Map

This might help orient people reading this ... I'm on Halki (just above Rhodes) as I post this.

More Kos

Sunday, June 30, 2013—Kos Town, Kos, Greece

Didn't get out to the beaches today like I planned, for a couple of reasons. First off, I forgot that it was Sunday, which means a restricted bus schedule. I also wasn't feeling so hot when I woke up. I drink so little these days that my big night out—three drinks—actually left me with a mild but very persistent hangover, which meant that I got a late start and was moving pretty slowly. I decided instead to hike 3 km inland to a famous archaeological site called Askipieion, which is associated with Asclepius, the god of healing. It was also the site of a medical school where Hippocrates’ teachings were followed. It was a pretty interesting place. It was very hard to understand what I was seeing, though. Greek archaeological sites, even big important ones like this, tend to be very poorly explained. The site goes back to Minoan times and was used for various purposes right up until the early Christian era. Mostly what I was seeing was a jumble of material going back to the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries BC to later Roman times; like I've said, though, untangling what I was seeing was pretty difficult. I did get a lot of good pictures, though, to use to try and figure things out later. I also can use some of the shots in my archaeology class this coming semester …

The site aside, I glad I went there for the walk: it gave me a chance to explore a tiny bit of this island's inland areas, which are considerably different than those of the other islands I've been to. Like Patmos, this is a very rich island; it obviously has a lot more water that most of the Dodecanese. Other than this generally richness, though, it doesn't look at all like Patmos—the landscape is softer, more rolling and the colors are different. Patmos has the orange pinkish hue about it, whereas this place is more about saturated yellows; it reminds me of deeper, more intense version of parts of coastal central California (it's as if this place demands to be painted in oils whereas watercolors would render California more accurately). Like Patmos, though, light is a huge factor here: in both places it seems to have substance all its own; it's almost like another thing, trees, water, light … It seems like something you can reach out and touch, feel slip thru your fingers …

Since it has a lot of water it's not surprisingly more wooded than other islands. Even on my short walk today, which only got into the foothills, I was running into pines, cedars, junipers and other species I wasn't sure of. There are also more wildflowers here than other places in these islands (I bet this place is amazing in this regard in the spring when everything is in bloom). There also just more plant coverage in general. No place here I've seen (and I've seen a lot of the coast from the boat that brought me here) has that scrubby patchy look of Leros and so many other Greek islands I've been to. Though I've only seen the edges of the island's agricultural regions, based on what I have seen, this looks like a great place to be a Greek farmer. My guess is that the agricultural productivity here has got to be many fold a lot of the other islands …

 (More on this subject later. Tomorrow I'm going on my beach trip, which will have me cross a big chunk of the island. I should have much more info by tomorrow evening …)

Notes: Tourist Crowds of Kos

Last night I ate dinner at an outside table at a restaurant that was in the very heart of the tourist region, in one of the narrow twisty alleys of the old town. The tourist throng was amazing, in both their numbers and their movements. Only in Waikiki at the absolute height of summer have I seen that many vacationers in one place (that many in relation to the size of the place—Waikiki's considerably bigger). What I found most amazing was their interest in the banal shops that are everywhere here: except for some of the teenage girls looking at clothes, most of the them seemed interested because there was nothing else for them to do really but check them out: it was like they had to be interested or there was no reason for them to be there (of maybe here in general). I wonder if they ever wonder why they came here, if they ever wonder if they're really having fun or not …

General Notes:

Bought a boat ticket today to Nisyros, the next island to the south. It's going to be the exact opposite of this place: it sees only a fraction of the tourism of Kos. The main reason people go there is that the island is basically an active volcano and it's possible to hike right to edge of it. This is the main reason I'm going there, that and I hear that there are some other good hikes there as well …

After Nisyros I'll be heading to Tilos, mainly because it's supposed to have some of the best hiking in the Dodecanese. It's also supposed to be pretty far off the beaten path, which is definitely is appealing to me after the tourist crush of Kos …

Part of a reconstructed Roman Villa - Kos Town

My main Greece guide meets Ancient Rome - Just thought this would be a cool shot

Part of a Roman floor mosaic - Hard to get all of it in one shot, but it's really cool

Interior of Kos - Reminds me in places of Central California

Kos Town - From the ferry

Not a good photo of me on the Ferry off Kos (I look like The Dude on a bad day)

Kos - First Impressions

Note - I'm posting from cafes etc. with Internet connections that are slow - too slow for pictures, for the most part. I'll post a mess of photos as soon as I stumble upon a better connection or someplace where I can plug in and my lame battery is not an issue.

Saturday, June 29, 2013—Kos Town, Kos, Greece

Took a hydrofoil here today. Those things are fast!—I made it here, even with a stop in Kalymnos, in only about an hour and a half (they're also kind of expensive, 21 euros). I found a room just off the main part of town for thirty euros a night. This price includes breakfast. Given this, it's not a bad deal, especially considering how expensive this island is reputed to be. Even so, I will no doubt be spending more money here than I want to—the island just exudes expensiveness.

Back to the place I'm staying. It's one of those wonderfully weird Greek guest houses that can only be stumbled on by accident or by its proprietress (it's always older women who run these things) coming and grabbing you when you at the docks (which is what happened to me here). My room is this tiny little thing with two double beds a wardrobe and an old TV jammed into it. It's little balcony opens out onto the balconies and back windows of several other buildings, all of which are closely packed together. The bathroom is down the hall—and it's pretty amazing. It a combo bathroom/laundry room. Next to the toilet and the big American-style tub (huge by European standards) is a large washing machine. What's really bizarre it that they've got the washer draining into to toilet—there's a pipe with soaping water attached to the bowl (they've actually altered the bowl so the pipe can sit in it when the cover's closed). The place has also got thin walls and the rooms these odd doors, the top of which are smoked glass. When these doors are shut, even as quietly as possible, the whole building seems to be rattling. Added to this, the walls in the hall, the laundry room, etc. are adorned with Byzantine religious iconography. Almost as a kind of counterpoint, my room features an erotic photo of a pretty model-type couple embracing (so tasteless that it's almost pornographic). On the wall across from this is a needlepoint of young lovers embrace with a sunset backdrop. Amazing …          

I got in pretty early today, a little after noon. So I've had plenty of time to wander the town. It's a typical Greek island city, pretty, but really not all that different from, say, Hania or Rhodes Town (structurally it's nowhere near as interesting as those places). It is newer. A big earthquake leveled the place in 1933 so it lacks a lot of the old Venetian architecture and twisty alleys found in other Greek cities (though it does have the remains of a Knights of St. John Castle right in the middle its waterfront). Because of this is feel more spacious and relaxed. Still, it's filled with stalls selling the same old stuff you can get anywhere in these islands, as well as tourist restaurants that might as all have the same menu. The town is loaded with archaeological sites (two of which I explored today), but it's beaches look very mediocre (they're also fairly crowded—I seem to be back into the German tourist zone). So far I'd say this place is a mixed bag …

I feel like I've pretty much seen everything that interests me in town (unfortunately the archaeological museum is closed down, indefinitely). So tomorrow I think I'm going to take a bus to check out the beaches of the southwest of the island, either that or one on the north coast. I'm going to be here for two more full days, so I'll probably end up hitting both places either way. So far I'd say this place is EXACTLY what I expected it to be: pretty, touristy, and ultimately an island worth checking out for a short period, but not my style for any length of time. The main thing that bugs me about these kinds of places is that they really could be any beachie place in the world. Kos Town, for example, might as well be Rhodes Town or Biarritz or even Waikiki … I’m in Greece, but as long as I'm in this town that doesn't really matter: I'm in Beach Vacationland—that's the fundamental baseline I'm dealing with …

Since I've be eating in the last two nights I'm going to splurge a little bit on dinner tonight. There's a place called Elia's that Lonely Planet raves about, an oasis in the middle of the tourist district. I hunted it down this afternoon (it blended in really well—I passed it three times before I figured out it was the place I was looking for). It looks ritzy, but the prices weren't too bad. Then I plan on heading over to someplace called the Bittersweet Music Bar (or maybe it was “Lounge”). Mainly because it looked like a pretty cool place to hang out and I like the minimalist drum-and-bass tracks they were pumping out (it's Saturday night, though, so I may find a way less mellow scene tonight).

Notes on Leaving Leros:

As I watched Leros flow by me on my way to Kos I learned a lot about its geography. It's a harsh looking place. High mountains coming directly out of the sea, featuring almost nothing in the way of coastal flatlands or even beaches: surf striking rocky shores for miles. Dry landscape, scrub vegetation, which looks like it would even have a hard time supporting much of a goat population. Little in the way of settlement. It looked like it would be hard, unrewarding hiking. Kalymnos, the island just to the south of Leros, looks like an extension of this landscape. This makes me think that I made the right decision in exploring Leros lightly and skipping Kalymnos altogether. I only have so much time and money and I can't do everything. So far my instincts seem to be spot on …

General Notes:

My ankles and knees are really sore. I need to stay off my feet for the next few days, as the next two islands I'm planning on heading to—Nisyros and Tilos—are back-of-beyond places that are going to be all about hiking.

The wind that came up in Leros yesterday is blasting a way here as well. It's keeping things cool, but kind of screwing up the beaches. Hoping tomorrow won't be a windy, sandy mess.

Been having lots of weird intense dreams the last few nights, about nothing that at least directly has anything to do with Greece, featuring people from back home, in some cases people I haven't really thought much of in years. Have no idea what's causing them. Not too concerned.

Leros Thoughts

Friday, June 28, 2013—Alinda, Leros, Greece

Realized today that I've hit a bit of a wall. Like I mentioned in my last entry, yesterday I felt like I really needed a day to recharge. Today I've been feeling the same way. I woke up today, after about nine hours sleep, feeling totally wiped out. I knew it was going to be a minimalist day from then on out.

I did manage to climb the hill up to Pandeli Castle, which looms above the over side of Alinda Bay. It was interesting. The bulk of the castle was destroyed at various times, so most of what's up there is a reconstruction but it felt pretty authentic. More interesting than the castle itself was the museum next to it. The museum is culturally only tenuously connected to what had gone on with the castle. Mostly it houses examples religious iconography, which were quite interesting, mainly because the guy working in the museum explained them really well. He was a Greek-American from Texas, so he understood how to translate Greek Orthodox traditions for outsiders. Other than the museum all I managed to do was buy a boat ticket for Kos (I leave tomorrow at 10:20 AM).

I really haven't seen much of this island, just the castle and the towns strung along this part of the coast. Normally this would bug me, but I hadn't really planned on coming here anyway. Also, based on descriptions of this place and what I have seen there's really not that much that interests me here: I'm using this island mainly as a relatively inexpensive pit-stop. That said, if I had a bit more money to burn, I wouldn't mind staying here a couple more days, mainly because I haven't quite figured the place out and I don't like leaving mysteries behind me. That said, I do think I get why this isn't exactly a hot destination: it doesn't have the wildness and breadth of someplace like Crete, while it also lacks the glamor, facilities, and style of places like Rhodes and Kos. It feels off the beaten path, but not necessarily in a good way … 

 Today the wind kicked up, making it a pretty lousy day for the beach (which is mainly what this place has to offer). Because of this there hardly seemed to be anyone around. Or at least that's what I thought was going on. To save money I ate in again tonight, taking advantage of the rarity of having a kitchen. After eating an early dinner and then taking an unexpected nap (I just crashed), I decided to head out and get a drink somewhere just to get out and mingle. Alinda, though, was empty; it's a Friday night and virtually every restaurant and bar was deserted or nearly so—and this is the tourist center of the island. I'm beginning to think that a lot of the people I saw on the beach yesterday were local Greeks who didn't come out today because of the wind. If my observations are correct, this place is really dead. I wonder if this is because of the state of the European economy or is this place always like this (I doubt the latter seriously: there are too many restaurants, hotels, etc. to have arisen for no reason). Some of the businesses here are closed. Maybe this place is really hurting. Or maybe things don't get going here till later in the summer. It was so dead that I decided to buy a beer and head back to my guest house. I didn't want to sit in some bar literally by myself …

Onward to Kos …

Pandeli Castle (or maybe the Castle Anthrax - "In the name of King Arthur open the door ...")

Patmos From Leros and Leros

Thursday, June 27, 2013—Alinda, Leros, Greece

Left Patmos at about two this afternoon (it’s a little after five now), on a local catamaran, (as opposed to the big inter-island ferry). Still annoyed by Patmos. As I've mentioned there was just something a little off-putting about the place, despite its great beauty. Spend my last day there hiking up to the old acropolis (of which there’s almost nothing left except some fragments of square-cut stone block walls). Then I hiked up to Hora, a town over-looking the port of Skala. It’s mainly famous for an old, massive monastery (which looks more like a Knights of St. John castle than a religious building). It was a great walk, fascinating environmentally: it’s such an abrupt rise in altitude that only a few minutes into my hike (which I did partially on trails and footpaths and the main road) I found myself in a forest, which was dominated by pines and featured cedars, scattered junipers, and eucalyptus (dumb imported Australian trees)—it amazes me how quickly the plant communities can change on these islands.

The monastery turned out to be closed by the time I got there. This didn't bother me too much, as religious stuff interests me almost not at all (though I would have liked to examine the architecture of the monastery, which looked really cool from the outside); I mainly went for the hike. I did wander around the old twisting medieval streets of Hora for a while, which was interesting. The place was a touch too touristy for me, though, so I was only there for an hour or so before heading back down to Skala.

Overall I'm pretty torn concerning my Patmos experience. On one hand, it might be physically the most beautiful Greek island I've been to. But culturally it had almost nil to offer. Greek, British, French, Italian, and some American tourists crowding narrow town beaches. Over-priced mediocre restaurants—nothing original about any of them (they might as well have had the same menu). Scooters and cars forever zooming past you (lay your head on a town beach and they move by literally feet from your skull). It’s almost as if the place culturally cancels out its immense environmental pluses …

* 

OK, Leros. Like I said, I just got here a couple of hours ago. All I've done is find a place to stay (a really cool place, big, with a kitchen for only twenty-five euros a night) and wander around town, and get some stuff at a supermarket to make some dinner). Basically this town is one of three that hug a little section of the island’s coast. Alinda, in fact, might be the narrowest Greek town I've been to: it literally clings to the marginal beach that rims Alinda Bay. Though it’s just the next island over, environmentally this place looks much more like Crete than Patmos: the lemon yellow light has returned, as has the drier, more rugged landscape. The town feels a little like a low-rent version of Patmos, though: the same narrow strip of sand, basically interchangeable nightclubs and bars, traffic forever zooming by …

There’s not all that much I came here wanting to see. Apparently this island has one of the cooler medieval castles in the islands (which is saying quite a bit, because there are a lot of good ones around here). I plan on checking that out tomorrow. I’m also going to look over the towns to the south. I may stay another day or so after that if I can find some cool, more far-flung beaches. If not, I’ll be off the following day. To where I’m not yet sure. I will keep moving south, though (I've decided to give the smaller islands up here—Lipsi, Arki, etc.—a miss, mainly because up close they don’t seem all that interesting, and also because I know they’ll be a bit expensive) …

           

Notes from the Northern Dodecanese:

As soon as one gets north of Karpathos prices start getting higher (and higher). The islands also seem to lose that wonderful semi-anarchic quality that Crete has: there just seems to be more rules up here. Beginning to realize that I like Greece, but I love Crete; it really has everything I want from Greece: sun, sea, great (challenging) trails, interesting culture … And again, it’s also a lot cheaper than up here. Glad I’m heading back there, perhaps sooner rather than later …

Noticing that there’s a nationality change among the tourists here compared to Crete: the Germans largely drop out and are replaced mainly by English, French, Italians, and, to a much lesser extent, Americans. Coming to the conclusion I like Germans the best of this lot. They may be taciturn, frowning bastards, but in their own weird way they’re freer. Plus, if nothing else, they’re unobtrusive: they blend in with their environment better than the English do, who tend to English-up every place they go. French and Italian people mostly just seem to want to hang out with their own kind, which makes then almost non-factors, except that they’re taking up space that could go to less ethnocentric travelers. Some of the more interesting travelers I've met in Greece have been English, French, and Italians in Crete: it’s almost as if that island attracts the rebels, the more interesting offspring of these countries …

Now that I've got a nice place to stay I’m going to have a off night, I think, a night to be alone and recharge. I need to read, write, watch bad Greek TV … Writers have to get away from people to get closer to them, pointed out Lawrence Durrell. At least for short periods here and there that is very true …

Beach out in front of where I was staying ion Patmos

Skala, Patmos

Forested Area Above Skala

Patmos - Double-Edged Beauty

Wednesday, June 26, Skala, Patmos, Greece

Patmos. Still air, humidity. Heat. Kind of like a cross between the Island Greece I've been experiencing and what I've always imagined Mississippi would be like in the summer (but not quite that oppressive).

I'm camping at a campground called Stefanos, just outside the island capitol/port of Skala. This is easily the hottest, most consistently humid place I've been in the Greek isles; it doesn't really even cool off that much at night. I woke up this morning at around six and for a while just lay there atop of my sleeping bag looking out thru the white mesh of my tent. A lot of the camping spots are separated by stands of bamboo. Between this and the hot still air (no morning freshness at all), the place seemed swamp-like, malarial (adding to this feeling was the slight head cold I've picked up). Strange feelings. Not particularly happy ones. This was the first morning I've woken up and really didn't want to be where I was …

           

All of this ties into my generally confused feelings about this island—it's not quite what I expected and overall I'm not enjoying it all that much. It's a beautiful place, greener than all of the others I've visted. The light is different here too: it's richer, more varied: hues of pink and orange crowding out the lemon yellows that dominate places like Crete, for example. It also has nice beaches, still as ponds, tucked deep into inlets, rich pale greens, deeper blues … But there's a cultural vibe here that's rubbing me the wrong way—the place is a little snooty, while also being a touch conservative. There seem to be more rules here than other places in Greece I've been too (when I'm saying this I'm not quite sure what I mean—I'm dealing more with general vibes more than anything I can quantify). There seems to be too much money here, both local and imported (it reminds me a bit of a little Greek Santa Barbara). Fancy yachts in the harbor poking my inner Marxist. Cruise ships anchoring off shore, dumping off tourists (including many Americans, who I otherwise rarely run into in Greece) so they can shop in town, buy the same crap they can get pretty much anywhere (is this all these kinds of travelers experience of the islands they visit?). Bah! …

Yesterday I had what turned out to be terrible idea. I decided that it might be interesting to explore the island on bike, so I rented one (for 4 euros a day). I quickly discovered, though, that the mountains I had to cross were way too steep. This combined with the heat made things pretty miserable. Including about an hour and a half stop at a beach on the north eastern shore, I was out with the bike for about six hours. Despite the fact that I drank a lot of water, I was completely dehydrated by the time I turned it in. I was also exhausted. The dumb thing is that the inclines were so nasty I probably ended up pushing the bike for a bout a third of the distances I covered—I paid money for the privilege of pushing a bike! Still the downhills were stunning and it was a good work out (both the hills I rode up and those where I had to push). I WILL NOT be doing that again, however. Not unless I find myself on a relatively flat island …

Leaving here tomorrow, beginning my southward trek. Not sure where I'm heading yet. Leros, the next island to the south seems interesting, quiet, laid back, comparatively empty to what I'm experiencing now. I'm also thinking of just plunging into the touristy aspects of these islands, just to experience it full on, which would mean going directly to Kos, which looked ritzy, but also absolutely beautiful from ferry (it stopped there on the way to Patmos).  Not much planned today. Think I'm going to hike up to the old acropolis above the city. Maybe I will also go to an inland town called Hora, which looks like it could be interesting. But again, the heat is making me lazy: I could just find a cool place and hide today …

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the stupid night I had in Rhodes Town on the way here. The ferry from Kasos got in at about two in the morning. It was a Saturday night and Rhodes Town (on the northing tip of the island of Rhodes), which is a major party destination, and it was going off: bad, Euro-electro disco was pouring out of bar after bar and drunk people were staggering everywhere. But every potential place to stay was locked up tight. So I ended up hanging out with this Chinese-Australian girl (very cute) who came in on the same ferry, mainly because we both just needed someone to kill time with. Forever it seemed we tried to hunt down places to stay and then we finally settled in at an eatery that stayed open till four. After that we just hung around the town waiting for daylight, for something open up (which didn't happen till even later than usual because it was a Sunday). I didn't get to bed until about nine that morning. Long, weird, sleepless night. Half fun (because of its weirdness factor mainly) and half annoying …

Around the Harbor in Patmos

Home Sweet Home

My Patmos Rest and Recreation Area

More Patmos Photos later. I'm doing this on battery power and I'm almost out of juice ...

More Kasos - Impression Improving, Field Notes

Friday, June 21, 2013—Fry, Kasos, Greece

I almost made it to the top of my mountain. I carried out my plan of going straight up the drainage I tested out yesterday. This turned out to be surprisingly easy: it only took me about an hour to reach all the way to the rock dome which topped the mountain. The reason for this is there weren't really any tough spots—there were plenty of toe- and foot-holds and the drainage really never got very steep, even as I neared the top. Once I got up to rock dome the drainage petered out. After that I couldn't go much higher. I tried a number of different routes but I kept running into sections that would have essentially had me doing free rock climbing. I wasn't quite prepared for this for a couple of reasons. First off, the routes up I saw that might have worked would have been mighty sketchy if I tried to head back down them. Secondly, I was on my own: if I injured myself up there I had no one to help me. If I'd had a climbing partner I probably would have tried for the summit. Fifty-fifty as to whether I would have made it (I couldn't see what the final ascent would have been like from where I ended up).

Once I made it back down I saw that the drainage just to the east the one I tried might have given me a better chance to make it to the top. It petered out into a saddle between peaks and might have provided me a more do-able way to the top (it might have also been a dead end, though, which would have left me topping out at a lower elevation than I made using the drainage I'd chosen). All in all I'd say today's hike was a great success: It was a good work out, I got some great views, and I showed, for the second time this trip, that my back country knowledge is still sound—I know how to go off trail safely and efficiently. 

 All this said, the countryside here isn't anywhere near as interesting as what I've hiked on other islands (Crete, Gavdos, and Karpathos): it was very dry and uniform, and unlike Crete (especially) the plant communities didn't change much as the altitude increased—there were mostly just changes in the percentages of what I'd been seeing down the sea level. As with everywhere else I've hiked in Greece there was also very little in the way of animal life. There were insects of course—including a species of dragon fly I don't think I've run into before—but not much else. I did see a few legless lizards, though. These are such weird animals. You'd think you might mistake them for snakes, at least at first glance. But that's not really the case, mainly because they are shaped and move like lizard—it's only later that you notice that they don't have legs. I tried to get a picture of one of them, but they were too quick: even though I had my camera handy they were gone long before I could get my hands on it, let alone set up a shot. I saw one of these lizards on Karpathos my last time thru. But I think the ones I saw today were of a different species: their coloring was different and they were a lot faster than the one on Karpathos (I could have touched that one if I'd wanted, it moved that slowly). I need to learn more about these creatures when I get home—they intrigue me.

           

Getting to the point where I'm almost glad I came to Kasos. I still think if I had it to do over again I would have given this island a miss, but I think I've managed to have a pretty interesting time here. As I've said before, the people are awfully sweet (if a bit reserved) and when I combine this with a good hike it's hard for me to complain too much. Still, I'm looking forward to getting to Rhodes. I don't plan on spending much time there: it's too expensive, big, and touristy for my tastes (I'm mostly heading there to get a ferry connection farther north).  But I really would like to see Rhodes Town again. Last time I was there I was having massive social anxiety problems and really couldn't take the place in right. The Knights of St. John castle was pretty amazing, as was the medieval architecture in general. I'd like to wander thru it in a better frame of mind than last time. The town also features what may be my all-time favorite restaurant It's a touch more expensive than I'm accustomed to, but I get way more than what I pay for—the food and atmosphere are thoroughly wonderful. I'm not very good at spending money, but I have no qualms occasionally throwing down some bucks for top-flight eats: life's too short to be a cheapshit when it comes to this sort of stuff …

Not sure where I'm going from Rhodes. I will check if it's possible to go straight to Patmos from there and if so how long that would trap me on a ferry. If that's not feasible the island of Symi will be my next destination …

Beginning to wonder if there's an unacknowledged bedbug problem in Greece. I'm being overcharged in this hotel, but one of the good things is that I've got an air conditioner, which means I can shut the room up at night and avoid the mosquitoes that have been attacking me since I got here. The problem is I've been waking up all bit up, mostly on my back; to the point where in some places I have so many bites that these areas have become defacto welts. The windows are shut tight, so I don't see how this could be mosquitoes. I had a similar problem last time thru, when I was in Lendas, in Crete. Tonight I'm going to try wearing a t-shirt to see if that helps. Whatever is going on it's unpleasant: I scratch the bites so much in my sleep that I'm bleeding in several spots. No fun …

Notes:

I've all but stopped drinking beer at home (gluten issues, plus I'm just kind of over it). I'm noticing that after a hike I crave one of the light, salty lagers that are pretty much the only type of beers this country produces. I had one after my hike today, Hellas Pils. It's a brand I haven't run into before and it's definitely the worst beer I've had in Greece: it's a little harsh and has a kind of weird aftertaste. Still it was cold and tasted damn good after several hours hiking up and down a mountain in the hot sun.

Reading Lawrence Durrell's Reflections on a Marine Venus, his memoir of his time spent in Rhodes. I read it years ago and really liked it. I brought a copy with me and have been saving it till I got closer to Rhodes; I'll still be reading it when I get to that island tomorrow evening. It's interesting what reading material works on the road. A Durrell book on Greece is of course an obvious winner. But I've also been reading (and just finished) the first two volumes of W. Somerset Maugham's collected short stories. He's a writer I probably wouldn't touch at home, but his breezy tales of far-away lands (far away from his homeland of England) work really well when traveling. Been seeing Penguin paperbacks of Homer in the mini-marts and souvenir shops. Seems a little spot on to read (or in my case reread) Homer here, but I could definitely see myself dipping into the Odyssey (if not the Iliad—too dark and sad) soon …

As I've mentioned my room has a TV (a real rarity for me, given the types of places I usually stay when in Greece). I've been playing Greek soap operas, Oprah type shows, and news programs in the background (I have the volume really low) when I've been in my room, mainly because since I feel I'm getting overcharged I want to get my money's worth. Plus it's fun. It reminds me of Mexican TV back home: bleached blondes in ugly obvious clothes who look more trashy than pretty leading gossipy discussion about celebrities. It's like being home, except it's been translated into Greek. Watched some Greek comedy show last night. There wasn't an audience or a laugh track, though, so I wasn't quite sure even when I was supposed to laugh. Seemed annoying, kind of like a Greek version of Hee Haw or something …

Looking Down the Drainage I just went up

Just before my upward progress was stopped

View from above

Noticing a trend here