Itisallgreek2me

Hayley, Greg, Ben, Bev, Jacquie, Jan, Me and Costas in Bar Spetsa on Bev’s 60th Birthday

It was back in Wanganui earlier in the year that I became my friend Beverley’s “Travel Broker”, assisting Bev with travel plans for her forthcoming trip to Greece with her cousin Jacquie from Putaruru.  Leaving New Zealand on 11 October, they flew first to Paris, then on to Athens for a 3 night stay, followed by 2 nights at Meteora, one night each in Delphi, Nafpaktos and Nafplio, eventually arriving here on the island last Wednesday.  A shortage of light clothing meant they felt the heat in Athens hard work, however, travelling around using public transport, they had been overwhelmed by the extraordinary beauty of the Greek landscape … saddened though by the plight of homeless dogs and stray cats.

That morning as I left on my 5km walk, I first called in at Villa Marina where they would stay, to let Filippos know I would be meeting Bev and Jacquie when they arrived on the 1345 hours Katerina Star ferry from Kosta.  Also arriving that afternoon at 1305 hours on the hydrofoil from Piraeus would be Beverley’s son Ben and his girlfriend Hayley who live in London and Ben’s step mum Jan from Napier … Filippos would be there to meet them.  Ben’s friend Greg who also lives in London would be on a later hydrofoil … all Kiwis other than Hayley who hails from Sydney.  Weather wise, Spetses had turned on a near perfect day with blue skies and sunshine … unfortunately, I did not manage to organize a Mayoral welcome and brass band as requested, only Costas and I.  Filippos was there to take their luggage, we walked the short distance to Villa Marina, sat on the balcony for a while before making a unanimous decision that this was the day to head down to Agios Mammas beach for a swim in the sea.  Unfortunately, the forecast for the following days was not looking that wonderful and I was sure this would be their best opportunity for a swim.

At 2000 hours we all met in Bar Spetsa for pre dinner drinks … both the Bar and the beach being a mere 30 meters from Villa Marina, a perfect choice of accommodation which they found to be very comfortable and with everyone but Greg occupying the three rooms on the top floor with their own large balcony offering sea views.  Other than Bev, I had met Jacquie on one occasion only, the others for the first time that day, however, very quickly I realized what lovely, genuine people they all were and what is more, they all do fun!  They were quick to name me their “Tour Guardian”!

On that first evening I had chosen for us to eat at Nektarios.  A pleasant stroll along the seafront towards the Old Harbour took us there … I ordered one kilo of white wine, half a kilo of red and lots of small plates of delicious food to share.  The bill, including a tip was just 12 Euro each (approximately NZ$20) – very reasonable I thought and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal.  From Nektarios it was back to Bar Spetsa for a few more drinks … it came as no surprise to me that my visitors were having the time of their lives, Bev already understanding why I love so much my life here.  What did surprise her though was how small the bar is.  Not that this was an issue at all … the hospitality, atmosphere and music just blew them all away!

The next day was Bev’s 60th birthday … Jacquie had turned 65 earlier in the year and so the two of them had decided to celebrate by making the trip together to Europe.  The forecasted cooler weather had arrived but that did not stop us going out for a lengthy walk, first through the town and passed our house, on to the Square and into the bakery for delicious pastries, by the Sotirios Anargyros Mansion, Bouboulina Museum, the Poseidonion Grand Hotel, through the Dapia area (at Roumani, they all met the lovely Alex, a fellow Kiwi living on Spetses with her Greek husband and son Dimitris), down to the Old Harbour and out for a close up look at the sculptures of Natalia Mela.  By the time we returned I would guess we had strolled some 5 kilometers so it was home for a siesta before getting ready to meet everyone once again that evening back in Bar Spetsa, eventually heading up the hill to Paxni, my favourite restaurant on the island.  Costas had booked a table for 7 at 2130 hours, he had also arranged for a birthday cake for Bev to be delivered there.  Our hosts Costas and Niki have an amazing garden and their salads are to die for as are the meats cooked on the barbecue by Costas … two large platters of chicken, lamb and pork.  When Bev’s birthday cake was bought out, it was a total surprise and her face told the story as we all sang Happy Birthday, she blew out the one candle and we enjoyed a slice each – very, very yummy!  Feeling quite replete, we walked back down to Bar Spetsa for more drinks and good times … a great ending to another wonderful day.

On Friday came not only the rain but also thunderstorms and I never left the house all day until it was time once again to meet my friends in Bar Spetsa around 2000 hours.  Bev had discovered that Costas could make a very good Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail (tequila, vodka, white rum, triple sec, gin, lemon juice and cola, on the rocks, poured over ice) and for Jan it was Margarita’s.  When everyone was ready we walked to the Square for our evening meal … the island is very quiet and peaceful right now and we were the only people dining at the establishment.  With one portion of beetroot salad and two portions of horta to share, six out of the seven of us decided to order the Bakaliaros skordalia (deep-fried cod with garlic dip) and no one regretted their choice.  Then, it will come as no surprise at all that we returned to Bar Spetsa … well, most of us anyway and by closing time, Bev, Jacquie, our friend Roland, Costas and I ended up in Abari Bar from where first Bev, then Jacquie were given a ride home by Roland on his motor scooter.

With quite some improvement in the weather on Saturday, we all decided to catch the 1020 hours hydrofoil to Hydra, believing it to be a good idea that they get to see something of another island while they were here … after all, every Greek island is different (over 3,000 islands and approximately 200 inhabited).  When a shower came along just as we were passing Kodylenia’s Taverna in Kaminia, it seemed an opportune time to go inside and see what was on offer for lunch.  Excellent decision as there was an array of very tempting dishes on display.  We each ordered one dish and passed the plates around the table, sharing yet another wonderful meal.  A stroll back to the main town where we checked out the shops before catching the 1455 hours Flying Dolphin back to Spetses.  As with every other day, there was then free time for a siesta, a swim, or whatever each individual wished to do before meeting up for our last night all together in the Bar.  Having had a substantial meal already that day, everyone was happy to go for Souvlakia, Salad and Chips and yes, you guessed right, back to Bar Spetsa … I mean to say, it was the Antipodeans last night on the island and everyone was out to have a great time.  Ben, Hayley and Greg took themselves off to the Old Harbour, enjoying time at La Luz and Booze, two clubs for the young at heart.  Daylight saving ended and so putting the clocks back, seemingly we gained an extra hour.  When Costas closed, he took a ride with Roland and I with Pandelis … the four of us spending time in Abari Bar until a very, very late hour.

Sunday morning and sadly it was time for our friends to leave, meeting first in the Dapia where the travelers had breakfast and we had a coffee.  Costas left first to begin his daily chores and when the time came to pay the bill, they discovered that Costas had generously paid it for them.  I stayed on to farewell them all … Ben and Hayley bound for London, Jan for New Zealand and Bev and Jacquie for an overnight stay in Piraeus before catching the ferry to Santorini early in the morning for a two night stay.  They will also visit the island of Naxos for two nights, then back to Piraeus, returning to Spetses on Friday to share more good times.  Greg was to leave later in the day, staying two nights in Athens before catching the overnight ferry to Crete where he will visit Rethymno and Iraklion before he returns to London.

So, there are more days to look forward to later in the week when Beverley and Jacquie return.  Next Saturday will be the closing night for the season in Bar Spetsa and after eight months without a single night off, I know that Costas is looking forward to a break and we will have more quality time together for the remainder of my stay.  Wednesday 5 November and I will be celebrating my birthday in much the same way as I have done the past three years on Spetses.  Ray and Heather will put on the usual fireworks display and with a group of friends we will all enjoy dinner at Nektarios and who knows where to from there.  Bev and Jacquie will still be with us as they do not leave until the 6th to spend their last two nights in Greece in Athens before flying home to New Zealand.

In summary, it has been an incredibly enjoyable few days and I have so enjoyed looking after my friends visiting us on Spetses.  I know there are others of you out there who also hope to visit sometime in the future so bring it on!  The suggestion did come up that I should consider bringing small groups to Greece and act as their “Tour Guardian”.  Maybe I will one day … I have thought about doing it in the past and surely it could not be any harder than selling Real Estate.  None of us know what the future holds and I think, just as well.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2014 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.