Yes, another note about Greece: but even if you read no further, I hope that this message gets taken away if nothing else does: (1) if you haven’t before, go to the Greek islands; (2) give yourself ample time to do an urban detox, and keep your plans open-ended so you don’t feel you’re operating under a deadline, and (3) go with friends, and perhaps even friends of theirs, and enjoy the opportunity to widen and deepen your relationships.
I’m really going to make this the last bit I write about Greece, as I fear anyone who’s kind enough to put their eyes to my words might be getting weary of hearing about it. The other island we spent a fair bit of time on was Santorini. We didn’t know how long we were going to stay, so we reserved a room for just 2 nights in case we fancied ferrying off someplace else. But it ended up we stayed there almost all the rest of our trip, and I think we all wished we could have stayed longer (and lucky Reeve got to actually make that wish come true by scoring an apartment on the cheap for a month! - but I’ve discussed that good fortune elsewhere).
Since Jake, G and I had, through Bernie’s help, made our hotel reservations in advance, we were able to steer calmly through the crowd of people at the dock hawking their lodgings as we exited the ferry from Amorgos. But we did take up the offer from a car rental place to get our own ride (25 euros/day) instead of relying on shuttle buses or our feet, as we had been doing previously. After Bernie and Elizabeth were taxied away by “grandpa” to their apartment, we all loaded into the rental car along with Reeve – who hadn’t made any lodging arrangements at all, but was playing it by ear – drove up the ribboney-windey road from the port over to Kamari, to the Hotel Poseidon and the esteemable Elena who set us all up.
The Poseidon was on the humble side – a room with a bed and just enough room to stow our bags – but it was totally all good. Everything was neat and clean, and, I mean, we were right there on the beach for a little more than 30 euros a night - no problems! And with both the car and the hotel, the same kind of accommodating attitude we had experienced on Amorgos was present here. Think you want the car/room for 2 days, but you’re not sure? No problem – just call and we’ll make it work. No reservations at all? No problem, we can make it work.
The beachfront strip where the Poseidon was located was about, what, a half-mile long? And it was wall-to-wall restaurants, hotels, bars, and convenience stores. I admit at first I thought – especially after the small-village quietness of Amorgos – that this place would feel touristey-over-the-top. But maybe because we were there before the big swell of tourist season, it didn’t turn out to feel that way at all, at least not in Kamari, and at least not for me (but I don’t think I’m alone in having had that sensation). Our first night we ate at the restaurant associated with the Poseidon – the waiter told us about the grilled fresh fish special of the day and said he could show us the fish they’d cook and I said “sure, why not?” And out he came with a platterful of big-assed fish that made us all go “ooOOOOoo!” and so we ordered four servings of that. And something else, I don’t remember what. And the waiter recommended us to get several carafes of wine, since it would take a while for the fish to cook. And they were good. The wine, and the fish. It was all awesome. In fact, everywhere we ate – in a small village, on the strip, in the bigger town of Fira – the food was consistently top-notch. Their special version of fried cheese. Stuffed squid. Grilled fish. Souvlaki. I had one happy tummy in Santorini.
Santorini is part of what’s left of an old volcano which is, actually, still active (you can take a ferry out to where there are hot springs near the center of the crater). And we toured around the island to see Fira (which was beautiful, but all the blingey touristey shops started making my skin itch after a while), and Oia (also beautiful, and the official destination place where people go to watch the sunset. I did hear somewhere, though, that of course anywhere on the western side of the island is a good place to see the sunset, but what makes it special to go to Oia, is that so many people show up there for it.). Visited some wineries.
But best of all, really, was the laid-backness of the time spent with good company. Reeve set up an unofficial office space in the Oxygen bar just down the strip from our hotel, which also sort of became the destination place in the later hours as well – our home away from home, away from home. Comfy couches, pretty cool music. So although we didn’t make plans on sticking together like glue, it was effortless to find one another in case you wanted to have a drink and a causal chat. If we weren’t on a day trip somewhere, then we’d be at the hotel or by the hotel’s pool, and if not that, then at the Oxygen bar. And in short time, the folks working there got to know your preferences. “Ah, it’s you lot – large Alphas all around, right?” And then of course was the very lovely dinner prepared for us all by Bernie and Elizabeth, on the evening of the fabulous sunset and an enthusiastic bout of mosquito-killing.
I know I posted status updates about doing yoga on the beach, so skip this and the next paragraph if yoga bores you because I just want to give a few more words about how cool that was. The shops and tourists along the strip don’t seem to wake up until 9 at the earliest, so if you’re up with the sun (as I tend to be), then going out and feeling like you have the whole area to yourself, all quiet and calm, is inspiring. Well, there was one place open: Hook’s bar, the owner of which (and his small dog) I think I’d surprise when I’d walk in at 6:30 in desperate search for a cup of coffee. I don’t know what exactly it was he served me – I’d ask for filter coffee, but it tasted like a cross between greek coffee and espresso – but it hit the spot. And then, by our hotel, there was a wooden walkway that went from the strip out toward the water. Which was good for furling the old mat upon (yes, I was geeky enough to pack my yoga mat with me on the trip), because the beach is rocky, not sandy, with a serious slope. And to be there, right alongside the sea, and feel the breath move itself in phase with the waves, and it being so quiet that you could hear the rocks on the shoreline softly rattling together like a kind of percussion instrument when a wave moved out – it was sublime.
Another joyous moment was when Bernie had agreed to do a little morning yoga with me and I managed to wake up a little on the late side (probably enabled by staying out a little on the late side the night before). By the time I was up and at ‘em, the beachfront was already in motion with delivery mopeds and folks out for their morning jog or their morning bask in the sunshine. So after I drove over to Bernie’s I suggested that since his place was in such a quieter area, whether we might try and find a suitable space along the water where he was. We walked to the shore and found a concrete dock that went out into the water, a great place to set up mat. For whatever reason, as we were doing our thing, I was keeping my eyes closed for the most part, maybe to tune into the breath, and the sounds of the water; I dunno: it just felt right. But there was one moment when I opened my eyes, and looked out to the water that was undulating and sparkling and had the most curious sensation that what was moving was us, through the water, rather than the water moving around us. You know, kind of like how it can feel when you’re watching snow fall, and you can get the sensation that you’re moving up rather than the snow’s moving down. That was very interesting.
All in all, the time on Santorini was blissful, and I’m so grateful to have friends whose company was a large part of why that time was so special. Jake, Bernie, Elizabeth, and Reeve: you all rock.
Okay, this is getting a little long, but I know I don’t have much to say about Mykonos, and to be complete I’ll put in a few words: serious tourist destination of the Carnival cruiseline monstrosity sort. To be fair, we were there less than 24 hours, but I think it’s not unfair to suggest that if you go, get off the ferry at Mykonos-town and get yourself elsewhere. The town is curious, a true maze of sidewalk-sized “streets” most of which have no name (it seemed to take forever to find our wee little rooming house), full of people, mopeds, and even the occasional car (the laws of physics somehow must not hold there). But, I mean, where other places have true tiled streets, Mykonos-town often has something down for streetwork and then wide, white painted strips that mimic where the mortar would be if there were tiles. You know? It just sort of exuded a sense of artificiality. And then, I think because so many of the visitors are just passing through for a day, there feels to be a real break in connection with the locals. Maybe because of the nature of the visitors, price points for drinks and food was up over what we had been having on Amorgos and Santorini. Mykonos-town also has a reputation for being a “party” place, and while not everyone on the streets was 20 years old, there are an awful lot of pectoral young men in surfer shorts and girls with salon-streaked straightened hair, gigantic sunglasses and giganter handbags, bored expressions and the kind of nonchalant tan that speaks of having the leisure to lay in the sun in such a way as to get all parts of the body exposed evenly. Just not my kind of place.
And then it was back to Athens! Back to the grit and the graffiti. G used some of his hotel points to score us a room at a Hilton, and walking into the lobby took my breath away – it was so huge! Or maybe it wasn’t so huge, but after several days of holing up in wee little hotels, it sure felt weird. As did the long walk to the room, and the room itself having space for 4 people in the bathroom (where before there would be barely room for one), and there was even a couch in the sleeping space, in addition to a bed. Crazy – it was all so BIG! But whereas before, your portion for a huge dinner and several drinks cost you 25 euros, we were in a place where a single glass of wine cost 9. And the food, though plentiful, was not nearly as good. I missed the islands immediately. And I still do. I can’t wait to go back.
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