Log of Greece, The Last Day
May. 20th, 2006 07:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzThe raging tempest of wildly-flung and often breeding pieces of clothing once again has been tamed - my suitcase is packed. NoKey, who hasn't got my daft wrist-slap knack of folding clothing in midair, is still busing himself over his suitcase. This means I have some time before we change into neat clothes for the last time to go out to dinner.
After a lot of promises (Wednesday, no Thursday, in the afternoon, it still needs an acid bath, come back in two hours) we finally managed to pick up the ring at the man. Yianni Papaïouanou (try the Greek spelling, it's worse) showed us he is a craftsman, master of an art, and a true Greek when it comes to time management. This was on Friday, near noon (the Greek name for 2pm) and shot our planning completely to hell, but we found some time to pick up a white puima (note spelling) longsleeve in a cheesy Chinese shop for NoKey's sunburn. We then lumbered off to the Lambi-Tingáki stretch of beach for some more sandcastle construction. We had a lovely dinner at Taverna Alexandros again: skordopsomo me tyri and mix grill #2 for me, and choriatiki and omeletta manitaria for NoKey.
I've gotten quite the knack for reading Greek and I'm desperately trying to improve my skill. Skordopsomo is garlicbread, tyri is cheese, choriatiki is farmer's salad and manitaria are shrooms. Other words I learnt are megalo(mega), polí (much), póli (city), poté (never), póte (when) and of course kreopolio (butcher's shop). Not to mention galashaïk, which isn't a real Greek word, but just my own little fucked up way of ordering a milkshake.
When we arrived back at Artemis, there was a huge line for the reception, and a bus unloading new guests. NoKey and I promptly detoured to the bar, where we met Scott and Cali from Bristol. NoKey beat Scott a couple of times at Connect-four and we happily chatted and later played some guitar until it was really time for bed.
This meant that we were awake late, but since we've hardly gotten out of bed before ten for the entire duration of our stay, this was no news. Seeing that we postponed mt. Dikios until next year, there was only one thing left to do: take a bus to the Thermes, beyond Ags. Fokas.
The walk to Psalídi made sure we had already seen the sights for about 3/4 of the way, but the last quarter was new: steep roads into the mountains, crevasses, nooks and crannies, and on dried up riverbeds large shrubs with a multitude of pink flowers.
Indeed the bus dropped us off near two little cafes, and a steep winding gravel road down to the beach. There we soaked in hot water (45°C) that bubbled here and there and smelled slightly of egg. I got my first dive into the Mediterranean to cool down. 18 °C of sea water is a sauna compared to the current state of the Noordzee, but it was cold enough to make me gasp.
The trip back up the hill would take about 30 minutes, NoKey estimated, counting on Nancy-pansy attitude apparantly, but with my lovely shoes and cheerful calves (whee! A challenge!) we did it in under 10. And caught a bus earlier than planneed, woei!
Besides NoKey, I love my shoes dearly, especially when clambering on gravelly 45 degree angle roads, or rock beachhead. Gore-tex and waterproof spray made sure the shoes don't have any water on them for longer periods of time (droplets just run off), and I'd be as surely lost without one, as the other (NoKey and the shoes that is).
The egg-scent makes sure that you feel really clean after showering too, and with some trinkets from local herb, oil and scent-shops I feel as soft and squidgy as a kitty after that shower earlier.
Tomorrow, we fly...
After a lot of promises (Wednesday, no Thursday, in the afternoon, it still needs an acid bath, come back in two hours) we finally managed to pick up the ring at the man. Yianni Papaïouanou (try the Greek spelling, it's worse) showed us he is a craftsman, master of an art, and a true Greek when it comes to time management. This was on Friday, near noon (the Greek name for 2pm) and shot our planning completely to hell, but we found some time to pick up a white puima (note spelling) longsleeve in a cheesy Chinese shop for NoKey's sunburn. We then lumbered off to the Lambi-Tingáki stretch of beach for some more sandcastle construction. We had a lovely dinner at Taverna Alexandros again: skordopsomo me tyri and mix grill #2 for me, and choriatiki and omeletta manitaria for NoKey.
I've gotten quite the knack for reading Greek and I'm desperately trying to improve my skill. Skordopsomo is garlicbread, tyri is cheese, choriatiki is farmer's salad and manitaria are shrooms. Other words I learnt are megalo(mega), polí (much), póli (city), poté (never), póte (when) and of course kreopolio (butcher's shop). Not to mention galashaïk, which isn't a real Greek word, but just my own little fucked up way of ordering a milkshake.
When we arrived back at Artemis, there was a huge line for the reception, and a bus unloading new guests. NoKey and I promptly detoured to the bar, where we met Scott and Cali from Bristol. NoKey beat Scott a couple of times at Connect-four and we happily chatted and later played some guitar until it was really time for bed.
This meant that we were awake late, but since we've hardly gotten out of bed before ten for the entire duration of our stay, this was no news. Seeing that we postponed mt. Dikios until next year, there was only one thing left to do: take a bus to the Thermes, beyond Ags. Fokas.
The walk to Psalídi made sure we had already seen the sights for about 3/4 of the way, but the last quarter was new: steep roads into the mountains, crevasses, nooks and crannies, and on dried up riverbeds large shrubs with a multitude of pink flowers.
Indeed the bus dropped us off near two little cafes, and a steep winding gravel road down to the beach. There we soaked in hot water (45°C) that bubbled here and there and smelled slightly of egg. I got my first dive into the Mediterranean to cool down. 18 °C of sea water is a sauna compared to the current state of the Noordzee, but it was cold enough to make me gasp.
The trip back up the hill would take about 30 minutes, NoKey estimated, counting on Nancy-pansy attitude apparantly, but with my lovely shoes and cheerful calves (whee! A challenge!) we did it in under 10. And caught a bus earlier than planneed, woei!
Besides NoKey, I love my shoes dearly, especially when clambering on gravelly 45 degree angle roads, or rock beachhead. Gore-tex and waterproof spray made sure the shoes don't have any water on them for longer periods of time (droplets just run off), and I'd be as surely lost without one, as the other (NoKey and the shoes that is).
The egg-scent makes sure that you feel really clean after showering too, and with some trinkets from local herb, oil and scent-shops I feel as soft and squidgy as a kitty after that shower earlier.
Tomorrow, we fly...
