“What, no blogg? Can't let the standards drop hey, get to it!”
This mail from our friend Chris Nezar has galvanized me into action,
so here we sit in the Horah (main town) of oh so beautiful Serifos – Henry
sketching quietly and me sitting contemplating the winding streets and thinking
of our adventure so far.
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| From the Hora at Serifos |
And, yet again, I am struck by how incredibly blessed we are. To
have the time to go slowly, so slowly, and soak up this country that we have
come to love. Talking about our highlights since we arrived on the12th of May,
we come back again and again to the wonderful, friendly, anarchistic, helpful,
non-taxpaying, pleasure-loving Greeks. Our first dinner at Karavalos Taverna (The
Snail) in Poros where we left the boat, we were greeted like long lost friends
with warm hugs - “You’re back – welcome!! How was the winter?” Well, no winter
for us, the last we had was 2010, resonating with vuvuzela’s. You see, we are
blessed!!
Greece comes with a lot of sadness this year. Walking through the
streets of Poros we were struck by the number of shops and restaurants that had
closed down, and invariably conversations started with talk of THE CRISIS. A
sense of hopelessness pervades with anger directed towards the Government
first, Angela second. The young blame the old for not working hard enough and
having a sense of entitlement, the old blame the rich for not paying taxes and
everyone blames corruption and the Government. Virtually no-one seems to see a
happy ending, although a few dream of the drachma taking them back to the good
old days. With dire news stories warning of chaos and danger in Greece, locals
expect tourist numbers to drop. We have seen absolutely no signs of danger, and
as we know in SA, this kind of reporting can be so damaging. We wish we could
start a world-wide movement to bring travelers here in their droves to spend
lots of money and give the Greeks loads of moral support.
But as summer creeps in and fresh paint whitewashes the walls,
boats, paths and paving, the winter blues seem to be wiped away and we are
getting less talk of the crisis and more talk of Greece being the best place to
be. “This calamari is the best in the universe. I caught it myself. I know it's face! I challenge
you to find better!!!” “This is the most beautiful island in all of Greece –
welcome….” "Our pistachios are like nothing else on earth, try them”. “This lamb
kleftiko you will never taste again anywhere else….” Our most used Greek words
are “Poli Nostimo” meaning “Very delicious” and Poli Orea” meaning “Very
beautiful”.
Our friends Gary and Werna joined us for a week, arriving in our old
favourite, Hydra, last Saturday. After being blown away by the quaint harbour
and their first swim against a backdrop of the setting sun on the ancient town,
we ventured far up the hill to a taverna we know frequented by locals. What
joy!! Again we were welcomed like long lost friends and ate ”The best pork
stuffed with garlic!” (It was, really!) and drank the dusky house rosé. A group
of about 30 Greeks were getting livelier and more vocal. Soon a stereotypically
gorgeous, hook nosed, gravelly voiced man took out a guitar and started
singing. Before long the music was turned up and one of the men danced the
traditional ankle tapping Greek dance. Next minute, a line of dancers started snaking
through the open-air taverna – and Henry and I were hauled into their midst. We
did our best to copy the intricate dance steps but soon retired a little out of
breath. A little later Thanassis,
or, as he preferred, Athanassis – the “immortal” - brought over a carafe of
wine and (you guessed) welcomed us. “We are a group from a village near
Nafpaktos, we now live in Athens as there is no work there, and we have come
away for the weekend.” And there they were, young and old, talking, laughing,
eating, singing and dancing. It was marvelous! As the hours drew on, the voice
of the guitarist became more and more emotional. “I love you because you are
beautiful………..” Our new friend translated this much loved Greek folksong line
by line bringing tears to more than one pair of South African eyes. 2am saw us
stumbling down the hill – all of us happy, sated and in love with Greece.
We only started sailing 2 weeks after we arrived, partly because
work done on the boat took longer than anticipated, and partly because the wind
came up and I quaked at the thought of embarking on the long awaited crossing
to the Cyclades in choppy seas and high winds. Henry, as usual, was patient and
understanding, but I do think he secretly wished Steve Lenahan (who had to
cancel at the last minute) or Joe had been with us to boost my bravery. Anyway,
we eased in gently, sailed from Poros to Hydra with Henry’s old friend and
architectural colleague, Michael Sutton, who lives in the area. We got to Hydra
and Michael treated us to lunch in the prettiest square where we devoured
mezes, carafe’s of wine and then tasted the local Tsipouria – an alternative to
ouzo but much stronger. Those who love schnapps would enjoy it but the
contortions my face took on showed that it will never be my favourite.
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| Michael in his element sailing again after a long time |
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| Tasting tsipoura |
So, the day for the big crossing arrived. Gary and Werna came armed
with gloves and energy, ready to hoist sails and haul sheets…….. and the wind
died! We set off at sunrise in a gentle breeze which picked up after an hour or
2. We sailed along beautifully for a few hours until Henry suddenly let out a loud
expletive. The genoa had torn – all the way down a previous mend. What a
disaster! The only consolation was that the wind dropped and motoring was
really the only alternative for the rest of the 9-hour trip.
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| Fishing boat ahead as we sailed into the sunrise |
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| Gary enjoying the helm |
With Gary and Werna we went to 2 islands in the Cyclades, and they
are truly “Poli Orea”. Kythnos is under-sold in all the guide-books, and
hopefully it will remain that way so that it does not become like Mykonos.
Unspoiled and laid back, with a picture postcard pretty main town (Horah) on
the hill above the small port. Then Serifos, with it’s Horah sprinkled over the
hilltop like icing sugar, to quote a guide book. In both islands, we ate and
drank like Dionysius, explored the cubist villages, wandered along the
pave-painted lanes, swam, and as usual, made friends with the locals. The
pictures will tell all!
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| The Hora at Serifos |
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| Serifos from the Hora |
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| Greek salads - a highlight! Unlike any in SA |
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| Henry does a drawing of every harbor we sail into to memorize before entering |
But that deserves another chapter…..
