When I began this blog, two days ago, I was apologizing for missing a day. Then when I went to send the catch-up blog yesterday, Blogspot was down. So two days have now passed. For that I, again, apologize, but also must confess that the second day was not my fault. Anyway, It wasn’t that I ignored the computer yesterday, but it was that a couple of University discussions were going on and I felt (oh, silly me!) to chime in. That took a major part of the day along with the reading, drinking and eating. So let me see if I can recap the last two days.
Wednesday was a very nice morning so I decided to walk to Tolo. However, instead of traveling directly through town or along the beach, I decided to take the upper road above Tolo and then come back along the beach. Tolo is laid out in an interesting traffic patterns. About halfway through the town, the main road is two-way. Then, it suddenly shifts to one way, heading toward the harbor. You then have to proceed to the end of the town and take the upper road back until you can again connect with the two-way portion of the town. A few years ago I came to realize this as when I turned around and tried to go against the traffic, a fierce traffic cop stopped me and yelled for several minutes at me in Greek. Would you believe I have never forgotten since? It also makes a sort of sense, as in July and August this little sleepy beach town swells to about 12,000!
So, it was a clear morning and I proceeded up the hill and along the hill. The view was beautiful.
As I wandered along the road, I came across a home that had a very nice garden. Each of the planters along the border of the yard was a different sailing vessel. You can see them here.
Once I arrived at the harbor, I came back along the beach. Ingrid tells me there is an even higher road and I may give that a go in a couple of days.
Polley and I did our new ritual of walking to either Tolo or the village to the east, Drepano. Since I did Tolo in the morning, it was time for Drepano at noon. It is about a mile walk and except for the fact that there are no sidewalks and the cars do fly by you, it is a pleasant journey. We then sat at a little taverna on the square and just watched village life go on. Old woman, still dressed in the traditional black and supported by a cane, slowly making there way home from the store; old men in worn dress slacks, shirt (perhaps vest) and tired sportcoat, sitting and talking and drinking coffee. After our half liter (3 euros), it was back home for lunch and siesta. We read for a while, had a little time with Yorgos and Ingrid and Polley talked on Skype to Rae to catch up on the Portland scene. Then we headed to a little taverna we had tried in our first days here, Nikos. I was in the mood for some very Greek food. So, it was tzatziki as a starter. It was, I believe, the best I have ever had. It was thicker and had clearly been drained for an extended period of time. Also, a little ouzo wash it down. Then Polley had the Cheese Pie, filled with feta mixture; I had the moussaka. The food was fantastic. We, of course, couldn’t eat it all, so it will be a delicious lunch this afternoon.
Thursday started on a positive note as the sky was mostly clear and there seemed a real possibility that the weather was changing. I did a variation of the Drepano walk, but took a different route, cutting through some orange groves to the little village of Kallithea. Actually, it doesn’t seem much more than a bend in the road where some houses have and are being built. There are no stores, shops, tavernas, nothing, but little Greek bungalows. At one intersection I did capture this photo of a hill that is in Asini, not far from us.
It is lit at night and Ingrid tells me that you can climb it, which we may do in the near future.
I made my circuit and back home, enjoying the growing signs of summer.
It was then I got involved in University business which is increasingly become none of mine. However, as I chewed I things, I felt a need to respond. Thus, no blog yesterday.
The weather continue to look pretty promising so we headed to Tolo for our noontime refreshment. We did discover than our favorite little taverna, Kastraki, was back open. They had been closed for a couple of days and we thought that because business was so slow that there were no going to be there. But the little lady was there and we confirmed that we would return for dinner than evening. We continued on to Tolo and found a lovely little bar/café with these nice rectangular marble tables that were on a veranda looking right out at the sea. It was very nice. It was also clear that people in town were beginning to feel a change in the weather. Places that had been previously closed, were beginning to look open or people were out cleaning things up in preparation for opening. It was a new energy. However, as we sat at the little cafe, the weather began to change. Dark clouds moved in and we thought there might be danger of rain. The little lady at the supermarket assured us it was not going to rain and, in fact, it did not as we made our way home for lunch. Lunch was the left-over Tzatziki and some bread. Still wonderful! It was then siesta and some more reading. About the time we were preparing to see Yorgos at the bar, rain began, and then thunder. Things change very quickly here on the Peleponnese. We did brave the rain and join Yorgos at the bar and talked for an hour or so. Having given up on the idea of Kastraki for dinner, as it is quite exposed, the weather changed again. The sky began to clear and it looked hopeful. So, Kastraki was on and we went. Boy did we have a feast. We started with ouzo and then ordered a spicy cheese dip, the Greek fried potatoes, some fried smelt and some beans in tomato sauce. All delicious, but way more than we could eat. Friday will definitely be a dine-in day. We were also pleased to see 4 other people arrive for dinner that night, so it may indicate that things are picking up. The weather forecast for the next few days is positive, so let’s hope there is not another surprise. More tomorrow, I promise.
Ed and Polley
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