In my last post I had made it to Rethymno and met some cool people. Even did a tour of the Minoan Knossos. I left the day after that post for Santorini, Greece's poster boy. I must say that Santorini is dramatic. Three of five towns are built not just on the top of 500 meter cliffs, but down parts of said cliffs. The town I was able to get a hostel was Perissa.
Perissa doesn't have the whole cliff thing going, but its at sea level with a black sand beach. I was recommended the northern part of the beach by an Ozzy working the restaurant next to the hostel. He recommended it cause it was more sand that pebble. As I walked to it that day, I noticed three things immediately; a church built within (or under) the shadow of a massive cliff, what looked like a prison atop a mountain, and that the town was 95% tourists. There were some homes in the town, but most were seasonals. Seriously, at least half of the businesses were owned by foreigners and almost all were staffed by tourists who decided to linger. Still, its worth staying there cause you're near swimming (with cliff jumping up to 8 meters), which is great since it gets crazy hot here. If you stay in Fira or Oia you'll need a pool since they don't have great beaches, and that means a nice hotel $$$. The buses are cheap to go to the pretty places and run frequently, although never at the scheduled time. Plus, they get packed to the brim. After spending my arrival day at the beach, I decided my full day would be to go to Fira and then Oia for sunset, which everyone raves about.
I had gone out with some people from my hostel; Dave from Toronto (looked and sounded like a young and tall Silvester Stalone), Cassy from Brazil/France, and Ryan from OZ. We shared a meal of grilled octopus (my choice) and some veal. Later, Ryan knew a few bartender at one of the bars, so we got a few free drinks. Ryan was a little slow and self centered, but made up for it in enthusiasm. He'd make a great promoter cause he's super out going and almost gives you no choice but to get along with him. When you go out in Greece, it usually means you're hitting the pillow by 4am at the very easiest and most likely you may be watching sunrise. Even if you are taking it easy on the drinking, you look at your watch and have no idea where two hours went.
I woke around 9 only to fall asleep again till noon. I was upset with it, but it was probably the best decision cause I felt like shit at 9 and totally fine by noon. I caught a bus to Fira and spent about four hours there. So amazing. The Greeks, esp here, are masters of open space architecture. The insides of most houses or local restaurants (upscale ones are excepted) won't blow you away, but they will all be amazing from the outside. The cliff towns, like Fira, have one or two streets for cars and the rest are walkways that wind through the town, slithering up and down the cliff terraces with no perceptible rhyme. Or maybe that's the point cause it gives it a really tranquilo feeling, which the houses, cafes, and restaurants mirror. The feeling is like, where you going? What's the rush? Sit and have some wine, the Persians won't be here for years.
I didn't do any of that. Had I, I would have missed sunset in Oia. Well, I missed it anyway, but not cause of the relaxing sirens song of the town. I walked down to where the cruise ships come in to get a view from below of Fira. Not really that exciting and unless you want to pay €8 for round-trip tram rides or for a donkey up the walk path, you will walk through a ton of donkey shit and literally jump out of the way of the jackasses. Twice I jumped onto the wall and one time I got real close to slugging one in the face cause I couldn't get out of the way and it was basically trying to run me over. The Greek guy leading it and the pack didn't seem to care either. Anyway, don't bother going down, the tram isn't much better cause all the French people will try and cut and its no use being angry at two dozen people.
After going to a viewpoint at the top north part, I started walking an aimless walkway to what I thought was the road. It went a bit further than I though so I missed the bus stop. I walked the road a little and did find a stop but it was seconds after the bus pulled away. I was not going to sit around and wait and noticed a trail that went to Oia from somewhere near me on the map. It only took about five min to discover it and so I began my walk. I figured all along I'd just catch the bus from a further stop, but also get in some good walking. However, as I went I noticed I was making great time. So much so that I figured I could walk all the way to Oia. Even with running into someone I met the day before and a couple of stops, it was doable. That is, until I got to the top of the second mountain.
At the top of the mountains, and some hidden spots in the cliffs, are these random churches; simple and beautiful. Most are painted similar to most buildings in the towns - whitewashed walls with blue roofs. The top of this mountain had one and looked over Oia. Also, besides a couple stragglers that came behind me and carried on after I stopped, I was alone. I didn't see any reason to go down into Oia to join the thousands of people there for the same sunset I'd be seeing. The only difference was that I was looking down on Oia and the sea, and Oia was only looking down on the Mediterranean. I arrived at the church about 30 min before sunset, so I walked five minutes up a side path to the actual top where there was a lone little pillar about a meter tall. No idea what it was for. There was also a big old rock, which I climbed and practiced the meditation techniques Peter showed me while waiting for sunset. As I sat there the wind gently rocked me, the swallows came out for their dinner, dodging and darting close enough to sound like variations in the wind and lifted my spirit, while the rock kept me grounded. When I opened my eyes the sun was starting for bed and I was so tranquilo that I didn't move a single muscle while on that rock. It was a pretty spectacular sunset in its own right, but it wasn't as good as others I've seen. Maybe if there were a couple clouds or something. I'm used to that though; people over rating things or having experienced better. The thing is, if you hold on to those things, even the most amazing sunset you've seen or other great things in life (not just anger or disappointment), you can't see present for what it is. It's still incredibly beautiful in its own right. In fact, after the sun went down, there was an aura of gold above the sea for about 15 min to which I laughed and thought to myself, "now you're just showing off". For that hour, everything seemed right with the universe.
I left Santorini the next day though I could've easily stayed a few more days. I took a night boat to Athens, which is Bullshit. These night boats (excepting the one from Rhodes to Crete) have it set up so its hard to sleep unless you buy a room for a couple hundred bones. This one had a broken seats so only a few people could reclined and there was hardly any floor space. The one to Bira had seats reserved for those who paid more. I tried to sleep on a sofa in the dining area, but the staff made me leave so they could open the dining area at midnight after closing it only an hour prior. Stupid. Then I was asked to leave the seating area even though there were empty seats going to waste. Luckily, I found a platform in a stairwell. This was foiled by the fucking French having a loud conversation on the platform above. This went on till 2am, then picked up again around 7am. I see why people hate the French; they have zero consideration for anyone else and think they are entitled to everything. Anyway, when I got into Athens and took the train to the center, I still hadn't heard about a couch so I started looking for a hostel. Props to McDonald's for the free WiFi. The first place I went was full and they sent me to another. I was told it would be €10 a night, then when I got there, the same guy was there (he owned both) and told the manager it'd be €10 a night for me. The room of course took 3 hours longer to prepare than it was supposed to and when I finally was able to check in, the manager asked for €14 a night. I told him that's not what we agreed upon, so he "called the owner" who confirmed that I was mistaken. Fitting for Athens.
Greece, esp Athens, runs corrupt. The manager, George from London, though ripping me off like that, had some interesting thoughts on Greece that he shared with me on the last night. Half British and half Greek, he has lived in both places. He said that the government likes to spend money to be popular, but it has too many problems with corrupt employees that it doesn't collect enough to pay for the spending. He estimated that only about 15% of taxable income is being paid. He mentioned a doctor who claimed €15,000, but had a yacht, house on an island, lavish condo in Athens, nice car, and just a ton of money. Sure, that could be inherited wealth, but George reckoned he was like others he knew who also bribe the tax man. Bribing is just assumed to be a way of life. He also said that when the euro came, prices went up cause things cost lower than the lowest denomination of euro cents, but wages didn't increase. So all in all, he wasn't shocked that Greece was under water. Greece doesn't want to change either. Sounds like they are not going to be able to repay the bailout. They just say do it or we'll take you (eu) under with us.
But enough about that. Athens center is a ghetto. It's dirty, its got crime problems, prostitutes everywhere yelling all hours of the night, etc. Needless to say, I didn't leave the hostel either night I was there. According to George and Isabella, there are much nicer places away from the center, though without a local guide to take you, you'll never find them. One was working and the other was sick, so just the center for me. Because my sleep has been fucked by the boats, I woke early to beat the heat and see the famous ruins of the city, but was so disoriented, I couldn't focus enough to dress myself. So, I went back to bed for another few hours. At 11am, I forced myself, still a bit sluggish, to get a move on the day. I wish their filtered coffee was more like that back home, but still, it was better than nothing.
The temple of Zeus was cool cause its huge, though only a little corner is not crumbled. The acropolis is amazing. It has a bunch of cool stuff around the base to check out like amphitheaters, caves, statues, temple ruins, etc. The top can only be accessed by one entrance and is quite overwhelming. The top is basically the entrance, the Parthenon, another temple, and rubble. The Parthenon has a bunch of machinery in and around it, which really detracts from its coolness. In fact, the angora had a better temple cause it was almost wholly intact. They are trying to rebuild the Parthenon, which would be nice. My take on fucking with the old stuff is this: I've seen the ruins and it is nearly impossible to imagine most things just by the floor plan that has been left, which constitutes most ancient ruins. What they should do is rebuild much of it but clearly distinguish what is new from old as well as have photos of the before and after so you can see what it looked like as a rubbish pile. Some are purests about this, but unless you are a total expert on this and excellent with visualizing, without this, they are really hard to understand. No matter how much I tried to visualize how life was then and what the buildings looked like, I couldn't do it. The other option is making 3d renderings next to the ruins, but even these don't capture the grandeur and imagination. The angora is next and has only a couple non rubble things. One is that temple, a few statues, and a rebuilt law hall that now is a museum. Lastly, are some lesser ruins and the stadium. Of these, the notable ruin is the tower of the winds. the stadium was extra money to go in and completely viewable from outside. The whole ruins experience costs €12 for 6 sites. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Now, I'm writing this on my phone in Bari, Italy, waiting to see what life is going to throw me. I thought for a minute, that I'd cut out Croatia and go up to Venice and enter Austria from there. However, the train tickets are sold out, so now I'm back to maybe Croatia, but the ticketing office has been closed all day. It all depends on what happens in the next few hours. I'll let you know what happens.
Update - went to Dubruvnik, Croatia.
Perissa doesn't have the whole cliff thing going, but its at sea level with a black sand beach. I was recommended the northern part of the beach by an Ozzy working the restaurant next to the hostel. He recommended it cause it was more sand that pebble. As I walked to it that day, I noticed three things immediately; a church built within (or under) the shadow of a massive cliff, what looked like a prison atop a mountain, and that the town was 95% tourists. There were some homes in the town, but most were seasonals. Seriously, at least half of the businesses were owned by foreigners and almost all were staffed by tourists who decided to linger. Still, its worth staying there cause you're near swimming (with cliff jumping up to 8 meters), which is great since it gets crazy hot here. If you stay in Fira or Oia you'll need a pool since they don't have great beaches, and that means a nice hotel $$$. The buses are cheap to go to the pretty places and run frequently, although never at the scheduled time. Plus, they get packed to the brim. After spending my arrival day at the beach, I decided my full day would be to go to Fira and then Oia for sunset, which everyone raves about.
I had gone out with some people from my hostel; Dave from Toronto (looked and sounded like a young and tall Silvester Stalone), Cassy from Brazil/France, and Ryan from OZ. We shared a meal of grilled octopus (my choice) and some veal. Later, Ryan knew a few bartender at one of the bars, so we got a few free drinks. Ryan was a little slow and self centered, but made up for it in enthusiasm. He'd make a great promoter cause he's super out going and almost gives you no choice but to get along with him. When you go out in Greece, it usually means you're hitting the pillow by 4am at the very easiest and most likely you may be watching sunrise. Even if you are taking it easy on the drinking, you look at your watch and have no idea where two hours went.
I woke around 9 only to fall asleep again till noon. I was upset with it, but it was probably the best decision cause I felt like shit at 9 and totally fine by noon. I caught a bus to Fira and spent about four hours there. So amazing. The Greeks, esp here, are masters of open space architecture. The insides of most houses or local restaurants (upscale ones are excepted) won't blow you away, but they will all be amazing from the outside. The cliff towns, like Fira, have one or two streets for cars and the rest are walkways that wind through the town, slithering up and down the cliff terraces with no perceptible rhyme. Or maybe that's the point cause it gives it a really tranquilo feeling, which the houses, cafes, and restaurants mirror. The feeling is like, where you going? What's the rush? Sit and have some wine, the Persians won't be here for years.
I didn't do any of that. Had I, I would have missed sunset in Oia. Well, I missed it anyway, but not cause of the relaxing sirens song of the town. I walked down to where the cruise ships come in to get a view from below of Fira. Not really that exciting and unless you want to pay €8 for round-trip tram rides or for a donkey up the walk path, you will walk through a ton of donkey shit and literally jump out of the way of the jackasses. Twice I jumped onto the wall and one time I got real close to slugging one in the face cause I couldn't get out of the way and it was basically trying to run me over. The Greek guy leading it and the pack didn't seem to care either. Anyway, don't bother going down, the tram isn't much better cause all the French people will try and cut and its no use being angry at two dozen people.
After going to a viewpoint at the top north part, I started walking an aimless walkway to what I thought was the road. It went a bit further than I though so I missed the bus stop. I walked the road a little and did find a stop but it was seconds after the bus pulled away. I was not going to sit around and wait and noticed a trail that went to Oia from somewhere near me on the map. It only took about five min to discover it and so I began my walk. I figured all along I'd just catch the bus from a further stop, but also get in some good walking. However, as I went I noticed I was making great time. So much so that I figured I could walk all the way to Oia. Even with running into someone I met the day before and a couple of stops, it was doable. That is, until I got to the top of the second mountain.
At the top of the mountains, and some hidden spots in the cliffs, are these random churches; simple and beautiful. Most are painted similar to most buildings in the towns - whitewashed walls with blue roofs. The top of this mountain had one and looked over Oia. Also, besides a couple stragglers that came behind me and carried on after I stopped, I was alone. I didn't see any reason to go down into Oia to join the thousands of people there for the same sunset I'd be seeing. The only difference was that I was looking down on Oia and the sea, and Oia was only looking down on the Mediterranean. I arrived at the church about 30 min before sunset, so I walked five minutes up a side path to the actual top where there was a lone little pillar about a meter tall. No idea what it was for. There was also a big old rock, which I climbed and practiced the meditation techniques Peter showed me while waiting for sunset. As I sat there the wind gently rocked me, the swallows came out for their dinner, dodging and darting close enough to sound like variations in the wind and lifted my spirit, while the rock kept me grounded. When I opened my eyes the sun was starting for bed and I was so tranquilo that I didn't move a single muscle while on that rock. It was a pretty spectacular sunset in its own right, but it wasn't as good as others I've seen. Maybe if there were a couple clouds or something. I'm used to that though; people over rating things or having experienced better. The thing is, if you hold on to those things, even the most amazing sunset you've seen or other great things in life (not just anger or disappointment), you can't see present for what it is. It's still incredibly beautiful in its own right. In fact, after the sun went down, there was an aura of gold above the sea for about 15 min to which I laughed and thought to myself, "now you're just showing off". For that hour, everything seemed right with the universe.
I left Santorini the next day though I could've easily stayed a few more days. I took a night boat to Athens, which is Bullshit. These night boats (excepting the one from Rhodes to Crete) have it set up so its hard to sleep unless you buy a room for a couple hundred bones. This one had a broken seats so only a few people could reclined and there was hardly any floor space. The one to Bira had seats reserved for those who paid more. I tried to sleep on a sofa in the dining area, but the staff made me leave so they could open the dining area at midnight after closing it only an hour prior. Stupid. Then I was asked to leave the seating area even though there were empty seats going to waste. Luckily, I found a platform in a stairwell. This was foiled by the fucking French having a loud conversation on the platform above. This went on till 2am, then picked up again around 7am. I see why people hate the French; they have zero consideration for anyone else and think they are entitled to everything. Anyway, when I got into Athens and took the train to the center, I still hadn't heard about a couch so I started looking for a hostel. Props to McDonald's for the free WiFi. The first place I went was full and they sent me to another. I was told it would be €10 a night, then when I got there, the same guy was there (he owned both) and told the manager it'd be €10 a night for me. The room of course took 3 hours longer to prepare than it was supposed to and when I finally was able to check in, the manager asked for €14 a night. I told him that's not what we agreed upon, so he "called the owner" who confirmed that I was mistaken. Fitting for Athens.
Greece, esp Athens, runs corrupt. The manager, George from London, though ripping me off like that, had some interesting thoughts on Greece that he shared with me on the last night. Half British and half Greek, he has lived in both places. He said that the government likes to spend money to be popular, but it has too many problems with corrupt employees that it doesn't collect enough to pay for the spending. He estimated that only about 15% of taxable income is being paid. He mentioned a doctor who claimed €15,000, but had a yacht, house on an island, lavish condo in Athens, nice car, and just a ton of money. Sure, that could be inherited wealth, but George reckoned he was like others he knew who also bribe the tax man. Bribing is just assumed to be a way of life. He also said that when the euro came, prices went up cause things cost lower than the lowest denomination of euro cents, but wages didn't increase. So all in all, he wasn't shocked that Greece was under water. Greece doesn't want to change either. Sounds like they are not going to be able to repay the bailout. They just say do it or we'll take you (eu) under with us.
But enough about that. Athens center is a ghetto. It's dirty, its got crime problems, prostitutes everywhere yelling all hours of the night, etc. Needless to say, I didn't leave the hostel either night I was there. According to George and Isabella, there are much nicer places away from the center, though without a local guide to take you, you'll never find them. One was working and the other was sick, so just the center for me. Because my sleep has been fucked by the boats, I woke early to beat the heat and see the famous ruins of the city, but was so disoriented, I couldn't focus enough to dress myself. So, I went back to bed for another few hours. At 11am, I forced myself, still a bit sluggish, to get a move on the day. I wish their filtered coffee was more like that back home, but still, it was better than nothing.
The temple of Zeus was cool cause its huge, though only a little corner is not crumbled. The acropolis is amazing. It has a bunch of cool stuff around the base to check out like amphitheaters, caves, statues, temple ruins, etc. The top can only be accessed by one entrance and is quite overwhelming. The top is basically the entrance, the Parthenon, another temple, and rubble. The Parthenon has a bunch of machinery in and around it, which really detracts from its coolness. In fact, the angora had a better temple cause it was almost wholly intact. They are trying to rebuild the Parthenon, which would be nice. My take on fucking with the old stuff is this: I've seen the ruins and it is nearly impossible to imagine most things just by the floor plan that has been left, which constitutes most ancient ruins. What they should do is rebuild much of it but clearly distinguish what is new from old as well as have photos of the before and after so you can see what it looked like as a rubbish pile. Some are purests about this, but unless you are a total expert on this and excellent with visualizing, without this, they are really hard to understand. No matter how much I tried to visualize how life was then and what the buildings looked like, I couldn't do it. The other option is making 3d renderings next to the ruins, but even these don't capture the grandeur and imagination. The angora is next and has only a couple non rubble things. One is that temple, a few statues, and a rebuilt law hall that now is a museum. Lastly, are some lesser ruins and the stadium. Of these, the notable ruin is the tower of the winds. the stadium was extra money to go in and completely viewable from outside. The whole ruins experience costs €12 for 6 sites. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Now, I'm writing this on my phone in Bari, Italy, waiting to see what life is going to throw me. I thought for a minute, that I'd cut out Croatia and go up to Venice and enter Austria from there. However, the train tickets are sold out, so now I'm back to maybe Croatia, but the ticketing office has been closed all day. It all depends on what happens in the next few hours. I'll let you know what happens.
Update - went to Dubruvnik, Croatia.
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