Week 17 - Greece
Sunday was a beautiful day, warmer and sunny, and we all piled into the loaner car and drove into the hills to investigate the dragon houses of Styra. It was a somewhat hair raising drive with hairpin turns and steep drop-offs, but J handled it well. The kids were interested in the name Dragon Houses or Drakospiti, not much is known about them or the folks who built them, but they date to about the 7th century BC. They may have had some sacred purpose, or may just have been housing near marble quarries. They're fairly big for ruins of dwellings so I guess that's why they are called dragon houses. First, a little hike up from the parking lot.
It's a very beautiful and special place, ancient olive trees above and a carpet of purple flowers below our feet.
We had it to ourselves. The kids loved climbing over the ruins and each chose one as his own house. S even took his picnic lunch inside one. For us, this kind of history exploration is more meaningful than the big sites, which tend to get crowded with tourists.
It was just a great day when everyone was getting along, enjoying the experience and being together. I couldn't help thinking about how many other mothers had watched their children playing in that spot.
That evening, we drove into Styra, a little village in the hills for dinner. (Nea Styra is bigger and on the coast, but still a very small town.) It was another delicious Greek meal.
Monday we mostly relaxed, though S, big C, and I spent a little time at the beach.
It was nice out and the kids spent most of the day outside in the huge garden and orchard. I was laying in the hammock watching them when a hawk swooped not ten feet from us. Thrilling! Monday night the wind howled and the rain beat the windows, but we were cozy with a fire in the fireplace.
Tuesday, we packed up, cleaned up and took the ferry back to Marathon and the taxi to Artemida.
The kids hadn't wanted to leave Nea Styra, but they were glad to be back "home" in Artemida. I understand how they feel, normally when we arrive at the end of a travel day we're in a new place and have to figure everything out, from finding light switches to how to work appliances. It was great to just drop our bags in our rooms where we were already set up.
Our time allotment in Schengen countries is over Saturday. Friday we move on to Turkey, then Cyprus, then Lebanon. I'm a little nervous about the next couple months. I have traveled in the Middle East before and I love it. But it's rarely as hassle free as moving around the EU has been, and what was sometimes slightly stressful as a young adult is ten times harder when you're responsible for a family. On the other hand, without the pressure to cram as many EU countries into 90 days as possible, I'm hoping we can repeat the Greece strategy of staying a little longer, leaving some of the luggage behind and making side trips with overnight bags. We're definitely going to take advantage of my aunt's house in Lebanon to stash some bags and make side trips to Jordan and Egypt. When we plan the next legs after that, I think we'll try to follow the same model.
Now we have two days to regroup, do laundry, repack the big bags, then to Turkey on Friday.
Wednesday morning, back in Artemida, I did my usual chores and errands, trying to get just enough to get us through the next two days without waste. We considered going back to Athens to the big central market to get some fun ingredients and cooking a big dinner on Thursday, since it's Thanksgiving. The kids want Greek food for Thanksgiving dinner, which we could have pulled off with the knowledge from our cooking lesson. After some thought, though, it didn't seem like a good idea to go all the way into Athens to get groceries when we're leaving in two days. I don't think we could have restrained ourselves enough and would have ended up over-buying. Add to that the several loads of laundry I need to get done, the last minute travel details to arrange and COVID forms for our entry to Turkey to fill out, the rainy day and the tiny kitchen here in Artemida, and we just decided to go out for Thanksgiving dinner. So today I revisited all my favorite shops here, getting the things we like best from each. It was a little sad actually, everyone here is so friendly I will miss seeing them each morning. One favorite I'm so glad we discovered is melomakarona, a delicious honey soaked, melt-in-your-mouth Christmas cookie flavored with cinnamon and orange. My baker friend was delighted to hear me ask for them by name, after all, he had patiently repeated it for me several times when I first discovered my love for them.
Thursday was spent mostly packing, but we did take time out for Thanksgiving dinner at our favorite restaurant, right on the beach just a couple blocks from our house.
Like all our meals in Greece, it was plentiful and delicious. The kids actually talked about how thankful they are to have the opportunity to travel. That was nice to hear, because sometimes as the parent you mostly get to hear about their problems, and one can begin to wonder if they actually appreciate anything. Now everyone is stuffed and we have a house full of leftovers. The lunch I pack for the plane trip tomorrow will be pretty tasty!
So we made it to the gate in plenty of time. The Greek kindness and friendliness has held true to the last. It's been one of the easiest exits so far, which doesn't make us any happier about leaving. Next installment, Turkey!