Greece
Saturday, 16 September 2000:
VICTORIA, BC, CANADA > > >
It's past midnight, and I know I should be in bed. We start our trip next Wednesday... only four days from now! And I still need to pack. I'm getting more and more excited about the trip, although I'm not entirely sure if it's sunk in yet that we'll be gone for seven months. That's a long time to live out of a backpack.
We fly first from Vancouver to London, UK, where we will stay with friends for a few days before moving on to Athens, Greece. I think I'm most excited about Nepal and India. I have read a lot about India, and both it and Nepal hold some kind of strange attraction for me. Maybe it's that they are such spiritual places... or maybe it's because their cultures are so radically different from ours. I probably have some overly-romantic notions about them, but that is something I'll find out when I get there, I'm sure. I definitely may be re-examining my notions of what constitutes poverty and what doesn't. I have a strong feeling that, despite undernourishment and low life expectancies in those countries, my culture is poor in different ways. For one, we are fast losing (have lost?) our communities, and are obsessed with expanding our material wants, at seemingly any cost.
Who knows what we will learn and discover in the next seven months? I am expecting to be surprised!
Thursday, 21 September 2000:
LONDON, UK > > >
We arrived in London today... the plane ride was very long. I think everyone else got sleep but me! It was very noisy. We got to go up to the cockpit and meet the captain. (I know -- childish). We got lost in London, also had to pay way extra cash because we messed up on the subway pass and each had to pay a fine. Oh well, we will try to get it back.
We are at Charlie and Sheila's now. We feel very welcome here. They are feeding us Spagetti tonite... much improved over soggy airline potatoes!! Tomorrow we will start looking around London with Allan, who arrives later tonite.
Wednesday, 27 September 2000:
ATHENS, GREECE > > >
"Kalleh-seh-ra" (Good afternoon)!
We arrived late at night in Athens two days ago, and started learning Greek in the cab on the way home. The cabbie lit up a cigarette in the cab, and then proceeded to drive fast down a VERY narrow one-way street -- the wrong way! Obviously not many police here.
We ate Giros the first night, very good. Our hostel is nice, although the sink leaks and there is always a puddle on the floor.
Our first day, we walked to the top of a hill we saw from our hostel. We didn't even know what it was, but on top there was a tiny little Christian shrine, in which every inch of wall and ceiling inside was painted with beautiful murals of Christ. The religion here is 'Greek Orthodox' Christianity.
The streets of Athens are full of garbage and stray, skinny cats. The air is full of acrid fumes which waft in like horrible cigarettes at night, making it hard to sleep.
However, there seems little danger in general. People stand in the streets night and day, talking and joking. It's not hard to share a silent joke with strangers here.
Everyone appreciates it when we attempt to speak Greece, always very helpful. However, this place is being overrun by tourists, and so it is difficult to find places where they speak no English (which is what I secretly want). American tobacco countries, realizing simple sex&slogan marketting doesn't work as well anymore in N. America, have infiltrated Greece. Some buildings are plastered ground-to-roof with the ads of half-naked women smoking cigarettes and the Marlboro Man (I thought he'd died?...)
I am starting to notice political posters everywhere, and it is neat to see I am struggling for many of the same things as people here.
We saw the Acropolis today. It is very old. The city is starting to get to me -- way too busy and smelly! Off to the islands!
Saturday, 30 September 2000:
THIRA ISLAND, GREECE > > >
We have now left Athens, and headed for the islands of the Aegean sea. They are less chaotic and more relaxed than Athens. Certainly less polluted!
We decided on the island of Thira (also known as Santorino), because it is less busy with tourists. It is also incredibly beautiful -- long ago it was a single volcano which blew up, sinking the entire center. It is now three islands in a circle, with steep, jagged cliffs around the crater. There is an uninhabited island in the middle, which we will visit while we are here.
I watched the sunrise this morning from our hotel's yard. It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen, and I loved being surrounded by the range of sounds which appeared as the sun rose -- roosters, dogs, people saying good morning ("Kahlee-mera"), insects, birds.
The ocean is warm as is the air. It is so warm here.
Monday, 2 October 2000:
FIRA, THIRA ISLAND, GREECE > > >
I woke up at 8:30 am this morning. While everyone else stayed in bed, I set out to explore a little bit of the town of Fira. Walking downhill from our hotel (which has a very nice pool!), I first came upon a little dome-roofed church. The churches here are not very big -- definitely not big enough to hold a congregation. I would describe them more as shrines.
I had been out last night to photograph this little church in the darkness; its white smoothness was a beautiful contrast to the black sky. This morning it was still locked up, so I couldn't enter. I decided to explore the bottom half of the town, using as guideposts the little churches which seem to be scattered every few blocks. To appreciate the aloneness of the morning, which I really needed after being in close quarters with the group for this long, I wanted to spend some quiet time inside each little church I came accross.
Setting my sites on a blue-roofed dome churce in the distance, I set out, walking through winding, narrow cobbled streets. Before long, I had left all signs of tourism behind. I was in a residential area of Fira. People had begun their morning duties: women swept the patios, carried out the garbage, hung up the laundry, and not doubt did a million other tasks (at once) inside; men fed and untied the mules in the fields, fed the livestock, and set out to town in flatbed trucks of motorbikes, probably to buy some supplies or go to work.
Some of the houses I saw weren't houses like I have seen before, but looked like doors and windows straight in the hillside. The inhabitants probably covered a cave entrance with a door and moved in.
The churces I had aimed for were all locked up, like the first. Maybe they are closed today, or maybe it is just too early.
My most interesting discovery of the morning exploration was an enclosure in front of a house, full of animals. There were about five goats (including one with really long, white hair), two baby goats, lots of chickens, a rooster, and a turkey.
The animals all ran over to my end of the cage when I approached. First, the goats wandered up to me, examining me with their large, dark eyes. Next, the turkey strode over, staring me down straight on, then from the side, with one eye, then with its head tilted to the left. A young goat (probably a teenager) jumped up onto a ledge nearby and stared at me at eye-level. To get a better view of the visitor, one of the chickens flew up and landed on the young goat's back. The rooster followed. The first chicken got bored and settled down on the goat's back, like it was nesting there. The rooser strutted right up onto the goat's neck and stared at me curiously. It looked proud that it was higher than the rest of the animals.
I moved too quickly to get my camera, and the young goat suddenly jumped down off the ledge. The two chickens held on tight, clasping their claws into the goat's hair and flapping their wings wildly.
In a few minutes, a large red flatbed truck pulled into the yard, and two older men got out. They were in the middle of a heated argument (in Greek), which continued for fifteen minutes as they checked the feed in a gated cave entrance in the side of the hill, filled a couple buckets each, and then drove away in the truck.
The goats and mules here wear rosary beads around their necks, which have large beaded crosses hanging from them. I wondered if this is for good luck and good health for the animals; after all, they are very important to the families who raise them.
Although I didn't get to see the inside of any churches today, I spent some time with the animals, and also talked to an old Greek man riding a mule down the road. My original goal, although not satisfied, led to other experiences which I wouldn't have found otherwise, and I am very grateful for that. If only we could learn to live like the wanderer hoping to find churches but being content with the other things they discover. . .
Wednesday, 4 October 2000:
FIRA, THIRA ISLAND, GREECE > > >
Yesterday, we split up and Allan and I walked to the northermost town of Oia (pronounce "ee-ya"). On the way out of Fira, there was a blue-domed church, like the others here except it was encased in a large square, white building. At the front door of this building stood a woman all in black. I think she was a nun, and I guessed this was a nunery.
Our trek took us on a trail around the inside of the giant crater created when the island erupted thousands of years ago. We walked along the cliffs, the view off which was spectacular, especially seeing the tiny towns of the island, perched atop cliffs. The towns here are so amazing, all white and blue, and practically hanging off the edge of the cliffs, growing out of them organically like beehives.
We discovered a set of zig-zagging stairs, leading down into the crater. At the bottom was a little church, all locked up. Inside, through the crack in the window boarding, I could see the glittering of gold and old paintings.
Nearby were two caves, set into the cliff, both painted white inside. Entering them was a cool break from the hot midday sun. In one of the caves was a banquet table with stone benches carved out all around it. I could imagine some kind of medieval religious banquet here... the feeling it gave me was enigmatic.
On the other side of the church was a blue wooden door in a white-washed wall. I opened the door and discovered a cold, deep pit. It was half full of water. I imagined that there might be human bones at the bottom, but it was just water, probably for drinking. : - ).
Friday, 6 October 2000:
ATHENS, GREECE > > >
Oue ferry from Thira got in at 8:30 am, after a long, uncomfortable night on deck. I woke up before dawn and realized we were in the middle of a spectacular lightning storm. I had been sleeping on deck.
I got a feeling of awe and fear -- not really a real fear of danger, but an atavistic, prehistoric memory of the terror of a storm at sea. When the lightning lit up the sky, I saw all around us the surging waves, made black and white by the flash. In the distance, to the right side of the ship, the silhouette of a mountainous island appeared and vanished with each lightning flash. I felt like an early sailor on a wooden sailboat, braving the seas to reach another place. Perhaps I would have had with me spices, cloth to trade in far off lands.
The sea is empty, apart from me, my boat and the dark island, which is black and lightless.
The rain began within half an hour, lightly at first and then becoming more and more intense. The boat moved into the storm. The sky was dark and grey, plastered with thick clouds.
Soon, however, the sky brightened with dawn behind the clouds. The lightning was left behind, the rain lightened, and on the skyline we saw a land dotted with growths of the small, white square houses of suburban Athens.
Monday, 9 October 2000:
IRAKLIO, CRETE, GREECE > > >
Early morning, 6:30 am. I woke up, alone as the group slept. I set out for a walk. 7:00 am: Reached local park. I have the streets to myself, and the park. The trees are full of birds. That is all I hear, the cacaphony of birds, except for the occasional far off, dreamlike ringing of church bells.
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7:15 am. I found a small church. Every crack and roof inside was completely painted in murals of Bible scenes. I sat, inhaling the sweet smell of incense. I am, again, alone, but a few Greeks come and go. They pick up several thin yellow candles at the entrance. In front of the altar, they stop, kneel, cross themselves twice and then kiss the feet of every painted figure at the front. They light the candles and plant them in the sand-bottomed vessels.
7:45 am. the seaside, past the fish vendors, past the men discussing politics or life by the vendor's corner stall. the waves surge up, drain, surge up, drain -- and endless cycle. who knows how many life forms below my feet depend on that endless cycle. surge, drain, surge, drain. the cycle is part of me too. it enriches me, gives me new life.
8:00 am. the sun has risen and the city around me is full of chaotic life. i sit aside, let it flow around me, like i am a rock in a river. it doesn't push me, pressure me, erode me -- just flows past. i sit on a stone on the harbour side of the Venetian fort.
i return home. the others have awoken. would i have been better off getting the extra sleep? definitely not. i am more awake now, and would be so even without any sleep at all.
Thursday, 12 October 2000:
HANIA, CRETE, GREECE > > >
We arrived on Crete on Saturday. In the largest town of Iraklio, Laura and I went to see the arhaeological museum, which houses every major find from the Minoan civilization, which existed here from 3000-1100 BCE (before common era, ie. BC). Although the signage was nonexistent, we uncovered clues from the pottery and artifacts about this fascinating civilization; it turned out that most of our guesses were accurate, when I compared them to the comments of a tour guide.
Basically, the Minoans lived in a matriarchal society, as evidenced by the lack of any male figures until the time of the Mycenean invasions much later. I noticed the lack of any kind of weaponry or war-paintings. These were a sea-oriented people who revered the Mother Goddess Earth. One clay tablet depicted an ancient hymn to the Earth in "ideograms" (icons similar to hieroglyphs). Even from the early neolithic stage, the Minoans were highly advanced -- paintings depict in detail octopuses and dolphins; geometric patterns were very complex and appeared three-dimensional; they had clay wheels that shaped pointed-bottomed jars and vessels.
Around the 17th century came the Myceneans, a war-like people from the Peleponnese region of Greece. Totally defenseless and unarmed, the Minoans were defeated. Although echoing early designs, the new pottery showed unhappiness and anguish in sculpted faces; bronze weapons, helmets and armour appeared.
We went to see the Minoan palace at Knossos. It was amazing -- some buildings have five stories! The sheer scale of this structure is beyond words. This was the centre of the Minoan world, which had connections to Ancient Egypt, the rest of the Mediteranean, and even India!
Yesterday, we hiked Samaria gorge, Europe's longest gorge at 16 km. Although we had been warned of the intense crowds of tourists, we had the entire gorge to ourselves! I guess that's the benefit to coming in off-season. There were hundreds of goats, some of them standing on what I would call vertical cliffs, although they obviously didn't think so!
Tuesday, 17 October 2000:
IRAKLIO, CRETE, GREECE > > >
We are back at Iraklio now, ready to head off Crete and back to the horribly polluted city of Athens (not to mention the LOOOOONG ferry ride there!)
The night before we left the beautiful city of Hania, we all went out for drinks at the Cafe Kriti, a small cafe in which Cretan folk music is played every night for a crowd of locals. It definitely isn't a tourist thing, although some hardy travellers have discovered its magic.
The cafe has a round roof and the most interesting decorations. On one wall was a complete Cretan shepherd's apparel: tall leather boots, not displayed but hung as though for storage and use; two wooden, hooked sticks for herding sheep; a metal cooking pot; two tin mugs; a tank of gasoline; a rifle with ammunition; and a red cloth bag for carrying clothes and other possessions.
It was as though a prospective shepherd could just have walked in, get his stuff off the walls and head for the hills with his flock.
The music was great -- fast-paced, very folksy, but also very Eastern sounding. The instuments were: the bazouki, a Greek lute-like instument with a large, round base and twelve-strings; and a small, long and thin stringed instrument, which is held vertically on your knee and bowed.
Ginia and I got to dance with the two bartenders and a couple other travellers; it was so fun. We got two bottles of the local retsina (sweet, strong wine), but since Laura and Ginia didn't like it Allan and I basically shared the two. I slept well that night!
We then spent four days in the north-western beach town of Falasarna, which has very few tourists now. Our hotel room was cheap and cleaner than any other we've stayed in. We cooked our own food, which was nice, and discovered some newly unearthed Minoan ruins (totally fascinating -- I'm hoping University of Victoria offers a course in Minoan studies!!), as well as the wonderfully warm Sea of Crete.
I may be altering my trip to include a journey to Northern Ireland to visit a friend who is working for peace there. I will update when I know for sure.
Thursday, 26 October, 2000:
NAFPLION, GREECE > > >
From Athens we took the bus north into the province of Sterea Elada. After spending a night in Thebes, which long ago was a rival city-state with Athens, we continued into the mountains to the town of Delphi. The roads there took us through progressively colder weather, rivalling late autumn in Canada, through cotton plantations, and into the rugged mountains via tunnels and windy cliff-side roads.
Delphi is famous for the Oracle of Apollo, which was the centre of Ancient Greek religion. The town of Delphi itself has several narrow streets and is nestled on the edge of a ravine, which widens out far below into a vast plain stetching out to an inlet of the sea.
Here is a description of the sunset in Delphi, as written in my journal from 21 October:
> > "As the sun prepared to start its descent towards the horizon, I realized that this place is one of the most spectacular locations I have ever been. The sky: all clouded over, not just a regular cloud cover, but the densest, darkest -- and deepest blue -- swathe of cloud, thicker than you could imagine.
"The sun: unseen, hidden behind cloud. And behold! The woolly clouds crack, and the crack widens into a three-way junction of light. Pure sun-radiance melts through, pouring out pure white, sending vast rays down into the valley. The rays spread over the land, traced into the cloud-backed sky, and they look flat and two-dimensional, as though on a plane.
"And on spot -- just one spot -- I see where on Earth a ray touches down. Just beyond the shore-grown town, on the waters of the inlet, a white shiny spot is born where the sun-ray reaches Earth. Though far away, in length and height, I can almost see every ripple and wave crest on the waters at this perfectly-illumined point.
"And up this valley on which Delphi is perched, the sky is totally clouded over but for one point at the valley's tip: a rainbow streams down from the heavens above. It is a scene worthy of the gods of the oracle. I understand why the ancient Greeks chose this place to centre their religion. It is truly spectacular.
"The sun sets behind cover of cloud. In its wake it leaves an aftermath of pure darkness everywhere, except for one horizontal space full of deep red, small in height, on the horizon.
"The sky first: a blue so dark that it is as dark as black. The clouds remain, unseen but felt in their intensity, cloaking blue sky behind. And the mountains of the valley: black as black can be. The blackness stretches up and down the valley, up to the shores of the inlet, where it mixes with the city lights that sparkle and waver, as though distorted by the darkness like heat waves above a hot road.
"But: within an hour, clouds and red have gone, and mountains merge with sky in blackness, leaving only a faint trace of silhouette at the mixing-meeting point above. And behold: stars, everywhere, as though their presence evaporated the very essence of the thick clouds.
"The cold wind now moves even harder up the valley from the sea far below. The air bites, penetrates, stiffens my fingers. I have beheld the setting of Apollo, god of the Sun, and am in Awe." < <
The Oracle was very impressive; Allan and I found a tunnel right underneath it! I don't know if we were allowed there... but it was wicked! So dark, like a tomb...
We visited for a day the Monastary of Osias Loukas, renowned for its incredible 10th century CE Byzantine architecture. This was one of the best days of the trip so far. Allan and I set out by bus from Delphi, missing our stop (we were supposed to tell the driver), walking a few kilometres to town, and then walking another 10 km to the monastery. Luckily, we were able to hitch a ride with a Greek guy. It was a very rural area, and there was little risk, especially in Greece where crime is low. He was really nice, and offered us both a cigarette. When we said we didn't smoke he blurted out, "Why?!", as if he had never heard of anyone not smoking... It's probably true; I wouldn't be surprised if every male in Greece smokes. It's not surprising with the quantity of cigarette advertizing shoved down their throats everywhere.
The monastery was recommended to us in our guide as the best example of Byzantine architecture in Greece. The Byzantine era started around 500 CE (Common Era, ie. AD). The monastery was founded by a saint in 1000 CE, and even after he died his body supposedly performed miracles on the thousands who visited it. A corpse of some monk, possibly him, graces the main chapel, which is one of two chapels on the grounds. The body was cloaked all in black except for a patch of brown forehead and three gnarled, nearly black, bony claws exposed to see. Devotees kissed the glass around him, crossed objects over him, and so on. It was mildly revolting, I have to admit, especially to see those twisted fingers emerging from the robe.
The church's roof was covered in gold-tiled mosaics, and the whole place was stunning. It was set near the top of a high hill. Allan and I walked down an unfrequented path to eat lunch in the tall grass beneath the monastery. We also managed to score ourselves some free candy ("Greek" delight, made with rosewater). The atmosphere was so peaceful, and almost everyone there (until we were leaving) was Greek.
From Delphi we crossed the waters to the Peleponnese to the south, first to the tiny town of Diakopto, which was lovely with its streets lined with tangerine trees. The ladies who rented us a room brought us fresh fruit and nuts every night; they were really nice. The next day we walked up through a spectacular canyon, straight out of Lord of the Rings; the mountains all around had a sunny haziness to them which was surreal.
We then went down to the larger town of Nafplio, which was the first capital of independent Greece. We timed it perfectly: the next day was the equivalent of Independence Day; we watched the parade and got to see the large Venetian hilltop fortress for free.
From Nafplion we also saw the massive ancient Greek theatre at Epidavros, which seats 14,000 and has perfect acoustics after thousands of years. It is in near perfect condition. I also meditated on a large platform of stones called the Protaia; the ruins around there were an ancient centre of healing.
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