Greek Strike Puts Us in the Zone

The port in Santorini was teeming with people and bus after bus kept coming in. We waited among the throng, stood on line, and then crowded on a big slow-moving line to board a HUGE ferry. We had some adorable sleeping cabins and we were tempted to take showers at 1am since they were so nice. We reconvened in John's room, drank wine, ate olives, cherries and candy, laughed and took crazy panoramic pics on John's snazzy camera.
Off to bed for a less than 40 winks.

Pulled into port at 6am and no taxi or transport to be found. We jostled among the crowds, hauling our luggage all the way around the port. Cut right through a demonstration of disgruntled port workers. It's hot and my nose is stinging from all the pollution. We need taxis and none will pick us up. We kept walking and finally found a hotel that called cabs for us. Back to the Stanley and breakfast.

We were not so chipper as we were on the ferry. Finally got in to our rooms around 10 and did a little snooze.

Today was our only shot at seeing the Acropolis, so in the afternoon all of us (minus Gen who continued to snooze)went adventuring in the birthplace of civilization. I will not wax poetic about how beautiful and inspiring the whole thing was, but needless to say it was a sight to behold and I am glad the ferry strike gave us the time. We did a little shopping/eating in the plaka, had a late lunch and then back to the Stanley to catch the last hours of our fabulous journey.

We all met up poolside, swam a little and had a couple of cocktails, ate a late dinner on the rooftop with the Acropolis in our sights, and delighted in our friendship and our journey together. Tomorrow morning we would all scatter again to New Jersey, Washington, DC, Chicago and San Francisco- but for know we were content.

Thank you to my wonderful traveling companions, Gen, Terry, Adriana and John! This was a fabulous life event I will always treasure.

*** Re: the photo of the guy in the upper left was a billboard that across from the Stanley breakfast room. It looks EXACTLY like my ex-husband. Totally freaky.

Monday, June 28

Yesterday we heard a rumor that there was an impending ferry strike. Checking in with Amanuel, yes indeedy kids, it’s on for the day we are supposed to head back to Athens. (Tues.) Terri and John call our travel agency and with luck they are able to get us on a flight out of Santorini tomorrow night. Instead of a 5 hour ferry ride, we are on a ½ hour plane ride. We couldn’t be happier. Boat trip today to the volcano, thirassa and Oia, shopping tomorrow.

We took the cable car down a wondrously steep cliff to our beautiful boat, the Odysseas. Its super nice and we set sail across the caldera to the volcano crater. Oh gosh, another hot hike. But this ain’t got nothin’ on ancient Thera and Gen, Adriana and I go to check out all the black rock and craters everywhere while John and Terri stay on the Odysseas for reading, napping and relaxing.

I ruminate on how terrain can shape a culture and national identity. This is a land of extremes, rocky and treacherous, blazing and dry. One must be tough to survive here and just getting around must have been a huge challenge. Water is scarce and the Greeks have devised ingenious ways to capture it. I think that individuality and courage are highly prized and that’s what Greek mythology is made of. Tales of heroes overcoming incredible physical challenges must have been inspiring to people just trying to survive. Yet the water is stunning, blue as azure, and teeming with life and sustenance. Water and rocks. Scarcity and plenty. If it can only be tamed.

The boat roars it’s warning sound for all to board and we are heading for the famed hot springs for a swim. Gen is the only one of us who takes the jump off the boat, its just relaxing on the boat for the rest of us. Next stop, Thirassia for a late lunch. Our alpha male John forges ahead and finds us a nice open air taverna and we feast on seafood, fried calamari and yes, SAGANAKI, with some good beer to wash it down. We finally get some fried anchovies. YUM. This place is a decided winner and we head back to the boat sated on our seafood feast.

One stop and we let people off in Oia, and we head back to Thira. It’s a magical ride back to our port as we sail on blue blue blue water. Back in port we have to get back up the cliffside to get more beer! Terri and Adriana decide to ride the donkeys and John, Gen and I forego the somewhat questionable equestrian experience for the cable car.

Our girls finally meet up with us at the top and it’s a little more hanging out to end a wonderful day and watch a bit of the Netherlands vs Slovakia game. The rest of the gang head back to the hotel and I decided to stay in town.

Within ½ an hour Gen is back telling me we are in fast forward, there’s now an AIRLINES STRIKE as well as a FERRY STRIKE. We are booked on the midnight ferry tonight! OMG! WTF! What about my shopping?? What about drinking vodka and tonics and watching the sunset??

Gotta get a move on and it’s back to the hotel for shower, pack, blog. It could be worse. We’ll get a day in Athens at the lovely Stanly hotel and see the Acropolis. They have a rooftop pool that I plan to spend a few hours by on Tues.



(it's nearly impossible to post pics due to a VERY SLOW internet connection. We have some amazing shots and I will post some here, and maybe some on Flickr when I return) This place is so beautiful.

Sunday, June 27

Today is the day for island exploration! No more browsing the glittering baubles for us! We are determined to explore the secrets of Santorini. John and Terri got us a little Jimmy jeep down at the corner. We piled in- believe me, not so easy with the 5 of us- and off we went with map in hand. Heading south we stopped at the mini-markit (no, I did not spell that wrong) and loaded up with water and some supplies – destination- ancient Thera to see where the little boys ran naked and caused quite a stir. Pulling into the bottom of a huge rock pile we stare upwards at the blazing hot sun and the long, long, climb up. Gen has NOT worn the right shoes, they are city girl, barely there thong sandals, but we are going to CONQUER THE MOUNTAIN. I think about Patty and Ireland as we trudge up the pathways of STONE. This is a far cry from the Dingle. But I see lots of people (probably very fit GERMANS) coming down who certainly look a lot older than me. If they can do it….
Up, switchback, up, switchback, sweating, huffing and puffing. Got to rest for a minute. John, Adriana and Gen pulled in way ahead of Terri and me but we did get there. There’s a Greek roach coach! We suck down ice cold Cokes and look at what’s ahead. Another climb to see the ruins but we are undaunted and keep heading up.
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It was worth the climb to see this city on a mountaintop. Lots of rubble and ruins laid out in lines, but some great signage telling us who the bigwigs of the day were and how they funded something and put their name on it. Not so different than today. I knew it must have been a cool city when I saw the theatre. Bonnie Monte could have put on a hell of a show there!

We eventually got down the mountain with an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. See all you GERMANS! You are not the only ones who can hike!!
Back in the Jimmy and on to Perissa where we lunch/drink by the black beach. Sammy’s place is a great location and Adriana declares it the best Saganaki to date. The girl is a cheese-eating machine and has taken a holy vow to eat fried cheese at every meal. Personally, I am done with it.

We move on to exploring the Red Beach which is located a huge long climb over some very rocky terrain. The beach is red from the volcanic rock, probably filled with iron ore, that has created an alcove. It’s tough to get to but Terri, Adriana and I are longing for a swim and we plunge in.

A little dry off and we are back in the car headed north- our goal is Oia (pronounced Ee-ah) for the fabled sunset. It’s quite a gorgeous drive up the sparsely populated East side and we pull in to Oia with plenty of time to spare. We found a hillside café and plunked ourselves down to catch the last rays of beauty over the Aegean. Watching day turn in to night is a wonderment here and we are all content.

It’s 9:00pm and no dinner yet. We make a quick stop back at the Motel 6 –oops I meant the King Thira- change out of the bathing suit and on to our favorite dinner spot where Saganaki is ONCE AGAIN ON OUR TABLE. Along with chicken souvlaki, grilled calamari, octopus salad and a bottle of Santorini red. A wonderful day.

Saturday, June 26

Traveling days are lost days because everything about the day focuses on when you have to get ready, check out, transport and re-acclimate. We all spent the morning by the pool after packing up, a last refreshing swim and a little time to snooze and read. Our van driver got us to town in plenty of time and we waited on the dock. And waited. And waited. In the roasting sun. It did have its payoff as we were one of the first in what turned out to be a very long line of people boarding the boat. Warning to my fellow adventurers. In many parts of the world people DON’T USE DEODORANT. We are there and it’s ugly. We were downwind of the mean and wicked sisters who cut us in line and stunk to high heavens. We finally got on board our catamaran and with nary a ripple we zipped to Santorini. Catamarans=awesome for this tends-to-get-seasick-while-looking-at-water traveler.

More dock chaos in Santorini and no transport from the King Thiras was in view. We hopped a mini-bus for 6E each. Painless.
King Thiras is not exactly royal. Kind of Motel-6ish Greek style, but it’s clean if not totally comfortable and our hosts will definitely leave the light on for us. They are a charming older couple. Amanuel has already given us lots of tips on how to maneuver around Santorini.

We are all ready for dinner big time and Adriana is jonesing for her daily Saganaki (fried cheese for all of the rest of us)We take the path with the cliff view and ooh and aah over it. It is amazingly beautiful. We don’t linger too long though, and we plunked ourselves down at the Greeks for another humdinger of a meal. Ade declared it the best Saganaki to date, and the rest of us were completely happy with a grilled stuff squid, pork souvlaki and pita. John and Terri are drinking Mythos beer and I am content with a ½ bottle of the local Greek red. Dry and earthy, it doesn’t have much on the back end, but does the job with another fantastic meal.

The soccer fans, i.e. everyone but me, were determined to watch the World Cup game with US vs. Ghana. They found a good spot at Murphy’s bar while I strolled and admired the VAST array of jewelry in Fira. This town is so different than Mykonos. Where Mykonos is twisting byways with a surprise shop or plaza at every turn, Santorini is in-your-face dazzling jewels in beautiful shops. Easy to navigate and lots more people give it an excitement that Mykonos lacked. But also made it seem slightly huckster-ish.

It was getting late and my batteries were running down. I found Terri and we decided to head home and not watch the overtime period for the game. Getting to our new “temporary” home turned out to be not so easy. We walked up the road, and I do mean, UP, huffing, puffing and sweating. Overshot the place by a country mile and didn’t get back for an hour. Wandering around by full moon in Greece is not so bad but we were happy when we got directions from a very nice Greek boy at the Santorini palace hotel. By the way, lovely place, with a super nice pool that happens to be on the other side of a dirt parking lot from the jolly old King Thiras. Hmmmm… a possible illicit midnight swim on Sunday night? Stay posted!

Friday, June 25

Too much ouzo last night put me under and I slept it off while everyone else went to dinner. Woke up to find myself locked in my room!! Only having one key has its drawbacks. Hard time sleeping and I think it’s still the time zone thing. Or maybe residual effects of the ouzo. At breakfast we all compared our sleepless nights. Yep, time zone thing. It take much longer than you expect to adjust. Gen went back to bed after breakfast and got up around 2:00pm.
We decided to lay low and Terry, Adriana and I headed off to the beach. Our handsome host from our beachside restaurant Wednesday night has assured us he would let us stay on the beach free since we had eaten dinner at his restaurant. Never trust a goodlooking Greek man. He was delighted to see us but we still had to pay 5E each.

Beach chairs, stunning weather, Aegean Ocean in front of you and a good read are what I call a perfect day. Gen and I dragged ourselves away around 7pm and walked back up the hill to the Kamari to regroup. Dinner with the gang in a splendid restaurant about 50ft. from our hotel followed with the greatest octopus ever. It’s becoming a daily ritual. This time steeped in a sweet wine reduction. Lobster risotto, grilled veggies and a couple of bottles of red wine later we drifted back to the terrace of the Kamari to make this blissful day stay a little while longer. Cool breezes and surprise fireworks closed out a remarkably lovely day. Opa!

Thursday, June 23

I can’t even believe it’s Thursday. I slept till 8am and called Terry. Sleepy. Meet me for breakfast. Coffee, unbelievable yogurt and honey, eggs in little cups, fruit. Cool and a light breeze on the terrace. Bliss.

We went into the town of Mykonos on the bus and went wherever our feet willed us to go. Down curving streets and pathways that swerved to the left and to the right. Glittering shoes, handbags and jewelry that seduced us at every turn. Shop till you drop! I bought thyme honey and fig preserves. Who needs jewelry when you can have the taste of a country in a spoonful of rich exotic complex honey? It’s all about terroir and Greece has it in spades. An ancient country that is dry, barren, rich and resourceful. An oxymoron on a grand scale.

We found a beautiful necklace for Gen and it looked so lovely on her. Silver, and the Greek key and opal. Stunning on her cinnamon skin. Happy masters. A lasting momento of her tremendous effort.

We were so late for our lunch meeting date at Nikos Taverna with John due to some major craziness at the jewelry store. We finally got there and ordered grilled octopus, calamari, stuffed eggplant, grilled shrimp, rocket salad with parmesan, beer and had a feast. More picture taking. We decided to buy matching rings to help us remember this lovely vacation.

We went back to the hotel for happy hour. Ouzo on the rocks and me. Not good. I went to bed while everyone went to dinner. I woke up around 11pm to find myself locked in my room and Gen had the only key. Oh, well! dry cracker and a piece of cheese, glass of water. My penance I guess.

Tuesday morning June 22

Heathrow for the connection. No way to connect with Gen except meeting at the gate- only they don’t post the gate until right before boarding. What an extravaganza of shopping! Duty-free of course. Booze everywhere, perfume, souvenirs- even Harrod’s department store has a presence. Looking to get a cup of tea (cause it’s London!) I ran into Gen, who had the same dazed look that I know I must have. We sit down for some breakfast- her smoked salmon, shrimp and edamame, me mint tea, at the Japanese takeout place. Ever the foodies, we spent the rest of the layover time checking out the menu at the new Wagamama noodle shop. They’re coming to DC! Back on the plane and we’re off for Athens! Another 4 hours or so until Paradise.
Athens is not quite paradise yet but we are inching forward. The customs process was painless. Stamp your passport, pick up your bags, find the Metro. For 5 Euro each we are on the train and it’s good! We got off at the right stop and there was the Stanley- in its modern hotel glory. It’s now about 7pm Greek time (10am EST!) Finally we found Terry and Adriana and surprise! Terry’s brother John was with us for the whole vacation. We are still in logistics mode as we found out that there is a ferry strike at Piraeus so they are routing us to a new port and we have to meet at 6am. OY. Are they kidding?


This leaves us no time in Athens to tour the Acropolis. At all. How can that be? We catch a cab to the Plaka and eat at a rooftop restaurant and now it’s finally feeling like the vacation has begun. It’s cool, a light breeze, the view is of Athens in front of us and the temple of Zeus behind us. Martini is in hand. The calamari, saganaki, shrimp, lamb, sausage. Grilled something or other. and everything else is amazing and dee-lish.

John gives us the wakeup call at 5am. How can it be? My mind is swirling and in a daze. OMG – it’s Wed and we are still getting to where we want to be. I pop a Bonine and down to the Stanley breakfast room for coffee (not bad) and carbo heaven. Cake, bread, preserves, honey. Hey, the milk is really good. I guess that’s the best you can do in Athens at 5:30am.

We board the big bus and our tour guide is chipper for such an early hour. We get to the port and board the big ferry that has comfy leather seats. I’m thinking, “ this is gonna be OK.” But no. waves. Rocking and rolling. And it’s not even rough. Me= wussy girl-= sick and dizzy from Bonine. Thank god we make shore after two or three hours. Don’t know. Bus driver there from Kamari hotel, we take a relatively short drive, and I gratefully check in and drop like a felled tree onto my bed. I am drugged and it feels like I am glued to the bed and can’t get up. The afternoon is gone. Finally make it to the pool and swim a little and sleep some more.

We make it to dinner down the road and on the beach. It’s OK. The best thing is being with Gen, Terry, Adriana and John. I feel like our vacation has begun. We make our way back to the hotel and the World Cup is on the big screen in the hotel bar. Our bartender bet 1000E on the US and he is happy cuz he won. My eyes are closing and it’s off to bed.

Getting there

After a day spent with the Petro service guy, packing and watering the plants it was time to set out for the airport. The wonderful LAP picked me up at the anointed hour and we were off. Check in with British Airways was a breeze. So I ask the agent to seat me with my neighbor on the flight home just because I am still in planning mode. I gave him her last name and he say’s, “funny, someone here has the same last name!” I say,” her son works here” and lo and behold, he was the next agent over . I met him and off to the gate. A little while later I was paged and the agent says, “I want to make sure you have the right boards.” Courtesy of my neighbor’s son- an upgrade to business class! What a wonderful way to start the journey. No need to gab about the flight, but needless to say it was much more pleasant thanks to GS.

Going to Greece!

After four years, Gen, Terry, Adriana and I are finally setting off on our long-awaited trip to Greece. We started saving and planning in 2006 when Gen was working for the Army in Chicago. So many things have happened since then but we never gave up on our trip together. Now Gen has her Master's degree, Adriana graduated from high school and is off to SweetBriar in the Fall so we have much to celebrate. I got a haircut on Saturday that I HATE! I am not celebrating that. ugh- this hairdresser is so dysfunctional- every time I go there she's got another tale of crazy love with a loser guy. And she is giving me bad haircuts. Time to start the hairdresser polka and search for another partner.
We are flying out tomorrow night! First Heathrow, then Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. Bliss!
This is so crazy but I saw my neighbor this morning when I was cutting the lawn. I hardly EVER see her but we started chatting. Turns out (get this) she is traveling to London and Paris at the same time we are traveling and (crazy) we are on the same flight coming back from London on June 30. How can that be??? I am hitchin' a ride back from the airport with her. Hoping for wifi wherever we go so I can keep writing! In the meantime, I pack and wrap up loose ends tomorrow. It's nice that Skechers makes Greek Fisherman sandals. Go DSW. Still have a project at the Farm to wrap up.