Old Friends

Each year that we visit Anghistri we have our first evening meal at Taverna o Fotis. Our first holiday there was in 1988 when we purchased a package holiday with Sun Med. At that time the tavernas were patronised chiefly by English tourists. Taverna o Fotis was no exception and it was noticeable how those with a good sense of humour congregated here. The taverna looked much as it does today except there was then no wall between the tables and the street. Today it looks more modern but yet is still the same in most ways.

Our first impression was that it appeared to be very traditional from what we had heard about tavernas. For instance, there was no printed menu, so when you were asked by Dimitri, the son of Fotis, if you would like to see the menu, you were being invited into the kitchen to see the food before preparation. Dimitri was then 12 years old and used to work in the taverna with his 8 year old sister, Vassu, because they spoke good English and their parents had very little English. This continues to be the case, but over the years I have realised that Fotis himself understands English quite well but has difficulty speaking it.

His wife, Katerina, presided over the taverna, and reminded us of "Bloody Mary", the character from South Pacific with her loud cackle and the severe bun in her hair. As we looked at the food in the kitchen, we chose veal. Katerina was in the kitchen and said, "Is very good - in Greek is polikola." When the veal came to the table it tasted very good and we were pleased with it. The following night we went there again and ordered two "Polikola". This caused puzzlement for Dimitri who was taking the order. The answer was that Katerina had said the previous evening that the Greek word for very good was Polikola! We were asking for two very goods!!!

Over the years we became used to Fotis and Katerina and the noticeable thing about Fotis was that he always wore denim jeans and the crotch was very low indeed. Whenever we arrived there for our first meal he would come and shake hands with us. One year he actually spoke English, "No watter!" There were obviously water supply problems on the island. On one occasion I stopped by the taverna to say hello and asked where Katerina was. The answer was, "Katerina oregano." Waving his arm in a certain direction, he was telling me she was picking oregano. It turns out that there is a church service each September to celebrate Holy Cross and all the worshippers turned up at church with bunches of oregano. That was why Katerina was picking some.

One year we were invited to a big feast at the taverna to celebrate the 21st birthday of Susannah, wife of the watersports man, Robert. Fotis had spit roasted a full lamb on his barbecue and it was shared out among about 30 diners at tables set in a line down the side street. On another occasion we held the annual Petanque match down this street and kept ourselves fortified with beer from the taverna. The match is stilled played out each year between the English tourists from Skala and Megalohori each September.

The photo at the top of this blog shows Fotis sitting at the door of the taverna. This year he became 70 years old and Katerina 62. I discovered this from talking to Vassu, herself now 29 years old. Each year when we arrive Fotis and Katerina make a great fuss of us as they welcome us home! Vassu speaks excellent English so she is our interpreter. This family have now become a true part of us. One year when we arrived to stay in the house of Athena, our friend Dina's sister, we sat on the terrace as a funeral procession went by with an open coffin. In the crowd of mourners was Katerina who was waving and smiling to us as she walked by! It made it feel like a carnival event.

Another regular feature of our visits to Anghistri is my trip each day to the bakers for a loaf of fresh bread. The bread we buy there is wonderful to taste. I always get a welcome from Vangellis, the village baker when I go to his shop for the first time. Sometimes, in the evening, he sits outside with a friend. "Kallispera, Vangelli!" I call and he smiles and reciprocates.

My greatest friend there though is Taki who rents bikes and motor bikes opposite Taverna o Fotis. Taki always gives me a special greeting and allows me special discount when I hire a motor scooter. When I call at his petrol station for fuel I get an invite to the office where we sit and share a Greek coffee and have a long chat. Last year we arrived in the port from our visit to Rhodes and needed a lift up into the village. I couldn't raise Christos from our hotel so I rang Taki and he picked us up in his small petrol tanker.

All these people we count as important friends and it is wonderful to meet up with them each year. We now say it is a visit home rather than a holiday. This so very true.

Ellie Experiences Greece

From the time we booked the flights we thought how much Ellie would love to see a different way of life. We tried to anticipate her reactions to certain things and the people we know in Anghistri. "It will, at least, interest her" we thought.

We thought the worst bit would be adapting to the toilet arrangements whereby the toilet paper must be placed in the pedal bin and not down the loo. This was no problem, once her mum explained it before she left home. So she had three whole weeks of remembering to do it the Greek way and she did very well. Only once did I catch her out and there was no return on her investment!

We had wondered how she would react to flying but that was taken in her stride. The first trip on a hydrofoil was another area of doubt but that proved to be no problem. "This is fine" we thought, "she is adapting very well." In fact she made not a single complaint. This might have been because she was being polite.

Next we decided to ask how she rated this and that. "What do you think of the swimming pool?" She answered, "It's OK." "What do you think of the food?" "OK." What do you think of the people here?" "OK." "What do you think about the village?" "OK." "What do you think of the village church?" "OK." We visited numerous tavernas and asked her opinion. "OK." We took her swimming at Aponisos, a lovely setting with views to the Pelopponese. "OK." Then we took the inter island ferry over to Aegina and took her to see the beautiful ruined Temple of Aphaia. "OK." Eventually, "Have you enjoyed your holiday?" "OK."

After travelling home we were speaking to her mum on the telephone. Ellie had waxed poetic about the whole thing! She had told her mum and dad about the lovely people, the cute village, beautiful Aponisos, great food, lovely view from our balcony, and what a fantastic place the Temple of Aphaia was!!!!!

Thank God we had this confirmation of her enjoyment.

Eleanor in the Swimming Pool

It was apparent from the start that Ellie's first love was the swimming pool at Hotel Boulas. It was also apparent that she was sticking to her grandma like glue. She was not very keen on swimming in the pool if her grandma was not with her. Out of the pool, it was the same. Everywhere that Pauline went you could be sure Ellie was only a yard away! This tended to place a burden on Pauline. The solution was found in the afternoon of our first day when I stayed in the pool after Pauline climbed out. Ellie was happy to stay in the water if I was with her. I think it was rather overwhelming with all the Greeks there on holiday.

She also clicked with me when I started to show her the technique for diving under the water. At first she could only launch herself forward on the surface of the water. It was necessary to bend downwards if she was going to dive below the surface. Quite soon she began to go below the surface, but didn't achieve the bend of the body very well. But it was fun to share it all with her. She was quite impressed with my ability to swim the length of the pool on one breath. It was just a matter of not panicking or trying to take too big a breath.

Later that day she was very impressed with the food at Taverna Theris. She ordered a funghi pizza and she loved it. Mind you, she was very surprised that it rained very heavily that night for about 20 minutes. The table had to be pulled under cover to keep us dry. It was soon after this that Ellie broke her flip flops and couldn't walk back to Hotel Boulas up the steep steps. However, I mentioned the problem to Katerina from the taverna and she sent her daughter-in-law after Ellie with some ribbons to tie her flipflop to her foot. The problem was solved!

This problem arose from buying very cheap flipflops and she made sure she wore the sort that would not fall apart afterwards. Earlier that night Ellie made the discovery that she loved fried squid! From now on she would make comparisons between how tavernas made fried squid. Much later during the holiday we sailed across to Aegina, four miles away, and at lunch time discovered the excellent quality of the street taverna outside the fish market. Ellie didn't like the squid as much this time because it was grilled. I thought it was wonderful!

Mind you, I am a great lover of traditional Greek food. I have grown very fond of grilled Octopus. One year we shared a meal of octopus, mussels, and squid at Aponisos in Anghistri and it tasted fantastic. As this holiday progressed, Ellie kept making her comparison for squid with Taverna Theris. She also found how much she enjoyed tzatziki and I got severe looks if I had a taste!

It soon became obvious that Ellie was enjoying her first holiday abroad. She had conquered her initial doubts about flying and also sailing. This was to be a great holiday for her and it caused us to be very happy. When you introduce someone to a place you love there is not always a guarantee that it will work. But it did.

Welcome Home!

On Wednesday 5th August we drove over to Rochdale to pick up our granddaughter, Eleanor, aged twelve years. We had a lovely meal at a Table Table restaurant and then checked in at a Travelodge for the night. Sadly, I cannot recommend that particular Travelodge as we had to haul our luggage up a flight of stairs and endure pathetic double glazing which kept me awake all night.

Next morning we set off for Manchester Airport to catch the 8.35am flight to Zurich and then on to Athens. As usual, we flew courtesy of Swiss Airlines. On approach to Zurich the overhead displays gave information on which gate we needed for our onward flight. This is always hepful. We flew the Zurich leg on an A319 and then took an A321 to Athens. There were no problems with luggage transferring with us. Having reclaimed our baggage at Athens we decided it was best to take a taxi to Piraeus in order to get the 6.30pm Flying Dolphin to Anghistri. The bus might have got us there but we didn't relish the idea of waiting until 8.30pm for the next sailing. In fact, the taxi ride was extremely quick as the driver took the motorway route. The bus ride would have been in excess of an hour and could have made us late had it encountered rush hour traffic along the way.

I bought the tickets at the Aegean Dolphins kiosk and then we waited for the hydrofoil to arrive. It was only at that point I decided to check I had the telephone number for Hotel Boulas in my mobile phone. Horror of horrors, it was not there! But I had remembered to pop their business card in my wallet. The snag here was that I needed the international code for Greece! This was solved with a visit to the Greek Tourist Board Office who gave me the code.

By the time I had the code the hydrofoil was in port and we boarded it for the hour's sail to Anghistri via the island of Aegina. Once on board I telephoned the hotel and Christos answered, "Ne?"(Greek for yes) I told him we were just leaving Pirieaus and he assured me he would pick us up at the port.

In almost no time we were disembarking at Anghistri and a voice said, "Welcome home!" There, standing by the gang plank was Yannis Logothetis, the local agent for Aegean Dolphins. We had known Yanni for 21 years and it was appropriate that it was he who welcomed us to the island. Christos stepped forward and we loaded our luggage in his van before driving up the steep hill to the village of Megalohori which means "great place" in Greek.

As soon as we were in our room we unpacked the swimming costumes and went down to the pool for a refreshing swim. It was almost 8.00pm! It must have been a very hot day because the water felt very warm indeed. Our holiday was beginning! After unpacking our luggage we walked round to the main street to the Taverna o Fotis for our evening meal. As usual, Fotis was there to greet us together with his daughter, Vassu. His wife, Katerina, was round at her sister's house. A few minutes later she arrived with her sister and the greetings began again. Katerina's greetings are legendary!

After a welcome meal we went back to our room and were soon asleep.