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