Last of Greece.

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Well, another week without affordable internet resources, another week-long break between entries, and again I have a lot of catching up to do. SO, shortly after my last entry we boarded a ferry for Patmos and arrived late at night. We were picked up at the port by Theo, the owner of Yvonne's studios, the place where we'd reside for the next four nights. We were pleasantly surprised to find a kitchenette with a stovetop and sink and some counter space.

We had a great view from our balcony; on our left the tourist-town of Skala, which is situated on the narrow waist of Patmos; so actually there was water on our far left and far right. Ahead of us was the other slope of the valley, covered with little houses and only a few half-finished ones; up up up the slope on our right was the imposing, fortresslike Monastery of St John, which seems enthroned over the whitewashed town of Xopa. That's Hora to us.

So in the early afternoon we set out up the hill on a little footpath that ran through the woods parallel to the road, but far enough away that the car sounds weren't too intrusive. It was a nice little walk, and not too steep either. At some length we stumbled upon the Monastery of the Apocalypse, which we had been heading for, but had arrived at only inadvertently. In the islands, and in a lot of rural areas of Greece, most everything closes in the afternoon; it's like this in Italy as well. Siesta time I suppose. So we had to wait around for a little while before it was open.

It's a simple, geometrically blocky little building that goes seems to go straight downwards, down a slope to where it's engulfed the mouth of the Cave of the Apocalypse, half of which seems like a small basement room, which gets smaller on the other side, with a roof of raw stone. It's packed with all kinds of arcane, occult-looking objects; unlit lamps full of oil, pictures and icons embellished with silver halos, straight backed chairs of dark wood along the walls, screens painted with scenes of seraphim and other mystical happenings, all packed into this dim, claustrophobic space with this weird, weird vibe. I know it's all in my head, just like anything else, and it was what I made it, but the vibe there was still...just unlike anywhere else I've been. I felt completely over my head, out of my element, however you want to say it. You just want to sit quietly and not draw attention to yourself. I mean the place has been used as a holy site for about two milennia, before anything connected to me ever existed. So it's kind of weird.

From there we went further up out of the valley to the Monastery of St John, which was built as a fortress against the possibility of pirate attacks back in the day. There were some pretty awesome frescoes, and a chapel which, like a lot of Greek Orthodox chapels, is a bit like a cave in its colour and lighting. Quiet, dark places packed tight with holy objects and the walls are just covered with iconography on a dark crimson background. I suppose it's supposed to make you focus inwards.

From there we decided to walk to Sapsila, a nearby town with a cool restaurant called Benetos we'd read about. But I think we took a wrong turn and ended up doing a circuit of the entire south chunk of the island before we even got to Sapsila. Patmos itself is much smaller than Athens, so walking all over the whole thing is no big deal. It was getting to be late afternoon at that point, so the sun was turning a deeper gold and made the hilly terrain look just magical. There were hills and valleys and little hollows and us just walking through it all, with the ocean there to keep us oriented. We walked for about an hour and a half, just absorbing the scenery and talking and enjoying the last of the sun. The restaurant turned out to be closed until the high season, when we finally got there, but we just went into town and got a platter of mezedes (appetisers) and a carafe of ouzo in town for a short dinner.

The next day we got on a bus around midday and headed to nearby Meloi beach. Oh look, beach chairs! What? Four and half euros each? Sand it is! So we spent a nice day loungeing in the intense sun and cooling off swimming in the fresh Aegean sea. That evening we skipped the bus and walked back, got some pasta, tinned tomatoes and two steaks, along with fresh tomatoes, feta, cucumbers, olives and onions, and made spaghetti with steak in this red wine tomato sauce, and Greek salad, with red wine. Afterwards we remembered Crete with some peaches and raki. We're down to just a quarter bottle of Cretan firewater, but I have another bottle to share with my friends and family, all at once, upon my return. You'll like it. Or you'll hate it. In which case there will be more for me.

The next day was much of the same; we walked to Kambos beach, which was wonderful, but a little crowded. So after lunch we went down the road to Agriolivado, where we spent the rest of the day. The beaches here weren't as perfect as say, Elafonisi, with its pearly sand and brilliantly clear, aquamarine water, but still really great, and likely the last we'll see for a while. That night we made the same dinner, but better. I pan-seared the steak hotter, and simmered it cooler in the sauce, so it was juicier and more tender.

The next day we went straight to Agriolivado. The day before we'd bought some shitty goggles from a beachside kiosk, and amused ourselves throughout the day looking at the fish, the seaweed, and the sponges along the seabed. The weather was flawless on all three of our beach days, and this last, Kathleena was reluctant to leave; we didn't until it had really cooled off, and I think we were the last on the bach. The Greeks don't feel the need to stick around late; beaches are so normal for them, the bastards.

So we went back to our room, showered the salt off, and went out to the ouzeri for our last meal on the islands. We ordered dolmades, tzatziki, giant beans, and a fish, which we got to go into the kitchen to pick. Yes sir, they have freshly caught, whole fish in a tupperware container in the fridge in the kitchen, you just gotta pick one. The appetisers came one at a time, so that's how we ate them, with ouzo on the rocks betwen, to cleanse the palate. When the fish arrived, we were salivating. Basically they just throw the whole thing on the grill, drizzle it with some olive oil and lemon juice, and bring it to you. It's a very pure way of eating, I think, and it was delicious. So moist and almost sweet, with a nice bit of fish oiliness to it without being gross or greasy. So good. Worth the fifteen euros it cost.

So then we went and got packed, and went out for gelato, then caught our ferry to Athens, which arrived at midnight. Ferries suck, and I'm glad to be done with them at least until we're hopping up the Adriatic coast of Croatia. They play Greek TV all night, people are smoking, the aisles are full of gypsy families laid out on blankets you have to step over, you can't get comfortable in your seat or on the floor...I'd prefer trains or buses; they might be more cramped, but because of that people don't have anything to do, and so they can't make noise.

So we went to Athens, caught a train to Thessaloniki, had to spend the night in a shithole hotel. The place really was a hole, the worst we've been in so far. No air conditioning, right on the main drag of a big Greek city (they never sleep), stained sheets a tv that only showed static...I could go on, but it's in the past. It's in the past.

So the next day we got on another train, to Kalambaka. We arrived in plenty of time to look around for a hotel and we found one that wasn't too bad, though the employees were kind of pushy and bitchy. When we were looking at the room this little girl was showing us, we asked for the remote to work the air conditioning. Tomorrow she'd bring it to us, she said. No, tonight, we said. Okay. So we took the room, and on our way out for dinner enquired after the air conditioning.

"Not this month. The service not until NEXT month. Your are the first people to ask for air conditioning!" How demanding we are, what a luxury we are demanding. God, we've had just about enough of the Greeks. So the next morning we went out to buy some fruit for breakfast, and ended up getting into an altercation with these grouchy old Greek men who didn't want us to FEEL THE FRUIT WE WERE GOING TO BUY. How do we know it's going to be good if we can't feel it? And to boot we'd just seen a Greek lady feeling every single lemon she put in her bag. So I was picking out some pears and the guy basically steps between me and the pears, talking angrily in Greek. I hadn't eaten that day yet, so I just put the bag of fruit we had picked out on the floor, and they just lost it! "Greek greek greek turistis greek greek." Assholes.

So we went and had some yogourt, bread and meat and cheese, and caught a bus to the Meteora.

The Meteora is the only reason people come to Kalambaka. There is a closer town that we hadn't know about, and I'm guessing most tourists go there. So maybe the Kalambakans are already sour about the situation, so mistreat the tourists they do get. So we had a rough morning, but it was forgotten when we got to the Meteora.

The Meteora are a collection of twenty four (!) monasteries (six still in use) perched on top of these incredible stone spires worn round over the centuries. They are so cool. Grand Meteoron, the main monastery, has a cool museum area about the lives of the monks, and also some history of the area. There's also an ossuary, where they kept the skulls and bones of the monks once they died. Eerie. Basically they had to hoist the stones of the building up one at a time, with ropes. It's really incredible. I took pictures which you'll see eventually. On the way back we stopped at another fruit stand, and had no problem squeezing our fruit a little. We were so grateful. So that night we went out for a light dinner, caught an English language movie (The Core), which was really nice, and went to bed. The next morning we caught a train back to Thessaloniki, and here we are, waiting for our connection to Sofia, in Bulgaria. From there we'll go to Belgrade in Serbia, Sarajevo and Mostar in Bosnia, and then we'll be in Croatia. I've had a wonderful, wonderful time in Greece, but I've also had my fill, and I'm superexcited to be on the next adventure. Over and out.

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