I spent this past weekend with my cousins George (and his girlfriend Lalina) and Vasilli and their many friends at an island called "Kea" or "Tzia" (depending on who you talk to). It is situated about halfway between Mykonos and Pireaus (the main port of Athens). When I passed it on Friday afternoon (coming from Mykonos) I noticed all of the sailboats; reason being - there was a big race! We took a speedboat there on Saturday morning; a 45 minute ride going about 23 knots (don't ask me exactly what that means, but it felt fast), and on Sunday morning we watched Lalina's boat, and the other sailboats, take off from Tzia to return to Athens for the second half of the race. It is quite a sight to see, 50+ big sailboats jockeying for position as their crews jump around, pulling sails, "tacking" and whatnot. These were the same crews I saw out at the bars the night before... gotta give them credit for stamina!
I took it real easy in Tzia, my last weekend in Greece. Wearing my bathing suit (and nothing more) practically the entire time, our days consisted of "Beach Tenis" (pronounced with a heavy Greek accent makes it even more fun :), ouzo and orange juice (my new favorite drink), swimming/floating in the Aegean... and eating sea urchins, freshly caught fish and more. There's just no denying it, the Greek islands are idyllic. The sun is hot, but the breeze is cool. The water is beautiful blue, clear, refreshing and salty enough in which to float with no effort whatsoever. The rocky cliffs are lined with "ancient fences" - I call them this, they are short rock walls marking one's property line.... you see them all over Greece. These, in addition to the terraced farms you see in Mykonos, suggest that the old ways aren't lost on those living in these modern times.
Speaking of the old times, I heard SOOOO many great stories about them my last night in Mykonos. My cousin Angie invited a dozen friends over to her house, most of whom she has known since she came to Mykonos in 1968. Those were the days... the island was empty back then, except for some seafaring Greeks (and native Mykonians, of course), scattered expatriates from Europe and North America, and artists like my cousin who were invited or drawn to the developing artist community there. It seems that they helped shape the island that I know now. Not the touristy/clubby parts, but the mainstay stores and hidden beaches and restaurants and locals we see every 5 meters who say hi to my cousin Joanne as we walk to her store. If they were not the local locksmith (there is only one on the island) or photo shop buy or plumber, etc, then they are probably related to Angie's husband, Bobby. Or Angie helped their mother deliver them (I met TWO people for whom this was true!).
So ("Lipon", in Greek) I can picture the old days in Mykonos - with the windmills still being used to make grain, and people getting their fruits and vegetables from their own gardens, and getting to the far reaches of the island via donkey. I can almost hear the drunk Greek men singing (that's a given, I think) as they did their late-evening stroll down the waterfront in the moonlight. Something must've been working right, because many of those Greek guys married ladies from the U.S., Canada, Sweden, South Africa, France... you name it. And many of them have been married 40 years! WOW. I laugh because I'm thinking, of course I can hear the singing; my cousin George and his father Takis are ALWAYS singing. And Takis actually remembers my papou singing! I cannot picture him doing this. The only time Takis heard him sing was when he came back to Greece for the first time after moving to America. The song was something about a Girl from Argentina (Ipanema?) I'll have to ask again, but anyway... the old Greek ways and traditions seem to sustain themselves here naturally ("Fisica" translates to "of course", or "naturally"). I hope I can hang onto a little of the old ways, and the bit of language I've picked up, when I come home.
Some quick tid-bits about the other islands I visited:
- KOS is close to Bodrum, Turkey, and full of Greek mosaics and artifacts. I met some great shop owners and a restauranteur there, on my stop-over to Rodos. It is the home of Hippocrates! (And others)
- RODOS/RHODES is great - totally Medieval. When you come to the port you see an entirely walled-in city. This is the old city, where I stayed - at the totally local Mama's Pension/Mike's Bar. The narrow streets and huge palace/castle and clock tower and lookout points all give you a feeling like you could be living in ancient times (if only there weren't a million tourists). A friend of Betty's friend's wife, Gavriel, was a gracious host and made great suggestions on what to do while I was there... he also made great restaurant choices, so I ate well!
- SYROS is a stop on practically any ferry ride to/through the Cyclades islands of Greece. Mom & I spent a couple hours there on the way to Mykonos, and I enjoyed a 7 hour "layover" between Rodos and Mykonos. This "layover" was from 4:30-11:30am. Can you imagine? My huge-ass backpack and I slid onto a couch in an empty (since it waay early in the AM) cafe along the port. I waited until the sun came up before I passed out for a couple hours. Then I wandered into a cafe, where the nice owner, Yiannis, bought me a coffee and gave me some bread and honey (I am sure I looked like I needed it... and I was low on cash due to my ATM card being eaten by a bank in Turkey, so it was actually true). When all was said and done, I wrote over 30 pages in my journal during my 21 hour trip from Rodos to Mykonos - and received 3 complimentary beverages from kind strangers.
- MEGALONISSOS, we passed by it on the boat to Tzia. I only mention it because it means, literally "Long Island". So all you east coast folk, you can start calling it that!
- SAMOS is where I went with Mom, but I think I've talked about that before (if not, I will)
So, the moral of the story is, GO TO THE GREEK ISLANDS! I can give you lots of tips and suggestions and family to visit : ) OK, time for bed. Kalinekthta! ~steph