Spain & Greece 2000
We arrived in Athens in a fresh set of clothes, and were immediately struck by the sheer size of this city, and the amount of traffic and pollution. Seemed kind of disappointing, until you start noticing these amazing historical monuments and structures smack dab in the middle of the city. Our hotel room is nothing fantastic, but it is central to the sights, and has a nice view.
The view of the Acropolis from our hotel room
X&Y have been to Greece before and play tour guides, leading us around to the main archaeological sites of Greece. Everything is close enough that we can walk from one historical site to another.
One of our first sights is Hadrian's gate, it is typical of Athens, on one side is a bustling city full of traffic and noise, on the other side is a garden area and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
After winding through the Plaka (hillside market style shopping area) we end up atop the Acropolis, the flattened mountaintop area where the famous
Parthenon stands. This is also the location where we start to learn more about our traveling companions. As I mentioned earlier they have been here before,
so X decides that she will wait outside the archeological area rather than pay the $5. You kind of feel the pressure that she is waiting for you. That feeling would end...
Also located atop the Acropolis is the Erechtheum temple with it's amazing carvings.
It is scorching hot up here, but you quickly forget that when you start imagining how these amazing structures where used in the peak of the Greek empire. This section of the structure is know as the balcony of maidens.
From here we work our way down to the side of the Acropolis opposite the Plaka, and find another Archeological area,
this one is even cheaper than access to the Acropolis, but this time both X&Y are too cheap to pay the fee.
Once inside the gates Norine and I decide we aren't going to be rushed through this once-in-a-lifetime exposure to history.
The first site we notice is a large box turtle just wandering through the underbrush, fascinating watching him in this ancient place.
We wander into the theater of Dionysus, one of the first amphitheaters ever built, dating before 4th century BC.
We see all kinds of historic monuments with unique names such as the Odeon of Pericles, Sanctuary of Asclepius (a healing temple), and a small hermit cave filled with religious photos and artifacts. The whole time thinking, "I'm not going to feel rushed", so we take our time to appreciate them.
After wandering around the lower area of the Acropolis, we found X&Y waiting out front. We excitedly told them how much money they saved. From there we moved into another area know as the Agora, it was the commercial center of ancient Greece, and is a combination of ruins and smaller structures.
That night we went to a unique restaurant recommended by X&Y, it was on the upper floor in the Plaka and consisted of small appetizer plates that were shared amongst the table. It was a great opportunity to sample a lot of different types of Greek food. As the meal wrapped up and the bill arrived, once again X was trying to make sure she didn't pay anything more than they ate, and was quite angry that Y would drink so much wine. As usual, we had to cover the bulk of a tip, at least it was a good dinner.
Meals in Greece also started another hilarious quirk of X, in Greece Feta cheese isn't ground up and sprinkled on your food, a slab of cheese is placed on top. The first meal started the repeated phrase "this Feta is too goaty"... it became a running joke as the trip continued.
The next day as we are wandering around, I am struck by the sheer number of churches in Athens, all different kinds, all different styles, all very prominent and unique, they are everywhere.
A unique site today is the oddball routine and outfits of the changing of the guard. It all takes place in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier. Having witnessed the goose stepping, clog and tight wearing guard routine, we continue on to other historic sites.
No sight in Athens is more influential than the Kallimarmaro Stadium, where the first modern Olympic games took place in 1896.
One of the most memorable sights of Athens was the view when we climbed Lycabettus Hill (Likavitos).
You look out on the entire city of Athens, and as far as you can see in every direction is city... pock-marked with famous historical landmarks.
Seeming to punctuate how significant this was, the sun broke through the clouds and rays of sunlight highlighted one of the oldest cities in the world.
ZAKYNTHOS
On Monday we traveled to Zakynthos. Everybody knows Santorini, well Zakynthos is the polar opposite of Santorini. it is located on the west side of Mainland Greece instead of the East, and unlike Santorini's moonlike quality, Zakynthos is green and lush with Olive trees and vegetation. Being lesser known it is also not the tourist trap full of shops and souvenirs.
When we arrive it's a bit of a taxi ride to get to our place, X&Y have booked a couple of small apartments, it turns out they are more like a townhouse. The owner gives us each our keys and we discover that our place has a large kitchen area, and X&Y's place doesn't, yet the price is the same. No problem, we are right next door to each other, and we welcome them to put stuff in the fridge and use the kitchen as much as they want. This did not sit well with X, she was very bitter.
The places were nice, and had a small back area with a trail leading down to the beach, but we were a bit out of town, so we took a long walk and rented a couple of moped's to get around the island.
That night we discovered we had a few room mates, a very active Gecko that we were happy to have around to eat bugs,
and a little black kitten that adopted us. It would hang around our balcony, and happily curl up with us, obviously starving for attention, and happy for any treats.
After another couple of meals were everything but the calculator was pulled out to make sure that the bills were right,
it was nice to go do a boat tour where we wouldn't have to worry about covering somebody else's tip.
The tour covered a lot of the coastline of Zakynthos, including the famous shipwreck beach and the Blue Caves.
The trip took a drastic turn this afternoon. We rode our mopeds out to the end of the island, overlooking Shipwreck beach.
An amazing viewpoint, and a couple of interesting stops along the way, including locals selling their handicrafts.
On the way back along the winding round, I rounded the corner to find X&Y sprawled on the road, their moped is laying on it's side and traffic is stopped in both directions. He didn't have as much experience on bikes as I did, apparently they were traveling a little fast around a corner, and panicked, applying only the rear brakes causing them to do a tail slide. A terrifying scene to come across, I moved their bike off the road, and we helped them to the side. Y was the worst for wear with some nasty road rash on his leg and shoulder, the road completely scrubbed his watch face off, his flesh must have protected X from scraping the ground as she had only a few scrapes. Nervously, after recovering from shock a bit, we got them back on the bikes and rode to a nearby pharmacy where we could get some cleanser and bandages. Luckily that's all that was needed, it could have been much worse, much much worse.
Maybe tied to the previous days events, or me finally losing my patience, breakfast was a new low in cheapness. We rode into the small town area for breakfast, and ordered a selection of items. I ordered some toast with mine, and X&Y were sharing some bread. In Greece most places will give you free bread, but charge you a small fee for butter, 25-50 cents, whatever. A couple jam packets are put on the table, and X&Y say that comes with their bread, it's not for my toast. When they are all finished, there is a dab of jam in one packet... "here do you want this?". I was already finished my %#*$#@ dry toast. This was the last meal where we argued over the bill, from that point forward, Norine or I would ask for separate bills. At least during breakfast we didn't hear about how "goaty" the cheese was.
After thinking about it for a while, and blaming the moped for their accident, X&Y decide to return their bike, and hangout at the beach by our apartments. Might have been one of the positives that came out of a bad situation. Norine and I could go explore on our moped, and not have to worry about the concerns of our spend-thrift and bickering traveling companions. We feel bad about their scare, but we do travel very well when it's just the two of us.
We jump on our scooter and start exploring, we know there is a few places worth checking out, and end up lost in a small village looking for a famous church.
Luckily we run into a couple of old men, so we can ask for help. Turns out we speak no Greek, they speak no English... so we try using hand symbols... making a cross, hands in prayer.
Finally one of the locales gets a young kid to come, and tell us where it is, and then he tells us that his Grandpa would like us to come for dinner.
How cool is that? We would have taken advantage of this unique opportunity if we didn't have someone waiting for us, that had no idea where we were... too bad. But cool none the less.
We meet another old guy who has a sweet old mule named Marila, and for a small token he lets us sit on his mule for a photo, only in Greece.
After exploring the island, our final stop before heading back to our wounded companions was a bar at the top of the hill,
with an amazing view of the town and the setting sun, our final memory of Zakynthos.
ATHENS again...
We leave Zakynthos and stop in Athens again before heading to Santorini. Since we had already wandered most of the historical sights in the city, and there was no way X&Y were going to pay to enter an exhibit again, we decided to do an excursion. We took a bus trip to the historic site of Delphi.
Delphi is the archaeological location of the Temple of Apollo, it is considered very sacred as it was the site of the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo.
Delphi was revered throughout the Greek world as the site of the omphalos stone, the centre of the earth and the universe. Very moving being in this significantly historical spot.
SANTORINI
After a brief visit in Athens again, we fly to the classic Greek island of Santorini. Santorini is basically the remnants of an exploded volcano, the island itself is the outer rim that remains after an eruption occurred between about 1650 and 1600 BC. We find a cute little Pension outside of the city of Fira, it has it's own pool, and very helpful and friendly hosts.
Santorini is the postcard picture that everyone has in their mind of Greece, the whitewashed houses stacked together on the cliffside,
and we see lots of that. It's also the tourist capital of Greece, so high end Cruiseline stores and tourist shops are also the norm. This is the Greece that X&Y like.
Our first full day we decide to do a couple adventures, the first one is a visit to the Archeological site of Akrotiri. Akrotiri is a long lost city from the 4th Millennium BC that was covered much like Pompeii when the Santorini Volcano erupted some 3600 years ago. The recovery and dig is under a modern roof structure, meant to protect the site. It collapsed just prior to its completion in 2005, killing one visitor. As a result of this, the site is currently closed to visitors, lucky thing we were long gone by then.
After the tour of Akrotiri we board a tall-ship for a boat ride around the island of Santorini and a visit to the smaller island of Therasia. It's a beautiful old ship, and it's awesome to see the cliff hanging villages of Santorini from a new perspective. Partway through the day, we anchor outside a natural mudbath hotspring. Simply dive off the boat and swim over to the little harbour, X&Y didn't want to do it, so Norine and I swam over. You could feel the water temperature steadily increase the closer you got. Once there it was a silty smooth mud, and we frolicked in it, spreading it all over us, as it was supposed to be good for your skin and health. It seemed like a much longer swim back to the boat, especially as the water got cooler and cooler the closer we got, but the swim was well worth it.
Once we were at Therasia, there was a small village near the dock and a trail that zig-zagged up the hill to a windmill, and what we thought would be more sights. We hiked up the hill, Y had to bow out halfway because of the steep climb. Once we got to the top it was a bit of a disappointment as there was nothing there, so we hiked back down. Luckily we got back down just in time to meet another greek old-timer, with his two mules delivering his wares, classic Greece transportation. We got back on our ship and sailed back to Santorini, and were dropped at a small dock at the bottom of the Caldera. We could hike up to the town, but we paid to ride Donkeys up the winding Caldera trail, what a blast!
That night we had dinner in town in a nice Greek restaurant, but it took a bit of hunting to find one that had Greek Salad for 50 cents cheaper than the others, per X's complaints of pricing.
After finally finding the cheapest Greek Salad, we ate our Souvlaki, heard about how "goaty" the cheese was, and watched the sun set over the rim of Santorini. I'll spare you the 32 other sunset pictures I took.
The next morning Norine and I decided we needed to explore, we left X&Y behind at the crowded beach, and rented a Moped to go tour around the Island.
We didn't know where we were going, but we saw some of the most amazing things... historic windmills, a monastery nestled into the side of a cliff,
and down the end of dirt road we found an amazing surprise, a little spot known as Red Beach. Our only hint to it's existence is a small worn trail, a couple parked cars, and a roughly translated sign...
"Remain the place you love clean please put the uninanted items in the parking area where special place is"
We lock up our moped and wander down the trail, when we round the corner we are awestruck at this amazing beach, and unlike the crowded beach where we left X&Y, there is only 3 other people at this beach. There is already beach chairs here, and a man come along to collect a hundred Drachmas for using them (340 Drachmas = 1 Euro). Well worth the price, we go for a swim, and sit in the sun to dry off, when and old Greek man comes by with a basket... Fresh Grapes and fruit from his garden, a bottle of wine, some "non-goaty" Feta cheese. Another couple hundred Drachmas and we had an amazing afternoon with a rented beach chair and picnic lunch for under 1 Euro. We chat with him about his home, and our home... it is a day we will not forget.
After a great afternoon at the beach we get back on our moped and tour around the island some more, meeting more of the locales,
and eventually head back to our Pension for our final night. the owner of the pension brings up a bottle of his home-made Retsina wine for our last night.
Retsina is famous for being terrible tasting... after being plundered by so many armies, the Greeks added Pine resin to the wine, so the Romans/Germans wouldn't like it, and leave it behind.
It was a struggle to finish 1 small glass of his generous gift, but what a nice gesture.
MYKONOS
The next morning we take the high speed Hydro-Foil to Mykonos. It's an interesting experience flying above the sea at speeds up to 44 knots. After bouncing our way across a somewhat rough sea we arrive into the picturesque harbour of Mykonos.
We are greeted after getting off the boat by locals trying to have us stay in their places, they have books with pictures and a variety of prices... we select one that looks unique. Our host drives us up the hill overlooking the harbour and we unload into our rooms, rooms straight out of "The Flinstones". The buildings are whitewashed and made of Rocks and plaster, and the beds look like they are carved from white stone with large boulders protruding, hard to imagine, but very very cool. The location os perfect, and just a short walk down into the main town.
The unique aspect of Mykonos is the layout of the city, it consists of winding narrow walkways, all seemingly identical, and leading in different directions. If you found somewhere you liked, the chances you will get back to the same spot the same way are slim. This has been intentionally done to foil the pirates that would come into the city to plunder. This makes it really interesting as X keeps trying to find the restaurant that can save her 50 cents on a salad. It seems whatever restaurant we decide on, the Feta will still be "too goaty".
Norine and I explore more of the island on a moped again, leaving X&Y behind, and discover unique elements to the island.
It seems that Mykonos will be the island of animals, our neighbors have a Mule that always hangs over the wall to chat as we walk by.
We discover a monastery and spend part of the afternoon in the shade playing with a family of kittens.
The most unique mascot of Mykonos is Petros the pelican, he is a local bird that has become a celebrity of the town since the original Petros was rescued in 1958.
The new Petro has free reign over the city, and you often bump into him near the waterfront area, or in the narrow walkways around the town.
He knows when the fisherman come in, and hangs out by the fish market waiting for the regular handouts from the tourists and fishermen.
We run across another farm full of goats, when I take a picture of 1 goat, they all come over to be in the shot.
The sights we see throughout Greece are unique, the history, the wildlife, but none is more impactful than the locals,
who in the middle of tourist season, just live their life like they always did, loading their mules up with fruit and flowers,
and heading into the markets to sell their wares. This is the part of traveling that I appreciate, seeing the real culture of a country, not the tourist shop.
Our original plans had been to travel to some other islands, explore the archeological sites on the sacred island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo Artemis, but due to high winds and rough seas, the Weather has forced the ports to be closed... no Delos, no other Islands, in fact, we aren't even sure we can get back to Athens for our flight home. Luckily our travel insurance covered our boat cancellation, and we booked a flight back to Athens the next day.
Since our boating plans were cancelled, instead of being Archeologists, we became beach bums, and spent our last day at a beautiful beach on Mykonos.
Due to the high winds it was a little cool, but I could think of a lot of worse ways to spend a day.
We flew back to Athens, and X&Y pulled another fast one. They jumped in a cab and got to the hotel before us, booking a double room for the night. Since they were there first they grabbed a large spacious room, and said "This is your room"... the room was only a few inches larger than the bed. We had to close the door to get in bed. Even though it was written on the door that the rates for the 2 rooms were different, they said we had to split the cost. Maybe they were bitter we got the kitchen in Zakynthos, but regardless, it was not a positive way to end the trip, and after all the events of the trip, the friendship was never the same after the journey home.
Spain and Greece are amazing, the history, the culture, the people, the food, be sure to travel there... but, the moral of the story is, don't travel with cheapskates and whiners. You should always travel with people that have come to enjoy themselves, see the real countries,
and have a good time, not people trying to save 50 cents on a salad.