Headed South: Zorba Ain't Dancing Anymore

Things That Are Peculiar to Greece

First, our apologies on the lateness of this blog post. We have no reasonable explanation. OK. Let's just get right down to it and discuss the oddities of our latest trip. We had prepared meticulously for our travels but, once again, events tended to overtake us. Here were some of the challenges:
1) That alphabet that looks so charming hanging on signs at Frat Houses is a disaster when you are trying to read road signs;
2) Compounding that is the fact that every town has three different spellings of its name (i.e. Napflion, Napflio, Nafoli) and it appears that there are at least three towns named the exact same thing but in widely varying parts of the country. This is not a good thing for the GPS;
3) The Greeks may be somehow related to the Chinese because even when they are happily chatting with their neighbors (we think) they sound mad as hell. This set us on edge in China as well;
4) They all seem to eat the same things. They are GOOD things but there appears to be no regional (and forget international) cuisine;
5) They drive like they run their country -- enough said.
6) In general they are not a happy people due to Roman, Ottoman and Nazi occupations followed by years of home grown mismanagement and corruption. There is little dancing and plate breaking.

Having issued these caveats I hasten to add that we had a marvelous time and will try to hit the highlights while not issuing a blog version of the dreaded vacation slide show.

Flying the Hostile Skies

We met up with our sons in Boston and visited with friends and family for a few days. We had booked a package deal (air/hotel) for the Greek Islands portion of the trip. We were flying Air Canada (those Canadians are so nice) on the way out. However, they failed to relay some info to us. It was not REALLY Air Canada but their cut rate version called Rouge -- which is awfully close to Rogue. In an industry that seems to compete on horrid service Rouge set new heights. The seats were about 11" wide, the food was not only inedible but also unidentifiable, and there was no entertainment on an 8 hour flight. Well, there was entertainment if you had downloaded the app to connect before you got on the plane (no one told you) or you could pay $10 to "borrow" an iPad. When we met up with the rest of the family in Greece (most of whom had flown business or first class) everyone had an airline horror story to tell. Our conclusion was that the entire flying public should go on strike for a month or two and refuse to fly until "amenities" (like a seat of your own) are re-instituted. Let's get a petition going out there!

The Greek Isles -- Sigh.....

They are beautiful. See, a positive statement in what was devolving into an awfully whiny blog. We flew into Santorini and spent three days there. Within a half hour of adventuring in our rented auto we had (of course) managed to go horribly astray and found ourselves on a tiny, dirt, single lane road which culminated in a cliff (phobia #1). It was a very small car with four large people and the slant was downhill to the cliff. As Michael tried to back up (stick shifts take some refresher time) we rolled relentlessly forward towards the precipice. Alex, Justin and I bailed out leaving Michael to the task at hand. We survived but the map was taken out of Alex's hands. Back on the road once more we headed for the Caldera which was formed when a gigantic volcanic explosion occurred. I mean this thing is BIG and DEEP (more #1). But we couldn't see it at first because when we got to it there were clouds wafting up and out of it. I mean we were above them. Not knowing any better we thought that was normal. It's not. We met a tour guide who had been to Santorini a zillion times and she had never seen it. Photos to follow.

The clouds wafting above the caldera of Santorini.

This shows the Caldera of Santorini with the islands of Nea Kameni and Therasia peaking above the clouds.

Here you see the cliffs in the foreground with the clouds creeping up the sides.

Here is Therasia on most days with no clouds in the caldera.

The white patches are houses perched on the cliffs.

I never realized that Santorini is known for its wine. I always just pictured old fishermen swilling disgusting retsina and going slowly blind. But NO, the wine is really good. The white Assyrtiko in particular. And here's another interesting thing. They don't grow the vines the way they do in the rest of Europe or the States. We'd be driving along and see like a low clump of vines separated from one another. They train the vines into a low basket shape and then get the grapes to grow within the basket. Doing this protects them from the wind (quite windy there) and allows the grapes to capture and hold onto the dew (really arid there). Works like a charm. And you thought you never learned anything useful reading this blog.

In the background behind the Greek Orthodox church is a vineyard with the grapevines growing in the basket shape.

In Santorini we visited Akrotiri which is an archeological site. It was an outpost of the Minoan culture and was covered by ashes from a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago -- long before Pompeii. The Minoans were very successful traders, matriarchal and peaceful (that's what matriarchy does for you). Their peak period was about 2,000 BC and when you see the sophistication of the ruins it is quite something. On this trip we walked through time. First the Minoans, then the Myceneans, then Ancient and Classical Greece and finally the Romans. You might want to google the Minoans. They were pretty impressive.

A scale model of the excavated Minoan settlement from the fifth millennium B.C.

The whole excavation was covered to protect it. We were very grateful since the temperature was close to 100 degrees outside.

Some of the pottery that was excavated.

The settlement was well preserved because it was covered in volcanic ash (just like Pompei) when a volcanic eruption occurred in the 16th century B.C.

We did all the normal Santorini things. Sunset over the Caldera eating terrific food and celebrating son #1's (Justin's) birthday. Inching our way over pebbly black beaches (think volcanic) that heat to an egg boiling degree.... etc. And then it was off to Mykonos.

The plaza in front of the church in Oia.

Bell towers were an important part of many of the churches.

And they took many different forms.

Looking back over the town of Oia with the steep cliffs on the right in the background.

This individual dressed in his Greek outfit was soliciting business for a restaurant. We don't think he was REALLY happy.

Deirdre & Justin resting in Fira.

A cable car brought tourists from the cruise ships up to the town of Fira.

A view of the town of Fira with the classic Greek island architecture and colors.

Alex upon his return from hiking to the point in the background. He was far more ambitious than the rest of us.

We took the ferry to Mykonos. Now THAT is a sideshow. These ferries are really big and you have a zillion people crowding on with their luggage, children, snowmobiles, whatever. You just stow your luggage on the deck and leave it there and hope it is there when you return. Which it was. Which was good.

Mykonos was very different from Santorini. Not so mountainous, white sand beaches, and way too many cruise ships. We timed our forays into town to minimize cruise ship encounters (phobia #3) and were largely successful. Here we went to Delos (thrived from about 1000BC through Roman times). It started out as the religious center of Greece but also became a valuable trading center over the centuries. We went on a tour that was WAY too long. And there is always that guy. We have been to sites all over Europe, Asia and Central America and there is one common thread. There is always the guy (and it's always a GUY) who asks the tour guide, "So, what were their toilets like? Did they really have slaves sit on them to warm them up in the winter?" The guy on this tour had an inexhaustible number of follow up questions. I am not kidding. Freud would have a field day. We survived the tour and returned to the mainland in time to go to dinner and celebrate son #2's (Alex's) birthday. Much fun.

A windsurfer on Mikonos sailing past the rocks.

One of the many cruise ships to dock in Mikonos during our stay.

Ruins on Delos, an island off Mikonos. This is one of the most important mythological, historical and archeological sites in Greece.

Delos was inhabited from the third millennium B.C. and was a holy sanctuary.

It was amazing that the color on these walls was still visible after all this time.

Some of the mosaic floors were also well preserved.

This lion, one of many, shows obvious signs of wear from the elements....

as does this sculpture as well. WHAT were they thinking? Enough said.

It is astounding that these sculptures have survived the elements for all these years.

All that remains here is the entrance to this temple.

This area of Mikonos is known as the Venice of Mikonos, as the buildings are right on the water.

No picture of Mikonos would be complete without its famous windmills.

A Mikonos sunset as the sailboat passes.

This monastery church on Mikonos was quite ornate.

Complete with ikons...

a very ornate chair...

and the painted figure of Christ on the ceiling of the cupola.

Cats were a common theme throughout all of Greece. This cat went from relaxed...

to up the tree in a split second.

Typical Mikonos hand made ware for the tourist trade.

And another Greek Orthodox church with bell towers.

Onward to Athens

Another ferry where nobody stole our luggage. We were on a roll. We expected to see flotillas of refugees bobbing about to all sides of the ferry but in our entire time in Greece we never saw ONE refugee. Our ferry went into Rafina and it appears that all the refugees were going into Pireaus. As if the Greeks don't have problems enough, the refugee thing is just insane. Greece is supposed to record (i.e document and finger print) all refugees entering since they are the first EU country they hit. So far, hundreds of thousands have fled and most have come through Greece. It appears that the Greeks have SIX men in charge at Piraeus. They have managed to finger print about 5,000 refugees and those were paper prints -- not electronic. The Greeks, in an unusual display of efficiency however, have managed to move the refugees straight through on ferries and buses up to the frontiers. When those fences finally get finished all those folks may well be pushed back into Greece. Won't be pretty.

Well, let's just go right into the whole economic thing while we are at it. At first, particularly in the islands, you would have no idea how bad off this country is. When you hit the mainland you begin to see it. In Athens we did all the tourist things and you didn't see any direct economic impact. There were some Roma working the crowd but that is usual in Europe. People we met however said that in the rougher parts of Athens homelessness is growing and hunger is not uncommon. When we got to the "country" you began to see many, many empty storefronts and many men of working age sitting sipping coffee or just talking. Entire sea side towns seemed to be empty in the areas where middle class Greeks would typically have been. More on the elections and politics when we hit Marathon and recount our chats with the guy who rented us our house.

Athens is probably a 2 or 3 day city but we only had one and a half so we only hit the Acropolis and the New Acropolis Museum-- both of which were fantastic. Then it was time to drop Justin and Alex at the airport for their return to the U.S. and for us to pick up the rental car for Phase II of the vacation. Stay tuned.