The Giant Oat

The first thing I noticed in the Athens airport was an advertisement claiming proudly that 51,000 words in use in the world are from Greek. It made me laugh, as I thought of the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding linking any word, even Sushi, to Greek roots. My father used to do this with me too. I remember cornucopea. Horn of Plenty.

Greece has been more of an inner journey than an outer journey (here comes the hippie…we are journeying toward a week at an eco village, afterall…). I can see why this country has produced so many great philosophers and artists. Perhaps it is the scented air, veritably OOZING with orange and lemon blossoms. Perhaps it is the stunning landscape: everything from lush almost jungle here in the hills of Volos, to the rolling hills outside Athens, to what I am sure must be gorgeous island scenery (i won’t be getting to an island, I’m afraid). My head has been filled with calm, orderly thoughts. My dreams, however, continue to astound me.

Last night I was drowing in a tsunami when I managed to send a blackberry message to someone. Then the tsunami hit and I was acutely aware of the blackberry being ruined. I think it was satisfaction that I felt. I also dreamed of old university friends being here with me, relaxing on the beach, swimming. Unfortunately, the swimming has remained in my dreams, as the water was a touch cool for a dip today. I would have done it if the sun were just a bit hotter, or if there were no clouds.

Some things I’ve noticed about greece:

Dogs. Large dogs (we are talking German shepherd dogs) are everywhere. They lie on the streets, totally asleep in the centre of a busy square. They sleep on sidewalks. On roads. In alleys. All over the place, and rarely is there an owner in sight, though many do have collars. My cousin proposed that perhaps they belong to the “merchants” on the streets, and wander as their masters sell handbag knockoffs.

Merchants. I’ve seen this set in every country so far. They walk around the street carrying about ten ladies’ purses. I joke with my cousin that these guys are in therapy for their particular fetish. They set up shop on any corner, and are faster than the speed of light when a cop approaches. In one fell swoop, they scoop up their purses and walk down the street as if their ten purses were an intentional accessory for their day’s outing.

People. Greeks are loud adn opinionated. And also generally pretty friendly people. Remind me of my own tribe.

Food. Last night, after arriving in Volos, a port town half way to Thessaloniki from Athens, we went out for dinner. It was eleven pm. We found one seaside restaurant absolutely packed full of people, mostly families. Children screeched, and the crowds at each table seemed to spill in to one another. It was hard to tell who was with whom, though I suspect everyone was somehow related anyway. We had some excellent authentic Greek food, including fried pumpkin (zuchini, really), horitaki salad (?) and shrimp with baked cheese. I plan to return tonight for a fish dish and some more tastiness. At midnight when we left, the place was still packed with families.

My attempt to get to an island failed today, as the cost adn timing just weren’t going to work out for me. But I found myself on a beach nonetheless, and also very high up on a hill just an hour later. The views here in Volos are stunning. I look forward to Thessaloniki, but more immediately, I look forward to tonight’s dinner.

My mantra has become Good Food, Good Sleep, Good Sun. That’s been my goal for this trip, and I am doing pretty well, I’d say!

Tags: Greece

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 11:37 am and is filed under Greece. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.