Athens, Airports and Little Greek Islands
Well, it's been a long time since I last wrote anything of substance on this blog...far too long in fact. I've just returned from two weeks holiday in Greece, in a small village called Kioni on the island of Ithaca. I'm tanned, happy and completely relaxed (despite having flown with Easy Jet).
I arrive back to a London that is completely different - nothing seems physically to have changed - and yet I know that something has changed fundamentally...something that can't be seen, a fear that bubbles just below the surface. I heard about the terrorist attack on London via my mum who called me frantically from South Africa, since I was without television, radio or even an English newspaper. What was more frustrating was that I was without any way of contacting my friends or students, since I was sans mobile phone as well. I tried to cope with what news I could wangle from the local people of the island, but have returned still unsure if any of my students have been affected. All I can do is hope until I see them all again...but it is that selfish kind of hope and that humbling gratitude which leaves me feeling guilt that my loved ones escaped this event unscathed. Anyway, let me try and write about my holiday without sounding too morbid...since normality and carpe diem are the only defense we have against myopic fuck-heads who wish to instil fear and paranoia in the innocent.
I've made this trip before, usually stopping off in Athens for a night or two, before taking an excruciating bus ride to Patras. From Patras it's another four hours on a smokey, air-conditioned ferry equipped with very bad Greek television and Euro hits, as well as a cafe that sells cigarettes, cheese pies, frappes and more cheese pies and more cigarettes.
Once outside Athens, Greece seems strangely industrial. Between small naps taken with my head sandwiched between my hand luggage and the window, I remember glancing up to see highways strewn with pink and white Oleander, large chunks of blue sky and more than the odd car warehouse. In fact, I have never seen a country selling so many cars; all shiny and slick-hot in the scorching heat of the afternoon sun. If a plane flies low over the bus route to Patras, I wonder if it's passengers see nothing but a mirage, as those harsh rays reflect off the multicoloured metal?
Athens is altogether different and, in my opinion, best viewed in the late afternoon or early evening, when the vast multitude of tavernas set out candles, lanterns, electric-fairy lights and the odd crooning Greek folksinger in attempt to draw in the customers. The Plaka and Psiri are the best places to walk on foot at night - full of interesting, secret places and fascinating faces. The air is full of the smell of sizzling meat, olive oil and vinegar, strange perfumes and the odd whiff of sewerage. The Acropolis looks truly like the 'sacred rock of Athens' and there are a couple of bars with roof gardens where one can gaze in relative privacy. The Paris Cinema, is an open air cinema - usually showing only one film - but the experience is unforgetable on a hot night. You can order ice-cold beers during the film or Greek sweets and the overall effect has that childlike appeal of being at an old fashioned drive-in.
During the day Athens is a sprawling city of yellow sunlight reflecting off large chunks of marble and white concrete, ancient ruins and beautiful aging buildings, some abandoned and curious make the place an interesting remix of the ancient, the new and profoundly kitsch. Alleyways cluttered with interesting shops - aimed largely at tourists smell of cured leather, wood, icecream and steaming Greek coffee. The city has an incredible assortment of stray cats of various shapes, colours and sizes which whine incessantly for food. My one night in Athens was wonderful, but I looked forward to the quiet peace of Kioni and spending time simply drifting on the Ionian Sea.
When I finally arrived on the island of Ithaca, I was greeted by the familiar, incessant hum of Cicadas, a cool breeze off the ocean and a sky that seemed almost Indigo in the afternoon sunlight. During my time there I swam with phosphorescent plankton in the evenings, which lit up each of my movements like a trail of lazy stars...it really is something magical to see. I enjoyed good food, saturated in extra virgin olive oil and the kind hospitality of the locals. I played games with my friends, had naked midnight swims and grilled handmade sausages over beach fires. I slept late, swam everyday, examined many purple urchins, snorkelled around a series of underground caves, got sunburnt, rented a boat and a scooter and just had a marvellous time...I will write more about Greece soon...but for now I think this is enough.
