Cafes I Have Known: Greece Editon

I made lovely new friends in Greece between fits of ruin and museum hopping.

Boo’s Café – Athens, Mainland Greece

When I was a child, my parents nicknamed me, “Boo,” for my numerous, good-natured attempts to startle and scare them.

So when I came to Athens and saw the sign for “Boo’s Café” on the street behind my hotel, I felt it was a good omen.

Sipping a Greek coffee at Boo's

The atmosphere for this stony lair is surprisingly out in the open. Each of the windows pivots to become a door on to the street. The dark antique rosewood chairs for patrons to sit in are playfully mismatched.  

High color oil paintings, beaded mannequins, leaded glass, and other over-the-top props cover every wall.

A short walk from the hotels on Omonoia Square, (Sarri Street between Epikourou and Kreizi) Boo’s is primarily an after-dark place. Weekend nights are just right!

Their daytime patrons are theater district managers, art and furniture sales people who come in for a hit of Greek coffee and a wrap and then dash. Tourists linger over postcards and biscuits.

Boo’s doesn’t have a website and they don’t have Wi-Fi. They aren’t even listed on Google Maps. 

There are plenty of places in Athens that do have those features. My experience has shown that such serviceable locations often have less character.

So make a friend and hunt out for Boo's without your devices for a change!

Yankos Café – Adamas, Milos

On the touristy island of Milos, Yankos is easy to spot. It's on the East end of the pier. 

Two huge illuminated spheres with dancing shadows spotted from a distance turn out to be pedastaled fishbowls flanking their entrance.

While that gimmick makes them hard to mistake, the basics of Yankos are top notch.

It’s a place to center oneself and get work done. There are a half-dozen laptops open at any time many of which belong to locals.

I am in love with the feeling of being constantly adrift at Yankos. Gauze curtains blow like sails, dial lamps loll like suns. White sofas crest against blue canvas chairs connecting you to the surf and surrounding sea.

Fried cheese. Some poor little cow had to push all that out!

I returned for meals at Yankos based on the food and exceptional (multi-lingual!) service.

Breakfast is the big meal on Milos and there are many local specialities worth trying.  I recommend 

a the watermelon pie, a strudel-like pastry topped with candied watermelon rind.

Though I am eating vegan now, I ate copious amounts of fried cheese while I was in Greece. The wedge of locally sourced cow proteins at Yankos was the size of my head with whole tomatoes and lemon for garnish. These are generous folks.

The Edible Egilsay Farm Adventure in Orkney, Scotland

A view from the bunkhouse of the Edible Egilsay farm.

This far north, the sun doesn’t set in summer, it moves elliptically out to sea and hums under the horizon. The night I arrive,  an enormous full moon is setting off the inky blue.

Tingwall is where I’m to meet the Egilsay (pronounced Eagle-see), ferry at 8 am.

I elect to walk, but fail to account for the maps distortion. The distances north and south on the map are actually two times the East/West distances!

Your's Truly on mainland Orkney, the gateway to Egilsay.

Running up empty roads at 7:45 am,  I’m at least two miles from the pier. Luckily for me, a local handyman named Roger, the first car I’ve seen since 3 am, picks me up as I hitchhike. I arrive before the ferry docks.

At the other side, Alice is present to greet me.

She’s already been in the bunkhouse for a month. Already, the peas are coming up!

Alice stands guard on the road to the Maeness farm.

For the next few days, I too will be growing food as part of the Edible Egilsay project, a permaculture farm.  The farm provides food for attendees of the like-located Orkney Solstice celebration.

Alice says they are hoping to make 200 meals for festival goers from the farm's produce. We plant beet root and dig up rocks. We water everything carefully.

Harvey, the island’s pet llama, lopes around the premises, inspecting our work.

Harvey wandering the grounds.

The Orkney Solstice Festival began when Bazil Sansom decided the disused part of his family's farm would make an idea locale for a small summer event.

Mainland Orkney already had history minded endeavors scheduled at Maeshowe and other Neolithic sites. The Orkney Folk Festival, while a change from typical summer festival genres, had a staid, predictable feel.

Also, with Brits saving up hundreds of pounds each year to be deafened for days on end at music industry engines like Glastonbury and Rockness, there was demand for non-corporate options.

Orkney Solstice channels the spirit of Burning Man – filled with D.I.Y. entertainment and a homey feel. "No one pays and no one gets paid but everybody shares something."

History marks Egilsay as the location for the legend of St. Magnus. This church commemorates the spot where he was martyred.

His partners in the continuing effort to provide this space are the indefatigable Roz Corbett and Alice Warren. Throughout the year, the raise awareness for the festival and their permaculture project with a series of fundraisers. 

The duo also keeps the world abreast of their movements with a zine and a Wordpress blog. 

Most of the contributors/attendees/interested parties are young people from Glasgow and Edinburg. Though "nearby" they are still a distance from Egilsay as far as the distance between Chicago to Washington D.C. It can take a full day to reach this outpost via public transit. 

(clockwise from above left:) A polytunnel habitat. Reclaimed windows make a shelter for beans. The backseat of an abandoned vehicle becomes a bed for lettuce.

The bookshelf at the Edible Eglisay reflects the tenants interests. I read a pamphlet on why restaurants should be abolished and browse several books on growing one’s own produce.

When the sun is rising, rain begins to fall.  Rain and wind are near constants on these islands.

It is a myth that there are no trees in the Orkneys, but there are mostly grasses and brush. 

Where there are trees, they are low to the ground, swept back dramatically by the fierce winds. Only the cliffs and hills blunt the elements.

But the views are lovely. There is nothing quite like wandering the seaweed strewn shoreline with sandfleas nipping at your feet collecting shells in the full daylight of 4 am. 

Even in May, it is very cold, so we have a coal fire in the bunkhouse.

Alice fixes the coal fire!

The food is delicious. We take turns making meals. On the morning I'm preparing to leave, Alice makes up a huge steaming plate of wildcrafted mushrooms, potatoes and red cabbage as I write her a testimonial.

Your's Truly enjoying breakfast at Edible Egilsay.

Gardening starts every year around April 1, continues steadily until July, and then occurs periodically through the end of November. 

If you are looking for a place to hide out for a while and work hard, this is an unbelievable location with a supportive, "pitch-in" crew.

A 5 pound per night donation is advised. You can write the gang at edibleegilsay@hotmail.co.uk. 

Athens Adventures Pics

A South view of the arcades of the Odeum of Herodes Atticus

Odeum of Herodes Atticus preparing for a concert. The black bags are filled with cushions for the marble seats. The entire ampitheater is marble.

A Roman bath near the National Gardens. Workers were digging a vent for the subway when they discovered it!

The Temple of Zeus. You can see how the temple's upper structure modeled a fishbone. The columns were stacked up like the vertebra of a spine, which you can see from the one laid out on the ground.

Me at the temple of Athena on the Acropolis grounds.

On one of the rocks overlooking the Odeum of Herodes Atticus

At Boo's Cafe. A gay hangout near my hotel auspiciously bearing my childhood nickname!

The Parthenon. You can see construction cranes. One of the facades is being reconstructed.

The Temple of Athena

A wide view of the Acropolis. Hard to believe this is right in the middle of Athens!

A crowd of tourists roaming the Acropolis.

The Sunday convocation at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The changing of the guard in Sunday dress whites. The weekday garments are brown.

Athens Adventures

posing with one of the guards at Athens' Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

On my recent trip to Greece, I spent three days in Athens on either end of my journey.

On both ocassions, my local guide was a couchsurfing.com buddy, George-Michael. The first night, he led me from my hotel near Omonia square to his favorite hangout near Athens’ University.

We spent the evening chatting with two of his friends at a hookah bar.

I learned that the park just beyond the awning had once been overrun with substance abusers. A neighborhood socialist organization decided to reclaim the park by meeting there every night. The park was now populated by students and seniors, sipping sodas and eating ice cream.

The next evening, George walked me past the Acropolis. A large pedestrian walkway forms a semi-circle on the site’s south side. There were many Atheneas strolling about or eating a late meal at one of the outdoor restaurants. Quite a few people were on top of the Acropolis rocks listening to a Croatian singer perform in the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, a Roman-era ampitheater exposed to the elements.

George showed me the place overlooking the Agora where he goes to meditate. He also showed me the Gasia, a cosmopolitain gay neighborhood to the north.

I explored the Parthenon, The Temple of Zeus, and the National Archeology Museum with my friend Vivian who I ran into strolling the ruins Sunday afternoon.

We were excited to discover a gay cafe near my hotel. Boo’s Cafe, was auspiciously given my childhood nickname! The proprietors filled it with antique rosewood chairs, subtle lighting, oil paintings, and lots of color to pop against the dark walls. I returned to Boo’s several times.

I saw the changing of the guard twice - once during the week and the hour-long convocation featuring all the guards on Sunday at 10 am.

The slow awkward step that makes the guards look so ridiculous when they are leaving their posts is very intimidating when it is sped up for the Sunday parade.

Many people asked me if I suffered at all because of the numerous strikes. The very last day I did.

The subway workers between Athens and the airport were on strike. I found out on the way to the airport! I had to stay an extra night in Athens because of the mess.

Aegean Adventures - The Delphic Oracle Pics

The ruin of the Temple of Apollo where signs were once read. In ancient times, the Oracle was one of a number of female religious leaders. Now the grounds of her temple are what is referred to as The Oracle.

Statues at the Delphi Oracle Archeological Museum

An enormous marble replica of the Sphinx at the Delphi Oracle Archeological Museum

The twin cities of Kirra and Itea in the distance on the Ionian Sea.

The last intact obelisk at Delphi

The temple of Athena a short walk south of the Oracle

Text from one of the fallen obelisks. It's tough to translate as there are no spaces or punctuation and all the spellings/words are outdated.

Yours Truly at the Temple of Apollo

The Treasury of Athens, the last freestanding building at Delphi

Aegean Adventures - The Delphic Oracle

Mists envelop the Oracle at Delphi

The Oracle is the country’s number two tourist attraction after the Acropolis. In part, this is due to a confluence of destinations nearby.

The extra-long European Rambler hiking trail runs through the area. The Oedipal crossroads are still visible in a nearby tourist town. In winter, there is skiing in this part of Greece.

It is three hours each way from Athens through some beautiful countryside.

The day I went, the Oracle was desnse with mists. The cypress trees were wet. Wrinkled olive fruits, ripe enough to eat, fell and split into oily puckers under the feet of the tourists.

I had befirended an Italian student and a Dutch military man on the bus ride to Delphi. We attempted to find the site unguided in the drizzle. Since the site is not well marked, we wound up about a kilometer above it, unable to hike down except to go the way we came.

When we did reach the Oracle, it was uncrowded. There were a few tours being offered - in Japanese and English. We discovered a wide discrepancy between the adult tourist price and the student price. I paid 9 euros for entrance while students paid nothing. Not 50% off or 70% off, students paid zero!

The archeological museum at Delphi has a collection of artifacts recovered over the last 150 years, including hawk-shaped cauldron handles, larger than life kuros, an Amazon battle frieze, and bronze offerings.

A print by an artist attempting to recreate the look of the Oracle circa 4 BC prompted me to consider how magnificent the site must have been at the peak of it’s influence.

Outside the museum, the ever upward trajectory of The Oracle gave me a feeling for how hearty the early Greek citizens must have been. While it is unlikely the majority of Greeks lived even as long as I have, they would all have needed exceptional mobility to ascend to the upper grounds.

The levels of the Oracle included mausoleum-like treasuries, the temple of Apollo where fortunes were told, public art, a theater, and a stadium. I took lots of pictures and even tried to translate some of the ancient Greek carved into the obelisks.

It is odd that even today Greece does not hold re-enactments or has not re-created any of it’s ancient temples even in part even though copies exist in other parts of the world including Nashville, Tennessee.

Just down the road, one can visit the temple of Athena, flanked by olive trees, and the ancient gymnasium. Admission is free to both these attractions.

Aegean Adventures - Super Paradise Beach Mykonos Pics

Super Paradise beach

The famous Mykonos windmills

A Little Venice alleyway

Yours Truly nipping an espresso near the water

View of Mykonos Island from the mills

Pelicans hanging out

Aegean Adventures - Super Paradise Beach trek in Mykonos

The pier of Hora on Mykonos

I arrived in Mykonos in the midmorning and found an accomodation right off Taxi Square, the pier area of the island’s Hora.

It was a small, easygoing hotel with a safe above the closet, an odd painting of a red lobster eating a plate of fried cheese, a lovely candystriped window covering, and blue shutters.

I wandered the narrow streets of Little Venice familiarizing myself with the jewelry and olive oil soap shops, the name brand retailers and the mousakka sales points. There were many bars and coffee places and when I found one to my liking I nabbed my first espresso of the journey. (I’d been drinking Greek coffee exclusively.)

My trek began with the five most famous residents of Mykonos, the iconic windmills, perched on top orange rock and brush just south of Little Venice. I followed the street beside them past shops and a bus turnaround toward the beaches.

While it is tempting to load up on food and water ahead of the 5.5km trek, I would recommend holding off until one sees the fresh fruit sign - indicating bakeries, a vegetable shop, and an organic food outlet within close proximity to one another.

Though much of the produce is shot up with water here, some very fresh small apples were available. They made my day.

Of the hikes I’ve made on the Greek islands thusfar, the road to Super Paradise was the least spectacular. I suspect, made with friends with a similar beachgoing mindset in season it would be more convivial and exciting.

There are plenty of dovecotes to distract the imagination. There is little subsistance farming to provide pickable wild fruit. The only shops, architecture, or culture of any kind is beachside, limited to alcohol consumption and life sustaining activities.

“Super P”, has blanket-to-blanket visitors during the high season. When I approached it, the crowd had thinned to about a dozen. It was lovely having the wide expanse of golden sand and indigo water largely to myself.

At the beach, I stripped and dove into the sea. I flirted with a man past the last bouy, but he ignored me and went back to shore.

Shortly after, I struck up a conversation with two other naked men from Florence, Italy, and we discussed the before and after of Mykonos. They informed me that their first journey to the beach had been made by boat in 1983, before the tourist infrastructure made driving to the area possible.

We compared notes on the different islands and I resolved to make Delos a stop on my next visit.

Aegean Adventures - Tinos Trek Pics

One of the more intact ruins from the Temple of Poseidon and Aphrodite

The towers of the Panagia Evangelista

A handsome roadside temple

A dovecote near the Panagia Evangelista

Yours Truly hanging out with the lizards in the ruins

Aegean Adventures - Tinos Trek

The port city, Hora, on Tinos.

I purchased a ticket for the ferry traveling from Milos to Andros. It was as far as I could get away from the island the day I left and I figured that was auspicious.

However, as I read more about the islands the ship was stopping at, I became excited by the possibility of stopping on Tinos. I jumped off the ferry a stop early and took a ride from a domatia operator waiting in port.

The major attraction in Tinos is The Panagia Evangelista spread which caps the central hilltop of the Tinos Hora. The central road toward this site is flanked by vendors selling religious tokens and trinkets.

The Greek Orthodox tin reliefs of various body parts I had seen on Serifos were selling for a Euro apiece. Frankensence and copal, which I was more familiar with as organic dried saps, were pressed into fingernail sized chips through which one could comb for a quick fragrance buzz.

At the Panagia Evangelista, I observed an exterior courtyard of black, brown, and white pebbled set into cement to create symbols significant to the faith. Through the plaster arches, past a faded fresco of Joan of Arc in battle, I heard the sound of the choir celebrating mass within the cathedral.

The cathedral was so crowded that celebrants stood outside each of the doors peeking in. Near the offices of the church, a crowd of locals was sipping coffee and enjoying the sound of the mass which could be heard clearly without amplification.

I sat down and chatted with Georgio, a handsome man with CP who works at the on site museum. He served as a translator for the others as they asked me questions about San Francisco and about blogging.

I inspected the museum which featured two remarkable battle frescos, several marble and alabaster busts.

Later in the day, I wandered several kilometeres downhill to the Temple of Poseidon and Aphrodite.

Along the road were several dovecotes, elegant geometrical birdhouses Tinos is famous for. The natives of Tinos have historically trained doves and pigeons.

I also saw one of the finest examples of a roadsite temple that I’d ever seen. It was a handsome Greek Orthodox shrine made of white marble columns with a St. Andrew’s cross at the peak.

At the anthropoligical site, I could hear workmen digging in the backgound. I sat on the benches, touched the columns and imagined what my life would have been like in another age.