Greece: Doggies and Ouzo and Feta...Oh My!

After making it through Immigration with no troubles Heidi and I headed out of the airport, in search of some public transportation into the center of Athens, where we had booked an inexpensive hotel for a few days. We hiked over to the Metro (aka subway) station only to be greeted with signs stating that a strike had shut down the rail system. So, we walked over to the bus station, where we could take an express bus to whisk us into town...or not. The drivers were also on strike! Apparently the city is, of late, frequently crippled by these work stoppages, as labourers protest paycuts in the midst of the country's ongoıng financial crisis. As such, our only option was to take a cab into town, to the tune of about $50. (Given that gas is going for more than $8/gallon I guess it was a fair price.)

Upon arriving at our hotel we were greeted by a friendly receptionist who spoke no English. That conundrum was quickly remedied, however, when she called an English-speaking member of the staff on the phone. That gal proceeded to talk my ear off for about 15 minutes. Our room was a simple thing with a recently remodeled bathroom, TV and fridge. It was the first of two places we stayed in Greece that had a nifty little contraption to save energy. The outlets and lights in the room only worked once the key fob was placed in a little socket in the wall. Pretty cool little gadget!

Having been robbed (which I may have mentioned one or twelve times previously), and coming from Africa, we were lacking the proper attire to deal with the cooler winter climate. Luckily we found a second-hand shop on our first night there and each picked up a couple of decent used sweaters.

The next day we were walking through the chilly rain, en route to the Acropolis, when we came across an REI-like store called Polo. Initially, we popped in to the place just to get out of the rain but ended up wakling out of the joint with new rain jackets, thermal tops & bottoms, and fleece hats, gloves and scarves. Given the amount of stuff we got I was pretty pleased that it only cost €130, everything being discounted by 25%. The timing could not have been more fortuitous and we put the stuff to use almost immediately.

Despite our groovy new gear the driving rain was still plenty cold and uninviting (but, luckily, we were staying dry). As we were within the shadow of the Acropolis a man popped out of a cafe and invited us in for a warm drink. That was all Heidi needed and before I could ask her opinion she was inside, removing her layers and warming up by the fireplace. We were the only customers in the place and enjoyed some (overpriced) hot chocolate and baklava next to the crackling fire. As it was still raining when we left we decided to forego the Parthenon for the day, instead opting for the (indoor) Acropolis Museum, where many of the artifacts from the ancient city are now housed, including nearly one-third of the Parthenon frieze (the rest being scattered throughout museums around the world). It was a slick new museum, albeit not terribly spellbinding.

For €12 the Acropolis Ticket covers admission to Acropolis (where the Parthenon can be found) and a number of secondary archaeological sites, including the Temple of Zeus, Roman Agora, Ancient Agora, Hadrian's Library, the Theater of Dionysus and Kerameikos. Over two days we visited all of the sites, save for the last (which is the cemetery of ancient Athens) as we had become a bit ruin-weary by then. There we were, taking in the centuries-old remains of an ancient civilization and could think nothing other than: 'Ah, it's just another toppled column.' Given the time of year we didn't have to deal with huge crowds but my memories of the Parthenon will always be a bit marred by the scaffoldings surrounding it, as part of an ongoing restoration project.

We got up early Sunday morning to take a ferry to the Greek island of Santorini, where we would spend the remainder of our time in the country. We checked out just after 5am and walked to the main road, where we caught a cab to the nearest (operating) Metro station. (Taking the taxi directly to the port would have cost about an extra €20.) We bought our tickets and grabbed a bite to eat before boarding the giant Blue Star Ferry vessel Ithaki. This was a much more luxurious boat than that which we took to Zanzibar. There were multiple restaurants, a gift shop and plenty of room below for cars, motorcycles and semi-trucks. After being booted out of some higher class seats Heidi and I sat down at a table and passed the time by playing cards, reading and catching up on blogs.

Upon arrival in the port we were disappointed by the fact that our hostel didn't pick us up, as their website claimed. We hopped on the local bus and found our accommodation with the help of a few locals. The place got rave reviews online but we weren't impressed. First off, we were disturbed relatively early in the morning, two days in a row, by jackhammering from the floor above. Beyond that the room smelled like mold, the TV was janky and the staff wasn't all that helpful. So, despite the nice furnishings, we got the heck out of there as soon as our reservations expired.

As for the island itself, Santorini is a beautiful respite from the hustle and bustle of Athens. As it was the low winter season, a number of the shops and restaurants were shuttered and the streets weren't packed with foreigners, leaving us with a much more pleasant experience than I would expect during the summer.

We spent one afternoon with a walk to the neighboring village of Firostefani, where we enjoyed a nice afternoon picnic, complete with wine, cheese, bread, salami, oranges and olives, complimented wonderfully by my company and a great view of the volcano caldera. Later that night we hopped a bus for Oia, a village on the northern end of the island, known for its picturesque sunsets. We joined about a dozen other tourists who walked throughout the labyrinth of pedestrian alleyways, snapping photos along the way. As the sun went down the winds picked up dramatically and we bundled up accodingly.

On another day we took a bus to the deserted beach town of Parissa (which is quite lively in the peak summer season) for a hike to Ancient Thira on top of Messavouno mountain. Along the entire journey we were accompanied by anywhere from 1-4 dogs. They were all friendly animals and seemed to have no motivation for following us, except that it was just a way to pass they day for them. The ruins themselves were impressive, if for no other reason than the fact that they are on top of a rather steep (albeit not terribly high) mountain. We walked back down the other side and bid our canine friends goodbye when the bus pulled up.

Santorini is also the home of the, rather cheesy, wine museum which was another necessary stop during our time there. The museum houses a number of corny displays tracing the history of Santorini wine making, dating back to 1660. Sadly, photos were not allowed (and our camera was held during the tour) so we weren't able to document the underground displays of donkeys with mechanized ears alongside mannequins dressed in period costume. The entire display was in an old undergound tunnel, once used for wine-making, which stretched 300 meters. The tour was capped off with the opportunity to try a red, white and nummy dessert wine.

Besides the sites the food really stole the show for Santorini. Everything was rich, flavourful...and, no doubt, fattening! We stuffed ourselves with excellent gyros (chicken and pork only, as lamb wasn't available), fried feta covered with honey and sesame seeds, stuffed grape leaves, lamb spaghetti, greek lasagna and lots of yogurt. We rounded out our Greek culinary experience by sampling a little bit of ouzo, the licorice-flavoured liquor preferred by island dwellers.