BELATED JULY 4TH GREETINGS FROM AMORGOS

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It’s not easy sometime!

Another 2 for 1 blog. I could not do yesterday’s blog. Two things are to blame. Verizon #1. They sell. However, the service leaves much to be desired. Second, I arrived in Amorgos yesterday afternoon at 3. The internet store closed at 2. It is only open 10-2. What a life!

Yesterday was July 4. Happy Fourth of July everyone! Hope you all enjoyed.

I am into my fourth book. Jefferson by Jon Meacham. A good book to start reading on the 4th. A smart, deceptive, cunning man. Just like Eisenhower. Maybe that is what it takes to be President. Especially a great one.

Wednesday was my last full day in Santorini. There is another side of the island. A side I had never seen. It was time.

Santorini cannot be more than 2 miles wide at Oia. The other side, totally different.

Oia is perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The natural result of a massive earthquake some 3,600 years ago. Made the Oia side dramatic colorful cliffs overlooking several islands which broke off from the main island at the time of the earthquake. Man has taken advantage of nature’s work. Business booms because of the beautiful view. I sometimes think Santorini as a whole is becoming too commercialized. I hope it does not become a Mykonos.

The other side of the island was nothing. Zip. The volcano did not affect the area. It was flat. The sea looked as any sea. The waves roll onto the beaches. No cliffs. No people, either. A few homes here and there. Most of Santorini’s development has been on the volcano side.

Greek houses come in two color combinations. White with blue trim, tan with white trim.

After my other side of the island trip, I sat on my terrace overlooking Back Street. Finished reading Eisenhower. A good book. I recommend it. It is a no holes barred revelation of Ike’s life.

I was out for the night early. Stopped at Mezzo for a drink. A necessity. Few restaurants carry liquor. Just beer and wine. I drink neither. So I stop where I know I can get what I want before going to a restaurant.

Mezzo is a small place. Only two servers. One male, one female. The female represented Greek beauty to me. Stands erect, lovely legs, a bit of an accentuated butt, lovely breasts and the face of a goddess. A Greek goddess. Topped with streaked gold and brown hair.

Her name is Andomaxi. She is Greek by birth. Lives on a different Greek isle from Santorini. Comes to Santorini for the summer to work.

Her English is perfection. Since it is a learned second language, each word is clearly enunciated. It was a delight to hear her speak English.

I treated myself to a Greek shirt. They are made of light flimsy cotton. Very cool to wear. Very cool to be seen in. Did not make me Greek, however. My crocs give me away.

I discovered a new tiny Greek restaurant. Off the beaten track. Taverna Kasteli. They had lamb chops! The kind I like. The kind my grandmother used to prepare. The cheap fatty bony cut. Delicious! One of my favorite foods. Lamb is big with the Greeks.

We are now into yesterday. Friday, the 4th. I left Santorini for Amorgos. Another island.

Amorgos is really nothing! Mountains, but no dramatic cliffs. Very few people. No airport. Very few cars. No tourists. The boat till this year used to come in once a week with supplies and people. This year, two times a week.

I enjoy the quiet, the simplicity, the nothingness.

I had to take a ferry boat to Amorgos. The Greek islands are connected by ferry boats. The ferry boats are their buses and subways.

The port was packed. I would estimate 2,000 people at least. All waiting for three boats. All due in at the same time. All came in at the same time. One hour late.

Most of the passengers were going to Mykonos. A celebrity haven 50 years ago. Everyone wants to experience the flavor today. I was there last year. I did not like it. Too many people, a tourist trap, everything expensive and generally not worth it, everyone hustling you. Mykonos is also the place where I got hit by the car and thrown into the air. Where the driver never stopped.

I was on what is called in the Greek isles a high speed hydrofoil. Reserved seats.

This boat had five stops. The first was Amorgos. Everyone seemed to be carrying a big suitcase weighing 40-50 pounds. You bring it on. An ordeal. When on board, you are shouted at and asked where you are going. Your bag is grabbed and thrown into a pile with bags going to the same place. Finding your bag afterwards is a task.

You have to hustle to find your seat. Once everyone is on, the boat moves. No lost time. If you are not in your seat, you are going to be on your ass.

The ride was ok till the last 15 minutes. Then 15 foot waves. Bumpy.

Arrived in Amorgos! Maybe 20 of us got off the boat. Lined up in front off the boat were representatives of the various homes that rent out rooms. No hotels as such in Amorgos. Some homes they call pensiones. Nothing upscale and today. These representatives are actually home owners trying to get some business. They hold up signs try to get your eye, and yell at you for your attention.

I am staying in the town of Katopola on Amorgos. Santorini’s Oia is very upscale. Katopola the other side of the spectrum. Very downscale. I would bet Katopola has not changed one iota in over a hundred years.

Maybe that is why I like it so much.

I was settled in my apartment. Elini’s. Ground floor. My own entrance. My own terrace. The terrace sits 12 feet from the ocean. The views nowhere as spectacular as Santoriini, but good never the less.

I heard a loud thump. Then another. And another. I looked to my side. There was an old man in a bathing suit. He apparently had caught with his hands a large squid. About two feet long. He was beating the squid on the rocks. Up and down many times. Obviously killing it and thereafter would take it home for dinner. Amorgos’ version of the old man and the sea.

My favorite Amorgos restaurant. I still do not know its name. There is no sign. It sits on the port off the water where the ferry boat dropped me off. An old 2 story house. The downstairs has been turned into a restaurant. Tables outside. A roof built overhead. The restaurant is typical Amorgos.

The owner and waiter remembered me. Handshakes all around.

I ate there almost every night last year. My grandmother’s cooking.

Last night it was lamb chops again. Two nights in a row. The same, the cheap cut. The kind you eat with your fingers. I also had a dish of egg plant, zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes in oil. The kind of dish you clean with the bread. The bread was De Vito bread. My Utica friends will understand.

As mentioned earlier, lamb is big in the Greek isles. The only problem is I have never seen a sheep. I see goats. Many of them. I suspect the lamb chops are goat chops.

This morning I was up early. I was standing on the terrace. Down the path/road to my right about 500 feet was a pickup truck. I saw a man come out of the house holding what I thought was a dog. As the truck drove by, I saw I was wrong. Two goats. “Lambs” being lead to the slaughter.

Enjoy your day!

FIRA

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Cash money can be a problem in Oia. The town I am staying in on Santorini. No one takes credit cards, with one exception. Car rentals. Restaurants, bars, hotels, stores, etc., do not. I am not sure it is the same in the other towns on Santorini. I assume it is.

I initially thought cash only so the merchants did not have to pay the 1 or 2 per cent to the credit card companies. Not the case. The purpose/reason is to beat taxes. Tax avoidance is a major sport in Greece. This is one of the reasons why Greece is broke. The government does not take in enough money to operate.

Arrests for tax fraud are rare. If so, the court process takes 10 years to complete. No one worries.

Obviously, you must carry many euros around with you.

Yesterday, I was down to 20 euros. Not much I could do with so little. I went to the ATM. It was broke. I went to the other ATM. It was broke. There are only two ATM machines in Oia.

I was sort of desperate for cash. The nearest ATM outside Oia is in Fira. Fira is the capital of Santorini. About 15 miles away. I took a bus.

The bus ride was pleasant. Took all of 20 minutes. A crazy curvy drive on a very narrow road. Many Americans on the bus.

The ATM in Fira was working. A relief!

I walked around Fira a bit.

The town was very crowded. Many tourists.

Cruise ships feed Fira with tourists just as in Key West. Four of varying sizes were sitting in the Aegean some distance off shore. As I stated yesterday, there is no dockage. The water is not deep enough for the cruise liners to come into shore. All use small shuttle boats to take the cruise ship customers back and forth.

This bugs the hell out of me. If Fira can get the cruise ships to come in and deposit their passengers in this fashion, why can’t Key West? This is a current problem in Key West. There is a push on for millions to be spent to deepen and widen the channel so the big boats can dock and drop their passengers off.

Fira sits high on a cliff. Just as Oia. A steep cliff. The passengers have to get to the top. They have options. They can walk up. A path exists. Generally stone. Over 500 steps. There is a cable car to take them up and down. Finally, donkeys and mules.

No one seems to mind.

Fira is different from Oia. I would describe Oia as more update. Fira a hundred years behind.

Whereas Oia’s walk is marble, Fira’s consists of lava, stones and pebbles hardened together. The walkways reminded me of a Chora. Chora is an old Greek section. Though Fira’s was improved.

Fira’s walk ways are 4-8 feet wide.

Enjoyed a sandwich and cold drink and returned by bus to Oia.

I have not spent much time laying by the water. I did yesterday. By the pool sitting halfway up a 2,000 foot cliff. The view of the bay before me.

When I returned to my room, I decided to sit on the terrace. My terrace on Back Street. I read the Eisenhower book for a while. Eisenhower was a crafty individual. He had warts. The book describes both the good and bad of the man.

Last night, I returned to Taverna Katina. No screwing around. I wanted to be sure of a good meal. That is exactly what I had. Basically, the same meal as two nights ago. Except this time I added egg plant salad as an appetizer. My entre was some fire red fish broiled. Tasted terrific, though a bit boney. Dessert again was baklava.

It finally happened! I saw a man with a beard!

He was sitting at the table next to me. We smiled at each other at the same time. We talked. He was from Australia. No beards here, he said. He also said he was beginning to feel strange having one. I laughed and agreed.

Earlier this morning, I was sitting on my terrace on Back Street enjoying a cup of coffee. An elderly woman was on the porch across the way. The porch on the flower/shrubbery covered house. White haired, pudgy, a black dress. She was sweeping the porch. She looked up and smiled at me. I said “ya sou.” Not spelled correctly. However, I have learned to pronounce it properly. It means hello, good day. She responded with the same Greek hello.

Ya sou is the only Greek word I have learned thus far.

After sweeping, she brought her coffee out and sat outside sipping and smiling at me.

She reminded me of my grandmother. My grandmother would rise, sweep the floor and then sit down for a cup of coffee. The same routine every day for many years.

My apartment is on the second floor. I have a next door neighbor. A young lady. In her early 30s. Other than a hello a couple of days ago, we have not seen each other. Our terraces are joined.

She came out in her night gown. I said hello. She said hello in English. Then tied her undies to a chair to dry. She had apparently just washed them. She then walked downstairs to the common area where there is a clothesline. She returned with black pants and a blouse. I have to iron these for work, she said.

Everything is easy in my Back Street complex. Everyone interacts like a family. The fact she was only in her night gown bothered her not at all.

I speak with the locals as much as possible about the economy. It is the same with everyone. Germany is no good! Merkel a rotten woman! We never should have gotten into the euro! We have been down and out before! We shall survive!

They will.

Enjoy your day!

SANTORINI

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I missed doing the blog yesterday. Sorry. I slept 12 straight hours. Woke 11 yesterday morning. Still had next week’s KONK Life column to do. Two days late. Guy de Boer bugging me. Took 3.5 hours to do. It was late afternoon by the time I finished. I was finished. I wanted to enjoy Santorini a bit.

Today’s blog therefore is a doubleheader. Stay with me. Some exciting things have occurred, including my pants falling down in front of two women.

Flew Athens to Santorini on Olympic Airlines. As with Aegean Airlines, the stewardesses were young ladies. Mid 20s at best. All beautiful. The flight was only a half hour. The plane was full. A pleasant ride. Especially over some of the other Greek Islands. The same experience you get when flying into Key West.

Nikos and his wife Maria own the cave hotel I stayed at last year. Nikos a gentleman. He met me at the airport.

Our destination was Oia. The other side of the island. A harrowing drive. Heart in your throat type. Very narrow two lane roads. Curves you would not believe. Every 100 feet. Many the hairpin type. The road goes up and down in huge dips. Everyone speeds.

When I e mailed Nikos to make a reservation, he sadly told me there was no room at the inn. He was booked solid. He further advised every other cave hotel was the same. I was disappointed. Also needed a placed to stay.

Nikos owns a building on the other side of the road. Nothing fancy. Typical rural Greek. He and his wife have an apartment there. He generally rents to locals. He had one empty, if I was interested.

I took it.

Love it! I call it Back Street. I am on the back side of the building away from the main road. There is a small narrow road on my side for parking. Second floor. What a view!

Beat up old buildings. One with wash hanging from the second floor every day. The other hiding its age behind large shrubs of flowers. Another side, an inner court area.

The room is huge. Four times the size of a normal hotel room. Made for a family. Small kitchen area. Very small bathroom. Most Greek bathrooms are. Taking a shower is an experience. Forget taking a bath. And the balcony. So peaceful to sit and work on, to read, and to contemplate my navel. No air conditioning. Do not need it, except at mid afternoon. Wind blows through a huge window and two doors I leave open. Even when I am sleeping. Hope springs eternal that some female will visit me in the middle of the night.

My neighbors are true Greeks. From another century. Old and young. Pleasant. Cheerful. Always saying hello in Greek.

Maria greeted me when I arrived. A two cheek kiss and hug. Maria to me is Mama mia. Not from the movie. She reminds me of my mother and grandmother.

Maria immediately wanted my dirty clothes. I had not had anything cleaned in almost a week. I said no. She insisted. I gave in. She did my clothes last year. Washes and irons everything. Will accept no money for her assistance.

The little dining table in the room held a basket of fresh fruit and a bottle of wine. Nikos and Maria also own a winery. Soon there was a knock on the door. Maria. She had a large bowl of fresh small tomatoes and another of apricots. A short while later she showed up with a tray of Greek coffee and baked goods.

Good people! The best!

Let me interject at this point a bit about Santorini. I sometimes think the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The view of the bay is magnificent. Surrounded by high multi colored cliffs rising straight up thousands of feet.

Santorini’s history is interesting. It once was one big island. In 1500 BC, some 3,600 years ago, one of the world’s largest volcano eruptions occurred. A good part of the island broke away. Now there are several smaller islands and the smaller main one. One of the islands is the volcano. The volcanic eruption explains the huge cliffs. Where the island separated. The tops of the cliffs are rust in color. Then at mid point become black and appear like huge chucks of coal.

I took some of Maria’s goodies and sat on my small terrace eating them, admiring the limited view, and thinking how lucky I was. I read a bit. I am on my third book in a week. All on the tablet.

Suddenly I was exhausted. Could not keep my eyes open, my head up. Jet lag was still with me. I went to bed and slept a couple of hours.

Dinner time. Needed a drink first. Found a new cafe. Mezza. I like it! They have gin, chocolate milk shakes, and tomato and cheese toast. Enjoyed a couple of drinks while taking in the view of the bay.

Alcohol is an experience here. Most restaurants have gin. Few quality brands. Gordon’s seems to be the gin of choice. It is like water. Does not have the kick of a stronger gin. Three Gordon’s is equal to one Beefeaters. Ozou is the popular drink. An anisette. I had a glass somewhere and put it in my coffee. Everyone went crazy. That is not how ouzo is to be drunk. You drink in straight or mixed with water. Since it is anisette to me, I drink it in the Italian tradition. In my coffee.

My first night’s dinner was not to my liking. My favorite off the beaten track restaurant was no longer there. Apparently out of business. I tried a new one on the main drag. The entre left much to be desired. The appetizer on the other hand was out of this world. Four large artichoke hearts covered with peas and potatoes, all prepared in olive oil. Delicious! Understand that everything in Greece is prepared with olive oil. There are olive trees everywhere.

I stopped at Mezza. There were what appeared to be three college age young ladies at the table next to me. Two men also. One a father to one of the girls. The conversation got a bit loud. All of a sudden I heard…..I’m gay!…..I’m gay!…..I’m gay! All three at one time. Whether they were for real or experimenting or trying to convince the men, I do not know. The whole thing reminded me of the Kevin Kline movie where Kline was a gay high school teacher. Someone outed him. The principal had a public meeting to dismiss Kline from the faculty. Town people as well as students attended. All of a sudden, the audience one at a time or in small groups stood up and said…..I’m gay.

The nights are cold. Both evenings, I needed to wear a sweatshirt. Warm by day. No humidity.

Nikos and I had a conversation on the way in from the airport. Business has picked up. Much better than last year. The influx consists of Americans, Indonesians, Australians, and Japanese. A ton of Australians. From what I could gather, Australia’s economy has been good the past three years.

I have spoken with several Greeks since I arrived in Greece itself. About the economy. In my two days in Athens, I was disappointed there was not a demonstration I could attend. There were two last year.

Things are no better. In fact worse. The attitude is…..What can we do? We are Greeks and have survived before. We will survive again. We must keep working at things.

The people hate politicians. All government people are crooks. They also hate Germans. No question. Very few Germans visiting this year. Probably because they anticipate a cool reception.

The euro/German thing brings out old memories. Of the German occupation in World WAr II. I heard it more often this year as opposed to last. I was told by all that the euro was a disaster and Greece should not have entered into it.

I hear war. It is not around the corner. However, I was talking to a people who think they are being put upon. Unemployment as a practical matter is over 50 per cent. College grads cannot get jobs. Fathers cannot feed their families. All real. The Greeks are being pushed. I assume Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal are also. I said after last year’s visit that if another World War began, it would not be in the Middle East. It would be in Europe because of euro caused problems. I said it a year ago. Greeks are saying it today.

Santorini is much like Key West. A tourist town. They must make it in season. It gets cold here quickly. The season is 3-4 months.

Which brings me to yesterday, Sunday.

Slept well. As indicated before, did not wake till 11. Blog never got done. I spent quite a while on next week’s KONK Life column. The article deals with the makings of a radical. A Boston marathon bomber type. I tied it in with the story of a 14 year old boy who wore an NRA t-shirt to school, was told he could not wear it, and ended getting arrested. The case was resolved last week. The charges were dismissed. My concern is what the impact might be on this eighth grader in later years.

I made time for a manicure. My nails were starting to look like Fu Man Chu’s. Hair and Soul the place. Catherine the owner and manicurist. Originally from Australia, she married and has lived on Santorini for 10 years. She greeted me with a warm back again hello. We had a great conversation.

I then went down to the cave pool and spent a half hour looking out over the water under the shade of an umbrella. The volcano was directly in front of me. My nemis.

As I was sitting there a cruise ship came in. A big one. They stream across the bay to Fira which is another Santorini town. There is no dock or channel for the passengers. The cruise ships shuttle passengers to shore in small boats.

If Santorini can do it and get the big cruise ships to visit, why can’t Key West?

It could be the quality of the product Key West sells. There are no t-shirt shops on Santorini. No one hustles you to come into their store. The boat people are different from what Key West gets. They are a higher class economically. Key West gets a polyester crowd. Perhaps if Key West changed a bit what it has to offer, we could get these type passengers. The stipend per passenger paid to Key West would increase appropriately, also.

Last night was Taverna Katina! My favorite Santorini restaurant!

It sits at the bottom of one of the high cliffs. Immediately/directly on the water. The sun was setting as I arrived.

It always amazed me how a bartender remembers a customer who has not visited his bar in several years. He remembers the drink. I ate at Taverna Katina 3-4 times last year. The food that good! The waiter remembered me. You drink gin, he said. You can’t get enough, he added. The owner’s daughter even remembered me. Not by name, but knew I had been there before. Good for a hug and kiss welcome.

The sun on the cliffs is difficult to describe. The rust and black reflecting. Wow!

My reserved table was on the water on a concrete abutment. Another inch or two and me and the table would have been wet.

The meal to die for. Let me bore you.

I started with three appetizers. All small. Greens and oil. Oh! Fish eggs and oil. Wow! Eggplant fried in oil. Oh and wow!

Fish is sold by the pound. Only fish is sold. The menu has the euro amount per kilo. You select from the menu the type. I wanted sea bass. I was then taken into the kitchen to select my fish. I picked one out. It was weighed. I was told its exact cost.

The sea bass was served flayed. It was grilled only to a point. Then somehow cooked in light oil. Oil again. Delicious! I have never eaten fish so good. Not even in Key West. Coffee and baklava completed the meal. The coffee and dessert on the house.

Nikos drove me to Taverna Katina and returned to pick me up. Ten miles each way. The man again a gentleman. He would not let me take a taxi. After dinner, I was waiting outside the restaurant in a corner for the car to come down. The cliff behind me, the water 30 feet away. Two women were waiting for a cab. One British, the other Indian. We were chatting. I was cold. I started to put my sweat shirt on. As I lifted my arms, my pants fell down. Just like they did in Mykonos last year. It must be a Greek thing.

The ladies did not know what to say or do. I tried to lighten the moment. It always happens, I said. I’m really an exhibitionist at heart, I added. As soon as I said it, I thought how stupid. Turned out it was not. They both laughed. One exclaimed disappointment in that she could not see anything. The other asked why I did not wear a belt. I do, I told her. My problem is I have no ass to hold them up. Fortunately, at that point Nikos showed up. I got into the car hearing laughter and keep your pants up!

I did not go to bed. I was awake. Returned to Mezza. Enjoyed a Grand Marnier while watching Santorini visitors saunter by.

I continue to have computer data port problems. Verizon sucks! Two years in a row and they still do not have it right. Anyhow, the problem makes it impossible for me to do my blog radio show from outside the United States. I am off the air till after August 10. My television/internet show is running recordings of former broadcasts. You may wish to tune in friday mornings at 10. The blog and KONK Life column continue.

This is the longest blog I have ever written. If you are still with me, I hope you have found it interesting. I enjoy sharing my experiences with you.

Enjoy your day!