What a vacation!
Yesterday, I explored. Took the bus to Aigiali. The bus was expensive this time. 2.5 euros each way. A bargain! I was the only one on the bus both ways.
Aigiali was one of the earliest settlements on Amorgos. Came into being around 500 B.C. A beach town. Old, yet more modern than Kapatola. I spent a couple of hours walking around. Sat at a couple of outdoor cafes talking with the natives.
I learned a lot. Discovered I was wrong regarding some things.
I have been of the opinion that lamb was really goat when served in restaurants. The underlying reason being that I have seen hundreds of goats, but not one sheep.
Turns out I have not visited the right places.
The reason I have been seeing goats all over the place is that they are not penned in. They are permitted to roam freely. Sheep on the other hand are penned/fenced in. Sheep have a value and cannot be permitted to wander off.
I have yet to see a sheep. However, I believe the gentlemen who told me about them. If it is advertised as lamb, it generally is lamb I was told. They were a bit offended to think I thought a Greek might pass off goat as lamb.
I was wrong. We live and learn.
Dined again last night at Mythos. Enjoyed a special Greek lamb dish. The owner Vangelis insisted I order it. Was it lamb? I think so. However, I do not know if I ever will be certain.
I enjoyed the dako salad again. Bean bread, diced tomatoes, and crumbled feta covered with a light olive oil. Just as tasty as the night before.
Drank cappuccinos with some locals afterwards. The yacht issue came up. There seems to be a yacht every evening in port. The real big ones. Each evening a different one. Drugs, I inquired. Learned something new again. I was told the economy is very bad in Turkey. So, what is new? Perhaps the worst ever.
Yacht rentals are big business in the summer months. People do not have the cash flow they once did. The yachts were not renting. The rental price dropped dramatically in the search for business. It worked. People are now renting yachts and their crews for their summer vacation. Cheap. Offers a different vacation at a cut rate price.
So much for my druggie thought.
The Greek Isles are not like Key West. Key West is flat. Here every island has several high mountains. Most taller than Santorini’s volcano that I could not climb. The tops of the mountains are unusual. They are huge gray rock formations. Comparable to the top of a glacier covered Alp. Rock instead of ice.
The locals are always trying to figure out a way to attract tourists. That is their econmy. Same as with Key West.
A few years ago someone came up with the idea of rock climbing. Put the mountain tops to good use. Rock climbing is now big time.
I was sitting in a bar when the issue came up. The owner showed me a video of rock climbing on Amorgos. Real big time! Scary! Definitely not for me.
The wind came back last night. Cold! Cold this morning when I walked. If I have been told correctly, last night began another three day phase of cold wind over the island.
Two ladies and a little girl showed up at my apartment this morning. Amwericans. They heard there was another American on the island and wanted to meet me. We had coffee and chatted a while. We are going to become good friends.
Rita is formerly from Los Angeles. She and her husband live on Amorgos full time. Rita runs a dress shop here in Katapola. Her husband is a contractor.
Jean was with Rita. Cousins. Jean brought along her young granddaughter Sofia.
Jean is a physician’s assistant in urology at the Veteran’s Hospital in Washington, DC. She is visiting. Her husband is an attorney. A Syracuse law graduate, also. Once an unsure Catholic, he now is a Deacon. Very much into his religious work and the Catholic Church. I told Rita I had deep concerns about the path the Catholic Church has been taking. She says her husband would enjoy talking with me. And I said, I with him. We exchanged e mails.
Enjoy your day!