Friends and Family,


Ah, Cinco de Mayo! Wait a minute, wrong country. Sorry! It is, however, the 5th of May, our 4th full day in another global paradise! However, yesterday was a bit less than Paradise.

Rain and a terrific wind storm visited us the evening and morning of May 4th. Apparently these winds come from the north of Africa and bring with it tremendous amounts of sand, yellow from Tunisia and Red from Libya. This appeared to red; another Gadahfi plot no doubt. The wind was so strong it blew glasses off the shelves of the bar here along with vases and knick-knacks. No real damage, but it did wake people up and brought a bit of reality to this idyllic place.

We read for a while and talked with our host, Ingrid, who is still complaining about the Health Police, who have made them do some additions to their bar and surrounding facilities. She is fuming and, believe me, there is no one else I know who can fume like a German. And the requirements are just silly and expensive. Small bureaucrats with a bit of power. I also should note that Ingrid’s daughter, Sophia, is home. She was five when we stared coming here. She is not in her last year of Engineering School. Anyway, Ingrid told us a story of Sophia, who like her mother is fluent in a number of languages, including Greek, German, English. Apparently one day Sophia was talking to her mother in German while texting someone else in English. All at the same time! Anyway, Ingrid encouraged us to get out and about, so around noon, we decided to head to the lovely town of Nafplio, just about 7 kilometers away. We had heard of a Folk Art Museum there with quite a costume collection. However, we no sooner arrived and it began to pour. We ducked into a taverna and sat with our glasses of wine while we watched hosts of school children play about the square. Napfplio was the first town on the Peleponnese that we stayed in and it still is a special place for us. Just not yesterday.



By the time the storm cleared, the Museum was closed and we thought that another day might be better for Nafplio. I remarked to Polley that Greece quickly becomes a very different place is the sun is not shining. It is sill early in the year for uninterrupted sunshine. Also the towns are very quiet and many of the restaurants and even hotels are not even open yet. We have eaten out 3 nights and each place had no more than two or three tables filled.

Following our return from Nafplio, Polley made us a Greek salad. I actually believe the Greeks could learn a thing or two from Polley about Greek salads. However, the tomatoes are not quite ready yet, and those are an important ingredient to the salad. However, the feta here as fabulous.

Following siesta, Polley had an extended Skype call to her friend Rae. It always amazes me how long they can talk. We just saw her on Saturday. Yet they never run out of things to say.

We were a bit unsure about dinner last night. We had eaten a good-size salad rather late and they wind was still swirling about. So we decided to return to that little place on the bay that we had gone to for a glass of wine the day before. It is very Greek and the prices are good. Our tradition is now to start with some ouzo and then we added some very good tzatziki (again, I don’t say this lightly, but it was very good) and bread. We added fried anchovies. These are the whole fish and you just pop them in your mouth like French Fries. Not to be missed. We also had an order of what they call Garlic Salad which seems to be mashed potatoes with plenty of garlic, swimming in olive oil and served cold.


It was very good. I think this place will become a regular stop. The thing about Greek food is that the offerings are essentially the same at each taverna with some different depending on the day and what is in the market. If you can find a place that offers food you enjoy, don’t hesitate to go return, again and again. I have yet to know the name of this little place, so, for now, it is the Little Taverna on the Tolo Bay!

Home for a last drink with Yorgos and then off to bed, hoping that the Bowen Curse for Inclimate Weather will not continue!

More tomorrow,

Ed and Polley