12:55 The train is winding its way through the hills, crossing small bridges and passing through little tunnels. It’s a modern two-car commuter train, in style at least, though we’re actually going quite some distance, inland, and then northeast towards Argos and Athens. The bright green of the olive trees and darker green of the […]
Saturday, April 26, 2002 09:32 Weather: Sunny & clear. Location: Cafe Athanasiou in Kalamata (again). A beautiful morning. I packed up and left Lela’s dhomatia, passing the old lady herself on the way to the bus stop. She wished me bon voyage. The bus came on time at 8am and hauled me back to Kalamata. […]
Friday, April 26, 2002 16:52 Weather: Partly cloudy, stormy in the upper mountains. Location: Internet cafe in Kardamyli. Oh my aching feet. Spent a lot of time hiking today, up the mountain above Kardamyli and down the Tagetos Gorge. More details when I’ve caught up to that point from yesterday. Ok, I had no trouble […]
Thursday, April 25, 2002 9:35 Weather: Sunny. Location: Cafe Athansiou–“flavor of sweet history”–Kalamata. I got up early and caught the 7am bus back to Kalamata. I’m headed for Kardamyli, 37 km south of here, but the two buses per day leave at 5:30am (gah!) and 13:10. Since my bus got here half an hour ago […]
Wednesday, April 24, 2002 18:24 Weather: Partly cloudy Location: “Pizzeria” in Finikoundas A very relaxing day, partly marred by a slight hangover from last night. Very pleasant nonetheless! Turns out I was wrong about being the only foreigner in town, of course. At a waterfront bar I sat next to a group of about 10 […]
Tuesday, April 23, 2002 16:38 Weather: Sunny, high scattered cloud, 21c. Location: Bench by the Finikoundas beach Well, I got very skeptical about Rick Steves when every other tourist in Cinque Terre seemed to be carrying his Italy guide, but he’s certainly come up aces with Finikoundas. ‘Course it helps that I’ve somehow seriously beaten […]
Greek words to remember for today: yasu/yasas (Hello) andio (Goodbye) sas efkharisto (Thank you) signome (Excuse me) milate anglika? (Do you speak English?) 18:37 We changed trains in Kyparissia and are now on a smaller commuter train to Kalamata. This last leg cuts across the Peloponnese, leaving the coastline behind and skirting some tree-covered mountains […]
4pm Location: onboard the Patras-Kalamata train, just past Kavissila. It’s a beautiful day, and I’m getting a good introduction to the ways and tempos of Greece. The train I’m on is ancient but clean, winding down the west coast of the Poloponnesian Peninsula, past vineyards and orchards of oranges and lemons. The country seems on […]
Monday, April 22, 2002 12:28 Weather: Sunny, scattered cloud, slightly hazy, warm. Location: On the deck of the Superfast II, arriving in Patras. A wonderful crossing. I’ve never been a big fan of ferries, and have been frequently queasy on 1-2 hour crossings (e.g. Spain-Morocco), so I had some trepidation about a 16 hour overnight […]
Location: Onboard Superfast II ferry, anchored in Bari. Weather: Partly cloudy. A long, fairly tedious day, but ending according to plan. I got up early, had a cold show (not by choice – the water heater seems to have packed it in), a light breakfast, and was off to the train station. I managed to […]