wars were fought over who controlled it before Roman times made it rather obsolete (since the oracle's control over Greek matters then moved to the Roman Senate). We continued our trek and arrived in Thebes/Thiva after dark and with one hotel full and the other too expensive. A big piece of souvlaki, some greek salad, and a phone call or two told us the trip should be three hours or so, bringing us home to Tripoli around 1 AM. However, with the new National Highway under our wheels, the music blaring from the iPod, and a lot of Coca Cola in our blood, we made the trip in under two hours getting in before midnight. We'd made it back home, but we still had one final ordeal - the scooters waiting in Argos.

So, we slept in Tripoli and went to tackle them the next day. We stopped for some of that world famous souvlaki in Miloi, spent an hour in Tolo on the beautiful beach there, and saw the Ancient Theatre in Epidauros (you can hear a coin dropped with perfect clarity from the very top - we tested it - that's how impressive the acoustics are at this site). Then, with a stop in the ancient capital of Nafplio, we tackled Argos. When we arrived, the scooters all were slain, or rather, parked and we were able to return our car, and, with a bus ride to Corinth and then Tripoli because there were no more busses direct to Tripoli that night, we got in, got cleaned up, and the nuptuals began with a night out at the club. It was a lot of fun at the one, and then we left to go to another one (where I'd made my zambetiko debut four years earlier) but it was so smoky that we had to leave. We sat and had, yup, more souvlaki and "megalo galaxia nero" which unforunately resulted in us getting just a little bottle of water, and came back home around 5:30.

And so ends our Odyssey. Soon, we're off to the islands and our next, but hopefully slightly more relaxed and less troubled, Odyssey.

<Pelops Photos>

John: Enter Stage Left

I left from Thessaloniki on Sept 3, having walked around, seen the white tower, got my cellphone's internet capabilities to work, and come up empty handed on finding Loukoumathes. Really, they're hard to find. The train ride from Thessaloniki to Athens is quite beautiful, and my new book, The Assassini, similar in style to Dan Brown's writings but written over 10 years, was constantly put on hold so I could enjoy the views. In my first act of cell phone usefulness, I managed to secure myself a spot at Athens Backpackers that night, a hostel about which I'd heard only good things, and indeed it was quite nice. It's right in Plaka, under the Acropolis, and has a rooftop bar with cheap drinks where you can sit and chat until 11 or so before going out. I met some cool people the first night and went out with them down the street.

The next day, I went to the airport to get John. I had planned this not realizing that even on the metro it's about an hour to get there and also 6 Euro each way. On top of that, the plan was that if we didn't meet up at the gate, we'd meet in front of the Enterprise office in the airport. They, however, don't HAVE an Enterprise office in the airport. Luckily, even though I waited for a long time at the gate and was contemplating the dreaded airport-page and thinking I'd missed him, he did walk out. Though I almost didn't recognize him anyway, what with all that facial hair he'd taken to calling a 'beard'. I can get away with saying this because he's still asleep as I write this.

We did some sightseeing in Athens, saw the Acropolis (again) which is ever changing, walked to the old parthenon below, the Temple of Apollo, searched (again) for Loukoumathes, and through the markets. Then we grabbed some dinner and hung out on the roof of the hostel again, where we met even more cool Aussies (there is no end to the coolness of people from this continent/country). Better still, my parents had sent John with, among other things (enough Dentyne to glue all of Manhattan to the sidewalks, some awesome but clothes from my sisters, etc), some nice Specklebelly's Pale Ale and Silver. We saved the Pale Ale for my family in Tripolis but brought out the Silver and celebrated my birthday properly. Good times! Not to mention a few promotional shots of Silver being enjoyed under the Acropolis.

The next day, we came by bus to Tripolis and Kelly and Lee met us at the bus station (brand new, by the way) where, after a taxi ride, we met up with everyone. It's so great to see them again! Maria and Kosta have really grown up, and Theodore looks like a slightly taller version of himself (same old Theodore, otherwise). Niki took about a day to get used to seeing with blond hair as well. We spent the day just chatting and catching up, and when I brought up our fruitless attempts at finding Loukoumathes, and after Diane had disappeared for a bit, Kosta came up to tell us that she'd actually gone and made up a bunch. These cousins of mine are out of control! I should mention they were delicious, made with some of George's brother's honey, and she even had cinnamon to sprinkle. This was AFTER they'd run out to get me a birthday cake and sing happy birthday, mind you, not to mention that she made cake and cookies for the next morning.

We checked out the horio (village) the next day, and spent some time with Uncle Ted, Aunt Marina, Maria, and her two (!) new children. Stephania is a bus-loving crazy nut, and completely blonde for the moment, though that's sure to change. She's very tall for only being 2 and also seems quite smart. Or maybe the word is crafty. The newest arrival, as yet unnamed, is tiny, given that she's not even two weeks old yet. How things can change in only 4 years (last time I was here, Maria & Kosta had just gotten married right before I left). Uncle Ted took us up the hill to look over the village, and then on the way down past their old school, John & I stopped at the caffeneio and had some nice cacao. Even the hot chocolate man in Finland can't top this stuff, really, it's that good. I ran into a few older guys I remembered from last time, like John, and also the woman who runs the caffeneio. Also, on the bus to the horio, we sat beside another distant relative, Lygeri, who knew me but I didn't know/remember her. Oops! Oh, and as for the picture, my uncle has a LOT of bunnies and so that's just for Mariah.

Finally, that night we rented a car for four days, and spent the next day travelling the looong way down to Kalamata and the Caves of Diros before coming back home on the other side of the finger, stopping for a nice meal and a swim in Gythio before heading back to Tripolis. We went out with the girls for Greek night, sitting in a lounge and then taking off for one of the clubs. I think John was secretly relieved we didn't stay long enough for them to start playing Zambetiko music, but who knows.

Today, we're off for a two day trek across the Pelops, up to Sterea Ellatha to Delphi, and then back down to Nauplion, stopping at Milous for what is probably the best souvlaki in the world, and then returning our rental car and heading for the islands (with that one last night in Tripolis with the girls - there's some sort of party going on and they don't have to work on Sunday, so it should be fun). But, we should get going. John just woke up and we have a lot of driving ahead of us.

<Athens/Tripolis Photos>
<Cave Trip Photos>

Last Stop: Greece

Wow, so long since an update, where to begin. Probably where I left off is as good a place as any. I will attempt (and doubtless fail) to be brief. When we left last time, I was heading off to Pompeii. Additionally, I climbed up Mt. Vesuvius in time to catch the worst of the midday smog over Naples (though the crater itself was quite cool) and also checked out Herculaneum. For anyone visiting, I'd say that seeing Herculaneum is a better way to go than Pompeii, unless you have a deep historical interest or just want to say you've been to Pompeii. It's more compact but has many of the same features found in Pompeii, and I think it better preserved as well. Pompeii is truly impressive in the scope of the remains, but it's also overwhelming. Perhaps if I'd not attempted all three in one day, but I think it was too much anyway. Vesuvius, for the record, was quite cool to see as far as looking into the crater and at the mountains silhoutted in cool blue fog, but earlier in the morning would probably be a better bet.

I was intending to also check out Naples that evening, but a serious lack of energy and the admission from even locals that there wasn't much to see dissuaded me. Instead, I caught a much overdue shower and a little downtime. Someone ran and ordered pizza and delivered it back to the hostel, so we just sat on the patio chatting. Very nice.

The next morning, I was off to Greece via ferry from Bari to Corfu. I got up nice and early (for no real reason in retrospect) and caught the 8:35 to Casserta where I'd switch to get to Bari. I ended up waiting there for a couple hours anyway, but did finish Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time. Which got me thinking about some metaphysics and writing down thoughts as though I knew what I was talking about. And it sure made me feel smart. Until, that is, I realized that my pouch where I keep my passport and backups of other documents was open and said documents were nowhere to be found. After a brief moment of panic/searching my immediate locality, I remembered I'd left them in the safe back at the hostel. Bear in mind this was all minutes before the train I was due to catch arrived. Could they courier it to Bari for me? Would I miss my boat? Could I use my existing train tickets?

As I pondered these, I missed my train, which I knew was probably inevitable. So, back to Naples, pick up my stuff, and then do it all over again. I made it to Bari the second time with no further complications (that I'm aware of) and despairing for something to do, started reading Seabiscuit, which turned out to become quite riveting and interesting. I'll have to watch that movie after all. After grabbing a quick gelati, which would be my second and also last in Italy, I hopped the bus, got a cheap deck class ticket, and hopped aboard the overnight to Corfu.

Sleep was not to come easily however. Largely because there was a rather creepy and disheveled-but-trying-not-to-look-it man behind me who, everytime I looked back, was looking at me. One time when he wasn't, it was because he was examining a knife. Having heard plenty of stories of backpacks being sliced and emptied of their contents as the unsuspecting backpacker sleeps, I was having none of this. I proposed to make myself the most alert and awake looking traveller on the bus, tapping my foot, bopping my head, reading my book with as much gusto as could possibly be aroused for a book reading, even as what few other deck passengers remained tucked into their sleeping bags. I'd tried earlier to join forces with a German couple to keep a watch, but the language barrier had thwarted me. He later moved, for no apparent reason, from two seats behind me to two seats behind the German couple as they tucked into their sleeping bags for the night. I then packed my stuff and left as though I actually DID have a room and snuck back to the lower deck where I was later joined with by a few other backpackers and night owls who would make up my watch.

Whether it was paranoia or justified, I don't know. I never heard from or saw the Germans again. But in any case I awoke an hour early to the sunrise thinking I had until 7 before departure and forgetting entirely about the time change. So I quickly had to throw my stuff together when I discovered we were arrived in Corfu, and get off the ferry. Where I was packed on the bus for the Pink Palace, place of legend, backpackers' paradise, and so forth.

There's not much to actually say about my stay there in spite of it. We arrived tired, and I was roomed with a Canadian and Aussie I'd met on the bus, and finally managed to convince them that we had to hit the booze cruise (d'oh, didn't bring my camera), which itself is legendary outside the Palace. The cruise was a good time, though it was to be our first indication of how the numbers had dropped off at the Palace in the weaning hours of August. We jumped from a 15-20m high rock outcropping (with some trepidation, I'll admit), we did a smaller jump in the cave, swam in the cave, went to a supposed monastery, and boated to a private beach for a spell. Not to mention the somewhat crazy antics of fellow passengers. We were all tired from our ferry and big day, not to mention the sun (and a little biere), so we thought we'd get a nap before dinner. Apparently, I was awakened and had a conversation where, when asked what I was doing for the evening, I answered "the beach". In any case, all I really did was sleep until 2:30 AM, read until 4, and then sleep until 8. Much needed.

The next day was a beach day, which itself was quite deserted, and then a tasty dinner followed by going out (no naps allowed). The Palace was deserted, really. I was invited to go into town with some others, and probably should've, but didn't. So it was a fairly tame evening. I learned the next day when I left in the morning, that the current population had dwindled from 1000s to 91 people. Yikes! Then, bus to Corfu town, ferry to Igoumenitsa, and bus to Kalmbaka. I got a room at Hotel Astoria for probably too much money after another long day of travel and grabbed dinner at the local cafeneio, which had TERRIFIC souvlaki. So all was not lost. I finished Sea Biscuit that day as well, and can also recommend that book (I don't recommend Brief History of Time for the layman, though otherwise it seems I've recommended every book I've finished).

Up early again the next morning to explore Meteora. I got the wr