With Travel, Never Say Never

 When it comes to travel, we should 'never say never'.  We know that now.

In fact, I reminded myself of that a couple weeks ago in Santorini while having our photo taken by seat mates in a cable car that was dangling above a cliffside whisking us down - way down - to our cruise ship.

Santorini cable car to cruise ship port

'We'd never take a cruise through the Greek islands,' we've adamantly proclaimed for years, usually adding, 'and certainly never in summer!' 

Yet there we were on Santorini, our first port of call on a weeklong cruise through Greece - in summer! Never say never!

In a cable car off a sheer cliff in Santorini.

While we love cruising, we have long maintained that in order to get the real flavor of Greece -- nightlife in a village, driving those narrow winding roads that lead through small hamlets, or waiting for sheep or goats who have roadway priority -- you need more time than afforded on a cruise ship tour. You need to spend days and nights exploring this adopted country of ours.  

As for traveling in Greece in summer: no matter the mode of transport, it can bring on heat stroke and/or agoraphobia, a fear of crowds.

But sometimes reality and circumstances can challenge one's mantras about travel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  

Blue and white of Greece's Santorini

Travel reality for us right now is limited to Greece. As expats who've reapplied for residency permit renewal, we can no longer travel in most of Europe without risk of fines and/or deportation for overstaying our time in the Schengen Zone. 

So, we'll be 'Doin' Greece' for a while. The good news is, that there is plenty of Greece remaining for us 'to do'. 

The Scout had been working on some travel options for June, and it didn't take long to conclude that a cruise would cover more territory and be as cost-effective and more time-efficient than traveling by ferry, staying in hotels, and eating out. 

Our room with a view - Celebrity Infinity

That's why we found ourselves setting sail on the Celebrity Infinity two weeks ago. The trip began with an overnight stay in Athens. It is good to get a taste of the big city after months of living in the rural Peloponnese, where we make our expat home.  

[Travel tip: We used an app, Free Now, to nab a taxi to the port the next morning - it worked like a charm -- establishing the rate and route upfront while bringing a driver within minutes. We recommend it highly.]

Athens' nightlife is vibrant

The ship would visit Santorini and Mykonos islands, as well as cities Thessaloniki and Kavala on the country's northeastern coast. One day was spent in Turkey, (Kusadasi, gateway to Ephesus). Turkey is not a Schengen country so we could travel there. Another day was a sea day - a mesmerizing way to spend a day.

Cruising in Greece

Access to and from the ship, cable car (on the left) or trail

Our first port of call was the Cyclades Island of Santorini, the postcard perfect poster child for Greek tourism. It has become such a popular destination that officials in 2018 began limiting the daily numbers of cruise ship visitors to 8,000. On the day we visited four cruise ships brought 7,000 visitors. Even with that number we can attest to the need for limits!

A single bus load of cruise passengers heading to Oia.

The cruise ship port offers three ways to access the island:  take a ship's tour so you can tender to the larger ferry port with vehicle access, or you go up that aforementioned cliff on foot or use the cable car. Donkeys were available, but thankfully, were not being hired often. We were warned in advance that cable car waits could reach a couple of hours in both directions.  

We opted for a ship's tour that left early and got us back before the brunt of cruisers came ashore.  We had no wait coming back in the cable car, but by early afternoon the lines were already endlessly long waiting to go up.  Temperatures in the high 80's discouraged many from tackling the cliffside stairway, which is shared with the donkeys and their poo. 

Waiting to get near that blue domed church in the distance

It has been more than a decade since we visited this island with a year-round population of about 15,500 residents and 40 taxis. Yet, it hosts about two million visitors a year.  It might be another decade before we go back but it was interesting to see it again, if even for a few hours.

Whitewashed, brightly trimmed home in Mykonos

Mykonos another insanely popular island in the Cyclades group, was our last port of call. While Santorini draws hordes of tourists, Mykonos is a magnet for the world's rich and famous. We were there a week before the Princess of Morocco arrived. Media report that a huge motorcade transported her and her son from the island's airport to the villa they'd rented. Ten of the vehicles carried their luggage.  She reportedly didn't like the way the villa was furnished, so she had furnishings, and decor flown in from Morocco - it took three trucks to deliver those items later.  

Street scene Mykonos Town

In comparison our island arrival was pretty incognito.  Only two ships were in port -- a new port has been built outside Mykonos Town since we were last there. A shuttle bus transported those going ashore independently as we were to the old port. From there, we walked into town following its labyrinth of streets - originally designed to confuse 18th century pirates and still does a good job confusing day-tripping tourists.

Meeting up with friends is a plus of travel

Our stop here included a visit with fellow Americans Jeffrey Siger and his wife Barbara Zilly. I've mentioned him before on TravelnWrite: he left his law practice in New York and came to Mykonos to write whodunnits set in various Greek locales.  His books - there are 15 now - are as much a travel guide as they are crime fiction. In fact, we met on a Greek travel social media site more than a decade ago when he offered us some travel suggestions for the Peloponnese as he'd just written a book (Sons of Sparta) set there.

Port of Thessaloniki as the sun sets

Our stops in Thessaloniki and Kavala were the destination highpoints of the cruise for us. We've vowed to return to both cities, and I'll tell you more about them in a future post.  

Thessalonik's main square opens to the sea

Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, is about an hour's flight from Kalamata, the airport serving our area of Greece. It was great fun arriving and departing by ship as it is located on the Thermaic Gulf tucked away in a corner of the Aegean Sea. Our ship docked at its port, so close to the city center that we got around without need of tours or taxis.  It is a vibrant city known for its festivals, events, culture and cutting-edge culinary arts.

City Hall Kavala

Kavala, just to its east, on the Bay of Kavala, is the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia. A city of some 70,000 that is filled with picturesque neighborhoods and historic sites.

Kusadasi, Turkey 

Kusadasi, Turkey will long be remembered for its heat - high 90F's/30C's - and its gauntlet of shopkeepers all wanting to sell me a leather coat. "Hey, lady, come try on. You want a leather coat from my shop." (It made me sweat just typing that memory.) And no, I didn't try on nor buy a leather coat!

Were we right or wrong?

Captivating sea scenes a favorite part of cruising

By week's end, we were in agreement that it had been an enjoyable cruise filled with pleasant moments and destinations that call out for a return visit.  We still think Greece needs to be experienced with longer stays than a cruise stop affords.  

The weather was indeed hot - record breaking hot in June - and impacted our experience. Summer is not the time to visit Greece. The heat and high winds in a couple of ports prompted us and many fellow passengers to cut shore exploration short. It simply wasn't pleasant to be outside. Spring and fall are beautiful times to explore Greece for those who can schedule travel then.

The tourist numbers were high, but not as bad as we had expected them to be. The worst congestion was on Santorini. We may have to visit it again on some November getaway.

Heading back to the cruise ship 

It was a good reminder that saying 'never' to something we've never tried, could cost us some great travel moments.  So, with a lot of Greece left to explore, we can only wonder what is up next!  Have you ever said 'never' to a travel experience then tried it? Tell us about it in the comments below or shoot us an email.

We thank you for the time you spent with us today and say welcome to our new subscribers!  We will be back with tales of expat life soon. In the meantime, safe travels to you and yours~  

Losing Touch

It was a copy of People Magazine left by our recent houseguests that brought the point home: 

Living in the laidback Greek countryside, I've lost touch.  

Summer in an olive grove

People Magazine tells all there is to tell about America's celebrities and public figures. Problem was, that aside from 79-year-old Tom Selleck, most recently of television's Blue Bloods, and the recently deceased O.J. Simpson, I didn't recognize many of the names of those famous folks.

People Magazine - who is doing what and where

I've lost touch. It is as simple as that.

 And what I found most amazing about that realization was that I didn't care who these people were, nor did I care what they were doing when the paparazzi photographed them, even if it was while they grocery shopped or frolicked on some exotic holiday. 

Losing touch with the other world

Being an expat and losing touch with the everyday world you left behind, to a certain degree, go hand-in-hand.  

As American expats we've lost touch with the familiarity of doctors, dentists, and hairdressers we had visited for years. We've lost touch with routines of shopping at the corner supermarket, visiting the dry cleaner and filling the car with gas at the regular service station. But with each of those has come the challenge and exhilaration of creating new familiar and favorite routines in the Greek world.

What has been tough is losing touch with friends and family. 

We knew it could happen.  We'd read the articles about expat life and knew that losing connections with friends back home and loneliness can bring down the most enthused expat. Yet, as with all unpleasant possibilities, one reasons that it couldn't possibly happen in your world. 

Losing Touch

'Losing touch' with friends is quite a widespread phenomenon apparently experienced by many of the 230 million expats worldwide.  And with 18 percent of those expats being more than 61 years of age, they likely have a good number of friends and family with whom they want to keep in touch.

Loneliness is often cited as one of the most difficult aspects of expat life. The inability to make new friends and the absence of family and longtime friends are often the reason expats choose to return to their home country. 

Friends at Your Fingertips

So, when you look at the speed and ease of communication afforded by today's technology, there is really no excuse for losing touch, is there? 

With a scroll through Facebook and Instagram postings we are able to celebrate birthdays and holidays, graduations and weddings. We can share in the sorrow of loss and send well-wishes to those who are ill.  

US, Canada and Greece - we talk face-to-face twice a month on WhatsApp

WhatsApp, Facetime, Messenger and other such programs allow us to visit face-to-face with friends no matter where in the world they are living. And doing so is always a day-brightener!

 

Weekly email 'coffee klatches' keep us in touch

Even writing emails - now thought of by young people as a somewhat old-fashioned communications tool-- keeps us up-to-date with the comings and goings of friends.

Luckily, we have a cadre of dear friends who are committed to keeping in touch while we are in Greece. Several of us write emails as if we were visiting regularly together over coffee. We chat face-to-face with others. Skype has made texting together was easy as if we were just across town. 

Emails, photos and Skype keep these childhood friends together

Staying in touch is done both with precision regularity as well as at random out-of-the-blue contacts. Now, despite being thousands of miles apart, we are up to date with each other's lives, everyday activities, travel, health, even weather. 

As the years have passed my definition of 'staying in touch' has become so relaxed that it includes writing a comment on a FB or blog post. 

Poof! Just like that, they are not heard from again

Yet it has been with some incredulity that we've realized there are some -- thankfully, not a lot of --friends with whom we have simply lost touch.  Poof. Gone. No communication from them and no response to attempts to reach them.

Moving On

An article in Expatica.com, a website 'by expats for expats', offered an interesting take on losing touch: 

 'Don't be afraid of losing friends who won't or can't commit to keeping the connection. . .it gives you more time to invest in those who are willing to make the effort,' it offered.  

Reasoned one expat about the topic of lost friendships on Reddit, an American social news website, 'People's lives go on and you've moved a different direction. Many friendships are based on common experience and close proximity.'

'It's hard to stay in touch with all the friends we make through life. Scientific studies show we maintain 150 relationships at any given time in life,' wrote another.

One of the most obvious bits of advice offered to expats is to quit fretting over those who've dropped out of sight and make new friends.

Friends in the expat world

A meet up of multinational expats on Easter afternoon in the village

 

As of last year, according to the World Population Review, there were 23,297 American expats living in Greece.  The number pales in comparison to the 799,248 living in Mexico, but still, it seems like quite a few to those of us who are a part of that statistic.  

Morning coffee at the beach cafe with friends

In our slice of Greece, we have a diverse blend of expats friends including Americans who hail from the Pacific Northwest, California, the Southwest and Northeast.  Those from further afield hail from Canada, Belgium, Turkey, England and elsewhere.

Thankfully our expat life in the rural Peloponnese has been filled with new friends, both expats and Greeks. Although making friends takes time, just like it did back in the old world.  

We find that the lifestyle here probably has us socializing more with friends here than we did back in the States as logistics of getting together are so simple. 

An evening spent with neighbors is always a great evening

Our Stone House on the Hill is set amid eight other homes on a short stretch of road just outside the village. Our neighborhood is an international one with France, Britain, Peru, Germany, Greece, Switzerland and America represented. We are blessed that we are surrounded by kind and caring people and that we have all become friends.

 Silver and Gold

A toast to lasting friendships - old and new

Back in the 1960's Girl Scouts in America had a song they'd sing around a campfire that was a simple ditty with a powerful message:

 'Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.'  

It could be the theme song for expats. 

And with that thought we close for this week and send wishes for safe travels to you and yours.  We are heading off on an adventure. . .one that we said we'd 'never do' and yet here we are doing it! We will tell you about it next time!

A Song of Summer

It was early when I heard the soloist; the sun was just peeping over the hill behind us. With the temperature already in the hot zone as I sipped my first cup of coffee a few mornings ago, the sound of music was loud and clear.

Sunrise and the song of summer

In this afternoon's warm summer breeze, it seemed as if the olive tree branches swayed in time to the music; the song echoing across the grove, now sung with gusto by an entire choir. 

On both occasions I was hearing what I will forever consider 'the song of summer' and theme song to our expat life in Greece: 

A choir sings a summer song in surround sound

The song of summer is sung by the cicadas.

A Cicada Kalokairi 

Kalokairi is summer in Greece

Kalokairi is the Greek word for summer.  'Kalo', or 'kala' in Greek is 'good', so calling this bright, sunny season kalokairi makes absolute, perfect sense to me. (It is one of the few words I now have down pat in my fledgling Greek vocabulary).  

Kalokairi is such a happy, upbeat season that it seems only right that its arrival is announced by musicians who will continue their sizzling soundtrack until autumn takes over.

Residence permits - a ticket to the 'summer concert'

The song became our theme song back in early June 2017. It was then, upon receiving our first Greek residency permits, we could stay here as long as we wanted. Our time would no longer dictated by those tiresome 90-day Schengen Zone limits. Giddy with the newfound freedom, we agreed to extend that stay, just because we could! 

Instead of an actual date though, I told The Scout that I wanted to stay 'until the cicadas sing' to announce summer's arrival. Up until then, I'd missed these troubadours of summer.

Summer scenes in our world

Stay we did. Until the end of June. The cicadas had begun their summer serenade. And that's when those little critters' song became not only metaphor for the onset of summer but also for our seismic shift in life. We moved to Greece four months later.

Cicadas in Cultures

One thing we've learned since moving here is that pretty much everything we encounter in the modern-day world has some deep-seated roots in Greek history, culture and/or language. 

Cicadas, pronounced 'se-KAY-das' or 'se-KAH-das', are no exception.

Stories handed down from ancient Greeks tell of men who were so obsessed with singing that they forgot to eat and drink. They were turned into cicadas by the Muses and given the task of keeping tabs on which humans were showing proper reverence to the Muses, those goddesses of music, poetry and myth.

Cicadas important in Chinese history and culture 

Even in ancient China the cicadas represented 'rebirth'.  They certainly did for us that summer as we closed out our life in the United States and moved to Greece.  That was definitely a 'born again' into a new world and culture experience!

During the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220CE) amulets shaped like cicadas were placed on tongues of corps to symbolize rebirth and immortality. Cicadas in today's Feng Shui are powerful symbols of longevity and happiness; their image is used on jewelry and charms. I've not yet found any such amulets paying homage to them in Greece, but I'd certainly be wearing one if I ever do.

Sing it Again

Summer in our world - file photo 2021

I always feel grateful when I hear summer's song reverberating across the hillside on which we live. The song, once only a promise of what summer could be in Greece, now carries memories of the summers we've spent in this adopted world of ours. Now I can't imagine a summer without the cicadas' song playing in the background.  

Summer songs ring out in our Mani area of Greece

Along with the cicadas' song, other signs of summer are reminding us that the new season has arrived. Oleanders are brightening the landscapes with their white, pink and rose-colored blooms. The air is scented by the wild sage, and thyme scattered about gardens, groves and hillsides. 

Signs of summer in nearby Stoupa

Temperatures are hovering at 90F/32C with predictions of it reaching 100F/37C later this week. 

The water supply is at its usual low and fire danger is its usual high. Sunbeds are filling with sea and sun enthusiasts who have traveled here for a small dose of what we enjoy as everyday life. 

Summer sunsets at our house

All is good - ola kala - in our world.  Hope whatever season you are welcoming that all is good in your world as well. Safe travels to you and yours~ 

And in closing I want to give a 'shout out' to a group who we recently met while they were vacationing in the area.  Thanks for taking the time to come and introduce yourselves and tell us that you are readers of 'TravelnWrite' after you spotted us in the village - we hope to see you again on a return visit! .  

The Tastes of Travel

'Do they like Greek food?' I asked her, as she was pondering a trip -- with two teenagers in tow -to visit us.  Admitting that she wasn't sure, she added, 'well, your village has a Burger King, doesn't it?' 

No Burger Kings here - thankfully!

Absolutely, not! I replied, perhaps a bit too emphatically.  No Burger King! No McDonalds! No KFC! No, there is nothing with the ring of U.S. chain fast food or drink within 150 miles of us!  

Pork gyro - Greek 'fast food'

And we hope that it stays that way!  

Hamburger and chips - Greek style

You can get a burger and fries here in Agios Nikolaos, or our neighboring villages and Kalamata, but the U.S. teens wouldn't recognize them as the same food they consume from a ubiquitous fast-food drive in. Here the burger is a thick patty of ground beef, and the potatoes are not frozen but fresh cut slices; not called 'fries' but 'chips' (which we Yanks attribute to the British influence). I might add that here 'chips', as in our U.S. vernacular, 'potato chips' are 'crisps.'

We have pizza and Italian cafes in the villages, but again, it isn't what the teens would recognize as a 'U.S. pizza'.

'

A Greek-style 'Greek salad' aka horiatiki salad here

In the late spring, summer and early fall we have so many Greek taverna and restaurant options that we often don't get to them all in a given season.  And when we have visitors from the States, we take them to as many eateries as we can fit in during their stay so that they can have a taste of Greece.

Pork chop - Greek style

Several tavernas, cafes and eateries close for the winter, but there are always enough remaining open to keep us supplied with souvlakis, pitas, or multi-course Greek meals.  We do love Greek food!  But sometimes we are hit with a difficult to explain, 'culinary wanderlust', which leaves us dreaming about foods such as sushi, paella, grilled salmon, nachos with guacamole. . .all the things we don't have nearby. 

This year, after a nine-month stretch of no travel outside the village, we began fantasizing about our favorite non-Greek flavors and I can honestly say that as result of that, 'eating' played a big role in selecting the cruise we recently took.

The Tastes of Travel

Admittedly, in large cities throughout Europe, including Athens, one can find a vast array of cuisines from around the world. In fact, we've even found a small Hawaiian poke joint not far from Athens Syntagma Square. 

So, it was with a self-confessed foodaholic enthusiasm that we awaited what I now think of as our floating food fest, the cruise that in April took us to Italy, France, Spain and Malta. We were ready for the tastes of travel.

The Wine Experience was a great experience

Our eat-a-thon began in Rome's port town, Civitavecchia. We adore this history-laden town and prefer staying here instead of Rome prior to a cruise. The location of our hotel put us an easy walk from several wine bars. We chose the 'Wine Experience'. And what an experience it was! The small plates - bread, tomatoes, meats, cheeses, potatoes - selected by the owner to pair with the red wine we were quaffing just kept coming until we finally had to declare, Basta! (enough!). 

A berry good breakfast

You might be surprised at how common place are many of the foods for which we were lusting.  This photo represents my favorite breakfast on the ship. Fresh berries. Bowls of fresh berries!  A bit of Muesli, with a serving of strawberries and one of blueberries or blackberries was enough to brighten the start of each day.  Strawberries can be had in our area of Greece, but the season is short. Blueberries, when you can find them, are like buying gold nuggets. Blackberries are simply in scant supply. 

Steak and lobster a standard menu item -eating it on the fantail

We don't eat much Greek beef unless it is served in a slow-cooked stifado (stew) type dish. Greek beef is lean, very lean, and steaks are definitely not the Argentine or USDA type.  So, to see steak on the menu each night of the cruise was sheer delight. 

Asian specialties in the ship's Red Ginger restaurant

However, with so many cuisines to try we found ourselves eating a world of flavors that included. . .Thai satay with peanut sauce, spring rolls, sushi and sashimi. . .

Spanish tapas were temptations on shore and ship

. . .and the Spanish tapas. . .both on shore and on the ship, as we couldn't resist.

Spain's Iberico ham was sliced and sold in cones along with Manchego cheese

We felt like kids in a candy store visiting the public/municipal markets in the port cities we visited. Each offered so many temptations that it was impossible to try them all.

Civitavecchia 'market day' is every day

 And then there were the stops for cappuccinos when we simply couldn't eat anymore. There is no better way to spend a bit of time in a new city than to sip a coffee and people-watch.  One of our favorite memories stems from when we hopped a train to Nice, France and arrived too early to indulge in a Salad Nicoise as planned, so we sipped a coffee and enjoyed a Sunday morning stop at a French brasserie. 

A brasserie for a taste of France

It also seemed that temptations were tucked into window displays everywhere these two foodies looked.  While in Arles, France I found this delightful looking chocolate cat. . .it could have been mine for a mere 42 euros! But it was so cute I'd have never eaten it nor at the price would I have bought it.

French chocolate cat sat in a window display

Our cruise ended in Malta, where we spent a night before flying back to Athens. Our final food fest fling was in an Italian restaurant. The island country of Malta is less than an hour by ferry from Sicily and the Italian influence on its gastronomy is evident. Mama Mia! What a pizza we had. . .but the waiter was disappointed as he couldn't understand how we could eat only half a pizza. Here people ordered whole pizzas for themselves. 

Mama Mia what a pizza!

Our taste buds were satiated. Our travel itch had been calmed by all the new sights we'd seen. Our cravings for food favorites had been curbed. New culinary discoveries had been consumed. It was a great trip!

We've been back a few weeks and found ourselves eager to introduce our recent houseguests to the flavors of Greece again. 

Greek meze plates - an array of tastes

How about you? Do you travel seeking to try new cuisine or do you search for your old favorites? Tell us about it in an email or the comments!   Bon Appetit and Kali Orexi, until the next time. . .