My Big Fat Greek Experience

Splat and I have not had much luck since arriving in Greece. While the city of Athens was beautiful and the island of Santorini has been wonderful, I am starting to doubt our chances of ever leaving here. We arrived in Athens on the 11th of February, and had planned on spending only a day or two exploring the sights. As it turned out, there was a transportation strike scheduled for the 13th. This meant that no trains, buses, or ferries, would be running on that day. Since we had planned on leaving Athens on the 13th to head to the islands, we were literally stuck. However, we realized that a few more days in Athens would allow us to map out the remainder of our journey and relax and unwind from the Africa trip. So on the 14th, we boarded an overnight ferry from Athens to the Greek island of Santorini. The ferry put us on the island at 4:30 in the morning on the 15th. We spent that day sleeping and enjoying the nice weather we had expected from an island getaway. As luck would have it, the 16th and 17th were not so nice. In fact, it is currently snowing in Athens and on the island (which it has historical done only twice in the minds of many of Santorini's residents). This of course may prolong our leaving the island since the ferries do not operate during bad weather. As of two o'clock this afternoon (the 17th) it is still undecided whether or not we will be leaving today. I guess this is all part of the experience of traveling on the other side of the world.

I have had plenty of time to reflect on the culture and the people of Greece, and although it may be a little premature, I am not thrilled with the hospitality or general attitudes of many of the Greek people we have encountered. I am not sure whether it is their attitudes towards Americans (a general give away when decked out in North Face attire), or whether passivity and politeness are traits that are frowned upon by a majority of European countries. Also, everyone (this is not an exaggeration) in Greece is a smoker. I believe it is customary for every child to receive a pack of cigarettes on their 2nd birthday. Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe and am forced to breathe the disgusting smoke infested air. This is not to say that I have not been forced to breathe the smoke infested air in every restaurant we have eaten in, the ferry we traveled to the island on, the bookstores, clothing stores, travel agencies, and generally every other public place we have walked into.

I am also in the process of checking into whether the words "excuse me," exist in Greek culture. Once I find out, I will be sure to let you all know. On a positive note, we have met a few nice people. Yesterday, Splat and I attempted to walk about 18 km to the town of Oia (ee-ah). This is a town in Santorini that offers the best view of the island. About an hour into our walk the sky darkened and the rain began to fall. We were forced to turn around and head back towards the place we were staying. It was a far walk, and my numerous attempts to hitch a ride had been unsuccessful. Just when I was about to give up, a nice lady and her mother picked us up off the side of the road. They were more than willing to drop us off in the middle of the town where we were staying. It felt good to know that there were some hospitable people here on the island.

I hope to figure out soon where and when I will be heading to my next destination. As soon as I figure it out I will be sure to let you all know. Hope all is well. Take care.