Cradle of Western Civilisation (Corfu/ Athens/ Aegina, Greece)

We left the shores of Albania by ferry and cruised across to Greece, where I was planning to stay for a couple of months.

We stared at Corfu Island, the most northerly of the Greek Islands. Here we had a great room overlooking the rugged coastline and tried to enjoy the last few days we had alone before flying down to Athens. We swam, wandered around the old Venetian town, and I got my first taste of gyros. It was nice, but the pressing deadline of Rin’s departure drenched these last few days in gloom.

 

In Athens we were once again joined by Jac. It was good to see him, and he had many stories of his travels in Spain, France and Belgium. Together the three of us shared a studio apartment for a couple of nights.

 

 

Athens is touristy but the things to see are no less interesting. First thing we did when Jac arrived was go and check out the big stadium which hosted the very first ‘modern Olympics’ back in the late 1800’s. Of course the ancient Olympics took place in Olympia, but it was still pretty cool to see where the Olympic games as we know them began.

 

 

That evening we went out to have dinner in a restaurant that Erin had come to two years earlier. She told the waiter this and he was very happy and brought us out free wine and free desert, but managed to work that into a profit by overcharging us on our meals.

Where there are lots of rich, white tourists its going to happen.

The highlight of Greece is the Acropolis, a big hill on the middle of the city stacked with ruins. On the lower hill there are ancient theatres and up top there is the Parthenon – a big columned building in ruins. There are people all over the place and it’s a bit annoying, but this rugged hill topped with this ancient structure can be seen from all over town, and is as epic as you would expect from a place that is known as ‘the cradle of western civilisation.’ See Greece, Athens specifically, the Acropolis specifically, is attributed with the creation of much of our current culture. They invented democracy, structured education, modern philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, they were the first to master comedy and tragedy, literature and architecture.  

Other interesting things we saw included the changing of the Guards at parliament, the temple of Zeus ruins, and the first cemetery of Athens.

Soon our time together was over I had to say a sad farewell to Jac and Erin as they got on a plane to fly home. I had no idea when I would see either of them again. As soon as they were out of my sight and I was alone again after five weeks, I became so homesick that I wanted to run through immigration and get on that plane with them. Worse was when I got back to the silent apartment and saw the evidence of their stay all around me; the toothbrush Rin left for me, the pull out bed Jac was using, the cups they had been drinking from left on the sink. It made me miss them so much. It was one of the toughest days of my year and I wanted nothing more than to go home as soon as possible.  

The next day I caught a ferry to the nearby island of Aegina, where I spent ten days planning, swimming at a couple of different spots along the coast, exploring nearby ruins that seem to be hidden across this whole country, climbing up hills for views and eating.

The photo below shows the remains of a temple which outdates and is said to be the model by the Parthenon above was designed. These ruins were especially nice because they overlooked the small island and the sea beyond.

 

 

I ate gyros, which is a kebab like thing stuffed with pork, chips and tzuzeki sauce, every single day, for lunch and dinner. Lets just say the food was expensive and it made me nervous in anticipation of my upcoming budget review.

I made sure to try the local dishes too, but lets such say the dishes might be interesting but they are hardly exciting.

 

 

It was a pleasant little coastal village and I would end my days down at the fisherman's wharf looking out over the sea and back towards Athens as the sky grew dark.  Still, I couldn’t shake that feeling of loneliness that I knew would come after a perfect month with good company.