After our two and a half months of travelling, Greece had been our goal and we viewed it as a natural finishing line – our ‘Ithaca’ in a way.  The rest of the trip would be the return journey, in as straight a line as possible, first back to Brittany where we would be house and cat-sitting and then to London.

We entered Greece from the border with Albania in the north west and spent a night in Ionnina followed by two days by the sea at the foot of Mount Olympus and a night near Thessaloniki after picking up our daughter Catherine from the airport.  And finally by just over a week spent as grateful guests of our carissimi amici Rob and Rachel in the wonderful village of Milina in the glorious Pelion Peninsula.  Lying half-way between Thessaloniki and Athens on the eastern side of the Greek mainland, the peninsula curls into the Pagasitikos Gulf almost rejoining the mainland and trapping within it a calm and serene sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describing Pelion – with its sleepy seaside and hill-top villages linked by donkey tracks, landscapes unchanged for millennia, translucent coves and forested peaks speckled with terra-cotta roofs – makes it sound like a myth.  But its remoteness, thanks to which it was a monastic retreat and a stronghold of resistance to Turkish occupation for 4 centuries, has ensured it has remained relatively untouched.  It’s been our favourite place in Greece for over 20 years and returning to it after a long adventurous journey felt reassuring and comforting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the unbearable heatwave, the stormy weather had arrived.  Three nights in a row, no sooner had we arrived somewhere new in the early evening than the heavens had opened up – first in Montenegro, then in Tirana, then Ionnina.  As we arrived at the Poseidon campsite in Anatolikos Olympus on the fourth evening, we could see the dark clouds that seemed to be following us gathering over the Mount.  Sure enough, shortly after we’d got ourselves settled, Zeus unleashed the most almighty thunderstorm right over our heads which cut off the power supply and lasted most of the night.  We were confined to the van, a meagre meal of cold chick peas and tuna and a game of scrabble by candlelight (which Judith won).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our week in Milina was just the breather we needed after weeks of constant movement.  The sea of the Gulf was as calm and clear as we hoped it would be and we spent much time in it, with Flavio often having two or three longish swims a day – on one occasion meeting us in a restaurant in the next bay in Chorto in the early evening – while Catherine would disappear off kayaking for two or three hours. Mid-mornings would be spent contemplating the peaceful view from one of the cafes along the seafront, possibly indulging in a very sweet ‘galatobouriko’ or ‘loucoumades’ with our coffee, which it’s advisable to have without sugar to counteract the sweetness of the pastry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire time, we were fortunate not only to have a break from the close confinement of sleeping in Brenda (much as we missed her) but to have the luxury of comfortable and air-conditioned sleeping quarters in Rob and Rachel’s beautifully renovated ‘spitaki’ (house), for which we were very grateful indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling energetic one evening, we climbed up to the top of the hill using the old donkey track which led to the lovely village of Lafkos where we had the best food available at a place run by a Stalin lookalike.  It was widely known that he had been whacked over the head with a frying pan by his wife upon her discovering his infidelities but that didn’t appear to have excessively dented his confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a morning visit to Volos, the nearest city to Milina, to help Rob and Rachel pick up new furnishings we noticed that many shops were slashing their already fairly low prices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It would be difficult to spend a few days in Greece these days following the events of earlier this summer without wondering what the effect of the horror stories we’ve heard is on ordinary people, or at least how people feel.  Barely touching the surface, and without presuming to say anything authoritative on the subject, it was interesting to note a few views picked up at random.

• There was Yoanna, from the bakery (serving those delicious ‘galatobourikos’!).  She works for Star Alliance in Germany and was in Milina on holiday but works every day to help her mother in her bakery.  She’s cross about what is happening and doesn’t think she will be able to continue working in Germany.
• Kean, a waiter in one of the restaurants, who doesn’t know why he was given an Irish name by his parents. He didn’t think there was any future for him in Greece.  Worked 4 years in Holland and a year in Bali.  Was also there on holiday but working flat out to make ends meet.
• Stathis, cafe and restaurant owner.  Claimed to make just one Euro out of every 20 after all the taxes had been deducted! The only way to survive is to under-declare earnings.  Business was slow, with fewer foreigners and Greeks had less money to spend.
• Kyriakos, 15 year old waiter at Stathis’s restaurant who looked a bit like a young Robert de Niro. He thought there was no point in worrying whose fault it was  – Europe or ‘our politicians’ – or wallowing in self-questioning, Greeks had to brace themselves for a difficult few years.  But Greece would come back on top eventually.  He believed in looking ahead and was thinking of going into computing.
• Sofia, Stathis’s wife, who would not be drawn on the subject and believed in simply carrying on, as she continued cleaning her large tray of anchovies.
• George the 55 year old distance swimmer, who swam 2kms 4 days a week all year and was not able to reveal his views as conversation was limited during the short pauses while swimming!

If there were a prize, it would have to go to the young Kyriakos, for his clarity, optimism and far-sightedness.  It must be hoped that there are many others like Kyriakos and that with them, Greece will emerge strong again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5-18 August. –  Greece