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Published: October 1st 2007
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A still morning
My favourite (and rebellious thing) to do would be to sneak up to the beach with my coffee and indulge in a few quiet moments...this was my last morning When one imagines a Greek holiday I suppose most will picture endless sunbathing, indulgence of all Greek cuisine (hmmm, olives) and possibly even a good dose of Island nightlife...I certainly tried to contain any expectations I might have given my invitation saw me trundling off to Greece in a mini-bus crammed with 15 of us...it was a story of 1 priest, his wife, their 10 month old daughter, 11 Romanian girls/ladies, a crazy old Romanian driver and me.
After a 24-hour manic journey, which included a 3 hour delay at the Romanian-Bulgarian border (yep, we hadn't even made it out of Romania before encountering our first hurdle) - police papers needed for the person responsible for the minors of the group. We had to drive back to the nearest Romanian town to organise them...apparently we were lucky - they could have taken up to 24 hours! Next hurdle - 15 people needing to survive the journey on cramped mini-bus on a unseasonably hot day despite summer coming to a close with no windows allowed open...torture! Romanians have long held the belief that drafts cause illness so to ensure that little baby Maria (most people are named religiously in Romania) didn't
Our crazy Romanian driver
This is Luce - he ended up being quite amusing - would crack open his first beer diligently before noon each day get sick, the mother insisted we keep the windows closed - arghh! Thankfully crazy old Romania driver (Luce - not very religious of a name I dont think) refused to have his window completely shut (go Luce!) so those of us lucky enough to sit behind his seat would sporadically catch the wifts of fresh air that were able to escape into the bus from the crack of his window. I honestly have no idea how those at the back of the bus didn't pass out from heat exhaustion - it must be good old fashion Romanian tenancity.
Then towards the end of the journey it was a case of us swapping duties to keep Luce awake as we realised he hadn't eaten anything nor taken up the usual caffiene addicition that long-distance driving usually triggers and he'd been driving now for almost a whole day! It was really stressful quite frankly and it was the one point of the whole trip that I was pleased to have a priest on board in the hope that there might be additional assistance pointed in our direction for a safe arrival...when we finally did arrive (thank god...no, really, thank god) I
"The Girls"
The Romanian girls that made the trip bearable...I didn't envy them though with having to make the trip back in that mini-bus! was beginning to wonder how exactly I was going to survive this week.
All my initial concerns turned out to be warranted - I had landed myself on a religious camp with a control freak priest, his overbearing wife, overly doted on baby and (the saving grace of the trip) - 11 delightful Romanians, a few of which even spoke some English - thank god for small mercies, I could talk a little!! The priest and I didn't really get along...its not that I dont get along with priests - so far up until this point in time I have had quite affable interactions with the priests I have encountered but this was one, no, we didn't get along- he wanted to control and me being such a placid, meak, softly spoken, timid person (hmmm....), well, we just didn't go very well together.
It wasn't all bad though...we were staying on the sea about 50km from Thessaloniki and the beach was just a stroll away and I would relish the times during the day when we were "allowed" to go to the beach (particularly when we could go by ourselves- I mean, what freedom!)...I would tuck the extra
"The Baby"
She was kinda cute...and she didn't actually cry that much so I think most of the girls were happy to lend a hand to look after her bits of me into my swimmers (yes, unfortunately have succumbed to freshly baked Romanian bread after vowing I wouldn't let it happen again...oh well!) and happily laze around - the water was still warm (I remember the water being so bitterly cold around the same time two years ago) and the sun would remain high until after 6pm. And then the sunsets - I had forgotten just how amazingly beautiful Greek sunsets were...they took my breath away.
Unfortunately I cant share photos of some of those amazing sunsets or the day trip we did to Mt Athos (stunningly Greek with crystal clear water, quaint village and monastaries dotted around the whole island) as I managed to delete all the photos from the camera - doh! Whoever did invent the function "Format Memory Card" anyway, which with 1 click of a button (and no warning of what you are about to do) makes all your photos disappear? The magic of the universe displayed yet again to me as earlier that day I had specifically requested to go back from church to the house we were staying in as had realised I hadn't locked away my passport and camera and the
"The Priest"
Enough said really... house was unlocked. Had run through all consequences and decided it was worth asking to go back as I didn't want to lose my photos (passports can be replaced but most photos ops will never be repeated). Could only laugh when I had managed to lose them myself a mere 8 hours later...yep, am certainly getting better at materialising the thoughts I have!
Anyway, this story does have a happy ending...it involves two delightful Greeks - Nasta and Vasilis - couchsurfers in Thessaloniki that responded to my urgent cry for help and let me crash at their place...I dont think there was any love lost between priest and I when I told him that I wasn't going to endure torturous mini-bus ride back to Romania with them (which in my limited Romanian involved me saying the equivalent of "me no Romania, me stay in Thessaloniki please" ha ha ha). I spent the rest of the week happily swanning around Thessaloniki as though I had lived there a lifetime, owing most thanks to Nasta'n'Vasilis for making their home, my home...I found it difficult to pry myself away from the luxuries I had become accustomed to again in only a few
Thessaloniki Sea
This is about as much beach as you will get in Thessaloniki- still pretty picturesque I think days - the supermarket, irish cream starbucks coffee, internet and the sea just a stroll away. Ahhhh, yes, it certainly did cross my mind that life here in Greece could suit me...but then again, it was harvesting season in Romania so the prospect of spending days picking corn and apples was beckoning and I somehow let reality slip back in and I got myself (slightly kicking and screaming on the inside mind you) on an overnight train out of there.
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Kal
non-member comment
Hello Darling !!
WOW !! Your life is soooo coool, what fun !! I think life is pretty damn good babe. keep doing it, I love the updates !! Just about to leave for Marrakesh, its warm and balmy and I want to be there now... sigh... only a few hours and ahhhhh !!! I shall see if I can do this blog thing when I return and drop some info and piccies for you, Big london love and hugs, Kal xxxx