Rick's athens

Well this entry in the blob sees a change in authorship, with the web princess having returned to the land of oz for family reasons, and the abandoned husband unleashed on the interweb with the world as his oyster. Ah the power of the pen. The freedom to be able to use ‘our’ computer.
Having been with the child bride 24/7 for previous 2 months and now having farewelled her at the airport, returning to Athens city alone was a strange experience. It was also the first time I have been overseas by myself. Freedom at last. Just what I have always wanted. What the hell happens now. I had two nights accommodation booked, 2 credit cards, a case full of stuff and pretty much no idea how to spend the next 8 days.
Now looking back on the last 8 days I have no idea how I spent them. I visited a few museums which was very interesting. I managed to stay at the National Archaeological Museum for well over three and half hours and only left because it was closing time. The Benaki museum which evolved from a private collection also consumed a lot of time on a subsequent day and was likewise very interesting. Last and not least was a visit to the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic & Ancient Grrek Art; also very interesting but by this time I was getting a little tired of seeing lots of old broken stuff.
I did however leave these splendid establishments a little wiser. For instance I learnt that in ancient Greece young men used to gather for a “symposium” which was essentially a male bonding session where they drank wine, ate food, told stories and were entertained by young females. It seems that some things have not changed. Might by an idea if next year the NSW State of Origin side refers to their bonding session an Ancient Greek Cultural Event.
Much of the remainder of the time was spent wandering the streets of Athens like a lost soul; except far from being lost I actually knew where I was for much of the time ( Sue is finding it very difficult to believe that without her, or tom tom, or a map and compass, that I would not be lost for ever, never to be found). This was a significant achievement for me as I do have a tendancy to be directionally dysfunctional. I was feeling particularly confident when another foreign tourist approached me and asked if I knew where the temple of Zeus might be. So I very proudly pointed him in the right direction and then extracted my map to show him where we were, and where the temple of Zeus was. I took the opportunity to show him where all of the other major sites were relative to our position. And then in triumph I offered him my map. He was shocked and said “your joking”. No said I: “I know exactly where I am going I don’t need it” He greatfully accepted, and we went our separate ways. Within 5 minutes I was thinking it might have been a little premature to depart with the map and was wondering if I actually did know where I was and where I was going. Of equal concern I was wondering exactly where I might have sent the other tourist. Time to reach for tom tom just to check. Before tom tom had time to establish satellite connection, I had established where I was and continued on my merry way. Whilst I wasn’t exactly where I thought I was; I was in the general vicinity. And I am reasonably confident that my directions to the other tourist were indicatively accurate.
One of the less attractive sides of Athens is the stray dogs. They number many and they are generally big, ugly and mean. I assume that all the little nice dogs have been eaten by the big mean ugly dogs. These things are pretty intimidating. Whilst I didn’t see anyone bitten there were a number of instances where people were challenged aggressively for no apparent reason. In one instance a dog pretty much cleared a large platform seating approximately 40 people; everyone just bolted.
The police presence for the bulk of the week has been incredible; I have never seen anything like it. I assume that it is in anticipation of riots associated with the austerity budget and I am not sure if threats against specific target have been made. For instance on one day there were large numbers of police near banks, and a couple of days later they seemed to me near all the train stations. Some of them were riot police, but most were motorcycle police. Or maybe that should be motor scooter police. Ok maybe they were motor bikes but they are about 150cc and they carry two cops. And typically they ride around in a little gang of 4 or 5 bikes. They also feed the police out on the street in large police buses ; on a number of occasions I have seen police buses with twenty or so police having lunch. Apart from riding around, standing around and harassing illegal immigrants these guys didn’t seem to be doing too much.
They do seem to like their uniform and anything military here. Everyone seems to be in a uniform and it is difficult sometimes to pick the municipal police (traffic warden) from the riot police. One group however that are very easy to identify are the palace guards. Here they choose from their elite soldiers the biggest, strongest, meanest, ugliest of them all; then they give them a big gun together with pretty white tights and a matching white skirt. And you still wouldn’t mess with them.
Traffic in central Athens is absolute madness and often seems to be in a state of gridlock. The standard driver response here is to belt on the horn. I guess I have always associated using the horn with anger and frustration however I observed one guy in a Mercedes playing a merry tune on the horn and when he saw a couple of young pedestrian mimicking him he broke out in a massive grin and just kept hitting the horn. He didn’t seem to upset at all; he was just sitting there smiling in the traffic belting the hell out of the horn.
Crossing the roads in this sort of traffic presents its own special challenges. Drivers usually don’t stop at pedestrian crossings. They usually do stop if you have a green walk signal; but not always. And they sometimes stop and let you cross even if there is no pedestrian crossing or green signal. If there are enough pedestrians wanting to cross the road then typically a few will actually wait a step or so on the road; then some others will wait a step or two ahead of those. This will typically slow the traffic as lanes try to merge. At this point the pedestrian have claimed one lane with a second all but bought to a stop; it is claimed within seconds. There is a six lane round about in central Athens that can be bought to a stop using this method; but don’t take the lead and don’t bring up the rear. And don’t worry about being booked for jay walking cause the cops will just watch you do it.
So with traffic as it is, many Athenians take to the metro system to get from point to point. Whilst no where near as extensive as London or Paris it seems to have a reasonable amount of coverage. So it was to the metro that I ventured when I decided to visit the Athens port of Piraeus. Only about half an hour away, I planned on spending a leisurely half a day or so wandering the port city at my leisure. As the train headed out of Monstiraki station I could not but help but notice the incredible amount of graffiti. It was pretty much everywhere. On bridges, walls, fences, houses, security shutters and pretty much anything that wasn’t nailed down, there was an array of graffiti. Some of it could be described as art but most of it was just destructive. I tried to see if there were any unique tags but the only one I could pick up was a ‘graffiti team a; I never got to see team b c or d. At one point I was thinking that they had pretty much gratified everything apart from people, dogs and vehicles; and then I saw the graftitied trucks. I assumed that they were stationary when they were done; but done they were. Interestingly the one thing that was not grafitied was the inside of the trains and the train stations themselves. The train stations appear newish and they were immaculate. I assume that they may have been built for the Olympics and they appeared to be patrolled by security guards. There appeared to be very little rubbish and I saw no graffiti.

Day 54, 55, 56 Greece, Santorini

Arrived in Santorini and our hotel picked us up from the airport which was helpful. Our villa is on the cliff (or Caldera. The word Caldera is from the Spanish word Cauldron which literally means depression created by volcanic eruption which extends for at least a distance of one mile. Santorini had a major volcanic explosion 3,500 years ago. What I found interesting is that it is often linked to the Atlantis myth), and as it was dark when we arrived we were unsure of what view would welcome us the next morning. Had a great dinner on the deck. Sitting there eating our beautifully cooked meal on the balcony, with arguably the best view in the world, a gentle, w arm breeze blowing, we marvelled at how serene and perfect life could be. We were not disappointed with our view when we woke. Stepped out to the deck and we had a 180 degree view of the caldera and the surrounding Aegean Sea and other cliff top buildings.
As usual when you reach moments of perfection, you come crashing back to reality. And one phone call put everything back into perspective. Return flight to Melbourne finally booked; we were on the island for another 2 nights. Thought we might as well take in the boat excursion to the volcano. It was a very warm morning and headed off for the expected one hour walk to the harbour to catch the boat. Not such a daunting task. One, because of the view along the cliff tops...magic, and two because it was essentially downhill (as we had gone the other way upwards a couple of times and it was tough going in the heat). Got to the steps and we had a choice...1200 cobble stone steps straight down, zigzagged and at random sizes and spaces and FULL OF DONKEY POO or the very civilised cable. Most opted for the cable car. We felt like the challenge (on the condition we caught the cable car up). Although we dodged the poo, the walk down was actually quite strenuous. But, as we could see our boat, and it was gorgeous, it was quite exciting. (In one of the photos looking back at Santorini from the boat you can see the zigzagged path down the cliff). About a 20 minute trip across the water and we reached the volcano. The Santorini Volcano is one of the most significant volcanoes in the world history because it is considered responsible for the destruction of the Minoan Crete (which having taught Minoan History I found interesting) and it is still an active volcano (last erupting in 1950). It looked like we were stepping on to another planet. It was solid black rocks, completely barren and was so hot it looked uninviting and dead. We had an hour to reach the top. 1.2km up the path (literally), which was all gravel like. I must admit, this was very hard going and I had to rest a few times as it was so hot. Thank god at the last minute we bought a litre of water as it was gone pretty fast. Am pleased to report, that of the boat full that went (about 80 of us), Big Rick and I were in the first small group that made it to the top. And, it was definitely worth the struggle. The crater was huge and you could see steam, sulphur?? Coming from fissures/gaps in the crater and near the path. Tried to capture it in a few photos. It also smelled quite sulphurous. (hope that’s the right word) . The walk around the rim of the crater was magnificent with 360 degree views back towards Santorini and other islands. Back on board the boat we headed to the Hot Springs. With jealous envy we watched as the younger folk donned their bathers and jumped into the clear water and swam to the hot springs. (We didn’t bring bathers...otherwise we would have joined the young folk). With a small amount of wicked delight we grinned when they hit the water and let out a number of expletives about how freezing it was. Wish I had recorded some faces...priceless. Made do with sunning ourselves on deck...not so bad after all...pretty relaxing. Afternoon spent eating, shopping. As you can see by the photos, Santorini is a beautiful relaxing place...

Day 51,52,53,54 Greece: Athens

We had been faced with a dilemma about where to stay in Athens. We did not want to drive into the centre as we had heard and read horror stories about the traffic chaos. But, we still wanted to be close to the action to get a feel for the place. After a chat with the owner of the hotel we were at in Meteora he came back and suggested we park at the airport, catch the metro in and stay in the Plaka – Ancient part of Athens. Near everything. Checked it out and for a mere $75.00 we could leave the car in long term parking for 7 days (cheaper than parking in Athens – if we could find a park). Arrived then at our hotel which was 70metres from the Monstariki metro station (direct from airport), right in the noisy, chaotic and fantastic heart of the area. The Acropolis looks down on the area and from our balcony and the roof top bar of our hotel we had a fantastic view of the Acropolis and Parthenon (and it looked great lit up at night). As we arrived as around 4pm we decided to go for a walk and get our bearings . It was hot and humid and heading into peak hour. Right near Monstraki station were the famous flea markets. Narrow, cobbled streets with stalls very similar to Bali (maybe a step up). Lots of souvenirs , clothes, shoes and...army gear. Commando clothes, gas masks, guns. Nearly every second shop sold soldier stuff???? Not sure what that was about. On our wanderings we found a little restaurant off the main drag. Went back later as we thought it would be less touristy...and we were right. Full of locals...always a good sign. Managed to get a table and ordered grilled “octopus leg” amongst other things. OMG...Big Rick and I in heaven. It was one of the most delicious things ever (though looking at a tentacle sitting there on a plate was a little weird). We went back the next night and got another “leg”. Our first full day in Athens we will call RUINS day. You buy a $18.00 ticket and it gets you in to all sites over 4 days...absolute bargain. After dropping our washing off with the lady in the Laundromat, we walked through little streets and ruin sites with the Acropolis our main goal. It had been a lovely warm morning, but as late morning approached the rain clouds rolled in, and rolled they did. It rained for the rest of the day...at times quite heavy. But never cold or really windy so it did not slow us down or dampen (ha...what a pun...) our spirits. Reached the entrance to the Acropolis. Before I entered I remembered the photos viewed, articles read, classes taught etc on this stuff. Now being here, actually looking at it...couldn’t wait to tell the kids at school. The entrance to the Acropolis was a monumental gateway called the Propylaea. To the south of the entrance is the Temple of Athena Nike. At the centre of the Acropolis is the Parthenon or Temple of Athena Parthenos . And, this is what we could see from our room. It ios huge. Unfortunately there were 3 big cranes inside it and some scaffolding (a feature of a lot of the sights we have seen in Europe) but it was still quite awesome. Just a little further on from the Parthenon was the temple known as the Erechtheum. On the way up to the entrance we looked down on an amazing area. This was known as Odeion of Herrodes Atticus and Poritco of Eumenes. It was unbelievable...and in really good nick. It stopped raining for about ½ hour. Nice to get some photos without umbrellas. At the lookout there we were able to find our hotel...took a photo.
After we left this amazing place...which began to get busy as the tourist buses came in when the rain stopped... we walked through a park to the Hill of Pynx. Absolutely amazing views of the Acropolis and Parthenon. We had the hill all to ourselves...then we realised why...the skies opened up and it poured, and poured. Water proofs and an umbrella saved us...just. By the time we walked down the rain had stopped...water proofs off (cos it gets to hot and steamy). A cappuccino and souvalaki later we were ready to go again. It amazes me that as you walk around these tiny streets of yellow and white rendered buildings, you turn a corner and there is an important historical artefact there...almost in someone’s backyard.
Day 2 and we had other sights to see as well as some antiquities. Began at the Ancient Roman Agora and visited the museum. (Took lots of photos to create a power-point for the kids at school). Meandered over to the Temple of Hephaestos...which you would recognise. Looks a little bit like the Parthenon. Last of the old stuff was Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. This temple would have been HUGE... and was still, in ruins, pretty impressive. Continued our walk. Passed the Olympic site...where the first modern Olympics held, walked past the Palace and where lucky enough to see the Changing of the Guard and lunched in Syntagma Square (main square in central Athens) . After this we walked to Likavitos to go to the lookout. Climbed about 1000 steps straight up as we decided to cheat and go via the funicular. We continued to walk up stone steps looking for it, and up stone steps...and up stone steps. It was now about 26 degrees, sun boring down on us, jeans clinging to us and yes we were CLIMBING (as I called it) to the top. Don’t know how we could have missed the cheats option...but we did. Finally we got there...I was glowing red...could have acted as a warning beacon to aircraft in the area. But it was worth the potential coronary...views great, church up there gorgeous (blue and white against a clear, blue, sunny day). And guess what? Found that funicular. Our map not quite the same as reality. Big Rick estimated we walked about 9 kms today. Quite like it when it is a bit cooler when we walk so much.
Final day in Athens. On the agenda was the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and walking around shops in central Athens (Syntagma Square). Changing of the Guard was a very colourful ceremony with military band and national ceremonial costume. Very impressive. A browse of the shops, lunch and time to head to airport for 3 night stopover on Santorini.
The Greek adventure so far has been fantastic.

Day 50-51 Greece: Delphi

A very warm 26 degrees and a 3 ½ hour mountainous drive led us to the ancient ruins of Delphi ( a few hours north west of Athens). Delphi sits at the foot of Mount Parnassos and has amazing views all the way to the Corinthian Coast – though it was quite hazy whilst we were there. We were told this was due to the dust blowing over from Egypt. You can see how hazy it is in the photo of me near the flags. Delphi is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. The ruins were a short walk from our hotel so we spent 4 hours walking around taking in the history, the grandeur of a past civilasation , admiring the sculptures, columns and picturing what once was....
Delphi is all based on The Oracle and the Temple of Apollo was the centre of the Oracle. Delphi was said to be the centre of the universe, and according to legend, “ Zeus released two golden eagles. One from the east and one from the west. The eagles landed in Delphi. To mark this spot Zeus threw a sacred stone on Delphi to mark the navel (centre of the universe). In the early Mecyneane times Gea the earth goddess was worshiped at Delphi. This is also the time that the oracle originated.
The Oracle: The Oracle belonged to the goddess Gea and was guarded by a large Python. Legend states that Apollo slayed the python that guarded the oracle and became the new owner of Apollo. The Oracle was a priestess, who was at least fifty years old. They called her Pythia. She sat on Apollo’s throne. People came from all over to have her answer their questions. She chewed Loral leaves and breathed in fumes and that made her babble. Before she sat on the throne a goat was sacrificed. First they would sprinkle the goat with cold water then kill it. If the goat shivered that meant that they would keep the Pythia, but if it didn't they'd get a new Pythia. At dawn on the day of the readings she visited the Kastalian spring to cleanse herself, then she burned Loral leaves and sat in the smoke. During the burning the priest would prepare a goat that was going to be sacrificed, and go to the spring and also wash themselves. Then the people going to ask their questions also washed themselves in the spring. When they were cleansed and ready they went to Apollo's Temple. Outside the temple costly bread was sold and offered to the oracle. The first person to ask a question usually lived in Delphi. The people who asked the questions asked the priests, and the Pythia would respond deep in her trance. Most of the time the answer that the priests gave were not very clear and had more than one meaning.”(http://www.johnrecco.com/ianna/delphi/index.htm)
So with this in mind we were able to see a lot of the important parts of the site. These included: The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia with the Tholos, which was a circular building created between 380 and 360 BC. We spoke to "security" down at the temple (this was an old Greek man) who asked us if we were American. When we said no we were Australian he got excited, shook our hands and wanted to take our photo in front of the temple for us. We had a lengthy conversation...but did not understand a lot. At least he seemed pretty happy. When we drove out the next day we waved and he excitedly waved back. It was nice. At the main site we walked along many ruins up to the Temple of Apollo which was first built around the 7th c. B.C. It was destroyed in 373 B.C. by an earthquake and then rebuilt. The theatre was further up the hill (yes 100’s of steps to climb here) and was built in the 4th c. B.C. and could fit 5000 spectators in it. As you can see from the photo this was pretty impressive. Further up again, was the stadium, which could seat 6500 spectators, and was used during the Pythian and Panhellenic games for athletic events. Its track is 177.55 m long and 25.50 m wide. This was where the Olympic Games began....fantastic.
The Kastalia spring unfortunately was closed due to the many rock falls. However, we did manage a drink from a fountain with fresh, flowing mountain water. The following day we visited the archaeological museum near the ruins – all the pieces had been excavated from the site at Delphi – even large (twice our size) almost completely intact statues.
Delphi was a beautiful place and you can certainly see why its location was so significant.
(Side note: Greek drivers...one word...maybe two...NO IDEA. Speed signs??? Greeks must think they are random numbers in circles on the side of the road, as they pay ABSOLUTELY NO attention to them...even with speed cameras. What we know as emergency stopping lanes on freeways...No, No, No...that would be the 160+ km passing lane when you can’t get past a car doing a slow 130km and CAN’T WAIT 5 secs. Also, that white line down the sides and middle of the road...not what you think. That’s for decoration. You can drive anywhere...doesn’t matter...even if a car is coming AT YOU at CRAZY speeds. Lines...who needs them).

Day 47, 48, 49, 50: Ferry to Igouminitsa Greece...Kalambaka (Meteora)

Day 47, 48, 49, 50: Ferry to Igouminitsa Greece...Kalambaka (Meteora)
Arrived at the ferry terminal in Venice and it was very easy to get here and find our way to the line for cars to go on board. Check in at Anek Lines, after booking online, was also smooth. We have now been sitting in the car for an hour waiting to drive on to the ship. Ship leaves in an hour so we should get on soon. Booked a private cabin with a bathroom so hopefully we can find it (did not fancy sharing a cabin with 2 – 4 other people for 25 hours). We decided to begin our Greek adventure from Igoumenitsa (North) and head across to Kalambaka, Meteora for a couple of days, visiting the monasteries on the mountain peaks. Lucky us, cabin upgrade – the ship is basically empty. Our “ferry” travelled down the Adriatic Sea, past Corfu and Croatia (at times you could see the coastline of these). Pretty smooth sailing and the 25 hours passed fairly quickly (we were asleep for about 9 of them). As we left Igoumenitsa it was quite mountainous, yet really barren. The 3 hour drive seemed to pass quite quickly.
As we drove into Kastraki we couldn’t believe the size of the rocks that the town was built on the base of. The Greek word Meteora means "suspended in the air”, and this is what the six monastries we visited looked like. They were perched right on the edge of the cliffs and were built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The nearest town is Kalambaka (from the Turkish word for "pinnacle"), with a smaller village called Kastraki (this is where we stayed). Both these places are bordered by these amazing rocks. The six monasteries are called Ayiou Nikolaou Anapavsa, Varlaam , Great Meteoron, Roussanou, Ayias Triadhos and Ayiou Stefanou. Some of the monasteries were still in use by either the monks or nuns. All were unique but shared a few things in common. They all had the most amazing little churches. Every square inch of wall and ceiling had amazing frescos of religious significance...the persecution of holy men, the saints, pathways to heaven (and hell) etc. They were all quite dark and were filled with religious icons and very old holy texts. They were all perched (somewhat precariously) on pinnacles and they all had very steep climbs up to the entrance, with steps carved in or around the rock face. Finally, as you would expect, they all had fantastic views of the other pinnacles and Kastraki and Kalambaka below. We tackled 3 of the monasteries on the first day. The first was Agia Triada, also known as Holy Trinity. This monastery was featured in a James Bond film. It had a fairly steep and lengthy walk down and then we battled 140 steep steps, straight up, cut through the rock. But, as you expect, clearly worth the effort. This was the most amazing thing to see. The buildings seemed to grow out of the rocks. It had an amazing sense of calmness about it. Despite all the steps, the walk up wasn’t so bad...due to the fantastic view. Varlaam and the Great Meteoron were the next two. These were also amazing. A narrow, dark, passage way cut through the rock at Great Meteoron, leading to steps cut around the rock. It is the highest, largest and oldest of the six monasteries. To reach Varlaam we had to cross a wooden (and a little rickety) bridge (very high up) and then climb the steps. Up
Day 2 (and rain) saw us tackle the last 3: Roussanou, Ayiou Stefanou, Ayiou Nikolaou. Umbrellas in tow we did the climb up a few hundred steps to each one – but today the legs seemed to drag a little. In particular Ayiou Nikolaou was very difficult, straight up...but we got there and were rewarded, yet again with spectacular views. This place is fantastic and would recommend anyone coming to Greece to visit. Have always loved Greek food and Rick and have eaten the most delicious grilled meats, moussaka – a new favourite, and Greek salad – which they put about a ½ kilo slab of fetta on top.