OK - Greece is my new favourite country. I won't lie - there were a couple times when I thought about pulling an 'Under The Tuscan Sky' and buying a little house on an obscure island in the Ionian Sea.
The kayaking was absolutely incredible!! We did about 50 nautical miles in 4.5 days…that’s about 60 land miles….about 100 km!! GO ME!!!
As is usual and par for my course, there were a few small snafus…I mean honestly, how could there not have been? Its me we're talking about here!!
I know that London is full of pickpockets….I know this….but on Wednesday night, with thoughts of Greece and the beautiful islands dancing in my head, I failed to stuff my wallet to the bottom of my rucksack (backpack) and thus had my first London Pickpocket experience…man are they good!!! I never felt a thing!! I know when it happened, too. I was getting off the bus at my flat…crimes always happen within 2 miles (or feet in this case) of the home! Luckily, though, I got everything cancelled pretty quick and should have had my replacement cards waiting for me when I got home (yeah…you caught that did you…should have….meaning they weren't!! But I'm getting ahead of myself here.)
Anyway, small crisis….everything fine….it could have been worse….yada yada yada….in the scheme of things, what did I care….I was going to GREECE!!!
I got to Athens late Thursday night and was struck immediately with 2 thoughts:
My first thought as my driver and I hit the road was that, 'Wow, this is the most non-European European city I have been to!' It honestly reminded my of the airport in Albuquerque! Granted, we were a bit outside the city, and I know they did some major improvements to the area for the Olympic games, but still! Then we passed the Ikea and it was like I could have been on US soil again!!!
My second thought was, 'Wow, the sky is so big here….there is just so much open space!!' Then I realized, I think its possible I've been in the city too long! Its not that there was so much open space…its that there weren't so many tall buildings blocking the view! I have become so accustomed to city dwelling that I had actually forgotten what it was like to not be surrounded by buildings with less than 4 stories!
I spent Thursday evening and Friday morning/afternoon exploring Athens on my own and doing a little shopping in the local markets
Friday night, we all met up at the hotel and off we went for a bit of exploring through the city centre and our first (of many) amazing Greek dinners!
I have never liked olives…my mother will attest that I have never adopted her love for olives…wait…lets be more accurate here….my mother has an outright addiction to olives and pickled beets…an addiction that she has now passed along to my niece and nephew no less!!! Anyway, I have never liked either…until I had them in Greece!! I don't know what it is, but olives - and yes, pickled beets - taste amazing in Greece…could it be that they are so fresh…so unprocessed…so without that little red thing in the centre?!!? I don't care…but I now love me some olives!!!
Anyway, our first little episode as a group happened the first night. We were all getting on the metro bus to head back the hotel…there was a little confusion since there had been an accident on the tram line and we had to jump over to the bus pavilion quickly….um so quickly that when our bus pulled up - almost immediately - that one of the women from our group didn't make it on the bus! We realized it pretty quick though, and she is from NYC, so she knew how to hail a cab and sure enough, she actually beat us back to the hotel!!
The next day we left Athens and headed to the south eastern coast…that would be the day we got a flat tire on the van. No worries, luckily we were really close to a petrol station that had a snack bar and a garage, so we were only stopped for a short bit…had our lunch there and we were back on our way!
We arrived in Vassalikki that night - a beautiful little fishing village where we were to hit the water the next day. We had a great dinner - right on the water and did a little sight seeing - all 3 blocks - before heading back to the hotel - our last for the next 4 nights.
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful for us. We headed out to sea with the winds at our backs and our sights set high!
Until we hit some choppy water….really choppy water….really really choppy water….are you getting the picture here? And no - I WAS NOT one of the ones that got sea sick….really sea sick…really really sea sick….like so sea sick it was a good thing we had a support boat with us because we had to tow a couple people that had some problems just staying in their kayaks because they were so sick!
I have never been sea sick….but that is the closest I have ever come….and the closest I ever want to be!
We paddled about 12 nautical miles that day and made camp at the first of 2 of our camp sights. I will freely admit here that I am not really a camper. I like many outdoor things…hiking, kayaking, rowing, climbing, repelling….but I also like to end a nice day or outdoor activity with a good shower and a comfy bed. I will also say that - and I'm not even sure what my own logic is behind this - but that I don't really feel like camping on the beach is really camping. Yeah - I know - I said I don't even know what I base that on…but there you have it.
However, all my doubts not withstanding…I think I did rather well for camping for 4 nights! I even did one night right out on the beach under the stars!! Why did I do so well?? OK - I'll spill….at the first camp sight, there was a restaurant down the lane that left their bathrooms open to us and even gave us free use of their hose…who would have guessed that a shower under the hose would be so great…but then again, when you are covered in a film of salt water…well, beggars cant be choosers:) The second camp sight was also somewhat close to a little village and one evening a few of us paid 2 euro for real showers at a little place in town that, I believe, probably makes as much off of their shower income from the boaters as they do for their lunch/dinner income! Oh did I mention that along with our support boat were George and Phivos - our cooks, guides, rescuers, comedy relief and general jacks of all trade for the trip? Yeah…I like camping Greek beach style!
Anywhooo….I'm getting ahead of myself here….back to day 2 and the kayaks….
The next morning we did a little day paddle around a few of the closer islands…one being Scorpios….sound familiar? That’s the Onassis' Island! We did a little snorkelling and swimming in the very same waters as Jackie and the kids….well maybe, I don't know if they were ever swimming on the one small inlet of the island where they allow 'the other half' to anchor or not…but you never know!!
Our day paddle only had us going about 9 miles….which wouldn't have been bad at all if that hadn't been the same day one of the paddles broke. Luckily we had enough experienced paddlers that we were able to shift things around a bit and make due until George could make a quick trip to one of the close villages later that night and pick up a spare!
The next day we broke camp and headed out for our long day - 14 miles!! But we did really well and kept a great pace, so it wasn't that bad at all….well, except for the little cove incident that could have been A LOT worse than it was….
What happened at the cove you ask….well I could just say rogue wave, but that wouldn't really do the whole situation justice!
Sooooo……
We all pull our kayaks up to this little cove for a bit so that we could do a little snorkelling. As a point of reference, the cove kind of split in two, so a few kayaks were on one side and a few were on the other….you could walk between the 2 little inlets, but the space was only a few feet of beach wide. The entire little cove/inlet was maybe 25 ft wide and 10 ft deep. Logistics are important here….13 or us plus George and Phivos in the boat….George leads the snorkellers…Peny, one of the 2 guides, joined Phivos in the boat, 6 of us (myself included( went out to sea a bit to snorkel, and Deb, the other guide stayed in the cove with the beached kayaks and the 6 remaining kayakers.
Off the snorkelers go…for maybe 20/30 minutes? We went out of the little cove area and around a corner to check out some underwater beauty.
And came back to a scene that looked like something out of 'The Day After Tomorrow'!!
The kayaks were all jumbled together, 2 of our little group were bleeding, some paddles were in the water, Peny was in the water rescuing some of the stuff that we had in our kayaks and Phivos was attending to the wounded!!
Apparently, the remaining group were taking a leisurely break when a few rouge waves came out of nowhere, they had no where to go and in a valiant attempt to save the kayaks from getting sucked out to sea, they got slammed back against the rocks when other waves came in relentlessly…and it was all done my the time we came up for air.
All in all, the injuries were minimal, the kayaks were only a little worse for wear, and between all of us, we sacrificed one glove, a few tubes of sunscreen, one pair of sunglasses and a compass to the sea.
And back on our way we went…I must admit that I honestly don't think we would have faired so well in there was a different dynamic for our group. We were all pretty laid back, pretty resourceful, willing to jump in and help each other at a moments notice and just overall a good mesh of personalities and outlooks on all of our crazy situations.
That was the evening that a few of us water-weary decided that 2 euro for a real shower seemed a cheap price to pay for a few moments of salt free water!
The next day we did another short day trip around a few of the local islands - about 8 miles total…well it should have been about 9 miles, but prior to the sea rescue, we had only done about 8 miles.
Oh yes…that’s right…your eyes did not deceive you…we had a minor situation and had to be rescued at sea.
Our day started out beautiful! The sun was shining, the breeze was at our backs, we had made a little stop at one of the beaches for some uneventful snorkelling and sun bathing, had a great picnic lunch at a little fishing village - even had some local frozen coffee at an incredible windmill/bar to get us through the afternoon…and began our trip back towards camp.
When out of nowhere….the head winds whipped up and the waves started to get a bit choppy…within about 30/45 minutes, we went from slight winds and slightly choppy water to 35/40 mph winds and waves that were 3 to 4 ft high!!!
Again, though, luck was on our side, none of us rolled our kayaks - which was an absolute miracle given the circumstances. We were able to all make it to a beach close by and ditch our kayaks on land. We had a little rough swim out to the support boat and had to get a ride back to camp. Later that night the boat was able to go back and tow all our kayaks back for us!!
That evening we had a beach bonfire, takeout souvlaki, a little local wine and ouzo and a great time laughing over all of our adventures.
The next morning, we broke camp again and headed the 3 miles across the channel, back to the mainland…and back to reality.
Oh, but we weren't in the clear yet…
We made it back to terra firma without incident and all piled into the van to head towards Delphi - famed for its ruins of the temples and market stalls that were home to the famous ancient Oracle.
Maybe if we had had an Oracle for guidance we might have been able to tell that one of the belts on the van was about to break?
We made it about half way to Delphi…were on a treacherous little stretch of road when we all heard it….the unmistakable rattle that you know is not right….
This time though, we were not too close to any rest stop, but we were pretty close to a little fishing village that luckily had one outdoor bar where we whiled away the hour or so it took for a new van to come and pick us all up.
We made it to Delphi though and had a quick tour of the ruins - which were incredible and so breathtakingly beautiful...and so high on a cliff that it amazed me that anyone would care to hear what an Oracle preached if they had to climb that high to hear it!!
After some time spent in the village of Delphi and a dinner - our last together - off we headed back to Athens.
Now, I recognize after writing this that readers may get the impression that we had a crazy adventure and they may wonder how or why I would have had a decent vacation let alone love Greece….well, it was a crazy adventure…but I have become used to craziness I suppose and when you have some other people with you to all laugh through it, then it becomes less crazy and more fun and just all part of the experience in the end.
And as for my love of Greece….I can not begin to describe the beauty that Greece posses…I won't even try! From the million shades of blue in the sea to the multitude and magnitude of the vegetation and landscapes…all I can say is that it is the closest place to heaven on earth that I could ever imagine.
I know I have failed a bit on the details....the names of the islands we visited and the descriptions of our village jounts, the other kayakers on the trip...so many details that I could really spend days and days and blogs and blogs writing about....but for now, I'll just keep it to a summary and add more here and there on the rainy days in London when I have nothing of import to write on and my mind wonders back to the Greek Islands...
