CHORA

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I visited Chora last night. Also known as hora.

Most Greek isles have a Chora. A community of sorts. Generally, a town. Most are medieval in origin. Go back 1,500 to 2,000 years. They still look the same. Unchanged by time. White buildings, narrow walkways.

Choras were built on hilltops. For protective and defensive purposes. Amorgos’ Chora is on top of a tall mountain. Just over the top. So it could not be seen by ships entering the bay. Way back when, pirates were a problem. By constructing their homes just over the crest, the early Greeks were hopeful their community would not be spotted.

If discovered, the set up of the Chora assisted in its defense. The entrance to the Chora was always a very narrow walkway. The attackers were only able to enter single file or two abreast at the most. Chora’s defenders were better able to protect their homes and families and at the same time do the most damage to invaders.

People still live in Chora. Old and young alike. Businesses have opened. Tiny specialty stores and restaurants.

I took the bus to Chora. A ten minute drive. 1.60 euros each way. A bargain.

The buses are magnificent. Large. Air conditioned. Comfortable. The drivers friendly and adept at driving. They have to be. The road up and down is steep and full of dangerous curves. The drivers carry themselves as if they were Captains on a jet airliner.

I walked the same path as last year. You will recall Chora killed me last year. Steps up. Everything up. It was a horrible trip.

This year, I did it with ease. Surprised even myself. I am in better condition.

I went to the same cafe/restaurant as last year. Along the way, I spotted Maria’s store. Maria who did my nails a couple of days ago. Her store is named Kwati. Sells soaps, oils and some foodstuffs. I was especially taken by pint jars of broccoli in oil and garlic.

I sat outside the cafe and drank. Three gins. They were all big. I was surprised. Even had Tanqueray. I sat there close to three hours.

Marie had mentioned I should try raki psimeni. A Greek drink made with burnt sugar. I did. Sweet. Good.

I cannot tell you the name of the restaurant. It was in Greek. Not an easy language written wise. Letters not arabic.

I have discovered that when I ask someone to spell a Greek word in English, there is difficulty. However most can spell it in Latin. It does help. I took three years of Latin in high school and also served as an altar boy.

Cats are a big deal in Chora, as well as all of Amorgos. They are well liked. Permitted in restaurants and cafes. They are beggars. People constantly feed them. I cannot. I find it repulsive.

Trees. I mentioned yesterday or the day before that there were no trees on Amorgos. There are. In Chora. Tons of them. Why not elsewhere, I do not know.

The evenings have been cold while I have been on Amorgos. Chora was cold by day and even colder by night. The wind on top of the mountain was strong. Could knock you over. You bent with it. Came from every direction. Buildings were no protective help. The wind moved around corners with ease.

I had planned to have dinner in Chora. The cold dissuaded me. I decided to leave.

I screwed up. Got the return trip wrong time wise. My fault. I did not understand the bus driver. Missed the bus. There was a 1 1/2 hour wait for the next one.

The bus stop is just outside Chora. No protection. The wind bellowed. So cold I could have used a winter jacket. And long pants. I was wearing shorts. Fortunately, I found a small bar just at the entrance and got the protection from the wind that I needed.

Enjoy your day!

AMORGOS AND CAPTAIN PETER

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Amorgos and Captain Peter! The two are nowhere related. However, both represent joyful experiences and so share the title of today’s blog.

Last night was a very good one. Unusually good. It was Captain Peter’s 70th birthday. We partied. Played in a bocce make up match. We won all three games. It is a pleasure to share the evening with you. First however, the Amorgos photos.

You will recall the Greek isle of Amorgos was my favorite of the five Greek places visited.

Amorgos is a nothing island sitting out in the extremes of the Agean Sea. I had not planned to visit Amorgos. I was stuck on Mykonos three extra days because of weather. I was desperate to get out. Finally a boat was available. To a place called Amorgos. I went.

Amorgos is a relatively small island. Has six towns. The population is limited. Not many people live on Amorgos. The official population is 1,859. Amorgos’ claim to fame is a Monastery and an earthquake. I have seaparate photos of the Monastery that will be shown in a day or two. The earthquake occurred on July 9, 1953. Left 53 dead. Amorgos was my third island. Santorini and Mykonos preceded it. All three had a history of volcanic explosions. Sort of compares to the hurricane season in Key West. A threat always there. You never know.

I stayed in the town of Katapola. I did not know the name when I landed.

Amorgos’ connection with the outside world is the boat that comes in once a week. On wednesday. Assuming the weather is ok. The winds can be horrific.

I saw very few automobiles on the island. Not ten total. There was a bus. I wondered then and wonder now how they got the gasoline to fuel the few cars, bus and fishing boats. The gasoline had to come in on the once a week boat. Where it was stored, pumped, I never learned.

I loved Amorgos! Again, the best of the Greek places visited. Why? Because it was so serene and quiet. Nothing to do. Peaceful. Old. The people were from another century. Men and women alike dressed in black. Regardless of age. I was told black shuns the sun better than light colored apparel.

Twelve photos.

The first is the view from my terrace. The view says it all.

The next is an inner shot of the terrace. I spent most of my time on the terrace sitting at the table during the ten days I was on Amorgos.

I sat on the terrace in the evening also, as seen in the next photo.

As indicated before, I spent considerable time on the terrace. The next photo is of me sitting on the terrace reading. I did this all day, every day. Never went in the water. Sat, read, and slept. And ate, of course. My landlord would bring me fresh apricots every morning from his garden to start my day.

Another shot of me on the terrace.

The bay I lived on was horseshoe in shape. I walked around the horseshoe one day and had lunch. The photo is me and the restaurant. On the water. Simple. I could not figure out how the owner made it. I was the only customer at lunch time.

Note the boats in the restauant picture and the ones in the next photo. Fishing is Amorgos’ industry. They fish for themselves and the few restauants on the island. Provincially. Most of the fishing boats are mere rowboats with a motor on the back.

Again, Amorgos is from another time.

Every Greek island has a chora. Also known as hora. Means old town. You saw Mykonos’ chora. Now, Amorgos’.

Amorgos’ chora was way up on a hill. Hills again! I took the bus up. The bus had to be 40 plus years old. Shaked, rattled and rolled. But made it! I thought as the bus traveled up the hill that I was like the bus. Getting older and still hanging in there.

Once you enter the chora, everything is up hill. Whether a path or steps. So many steps! A stress test unto itself.

The next photo is me starting into the chora. Old means old. This chora was more than a 1,000 years old. It consisted primarily of homes. People still live in the 1,000 year old buildings. There was also a bar or restaurant every 200 feet or so.

I was mid way into the chora and ready to die. I needed to sit. The yellow chairs in the next photo were my salvation.

The next pic is me sitting in a yellow chair. Tired! Note my beard was growing. I looked like a bum! Did not care!

The next photo is a chora street scene. Pretty. Narrow. Only room for a galloping horse when built 1,000 years ago. Today, only foot traffic. Cars would not fit.

The final photo is me sitting on a stoop. The steps to some one’s home. I was lost. Dead tired. Could not find my way out of the chora. Sat on that stoop till I regained my energies.

So much for Amorgos. Hope you enjoyed.

It was Peter’s birthday yesterday. Seventy years old. A surprise party was planned for him at 5 at the Chart Room. Many friends. Emily, Sheila, Sean, Che, David, Jean, John DeSantis, and many others.

Also present were some friends of Emily. She referred to them as her grad school friends. About 8-10. From Louisville and Pensacola and perhaps elsewhere. Nice people. One was Fred. Fred owns a parking lot at Churchill Downs. Must be like owning Sloppy Joe’s in Key West.

I was at the Chart Room for a half hour and still no Happy birthday! There was a table full of cake, key lime pie, and other goodies. The candle was on the key lime pie. Peter never realized the people and eats were for him. Not till Emily walked up with the pie and candle and every one sang Happy Birthday!

Peter is a good guy. Loved by all. May we all share more of his birthdays with him and with each other.

Bocce was part of my evening, also. We had a make up game for one that had been rained out.

I hurried over to the bocce courts. I knew I would be late. I had already told Captain David. I learned when I arrived that we had won the two final games after I had left the night before.

I played the third game. We won all three games last night. We are on a run! A total of six victories in two nights! Everyone is playing well. May we continue to so play.

It was very comfortable playing last night. No humidity. A cold front had come in in the afternoon. Dropped the temperature 10 degrees to the high 70s. The cold front is still here today. A strong wind is coming from the north. There are big waves off my deck.

I spent yesterday afternoon researching. Also published on Amazon Kindle an article I ran a few weeks ago in KONK Lfe: Catholic Church…..200 Years Out Of Date. It speaks of the death bed interview with Cardinal Carl Maria Martini. The Cardinal was high up in the Papal hierarchy. He thought Pope Brnedict II was being too hard ass (my language), supported condom use in certain circumstances, was not against birth control, remarriage after divorce was ok, and commented on many other things afflicting/conflicting the Catholic Church today. One of his most meaningful observations was to the effect that …..our Churches are empty.

The Cardinal died four days after the interview was given.

I mentioned my Quest neighbors yesterday, There is a film crew next door. Cameras and lights all over. On the roof, on the grounds, etc. It is a new TV film series being shot next door and in the lower Florida keys. Its stars are young men from all over the country. Eighteen to 23. I cannot tell you what the show is specically about. I do not know. It appears a lot of money is being spent on it.

The individual locally putting the show together is Key West’s Denise Jackson. I did not know her. Met her for the first time two nights ago.

Enjoy your day!

DAY 29

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Nearer my God to Thee!

I was there. I was close. I visited the monastery on Amorgos yesterday. Way up in the sky sitting on the side of a very high cliff.

Some pertinent background information first. Then my personal experience.

The Monastery is also called the Monastery of Hozoviotissa. Do not ask what it means. I do not know. Could not ascertain. It has something to do with the Virgin Mary, however.

There was an Emperor Alexius back in the 11th century. Whether he was emperor of only Amorgos or more, I do not know. As the story goes, a mysterious icon of the Virgin Mary arrived on the beach below the cliff. No one knew nor could discover where it came from.

Emperor Alexius concluded it had been Divinely sent to him. He decided to build a shrine on the spot to honor the Virgin.

The spot could not be the beach. A house cannot be built on sand. There was only the beach and a cliff. The cliff towered. Straight up. Three thousand feet or better. Alexius decided the shrine should be built on the side of the cliff. The cliff that was sheer and high.

He ended up building a monastery to house the Virgin icon. The Monastery constructed is 8 stories tall. For real. Built a couple of thousand feet up the side of a sheer wall of stone. The Monastery itself is constructed of stone, marble and whatever concrete was back then.

Now to put everything in perspective. Louis’ journey and visit to the Monastery.

My first step was to take a bus. To Chora. The old part of town I visited a couple of days ago. The road to Chora is basically straight up a high mountain. The Chora area continues straight up. Evverything here is up, up and more up!

Fortunately, the bus dropped me off near the top side of the Chora. Then it was a long walk to the gate to the Monastery. Up hill, of course.

The gate did not mean I was there. It was merely an entrance.

The next step (a good word to use) in the process was to climb the steps to the Monastery. Note, I am walking up the side of a sheer cliff.

There are 300 steps. They twist a bit. Always up. Never down. Not even once.

The steps are not of normal construction. Their height varied little. Their width and length very much. Like 5-10 feet.

The steps were constructed of stone. A slate type. I do not know if they are the original steps from the 11th century or have been replaced. The stones/slates were worn. A few missing here and there.

Basically, the steps had the side of the cliff on one side and a drop off the cliff on the other.

The Monastery was at the other end of the 300 steps. Almost straight up. I keep stressing the straight. Simply because it was that way. I would estimate the steps were at a 75 degree angle or better. That is straight up!

You will recall, I failed to make it to the top of the volcano. I was not gung ho to make it to the top here. If I did, good. If not, it would have been a valiant effort. I would give it a try!

I made it to the top. To the Monastery. It took a while. Quite a while. I stopped about a dozen times. Sat a while on a step. The stress on my body did not seem as bad as the volcano attempt.

I was thinking why was I making it now and could not with the volcano. I concluded because the volcano was early in my trip and a first attempt at something high and steep. Everything is upward bound in Greece. Hills and steps every where. I have been in Greece more than three weeks now. My body gotten a bit in shape and adapted to the terrain.

The end of the steps did not take me directly into the Monastery. There was still a long walk up a path to the Monastery door.

I was there!

Awesome is the only way to describe what I saw. A mammoth white building running to the sky. Recall, the building is described as eight stories tall. That is tall. Especially when you are standing at the foot of the structure.

The building was constructed on the side of a sheer cliff. I could not help but think sadly how many slaves were involved and how many died in erecting this shrine. I also thought the engineers and architects of the 11th century had to be brilliant to have constructed such a large edifice under extremely difficult conditions.

The front door. Small. Tiny. At best 5 feet in height. Maybe less. Three to three and a half feet in width. The only entrance. I had to bend over to enter.

I suspect the Monastery entrance was so constructed because people were shorter back then. Additionally, it was a good way to ward off invaders. Only one bad guy at a time could enter.

The first room on the other side of the entrance. The first thing I saw was a table with clothes. Women’s dresses, men’s pants, etc.

There is a strict dress code. No shorts on men. Women in dresses. Not even pants. Shoulders and beasts covered. If you are not so attired, the monks provide the appropriate clothing. I was glad I had been forewarned. I wore khakis. The clothes available at the monastery were filthy. Looked like they had not been washed in 50 years.

Awesome continued to be my impression as I walked through the rooms. Amazing what my eyes beheld.

Art work in each room. Fantastic art work! Paintings. Icons. The sanctuary where the Virgin Mary icon was shown defies description. That beautiful.

An eight story structure has many windows. The views from the windows magnificent! Open sea to the front. The beach below. All in glorious color. It was like almost being in Heaven and looking down.

There was a social aspect. A monk came out at the end of our visit. The only monk I had seen. The monks here take a vow never to speak or see outsiders the rest of their lives. This monk apparently had a dispensation.

We were seated in a long narrow room. There was a throne at one end. A long narrow beautiful wood table. A long couch with very comfortable cushions on each side.

The monk served us a sweet drink. A wine of some sort. And a sweet. A piece of candy covered with sugar. He spoke. Gave some sort of dissertation. Unfortunately, it was in Greek. I understood none of it.

The monk was interesting. He was tall and thin. Appeared aged. Had a very long beard. Like down to his chest. He was dressed in a blue flowing robe. A hat/head cover of the same color.

I found his hands and face skin interesting. Dirty. Perhaps he had come to see us directly from the fields. But there were no fields. We were attached to a cliff. Then, he did not bathe that often. It was the only viable conclusion I could come to.

Between the dirty clothes at the beginning for those not properly dressed and the monk’s lack of cleanliness, I assumed the axiom that cleanliness is next to Godliness did not apply at the Monastery.

I made a meager contribution to the Monastery as I left.

There was a guest book. I signed and dated it. I wanted the whole world to know I had made it. I also inscribed above my signature…..Just amazing!!!

The trip down was not so bad. I took my time so I would not fall.

The bus was at the end of the Chora waiting where we had been dropped off. It was back to Amorgos.

An interesting trip. I am glad I have been able to share it with you.

Enjoy your day!

DAY 26

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Not easy to communicate via internet from the middle of the Aegean Sea. Equipment here all old. Connections not dependable. Things keep getting lost. I spend more time looking for lost material than writing.

None of the above is intended as a complaint. I expect no more nor no less from an island so remote as the one I am presently on. Amorgos. It is almost nowhere. Access is by boat only. The boat comes and goes. The boat come two times a week.

I share the preceding with you for a particular reason.

Recent blogs have contained many errors. Paragraphs repeated, misspelled words, capitalizations missing, etc. I cannot help it. I reach a point where I have spent 4 hours doing the blog, 2.5 of which were spent finding the blog when it has disappeared.

I reach a point where I say I must publish before I lose the blog in its entirety for good. So I publish. I must admit when I am at that point, I am also very tired and say screw it.

Forgive me. The substance is good, even though the form may be lacking on occasion.

Which brings me to my present abode. A small white cottage with blue trim. Trim includes windows, shutters and doors. Sitting about 12 feet from the ocean. Yesterday I described the area between me and the water as a road. I was mistaken. It is a stone foot path.

Amorgos is one of the far out of the Greek islands. Off the beaten path. Few visitors. Not on the tourist routes. No big fancy hotels. Nothing but you, a couple of neighbors, and God.

If 2,000 people live on this island, I would be shocked.

My little house sits at the end of the path previously described. After that, nothing but water.

Sunsets terrific. Like Key West. Across the water from me. Over the peak of a mountain. Glorious!

I bought a bottle of Beefeaters yesterday. Enjoyed a couple of drinks from my terrace watching the sunset.

I was shocked I could buy Beefeaters. It has been almost non existent at my previous stops. Not only was it available on Amorgos, it was also cheap. About half the cost compared to the U.S. I suspect it is the taxes. If the Greeks taxed alcohol as much as it is in the U.S., it would dramatically help their financial condition.

Cigarettes. I took 4 packs with me. I have been gone 2 days shy of four weeks. Just finished the fourth pack yesterday. I am not doing bad in smoking little. I know. I should not be at all.

I bought a pack yesterday. $4.10! No way in the U.S.A. Another example of where Greece might help alleviate its financial problem. Increase substantially the cigarette tax.

There is a Chora on Amorgos. You will recall there was one in Mykonos. Chora is also referred to as Hora. It means old place. The old places on most islands are federally protected in Greece. Much like our historical buildings.

The Chora here is a large number of buildings constructed during the middle ages. Most at least 1,000 years old. Typically Grecian. One to 3 stories. Small terraces. White. Blue trimming. Narrow walkway, 3-4 feet wide.

Whereas Mykonos’ Chora was full of people, stores, bars and restaurants, the one on Amorgos appeared deserted. I saw no more than a dozen visitors.

Every 200-300 feet there is a restaurant or coffee house. Few or no customers.

Stairs. To the sky! Just what I love! Steps everywhere. Up, up and more up! Each one a stress test for me.

Chora was six miles away. On the top of a hill. The cab ride was straight up. The return trip straight down. How these cars do it, I will never understand. I consider it physically impossible for a car to keep its wheels on the road under such conditions.

Somewhere along the way yesterday, I found out what the windmills were for. There are many here as on Mykonos.

Olives were and still are big. The windmills were used to crush the olives. Where there were vine yards, the grapes were likewise crushed by the windmills.

Last night the wind returned. Cold. Very cold. I had to wear a sweat shirt.

I had a late dinner. At Demetrius’. After dinner there the night before, I could eat nowhere else. I was not disappointed.

Eggplant is big here. I had a warm appetizer of eggplant, tomatoes and onions. All cut up and cooked together. To die for!

My entre surpassed everything! My friends in Utica will especially enjoy that which I am about to share. I had lamb chops. Thin. The bone intact, not cut from the chop’s bodyt. Fatty and juicy.

Just like Pelletieri Joe’s.

I got up with the sun this morning. Walked down the road a bit to buy coffee, a loaf of hot bread and butter. Then back to the cottage and my terrace. I watched the sun and water move a bit. Nothing else.

A bit later I was playing around with my tablet. A very lovely young lady walked by. Ann. Swiss. 18. Blond hair. Trim body. White blouse. Short jeans.

We talked. She was back packing it. Was looking for a cheap place to stay. Elini’s was too expensive for her. She moved on to continue her quest.

By the way, I think Elini’s is dirt cheap. Everything on this island costs next to nothing. For example, my dinner last night cost 11 euros. About $14 American money. Tip built in. Tip is 16 per cent of a bill.

I had another visitor while sitting outside.

I heard clinging bells. Saw nothing. Got up and looked over the terrace wall. There were three ducks walking along. Each had a bell around its neck. Looked like a family. Too big ones, one little one. Obviously house pets out for a stroll.

I have no idea at this point what today will bring. Maybe a trip to the monastery. Maybe nothing.

Enjoy your day!