Enough about the mainland of Greece; 

the islands are why I went and why I would go back.

There are 6,000 islands in the territory of Greece; 

227 of those are inhabited.

I saw 5. 

Each island was different.
Each had its own character and ‘look’.

Each one was special in its own right.

Santorini and Mykonos are the quintessential islands; 

the ones conjured up in your minds eye when you hear “Greek Isles”; 

ancient windmills, 

white washed buildings with smooth rounded walls, 

colorful trim, 

beautiful flowering vines draping over balcony railings 

and narrow, ancient twisting roads and paths, 

wending their way haphazardly  through town.

They’re charming, picturesque 

and you’d be forgiven if you think you’re on the set of a movie.

And, for me, that was exactly the problem.

It didn’t have a high reality factor.

I don’t need gritty, urban decay or seedy

but staying amidst so much wealth, whiteness and money makes me uncomfortable.

(And, yes, the overwhelming ‘whiteness’ factor 

applies to the architecture as well as the racial makeup of the tourists.)

How anyone ever looked at the cliffs above the sea and thought 

“I know; let’s put all our shops and fanciest places to live up there” 

is beyond me.

It clearly kept the islanders safe from a sneak invasion by enemies 

and they won’t be facing Venice’s fate with rising sea levels, but still …

The trip to the top was tricky enough in a minivan; 

I can’t imagine how difficult it was on foot or riding on donkeys.

I laughingly decided that, in the original Greek, 

Santorini must be translated as “people with money shopping on cliffs”.

Don’t get me wrong.

I loved both these islands. 

 They were part mystical, 

part magical 

and totally the islands I’ve been picturing since I was in junior high.

Yet, the realist in me, 

the one who made her way through the world, at work and as a single parent, 

got tired of rounding every corner, 

expecting to see an entourage of the Kardashians.

 I realized when I got home 

that the reason I took so many pictures of 'real' people on these two islands, 
most elderly,

(although who am I kidding to call them 'elderly',

they were probably my age) 

was as an antidote to the wealth and youth that were so omnipresent.

Luckily for me, 

all the native Greeks I spoke to were engaging, gracious 

and willing to let me capture them.

I could have spoken to them for hours.

But more about them in the next post.

My adventures in island hopping began and ended in Athens.

 I knew this is a major metropolitan area 

but, even so, the density of population – over 4 million – surprised me.

 The amount of graffiti surprised me even more – even having been forewarned about it by younger relatives who visited Greece earlier this year.

 Some of it was amusing, 

some obviously designed to make a point or express a political sentiment; 

the vast majority  however seemed wanton, gang related 

and destructive for the sake of destruction.

After being struck by the jarring reality and in your face-ness of it all, 

it was easy enough to look beyond the spray paint 

and see the gorgeousness and beauty that was all around.

I won’t pretend to have seen Athens, even with having spent the better part of 4 days there.

We stuck pretty closely to the historic, and I suspect, curated, tourist area.

The Acropolis was right outside our window and, 

while it didn’t make climbing the 150 steps to the Parthenon any easier, 

at least we didn’t have to walk miles before getting to the starting point.

The ascent was broken into several levels of steps, 

with plateaus in between, 

so it wasn’t like a straight climb up, for instance, the Washington Monument.

That being said, the marble treads can be very slick 

and, the prospect of falling, breaking something and experiencing the healthcare system up close 

was felt by everyone in my group.

Just as tricky was the uneven marble and granite ground around the Parthenon. 

While it is an uneven surface, 

centuries of foot traffic has worn down the individual pieces 

and the going can be treacherous.

Wouldn’t have missed the view, experience or photos, 

but ‘caution’ was the word of the day.

BTW, for those uninitiated, 

the Acropolis is the hill upon which the Parthenon (the temple) sits.

Many folks don’t make that distinction and speak as though the terms are interchangeable.

I’m not weighing in; 

there are so many others things upon which to take a stand; 

just thought I’d point that out.

The Parthenon was built in (roughly) 447 BC 

and has served as a temple, a church and a mosque.

Holy space is holy space , am I right?

To imagine the number of pilgrims, worshippers and devotees 

making their way to the top over the centuries is actually quite staggering.

Luckily, since it was fall, the hordes weren’t too bad 

and I could almost imagine I was alone.

What can I say, I have a vivid imagination.

 The best part of Athens was the port - and leaving it.

Museum quality

When you live in the birthplace of world civilization, 

it’s not like you have to go searching for artifacts with which to fill your museums.

The truth is you can go in your back yard 

or to the latest construction site, 

put a shovel in the earth, turn it over  - 

and wait for buried items to make their way to the surface.

Not kidding.

 

We saw many construction sites where building had ground to a halt 

because ancient items had been found – 

which then means construction stops – 

until the Ministry of Archaeological Significance 

or some august title bureaucracy 

investigates to see if the project can continue.

 

Museums in Greece have a surplus of displays – 

and hence rotating collections – 

of items that are amazing.

We went to the Acropolis Museum, the Prehistoric Museum of Thera, 

Vori Ethnological Museum and the National Archaeological Museum.

We also saw sites (Akrotiri, Knossos, Phaistos and the island of Delos)

where archeological digs are still going on.

I love history.

I remember, proudly, taking honors European history, 

contemporary history, American history etc.

 and having a razor sharp mind for dates, eras and sequence of events.

I was a big picture, as well as a minutiae, kind of girl.

Imagine my chagrin when, on this trip, 

I felt like I was walking around in a Charlie Brown TV special, 

hearing the teacher drone on

 “Wahwahwahwahwahwahwah, 13^th century before Christ wahwahwahwahwah”.

I loved seeing the items; 

some of which were are surprisingly contemporary; 

but my mind had a hard time taking in all those ancient centuries. 

And their history is just that, THEIR history.

I get it; they’re fuckin old… 

next exhibit please. 

 There was an unending supply.