In Greece: The Waiting Game

 We are waiting. Again. 

Our cat Nermal perfects the art of waiting

On the day that I had planned to finish this blog post, we were waiting for the return of our electricity which means we were also waiting for lights, heat, the internet, and water pressure as each is tied to electricity where we live in rural Greece. This six-hour power outage was 'planned' and we knew it was coming. Still, there isn't much one can do but wait when an outage strikes. 

Waiting just might be the national pastime in Greece. We've come to think of it as a game, 'the waiting game'.  It isn't for the faint of heart or those who are easily frustrated. While it doesn't require much skill, it requires utmost patience.  

Waiting out the latest African dust storm

'What do you do to fill your days in Greece?' we were recently asked by an expat wannabe. 'We wait for things,' would have been the most honest answer.  Things can include but are certainly not limited to waiting for the latest African dust storm to end, waiting for a repairman, for an appointment, or renewal of our residency permits. The common denominator is that we have no control over when the 'wait' will end. 

Instead, we told the wannabe about the errands and chores that must be attended to when living in the rural Peloponnese, the place where we make our expat home.  Then we sang the praises of all the fun things to do here and how much there is to love about this life. 

And there are many things to love. Waiting, however, is not among them. But a wannabe expat will learn about it soon enough. 

In fact, becoming residents requires quite a bit of waiting these days so they'll get introduced to the waiting game early on.  The process that once was a few months, now takes more than a year.  

We applied for our renewal a year ago in April, so maybe in a month or so we will have a biometrics appointment (fingerprinting) and hopefully a few months later we will be issued the wallet-sized card that makes us official for another couple of years.  We've learned when 'waits' last this long you really don't think about them that much. 

The Scout waits at our village service station

Waiting is a part of our new cultural environment.  Here work gets done when it gets done, appointments happen when they happen, and life goes on:  Siga, siga, slowly, slowly. Those of us who come from a deadline-driven lifestyle sometimes have to conjure up a double dose of patience to handle this indifference to the concept of 'as soon as possible'.  

 

Learning a new language requires patience

Those 'prepare for expat life' articles that proliferate the internet, advise that patience will be needed for the big things, like the slowed down pace of life which can lead to long waits and for endeavors like learning to speak the language of your adopted country. We are lucky in this part of Greece as we don't have to learn Greek to be able to communicate. 

Yet, I continue my Duolingo lessons in hopes of being able to one day be able to ask in Greek how long a wait will be. However, I may need to wait a bit longer to master that one. On the same day that Duolingo congratulated me on my 455-day learning streak, it taught me to say, 'The dwarf has the diamonds'.

I've not yet needed that phrase, but I am certain that if I wait long enough, the time will come, that I might.    

The Scout waiting at the village bank branch/post office

What those articles don't address are the little 'waits' that when they begin to build, can bring an expat to their knees. The wait for repairs and replacement work can almost break the most patient of people. We are experiencing a construction boom here, so waiting for a tradesperson to return a call is often an almost endless wait in itself. Then getting the work done is another wait of indefinite time. 

New furnace sits waiting to be made operational

In early December we had to replace our failing furnace, or boiler, as they are called here. The new one was delivered in a matter of weeks and then sat next to the old one for six weeks before installation was completed. It was finally up and running just before our house sitters arrived in mid-January.

Call the repairman said the thermostat

Three weeks ago, it quit working, and we called the installer and waited a week for him to respond to our message. Then we waited another week for someone to come and make the necessary adjustment. 

Waiting sometimes calls for a coffee break

The furnace quit working while we were waiting for the landscape crew who normally whip our garden into shape in January. Their annual task is heavy duty pruning and fertilizing the garden, the latter being best applied in January we were previously told. They are so busy they hope to get here sometime in March. No worries as this year, they said, March is the best time to apply fertilizer.  

No one to talk to at the bank without an appointment

At the same time, we were - and still are - trying to get an appointment to speak to someone at our Greek bank in Kalamata. Our account has been closed due to inactivity. Guess we 'waited' too long to use it! The account can only be reactivated after an in-person meeting during which time we must show copies of electric bills, phone bills, our house contract, our passports, and our residency permits. 

No appointments are available until the end of April and have to be made via email.  We've sent the email requesting the meeting, now we wait for the bank to respond with an appointment date. 

When the 'waits' get up to three or more, we consider the game tedious. Very tedious. And just as our patience starts wearing dangerously thin, one of the 'waits' actually ends and you simply feel recharged and victorious!

Such was the case in February before the furnace quit working. The Scout had called to reorder the oil used to fuel the furnace. The oil provider is a service station a half hour from us. The owner, Nikos, is an enthusiastic young man who has a can-do attitude and a smile on his face.  He told us he'd be out 'in the afternoon or tomorrow'.  

Wine and pizza ease the wait time

The 'afternoon' got to be 6 pm and dark, and we gave up that day's wait. We set off for some pizza and wine in the neighboring village. Literally as the waitress put the wine glasses on the table, Nikos called to say he was at our house, ready to pump the oil. Despite our gate being locked and the grounds completely dark, he assured us he could fill the tank.  As for payment, no problem, he said, he'd drive over to the restaurant and we could pay him there.

Within the hour Nikos parked the big ol' oil truck in front of the cafe. Sure, he could have a glass of wine with us. And he did. We had a great conversation during which the said he'd like to bring his girlfriend by our house sometime to see our view.  We told him to bring her for wine and mezes this summer. He finished his wine and said he had five more deliveries 'that afternoon' and off he went.  

That time we felt victorious. Sometimes though the only way to beat the waiting game is to quit waiting.  And that's exactly what we've decided to do.

'Road trips' are best done walking aboard a Greek ferry 

 We have arranged for a kitty sitter and are setting sail next week on a Grecian 'road trip'.  After spending a night in Athens we are off to Syros, in the Cycladic islands then we'll take an overnight ferry to Kos, in the Dodecanese islands.  Then we get really wild and crazy:

Dodecanese islands beckon

We will check the local ferry schedule and set off for an island, maybe two islands, maybe three islands based on what suits our fancy. No waiting involved . . .other than for the ferry to arrive!

Thanks for being with us again and we send wishes to you for good travels and short wait times, for whatever it is that has caused your wait!  Hope to see you back again soon - bring a friend or family member along - don't wait!

 

 

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Home for the Holidays

On a chilly mid-December evening, the brightly lit boat across the harbor was a clear reminder that the festive season had arrived.  I say 'festive season' -- not Christmas -- because the illuminated boat was erected to honor the real Saint Nikolaos - not Santa.  

Agios Nikolaos - patron saint of sailors

Saint Nikolaos is the revered patron saint of sailors in Greece. For that reason, villages traditionally display a decorated boat to honor his December 6th birthday. Many keep the boat on display throughout the month making it the community's holiday centerpiece.

'Tis the Season in Agios Nikolaos

The spectacular blue and white boat is new in our village this year. Provided by the Municipality, as our regional government is called, it is the first such grand decoration we've had in the decade that we've been here. It has unofficially become the symbol of this year's holiday season. 

A decade ago, manger scenes were the village decoration

During our first few Christmas seasons here, villages, including ours, displayed a manger scene, similar to the one above that I photographed several years ago in the village of Kambos. Over the years, the manger gave way to a decoration or two on a light pole; one year a star, another a small boat.

During our first few Christmases here, we found decorations, wrapping paper and ribbon to be scarce. Kalamata, our big city to the north, was the place to search for such items.  But the times are changing and now our local supermarket has devoted a good amount of space on both of its floors to Christmas items ranging from large artificial Christmas trees to themed salt and pepper shakers, toys and gifts. 

Shelves of decorations at our local supermarket

We know that along with Christmas items comes Santa. We think back again to the early years here when the village children awaited a visit from Agios Vasilis (Saint Basil) on New Year's Day as he was the one who brought a present to reward those good little boys and girls. Santa seems nowadays to have materialized as the season's lead character. The one pictured below maintained a Santa's house on the Main Square in Kalamata for weeks before Christmas.  Maybe if they are lucky - or very, very good - Greek children now get presents from both.

Songs being sung for Santa Claus in Kalamata

Thankfully -- to our way of thinking -- the glitz of Christmas hasn't yet overtaken the villages. Christmas Eve morning we spotted two groups of children, traveling minstrels they were, out singing Greek kalandas (carols) in the village. Hopefully they will return on the morning of New Year's Eve as well. While their efforts are usually off-tune, they spread good cheer and hope that maybe small coins or sweets will be offered for their melodies.

Singers at our door, a few years ago.

Aside from that brightly lit boat, there are few decorations - certainly nothing like the bright lights and displays of Athens, Thessaloniki and other large cities. There are decorations though and we've been lucky enough to spot a few as we run errands.  The one pictured below is near a small roadside shrine just outside the laundry in our neighboring village, Stoupa.

And one morning we came across the understated but seasonal decoration of oranges and pomegranates below hanging between two buildings in the village of Kardamyli. 

Good to eat and a great decoration as well

In Stoupa the Municipality has replaced the small lighted boat on a light post with a gigantic star that lights up at night overlooking its harbor.

Stoupa's star, is a backdrop for visitor's holiday photos

Here, we are Home for the Holidays

It is here; we are home for the holidays again this year.  And being home for the holidays takes on a slightly different twist when you are an expat living in a country not your own.  

Kalamata decked out for Christmas

Being in this new environment has gotten us out of the holiday routines we had perfected over the years.  Here we've blended new behaviors with some of the traditions we brought with us from our old world. 

Maybe one of the best things about holidays here is discovering how easy it is to enjoy them. We gather with friends on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas morning no longer worried that they will be busy with family commitments as was the case back in our old world. 

As cliche as it may sound, the expat friends have become an extended family of sorts.  

Our gatherings are unhurried affairs, stretching for hours.as there are no longer those self-imposed deadlines we attached to the holiday before. We are free to enjoy the time together. It makes for a very laid-back and relaxing experience.  

Christmas morning tradition, photo 2022 - not as warm this year

This year our expat friends from California hosted a happy hour at their home on a stormy Christmas Eve. It was such a relaxed affair that we ate, drank and made merry without regard to the passing of time or the storm raging outside.

By morning the weather had calmed enough we could attend another gathering of many of the same friends at the beach cafe near our home. This beach gathering just 'happens' each Christmas morning as there is no event organizer. We all show up at some point in late morning for coffee and conversation. It began so many years ago, that no one really remembers who started the tradition. 

Christmas dinner in the village

While back in the old world, the traditional cooking of and consuming prime rib with all the trimmings pretty much filled our Christmas Day. Here our developing tradition is to feast at one of our local eateries.  

Second Chrismas 2024

And here the day after Christmas is also a holiday, referred to as 'the second day of Christmas' unless you are a British expat and then it is Boxing Day.  A morning coffee in the village, a few minutes gazing at the ocean, a lazy afternoon and evening . . .home for the holidays, we certainly are!

Our holiday wishes to you and yours! We hope that whatever your season or celebration, that it is a good one.  And may your 2025 be happy, healthy and filled with travel, be it real or armchair!

Until next time, thanks for the time you spent with us today ~

 

  

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays                                                                                        Cause no matter how far away you roam                                                                                                  When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly face                                                                                      You can't beat home sweet home.

Going that Extra Mile

For decades the area of Greece where we live - the Peloponnese Mani --may have been one of its best kept secrets.  Primitive roads that led over the towering Taygetos Mountains deterred even the most determined travelers.

Taygetos Mountains a backdrop to the Mani

Long-time locals tell of the hours it took to navigate that harrowing route between Athens and Kalamata. 

The road to our slice of the Peloponnese

Nowadays those heading our way -- either driving rental cars or riding a bus -- travel on a modern four-lane divided highway from Athens to our Kalamata in about three hours. 

Long distance bus travel is popular here

We even have seasonal flights arriving at Kalamata's International Airport from Athens as well as a dozen or more European gateway cities.

Agios Nikolaos, Mani's gem of a fishing village

Yet even with the ease of getting here, we have accepted the reality that many of those who say and who've said for years that they will come visit 'soon', 'one of these days' or 'someday' will likely never make it to our bit of Grecian paradise.  

But some have been serious. They have gone the extra mile, both literally and figuratively, this last year to pay us and the area a visit. They've traveled thousands of miles to reach Greece and then made it a point to get to our village. I've told their stories in Facebook posts as the visits happened; today I wanted to introduce them to you:

Broken and Bruised They Came

The winners of this year's 'going above and beyond' effort to get here are Hanna and Hakan from Washington State. We met 'Dr. Hanna' (as we still call her) two decades ago when she operated an in-home veterinarian practice in Kirkland and cared for our Fur Kids. We've stayed in touch via Facebook and she and her husband were among those who said 'someday' and meant it.   

Love these two and their 'will travel' attitude

They planned to be here the last week of October, right after a bike (the pedal kind) tour in Albania. Four days before their scheduled arrival Hanna contacted me saying they'd crashed their bikes and were being treated in a hospital for breaks and bruises. No, she assured me, they didn't want to cancel the visit here, they just needed to delay their arrival by a day.  

Doctors Melina and Hanna - angels at Hades

With one in a cast and the other in a sling, we changed plans for outings but got in several good visits and toured the area. I'd long hoped that our Dr. Hanna and our current veterinarian, Dr. Melina, would get a chance to meet during that visit. I've often described these two professionals as being 'angels on earth'. I had my hope fulfilled as evidenced by the photo above! 

From Mexico to Mani

We've known our friend Dita since we met in a small fishing village called Bucerias, Mexico, just north of Puerto Vallarta, in the 1990's. We were all homeowners in that small village. . .now, oh so many decades ago.

A toast in Nafplio to a long friendship - and her visit

Our friendship has lasted through all the changes that come with the passing of time. Mexico became a memory for us all. She is another who said 'someday' about Greece and meant it.

Last spring she and a girlfriend took time out from exploring Portugal and Spain to fly to Athens, then travel to the Mani.  We did a road trip with them through our area of the Peloponnese (not realizing at the time that our curving, climbing, roads were not among their favorite things). They were great sports though. Our time together passed too quickly, but Dita says she will return - and we hope she does! 

Facebook Friends come to Visit

Back sometime before COVID turned the world and travel upside down, Suzi, who lives in Australia, and I were planning to meet during a future trip of hers to Greece. She and I had met on some Greek focused Facebook pages and quickly became FB friends.  

From Australia they came and we are so pleased they did!

Then COVID shut down Greece in what we thought a pretty severe manner. It was nothing compared to the shutdown of Australia.  But still we communicated and promised each other that one day we would meet. (I suspect we each wondered if we were kidding ourselves.)

But this fall it happened - we enveloped each other in bear hugs in the big parking lot of Agios Nikolaos and took up the conversation as though we'd seen each other a week before.  I know there are many out there who don't see a value to Facebook, but I am ever so thankful for it as I have some pretty amazing friends now as result of meeting on that social media platform!

From Australia and Canada - new friends!

Suzi and her husband, Norbert, are among them!  We had lunch, we met for drinks, we dined together and laughed together during the time they were here. Their time in the area overlapped with that of our Canadian friends, Mark and Angie (another friendship that came about thanks to this blog and continued via Facebook).  The two couples met over dinner in the village with us and it was if we'd all known each other for years. The best part is that everyone is returning next year!

Church in Milea, a village tucked into the hills near us

It wasn't until after Philanthi, who lives in America's southeast, and I became Facebook friends a couple years ago, that The Scout and I were to meet her dad, Nikos, who lives in Milea, the village just a few miles from us. 

Philanthi and I pose with our husbands

Although Philanthi visits here regularly, I doubt if we would ever have met had we not connected on one of the Facebook pages devoted to life in Greece. We commented on those pages, then personal messages led to our Facebook friendship. 

During a visit to see her dad, she and her husband, The Scout and I finally met this fall.  Again, a greeting, a hug and we started chattering as if we'd known each other for years - thanks to social media, I guess we have!

A hug from Nikos always makes my day!

As for her dad, Nikos: it turns out we all frequented the same restaurant for years. We officially met the next time we were all at that restaurant thanks to Philanthi cluing us all in about each other. He is a delightful nonagenarian, who'd lived in the U.S for some time before returning to live in his ancestral village a few miles away. 

 I should add that Nikos is a Facebook friend of mine now as well!

Agios Nikolaos at night

My Facebook friend George and I have brought to life the phrase 'small world'. He and his wife live in Eastern Washington State - a hundred miles or so from where The Scout and I have planted our American roots.  It is unlikely we would ever have met there.

As this small world story goes, George and his wife are coworkers of a cousin of mine. Apparently one day while on the topic of Greece, my name came up. . . that led to the blog, Facebook and a social media friendship. 

George wrote that they were coming to explore Greece, as they ponder the idea of someday living here. During that visit this fall we finally met face-to-face. George, his wife and his dad made a trip to the Mani as part of their trip to Greece.  

Sunday with George, his wife and his dad

Again, as with Philanthi, and Suzi, we began with introductions and hugs in the village parking lot, then launched into non-stop chatter until they had to return to Kalamata.

All these friends, having gone the extra mile, are among our year's highlights. We thank them for the effort they made to get here and for the joy, laughter and conversation they brought with them. Hopefully, their stories have inspired those of you still thinking about it, to take the leap in the coming year. 

Wherever you go, we wish you safe travels and opportunities to make new discoveries and friends.  Until the next time, thanks for being with us ~ 

A Decade Later: Dwelling in Possibility

 Dwell in possibility! 

I recall wanting to shout it from the rooftops. It was my mantra, my motto, my mojo for a time, that summer a decade ago.  

The dream catcher journal of 2014

The phrase, 'Dwell in possibility' is excerpted from a poem by Emily Dickenson. It was imprinted on the journal cover I chose to record our adventures related to the purchase of The Stone House on the Hill in Greece; an adventure that was to take place in July 2014.  

Had we not dared to dwell in possibility. . .

Journal's opening, June 8, written in Kirkland, Washington, our U.S. home after our offer to purchase was accepted:

'We are older, 65 and soon to be 61. Too old? Perhaps, but I doubt it, 'We've met hikers and backpackers in Greece older than we are and they talk of the next hike, not their aches and pains.

We'd actually decided during our trip [earlier that spring] to give up the house in Greece idea for all the conservative reasons we could list: ages, health, security, work, time to travel and then we'd counter with all the reasons we should: price, value for what you pay, having a base in Europe from which to explore further and finally - it would be the 'final fling' -

Now, who in their right mind, would pass on a final fling, right?' 

Olive harvest at the Stone House on the Hill

My other favorite phrase of that summer was 'catching the daydream' because in many ways buying a house in the middle of an olive grove in the Greek countryside was a 'daydream' - a metaphor for taking a vacation from the life we had lived for years in a Seattle suburb. 

Sunday, June 22 - Aboard Delta flight from Seattle to Athens:

'And when we lift off, we will be enroute to that daydream - the last adventure, if you will. We've reached an age when putting off until tomorrow isn't the best option if we want to also have time to enjoy the adventure after catching that daydream.'

The week before that departure I had noted in the journal all the steps we'd taken to be able to buy a home in Greece including, the wiring of an appropriate number of US dollars to convert to the euro amount required to purchase, and the gathering of required documents. Purchasing a home could be done with only a tourist visa but Greece likes documents!

Kalamata, the second largest city in the Peloponnese

We hit the deck running our first morning in Kalamata with a visit to an accountant who accompanied us to the tax office where we each obtained a tax identification number. Then off to the bank to open an account. In order to do that we presented our passports, a U.S. utility bill to prove our address, a letter from the Mayor of Kirkland, Washington assuring we were citizens in good standing there, our federal income tax form, and our retirement pension documents. 

From the Notary's Office where closing would take place you could see 'our' house

Then we met an attorney, obtained for us by our realtor, who would review all documents related to the sale; property ownership, registration, tax incumbrances, property sale documents etc.  He assured us as he puffed on his cigarette, that everything was proceeding well. We were just waiting for 'one more document'. Closing would likely be July 10th or 12th.

The Stone House on the Hill, far right

Thursday, June 26 - after visiting' the house': 

'We visited 'the house' and its owners [unlike the U.S. owners and buyers often meet each other] I took copious notes on sewers, storage, meters, water, olives and ovens just to name a few. I was overwhelmed - far too overwhelmed at oven temperatures (in Celsius) and washing machines and the work that needs to be done in the garden and the grove.'

'They don't have wi-fi! And to have wi-fi we need a land line which requires as the name implies a line, which will require a pole - a big pole as in 500 euros or so! Should we buy a house in Greece in a future life, we will ask about the nearest telephone pole!'

Journal entries remind me that we filled our days searching for furniture stores, household goods and the like. Evenings were spent at local cafes and tavernas where we were to meet other expats and locals as we started creating a world for ourselves here.

Off to explore what would be our new world. . .

And with everything proceeding as it should be, or so we thought, we took a short trip road trip. But upon our return to our hotel base in neighboring Kardamyli village, we got our first taste of doing business in Greece - 'that piece of paper' hadn't yet been received.

Monday, July 7 - Kardamyli:

'We are now saying, 'if we get into the house' and 'if this deal falls through. . .'

The next day we learned 'that document' was actually a packet of documents still not filed by the seller's civil engineer. Once filed, they would be sent to Athens where it would take two weeks to review them and if approved, we could proceed with the purchase. The sellers were scheduled to fly out July 17 and we were leaving the 22nd. It wasn't looking very hopeful at that point.

The daydream went up in smoke. . .

Friday, July 11 - Kardamyli:

'And so, the daydreaming ends. We pulled out of the deal after learning the civil engineer had filed the paperwork but now there are tax returns that haven't been filed and the owners can't produce a proof of purchase either. . .The Stone House on the Hill is now an interesting, but very short chapter, in the Smith family history.'

We spent a couple days doing a breakneck search of properties to see if anything else in the area might be of interest. After walking untold numbers of plots of undeveloped land, seeing homes partially built and those that had been lived in and loved, we concluded there was nothing in the Mani for us. 

Our last couple days were spent wiring money back to the U.S. and saying goodbyes to people that we had met along the way.

A Decade Later

The Stone House on the Hill a decade later

Yet here I am in our Stone House on the Hill writing this on a July day ten years after that disappointing summer. That fickle hand of fate ultimately took us in the direction we were meant to take, but it forced us to take a most circuitous route to get there. We returned to Greece six months later and purchased the house after all the required paperwork had been obtained by the sellers. 

My too-blue-to-be-true view

When I look up from the computer screen my view is over the parched olive groves, the small villages that we consider home and the almost too-blue-to-be-true Messinian Bay. And I am glad I concluded my July journal by writing, 'I guess as doors open and close - even at this old age - we should be open to new adventures.'

Our Greek adventure continues. . .at even older ages! We continue to dwell in the possibilities it holds for us, perhaps these days, a bit tempered with time, however. We know many of you are currently pursuing your daydreams and are dwelling in the possibilities they hold. We hope that you will ultimately catch them and feel as we do, that they were worth the effort.  

As always to all of you, our wishes for safe travels and thanks for the time you spent with us today~