The Roosters

The sky is filled with brilliant hues of pink and blue as the sun sets over Chora. It is so quiet on the hill where I live overlooking the town and the water... So peaceful. I had a bit of a tiresome day today. It began as it usually does... Roosters crowing (they start in at 4 am), morning coffee overlooking the sea, a Fage yogurt and the sweetest blood orange that has ever crossed my lips. After, I go for a run around the hills and then take in a nice, long shower that usually ends with cold water. During the summer months, there is no need for a hot water shower, but now, when the morning air still has a bite to it, nothing feels better. I had a meeting with the producers of the film today at Ornos Beach. I went to the square where you can typically find a bus to several beaches every half hour, but no buses today; they begin tomorrow. So, I walked. It can't be far, I thought. As I made my way along the sea, distracted by the view, earbuds blasting an assortment of music from the past, I thought about many things: All that I left behind in the states, the adventure I am embarking on, how lucky I am to be here... the unknown.

It has been a couple of years since I have been to Ornos and everything looks different with the shops and restaurants not yet opened. Not to mention, I have never walked there. So, I called Mixalis for futher direction. GPS on my phone is definitely one of the things I miss about the states. Long story short, I ended up in Egypt... or at least that is what my feet think. Actually, it was out on a peninsula where there are million euro homes being constructed. I called Mixalis again.

"No, that is not the way... you needed to go right," he said.
"What? You told me to go straight along the sea?!?!" I responded.
"You took the wrong road."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that since I have been walking 40 minutes and you said it was only 10 last time we spoke."
"Yes, well go back."
"Fine. I'll call you."

So, I turned around. Already late for my appointment... Hot, sweaty. Awesome. With the blisters forming on the backs of my heel, I flagged down a trucker. He stopped. He didn't speak English, so without really asking, I just hopped in. What's the worst that can happen? He'll kick me out? And Greek men - especially old men - love me. It was worth a shot. He gave me a ride back in to where I made the wrong turn. I jumped out, said thank you and continued down the right path.

Okay, I made it and only 45 minutes late - I had called ahead. Sweaty, tired and with a runny nose from my sinus cold, I met with the producer. They seemed surprised and a little disappointed that I don't speak Greek well yet. The movie is being shot in Greek, so I was cast in a non-speaking role. Further instruction on location, times, etc to be provided later. I spoke to the American crew... None of which have ever been to Greece. Several had never been out of the United States. After our brief meeting I started making my way back Chora.

My heels still aching, I stopped in a Taverna for a Mythos. It was fantastic. I chatted with a woman who happens to know Mixalis, a local bought me a second beer and I got a food lesson from one of the patrons. The roe used in the fish roe spread is actually harvested by catching the fish, making a small incision, closing the cut and releasing the fish back in to the sea. Amazing. I had no idea this was even possible.

With no busses running and the taxis being somewhat unreliable, I thought walking back to Chora was my best option and surely someone would stop to offer me a ride. Within minutes, a Mercedes stopped in the middle of the road.

"Can I get a ride to Chora?" I asked.
"Yes, I am going that way," replied the man.

We spoke the best we could. He is an Albanian painter that has been living in Mykonos for the past 10 years... That's about all I got out of the conversation. He dropped me off at the taxi square and I headed to Mixalis's.

When Mixalis greeted me at the door, the aroma from the kitchen flooded out. Mushroom risotto. It is Mixalis's birthday today, so I feel a bit guilty that he was making me dinner, but we agreed to celebrate later in the week. It was exactly what I needed. Cooked to perfection. You would be surprised how many bad risottos are out there, but this one was perfect.

After enjoying our meal, I packed up a few things that I had left when I moved in to my apartment and made the trek up the hill to my flat. Upon arrival, I ran in to my landlord, Stamatas. A typical Mykonian man: short, graying hair, a little abrasive. He started to tell me about the neighbors. Apparently, they once had a very good relationship. Then, the neighbors put roosters right behind the compound. Loud roosters. And a dog... a loud dog. Stamatas is convinced they did it to drive out his renters. Who knows, but it doesn't bother me much. I am use to city noise and ranch life, so I find it rather easy to drown out the sounds. Yeah, it's not ideal, but tolerable. Stamatas hates it. It seems to have caused quite a rift between him and his former friends.

I ran in to a pelican on the street yesterday... It tried to bite me... Or eat me. Then, it went after the largest fish on the display. The sea urchin in the basket is super fresh and delicious. I had it at the restaurant last season.


I am going to nurse my cold. Until next time.

What a Weekend... Now Holy Week

As I walked through the streets tonight, a voice came over the loudspeaker... singing. It is officially the beginning of the Holy week. The voice was from the main church in Chora where I live. Most of the time, I will write about how the Greeks love to party, but they also love to pray. I don't consider myself to be religous, but I still find it very interesting. The long hours of service, the attire... and of course the food.

Let's back up for a second. It has been a very full weekend here in Mykonos...

Friday night Mixalis and I went out, of course. First stop: Lola. This place is fantastic. Gill and Demetrios (the owners) are so nice, the drinks are delicious, the prices good and the overall atmosphere is the best Mykonos has to offer. While there enjoying our cocktails, I met an old friend of Mixalis... Utz. Who just happens to be a rather famous German director. He is hilarious... The stories. Like the time he woke in his new Mykonian house to find a bunch of Chinese tourists on his roof taking pictures of the incredible view... Only in Mykonos. Aanyways, after a few laughs, we headed to one of my old haunts: Babylon. The drinks are strong and the music spins until... well, until the party stops. It was a great time. Drink after drink -- oh yes, and shot after shot. We were pretty hammered by the time we left at 4 am. And so it goes.

When I finally peeled myself off the bed at noon yesterday... with a hangover. I went through my usual Mykonos routine: stumbled down the stairs, made a Nescafe, sat and tried to reflect on the previous night. The weather was amazing. The wind had finally died down and the sun was shining briliantly over the port as we made our way to Allegro for coffee with the crew.

After a couple of hours in the cafe, Mixalis and I went back to the apartment to prepare Gordon's famous Bistro Chicken -- it was a big hit amongst the boys (https://www.starchefs.com/GHamersley/html/GHamersley_roastedchicken.html Note: No matter how you prepare this, it will never be as good as the authentic dish in Boston)-- then went out to find apartments. Every place we saw was asking for ridiculous rents, so I decided to go with one that I saw a couple of days before. Mixalis called the woman, Natasha, and asked if the flat was still available. She was waiting to hear back from a couple that had expressed interest. To which Mixalis said:

"No, Tana will take it... She is from a very well known family in America, you know." For the record, I'm not.
"Ah, yes, I saw her..." replied Natasha.
"Yes, she will take the apartment today."
"Okay."

So... I got an apartment!

To celebrate... or not really to celebrate... really just because, we went to Lola for cocktails, followed by dancing at Babylon. Last night was daylight savings here in Greece, so my head didn't hit the pillow until about 6:30 am. I may have been distracted on the way home... Not by some hot man, unfortunately, but by the most adorable kitten. I considered taking it with me. As usual, I slept great... Until 13:30! I don't know what it is about being on this island, but I sleep so well.


Today, I moved in to the new apartment to discover that I have the most amazing view! Seriously, it is absolute paradise. Pictures to come, I promise.

I have cut off communication with Thanos... I received some text this morning about being deep. WTF. The thing is, I never respond anyway. Why are Greek men so aggressive. Damn.

AND... I found a way to kill the time until work begins. Apparently, there is an American movie being filmed here and there is a casting call for extras. If I am just going to hang out in the sun all day anyway, I might as well get payed for it, yeah?

Wow, it just started to rain. I have never seen rain in Mykonos. Until tomorrow.

As I look out at the sea, I actually cannot believe that I live here.

Well, I did it. I MOVED to Greece. I sit here at Allegro Cafe on the port of Mykonos... The skies are briliant blue with light pillows of white deep on the horizon. Greek music plays in the background as I sip my Cappuccino. It is a national holiday today... To celebrate the beginning of the revolution when the Greeks pushed the Turks out of Greece after their 400 years of occupation. I woke to drums in the streets this morning... apparently there was a parade.

My LONG journey here began 3 weeks ago... 3 weeks of traveling (not to mention CRAZY partying)across the US, from Boston to Seattle... to Savannah... to Minneapolis and back to Boston. And then finally, to Greece.

When I arrived at the airport on Tuesday (a special thanks to my dear friend George -- without you, I would have never made it), I checked in to my flight to find that my bag weighed 40 kilos (About 83 pounds). The maximum that they will allow you is 32 kilos (70 pounds) which comes with a 50 USD surcharge for being 10 kilos over weight. After some creative manovering, and discarding of a few less than neccessary items, I was checked in, through security and waiting to board my flight. Suddenly it struck me... I was moving. Not just moving, but to Paradise in a country where I speak no more than a few phrases of the language... My stomach flipped.

The first leg of my journey (6 hours) did not seem long at all. I spent the entire flight awake and watching the in-flight entertainment. One hour was spent sobbing while watching "Hachiro: A Dog's Story". If you have a dog, this is an incredibly sweet film. If you have a dog that you just left for a couple of months on the other side of the world, it is on the verge of sadistic. I arrived in London exhausted. Dragging my two huge carry-on bags that probably weigh around 30 kilos, I made my way through the security check point and to my connecting gate.... Layover time: 3 hours.

The flight from London to Greece (4.5 hours) seemed like an eternity. As we dropped through the cloud covering I saw a huge green canvas. I have never been to Greece in the spring; by summer when I arrive, it is quite dry and most of the vegetation is gone. It was gorgeous. Of course, there wasn't a skyway available when we touched down, so out in the middle of the airfield, I dragged my bag down the long mobile stairs to the bus that would take me to customs. In no time at all, I was waiting for my bag... My giant, green 32 kg bag with no wheels that contained what was left of all of my possesions. The time was 14:00... My bus scheduled to depart at 14:10. At 14:08, I saw my bag, ripped it off the conveyor and ran out doors... Dragging behind me 64 kg of luggage (for the record, I am quite sore today). I made the bus... Off to Rafina.

By the time I stepped off the bus in Rafina at 14:45, I had been awake for 24 hours. Completely beat up and dragging my bags, I made my way to the ferry ticket office.

"Yassas... One ticket to Mykonos on the 17:30," I said, very politely
"The ferry is sold out" said the woman behind the desk.
"Well, what are my options," I replied.
"There are still tickets for the ferry tomorrow morning"
"I can't stay here over night... Is there a stand-by list?"
"You can stand here and wait to see if something opens up, but first check the other (12) ticket offices... They may have something."

And that's what I did... I dragged my bags from office, to office along the port and finally:

"That ferry is sold out.... Wait we have one first class ticket," said the girl.
"How much is that?"
"40 euro."
"Of course, I'll take it... It is only 10 euro more than a regular ticket."

I grabbed my "golden ticket" and walked to the same portside restaurant I always do to wait for my ferry. One delicious "Greece Salad" and a Mythos beer later, I dragged my bags across the long loading zone and boarded the boat.

First class wasn't much different than economy. There was a glass door that separated the two, but the ammenities were the same. A guaranteed seat was nice though. On board I met a trio of attourneys on their way to Tinos for the holiday weekend. Very nice and entertaining. We chatted for the next 4 hours of holidays on the islands, our jobs, our families... Sharing a mutual disdain for the pack of wild children in our cabin that were screaming and climbing the walls, literally, like little monkeys. As we arrived in Tinos, we exchanged contact information and said farewell. An hour later, I would arrive in Mykonos.

At 23:00, the voice came over the intercom.

"We arriving in the port of Mykonos. Please disembark the boat."

I grabbed my many bags and dragged them to a waiting taxi that would drop me off at the main square in Chora. As I walked through the winding streets of town, dragging my bags behind me, I searched for my friend Mixalis's flat where a key waited for my under a doormat. I had not been here in 9 months so it took a while and a very backwards route, but I finally found it. At last, I was home (or home for the next week or so until I find a flat of my own).

Mixalis and Panos were both at work when arrived and the house was quiet. I dropped my luggage and immediately jumped in the shower. It was cold, but still felt so great. On the otherside of the door, I suddenly heard "Yassu Tana." Panos was home.

He showed me how to turn on the hot water for later use and we sat and chatted. Mixalis arrived an hour later. Reunited, we sat at the kitchen table catching up. At 1:15, I received a text from Tharos (one of the attourneys from the boat):

"I thinking about you. I like you."

I didn't respond. I continued chatting with Mixalis and Panos for a couple of hours. Finishing the evening with an episode of Top Chef Season 5 and retiring for the night around 3:30 Thursday morning. 26 hours after my journey began and 38 hours since my head had seen a pillow. I didn't awake until noon.