Greece Is The Word!

Ha! How clever am I! (Insert crickets chirping.) Anyhoo…

Ever since I can remember, I have been a hellenophile. (And Spell-check has just informed me that ‘hellenophile is not a word. Who cares.) In my grade 7 geography class with Mr. Cottam, I remember putting together this elaborate 2 poster board project on Greece. I went to several travel agencies and got brochures with colour pictures of beautiful beaches and sprawling hillside villages of white square houses. I consulted many encyclopaedias and travel books. I knew every Greek god and goddess and their super power (this is because of the “Deities and Demigods” handbook from Dungeons and Dragons. If you ever want to know how many hit points Zeus has, I’m your guy!) And this was waaaaaaay before the Internet. Kids today have it easy! I remember this project hanging at the back of the classroom for several months, and I would occasionally just go up to look at those pictures of Santorini, Crete, Mykonos, Athens, Olympia and Lesbos. (Ah, Lesbos. The word always made me titter. The word titter makes me titter. Especially in combination with the word Lesbos). Some day, I said. Some day. Fade to black.

Well, that some day was last month. I had already visited the Land Of My Ancestors, and was suitably impressed. I was charmed by Palermo, marvelled at Pisa, and amazed and enchanted by Venice. But what I really wanted to do was to see Athens. Luckily, my friend Photi (who is Greek) sent me a wonderfully informative and chatty email about what to see, where to go and what to look out for. I just wanted to walk around and get the lay of the land. So from the port of Piraeus, I walked 30 minutes to the train station, paid my 80 cents, boarded Athens’ very modern and quiet subway, and headed forth to my date with destiny!

I liked Athens. I had a very nice time walking around the Plaka, with it’s narrow winding streets and charming little stores and cafes. I saw Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, which was quite remarkable. I walked through this big park and saw a really odd zoo with stray cats and turtles. I didn’t get to the Acropolis, but I figured that I’d be back. In short, I had a really good day.

But…

I kinda wanted some sort of mystical experience, an epiphany if you will. I expected to commune with Greece. But I didn’t. Maybe I was expecting too much. Maybe my hopes were too high. I felt a little defeated, deflated even. I was very melancholy for a little while.

However, a few days later, I rode a donkey up the side of a cliff to Santorini, and I was captivated by a picture postcard Greece, with its beautiful beaches and sprawling villages of white square houses. I was back in Athens yesterday, saw the Acropolis and was awe-struck. So, Greece, you haven’t let me down. It just took me a while to let my defences down.

In ship news: There was a crew party last night with free beer and pizza. There was a karaoke contest, a body building contest and a drag queen contest. I was tempted to enter all three…