Many apologies for my delinquencies with these emails...we have been on a tight schedule and between sleeping in, breakfast, mid-morning kaffe, boating, lunch, nap, and late night dinner there has been no time to write. Plus, we just figured out the converter thing here, so the computer now has juice...So please, forgive me. (hee-hee) I will try to recap the last 4 days as easily as I can...
After our short (3 hour) airplane ride to
Athens, we were warmly received by Mary and Michael at the airport and whisked off on a long winding car ride to Delphi. I surprisingly didn't get carsick (mind over matter) on those narrow, curving roads...but I did start to wonder if I'd made a mistake leaving the slower pace of
Berlin (everything is relative) for this fast paced roller-coaster ride that was my first three hours of
Greece. Then we arrived in Delphi, and I started warming up to this place. We had the ruins to ourselves - no tourist, no buses, (plus we brought that Germany weather with us on that first day so...) no heat! We saw what was said to be the belly button of the universe but when I looked out at the view, I could see why this place was so special.
We then got back into the car for another 3 hours of winding roads and thanks to our
Greek driver Michael we were just fine. We spent a night in Patros at a cute hotel they frequent called Art Hotel (isn't that funny, in Berlin I stayed at the Art'otel - no relation). Woke up to a lovely breakfast, a short tour around the town (a port town that reminds me a bit of
Mexico - still not sure I like Greece yet), and by noon we boarded the ferry for Ithaca. After 4 hour boat ride, we arrive in Vathi!! Okay - now I get it.
This place is beautiful. It is a small (but not too small) fishing village tucked into a large natural harbor. Tan and blue box houses with colorful shutters and red rooftops sit side by side along the bay front and up the mountain looking out onto the Mediterranean. They look as though each has its own personality and might sing a tune to me! We are staying in a house that sits on the water and in fact I am writing you from our private living room listening to the soft ripples of the water splash and kiss the row boat out front.
I won't bore you too much with our daily activities...but we have been to what is thought to be the Palace of Odysseus, shopping in the village, on two
boat trips to remote locations, and out for many great dinners. We even decided at 12:30 in the morning to walk 10 houses down to the restaurant/bar for some ice cream. So, I have officially settled into island time. Though, I wouldn't say this island is slow paced...people rush everywhere, and we just wonder, "where could they possibly be going in such a hurry!" - my thought: these Greeks walk a fine line between relaxation and anxiety. The men walk around carrying 'worry beads' which look an awful lot like meditation beads. As they stroll along the water, they are constantly playing with them...I could show them how to use them more efficiently!
I will stick to relaxation - after all, I am a tourist.
This place is beautiful. It is a small (but not too small) fishing village tucked into a large natural harbor. Tan and blue box houses with colorful shutters and red rooftops sit side by side along the bay front and up the mountain looking out onto the Mediterranean. They look as though each has its own personality and might sing a tune to me! We are staying in a house that sits on the water and in fact I am writing you from our private living room listening to the soft ripples of the water splash and kiss the row boat out front. 
I won't bore you too much with our daily activities...but we have been to what is thought to be the Palace of Odysseus, shopping in the village, on two boat trips to remote locations, and out for many great dinners. We even decided at 12:30 in the morning to walk 10 houses down to the restaurant/bar for some ice cream. So, I have officially settled into island time. Though, I wouldn't say this island is slow paced...people rush everywhere, and we just wonder, "where could they possibly be going in such a hurry!" - my thought: these Greeks walk a fine line between relaxation and anxiety. The men walk around carrying 'worry beads' which look an awful lot like meditation beads. As they stroll along the water, they are constantly playing with them...I could show them how to use them more efficiently!
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